Inside the NHL Department of Player Safety: “I am creating effective after this season a new Department of Player Safety which will be headed by Senior Vice President of Player Safety and Hockey Operations, Brendan Shanahan. In this revised role, Brendan will be responsible for developing rules related to better protecting our players without changing the fundamental nature of our game, dealing with equipment and safety issues related to equipment, and pursuant to a request made by Colin Campbell, Brendan will administer commissioner supplemental discipline.” And thus the Department of Player Safety (DoPS, for short) was born.
posted by BoKnows to hockey at 01:06 PM - 0 comments
Top Cardinals Prospect Oscar Tavares Killed in Car Accident: St. Louis Cardinals top outfield prospect Oscar Taveras and his girlfriend died in a car accident near his home in the Dominican Republic on Sunday afternoon. The 22-year-old made his Major League debut this season and "entered the season rated as one of baseball's top-three prospects," writes Bill Baer of HardballTalk. He made the postseason roster and hit a pinch-hit home run in the NLCS.
posted by BoKnows to baseball at 10:41 PM - 5 comments
Card Trick: Rout sends St. Louis to World Series: It's a common scene in October and one that's becoming a habit for a Cardinals team that is making its fourth World Series appearance since 2004. "Coming back here and doing it in front of our home fans, we gave them another game to watch at Busch Stadium. Seeing that confetti on the field, getting that big platform out there, getting that trophy presented in front of our home fans, that's a special moment," Adam Wainwright said. At the end of the day, the Cardinals are winners. And they don't appear likely to go into a slump any time soon. The more you see the Cards play, the more you get the picture. This is a winning organization. Other teams may have higher payrolls or higher profiles. This team is the NL's best once more. These were the Cards that we were used to seeing: Hitters working deep counts, coming up with two-strike hits, a relentless, grinding attack that finally broke the will, if not the spirit, of Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw in a 9-0 victory on Friday night. Carlos Beltran: "Thank God I got the opportunity to play with this team. There's a lot of winners on this ballclub."
posted by BoKnows to baseball at 04:32 PM - 4 comments
The Wizard of Koz: From a six-run hole, the Cardinals emerged with a 9-7 victory in a win-or-go home National League Division Series Game 5 on Friday night. It was the largest comeback in a winner-take-all game in postseason history.
posted by BoKnows to baseball at 08:55 PM - 2 comments
"The At-Home Experience,": A Samsung 51-inch, plasma HD television and three top-grain leather theater seats delivered from Best Buy. Add in the DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket Max package for $299.95, + $120.00 for food and beverages or 10 home games. You decide.
posted by BoKnows to football at 01:00 PM - 22 comments
Why All of Your Fantasy Baseball Picks SUCK: Joey Votto: hit below his career average last year and saw his strikeouts increase to a career high for the fourth consecutive season with 129. In spring training hes hit .214 with Ks close to every other at-bat. Buy high on this guy! Worst of all: Joey Votto is Canadian. Do you want a Canadian on your baseball team. Of course not. Hanley Ramirez: Intangibles arent a measured fantasy stat, but players who actually try tend to put up better fantasy numbers.
Worst to First: Ranking all 30 MLB Uniforms: Thankfully, the 1970s and '80s are over, so there are no truly awful uniforms anymore. Mostly what we have are the great and classic followed by an almost interchangeable array of fine but bland. (Plus a bonus interview with Torii Hunter giving us his rules and regulations for wearing team jerseys! And... the baseball card of the week!)
posted by BoKnows to baseball at 12:01 AM - 5 comments
Jersey Fouls: Jersey Fouls don't have an expiration date. They're the stench that keeps on stinking.
posted by BoKnows to hockey at 09:37 PM - 3 comments
An Offensive Survey!: Buffalo (Wyo.) High football coach Pat Lynch resigned his position after he offered a questionnaire to his players so they could easily explain the reason of any hurt feelings in the locker room. Reason for filing this report (Check box): "I am a queer", "I have woman like hormones", "I am a little bitch". Also, please provide the name of the "real man who hurt your sensitive little feelings" and your own "girly-man signature". Now that he has resigned, he can continue to focus his efforts as a, wait for it...... Guidance Counselor, yep.
posted by BoKnows to football at 12:58 AM - 15 comments
19 Oregon Football Players Hospitalized After Camp: School officials, parents and players remained puzzled Sunday over what caused 19 members of a high school football team in northwest Oregon to suffer muscle damage - three of whom required surgery - following a fall camp.
posted by BoKnows to football at 03:11 PM - 6 comments
The Baseball Fan's Final Show of Loyalty: Michigan based company Eternal Image Inc. creates urns, headstone medallions, burial vaults and MLB team logo caskets for the 'die-hard' fan. The caskets sell for $3500 and the logo-ed urns for $799. For a mere $2900 more ($4500 for a pair), you can also purchase an eternal Skybox at Beyond the Vines, a Chicago based monument adorned with original materials taken from Wrigley Field.
posted by BoKnows to baseball at 12:34 AM - 2 comments
The San Jose Athletics?: On Friday, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed released the proposed ballot language and details about the measure that would authorize the city and its redevelopment agency to push ahead with a downtown ballpark. Bud Selig and MLB do not approve, stating: "We were surprised and disappointed by the news today in San Jose about the stadium referendum. We were not part of the process and had no knowledge that a decision to proceed with the election had been made." Provided city voters give the team permission to build on city land, current A's owner Leo Wolff has said he will pay to build the $461 million stadium. "It's that simple." Some of the Oakland fans believe the move has been in the works since 2005 and that Wolff purposely drove the franchise into the ground.
posted by BoKnows to baseball at 03:32 AM - 7 comments
The Worst Playoff Format in Professional Hockey.: This season, the Central Hockey League merges with the International Hockey League bringing the total number of teams to 18, with nine in each conference. Sixteen of the 18 teams will make playoffs which means that, yes, theyll play 66 games to eliminate two teams.
posted by BoKnows to hockey at 03:53 AM - 18 comments
Canseco vs. Hogan: "A lot of people didn't think this was real, but we're dead serious." That's how Arkansas Travelers general manager Pete Laven describes his team's latest and greatest promotional stunt, which, truth be told, does sound a bit implausible.
posted by BoKnows to boxing at 02:54 AM - 9 comments
38. BFD.: Lance Armstrong isn't pleased with an Outside magazine cover that altered his T-shirt to bear a profane slogan. And of course, he's tweeted about it.
posted by BoKnows to other at 12:13 AM - 12 comments
Should Ken Griffey Jr. get an honorary All-Star appearance?: Griffey is still listed on the ballot, of course, and he has accumulated several hundred thousand votes as a designated hitter. He trails the leader, Vladimir Guerrero, by about 400,000 votes. It's a big margin to overcome, especially for a player who is, well, not playing anymore.
posted by BoKnows to baseball at 10:29 PM - 11 comments
List: Pro Sports' Most-Losing Teams: Tampa, sad to say, is a pro sports loser. To quote Vince Lombardi "Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing." (Forbes.com - Slideshow) Bonus link: America's Most Miserable Sports Cities!
posted by BoKnows to general at 10:39 PM - 17 comments
Frozen Flashback: After 21 years, the puck will finally drop for the "Greatest Game Never Played". In 1989, the New Jersey State Ice Hockey Championship between Delbarton School of Morristown and St. Joseph's School of Montvale was cancelled due to a measles outbreak. The teams were declared "Co Champions" by the NJSIAA. As one of the most highly anticipated hockey championships in State history, this game generated great debate over who would have won. On April 3rd, 2010, the debate will end. Both teams have reassembled and will battle it out one last time for Charity.
posted by BoKnows to hockey at 09:55 PM - 3 comments
DePaul offers 8th-grader scholarship: Interim coach Tracy Webster has made an official offer to 12-year-old Jahlil Okafor of Rosemont Elementary School District 78 to play basketball at DePaul in 2014. The offer came after DePaul's narrow home loss to Syracuse on Jan. 30. After Jahlil's dad confirmed it was an official offer, he responded "I wouldn't commit myself to anything right now," Chuck Okafor said. "It would be stupid. It's good for his confidence, but we're not going to think about it too much." And if you are wondering, yes, they are related.
posted by BoKnows to basketball at 09:50 PM - 3 comments
Phoenix Republican Rep. John McComish wants to keep the Cubs spring training facility in Arizona, at your expense of course.: Part of the $84 million cost would include a ticket increase for all spring training games in Arizona, including those not played by the Cubs. Cubs supporters have said all teams benefit from the Cubs because the Chicago team increases attendance at their away games.
posted by BoKnows to baseball at 02:30 PM - 4 comments
Weir-d?: US Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir has been taking some heat about his inclusion of fox fur on his most recent costume. Both PETA and Friends of Animals have criticized the skater and his designer for the use of the fur. The FoA sent this open letter to Weir. His response: "Every skater is wearing skates made out of cow. Maybe I'm wearing a cute little fox while everyone else is wearing cow, but we're all still wearing animals."
posted by BoKnows to olympics at 04:00 PM - 14 comments
Bode Knows....Tennis?: After the Olympics, world champion skier Bode Miller plans on scaling a different kind of mountain: He wants to try and play in the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
posted by BoKnows to tennis at 01:00 PM - 11 comments
Prank Goes Awry: The girls' basketball coach at NorthWest High School in Olathe, Kansas was told that if he hit a half court, blindfolded shot he would earn tickets to this year's Final Four. The student body however, had plans of their own. They were instructed to cheer wildly after the coach inevitably missed the near impossible shot, giving the coach false hopes of March Madness. There was one problem though, he made it. Oh, and the students never actually had the tickets, so instead he was given a gift card to a Mexican restaurant.
posted by BoKnows to basketball at 09:51 PM - 13 comments
Hull of a Career: On Monday, November 9th, The Golden Brett joined his father in the NHL Hall of Fame. His career included 741 goals - only two players have more, Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe - and 1391 points over 20 NHL seasons ranking Hull 21st on the all time points list. In the early 1990's Brett Hull was one of the most feared snipers in the league tallying 86 goals in the 1990-91 season. He is one of five players on the 50-50 list, an 8 time all star and an Olympian. He has won the Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP), the Lady Byng and scored a Stanley Cup clinching goal in 1999.
Mark McGwire to rejoin Cardinals?: "We're getting closer," La Russa told ESPN.com on Sunday. "But nothing has been decided yet. I can't tell you anything yet."
posted by BoKnows to baseball at 08:08 PM - 49 comments