Recent Posts by jeffmshaw

April 19, 2004

The Deadball Era: : where every player is safe at home. Dedicated to deceased ballplayers, this site has grave photos, burial sites, obituaries and more. Check out the very cool audio vault. Listen to Babe and Lou do comedy (5 min. MP3). ["Babe, all you have to do is diet another 15 years and you'll almost look human".] Peruse the baseball cards and photos of the dead. Enjoy the grim story of the '27 Yankees (warning: embedded sound). They also have photos of dead stadiums.

posted by jeffmshaw to baseball at 01:29 PM - 3 comments

April 02, 2004

Kelsey Martin is a high school softball star. : She's also an honor student, class president, and "plays basketball as a volunteer for a community group that involves developmentally disabled men and women" -- despite having been born with "a left arm that ends just below the elbow."

posted by jeffmshaw to culture at 08:56 AM - 4 comments

April 01, 2004

After a blow-up with his manager, Milton Bradley will likely be traded by Sunday.: Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro has discussed a deal with eight teams, four or five of which have made serious offers for the talented and mercurial outfielder. Interested parties are thought to be the Pirates, Dodgers, Rangers, A's and Mets. TSN's Ken Rosenthal also lists the White Sox, Giants, Expos and Royals as possible suitors, and many (i.e., me) would add the Mariners. Is this a case of a head case becoming someone else's problem, or a chance to acquire a top-tier player on the cheap?

posted by jeffmshaw to baseball at 10:41 PM - 37 comments

March 25, 2004

Get officially licensed sports gear here -- for your dog.: Crass commercialism officially goes off the deep end, attempting to reach that intersection of the market where sports-fandom meets pet-obsession. The four-page photo gallery of dogs in game jerseys is the height of weirdness. Not all MLB or NBA teams represented, but you can get Fido or Fifi some Red Sox or Yanks swag, among other squads.

posted by jeffmshaw to culture at 02:01 PM - 9 comments

February 26, 2004

Listening to baseball history: . Reading Page 2's interview with Buck O'Neill piqued my interest in hearing some more of his stories. Upon searching, I found Love of the Game Productions, a site which includes a 'blog and audio interviews by Bay Area sports broadcaster Marty Lurie. There are MP3s of Hall of Famers, thoughts on race in baseball and some "Today in baseball history" segments. Besides two interviews (MP3 ~3-4 min.) with Buck O'Neill, you can find old-timers like Happy Chandler and contemporary stars like Jason "Four Pounds Ago" Giambi, not to mention Billy Williams, Larry Doby, Rod Carew, Rachel (widow of Jackie) Robinson, and many more.

posted by jeffmshaw to baseball at 11:13 AM - 2 comments

February 25, 2004

Jamal Lewis indicted on federal drug conspiracy charges.: Lewis proclaims his innocence. The events in question happened from June 23, 2000, until July 19, 2000, the summer prior to his rookie year.

posted by jeffmshaw to football at 04:14 PM - 4 comments

February 20, 2004

Washington gives Mark Brunell a seven-year deal,: clearing the way for the Jaguars to trade him to Joe Gibbs' team next month. Brunell, 33, is still a pretty good player -- but so is incumbent starter Patrick Ramsey, 25, who is presumably only getting better. Is giving Brunell an $8.6 million signing bonus and a contract that lasts until he's 40 a sign Gibbs will have trouble in the salary cap era, or is this the veteran QB the team needs?

posted by jeffmshaw to football at 09:40 AM - 8 comments

February 17, 2004

Female kicker Katie Hnida says she was harassed and raped while at Colorado.: SI's Rick Reilly breaks a harrowing story that adds to the mounting body of evidence against CU. Hnida's statement following the story's release. Previous discussion.

posted by jeffmshaw to football at 05:19 PM - 12 comments

Don't sleep on Pistol Pete's son.: Jaeson Maravich battles insomnia, injuries and the pressure of the family name -- but may still get an NBA shot as a 24-year-old college senior.

posted by jeffmshaw to basketball at 01:59 PM - 1 comment

February 13, 2004

An interesting NYT story today: about DerMarr Johnson's NBA comeback with the Knicks.

posted by jeffmshaw to basketball at 12:18 PM - 4 comments

February 09, 2004

Rasheed goes to the Hawks in blockbuster deal. : Wallace and Person for Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Dan Dickau and Theo Ratliff. 'Sheed gets a change of scene, 'Reef gets a chance to prove he can put up great numbers for a potential playoff team.

posted by jeffmshaw to basketball at 11:19 PM - 16 comments

February 05, 2004

Warner: coaches said Jesus hates touchdowns. : Benched Rams QB and former MVP Kurt Warner says that coaches scorned his bible-reading and suggests he "lost [his] job because of [his] faith." The quotes first came out in a story on baptistpress.com.

posted by jeffmshaw to football at 10:47 AM - 26 comments

January 28, 2004

But was the motel a Hilton?: Here's something you don't see every day: an NBA Hall of Famer (Julius Erving) starring in a sex tape with a young woman in a hotel room. The Good Doctor's camp says his soon-to-be-ex-wife, Turquoise, released it to boost her case during divorce proceedings. She denies this.

posted by jeffmshaw to basketball at 07:48 PM - 2 comments

I just can't get enough of He Hate Me.: And apparently, neither can Mike Wilbon.

posted by jeffmshaw to football at 10:15 AM - 5 comments

January 20, 2004

Bush calls out pro athletes for steroid use. : Most think he's talking about major league baseball -- but no thoughts in the State of the Union address on cocaine use or drunk driving, though. Where's Steve Howe to give a reply when you need him?

posted by jeffmshaw to culture at 11:17 PM - 15 comments

January 19, 2004

Sasaki to return to Japan.: This could have a huge impact on the Mariners and the free agent scene. Ken Rosenthal of Fox and Jim Caple of ESPN.com are still reporting this as a might happen, while the Seattle P-I is calling it a done deal. If it goes through, that's at least $8 million off the M's budget -- or is it? The P-I's John Hickey says there are no clear procedures for getting out from under a contract a player renounces. Assuming this goes through, and assuming the contract details get worked out, I intend to begin dreaming about signing Pudge or trading for Magglio immediately. Though, as Jason Barker puts it, "why couldn't he have done this when there were [more] free agents available?"

posted by jeffmshaw to baseball at 06:29 PM - 6 comments

January 16, 2004

Just as long as he doesn't give him a nickname.: ESPN's Chris Berman endorses Joe Lieberman. (Or is that Joe "I'm a Be-Lieberman"?) Thanks, I'll be here all week.

posted by jeffmshaw to general at 02:58 PM - 4 comments

January 08, 2004

These 10 deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, : says Seattle Times baseball writer Larry Stone. An interesting look at one voter's ballot and rationale. [s'mores inside]

posted by jeffmshaw to baseball at 05:44 PM - 8 comments

January 01, 2004

If this is an accurate report,: then neither the man who cracked 2,000 rushing yards nor the man who broke the records for most rushing and total touchdowns in a season will finish higher than third in NFL MVP balloting. Jamal Lewis was the offensive player of the year; Priest Holmes has "more touchdowns rushing (27) than New England and Tennessee combined (20)," a fact I found here.
Are the running backs getting short shrift? Why or why not? Who would you vote for?

posted by jeffmshaw to football at 08:07 PM - 16 comments

December 16, 2003

Coaches who prey.: Today is the third day in a week-long series by the Seattle Times about girls sports coaches who sexually exploit their charges -- and typically don't face consequences, instead leaving to coach other teams. Some harrowing stories, and a thought-provoking look into the rise of "select" teams. The Times found that "at least 159 Washington coaches have been reprimanded, warned or let go in the past decade because of sexual misconduct. However ... at least 98 of them continued coaching or teaching afterward."

posted by jeffmshaw to general at 10:37 AM - 13 comments

December 09, 2003

The Steve Nash elbow recovery plan.: registration required: username: jeffmshaw at hotmail dot com, password: spofite. Sure, Karl Malone is a menace. But if he ever rearranges your smilin' mug, do what Steve does: "It's strictly beer for a couple of weeks. Beer with straws." Now Ufez Jones has another reason to like the best point guard ever to come from Victoria (B.C., not Texas).

posted by jeffmshaw to basketball at 03:06 PM - 3 comments

November 26, 2003

Frank Deford doesn't care about Thanksgiving.: SpoFites have established that there are Turkeys out there. But there's plenty and warm and fuzzy stories around, from this heartwarming tale about a college football player who gives his time selflessly, to the Special Olympians leading the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, to the boxers who give out food to people with HIV/AIDS. You can even feel good about the people who want to give 'Zo a kidney, though maybe that goes a little far. Any favorite sports-themed "peace on earth and goodwill to all" links or stories this time of year?

posted by jeffmshaw to culture at 02:56 PM - 0 comments

November 19, 2003

"In what might be regarded as baseball's first significant signing of the offseason, the Mariners are thought to have reached agreement with free-agent outfielder Raul Ibanez," says the Seattle Times.: While the M's can use a left-handed bat, the fine folks at USS Mariner argue that $13 million over three years is a joke. That seems correct given what Gammons calls a "recession mentality" in baseball, and that Ibanez is arguably not even an upgrade over Randy Winn, who already patrols left field. A little more inside

posted by jeffmshaw to baseball at 10:53 AM - 4 comments

November 17, 2003

Six-man football, young people, and Montana dreams.: A great piece of writing from the Washington Post about tiny Geraldine, Montana's high school football team. The piece uses the state six-man championship to tell a compelling story of farm economics, rural life -- and a heckuva football game.

posted by jeffmshaw to football at 04:23 PM - 3 comments

November 15, 2003

An ugly racial incident affects a rising front office star.: At baseball's winter meetings, Kim Ng, the Dodgers' assistant GM (and the general manager I wanted the Mariners to hire when they had an opening this offseason), was verbally harassed by Mets scout Bill Singer. The Mets have apologized. It's unclear whether Singer will keep his job.

Ng, an Asian American woman who formerly worked under Brian Cashman with the Yankees, is extremely well-thought of in baseball: she was named one of SI's most influential minorities in sports and one of ESPN Magazine's "IX to Watch." Some, including Braves GM John Schuerholz, think she could be MLB's first female GM. [More inside]

posted by jeffmshaw to baseball at 09:49 PM - 14 comments