Archives for May 2012

May 31, 2012

Hawk Harrelson Goes Ballistic on Umpire: After home plate umpire Mark Wegner ejected Chicago White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana for throwing a pitch behind Tampa Bay Rays batter Ben Zobrist Wednesday, Sox announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson went on a thunderous tirade. "What are you doing, Wegner?" he yelled. "Here's an umpire in the American League knows nothing about the game of baseball."

posted by rcade to baseball at 03:05 PM - 14 comments

Red Wings' Nicklas Lidstrom: I don't have drive to play another season: Citing a lack of motivation and a knowledge that he no longer had the drive needed to play at the only level acceptable to himself, Lidstrom retired from hockey today after 20 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. Lidstrom, 42, retires with four Stanley Cups, seven Norris Trophies and a Conn Smythe Trophy. Mike Ilitch ~ “I hate to say this, but we’re not going to see anybody like him again,” the Detroit Red Wings' owner said at Lidstrom’s news conference today at Joe Louis Arena. “We’re going to get some good players, we’ll have good teams, but there won’t be another Nick Lidstrom.” Ilitch called today “one of the most emotional days in Red Wing history.” He called Lidstrom “a Rock of Gibraltar” and marveled that, for 20 years, there never was an off-ice misstep, never an embarrassment and he always was the epitome of class. “There were no variations.”

posted by tommytrump to hockey at 01:37 PM - 16 comments

Catcher Russell Martin: Ump Denied Me Balls: New York Yankees catcher Russell Martin said that home plate umpire Laz Diaz punished him Wednesday for arguing balls and strikes by refusing to let him throw new balls to the pitcher after fouls. "He said that it was a privilege that I had to earn, for me to throw the ball back," Martin said. "Because we kind of got into it with balls and strikes or whatever. ... Even at the end of the game, after I got hit in the neck, I'm like, 'Can I throw the ball back now?' He's still like, 'No.'"

posted by rcade to baseball at 12:59 PM - 11 comments

Terrell Owens Cut by Allen Wranglers: Terrell Owens has been cut from his Indoor Football League team and is losing his ownership stake in the franchise. Jon Frankel, owner of the Allen Wranglers in Texas, said Owens had refused to play in two upcoming games and was a no-show at a scheduled event at a children's hospital. Owens, 38, has not been able to get on another NFL team after recovering from knee surgery. His 15,934 receiving yards are the second-most in league history.

posted by rcade to football at 12:31 PM - 3 comments

May 30, 2012

Eric Wynalda's 'Eff You' to American Soccer: Eric Wynalda, U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame striker and Fox Soccer commentator, has been an outspoken opponent of many of the current practices of Major League Soccer -- all the while coveting an MLS coaching position. He has been described as one of the most polarizing figures in U.S. soccer and and a "frickin Twitter train wreck" by the owner of the Portland Timbers. Tonight the train wreck pays a visit to Portland. Wynalda has put together a group of soccer cast-offs named Cal FC, out of Thousand Oaks, Calif. Playing in a bottom tier of U.S. Soccer, wearing hand-me-down uniforms of the Chicago Fire, working day jobs and practicing sparingly, Wynalda's team has won two games in the US Open Cup competition over higher rated teams. Tonight they face the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer with a chance to move into the fourth round of the tournament and provide their manager with a measure of redemption (via MetaFilter).

posted by rcade to soccer at 12:23 PM - 14 comments

Bart Scott: 'I Play Football So He Won't Have To': New York Jets linebacker Bart Scott told the New York Daily News, "I don't want my son to play football. I play football so he won't have to. With what is going on, I don't know if it's really worth it. ... I don't want to have to deal with him getting a concussion and what it would be like later in life."

posted by rcade to football at 09:18 AM - 56 comments

May 29, 2012

May 28, 2012

Mistake Nearly Costs Zach Johnson Some Coin: A rules violation caught by a CBS Sports broadcaster cost Zach Johnson a two-stroke penalty on the 72nd hole of the Colonial Sunday. Johnson, who went on to win the event, re-marked his ball because it was in Jason Dufner's putting line. As Peter Kostis noticed, Johnson forgot to put it in the original position before finishing the hole. "The normal protocol is that when a player moves his coin, for the other player to ask if he replaced it. Jason Dufner did not do that," Kostis said. "I don't think wearing a media hat absolves you from your responsibility as far as the spirit of the competition." Johnson was told of the violation right before signing his card, avoiding a potential disqualification.

posted by rcade to golf at 02:20 PM - 3 comments

May 27, 2012

USA 5-1 Scotland: Led by Landon Donovan's hat trick and a brilliant blast from Michael Bradley, the US dominated a listless Scotland side. Klinnsman's strategy showed its coming together nicely around what may be the deepest roster the Americans have yet produced; Dempsey, Altidore, Ream, Kljestan and Holden were just five of the players not even on the team sheet while Fabian Johnson showed he may finally solve the left back position, Terrance Boyd was value in his first start and Joe Corona got his first cap.

posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 12:14 PM - 5 comments

May 26, 2012

Stray Dog Joins 1,000-Mile Bike Race: A stray dog has completed a 1,000-mile journey across China after joining a bicycle race from Sichuan province to Tibet. The dog, Xiaosa, joined the cyclists after one of them gave him food and followed the pack for 20 days, covering up to 37 miles a day and ascending 12 mountains.

posted by rcade to other at 02:03 PM - 4 comments

Will U-M embrace Fab 5?: If it is indeed true that time heals all wounds, then the University of Michigan athletic department should have no qualms about welcoming back members of the Fab Five and other basketball standouts from the late 1990s inside the Crisler Center next year.

posted by bo_fan to basketball at 10:41 AM - 5 comments

May 25, 2012

2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Pickem, Stanley Cup Finals Edition: Yes, this was the matchup everyone had before the playoffs started... Anyway, post your picks inside...but make sure you read the initial post first...

posted by MeatSaber to fantasy at 11:24 PM - 20 comments

Boy Calls Mike Vanderjagt a Choker: Former NFL kicker Mike Vanderjagt may lose his job as a middle school football coach for allegedly grabbing the throat of a student who yelled "wide left! wide left!" at him in the parking lot on March 12. "During his career, he missed a very important field goal attempt during a playoff game," explains a Marco Island, Fl., police report.

posted by rcade to football at 03:43 PM - 7 comments

May 24, 2012

May 23, 2012

Heat, Pacers Exchange Flagrant Fouls: With 20 seconds remaining and the Miami Heat up by 37, Dexter Pittman tried to behead the Indiana Pacers' Lance Stephenson with an elbow to the neck. The flagrant foul, which Pittman followed with a wink captured by the broadcast, was the third of the game.

posted by rcade to basketball at 04:19 PM - 12 comments

NFL Receiver Did Not Catch HIV: Buffalo Bills wide receiver David Clowney tweeted some personal (and I mean personal) health news Tuesday: "Got My HIV Results Back!! Thank God for keeping my body healthy and safe." He even included a photo. Shout out to Dr. Thomas White!

posted by rcade to football at 12:07 PM - 8 comments

May 22, 2012

The Joy of Small Sample Sizes: Remebering Phil Plantier, Shane Spencer and Broderick Perkins.

posted by yerfatma to baseball at 12:30 PM - 3 comments

May 21, 2012

Orioles Announcer Makes His Greatest Call: David McGowan, the longtime stadium announcer for the Baltimore Orioles, made another kind of call last week. He was working his new job as a 911 operator in Prince George's County, Md., when a frantic woman dialed in to say her granddaughter was found in the pool and wasn't breathing. With a calm, steady baritone, McGowan told her how to do CPR on the two-year-old. It worked. "David has a great voice. He has a great calming technique," said trainer Ray Delano.

posted by rcade to baseball at 01:21 PM - 7 comments

May 20, 2012

May 19, 2012

Chelsea Wins Champions League: Chelsea has won the Champions League for the first time in the club's 107-year history. Minutes from elimination after a Thomas Mueller goal for Bayern Munich in the 83rd minute in front of a home crowd, Chelsea scored on a Didier Drogba header in the 88th minute to tie the match 1-1. No more goals were scored, so the match was decided on penalties, 4-3. Drogba scored the decider past keeper Manuel Neuer.

posted by rcade to soccer at 06:21 PM - 27 comments

May 18, 2012

Should athletic scholarships come with a 4-year guarantee?: If you buy that star athletes are compensated with a valuable education, consider this complicating fact: An athletic scholarship is not a four-year educational guarantee. What few college sports fans—and not enough college recruits—realize is that a university can yank that scholarship after one, two, or three years without cause. Coach doesn’t like you? He’s free to cut you loose. Sitting the bench? You could lose your free ride to a new recruit. From Slate.com

posted by tahoemoj to culture at 03:13 PM - 4 comments

Rockies Eject Visiting Fan for Throwing Homer Back: Arizona Diamondbacks fan Joshua Pickett was ejected from a Colorado Rockies game at Coors Field Thursday for throwing a Rockies home run back onto the field. "The guy told me I had a prize, then told me I'm getting thrown out," Pickett said. "I didn't think I did anything wrong. I've seen it all the time."

posted by rcade to baseball at 09:27 AM - 18 comments

May 17, 2012

scha·den·freu·de: "Pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune."

posted by yerfatma to culture at 06:47 PM - 14 comments

Jose Molina makes batters very angry.:
A quick article and a collection of (small) animated gifs that show how lots of batter complaints from umps seem to be when Molina is behind the plate. His "framing pitches" is a continuous display of artistry.

posted by grum@work to baseball at 01:31 PM - 12 comments

Surviving life after the NFL: Former NFL linebacker George Koonce recently submitted to Marquette University a doctoral dissertation on transitioning from life outside the game. This column represents his personal experience, as told to NFC West blogger Mike Sando.

posted by apoch to football at 10:51 AM - 19 comments

May 16, 2012

High and Tight:: High and Tight: Our Rock & Roll Baseball Experts Pick the Best and Worst Big League Stadiums

posted by NoMich to baseball at 07:47 PM - 0 comments

Why Wrigley Field Must Be Destroyed: Destroy it. Annihilate it. Collapse it with the sort of charges that put the Sands Hotel out of its misery in Vegas. Implosion or explosion, get rid of it. That pile of quaintness has to go. Not merely the structure, but the ground on which it stands.

posted by justgary to baseball at 08:33 AM - 31 comments

May 15, 2012

Where Are the Champions?: "An interactive map of every championship in the history of MLB, the NBA, the NHL, and the NFL."

posted by kirkaracha to general at 04:20 PM - 1 comment

SpoFi 2012 Fantasy Premier League Final Table: Props to Holden for winning by a strong margin and to all 18 who went the distance. Table inside.

posted by billsaysthis to fantasy at 12:02 PM - 8 comments

May 14, 2012

The next round of college football realignments may be under way: thanks to a rumor that bounced around about Florida State looking waaay westward to the Big 12. Just before the annual ACC meetings kicked off this weekend, the chairman of FSU's Board of Trustees came out in favor of exploring the possibility of jumping. Coach Jimbo Fisher came out in support of at least the possibility, forcing FSU President Eric Barron (a former Dean at the University of Texas, the biggest force in the Big 12) to deliver a smackdown memo detailing that there are no negotiations whatsoever and why the rumors need to stop. Which is, of course, going to have that exact effect, right?

posted by Etrigan to football at 08:01 PM - 18 comments

MLB Fires Arbitrator Who Unpunished Braun: Major League Baseball management has fired Shyam Das, the arbitrator who overturned Ryan Braun's drug suspension in February. Das served in the job for 13 years and could have been removed at any time with written notice by either the league or the player's association. "He served the parties with professionalism and distinction," union head Michael Weiner said.

posted by rcade to baseball at 07:41 PM - 9 comments

May 13, 2012

Manchester City Wins Premier League: With the first top-level championship in 44 years slipping from their grasp, Manchester City scored two goals in added time over QPR, winning the match 3-2 and snatching the Premier League crown from Manchester United. Sub Edin Dzeko scored the equalizer in the 92nd minute and Sergio Aguero rocketed the winner past goalie Paddy Kenny with under two minutes left. "City had played with their supporters' nerves to the point of brutality," writes Daniel Taylor for The Guardian.

posted by rcade to soccer at 12:46 PM - 17 comments

Lakers Win Game 7 Over Nuggets: The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets, 96-87, in game 7 of their playoff series Saturday. Leading the Lakers, Pao Gasol had 23 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots. Metta World Peace returned from suspension to score 15. L.A. has not lost a game 7 at home since the 1969 NBA Finals, when they were beaten by the heavy underdog Boston Celtics.

posted by rcade to basketball at 09:07 AM - 2 comments

2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Pickem, Conference Finals Edition: When your team was knocked out of round 1 in 5 games, it gets harder and harder to pay attention. But if, I can do it, so can you...so suck it up and get those picks in...

posted by MeatSaber to fantasy at 02:57 AM - 18 comments

May 12, 2012

May 11, 2012

AP: LeBron James Wins 3rd MVP in 4 Seasons: LeBron James will be announced Saturday as the NBA's MVP, an unnamed league source told AP. This would be the third time he's hoisted the Maurice in four seasons. Only four players have more: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6), Michael Jordan and Bill Russell (5) and Wilt Chamberlain (4).

posted by rcade to basketball at 09:59 PM - 2 comments

Nebraska Assistant Under Fire for Anti-Gay Beliefs: Nebraska assistant football coach Ron Brown is facing calls for his dismissal after he addressed the Omaha City Council in March to oppose a measure adding gender identity and sexual orientation to the city's anti-discrimination policy. "The question that I have for you all is, like Pontius Pilate, what are you going to do with Jesus?" Brown, a born-again Christian and preacher, asked the council. "You will be held to great accountability for the decision that you make." Omaha passed that measure. Brown wrote a letter to the local paper Sunday opposing a similar measure in Lincoln but did not appear before the council, possibly under pressure from university officials. He wrote that he would not discriminate against a gay athlete: "I have and will embrace every player I coach, gay or straight ... but I won't embrace a legal policy that supports a lifestyle that God calls sin."

posted by rcade to football at 03:38 PM - 26 comments

'I Touched the Ball Before It Went Out, Coach': Remember when the Bears were going to win the high school basketball championship over the Eagles, but our star player Alex blew it with his honesty? A video from the the Foundation for a Better Life.

posted by rcade to basketball at 12:22 PM - 8 comments

May 10, 2012

CBS Golf Writer Mocks Overweight Players Championship Fan: While covering the first round of the Players Championship Thursday at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl., CBS Sports golf columnist Steve Elling calls a fan following Tiger Woods around "300 pounds of cottage cheese stuffed into a 200-pound sack" and posts seven more insulting comments about her on Twitter. Is this acceptable?

posted by rcade to golf at 06:09 PM - 22 comments

Terrelle Pryor: I Sold Uniform to Help Mother: Former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor, punished by the NCAA for selling his uniform pants for $3,000, said he did it to help his mother pay her bills. "The reason why I did it was to pay my mother's gas bill and some of her rent," he told Sports Illustrated. "She was four months behind in rent. ... It was freezing cold in November, December, and she's using the oven as heat. ... Whenever I write my book, the proof will be in there, the receipt that the money I gave my mother was to pay the electric and heat bill. That's what I did as a kid. I was telling the NCAA, 'Please, anything that you can do. I gave my mother this so my sister wouldn't be cold, so my mother wouldn't be cold.' They didn't have any sympathy for me."

posted by rcade to football at 10:30 AM - 15 comments

High and Tight: : Our Rock & Roll Baseball Experts Discuss Uniforms – the Good, the Bad and the Fugly.

posted by NoMich to baseball at 07:04 AM - 7 comments

May 09, 2012

NFL: Ex-Players Live Longer Than the Guys Who Watched Them: A study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has found that pro football players outlive other American men. The NFL sent a newsletter to 3,200 retired players on Tuesday outlining the findings. Players in the study played for at least five seasons between 1959 and 1988, and were found to have lower rates of cancer (possibly due to lower smoking rates, which the study did not address) and heart disease (except for larger players, particularly defensive linemen). The NIOSH is currently studying neurological causes of death.

posted by Etrigan to football at 03:41 PM - 0 comments

NFL Player Quits Over Concussion Risk: After eight seasons in the NFL, offensive lineman Jacob Bell is retiring from the NFL at age 31 because of the sport's concussion risks. "I've been thinking about some different things, thinking about health, thinking about the future of my family having to deal with some kind of crazy disease that nobody even knows about, where people want their brains studied after they're dead," Bell said. "Donating their brains to research. It's just crazy to see how someone like Junior Seau took his own life over -- God knows what he was really struggling and dealing with. But you have to believe it came from the game of football. I want to get out before the game makes me get out, where I can get out on my own terms, and I can limit the amount of stress and negative impact that the game would leave on me."

posted by rcade to football at 02:36 PM - 9 comments

May 08, 2012

Josh Hamilton Has 4-Homer Game in Baltimore: Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton hit four home runs Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles, going 5-for-5 with 8 RBI (the fifth hit was a double). Hamilton becomes the 16th player in big league history to hit four homers in a game and the first since Carlos Delgado in 2003.

posted by rcade to baseball at 10:33 PM - 6 comments

The Eck: if you're getting paid to sit in front of a computer today, waste ten minutes with this. Then steal some paperclips.

posted by yerfatma to baseball at 09:27 PM - 3 comments

The Watchdog: a profile of Roger Goodell.

posted by yerfatma to football at 01:36 PM - 2 comments

May 07, 2012

Cole Hamels Admits Hitting Bryce Harper on Purpose: Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels intentionally hit Washington Nationals rookie Bryce Harper with the first pitch he threw to him in the first inning of Sunday's game. "I was trying to hit him. I'm not going to deny it," Hamels said. "I'm just trying to continue the old baseball. ... It's just, 'Welcome to the big leagues.'" Harper stole home on Hamels that inning and Nats pitcher Jordan Zimmerman hit Hamels with a pitch. The Phillies won 9-3.

posted by rcade to baseball at 10:38 AM - 37 comments

May 06, 2012

How to go 0-8 and still win the ballgame: if your DH isn't getting it done as a DH, pretend there's no such thing as a DH rule and make him pitch.

posted by lil_brown_bat to baseball at 09:27 PM - 9 comments

Bob Ryan: 'Football is Inherently Unsafe': Boston Globe sports columnist Bob Ryan: "I am a lifelong fan of football. I am well-versed in its history. I revel in the collegiate pageantry. I like my NFL Sundays as much as the next guy. ... I rate the 2001 Snow Game for the AFC championship as one of the top five sporting events I have ever covered. But you knew there was going to be a but -- the basic mentality of the game has troubled me for a long, long time."

posted by rcade to football at 03:36 PM - 15 comments

Chelsea Beats Liverpool 2-1 to Win FA Cup: Chelsea defeated Liverpool 2-1 Saturday in England's FA Cup final. Didier Drogba's goal, which made him the first player to score in four finals, proved decisive. Second-half substitute Andy Carroll scored one goal for Liverpool and was centimeters from another, a screaming header that Chelsea goalie Peter Cech kept from fully crossing the line. Chelsea's road to victory in the oldest competition in club football went through Portsmouth, QPR, Birmingham City, Leicester, Tottenham Hotspur and finally Liverpool.

posted by rcade to soccer at 12:48 PM - 9 comments

May 04, 2012

Mariano Rivera Tears ACL Shagging Fly Balls: New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee chasing a fly ball Thursday at Kaufman Stadium before the Yankees played a game against the Kansas City Royals. Rivera, 42, has caught flies enthusiastically for years during pregame warm-ups. The injury likely ends his season and perhaps his career.

posted by yerfatma to baseball at 11:02 AM - 21 comments

May 03, 2012

Jose Mourinho rewarded for patient approach at Real Madrid: The Special One (man I miss that puppet parody show!) won a seventh league title across four different major leagues in his last eight seasons of managing. As little as I care for his style and tactics, he finds a way to get the job done in recent years about as well as anyone this side of Ferguson or Guardiola.

posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 12:04 PM - 2 comments

Weaver Wonder Wins One for Woeful Angels: Before only 27,288 fans, local boy Jered Weaver helped the Angels forget their slow start by striking out nine and walking one in the first home no-hitter for the team since Nolan Ryan's in 1975.

posted by scully to baseball at 08:32 AM - 5 comments

May 02, 2012

Junior Seau Found Dead at Home: Former San Diego Chargers linebacker Junior Seau was found dead at his Oceanside, Calif., home in an apparent shooting. He was 43. Seau was a 12-time Pro Bowler who also played with the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots after 13 years with the Chargers. He was the fifth overall pick in the 1990 NFL Draft.

posted by phaedon to football at 02:24 PM - 65 comments

NFL Suspends Four for Un-Saintly Behavior: Jonathan Vilma is suspended for the season. Two of the suspended players no longer play for New Orleans.

posted by yerfatma to football at 12:25 PM - 14 comments

Video: Oregon’s spring game begins and ends with very cool military tribute: This is the third year Oregon has done this tribute — the brainchild of coach Chip Kelly — and the entire spring game is dedicated to the military.

posted by gfinsf to football at 07:20 AM - 1 comment

May 01, 2012

Is ESPN columnist Sarah Phillips scamming people on the internet?: Eight months ago, a writer who specializes in sports-betting was hired by ESPN, sight-unseen. Fast-forward six months and accusations are swirling that she is either not who she says she is, or she is using her platform to grift internet gamblers and content creators. A story that's about fifty percent JT Leroy and fifty percent Nigerian prince (via MetaFilter).

posted by rcade to general at 07:49 PM - 7 comments

Amare Stoudamire out after postgame injury: After last night's Game 2 in Miami, New York Knicks forward Amare Stoudamire punches a fire extinguisher case, lacerating his left hand badly enough to require stitches. The Knicks lost to the Heat, 104-94 and are down 2-0 heading back to New York for Game 3 Thursday night.

posted by NerfballPro to basketball at 11:45 AM - 5 comments

Bryce Harper Pinch Hits in D.C. Softball Game: Cool: Playing softball next to the Washington Monument. Cooler: Having Washington Nationals rookie Bryce Harper show up and join the game for an at bat.

posted by rcade to baseball at 11:16 AM - 3 comments