The good news: if you're the worst team in baseball is the first pick in this year's draft looks like a keeper. The bad news is that his agent, Scott Boras, already has his right-hand media man, Jon Heyman, on the case.

posted by yerfatma to baseball at 12:29 PM - 20 comments

Kentucky job on Calipari's mind: Calipari met with Kentucky officials on Sunday at an undisclosed location, at which time he was given an outline of length of deal and contract dollars to succeed Billy Gillispie, the source said.

posted by gfinsf to basketball at 10:13 AM - 6 comments

Subtle Butt: In case your home town doesn't have an MLB team, try to make your way to the nearest minor league park, where the air is fresh, for good reason.

posted by BoKnows to baseball at 09:09 PM - 7 comments

Tragedy in the Ivory Coast: "We saw people falling. ... Then there was panic and a stampede," This incident was not caused by witchcraft. (via UK Telegraph and USA Today)

posted by BoKnows to soccer at 07:27 PM - 1 comment

Women's Pro Soccer has another bite at the apple: In the shadow of the 2003 collapse of the WUSA, does this go 'round have what it takes to stick? Well, they've got a bunch of the stars from the Gold & Silver medal teams from the '08 Olympics including Brazilian phenom Marta, arguably the best woman player in the world, so that's a start.

posted by juv3nal to soccer at 07:17 PM - 4 comments

Football Coach Lou Saban Dies: Lou Saban, who coached the Buffalo Bills to two American Football League championships in the 1960s, died today at age 87 at his home in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. Saban, who played for the Cleveland Browns in the '40s, coached for a dozen different college and pro teams over three decades and was trying as recently as 2006 to get back to the sideline. "I'd like to test myself again," he said. "There's nothing the matter with my brain."

posted by rcade to football at 05:47 PM - 2 comments

No Bling Allowed, and Cut Your Hair!: A Sharpie, some expletives and a demand for a trade.

posted by BoKnows to baseball at 12:43 AM - 19 comments

1987 Kentucky Derby Winner Alysheba Euthanized: Alysheba, the son of Alydar and winner of the 1987 Kentucky Derby, has been euthanized after a fall that injured his right hind femur. "He's the most talented horse I ever rode," said jockey Chris McCarron. The video of Alysheba's dramatic last-second Derby win is on YouTube -- "here comes Alysheba!"

posted by rcade to other at 01:07 PM - 1 comment

Texas cop delays Texans RB Moats at hospital as mother-in-law dies : Dallas Police Officer Robert Powell stopped a family rushing to visit a dying mother, detaining them for 13 minutes to write a traffic ticket. One of the relatives kept from the hospital was Houston Texans' athlete Ryan Moats.

posted by gfinsf to football at 08:59 AM - 124 comments

Goodell wants longer regular season: The NFL commissioner believes four preseason games is too many? Tell that to the undrafted or low-level free agents who are pursuing their dream of making it in the NFL!

posted by jjzucal to football at 11:12 PM - 16 comments

NFL Changes Rules for Player Safety: The NFL has changed several rules "to make the game safer for the guy getting hit and the guy doing the hitting," said league director of officiating Mike Pereira. New rules prohibit defenders from lunging at players while on the ground, prohibit blindside blocks to the head or neck, prohibit head shots to a defenseless receiver, prohibit blocking wedges on kickoffs with more than two players, prohibit five or more kicking-team layers from bunching together on an onside kick, and prohibit anyone from mentioning the years Terrell Owens played for Dallas. (Correction: That last one didn't pass, unfortunately.)

posted by rcade to football at 09:32 PM - 47 comments

Diplomacy by sport?: Two of Iran's top club soccer teams, Persepolis and Esteghlal Tehran may be traveling to the United States for a tour culminating in a match between the two clubs. The tour is still to be approved by the Iranian government, but should it occur, it could mean a large step towards peace between the two countries.

posted by boredom_08 to soccer at 06:21 PM - 5 comments

Detroit Tigers' Great George Kell Dies: George Kell, a Hall of Fame third baseman who beat Ted Williams for the 1949 American League batting title, died Tuesday at his Arkansas home at age 86. Kell batted .34291 in 1949, beating Williams' .34276, and was a 10-time All Star. After his playing career ended he broadcast Tigers games from 1959 to 1996 alongside Ernie Harwell and Al Kaline.

posted by rcade to baseball at 01:36 PM - 4 comments

WBC Confidence Pool Final Standings: Japan needs extra innings to beat Korea in one of the best ballgames I've ever seen. Closer to home, boredom_08 takes the prize with four points to spare. Congratulations are due both to him and to Folkways, who comes away with SportsFilter's very first double Costanza.

posted by DrJohnEvans to fantasy at 01:47 AM - 4 comments

Cubs Retire Number Worn by Two Greats in Combo Deal: The Cubs announced they will retire the number 31 worn by both Ferguson Jenkins and Greg Maddux, and will honor both of them in a ceremony later this year. I don't know how often a combo number retirement takes place.
It makes sense in one way, but it also seems a bit odd. I admire Maddux enormously, but I totally loved Jenkins, who seemed to be good for 20 wins a year throughout my entire youth. Strange to have two greats lumped into one combo footlong house special take-out deal rather than give each their individual due. But what else can they do? Both guys wore the same number. And it seems as though this is being done with full respect to both parties, who appear to be gracious about it and appreciative of it. I wonder what other unretired numbers could be enshrined in combo fashion like this?

posted by beaverboard to baseball at 11:03 PM - 12 comments

Sponsorship 'so surreal' for bus crash survivor: In January, 2008, Bradd Arseneau faced an uncertain future after surviving the bus crash that killed seven of his high school basketball teammates in Bathurst, N.B. "I didn't even know if we'd have a basketball program, let alone whether I would take part," he said. Fourteen months and a provincial championship later, the 17-year-old found himself in a downtown Toronto studio, filming a commercial for Gatorade. On Friday, after having breakfast at the condo of NBA star Chris Bosh, the drinks company unveiled Mr. Arseneau as one of the faces of its Canadian campaign, alongside other athletes such as Paralympian Chantal Petitclerc and hockey legend Gordie Howe. Between breaks in the commercial shoot, Mr. Arseneau explained that the No. 7 shirt he wore in the final and the shoot symbolized the seven players who died in the crash, including his mentor Nathan Cleland, who wore the jersey last year. Grinning to himself, he remembered some of his friend's skills.

posted by tommytrump to culture at 03:26 PM - 2 comments

Schilling Announces Retirement: "This party has officially ended," Curt Schilling wrote today on his blog 38 Pitches. "After being blessed to experience 23 years of playing professional baseball in front of the world’s best fans in so many different places, it is with zero regrets that I am making my retirement official." The 42-year-old, who has 216 wins and two Red Sox World Series champion rings, missed all of last season with a shoulder injury and had been working towards a mid-season return this year.

posted by rcade to baseball at 01:48 PM - 18 comments

Company Analyzes Prospects' Speech Patterns to Find Next Pacman Jones: The company AchievementMetrics believes it can analyze the speech patterns of NFL prospects in media interviews and determine which ones have a greater risk of developing off-field problems. "There are very subtle parts of speech that correlate with different outcome variables," said CEO Roger Hall. "There are people in our database where we're like, 'Hmm, when is it gonna happen?'"

posted by rcade to football at 02:16 PM - 20 comments

Daryl Reaugh: Paula Abdul is Better Than Shootouts: If you're unfamiliar with the blogging of Dallas Stars announcer Daryl "Razor" Reaugh, here's as good an entry point as any. "What if NHL games were decided by a judging panel and Joe Public instead of Shootouts when still tied after 65 minutes," he asks. "A club that didn't pinch its defensemen every single shift – points deducted. Teams that employ the trap -- verbal lambasting by all four judges and points taken away for every forward caught skating backwards in the neutral zone. ... 5 forwards on a powerplay or 4 on the ice in overtime – points awarded. ... The truly 'new' NHL would be anarchilogically awesome!"

posted by rcade to hockey at 02:59 PM - 5 comments

Record suffered; pride didn't at Indiana: If you never liked Indiana, maybe now you might. I never did, but I think good times will be back under a great new head coach.

posted by gfinsf to basketball at 12:39 PM - 4 comments

Meet MLS Owner Drew Carey: Drew Carey, a minority owner of the MLS expansion team Seattle Sounders, is a soccer fanatic bringing some interesting ideas to the club. One of them, borrowed from FC Barcelona, is that fans can vote to fire the general manager and make other decisions -- such as their write-in vote to choose a name. "I don’t know why anybody would not want this for their team," he said. Another of Carey's ideas is a 53-piece marching band.

posted by rcade to soccer at 12:31 AM - 13 comments

Report: Stallworth Drunk When He Killed Pedestrian: Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth's blood alcohol level content was over the legal limit when he struck and killed pedestrian Mario Reyes in Miami Beach last weekend, Miami TV station WSVN reported tonight, citing an unnamed source. If true, he faces DUI manslaughter charges, which carry a 15-year prison sentence.

posted by rcade to football at 12:19 AM - 7 comments

Minor League Baseball Bracket?: Hurry, Hurry. Brackets must be complete by Saturday. Chose your favorite Minor League Baseball players by name. All the favorites are here: Jose Jose, Henry Henry, Chris Farley, Ray Liotta and yes, even Stephen King. [via MLB]

posted by BoKnows to fantasy at 06:58 PM - 3 comments

Manny Being ... er, Bradman?: Manny Ramirez tries his hand at cricket. You're not supposed to use that side of the bat, mate.

posted by owlhouse to baseball at 03:28 AM - 20 comments

Soccer fan shoots player dead: An Iraqi soccer fan shot dead a player of the opposing team as he tried to score an equalizing goal in the final minutes of a match

posted by bobfoot to other at 12:15 AM - 12 comments

Because we're all suckers for athlete bloggers: Leon Boyd, the closer for the Netherlands in the '09 WBC, and recently signed to a minor league deal with the Blue Jays, has a blog. Worth it alone for the account of his save against the Dominican Republic.

posted by DrJohnEvans to culture at 11:00 PM - 2 comments

Working for Lenny Dykstra: An inside look at working for Nails -- Wild and wacky antics! Racism and homophobia! Shady business practices! Borderline lunacy!

Most meetings are simply extended hang-out sessions, with Lenny cracking up at his own jokes or asking us to watch the Real Sports segment over and over, especially the moment where Lenny points to his seat on his private plane and says, “This is where the Big Man sits.” He also seems to relish letting go a long, leisurely fart for the amusement of his employees or showing off his silk tie and saying, “You see this tie? I paid $500 for it” as he rubs it on his crotch and laughs at our embarrassed expressions.

posted by holden to baseball at 05:53 PM - 7 comments

2009 Formula One Season Preview: Drood here, back again, as in years past, with a brief preview of what we have in store for this year.

posted by Drood to auto racing at 01:02 PM - 8 comments

Computer Model Likes North Carolina to Win Tournament: Georgia Tech professor Joel Sokol is getting some press for his NCAA Tournament computer model, which successfully predicted last year's final four, the championship game and the winner. His model, NCAA Basketball Ratings using a Logistic Regression/Markov Chain (LRMC), predicts top seeds Louisville, North Carolina and Pittsburgh and second seed Memphis as the final four and North Carolina defeating Memphis for the crown. The biggest first-round upsets in the model are No. 12 Arizona over No. 5 Utah in the midwest and No. 12 Wisconsin over No. 5 Xavier in the east.

posted by rcade to basketball at 12:40 PM - 11 comments

Steelers' Owner Nominated as Ambassador to Ireland: Dan Rooney, co-founder of the The Ireland Funds, was nominated by President Barack Obama to be the next ambassador to Ireland. President Obama said, "I am honored and grateful that such a dedicated and accomplished individual has agreed to serve as the representative of the United States to the Irish people.

posted by scully to other at 10:40 AM - 6 comments

An Open Letter to Bill Simmons and ESPN.: A poster on Sactown Royalty makes a level-headed argument for keeping the Kings in Sacramento.

posted by lilnemo to basketball at 09:59 PM - 5 comments

552: Martin Brodeur becomes the winningest goalie in NHL history.

posted by MeatSaber to hockey at 09:33 PM - 7 comments

A-Rod Loves Him Some A-Rod: In a Details Magazine interview and photo shoot that took place the day before the steroid story broke, Alex Rodriguez's biggest worry was that naming his favorite Madonna song would cause it to be played at every road game. "Those close to Rodriguez claim that if you could only see him away from the cameras and microphones you'd find an oddly normal man," Jason Gay writes, an assessment that's at odds with the photos of A-Rod and a mirror.

posted by rcade to baseball at 03:27 PM - 4 comments

Big East Gets Three No. 1 Seeds in NCAA Tournament: The Big East came up huge on Selection Sunday, with Louisville, Pittsburgh and Connecticut all getting No. 1 seeds in the tournament bracket -- the first time that one conference has accomplished that feat. The tournament begins Tuesday with a play-in game between Alabama State and Morehead State.

posted by rcade to basketball at 10:16 AM - 11 comments

Bowling's newest twist: Is this two-handed bowler from Australia the star the Pro Bowling Association needs to regain its lost popularity?

posted by spira to other at 01:24 PM - 5 comments

Matt Steven can't see the hoop. But he'll still take the last shot.: I came across this story and thought I you might enjoy it, pretty amazing group of young men.

posted by gfinsf to basketball at 08:14 AM - 8 comments

First hole of her life. First swing on a course. Hole-in-one.: "I didn't know it was that big of a deal,'' she said. "I thought all golfers do this.''

posted by bobfoot to golf at 12:31 AM - 5 comments

Sather posts Pocklington's bail: Rangers GM posts $1 million bail for former boss.

posted by jjzucal to hockey at 08:55 PM - 1 comment

Detroit Pistons owner Bill Davidson dies: Six months after he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Detroit Pistons owner Bill Davidson died Friday at the age of 86. Davidson became majority owner of the Pistons in 1974. He also owned Palace Sports & Entertainment and the WNBA's Detroit Shock. He owned the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning until 2008. Many thought he was crazy buying the majority interest of the Pistons. It was considered a dying franchise, playing before sparse crowds at Cobo Arena in downtown Detroit. It had its stars in Dave Bing and Bob Lanier, but NBA basketball never captivated any more than a niche interest in Detroit during those days. The Pistons were basically a laughingstock when Davidson purchased them. Davidson proved the doubters wrong, eventually turning the Pistons into one of professional sports' more profitable and more identifiable brand names.

posted by tommytrump to basketball at 03:42 PM - 3 comments

NFL Player Kills Pedestrian in Miami: Wide receiver Donte Stallworth, who recently signed with the Cleveland Browns after playing for the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots, struck and killed a pedestrian in Miami Beach this morning. Stallworth, who was driving a Bentley, stopped at the accident scene and is being questioned.

posted by rcade to football at 02:36 PM - 22 comments

The Naked Golfer: - Bernhard Langer climbed a tree and faced down a bear, Woody Austin took a swim, and now Henrik Stenson strips to his underwear in order to try and save a shot or two.

posted by JJ to golf at 07:18 AM - 11 comments

Six.: - overtimes, before the Big East tournament game between Syracuse and Connecticut could be decided. Not quite the longest game in NCAA history (seven OTs), but certainly close.

posted by boredom_08 to basketball at 01:56 AM - 6 comments

With Nine Mouths to Feed, Travis Henry Says He’s Broke: Travis Henry was rattling off his children’s ages, which range from 3 to 11. He paused and took a breath before finishing.This was no simple task. Henry, 30, a former N.F.L. running back who played for three teams from 2001 to 2007, has nine children — each by a different mother, some born as closely as a few months apart.

posted by cjets to football at 07:57 PM - 25 comments

Twenty-Nine in a Row: Down by 19 at halftime, Texas Tech's Mike Singletary scored a Big 12 tournament high of 43 to beat Texas A&M 88-83. The 6th seeded Aggies were up by 21 before the 11th seeded Red Raider's Singletary scored 29 points in a row—outscoring the entire Aggie team 31-23 over the final 9:35 of the game—to help Tech pull off the comeback and upset.

posted by scully to basketball at 08:20 AM - 2 comments

Religious Professor: Soccer is Ruining America: "Soccer is running America into the ground, and there is very little anyone can do about it," writes Stephen H. Webb, a professor of religion and philosophy at Wabash College. "Any sport that limits you to using your feet, with the occasional bang of the head, has something very wrong with it. Indeed, soccer is a liberal's dream of tragedy: It creates an egalitarian playing field by rigorously enforcing a uniform disability."

posted by rcade to soccer at 11:25 PM - 68 comments

Pre-game dunk costs team forfeit: A Montana school was forced to forfeit a boys' basketball state-tournament game after one of its players shattered a backboard with a pre-game dunk.

posted by jjzucal to basketball at 07:24 PM - 7 comments

New football league off the ground?: Signs three former NFL head coaches. Already has TV contract for games. May try to sign Michael Vick and other NFL castouts. Is this the same league Mark Cuban was talking about forming back in 2007?

posted by graymatters to football at 06:01 PM - 20 comments

Q. and A.: The Special One, José Mourinho: The Inter manager sat down recently with the NY Times for "his first one-on-one interview with an American news outlet." Not bad and Jose comes off well (IMO), especially in his good humor about the hilarious long-running parody Special1TV.

posted by billsaysthis to soccer at 04:54 PM - 5 comments

One coach still knows more than all the others combined. And he's been retired for three decades.: With March Madness upon us, let's remember the best.

posted by gfinsf to basketball at 09:43 AM - 4 comments

Skyrunner: At 14,110 feet, the last thing most people would do is run. Not Matt Carpenter, who holds multiple records in high-altitude running, this is where he thrives. His philosophy? "Go out hard; when it hurts, speed up." (Video here) - via NYTimes

posted by BoKnows to other at 10:41 PM - 1 comment

Montreal Canadiens fire coach Guy Carbonneau: Head Coach Guy Carbonneau has been fired, and G.M. Bob Gainey is taking over behind the bench for the second time in three years. The surprise announcement came Monday, a day after the Canadiens ended a two-game losing run with a 3-1 victory over the Stars in Dallas. Gainey, the Canadiens' GM since 2003, took over as coach after he fired Claude Julien on Jan. 14, 2006 and handled the team for the rest of the season. That was when he brought his former teammate Carbonneau in as an associate coach with a mandate to take over behind the bench to start the 2006-07 campaign. Expectations were high this season, with the club celebrating its 100th anniversary. The last time Gainey took over, he got Montreal into the playoffs, but lost in the 1st round to eventual Stanley Cup winner Carolina.

posted by tommytrump to hockey at 06:58 PM - 7 comments

Topps Baseball Cards Go 3-D: Apparently the bubblegum tastes even more chalky and cardboardy in 3-D.

posted by holden to baseball at 02:33 PM - 3 comments

Funeral, then game-winner: Alabama player hits game-winning shot after driving all night from grandmother's funeral.

posted by jjzucal to basketball at 07:39 PM - 0 comments

In the Buff: A worldwide event that is underway gives motorists multiple reasons to stop and think about the impact of pollution caused by burning fuel. You may have questions, if so, here are some answers.

posted by BoKnows to culture at 03:35 PM - 5 comments

Selig 'Proud' of How Baseball's Dealt with Steroids: "It's been an interesting experience for me in the respect that we've cleaned the game up," Commissioner Bud Selig said Saturday. "I'm proud of where we are."

posted by jjzucal to baseball at 08:24 PM - 7 comments

Terrell Owens Signs with Buffalo Bills: Only two days after he was cut by the Dallas Cowboys, wide receiver Terrell Owens has signed a one-year $6.5 million contract with the offense-starved Buffalo Bills, according to NFL.Com's Vic Carucci. The Bills didn't have a single 300-yard passing game last season.

posted by rcade to football at 06:58 PM - 32 comments

It's tough to replace class: Mike Vrabel gives his first interview as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs.

posted by gfinsf to football at 07:03 AM - 5 comments

Harvard Beats Yale 29-29.: At Harvard Stadium on November 23, 1968, the Yale and Harvard football teams met in their annual The Game, with both teams going into the game undefeated for the first time since 1909. Heavily-favored Yale was ranked #16 and was on a 16-game winning streak. Yale was leading 29-13 with 3:34 to play and had the ball. What could possibly go wrong?

posted by kirkaracha to football at 07:51 PM - 4 comments

Mrs. Hockey: Colleen Howe dead at 76: Gordie was Mr. Hockey, reflecting his status as the NHL's all-time leading scorer before Wayne Gretzky broke his records, so it seemed right the woman who worked so hard for him behind the scenes should get a similar title. Colleen Howe died Friday at the age of 76 in the family home in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., following a long battle with Pick's disease, an incurable neurological form of dementia. She was the outspoken business manager of one of the most prominent families in the history of the sport. As the first female hockey player agent she was as forceful in the boardroom as her husband was in rink corners for the Detroit Red Wings. "The National Hockey League grieves the passing of Colleen Howe — a formidable woman, the wife and partner of our iconic player, the matriarch of a remarkable hockey family," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said.

posted by tommytrump to hockey at 06:51 PM - 2 comments

Florida State gets 4 years of probation: Head Coach Bobby Bowden, one win behind one behind Penn State's Joe Paterno, might have a few wins taken away.

posted by dviking to football at 05:17 PM - 4 comments

Bushies v. Barry Bonds: I know this is political-leaning, but it is an interesting view of the Bonds case.

posted by jjzucal to baseball at 03:58 AM - 9 comments

Doug Glanville: Former baseball player, current op-ed writer for the New York Times.

posted by NoMich to baseball at 11:46 AM - 2 comments

Talkin' Trash: Courtside seats, a beer and some trash talk at the game. Yes We Can.

posted by BoKnows to basketball at 02:15 AM - 6 comments

Bye, bye, T.O.!: I guess it was going to come to this.

posted by jjzucal to football at 01:35 AM - 42 comments

March Madness!!!: Tournament Bracket Yahoo Fantasy League ID is: 24879..........Password is: spofi

posted by BoKnows to fantasy at 10:35 PM - 7 comments

Let the Record Be Unbroken: Five opinions on what records will be difficult, or even impossible to break.

posted by justgary to general at 04:37 PM - 22 comments

It's Christmas day for hockey fans.: Today is the NHL's trade deadline. Will your GM be able to pull off the deal of a lifetime or trade your top player for a 3rd round draft pick? Stay on top of the day's wheelings and dealings with TSN's trade tracker.

posted by NoMich to hockey at 11:42 AM - 13 comments

Player traded for Bats Found Dead: In what is a sad end to what to most of us was an amusing story, John C. Odom was found dead on November 5, 2008, from an overdose of drugs. Did the notoriety affect him, or was it only a part of his troubles?

posted by Howard_T to baseball at 11:27 AM - 4 comments

Cricket Tragedy: A terrorist attack in Pakistan aimed at the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team leaves at least eight dead. The second Test is cancelled.

posted by owlhouse to other at 02:20 AM - 19 comments

The Classic is back.: That's right, the World Baseball Classic has returned, and with it comes a brand-new WBC Confidence Pool. Step right up and rank your teams... oh, and can someone get ahold of Baseball Prospectus? I haven't seen him around lately.

posted by DrJohnEvans to fantasy at 11:24 AM - 36 comments

Banned Aid?: The NBA, doing its best impression of the NFL, wanted to stop the self-promotion.

posted by BoKnows to basketball at 06:48 PM - 25 comments

Two NFL Players Missing at Sea: Detroit Lions defensive end Corey Smith and Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper were on a 21-foot boat that disappeared on Saturday in waters off Clearwater, Florida. The men and two others are still missing. "Those are two guys I really respect and two guys who are just blue collar good guys," said former teammate Ryan Nece. "I'm just praying for them."

posted by rcade to football at 04:17 PM - 8 comments

8th Annual SpoFi Rotisserie Baseball League: Six spots available. Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball -- League # 90528 -- Password whereisroger

posted by YukonGold to fantasy at 07:56 AM - 4 comments