|
|
TOPS |
BOTTOMS |
|
JUNE 2001
|
|
|
June 30: Andy Roddick’s
time at Wimbledon will come one year, but on Friday the
spotlight belonged to Goran Ivanisevic. The Croat,
trying to make a comeback, beat Roddick in four sets in a
match that saw him serve an amazing 41 aces. And after his
win. Ivanisevic stripped
off his shirt to reveal a pretty taut bod. ‘‘I looked
pretty good, no?’’ he asked. ‘‘This is great.’’
|
June 30: Mike Piazza has
discovered that a new hairdo and color still won’t stop him
from injuries. Piazza, a new blonde, broke his left big toe on
Friday night and will be out 7 to 10 days. It’s just another
in a series of maladies to have befallen the Mets, the
defending National League champs who nw reside in fourth
place.
|
|
|
June 29: Tony Gwynn has
announced his retirement after 20 years with the San Diego
Padres. Gwynn, a certain Hall of Famer, was one of the
classiest athletes anywhere, always accessible and down to
earth. He was a great student of the game and he will be
missed. He won eight NL batting titles and is 16th on the
all-time hits list with 3,124. He has been hurt most of this
season.
|
June 29: The anti-Tony
Gwynn is John Rocker, the homophobic, racist, xenophobe
now polluting the mound in Cleveland. Rocker, who was traded
from Atlanta this week, couldn't help get in some parting
shots in a talk-radio interview. He had this to say about
ex-teammate Chipper Jones: "Chip's white trash anyway. . . .
He's never had much respect for me, so I don't have much
respect for him." Responded Chipper: "I'm not going
to allow anything he says to rile me up. That chapter is over
with."
|
|
|
June 28: Andy Roddick is
only 18, but he is causing a sensation at Wimbledon. In his
first match on the famed grass courts, the American beat No.
11 seed Thomas Johansson, 7-6 (1), 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (3). In this
Internet world it’s nice to see that Roddick has a sense of
history. ‘‘It’s like a place like Wrigley Field or
Fenway Park or something,’’ he said of Wimbledon.
‘‘It’s just majestic. There’s something about
it.’’ Check out this
shot of Roddick letting it all hang out after his win.
|
June 28: To anyone naive to
think that big-time college sports are about education
and not money, a report issued by the Knight Foundation on
Intercollegiate Athletics puts that quaint notion to rest. The
sweeping report found widespread academic fraud, low
graduation rates and huge commercial influences. For example,
just 48% of football players and 34% of men’s basketball
players in Division I schools earn degrees.
|
|
|
June 27: Like it or not,
here comes the Braves. The National League East lead
for the surprising Phillies is down to a half-game after they
lost again to Atlanta. The Braves have picked up 7 1/2 games
this month and one gets the sense they'll wind up running away
with the division, especially since the Mets have collapsed.
|
June 27: The Mississippi
Saints? This is one scenario after New Orleans Saints
officials broke off talks for a new stadium with Louisiana.
Saints owner Tom Benson, not exactly the brightest bulb, must
not realize that Mississippi isn't big enough to support an
NFL team and the presence of casinos in the area would cause
great trouble in the NFL. Our favorite Benson story: When the
team was hiring a new coach a few years back, he sent all
prospects the same application he used for his car
dealerships. Among the questions: ``Will you be willing to
work on Sundays?"
|
|
|
June 26: Hot young golfer Sergio
Garcia won the rain-delayed Buick Classic on Monday, his
second tour victory in the last two months. He shot a
16-under 268, which ties the Buick Classic record.
|
June 26: Only four times at Wimbledon has the tournament's #1 seed lost in the
first round. Martina Hingis represents half of
them. For the second time in three years Hingis, the #1
seed at Wimbledon, lost virtually before the tournament even
got started - losing in straight sets to Virginia Ruano
Pascual, 6-4, 6-2.
|
|
|
June 25: Karrie
Webb became only the fifth woman to complete the Grand
Slam of women's golf, and the youngest ever to do it, winning
the LPGA Championship on Sunday at the age of 26. She
won by a two shot advantage over Laura Diaz.
|
June 25: Yeah!
San Francisco Giant outfielder Eric Davis has announced
that he will retire after this season, after waffling about it
last year. Davis found his way to the Outsports dog
house last month when he told Jim Rome he didn't want to play
baseball with any gay athletes.
|
|
|
June 24: "It
puts your team in a good mood. You know you have a chance to
win." That was Yankee manager Joe Torre talking
about having Roger Clemens on the mound. And so
it was on Saturday, with The Rocket racking up a 2-1 victory
over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and career win #270 - moving him
to 28th on the all-time win list. With the win, Clemens also became this season's first 10-win pitcher.
|
June 24: Michael Jordan
has reportedly told the Washington Wizards to approach the
draft assuming he won't be playing next year. Enough
already, Michael. We don't believe any of this
nonsense. You couldn't stand being away from the game
during your first "retirement," and you can't stand
it now. Just announce your return and be done with it
already.
|
|
|
June 23: It's sad to
say but, if Karrie Webb was a man, the sports world
would be standing still right now. Webb is matching
Tiger feat for feat - the latest being a record-setting
11-under 131 - the lowest 36 hole score at the LPGA
Championships ever. If Webb wins the Championship on
Sunday, she will be, at 26, the youngest woman to complete the
Grand Slam.
|
June 23: After almost
a year and a half, somebody finally wanted him. The
Atlanta Braves unloaded relief pitcher John Rocker to
the Cleveland Indians for about a bushel of apples and an ice
cream cone. The Braves have been reported to have Rocker
on the trading block since he slammed
gays, Asians, single moms, and everyone in New York
City in an interview with Sports Illustrated in December 1999.
|
|
|
June 22: Maurice
Greene was loudly booed on Thursday for protesting the
rule that he must run in the USA Outdoor Track and Field
Championships in order to qualify for the World
Championships. After false starting, he ran the fastest
100-meter time in the world this year - 9.90 seconds.
After the race, the crowd cheered loudly for him.
|
June 22: Now that Michael
Irvin has retired from football, the law has a thing or
two to say. The former Pro Bowl Dallas Cowboys receiver
was indicted on Thursday for possession of cocaine.
Irvin faces up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.
|
|
|
June 21: When will Barry
Bonds' tear end? Hopefully, not for another 91
games. With his 38th homer of the year on Wednesday,
Bonds broke two MLB records: the most homers before the
All-Star Break, and the fastest to 38 (18 games faster than
Babe Ruth did it in 1928). He is now on pace to hit 86
home runs this season; the League record is 70. And for
those who complain that Bonds is just trying to belt
everything he gets pitched: he's batting .325 (and has
twice as many homers as singles). Plus, and maybe more
importantly, the rest of his team is starting to responding,
lifting the San Francisco Giants to an 8-2 record for their
last 10 games.
|
June 21: We wanted to
wait until there was more than just a charge. There is
now. Utah Jazz rookie DeShawn Stevenson was
charged with statutory rape for having sex with a 14-year-old
girl in Fresno, Calif.. After he surrendered to the
police Tuesday night, it was released that he admitted to the
girl's mother, in a taped telephone call, that he in fact had
had sex with the girl. Stevenson faces up to three years
in jail.
|
|
|
June 20: Cleveland
Indian Ellis Burks had three homeruns on Tuesday, but
it wasn't enough as the Minnesota Twins stole a victory
from the Indians, 10-9, after almost five hours in the 12th
inning.
|
June 20: It just
keeps getting worse for the Texas Rangers. Now
27.5 games behind A-Rod's old team, the Seattle Mariners, and
third baseman Ken Caminiti has been placed on the
DL.
|
|
|
June 19: The day
after committing possibly the biggest choke in U.S. Open
history (see yesterday's bottom), Retief Goosen regained
his composure Monday and won that same tournament in an
18-hole playoff against Mark Brooks. Goosen did see a
five-stroke lead dwindled to two strokes in the last two
holes, but he ended up winning the tournament nonetheless.
|
June 19: Baltimore
Ravens cornerback Chris McAlister, and former Ravens
cornerback Clarence Love, found out the hard way there
are no free rides on the airlines. The men were charged
with disturbing the peace after they allegedly shoved a flight
attendant during an argument while the two men boarded a
flight at McCarren International Airport on Friday. They
were both removed from the plane by police officers and taken
to the county jail.
|
|
|
June 18: Most fans
had left. The remaining ones were just hoping for a last
swig of beer. The home team, the New York Mets,
were down 7-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning. They
were going to be swept by their cross-town rival
Yankees. But what's this? Super-all-world-star
short stop Derek Jeter with an error that starts an inning
capped with a homerun by Mike Piazza that leaves the Yankees
stunned and trailing, 8-7, headed into the ninth. No
such rally for the Yanks as the Mets finally beat the same
team that beat them in the World Series last October.
|
June 18: Paul Azinger
called it " the saddest thing I've ever seen in watching
sports." The 18th hole at Southern Hills. The
final day of the U.S. Open. Mark Brooks gets
there first and needs to par the hole with a two-putt to even
have a shot at winning. He three-putts and starts
cleaning out his locker. Then along come Retief
Goosen and Stewart Cink, the final pair of the
day. Cink putts from 15 feet to 18 inches from the hole,
then elects to tap the ball in instead of marking it. He
misses that putt for a three-putt that leaves him at -3 and a
shot behind Brooks. Then Goosen hits a 12-foot putt to
within two feet. He lines it up and taps the ball -
which lips the cup. Goosen then makes his putt and is
left with an 18 hole playoff on Monday against Brooks.
All three men had a shot of taking the tourney with an easy
putt. All three choked.
|
|
|
June 17: Could things
go any better for the Mariners? Not only are they still
on a tear with, by far, the best record in the the Major
Leagues, but now their players are seeing their wishes come
true. John Olerud became only the third Mariner
ever to hit for the cycle, finishing it off with a homerun in
the ninth inning as his M's beat the Padres, 9-2.
|
June 17: The Miami
Hurricanes had a great run to win the College World Series on
Saturday. The Stanford Cardinal's run came
crashing down around them in a 12-1 blitz that handed them
their second straight loss in the College World Series
championship game. Stanford lost to LSU last year.
|
|
|
June 16: What else can be
said about the Lakers, who won their second straight
NBA title by dispatching Philadelphia, 4 games to 1? Phil
Jackson has now coached eight championship teams. The Lakers
went a record 15-1 in the playoffs, including 8-0 on the road.
We're not ready to call them the best team ever because their
opposition in the playoffs was just so-so. But give them their
due. After losing Game 1 to the 76ers, the Lakers got serious
and won the next four.
|
June 16. Tiger Woods seldom
makes this side of the ledger. But after finishing 5 over par
after two rounds and being nine shots back at the U.S. Open,
it seems that his streak of major titles is in serious
jeopardy.
|
|
|
June 15: Barry Bonds continues on his tear, belting out homerun #34 Thursday to lift his San Francisco Giants to a three-game sweep of the Anaheim Angels. Bonds is presently on pace to hit 83 homeruns.
|
June 15: Mother Nature
was misbehaving at the U.S. Open Thursday as she interrupted
play at 4:59pm - right in the middle of a bad 3-over round for
Tiger Woods. He and many of the other golfers will
regroup and play the remainder of the first round, plus the
second round, on Friday.
|
|
|
June 14: The Los
Angeles Lakers have responded to the Philadelphia 76ers'
game one win, and everyone has heard them. Not only have
they regained homecourt advantage but, on Wednesday, they
crushed the Sixers in Philadelphia to go up, 3-1, and now look
to close out the NBA Championships in Philly. Shaquille
O'Neal was particularly dominant in Wednesday's 100-86
victory, scoring 34 points and completely dominating the
middle.
|
June 14: It was
another Laker, from championships past, that was sounding a
little silly on Wednesday. When asked in an interview on
KCAL-TV if he would run for Mayor of Los Angeles, Magic
Johnson said, "If I see candidates that are not for
the people -- not going to do the right job for the city, then
I'm going to jump in." He couldn't even run a team
in his brief shot at coaching, forget about the second largest
city in the country.
|
|
|
June 13: Possibly the
cutest team in the College World Series and a long shot to win
it all, the Tennessee Volunteers ousted one of the
favorites, Southern California, on Tuesday, 10-2.
Tennessee must now play the Miami Hurricanes to stave off
elimination.
|
June 13: This may be
the stupidest thing in sports this year to get any kind of
publicity. The French Open is played on a clay
surface. The Australian and U.S. Opens are played on
hardcourt. Wimbledon is played on a grass court.
Wimbledon's seeding system weighs more heavily a player's
performance on a grass court. Yet, some players who are
better on those other surfaces, like Marat Safin, Alex
Corretja, and Juan Carlos Ferrero, are threatening
to sit out Wimbledon if they don't get better seeds.
Good, sit out. Your world rankings will simply drop
lower and you'll get even worse seeds in the other
tournaments. Shut up and play.
|
|
|
June 12: You always
see famous people on the sidelines of big basketball
games. Why? Because they schmooze the front office
of teams and get in. But not if you're Bill Clinton
trying to get a good seat in Philly. Clinton tried to
get entry into Sixers owner Pat Croce's box, but Croce
turned him down. "I don't care," Croce
said. "He never called when we were losing.
In my box, I only want people who support us." When
Clinton tried to move from his assigned box, Croce again
turned him down. "I'm not moving any of my season
ticket-holders," Croce said. Imagine that: an
owner sticking up for his loyal fan. Now that's
something to cheer for.
|
June 12: He's the
biggest man in the NBA. He plays for the defending NBA
champions and leads this year's series, 2-1. Last year
he was the League's Most Valuable Player. So what is Shaq
whining? On Sunday and Monday he questioned Philadelphia
76er Dikembe Mutombo's manhood, accusing Mutombo of
over-acting to draw the four offensive fouls that were called
on Shaq that led to him fouling out with over two minutes in
the game. Well Shaq, from someone who watched the game
and saw replays on most of those calls, you did charge those
four times. And the refs even let you go on a couple
more. So, as you are telling Mutombo, shut up and play.
|
|
|
June 11: And now
everyone can see why Gustavo Kuerten was the favorite
to win the French Open. Kuerten won his third French
Open on Sunday by beating Alex Corretja 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-2, 6-0.
|
June 11: The players
hugged. The players
cried. The coaches cried. The fans
cried. On the first ever College World Series trip
up Route 80 for the Nebraska baseball team, the
hometown favorite Cornhuskers laid an egg, losing their first
two games and being eliminated from the CWS. Nebraska
lost to Cal State-Fullerton on Friday, 5-4, and lost to Tulane
on Sunday, 6-5.
|
|
|
June 10: What a day
to be a sports fan:
- The Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in
Game 7, 3-1, over the defending champion New Jersey Devils.
- Point Given won the Belmont Stakes by an
impressive 12 1/4 lengths - the seventh largest in Belmont
history.
- Jennifer Capriatti survived a roller coaster
French Open final, finally outlasting Belgian teenager Kim
Clijsters 1-6, 6-4, 13-11.
|
June 10: Cyd and Jim spent
the weekend in Las Vegas. They went from sports book to
sports book, finding the odds to win the Super Bowl.
What are the Las Vegas bookies thinking? Award
for most humorous: the Luxor: while the Chargers
will be much improved this year, their record last year was
1-15 and their odds of winning the Super Bowl this year are
12:1; Green Bay's odds are 8:1; and now the clincher - the
odds of the Super Bowl champions to repeat - the ones who set
a record for fewest points allowed and got a Pro Bowl
quarterback - are 8:1. Four teams (Raiders, Titans, Bucs,
Rams) have lower odds. We may be eating these words in
January, but we doubt it.
|
|
|
June 8: It has been a
seesaw battle from Game 1, and it is only fitting that the
Stanley Cup Finals go back to Colorado for Game 7. After
losing home ice advantage and fighting to stay alive on the
road, the Colorado Avalanche came through with a
dazzling 4-0 victory at New Jersey.
|
June 8: In a crucial
homestand with the Cleveland Indians to hang onto the AL
Central lead, the Minnesota Twins fell on their face
the last three days, losing three in a row and watching a 1.5
game division lead slip to a 1.5 game division deficit.
In those three home games, the Indians, now atop the division,
outscored the Twins, 16-4.
|
|
|
June 7: The Top Award
today doesn't just go to Allen Iverson, it goes to the entire Philadelphia
76ers team. While Iverson was dazzling in the 76ers
107-101 win at Los Angeles, scoring 48 points, it was the
entire team that won the game. Coach Larry Brown was
masterful, using guys like Raja Bell and Matt Geiger to rip
open holes in the Lakers defense. The Lakers threw
everything at the 76ers that they could: double-teams,
Shaq pounding the paint, well-placed timeouts, and a five
point deficit with two minutes to go in overtime. And
the Sixers still won. Merry Christmas, David Stern.
|
June 7: The Minnesota
Vikings are on the verge of falling apart if they're not
careful. They have no defense to speak of, lost their
Pro Bowl running back this year to retirement, and will lose
Pro Bowl wide receiver Cris Carter to retirement next
year. Now, Randy Moss is playing basketball instead of
going to a voluntary training camp with the Vikings, has been
very open that he does not have a long-term relationship with
the Vikings, and is now saying he wants a $100 million
contract. So much for that record-setting offense of
just three years ago.
|
|
|
June 6: The Los Angeles
Sparks are quickly asserting themselves as the dominant
team in the WNBA. After going 3-0 on their road trip
that opened the season, the Sparks came home to Staples Center
and picked up where the Lakers left off: a 58-50 victory
over the Cleveland Rockers. Lisa Leslie had 23
points in the winning effort.
|
June 6: Milwaukee Brewer Ron
Belliard went 0-for-2 Tuesday night in a 4-3 loss to the
Cincinnati Reds. The second baseman is batting .246 for
the season.
|
|
|
June 5: After falling
behind in the Stanley Cup Playoffs two games to one, the New
Jersey Devils have outscored the Avalanche 7-3 in their
last two games, winning Monday night in Colorado, 4-1, and now
will play on their home ice on Thursday with a chance to win
it all.
|
June 5: It's just a
shame when one bad season sinks a good coach. At the University
of Florida, baseball coach Andy Lopez was fired following
a "disappointing" 26-20 season and a trip to the
NCAA Regionals. Lopez's winning percentage at Florida
was .636, and he led them to the College World Series in 1996
and 1998. His lifetime record as a collegiate head coach
is 678-411-6 including a National Championship with Pepperdine
in 1992.
|
|
|
June 4: It seems that
there were great performances across sports today:
- Tiger Woods
racked up his third straight Memorial Tournament win by seven
strokes.
- Karrie Webb won the U.S. Women's Open by eight
strokes.
- Allen Iverson scored 44 monstrous points
in leading his team over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 7 of the
Eastern Conference Finals, 108-91.
- The Seattle Mariners
won their 11th straight game - a franchise record - and, at
43-12, have the third best 55 game record in history.
|
June 4: Where was
Lute? When the new class of the Basketball Hall of
Fame is inducted, it will include Temple Coach John
Chaney, Duke coach Mike Kryzkweszqksxzski and Moses
Malone. But no Lute Olson, despite the fact that
committee members can induct as many people as they deem
fit. Olson's five Final Four appearances is topped by
only five other coaches ever, and Olson has a National
Championship to boot.
|
|
|
June 3: Kudos to the Philadelphia
76ers and the Milwaukee Bucks for finally making a
series in this dreadful NBA Playoffs exciting. Not only
have they brought it to a decisive seventh game, but they've
mouthed off about bad officiating and bad blood between the
two teams. Bucks coach George Karl put it well:
"There's distaste, but there's respect, too. We're tired
of playing each other, there's anger, there's things you
remember." Hopefully, they'll give us something to
remember on Sunday.
|
June 3: The fans of D.C.
United sat and watched as their team lost to an
undermanned Chicago Fire team on Saturday, 2-1. D.C.
led, 1-0, when the Fire were reduced to 10 men because of a
red card handed to Jim Curtin in the 59th minute. The
Fire then scored two goals in three minutes to win the
game. The United have lost three straight games and are
3-5-0 on the season.
|
|
|
June 2: It's a
victory for gay superheroes everywhere. Oakland A's
pitcher Barry Zito is the focus of ESPN The Magazine's
The Jump section in the next issue. It is a series of
ten questions that Zito, his coach, and his mom answer.
One of the questions was "Favorite Cartoon
Character" - to which Zito answered, Gary
and Ace, the animated gay dynamic duo from Saturday Night
Live.
|
June 2: Many people will be
picking the Indianapolis Colts to re-assert themselves this
season as the top team in the AFC East. But, problems
already abound, starting with the absence of Pro Bowl running
back Edgerrin James from the team's voluntary camp this
week. James' agent, Leigh Steinberg, said that
James is practicing by himself in Miami. Now,
quarterback Peyton Manning has gotten into the mix:
"I saw where his agent, who is not one of my favorites,
made some kind of statement. I don't put a whole of
merit in that. Hopefully, he'll be in here Monday."
|
|
|
June 1: Two days
after American Cedric Kauffmann took Pete Sampras to five
sets, Spain's Galo Blanco finished off Sampras, the
winningest male Grand Slam player of all time, in straight
sets in the second round of the French Open, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2.
While Sampras has won more Grand Slams than any other man, he
has never won the French Open.
|
June 1: Waaaaaaah.
Waaaaaaaah. God, Milwaukee Bucks coach George Karl
has turned into the whiny bitch of the NBA. The latest
featured Karl after Game 5 - in which his team choked away a
16 point lead and lost to a badly-shooting, badly-injured
Philadelphia 76er team. He was whining away about the
officiating, and even brought up the 1993 Western Conference
Finals, Game 7, in which his Seattle Supersonics lost to the
Phoenix Suns - which he said was unfairly officiated.
Yes, George, everyone is out to get you. Which is why
you can't freaking coach in the playoffs!
|