American Legends

Video: Weird and Whacky Moments in Sports [J. Mark English]

2009-11-20T15:36:00.001-05:00

Video: Top 10 Signs Your NFL Team Owner is Nuts [J. Mark English]

2009-11-20T15:31:00.001-05:00

New York Knicks: Fading Dreams? [J. Mark English

2009-11-20T15:09:00.009-05:00

This week the Knickerbockers had the opportunity to sign Allen Iverson, and add at least a little moxy to an otherwise futile squad. As they flounder in despair, waiting in earnest for next summers free agent jamboree, some writers offer up thoughts about why Knicks dreams of what may be, may not be:

Mike Lupica of the Daily News:

It doesn't matter in the end whether it was James L. Dolan who didn't want Allen Iverson, or Donnie Walsh, or Mike D'Antoni. Knicks fans wanted Iverson. But they don't matter and haven't for a long time.

When it was reported in the last 24 hours that the Knicks were backing away from Iverson, I got a call from my friend Brian Koppelman, who has been a Knicks' season ticketholder for 21 years, who sits a few rows behind where the great Red Holzman used to sit with his wife after he retired from coaching.

Koppeman's son is 14 now and so was too young to really enjoy the last time the Knicks were relevant in New York or in pro basketball, back when they were a hot ticket in the decade before this one. His son was four when the Knicks made the NBA Finals in 1999, coming from the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference to do that. Even the next year, the spring of 2000 they still had enough, even with half the team hurt, to make it all the way to Game 6 against the Pacers in the conference finals before Reggie Miller scored 17 in the fourth quarter and got them again.

So Brian Koppelman's son has really only known, and seen, what everybody has known about the Knicks and seen from them for a decade: The worst team in the league. One now completely unwatchable. And more irrelevant than it has ever been. The New York Expiring Contracts.

"If they sign Iverson," Koppelman said over the phone yesterday, "and he plays against the Celtics (at the Garden on Sunday afternoon), then we stand and cheer when he takes the floor. It would have been a moment for Knicks fans to get up on their feet for the Knicks this season, not for a player like LeBron on the other team."

Koppelman said, "There is no moment like it that I can foresee for us over the rest of the season."

There have been all the lines and jokes about how Iverson has been known as The Answer, and how one 34-year old gunner, past his prime, could not possibly be The Answer for these Knicks, not this season. But you know what? He would have made them a better ticket.

Iverson wouldn't have made it worth the money Knicks fans who still go and watch and care are paying, but he would have made them better than Chris Duhon or Toney Douglas.

Jeff Neuman of Real Clear Sports:

Wake up and smell the powder, New York. LeBron's not coming.

It's hard to blame Knicks fans for clinging to hope. The most sophisticated basketball clientele in America has been saddled with a team that's richly embarrassing. The toxic remnants from the Isiah era remain in the form of mismatched players, empty seats, and the stench that comes with a 2-10 record.

Donnie Walsh has performed a miracle in clearing enough cap space to have room for a big free agent in the coming offseason. Mike D'Antoni coaches a style players love, one that lets them run the floor and make plays without looking to the puppet-master on the sidelines.

Doesn't matter. LeBron's not coming.

Why would he? As much as any superstar we've ever seen, he understands that it's a team game, and he always has. He has nothing to prove individually; it's about winning championships.

Add LeBron to the Knicks, and you're still three years away from being any good. He'd make them respectable, but why would he take such a great leap backwards? From a basketball standpoint, the move makes no sense.

But what about the dollars? He'd be coming to New York! The Big Apple! The World's Most Famous Arena! Think of all the off-court benefits that flow from being a big star in The Big City.

The notion that playing in New York has any significant effect on an athlete's value is an utter myth. It's a holdover from the "Mad Men" era, a relic from the days when you only saw endorsement opportunities if your name was Gifford or Mantle or Namath.

To begin with, how many more commercials does LeBron have time for? It's not as though he's underexposed. If he wants to release his own songs, make a movie, put his name on a fragrance or design a line of nonstick cookware, he can do it tomorrow without setting foot outside Ohio. He's at that level of fame where the world comes to him. (Have you even noticed that his last name hasn't appeared in this column yet?)

Playing in Chicago didn't exactly limit Michael Jordan's income. Indianapolis hasn't prevented Peyton Manning from appearing in more commercials than the ShamWow! guy. Nolan Ryan and Cal Ripken became endorsement juggernauts from their bases in Texas and Baltimore respectively. Tom Brady met Gisele Bündchen despite the handicap of being in New England. Brett Favre did okay playing in the smallest market in sports. (His one season in New York only hurt his reputation.)

Who exactly has reaped the rewards of New York exposure? I don't recall Patrick Ewing getting a lot of endorsements. Mariano Rivera is considered the greatest closer ever, featured in loving closeup for dozens of hours of postseason television. What's it given him in off-field opportunities? Jason Giambi, C.C. Sabathia, even Alex Rodriguez - they came to New York, and didn't exactly set business hearts a-flutter.

A Few Tidbits [J. Mark English]

2009-11-20T15:00:00.004-05:00

Recently someone suggested the idea that the new "Giants" Stadium should be called JetBlue Stadium. If, that is, both the Jets and the Giants plan on allowing a company to purchase the name of the stadium, would that not be a perfect name to cover both teams? Of course as someone pointed out to me, JetBlue may not be able to afford the lofty cost of buying the rights to the stadium. We shall see.

Another fun bit of information that was tossed around the other day is that the New York Yankees have just as many wins in November as do the New York Jets, New York Giants, New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, and the New York Rangers combined. That is pathetic. But I'm sure Yankee fans would prefer to have the championship instead of a few more wins from the local teams.

Video: Sesame Street Turns 40; Vince Carter & Grover; Harlem Globetrotter[J. Mark English]

2009-11-18T15:58:00.002-05:00

Topps Ticket to Stardom Case Rip [J. Mark English]

2009-11-13T21:24:00.001-05:00

West Pointers - ESPN Video [J. Mark English]

2009-11-11T15:31:00.002-05:00

Some College Fooball Thoughts [J. Mark English]

2009-11-11T15:07:00.003-05:00

On Notre Dame Fighting Irish - - Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun Times:

Evidently, being honest and forthright while answering questions is not something Notre Dame captains should do. If they puppet whatever coach Charlie Weis says, even if it's less than the full truth, they are leaders. If they say what really happened, what the opposing coach admits happened, they're not leadership material.

Notre Dame may be one of the prestigious private universities in the country, but football players are not allowed to express original thoughts -- or at least that was the message sent after another loss that ranks among the most embarrassing in school history.

This isn't a ''fire Charlie Weis'' column. I'm content to reserve judgment for a few more weeks. Personally, I think the Irish will upset No. 8 Pittsburgh on Saturday. Anybody who has followed Dave Wannstedt's career knows this is the type of game that his teams usually lose.

If nothing else, a win over Pittsburgh would mute the blue bloods who claim losing to Navy is ''unacceptable.'' What a joke. First of all, in case nobody has noticed, the Irish haven't contended for national titles lately. Secondly, if losing to the Midshipmen is ''beneath'' Notre Dame, why is Navy on the schedule?

But I digress.

What fries my egg more than any of Weis' on-field failures was what was said in the wake of the loss.

Let's start at the beginning.

Navy's triple-option offense racked up 257 rushing yards in a historic upset of Notre Dame two years ago. In last season's game, defensive coaches Jon Tenuta and Corwin Brown devised a scheme that limited the nation's then-second-ranked rushing offense to 157 yards.

The Midshipmen ran wild for 348 yards in Saturday's win, after which Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said: ''I really hope this doesn't come across wrong, but I think the thing that helped us this year was last year. We knew that they'd line up the same way. We didn't execute very well last year. They did a great job against us last year defensively. So we had a pretty good clue that they were going to come back and do the same things.''

In other words, Niumatalolo assumed the Irish would defend his offense the same way as last season and made adjustments that allowed fullback Vince Murray to gallop through the Notre Dame secondary for 158 yards.

Weis prides himself on his ability to manipulate Xs and Os better than opposing defensive coordinators. Well, guess what? In this case, his defensive coordinators got out-schemed. There's no other way to explain it. Hey, it happens. It was logical for Weis and his staff to stick with what worked well the previous year. If they hadn't, Weis would've been ripped for ''out-thinking'' himself, which has been a frequent criticism.

---------

On the Iowa Hawkeyes - - Darren Everson and David Biderman of the Wall Street Journal:

Iowa's upset loss to Northwestern on Saturday didn't fundamentally change the college football season. The unbeaten triumvirate of No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Alabama continues to steam toward the most predictable finish in years.

But here's what hasn't been said: Iowa's improbable winning streak, which had reached 13 games and taken them as high as No. 7 in the Associated Press poll and No. 4 in the BCS standings, was one of the most stunning—if not inspiring—stories in the recent history of college football.

In a day and age when star coaches at schools in the country's richest recruiting grounds have been hoarding the top talent, the Hawkeyes were an unlikely candidate to threaten them. The team has never won an outright national title, it's only had one marquee recruiting class in the past five years and was ranked No. 22 before this season. Even its coach, Kirk Ferentz, said he was surprised by its performance. "Realistically, I have a hard time even picturing us in the top 10," he said last month.

Yet the Hawkeyes started 9-0 this season and beat so many solid opponents that they were ranked No. 1 at one point by the computer polls. Even the loss to Northwestern wasn't an indictment—the Hawkeyes had opened up a lead in the game that collapsed only after junior quarterback Ricky Stanzi was forced out with an ankle injury.

What's remarkable about the Iowa program is its relative isolation. The ride to campus in Iowa City cuts through endless farmland. "I mean, a lot of corn on the drive up," says Iowa tight end Tony Moeaki. The lack of population puts the team in a peculiar fix. Other top football schools fill their rosters with scholarship players from their home states—roughly 59% of Florida's recruits the past five years were from Florida, and a whopping 93% of Texas's were from the state, according to Rivals.com. The Hawkeyes have taken only 22% of their recruits over this period from Iowa, which is one of the smaller states to have a major-conference football program.

Andre Agassi on CBS 60 Minutes [J. Mark English]

2009-11-11T14:55:00.003-05:00

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Video: Girls Gone Wild? [J. Mark English]

2009-11-11T14:45:00.002-05:00

New York Yankees Day! [J. Mark English]

2009-11-06T15:17:00.004-05:00

From Connor Ennis, of the New York Times:

Thousands of people streamed into Lower Manhattan on Friday to help the Yankees celebrate their 27th World Series championship with a ticker-tape parade.

It was the Yankees’ first return to the Canyon of Heroes since their last title, in 2000.

The parade started at 11 a.m. at Battery Park Place and finished roughly two hours later at City Hall Park, where Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg gave the team keys to the city.

For the Yankees and many of their fans, the parade was a long-awaited celebration, especially after the team’s success in the 1990s.

“It’s been too long, hasn’t it?” Derek Jeter said from the dais at City Hall. He was answered by loud cheers.

People began lining the streets early in the morning — with crowds as large as 20 people deep in some spots — and toilet paper and confetti littered the streets hours before the official festivities began. Construction workers took in the view while standing above the crowd on scaffolding.

Yogi Berra was among the participants, drawing cheers as he sat in a convertible that was near the lead of the parade. Mayor Bloomberg joined Manager Joe Girardi on the lead float, which also featured the World Series trophy.

The mayor’s office said that it expected anywhere from 500,000 to 1 million people to attend the parade. Performers like the cast of the Broadway hit “Jersey Boys” were scheduled to entertain the crowd at City Hall. It will be a rare day of celebration in an area of the city that has been severely affected by the economic downturn.

Hal Steinbrenner, the managing general partner of the Yankees, called it “a magical day.”

Public officials, both current (Senator Charles E. Schumer, Gov. David A. Paterson) and former (Mayors Edward I. Koch and Rudolph W. Giuliani), took part in the parade, while the hip-hop star Jay-Z stood next to Alex Rodriguez on one of the floats. He later performed his song “Empire State of Mind” on stage to conclude the ceremony.

One of those not in attendance was the Yankees’ principal owner, George Steinbrenner, who is in ill health.

“You think about the Boss,” the former Yankee Reggie Jackson said. “I wish he was here.”

Mayor Bloomberg presented Hal Steinbrenner with a key for his father, calling him “the biggest Yankee of them all.”

--------

Here is a look back at the first ticker tape parade ever:

Also, have you ever been curious as to how a ticker tape parade ever came to be?

Here is a bit from wikipedia:

A ticker-tape parade is a parade event held in a downtown urban setting, allowing the jettison of large amounts of shredded paper products from nearby office buildings onto the parade route, creating a celebratory effect by the snowstorm-like flurry.

The term originated in New York City after a spontaneous celebration held on October 29, 1886 during the dedication of the Statue of Liberty, and is still most closely associated with New York City. The term ticker-tape originally referred to the use of the paper output of ticker tape machines, which were remotely-driven devices used in brokerages to provide updated stock market quotes. Nowadays, the paper products are largely waste office paper that have been cut using conventional paper shredders. The city also distributes paper confetti.^[1]

In New York City, ticker-tape parades are reserved for special occasions. Soon after the first such parade in 1886, city officials realized the utility of such events and began to hold them on triumphal occasions, such as the return of Theodore Roosevelt from his African safari, and Charles Lindbergh's trans-Atlantic flight. Following World War II, several ticker tape parades were given in honor of victorious generals and admirals, including General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Admiral Chester Nimitz. The largest was given for World War II and Korean War General Douglas MacArthur in 1951.

Through the 1950s, ticker-tape parades were commonly given to any visiting head of state, such as Habib Bourguiba representing the fight over colonialism. In the 1960s, following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, they became increasingly rare.

They are generally reserved now for space exploration triumphs, military honors and sports championships. The section of lower Broadway through the Financial District that serves as the parade route for these events is colloquially called the "Canyon of Heroes". Lower Broadway in New York City has plaques in the sidewalk at regular intervals to celebrate each of the city's ticker-tape parades.

Many famous ticker tape parade celebrate sporting events such the Giants winning the Super Bowl in 2008 and the Yankees winning the World Series in 2009

Video and Photos: New York Yankees Win 27th Championship [J. Mark English]

2009-11-05T02:11:00.006-05:00

NFL Fanhouse: America's Team? It's the Saints Now [Terence Moore]

2009-11-03T15:41:00.006-05:00

From Terence Moore of NFL Fanhouse:

Go ahead, because this is the right thing to do: You should spend the rest of the NFL season hugging whatever team you traditionally love, but you should kiss the New Orleans Saints in the shadows.

If you prefer to do so in the sunshine, that's fine, too.

The Saints have replaced the folks with stars on their helmets as America's Team. In case you weren't paying attention, Hurricane Katrina blew this franchise into the hearts of all those who had them. That unofficially happened on Sept. 25, 2006, the team's first home game back in New Orleans -- a Monday night when, just like this Monday night, the roof of the Superdome threatened to explode because of the noise generated by inside, as opposed to the wind outside it.

A game that was also against the Falcons. And that, too, was a victory for the Saints, along the way to their first and only NFC championship game.

Get the picture in black, old gold and white? When you cheer for the Saints, you're still cheering for this city, which has come a long ways since water nearly drowned its existence, but it remains a sometimes-ugly work in progress.

So the majority of the citizens do what they've done forever in New Orleans -- and that is, they live through their NFL franchise. Well, they mostly die with it. But after decades of gasping, it has a strong heartbeat seven games into this season.

In fact, given the Saints' rise to an unblemished record after a 35-27 victory over Atlanta, with the home team excelling before a deliriously loud gathering screaming "Who dat?," and with all of those watching on national television still recalling the death, destruction and despair that smothered these parts four years ago after that hurricane ...

Given all of that ...

Well, who knows what this team might accomplish this season?

Yeah, we know. These are the Saints. A gifted bunch of Saints, with explosive players throughout their offense and with a defense that terrorizes foes at crucial times, but the Saints nonetheless. In the end, they'll likely continue to sit with the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans and Detroit Lions as the only NFL teams never to reach a Super Bowl.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't pull for the Saints, because they are playing another season for themselves and everybody else.

Aren't they?

"I don't know. I mean, we're always playing for the city, because our fans are so great," said Saints safety Darren Sharper, in his 13th NFL season. Then he added, "A couple of years ago, it was a different situation, especially coming off of Katrina. There was a lot more emotion into it back then, but now, we're just trying to win."

2009 World Series: Various Perspectives Following Game Five [J. Mark English]

2009-11-03T15:24:00.003-05:00

Bob Ford, Philadelphia Inquirer: Now comes the hard part....Monday night's World Series win over the New York Yankees was hardly a sure thing, but it was the surest card the Phillies had in their hand as they attempt to play their way out of the deep hole they dug in the first four games of the series....Cliff Lee settled down after a shaky first inning, got some run support and was able to pitch aggressively against the Yankees. The only reliable starter left in the makeshift rotation wasn't as sharp as he was in the opener, but he didn't have to be. New York hasn't been able to hit him consistently, but, in all likelihood, won't get a chance to prove that again....Whatever carryover momentum they hope to take with them will become moot at approximately 8 p.m. tomorrow night when Game 6 begins. After that, it's all up to the starting pitchers to provide the advantages and disadvantages. The Phillies will feel a little better about their chances (having awakened still having some), but everything that follows rides on what they can get from Pedro Martinez in the first game back in Yankee Stadium and whatever mix-and-match special Charlie Manuel dials up for Game 7.

Harvey Araton, New York Times: Aided by his bat and an astute apology, Alex Rodriguez is ending the baseball season not as a former steroids user but as a home run hero. In the process, he may be clearing a path forward for himself and his much-maligned sport...This may go down as the season that the fans forgave baseball — or perhaps just grew tired of worrying about performance-enhancing drugs. Rodriguez and Andy Pettitte, two high-profile Yankees stars who were exposed as past users, are shining in the 2009 World Series....Until recently, players accused of cheating selected from two popular options: vehemently deny, as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have chosen, or remain silent, as McGwire has. But beginning with the admission last season by Pettitte that he had used human growth hormone, a third option has emerged: quickly apologize and move on....“Obviously, success on the field has helped, but isn’t it something how they beautifully and effectively transcended their humiliation?” said Richard Emery, one of the lawyers representing Brian McNamee, the physical trainer who cited Pettitte and Clemens in George J. Mitchell’s investigation into steroids for Major League Baseball.

Lee Jenkins, Sports Illustrated: The biggest catchphrase in this World Series, besides instant replay of course, is short rest. Who's getting it? Who's giving it? Who's refusing it? Charlie Manuel did not ask Cliff Lee to pitch on short rest in Game 4 and the Phillies lost. Joe Girardi did ask A.J. Burnett to pitch on short rest in Game 5 and the Yankees lost. Both managers exposed themselves to criticism even though they made exact opposite moves...The problem was not with their decision-making. It was with their reluctance to reverse those decisions when the circumstances changed. After the Phillies lost Game 3, they had to win Game 4 to stay afloat, but Manuel still stuck with Joe Blanton over Lee. After the Yankees took Game 4, they no longer needed Game 5, but Girardi still went with Burnett on three days rest. It was the bold call, an attempt to press the action and ride the momentum, but given the Yankees 3-1 lead, it was completely unnecessary....In their haste to close the door on the Phillies, the Yankees have left it cracked. Burnett gave up six runs in two innings Monday night, making the case against short rest in an 8-6 loss. Now the Yankees will likely ask Pettittte to do what Burnett could not. While Burnett is in his prime, Pettitte is 37, has not pitched on short rest in three years, and is 4-6 with a 4.15 earned run average when he has tried it in the regular season...The Yankees are gambling heavily in a series that should have been a sure thing. If Pettitte falters in Game 6 on Wednesday against Pedro Martinez -- yes, the self-proclaimed "old goat" is back -- the Yankees will still have Sabathia for Game 7. Sabathia is more comfortable than most on short rest, but even he was not as dominant as usual Sunday night, giving up three runs in 6 1/3 innings. Short rest takes a toll on everyone.

Video: NY vs. Philly - - Clash of the Cretins [J. Mark English]

2009-11-03T15:07:00.000-05:00

Video: WS Game Five - Phillies Bring it Back to the Bronx [J. Mark English]

2009-11-03T15:03:00.001-05:00

NBA: Some Wild Predictions [David Stefanini]

2009-11-01T13:59:00.003-05:00

After a very long off season, basketball is finally back. Does anyone other than me care? Probably not, but I'm still going to throw out a few predictions:

Dwayne Wade is going to win the MVP.

Blake Griffin is not good. Just like Greg Oden he will be a complete bust.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will make the playoffs this year.

The Chicago Bulls will win more games than the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Knicks will win less than 25 games.

The Knicks will not get LeBron this upcoming off season.

The Boston Celtics will win the Eastern Conference Finals, beating the Miami Heat in 6 games.

The Los Angeles Lakers will win the Western Conference Finals, beating the Dallas Mavericks in 5 games.

The Lakers will win the NBA Finals after beating the Celtics in 7 games.

Baseball Defies Predictions of Doom [Art Spander]

2009-10-30T15:26:00.002-04:00

Art Spander of Real Clear Sports:

The game died years ago. Isn't that what we were told? Baseball was the echo of another time, men in baggy flannel standing around while the world sped past.

It didn't work on television, trying to cram that huge expanse onto a small screen. And kids who weren't playing video games supposedly were playing soccer, on baseball fields.

But here are the Yankees and Phillies going at it in this World Series in October 2009 as they did in the World Series in October 1950, and Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Howard are being given space in the sports pages equal that of Brett Favre journeying back to Green Bay.

Sure it's because of the Yankees, the most famous sporting franchise in North America, a team of wealth, pinstripes and history. The Yanks cannot be ignored. Nor, with this World Series, can baseball.

They had a 13.8 overnight Nielsen rating for Game 1, NFL type numbers, and presumably the figures will be about the same for Game 2, when the Yankees, hailed and hated, tied things up.

Baseball. "You win with pitching,'' said New York's Derek Jeter after the Yankees beat Philly, 3-1, Thursday in Game 2. Always will win with pitching.

The Phils took the first game, 6-1. Always have won with pitching.

Baseball. "Ninety feet between bases,'' wrote the late Red Smith, "is the closest man has ever come to perfection.''

Baseball, a game of axioms and survival. Despite the Black Sox scandal, despite the shutdowns and strikes, despite the despair over steroids, the sport keeps staggering on.

Gene Mauch, known infamously as the manager of the 1964 Phillies, who leading by 6 ½ games in September lost 10 in a row, told us, "Cockroaches and baseball keep coming back.''

And so baseball has returned in all its glory, old and new.

Hypnotic tedium was a description of baseball by Philip Roth, whose canon of work includes "The Great American Novel,'' dealing with the fortunes of a homeless baseball team. But Roth said not until he got to Harvard did he "find anything with a comparable emotional atmosphere and aesthetic appeal.'' Baseball was "the literature of my boyhood.''

The essence of baseball is cumulative tension. Each pitch adds to the question, the doubt. Does Cliff Lee go inside or outside to Jorge Posada? Does A.J. Burnett throw curves or fast balls to Chase Utley?

It's cold in the east. The games start too late - although not as late as past years - and go on forever. But New York and Philly are enthralled. So is much of America.

Baseball is the only team sport not played against a clock. It's the only team sport where a manager hikes to the mound to stall for time, where an argument with an official is not only accepted it's expected - even if never without positive results - where fans, like Jeffrey Mayer and Steve Bartman, may affect the outcome.

Baseball requires patience and persistence. The most famous cry is not "Play ball'' but "Wait ‘til next year.''

The Yankees have been waiting for some time. The Phillies, on the contrary, are trying to win a second straight championship, and you only wish the late James Michener, who authored dozens of books, could be around.

Michener once wrote a New York Times piece about his flawed love of the Phillies, which began in 1915 when he was 8-years-old and continued until his death in 1997. "Year after year,'' Michener conceded, "they wallowed in last place.''

A young literary critic confronted Michener and pointed out, "You seem to be optimistic about the human race. Don't you have a sense of tragedy?''

He answered, "Young man, when you root for the Phillies, you acquire a sense of tragedy."

The Phillies are no longer tragic. They are involved in a World Series destined to go no fewer than five games and maybe with luck six or seven.

The Yankees have the prestige and the bullpen. The Phillies have a high degree of self confidence. Baseball has an attraction involving two of the country's more passionate sporting cities which happen to be located 100 miles apart.

Out West they wanted the Dodgers against the Angels, but truth tell this one is better, a team not many people other than baseball purists really know, the Phillies, and a team which because of its $200 million payroll and stars even the non-fan knows, those Damn Yankees.

And remember, you win with pitching.

As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of America for 2009.

Video: World Series, Game 2 Highlights [J. Mark English]

2009-10-30T15:02:00.000-04:00

Video: Crazy Amateur Highlights [J. Mark English]

2009-10-29T15:25:00.004-04:00

Are the Phillies Blowing It By Starting Pedro Tonight? [Tim Joyce]

2009-10-29T15:01:00.008-04:00

Tim Joyce of Real Clear Sports:

Pedro Martinez, tonight's starter in game two of the World Series, played the lead role, with a supporting part from Grady Little, in the third most disastrous moment in Red Sox history when he blew a 5-2 lead late in the seventh game of the 2003 American League Championship at Yankee Stadium before Aaron Boone's infamous upper deck shot (the top two most crushing Red Sox moments were the loss in game six against the Mets in the 1986 World Series and the Bucky F'ing Dent homerun in 1978). One has to wonder whether the memory of that moment is still all too close for the formerly brilliant pitcher.

More to the point, are the Phillies blowing any chance of taking a commanding two-games-to-none lead against the Yankees by starting Pedro against the team he admittedly had epic problems pitching against? A team he famously declared was "his Daddy." The diminutive pitcher is 1-2 with a 4.72 ERA in six postseason appearances against his hated rivals.

This much is certain: Pedro, though an effective pitcher and an important late season addition to the Phillies when he won five of six starts, he even in fact won his last start at Yankee Stadium while a Met in 2005, is nowhere near the peerless, intimidating Hall of Fame hurler he was from the late 1990's until 2002. He is several years past his prime and will face a fierce, patient and vicious Yankee offense that will be looking to break out after being utterly dominated by the suddenly unhittable southpaw Cliff Lee in game one.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is an eminently likeable, elder statesmen figure and has proven to be the perfect fit for his team of multifarious talents. In fact he is their Joe Torre, with his calm but intense demeanor, absolute loyalty to his players and his reliance on instinct over stats to enforce his managerial will on a game. But it seems to me that Manuel is injecting a most unwanted element of emotional confusion and drama into tonight's game by starting Pedro. I find it borderline masochistic. And it may prove to be the misstep that causes the Phillies a chance to score a decided upset and beat the Yankees in the series.

It is clear that Manuel has other options for tonight's game.

Why not go with Cole Hamels tonight and save Martinez for game three in Philly? After all, this would give Philadelphia two consecutive starts with lefthanders against the vaunted Yankee power. The formula for beating the Yankees hasn't really changed that much since Babe Ruth - start lefties against them at Yankee Stadium. Cliff Lee, with his pinpoint variety of pitches that left the Yankees flailing last night is Exhibit A. Granted, Hamels has been hit fairly hard in his three postseason starts thus far but his control has been superb and he's been striking out nearly a batter per inning. And though he's only pitched twice against the Yankees, he does have a 2.77 ERA in those games....

Congressman Steve King Grills NFL Commish over Rush Limbaugh [J. Mark English]

2009-10-29T14:58:00.001-04:00

WS Game 1: Cliff Lee Dazzles; Rollins Spot On [J. Mark English]

2009-10-29T13:35:00.006-04:00

Following last nights dazzling performance by Cliff Lee of the Philadelphia Phillies, I offer up a reactions from journalists of both cities:

Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer: Cliff Lee is the coolest man in baseball.

There he was, pitching in the first World Series game of his life, and the first ever at the new Yankee Stadium. Derek Jeter, a future Hall of Famer who has played nearly a full season's worth of October games, slapped a base hit up the middle in the bottom of the sixth, the Phillies ahead by two runs. Fifty thousand New York fans leaned forward, eager for the Yankees rally that was sure to follow.

How many times had it started this way, with Jeter finding his way on base and his teammates taking some poor pitcher apart?

So here was Johnny Damon, as capable of tying the game with a home run as hitting behind Jeter and getting the rally going. Ball one. Ball two. A hitter's count. Damon fouled off a pitch, took a called strike. Another foul, then another.

Lee, working fast as always, fired the 2-2 pitch and Damon swung. The ball ticked off the handle of the bat and arced back toward Lee, a little pop-up.

And Cliff Lee, the coolest man in baseball, held his glove waist-high and let the ball drop into it. He caught it as casually as if he were getting a new baseball from the plate umpire, then cracked his gum for punctuation.

"I caught it, he was out," Lee said with a grin. "To be successful at this level, you've got to be confident. You've got to go out there and believe you're going to get everybody out. I try not to go over the edge and rub things in and be cocky."

Oh, and then he got Mark Teixeira and his $180 million bat to ground out weakly to second base. End of another inning, easy as you please.

The Phillies won Game 1 of the 2009 World Series, beating the mighty Yankees' hefty lefty ace and seizing homefield advantage. And they were able to do it because Lee pitched the toughest lineup in Major League Baseball like he was working a B game in spring training.

William C. Rhoden of the New York Times: Jorge Posada was stoic Tuesday afternoon as reporters flocked around, eagerly awaiting a response to the first salvo of World Series trash talk.

The catalyst was — surprise — Jimmy Rollins, the Phillies’ lightning-rod shortstop. On the “Jay Leno Show,” of all places, Rollins had predicted that Philadelphia would do more than defeat the Yankees in the Series, which began Wednesday night. He said that the Phillies would emphatically roll right over the Bronx Bombers, and they started out with a 6-1 victory in Game 1.

“Of course we’re going to win,” Rollins told Leno. Then, as if to make sure he had created a stir, Rollins added: “If we’re nice, we’ll let it go six. But I’m thinking five. Close it out at home.”

Rollins’s comments predictably set off a knee-jerk reaction around New York on Tuesday and created a distraction on a rain-soaked workout day for both teams. In the past, Rollins made extemporaneous predictions in his clubhouse or on the field. In this instance, Leno gave Rollins a grander, more calculated stage on which to be provocative. The talk show host cast the bait, and Rollins happily took it, which leads to legitimate questions as to whether Rollins really believed what he said or was just going Hollywood.

Or maybe he was really trying to get inside the Yankees’ head. “He’s been Nostradamus, that’s what I heard,” Posada said. “So we’ve got to take that away from him.”...

....But in Game 1 on Wednesday night, Rollins was more quiet than he was with Leno until the eighth inning, when he started a two-run rally with a walk and a stolen base. In the ninth, he added an infield single and scored. And Howard was right: the crowd booed Rollins loudly.

What was interesting about his latest prediction is that some Yankees fans reacted indignantly. It’s almost as though this is 2000 and the Yankees are the defending champions and the Phillies are The Little Engine That Could facing the Yankees’ mighty freight train.

In fact, the Yankees do not even have quite the home-field advantage they used to enjoy. Although the Yankees were 57-24 in their first season in the new Yankee Stadium, it is not the intimidating place that the old one was, where so many visiting teams got the shakes. This new stadium has no memories yet, no haunting veneer. It is a flashy billion-dollar building waiting for its first championship.

Some Final Thoughts on the World Series [J. Mark English]

2009-10-28T15:19:00.005-04:00

Here are what some of the writers are saying around the internet before the 'wild rumpus starts':

Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post: When the World Series starts Wednesday, the proud, confident defending world champion Philadelphia Phillies will face the New York Yankees, baseball's biggest chokers for the last eight years. What happened? Did these two cities, after a century, decide to swap identities? Live long enough, you really will see everything....Go to Philadelphia this month and you'll see stories about how the Phillies have reversed the town's ancient inferiority complex about its pro sports teams. You are no longer a sucker if you dare to believe in a Philly team's chance for a positively ridiculous comeback win. It's now the Phillies' trademark, especially in the playoffs. Ask the Rockies and Dodgers. Both are still numb. Go to New York this month and you are met by the opposite mood. Before Game 6 of the ALCS against the Angels, a Page 1 tabloid headline on the Yankees blared, "We Ain't Chokin'.

Christina Red of the New York Daily News: By the time Ryan Howard was drafted by the Phillies in the fifth round in June 2001, Alex Rodriguez was two months into his record $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers, already a bona fide star with several playoff trips under his belt with the Mariners. When the lefty-hitting Howard made his major league debut at home against the Braves three years later - Sept. 1, 2004 - it was an inauspicious outing. Pinch-hitting for pitcher Vicente Padilla, Howard struck out looking against Jaret Wright. Rodriguez was by then five months into his debut season in pinstripes, the star Yankee third baseman on a team littered with All-Stars. A-Rod already had one MVP award (2003), and was en route to a historic playoff series against the Red Sox.

Frank Deford of Sports Illustrated: Someone once asked Fred Zinnemann, the director, what a certain famous movie star was like. "What makes you think," Zinnemann replied, "that she's like anything?" In the same way, the more we learned about Alex Rodriguez, the more I've always asked myself: is he like anything? Ever? Certainly there's never been anyone quite like him in sports -- the best at his game, the world at his feet ... but yet, also incorporated within such majesty: insecurity ... jealousy ... and untrustworthiness. He could be so gauche he could make you cringe. Remember the magazine photograph of A-Rod kissing himself in the mirror? Good grief, even Narcissus was content merely to stare at his own reflection.

Tim Marchman of Slate.com: To play in the NFL, you have to make a show of going to college. To play in the NBA, you have to get through high school. To sign a contract with a major league baseball team, all you have to do is convince someone you're 16, provided you weren't born in a country with inconvenient labor laws....Perhaps this goes some way toward explaining both the high reverence in which the intellectual is held in baseball and the low standards necessary to qualify as one. Mike Mussina's crossword puzzle habit was the telling detail that led a thousand profiles during his long career, limning him as a man apart from the rabble surrounding him in the clubhouse. The Chicago Cubs alone have multiple lousy relievers suspected of harboring deep thoughts because they went to Notre Dame. And Tony La Russa leveraged a never-used J.D. from Florida State University into book-length fawning from both George Will and Buzz Bissinger....Yankees manager Joe Girardi fits neatly in this line. If you don't know that he has an engineering degree from Northwestern, a team broadcaster will be happy to tell you. Often caught by television cameras modeling taciturn expressions while consulting thick binders full of arcane statistics, Girardi looks like an engineer, runs a game like one, and even talks like one. (How are the playoffs different from the regular season, Joe? "You have your parts, and you understand what you need to do with your parts, and you just go from there.") And in this year's playoffs, Girardi has done a fantastic job illustrating why baseball is a game for delinquents, not engineers.

Kristen A. Graham and Jeff Gammage of the Philadelphia Inquirer: On a stool at the Yankee Tavern, tucked under the subway tracks a block from Yankee Stadium, Steve LoPresti was the portrait of a lifelong Yankees fan..."You have two world championships," LoPresti lectured a visitor from Philadelphia. "It took you a hundred years to win the first. We only have 26."...See why Phillies fans love these guys?...And why local fans say that while it was fun to whip Tampa Bay in last year's World Series, this year's matchup offers a rare opportunity:...A chance for Philadelphia to put a beatdown on its northern big brother - on the city that thinks it stands at the center of the known universe, on the team that epitomizes arrogance, overspending and entitlement...."I hate that team. I hate 'em!" said Anthony Longo, who works at Harry Ochs Meats at the Reading Terminal Market....New York is Alex Rodriguez dating Kate Hudson, hounded by paparazzi. Philadelphia is Chase Utley marrying Jennifer Cooper, caring for hounds. New York is over-the-top George Steinbrenner. Philadelphia is under-the-radar David Montgomery....The Yankees have loads of history and tradition and championships....The Phillies have loads of history and tradition...."It seems like they have more of everything than we do," said Temple University assistant professor Emily Sparvero, who studies the business of sports. "They have the bigger media market. They have the new billion-dollar stadium. They have the stars in the stands."

Photos: Warming up Before Game One [J. Mark English]

2009-10-28T15:18:00.002-04:00

Humor of the Day 10.28.09 [J. Mark English]

2009-10-28T15:16:00.001-04:00

2009 World Series: Around the Tube! [J. Mark English]

2009-10-28T15:01:00.002-04:00

Most Exciting Series in a Generation? [J. Mark English]

2009-10-28T08:37:00.006-04:00

Jeff Neuman of Real Clear Sports ponders if this World Series match up could be the best in a generation:

Twelve months ago, the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series. Two months later, after committing a tidy $423 million to three players - on top of the gazillions already earmarked for Alex Rodriguez and sure to go to Derek Jeter - the New York Yankees became the prohibitive favorite to take the title in 2009. The two will meet beginning Wednesday night - weather permitting, two words that will be repeated often in the days to come - in what should be the most exciting World Series in a generation.

The two teams are extremely well matched. Both have potent and deep lineups that can generate multi-run innings from any spot in the order. Both led their leagues in runs, home runs, and slugging; had four players score at least 100 runs; and were extremely effective base-stealers as well (the Phillies stole at an 81.0% rate, best in baseball; the Yankees were second in their league and third in the majors at 79.9%). Both play in parks that favor the offense - though the Phillies actually hit more homers on the road than at home.

Both pitching staffs, on current form, have one dependable ace, two good and sometimes great starters, and a wealth of good arms in long relief and set-up roles. The closers are another story. Brad Lidge was perfect last season (48 for 48 in saves), dreadful in the '09 regular season (7.21 ERA, 11 blown saves), but has a 0.00 ERA in five postseason games this year. Mariano Rivera is Mariano Rivera.

The Yankees are... famous. Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte - the names are familiar to anyone who's followed the game over the last two decades. This year's team -- enlivened by the addition of C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Nick Swisher, bolstered by the offensive and defensive presence of Mark Teixeira -- has played with a looseness and joy absent from the Bronx since, oh, forever. Jeter at 35 has had a season straight out of his younger prime. A-Rod, shaken by scandal in the spring, has played as though free from the burden of being the team's focus in this postseason. Teixeira's playoff doldrums are unlikely to continue much longer; he did lead the AL in homers and RBIs this year.

The Phillies, the defending champs, are in the unusual position of being the team with more to prove, since the Yankees were all but conceded the title as soon as they spent their megamillions. Philadelphia's lineup is the equal of the Yanks': Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Chase Utley, and Raul Ibanez each topped 30 homers; Howard led the league against with 141 RBIs; Shane Victorino had a quietly effective season; and while Jimmy Rollins struggled, he can be an important spark at the top of the lineup in a short series. How is the Yankees outfield of Damon, Cabrera, and Swisher superior to the Phils' Ibanez, Victorino, and Werth? The Phillies ranked fourth in the majors in runs -- ahead of eleven teams that had the advantage of using DHs.

The Series, as it generally does, will come down to pitching. The rotations are anchored by the recent prides of Cleveland, C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee. Sabathia has been terrific in the postseason, but so has Lee; the Cliff Lee of 2008-9 has pitched well against the Yankees (2-1, 1.89), while Sabathia in the same period has struggled against the Phils (0-2, 6.17). A.J. Burnett has never been a consistent pitcher, is averaging five walks per nine innings in the postseason, and Philadelphia has generally done well against him (5-8, 4.75 for his career). And for all of Andy Pettitte's reputation as a big-game pitcher, he has a losing record in the World Series (3-4).

Against the latter two, the Phillies will match up Pedro Martinez, a sure Hall of Famer who was brilliant against the Dodgers in the NLCS (and has long relished pitching against the Yankees), and Cole Hamels, last year's World Series MVP who is dominant when healthy. Is it at all unlikely that the Phils can get two top-notch starts out of Lee, and one of two each from Pedro and Hamels? The Phillies' long relievers, who should include rookie starter J.A. Happ for the Series, are less heralded than the Yankees' pair of Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain, but those two have looked nothing like their reputations lately (Joba's ERA since September 1 is 6.33; Hughes's ERA this postseason is 5.78, and he's allowed at least one hit in every outing). Which leaves only the closers: Can Lidge show some semblance of his 2008 form? Will Mariano Rivera, a month from his fortieth birthday, show imperfection at last?

Neither team is just happy to be there. The stage is set for seven explosive, tension-filled games. Phillies in seven.

The NBA: Where Frugal Happens [David Biderman]

2009-10-27T15:37:00.002-04:00

From David Biderman of the Wall Street Journal:

Like a lot of NBA executives, Fred Whitfield, the president and chief operating officer of the Charlotte Bobcats, has been looking for creative ways to save money in a slouching economy.

So during halftime this season, don't expect to see one of those national traveling acts that cost up to $15,000 per game. For about a dozen games this year, Mr. Whitfield has enlisted the Junior Bobcats—a group of youth basketball players who are mostly 8 to 12 years old—to entertain the fans. The kids work pro bono, he says, and as a bonus, their parents usually buy tickets to see them perform. "It saves money and drives in revenue," Mr. Whitfield says.

Ever since NBA commissioner David Stern announced in July that more than half of the NBA's 30 franchises lost money last season—and recently said overall league revenue is expected to fall by as much as 5% this season—NBA teams have been trying to unwind some of their operations for the first time since the 1980s.

Most of these cuts, like the Bobcats' halftime budget, will be cosmetic: The Cleveland Cavaliers will save $40,000 by switching from paper Christmas cards to electronic ones, while the Denver Nuggets have eliminated free cellphone texting for employees. The Memphis Grizzlies say they'll save $50,000 by upgrading existing computers rather than buying new ones. "Our philosophy: lean and mean," says team executive Greg Campbell.

But behind all the small cutbacks, NBA teams are making a few adjustments this season, which begins Tuesday, that could impact the quality of play—if not the final standings. Some teams have reduced the number of assistant coaches from five to three. The New Jersey Nets grounded their advance scouts, who used to travel to watch the team's upcoming opponents, while the Grizzlies eliminated the entire scouting department. The Miami Heat asked everyone on its basketball-operations staff, including its coach, to take up to a 20% pay cut.

Meanwhile, several teams plan to reduce their rosters to 13 or 14 players from the usual 15—a maneuver that will save around $1 million per team, but could start to take a toll in March when teams start to fatigue. "Now it'll be harder to get your key players time off," says Bob Whitsitt, a former team president and GM. Former Denver coach Doug Moe says smaller rosters will remove some of the wiggle room coaches have to teach innovative plays and concepts. "More players meant more progress," he says. "It'll be harder now."

It's been a long time since the NBA had to deal with a recession. Before this downturn, the league had seen steady, and even strong, growth almost every year since 1984. But this season, the league's salary cap, which is tied in part to revenue, shrank. It stands at $57.7 million–about $1 million less than last year—and is expected to fall by up to another $5 million next year.

In the past 12 months, the Bobcats, Sacramento Kings, Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat are among several teams that have had layoffs, in some cases nearly 40 people. The NBA itself eliminated about 80 jobs before the start of last season, about 9% of its work force. The league also closed its Los Angeles office. "We know that we'll be challenged by the economy," Mr. Stern said in a recent conference call.

Some NBA insiders say they're not too concerned about these changes—which, they say, are mostly nipping at the margins. When it comes to things like assistant coaches, Jerry West, the Hall of Fame guard and former Memphis Grizzlies general manager, says there's been a hiring bloat in most franchises. "You look at all those assistants and say, 'My god, what's the point of all those guys?' "

Indeed, some of these cuts are really just steps toward efficiency. Rather than hire a bunch of no-name players over the summer to help give their recent draft picks some seasoning, the Bobcats instead shipped Gerald Henderson to Minnesota and Derrick Brown to Utah, where they played with rookies from other teams. And instead of spending thousands to fly each college prospect out for a couple of nights, teams decided to join forces for cattle calls.

At one mass audition in June hosted by the Nets, some 20 teams sent scouts. The event took place at the Nets' practice facility, where groups of at least six players would work out together in morning and night sessions over three days. The would-be stars grunted through one-on-one games and speed, strength and shooting drills. For the games, the scouts wanted to see players of the same position match up against one another. "We'd scrounge up whoever showed up to try to make it right," a Nets spokesman says.

By splitting the cost with about 20 other teams, the Nets ended up paying about $2,000 for an event that would have normally cost six figures.

"Given the economy, they can't fly all these guys out anymore," says NBA agent Sam Goldfeder.

The Nuggets are promoting a digital ticketing system where buyers never actually see a printed ticket. They say it could save six figures once all their fans are on board. The Orlando Magic is cutting the holiday party.

In Detroit, a city hard hit by the recession, the Pistons made a painful, if necessary, decision. A few years ago, the team delivered season tickets that were wrapped in leather portfolios that played music when they were opened. In other seasons, they'd come with trading cards, T-shirts and coupons. "They were the size of Monopoly box," says team president Tom Wilson.

This year, he says, tickets were shipped in a drab cardboard box—a move that saved close to $100,000. So far, he says, only one fan has complained. "I ask, 'What do you want instead? Higher ticket prices?' "

Bad Times in Redskins Land [J. Mark English]

2009-10-27T15:29:00.002-04:00

This is from Chris Mottram of MisterIrrelevant.com:

Today’s guest writer is a man known simply as Fitz, a friend of the Brothers Mottram and all-around outstanding Redskins fan. You may recognize him as our “Snyder Sucks” t-shirt model. He has also made appearances in several D.C. Sports Bog posts. So yeah, he’s pretty much internet famous.

This is his account of being kicked out of FedEx last night. Based on what we’re seeing on Twitter today from people at the game last night, many, many Skins fans had a similar experience:

Last night I was at my first Skins Monday Night game. I went with a couple friends, but knew I needed to take an Anti-Snyder banner with me. Problem was I couldn’t come up with anything clever until just before I left for the game. My brother texted me the perfect idea for a sign to play off on the whole Sherman Lewis bingo thing. I whipped up a quick “Snyder…B-I-N-GO F Yourself” sign on a bed sheet so everybody could see it. I knew it would get me in trouble but didn’t expect to get thrown out of the stadium by a couple security guys.

In the third quarter, one of my friends and I took out the banner and were holding it up. Next thing I know, four security guys are coming up both sets of stairs and headed right for us. They take my banner and tell us we have to leave the stadium. On the way out a bunch of people in the section are taking pictures and chanting “Free Speech!”

Once we got to the concourse area they asked for my ID, which I quickly tried to pass off to a friend. One of the security guys snatched my wallet and wrote down my drivers license info in his little black book. I guess that means means I’m banned from the stadium or something. They then escorted my three friends and I all the way from the 400 level out to the front gate. I tried to talk to them about the whole situation but they weren’t having it — too busy being serious security guys, I guess.

So, long story short, I got my point across, they took my banner, I probably got banned for life and I got to leave the game early. Good thing too, it was an awful game.

The World Series of UGH! [J. Mark English]

2009-10-27T15:00:00.004-04:00

ARGH!

I friggin' hate both the Yankees and the Phillies. Okay, hate is a strong word. I DESPISE both teams.

I loathe the Yanks out of pure and cynical jealousy.

My antipathy for the Phillies follows from them sneaking (and dancing) their way into the playoffs the last three seasons at the expense of my favorite team, the New York Mets.

In order to avoid having to express too many thoughts on this years World Series (which I'm sure will be a ratings dream for MLB), my friend Chris Mari will be sharing a few thoughts from a Phillies fan perspective.

As for now, I do not know who to root for. Although from a business perspective, the Yanks winning it all will be a boon for American Legends.

Chris Mari has already been busy on his Facebook wall putting up the following comments:

dear boston, welcome to the phillies nation. enjoy your stay, who knows, you may even grow to like it. love, philly ps...will trade rally towels for yankees suck shirts...

or

dear phillies please win the world series. i want to repeat the best month, week, day everrrr.... and run around broad street like a maniac until the wee hours. oh and that parade was pretty cool too. brotherly love, christopher

Then there is my friend Adrienne (a Yankees fan) who writes things like:

Just sat next to Andy Pettitte at the movies,.. Law Abiding Citizen - he didn't like all the "blood and guts" so if he doesn't pitch well tomorrow its cause he didn't sleep well tonight! LETS GO YANKEES!

And here are some pics already up on Facebook:

Buckle up fans...its going to be an interesting few weeks...

NBA Panini Prestige Case Rip [J. Mark English]

2009-10-20T17:58:00.000-04:00

Rush Limbaugh and the NFL [J. Mark English]

2009-10-13T15:47:00.008-04:00

Here are some various opinions about Rush Limbaugh and the controversy surrounding his failed attempt to be a minority owner of the St. Louis Rams:

Tom Knott of the Washington Post: You knew Rush Limbaugh's NFL ownership bid was done the moment Roger Goodell read the politically correct tea leaves and dropped the "divisive" word on the highly controversial, ultra-conservative, extremely right of center talk show host.

By comparison, Keith Olbermann is a beacon of reasoned restraint. The same with Chris Matthews, who has the eternal thrill going up his leg. So, too, Anderson Cooper, Ed Schultz, Katie Couric, David Letterman, Bill Maher and so on.

The latter are all thoughtful commentators who would be seen as wonderful additions to the pristine NFL community, which has a well-documented history of inclusiveness.

Making it "rain" at a strip club before firing several gunshots is not "divisive." Accidentally shooting yourself at a nightclub is not "divisive." Killing ill-performing fighting dogs is not "divisive." Vehicular homicide is not "divisive." We could go on and on with the felonious habits of the NFL, but this is not a tome.

Limbaugh's fiery political words are hurtful. Actions that lead to a person becoming paralyzed after being shot at a strip club are unfortunate.

The hypocrisy in the Limbaugh matter is so deep, so absurd, that the perpetrators ought to be required to wear a bag over their heads in shame.

-----------------------------

George Vecsey of the New York Times: Limbaugh went on television Monday morning with Jamie Gangel of MSNBC, insisting he’s not such a bad fellow, and surely not a racist, but let’s not lull ourselves into accepting the way he spews code words to his constituency. He is not about economic conservatism or political conservatism, which have an honorable place. The quivering anger toward President Obama is quite visceral in Dave Checketts’s new best friend.

DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the N.F.L. Players Association, is not fooled. Last week Smith called upon the players to speak out about Limbaugh.

The owners should know Limbaugh, who was foisted upon them by ESPN six years ago and said Donovan McNabb of the Eagles was praised as a quarterback mostly because he is African-American. Limbaugh quickly resigned.

-----------------

Mercury Morris on CNN:

-----------------

Michael Meyers and Stephen A. Smith on Fox News:

---------------

Rush Limbaugh himself:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Did Anyone Find the UFL Last Night? [J. Mark English]

2009-10-09T15:18:00.004-04:00

I traversed through the channels last night on my cable box in a desperate search to find the UFL's first official broadcast. Once I finally found it being aired on Versus, I nearly puked at the grotesque sight of the uniforms. It was not a great viewing of football.

Mike Freeman from CBS Sports offers up his own perspective:

The United Football League had its debut on Thursday night and in its infinite brilliance went against college football and the baseball playoffs. In other words, someone threw the UFL a shovel and told it to start digging its own grave.

Let's assume the UFL actually wants people to watch its games. I tried. I tried very hard to watch but couldn't find the league on TV and instead ended up watching The Joy Behar Show and trying to understand what the hell Arianna Huffington was saying.

If Shane Boyd's Redwoods fall and Freeman can't see or hear them, do they make a noise? (US Presswire)
I looked and looked and looked for the UFL. Supposedly, it's on the Versus network. I've yet to find this mythical Versus. It'd be easier to find Madonna's virginity than locate Versus.

In order of obscurity, Versus finishes just behind Carrot Top and just ahead of the Mongolian sand beetle. Versus is the tar pit of networks. Its motto should be "Versus ... where sports leagues go to die."

Three Diet Cherry Pepsi drinks and an Arianna Huffington translation matrix later, I was still in hot pursuit of an actual UFL game. I ended at the league's website. Initially I went to UFL.com and discovered it was the site of the Florida Gators. Damn Gators. They rule the world.

Finally, the actual UFL website was found, and looks like it was designed in 1995. It's so cheesy it makes those Valtrex commercials look like Law and Order.

It offered a link that stated "click here and go live to a game." But you had to download something first. No way was that happening. All I needed was that new rhinoceros gay porno virus to infect my machine. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

So I was stuck. No UFL games. No California Redwoods against the Las Vegas Locomotives. Nothing.

This was the opening weekend of the league and it was invisible.

The UFL stands for the Unseen Football League.

As a football addict, I want the UFL to succeed, but it won't break through a crowded fall sports universe if it makes the games difficult to find on television.

It's one thing for a league to try and compete with the NFL. It's another for a league to give up even before it begins.

Golf and Rugby Sevens New Sports in Olympics [J. Mark English]

2009-10-09T15:13:00.002-04:00

As if Tiger Woods needed more things to accomplish, he now has one more. Winning a gold medal! Ben Smith from the London Times online has more:

Golf and rugby sevens will become Olympic sports from 2016 after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to raise the number of sports from 26 to 28.

Both sports will become part of the programme in Rio de Janeiro and in 2020 and were approved despite some opposition which claimed the Olympics could not be viewed as the pinnacle of their respective sports. However, the International Rugby Board (IRB) has said it will scrap the Sevens World Cup to ensure the Olympics becomes the world's premier sevens event.

The golf event will consist of men's and women's 72-hole strokeplay competitions with 60 players in each field. The best 15 players in the world would qualify automatically for each draw, while existing golf tour schedules would be altered to avoid any clash with the Olympics.

Rugby had 81 votes in favour and eight against, and golf 63 in favour and 27 against. Seven sports had been considered for inclusion by the IOC, with squash, karate, softball, baseball and roller sports all rejected.

"Congratulations to both federations. We all look forward to great competition in 2016 and 2020," Jacques Rogge, the IOC president, said.

Padraig Harrington said he hoped the Olympic tournament would soon surpass the majors for golfers.

"I do believe in time the Olympic gold will become the most important event in golf and I don't believe it will take that long," he said. "In the four years between the Olympics there will be 16 majors, so winning gold will be that much more special."

Harrington admitted that golf's elitist image may have contributed to the 27 votes against. "I believe it was a stumbling block and could have caused some of those votes against us," he said.

"But being in the Olympics will help change - it has changed over the last 20 years, and 99 per cent of the professional players are not from elite backgrounds."

Yankeeland Ain't the Same [Tim Joyce]

2009-10-08T15:37:00.003-04:00

This is by Tim Joyce of Real Clear Sports:

Instant, knee-jerk nostalgia and longing for times past is seemingly a birthright for many New Yorkers. The phrases, actually more like incantations, of "it was so much better back in the 70's" or "the city is just not the same" or "it's all about money now" and "Sex and the City is evil" are frequently uttered by those who declare themselves authentic Gotham denizens. I admit that I, on occasion, lapse into such behavior. And who's to judge the veracity of these sentiments? Perhaps they come from an irrational, overly emotional place but does that lessen their truth? I think not.

So, with this in mind, I turn to the Yankees. Their awesome power and versatility on display in Game 1 in their playoff debut at the House That Ruth Did Certainly Not Build (more like the Stadium the City Got Bullied Into Giving the Steinbrenner Family after they threatened to vacate New York) dealt a blow to the heavily underdogged Twins who were clearly exhausted - and probably hungover? - after their thrilling win less than 24 hours prior in that embarrassment of a baseball field in the Mill City against the choking Detroit Tigers. I'd be surprised if the Twins are able to escape an 0-10 record against the Yankees in 2009 - they were swept in their seven games in the regular season prior to Wednesday's game.

And much will be made of this team's righting the playoff wrongs from the Yankees of recent years, where they had only won four of their previous 17 playoff contests. Alex Rodriguez will be a big story - for reasons other than steroids and Kate Hudson - as he seemed to exorcise at least a portion of his sizeable collection of postseasons ghosts last night by securing hits with runners on base, something he had been unable to do basically since the Great(est) Choke of 2004 against the Red Sox. And with Jeter being his usual sublime playoff self and the eerily ageless Mariano Rivera ready to hurl a demoralizing one inning knockout on a moment's notice, the Yankees appear for now to be the clear favorites to take the World Series and return the trophy to its rightful owner after eight years in enemy hands.

If the Yankees do indeed triumph in November (and by the way what the hell is up with this scheduling, having our summer game conclude several days into November? That month should be associated solely with the awe-inspiring World Series moments delivered after the 9/11 tragedy when there was a legitimate reason to play in the 11th month of the year. MLB could easily have managed the postseason itinerary in a more compressed manner) there will be the usual celebrations, both on the field and off, and New York will gloat about having its 27th world championship.

But it's just not the same. While walking around the city last night and watching the game in several watering holes to gauge interest, there was not that palpable sense of tension and excitement that is usually a built-in part of autumnal acoustics and environment in New York. In recent years one would have to jockey for position to get a good seat and watch these games. There's just no pulse on the street - and those Yankee diehards who would challenge this assertion are either in denial or blind and deaf.

One can't use a sense of ennui or jadedness as an excuse. As previously mentioned, the Yankees have not played well in the playoffs in some time and missed the postseason last year for the first time since 1993. So you'd think that fans would be more eager and intense with their rooting this time around.

And when the Yankees were winning repeatedly in the mid and late 1990's it never appeared to this observer that fans were losing interest. There was a distinct, almost civic, awareness and pride that those teams and players engendered. Those teams were, in fact, loved.

Is this Yankee team loved? Well, players themselves are but not as a unit. Most definitely Jeter and Rivera are loved, adored and worshipped and rightfully so. And to a lesser degree Posada falls into that category, followed by those who came up through the once-vaunted farm system - Robinson Cano, Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes.

So then what's the reason for this lack of Yeats' dreaded "passionate intensity" when it comes to the Yankees? It's hard to pin it on one thing as it's more of an accumulation of events that have led to - and I'll invoke Jimmy Carter here - a malaise of sorts for a segment of Yankee fans; a vulgarly overpriced and less intimate stadium in this time of economic distress most exemplified by New York's Wall Street, the stacking of free agent players that would make even prior Yankee teams blush, the steroid scandals with Roger Clemens and A-Rod, the absence of Joe Torre, etc.

Of course, the sellout crowds cheering like crazy over the next few weeks and loving this version of Yankee success would find this entire argument ridiculous and wrong, perhaps bitter. But there's no question that, well ... things were just better in Yankeeland back in the 90's.

Top Ten List from the New York Rangers [David Letterman]

2009-10-08T15:33:00.001-04:00

Video: Edwards headed to Jets [ESPN]

2009-10-07T15:46:00.002-04:00

The Dome That Wouldn't Die [Jeff Neuman]

2009-10-07T15:19:00.002-04:00

Jeff Neuman of Real Clear Sports writes:

Don't put the Hefty Bag out by the curb just yet. Rinse out the Homer Hankies, and don't toss the ear plugs. The most ill-conceived park in major-league baseball lives for another few days.

The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis opened for business the year after the 1981 strike shut down baseball for fifty-eight days. Its last baseball game was supposed to be three days ago, but like Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Rasputin, and Tom DeLay, it refuses to go away.

A month ago, the Twins were seven games behind the Detroit Tigers. A week ago, they were two games back, beginning a vital four-game set in Detroit - their last realistic chance to make up ground. They split the four games, losing vital calendar pages while getting nowhere. The Tigers' magic number was two, with three to play. It never reached zero.

The Metrodome has long been the Twins' loud secret weapon. When they won the championship in 1987, their record at home was twenty-seven games better than on the road. In League Championship Series and World Series play, the Twins have gone 12-2 at the Metrodome while losing ten of fifteen on the road. They've been in three World Series, including one in 1965; each Series went seven games, the Twins won two of them, and they have yet to win a World Series game on the road.

Down the stretch this season, Minnesota won nine of their last ten at home leading up to yesterday's one-game playoff. It's the second year in a row that the Twins played a 163rd game to determine the Central Division champion. Last year, they lost to the Chicago White Sox. This year, they defeated the Tigers.

Care to guess where each of those games was played?

Its baseball diamond is shoehorned into a basically rectangular structure intended for football. The outfield dimensions are irregular, proving that asymmetry is not synonymous with charm. The large sheet of vinyl beyond the right-field boundary (it's difficult to call it a wall) covers the seats that extend outward for Vikings games. The roof is Teflon, the ceiling a shade of whitish gray, with intermittent holes that accommodate lighting and do a wonderful job of mimicking balls in flight. Fielders are urged to keep a constant eye on what would be routine pop flies anywhere else; if you lose sight of the ball, you'll have to choose among the many small round options in your range of vision. As with any enclosed arena, it holds sound very well; crowd noise at games can reach levels associated more with fighter jet engines than baseball's bucolic roots.

Worst of all, the dome forced Minnesotans to make a choice no fan should face: Do I want to spend a beautiful day outside, or do I want to go to a baseball game? If you live in Minnesota, chances are you love the outdoors; summers there are too short to waste much time watching others play, especially inside.

The passing of the Metrodome from the major leagues will reduce the number of artificial surfaces in baseball to two: Toronto's Rogers Centre and St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field. Perhaps it's true that, as the bumper-sticker has it, Nature Bats Last.

The dome isn't going away; the Vikings will continue to play games there, squandering the home-field advantage they enjoyed when they played outdoors in the cold. Young twin-cities fans will discover a new baseball sensation: the smell of fresh-cut grass on a summer evening, one that's been denied them for nearly 30 years. The great bubble will still be around, a reminder of futuristic visions from someone else's past. And, for at least another week, it will cast its inflated shadow on the game that fits it so poorly. The Yankees will be overwhelming favorites to eliminate the Twins and quickly, but no one's gotten rich yet betting against the monster in the night.

Video: Breaking Down The Twins' Central Win [ESPN]

2009-10-07T15:15:00.001-04:00

Rush Limbaugh Bids on the St. Louis Rams [J. Mark English]

2009-10-06T15:51:00.009-04:00

LBelieve it or not, but long time football fan, as well as conservative talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, may be the next owner of the St. Louis Rams.

Here is more from Breitbart.com with Jim Salter of the Associated Press:

The lowly Rams have someone who loves them.

Conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh said Tuesday he is teaming up with St. Louis Blues owner Dave Checketts in a bid to buy the Rams, owners of the NFL's longest losing streak at 14 and just 5-31 since 2007.

In a statement, Limbaugh declined to discuss details, citing a confidentiality agreement with Goldman Sachs, the investment firm hired by the family of former Rams owner Georgia Frontiere to review assets of her estate, including the NFL team.

Limbaugh also declined to discuss other partners that might be involved in the bid, but said he and Checketts would operate the team.

"Dave Checketts and I have made a bid to buy the Rams and we are continuing the process," Limbaugh said.

Forbes magazine has estimated the Rams franchise has a value of $929 million.

Frontiere's children, Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez, inherited 60 percent of the Rams when their mother died in January 2008. Billionaire Stan Kroenke of Columbia, Mo., owns the remaining 40 percent. It wasn't clear if the Limbaugh/Checketts bid was for 100 percent of the Rams or just the share owned by Rosenbloom and Rodriguez.

"Our strategic review of our ownership of the Rams continues," Rosenbloom said in a statement released late Monday. "We will make an announcement upon the completion of the process."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello declined comment. Calls seeking comment from Checketts were not returned.

Limbaugh is a native of Cape Girardeau, Mo., about 100 miles south of St. Louis. He's so popular among conservatives—fans of his show call themselves "dittoheads"—that he has been called by some the voice of the Republican Party.

Limbaugh, who lives and works in Palm Beach, Fla., once worked for the Kansas City Royals and is an avid sports fan.

In 2003, Limbaugh worked briefly on ESPN's NFL pregame show, but resigned after saying Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.

Checketts, 53, and his Sports Capital Partners and Towerbrook Capital Partners purchased the Blues in 2006 from Bill and Nancy Laurie. The Blues have been gradually rebuilt under his leadership and made the playoffs last season for the first time since 2004.

Checketts first approached Rosenbloom in early 2009 about possibly buying the Rams. Eric Gelfand, a spokesman for Checketts, said in June that Checketts had put together a group consisting of local and outside investors.

Fans of the Balt/Wash. Beltway Full of Futility [J. Mark English]

2009-09-30T16:01:00.003-04:00

This is written by Jeremy Rachlin from his East-Coast Bias Blog:

We can go round-and-round about how Baltimore and Washington are two entirely different cities comprised of entirely different types of residents and who support entirely different sports teams. That's worthy of probably an entire blog of its own (not to mention that we've covered it extensively in this space before).

However, DC folks... Baltimore folks... like it or not, the Census, and more importantly Major League Baseball, considers us one large market that contains two teams. There are only four other such markets in major league baseball: Chicago (Cubs/White Sox), New York (Yankees/Mets), Los Angeles Basin (Dodgers/Angels), and Bay Area (Giants/A's).

To my fellow Washingtonians and my friends up I-95 in the City that Reads, I have a message for you: We suck at baseball. I hear you telling me, "Shut up with your old news. It's football season." But no, you don't understand. We're literally the worst ever at baseball. Never before since the major league season has expanded to 162 games in 1961 have two teams in the same "market" experienced the same level of futility as the Orioles and Nats have experienced this season.

I've done a little bit of research into this, care of the most amazing baseball stats site that you could hope to access for free. Since the 1961 season (when as stated, the MLB season expanded to 162 games), on only seven other occasions besides this season have the two teams in the same market both lost 90 games or more.

1967 - Mets (101 games), Yankees (90 games)
1979 - A's (108 games), Giants (91 games)
1980 - Cubs (98 games), White Sox (90 games)
1986 - Cubs (90 games), White Sox (90 games)
1992 - Dodgers (99 games), Angels (90 games)
2006 - Washington (96 games), Orioles (92 games)
2008 - Washington (102 games), Orioles (93 games)
2009 - Washington (103 games and counting), Orioles (97 games and counting)

What is striking about this is that in the first five entries above, the "better" team just barely lost 90 games. In 2008 and 2009, the Orioles and Nationals aren't really within speaking distance of a 90-loss season (93 losses is arguable). What is most striking is that as of the date of this blog entry, the Nats and Orioles have combined for more 2009 losses (200) than any other entry on this list. The next closest are the 1979 Giants and As, who combined for 199 losses. I note that the Orioles and Nats still have ten more games total which they can lose.

If the Orioles should lose three of their last five games and finish with 100 losses (or more), the Nats and O's would bring the ignomy to the DC-Baltimore Metropolitan Area of having the first dual-100-loss season ever experienced by a market with two major league baseball teams.

It's already bad. The only thing left for us all to observe through this Sunday is just how low we're going to set the bar.

Your Sports Fix 9.30.09 [J. Mark English]

2009-09-30T15:34:00.004-04:00

Cleveland Indians fire manager Eric Wedge.
Minnesota Twins still find themselves two games behind the Detroit Tigers. Wheres the luck?
Chris Iannetta was the unlikely hero for the Colorado Rockies last night, as they put some more distance between them and the Atlanta Braves last night.
Jim Zorn, head coach of the Washington Redskins, career could be on the line this weekend.
Cleveland Browns have named Derek Anderson the starter for this week over quarterback Brady Quinn.
Bobby Valentine is coming back to ESPN! (Could the Mets be next?)

Dementia Risks Connected with NFL [J. Mark English]

2009-09-30T15:01:00.004-04:00

Alan Schwarz of the New York Times reports on the recent studies connecting Dimentia to many former NFL players:

A study commissioned by the National Football League reports that Alzheimer’s disease or similar memory-related diseases appear to have been diagnosed in the league’s former players vastly more often than in the national population — including a rate of 19 times the normal rate for men ages 30 through 49.

The N.F.L. has long denied the existence of reliable data about cognitive decline among its players. These numbers would become the league’s first public affirmation of any connection, though the league pointed to limitations of this study.

The findings could ring loud at the youth and college levels, which often take cues from the N.F.L. on safety policies and whose players emulate the pros. Hundreds of on-field concussions are sustained at every level each week, with many going undiagnosed and untreated.

A detailed summary of the N.F.L. study, which was conducted by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, was distributed to league officials this month.

The study has not been peer-reviewed, but the findings fall into step with several recent independent studies regarding N.F.L. players and the effects of their occupational head injuries.

“This is a game-changer — the whole debate, the ball’s now in the N.F.L.’s court,” said Dr. Julian Bailes, the chairman of the department of neurosurgery at the West Virginia University School of Medicine, and a former team physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers whose research found similar links four years ago. “They always say, ‘We’re going to do our own studies.’ And now they have.”

Sean Morey, an Arizona Cardinals player who has been vocal in supporting research in this area, said: “This is about more than us — it’s about the high school kid in 2011 who might not die on the field because he ignored the risks of concussions.”

An N.F.L. spokesman, Greg Aiello, said in an e-mail message that the study did not formally diagnose dementia, that it was subject to shortcomings of telephone surveys and that “there are thousands of retired players who do not have memory problems.”

“Memory disorders affect many people who never played football or other sports,” Mr. Aiello said. “We are trying to understand it as it relates to our retired players.”

As scrutiny of brain injuries in football players has escalated the past three years, with prominent professionals reporting cognitive problems and academic studies supporting a link more generally, the N.F.L. and its medical committee on concussions have steadfastly denied the existence of reliable data on the issue. The league pledged to pursue its own studies, including the one at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Ira Casson, a co-chairman of the concussions committee who has been the league’s primary voice denying any evidence connecting N.F.L. football and dementia, said: “What I take from this report is there’s a need for further studies to see whether or not this finding is going to pan out, if it’s really there or not. I can see that the respondents believe they have been diagnosed. But the next step is to determine whether that is so.”

The N.F.L. is conducting its own rigorous study of 120 retired players, with results expected within a few years. All neurological examinations are being conducted by Dr. Casson....

[President] Obama's Olympics Pitch Is Ill-Timed [Ken Blackistone]

2009-09-29T15:25:00.003-04:00

Here are some excerpts of an article written by Ken Blackistone of FanHouse:

In short, this is no time for President Obama to make a special trip to Copenhagen to join his home base of Chicago in its final bid for the 2016 Olympics. Just two weeks ago, Obama even admitted he was too busy with health care reform to go to Copenhagen on Oct. 2 to personally pitch Chicago for the Summer Olympics...

...A two-week international sports spectacle seven years from now makes about as much sense being on the president's agenda at this moment as timeout for tiddlywinks...

...We know the 44th president likes his sports as much as his predecessor, a baseball nut. He's done the usual presidential sports' thing in throwing out a first pitch and entertaining championship teams at his Pennsylvania Avenue crib. He's done the unusual by presenting his March Madness bracket on national TV and sitting courtside in casual clothes at an NBA game. He's a participant on the basketball court and golf course, too, and, sort of, on a bowling lane...

....It has been pointed out that Obama is simply doing what other national leaders have done. For example, when London was vying for the 2012 Olympics, British prime minister at the time, Tony Blair, and his wife, Cherie, went to Singapore, where IOC members were holed up before casting their final votes, and spent a couple of days glad-handing voters. Two years later in 2005, Vladimir Putin, Russian president then, visited IOC voters to support Sochi's bid for the 2014 Winter Games.

But Great Britain then didn't have the host of problems facing Obama, and Blair was six years rather than nine months into his office. Putin was in his second term as president when he championed Sochi's bid and, while facing many struggles, exercised his broad authority to get done almost anything he wanted.

Furthermore, London is England. It is synonymous with its home country, it is its heartbeat. And Russia had never hosted a Winter Games.

Chicago is but one of our biggest cities with about 2.8 million people. Another 300 million or so of us make up the rest of the United States. What positive tangible impact will a Chicago Games have on, say, Raleigh, N.C.? Did the Salt Lake City Winter Games help Buffalo, N.Y.?

Hosting an Olympics in this country is a municipal or regional concern. It is not a national issue and, as such, certainly not something that should rise to the docket in the Oval Office. We've seen eight Summer and Winter Games in this country from New York to California and in between. A president need not make the Olympics a special case.

This should be an assignment solely for the first lady, who is as much a part of Chicago as deep dish pizza. She was actually born and reared there. Leave it to her.

What the president is doing is living down to that old Tip O'Neill adage: "All politics is local." This is the president paying off a political IOU to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley's cronies – Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett, all in Obama's inner sanctum -- who helped him get elected to the Illinois Senate (over one of my political mentors and former professor, Alice Palmer) and eventually the U.S. Senate and the White House. It is also a pay off to real estate interests in Chicago, as Ben Joravsky, author of Hoop Dreams and a longtime friend and political writer in Chicago, observed recently in his Chicago Reader blog: "The Olympic plan is perceived by many as a thinly disguised urban renewal project. They worry that Olympic 'improvements' will drive working-class African-Americans from the near south side."

But Chicago honchos are fearful they are going to lose out to the favorite for the 2016 Games, Rio de Janeiro, or one of the second fiddles, Madrid and Tokyo and couldn't care less. So they pleaded, and then some, with the president to step up on their behalf even though it may mean trampling on his near south side base.

This is not about the president spreading himself too thin, either, which is a criticism that has been raised as he has sought to orchestrate an economic bailout, two wars (the Iraq war is ongoing), reform of health care, closing the Gitmo prison by his deadline (he is likely to miss it), etc. This is a case of the president getting himself involved in something that is not worthy of the Oval Office, like the arrest last summer of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. into which the president inserted himself.

And therein rests the danger. Like in the Gates' case, the president is exposing himself unnecessarily to a losing proposition. There is still a lot of animosity towards the United States outing of foreign IOC members stuffing their pockets in Salt Lake City. The president's involvement doesn't make winning the games a slam dunk. As former Vice President Al Gore staffer Chris Lehane told Politico.com on Monday: "If they don't come back with the gold, clearly there will be the same questions that American basketball would get if they don't come back with the gold -- they are expected to win."

President Obama isn't in need of another perceived setback.

Video: Brett Favre Miracle Throw Against 49ers!! [J. Mark English]

2009-09-27T17:45:00.001-04:00

Week 3 Predictions [David Stefanini]

2009-09-27T12:47:00.000-04:00

After a sub-par performance last week I'll try to do better this time:

@NYJ -1 Tennessee: Sanchez is the real deal, so are the Jets. Maybe Vince Young will make an appearance to try to salvage the Titans season.

@Houston -4 Jacksonville: I like Houston in this game. After a beat down by the Jets in week 1, the Texans had a great performance last week against the Titans. Look for their winning ways to continue.

@Philadelphia -7.5 Kansas City: Since McNabb is not playing, I can't see the Eagles beating anybody by more than 7 points. Plus, the real story here is Vick's return.

@Baltimore -13.5 Cleveland: If the Ravens were favored by 30, I would still pick them.

NYG -6.5 @Tampa Bay: 9 Giants are injured with at least 5 (at the time of this post) being inactive. Too much for the G-Men to overcome and cover 6.5 points.

Washington -6.5 @Detroit: Look for the Lions to pick up their first victory since 2007. Why do I say this, cause if they don't win they probably never will.

Green Bay -6.5 @St. Louis: The Packers should win, but I have a funny feeling about the Rams putting up a fight.

@Minnesota -7 San Fransisco: This is a big reality check for the 49ers. Hill has been good as their QB, but the Vikings are one of the elite teams. Look for the Vikings to cover.

@New England -4.5 Atlanta: At this point the Falcons should not be 4.5 underdogs to anybody.

Chicago -2.5 @Seattle: The Bears are turning things around whereas the Seahawks are struggling with injures, the Bears should cover.

New Orleans -6 @Buffalo: I'm not as high on the Saints as everyone else is. If they Saints win this game by 6, I'll become a believer, I'm just not there yet.

@San Diego -6 Miami: The Chargers are such a puzzling team. They have the best players at so many positions, why can't they put together a long 6/7 game winning steak? Maybe it starts now.

Pittsburgh -3.5 @Cinncinnati: I have a feeling the Bengals will win this outright. If not, maybe they lose by a field goal.

Denver -2 @Oakland: Who is the QB for the Raiders?.... Need I say more?

@Arizona -2.5 Indianapolis: Maybe the website I look at is malfunctioning, but HOW ARE THE COLTS UNDERDOGS? Take the Colts in the easiest game of the week.

@Dallas -8.5 Carolina: Too many points for the Cowboys, take the Panthers.

Big Fan the Movie [J. Mark English]

2009-09-25T15:06:00.006-04:00

Over the last few months I've been hearing more and more about a movie that was released on August 28th, titled "Big Fan" starring Patton Oswalt, and directed by Robert Siegel. From what I hear it might relate to most fans of any sports franchise. It deals with someone who loves to call in to sports talk radio, and is obsessed with his favorite team, the New York Giants.

Here is the trailer:

Here you will find an interview between Steve Somers of WFAN and Robert Siegel the director of Big Fan:

http://www.wfan.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=4044396

The movie gets an 88% rating from Rotten Tomatoes.

Here is a review from NY Times movie critic, Manohla Dargis:

The little man at the center of the spasmodically funny and bleak love story “Big Fan” doesn’t come with a halo slung over his head. His speeches are written in ballpoint with a heavy hand and delivered with bleats and bellows on the radio. (The words are so deeply inscribed on the page you could read them by touch.) He doesn’t come with a fanfare and, to judge by the square, squat cut of his jib, he’s an unlikely contender. He’s a regular guy or as close to regular as any 35-year-old can possibly be who sleeps under a poster of his favorite football star while tucked under a coverlet imprinted with the names of N.F.L. teams.

As its title suggests, “Big Fan” is about the love that speaks its name, though also often shrieks it in rock arenas, sports stadiums and other public places of worship. That love can be a beautiful, touching thing: I still remember John Belushi kindly taking the time to sign an autograph that I soon threw away. I just wanted the contact with someone I adored (and being a teenager, I had no idea of its possible market value). There’s a kind of grace in that kind of exchange, as the idol recognizes the supplicant and, if only during the seconds it takes to scrawl a name on a scrap of paper, comes down to earth with the rest of us.

An inability to recognize that love gives “Big Fan” its igniting moment. One evening while chowing down on pizza in Staten Island, two friends, Paul (Patton Oswalt) and Sal (Kevin Corrigan), notice Paul’s favorite Giants player, the fictional Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm), gassing up his S.U.V. Giddy with excitement, the friends start tailing Bishop. They spend much of their days and most of their solitary nights obsessing about the Giants, swapping stories about the team’s triumphs and defeats like war veterans, so following him seems natural, even if it means entering unknown territory like Manhattan. (Where, an incredulous Paul marvels, there are no parking spaces.) Then Bishop discovers he’s been shadowed and flies into a rage, unleashing all the furious energy that makes him so magnificent on the field.

Paul ends up in the hospital, his head wrapped in bandages. Much of what ensues involves his coming to painful terms with the horror of that violent night, a reckoning that upends his life and a favorite late-evening ritual: his calls into a local sports radio show. These broadcast interludes are the high point of his day, week, perhaps life, giving “Paul from Staten Island,” as he’s called, the chance to advocate on behalf of the Giants while trash-talking the competition. Reading from a notepad and pouring all his libidinal energy into the task, he drops statistics, predicts plays and taunts the enemy, his voice alive with swagger and heat. More than an enthusiast, he is a defender of the faith.

Kiffin and Meyer: One "Flu" Over the Cuckoo's Nest [Art Spander]

2009-09-23T15:26:00.005-04:00

From Real Clear Sports author Art Spander:

Meanwhile, in the "Who said college football was all respect and sportsmanship?'' sweepstakes, the University of Florida held six players out of practice, not so much to prove Lane Kiffin misguided but because the athletes had flu-like symptoms.

Gators coach Urban Meyer expressed concern swine flu could ravage his team. Kiffin, the Tennessee coach, reportedly asked for medical verification, while gleefully hoping the entire Florida squad will be quarantined until 2010, along with Al Davis.

About a year ago, Sept. 30, 2008, Davis dismissed Kiffin from his briefly held position of Oakland Raiders coach, setting off a chain reaction that found Tom Cable taking over at Oakland and Kiffin, after joining Tennessee, taking a lot of shots at Florida and Meyer.

The two schools finally played last Saturday, the Gators, the national champions, winning 23-13, but that was only a three and half hour interim in the verbal game.

Meyer followed up by saying his game plan was conservative because he didn't think the Volunteers appeared to be playing for a win and also that several Florida players already were ailing from the flu.

Never one to let an opportunity slip by without adding his ill-chosen remarks, Kiffin 48 hours later, when asked if he were worried the Gators were contagious and could have given the flu to some Tennessee players, responded, "I don't know. I guess we'll wait and after we're not excited about a performance, we'll tell you everybody was sick.''

NFL: Power Rankings [David Stefanini]

2009-09-22T17:57:00.006-04:00

Here are how I see the NFL teams through the first two weeks of the regular season:

1. Baltimore Ravens: I can't believe how good the offense has been so far. Imagine this offense on the team 5 years ago.

2. Indianapolis Colts: With Peyton Manning looking like, well, Peyton Manning the Colts look poised for another deep run into the playoffs.

3. New York Giants: With Mario Manningham and Steve Smith catching everything thrown their way, can someone point out any weakness on this team?

4. Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson is amazing, we all knew that. The defense is very good, we all knew that. Brett Farve has yet to throw an INT and has a passer rating over 110, that we did not know.

5. New Orleans Saints: I understand they have not played a good team yet, but right now their offense looks unstoppable, how can't they be in the top 5?

6. New York Jets: Mark Sanchez looks great, the running game is clicking, and the defense is making every offense nervous. This team looks very good.

7. Atlanta Falcons: When they acquired Tony Gonzalez many people felt this was going to be a team who won a lot of games this season, it looks like those predictions were correct.

8. Dallas Cowboys: They're still a great team who lost to Super Bowl contender by 2 points. Let's not start panicking yet.

9. Pittsburgh Steelers: What happened to defense and running the ball? They can't run the ball at all and need to find some sort of ground game if their going to repeat as champs.

10. Green Bay Packers: They lost a game they should have won, chalk it up to the one-two 'huh' games every team is allowed each year, for their sake I hope there are not many more of those.

President Obama Writes Letter to IOC for Chicago [J. Mark English]

2009-09-22T15:35:00.003-04:00

Chicago is pulling out all the stops to have the Olympics in Chicago for the year 2016.

Most recently, President Barack Obama, a Chicago resident, has written a letter to the International Olympic Committee, strongly asking them to consider Chicago as the host of the 2016 games.

Stephen Wilson of the Associated Press has more:

"The City of Chicago is designed to host global celebrations and it will deliver a spectacular Olympic experience for one and all," Obama said in a letter to IOC members that was obtained by The Associated Press.

The 338-word typed form letter, dated Sept. 10, is addressed to individual members and bears the signature of the president. It raises the possibility of Obama going to Copenhagen to push the Chicago bid at the Oct. 2 vote.

Chicago — seeking to host the Summer Olympics in the United States for the first time since 1996 — is in a tight contest with Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Madrid.

"I deeply appreciate the tremendous work of the Olympic Movement and wish to convey my strong support for Chicago 2016," Obama said in the letter, citing the "transformative power" of the Olympics to unite people.

Obama, who served as a senator from Illinois and calls Chicago home, said he has supported the city's Olympic bid since it was launched in 2006.

"As President, I see the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games as an extraordinary opportunity for America to renew our bonds of friendship and welcome the world to our shores with open arms," he said. "If you honor Chicago with your selection, we will ensure that the Olympic and Paralympic Games are a key priority for our nation."

Obama noted that he has already established a White House office of Olympic and youth sport.

"You can count on our government to support Chicago's quest to host an unforgettable event and strengthen the Olympic movement," he said. "I believe we have an historic opportunity to do great things together, and I look forward to discussing that opportunity with you, if not in Copenhagen, then soon thereafter if Chicago is your choice."

Cowboy Stadium? TOO BIG? [J. Mark English]

2009-09-22T15:06:00.004-04:00

Jeff Mosier of The Dallas Morning News explains:

Arlington officials and the Dallas Cowboys are discussing the possibility of reducing the number of standing-room-only tickets by two-thirds after crowds became unruly Sunday night when they weren't allowed into the stadium.

Assistant Fire Chief Don Crowson said negotiations Monday would have the Cowboys limit sales to about 10,000 Party Passes at future games, though there could be a few exceptions.

Team officials said they sold 30,000 of the $29 tickets to Sunday's game, which was the Cowboys' first regular-season matchup at the new stadium in Arlington. Cowboys officials, however, said they were willing to talk with the city about changes but have not agreed to anything.

The attendance of 105,121 was a record for a regular-season NFL game.

As kickoff approached Sunday night, Cowboys and public safety officials decided to stop trying to control the flow of fans into the end zone decks when the crowds became angry.

"We believe that it was a better decision to go ahead and let people in vs. confronting them in a situation out on the plaza based on the how the crowd dynamic was evolving," Crowson said.

Although the stadium wasn't truly closed, Crowson said, the number of fans allowed into the end zone decks slowed as the stadium approached capacity. That happened as the start of the game neared.

My thoughts:

Um, what was the the dancers in the upper section of the Stadium? I think I heard Al Michaels joke that they were the minor league cheerleaders as opposed to the actually Cowboy Girls down on the field.

Also, Mike Francesa pointed out that they should not count the fans outside of the stadium as part of the attendance. Its a bit cheesy and not genuine.

The stadium really does look like the Death Star.

Plaxico Burress Officially Sentenced to Two Years in Jail [J. Mark English]

2009-09-22T15:02:00.002-04:00

The New York Giants are sitting pretty (so far) in first place of the NFC East. Mario Manningham and Steve Smith are looking like the real deal. Its almost as if they might be saying Plax who?

Speaking of Plax, he will be watching the Giants, and all of sports from a cell:

Melissa Grace & Larry McShane of the New York Daily News -

A teary Plaxico Burress traded his Giants jersey for a prison jumpsuit Tuesday.

The talented but troubled ex-Super Bowl hero was sentenced to two years in jail for weapons possession, 10 months after he shot himself in a crowded nightclub.

"I want to apologize to my family," Burress said before Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Michael Melkonian imposed the jail term.

Prior to the sentencing, Burress exchanged hugs and kisses with his family - at one point burying his face into the shoulder of his 3-year-old son.

"I love you," Burress whispered to little Elijah before he was led off, wiping tears away and offering a rueful wave to his family.

Burress, 32, carried the boy into the courthouse in one of his last acts as a free man.

"This is a very real, tragic case in many, many ways," defense lawyer Benjamin Brafman said. "... I do not believe, under the circumstances of this case, we're sentencing a true criminal in the sense of that word."

GO NY GO NY GO! [David Stefanini]

2009-09-21T19:08:00.003-04:00

What a day it was yesterday for football fans in New York. First the Jets pull off a great victory over their rivals, the New England Patriots; then the Giants go into what can only be described as the best stadium in the world and beat the Cowboys! Where do I start?

It has to be the New York Jets, because living in New York you would think they just won the Super Bowl. All I heard on the train today and at my office was how the Jets backed up the talk and put a beat down on the Pats. Everyone just assumed the Pats would beat the Jets, myself included, and we would all be talking about how Sanchez is just a rookie and the team has no chance. But Sanchez looks incredible. Nothing bothers him in the game, everything is so fluid from him, and he makes the right decisions at the right times. The kid looks like a solid Pro Bowler and we're two weeks into his career. Also, we can not overlook Leon Washington who does simply everything for the New York Jets. Whether he is returning kicks, running hard, or breaking tackles are the catch the man does everything. Hats off to the Jets who look like a team to be reckon with this season!

Now onto the New York Giants who looked equally as impressive yesterday against the Cowboys. The Giants could not run the ball, but that did not matter. They were able to pick apart the Dallas defense threw the air, by essentially throwing the ball to Mario Manningham and Steve Smith, and ignoring everyone else. Well the game plan worked and the Giants got a big victory early in the season. Go Big Blue!

Hats off to the New York Jets [J. Mark English]

2009-09-20T16:07:00.005-04:00

Holy sh*t! The Jets just physically DOMINATED the New England Patriots. Rex Ryan, Mark Sanchez, and the Jets defense backed up all the talk.

New York Jets 16, New England Patriots 9.

MOST IMPRESSIVE!

Week 2 Predictions [David Stefanini]

2009-09-20T10:59:00.003-04:00

I understand some of the games have already started, but due to a technical error this post was supposed to be up by 11am. So without further a due, here are my picks for Week 2.

@ Kansas City - 2.5 Oakland: Matt Cassel is making his first start in a Chiefs uniform. Along with the fact that I'm not a believer in JaMarcus Russel, I'd take the Chiefs to win this by at least a field goal.

@Tennesse - 7 Houston: I know most people love the Titans, and Houston did look horrible in Week 1, but I have a funny feeling about this game. I don't think the Texans will win the game, but in today's NFL 7 points is a lot, and I don't think the Titans are good enough to cover.

New England -3.5 @ NYJ: This game is going to be a blow out. The Pats didn't look sharp last week which means Bill Belichick was in their ears all week screaming. The Jets looked very good in week one but Mark Sanchez is going to see 50 different defenses this week. Furthermore, for some reason the Jets decided to talk trash to the Pats, which will lead to a beat down of epic proportions. The Pats should win this game by 14+.

@ Green Bay - 8 Cincinnati: Everyone please listen to me, Green Bay is Super Bowl bound this year. Aaron Rodgers is on an elite level and this team is going to go very deep in the playoffs. On the flip side, what has happened to Carson Palmer? He was once considered a top 3 QB, and now he looks very average, even sometimes below average. That means Green Bay is going to beat down the Bengals.

Minnesota -10 @ Detroit: Minnesota is a very complete team whereas the Lions would probably lose to half of the Top 25 teams in college football. Plain and simple, always pick against the Lions.

New Orleans - 3 @ Philadelphia: Again, this one is easy, No McNabb no win.

@ Atlanta -6 Carolina: Don't count Jake Delhomme out just yet. He is experienced and been through the ups and the downs before. Matt Ryan is amazing and will continue to grow, but Carolina is still very talented and Delhomme has something to prove today.

@ Washington -9.5 St. Louis: Washington is not a great team, but STL is horrible. Again always pick against those kind of teams.

@ Jacksonville - 3 Arizona: This is a very tricky game. The Cardinals and Jags both need wins this week so both teams will be playing their hearts out. I think Arizona has too many weapons for the Jags to contend with, and will be able to pull out a win.

@ San Francisco -1 Seattle: I don't know why the Seahawks are not the favorites in this game. They looked great in week 1 and should continue their winning ways against the 49ers.

@ Buffalo - 4 Tampa Bay: The Bills are home this week which should give them a little extra energy. Tampa may have a difficult time dealing with the no huddle offense, so T.O should have a field day against the Bucs CB's.

@ Denver - 3 Cleveland: Denver is not going to be as bad as everyone says they will this season; Cleveland will be. Denver should be able to cover this spread with ease.

@ San Diego - 1 Baltimore: Without LT Baltimore is going to drop back in coverage and make Rivers beat them. Rivers is capable of doing it, but Baltimore looked to sharp and quick in week 1 for me to pick against them.

Pittsburgh - 3 @ Chicago: This may surprise some people but I'd go with Chicago in this game. Cutler had a horrible week so he should bounce back relatively nicely this week. He should carry this team to a victory this weekend.

@ Dallas - 3 NYG: For me this is always the toughest game to pick. Dallas looked good and we all know the Giants may be the most well rounded team in the league, outside of WR's. This game can go either way, but I will give the edge to the Cowboys because of the injuries the Giants have in their secondary. That should allow Romo enough space to pick them apart and keep the Giants on their heels all game.

Indianapolis -3 @ Miami: This spread should be a lot higher. No way the Dolphins come out and beat the Colts.

Brees the Best? Are You Nuts! [David Stefanini]

2009-09-19T16:03:00.006-04:00

I was just involved in a conversation where three people were trying to convince me that Drew Brees is the best quarterback in the league. I did learn something from this conversation, my friends are clinically insane! How can someone say Drew Brees is the best? But David he threw for over 5,000 yards last season, he threw for 6 TD's last week alone. All wonderful things however here are somethings that everyone overlooks.

Let's look at his season last year. He had a defense that would put him on the field every other minute giving him endless chances to complete passes. He attempted 635 passes last year! that is an average of 8 yards per attempt. He threw for 37 TD's with 17 INT's which is a ratio of 2:1. Now let's look at Brady's and Manning's numbers next to Brees to see how they stack up:

Brady (2007): 4806 yards, 8.3 per attempt, 50 TD's, 8 INT's, 117 RTG, Super Bowl appearance.
Manning (2008): 4002, 7.2, 27, 12, 95, Playoffs.
Brees (2008): 5069, 8.0, 34, 17, 96, NOTHING!

Brees threw for more yards but had less wins, and more INT's than those 2 quarterbacks. Brady and Manning both have rings where Brees has not even played in a Super Bowl. Furthermore, has any looked at who the Saints played last year? Brady or Manning would have gone for over 6,000 yards with that schedule.

Is he a top 5 QB absolutely, I see him as the 3rd best in the league and someone who I would love on my team. He has a great arm, he is very accurate and he throws for a ton of yards and TD's.

My point is obviously this, Brees is not the best in the game. He is great and he is a top 3 QB but to put him in front of Manning or Brady is not only wrong it's foolish.

Yankees Glad to Hear Pettitte is Ready [David Stefanini]

2009-09-19T15:31:00.003-04:00

New York Yankees' starting pitcher Andy Pettitte is expected to start against the Anaheim Angels this Monday. Why is this important you may be asking. Let me explain...

Andy Pettitte does not have amazing stand-out numbers this year. He has 13 wins on the best team in baseball, his ERA is 4.14 and his WHIP is 1.36. But Andy Pettitte is not about statistics this season, even though his second half numbers look impressive. He is a big game pitcher that most Yankee fans will want to pitch Game 5, if necessary, against the Detroit Tigers (or whoever their first round opponent is). At the beginning of the year many people, including myself, thought Pettitte was washed up and no longer a solid starter. The Yankees signed him to a $5.5 million contract, loaded with incentives, to essentially be their 4th or 5th starter. But as the year has progressed we have all learned something, Pettitte knows how to win and is still a legit starter.

Come playoff time the Yankees will look to him as their 2nd starter, but most likely give him the ball in the most important games. Which is why his health is so important. If Pettitte is not healthy the Yankees will have to rely on unproven postseason starters to carry them. With Pettitte in the rotation the Yankees can put him in the 2nd spot to make key starts in Games 2 and 5 of a series. If Sabathia loses the first game Pettitte will be there to pick up the Yankees like he has done many times. He will also be there for the most important game of most series, Game 5.

Coming soon, in Your Face! COWBOYS STADIUM! [J. Mark English]

2009-09-18T15:25:00.005-04:00

Sunday night, the team that America either hates or loves will be treated to the sights of the new wonder of the world. Cowboys Stadium.

The Giants will play the roll of sacrificial lamb, like early Christians in the Roman Colosseum in the good old days.

These photos are from Larry W. Smith/European Pressphoto Agency:

Nicolai Ouroussoff of the New York Times highlights this new 'mecca' or 'monstrosity':

Here’s one thing that can be said for the new Cowboys Stadium, where the Dallas Cowboys will play their first home game of the regular season on Sunday against the Giants: it’s not Mickey Mouse architecture.

With a $1.15 billion price tag and a flying saucer-like form, the stadium’s design mercifully avoids the aw-shucks, small-town look that has become common in many American stadiums over the years. There’s no brick cladding, no fake wrought ironwork, no infantilizing theme restaurants that seem as if they had been commissioned by Uncle Walt for the Happiest Place on Earth.

Still, Cowboys Stadium suffers from its own form of nostalgia: its enormous retractable roof, acres of parking and cavernous interiors are straight out of Eisenhower’s America, with its embrace of car culture and a grandiose, bigger-is-better mentality. The result is a somewhat crude reworking of old ideas, one that looks especially unoriginal when compared with the sophisticated and often dazzling stadiums that have been built in Europe and the Far East over the last few years. Worse for fans, its lounges and concourses are so sprawling that I suspect more than a few spectators will get lost and miss the second-half kickoff.

At one point, it looked as if the stadium might be built in a more contained urban setting. Jerry Jones, the team’s owner, considered situating it in Fair Park, a 277-acre park near downtown Dallas whose many Art Deco buildings, including the Cotton Bowl, were built for the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition. That location would not only have contributed to the revival of the park’s derelict landmarks, but it would also have helped spark the revitalization of one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods.

But the city rejected the plan as too costly, and Jones was forced to look farther afield, eventually settling on a generic suburban enclave midway between Dallas and Fort Worth, not far from the ballpark where the Texas Rangers play.

Compared with the retro brick facing and quaint castle towers of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Cowboys Stadium, designed by HKS, which has its headquarters in Dallas, does have a certain boldness. Approached from Interstate 30, its massive dome brings to mind the simple geometries and aggressive modern aesthetic of Houston’s Astrodome and the Louisiana Superdome....

...At first, things seem more promising inside. Monumental concrete staircases and circulation ramps are situated near the four corners of the field. The ramps, which are some of the building’s most enjoyable architectural spaces, look broad enough to fit a pair of Cadillacs. Jones has also commissioned more than a dozen works by well-known contemporary artists for the stadium interiors, including a spectacularly colorful abstract composition by Franz Ackermann that decorates one of the staircases. But the vastness of the concourses, some of them 65 feet wide, can make you feel as if you are lost in an international airport terminal. And, as in almost every American stadium today, the seats are broken up by bands of glass-encased corporate suites. The glass can slide open so that wealthy patrons can feel connected to the action on the field — if not to the average fan. Some of the suites even take up prime real estate along the sidelines, a first for the N.F.L.

As it turns out, the biggest controversy so far about the stadium has to do with its supersize scale. The four-sided video board over the field is so big, and hangs so low, that a Tennessee punter hit it during a preseason game. It’s a nice irony that for all the space, there may not be enough room at Cowboys Stadium to play a game.

This morning on the Today Show, former Cowboy, Emmitt Smith gave a tour of the new stadium:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Feel Good Story of the Year? And from a Phillies Fan! [J. Mark English]

2009-09-18T15:08:00.004-04:00

ESPN News for the Day [J. Mark English]

2009-09-17T15:28:00.004-04:00

Charlie Weis' fate could hang in the balance this weekend:

Terrell Owens is stirring the straw once again:

Panini Football Kitchen Sink Case Rip [J. Mark English]

2009-09-16T18:28:00.002-04:00

Football Predictions [David Stefanini]

2009-09-13T01:12:00.004-04:00

Welcome to another season of the NFL! With a bunch of good games scheduled to start I figured what time is better than now to make some predictions.

MVP: Everyone seems to be going with either Brady of Adrian Peterson, but I think differently. I'm going with Philip Rivers who is ready to become a top 5 QB in this league. He has a healthy LT, Gates, and Merriman which will allow him to put up ridiculous numbers. Peterson won't win because it will be very difficult to put up numbers like he did last season, therefore the winner is Rivers.

NFC Champs: People love the Vikings and the Eagles, but once again I disagree. The Vikings won't win because Farve is their QB, and the Eagles won't win because their the Eagles. They will have too many injuries and McNabb will be to busy looking over his shoulder. Therefore the Dallas Cowboys get the edge. They have the same team returning without T.O. Felix Jones and Marion Barber will have huge years, Roy Williams will show us all his real talent and Tony Romo should have a big year. Their defense is very solid and for once they are flying under the radar. All positive signs for things to come.

AFC Champs: Either the Pats, Steelers, or Chargers have to be chosen for this title. These three teams are the class of the conference. The Pats get the best QB in the world back, the Steelers return an amazing defense, and the Chargers are talented at every position. The Pats are to easy of a chose, it's very difficult to go back-to-back, so I'm going with the Chargers. Even though they have Norv Turner as a coach, I believe they have enough talent to overcome him and win some football games as long as they can stay healthy.

Super Bowl Champs: I have to go with the Chargers. They are simply to talented all over the football field, even their punter is amazing. As long as LT stays healthy and the old Antonio Gates returns there should be nothing stopping this team from walking out of the 2009-2010 season with a title.

Derek Jeter: New Yankee Hit King - 2,722 Hits [J. Mark English]

2009-09-12T11:46:00.001-04:00

Coach Tom Coughlin and September 11, 2001 [J. Mark English]

2009-09-11T15:23:00.003-04:00

Steve Serby of the New York Post, caught with New York Giants head coach, Tom Coughlin. Coach Coughlin reflected on the events that occurred in New York City eight years ago today:

This was the day eight years ago when Tom Coughlin needed a miracle. This was the day terror struck and Coughlin, the coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars on that fateful morning, didn't have a playbook to tell him how to stop his heart from pounding during those frantic, frightful hours when he wondered whether his son would make it out of the South Tower alive.

"There was no way you could make that time flow by . . . I had my assistant call every two or three minutes just to leave messages on his phone. He didn't pick it up . . . 'Try him, try him, try him, try him, try him,' " Coughlin recalled yesterday.

Coughlin, 63, won his Super Bowl with the Giants at the end of the 2007 season. He had won Super Bowl XXV as an assistant under Bill Parcells. Those were football games. This was life-and-death.

"Because of my faith, I always say that the Holy Spirit took him by the hand and walked him out of the building," Coughlin said, stopping on his way to lunch after practice, three days before the start of the 2009 season.

"The frustration of trying to communicate with someone who's in that circumstance . . . believe it or not, my son Brian, who was in law school, got Tim on the phone, like on the 29th floor. I finally got him on the first floor, on his cell phone, and the only thing I could say to him was, 'Tim, get out of there, fast as you can.' They had practiced a route to safety, and when he got up on that ramp, getting away from the building, that's when I kinda said to myself, 'Thank God he's out of there.' "

Tim, 37 and a bond trader at JP Morgan Securities, was working for Morgan Stanley on the 60th floor. He had made it down to the 44th floor when his tower was hit. His father reached him, finally, as he got close to the bottom of the building.

"I never heard any panic," Tim recalled, "but kind of a general sort of, 'You-really-need-to-get-out-of-there-as-soon-as-possible theme coming from him," Tim said. "You could see airplane seats, just debris everywhere."

Some 15-20 minutes later, as Tim scurried east, then north, his building crumbled. He didn't see it. "I heard it," he said.

What did Tim say to you? "He told me where he was . . . he told me that when he was coming down, firemen" -- and here Coughlin's eyes become moist -- "it chokes me up to talk about it -- the firemen were going up into 2000 degrees," Coughlin said. "Passed him on the stairs!"...

...."When this date comes up, it certainly makes everybody stop and think about where they were on that particular day," Coughlin said. "And of course your heart pours out -- what happens for me and for my family is we just stop and think about all the people who lost their lives in 9/11, and we reflect on the wonderful people and causes that we have been able to become aware of being here in the greater New York City area.

"We thank God obviously for our blessings, but we're very much aware of the families, and we see them all the time -- I saw a fireman up at training camp who had a shirt made up in honor of his dad . . . he lost his dad on 9/11 . . . so it's still a big part of us."

Tim still thinks about the friends, acquaintances and security people who never made it out. He doesn't feel safe anymore whenever he is in New York City. "I tend to not relax as much as I probably need to," he said.

His father was asked if 9/11 changed him. "I like to consider myself a patriot," he said, "but even more so, because of that."

Coughlin will mention 9/11's anniversary to his Giants today. "It's the New York Giants," he said. "It's red, white and blue, that's what I always talk about."

September 11, 2001: How Baseball Helped Bring us Back [J. Mark English]

2009-09-11T08:29:00.002-04:00

NFL: The Year of the Blackout? [J. Mark English]

2009-09-10T15:57:00.006-04:00

For years, fans of the NFL have been subjected to the league's television blackout rule with little furry. It was more likely that if the blackout rule was in effect, then the home fans did not want to watch the team anyway. This year it may be because fans cannot afford to the game in these rough economic times.

To sum up how the league is handling this tough issue, Sean Gregory of Time has more:

The 2009 NFL season, which kicks off on Sept. 10 when the defending Super Bowl Champions the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Tennessee Titans, is ripe with intriguing story lines. After missing last season due to injury, can New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady return to Super Bowl form? After spending nearly two years in the slammer, how will Michael Vick fit into the Philadelphia Eagles' offense, not to mention society? And perhaps most puzzling of all, Why, during these historically bad economic times, is the NFL sticking it to its fans?

Granted, the league would take issue with that characterization, but it is nonetheless how many football fans feel about the so-called blackout rule. In recent years, the policy that a game would not be broadcast in a team's local market if it did not sell out its stadium 72 hours prior to kickoff — which dates to 1973, when the league feared that TV broadcasts would stop people from buying tickets — affected just a handful of games. But in the wake of the nation's worst recession in decades, as many as a dozen of the NFL's 32 markets, including Arizona, Cincinnati, Detroit, Jacksonville, Minnesota and San Diego, are in danger of having their local telecasts blacked out. A Jacksonville Jaguars official says it's "very possible" that none of the team's eight home games will be broadcast in the hard-hit region (by comparison, only nine of the NFL's 256 regular-season games last year were blacked out). "My worry is that if the NFL doesn't look at changing the rule, we're losing a fan base," says Richard Clark, president of the Jacksonville City Council. "I would like to think they would really, really look at those communities which are hardest hit and have an honest discussion about it, as opposed to saying this is the way we've always done things."

Clark and other football fans shouldn't hold their breath. "No consideration is being given to changing the blackout policy," says NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy. "It has served us well for decades, and we think it would be a mistake to alter it." And as much as some local officials may be griping about it, teams aren't necessarily helping. Some teams that are facing the prospect of blackouts haven't even lowered their ticket prices to entice fans. In Jacksonville, for example, the average general-admission ticket costs $57.34, a 3.7% increase from 2008, according to Team Marketing Report. The average premium seat now costs $229.17, a 15% increase over the previous year. And local network affiliates aren't necessarily upset that they have to sometimes air a different game, since more competitive teams playing can actually translate to better ratings.

If any U.S. sports league has enough leverage to squeeze its passionate fans — the NFL even blocks satellite-TV signals so bars can't broadcast the game from out of town — it's this one. Despite the recession, from 2008 through 2011, the league will have received $11.6 billion from its network-television partners. Thus, it is keeping the blackout rule to maximize lucrative game-day revenues.

Still, the league hasn't been immune to the downturn: about 160 employees in the league office, for example, were either laid off or took buyouts over the past year. "When there are empty seats at NFL games, everything around the business of the NFL has been compromised," says David Carter, executive director of the Sports Business Institute at the University of Southern California, who says that crucial revenues to pay players, stadium bonds and private investors are at risk. Another reason for the rule is that the league believes a full house with screaming fans enhances the television-viewing experience. "If you're watching at home and you see a lot of empty seats, you're going to start wondering to yourself, What's wrong with me? Why am I watching this when people aren't showing up?" says Neal Pilson, founder of Pilson Communications, a consulting firm, and the former president of CBS Sports.

Video: For Sport Fans who Love Music - the Beatles Rockband [J. Mark English]

2009-09-09T20:26:00.004-04:00

Video: Pepsi "Refreshes" the NFL and MLB [J. Mark English]

2009-09-09T15:41:00.002-04:00

Happy 9/9/09! Courtesy of Kris Liakos of Walkoff Walk [J. Mark English]

2009-09-09T15:30:00.004-04:00

I always get a kick out of "meaningful" numbers like today's date. Friends of mine might made use of a muzzle in the year 1111. In anticipation of the date, November 11, 1111, I'd have kept telling everyone just how special the day would be! (I'm sure I am mixing my present and past tenses in that sentence...whatever). Twice in the same day it would be 11:11 on 11/11/1111. I'm sure people fascinated with binary codes would have appreciated a year like 1010 much more, but still, 1111 is something sure to have given the darker ages folks a real hoot.

I digress. Kris Liakos relates today's date to sports. Thank goodness. Kris writes for the blog Walkoff Walk:

Oh yeah. It's 9/9/09, a good day for people like me who like to cross their eyes when they look at stuff. There are other people like that, right? Anyway, last year on 8/8/08 I paid tribute to Yogi, Yaz and Bo. It was one of my favorite pieces and it came out well because I had genuine affection for all three players.

This year we'll be paying tribute to one guy I love (Williams) one semi-tragic hero I find endlessly interesting, and one guy whose shining moment eclipses the rest of his Hall Of Fame career. So here are those 3 guys, back to front.

Bill Mazeroski: Last year was Yaz, this year it's Maz. One of the most impressive defensive infielders of his era, the 2001 Hall Of Fame inductee made 7 All-Star Teams and won 6 Gold Gloves. In 2163 GP he collected 2016 hits and was always a tough strikeout.

But it was the 1960 postseason in which he made his name. He slugged .640 in 7 playoff games that year including his Walkoff Ding Dong in game 7 against the Yankees, the first and only until Joe Carter did it again in 1992. It was one of two championships for Maz, who also played on the 1971 championship team with Willie Stargell and Roberto Clemente.

Roger Maris: Maris is another guy, who for better or worse is known primarily for one thing, his 61 Home Runs in 1961. It was a monumental achievement forever tainted by the fact that we have to listen to Billy Crystal talk about it. Most people know the story. Maris and Mantle are neck and neck in the home race all through the summer. Everyone is rooting for Mantle until he gets hurt and the stress of the spotlight causes Maris' hair to turn into a flattop.

The years have made it seem like nobody appreciated what Maris that year since the whole country was full of Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle worshipers. Whatever the prevailing sentiment was at the time, Maris was still awarded the MVP, his second straight. It's hard to ignore 366 TB, no matter how you feel about a guy.

While he would never again reach those lofty heights, the rest of Maris' career, both in New York and St. Louis, was respectable. Although to me his subsequent home run dropoff screams STEROIDS. Look at those numbers! His head grew! Maris retired to Gainesville (bad) where he ran a beer distributorship (good) until he passed away in 1985.

Ted WIlliams: There is absolutely nothing I can say about Ted Williams that could contribute to the conversation about him in any meaningful way. Aside from Ruth, there has never been a more discussed and dissected ballplayer. Partly because, aside from Ruth, there was never a better hitter. But Williams' life and career, both in baseball and in the Service, has come to serve as a symbol of Wartime, Post-War, and then War-again America in the middle of last century. His status as "the real life John Wayne" is now repeated to the point of cliche but serves to help illustrate his legacy. When you investigated that era's phony heroes like Wayne you found out there wasn't much there. Frauds mostly. In a life of tough, and sometimes incorrect decisions Williams was never a fraud. But for me, more that anything, it's the numbers.

The numbers are insane. A career OPS of 1.116 fleshes out his 521 HRs, all while playing a total of 495 games from 1950 through 1955. Williams was only 32 in 1950, and had arguably his best season in 1949. To celebrate 9/9/09 today, do me a favor and just look at these stats. Compare them against Gehrig, DiMaggio, Felix Jose or whomever. Numbers transcending sentimentalism and sensationalism show us the real reason for a player's legacy, and it's no wonder that WIlliams' is still so large.

Melanie Oudin: Cinderella at the U.S. Open [J. Mark English]

2009-09-08T15:26:00.003-04:00

Katie Leslie with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution profiles the sudden rise of the young Melanie Oudin at the U.S. Open:

Surprise tennis phenom Melanie Oudin may not be ranked in the top 10, 20 or even 40, but she is the new darling of tennis.

The Marietta-based teen was ranked 70th when she hit the courts of the U.S. Open last week, but after beating No. 13 seed Nadia Petrova Monday, she secured a spot in the quarterfinals and in the spotlight.

She was featured Tuesday on “Good Morning America.” The New York Times did a spread on her underdog story and famed sportswriter Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News profiled her rise to tennis fame, noting the 17-year-old ran “through Russian opponents like this is some old James Bond movie.”

“Sometimes it can still happen like this in sports, something this pure and new, a kid like this making you watch out of nowhere,” Lupica marveled. “She is going to be the star of her sport after this whether she makes it to the semis or finals or not.”

Said CBS sportscaster Dick Enberg after her last victory: “A star is born. Don’t underestimate what this woman can do.”

Oudin told “Good Morning America” that she’s still getting used to her fresh fame.

“It’s pretty crazy. It takes some getting used to, everyone knowing who you are now and people wanting to get to know me,” she said. “My sister [twin Katherine] has been so supportive of me and they’re so happy that I’m doing well...”

And despite the attention, she still finds time to be a teen, she said. She enjoys shopping, watching movies and playing cards with her grandmother. Oudin also spends time with her boyfriend, 15-year-old tennis player Austin Smith, who adorned Oudin with the motto “Believe” now featured on her Adidas sneakers.

With untold numbers of new fans watching, the teen takes the court again Wednesday to battle 9th seed Caroline Wozniacki. Fans at her home club in Norcross, the Racquet Club of the South, will convene once again to cheer for their local star.

“Anything can happen,” Oudin told GMA. “There’s no stopping me now I think and I’m just going to keep playing the way I play, and fighting hard, and I think that’s the best you can do.”

Football Recruit Saves 22 Lives [J. Mark English]

2009-09-08T15:21:00.003-04:00

Logan Lowery of the Bulldog Blitz site brings this heartwarming story of a true football hero:

Tuesday morning began just like any other morning for football star Kaleb Eulls.

Eulls and his three younger sisters were among 22 passengers on a school bus bound for Yazoo County High School in western Mississippi until a 14-year old female student boarded the bus armed with a .380 semi-automatic handgun threatening to shoot and ordering the bus driver to pull over.

Eulls had fallen asleep at the back of the bus listening to his mp3 player and did not realize what was happening until one of his sisters woke him up.

"My sister that was in front of me woke up and told me that the girl had a gun," Eulls said. "She was pointing it back and forth at other people and the little kids that were sitting at the back. I just thought real quick and tried to grab her attention before she pointed the gun at anybody else. I wanted her to point it at me so she wouldn't point it at anybody else."

Eulls then opened up the emergency door located in the back and began evacuating as many students as he could from the rear of the bus while trying to reason with the armed female.

"I just tried to talk to her and calm her down," said the 6-foot-4, 255-pound Eulls. "She was just getting louder and louder. I guess for a quick second she looked out the window and when she did that I just sprung at her. I just knocked her down and got the gun away from her. When I got the gun I ran out the back door and disarmed it."

Eulls, who is a four-star defensive end that is verbally committed to play football at Mississippi State next year, was not concerned for his own well being at the moment. He selflessly did what he thought was the right thing to save the life of the others on board.

"I was just scared for the younger kids and my family that was on the bus," Eulls said. "I was just thinking things out step-by-step as quickly as I could. After we got to the school and watched the tape I just sat there thinking 'what in the world did I just do?' I just thought about what if this would have happened or if this would have happened? It was just crazy."

Eulls, already a hometown sports hero in the town of just over 1,300 about 30 miles north of Jackson, Miss., earned the respect of the local law enforcement.

"The (officers) who have been there for a long time told me that they have stared down many barrels before and always felt like it was a big cannon pointing at them," Eulls said. "It is one scary feeling."

Yazoo County Sheriff Tommy Vaughn was quoted in the Jackson, Miss., based The Clarion Ledger saying "If it hadn't been for this star football player, things could have been different. He didn't go overboard, but he did exactly what it took to get her on the ground.

Video: The Onion: NFL Stars Visit the Lions [J. Mark English]

2009-09-08T15:08:00.000-04:00

Video: Miami Downs Florida State, 38-34 (Best Game of the Year?) [J. Mark English]

2009-09-08T15:03:00.002-04:00

Senator Curt Schilling? [J. Mark English]

2009-09-04T15:30:00.002-04:00

Curt Schilling is stirring a storm on hi blog, 38 Pitches, discussing the possibility of a run for the now vacant seat of the deceased Senator Ted Kennedy:

While my family is obviously the priority, and 38 Studios is a priority, I do have some interest in the possibility. That being said, to get to there from where I am today, many many things would have to align themselves for that to truly happen. I am not going to comment further on the matter since at this point it would be speculation on top of speculation.

My hope is that whatever happens, and whomever it happens to, this state makes the decision and chooses the best person, regardless of sex, race, religion or political affiliation, to help get this state back to the place it deserves to be.

Labor Day Weekend Movie: The Spirit of the Marathon [J. Mark English]

2009-09-04T14:46:00.004-04:00

Top Ten with Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice [David Letterman]

2009-08-21T15:29:00.000-04:00

Plaxico Burress Pleads Guilty to Gun Possesion; Will Serve 2 Years Behind Bars [J. Mark English]

2009-08-20T15:19:00.003-04:00

This is from Laura Italiano and Clemente Lisi of the New York Post:

This time, he didn't catch a pass.

In a surprise move, former Giants superstar Plaxico Burress pleaded guilty today to attempted gun possession -- agreeing to a two-year prison term rather than face a guaranteed higher sentence if convicted at trial.

The time behind bars -- which will work out to 20 months with good behavior -- is his penance for accidently shooting himself in the thigh with his own Glock at a crowded Midtown nightclub last November.

The knucklehead wide-receiver will turn himself in at his Sept. 22 sentencing, exchanging his cleats for a pair of canvas loafers issued behind bars.

He'll miss the birth of his second child, who has yet to be born, although Burress is hoping not to miss his last golden years in the NFL.

He wore a resigned, hangdog expression as he took his plea, then strode wordlessly away from a crowd of press cameras to a waiting car.

"After an agonizing period of discussion, Plaxico decided he wanted to do this now in the hope that when he is released, he will be able to continue his stellar carreer," his lawyer, Ben Brafman, said after the surprise plea in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Burress famously caught the winning pass for the Giants against the New England Patriots in the 2008 Super Bowl.

He is hoping that any suspension under consideration by the NFL could be served concurrent to his sentence, Brafman said.

"If he stays healthy," Brafman said, "he has many years ahead of him."

Giants co-owner John Mara called the situation "a terrible tragedy."

"When I think about what he threw away just by making some poor choices," he said. "Hopefully it's a lesson for the rest of our players to learn."

Mara added, "The laws in New York are pretty strict for this type of offense and rightfully so."

Prosecutors' rock-bottom plea offer of two years prison expired today, said lead prosecutor John Wolfstaedter. And a mandatory three-and-a-half years minimum sentence loomed under tough state gun laws -- given the airtight weapons possession case against him.

"There was no way out," Brafman said.

Had Burress rolled the dice and gone to trial, the best he could have hoped for was a hung jury, the lawyer said.

Caster Semenya: Is She a He? [J. Mark English]

2009-08-20T15:08:00.002-04:00

Nothing like controversy in the sports world of running.

This is from Stewart Maclean of Mail Online:

A female runner accused of being a man tonight took gold in the 800m World Athletics Championship.

South African Caster Semenya, 18, had to take a gender test after doubts were raised about her sex.

But despite the furore, she easily took gold in the final in Berlin.

The teenage sensation has sparked controversy over her strikingly muscular physique.

Today officials at the world athletics body, the IAAF, revealed that it ordered her to take a gender test three weeks ago.

IAAF spokesman Nick Davies confirmed the tests were taking place, though he said the results would not be confirmed for several weeks.

Until the results are confirmed, there was nothing to prevent Semenya from competing in tonight's final, he said.

He added: 'At this moment in time we do not have any evidence to stop her running.'

South African athletics chiefs furiously denied the claims and stated Semenya was definitely female.

Molatelo Malehopo, general manager of Athletics South Africa, said: 'She is a female. We are completely sure about that and we wouldn't have entered her into the female competition if we had any doubts.

'We have not been absent-minded, we are very sure of her gender. We are aware of the claims that have been made but our aim at the moment is to prepare Caster for the race this evening.'

Semenya was ordered to take the test after raising suspicion during an incredible performance at a junior championship.

------------------

What do you think? See for yourself:

President Obama: NASCAR Can Aid Auto Industry [J. Mark English]

2009-08-20T13:09:00.003-04:00

Video: Brett Favre Explains Himself [J. Mark English]

2009-08-19T15:35:00.000-04:00

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=b48a4e6b-8e4a-424c-8f65-2d0642acfb78&from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_articles" target="_new" title="Favre makes it official">Video: Favre makes it official</a>

Photo: Brett Favre Dons a Viking Helmet [J. Mark English]

2009-08-18T19:58:00.002-04:00