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11.30.2002
Hog Wild: The Arkansas Razorbacks stunned LSU, 21-20, in college football to earn a spot in the SEC title game. It was the way Arkansas won that was stunning. Down 20-14, the Hogs got the ball at their own 19 with 34 seconds left and defeat seemed imminent. But a 50-yard pass on first down was followed two plays later by a 31-yard prayer that went answered from quarterback Matt Jones to DeCori Birmingham. The extra point gave the Hogs the win and left the Tigers muttering to themselves.
On the Shelf: The Philadelphia Flyers are in a tight NHL division race and now will be without star forward John LeClair for up to 12 weeks. LeClair will undergo surgery on his shoulder.
11.29.2002
Redskins Still Turkeys: The Dallas Cowboys have been a mediocre team since 1997, but they play like Super Bowl champs against the Washington Redskins. On Thanksgiving, the Cowboys came from behind to beat the Redskins, 27-20, for their 10th straight win over their rival dating back to 1997. The Cowboys came from 20-10 down in the third to pull out the win as Emmit Smith rushed for a season-high 144 yards.
Simms Strikes Again: CBS NFL announcer Phil Simms frequently makes comments about the looks and bods of players (and even refs). Kind of makes us wonder if Phil has a side we don't know about. He was at it again during the Thanksgiving game between Detroit and New England. Commenting about how New England QB Tom Brady always is smiling, Simms noted the player's rich contract, Super Bowl ring and the fact that he's "a good-looking boy." At least Simms has good taste.
11.28.2002
Happy Thanksgiving from Outsports.com. Enjoy the holiday! Jim and Cyd
11.27.2002
New Guys in Charge: Two front office moves have intrigued us this week. First, talk about a youth movement. The Boston Red Sox hired 28-year-old Theo Epstein (left) as their new general manager. ``We're going to win a World Series," Epstein said, which either reflects youthful exuberance or a lack of historical perspective; the Sox haven't won a Series since 1918. No one can say Epstein can't identify with today's athlete, though.
The other hiring was actually a promotion as the Baltimore Ravens made Ozzie Newsome the first black general manager in league history. He had been a VP of player personnel. "From a historical standpoint, this is very significant,'' Newsome said. ``I'm the only black general manager in the National Football League. Growing up in the South, there were a lot of times when I was one of the first. I was one of the first blacks to play Little League baseball."
11.26.2002
Too Painful to Watch: The dislocated elbow suffered by Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Koy Detmer was one of the most gruesome-looking injuries we've seen. Detmer fell hard on his left arm after being knocked down in Monday's game at San Francisco. When he hit the ground, the pain was so intense his legs shook violently. Replay made it look like his arm was broken in two. Amazingly, Detmer was back on the sidelines an hour later after trainers managed to manipulate his elbow back into place. He then gave an interview to ABC and sounded no worse for the wear.
He Told You So: When Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb broke his ankle last week, we were among those who said the Iggles' Super Bowl hopes were gone. But contributor Joe Guckin said not so fast. In perceptive article last week, Joe said the Eagles were far from done. After the Birds' 38-17 thrashing at San Francisco on Monday night, who are we to argue?
11.25.2002
Ugly Scenes: Face it, many fans are idiots. They identify with teams, thinking they are somehow responsible for success or agonize over failure (witness people who say "We won."). They take wins and losses too personally and they more and more frequently are getting out of hand. On Saturday--rivalry day for many teams--fans got extra rowdy at six venues, setting fires, damaging cars and injuring people. In Pullman, Wash., fans of Washington State threw bottles and other objects on the field after the Cougars lost to rival Washington, 29-26. "I feared for my life,'' Washington athletic director Barbara Hedges said. In Columbus, 45 rioting Ohio State fans were arrested after a post-game celebration got out of hand. In three other venues, people were hurt after fans tore down goal posts.
Jawboning: It was an odd site--an NFL coach woofing with an opposing player. Green Bay Packers coach Mike Sherman called Tampa Bay lineman Warren Sapp to task as both ran off the field following Sunday's game. The two went almost face to face and we caught a couple of "F-You's" by each. Sherman was upset by the hard hit Sapp laid on Packer lineman Chad Clifton, knocking Clifton out of the game. Sherman thought Sapp celebrated over the prone Clifton and told him he had no class. Sapp said (correctly) the hit was clean and was unapologetic. Guess these guys won't be sending each other Christmas cards.
11.24.2002
Buckeyes Going to Tempe: Ohio State held off Michigan, 13-9, to finish 13-0 and earn a trip to college football's national title game in Jan. 3 Fiesta Bowl. We hate the Bowl Championship Series and aren't convinced the Buckeyes are one of the top two teams, but they deserve the berth based on the BCS formula. Ohio State will play Miami, if the Hurricanes win their next two. Ohio State's win means that Iowa will get the Rose Bowl berth, not a bad consolation prize.
Running Fool: Penn State's Larry Johnson rushed for 277 yards in the Nittany Lions' 61-7 rout of Michigan State. Johnson became the ninth player in NCAA history to gain 2,000 yards rushing in a season. Johnson looks like a good choice to win the Heisman Trophy and we're certain he has Michigan State's vote.
11.23.2002
It's Rivalry Day: It's a great day to be a college football fan as the big rivalry games are played. Ohio State-Michigan, USC-UCLA, Oregon-Oregon State, Tennessee-Vanderbilt, Alabama-Auburn and Harvard-Yale are just some of the games where--as the cliche goes--you can throw out the record book. These games inspire fierce passions and are often more memorable than bowl or championship games. As Michigan fans love to say, "Oh, I Hate, Ohio State;" the feelings are mutual among Buckeye fans and that's what makes this weekend so special.
Shaq Is Back: Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille made his first appearance of the season and was just the tonic the team needed in an 86-73 win over Chicago. With Shaq sidelined by a toe injury, the Lakers stumbled out to a 3-9 record. His return this early in the season gives the Lakers plenty of time to get back to their elite status and contend for a fourth straight NBA title.
11.22.2002
Wells Wins His Case: A bartender, who was outweighed by the New York Yankees' David Wells by 110 pounds, was
convicted of punching the pitcher at an New York bar in September. Rocco Graziosa (how's that for a bartender's name?)
was convicted of assault for knocking out two of Wells' teeth after the portly pitcher put his hand on his shoulder
during an altercation. Witnessess said Wells (6-4, 250) was drunk at the time.
Jurors, including at least one Yankee fan,
said Graziosa (5-6, 140) had options other than slugging Wells. Mel Sachs, who represents Wells and the Yankees, told Newsday: "He
acted as a true Yankee. Justice was served in the courtroom." Yep, sounds like the Yankees we've come to know and
love.
Make It a Dozen:The Dallas Mavericks won their 12th straight NBA game on Thursday, giving them the
fourth-longest streak to start a season.
11.21.2002
No Attack Without Shaq: If the Los Angeles Lakers win the NBA title for the fourth straight year, it will show how totally meaningless the regular season is. The Lakers lost again Wednesday night, 95-88 to San Antonio, to drop to 3-9. They expect to get ailing center Shaquille O'Neal back on Friday, but their problems go beyond him. The Lakers are not playing with any passion--save for Kobe Bryant--and act as if they can just turn it on come spring. If this attitude is rewarded and the Lakers win it all again, we propose the NBA start its season in April with a giant playoff round and save us all the bother of the regular season.
Hokies Fall: It wasn't too long ago that Virginia Tech seemed to have a shot at the college football national championship. A loss ended that dream and now two more have made it a less than satisfying season for the Hokies. The latest defeat was 21-18 Wednesday to surprising West Virginia. The Mountaineers can earn a share of the Big East title if Pittsburgh upsets No. 1 Miami.
11.20.2002
The Thorpedo Swims Straight: Ian Thorpe, one of the greatest swimmers in history and an Australian icon, says he's not gay. Thorpe, 20, has long been the subject of rumors about his sexuality and he was a spectator at the recent Gay Games. One Australian paper interviewed Outsports, saying they wanted to have stories ready if Thorpe came out. But the multi-gold medalist with the size 17 feet says he's straight, telling Australian ABC Radio: ``I think people are very quick to judge. You know I'm a little bit different to what most people would consider being an Australian male. That doesn't make me gay.
``I mean I'm straight, so people want to claim me as part of a minority group and put labels on you and that's not what I'm about, and I don't understand why people are like that. I think it's because when I speak at engagements I try to speak as well as I possibly can. I try to be articulate, I don't put on a slang, I don't try and sound macho, with an Australian accent just for the sake of having it.
``I have an interest in fashion, I have interests in things most people don't label as being part of the macho male thing.''
Thorpe has his own line of jewelry and his picture graces the cover of Quantas' current inflight duty free magazine hawking his wares. Marcus O'Donnell, editor of the Sydney Star Observer (a gay Sydney paper), told Australia Associated Press that he applauded Thorpe.
"There have been a lot of rumors and a lot of speculation about Thorpie and really he has hit the nail on the head - it's because he doesn't measure up to the typical macho Aussie sporting hero," O'Donnell said. "It's perfectly cool now to be straight and have an interest in Armani fashion or pearl jewellery or Kylie Minogue - and why shouldn't it be? It's great that Thorpe is now confident enough to address these rumours head on."
11.19.2002
Horns of a Dilemma: The St. Louis Rams won their fifth straight NFL game on Monday night, holding off the Chicago Bears, 21-16. After starting 0-5, the Rams are now at .500 and have a shot at the playoffs. It was the fifth start and fifth win for quarterback Marc Bulger. He threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns Monday and was in command of the Rams' complicated offense. All should be well, but there's trouble under the arch.
Coach Mike Martz has announced he will start Kurt Warner next week and bench Bulger. Warner is the hero of the 1999 Super Bowl season but has been out since Week 5 with a broken finger. Martz is of the school that says no player should lose his job because of injury. That's usually fine, but in this case Martz may be making a huge mistake. Bulger has revived a team thought dead, while Warner has not yet shown that the thumb that has bothered him since last year is healed enough for him to throw effectively. But Martz is stubborn, and unless he changes his mind, the hottest quarterback in football will be riding the pines.
11.18.2002
No Pain, Please: To say that football is a violent sport with the players in constant danger of debilitating injury is to state the obvious. But as a friend of ours said on Sunday, it really is a drag when marquee players go out with injuries (not to say that non-star injuries are OK). Three on Sunday were major:
* The Pittsburgh Steeler's quarterback Tommy Maddox is the feel-good story of the year so far in NFL. Maddox was out of football for years but he caught on with the Steelers and was playing really well. Until Sunday that is. Maddox collided with the Tennessee Titans Keith Bulluck and was knocked out cold. The 31 year-old Maddox was unconscious and had to be carted off the field in an ambulance. He had no feeling or movement in his lower legs for a while and ultimately was diagnosed with a concussion and a spinal cord contusion. He's expected to recover full movement in his limbs but it's really scary to see that happen to a player.
* The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb is one of the most exciting players in the NFL. But we won't have the pleasure of watching him play for at least 6-8 weeks after he broke his ankle on Sunday. The amazing thing is that he broke it early in the game but played four quarters. Now that's tough.
* In other quarterback injury news, the Denver Bronco's hot QB Brian Griese could be out for up to a month with a knee sprain after the Seattle Seahawks 295 lb. defensive lineman Rocky Bernard was blocked in to him by a Bronco's lineman.
So instead of excellent players like Tommy Maddox, Donovan McNabb and Brian Griese, we'll get the likes of Koy Detmer and Steve Beuerlein playing the most important position in football. One silver lining: the hot Steeler QB Kordell Stewart will have a chance to reclaim his permanent starting position that he lost through poor play.
We hope that there are no long term effects for the 3 injured players.
11.17.2002
Mavs Are Perfect (So Far): The Dallas Mavericks have made a statement a few weeks in to play in NBA's Western Conference: We are a factor. While most people (including) us were predicting a Los Angeles Lakers vs. Sacramento Kings conference final again this year, the Mavericks aren't playing along with that script.
The Lakers and Kings have gotten off to slow starts, but on Saturday the Mavericks ran their record to 10-0 with a 96-88 win over, the New Jersey Nets. The biggest factor in the Mavs hot start? They've seemingly grasped the concept that playing defense will help them win. They've been fun to watch on offense for the last few years with their run-and-gun style but that doesn't work in the playoffs, where defense and rebounding are so important.
While the Lakers figure to get better when Shaquille O'Neal returns and the Kings will play better ball, we think the Mavericks (along with fellow Texans the San Antonio Spurs) will have a bigger say in who represents the West in the NBA Finals this year. Oh, and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is really cute as well.
Dusty, Dusty, He's Our Man: As expected, the Chicago Cubs paid out the big bucks ($14-16 million for 4 years) to land former San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker, hoping that the highly regarded baseball man will lead them to the promised land, also known in Wrigleyville as the World Series. We wish him the best of luck; he's going to need it as the Cubs seem to be content to make money off of their "loveable losers" aura. Rumors are that players will now consider playing in Chicago, solely because Baker is in charge.
No Duh: One of the stranger stories recently was former NBA player Manute Bol (all 7'7") trying to raise money for his impoverished homeland in Sudan by signing a contract to play ice hockey for the minor league Indianapolis Ice. His debut ended after one period when he left the game due to sore feet. We're not surprised at all!
11.16.2002
Memo to Jesse Jackson: Shut Up: The controversy over whether the Augusta National Golf Club, hosts of the prestigious Masters golf tournament, will admit women members took a farcical turn when the Reverend Jesse Jackson threw his hat in to the ring of the issue.
Obviously, Jackson has done a lot of excellent social justice work, but just as obviously, he's a camera moth, someone who has to express his opinion on issues when no one is really asking for it, preferably with the national media around.
Comments attributed to Jackson about the Augusta National situation are a bit over the top. For example:
"We support strongly the movement to end the gender apartheid at Augusta National Golf Club. The gender bigotry is as offensive as racial bigotry or religious bigotry," Jackson said.
While it seems that Jesse Jackson is being his usual hyperbolic self, to equate a private--emphasis on the word private--golf club not admitting women even remotely with the horror of the legal segregation prevalent in South Africa for decades is somewhat odd. They are not even remotely morally equivalent.
He further stated that "This is not a sorority or a fraternity. This is a very national, public organization. It is as much public as it is private." It's hard to agree with him here. Augusta National IS a private club, like it or not. It controls every aspect of the Masters tournament with an iron fist and that is why it can tell sponsors to take a hike so they don't face boycotts. Just because they deign to put on arguably the most famous golf tournament in the world doesn't make the club a "public" institution. We can see an end result of the pressure tactics being the tournament itself being scrapped so as to give a big middle finger to the protesters. Such public displays as advocated by Jackson could backfire but as we've mentioned before, this story is far from over.
11.15.2002
College Hoops Starts: The men's college basketball season officially started on Thursday and we're happy about that. There's just something about the style of play that appeals; could it be that there's actually passing and teamwork involved, not just isolation one-on-one plays like in the NBA? The March Madness tournament is easily one of the best sporting events in the country and we look forward to league play starting around December.
Unfortunately for the Oklahoma Sooners, their sports team's woes continue. The men's basketball team was ranked #3 in the country but they lost to #8 Alabama 68-62 in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. In the other game of the double-dip, Memphis beat Syracuse 70-63.
Hit The Books: In what could be one of the most sweeping reforms ever to hit NCAA college sports, the NCAA Management Council is considering implementing a rule that states that if at least 50% of a program's student-athletes don't graduate, then that program won't be eligible for postseason play. The Management Council is also considering awarding extra scholarships to programs that post graduation rates of over 80%, among a number of proposals.
While the proposals are still on the drawing board, there is still many details to iron out. For example, what constitutes "graduating"? Student-athletes now have a 6 year window to complete their studies, but schools don't get credit for athletes who transfer or quit while in good academic standing.
If the details are worked out, it could have massive implications. To mention the Oklahoma Sooners again, if the rules were in place, the Sooners abysmal 6% (!!!) graduation rate would see them bounced from bowl game contention. This is a definitely a proposal that should be given serious consideration and it's one to keep an eye on.
11.14.2002
We're Shocked. Not!: As a follow up to our recent item about the idiot that ran on to the field and attacked a player during a recent Canadian Football League game, we are completely not shocked to find out that the doofus was drunk when he did it. Jody Remple, a 22 year-old construction worker, admitted he was drunk and says that "peer pressure" goaded him in to running on the field.
We saw a video clip of the incident the other night and the 5'8", 175 lb. man is lucky he's not in a wheelchair: the players were giving him a good kicking, that's for sure. In what qualifies as possibly the understatement of the year, Remple said "I feel like a goof. I look at it on TV and I just shake my head. I couldn't believe it. Nobody wants to get humiliated like that in front of millions of people.'' For the record, Remple was fined $180 Canadian for causing a disturbance. He's lucky he's not facing thousands of dollars in medical bills. People and booze just don't mix sometimes.
Children: In one of the signs of the decline of western civilization, closing arguments began in a trial to decide who gets possession of the baseball that the San Francisco Giant's Barry Bonds hit for his 73rd homerun last year. Alex Popov claims that he caught the ball and that Patrick Hayashi was part of a mob that ripped the ball from his glove. Hayashi denies the claim.
At stake is a baseball that figures to fetch a lot of money on the sport collectibles market but it's sad that so much energy has been wasted on the issue. Previous attempts at reaching a settlement failed and so the case is before Judge Kevin McCarthy for resolution. We hope that the winner enjoys the money they'll make, but the whole incident doesn't reflect well on either party and the frenzy and money-grabbing that surrounds sports records these days. Nowadays, how much a record ball is going to get in the open market almost takes precedence over the event itself. How sad that is.
11.13.2002
MVP's: The final major awards for baseball excellence were handed out and there were no surprises at who the winners were.
Barry Bonds, as anyone who knows even the bare minimum about baseball could have predicted, was chosen the National League Most Valuable Player. He unanimously won his 5th overall MVP award. There really wasn't any other choice to be made as Bonds was the engine that drove the Giants all the way to the World Series.
In the American League, the Oakland A's Miguel Tejada beat out the highest paid player in sports, Alex Rodriguez, to win his first MVP award. Tejeda got numerous big hits throughout the season, especially to down the stretch. Congratulations to both players. Spring training starts in February.
All-Americans: The pre-season college basketball AP All-Americans were announced and they are:
David West (Xavier); Luke Walton (Arizona); Jason Gardner (Arizona); Kirk Hinrich (Kansas) and Erwin Dudley (Alabama).
What's kind of odd about this list is that all the players are seniors, something that is increasingly rare for A-list college hoopsters. For example, last season's list had only one senior; the other four jumped to the NBA before completing their college eligibility.
We miss the days when it was almost unheard of for a college player to declare for the NBA early. In some cases, such as Kobe Bryant, it makes sense. Most mortals could use the extra time to gain experience and bulk up for the much rougher NBA season, however.
11.12.2002
No Women Allowed (Still): Augusta National golf club was embroiled in controversy earlier this year when Martha Burk of the National Council Women's Organizations (NCWO) lambasted the private club for its male-only policy. In a November 4 interview with The Associated Press, Augusta National Chairman Hootie Johnson was unrepentant. His message was unambiguous: the 2003 Masters will go ahead as planned despite threats that the NCWO will organize boycotts of the prestigious tournament's TV sponsors, there will be no woman members at the exclusive club for the 2003 event and, for that matter, no woman will be asked to join anytime in the near future.
Augusta National is using the same logic that the Boy Scouts use when defending its policy of excluding gays and atheists: it is a private organization and as such is allowed to set its own rules, free from local, state and federal anti-discrimination laws. While it appears that the Scouts' position is somewhat tenuous due to the organization's acceptance of government money, Augusta is so well-off financially that they've bluntly told the NCWO that political action against the TV sponsors of The Masters will not work because they've pulled all advertising from the CBS telecast. Golf fans benefit as it is thought that it will be the first commercial-free sporting event on network television.
While we think that Augusta National's stance smacks of attitudes of 1902, not 2002, they are probably correct in their contention that legally they are under no obligation to admit women to their club. We suspect that we haven't heard the last of this story.
Why Dusty? Why?: Dusty Baker met with the Chicago Cubs on Monday to begin negotiations regarding the open manager's position at the sad-sack Northside team. If anyone can turn around that sorry franchise, which seems to almost revel in being losers, it's Baker. But the pressure will intense and he may regret taking the job. We hope not.
11.11.2002
Red Sox Rejection: We have a very vocal contingent of Boston Red Sox fans on our messageboard. One thing that unites them is intense dislike of the Red Sox front office, especially former General Manager Dan Duquette. So we can picture Sox fans being giddy at the thought of Billy Beane, now GM for the Oakland A's, wanting to come to Boston to help turn around a dysfunctional franchise that has the second highest payroll in baseball but no trophies to show for it. Beane is widely considered one of the top two or three GM's in baseball, mainly for building the small market (that is, low budget) A's into contenders. After much back and forth between the Red Sox and A's, Beane was given permission to talk to the Red Sox about moving East.
But it was much ado about nothing: Beane is staying put and the BoSox search for a permanent GM continues. It's rumored that the debt-ridden Red Sox couldn't meet Beane's money demands but Beane also has a daughter who lives in California, so maybe family matters prevailed. In any case, the A's keep one of the shrewdest men in baseball and the Red Sox have retread Mike Port to guide them through a crucial off-season rebuilding process. Heaven help the denizens of Fenway Park.
Canadians Can Be Idiots Too: It seems that fans attacking players has become a trend. With 7 seconds left in a Canadian Football League playoff game on Sunday, a fan rushed on to the field and attacked the B.C. Lions Eric Carter. We're completely baffled about why someone would willingly attack a football who's in his uniform. We won't be amazed in the slightest that in the follow up to this story that a combination of these words will appear: drugs, bet, booze, insane.
Our favorite part of this story is that a bunch of players ganged up on the idiot and meted out instant justice. Normally we're opposed to fighting, but maybe that'll teach fans that they belong in the stand, not the headlines.
11.10.2002
Clarity: The college football championship picture got very interesting on Saturday. The University of Miami Hurricanes, who spent all week whining about "lack of respect" because some weak wins had dropped them to #3 in the Bowl Championship Series, soundly beat Tennessee's Vols 26-3. So far, so what? The Oklahoma Sooners losing to unranked Texas A&M is so what. The loss by the #1 ranked Sooners means that there are only two undefeated in contention for the automatic two slots to the college football championship game: Miami and Ohio State.
Ohio State was less than impressive in grinding out a 10-6 win at Purdue but the Buckeye's have their destiny in their own hands; if both Miami and Ohio State remain undefeated, even the screwy BCS can't deny them a place in the championship game. Should either of them lose, then all heck will break loose as there will be a bunch of teams with one defeat that will claim they are the true title contenders. For example, Texas and their totally hot (but chokes in big games) QB Chris Simms, will be screaming loudly if they win their last two games (against Texas Tech and Texas A&M) and either Miami or Ohio State stumble. Miami has Pitt, Syracuse and Virginia Tech left on their schedule. Oklahoma has a seemingly easy schedule remaining against Baylor, Texas Tech and cross-state rivals Oklahoma State. But, of course, Oklahoma State would love nothing better than to ruin their hated rivals national title dreams.
Ohio State has earned somewhat of a reputation as big game chokers and they'll have a chance to bury that if they can beat Illinois next week. The following week they play Michigan at home and considering how many times the Wolverines have ruined Buckeye seasons, Ohio State would love nothing more than a chance for redemption.
We thank Oklahoma for losing yesterday; it suddenly makes the BCS interesting!
11.9.2002
Cheapskate Steinbrenner: Sometimes it seems that the New York Yankees are a division of the U.S. Mint, printing out piles of money almost at will. Playing in the number one media market in the country, they have a great television deal that ensures a steady flow of cash. But because of their wealth, the Yankees will pay heavily in to whatever revenue-sharing schemes baseball implements, somehow levelling the playing field less well-off teams.
So it comes as a surprise that the Yankees are thinking of cutting back on employees dental plans, among other cost cutting measures. They've already cut the hours of elevator operators at the famous Yankee Stadium, for example. It seems that every time a big free agent is signed, front office employees are let go. There was also a secretary's union that was broken up.
Instead of firing front-office staff, wouldn't it be easier to get rid of a stiff like John Vander Wal to cut costs? And if the Yankees have to cut costs, what might the financial situation be for other teams? The owners have been pleading poverty for years and while we think they're pretty much pathological liars, we don't doubt that a lot of teams are in precarious financial health. For example, Anaheim claim to have made a profit of a measly $25,000 in 2001 (a major reason that Disney is trying to sell the team). Maybe we are entering a new era of baseball economics. Certainly the employees laid off in cost-costing cutting moves by the Yankees have; it's called unemployment.
Dream Ends: After a great 19-year career and two NBA titles with the Houston Rockets, Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon will retire today in what promises to be an emotional evening at the Compaq Center in Houston. Although he left to play for Toronto briefly, he returned to the Rockets with the intention of retiring.
Olajuwon formed a powerful partnership with guard Clyde Drexler in the 90's and it was a joy to see his silky moves in action.
11.8.2002
Never In A Million Years: When we read about this, our first reaction was "This would never happen in America in a million years".
Sigma Olomouc plays football (soccer) in the Czech Republic. In the 2000-2001 season they finished 3rd in the Czech League. But they're having a bad year in the current season, limping to a 2-5-5 (won-drawn-lost) record, putting them 13th in the 16-team league. Why is this newsworthy?
Because team officials ordered their players to foot the bill for tickets to Saturday's game against powerhouse Sparta Prague. And the players agreed to it! Can you even begin to imagine the major league baseball union even entertaining such crazy talk? No, we can't either.
Fans of both teams will get in free to the Andruv Stadium. At about $2 ticket (another thing we can't even conceive of in America), the players will be out about $24,000. Big deal, right? That's pocket money for an NBA player. The average salary in the Czech Republic is about $6,000, though it's certain the players make more.
The players, for their part, accepted the punishment for poor play. "None us even thought about grumbling,'' captain Martin Vaniak said. "We hope the stadium will be packed. We want to get the fans back on our side.''
In a sports culture where money rules all, the thought of, say, Lakers players giving up $20, let alone $20,000, in penance for sleepwalking through yet another regular season snoozefest is absurd. If only.....
[Thanks to ESPN.com for this story]
Z Rules: Congratulations to Outsports favorite Barry Zito of the Oakland A's for winning the American League Cy Young Award, given to the AL's top pitcher. The crafty lefthander went 23-5 with a 2.75 ERA to best the Red Sox' Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe in the balloting. Zito was a major factor in the A's winning the American League West and, with teammates Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson, is part of the cutest starting staff in baseball.
11.7.2002
Quick Hits: Since it was kind of a slow day, sports-news wise, we'll highlight some items that don't really merit lengthy comment.
* Dusty Baker has officially left his post as manager of the National League Champion San Francisco Giants. The rift between Baker and Giants owner Peter Magowan was irreparable so the excellent baseball man is a leading contender for the poisoned chalice called the Chicago Cubs job. The Seattle Mariners are also interested in acquiring his services.
* In more baseball manager news, Mike Scoscia of the World Champion Anaheim Angels and Tony LaRussa of the St. Louis Cardinals were named Manager of the Year for the American and National Leagues, respectively. Congratulations to both. Now do it again next year!
* The New York Knicks won't go 0-82 in the 2002-03 NBA season. After an 0-4 start, they finally beat the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, 95-88. Sacramento, who are expected to be a force in the Western Conference, lost 3 games in a row for the first time since the 2000-01 season. Playing 4 games in 5 nights certainly hasn't helped. But they still have the hottest player in the NBA, Peja Stojakovic, on their roster.
* The man with the designer stubble, St. Louis Rams QB Kurt Warner, said that he plans to be back playing by the November 18th game against the hapless Chicago Bears. While we understand how the pecking order works in pro sports with incumbent players and their replacements, it should be noted that the Rams were 0-4 with Warner and 3-1 with replacement Marc Bulger.
11.6.2002
Big Unit x 5: Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks, known as The Big Unit, won his fourth consecutive (and fifth overall) Cy Young Award, awarded to the top pitcher in the National League. Johnson was thoroughly dominant during the 2002 season. He went 24-5 with a 2.32 ERA and 334 strikeouts, becoming the first major leaguer since Boston's Pedro Martinez in 1999 and the first National League pitcher since the Mets' Dwight Gooden in 1985 to win pitching's triple crown.
Naturally the 39-year-old lefthander will be compensated: Johnson earned a $1 million bonus on top of his $12.35 million salary for the Cy Young award selection. In addition, his 2003 salary automatically increased from $12 million to $15 million. He shows no sign of slowing down and although he'll probably never catch Nolan Ryan as the all-time strikeout leader (he trails the hot Texan by about 2,000 K's), he'll almost certainly pass the man who is number two, Steve Carlton, in about 2 seasons (as will Roger Clemens). What an incredible pitcher Randy Johnson is.
Lakers Suck: It figured to be tough winning games for the Los Angeles Lakers as they played the first few weeks of the new NBA season without All-World Center Shaquille O'Neal. But the 3-time defending NBA champions hit an all-time low on Tuesday, scoring just 70 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers. That's the fewest points the Lakers have scored in a game since the team moved from Minnesota in 1960. It might be a little early to hit the panic button, but Shaq will certainly be welcomed back.
Our Condolences: On a far more tragic note, Bowling Green soccer player Leslie Dawley collapsed and died five minutes in to a Mid-America Conference tournament game against Buffalo. Trainers worked to save her, but she died at the hospital. An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death for the 18-year-old midfielder. Our deepest condolences to her family and teammates.
11.5.2002
TV Rights Mean Big Money: A few of our friends bought satellite dishes specifically to get DirectTV's NFL package (all the Sunday afternoon games). It's a great deal at $179 a season, but those friends might be annoyed that their purpose-bought satellite dishes could be rendered pointless.
DirectTV's contract expires at the end of the season and they are desperate to retain exclusive rights to the NFL package, which has driven sales of dishes and programming packages for the service. But the NFL, probably the only sports league in the US that negotiates from a position of strength (i.e. they deliver the hardest to reach demographic, men 18-34, to advertisers), is playing hardball. DirectTV is offering $200 million/year but the NFL is seeking 4-500 mil/year.
The proposed merger of the country's two satellite systems, EchoStar and DirectTV, has been foundering due to anti-trust issues but there's a potential new buyer for DirectTV: News Corp., owner of Fox. News Corp. would love to buy Direct TV for it's NFL package, among other assets, and thus prevent rivals from placing the NFL on general cable. It's a tangled web they weave and it's a fool who bets against the NFL when it comes to the No Fun League making money.
Police Blotter, Part 2: The Big 10 (which has 11 teams, go figure) was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons again on Saturday. Michigan State tailback Dawan Moss was arrested in East Lansing, Michigan, accused of dragging a police officer with his car after a traffic stop and then fleeing the scene. It almost goes without saying that he was also charged with drunken driving. To add to his woes, the Spartans co-captain was promptly dismissed from the team.
We can't help wonder if police officials should avoid football players named Moss during traffic stops (see: Moss, Randy). And we find it really sad that (again) alcohol is at least indirectly responsible for derailing a promising player's career.
11.4.2002
Naughty Badgers: It wasn't a good weekend for the Wisconsin Badgers college football program. On Friday, Lee Evans, an excellent receiver who has been sidelined for the entire season with a knee injury, was busted for marijuana possession in Ridgeway, Wisconsin. He was charged with misdemeanor possession, which carries a maximum of $1,000 or six months in jail.
On Sunday morning, Badger's running back Anthony Davis was taken to the hospital after a domestic dispute. He was treated for a deep puncture wound in the middle of his thigh. A 22-year-old woman was arrested on a tentative charge of second-degree recklessly endangering safety.
These kinds of incidents are so common that they barely rate a shocked "How could they?" anymore. We yearn for the days when team publicists would have quashed any publicity about the incidents.
Yawn: For the last week, the hype about quarterback Drew Bledsoe's first game against his former team the New England Patriots was setting up expectations of a classic game.
Unfortunately, as a lot of these kinds of games turn out to be, it was anything but. The Patriots scored on their first drive and had built up a 17-0 lead when we decided to switch for good to the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns game. Drew Bledsoe is still hot as hell and is having a great season, but today the Bills didn't bother to show up as a team. On to the next hugely hyped game....
11.3.2002
No Luck For The Irish: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish might have fumbled away their chance at a national college football title on Saturday in South Bend, Indiana. Literally: the #4 ranked Irish coughed up the football 7 times, losing 3 of them to the Boston College Eagles. Mix in 2 interceptions, including a disastrous shovel pass gone bad that was returned by BC 71 yards for a touchdown and you have a Notre Dame team with their first loss of the season.
Boston College has made a speciality of ruining Notre Dame's unbeaten seasons. In 1993, BC beat the Irish in the final game of the regular season to spoil a perfect record for the men in green and gold. Saturday the choice of Notre Dame's uniform color provided extra motivation for the underdog Eagles. Notre Dame's excellent coach, Tyrone Willingham, thought it would be nice for his team to wear their green jerseys at home for the first time in 17 years as a show of solidarity with their green-clad fans who were wearing "Return to Glory" shirts. Wrong! Boston College was quick to take offense. "It felt like they didn't respect us at all, " defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka said. "They thought they could come out and do anything; they didn't have to prepare the way they did other games."
Notre Dame's unbeaten run always seemed a little fragile; their offense was ranked 109th out of 117 Division 1-A and Saturday it showed why. Two different quarterbacks couldn't move the offense until late in the game and a strong Irish defense wasn't enough to pull out a win. The talk of a possible new Irish dynasty has been put on hold. And we're glad about that!
New York, New York: To follow up yesterday's item about whether New York or San Francisco will be the United States candidate for selection to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, on Saturday New York was selected by the US Olympic Committee. The International Olympic Committee will make its choice in 2005. We wish the Big Apple luck
11.2.2002
New York vs. San Francisco: The United States Olympic Committee will announce today whether The Big Apple or Bagdad By The Bay will get the nod as America's candidate to land the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. On the face of it, San Francisco's bid seems the weaker of the two. Despite a fine public transportation system (BART), venues for the various events might simply be too spread out to make a coherent Games viable. For example, the marquee track events would be at Stanford, but the equestrian events would be in lovely Monterrey while the rowing events would be near Sacramento. The plus for the Bay Area bid is that most of the venues are already built and an Olympic village shouldn't be hard to scare up.
New York has the plus of most of the events taking place in very small area with extensive public transportation in place. The downside: an Olympic village would need to be constructed near the United Nations, in addition to a stadium on the westside of Manhattan (also the proposed site for a new Yankees ballpark).
What might scuttle both bid's chances is that the International Olympic Committee might be reluctant to return to the U.S. so soon after the relative failure of the Atlanta Games. There is strong support for either India or Brazil/South America to host their first games ever in 2012. 2016 might be a more realistic hope for a U.S. bid.
Andre the Petulant: The former Mr. Brook Shields, Andre Agassi, lost the plot during his match against Carlos Moya at the Paris Masters tennis tournament. Angered by a decision by French referee Cedric Mourier, he engaged in angry discussions with Mr. Mourier for the rest of the match and at one point slammed his racket down. He lost 6-4, 6-4 and in doing so, endangered his chances of finishing the season ranked Number 1 in the world. When we saw the film clip, we thought we were watching John McEnroe, ca. 1980.
11.1.2002
Let The Games Begin: The Sydney Gay Games began Friday and we are so there. We'll be covering as many events as possible and the digital cameras will get a workout. Go to the Gay Games link on the left to access our coverage.
It's Called Dope For A Reason: It was one of the more unbelievable things we've ever seen at sporting event. On September 19th, William Ligue Jr. and his teenaged son ran on to the field at Chicago's Comiskey Park and attacked Kansas City Royals coach Tom Gamboa. Gamboa suffered cuts, bruises and some hearing loss. Ligue and his son were promptly arrested.
In a jailhouse interview with The Daily Southtown, Ligue confirmed what many had suspected: he was wasted when he decided to do his bonehead move. In addition to being drunk, he had used cocaine, marijuana and valium, among other chemicals. It was revealed that Ligue was trying to medicate himself after the death of his infant daughter, Tabitha. Tabitha had been born missing fingers and a clavicle, in addition to having a hole in her heart. She died 5 weeks after birth and Mr. Ligue said he "went in to a tailspin". On the night of the incident, he said he was "out of his mind".
While none of this excuses William Ligue's appalling behavior, it does provide a context to what at the time seemed to be a totally unmotivated action. We mourn the loss of his daughter and hope Mr. Ligue gets the help he acknowledges needing while serving time.
Let The Bad Feelings Begin: NHL Commission Gary Bettman fired the first shot in what figures to be a bruising battle with the NHL Players Association when he claimed the league was willing to suffer "short-term pain versus bleeding to death over time" to reconcile the financial issues that plague all leagues (except the NFL) when the labor contract expires in 2004. It could get as bloody as a corner battle between a pack of 6'2" defenseman.
10.31.2002
Happy Halloween: We at Outsports wish everyone a safe and happy Halloween, the unofficial gay national holiday.
Bengals Shoot Their Mouths Off: Can it get any worse for the truly terrible Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL? The 0-7 Bengals on Wednesday were handed the indignity of being rated as an underdog to the expansion Houston Texans for their Sunday contest in Houston. How did they react? By guaranteeing a win, that's how. Is this arrogance justified? Not at all. Are the Texans using the comments of Bengal's head coach Dick LeBeau and receiver Chad Johnson as inspiration? You bet. It never ceases to amaze us how teams willingly provide bulletin board fodder for other teams and more importantly, how easily athletes are motivated by such comments. Normally we wouldn't waste 30 seconds watching the Texans vs. Bengals on Direct TV's NFL package, but they might get more than a peek in this weekend. Go Texans.
The Yao Ming Era Begins: Highly touted Chinese center Yao Ming made his NBA debut with the Houston Rockets on Wednesday and it was nothing worth televising back to 200 million of his fellow Chinese. He played a quiet 11 minutes, with no points and 2 rebounds. At 7'5", the Rockets are willing to be patient with him and considering that he's only been with the team for 10 days due to obligations to the Chinese national team, his learning curve is going to be steep. Time will tell if makes an impact in the NBA or whether he'll be another giant who disappoints like the Dallas Maverick's Shawn Bradley. We wish him luck.
Stop It, We Beg You: We're all in favor of great catchphrases being used by sportscasters. "Pass the rock" is great alternative to "Pass the ball", for example. But ESPN calling the NBA "The Association" makes us wince. It reminded us of the Seinfeld where the gang were consciously searching for a new catchphrase. They never found one. We hope ESPN's attempt doesn't catch on.
10.30.2002
Four Peat?: The Los Angeles Lakers are the odds-on favorites to win their 4th consecutive NBA title this season. The Lakers need something to keep themselves motivated during the long NBA regular season that began Tuesday so here's a few things Coach Phil Jackson will trot out:
* Although the Boston Celtic's record of 8 straight titles might be unattainable in this age of free agents and luxury taxes, recent history shows that Michael Jordan and his supporting cast couldn't get that 4th title in row, largely because he retired after each of the Chicago Bulls 3-Peats.
* Jackson can best Celtic's Coach Red Auerbach's record of 9 titles by winning his 10th this season.
* The Sacramento Kings have been whining the whole off-season about how they were the better team last season and that they should have won the thrilling best-of-7 Western Conference championship series against the Lakers. Unfortunately for them, they play the games for a reason and the Lakers won in 7. The Lakers would love to shut the Kings up for good this season. Wake us up in April when the season starts to mean something.
10.29.2002
Nobody's Watching: Or it just seemed that way. As expected, the television ratings for the Anaheim Angels vs. San Francisco Giants 7-game World Series were the lowest ever for baseball's premier event. Many theories are being thrown out: the labor strife that consumed baseball for most of the summer sapped fan interest; the all-California Series that meant that for east coast viewers, the games started at 8:30 p.m., often not ending until well after midnight; in the west, the games started at 5:30 p.m., so most people were either still working or on the way home; an Angels team that had no national profile prior to the playoffs meant that casual fans didn't tune in and so on.
Fox's parent company, News Corp., paid far more money ($2.4 billion) for the baseball package than was economically sensible. They also are heavily in debt due to their NFL ($4.5 billion) and NASCAR ($1.9 billion) packages so it's almost certain that baseball will not get a similar deal when the current package runs out. Baseball simply cannot deliver the ratings to serve as a promotional platform for Fox's prime time shows and apart from keeping the baseball rights from Disney, that's why Fox paid far over market value for a declining spectator sport. If the next package is indeed for less money, it will only add to baseball's (alleged) financial woes, as a lot of teams are heavily dependant on television revenue.
10.28.2002
Yes They Can: The Anaheim Angels ended 41 years of heartbreak and futility, beating the San Francisco Giants in Game 7 of the World Series. A 4-1 victory in Game 7 ensured that not only did the Angels win their first title, but that Barry Bonds didn't win his first title. The Angels appeared to have run out of the fuel that had propelled their regular season and playoff run, when facing elimination in Game 6 and trailing 5-0, a great comeback capped by Series MVP Troy Glaus' RBI double sent the Series to Game 7. There was not much drama in Game 7 as the Angels jumped out to their lead and used excellent starting pitching from rookie John Lackey and the bullpen trio of Brendan Donnelly, Francisco Rodriguez and Troy Percival to keep the Giants at bay. Congratulations to a gritty, hard working Angels team that gelled in mid-season and despite dire warnings about collapses in past seasons and Indian Burial Ground Curses, are now the champions of major league baseball.
Emmit's Tops: Congratulations are also in order for Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys. The great running back broke Walter Payton's all-time rushing yards record on Sunday. Emmitt, besides being totally hot, is one of the class acts in all of pro sports. It's a shame that the Cowboys are such a poor team now but Smith, a sure Hall of Fame inductee, can look back when he retires on a great career that includes three Super Bowls titles.
10.27.2002
Angels Live: Wow! That's all anyone can say after the Anaheim Angels rose from the dead to tie the World Series with the San Francisco Giants at three games each. A monster home run by the Giants' Barry Bonds, giving the Giants a 4-0 lead, seemed to be the capper, and one more run in the seventh made it 5-0. But the Angels rallied for three in the seventh and three in the eighth to pull out the win. After 162 regular season games and 16 playoff games, the 2002 baseball season comes down to one game for the championship.
Irish Not Lucky, Just Good: Anyone who doubted Notre Dame had to be surprised by the Fighting Irish's easy 34-24 college football romp at Florida State. The game was not as close as the final score, with Notre Dame leading in the fourth, 34-10. The Irish, like them or not, have a great shot at going unbeaten the rest of the way. If this happens, look for Notre Dame to make the Bowl Championship Series final. This would upset Irish-haters, but we think a strong Notre Dame program is good for the sport; hating means ratings.
10.26.2002
It took only two minutes for the best rivalry in the NBA to have a fight break out. The Sacramento Kings' Doug Christie and the 3-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers' Rick Fox brawled in the first quarter Friday, in a preseason game. Amid flying elbows, shoving and punches being thrown, both players were ejected from the game. The players left the Staples Center court in opposite directions but apparently Fox, better known for his cheekbones, hair and wife (Vanessa Williams) than for his excellent basketball skills, went to the tunnel leading to the locker rooms and instigated more fisticuffs.
The Kings have been mouthing off all winter how they were the better team last year--the Lakers beat them in the Real NBA Finals last year, the Western Conference Finals, in a thrilling 7 game series--and the Lakers have been bemused. Now, as Laker star Kobe Bryant said "It's personal". Mark your calendars: the two teams meet for the first time in the regular season on Christmas Day at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Injured center Shaquille O'Neal should be back by then and it has all the earmarks of a classic matchup.
10.25.2002
The San Francisco Giants humiliated the Anaheim Angels 16-4 in Game 5 of the World Series to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Angels threw away a 3-0 lead on Wednesday, losing 4-3. They seem to have suddenly lost the magic that propelled them to their first playoff appearance in 16 years and comprehensive playoff series wins over the New York Yankees and Oakland A's. Although both teams starting pitcher's ERA's are awful (Angels: 9.14; Giants: 8.72), the Giants middle relief has been superior in the last 2 games. It 's also helped the Giants that homphobe Jeff Kent has gotten hot at the right time. The Series shifts back to Anaheim for Game 6 on Friday.
The mess that is Major League Baseball continues. The Montreal Expos, the team with 200 season ticket holders, were supposed to be contracted out of existence at the end of last season. The labor settlement prevented that from happening but now baseball, who owns the Expos, has to figure out what to do with the sad sack team. While MLB is looking for buyers who will move the team to either Washington DC or Portland or Buffalo or [fill in your town here], it is being rumored that for the 2003 season the Expos will play home games at Boston's legendary Fenway Park while the Red Sox are on the road. And today it was rumored that the Expos might play up to 20 games in Puerto Rico. The whole episode is a sad reminder of how poorly run the former National Pastime is.
While we think it's great that San Franciso Giant's manager Dusty Baker's son Darren is in the dugout and participating in the Giant's World Series run, there was almost a disaster in Game 5. David Bell was steaming home with yet another run against the Anaheim Angels and he narrowly avoided colliding with Baker's son, who had run out to grab a bat (Darren's a batboy). A 3-year-old shouldn't be doing such a risky job and we hope the Giants get someone older to do it before someone gets hurt.
10.24.2002
A Former Lineman Comes Out: Esera Tuaolo will become that rarest of breeds, an out ex-professional athlete, when he reveals to HBO that he is gay. The Associated Press obtained an advance copy of the Oct. 29 "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel" that contains a segment on Tuaolo, a defensive lineman for four NFL teams in his nine-year career, most notably with the Minnesota Vikings.
In the segment, AP reports that Tuaolo talks about the "difficulty and frustration" inherent in keeping his sexual orientation secret.
"They didn?t know who Esera Tuaolo is," he says. "What they saw was an actor."
Tuaolo, who played on the 1998 Atlanta Falcons Super Bowl team, said players during his career regularly told gay jokes in the locker room.
"They made me go further and further into depression, further and further into shame. Sometimes, suicidal," he said.
ESPN's Sterling Sharpe, a teammate of Tuaolo with the Packers, also was interviewed on the show, AP said. Asked what would have happened had Tuaolo come out while he was
still active, Sharpe replied: "He would have been eaten alive and he would have been hated for it."
Tuaolo, 34, who lives with his partner and two adopted children in the Minneapolis area, is an actor and singer described by one critic as having a "gorgeous voice."
In addition to the HBO show, Tuaolo will be profiled in this Sunday's New York Times. Outsports will review the HBO show and provide a more detailed report this weekend.
