Category: All Other Sports

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All Other Sports

The Poker Playing Chimp and other tales

Man, poker isn’t even a sport that we should be covering at SC but when you combine a chimp and anything, it becomes a must-see event. (Well, except for that movie with Joey Tribiani.) Anyway, PokerShare.com is rumored to be entering a chimpanzee into the August World Series of Poker. SignOnSanDiego is correct in pointing out that it sounds like a viral marketing experiment but we’ll happily play along anyway.


Alex Van Klaveren of GameShare, the Gibraltar-based parent group for PokerShare, responded thus to an InfoPowa enquiry about the rumor:

“Thanks for your e-mail. Your sources are accurate. We have been training Mikey for the past four months, and he is now ready to play the WSOP main event. We will be issuing a press release by the end of the week.”

Van Klaveren did not comment on whether this ploy had the cooperation of the WSOP tournament director, saying in response to a direct question on this: “I agree, it should be interesting to see what people make of it. Mikey has a blog which is starting soon where you will be able to follow his progress.

Check out the video of him playing poker below. This is absolutely just a publicity stunt. Hell, even Vince Young could beat Mikey at poker.

In real poker news, 21-year-old film student named Jeff Madsen has won his 2nd WSOP bracelet in a week. His combined take home since turning 21 in June has been over $1.4M. He says he’s going to finish up school at UC Santa Barbara. A year in college surrounded by hot bikini clad girls in socal with over a million to your name? That was a hard choice.

Links:

[SignOnSanDiego]: Chimp might not be chump in poker
[ABC]: Poker-Playing Chimp Knows When to Hold ‘Em
[ESPN]: Madsen, 21, wins second WSOP bracelet in five days

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All Other Sports

Odds and Ends (07.18.2006): They are all witnesses


We’re pretty sure this isn’t what Nike had in mind for the “We are all witnesses” campaign but in trying to get the records for their student ID card activity, DA Mike Nifong has said that every member of the Duke lacrosse team is a potential witness and he wants to confirm their whereabouts after the alleged rape incident. This story isn’t going anywhere soon as the case isn’t expected to come to trial until next Spring.

In other news…

[NY Daily News]: The Mets and David Wright apologize for the commercial promoting the “Salvation Miracles Revival Crusade”.

[SI]: Bruce Arena signs on to coach the Red Bulls

[NY Post]: So much for Jai Lewis’ career in the NFL

[Sportsline]: Russell Crowe decides he wants to coach the rugby team he owns

[The Golf Blog]: What happened to David Duval?

[USA Today]: T.O. tells HBO he’s misunderstood; wonders ‘Why me?’

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Odds and Ends (07.10.06): Amanda Beard is World’s Sexiest Athlete

The August issue of FHM magazine has named Amanda Beard as the world’s sexiest athlete. With photos like those featured in the magazine, it’s hard to argue. And not only is she a pretty face, she also makes a ton of dough: “Amanda gets a cool $15,000 per speaking engagement. She has signed a $1 million contract to advertise Speedo’s Axcelerate line. Throw in endorsement deals with Oroweat Bread, Red Bull and Penta water, and a signature line of fragrance products, and Amanda can earn up to $100 million by 2010.” The rest of the article is your standard FHM/Maxim ‘oooh she’s hot and not boring’ fluff.

In other news…

[Philly.com]: Wife-beater Myers will rejoing Phillies after All-Star Break

[SI]: Minor League mascot charged with fondling a woman at a game

[Seattle PI]: Ravens LB stabbed in bowling alley dispute

[NY Post]: More hating on ESPN

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All Other Sports

Thankfully it was #1

It seems the All Blacks have been in the news a lot lately, but mostly for non-rugby related items. On Saturday, before a game against the Wallabies, All Blacks forward Jerry Collins felt the call of nature and decided that the only place to answer it was right there on the field.

Assistant coach Steve Hansen defended his player.


If you’re a male and you’re about to play a Test match and you’re seconds away from kick-off and you get the urge to want to go to the toilet – what do you do? Do you rush off and let the game start with 14 men or do you try to be as discreet as you can be and hope that cameramen use common sense and don’t go showing it to everyone on the screen?

Imagine if this was Randy Moss. All hell would break loose. Here’s the video of the incident.

Links:
[Sydney Morning Herald]: What to do when nature calls?
[Sydney Mornign Herald]: Other relieving incidents from sports history

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All Other Sports

Odds and Ends (7.6.06): Henin-Hardenne vs Mauresmo in Wimbledon Finals



Yikes

A womens tennis post without Maria Sharapova just seems wrong somehow but #1 ranked Amelie Mauresmo got to her first Wimbledon final by outlasting Sharapova in three sets. On the other side of the bracket, Justin e Henin-Hardenne beat #2 ranked Kim Clijsters. HH has won 17 straight matches and a victory in the finals would give her a career grand slam.

In other news…

[Miami.com]: French fan dies amid World Cup celebration

[USA Today]: When the Cosmos and Pele ruled American soccer

[ESPN]: Bonds’ trainer held in contempt for refusing to testify

[Ben Maller]: Matt Leinart is back in Paris Hilton’s STD-ladened web

[SignOnSanDiego]: Dawgs deal Canseco to Long Beach

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All Other Sports

Running of the Bulls starts today

It’s that time of year again folks — to fly halfway across the world, line up and try to outrun 1,500 pound bulls trying to gorge your ass. Since they started keeping track (like the sack records), 13 people have been killed running with the bulls. Considering the sheer number of people running every year, those are pretty good odds. And remember, you don’t have to be faster than the bulls, you just have to be faster than the guy running next to you.

Here’s a video of Dennis Rodman at San Fermin last year shilling for Golden Palace.

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Now that’s some international trash talkin’

About a month ago, we told you about “the handbag incident” involving two members of the All Blacks, a New Zealand rugby team. (Here’s the short synopsis: two All Blacks go to a bar and one gets into a fight, one of them grabs a handbag and hits the other on the head, the hittee starts crying.) Well, the handbag rears its ugly head again.

Ahead of the Tri Nations rugby tournament, a television station has created a hilarious ad with footage of the All Blacks doing their bad-ass Maori war chant, the haka. However, they digitally added in some large womens handbags. Understandably, the All Blacks aren’t too happy with this.


It’s insensitive, I think, to Maori and disrespectful of the All Blacks,” New Zealand assistant coach Wayne Smith said.

Links:

[Sydney Morning Herald]: All Blacks cop a bagging
[You Tube]: Handbag Haka

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She’s a screamer

Shrieking, grunting, whatever you call it, Sharapova certainly does it. And does it loudly. Yesterday, her opponent Elena Dementieva said that she needed to turn it down a notch.


Personally I think it’s a little bit too much. I think the umpire should calm down her a little bit. Next time I beat her, I will say something. But when you losing…it doesn’t look good if you go to the umpire and talking about how loud she screaming on the court.

Perhaps Dementieva was distracted by the streaker that ran onto the court and did some cartwheels for the fans. For her part, Sharapova said that if she were told to tone it down a bit, she “wouldn’t change a thing.”

Links:

[MSNBC]: Streaker can’t stop Sharapova from semis
[MSNBC]: Sharapova vows to carry on shrieking

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Controversy at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest!



Relishing the moment

Kobayashi won his sixth title yesterday at the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating contest by eating 53 3/4 hot dogs. That’s about 12 pounds of hot dogs and buns. However, not to be outdone by questionable officiating in the World Cup, the hot dog eating contest had some controversy of its own.

After the 50th hot dog, Kobayashi appeared to throw up some some hot dog and bun, a disqualification in competitive eating. However, he quickly gulped it back down. While his main competition Joey Chestnut pointed it out and was hoping for a DQ, the judge ruled in Kobayashi’s favor.


The effluvia never touched the table,” Kuntzman said, a distinction he claimed was part of the International Federation of Competitive Eating’s official rules.

“When the hot dog came up, and some of it came out his nose, Kobayashi sucked it back down. To me, that’s the testament of a champion and great athlete.

That’s the first time we’ve ever heard an official use the word effluvia. It looks like Kobayashi got the benefit of the call for being a world champion. For those who don’t think eating is a sport, it sounds exactly like what would happen in the NBA.

Links:
[SFGate]: Controversy dogs eating contest
San Jose challenger’s dreams ground down as 5-time champ from Japan sets world record

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Was a Wimbledon match fixed?



Choker or cheater?

Carlos Berlocq of Argentina is ranked 89th in the world. Richard Bloomfield is ranked #249 and only got in as a wild card. So when bettors put more than half a million dollars on Richard Bloomfield to win and he did, more red flags went up than at a communist parade.

Betfair, a british online gambling site, said that the bets on the match were 30x more than normal on similar matches and that the odds went from 2-1 against to 10-1 against. Because of the unusual betting pattern, they alerted the International Tennis Federation and Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association who are investigating it.

After reading this story, the only thought we have is, “crap! why didn’t someone tell us about the fix!” We don’t condone gambling or anything…

[AP]: Officials investigate Wimbledon betting