Masters will be televised commercial-free.: Responding to pressure from the National Council of Women's Organizations to allow female membership at the Augusta National Golf Club, the Masters have chosen to save their sponsors the aggro and foot the bill themselves. According to the article, Augusta denies that they are "exclusionary," but this Atlanta Journal-Constitution article quotes club chairman Hootie Johnson as saying: "There may come a day when women will be invited to join our club, but that decision must be ours."

posted by worldcup2002 to golf at 05:27 PM - 7 comments

Strike Averted!: Surpises the hell out of me... but good for them. I haven't followed the link yet to find out the details, but discuss the deal here.

posted by Bernreuther to baseball at 11:09 AM - 13 comments

Chicks on Football was started by two high school pals who approach football news and reporting with a style that is, according to them, lighter, sexier, and more humorous. They also do a column for the equally lighthearted Sports Hollywood, where you can find a world class collection of Yogi Berra-isms. I wanted to include a Yogi quote in this post, but it's impossible to pick one; they're all so good (or bad, depending on how you look at it).

posted by iconomy to football at 08:08 PM - 0 comments

Champions League: Where the best in Europe come to play.: The groups have been drawn, and it looks like a fairly balanced distribution. The English teams (Man. U., Newcastle, Liverpool, Arsenal) fared pretty well; they were kept apart and out of "ghastly" Group G, which includes Bayern Munich and AC Milan.

posted by worldcup2002 to soccer at 06:32 PM - 12 comments

Tuesday Morning Quarterback moves to ESPN.com's Page 2. : Err...moved. In April. (Other weblogs missed the move, too; apparently the only clue was a Best of Slate post.) I've always loved reading TMQ and I hope it's just as good at ESPN.com. Alternative viewpoint: TMQ Sucks.

posted by kirkaracha to football at 05:44 PM - 4 comments

Green Bay Officially Cuts Brookins.: What an absolutely strange story...does one find Brookins at fault for going overboard? To his defense, what else could be going through a player's mind when you're asked to hand over your playbook on cut day with no explanations? Does the blame lie on Brookins, or should we find the Packers at fault for not being clear when they asked for his playbook?

posted by rosey8810 to football at 03:11 PM - 3 comments

Baseball to be dropped from the Olympic Games?: The IOC is looking at dropping both baseball and softball from the summer Olympic Games, because they are not universal enough. Also at risk are Greco-Roman wrestling, walking and the pentathlon. Likely to be added are golf and rugby union sevens.

posted by salmacis to other at 05:25 AM - 17 comments

$600 million will be lost because of a season-ending strike.: Finally, someone puts a big fat number on the strike. Also, nice round-up of the repercussions all around. (No mention of effects on players, tho.) The biggest minus, it seems, will be the deadly, if not fatal, cost it will have on the smaller teams. Is this big number a big deal or no big thing? (Will Major League Soccer pick up the advertising slack? Had to ask.)

posted by worldcup2002 to soccer at 01:39 AM - 2 comments

Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders Release Lingerie Calendar.: Undoubtedly a shot across the bow of Dallas' legendary troupe. Will the Giants and Redskins respond in the latest NFC East arms race? One can only hope.

posted by owillis to football at 04:49 PM - 6 comments

One man's solution to the MLB luxury tax issues.: Now granted that man is me, but I figured this was the best place to start an intelligent conversation about this. (Well, aside from the car message board where I originally arrogantly posted it... :) ) So far there've been no attempts at this kind of compromise, which I think is as good an idea as any I've heard so far... Now, who can sneak me into the meetings?

posted by Bernreuther to baseball at 12:01 AM - 2 comments

Wednesday night's game between the Tigers and Indians may be the last chance to hear Ernie Harwell, the legendary broadcaster who is retiring at the end of this season after a half-century at the mike. Upon the departure of Harwell, who twice had longer consecutive-game streaks than Cal Ripken Jr., only Vin Scully will be left from the days when most baseball fans watched the game with their ears.

posted by rcade to baseball at 09:39 PM - 2 comments

Fourth and goal on the two...what should you do?: A UC Berkeley economics professor does an in-depth study [35-page PDF, 2.7MB] that uses play-by-play accounts of virtually all regular season National Football League games for 1998-2000 to analyze teams' choices on fourth down.

posted by kirkaracha to football at 04:57 PM - 1 comment

Ricky Williams maintains his own website. While it may not have tons of fancy special effects, it does have an online diary and his own photos, among other things.

posted by Sister Havana to football at 02:57 PM - 5 comments

At least Randall Cunningham's debatable. But Dubya in Cooperstown? Politics aside, is there any justification for this at all?

posted by Ufez Jones to baseball at 02:50 PM - 5 comments

Is Randall Cunningham a Hall of Famer?: "The NFL MVP award is given out annually by three different entities. Cunningham won the award in 1988, 1990, and 1998—only Jim Brown, Y.A. Tittle, Johnny Unitas, and Brett Favre have been honored in as many years, and they're all in Canton or headed there."

posted by owillis to football at 01:00 PM - 5 comments

In a six-day series on the 30th anniversary of Title IX gender equity requirements, the Naples Daily News asks, "Is cheerleading a sport?"

posted by rcade to general at 07:19 AM - 10 comments

The last time De La Salle lost, the first George Bush was president. : A great profile of Bob Ladouceur, the football coach at De La Salle High School in Concord, CA. Have you ever heard of another coach with such success (non-professional level, any sport, anywhere)?

posted by msacheson to football at 03:50 PM - 7 comments

Sixty members of the LPGA tour were given a day-long seminar on enhancing their sex appeal, Chris Isidore writes in CNN Money. No word on whether Cristie Kerr attended.

posted by rcade to golf at 06:31 PM - 5 comments

Bad sports ideas.: Somethingawful.com's Photoshop Friday showcases bad sports ideas. Possibly inspired by the equally stupid, equally enjoyable game of slamball.

Note: This is pretty un-PC stuff, so don't click the link if you're easily offended. There are a couple of mentions of the developmentally disabled (among others) but there are also a few laughs here.

posted by Samsonov14 to other at 06:24 PM - 2 comments

Arthur Ashe Stadium is a disaster, possibly the worst sports venue in America.: Peter Dizikes posits that the host of the U.S. Open is the worst stadium in the country. Citing the horrible seating in the top rows (higher than Shea's worst seating), the poor placement of luxury boxes, and the fact that tennis is a more "intimate" sport. Is he right? What could be worse?

posted by Ufez Jones to tennis at 11:56 AM - 2 comments

Almost 25 years after The Punch, the on-court skull-dislodging blow by Kermit Washington that almost killed Rudy Tomjanovich, the former NBA players are becoming friends. They began speaking to each other after reading John Feinstein's upcoming book about the incident.

posted by rcade to basketball at 09:27 AM - 2 comments

755? Now that he has his money, Bonds doubts himself.:
Come on, someone is going to do it this decade. I think I'd prefer A-rod to Bonds, but 755 will fall. Baseball-Reference.com's progressive leader charts (HRs, OPS) give us some historical perspective. If they played today, would Lip Pike or Levi Meyerle have a shot?

posted by djacobs to baseball at 10:38 PM - 15 comments

"Well, this is a nice way of pegging people in the face and getting away with it." : San Francisco has two adult dodge ball leagues: San Francisco Bombardment Society and S.F. Blood Warriors. Chicago hosts the World Dodgeball Association and the National Amateur Dodgeball Association. Adults are playing, but some schools are saying dodge ball's no good for kids.

posted by kirkaracha to other at 04:33 PM - 0 comments

Meet The Mutts!: Clearly the most dissapointing team of the last 5 years. I guess until you get to my beloved Blazers. What is it with me? I mean, what team has let you down the most?

posted by djacobs to culture at 01:29 PM - 15 comments

Satans no more. : A North Dakota high school voted to stop using its 80-year-old team name, the Satans. "[The public school board president] said that while a majority of the people would like to keep the name, there is a 'significant minority' that deserve to be respected." The high school? Devils Lake.

posted by kirkaracha to culture at 08:38 AM - 8 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

Longer College Football Season : means more revenue for struggling athletic departments. But do the benefits outweigh the costs?

posted by mhaw to football at 10:52 PM - 2 comments

U.S. Open starts in five days.: Aside from the fact that it will all run on Linux, I'd like to draw everyone's attention to the seeds. The highest-ranking US men's player is Agassi at sixth (the next U.S. seed is Sampras, at 17th). In the women's event, however, the top four spots are taken by US players (Serena, Venus, Capriati, Davenport). A further sign of the decline of men's tennis in the U.S.? (And let's not forget the most important question: Where's Kournikova?)

posted by worldcup2002 to tennis at 05:11 PM - 5 comments

Neil Lennon,: who was due to captain Northern Ireland tonight, withdrew from the game after receiving death threats, which the police took very seriously indeed. His crime? being born a catholic. The French player Bixente Lizarazu has been threatened by his Basque brothers for the heinous crime of turning out for Madrid. So much for sport being a unifying force. Maybe I am naive, but I would have liked to have seen Lennons team mates just say, fuck it, we are not prepared to play under these circumstances and just go home.

posted by Fat Buddha to soccer at 03:12 PM - 5 comments

Hotdogging Just Part of the Game:

...To many blacks and Latinos, the dances and the showing off are simply no big deal. In fact, it's kind of funny. The idea that this is some self-destructive thing that ruins sportsmanship is absolutely ridiculous, as if a little dance while running the basepaths will lead to young kids' becoming Enron executives...

posted by djacobs to culture at 10:24 AM - 10 comments

Will an MLB strike have political fallout?: The year is 1994; a baseball strike is followed by a popular president, riding an expanding economy, losing control of Congress thanks to an angry tide of pessimistic voters. Now, eight years later, will a baseball strike effect the fortunes of Dubya? Could the man in the White House make populist hay by taking on the players and the owners, even though he was once an owner himself? Discuss.

posted by Cap'n Swing to baseball at 09:50 AM - 1 comment

Red card withdrawn after the game.: Birmingham's Aliou Cisse got sent off in Sunday's game vs Arsenal. Television replays showed there was clearly no contact between him and the allegedly fouled Ashley Cole. The referee agreed, after a post-match television review, and has withdrawn the second yellow card, saving Cisse a one-game suspension. Now, this is a fine decision, especially for Birmingham fans (even if they did still end up playing with 10 men and losing the game 2-0), but is the Premiership heading down the road to in-game video reviews by officials? How often have video reviews resulted in sending-offs being overturned? Also, in this case, should Ashley Cole get a yellow for "simulation"?

posted by worldcup2002 to soccer at 02:44 PM - 13 comments

Richmond Flowers, who has become one of the most famous practice squadders in NFL history thanks to HBO's Hard Knocks, has been cut by the Cowboys. The weekly documentary series, which follows a different team in preseason each year, is a funny, intriguing, revealing look at training camp. Last week's episode included a discussion among several players about how much a player should be fined for soiling himself on the field.

posted by rcade to football at 02:25 PM - 8 comments

Too good to be true! : Shawn Kemp is forfeiting half his salary and will be waived by the Blazers. I'm too excited to proofread. Could Burnitz be next?

posted by djacobs to extreme at 02:03 AM - 8 comments

"'So, is it true that if a woman puts K-Y jelly in her vagina, it'll, like, burn up a condom?'': When the NFL gets all the rookies together for their preseason and pre-career symposium, both hilarity and seriousness ensue.

posted by vito90 to football at 02:48 PM - 14 comments

Travis Lee: Philly Fans Low Class.: Philadelphia first baseman blasts sellout Vet Stadium croud for booing ex-Phillie Scott Rolen as he opened the convertible door for Hall of Famer Harry Kalas. The announcer was honored in a ceremony at the Vet before the Phils-Cards game for his induction into Cooperstown.

posted by rosey8810 to baseball at 09:19 AM - 7 comments

I just got back from 2 grueling days of heat and noise and five dollar sodas courtesy of the Philly hosted X-Games. Major giveaway booty was to be had in the form of free cds, t-shirts, stickers, key chains, jewelry, magazines, baseball caps, towels, and all the chocolate milk your tummy could hold. My son's highlights? The music, and the big truck that was filled with a bazillion televisions, each one hooked up to a PS2. My highlight? Skateboard vert doubles.

posted by iconomy to extreme at 03:38 PM - 4 comments

Let's Go Strike!: A day after the players union set a strike date of Aug. 30, fans at Shea Stadium did not seem to mind that the season could end in two weeks... BRING IT ON! Though skateboarders have the same issues (are little leaguers next?) and A-rod is worth the money, George Vescey breaks down the disaster that is baseball's upcoming strike, and Murray Chass reminds us (again?) of the Expos history.

posted by djacobs to baseball at 12:21 AM - 4 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

I have long considererd Roy Keane to be a violent thug: and the linked article seems to agree, though the author suggests there is a general malaise of over competetiveness in the English game. I admired Keanes outburst against the prawn sandwich brigade and his ghost, Eamon Dunphy, interviewed in The Observer insists Keane is misrepresented in the media and that he is a sensitive and honest bloke. I still think he is a thug; the tackle on Haaland may well have ended his career. I hope he gets a long ban. I hope the legal system deals with him as they would anyone else who indulged in premeditated acts of extreme violence.

posted by Fat Buddha to soccer at 07:43 PM - 4 comments

The English Premier League: begins today! The link is a great preview of the upcoming season and each team. If you're in America and have Fox Sports World set those Tivos to "Premiership Soccer" to get the games. This is the year I pick my team (instead of lazily following Arsenal), any advice?

posted by elsoltano to soccer at 09:41 AM - 8 comments

"The Football Project: has three primary activities. The first is to collect play-by-play accounts of all games in pro football history; the second is to convert those accounts into a proprietary scoring format; and the third is to digitize that information to enable advanced statistical analysis." By the same people who did the Baseball Prospectus. [via MetaFilter]

posted by kirkaracha to football at 02:23 PM - 2 comments

Baseball players union votes to set strike date to August 30: Chicago Cubs Sammy Sosa "... We have to do what we've got to do. I think that's the only way we can get something done.''

posted by patrickje to baseball at 12:20 PM - 16 comments

You think these owners are corrupt?: Newspapers weren't even allowed to publish standings in the 1880s!

Dear Sirs: I am of the sound opinion that those who would attempt the numeration of their team’s victories are missing the point of the very existence of base ball leagues. It is to get out of doors into the fresh air and buy refreshments for oneself and one’s friends.

B. Mann
Bristol, Conn.

posted by djacobs to baseball at 11:44 AM - 3 comments

The Jacksonville-based Winn Dixie has agreed to buy all unsold Jaguars tickets this season to prevent TV blackouts. The commitment, which may cost the company as much as $1.4 million, is only the second season-long ticket-buying deal in NFL history.

posted by rcade to football at 08:04 AM - 9 comments

Muammar Gadafy, the football fan.: Having been shunned by the international community for years, Libya's dictator Muammar Gadafy is now making headlines again, this time through buying up football clubs. He's already bought a 5% stake in Juventus and is now poised to take over greek club PAOK Salonika.

posted by jipe to soccer at 03:38 AM - 3 comments

"It bothers me greatly to say this, but there is very little journalism breaking out in the press tent at a golf tournament.": McPaper’s Christine Brennan mounts her high horse and lambastes the media for not hounding Tiger Woods on the issue of female membership at elite private golf clubs (specifically Augusta National). The Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Dan Barriero takes the opposite view: "There is also the disingenuousness of the lecturers, who do not simply demand that Tiger take a stand on numerous issues of the day. They want him to take a certain position -- their position -- on those issues." Should Tiger (or any famous athelete) be forced to take a public stand on whatever issue currently has the media's attention?

posted by jmpeterson to golf at 04:23 PM - 4 comments

Greatest NFL Teams of All Time?: I would argue that the Dolphins' perfect season trumps an admittedly great Bears team, but I'm glad to see the '91 Skins get some props as some tend to overlook that season (understandable considering the crap following it)

posted by owillis to football at 01:09 AM - 7 comments

Your gf or wife isn't interested in sports, and complains if you spend too much time watching? Just point out how hot some of the players are, and don't forget to mention that Derek Jeter used to date Mariah Carey. Women love that stuff.

posted by iconomy to culture at 09:15 PM - 5 comments

CBS Sports' Jill Arrington posed for FHM: magazine. Sports news columnist Rudy Martzke says "It's obvious that Arrington, 30, who is married, has dropped the facade and embraced using her good looks for personal promotion, hardly the preferred attribute for someone trying to be accepted as a serious sports journalist."

posted by owillis to culture at 04:46 PM - 14 comments

So much for sanity.: Although the MLB players elected not to set a hard strike date earlier this week, the Washington Post reports that the strike date will be set to August 30th if no progress is made in the talks by this Friday. One imagines the leak is purposeful, to put some pressure on the owners without actually taking the dangerous step of choosing a date.

posted by Bryant to baseball at 01:01 PM - 4 comments

USA in FIFA top 10!: For the first time ever, the US men's soccer team is ranked one of the top 10. The full rankings are here. btw, we tied for ninth with Italy. Another reason soccer's star will continue to rise in the US? (SpoFi inside joke: can it go from no. 11 most popular sport to no. 10? I think it will rival baseball in just a couple of generations.)

posted by worldcup2002 to soccer at 12:12 PM - 6 comments

Tee Martin, the Tennessee quarterback who lead his school to a national championship in 1998, has told the school he took cash while playing, according to today's Tennessean.

posted by rcade to football at 10:16 AM - 0 comments

How many HRs would Ted Williams have hit: had he not gone off to war? Maybe as many as 700.

posted by JawaKing to baseball at 11:04 PM - 6 comments

The Asian Football Confederation Champions League: kicked off today with $500,000 for the winners. Hoping to boost Asian club performances, and emulate the prestige of their European counterparts are teams such as Al Wihdat of Jordan and Lebanon’s Al Nejmeh, DPMM from Brunei, Petrokimia Putra and Persita Tangerang of Indonesia, Geylang United and Home United from Singapore, Thailand’s BEC Tero Sasana and Osotspa and Saigon Port (Vietnam), not to mention the powerhouses from Saudi Arabia, China, Japan and Korea. Anybody interested?

posted by worldcup2002 to soccer at 07:46 PM - 3 comments

Roy Keane on self-destruct?: Keane's admission that he deliberately injured Alf-Inge Haaland in April 2001 follows a reopening of World Cup wounds with Mick McCarthy, and revelations of a drinking problem and earlier quit threats at United. With their captain's autobiography putting him in line for a ban from the game, and their latest 35m-pound signing Ferdinand struggling to overcome an ankle sprain, is United's season about to go off the rails before the first ball's been kicked?

posted by worldcup2002 to soccer at 01:56 PM - 10 comments

Little Chuckie...: Yea, I know it's still pre-season but I'm wondering: "The Bucs paid a hefty price (four high draft picks, $8 million) to pry Gruden -- at 38 the NFL's youngest coach -- from the Raiders in hopes of finally assembling an offense to complement a championship-caliber defense". Is this team simply cursed or can this 'man of a thousand (grimacing) faces' take them up a notch or two? And what is it about little Chuckie that endears him to so many fans? I mean the dude has a cult following!

posted by Mack Twain to football at 09:22 AM - 2 comments

Add pep to your step : by jogging with a parachute attached to your back. The extra resistence builds strength in your legs, plus you're set if you accidentally run off a cliff.

posted by kirkaracha to other at 08:32 AM - 2 comments

MLB's Enos "Country" Slaughter, dead at 86,: is probably best remembered for one of baseball's 25 greatest moments: a "Mad Dash" that scored the tiebreaking run from first base in Game 7 of the 1946 World Series. The Hall of Famer was born just up the road in Roxboro, NC, but the Durham paper, whose sports editor actually discovered Slaughter in the early 1930s, had only a tiny obit today. Why? Perhaps it's those lingering accusations that Slaughter "attempted to influence the Cardinal players to go on strike to protest Jackie Robinson's presence on the Dodgers. Slaughter vehemently denied any involvement, as well as the commonly repeated charge (by Ken Burns, among others) that he intentionally spiked Robinson in an August 1947 game. The Miami Herald obit covers that incident thoroughly.

posted by mediareport to baseball at 07:10 PM - 5 comments

John Stockton will be back this season.: But does anybody care? Are the Jazz relevant? They aren't fun to watch, so does that make them dead-weight to the NBA marketing machine?

Or am I just tired of hearing Bill Walton talk about how 'this is the way the game is supposed to be played'?

posted by jmevius to basketball at 02:40 PM - 13 comments

These dumb-asses could be costing me money.: Slate's Hugo Lindgren owns stock in the Orlando Predators arena football team [Nasdaq: PRED] Since the article was published, the stock's climbed from $1.699/share to $1.80/share.

posted by kirkaracha to football at 02:15 PM - 1 comment

George Steinbrenner lectures small-market teams: on Baseball economics.

posted by owillis to baseball at 11:24 AM - 33 comments

Though he has more of Ted Williams' DNA than anyone outside of an Arizona cryonics facility, John Henry Williams has ended his fledgling baseball career without a single hit.

posted by rcade to baseball at 04:51 PM - 2 comments

600. 756?

posted by rcade to baseball at 07:55 AM - 10 comments

Replace the umpire with a machine?: "If they get this system working differently than it is, and every pitch is called by the system and called accurately, how are you going to resist the pressure to have the system call the balls and strikes? I don't think you're going to be able to do it."

posted by owillis to baseball at 10:38 PM - 6 comments

Which political party does your favorite baseball team support? : opensecrets.org tracks the political contributions of Major League Baseball teams. [a cross-pollination from MetaFilter]

posted by kirkaracha to baseball at 11:33 AM - 2 comments

MISL Online Journals.: You have to love indoor soccer. I grew up cheering for the Baltimore Blast when very few people cared about the game (actually a lot of people continue to ignore the game). Hear from the players themselves. Think blog.

posted by rabi to soccer at 10:29 AM - 4 comments

Loserville no more.: Confirming something the passionate fans around town already knew, The Sporting News declares Beantown the Best Sports City 2002. For a while there, it was beginning to look a lot like the glory days of 1986 -- the Bruins and Celtics in post-season action, Patriots in the Superbowl.

Now if the Red Sox can just put some wins together...

posted by jerseygirl to culture at 07:42 PM - 12 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

Alcohol and sports?: Apparently there's a link between the two. Who knew? According to a Scarborough Research report, there's a correlation between what you drink and what you watch. I wish there was a more complete report - maybe someone else can ferret out more information.

For the record, there's nothing better than a 30 pack of Busch Light and an NHL playoff game.

posted by Samsonov14 to culture at 07:20 PM - 5 comments

Keith Olbermann won't shut up.: First he insisted Reds manager Jim Bowden be fired for his Sept. 11 comments--and admittedly, they were far from appropriate. But now he's excoriating another Bowden--Bobby of FSU--for adopting "Let's Roll" as the slogan of his football team. I think this time Olbermann is out of line--or maybe he just has a thing against men named Bowden.

posted by kjh to culture at 07:03 PM - 8 comments

A game-used Corey Dillon jockstrap is being auctioned on EBay, the second time one of his undergarments has been made available to the public.

posted by rcade to general at 11:17 AM - 3 comments

Knicks pursuing Van Exel?: The article states the Mavericks haven't been interested in trading Nick Van Exel (their sixth man) for Kurt Thomas and Charlie Ward (throw-in).

Am I crazy or does this trade sound like a no-brainer for the Mavs? And what the hell is NY thinking? Are they trying to get worse and poorer? Are they intentionally trying to take on salary cap space?

posted by jmevius to basketball at 10:54 AM - 10 comments

Rocker's newest target: "Fruitcakes": Baseball's favorite whipping boy is here to take some heat off of Bud Selig. He says he was provoked, witnesses say he wasn't. Personally, I think he handled himself okay, could have done better, but when your track record is as piss-poor as Johnny's you don't get cut any slack in this situation.

posted by vito90 to baseball at 08:58 AM - 5 comments

"This one's in the refrigerator." Weblogger Phil Wolff collects the responses of Ken Layne, Peter Merholz, and other webloggers with Los Angeles ties on the death of Chick Hearn.

posted by rcade to basketball at 08:42 AM - 0 comments

Another Shaq inspired blockbuster...: Dikembe couldn't get it done for the Sixers, now it seems the aging pivot is having a shot at Shaq (and the title) with the Eastern Champ Nets. But is he worth it? The Sixers thought he could bring them a (better shot at the) championship - but that didn't pan out. So why will it with the Nets? I'd bet that it doesn't.

The question is really is this a case of semantics? Is it futile, can anyone stop Shaq and would the be better off ditching Van Horn for someone younger with an upside? Does anyone care about the Nets...

posted by brove to basketball at 02:51 AM - 4 comments

Yankee dominance is not what's hurting baseball. : In fact, having the Yankees on top has traditionally been good for baseball. Allen Barra explains why the Bronx Bombers, ballooning payroll and all, aren't to blame for baseball's woes after all.

posted by ajax to baseball at 09:33 PM - 8 comments

"The kids today, they know me from the video game, not from football on TV." : Madden bombs on Monday Night Football. Did'ja watch?

posted by kirkaracha to football at 09:17 PM - 12 comments

Sports Business Daily.: All the business news behind the sports news, because after all, it's all business, isn't it? vito90 is gonna love this (if it isn't already a daily read).

posted by worldcup2002 to general at 07:01 PM - 4 comments

Amazing! Bud Selig can't even cook the books propery.: Just as corporate America was fudging the numbers to manufacture fictional profits, it's now alleged that Bud did the same in reverse -- to magnify losses . Does this guy do anything correctly?

posted by herc to baseball at 05:49 PM - 2 comments

Blazers and Spurs swap role players.: How do Antonio Daniels and Charles Smith fit in on the Blazers. Does Whitsitt just get bored easily?

Does Portland have a plan to win at all?

posted by jmevius to basketball at 01:06 PM - 5 comments

Darrell Porter, the 1982 World Series MVP for the St. Louis Cardinals, was found dead in a suburban Kansas City park yesterday afternoon. More on Porter's career and life after baseball are available on DarrellPorter.Com.

posted by rcade to baseball at 10:21 AM - 1 comment

The Quake Report: is a blog by and about the California Quake, a women's pro football team in their second season.

posted by djacobs to football at 09:19 AM - 1 comment

Among the believers: "She is dressed in costume as Queen Titan, with a crown and a blue and red cape. This is not a confession, and the gathering is not a 12-step program. If Queen Titan is not exactly bragging, she is at least happily describing her life and the supreme place of the Tennessee Titans in it, and if the people she's describing it to are not exactly envious, they at least understand just where she's coming from. They, too, live for their teams. " You gotta love the absurdity of The Hogettes...

posted by owillis to football at 12:51 AM - 1 comment

Bud Selig insists the Twins' 17-game AL Central lead is an "aberration": and suggests a new stadium to solve their financial woes--woes which Selig claimed would render the Twins unable to compete this season. Meanwhile, Major League Baseball plans to celebrate its most aberrant moments at this year's World Series.

posted by kjh to baseball at 11:46 PM - 6 comments

Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn has died from injuries suffered after a fall at his home. Hearn, who began his work for the team in 1961, coined the terms "air ball," "slam dunk," "no harm, no foul," and many other Chickisms.

posted by rcade to basketball at 09:48 PM - 4 comments

Slamball: the ultimate spectator sport? it aint no rollerball, but then again, death in sporting events hasn't been popular in a few years. your thoughts? if you have no idea, check it out. The best thing on TNN, ever!

posted by garfield to general at 12:10 PM - 6 comments

It's just not cricket.: In an effort to ingratiate myself over here, (and with the nipper) I thought I would try and learn a bit about baseball. I found out that even the very best only average one hit every three balls. Jesus, the thing doesn't even bounce, every ball is a full toss and still most of the buggers miss. It's no wonder the game is in crisis.

posted by Fat Buddha to baseball at 05:19 PM - 7 comments

Building better marathoners by reengineering neuro-mechanics, blood chemistry, and brain waves.: Wired magazine's latest cover story documents Nike's efforts to help US marathoners' not suck wind (figuratively and literally), by having them live in houses that simulate high-altitude oxygen levels, train at sea level, run on vibrating platforms and get plugged into a host of machinery and software, including Russian brain-wave programs and high-frequency neuro-muscular stimulators. Will all this geekery succeed in giving the US some Kenya-level marathoners? Or just over-engineered losers? Let the punditry begin!

posted by worldcup2002 to extreme at 07:03 PM - 2 comments

The MLS All Star Game: , played in a rain soaked field, pitted the US Men's National Team (sort of) against the best of the MLS (sort of). Results and more inside...

posted by elsoltano to soccer at 05:35 PM - 2 comments

The New Hall Of Famers: Jim Kelly's one of the best QBs to never win a Superbowl, and I'm just slightly biased in my appraisal of George Allen - but are there some people you think should be in the hall that aren't (Art Monk, hello???)?

posted by owillis to football at 01:35 PM - 6 comments

English Premier League 2002-2003: begins in two weeks! The oddsmakers say Man U to win it, and WBA, Birmingham and Bolton most likely to be relegated. What do you make of the odds? And where will you get your EPL news? BBC? Soccernet? Where?

posted by worldcup2002 to soccer at 11:21 AM - 9 comments

Soccer robots coming to kick our asses.: The RoboCup Initiative's plan is to develop "a team of fully autonomous humanoid robot soccer players [possibly including LEGO soccer robots] that can win against the human world soccer champion team" by 2050. Maybe they should enter the Federation of International Robot-soccer. If you don't want to wait, you can go up against a table soccer robot. Or kick it old school with ASCII robot soccer. Or suck up to our new robosoccer overlords by building your own soccer buddy, "with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions."

posted by kirkaracha to soccer at 10:12 PM - 2 comments

Say it Ain't So, Wayne.: Mario, M.J., now Gretzky?! Don't know if this is a great idea or not, but rumors of the Great One's return to the ice are starting to pop up, thanks to Roenick and others...

posted by rosey8810 to hockey at 04:20 PM - 7 comments

This is not your father's Pong. Two Shockwave games that model the physics of table tennis pretty well: Ping Pong and Ping Pong 2. Not new, but still good ol' addictive fun.

posted by worldcup2002 to other at 12:50 PM - 0 comments

Stuck in Second: Slate's Hugo Lindgren says that the reason that teams like the Atlanta Braves, Utah Jazz, and Buffalo Bills don't win championships is that they won't make the necessary adjustments to their almost-championship teams to get them to the fabled next level.

posted by kirkaracha to general at 11:59 AM - 8 comments

"Mobsters on ice." (check out the last sentence of this article): Russia's Olympic ice skating champs want to sue unnamed US networks for using their pictures in reporting the indictment of a Russian Mafioso accused of trying to fix two ice skating events at this year's Utah Winter games. Surprised nobody's posted anything on this recent flap. There's a rich vein to mine here, folks: Russian mobster indicted in Italy (oh, the irony!) in connection with Olympics (international intrigue!). And, now that the mob's involved, can ice skating finally be considered a real sport?

posted by worldcup2002 to other at 11:50 AM - 2 comments

Conservatives for labor unions?: Wow, baseball is truly weird.

posted by JawaKing to baseball at 10:47 AM - 5 comments

Lee Corso on the current perception in college football of the SEC: "The national view is, the SEC cheats. The SEC's going to get a bad reputation, like the Southwest Conference got 10, 15 years ago. You know what happened to them?" (via sports weblogger Ben Maller).

posted by rcade to football at 10:34 AM - 1 comment

Bowden must go,: according to Keith Olbermann, because of his words and his lack of actions in the aftermath of his September 11th reference. Olbermann says, "One feels that had Bowden chosen to stand up and breathe life into these flat words, the apology might have seemed sincere, the trespass understood, and the reaction limited to some brief suspension or leave of absence. Instead, Bowden has compounded cruelty with cowardice." Like all the other managers Olbermann mentions, should Bowden give up his job?

posted by rebeuthl to baseball at 09:39 AM - 12 comments

Y'all ready for this?: Baseball World Series Animated Dancing Page. This might have to be our substitute this year.

posted by kirkaracha to baseball at 06:45 PM - 2 comments

Pete Mitchell is rejoining the Jacksonville Jaguars, returning to a Tom Coughlin-led team at a time when many former Jags like Mike Hollis are happy to escape. Can Coughlin's Tom Landry-like approach to coaching still work in the NFL?

posted by rcade to football at 06:15 PM - 6 comments

Monster deal for Ray Lewis.: $50 million plus a $19 million signing bonus for a linebacker. Is this the kind of money LT would be getting if he played nowadays or is this another miscalulation by Billick (Tony Banks, Elvis Grbac)?

posted by owillis to football at 01:09 PM - 9 comments

Another weekly sports magazine: as Baseball Weekly becomes Sports Weekly. With ESPN, SI, Sporting News and the web - is there really much of a need?

posted by owillis to culture at 12:39 PM - 9 comments

Data Visualization for Strategic Decision Making (pdf).: Geek out, sports fans. What do you baseball statisticians make of the experimental design shown on pages 7-9, and especially the information display on pages 15 and 16? Is this cool or what? Wouldn't something like this (even tho it was used as a metaphor for a pharmaceutical project "stop or go" decision aid) make for some cool applications? I'm talking about visual decision-making tools that help a group of people to select players in real-time. This could be used by managers in the dugout, or sportscasters (and broadcast for audiences to see), or fans in the bleachers, or fantasy league managers, or even video game players. And this could be easily applied to other sports such as basketball and football.

posted by worldcup2002 to baseball at 09:54 AM - 2 comments

Right or wrong, the law's the law.: An Anne Arundel County, Maryland, high school is replacing its non-teacher "emergency" lacrosse coach, who over five seasons has a 74-20 record and three trips to the championship game, because state law gives precedence to teachers. He's being replaced by a teacher who's also a lacrosse coach. (Last year, 46% of Anne Arundel County's j.v. and varsity coaches were emergency coaches.) Should the priority be to follow the law, or win games?

posted by kirkaracha to general at 08:55 AM - 6 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

China wants NFL games, : probably sometime around the 2008 Summer Olympics.

posted by kirkaracha to football at 01:01 AM - 2 comments