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3.31.2005
Steroids Hit the Panthers: During their 2003 Super Bowl run, at least three Carolina Panthers filled prescriptions for a testosterone cream, a report on "60 Minutes Wednesday" said. Center Jeff Mitchell and former offensive linemand Todd Steussie are both named in the report.
Punter Todd Sauerbrun is the third man named. In addition to the cream, Sauerbrun allegedly also obtained syringes and the steroid Stanozolol. Both of these substances are banned by the NFL.
Now maybe we can all understand how this team made it to the Super Bowl (of course, no other NFL teams are taking steroids).
Texas Bowing Out of BCS? Texas State Senator Jeff Wentworth has filed a bill in the State Senate that would prevent any Texas school from participating in a BCS Bowl. It seems kind of odd, given that the University of Texas was given a gift this past year in being invited to the Rose Bowl. Nonetheless, a few brazen Texans are pushing forward with kicking the BCS out of their state.
Even if the bill passes the State House and State Senate, it would only become law if at least four other states - including the likes of California, Washington, Oregon, Oklahoma, Utah and Arizona - ratify similar laws by the end of 2005. At least some of those states have been shafted by the BCS recently.
3.30.2005
Marvin Harrison Accused of Strangling Fans: A lawsuit filed in Hawaii accuses Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison and two other men of attacking and strangling three boys when they sought Harrison's autograph the day before the Pro Bowl.
While no one has been charged in the case, police did interview Harrison while he was in Honolulu and forwarded their report to city prosecutors.
The lawsuit will come as a surprise to many Colts fans. The team has a mild-mannered aura and Harrison has never gotten into big trouble in the past. Heck, he barely even gets fouls called on him on the field. Whether there's truth to the accusations are yet to be seen; but, that the accusation is even out there is already a surprise.
Venus Finally Beats Serena: After six consecutive losses, big sis Venus Williams beat little sis Serena in the semifinals of the Nasdaq-100 Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., 6-1, 7-6 (8).
By all accounts, the match was as messy as their previous meetings. However, this match wasn't lacking in emotion as Serena was visibly upset with her poor play more than once. While it has been Venus who has seemingly lost interest in tennis in the last couple of years, that cool head served her well in beating her hot-headed sister. Did it turn a corner in their professional relationship? We'll find out in the next couple of Majors.
3.29.2005
Openly gay Dartmouth lacrosse goalie Andrew Goldstein has been named College Sports Television Student-Athlete of the Week for his stellar effort in goal against Maryland last Tuesday, leading his team to victory, 7-6. Last fall, Goldstein wrote a first-person column for Outsports about being openly gay and just one of the guys on his team.
It was the first time that Dartmouth (3-1) beat #4 Maryland in eight tries. In the schools' previous meetings, Maryland had won by an average of 10 points. Goldstein had a phenomenal .684 save percentage in the game and stopped two shots on goal in the final 45 seconds to seal the victory.
The preseason All-America is recognized as one of the best goalies in the nation. He's a senior majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and was named second-team All-Ivy last season. You can track some of his games live on Collegesports.com
3.28.2005
Best Elite Eight Ever? After a Saturday that saw two incredible comebacks, it would have been tough for the two Sunday Elite Eight games to be better. They came close.
The North Carolina Tar Heels survived a flurry of deep shooting from the Wisconsin Badgers to earn their 16th Final Four appearance in an 88-82 victory on Sunday. Though Wisconsin did not lead again after their 49-47 advantage with over 17 minutes left in the game, they kept it very exciting, never trailing by more than the final spread - six points - in the second half.
But the weekend ended with the game of games. Neither team led by more than eight points the entire game, most of the game was within five points, and No. 5 Michigan State Spartans pulled the only upset of the Elite Eight by beating No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats in double overtime, 94-88.
The Spartans are just the seventh team in the last 15 years to advance to the Final Four with a seeding worse than No. 4.
It's hard to believe the Final Four could live up to this kind of lead-in.
3.27.2005
NCAA's Stunning Saturday:A 3.7 earthquake hit the Illinois area Saturday night, caused by crazed Illini fans jumping up and down for the better part of a half hour as their team staged one of the most improbable comebacks basketball fans can remember.
With 4:02 left in their regional final, the Arizona Wildcats were beating Illinois, 75-60. Conciliatory phone calls were being made all over the country as the nation?s No. 1 team was exiting the tournament; not even Lute Olsen, known for choking in the tournament until winning it all eight years ago, could blow this one.
Three minutes later, with 1:02 left, Arizona was still up by eight with the ball. Just 11 seconds later, Illinois? Deron Williams hit a three-point jump shot that tied the game and sent it into overtime.
Five minutes later, it was Illinois completing quite possibly the greatest NCAA tournament comeback in history, beating Arizona in overtime, 90-89.
"You look at it now, there are a lot of things that are going to force a lot of sleepless nights for everyone,? Olsen said after the game. For those who had Arizona winning their brackets, in those four minutes of regulation they went from probable champions to out of the competition.
No one in the Outsports pool had West Virginia going further than the Elite Eight. Good thing. Just a couple hours earlier, it was the Louisville Cardinals storming back against the West Virginia Mountaineers to overcome a 19-point first-half deficit and a 10-point hole with six minutes left. The Cardinals won in overtime, 93-85.
It was the first time in NCAA history that two regional finals went into overtime on the same day.
3.26.2005
North Carolina woes: The state of North Carolina had three teams playing in the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 second leg on Friday and it was very much a mixed bag of results. The University of North Carolina Tar Heels survived a frantic late run by the Villanova Wildcats to squeak out a 67-66 win but really, the Tar Heels got very lucky. Not so lucky were the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina State Wolfpack, who were both beaten pretty handily. Duke looked out of sorts all night and couldn't find a way to contain Michigan State's Paul Davis. The Spartans simply looked stronger and more focused. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo got his first career win against Duke's Mike Krzyzewski in five tries. North Carolina State had no answers against Wisconsin, the Badgers winning pretty easily 65-56. In the other game on Friday, Kentucky had no problems beating an overmatched Utah, the Wildcats coasting to a 62-52 win. The Utes Andrew Bogut, who's being touted as a Top 5 NBA draft pick if he leaves school early, played poorly despite scoring 20 points. Our advice: stay in school for at least another year. The Elite Eight games take place today and Sunday.
Yanqui?s to win in Mexico?: An intriguing World Cup qualifying match takes place this Sunday as the United States men?s team travel to 100,000 capacity Azteca Stadium in Mexico City to face Mexico. The rvialry goes back to 1934, but to be honest, it?s only in the last decade that the U.S. has been competitive in the games. There was particularly nasty match in the 2002 World Cup, which saw Cobi Jones kicked by two Mexican players at a corner flag. In addition, during a 2004 match in Mexico, the Mexican supporters chanted "Osama, Osama, Osama", which of course didn?t go down well with their northern neighbors. The United States have never won a match in Mexico, but are being tipped to do the trick this Sunday. If the NCAA games are boring on Sunday, this game could be worth a look-in on ESPN2.
3.25.2005
NCAA tourney continues: Despite conflicting opinions among the Outsports editorial staff about whether this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament is a dog or not, one thing is for certain: Arizona and Oklahoma State played a hell of a game on Thursday night. It was nice to see two teams willing to play positive, offense-minded hoops instead of going in to a "Play not to lose" stance. Arizona prevailed 79-78 when Salim Stoudamire hit a jumper with 2.8 seconds left to give the Wildcats the lead. Oklahoma State still had a chance to win it at the buzzer but John Lucas' shot bounced off the rim, giving Arizona the win.
Criticism of tournament officials is sure to rise after Washington, who many felt didn't deserve the number 1 seed in the Midwest Regional, got smoked by a vastly superior Louisville (who had the #4 seed), 93-79. Washington lives and dies by their outside shooting and at one point, the cliche "They couldn't hit the ocean from the end of a pier" came to mind. The Huskies picked a poor time to go cold but full credit to Louisville: they looked strong and together as a team and could easily make the Final Four.
We're loathe to use the word "Cinderella" around here after Cyd's rant below, but one Cinderella team had their dream ended and another continue. Unheralded, except by discussion board member Illini in Milwaukee, Milwaukee-Wisconsin got beaten by a very efficient Illinois to end their great tourney run. On the other hand, if other teams don't start defending against West Virginia's 3-point shooting better than teams so far, the Moutaineers could go far as well. 6-11 center Kevin Pittsnogle (what a great name) has seen his stock rise in the tournament; he's built like a Coke machine but can handle the ball really well and his shooting range extends further than 3 feet from the basket. His free throws with 17.2 seconds left helped clinch a 65-60 win over Bobby Knight's Texas Tech Red Raiders.
3.24.2005
Super Snow Bowl? New York City's bid to host a Super Bowl got a huge boost Wednesday when the NFL conditionally awarded the Big Apple the right to host the 2010 Super Bowl. That condition is a big if, though, as it depends on whether the New York Jets can get their new stadium built over the trainyards of Manhattan.
Since the terrorist attacks of 2001, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue has pushed a New York Super Bowl. And while many of the corporate types who buy the tickets for the big game may cringe at the thought, television audiences have tuned in big for recent playoff games played in the snow.
New York City will determine next week which bidder will win the right to build on the trainyards. Presently, the Jets have the highest bid, at $720 million. Add to that the right to host the Super Bowl, and the deal may now be too enticing for the city to reject.
"We're thrilled with the National Football League's decision to award the 2010 Super Bowl to New York City," New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "It is an enormous vote of confidence in our plans to build the New York Sports and Convention Center."
Many in the city oppose the stadium; at the top of the list is Cablevision, which owns Madison Square Garden and stands to lose millions in special-events revenues.
3.23.2005
Is Bonds Saying Bye-Bye? San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds announced on Tuesday that he may miss the entire 2005 Major League Baseball season. The announcement has launched many into speculation that Bonds has played his last game in the Major Leagues.
Bonds' injured - and re-injured - knee has required surgery that has left the star's season up in the air. His comments on Tuesday seemed to be those of a man who has finally had enough.
"I'm tired of my kids crying. You wanted me to jump off a bridge, I finally did," Bonds told reporters Tuesday. "You finally brought me and my family down. ... So now go pick a different person."
Bonds has been the favorite target of many razor-taloned sportswriters who have loved to hate the man who is third all-time on the MLB homerun list, is just 11 homers away from passing Babe Ruth, and is 52 behind Hank Aaron's record. Bonds has been in the crosshairs of many with the explosion of the BALCO steroid scandal.
"My son and I are just going to enjoy our lives," he said. "You guys wanted to hurt me bad enough, you finally got me."
It's a shame to think that Bonds - regarded by many as the greatest player in Major League history - might walk away from the game in part because of sports reporters' nasty comments and absurd cattiness. Because Bonds has often made himself unavailable to the press, many have taken their frustration with him to the court of public opinion.
We can only hope that, 53 home runs from now after his return to the game, he will have the last laught.
3.22.2005
The Race for No. 66: Believe it or not, there is another Division 1 mens' basketball tournament going on now. The NIT tournament has over half of its Elite Eight set, with St. Joseph's, Texas Christian and Vanderbilt joining Memphis and Texas A&M in the race to be the 66th best team in the nation.
The NIT Championship Game will take place at New York City's Madison Square Garden on March 31.
Raiders to Kick Off Season in New England: Continuing a new tradition of the Super Bowl Champions hosting the NFL's Thursday kick-off game, the New England Patriots will host the Oakland Raiders on Sept. 8 to begin the new season and welcome wide receiver Randy Moss to the silver and black. Moss was sent packing from Minnesota this offseason and will be catching passes from Kerry Collins starting with the game in Foxboro.
It will also be the first return by the Raiders to the site of the famed "Tuck Rule" game, the snowy January playoff game that sent the Patriots to their first Super Bowl title and the Raiders to a bitter playoff defeat.
The Super Bowl runners-up Philadelphia Eagles will visit the team they beat in the NFC Championship game, the Atlanta Falcons, in the season's first Monday Night Football game; the Indianapolis Colts will visit the Baltimore Ravens for the first Sunday Nighter.
3.21.2005
Cinderella, Good Riddance: Because there were "so few" upsets on Thursday, many immediately decided that this year's installment of March Madness was a snoozer. What's truly unfortunate, though, is that so many have decided that the tournament is only exciting if a marginal team few people have ever heard of can beat one of the teams whose season puts them among the elite teams in the nation (see the March 19 Jock Talk entry).
This tournament is supposed to be about crowing a champion. Instead, for much of the public, it's three weeks of seeing what "Cinderella" story can come out of the first round. The headlines in newspapers and on sports Web sites this weekend weren't about the superb play of North Carolina or the heart of the Illini; the headlines were about anointing Bucknell and Vermont as this year's "Cinderellas," end then anointing a new "Cinderella," Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Saturday night.
To many Americans, the last weekend of the tournament is anti-climactic because there are no slipper-wearing small-school teams left - 99 percent of the time those schools that knocked out true contenders in the first round are back at school by the time the Final Four rolls around.
The women's tournament, after one round, historically follows form. This year is no exception. No top-four seed won by less than 10 points, none lost, no top-two seed won by less than 20 points, and only five-seed NC State going down was a true upset (two seven-seeds and two eight-seeds lost, but these games are historically evenly matched).
While many pooh-pooh women's basketball, at least the best teams from the regular season are left standing after the first weekend. Wouldn't it be great if we could just celebrate those strong teams instead of complaining about how the women's basketball tournament doesn't have any great upsets to cheer about. They don't have to suffer through 48 hours of over-hype for the Bucknell Bison. -Cyd Zeigler Jr.
3.19.2005
Finally, some real upsets: After a slightly dull day one in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, day two saw a couple of exciting games that resulted in upsets of highly ranked teams. Perhaps the biggest surprise was seeing the number 13 seed University of Vermont Catamounts* stun the number four seed Syracuse Orange 60-57 in overtime. Syracuse was far superior in terms of talent, but they just couldn't put Vermont away. Senior guard Garry McNamara has to shoulder a good portion of blame for the loss; he shot poorly, missed potential game winners at the end of both regulation and overtime and had a crucial turnover when he bounced the ball off of his leg for a backcourt violation. Coach Jim Boeheim's 'cuse teams have a history of underperforming in the tournament relative to the talent they have and they kept up that dubious tradition on Friday.
Another team with that reputation is the Kansas Jayhawks. How many times did former coach Roy Williams end up crying in post-loss press conferences? Second season Jayhawks coach Bill Self will probably be shedding some tears of his own after number 3 seed Kansas was ousted by the number 14 seed Bucknell Bison. Kansas had a chance to win the game, but Bucknell's Chris McNaughton threw up a prayer that banked in with 10.5 seconds left and when Wayne Simien of Kansas missed a 15-footer at the buzzer, Bucknell had their first NCAA tourney win in their 110-year history.
Speaking of Roy Williams, his North Carolina Tar Heels romped to a 96-68 win over the Oakland (Michigan) Golden Grizzlies. The other remaining number one seed, Duke's Blue Devils, played efficiently enough to beat Delaware State 57-46. Unfortunately, Outsports co-founder Cyd's alumni, Stanford, really suffered from the loss of top scorer Dan Grunfeld to injury a few weeks ago and got whacked in the first round by Mississpi State, 90-73.
* = a puma, the kick-ass black cats.
3.18.2005
March Madness begins: One of our favorite times of year on the sports calendar, the beginning of the NCAA basketball tournament, happened on Thursday. Sixteen games were played around the country and to be honest, most of them went as expected. Top-ranked Illinois started slowly against the wonderfully named Fairleigh Dickinson, but ended up coasting to a 67-55 win. The number one seed out West, the Washington Huskies, also coasted, beating Montana easily, 88-77. The wins by the Illini and Huskies keeps the NCAA tourney record (since expansion to 64 teams) of no number 16 seed ever beating a number one seed.
Perhaps the only game that could be considered an upset was number 12 seed Wisconsin-Milwaukee--who?--beating the number 5 seed Alabama in the Midwest regional. Or is it the Chicago regional? For some bizarre reason, the four regionals aren't being called North/South/Midwest/West this year, but instead are named after the city hosting the regional final. We'd love to hear from the marketing geniuses that came up with that change.
The Edge stays in Indy: The Indianapolis Colts signed one of the key components of their offense, Edgerrin James, to a one year contract this week, keeping the disgruntled running back in Indianapolis for now. James wants a multi-year, bonus-laden contract but the Colts have doled out huge contracts to quarterback Peyton Manning and receiver Marvin Harrison in the last year or so and are pleading poverty at this point. James is a great back, but the Colts are willing to trade him if they can get the right deal.
3.17.2005
Baseball Converges on Congress: Today, Major League Baseball will send several players to Washington, D.C., to discuss the role of steroids in their sport. They're going kicking and screaming, hoping to get immunity from the secrets they divulge in their testimony. But not even the prima donnas of pro baseball could escape a Congressional subpoena.
Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Curt Schilling, Jose Canseco and others will be expected to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth to the House Government Reform Committee on Thursday. After Congress refused to give them immunity after Canseco had requested it for himself, it will be surprising if they are all as forthcoming as Canseco was in his tell-all book that named names and pointed fingers at some of the most storied players of our time.
Hopefully, this raising of the stakes by Congress will get Major League Baseball to finally stand up and take notice of the growing problem of performance-enhancing drugs in their sport. Presently, the plans on the table offer slaps on the wrists of those players who are found to use steroids. Our solution: test every player at least once a year and don't tell them when they'll be tested; suspend them for 162 games (a season) on the first offense; suspend them for life on the second offense.
If players are allowed to cheat, then why even watch the games? They will (or already have) become about who is better at cheating than everyone else.
3.16.2005
Queer Eye Gives Red Sox a Makeover: No, that wasn't the new catcher you saw prancing around the practice field of the Boston Red Sox on Monday; it was Queer Eye For The Straight Guy's Carson Kressly leading a charge by the Fab Five to make over five of the World Series Champs - and their clubhouse!
Red Sox players Johnny Damon, Kevin Millar, Tim Wakefield, Doug Mirabelli and Jason Varitek spent part of the beginning of this week with the five guys from Bravo's makeover show, taping Queer Eye's season premiere that will air as the series' season premiere this June 7.
By all accounts, the players really got in on the act, putting their arms longingly around one another and teaching Kressley a proper batting stance.
It's great to see that baseball - and last year's season champs - have a sense of humor and are now comfortable enough with homosexuality that they would agree to do the show. It says a lot about how far sports have come.
What was also great to hear was that the Fab Five tried their hands at baseball. As much as sports in our culture have snubbed gay people forever, gay culture has also snubbed sports. For some of those guys to throw a baseball on camera took as much bravery as it took the five Red Sox players to agree to the show.
"We're a loose bunch of guys," said Damon. "A big reason why our team wins is because we have fun. And I'm feeling better about myself already."
Not loose enough for Damon's hair to go under the knife, however. Damon, who is looking more and more like a caveman every week, is under contract to not change his hairstyle until his book is released.
3.15.2005
TO on MNF OK: The Federal Communications Commission has issued its final ruling: Monday Night Football's much-maligned spot with a naked Nicollette Sheridan jumping into the arms of Terrell Owens did not violate any of the commission's regulations.
While some of the review board said after the decision that it was not of good taste, the group was unanimous in saying that the spot did not violate any federal indecency regulations.
This should not have been a surprise to anyone. The spot had nothing more indecent than anything that dominates the airwaves in the middle of the afternoon with soap operas. However, because the beautiful blonde Sheridan was jumping into the arms of a black man, much of America was shocked and appalled. Thankfully, the FCC sent the right tone today and set America straight.
3.14.2005
The Tourney Questions Begin: While 65 NCAA men's basketball teams are happy to be in the championship tournament, the main question left for a dozen or so other teams will be left unanswered: "what if?"
"We had a lot of opportunities to make it an easy show for us to watch, but we lost some games that probably would have secured a spot," Marylaned player Caner-Medley said after watching his team be snubbed from the NCAA tourney. "We're responsible for not getting it done."
It was a sentiment echoed by many other teams Sunday night - Miami (Ohio), Notre Dame, Indiana - whose teams will be left to play for the NIT Championship and the right to call themselves the 66th best team in the country.
Another question left in people's minds might be the location of Arizona's first-round game. While some games will be played in nearby Tucson, the Wildcats were shipped to Boise, Idaho, to play neighbor Utah State, giving up the homecourt advantage that the NCAA selection committee said it had been committed to offering the top four seeds in every region.
Many were also wondering why Washington was awarded with a No. 1 seed instead of media-darling Wake Forest. But, the selection committe made this very clear: in deciding between two teams with near-equal records where one won its conference tourney (Washington) and the other lost in its tourney's quarterfinals (Wake Forest), they will favor the former, no matter how many in the media claim their beloved ACC team is better.
Our early reads of the tournament: Jim favors the UNC Tar Heels while Cyd will stick with the Pac-10 and the Arizona Wildcats.
3.12.2005
Don't Mess with Martina: Professional athletes are often urged to exploit their fame to make money with endorsements while they are playing (and sometimes after their career is over), to maximize earnings during what is really a very small window of opportunity. One of the biggest arguments you hear from closeted athletes against coming out is that they will lose that potential endorsement money. While out lesbian tennis legend Martina Navratilova isn't as ubiquitous as the dreary NASCAR corporate hos who seem to be doing all the athlete promos these days, she still makes a tidy sum off of endorsements. One company that probably won't continue to use Navratilova is Do Tell Inc., a credit card company.
You can get credit cards with your favorite team/actor/whatever on them these days, but Martina filed suit to stop her image being used to promote Do Tell's credit cards. Do Tell funds the Rainbow Coalition, which is involved in LGBT issues, but in February Navratilova's lawyers sent a letter requesting that they stop using her likeness in promotional materials for their credit card. They persisted and so she sued; this will wind its way through the court system. What's kind of odd is that Martina Navratilova claimed that the ads were "inappropriate and repugnant" but after a Google search, we can't find any links to any of the ads. Now we're kind of curious about what could be "repugnant" about an ad.
3.11.2005
Quick hits: Here's a quick roundup of news items.
That huge sigh of relief you heard Thursday was Green Bay Packers fans learning that stud quarterback Brett Favre will be back for the 2005 NFL season. With Favre, the Packers are contenders in the weak NFC; without him, well, Packers fans don't want to have to think about that yet.
Coach Gene Keady, the man with the worst comb-over in sports, saw his career as a college basketball coach come to an end in disappointing fashion when his Purdue Boilermakers got bounced out of the Big 10 tournament 71-52, by Iowa. "I've had some place to be since the first grade. Think about it. And I don't have to be at any place tomorrow,'' Keady said, as he bows out after 25 years, six Big 10 titles and 17 NCAA tourney appearances.
Major league baseball players, past and present, were told in no uncertain terms that they "do not, by virtue of their celebrity, deserve special treatment or to be placed above the law" after several of them, among them Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Curt Schilling and Jason Giambi hinted that they would try to sidestep subpoena's to appear before Congress to testify about the use of steroids in baseball. Baseball executives were told that their steroids program "is extremely weak" by Congressman Cliff Stearns. Ouch.
Several men's basketball teams that are on the bubble for bids to the NCAA did themselves no favors by losing on Thursday. UCLA, Maryland and Miami all lost in their respective conference tournaments, giving NCAA tourney selectors less of a reason to give them a bid. Maryland in particular had a disappointing season; one year after winning the brutal Atlantic Coast Conference, the Terps probably will finish at 16-12.
3.10.2005
Coach Licks Players - Literally: An Oregon high school football coach has a new remedy for open wounds: have your coach lick them. While this may be the fantasy of some, it was the horror of the parents of one player whose cut knee was licked by the boy's coach.
Central Linn High coach Scott Reed has admitted to the incident. According to the Associated Press, police investigated but Reed was not arrested - no law exists in Oregon against licking someone's open wounds. Reed maintains it was consensual - no reports have disputed that fact.
Reed has been put on probation by the school and ordered to take a "bloodborne pathogens" course.
Legal or not, it's pretty wild behavior. We can only imagine what signs will be held high by the fans of opposing teams next football season: "Neverland Ranch" comes to mind.
That is, if any parents let their kids play for this guy again. Though he hasn't had any facial surgery, this is as bizarre as anything Michael Jackson has ever done (naming his baby "blanket" excluded).
3.9.2005
Dancecards Punched: Some early NCAA men's basketball tournament invitations have been handed out - and there's a big surprise in the midst. The Oakland (Mich.) Grizzlies, the seven seed in the Mid-Continent Conference tournament, stunned top-seeded Oral Roberts, 61-60, to grab the conference's automatic bid. Oakland's regular season record was a dismal 9-18 before winning three conference tourney games to win the tournament. Oakland, with an RPI of 219, will surely be in the play-in game between the #65 and #64 teams in the tournament.
Other teams to have already secured a spot in the tournament include the Pennsylvania Quakers, Eastern Kentucky Colonels, Old Dominion Monarchs, Niagara Purple Eagles and the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns.
L.A. Angels to Play this Season: A judge has ruled that the newly coined "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" will play this season under that monicker, and the legal battle to keep them the Anaheim Angels will have to wait until after the season, according to the Associated Press.
The City of Anaheim claims that the new name violates a stadium contract the team has with the city. The city is expected to ask the judge to reconsider the Nov. 7 court date.
3.8.2005
Suspended for Low Blow: Wake Forest basketball player was suspended for one game after he punched North Carolina State?s Julius Hodge in the groin during a game on Sunday.
Paul, a star on the third-ranked Demon Deacons, seemed genuinely contrite. ''Sunday night was emotional for me for many reasons and I let my emotions get the best of me,'' Paul said. ''However, that is no excuse for my actions and I fully accept and agree with my suspension. ''
Big-Time College Sports: Yes, collegiate sports are all about education. To wit: University of Colorado President Elizabeth Hoffman resigned amid a football recruiting scandal and a national controversy over an activist professor who compared victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to a notorious Nazi. The Buffaloes football players used sex, alcohol and marijuana as recruiting tools during her reign.
Former University of Washington football coach settled his lawsuit against the school and the NCAA for $4.5 million. Neuheisel will receive cash payments of $2.5 million from the NCAA and $500,000 from the university. Additionally, the university agreed not to seek repayment of a $1.5 million loan. He contended he had been denied due process over his firing in 2003.
3.7.2005
Illini Among Upset Victims: The last weekend of the regular season in men?s college basketball proved wild, no more so than in Columbus, Ohio, where the Ohio State Buckeyes upset previously unbeaten Illinois, 65, 64, on Sunday. Illinois is now 29-1.
Illinois led 64-58 but did not score in the final three minutes. The loss means that for the 13th straight year, no team will enter the NCAA Tournament unbeaten.
Other upsets saw Florida beat No. 3 Kentucky, 53-52, and Missouri beat No. 7 Kansas, 72-68. Second-ranked North Carolina scored the last 11 points to bear Duke, 75-73.
While these games were exciting, they are in many ways meaningless. Because there is a tournament, the best team will win out on both the men?s and women?s side, in contrast the dopey system in big-time college football that uses polls and computers to help decide its champion.
No ?Roid Asterisk: Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said no records will be taken away from players suspected of steroid use. ''In fairness to those players, no one has been convicted of anything. And we can't turn history back, '' Selig told the AP.
While Selig has a point, his declaration amounts to baseball not wanting to investigate if the home run power surge by players like Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco and Barry Bonds was fueled by steroids. If the sport really wanted to get to the bottom of things, it could offer amnesty in return for an honest accounting of who took what. Then the public could make up its mind as what record to try as legit. But don?t hold your breath.
Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt says steroids have nothing to do with the home run increase in the 1990s. ''Leave steroids out of it,'' Schmidt said. ''There's a simple explanation why the home run totals are what they are, and the guys that are hitting would agree with me -- it's park size, hard baseballs and hard bats.'' Hard bats and balls? Wasn?t that a Falcon video a few years back?
3.5.2005
NHL for sale?: The National Hockey League--you remember them, on strike, nobody cares--was given a proposal this week by two Boston-based companies to buy the whole league, down to the last Zamboni machine, for $3 billion. Bain Capital Partners LLC and Game Plan LLC have proposed that the league would be consolidated and under their stewardship, media rights and other revenue generators would be unified, much in the way that the NFL or Major League Soccer works. The deal is an interesting idea but fraught with complications: the Detroit Red Wings, valued at $266 million would have little to gain, while the Edmonton Oilers, valued at a paltry $86 million, would be ecstatic at the idea. There's also the issue of anti-monolopy statutes applying and the whole USA law vs. Canadian law minefield. The NHL is waiting for details before mulling over the offer.
No comment: We can't really think of anything snarky to say about these two Barry Bonds comments regarding his alleged steroid use, so we'll just cut and paste 'em and look on in amazement at what a detour in to farce the major league baseball steroids scandal has taken (Note: steroids are supposed to cause a head to grow and testicles to shrink):
"What's all this about my head size? My hat size is the same today as when I started. My head hasn't grown. I've always been a 7 1/4 to a 7 3/8 my whole career. You can go check".
"I can tell you my testicles are the same size. They haven't shrunk. They're the same and work just the same as they always have."
3.4.2005
Illini continue to roll: The Illinois Fighting Illini continue to look very impressive as they seek to become the first men's college basketball team to go undefeated in a season, including the conference and NCAA tournaments, since the Indiana Hoosiers did it in 1976. The number 1 ranked Illini used great three-point shooting to swat aside Purdue 84-50 to run their record to 29-0. In the process, they also won the Big 10 title for the second year in a row. Their last game of the regular season is Sunday at Ohio State, a team they beat by 19 points earlier in the season. The Illini will most like be the number 1 seed in the Midwest Regional, which means that they will play their tournament games in Indianapolis and Chicago. Of course, teams have gone undefeated in the regular season only to crash out of the tournament. Perhaps the most famous example is UNLV in 1991, who had a squad that could have beaten some NBA teams but ended up losing to Duke in the Final Four.
One team that could cause Illinois to stumble is North Carolina's Tar Heels. Coach Roy Williams has done a great job in turning around a team that had gone 8-20 in 2002. North Carolina, currently ranked number 2, clinched at least a share of the ACC title by easily beating Florida State 91-76. The can clinch their first ACC title since 1993 on Sunday by beating Duke at home. Duke would love nothing better than to help deny North Carolina the title, so it should be quite a game.
3.3.2005
Fat and the NFL: A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association concludes that 56% of NFL players fit the government?s definition of obese. ''I thought, gosh, those guys look huge and they don't look muscular - they look obese,'' said Dr. Joyce Harp, who conducted the study by calculating the body-mass index (BMI) of 2,168 NFL players.
The study found that ?For example, a 6-2 man weighing 235 has a BMI of just over 30. Nearly half of the obese players were in the severely obese range, with a BMI of at least 35, and a small percentage were morbidly obese with a BMI of at least 40.?
The NFL pooh-poohed the study saying it was not scientific. They have a point: a 6-2, 225-pound man could be very muscular and have low body fat (like Jason Sehorn) but be considered overweight, so BMI is not the be-all and end-all.
But there?s no doubt that many NFL players and simply fat and not muscular (Gilbert Brown, anyone?). Former But former defensive tackle John Jurkovic told the AP he?s seen plenty of evidence that players have gotten ''big as houses'' because of league pressure to intimidate opponents and win. ''The NFL teams want it because it's working,'' said Jurkovic, who retired in 2000 and once weighed 328 pounds at 6-2.
The health dangers of being obese are well-known and could affect players once they retire and are no longer as active. A player must wonder if it?s worth the long-term risk to get as heavy as possible.
3.2.2005
Coach Fined for Racist Remark: Spain soccer coach Luis Aragones was fined $3,940 by the country?s soccer federation for a racist remark he made last year about English player Thierry Henry, who is black.
Aragones was heard during a training session in October telling Jose Antonio Reyes he was better than "that black shit," referring to his Arsenal teammate Henry, Reuters reported.
The incident was one of several that caused soul-searching in European soccer circles about overt racism in the game from both fans and players. It led to the formation of an anti-racist soccer group, with players wearing bracelets that said ?Stand Up, Speak Out.?
The fine was much less than Aragones could have received and was decried by Kick it Out, an anti-racism group. ?We expected very little and are not surprised by this pitiful fine. The only positive is there has finally been recognition that what Aragon￩s said was racist,? a spokesman told the Times of London.
3.1.2005
Chaney Benches Himself Again: Temple University men?s basketball coach John Chaney said he will not coach the Owls in the Atlantic 10 tournament. Cheney had already been suspended for the final three regular season games after he ordered one of his players (who he labeled a ?goon?) to rough up St. Joseph?s players. One player, John Bryant, suffered a fractured arm and will miss the rest of the season.
''I believe the fair thing is for me not to coach during the Atlantic 10 championship tournament in Cincinnati,'' the 73-year-old Chaney said in a statement Monday. ''John Bryant is unable to play in the tournament because of the injury he sustained last week against Temple. Neither should I be able to coach.''
Chaney has been contrite about his actions, but we?re not sure that is enough. He should not be allowed to coach in any postseason game and, at 73, should consider retiring.
All Greek to Us: We admit it?we don?t know a thing about cricket, though it seems like a cool game. Nonetheless, the terminology is so foreign to us that this AP report might as well been written in Aramaic:
Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn pounded half centuries Tuesday as Australia beat New Zealand by seven wickets in the fourth limited-overs cricket international to move within a match of a series sweep. Stand-in captain Gilchrist scored 54 from 37 balls, Martyn 65 from 78, Andrew Symonds 48 from 37 and Simon Katich 43 from 41 as Australia made light of its chase for New Zealand's 233.
2.28.2005
Clarett Bombs at Combine: Two years ago, Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett was on top of the football world, leading the Buckeyes to a national title. Since then he?s run into trouble on campus and hasn?t played in more than a year.
Clarett attended this week?s NFL Combine, a fleshfest where potential draftees are poked, prodded and examined by scouts and personnel men. Clarett was hoping to wow the experts but he ran such a relatively slow 40-yard dash time that some say he?ll be lucky to be drafted. He knew he had blown a bigtime chance to impress.
"It was a tough day for me,'' Clarett said. "To be working so hard and so long on those drills and then to kind of mess it up, it's extremely frustrating. To do this, it kind of put me in the tank a little bit. I can't really explain it. " Clarett will be drafted by someone, but his glory years seem like a million years ago.
Webber Falls to Former Team: Chris Webber, the newest Philadelphia 76er, came up short Saturday in his first game since being traded from the Sacramento Kings. Webber missed what would have been the game-tying layup at the buzzer in a 101-99 loss to, ironically, his former Kings team.
Despite the loss, the 76ers got a great deal in obtaining Webber for relatively little, and he should help them make a run at winning the woeful Atlantic Division.
Quote of the Week: We saw this via our Discussion Board, from ESPN.com: "Just picture your favorite guy and put it right through the hole."
-- Drew Brees after winning the skills competition at the Pro Bowl.
2.26.2005
Transgender golfer makes tour debut: Mianne Bagger is blazing a trail in the women's golf game that hopefully will become unremarked upon over time. She was born a male in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1966 and started playing golf at the age of 8. At the age of 26, she withdrew from competitive golf to undergo gender reassignment surgery, starting to play again in 1998. Bagger now lives in Australia and this week made her debut on the Ladies European Tour (which, naturally, was being played in Australia). It's believed to be the first time a known transgender person has played a women's professional golf tournament. There's been the expected whispers that Mianne did this so that she can have an advantage over women golfers but she reacted to this by saying "That always infuriated me so much, to say 'What's to stop some guy from having a sex-change operation to play the women's tour'? It really exhibits the level of ignorance that exists." Of course, what will ultimately matter is whether Mianne Bagger can play golf at a level that will permit her to make the cut with regularity.
NBA trade frenzy: NBA teams completed a flurry of trades over the past few days and here's some of the highlights:
* Chronic complainer Gary Payton was dealt from the Atlantic Division leading Boston Celtics to the team with worst record in the NBA, the Atlanta Hawks. The basketball gods obviously have a sense of humor.
* More importantly, the Sacramento Kings threw up their hands and said "Time to rebuild" by sending oft-injured Chris Webber to Philadelphia. On paper, this strengthens the 76ers, but Allen Iverson has been The Man in Philly for so long that it's hard to imagine him willingly integrating Webber in to the offense. Of course, the desire for a championship ring may trump any ego considerations but if Iverson and Webber can work from the same playbook, the 76ers could be a factor during the playoffs.
2.25.2005
More baseball steroids fallout: Baseball executives always get very nervous when politicians get involved in their sport in any capacity other than supporting that public money be used to build new stadiums. In 1922, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that baseball is a sport subject to state regulations and not a business subject to Federal antitrust laws, which allows baseball all sorts of freedom in how it conducts its business. The Supreme Court ruled that only Congress can repeal the anti-trust exemption. As a result, one of the few ways that politicians have to get baseball owners and commissioners in line with their wishes is to threaten to repeal the anti-trust exemption.
The recent steroids scandal, fueled by media whore Jose Canseco, has the word "repeal" being whispered in Washington DC again. Henry Waxman of California urged that Canseco and the players that he accused, including Mark McGwire, be called to testify before Congress on steroid use. Waxman also wants representatives from Major League Baseball and the players union to appear to testify about what they plan to do about the undoubted use of steroids in their sport. Senator John McCain was highly critical of the steroids policy that was passed after MLB execs and players union reps were grilled before Congress last year. The league and union have already agreed to a tougher policy before the start of this season (10-day suspension for first time offenders, instead of the previous slaps on the wrist, and year-round testing) but McCain says that is not enough and that amphetimines are exempt from the new policy. This is the nightmare that keeps on giving for owners and players: it's going to be a constant story throughout the coming season, a season that might set an all-time overall attendence record. While it's true that baseball has turned a blind eye to players who juice, the general defense is "fans don't mind, they just want home runs". We'll see how true that is.
2.24.2005
Moss to Oakland?: Reports say that Randy Moss, Cyd?s favorite NFL player,, will be traded from the Minnesota Vikings to the Oakland Raiders for linebacker Napoleon Harris, the No. 7 pick overall in the draft and a late-round draft pick. The deal can?t be finalized until March 2, the start of the free-agency period.
Moss, who makes as many headlines for his antics as his play, will be a perfect Raider. The franchise has a long history of picking up NFL bad boys and the fans in the Black Hole will love him. Moss can fake-moon to his heart?s desire in Oakland.
Moss, along with Jerry Porter, will give the Raiders a great receiving corps and make them dangerous. The Vikings will be rid of a huge distraction and will pick up an excellent linebacker and a high draft choice.
Cyd, who can?t stand the Raiders, was disconsolate when informed of the trade. We imagine AFC West defensive backs will feel the same way; for all his high jinks, Moss remains perhaps the most feared receiver in the league.
