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
NFL General

2007 NFL Draft: 3 out of the top 10 prospects admit marijuana use


Calvin Johnson, Gaines Adams, and Amobi Okoye admitted to having used marijuana in standard interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine. Georgia Tech WR Calvin Johnson is arguably the best player in the draft (though he might not go first because of team needs), Clemson DE Gaines Adams is expected to go #2, and Louisville DT Amobi Okoye is the 19-year-old phenom that just graced the cover of the latest ESPN magazine.

Now, we suspect that most of the players in the first round entire draft have smoked marijuana (isn’t that what college is for?) but only these three have the honesty (stupidity?) to admit it to the NFL scouts.

Whether admitting to using marijuana is going to be a liability depends on the team that’s looking to draft the players. Some will see the admission as a sign of maturity, while some will steer clear because the new emphasis on personal conduct by the commish. If you’re the Cincinnati Bengals, for example, you can’t risk drafting a player with any black marks on his record, not just because Goodell is going to start fining teams but because of the bad PR.

If your team is drafting later in the first round, you are hoping this issue spins out of control so that one of these three will fall to you. There are no sure things in the NFL draft but having one of the top 10 teams pass on any of these players because of marijuana use would be a gift.

Links:
[NFL Fanhouse]: NFL Draft: Johnson, Adams, Okoye Admit Smoking Pot
[Pro Football Weekly]: Three potential top-10 draft prospects admit to marijuana use

Categories
San Diego Chargers

LT smart for turning down Madden cover? Nope, just greedy


EA Sports: LT, we want you to have the honor of being on the Madden 08 cover!
LaDanian Tomlinson: Awesome. How much does it pay?
EA: Well, $200,000 and you get to go to a bunch of personal appearances to promote the game!
LT: $200,000? What’s $200,000 to me? Ain’t s%#$. Next time I might shake my… Forget it.
EA: Vince Young was our guy all along!
Vince Young: I heard you guys sell millions of copies. Isn’t that gonna take a long time for me to pose for each cover?

According to CNBC, Tomlinson turned down the cover not because of the curse but because it didn’t pay his market value. Most athletes are willing to go below their market price because of the prestige of the Madden cover but not LT. He wanted his money. Of course LT didn’t turn it down because of the curse. Professional athletes think they’re invinceable so they’ll be the one who avoids the curse. However, when Vince Young goes down this year, Saints fans will pay Reggie Bush so he doesn’t sign when the EA folks approach him for Madden 09.

Links:
[CNBC]: Tomlinson Turns Down Madden, Rutgers Coach Cashes In, No Texting & Another MJ

Categories
All Other Sports

Video of Andre Agassi hitting Steffi Graf with a racket

Last week, we had a little blurb in the Odds and Ends section about Andre Agassi hitting Steffi Graf in the face with his racket on the follow through. Well, here’s the video of it from a person in the stands. A couple of thoughts: 1) It wouldn’t have happened if they weren’t doing something incredibly gay (we’re taking it back!) like holding hands while hitting; and 2) gotta love the enthusiasm of the PA guy “left handed!” as he hits her in the face — followed by silence.

(via Sports By Brooks)

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Almost Perfect — 27 up, 27 down


1. Surprise of the Year: Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox strugged enormously the second half of last year and wasn’t so great in his first two starts of 2007. But, in a surprising performance to say the least, he tossed a no-hitter against the Rangers, a good-hitting team. Buehrle went the distance ans was only one walk shy of perfection. He struck out 8 and picked off the only baserunner he allowed. The no-no was the 16th in White Sox history but their first since 1991. On the offensive side, Jim Thome hit two homers and Jermaine Dye had a grand slam to supply all of the White Sox’s 6 runs. Another major league pitcher, the Mets’ John Maine, went into the seventh inning with a no-hitter going as well. Maine and the Mets disposed of the Marlins, 9-2.

2. Worst team in the league: Many would be surprised to find that the worst team in the entire majors is the Philadelphia Phillies so far this year. They fell to 3-10 after a loss to the terrible Nationals in 13 innings on Wednesday. Nothing has gone well for the Phils this season. Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, their two best offensive players, are hitting under .230. Brett Myers was so bad as a starting pitcher that they moved him to the bullpen. Absolutely nothing has gone right for the Phillies, except for Jimmy Rollins’ surprising power.

3. Star Power: Albert Pujols and Barry Bonds faced each other on Wednesday,. and they both showed why they are two of the game’s most feared hitters. Pujols, who has been struggling, hit his fourth homer of the season and increased his average 40 points via three hits. Bonds, meanwhile, hit a solo homer in the eighth to tie the game, which the Giants eventually won in 12 innings. The Bonds homer was his fourth of the year, and number 738 on his career. He’s had a fantastic start to the season, and ranks first in the NL in slugging and OPS.

Player of the Day: Mark Buehrle, White Sox: 9 innings, no-hitter, 8 strikeouts.

Walk Off: Ryan on Poor Man’s PTI had a great idea: the best snub ever for a sports editor on a major newspaper would be to bury the story to a blurb when Barry breaks Hank Aaron’s record (by now, it’s inevitable) next to some story about womens water polo or something. “And in other news, Barry Bonds breaks Hank Aaron’s Home Run Record.”

Categories
General Sports

April 18 2007 episode of Poor Man’s PTI

blog radio

Welcome to another episode of Poor Man’s PTI. This week we have Eric McErlain from Offwing Opinion and NHL Fanhouse on with us to talk about the NHL playoffs. Lots of great NHL talk this week as we fill up our allotment for the year.

You can download this week’s podcast directly (running time 70 mins) or subscribe to the feed.  

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

This week’s topics include:

  • Virginia Tech and the media coverage
  • Vince Young and the Madden curse
  • Joey Crawford and Tim Duncan
  • the NHL Playoffs
  • The Boston Pizza Party

Hope you guys enjoy the podcast.  If you did enjoy it, please give us a good rating below so we can rise up in the rankings. If you didn’t, send us an email ([email protected]) and give us some suggestions. Thanks for listening.

Categories
Philadelphia Phillies

Charlie Manuel threatens to kick Howard Eskin’s ass



Someone kick his ass

Things are going from bad to worse here in Philly as the Fightins dropped to 3-9 after losing 8-1 to the Mets. But the story of the night was when things got all John Chaney in the post-game press conference and beyond when Charlie Manuel offered to kick Howard Eskin’s ass.

(For those of you unfamiliar with Howard Eskin, consider yourself lucky, he’s the biggest douchebag in Philly sports. He’s a smug bastard with no redeeming qualities and we are convinced he’s only employed because of the sheer amount of idiots in the Philly area and the photos he has of various people in compromising positions. Just to give you an idea of the level of douchiness, Eskin makes Stephen A Smith look like a decent human being. If Howard was on fire, not only would you not piss on him to put it out, you’d make a beeline for the closest gas station.)

Anyway… according to reports, Eskin baited Charley into a confrontation by asking him why he never got angry and whether it would light a fire under the Phillies if he did.


Good-naturedly, Manuel said, “There are times and ways to do it. For me to just go in there and throw a fit — I can go in there and tear the whole [expletive] locker room up. I can come in here and throw over every chair. I don’t see where that’s going to do any good.

Eskin persisted with his questioning at which time Charley invited Howard Eskin to to his office (along with a Phillies PR person) where everyone could hear him screaming at Eskin from behind the closed door. The two then left the office and Charley said he would kick Eskin’s ass and Eskin responded by telling him to grow up.

If only this were on video. This incident might not or might not turn around an already dismal season but it’s good to see someone take Eskin to task for being the instigator that he is. On the flip side, Charlie Manual isn’t doing the job he’s supposed to do. A team as talented as the Phillies shouldn’t be playing such uninspired ball. They’re leading the league with an average of 9.8 left on base a game. And it’s not just the bottom of the lineup that’s responsible, it’s Utley and Howard too.

Our favorite Phillies blog, Beerleaguer, is doing a great job chronicling all this.

Links:
[Phillies.com]: Manuel confronts reporter after loss

Categories
College Football

Houston Nutt denies affair with television anchor


Things are getting so out of hand for Houston Nutt down in Arkansas that he issued a letter to the press concerning internet rumors that he was having an affair and that he was actively seeking higher profile jobs.

First, a little background:

– In December of 2006, disparaging comments previously made by Arkansas QB Mitch Mustain in 2005 about coach Nutt were published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
– Family friend Teresa Prewett then sends an email to Mustain addressing him as the “Interception King” and calling him a “little boy” and a “fag”. (You can read the timeline and entire email at Hog Blogger.)

– Mitch Mustain uses the Freedom of Information Act to request the telephone records of Houston Nutt.
– Everyone gets suspicious when it’s revealed Nutt text messaged a cute blonde television anchor over 1,000 times.

First, Nutt asserts that he remains “committed to our players, our fans, and the Razorback program’s tradition of excellence and success.” Well, that’s fine but we have heard that one before. No one trusts coaches after what Nick Saban did at Miami. Second, Nutt also addresses the rumors that he was having an affair:


The speculation and rumors that I have had an inappropriate relationship with Donna Bragg are unfounded and false. Let me be unequivocally clear that the relationship between Ms. Bragg and me is that of a friend and colleague in the community. Any allegation or suggestion that our professional and personal friendship or involvement goes beyond that is false, careless, and purposefully vindictive.

…
My communications with Ms. Bragg have concerned her work as a professional fundraiser for a non-profit organization dedicated to providing services to the developmentally disabled, her insights regarding the media, words of condolence and support regarding the loss of my mother-in-law after her battle with cancer, and information relating to her close friend who was diagnosed with cancer.

Translation: “Look, dickheads, my mother in law died of cancer and I was supporting a friend who had a friend with cancer. So back off.” You see what Nutt did there? Well played.

Links:
[Arkansas Online]: Nutt defends text message traffic in open letter

[Hog Wired]: Houston Nutt Open Letter to Razorback Fans

Categories
All Other Sports

(Less) Fat Man finishes the Boston Marathon!


A couple of weeks ago, we told you about the fat guy who was running the Boston Marathon for charity. We had his chances of finishing the thing about the same as the Royals winning the World Series. Well, guess what? He did. In 9 hours and 40 minutes.


Boston Marathon… check.

I’m pretty sure that by the time I finished, the Kenyans were already back in Africa celebrating.

I’d also like to congratulate the 122-year old guy who passed me around mile 13. I have no idea if he finished but as he passed me — he took with him any and all self-resecpt that I may have ha

Well done, Jacob. The guy lost 100 pounds and ran the Boston Marathon. Hell, it’s quite a feat even if he walked for most of it. It doesn’t look like anyone actually ponied up for his auction for charity on ebay. But he did something most of us wouldn’t even attempt. And most of us didn’t look like this.

Links:
[What would Jacob Do]: Jacob’s blog

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Dice-K can’t catch a break


1. Bad Roll of the Dice: Daisuke Matsuzaka is perhaps the unluckiest pitcher in baseball this season. He has lost two starts in a row despite pitching a quality start in both games. Dice-K was simply outpitched by Felix Hernandez a week ago and Gustavo Chacin on Tuesday. Chacin improved to 2-0 for the Blue Jays after allowing one run into the seventh inning. Matsuzaka, meanwhile, allowed three runs and struck out 10 but didn’t get any support from the offense. With the win the Blue Jays passed the Sox for first place in the AL East, and there are still two games left in this series.

2. Powerhouses: Everyone knows Alex Rodriguez is great. He is having an April like Albert Pujols did last year, as he leads the majors in homers (8) and RBIs (21). Last night A-Rod was part of a Yankees offensive rampage that led to eight runs in the firs two innings and a 10-3 rout of the Indians. While it shouldn’t surprise too many people that Rodriguez is having this type of season, what is surprising is the second-most-powerful player in baseball–Ian Kinsler of the Rangers. Kinsler, a fantasy breakout pick by many this year, has provided a monstrous 7 homers and 13 RBIs, including 1 and 3 in the Rangers’ 8-1 romp over the White Sox. Also in that game, Sammy Sosa hit his third homer of the year, a three-run blast that gave him 10 RBIs. While nobody should expect Sammy to hit above .250, he could have a 30-homer season if healthy.

3. Beasts of the East: The Braves and Mets have been exchanging wins recently as they crush their divisional competition. The Braves beat the Nationals on Tuesday, led by Chipper Jones’ 4th homerun and four hits by leadoff man Kelly Johnson. The Mets, meanwhile, manhandled the Phillies 8-1. Moises Alou of all people had 2 homers and 3 RBIs for New York. The Braves and Mets are a half-game separated in the divisional race, with their next series against each other this weekend.

Player of the Day: Carlos Lee, Astros: 3-4, HR (5), 4 RBIs (16), and 2 runs in a 6-1 win over Florida. If there had been a Full Count on Saturday, Lee would have won this as well with a 3-homer, 6-RBI performance.

Walk Off: The Detroit Tigers are showing this year that their 2006 run was no fluke. They are 9-5 and are standing out in the crowded AL Central race. While their strength of schedule hasn’t been too impressive–they’ve played the Blue Jays twice, Orioles, and Royals twice–they are beating the teams they should beat while going 3-3 against the potent Blue Jays. The Tigers have crushed Kansas City a combined 19-11 the past two nights, showing that they have more ways to win than a pitchers duel. And the top half of their rotation–Verlander, Robertson, and Bonderman–have been fantastic. Detroit was my preseason pick to win the division, and they haven’t showed anything that would make me change my mind.

Categories
Texas Rangers

Odds and Ends: Six Degrees of Kenny Lofton


We stumbled upon this amazing stat today on InsideBayArea.com: 87% of active players have roomed with Lofton. How is that even possible? That’s gotta be a misprint right? He’d be like the Derek Jeter Justin Timberlake of baseball, hitting hotel rooms with everyone in sight. We think the writer was using one of them artistic license thingamajigs. Nonetheless, it’s pretty amazing the number of unis Lofton has donned over the years.

Kenny Lofton broke into the majors in 1991 with the Astros, spent 9 seasons with the Indians (with a stint in Atlanta to break up the monotony) and since then has played for a different team (or two) every season. 2002: White Sox, Giants. 2003: Cubs, Pirates. 2004: Yankees. 2005: Phillies. 2006: Dodgers. 2007: Rangers. Wow. What a baseball ho.

In other news:

[Portfolio.com]: Athlete stock exchange? It’s one way for college players like Kevin Durant to get paid.

[SignOnSanDiego]: Teenage matador who left Spain because they ban teenage matadors gets gored by bull in Mexico. Of course.

[Flash Warner]: In case you needed more evidence that Bode Miller is a bitch.

[Yay Sports]: Sure, Danny Ainge has made a mistake… or 5.

[The Hater Nation]: Damn, you’d think Tom Coughlin shtupped his wife or something. Give it a rest, Tiki.

And finally, a couple of youtube videos that prove that video blogging is a BAD BAD idea. First, a Cowboys fan calls out an Eagles blogger. And then an Eagles fan(?) compares Eagles fans and Cowboys fans to Shiite and Sunni muslims and asks, can’t we just get along?