Greatest Teams:
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel took a poll of sports writers and broadcasters to see who they thought was the greatest sports team of all. You can't say the paper rigged the voting because the Green Bay Packers didn't win (they placed third). In defending the New York Yankees' selection Frank Deford said, "They've been around so long. You can make arguments for teams in certain eras, but the Yankees go for the last 80 years."

posted by shackbar to general at 06:44 PM - 4 comments

Sorenstam in the Colonial?:
Sounds good to me. I'd prefer her over the woman who will play the Greater Hartford by qualifying on the shorter women's tees.

posted by shackbar to golf at 01:45 AM - 14 comments

Sports Computer Language Unveiled :
For all you XML sports geeks, SportsML should help websites and newspapers satisfy our stat cravings better.

posted by shackbar to general at 03:07 AM - 3 comments

Is Favre indestructible?:
Favre may be hurt (it's only a sprain), but it brings up his incredible streak of starting 164 strait games. Michael Wilbon calls it "Ripkenesque" and writes that it's "maybe even more impressive than that, to take the beating he's taken without ever missing a start in all that time."

posted by shackbar to football at 04:31 PM - 7 comments

Cards Pitcher Strikes SF Fan:
A great win is slightly tarred by a jerk who "was pounding on the bus, making obscene gestures and yelling profanities at players and their families."

posted by shackbar to baseball at 12:57 AM - 3 comments

Why put it like this?:
This is from a Packers' press release:

The Green Bay Packers have signed wide receiver Corey Parchman to the practice squad, GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman announced Thursday. The 6-foot, 191-pound Parchman replaces wide receiver Devin Lewis, who has been terminated.

"Terminated?" What, did Mike Sherman off him and dump the body into the Fox River? Couldn't they just say Lewis was cut from the practice squad?

posted by shackbar to football at 11:50 PM - 2 comments

Is Tice Toast?:
Minnesota's season is turning into an embarassing debacle. Coach Tice can't motivate his team or control his players. Will he survive the season? I give him a 40% chance of staying.

I don't feel bad because I despise the Vikings. I hate them more than I hate the Bears, but last night's game was embarassing.

posted by shackbar to football at 01:25 AM - 11 comments

Not Old Pat!!:
According to the Packers, Pat Summerall will do play-by-play for the Pack-Panther game Sunday. I thought he retired after last season. He's hasn't been good in 10+ years. I'll be turning up the radio for this game.

posted by shackbar to football at 12:09 AM - 7 comments

Randy Moss on fan support:

I've been booed before. I just shake it off. But from a team standpoint, if we're hearing our fans boo, then that means that they're not behind us. And being home in the Metrodome, they've got to be behind us 100 percent, through thick and thin. If we win, be behind us. If we lose, be behind us.

Doesn't that require playing hard on every play. On a few of those Culpepper interceptions it looked like Moss was loafing around.

posted by shackbar to football at 03:46 AM - 8 comments

Teams in need of kickers:
GB's Ryan Longwell is safe with his job, but I'm sure there are other kickers (San Fran's Cortez) worrying about a 10,000 lb replacement. Longwell joked, "I can't imagine many guys would actually rush his kicks because they'd be scared of the implications."

posted by shackbar to football at 12:17 AM - 2 comments

Why not to have a rapper as your sports agent:
Uber-agent, Leigh Steinberg got Ricky Williams an improved contract with the Dolphins. But check out this comparison between Williams' pay and that of Edgerin James:

In his first two NFL seasons, Williams earned $10 million, including a $9 million signing bonus. Indianapolis running back Edgerrin James, another 1999 first-round pick represented by Steinberg, earned $20 million during the same period.

I don't think Master P will be getting many calls from other NFL players.

posted by shackbar to football at 11:43 PM - 5 comments

Fire him:
Milwaukee Brewers farm director Greg Riddoch should lose his job just for saying something this stupid:

Fans just have to be patient. It took the Minnesota Twins about eight years to get there. Everybody looks at their team and says, 'All of a sudden they've got all these good young players.' Well, it didn't happen all of a sudden. I coached third base for Tampa Bay in 1998 and '99 and they got their tails kicked. But now, four years later, they've got an awfully nice looking team.

Based on the latest standings, the only team with more losses than the Brewers are the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Better revenue sharing can't help a team that is run by idiots.

posted by shackbar to baseball at 11:28 PM - 3 comments

58-1: That's the USA record in international play with NBA players now that Argentina beat them. Poor George Karl. He suffered through a season where his Milwaukee Bucks imploded. Now, he's known as the coach that couldn't win with pros. If the USA fails to win the gold, look to David Stern to make sure the top-flight players (i.e. Kobe and Shaq) play in the Olympics in Athens in 2004

posted by shackbar to basketball at 09:17 PM - 5 comments

Arrington responds to critics:
The CBS sports reporters has no qualms about her pictures in FHM. Can't do a direct link because it's a Flash site, but click on the "Column" button to read her response.

posted by shackbar to general at 12:49 AM - 2 comments

Davis to retire:
Davis is a great back plagued by bad luck and bad knees. A MRI discovered that his left knee is arthritic. Even with rehabilitation there is no guarantee it will get better. Davis will be put on injured reserve on Tuesday so he can use the Broncos' Monday night game as a farewell to his fans. Mike Shanahan is looking pretty smart for keeping Gary and Anderson on the team

posted by shackbar to football at 10:54 PM - 6 comments

Players Accept Steroids Testing: This issue was a loser for the players, so they did the smart thing and accepted testing. As a result, will we see fewer home runs next year? Is Bonds' HR record unbeatable?

posted by shackbar to baseball at 12:57 AM - 9 comments

Son of the Refrigerator?: Warren Sapp probably won't touch the ball, but it will be fun watching this great athlete running over people. Hopefully, he'll remember he's on offense and won't hold.

posted by shackbar to football at 02:31 AM - 1 comment

Leslie Dunks: Finally there's a slam dunk in the WNBA. But then comes that age-old question: If a WNBA star dunks in a game, but no body sees it, does it really count?

posted by shackbar to basketball at 02:11 AM - 10 comments

How important is the Wonderlic?: Green Bay Packers first round pick Javon Walker scored a 9 on the test, yet the coaches are pleased with his ability to pick up the complex West Coast offense. Walker said he simply blew off the test, and that's why he got such a low score. How does a Wonderlic score correspond to performance? Or doesn't anyone care except at draft time?

posted by shackbar to football at 05:49 PM - 6 comments