The Detroit Pistons have fired coach Michael Curry after his first year. The first-year coach piloted the team to a 39-43 record in the regular season and saw his Pistons get swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs.
Curry took over the reigns in Motown after the squad had reached the Eastern Conference finals in six consecutive years.
Curry played for the Pistons from 1996-1997 and again from 1999-2003.
Page designer to the stars and unabashed Indianapolis Colts fan Eric White sent us this little gem this morning. It appears one intrepid young hippity-hopper has remixed some of the more infamous rants in sports over the past couple of years into a surprisingly listenable track.
I mean, where outside of YouTube, where can Dennis Green, Allen Iverson, Joe Namath, Terrell Owens and Jim Mora all be seen together?
A federal appeals court yesterday ruled that Hustler magazine didn't have the right to publish decades-old nude photographs of Nancy Benoit, who was killed by her professional wrestler husband Chris two years ago.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling found that a notorious death
doesn't give publishers a blank check to publish any images they wish --
including those not linked to a newsworthy event. Such a policy, the
court warned, would mean that the entire life of any victim of a
notorious slaying would instantly be open to public scrutiny.
This decision reversed an earlier ruling in the magazine's favor that said the photos were part of a legitimate matter of public interest and concern.
Court: Hustler wrong to print dead woman's photos (AP)
Tigers outfielder and one-time American League batting champion Magglio Ordonez has chopped off his signature long hair. The good people over at Fox Sports Detroit posted the following photo on Facebook just a few minutes ago.
Ordonez' flowing mane of what appeared to be well-oiled hair became a phenomenon during Detroit's improbable 2006 season. Fans would don fake Magglio hair under their baseball caps and really get some rooting done.
This season, it hasn't been all good-hair days for Ordonez. He's collected just two home runs and 11 extra-base hits on the year.
Reporting on the evening SportsCenter, Colleen Dominguez has the latest on the Manny Ramirez saga. She says the slugger took Southwest Airlines into town and even had a middle seat. Also brought to the table: the fact that Ramirez was housing pasta and carbo-loading for his big minor-league debut.
Before the New York Times story all but eliminated any remaining doubt regarding Sammy Sosa and steroids, many pointed to the slugger's behemoth biceps and swollen shoulders as proof of his use.
Perhaps it's because everything I know about the criminal justice system in this country was gleaned from watching copious amounts of "Law & Order," but it's often really confusing to me just how a sentence is determined.
One of the two men involved in the 2008 theft of a rare Lance
Armstrong bike will be sentenced to a three-year prison term next week.
Lee
Monroe Crider, 40, pleaded no contest June 1 to second-degree burglary
and grand theft, the Sacramento Bee reported on its Web site, citing
court documents. Crider is scheduled to return to court next Monday for
sentencing, the Bee reported.
Look, there's obviously a ton of factors at work in all of these cases, but on the surface, the penalty for stealing a piece of property from a millionaire should just not be more than 10 times more severe than that of someone who wrongfully took a man's life.
Manny Ramirez will supposedly be back on the baseball field today, but not here on the South Side of Chicago with the rest of his Dodger teammates. Instead, he'll be playing for the Albuquerque Isotopes.
Los Angeles' Triple-A affiliate has prepared a place for the long-haired one, selling tickets at a blistering pace to see the mildly disgraced slugger and his brand of ball take on Nashville.
Patrick Kane is one of the NHL's faces of the future. The 20-year-old won the Calder Trophy in 2008 and is coming off a season in which he helped the Blackhawks reach the Western Conference finals.
All of this has helped him to become the cover boy for Electronic Art's NHL 10 video game.
Kane is only the second American-born player to grace the cover and the first since Rangers goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck was featured on the NHL 97 cover.
At 6:42 p.m., dozens of drunken spectators at Hole 10 taunted Woods as he prepared to start his third round in the rain.
"We're on Long Island, baby, where men are men!" one fan yelled. "Put that umbrella down!"
The taunts were mixed with cheers from the majority of the crowd.
Woods did not respond to the people who were heckling him but tried to
quiet the crowd with a "sshh" hand gesture, putting his finger to his
lips, as golfers prepared to tee off on the adjacent 12th tee.
"Suck it up, you've got your own video game!" someone shouted at Woods.
While anything involving Woods is going to jump off the page, it was Fred Funk who may have gotten the worst of the beer-fueled crowd's witticism.
Seattle Mariners left fielder Endy Chavez is out for the season after a brutal collision with Yuniesky Betancourt on Friday.
Chavez tore his ACL and MCL, as well as his lateral meniscus on the play. Preliminary information suggests that his recovery time will be nine to 12 months, which could mean that he won't be ready for the start of the 2010 season.
Mariners left fielder Chavez is out for 2009 and possibly part of 2010 (Seattle Times)
Jim Brown and Tiger Woods have each brought a level of domination to their respective sports that may never be paralleled. Both were pioneers of sorts, breaking down barriers -- real and otherwise -- on their way. But, the Hall of Fame running back recently reiterated his opinion that Woods doesn't do enough when it comes to enacting social change.
Former NFL quarterback Bernie Kosar has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday. The pass-tossing enthusiast has been hamstrung by a recent string of financial and legal problems.
Kosar, who starred for the Miami Hurricanes and Cleveland Browns in the 1980's, was shown to owe his largest creditors a combined $19.5 million. Among the reported debts are $1.5 million to the Browns and $3 million to his ex-wife.
Like all retired quarterbacks should do upon leaving the game, Kosar opened a steakhouse. Alas, that went out of business last year.
Hall of Fame third baseman made no secret about his admiration for a couple of things. Chicken, which "Sports Illustrated for Kids" informed me he ate before every game, and Miller Lite.
Around this here blog there's been no hesitation trotting out his epic 64-beer road trip legend whenever we need a pick-me-up.
Boggs will be pouring Miller Lite for fans who attend the Lowell Spinners game on Saturday. The doubles enthusiast has enough left in his arm to dole out suds for the first hour after the gates open to the public, so get 'em while they're cold.
The recently incarcerated Cristal Taylor was served with the document, which identifies the parties as "D.N." and "C.T." Taylor was jailed on a theft of services charge on May 6, which ignited a flurry of speculation as to the nature of her relationship with Nowitzki.
And on Thursday, they shared a playing field. But not before the White Sox manager shared some opinions on the Cubs righty.
"Zambrano, to me, is one of the best pitchers in the game," Guillen said before his team took on the Cubs' ace. "And I love, love the way he handles himself on the field. Many people say he's crazy, he's out of his mind. I love that, I like
that attitude. I don't want people to fall asleep on the stinking mound."
Ozzie Guillen might not like coming to Wrigley Field, but the White Sox manager seemed to be having a good time there Wednesday.
Before the Sox' 4-1 victory over the Cubs, he greeted Cubs manager
Lou Piniella on the field and lifted up his black warmup jacket to
reveal a Cubbie-blue T-shirt that read, ''Ozzie Mows Wrigley.'' The two
shared a hearty laugh about Guillen's new purchase, which he made that
morning outside the stadium that he says makes him ''puke.''
Rich Callow, the vendor who sold the shirt to Guillen, said he saw Guillen arriving at the ballpark.
''I told Ozzie, 'Hey you want to see a T-shirt?''' Callow said. ''He
came over and looked at it and started laughing. He liked it a lot and
wanted to buy it.''
The product the swimming and book-writing enthusiast is pitching -- waterproof headphones -- could not be better suited to his life.
You'll recall that Kellogg's dropped Phelps after the now-infamous bong picture surfaced, while companies such as Visa, Speedo and Omega have stood by him.
This marks the first new endorsement deal for Phelps since all of the photograph hubbub.
All the buzz this morning is centered on comedian Artie Lange's appearance on the inaugural episode of "Joe Buck Live" on HBO last night.
The foul-mouthed comic appeared in a fireside chat with Paul Rudd and Jason Sudeikis (each of whom I personally find much more humorous), but clearly dominated the conversation.
It goes without saying that the following link is extremely not safe for work -- unless you work on a 17th Century pirate boat with a particularly nasty captain. Artie Lange goes off (The Big Lead)
Meeks averaged an SEC-best 23.7 points per game during his junior year and set a school record for points in a single game against Tennessee in January.
The 6-foot-4 sharpshooter also made 90.2 percent of his free throws and is projected as a second-round selection.
Two days ago, I asked an unabashed Cub fan and valued co-worker if there was any intrigue left in the upcoming White Sox-Cubs interleague series.
Sure, he said. He never gets sick of sticking it to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. I'd anticipate a great many of his Cub brethren would echoes those sentiments, especially in light of Guillen's latest comments about venerable Wrigley Field.
"Wrigley Field? I puke every time I go there. I'm just being honest.
''If Cubs fans don't like the way I talk about Wrigley Field ... I
don't say anything about their fans, but Wrigley Field? They have to
respect my opinion because that's the way I feel. A lot of great people
are working there, the clubhouse people working there -- I wish they
had a better clubhouse. But besides that, it's exciting when the game
starts. Of course it's exciting because that's one of the best; it's
always crowded. But besides that, it's terrible.''
Are these fighting words or old, rehashed words? Do they do anything for your level of excitement regarding the upcoming series? Are you sick of hearing about the conditions on the North side from a guy who spends exactly three days a year there?
New York Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez confronted Yankees reliever
Brian Bruney before today's game as both the Mets and Yankees were
using the field.
Rodriguez and Bruney had been lobbing verbal hand grenades back and
forth via the New York media over the past few days. First, it was the
Yankees' Bruney on the cataclysmic Luis Castillo error and how much he
enjoyed seeing the gaffe with the demonstrative Rodriguez on the hill.
You may not have heard about this, but there's some drama surrounding this Brett Favre guy and his potential return to the NFC North. If the longtime Packer and potential Viking needed any extra incentive to come back, he'd have to look no further than some recent comments by Bears linebacker Lance Briggs.
It shouldn't be a surprise that the conversation with Chicago-rooted band 1997 turns to numbers.
Twenty-five hours a day. Eight days a week.
Those are the figures they agree on when asked how much time they devote to their music.
"Literally, we do as much as we can without leaving to eat," bassist Matt Wysocki says.
Speaking from sunny Florida, the Chicago band is lounging poolside
before embarking on the next leg of their current nationwide tour.
The sound separates them from so many of their emo-infused
contemporaries and keeps them far away from a paint-by-numbers pop-rock
outfit is rooted in pop, but also feeds off several tributaries of music.
Johnny Benson Jr. was transported to a Grand Rapids hospital after being involved in a fiery wreck Saturday night.
The incident occurred on the first lap of the featured race at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Mich. Entering turn four, Benson crashed into the outside wall and was engulfed in flames before safety crews could arrive.
Benson is the defending NASCAR Truck series champion.
Johnny Benson Jr. seriously injured in Berlin Raceway crash (WZZM)
If you're like us, and you like blockbuster-y trade rumors with your Sunday breakfast, this morning is shaping up to be great.
According to the Arizona Republic, the Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers are talking about a deal that send Shaquille O'Neal to the Cavs in exchange for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic.
The two teams discussed this possibility earlier this year, but talks were shelved after February.
The 37-year-old free agent has been throwing regularly, but is not believed to be close to making a decision regarding his return. Martinez is said to be looking for $5 million, a rather steep asking price, especially when paired with the question marks surrounding the Cubs' ownership situation.
Cubs, Rays scouting Pedro in Dominican Republic (CNNSI)
In what has to be one of the more brutal ways to lose a baseball game, New York Mets second baseman Luis Castillo dropped a pop fly and apparent final out against the New York Yankees last evening.
His team down by one with runners on the corners and sitting on a 3-1 fastball, Alex Rodriguez skied a can of corn pop-up to shallow right field, slamming down his bat in disgust. But, Castillo staggered to his left to make the play and had the ball pop out of his mitt, scoring the runner from third. When Castillo failed to check a hustling Mark Teixiera rounding third and threw the ball to second base, the slugging first baseman raced home with the winning run.
North's wife BeBe and Jeff Schwartz, who helped found the station, were also reportedly dismissed.
Mr. North said he was fired by Mr. Hernandez after questioning him about Webio's finances. He said 12 checks bounced a couple of weeks ago, and as many as 30 this week.
"When people's checks started to bounce, we wanted to find out why," Mr. North said. "He never responded to our emails and phone calls."
The Web site is just a few months old and simulcasts North's "Monsters in the Morning" show, which airs on Comcast SportsNet.
Calling Vick "probably the best football player in
America," the chairman of the securities firm W.R. Hambrecht &
Co. said fans want to watch the suspended former National
Football League quarterback and that Vick could have a place in
the new league, which is scheduled to begin playing in October.
"He has paid his penalty," Hambrecht, 73, said in a
television interview. "What we did is we went out to our fan
base and said 'what do you think?' And on our Web site, people
want to see him. People believe he deserves a second chance."
Previous discussion about Vick's return to football has sparked a downright astounding amount of passionate comments, but somehow I feel like if the quarterback returned to the gridiron outside of the NFL, the level of interest in the storyline would rapidly diminish.
We understand if you haven't been glued to your computer monitoring the later rounds of the Major League Baseball draft. It's just...a lot of rounds.
One of the more notable picks -- coming in the 40th round -- was that of Asaad Ali. The 18-year-old catcher from beautiful Niles, Mich. is the adopted son of boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
So, what about Ali's tape of the tape?
He weighs in at 224 pounds, stands 5-10 and hit .367 with 2 home runs and 18 RBI this season.
This is the first such honor for Howard, a charismatic center and full-fledged member of the Twitterati. Conversly, this is old hat for Bryant, who will have his mug on the cover of a game for the seventh time in his career.
Not that the cover art should have any bearing on which game you buy, but which title made the better choice on this one?
Detroit Tigers' starting pitcher Justin Verlander popped a fastball into catcher Dane Sardinha's mitt, striking out Josh Fields as securing a 2-1 victory Wednesday night at U.S. Cellular Field.
The radar gun displayed "98" as the crowd hung its collective head in mismay.
Impressive, sure. But so much more impressive considering it was his 122nd pitch in a six-hit complete game, a performance Tigers manager Jim Leyland dubbed "a masterpiece."
"It's hard to describe how well he pitched," Leyland said. "Just absolutely tremendous."
Jim Thome's seventh-inning home run was only run the White Sox could muster, and when the slugger stepped up to the plate in the ninth, Verlander admitted he considered pitching around him.
But, the 6-5 right-hander who led the American League in losses last season said that goes against everything that has gotten him this far. He prompty fanned Thome, and a few pitches later secured his seventh victory of the year.
A year in which he's pitching like he's not afraid to lose.
For the second straight night, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen moved
third baseman Josh Fields across the diamond to first base. For the
second straight night, Fields played the position cleanly.
But, that's not to say that he's entirely comfortable over there. In fact, he's been using Paul Konerko's glove.
"Paul's been gracious enough to let me use his gamer," Fields said. "He's a real good
team player. He's got a lot of good lotions on it and it's really soft."
Blake Griffin's body of work to this point has led him to be the consensus No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft. His rebounding and point-scoring exploits are well-known from coast to coat. The man behind that body, a San Franciso trainer named Frank Matrisciano, gets his moment in the sun today, via a USA Today profile.
Remember when all anyone talked about for about a week was that tell-all book on Alex Rodriguez? Written by Sports Illustrated's Selena Roberts, it was going to really change things. Well, perhaps we overestimated how much of an impact it would have.
Despite all of the media hubbub, the book has sold a total of 16,000 copies. More telling, 11,000 of those sales came in the first week it was on bookshelves.
I have a younger brother. There's only a three-year age difference between us and we both grew up eating and breathing sports. And, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy every single second of my childhood spent dominating him in Whiffle ball, basketball and any other impromptu game we could invent to be played in the living room.
So, maybe that's why I find the following clip much more hilarious than mean-spirited. It's of WGN sports reporter Pat Tomasulo throwing down a thundering dunk against a small child and involves some crying.
You may have heard of Nick Montana's father. His name was Joe and he earned a living by flinging around a pigskin as oversized, aggressive men tried to hurt him.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Montana is rated as the No. 13 QB in the nation by Scout.com and had offers from Notre Dame, his father's alma mater, as well as Louisiana State, Ohio State, Stanford, Alabama and Georgia.
Montana said he had originally planned to take much of the summer to
make his decision but that his visit to UW last weekend "made
everything a lot easier. It cleared everything up."
The Huskies finished 2008 with a record of 0-12, but are hoping new coach Steve Sarkisian can turn the program around.
The Pittsburgh Steelers received their Super Bowl rings last night in a nice little meet-up at Heinz Field. The team apparently chose this wide open locale because the commemorative jewelry is enormous and needs room to breathe.
The face contains six large, brilliant-cut diamonds, one for each
Super Bowl victory. There are seven other diamonds that represent the
Steelers' seven conference championships and seven others below to add
up to their 14 division titles in a football design.
The face includes a red, blue and yellow stone to resemble their
hypocycloid logo. On one side of each ring are six Lombardi Trophies
with the 27-23 score of their victory against Arizona in the Super
Bowl. On the other is the ring owner's name, the Steelers helmet logo,
the NFL logo and the player's number.
The ring weighs in at a hefty 3.7 ounces and contains 63 diamonds.
The Sacramento Kings have decided to try something crazy and hire a proven commodity to coach some basketball.
Paul Westphal confirmed Tuesday nigh that he had accepted the Kings' job.
Westphal is best known for his stint with the Charles Barkley-led Phoenix Suns from 1992-1996 in which he led the franchise to the NBA finals. Unfortunately, they matched up against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. They usually didn't end so well.
The Kings finished this season with an NBA-worst 17-65 record.
Let the record show this is two posts this morning about home-run hitters and their complicated love lives. First A-Rod, and now Barry Bonds. I wonder if these two have anything else in common?
Liz Bonds, who married the former Giants slugger in 1998, is seeking
spousal support and custody of the couple's 10-year-old daughter,
according to the filing Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
She cited irreconcilable differences. They have lived in Beverly Hills since 2003.
Our celebrity guy Bill Zwecker reports this morning that there may be some ominous signs beginning to surround the romance between New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez and actress Kate Hudson.
Around a dozen fans waited for the Magic's charter jet to arrive at Orlando International Airport early Monday morning.
For the math-impaired readers out there, that's about 12. Twelve people braving the dark night to welcome Dwight Howard and Co. back from an unsuccessful couple of games in Los Angeles. That borders on awkward.
Down two games to none, the Magic now have three straight at Amway Arena. Despite the change of venue, many are saying this series is over.
Not one, but two "Around the Horn" participants have tipped their hand on this issue already.
Andrew Gallo, the man charged with killing former Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others in a drunk-driving crash, is due in a California court this morning.
The 22-year-old is charged with three counts of murder.
Brett Favre apparently underwent arthroscopic surgery on his throwing shoulder recently, according to two sources.
Favre remains unable to make a commitment because subsequent throwing sessions indicate the shoulder is not yet 100 percent.
While Favre has now clearly demonstrated his interest in coming out of retirement for a 19th season in the NFL, it seems equally obvious that he will not do so unless convinced he has recovered fully from the torn biceps tendon that undermined him last year with the New York Jets.
Favre's agent Bus Cook refused to comment on the surgery rumor, saying instead that it fell under the realm of confidential client privilege.
ESPN's Ed Werder weighs in on the latest vignette in this ongoing soap opera after the jump.
NASCAR driver Kyle Busch showed how to celebrate a big victory last night at Nashville Superspeedway. After triumphing in a Nationwide Series race, Busch tried to smash a custom-painted Les Paul guitar.
The following video shows why the driver races cars for a living. His guitar-smashing skills do not rock very hard.
Busch had previously said he'd celebrate this way if he ever won in Nashville.
High school senior Bonnie Richardson gave new meaning to the phrase "carrying the team on your back" Saturday at the Texas Class A state track finals. Richardson, you see, is the only member of the Rochelle girls track team.
That's right, for the second consecutive year, Richardson has single-handedly won the title by defeating 56 other schools.
The daughter of a Rochelle High teacher and a rancher, Richardson
won four individual medals in five events: gold in the long jump and
high jump, silver in the discus and bronze in the 200 meters. She also
finished fourth in the 100 meters.
Since becoming the first girl
in state history last year to win a team title solo, her celebrity has
put her in national magazines and gotten her a Texas A&M track
scholarship. It may even lure more than one girl next year to replace
Richardson on the Lady Hornets team.
For Richardson, repeating
the feat Saturday was perfect until she stood atop the medal stand and
the public address announcer implored the crowd to applaud this amazing
accomplishment by ... Bonnie Singleton?
Richardson is also the valedictorian of her 14-person class. What a show-off.
The late-night "SportsCenter" from Los Angeles isn't your slightly older brother's sports-highlight show. In fact, last night it was pretty much your much-younger sister's kind of program.
That's what you get when the Jonas Brothers make an appearance.
The band of brothers joined Neil Everett and Stan Verrett to give their tween-pop insights on the night's top plays.
Cycling enthusiast Lance Armstrong, in a more productive and less cringe-inducing use of Twitter than the one we brought you earlier today, announced the birth of his son on Thursday.
Armstrong said both the baby and girlfriend Anna Hansen are doing fine and even posted a photo of the newborn. The couple has named the baby Max and there's absolutely no way the kid's using training wheels when it comes time to learn how to ride a bike.
Lance Armstrong announces birth of son on Twitter (AP)
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth today pleaded not guilty to DUI manslaughter charges stemming from an accident in Miami in which a pedestrian was killed by a car driven by Stallworth.
Police say the NFL player was drunk when he struck 59-year-old Mario Reyes on a Miami Beach causeway. He faces up to 15 years if convicted.
Currently, Stallworth is free on $200,000 bail and did not attend this morning's legal proceedings.
In an interview with ESPNDeportes, Sosa says he will patiently wait for his induction into the Hall of Fame. With 609 career home runs, he definitely has the numbers.
But, numbers in the Steroids Era are but a small part of the entire picture.
The Braves told Glavine that he was being released because his
velocity is down, one source said. However, Glavine was throwing only
76-78 miles per hour in spring training and in recent starts had
increased that to 83-86 miles per hour.
"I don't know what else I
can do," Glavine said after Tuesday night's game, according to the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Physically I felt good and I feel like
I'm ready.
Does this move effect the outlooks of either the Cubs or White Sox? The White Sox have recently tried to acquire Jake Peavy and were rumored (rumored remember) to be interested in Roy Oswalt.
The Cubs have long been privy to the masterful location and mix of speeds the veteran has displayed. Is there any chance they'd take a chance on the Future Hall-of-Famer having some wins left in that arm of his?
Admit it. Lately you've been drifting aimlessly, awash in a pile of bills you can't pay and toiling away at a job you don't find rewarding.
If only there was some sort of escape, something to look forward to at the end of the day. Something that combined the two loves of your life: straw and kicking people in the shins...
Dover's Hill in the English West country recently played host to the time-honoured Costswold Olimpicks recently.
The games feature a variety of unusual disciplines. Including the
tug-of-war and the wheelbarrow race. But, the highlight for most is the
bruising sport of shin-kicking. It's been a while since I've seen a
good shin-kicking.
This game requires strength, technique...seriously, and of course a
good pair of legs. The idea is to kick your opponents shins until you
literally leave them without a leg to stand on.
Twenty-seven-year-old Phil Titmus won this year's contest.
It's early June and in a matter of hours both the NBA finals and Stanley Cup finals will be going on. Baseball season is in full swing and NFL teams are thinking about upcoming minicamps.
Michael Jordan is cut from his high school basketball team and uses that for motivation to author the most impressive NBA career of all-time. It's inspiring, yes, but it's also ripe for parody.
That's where Charlie Murphy comes in. In a faux infomercial, Murphy plays LeRoy Smith, the man who apparently beat M.J. out for the last spot on the team.
Consider for one second just how bizarre it is that people have shoes named after them. I'd offer that the founding fathers could not have foreseen a nation where highly skilled athletes helped hawk footwear to an overly receptive nation.
Pietrus said he has worn a pair of basketball shoes that Bryant endorses during games but will not do so for his NBA Finals match-up against the Lakers. "I have some at my house, but I'm going to play with Michael Jordan shoes," Pietrus said.
Imagine the hyperbole of a man clad in Bryant-approved footwear locking down the prolific scorers, thus making said shoes slightly less marketable. NBA commissioner David Stern just wouldn't have it.
An associate producer for SportsNet New York, who started having
symptoms after arriving here Sunday night, was treated and tested at a
hospital, but the Mets had not received confirmation as to what type of
flu the strain was. The producer left Pittsburgh on Tuesday and
traveled back to New York by car.
The Mets trainer briefed his team, urging them to report any symptoms that would be indicative of swine flu. Starting pitcher John Maine and center fielder Carlos Beltran have both been ill with a stomach virus, but aren't exhibiting any of these symptoms.
Both Chicago baseball teams are off to less than blazing starts this season as we dive into June. On the South Side, Ozzie Guillen's White Sox are treading water at 25-26 and are 3 1/2 games behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central. Closer to the North Pole, Lou Piniella's Cubs sit at 25-25, trailing both the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central.
These two teams are two completely different animals to be sure. The Cubs were expected to rip through the regular season and return to the playoffs, hellbent on erasing 101 years of futility. The Sox, on the other hand, weren't predicted to enjoy the same kind of success.
Yet here they are. Some 50 games into the season and winning at the same clip.
Since it's never too early to ask hypothetical questions about October baseball, which of these teams has a better chance to reach the postseason?
Just a few short days after LeBron James' lack of words after a Game 6 loss to the Orlando Magic got him in some hot water, the NBA superstar had a procedure on his very famous mouth.
The Cleveland Cavaliers
star underwent successful surgery on Tuesday at Cleveland Clinic to
remove a benign growth in his mouth, the team said. Specifically, Dr.
Frank Papay performed a five-hour procedure on James' parotid gland,
which produces saliva. Surgery for such conditions often takes time
because of the numerous nerves and blood vessels in that area of the
jaw.
James was had been aware of the medical issue for several months but opted until after his team was bounced from the playoffs to undergo surgery.
Barack Obama hears you need his sage NBA prognistication.(AP photo)
Although President Barack Obama has far more pressing things to attend to, it seems he just can't help himself when it comes to basketball prognostication.
Shaquille O'Neal showed off his intriguing new haircut on his Twitter page this afternoon, and it's safe to say that the big man has made an interesting choice.
It's a style he's calling the "George Jefferson fade."
The big man of big nicknames will watch his former teammate Kobe Bryant go for his fourth NBA championship when the Lakers tip off against the Orlando Magic on Thursday.
What do you think of O'Neal's new look? Any chance "balding chic" will be sweeping the playgrounds?
Kimbo Slice, the bearded tough guy who last year headlined the most-viewed mixed martial arts card in history, will be a contestant on the upcoming season of "The Ultimate Fighter."
White has called him a "joke," a "bum" and "not a real fighter,"
among other less than kind descriptions. He said that Slice would "get
murdered if he fought in the UFC" and suggested that his lightweight
champion, 155-pound B.J. Penn, would "annihilate" the 230-pound Slice.
The UFC president has repeatedly insisted he would not allow Slice
to compete in the UFC unless he won his way onto the show by competing
on "The Ultimate Fighter," which beings taping Wednesday and is
scheduled to air in September.
Former UFC light heavyweight champions Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Rashad Evans will serve as coaches this go-around, ensuring some healthy ratings for the show.
A voracious consumer of all things sports and all things blog, Koster keeps his eyes on the biggest stories in sports while sacrificing any chance at a social life. Waste your entire day with him On Our Twitter .
The Detroit Pistons have fired coach Michael Curry after his first year. The first-year coach piloted the team to a 39-43 record in the regular season and saw his Pistons get swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs.
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