Iraqi Detainees Have Become Vikings Fans: Detainees at a Wisconsin National Guard camp in Iraq have been taunting their guards by making references to Brett Favre. "They soon learned about Favre going to the Vikings, and things just started going downhill from there," said First Lieutenant Tim Boehnen. "'They're very crafty."

posted by rcade to football at 10:47 AM - 4 comments

Anaheim Fans Brawl Over Hockey Stick: When Anaheim Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer gave his hockey stick to a girl in the crowd Thursday night after being named a star of the game, a brawl broke out in the stands because a man grabbed it for himself. "It was for the little girl," Niedermayer told the Los Angeles Times.

posted by rcade to hockey at 08:48 AM - 1 comment

Oregon Ducks Smell Roses: Ten years ago, as the Jacksonville Jaguars took their 14-2 record and No. 1 AFC seed into the 1999 playoffs, they suffered a case of premature celebration with the early release of Uh Oh -- The Jaguars Super Bowl Song. The football gods and Touchdown Jesus responded with a crushing 33-14 loss to the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship and four straight losing seasons. The Oregon Ducks are tempting divine wrath with the release of "I Smell Roses," a new student-produced song, ahead of games at Arizona this Saturday and against Oregon State a week later. I smell trouble.

posted by rcade to football at 11:18 AM - 4 comments

AP Columnist: 'Soccer Players Can't Be Trusted': Although French striker Thierry Henry has admitted he cheated and believes the France/Ireland World Cup qualifier should be replayed, FIFA has rejected Ireland's request for a replay. AP columnist John Leicester draws this conclusion from the Hand of Frog incident: "Soccer players just can't be trusted to be honest and Thierry Henry proved that by choosing to play volleyball against Ireland," he writes. "Rather than immediately tell the referee that he had broken the rules of the game, Henry charged off in celebration. ... the sad truth is that many players, like Henry, also do whatever they can to get away with fouls and unjust decisions."

posted by rcade to soccer at 10:47 AM - 20 comments

Stephanie Spielman Dies of Cancer: Stephanie Spielman, the wife of former NFL player Chris Spielman, has died after a 12-year fight against breast cancer. She was 42. The mother of four, Spielman discovered a lump in her breast at age 30 during a self-exam. A charity fund that she created has raised more than $6.5 million for breast-cancer research, education and patient assistance at Ohio State University's Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital. "I know there's a reason God gave me breast cancer, and I'm supposed to do something with it," she said in 1998.

posted by rcade to football at 08:22 PM - 12 comments

The Story of Tom Brady's First Completed Pass: Bill Harke, a professional caddy on the PGA and LPGA tours, has an awesome sports story to tell -- but it isn't about golf. He caught Tom Brady's first pass when they were both freshmen at Serra High School in San Mateo, Calif. "I just did this little out pattern, and Tom threw it right in my numbers for seven yards. I caught it and ran out of bounds," said Harke. "I remember that at the moment I caught the pass, my mom shrieked in terror; she thought I was going to get killed. That's the only thing I heard, and it's the reason I ran out of bounds, I think." It was the only catch of Harke's entire football career.

posted by rcade to football at 06:46 PM - 1 comment

Real Salt Lake Poised to Become Biggest Loser: If Real Salt Lake defeats the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS title game on Sunday, it will become the first team in an American pro sport to win a championship with a losing record. The team was 11-12-7 during the regular season, squeezing into the eighth and final playoff slot by a single point. "We're a good team when things are on the line and we’ve proven that," said goalkeeper Nick Rimando.

posted by rcade to soccer at 04:54 AM - 9 comments

Bills Fire Head Coach Dick Jauron: The Buffalo Bills have fired head coach Dick Jauron after the team's 3-6 start, NFL.Com reported Tuesday afternoon. Jauron, who led the Chicago Bears to a 13-3 record and the NFC North division title in 2001, amassed a 24-33 record leading the Bills.

posted by rcade to football at 03:03 PM - 9 comments

Soccer Striker Will Treat Injury with Horse Placenta: Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie is flying to Serbia to have fluid from a horse placenta massaged over his injured ankle. Van Persie, 26, suffered a partial tear of ligaments while playing for the Dutch national team and is expected to be out six weeks. ESPN Soccernut runs down other miracle cures sought by players, including goat's blood injections for hamstring problems, shamanism for ankle woes and Viagra for altitude sickness.

posted by rcade to soccer at 01:23 PM - 10 comments

Titans Owner Bud Adams Flips Off the Bills: Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams gave several one-fingered salutes to the Buffalo Bills at the end of the team's 41-17 victory Sunday (see the video), for which he later apologized. Style points to Adams for pairing the birds with a "you, yes, I mean you" gesture.

posted by rcade to football at 05:14 PM - 35 comments

Supreme Court Refuses to Take Redskins Case: On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take the appeal of six American Indians who challenged the name of the Washington Redskins on the grounds that it is racially offensive and thus does not merit trademark protection. An appeals court ruled in Harjo v. Pro-Football, Inc. that they waited too long to challenge the mark. The group has another six plaintiffs ranging in age from 18 to 24 who filed a similar claim in a case that's not yet resolved.

posted by rcade to football at 01:15 PM - 32 comments

Belichick Call Questioned in Pats' Loss to Colts: With 2:08 remaining in the game, a six-point lead and the New England Patriots on their own 28, coach Bill Belichick went for the first down on fourth-and-2. The Indianapolis Colts held and scored a touchdown in the 35-34 win. "As a former defender on that team, I would've cared less about the result of that fourth-down attempt," writes Tedy Bruschi for ESPNBoston.Com. "The decision to go for it would be enough to make my blood boil for weeks."

posted by rcade to football at 09:22 AM - 88 comments

What's Wrong with Brock Lesnar?: UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar has been hospitalized and is battling serious health problems related to a bout with mononucleosis, said president Dana White cryptically. "He doesn't want to talk about it publicly, but he's in bad shape. He's not well and he's not going to be getting well anytime soon," said White. "We're going to have to send him to the Mayo Clinic or to Scripps, or one of those really good hospitals to figure out what's wrong with this guy." The MMA site Fightline quotes White dropping more hints: "He's got mono and he's got something else wrong with him. I know what's wrong with him, he just doesn't want me talking about it. He doesn't have cancer or AIDS or anything like this, [but] he's got some problems, man."

posted by rcade to boxing at 11:32 AM - 7 comments

College Football's No. 1 Fan: The Wall Street Journal profiles Robert Lipson, who can make a strong argument to being college football's most loyal fan. Since 1972, the salesman has attended every Kansas State home game and every conference road game -- even though the team was one of the worst in college football over the first 20 years of that stretch. He spends hours before and after each game making the rounds at tailgaters and leaves a day early for road games. "There is no margin of error in this," he said.

posted by rcade to football at 11:18 AM - 0 comments

LeBron James: Honor Jordan By Giving Up No. 23: LeBron James has called on all NBA players who wear No. 23 to choose another number as an homage to Michael Jordan. "I feel like no NBA player should wear 23," he said. "I'm starting a petition, and I've got to get everyone in the NBA to sign it. Now, if I'm not going to wear No. 23, then nobody else should be able to wear it." There are 12 other 23s in the league in addition to James: Marcus Camby of the Clippers, B.J. Mullens (Thunder), Stephen Graham (Bobcats), C.J. Watson (Warriors), Jodie Meeks (Bucks), Devin Brown (Hornets), Toney Douglas (Knicks), Lou Williams (76ers), Jason Richardson (Suns), Martell Webster (Trail Blazers), Kevin Martin (Kings) and Wes Matthews (Jazz).

posted by rcade to basketball at 12:09 PM - 38 comments

New Orleans Hornets Fire Coach Byron Scott: After just nine games, the New Orleans Hornets have fired head coach Byron Scott, a move that caught star player Chris Paul off guard because he wasn't consulted beforehand. Scott's team suffered several ugly double-digit losses this year and were beaten by the winless New York Knicks. His record with the team was 203-216. General manager Jeff Bower, who has never been a head coach, takes over the job.

posted by rcade to basketball at 07:11 AM - 7 comments

Bengals Coach Tells Ochocinco to Cut the Mustard: Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco will not be allowed to send mustard to members of the Pittsburgh Steelers in advance of their game at Heinz Field Sunday, coach Marvin Lewis told the player. Ochocino tweeted earlier, "I got a nice present for the Steelers -- sending them some mustard since they'll never ketchup when we play Sunday." This news will disappoint Steelers safety Ryan Clark. "He'd better send us something," he said Wednesday in Pittsburgh. "He sent something to the Ravens, so that shows he respects them. So he'd better send something to us."

posted by rcade to football at 09:51 AM - 21 comments

Is It Time to Retire the Football Helmet?: A story in today's Wall Street Journal asks whether the football helmet is the cause of more head injuries than it prevents. "Some people have advocated for years to take the helmet off, take the face mask off," said Fred Mueller of the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research. "Maybe that's better than brain damage." The protective headgear, introduced in the '40s, has created a sport in which players lead with their head in tackles and other collisions. Head injuries are 25 percent more likely to occur in the NFL than in Australian football, a "similarly rough" game that never adopted helmets and other protective gear.

posted by rcade to football at 10:18 AM - 22 comments

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Treatment for Rare Leukemia: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 62, was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia last December, he has revealed. The NBA's all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points, Jabbar said he's doing well in treatment and hasn't cut back his schedule as a Lakers' assistant coach. "There is hope," he said. "This condition can be treated."

posted by rcade to basketball at 08:45 AM - 7 comments

Bucs Go All Out for Throwback Game to Honor Selmon: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers revived Bucko Bruce and their "creamsicle" uniforms for a throwback game Sunday in which Hall of Fame linebacker Lee Roy Selmon was inducted into the team's ring of honor. They decked out Raymond James Stadium in orange and brought back the old Swashbuckler cheerleader uniforms. Thousands of fans showed up in their old orange gear.

posted by rcade to football at 02:35 PM - 14 comments

Cal Running Back Hurt on Touchdown Flight: California running back Jahvid Best suffered a frightening injury last night after going airborne to score a touchdown in the game against Oregon State. A defender sent him higher into the air at the goal line and he landed awkwardly on his back, his helmet flying off and arms stiffening. After he lay motionless for several minutes, Best was taken off the field and is being treated for a concussion. "It was nothing short of devastating," said Best's back-up and friend Shane Vereen. "I'm just thankful he's OK, just thankful we'll be able to see him again."

posted by rcade to football at 08:56 AM - 5 comments

17 Congressmen Vote Against Yankees Resolution: In the good-natured spirit of recent debate here on SportsFilter, in which our members are sharply divided over whether the New York Yankees won because of their massive payroll or the other teams lost because of their tiny payroll, we bring you Congressman William Delahunt (D.-Mass.). When a resolution was proposed in the House to congratulate the Yankees on their 27th World Series win, he joined 16 others in voting no. "He told me that as a lifelong member of Red Sox Nation, he couldn't bring himself to vote for it," his spokesman explained.

posted by rcade to baseball at 08:58 PM - 31 comments

Will a Woman Ever Coach an NBA Team?: Nancy Lieberman has become the first woman to coach an NBA D-League team, taking the reins for the new team the Dallas Mavericks are starting in Frisco, Texas. "How many current D-League coaches are enshrined in Springfield, Mass., which is interestingly where Lieberman broke down barriers 23 years ago?" asks Chris Tomasson on AOL FanHouse. "That would be zero."

posted by rcade to basketball at 10:55 AM - 4 comments

Women's Soccer Playoff Turns Ugly: The women's soccer semifinals of the Mountain West Conference between the Brigham Young Cougars and New Mexico Lobos featured such bad sportsmanship that it made ESPN SportsCenter. One dirty shot by Lobos defender Elizabeth Lambert may singlehandedly revive interest in the Dorothy Hamill haircut among female athletes.

posted by rcade to soccer at 12:32 PM - 24 comments

Florida State Gets Funky New Nike Uniforms: When the Florida State Seminoles take the field Nov. 21 against Maryland, they will for the first time be wearing the Nike Pro Combat uniform design. The uniforms feature sublimated twill jerseys, combat deflex underwear, titanium belt buckles, jazz hand gloves that form an authentic Native American who is not insulted by being reduced to a mascot and shoulders covered with "high-tenacity yarn," which is stitching so dangerous it should require a seven-day waiting period.

posted by rcade to football at 06:11 PM - 9 comments