Eating the Dinosaur: Chuck Klosterman breaks down (American) football.

posted by Ufez Jones to football at 09:57 PM - 6 comments

Cuban Lefthander Aroldis Chapman Defects: Aroldis Chapman, perhaps the "best left-handed pitching prospect in the world" has left the Cuban National Team hotel in the Netherlands."I walked out easily, right through the hotel door, and I hopped into a car and left," Chapman told cubaencuentro.com. "It was easy. Now the plan is to sign with a major league team." Chapman is 21 years old and has a fastball that has been clocked at 102 mph.

posted by Ufez Jones to baseball at 01:25 PM - 3 comments

The San Antonio Spurs send three players to Milwaukee, get Richard Jefferson in return.: The Bucks receive Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto, and Kurt Thomas, all of whom are entering the final year of their contracts.

posted by Ufez Jones to basketball at 03:43 PM - 11 comments

The Madness of Temporary Ski Jumps: Some great black & white vintage photography for your weekend viewing pleasure. (via)

posted by Ufez Jones to other at 07:55 PM - 2 comments

SI's list of best and worst owners.: Sports Illustrated has selected the five best and five worst owners for the top four professional American team sports. Among the criteria used to evaluate owners was the willingness to spend money to improve the team; the stability and capabilities of the front office and management; the amenities at the team's venue; and the club's culture and interactivity with fans. Of course, weighing heavily in the decision was the team's success or failure on the field. (via)

posted by Ufez Jones to general at 02:42 PM - 18 comments

Dirk Duped by a Gold Digger?: Nowitzki apparently bought her a $250,000 engagement ring. But at some point he also sensed something wasn't quite right and hired a private investigator to do some background work on his potential "the one."

posted by Ufez Jones to basketball at 07:47 PM - 24 comments

Excavators find articfacts from the 18th Century buried below Rutgers Stadium.: The crew, working on the Rutgers Stadium Expansion Project (warning: embedded audio), has discovered thousands of artifacts among what are believed to be the remains of a tavern and a house built in the 1700's.

posted by Ufez Jones to culture at 10:12 AM - 4 comments

Best soccer/football goal celebrations, 1: and 2. YouTube warning There's some very entertaining clips involved. I hope y'all enjoy them.

posted by Ufez Jones to soccer at 12:32 AM - 10 comments

Vous êtes des assassins!: It is perhaps the most famous, often quoted phrase in Tour de France history, shouted by Octave Lapize to onlookers as he struggled over the Col d’Aubisque in the 1910 Tour. A fascinating look at the early days of the Tour and the controversial decision to include massive climbs in the Pyrenees. (via)

posted by Ufez Jones to other at 05:47 PM - 1 comment

"Mister, what happened to you?" they'll say.: "It's from fireworks," he gently tells them, in his new capacity as a walking cautionary tale.

posted by Ufez Jones to baseball at 11:18 PM - 4 comments

Basketball's Best Kept Secret: Revealed.: While cruising Amazon one day, I found something curious: a 1994 hip-hop album from Immortal Records called Basketball’s Best-Kept Secret featuring the flows of ten of the day’s brightest NBA stars.... In the Pantheon of Hilariously Bad Athlete Rap, it’s the missing link between “The Super Bowl Shuffle” and Kobe Bryant’s abysmal “Thug Poet.” Is there anything musically redeeming about it? Not at all. Is it worth listening to if you’re an NBA fan? Absolutely. Features playable sound clips from such awesome MCs as Dana Barros, Brian Shaw, and Gary Payton.

posted by Ufez Jones to basketball at 06:26 PM - 6 comments

Happy 25th, USFL!: (or what could've been).

posted by Ufez Jones to football at 04:23 PM - 15 comments

Pau Gasol headed to the Lakers.: The Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to a trade that will send the disgruntled Spaniard to LA for Kwame Brown, rookie point guard Javaris Crittenton, a couple of first round draft picks, and the rotting corpse of Aaron McKie's career.

posted by Ufez Jones to basketball at 02:56 PM - 31 comments

Former Dallas Cowboy Ron Springs has "no hope" of surviving.: Last Saturday, during a routine operation to remove a cyst from one of his arms, Springs fell into a coma. This happened seven months after Ron received a kidney from former teammate Everson Walls.

posted by Ufez Jones to football at 07:50 PM - 10 comments

Introducing, again, your Hornets.: Sometimes, it has been tough to believe in New Orleans. Yes, the Hornets have tried to entrench themselves in the community after two seasons in Oklahoma City. They brought home a multi-million-dollar business with more than 100 employees; they have done charity work and rebuilt 20 homes. All the while, they've been preaching that the Hornets are fuel for a post-Katrina revitalization. But then, just when they think they're as New Orleans as jazz, someone will say, "The Hornets are back?" Benjamin Hochman of The Times-Picayune takes a stern look at the seemingly monumental task the New Orleans Hornets are facing in their upcoming full-season return to Louisiana.

posted by Ufez Jones to basketball at 06:31 PM - 4 comments

Five Ballpark Promotions that went wrong.: Just, you know, because other people's failures are funny.

posted by Ufez Jones to baseball at 06:44 PM - 16 comments

(I)t hit me, the Spurs are Nickelback.: They're that band whose music isn't offensive but you've heard it so much you can't stand listening to it anymore. That got us thinking about how other basketball dynasties relate to other music acts from history. Here's what we came up with.

posted by Ufez Jones to basketball at 08:37 PM - 19 comments

The legend of Bo.: Bo Jackson didn’t believe the hype, saying he was just another guy. But really, he was superhuman. The Kansas City Star's Joe Posnanski waxes nostalgic about Bo Jackson twenty years after his rookie season with the Royals.

posted by Ufez Jones to baseball at 12:59 AM - 34 comments

Going for Broke.: In one way, there's a lot of people saying, 'You can't do this. You can't run in NASCAR. You can't get that money; you don't have that money.' But, look, I know I don't have the money, but I've got the gumption, and I've got the chutzpah. I've got the grit, and I know that I can pull this off." Milburn doesn't have a sponsor—a few here and there, sure, but nothing bigger than The Electric Light & Power Company, a local film-equipment rental house, and Reverend Horton Heat.

posted by Ufez Jones to auto racing at 06:01 PM - 10 comments

Federer and Nadal to go toe-to-toe: in an exhibition match on a $1.63 million dollar custom half grass/half clay court. Federer hasn't lost on grass in four years, a 48-match run that includes four straight titles at Wimbledon. Nadal has won a record 72 straight clay-court matches, including two consecutive titles at Roland Garros in Paris.

posted by Ufez Jones to tennis at 10:18 AM - 26 comments

"Cheesecake Factory's got the black straws, they're kind of thick. That's good quality straws.": Caron Butler has a problem.

posted by Ufez Jones to basketball at 09:44 AM - 25 comments

Jackie Robinson Day.

posted by Ufez Jones to baseball at 01:16 AM - 39 comments

Greg Maddux in standoff with San Diego Police.: The former-future-hall-of-famer is reportedly intoxicated and has been screaming insults about Padres Manager Bud Black's selection of Jake Peavy as the opening day starter. San Diego County Sheriffs have surrounded Maddux's condo, and happened to find four dead prostitutes in the trunk of his Chrysler 300M. Sidd Finch, former peer prodigy and famous cohort of Maddux, has had no comment on the situation. Reports updated as they come to the public.

posted by Ufez Jones to baseball at 12:22 AM - 20 comments

It's selection Sunday,: and while there are plenty of teams waiting with baited breath, only Appalachian State took out a $10,000 full page advertisement in the Indianapolis Star. This is believed to be the first time a team has publicly lobbied the selection committee via public media advertising.

posted by Ufez Jones to basketball at 04:33 PM - 28 comments

Kicking for a China Bowl dream.: bugmenot: ihateyou/ password: losers The NFL is paying former Notre Dame kicker and longtime mercenary Nick Setta to train four Chinese Nationals to kick Field Goals. The two most successful will be on the sidelines, available for duty, for the August pre-season matchup between New England and Seattle, which is to be played in Beijing.

posted by Ufez Jones to football at 08:17 PM - 6 comments