Henchmen arrested, but the Joker is still at large: 10 FIFA officials arrested in Switzerland for extradition to the U.S. for a whole host of corruption charges. Sepp Blatter is up for re-election on Friday, but with only one challenger and such rampant corruption, it's a wonder whether or not this will affect his chances.

posted by dfleming to soccer at 04:46 AM - 12 comments

Ronnie O'Sullivan clears the table in the 2012 world snooker championships.: It's mesmerizing to watch a good snooker player work at the best of times, but this was a pretty bad table after the scratch and he conquers it almost without time for thought. Originally posted to MeFi.

posted by dfleming to other at 09:26 AM - 3 comments

Gary Bettman: Players locked out September 15th if no deal is reached: Would a second lockout in a decade be disastrous for hockey or for Bettman?

posted by dfleming to hockey at 03:23 PM - 7 comments

According to Forbes' Fab 40: Tiger Woods still has the richest brand among athletes...and still by a very wide margin. The Yankees surpassed Man U as the richest team brand and the most valuable overall brand in sports is the Super Bowl. No word on whether the BAR (brand above replacement) advanced stats were used in this analysis.

posted by dfleming to golf at 06:38 AM - 0 comments

'Thank God It Just Popped Back In': Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo gruesomely dislocated his elbow with 7 minutes left in the third quarter Saturday night against the Miami Heat and was taken to the locker room. He returned and one-armed the entire fourth quarter of the crucial 97-81 win, bringing the series to 2-1 Heat.

posted by dfleming to basketball at 01:44 PM - 9 comments

Memphis come back from 16 down, win in OT: Zach Randolph's 21pt/21reb performance has the upstart Grizz up 2-1 over the Thunder.

posted by dfleming to basketball at 08:55 PM - 3 comments

Mike Kelly: of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers was relieved of his duties as coach yesterday. It turns out, he's not very good on or off the field.

posted by dfleming to football at 08:54 AM - 4 comments

Ron Artest: sounds off on drinking during games and fighting Ben Wallace anywhere, anytime. In a lengthy interview for the December 7 issue of Sporting News magazine, Artest, best known as the central figure in the infamous Malice at the Palace in 2004 bared all, including a startling admission that he drank alcohol during games as a member of the Chicago Bulls, for whom he played from 1999-2002. "I used to drink Hennessy at halftime," Artest says in the interview, which hits newsstands this week. "I (kept it) in my locker. I'd just walk to the liquor store (near the stadium) and get it."

posted by dfleming to basketball at 12:38 PM - 10 comments

Nadal and Roddick speak out against the 11 month tennis season.: After injuries force Nadal, Roddick, Federer and Andy Murray out this season, some of the top players are outwardly expressing their distaste for a lack of offseason. "It's ridiculous to think that you have a professional sport that doesn't have a legitimate off-season to rest, get healthy, and then train," Roddick said. "I just feel sooner or later that common sense has to prevail."

posted by dfleming to tennis at 10:58 AM - 10 comments

Report: Nike Reaches Endorsement Deal with Michael Vick: It took two incomplete passes and seven yards on the ground but apparently Nike has reached an endorsement deal with Michael Vick, his representative announced at a marketing conference Wednesday in New York. Nike denies the report of an endorsement deal.

posted by dfleming to football at 08:23 PM - 54 comments

Phil Kessel is finally traded to the Maple Leafs: A high price to pay for the sniper they desperately needed; first and second round picks in 2010 and a first round pick in 2011.

posted by dfleming to hockey at 09:33 PM - 16 comments

Patriots Trade Richard Seymour to Raiders: The New England Patriots have traded five-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Richard Seymour to the Oakland Raiders for a first-round pick in 2011.

posted by dfleming to football at 12:06 PM - 13 comments

Dany Heatley: wants out of Ottawa. With 5 years @ 7.5 Million a season left and complete control over his destination with a no-movement clause, it's hard to imagine Bryan Murray's feeling good about his job right now.

posted by dfleming to hockey at 02:38 PM - 2 comments

Sherlock Canseco: 90% sure that Manny Ramirez is on the secret PED list. His evidence? Manny...uh...had a difficult time getting a long-term contract this summer.

Note to kids: this is what happens when you take steroids. It done gone and broke Jose's brain.

posted by dfleming to baseball at 10:33 AM - 13 comments

Oh No, You Di'int!: Alex Rodriguez admits to steroid use. Your move, Selig.

posted by dfleming to baseball at 09:28 PM - 34 comments

Struggling Senators fire Coach Hartsburg: This marks the fourth head coach in a little over a year. While Hartsburg's team was underperforming, he seems to be the latest in a line of coaches who take the brunt for a team that's not as good on the ice as they are on paper. Murray's been at the helm since 1997; they're barely over .500 in that time. When does the finger start pointing somewhere other than the X's and O's?

posted by dfleming to hockey at 01:11 PM - 0 comments

Mark Teixeira is a Yankee.: The three top free agents are now members of the Yankees and Manny rumours have started (although, they may stop now). Finally, fans can watch an all-star game played 162 games a season.

posted by dfleming to baseball at 05:20 PM - 47 comments

Mats' current mood: bashful.: Finally: Mats Sundin signs with the Vancouver Canucks. I felt like the Canadian media read like a Mats Sundin twitter feed for the past six months and it's nice to see him back on the ice where he belongs.

posted by dfleming to hockey at 06:26 PM - 3 comments

Brian Burke era begins in Toronto.: After much speculation, Brian Burke was named president and GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He's already closed the book on Mats Sundin's return. He's got a lot of work ahead of him.

posted by dfleming to hockey at 02:21 PM - 2 comments

Chasing Perfection: One boy's search for glory.

posted by dfleming to commentary at 10:39 AM - 0 comments

Steve Downie at it again.: Already suspended this year, Steve Downie takes a cheap "thumb" at the eye of Jason Blake. At what point does the NHL do something serious about the Flyers, who have already been suspended 52 games this season for a variety of cheap shots. Is it a team mentality or just a series of unfortunate events?

posted by dfleming to hockey at 12:44 PM - 76 comments

Donovan McNabb unhappy?: After being prevented from travelling with the team to their playoff game to New Orleans (The team's rule is players on injured reserve don't travel; a policy not disputed previously) and subject to the talk about Jeff Garcia's unexpected drive to the playoffs, it looks like Donovan's not pleased with the situation in Philidelphia.

posted by dfleming to football at 12:21 PM - 34 comments

Jean Van De Velde goes for Ladies British Open.: Honestly, with girls crossing over to the men's tour, is there a viable argument to prevent men from doing the same thing? Sexism goes both ways on this one, I would think, and a gender only policy in the Ladies Golf Union is just as exclusionary as one in the Men's tour.

posted by dfleming to golf at 06:39 PM - 17 comments

Man Crushes in Sports: Have you ever wondered what it’s like for Dick Vitale to sit courtside at a Duke Basketball game?

Imagine being a teenage boy and sitting just a few feet away from Lindsay Lohan. And I’m talking red hair, big jugged Lindsay, not freakishly skinny, slowly decomposing in front of our very eyes, Lindsay.

Very simply put, Dick Vitale has a man-crush.

posted by dfleming to general at 01:36 PM - 6 comments