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].

Categories
Anaheim Ducks

And your NHL Finals are set


Ducks 4, Red Wings 3
That sound you hear right now is Dominik Hasek’s slinky spine crumbling to dust.

See, Jean Sebastian Giguere had a rough final period – allowing three red light specials to the Wings – but he was stone cold lights out for the first two periods, when nothing got past him. Hasek was pretty much the reverse, but in the end, the Ducks still won (with help from a Samuel Pahlsson goal). Whether or not this means the adage “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish” is something that’s complete bollox, I’m not ready to say just yet.

What I am ready to say is this: the Cup Finals are set, and it’s Anaheim vs. Ottawa. Anaheim was here four years ago, when they lost to the Devs in seven. Ottawa has never been here, at least not in their present, since-1992 version.

The series is boring for this reason: small markets. Anaheim is 10th in the state of CA alone, and Ottawa is 4th in Canada. People will consistently use that argument to prove no one cares (meanwhile, if Cleveland somehow stuns Detroit, the NBA Finals would pit Cleveland against San Antonio, which has to be equivalently disastrous markets).

The series is interesting for this reason: Ottawa’s first line has been incredible during these playoffs. Hell, it’s been just about the only thing Ottawa is doing really well (besides Ray Emery). Anaheim has the personnel to really rumble with that line, and maybe even create a few fights in the process. That’s going to be the Ducks’ big advantage; dudes like Pronger might just level dudes like Spezza as the series winds on.

Depending on how you view the Angels of baseball geographically, you might think that neither Anaheim or Ottawa has had a major sports championship in quite some time. It’s also interesting for that reason: two “fringe” sports communities battling for arguably sports’ most renowned hardware. Y’all ready for this? We’ll be back Thursday with a detailed preview and prediction in this very spot.

Categories
College Football

Dear PETA, leave our sports alone


Nothing sucks harder and more frequently than PETA. It’s fine when they throw red paint on vapid celebrities and going after people who train dogs for fights, but when they start trying to tell sports teams what to do, that’s when they need to be clubbed like a baby seal. (What’d I say?) Their latest foray into being annoying jackasses is to petition LSU to get rid of its live tiger mascot.


Dear Chancellor O’Keefe:

We are writing to express our sympathy over the death of Louisiana State University’s (LSU) mascot, Mike the tiger, and to urge the school not to replace him. Big cats in captivity are denied everything that is natural and important to them, such as the opportunity to run, climb, hunt, establish their territory, and choose their mates.
…
Costumed human mascots are currently in use at most universities, and no major professional sports team includes live animals in its mascot program. The versatility of human performers allows them to interact directly with fans and entertain them throughout the game by leading cheers, reacting to the crowd, and pumping up the team. A frightened animal can’t do any of these things.

Meanwhile, the tradition at LSU of having a live tiger goes back 71 years and the tiger gets to live in a 15,000 square foot $3M home with a bathing pool and a waterfall. Man, that sounds terrible. LSU officials have told PETA to go pound sand.

Links:

[ESPN]: LSU likely to ignore PETA, obtain new tiger mascot

Categories
Boston Celtics

Around the Blogosphere: Celtics fan reactions


We started out thinking we’d post some reaction from around the blogosphere from Celtics fans (the team most screwed) and Trailblazers fans (the luckiest team). But it turns out that while Celtics fans are tearing up the interwebs with their anger and lament, Blazers fans are nowhere to be found.

After winning a lottery in which they only had a 1 in 20 chance, it’s like they don’t even know a team exists. There are more Celtics fans blogging about the Blazers getting Greg Oden than there are Blazers fans. And this, it seems to us, is exactly why the Blazers don’t even deserve to get Oden. (And we absolutely hate the Celtics — it just seems like the sports gods are fucking with them though.)

Well, without further ado, here are some angry C’s fans:

“The 5th overall pick in a 2 player draft… that’s what we get out of 82 games of tanking, inept coaching, mongoloidian general management, and Personal Injury…
Portland as a franchise was floundering. Every player they had was some sort of criminal. Dogfighting, weed smoking, assaults, OUI… you name it, the Blazers had someone who did it. We got Bassy Telfair and is gun collection from the Blazers. The team sucked, and the fans- normally the NBA’s most consistent sellout- were shunning the Blazers for Lumberjack Contests and Salmon Fishing Derbies. They got the #1 overall pick.” — High Above Courtside
(Right, it’s Portland’s fault that Danny Ainge traded for Bassy.)

“What does this mean for the Celtics? In my opinion, it means that the Celtics are absolutely the more desperate team in the league this summer. I think that if the Celtics can’t package this pick with Theo Ratliff’s contract and extra pieces for an All-Star caliber veteran, Paul Pierce will be gone by the trade deadline. That also, in my opinion, would be best for both the organization and Paul Pierce (if we can’t get ourselves a veteran All-Star this summer).” — Celticsnews.com

“The worst possible scenario played out in the lottery. The Celtics dropped to the #5 pick and the Grizzlies dropped to #4. Do you realize that there was approximately a 6% chance that the Memphis and Boston would pick 4 and 5? I think David Stern just sent an anti-tanking message to both teams. I would have felt better if the lottery were televised instead of being held behind closed doors.” — Loy’s Place

“I am usually a pretty optimistic Celtics fan, but right now I don’t know how to feel anymore. I can’t end this blog/rant saying all will be well and we should stop worrying. My prediction? An all-star veteran somehow becomes available and we trade the pick, Green, Ratliff, and Delonte West for him. We might even have to add a future pick. What will most likely really happen? No veteran becomes available; we draft Wright and wait at least three more years for him to develop. By then Pierce is all but gone and who knows how our other youngsters will have developed. Optimism? Sorry, wait a few more months before you get any of that from me.” — Celtics 24/7

“NOOOOOOOOOOO! It was all for nothing. The injuries. The tanking (fine, we can say it now). The agony. The misery. The futile dream that something might go right for the Celtics. You know what? I’m not jumping off the bridge yet. Maybe Tony Allen comes back. Maybe Gerald makes an improvement half as big as Al Jefferson’s third-year improvement. Maybe Rondo develops a shot; maybe Perkins adds something (anything) to his game. And we’re still in the Atlantic Division. But, dammit, I wish I’d be thinking about going deep into the playoffs, instead of my 12th straight year of hoping everything goes right and we just get there.

I hate sports.” — Bunkosquad

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Jake Peavy makes his Cy Young case


1. King of the Hill: Jake Peavy faced Rich Hill in a promising pitching matchup on Tuesday. But this one wasn’t close, as Hill continued his recent struggles while Peavy kept his major league leading ERA. Hill allowed five runs in six innings, the third start in a row he’s given up four or more runs. He allowed four homeruns to the Padres, all of them solo. Meanwhile, Peavy gave up just one run to improve to 6-1 with a 1.63 ERA. If the season ended right now, he would win the Cy Young in a landslide. On offense, Adrian Gonzalez hit his 11th homer and Mike Cameron hit two out to triple his season total. The Padres are just a half game back of the Dodgers now.

2. Twin Powers: The Twins’ three best players–Johan Santana, Justin Morneau, and Torii Hunter–all dominated in a 7-1 win over the Rangers. Santana had one of his best starts of the season, with 13 strikeouts and one run allowed in seven innings. He only surrendered a homer to Sammy Sosa, who now has 598 on his career. Morneau powered the offense with two homers, five RBIs, and three hits. With 13 homers, he is now second only to A-Rod in the AL in that category. Torii Hunter also continued his recent hot streak, with another homer and two ribbies. In his last nine games, Hunter has 5 homers and 17 RBIs. The Rangers, followed up back-to-back 14-run outings with 18 strikeouts on offense.

3. Youth over experience: For the second time in six days, Tim Lincecum of the Giants took on Roy Oswalt of the Astros. Last time, both pitchers were even and the game was decided in extras. On Tuesday, Lincecum got the better of the two-time All Star. Lincecum pitched a career-high eight innings and gave up two runs, lowering his ERA to 3.08. After a poor debut, Lincecum has made three straight quality starts. Oswalt gave up four runs in the loss but is still 6-3. Also worth noting for the Giants is how Barry Bonds has completely struggled lately. Since his last homer on May 8, he has no RBIs, just 5 hits, and a .191 slugging percentage. His OPS has fallen from 1.311 to 1.121, though that’s still good enough to lead the NL.

Player of the Day: Kyle Davies, Braves: 8 innings, 1 run, and three RBIs in an 8-1 win over the Mets.

Stat of the Day: After only recording three RBIs in the first 32 games this year, Felipe Lopez of the Nationals has 13 RBIs in his last 13 games, including a 6-RBI effort on Tuesday in a win over Cincinnati.

Categories
General Sports

Odds and Ends: Should bloggers get Press Credentials?


Eric Mcerlain over at Off Wing Opinion posted a link to Sports Media Journal’s poll asking whether sports bloggers should get media credentials. There are only 51 votes as of this writing but almost 2/3 of the respondents say no. And I have to agree with them. A few bloggers, like Eric, absolutely know their stuff. We’ve had Eric on a few podcasts and his knowledge of hockey and the NHL is extraordinary. Giving him a press pass enhances his writing.

However, the majority of bloggers are goddamn useless and add absolutely nothing to sports “reporting.” Hell, why do you need a press pass to post a blog entry on which player in the starting lineup compares to the cast of the Partridge Family? Bill Simmons doesn’t need a press pass and the majority of bloggers are cheap imitations of the Sports Guy. (Even the Sports Guy has become a cheap imitation of the Sports Guy.) You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve clicked on a link, read the blog entry, and thought, “are you f’ing kidding me? Did I just waste time reading that shit?”

No, bloggers do not need press credentials. The good ones come up with important topics and opinions with or without access. The bad ones will always suck the life out of this game, whether or not they have access to the free buffet. And for the record, we don’t have press credentials.

In other news…

[Cincinnati.com]: Bengals release LB Nicholson after arrest on a domestic violence charge

[Idaho Statesman]: Another story for the ‘Hockey players are the toughest athletes’ file

[Canada.com]: The worst logos in hockey

[TrojanWire]: Well, at least we know Steve Nash doesn’t get his chest waxed

[Ump Bump]: For Ozzie Guillen, profanity is but a station in his train of thought

[SportsBurn]: Tony Romo to judge Miss Universe pageant. Bastard.

Categories
Soccer

Soccer fan killed for celebrating



stoning is not funny

There’s a rule that we think everyone should follow: never celebrate excessively when in an opposing team’s stadium. If you go to an away game, you are allowed to celebrate when your team does something good, but make sure it’s mild mannered and not annoying to any who paid good money to cheer on their own team. We have no sympathy for people who get beaten up for being obnoxious pricks or get heckled for sporting their team colors. (Yes, we’re Eagles fans.)

In any case, while heckling and the occasional deserved beatdown can be expected, stomping and stoning a man to death is completely unacceptable.


A Mozambican soccer fan was stoned and stomped to death after celebrating a goal by his side in a premier league match in the southern African nation, Mozambique’s national newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Angry Lichinga fans attacked the unidentified man after he jumped onto a stadium terrace to celebrate Ferroviario’s second goal in the 69th minute, the daily newspaper said. It quoted witnesses as saying that police failed to intervene.

Yep. The beautiful game.

Links:
[The Offside]: The Daily Dose

[Youtube]: Life of Brian – the Stoning

Categories
College Football

UCLA just lost the rivalry to USC

We’re completely neutral on the whole UCLA vs USC thing they got going on down in SoCal. On the one hand, the Trojans football team and their Song Girls are top notch and always make our day. On the other, UCLA is a better academic school with phenomenal bball cheerleaders and (until last year) basketball dominance.

But this picture from the Wizard of Odds squarely puts us in the USC camp from now on. It’s a goddamn travesty that anyone approved this… this… something with Sanjaya from American Idol in UCLA jersey and dancing in front of a fake 1980s graffiti mural that says UCLA. The look on this kid’s face basically means that no UCLA student or alumni can ever claim to be cool again.

Can the UCLA brass sue for defamation of character? Just look at the mohawk in UCLA colors! If this was our alma mater, we’d be up in arms.

Video of UCLA’s biggest fan after the jump.

Continue reading “UCLA just lost the rivalry to USC”

Categories
Pittsburgh Steelers

Steelers coach is getting his email privileges revoked


Larry Zierlein, the offensive live coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, accidentally forwarded an email to a mailing list that included every GM in the league, their secretaries, and Commissioner Roger Goodell. Of course this wouldn’t be news if the contents of the email weren’t pornographic.

While Michael David Smith over at AOL Fanhouse doesn’t think anything beyond a reprimand and some training is in order, we actually think he might get fired. Last year around this time, Warriors PR man Eric Govan was fired for sending out an email with Ghetto Prom pictures to his contact list that included basically everyone he dealt with in the media. That email simply had photos of prom attendees in some of the worst outfits ever. Embarrassing and stupid but not pornographic. Zierlein actually sent out pornographic email to a list that included women, which is just begging for a hostile work environment lawsuit.

How many times have we been told that the NFL is just a business? Can you imagine if this had happened in a company like IBM, even if the worker was some VP with 29 years of tenure? We’re not saying that we want Zierlein to be fired but he probably should be.

Links:
[AOL Fanhouse]: A Name Is Named in NFL E-Mail Porn Fiasco
[Sportscolumn]: Ghetto Prom in Oaktown!

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Rangers are offensive


1. Two games, 28 runs: The Rangers’ pitching may never be good enough, but their hitting is always playoff-team caliber. On Monday they scored 14 runs for their second consecutive game as they pounded the Twins 14-4. Catcher Gerald Laird hit a grand slam, Sammy Sosa had three RBIs, and Kenny Lofton had three runs for Texas. Carlos Silva had his worst start of the season for Minnesota, as he gave up seven runs in just 4 innings. Reliever Julio DePaula also allowed seven runs in just one inning. The Rangers are still one of the worst teams in the AL at 18-27, but they now rank fifth in the league in runs scored. Unfortunately for Rangers fans, they’ve allowed more runs than anybody in baseball except the Devil Rays.

2. A-Rod is Back: After a 22-game streak in which he only had 1 homer and 5 RBIs, Alex Rodriguez is back to his April self. He has homered in three straight games, bringing his major-league leading total to 18. This is his third streak this season of three or more consecutive games with a homer. He helped the Yankees beat the Red Sox to start off a crucial series. On the pitching side of things, Chien Ming-Wang outdeuled the suddenly struggling Tim Wakefield. Ming-Wang pitched six innings and recorded a season-high five strikeouts, while Wakefield allowed six runs. The host Yankees won 6-2 to slash Boston’s division lead back to single digits (9.5 games). The 20-23 Yankees still have a lot of work to do to catch up with Boston, who is the only major league team with 30 wins.

3. The Power of the Brewers: Who would have thought Milwaukee would be one of the most powerful teams in the majors this season? They rank second in the majors in homers (behind Texas) and third in slugging percentage. The Brewers also have the two leading NL homerun hitters in JJ Hardy and Prince Fielder, who have 14 apiece. Fielder hit two bombs last night in their 9-5 win over the Dodgers. Just wait until their most powerful hitter from last year, Bill Hall, finds his stroke.

Player of the Day: Noah Lowry, Giants: 7 innings, no runs in a 4-0 win over Houston. Lowry has silently put up a 2.69 ERA, fifth best in the NL.

Categories
NHL General

Odds and Ends: Overtime hockey bumped by horse interviews



Glass completely empty

Everyone sort of agrees that even if you don’t like hockey very much that playoff hockey is exciting as hell. And overtime playoff hockey is basically the tits and/or ass. So how could it be possible that NBC decided to dump their hockey coverage of the Sabres/Senators in overtime to go to their coverage of the Preakness two hours before the actual race?

This makes absolutely no sense to us and we think it’s a travesty that the NHL has so little pull/cache that interviewing a bunch of rich jackasses about their horses takes precedence over an exciting sport where there are actual athletes.

In other news…

[Sports By Brooks]: If Reggie Bush loses out to this guy, the world might explode

[BBC Sports]: Soccer manager hired on Thursday, fired on Monday.

[The Offside]: These fans need some tutelage from Eagles fans — their aim is terrible

[Basketbawful]: Uhh… why is this news?

[Miami Herald]: Catching eggs makes more sense than catching bricks

And finally, a really fascinating look at how the NBA Draft became a lottery.