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2.28.2006
Vince Young dropping like a Seattle Seahawks tight end: This is just the way the media works, folks; I guess it's actually the way our mob-mentality society works. One day a guy is down, the next he's up and then he's down again. Welcome to the last eight weeks in the life of Texas quarterback Vince Young.
To be fair to the guy, it was the post-Rose Bowl hype that was totally manufactured; an over-reaction to his performance in one game. Because the media needed a story, Vince Young went from "maybe a top-five draft pick" to "the greatest quarterback in the history of football" to "boy, this guy is dumb" in just eight short weeks. Now, he's ended up right back where he should have been all along: He's got a lot of raw talent that probably won't fit so well in the NFL, but who has the ability to wow people with his legs in any game or any Pierre Cardin swimsuit runway.
Apparently, he did so miserably at the NFL combines that the management of the Houston Texans threw a party now that the crazy radio callers will quiet their demands that the Texans pass up on Reggie Bush and draft Young. While it depends on which report you believe, they all have one thing in common: among other things, Young BOMBED the Wonderlic test, designed to test the intelligence of potential NFL draftees. Sorry, "bombed" might be generous. He scored either a 6 or a 16 out of a possible 50 points on the test. Heck, maybe he'll drop to the Falcons at 15. Imagine Vick and Young together? I'd pay to see that! -Cyd Zeigler jr.
2.27.2006
Golf fans say ZZzzzzz: Man, does golf need Tiger Woods. On Sunday, Geoff Ogilvy beat Davis Love III to capture the sport's Match Play Championship, 3-and-2, and many golf fans couldn't care less. When Tiger is in the finals, whether he wins it or not, these championships get buzz and viewers. But I can't believe this tournament did well at all without Tiger, even if it was up against the biathlon and yet another airing of Animal House. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
Odd score from L.A. You'd have thought it was 1986. It has been 20 years since the Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship, but they pulled off a big upset on the road Sunday, beating the Los Angeles Lakers in their Sunday home whites, 112-111. The loss pushed the Lakers to just two games ahead of the Utah Jazz, and three games ahead of the Sacramento Kings, for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The Celtics, meanwhile, still suck. They're .400 and five-and-a-half games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the last playoff spot in the East. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
2.25.2006
Brokeback Huddersfield: Huddersfield Town is an English football team in the English League One (England's third tier football division, sort of like AA is to the majors in baseball). Like a lot of sports teams these days, they've put out a calendar to raise money. Sadly, unlike French rugby calendars, there's no nudity, but there is still a gay angle to this.
In yet another example of the film Brokeback Mountain inspiring something or other, Huddersfield Town's players posed as cowboys to promote their "young guns" players that are up and coming. Pretty harmless stuff, really, as there's no mention of nudity in the reports I read. However, in the brutal world of English football supporters, the calendar has stirred up a wave of homophobic insults from opposing teams supporters. It doesn't help that one of the lines in the calendar is "12 reasons to get behind Town".
The calendar was a bust with Town fans, who didn't buy it because they were "embarrassed". However, once they found out that opposing supporters were buying the thing to taunt their team with, they bought 'em up to prevent rivals from capitalizing on it.
This is ironic because this happened the same week that Tottenham Hotspur, one of the grand clubs of English football, became the first Premiership team to announce that they will no longer tolerate homophobic abuse and chanting by their supporters. Spurs said that any fan caught being abusive or participating in homophobic chants will be kicked out of the stadium and, if they are season ticket holders, have their tickets revoked.
Good stuff from Spurs, who have long been the object of vile anti-Semitic abuse by opposing fans due to their historical roots in one of London's Jewish enclaves and occasional Jewish ownership. So, on the whole, one step forward, one back in the battle against homophobia in sports. Hat tip to Bad Jocks. --Jim Allen
2.24.2006
George Steinbrenner, idiot: Major league baseball is open for business, what with spring training camps in full swing. So, leave it to New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to make the first dumbass comment of the new season. "We're going to win it this year", IT being the World Series. Hold on a sec. [Buwahahahahahahaha!] Sure, it's typical bombast for the New York tabloids, but seriously, are the Yankees even a lock to make the playoffs? Apart from acquiring Johnny Damon and his from the Boston Red Sox, they haven't upgraded their team in the offseason, all their core players are a year older and the average age of the pitching staff must be about 39. Still, it's nice to have The Boss shooting off his mouth, if only because if they somehow manage to make the playoffs, it'll be nice to do a Nelson Muntz-esque "Ha Ha" when they get bounced in the first round.
World Basebalzzzzzzzzzz: Major league baseball is really hyped about the upcoming World Baseball Classic but I couldn't care less. Apart from the fact that I'm the anti-flag waving "Rah rah go [insert country of birth here]" type, to me it's just meaningless exhibition games featuring players that are still working out their kinks in spring training. I think it's an especially poor move for the pitchers; how many arms are going to be hurt during this? The 16 teams participating are having trouble keeping players that had previously agreed to play, such as the Red Sox Manny Ramirez, who dropped off the Dominican Republic's roster this week.
The one thing that is kind of intriguing is the appearance of three national teams not normally associated with baseball: Australia, Holland and Italy. The Aussies, of course, have a strong cricket tradition (I think they're currently the #1 cricket squad in the world), so baseball shouldn't be *that* different, but Holland and Italy have no such tradition, so it'll be interesting to see what level of play they bring to the tournament.
Any chance to ogle Dutch men is fine with me, but overall, I don't get the sense of any buzz from American baseball fans. Of course, if the U.S. team wins the thing, everyone will be the biggest backers of the WBC, but I suspect that the loaded Dominican team has the best chance of winning at this point. --Jim Allen
2.23.2006
Should Duke be the favorite? It's late February, and it's time to start looking ahead to March Madness. All eyes are on Duke, which has been ranked No. 1 for most of the season. They had another nailbiter Wednesday night, holding off Georgia Tech, 73-66, in Atlanta. Georgia Tech is a lowly 10-15 and only 3-10 in the ACC.
While Duke has lost only one game (to Georgetown), they have had four other games that were decided by four points or less and others that were closer than the final score indicated. While Duke will most certainly be the top-seeded team in the tournament, they have shown just as many moments of brain fades as any of the other top-five or top-10 teams. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
2.22.2006
Who will Dick shoot next? I logged onto the Web site where I place an occasional NFL or college basketball bet to put some big bucks (read: $5) on Paris Bennett winning American Idol. When I got to the Web site, I found this priceless prop bet being offered: "Who will Dick Cheney 'accidentally' shoot next?"
I don't know if the question or the odds are better:
George Bush Sr. 500:1
George W. Bush 500:1
Al Sharpton 1,000:1
Michael Moore 1,000:1
Terrell Owens 1,000:1
Osama Bin Laden 10,000:1
I wonder what the odds would be for some of these people "accidentally" shooting Dick Cheney. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
Mom wrestles polar bear: The Houston Texans may want to reconsider their first draft choice; we may have a new defensive end for the ages. In northern Quebec, in a town of 300, Lydia Angyiou saw a polar bear interrupting a hockey game between some local boys as it started sizing up her 7-year-old son.
According to the Toronto Globe and Mail, Angyiou, just over five feet tall and around 90 pounds, got between herself and the bear and started kicking and punching it until the bear swatted her, knocking her down. She continued to kick the bear as it tried to maul her until Siqualuk Ainalik saw the melee, grabbed a gun and put four bullets in the bear, killing it.
"I've been here 24 years and I've never seen this before," Larry Hubert, a regional captain with the police force who arrived on the scene just after the bear was shot, told the Globe and Mail. "For sure, she saved the kids' lives."
Next up: the NFL combine starts today! -Cyd Zeigler jr.
2.21.2006
Shaq's Free Dunk: In case you missed it, Shaquille O'Neal made a funny in the All-Star game. At the free throw line after a foul, Shaq bounced the ball up onto the backboard, ran and dunked it. The "free dunk" was disallowed, of course, but it brought up some reminiscing.
Dr. J Julius Ervin was the first player to dunk from the free throw line in the 1976 ABA slam dunk contest, the first pro slam dunk contest of its kind. Dr. J's dunk got some people to thinking: could you actually dunk as your free throw? The rule regarding it is pretty simple: the player attempting the shot cannot touch his foot beyond the free throw line until the ball has hit the rim. Dr. J actually completed a totally legal free throw: the ball was through the hoop before he landed.
A circle was put around the free throw line and the rule adjusted to say that, once in possession of the ball, you couldn't leave the circle. No one, as yet, as been able to dunk the ball from the free throw line with only a six-foot running start.
Still, I'm surprised we don't se more creativity with free throws. Surely a player could get pretty close to the rim jumping from the free throw line with only a six-foot running start. With some work, I bet one of these guys could create something really unique and effective that would get the ball in 90 percent of the time before they landed. -Cyd Zeigler jr
2.20.2006
All-Star Comeback: The Eastern Conference was trailing by 17 at halftime and as much as 21 during the game but came roaring back in the second half outscoring the Western Conference by 19 to win the game, 122-120. At just 21, Cleveland Cavalier LeBron James became the youngest All-Star MVP in NBA history, scoring 29 points.
I must say, I didn't see that game. But, I did see a few early minutes of the introduction of the starting lineups. It looked like one of those bad NFL Network ads, with Shaq and James grinning into the camera, lit like they were in a disco, throwing some moves down. It was odd at best.
I remember when it seemed every NBA team went into triple digits on a regular basis. Now, unfortunately, we have to rely on this meaningless game for some offensive fireworks.
As we head into the second half of the NBA season, it will be interesting to see how things shake out. The most interesting might be the race for first place. The Detroit Pistons are a whopping 10 games up on second place in the Eastern Conference, but there are three teams in the West within eight games of them; and the Spurs and Mavericks are both within three games. The Pistons will have to stay very focused on homecourt advantage to keep the motivation to keep Dallas and San Antonio at bay. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
Ricky Pothead headed for another suspension: You've got to wonder sometimes just how stupid some professional athletes can be. Ricky Williams, who has already been blessed with a couple second chances, has reportedly failed his fourth league drug test and now faces a one-year suspension. If this is true and Williams serves a one-year suspension, he will have blown any opportunity to be a team's go-to back int eh NFL. It's just impossible to believe that a team would take a shot with Williams, who wouldn't be eligible to play again until he was 30.
In his first season back from self-imposed exile, Williams did a pretty decent job running the ball in Miami this season, rushing for 743 yards and scoring six touchdowns while starting only three games.
For whom is this good news? Potentially wide receiver Terrell Owens. It would have been tough for Dolphins coach Nick Saban to convince ownership that Owens and Williams would be manageable together. Still, I'm sure T.O. would rather end up in a place with a more solid quarterback; though, a little extra bargaining power is something agent Drew "Bloodsucker" Rosenhaus would sell his firstborn child for. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
2.18.2006
The Tree rules: A slow day in non-Olympic sports, so I?ll write about one of my favorite things in all of sports. Outsports co-founder Cyd Zeigler Jr. is a proud Stanford grad. I?ve been a huge UCLA supporter ever since Bill Walton was dominating college basketball in the early 70?s. We agree on very little when it comes to Pac-10 sports, but on this we do agree: the Stanford anti-mascot, The Tree, and the Stanford marching band rule. A lot. The Tree began as a middle finger to the Stanford administration after they decided to drop the name of the team, the Indians, in favor of something less racially insensitive (or as an early example of Political Correctness, take your pick).
The students voted on Robber Barons as a replacement name, as that was what university founder Leland Stanford basically was. For some reason, the administration balked and to mock the resulting bland Cardinal name, The Tree was born. Controversy has dogged The Tree and the band for years ? the band for doing things like mocking the spotted owl in Oregon and the Irish potato famine at Notre Dame and now, The Tree for allegedly being drunk at a game.
The band picks a new person to don the Tree costume at the start of every school year, but this is the first time they?re going to have do it over in the middle of the season. Erin Lashnits had the honors this year, but at a men?s basketball game with Cal in Berkeley, she was allegedly seen by campus cops nipping from a flask while in the Tree costume. They administered a breath test after halftime; she tested at .157 (California?s legal limit is .08) and was cited for public drunkeness and forced to sit in the stands for the rest of the game.
Since Stanford?s band, who own the rights to The Tree, is on a zero-tolerance suspension for drinking after a drunken bus ride home from a football game at USC in 2003, the band had no choice but to fire Ms. Lashnits from her position. The best thing about this story for me was finding out what Ms. Lashnits hopes to do one day: become an astronaut and walk on the moon. I?m a big space exploration geek, so I hope this incident doesn?t derail her chances at some point in the future. -- Jim Allen
2.17.2006
Out athletes: In June 2005, I wrote a story about the brother of English football (soccer) star Sol Campbell stomping a guy so badly in an assault that the guy needed a plate put in his face to keep his jaw attached. The cause of John Campbell?s assault? Being in a class where his brother Sol?s sexuality was discussed. Hint: Sol was not thought to be 100% heterosexual by some of the class.
Fast forward to February, 2006 and Sol Campbell?s sexuality was again a topic of debate. This time, however, it was in the sports pages of newspapers, a somewhat unusual venue for this discussion. Unless players calls bizarre press conferences to announce their heterosexualty (see: baseball player Mike Piazza and someone named, um, Sol Campbell), the topic is usually a "we won?t ask, and even if we have the knowledge, we won?t tell either" kind of thing in the sports press.
The reason that Sol Campbell?s sexuality was being discussed in such bird cage liners as the notorious British tabloids The Sun and The News of the World is that Campbell had a very public meltdown recently: pulled from a game for his club Arsenal, Campbell left the stadium instead of sitting on the bench for the rest of the game, as protocol dictates. He then was absent from subsequent training sessions amid speculation about "personal problems". It was kind of amazing to me to see how casually Sol Campbell?s sexuality was thrown in to the mix of possible "personal problems". In the news reports I read about this, most treated the gay rumors as nothing more worthy of remark than any other stress an athlete might be under. A kind of progress, I suppose.
Chris Morgan wants to help: Speaking of out gay athletes, British powerlifter Chris Morgan is one of Outsports favorites. He?s offered the Football Association, which governs Sol Campbell?s sport in England, help in dealing with homophobia in the sport and, of most interest to Morgan, helping any player in the Football League that would want to come out publicily.
I suspect his work on the homophobia aspect of players, fans and management will get more of his attention than helping an out player, because I?ve seen no real change in the atmosphere at matches that would inspire a player to risk life and limb by coming out. When rival supporters still chant rubbish like "He's big/He's black/He takes it up the crack/Sol Campbell, Sol Campbell" and have no actions taken against them, it seems it?s going to be quite a while before any pro footballer in England is going to come out of the closet.
On the other hand?: Jim B. sent me this hilarious link about two English footballers, someone in the music industry, an all-male orgy and cellphone vibrators. I can?t quite figure out who the "household name who has a reputation as a rebel on and off the pitch" is, nor who "a multi-million pound goal-scoring mid-fielder" might be, but since this is the fine, upstanding The News of the World, I?m sure every single word of it is true. /sarcarsm -- Jim Allen
2.16.2006
Tough week to be a basketball coach in the Midwest: It's a tough time to be a college basketball coach in the Midwest, apparently. Two coaches who in the last few years guided their teams into the NCAA tournament have both resigned their respective positions as their 2005/06 seasons have gone south. Indiana's Mike Davis, who took his team to the national championship game in 2002, has reportedly resigned, though he will stay on for the remainder of this season. He joins Missouri's Quin Snyder, who claims he resigned before the administration could fire him.
Both Davis and Snyder had taken over teams that were struggling before they arrived. But, in big-time sports, it's what have you done for me lately? Apparently, they just hadn't done enough.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton, approaching his 137th birthday, admitted he had drunk alcohol before wrecking his car Friday night. He has taken a leave of absence from the school and will undergo treatment for alcoholism. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
2.15.2006
Yet Still Even More Hazing: This is getting comical. After all of the increasing talk about hazing in the last year, you'd think these dumb jocks would learn. But, I guess that's it: they're just dumb. This time, we don't have one but two for you, thanks to Badjocks.com.
At Tiffin College (Ohio), the men's soccer team thinks it's good to strip their freshman players to their underwear, handcuff them together, write on their bodies and make them lick each other's nipples (left).
The team's coach, Ian Day, told the Toledo Blade: "The players were given an option whether they wanted to participate or not. Some did, some didn't. And it happened five, six months ago, and I'm finding out now." When the Blade asked him if he considered the incident hazing, the coach replied: "I'd call it guys thinking it was team spirit."
What I'm most curious about is this notion that the guys chose to be stripped and handcuffed together. I mean, I might choose that, but I guess I find it a little surprising that all of these "straight" guys would do the same.
Our other story is brought to us by the baseball team at Limestone College (S.C.). There, upperclassmen on the team had freshman put on women's thongs or jockstraps, strip, and then they covered them in chocolate sauce, molasses, whipped cream and the like. The college has ordered 34 young men who were part of the event to perform community service as penance for the hazing incident.
I wonder if these guys would choose to do this all again. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
SI's Swimsuit Issue proves my point: Don't ever talk to me again about how Outsports has too much skin in its photo galleries, or how our ads are too dominated by bare chests. I got Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue today. You know SI, the award-winning publication that happens to be the best-selling and most-respected sports magazine in the country.
Well, SI sent me 228 pages of straight soft porn today. Yep, soft porn. Eight white chicks on the cover wearing nothing but bikini bottoms pressing against one another with their chests. Maria Sharapova on the cover with a bikini so low you can tell what religion she is. On the cover, bold lettering proclaiming: "Heidi Klum Wearing Just Paint."
CNNSI.com is in on the act today to, displaying a rotating series of scantily clad pics on their front page and linking to 27 galleries of hot chicks in swimsuits.
They've got a free SI Swimsuit video on iTunes. They've got a shot of a woman's bikini bottoms hocking a Pontiac. There's an SI Swimsuit special on Spike TV. Even Rick Reilly's column is about a swimsuit model.
All of this makes the Swimsuit Issue Sports Illustrated's best-selling issue of the year.
So don't tell me again that Outsports and gay men are somehow overly sexual. As we've said for years, "It's not a gay thing, it's a guy thing." -Cyd Zeigler jr.
2.14.2006
Madden goes gay: In case you've been under a rock for the last six months, or you're still on dial-up, the best gay blog on the Internet is Towleroad.com, the brain child of former Genre magazine editor Andy Towle. OK, I'll admit ￢?? I've got a soft spot in my heart for Andy, who made me sports editor of Genre when he took over. But still, just take a look at the site. It's great.
Andy doesn't shy away from sports, which is cool. He even got one of his correspondents to snap a picture of a friend (in Towleroad t-shirt) with John Madden and Al Michaels at Super Bowl XL.
"Madden and Michaels are now official friends of Towleroad," Andy writes, "whether they like it or not."
The picture of Madden on Towleroad reminded me of my long-running theory that Madden and my grandfather were actually twins separated at birth (above). And if you listen to them, they actually sound the same and have an opinion about everything. My grandfather left a lasting impression on Jim several years ago when he tried to convince Jim that the plight of New England's cod fishermen would make a great Los Angeles Times cover story.
Separated at birth? You be the judge. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
Gonzaga gets down right "cocky": This is what I've always disliked about Gonzaga*. They're this little nothing school in Washington, yet because they have won a couple NCAA tournament games, the media and their fans treat their program like it's a big-time program, like they've accomplished something.
Now is the finishing touch on their shift from small, fan-favorite school to obnoxious perennial also-ran. Last Monday in a game against St. Mary's, fans in Spokane, Wash., where Gonzaga is located, started chanting "Brokeback Mountain" in an effort to distract the opposing team. They were asserting, I guess, that the St. Mary's players are gay. Or, maybe it's that they're hot. I'm guessing the former, though.
Thankfully, many at the school have gone after the students for the chant. "We implore the students of the Kennel Club to show the nation this weekend what makes Gonzaga different," Kennel Club advisers David Lindsay and Aaron Hill wrote in a letter in the student newspaper, the Bulletin. The Kennel Club is some kind of booster group at Gonzaga. "We challenge the students of the Kennel Club to exhibit the class, the creativeness and the competitive drive that has become a foundation of this great university."
Maybe after this crappy display by a bunch of punk kids, we can stop hearing how "underrated" Gonzaga is in the tournament this March. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
* Please note that this is actually NOT what I've always disliked about Gonzaga. What I've always disliked about them is that they knocked off Stanford in the NCAA tournament several years ago, and I've never forgiven them for it.
2.13.2006
Kwan Forced to Drop Out: Nine-time U.S. National Champion and Olympic bronze and silver medalist Michelle Kwan made the decision to pull out of the ladies figure skating competition after reinjuring her groin in practice on Saturday.
It will be too bad to hold this competition without Kwan, but it was the right decision to make as it assures the U.S. team will have three healthy skaters take the ice. Kwan, 25, has been a mature and classy competitor for a decade in this sport and her decision to step aside for the U.S. alternate was a stark reminder of that poise. "I respect the Olympics too much to compete," she said at a press conference. "I don't feel I could be at my best." Thanks for making the right decision, and thanks for 10 years of memorable skating. ... I evaluated my body and had to make a decision. It's one of the toughest decisions I've had to make, but I know it's the right one."
"I have no regrets. I tried my hardest," she said. "And if I don't win the gold, it's OK. I've had a great career. I've been very lucky. This is a sport, and it's beautiful." Kwan will end her career never having won Olympic gold. She will be replaced on the U.S. team by 17-year-old Emily Hughes. --Ryan Quinn
2.11.2006
Olympics get flamed: It was a smart move on my part to record the opening ceremonies of the Torino Winter Olympics on my DVR. I was warned by Cyd and Jim B. that the opening 5 minutes or so would have me retching and oh how right they were. Pompous, pretentious, puerile, well, I?ve run out of negative words that start with p to describe it.
As soon as the voice over person (James Earl Jones?) mentioned the skiier who fashioned his own skis out of trees or something like that, the alarm bells went off big time. Are we sports fans going to be treated to another endless series of "Joe Smith had asthma at the age of five! Stay tuned for his inspiring story, filmed with gauzy lenses and with soporific background music! Next on NBC!" type Profiles Aimed at Women Who Hate Sports? Yikes.
It?s clear that NBC already has the people in place that they?re going to hype relentlessly: Bode "Dude, I Ski Drunk!" Miller; Michelle "I?m Only Here on a Technicality" Kwan and Apolo Anton "I Cheated in Salt Lake City But What the Hey!" Ohno. The relentless fluffing of the snowboarders as Sports Stars of the 21st Century will probably get to be annoying very quickly, too. Just a note to the writer of that ghastly five minute intro and sportwriters: Bode Miller makes a lot of money from endorsements for multinational conglomerates. He is in no way, shape or form a "rebel" just because he?s the rare athlete that doesn?t sound like an automaton in interviews. Thank you.
Now, on to the gay part of the evening, the "entertainment" in the Opening Ceremonies venue. I like Bob Costas, but Bob, dude, shut. the. hell. up during the entertainment bits! At one point, some skaters with big tree costumes draped over them?think of the coolest mascot in the entire universe, the Stanford Tree, on skates?came out and Bob breathlessly informed us "Here come the trees". I know he?s paid to babble during these things, but really, it?s too much sometimes. The entertainment bit was not bad at all and included some pretty stunning visuals.
I love the parade of nations for two reasons: lots and lots and lots of eye candy for the astute viewer (like Jim B., for me, there can never be enough Eastern European or Scandanavian men in one place) and the sight of nations like Ethiopia and Nepal, who basically have someone carrying the flag and two other people in their contingent. That's the spirit!
After the Parade of Nations was more entertainment. My eyes still hurt from the sight of a Formula 1 car being "serviced" and then driving around before doing a donut and causing ice to spray everywhere. What the heck? Is Ferrari that hard up for publicity now? There was some cool acrobatics going on and then some music. A bland, unmemorable Official Theme Song of These Games and after Yoko Ono read a plea for peace, Peter Gabriel sang John Lennon?s Imagine, making it sound like he was performing at a Holiday Inn using a $50 drum machine/keyboard combo that he bought at Target, after downing a bottle of sleeping pills. Tsk, tsk, your third solo album is one of my favorite albums, but Mr. Gabriel, please do try harder next time.
The torch relay was kind of tame but there was some pretty cool fireworks for that segment. The finale was kind of sad for me, a total, 1,000% opera queen. Luciano Pavarotti, before he became a caricature of the fat tenor waving a hankie, was easily the greatest Italian lyric tenor of the post-war era. His recording of Rodolfo from La Boheme is still one of the greatest examples of singing ever captured on records, so it was kind of sad to see him struggling through the aria "Nessun dorma" from Puccini?s glorious summation of Italian grand opera, Turnadot. Oh well, I?m old too, so no big deal.
All in all, as these things go, the four hours could have been worse, but now it?s on to the real deal, the actual sports. Bring on the luge and curling! -- Jim Allen
2.10.2006
Was Roy Simmons discriminated against?: Former New York Giants and Washington Redskins lineman Roy Simmons is openly gay and HIV positive. Now, he?s also pissed off. Simmons and his attorney, Gloria Allread, are wondering if he was denied a press pass to the recent Super Bowl media center because he?s openly gay and poz. When he applied for a press pass and two tickets to the game and one of the many Super Bowl related parties a few days before the game, he was turned down, told that there weren?t any more credentials available. Not so, says Allread, who claims that others were given credentials and tickets after her client was turned down. Simmons said he was the press credential so that he could he talk about the importance of testing for HIV.
The NFL says there was no slight intended. They are swamped with last minute requests and that many others were turned down as well. The league indicated that in its last communication with Mr. Simmons, they offered him a chance to come to their rookie symposium in June. The June symposium is a mandatory thing, given to all NFL rookies. They learn about finances, hangers-on and so forth and are given workshops in how to avoid drugs and gold diggers, among the many occupational hazards they?ll encounter. The NFL?s explanation about Simmons being denied his request sounds plausible, and with commissioner Paul Tagliabue acknowleding his openly gay son, it seems that Simmons will probably get a fair hearing from the league in his request to investigate the matter.
What is Al Michaels worth?: Contract negotiations for people in the sports world, whether athletes, coaches or TV announcers, can be tough, fraught affairs. Sometimes they?re just funny. Case in point: Al Michaels, the longtime play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football on ABC. Now that Monday Night Football has been demoted to second class status (the "marquee" evening game will instead will be Sunday nights on NBC), Michaels wanted out of his contract with ABC/ESPN so that he can jump to NBC to join his broadcasting partner John Madden.
The Walt Disney Company, which owns ABC and ESPN, agreed, letting Michaels walk in exchange for the following items:
1. The rights to a cartoon rabbit named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Walt Disney created the character before he created Mickey Mouse, but he lost the rights due to lack of funding. After all the corporate mergers and acquisitions since Oswald?s creation in the 1920?s, the rights ended up with the combined companies of NBC and Universal Studios.
2. The cable TV rights to broadcast four Ryder Cup golf tournaments between the United States and Europe starting in 2008. This is so that NBC can get in the Tiger Woods business, but since the United States has been dominated in the biannual tournament recently, that could cancel any impact Tiger would have on ratings.
3. ESPN will get increased access to NBC?s Olympics highlights and in turn NBC will promote ESPN?s NFL contests.
So, apart from salary, that?s what Al Michaels is worth: a cartoon rabbit, four golf tournaments and clips of figure skaters and sprinters. -- Jim Allen
2.9.2006
Martina is back and all over the place: Remember when Martina Navratilova retired? Which time? It seems like almost a joke now. The 49-year-old openly lesbian tennis legend has announced that she plans to participate in a full slate of tournaments this year, including the remaining Grand Slams and as many as 15 other tournaments. She'll be playing doubles but hasn't ruled out taking the court for some singles matches, too.
Her partner will be 29-year-old Liezel Huber, who teamed with Cara Black to win Wimbledon last year. Navratilova has said that she would like to play doubles with Martina Hingis (who was named after Navratilova).
Martina last played singles in a Grand Slam in 2004 when she won her first round match at Wimbledon. Navratilova originally retired in 1994, the year Conchita Martinez beat Navratilova in the Wimbledon finals, robbing Wimbledon's most decorated champion of her 10th All-England win.
For once, Navratilova is finally being honest with her fans. Instead of claiming that she will be on yet another farewell tour this year, she is now saying that she doesn't know when she will truly retire, because she can still play and still compete. I think it's awesome for the sport, and awesome for her, that she has decided to really grab ahold of 2006 and see what she can do. Now all we need is Steffi Graf to come back and we'll officially be back in 1988.-Cyd Zeigler jr.
NFL: "Super Bowl was properly officiated": While explanations for the worst-officiated Super Bowl ever have run from outright conspiracy to benign Steeler affinity to simple incompetence, the NFL fueled a new explanation on Wednesday: blindness.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Wednesday, "The game was properly officiated, including, as in most NFL games, some tight plays that produced disagreement about the calls made by the officials."
OK, we can give you that there were tight plays. That offensive pass interference on Darrell Jackson in the first quarter: well, he technically did something wrong (as did the defender), even though that call should never get made. And, OK, the Roethlisberger touchdown was pretty damn close. But, the chop block by Hasselbeck? It simply didn't happen. The holding by Sean Locklear? It just didn't happen. The late timeout by Ben Roethlisberger? It did happen, and they didn't call it.
When what is supposed to be the best officiating crew in the sport makes as many blunders as they did Sunday night, and they all go against the same team, it doesn't help the league to say that it was properly officiated.
Now, the league is looking at fining Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren for his comments Monday to a crowd of Seahawks fans. Holmgren, former chairman of the NFL's rule-making competition committee, said, "We knew it was going to be tough going up against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I didn't know we were going to have to play the guys in the striped shirts as well."
Sounds to me like Holmgren is more in-tune with the rest of the NFL's fans than the NFL is. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
2.8.2006
Weir Tells It Like It Is: U.S. figure skater Johnny Weir is easily my favorite athlete in the upcoming Olympics. The fact that he is totally cute helps, but I love his candor and style. The guy is funny and says what's on his mind, and it drives many in the figure skating establishment crazy.
There are no out athletes that we know of at the Torino Games, but Weir, 21, seems to be skating close to the surface when he answers questions about his sexuality. For the record, I don?t know much about him, but his answer to the following question pinged my Gaydar. Witness this exchange from his terrific online Q&A with fans
on his website, when a questioner from Russia wanted him to comment on his skating and clothes being of the "gay style:"
Weir: "People talk. Figure skating is thought of as a female sport, something that only girly men compete in. I don't feel the need to express my sexual being because it's not part of my sport and it's private. I can sleep with whomever I choose and it doesn't affect what I'm doing on the ice, so speculation is speculation. I like nice things, and beautiful things, so if that is the only way people are determining that I swing one way or the other, then to me, that's sad. You can't judge a book by it's cover, ever. I never get angry about things because it's human nature to be jealous and rip people to shreds if you don't like them, regardless of the subject. I am who I am, and I don't need to justify anything to anyone."
We also learn that he's a Boston Red Sox fan and that his favorite female singers are Christina Aguilera, Madonna and Kelly Clarkson. His favorite actors are Orlando Bloom, Adrian Brody and Ewan McGregor, and he favors black cavier, filet mignon and Jaegermeister. He also lists his 10 favorite fashion designers, which are about nine more than I could name. He also has a varied philosophy, citing favorite quotes from Tolstoy ("It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.") and Justin Timberlake ("You should never be comfortable, you should be like; 'Is this gonna work?' That's what being an artist is all about.")
He was also asked about his skin care regimen from a male fan. "I am anal retentive about my skin," Weir wrote. "I have a lot of things to help with not having 'teenage skin.' I take care of myself. I eat healthy, I take my vitamins and that helps your skin look good. I am loving a skincare line right now called Ren. It's all organic from Great Britain, and I love it. My skin has trouble dealing with weather and climate changes and travel, but other than that I do okay. Thanks for noticing! I do send out autographs to fans."
Then there was this great line about press coverage of him during the U.S. Nationals in St. Louis: They said "I was wearing a chinchilla scarf that someone thought was a boa," Weir wrote. "First of all, boas are so out. Secondly, I would never wear a boa to a press conference."
And his brashness continued when he arrived in Torino and panned the accommodations at the Olympic Village, telling AP: "I am very princessy as far as travel is concerned and having a nice room and things like that. Sorry to say 'princessy,' '' he added, laughing, "but that's what we do.'' He also added that the village is "a little dusty, very underdecorated, the beds aren't very soft. But I'm enjoying it!''
"I'm roughing it,'' he said, chuckling some more. "It'd be the same as me going out into the woods, I think. Camping. Camping.'' Does he mean "camping" or "camp?" Johnny Weir rocks! -- Jim Buzinski
2.7.2006
Big Ben Gets a Shave: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger finally shaved off his hideous beard a day after the Super Bowl during an appearance on "Late Night With David Letterman."
In what amounted to a free promotional ad for the new Gillette five-blade razor, Big Ben lost his beard (though he saved a goatee) a day after leading the Steelers to a win over the Seattle Seahawks. It was likely a very lucrative deal for Roethlisberger, 23.
Letterman and a female Steelers fan from the audience first attacked the beard with an electric razor. Then a professional stylist finished the job off-camera with the Gillette razor. Roethlisberger had kept the beard for good luck as the Steelers went on an eight-game win streak to end the season.
There was one interesting football tidbit that emerged: Big Ben said he did not score on a controversial touchdown run in the first half that replay did not overturn. "Do you think it had gone in," Letterman asked. "To tell the truth, no. ? I told coach, 'I don't think I got it.' We were getting ready to go for it on fourth down anyway, so we would have found a way to get in." At least he's honest. --Jim Buzinski
Montana and Bradshaw Skip the Super Bowl: Former NFL quarterbacks and Super Bowl MVPs Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw decided to not attend the Super Bowl's tribute to the MVPs of the first 39 big games. They were two of only three former MVPs to miss the game; Jake Scott, a safety for the Miami Dolphins, is reportedly traveling in Australia. Even if he was able to come, it's not like many would have missed a long-forgotten safety from 30 years ago.
Bradshaw is claiming that he simply wanted to watch the game with his family. Seems odd, since it was Bradshaw that brought the Steelers their first four Super Bowl championships. It's Montana who's catching some heat. The story that Newsday and the San Francisco Chronicle have been spinning has it that the other four-time Super Bowl-champion quarterback refused to come to Detroit because the NFL wouldn't pay him a $100,000 appearance fee; instead, Montana opted to watch his son's basketball game back home.
The NFL offered each MVP a $1,000 stipend to cover incidentals.
It seems awfully strange that Montana would request such an outrageous fee and would stay away from the event because he didn't get it. And I just find it hard to believe that he had to go to his son's basketball game. I'm guessing it was about someone else on the guest list: Steve Young. The two were heated rivals when they were on the same team with the San Francisco 49ers, Young eventually sending Montana packing to Kansas City before he was ready for retirement. That's a wound that, it certainly seems to me, still needs a few more decades to heal. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
2.6.2006
Top stories not from Detroit: For those smart enough to stay away from the worst Super Bowl in memory, there were some highlights that should make the Steelers and Seahawks envious.
Tiger Woods is now 2-for-2 in tournaments this year after winning the Dubai Desert Classic in the United Arab Emirates in a playoff against Ernie Els. It's also the second straight tournament Woods has won in a playoff. His record in playoffs is now an incredible 13-1, and he hasn't lost a playoff since 1998. Woods actually got more money from his appearance fee ($3 million) than he did from winning the tournament ($400,000).
In Alaska, a girl won a state wrestling championship while wrestling against boys. Michaela Hutchinson, a sophomore from Soldotna (about 150 miles southwest from Anchorage), won the 103-pound weight class after entering the tournament ranked No. 1. According to the Associated Press, she finished the season with an incredible 45-4 record with 33 pins, just one shy of the state record. She is the first girl ever to win a boys-dominated high school wrestling division.
I bet the coach wasn't telling all those boys to "stop wrestling like a girl" after this tournament. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
2.4.2006
Fridsy Super Bowl quick hits: Nothing much going on in the sports world of note, so a few tidbits from the Super Bowl in Detroit.
Original Gangsta from the LB turned corporate pitch man/ho Snoop Dogg is hosting a game at the old Silverdome today between an all-star youth team coached by Snoop, who will play members of the Detroit Police Athletic League. They?re expecting 20,000 people at the decrepit Silverdome, so hopefully the money is going to charity.
Each commercial you see during the game will have cost the company pushing their wares $2.5 million per 30 seconds, a record. What a lot of money down the drain for what promises to be another round of mostly awful commericals. At least the NFL is phasing out ads with companies who promote boner pills like Levitra.
The entire game, not just the halftime show, will air with a five-second delay. I hope all those swear words that the mikes catch on the sideline are beeped out or our republic will surely crumble to dust. Since The Rolling Stones won?t play Cocksucker Blues, I guess the only hope for a bit of controversy is for them to play Sympathy for the Devil or Sister Morphine or Bitch.
Perennial Outsports whipping boys/girls ESPN will be in heaven tommorrow. Never ones to merely say something once when saying it twenty times is possible, they will be on the air from Detroit from 11 a.m. Eastern time until around 6:00 p.m. Eastern, with kickoff scheduled for around 6:20 p.m.. Yikes. -- Jim Allen
2.3.2006
Mianne Bagger: golfer: I think I?ve written about transexual golfer Mianne Bagger before, but I?m too tired to check the archives. In any case, I believe that the gist of the previous story was "The newness of a transexual on the women?s golf tour". Happily, I can now write about how her personal circumstances seem to becoming less of an issue. At the ANZ Ladies Open in Australia this week, she shot a 69 in the first round to stay in contention.
It?s been tough for Bagger since she was cleared to play on the ladies tour in 2004. She was a media curiosity for quite a while, until her playing was so bad that that became a story. Bagger, who lives in Adelaide, said "I've practiced five or six hours a day and have really made some big changes to my swing. I'm happy with my start here today. It will really help with my confidence".
Boring Super Bowl week: I?m not a fan of the two week break between the NFL conference title games and the Super Bowl. I think it hurts the play of the teams in The Big Game, as they are so attuned to playing every week. Yes, I know, bye weeks, but still. The other thing that bugs me about is right about Wednesday, there?s nothing left for the national sports media to write about. Now, there have been exceptions: the Baltimore Ravens acting like total dickheads during their Super Bowl media media appearances, for example.
This year, though, nothing. When ESPN flogs Pittsburgh linebacker/motormouth Joey Porter?s lame trash talk with Seattle?s Jerramy Stevens as the most newsworthy story, that?s bad. Of course, that?s to be expected from ESPN, who still played up the "feud", while basically ignoring the fact that stud Steeler?s safety Troy Polamalu tweaked his ankle in practice. It?ll be nice to finally have a game to watch, new commercials to comment about, The Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder to listen to for musical entertainment ? I'm hoping against hope that the Stones pull out their uber-rarity Cocksucker Blues just to piss off the NFL -- and Aretha Franklin and Aaron Neville singing the national anthem. Is it Sunday yet? -- Jim Allen
2.2.2006
113!! Some 18-year-old girl just showed up Kobe Bryant by 32 points. Epiphanny Prince, a 5-foot-9 senior at Manhattan's Murry Bergtraum, scored a whopping 113 points in a 137-32 blowout of a team we won't even mention, in respect for the young girls who play for them. Prince scored 38 points in the first quarter of the game, which was six more points than the other team scored in the entire game. The 113 points broke the national record for points scored by a girl in a game, previously held by Cheryl Miller who scored 105 points for Riverside Poly, Calif., in 1982.
Prince, whose 54-of-60 performance will probably be tops for years to come, is headed to Rutgers in the fall. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
McNabb accuses Owens of 'black on black crime': No doubt, Terrell Owens is a jackass nutcase who needs to have his mouth sewn shut. But, to accuse him of racism? That's just too far.
McNabb told ESPN in an interview that Owens' criticism of him and saying that the Eagles could win with quarterback Brett Favre is tantamount to 'black on black crime' because the outspoken wide receiver said the team would be better with a quarterback who happens to be white.
"And to say if we had Brett Favre, that could mean that if you had another quarterback of a different decent or ethnic background, we could be winning. That's something I thought about and said, 'Wow.' It's different to say if we had Michael Vick, Daunte Culpepper, Steve McNair, Aaron Brooks, Byron Leftwich. But to go straight to Brett Favre, that slapped me in the face, like what I've done and what I set out to do?"
McNabb has a lot of reason to be pissed at Owens. But, calling him racist just demeans the message he really wants to send to every other team in the league: pick up Owens at your own risk. Then again, I doubt anyone is under the impression that Owens is a team player or a safe bet. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
Aussie Tennis Star Comes Out: Rennae Stubbs may be less than a household name in the United States (considerably less), but in Australian she's the queen tennis bee. With 52 doubles titles (and six of them Grand Slam events), she has won more than all but 10 women in history; and she has won more than any Australian ever.
In Australia, she's known as a champion and a loudmouth. She's gotten herself into a bit of trouble with her willingness to address every question about every issue presented to her. She's gone after Martina Hingis, Fed Cup officials and anyone else whom she saw as standing between her and her version of justice. Now, Stubbs is telling the world what she says the tennis world has known for a while: she's gay.
"I always say to my friends, 'Wouldn't it be great if everybody who was gay said they were?'" Stubbs told The Age. "'If we said: February 21, or whatever, this is the coming out day. So, if you are, you have to come out to everybody you know'. It would be phenomenal.
"And it would be nice if everybody could just accept that it's not a choice, this is who you are. You would never, ever choose this, choose to be gay. It's such a difficult thing to deal with and coming out to people and talking about it, and coming out to your family.
"But I don't hide who I am any more. Everyone in the tennis world pretty much knows who's gay and who's not; the only reason I would like it spoken about publicly more is that I wish everybody would realise that, 'See all those people you admire? Out of 10 of them, four are gay, and I just want you to know that your child can still idolise them'."
She's coming out now surely in part because she's nearing the end of her tennis career. At 34, she's 10 years removed from her highest singles ranking (64th). At this year's Australian Open, she lost in the quarterfinals of both the mixed doubles and women's doubles events. And while she has been ranked No. 1 in doubles in the past, she presently sits at No. 5 ? a respectable spot from which she can say she went out on top.
She says she's also doing it in hopes of reaching young lesbians who are, as she did, struggling with their sexuality. Stubbs did not have a homosexual encounter until she was 25.
"I'd just like to be a little bit more open about it now because I want some 16-year-old girl out there to think, 'It's OK'. All it is is somebody loving somebody." -Cyd Zeigler jr.
1.30.2006
Tears for Federer: There might be no crying in baseball, but there sure in hell is in tennis. In fact, it was the world's most dominant tennis player, Roger Federer, tearing up after he won the Australian Open by beating the world's No. 54 player, Marcos Baghdatis, 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2. It was Federer's seventh Major title and he is now 7-0 in Majors finals.
It's reassuring to see an athlete who seems so untouchable on the court act so human. There is a great aura around the masculinity of the world's top athletes, and for an athlete of Federer's caliber to allow himself to break down and cry with all the media watching makes him a lot more likable to me.
He had a lot to shed cheers of joys about. With seven titles under his belt, he is now halfway to tying Pete Sampras' record of 14. He has won Wimbledon three times and the U.S. Open and Australian Open twice each. Only winning the French Open stands in his way a career grand slam; and, we just might get to see him pull the ultimate Grand Slam ? grabbing all four in one year ? in the next eight months. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
Tiger?s back: Tiger Woods shouldn?t have even been in the playoff, let alone win it. But, there he was on the second playoff hole of the Buick Invitational, watching Jose Maria Olazabal miss a four-foot putt that handed Tiger Woods his first tournament win in four months. It was also his first tournament in 10 weeks.
Interestingly, the last tournament Woods won, the American Express Championship at Harding Park, was won by Woods when John Daly missed a three-foot putt on the second playoff hole.
"You don't ever take pleasure out seeing your friends do that," Woods said, according to the Associated Press. "I would have felt fired up if I made the putt in the playoff for birdie on 18 and ended it right there, but not when a friend of mine misses a short one."
It?s just amazing how other players wilt when Woods is around. It seems like, if Tiger is anywhere near the top of the leaderboard on the back nine on the fourth day, someone?s going to miss a putt and someone?s going to miss a fairway and somehow Woods is going to come out on top. Twelve players had a share of the lead at some point on Sunday and eight were on top
In tournaments where he has made it to a playoff, he is 12-1 in his 10-year career.
It?s why I?m such a huge fan of him. It?s so enjoyable to watch an elite athlete take the field and just dominate seemingly every opponent. And that he went to Stanford doesn?t hurt, either. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
Crazy Comeback: Speaking of Stanford, it was a crazy one at Maples Pavilion Sunday night. No. 10 Washington was visiting Stanford in men?s basketball and had dominated most of the game. But, they were only able to edge out to an eight-point lead in the second half. With 2.1 seconds remaining, Washington held a three-point lead and Stanford was inbounding the ball from Washington?s side of the court. The ball went to midcourt then was passed to Stanford guard Chris Hernandez who, as he was shooting a threepoint basket, was fouled. He hit three straight freethrows, sent the game into overtime and Stanford won the game by nine ? larger than any lead either team could muster in regulation.
In a weak year for the Pac-10, it was a good game for the conference to be carried on Fox Sports Net. Only two teams from the conference are ranked in the top 25; and only three teams are receiving any votes in the AP Poll. Stanford, after having been in the preseason top 15, fell to 4-6 with losses to UC-Irvine and UC-Davis before running off a 5-1 run, capped by this, their biggest win of the season. They will struggle to get one of the Pac-10's three tournament bids (I doubt there will be four). Either way, they at least provided me some highlights in the one game of theirs I got to see this season. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
1.28.2006
Mauresmo wins in Australia: In a win with a bit of an * by it, out lesbian tennis player Amelie Mauresmo indeed won the women?s singles title at the Australian Open, her first Grand Slam title. The * is because her opponent, Justine Henin-Hardenne, retired in the second set with what was described as "stomach pains", the second match in a row that Mauresmo has benefited from her opponent not being able to continue. Maybe it was the way that the match had been going that had given Henin-Hardenne the stomach pains: she had been thoroughly dominated up to the point of her retiring, having lost the first set 6-1 and trailing in the second 2-0. Good for Amelie Mauresmo, who now won?t be saddled with the label "Best player never to win a Grand Slam".
More Thorpe: After yesterday?s item about the Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe, I was e-mailed a link to a story where Thorpe dances around the issue of whether he is gay or not. He?s a huge superstar in Australia and has been since he was a teenager in that swimming-mad country. It seems that he gets yelled at abusively while going about his business and "They do [target his sexuality] to an extent. But I think we're past that now. I think most people are over that most of the time. But that's not what people are always yelling abuse at me about. I don't know what it is, but it happens and it's ridiculous". Not surprisingly, he can?t wait for his career to be over so that he can fade from public view.
I certainly don?t think that every time his sexuality is brought up that Ian Thorpe has to hold a press conference to declare "I?m straight!" but I feel sorry for the guy that his fame in his homeland seems to limit the amount of swimming competitions he enters. I know a lot of gay sports fans are waiting for a major athlete to come out while still active, but I?ve come to think that it won?t really matter all that much, after the initial media frenzy. Some seem to think that such an event would automatically make life better for closeted athletes at all levels, but I?m not so sure that?s the case; in fact, I think a huge backlash against gay athletes would ensue. Oh well, it?s all theory at this point, because if Ian Thorpe is indeed gay, then he?s definitely not blabbing about it any time soon. -- Jim Allen
1.27.2006
Thorpedo done in 2008?: Jim B. and I love the Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe (I?m not sure about Cyd). Not only is he a great athlete, but his sexuality is somewhat ambiguous and man, does he have big feet. Jim and I might only have one more chance to see Thorpe at the Olympics, as he recently announced that the Beijing Games in 2008 will be his last Olympics. He?ll only be 24 in 2008, so it?s thought that he might hang around until the London Games in 2012. "Swimming on is not out of the question, but at the moment I intend to retire in Beijing" he was quoted as saying. If he does retire, I hope it?s really a retirement, not some Roger Clemens-esque farce of retiring, then coming back again. By the way, I didn?t know that as a boy, Thorpe was allergic to chlorine, something of a problem for a swimmer. The things you learn on the Internet?
Mauresmo in Australian Open final: Out lesbian tennis player Amelie Mauresmo of France reached the women?s singles final at the Australian Open on Thursday in an easier fashion than her finals opponent Justine Henin-Hardenne: Mauresmo was awarded the match, which was in the third set with Mauresmo leading 3-2, when her opponent, #1 ranked Kim Clijsters of Belgium, twisted her ankle and after playing one more point, had to forfeit the match. It?s Amelie Mauresmo?s first Grand Slam final in seven years and she has to be considered the underdog against Henin-Hardenne who dealt efficiently with Maria Sharapova 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to book her place in the final. Go Amelie! -- Jim Allen
1.26.2006
Skeleton coach, accused of sexual harassment, kept out of Turin: Even though an arbitrator found no evidence of sexual harassment, and even though he has been reinstated by his sport?s national governing body, skeleton coach Tim Nardiello will not be allowed by the U.S. Olympic Committee to coach at the Olympics in Turin next month.
"It is our belief there has been a pattern of conduct on the part of Mr. Nardiello that simply does not meet the standard of what is acceptable for a coach with the United States Olympic Team," said Jim Scherr, the committee's chief executive officer.
The accusations were lodged by longtime team member Felicia Canfield, who said Nardiello tried to kiss her and made inappropriate sexual comments to her and other teammates. Another complaint was filed by Marsha Gale, the mother of 2002 Olympic gold medallist Tristan Gale , who alleged that Nardiello had made inappropriate comments.
Whether it was a reason or rationalization, according to the Associated Press, the USOC said in its letter to Nardiello that they would not allow him to coach because he is dating Kelly Moffat of New Zealand, one of four international competitors whom he helped coach this season and who recently retired as a competitor. According to AP, the code says coaches "do not coach athletes with whom they have engaged in sexual intimacies" and coaches "should not engage in sexual intimacies with a former athlete for at least two years after cessation or termination of professional services."
Good think they didn?t have that rule when The Front Runner was written! -Cyd Zeigler jr.
1.25.2006
?That guy has his tongue up Federer?s arse? I don?t know if Tommy Haas is just a sore loser, or if he is privy to some deep, dark secret. Ummmm, I?m thinking it?s the former. After losing to Roger Federer in the Australian Open in five sets, Haas attacked the notion that Federer is the greatest player in the history of men?s tennis.
"Everybody is talking about him being the greatest ever," Haas said. "He still has to do a couple of things, I think, in my mind, to be that. If you ask Jim Courier, I mean, that guy has his tongue up (Federer's) arse. I think the whole time when you actually listen to him commentating or talk about Roger Federer. Sometimes makes me sick almost."
Oh, he goes on: ?I love Jim Courier, but it's unbelievable. Maybe in six years, I'm going to shake Jim's hand and say, 'Listen, you're right'. Maybe this guy wins 15 grand slams. Who knows? This guy right now is pretty much the man to beat. If somebody can do it this week, great."
So, if you followed all that, Jim Courier?s got his tongue up Federer?s arse because he thinks Federer is the greatest player of all time, which he might be. Maybe Haas is hoping for some of that arse action himself. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
?Oh, what to wear.? While the Pittsburgh Steelers have already been made the darlings of the Super Bowl, they?ve ruffled some feathers just 48 hours after punching their dance card. Head coach Bill Cowher made the executive decision that the Steelers would wear their white jerseys in the Super Bowl, bucking the long-time Men in Black tradition of the team.
"We're not playing at Heinz Field so, in my mind, it's an away game," Cowher said. Surely playing into his decision is the fact that the Steelers have won three straight playoff road games in those white jerseys. The only other team to win three playoff road games in one season were the 1985 New England Patriots en route to Super Bowl XX. The Patriots wore their red jerseys in that game and got stampeded by the Chicago Bears, 46-10. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
1.24.2006
More dick-grabbing in new Long Island hazing scandal: Yet another sports team has been hit by a hazing scandal; and this time, the school administration is hitting back hard. The Deer Park school district on Long Island in New York has cancelled the remainder of the season for the high school's JV basketball team, suspended three players and removed the coach from the classroom (he is also a teacher) while it investigates reports that older boys hazed a younger teammate, school officials told Newsday.
The victim was an eighth grader playing on the team, as happens with many JV teams in smaller school districts. The three suspects allegedly put the boy in a headlock and touched his private parts.
"After all was said and done, it really became clear to me that the season could not go forward wtih the kind of integrity that you would want to attach to it," school superintendent Richard Organisciak told Newsday.
Long Island was rocked in 2003 by a high-school hazing incident that involved members of the Mepham High School football team sodomizing younger players with golf balls, pine cones and broom handles at a football camp in rural Pennsylvania. The school cancelled the entire football season and fired the entire coaching staff.
Just as many in Mepham did two years ago, many parents in Deer Park are attacking the decision to punish all of the team for the actions of a few. I disagree. Hazing is a terrible phenomenon in American athletics and fraternities and it needs to be dealt with in the gravest of manners. If three members of a JV squad are hazing an eighth grader, it’s likely that the whole program needs to learn a lesson. Chances are, the coaches and teachers at Deer Park won’t soon forget the repercussions of hazing. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
