Categories
College Football

Oklahoma gets absolutely jobbed by the refs

A lot of fans complain about bad officiating in their games and usually they’re just making excuses for the poor play of their teams but in the case of the Oregon-Oklahoma game on Saturday, Sooners fans are absolutely correct in blaming the officials. Take a look at this video. It clearly shows the Oklahoma player recovering the ball yet the onside kick was awarded to the Ducks. (This is on top of the Ducks illegally touching the ball before 10 yards.)

What we want to know is why Allen Patrick #23 walked away from the pile so nonchalantly. Why wasn’t he immediately in the face of the official showing him the ball? Either way, this is the worst case of bad officiating we’ve seen in years. Even if the ref missed the onside call on the initial play, why didn’t instant replay catch his error? More reaction from the game from the national media.

Links:
[NewsOK]: Refs overlook possession

[The Wizard of Odds]: Turns Out, Oregon Didn’t Recover the Ball

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Padres take the division lead


1. Overtaken: The San Diego Padres were finally able to pass the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West division lead. The Dodgers had been in first since August 10, when they passed the Padres after a huge winning streak. Now the Padres have returned the favor with two straight wins against their divisional rivals. They won 2-1 yesterday behind six innings of shutout, one-hit pitching by Chris Young. Young has surrendered just a .217 opponents’ batting average, ranking him third in the league. But Young didn’t get the win, as this game wasn’t decided until the ninth inning. Pinch-hitter Terrmel Sledge hit a run-scoring single to gain a 2-1 lead, and then Trevor Hoffman closed the door. Hoffman’s 39 saves lead the NL and have brought him to within 4 of Lee Smith’s all-time record of 478. He’ll need to slightly increase his pace to get the record.

2. Right on their heels: The Dodgers lead the Wild Card now, but they have a team right behind them. That would be the Philadelphia Phillies, who have won 5 of their last 6 and swept the Astros over the weekend. All of this winning puts them at 77-72, just one game back of the Wild Card lead. Yesterday’s 6-4 win over the `Stros was powered by four Phillies homers, including one by slugger Ryan Howard. That gave him 57 on the year and ended a week-long power drought. He’s currently on pace for 62 shots this season. A more unlikely player, catcher Mike Lieberthal, hit two solo blasts himself in the Phillies win. The Phillies have got fire at the right time and seemed destined for a playoff berth. If they get that far, who knows what could happen in the postseason.

3. 10th-inning antics: In a game between the Marlins and the Braves, you know some crazy relief pitching may occur. That was the case yesterday, when 9 combined runs were scored in the 10th inning. The Marlins were first to strike, when Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla each drove in two runs in the top of the tenth to make the score 7-3. At this point it seemed like Chad Paronto was going to give the Braves bullpen another horrific memory from this season. But then that was all forgotten when Joe Borowski, the usual Marlins closer, got leveled. First Matt Diaz hit a two-run double. Then the Braves scored three more runs off two Marlins errors. That gave them an 8-7 victory and an overall series win over the Marlins, who are desperate to stay alive in the loaded NL Wild Card race.

4. Dark Horse: No one is really giving the Oakland A’s much attention in the American League, but this team has an excellent shot at going to the World Series. They swept the Chicago White Sox over the weekend, putting the Sox four games behind the Wild Card-leading Twins. Oakland edged them 5-4 yesterday, with Frank Thomas continuing his streak of dominance. He hit a homer and 3 RBIs, and already has 10 and 26 for the month. Though he looked terrible in April, Thomas’ batting average has increased each month of the season. He is now the A’s most dominant hitter. Their pitching is in good shape too, as Joe Blanton improved to 16-11 with a win. He is one of four Oakland pitchers with more than 10 wins this season. They are 7 games up in their division.

5. The homering pitcher: Carlos Zambrano is an excellent pitcher, and he’s also one of the best-hitting hurlers as well. He hit his fifth homer of the year yesterday and also has 10 RBIs. His homer came in the first inning, his second shot in the first this year. According to Elias Sports, that equals the total of first inning homers by every pitcher the last 21 years. By the way, Zambrano also pitched seven shutout innings to improve to 15-6.

Categories
MLB General

Sep 18 in Sports History: Dodgers outfielder goes nuts on flight



20 K day

In 1935 Brooklyn Dodgers outfielder Len Koenecke was dismissed from the team by new manager Casey Stengel for erratic play and strange behavior. After being kicked off the flight home for being drunk and threatening the airline crew and passengers, Koenecke, a .297 career hitter, decided to charter his own plane home to Buffalo. On board that plane, he tried to grab the controls and fought with the pilots During the scuffle, the co-pilot reportedly hit Koenecke on the head with a fire extinguisher and killed him. He was 31 years old. (courtesy of baseballlibrary.com)

In 1996: For the second time in his career, Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox struck out 20 batters in a 9 inning game. Clemens fanned 20 Detroit Tigers and walked none in a 4-0 Boston vicrory at Tiger Stadium. Clemens also accomplished the feat against the Seattle Mariners in 1986.

In 1986: On the same day they tied the ML record for losses in a season in 1962, the New York Mets clinched the NL East Division crown with a 4-2 win over the Chicago Cubs at Shea Stadium. It was their first division title since 1973, and their 108 victories was the most in the NL since the 1975 Reds. Jubilant Mets’ fans stormed the field in celebration, nearly destroying the playing surface. The Mets went on to defeat Houston in the NLCS and the Red Sox in the World Series.

Categories
Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo Sabres to unveil new jerseys on Saturday



New Sabres jersey

The office Buffalo Sabres site announced that the team will take the ice in their new home/road/alternate jerseys on Saturday at at 10:30 and is inviting fans to come take a look at them. The only problem is that some industrious Sabres fans have already leaked the new jersey styles.

On top of that, it seems everyone in Buffalo hates the new logo. So far 30,000 people have signed a petiton to fix the new logo. Seems a little too late for that. Unlike the Houston 1836 name/logo which was offensive to the Latino community, the new Sabres logo is only offensive to our eyes.

Good luck Sabres fans, we’re sure you’ll get used to the new logo and jerseys sooner or later. After all, it’s nowhere near as ugly as the Sixers uniforms from the early 90s.

Links:

[Fark]: Sabres logo Photoshop contest

[Buffalo Geek]: This Logo Sucks

[Fixthelogo.com]: Someone who really hates the logo

Categories
Golf

Odds and Ends: Can we put a moratorium on Michelle Wie coverage?



Al Czervik is more interesting that Wie

The latest headline from ESPN says that “Michelle Wie getting buried at 84 Lumber“. As of press time she is 13 over par. So besides the fact that she’s young and (fairly) good, what is the fascination with Michelle Wie? How did it become that her losing was news? When Tiger Woods loses it is news because he’s earned that right. He is so dominant that an off day like the one he had at the Match Play Championship is newsworthy. (By the way, Bill Simmons has a great article on Tiger Woods that reminded us how good Bill Simmons can be when he’s not writing about the Red Sox or the Yankees.) But Michelle Wie? Please. She hasn’t won a single thing since she announced she was going pro.

We are proposing a moratorium on the Michelle Wie coverage. It’s never going to happen though. People don’t call ESPN the Worldwide Leader in Hype for no reason.

In other news…

[Sign On San Diego]: Woman gets $2.75M for her house and land where new Cowboys stadium will be built

[Fox Sports]: Police think backup punter/stabber had an accomplice

[Cubbiepalloza]: Nobody Likes Jay Mariotti

[NY Post]: CBS’s NFL Pregame show gaining traction

And finally, via Twin Cities, Minnesota, a video of Brad Johnson throwing a TD to himself in 1997.

Categories
Houston Texans

It was only a matter of time

On Tuesday we told you about the Chicago furniture store that refunded up to $10,000 of your furniture purchase if the Bears shut out the Packers in week 1. Well, only a few days later Gallery Furniture is Houston is doing the same thing. If the Texans beat the Colts, everyone who bought more than $3,000 worth of furniture before Sunday will get their furniture for free.

Considering that the Colts are 14 point favorites, the odds of this happening are about 1000-1 so is there really a need to even insure this promotion? But hey, like we said, this is a great marketing ploy. If you’re gonna make a purchase anyway, isn’t having a chance to get it for free better than just watching the Texans lose? And Gallery Furniture gets a bunch of free advertising from bloggers like us. It’s genius really.

Categories
New Orleans Saints

Yaaaawn: Reggie Bush accepted improper gifts



Give it back?

Yahoo has finished an 8 month investigation to definitively tell you, the sports fan, that Reggie Bush received financial benefits worth more than $100,000 while playing at USC. While the $100k figure might be a little staggering, does any football fan still believe that top flight prospects at the collegiate level don’t receive gifts or preferential treatment?

Apart from the shady Michael Michaels (never trust anyone with the same first and last name) and the house that the Bush family lived rent free in for a year, Yahoo is reporting that the family received multiple gifts and paid trips from Bush’s current marketing representative Mike Ornstein while Bush was at USC. All the trips, suits, makeovers, etc. were put on the credit card of Jamie Fritz, an employee of Ornstein’s. When asked about it, Ornstein said that they were loans and Fritz’s credit card had to be used because the Bushs didn’t have one and everything needs to be booked with a credit card. Of course, he didn’t address the weekly payments of at leat $1,500 to the Bush family.

Meanwhile, there is talk of repossessing the Heisman Trophy and the BCS negating the Trojan’s 2004 national championship. But does anyone really care? Reggie Bush and his family received over $100,000 while he was in college. Reggie Bush is now making $55M with the Saints. What does this have to do with anything? Does it denigrate the integrity of the game? How much money did BCS make off of Reggie Bush in the championship games he played? Just let it go people.

Links:

[Yahoo]: Cash and carry

[Yahoo]: Dan Wetzel: Take back the title

[TrojanWire]: On the Prospect of Retroactive Penalties

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Padres eyeing division title


1. The Battle for the West: Are you ready for a defining series? Just like the five-game Yankees-Red Sox melee a month ago, it could decide a division. That division is the NL West, and the teams are the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers. The Padres will enter this four-game weekend set on a roll, having won 7 of their last 10 games. They finished off the Reds last night with a 4-2 victory, with all runs for both teams being scored in the 7th inning. San Diego will enter that series just a half-game back of the Dodgers for the division lead, as Los Angeles has been crumbling lately. They’ve gone 4-6 in their last 10, and they lost to the pitiful Cubs yesterday. It looks like the Padres have all the momentum going into this duel, and if they can sweep it they might virtually clinch the NL West division title.

2. Still going: When will the Giants run out of steam? They’ve been great the entire month, with an 8-4 record in September and a 19-9 record since August 14. Yesterday they shut down the Rockies 5-0, with Matt Cain having a fantastic start. Cain allowed no earned runs for his 4th consecutive start and has lowered his ERA from 4.89 to 3.75 since August 12. Yesterday, Cain gave up just two hits and struck out seven. He led the 74-72 Giants to another victory to keep them 2.5 games back of the Wild Card leader, the Padres.

3. What an offense: The Yankees offense this season has been truly great, and now they are boosted by the return of Hideki Matsui from injury. Matsui homered yesterday for the first time since May 9 as the Yanks destroyed the Devil Rays 7-4 to bring out the brooms. The sweep was won by a combined 27-12 in three games, with the D-Rays notching exactly four runs in each game and the Yankees simply outscoring them. Derek Jeter went 2-4 to extend his hit streak to 23 games, and .339 hitter Robinson Cano went 2-4 with 3 RBIs. New York leads the entire majors in runs scored, with 32 more than the second-place White Sox. They also lead the league in batting average (.285), OBP (.365), and OPS (.825). They’ll probably get Gary Sheffield back in time for the playoffs as well.

4. Making up for lost time: The Angels were battling with a .500 record for most of July and early August. Now, their focus is on the Oakland A’s after a 17-9 run the past month. The Angels are 9-4 so far in September, and they control their own destiny down the stretch. Though they are five games behind Oakland, Los Angeles plays them 7 times over the next two weeks. They also have 6 more games against division rival Texas, who they defeated 2-1 last night. Could they make an improbable run at the playoffs? That’s one of the more interesting occurrences as we head down the stretch.

5. The Amazing Races: What’s the status of each major race in baseball? Let’s start with the AL East, where the Yankees have things wrapped up. They lead by 11.5 games over Boston, who has little to no shot of catching them. the AL Central race is far more interesting. The Tigers still lead, but only by a measly game over the smokin’ Twins. The White Sox lurk at three games back, so don’t count them out either. We’ve already given you the AL West, so let’s move on to the NL. The biggest divisional lead in baseball, as it has been for a while, is the Mets over the Phillies in the NL East. They lead by 16.5 games and have a magic number of 3. In the Central, the Cardinals lead by 5.5 games, though the Reds have faded. St. Louis should have the division in their pocket by next week. Houston is six games back and should finish the year in second place. So there you have it.

Categories
MLB General

Sep 15 in Sports History: Screw the Mannings



Alou brothers

In 1938, Lloyd and Paul Waner of the Pittsburgh Pirates became the first brothers to hit back-to-back home runs in a major league game. It was Lloyd’s last career homer.

In 1963, All three Alou brothers – Felipe, Matty and Jesus started in the same outfield for the San Francisco Giants in a 13-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Matty was pulled before his first at-bat and Felipe and Jesus went a combined 1 for 7 with an RBI and three runs scored.

In 1985, pitcher Joe Niekro is traded to the Yankees, reuniting him with brother Phil in the rotation for for the first time since 1974, when they both pitched for the Braves.

In 1990, Brothers Cal and Billy Ripken both hit solo home runs off David Wells in the 5th inning of a 4-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

In another strange theme today, several baseball games were cancelled or forfeited for a variety of off-the-wall reasons.

In 1946, A game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs at Ebbets Field was called in the fifth inning because a swarm of gnats was attacking players, umpires and the fans.

In 1977, despite being in a heated division battle with the Red Sox and Yankees, manager Earl Weaver of the Baltimore Orioles pulled his team off the field because of what he felt was a hazardous condition in the visitors bullpen in Toronto. There was a small tarp being held down on the mound by bricks. When Weaver refused to return his players to the field, the game was forfeited to the Blue Jays. The O’s finished tied for second with Boston at 97-64.

and in 1907, a game was called in St. Louis between the Browns and Detroit Tigers when a fan threw a soda bottle and knocked out home plate umpire Billy Evans. The crowd began beating up the fan, and police had to restore order. Evans was hospitalized with minor injuries.

(courtesy of baseball-almanac.com and baseballlibrary.com)

Categories
General Sports

Vote for September’s Woman We Love

Here are the nominations for September’s Women We Love.

– Rachel Bilson
– Mia Kirschner
– Autumn Reeser
– Ana Beatriz Barros
– Janelle Pierzina from Big Brother 6
– Vanessa Minnillo

Vote Now