Author: clay

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General Sports

ESPY Spoilers


We know that once the dog days of summer descend upon us there are really only a few events for American sporting fans to look forward to: MLB’s All-Star game, Wimbledon and, of course, the ESPY’s. With two of the three already out of the equation, we’d figured that we might as well completely ruin your final big sports bash until football kicks off by bringing you all the news from last night’s ESPY’s which will air on Sunday night. Now, we know that people spend months and months on preparing Super Bowl style parties for the pinnacle of sports awards shows, so if you don’t want to know who won because it will ruin the big affair come Sunday…too bad.

LaDainian Tomlinson was the man of the night as he took home four trophies, including the male athlete of the year, best NFL player, record-breaking performance and the Like Nothing Else award. LeBron James co-hosted the show and also found time to take home the best NBA player award, Roger Federer won his third straight male tennis player trophy after winning his fifth consecutive Wimbledon, Peyton Manning grabbed the gold for championship performance after his SB win, and Tiger Woods won the best golfer award for the third year in a row.

Indianapolis’ fun wasn’t done yet though as the Colts won the best team award and Tony Dungy won the best coach-manager trophy. Softball superstar Taryne Mowatt of Arizona won the awards for female athlete of the year and female college athlete of the year. Boise State picked up a pair of wins (best game and best play) for their memorable upset against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Best moment went to the New Orleans Saints for when they returned home to the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina and the best finish was handed to the Dodgers for their home-run filled performance against the Padres which was capped off by a Nomar Garciaparra two run long ball.

And finally, North Carolina State’s women’s basketball coach Kay Yow picked up the Jimmy V ESPY for Perseverance and Trevor Ringland and Dave Cullen were awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage award for their efforts to bring peace in Northern Ireland through the game of basketball.

So, there you have it; all the awards in a nice little package for you. Now, the only reason you need to tune in is to see LeBron making a fool of himself with a song and dance to Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative.” Hopefully, it’s better than his rendition of “Stayin’ Alive.”

Links:

[KVOA.com]: Chargers’ Tomlinson wins 4 ESPY awards; Colts take 3

Categories
NFL General

Another reason why the NFL needs better drug testing

For all you people out there who think that rage is the only emotion that can result from illegal drug use in the world of football, think again. There can be a variety of reactions that can occur from taking medications that are not specifically prescribed for an athlete. So, the next time you are watching your favorite team and wondering if they might be on drugs, here a few giveaways to look out for:

That goes a long way in explaining the Raiders pitiful offensive performance last year.

Categories
Detroit Pistons

Mr. Big Shot isn’t going anywhere



Get ready to hear “Chauncey
B-B-B-Billups” for a long, long time.

There has been lots of talk over the past few months that Chauncey Billups was going to leave Detroit for a lucrative offer from another team, but the Pistons have officially squashed any doubt that they would lose their point guard after they threw a wad of cash at him and he promptly accepted. Joe Dumars locked up his Finals MVP winning guard to a $60 million contract that will keep Billups in Motown for the next five years with $46 million guaranteed over the next four seasons and a team option for the fifth.

We said from the beginning that re-signing Chauncey was our top priority, and now we can move forward knowing that Chauncey will continue to lead this team,” Joe Dumars told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “One of the toughest positions to fill in this business is the point guard position, and that’s why it was imperative that we re-sign Chauncey.

Apparently Dumars has learned his lesson after he let one of the other “toughest positions to fill” skip town when Ben Wallace, one of the few legitimate centers in the league, bailed out of Detroit for the rival Bulls last year. This move goes a long way to helping the Pistons shoot for a sixth consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearance; and even if they don’t make it back to the East’s championship game, an average salary of $12 million per year will make it a lot easier to cope with the pain of losing. At least for Billups it will.

Links:

[MSNBC.com]: Billups re-signs with Pistons for $60 million

Categories
College Basketball

Assault charges get Missouri basketball player tossed off the team


Kalen Grimes is the center for the University of Missouri basketball team and it turns out he’s a street fighter as well. Unfortunately, the second talent will get you kicked off the team and get you arrested, which is exactly what happened to Grimes after he was involved in an assault on Saturday night.

Grimes went to the parking lot of a Dairy Queen around 3:00 a.m. when a friend of his got into an altercation with some people. After arriving, Grimes and his brother drove to where the incident was happening and the 21-year-old baller got out of the car and cocked a shotgun several times before he eventually stuck a man in the face with the butt of the gun. Before the fight concluded, Grimes’ brother, Michael, was hit in the head with a tire wrench. After leaving the scene, Grimes was pulled over and arrested on a second-degree felony assault charge. Cops also found a loaded gun .40-caliber gun in his car during the arrest.

Grimes’ actions come on the heels of a recently instituted zero-tolerance policy for the team after forward DeMarre Carroll got shot last week. So, it was probably not the best time for Grimes to be out and about at three in the morning; not to mention carrying guns and beating people up. We know that things must get dull in Missouri on a Saturday night, but what ever happened to, say, sleeping at three in the morning? If nothing good ever happens at 2:00 a.m., you better believe that there is absolutely nothing but trouble when the clock strikes three.

Links:

[STLToday.com]: Grimes is charged with felony assault

Categories
All Other Sports

The Nitro era is finally getting underway


It took a little while, but it seems that Johnny Nitro is finally starting to gain a little bit of respect as the ECW Champion. Nitro put on a great match with Tommy Dreamer that was contested under extreme rules and ended with the champ having his hand raised in victory. Now, we know that a legacy can’t be defined by one match, but Nitro did a lot to add some credibility to his reign by putting his body on the line and dishing it out as well as he took it. We never thought that we would say it, but Nitro might be a pretty decent champ. At least, his next match with C.M. Punk should have a little more anticipation now that both guys are rolling.

Last night also marked the unexpected debut of Big Daddy V, also known as Viscera without a shirt on. Frankly, we prefer the pajama look because Big Daddy V had some serious man tits that would make Abdullah The Butcher look like a B-cup. V made a big impact (as if there would be any other kind) in his debut as he beat the crap out of the Boogie Man on the orders of Matt Striker. Let the battle of the freaks begin.

But the most exciting part about the show was the same thing that is exciting about all the brands shows of late, the announcements that Triple H’s return is coming soon. There is no better heel in the WWE than The Game. We’re not talking about the smiling, joking Degeneration X Triple H; we’re talking about the cold blooded Triple H that’s is determined to get a championship around his waist. And, hopefully, that’s The Game that the WWE decides to bring back.

Categories
All Other Sports

IRL didn’t like the Kanaan/Hornish fight, but we did

The fines finally came down after the brawl between the crews of Tony Kanaan and Sam Hornish Jr. following a race in Watkins Glen, N.Y., on Sunday and the Indy Racing League didn’t go easy on the fellas. Both drivers have been fined an unknown amount and placed on probation for the remainder of the year, while each driver’s team was fined $25,000 for unsportmanlike conduct and also placed on probation until 2008.

The most memorable moment from the whole pit road debacle was when Hornish’s pops gave a two handed shove to Kanaan and started the big brawl. Daddy was given a one race suspension and got the same probation sentence as everyone else who was involved. We know that the IRL can’t put up with this kind of crap from their drivers and crews, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t totally entertaining.

If it was up to us, every race would end with a brawl and a bunch of smack talk. It’s better than climbing a stupid fence.

Links:

[SI.com]: IRL fines teams $25,000 each for Watkins Glen fracas

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All Other Sports

The fellas on Around The Horn suddenly look a lot more intelligent

We complain a lot about the annoying guys behind SportsCenter desks, but at least they’re better than what is offered across the pond. Although, we could totally see Stu Scott and Scott Van Pelt doing some of the exact same things.

Categories
Portland Trailblazers

Greg Oden is already skipping practice


The Portland Trailblazers knew that they would have to go through some growing pains when they drafted Greg Oden with the No. 1 pick last month, but they probably weren’t expecting this. Oden is expected to miss the remainder of the team’s summer league games because he has to have his tonsils removed. Geez, despite having the look of a 35-year-old, turns out that this kid really is just a kid.

The surgery date hasn’t been set yet, but Oden is expected to attend the ESPY awards before heading to the hospital and going under the knife. Recovery time is expected to be about two weeks; unfortunately, the Blazers don’t have two weeks to spare at the moment. Everyone knows that Oden has all the potential to be the next big thing in the NBA, but his first summer league game shows that he has a lot of work to do. In his debut, he picked up a whopping ten fouls!

Oh, well, we doubt that anyone in Portland is really worried about the fouls or the tonsils at the moment. After all, considering all the crap that city has gone through with their team over the last eight years or so, they’ll give their rookie all the rest and ice cream in bed that he can eat if it translates into a winning record and a shot at a postseason slot.

Links:

[KGW.com]: Oden and tonsils: Out for summer

Categories
All Other Sports

Pro wrestlers speak out on Larry King Live


The Chris Benoit story continues to send shockwaves through the world of professional wrestling and last night on Larry King Live, along with other former stars, WWE Champion John Cena joined Chris Jericho in studio and Bret Hart via satellite for an on-air discussion about the man and the murders.

As expected, they were as shocked by what unfolded a couple weeks back as the rest of us. Nobody had a clue as to what would make the man they considered to be a consummate professional commit such savage acts. In fact, Jericho said that Benoit was a great father.

If I had to leave my kids with somebody, I would leave them with Chris Benoit if I was in a pinch and not have any — any inkling of anything but that they would get the best possible care and attention. And that’s another reason why it’s just so completely — it’s so hard to deal with, Larry, because this guy loved his kids, L-O-V-E capital letters.

While steroids continue to play a role in the ongoing dialogue surrounding the double-murder/suicide, the entire panel seemed to think that its lazy journalism for the media to simply claim that steroids are the cause of this tragedy and said they wouldn’t believe it until the proof was offered. Benoit passed a drug test back in April.

As horrible as this has been for the families and the profession, the truth is that we will never know exactly what caused Benoit to snap. Even if drugs are found in his system, this still can’t be explained by a simple pill or injection. We’d like to be able to say that this guy was a pill popping, needle stabbing, brutal human being, because that would explain a whole lot, but the people that knew him best say he wasn’t that man at all. Of course, he could have been fooling them all along but if friends of five, ten, 15, 20 years have no clue, then it’s highly unlikely that some news organization will uncover anything any different.

The questions will never be answered and it is completely wrong to judge the entire wrestling industry as steroid pumping madmen based on Benoit’s actions. The NFL isn’t full of O.J. Simpsons, the NBA isn’t all Ron Artests and the WWE isn’t a huge collection of Benoits. This individual had some serious, serious mental issues and that’s basically all we will ever know.

Links:

[CNN.com]: Wrestler Kills Wife, Son & Himself

Categories
All Other Sports

Venus Williams’ has the thrill of a lifetime: reading a Top Ten list


Venus Williams is atop the tennis world again after she dominated on the famous grass courts of Wimbledon yet again. And while getting a nice fat check, a big trophy and more international fame might be some of the little perks that come along with the victory, the grand prize for busting her butt and winning against the best competition the world has to offer is a complimentary trip to the Late Show with David Letterman where Venus got to read a very special Top Ten list.

Top Ten Things Venus Williams Would Like To Say After Winning Her 4th Wimbledon Title

10: “I blew my prize money on a sandwich and a medium soda at the concession stand”

9: “It always helps to tip the line judges”

8: “Frankly, I prefer racquetball”

7: “At the rate I’m going, I’ll have won 50 Wimbledon titles by the age of 120”

6: “I owe it all to my new iRacket”

5: “I’m taking some time off to polish my trophies”

4: “The secret to my forehand smash? I imagine the ball is Letterman’s head”

3: “Imagine how I’d do if I practiced”

2: “Don’t tell me how I did in the finals. I TiVo’d it”

1: “Steinbrenner just signed me to save the Yankees”

Links:

[CBS.com]: Today’s Top Ten