(Scrappy delivers the no-confidence vote ; Lidge has the presence of mind to avoid saying “fuck” on television)
Innocent-until-named-in-the LA Times Andy Pettitte pitched 7 strong innings, and a 9th inning throwing error by Atlanta’s Edgar Renteria provided what proved to be a crucial insurance run for the Astros. I don’t mean to bitch about the quality reportage of the Houston Chronicle’s Jose De Jesus Ortiz (after all, he’s on deadline and doesn’t have the benefit of reading his own stuff to see what’s he’s missed, nor can he simply cut and paste from the Houston Chronicle), but how do you not mention Phil Garner dissing Brad Lidge in favor of Dan Wheeler?
Congrats to the Sultan Of Sloth’s San Diego Padres and the DePodesta Free Zone that is Dodger Blue on each qualifying for the postseason earlier today. We’ll not know which of the pair has won the NL West and who will travel to Flushing as the Wild Card until Sunday’s games are done, but we are 100% certain the Phillies’ valiant late run has come to a close. Though a blown call on Chase Utley’s 3-run HR that wasn’t this past Tuesday cost Philadelphia dearly, perhaps calling up Cole Hamels sooner might’ve made a 2 or 3 game difference, too.
Roger Clemens, 44, one of professional baseball’s most durable and successful pitchers, is among six players accused by a former teammate of using performance-enhancing drugs, The Times has learned. The names had been blacked out in an affidavit filed in federal court.
Others whose identities had been concealed include Clemens’ fellow Houston Astros pitcher, Andy Pettitte, and former American League Most Valuable Player Miguel Tejada of the Baltimore Orioles.
The discovery ends four months of speculation surrounding the possible identities of Major League Baseball figures whose names were redacted from a search warrant affidavit filed in Phoenix on May 31. The document was based on statements made to federal agents by pitcher Jason Grimsley (above).
A source with authorized access to an unredacted affidavit allowed The Times to see it, but retained it to read back what had been blacked out of the public copies. A second source and confidante of Grimsley had previously disclosed player identities and provided additional details about the affidavit. The sources insisted on anonymity.
According to the affidavit, Grimsley told investigators that Clemens and Pettitte “used athletic performance-enhancing drugs.” He also said Tejada used anabolic steroids.
Clemens and Pettitte did not respond to requests for comment made Saturday through their agents and the Astros. Tejada had previously declined to be interviewed.
The affidavit also alleges that Grimsley told federal agents that his former Oriole teammates — Tejada, Brian Roberts and Jay Gibbons — “took anabolic steroids.” Roberts was the American League’s All-Star second baseman in 2005 when Grimsley was an Oriole.
All three Baltimore players declined to be interviewed. Roberts said he had “nothing to talk about” and didn’t know why Grimsley named him. A sixth player, retired outfielder David Segui previously came forward to say that his name was among those blacked out in the affidavit provided to the public.
Presumably, at least half of those persons who’ve demanded The Used Car Salesman suspend Barry Bonds and/or have his achievments denoted with an asterix in the Baseball Encyclopedia….will now apply the same standard to Jay Gibbons’ illustrious career. Who amongst us will be able to look at Gibby the same way?
Meanwhile, how’s that Mitchell investigation shaping up? Is that a rude question to ask, or can we look forward to Pugmire and Brown being imprisoned for digging up the information MLB can’t acquire?
…because he can’t stop blowing himself. (link courtesy Jason Cohen) Following Whitlock’s Scoop Jackson-bashing interview over at The Big Lead, the KC Star columnist found himself banished from Bristol U. Which, in a funny way, sets up his inaugural AOL column nicely. Well, other than the part where Whitlock’s bio declares “Jason Whitlock has the most unique, important and insightful voice in the world of sports.”
The place I just left (ESPN.com) and the place that just dumped me (ESPN television) still don’t have a clue about me. They think I’m like most sportswriters, fantasizing about being associated with the World Wide Leader and in love with the idea of being a TV celebrity.
No disrespect to ESPN, but I’m most in love with me and the opportunity to express who I am.
That’s why I’m here now. I’m here because I want to introduce you to Real Talk about the sports and entertainment world. There’s not nearly enough Real Talk in the media today.
We dance around issues. We take positions based on not-well-hidden agendas. We’re predictable. We conform to stereotypes. We choose sides according to skin color, political affiliation and friendships just to start an argument.
Not anymore. Not here. Not when it’s Real Talk.
I have big plans for us. We’re going to rule the sports and entertainment world and eliminate much of the stupidity that separates us or gets in the way of enjoying sports and entertainment.
There will be a major reduction in “bojangling for dollars,” which is the art of black men building television and movie careers by impersonating Al Jolson and Nat X at the behest of major networks.
I would list names here, but I want to give the Friends of Flavor Flav fair warning before taxing them for their embarrassing shticks.
Whether or not anyone in Boston’s front office feels vindicated reading the sad news below, I cannot say. Nor can I tell you how successful Omar Minaya’s recruitment of other free agents might’ve been had the Mets not brought Pedro Martinez into the fold. Without questioning Pedro’s tenacity one iota, it is only natural to wonder if we’ve not seen the end of his tenure as a frontline starter. From MLB.com’s Marty Noble.
The New York Mets announced Saturday that Martinez has a tear in the rotator cuff of his right shoulder and will require surgery to repair it. The prognosis is that he could be pitching again in eight months, meaning he is lost to the Mets until after the All-Star break next season.
The club received word of the injury Thursday but withheld public announcement until Saturday to afford Martinez time to decide whether he wanted to undergo surgery or rehab his latest maladay.
Martinez had said publicly that all his physical problems — the large toe on his right foot, his right hip, his right calf and his left calf — were below the waist. He gave no public indication of trouble with his arm. However, after learning of the rotator cuff tear, he told the Mets that he felt sensations that were new and unusal in his arm while pitching Wednesday night in Atlanta.
Observers, including former Pirates manager Chuck Tanner, had noticed almost immediately that Martinez had dropped his arm slot during his first start since returning.
Martinez barely completed the second year of a four-year, $53 million contract he signed in Decemeber 2004.
Steve Trachsel, scheduled to pitch the Mets’ season finale against the Nationals — Frank Robinson’s final game as DC skipper — has gone home to San Diego for “personal reasons” according to SNY’s Gary Cohen.
Newsday’s David Lennon with a story that should do wonders for the trade value of Lastings Milledge.
WASHINGTON – KNOW YOUR PLACE, ROOK!
The hand-scrawled message hung above Lastings Milledge’s locker after Friday’s 4-3 victory over the Nationals. At the bottom of the two sheets of paper was written, “Your Teammates.”
Milledge, as usual, ate dinner alone seated at his locker, facing inward, as the rest of the Mets crowded the clubhouse cafeteria. Someone had hidden Milledge’s street clothes, and one player thought they had been replaced by a dress.
The reason? According to one person familiar with the situation, Milledge – whose reputation is deteriorating quickly – mouthed off to a veteran teammate in Atlanta. Friday’s rebuke followed. Apparently, his teammates are becoming more and more annoyed by Milledge’s attitude.
“How much does it take to finally wake up?” the person said. “How long before you realize the way you’re acting is the opposite of how you should be acting? Fine. Stay asleep, then.”
Milledge shrugged when reporters asked him about the sign. When the questions continued, Orlando Hernandez waved them away in an effort to protect the rookie outfielder.
Though I’ve defended Da Edge in the past, I’ve just about had enough. For one thing, I’d like to blame the player for Omar Minaya’s inability to wave a magic wand and turn him into Barry Zito. For another, if he’s not gonna approve my MySpace friend request, fuck him. If Milledge is going to guard his MySpace friend list like so much cultural capital, he’s no real friend of mine.
After regular-season games at Shea, Bell waits for fans to clear out of the stadium before he heads for the elevated platform above Roosevelt Avenue. If the fans are still around, he puts on a shirt and hat given to him by security personnel at Shea so he looks more like a security worker and less like Heath Bell — not that Heath Bell is all that recognizable. He heads to the front of the station’s platform and boards the first car, aiming to avoid the crowd.
I, for one, would welcome any attempt by the player to “look less like Heath Bell” when he takes the mound for the Metropolitans. That said, this was a funny article, and I look forward to future tales of Mike DeFelice’s offseason plastic surgery. It might sound extreme, but I’m sure he’d like to be able to go to the mall or the post office without being mobbed.
What better role model for a youth football squad, than a former NFL linebacker who broke a teammate’s jaw, spat in an opponent’s face and was one of the more prominent BALCO clients? Or were they just not able to find Jack Tatum’s cell number? From last Wednesday’s SF Chronicle, as reported by Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross
Late in the game, one of the Lafayette kids tripped a Piedmont player — or so it apparently seemed to Bill Romanowski (above, background). People who were there say Coach Romo got in the face of the Lafayette seventh-grader, accusing him of playing dirty.
“That’s cheating, and you can’t win by cheating,”Romanowski told the boy, according to the mom of one of the Piedmont players.
“It felt inappropriate — but not scarily inappropriate,” said the mom, who didn’t want to be quoted by name
There were no video cameras filming Thursday’s action — no doubt if there had been, the footage would have shown up on the Internet by now.
Phil Mushnick will be thrilled to learn that Romo has joined Lawrence Taylor as celebrity spokesmodel for the v.2 of “Blitz : The League”.
The problems began when Silvio Danailov, the manager of the Bulgarian player, Veselin Topalov, the world’s top-ranked player, filed a written protest with the federation about the number of times his opponent, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, was retreating to his bathroom during the games. Mr. Kramnik is the No. 4-ranked player in the world. Before the protest, Mr. Kramnik led the match, 3-1, with 6.5 points needed for a victory.
Mr. Danailov said in the letter that the videotape of the area outside Mr. Kramnik’s bathroom captured him making more than 50 trips a game.
The federation reviewed the protest and determined that Mr. Kramnik was using his bathroom considerably fewer than 50 times a game. Still, the federation announced that it would lock the private bathrooms of the players. Instead, they would be required to use the same bathroom for the rest of the match.
Carsten Hensel, Mr. Kramnik’s manager, said the committee showed bias in favor of Mr. Topalov. He demanded that the members be removed and that their decision be overturned.
Furthermore, he said, the contracts signed by the players before the match stipulated that each would have a private bathroom. He said Mr. Kramnik made the frequent trips to the bathroom because he drinks a lot of water during games, and because Mr. Kramnik likes to pace and “uses the space of the bathroom.”
The letter concluded that Mr. Kramnik would not play unless the federation was “ready to respect Mr. Kramnik’s rights, in this case to use the toilet of his own restroom whenever he wishes to do so.”
Details of the fracas were described by Mikhail Savinov, one of the few reporters able to get to this remote area of southern Russia.
As the match began yesterday, Mr. Topalov sat down to play. But Mr. Kramnik went to his private area and sat down in his room outside of his bathroom, demanding that it be unlocked.
Mr. Kramnik refused to budge. He was given a letter from Mr. Ilyumzhinov in which the president said he supported the decision of the appeals committee and urged Mr. Kramnik to play, Mr. Balgabaev said.
Mr. Kramnik continued to sit in his room. After an hour, according to the rules of chess, the game was declared forfeited in Mr. Topalov’s favor.
Afterward, Mr. Savinov reported, Mr. Kramnik said at a news conference, “My dignity does not allow me to stand this situation.”
…this schmuck just save the Cardinals’ season. Thanks to Scott Spiezio’s 3 run triple to right with 2 out in the last of the 8th, St. Louis have clinched at least a tie for the NL Central. Houston’s remaining hopes rest on a win tonight over the Braves (recent Round Rock alumnus Chris Sampson taking the mound for the Astros), another victory on Sunday, coupled with Cards losses on Sunday and yet another in a make-up game against San Francisco Monday afternoon, thus requiring a one game playoff to decide the Division championship on Tuesday.
The SF Chronicle’s Henry Schulman reports that Lou Piniella is interested in the Giants gig, when (not if) Felipe Alou cleans out his office. Having spent a healthy chunk of my Saturday hearing Sweet Lou’s observations during Fox’s Brewers/Cards telecast, I am urging, nay, pleading with the Giants, Cubs, Nationals, Marlins, heck, anyone with a managerial vacancy, to make him an offer ASAP.
Randy Wolf got the quick hook in Miami earlier today, the Phillies starter lasting just 11 batters before Charlie Manuel had seen enough. Philadelphia is up, 4-3 in the top of the 7th, as they attempt to stave off elimination. They’ll need some help from the Giants, who are currently tied with the Dodgers, 1-1, in the 2nd.
I have to confess, the only reason I tuned in to see Harvard thrashing Lehigh (the Crimson are leading, 35-24 at the end of the 3rd quarter) was in the vain hope that John Sterling would be doing the play-by-play.
The next time I’m feeling bad about keeping up with the Parallelism website, I’ll just remember the awesome job Harvard’s A.D. is doing on behalf of the football team’s web presence.
Congrats to the University of Illinois’ Fighting Leitches on getting off the schneid, thus ending Michigan State’s 2006 season before the end of September.
LSU QB Jamarcus Russell has been carving up Mississippi State to the tune of 3 TD passes (18 for 20, 327 yards), as the Tigers hold a commanding 35-10 lead after 3 quarters.
No. 2 Auburn endured a late run by South Carolina, before slamming the door on the Gamecocks, 24-17. Sadly, home viewers were not treated to a sideline celebration of any sort from S.C.’s Cory Boyd (3 catches, 26 yards, 28 yards on 5 carries).
I’m right there with the Detroit Free Press’ Drew Sharp on this one : any storyline that ignores how badly Michigan State choked last Saturday night is a-ok with me.
Who has legislative oversight of Notre Dame when its coaches go wild?
Does the pope not immediately return Charlie Weis’ phone calls as punishment for conduct unbecoming a deity?
The fallout from Weis’ assertion that he was slapped by an unidentified player in that second-quarter sideline scrum last week against Michigan State crystallizes another significant advantage Notre Dame football has because of its lack of a conference affiliation: There is no governing body policing its program, leaving any investigative inquiries strictly up to the university’s discretion.
And, apparently, there’s no motivation from the university to look into the actions of those coaches on the Notre Dame sideline who threw Michigan State players away from the pile after the Spartans’ quarterback, Drew Stanton, sailed out of bounds and into some Irish players.
Weis’ insistence afterward that he was slapped (he didn’t directly accuse a Michigan State player of the act, but the intimation was evident) should have inspired more than just an indifferent shrug from Notre Dame.
I won’t be so bold as to call Weis a liar, but I would think Notre Dame would want some answers as to what occurred. If Weis’ claims were proved false, he should face disciplinary sanctions, just as a player would in a similar circumstance.
The hypocrisy is sickening.
Texas tailback Selwyn Young won’t be available for the Longhorns’ impending rout of Sam Houston State later this evening. Rhett Bomar won’t be suiting up for the visitors, either, but perhaps he can take the time to visit one of Austin’s more exclusive sportscar dealerships. Just to, y’know, compare notes.
From the Where Are They Now Dept. : Former Michigan QB / Yankees and Cowboys bust Drew Henson is toiling on the Vikings’ practice squad. Henson says he’s doing it for the love of the game, a sentiment another former great must truly empathize with.
As you might’ve read elsewhere Republican Rep. Mark Foley (FL) has resigned following allegations he a) sexually harrassed Congressional pages and b) engaged in the sort of instant messaging “have you ever been in a cockpit?” type banter so beloved by predators and aspiring wrestling promoters alike.
With Foley (above, left) facing prosecution under some of the same child protection laws he worked so hard to enact, the Sarasota Herald Tribune provides a bit of background on Foley’s unique career path.
At 23, he launched his political career with an appointment to the Lake Worth City Commission.
In 1990, he became that area’s Republican representative in the state House. Two years later, he moved up to the state Senate.
While a state senator, he fulfilled a longtime fantasy by briefly working as a roadie on an Allman Brothers Band tour.
Though I’m not a member of Foley’s constituency, I find the above passage far more disturbing than his hunting for teen cock online. What sort of a person fantasizes about being Dickey Betts’ guitar tech or Gregg Allman’s beard valet, and how could they be allowed to rise to such a position of influence?
Setting the standard of “the Kordoza Line” (ie. Kordell Stewart’s career passer rating of 70.7, “the point at which the mediocre are separated from the crappy starting quarterbacks”), Pro Football Talk serves up a rogue’s gallery of underachievers.
Last week, the K-Club included Packers quarterback Brett Favre (70.0), Dolphins quarterback Daunte Culpepper (69.2), Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe (68.0), Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell (67.7), Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme (61.5), Browns quarterback Charlie Frye (above, 56.0), Bucs quarterback Chris Simms (40.0), Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (38.7), Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer (38.6), Titans quarterback Kerry Collins (26.9), and Raiders quarterback Andrew Walter (19.0).
Through the third weekend of action, several of the guys have graduated, and Chris Simms has been knocked out due to injury. So here’s where they stand as of right now, focusing only on starting quarterbacks: Charlie Frye (68.1), Drew Bledsoe (68.0), Jake Plummer (60.6), Bruce Gradkowski (43.8), Kerry Collins (42.3), Ben Roethlisberger (34.3), Andrew Walter (19.0).
Byron Leftwich narrowly has avoided inclusion on the list with, you guessed it, a passer rating of 70.7.
I don’t mean to tell the New York Post how to conduct business, but Jeremy Shockey’s Friday column has been so boring, I’m tempted to believe he’s actually written it himself.
If anyone ever tries to convince you that football isn’t a violent sport just have them call Shenyang Ginde player Liu Jianye (not shown above) and have them ask his opinion on the matter. The teenager will miss the rest of the China Super League season after sustaining a split scrotum in a match on Monday when an opponent kicked him in the nether region.
Liu’s injury might be the second most gruesome to happen to a Shenyang Ginade player this season. In July, Guinea international Ousmane Bangoura lost sight in his right eye after his eyeball was ruptured by an opponent’s cleat.
The Cubs’ Michael Barrett was unavailable for comment.
After falling behind to Southampton earlier today, 1-0 on Jermaine Wright’s strike 2 minutes into the game, QPR have stormed back to take a 2-1 second half lead courtesy of goals from former Saint Dexter Blackstock and the immoveable object that is Ray Jones. The latter goal will likely be a candidate for year-end blooper reels, due to the laughable effort of Southampton keeper Kelvin Davis.
That said, I’m not tempted to start singing “John Gregory’s Blue & White Army”, partially because the gaffer has requested the Boss’ “Jungleland”.
In advance of his annual return trip to White Hart Lane tomorrow , former Spurs icon Sol Campbell, currently toiling for Portsmouth, has heard himself described as “the easiest defender I have played against,” by Tottenham’s Mido. A heck of a statement to make considering Spurs haven’t scored a league goal since August.
There’s a pair of terrific Premiership matches taking place on FSC and Setanta right this moment, respectively, Chelsea v. Aston Villa and Arsenal at Charlton. In the latter contest, Robin Van Persie just scored his 2nd goal, an absolutely vicious volley taken from just outside the penalty area. Things have been a bit on the chippy side at the Valley, which brings to mind the logical question, why is the delicious frozen treat known as the Chipwich so difficult to find in Southwestern U.S. supermarkets?
Shortly before SF’s Mike Stanton made a 9th inning hash of Noah Lowry’s competent work, allowing a pinch-hit single to the Dodgers’ Olmedo Saenz, followed by a run-scoring wild pitch, Tim Cook made use of modern technology to file the following reports from San Francisco.
I wound up with seats to see the Dodgers/Giants dustup at AT&T Park (currently 1-0 Giants, T4 1 on, 2 out w/ Lt. Dangle up). Anyway, for some unknown reason, I can’t take my eye off this human obstruction, my section’s usher lady.
Bottom 6th, 3-0 on Randy Winn’s first good at bat in a month, singling
home Eliazer Alfonzo. Winn just doubled off Aaron Sele to start the current frame.
2. In your experience, would you say that the “Medium” size would look funny on Earl Boykins (above), or someone who is an inch shorter than Earl Boykins, with extra juggs, and less black?
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Christa Min
Dear Christa,
The CSTB Customer Service Dept. is happy to hear from you.
Due to circumstances beyond our control, Cafe Press show a decided bias towards the hefty and/or lumbering. While our merchandise supplier does not offer the Hoody in size “S”, other products are available in dimensions more appropriate for those of modest height/weight.
Selling the naming rights to a season may be one of the next money-raising gambits by financier John Henry’s business savvy ownership group, the team’sspokesman, Charles Steinberg, confirmed.
That and selling the right to plaster corporate names and logos on homestands and series, too. The Sox marketing whizzes have already taken some batting practice here, selling two series sponsorships in the season’s waning days, including one to the state Lottery.
“It is a growth area,” Steinberg said. “It’s a good way to augment your revenue, without affecting ticket prices or threatening the ambience (of Fenway).”
St. Louis can increase their NL Central lead over Houston to 1 1/2 games if they’re able to hang on to a 8-3 lead over Milwaukee tonight. With Braden Looper in uniform, there’s no sure thing, of course. Houston’s 9 game winning streak came to a halt with a 4-1 loss to Atlanta, a game that might’ve been Roger Clemens’ final big league appearance (as we were reminded about 3 dozen times). Until his next one.
Facing a felony assault charge and still on probation for a 2002 assault, Bears CB Ricky Manning (above) struck a no-contest plea with prosecutors Tuesday to avoid a possible prison sentence in exchange for three years of probation. Manning, who also must attend 52 weeks of anger-management classes and do 100 hours of community service, maintained he wasn’t to blame for any injuries Soroush Sabzi may have suffered. ”Hopefully [the league] will be fair,” said Manning, who is subject to a fine or suspension for a violation of the personal conduct code. ”I don’t think I deserve a suspension, a harsh punishment. My story hasn’t changed. I said I walked away, and I’m still saying I wasn’t [involved].”
Manning entered the restaurant in the early hours of April 23 and says he asked Sabzi what he was doing working on a laptop computer.
”He responded to me aggressively,” Manning said. ”He told me to go ‘F’ myself. Come to find out later, the guys that he got into it with [after Manning says he left] were messing with him before I got there.
”So I got in the guy’s face and told him, ‘Don’t talk to me like that,’ and I did push him in the face. That’s the only thing that I did was push him in the head. I left it at that. I walked away from the situation. I thought it was done, and that was it.”
Manning claims that after he left, other patrons brawled with Sabzi, knocking him unconscious. Sabzi’s attorney, Aviv L. Tuchman, said his client tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee and suffers from post-concussion syndrome. Sabzi has filed a civil suit against Manning.
”[A jury] can say I conspired with those other guys that beat this guy up and because of my involvement, this guy got beat up,” Manning said. ”I just can’t risk that. I would rather put it all in my hands, be on probation, keep my nose clean. … I have to take anger-management classes when I don’t have an anger problem.
”Hopefully the NFL will be more active in this and not let people just take advantage of their players, because I was accused of something that I didn’t do.”
On the day it was revealed cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. had asked a man, “Are you a faggot?” before jabbing him in the head, do you know what the Bears were doing?
Publicly admonishing him for his insensitivity? Asking him why he was with a group of people who, according to a Los Angeles County probation report, called the man “gay,” “geeky,” “a [expletive] Jew” and a “faggot?” Voicing displeasure at having someone on their roster who apparently has trouble handling his anger?
They were taking a few media members to task for their criticism of running back Cedric Benson. They were analyzing film of the Bears’ on-field celebration after the Minnesota game to prove Benson had not been sulking, as several newspaper columns had implied. They were summoning at least one reporter to watch the Happy Cedric film to prove their point.
Bill Shankly is the man who kick-started the “50 years of tradition you can’t buy” that Liverpool fans are always screeching about on radio phone-ins and, with today marking the 25th anniversary of his death, it’s no surprise to hear that there was a run on black ribbon across Merseyside today – or that opportunistic scallies are now making a killing in the lucrative bootleg black-armband market.
A commemorative ceremony is being staged at Anfield today for Shankly, who famously led Liverpool to three League titles, two FA Cups and the Uefa Cup. But the Fiver would like to do its own small bit to mark the anniversary of the passing of the man loved so much by Liverpool Football Club that they ejected him from the training ground shortly after his retirement and asked him not to come back, leaving him harbouring no end of resentment and bitterness.
Of course these weren’t the only traits the Scot shared with your average Scouser. Shankly was also renowned for his famous “wit” – having peddled a mediocre line in observations that were only marginally less bland than the kind spouted today by Alan Shearer. Most often misquoted is that one about football being more important than life or death, but the Fiver’s favourite came when Shanks was asked what he thought about the team on the other side of Stanley Park. “There are only two teams in Liverpool,” he harrumphed. “Liverpool and Liverpool reserves.” No doubt he changed his tune when Liverpool showed him the door, forcing him to live out his dotage helping Everton’s youth team.
Perhap acknowledging the unparalleled prosperity experienced by the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League once they made Tommy Heinson and Don Cherry the public faces of their respective sports, MLB has chosen the fetching image above for their postseason campaign.
Frequent CSTB contributor David Roth broke thru to the rarified strata of Slate earlier this week, revealing that his former employer, Topps Inc. was not “a gum-scented, Willy Wonkafied dream palace.” But apparently, the gig had its moments.
My favorite was a card for the St. Louis Rams’ Harvard-educated backup quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick. The back text dealt with a question posed to him by his offensive line. Figuring that perhaps he’d covered this in Cambridge, they asked Fitzpatrick what would hurt more: getting kicked by a donkey or whipped in the face by an elephant’s trunk. Fitzpatrick went with the elephant slap. Bruce provided a source, and I checked it. All true.
Strangely, Lastnightsparty didn’t manage to cover the glittering event that was Can’t Stop The Bleeding’s ultra-exclusive 3rd Birthday Par-tay this past Wednesday night at Ludlow Street’s Max Fish.
Since the photos I took are about as blurry as my memory, you’re gonna have to settle for this one :
(Disclaimer : none of the above individuals actually attended CSTB’s 3rd Birthday Party. In fact, I have no idea who any of them are. But they appear to be enjoying each other’s company, and isn’t that the only thing that really matters?)
Sincere thanks to everyone who has contributed, advertised or webhosted CSTB since 2003.
I thought about thanking you, the lucky reader, but I grow weary of pandering. If you’re bummed about not receiving an invitation to this select event, buck up. There’s still time to purchase a commemorative t-shirt.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed suit accusing the University of Phoenix of discriminating against non-Mormon employees.
The legal action, filed this week in U.S. District Court in Phoenix, alleges the employment conditions at the private college were less favorable for these workers in regard to enrollment leads, tuition waiver grants and reprimands. In addition, three non-LDS employees in Arizona were transferred and one was fired in retaliation for complaining, according to the suit.
The lawsuit is seeking an injunction barring the university from discriminating based on religion and from retaliating based on complaints about unlawful practices; the institution of policies to provide equal employment opportunities for non-members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; a written apology; financial compensation and reinstatement for the affected employees; and unspecified punitive damages.
Billionaire investor and dot-com veteran Mark Cuban had harsh words Thursday for YouTube, the online site that lets people share video clips, saying only a “moron” would purchase the wildly popular start-up.
Cuban, co-founder of HDNet and owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, also said YouTube would eventually be “sued into oblivion” because of copyright violations.
“They are just breaking the law,” Cuban told a group of advertisers in New York. “The only reason it hasn’t been sued yet is because there is nobody with big money to sue.”
Surely YouTube’s present and future ownership could mollify Cuban by guaranteeing that no footage from “The Benefactor” would be uploaded to or downloaded from the wildly popular service?
In the wake of Pedro Martinez’ latest setback, Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal — failing to credit Omar Minaya for the Jorge Julio/El Duque trade, opines the Mets will greatly regret not making a move for Barry Zito.
Left-hander Tom Glavine is 40. Right-hander Steve Trachsel is 35. Right-hander Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez is believed to be significantly older than his listed age of 36. And now he’s the Mets’ Game 1 starter. Think maybe now the Mets regret keeping outfield prospect Lastings Milledge (above, left) when they could have traded him for left-hander Barry Zito before the July 31 non-waiver deadline?
Rest assured, A’s general manager Billy Beane would have made the deal, even though his team went on to win the AL West. Milledge’s stock has since fallen, and he never was more than a promising corner outfielder to begin with.
Zito, a potential free agent, might only have amounted to a two- or three-month rental. But the Mets would have had the resources to re-sign him — and his former pitching coach with the A’s, Rick Peterson, as a selling point. As it stands, there’s no Zito and no Pedro. The Mets are in trouble.
Even before the team announced Thursday that Martinez would not pitch in the postseason, one National League executive predicted that the team was a first-round knockout waiting to happen. If the executive was overstating the case, his forecast seems rather prescient in hindsight
Much as I can understand the panic surrounding Pedro’s indisposal, and without disagreeing with Rosenthal’s assertion that “The Padres boast the league’s best overall staff. The Astros, Phillies and maybe even the Dodgers all boast stronger rotations than the Mets,” I don’t think it is a stretch to claim the Mets have a better everyday lineup, and a far surperior bullpen to any of the clubs cited. But if we’re supposed to be terrified by the prospect of young arms like Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux or the Sultan of Sloth facing the Mets in the playoffs, by all means, why not just forfeit now and spare us the embarrassment?
Hot Foot helpfully points out that El Duque’s career playoff record is 9-3 (2.55 ERA) and Glavine has the second most starts in postseason history.
Beware The Curse Of Nelson De La Rosa. Newsday’s Bob Herzog delivers the baaaaaad news.
The other calf dropped on Pedro Martinez Thursday, ending a season of stress, strain and pain for the 34-year-old righthander.
The fragile Mets ace, disabled for a month with a strained right calf, was found to have a muscle tendon tear in his left calf, a new injury apparently suffered during his rough outing Wednesday night. The discovery was made after an MRI was taken in New York Thursday
Mets general manager Omar Minaya, in an impromptu press briefing at the rear of the press box at Turner Field last night, said that Martinez would be out 4-6 weeks. “He won’t be available to us for the playoffs,” Minaya said. “He won’t be able to pitch for us for the rest of the season.”
Instead, the worst season of Martinez’s career, statistically, now becomes the most difficult physically and it ends prematurely. Martinez finished 9-8 with a career-worst 4.48 ERA, pitching only 132 2/3 innings, the fewest he’s pitched since 2001 when he threw only 116 2/3 innings for the Red Sox.
Tom Glavine saw something positive in the initial news that Martinez wouldn’t pitch in Games 1 and 2. “There’s certainly been an amount of uncertainty,” is how he so aptly put it. “That’s gone now. There’s no more speculation. I’m not saying it’s a good thing that Pedro won’t pitch, but at least we know where we stand.”
El Duque had 9 K’s in 5 innings (3 hits, 0 earned runs) in his final tune-up start before the NLDS, as the Mets finally put some runs on the board, beating the Braves, 7-4. Carlos Delgado had a pair of doubles and 4 RBI’s, and Carlos Beltran’s 6th inning solo HR off Pete Moylan tied the club record of 41 in a season, a mark co-held by Todd Hundley.
The Cardinals’ lead in the NL Central is down to a half game ; St. Louis lost their 8th of 9 Thursday night, a 9-4 drubbing courtesy of the Brewers. Bill Hall teed off on losing starter Jason Marquis, who only managed to retire 6 of the 15 Milwaukee hitters he faced.
After a lengthy rain delay, the Phillies risk falling a further half game behind the Dodgers, as they trail the Nationals, 3-1 through 6 innings. Saul Rivera pitched a scoreless 7th for the Nats, inducing Chris Coste to ground into a 6-4-3 double play, then retiring the oughta-be-retired Abraham Nunez. I’m not sure how many people are left in the DC stands at 1:38am, but I’ve watched louder country cricket matches. Not many, mind you.
Tribune executives got more bad news today as a Federal judge has ruled that Trib shareholders cannot sue Trib Media itself — they have to target the executives. The Judge, perhaps a Cub fan, is insisting the Trib corporation itself sue its own directors, too. In other words, this time its personal.
Re-aligning the Chicago-based company with the stockholders and against the directors — some of whom also live in Illinois – - meant the case could not be heard in federal court. The stockholders are not barred from re-filing in state court.
Second-quarter profit at Tribune fell 62 percent, increasing pressure on FitzSimons and the others to break up the company, which owns the flagship Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, New York-based Newsday, several TV stations and the Chicago Cubs baseball team.
Meanwhile, a “slimmer and trimmer” Kerry Wood (read: his low carb, no-steroid diet is working?) refused to meet with Cub beat reporters face to face. I’m guessing his arm is too weak to point and say, “Yes, you in the back, you have a question?” So, he appeared on Tribune-owned WGN radio to say he felt an “obligation” to return to Wrigley in 2007. In what capacity I cannot imagine, since even Trib paperboys have to be able to toss the paper from their bikes to the front porch.
Wood (above) declined a request to talk with Cubs beat reporters, but told WGN-AM 720 on Wednesday he has an “obligation” to return in ‘07 and feels “there is something to prove.”
The Cubs are not planning to exercise Wood’s $13.5 million option, and will buy it out for $3 million. But general manager Jim Hendry already has said he would like to have Wood back as a reliever, so all that remains to be decided is what kind of an incentive-laden deal can get it done.
“It’s obvious Jim and myself have to sit down and discuss that,” Wood said. “I know I haven’t given this organization or the fans or this team what they paid for two, three years ago. As a player, you feel—you don’t want to say ‘guilty’—but you [don't] feel like you’ve done your job and earned your money and gone out and done what you’re supposed to do.
“There’s an obligation there, absolutely. This organization has given me everything I have and gave me a chance to play baseball and they drafted me. There’s definitely loyalty here. I love Chicago, I love the fans, I love the stadium, I love Wrigley Field. I love everything about the situation I’m in.
Wood loves the situation he’s in? I think the only guy whose ever gotten a better ride out of baseball is George Bush.
2 HR’s, 9 RBI’s for LA’s James Loney this afternoon at Pete Coors Field. Don’t tell Clint Hurdle’s G-d, but I think the humidor is broken.
Neither a 3 1/2 hour rain delay, nor the Pirate bats were much match for Houston’s Roy Oswalt earlier today. The Astros’ ace whiffed 6 over 7 shutout innings, as Houston won its 9 consecutive, 3-0. St. Louis’ lead in the NL Central is now down to a mere half game, with the Cards sending Jason Marquis (14-15, an era somewhere between 5.79 and 30.00) to the hill against Milwaukee in about 90 minutes.
Calling Ron Artest’s forthcoming ‘My World’ “the greatest album in the history of rapping basketball players,”, Slam Online’s Sam Rubenstein predicts “David Stern will try to have the album pulled from the shelves before Thanksgiving (Hater).” (link courtesy taken from True Hoop)
The first song on the album after the opening skit is called “Haters.” Here are some quotables from that song:
“I admit I used to smoke before games.”
“Hit the liquor store at halftime.”
“David Stern! Damn, David Stern. I gotta teach you bout the ghetto there’s some things you should learn.”
“Matt Lauer, up on NBC. You look like a girl don’t talk to me.”
Three minutes into the album. This is f’ng amazing already. Nowadays I’m kind of leery of beef for the sake of beef, but Ron had some stuff to get off his chest, and he does.
With all due respect to Sam’s hip hop credentials, I’m waiting for the thumbs up/thumbs down from DJ Fuckensuck before purchasing the album.
A northern Michigan school district is canceling its football season because adults don’t want the members of team – which hasn’t scored a point all season – to risk getting hurt.
But Lansing-area schools that have suffered through losing streaks say Oscoda Area High School’s decision to throw in the towel sends the wrong message.
“The message you’re telling the kids is that when it gets tough, you’re giving up,” said Eaton Rapids football coach Randy Taylor, whose team went 0-9 last season.
Oscoda coach Kyle Tobin said the team was not physically competitive, had too few players and faced a tough schedule in the North East Michigan Conference.
We have to remember playing sports in high school is a privilege, not a right. Students are there for an education, not a college athletic scholarship.
When these football players look back on this decision in the years to come, they will realize it was the right decision.
Sometimes, the right decisions are the hardest to make.
Indeed, there is a time and place for the ritual humiliation of weaker male athletes. That time is every weekday afternoon, and the place is Long Island.
A bronze bust of former Kansas City Royals third baseman George Brett (above) has apparently been stolen from outside the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, 3861 E. Stan Musial Drive, a Greene County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said today.
Museum officials noticed the bust was missing today but think it was probably taken some time over the weekend, Sgt. Rick Mallory said.
Mallory said the bust was worth about $15,000, but he didn’t know how heavy it was.
“That’s got to weigh a lot, but not necessarily so much that one person couldn’t carry it off,” he said.
The Nationals are planning to tell manager Frank Robinson on Thursday that he will be not return to the club in 2007, a baseball source said after Wednesday’s game against the Phillies.
Another source said the front office, which includes general manager Jim Bowden and team president Stan Kasten, has yet to set up a meeting with Robinson. Bowden did not reply to an e-mail and Kasten declined to discuss Robinson’s situation when approached by MLB.com.
Robinson’s contract expires at the end of the year, and the veteran skipper has been waiting for weeks to learn about his future. Robinson was hoping to manage the Nationals for another three years, but a second-half collapse in 2005 — after being in first place before the All-Star break — and a subpar season in 2006 has put him on thin ice with the organization.
While Terrell Owens’ publicist boldly claimed yesterday that her client “has 25 million reasons to live,” (yeah, tell that one to Kurt Cobain), the Dallas WR’s personal trainer paints a far different picture in this morning’s Dallas Morning News.
(Mendlebaum?)
“A lot of things were coming to a head anyway, and then this happened,” said James “Buddy” Primm (above) , 55, who until earlier this month, had been living with Owens in his loft on Commerce Street, in the shadow of Fair Park.
Primm said Owens underwent two traumatic events Monday involving his 7-year-old son and his fiancée, a woman he has dated for three years.
Owens’ son, from a previous relationship, celebrated his birthday Monday, Primm said. Owens was distraught, he said, about not being able to be see the boy, who lives in California.
“He wanted to get together with the boy,” Primm said. “But the boy could not come here, and Terrell could not go there.”
Then hours later, a woman whom Primm described as Owens’ fiancée broke off the relationship. Primm declined to give the woman’s last name but said she and Owens had been dating for three years. She also lives in California.
“That’s been coming on forever,” Primm said of the breakup. “She’s not a bad girl. She’s cool, she’s fine. He said, ‘Can I take a break from the engagement?’ And she said, ‘No, let’s just put a stop to it.’ And that was a complete surprise to Terrell.”
Owens “doesn’t have many friends,” said the trainer, who contends that the public and news media have long misperceived a man he considers “a gentle soul” and a “caring, highly sensitive” individual with a fragile psyche.
While recapping the horror show that was Pedro Martinez’ latest start, a gruesome display in last night’s 13-1 loss at Turner Field, the New York Times’ Ben Shpigel examines the Mets’ playoff rotation options. Looks like everyone not named Heilman or Lima has a shot at starting.
Willie Randolph had already prepared Tom Glavine and Orlando Hernández for the possibility of starting Game 1, but he must decide almost immediately. Since he is scheduled to pitch Thursday, Hernández would be in line to pitch Game 1 either Tuesday or Wednesday.
Asking Glavine to pitch Game 1 would require him to miss Saturday’s scheduled start, and he would need to change his routine. Steve Trachsel will almost certainly get a postseason start and John Maine, once in danger of not making the playoff roster, is a near-lock now, too.
Unfortunately for them, the Mets are no longer operating in a vacuum where Martínez is their greatest and sole concern. His disintegration Wednesday coincided with the team’s freefall, a miserable stretch of 10 losses in 13 games that has dropped their September record to 11-15. For the Mets to avoid not having a winning month for the first time this season, they must win their final four games. Right now, that seems impossible, even with playing the final three at last-place Washington.
Since I’ve taken no small pleasure in their recent woes, I’d be remiss in not mentioning the other NL club heading for the finish line with even less momentum than the Mets might’ve saved their season last night, thanks to some late heroics from Albert Pujols. The results at Nuevo Busch, however, didn’t provide Tuesday’s most tension-filled moments (outside of the CSTB birthday bash), said honor going to the Phillies’ marathon win at RFK, a conclusion seemingly witnessed by a few thousand Philadelphia fans and hardly anyone else.
Dusty Baker isn’t the only Trib employee wondering where they’ll land next season, as an apparently chipper Trib CEO Dennis FitzSimons dropped in on his “Baltimore Sun” staff to let them know he holds their work in even less regard than Kerry Wood’s arm:
Witnesses said that FitzSimons (above) had a conversational tone and even cracked a couple of jokes that went over surprisingly well, despite at least one staffer suggesting that the company sell the Chicago Cubs instead of its newspapers and television stations. FitzSimons responded by noting how much the value of the Cubs franchise has grown in recent years.
Uh, “grown?” I’ll check my Baseball Encyclopedia, which is just chock full of Cub post seasons stats from “recent years,” but the sad thing is only the Cubs could “grow” and finish dead last in their division. And how nice of FitzSimons to shrug off firing suggestions of firing the worst team in baseball over the “Sun.” Anyway, FitzSimons’ Don’t Fix It If It Ain’t Broke attitude explains a lot about his stewardship of The Tradition. At least Phil Rogers has something on his mind other than Dusty — booting Jim Hendry and Andy MacPhail. Go, Phil, Go …
If injuries explain a 94-loss (and growing) season, then why does that explanation excuse the two guys above the manager but not the manager? Hendry was under pressure in the winter and made some shaky moves. He never will complain about anything, but where was MacPhail when Hendry needed help?
Where was MacPhail to help him defuse the Baker-Steve Stone mess down the stretch in 2004? Cooler heads should have prevailed on that one, especially since the melodrama played out as the Cubs were falling out of the playoff picture? Where was MacPhail when the Cubs were planting the seeds for the mess that would be their 2006 season?
ESPN’s Rich Bucher describes Wells as “the last significant free-agent talent on the market.”
Which, I suppose, is Bucher’s roundabout way of saying Keith Van Horn is not a significant talent.
Recovering motorsports enthusiast Jay Williams is expected to sign a deal with the Nets later today. Though the contract is non-guaranteed, it’s a fair bet that no matter how this relationship plays out, it should prove slightly less fatal than the last time New Jersey had a player with a very similar name.
(UPDATE: Houston 6, Pirates 6, as Eric Bruntlett’s RBI single with two out in the top of the 9th transfered the hook from Jason Hirsh’s jaw to that of Salmon Torres)
(UPDATE DOS : Phillies 6, Nats 5. A blown save for Flash in the last of 9th, but Philly’s rebounded against Flatcap Chad)
For the 2nd time in his last three starts, Pedro Martinez failed to make it past the 3rd inning, allowing 7 earned runs on 8 during a miserable 61 pitch outing, one marked by HR’s served up to Brian McCann and Jeff Francouer. Atlanta’s ahead 13-1, and scorelines like this are becoming brutally familiar to the Mets in September.
Grim numbers from the AP’s game summary : “Martinez has a 16.97 ERA over his last four starts, giving up 22 hits and 20 earned runs in 11 2-3 innings.” Even Hayden Penn shuddered while reading the above.
Four words the suffering baseball fans of St. Louis really didn’t need to hear on this or any night : “Now pitching, Braden Looper.” Though in all seriousness, the introduction of San Diego’s Chris Young oughta give the rest of the league genuine pause. He’s been almost untouchable in his last two stints.
The Yankees, currently engaged in stat-padding mania at the Stadium versus the O’s, passed the 4 million mark in home attendence this evening. Clearly, the Bronx is far too dangerous a place for the Mushnick family to spend a night out.
Claiming the Phillies’ Pat Burrell “looks so miserable, you have to think it would be a mercy killing for Charlie Manuel to pull the plug on his season,” the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Phil Sheridan would like to see Burrell benched “ASAP, stat and PDQ – before the Dodgers or Padres are spraying champagne to celebrate their wild-card clinch.” (link swiped from Repoz and Baseball Think Factory)
With righthander Ramon Ortiz starting for the Washington Nationals, the lefthanded David Dellucci would have made perfect sense. As it was, Manuel dropped Burrell to the sixth spot, after Jeff Conine.
It didn’t help. Burrell struck out with runners on first and second in the first inning, helping to douse a potential big rally after just two runs. After a single in the third, Burrell came up in the fifth with one out and runners on first and third.
He struck out on three pitches: foul ball, foul ball, flail at an outside pitch – just as it says in the How to Strike Out Pat Burrell pamphlet available in every major-league clubhouse.
In the eighth, with the Nationals out of lefthanded relievers, Manuel let Burrell lead off. He popped weakly to second base. Lefthanded pinch-hitter Randall Simon immediately drilled a single to left off reliever Jon Rauch.
“Pat hit some balls hard,” Manuel said after the 4-3 loss dropped the Phillies a game down in the wild-card race. “My options there are Pat, Conine and Dellucci. I’m going to match them up. Pat had some pretty good numbers against the guy tonight.”
Burrell was 2 for 5 lifetime against Ortiz, with two singles and two walks. Dellucci was 1 for 3 but had struck out twice against Ortiz. So those are the numbers.
As the story crosses from the comic to the tragic and back again, on the bright side, at least Mike Vanderjagt is under a bit less scrutiny.
Bob Ley, not given to overstatement, introduced Chris Mortensen today as “someone with more NFL contacts than any human alive.” I’d be pretty keen to meet the dog, chimp or dolphin that has a better hookup than Mort.
Chicago White Sox : Frank Thomas. Not a poor choice necessarily, but the timing couldn’t be worse for 3rd place Ozzie considering the Big Hurt played such a crucial role in Oakland’s latest AL West crown.
Washington Nationals : Gary Carter. Granted, two years in DC isn’t enough time to properly recognize the Nats, but Montreal isn’t exactly the same hometown. The Senators’ legacy should’ve been considered (resulting in Gwen Virdon as Washington’s representative).
Tampa Bay Devil Rays : Wade Boggs. Al Leiter feels it is far too early for Scott Kazmir to win such a prestigious award.
Promising that “any day now, Michael Vick is going to find that he’s lost a step and some hungry young linebacker who wants a highlight on ESPN can now catch up to him a split-second before he makes it out of bounds,” The New York Sun’s Allen Barra hails the pure ability of Atlanta’s QB, but warns “it’s about time to wonder whether Vick will ever fulfill his potential or, maybe more to the point, if football is the sport his potential is really suited for.”
This is Vick’s sixth season; the closest he has come to winning anything substantial is second-round playoff losses in 2002 and 2004. He is almost certainly what most football commentators call him: the most exciting player in the league. But that is largely because he is so wildly inconsistent and, therefore, unpredictable. The Falcons’s offensive coordinator, Greg Knapp, has come under much fire for his inability to produce an effective offense with a talent like Vick to lead it. But how can you be a good coordinator with a quarterback who wants only to improvise?
His 2005 NFL passer rating was just 73.1, good for 25th in the league, and his career rating of 76.1 is considerably less than mediocre. If you don’t understand or trust the NFL’s passer rating, go with simple stats: Vick has played 63 NFL games and has completed less than 55% of his passes, which means he misses nearly as often as he connects. He is only 20% more likely to throw a touchdown pass than an interception, and in the all-important stat of yards per throw, he’s at just 6.7, which has put him in the bottom half of the league’s passers since 2001.
How bad are things looking for Vick after Monday’s loss to the Saints? So poor, that I hear Matt Leinart’s about to become the starting quarterback in those Briscoe High commercials.
The spectre of Philly’s 1964 collapse (5 1/2 up with 13 games remaining) was raised yesterday in relation to St. Louis’ modern tailspin (7 games dropped in a row, and counting). No telling if Tony La Russa will attempt to have Chris Carpenter (above) close the day after a start, or perhaps try to put Albert Pujols in the batting order two or three times, but clearly things are getting desperate. From Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.
Carpenter isn’t scheduled to pitch again for the Cardinals until the season finale on Sunday. Right-hander Jeff Suppan, Saturday’s starter, has a 2.59 ERA in four starts this season against the Brewers. But the Cardinals’ bullpen, without injured closer Jason Isringhausen, is a disjointed mess.
As of now, rookie right-hander Anthony Reyes would start Monday’s game against the Giants, if necessary, and right-hander Jason Marquis would start Tuesday’s potential playoff against the Astros.
That’s right, Jason Marquis, whose 5.80 ERA is the highest in the National League among pitchers with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title.
Are we having fun yet?
While Astros manager Phil Garner probably has saved his job by leading another second-half rally — this one is occurring rather late even by the Astros’ usual heart-stopping standards — La Russa is threatening to become a latter-day Mauch.
It’s understandable that La Russa stuck with Carpenter for a season-high 122 pitches Tuesday night, given the state of the Cardinals’ bullpen. But Carpenter blew a 5-2 lead in the Padres’ four-run seventh, and another defeat Wednesday night will give the Cardinals their third eight-game losing streak of the season.
While recent injuries to Isringhausen, left-hander Mark Mulder, shortstop David Eckstein and center fielder Jim Edmonds clearly have had a major effect, La Russa’s intense, demanding style surely would come under scrutiny if the Cardinals failed to win the division.
Of course, there would be plenty of blame to go around.
General manager Walt Jocketty, whose contract recently was extended, failed to make an impact move before the July 31 non-waiver deadline, adding only right-hander Jeff Weaver and second baseman Ron Belliard.
And ownership reduced the Opening Day payroll from $92.1 million last season to $88.9 million this season, in part due to the debt it incurred by financing much of the new Busch Stadium.
According to the Dallas Police Department incident report, Terrell Owens told police he took more than 30 pills in a suicide attempt.
Sources tell CBS 11 News Owens was taken to Baylor Hospital by Dallas Fire Rescue and that emergency room doctors attempted to induce vomiting.
Baylor Hospital officials continue to deny Owens received treatment, however, federal privacy laws allow people to block their name from being released.
I’ve not had a chance to check out some of my favorite sports blogs this morning, but I trust this story is being handled with the kind of sensitivity it deserves.
Of course, most people who work with Bill Parcells merely contemplate suicide.
Terrell Owens was taken to the emergency room for an undisclosed reason Tuesday night, and doctors treating the Dallas Cowboys receiver were trying to induce vomiting, according to a television report.
Owens was brought by a fire rescue crew to Baylor Medical Center, Dallas-Fort Worth television station KTVT reported, citing sources the television station did not identify. A reporter for the station later said she saw Owens being wheeled down the hall.
ESPN’s Ed Werder is reporting the Cowboys’ WR had an adverse reaction to medication he’s been taking following his recent surgery. Not sure what method they’ll employ to induce the vomiting, but this might work.
(DC’s Ryan Zimmerman, doubling off Big Bully Brett Myers in the 3rd)
Nationals 3, Phillies 2 (middle of the 6th)
It cost me a mere $3 USD to see Ramon Ortiz duel Brett “I Kissed Her But It Felt Like Spousal Battery” Myers, a great entertainment value even if the security guards couldn’t direct me to Wizznutzz’ luxury box.
How did Joe Theismann manage to make RFK’s Washington Hall Of Stars banner, while neither Pentagram nor Mark Robinson made the cut? Hopefully the Nats’ new ownership group will look into this.
Chase Utley and Ryan Howard have a pair of singles apiece. There have been repeated “MVP” chants for the latter, as RFK is filled with dudes sporting Steve Carlton, Lenny Dykstra and Mike Schmidt jerseys. No Kruk Kustom models, however.
I don’t grasp the relevance of ZZ Top’s “Tush” as Billy Traber’s warm-up music. At moments like this, I could really use Todd Jones on speed dial.
(UPDATE : Nats 4, Phillies 3. As mentioned by Chuck Meehan in the comments below, Philly was royally jobbed when a 2nd inning 3 run HR by Chase Utley was ruled a foul ball, despite replays showing otherwise. The loser of every argument this century, Charlie Manuel, vented.
“Somebody’s got to see it. And I want to tell you something — the … umpire has to see it, too. We play all year long and we’re trying to get somewhere and all we need is for somebody to miss a call like that. It’s terrible. It’s absolutely unreal. But at the same time … we could’ve scored more runs and we didn’t.”
I’ll tell you what’s absolutely unreal, Charlie. That Screech is so fucking aloof in person. Doesn’t MySpace friendship mean anything anymore?)
(the Hooded Casanova had no answers for the Pseudo Snake or Javon Walker the other evening)
Calling the Patriots, “just another mediocre group that can’t score,”, the Providence Journal’s Bill Reynolds surveys the wreckage of New England’s lopsided Sunday night loss to the Broncos and wonders if “you can’t keep losing quality players and quality coaches without eventually paying some price, however great an organization is?”
The Patriots’ mystique, and the inherent message is that it almost doesn’t matter who you lose off the team, because someone else can get plugged in and the beat still goes on, uninterrupted. So guys come and guys go, but the team rolls on. Charlie Weis goes. Romeo Crennell goes. Eric Mangini goes. But the team rolls on.
That’s always been the unofficial line, anyway. Lawyer Milloy goes. Damien Woody goes. Ted Johnson goes. Willie McGinest goes. David Givens goes. Adam Vinatieri goes. Deion Branch goes. Other guys get plugged in. Nothing changes.
Until, of course, it does.
Until the Broncos come in to Gillette Stadium, in what was billed as a big revenge game, and beat the Patriots.
Until you look at the Pats and they seem somewhat diminished.
At least they were Sunday night.
And it’s more than that the Broncos beat them on two big pass plays. Or that for the second straight game they had a field goal blocked, a sign of a team out of sync. It’s more than the fact that they had only 50 yards on the ground, or gave up too many third-down plays to the Broncos, sure signs of a struggling team. It’s even more than the fact that Brady had to throw 55 times, a sure sign of trouble. Or that the only time he really was able to move the team was in the no-huddle drive in the fourth quarter against a prevent defense.
It’s that they seemed decidedly ordinary.
Floating, then refuting a conspiracy theory even Richard Belzer would find farfetched, Pro Football Talk raises the possibility the NFL leaned on the Texans to pass on Reggie Bush in last June’s draft. The league’s motivation being the touchy-feely-good story that took place in New Orleans last night, and what Reggie Bush might mean to the Saints franchise long-term. In return, outgoing Texans GM Charley Casserly would find himself with a cushy NFL job.
Anyhow, PFT says there’s nothing to it —- they doubt Casserly could keep his mouth shut about such a secret deal, and can’t understand why Houston wouldn’t have traded down if such a plan was in place. Some of us can’t understand why they didn’t trade down anyway if there was no intent to take the draft’s most glittering prize.
It was explained on ESPN today that Bush has done so many wonderful things for the N.O. community (ie. having his advisors lean on sponsors for relief donations), that any accusations of wrongdoing while at USC have received scant attention locally. Perhaps Mario Williams should make a donation or two, just to be on the safe side.
The Gunners find themselves 2 points ahead of their Champions League Group G rivals tonight, courtesy of a Thierry Henry strike and subsequent Alexander Hieb goal, neatly set up by Henry and Williams Gallas.
Much as I wish that was the day’s biggest soccer story, a source no less reliable than Sharon Osbourne claims former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson is having trouble selling his £2.6million Regents Park home. If potential buyers aren’t put off by the glass toilet, they might have a problem with the naked portrait of Nancy Dell’Olio. Presumably said portrait could be removed, but the notion of Nancy’s visage being so terrifiying that Ericksson was forced to shave several hundred thousand pounds from the asking price proved irresistable to The Sun.
Volquez fell to 1-6 for the season, 1-10 for his career, but the really ugly number is his career ERA, which is 9.20 for 14 games (11 starts). Since 1900, no pitcher with at least 10 career starts has finished with an ERA of nine or higher.
The Rangers don’t expect Volquez to finish with such unattractive numbers, either. But in two short auditions over the last two seasons, he’s seemed to be overwhelmed by major league hitting.
“He’s had one or two good outings,” manager Buck Showalter said. “He just didn’t have much to defend himself with today. But the good ones figure it out. If he’s got the stuff and the moxie to pitch up here like we think he does, he will figure things out. This is a learning experience, but only if he learns from it.”
Often, he’s gotten himself in trouble with walks, but that wasn’t the problem Monday. He threw strikes. It’s just that the Angels crushed them.
He allowed a one-out single to Orlando Cabrera in the first, then threw a meatball to Vladimir Guerrero. His ringing two-run homer put the Rangers behind. They stayed there all night.
In the next two innings, Volquez was troubled by being unable to finish things off.
He got the first two outs in the second, then allowed a single to No. 9 hitter Chone Figgins. Figgins stole second and scored on a single by Maicer Izturis.
In the third, he allowed three consecutive two-out singles, the last by Howie Kendrick to account for another run.
When he started the fourth by giving up a homer to Figgins, manager Buck Showalter sprinted out of the dugout to make a pitching change. The short evenings have been another disturbing trend in Volquez’s brief career. He’s failed to make it through five innings in eight of his 11 starts; he’s pitched more than five just once.
The Rangers could pitch Volquez in Sunday’s season finale against Seattle, but Showalter was leaning toward giving that start to Robinson Tejeda, who pitches today. Volquez could pitch in relief in that game in an effort to give him some kind of positive finish to this season.
Right now, almost anything would represent progress. Anything, that it is but more runs.
The Nation’s Dave Zirin finds the “bombastic…hyper-caffeinated, volume-eleven foghorn,” Stephen A. Smith grating when the ESPN2 host is howling on “Quite Frankly..”. In another setting, however, Zirin considers Smith to be a a voice of sanity (link courtesy True Hoop).
Imagine my shock after seeing Stephen A. on a recent CNN Live Event Special debating the future of the Middle East, oil consumption, the war in Iraq, energy alternatives and other issues. The shock was not that Stephen A. could hold his own. It’s that his voice of perpetual disgust and alarm seemed oddly appropriate and satisfying when discussing US foreign policy.
Radio America’s Ben Ferguson, whom I have never heard of but who seems to be to the right of Attila the Hun, said, “We’re so worried about being politically correct, we don’t want to offend anyone, and say we’re going back to the ’60s or ’50s or whatever it may be, because that’s what people say. If you profile people, you’re being racist. No, I’m racist towards terrorists and if you fit the profile of a terrorist, then I don’t like you.”
Stephen A. was the only panelist to stand up to this racist garbage: “What’s the profile of a terrorist?… Hold on, now. Let’s be clear about something. When you talk about Timothy McVeigh or what have you, in Oklahoma City, he didn’t fit the profile.”
Ferguson responded: “But I think most Americans admit, when you get on a plane–be honest–you know exactly who makes you nervous when you get on a plane…. Do they not all look the same?… The people that did 9/11, people that did the Madrid? Do they not all fit–”
Smith shut him down: “But that’s bigotry.”
As the subject turned to Iraq and Afghanistan, you could see Stephen A. start to muscle-twitch, getting in that comfort zone. Ferguson, whom Stephen A. was starting to treat like Vince Carter treated Frederic Weis when he dunked on his head at the 2000 Olympics, said, “If you got a problem, you can either witch about it, or you can fix it.”
“So, 100,000 lives have been lost. What’s your definition of fixing the problem?” Stephen A responded. And after the conversation took a few more turns, he said, “There’s plenty of people–I’m telling you right now, you know how many soldiers I run into, American soldiers–American soldiers–who we unequivocally support, and they say we have no business over there. Most of those people don’t even want to be over there. They actually say that.”
The late Gene Mauch managed the 1964 Philadelphia Phillies, and his name always will be bordered by cobwebs and black crepe. An otherwise respected manager, Mauch’s reputation took an eternal, irreversible hit that year when the Phillies choked on a 6½ game lead with 12 games remaining.
The benefactors of Philly’s epic fold were the Cardinals. Perhaps the baseball gods figure the Cardinals owe them one, to balance history’s ledger.
Or maybe this is simply a shorthanded and bad Cardinals team, one more reminiscent of the old St. Louis Browns than of the 105-win Cardinals of 2004, or the 100-win team in 2005.
At times like these it’s hard to remember, but the Cardinals are in first place, and they are still kicking. Jeff Suppan, emblematic of the recent reversal of fortunes, lasted only 32„3 innings Monday, getting drilled for five runs (four earned), as the Padres opened a 5-1 lead.
The Cardinals gamely picked themselves up, drawing even at 5-5 on a dramatic stroke by prodigal center fielder Jim Edmonds. In a classic Edmonds’ Hollywood moment, Jimmy Baseball pinch hit in the fourth, hoisting a bat in a game for the first time since Aug. 26, and promptly rocketed a three-run homer to the seats in right.
It was an emphatic response by Edmonds, who was dogged in absentia by La Russa over the weekend in Houston. Gradually shaking off the symptoms of post-concussion syndrome, Edmonds endangered his improved health in absorbing a post-home run pounding from exuberant mates.
“If this was a movie, we would have won the game,” La Russa said of the Edmonds homer. “But we didn’t.”
Actually this was a movie. The latest scene in a horror film.
The Sultan Of Sloth was a late scratch last night due to reccuring gout. Amazing how rarely we get to use the word “gout” when discussing professional athletes.
In addition to furiously transcriping Mike Francesca’s thoughts regarding All-Mouth TE Jeremy Shockey, Newsday’s Neil Best is through giggling over the religious background of the Mets’ newly acquired right fielder.
Joking references to Shawn Green’s Jewishness are getting old. When Howie Rose used a Yiddish phrase to call his first Mets homer, it was cute. When ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt yelled “Challah!” over a replay of a Green catch, it wasn’t.
Though I’m sure Steve Lyons would concur, it might be interesting to check back with Neil in a few days to see if he has any interesting voice mail.
Summing up an emotional night at the Superdome, Monday Night Football’s Tony Kornheiser reflected, “Everything that the people of New Orleans could’ve hoped for, happened tonight,”, adding moments later “It doesn’t minimize, by any stretch, what has happened outside these walls.”
New Orleans must be a very unique place if 100% of the population gives a fuck about the NFL. Surely those immune to the charms of the Saints, Tom Benson and pregame concerts featuring the Goo Goo Dolls deserve to be uplifted, too?
Former Portsmouth striker / Uruguay international Dario Silva’s right leg has been amputated after a car wreck Monday. From the Guardian.
The 33-year-old, who left Pompey in February, lost control while driving his pick-up truck in Montevideo yesterday and hit a lamppost. He was placed in a medically induced coma.
Doctor Mario Canela, of the La Española hospital in the capital, said the emergency surgery was “to amputate the leg from the knee down”. He added: “Silva’s situation is not solved with the amputation. We are worried about a possible infection.”
Joe Thiessman is expected to vouch for Silva’s toughness later today on a segment during “The Dan Patrick Show”.
MLS has signed a new 8 year rights deal with Univision. Hopefully, terms of the deal will preclude The Click Five from participating in a league All-Star Gala ever again.
It might be training camp time for the Washington Wizards, but Wizznutzz is in mid-season form.
G!!!
We are still alive & full of peyote, just taking a break to brush up on our Halo 2 skills — which might make you think we’re young. But truly, peyote is an old person’s hallucenegogocicc and WE’RE ANCIENT. For instance, when you wrote “any knowledge of Greystone Hall’s Scary Carey” in your Tigers playoff posting we collectively spit out a whole mouthful of Bartles & James. You see, despite our love of all this Wiz, one half of our team is a Detroit native. Greystone Ballroom was our stomping grounds, and Scary Carey was the person we often wanted to stomp, especially when he promoted a show featuring Uniform Choice and a bunch of hippies called Dinosaur showed up instead. Or maybe it was The Fluid. Either way, HIPPIES. And then there was the time that we walked into the Greystone and saw a horse fucking someone. On VHS, not live, but it was still a horse fucking someone. Scary Carey offered to refund our money.
We took him up on it, but not before meeting a lad called “Mute” who didn’t speak but had the letters M-U-T-E on his knuckles. But why was he at a punk club if he couldn’t hear? BUT WE DIGRESS. Just the offhanded mention of Scary Carey was reason enough for us to reaffirm our love for you, G. In your honor we’re gonna pop in a DVD of a horse fucking someone (hey, we got over it) and play some Negative Approach REALLY FRIGGIN SOFTLY. It’s meditation time, friend, it’s meditation time.
