04.30.06
Posted in Baseball
at 7:40 pm
Braves 8, Mets 5
Atlanta RF Jeff Francoeur had struggled through most of April (5 for is last 45), but busted out in big way this afternoon, rocking the Mets to the tune of 4 hits (1 HR, three singles),5 RBI’s and a pair of runs scored. Mets starter Steve Trachsel was plagued by control problems and suffered through an outing that can best be described as Victor Zambrano-esque (5 BB’s, 8 hits, 6 earned runs). New York reliever Jorge Julio, reverting to earlier form, struck out 5 but served up a gopher ball to Francoeur.
Amongst the few highlights for the Mets, a long HR to left center off Kyle Davies (the 7th he’s allowed in ‘06) by the recently returned Carlos Beltran, and perhaps most incredibly, 3 walks credited to Jose Reyes. Though Reyes’ on base percentage of .308 is still unacceptably low, he’s currently on pace to walk twice as often this season as he did in ‘05.
Francoeur, as quoted postgame by the AP :
”I’ve really been down on myself and it was starting to take a toll on me,” he said. ”So last night, I decided to watch a couple of movies. I watched the end of ‘Gladiator’ and the end of ‘Rudy.”’
”I’m a little superstitious, and sometimes you need something to get you going,” Francoeur said. ”If ‘Rudy’ doesn’t do it, nothing will.”
I’d recommend the following the next time Jeff is looking for a little inspiration (they’ve always worked for me) :
“Arthur 2: On The Rocks”
(fuck that Knute Rockne bullshit, Griffin Dunne has a talking penis)
“Me And Him”
“Shanghai Surprise”
It’s a long season. Even if Francoeur is a-ok from here on in, I think Larry, Andruw and Smoltzy should consider purchasing the above triology on DVD and exercising some veteran leadership – the entire Braves 25 man roster needs to stay up all night before every game watching these films until they have every line of dialogue memorized. If this helps them win a 15th consecutive NL East title, I’ll happily accept a partial playoff share.
Binghamton’s William Collazo took a no-hitter into the 8th inning today against Erie, a game the Mets won, 4-2. Henry Owens earned his 6th save.
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Posted in Basketball
at 6:13 pm
Lakers 99, Suns 98 (OT)
…shame Chick Hearn isn’t around to repeat the above words, over and over again. Your 2-time MVP / former Tottenham trainee (above) gave up possession at the end of regulation and at the end of OT (though on the second occasion, it looked more like he was mugged)…and Kobe took full advantage in both situations.
I’m the last person on the planet to acknowlege the following : the Lakers look like a fully realized team. Not at the Spurs or Pistons’ levels, naturally, but Odom, Kwame (12 points, 10 rebounds), Luke Walton (9 rebounds, tieing up Nash and winning the tip at the end of OT) are no longer mere props in the Kobe show (and haven’t been for some time, according to those who’ve actually been watching LA for the past few months). It’s been suggested that knocking off no. 2 Phoenix would be Phil Jackson’s greatest coaching accomplishment, but it might also say a bit about the roster assembly skills of acting General Manager Kobe Bryant.
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Posted in Hockey
at 5:08 pm
Did the best NY Rangers campaign in 9 seasons have to end so miserably? Or more to the point, did the season really come to a crashing halt right around the begining of March? Either way, the Devils and Rangers entered their first round series headed in opposite directions, and the former’s late-season turnaround would rank as a huge achievment, even if their cross-Hudson rivals weren’t so banged up.
Tonight’s night’s Game 5 between the Predators and Sharks won’t be blacked out in the Nashville area, but not for a lack of trying on the part of Predators management, writes the New York Post’s Larry Brooks.
Steve Violetta, Executive VP in charge of blackmail, announced during the week that the team was 2,600 seats short of a sellout, and if 1,600 of those tickets were not sold by Friday morning, the Predators would exercise their right to black out the game. Violetta declared the decision was supported by both the NHL and OLN.
Never mind that the Predators reversed the decision on Friday, even though they’d fallen short of the stated goal. Never mind that Violetta had originally said the threat – my word, not his – wasn’t aimed at the fan, but rather was intended to stir the business community into greater support of the franchise.
The fact is, this ownership – with support from the league – not only somehow ever believed selling 1,600 tickets took precedence over getting the game exposure in the 904,000 homes that comprise the 30th largest television market in the U.S., but publicly announced that Wirtzian philosophy.
Exposing the game? How about exposing ownership? How about exposing the league? I thought the cap was going to take care of all this.
With Edmonton taking a 3-2 series lead over Detroit, Covered In Oil, pays tribute to the goaltending of Dwayne Roloson :
Ah, but this is where Dwayne Roloson’s .935 SV% shimmers like sparkling wine. It’s not like Roloson is making supersick saves in a 1997 Curtis Joseph sense; but he’s definitely looking more calm and assertive than he ever has in his 20-25 games as an Oiler. His glove hand looked good, and if he popped out any rebounds Roli managed to keep them clear from the high slot. His little eyes-shut zen meditation thing between plays seems to work, and more importantly it’s miles away from the scared flailing that passed for goaltending early in the season.
Unsatisfied with citing mere hockey attributes, the Edmonton Sun’s Jeremey Loome goes a little further in dismissing the Motor City (”a cruddy, decaying mess”), citing segreation, a high crime rate and the number of bodies moved from inner city cemeteries to other towns (”how bad a place is your hometown when even the dead people are leaving?”). A fairly mean-spirited drubbing of Detroit, without once mentioning the Insane Clown Posse.
Mike Modano and the Stars have been eliminated by the Avalanche, and even worse, it’s already too hot to play golf in Dallas. The Jose Theodore Revival of 2006 continued with a 50 save performance in today’s OT win ; somewhere on Earth there is a bookmaker who will accept a bet on Montreal providing Colorado with a playoff caliber goalie in the year 2016.
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Posted in Baseball
at 3:59 pm
MLB’s no. 1 heel A.J. Pierzynski was hit by a Kelvim Escobar pitch during the White Sox’s 2-1 win over the Angels last night. As you might expect, Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen had something to say about it to the Daily Herald’s Scott Gregor (link culled from Baseball Think Factory)
“If Escobar is going to hit somebody, he should hit himself,’’ Guillen said. “A.J. didn’t have anything to do with the dumb(bleep) plays they made. Josh Paul and him, the two dumb (bleeping) plays they made and now they’re blaming A.J.
“You have to be dumb enough to blame it on somebody when you screwed it up. If you’re going to blame somebody, look in the mirror. A.J. didn’t have anything to do with that. I think that’s a low-(bleep) way to play baseball.’’
Guillen was just getting warmed up.
“People in Los Angeles should remember that play like the Bill Buckner thing,’’ said Guillen, recalling Buckner’s infamous error in the 1986 World Series.
“It’s nobody’s fault Josh Paul didn’t tag the guy. It’s nobody’s fault (Escobar) tagged the guy with the wrong hand. Blame yourself. And now you’re going to hit somebody for no reason? You can get somebody hurt with no reason.’’
Pierzynski appeared to have a few words for Escobar as he headed to first base after being hit, but he denied saying anything.
“I don’t know why the (heck) he’s hitting me,’’ Pierzynski said. “I just ran to first. Maybe he should hit the guy (Paul) that rolled the ball back to the mound. I didn’t do anything to show him up.’’
They’re tied at 2-2 in Anaheim this afternoon after 3 innings, with Jon Garland facing Ervin Santana. Jim Thome and Paul Konkero each have an RBI on a third inning single and sacrifice fly respectively.
Despite starting the season 0-13 in the Southern League, Atlanta catching prospect Jarrod Saltamacchia is apparently the subject of a tug-of-war between agents. As long as Salty stays far away from Michael Michaels (or Jay Mohr), things can’t be that bad.
Taylor Buchholz, obtained from Philly in the Billy Wagner trade, earned his second victory for the Astros today, throwing 6 and a third innings of 3-hit ball in Houston’s 3-2 defeat of Cincinnati. Lance Berkman (29 RBI’s in April) and Jason Lane homered for the Astros, while Brad Lidge collected his 8th save, striking out 3 in a scoreless 9th.
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Posted in Baseball
at 12:51 pm
…which sounds a little better than “I can’t throw anybody out.” From the Contra Costa Times’ Joe Roderick.
Last season, Oakland catcher Jason Kendall threw out runners only 18 times in 119 stolen base attempts (15.1 percent), the second lowest percentage in the major leagues. This year, Kendall has nailed six of 10, including the last three who have attempted to steal.
When given a chance to fire back at his critics, Kendall backed off.
“I didn’t get upset at that,” he said. “I’ve got stuff to prove to myself. I don’t have to prove anything to anybody. I had a bad year last year, both offensively and defensively. This year I can’t find the holes (hitting). It’s early. I’ve got a lot to prove to myself.”
“That’s the hardest throw in baseball to make. You just got to be consistent. You can’t throw everybody out. It’s impossible. A lot of times you want to try to throw everybody out and you rush and you put more on it. I can launch a ball into center field with the best of them. There’s no shame in it.”
Last night’s A’s/Royals tilt was washed out ; in about an hour’s time, KC’s Scott Elarton will attempt to lose his 5th game in the month of April. Elarton brings an ERA of 3.16 into today’s contest ; the Royals have scored a total of 5 runs in his 5 previous starts.
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Posted in Baseball
at 12:38 pm
Chicago’s Michael Barrett, his head like a hole, black as your soul, he’d rather die than give you control.
Sorry about that. From the Palm Beach Sun’s Joe Capozzi :
Eleven teams are using the Coolflo Batter’s Helmet, introduced during spring training by Rawlings Sporting Goods. The company’s goal is to have all 30 teams using them by 2007.
The Marlins were among the 19 teams that rejected the futuristic lids during a trial run in March.
“I started to size the players and five of the first six said, ‘Do we need to wear these?’ ” said John Silverman, the Marlins’ equipment manager. “I said, ‘No.’ They said they were comfortable with what we have. They like to be old school.”
Third baseman Miguel Cabrera first wore the helmets — the first new design since 1983 — when they were introduced at the All-Star Game last July.
“It’s a different look,” outfielder Chris Aguila said. “Maybe it was a little bit lighter, but I like the old ones.”
Cubs catcher Michael Barrett was skeptical of the Coolflo lids, which have 15 vents.
“A lot of times, it doesn’t feel like there’s a helmet there because it feels like my hair is sticking out through those big holes,” he said.
Barrett found out those holes are more than just for ventilation. “It’s supposed to be more shock resistant,” he said. “If the ball hits you in the head, it’s supposed to glide off a little bit easier.”
“I got hit last year and it’s no fun,” Barrett said. “If it’s better when it comes to getting hit in the head, then I’ll take their word for it. I don’t know how true it is and hopefully I won’t find out any time soon.”
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Posted in Baseball, General
at 11:31 am
In addition to predicting that Roger Clemens ultimately returns to Houston, Newsday’s Jon Heyman rubs his crystal balls and tries to identify the next manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.
The speculation hasn’t yet started, but Lou Piniella could be the best choice to turn around the Phillies.
Jim Fregosi, Davey Johnson and Jimy Williams also might be in the mix once GM Pat Gillick does the inevitable and fires Charlie Manuel, a nice man who’s not cut out for Philadelphia. As the popular manager of the ‘93 team, Fregosi might elicit even more reaction than Piniella in Philly.
Piniella (above) has told friends he’s waiting for the right situation, generally taken to mean the Yankees. But his old boss Gillick might have a chance to convince him the Phillies are better than they’ve played for Manuel, who finally got around to correcting his bizarre original lineup by moving Chase Utley up to second, where he belongs, and Ryan Howard up to fifth.
Piniella paired beautifully with Gillick in Seattle for 116 victories in 2001 before growing tired of what he saw as the tightfisted ways of ownership and going to Tampa Bay, which turned out to beeven tighter. Piniella originally told folks he wanted to take a year to decompress; when we called Friday, his wife said he was out water skiing.
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Posted in Basketball
at 11:23 am
Gonzaga cut-up Adam Morrison, sabotaging his own draft prospects? From the Boston Herald’s Mark Murphy.
Both Morrison and his father talked about the long-term perils of diabetes – such as circulation and heart complications – during recent interviews. During one sit-down – in what agent Mark Bartlestein insists was merely an off-hand attempt at humor – the wise-cracking Morrison feigned concern over losing his fingers and toes, and that as a result he must enter the draft ASAP.
By the time news of that interview reached one league executive last week, doubt had settled in.
“Why would he even say something like that,” the executive said, unaware that Morrison was apparently speaking in jest. “If you’re thinking about taking him, what are you supposed to think?”
Can you say damage control?
“The whole thing was taken out of context,” Bartlestein said. “I’ve talked to his doctor – a guy he’s had since he was a kid – and he said there was absolutely no problem.
“Unfortunately, people ran with it, and now we have this. But I will make sure that everyone in the league knows what is up with that.”
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Posted in Basketball
at 11:08 am
Claiming the Black President “doesn’t get the calls LeBron gets”, Wizards coach Eddie Jordan is steamed about the whistle swallowing that ensued after King James hopped his way to the winning shot with seconds remaining in Friday’s Game 2 between Cleveland and Washington. From the Baltimore Sun :
Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said yesterday, what he thinks should have been a traveling call is part of a pattern of James’ getting protection from referees. He said that’s the type of help Washington’s own All-Star, Gilbert Arenas, isn’t receiving in the first-round Eastern Conference series that the Cleveland Cavaliers lead 2-1.
“I’m not going to get fined for saying what’s obvious. Everybody sees it,” Jordan said after practice ahead of today’s Game 4 against the Cavaliers.
“Officials are human, and they see a great move by a great player … or they see a hop-through move that’s a travel, and they say, ‘That’s a great move by a great player, and it’s an exciting move. It’s a great finish. We’ll let it go.’ That’s how I look at it,” Jordan said.
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Posted in Basketball
at 10:58 am
The NBA Playoffs are only 8 days old, but we’ll struggle to find a hotter story than today’s coverage of the Clippers’ Game 3 win over the Nuggets by the Denver Post’s Mark Kizla.
You don’t expect to tune in a playoff game on the tube and see a display so offensive it should be rated TV-14 for sexual situations.
It was obscene, not to mention cowardly, the way Denver forward Reggie Evans touched the private parts of L.A. center Chris Kaman during the second quarter.
“I felt violated,” Kaman said, ambushed below the belt by Evans, as the Nuggets scored on a rare clean jumper to cut L.A.’s lead to 30-27. “I felt I got a little violated by another man.”
There are many inventive ways to establish rebound position, but until Evans groped Kaman below the belt under the basket, I thought I had seen every dirty trick in basketball’s book.
Not to suggest the way Evans touched Kaman was risqué, but I’m not sure Kim Cattrall ever did a more graphic scene on “Sex and the City.”
Kaman angrily responded by knocking Evans to the floor.
“I think it would have been stupid to swing or throw a punch, so I just kind of shoved him,” Kaman said.
There are not many unwritten rules in sports. Evans, however, broke No. 1: Do not mess with a man’s private business.
“It’s just inappropriate for a basketball game. Or any sport,” Kaman said.
If the Nuggets’ basketball IQ were any lower, somebody would have to water them as plants.
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Posted in Baseball
at 10:28 am
Mike Pelfrey, the highly touted Wichita State alumn selected 9th overall in last June’s amateur draft, pitched 5 and 2/3rds scoreless innings in his first start for the Binghamton Mets last night. Pelfrey struck out 8 while allowing 3 hits in the 1-0 loss to the Erie Seawolves.
Norfolk beat Rochester on Saturday night, 4-3, a game that ended on Lastings Milledge’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the 11th. Heath Bell collected the win with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief ; Jeremi Gonzalez allowed 3 runs and 7 hits in 6 innings in getting the start. On Friday, Jose Lima was relatively competent, giving up 3 runs and 4 hits over 7 innings (7 K’s, two walks) in a 5-1 loss to Scranton Wilkes-Barre.
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Posted in Baseball
at 1:26 am
From the LA Times’ Larry Stewart :
In a taped interview to be shown on Bob Costas’ HBO show Tuesday, Costas asks Mays: “Have you ever seen anybody as a contemporary? Have you ever seen anybody who [made you say]: ‘That guy is as good or better than me?’ “
Says Mays: “I can’t. You name one and I’ll tell you no. Just name one. Anybody.”
Costas: “Barry Bonds?”
Mays: “No. Barry couldn’t throw with me. He might not have been able to run with me. Let’s give him hitting, since he hit 73 [in 2001]. Don’t think I can hit 73 home runs. I give him that. But what else?”
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Posted in Dead Authors, The Marketplace
at 1:11 am
John Kenneth Galbraith, economist, political advisor, author and scholar, died yesterday at the age of 97.
Galbraith’s better known works included “The Affluent Society”, “The Nature Of Mass Poverty”, “The Anatomy Of Power” and “American Capitalism”. There is no truth to the rumor that his passing was in any preceeded by a cursory glance at the New York Knicks payroll.
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04.29.06
Posted in Baseball
at 9:15 pm
Mets 1, Braves 0
Don Sutton and Joe Simpson were quick to remind us that John Thompson “only made one mistake” (presumably leaving a fat one over the plate for Paul Lo Duca to knock over the left field fence), but these days, anyone facing the New York Mets will have to get used to having little margin for error. Tom Glavine — who not so long ago was dunking his former club — was masterful in allowing just 4 hits in 7 shutout innings. Aaron Heilman and Billy Wagner pitched scoreless 8th and 9th innings respectively ; Wagner is now 7 for 9 in save opportunities.
Carlos Beltran went 1 for 3 with a double in his first game back after an extended absence due to a sore hamstring. 2B Kaz Matsui extended his hitting streak to 8 games with a single in the 8th inning.
Carlos Delgado and Cliff Floyd were a combined 0 for 8, the former striking out 4 times and the latter seeing his batting average dip to .181. The latter, however, made a pair of terrific catches in left, the first of which saved a run.
some other post-game celebratory musings :
Prescription for beating the Braves: Take one vintage Tom Glavine, mix in one longball from Lo Duca, add a few splashes of near-flawless defense, a dose of Aaron Heilman at his unhittable best, and cap it off with our slider-slinging closer. For the second night in a row, that insidious tomahawk chop chant died in the throats of Braves fans that are losing faith in their old magic.
Question for that snazzy new Japanese second baseman: Who the hell are you, and what have you done with Kaz Matsui? – Mike’s Mets
I’ve seen the Braves lie in the weeds until midsummer too many times to get giddy, NL East April records notwithstanding, and heard too much oddly dour/swaggering early-season talk from the respective clubhouses to doubt the Braves will be the thing under the bed until our division’s sun finally rises and proves them a figment of our collective imaginations. But something feels different this year, and I think I know what it is. And it’s corny as all get-out: Whatever this year’s crop of Mets believes about the Braves/Mets rivalry or Turner Field is a lot less important than the fact that this team believes in itself. – Jason, Faith & Fear In Flushing
Cliff Floyd had another awesome game, and of course looked terrible doing it. He runs like Muhammed Ali talks, and his dives are the belly-flops of a giant and diseased whale. I never think he will get to the ball — but he does, and he did last year, and I think something changed last season. Not the healthy bit — that much is obvious — but I think in the way he approached staying healthy while playing hard enough at the same time. The ugly way he moves speaks of a very large man trying not to kill himself while simultaneously propelling his bulk at extraordinary speed. I think it works. – East Coast Agony
The Braves’ little league offense has reached a new level of ineptitude, being completely shut down yet again, this time by Glavine and the Mets bullpen. Thomson’s ERA for the season is 1.32. He has had 4 starts and hasn’t allowed more than one run in any of them. He doesn’t have any wins. That is extremely difficult to accomplish. – Jamie Kirby, Tomahawk
This is unbelievably depressing. The Braves have now lost five games in a row, mostly with good pitching. Tonight, John Thomson made one mistake, allowing an opposite-field homer to Paul Lo Duca in the sixth, and finally got a decision because the Braves couldn’t score at all.
We can complain about Bobby loading the lineup with righthanders after watching that fail against Glavine for a decade, but Brian Jordan had two of the team’s five hits, and the other two against Glavine were by Renteria and another of the platoon guys, Diaz. The Braves’ only real scoring chance was erased when the other platoon guy, Pratt, had a soft liner taken down by Floyd in left. – Mac Thomason, Braves Journal
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Posted in Professional Wrestling
at 6:25 pm
Encouraged by the brisk ticket sales for the 2nd of 2 annual Extreme Championship Wrestling revival shows at NYC’s Hammerstein Ballroom, WWE is said to be reviving the brand name as part of a worked promotion vs. promotion war, then as an developmental circuit with it’s own TV programming later in the year.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer reports that ECW fixtures such as Sabu (above), Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, Axl Rotten, Balls Mahoney and C.W. Anderson are amongst those thought to be taking part, with Paul Heyman booking the matches.
The role for most those names, but not all, will be to put over the developmental talent and make them the next generation ECW stars. This can’t work if its’ only goal is for older fans to relive Sandman’s ring enterance, because that is the kind of nostalgia that will die quickly. Many, if not most of the names, will likely only be there short-term, until stars in the current WWE system take their spots.
No word on whether or not Joel Gertner has been recruited, but something tells me he’d be available.
Inside Wrestling Weekly’s Zip Whittle has some misgivings about the scheme.
The ECW atmosphere – violent, bloody matches, original but unorthodox production values, minimal sets and maximum attitude – seems like it would clash with the elaborate pyro, giant stages and carefully scripted nature of RAW and Smackdown shows. When WWE revived ECW for their ONE NIGHT STAND PPV last year, they had the luxury of performing in a separate venue (Hammerstein Ballroom) re-using a small location that had been established back when ECW first lived. An important part of the ECW appeal lies in the intimate settings and interactions with the personal crowd.
Some people have suggested storylines like RVD winning the WWE title from John Cena at the ECW One Night Stand 2006 and throwing it down ala Shane Douglas/NWA/ECW 1994 incident. Others have joked about ECW becoming ENTERTAINMENT CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING. The real question remains: can you bring back this environment and this atmosphere?
I’ve long admired Heyman’s ability to pick widely disliked figures from the world of pop culture (Divine Brown, Leon Spinks, Billy Corgan) and use them in angles. In other words, chin up, Delmon Young, Michael Brown and anyone that’s been booted from “American Idol” in the past year. Your phones might be ringing, soon.
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Posted in Baseball
at 5:03 pm
From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer :
May 5: Pepsi & Fred Meyer Mariners Collectible Train Night — First 20,000 fans receive the “A-Train” (Adrian Beltre Car)
Were it not a violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, I’m sure the Mariners would love to award fan number 20,001 with The Adrian Beltre Third Baseman.
The Orioles are in the process of making short work of the Mariners’ Felix Hernandez, the visitors holding a 4-0 lead after 3 innings. Much maligned ex-Cub Corey Patterson hit a 3 run HR in the bottom of the third.
On a day when gridiron degenerates and lovers of mind-numbing television alike are transfixed by the glorified slave auction that is the NFL Draft, how appropriate that we have a number of football scores from the major leagues.
Brewers 16, Cubs 2 – bad enough that the Cubs try to pass off Glendon Rusch as a qualified starter, but was it really a good idea to send out Babe Ruth’s daughter in relief?
Tigers 18, Twins 1 – OK, I suppose it isn’t possible to score a lone point in a football game. Miggy, I-Rod and Carlos Guillen were a combined 10 for 14 in this one. Congrats to Carlos Silva on making Brad Radke look downright dependable by comparison.
Yankees 17, Blue Jays 6 – two HR’s and 5 runs scored for Johnny Damon, a 3-run HR and 4 RBI’s for the Giambini (now hitting .345). Kind of sick how Jeter and A-Rod can have a combined 0 for 8 afternoon and the lineup still produces this many runs. Gary Sheffield and Shea Hillenbrand both left the game after a collision in the 5th inning ; The Little Mustache is said to have a sore left knee and right wrist. I’ve read nothing about Hillenbrand’s condition, but it’s safe to asume that everyone still hates him.
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Posted in Gridiron
at 3:48 pm
20) Kansas City – Tamba Hall, DE, Penn State
21) New England – Laurence Maroney, (above) RB, Minnesota
22) San Francisco (from Denver) – Manny Lawson, DE, North Carolina State
23) Tampa Bay – Davin Joseph, OG, Oklahoma
24) Cincinnati – Jonathan Joseph, CB, South Carolina
25) Pittsburgh (from the Giants) – Santonio Holmes, WR, Ohio State
26) Buffalo (from Chicago) – John McCargo, DR, North Carolina State
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Posted in Basketball
at 2:41 pm
As New Jersey prepared to face Indiana in the 4th game of their Eastern Conference playoff series, the Nets’ Richard Jefferson claimed he’s less than stressed out over the way the Pacers’ Anthony Johnson has matched up with Jason Kidd.
From the Bergen Record’s Adrian Wojarnowski.
Johnson, a third-string guard to start the season, made the plays in Game 1, and made more in Game 3, including 25 points and eight assists. He’s probably reached an expiration date on outplaying Kidd, but Johnson is so full of confidence, so full of belief, you’d kind of like Kidd to get out and cover him.
As usual Friday, Richard Jefferson was playing the part of contrarian, dismissing the alarms over his old teammate Johnson rising beyond a nuisance into a problem.
“Now it’s not like, ‘Oh my God, how are we going to stop the eight-time All-Star Anthony Johnson?’ “ Jefferson sniffed. “It’s not what are we going to do to stop Jermaine O’Neal from shooting 80 percent. They got hot and had unbelievable games. We don’t believe that it’s going to be the norm.”
Johnson is a better player. He plays with such a different confidence now, a different resolve. Still, Kidd doesn’t suffer embarrassment well. The great ones never do.
“Jermaine O’Neal really was their main guy for them, and then you try and collapse on him and [Johnson] gets hot out there,” Jefferson said. “A.J. has never done that before. He had a great game. To act like that’s going to be the norm over the series, I think everybody knows that’s not going to be the case. He got hot. He hit some big shots for them.”
Jefferson has 13 points midway through the 2nd quarter, with the Nets leading 33-20.
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Posted in Baseball
at 2:00 pm
Ben Schwartz writes,
While the Cubs celebrate their defeat at the hands of Babe Ruth and the NY Yankees (even included in today’s pre-game highlight clips) back during the Roosevelt Administration, the NY Times was kind enough to write up Greg Maddux (above), king of the mind game.
“He does terrible interviews for a reason,” John Smoltz, his former teammate with the Atlanta Braves, said with an admiring chuckle. “Believe me, he knows a lot more about what he does than he lets on. He never wants anyone to know where he’s coming from.”
Conversely, Glendon Rusch might be just as brilliant as he looks. The Cubs starter has already allowed HR’s to Milwaukee’s Richie Weeks and Prince Fielder, with the Brewers leading 3-0 after two innings.
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Posted in Gridiron
at 1:48 pm
13) Cleveland (from Baltimore) – Kamerion Wimbley, DE, Florida State
14) Philadelphia – Broderick Bunkley, DT, Florida State
15) St. Louis (from Denver) – Tye Hill, CB, Clemson
16) Miami – Jason Allen, DB, Tennessee
17) Minnesota – Chad Greenway, OLB, Iowa
18) Ohio State – Bobby Carpenter, OLB, Ohio State
19) San Diego – Antonio Cromartie, DB, Florida State
There’s been a little bit of squawking about Haloti Ngata not possessing the proper work ethic to play in front of the disgruntled, exacting Ray Lewis. Surely I’m not the only person watching TV today who suspects Ngata will be less inclined to take plays off if he’s fearing for his life?
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Posted in Football
at 1:26 pm
Alan Curbishley (above) has ended a 15 year tenure at Charlton Athletic with the announcement he’ll be stepping down at the end of the season. Frequently mention in speculation surrounding the England job, it is rumored that Curbishley might be taking over at Aston Villa.
Chelsea clinched their 2nd consecutive Premiership title with today’s 3-0 demolition of 2nd place Manchester United. Afterwards, Jose Mourniho (above) threw his championship medal, jacket, passport and collection of Peter & The Test Tube Babies 7″’s to the adoring crowd at Stamford Bridge.
United’s Wayne Rooney was carried off the field following a challenge from Paulo Ferreira. The condition of Rooney’s right foot is unknown at present, but I’m certain if they X-ray his head, they’ll find absolutely nothing.
Per the result of Portsmouth’s 2-1 win at Wigan today, Pompey are staying up and West Brom and Birmingham are going down, down down.
Mired in 20th place in the Championship, QPR have confirmed that Georges Santos and Richard Langely (above) are amongst the several players who have been released, with a number of other Loftus Road fixtures (Marc Bircham, Marcus Bignot, Tommy Doherty) placed on the transfer list.
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Posted in Gridiron
at 1:01 pm
11) Denver (from St. Louis) – Jay Cutler, QB, Vanderbilt
Chris Berman notes that Culter is just the 3rd QB to be drafted in the first round despite never having led his college team to a winning season, the other two being Phil Simms “and Tommy Kramer, pretty darn good with Minnesota, and might I add, had a pretty darn good time doing it.”
I can only assume Berman is refering to Two Minute Tommy’s penchant for crazy comeback victories, as opposed to the former Owl’s history of getting boozy behind the wheel.
12) Baltimore (from Cleveland) – Haloti Ngata, DT, Oregon
Permalink
Posted in Gridiron
at 12:38 pm
The NFL Draft Thus Far :
1) Houston – Mario Williams, DE, North Carolina State
2) New Orleans – Reggie Bush, RB, USC
3) Tennessee – Vince Young, QB, Texas
4) NY Jets – D’Brickashaw Ferguson, OT, Virginia (above)
5) Green Bay – A.J. Hawk, OLB, Ohio State
6) San Francisco – Vernon Davis, TE, Maryland
7) Oakland – Michael Huff, S, Texas
Buffalo – Donte Whitner, S, Ohio State
9) Detroit – Ernie Sims, OLB, Florida State
Interesting to see Norm Chow’s Titans opting for VY over Matt Leinart, along with the claims that New Orleans are prepared to splash out heavily on Bush, despite existing commitments to Deuce McAllister (and the huge deal just signed by Drew Brees)
With all the crap Reggie Bush is going through this week…and Leinart slipping perhaps as far as the Cardinals at no. 10, how about LenDale White as the Trojan having the worst weekend of all?
(ADDENDUM : Arizona picks Leinart at no. 10. Bad news for the ballroom maven in terms of loot, but not the worst situation imaginable ; he’ll have a year to watch Kurt Warner, the Edge in his backfield, Larry Fitzgerald as a target…and, uh, well, that’s all the good things I can think of.)
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Posted in Basketball, Sports Journalism
at 11:29 am
Henry Abbott describes the following missive from the Newark Star-Ledger’s Dave D’Allesandro as “the cultural equivalent of one of those hard playoff fouls”. If you’re waiting for an Indy comeback that references Adrenalin O.D. and Uncle Floyd, well, don’t hold your breath.
(foreground : pop singer, background : Austin Croshere)
Coming to Indy is an annual rite of spring – has been since ’92. Prior to that, we only came twice a year, and we didn’t know the place from God’s Little Acre. Can’t say we liked it much back then – it was slow, sleepy, undeveloped, and we always suspected that somewhere outside of town there was a sign that read, “Welcome to Indianapolis – This is what death is like.”
The place seemed to be the most powerful hypnotic known to man, because hardly anyone left. You knew that by the fact that everyone looked 60 years old, including a few of the Pacers cheerleaders. We used to laugh at a catalogue they put in each hotel room, entitled “Indiana, Our Glorious State.” And if you were bored enough to open the thing, you realized that the assortment of glories were a bit on the thin side, unless you had a real hankering to visit the creamery out in Zionsville.
None of that holds true today, though. By any standard, Indianapolis is a mecca of cosmopolitanism, a dynamic hub of commerce and culture and tall glass buildings, where people wear suits and dark socks, even simultaneously.
We experienced a profound depression watching Game 3 at Conseco last night. The place was dead, with only 14,700 bothering to show, and we’re told more than 1,000 of them were freebies. Nobody cares about the team around here anymore – partly because No. 31 has left the building, partly because the Artest hangover that still makes the franchise so wobbly, partly because there has been a stunning disconnect between this group of players and its fan base.
We have no idea what the advance sales are for Game 4, but it’s not likely to change much. It’s enough to make you root for the visiting team, and get out of here ASAP.
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Posted in Leave No Child Unbeaten
at 10:42 am
Much as I’m tempted to make light of this attempt at reaching out to the Youth Of Today, (link taken from True Hoop) said tome is probably outselling “Catch”.
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Posted in Baseball
at 10:24 am
Prior to last night, you’d have to say the Mets got the better end of their swap of Jae Seo for reliever Duaner Sanchez. But while Sanchez was yet again a key component in Friday’s New York victory, Seo was terrific for the Dodgers last night, allowing just two hits in 6 shutout innings, earning his first win of 2006 in LA’s 3-0 win over San Diego. From the LA Daily News’ Tony Jackson :
The evening’s unquestioned star was the embattled Seo, whom Little never admitted was on the verge of losing his spot. The importance of his performance nevertheless was magnified by the fact top pitching prospect Chad Billingsley was simultaneously throwing eight shutout innings for Triple-A Las Vegas against Colorado Springs, allowing one hit.
Seo’s performance might not have happened if not for Little’s meeting.
“We were trying anything we could do to try to help him out,” Little said. “I don’t know much about (the Korean) culture, what their approach is to pitching, but I just talked to him about going out there and pitching a game without setting his goals too high. What he needed to do was throw a one-inning shutout and see if he could accomplish that goal. Then after that inning, set another goal.”
No interpreter was present for the meeting.
“He understands,” Little said.
Jon Wiseman can’t resist comparing Seo’s Friday night with that of former Dodger Jeff Weaver, who was treated harshly by the White Sox, allowing 8 earned runs in 2 and a third innings. Chicago catcher A.J. Pierzynski, making his first appearance in Anaheim since last October’s ALCS, was roundly booed. According to his manager (quoted by the Sun-Times’ Joe Cowley), he oughta be used to it.
”A.J., because they boo A.J. everywhere,” Sox manager Ozzie Guillen responded, when asked who would get the most boos over the weekend. ”Even in his backyard, his wife and kids boo him.’‘
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Posted in Hockey
at 9:43 am
Flyers 5, Sabres 4
It’s very hard to argue that Ryan Miller shouldn’t have prevented Buffalo’s 4th goal last night ; for one thing, it wouldn’t have been the toughest save of all time. For another, the puck came off the stick of a dead man.
James Mirtle points out in the wake of Dallas’s 4-1 victory that prevented their elimination at the hands of Colorado last night, Jose Theodore might well be ready to turn into the same Jose Theodore the Canadians were dying to unload.
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Posted in Baseball
at 1:55 am
Mets 5, Braves 2
I’m sure it gets better than this, but what with my Kevin Finnerty-style memory loss, I can’t remember a 6 game lead over Atlanta. My short term memory is slightly better, however, so I can still recall David Wright hitting a pair of long home runs, Pedro Martinez (with apologies to Greg Maddux) looking every bit the Cy Young front-runner, Endy Chavez continuing to run down fly balls that would elude most Carlos Beltran understudies, Kaz Matsui (.345 BA) extending his hitting streak, Duaner Sanchez-untouchable-again (no runs allowed in 16 innings)…and most clearly of all, a John Franco-esque three out save by Billy Wagner, working his way out of his own jam.
If John Franco had been 20 MPH faster.
Some other perspectives from men who didn’t have dates on a Friday night :
Game over, you tomahawk-chopping dilettantes. Pedro beats Smoltz again. President Carter gets dragged under by a changing tide again. (Sorry, sir, we have to part ways when it comes to that cap you were wearing. But didja catch the size of that footlong that Rosalynn was working on? It oughta be suspended for ingesting performance-enhancing substances, not Iriki). – Greg, Faith & Fear In Flushing
Plain and simple, the Mets beat Atlanta tonight because Queens’ best was at their best. Petey, save for the two run home run to everybody’s favorite hateable third baseman, was brilliant for seven innings. Jose Reyes and David Wright, the young cornerstones of the franchise, produced. Reyes got on base 3 times and scored twice, while Wright hit two home runs. And Billy Wagner, Country Time, nailed down a big save in a big spot. Sure, it was dicey…the bases were loaded…and it wasn’t September. But it was Atlanta…and it was the Braves. And that’s big enough for me at this point. – Metsradamus
If I have any complaints at all with this game, it’s that Billy Wagner hasn’t gotten the memo that he’s supposed to be a lights-out closer.
Smoltz stopped throwing that splitter because of the arm problems it caused, and now he’s gone back to it. I respect him as much as any opponent the Mets face, but I’d be really surprised if he made it over 200 innings this year. – Mike’s Mets
Amazin’ Avenue’s Eric Simon notes that Binghamton’s Henry Owens struck out 4 batters last night in 1.1 innings collecting his 5th save in the Mets’ 4-1 defeat of Erie. Owens has 31 K’s and just 5 walks in 13.1 innings of relief so far.
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Posted in Gridiron
at 1:17 am
It would be fair to say that Reggie Bush had an extremely shitty Friday.
From Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel :
Assertions by Michael Michaels – the lead investor in a doomed sports agency and the owner of a Spring Valley, Calif., home occupied by the family of Reggie Bush – could cost the University of Southern California its 2004 Bowl Championship Series national championship.
BCS officials told Yahoo! Sports on Friday that if Bush is ruled ineligible by either the Pacific 10 Conference or the NCAA for even one game during the 2004 season, the BCS will discuss amending its rules to allow it to force the Trojans to vacate the national championship.
“This is the type of thing the BCS might have to look into if other governing bodies, the conference and the NCAA, take action,” BCS administrator Bill Hancock said.
Michaels’ claims, which he has promised will be backed up by corroborating evidence, moves the timeline of Bush’s potential ineligibility back to the Trojans’ 2004 undefeated BCS national championship season.
In a statement released to Yahoo! Sports on Friday, Michaels’ attorney, Brian Watkins, said that in October 2004 Michaels was approached at a San Diego Chargers football game by Bush’s stepfather LaMar Griffin about investing and partnering in New Era Sports & Entertainment, a new sports agency.
In November 2004, Michaels then met with Griffin, longtime Bush friend Lloyd Lake and Bush himself to discuss the plan where the USC running back would be the firm’s central client when he turned pro in the spring of 2006.
“In November 2004, in San Diego, Reggie Bush, recruited by his stepfather to validate Mr. Griffin’s company, convinced [Michaels and Lake] of its viability,” Watkins said in the statement.
“There was the representation that Reggie would come with his stepfather,” Watkins told Yahoo! Sports on Friday. “Reggie ratified that.”
Michaels said that soon thereafter Griffin asked him to pay off $28,000 of Griffin’s personal debt, which Michaels obliged.
While Sports Illustrated’s Peter King quotes Saints GM Mickey Loomis as virtually guaranteeing New Orleans will select Bush with tomorrow’s 2nd pick, The Houston Chronicle’s Richard Justice derides the Texans’ decision to opt for Mario Williams writing that Bush would’ve given Houston “a couple of things they don’t have. Like excitement and credibility.”
Texans owner Bob McNair has this ridiculous notion that the No. 1 pick must be signed before the draft.
You’re wrong, Bob.
The No. 1 pick is seldom signed before the draft. Yes, holdouts are part of the process with the top players. Yes, Bush wanted an obscene amount of money. Tough luck. Taking a hard line with Bush makes absolutely no sense.
You overpaid for Gary Walker, Todd Wade, Morlon Greenwood and others. Now you’re going to play hardball with Bush? That makes you look incompetent and petty.
Franchises aren’t destroyed by holdouts. Emmitt Smith twice held out. Would the Texans have passed on him?
Were the Texans scared off by Bush’s family living in a house furnished by a sports agent? If that was an issue, why did they continue to negotiate with him until Thursday?
Or did the Texans change their mind about Bush? Did they decide he wasn’t the best player available in this draft?
Maybe all those other teams, maybe all those other talent evaluators, aren’t as smart as the Texans. The Texans decided their need for a pass rusher was more pressing than taking the best player on the board.
There’s a word for this kind of logic in professional sports. It’s called stupidity.
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04.28.06
Posted in Basketball
at 11:16 pm
…when Mike Breen and Bill Walton take time to note the presence of former WCW World Champion David Arquette at tonight’s Western Conference playoff Game 3 between the Suns and Lakers, and totally ignore Dyan Cannon (sitting next to Magic Johnson)?
I hope that Eric Kuselias, Colin Cowherd and anyone else who has moaned about the NBA-being-not-as-good-as-it-was-in-the-’80’s were out watching some art film rather than witnessing tonight’s duel between The Black President and LeBron James. Despite my fervent hope that the former would use these playoffs as his personal stepping stone to a better shoe deal, I have no idea how Washington is going to shut down James over the course of a best of 7 series. Though sending him takeout from this place might do it.
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Posted in Gridiron
at 10:02 pm
From the Houston Chronicle’s John McClain :
In a stunning move that will reverberate through the first round of Saturday’s NFL draft, the Texans have signed North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams to a contract, meaning he’ll be the first player selected.
The contract is for five years with an option year at a total of almost $54 million, with almost $26.5 million guaranteed.
Williams, 6-7, 295, had an exceptional performance at the Indianapolis scouting combine, running the 40-yard dash in 4.70, bench pressing 225 pounds 35 times and having a vertical leap of 40 inches.
Although the Texans said the controversy involving Bush and his parents’ living arrangements in San Diego had nothing to do with their decision, they intensified negotiations with Dogra on Thursday and worked all day today to complete the deal.
Williams’ best position is left end, but the Texans gave Baltimore free agent Anthony Weaver a $12.5 million signing bonus to play that position. Williams will play right end, probably forcing Antwan Peek their best pass rusher back to outside linebacker.
As the debate continues over which of the top rated QB’s available in tomorrow’s draft represents the best bet for pro success, Joe Montana casts his vote for Vince Young (TMC.net) :
“I think he’s a step above the other two,” said Montana, who was in the Triangle to discuss hypertension awareness and his health-outreach program, BP Success Zone. “I can’t see anyone being much better than Vince all around.”
The four-time Super Bowl champion and three-time Super Bowl MVP said there was a time black quarterbacks such as Young might not have been drafted to play quarterback at all, instead being converted to wideout or defensive back.
“Before, if you had an African- American on your team, he usually was the best athlete and you wanted him to have the ball all the time,” Montana said, adding that teams’ position needs, not prejudice, might have caused the uncertainty about where Young might be drafted.
The Boston Globe’s Mike Reiss reports that the Patriots, in addition to the Broncos, are keen on acquiring Javon Walker from Green Bay.
In somewhat less scintillating news, the Vikings have introduced new uniforms for the 2006 season. Sadly, we’ll never get to see Daunte Culpepper in the new purple pants.
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Posted in Baseball
at 8:49 pm
Steve Howe, National League Rookie of The Year in 1980, was killed early Friday morning when his truck flipped over in Coachella, CA.
Howe pitched for the Dodgers, Twins, Rangers and Yankees during an oft-interrupted 16 year big league career, one best remembered for the 7 times Howe was suspended for violations of MLB’s drug policy.
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Posted in Baseball
at 8:34 pm
The Orioles are trying to hang on and preserve a win over Seattle after Daniel Cabrera’s best outing of the season (7 innings, 6 K’s, 4 hits, 2 walks, a two-run homer allowed to Jose Lopez)…and the Baltimore Sun’s blogging fiend Roch Kubatko is bored.
I just had a nice IM exchange with Brady Anderson. I asked if he had anything blog-worthy for me. He didn’t at the moment, but said he was working on some cool stuff and would keep me posted if it goes through.
(all those HR’s from the lead off spot and he couldn’t afford a shirt?)
Could that “cool stuff” be a tell-all book? Or maybe just a new rumpus room for the Anderson estate?
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Posted in Baseball
at 5:50 pm
From Baseball America :
Yusaku Iriki, a righthander who was pitching Triple-A Norfolk, has been suspended for 50 games for violating Minor League Baseball’s performance-enhancing drug regulations.
Iriki, 33, is in his first year in the U.S. after going 35-35, 3.73 in nine seasons in Japan. This season he was 1-2, 3.74 in 22 innings at the time of the suspension.
Iriki becomes the 10th minor leaguer suspended for performance enhancing drugs this year. Nine of the 10 suspended players are pitchers.
Iriki’s mugshot and bio have already been removed from the Tides’ website.
Mets P Brian Bannister has been placed on the 15 day disabled list ; OF Victor Diaz has been recalled from Norfolk.
The Mets will face John Smoltz, John Thomson and Kyle Davies over the next 3 days at Turner Field, a trio surveyed with aplomb by MetsGeek’s Andrew Hintz.
The Journal News’ John Delcos asked Pedro Martinez, tonight’s Mets starter, to compare the Mets’ rivalry with the Braves to that of the Red Sox and Yankees.
“I haven’t been here long enough to know,” Martinez said. “But you’re talking about the best rivalry in sports.”
With apologies to those who’d have cited ‘Bama/Auburn, Arsenal/Spurs or Duke/Carolina, I’ll give Pedro a pass on this one. For one thing, there should be no tough talk from the Mets end until they’ve finally beaten the Braves for the division crown. For another, there are still plenty of tickets available in Atlanta this weekend.
Braves games previously scheduled to air on Turner South will now end up on Fox Sports Net South, as the Fox inspired homogeneity of baseball on cable contines.
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Posted in Basketball
at 4:58 pm
What could possibly disuade the New York Knicks from making a run at Alonzo Mourning or Kenyon Martin in the offseason? Other than the former’s kidneys and the latter’s knees, is common sense too much to ask for? From the New York Post’s Marc Berman.
The Knicks will again bid for Kenyon Martin now that he assuredly will be traded by the Nuggets this summer, but Larry Brown has also asked Isiah Thomas to target another potential injury risk: Miami’s free-agent center Alonzo Mourning.
Brown is desperate for Thomas to obtain an inside banger, a rugged rebounder and shot-blocker. Brown does not appear to believe that Eddy Curry or Channing Frye will become stout defenders.
Martin is as available as ever – though the Knicks are one of few potential suitors, as they were at February’s trading deadline – because of Martin’s long-term contract ($54 million over four remaining years) and knee problems. He missed 26 games because of tendinitis in his surgically repaired knee.
As a potential draw, some of Mourning’s kidney doctors are based in New York.
Mourning made just $1.7 million this season and the Knicks could easily outbid the thrifty Heat by using all or part of their $5 million mid-level exception. Owner James Dolan’s generosity gives the Knicks the advantage of extending long-term deals to risky players.
The Nuggets will likely look to dump Martin for an expiring contract; the Knicks have two of those, in Maurice Taylor and Jalen Rose.
I dunno about defending, but I wouldn’t put it past Eddy Curry to become very stout.
Interesting stuff from the Oregonian’s John Canzano today about rumored attempts to talk Florida’s Joakim Noah into reconsidering his decision to stay in school.
Nevermind that Noah quickly said he’s returning for his junior season at Florida. The deadline to declare for the NBA draft is Saturday, and until it passes Noah will tempt those who would profit from having another star-caliber player in the mix. Noah’s mother said agents are still calling even as her son attended a Florida spring football practice this week, and worked out on campus on Thursday.
Noah said he wants to return to help the Gators repeat. By the way, Florida coach Billy Donovan left one of his assistants behind in Gainesville during what amounts to high season for recruiting. Why?
College kids change their minds sometimes, I suppose. Which is sort of the subject of today’s column.
I’m staring at messages from two different agents who wanted to know if I might have Noah’s phone number since I wrote a couple of columns about him from Indianapolis.
“We’re trying to reach him on behalf of a client regarding a lucrative endorsement opportunity,” one of them, a female who identified herself as Cheryl, said. “It’s for hair products. I didn’t know who to contact.”
So naturally, she called a bald sports columnist.
Despite having dropped 37 points on the Nets last night in Indy’s 107-95 Game 3 win, True Hoop’s Henry Abbot is shocked to discover that Jermaine O’Neal Is A Nerd.
Phoenix’s Mike D’Antoni and Shawn Marion each claim the Suns will need to run more against the Lakers tonight for Marion to fully thrive. MVP Nash, however, says “we’re losing the irreverence that’s important to our team.”
Hey, if you want irreverence, try watching this a few dozen times before tip-off.
A long time ago, I stopped reading Flea’s blog at NBA.com. Quite frankly, I was getting a migrane. Wizznutzz, as always, has the workload covered. He’s got an intern to do it for him.
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Posted in College Spurts, Racism Corner
at 4:21 pm
(cheer up, maybe there are some openings at Gawker Media?)
From Josh Centor’s recently launched Double-A Zone :
At its meeting in Indianapolis this morning, the NCAA Executive Committee, which is comprised of presidents and chancellors of NCAA member institutions, retained Illinois, North Dakota and Indiana University of Pennsylvania on the list of schools subject to restricts on the use of Native American mascots, names and imagery at NCAA Championships.Bradley was removed from the list and was placed on a five-year watch list due to the fact that the school had previously removed all Native American imagery associated with its athletics programs.
This was the second and final appeal for Illinois, North Dakota and IUP. The first appeal was rejected by a committee made up of NCAA staff members.
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Posted in Baseball
at 3:59 pm
That’s Babe Ruth’s daughter, Julia Ruth Stevens, re-enacting her dad’s “Called Shot” at today’s Brewers/Cubs game.
(far left, Bob Brenly, copping a feel….for baseball history!)
Hopefully, the Yankees will take a tip from this promotional stunt and invite Luis Gonzalez to wave to the crowd before a game against the A’s later in the year.
Bobby Howry, Scott Eyre and Scott Williamson combined for 3 scoreless innings in relief of Greg Maddux (6 IP, 2 ER, 6 K’s), with the Cubs winning, 6-2. Ronny Cedeno hit a 2 run HR off Milwaukee’s Dave Bush in the 5th ; Jacque Jones added a solo shot to left center off Justin Lehr in the 8th.
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Posted in skateboarding
at 3:27 pm
Thrasher publisher and Independent trucks founder Fausto Vitello died last weekend at the age of 59. Though Margalit Fox’s obituary in the New York Times would have you believe that Fausto was “revered by skateboarders” and the Godfather Of Gnarly, it should stressed that neither he nor the Thrasher empire were universally beloved.
(Glen E. Friedman on his tenure taking photos for Thrasher.)
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Posted in Basketball
at 3:08 pm
Former Cal-Berkeley hoops coach Todd Bozeman, former mentor to Jason Kidd and coming off an 8-year NCAA ban, has landed on his feet. If you can call being hired to rescue a team that just went 4-26 under Butch Beard landing on your feet.
From the Baltimore Sun’s Kevin Baker :
With phrases such as “new direction” and “turning point,” Morgan State athletic director Floyd Kerr introduced Todd Bozeman as the school’s 15th men’s basketball coach yesterday.
“Everybody says this is a sleeping giant,” said Bozeman, 42. “This is a tremendous opportunity.”
A Prince George’s County resident, Bozeman cited George Mason’s run to this year’s Final Four as an example of a smaller school being able to accomplish bigger goals. “That lets you know it’s possible,” he said.
Bozeman said he is relatively familiar with the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference from going to games, serving as a media analyst and his contact with coaches such as Fang Mitchell of Coppin State and Dwight Freeman of Norfolk State. But he said he will not model the program after any of his coaching adversaries.
“We want to be able to go as high as we can,” he said. “We want to build a house with brick and cement, not straw that the wind will blow away. But coaches don’t win, administrations do. We want to attract players with the courage Dr. Richardson has.”
As to his checkered past — which included becoming the youngest coach (29) ever in the NCAA Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in addition to the NCAA sanction — Bozeman attributed it to youth.
“It was tough because I felt like I let a lot of people down. As a youth, you don’t really understand that,” he said.
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Posted in Football
at 1:26 pm
No sooner did a portion of the UK’s talking skulls in the broadcast trade weigh in with the opinion that hiring Luiz Felipe Scolari was a blow to British managers, the current Portugal boss has decided to remove himself from consideration.
As the head hunt resumes, perhaps Middlesbrough’s Steve McLaren will again find himself amongst the favorites. ‘Boro erased a 3 goal aggregate deficit in yesterday’s 4-2 victory over Steaua Bucharest, punching a ticket to the UEFA Cup Final in Eindhoven on May 10. Despite a recent return from a thigh injury, Mark Viduka’s scored in this ridiculous come-from-behind win.
Middlesbrough, described as “kinda sucks” by international football expert the Mighty MJD back on March 18, have now made it to the UEFA Cup Final and the FA Cup Semi-Final in the same season.
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Posted in Basketball
at 12:56 pm
In addition to predicting Mike Brown’s strategy before tonight’s Cavs/Wizards Game 3 (”maybe Brown will insist James post up more often. Maybe he’ll simply clear out the paint and give James a thoroughfare of green, yellow and red lights to stampede through. Maybe he’ll focus his attention/strategy instead on defending Gilbert Arenas, who has notched 45 points in two games. Or maybe, just maybe, Brown will dictate that Zydrunas Ilgauskas is infinitely more involved than a skimpy 4-for-7 in Game 1 and 3-for-13 in Game 2.”), the New York Post’s Peter Vescey plays This Date In History.
This week marks the 20th anniversary of Chernobyl. For those younger readers in the audience, Chernobyl is the largest disaster in the history of the world not owned by Cablevision.
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Posted in Mob Behavior, Rock Und Roll
at 12:43 pm
Thanks to Paul Sommerstein for the heads-up on the hottest new holiday since National High Five Day, National Day Of Slayer.
Official Statement on Participation
Listen to Slayer at full blast in your car.
Listen to Slayer at full blast in your home.
Listen to Slayer at full blast at your place of employment.
Listen to Slayer at full blast in any public place you prefer.DO NOT use headphones! The objective of this day is for everyone within earshot to understand that it is the National Day of Slayer. National holidays in America aren’t just about celebrating; they’re about forcing it upon non-participants.
Taking that participation to a problematic level
Stage a “Slay-out.” Don’t go to work. Listen to Slayer.
Have a huge block party that clogs up a street in your neighborhood. Blast Slayer albums all evening. Get police cruisers and helicopters on the scene. Finish with a full-scale riot.
Spray paint Slayer logos on churches, synagogues, or cemeteries.
Play Slayer covers with your own band (since 99% of your riffs are stolen from Slayer anyway).
Kill the neighbor’s dog and blame it on Slayer.
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Posted in Gridiron, Sports TV
at 2:19 am
I wondered the other day what the NFL Network had planned for the morning of the NFL Draft, given ESPN’s massive commitment to the event. Showing my complete and utter ignorance of the sports TV industry (along with my inability to consult the fucking TV Guide), it turns out the NFL Network will be covering both days of this thoroughly non-entertaining event. From the NY Times’ Richard Sandomir.
After allowing ESPN to reap the rewards for carrying the draft since the presidency of Jimmy Carter, the N.F.L. will inaugurate draft coverage on its 30-month-old network tomorrow at 11 a.m. This is a coming-of-age moment for the NFL Network, which has 36 million subscribers.
ESPN and the NFL Network will be at Radio City Music Hall tomorrow and Sunday, their main studio sets mounted on platforms raised above orchestra seats usually reserved to watch the Rockettes dance. They will be 75 feet apart, but Eric Weinberger, the NFL Network’s executive producer, jokingly said angles would be scouted to ensure that ESPN’s Chris Berman was not in the background of a shot of Mike Mayock, an NFL Network analyst.
For the NFL Network, the question is how it will differentiate itself. The draft is, after all, formulaic programming: talk, wait for pick, watch clips, cover pick, analyze pick, interview pick, watch more clips, wait for next pick.
Weinberger said his goal was to show more of the draft atmosphere than ESPN usually had, to focus on how drafted players would project as pros, and not have its voices argue over who will draft whom. (The ESPN crew is adept at debating and having team officials occasionally bark at their conclusions.)
But in the end, the focus has to be on the formula. If anything sounds different, at least in Weinberger’s telling, it may be the presence of Corey Chavous (above), a St. Louis Rams safety who has developed an obsessive sidelight for an active player, amassing player tapes to evaluate their talent.
“It’s his hobby, his lifestyle,” Weinberger said. “We were amazed when we first saw what Corey did two years ago.”
Chavous jots player analyses in a notebook in a four-color code. “When Butch Davis saw it,” Weinberger said, referring to the former Browns coach who will assess the draft from NFL Films headquarters in New Jersey, “he couldn’t understand how the guy has time to do it.”
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Posted in Baseball
at 1:47 am
Baseball fans around the globe are thrilled this isn’t a story about Hideki Irabu.
From the Mainichi Daily News (link swiped from Repoz and Baseball Think Factory) :
“I’ve decided to take my uniform off at the end of this season.”
With these words, Nippon Ham Fighters outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo announced his plans to end one of the more unconventional careers in Japanese professional baseball.
What the fans at Tokyo Dome didn’t realize when 34-year-old Shinjo (above, left) told them on April 18 that he was removing his uniform, was that he was speaking literally, according to Shukan Gendai (5/6-13).
Many were shocked that Shinjo chose a mid-April date to announce his plans to quit — the season was only a few weeks old, after all — most say it’s characteristic behavior for the player nicknamed “Spaceman,” who’s as well known for his tendency to come out of left field (even though he’s a centerfielder) as for his baseball.
“It was typical Shinjo. I wasn’t surprised at all,” baseball analyst Takenori Emoto tells Shukan Gendai, regarding the sudden retirement. “I think part of the reason there was so much showbiz in the announcement was that the entire Pacific League seemed to be caught up in Shinjo and he was basically running wild, doing whatever he wanted to. He didn’t give a damn about his team as long as he looked good.”
“Actually, Shinjo’s thinking about releasing a collection of nude photos. Straight after he announced his retirement, the president of a major talent agency Shinjo is expected to join on his retirement called the player and said, ‘If you’re gonna do nude stuff, let me look after it for you.’ And, as a bit of an extra for his real fans, there’s also talk of Shinjo and his wife doing a nude shot together. If they don’t want to go all the way, it could be a shot of them in some pretty racy underwear. The Shinjos are a lot more appealing than David and Victoria Beckham,” Motoji Takasu, a publishing company producer, tells Shukan Gendai.
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Posted in Baseball, The Marketplace
at 1:03 am
The following two links are supplied by Ben Schwartz,
From Forbes’ John Rogers :
Trouble stalks Tribune ( 28, TRB ), another of my holdings. It has been hit with circulation scandals, weak ad sales and ugly ongoing tax litigation from its acquisition of Times Mirror (other-otc: TMMR.PK – news – people ), which could end up costing Tribune $850 million or more. Wall Street seems to have given up on Tribune, but I have not. The company has prestigious big-city papers like the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, 26 TV stations, the WGN Superstation and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. It also has valuable investments in CareerBuilder.com and the Food Network. The stock changes hands at a 41% discount to my estimate of intrinsic value.
From the St. Louis Post Dispatch :
And quicker than you can say, “Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance,” the Cubs’ famous double play combination, a Tribune spokesman on Thursday shot down any talk of selling the lovable losers.
“The Cubs aren’t for sale,” Tribune spokesman Jeff Reiter said. “It’s a great asset. It’s more than just a baseball team to us.”
Tribune bought the Cubs in 1981 for about $25 million. Not only is the team a draw at Wrigley Field, but its broadcasts pump revenue into the Tribune’s Chicago radio, television and newspaper properties. The Cubs are one of the few Major League Baseball teams directly owned by a publicly traded corporation.
Replies Ben,
Now that Tribco’s first quarter profits have dropped thru the floor, hopefully this will lead to something like the Mark Cuban buyout Cub fans hoped for last November.
To which I’ll add, if Cuban’s uninterested, there’s probably no shortage of suitable buyers and/or frontmen. Reggie Jackson. Deion Sanders. Or the dog-barbecue enthusiast who is unlikely to end up with the Nationals.
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04.27.06
Posted in Baseball
at 9:30 pm
Understatement of the young century (You Tube, on the off chance you haven’t seen this 10 times already).
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Posted in Basketball
at 7:35 pm
Which recently suspended member of the Denver Nuggets do you think coach George Karl is referring to in this item from the Denver Post’s Jim Armstrong?
“Guaranteed contracts. That’s the biggest difference, I guarantee you. What’s the word where they think they deserve it? Entitlement? They negotiate minutes before they perform and I’m like, ‘Your performance does most of the negotiating.’ That’s the way you should be as a competitor, but there seems to be more of that entitlement mentality. It’s like, ‘No matter how I play, I deserve to be out there.”
(back in the days when men had to earn their pay, etc.)
That was one heck of a guaranteed contract Herb Kohl gave Karl, come to think of it.
In yet another leak, Clippers GM Elgin Baylor is about to be named the NBA Executive Of The Year. Presumably, Billy Kupchak and Anucha Browne Sanders were not amongst the voters.
The Clippers will attempt to take a 3-0 lead in Western Conference playoffs against the Nuggets later tonight. The best thing about the series moving to Denver (and probably not returning to L.A.) is that the chances of further Jim Gray/Billy Crystal chats are greatly reduced. On the other hand, an Al-Queada strike at the Staples Center might take out Bill Simmons, so here’s hoping Carmelo and Marcus Camby have a big night
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Posted in Baseball
at 5:54 pm
From the AP :
Major League Baseball is not planning any celebration for Bonds if and when he tops Babe Ruth’s mark of 714 home runs, commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday.
“Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s record,” Selig (above, right) said. “We don’t celebrate anybody the second or third time in.”
Selig does not figure to be in San Francisco — or in Milwaukee or Philadelphia, where the Giants play next week — as Bonds nears Ruth.
“We celebrate records, that’s what we do. We’re being consistent,” Selig said during the Associated Press Sports Editors annual meeting with league commissioners. “There’s nothing to read into that.”
Ruth is second on the career home run list, trailing Aaron’s total of 755. When Aaron broke Ruth’s record in 1974, commissioner Bowie Kuhn was not in attendance. Kuhn’s absence rankled many, including Aaron.
Selig said he had read Game of Shadows but not seen Bonds on Bonds, the ESPN reality show about the slugger’s life.
I do, however, have it on good authority the Commish is a very big fan of MTV’s “My Super Sweet Sixteen” and rarely misses an episode.
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Posted in Baseball
at 5:18 pm
(once again, Google Image Search lets the side down)
From the Chicago Sun-Times’ Mike Kiley,
>Manager Dusty Baker sees the benefits in the group grope that has become the NL Central. Only the Pittsburgh Pirates are wallflowers, while the rest of the bunch clobber one another.
“That’s going to help us, hopefully, by stopping somebody from running off,” Baker said. “If you can keep them in sight, you can catch them. That’s helping us until we get our guys back, as long as we do our thing.”
Replies Ben Schwartz,
Group grope?” Mike Kiley, despite his Letter to Penthouse style coverage, isn’t wrong. The NL Central is turning into the most competitive division in baseball again. That the Cubs are still playing .600 baseball since Lee was hurt bodes well for the next couple of weeks — but I’m sick of the “if we can just hold on until ______ gets back” PR releases re injured starting players in Wrigleyville. They still haven’t said anything decisive about Wood or Prior yet, meanwhile, former Cub DL all-stars Joe Borowski (who beat us yesterday) and Nomar in LA are doing great.
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Posted in Gridiron, We Aren't The World
at 5:03 pm
The Toronto Sun’s Perry Lefko reports that the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts have expressed interest in suspended Miami Dolphins RB Ricky Williams.
In a barely related note, Mel Kiper Jr. was just on “PTI” and after some coaxing from the two hosts who are jealous of his hair, admitted that the Monday after the NFL Draft is sort of like his day after Christmas.
Which leads me to the terrifying question : is there a CFL version of Mel Kiper Jr.? And if there is, what are the odds that he looks like this?
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Posted in Baseball, General
at 4:45 pm
From the AP’s Ronald Blum :
Striking minor league umpires and management settled an unfair labor practice charge filed by the union after resuming bargaining this week following a layoff of 2 1/2 months.
Umpires, who have been on strike since the start of the season, claimed the Professional Umpire Development Corp. threatened to fire employees who went on strike.
“PBUC is required to post a public government notice in every minor league park in the country and mail the notice to all employees, informing the umpires, its employees, that it will honor their rights to engage in union activities, and that it will not threaten striking employees with discharge or other reprisals,” the Association of Minor League Umpires said in a statement Thursday.
Management made what it terms its final offer to the union on Jan. 31. Talks resumed with a federal mediator Wednesday in Cincinnati, and the union said there was no progress. Talks continued Thursday.
“We agreed to settle with no admission of wrongdoing,” management lawyer George Yund said. “The umpires are on strike over their demands for more money, not because of alleged unfair labor practices.”
Throughout the strike, minor league clubs have refused to identify the replacment umps. One of them, Ashville, NC’s Tim Bailey, is interviewed in today’s Ashville Citizen-Times by Keith Jarrett. Bailey says he’s not a scab because he’s not trying to take anyone’s job, but adds “I’m not going to turn down a chance to make money and do something I love. If I didn’t do these games, somebody else would.”
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Posted in Baseball
at 1:47 pm
People of Pittsburgh, don’t panic. Despite a 5-18 start and the growing sense that perhaps Jim Tracy is no more qualified than Lloyd McClendon, Pirates GM Dave Littlefield wants you to be patient. He’d also like it if you’d stop egging his car.
From the Post-Gazette’s Dejan Kovacevic :
“These are the guys we’re going to grow with, the guys we’ve spent the past few years drafting and developing and, in the case of some of the veterans, players we were able to get because we got some more revenue,” he said yesterday after the team’s seventh consecutive loss. “Will there be adjustments? Sure. You’ve seen we’ve had to make some based on injury. And I’m sure we’ll make more.”
Regarding young players, he continued to stress patience.
“In general, yes, we will give these players a chance. But each player has specific differences than others relative to their skill level or performance record in the past. You’re going to see young players, in general, struggle. That’s the norm. Rare is the Jason Bay that comes in and performs consistently at a high level.”
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Posted in Baseball
at 1:35 pm
From the Kansas City Star’s Jeffrey Flanagan :
The start of the O-Royals’ game on Monday was delayed five minutes, according to the Omaha World-Herald, because Omaha OF Kerry Robinson (above) had a chest muscle spasm in center field. Trainer Jeff Stevenson told the newspaper that the muscle spasm was triggered when Robinson was laughing at the antics of a youth team that was involved in a pregame promotion.
“Can’t we make up a better injury than that?” McGinn asked. “Can’t we say he pulled a muscle while taking extra batting practice or by lunging for a ball in the outfield or something? That (injury) is crazy.”
Robinson actually stayed in the game through the fourth inning, and contributed a single and a run scored. But the spasms continued, and he was forced to the clubhouse for treatment. The O-Royals were rained out Tuesday and had Wednesday off.
Omaha manager Mike Jirschele said by phone Wednesday that Robinson appeared OK on Tuesday and would have started.
Robinson, by the way, is hitting .351 with a team-high seven steals.
(More on Kerry’s illustrious history, from February, 2005)
The truth is, Robinson was really injured when watching internet video of Buddy Bell trying to put his uniform pants on. You Tube is gonna kill someone one of these days.
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