Author: Vin

Vin is a Philly boy who shouldn't be invited into your house because he'll judge you on your book and music collection. He owns Dawkins, Utley, Iverson, and Lindros jerseys, which is all you really need to know about him. He can be reached at [email protected].

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All Other Sports

Duke lacrosse scandal update: bad luck or no imagination?

The dancer who accused the three Duke lacrosse players had previously accused 3 other men of rape 10 years ago but then backed off her story and the case was never pursued.


The woman’s father said Thursday his daughter was not raped in the 1996 incident.

The father said his daughter was held against her will by a group of men who had picked her up from school in Durham and drove her to Creedmoor. She was not sexually assaulted or injured in the encounter, he said, and she was returned home safely the same day.

This revelation, of course, has the Duke lax lawyers in full shark mode.

It certainly raises substantial questions about this woman’s credibility,” Cheshire said. “It’s awfully bothersome when both allegations of rape include three men. It gives one a lot of pause about her credibility. … This is a train off the track.

Like we said before, this is like a heavyweight title bout. This round goes to the lacrosse lawyers.

Links:
[News & Observer]: The woman who says she was raped by three Duke lacrose players had a previous case
[MSNBC]: Duke accuser alleged rape 13 years ago

Categories
MLB General

MLB Power Rankings Roundup for Apr 28 2006

Everyone agrees that the White Sox are the best team in baseball. That is, except TSN who have the Tigers in the #1 slot. Since this isn’t a joke, we have to wonder what they’re thinking. Although last week, they were the only people to have the Reds in the top 10. This week, the rest of the crew is catching up and the Reds have moved up in most power rankings after leading the league in offense.

Rank Sportscolumn ESPN FoxSports Sportsline USA Today TSN.ca
1 White Sox White Sox White Sox White Sox White Sox Tigers
2 Astros Cardinals Red Sox Red Sox Mets White Sox
3 Red Sox Mets Mets Cardinals Astros Mets
4 Mets Indians Cardinals Astros Red Sox Astros
5 Cardinals Astros Yankees Mets Cardinals Cubs
6 Reds Yankees Tigers Angels Yankees Reds
7 Yankees Blue Jays Blue Jays Yankees Indians Red Sox
8 Cubs Red Sox Astros Giants Tigers Cardinals
9 Angels Angels Cubs Indians Blue Jays Yankees
10 Giants Reds Reds Braves Angels Blue Jays
11-30 more more more more more more

Categories
MLB General

We want… no… NEED this CD

Why pay $3.99 for TO’s rap song when you can get an entire album of Major Leaguers singing for $17.99? Good Sports Recordings has unleashed “Oh Say Can You Sing” on the American public.

Their web site says that it “is a COOL project with no cheesy or campy elements allowed!” We’re going to go ahead and ignore that marketing copy. When you have Coco Crisp rapping an “original track”, there’s something very wrong. Still, on 11 tracks, there must be some good stuff here right? Besides Matt Ginter of the Tigers playing banjo on a song we’ve never heard of, that is. Actually, what we really want to hear is Matt Ginter rapping.

It’s for a good cause so we won’t make fun of it too much. However, they missed a golden opportunity on a can’t miss song that would make this a bestseller. How do they not have a duet of Enter Sandman with Mariano Rivera and Billy Wagner? That’s gold, jerry, gold!

Categories
General Sports

Odds and Ends for Thur Apr 27 2006: The most whipped athletes

Maxim has named the 5 most whipped athletes in professional sports. These are the guys whose wives make more headlines than they do for controlling their careers or basically just saying too much in the press. To no one’s surprise, Doug Christie made the top of the list, followed by Kris Benson, Nick Harper, Antonio Davis, and Kurt Warner. The Nick Harper listing is a little harsh. The guy can’t help it if his wife is pyscho, stabbed him in the leg, and cost the Colts a playoff game.

In other news…

[Sydney Morning Herald]: Quick! Someone call and tell them Barry Bonds is doping.

[Fox Sports]: USC backup QB suspended after being charged with sexual assault.

[Twin Cities.com]: Onterrio “Whizzinator” Smith is released by the Vikings

[Yahoo]: This is why the media sucks. Must Favre get credit for everything?

[Off Wing Opinion]: Family who bought the St. Louis Blues in 1999 have lost $200M on their investment.

Real Odd of the Day: 3 to 1 that Colin Finnerty will be found guilty in Duke lacrosse trial.

Categories
San Diego Chargers

Ladies and Gentlemen: Your 2007 Las Vegas Chargers

It’s only a matter of time before Las Vegas gets a major sports franchise. If not the Sonics, then why not the San Diego Chargers, whose lease runs out after this year. The mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman (you know, the guy who told a bunch of fourth graders that drinking gin was a hobbie.) contacted Chargers management to make a pitch for them to relocate to Sin City. However, the Chargers are not allowed to talk to cities outside of San Diego county until after Jan 1 but there’s an amendment being passed that will change that after the mayor of San Diego said he supported the Chargers desire to explore relocating.

We realize the whole Rick Tocchet scandal might keep this from happening but why hasn’t the NHL pursued moving a team to Vegas? As we know, people will bet on anything, even if Rick Tocchet will get convicted, so why not stir up interest in the NHL by putting it in the sports gambling mecca of the world? Hell, put a team store right inside Caesars. Gambling is legal in Vegas. Embrace it, Bettman!

Links:
[SignOn SanDiego]: Las Vegas makes pass at Chargers

Categories
Phoenix Suns

Hating on Steve Nash



2nd MVP? I’m shocked!

When Steve Nash won the MVP last year, a lot of people cried foul and said Shaq should have won it. Hell, some even said he was the worst MVP of all time. Well, people got even more apoplectic this year when it was announced he would win his second straight MVP, beating out Kobe, LeBron and Chauncey Billups.

From around the web comes these reactions:

[Dime Magazine]: “Kobe perfectly fits the two criteria that voters traditionally use when deciding on an MVP: he’s the best player in the League and he’s invaluable to his team. Kobe Bryant is the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. It’s not even close.”

[The Gambler]: “Every night, against the superior competition of the West, Kobe carries the Lakers. If he doesn’t have a great game, they don’t win. He is easily leading the league in scoring (35.3 points per game) in the context of winning basketball games…

People say that Kobe doesn’t make his teammates better. But that’s bull. He averages 4.5 assists per game and he frequently passes up shots at the beginning of games in order to let his teammates find their groove. He turns it on when he needs to. And all the attention he draws creates tons of open shots for them.”

[Sweet Emotion Iverson]: “I can’t remember a worse MVP in all of professional sports winning once, much less twice. While the sportswriters may be trying to make a point of where they want the NBA to go, they are emphatically neglecting the best player in the league, which can be an argument about Kobe and Lebron.”

[Pety Cash]: “Is steve Nash the best player in the NBA? no. Did Steve Nash have a better season then every other player in the NBA? no. Then why does he have 2 straight mvp trophies putting him in elite company with magic johnson? He has solid numbers and also has a solid supporting cast. This year Nash averaged 18 pts. and 10.5 assists per game. These numbers do beat out Chauncey Billups, despite being on the NBA’s best team (18.5 pts 8.6 assists p/g).”

Categories
NBA General

Players knocks out ref in Uruguay basketball league

This is an insane clip of an Argentian basketball player knocking out a ref Kermit Washington style. Will this ever happen in the NBA?

Also, check out this short clip of a hockey player fighting with a ref.

Categories
NFL General

Who are people smoking crack with Whitney Houston, Alex?

We surveyed about every single mock draft out there and it’s a virtual lock that Reggie Bush will be taken #1 overall. However, we did find 3 sites that have the Texans taking someone else with the #1 pick. We’re scratching out heads wondering if they are genius or fools.

[FF Live Wire]: 1. Houston Texans – Mario Williams DE North Carolina State: The Texans will surprise many of the casual NFL specatators on April 29th when they pass up on Reggie Bush. RB Domanick Davis is fifth in total yardage among all running backs in the last three years who have played a minimum of eleven games each season. The Texans have also recently given Domanick Davis a $21.1 million contract extension. Reggie Bush’s talent can not be denied but will it cross over to the NFL in a successful manner? Many believe so but the Texans will make the right decision and draft the next Julius Peppers.

[NFL Smackdown]: 1. Houston – Mario Williams
DE NC State – It’s still looking like Williams will be their guy, since affordability is a question surrounding Bush. Plus, Davis is good enough for the Texans and Coach Kubiak.

[NFL Fans]: 1. Houston – D’Brickshaw Ferguson OT Virginia – For its entire existence Houston has been handicapped with a subpar offensive line lacking an anchor on the left side. With D’Brick, that problem is solved in one smooth stroke – which should allow David Carr, one of the most sacked QB’s in the league due to poor line play, the chance to finally flourish in the NFL.

Too bad you can’t bet on the NFL Draft.

Categories
MLB General

Full Count for Thur Apr 27 2006: Babe-3



Getting ready to roll over

1. 7-11 closes at 11: It looks like Barry Bonds is trying to prove everyone wrong who said that he couldn’t play at a high level anymore. The former MVP (and steroid user) bashed his third homerun of the season on Wednesday, giving him 711 on his career. This was his second round-tripper in his last two games, and it left Bonds only 3 shy of Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list. However, the Giants lost to the Mets in a high-scoring 11 inning game. Carlos Delgado homered for New York in their 9-7 edging of San Francisco.

2. “There’s a first time for everything”: Those were the words of Ben Sheets after the Brewers swept the Braves for their first time in franchise history. Sheets achieved his first win of the season, striking out 9 in six innings of work. Derrick Turnbow picked up his eighth save of the year, and his 3rd of the 3-game series. Jorge Sosa, who was one of the best pitchers on the Braves’ staff last season, lost the game to decrease his record to 0-4. The four losses are more than he had all last season. The Braves dropped to 9-12, five games back of the Mets in the NL East. The Brewers are now 12-10.

3. 6 up, 6 out: Kevin Mench wasn’t expected to carry the Rangers with his bat this season. Mark Teixeria and Hank Blalock were supposed to be the power hitters for the Rangers. But after yesterday, Mench is leading the team in RBIs and is second in homeruns. His 6 game in a row with a homer set a new Texas Rangers record, and all of his 20 RBIs have come in the last 7 days. However, thanks to another blown save by Francisco Cordero, Oakland defeated Texas 6-4 in 10 innings. Cordero’s 5th blown save set a major league record for the month of April, and Cordero’s ERA ballooned to a pitiful 11.70. Both teams trail the LA Angels in the AL West.

4. They are Lackey-ing some runs: Remember when the Detroit Tigers were the hottest offensive team in the majors? Chris Shelton was hailed as the Next Big Thing, and the Tigers were the talk of the major leagues. Shelton and the rest of the team have stumbled recently on offense, and that was showcased in their 4-0 loss to the Angels. John Lackey shut them down, with only 1 hit allowed over 8 innings. His ERA dropped over a point to 3.09, and he recorded 8 strikeouts as well. Vladimir Guerrero provided some offense for LA, with his 5th homerun of the season. Tigers pitcher Mike Maroth came into the game with an unbelievable .49 ERA, but after four earned runs it rose to 1.85.

5. The Royals don’t even have to deal with this: It’s not like the Tampa Bay Devil Rays needed any more problems to deal with. They already had more rebuilding to do than Bill Parcells’ wardrobe designer. But now, one of their top minor league prospects is getting himself into behavioral issues. Delmon Young, a former #1 overall draft selection and minor league player of the year, was ejected for throwing a bat at an umpire after striking out. Behavior like this belongs in Little League, not a professional organization. Young should be fined and further punished for his actions. We almost feel sorry for the Devil Rays.

Categories
NFL General

Reggie Bush joins Adidas "uprising"

Sure there’s a new report today about transcipts that tie Reggie Bush to the shady wannabe sports agency called New Era Sports & Entertainment but like he said, “it’s no big deal.” Especially when he knows it will absolutely have no effect on his draft status or his ability to sign big money endorsement deals.

On Wednesday, Bush signed a multi-year contract with Adidas that is reportedly worth $1 million a year to promote football apparel and launch a cleat in 2007. It’s not exactly LeBron money but kids don’t walk around the halls wearing football cleats either.


It’s going to be a great, long relationship. Adidas is on the uprise, and I want to be part of it.

This is just the appetizer for his big pay day on Saturday. The Texans have narrowed the choice to Reggie Bush or Mario Williams with the first pick and there is no way Bush drops past 2 in the draft. Based on last year’s numbers, he will get at least $20 million in guaranteed money.

Links:

[Yahoo]: Reggie Bush Signs Adidas Endorsement Deal

[NY Post]: Bush could lose Heisman