Before Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre's return to "Monday Night Football," we heard that he believed he had a cracked rib and that taking a deep breath brought on a feeling of discomfort.
Apparently, this condition didn't stop him from delivering a pretty nasty crackback block on Texans' safety Eugene Wilson -- a penalty-inducing move that left Wilson clutching his leg after the play and the crowd booing.
The broadcast team, speaking for many fans who don't want to see players sustain senseless career-ending injuries in preseason games, chastised Favre for the move.
ESPN's Chris Mortensen said on his Twitter that the veteran's block out the Wildcat formation made all NFL quarterbacks split out in formation targets for abuse.
You guys fired up about the guy who didn't want to go through training camp toying with the career's of others, or was this penalty blown out of proportion?
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre and Philadelphia Eagles utility man Michael Vick have both returned to the NFL with a great deal of public scrutiny lately, but that hasn't stopped their jerseys from becoming two of the top-sellers this summer.
Only Favre's purple-and-gold No. 4 has outsold the brilliant No. 6 of Chicago's own Jay Cutler, while Vick's No. 7 ranks fourth on the list of most popular textile tributes. Considering that Vick has only been an Eagle for about two weeks, one can imagine the blistering pace that these things must be flying off the shelf.
So Chicago, are we going to stand for that gray-bearded division pest to the north to show up our newly found pass-throwing Messiah, or are you going to get out there and buy every Cutler jersey you can get your paws on?
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler's much-anticipated return to Denver featured a lot of boos, animosity and a steady performance by the 26-year-old signal-caller.
Cutler was efficient, connecting on 15 of his 21 throws for 144 yards and a touchdown before exiting the game with a 17-3 lead at halftime.
He made a terrific throw on a 3rd-and-inches situation in the first quarter, connecting with tight end Desmond Clark on a 25-yard play to set up a Robbie Gould field goal.
In the second quarter, Cutler completed a 16-yard pass to wide receiver Earl Bennett on 3rd-and-8 from inside his own red zone and hit tight end Greg Olsen on a slant for 20 yards. On the same drive, he hooked up with Olsen for another 14-yard gain with Cutler scrambling to his right.
The possession -- which began on the Bears' 2-yard line and spanned 12 plays -- ended with Cutler finding Matt Forte for a 7-yard touchdown pass.
Broncos fans continued to make their displeasure with the Santa Claus, Ind. native known by booing Cutler on virtually every play -- even handoffs to running back Matt Forte.
Former Bears quarterback Kyle Orton completed 12 passes on 16 attempts for 96 yards before leaving the game with a bloody finger on his throwing hand.
Scanning for something to watch after the Little League World Series Consolation Game (boy, that's one of the more depressing sentences ever), I stumbled on this feature 'SportsCenter' aired on White Sox catcher and controversy enthusiast A.J. Pierzynski.
It literally had no context or peg, they just threw it out there. It was weird. It really seemed to cite incidents that were three and four years old. It made me feel a little confused about what was going on.
The important thing is that it filled about three idle minutes.
Anyway, here's something for you White Sox fans to watch, because this whole East Coast swing just hasn't been too fun.
Sad news tonight as we get word that a 20-year-old man killed his baby daughter and then attempted to take his own life in the parking lot outside U.S. Steel Yard in Gary.
Cordell Richardson is expected to survive after turning the gun on himself outside the home of the Gary RailCats. The game went on as scheduled as fans eyeballed the crime scene while entering the stadium.
A Gary Police spokeswoman said that the murder had nothing to do with the team.
Father kills daughter, then turns gun on himself (Post-Tribune)
The IndyCar driver and Roscoe, Ill., native understands that as one
of the circuit's biggest names and arguably the most visible woman in
sports, she's going to encounter people hung up on what makes her stand
out.
But she's encouraged to see that her success on the track is garnering
bigger headlines these days than those solely about her looks.
In middle-school lunch gossip news, the always reputable Page Six of the New York Post is reporting that All-American golden boy Derek Jeter and "Friday Night Lights" actress Minka Kelly are secretly engaged.
ARE Derek Jeter and Minka Kelly ready to take the next step? "Derek and Minka are secretly
engaged," an insider told Page Six. The Yankee captain and the actress
are telling close pals to "save the date" for nuptials in the fall.
"The wedding is being planned and will take place after baseball season
is over," said our source. A rep for Kelly said, "There is no fall
wedding planned to Derek Jeter." Remember -- Kelly also denied they
were dating when we spotted her with Jeter at the Empire Hotel last
year.
For the six of you who don't know, Jeter has been connected to almost all of the world's beautiful women during his career. I don't know what it is about him ... something about playing shortstop for the Yankees or something.
Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino lashed out at the media this afternoon at a press conference this afternoon, accusing them of reporting lies.
Recently, Pitino has been embroiled in a legal controversy after Karen Sypher was charged with trying to extort millions from him after the two had a sexual encounter six years ago. He called the conference after a local television station aired footage of Sypher's testimony to police about the night of the incident.
"I am a little upset," Pitino said. "This is a
day I went home to comfort my wife, who obviously you would imagine the
last seven months has had a difficult time.
".. . It's a pretty sad day. On a day when Ted Kennedy died, we broke into news here in Louisville with Karen Sypher tapes."
Pitino lashes out at media for reporting 'lies' (USA Today)
Despite going 4-for-4 in last night's loss to the Washington Nationals, Cubs right fielder Milton Bradley is grabbing headlines for a different reason this morning.
"It's hard to be comfortable when you don't get a hit and get booed
every time," he said. "When I go home and look in the mirror, I like
what I see. My family is there I have people I can talk to who are very
supportive, in spite of everything and all the adversity and the hatred
you face on a daily basis. But I'll be alright. I always have."
Isiah Thomas' coaching career at basketball powerhouse Florida International University is off to a dramatic start. Thomas, who had a -- uh -- less than successful run with the New York Knicks, was inked to a five-year deal by the university in April.
What could possibly go wrong?
Well, how about a whole bunch of confusion, grumbling and rumbling over the opponent for the first game of the season.
Earlier today, the defending national champion North Carolina Tar Heels relased their season schedule, which featured an opener against FIU. The game would be part of the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament and would most likely be over by halftime.
The Miami Dolphins, whose Wildcat offense and young quarterback Pat White are an integral part of Kevin's Madden offensive strategy, have added more celebrities to their ownership structure. The tennis-playing Williams sisters have joined musicians Gloria and Emilio Estefan and Marc Anthony as part owners of the AFC East franchise. Venus and Serena live about an hour away from the stadium.
Detroit Tigers third baseman and Web Gem enthusiast Brandon Inge sported a drastic new look last night when television cameras captured two enormous tattoos on his once-barren forearms during his at-bats.
While an online debate as to the authenticity of the ink (many believed they were fake) raged on, Tigers beat reporter Steve Kornacki went right to the source.
Inge had the under side of both forearms tattooed with the names of
his young sons while the Tigers stayed in San Francisco over the
weekend to play the Oakland A's.
He has Chase on his left arm, and Tyler on his right arm.
"This guy does tattoos for a lot of major league players and drew
them up for me the last time we were in town," Inge said. "He said to
sit on it and think about it, and I just loved it the more I looked at
it. It's a real unique cursive style.
"My wife loves it, and it's for my two boys. I'm very happy about
it. The stereotype about tattoos drives me nuts, but don't judge me by
this. These are very special to me."
Pretty heavy work to have done in a 27-hour span between ball games, but then again, Inge suffered through 119 losses in 2003. After that, everything else is a cakewalk.
Before the word "blog" entered into our lexicon, our inner nerd was limited to writing our geeky thoughts on pieces of blue-lined notebook paper. Simpler times, indeed.
For a sports-crazy American boy growing up the Heartland with an equally sports-savvy brother close in age, one of the ways to pass summer days was to make charts, graphs and lists of complete minutiae.
Whether it was a compilation of the best lineup one could assemble if everyone on the team had to have a surname beginning with "Q" or a hypothetical basketball team comprised only of dinosaurs, we'd painstakingly debate back and forth. How else were we to make use of our Jamie Quirk and stegosaurus knowledge?
Well, over at Rumors and Rants, it seems they haven't grown out of this childlike wonder. I present to you, their comprehensive list of the best athletes in sports currently wearing each uniform number.
Seriously, they did this.
Chicago boasts three players on the list:
#38 Carlos Zambrano #54 Brian Urlacher #91 Tommie Harris
We here at Sports Pros(e) salute this seemingly pointless exercise, if only to remember a more care-free time.
Former Nebraksa running back and onomatopoeia enthusiast Thunder Collins has been convicted of first-degree murder in connection with a September 2008 shooting that left one man dead and another seriously wounded.
Collins now faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
To say he didn't take the news well would be an understatement.
As Collins left the courtroom, he yelled at the jury of six men and six women, "Are you happy? Are you happy? You know I didn't kill anyone!"
The former Cornhusker was a highly touted junior college transfer that never lived up to his billing while playing for the red and white from 2000-2002.
Admittedly, this is a little old, but its ridiculousness gives it a pretty long shelf life.
Now, Holtz's love for the Irish is pretty transparent and golden-helmeted ones have a pretty easy schedule. But after going a combined 10-15 over the past two years, does anyone really believe that they are going to be playing for a national title come January?
Well, besides Holtz, who cracked these eggs of wisdom:
"I personally believe, if you ask me, 'Who's going to play in the
national championship game?' I'd say it's going to be Florida and the
University of Notre Dame," Holtz says. "They return 11 starters on
offense. They return all three running backs, the two best wide
receivers, they have a great defense coming back."
Miami Heat forward Michael Beasley has checked into rehab, according to a Yahoo! Sports report. Sources are saying that the team encouraged the former Kansas State star to seek help for possible psychological and substance-abuse problems.
On Friday afternoon, Beasley had a very public meltdown via Twitter in which some of the following quotes were attributed to his account.
"Y do I feel like the whole world is against me...I can't win for losin," Beasley wrote.
"Feelin like it's not worth livin!!!!!!! I'm done."
Beasley's frustration had been born out of a posed Internet photo on
his personal Twitter page. In the photo, Beasley showed off
on his back while two plastic baggies could be seen on a table in the
background. Some people have speculated on the bags' contents, even
though the clarity of the photo makes it difficult to determine. After
the photo became a fast-moving Internet story, Beasley posted the
messages on his Twitter account before the page was shut down on
Saturday night.
Speculation was fueled further by the fact that Beasley was fined $50,000 by the NBA for being in a room where marijuana was found during last year's rookie symposium.
A baseball event even more rare than the much ballyhooed perfect game tossed by White Sox' Mark Buehrle happened today.
Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Eric Bruntlett turned just the 15th unassisted triple play in history to close out a 5-4 win over the New York Mets at Citi Field. With the runners on first and second stealing, Mets outfielder Jeff Francoeur smoked a line drive up the middle that Bruntlett was able to snag. He then stepped on the bag at second and tagged the runner from first to end the game.
When your team gets one-hit while trying to claw back into the playoff hunt, the most one can hope for is to look cool doing it.
Sadly, the Cubs can't even say that after Friday night's lackluster effort against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Adding fashion faux pas to injury was first baseman Derrek Lee, who had a little trouble with his helmet logo.
In today's game, the Cubs still haven't mustered a run, but at least they look sharp.
The powers-that-be would have us believe that the NFL preseason is a necessary evil, a chance for players to hone their skill sets and practice the things they're paid handsomely to perform on Sundays.
They'd have us think that adjusting to the game speed and learning the intricacies of their specific position is why we're watching games that essentially mean as much as the co-ed intramural matches going on at Lincoln Park.
But then things like Chad Ochocinco kicking an extra point happen and we realize we can't wait for the regular season.
After Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Travis Henry pulled in a 24-yard touchdown pass tonight, celebration and tweeting enthusiast Ochocinco (is it just "Cinco" on second reference ... my AP Stylebook never prepared me for this) trotted out to boot the point after.
He got the job done in the form of a rocket right through the uprights and minimal histrionics. Check out his Twitter page later for the inevitable witticism from No. 85.
Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony is suing his former business manager Larry W. Harmon for allegedly misappropriating more than $2 million of his assets.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, Calif., on Monday, alleges that Anthony's former business manager, Larry W. Harmon, and employees of Larry Harmon & Associates P.A., breached their fiduciary duties by transferring $1.75 million of Anthony's money without his knowledge or consent to a company formed by Harmon, most of it in 2008.
Another $265,500 was discovered to have been invested in third parties without Anthony's knowledge or consent between 2005 and 2008, according to the lawsuit, which seeks recovery of the approximately $2 million, plus punitive damages.
Harmon said he was unaware of the lawsuit and said he'd wait to see what the gold medalist alleged. Anthony ended his business relationship with Harmon earlier this year, according to the suit.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback possible quarterback Michael Vick sat down with James Brown for a much anticipated interview on tonight's episode of "60 Minutes." In it, he admitted that he cried while in jail due to the overwhelming sense of guilt he felt.
"And, you know, it's no way of, you know, explaining, you know, the hurt and the guilt that I felt. And that was the reason I cried so many nights. And that put it all into perspective," he said.
"I let myself down, you know, not being out on the football field, being in a prison bed, in a prison bunk, writing letters home, you know," he said. "That wasn't my life. That wasn't the way that things was supposed to be. And all because of the so-called culture that I thought was right -- that I thought it was cool. And I thought it was, you know, it was fun, and it was exciting at the time. It all led to me laying in a prison bunk by myself with no one to talk to but myself.
"I was disgusted, you know, because of what I let happen to those animals," he said. "I could've put a stop to it. I could've walked away from it. I could've shut the whole operation down."
Hiroki Kuroda raises his arms as he's carted off the field after being hit in the head with a line drive Saturday night. Below, he lies on the mound as his teammates and trainers look on. (AP photos)
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda was struck in the head by a line drive off the bat of Arizona Diamondbacks pinch-hitter Rusty Ryal Saturday night and was carted off the field.
The ball hit the right-hander on the right side of the head and rocketed into foul territory. The 34-year-old was placed on a stretcher and taken off the field, but was able to raise both of his arms as he exited.
After the game, Dodgers trainer Stan Conte was quoted saying a CT scan of Kuroda's head "came back negative, no fracture, no bleeding. The doctors feel very, very good and, in fact, the doctors at the hospital didn't even want to keep him overnight, but we thought it would be best just to make sure."
Ryal was awarded a ground-rule double and James McDonald relieved Kuroda.
"It was just shocking," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "It certainly caught everybody off guard."
Ryal stopped at first base, then returned to the Arizona dugout while Kuroda was being treated on the mound.
"You get that sick feeling in your stomach," said Ryal, playing in his fifth major league game. "I was just scared. I'm sure everyone else in the stadium, probably even his teammates, have got to be feeling pretty gut-wrenching about it."
Ryal said he sent a message to the Dodgers' clubhouse wishing Kuroda a speedy recovery.
"One of the first things he asked out there was if anybody caught the ball out there, if it was an out," Conte said. "Amazingly, things look really pretty good. The fact that he didn't lose consciousness is a very good sign."
Conte said the club decided to keep Kuroda at the hospital as a precaution.
"We worry about, even though there's no bleeding now, that there could be in the next 12, 14 hours," Conte said. "That's why we want to keep him at the hospital. The first 12-to-24 hours is important. The doctors feel very, very good."
When someone wearing jersey No. 69 lines up to return a kickoff, it's a natural response for viewers to make sure their televisions are working. Bears fans may have experienced this phenomenon when defensive end Henry Melton corralled a second-quarter kick and started lumbering up the field.
Melton, a rookie out of Texas, turned in a 20-yard return before he was tackled. The 260-pounder is a former running back, but switched to his current position in the defensive line while with the Longhorns.
After months of seemingly fevered anticipation, Jay Cutler made his debut at quarterback for the Bears in their preseason opener tonight against the Buffalo Bills.
It was not, however, the most impressive first performance.
Cutler completed five passes on 10 attempts for 64 yards and led the first unit to a field goal in the first quarter, but was also picked off an underthrown deep ball. He did connect on two long plays -- a 23-yard pass to Devin Hester and a 30-yard completion to Desmond Clark -- before being replaced by backup Caleb Hanie.
You wont see Donte' Stallworth playing in the NFL this season.
Fresh off serving less than a month in jail for DUI manslaughter, the pass-catching enthusiast was informed by commissioner Roger Goddell that he is suspended for the 2009 campaign for violating both the substances of abuse and the personal conduct policy.
"In my view, the essential facts are that you had alcohol in your
system well above the legal limit, made a conscious decision to drive,
and struck and killed a man. As you recognize, this conduct and the
loss of life has caused serious damage to the NFL and NFL players
generally. Legal arguments that focus on criminal liability under
Florida law do not diminish that damage or your responsibility for your
conduct."
"Despite a repeated emphasis on the importance of
avoiding driving under the influence of alcohol, you chose to drive
under circumstances where you were legally impaired. And you did so
even though safe and confidential alternatives, such as the "Safe Ride"
program, were available to you. Your conduct endangered yourself and
others, leading to the death of an innocent man. The NFL and NFL
players must live with the stain that you have placed on their
reputations."
As excited as Bears fans are to have Jay Cutler under center, a select group of Denver Bronco backers don't seem to be doing so well in the aftermath of his departure.
One 10-year-old in particular has channeled his displeasure -- and proven summer vacation probably needs to end soon -- by starting a campaign to burn all of Cutler's now outdated Broncos jerseys.
Through the magic of YouTube we get to see the youngster torch his once-cherished Cutler shirt and give a speech about the Santa Claus, Ind. native being a whiny, selfish so-and-so. Methinks dad may have given him some help with this little diatribe.
It's important to note that this preteen's fiery hatred is not just for the Bears new captain, but extends to yet another NFL quarterback. Bright orange prose and the use of the Royal We informs us that he hates San Diego Chargers' Phillip Rivers even more.
Classy.
Even more amusing is the off-camera clincher from the videographer who states, "So much for non-passionate fans."
OK, let's think about this. At some point, someone used their hard-earned money to buy this jersey for the kid. He probably wore it proudly to school and pretended he was Cutler in the backyard. Now, all of those happy memories are up in flames -- and all due to a lack of understanding of the multibillion dollar business that is the NFL.
Perhaps I'm being too critical. Perhaps there are some skeletons in my own closet. They may be in the form of a Juan Gonzalez Detroit Tigers shirt. Maybe the kid is an innovator.
Or maybe it's really time for school to start back up.
Let's just hope he doesn't get too attached to any Kyle Orton jersey that may be in his future.
The subscribers and single-day consumers of Tuesday's
Washington Post were denied a Tank McNamara cartoon when a subplot in the
long-running strip was deemed "inappropriate" by editors.
The three-box offering featured former Vice President Dick
Cheney and NFL commisioner Roger Goddell discussing a hit on recently freed
quarterback Michael Vick. Here's the hand-drawn prose that caused the trouble.
Goodell: "I have to make a move on Mike Vick."
Cheney: "Kill him."
Goodell: "Kill him?!?"
Cheney: "Well, not you personally."
The syndicator of the script, Universal Press Syndicate,
said they knew of no other cancellations other than the Post's.
What do we think? Was this over the line? Are you surprised
only one outlet balked at running it?
Kevin Youkilis, the big bad utility man for the Boston Red Sox, showed his displeasure for being plunked by a pitch from Detroit Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello by charging the 20-year-old right-hander and throwing his batting helmet before tackling the lanky youngser as both benches emptied.
Both Youkilis and Porcello were tossed when order was restored at Fenway Park.
An otherwise successful day for White Sox GM Ken Williams was marred by a Barney-Fife-in-Mayberry moment when he was cited for jaywalking outside of Safeco Field in Seattle on Monday.
Just a short while after claiming outfielder Alex Rios off of waivers, Willams hopped out of a cab while taking on his cell phone and made a beeline across the street outside of the stadium. Not doing this maneuver at a Seattle-approved crosswalk landed him a $56 ticket.
This of course was not the most expensive decision of the day in light of the $61.6 million contract attached to Rios, but perhaps the most embarrassing and, arguably, head-scratching one.
Williams apparently attempted to explain how we do things here in the Windy City, but had no luck.
Williams tried to tell the officer people in Chicago cross streets anywhere, which could be why cab drivers are at home praying today.
When John Madden decided to turn off his microphone after 30 years
in the booth, football fans knew his replacement would have some
impossibly big shoes to fill.
That man -- Cris Collinsworth -- half-expected Madden to pull a Brett Favre and unretire in time for a new season.
''I kept thinking and hoping ... that I was going to get one of
those calls from John that said, 'I was just joking, I'm not really
retiring and I'm coming back,'' Collinsworth said.
Home run and neck-tattoo enthusiast Prince Fielder showed his displeasure for being hit by a pitch in the ninth inning of the Brewers' 17-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers by performing an obscenity-laden march to the Dodgers clubhouse before being restrained by security guards and teammates.
The object of his anger was reliever Guillermo Mota, who drilled the hefty first baseman with a pitch and was promptly ejected. But, clearly that wasn't the end of it.
He ran over there, and they weren't going to let him in, and everybody
came back," Milwaukee manager Ken Macha said. "I don't know if you can
restrain Prince. I don't think I can. I don't think there's anybody else out
there who can."
Fielder had calmed down moments later, but his actions set up a potentially
explosive series finale Wednesday night.
"He came inside. It just got away from him," Fielder said. "It happens.
That's baseball. He tried to come inside."
When asked about his postgame march to the other side, he deadpanned: "I
don't remember that."
Rage so strong it causes blackouts and loss of memory? That sounds healthy.
That palpable sense of excitement you're experiencing -- fueled by the what-will-he-do-next Gordon Beckham -- is the feeling of a division race that's going to be a heck of a lot of fun down the stretch.
Tonight's walk-off, authored by Scott Podsednik, moved the South Siders to within one game of the Detroit Tigers, who got a very lackluster outing from new addition Jarrod Washburn.
So, let's hear from the primaries.
Short and sweet, will the White Sox win the division?
In a simpler time, before SportsCenter featured a segment called "Blog Buzz," there were the epic Sports Illustrated commercials that would fill the void between Robin Yount highlights and Joe Montana highlights.
Running what seemed to be eight minutes long and replete with blue-collar fans extolling the virtues of their favorite franchise, the spots were there to get viewers to buy a year's worth of the periodical and perhaps get a boss hoodless sweatshirt out of the deal.
But now we live in a world wear a heather-gray sweatshirt that says "Bears" in conservative letters just doesn't excite the masses. The masses need Madden.
After winning two national titles in the last three seasons, it stands to reason that the University of Florida would want to keep coach Urban Meyer on the payroll.
Today, the Gators inked the spread-offense enthusiast to a six-year deal that will pay him $4 million annually. This makes him the highest-paid coach in the SEC, where football is apparently super important -- or so we've heard.
The long-term contract should quiet down some of the rumors that he'll ever head to Notre Dame, a prospect that Meyer himself has vehemently rejected.
LenDale White, the thunder portion of the Tennessee Titan's thunder and lightning backfield -- also featuring Chris Johnson, lost more than 30 pounds this off-season. His not-so-closely-guarded dieting secret?
"I really got to be honest," White said. "It wasn't a lot of major diet changes. (It was) watching what I drink. I was a big Patron consumer. ... That's what it was. I was drinking a lot, drank a lot of alcohol. I cut that out of my diet all the way. I don't drink at all. I cut the drinking, I stopped drinking for six months.
Despite what you may think, there are still players left on the Pittsburgh Pirates.
One of them, Andre McCutchen blasted three home runs in the Bucs' 11-6 victory over the Washington Nationals tonight in a matchup of NL East cellar-dwellers.
The last Pirate to do this was none other than Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez in 2001.
McCutchen, who is known more for his speed (and awesome hair) than his power, entered the game with just three round-trippers on the season.
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