12/21/24
Archives for February 2012
February 29, 2012
Steelers Release Hines Ward: In 14 seasons, all with the Steelers, Ward had 1,000 receptions for 12,083 yards and 85 touchdowns, all Steelers records. He was MVP of Super Bowl XL and made the Pro Bowl four times, more than any receiver in team history. According to a source close to Ward, the Steelers released him without even asking him to take a pay cut. On his Facebook page, Hines stated that he plans to play in the NFL this season.
posted by scully to football at 08:36 PM - 37 comments
One-Team Icon Comic: A comic drawn for the newspaper (by Derrick Goold) as a statement about Pujols leaving the Cardinals. He also challenges the readers to identify all the players.
posted by grum@work to baseball at 11:45 AM - 11 comments
Tiger Seal: Tiger Woods was considering abandoning golf and joining the Navy SEALS, former coach Hank Haney has claimed.
posted by JJ to golf at 11:45 AM - 17 comments
SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 19 comments
February 28, 2012
Matt Kenseth Wins Fire-Delayed Daytona 500: In a rain-delayed, primetime Daytona 500, Matt Kenseth won a race that featured a cinematic explosion of burning fuel with 20-foot high flames when Juan Pablo Montoya's car collided with a jet dryer, spilling 200 gallons of jet fuel onto the track that ignited. Montoya and the dryer driver escaped serious injury. The two-hour delay to clean and repair the track included a nice product placement for Tide detergent. "It's amazing that NASCAR had enough Tide," said car owner Jack Roush.
posted by rcade to auto racing at 08:48 AM - 23 comments
SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 10 comments
February 27, 2012
Red Sox Catcher Jason Varitek to Retire: Longtime Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, 39, will announce Tuesday that he's retiring from baseball, the Boston media is reporting. Varitek, who holds a team record by playing 1,488 games at catcher and was captain the past seven years, came to camp in Fort Myers, Fl., on a minor league contract but was considered unlikely to make the team, according to the Boston Herald. With the recent retirement of pitcher Tim Wakefield and Varitek's departure, the last two players on the team from the 2004 World Series champions are David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis.
posted by rcade to baseball at 07:07 PM - 6 comments
'These Kids Are Stealing Money by Being on Scholarship': In a post-game press conference after a Lamar University loss Wednesday, head coach Pat Knight went on an eight-minute rant about seniors who've been problems on- and off-the-court. "We have an infestation of guys that are hard to coach," said Knight, the son of Bobby Knight. "I've never been around a group as a whole like that. ... When I played, if you acted like the way some of these guys did ... you got shoved in a locker with a forearm up against your neck. And told that's not how we do things here at Indiana. And that's what we need." Lamar won its next game 72-49. "I'm so proud of these seniors," Pat Knight said.
posted by rcade to basketball at 11:56 AM - 12 comments
SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 9 comments
Nakase says goal is to coach in the NBA: Natalie Nakase, a third-generation Japanese American and head coach of the Saitama Broncos in Japan's JB-League, is the first female head coach in the male league's history. Nakase, at 5'3", was a point guard during her playing days at UCLA. While she is enjoys the challenges of coaching in the JB-League, Nakase says her ultimate goal is to coach in the NBA.
posted by billinnagoya to basketball at 01:42 AM - 1 comment
February 26, 2012
SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 16 comments
February 25, 2012
Williams Late Try is Winner for Wales: Wales lifted the Triple Crown at Twickenham after a thrilling victory over England. Replacement Scott Williams was the hero as his sensational second-half try completed a dramatic Welsh comeback. With the scores tied at 12-12, the replacement centre ripped the ball off Courtney Lawes and regathered his own kick ahead to score the decisive try. In a thrilling finale, England wing David Strettle came within inches of scoring with the final play of the game, as the television official ruled he had not grounded the ball in the corner.
posted by scully to other at 01:29 PM - 3 comments
SportsFilter: The Saturday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 3 comments
February 24, 2012
The Girl Who Played Basketball in a Coma: After falling into a coma caused by meningitis, a Kansas teen who played basketball would occasionally shoot baskets -- while she was still otherwise non-responsive. After her sister formed a makeshift hoop with her arms, Maggie Meier cradled a beach ball and shot it with perfect form. "I have never seen anything like it," said Meier's neurologist, Dr. William Graf. "The act of shooting a basketball must have been ingrained as one of Maggie's basic instincts -- her basketball shooting motion came back to her even before she was able to stand up or walk again."
posted by rcade to basketball at 09:02 PM - 1 comment
Minor's minor league complaint about getting major major league time.:
posted by grum@work to baseball at 02:23 PM - 8 comments
SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 14 comments
February 23, 2012
Braun Wins Suspension Appeal: For the first time, a Major League Baseball player has won an appeal of a drug suspension. National League MVP Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers has overturned a 50-day suspension for failing a drug test. "It is the first step in restoring my good name and reputation," Braun said. "I have been an open book, willing to share details from every aspect of my life as part of this investigation, because I have nothing to hide."
posted by tahoemoj to baseball at 07:12 PM - 25 comments
Manny Ramirez Down to His Last Chance: After retiring from baseball last April when he failed his second steroid test, 39-year-old slugger Manny Ramirez is back with the Oakland A's in spring training on a minor-league contract and could play again after serving a reduced 50-game suspension. "I know a lot of people are going to be not very happy about it, but then again, he's actually playing within the rules," said Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon, who was counting on Ramirez to hit cleanup last season. "We'll see. I mean, this probably exceeds the number of chances you thought he would normally get, but still I think he's a likable guy." New York Times sportswriter Tyler Kepner's take: "A two-time drug cheat really has no place on the field."
posted by rcade to baseball at 02:05 PM - 12 comments
Analytics and Luck: Or how Sam Presti built a contender in Oklahoma.
posted by apoch to basketball at 09:56 AM - 3 comments
SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 4 comments
February 22, 2012
Barkley: 'I Cannot Believe How Bad the NBA is Right Now': "As an NBA fan I want to apologize to the fans. I cannot believe how bad the NBA is right now. I'm a fan first and foremost; watching the NBA right now, I'm embarrassed about the product we're putting out there right now. It's no fun for me to watch these games. I feel bad for the fans. ... They have all these built in excuses about it's the lockout. Let me tell you something: If these teams played once a week, they would still suck. You watch one of these teams, and if they rested for a week they would still suck." -- Charles Barkley earlier this month on ESPN 1000 in Chicago
posted by rcade to basketball at 03:19 PM - 30 comments
Former Fausto Carmona Hopes to Return to Cleveland: Roberto Hernandez, the 31-year-old pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona, hopes to be pardoned from identity theft charges in the Dominican Republic so he can rejoin the Cleveland Indians this coming season. He was arrested in January for lying about his name and claiming his age was three years younger. The New York Times reported last month that "more than a dozen players could soon lose their contracts because of age and identity issues."
posted by rcade to baseball at 03:11 PM - 4 comments
The Best Hitter You've Never Heard Of: Cienfuegos' own Jose Abreu.
SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 14 comments
February 21, 2012
SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 9 comments
February 20, 2012
Carl Crawford: 'You Want to Show You're Worth the Money': As the Boston Red Sox begin spring training in Florida, Carl Crawford told the media he was surprised to learn last fall that team owner John Henry was opposed to his signing. "I wasn’t happy about it," said Crawford, who responded to his seven-year, $142 million contract with his worst season in the majors. "I was a little surprised to hear the comments but you know it's unfortunate he feels that way. Wish those words hadn’t came out." He said the contract probably affected his performance last season. "You want to show you’re worth the money. The pressure builds up on playing in Boston. This year I have to find ways to get over that and play my game."
posted by rcade to baseball at 03:16 PM - 5 comments
Mickelson's Ball Ends Up in Fan's Shorts: Phil Mickelson's errant tee shot at 15 in the Northern Trust Open Saturday ended up in a spectator's shorts. When Mickelson approached, the man was lying prone on the ground. "I thought for sure I took him out," he said.
posted by rcade to golf at 09:43 AM - 11 comments
SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 7 comments
February 19, 2012
Boxers David Haye, Derek Chisora Fight at Press Conference: A mixed martial arts bout broke out at the press conference after Derek Chisora lost to Vitali Klitschko in a WBC title fight in Munich. Haye, a boxer working as a TV pundit for the fight, was insulted by Klitschko's manager and then got into it with Chisora. After they traded insults, Chisora yelled "tell me to my face" and came down into the crowd. The fellow Brits and others fought for five minutes and at one point, Haye wielded a camera tripod and Chisora a bottle.
posted by rcade to boxing at 09:36 AM - 4 comments
SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 40 comments
February 18, 2012
Ocean Adventurer Makes the Final Crossing: John Fairfax shot up a scout campsite, ran away from home to the Amazon, lived as a jaguar and ocelot trapper, tried to commit suicide by jaguar, spent three years as a pirate, rowed alone across the Atlantic Ocean, rowed with a girlfriend across the Pacific Ocean, was thought lost as sea and made a living as a baccarat player. Other than that, his 73 years of life were uneventful.
SportsFilter: The Saturday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 11 comments
February 17, 2012
SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 7 comments
February 16, 2012
posted by grum@work to baseball at 06:14 PM - 20 comments
Miami Marlins to unretire number.:
In a move that may distract people from the crazy home run spectacle in centerfield, the Marlins have gone full-on stupid with the #5.
posted by grum@work to baseball at 01:48 PM - 9 comments
Iditarod Dog Runs Away in Alaska: The German musher Silvia Furtwrangler had a small problem after she arrived in Alaska to prepare for the Iditarod sled dog race a week ago. Her lead dog, Whistler, escaped the truck and ran into the woods around Anchorage. Neither cries of "Whistler, kommen sie!" nor moose steaks and bacon lured him back, and he was seen at various places around town for four days. Finally, a brownie and roast beef lured him into the garage of someone who saw him on the news. "Iditarod dogs bolt from their mushers seemingly every year -- often during the race, but sometimes before, when teams arrive in Anchorage and skittish huskies, unfamiliar with the city, disappear into neighborhoods," reports the Anchorage Daily News.
posted by rcade to other at 09:27 AM - 5 comments
Jeremy Lin, Get Your Nuts Out of My Face: Back in August, YouTube celebrity Kevin Wu got a basketball lesson from significantly less famous Golden State Warriors guard Jeremy Lin. Wu then gave Lin a YouTube lesson.
posted by rcade to basketball at 08:46 AM - 1 comment
SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 27 comments
February 15, 2012
Alabama Fan, Real Man of Genius: Hey, Alabama fan with seats behind the backboard, how do you feel about the Florida Gators victory over the Crimson Tide Tuesday night?
posted by rcade to basketball at 03:14 PM - 5 comments
The Forgotten Story of 17 November 1993: Rob Smyth at The Guardian gives a rundown of an incredible night of football in the final matches of European qualifying for the 1994 World Cup.
posted by holden to soccer at 01:30 PM - 2 comments
The Best Ivy League Players of All-Time: just one more reason to miss Bob Ryan when he retires (from The Globe anyway) later this year.
posted by yerfatma to basketball at 09:33 AM - 2 comments
SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 22 comments
February 14, 2012
North Texas Coach Dan McCarney Suffers Stroke: University of North Texas head football coach Dan McCarney suffered a stroke on Sunday at his Denton, Texas, home and is recovering in the hospital. "I was just sitting down to eat a sandwich when my left side went numb," said McCarney, 58, who coached at Iowa State for 12 seasons and just finished his first with the Mean Green. "The doctors -- and they've been fantastic -- say I'm fine. ... Nothing wrong with me that a little Grey Goose won't cure."
posted by rcade to football at 05:57 PM - 4 comments
Glasgow Rangers Football Club Enter Administration: Winners of 54 Scottish Championships, 60 Scottish cup competitions and a European Cup Winners Cup, Rangers choose to enter administration on their own terms before HMRC could force the club to accept an Administrator of Her Majesty's choosing over tax debts.
They will almost certainly suffer a ten point penalty as a result, effectively handing the Scottish title to main rivals Celtic.
Glasgow clubs Rangers and Celtic dominate Scottish football to the extent that no one else has been crowned the country's champion since Aberdeen in 1984/85. Celtic claim they don't need Rangers despite the threat of the SPL becoming a one horse race.
posted by Mr Bismarck to soccer at 10:35 AM - 9 comments
SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 7 comments
February 13, 2012
Jürgen Klinsmann Tries to Teach Football to America: Klinsmann knows that his new freedom has a lot to do with the relative unimportance of soccer in America. There are Americans who say that soccer isn't a sport for men, but for girls and pansies who don't have what it takes to play American football. In this sense, America isn't too weak for soccer; rather, soccer is too weak for America. These attitudes have helped American soccer, especially the national team, carve out a comfortable niche for itself. The team has never been under the unconditional pressure to win. "In this sense, the environment is different in the United States," says Klinsmann. "If you lose a match here, nobody cares. Then people say: 'Oh, you lost yesterday. No problem.'" (gallery).
posted by rumple to soccer at 05:08 PM - 6 comments
Randy Moss Wants to Return to NFL: After retiring from the NFL before the 2011 season, Randy Moss wants to play next season, he announced on Ustream in a chat Monday morning. "I just wanna go to a team and play some football," said Moss, who also used the freedom of personal Internet broadcasting to show off a bag of his own hair and reveal that it smells like sauerkraut.
posted by rcade to football at 11:21 AM - 7 comments
Mickelson Erases 6-Shot Deficit in 6 Holes: Phil Mickelson turned a six-shot deficit into a two-shot lead in only six holes at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Sunday, winning over third round leader Charlie Wi. In the second-to-last group with Tiger Woods, Mickelson ended up beating him by 11 shots. Woods shot a final-round 75, worse than his amateur playing partner Tony Romo. "In one of the most shocking rounds we've seen from him since his first-round implosion at the 2011 PGA Championship, Woods completely lost it at Pebble Beach," writes Jonathan Wall of Yahoo's Devil Ball Golf.
posted by rcade to golf at 09:42 AM - 2 comments
SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 9 comments
February 12, 2012
Manningface: Peyton Manning is known as one of the best NFL quarterbacks of all time. He holds many NFL all time records and led his team to victory in in Super Bowl XLI. Manning has lost significant playing time due to a serious neck injury and it is not clear if he will return to the Colts next season, or to football at all. If he does decide to return to the gridiron to try and win another championship (to catch up with his little brother on that score) there is no clear consensus on what team he could possibly end up joining. With that speculation in the mind of every NFL fan this offseason, artist David Rappoccio has begun to visualize what it might look like if Peyton joined your local team (via MetaFilter).
posted by rcade to football at 05:36 PM - 12 comments
SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 11 comments
February 11, 2012
Pitchers and Catchers Report: The four greatest words in the English language were uttered a week early this year. Seattle Mariners hurlers and backstops arrived Saturday at their Cactus League home in Peoria, Ariz. They were given extra time to prepare for their two-game MLB season opener March 28 and 29 against the Oakland A's. (The A's aren't reporting early.)
posted by rcade to baseball at 01:52 PM - 22 comments
Jeremy Lin Drops 38 on Lakers: New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin scored 38 points and dished seven assists in a 92-85 victory Friday over the Los Angeles Lakers. Lin, an undrafted 23-year-old out of Harvard cut by two other teams earlier this season, has become an overnight sensation after scoring 25, 28, 23 and now 38 points in his first four starts with the team. "It is not often that a guy is going to play four games, the best you are going to see, and nobody knows who he is," said flabbergasted and flummoxed New York coach Mike D'Antoni.
posted by rcade to basketball at 01:25 PM - 9 comments
SportsFilter: The Saturday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 13 comments
February 10, 2012
Economists Imagine the Death of Football: "The NFL is done for the year, but it is not pure fantasy to suggest that it may be done for good in the not-too-distant future," write academic economists Tyler Cowen and Kevin Grier for Grantland. "The most plausible route to the death of football starts with liability suits. Precollegiate football is already sustaining 90,000 or more concussions each year. If ex-players start winning judgments, insurance companies might cease to insure colleges and high schools against football-related lawsuits."
posted by rcade to football at 03:43 PM - 13 comments
High school team gets technical for wearing pink cancer uniforms: If they thought there was a problem, it should have been addressed before the game,” Burke head coach Luke Lueders said. “To have that happen at halftime caught us all off-guard.”
posted by preacher81 to basketball at 02:06 PM - 4 comments
1976 Newspaper Article: Death and Football: During the week that led up to Super Bowl X in 1976, Clark Booth of the Boston alt-weekly Real Paper wrote a prophetic piece on the brutality of pro football, describing the dark side of the sport as a "world of nightmares, cripples and early death." Talking to players and sportswriters before the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers decided the championship, Booth documented the life-shortening toll the game was exacting on its players even back then -- and the denial of the consequences. Among the many harrowing stories is that of Stone Johnson, a 23-year-old Kansas City Chiefs rookie kick returner who died in 1963 after a tackle. "He was running back a kick when he got hit," another journalist told Booth. "He was instantly paralyzed from the neck down and they say he started to yell, 'Oh my God ... Oh my God ... Where's my head? ... Where's my head?" Johnson's No. 33 is retired by the Chiefs though he never played a regular season game. "I remember being thunderstruck reading [the story]," writes New York Times columnist Joe Nocera, who tracked down Booth and revived interest in the article.
posted by rcade to football at 08:07 AM - 5 comments
SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 11 comments
February 09, 2012
States Passing 'Tim Tebow' Bills for Home-Schooled Athletes: Twenty-five states have passed bills allowing home-schooled students to play sports at public schools, a movement sparked by an obscure Denver Broncos quarterback who played for Nease High School near Jacksonville, Fl., despite never stepping foot in the place as a student. A bill before Virginia's legislature is hotly debated. "I support choice, but if you've chosen that, you can't use public schools as an a la carte system," said William Bosher, a former state superintendent of schools. "It's football today. Tomorrow it's a National Academy of Sciences project. The next day it's homecoming queen. Where does it begin and end?"
posted by rcade to general at 07:01 PM - 15 comments
SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 7 comments
February 08, 2012
Cyclist: Why Doping Must Never Be Legalized: "I was a professional cyclist. ... I had several contract negotiations with teams that were at a higher level than mine. I possessed all they wanted as far as skills, personality, engine, etc. But there is always a question they ask at the final meeting. It is code. And if you answer incorrectly, your contract offer is pulled. That question is 'Are you willing to do everything it takes for the team to win?'"
posted by rcade to other at 06:59 PM - 3 comments
Fabio Capello Resigns As England Manager: After publicly criticising The Football Association's decision to strip John Terry of England Captaincy, Capello quit at a meeting with the FA chairman and General Secretary.
posted by Mr Bismarck to soccer at 03:54 PM - 11 comments
An Open Letter from Kenny Powers to Tim Tebow: "The more I read about Tim Tebow, the more I see similarities to my own life story," writes Kenny Powers. "Though neither the strongest nor the fastest, he excels at sports. Many experts doubt the remarkable lad. They tell him he throws funny, and that he doesn't have the right physique for the game. It's science, they say. He'll only go so far. But the Gifted Young Athlete refuses to let the doubters shit in his Wheaties."
posted by rcade to general at 01:41 PM - 3 comments
Kurt Warner: Eli Manning's No Hall of Famer (Yet): Despite Eli Manning's two game-winning Super Bowl drives, he has a long way to go before reaching the Hall of Fame, Kurt Warner told a Phoenix radio station. "I know we put a lot of weight on championships, and rightfully so. But championships are won as a team," said Warner, who pointed out that Manning has a lifetime 82 QB rating and threw 16 or more INTs in five of his eight seasons. "To me, those aren't Hall of Fame numbers and by that I mean every time you step on the field you're a game changer, you're a difference maker. And I don't believe Eli Manning has been that guy until this year."
posted by rcade to football at 11:38 AM - 67 comments
For Your Soul: So, here’s the game: The Jon Lovitz Devil has consigned you to an eternity of being stuck in traffic in a wheezing Ford Escort without air conditioning, and the only radio station plays Michael Bolton 24 hours a day. But you have one chance to escape your fate. You get to choose one athlete, at his or her peak, and one sport. Ever. And if that athlete wins, you get a whole different eternity, with chocolate-covered strawberries, DirecTV and a deck that overlooks the ocean. Ah, but there is one catch. You get to pick the athlete and sport. But the Jon Lovitz Devil gets to pick the terms.
posted by gfinsf to general at 06:18 AM - 49 comments
SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 22 comments
February 07, 2012
Golfer Stabbed with Broken Club During Course Melee: A golfer in Texas was stabbed by a broken golf club during a Jan. 27 brawl that began over slow play at Resort Golf Club on Eagle Mountain Lake, suffering a punctured femoral artery and massive blood loss. Clay Carpenter, 48, was in a threesome that confronted a slower foursome ahead of them to play through. He said a club was swung at his head and he broke it, then was stabbed in the groin by the same man. A member of the foursome called 911. "He's passed out once already," he said. "We've got his artery clamped with our hand."
posted by rcade to golf at 11:40 AM - 13 comments
SportsFilter: The Tuesday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 15 comments
February 06, 2012
Mets Ban Reporter: for the crime of reporting on the Mets.
posted by yerfatma to baseball at 07:54 PM - 4 comments
Cat-Murdering Dog with Dorito's Wins Super Bowl Ad Meter: The USA Today Ad Meter panel's top pick during the Super Bowl was a spot -- produced on a $20 budget -- featuring a Great Dane that murders and buries the family cat and buys his owner's silence with Dorito's brand tortilla chips. The runners-up also featured canines in a VW spot about an overweight dog and a Skechers spot with a sneaker-wearing bulldog outracing greyhounds. The game's non-football content also featured a rapper flipping the bird during a Madonna halftime show that was highlighted by a slacklining acrobat.
posted by rcade to general at 11:25 AM - 37 comments
Contador should have hired Armstrong's lawyers: Contador gets a two-year ban and forfeits a Tour de France win (among other victories). Andy Schleck is now elevated to the yellow jersey for that year.
posted by sbacharach to other at 11:25 AM - 8 comments
SportsFilter: The Monday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 10 comments
February 05, 2012
Giants edge Patriots 21 to 17: With just under a minute left the Patriots allowed the Giants to score a touchdown, and then in the final seconds the Pats failed to convert on a hail mary pass.
posted by insomnyuk to football at 10:13 PM - 122 comments
Jersey Fouls: Jersey Fouls don't have an expiration date. They're the stench that keeps on stinking.
posted by BoKnows to hockey at 09:37 PM - 3 comments
The Hoser's NFL Playoff Picks, Super Bowl XLVI: A Super Bowl pick that has invited Tiquan Underwood over for nachos and beer during the game.
posted by wfrazerjr to football at 01:15 PM - 9 comments
SportsFilter: The Sunday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 6 comments
February 04, 2012
Josh Hamilton Has Alcohol Relapse: Texas Rangers outfielder and former American League MVP Josh Hamilton can't take a drink at a bar without it becoming news. He had a relapse from his sobriety this week at Sherlock's Pub and Grill in Dallas, where he was seen with teammate Ian Kinsler. "Kinsler reportedly came to the pub after getting a phone call from Hamilton and becoming concerned," reports CBS DFW. Hamilton had Rangers coach Johnny Narron assigned to be his "accountability partner," but Narron left this off-season for a job with the Milwaukee Brewers. The first overall pick in the 1999 amateur draft, Hamilton was suspended from baseball three years for substance abuse. He's been negotiating a contract extension this spring.
posted by rcade to baseball at 03:16 PM - 7 comments
Goodell Suggests 2-Team NFL Expansion: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a TV interview that if the NFL adds a franchise in Los Angeles, it would add a second to expand the league to 34 teams. The league "doesn't want to move any of our teams," Goodell said. "We would like to be back in Los Angeles if we can do it correctly."
posted by rcade to football at 08:07 AM - 8 comments
SportsFilter: The Saturday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 10 comments
February 03, 2012
Jerry West: Teams shouldn't give in: According to former Los Angeles Lakers general manager Jerry West, teams needn't worry so much about a superstar demanding to be traded.
West, being careful not to mention players by name, alluded to situations like the one the Orlando Magic currently faces with Dwight Howard, saying there's no reason teams should give into those demands.
Asked what he would do as a lead executive in a situation where a superstar has made it known he wants out, the ex-Laker executive said it was fairly clear-cut.
"I honestly think I'd call their bluff," West said in an interview on 710 ESPN's Mason and Ireland show Thursday, not mentioning Howard specifically. "I really would, because I don't think any agent or player is going to leave $30 million on the table. ... I just don't believe that's going to happen."
posted by preacher81 to basketball at 11:46 AM - 10 comments
FA strips England captaincy from John Terry: In a statement, the FA said Terry would not "captain the England team until the allegations against him are resolved." While FA chairman David Bernstein has spoken to both John Terry and Fabio Capello to explain the facts to them, Capello has not been involved in the FA Board discussions. The BBC reports that as it understands things the majority view among FA board members was that Terry should be stood down.
posted by scully to soccer at 11:44 AM - 7 comments
Les Miles Rips Recruit who Spurned LSU: When top quarterback prospect Gunner Kiel dropped his commitment to LSU to attend Notre Dame in mid-January, LSU coach Les Miles said he understood why the Indiana prep star was staying closer to home. Miles changed his tune at a signing day event, telling fans, "There was a gentleman from Indiana that thought about coming to the Bayou state. He did not necessarily have the chest and the ability to lead a program, so you know."
posted by rcade to football at 09:40 AM - 20 comments
Four Nights in Indianapolis for Just $16,000: Some hotel rooms in downtown Indianapolis are going for $4,000 a night with a four-night minimum over the Super Bowl. The city has only 6,000 hotel rooms -- 14,000 less than the NFL requires within one hour's drive of the game site -- and procrastinators are paying the price. "It's insane," said Alan Banchand. "This is my 16th Super Bowl, and I've never, never, never seen prices like this."
posted by rcade to football at 08:08 AM - 8 comments
SportsFilter: The Friday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 19 comments
Sam Gagner has NHL's highest one game point total in 23 years: The Edmonton Oilers forward not only registered his 2nd NHL hat trick, he added an exclamation point by finishing with four goals and four assists in an 8-4- victory over the Chicago Blackhawks Thursday at Rexall Place. Gagner’s eye-popping night puts him in elite company. He tied Wayne Gretzky & Paul Coffey for points in a game by an Oiler.
posted by tommytrump to hockey at 12:48 AM - 4 comments
February 02, 2012
High School Player is 7-foot-5: A 250-student high school in Huntington Beach, Calif., has a 7-foot-5 center on its basketball team. Mamadou Ndiaye, an 18-year-old from Senegal, is averaging 23.4 points, 13.6 rebounds and 4.8 blocks a game. He's two inches taller than anyone currently in the NBA. "The minute Mamadou enrolled I became a much better basketball coach," said Brethren head coach Jon Bahnsen.
posted by rcade to basketball at 12:18 PM - 9 comments
SEC Schools Sign Fewer Players In 2012: So what impact did the SEC's new soft 25-man signing cap have on the league's programs in its first year? A pretty big one.
On average, SEC schools signed about three less players apiece on signing day 2012 than they did on signing day 2011. And for our purposes we include both Missouri and Texas A&M though they were in the Big 12 for previous signing days.
posted by preacher81 to football at 11:18 AM - 1 comment
79 Die in Clash of Egyptian Soccer Fans: Seventy nine people were killed in Egypt during a soccer riot after the match between the Al-Ahly and Al-Masry teams Wednesday. Shortly after the final whistle sounded in Al-Masry's 3-1 victory at home, the team's fans stormed the pitch, ran to where visiting fans were seated and rival fans fought with rocks and chairs. Video from Al Jazeera shows fans chasing the Al-Ahly players and riot police doing nothing.
posted by rcade to soccer at 11:09 AM - 11 comments
Ali's Trainer Angelo Dundee Dies: Angelo Dundee, the legendary boxing corner man who trained Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard and 13 other world champions, died Wednesday at his home in Tampa, Fl. He was 90. Dundee stuck with Ali through all the controversies in his career, including his conversion to the Nation of Islam in 1964 and his conviction on draft evasion charges, and was on hand to celebrate the boxer's 70th birthday last month. "He let me be exactly who I wanted to be, and he was loyal. That is the reason I love Angelo," Ali wrote in the foreword to a book by Dundee.
posted by rcade to boxing at 08:40 AM - 4 comments
SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 7 comments
February 01, 2012
Penn State Recruiting Class Flops as Top Athletes Decommit: As colleges secure players on National Signing Day, Penn State's recruiting class for 2012 fell apart after the child sex abuse scandal and the slow hire of new coach Bill O'Brien to succeed the late Joe Paterno. Seven players cancelled their commitments to the school after the scandal, including four ranked in the top 250 by Rivals. All four signed with Ohio State. The best recruit going to Penn State is probably Eugene Lewis of Plymouth, Pa., a quarterback projected to play wide receiver. "I'm excited for him to be my coach," Lewis said of O'Brien. "He's definitely a guy I want to play for." Penn State didn't get a single big-impact recruit from the state of Pennsylvania, reports PennLive: "[A]ll of the big names PSU once had its mitts on are gone."
posted by rcade to football at 11:19 AM - 9 comments
Mom Climbs Rocks with Baby on Board: A photo of a rock climber in Wales shows the 26-year-old single mom ascending a cliff with her toddler daughter in a carrier on her back. Menna Pritchard is wearing a helmet but her daughter Ffion isn't. "There was no risk of any rock fall," Menna said. " I knew 100 percent it was safe ... I had a mountain climbing instructor there too and I'm pretty confident of my own competence." Pritchard is an outdoor enthusiast who writes about babywearing, taking a young child in a sling, on her blog. "I have been a fan of 'babywearing' since before Ffion was born, doing lots of research," she writes. "I probably bought her first carrier when I was around 6 months pregnant."
posted by rcade to extreme at 10:13 AM - 23 comments
SportsFilter: The Wednesday Huddle
posted by huddle to general at 06:00 AM - 4 comments