BCS officials reject playoff proposal: Bowl Championship Series officials rejected a plan Wednesday to turn the much-criticized system for deciding a national champ into a four-team playoff. The BCS format will remain the same until at least the 2014 season.

posted by smithnyiu to football at 06:20 PM - 24 comments

Chelsea beat Liverpool, set up final battles with Man Utd for Premier League and Champions League: Chelsea broke their Liverpool and Champions League jinx with a 3-2 (4-3 aggregate) win to move into the final against Premier League leaders Manchester United. Has this ever happened before, where the same top two domestic teams (they are tied on points but United has far superior goal difference with two matches to go) are also in the Champions League final?

posted by worldcup2002 to soccer at 04:25 PM - 17 comments

Mavericks begin rebuilding from the top: Dallas fires coach Avery Johnson after another playoff disaster.

posted by graymatters to basketball at 02:39 PM - 17 comments

Rangers forward Avery Hospitalized: Sean Avery suffers a lacerated spleen in Tuesday's loss to the Pens and is out of the playoffs.

posted by captaincavegirl to hockey at 12:11 PM - 19 comments

Is the Kentucky Derby a problem in racing?: Frank Deford counts all the ways the signature event in American horse racing is screwed up.

posted by bobfoot to other at 11:11 PM - 5 comments

Salary vs Performance: "What baseball teams are spending their money well, and how does it change over the course of the season?"

posted by scully to baseball at 08:40 PM - 5 comments

Bionic athletes and the future of sports: A look at the future of sports -- a world where prosthetics can enhance athletic skill beyond current human capabilities:

posted by catfish to culture at 02:41 PM - 8 comments

Transvestite hooker tries to extort money from Ronaldo (the original) in Rio: Ronaldo buys three hookers and gets unexpected packages.

posted by Texan_lost_in_NY to soccer at 01:16 PM - 19 comments

Georges Laraque goes more than the extra mile: The rough-and-tumble tough guy from the Pittsburgh Penguins shows it isn't all about the fights and the spotlight.

posted by wfrazerjr to hockey at 11:52 AM - 4 comments

The Best Homerun Story Ever

posted by apoch to baseball at 10:27 AM - 33 comments

10 spectacles of sport to see before you die.: Including the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, Grand Sumo Tournaments, and the Kentucky Derby.

posted by BoKnows to general at 10:20 AM - 15 comments

Clemens reportedly had affair with country star: Roger Clemens has another potential scandal he's already denying. He reportedly had a affair with country singer Mindy McCready in a decade-long relationship that began when she was 15 and Clemens was a 28-year old with the Red Sox. This could be especially damaging as Clemens' defamation suit against Brian McNamee proceeds.

posted by dyams to baseball at 09:54 AM - 167 comments

Force makes history as first female Funny Car winner: Another woman winning in a major auto sport. I think it is even better since she beat her dad in the finals. Congratulations Ashley.

posted by dbt302 to auto racing at 07:56 AM - 12 comments

A Special Story: Caleb Campbell Comes to Detroit with a Love for Football and for Serving His Country: The Lions final choice in this year’s draft may have drawn as much attention as their first. Detroit selected safety Caleb Campbell out of Army as their second of two seventh-round picks, creating a stir at the site of the NFL Draft: Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

posted by BornIcon to football at 06:32 AM - 10 comments

"This fella, Ronaldo, he's a cod": RTE's TV pundits show they really don't like Cristiano Ronaldo (via). Why does he seem to polarise opinion in a way that other players don't?

posted by Fence to soccer at 03:44 AM - 29 comments

This is my #1 draft pick...: Well maybe a little lower than first. Size, strength, aggressiveness, quickness. With a little help on his technique, he could be an excellent offensive lineman.

posted by canstusdis to football at 10:11 PM - 24 comments

- The Big Hurt is back in the Bay Area — and it's as if he never left -: Less than a week after being released by Toronto, Frank Thomas is back in Oakland.

posted by Tinman to baseball at 05:25 PM - 6 comments

Pacman gives Dallas Cowboys a dual threat:: This is what Pacman Jones can bring to the Dallas Cowboys on the field if he plays in 2008: A playmaker on defense as a cornerback and on special teams.

posted by BornIcon to football at 12:11 PM - 41 comments

Pink Balls: used for the first time in cricket. A trial to see if a single type of ball is suitable for all forms of the game.

posted by owlhouse to other at 11:37 PM - 15 comments

Chiefs trade Jared Allen to Minnesota:: League leading sack specialist Jared Allen has been traded to Minnesota for first and third round draft picks.

posted by Tinman to football at 11:36 AM - 22 comments

NHL Playoffs Pick 'Em, round 1 results.: Plus round 2 rules inside.

posted by NoMich to fantasy at 11:26 AM - 18 comments

The Ten Worst Number One Overall Picks: A look back at the surefire picks that weren't.

posted by Ying Yang Mafia to football at 06:11 PM - 43 comments

Cheerleader death renews calls for increased safety steps.: "Figures show 50 percent of injuries to young women in high school athletics are from cheerleading," [state Rep. Peter J. Koutoujian, chairman of the Public Health Oversight Committee] said. "These girls don’t wear pads, and they’re pushing the boundaries at every turn. While the boys' sports, contact sports, get all the attention, there's a great deal of injuries these young women endure."

posted by worldcup2002 to other at 05:50 PM - 30 comments

MMA Fantasy Draft: If every fighter in the world was suddenly declared a free agent, what order would they be selected in?

posted by tron7 to boxing at 12:56 PM - 10 comments

Perfect?: Despite Super Bowl loss, 18-1 football team wants "19-0" trademarks

posted by BoKnows to football at 11:00 AM - 53 comments

Does speed kill?: A thorough analysis of PitchFx data reveals some interesting things about fastball speed.

posted by yerfatma to baseball at 07:20 AM - 15 comments

Jays release Frank Thomas: : After a slow start, and a dispute over benching the aging star, the Blue Jays release Frank Thomas

posted by Tinman to baseball at 11:28 PM - 52 comments

Danica Patrick Wins IndyCar Race in Japan: Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history Sunday, taking the Indy Japan 300 when leader Helio Castroneves was forced to pit for fuel in the final laps. The 26-year-old driver won in her 50th IndyCar start. "She's rocketed herself to the top end of the roll call for most successful female racing drivers ever," writes Gemma Briggs. "The last significant victory was probably Michele Mouton's World Rally Championship win ... way back in 1981."

posted by rcade to auto racing at 08:59 AM - 21 comments

Have we returned to the days of 'Gladiators'?: The ice at Montreal's Bell Centre, home of the Canadiens, will be replaced tonight by an eight-sided, chain-link cage that will hold two incredibly fit men using an arsenal of fighting skills and raw violence to pummel the other into submission. Watching the men in the cage - their muscles clenched and red-faced with adrenalin - it is easy to see the comparison to the blood sport of ancient Rome.Mixed martial arts, and especially UFC, the largest purveyor of the sport, is moving from cult interest into the mainstream. Tickets to tonight's event sold out within a minute. CBS is to begin airing fights in prime time next month.

posted by tommytrump to culture at 12:31 PM - 62 comments

Billy Beane Gets Into Football: And wants to find out if sabermetrics can be applied to the English Premier League. Will Moneyball work in the beautiful game?

posted by owlhouse to soccer at 09:08 AM - 2 comments

Octopus swinging by Al Sobotka will result in $10,000 fine.: "Because matter flies off the octopus and gets on the ice when he does it." :(

posted by adampsyche to hockey at 09:05 AM - 10 comments

Isiah Permanently Ejected: In a move long wished for by fans, the Knicks finally admit to dumbest mistake ever and fire Thomas.

posted by irunfromclones to basketball at 06:35 PM - 9 comments

Does Evan Longoria's new contract : indicate a change in approach to cost certainty for baseball management?

posted by yerfatma to baseball at 03:10 PM - 4 comments

Michael Westbrook gets his roll on: After a miserable career and a miserable life in the NFL, former Washington Redskins and Cincy Bengals wide receiver has found joy in training for elite status in Brazilian jujitsu.

posted by wfrazerjr to football at 10:30 AM - 2 comments

Tejada tells team he’s 33, instead of 31.: Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada told the team he’s actually 33, two years older than he’s listed in the club’s media guide and other baseball records after being shown a copy of his birth certificate by ESPN.

posted by BoKnows to baseball at 10:44 PM - 28 comments

Top 10 Unbreakable Sports Records: Whenever the inevitable debate arises among sports fans concerning the record that is the least likely to ever be broken, many people are quick to cite Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak. But there are many others...

posted by BoKnows to general at 06:59 PM - 35 comments

School team hit for 66 runs in two innings: Opponents Shunshukan were officially credited with a 9-0 victory, giving the scoreline a tinge of respectability for the luckless Kawamoto school.

posted by BoKnows to baseball at 06:17 PM - 10 comments

NBA Playoffs Pool, anyone?

posted by Ufez Jones to fantasy at 05:28 PM - 20 comments

Basketball team resists Saudi restrictions on female athletes.: These Saudi women are going to play basketball, by gum, and there's nothing you can do about it. Zahed, who prays regularly and wears a head scarf even when outside Saudi Arabia, said that nothing in Islam bans women from sports. "Our society just has to get used to it," she said. "It's not yet normal for them to see women playing sports. But times are changing, and they have to start accepting it." (There's even a video of them playing.)[via]

posted by NoMich to culture at 12:48 PM - 24 comments

Week 34 update for the Spofi EPL fantasy footie.: Middle Pocket Llamas makes a charge!

posted by gspm to fantasy at 09:28 AM - 8 comments

Aussie Rules Football Is Punchtastic!: In connection to the previous post about Sean Avery, this is what Brodeur should have done to him. And we think American football players are tough. Truth be told, it was a really cheap shot..... but funny.

posted by Shotput to football at 05:21 PM - 10 comments

Sean Avery does his best to reduce the NHL to the level of the WWE: (single link to a Youtube video). The NHL responds.

posted by NoMich to hockey at 10:53 AM - 43 comments

WHAT GIVES, GUYS? Nelson says there's no problem, Davis says very little: For Warriors coach Don Nelson, the mind-boggling question everyone wants answered is really a no-brainer. Why didn't he play Baron Davis in the second half of Monday's playoff-elimination game in Phoenix?

posted by BornIcon to basketball at 08:05 AM - 22 comments

Where have you gone Darius Miles?: Former basketball phenom Darius Miles waived by the Trailblazers after the team, and an independent doctor appointed by the NBA, deem his injuries "career-ending".

posted by lilnemo to basketball at 11:17 AM - 12 comments

"Tech doping"? How Speedo's LZR suit breaks swim records: As the Associated Press reports, "the LZR now has been worn for 21 of the 22 world records set since it was introduced in February."

posted by bobfoot to other at 10:51 PM - 22 comments

"Greg Maddux? I bet you could catch him with your eyes closed.": What you are about to read is a story about grown men who should know better. It is included here as a means of illustrating the legend of one man and his unique place in baseball history. It should not be construed as an endorsement of the activity described, although we must admit it makes for a pretty cool story.

posted by Chargdres to baseball at 04:48 PM - 22 comments

'I'm A Diehard Atlanta Braves Fan. Does That Make Me A Jerk?': Or more to the point, where is the line between cheering for a perennial overdog and being inconsiderate toward one's fellow fans, both of your team and of others?

posted by chicobangs to baseball at 11:29 AM - 12 comments

Say it ain’t so, George!: Report: Boston Red Sox T-shirt buried in new Yankee Stadium by construction worker.

posted by BoKnows to baseball at 10:12 AM - 41 comments

Frozen Four: Where Eagles Soar: The Boston College Eagles won the 2008 NCAA Frozen Four championship by knocking off this year's Cinderalla, Notre Dame, 4-1. This is BC's third national championship. Game Notes. Slide Show.

posted by NoMich to hockey at 10:04 AM - 10 comments

Basqueing in Glory:: Athletic Bilbao is Europe's most exotic football club. For 80 years, the legendary club has managed to keep itself in Spain's top division, fielding players recruited exclusively from the Basque region. But how long can the fiercely independent club continue to resist the trends of globalization?

posted by rumple to soccer at 02:35 PM - 13 comments

Formula One president caught in Nazi bondage orgy scandal.: [Max] Mosley's five-hour encounter with five women in a bondage orgy has prompted accusations of Nazi role-playing and engulfed the Formula One racing world in a leadership crisis that prompted the sport's ruling body Wednesday to announce a meeting of its governing assembly June 3 to decide whether Mosley can keep his post.

posted by worldcup2002 to auto racing at 06:53 PM - 15 comments

Rushin' to the Olympics:: Former Silver Stars guard Becky Hammons becomes a naturalized Russian citizen in order to compete in the 2008 Olympic games.

posted by curlyelk to other at 11:12 AM - 65 comments

Chasing Perfection: One boy's search for glory.

A short story by sportsfilter's own dfleming.

posted by justgary to baseball at 06:42 PM - 7 comments

2008 NHL Playoffs Confidence Pool: Enter your picks here, more details inside.

posted by Ying Yang Mafia to fantasy at 05:12 PM - 44 comments

Maasai warriors to run London Marathon without water.: As part of a campaign to raise money to find a vital water source for their village in Tanzania, six Maasai warriors will run in traditional dress -- a red "shuka" blanket toga and car-tire sandals -- carrying spears and shields showing their running numbers, and will sing and dance along the 26.2 mile route through the British capital. "Back at home we sometimes run for 5 or 6 days, day and night," Isaya, a young warrior told Reuters in an interview. "Twenty-six miles not far."

posted by worldcup2002 to extreme at 04:58 PM - 4 comments

New and Improved NHL Playoffs Pick 'Em Thread.: I just wanted to start a fresh, new thread to avoid confusion. Come on inside and show off your amazing powers of prediction.

posted by NoMich to fantasy at 04:10 PM - 32 comments

Chasing Perfection: One boy's search for glory.

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

Kansas Wins National Title...: ....although to read the article you would think that Memphis had it gift wrapped.

posted by Tinman to basketball at 12:04 AM - 36 comments

Improv Everywhere makes the kids' day.: For one day, two Little League teams got to experience the big leagues; complete with shirtless fans, NBC's Jim Gray calling the game, a jumbotron and the Goodyear blimp.

posted by NoMich to general at 03:57 PM - 10 comments

Olympic torch put out by protests.: Security officials canceled the final run of the Olympic relay through Paris after chaotic protests Monday, sending a snuffed-out torch to its destination on a bus in a humiliating concession to protesters decrying China's human rights record.

posted by worldcup2002 to other at 12:24 PM - 99 comments

Fantasy Hockey League Roundup!: Inside: Final standings, a sincere congratulations to our fatherly champion, and an apology.

posted by chicobangs to fantasy at 09:38 AM - 11 comments

Week 32 update for the EPL Fantasy Footie: Only a week late. Might as well drop the week 33 update in here shortly too.

posted by gspm to fantasy at 07:21 PM - 15 comments

Profile of Asafa Powell,: who has run the five fastest 100 metre sprints in history and is still based in a run-down training facility in Jamaica. Photo Gallery

posted by rumple to other at 01:33 AM - 1 comment

NASCAR Rookie Survives Unbelievable Crash: NASCAR Sprint Cup rookie Michael McDowell tested the new safety features in the Car of Tomorrow yesterday during qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway, slamming into a Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) barrier at more than 100 mph and rolling eight times (see the video). "That was the hardest hit I think I've ever seen anybody take," driver Tony Stewart said.

posted by rcade to auto racing at 11:37 AM - 30 comments

Rickroll the Mets!: In their final historic season at Shea your New York Mets are having a contest to select the song to be used all season during the 8th Inning Sing-A-Long. A Digg campaign is underway to write-in a certain song. voting ends noon on Monday April 7th, vote early, vote often!

posted by geekyguy to baseball at 10:09 AM - 12 comments

Why the Leafs stink: It's not bad luck. It's not bad karma. What it takes to build a chronic loser. Richard Peddie is sitting at a small conference table in his office at the Air Canada Centre. Laying face down on the table in front of him is a paperback copy of Barack Obama's political memoir The Audacity of Hope. Perfect for the CEO of a team about to set a new standard for futility, but that's not the point. The point will be revealed later. For now, Peddie would just like you to know that he enjoys reading books.

posted by tommytrump to hockey at 12:42 AM - 7 comments

Football and Music: No, not this kind of football music. This kind of football music.

posted by goddam to soccer at 12:17 AM - 5 comments

Mike Wallace interviews Bob Feller: It's August 4, 1957, and Mike Wallace, the host of The Mike Wallace Interview, is interviewing Bob Feller in an effort to go after "the controversial story of conflict between players and team owners in major league baseball."

posted by spira to baseball at 09:24 PM - 4 comments

Bengals release Henry: Concealed weapons, possession, DUI, providing alcohol to minors...while he hasn't had his day in court yet, the Bengals have had enough of their highest profile problem child.

posted by Tinman to football at 12:13 PM - 17 comments

If you don't give my football back...: Just as Ebbsfleet United is about to play one of the biggest ties in its history, it looks like the teams' 29,000(+/-) owners are having a little trouble with the "pick the team" part of their tagline. And with only 2,000 of those owners committed past the first year of the experiment, there is some concern about the future of the model.

posted by scully to soccer at 08:01 AM - 6 comments

Hawk attacks 13-year-old at Fenway Park: And you won't believe the name of the girl.

posted by dyams to baseball at 07:53 AM - 20 comments

The $6 billion heist: "All in all he [Bernie Ecclestone] took US$3.25 billion out of Formula One thanks to his deals with Mosley. And this on top of the US$1.7 billion he had earned from the APM deals and the US$1 billion he had received as commission for his companies. By the time 2007 closed, since Mosley had become FIA president in 1991, Ecclestone had extracted nearly US$6 billion in profits from Formula One. One astute observer said: 'It is the biggest heist in history.' The same observer reckoned Ecclestone was legitimately entitled to only US$1 billion. He said: 'Ecclestone could have been a billionaire without Mosley’s help, but that wasn’t enough.' ”

posted by salmacis to auto racing at 04:39 AM - 3 comments

A Breakthrough for Cricket in NYC High Schools: The first competitive high school cricket league in the country - or at least the first one that anyone remembers - started up on Wednesday in New York City, with 14 teams beginning a 12-game season. Response was more positive than league organizers expected.

posted by spira to other at 07:58 PM - 10 comments

CFL Hall confirms class of 2008: Professional football's most dynamic special-teams star is headed to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. It's taken nearly eight years, but Mike (Pinball) Clemons can finally call himself a Hall of Famer. The five-foot-five native of Clearwater, Fla., truly excelled in a big man's game. He holds the pro football record for single-season all-purpose yards (3,840, set in '97) as well as the career mark (25,438). He captured three Grey Cup titles as a player ('91, '96 and '97) and another as a coach in '04, becoming the first black head coach ever to win the CFL championship. A Heisman Trophy winner while at Boston College, Doug Flutie still holds CFL single-season records for completions (466), yards (6,619) and touchdowns (48) and in 2006 was voted the top player in league history. Last year, he was inducted into both the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame (the first non-Canadian to do so) and the U.S. College Football Hall of Fame. CFL rushing leader Mike Pringle and all-star offensive lineman John Bonk were also among the players named to the Hall on Wednesday while former Saskatchewan Roughriders president Tom Shepherd will be enshrined as a builder at ceremony in September.

posted by tommytrump to football at 10:46 AM - 7 comments

UFC Fighter Knocked Out in Eight Seconds: In a Colorado ring thronging with his fans last night, Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Houston Alexander was knocked out by James Irvin in eight seconds, the shortest bout in the sport's history. "Houston Alexander has been utterly exposed," Michael Rome declared on the blog Bloody Elbow. (See the video.)

posted by rcade to boxing at 08:05 AM - 40 comments

Indiana set to hire Crean as hoops coach: Indiana University will hire Marquette's Tom Crean as its basketball coach and is expected to introduce him at a news conference Wednesday. The hiring comes near the end of a tumultuous six-week period in which former Hoosiers coach Kelvin Sampson resigned amid an NCAA scandal, interim coach Dan Dakich replaced him and then lost four of seven games. Is Indiana on the road to recovery?

posted by brainofdtrain to basketball at 02:09 AM - 12 comments

Jason Taylor's moves not moving the NFL: Jason Taylor and his "Dancing With The Stars" partner continued receiving high marks on the show Monday, while his other would-be partner – the NFL’s massive public relations and marketing machine – tripped over its two left feet.

posted by dyams to football at 01:33 PM - 11 comments

UK mourns 'Mr. Wildcat' Bill Keightley: Bill Keightley, the longtime equipment manager for the University of Kentucky men's basketball team -- known throughout the college basketball world as "Mr. Wildcat" -- died last night in Cincinnati. He was 81.

posted by ampto11 to basketball at 11:14 AM - 4 comments

'Jaws' Author's Widow Opposes Shark-Fishing Tournament: The widow of Jaws novelist Peter Benchley has spoken out against a sport her husband helped popularize with his portrayal of the dead-eyed eating machine that destroyed 1975's tourist season in Amity Island. "Shark-fishing tournaments add to the depletion of sharks," said Wendy Benchley, speaking out against the Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament that had 1,250 entrants last year and in 2006 hooked 2,500 sharks and killed 46, according to the Humane Society. "Peter often said he would never write 'Jaws' now," Wendy said.

posted by rcade to other at 11:00 AM - 10 comments

Barry Bonds signs with Yankees!:
The New York Yankees have pulled out all the stops to win this season and have signed Barry Bonds to act as their DH. This comes on the heels of Jason Giambi being diagnosed with another stomach tumour (his first one was in 2004). Bonds is expected to practice with their Florida State League team for a couple of weeks before being called up to the majors. The terms of his contract are currently unavailable.

posted by grum@work to baseball at 12:14 AM - 31 comments