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Denver Nuggets

San Antonio Radio show fakes Iverson interview… what could go wrong?


Radio Producer: Hey, you know what would be a great idea? Let’s do a fake radio interview with Allen Iverson so we can make him sound like a thug and make ourselves sound racist in one fell swoop!

Radio Hosts: That sounds hilarious! Let’s make sure we mention Mexicans while we’re at it. And weed. Don’t forget weed.

We find most sports radio to be completely retarded and Jeff Vexler and Walter Pasacrita at KTKR down in San Antonio aren’t doing anything to change our minds. Last week, they did a skit of a mock interview with Allen Iverson that Spurs officials called “highly offensive and very inappropriate.” In the skit, Iverson (we haven’t heard the skit itself but are willing to bet dollars to donuts that “Iverson” was speaking in an exaggerated urban accent) talks about providing the Spurs with some weed, looking for sex with Mexican women, and firing a gun into the air to celebrate being picked #1 in the NBA draft.

We thought the Imus situation was completely overblown but these two guys have to be complete idiots to think that skit would fly. You get the feeling that if they had a TV show, they’d do the interview with some guy in blackface as Iverson. Now, some of you might think the world is getting too PC but this skit is offensive not just because it’s borderline racist — even worse, it’s neither funny nor original.

The Spurs won’t revoke the hosts’ press credentials but they are pulling Greg Popovich’s weekly appearances on the station.

Links:
[My San Antonio]: Sports talkers put foot in mouth

Categories
NHL General

Monday Morning NHL Roundup


Rangers 2, Sabres 1
The Blueshirts hadn’t beaten the – uh, Blueshirts from the other part of the state, I guess – in 7 tries this season, and for a while, it seemed like it would be eight. See, this puppy went into one overtime, and then, as is the proper style for these NHL playoffs, it went into a second overtime, and that went close to 17 minutes – we were approaching the dastardly THIRD OVERTIME – before someone (specifically, Michal Rozsival) scored on a screened off Ryan Miller. It’s 2-1 Sabres series-wise, which is the mathematical inverse of the score of this game. That’s absolutely trippy.

Ducks 3, Canucks 2
Corey Perry, who was eligible for selection in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft yet was not selected at all (feel better, Brady Quinn? You should), scored the game-winner on Roberto Luongo, who once went No. 1 in the same Draft. Here’s the lesson Quinn should take away from this: someday in the future, the Browns will play the Raiders. Now, CBS will send their G-Level team to this game, because even though both fan bases are rabid, no one gives a crap. So, with Dan Bonner somehow on play by play (“But guys, I do college basketball color…”), Quinn will oppose Russell, and with :03 left, Quinn will absolutely bomb it out – showing Russell arm strength in the process – and hit Braylon Edwards in stride for a 77 yard TD. Edwards will then break his leg celebrating. Anyway, the point is, don’t pass on Corey Perry. He can do some damage. So can the Ducks.

[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
NFL General

Brady Quinn did not lose $17M waiting in the green room


Darren Rovell’s story over at CNBC is getting a lot of attention around the blogosphere because he calculated that Brady Quinn lost $17M in guaranteed money after sliding down to No. 22 instead of being taken at No. 3 by the Browns.


So here’s how I come up with the number. At the No. 3 pick, I project Cleveland would have signed Quinn to a six-year deal worth as much as $60 million, about $27 million of which would be guaranteed — that includes the quarterback premium. At No. 22, Quinn will sign a six-year deal closer to $30 million, with $10 million guaranteed. That’s a $17 million loss.

Here’s what’s wrong with this calculation: Cleveland was never going to take Brady Quinn with the No. 3 pick so saying that he lost that money is inaccurate. However, you could make a strong argument that the Miami Dolphins should have taken Quinn at No. 9. (Instead they took Ted Ginn Jr, who Cam Cameron said would be an awesome kick returner… wait, that’s supposed to placate angry Dolphins fans?) With the ninth pick, Quinn’s contract would have been more in line with Matt Leinart’s 6-year $51M with $14M guaranteed contract. Even if you bump it up to $15M in guaranteed money, Quinn only lost about $5M instead of the $17M that’s being tossed around.

As Jaws mentioned last night, what might have cost Quinn a lot of money was a coin toss in February that gave the Browns the third pick and the Bucs the fourth. It is conceivable that the Bucs would have taken Joe Thomas 3rd and then Cleveland would have taken Quinn with the 4th pick. Still, considering how crazy the draft was and how wrong everyone’s mock drafts were, there’s no guarantee that the Bucs would have taken Joe Thomas 3rd.

Links:
[CNBC]: The $17 Million Slide & Draft Day Notes

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Happy Trails, Florida



I came back for this?

1. No more magic, no more heat: The two Florida franchises were knocked out of the NBA playoffs over the weekend. Swept out even. On Saturday, the Pistons took care of the Magic in Orlando. Detroit was down by 5 points with 3 minutes left but rallied to win the game and series. The Magic weren’t supposed to be anything more than a roadbump for the Pistons and the series went as expected. The Heat, on the other hand, were supposed to defend their NBA title and set up a stellar series with the Pistons. Instead, they went meekly into the night after the baby Bulls ran all over them from the getgo. The Heat were toast after losing game 3 at home on Friday night but we expected them to salvage some pride and win a game. Nope. Despite coming out quickly in the first quarter, they couldn’t keep the lead in the second half and the Bulls took care of business in the knockout game.

2. On the brink: Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire had stellar games for the Suns to put the Lakers into a 1-3 hole but the big story out west is the Golden State Warriors completely outplaying the Mavericks on the way to a 3-1 series lead. Baron Davis is playing the best basketball of his career at exactly the right time. He scored 33 points and handed out a team high 4 assists in Sunday’s 103-99 victory. Meanwhile, Dirk Nowitzki is playing like the anti-MVP. His stats still lead the Mavericks and he did have those two big 3s at the end of the game but it was too little too late. Already down 2-1 in the series, Nowitzki can’t wait the final minutes to start making big shots. He’s not Robert Horry, situational big shot Bob. He’s gotta dominate from the start. The Warriors have two shots to win this thing: Tuesday night in Dallas and then back home Thursday. There’s no way they win a game 7 in Dallas if it comes down to that, even though TNT is praying for that to happen.

3. On the brink 2: The Raptors might be the higher seeded team but the Nets are absolutely taking them out to the woodshed in this series. Sunday night’s game was especially embarassing for Chris Bosh and company as the Nets more than doubled them up in the first quarter and lead by as much as 33 points during the game. That’s two games in a row that the Nets have practically gone wire to wire. The Raptors will have to come out swinging in front of their home crowd on Tuesday, if not for their fans, then for NBA broadcasters who must be disgusted with the Eastern conference this year. Two 4 game sweeps that likely will turn into 3 when the Cavaliers take on the Wizards tonight. These playoffs aren’t doing much for the perception that the East is the JV league.

Categories
MLB General

MLB Cost Index for April 30 2007



Look at my payroll! I kick ass!

The MLB Cost Index is one measure of how well your GM did over the course of the offseason and during the season. The Index takes a look at the payrolls for each team and calculates a Cost per Win number. Pretty simple stuff right? But in the wide open world of baseball with no salary cap, it’s the best way we can think of to judge teams on a level (monetary) playing field.

Now that we’re through with April (almost), the MLB Cost Index gets to be a little more interesting. It used to be that the Yankees were at the bottom of the rankings no matter how many games they won simply because of their huge payroll. Well, after a 9-14 start, they’d be close to the bottom even if they had half their payroll.

After one month, the Indians and the Brewers are the biggest bargains in baseball. The Indians lead the AL Central in the standings and are ranked 5th on the MLB Cost Index. Meanwhile, the surprising Brewers are leading the NL Central by 3.5 games and rank 7th on the Index. The biggest wastes of money outside of the Yankees? The Cubs, Mariners, Orioles and White Sox all rank in the top 10 for payroll this year but are underperforming. Only the White Sox are within shouting distance of the division leaders but they play in a tough AL Central, loaded with Indians, Twins, and Tigers.

The complete MLB Cost Index after the jump.

Continue reading “MLB Cost Index for April 30 2007”

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Extra Innings madness



Now we can go home!

1. 4 hours and 55 minutes: The 16-inning Astros-Padres game on April 26 didn’t take long to get passed as the longest game of the year. The Padres and Dodgers nearly played two games back-to-back in a 17-inning marathon. The game was tied 4-4 after the seventh inning and then went scoreless for a remarkable 10 consecutive innings. Finally, in the 17th, the Dodgers were able to score after an error by a Padres backup and subsequent double by Brady Clark. The story of this contest was the bullpen play of both teams. None of the 11 combined relievers for both teams gave up an earned run in 25 combined innings. San Diego came close to a comeback in the 17th with two men on and one out, but then back-to-back strikeouts gave the Dodgers a 5-4 win. They are a half-game above red-hot Arizona for the division lead.

2. A game of craziness: The game between the Braves and Rockies turned out to be quite a unique one. The most notable occurrence was a rare unassisted triple play by Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. As players on second and first for the Braves were running on a 3-2 pitch, Tulowitzki caught a line drive, tagged second base, then tagged the runner coming from first. This was only the 13th unassisted triple play in major league history, and the second by a Rockies player. Also in this game, the Braves walked an incredible 13 batters, including five free passes to Todd Helton alone. In the 9th inning with the Braves up 7-5, Bob Wickman walked the bases loaded and then gave up two runs to tie the game. Only a diving catch by Jeff Francoeur saved the Braves from defeat in that inning. But the Rockies won it anyway in the 11th, as Matt Holliday hit a two-run homer to end this wild game. The Braves still won the series, 2-1.

3. Bigger than baseball: Unfortunately, a tragic off-field event overshadowed a great day of baseball on Sunday. Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock, who had pitched on Saturday, died in a car accident coming home from the game. He slammed into the back of a tow truck, which was stopped to help another car that had crashed. The Cardinals-Cubs game, scheduled for Sunday Night Baseball, was postponed as a result of the tragedy. The Cardinals will wear #32 patches the rest of the season in honor of Hancock, a reliever who was with the team for their World Series run in 2006.

Player of the Day: John Maine, Mets: 7 innings, 3 hits, no runs, 8 strikeouts in a 1-0 win over the Nationals which improved his record to 4-0.

Walk Off: It was reported by two New York newspapers that Joe Torre’s job could be in jeopardy if the Yankees continue to struggle. This would be the stupidest move the Yankees could make right now. Torre has led the team to four World Series titles and ten division titles in a row. He is at absolutely no fault for the Yankees’ last place standing. The pitching has been simply awful, particularly the starters. There is a current trend in sports right now to fire the manager/coach if the team is underperforming, no matter what success this coach has had. Why not fire the people responsible for trading away all the Yankees’ prospects for over-the-hill veterans?

Categories
NHL General

Satuday Morning NHL Roundup


Canucks 2, Ducks 1
Here’s an interesting piece of irony: one of the guest bloggers for the NHL playoffs over at their website is the band Emerson Drive. Ironic, you say? But why? Their most notable single is “I Should be Sleeping,” which pretty much summarizes every game the Canucks play this postseason. No, no – they’re not boring. Rather, they start late (I mean, it is the Pacific Northwest) and they end even later. They went 4 OT with the Stars already these playoffs, and last night, they went 2 OT with the Ducks before winning to even the series. We assume Luongo is hitting the bottle pretty hard these days, nerves shaking and all. That water bottle atop the goal might just have a smidge of Irish Coffee in there.

Sabres 3, Rangers 2
In Buffalo’s City Hall, there’s a poster showing some magazine survey that ranked Buffalo “one of the 20 best American cities” (I have no idea what magazine would justifiably print that). Next to it, there’s a poster the Mayor put in there himself. It shows two pictures: Lord Stanley and the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Under it, it reads, “Need these.” Indeed they do. They’re another step closer – to a rematch with their arch nemesis Senators, nonetheless. Lindy Ruff has the boxing gloves ready.

[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
MLB General

MLB Power Rankings Roundup for Apr 27 2007

Everyone is finally figuring out what the best team in baseball is. There isn’t complete agreement but it seems that the consensus is that either the Mets or the Red Sox rule. Meanwhile, the Yankees are sliding in most rankings due to their latest losing streak. The surprise team this week is the San Francisco Giants, winners of 8 in a row and moving up the charts. The Diamondbacks, after a brief fling with the top 10, are dropping as well after a 3-7 record in their last 10.

Here are the major Power Rankings this week:

Rank Sportscolumn ESPN FoxSports Sportsline USA Today TSN.ca
1 Mets Mets Red Sox Red Sox Red Sox Mets
2 Red Sox Red Sox Braves Angels Mets Red Sox
3 Dodgers Tigers Mets Mets Dodgers Dodgers
4 Braves Braves Twins Dodgers Braves Brewers
5 Yankees Indians Indians Tigers Twins Twins
6 Tigers Didgers Tigers Indians Tigers Padres
7 Padres Blue Jays Dodgers White Sox Padres Orioles
8 Twins Brewers Padres Twins Yankees Braves
9 A’s Twins Brewers Brewers White Sox Giants
10 Angels Giants Angels Yankees Brewers White Sox
11-30 more more more more more more

Categories
College Football

Odds and Ends: Six Penn State Football players charged with felonies



Anthony Scirrotto leads the charge

Six Nittany Lions football players were formally charged this afternoon for an off-campus brawl that happened only April 1st. All six players were charged with felonies but Anthony Scirrotto and Chris Baker are facing the more serious charges of burglary and simple assault. The other four players (Justin King, Jerome Hayes, Lydell Sargeant, and Tyrell Sales) are charged with criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, and harassment.

You can read the whole police report (pdf)but here’s what basically happened: 1) Scirrotto and his girlfriend were involved in an altercation on the night of March 31. 2) Instead of calling the police, Scirrotto called Sargeant. 3) Sargeant called up some other players and they barged into an off-campus part and two of the players started kicking ass. From the police report, it sounds like a couple of the players were trying to get Scirrotto and Hayes out of the situation but it was way out of control. Still, they are being charged with trespass and disorderly conduct because they shouldn’t have been in a private residence to begin with.

No word from Joe Pa yet on the incident but we get the feeling he’s not going to pull a Bobby Bowden and let these guys off the hook easily, season down the drain or not.

In other news…

Washington Times]: Gilbert Arenas will be the next NBA live cover boy

[700 Level]: Ooooh. Maybe there’s a new Subway Sanwiches curse?

[Professional Cheerleader blog]: Raiderettes lineup announced. We are unimpressed.

[AP]: See? the WNBA is just like the NBA: Deanna Jackson arrested for slugging an opposing player in Jeruselem

And finally, everyone who jumped all over Ron Artest for neglecting his Great Dane owes him an apology. It turns out that he did arrange for the care of “Socks” while he was out of town and that the weight loss was due to a bone infection. Speaking of dogs, this is the saddest story we’ve read all day… remember, all dogs go to heaven.

Categories
All Other Sports

27 years after winning Grey Cup, QB gets busted with 17-year-old

When will people catch on that sex between a player and coach, or a teacher and a student just isn’t cool in the eyes of the law or most deans? Especially when the student is just 17-years-old!

Well, former Canadian Football League quarterback turned high school coach and substitute teacher Tom Porras found out the hard way on Thursday when he was arrested for suspicion of sex abuse and public sexual indecency with a student. The 49-year-old Porras confessed to the sexual abuse charge while sitting under that bright light at the Scottsdale, Arizona police headquarters.

Porras could always score on the field as he spent 17 seasons in the CFL, AFL and USFL, but now we see that the guy has some serious problems when it comes to reaching the end zone off the gridiron. C’mon, how pathetic do you have to be to hook up with high school chicks when you’re freakin’ 49? Not to mention a former professional athlete. Look, do we really have to show you where the line should be draw when it comes to sexual harassment? Let’s just say that you shouldn’t cross this line …

Actually, on second thought, don’t even approach that threshold. Especially with the minors.

Links:

[KVOA.com]: Former pro quarterback arrested on sex charges