Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Wins leader is Chien-Ming Wang?


1. The Quiet Winner: Chien-Ming Wang is not a great pitcher, but, thanks mainly to the team he’s on, he’s racked up the most combined wins in baseball the last two seasons. Wang, after going 19-6 with a 3.63 ERA last year, is having a very similar season this year, at 17-6 and 3.68. His 17th win, tying him with Josh Beckett for the major league lead, came in the Yankees’ 12-3 blowout of the Mariners. Wang went 7-plus, allowing one run in his fourth consecutive win. He was supported in a big way by the Yankees’ offense, which pounded Seattle for 20 hits. Jorge Posada went 4-4 with four runs and two homers, raising his average to an elite .337. Bobby Abreu also had four hits and a homer, and Alex Rodriguez went deep again for the 46th time this year. The Yanks upped their wild card lead over the Mariners to two games with the victory. Both teams need the wild card, because they stand at seven games back in their respective divisions. It’s a shame that one of these clubs will be sitting at home during the postseason while a team from the NL Central is guaranteed a playoff spot.

2. Back in Contention: After losing 10 of 12 games in early August and falling as low as fourth place in the division, it seemed like the Dodgers’ season was nearly over. But now, thanks to a 7-2 run, Los Angeles is right back in the playoff picture. They have climbed to 3.5 back in the division and wild card races. The Dodgers continued their success with a 6-2 win over the Cubs on Tuesday. Ace Brad Penny returned to form after a bad start with seven shutdown innings. He improved to 15-4 on the year as the Dodgers received just enough offense for the victory. With David Wells added to fortify the pitching staff, the Dodgers have a legit shot at the playoffs.

3. D-back Attack: The Diamondbacks and
Padres are once again tied for the NL West lead. After San Diego won the first game of their series, the Diamondbacks routed them 9-1. Chris Young continued to struggle against Arizona, allowing 5 runs in 4 innings and losing his third straight decision. Young has a 7.32 ERA against the D-backs this season, compared with a 1.88 mark against the rest of the league. Eric Byrnes and Tony Clark both homered off Young as D-backs starter Doug Davis cruised to an easy victory. Davis, who allowed one run in seven innings, won his 13th game of the season, a career high. Over his career Davis has been the model of an average pitcher, with a 75-74 record and 4.30 ERA. This season, he has been better, and is the D-backs’ second-best starter only behind Brandon Webb. On Wednesday, the final game of this matchup for the season, Jake Peavy will pitch off three day’s rest against Livan Hernandez.

Player of the Day: Paul Lo Duca, Mets: 3-5, 2 HR, 7 RBIs in a 10-7 win over the Reds.

Categories
All Other Sports

"If there’s grass on the field, play ball"

We know that after a summer of baseball, football is finally starting to take over the fall. Still, lots of guys out there are completely lost in the fog of baseball until a champ is crowned. To those super focused, elite fans that have nothing but bats and balls on the mind, we have six little words for you: what the hell are you thinking?

Oooooooh, they must finger joust on the side.

Categories
Miami Heat

Could VH1 be bringing The Love Shaq to a TV near you?



Hey ladies, wanna be dwarfed by
your man? Shaq’s about to be on the
man meat market.

You can add a new moniker to the ever growing list of names that Shaquille O’Neal has collected like custom cars since joining the league: the Big Bachelor. Apparently, Shaq and Shaunie O’Neal are splitting ways after five idyllic years of wedded bliss and the big fella decided to be the dumper instead of the dumpee and slapped his ol’ lady with divorce papers on Tuesday.

According to the filing, which was first reported by The Miami Herald on its Web site Tuesday night, Shaquille O’Neal is asking Shaunie O’Neal to provide a “correct accounting of all money, funds, stocks, bonds, and other securities” that she had access to or obtained during the marriage.

They are the parents of six children; Shaquille and Shaunie O’Neal had four together, and each had one other before their Dec. 26, 2002 wedding.

Damn, six kids! But at least they managed to spit four of `em out together. Are you listening Travis Henry? But back to the chedda’ chedda’; there’s no way that Shaq’s gonna get stiffed on this whole deal and he’s asking this potential gold digger to fork over some receipts. Doesn’t sound too unreasonable too us; after all, we are talking about the potential future fat face of law enforcement in Florida. He’s going to need all the campaign money he can muster up.

Links:

[MiamiHerald.com]: Heat’s Shaquille O’Neal seeking divorce

Categories
LA Lakers

Jerry Buss gets slapped with probation for driving drunk


Lindsey Lohan, Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton and Jerry Buss. One of these things might seem like it doesn’t belong, probably the old, wrinkly, funny looking rich guy, but actually all these celebrities share a common thread: they’ve all had to face the music after driving drunk. Even the old, wrinkly, funny looking rich guy.

On Tuesday, Lakers owner Buss pled guilty to drunken driving and got smacked with five years probation, fined $1,900, ordered to attend a first-conviction program and a Mothers Against Drunk Driving course after getting popped with a blood alcohol level of .13 percent. For a billionaire geezer, that’s basically sleeping on the lawn drunk.

Unfortunately, we have no idea what ever happened to the way, way, way younger chick who was riding in the 74-year-old’s Mercedes on the night of the arrest. All we know is that you’d have to be one cracked out, self loathing, alcohol swilling, pill popping, Bret Michaels skank to be riding in Buss’ whip at one in the morning. Wait a minute; Lindsey, Nicole, Paris…where were you last May?

Links:

[SI.com]: Lakers owner gets 5 years’ probation, fined $1,900

Categories
Baltimore Orioles

Fans laugh at the Orioles for a whole new reason


Baltimore and Tampa Bay put together a pretty exciting game that tallied up 23 total hits and ended with the Orioles grabbing the victory 8-4. Considering that Baltimore had picked up just their second win in the last 14 games after getting outscored by 68 during the embarrassing span you’d figure there would be more to talk about than Melvin Mora’s wrestling match with a bat weight. Wrong.

The Baltimore Orioles still have a sense of a humor despite recent struggles on the field.

Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora had a hard time getting a weight off his bat in the first inning of Tuesday night’s game at Tampa Bay, prompting laughter from his teammates in the dugout and the nearby fans.

Mora pounded his bat several times in a futile attempt to get the weight off as he approached the plate. When the weight finally dropped from the bat after a successful attempt, the fans along the third base side near the Baltimore dugout cheered and Mora responded by tipping his helmet toward them.

Hey, if you can’t laugh at yourself then you’re just going look like an idiot while everyone else is laughing at you.

Links:

[WJZ.com]: Orioles, Fans Enjoy Mora’s Fight With Bat Weight

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Pedro drives Mets to 5 game lead


1. Pedro Returns: The Mets’ Pedro Martinez made his first start since last September, picking up a personal milestone and giving the Mets another win in the process. Working with a 75-pitch limit, Pedro threw five innings, striking out four to give him 3,000 K’s in his career. He became the 15th member of the 3,000 strikeout club, as well as about the twentieth player to reach a major milestone this year. Martinez received plenty of support from the Mets’ offense in their 10-4 victory. Moises Alou went 3-3 with a homer, and David Wright and Carlos Delgado also went deep. With their fourth win in a row and 77th on the year, New York has the best record in the National League and the fourth-best mark in the majors. They now hold a comfortable 5-game lead on the Phillies, who were within two games of New York last week but have lost three in a row. If Pedro can stay healthy for the postseason (which he failed to do last year), the Mets have all the tools they need to win the NL pennant.

2. Santana’s Achilles Heel: Johan Santana would be having a great season if he didn’t have to face the Indians so many times. The two-time Cy Young winner is 14-11, with an 0-5 mark against Cleveland. According to ESPN, this marks the first time a reigning Cy Young winner put up an 0-5 mark against one team. Santana allowed four runs in six innings on Monday as he was greatly outdeuled by CC Sabathia. Sabathia had eight scoreless innings in the Indians’ 5-0 win as he improved to 16-7. Meanwhile, Santana gave up four runs for the third straight start as he continues to uncharacteristically struggle since the All Star break. He is 3-5 with a 4.22 ERA since the break, compared with a 32-3 record and 1.78 ERA after the break the previous three seasons. Santana is still having a great season, as he is second in the league in strikeouts, first in WHIP, and third in ERA. He is just being let down by his offense, which has put up an average of 2 runs a game in his losses. All things considered, however, the Cy Young will probably be headed elsewhere this season.

3. The Struggles of the Rocket: Though the expectations of him were far too high, Roger Clemens has still been a disappointment for the New York Yankees. The $28 million man has been merely average, with a 6-6 record and 4.45 ERA. His problem has been consistency; while he looks excellent in some starts, he seems pedestrian in others. On Monday, Clemens gave up five runs in four innings in a 7-1 loss to Seattle. Ichiro homered off Roger and Felix Hernandez outpitched him as the Yankees lost game one of an important series. The Mariners pulled within one game of New York for the wild card lead, finally snapping a nine-game losing streak. Clemens will undergo an MRI exam on his elbow after feeling some pain in it during the game. The Yankees need Mike Mussina to be back in the rotation and pitching well; otherwise they might not even reach October.

Player of the Day: Mike Lowell, Red Sox: 3-4, HR (18), 4 RBIs in a 13-10 win over the Blue Jays. Lowell became the seventh player this season to reach 100 RBIs. He is also among the league leaders with a .333 average.

Categories
Houston Texans

Dunta Robinson’s crib gets jacked by a pair of masked men



Have you seen this man?

Robbers sure are getting brazen these days and it appears that no athlete is safe anymore. First Pacman Jones got jacked, then Antoine Walker was getting robbed more than the local Kwik-E-Mart, after that Eddie Curry got rolled, then there was a shoot out at DeShawn Stevenson’s crib and now the pad of Houston Texans cornerback Dunta Robinson gets cleaned out.

Apparently, a couple of dudes in red bandanas and Los Angeles Dodgers caps broke into walked right into Robinson’s Texas home (a door was left unlocked) on Saturday evening and forced an occupant at gunpoint to lie in the floor before binding that person up with duct tape. Investigators aren’t spilling the beans on whether the occupant in question was Robinson or if he was even in the house at the time of the robbery.

While the one thug detained the occupant, the other jerk went a huntin’ fer valuables and ended up taking several pieces of Robinson’s bling before escaping into the night.

You know, if we had millions of dollars to our names then we’d defiantly be living in a virtual Fort Knox to protect our lifestyle. In fact, we’ve already discovered the perfect man to design our solitude of security should we ever scratch that magic lottery ticket.

Links:

[Chron.com]: 2 sought in robbery at Texan Dunta Robinson’s home

Categories
College Basketball

John Calipari is not happy after Tigers get thrown in the slammer

A pair of Memphis basketballers got arrested early Sunday morning outside of a nightclub for disorderly conduct and inciting a riot after officers responded to a disturbance at 3:36 a.m. Sophomore Shawn Taggart and freshman Jeff Robinson were accused by club security of starting the incident, but police seemed to disagree. Regardless, the two made some serious no-nos when they started getting unruly with the boys in blue.

Taggart, 22, then began yelling obscenities, “causing the large crowd to get further agitated and (they) began closing in on officers, trying to pull (the) defendant away from officers, while yelling obscenities, causing the officers to fear for their safety,” according to the report.

Robinson, 19, approached a police officer with his fists balled, acting aggressively, ignoring police commands and yelling obscenities, according to the police account.

Both players were released on bond and were scheduled to appear 9 a.m. Tuesday in Shelby County Criminal Court.

Needless to say, it didn’t take long for the earth around Memphis to start quaking and Mount Calipari to erupt.

I’m not happy,” he said. “I know they’re going to screw up. They’re young kids, and they’re going to do dumb things, like my own children.

“But how many times have I said, nothing good happens in a club after midnight? We’ll deal with this; a lot of it
will be in-house. Some of it’s not going to be,” Calipari said.

“I’m furious, to be honest,” Calipari said. “I want the city to know this: They’re not to be in any clubs. None. I’ve asked the players, if anybody here doesn’t think they can live with that, I need them to come and see me so we’ll help them transfer.

Don’t worry, we’re just like the rest of you out there and there is absolutely no way we could touch on a John Calipari rant without reliving one of the single greatest sound bytes in NBA, nay, sports history. We wish we had the video to show you, but you’re just going to have to use your imagination.

Larry Bird’s not walking through that door, fans. Kevin McHale is not walking through that door, and Robert Parish is not walking through that door. And if you expect them to walk through that door, they’re going to be gray and old…. And all the negativity that’s in this town sucks. I’ve been around when Jim Rice was booed. I’ve been around when Carl Yastrzemski was booed. And it stinks. It makes the greatest town, greatest city in the world, lousy.

Links:

[SI.com]: Two Memphis players arrested

Categories
Boston Red Sox

I love it when you call me Big Papi

Nowadays it seems that almost every sports figure feels the need to leave the comfortable realm of athletics and for some strange reason branch out and show that their hippety-hoppety skillz is fo’ realz. Well, David Ortiz is no different and here’s the hot fire spittin’ proof.

Damn, K-Fed, you just got skizz-ooled!

Links:

[Can’t Stop The Bleeding]: Big Papi’s Reggaeton Debut

Categories
LA Lakers

Its no $4 million ring, but it’s still a pretty hefty bill

Sometimes when you’re Kobe Bryant, being Kobe Bryant just gets a little dull and when that happens, Kobe Bryant simply throws his money around and, apparently, that reminds Kobe Bryant that being Kobe Bryant is pretty freakin’ cool. Like when Kobe Bryant went to the grand opening of a flashy Las Vegas nightclub on Friday and some pathetic poker player, Antonio “The Magician” Esfandiari to be exact, tried to act like a baller by throwing down $2,800 for two bottles of Cristal champagne. That’s $1,400 apiece for all you non math majors out there. Well, Kobe Bryant wasn’t gonna get punk’d like that.

According to sources inside the club, Kobe wasn’t about to be shown up by some puny little card player — and kicked in for five bottles. Antonio, who’s used to upping the ante, then switched his order to ten! Go big or go home!

Kobe ended the competition when he purchased an astounding 15 bottles — and then left the club!

15 bottles! Who needs 15 bottles? Wait, they must have confused David Hasselhoff with Kobe Bryant. Easy mistake.

Links:

[TMZ]: Kobe’s $21,000 Bubbly Bill