Official nears final whistle after 30 years Jake Ireland had barely cracked the lid on his coffee.
"I heard a new line from a fan this year," he said, smiling.
It was in Hamilton, and Ireland, a long-time referee, has always loved working
C.F.L. games in Hamilton. The stands at Ivor Wynne Stadium are snug against the field, which fosters the growth of a certain rapport between officials and the paying customers, like the one who yelled at Ireland this season.
"Jake," the man yelled. "I found your cell phone."
There was a pause.
"I know it's yours," he continued, "because there's six missed calls on it."
November 18
Football: Swazi women's team win 33-0 A Swazi women football team's ambitious target of scoring 150 goals this season inched closer at the weekend after walloping a rival team 33-0 - a rate of one goal nearly every three minutes.
MLB MVPs Announced Albert Pujols wins the NL MVP; Dustin Pedroia takes the AL honors. Rob Neyer makes a pretty compelling case that it could have been Lance Berkman in the NL and Joe Mauer in the AL, King Kaufman weighs in on the voting, and Baseball Prospectus takes a look at the AL candidates.
November 17
NFL overtime rules? Don't ask McNabb "No, I didn't know that," Donovan McNabb said at his postgame press conference, saying he was not aware that one overtime is all you get in the NFL in the regular season. Then McNabb compounded his error by not knowing the postseason overtime rule. Those games do play to a conclusion for obvious reasons, but McNabb said, "I hate to see what happens in the Super Bowl or I hate to see what happens in the playoffs. You have to settle with a tie." A real student of the game.
Lesnar proves size does matter Despite it coming just weeks after Bernard Hopkins proved that a 45-year-old combat athlete doesn't have to turn into primordial paste in the ring, returning UFC champion Randy Couture -- as much an MMA institution as the cage itself -- failed in his attempt to write yet another storybook epilogue to a peerless career.
Mark Cuban Accused of Insider Trading Entrepreneur Mark Cuban, owner of the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks, was charged Monday by the Securities and Exchange Commission with insider trading.
November 15
"I really haven't seen them play...slidepiece...Dave Concepcion." FJM goes dark. read more
This Page is Illegal in Argentina, Thanks to Diego Maradona Diego Maradona and more than 100 other public figures in Argentina have secured court orders blocking the Argentine versions of Google and Yahoo from all search results for their names except for those on major media sites. "Without the link in Google or Yahoo, nobody would even know these [other] sites exist," said Martin Leguizamon, attorney for Maradona and other celebs.
November 14
Tampa Bay no longer Melrose's place. The Tampa Bay Lightning fire first-year head coach Barry Melrose after just a month and a half. The Lightning take a gamble on Rick Tocchet for the interim.
Kerry Wood and Cubs Parting Ways The Cubs all but said goodbye to their closer Thursday, announcing they wouldn't give him a multiyear contract and wishing him well in his free agency endeavors. He's about to become a much richer man. read more
November 13
Yankees Acquire Nick Swisher from White Sox The New York Yankees have begun the off-season swap meet by acquiring Chicago White Sox first baseman Nick Swisher and minor league pitcher Kanekoa Texeira for utility infielder Wilson Betemit and minor league pitchers Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez. Swisher, 27, hit .219 with 24 homers last season. Marquez is a top pitching prospect who had a 4.47 ERA in 19 starts in Triple-A and Double-A.
November 12
Halloween for 82 games. 50+ photos of the NHL's masked men and their masks. Better than anything you'll find in your local drug store's Halloween section. (SI)
November 11
What Might Have Been: My first impression upon seeing Herb Score pitch (on TV) was, "The Red Sox will never beat this guy." Those who knew him best sum it up when they say he would have been better than Koufax or any other left-hander.
Kevin Garnett’s greatness awes coach OK, so it was a wonderful achievement for Kevin Garnett last season when the big guy stepped into the Garden, and into local sports lore, by helping lead the Celtics to their 17th NBA championship.
After all those years with the Minnesota Timberwolves, all those years of missing out on the NBA's grand stage, Garnett brought his talent, his desire, his smarts and his work ethic to Boston. And it paid off with a championship.
49ers Let Cardinals Off the Hook Tony Kornheiser was right -- the 49ers snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory must have been scripted -- or that's just what bad teams always do. The 49ers coaching staff and players totally mismanaged the end of the game. With no timeouts and less than 20 seconds, you keeping throwing -- or spiking -- the ball until the last play ... then maybe you run. read more
November 10
Five Aces in a Week? "It's incomprehensible this kind of luck could happen, but it does happen ..."
November 09
The Costliest Injuries In Sports Remember when $2.3 million was a hefty annual salary for a player? That's what $28 million man Alex Rodriguez got for his one stint on the 15-day disabled list in May.
November 07
Obama is a soccer fan. West Ham invite Obama to watch a game at Upton Park. Apparently, he watched a Hammers game in 2003 while visiting his half-sister in London (article doesn't say if it was live, home, away or on the telly). Obama's older daughter plays on a soccer team. Change we can believe in.
Smell The Glove Brandon Marshall had a half-black, half-white glove stashed as part of a TD celebration / commemoration that recalled Tommie Smith and celebrated Barack Obama. Brandon Stokely ran over to him and made him put it away, fearing a 15-yard unsportsmanlike at the end of a close game. On the one hand, Brandon Marshall is no Tommie Smith. On the other hand, I can't shake off the nagging feeling (which owes more to Smith than Marshall) that it would have been a pretty cool gesture.
November 06
Warrick Dunn faces his mother’s killer Warrick Dunn faces his mother's killer, an excerpt from Dunn's memoir "Running for My Life".
The Hoser's NFL Picks, Week Ten 2008 NFL picks that use the ancient Chinese arts to reveal all -- no, not fortune cookies.
November 05
The Next Tennessee Football Coach Some fervent and deep thoughts on who will succeed Coach Fulmer at Tennessee. Posted Sept. 23, well before Fulmer's ouster (keep that in mind while reading). This SEC blog is zealous and energetic, but also quite rational, civil, and insightful. Complete with decent responses. The discussion drifts off into another zone after a while, but the first half or so is a welcome break from the crazed stuff you run into elsewhere. Recommended reading for Chuck Neinas.
November 03
Pistons get Iverson for Billups, McDyess, Samb It appears the promised shake-up has come to the Pistons.
The Pistons are expected to trade guard Chauncey Billups, forward Antonio McDyess and center Cheikh Samb to the Denver Nuggets for guard Allen Iverson, the Free Press has learned.
November 02
"You will never see a more dramatic conclusion to any motor race... let alone a grand prix, and the result of it all is that, in the most harum scarum way possible - he doesn't make it easy for himself, does he? - Lewis Hamilton is the world champion." (Video here for the moment.) read more
November 01
Collina Speaks! to the NY Times no less If I respect only a few referees, Pierluigi Collina is first among all. Though he claims no dissatisfaction at the 45 years old retirement rule, the man who stood out among the stars at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups is going strong and gives the Times a glimpse into his thinking.