Crouch’s former club, Queens Park Rangers remain in serious danger of relegation following Saturday’s 2-1 loss to promotion hopefuls West Brom. It was a brutal afternoon for Stupor Hoops striker Paul Furlong, who squandered a solid scoring chance in the first half, then had his 66th minute spot kick save by Albion’s Dean Kiely.
The Observer’s Paul Wilson writes that Sir Alex Ferguson actually expects anyone to believe the floptastic Cristiano Ronaldo is a role model for children.
“The Manchester United manager believes the FA should have taken action over George Boateng’s thinly veiled threat to Cristiano Ronaldo, when the Middlesbrough captain warned the Manchester United player last month to cut out the show-boating or expect to be seriously hurt by a frustrated opponent.
‘I was surprised the FA did nothing about the Boateng thing – if one of our players had said something like that we would have been up before them right away,’ Ferguson said. ‘We are not going to complain; as a club we don’t do that and I don’t think we should. Uefa are investigating the Belgian goalkeeper [Stijn Stijnen of Lille], quite rightly, for saying the same thing, but the FA have done nothing about Boateng and I am surprised.”
When it announced the first annual Civil Rights Game between the Cardinals and Cleveland Indians less than four months ago, Major League Baseball envisioned this weekend as a commemoration of the civil rights movement and baseball’s role in enacting social change.
Cardinals outfielder Preston Wilson, meanwhile, notices that he is part of another change: the game’s ever-diminishing minority of African-American players.
The veteran Wilson is the only African-American player on the Cardinals’ projected opening day roster. He has witnessed the steady ebb of black athletes from the game for two decades.
“I think the perception is if there’s a dark-skinned Latin guy out there, then he’s black,” Wilson said before Friday’s game against the Memphis Redbirds. “A lot of people don’t differentiate. But it’s not the case. There are a lot of issues involved.”
While Major League Baseball has made recent strides in elevating the number of minorities in its front offices and the central office, it has fought a losing battle against the well-known attrition of black athletes. Of players on major league rosters last season, only 8.7 percent were African-American.
Wilson sees few black role players in today’s game. Citing all-time pinch hit leader Lenny Harris (above) as an exception, Wilson said, “There are no mediocre guys who are black who are the 25th man on their roster. It just doesn’t happen. We don’t get those jobs. You can say it sounds whatever. But it’s true. Name one.”
Though it’s been a while since we’ve read of Diamond Dallas Page’s attempts to pervert the American legal system, some consolation can be had in knowing he wasn’t just blowing smoke about his bold plans for YRG aka “Yoga For Regular Guys”.
Jon Solomon texted early this morning from the Georgia Dome to report “Chuck Klosterman looks ridiculous in the media area”, but as well all know, there’s more to a Page 2 blogging gig than mere appearances. For instance, there’s the opportunity to let an otherwise anonymous musician speak ill of the dead.
This is the conclusion of an e-mail from someone who was in a band called Stolen Cheesewheel, recounting a brush with fame during the 1990s: “Finally, [this artist] called my friend Emily a dirty name, so I commented, ‘You don’t have to be so bitter. You’re not half the artist your dad was.’ After a brief fight, he left, and we all left shortly after. That night, he went for a swim in the Mississippi River and drowned … I’m not telling you this as any kind of confession. I did not kill Jeff Buckley. But the funny thing is that there are people in Memphis who believe [my friend and] I chased him from the bar and threw him in the river. We were, in fact, confronted several times for just that. I just thought you seemed like someone who would be interested in an anecdote concerning the end of a talent.”
Indeed I am.
Wow. Coming later today — Black Market Baby disavow any connection with the passing of Len Bias, AND YOU ARE THERE!
Not since the salad days of Greg Sage and Pig Champion has the Stumptown music scene been so torn asunder, writes the Portland Tribune’s Steve Brandon (link courtesy Jason Cohen)
Kent Bottenfield pitched to baseball’s biggest hitters and in front of thousands of fans. That was easy, compared with singing to a couple of hundred people.
“It took me a year to get over the fear,” he says.
Bottenfield, a former Madison High star who spent 10 seasons in the major leagues, is now an up-and-coming contemporary Christian recording artist. His second CD, “Back in the Game,” is due Aug. 7. He’ll perform at 7 tonight at Portland Christian High in a benefit for the school’s baseball program.
“It’s a whole new career for me,” says Bottenfield, 38, who pitched from 1992 to 2001 for Montreal, Colorado, San Francisco, the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis, Anaheim, Philadelphia and Houston.
Bottenfield writes songs, plays piano and sings. He tours more than 100 days a year.
Only now, with “Back in the Game,” is he making much of a deal about being a former big-leaguer. “Most people have heard Carl Lewis trying to sing the national anthem and don’t take former athletes that seriously,” he says. “This new song opens with baseball and talks about how it’s a new season in my life now but my goal is still the same – to bring glory to God.”
Denny McLain is not as concerned with the fact that, he believes, many of today’s biggest Major League Baseball stars have taken steriods. It’s the culture of denial that has clouded the issue that troubles him most.
“It’s not so much that they’ve taken steroids, it’s how they all lied about it,” he said. “The only guy who did the right thing was Mark McGwire. He decided not to say anything (in front of Congress) and just sat back and waited for the firestorm to come. It’s coming.”
McLain broached the issue — and several others — as part of a candid address and question-and-answer session Friday afternoon at the 12th Annual Baseball in Literature and Culture conference, which for the second straight year was held at MTSU.
The day after his 63rd birthday, he acknowledged his signature season of 1968, when he was the game’s last 30-game winner, would not have been accomplished without the help of pharmaceuticals, particularly cortisone injections. He said the day after almost every game he pitched that season he spent a few hours in a hospital and took a shot in his pitching shoulder.
“Three days later, I’d go pitch again,” he said.
He finished that season with a 31-6 record, a 1.96 ERA and 280 strikeouts versus only 63 walks. He had 28 complete games.
He made it clear he believes players such as Ivan Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens all eventually will be exposed beyond all doubt as steroid users. He noted changes in the physical appearance of both Rodriguez and Bonds in recent years, and pointed to Clemens’ sustained greatness as likely evidence that they used performance-enhancing substances.
“Bonds? C’mon,” he said. “… Not to condemn anything (Clemens) did because he had one advantage over everyone else — he had great stuff. But Lord knows how much better he could have been if he had been using the stuff.”
The issue affected him personally, he said, when one of his grandsons, a high school hockey player, asked about steroids.
“I think the message it sends is, ‘No matter what you have to do to win, you do it,’” McLain said. “I don’t think that’s the right message we need to be sending to our children and out grandchildren.”
Sam Frank forwarded the following. To paraphrase the Del Fuegos, good luck to all craigslist posters hunting for their moms’ graves.
lynn salem area 1999-now Reply to: comm-303310733@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-03-30, 5:55PM EDT Title: (missed connections) CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHEN MY ROTTEN FAMILY BURIED MY MOTHER?
DORIS HELEN NICHOLS/dec 2 dob?lynn ,ma.
I SUSPECT IT MAYBE RECENT BECAUSE,
I WAS ASSAULTED AND, GOT SEVERAL SUSPICIOUS CALLS, FROM A defenseless/DESPERATE INCOHERANT DRUGGED UP FEMALE ;
IF MEDIA WANTS TO INVESTIGATE ;
BOY IS THERE A STORY BEHIND THIS LOSER SICK SIBLING FAMILY OF MINE!.
ONE THING I DO KNOW ….THEY WOULDNT LET HER LIVE- CALLED ME CRAZY, TO DAWN THE GOODS AND GET AWAY W/ GETTING RID OF ME AND MY MOMA!
DORIS HELEN NICHOLS;
ANYONE WHO DONT LIKE ME TALKING ….
TUFF S*&%$#@!!!
THINK MY SIBLINGS are HARDWORKING honest bread winners;innocent pillars of the community?just plain HONABLE; HONEST ;TALENTED MONEY MAKERS ,IN THE FAMILY ! ?! GUESS AGAIN!
….arrest this ! ;you ignorant bunch of criminal lying morons….
NCAA President Myles Brand hinted at adding 3 additional play-in games to future tournaments, and if they’re ok with starting the qualifying games 5 minutes after the Sunday selection show, I see no reason why this is unworkable.
Shoving cameramen and doctoring baseballs failed to take a toll on Kenny Rogers’ shoulder, but it appears as though a blood clot will deny Detroit the services of their left-handed ace for the first half of the season. MLive’s Danny Knobler reports Chad Durbin will now assume a spot in the Tigers’ rotation.
Carl Pavano was named the Yankees’ opening day starter, and WFAN’s Sweeney Murti says “it’s time to stop kicking dirt” on the right-hander. Of course, Murti makes said statement after outlining —- in detail — many of the major world events that have occured since the last time Pavano started a game in the big leagues on June 25, 2005.
(Orlando) Hernandez pitched poorly his first outing, but he hasn’t had a horrible spring. The day before this column ran, El Duque gave up an unearned run in 6 strong innings. Maine and Perez had been pitching great, as you all know, which would hardly qualify Pelfrey as “the one bright spot.” If you were looking to pan the Mets, as Rogers obviously was, there certainly are legitimate issues to talk about. Instead, he more or less made up the ‘facts’ he used to make his argument.
Japan Baseball Daily reports ESPN is working on a documentary about Bobby Valentine’s Chiba Lotte Marines. I don’t know exactly what Bobby is doing in the photograph above, but if Charles Perez was allowed to host a chat show, I don’t suppose it would be that hard a gig.
Tom Coughlin (above) barely hung onto his job after the Giants collapsed in the second half of last season. He tried to make it seem he was oblivious when there was so much speculation he was about to be fired. Clearly, it had an impact, because yesterday he compared the barrage of criticism to what Adolf Hitler received. It was a regrettable and politically incorrect comparison, but just putting himself in the same sentence as Hitler shows the strain Coughlin was under and the degree he felt despised.
When he was asked at the NFC coaches breakfast by a football Web site reporter whether he paid attention to what was being said about him last season, Coughlin replied: “I hear some of it and I see it. You know (VP of communications Pat) Hanlon tells me about it, what’s going on.”
Then, he paused, and said, “Hitler and then me, in that order. Unfortunate, but it is.”
Even Kevan Barlow thought Coughlin’s comments were inappropriate.
Newsday’s Arthur Staple reports Der Fuhrer Coughlin has cancelled his weekly appearances on WFAN’s “Mike & The Mad Dog”.
It’s getting tougher and tougher for Phil Mushnick to write an entire column. From Friday’s New York Post.
With the NCAA tournament serving as an annual reminder of how big-time college ball is predicated on educational fraud committed by big-time universities, we’re reminded of the coach who was told by his star player that his midterm grades are out: Four F’s and a D.
“Son,” said the coach, “I think you’re spending too much time on one subject.”
Incredibly, Phil passed up the chance to comment on the University Of Florida trying to build a school the basketball and football teams can be proud of.
We are a couple of days beyond suspended Albany Patroons coach Michael Ray Richardson’s ill-advised remarks concerning big time Jewish lawyers (if not his way of dealing with hecklers), and there’s a few persons who suggest Richardson’s been dealt a raw deal.
Michael Ray (above) seems to be more along the lines of the funny antisemite rather than the dangerous antisemite. Amidst all the stupidity in the world, sometimes you just have to laugh. And really, I think he was trying to be nice in a weird way. I probably shouldn’t write that, but the guy didn’t say he hated all Jews or wished that they’d go back to making bricks in Egypt. It wasn’t a message of intolerance. He said Jewish people are crafty (which, we can all agree, is dumb and negative and not well thought out) and then cited what he thought was proof of it. I mean, does anyone think he was being purposely malicious? I think he was being dumb. And there are, in fact, a disproportionately large number of Jewish men who own teams or run leagues.”
While I can’t really disagree with much of the above, I do think the line between “funny” and “dangerous” anti-semitism is awfully thin unless someone is willing to call the dopes in question out.
Michael Ray Richardson doesn’t speak politically correct English. He isn’t the guy who knows it may be more expedient to say: “The Jewish people have a deeply celebratory spirit.” He’s the dude that says, “Them Jews know how to party!” But if you hear him say it, you know his heart is in the right place. He was proud of James Brown, and he was happy that Israelis could appreciate a performer who he felt represented to a certain extent the collective spirit of his people. It clearly made him feel more at home and more comfortable in Israel. If they could truly appreciate James Brown, you could feel him thinking, maybe they could truly understand and appreciate him.
I really can’t think of any better way to illustrate that Michael Ray is the opposite of a racist. Confronted with the reality of Israel he abandoned preconceived notions and evaluated people on how they actually behaved. Michael Ray has done that in every country he’s been to. And that’s why he’s been loved all around the world.
Now because he has the temerity to say that Jews are good lawyers, Jews are industrious people, Jews use their wits to get ahead in a world where they are more often hated than loved, we are going to excommunicate him from basketball like he’s Tim Hardaway or Al Campanis.
It’s not right. Michael Ray is proud to have a Jewish lawyer because he thinks they are the best lawyers. Certainly it’s a stereotype, but it’s a stereotype rooted in a reality. A disproportionate number of the great lawyers in America are Jews. A disproportionate number of the great basketball players in America are black. We have learned to be very careful around these facts because here the line between fact and “stereotype” can get very blurry and if you’re not careful, you can get into deep water real quick. Michael Ray was unwise to have been so indiscreet around reporters, but it wasn’t exactly Elders of Zion territory.
There’s a lot of stereotypes that are to some degree or another, rooted in reality. And some are equally rooted in looking for scapegoats, cheap excuses and ways to reduce another culture to a caricature. I can fully accept that Richardson meant no harm with (some of) his comments, but I don’t think the Al Campanis analogy is inappropriate, either. Jews are inviduals, just like everyone else. I can cite a good number of ‘em with zero connections to media, banking, standup comedy, the music business, basketball or blogging.
OK, maybe only a handful, but a legit handful just the same. Were a sports executive or TV pundit to suggest the success or failure of black athletes was down to genetics, he’d probably catch a bit of heat. I mean, that’s been the pattern.
Seeing as I’ve not even followed the CBA of late (Isiah Thomas keeps insisting they’re out of business), it’s hard for me to propose an appropriate punishment for Richardson. Being drummed out of pro hoops seems awfully harsh, and perhaps either a public apology or clarification of his remarks would’ve done more good. I’m not sure how Richardson can clarify calling a paying customer a fucking faggot (if in fact, that’s what he said), but I’ve yet to seen anyone —- Isenberg included — excuse that alleged outburst.
Somewhat lost amidst the MRR controversy is Albany falling behind Yakima, 2 games to none in the CBA finals. Amongst the highlights of the Patroons’ 92-87 loss Wednesday night was F Carl Mitchell throwing a punch at teammate Felipe Lopez (yes, that Felipe Lopez). From the Albany Times-Union’s Tim Wilken.
The two had a misunderstanding under the Yakama basket at the end of the first half. Mitchell said Lopez was mad at him for taking a bad 3-point shot. Lopez said Mitchell said something unflattering about him to one of the Sun King players. Lopez hit Mitchell on the side of the head and, while Kareem Reid tried to step in and keep the two apart, Mitchell hit Lopez in the face.
“He came up on me and swung and punched me,” Mitchell said. “He started coming up on me and I was like, ‘if someone is going to punch me …’ I feel bad because that ain’t me, man. Your own teammate punch you during a game? What the hell is that?”
Lopez said he was embarrassed about the situation.
“I heard him (Mitchell) say something and it was bad,” Lopez said. “I’ve been playing basketball for a long time and I wasn’t comfortable with what he said. We exchanged blows. I was not going to take it lightly.”
After sitting through a screening of “Yankees 2007: Pride, Power, Pinstripes”, The New York Daily News’ Bob Raissman insists “there will be times when A-Rod commentary will not only reflect what’s on the minds of the Yankee high command, but be passed down directly from Pinstripe Mountain through YES production boss John Filipelli,” but also admitting “Watching to see which Yankee issues are totally ignored, and which controversies are played prominently, is far more entertaining, informative and intriguing than hearing Kimberly Jones ask Derek Jeter why he wants to win so badly.”
The moment of truth came when the subject of A-Rod was introduced during a panel discussion of YES analysts moderated by Michael Kay. Justice’s mouth might as well have been taped. And Al Leiter (he was “encouraged” to rip Rodriguez last June but refused to single him out for the Yankees’ problems) didn’t chime in, either. However, it was made abundantly clear that there are YES voices who ain’t waiting until late June to begin smacking Rodriguez around.
After Kay asked the panel for its take on A-Rod’s opt-out clause, Ken Singleton (above), a mild-mannered guy, basically told Rodriguez to shut up.
“Just play ball,” said Singleton, showing more passion than usual. “Go out and try to win a championship. Get as close as you can. If you don’t win it just give the effort. Show that you tried.”
Singleton went on to highlight A-Rod’s miserable playoff performance (1-for-14, dropped to the eighth spot in the lineup) against Detroit. “That’s not what Alex Rodriguez is supposed to be,” Singleton said.
Girardi entered the discussion, saying A-Rod is already a major “concern” for Joe Torre.
“I think he is a concern because he’s not able to relax. Alex takes on all the pressure of not winning a World Series,” Girardi said. “He has to find a way to relax. … Until Al stops trying to be perfect it’s going to be tough because he can never live up to the expectations of the contract. It’s just impossible.”
Ever since Justice put the wood to the Yankees’ third baseman last June (”If the game is 9-2, he might make it 9-4. If the game is 7-1, he might make it 9-1. But when it is 2-2 late in the ballgame he can’t get it done.”) it has been bombs away on A-Rod on YES.
Taking him to the woodshed on a “preview” show is further proof that A-Rod analysis, mechanical and psychological, will be an integral part of YES’ Yankee telecasts. But some issues will be completely ignored – such as Derek Jeter’s “relationship” with Rodriguez.
A Houston roster packed with Express alumni visited Round Rock last night, and while the preseason tilt between the NL Central hopefuls and their PCL taxi squad might not have been a classic for the ages, it wasn’t without incident :
a) Former Baylor standout Jason Jennings allowed 2 runs (one earned) on 3 hits and a walk over 4 innings, but all of the damage of substance was done during an interminable first inning in which the newly acquired righty struggled with his location (ie. Williamson County).
b) Carlos Lee singled, hit an RBI double, stole a base, and went to bed with the comforting knowledge that firearms enthusiast Luke Scott is providing his protection in the batting order.
c) Morgan Ensberg responded to being dusted off by Round Rock’s Hunter Douglas in the fourth inning by feigning a charge to the mound, then wielding his bat towards the Round Rock dugout. The local paper will have you believe Ensberg was just kidding, but that’s merely because he doesn’t look very threatening.
d) Brad Lidge and Hunter Pence are already in mid-season form. The former served up a two-run laser shot to dead center to the latter ; Pence (above) was on fire during spring training and I don’t think I’m going out on a limb in predicting his probable strong showing in CF for Round Rock will impact Chris Burke’s job security.
Along with projecting this year’s Bombers to be “the best Yankees team since 1998,” insisting that Miguel Tejada “deserves to play for a real team,” and dismissing the Mariners as “Orioles West”, the New York Sun’s Tim Marchman assuages the fears of Mets followers with, uh, the following :
I don’t worry about the Mets’ rotation. It wasn’t any good last year, and they won 97 games.
“It was, too good,” you protest. “They won 97 games!” Yes, because of the offense and the bullpen. The rotation ERA was 4.67, while National League starters as a whole, few of whom pitched in parks as spacious as Shea Stadium, were at 4.66.
Further, the Mets finished in first place by 12 games, which is a lot. They have to get a lot worse, and at least one other team will have to get a lot better, for the Mets to lose their spot atop the mountain. Could it happen? Yes. Will it? Probably not. Jose Reyes and David Wright are still improving, and the likes of Jose Lima and Steve Trachsel won’t be kicked around Flushing this year. All this should offset any decline from the likes of Carlos Beltran and Tom Glavine. Mets fans, by nature, are fusspots. This year they needn’t be.
While John Maine was solid against the Dodgers today (5 K’s, 6 IP, 2 earned runs), David Newhan went nuts (2 HR’s, double, single, 2 RBI’s) in the Mets’ 13-2 win. In the midst of an underwhelming spring for most of the Amazins’ position players, Newhan and Da Edge have performed exceptionally.
Though the Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan’s reasonable objections to the situationist comedy of Sacha Baron Cohen have been noted in this space previously (October 27, 2006, October 10, 2006, November 15, 2005), the New York Post’s Marianne Garvey reports on an unusual attempt to clear the air with American intellectuals. Or failing that, students at St. Francis.
Yesterday, students at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights sat through a guest lecture on the nation by Barlybai Sadykov, deputy permanent representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations – and found it anything but entertaining.
Half the class dozed off, some played games on their laptops, and many sent text messages during the hour-long lecture by Sadykov, in which he disputed Borat’s tall tales about the country.
“Kazakhstan is becoming increasing important in the world,” Sadykov told the class. “Its economy is flourishing, and we have a large abundance of natural resources – in fact, we make 1.5 million barrels of oil a day.”
“We have very good relations with other countries, especially Israel,” Sadykov said.”Kazakhstan is not only a developing country, we are well equipped technologically and are an advanced society. Our people are highly educated. We have modern cities that are economic centers. We have very modern buildings.”
Texas A&M basketball coach Billy Gillispie will remain head coach of the basketball program he has turned into a national power, three high-ranking sources close to and within the A&M system have confirmed.
Gillispie apparently has not officially confirmed to athletic director Bill Byrne or the regents that he will accept a new contract that will pay him in the neighborhood of $2 million a year, including guarantees added to the deal that runs through 2012. But regents and athletic department officials feel confident the new deal, and construction on the new A&M basketball facility scheduled to begin Monday, are the guarantees Gillispie was pursuing.
“The fence will go up (at the construction site) and they’ll get it rolling,” one source said of the 50,000-square-foot, $20 million facility that will include practice areas for men’s and women’s basketball, offices and training areas.
After several meetings with A&M athletic director Bill Byrne, Gillispie received notice today that the A&M Board of Regents will rubber-stamp the contract and expedite the start of construction on the facility.
Gillispie has been contemplating an offer from the University of Arkansas to replace fired coach Stan Heath. If he accepts the A&M deal as expected, regents expect Gillispie to be, “a lifer.”
Though I’d be more impressed if A&M could find a way to give Acie Law the money, it’s worth noting that Gillispie’s new pact — if Lopez’ sums are correct — will make him the highest paid coach in the Big 12 (based purely on salary).
If you’re wondering why the Geege gets slapped early in the video, keep in mind that even in Hookset, NH, whispering to a girl, “you look like a young Genya Raven” is considered rude.
Oh yeah, this will work. Marc Perlman says “I’m at a loss for words,” and while I speak for his entire softball team in wishing that were true (just kidding, Marc), the makers of “Project A-13″ are nothing if not erudite in their understanding of the fan/athlete dynamic.
We can start the journey out of here by making a choice—to be patient, positive, and strong as fans.
Forget all the gaudy statistics and awards too—this goes for Alex as well as for us. If we can each clear our minds of the headlines, the hype, and especially the money—which is both corruptive and corrosive by its very nature—we can start this relationship over with a renewed sense of opportunity. We can believe in him, and his abilities at the plate, without expecting anything in return…belief in its purest form. If we can do this, The Movement will begin, and the possibilities are endless.
Are you ready to believe?
I thought so. And so am I.
Just remember: positive energy is contagious, and limitless in possibility. Let’s stop the boos (not booze), and start spreading the word.
George Steinbrenner ate dinner in the cafeteria at Legends Field on Wednesday with his daughter Jessica beside him and her husband, Felix Lopez, next to her. Lopez merrily took out a cellphone and snapped a picture of his wife and his father-in-law. It was one big, happy family. But all is not right in the Steinbrenner clan. His other daughter, Jennifer, filed for divorce from her husband, Steve Swindal, in the family law division of Hillsborough County Circuit Court on Tuesday. Swindal was arrested last month on suspicion of driving under the influence, and the divorce would end any chance he had of succeeding Steinbrenner in running the Yankees, as Steinbrenner had said he would do in June 2005.
“I’m the boss,” Steinbrenner said through his spokesman, Howard Rubenstein. “I continue to be the boss, I have no intention of retiring, and my family runs the Yankees with me.”
Steinbrenner’s sons, Hank and Hal, are listed as general partners along with Swindal at the top of the Yankees’ hierarchy. Lopez, who has become an increasingly active presence, is listed as a senior vice president.
When Swindal leaves the family, he will effectively leave the Yankees. According to an individual with direct knowledge of the matter, Steinbrenner no longer plans to promote him, and he would seem to have no future with the team. But the situation is complicated because Swindal has a small financial interest in the team — among other things, he is listed as the chairman of Yankee Global Enterprises, the umbrella company for the club and the YES network — and the specifics of that interest will have to be untangled. Rubenstein would not say if Swindal still worked for the Yankees.
“When I’m ready to say something, I’ll say something,” Steinbrenner said through Rubenstein on Wednesday. “I don’t really appreciate being mobbed and people screaming at me.”
“Come on, this city deserves a playoff team,” LeBron James said. “It doesn’t make sense for them to have all that talent and not be able to make it to the playoffs. I think Isiah’s definitely got them on the right path.”
Newsday’s Ken Berger follows an interesting exchange betweeen James and Marbury that suggests the former might not be a future guest on “Stars On Stars”.
Before the game, James took a little shot at Marbury’s $14.98 kicks, saying he couldn’t imagine endorsing a sneaker that cheap.
“No, I don’t think so,” James said. “Me being with Nike, we hold our standards high.”
Marbury, who is friendly with James, was lacing up his Starburys before the game when informed of LeBron’s comment. He thought about it for a moment and said, “I’d rather own than be owned.”
Behind 31 points from Tim Duncan and a stirring display of clutchiness from Brent Barry, the Spurs won their 18th out of their last 20 with Wednesday’s 92-88 home decision over New Orleans. San Antonio coach Greg Popovich, however, is $15K poorer this morning, writes the Express-News’ Mike Monroe.
According to an NBA source, the league fined the Spurs and Hornets $15,000 earlier in the day for published comments the coaches made about players who have not declared their eligibility for the draft.Popovich’s comments — references to Ohio State center Greg Oden — appeared in the March 18 Boston Herald. Scott’s comments about Oden and Texas freshman Kevin Durant appeared in the March 19 edition of the Oklahoman.
Popovich responded to a question from a Boston Herald reporter about whether it would be fair for the Celtics to land the No. 1 pick in this summer’s draft with Oden potentially available because Boston had lost out on the chance to take Tim Duncan in 1997.
“That would be the fair thing, wouldn’t it?” Popovich said. “That would be the fairest thing. If they could get him, that would be great. It would mean there is some fairness in an unfair world.”
Popovich, who never said Oden’s name but was clearly talking about him, then made what seemed to be an off-the-cuff comment about Ohio State’s near loss to Xavier that same day. Two other reporters present at the time didn’t report the remark.
“If they’d lost, I thought, is this going to make that kid want to stay in one more year?” Popovich said. “I don’t know, maybe he’s just collegiately oriented, and it’s a big disappointment, and he wants to come back and get it done.
“What would that do? I mean, everybody would just die. The bottom five teams would just croak. Then they came back and won.”
The award for Strangest Lede to an Article Concerning a Soon-To-Testify Department of Justice Official: is there a more prestigious prize in all of journalism? It’s a rhetorical question, the answer is no. And furthermore, if you were honing your article comparing former Alberto Gonzales Chief of Staff Kyle Sampson to a reuben sandwich or riding mower or whatever, you can stop. Sdrihar Pappu of the Washington Post has this one wrapped up, as of yesterday’s piece on K-Samp, who testifies today before the Senate on his role in the forced resignations of eight insufficiently loyal United States Attorneys. Or six insufficiently loyal ones and two actually incompetent ones. Anyway, my point:
Walking into the FBI gym for a basketball game in 2003 or 2004 to play against John Ashcroft and his boys, you would have found it easy to dismiss the former attorney general’s point guard, D. Kyle Sampson. He was, and, well, still is, short and balding and chubby, looking like a smaller Karl Rove. But then at tip-off you would have discovered that Sampson was not a throwaway player or fill-in but a guy with legitimate skills. In a blur he’d take over the game as the best one-guards do: firing no-look passes to open teammates (including Ashcroft, the team’s forward), passing the ball behind his back, breaking through a crowd for a layup and taking terribly accurate jump shots that left you and any of the other people he played against–FBI agents, U.S. attorneys, other members of the Justice Department–deflated and quite frankly stunned.
“He’s deceptively quick,” said former Justice public affairs director Mark Corallo. “I say deceptively because he has this baby face. But he can do it all, though.” Tomorrow Sampson, 37, appears voluntarily and under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee. As chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales until his resignation March 12, Sampson was the man in charge of the axing of eight federal prosecutors who were perceived as not being with the program the administration wished to prosecute. His testimony could be pivotal as lawmakers probe the depth of involvement in the sacking by Gonzales and the White House.
The best guards are extensions of their coaches — putting into form what had been plays drawn up on the sideline. While acknowledging that “mistakes were made,” Gonzales has maintained that he left matters to Sampson when it came to the firings. “I was not involved in seeing any memos, was not involved in any discussions about what was going on,” he said. “That’s basically what I knew as the attorney general.”
Documents suggest otherwise.
Whatever the reasons for firing these attorneys — they were not what White House Counsel Harriet Miers termed “loyal Bushies,” they were unwilling to prosecute wholly false voter fraud cases — there is a lesson in the first few paragraphs of that article: if you’re a United States Attorney, and Isiah Thomas (or Gonzales, or Miers, or the senior Senator from New Mexico) warns you not to go in the lane, you can expect to take a hard foul.
Whether or not he used racial slurs, security will keep a close eye on Donald Winton at future WTA tournaments – if he is allowed to attend. Miami-Dade police served Winton, 51, with a no-trespassing order after he heckled Serena Williams during her victory over Lucie Safarova on Monday at the Sony Ericsson Open.
Williams said Winton, a Cocoa Beach resident, made improper racial remarks, which he denied.
“I said she was lazy … but I did not say the N-word or use any racial language,” he told The Miami Herald. “I didn’t say what she said I said.”
Tournament director Adam Barrett said Winton’s ejection was warranted even if he didn’t use racial slurs. Barrett said Winton admitted he was trying to make Williams uncomfortable and was disruptive to fans seated near him, which in itself is grounds for ejection.
Larry Scott, the CEO of the WTA Tour, said hecklers “won’t have the privilege of coming to our tournaments. We have zero tolerance for what happened.”
There’s no truth to the rumor the gentleman above has been banned from WTA events for claiming he’d slept with Serena’s sister.
When Micheal Ray Richardson refused to shake an opposing coach’s hand after defeat, he was hypercompetitive. When he made a trade without telling the general manager first, he was a character, Maverick Ray. When he left the Patroons for two games to instruct at an NBA fantasy camp, it was just Micheal Ray being Micheal Ray. When he picked up more Ts than you’ll see in a month of “Wheel of Fortune” shows, he was a cannon so loose you couldn’t help but watch for the next explosion.
But when Richardson told a fan who heckled him early Tuesday night to “Shut the f— up,” and when near game’s end he shouted at another heckler, “Shut the f— up, you faggot,” you wondered how this guy keeps his job.
The answer: The general manager, Jim Coyne, is his friend and enabler. Coyne said he didn’t intend to speak to Richardson about his conduct. “He’s an adult and he should know better,” Coyne said. “He knows if he’s acting appropriately or inappropriately.”
Oh, really?
After straddling the line between eccentrism and the outer limits of acceptable behavior, Richardson fell and tripped the wire a public figure can never cross. In addition to his slur against homosexuals and verbal beatdown of two fans during the game, Richardson made bigoted comments about Jews in an interview with the Times Union before it.
It started with an offcolor quip Richardson made in his office to two reporters when discussing the contract Coyne had offered him Monday to coach his USBL team.
When told that such an offhand remark might offend people because it plays to the stereotype that Jews are crafty and shrewd, Richardson replied: “Are you kidding me? They are. They’ve got the best security system in the world. Have you ever been to an airport in Tel Aviv? They’re real crafty. Listen, they are hated all over the world, so they’ve got to be crafty.”
Why are they hated? he was asked.
“They know that in this country the Jews are running it if you really think about it,” Richardson said. “I mean, which is not a bad thing, you know what I mean?”
“How are they running it?” he was asked.
“They got a lot of power in this world, you know what I mean?” he said. “Which I think is great. I don’t think there’s nothing wrong with it. If you look in most professional sports, they’re run by Jewish people. If you look at a lot of most successful corporations and stuff, more businesses, they’re run by Jewish. It’s not a knock, but they are some crafty people.”
There’s no truth to the rumor Albany intends to replace the suspended Richardson with Charlie Ward.
So I’ve had a chat or two with management at The Scoot Inn, and despite prior assurances I’d have complete creative control over tonight’s programme, there’s been a subtle hint or two that perhaps I need to make a greater effort to make the cash registers ring.
I’m all about the art. I hope you know that by now. But it’s also really hard to masturbate blog with a broken arm, and with that in mind, I have made some serious concessions.
Along with my usual musical journey down Memory Lane (and I-35 south), tonight will also feature a stirring career retrospective devoted to Tim Stegall. Not only will rare footage of the Hormones and Napalm Stars be on display, but we’ll have a reading of some of Dr. Stegall’s finest works and perhaps dignitaries from all over the music and art world will make their testimonials via satellite.
(perhaps)
(due to circumstances beyond our control, Tim Napalm himself will not be in attendance).
I should also mention —- in the interests of full disclosure, that when Scoot Inc. re-sent my last missive about this event, a particularly unflattering reference to a band I’ll merely refer to as the Weapons Of Mass Fucktardom, was deleted.
I wholeheartedly promise you that no censorship took place, and any reports of an unpleasant exchange between myself and a certain C. Attal of Austin, TX were wildly exaggerated. We were merely rehearsing for a dinner theatre production of “Network” (he took the Ned Beatty part, I was Peter Finch).
In any event, I look forward to seeing you all at the Scoot Inn (1308 East 4th Street at Navasota), this evening, from 10pm onwards.
Sasha Pavlovic was trying to sing a Young Jeezy song. First, Sasha can’t rap, at least not in English. Second, he was apparently messing it all up. So Donyell Marshall and David Wesley were trying to explain to him the lyric was “Go Getta” as in “he’s a go-getter” not “he’s a go get her” as Sasha as saying. He wasn’t getting it, but it was damn funny watching the two of them attempting to explain what a “go-getter” is in comparison to what he thought “go get her” meant. (Note: this was modified once I was clued in to who Young Jeezy was)
Windhorst has nothing to apologize for. I’m impressed that 110 year old Donyell Marshall knows who Young Jeezy is.
I like it when the Mavs margin of victory is larger than the number of years I have been alive. Is it weird that the most thrilling moment of the whole game was the ally oop dunk Croshere pulled off early in the 4th quarter? I know part of the impetus for me starting this blog was to mourn the loss of Keith Van Horn and for a while I thought Van Horn’s skill-less spirit would live on in the form of Austin Croshere. But he’s really improving and growing on me.
Hi, Dave: I think Mr. Thorn had second thoughts about not taking Walter Hermann when he had the chance — he looked pretty good against the NJ boys. I’m feeling pretty low about the season and what has transpired. Any encouraging words?
Mo
Mo: Do you mean Walter Hermann Bucher, the paleontologist known for his study of cryptovolcanics? Or Walter Hermann Nernst, the Nobel Prize winner for his work in thermochemistry? Because I really doubt they regret that they couldn’t get Walter Herrmann, the one-dimensional forward who probably couldn’t make half the teams in the league. I don’t want to knock the kid, because he’s overcome a lot of tragedy in his life (he’s the kid who lost his mom, sister, and girlfriend in a car accident back in ‘03) to have a very nice career for Argentina. But I would be very surprised if he is better than, say, Nachbar. And as of Saturday night, I think he had something like 11 assists and 50 boards in 500 minutes. And when they made the McInnis deal, the Bobs let it be known in no uncertain terms that Herrmann wasn’t available. . . .As for encouraging words: You know what’s occurred to me these last few mailbags? Other than Prof. Turner, who probably has better alcohol than the rest of us, all the letters have come saturated in melancholia, and every reply makes me sound like a surly nag. So let’s get back to the way it is: They will probably get the seventh seed, they will probably match up with Cleveland, and nobody defends LeBron better than Jefferson, which means it could be a very competitive series. You know, if the ja-drools ever get there.
CARACAS, Venezuela — Former major league pitcher Ugueth Urbina was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the attempted murder of five workers on his family’s ranch, a local newspaper reported Wednesday.
Urbina, a former pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies, was also found guilty of illegal deprivation of liberty and violating a prohibition against taking justice into his own hands during a dispute over a gun on Oct. 16, 2005, El Universal reported.
The 31-year-old free agent was accused of joining a group of men in attacking and injuring workers with machetes and pouring gasoline on them at his family’s ranch, located about 25 miles south of Caracas.
Urbina repeatedly has denied involvement with the violence, saying he was sleeping at the time of the attack.
Levi Draher, 16, walked to the front of the Navarro High School gym in early March and picked up the microphone before a hushed audience of fellow teenagers.
“I died and came back,” he said.
Levi was found by his mother last Oct. 28, clinically dead, suspended on a rope he had slung across a bunk-bed frame. He had pushed his neck onto the rope, he told the rapt audience, aiming to achieve a surging rush as his brain was starved and then replenished with blood just before the point of unconsciousness.
The rush is the appeal of the choking game — or space cowboy or cloud nine or any of a dozen other names. In most schools and families it remains a subject of deep shadow and denial, students, parents and health professionals say.
“I did it because it felt good and I didn’t think I’d get caught,” said Levi, a slow-talking, sardonic skateboarder and hockey player from San Antonio. “Do I consider myself a miracle?” asked Levi, who told the students he had played the game three times before his accident. “Yes, I do.”
While asphyxiation games have been around for many years, a series of locally publicized deaths around the country over the last few years, coupled with a realization that teenagers are seeing the game on Internet sites like YouTube, and playing it in more threatening variations — more often, like Levi, alone with a rope — are sparking a vigorous and open discussion in schools and among parents’ groups, summer camp administrators and doctors.
I’m sure you’re all as shocked and dismayed as I am. They named a high school after Dave Navarro?
If your tastes run towards the cinematic rather than David Wright’s hit parade, be advised that Rob Perri’s terrific short film / achievement in copyright infringement, “I’m Keith Hernandez” will be shown at New York’s Anthology Film Archives, Thursday evening (3/29) at 7:45.
Pete Segall sends along a terrific article from the Washington Post that catches up with former Maryland star Byron Mouton, an unsung hero of the 2002 NCAA Champion Terps who’s currently eating poorly and earning worse while biding his time with the ABA’s Wilmington Sea Dawgs.
“Everybody on our team was shocked when he didn’t [get drafted],” said Juan Dixon, a former Maryland point guard who plays for the Toronto Raptors. “It didn’t seem fair. Without Byron, we don’t even get close to winning it in 2002. He might have been the best all-around guy on that team, but that’s the story of his career. He just gets overlooked.”
A few times during the last six months, Mouton has considered quitting. This season, he’s slid deep into the backwash of professional basketball. He played for a team in Montana that folded in December. Then Mouton joined an ABA team in Cape Cod that never paid him and played its home games at a middle school. Wilmington…provided Mouton’s opportunity to escape.
Mouton invests himself emotionally in Wilmington’s success, which his teammates generally view as pathetic. In a league that comprises players obsessed with building stat lines that please scouts, Mouton prides himself on leadership and self-sacrifice in pursuit of winning. During a pregame meal at Chick-fil-A in late February, Mouton tried to excite his teammates for a game against the Jacksonville Jam.
“I’ve been looking on the ABA message boards,” Mouton said. “Jacksonville is like number eight in the league power rankings. That’s a few spots ahead of us.”
“Nobody cares about this league, man,” said Terrence Todd, Mouton’s teammate. “Eat your chicken nuggets.”
Terrence Todd, your agent’s phone is ringing. There’s a lot more in the piece, some of it depressing (the 250-strong crowd at a Sea Dawgs home game), some of it frightening (a Chinese league in which games were played outdoors, sometimes in the rain), and some of it poignant. And then there’s this:
Mouton spends much of his time in Wilmington talking about his plans for this summer. During a two-hour conversation with a teammate late one night, he outlined his possibilities: to take real estate classes, which will facilitate a transition to his next career; to intern at the tobacco company where his brother works; to play in a Puerto Rican league that pays $15,000 per month; to play in a California summer league frequented by NBA scouts.
He loves talking about his future. It’s the easiest way not to get stuck in the past.
“You know what else I want to do?” Mouton said. “I want to enter some of those professional bass fishing contests. Man, I love fishing. I love it. And the thing is, you just never know. Maybe 10 years from now, people will be remembering me as the king of bass.”
That brother would be former Texas star Brandon Mouton, by the way. As for the “king of bass” part, Byron should probably check with this guy before claiming that title.
On the matter of Stephon Marbury’s economy kicks (the latest model, shown above, image swiped from The Association), exclusive retailer Steve & Barry announced today that Ben Wallace (middle, shown with Rick Mahorn to his right, homeless man to his left) has signed on as part of what they optimistically dub “The Starbury Movement.”
I for one, could not be more excited. Much like Herschel Shmoikel Pinkus Yerucham Krustofski, Big Ben would never lend his name to an inferior product.
Just because the military can’t afford a desktop keyboard that doesn’t have a stuck caps lock key is no reason to presume they’re all a bunch of idiots (link swiped from Radosh).
Showing the sort of initiative he demonstrated when he chewed on ‘Zo’s leg almost asked out Jodie Foster, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy proposes a bold way to uh, prevent Doc Rivers from throwing any more games. From the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen.
Weeks before accusations could begin that teams were tanking games to improve their chances of landing either of the season’s celebrated college prodigies, Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, Van Gundy offered a solution. Make the entire first round a lottery. One through 30. Put every name in a hat and let luck determine the draft order.
That would help the ratings of the draft lottery show. The NBA could get Howie Mandel, 30 models and briefcases and draw better ratings than the Stanley Cup finals.
“I think every team should have an equal chance at winning the lottery, from the best team all the way down,” Van Gundy said. “I don’t want to accuse anyone of anything. I would say to take away any possible conflict of interest, everyone should have an equal chance at the top pick all the way down. That way there would be absolutely no question by anybody about anything.
“If it’s better for the game, they should do it. I never quite understood why losing is rewarded, other than (for) parity.”
Last week, weeks after Van Gundy’s suggestion, Boston coach Doc Rivers did not play Paul Pierce and Al Jefferson in the fourth quarter of a loss and questions immediately arose that he was beginning a late-season dive for lottery position.
“I was not tanking the game,” Rivers said after it appeared he was. “I was not throwing the game or anything like that.”
But that should not even need to be answered. And with players going out with injuries, fans should not have to ask if players are hurt, or helping their teams lose. The Bucks are loaded with season-ending injuries that some will suggest would not have been season-ending had Milwaukee had reason to win. Ray Allen could be ready to shut it down in Seattle. Pierce has begun talking about calling it a season in Boston.
There will be more incidences to raise suspicions, though few could match the Timberwolves last season having Mark Madsen launching 3-pointers in an effort to improve draft position or stress-test the rims.
Of course, it is easier for Van Gundy to make his proposal with his team having won a weighted lottery, moving up from fifth to first to get Yao Ming. He works in an arena with a pair of championship trophies won a decade after the Rockets successfully tanked to the top pick, Hakeem Olajuwon.
Much as I love Jeff’s idea, why do I get the feeling Isiah Thomas still would’ve taken Renaldo Balkman if the Knicks had the no. 1 overall pick?
While the New York Daily News’ Frank Isola claims the Knicks were ready to buy Steve Francis out of his contract before Jamal Crawford’s season-ending injury, the PG tells The Journal News’ Mike Dougherty, “I don’t know what to do to get back on the basketball court. I can’t really put my finger on it.”
“How about contribute?”, sneers Dougherty.
Don’t you feel sorry for Steve Francis?
The former All-Star only got 12 minutes in a stinging loss to the Orlando Magic last night. He launched four shots and missed them all, finishing with one measly point.
“It’s hard, man,” Francis said in the locker room afterward. “It’s definitely hard being a veteran going from last week playing 44 minutes to this week playing 2 minutes.”
Francis probably deserves credit for coming back with one healthy leg and helping the Knicks postpone the inevitable. Despite the injuries, they did get a chance to play in some meaningful games.
It sounds like the alleged buyout offer is coming making a comeback.
Knicks coach Isiah Thomas started Mardy Collins in the second half Monday against Orlando, and stuck with the rookie down the stretch.
“I liked the way Mardy was playing,” he said. “He had a good game going, and I thought he would give me more.”
Francis questioned the lack of playing time last week in Cleveland, as well. Maybe this was payback. Either way, bickering isn’t going to stop the Knicks from sliding right off the playoff map.
While there’s been no shortage of speculation surrounding Florida’s Billy Donovan and the Kentucky vacancy, this item from Florida Today’s Peter Kerasotis is the first hint I’ve seen of Donovan replacing Doc Rivers in Boston. Of course, the Celtics could always hire Dickey Barrett and see if anyone could tell the difference.
In some contexts, adventurous might seem like a boast. In a Casual Encounters ad on Craigslist, for instance. But as the Royals’ Emil Brown explains to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star, it’s a bit of a slur for a prideful outfielder.
Emil Brown glanced at the lineup card Sunday morning in the Royals’ clubhouse, turned and observed to anyone within listening distance:
“I guess my defense is good enough for me to be in right field today.”
The words came out as a challenge and borderline belligerent. The message was unmistakable. Brown has had it with those who label him “an adventure,” or worse, in the outfield, on the bases or anywhere else.
His irritation centers on the media, first and foremost, but not exclusively. His fed-up list includes anyone trashing his skills, be they players or officials with other clubs — or within the Royals’ organization.
“I hear it all of the time,” Brown said. “He’s an adventure out there. Why? Because I’m actually trying to make plays happen?
“It isn’t an adventure for (Twins outfielder) Torii Hunter when he dives for a ball and misses it. Then, it’s, ‘Oh, he just missed it.’ He gets the benefit of the doubt because he’s a Gold Glover. But it’s an adventure when I do it.”
Brown has been slow-cooking this rant for two years now, and it comes to full boil at the suggestion he might be ticketed for platoon duty after leading the club in RBIs in each of the last two seasons.
“No, I wouldn’t be (happy),” he said. “I’m not going to pretend. I want to be out there. That’s why I’m here. I can’t see how you’re going to have much success in a platoon situation when you can have a (productive) guy out there who can get comfortable in a regular role.”
“I think I should be out there every day — wind, sleet or snow,” he said. “I’m a playmaker. If I haven’t shown that yet, I will. Leading the team in RBIs, but even going further than that, there are other things I do besides driving in runs. Just leave me alone and let me play.”
Of the suspended Guillermo Mota, Captain Red Ass tells Newsday’s David Lennon, “”You name me one profession where there ain’t something – where everything is hunky dory and cushy – and I’ll give you a zillion dollars. It’s over with. There’s nothing we can do about it. You’re innocent until you’re proven guilty and you go on with life. There’s guys in jail that probably didn’t commit crimes. There’s also guys on the street who’ve committed crimes. Life ain’t perfect. Deal with it.”
Indeed, there’s all kinds of non-hunky dory behavior out there. Some guys use drugs to obtain a competitive advantage, others try to fuck every teenage girl on Long Island. What are you gonna do?
While Phil Mushnick made note of Jerry Girard’s passing Monday morning, the sad news only hit the AP wire this evening (link courtesy Wojohowicz, who adds, “seemed like most of the early ESPN anchors lifted Girard’s schtick , with half the laughs & twice the smarm.”)
Jerry Girard, a sports broadcaster for WPIX-TV in New York from 1974 to 1995, died Sunday in Hawthorne, N.Y. He was 74.
He was a disc jockey in Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Gary, Ind.; and Altoona, Pa., before returning to New York as a record librarian at WNEW radio. He moved to WPIX as a news writer before becoming the station’s sports voice.
His nightly television appearances to describe the day’s sports happenings were characterized by frequent acidic commentary, invariably delivered with a straight face.
Girard, who resigned from WPIX in 1995 after his weeknight shift was given to Sal Marciano, was a genuine treasure during an era in which the nightly sports highlights on broadcast TV had far greater import than today. Long before ESPN invaded every home, and years before WFAN pioneered a yack radio format that now exists in most major U.S. cities, the odd bit of commentary from the likes of Girard (along with Bob Lobel on Boston’s WBZ, was very much ahead of its time.
The Journal News notes that friends may make memorial contributions in Girard’s name to: Hospice and Palliative Care of Westchester, 95 S. Broadway, Fourth Floor, White Plains, NY 10601.
3 of Dwight Howard’s blocks were legit — including a rejection of a Nate Robinson layup with 7 seconds remaining — but a non-call on a clear goaltending violation (above) should loom almost as large as, well, the inability to put a body on Jameer Nelson. And the 14 missed free throws.
The wife of Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland was arrested this weekend after cops say she torched the rocker’s $10,000 wardrobe in front of the couple’s home in Toluca Lake, Ca.
According to police, 31-year-old Mary Weiland was booked for investigation of felony arson vandalism after cops responded to a “female burning clothes” call late Saturday evening.
Weiland was booked at a Burbank police station just after midnight Sunday morning and was released after posting $50,000 bail three hours later.
The arrest came only hours after the couple was kicked out of the Graciela Hotel in Burbank following a ferocious argument that left Weiland’s room in shambles and blood on the linens.
The Journal News’ John Delcos reports that Mets reliever Duaner Sanchez has a hairline fracture in his left shoulder, and pending surgery, could be 4 months or more away from active duty.
Former Met Heath Bell tells the San Diego Union Tribune’s Tom Krasovic that he was certain he’d leave Arizona a member of the Padres big league roster beacuse “San Diego wanted me. New York didn’t want me. It’s plain and simple – if you want me, I’m pretty much on the team. I could have (messed) it up. But I’m not going to (mess) it up.”
While the Marlins swapped former Mets prospect Yusmeiro Petit to the D-Backs today in exchange for P Jorge Julio, the Cubs announced that Kerry Wood would start the season on the disabled list. This is Wood’s 11th trip to the DL in a decade, which really isn’t very many times until you consider that baseball isn’t a contact sport.
Return engagement time, folks. I’m dj’ing again at The Scoot Inn (1308 E. 4th St. at Navasota, Austin TX) this Wednesday (March 28) night from 10pm ’til closing. If you’re on the fence about venturing out, please keep the following in mind :
1) if you’re sick to death of Austin bars and nightclubs where you’re constantly approached by attractive people offering drugs or trying to take you home, this oughta be right up your alley.
2) There’s no chance in hell these guys will be playing — either in person or in recorded form.
3) Management has assured me they now accept U.S. currency.
4) If I’m busy playing records, the odds of my spilling something on you are significantly reduced.
Cavs Blog’s Brian Windhorst reports on a Warren Buffett sighting at Denver’s win over Cleveland last night (hey, that’s nothing — I saw Chris Simms at a UT baseball game yesterday), along with the following tidbit about a man who might rarely lack self confidence, but suddenly needs some cash.
-Not to say that Damon Jones is either disgruntled or assured he’s moving elsewhere after this season, but he informed everyone within earshot Sunday that everything he had was for sale. His house, his cars, even his diamond-crusted watch, which Daniel Gibson wanted a price on. I won’t say the number, but It seemed out of the rook’s range. He asked LeBron if he’d buy his house, which he bought off Bob Sura for 600K according to my searching. LeBron quoted him a cash price, which Damon thought about but rejected.
ESPN’s Rick Sutcliffe (above), paying homage to the Reds’ Ken Griffey Jr. during today’s Cincy/Boston tilt.
“You know, the thing about Junior that’s always jumped out at me…not only the amazing things he’s done on the field, but there’s never been anything wrong he’s done off the field.”
Indeed, other than getting hurt every 10 minutes, Junior’s nothing short of perfect.
Daisuke Matsuzaka’s line today : 5 IP, no runs, no hits, 5 walks, 6 K’s
Though Dave Schied — recently heard singing the praises of Marky Mark’s “Shooter” — never turned in the “Rocky Balboa” review he promised CSTB, perhaps I should’ve asked Da Edge. From Newsday’s David Lennon.
It seems like TNT shows a Rocky marathon every other weekend, and the reason they do it is for people like Lastings Milledge. As soon as the Mets outfielder noticed Rocky III today on the clubhouse television, Milledge pulled up a stool, turned up the volume and was riveted to the screen. He was just in time for the training sequence involving Rocky and Apollo Creed sprinting side-by-side on the beach. I can’t help but wonder if he was picturing himself edging past Shawn Green in his mind’s eye.
“I’ve seen every one like 15 or 20 times,” Milledge said. “Every time it’s on, I have to watch it. I don’t know why. I’m addicted to them.”
It wasn’t long before Milledge had company around the TV, which hangs from the ceiling between two rows of lockers. Jose Valentin thew a mock right hook at a clubhouse kid, then walked off to the lunch room chanting, “Rock-ee! Rock-ee! Rock-ee!” Milledge barely flinched. His eyes never leaving the TV as Rocky stepped into the Madison Square Garden ring to face Clubber.
“These guys are ripped,” Milledge said. “I want to see Clubber Lang against the Russian [from IV].They’ve got to make one of those.”
Cooling his heels will be Joe Theismann, who established zero rapport with Kornheiser during last season, and was clearly the one member of the trio furthest from his element during the routine celebrity pop-ins (though considering Christian Slater was one of the celebs, that’s not the biggest knock on Joe).
Lapdog38: Hey Curt. This blog is awesome. I mean, I can’t believe it’s really you. I’m nervous just typing, knowing you are there on the other end. Let me tell you a little about myself. I am 38 years old (pretty cool, huh, 38?) and I have your jersey in XXL (both home and away versions). I’m living at home, in the basement, rent free, and I’ve got cable and plasma TV. Domino’s delivers. I guess you could say I’m living the dream. Anyway, I was wondering if you could tell us who’s going to be on the final 25-man roster for the Sox this year?
38 Pitches: Whoa, there, Lapdog38. I know you guys first heard about Pap being our closer on this blog, but I’ve promised the owners, Theo, and Tito I’ll try not to break any more news here. I’ll leave that to the “sportswriters,” if you know what I’m saying. Just don’t believe everything you read, ha ha.
Suckup38: Curt, you are the best. Thank you for this blog. It completes me. You had me at hello. I have blood stains on all my white socks. I was wondering if you would please consider going back to the negotiating table with the Red Sox during the season. If you leave Boston, I’ll be forced to leave, myself.
38 Pitches: Don’t get carried away there, Suckup38. I know it’s difficult, but try to remember that even though I am the ace of the staff and delivered a World Series to you after 86 years, and am serving my fellow man in every way imaginable, I am still only one man. And I will not negotiate through the media. I think I’ve been pretty clear on that in all of my news-breaking interviews with WEEI.
Loser38: I used to go to Star Trek conventions and comic book trade shows. No more. Now this blog is my life. My girlfriend says I’m spending too much time on this site. I say she’s being ridiculous. I mean, what’s six hours a day when you have a chance to communicate — cyberspace to cyberspace — with a legitimate Hall of Famer? Do you think I’m being reasonable, Schill?
38 Pitches: I’ve learned that greatness comes with a price. Only you can decide if you’re willing to pay that price. Personally, I’m spending about eight hours a day with this site and that’s not easy when you have as many responsibilities as I have. Whenever I begin to question things I just ask myself, “What would Gandhi do?” I mean, I never met the man, but I heard he was a really good guy. I think he would have been into 38 Studios.
CHB38: What do you say to those media morons who contend that you are a self-important blowhard with an ill-informed opinion about everything and an insatiable need to be worshipped by sheep-like fans and late-night blog boys who live in Ma’s basement?
38 Pitches: I say bring ‘em on. You think it’s easy being player-manager/staff ace/media go-to guy/entrepreneur/candidate-in-waiting/savior of the universe? Walk a mile in my shoes, big guy. Meanwhile, I’ve got to call it a night. Thank you all for writing and keeping it real. Forever yours, 38 Pitches.
As the investigation of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer’s suspicious death continues, the Guardian’s Mike Marquesee insists “the unsubtle innuendo linking Pakistani cricketers to Woolmer’s ghastly murder goes beyond sensationalism. The rush to judgment here is fuelled by that other bane of sports journalism, national stereotyping.”
Pakistan’s shock loss to cricketing minnows Ireland, which led to their elimination from the World Cup, is said to be “under the microscope”. The implication is that the match was fixed and that this is somehow related to Woolmer’s murder. As conspiracy theories go, this one is particularly weak.
Given the team’s abject performance on the day, virtually all the players would have had to have been bribed and the bribes would have had to have been on a colossal scale – sufficient to compensate for the huge financial loss, public humiliation, and termination of careers that would accompany an early exit from the cup. Neither the putative motive nor means are credible here.
There is, to hand, an alternative explanation: in recent months Pakistan has played dreadfully inconsistent cricket. Weeks before the players’ arrival in the West Indies they were beaten by South Africa 3-1, bowled out once for a measly 107 and then for a barely more respectable 153. Ireland had already pulled off a surprise by tying with Zimbabwe days before encountering Pakistan.
The fact that three members of Pakistan’s squad, including the captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq (above), were questioned by police on Saturday was blazed in banner headlines. That police immediately confirmed the questioning was routine and declared that the entire team was free to leave the country was buried in the columns below.
But never mind the facts, it’s easier to stick to stereotypes. We all know that south Asians take their cricket too seriously (which they do), that corruption is rife in these societies (which is true), and that wiliness and duplicity are part of the oriental (or Muslim) character (which is idiocy).
Can I propose a ban on the use of the word “volatile” by British journalists in relation to Pakistani (or south Asian) cricket? Like cliches in general, it’s a tell-tale sign of a failure to reflect, and from a media addicted to the heroes-to-zeroes script, somewhat hypocritical: witness the wild mood swings that accompanied England’s entry and exit from the football World Cup and Freddie Flintoff’s transformation from Ashes messiah to pedalo piss-artist?
Not to diminish the heart-tugging saga of Carolina’s Roy W. using childhood poverty to inspire rampant tooth decay as an adult, but the only thing colder than those icy bottles of Coke in his office was the Tar Heels’ shooting touch. N.C. hit just one of their last 23 shots from the field and missed their 12 shots in O.T., while managing to blowing a ten point lead with 6 minutes to go.
I have no idea how Patrick Ewing Sr. and John Thompson chose to celebrate with their sons after the game, but if memory serves me well, Scores stays open until 4 AM.
Though a no.2 seed advancing to the Final Four cannot be considered a major upset by any stretch, some credit is due this evening to Dwil, who insisted some time ago these Hoyas were for real.
In honor of Nick Lowe’s 58th birthday (yesterday, actually), I’ll be taking the hours between 5am and 10am off tomorrow, and I encourage the rest of you to do the same.
(what’s on Nate’s iPod?)
The Oregonian’s Jason Quick observes the growing pains experienced by the Blazers’ rookie PG tandem of Jarrett Jack and Sergio Rodriguez. Of the former, coach Nate McMillan seems to suggest that regardless of how much fun Rodriguez is to watch…you don’t know what you’re missing.
After McMillan said he would give Rodriguez “more rope” for the rest of the season, Rodriguez had a sterling nine-point, nine-assist game Tuesday against Washington. In the next game at New York, he struggled to 1 for 6 shooting in 15 minutes but had four assists and one turnover. The following night in Atlanta, he was benched after a poor pass and played just six minutes.
After the game, McMillan said the coaching staff was convinced that Rodriguez’s left ankle was again bothering him, although Rodriguez said he didn’t want to use that as an excuse. Rodriguez sprained the ankle in January, forcing him to miss 15 games.
“I know there will be times when he is up, or down, but you can’t drop your head and show the team you are down,” McMillan said. “I’m looking more at leadership with him. Is he providing that? Do I sense or feel that he has control of this team? To me, that is more important than his numbers.”
Rodriguez has become the most sensitive subject for McMillan. As more and more fans — and media members — called for the flashy Spanish rookie to receive more playing time, McMillan has at times snapped back, saying Rodriguez lacks the defense and a grasp of English to command more playing time.
“With fans, it’s about entertainment,” McMillan said. “But I say, ‘Does that entertainment win?’ I mean, they have no idea. . . . All they see is what he does offensively. I don’t think they ever watch what he does on the defensive end. They see him pounding the ball, and he has that ball on a string, and his no-look passes. There is so much more to it, though. They don’t see that in calling out plays, nobody hears him or understands his accent.”
Sincere congrats to Billy Donovan (above) and his Florida Gators on today’s 85-77 defeat of Oregon, setting up a rematch of last season’s National Title game with UCLA next Saturday. Who knows what Donovan might accomplish at a basketball school?
Ron Artest is reportedly contemplating retirement. Sadly, from basketball, as opposed to hip-hop.
Brandon McCarthy figures there’s no reason he’d monitor John Danks’ results in Chicago’s rotation, which puts the latest Rangers starter in a distinct minority among the faithful of his new team.
Any day now, some smart-aleck desk guy is going to suggest that the paper run their records side-by-side this season.
And if the comparison were to start, say, today, this is how it would look:
Pitcher W-L ERA Inn. H R ER W K
Danks 2-0 4.32 16 2/3 17 9 8 4 12
McCarthy 1-1 10.45 10 1/3 19 12 12 7 11
“I don’t put a lot of stock in spring numbers,” McCarthy said, and that’s exactly what I’d say, too, if those were my numbers.
Unfortunately, casual Rangers fans aren’t so sophisticated. They can remember when Danks was the hope of the club’s future – the first or last “D” in “DVD,” we were never quite sure which – only now Thomas Diamond is on the DL and Edinson Volquez is on the back lot, and Danks is knocking them dead in Peoria.
Your casual Ranger fan was already taking something for his or her blood pressure at the thought of Chris Young in San Diego. And in that deal the Rangers still got Aki Otsuka.
Prediction: If the numbers above hold for the regular season, I’m not thinking fans will console themselves by thinking at least they got David Paisano, too.
Mets GM Omar Minaya was just quizzed by Gary Cohen during the 6th inning of the Mets’ exhibition with the Astros (Houston currently leading, 5-3), and when asked about the status of Lasting Milledge, Minaya replied that it would be “unfair” to Da Edge to keep him on the big league roster merely to be the 4th or 5th outfielder. I suspect Shawn Green would concur.
Coming to a minor league ballpark near you (well, near me, anyway) : AL Rookie Of The Year circa 2003 Angel Berroa, scheduled to earn $8.5 million this season, and optioned yesterday by K.C. to the PCL’s Omaha Royals.
In this morning’s Daily News, not only does Bob Raissman raise the hillarious prospect of Presidential candidates besides Rudy G. visiting the YES radio and TV booths (the sparks will fly when Dennis Kucinich and John Sterling hook up!), but WFAN’s “Mike & The Mad Dog” are castigated for their cavalier ‘tude towards MLB’s mishandling of the “Extra Innings” package.
Mike Francesa and Chris (Mad Dog) Russo are above it all. That’s no revelation. The boys have become so jaded they are oblivious to the passion many Joe/Jill fans have for their favorite sports.
That’s why FranDog, in condescending tones, last Wednesday haughtily dismissed all protests coming from fans (backed by some media types) who are being shafted in MLB’s “Extra Innings” fiasco because “only” 200,000 people bought the package of out-of-market games on cable TV last season.
“Think about how much outrage . . . So this thing everyone was having ripped from them, and how it was against apple pie and motherhood and Americana,” Francesa said with a snort. “There was only 200,000 people in the whole country subscribing to it.” Russo: “It’s virtually nobody . . . You can’t even discuss it as a big deal.”
Hey, if one person is having a summer ruined because of Bud (Nutty Professor) Selig’s money grab (an exclusive “Extra Innings” deal with DirecTV worth $700 million) than I say scream long and loud. Then again, a “big deal” to FranDog these days is Russo detailing his latest vacation. Or Francesa providing touching highlights of his birthday morning.
