jock
cup
jockstrap
underwear
gay
gay sports
gay jocks
gay pride
4.30.2004
NBA player apologizes for anti-gay remark: Combating homophobia in sports is a slow, excruciating process. Change seems to happen a glacial pace and sometimes if feels as if nothing is ever going to really change. So, we?ll take even the small victories. Anyone who has played sports pretty much knows that words like "faggot" and such get tossed around as demeaning insults. Such was the case during an NBA playoff game Tuesday between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Nuggets Francisco Elson had gotten in a tussle on the court, followed by a shouting match, with the Wolves Kevin Garnett. Talking to the media, Elson said Garnett was "gay" for "touching me in my private parts." If every time an athlete touched another athlete?s privates during a heated game that was proof that the guy doing the touching was gay, this website would have a hell of lot less to write about. It?s clearly a stupid concept, but Elson wouldn?t let up, continuing to make comments about Garnett to the media on Wednesday.
"So what?" we hear you say, this stuff is old hat by now (Rocker, Shockey, Hearst and so on). We?re also used to the non-apology apologies that go roughly like this: "I?m sorry if I offended anyone". What?s a little different about this incident is that Francisco Elson admitted that his comments were "insensitive". In the most shocking comment we?ve probably heard in cases like these Elson said "I take full responsibility and I have learned a valuable lesson". Of course, this was after gay & lesbian groups raised a fuss, but, hey, we?ll take it. One of the most pernicious forms of sports-based homophobia is the casual insult, the flinging around of phrases like "you?re so gay" and so on. While it?s hard to truly gauge Francisco Elson?s sincerity, maybe this is a turning point in straight athletes getting the clue that it?s just not right to fling around anti-gay epithets like they do a bounce pass.
4.29.2004
Lakers Move On: For a minute, the Houston Rockets were taking the Los Angeles Lakers to Game 6. For a minute. Instead, the Lakers used a monsterous second half to throttle the Rockets and move on to the second round. There, they will face the San Antonio Spurs, who knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs last year, and who swept the Memphis Grizzlies with a 13-point victory in Game 4.
U.S. Soccer Gets Big Win: Eddie Pope scored in injury time to give the U.S. a 1-0 victory over Mexico on Wednesday night.
Pope knocked in the rebound of a missed shot by Taylor Twellman from about 5 yards out to give the United States its sixth win in eight meetings with Mexico. The two countries played to a scoreless tie the last time they met, last May at Reliant Stadium in Houston.
4.28.2004
Lightning Take Big Lead: After 60 minutes of play, it took the Tampa Bay Lightning just 1:05 to beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-3, and take a commanding 3-0 series lead. The Lightning are now just one win away from heading to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in their 12-year history.
Vincent Lecavalier of the Lightning scored the tying goal with just 16.5 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overime.
Tommy Maddox - Another Whining Quarterback: Pittsburgh quarterback Tommy Maddox had one decent season. Now, he's upset that they want to replace him.
Last year, Maddox's quarterback rating was just over 75 (that's not very good) and threw just one more touchdown (18) than he did interceptions (17). His average yards per attempt were 6.6 - coupled with a 57 percent completion percentage, that's not particularly good either.
The Steelers responded by selecting Miami (OH) quarterback Ben Roethlisberger with their first draft selection on Saturday - the first time the team has drafted a quarterback in the first round since 1981.
On Tuesday, Maddox called a meeting with head coach Bill Cowher to discuss the selection.
Word has it, Cowher is thinking of punting Maddox.
4.27.2004
Arnie on the Links Again: Despite retiring from professional golf at this month's Masters, Arnold Palmer has not hung up his golf clubs entirely. He will be playing in the CVS Charity Classic at Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington in June, according to CVS Pharmacy Corp.
If you never got to watch one of the great champions, each opportunity like this may be the last you get - into his 70s, his tournaments are, unfortunately, numbered.
Two Big NBA Road Wins: Two teams favored to win their series got big wins on the road Monday night. The Detroit Pistons beat up on the Milwaukee Bucks, 109-92, taking a commanding 3-1 series lead with two games left in Detroit.
The Sacramento Kings also took a 3-1 series lead with two home games left, nipping the Dallas Mavericks in the final minute, 94-92.
4.26.2004
Sox Sweep Yanks: The Red Sox have now won five of their six games against the New York Yankees this season, winning in the Bronx on Sunday, 2-0.
There is plenty of talk now abut how the Red Sox have put the curse of the Bambino behind them. That curse was put on the team when they traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees over 75 years ago. Since then, they have not won the World Series, though they have been dangerously close.
This year is no different than any other. The Red Sox are on a tear in April. In April. The World Series, many seem to forget, is in October and November. Between now and then, the Yankees will acquire at least two starting pitchers, a relief pitcher and another hitter. The Red Sox will do nothing as Pedro Martinez gets injured again over the summer and just isn't himself down the stretch.
Giants Get Their Man: The New York Giants have bet the future on a quarterback who hasn't taken a snap in the NFL. When they traded several draft picks to the San Diego Chargers for the rights to Mississippi quarterback Eli Manning, they paid dearly for the quarterback they think can take them to the promised land.
Manning and his father, Archie, had made headlines over the week when they declared that Eli did not want to play for the San Diego Chargers, who selected first in the draft. The Chargers received NC State quarterback Phil Rivers, who was picked by the New York Giants at #4, in the trade.
San Diego also had the #1 overall pick in 2001. They traded that pick to Atlanta, who selected Michael Vick. The Chargers picked up LaDainian Tomlinson, who has carried the team's offense the last three seasons. Vick seems to be working out for the Falcons as well.
4.24.2004
Don't Have a Drink On Me: Soccer's World Cup, apart from the Olympics, is the most popular sporting event in the world, despite American apathy. The 2006 edition was awarded to Germany after a bitter and controversial selection process that had allegations of racism (Africa was the other contender) and vote-buying in small Pacific Ocean islands flying around. Those things now pale in significance due to a controversy that is brewing in Bavaria, where the opening match will be held at Munich's refurbished Olympic Stadium. The cause of the row? Beer.
Munich is, of course, home to Oktoberfest, that celebration of beer and accordion-led oom-pah-pah bands. Germany has strict beer purity laws that decree the ingredients that are allowed in beer. They are taken very seriously, especially in Bavaria. The problem is that the Official Beer of World Cup 2006 per one of those pathetic "Official [insert product here] of [insert event here]" deals by FIFA, world soccer's ruling body, is Budweiser, the close-to-water product that is widely mocked by serious beer connoisseurs. The good burgermeisters of Munich are trying to get Bavarian Governor Edmund Stoiber to step in and stop this outrage. For beer-lovers more amenable to a big stein of Augustiner or Spaten, nothing less than the choice between a classic beer or a mug of water hangs in the balance. We wish Bavaria a lot of goodwill in this important battle.
4.23.2004
Stuck in the Middle: The ongoing saga of Maurice Clarett, the former Ohio State running back trying to overturn longstanding NFL rules and enter the pro game early, took another turn on Thursday and, for Clarett and other college players trying to leave school early to get that big NFL paycheck, it was pretty bad news. Two United States Supreme Court Justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and John Paul Stevens, ruled in separate cases that the stay issued by lower courts could not be overturned. The practical result of this is that Clarett's case must be decided first by the lower courts before it could possibly be heard by the Supreme Court.
The other result is that Clarett and Mike Williams, a stud receiver with Southern Cal, must wait before entering the draft. With the draft coming up this weekend, they are in a limbo of their own making. If they do decide to go back to school, the NCAA would have to approve such an action; plus, it's hard to imagine that most of their teammates would be thrilled to see them.
4.22.2004
Heat Catching Fire: When former world champion Los Angeles Laker coach Pat Riley took over the Miami Heat, they quickly became the perennial disappointments of the NBA - at one point losing as a #1 seed to the hated #8 New York Knicks.
Head coach Stan Van Gundy has given the team a little to cheer about, mounting a 2-0 series lead over the New Orleans Hornets as the series heads to the Big Easy. In routing the Hornets Wednesday night, the Heat held them to 63 points - and tied for the second lowest point total by a team in NBA playoff history.
4.21.2004
Is Michael Vick Gay? Continuing on this week's string of strange sports stories with a gay twist, a rumor has started floating around that Atlanta Falcons quarterback Mike Vick is gay.
We at Outsports first got wind of the rumor last week, when a reader wrote to us asking if that was the case. The reader had seen a story on Global Associated News titled "Gay Community Welcomes Professional Football Player Michael Vick."
The story said, "Shocking sports fans around the globe, NFL representatives for Michael Vick issued a public statement today confirming rumors that began circulating earlier this week about his sexual preferences and homosexual lifestyle."
The story even included a quote from Mike Vick about being a gay man and finally feeling good about revealing his secret.
What readers of the story have failed to read is that the story is a farce and that Global Associated News specializes in reader-driven stories that are completely false.
Chalk this one up with the Yankee who was going to come out of the closet the day after April 1.
LeBron is Rookie of the Year: The debate is over: #1 draft pick LeBron James was the best rookie this year. Or, so say the voters for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.
James garnered 508 points while Carmelo Anthony got 430 points. They were the only two with any first-place votes. Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat was third with 117 points.
4.20.2004
Patriots Keep Getting Better: The Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots made the first big move of draft week, sending a second-round draft pick to the Cincinnati Bengals for running back Corey Dillon.
Dillon was the work-horse back through many years of disastrous Bengals teams, only to be benched for Rudi Johnson when new head coach Marvin Lewis took the helm.
The trade gives the Super Bowl champs a running back who had rushed for 1,300 yards three consecutive seasons before riding the pine for much of last season. The Patriots still have two first-round draft picks, one in the second round and two in the third round. The rich just got richer.
The Patriots also got another bit of news - the arrest of All Pro cornerback Ty Law, who was arrested in Miami over the weekend for resisting arrest after he made an illegal turn with his car.
Bad News for Fans in New England: The Red Sox may be hot, but that doesn't translate to the ice. The Boston Bruins were up on the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1, in their best of seven series, but lost game seven in Boston Monday night, 2-0.
4.19.2004
No Place Like Home: The Game Ones of the four NBA playoff series are history and all eight home team won. Only two, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat, were seriously threatened. In a seven-game series, the pressure is on the home team to keep its advantage, so these results don?t suggest anything other than it?s tough to win on the road.
Venus Gets a Win: It?s taken her more than a year, but Venus Williams finally won a tennis tournament. Williams won the 30th title of her career when she beat Conchita Martinez 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C. Williams had faced a six-month layoff following an abdominal injury and hadn?t won since February 2003. Williams went out of her way to praise the fans in Charleston.
''I've never played in front of a crowd that was so supportive of me. A lot of times, I can be playing somewhere, and it's right in the United States, and I can be playing someone who I don't even know how to pronounce her name, and the crowd is very much rooting for the other player,'' Williams said. ''So for me it's very unusual to come to a place and really everyone is just showing a lot of support.''
4.17.2004
Curse of the Bambino, Part 8,037,042: Major League Baseball loves it when the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox play. The media goes nuts about the rivalry, the fans get really fired up and the teams themselves seem to take the games a little more seriously than they would an August game against Tampa Bay. After last the 2003 ALCS, which the Yankees won in the 11th inning of Game 7, it figured to be a feisty affair in the first meeting of the teams this year.
The hype was ratcheted up a few dozen notches because the Red Sox pursued perhaps the best player in the game, Alex Rodriguez, only to have him sign with their dreaded rivals the Yankees. On Friday, the teams met for the first of their 19 encounters this season, the Red Sox winning 6-2. But why was Fenway Park about 100 seats sold short of capacity? Maybe they're like most baseball fans who realize that it's a long, long season and that games in April, while important to the final standings, are not the same as games in September.
Fox Sucks: In a pathetic attempt to attract young people to baseball, Fox is going to have Scooter, a lame Spongebob Squarements cartoon ripoff, try to explain baseball to "kids" on their baseball telecasts. Sports telecasts are horribly cluttered with bells and whistles these days anyways, so it's hard to fathom how this latest scheme from Fox is going to help.
4.16.2004
And Here's To You, Mr. Robinson: It is impossible to underestimate the importance to American sports, and American society in general, that the date April 15, 1947 represents. On that day, the color barrier in baseball was broken by Jackie Robinson and baseball was never the same again. By trotting out to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Robinson forever altered the landscape of his previously all-white professional sport. Enduring appalling racism from fans, opposing teams and even some of his own teammates, he somehow managed to rise above it all and in the process, showed he was a superb player as well.
Major League Baseball has changed considerably since then, and one of the ways is that most of its stars are people of color now. But it all started with the great athlete from UCLA, who played second base for the Dodgers. Baseball will now commemorate Jackie Robinson Day every April 15th, in addition to retiring his number from all but two players (Mo Vaughn and Mariano Rivero got to keep their number 42 as they were wearing it at the time the decision was made). In addition to his impact on the sport of baseball, Robinson breaking the color barrier was one of the early engines for the civil rights movement for African-Americans. What's sad is that his courageous action came too late for a whole bunch of incredible players like Josh Gibson and Cool Papa Bell who never had a chance to show their skills to the wider (read: white) public, as they were consigned to the segregated Negro League. There's one train of thought is that baseball records should be considered in a pre-1947/post-1947 context to get a clearer picture of a player's worth.
4.15.2004
Beware of the Lakers: The death march known as the NBA regular season, basically 82 games to eliminate the Clippers, ended Wednesday night with a bang. Kobe Bryant hit a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime, then another at the buzzer in the second overtime as the Los Angeles Lakers stunned Portland, 105-104. Coupled with Sacramento?s loss to Golden State, the Lakers won the Pacific Division and earned the #2 seed in the West.
The Lakers will be the favorites to win it all, as it is hard to see anybody beating them in a seven-game series. The teams with the best shot aren?t Minnesota or Indiana, the top seeds in each conference, but the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs have won 11 in a row and will meet the Lakers if each team wins its first-round series. A Lakers-Spurs series could be the unofficial yet actual NBA Finals. Minnesota has never won a playoff series, while Indiana went a mediocre 3-5 against the top teams in the West. Sacramento is in a major freefall, having lost 8 of their last 12.
4.14.2004
Cheaters Never Prosper: The NBA on Tuesday took away the ?triple-double? made by the Atlanta Hawks? Bob Sura on Monday night, ruling that Sura cheated. A ?triple-double? is where a player scores at least 10 points, 10 rebound and 10 assists. Sura was one rebound shy of his third ?triple-double? in a row when he got the ball free under the basket for an easy layup with time running out. He deliberately missed (his attempt was lame) and grabbed the rebound as the horn sounded, then was congratulated by teammates.
The NBA ruled that they stripped Sura of the rebound because he violated the rule that says ?A field goal attempt is a player's attempt to shoot the ball into the basket for a field goal.'' Sura, from the same hometown of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., as Jim from Outsports, admitted his infraction. ``Actually, the ball slipped,'' Sura said, with the AP saying he was laughing and not making any pretense at being serious. ``All the guys on the team were screaming at me to do it. It was kind of a reaction thing. I just did it.''
Bonds Hits 661: Barry Bonds hit his 661st career home run to move into third place all-time on Major League Baseball?s list. Bonds trails only Babe Ruth (714) and Hank Aaron (755). At the pace he?s going, Bonds will pass Ruth next season and has a great shot at Aaron. ``I've never seen a better player in my life,'' said former Giants third baseman Matt Williams of Bonds. ''I don't think anybody changes the course of a game like he does.''
Wings Tied Up: The Nashville Predators, with all the hockey playoff tradition of a bowl of grits, beat the hallowed Detroit Red Wings, 3-0, to tie their NHL series at 2-2. The Wings are a religion in Detroit, so there are obviously a lot of nervous fans there. Detroit still has home-ice advantage, but Nashville has a great shot at winning the series if they continue to get great goaltending by Tomas Vokoun, who has allowed only one goal in Detroit?s last 82 shots.
4.13.2004
2-1: NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs are in full swing and so far, they can be summed up by how all eight series stand: 2-1 in the best of seven series. The Nashville Predators won their first playoff game in team history on Sunday after beating the team with the most points in the league this year, the Detroit Red Wings, 3-1 in Music City; most thought that they'd get swept out in four straight games. It seems like the Toronto Maple Leafs meet the Ottawa Senators every year in the playoffs and their series are typically highly charged, intense affairs. The Leafs, one of the storied franchises in the NHL, are the Phil Mickelson of hockey these days; they haven't won a Stanley Cup title since the 1966-1967 season, the last season with just six teams in the league. They took a step closer to ending that drought when cutie Joe Nieuwendyk helped lead them to a 2-0 win over the Senators on Monday.
In a battle of two time Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche vs. one time winner the Dallas Stars, Steve Ott of Dallas scored in overtime to give his team a, you guessed it, 2-1 series lead. New Jersey, the defending champions, also potentially saved their season with a comprehensive 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers that must have Philly fans wondering if their team is the hockey version of the Eagles. The Flyers had a chance to go up 3-0 in their series but now go in to the crucial Game 4 Wednesday in New Jersey having the momentum taken away. If the Flyers lose on Wednesday, we can't wait to read the Philly papers the next day. We're sorry if we didn't mention your favorite team that might be playing, but the NHL playoffs go on seemingly forever, so we'll probably get a mention in at some point before June.
4.12.2004
Phil is Finally a Champ: Phil Mickelson finally won a major. After so many years answering questions as to why the big one eluded him, Mickelson this time didn't choke but put up a back nine that would be the envy of any, winning the Masters by one stroke over Ernie Els.
Despite being regarded as one of the best golfers of the last 10 years, Mickelson had never won one of the four major tournaments. Often, it was Tiger Woods taking his thunder and that elusive championship he so much yearned for. This time, with Woods nine strokes back entering the final round, Mickelson had his eyes on the prize.
Despite some close calls, he had never even been in it on the last hole. This time, tied on the 18th on Sunday, he birdied a putt that gave him his one-shot victory and his first major win in 42 tries.
Shaq Baby Mouths Off Again: Wah wah wah. Why is it that the every-few-years best player in the NBA keeps whining about other good teams? His favorite whining target is the Sacramento Kings, who beat up on his Lakers on Sunday, 102-85.
After the game, he used an expletive when asked about the Kings' play. "Not impressed, not impressed," he said. "Not [expletive] impressed, you know what I mean?"
Why did no one ever teach this guy sportsmanship?
4.10.2004
Say Hello, Wave Goodbye: Friday brought a couple of interesting storylines from The Masters in Augusta. First off, last year's playoff competitors, gorgeous Canadian Mike Weir (who got the green jacket last year) and Len Mattiace, both failed to make the cut and are out of the tournament. Tiger Woods played much better and is six shots behind the leader for a second consecutive day, Justin Rose. It was also a day of farewells, as golf legend Arnold Palmer played his final Masters. Winner of four Masters titles, Palmer went out on a low-note in golfing terms, finishing second from the bottom, but the crowds in Augusta couldn't stop cheering him. With Palmer's longtime rival Jack Nicklaus also missing the cut and making noises that this was his last Masters tournament, it seems that an end of an era has been reached where the two men who largely helped popularize golf are gone from golf's biggest prize.
Signed DC: Major League Baseball has completey screwed up the situation with the Montreal Expos, sending them in to purgatory of an almost endless road trip as they seek a solution to the most basic question about the franchise: where will they relocate to? Washington DC claims that they have the inside track over about six other places as they say they might have worked out a deal to do the one thing baseball wants more than anything, which is have public funds completely pay for a new stadium. City officials have informed MLB that they will build the $340 million stadium in a parking lot of the existing RFK Stadium, home to DC's last baseball team, the Senators (now Texas Rangers). The team would play at RFK while the stadium is being built. Frankly, the hierarchy of baseball has shown no evidence that they know what the hell they're doing with the Expos, so as far as we're concerned, this latest development is just a press release by wannabes until a groundbreaking ceremony takes place. We're not holding our collective breath.
4.9.2004
Rose Smells Like One: On one of golf's biggest stages, a 23-year-old South African captured the early headlines and took the lead at the Masters. While 18 players have yet to finish, Justin Rose held a two-shot lead over Chris DiMarco and Jay Haas. Tiger Woods had a bad day, shooting four over par before play was suspended due darkness caused by rain delays. He's already nine shots behind Rose. There's plenty of golf to go, though.
Golf history is littered with first-round leaders of major tournaments who had simply fallen into the shadows of other players by tournament's end. Whether Rose will be the latest is yet to be seen; but, if past performance is any indication, he's in trouble. His highest finish this year was 23rd at the South African Airways Open in his home country.
Tigers on a Tear: Last year, the Detroit Tigers were on the verge of setting a Major League Baseball record for futility with the worst season record in history. This year, they're off to the best start in baseball.
With a 10-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, the Tigers jumped out to a 4-0 record. Only the Anaheim Angels also remain undeated; they are 3-0.
4.8.2004
Shootout in Atlanta Buries Mets: The Atlanta Braves scored more runs in the fourth inning than the New York Mets did the entire game. Given the Mets scored 10 runs, that's saying something.
With an 11-run fourth inning, the Braves set a 32-year franchise record for most runs scored in one inning.
In the losing effort, Mike Piazza hit two homers. He finished 5-for-5 with four RBIs -- his second career five-hit game -- and moved from catcher to first base in the seventh, the second time since 1993 he has played that position.
New York Giants Make Bold Play: It couldn't hurt the NFL to have the top quarterback in the draft headed to a team in New York. The Giants agree.
The San Diego Chargers told CNNSI.com that they have received a call from New York Giants GM Ernie Accorsi about acquiring the Chargers' draft pick in the NFL draft set for April 24. The Chargers presently have the first pick in the draft; the Giants presently pick fourth.
The Giants, under new head coach Tom Coughlin, have made no secret that they are interested in Eli Manning, former Mississippi quarterback and brother of Indianapolis Colts star Peyton Manning.
The last time the Chargers had the No. 1 pick, they traded it to the Atlanta Falcons. The trade worked out for all the parties involved, with Michael Vick heading to Atlanta and LaDanian Tomlinson carrying the load in San Diego.
4.7.2004
UConn Gets the Sweep: The UConn women's basketball completed the sweep of NCAA basketball championships Monday night, beating Tennessee, 70-61. They joined the UConn men's team as national champions just 24 hours after they beat Georgia Tech.
It was the women's third straight title, graduating star Diana Taurasi in regal fashion that has been matched by few.
This was the first time the same school won both titles in the same year.
4.6.2004
UConn Wins the Title: After an NCAA men?s college basketball tournament that saw thrills, chills and dramatic endings, Monday night?s final was a bust. Connecticut trailed for only 55 seconds and once led by 25 in an easy 82-73 win over Georgia Tech. The game was sloppy and lacked flow and, as is often the case in the college game these days, neither team could shoot well. Georgia Tech shot 38% compared to UConn?s 43%.
The Yellow Jackets didn?t have an answer for dominant Husky center Emeka Okafor, named the tournament?s Most Outstanding Player.
Hats off to Outsports? NCAA writer Steen Lawson, who picked Connecticut to win it all. He also nailed three of the four Final Four teams?UConn, Georgia Tech and Oklahoma State.
Coordinators Behind Bars: We loved this NFL note from the Boston Globe: You never know where a good play will come from, but new Buffalo coach Mike Mularkey, who is famous for running gadget plays, claims some of his best suggestions come from an unexpected source.
"Probably some of the best ideas come from prison inmates," Mularkey said. "They have a lot of time. There was one I actually wanted to use in Pittsburgh, but when I told the officials, they said it was illegal to snap the ball directly through the quarterback's legs to the running back as the quarterback dives into the line. They said it was intentionally trying to deceive." Which leads to a logical follow-up question. "So?"
4.5.2004
NCAA Can't Get Duke in the Finals: Try as it might have Saturday night, the NCAA could not get Duke into the final game against Georgia Tech, losing to Connecticut in the final seconds, 79-78.
For their money, the refs played their part brilliantly. They handed UConn's star, Emeka Okafor, his second personal foul less than four minutes into the game, sending him to the bench for the rest of the half. They gave him his third with less than four minutes gone in the second half, again sending him to the bench. The refs fabricated fouls against UConn on several occasions. One play, an "amazing" save by a Duke player, left me screaming because of a slap to the arm that wasn't called. My friends watching with me told me I was whining and that there was no foul. The former may have been the case, but the latter - with Tivo, we backed it up to see, very clearly, a slap on the arm that created the steal.
In the end, though, UConn coach Jim Calhoun had the refs pegged and, once Okafor came back in, he didn't go near a Duke player so there was no way even the biased refs could call a fourth or game-ending foul on him.
Three cheers to UConn! They did what most teams haven't been able to do against Duke the last 10 years: beat the refs. -Cyd Zeigler jr.
Tennessee Women to Play UConn: Two of women college basketball perennials, Tennessee and Connecticut, will play Tuesday for the national title after each won its Final Four game Sunday. This will be the fourth time in the last 10 years and second year in a row the Vols and Huskies will meet for the title.
Uconn beat back Minnesota, 67-58, in one semifinal, while Tennessee beat LSU, 52-50, on a steal and layup with 1.2 seconds left. The LSU-Tennessee game set back women?s basketball 20 years in terms of shooting, producing the lowest scoring Final Four game ever. Tennessee shot a miserable 32% and LSU wasn?t much better at 38%.
4.3.2004
Anyone for Tennis?: Martina Navratilova is not only of the few active out of the closet professional athletes but also one of the greatest female tennis players in history. She's been in the media spotlight due to her lesbianism since around 1991, when her messy breakup with Judy Nelson ended up in court, causing a tabloid feeding frenzy at the time. Through it all, she's remained a class act, and a tireless champion for gay rights. However, like Michael Jordan, she can't seem to get the retirement thing right.
Matina hasn't played a tournament-sponsored singles match since 1994, though she's been quite active playing doubles, but at the age of 47 she's decided to play in two tournaments in the coming weeks. Her last singles match in the U.S. was a loss to Gabriela Sabitini, but Navratilova feels that playing a few singles matches will help her ongoing doubles game.
It will be good to have her back, as she helped revolutionize women's tennis with her hyper-athletic net game; even now she's in great shape. Her longstanding rivalry with her polar opposite Chris Evert, she of the long baseline rallies, helped to popularize women's tennis, but it will be interesting to see if Navratilova can keep up with the faster, quicker, stronger women playing singles today.
4.2.2004
Idiot Wind: Athletes understandably get mad when the stereotype of them being just dumb jocks gets bandied about. Once in a while, though, one of them says something so completely ignorant that even "dumb jock" is an understatement. Case in point: Paul Hornung on Tuesday. The former Nortre Dame and Green Bay Packer great was doing a radio interview in Detroit when he said that Notre Dame "...can't stay as strict as we are as far as the academic structure is concerned because we've got to get the black athlete. We must get the black athlete if we're going to compete". The basis of this statement probably came as a surprise to the African-Americans already on the Notre Dame football team, who make up rougly 55% of the roster, not to mention black Fighting Irish head coach Tyrone Willingham.
Hornung was in full damage-control mode on Thursday and since he made his comments on the radio, the usual claim of "I was misquoted! The reporters took my comments out of context!" wouldn?t hold water if he tried it. He didn't seem to be completely past the clueless part, though, as he claimed that "I don't know if it was insulting, I would say insensitive. It was insensitive because I didn't include the white athletes". Memo to Clueless Paul: race shouldn't have been brought up at all. If, as Notre Dame fans claim, the allegedly tougher academic requirements in South Bend are the cause of the relative decline of their somewhat full-of-itself football program--only one national championship in the last 15 years--the calls to loosen those requirements are offensive to the athletes, a slap in the face to non-athlete students and a sign that the school has its priorities in order. To make a statement that could easily be seen to say "The only way black athletes will make it in to Notre Dame is to lower the standards" does no one any favors and adds punch to the claim that African-American athletes are held to higher standards than their white counterparts.
4.1.2004
Yankee Coming Out of the Closet: Sports Illustrated is reporting that a starting player for the New York Yankees will announce he is gay at a press conference to be held Friday.
The player will be the first openly gay active athlete in any of the four major sports leagues in the United States. Several players have come out of the closet after their retirement.
While CNNSI.com did not offer any insight into who the player might be, the story did say it is not a pitcher. We're assuming they weren't referring to his sexual preference.
Packers to Trade Favre: The Green Bay Packers are reportedly near a deal that would send Brett Favre to the Arizona Cardinals for an undisclosed draft pick.
With the Packers acquiring Tim Couch from the Cleveland Browns, the Packers are said to believe that Favre, in his mid-30s, is now expendible. They would likely use the draft pick to select one of the several strong wide receivers in the draft.
"It will be a sad day when I have to leave the fans of Green Bay," Favre said in a statement. "But, if it's going to happen, it might as well happen now.
New Cardinal coach Denny Green apparently has had Favre in his sights since coaching against him in Minnesota.
Letters Flood into Outsports By the time these two items are read, dozens of letters will already be flooding into Outsports asking for more details. The only insight we can offer, however, is to take a very careful look at the date.
3.31.2004
A Girl Can Dunk, Too: It wasn't an eight-foot rim, either. Candace Parker, a 6-foot-3 Naperville, Ill., high school senior, beat five male competitors Monday night to become the first female to win the POWERade Jam Fest slam dunk competition.
The dunk contest was held in conjunction with the McDonald's All-American boys and girls games, to be held Wednesday.
The judges gave Parker 223 points, 75 points ahead of second place Joe Crawford, who has said he will sign with Kentucky.
Parker, who will be a freshman at Tennessee next season, finished off the competition with the "Peek-A-Boo," a one-handed jam while covering her eyes with a forearm.
"I've been dunking the ball since I was 15," she said at a press conference, the Associated Press reported. "I just wanted to get my first one down and knew I'd be all right."
Parker was named the Naismith Prep Basketball Players of the Year in 2003 and 2004.
Parker is the second female participant in the dunk contest. Last year, McDonald's All-American Brittany Hunter competed but didn't complete any dunks.
3.30.2004
UConn Settles a Score: When the women's NCAA basketball brackets came out two weeks ago, many were surprised that UConn slipped to a #2 seed behind Penn State. On Monday, the Huskies proved the selection committe wrong, demolishing the Nittany Lions, 66-49, to advance to the Final Four. The ladies joined the UConn gents in their respective Final Four.
It should be no surprise that the NCAA scheduled UConn, despite the fact that they were the #2 seed, to play in Hartford. It should also be no surprise that Tennessee needed some help from the refs in the final minutes of their game to survive, that Stanford has somehow awoken from a slumber and pulled off to upsets, and that Duke will undoubtedly be a final four team for the women. The only question is whether Stanford or Tennessee will round out the Final Four - we'll give the edge to Tennessee because they're further east than Stanford.
Well, at least we know it's not just the men cheating.
3.29.2004
Men?s Final Four Set:The big boys asserted themselves this weekend in the NCAA men?s college basketball tournament and there will be no Cinderella. The Final Four of Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Duke and Connecticut showed the power of the major conferences, while teams like Xavier and St. Joseph?s saw their dream seasons end. We have to admit that this Final Four seems a little lackluster despite there being four quality teams. The romance of the tourney is that of the little guy sneaking in, but that doesn?t happen nearly as often as many people think.
Kwan?s Reign Ends: Michelle Kwan, a five-time world figure skating champion, finished third in Dortmund, Germany, behind Japan's Shizuka Arakawa and Amercian Sasha Cohen.
In an odd and disturbing moment, a 30-year-old man jumped on the ice right before Kwan skated. Ron Bensimhon, a Canadian was briefly detained and then released; he was not armed. The New York Times described him as ?a male exhibitionist who had leapt out of the stands and skated to center ice wearing a mask and pants before stripping down to a tutu and his bare chest.?
Jones Finishes Eighth: A week after publicly declaring she?s a lesbian, pro golfer Rosie Jones finished eighth at the Kraft Nabisco Tournament. Jones finished seven shots behind Grace Park, who won her first career major.
Hubert Mizell, a longtime columnist for the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times showed that people can learn acceptance as they grow older. He wrote this about Jones? decision to go public: ?All this puts an old sports columnist's mind into a different gear. I don't know how many LPGA lesbians there are, or how many lesbians play tennis at the highest levels, or how many are involved in Olympics or softball or basketball or other sports. Probably dozens. Maybe hundreds. But the educational process is finally running at a higher speed. ? Move on, my friends. These are not your grandmother's professional sports.?
3.27.2004
Turning Japanese: One of the mantra's of US pro sports is that they need to "internationalize their brand". Decoding the marketing-speak, they need to expand their potential fanbase beyond the 48 contiguous states, as the population ages and kids increasingly turn to non-traditional sports, both as participants and consumers. The NBA has done better than most of the pro leagues, largely helped by the popularity of Michael Jordan. Major League Baseball continues their baby steps in to this somewhat uncertain future starting next week, when the New York Yankees play the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for two games in Japan.
Both teams landed in Tokyo on early Saturday morning, after typically grueling flights across the international date line. The teams will play exhibitions against Japanese teams and then officially open the 2004 season on Tuesday, play another game on Wednesday before heading home to play games on Saturday in the US. These trips can help to spread the word about baseball, sell a bunch of jerseys and hats and get kids in the host country interested about playing the game. While some areas are not even worth trying to do this in (see: Europe), there's a great untapped market in Central America and Asia. It seems the novelty of the Expos playing in Puerto Rico has already worn off, but perhaps a more realistic strategy could be implemented. Considering how poorly major league baseball is run these days, we're not holding our breath for there to be much done beyond these quick tours, but baseball has to do something, as polls continue to indicate a declining interest among teenagers in the United States.
3.26.2004
Chariots of Fire: In 1896, the modern Olympics were born when Greece hosted the Games. In a few months, the Summer Olympics will return to Greece for the first time since then. Thursday was a milestone in that the Olympic torch was lit in Ancient Olympia, Greece, ready to make its way around the world before being run in to Olympic Stadium in Athens, thus opening the 2004 Games. But questions are being asked about whether the venues for the events are going to be completed in time for the Games. With about 3 1/2 months to go until the Opening Ceremonies, venues are still under construction, the roof of the Olympic Stadium will probably be unfinished, the site of the swimming and diving competition will not have a roof, thus exposing the competitors to the scorching Grecian summer heat and the transportation could be a nightmare with many projects unfinished or being scaled back. While the venues might be completed, there will be little or no time to do dry-runs in a lot of them. With security a top priority, potentially unforeseen problems could arise. All that and those pathetic NBC up-close-and-personal segments. What did we sports fans do to deserve this?
It Was 25 Years Ago Today: 1979, in retrospect, turned out to be a pivotal year for basketball. In the wake of drug scandals, a TV contract that had the Finals being shown at 11:00 PM and so forth, the NBA was in trouble. Little did the NBA know that their saviors were right around the corner. Magic Johnson's Michigan State beat Larry Bird's Indiana State 25 years ago today, 75-64 to win the NCAA men's basketball title. Later that year, Johnson would go to the Los Angeles Lakers and Bird to the Boston Celtics, helping setting in motion a renewal of one of the great rivalries in American sports history. Despite the popularity of college basketball's March Madness these days, amazingly enough that MSU vs. ISU final is still the highest rated basketball telecast ever.
3.25.2004
Jim Furyk Out: U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk had surgery on his left wrist and will be out for at least three months, making it unlikely he will defend his title at Shinnecock Hills and raising questions about him playing in the Ryder Cup, the Associated Press reported.
"I'm not going to come back until I feel like I'm 100 percent," Furyk told AP.
Furyk tried for three months to allow rest to heal his injury, but it only got worse. He had arthroscopic surgery Monday in New York to repair torn cartilage in his left wrist.
Bryant Spends Time with Accuser: Kobe Bryant spent several hours behind closed doors with his accuser, among others, to determine whether his accuser's sexual history can be entered into discussion during the trial. The 19-year-old woman sat just a few feet for three hours during the session, detailing some of the most intimate details of her sexual history.
3.24.2004
Oh My God, An Upset in Women's Basketball: Big upsets in women's sports are rare. So, when the seventh-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers beat the second-seeded Kansas State Wildcats in the NCAA tournament Tuesday night, it was a big deal. And, the fact that they did it by a score of 80-61 just led more to the mystique of the Gophers' accomplishment.
It took a giant effort by the Gophers, and their top player Tuesday night. Janel McCarville had 15 points and a career-high 18 rebounds; Lindsay Whalen added 15 points and Shannon Schonrock contributed 14 for the Gophers in a balanced "Big Three" attack.
Jets Close to Moving to New York: The New York Jets have for years been squatters in Giants Stadium. Not for long. The Jets are reportedly near a $1.4 billion deal that would put them in a stadium in Manhattan's West Side.
The deal would have the Jets playing in Boys Town - Chelsea, in New York City. But, it wouldn't be the gay boys putting up all the money; the Jets would actually throw in $800 million for the deal, while the city would contribute the remaining $600 million.
