Categories
Indianapolis Colts

Come and get you some Tony Dungy history



Who needs a four bedroom house when this
is gonna be your new crib?

Are you one of those losers who collect odd sports memorabilia? You know who we’re talking about; the type of person who combs eBay continuously looking for Barry Bonds’ used syringes, bloody gauze used on Steve Nash’s gashed nose or grass from the field where Joe Montana took his final snap. C’mon, be honest; we’re all friends here. This crap ain’t buying itself. Well, we just might have your newest worthless piece of memorabilia for you.

The boyhood home of Super Bowl winning coach Tony Dungy is now for sale in Jackson Michigan. Dungy’s sister is selling the four-bedroom home which sheltered Dungy until he left for college for the low, low price of $53,000, which is $6,000 below its value. Are you getting that checkbook out yet? No? Oh, you want more; you greedy little nerds and your collections of crap, always wanting a deal. Okay, well what if an autographed copy of “Quiet Strength” by Tony Dungy was thrown into the deal? Still not enough you say. All right; then how about a football autographed by your favorite Colts player?

Now, deal or no deal?

Links:

[WISHTV.com]: Colts Coach’s Childhood Home goes up for Sale

Categories
NHL General

If the NHL Finals were a TV show…


No no, don’t worry, this isn’t one of those really tedious blog posts that attempt to make some connection between, say, the lineup of the Ducks to the cast of Growing Pains or anything. But if the NHL Finals were a TV show, it’d be the equivalent of “Emily’s Reasons Why Not”, that Heather Graham sitcom that was canceled after one episode. The bottom line is that the ratings for the NHL are horrendous.

Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals got a 1.1 rating, down 31 percent from last year’s final. It was NBC’s lowest ever rating for a prime-time program. (Although it was tied for last all-time with a rerun of West Wing…) There were probably more bored housewives and stoners watching a Ron Popeil informercial than there were sports fans tuned into a pivotal game 3 of a major sport’s championship.

Despite Jes Golbez over at NHL Fanhouse’s assertion that hockey fans don’t need the NHL to be like any other league, it doesn’t mean that the NHL can get away with terrible ratings like these. Call it a herd mentality if you want but watching hockey is a little more fun if more than just one of your friends is actually watching it.

I like hockey. I want to watch the NHL Finals. I even get hockey on HD. It just takes away from the enjoyment if there isn’t a “wow! did you see that game?” factor. And I actually like talking about sports with real people in real situations as opposed to just logging onto some message board. So if the lack of marquee value makes me a bad hockey fan, then so be it. But that also means there are a lot less “bad hockey fans” and the next thing you know, you “real hockey fans” will be forced to watch the NHL Finals on OLN, which nobody seems to be able to find.

Links:
[SI]: Turned off

Categories
Cincinnati Bengals

Bengals doesn’t want any part of Odell Thurman’s mess


Some guys just can’t help themselves. Take a look at Odell Thurman — already suspended from the league for skipping a drug test and driving drunk, Odell has been accused of assaulting two men at a private residence. Two men claim that Odell Thurman assaulting them early Sunday (after partying till the wee hours of Saturday night) and that Odell’s brother Willie of threatening them with a gun.

No charges have been filed yet but the Bengals are already backtracking on Odell, essentially saying “he aint ours!”


Bengals spokesman Jack Brennan said Tuesday the team had no comment on the latest allegations.

“His situation is controlled by the league, he’s not officially on our roster,” Brennan said. “Since his possible reinstatement is in the league’s hands, we would defer any comment to the league.

Remember, Roger Goodell’s new personal conduct policy allows for teams to be disciplined for the transgressions of their players. Since the Bengals already have Chris Henry in the penalty box under the policy, they’re trying to avoid any more. This assault incident seems relatively minor and could just be a case of two guys targeting a professional football player but the Bengals want no part of any possible infraction. They are already emabrassed enough by Carson Palmer’s odd choices in endorsement deals.

Links:
[Fox Sports]: LB Thurman accused of kicking, hitting

Categories
Washington Redskins

All of the lies in sports are driving us crazy!!!



Will somebody please take the mic
away from Bootsy already.

What the hell is wrong with athletes and coaches today? Nobody seems to have a mental filter or a shred of meaningful contemplation anymore. There is an epidemic of stupid decisions sweeping across the sporting landscape as player after player are making boneheaded, spur of the moment statements that must later be recanted in a manner that can do nothing but further make a mockery of that athlete. Our latest victim: Clinton Portis.

A couple of weeks ago, this idiot tried to justify Michael Vick and his dog farm of death by saying that:

I don’t know if he was fighting dogs or not, but it’s his property, it’s his dog,” Portis told WAVY-TV. “If that’s what he wants to do, do it. I think people should mind their business.

Fast forward to Tuesday and Portis has this to say:

A couple of weeks ago, when I made those comments I didn’t understand the seriousness behind it,” Portis said. “I didn’t know it would affect that many people, and didn’t think what I said was that offensive. But after doing some research and seeing how serious people take this, I shouldn’t have made the comments. I’m going to just leave it alone and hopefully, it will die down and people will understand that. At that time I had no idea the love people have for animals, and I didn’t consider it when I made those comments.

You “had no idea the love people have for animals”?!?! Give us a break! Listen, instead of wasting our time with this bogus line of B.S., why don’t you just shut the hell up and think about what you’re about to say the next time a mic gets shoved in your face. And that goes for you too Michael Vick, Kobe Bryant and Billy Donovan. We’re getting sick of you idiots’ big mouths and your sporadic moods and judgments. You guys are wasting our precious blog reading time with your recanting of statements and patronizing apologies. This why a lot of people want their athletes to be seen and not heard, you can’t believe a word that’s coming out of their traps anymore.

Links:

[WashingtonPost.com]: Portis Recants Words About Dogfighting

Categories
Golf

Annika vs. Michelle: Let’s get it on!

Despite being a horrendous golfer, Michelle Wie continues to get the hype. But now she’s finally starting to face some harsh criticism as well. Especially after a suspicious wrist injury forced her to withdraw from the Ginn Tribute as she came perilously close to breaking 88; had she broke the magic number it would have prevented her from playing for the remainder of the year. Oh, but that wrist was good enough to smack some balls over the weekend at Bulle Rock.

So, it starts with the fibbing of an injury here and there and before you know it we’ve got the next Lindsay Lohan on our hands. But before we look too far into the future, we want to focus on the present because Annika Sorenstam just put a verbal smack down on the teenybopper.

I just feel that there’s a little bit of lack of respect and class just to leave a tournament like that and then come out and practice here,” said Sorenstam, who soldiered on for four days despite returning from a back and neck injury.

“It’s a little funny that you pull out with an injury and then you start grinding. My doctor told me to rest.

Ohhhh, burn! What you got to say about that Wie?

I’m going through a hard time,” she said. “It’s my first time facing an injury.”

Asked about Sorenstam’s criticism, Wie said nothing was said to her and she had nothing to say back.

“I don’t think I need to apologize for anything,” she said. “I just have to take care of my body and move forward and only think of positive things.

You know what this means, right? Cat fight!!!!!!!!

Links:

[MSNBC.com]: Wie, no longer prodigy, faces harsh criticism
[Golf World]: Tension Convention

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: The Magic Kingdom is getting kinda depressing


1. Doesn’t anyone wanna coach Dwight Howard?
The poor Orlando Magic just can’t seem to find anyone to roam the sidelines for the club. Of course, Billy Donovan left them standing at the alter and made a total fool of himself in the process and now it looks like they might get another shaft from their second selection. Stan Van Gundy has reportedly been offered the head coaching gig but due to contractual obligations with the Heat as a consultant, he might not be able to accept the offer. The Magic might be forced to give up draft picks to Miami as compensation should the Heat release SVG. But even if Van Gundy gets released there is no guarantee he wants to go to the Magic Kingdom; he’s already been on two interviews with the Kings. It’s all gonna come down to the dolla’ dolla’ bills ya’ll but if the ball was in our court, there would be no way we could pass up that boatload of talent down in sunny Florida like Billy the Kid did.

2. Hottest tickets in town

Fans in Cleveland are going absolutely bonkers over their Cavaliers right now, and with good reason; after all, LeBron James has been playing like a man possessed by legends of NBA past as he delivered his squad to the promised land for the first time in franchise history. So, you can understand why fans are willing to do and pay anything for tickets to Game 3 against the Spurs. Some tickets to the game/big ass party are going for a whopping $14,999! Now that’s some serious team spirit. We can’t wait to see how the local radio stations decide to completely humiliate the faithful followers with whacky promotional contests for a pair of seasts but it should be pretty hilarious. We’ll keep you posted. But don’t think for a second that the emotion of making their fourth finals appearance doesn’t have San Antonio in a tizzy. The Spurs front office has spirit and to show it they’ll be giving away 18,797 white “Go Spurs Go” T-shirts to fans at Game 1. Not bad, huh?

3. Rasheed Wallace would eat New York alive
With the Pistons eliminated from the postseason, the rumor mill is working overtime in Detroit and most of the speculation is focused on a specific hot headed power forward sporting a stylish gray spot. And most of that speculation has Rasheed Wallace landing in New York by the time the season tips-off anew in November. Could be a good fit for New York, they have certainly seen their share of bad boys coming rolling through the Garden, but does Isiah Thomas really want that kind of a headache? This is a guy who can self destruct at the drop of a hat and proved it by flying off the handle in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals and not only getting himself ejected from the game but suspended for any possible Game 7 when he threw a typical Sheed tantrum. And he’s probably had more significant structure surrounding him there than he ever has in his career. What Knick is gonna be able to keep Wallace in check? This could take us all the way back to 50-techs-a-season Sheed from his Jailblazer days.

Buzzer Beater: If you’re not quite in finals mode yet then maybe a little trash talking can get you revved up. Bruce Bowen was recently asked about the next big thing, a.k.a. LBJ, and he really didn’t seem too impressed with the challenge. “The No. 1 assignment in the league?” Bowen repeated back when asked about guarding James. “That’s your opinion, that’s your opinion. … There’s a lot of other scorers in this league, too.” And when he was asked about the sensation Game 5 performance against the Pistons, Bowen again hinted that James might not be all he’s cracked up to be. “I think Michael Jordan‘s 60-something points in Boston was incredible. Now do I think it got this much media coverage? No. Did it deserve it? You could say it did,” Bowen said. “Magic Johnson, his rookie year in the NBA, the show he put on in Philly. That is huge. But it goes to show you that if you’re not playing anymore, it’s, ‘OK, well, we’re looking for the next best thing.'” We know that Bruce is probably just playing head games with the kid but we’re guessing that he’ll be singing a completely different tune after this series is over; win or lose.

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Pitching rules the day


1. Duel for the Division: The NL West division lead was at stake when the Dodgers and Padres faced off on Tuesday. The game turned into a pitcher’s duel as Chris Young and Jason Schmidt combined for 13 scoreless innings and four hits allowed. Young has now allowed just five earned runs in his last 47 innings. The first and only run of this contest came in the eighth, when pinch-hitter Russell Branyan of the Padres was hit by a pitch, stole second, and scored on a Marcus Giles single. San Diego’s win sent them a half-game above the Dodgers, though Arizona is still tied with them atop the division. Schmidt’s start for Los Angeles was his first in almost two months, and he came back better than ever.

2. Defense beats Offense: A good pitching staff usually gets the better of a good lineup, as the A’s-Red Sox series has proved once again. For the two nights in a row, Oakland won thanks to fantastic starts by Dan Haren and Lenny DiNardo. DiNardo, who was cut by the Red Sox last year and recently moved from the bullpen, shut out the Red Sox through six innings on Tuesday. He walked six batters, but only gave up two hits in Oakland’s 2-0 win. The A’s now have a capable array of barely-known starters in Haren, DiNardo, Chad Gaudin, Joe Kennedy, and Joe Blanton. Their 3.28 staff ERA is second in the majors only to San Diego’s ridiculous 2.89 mark. For the Red Sox, Dice-K lost despite allowing two runs on seven innings and 129 pitches.

3. Home Field Advantage: Two of the majors’ best teams are fueled by absolute dominance at home. The Indians and Angels have by far the two best home records in the majors, at 20-6 and 24-8 respectively. Both won on Tuesday at home behind complete game performances from their aces. The Indians couldn’t get much offense against the Royals, but they won 1-0 thanks to CC Sabathia‘s shutout. Sabathia improved to 9-1, joining John Lackey as the only pitchers with nine wins this year. The Angels beat the Twins again, this time 5-1, after Kelvim Escobar’s second complete game this year. Escobar has been a breakout star for the Angels, with a 7-3 record and 2.76 ERA. Both of these teams lead their divisions, the Indians by 3.5 games over Detroit and the Angels by 5.5 over Seattle.

Player of the Day: Chase Utley, Phillies: 3-4, HR (11), 3 RBIs in a 4-2 win over the Mets. Utley hit a go-ahead homerun in the 11th as the Phils improved to .500.

Categories
General Sports

Odds and Ends: Amanda Beard Playboy cover


The fine folks at Playboy were nice enough to send us this pic of Amanda Beard’s Playboy cover. The cover is standard stuff, nothing too provocative or over the top but you can still see that killer body, even with a strategically placed forearm over the goodies. The blogosphere is going to be exploding with the actual scans of her nude shots soon but we’ll probably just point you in the right direction instead of posting them.

Anyway, if you’re in the NYC area next week, Amanda Beard will be signing her July issue from noon to 2:00 at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square. We’ll try to get some candid shots from that event as well.

In other news…

[Rocky Mountain News]: The Braves manager who went apeshit got himself a 3 game suspension.

[CNBC]: Nike re-signs Kobe to a multi-year extension

[Cincinnati.com]: Sheffield’s words just plain racist

[SBS]: Why the UFL will fail

[Larry Brown Sports]: Hmmm… the London Olympics logo does look like two people having sex

[Randball]: How would a riot caused by 10-cent-beer night in 1974 be covered today?

And finally, we really can’t make heads or tails of this post but you can’t deny the sheer entertainment value of two blogs titled “Arcade Fire Stole my Basketball” and “Arcade Fire Didn’t Steal Dude’s Basketball“.

Categories
NHL General

2007 Stanley Cup Finals Game 4 Recap


Ducks 3, Senators 2
The central issue of this game going into it was the Chris Pronger suspension. For the second time this postseason, though, the Ducks won a game without their defensive leader. They now lead the series 3-1, with Game 5 slated for Wednesday night on the Pond (that’s Anaheim, although it’s really called “The Honda Center” now – damn corporate sponsorship).

It’d be easy to discuss the ramifications of the Pronger suspension, but the fact is: it didn’t matter. When you’ve got Jiggy between the pipes, I don’t care if you’ve got two acne-riddled teenagers who weigh 100 pounds soaking wet in front of him. If he’s in the zone, ain’t nothing gonna light the light.

It would also be easy to discuss Dustin Penner, who scored what ultimately proved to be the game-winner, but again, that’s just too easy.

The true story of this game was Andy McDonald. McDonald is the Ducks center, and he’s entirely too small to be playing that role in any type of competitive playoff series. If this dude was staring down Scott Stevens, Stevens might just start cackling. But there he was last night (McDonald, not Stevens – I need to work on my modifiers), deking and out-thinking cockroach-eating Ray Emery en route to two goals in the 2nd period. Once you give Giguere that kind of support, you’re winning the game. McDonald might be the Ducks’ Daniel Gibson for these playoffs, which is to say Dustin Penner might be Daniel Gibson, Giguere might be LeBron, Chris Pronger might be Z, and McDonald might be Larry Hughes. Heck, I’m just trying to make it relevant to a broader audience.

[Ted Bauer will be covering the NHL playoffs for us this year. You can find more of Ted’s work at A Price Above Bip Roberts.]

Categories
All Other Sports

Former Rugby player punches man for calling him a poof

Proving once again that women might be the bane of every man’s existence, a former Australian rugby player was put on two years probation after punching a man for calling him a poof. Meli Allen was wearing a purple cashmere sweater because his girlfriend had bought it for him and he didn’t want to offend her.

Allen claimed that he punched Ryan Phillpot last November because one of his friends said, “You poof, you f$@king fag,” to Allen. When Allen approached them, they continued to insult them so he punched one of them in the nose.

The beauty of this news item is that it gives us the opportunity to post one of our favorite segments from Arrested Development, the greatest short-lived show on television.

[News.com.au]: Ex-footy player punched man over jumper