The Mudville Megaphone

Videos of Pat Summitt, coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols

2009-12-22T08:31:00.000-08:00

I've just published a Hub Page about Pat Summitt, the coach of the Lady Vols, which features a few videos of the iconic coach.

Pat Summitt's Definite Dozen

Elizabeth Lambert is a disgrace to her race...

2009-11-06T16:28:00.000-08:00

PROVO, Utah -- A New Mexico soccer player has become an Internet celebrity for the wrong reasons.

Junior defender Elizabeth Lambert was suspended Friday for her infractions the day before during a 1-0 loss to BYU in a Mountain West Conference semifinal. Lambert is seen in video from the game throwing elbows, colliding with several players and then yanking the ponytail of a BYU player who went crashing to the ground.

"My actions were uncalled for," Lambert said in a statement released by New Mexico. "I let my emotions get the best of me in a heated situation."

Lambert's actions brought unprecedented -- and unwanted -- attention to the Mountain West women's soccer tournament.

I chose my title to be ironic. What's interesting about this news report at CBS Sportsline is the comments made to it. Anytime a black athlete does something like this, there are dozens of posters commenting on how "you can take the "person" out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the "person" - and you know what word I'm using the euphemism of person for...there's also a lot of use of the n-word, and not in a complimentary way.

But Elizabeth Lambert gives people kidney punches and pulls a girl down by her ponytail, and the only thing the posters have to say is jokes about now people will have a reason to watch women's soccer...they want to see a catfight.

An Open Letter to Bob Griese

2009-10-31T07:52:00.001-07:00

Dear Mr. Griese

The strength of the cult of victimhood in this country is growing every day, and I'm sorry to see that you have become a victim of it.

You made a joke - a joke - about a man of Latino descent eating a taco when he should have been working, and your joke has been recast into an "ethnic slur" for which you were forced to apologize, and get suspended for a week.

For what?

Does this mean every taco truck that serves the Latino communities around the US now have to change their names because it is racist? I'm reminded of the Beanery restaurant, named after coffee beans, that changed its name to something less evocative because they were afraid that Mexicans would think it was a racist slur because, stereotypically (and also, you know, culturally) they eat beans. A different kind of bean than the coffee bean, mark you.

I'm reminded of a case many years ago, when Lou Piniella was in the broadcast booth with some other guy, an explayer whose name escapes me. In the course of the conversation, rising out of it naturally, the guy said something about 'let me move my wallet to the other side,'. because he didn't want Lou to make off with it. A simple joke, that could be made of anyone, but because Lou was of Hispanic descent, that joke was racist and the guy was fired the next day! Ridiculous!

Then we have the case of Shaq, a few years ago. Stretched out his eyes slantwise and spoke in noises trying to sound like Chinese, just having some fun with Yao Ming. The Asian press erupted, calling for him to be suspended, but Shaq REFUSED to back down, saying it was just a joke. Well, of course if you're black (or any minority) you can't be racist, and so he was allowed to "get away with it." (Not that what he did was racist, but if he'd been any white player, up to and including Larry Bird, he'd have been suspended in a heartbeat.)

It's ironic, when I read the comment threads on YouTube that carry the snippet of your remark, that so many of them calling you a racist refer to others disparagingly as gay or retarded. So it's okay to be homophobic or handicappophobic, but racist...oh no!

That't the thing of course. By apologizing for "uttering a racial slur" (and I'm still waiting to find out where the slur was in that,) you have now been branded a racist. Because obviously someone who utters one racist slur is an out and out racist, no matter the context of when that slur was uttered.

I also think of the message boards of the UConn Huskies and the Tennessee Lady Vols. The north and the south. And the disparaging terms each set of fans says to the others about STEREOTYPICAL northern and southern behavior. Inbreeding in the south, wheyfaces in the north, for example. Of course, since these are white folks making these cracks about each other, it's not racist or regionalist... but let a black poster get attacked and decide to make an issue of it.... whoa nellie!

In short, Mr. Griese, I'm sure you made you joke in all innocence, and didn't expect it to offend anyone. And I regret that you allowed yourself to be intimidated into apologizing for something that didn't need to be apologized for. I regret that the news media is saying you said a "racial slur" when all you did was make a joke! (I don't watch comics on TV - white or black - but I'm willing to be that 90% of their comedy is based on stereotpyes and *that* is why it's funny.)

Please, Mr. Griese, stand up for yourself and unfortunate tellers of jokes everywhere. "No, I did not utter a racist slur. I just made a joking comment and since it wasn't about a white player sloughing off to have a Big Mac but rather a Latino player having a taco, everyone's got their knickers in a twist, and they should just lighten up."

That is what you should have said. Instead, your apology has just given yet more strength to the cult of victimhood that is in the process of destroying this country.

Brett Favre's waffling commercial

2009-10-05T19:50:00.000-07:00

I can't root for my team, the Vikings, anymore because the evil Greenbay Packer Brett Favre is now the quarterback...

But I've got to admit this commercial is hilarious. (This is the extended version.)

What are we teaching our children?

2009-09-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

The headline at CBS Sportline read: LeGarrette Blount suspended for season for punching taunter.

LeGarrette Blount is a college football player. He may be suspended, but he retains his scholarship and will be able to practice with the team.

Meanwhile his victim, who "asked for it" is probably contemplating suing Blount for assault. Well...he's probably not contemplating it, but lots and lots of lawyers are undoubtedly contemplating it and contacting him promising he won't have to pay a thing unless they get a sizeable settlement from the University for whom Blount plays.

A couple of weeks ago, some college coach wanted his players to shake hands with the players of the opposing team before playing the game. And sports pundits wagged their heads, saying that could never happen because, if two football teams got near each other before the game, emotions would be running so high that fights would undoubtedly break out.

What kind of human beings are our schools churning out, that "men" in college can't even shake hands with each other before a sporting contest. And of course, it's not just the athletes, most of whom wouldn't even qualify to be at that college at all, except they have the physical skills to play football.

But it's not just football players who are animals, of course. What's worse is that the fans are - sitting around in sports bars and getting drunk, and then if some poor nebbish comes in wearing a hat from another team, he's going to get stomped into a coma and the only reaction will be, "Well, he should have known better to go into a sports bar wearing that hat."

Then there's professional wrestling. I never watch that crap, but I see the commercials on TV and they are all the same, lots of over-muscled jocks preening and prancing around, lots of over-endowed women strutting around on high-heels knowing that they are no more than eye-candy and sex objects, with no respect in any gaze looking at them. And what do kids learn? Why, that it's perfectly all right to hit a referee trying to stop you from beating up on a downed opponent, it's perfectly all right stomping someone lying helpless on the ground before you, it's perfectly all right to show no sportsmanship whatever.

And then we wonder how gangs of young kids - both girls and boys - can be wandering around throwing rocks or snowballs at people, and should their victim get angry and tell them off, they'll surround him and stomp him into a coma like the animals they are.

I hate to insult animals with my analogy, by the way. Humans are worse than animals, because they have the brains to know the consequences of their actions. Sadly, they just don't care....

And that makes for a frightening world. 4,000 years of "evolution", and people are just as vicious and psychotic now as they've ever been.

Put Names on the Backs of the Shirts!

2009-07-25T13:12:00.000-07:00

I just tuend in to the WNBA All-Star game. We've got players in white and players in orange, and not a single player has their name on the back of their shirt so the casual viewer can tell who they are.

That just irks me.

They do it in baseball - the Yankees don't condescend to put names on the backs of their shirts and have never done so. Pat Summit doesn't do it for the Lady Vols.

But when we're talking about the WNBA, a league struggling to establish itself as legitimate (because there are so many male chauvanists out there, and women chauvanists too, who don't respect it), it would help a great deal to add some name recognition to the teams.

Mark Buerhle throws perfect game

2009-07-24T06:27:00.000-07:00

On July 23, 2009, Mark Buerhle of the Chicago White Sox threw a perfect game. ESPN showed the last inning, and it was nice to actually see some drama - the first Tampa Ray batter of that inning actually hit a homerun...except defensive substitution DeWayne Wise climbed the wall and snatched the ball back.

...then juggled it for a few seconds before gaining control!

Congrats to Buerhle.

Now, if only my Boston Red Sox can get their act together! And if only the Yankees will go on a 20-game losing streak. That would make me happy.

So Much For Good Sports

2009-06-01T11:21:00.000-07:00

“It’s hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them,” he said. “I’m a winner. It’s not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you’re not going to congratulate them. That doesn’t make sense to me. I’m a competitor. That’s what I do. It doesn’t make sense for me to go over and shake somebody’s hand.”

LeBron James apparently doesn't even know the meaning of the phrase "poor sport."

Someone beats you - of course you go over and shake their hand! That's what being a good sport is all about. To do anything less - which is apparently what quite a few athletes feel - is just disgusting.

Big Baby Shoves Kid...or does he?

2009-05-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

The father of the 12 year old kid whom Big Baby of the Boston Celtics pushed (and it looks like he did it accidently) wants an apology.

If you look at the video (and I really dislike the jerk who put it together - either shave off the beard or grow a moustache, you poseur!) he's running past the kid and his hand just accidently hits the kid in the back.

If you've got Kindle, you've got Jacoby Ellsbury

2009-04-27T08:08:00.000-07:00

Last night, Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury endeared himself to a whole nation of fans when he stole home off of Andy Pettite.

Jacoby first rose to national baseball prominence during the last month of the 2007 season, when he helped the Red Sox get to the World Series and win it. His 2008 season was also excellent, although he platooned with Coco Crisp for much of the year.

After a slow start, batting wise, to 2009, Jacoby has started to hit, and his steal of home - a straight steal, not a suicide squeeze, was his tenth of the year.

Athletes go broke quicker than anybody

2009-04-12T17:58:00.000-07:00

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1153364/1/index.htm

According to a Sports Illustrated article published in March, 2009:

• By the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress because of joblessness or divorce.

• Within five years of retirement, an estimated 60% of former NBA players are broke.

• Numerous retired MLB players have been similarly ruined, and the current economic crisis is taking a toll on some active players as well. (Last month 10 current and former big leaguers—including outfielders Johnny Damon of the Yankees and Jacoby Ellsbury of the Red Sox and pitchers Mike Pelfrey of the Mets and Scott Eyre of the Phillies—discovered that at least some of their money is tied up in the $8 billion fraud allegedly perpetrated by Texas financier Robert Allen Stanford.)

You note that they don't give the percentage of how many MLB players go broke after two years or five years. Obviously it's much less than 60%...otherwise they'd surely mention it. There's perhaps a reason for that... although as the above paragraph states, lots of baseball players invested in what they thought were wise investments with fraudsters, instead of sheer stupidity...

Three basketball players were mentioned, whose main problem is that they have a gazillion children - each by a different woman:

Children almost always complicate the issue. How to limit paternity obligations is a challenge for pro athletes. Former NBA forward Shawn Kemp (who has at least seven children by six women) and, more recently, Travis Henry (nine by nine) have seen their fortunes sapped by monthly child-support payments in the tens of thousands of dollars. Last month Henry, who reportedly earned almost $11 million over seven years in the NFL, tried and failed to temporarily reduce one of his nine child-support payments by arguing that he could no longer afford the $3,000 every month. Two weeks later he was jailed for falling $16,600 behind in payments for his child in Frostproof, Fla.

An aversion to family planning goes hand in hand with neglect of other forms of financial foresight, which can affect what happens to athletes' fortunes even after they die. Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Thomas, who died at 33 following a January 2000 car crash, had ignored the urging of his financial adviser to make a will, and his entire estate was left for the court to divide, touching off a legal battle among the five mothers of his seven children. (Of the estimated $30 million Thomas had earned in the NFL, he had only $1.16 million in valued assets at the time of his death.)

>>How to limit paternity obligations is a challenge for pro athletes.

I would think it would be very simple. Don't have unprotected sex with a woman. Use a little thing called a condom, or better still, get a vasectomy! Then you can have all the sex you want without fear that you'll have baggage hanging around your neck for the rest of your life!

Beat the Streak 2009 is here!

2009-04-07T13:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.mlb.com/mlb/fantasy/bts/y2009/

I missed out on yesterday's game, but got started with today's game. I've already made my first 10 choices (the most you're allowed to make at one time is ten games). Of course, some of those I'll modify on the day of the game, but it's important that you never miss a game, because if you forget to choose a player, that ends your streak, assuming you've got one!

So, I chose Dustin Pedroia for today, and he rewarded me by hitting a homerun in his first at-bat.

These early games are really a "crap-shoot," as it's too early in the season to know if a player is on a streak or in a slump. But if Pedroia's homer is any guide, looks like he's starting out as hot now as he was when the season ended last year.

My next 10 picks (which may be modified - I'll update you each day with any changes) are

April 7 - Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox - homerun
April 8 - Dustin Pedroia again. He hits Scott Kazmir well
April 9 - Jacoby Ellsbury has a good average against Garza. I'll see how he does in these first two games, then may or may not keep him.
April 10 - Derek Jeter. He hits well against Sidney Ponson.
April 11 - Mark Loretta (Dodgers) against Brandon Webb.
April 12 - Ryan Howard (Phillies) vs Aaron Cook
April 13 - Jed Lowrie of the Red Sox
April 14 - Derek Jeter
April 15 - Derek Jeter
April 16 - Manny Ramirez

Slight hiccup on the road to fame and fortune

2009-03-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

I have blogged here many times about how I discovered the Tennessee Lady Vols, but today, after a historic loss, I feel the need to blog again.

In all of her 30+ years as a Women's basketball coach, none of Pat Summitt's teams have NOT made it to the Sweet 16. Until last night, when her young team - 1 senior, 1 sophomore, the rest freshmen, bowed out in a rather bad loss to a number 12 ranked team - they were ranked number 5.

And I feel sorry for the team. And for Pat Summitt. All of the freshmen were All-Americans, and apparently they were all friends, but when it came to the big stage, they had more losses this year than any other Pat Summitt team. (Except one, with Chamique Holdsclaw. That team managed to win the Championship ()after the retun of an injured player who was their point guard) ...this team couldn't even get out of the first round.)

But what really makes me laugh, and shake my head, is the attitude of The Summitt - the official message board for the Lady Vols.

Indeed, it was the attititude of this board that turned me against the Lady Vols, all those years ago.

I had first heard of Pat Summitt as the winningest coach in women's college basketball, and looking for female role models, I decided to watch the Lady Vols. Of course the game I chose to watch was one that featured Tennessee against UConn, their historic rival. (Indeed, that's *why* I had heard of Pat Summitt, there was a lot of hype about the game, as there was every year, but this year the Lady Vols were undefeated and trying for an undefeated season. They would end up being defeated, rather badly, by UConn, in that game.)

Nevertheless, I liked Pat Summitt, and as an aside, it really irritated me to see men coaching women's DIvision I basketball teams - although they have done so for 20 years, of course. Now on the one hand I didn't care, a coach is a coach, but until the men's Division I game has 50% women's coaches, the Women's division sure as heck shouldn't have men's coaches! [Sadly, though, I think many women...even today, in 2009, would rather play for a male coach, because men have the "right" to tell them what to do, whereas women ...don't. Sad. But no sadder than those religious teams that won't even let women referees ref a game between two male highschool teams, because women "mustn't be in power over men" as happened in 2007...]

Anyway, so I found the WCBB message boards. Every team has one - for all its college teams, but football is the most popular, followed by men's basketball. Sad to say, most of the women's team barely had a presence on those official boards. The two most vocal ones were the Summitt and the Boneyard (UConn), and while a few others such as Duke and North Carolina had somewhat active boards, they paled in comparison to the actvity going on at those two. Which made only sense, I suppose, as the Lady Vols and the UConn Huskies are the two most successful WCBB programs in the country.

I'll wrap this up for today with a few books on the Lady Vols and UConn, and take it up tomorrow with my tale of the Summitt message board...the karma destroyers who made the Lady Vols what they are on this day....

Baggy uniforms fine, stripes bad

2009-03-21T09:23:00.001-07:00

I was surprised today to find out that a Chicago high school basketball team had been assessed a technical - at the very start of a tournament game - because their basketball uniforms.... had an illegal stripe.

And I'm thinking... what?

We've got kids running around in baggy shorts extending past their knees, that look absolutey stupid, like they're swimming in fabric (how many poor people could be clothed if the excess fabric was removed from basketball shorts and made into shorts for them????) and yet they're penalized because a stripe on the jersey went horizontally around the chest instead of vertically at the sides?

Scary.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-21-lawndale-jerseymar21,0,6599783.story

Are Women Poor Sports?

2009-01-31T09:26:00.000-08:00

Sports Illustrated dedicated a few pages to this question in an article published in 1955.

There was never any question that *men* were good sports, trained to be so after decades of competition. But women? Well...'they were learning.'

Seems to me that being a good or poor sport is as individual as the athlete. Anyone wanna tell me Ty Cobb was a good sport?

The Question: Norbert L. Harms Of St. Louis, In His Answer To The Hotbox Question, "should Women Hunt?" Said: "...basically, Women Are Poor Sports." Are They?

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1129995/2/index.htm

High Fives for stepping on an opposing player's face

2009-01-25T12:54:00.000-08:00

Aubrey Coleman of Houston is the "man" doing the stepping, Chase Budinger of Arizona is the man being stepped on. Arizona ended up winning the game.

(Note, after a couple of replays, we see the reactin of the Houston bench. Aubrey, laughing like he just did somethign to be proud of, gets a high five from a teammate. However, he apparently was ejected from the game.)

Christian Laettner did something similar, but at least he stepped on the guy's chest, not his face...(though he still deserved to be suspended).

Geno Admits He Was Wrong

2009-01-24T19:28:00.001-08:00

Many people, in commenting on the Geno Auriemma - Nicole Michael situation, said that Geno had no business trying to teach manners to another coach's players.

In his weekly TV show, Geno admits that he made a mistake.

http://soxanddawgs.com/2009/01/24/geno-admits-he-was-wrong/

This site has the relevant video from Geno's show.

It's very rare for someone to admit, publicly, that they made a mistake, so kudos to Geno for doing so.

I wonder if Nicole Michael will come out and say she made a mistake in trying to trip Geno? After all, she is 21 - old enough to know better. It's one thing to get into a verbal altercation with someone, quite another to actually physically attack them - that should never be acceptable.

Kay Yow, coach of North Carolina State, has died

2009-01-24T07:39:00.000-08:00

http://www.cbssports.com/ncaawbasketball/story/11297089

Her story was one of courage and hope. Despite having breast cancer for many years, she endured chemotherapy and then came to coach her team.

I know I shouldn't make atheist hay out of such a tragic event, but I must say I've got a bewildered twist to my lips right now.

Just checked the two main WCBB message boards I read on a regualar basis, and everyone expressing their sadness and saying farewell ends with a "God bless" or a "Receive God's grace in its fullest" if you're actually a priest as well as a basketball fan.

And I'm thinking... this woman has suffered with a terrible disease for a decade, but now that she has fulfilled God's plan and died she'll receive his grace in the fullest.

On the other hand, apparently she was a deeply religious person herself, and the fact that that didn't prevent God from bestowing this terrible disease on her never made her waiver in her faith.

Also today on one of these two boards, a couple of people have family or a friend who is also going through a health crisis, and so they are making posts saying "Prayers needed," and requesting prayers - from total strangers - for their own loved ones. And the people are responding, assuring the requestor that they will keep this other individual in their prayers.

And while that's certainly very nice, I'm thinking.... why bother? Did prayers help Kay Yow? Miraculously cure her of cancer because she was such a great person? (Which she was - don't mistake me on that.)

I must confess I don't understand the mind of a religious person, whether Christian or Jew, and definitely not Muslim!

But what's easier to believe, that there is no God, and that these diseases are horrible mutations that have to be cured through science, or there IS a God, and he goes about laying these horrible diseases on people as part of his plan to test them and make sure they won't waiver in their faith. And after a few years of suffering for most, and perhaps one "miraculous" cure for every one in ten thousand, the individual gets to die and go up to heaven where they'll live eternally in God's love. Oh, yeah, that'd make me feel better.

Regret Sometimes Rings a Little Hollow

2009-01-23T08:32:00.000-08:00

A Texas high school girls basketball team on the winning end of a 100-0 game has a case of blowout remorse.

Now officials from The Covenant School say they are trying to do the right thing by seeking a forfeit and apologizing for the margin of victory.

http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=903780

Okay - here's probably what happened. The girls were enjoying destroying their opponent, so much so that they had absolutely no qualms during the game of dropping 100 points on them.

AFTER the game, the outrage about what they had done made the coach and players feel uncomfortable... "Hey, we'd better apologize about this so these people criticizing us will think we're sorry we did it."

They could have stopped at any point in that game and taken it easy... to feel sorry afterwards just sounds bogus to me.

On the other hand, clearly that other team did not belong on the same court, and whoever scheduled the two, made a mistake.

Clemson fan bodyslams Chas McFarland

2009-01-18T09:23:00.000-08:00

Wake Forest-Clemson battle, Jan 17, 2009

Wake Forest center Chas McFarland goes into the stands, falling, tries to get up, and a Clemson fan, who'd been "speared", body slams him.

Does Geno Get Tripped

2009-01-18T07:51:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, January 17, the Syracuse Orange Women played the UConn Huskies, coached by Geno Auriemma.

Before the game, the Orange Women, in various pre-game interviews, sounded confident, and like they expected to be able to win.

The UConn players proceeded to double them up on the score, and Geno left his starters in, and they continued to bomb threes, until practically the end of the game.

According to the announcers and the UConn fans watching the game, Syracuse played "dirty" the entire game. Although, when one of UConn's stars, Caroline Doty, went down with what everyone hopes is not an ACL injury, it was on a fast break and no Syracuse player can be held responsible.

In the clip you see above, Nicole Michael, junior forward for Syracuse, seems to turn toward Geno and either kick him or try to trip him. Or perhaps Geno just accidently steps on her foot as she attempts to confront him. Whatever happens, she certainly turns and walks away very quickly.

Candace Parker Still Has Nightmares...

2009-01-08T12:36:00.000-08:00

about LaToya Pringle guarding her.

So said North Carolina Tar Heel coach Sylvia Hatchell, when Pringle's number was retired a fwe days ago.

And this has got The Summitt - the Lady Vols message board, all up in arms.

They have gone back through the record books, and Parker's career low in points apparently came facing other teams, not the Tar Heels and Pringle.

Therefore, these rabid fans say, Hatchell was lying! She was trying to pump up Pringle at the expense of Candace Parker, and she should be ashamed!

What none of these foaming-at-the-mouth fans -- who are all outraged by this -- seem to want to consider, is, maybe Candace Parker, learning that Pringle's jersey was t be retired, called up Hatchell and gave her that little anecdote. Or maybe Parker and Pringle, who are in the WNBA together, albeit on different teams, are friends, and Parker told Pringle that and Pringle told her coach, and that's where the quote came from.

Now - I dont' know whether that's true or not, but I'd certainly give Hatchell the benefit of the doubt rather than getting my knickers in a twist about it, the more so because...it's no big deal.

But, as any sports fan knows, to rabid sports fans, any slight, imagined or otherwise, is a big deal, and absolutely must never be forgiven, and must be brought up, over and over and over again.

The Summitt is certainly not unusual in having these types of fans, but I just do have to laugh every time I read that board, because most of the people there do wear orange colored blinders.

For example, in particular during the off-season when there's no basketball going on, discussion at The Boneyard would have a few threads on the Lady Vols.

So, over on the Summitt, you'd get people making snarky comments "We should call The Boneyard The Summitt II, because they sure are obsessed with us."

Not seeming to realize the fact that they are obsessed with the Boneyard - why else read a rival team's board to begin with?

But of course, if you go to the Summitt, you see an equal number of threads discussing the UConn Huskies, but if someone jokingly refers to the Summitt as the Boneyard II (coff, coff) they are met with outrage! They aren't obsessed with UConn, it's the other way around.

I just have to laugh...

Betting on Basketball? You need this!

2009-01-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

Okay, i don't really approve of sports betting... but it's better than black jack or slots where it's all luck!

With sports betting, if you know your stuff, you can make money. (The main reason why I don't approve is, the more money laid on a game, the more the guys with mushed noses don't want to lose... but if you wager carefully...

So anyway, check out this betting system: Sports Betting Champ.

I don't know that I'd call the info he shares "Explosive secrets" - sounds like standard internet hype to me... but the system works. (On paper, I hasten to add. All my money is in FRE, the stock of which I thought would go up after the bailout and which is still in the tank!... I should have stuck to sportsbetting!

Anyway, check it out.

Aha - I see it's demonstrated - well, a whole minute - on Youtube as well:

Women's basketball - PLEASE put names on jerseys!

2009-01-03T18:09:00.000-08:00

There were two women's college basketball games on TV today...

I watched the Tennessee Lady Vols vs the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

I won't say a word about the abysmal first half the Lady Vols had - scoring a team-history low 13 points in that first half, or the abysmal second half Rutgers had. Except to say that anyone knew to women's basketball who just wanted to see what it was all about would not have become a fan after watching this game, I don't think.

Excuse for the Lady Vols is that actually they are the "Baby Vols" - 4 freshmen starting. They looked like it was their first game (and they were without their top defensive player) and they had more turnovers than points in that half...

But, anyway, the point is, neither the Lady Vols or the Scarlet Knights had their names on the back of their jerseys. So unless you are fans of the team, you wouldn't know who any of these players are! This was the first time I'd seen these girls play (normally I listen on the radio) and the only one I recognized was Angie Bjorkland. When they showed their faces at the line, I was able to put names to faces, but when they're running around, hard to tell. My memory for their numbers isn't that great - would've been a lot easier with names!

Same for Rutgers of course, only more important since I'd never seen them before!

It is really short-sighted of these coaches not to put names on jerseys! I suppose it's supposed to be "team-building" but all it does is make it harder for potential fans to care about the team they're watching. Everyone's anonymous!

It doesn't matter with a team like the New York Yankees, but for women's college basketball, where most teams hardly get anyone to turn out to games, being fan friendly is all important.

The new Gatorade commercial - crap!

2009-01-02T18:21:00.000-08:00

How do you know a Gatorade commercial? Athletes running around, then refreshing themselves with the drink in the green bottle, eh?

Take a look at this - and tell me, if you hadn't been told it was a Gatorade commerical - would you even know it?

http://neswsports.com/2009/01/02/whats-g-g-commercial-gatorade-commercial/

They're talking about something called "G". No mention at all of the fact that it's a Gatorade commercial, no sight of a Gatorade bottle, plus there's the bad taste of a very frail Mohammed Ali...then the weirdos in the faceless hockey masks at the end.

If I drank Gatordate, I'd stop drinking it after seeing this commercial.

_______
And after a little research, I find that the whole blogosphere is talking and praising this ridiculous commercial!

"How clever of Gatorade," they say, "to not specify what they're advertising, so that peope will go to the web and search under "Lil Wayne" and "G" to see what it is."

Something that would never have worked without the internet so people could actually do that.

But I have to admit I'm surprised. I thought it was a repulsive and stupid commercial - just various athletes standing around while the camera pans past them, then the three guys in masks at the end doing the sinuous arm thang. Just looked stupid.

Why is John Daly so popular?

2009-01-01T10:16:00.000-08:00

After the report that John Daly had been suspended from the PGA tour for 6 months (he can still golf in non-PGA events), a few people chimed in on the subject at CBSSportsline.com.

Most of them see Daly as a waste of space and a disgrace to golf, but quite a few are actually defending the guy, seeing him as a "regular guy" and a "colorful guy" - and the fact that he puts himself into a position where other people have power over him doesn't seem to matter.

By that I mean - if you get so drunk that you have to be arrested, and get to go places and do things dressed in an orange jump suit, you're hardly your own man, and there's nothing admirable about it.

Representative of young people, perhaps, they don't mind getting wasted and trashed every day, accomplishing nothing with their lives, and thinking that they're "free" because they dont' have to answer to anybody, not realzing that the only reason why they're not starving in the streets is because misguided governments give them welfare and free needles so they can continue their parasitic lives...

(Yes, I feel strongy about this. I have health issues myself, which have prevented me from accomplishing the great things I'd once dreamed of. To see perfectly healthy people, who could do anything they want, wasting their good fortune on drink and drugs when I'd do anything to have that health, just really, really pisses me off.)

John Daly - waste of space

2008-12-31T14:16:00.001-08:00

He revealed today he'd been suspended from the PGA tour for 6 months. (Heck, the PGA is as bad as the NFL. Fire this guy and don't let him step on a golf course again!)

"Is it fair that I got suspended?" he said. "It's not fair in reality, but it's probably fair in perception."

How can it not be fair in reality, you drunken moron?

http://www.sportsline.com/golf/story/11211544

Here's the thing. Drugs aren't a disease. Alcohol isn't a disease. It's something that stupid people do to themselves, despite all the evidence of how hurtful it is to them, to their families, etc. etc., and rather than treating these people with kid gloves, just deep-six them in the ocean. Less waste of space, air and food on land, and fish get the food they need.

Bowl Games are Ridiculous

2008-12-30T17:20:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid...or even into my teens, there were three or four bowl games. December 31 and January 1 - that's when you got the bowls. The Sugar, the Cotton, the Orange Bowl, the Rose Bowl, and you saw two elite college teams face off. Teams that were undefeated or at most had lost 1 or 2 games.

Nowadays - probably for a decade or so, bowl games have been totally cheapened. There are probably 20 of them now, and mnay of them feature teams that have .500 records! How can a team with a .500 record deserve to go to a Bowl, which is supposed to showcase football excellence???

All these new, upstart "bowls" should be renamed to "Games for Teams that don't deserve to play anymore this season, but have a fanbase that will pay to see one last game."

Women's Sports Talk Show begins on December 16

2008-12-06T09:08:00.000-08:00

Talk on men's sports dominates radio talk shows and TV shows. This is only to be expected. Men's sports has been and still is where the major money is.

But in an effort to bring Womens Sports into the spotlight, the Women's Sports Talk Show has been created, on digital radio and its first show will be on December 16.

http://www.womenssportstalkshow.com/

Support women's sports, support the Women's Sports Talk Show. Listen to it, contribute questions, etc.

Both men and women, obviously, are encouraged to participate.

Garcia of Gamecocks taken out by referee

2008-10-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

Stephen Garcia of the Carolina Gamecocks: It looks to me like the ref -- Wilbur Hackett Jr. --- shadowed him and deliberately took him down. He had several seconds to step left, or just stop moving, period, instead he moves into the guy and puts his shoulder on him.

View and make your own decision.

Josh Howard doesn't celebrate the National Anthem because he's black

2008-09-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, in the US there's freedom of speech. So if Josh Howard doesnt' think the National Anthem is worth celebrating, he's got the right to say so.

But let's explore.

Up until the late 1960s, a majority of blacks really had no reason to be "proud of their country." Sure, they fought bravely during World War I and World War II, only to come home to American apartheid. But those brave men and women paved the way for the equality of today. Martin Luther King was raised on their shoulders, as were the white folk who fought for equality also and whom we don't hear about, and since the 1970s, most blacks really haven't had anything to complain about. Sure, racism from individuals still exists (and that's white on black, black on white, white and black on every other color, ya da ya da), but institutional racism is outlawed.

So, blacks today are more successful than they've ever been. Too many of them are content to not get educations and live off "the man" (check out the Reverend Wright's black liberation theology), and yes, too many white folk do that as well... give people welfare and its *human* nature, they'll never want to get off.

Yeah, the housing crisis is biting hard, and there again you can blame the "man", or you can blame the politicians who forced "the man" to give loans to people who couldn't afford them, and then went hogwild selling those worthless loans to other banks...oh, there's a whole can of worms there...

But it all comes down to this. There's a black man who is the Democrat nominee for President, in the year 2008. How in the world is that possible in a "racist" country? Answer...it ain't.

So let's hope Josh Howard gives some of his humongous salary, which let us not forget he gets for playing a damn game, to his fellow blacks to help lift them up to his level of affluence. Perhaps send a dollar a month to Obama's half-brother in Nairobi, raise his standard of living by 100%.

Knowshon Moreno Hurdle vs Reggie Bush Hurdle

2008-09-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Reggie Bush hurdled... Knowshon Moreno did too..

Which one's best?

News reporters going too far

2008-09-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

They've gone too far in all walks of life - interviewing people just minutes after they've found out they've lost a loved one, but since this is a sports blog I'll just talk about the sports aspect of it.

Today, CBS Sportsline had an article, headlined: Young meets with Fisher after Titans ask police to help find QB
Apparently Young, who had booed by his teams "fans" throughout the game, got injured, and later on in the day, left the house without his cellphone. So, his coach called the police to track him down. And the police found him, and all was well.

So, this is a non-story, and should not have even been reported. Especially when you consider how psychotic fans are. (Remember many years ago, while in college, Steve Kerr's father had been murdered in the Lebanon. At his next game, the opposing team's fans were actually teasing at him and jeering at him because his father had been murdered! Talk abut sick.)

We seem to be at a point now where every little thing an athlete does is considered a "news report." Sure, if an idjit goes to a strip bar, throws money on the ground and then wants it back - that's news. Proves the guy's an idiot and a cheapskate. But driving around in his car and being stopped by the police only on the off-chance that he was depressed - that's not news. That's nobody's business.

Will Tiki Barber Be Fired?

2008-08-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

I only heard about this because I read Mike Freeman's blog entry about it today.

Apparently Tiki Barber called his co-anchor at the Olympics, a woman, Jenna Wolfe, a C - unt.

At about the 28 second mark.

Tiki should be fired because you should not be able to swear on national TV.

Here's the thing, of course. Boys swear, and men swear. It's something about the testosterone, eh? I remember my father never swore around us kids, but when he got on the phone to his brother or another male friend of the same age, he'd be using damn as an adjective and hell as an adjective... because he was talking with another guy.

These days women and girls probably think nothing of swearing the same way, but that's a different rant for a different time and blog...

According to Mike Freeman, Tiki doesn't have a superbowl ring and Wolfe was teasing him about that. So when she made another joke at his expense, he didn't have the wit to come back at her with somethign clever and just so used the c-word. Which I'm a bit surprised at because Tiki is a very articulate man.

(And I know articulate has become known as the a-word, but he is articulate, so just deal with it!)

I used to like Tiki until last year when he did indeed reveal himself to be a total jerk...I'm shocked he'd be stupid enough to use such a word on the air, but, unfortunately, I won't be shocked if he doesn't get fired for it. He only insulted a woman, after all.

Sports keywords to get ads back on track.

2008-08-25T08:17:00.001-07:00

I see that my comment on the skimpy clothing of the Olympic women has generated the type of ads on this site that I don't really want to see.

So I shall make a list of keywords here which will hopefully supersede that post from a week ago and put the ads here back on track as far as sports are concerned.

Tae Kwon Do
Karate
Martial artists
baseball
football
basketball
fencing
epee
foil
sabre
Jeet Kune Do
softball
Lady Vols
UConn Huskies

Video of Angel Matos kicking referee

2008-08-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

In the Olympics, no less.

Apparently you get 1 minute to have your toe wrapped up, the Cuban stood up two seconds too late.

Okay, the ref may have been a bit precipitate - but the clock had run out.

No way did he deserve to get kicked in the face. That is assault, and the Cuban should go to jail. And his coach, who was "unapologetic" needs to be banned.

Of course, neither will happen.

WNBA Women Get Gold

2008-08-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

The USA Women's Olympic Basketball Team, comprised of course of WNBA players, won the Gold medal at the Olympics a couple of days ago, defeating the Australian team easily.

Frankly, although I'm glad the Americans won, of course, I wish the Aussies had given us a better game.

But, despite the fact that they lost by double digits, that doesn't mean they are necessarily an easy win all the time.

It's the format of the Olympics that the winner of one game takes it all, and so its whoever's best on the night, and the US women had the better nerves that night, and may well have been the better team.

But it's impossible to really know unless they play 2 out of 3 or 3 out of 4. Obviously, there's no way they can do that, but I just don't like all the gloating being done on the Summitt, because of one win. (Yeah, I check out the Summitt - the Lady Vols message board - on a regular basis. A bastion of poor sportsmanship.)

Women should be athletes, not sex ads

2008-08-19T09:07:00.001-07:00

I have been watching bits of the Olympics, and have been getting more and more annoyed about the sexism on display - that has always been on display in women's sports since the 1970s.

Women's sports don't draw enough crowds. Solution? Have them wear really, really tight outfits so that guys (and women who like that sort of thing) will flock to see them. The guys don't have respect for the women, they dont' have respect for the sport involved, but they're certainly willing to pay to see breasts thrusting out of shirts and thighs leading up into the nether regions.

The most egregious is the women beach volleyballers. In the first place of course, beach volleyball isn't a sport, regardless of whether it's being played by men or women. But the women wear the skimpiest of skimpy bikini bottoms, and only slightly larger halter tops. (Isn't it odd how no big breasted women ever play in these events? Well, big breasted women are taught from an earlier age not to thrust themselves forward, as are of course plain-looking women.)

On the other hand, I was delighted... in a sense... to see the men's swimsuits used in the diving competitions. They also wore the skimpiest of skimpy bikinis! And I gotta tell you, much as I like lookng at muscular men, I don't really get a thrill out of looking at those folds of flesh descending downward that end up as the penis. Could you wear something two inches higher so I dont have to look at that?

Now, of course, the ultimate indignity. Ping pong people aren't crowding into the stands, so the women are urged to show more curves. (The article doesn't mention if the men's side is getting more audience member - if it's also suffering, will the guys be forced to play without shirts at all. Hey, if they've got a bit of muscles, I'd watch that.)

Here's the article:
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/tabletennis/news?slug=reu-tabletennisskirts_pix&prov=reuters&type=lgns, and one excerpt from it:

One player, Japan’s Naomi Yotsumoto, has taken matters into her own hands. At the Japanese national championships last year, she played in a daring ensemble of her own design: knee socks, a pleated mini-skirt and a shirt that left one shoulder bare.

If women want respect as athletes, they've got to dress as athletes, not as sex objects. No, I'm not advocating that they wear burkhas and full-length clothing like the fundamentalists Muslims make their women wear (not that that did Mehbooba Ahadyar, Afghanistan's only female athlete, wore all that stuff and was still called a whore by the Muslims, and now she's disappared and no one seems to know (or care) what has become of her.

On that note, Yay. A woman from Bahrain, dressed in a long sleeved white shirt and long leggings, and a white scarf on her head (hiding that horrible hair that inflames poor, innocentmen to lust), Roqaya Al-Gassra, has won a a heat on one of these track and field races. [Just saw it on my TV, but has the sound down, because a) I can't stand the commentators and b) I'm not really that interested in track and field. Of course, her success is frightening. Who knows how many psychotic fundamentalist Muslims might not even now be planning to punish her because she dared to show joy and confidence to the world! Women aren't allowed to feel like that!

Don't run til the ball gets past the infield!

2008-08-03T11:38:00.001-07:00

I'm currently watching the Boston Red Sox take on the Oakland As. Rookie Jacoby Ellsbury, who nevertheless is 24 years old and has been playing baseball for 15 years or so... just tried to advance from 2nd to 3rd on a ball hit in front of him. Of course he was thrown out by a mile.

And I'm thinking.... what? What? How can a professional baseball player, who's been playing the game for 15 years and probably has watched the game on TV for the same amount of time, not know that you do not try to advance from 2nd to 3rd on a ball hit in front of you?

Jacoby's the latest ballplayer to make that foolish mistake, but he's certainly not the only one I've seen do it...

The boys of summer need to grow up

2008-07-25T09:11:00.000-07:00

In a minor league brawl, pitcher Julio Castillo threw a ball - as hard as he could - towards the opposing teams dug out. It ended up missing that dugout, went into the stands, and hit an onlooker.

Castillo was arrested and is going to be charged with felonious assault.

Meanwhile, if you watch the video...it was a heckuva lot worse than the WNBA brawl, every player was involved in it - as happens whenever there is a benches clearing brawl in baseball... so much testosterone going on you could cut a knife with it.

And of course, if any player does NOT get involved in that brawl, he'd be branded a coward and would definitely never play again. But those who do get into the brawls, even if they hurt someone else, are probably heroes and their jobs are safe...

The Proof is in the Video?

2008-07-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

It has long been known - by those of us who watch cop shows - that eyewitnesses are notoriously unreliable. Everyone sees something different, and when they tell their stories they forget things, add things (in all honesty) etc. etc.

But you'd think that when video of an incident exists, it would be easy to tell exactly what happened.

Well, yesterday, I posted the video of the WNBA scuffle between Candace Parker and Plenette Pierson.

And its funny, but the different fan bases (the Tennessee Lady Vols, who love Candace Parker, and the UConn Huskies, who dislike her ) each of whom are seeing the same video, each have diametrically opposed opinions of what happened.

The Lady Vol fans think Candace Parker was the victim all the way. Plenette Pierson threw her to the ground, then got up and started to walk across her as if she intended violence (which ensued when Candace tried to get up even though Plenette was halfway across her.)

The UConn fans claim that Candace threw Pierson to the ground, and that when Pierson was walking over her Candace deliberately brought her to the ground again.

As for myself... In the initial incident, Pierson goes to box out Parker and hits her hard with a hip. PArker seems to react by putting her arms on Pierson and pulling her down - which seems to be why Pierson jumps up so angrily and heads for Parker.

But when it comes to Pierson deliberately trying to walk over Parker...I can't blame Parker for trying to get up to be in a position to defend herself should Pierson start swinging or kicking...or just not want the ignominy of allowing herself to be stepped over. Bad for street cred, I suppose.

This is reminiscent of the many basketball games those two fan bases have argued about in the past. Invariably, invariably, the Lady Vols fans say that their team is being shorted on the personal fouls, and equally invariably, the Husky fans say theirs are. And yet their each watchign the same game from the same feed....

Candace Parker and Plenette Pierson in scufffle

2008-07-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

In the last few seconds of the Los Angeles Sparks/Detroit Shock game, a scuffle broke out. Plenette Pierson, a violent player who has been in trouble before, either tried to run over or was pulled down by Candace Parker. (It is really impossible to see which way it was). Pierson, however, went off the deep end and went after Parker - causing one of her own players to be injured in the process.

From Youtube

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?categoryId=2378529&brand=null&videoId=3501154&n8pe6c=2

Witness the wrath of the WNBA

2008-06-26T12:29:00.000-07:00

Not my title, but the title of this video:

"Witness the wrath of the WBNA. Mark Kriski is kidnapped and forced to apologize to the Los Angeles Sparks."

Weatherman to Lisa Leslie
Paraphrase: What's happening in the WNBA and Sparks?

Lisa Leslie to Weatherman
"If you were good at your job you'd know."

The video of Shaq dissing Kobe

2008-06-24T17:55:00.000-07:00

The clips have been making the rounds of the various sports talk shows and can be seen at Youtube - or in the link below.

I must say I'm disappointed in Shaq. His behavior displays a distinct lack of class ...

I never liked him as a player. The referees gave him 99% of the calls, and in the unlikely event that he was ever called for a foul - he'd whine about it. "The only way to beat me is to cheat me."

Then a few days ago the news came out that Shaq wanted to help people in Florida facing home foreclosure, by buying up their mortgages. And I thought... classy guy.

And now we get this.

He calls Kobe by the "n" word. (And why Mike Freeman thinks *that* makes him an "Uncle Tom" I do not quite understand...any more than I understand why black rappers can get away with using that word, and derogatroy comments about women, and advice to kill people, including the police, and that's excused because it reflects the "black experience.") I dunno...if that's the black experience, in this day and age (1970s onward) where racism is not tolerated, and welfare is ladled out, seems to me they have only themselves to blame for their "plight," and this new black experience is not one to be proud of.

Interestingly, none of the comments - on this video at least - mention his use of the "n" word at all. I guess it's just not important...

Lisa Leslie first woman to dunk in WNBA

2008-06-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

Earlier today I shared a video of Candace Parker dunking in a Sparks-Fever game yesterday. It was the second dunk ever in a WNBA game.

So, here's a video of the very first dunk ever made in an WNBA game - by Lisa Leslie. She did it July 30, 2002 (and interestingly, never dunked again, apparently.)

Of course it's different in the women's game. In the men's game, it's all about showboating, but if a defender "teaches a lesson" to a dunker, he most likely wont get hurt. If a female player gets taken down, an injury could occur - women are very prone to ACL tears...

Anyway: the video - rather grainy.

Candace Parker Makes Her First WNBA Dunk

2008-06-23T08:25:00.001-07:00

Candace Parker has become the second woman to dunk in a WNBA game. She did it last night, against the Indiana Fever. The Sparks won 77-63. Interestingly, Candace only scored 10 points in the contest. She also pulled down 10 rebounds.

See the video here.

Her teammate, Lisa Leslie, was the first woman to dunk in a WNBA game. Only a handful of women - including Candace and Lisa, have dunked in college games.

Umpire deliberately hit in face by pitch?

2008-06-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

The first time I saw the video below, I was sure I was seeing a pitcher deliberately throw a ball to hit the umpire in the face, because if you look at the catcher, he's deliberately bringing down his glove and ducking his own head as if he expected it - and I have NEVER seen a catcher react like that. [At least, not when the ball is obviously high. If it's in the dirt, you have to lean over it to deaden it off your chest protector...but this ball was clearly high.]

But, if you watch closely, the ball actually appears to hit the batter on the helmet first, and then ricochets and hits the umpire's mask. Yet, because the batter doesn't react at all as if he'd been hit - which if it hit his helmet you would have thought he would have had some reaction! such as heading towards first immediately instead of trying to stop the runner at third from coming home...

But this pitcher can't have been throwing that hard...

What's really sad about this is the reaction of the people in the stands. You can hear them cheering. Some reports of this incident say that the umpire was swearing at the players...but seems to me the coaches would have said something if this was the case - not put it on the players to get their revenge.

In addition, apparently the pitcher and catcher had a meeting on the mound just before this pitch...

However...I'm still prepared to believe that the pitcher *was* trying to hit the ump, and just got the batter first by mistake...

Meantime...

If you do a google search on "coach tells pitcher to hit batter" (in particular in the News category) you'll find dozens of examples through the years of grown men telling little children, and big children, to throw at batters. Not to mention the fine example of professional baseball players - pitchers who throw at batters because a previous batter hit a home run, or because one of their players got plunked, etc.

The latest "outrage" is because a female coach told one of her young pitchers to hit an opposing batter. (Gee, a kid of 8 years old or so couldn't throw a ball with enough force to hurt anyone...). There's lots of comments on the website reporting this, claiming that this female coach just didn't know the game of baseball, and I'm thinking to myself, what are those idiots smoking? She's just following a long line of male coaches who've done exactly the same thing.

Milka Duno videos

2008-05-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

There were 33 drivers in today's Indianapolis 500. Of these, three were women.

The highest profile driver of these was Danica Patrick, who was consistently in 6th place until she was hit under a Yellow Card and knocked out of the race.

Sarah Fisher was knocked out also, also hit by another driver.

Milka actually finished the race, and placed 19th.

Below are some videos that are months old:

May 20, 2007

May 6, 2008

January 2008

Danica Gets Dissed

2008-05-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

Danica Patrick participated in the Indianapolis 500 today. She didn't win, but she was up to 6th place for a while.

There were a lot of cars on that track, and a lot of drivers. I venture to suggest that many of those male drivers (for there were only three women) were commenting to their pit crews via radio that they were too slow, but the author of the SI piece on this race chose to describe Danica Patrick's comments. He uses an interesting choice of words:

Patrick, who became a national phenomenon when she led late in the race and finished fourth as a rookie in 2005, had hoped to follow her first IndyCar victory, at Japan last month, with a win in the biggest race of all.

Dixon survives crash-filled race to capture first Indianapolis 500

But she never made a serious run for the lead, complaining incessantly about an ill-handling car while talking with her crew over the radio. She started fifth but quickly fell back and got no higher than sixth the rest of the day.

"I can't do anything," she screamed during one tirade. "I am sloooooow. I am damn slow."

Any hopes of challenging at the end were ruined by Briscoe's mistake in the pits. The Australian spun his tires trying to get out and slid sideways into Patrick's blue-and-black car, which rolled helplessly to a stop, its day done with a broken suspension.

A frustrated Patrick slammed her steering wheel as she sat motionless along the lane leading back to the track. Then, after being pushed back to the pits, she climbed out of the car, ripped off her gloves and stomped angrily toward Briscoe's Team Penske pits. A track security official cut her off before she could get there.

"Probably best I didn't get down there anyway," Patrick said.

So, she a complainer, and she has a tirade.

You telling me those other drivers didn't have "tirades" themselves - or whatever the equivalent is when a man does it?

The author (his name isn't given) describes the other guys as acting in a much more calm manner...)

Andretti apologized over the radio for his aggressive move. When told that his youthful teammate was sorry, Kanaan responded, "He'd better be. That was a very stupid move. Me being a good teammate, I didn't want to turn into him and take out two cars. So I give up today."

Kanaan has led 214 laps in his Indy career -- running out front in every one of his seven trips to the Brickyard -- but he's never tasted milk in Victory Lane.

"Every time I lead, something happens," said Kanaan, who finished 29th, the worst of his Indy career.

Of course, it's easy to understand Andretti's eagerness to get to the front at Indy considering his family history.

Mario spent the last quarter century of his career trying to win a second 500, only to be disappointed every time. Michael led more laps than any non-winner in the race's 92-year history. Marco was a straightaway away from winning as a rookie in 2006, only to get passed by Sam Hornish Jr.

Kanaan "responds", he doesn't "shriek" or "spit" or whatever word the author would have used if he were talking about a female driver...

Pat Summitt has made the big time!

2008-05-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

Someone has written, sung and recorded a rap song about Pat Summitt's encounter with the racoon last year! (A racoon got on her deck and frightened her dog...Summitt hit it with a broom, dislocating her shoulder in the process).

Very funny:

LeBron James tells his mother to sit down

2008-05-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill..for some reason someone thoughtthis was worth sharing on YouTube. LeBron and Paul Pierce fall into the crowd, LeBron's mother tells Paul Pierce off, LeBron tells her, "Sit your butt down."

I will say, though, that Paul Pierce spins LeBron round and round and deserved a flagrant foul on that!

I'm sure a lot of guys will laugh at this...

2008-05-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

who think that sports is all about winning and not about sportsmanship anymore...

Opponents carry injured home-run hitter around bases

With two runners on base and a strike against her, Sara Tucholsky of Western Oregon University uncorked her best swing and did something she had never done, in high school or college. Her first home run cleared the center-field fence.

But it appeared to be the shortest of dreams come true when she missed first base, started back to tag it and collapsed with a knee injury.

She crawled back to first but could do no more. The first-base coach said she would be called out if her teammates tried to help her. Or, the umpire said, a pinch runner could be called in, and the homer would count as a single.

Read the rest of it at the link.

The story below is from 2006, I remember hearing about it at the time:

Canadians hail Norwegian coach's sportsmanship

The outgoing head coach for Norway's cross-country skiers has become something of a national hero in Canada, after he impulsively aided a Canadian competitor who went on to win a silver medal in Tuesday's sprint relay. The Norwegian skiers ended up fourth.

Kids, don't do this at home

2008-04-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

"Incident during an ATP Masters tennis match between Mikhail Youzhny and Nicolas Almagro. Youzhny gets angry after at a close call and takes it out on himself."

I didn't really care for the reaction of the crowd....hopefully they gave him a standing O when he returned to the game.

Opening day

2008-03-31T08:05:00.000-07:00

Lots of games today...

I'm busy getting my Fantasy games up to speed...I have to attend a virtual draft at 1 pm...

Beat the Streak has already started.... Home Run Derby and MLB Survivor have not yet started, for some reason...

Okay, these guys are wusses

2008-03-17T19:20:00.001-07:00

I don't follow hockey so I couldn't tell you their names...

I bet they lost all respect from their teammates. They lost mine! I mean, jeez. Don't make a fool out of yourself like that. Just skate away!

Watch Every Mens Basketball Game at the NCAA for Free

2008-03-17T18:02:00.000-07:00

Here's the info:

NCAA March Madness® on Demand allows you to watch LIVE game broadcasts of CBS Sports television coverage of the NCAA Championship on your computer for FREE!

http://ncaasports.com/mmod/?source=mktg_mmod08_vip2_lvhp&refcode=mmod08_vip2_lvhp

is the link.

This year, for the first time ever, you'll be able to watch every game* of the NCAA Championship live online for free. All 63 games, from the First Round through the Final Four including the Championship Game, will be available with NCAA March Madness on Demand — so you'll never have to miss a single shot.
NCAA March Madness on Demand is 100% free
Live games streaming on your broadband-connected computer
Enjoy Championship highlights, recaps, and archived video
640x360 widescreen video player
Exclusive halftime show
Includes The NCAA Basketball Championship Selection Show
Can't watch? Listen to live streaming audio from Westwood One's radio broadcasts of every game.

*NCAA March Madness on Demand will not show the Opening Round Game on 3/18.
By registering for NCAA March Madness on Demand, you hereby accept and agree to the MMOD End User License Agreement. NCAA and March Madness are trademarks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The Code: Fighting and Retaliation in the MLB and NHL

2008-03-15T18:18:00.000-07:00

Serendipity strikes again.

Just a couple of days after Bruce Bowen acted like an a-hole in basketball, and on the same day that I was reminded how brutal hockey is, I come across a couple of new books by an author who talks about the culture of violence and retaliation in baseball and the NHL.

Confusingly, they both have the same title, The Code, but deal with two different sports. The books are written by Ross Bernstein.

Chris Pronger stomps on Ryan Kesler's leg

2008-03-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

And on to the upstanding citizens of hockey. (And frankly the crap that goes on in hockey is so much more egregious that it isn't funny, Most of these guys should be in jail.

This happened March 14, 2008. He got an 8 game ban. A similar act by a player from a different team got a 20-game ban a few years ago.

Chris Simon stomps Jarkko Ruutu

And of course this infamous one: Chris Bertuzzi sucker punches Steve Moore - and then drives him face first into the ice, giving him a broken neck.

Interestingly, though there's plenty of video of Markus Näslund at YouTube, there is none that shows Steve Moore's hit on him, which is what caused the retaliation by Chris Bertuzzi - who has returned to hockey after a whole one year suspension.

And to further glorify violence in sport, someone has put together "Best Hockey Hits"

(and the exultant reactions of the people who watched this video and made comments - scary.)

This one is most horrifying of all - for one reason. The referees just stand there and let the two men go at each other. They don't try to separate them...they don't do anything. Why are they even on the ice?

Bruce Bowen kicks Chris Paul? - video

2008-03-14T15:43:00.001-07:00

Below are two videos of Bruce Bowen kicking Chris Paul...or maybe not.

In the first one, the slow motion at the end seems to show that Bowen did not kick him, just lifted his foot over him, and when it was well past Paul's head, moving in the other direction! Paul flops back as if he's been kicked. Also, doesn't it look like Paul punches him in the groin at one point?

The second runs in real time, and then in slo mo, but not quite as slow as the first clip! Click on the arrow twice to play each video.

And in any event, he was suspended for a game.

This one is from the news. Quality isn't very good:

I officially don't like Joe Girardi or Shelly Duncan

2008-03-12T18:23:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago, a Tampa Bay Devil Ray (yes, I know religious kooks have made them change their name to the Rays, but the hell with that) player barrelled into a Yankees catcher - and broke his wrist. (To be exact: the Devil Rays' Elliot Johnson barreling over New York catcher Francisco Cervelli last Saturday)

Well...that was just unfortunate. Baserunners are running into *catchers* all the time, trying to make them drop the ball. Yes, it may be argued that it shouldn't happen in a spring training game.

Well, today Yankees outfielder Shelley Duncan was out by a mile, but nevertheless continued to run into second base and attempt to spike Akinori Iwamura - and when you're hiking your spikes up around the thigh area that is a deliberate attempt to injure, not a "good hard play."

Then Girardi didn't control his players, but said, "You don't ever want things to get ugly, and I don't think it got ugly. I think the umpires stopped it before it got ugly," Girardi said.

"Shelley told me that he was taught when you're going to be out, you go after the ball. ... Shelley made a hard, aggressive slide, and I would have to look at a replay to really determine what I thought."

On the other hand, then Jonny Gomes ran in from right field and hit Duncan in the back, and I don't like that either. That's kind of cowardly. Run up to him, sure, but yank him around so he's looking at you, then punch him in the mouth.

So, here are my hopes. I hope the Yankees tank, and I hope the Devil Rays tank. Not because I dislike the Devil Rays, particularly, but just because they capitulated to the loons and changed their name.

C. Vivian Stringer's biography published March 4, 2008

2008-03-10T17:33:00.000-07:00

And I only heard of it when it was posted on the UConn Huskies message boards.

It's called Standing Tall, and tells of her childhood, her marriage, the illness of her daughter and the unexpected death of her husband, and her work at three different universities as a women's college basketball coach.

How To Win Virginia's Pick 4 Lottery

2008-03-05T20:40:00.001-08:00

Or, I suppose, any state that has a Pick 4 Lottery.

Well...that's just the title, because my advice to you is... don't play the lottery!

But I'll tell you my story!

Tonight, I won $200, and while I'm relieved I'm also a leetle bit annoyed as well, and I'll explain why.

I've been playing the Pick 4 Lottery here in Virginia for about 2 months now. I had originally scoffed at it as having a too-low payout - the most you can win is $5,000, whereas other lotteries such as the Megamillions pays...well...millions.

But, it's incredibly difficult to win the Megamillions, and after pouring $400 down the drain, I decided it was time to give that up. (I'd been betting $30 and $40 at a time, when the pot got over the 80 million mark.)

However, because in the Pick 4 you only have to get 4 numbers right as opposed to 6, it's easier to win. And the payout is consequently smaller.

But, heck, $5,000 is a nice chunk of change.

So, I started playing Pick 4, and would bet my favorite numbers. And I poured probably more than $300 into it before getting my first $400 winner - ironically enough on an Easy Pick rather than my chosen numbers.

So I was about even on Pick 4, but still behind $400 on the Megamillions - but I'd written that off as expensive experience, and wasn't dedicating myself to trying to recoup that money...

Anyway, so I had this lump sum payout of $400...and I'm sure I bought some stuff I wanted with it...but I also probably poured at least $200 of that win back into the lottery trying to win again.

Then, about four days ago, I won again - another $400 pot, on another EZ pick.

And this time I thought to myself.... well, this is ridiculous. With this $400 pot, I've broken even...and if I keep betting like this - I'm only ever going to break even.

I'm just not a lucky person, I told myself, and it was time to accept it. (A lucky person is not someone who gets a $400 pot and just breaks even, a lucky person is someone who wins the whole bloody $5,000!)

Well, for the last week or so I'd been betting on the number 1213 every day. $1 on exact, 1 on Any (which gets that $400). (And I'd also spend $4 on other chosen numbers, and $5 on EZ picks.

And each day I've been telling myself - okay, this is dumb, this is the last time.

And I really meant it this afternoon, when I blew $20 on EZPicks and had two tickets, each that was just one number off.

But, I had to go to Williamsburg, VA, tonight, and I decided...oh, I've got to bet on my 1213. After having so much invested in it, I'd be really ticked off if it came in and I hadn't bet on it.

So after checking into my hotel I went out to buy my 1213. Now, what I did was this. Each wager slip has five columns so you can bet on 5 sets of numbers. So for the first 2 columns, I bet on 1213 and another number, and decided to choose the 50/50 option. (If you win exact you get $2,500, if you win "any" you get $200). And the remaining 3 columns, I bet the "Any" choice straight up.

Well, my 1213 came up - as 1123.

So instead of winning $400, once again I've only broken even, at $200.

So while on the hand I'm very happy - first of "my" number choice to win, and numbers I hadn't intended to bet on ever again... on the other hand I'm annoyed, because if I'd done the "Any" choice I'd be getting $400 right now...!!!!

So, I'm happy with that $200, which I will spend on various things at the Williamsburg Film Festival, and since my 1213 that I had invested so much money in has come up, I will now be able to stop betting on Pick 4 entirely.... because I hated to quit after having spent so much money on a certain number.

So overall, I'm still down several hundred dollars on this lottery thing, but since I've got these wins it's easier to accept that I've recouped a little of my loss, count it as another expensive lesson, and move on.

Let's face it, if you were lucky enough to win the lottery - you wouldn't need to play the lottery, because that luck would have shown through in other ways. And if your life sucks in other ways...well, you're not going to win the lottery anyway.

Unfortunately, it's just a fact of life.

Brett Favre and Irresponsible Journalism

2008-03-04T09:39:00.000-08:00

Oh, I have such a rant today, on a variety of subjects.

First, let's start with Brett Favre.

Early this morning, on my Google desk top where I get all these news feeds, I read the headline "Brett Favre Retires." I followed it to whatever the news outlet was, and most of the comments were surprise that he'd decided to retire after his great last season.

I came back two hours later, and there's a new headline, "Favre Says Packers Didn't Want Him Enough."

As soon as I read that headline, I thought to myself, "I am so over Brett Favre. Talk about a pampered, spoiled baby."

So I click on the link, and instead of being taken to the article, I'm taken to the front page of The Sporting News, where they're advertising games and such like for various sports.

So I look at the top and there's all the sports running across the navigation bar, so I click on the NFL and I'm taken to their NFL home page, and nowhere on this page is a headline saying "Favre Says Packers Didn't Want Him Enough."

So I dont know if he said that, or if some disreputable journalist decided to make that up, or what's going on!

I would like to believe that Brett Favre would not be so childish as to decide to retire in a fit of pique because the Green Bay Packers didn't call him every day begging him to announce whether or not he'd retire.

A person is smart, people are stupid
On a side note, we've got the case that's been boiling up for a week or two. There's a video on YouTube of two Marines (but with no insignia of rank, etc.), and one of them throws a small puppy over a cliff and laughs when it hits.

And people on YouTube, and in other places, are outraged about this. And the Marines in Hawaii are promising to investigate the case. And lots of people, who have heard the man's last name being said on the video, have been sending death threats to some marine with the same last name. They don't know if he's the one who did it, but since he's got the same last name, they are quite prepared to lynch him (and no, he isn't black, but they are quite prepared to lynch him nevertheless!!!!) based on no facts whatsoever.

Now, obviously if this guy did kill that dog in such a way, and did allow his fellow marine to film it, and did allow that same friend to put it on YouTube, then obviously he's not only a vicious berk but also extremely stupid, and deserves to be put into jail for stupidity....

Why was he so upset? It's only women's basketball?

2008-03-02T11:51:00.000-08:00

A couple of dayss ago, Michigan women's basketball coach Martin Borseth went ballistic in his post game interview. Various sports shows, for example ESPN, found this so entertaining that they aired it - over and over again - on their various sports programs.

(No, I'm not going to share it here, and yes, I'd be very, very surprised if it wasn't on YouTube by now.)

In one of the articles written on the subject, people were able to comment on it, and one of the commenters said, "Well, at least he cares about what he's doing, even if it is only women's basketball."

The italics are mine.

What is this "only women's basketball" crap? The players out on that floor care just as much about their sport and their team as the guys do, and always have. And as for "importance" - well, that's defined by money these days and now that there's a WNBA, not to mention all the money to be made overseas playing women's basketball, women's college basketball is important as a showcase for these players.

So Borseth had every right to be angry... and while he certain went OTT (over the top, in theatrical parlance), at least he wasn't kicking dirt on umpire's legs like Lou Piniella, or picking up and throwing bases like Lou Piniella, or doing the wave or whatever he was doing, like that minor league baseball coach who totally lost it a few years ago.

All hail Martin Borseth. Keep being passionate about your job, your team, and women's college basketball.

The March 3, 2008 issue of Sports Illustrated

2008-02-28T11:28:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I looked at a Sports Illustrated magazine. I picked up the March 3, 2008 issue today, and was surprised by how slender it seemed. Was it always 70 pages? Or have they decreased page count while keeping the price the same? Or worse, decreased page count and increased price?

Well, print magazines are having a hard time right now, as most people get all their info from the internet, and worse, from only one source, Wikipedia. Let me take Wikipedia on directly and tell people that that source should not be the first one you check. Anyone can make changes to any article, so you really don't know if you're getting the facts or lies.

Anyway, there were two interesting articles in this issue.

1) Abusive Fans in College Hoops
This article talks about the abusiveness in male college hoops - with fans swearing incessantly at players, holding up signs referencing criminal activity, etc. They didn't mention what happened to Alexis Hornbuckle of the Lady Vols a couple of years ago, when the Cameron Crazies at the Duke game taunted her because of a shoplifting conviction in her senior year as a high school student.

But abusive fans are not only in college. The pros are worse, the more so since it's the people close to the floor in the NBA - the ones who had to pay a lot of money to get those seats, and say, "I paid my ticket, I have a right to verbally abuse that guy. It's part of the game."

And of course in baseball, there's been a 3rd base coach beaten by two drunken fans bottles and stuff thrown at the players in the outfield, etc.

Then there's the loons who threatened that poor schmuck from the Chicago Cub audience a few years ago - he interfered with a live ball that gave a batter a 2nd chance to get a hit, and cost the Cubs the World Series - he got death threats from everybody!

2) The Road to Beijing - Olympic Town, Fort Benning, GA
This is a one page article about the Army Markmanship unit, and there's a picture of Sgt 1st Class Daryl Szarenski. It's the photo of Szarenski that irrited me. He's got a pair of glasses. One eye is magnified behind glass, the other eye is hidden behind a metal tab.

This is technology taking the skill out of sports!

Now, obviously, in the military technology is very important, and anything that can help a soldier take out an enemy quickly should be embraced whole-heartedly. But in sports, it's supposed to be about the athlete and their skill, not their equipment.

Yes, I know things are evolving all the time, like the polevault pole changing from wood to fibreglass, the surfboard changing from some humongous thing to a short thing that anyone can ride on, but there are some sports that really should not be interfered with.

I'm ambivalent about the "slap skates" as I think they're called. There was some fuss in the Winter Olymics 8 years ago, where Americans hadn't been using the slap skates, so couldn't get used to them in time, and so wanted them banned from competition, and those teams that were using the skates were saying, Hey, it's not our fault if you jumped on the band wagon late.

But, again, there are some sports that should not be interfered with.

And those are: archery, and pistol shooting.

Now, of course archery has been doing its technology thing for years, and I've never liked it. Basically, you've got these three little thingies, or "booms" on the bow - extending outward, so you line up your arrow with all these things, and let it go, and it's easier for it to hit the target.

Cheating!

That's not what archery is supposed to be about!

Then we've got pistol shooting. And now it looks like you can wear eyegear that magnifies your vision so you can see the target better. You can probaby even use a laser sight to put right on the target when you fire.

Cheating!

The skill is going, or has gone out of, these sports, to be replaced by only strength. As long as you've got the strength to hold up that bow with all the extra stuff hanging off of it, you'll score high. As long as you can hold your hand steady enough to sight with that laser dot, you'll score high.

Terrible!

2) The Road to Beijing - Olympic Town, Princeton, NJ
There's a photo on this page of the Printon rowing women, and it was a joy to see these athetic women, their slender bodies packed unashamedly with muscle. These are what women should like - no more ruler-thin arms and stick-like legs! Muscular (albeit not hyper-muscular!) is sexy.

Interview with Pat Summitt after Stanford loss, 12/23/07

2008-02-26T18:47:00.000-08:00

Click arrow twice to play

After every game, it's possible to hear audio of Pat's after-game interview with radio broadcaster Mickey Dearstone, but I'd never seen a video of it, til this appeared on Youtube. So I thought I'd share it here.

Here's also a video from about a year ago, where she's coaching her young son in an AAU game. They lost, though.

Coaches, CEOs and politicians... golden parachutes above flaming debris

2008-02-22T16:14:00.001-08:00

Kelvin Sampson, the NCAA division 1 basketball coach who left Oklahoma under a cloud because he'd made dozens and dozens of phonecalls that he was not supposed to make, has just accepted a buyout of his contract for $700,000, from Indiana - for doing the exact same thing.

This makes no sense to me. What kind of blood-sucking lawyers do university athletic departments hire these days, that they can't write an iron-clad contract saying, "You cheat in any way, shape or form, and we get to fire you without paying you one red cent."

Surely that is how head coaches' contracts should be written.

But Jim O'Brien got fired, as he deserved, and he won a wrongful dismissal lawsuit and now he's getting paid the big bucks.

And now we've got Kelvin Sampson, who threatened to sue the university if he were fired. So they cave and "buy out" his contract, giving him $700,000.

Where does this money come from, I wonder? From taxpayers, whose tax money goes into university coffers to pay for athletic programs? From alumni gifts and stuff? From income from the football program? (I do believe that football is the only money-making proposition for most schools - all other spoorts, male and female, ride on those coattails...)

It's just ridiculous.

In what other job can you deserve to be fired, and get paid millions when you go? Only head coaches, CEOs, and politicians. The average rank and file would be out on their ears...

Do they not have to obey their mothers?

2008-02-16T05:36:00.000-08:00

On February 2, a Christian school called St. Mary’s Academy, a private religious school that sits on a sprawling campus about 25 miles northwest of Topeka, was playing a basketball tournament.

A female referee was going to referee the game, except the athletic director of this school refused to allow her to do so.

"That would be putting a woman in a position of authority over boys, he was told — a scenario that was contrary to beliefs at St. Mary’s Academy."

Now this kind of archaic thinking is what you'd expect from Muslims, not Christians. And I'm like.... what? These are boys - boys who presumably do what their mother tells them to do. What are they going to do when a female police officer stops them for a traffic violation, I wonder, tell her that since she's a woman they don't have to do what she says? Or do all the boys of this school go straight into the church where they don't have to worry about dealing with the female of the species?

Removal of woman referee by religious school has some crying foul

Lawyers are getting their claws into sports, now

2008-02-16T05:32:00.000-08:00

I see that a member of the Rams, the team that lost to the Patriots in some Superbowl a few years ago, is suing the Patriots organization and Bill Bellicheck for taping the Rams practices.

This is just ridiculous. But of course... there's big money in it - not only for the lawyers who will get most of the pie, but also for the players who lost the Superbowl, as the winners get big bonuses while the losers get smaller bonuses.

Next we'll see teams sue referees for making mistakes with foul calls (anyone want to bet Rutgers would love to sue the timekeeper or ref or whoever it was that froze that Tennessee clock at .2 seconds a couple of days ago?)

This type of litigation has no place in sports. Sure, if some psycho athlete blindsides a player and pounds his head into the ground - which is what happened in a hockey game a few years ago and ended up breaking the guy's neck - that's assault and the guy deserves to go to jail.

But suing because of cheating? When "everyone" does it?

Nooooo. Keep lawyers out of sports!

UT vs Rutgers: Clockgate - See the video

2008-02-11T18:41:00.000-08:00

Someone uploaded vidoe of the final 28 seconds. Watch the clock. It sllllooooows down for about 5 seconds, then stops at .2, then quickly runs out.

Okay, this is going to be a litany of woe.

I actually watched that game until 2.47 seconds left in it, with Rutgers up by 2. Then my brother wanted to watch The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and since I've "gone off" the Lady Vols, I just went upstairs, intending to keep track of it on ESPN gametracker. (Of course, neither ESPN nor CBSSportlines had "gametrackers" that were anywhere near accurate.)

So the game ends in controversy, and I didn't see it! I *could* have seen it if I'd told my brother to just watch the Sarah Connor Chronicles on computer tomorrow (he gets TV on Demand) - but he writes reviews for me for my The Thunder Child website so I didn't want to discourage him by making him think his reviews were unimportant and having to wait a day...

So, the controversy.

According to Rutgers fans, UConn fans and 1 or 2 Tennessee fans on the Summitt, the clock stopped with .2 seconds to go, for a whole second. Had the clock not stopped, time would have ran out and Rutgers would have won by 1 point.

Because the clock stopped, a Rutgers player fouled Nicki Anosike (one of the worst free throw shooters the Vols have), and with .2 seconds left, she sinks both free throws. Tennesseee wins.

Of course, the UConn board has several threads about the Magic Clock. Havent' gone to the Rutgers board, but they probably do to.

On the Summitt, most are saying it wasn't cheating, and to get over it, but one or two long time posters see it the other way. (There are a few fly-bys, obviously Rutgers fans posting their first messages...but hey, if what every "impartial" person is saying is true, Rutgers just got "jobbed."

Of course, the Rutgers player who committed the foul - a rather blatant foul - shouldn't have done that, and they'd have won that way, too!

Well, hopefully they'll replay the game or cover the controversy on PTI tomorrow.

Super Season Ends With A Sulk

2008-02-04T07:59:00.000-08:00

When Tom Brady's final, fourth down pass was broken up, sealing the Giants win, I turned off the TV and left the room.

I'm allowed. I was a spectator.

But when that happened on the field.... Patriots coach Bill Bellicheck also left the building. Quick shake of Coughlin's hand and out the door, even thought the refs tried to call him back because the game wasnt over - a second was being put back on the clock.

Worse than that - Tom Brady also left, without shaking Eli's hand. Indeed, according to reports I've read, the only person on the field at the end of the game to congratualte their opponents was Randy Moss - the guy who' been ripped in the media (deservedly) for walking out on his team with a few seconds to go, a couple of years ago.

Today, everything's making a big deal of the Giants, and commenting on the loss of the perfect season for the Patriots...but no one's really pointing out the bad sportsmanship that came at the end (although it was mentioned quite a bit in the writeups last night.)

I wanted the Patriots to lose and I was glad they did. I've disliked Bill Bellicheck all year. All year I've read about his arrogance and his rudeness...and he showed it again last night. I just hope that his rudeness doesn't start a trend...much like a single spike of the football in the endzone several years ago ignited what we have today, offensive and defensive players partying after each play they make as if the rest of the team didn't exist.

Be interesting to see the fallout between Randy Moss and the Patriots, and between Tom Brady and his girl-friend of the month - maybe she'll drift over to Eli Manning's side now... (that's not a rip on the guys, but rather on the empty headed models who want to be seen with the flavor of the month quarterback.)

Well...bring on the baseball!

$1 Mil a minute and this crap is the best they can do?

2008-02-03T16:58:00.001-08:00

I've been watching Superbowl 42. Game's good, commercials are lousy.

TO see them:

Superbowl Commercials at Myspace - NFL's official site

I have seen at least three commercials that were sexist and demeaning to women - including one in which an extremely plain young woman (made up to be extremely plain, not really extremely plain) draws all eyes, because instead of wearing perfume she wears cashew nut aroma)

and a commercial in which a lot of immigrants with furrin accents are being taught how to pick up women... and of course the winner is a short, plain Korean guy with a beautiful blond model, all because he knows how to say Bud Light. Can't believe immigrant groups aren't going to make a fuss over that...it was demeaning!

On a brighter note, looks like the Giants defense came to play....

Michael Wilbon has angioplasty

2008-01-29T22:05:00.001-08:00

Just read this news on a message board. No link to the source article was provided, but found a brief mention confirming it at Sports Media Watch.

Michael Wilbon, who co-hosts ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" and
writes a column for The Washington Post, remained hospitalized Tuesday, a day after undergoing an angioplasty in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Wilbon was taken to a Scottsdale-area hospital early Monday morning. Doctors found a minor blockage in one of his arteries and performed the angioplasty.

He is expected to leave the hospital soon, possibly as early as Wednesday.

Wilbon missed the airing of Monday's episode of "PTI" and was replaced by ESPN.com's J.A. Adande, who co-hosted with Tony Kornheiser via satellite from San Francisco. A possible date for Wilbon's return to the show is unknown.

I knew he hadn't been on Pardon the Interuption for a couple of days but I just assumed he was on vacation.

Here's to a quick recovery, Mr. Wilbon! It's the banter and rapport between you and Tony Kornheiser that makes the show!

Why most athletes are scum bags

2008-01-29T15:06:00.001-08:00

The Seattle Times is doing a series of exposes on the 2000 Washington Husky team that won the Rose Bowl, despite the fact that it had some horrible human beings on their roster.

To Huskies fans a tragic hero, to the courts a wanted felon
Curtis Williams, a guy who consistently beat his wife (who, it enrages me to say, quite often denied that he had done so! Jesus christ!), and yet was given pass after pass by the athletic department.

Convicted of assault and accused of rape, star player received raft of second chances
Then we've got this guy, Jerramy Stevens, still alive, going to be playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next year, a "good man."

So.... why are most athletes scum bags? Because they've been pampered all their lives. They do something bad when they're young, that most "normal" people would get thrown in jail for, and they're given a free pass. Over and over again. So they don't grow as human beings, they dont' ever learn their lessons... then they get into the professional leagues, where they're making tons of money, and they believe the rules don't apply to them - because they never have before.

The athlete ultimately has to take responsibility for his (or her) own actions, but a lot of the blame has to go to all his or her enablers over the years...

If I were a football prognosticator, I'd be fired

2008-01-20T21:23:00.000-08:00

I didn't think the Chargers could beat the Pats, but I wanted them to...and I really thought the Packers would take it to the Giants...

Chargers gave a good account of themselves, but that one underthrown ball by Rivers which turned into an interception really hurt them.

Favre's interception in OT - silly, silly, silly...but at least Tynes was able to redeem himself...

I hope the Giants can beat the Patriots...but I'm not sanguine.

On a side note, my bete noir - the people at the Summitt, strike again. Vanderbilt, another Knoxville, TN basketball team, played the Lady Vols and of course were beat. The Summitteers hate Vanderbilt...the only reasons I can think of is that Vanderbilt is a more expensive college to get into, and when Tennessee goes to Vanderbilt to play in their gym...Vandy has the temerity to raise the prices for the game.

Of course...the fact that Tennessee itself - not women's basketball but the football teams - raise their prices when they're playing in-conference - that just goes over their heads.

Anyway, Vanderbilt has a bowling team, and apparently they've won a women's National Championship in bowling. So a few of the pure sportswomen on the Summitt who were at the game, had little posters they'd made, making fun of Vandy, in particular, "Enjoy your bowling championship."

Small, petty, poor sportsmanship, but there's a whole thread about this on the Summitt where they're just laughing and thinking that it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Unfortunately, the chances of UConn and Tennessee meeting in a title game have gone down a bit. UConn has lost two of its best starters to ACLS, and they've been replaced by inexperienced freshmen. So...we'll see.

And on a side note, another comment about sportsmanship at the Summitt... some game was on TV a few days ago, and of course the sportscasters brought up the cancelled UConn-Tennessee game. Something like, "This could be the most important game of the season," and the other sportscaster said, "That used tobe the UConn-Tennessee game.)

"Sportscasters should just talk about the game and not make personal remarks," the Summitteers whine. (I paraphrase.)

But you just know, if the UConn-TN game had not been cancelled, and the sportcasters had made that remark without saying that the UConn-TN game was the game of the season, the Summitteers would have been all over them for not saying it.

Ah, you've just got to laugh...

Making avalanches out of a snowflake

2008-01-18T10:44:00.000-08:00

Golfweek editor booted over cover featuring noose

Tiger Woods was not offended by Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman' "lynching" commenet, but that's not good enough. She's apologized for some ill-chosen words - that's not good enough. The Golf Channel's suspended her for 2 weeks, and Al Sharpton of course wants her fired.

For a simple joke.

Now we've got the Golfweek editor who has been fired because of the cover featuring the noose. And why? The article certainly didn't condone lynching, it apparently was simply discussing the comment and the reaction to it... and yet the editor gets it in the neck because of it.

I think the time has come. No commentator will ever be able to make a joke again. I'm reminded of the guy who was fired because he made a comment about his wallet when he was doing a show with Lou Pinella, and Pinella is of Mexican heritage and decided that all Mexicans had been insulted by that simple joke.

It is such a joy to listen to Pardon the Interuption - you've got a white guy and a black guy who are good friends - or at least seem to be - and can tease and joke with each other and know that everything that's said is taken "in the spirit that it is meant." That's the key phrase.

I'm also reminded - although this doesn't have anything to do with sports - of a news article I just read, that was published in England a couple of years ago. England has quite a large Muslim population, and they have power. They also don't like pork. So Piglet is banned from T-shirts, and even from TV - mustn't offend the Muslims. Their religion must be respected. The fact that the vast majority of people don't have a problem with pork and are Christian - well, their religion or beliefs - that Piglet is just one of the sweetest characters ever created - need not be respected.

And apparently chocolate and vanilla swirl cones are banned as well, because the swirl looks like the symbol for Allah and that of course is blasphemy....

We live in a scary world, and its only getting scarier.

You think you've got problems?

2008-01-17T00:03:00.000-08:00

http://www.sportsline.com/tennis/story/10577428/1

Sania Mirza is a tennis player from India. She's a good one. But she's also a woman who comes from a Muslim country, and Muslims don't like women to show their faces, let alone their bodies, and instead of being proud of their tennis star, a lot of Indians are upset with her. And if a fundamentalist Muslim gets upset...look out.

She's a very courageous woman, and I hope she's able to live her life safely and successfully...and that other women in India and other Muslim countries can also start living.

2 playoff games, and the Lady Vols

2008-01-05T21:05:00.001-08:00

I watched most of the two playoff games today - Washington losing to the Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers losing a heartbreaker to the Jaguars. Each team that lost had their chances to win, but had some bad luck, and bad decision making, which ended their season.

For example Washington had been behind all of the game, and gets a touchdown from Todd Collins to go up 14-13 in the 4th quarter. Then Seattle scores their touchdown. Washington gets the ball back and gets an excellent runback...then Collins gets greedy and throws the ball too far, and it's intercepted. (His receiver, Moss, said afterwards he thought the play was dead which is why he stopped running...let that be a lesson to you, pal - defenses have to stop with whistles, offense wide receivers should keep bloody running their routes!

Anyway, after that the wheels fell off.

With Pittsburgh, their attempts inthe 2nd half at two point conversions failed, and then with 3 minutes to go, Roethlisberger ran rather poorly on 3rd and long and Pittsburgh had to punt away, allowing the Jaguars to march down the field. That whole final series was very poorly done on the Steelers' part. Throw at least once for a first down instead of trying to run for it!!!

Lady Vols
Then, we get the Lady Vols. Well, not the Lady Vols so much as the fans at the Summitt, who continue to make me shake my head.

The Lady Vols beat their opponent tonight, 14th ranked Notre Dame, by 14 points, 87-63. During the post game interviews, Notre Dame coach Muffett McGraw criticized her team for playing poorly, not defending well, and being intimidated by the Lady Vols.

But...she did not say that the Lady Vols were the better team, and this omission has a couple of fans at the Summitt outraged at "Muffett's" (as they call her) lack of class. How dare she not say that the Lady Vols were the better team! How dare she!

And you've just got to laugh. There are a certain number of fans on the Summitt who are obsessed by their team, have each and every player on a pedestal, and diss every team the Lady Vols play. And if, in the final news conferences, the losing coach doesn't pay the "appropriate" respect to Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols, they get really, really upset. So upset that they probably can't sleep for days with the outrage of it.

And I'm like....so what? Doesn't the coach of the other team have a responsibilty to her players, her fans? Why should she have to use the phrase, "the Vols were the better team", just to make the Lady Vols fans happy?

I just shake my head...

The Patriots run the table

2007-12-29T21:40:00.000-08:00

Boo...hiss!

I really wanted to see them get beat, and the Giants certainly had a chance to do it...but Manning just had to throw that pick with 8 minutes to go which allowed the Patriots to score what would turn out to be the winning touch down.

There were a few bonehead plays on the Giants side that allowed the Patriots to win, plus a bogus unsportsmanlike conduct call. (A Patriot player pushed a Giant out of bounds, and as he was backing up, he was jawing with the Giants. He tripped, accidently, and the Giants were called for unsportsmanlike conduct!)

Nevertheless, the Patriots certainly looked vulnerable. The Giants came within 3 points of beating them. The Colts, a few weeks ago, certainly had their chances also. In the playoffs, facing good teams, I predict the Patriots will lose.

What teams have a chance to beat them?

Green Bay Packers, if Favre will go back to being the good Favre who didn't throw stupid interceptions.

Indianapolis Colts, of course.

Dallas Cowboys.

Who else?

Bowl Blahs

2007-12-27T11:53:00.000-08:00

Well, the bowl season is upon us and once again it is absolutely ridiculous. A "bowl" is supposed to be a game for the celebration of great teams...or if not great than at least good.

But there are dozens of bowls, so that now two teams that are 6-6 can go to a Bowl game. (For example, the Armed Forces Bowl, where Air Force at 9 - 3 is going against California 6 - 6.) Obviously it's done for the money, and obviously these games make money, but it's just ridiculous, and really diminishes the true impact of what a bowl should be.

The Orange Bowl, the Rose Bowl, the Sugar Bowl...those are bowls!

But now we've got crap like:

the Motor City Bowl
the Liberty Bowl
the Capital One Bowl
the Chik-Fil-A Bowl
the Outback Bowl
the Champs Sports Bowl

(notice how many restaurants and businesses have their names in those bowls.)

It the teams in these bowls were each 9 - 3, or something in that neck of the woods, I wouldn't be complaining. But no team that is 6 - 6 has any business going to a bowl game.

Well, January 1 is the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Hawaii... everyone is pickign Georgia to roll over Hawaii, because Hawaii, though undefeated, has only played cupcakes.

Nevertheless I hope Hawaii wins.

(In checking the list of bowl games, it's intersting to note that they don't give the win loss records of any of the teams... well, that's only to be expected...and in any event I have no interest in any of the bowls til the real thing starts in January.

Stanford Cardinal beat Tennessee Lady Vols

2007-12-22T23:14:00.000-08:00

and I must admit I'm feeling mixed emotions right now.

I'm disappointed they lost - for the team I wished an unbeaten season and championship in 2008 - but on the other hand I'm enjoying the squirming and hypocrisy of certain fans on the Lady Vols message board.

According to them, the refs cost the Lady Vols the game. The Cardinal shot 32 free throws, the Vols 10. (And that is odd, actually, because normally the disparity is the other way around.)

But a couple of weeks ago, when North Carolina fell to the Lady Vols, Coach Sylvia Haskell commented - commented - about the disparity in free throws when her team was always in the paint - where those types of fouls are supposed to build up - and the Lady Vols shot so many more than they did.

And certain fans at the Summitt ripped her a new one for saying that. "Don't whine about the refs," they scolded.

But when the shoe is on the other foot...

Too funny.

Also, UConn, Tennessee's great rival (until Pat Summitt enfed the series this year) beat Stanford by 12, earlier this year, while Tennessee lost to Stanford. So cerain members of the two fan bases, who snipe at each other on the message boards, now have even more to snipe about.

Certain Summitteers are very disparaging towards the UConn coach, because of his sarcastic sense of humour (a type of humor I don't like, myself, it must be said), and after Summitt ended the series without giving any reasons they were all over speculating what it might be, etc., but now UConn is able to get a bit of their own back.

Ah....fans...more entertaining then the game sometimes....

An Open Letter to Terence Newman

2007-12-06T15:01:00.000-08:00

Dear Mr. Newman,

I find your desire to seriously hurt Detroit quarterback Jon Kitna puzzling and frightening, and I'm wondering if you can explain to me exactly what is going through your mind.

Here's the background:

Kitna threw four touchdown passes in the regular-season finale in Dallas last year to end a 3-13 season for Detroit. In an interview the following week with a radio station in Seattle, where the Cowboys had to go for the playoffs, Kitna called out the Dallas defense, specifically linebacker Bradie James.

So, Kitna "called out" the Dallas defense. What exactly did he say that caused you to decide that next time you met, you'd do your best to cream him? What could he possibly have said to justify your intention to harm him because he dared to speak his mind?

In your satellite interview just a couple of days ago, you said the following:

"Basically what it boils down to is you've got to watch what you say. Your mouth can't write checks that your (expletive) can't cash. That's what it comes down to," Newman said. "Everybody's going to see those quotes. He better just hope I don't blitz off the edge, because I've got 15, 25, 30 (thousand dollars), however much it would be for a fine. I've got that much for one fine. Revenge will be sweet definitely."

"Revenge will be sweet," you say. But just what is your definition of revenge?

The Dallas Cowboys are 11 - 1, the Detroit Lions are 6 - 6 and have lost their last 4. They have no chance against the Cowboys, and they will probably be just as embarrassed as they were when they lost by over 30 to the Minnesota Vikings.

Why isn't that going to be enough revenge for you? Why do you find it necessary to go out of your way to hurt the man... up to $30,000 worth? And how can you gauge your intent to injure so precisely? Are you more skilled in your violence than that hockey loon, Todd Bertuzzi, who:

grabbed Moore from behind during a 2004 game, punched him on the side of his head and then landed on top of Moore, driving his head into the ice. The bloodied Colorado player was removed on a stretcher, sustaining a broken neck and a concussion.

So what's your plan for Kitna, Mr. Newman? Do you want to break his leg? Break an arm? Give him a concussion? End his career? All because he dared to say that the Dallas defense didn't play well during that game?

Is that the way you were raised? Is this the kind of "thuggish" behavior that had Sean Taylor living in Miami in fear of his life (despite the fact that his four murderers swear they hadn't intended to kill him, they just brought the gun along for kicks, eh?)

Is it thuggish behavior, or it is just "childish" behavior - the kind of behavior you should have grown out of by the time you were 13 if you'd been brought up properly.

The NFL sent you a letter, which you found necessary to post on your locker:

"Be advised that your comments will now compel us to carefully monitor your activities in this weekend's Cowboys-Lions game," read part of the letter signed by Ray Anderson, NFL executive vice president for football operations. "As you know, flagrant fouls may subject a player not only to fines, but to suspension as well. So conduct yourself accordingly."

They've called you out, Mr. Newman. They haven't asked you to act like a mature human being, they've merely warned you that you'll not only be fined but suspended when you put your hurt on Kitna.

And being the kind of man you are...you can't let that go, can you? If you react to the NFL's threat, you'll lose all the respect of your "peeps," won't you? You'll have "caved" to the NFL's pressure - and as a "man," you can't let that happen, can you. You've got to be a "man" and follow through with your threat, or your "peeps" will just laugh at you.

Well, perhaps it will be a test case. You hurt Kitna, and he'll probably sue you for assault, and hopefully have you thrown in jail for your thuggish behavior.

Mr. Newman - athletes talk trash all the time, don't they? Wide receivers strut through the endzone posing and looking like morons, defensive players celebrate with their little dances themselves, and these antics don't cause you to want to hurt that player? But because someone verbally comments on a player's defensive skills, all of a sudden you need revenge?

Were you actually brought up to behave like this? Do you not see that your behavior is childish, and not that of a "man?"

I'm not one of your peeps, and never will be, but I'll have a little bit of respect for you if you play the game the way it's supposed to be played. But, you know, I think you're making your plans for Kitna's doom - and your own - already.

Heartbreaker for the Baltimore Ravens

2007-12-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

I just watched this game.

The Ravens had it won... twice.

The first time when they had marched down the field...then Boller threw that stupid interception just short of the endzone...

A sad note for him as he'd played so well up until that point.

Then, on the first 4th and short...the defense STOPPED the Patriots.

But Billick had called a timeout before the play happened...so they had to do it again! Even then it turned into a 4 and 6...but then Brady was able to run for the first...

Then the other 4th and short and they stop 'em but there's a penalty...

Jesu christo, make the ganglia twitch! as Buckaroo Banzai's archvillain said in that movie...

I really feel for the defensive unit - they had the win. Why, why even call a time out at that point?????

WCBB Message Boards

2007-11-30T09:53:00.001-08:00

At one point in time, I'd intended to keep track of all the Women's College Basketball message boards...but I simply don't have the time.

Not that I think a lot of WCBB teams have message boards...and those that have them aren't that busy...except for UConn and Tennessee.

And of course Tennessee is up to their usual hijinks. They no longer play UConn, for reasons Summitt won't come out and say (according to Auriemma, she should just say she ended the series because he's a jerk and she doesn't like him. And that's true! But by saying nothing, she's implying that his recruiting tactics are somehow unethical.)

Anyway, the drones at the Summitt have nothing but praise for her, and nothing but contempt for Geno. She ended the series, so he must have done something bad, and she doesnt' owe WCBB fans any explanation at all...

Meanwhile...most WCBB teams play to audiences of less than a 1,000...

Not that that's Summit's fault. It's just a sad fact that women's sports aren't really supported in a general way. Unless you have a championship winning team like Tennessee or UConn, there's problems putting people in the seats.

But the reason for this post is of course my monthly rant against the Summitt.

Goodness those people annoy me.

As I say everytime I make one of these rants, I'm aware that in the grand scheme of sports message boards, what the Summitteers do is typical. They hype their team incessantly, and diss every other team out there. What sets the Summitteers apart, to my mind, is their sheer hypocrisy. They criticize a team or a player for doing one thing - but when it's their player or team doing it, oh, no, that's fine...

They criticize other teams, other coaches...but when someone comes over to their board to defend the attacked...it's oh, look at these jerks, why don't they stay on their own boards.

And now, what's being planned is for access to the Summitt to go "premium" - which means you have to pay to be able to access it. So they can stay in their own little world and hype their own program and trash the others as much as they want, and no one will know.

And the families of the athletes who go there won't be able to check on what they're saying, either.

Meanwhile, the two "moderators" are just jokes who fan the flames, banning anyone who dares to disagree with the idiots there, and praising the idiots for there pathetic statements.

One bright bulb posted, a few weeks ago, that since Summitt had ended the series with UConn, UConn shouldn't be mentioned anymore. They should be called Name Redacted or NR whenever talking about them....but they shouldn't be talked about because Summitt had made her wishes clear.

Of course no one called the guy an idiot, but they haven't stopped posting about UConn, either. Despite the fact that the series no longer takes place, they won't stop dissing the coach, or certain players (i.e. Diana Taurasi) who beat them way back when, or the announcers who have an imaginary "homerism" for UConn - for example Doris Burke.

Of course the UConn board is not wholly free from such dim bulbs...a recent poster complained during a game recently that the announcers were talking too much about their opponent and not enough about UConn...didn't seem to occur to them that no one needs to talk about powerhouses like UConn and Tennessee because anyone who knows anything about WCBB knows about them - what they don't know about is the opponents, so why not give them some props?

I wish I had the time to read the Summitt more, but it just annoys me so much, and then when I see something outrageous that I feel the need to respond and simply bring some facts and clarity to the "discussion," I can't because every time I do that, I'm banned by the moderators, who don't want facts and common sense to interfere with the fun of the people there.

You just gotta laugh.

Rebecca Gray's Transition from Highshool BBall to College

2007-11-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

Rebecca Gray's blog at Hoopgurlz.

This is a pretty interesting blog that I urge all high school bball players to read. She writes about her experiences transitioning from the high school game to the college game at North Carolina, under Coach Sylvia Haskell.

She writes well, her experienecs are interesting - highly recommended!

Tennessee vis Oklahoma

2007-11-15T18:59:00.000-08:00

The Tennessee Lady Vols are currently playing Oklahoma. It's on ESPNU, which I don't get. I gotta tell you, I really hope the Lady Vols lose.

I really, really dislike the poor sportsmanship and egotism of the fans that post at The Summitt, but I wouldn't let that deter me from being a Lady Vol fan...but I'm afraid Pat Summitt's ditching of the UConn game - and more egregiously, refusing to say why - has cost her my respect.

So, come on Oklahoma!

Lady Vols lose to Team USA

2007-11-04T20:40:00.001-08:00

The women's college basketball season is about to get under way. The exhibition season has started, 2 games where college teams go up against professional opponents. This year, it's been Team USA - the WNBA pros who will play in the Olympics.

They beat Maryland and UConn, and now they've neaten the Lady Vols - but only by 11 points.

Lady Vols article

To the right of the article is a link to see about three minutes of video of the game. Too bad it wasn't on TV...but ESPN was showing women's billiards instead...

What is it with guys? And gals?

2007-10-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

The following is a link to Jason Caffey, an ex-basketball player who has fathered 8 children by 7 different women. He was only married to one.

Jason Caffey

Of course there's many factors at work here. He had to pay child support based on his earnings as an NBA player, and that money wasn't reduced once he retired and his income plummetted. (A lot of guys are taken to the cleaner like this, which is unfair. A guy shouldn't have to live in his car so that he can give all his money to his ex-wife and kids, when his ex-wife has a job and is making good money herself.)

But he's not the only "baby daddy" going around populating this planet with children whom he can't support. Travis Henry is another one with eight kids or so...Jeremy Kemp has about 12... and all of these are to women to whom he was not married.

Now, what I want to know is, after these guys have fathered about four kids, and if they're not going to wear a dollar condom, why oh why do they not just get "fixed?" They've already proven their virile, surely no one will hold it against them if they get themselves "fixed" after they've proven that fact?

But then there's the women. As a feminist, I believe that if a woman wants to have a child out of wedlock --- and can afford it so she will not be a burden on the welfare state -- then fine, have a child. But I have to admit I wonder if these women deliberately get pregnant so they can have a meal ticket for the rest of their lives.

I wonder if its possible to do a bit of research into these mothers, find out what their financial status was before they had sex with a certain athlete - without protection of any kind, apparantly (hello STDs as well as pregnancy) - and what their financial status is now. How many are professional women who use that child support money to support their kid, and how many sit at home living off the child support payment while the kid goes hungry?

Would be intersting to know.

But really, the father is the one really to blame. If he's too stupid to see what these women are doing to him...well, then he's pretty stupid.

Paul Byrd did nothing wrong, and the media should be ashamed

2007-10-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

Guess what!

From 2002-2005, Paul Byrd took HGH, or Human Growth Hormone.

Guess what!

It wasn't a banned substance!

The news today has been full of reports that Byrd took HGH, and that his reputation has taken a hit. Well, gee, the only reason why his reputation has taken a hit is because the media is turning a non-story into a story. They keep detailing all these deliveries of HGH he got, and how much he paid for it... and don't emphasize that he was buying htis stuff openly - having it sent to the god-damned clubhouse! - because IT WAS NOT A BANNED SUBSTANCE when he was taking it. Indeed, it was prescribed to him.

The coverage on this has just been ridiculous.

I have to admit I haven't been following the steroid controversy, and I suppose I was very naive when I assumed that all the comments about these athletes taking steroids occurred AFTER steroids were banned.

But if they were taking HGH, and steroids, and other items, that were NOT BANNED at the time, then there is no damn story!

I apology for the R-ratedness of this post, but I am just furious right now.

Rafael Palmeiro is a different story - he swore he never took steroids, and then within a week tested positive - and he tested positive when steroids were banned.

Barry Bonds, he's been swearing all along he never took steroids - at least never knowingly... so if he's proved to be a liar - well, he's a liar, but that doesn't make him a cheater if he stopped doing it AFTER the substances were banned.

I really don't like the way baseball players have taken the defensive stance on this - if you used HGH or some other substance before it was banned, (especially if it was a doctor's prescription) say so and tell the media to go to hell. That's pretty much what Byrd did, and that's what every player - in the right - should have done.

An apology to Barry Bonds

2007-10-18T21:44:00.000-07:00

Let me preface my comments by admitting that I don't follow every baseball team each season - just specific ones, the Minnesota Twins, the Seattle Mariners, and the Baltimore Orioles.

So although I've heard of the big stars of other teams, I'd never really seen them in action, except during an occasional glimpse during Baseball Tonight, etc.

So for years and years I've disliked Barry Bonds, because of his pathetic little schtick of standing at the plate and watching while his home run balls fly out of the park. What a jerk, I'd thought. (and continue to think.)

But he's not the biggest jerk in baseball, the biggest poseur in the game - that goes to Manny Ramirez.

Bonds at least just stands there, not really showing up anyone...Manny Ramirez stands there, and holds up both arms and poses. Then he looks at the pitcher like he wants to make eye contact...then he starts his baggy-uniformed trot around the bases.

So today, of course, in an elimination game, he hits what he thinks is a home run ball. David Ortiz, bad leg and all, is running as hard as he can round the bases and scores from firstl. What does Manny do? He stands and does his pose, then the ball hits on top of the yellow line of the fence (replays showed it hit on the line, not beyond the line), so good ol' Manny ends up with a single instead of a double or triple.

They ended up winning the game anyway, thanks to the hustle of other players, but it just irked me to see that.

And then there's his other sctick he does, which I've seen three times now in the last few days... he has this habit of running the bases and when he's on second trying to get home, he'll reach up and knock his helmet off, as if to make sure that the fans see him and know he's running so fast that he loses his helmet. Does he really think that they don't know that he knocks it off deliberately?

And finally, for a wonder, Jacoby Ellsbury gets into the game, if only for the last 2 innings. Based on Coco Crisp's output in these champeenship series, it's time to replace Crisp with Ellsbury. He'll be as good defensively, and his offense couldn't be any worse and might be better.

New WNBA team in Atlanta

2007-10-17T13:02:00.001-07:00

The WNBA is expanding - a new team will open in Atlanta next year.

Atlanta announcement

A few fans are puzzled, as they do not consider Atlanta to be that "hot" of a sports town for mens' teams, let alone women's teams. And the WNBA team in Charlotte folded just last year.

Nevertheless, things do seem to be progressing for the WNBA, so lets all think positive thoughts, and hope Atlanta fans will flock to see their new professional sports team.

Red Sox: Please Give Up on Gagne!

2007-10-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

I don't blame Eric Gagne for being a total bust since he was traded at the deadline to the Boston Red Sox. But since he has proven to be that bust - don't ever use him again! Putting him in games now is just setting him up to fail... unless it's a game in which the BoSox have a 10 run lead and only an inning to go.

Is Gagne's failure really his fault, though?

Gagne was a closer - he worked one inning - the ninth, for much of his career. It takes a different mindset to be a closer than it does to be a middle relief or set up man. And Gagne was brought in and told to be a set up man rather than a closer, and for whatever reason, he has been unable to make the adjustment, mentally, that he had to make, in the last month or so.

And asking him to do it in the playoffs what he failed to do in the last month or so is just not an option.

To be sure, Gagne was Francona's last choice in that last game, after having used up Okajima and Papelbon, and if Gagne let two men get on, it was the other relief pitcher, Lopez, who threw a wild pitch to let the first run score, and the flood gates opened from there.

Gagne is a man without confidence now. The whole team is behind him, vocally, to the media, but you and I both know that Gagne knows that they're just saying that, and that inwardly each and everyone of them is seething - although as baseball players they too know that it's hard to ask a player to play a different position that he's not used to. Even if pitching seems like one position, it really isn't - not these days - and Gagne has been ruined for the post season, I think.

So if he's ever brought in again, and louses up again, I won't blame him - I'll blame the management that put him out there.

Eric "Gag me" Gagne

2007-10-13T22:31:00.000-07:00

Can someone tell me why Eric Gagne is still being employed by the Boston Red Sox? Ever since he was aquired a few months ago, he has stunk the joint up. I don't think he's gone through a singe 1-2-3 inning this year.

So in the 11th he's brought into the 6-6 tie game between the BoSox and Indians, and proceeds to get one out (yay) then give up a single and a walk.

So he's gone, having opened the door, and then we get 3 worthless poitchers who throw wild pitches, ya da ya da, and now the Sox are down 13 - 6 with the bottom of the order coming up.

NO MORE GAGNE!

Boston Red Sox

2007-10-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

Six-and-a-half hours from now and the Boston Red Sox will go up against the Cleveland Indians in the first game of the American league series.

Colorado Rockies go up against the Arizona Diamondbacks after that... once again I hope the Rockies win...

Women's soccer

2007-10-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

Latest news on the Women's Soccer team

Solo, Scurry both chosen for U.S. team's series with Mexico

Hasn't their ridiculous coach been fired yet?

Two more days until Red Sox/Indians

2007-10-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

Anxiously awaiting...

Meantime, Diamondbacks vs Rockies on Thurs...I wouldn't mind seeing the Rockies win.

Baseball all day

2007-10-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

I haven't had time to watch the two early games, but I'm looking forward with great anticipation to Red Sox vs Angels.

Of course rookie Jacoby Ellsbury probably won't see any playing time until the later innings, if at all, but I also like rookie Dustin Pedroia - who has played all season long and has had an excellent year.... so the game should be fun.

How time flies

2007-10-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

I see it's been over three months since I last posted here. Well, things happened!

I'm back now and will be posting regularly.

New at The Mudville Megaphone, a biography and "newstracker" of Jacoby Ellsbury, rookie outfielder for the Boston Red Sox. Half Navajo, his story is an inspiring one.

Ellsburybio

Also, I'm working on a project called Quantum Quarterback. Intended for the American football newbie, it will give info on team's quarterbacks through the ages.

Quantum Quarterback

Beat the Streak, June 24 07

2007-06-24T07:59:00.000-07:00

My streak was broken a few days ago when Placido Polanco let me down. I took a couple of days off to sulk, and then decided to heck with it, and chose Ichiro Suzuki for ten games. (You can choose players for 10 games at at time.)

And Ichiro has come through for me 3 days in a row now. He now has a 17 game hitting streak. His highest is a 25-game streak...but I'm going to ride him til he lets me down. But I'll be thinking positive...