Recent posts by rcade:

Video: Diamondbacks Catcher Chris Snyder Fractures Left Testicle Although the injury report just says that Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Chris Snyder is on the 15-day DL with a groin injury, the team revealed that he suffered a "left testicular fracture" Monday when hit by a foul ball. "Suspended in the scrotum, a skin pouch below the penis, each testicle is surrounded by the tunica albuginea, a tough, fibrous covering that often takes the hit of trauma to the gland," according to UrologyHealth.Org. "Like the shell of an egg, it can be easily 'fractured' or shattered when confronted by a blunt or violent force." See the video.

posted on Jul 3, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Joe Buck Prefers Bachelorette to Baseball Fox's lead baseball announcer told ESPN's Colin Cowherd yesterday that he prefers watching The Bachelorette to watching baseball. "These games take forever," Buck said, "by the time you get through the sixth inning, if you're watching every minute, you've put two-plus hours into the thing. ... From our own perspective the Saturday Game of the Week ... is not as special or unique as it used to be."

posted on Jul 3, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Dallas Stars Sign Sean Avery The NHL's infamous agitator, fresh off a playoff stunt that inspired a new no-mimes rule, signed a four-year, $15.5 million deal shortly after the league's free agent signing period began.

posted on Jul 2, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Christian News Site Turns Athlete Homosexual OneNewsNow, an online news service owned by the American Family Association, has been editing AP stories to automatically replace the word "gay" with "homosexual," filing numerous stories about the American sprinter Tyson Homosexual and the NBA player Rudy Homosexual. One story still online: "Memphis Grizzlies backers hit the hay hoping that Kevin Love would open things up for Rudy Homosexual in the frontcourt."

posted on Jul 1, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Astros' Shawn Chacon Suspended After Fight with GM Houston Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon has been suspended after a physical altercation with general manager Ed Wade in the team's dining room. "He started yelling and cussing," said Chacon, recently demoted to the bullpen. "... I grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the ground. I jumped on top of him because at that point I wanted to beat his [butt]." Team owner Drayton McLane said Chacon will never pitch for the team again: "You can't defy authority."

posted on Jun 26, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Eight Wimbledon Matches Might've Been Tanked in 2007 The Sunday Times of London serves up a scorcher: "Eight matches at Wimbledon have been reported to the tennis authorities on suspicion that their results have been fixed by professional gambling syndicates." Hints are dropped, but no players are named. Five of the losers are playing in this year's men's singles.

posted on Jun 21, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Five More Years of Notre Dame on NBC The broadcast network has reached a deal to broadcast Notre Dame football for another five years, ending in 2015. Seven games will be played at home in South Bend, plus one at a neutral site airing in prime time. The once-dominant Irish have fallen on hard luck in recent decades, going 3-9 last season and losing nine straight bowl games.

posted on Jun 19, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Kimbo Slice is Going Primetime A sport that was once derided as "human cockfighting" and banned in most U.S. states is airing live on CBS Saturday night. Mixed Martial Arts fighter Kimbo Slice will face James "The Colossus" Thompson in the first live bout on one of the big four networks, a sign the brutal sport has gone mainstream. "Anyone who thinks CBS will not come out of this with some kind of black eye is fooling themselves," says sports consultant Marc Ganis.

posted on May 30, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Joey Logano Graduates to NASCAR's Nationwide Saturday Joey Logano turned 18 Saturday, which means he's now old enough to make his Nationwide Series debut this Saturday for Joe Gibbs Racing at Dover International Speedway. Last year Logano won 5 of 13 starts in the NASCAR Camping World East Series after it was opened to drivers 16 and up. "I don't think that NASCAR has ever seen anything quite like Joey Logano," said Mark Martin, who has been touting the kid's driving talent since he was 14 years old.

posted on May 29, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

ESPN Fires Pittsburgh Radio Host Mark Madden Last Wednesday, ESPN 1250 host Mark Madden responded to news of Sen. Ted Kennedy's illness with this comment: "I'm very disappointed to hear that Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts is near death because of a brain tumor. I always hoped Senator Kennedy would live long enough to be assassinated." This Wednesday, he's looking for a new job. AOL Fanhouse blogger Ryan Wilson's response: "It couldn't have happened to a nicer jerk."

posted on May 28, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Puerto Rican Track Kills Losing Thoroughbreds In Puerto Rico, many thoroughbreds never make it off the track alive. "More than 400 horses, many in perfect health, are killed each year by lethal injection at a clinic tucked behind the Hipodromo Camarero racetrack, chief veterinarian Jose Garcia told The Associated Press after checking clinic log books going back seven years." Hipodromo Camarero, the territory's only thoroughbred racetrack, races a stable of 1,300 horses five days a week.

posted on May 16, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Boston Herald Apologizes for False SpyGate Story "On Feb. 2, 2008, the Boston Herald reported that a member of the New England Patriots' video staff taped the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI," the paper announces in today's edition. "... we now know that this report was false, and that no tape of the walkthrough ever existed." One fan's reaction to the Pats' hometown newspaper running a false story about the team the day before the Super Bowl: "now and forever the Herald is dead to me."

posted on May 14, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

PGA Dresses Down John Daly for Golfing Topless A video of John Daly golfing in Branson, Mo., with no shirt or shoes has prompted this response from PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem: "There are certain things about presentation that we must insist on."

posted on May 7, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Heisman Winner Tim Tebow Circumcises Kids How did Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow spend his spring break? Performing medical and dental surgeries on impoverished children in the Phillipines -- including circumcisions. "The first time, it was nerve-racking," he said. "Hands were shaking a little bit."

posted on May 5, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Danica Patrick Wins IndyCar Race in Japan Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history Sunday, taking the Indy Japan 300 when leader Helio Castroneves was forced to pit for fuel in the final laps. The 26-year-old driver won in her 50th IndyCar start. "She's rocketed herself to the top end of the roll call for most successful female racing drivers ever," writes Gemma Briggs. "The last significant victory was probably Michele Mouton's World Rally Championship win ... way back in 1981."

posted on Apr 20, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

NASCAR Rookie Survives Unbelievable Crash NASCAR Sprint Cup rookie Michael McDowell tested the new safety features in the Car of Tomorrow yesterday during qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway, slamming into a Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barrier at more than 100 mph and rolling eight times (see the video). "That was the hardest hit I think I've ever seen anybody take," driver Tony Stewart said.

posted on Apr 5, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

UFC Fighter Knocked Out in Eight Seconds In a Colorado ring thronging with his fans last night, Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Houston Alexander was knocked out by James Irvin in eight seconds, the shortest bout in the sport's history. "Houston Alexander has been utterly exposed," Michael Rome declared on the blog Bloody Elbow. (See the video.)

posted on Apr 3, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

'Jaws' Author's Widow Opposes Shark-Fishing Tournament The widow of Jaws novelist Peter Benchley has spoken out against a sport her husband helped popularize with his portrayal of the dead-eyed eating machine that destroyed 1975's tourist season in Amity Island. "Shark-fishing tournaments add to the depletion of sharks," said Wendy Benchley, speaking out against the Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament that had 1,250 entrants last year and in 2006 hooked 2,500 sharks and killed 46, according to the Humane Society. "Peter often said he would never write 'Jaws' now," Wendy said.

posted on Apr 1, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Doug Glanville: Baseball and the Plankton of Opportunity "Since a baseball player has the memory of an elephant, my first spring training with the Chicago Cubs might as well have happened yesterday," nine-year Major Leaguer Doug Glanville writes in today's New York Times. "My first roommate was a sleepwalker. He woke up in the middle of the night yelling at shadows; once he crawled into my twin bed after a late-night rant. After that I slept with one eye open and a Pro Stock model M159 baseball bat nearby." More wordsmithing to mark opening night comes from George Will and William Ecenbarger.

posted on Mar 30, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Liverpool Co-Owner: Fans Hate Tom Hicks American billionaire George Gillett is kicking himself for buying Liverpool FC with fellow Yank Tom Hicks. Since Hicks scuttled a deal by a Dubai group that wants to buy out Gillett's 50 percent, the owners have gotten an enormous amount of hate mail and calls from angry fans, according to his co-owner. "The thing that angers fans the most is the prospect I might sell even one share of my stock to my partner," Gillett said in a radio interview. "They do not want him to have any controlling interest in this club -- they do not even want him to have any ownership in the club. As a result of that -- and it's been very difficult for my wife with the amount that I travel -- we receive many phone calls in the middle of the night threatening our lives -- death threats."

posted on Mar 28, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Critics Go Ape Over LeBron James Magazine Cover A picture of NBA star LeBron James and the model Gisele on the cover of April's Vogue is attracting controversy over their pose. The shot taken by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz has been compared by some detractors to King Kong holding Fay Wray. ESPN.Com columnist Jemele Hill called it "memorable for all the wrong reasons." The photo is remarkably similar to "Destroy This Mad Brute," a famous World War I recruitment poster.

posted on Mar 27, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Get a Vasectomy, Enjoy More Roundball "Research shows four out of five guys want to schedule their vasectomy before a major sports event," the Oregon Urology Institute declares in new radio ads. "It's Snip City, and we have the ticket for 24 lucky guys to get their premium vasectomy appointment on the day before the tournament." (Via Rebel Dad.)

posted on Mar 11, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Gun Massacre Planned at Super Bowl A distraught Tempe man was within sight of the Super Bowl on Sunday with an assault rifle, but a change of heart kept him from his plan to unload 200 rounds of ammunition on the crowd, court records show. "I will test the theory that bullets speak louder than words," Kurt William Havelock wrote in a manifesto sent to the media before the planned massacre. "I will slay your children. I will shed the blood of the innocent,” Havelock wrote after being denied a liquor license for a bar. "No one destroys my dream. No one."

posted on Feb 7, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

EPL Makes Pitch for International Audience Beginning in 2011, England's Premier League may play matches in Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Miami and Shanghai during the season. One football supporters' group was none too pleased. "Are we going to see local derbies played in a foreign country thousands of miles away?" asked Football Supporters' Federation chairman Malcolm Clarke. "Are supporters supposed to accept missing the biggest games of their season because it's being played on the other side of the planet?" Foreign TV viewership of the league has skyrocketed during this decade. Though it's likely a vast overstatement, the article repeats a claim that one billion people watched Arsenal's match with Manchester United last November.

posted on Feb 7, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Least Likely Super Bowl XLIII: Miami vs. Atlanta According to oddsmakers Keith Glantz and Russell Culver, the Dolphins are a 250-to-1 longshot to reach the next Super Bowl in Tampa, while the Falcons join the Oakland Raiders at 200-to-1. Winning XLII hasn't done much for the New York Giants, who at 12-to-1 are behind five teams. The early favorite: The New England Patriots at 2-to-1.

posted on Feb 6, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Senator Wants SpyGate Testimony Before Congress Sen. Arlen Specter, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee and an avid Philadelphia Eagles fan, wants NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to explain to Congress why the league destroyed evidence related to spying by the New England Patriots. "The NFL has a very preferred status in our country with their antitrust exemption," Specter said. "The American people are entitled to be sure about the integrity of the game. It's analogous to the CIA destruction of tapes. Or any time you have records destroyed."

posted on Feb 1, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Adolf Hitler, Cowboys Fan Translated from the original German, this YouTube video poignantly captures how every NFL fan feels when your 13-3 team goes one-and-done in the playoffs after your quarterback spends his off week in Cabo with Jessica Simpson. Funny everywhere but Dallas.

posted on Jan 28, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Baylor Ends 39-Year Absence from AP Poll Baylor's mens basketball team has cracked the AP top 25 for the first time since Feb. 11, 1969, starting 15-2 only five years after the disastrous and criminal Dave Bliss era. The long AP drought sent me fishing for historic data on other NCAA teams that have gone unranked for decades. I couldn't find it for hoops, but the AP Poll Archive has the numbers for football. My alma mater has been absent from the last 739 AP football polls, a 48-year cold streak.

posted on Jan 23, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Leitch: Why Mark Cuban Won't Get the Cubs "The guy has no chance. ... Mark Cuban will never own the Cubs, no matter how much money he waves in front of the Tribune Corp." -- Deadspin's Will Leitch

posted on Jan 22, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Tom Brady Wearing Walking Cast The Patriots quarterback was spotted leaving a New York apartment Monday wearing a walking cast on his right foot, as shown in photos and a video on TMZ.Com. Brady's 124 consecutive starts at QB are the third longest streak in NFL history.

posted on Jan 22, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Fear Strikes All: Doug Glanville Explains Why Steroids Hit Baseball In yesterday's New York Times, nine-season major leaguer Doug Glanville humanizes the debate over performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. "There is a tipping point in a player's career where he goes from chasing the dream to running from a nightmare. At that point, ambition is replaced with anxiety, passion is replaced with survival. It is a downhill run and it spares no one. For me, it started with a pop in 2003, while I was running out a routine ground ball in Texas." This drew interesting responses from author Jeff Angus and the blog Breaking Balls.

posted on Jan 17, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Double Amputee Can't Run in Beijing Olympics Oscar Pistorius, a South African sprinter dubbed the "blade runner" because he runs on prosthetics, has been barred from this year's Summer Games. "An athlete using this prosthetic blade has a demonstrable mechanical advantage (more than 30 percent) when compared to someone not using the blade," the International Association of Athletics Federations ruled. A May 2007 New York Times profile asked the question, "Is he disabled or too-abled?" A YouTube video shows Pistorius competing at the Golden Gala in Rome last year, his first race against "able-bodied" sprinters.

posted on Jan 14, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Patriots Extend Perfect Season to 17-0 New England defeated Jacksonville 31-20, playing four quarters of mistake-free football except for a missed field goal. Florida Times-Union columnist Gene Frenette before the game: "[K]nocking off the Patriots is within Jacksonville's reach." After: "This was the football equivalent of watching Michelangelo paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel."

posted on Jan 13, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Joe Gibbs Resigns as Washington's Coach After four years in which his teams went 31-36, Joe Gibbs surprised Washington's players and coaching staff by resigning for the second time from the team. The Hall of Fame coach, winner of three Super Bowls in 12 years the first time around, had an arduous year after the diagnosis of a grandson with leukemia and the murder of player Sean Taylor.

posted on Jan 8, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Nick Swisher Traded from A's to White Sox The Oakland As have traded Nick Swisher to the Chicago White Sox for minor leaguers Gio Gonzalez, Fautino De Los Santos and outfielder Ryan Sweeney, closing the book on the Moneyball draft of 2002. "Basically, Moneyball happened, and it didn't change the course of the A's," local sportswriter Tim Kawakami blogs. "Nice story. Good book. Not a lot of history made by those seven players."

posted on Jan 3, 2008 - Go to the detail view for this result

Nevermore! Ravens Fire Brian Billick The Super Bowl XXXV winning coach has been fired after a 5-11 season, his eighth with the team and sixth straight year without a playoff win. Owner Steve Bisciotti told Billick weeks ago that he'd be retained for another year. "I just changed my mind," he said.

posted on Dec 31, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Journalist: The NFL's No Game for a Family Dick Meyer in today's Washington Post: "My son and I braved frigid, remote FedEx Field to see our beloved Chicago Bears, the fallen Super Bowl champions, humiliated 24-16 by the struggling Washington Redskins. It wasn't the depth of our despair that will keep us away from football stadiums for good but the depravity of the fans. I suppose depravity is a strong word. But what better describes drunken adult men, egged on by other grown beer-swillers, belly-shouting the most spectacular obscenities imaginable as they stand next to a 13-year-old boy? Every play was a competition to produce a more vile insult or a different suggestion about which Bear body part might be stuffed up which orifice. ... Within 10 minutes of kickoff, I knew I had made a terrible mistake taking my son to the game."

posted on Dec 22, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

NHL Faces Competition from Russian Tycoon's New European League For years, the NHL has poached stars under contract with teams in Europe and Russia, scuttling existing agreements and angering owners. This may be coming back to haunt them, now that Russian energy tycoon Alex Medvedev is working with former NHL player Igor Larionov and former player's union chief Bob Goodenow to begin a league in Europe that will compete for players with the NHL. Here's a line from the Toronto Star that should chill NHL owners: "It's unclear whether the league -- which Medvedev said could formally be announced as soon as today -- would honour NHL contracts."

posted on Dec 15, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Vick Sentenced to 23 Months in Prison Six months after news first broke of an alleged dogfighting ring at his house in Virginia, Michael Vick was sentenced to federal prison Monday for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy that involved gambling and killing pit bulls. The earliest he could get released is May 2009. On the field, Falcons Coach Bobby Petrino's desperate search for a replacement now turns to Chris Redman.

posted on Dec 10, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Redskins' Taylor Shot by Intruder Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor is in critical condition after being shot twice by an intruder early Monday at his Miami home. Taylor, 24, was the fifth overall pick in the 2004 draft and leads the team in interceptions. He's reportedly in emergency surgery.

posted on Nov 26, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

College Coaches Franchione, Callahan and Orgeron Sacked Say goodbye to Dennis Franchione at Texas A&M, Bill Callahan at Nebraska and Ed Orgeron at Ole Miss. Houston Nutt at Arkansas may be next.

posted on Nov 24, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Jets Fans Gather Each Halftime For 'Show Us Your Tits!' Ritual The New York Times describes a halftime ritual that has been going on for years at New York Jets games. Several hundred male fans line the pedestrian ramps at Gate D, whistling and chanting for females to expose their breasts. "Sunday's scene played out for about 20 minutes, and at least one woman granted the men's request, setting off a roar." Security guards claim they can do nothing about it, but they managed to successfully detain a reporter covering the story. Photos and video end up on YouTube and MySpace (link contains nudity). One comment on Jets Blog: "Don't bring your wife/girlfriend out to the ramps at halftime ... problem avoided."

posted on Nov 20, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Stephon Marbury Leaves Knicks, Threatens to [Euphemism] Isiah Thomas The New York Knicks are imploding earlier than usual this season, with guard Stephon Marbury leaving the team after a verbal (and possibly physical) blowup with Coach Isiah Thomas that seems likely to send one or both packing. The New York Daily News quotes a threat Marbury allegedly made on the team plane, bowdlerized for your protection. "Isiah has to start me," Marbury said. "I've got so much [doody] on Isiah and he knows it. He thinks he can [snu-snu] me. But I'll [snu-snu] him first. You have no idea what I know."

posted on Nov 14, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Violence Threatens Italian Soccer "The recent soccer-related violence hit a little too close to home," Nicole Martinelli writes from Italy, where riots and protests followed a soccer fan being shot and killed by a police officer during a scuffle. "Officials made the bad call of not canceling the day's games immediately. So when they finally decided to it was a better idea not to hold the Inter-Lazio face-off at Milan's San Siro stadium, they turned a river of irate young men into the streets."

posted on Nov 13, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Tampa Bay Rays Cast Out the Devil Baseball's most woebegotten franchise has changed its name, dropping the Devil and adopting a new two-blue color scheme and logo. No longer a filter-feeding eater of plankton, the Rays have become a "beacon that radiates throughout Tampa Bay and across the entire state of Florida," said a beaming owner Stuart Sternberg.

posted on Nov 8, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

New England By the Numbers The New England Patriots are not only 8-0 but also 8-0 against the spread, SportsFilter columnist Kyrilmitch_76 observes in his look at tomorrow's NFL games. "New England has beaten their opponents by an average of 41.4 to 15.9 and they have beaten the spread by an average of over 14 points per game."

posted on Nov 3, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Marathoner Ryan Shay Dies During Olympic Trials Runner Ryan Shay, a four-time national champion in distance running events, collapsed and died during the U.S. Olympic Team marathon trials today in New York's Central Park. He was 28. New York Road Runners profiled Shay before the race, describing his training regimen of running 145 miles a week at 7,000 feet during the preceding month. "Competition brings out the best in me," he told an interviewer. "I love this sport."

posted on Nov 3, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

The Hoser's NFL Picks, Week Nine NFL picks that didn't know ships were still being hijacked by pirates. Betting advice (no wagering please) by SportsFilter's own wfrazerjr.

posted on Nov 2, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Judge Hits Andy Reid Out of Bounds A county judge called the home of the Philadelphia Eagles' coach a "drug emporium" when sentencing his adult sons Garrett and Britt to jail time for drug- and weapon-related offenses Thursday, questioning why so many prescription drugs were around a house with two known abusers. Both have been living with Reid, who took a five-week leave when they were arrested on the same day in January, but their parents have not been implicated in their crimes. "This is a family in crisis," Judge Steven O'Neill said.

posted on Nov 2, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Steve Nash Wants to Buy Spurs No, not those Spurs -- Tottenham Hotspur in the Premiership. "I'd like to be an owner," he told the New York Times. "It's something I could do for the rest of my life after my little window of popularity dies." Nash, who played soccer in Canada as a youth and has a brother with Football Association experience, is a lifelong fan of the team like his London-born father.

posted on Oct 31, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

This Just In: 'Alex Rodriguez is a Weasel' "Since forever, baseball has had one mandate for every team: No significant news announcements during the World Series," Scott Miller writes for CBS Sports. "Opting out in the middle of a World Series game is the height of arrogance. It is the Towering Inferno of arrogance. Arrogance doesn't reach higher peaks."

posted on Oct 30, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Brazil Awarded 2014 World Cup The World Cup tournament will be held for the first time since 1950 in Brazil, the country that has won a record five times and played in all 18. History was made in that tournament 57 years ago, as Reuters recounts: the largest crowd ever to see a soccer match, over 200,000 fans, witnessed Brazil lose to Uruguay.

posted on Oct 30, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Bruins' Patrice Bergeron Leaves Game on Stretcher In tonight's game, the Boston forward was knocked out after being driven from behind into the glass by Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Randy Jones. "Patrice has regained consciousness and has been taken to Massachusetts General Hospital," said team physician Dr. Bertram Zarins. (See the video)

posted on Oct 27, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Rudy Giuliani, Red Sox Fan "I will be rooting for the Red Sox because I am an American League fan," former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani told a group of local reporters in New Hampshire Tuesday. "In this case, you won the division and we lost." On the other side, the Democratic frontrunner so famously switched teams that it was mocked in a book, I've Always Been a Yankees Fan: Hillary Clinton in Her Own Words.

posted on Oct 25, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Chargers May Play Texans in Dallas The use of San Diego's Qualcomm stadium to house refugees of the wildfires may move Sunday's NFL game to either Houston, the home of the visiting Texans, or Texas Stadium in Dallas, where the Cowboys have a bye week. Four years ago, fires chased the Chargers to a home game against the Dolphins at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe.

posted on Oct 24, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Greg Ryan Fired as U.S. Women's Soccer Coach Ryan, who was 45-1-9 since taking over in 2005, led the U.S. team to a third-place finish in the World Cup, a tournament it was favored to win. Hope Solo did not comment on the move.

posted on Oct 23, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Sox Will Face Rocks in World Series The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 11-2, completing a comeback from 3-1 to win the American League Championship Series. They'll face the Colorado Rockies Wednesday in the World Series for Game 1 in Fenway Park.

posted on Oct 21, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Indians Pitcher Byrd Ordered 1,000 Vials of Human Growth Hormone From 2002 to 2005, Cleveland Indians starter Paul Byrd dropped $25,000 on human growth hormone and syringes from a Florida anti-aging clinic, Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada report in today's San Francisco Chronicle. He made his last order one week before Major League Baseball formally banned the drug on Jan. 13, 2005. An article in Slate from March explains why athletes take HGH, which doesn't have the severe side effects or muscle-mass enhancing traits of steroids.

posted on Oct 21, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Torre Leaving New York After Turning Down Incentive-Linked Contract New York Yankees manager Joe Torre rejected a contract that would cut his base salary from $7.5 million to $5 million and add $1 million for reaching the playoffs, $1 million for reaching the ALCS and $1 million for a World Series berth. "It's now time for the New York Yankees to move forward," said team president Randy Levine.

posted on Oct 18, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Josh Beckett's Ex Sings Tonight's National Anthem in Cleveland Jose Can You Believe It? Country singer Danielle Peck will sing the national anthem at tonight's Red Sox/Indians playoff game. She's the ex-girlfriend of Red Sox starter Josh Beckett. "It's an incredible coincidence," said Tribe spokesman Bob DiBiasio. "How are we supposed to know who Josh Beckett dates?"

posted on Oct 18, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Assistant Coach Pisses Off Baylor University Eric Schnupp, an offensive line/tight ends coach in his first year at the Baptist school, has been suspended for urinating on the bar at Scruffy Murphy's tavern in Waco after closing time Sunday. "Schnupp apparently thought no one was watching him as employees were moving patrons out of the building," the Waco Tribune-Herald reported.

posted on Oct 16, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Nebraska Fires Athletic Director Steve Pederson The Cornhuskers' worst home loss since 1958 was the last straw. The AD since 2002, Pederson was fired only three months after the school extended his contract through June 2013. "You make the best decision you can with the information you have," Chancellor Harvey Perlman said. How did Dan Cook, a 72-year-old booster whose name is on the team's practice field, take the news? "The Huskers are off the will," he told Huskerpedia.

posted on Oct 15, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Video Surfaces of Joey Porter-Levi Jones Fight Fox Sports has obtained video of the brawl between the Dolphins linebacker and Bengals tackle that took place at the The Palms casino in Las Vegas last March. The video shows, as Jones said at the time, that it was a group attack. Jones' agent tells the network, "Levi has retained a Las Vegas attorney right after the fight but we just recently obtained the tape. He is now weighing his legal options." See the video.

posted on Oct 14, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

George Gipp Exhumed from Michigan Cemetery The body of George Gipp, the Notre Dame football player whose death in 1920 became a rallying cry for a team and an American president, was exhumed recently from Laurium, Mich. The AP didn't find the reason, but I suspect it's related to a message board post on a Gipp family genealogy forum. "All my life I heard the story that my mother's mother Eva Bright, South Bend had dated George while he was at Notre Dame," writes Ellen Weeks Easton, who suspects Gipp is her grandfather. "My mother was born Dec. 19, 4 days after Geo. died. My mom was born out of wedlock, obviously, and back in 1920 it was hush-hush."

posted on Oct 11, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Yankees Broadcaster Suzyn Waldman Cries on the Air There's no crying in baseball? The Yankees radio broadcaster fought through tears during the postgame show after the series- and potentially era-ending loss. "This is rough," said Waldman, describing Manager Joe Torre's press conference. "I was OK actually 'til I went into the clubhouse -- and the coaches are sitting in Torre's office and they are watching this. The tears you hear in my voice are coming down the faces of the coaches." Hear the audio.

posted on Oct 9, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Bombed: New York Yankees Make Another Early Exit from Playoffs Yankees who might no longer be in pinstripes after the team's elimination from the AL playoffs by the Cleveland Indians Monday night: Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Manager Joe Torre.

posted on Oct 8, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Stanford Knocks Off No. 2 USC Coming back from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter, the 41-point underdog Stanford Cardinal went into Los Angeles and ended a 35-game home winning streak at USC, ranked No. 1 in the USA Today coaches poll and No. 2 by AP. Quarterback Tavita Pritchard, making his first collegiate start, threw a 10-yard touchdown pass on fourth and goal with 49 seconds remaining.

posted on Oct 7, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Leave Steve Bartman Alone! Now that the Chicago Cubs have returned to the playoffs, Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti thinks the scorn heaped on Steve Bartman for the foul ball grab has made the infamous fan darker, sadder and lonelier. "I'm sorry," Mariotti writes. "And, really, Cubdom should be sorry, too. Without knowing his identity, I scolded him in print for acting like a dummy fan who should have known better. Next thing you knew, crazy message boards on Major League Baseball's Web site were outing his name, turning an ugly scene at Wrigley -- who can forget Bartman burying his head in his jacket while beer and obscenities were hurled? -- into the beginning of his new, unfortunate life."

posted on Oct 3, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Most Popular NFL Teams (in Order): Cowboys, Colts, Steelers, Packers This year's Harris poll of NFL team popularity has the Dallas Cowboys passing the Pittsburgh Steelers to claim the top spot, ahead of the fast-climbing Indianapolis Colts and the Green Bay Packers. The least popular team for the third straight year: My Jacksonville Jaguars.

posted on Oct 2, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Hope Solo Kicked Off Team for Consolation Game In response to Hope Solo's comments after the Brazil loss, Coach Greg Ryan said the benched goalkeeper won't play in Sunday's third-place World Cup game and won't even be on the bench, in spite of her apologies to the public and her teammates. "We have moved forward with 20 players who have stood by each other, who have battled for each other," said Ryan. "And when the hard times came -- and the Brazil game was a hard time -- they stood strong. Now it's the 20 who have stuck together who will be ready to go out and compete against Norway."

posted on Sep 29, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Oklahoma State Coach Mike Gundy: Leave My Quarterback Alone! At a press conference after his team defeated Texas Tech Saturday, Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy launched into a three-minute tirade against a Daily Oklahoman columnist over an article that called benched quarterback Bobby Reid a momma's boy who plays scared. "That article had to have been written by a person who doesn't have a child," Gundy said. "Here's all that kid did: He goes to class; he's respectful to the media; he's respectful to the public; and he's a good kid. He's not a professional athlete, and he doesn't deserve to be kicked when he's down."

posted on Sep 24, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Washington Nationals Say Goodbye to RFK Stadium William Gildea, a Washington Post sportswriter for 40 years, returns to the paper today to mark a special occasion -- the first time a Washington baseball team has moved out in happy circumstances. "The incumbent Nationals won't be moving across the country after their last home game today but only a matter of city blocks to a new stadium, scheduled to open next season," he writes. "As a rule, our baseball goodbyes in Washington are not this easy."

posted on Sep 23, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

When Mascots Attack: Oregon Duck Assaults Houston Cougar The Oregon Duck has been suspended for one game after getting into a fight with the Houston Cougar during their Sept. 1 football game. The brawl included punches, a takedown, and a move that appears to be hot duck-on-cougar action (fan video). Witness Bob Welch: "From my vantage point in Row 36 a few sections away, the Duck appeared to kick the Cougar in the side, then strut away toward the stands. The Cougar tackled the Duck from behind. What followed -- the footage that made YouTube -- was a 20-second pummeling of the Cougar by the Duck." The Daily Kansan has more mascot violence.

posted on Sep 13, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Browns Trade Newly Benched QB Frye to Seahawks Two weeks ago, when Charlie Frye won the Cleveland Browns' starting QB job, team GM Phil Savage touted the decision and said "let's see what Charlie can do with a full deck." Ten passes and one interception into the new season, Frye has been traded to the Seattle Seahawks for a sixth-round draft pick.

posted on Sep 11, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Bills' Everett Injures Spine Making Tackle Buffalo Bills reserve tight end Kevin Everett suffered a cervical spine injury making a tackle on a kickoff return in Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos. He showed no movement as he was taken off the field after being knocked unconscious on the head-first hit, and in emergency surgery Sunday night, doctors removed his third and fourth vertebrae. A preseason profile describes the former third round pick, now 25, who has been sidelined with injuries most of his NFL career.

posted on Sep 10, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Newspaper: Rick Ankiel Received Human Growth Hormone Shipments Ankiel, the feel-good story in baseball this year after getting himself on the good side of earned runs (seven last night alone), ordered a 12-month supply of human growth hormone in 2004, according to an exclusive in today's New York Daily News. He allegedly received eight shipments of HGH from Signature Pharmacy, an Orlando firm that's at the center of an investigation into illegal online drug sales.

posted on Sep 7, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Also Receiving Votes: Appalachian State, Massachusetts, New Hampshire Appalachian State's shock-the-world upset of Michigan at the Big House has opened a door for all teams in the Division Formerly Known as I-AA. Members of the AP poll can now vote for these teams. "The poll was always intended to measure teams that compete against each other, regardless of division, based solely on on-field performance," explained AP sports editor Terry Taylor. "It was that way long before Division I was divided into I-A and I-AA in 1978."

posted on Sep 7, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

ESPN Anchor Scott Van Pelt is a Flamer "You are the worst thing about internet sites ... You are a piece of garbage and I loathe you and all your kind." -- ESPN's Scott Van Pelt, posting to another member (under his own name, no less) on the Terrapin Times message board for University of Maryland fans

posted on Sep 5, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Division I-AA Appalachian State Upsets Michigan, 34-32 "The Wolverines had never before scheduled a Division I-AA opponent, but the Mountaineers may be a tougher opponent than fans expect when they visit Michigan today," AP reported earlier today. No kidding. The two-time defending I-AA national champ beat No. 5 ranked Michigan, blocking a 37-yard kick after their own last-minute field goal a half-minute earlier.

posted on Sep 1, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Jaguars Will Dump Leftwich, Rely on Garrard to Start In a dramatic about face from all of the happy talk this preseason between Byron Leftwich and Coach Jack Del Rio, the Jacksonville Jaguars will drop their four-year starter and elevate David Garrard to the position. If anyone's looking for a gutsy, slow-footed, cannon-armed quarterback who takes more debilitating hits than the Black Knight on Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Leftwich is available for trade until 4 p.m. Saturday.

posted on Aug 31, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Justin Gimelstob Leaves Tennis as One of the Greatest (Interviews) At the end of his final U.S. Open match, a three-set defeat at the hands of buddy Andy Roddick Tuesday night, retiring journeyman Justin Gimelstob, 30, grabbed a microphone and interviewed Roddick at center court in front of the crowd. "What do you think was the key to the match," he asked Roddick, pausing for effect, "besides you being way better than me?" The match also featured a Gimelstob rant in which he called the chair ump "unpatriotic" and was rewarded with four successive first serves.

posted on Aug 29, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

NBA Ref Tim Donaghy Pleads Guilty to Gambling Charges This morning, the disgraced ref pled to conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting wagering information to other individuals and will cooperate with investigators. He bet on games he officiated and conspired with others to do the same, allegedly for members of organized crime. The charges bring up to 25 years in prison.

posted on Aug 15, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Who's Now Pissed -- ESPN Viewers Hammer Network Over 'Buzz' Competition "This is a command performance column -- the command having been issued by the hundreds of viewers who asked me to say something about the Who's Now segments that ran on SportsCenter throughout July. No single topic has ever drawn the volume and intensity of unsolicited complaints to either my or my predecessor's mailbox that this sports popularity contest has." -- ESPN ombudsman Le Anne Schreiber

posted on Aug 13, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Garcia Booted from PGA Championship for Incorrect Scorecard Reinforcing golf's reputation as the only sport that tests your counting skills, Sergio Garcia was disqualified from the PGA Championship Saturday for signing a scorecard one shot lower than his actual round. "It's my fault for putting the wrong score in, but it's his fault for not checking," said playing partner Bo Weekly.

posted on Aug 11, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Mets Fan Emerges with Bonds Home Run Ball "They were pushing grandmothers to the floor," said Susan Kitchens, sitting near the place Barry Bonds' historic home run landed Tuesday night and ignited a mad scramble of pushing, shoving and other bad sportsmanship. When it was over, Matt Murphy, a 26-year-old visiting Mets fan who bought his ticket that day, walked away with a ball worth an estimated half-million.

posted on Aug 8, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Sumo Yokozuna Suspended for Playing Soccer For the first time in the sport's 2,000-year history, a sumo grand champion has been banned from a tournament. While on leave from official duties due to elbow and back injuries, yokozuna Asashoryu played a charity soccer match back home in Mongolia and video footage showed up on Japanese television. "Dressed in a tight-fitting 'Rooney' England T-shirt, he showed no sign of discomfort as he skipped tackles, made diving headers and scored off a pass," the Guardian reports.

posted on Aug 1, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Kevin Garnett Traded to Celtics ... for Al Jefferson, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, Mark Wahlberg, Ted Kennedy, the ghost of Johnny Most and the guy who ran the snowplow at the Patriots/Dolphins playoff game in 1982.

posted on Jul 30, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

NFL Camps Open without Michael Strahan, Simeon Rice Training camps around the league have opened without two big names on defense: The Buccaneers cut Simeon Rice and the Giants opened without Michael Strahan, who didn't show up and is reportedly considering retirement. "Jon Gruden didn't have the decency, after all these years and all we've been through together, to talk to me face to face," Rice told the media. "He's the phoniest [expletive] in the world."

posted on Jul 27, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Will the Web Kill the Local Sports Page? In a discussion about the future of newspapers, A-list blogger Matthew Yglesias argues that the sports section is being killed off by sites like ESPN.Com and Yahoo Sports. "Sports specialty sites will have the best sports coverage," he writes.

posted on Jul 27, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Suspected NBA Referee's Games Hit the Over More Often Over the last two NBA seasons, games refereed by Tim Donaghy scored more points than Las Vegas expected 57 percent of the time (79 of 138 games), according to R.J. Bell of the sports betting site PreGame.Com. In the two years prior, his games hit the over 44 percent of the time. "There is an absolute correlation between the number of fouls a referee calls in an NBA game and the number of points scored by the teams," he writes. "An NBA ref who intended to illicitly influence a game would do so by calling more fouls, and thus his games would be higher scoring than average." A source told the Denver Post Sunday that the league has known about the FBI's investigation of the referee since January, rather than after the NBA Finals as reported elsewhere.

posted on Jul 24, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

First Base Coach Killed by Line Drive Former Major Leaguer Mike Coolbaugh, 35, was hit in the head by a foul ball in the ninth inning of the Tulsa Drillers' game Sunday in Little Rock, Ark. He was knocked out and stopped breathing en route to the hospital.

posted on Jul 23, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Report: San Jose Gets Expansion MLS Franchise According to the San Jose Mercury News, Major League Soccer will award the league's 14th team to the San Jose Earthquakes, an expansion franchise that's taking the team records (but not the team) back from Houston. Portland and New York are next in line for franchises, according to MLS Rumors.

posted on Jul 18, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Javelin Thrower Spears Person with Errant Toss Finnish thrower Tero Pitkamaki slipped as he was releasing his javelin at an international competition in Rome on Friday, spearing long jumper Salim Sdiri of France in the back (painful video link). Sdiri's kidney and liver were injured by the 10-cm deep wound. "A shocked-looking Pitkamaki held his head in his hands after the incident but took his next throw in the javelin competition."

posted on Jul 16, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

'Mein Fuhrer, I Have Today's Football Results' As this video shows, one fan of Sheffield United took the team's relegation from the Premiership last season -- which wouldn't have happened if West Ham United lost points over the Carlos Tevez signing -- particularly hard.

posted on Jul 12, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Blogger's Pitch Selection Letter Helps Mariner Throw Two-Hitter On June 27, the U.S.S. Mariner blog wrote an open letter to Seattle pitching coach Rafael Chaves, telling him that talented young pitcher Felix Hernandez was getting shelled because he starts every game with fastballs and the rest of the league knows it. The letter found its way to Chaves and then Hernandez, who gave it some props after a win against the Oakland A's. "On the internet, they say when I throw a lot of fastballs in the first inning, they score a lot of runs," Hernandez said. "I tried to mix all my pitches in the first inning."

posted on Jul 9, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Down Goes Kobayashi! Down Goes Kobayashi! American Joey Chestnut ate 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes, three more than six-time champ Takeru Kobayashi, to win the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, N.Y., and return the Mustard Belt to the U.S. In an event broadcast live on ESPN, Chestnut's total broke his own competitive eating world record by 6.5 hot dogs.

posted on Jul 4, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Rashard Lewis Leaves Sonics In a Hurry The Seattle SuperSonics forward, a free agent pursued by 20 teams, has reportedly agreed to an NBA-maximum five-year, $80 million deal with the Orlando Magic. "He wants to win and you almost think they (Seattle) are starting to rebuild with all these young players," former teammate Ray Allen told the Tacoma News Tribune before the deal. "I'm not sure Rashard is going to want to be a big brother to all these young guys." There's no word yet on when Lewis will have an abrupt change of heart and cancel the deal with Orlando.

posted on Jul 3, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Thierry Henry Bound for Barcelona One of the Premiership's greats will net $13.5 million a year in a four-year deal with the storied Spanish side that failed to get him last year. One fan's succinct response on Arsenal Mania: "Gutted. Spurs are better than us."

posted on Jun 23, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Yahoo Buys Rivals.Com Yahoo has purchased Rivals.Com for an undisclosed sum that TechCrunch claims is $100 million. The college and prep sports site reportedly has 185,000 pay subscribers and served 74.7 million pageviews on the last National Signing Day. The company was formed in 2001 from the ashes of Rival Networks, a dot-com startup that burned through $75 million before its assets were sold in a forced liquidation.

posted on Jun 21, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result

Mark Cuban Cares About Your Colon "Like every guy, the thought of being violated by a long tube is at the very bottom of the list of things I want to do on a summer day." -- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban

posted on Jun 14, 2007 - Go to the detail view for this result