Categories
Portland Trailblazers

Greg Oden wants to show you his current pad

So, have you ever wondered what it’s like to be an NBA superstar in the waiting? If you’re pretending to be Greg Oden, it’s probably not what you’d expect. Surely you’ve heard about LeBron James’ multimillion dollar mansion that is currently in the works; well, this is just a couple steps down from that. But, hey, everyone has to start somewhere and we’re guessing that it won’t be long until Oden breaks ground on his very own humble abode that will have LeBron and the rest of the world saying, “Daaaaamn!” Until then, it looks like he’s going to be eating Cookie Crisp and watermelon in this cramped little apartment.

Thanks for sharing, Greg!

Links:

[The Big Lead]: Greg Oden, Cribs (Well, His Mom’s Apartment, Anyway)

Categories
All Other Sports

Eddie Sutton and OSU get slapped with lawsuits over drunken accident


We know that there are a lot of people out there who will jump all over any opportunity that presents itself in order to make a quick buck. That’s why we’re reserving judgment on whether Skip To My Lou spits or swallows. But sometimes you can just tell when someone is trying to abuse the system and cash in a virtual lottery ticket by taking a celebrity to court. Like when somebody waits 18 months after the fact to file a lawsuit.

A woman who was involved in car crash with a sloshed Eddie Sutton last February is now suing both Sutton and Oklahoma State University on the grounds that Sutton was negligent for getting behind the wheel and turning the key and that OSU was negligent because they allowed him to get behind the wheel and turn the key. Now, Sutton was absolutely out of line as he got popped with a .22 blood alcohol level which, for all you lightweights out there, is close to three times the legal limit which is pretty impressive for an old dude. So, while she’s a bit slow on getting around to taking him to court, we’ll let is slide and see what the judge has to say, but we have no clue how this broad expects to tag the university with responsibility for the wreck. If you can sue employers for employees’ behavior outside the work environment then Pacman Jones’ exploits would have put the Tennessee Titans out of business long ago.

And speaking of Pacman, don’t forget to tune into TNA tonight for the pro wrasslin’ debut of The Rainmaker.

Links:

[KOTV.com]: Lawsuit Filed Against Eddie Sutton And OSU Over Crash

Categories
Boston Celtics

Is it already Miller Time again ?


Apparently pulling down Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in one off-season just isn’t enough for the Boston Celtics and now they are attempting to coax the greatest 3-point shooter in league history out of retirement. Celtics GM Danny Ainge has been talking to Reggie Miller about joining the All-Star squad for a run at the franchise’s first championship since some guy named Larry Bird was suiting up.

It looks like Ainge is going to follow in the footsteps of the late 90s/early 2000s Portland Trailblazers who tried to simply stack as much talent as possible onto that roster. It almost worked for the Blazers but an incredible Game 7, furious fourth quarter comeback by the Lakers in the West Finals was capped off by a Kobe Bryant to Shaquille O’Neal alley-oop and the rest is history. The opportunity to play another season and possibly go to his second NBA Finals has to be tempting for Miller, but, then again, only working one day a week while pulling down some excellent TV money is a pretty sweet gig in itself.

And before anyone starts saying that Miller has to come back because it will be his best chance at a title, don’t forget that Mark Cuban tried to recruit Miller to the Mavericks and he turned them down. Now, we all know about the horrible collapses by Dallas in the past couple of postseasons, but Miller would have been on an extremely competitive team who is always at the top of the list for possible title contenders. That’s something that Boston can’t be labeled as…yet. Anyways, we gotta figure that Miller is flattered, but he’s probably going to pass on the offer. After all, would you give up a chance to hang out with the Chuckster every week in exchange for running your 42-year-old body into the ground? And if he does say no, Ainge could always ask Reggie’s big sis to lace `em up.

Links:

[KCCI.com]: Celtics Shoot At Acquiring Reggie Miller

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Dodgers down for the count


1. The Dodgers’ Downfall: Not too long ago the division leaders, the slumping Dodgers now find themselves in fourth place. They were passed by the Rockies on Wednesday as they lost their sixth straight game. They were shut out 1-0 by the Reds, their third shutout loss in a row and fourth in the last five games. Aaron Harang shut down the Dodgers with eight scoreless innings and eight strikeouts. Los Angeles, now 58-55, is five games back in the division but falling fast. They are 1-9 their last ten games, while the top three teams in the division have winning records their last ten. The Dodgers’ problem is clear: hitting. They have a team .211 batting average during the losing streak, while their team ERA is an excellent 3.29. It’s clear now they should have made a trade for a slugger at the trading deadline. If they cannot start hitting, they could fall completely out of the playoff picture.

2. Battle of the Best: The Angels won the first two games of their three-game set against the Red Sox. In the third, the Red Sox won 9-6 despite poor starting pitching. Jon Lester allowed five runs in three-plus innings, his worst outing of the year so far. However, the Angels’ Dustin Moseley fared even worse, with six runs and ten hits in almost five innings. Mike Lowell led the offensive charge for the Red Sox, with a 4-4 performance that included three doubles and two RBIs. Dustin Pedroia had three hits, three runs and his third homer of the season. The Red Sox are now one away from becoming the first major league team to reach 70 wins. They gained another game on the Yankees, and the division lead is now six games.

3. Bullpen Woes: Once again, the Braves built up a lead only to have it blown by their bullpen. They are starting to resemble last year’s team in this respect. Atlanta led the Mets 3-1 entering the 7th inning, but then John Smoltz allowed two runs off a Luis Castillo single. In the eighth, the recently shaky Rafael Soriano came in, allowed a solo homer to Moises Alou, and the Mets won 4-3. For Soriano, it was his sixth time in his last thirteen appearances that he allowed a run. Five of those games resulted in losses. Closer Bob Wickman has blown five saves, all on the road. If the Braves’ best relievers can’t get going, they will have no shot at making the playoffs, no matter how good their offense is.

Player of the Day: Garrett Atkins, Rockies: 4-4, 6 RBIs in a 19-4 win over the Brewers. Atkins’ career-high RBI total came as part of a 23-hit parade by the Rockies.

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Barry Bonds and some milestone or something


He did it. After all the speculation, all the debate, all the waiting, Barry Bonds has finally broken the all-time homerun record. The most important number in sports, 755, fell late Tuesday night. Nationals pitcher Mike Bacsik fired a fastball over the middle on a 3-2 count in the fifth inning, and the pitch turned into history as Bonds slammed it over the centerfield wall. The homerun was the 22nd of the year for Barry, and 756th of his career. Hank Aaron’s record, which some thought would stand forever, has now been surpassed, and it will be again in the not-too-distant future.

What Bonds has done, regardless of how he got there, is truly extraordinary. As Aaron himself said in a pre-taped speech aired after Bonds’ homer, this accomplishment required “skill, longevity, and determination,” all of which Bonds had. People of course will try to disparage his record based on steroid use. He are some facts to counter those arguments: from 1990-1998, Bonds averaged 36 homers per season. If you extend that pace through this season, he would have 738 career homers. Also, he had three 40-homerun seasons before the steroids came into play. He might have broken the record regardless of cheating. Here’s another argument: Bonds wasn’t the only one who cheated, yet he ranks much higher than the others suspected. Steroids did not give Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, etc. the longevity that Bonds has shown. They all fall well short of 756.

And even if you still hate Bonds, think this record is bad for baseball, and think he should be stripped of the record, remember this: Alex Rodriguez will break this record. That’s if he decides to continue playing eight more seasons, and averages about 30 homers per year. If not, Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard, or maybe a player that hasn’t even come into the league yet will give Bonds a run for his money. Right now, Bonds should be appreciated for his accomplishments, with the questioning left for a later date. He is an amazing player regardless, and will (or at least should) be a Hall of Fame lock. Oh by the way, the Nationals beat the Giants, 8-6.

Categories
Soccer

Soccer team gets popped by undercover cop for soliciting prostitution


Soccer players are no different than the rest of us…actually, they are because most people can resist the urge to pick up a skanky hooker on the street corner. After all, she is a skanky hooker on the street corner! Unfortunately for the Half Moon Bay soccer team, eight of their players had no such self control when recently visiting Springfield, Oregon for a tournament.

Apparently, there was a ho that they just couldn’t take their eyes off and when they approached her, it turned out that the prostitute was actually an undercover cop. D-oh!

It is a shame that we have this many people coming down, looking for love in all the wrong places,” Springfield police Sgt. Rich Charboneau said. “We’re going to continue doing these (stings) until our numbers are down.

While we would like to focus all the humiliation onto the soccer dudes, we’ve gotta admit that lots of other people got busted for the same thing in the same sting over the weekend. In addition to the eight players, 20 others were arrested for misdemeanor prostitution solicitation charges with the youngest being 19 and the oldest being a wrinkly 75.

We’re not surprised by the behavior of these guys at all and, in fact, we’re a little relieved. After all, it’s a helluva lot more normal than how this futboler decides to get his kinky kicks.

Links:

[CBS5.com]: Half Moon Bay Soccer Team Nabbed For Prostitution

Categories
Seattle Mariners

The Mariner Moose gets off Scot free

Just to show you how unique and individual the world of sports is, not only are you allowed to punch people repeatedly in boxing, crush their bodies in football and deliver some vicious hits in hockey, but apparently you can now dress up like a jackass and virtually run over a professional baseball player and receive absolutely no penalty! At least, the Mariner Moose got off the hook after his little stunt on an ATV went wrong and almost put Red Sox outfielder Coco Crisp on the shelf. But, hey, no harm, no foul, right?

The Mariners are very sorry about this unfortunate incident. We apologized Sunday to both Coco Crisp and the Red Sox, and they were very gracious about accepting our apology,” Tim Hevly, the team’s director of baseball information, said Tuesday night.

“There will be no punishment for the Moose,” Hevly said.

In case you haven’t seen the attempted crippling accident, here’s the whacky footage:

Never really gotten hit by a moving vehicle before. That was the most athletic thing I did all day,” Crisp said after the game. “It was an accident. I mean, I’m not going to run over and clothesline the guy.

Damn, Coco, we really wish you would have. Of course, if the shoe was on the other foot and the mascot got `accidentally assaulted’ then you’d be dealing with a money hungry Moose and a lawsuit. And nobody wants that.

Links:

[KOMOTV.com]: Mariner Moose escapes punishment for Sunday mishap

Categories
Olympics

NBC blows their load on the Olympics


We’re exactly one year away from the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and hopefully you can’t wait because in 365 days NBC is going to absolutely bombard you with coverage. How does 3,600 hours in two weeks sound to you? That’s more U.S. air time than all the previous Summer Games received combined!

Most of the coverage will be on the internet (2,200 hours to be exact), but the Olympics will be available for your television viewing pleasure almost anywhere you decide to click: NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC and even Telemundo. And despite the half-a-day time difference between the States and China, NBC will still show events like swimming, gymnastics and beach volleyball live.

We’re thrilled about the upcoming games! Hell, once the Olympics roll around, we even get excited about ping pong. Our only hope is that someone put an end to that ridiculous idea of skateboarding becoming an event. Sorry, but we just can’t stomach anymore of the Flying Tomato.

Links:

[AZCentral.com]: NBC eyes 3,600 hours of Olympic coverage

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: WIld Card race is starting to matter


1. It’s Getting Wilder: Finally we have reached that point of the season where the wild card standings are starting to take shape. Right now, both leagues have wide-open chases, with the American League wild card being the closest. Three teams–the Tigers, Yankees, and Mariners–are separated by just one game. The Tigers ended their losing streak on Monday with a 6-4 win over the Devil Rays. The Yankees kept the heat on Detroit, remaining a half-game back with their fourth straight win. The Tigers are also within a half-game of division leader Cleveland, which means the Yankees might have to deal with the Indians in the wild card chase eventually. In the National League, an incredible six teams are separated by three games. San Diego is leading right now, with Atlanta a close second. The Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies, and even the Rockies all are close as well. While last year’s wild card races weren’t very close in September, this year they should go right down to the finish.

2. The Cubs’ Bad Day: It was a bad day for Chicago baseball fans. First, Alfonso Soriano was put on the disabled list due to a tear in his quad. He is expected to miss almost a month of action because of the injury, which occurred while Soriano was running the bases in Sunday’s game against the Mets. To make things worse, the Cubs lost in extra innings to the pitiful Astros. One of Rich Hill’s better starts was ruined as backup catcher Eric Munson hit a game-winning single in the tenth. Houston closer Brad Lidge came off two poor outings to get the win, and starter Wandy Rodriguez continued his up-and-down season with a great effort. The Cubs are still only a game back of the Brewers for the division lead. However, the Cubs aren’t playing nearly as well as they were a couple weeks ago, and now they have lost one of their best offensive players for a while.

3. Who’s #1?: The best two teams in baseball, the Red Sox and the Angels, are playing a series in Anaheim this week. The Angels took the first game, 4-2, after Jered Weaver outpitched Curt Schilling. In Schilling’s return from the DL, he allowed four runs in six innings to raise his ERA to 4.31. Weaver, coming off two outings of six runs allowed, just gave up two as his ERA dipped back to 3.94. The Red Sox and Angels, with 68 and 65 wins respectively, are far and away the best two teams in the majors. They will meet in a couple of weeks for a four-game series at Boston, and there could also be a rematch in the playoffs.

Player of the Day: Paul Byrd, Indians: 9 innings, 4 hits, 0 runs in a 4-0 win over Minnesota. The 10-4 Byrd has the fewest walks among all MLB starters with just 16 in 135 innings this year.

Categories
Anaheim Angels

Big league stadium food just got more disgusting


Angels Stadium is being overrun by rats! That’s right, county health officials have handed out 118 vermin violations over the past two and a half years! In fact, just days ago the stadium failed health inspections as it was discovered that a kitchen was full of coach roaches and a concession stand had a problem with rats.

We realize we have an issue at Angel Stadium,” said Richard Sanchez, the agency’s director of environmental health. “We’re stepping up enforcement.

But by the sounds of things, they stadium’s operators really only have themselves to blame for the nasty infestation. These morons don’t bother cleaning the stadium after a night game until the next freakin’ morning! That means that garbage just sits in the stands, kiosks and kitchens from 10 o’clock at night until 6:00 a.m. and that’s on a good day. Many times the trash doesn’t get picked up for more than 12 hours; talk about a completely unnecessary and disgusting public health risk.

When asked why the stadium isn’t cleaned immediately following games, the vice president of communications for the Angels responded with, “That’s a great question and that’s something I can’t answer.” So, considering that they have been completely blind and ignorant to this issue for the last couple of years, we’re going to assume that “stepping up enforcement” is really code for “we’ll try not to serve our customers actual fried rats.” Regardless, we’re going to be smuggling our peanuts and Cracker Jacks into the game from now on.

Links:

[CBS2.com]: Oh, Rats! Rodents Found In Angel Stadium
[OCRegister.com]: Rat infestation at stadium