Categories
Washington Wizards

Odds and Ends: Hey, is that Caron Butler at your birthday party?


From DC Sports Bog comes a story of how Caron Butler had nothing better to do so he showed up at some kid’s suprise birthday party.


[Caron] said everyone in the community has been “real courteous and very kind” to him, and that local fans have supported him since he’s been here, and that he just thought he should reciprocate.

“I thought it was a good thing to do, to make someone’s dream come true. It was just as rewarding for me as it was for him.

In other news…

[NBA.com]: Villanova star Howard Proter dies at 58

[Star Bulletin]: Listen, if your last name is Kim, please don’t name your daughter Kim. Kim Kim is a stupid name.

[Star Telegram]: Keyshawn says Tony Romo is the most overhyped player in the NFL

[Sportsline]: Utah fans show some real class by throwing stuff on the court

[Dallas News]: Dirk for Kobe?

[Sac Bee]: Can the Raiders and Niners share new stadium?

[10,000 Takes]: Contextual advertising isn’t all its cracked up to be

[Our Book of Scrap]: Who the hell would want to buy a used cigarette from Jack Lambert?

Categories
Soccer

Soccer guy doubles as on-field security

We don’t know much about soccer. The extent of our knowledge basically involves that we know the sport is called football everywhere else in the world. But we do know what we like and we like when athletes throw the smack down on fans who take to the field; even when those athletes are soccer players. So, here’s a clip of some soccer guy delivering a flying knee that would make James Irvin proud to an idiot fan as he runs around like a chicken with its head chopped off.

If you’re interested in actual names and teams then you should go visit our friends at The Offside. We’re just into “football” for the side dishes of violence, not the athletic competition.

Links:

[The Offside]: A Flying Dropkick is one way to Stop a Pitch Invasion

Categories
All Other Sports

Catching a wheel of cheese is tougher than it sounds

Of all the ridiculous things that happened over this Memorial Day weekend, the Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake was perhaps the weirdest. The tradition of racing down a hill after a Double Gloucester cheese seems to date back as far as 200 years ago. While nobody ever catches up to the cheese, the person who crosses the finish line first… gets the cheese.

Of course, the whole purposes of the event is not to win the cheese but to watch a bunch of people falling down a hill. The event attracted about 3,000 people, mostly spectators, but dozens still ran/rolled down after the cheese.

Links:

[BBC]: Cheese-rolling race winners’ joy

Categories
All Other Sports

Stokkemania has officially arrived!



Hey, you stalkers! Don’t screw this up
for the rest of us!

Because of their super-duper hot daughter, Allison, the Stokke family is getting a taste of what it’s like to be a celebrity. And frankly, they say it tastes like crap.

Thanks to creepy bloggers from all over the world, ourselves included, the high school pole vaulter has, well, vaulted up the charts in search engines and become one of the most talked about subjects in the blogosphere. In fact, she has blown up to Washington Post status as the news juggernaut published an article on the 18-year-old’s new found fame. In addition to school work and track endeavors, Stokke must now put up with paparazzi, bikini photo request, potential stalkers, nasty blogs and fake Facebook profiles.

Even if none of it is illegal, it just all feels really demeaning,” Allison Stokke said. “I worked so hard for pole vaulting and all this other stuff, and it’s almost like that doesn’t matter. Nobody sees that. Nobody really sees me.

Hey, we can totally understand how hard this has to be for a young girl. Suddenly being thrust into a world where you are being objectified by millions for no other reason than simply walking the earth. It really isn’t fair…but, she better get use to it. The snowball has already begun rolling and now it’s just going to continue growing until the public gets their fill of Stokke. Which will probably be around age 50! But who knows, maybe she is just an overnight sensation who will disappear as quickly as she showed up; doubtful but possible.

In the end, as long as nobody gets carried away and does anything against the law, this is simply a case of boys being boys. Her own mother even said so:

All of it is like locker room talk,” said Cindy Stokke, Allison’s mom. “This kind of stuff has been going on for years. But now, locker room talk is just out there in the public. And all of us can read it, even her mother.

We’re just hoping that Allison can adapt to her sudden and uncomfortable celebrity without too much stress and that her “fans” can distinguish between right and wrong as they admire their teenage heartthrob.

Links:

[WashingtonPost.com]: Teen Tests Internet’s Lewd Track Record

Categories
All Other Sports

Korea’s former HR king shows his appreciation by dropping his pants for fans


If you thought that the Red Sox players who wore stained socks recently to tribute their star pitcher Curt Schilling were acting stupid, just wait until you get a load of what Lee Man-soo has done.

Man-soo is the former homerun champ in Korea and recently guaranteed that he would run around Manhak Stadium in his boxers if the home team could manage to sell out a game. On Saturday, Man-soo, aka “Hulk”, made good on his promise and humiliated himself in front of 30,400 spectators.

In one of the most unusual moments in Korean baseball history, Lee, 49, now a coach for the first-place SK Wyverns, stepped out of the dugout after the fifth inning _ stripped down to his under-shorts attached with fake buttocks, socks and cleats _ and jogged toward the outfield followed by 20 members of the team’s official fan club.

The bizarre parade continued for about four minutes, with Lee slowly circling the stadium waving his hands to the deafening applause and laughter from the sellout crowd. His face hinted at a mixed sense of amusement and embarrassment.

We’re hoping that this kind of enthusiasm will rub off on the big league bores we have here in the States. Who knows, maybe this will inspire Barry Bonds to strip naked while running the bases after hitting that record breaking long ball. Call us crazy, but we think that Bud Selig and Hank Aaron just might show up for that.

Links:

[OttawaCitizen.com]: Koreans flock to see baseball’s `Hulk’ fill out underpants
[The Korea Times]: Ex-Homer Champ Runs Around in Shorts

Categories
NHL General

2007 Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 Review


Ducks 3, Senators 2
In many respects, the key to the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals is probably going to be Anaheim’s checking line. See, if and when they match up with Ottawa’s first line – easily the best line in this entire series, with no disrespect to Anaheim intended – they need to hold their own against the Alfredsson, Heatley, Spezza dynamic, because those boys can go off at any time.

It was interesting, then, that Anaheim’s checking line did play a key role in Game 1, but not – ahem – for checking. Rather, Travis Moen of that line scored the game-winner to help the Ducks hold home-ice advantage after a hot Senators start (they scored maybe 1 minute into the game, immediately followed by a Versus interview of Cuba Gooding Jr in the stands, a guy who knows way more about hockey than you might assume).

Moen’s Wikipedia page makes a big deal for no apparent reason (read: the editor is from Calgary) over the fact that he was drafted by the Flames, but never played for them. The Flames can’t be happy. Maybe if they had Moen in ’04, they woulda been able to win one of those close games in the Finals against the Lightning, and the Red Mile would still be celebrating.

For now, though, “Quack Attack” or whatever the bars in Anaheim call themselves when people get sloppy and celebrate the Ducks, is rolling. Game 2 could be more of the same: if Giguere stays his sharp self, Pronger and Niedermayer get even more uncorked and just go around nailing people, and Ray Emery has a couple of mental mis-steps on the Canadian side, well… it could be 2-0 series wise pretty quickly. The last time a team from north of Michigan hoisted the Lord’s goblet was 1992 and the Montreal Canadiens. C’mon, Ottawa. Get after this. (Also, since the NBA playoffs have been yawn-inducing, we need this puppy to go 7, and then 3OT).

[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
Atlanta Falcons

Michael Vick dog fighting update


Things are not looking up after the memorial day weekend for Michael Vick. ESPN’s Outside the Lines found an informant that basically put Vick as the big whale of dog fighting. Now, we must remind you that informants often lie for their own reasons and that ESPN sucks, but nevertheless, here’s what the source had to say about Michael Vick’s involvement in the dog fighting community:


He’s a pit bull fighter. He’s one of the ones that they call ‘the big boys’: that’s who bets a large dollar. And they have the money to bet large money. As I’m talking about large money — $30,000 to $40,000 — even higher. He’s one of the heavyweights.

The source went on to tell the story of how one of his dogs faced off with one of Vick’s dogs while Vick was in attendance and betting a ton of money on his own dog. Now, as we said earlier, we always question these ‘sit behind a screen with a disguised voice’ types but this guy is completely twisted and might want to out Vick because he thinks it’ll actually help make dog fighting more mainstream.


They shouldn’t be really upset, OK? Because it’s only just an animal. It’s just a dog that is raised up. He’s put out there, you know, and he’s chained up, OK. And the time he gets a certain age, this dog is going to want to fight. It is bred in him, OK? He knows what he is and he’s going to fight. Just take him off the leash, let him go.

Is there anyone with a sense of justice that doesn’t think this guy should be set loose in a cage full of angry dogs? Or perhaps get ferret legged? We’ll keep you updated on this story but it looks more and more like Michael Vick will disgrace himself and the league. The question is, is Vick enough of a star so that the league covers up this scandal?

Oh by the way, ESPN wants to relay their absolute horror regarding dog fighting by posting a video of dog fighting. Of course.

Links:

[ESPN]: Source: Vick ‘one of the heavyweights’ in dog fighting

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: It could be a while before b-ball returns to Utah


1. SA is headed home with a big lead
After getting pounded in the second half of Game 3, San Antonio dropped their first game of the West finals and it was beginning to look like Utah had decided to make a series out of it. But after a fourth quarter surge in Game 4 the Spurs are once again in complete control (3-1) of the conference finals thanks to a 91-79 victory in Salt Lake City. Some questionable calls reared their ugly heads once again around the Spurs during the closing moments of a very physical contest as Derek Fisher picked up a pair of techs to get tossed and joined coach Jerry Sloan in the locker room early. Manu Ginobili had 22 points and three steals, to go along with several key flops in the Spurs first ever playoff win in Utah. Deron Williams (27 points, 10 assists) continues to shine as Mehmet Okur (7 points) continues to struggle offensively with a trip to the finals on the line. The Jazz definitely let a golden opportunity slip through their hands because they are now forced to win Game 5 on Wednesday in a city where they have gone winless since 1999 (0-18).

2. Show me the money!

Rashard Lewis has officially opted out of the final two years of his contract in Seattle, which makes him one of the biggest catches available on the free-agency market when the bidding wars begin on July 1. Lewis will make some team very happy with his long body and excellent scoring capabilities and there should be a long line of GMs lining up outside his door. In fact, Seattle would probably be thrilled to resign the small forward but their recent good fortune in the lottery will most likely land them Kevin Durant in the draft which would definitely make Lewis expendable. There is no telling where this kid is going to end up but we do know that teams could be paying as much as $15 million per season for Lewis.

3. Kobe wants to stay in LA
There were some rumors floating around that Kobe Bryant made a demand for a trade recently. But Bryant put those rumors to rest after he stated that “I want to retire a Laker. I want to fix this thing, or at least help any way I can.” Sadly, Bryant will never be helping himself to another championship as long as he remains in Los Angeles. You just have to look at the basic math of the situation to realize to Kobe has virtually no shot at playoff glory without a serious overhaul in LA or a trade. There are only eight playoff spots available each year. San Antonio, Phoenix, Dallas, Utah and Houston aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. That leaves just three spots for 10 other teams to fight it out over. Besides the Lakers, there are up and coming teams like Golden State, the Clippers, Denver and New Orleans wanting to get in on the action. Oh, and Denver and Seattle are probably going to be getting a little better after they make their first selections in this year’s draft. Face it Kobe, it’s time to get out of Hollywood and head out East.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Deron Williams vs. San Antonio 38 min, 27 pts (FG: 11-21, 3FG: 0-3, FT: 5-7), 3 reb, 10 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk

Buzzer Beater: After seeing a pair of 79-76 Detroit victories to open the Eastern Conference finals, we final were witness to a different score in Game 3 (88-82) and a different winner (Cleveland). Looks like LeBron James might not be that bad of a player after all. The King had been receiving serious heat for his late game decisions and the supposed lack of a killer instinct. Well, in Game 3, James had 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists to go along with some legacy building buckets for good measure. Don’t believe us? Just ask Rasheed Wallace. The veteran Pistons aren’t going to be shaken that easily though because they know that they still have a healthy lead, 2-1, over an inexperienced Cavs club. However, Cleveland could create some Eastern Conference shock waves if they can grab another home court victory in Game 4 on Tuesday. Unfortunately, Larry Hughes is unlikely to play for Cleveland in the game which is a big blow for the Cavaliers. We’ll see if Daniel Gibson can continue to produce on the big stage.

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Brewers exposed!


1. From Hot to Cold: The Brewers got off to a 24-10 start by beating teams within their terrible division, the NL Central. Since they started playing teams with winning records, the Brewers have slipped to a 4-13 mark. On Monday the Braves beat them in Milwaukee 2-1. Andruw Jones homered for his second straight game, while Chuck James pitched well for the win. James struck out 8 and gave up one run in six innings. The only run he allowed was a Prince Fielder solo homerun. Fielder now ranks first in the NL in homeruns with 16 on the year. But that was the only positive for the Brewers offense, which wasted a great start by Chris Capuano in the loss. After the series with Atlanta is finished, the Brewers will face Florida and Chicago at home before starting three straight Interleague road series.

2. No Chance for a Comeback: It doesn’t matter when Roger Clemens is coming back. The New York Yankees are officially out of the AL East divisional race. New York has dropped four games in a row, and they’re currently tied with the Devil Rays for last place. They lost on Monday to the Blue Jays, even though Toronto’s pitcher came into the game with an 0-2 record and a 7.17 ERA. Dustin McGowan pitched a 7-plus inning gem, surrendering just two runs and five hits while striking out seven. Meanwhile, Yankees rookie Matt DeSalvo was ousted in the fifth inning, and the bullpen broke down as well in the 7-2 loss. The Yankees are 13.5 games back of the league’s best team, the 35-15 Boston Red Sox. The Sox have cruised to four victories in a row and have allowed the fewest runs in the American League.

3. No Chance for a Repeat: Even though they play in a terrible division, the St. Louis Cardinals’ season is likely over. The 2006 World Series Champions have scored the fewest runs in the majors, and their starting pitchers have a combined 12-25 record. After losing again on Monday, Kip Wells (2-9) now has the most losses of any pitcher in the majors. Wells, who has a 6.20 ERA and is on pace for 29 losses, gave up six runs and 11 hits to the Rockies. Colorado’s Jeff Francis held the Cardinals scoreless through seven innings in the 6-2 win. The Cardinals swept the Pirates last week, but they lost a series to the Nationals over the weekend and are in fifth place at 20-28. The Rockies are still in last, but they have won 6 in a row.

Player of the Day: Kyle Lohse, Reds: Complete game shutout, no walks in a 4-0 win over Pittsburgh.

Categories
Cleveland Cavaliers

It’s not easy being the King


It must be tough being LeBron James — Donyell Marshall misses a wide open shot to win the game and you’re the one who catches all the heat. But this post isn’t about basketball, it’s about some petition he refused to sign condemning genocide in Darfur.

Cavalier Ira Newble drafted an open letter to the Chinese government condemning the genocide in Darfur which was signed by all the Cavaliers except for LBJ and Damon Jones. LeBron James said he didn’t have enough information to take a stand. (Nobody cares what Damon Jones thinks.) Imagine that, a basketball player who never went to college admitting he doesn’t have enough information and therefore declining to sign something. Seems the logical thing to do doesn’t it? If you can’t even pick out Darfur on a map, how can you sign something condemning genocide in the country? state? province? island?

What’s interesting is that the author of this column is calling James out because he has a shoe contract with Nike and Nike has a huge interest in China. What’s not mentioned is that Damon Jones actually has a shoe contract with Li-Ning, a Chinese company. But again, no one cares about Damon Jones. We’re so sick of athletes and celebrities adopting a cause-o-the-day that it’s actually refreshing that LBJ declined to jump on board. Sure, his reasons might be monetary, but that doesn’t mean he has any obligation to attach his name to something he doesn’t feel strong or know enough about.