Archives for May 2014

May 31, 2014

Hockey Analytics Pioneer Tore "JLikens" Purdy Dies: The hockey analytics blogger JLikens, author of the Objective NHL blog has been posthumously revealed to be Edmonton lawyer Tore Purdy. He died April 25 at age 28. The Edmonton Journal has collected the tributes to his work. "Tore Purdy was a genius/pioneer in NHL analytics," writes James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail.

posted by rcade to hockey at 03:38 PM - 0 comments

May 30, 2014

May 29, 2014

CNN: Steve Ballmer Reaches Deal to Buy Clippers for $2 Billion: Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has signed a binding agreement to buy the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion from the Sterling family trust, CNN reports. Ballmer, who attended several Clippers playoff games, told the Wall Street Journal this month he would not move the team from Los Angeles.

posted by rcade to basketball at 10:47 PM - 11 comments

Even if you don't follow La Liga, it's worth reading The Sids: the annual awards from Sid Lowe. They start about a quarter of the way down with "Best signing" and move on to videos of mooning a penalty kick, stories of fans playing linesman and the eloquence of Javier Aguirre:

“I said hijo de puta but I say that 10 or 12 times a game: that’s the way I talk,” Aguirre admitted, going on to say hijo de puta rather a lot to reinforce the fact that he does indeed say hijo de puta rather a lot. Out came a magnificent stream of Mexican mouthing off, his accent getting stronger with every smirk and every swear word.

posted by yerfatma to soccer at 08:28 AM - 1 comment

May 28, 2014

May 27, 2014

May 26, 2014

May 25, 2014

Josh Beckett Throws First Dodgers No-Hitter Since Nomo: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Josh Beckett threw a no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies Sunday afternoon. The 34-year-old gave up three walks and had a pitch count of 128 in the 6-0 road victory. It's his first no-no and the 24th for the franchise. The last was by Hideo Nomo against the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 17, 1996. It's the second no-hitter ever at Citizens Bank Park, following Roy Halladay's playoff no-hit victory for the Phillies over the Cincinnati Reds on Oct. 6, 2010. The last visitor to throw one in Philadelphia was Bill Stoneman of the Montreal Expos on April 17, 1969, at Connie Mack Stadium.

posted by rcade to baseball at 04:09 PM - 2 comments

May 24, 2014

May 23, 2014

May 22, 2014

Landon Donovan Left Off World Cup Roster: The United States World Cup roster is officially set, and coach Jurgen Klinsmann has left off Landon Donovan, the most accomplished player in U.S. men's soccer history. The 32-year-old has 156 caps and scored five World Cup goals. "The other guys are a little ahead of him," Klinsmann said after announcing the final roster. "He did everything right, He was always positive. His disappointment is huge, totally understand that. He took it very professional."

posted by rcade to soccer at 09:02 PM - 8 comments

May 21, 2014

May 20, 2014

Eight NFL Stars Sue for Getting Doped Up: Eight former NFL players (including HOFer Richard Dent) have sued the league for four decades of being drugged off their asses by team trainers and doctors, leading to long-term medical issues and drug addiction. The suit seeks to establish a class action that would cover every player who was treated without being fully advised of what was being done to him, which is to say pretty much every player in NFL history.

posted by Etrigan to football at 02:39 PM - 0 comments

May 19, 2014

May 18, 2014

May 17, 2014

Arsenal Comes Back to Win FA Cup Over Hull City: After falling down 2-0 on goals in the first 10 minutes by James Chester and Curtis Davies, Arsenal got goals from Santi Cazorla, Laurent Koscielny and Aaron Ramsey for a 3-2 victory over Hull City in the FA Cup final Saturday. This is Arsene Wenger's fifth FA Cup trophy as manager but the team's first major trophy in nine years. Called a "specialist in failure" by Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho earlier this season, Wenger has achieved seven major honors at the club, including two Premiership titles, since taking over in 1996. He called this trophy "more important than all the others."

posted by rcade to soccer at 08:21 PM - 3 comments

NHL Playoff Pick 'Em, Round 3: Pick the two teams that will advance to the Stanley Cup Finals -- Chicago plays Los Angeles in the West and Montreal plays the New York Rangers in the East -- and the top goal scorer in each series. One extra point on winning picks for getting the number of games right. The games begin today at 1 p.m. Eastern.

posted by rcade to hockey at 07:57 AM - 11 comments

May 16, 2014

May 15, 2014

May 14, 2014

May 13, 2014

May 12, 2014

May 11, 2014

Crossing Over:: Club Tijuana is also San Diego's team.

posted by owlhouse to soccer at 04:33 AM - 1 comment

May 10, 2014

Gay Athlete Michael Sam Drafted by St. Louis: Michael Sam has become the first openly gay player to be drafted by the NFL. The Missouri defensive end, honored as the SEC defensive player of the year last season, was selected in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams. "We were very fortunate to have the supplemental choices," Fisher said on NFL Network. "You use those for players you want to give an opportunity to, that you think that you want to draft. I haven't said a whole lot to anybody over the last week or so but after doing the studies, good football player."

posted by rcade to football at 08:06 PM - 32 comments

Josh Gordon Failed Drug Test, Faces Year-Long Suspension: Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon faces a potential year-long suspension after a positive drug test, sources told NFL.Com. Gordon, who had a breakout year in 2013 with nine touchdowns and a league-leading 1,646 receiving yards, was suspended for the first two games that season for a substance abuse policy violation.

posted by rcade to football at 10:25 AM - 10 comments

May 09, 2014

May 08, 2014

Live: 2014 NFL Draft: The Houston Texans are on the clock.

posted by rcade to football at 07:47 PM - 21 comments

Football Scouting Reports on Superheroes.: How NFL Scouts might view Superman, Spiderman, The Hulk, The Flash, Wolverine and The Toad.

posted by Joey Michaels to football at 05:42 PM - 1 comment

May 07, 2014

Bills Pro Bowler Arrested on Felony Drug Charges: Buffalo Bills Pro Bowl defensive tackle Marcell Dareus was arrested on felony drug possession charges in Cleburne County, Alabama, Monday night after being stopped for speeding on Interstate 20. Dareus allegedly had synthetic marijuana (spice) in his vehicle. The third overall pick in the 2011 draft, Dareus had his best season in 2013 with 71 tackles and 7.5 sacks.

posted by rcade to football at 08:00 AM - 0 comments

Kansas State denies player the right to transfer away: "With a release, Romero could go to another Division I school and receive scholarship money while sitting out the required year to transfer. But without the release, she would have to pay all her own expenses for that year, which she says she's not in a financial position to do as a foreign student."

posted by yerfatma to basketball at 07:58 AM - 5 comments

May 06, 2014

Warriors fire coach Mark Jackson: Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson has been fired following a meeting with the team’s ownership group.

posted by BornIcon to basketball at 03:25 PM - 0 comments

May 05, 2014

May 04, 2014

May 03, 2014

Brain Trauma Extends to the Soccer Field: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated blows to the head, has been found posthumously in a 29-year-old former soccer player, the strongest indication yet that the condition is not limited to athletes who played sports known for violent collisions, like football and boxing.

posted by BornIcon to soccer at 12:44 PM - 2 comments

May 02, 2014

Report: Clippers Owner Donald Sterling Has Prostate Cancer: Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, 80, has been battling prostate cancer, the New York Post reports. The newspaper provides this tasteless quote from an unnamed source: "They thought he would die two years ago. People have been predicting his imminent demise." A decade ago Sterling wouldn't pay for the prostate cancer treatment of then-assistant coach Kim Hughes. "I contacted the Clippers about medical coverage and they said the surgery wouldn't be covered," Hughes said in 2011. "They said if they did it for one person, they'd have to do it for everybody else."

posted by rcade to basketball at 04:38 PM - 2 comments

May 01, 2014

NHL Playoff Pick 'Em, Round 2: Pick the four teams that will advance out of the second round: Chicago vs. Minnesota, Boston vs. Montreal, Anaheim vs. Los Angeles, Pittsburgh vs. New York Rangers. The playoffs begin tonight at 7 p.m. Eastern, so get them in as fast as possible to avoid allegations of dirty dealing. One extra point on winning picks for getting the number of games right.

posted by rcade to hockey at 07:55 PM - 12 comments