Archives for December 2011

December 31, 2011

Nascar Driver Calls Woman 'Dumb Bitch' on Twitter: Nascar driver Kasey Kahne recently got something off his chest, posting on Twitter that it was gross to see a woman breast-feeding her child in public. When a woman tweeted that he's a "douchebag" for this opinion, he responded by telling her, "and your a dumb bitch." She's now getting threats from his fans. Kahne subsequently apologized on Facebook. "I respect the mother's right to feed her child whenever and wherever she pleases," he said.

posted by rcade to auto racing at 01:17 PM - 19 comments

Falling Skycam Nearly Hits Players at Insight Bowl: ESPN's Skycam fell during the fourth quarter of the Insight Bowl Friday night, nearly hitting Iowa receivers Marvin McNutt and Kevonte Martin-Manley. McNutt was one catch away from tying a single-season receptions record for the Hawkeyes when the incident occurred.

posted by rcade to football at 09:34 AM - 5 comments

December 30, 2011

Columnist: OU Hired 'Slapdick' John Blake 'Because He Was Black': Tulsa World sports columnist Dave Sittler was caught on an open mic having an off-the-record conversation with Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Bill Young after a Fiesta Bowl press conference. Talking about the hire of John Blake to coach Oklahoma, Sittler called Blake a "slapdick" and said, "[OU AD] Donnie Duncan flat-out told me he gave it to him because he was black because they were worried about what [OSU coach] Bob Simmons was going to do with recruiting."

posted by rcade to football at 02:04 PM - 4 comments

December 29, 2011

Opponent Uses Head, Denies LeBron Dunk: A dunk by LeBron James in Miami's 96-95 win over Charlotte was rejected by the head of defender Gerald Henderson and bounced back out of the basket. Though the shot went through the rim, the refs did not count it as a basket.

posted by rcade to basketball at 12:45 PM - 2 comments

Can you root for both teams from the Same City?: Both a Giants and Jets fan? How could that be? You could never be both a Cubs and a White Sox fan, that would be sacrilegious. (via Slate)

posted by Bag Man to football at 12:01 PM - 5 comments

December 28, 2011

Liberian Soccer Legend Dies Homeless in Newark: George Sacko died at a Newark, N.J., hospital Sept. 17 "homeless, penniless and almost anonymously. But a half-century ago and an ocean away, George McDonald Sacko, aka 'Wizard,' had a country at his feet." The Star-Ledger tells the tale of the Liberian soccer team captain in the '60s.

posted by rcade to soccer at 09:03 PM - 1 comment

Greg Ostertag Seeks NBA Comeback: Five years after he retired, former Utah Jazz center Greg Ostertag has signed with an NBA Development League team in the hopes of returning to the NBA. Ostertag, 38, will play for the Texas Legends in Frisco. "I shouldn't have quit when I did," he said. "I know there's a lot of naysayers out there who think I couldn't play when I was younger and how am I going to be able to play now?"

posted by rcade to basketball at 02:21 PM - 9 comments

December 27, 2011

"In the white spaces. I think about the silence at Lord's, and I understand. Test cricket is different from the rest of the world because it was designed to be." : Having travelled to India for the World Cup (as mentioned here), Wright Thompson visits the home of cricket and meditates on the nature of the Test match.

posted by etagloh to other at 07:18 PM - 9 comments

Ricky Rubio Debuts, And Minnesota Timberwolves Can Finally Start Rebuilding: Ricky Rubio debuted for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night, and while he wasn't perfect, he provided Timberwolves fans with a new feeling: hope.

posted by BornIcon to basketball at 01:28 PM - 2 comments

Gunman Refuses to Rob NBA Player: A gunman committing an armed robbery changed his mind on Christmas Eve when he discovered that his would-be victim was Philadelphia 76ers guard Lou Williams. "I was debating whether to pull off or help the guy," said Williams, who was in his car in Philadelphia's Manayunk area when the incident occurred. "He did all the talking and we came up with a solution before I could really say much. I treated him to McDonald's."

posted by rcade to basketball at 01:24 PM - 9 comments

December 26, 2011

Heat Crush Mavericks in Season Opener: After the Dallas Mavericks raised their NBA championship banner, the Miami Heat crushed the Mavs 105-94 in the Christmas Day season opener for the teams, ending a 14-game regular season losing streak against the Mavs. The Heat led by 32 after the third period but reserves made the score respectable. LeBron James had 37 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Dwyane Wade had 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists. "Celebration or not, we had a game plan and implemented it," Wade said. The new-look Mavs lost Tyson Chandler, Caron Butler and J.J. Barea in the offseason and added Lamar Odom, Vince Carter and Delonte West.

posted by rcade to basketball at 10:04 AM - 3 comments

"I'd hide it if I had a concussion": In a recent poll of a few NFL players conducted by the Associated Press, slightly more than half said that they'd try to play through injuries, including head injuries, than take themselves out. However, more than two-thirds also favored being shielded from their own instincts: they favor having independent neurologists on the sidelines of games making decisions to remove players they think have sustained a head injury of some degree.

posted by NerfballPro to football at 01:20 AM - 2 comments

December 25, 2011

Brandon Jacobs, Rex Ryan Exchange Pleasantries: After the New York Giants' 29-14 win over the New York Jets Saturday, Giants running back Brandon Jacobs told Jets coach Rex Ryan, "Time to shut up, fat boy!" Jacobs elaborated on their confrontation after the game: "He told me shut the F up, wait til we win the Super Bowl. And I told him I'd punch him in the face." Ryan was more circumspect in his postgame response: "He doesn't like me. I respect him, but I couldn't care less about him."

posted by rcade to football at 12:38 PM - 8 comments

December 24, 2011

The Hoser's NFL Picks, Week 16 2011: NFL picks that say, "Merry Christmas ... ya lousy bum."

posted by wfrazerjr to football at 12:51 PM - 7 comments

NBC Makes Run at ESPN with NBC Sports Channel: On Jan. 2, NBC is mounting a challenge to the ESPN empire with the launch of NBC Sports Channel, a renamed and revamped version of Versus. The NBC networks offer Sunday Night Football, the Olympics, PGA golf and the NHL and recently added Major League Soccer, an NFL divisional playoff game, Thanksgiving night game and three Super Bowls. The company wants to add college football, Major League Baseball, Nascar rating and NFL Thursday night games as rights come up in the next few years.

posted by rcade to general at 11:20 AM - 13 comments

December 23, 2011

Liverpool Striker Suspended 8 Games Over 'Negrito' Remark: Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has been suspended by Britain's Football Association for eight matches because he allegedly called Manchester United defender Patrice Evra a "negrito" 10 times during a match. "Uruguayans do not see the use of 'negro' or 'negrito' to be offensive at all," writes Sid Lowe in The Guardian. "In Uruguay it is a nickname for someone whose skin is darker than the rest," said fellow Uruguayan Gus Poyet, manager of second-tier English side Brighton & Hove Albion. "It is not offensive. Such people are part of our society. We will defend them, go to war with them, share everything with them, and at the same time use that word."

posted by rcade to soccer at 09:49 AM - 10 comments

December 22, 2011

High School Football Team Wins by Feeding Players Dinner: A high school football team in Burke County, Ga., has won the state championship after school officials realized that many of its players were malnourished and needed dinner. Defensive lineman Jessie Bush, 17, recalled that things were different four years ago. "A lot of people -- they was hungry, tired, and sleepy sometimes," he said. County family income is so low that 85 percent of students qualified for free breakfast and lunch in school and many go without other meals at home. The school's coach and nutritionist sought aid under the federal Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act and now provide dinner to 500 lower-income students for $3 a meal.

posted by rcade to football at 06:15 PM - 8 comments

LeBron James: Basketball is Fun Again: After a difficult first season with the Miami Heat that ended with an NBA Finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks that's often blamed on how he played, LeBron James said that he's over the ignominious defeat and having fun again. "It's all about playing for the love of the game, and I'm back to that 9-year-old kid who started playing basketball a long time ago," said James, who's been developing his low-post game. "I've been working on it a lot, and I'm looking forward to implementing it into a game situation."

posted by rcade to basketball at 12:18 PM - 5 comments

December 21, 2011

Kim Jong Il: Greatest athlete of his generation.

posted by Ying Yang Mafia to other at 06:49 PM - 10 comments

NCAA Forced to Penalize Yet Another Football Coach for Horrifying Acts: "Richt made personal payments of more than $25,000 to coaches and support staff due to what he perceived as inadequate compensation for those individuals. Richt’s actions were determined to be secondary violations of NCAA rules regarding supplemental pay, according to a recent NCAA review of an lengthy internal investigation conducted by UGA."

posted by yerfatma to football at 05:37 PM - 5 comments

NCAA Slaps OSU on the Wrist, USC Still Feeling Groin-Kicked: The Ohio State sanctions have come, with a one-year bowl ban (that will also prevent them from playing in the Big Ten Championship next year), a nine-scholarship reduction, three years of probation and a five-year show-cause penalty for ousted coach Jim Tressel that effectively prevents him from working at a NCAA school. Now many USC fans are up in arms about how this compares to the Trojans' sanctions, where the fact that the coach should have known about one player receiving improper benefits resulted in double the bowl ban and triple the scholarship reduction. The NCAA says that the difference was that USC "lacked institutional control," while OSU merely "failed to properly monitor." SI's Stewart Mandel says that the Buckeyes' penalties were the NCAA hitting the reset button, essentially not wanting to use USC as a precedent after having penalizing the Trojans for their "adversarial response" to the investigation.

posted by Etrigan to football at 08:47 AM - 26 comments

December 20, 2011

Philly Sportswriter Bill Conlin Accused of Child Sex Abuse: Philadelphia Daily News sportswriter Bill Conlin, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, retired Tuesday after being accused of sexually molesting four children -- including his niece -- in the '70s when they were ages 7 to 12. Several parents of the children were told at the time, and some confronted Conlin, but no one called police, according to a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Conlin's niece Kelley Blanchet, one of the alleged victims, said, "People have kept his secret. It's not just the victims, it's the victims' families. There were so many people who knew about this and did nothing." The four provided videotaped testimony to police last year but the crimes were beyond the statute of limitations. Conlin wrote a column about the Sandusky allegations last month, suggesting that it's easy to say you'd do the right thing if you witnessed sex abuse. "Everybody says he will do the right thing, get involved, put his own ass on the line before or after the fact," he wrote. "But the moment itself has a cruel way of suspending our fearless intentions."

posted by rcade to general at 07:43 PM - 6 comments

Daniel ‘Rudy’ Ruettiger accused of fraud by SEC in sports drink case: Joliet native Daniel Ruettiger gained fame as the underdog — the undersized kid who made it onto the University of Notre Dame football team and inspired the 1993 movie, “Rudy.” And more recently, when Ruettiger’s “Rudy” soft drink failed to compete with the big boys in the sports drink industry, Ruettiger also didn’t give up, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said.

posted by BornIcon to football at 02:15 PM - 1 comment

Catholic High School Crowd Gets Biblical: Students at Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Mass., have gone viral with a celebration they held during a "Red Sea" game in which fans all wore red. Then-senior Patrick Bradley dressed as Moses, naturally, and parted the crowd. "We're just a small high school in Lawrence, Massachusetts doing a biblical act before a basketball game," Bradley said.

posted by rcade to basketball at 02:05 PM - 1 comment

George Vecsey Quitting New York Times Column: George Vecsey is stepping down after almost 30 years as a sports columnist for the New York Times. One of the most prominent columnists in sports who does not appear on television, Vecsey is also known for books on baseball and coauthoring Coal Miner's Daughter with Loretta Lynn. He writes, "If I have one regret -- one pitch I'd like back -- it is my upbeat commentary during the McGwire-Sosa home run frolics of 1998, after Steve Wilstein of The Associated Press spotted androstenedione in McGwire's locker." As for his favorite moments, he writes, "[T]he Olympics and the Tour de France were great, but my eight World Cups of soccer, so far, were the best sporting events on the planet."

posted by rcade to general at 11:08 AM - 3 comments

December 19, 2011

Texas Rangers win posting auction for Yu Darvish with reported $51.7 M bid : The Rangers have secured exclusive negotiating rights with Darvish, but the process is just beginning between the sides. The team now has 30 days to work out a deal, which reportedly could cost the Rangers up to $90 additional million.

posted by tommytrump to baseball at 11:58 PM - 7 comments

Lights Out at Monday Night Football: The Monday Night Football game in San Francisco between the 49ers and the Pittsburgh Steelers has been delayed twice because of a power outage at Candlestick Park. A transformer explosion caused the first outage before the game. Another began at approximately 9:30 p.m. Eastern with the 49ers leading 6-0.

posted by Bonkers to football at 09:58 PM - 15 comments

Johnny Knox Will Have Back Surgery: After suffering a gruesome back-bending hit during the Seattle Seahawks game Sunday, Chicago Bears wide receiver Johnny Knox will have surgery to stabilize a vertebrae in his mid- to lower-back. "He has total movement throughout his body," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "We're doing tests right now. He has total movement. He's not paralyzed or anything."

posted by rcade to football at 11:33 AM - 3 comments

Where is Your God Now, Tim Tebow?: The New England Patriots ended the Denver Broncos and quarterback Tim Tebow's string of fourth-quarter comebacks at four, handing them a 41-23 loss. Tebow was 11-of-22 passing for 194 yards and ran for 93 yards rushing on 12 carries, but his counterpart Tom Brady was 23-of-34 for 320 yards, two touchdowns and one rushing score. The Broncos took a 16-7 lead in the second quarter, but gave up 27 unanswered points. In other games, Washington waylaid the New York Giants, Philadelphia finished off the New York Jets and Indy inked its first win of the season.

posted by rcade to football at 10:56 AM - 33 comments

December 18, 2011

Chiefs Spoil Packers' Undefeated Season: In the debut game for Kansas City interim coach Romeo Crennel and first start for quarterback Kyle Orton, the Chiefs defeated the Green Bay Packers 19-14 to end their undefeated season at 13 wins. Ryan Succop kicked four field goals and Jackie Battle ran a one-yard touchdown for the Chiefs. Orton was 23 for 31 passing with 299 yards.

posted by rcade to football at 04:16 PM - 8 comments

The Hoser's NFL Picks, Week 15 2011: NFL picks that have visions of Ginger Plums dancing -- down at Roxy's Hideout on Macho Mug night.

posted by wfrazerjr to football at 11:49 AM - 4 comments

Runaway Cart Hits High School Coach at Cowboys Stadium: As Spring Dekaney High School football coach Willie Amendola was discussing his team's victory over Cibolo Steele High School in the Texas 5A Division II championship Saturday at Cowboys Stadium, a runaway electric cart without a driver zoomed from the end zone and plowed into him and several other people near the midfield star.

posted by rcade to football at 11:25 AM - 7 comments

December 17, 2011

Falcons Corner: Jaguars Receivers are 'Jokes': After Thursday's 41-14 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson slammed the team's receivers. “They had Matt Jones? Now, Chastin West? Those guys are fucking jokes. Those guys couldn’t get a fucking receiver if it hit them in the head," he told several reporters after the game. "They haven’t had anyone decent since Jimmy Smith." No Jags receiver has caught for 1,000 yards in a season since Smith retired in 2005.

posted by rcade to football at 10:59 AM - 8 comments

December 16, 2011

Justice is served!:
After spending over $50million (and 8 years) for the investigation, arrest, prosecution, and conviction of Barry Bonds for one count of "evasive testimony", the judge has handed down her sentence to him.

posted by grum@work to baseball at 04:14 PM - 14 comments

How NBA Stars Are Becoming Their Own Markets: an interesting piece from Bethlehem Shoals (AKA Free Darko).

posted by yerfatma to basketball at 01:38 PM - 2 comments

Sandusky Was Teaching Boys How To Shower: A defense attorney for accused child molester Jerry Sandusky has claimed that the former Penn State assistant football coach showered with young boys in order to teach them how to wash properly.

posted by Tinman to basketball at 11:20 AM - 20 comments

Hockey Player Banned for Pooping in Opponent's Glove: "Midway through the second period, Bermingham came out of his locker room. He had showered and changed and was ready to crack open a beer but needed to collect the last of his scattered equipment. Those gloves were nearly new: this was the second game he had worn them, and the price tag was still on. Bermie went into the seats where it had landed, picked it up, and put his hand in. ..."

posted by rcade to hockey at 09:16 AM - 12 comments

December 15, 2011

Bears Receiver Charged with Cocaine Distribution: Chicago Bears backup wide receiver Sam Hurd was arrested Wednesday night outside a Chicago restaurant after allegedly accepting a kilogram of cocaine from a confidential informant and an undercover federal agent posing as a drug supplier in an attempt to resell it. Hurd negotiated to buy five to 10 kilograms of cocaine (at $25,000 per kilo) and 1,000 pounds of marijuana a week (for $450 a pound), according to federal charges filed against him. Last offseason, Hurd joined the Bears in a three-year, $5.15 million deal. Chicago sports radio host Matt Spiegel tweeted, "They have a list of NFL players who got their drugs from Sam Hurd, and it's in the double digits."

posted by rcade to football at 02:56 PM - 14 comments

The Quietest Crowd in College Basketball: Once a year on the Friday before finals, Taylor University in Indiana holds a "Silent Night" basketball game in which a packed house of fans don't make a sound until the team scores its 10th point -- and then erupts in absolute bedlam. Fans wear costumes and end the game by singing "Silent Night." Coach Paul Patterson also leads the team in bare feet for charity. "It's like practice, but there's a couple thousand people staring and you and not saying a word," said Taylor's leading scorer Chris Coons, who scored point 10 this year and last.

posted by rcade to basketball at 02:15 PM - 4 comments

Chris Paul trade closes curtain on ugly business of running NBA: At one point during the NBA's latest foray into an alternate universe -- and hopefully the last for a while -- David Stern said something about not wanting to get into all the gory details of "how the sausage was made."

posted by BornIcon to basketball at 08:01 AM - 4 comments

December 14, 2011

Walter Iooss, Jr., Talks About Shooting Famous Athletes: Walter Iooss, Jr., a Sports Illustrated photographer for more than four decades, dishes some dirt in a great story for the magazine on his experiences shooting star athletes such as Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Tiger Woods and swimsuit models including Cheryl Tiegs and Paulina Porizkova. "All the guys who are perceived as a------s are a------s. Randy Moss, Albert Belle, especially Barry Bonds," he writes. "Brett Favre, on the other hand, was a party waiting to happen, back before he cleaned up his act. When he was young, he and his agent, Bus Cook, sometimes arrived at the shoots with beers in their hands."

posted by rcade to general at 06:45 PM - 6 comments

Underage Handshake Hockey Brawlers: As this viral video shows, the nine-year-olds of Kokshetau-Burabay and Kazakhstan-Astana have become the Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings of the Turkic states.

posted by rcade to hockey at 11:30 AM - 29 comments

December 13, 2011

One Team 25 Years On: Examining the physical impact of playing football, Sports Illustrated speak to members of the 1986 Cincinnati Bengals. "Of the 39 players surveyed ... 36 players said they are bothered by an NFL-related ailment from their years in the game."

posted by Mr Bismarck to football at 12:53 PM - 1 comment

James Harrison Suspended for McCoy Hit: The NFL has suspended Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison one game for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy during last week's game, a punishment that will cost him one game's pay of $75,000. The league said Harrison has made five illegal hits against quarterbacks the past three seasons. The NFL's also investigating how the Browns handled the sidelines concussion test for McCoy, who is suffering from a concussion and doubtful for the next game.

posted by rcade to football at 12:06 PM - 38 comments

Texans Fullback: Adam Jones Spit on Me: Houston Texans fullback Lawrence Vickers claimed that Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam Jones spit in his face after a fumble pileup in the second quarter of Sunday's game. Vickers said he went to the sideline seething about Jones, a frequent disciplinary problem when he was still known as "Pacman." Vickers said, "I had to let the Lord handle him. The Lord don't put bad things on people, but I left it up to Him. I prayed real hard -- I almost lost myself out there."

posted by rcade to football at 11:15 AM - 27 comments

December 12, 2011

Chiefs Fire Todd Haley: The Kansas City Chiefs have axed head coach Todd Haley after the team fell to 5-8 and lost five of its last six games. Haley was 19-27 in his third season and led the team to the 2010 AFC West title.

posted by rcade to football at 11:55 AM - 14 comments

Blown Call Helps Lions Defeat Vikings: The Detroit Lions, helped by a missed facemask call against Minnesota Vikings quarterback Joe Webb in the final 9 seconds that led to a fumble, won 34-28 to stay in the NFC wild-card hunt at 8-5. Photos show linebacker DeAndre Levy with a solid grip on Webb's mask, pulling his head 90 degrees. In other Sunday games, the New York Giants downed Dallas by scoring two late TDs and icing kicker Dan Bailey, Houston won the AFC South behind backup QB T.J. Yates to claim its first playoff spot in franchise history and Denver excommunicated Chicago with a late 10-point comeback and overtime field goal by Matt Prater.

posted by rcade to football at 10:02 AM - 47 comments

December 11, 2011

Lakers Trade Lamar Odom to Mavericks: The Los Angeles Lakers have traded forward Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks for their 2012 first-round pick, an $8.9 million trade exception and "draft considerations." Odom requested a trade after being included in the three team Los Angeles/Houston/New Orleans deal for Chris Paul that was rejected by NBA commissioner David Stern. What does Kobe Bryant think of the deal? "I don't like it. ... Especially to them. We were supposed to come back and get them back, know what I mean?"

posted by rcade to basketball at 08:00 PM - 6 comments

The Hoser's NFL Picks, Week 14 2011: NFL picks that are trying to convince the kids to name the new kittens Ronde and Tiki.

posted by wfrazerjr to football at 12:31 PM - 19 comments

December 10, 2011

NL MVP Ryan Braun tests positive for performing enhancing drugs.:
Major League Baseball has not announced the positive test because Braun is disputing the result through arbitration....The 28-year-old Braun had to provide a urine sample for testing during the playoffs, and he was notified of the positive test sometime in late October -- about a month before he was named the National League's most valuable player.

posted by grum@work to baseball at 11:17 PM - 9 comments

RG3 wins first Heisman Trophy for Baylor: Stanford QB Andrew Luck becomes the fourth player to be runner up in consecutive seasons. Who is the higher draft pick?

posted by billsaysthis to football at 09:28 PM - 6 comments

Huge Brawl Ends Xavier-Cincinnati Game: A 76-53 Xavier rout of crosstown rival Cincinnati was ended nine seconds early Saturday because of a bench-clearing brawl. During the fracas, Cincinnati center Yancy Gates leveled his Xavier counterpart Kenny Frease with a punch to the head and Gates' teammate Cheikh Mbodj kicked Frease after he fell down. "These two programs hate one another," writes Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports. "They sit just a few miles away in Cincinnati and there's a history of altercations over the years. Frease, in fact, head-butted Gates a few years back."

posted by rcade to basketball at 03:49 PM - 3 comments

Colt McCoy's Dad Rips Browns for Playing Him After Hit: Brad McCoy, the dad and former high school coach of Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy, said he should never have been allowed back in the game Thursday night after the vicious head shot by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison. "He was basically out (cold) after the hit," Brad McCoy said. "There were a lot of easy symptoms that should've told them he had a concussion. He was nauseated and he didn't know who he was. From what I could see, they didn't test him for a concussion on the sidelines." Browns coach Pat Shurmur said Colt McCoy showed no signs of a concussion after the hit, though he's since been diagnosed with one.

posted by rcade to football at 03:05 PM - 21 comments

Ye Olde Moneyball: "The time has passed when the public will any longer swallow the palpable falsehood that a home run is no better than a scratch single." (PDF) Before Brad Pitt; before Michael Lewis, before Billy Beane; before Bill James; and long, long, before the Society for American Baseball Research, there was F.C. Lane. The editor-in-chief of Baseball Magazine for 30-odd years, F.C. Lane also wrote a book called Batting and lots and lots of articles about baseball. Several of them presaged the rise of "sabermetrics" more than half a century later (via MetaFilter).

posted by rcade to baseball at 11:03 AM - 0 comments

December 09, 2011

UFC Fighter Fired for Tweeting Rape Joke: The UFC has dropped fighter Miguel Torres after he reposted the following joke from the sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on Twitter: "If a rape van was called a surprise van more women wouldn't mind going for rides in them. Everyone like surprises." He also posted "Your mouth says no but my roofies say yes" and "I'm not a gynecologist but I'll take a look."

posted by rcade to boxing at 10:08 AM - 27 comments

December 08, 2011

All-Star Shake-up.: Pending approval and physicals, a three-way trade is underway in the NBA that would send Chris Paul to the Lakers, Pau Gasol to the Houston Rockets, and Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Lamar Odom-Kardashian and Goran Dragic to New Orleans.

posted by Ufez Jones to basketball at 07:59 PM - 14 comments

Teammate: Nick Saban Stepped Over Convulsing Player: Former NFL fullback Heath Evans, who played for Nick Saban when he coached the Miami Dolphins, said on Miami radio Wednesday that Saban once stepped over offensive lineman Jeno James after he vomited and collapsed into convulsions. "Obviously it's a moment of panic, everyone, you know, we don't know if this guy's, you know, gonna die, I mean, the whole deal. But he's so big and sweaty and heavy that we actually have to set him down in the hallway between the locker room and the training room," Evans said. "Nick Saban literally just starts walking in, steps over Jeno James convulsing, doesn't say a word, doesn't try to help, goes upstairs. ... He showed no human emotion for one of his best players."

posted by rcade to football at 05:06 PM - 4 comments

Paralympian Regains Use of Legs, Changes Sports: Dutch Paralympian handcyclist Monique van der Voerst, who won two silver medals at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, was injured last year when struck by a bicycle while training for the 2012 games. She regained feeling in her legs, learned to walk again, was declared ineligible as a Paralympian and is now training as a cyclist for the 2016 Rio Olympics. "I find it medically difficult to explain," said Dr. Christof Smit, her rehabilitation coach.

posted by rcade to olympics at 12:54 PM - 3 comments

Pujols Going to Angels for 10 Years, $250 Million: St. Louis Cardinals free agent slugger Albert Pujols has agreed to a 10-year contract for $250 million with the Los Angeles Angels, multiple media outlets reported Thursday morning. The deal reportedly includes a no-trade clause and requires Pujols to pass a physical before being finalized.

posted by DrJohnEvans to baseball at 10:13 AM - 51 comments

December 07, 2011

No Charges for Bernie Fine : The statute of limitations has expired for two of the accusers in the Bernie Fine molestation investigation. The U.S. Secret Service continues to investigate the most recent allegations, but have not come to any conclusions as to whether or not they intend to bring charges.

posted by Tinman to basketball at 12:02 PM - 10 comments

Disabled’ MMA fighter Nick Newell, without a forearm or hand, submits opponent: Nick Newell's dream run continued on Friday during a Legacy Fight championship event. He remained unbeaten at 6-0 in his young MMA career with a win over Denis Hernandez at XFC 15. What he's accomplishing without a forearm or fist on his left arm is simply incredible.

posted by gfinsf to boxing at 07:52 AM - 2 comments

December 06, 2011

This Is the Classical: Kickstarter-funded sports site The Classical launched over the weekend. Just in time for the NBA's return, FreeDarko founder (and all-around great name haver) Bethlehem Shoals discusses the state of the NBA and soccer blogger Linda Hui expands on New Zealand's Rugby World Cup victory (via MetaFilter).

posted by rcade to general at 01:22 PM - 1 comment

The Physical Toll of Being a Goon: The New York Times has published a three-part series on the life of late hockey enforcer Derek Boogaard, who died earlier this year at age 28 of a drug and alcohol overdose. Part 1: A Boy Learns to Brawl. Part 2: Blood on the Ice. Part 3: A Brain 'Going Bad' (via MetaFilter).

posted by rcade to hockey at 12:21 PM - 30 comments

December 05, 2011

NHL governors adopt radical realignment plan: The NHL's Board of Governors on Monday approved a radical realignment plan, according to multiple reports. The plan reportedly eliminates the current two-conference, six-division setup in favor of a configuration that features four conferences based on geography. Two conferences will have eight teams and the other two conferences will have seven teams, according to the report.

posted by NoMich to hockey at 09:44 PM - 30 comments

Cubs great Ron Santo elected to Baseball Hall of Fame: A little more than a year after he died, Cubs great Ron Santo has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.

posted by NoMich to baseball at 12:53 PM - 3 comments

Miami Marlins, Jose Reyes agree to terms on six-year, $102M deal: Move over (to third base), Hanley Ramirez. As long as he passes a routine physical, Jose Reyes will become the Marlins’ new shortstop. Losing Jose Reyes hurts the Mets, but not as much as what is to come.

posted by BornIcon to baseball at 12:50 PM - 3 comments

Krzyzewski, Summitt named SI Sportsman, Sportswoman of year: The two Hall of Famers are the winningest coaches in women's and men's college basketball. Tennessee's Summitt announced in August that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's but pledged to continue coaching and earned her 1,075th career victory Sunday. Duke's Krzyzewski passed mentor Bob Knight on Nov. 15 when he won his 903rd game. They joined UCLA's John Wooden in 1972 and North Carolina's Dean Smith in 1997 as the only college basketball coaches to receive the honor.

posted by billsaysthis to basketball at 11:49 AM - 0 comments

Green Bay Packers Climb to 12-0: The Green Bay Packers drove 68 yards in 58 seconds and Mason Crosby kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired, winning 38-35 on the road over the New York Giants. The win clinches the NFC North for the 12-0 Packers, who have Oakland, Kansas City, Chicago and Detroit remaining on their schedule. "I'm not going to talk about 16-0," said quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was 28 of 46 passing for 369 yards and four touchdowns. In other games, Tim Tebow threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns as the Denver Broncos rallied over the Minnesota Vikings, Drew Brees became the fastest-ever quarterback to reach 4,000 passing yards in a season as the New Orleans Saints beat the fading Detroit Lions and coach Jason Garrett iced his own kicker in a Dallas Cowboys overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

posted by rcade to football at 11:04 AM - 36 comments

Heeee's baaaaaaack!:  

posted by grum@work to golf at 12:31 AM - 7 comments

December 04, 2011

It's Official: LSU-Alabama for the BCS National Championship. The real surprise is the 11-2 Virginia Tech Hokies vs. the 10-2 Michigan Wolverines in the Sugar Bowl -- the former being the first ever ACC at-large BCS pick and the latter getting picked in lieu of the just-barely-not-Big-Ten-champion Michigan State (who beat the Wolverines). The Fiesta Bowl is a de facto 3 vs. 4, with the inched-out Oklahoma State Cowboys playing the Stanford Cardinal. The Orange Bowl is stuck with ACC champion Clemson vs. Big East Champion West Virginia, and the Rose Bowl is back to its usual Pac-12/Big Ten contretemps, with the Wisconsin Badgers coming to Pasadena again to face the Oregon Ducks.

posted by Etrigan to football at 09:00 PM - 17 comments

13 Hurt Storming Field at Oklahoma State: Thirteen fans were injured, two critically, when thousands stormed the field after Oklahoma State's 44-10 victory over Oklahoma to win the Big 12 championship on Saturday. "Some were jumping off the stands and hit the field and others got trampled. It was a nasty deal," said Michael Authement, who headed an emergency command post.

posted by rcade to football at 12:29 PM - 1 comment

December 03, 2011

Packers Offering First Stock Sale in 14 Years: To help fund $130 million in renovations at Lambeau Field, the Green Bay Packers next week will offer their first public stock sale in 14 years. There are currently 112,205 shareholders who own 4.75 million shares in the team. Another 250,000 shares go on sale Tuesday for $250 each. Shares offer no dividends and can't be resold or given to anyone outside of your immediate family, but they do come with voting privileges and invitations to annual meetings.

posted by rcade to football at 03:37 PM - 12 comments

December 02, 2011

Lynch, Seahawks Run Over Eagles: Marshawn Lynch ran two touchdowns on 148 yards in the Seattle Seahawks' 31-14 win over the Philadelphia Eagles Thursday night. His first 15-yard score was reminiscent of his "beast mode" score in last year's playoffs. "He fights for every yard, every carry he gets," Seattle quarterback Tarvaris Jackson said. "It's like every carry is his last carry."

posted by rcade to football at 10:12 AM - 14 comments

Chris Paul: Trade Me to Knicks: Chris Paul's agent told the New Orleans Hornets that the guard won't sign a contract extension and wants to be traded to the New York Knicks, sources told Yahoo Sports. Boston, Golden State, Houston and the Los Angeles Clippers are teams with interest in the four-time All Star.

posted by rcade to basketball at 08:19 AM - 2 comments

December 01, 2011

Kisenosato promoted to ozeki: Sumo's rising star Kisenosato has been promoted to the elite rank of ozeki after a tremendous run of 60 wins in 90 bouts over the past 12 months. He seems to be the only rikishi who has Mongolian yokozuna Hakuho's number, having beaten the grand champion several times. Here's a 2006 interview with Kisenosato, and for a bonus, Hakuho vs. Asashoryu, splitting the world in half.

posted by Hugh Janus to other at 09:21 AM - 4 comments

Washington State Hires Mike Leach: Washington State has hired former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach to take over its football program. Leach won 84 games over 10 seasons at Tech before being fired over a dispute regarding his handling of receiver Adam James while he was recovering from a concussion. Washington State has not been to a bowl game since 2003.

posted by rcade to football at 08:32 AM - 4 comments