Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Agent Zero calls his shot


1. He Said It
Like Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali and Joe Namath did before him; Gilbert Arenas has called his shot. While it might not have the same dramatics as a Super Bowl guarantee, Agent 0 did prophetically predict he’d drop fity’ on the Trailblazers when they hook up on February 11. “Well, it’s not the most important, but that’s the game I’m going to say is my next 50-pointer,” wrote Arenas on his NBA.com blog. “Tune in. I think ESPN or TNT needs to pick that game up.” Arenas already has three 50 point games this season and that number could grow in the next three weeks. So far, Arenas has been able to back up any talking he might want to do as he has the Wizards on top of the Eastern Conference for the first time in a long time.

2. The Answer is Carmelo
Who said that Melo and A.I. couldn’t share the rock? Well, maybe it’s a bit early to call this experiment a success but Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson did manage to handle their scoring roles quite nicely in Melo’s return to action against Memphis. By halftime, both had reached double figures in scoring. Granted it’s only the Grizzlies, but Denver looked sharp with their new lineup. Anthony led the way, scoring a game-high 28 points, as Iverson played second fiddle with 23. But regardless of who gets the majority of the points, it’s going to be tough for any team to match up with a backcourt that can put up 51.

3. Hot Heat Streak
Miami was down 3-2 early against New York last night, but that would be the last time they trailed in the game. That’s because it was at that point that the Heat ripped off a franchise record 27-0 run, giving themselves a 26 point cushion at 29-3. That’s a pretty impressive feat in itself but then you realize that the Heat were missing both team superheroes as Superman and Flash nursed injuries on the bench. The Knicks missed ten consecutive shots over the miserable span; even the Miami faithful cheered when New York finally hit a field goal.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Deron Williams vs. Minnesota 38 min, 21 pts (FG: 9-16, 3FG: 1-3, FT: 2-2), 3 reb, 15 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Phoenix (32-8) @ Washington (24-16) They did it once, now let’s see if they can pull off another stunner. It was way back on December 22 when the Wizards went into Phoenix and promptly ended the Suns 15 game winning streak behind 54 points from Gilbert Arenas. Since then, the Suns have lost one game and are riding a 13 game winning streak into Washington, where the Wizards are 17-3. Both teams are sitting at the top of their conference and they currently rank one and two in points per game (Phoenix: 111.5 ppg; Washington: 107.5 ppg). If this game even closely resembles their first meeting, then it’s definitely must see T.V.

Buzzer Beater: George Karl appears to think that Carmelo Anthony’s punishment was a bit severe after Kevin Garnett’s actions got the former M.V.P. a mere one game suspension. Karl references how similar the two incidents were, except for the fact that Melo’s punch landed. Sure, Karl has to stick up for his players but, Hello!, one situation ended with a some pushing and trash talk while the other ended with superstar sucker punches and players spilling into the crowd. Image is everything in today’s NBA. If you make the league look bad, David Stern will make you pay.

Categories
MLB General

Jan 23 in Sports History: Jackie Robinson elected to HOF


In 1962: Dodgers second baseman Jackie Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. In an ironic twist, Cleveland pitcher Bob Feller was also elected. Feller, who is an outspoken critic of baseball’s controversies to this day, openly questioned that Robinson even belonged in the major leagues. When Robinson was breaking in, Feller said, “He’s all tied up in the shoulders and can’t hit an inside pitch to save his neck. If he were a white man, I doubt if they would even consider him big league material.” Feller was, however, very much in favor of integrating baseball. He was just dead wrong on Robinson, who obviously showed that he belonged in baseball. Feller is spouting off even today. As the oldest living hall of famer, he is still railing against the likes of Pete Rose and Barry Bonds getting into the hall, once called Jim Thome a “journeyman first baseman” and said that Latin players “don’t know the rules of the game.”

In 2000: The St. Louis Rams defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 11-6 in the NFC Championship game. In a matchup of contrasting styles, Tampa’s defense shut down St. Louis’ “Greatest Show on Turf” for much of the day. Trailing 6-5 in the fourth quarter (still sounds weird), Rams’ quarterback Kurt Warner hit seldom-used wideout Ricky Proehl for a 30-yard touchdown. It was the Rams first Super Bowl appearance since 1979, as they were set to play the Tennessee Titans, who defeated Jacksonville earlier in the day. It was the first Super Bowl matchup of two franchises that had relocated.

Categories
St. Louis Cardinals

Top 10 Dumbest in-game Injuries: #10 Vince Coleman

[Sportscolumn is running down the ten dumbest in-game injuries in sports. Here’s #10.]


This isn’t exactly in-game but it’s close enough to game time that it made our Top 10 list. Before game 3 of the 1985 NLCS, the grounds crew decided to roll up the electronically-operated tarp. The only problem? Vince Coleman was standing behind the cylinder. All of the sudden, Coleman was trapped underneath the contraption and suffered a serious leg injury.

Coleman sustained a bone chip in his knee and leg bruises and would miss the rest of the postseason. Alls well that ends well (almost) as the Cardinals were able to pull out the NLCS despite being down 2-1. They did lose to the Kansas City Royals (yes, Virginia, once the Royals weren’t a Triple A level team) in the World Series. According to Coleman, “that tarp was a real man-eater.”

(Source: Baseball Library.com)

See #9 in the Top 10 Dumbest in-game injuries of all time.

Categories
Atlanta Hawks

In today’s marijuana news…


We’ve got a trio of drug related news for you today folks. First up is Michael “Don’t Criticize Me” Vick. Vick has been cleared by Miami police of any wrongdoing because the super secret spy water bottle he tried to bring aboard a plane at Miami International did not contain any pot. Vick certainly dodged a bullet there but what kind of moron refuses to surrender a water bottle with NOTHING IN IT? Vick’s last contract was for $130M… the water bottle costs $20. That Michael Vick ain’t too smart.

Second up is yet another Bengals arrest. This time cornerback Johnathan Joseph was arrested for pot possession after a car in which he was the passenger was pulled over. Police smelled marijuana and searched a Super Bowl XL backpack and found the pot. Good thing that swag is going to good use. This marks the 4,397th arrest for the Bengals this year.

Finally, Mike Tyson has plead not guilty to drug charges even though he admitted to being an addict in an interview with police and was busted with cocaine. His lawyer said, “Drug addiction is a victimless crime. We believe this is the kind of crime where you shouldn’t go to prison.” So doesn’t this mean he’s guilty but wants a lighter sentence? Ahh the good ole justice system. He’ll get a slap on the wrist and some community service.

Links:
[Miami Herald]: There was no pot in Vick’s bottle, police confirm
[Cincinnati Enquirer]: Bengals’ Joseph arrested
[AZ Central]: Tyson pleads not guilty to drug charges

Categories
Dallas Cowboys

Bill Parcells has had enough


Well folks, everyone knew it was coming. Would the Big Tuna honor the final year of his contract with the Cowboys or had he had enough of coaching an underachieving team and dealing with TO the Media Whore? After only a week, the decision seemed fairly simple. Bill Parcells didn’t need more money, he didn’t need another year of padding his hall of fame resume and he certainly didn’t need any more headaches.

In a statement, Parcells said:

I am retiring from coaching football. I want to thank Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones for their tremendous support over the last four years. Also, the players, my coaching staff and others in the support group who have done so much to help. Dallas is a great city and the Cowboys are an integral part of it. I am hopeful that they are able to go forward from here.

I am in good health and feel lucky to have been able to coach in the NFL for an extended period of time. I leave the game and the NFL with nothing but good feelings and gratitude to all the players, coaches and other people that have assisted me in that regard.

The look on Parcells’ face during the entire season (even sometimes during the Cowboys winning streak) seemed to indicate that he had had enough of this coaching business. Parcells has always ripped into players and let them know if they did something wrong on the field. This year, he seemed to just give it a half-hearted effort and went back to looking frustrated and annoyed rather than fired up and angry.

Perhaps Adam Schefter would like to change his story published two days ago about Parcells staying put?

Links:
[Dallas Morning News]: Parcells walks away from coaching

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Heat Check



Too much Stackhouse

1. Finals Rematch
Thanks to some clutch shooting in the fourth quarter by Jerry Stackhouse, the Mavericks were able to defeat the Heat 99-93 on Sunday. Dallas continues to mow down opponents, winning seven games in a row and 20 of their last 21. But Miami put up a decent fight as they wait for Shaq’s return to action. The Heat’s starting backcourt went off for 48 points and Udonis Haslem came close to a double-double with 15 and eight. Even the recently pudgy Antoine Walker got into the act with 11 points. Miami’s record isn’t pretty but if they can make the playoffs with a healthy O’Neal, then they can’t be counted out simply because of a low seed.

2. Wishful Thinking
Phoenix is like the Energizer Bunny; they just keep winning and winning. And they do so in fast breaking fashion. Last night, the Suns put up a whopping 131 points against Minnesota in regulation. Steve Nash has led the Suns to 13 straight victories, scoring over 105 points in ten of the contests. The Suns have three legitimate All-Stars who are capable of going off on an opponent on any night, which can be bad enough, but when the trio of Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion are all clicking at the same time, it turns into to 120+ point night quite easily. If only the NBA would arrange a mid-season seven game series between the Suns and Mavs. Oh, what a series it would be.

3. Hairy Situation
It’s not just the Suns win streak that continues to grow longer with each victory. The team’s facial hair is beginning to get out of control as well. Steve Nash isn’t even sure how the trend got started but sometime during Phoenix’s current win streak, some of the players on the team decided to avoid the razor and let their beards appear. Nash admitted to hating the look but like most athletes, he’s just superstitious enough to buy into the routine. Shawn Marion, on the other hand, isn’t giving in to temptation. “I can’t do it, man,” Marion said. “My face gets too itchy.”

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Dwyane Wade vs. Dallas 44 min, 31 pts (FG: 12-21, 3FG:1-4, FT: 6-9), 6 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl

Monday’s Game to Watch: Memphis (10-31) @ Denver (20-17) Memphis sucks but who cares, after all, he’s baaaack!! Carmelo Anthony will be in Denver’s lineup for the first time in 36 days after being suspended 15 games for his part in the mayhem that occurred between the Nuggets and the Knicks in mid December. Finally, after all the speculation and anticipation, we will get to see if Melo and Allen Iverson can coexist when Memphis makes the trip to The Mile High City tonight. Since A.I. joined the club, the Nuggets have gone 5-8, which included several double-digit losses. Anthony’s presence on the floor can do nothing but help as he remains the league’s best scorer with 31.6 points per game.

Buzzer Beater: Josh Smith gave a double barreled salute to the crowd as he walked to the locker room after being ejected in the second quarter of a 104-85 blowout loss in Charlotte on Saturday. There must be something in Atlanta’s water, or should I say in Atlanta’s water bottles, to make this Hawk think throwing the bird would fly in Mr. Stern’s NBA. Expect the commish to dish out some punishment early this week, possibly today.

Categories
Boxing

Jan 22 in Sports History: Down goes Frazier!

In 1973: Heavyweight champion Joe Frazier lost the first fight of his professional career when he was knocked out by George Foreman in Kingston, Jamaica. It was also the first fight ever televised by a fledgling cable network called HBO. The fight is mostly remembered for commentator Howard Cosell’s stunned call, “Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!” Frazier went down six times at the hands of Foreman in two rounds. Some boxing experts believe that Cosell’s famous call is what Frazier is unfortunately most remembered for. Frazier, it should be known, handed Muhammad Ali his first career defeat in 1971 and would go on to a career record of 32-4-1 with 27 knockouts.

You can watch the entire fight below but unfortunately the announcing is in German.

In 1984: In what had to be the lamest Super Bowl ever played, the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins 38-9 in XVIII. It sucked on so many levels. First, the game was held in the party stronghold of Tampa, Florida at the old Sombrero. Second, Barry Manilow sang the national anthem. And of course, the game was awful, as the Raiders ran to a 21-3 halftime lead on a blocked punt for a touchdown. Then, the Redskins’ Joe Theismann threw the worst pass in NFL history. He tossed a little swing pass only to realize in horror that the closest receiver, Jack Squirek, was wearing silver and black. Squirek was so alone he could’ve done the Worm into the end zone. In the second half, Marcus Allen ran roughshod over the ‘Skins on the way to a then-record 191 yard performance, including a signature 74-yarder in which he changed direction about 236 times. No word if he celebrated by nailing another famous player’s wife.

In 2006: Kobe Bryant of the L.A. Lakers scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. It was the second-highest total ever scored in an NBA game behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 in 1962. Bryant had 26 in the first half, then exploded for 27 in the third and 28 in the fourth quarter. He “only” took 46 shots (he was also 18-20 from the foul line). Bryant’s performance did help the “lethargic” (his words) Lakers rally from an 18-point deficit to win the game 122-104. While it never touched Wilt’s performance 44 years ago (Chamberlain wasn’t able to chuck up threes every 5 seconds), it should be noted that Bryant scored 1.9 points per minute played to Wilt’s 1.6 because Bryant spent six minutes on the bench.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: They’re all picking on me!


1. Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean Jacque Wamutombo
Dikembe Mutombo has always been a defensive stopper on the court, but now he has become defensive about something off the court. The ongoing joke for the talking heads covering Houston this season has surrounded the age of Mutombo and the implication that he might be older than what he says. The 40 year old Mutombo has been in the league for 16 seasons and says that the teasing is disturbing to his wife and daughter and that he plans to talk with commissioner David Stern about putting an end to the media’s mockery. Mount Mutombo seems to be exploding over nothing here. I mean being called old has to be better than being called a “monkey”, right?

2. 3rd Times a Charm
The Spurs Brent Barry wants a chance to make history at the All-Star game in February. The sharpshooter could become the first player to win both the three-point shootout and the slam dunk contest. In 1996, as a rookie, Barry proved that white men can jump when he made a dunk from the free-throw line while wearing his warm-up jacket during the All-Star festivities in San Antonio. B.B. is currently third in the league in three-point field goal accuracy as he is hitting 48 percent (62-130) of his long bombs. Should Barry receive his opportunity, it would be his third chance to win the three-point trophy. In 2003, he advanced to the second round before falling to Peja Stojakovic who would go on to win the crown, and in 2004 he was forced to decline an invitation after breaking his right hand.

3. Excuse Me, You Dropped a Dime
Kevin Garnett could join some of the greatest names in the history of the game tonight when the Detroit Pistons travel to Minnesota. The Big Ticket is five assists away from reaching 4,000 for his career. When Garnett dishes out assist number 4,000 he will have become only the fifth player to amass 18,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists; joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Wilt Chamberlain and Charles Barkley. And at only 30 years old, K.G. still has lots of game left in his 6-11 body. Of course, the feat would be much easier for Garnett to obtain if he had players around him who could consistently hit their shots.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Dwyane Wade vs. Indiana 37 min, 33 pts (FG: 13-24, FT: 7-9), 6 reb, 8 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk

Friday’s Game to Watch: Washington (22-16) @ Orlando (22-17) This game sports two of the best young players in the league with Gilbert Arenas and Dwight Howard. Arenas has been dazzling fans and foes alike all season, while Howard is the best big man to enter the league straight out of high school since Kevin Garnett made the leap in 1995. Washington currently leads Orlando for first place in the Southeast Division by ½ game, but that ½ game makes a huge difference for these two teams in the playoff standings. The Magic could leap from their sixth spot up to as high as the second spot in the East with a win.

Buzzer Beater: Shaquille O’Neal will be sidelined for at least two more games as he recovers from knee surgery. Shaq says that he’s not going to rush back until he’s “1000 percent.” Last month, two more games without the Diesel would have been pretty discouraging news for the Heat, but Miami is currently handling their business without O’Neal as they have won five of their last six behind a hot Dwyane Wade. But even when Shaq comes back, he still won’t be at full capacity until he gets at least two weeks of game time under his very large belt.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Detroit Debut for Webber


1. Numbers Game
Chris Webber officially signed with the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday and will be paid approximately $650,000 this year on a prorated contract for the veterans minimum, but that’s wasn’t the odd part of the press conference. The head scratcher came when C-Webb held up a Pistons home jersey with the number 84 stitched onto it. The unusual number was chosen for Uncle Chris by one of his nephews. Now, Webber joins Gilbert Arenas (0), Ron Artest (93) and the league’s most notorious weirdo of all time, Dennis Rodman (91), with some of the more abnormal numbers. But regardless of the digits he wears, Webber will be a valuable asset to the Pistons this season, despite what his first game might imply (17 minutes with 2 points on 1 for 5 shooting).

2. Packin’ Jackson
There were some rumors floating around that Mike Dunleavy Jr. could be joining his old man in Los Angeles on the Clippers, but those rumors can be squashed now that Dunleavy Jr. was involved in an eight player deal that sent him to the Pacers along with Troy Murphy, Ike Diogu and Keith McLeod. In return, Golden State picked up Al Harrington, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Josh Powell and the problematic Stephen Jackson. The Warriors were desperate for another complimentary player to line up beside Baron Davis and if they are willing to put up with the headaches, this could be a perfect fit for Golden State. And should Harrington ever live up to his potential, this trade could be a giant step toward making noise in the playoffs for the Warriors.

3. Party Pooper
A man is walking down the street with a 2 ft. by 2 ft. birthday cake in his hands at 1:45 in the morning wait, is this a gag? Nope. It might sound like the set up to a shoddy joke but it’s not. Close to 2:00 a.m. on Saturday, Alexander Martinez left his birthday party with a $190 cake and ran into Lakers forward Ronny Turaif who agreed to pose for a B-Day photo. About that time, Kwame Brown walks out of a club, grabs the chocolate cake and throws it at Martinez before leaving the scene in a white limo. Further down the street, Martinez ran into Lamar Odom and confronted him about Brown’s behavior but a man believed to be Odom’s bodyguard shoved Martinez into the street and yelled at him to stay away from Brown. A police report was filed 12 hours later but Brown has yet to comment on the incident. Now it’s obvious why Gilbert Arenas didn’t invite Kwame to his 25th birthday bash.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Kobe Bryant @ San Antonio 36 min, 34 pts (FG: 12-19, 3FG: 0-2, FT: 10-11), 6 reb, 8 ast, 1 stl

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Los Angeles Lakers (25-13) @ Dallas (32-8) The last time these two teams met up was in Los Angeles on January 7, when the Lakers put an end to the Mavericks 13 game win streak. But this time the Lakers won’t have a home crowd to take advantage of. The Mavs are currently riding an eleven game home winning streak as Dirk Nowitzki continues to make his push for the M.V.P. Dallas is probably one of the last teams anybody wants to play in the second game of a back-to-back, but that is exactly the situation L.A. is facing after winning against the Spurs last night, 100-96.

Buzzer Beater: Just when it looked like Tracy McGrady was healthy again and back to his former high-scoring self, he misses another game with soreness in his back. Since returning from a stint in December where he missed seven games because of back spasms, T-Mac had averaged 26.8 points per game with eight games over 30. Tuesday night, McGrady lit Dallas up for 45 in a 109-86 loss. With the loss of Yao Ming already hobbling the club, McGrady’s pain in the back is becoming a serious pain in the butt of Jeff Van Gundy.

Categories
NFL General

Jan 17 in Sports History: 15-1 Vikings go down in the NFCCG


In 1999: Normally, a 14-2 team advancing to the Super Bowl wouldn’t shock anyone, but when the Atlanta Falcons faced the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game, few expected Atlanta to move on. The Vikings were, 15-1 and one of the most dominant regular season teams in recent memory. Minnesota, led by rookie Randy Moss and a rejuvenated Randall Cunningham rolled up a league-record 556 points and was rarely challenged. Still, the Falcons decided to take the field anyway as 11-point underdogs in the noisy Metrodome. The Vikings had a chance to ice it in the fourth quarter, but Gary Anderson missed a 38-yard field goal (his very first miss of the year) that would’ve put them up by 10. Instead of being down by 10 with 2:00 minutes left, the Falcons were able to force overtime with a Chris Chandler (who outgained Cunningham 340-266) to Terrance Mathis (who scored twice to Moss’ one TD) touchdown with :49 left. The Falcons defense bogged down the Vikings in overtime and Morten Andersen kicked the game-winner to send the “Dirty Birds” to the Super Bowl for the first time, where Eugene Robinson was arrested for propositioning a prositute and the Falcons were beaten by the Broncos. (For those who might not remember the Dirty Bird—, lucky you. It was cool like the Macarena was cool.)

In 1997: Normally getting kicked in your bag just nets a lot of pain and embarrassment. And chances are, you probably deserved it. But when Eugene Amos, an in-house photographer at Minnesota’s Target Center had the audacity to be in the way of a diving Dennis Rodman, his pain turned into a winning lottery ticket. Rodman, then a member of the Chicago Bulls, was scrambling for a loose ball, collided with a prone Amos under the basket and introduced himself Nike-first into Amos’ crotch. The NBA kicked Rodman harder, but in his wallet. He was fined $25,000 and was suspended for 11 games. Rodman also agreed to pay Amos $200,000. Since the suspension was without pay, Rodman cost himself over $1 million dollars and an infinite number of stupid points, even for him.