Categories
Golf

August 11 in Sports History: John Daly wins PGA Championship


In 1991: An unknown rookie qualifier named John Daly shocked the golf world by winning the PGA Championship at Crooked Stick in Indiana. Daly, who only made the field when another golfer dropped out, shot a 276 and defeated Bruce Lietzke by 3 shots. Known as Long John for his booming drives off the tee (at least we think), Daly would become one of the most popular golfers on the tour despite only five wins in 15 years. He would be just as well known for his life off the golf course. Daly has battled alcoholism, a gambling addiction and a slew of ex-wives throughout his professional career.

In 1951: The New York (baseball) Giants lost to the Phillies 4-0, while the Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Braves 8-1 (in the first ever game televised in color). The loss put the Giants 13 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the National League standings with 49 games left to play. The Giants would eventually make one of the biggest comebacks in baseball history, leaping over three teams to tie the Dodgers on the last day of the season. The rivals would play a best-of-three playoff, with the Giants winning the pennant on Bobby Thompson’s famous home run, which became known as “the shot heard ‘round the world.”

In 2005: Philadelphia Eagles’ wide receiver Terrell Owens was sent home for the week during training camp after a shouting match with Head Coach Andy Reid. Owens, who reported to camp unhappy with his current contract (“only” seven years, $49 million), supposedly told Reid to “shut up” in a team meeting. Owens returned to his home in New Jersey, where he did a bizarre series of interviews while working out in his front yard. Owens would continue his feud with Reid and quarterback Donovan McNabb throughout the regular season. He was suspended from the Eagles for the remainder of the season in November for criticizing the team for not recognizing his 100th career touchdown reception and for reportedly getting into a fist-fight with Hugh Douglas. He signed with the Dallas Cowboys in the offseason.

Categories
NFL General

Maurice Clarett is lint free

Here’s a photo of Maurice Clarett’s passenger seat when he was pulled over the police.

Now, some would say that the guy’s got a drinking problem and a fascination with guns. We say that he’s very concerned about a growing lint problem in the United States. You guys are all haters.

[Houston Chronicle]: Bond is set at $5 million for Clarett
[ESPN]: Clarett’s call came two hours before arrest

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Liriano hits the DL


1. Unlucky Liriano: The Twins just put 12-win ace Francisco Liriano on the 15-day DL. Liriano reported forearm stiffness and had his worst start of the season on Tuesday. He will be temporarily replaced in the rotation by another young stud, Matt Garza. In five Triple A starts Garza has reported a 1.89 ERA and .79 WHIP. So the second-place Twins might be one of the only teams in baseball that has the luxury of replacing one rookie ace with another. But the important thing for them is the severity of Liriano’s injury. Will he stay on the DL for more than 15 days? Let’s just hope he’s not another Kerry Wood or Mark Prior.

2. DeRosa sparks a DeRout: The list of former Braves performing well just keeps getting longer. The Rangers’ Mark DeRosa, who played his first seven seasons with Atlanta, has elevated himself to the level of best utility man in the game. Yesterday he led a 14-0 Rangers defeat of Oakland by hitting 2 three-run homeruns. His four hits upped his average to .327, good for 4th in the American League. DeRosa has played almost every position on the field, and he has excelled in all of them. Among the other Rangers to perform well yesterday, Carlos Lee had 4 hits, 4 runs, and his first homer in a Texas uniform. Texas is still 5.5 games back of Oakland for the West lead.

3. Shocked: The Tigers won Game 1 of their three game set against the Twins, but they dropped the second game on Tuesday. Then yesterday, the Tigers put themselves in the best position possible to win. They led the Twins 3-2 going into the eighth inning, with stud reliever Joel Zumaya in. But then Minnesota’s best hitter stepped up. Justin Morneau, who is having is somehow quiet yet monstrous season, hit his 30th homer to win the game for the Twins. Morneau, and all-around machine of a first baseman, is hitting .323 and is second in the AL with 101 RBIs. Even though teammate Joe Mauer has hit .369 and earned himself a Sports Illustrated cover, it is Morneau that is more valuable to the team. With the win the Twins passed Chicago and now lead the Wild Card race.

4. Back in town: In Mike Piazza’s second game back at Shea Stadium since leaving the Mets for San Diego, he showed fans once again why he will be a Hall of Fame catcher. Piazza hit two solo homeruns for the Padres, both off Pedro Martinez. He drew a curtain call after his first homerun, a rarity for a player on the road. But despite Piazza’s efforts, San Diego couldn’t stop the Mets. Jose Reyes stole his 48th base of the season and drove in a run. Reyes, though he has drawn criticism over the years for his somewhat low on-base percentage, has a career-high .350 OBP and contributes greatly in terms of runs scored (92, second in the MLB). Both teams are still in first place in their respective divisions.

5. Roundup: There were many more important happenings in the MLB yesterday. The Cardinals-Reds series had an exciting game that featured 7 homeruns by both teams. The Reds won on a Dan Ross walk-off two run shot. New York led Chicago 7-0 after six innings but barely inched by them 7-6. Bobby Abreu hit his first homerun in two months and is now hitting .412 as a Yankee. Back to the NL: the Astros crushed the Pirates 14-1, with 6 RBIs and two homers by Aubrey Huff. Starter Roy Oswalt also homered and picked up the win. Finally, the Dodgers lost at last, ending their 11-game winning streak.

Categories
Los Angeles Dodgers

August 10 in Sports History: Have you see my baseball?


In 1995: One of the worst ideas for a promotion (right behind Disco Demolition Night and 10-Cent Beer Night) took place at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers thought it would be a good idea to hand out free baseballs to all fans, but didn’t follow one of the golden rules of promotions:

“Don’t give away anything the fans can throw on the field and possibly kill someone”

The Dodgers failed to listen, and fans repeatedly tossed hundreds of baseballs onto the playing field after disagreeing with a few umpiring calls and Dodger ejections during a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. After the third time the umpires stopped play, crew chief Jim Quick felt he had no choice but to forfeit the game to the Cardinals in the ninth inning, 2-1. The Dodgers protested, but the N.L. upheld the forfeit the following day. Another umpire blamed L.A. manager Tommy Lasorda for inciting the crowd, saying, “Lasorda instigated the whole damn thing by waving his fat little arms out there.” link

Categories
All Other Sports

Odds and Ends: Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova dating



Otis! My Man!

Well, US Weekly has made it official: Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova are dating. This has been speculated since January so it’s not really news. However, we point you to this photo of them on some red carpet thing. Have you seen two celebrities with more awkward smiles? They look like Boon and Otter when they stepped into the Dexter Lake Club and realize they’re the only white people there.

In other news…

[Sign On San Diego]: Leno grills Landis, who offers another theory on drug test

[Fox Sports]: NFL picks Goodell to replace Tagliabue

[USA Today]: Ex-NBA All-Star Eddie Johnson accused of sexually assaulting 8-year-old girl

[SI]: Wie blamed caddie for being unable to make clutch putts…

[MSNBC]: Parcells scolds media about T.O. injury

[homegame]: Why Bill Belichick’s Aunt is Not His Uncle

Categories
General Sports

NASCAR doesn’t care about black people

(…or was that George Bush?)

According to Reuters, “A former African-American crewman who once worked on NASCAR’s Winston Cup circuit sued the governing body of the U.S. stock car series on Tuesday for race discrimination and breach of contract”, which brings up he question, “so how long have you ceased being African-American?”

We’ll assume that David Scott is still African-American but used to be a crewman with NASCAR. Scott is suing NASCAR because of an incident where he was harrassed by at least two white motorcoach drivers from other teams with one donning a white pillowcase over his head like a klansman. When the incident was publicized, NASCAR shuttled him away and promised him a future job but after five years and no job, Scott is suing for back pay and compensatory damages.

Links:

[Reuters]: NASCAR sued for racial discrimination

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All Other Sports

TV commentator fired after calling a player a terrorist


Dean Jones, a commentator for Sri Lankan TV was fired after he called a South African batsman named Hashim Aslam a terrorist.

After bearded Amla, 23, caught Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara in the Second Test in Colombo, Jones was heard by millions of shocked viewers to exclaim `the terrorist has got another wicket’.

Ummmm… we’re not exactly sure what the first part of that sentence means but we’re pretty sure the second part is a no-no. Take Howard Cosell’s “Look at that little monkey go!” and multiply it by 10000x and that’s how offensive that was.

Links:
[Sun UK]: ‘Terrorist gets a wicket

Categories
MLB General

Federal Judge: Greedy MLB can suck it


A federal judge yesterday ruled that baseball player names and stats were part of the public domain and that fantasy sports games operators could use them free of charge. MLB and the MLB Players Association tried to argue that players’ indentities and statistics were part of their intellectual property and they were entitled to licensing fees. CBC Distribution and Marketing was turned down for a licensing deal and filed suit against the league. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Ann L. Medler found for CBC.


The undisputed facts establish that the names and playing records of (MLB) players as used in CBC’s fantasy games are not copyrightable and, therefore, federal copyright law does not pre-empt the players’ claimed right of publicity,” wrote Medler in her 49-page ruling issued in St. Louis. Even if players have a claimed right of publicity, she added, “the First Amendment takes precedence over such a right.

Chalk this one up for the little guys. This is just another example of a greedy corporate entity trying to squeeze more money out of smaller businesses which would eventually be passed on to the consumer. We like our information free, thank you very much.

Links:
[USA Today]: Fantasy leagues can use baseball stats

Categories
NFL General

Maurice Clarett has been watching too many rap videos



Mo’s mugshot

Where do we even begin with the Maurice Clarett story? At this point, it’s like watching Mike Tyson slowly dissolve into a tattooed freak who wants to ear your children. We don’t really care about someone as stupid is Maurice Clarett but it’s just becoming depressing and shameful.

Clarett was arrested early this morning when he failed to stop for police after making an illegal U-turn. After a highway chase that ended when Clarett’s tires were shreaded by a spike strip placed by the highway patrol, the police pulled him over and used a stun gun on him to no effect because he was wearing a bulletproof vest so they had to mace him.

It took several officers to get him handcuffed,” Sgt. Michael Woods said. “Even after he was placed in the paddy wagon, he was still kicking at the doors and being a problem for the officers.”

The police then found a loaded rifle and three loaded handguns in his SUV along with a half bottle of vodka. Clarett is now in the Franklin County Jail awaiting his ass raping arraignment on Thursday.

Clarett was expected to play with the Mahoning Valley Hitmen in the Eastern Indoor Football League. He might have been taking the team nickname a little too literally.

Links:
[AP]: Clarett arrested; Guns found in truck

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Dodgers chugging along


1. The wins keep on coming: The LA Dodgers have been the most inconsistent team in baseball for the last month. After losing 12 out of 13 games, the team has now won 11 in a row. Last night they won 4-2 over Colorado, with former Braves Rafael Furcal and Wilson Betemit hitting homers. Greg Maddux, in his second start with the team, pitched well but got a no-decision. Los Angeles is suddenly a half-game back of the slipping Padres for the NL West lead. They have the best offense in the division, while inexplicably the Rockies have allowed the fewest runs in the NL.

2. Blown away: The Yankees-White Sox series looked entertaining on paper, and last night’s kickoff game didn’t disappoint. New York, via a homerun by Alex Rodriguez, was leading 5-4 going into the ninth inning. Of course they put in Mariano Rivera, but he faltered by blowing his third save of the year. Rivera allowed a homerun to Paul Konerko, sending the game into extras. The White Sox won on Jermaine Dye’s RBI single in the 11th, giving them the AL Wild Card lead once again. The Yankees, due to a Boston loss, are still two games ahead in the AL East.

3. Red Tide: The Reds, after being crushed 13-1 in their series opener against the Cardinals, retaliated with a 10-3 victory of their own. Ryan Freel had 3 of the Reds’ 17 hits, and also made a spectacular diving catch that saved a run. Adam Dunn and Rich Aurilla hit 2 hits and 3 RBIs apiece, while Eric Milton cruised through six innings. For the Cardinals, Jason Marquis was saddled with his 10th loss of the season. He only lasted 60 pitches and 2.2 innings, even though he only was charged with 4 runs. The loss put the Cardinals back to 3.5 games ahead of the Reds, who are still tied with Los Angeles for the Wild Card lead. Both teams have only 3 wins in their last 10 games.

4. Can you pitch?: The Braves have asked that question to numerous players this year, and few have worked out. Their bullpen troubles have been well-chronicled, though their starting pitching has been equally awful lately. Tim Hudson in particular has been mediocre; coming into last night’s game he had allowed 4 earned runs or more in 8 of his last 9 starts. But he finally was able to pitch well yesterday, allowing no runs in 7 innings against the Phillies. He struck out 8 as the Braves won 3-1, their least runs allowed as a team since July 23.

5. We knew it was a bad trade: Almost everyone was in agreement over the Reds-Nationals trade in mid-July: the Nationals got the better part of the deal. They received Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez for relievers Bill Bray and Gary Majewski. Now, after Majewski was placed on the DL, even the Reds’ GM is questioning the trade. According to numerous news sources, Wayne Krivsky called Nats GM Jim Bowden to ask why the team hadn’t told him about Majewski’s sore shoulder. Majewski had received a cortisone shot right before the transaction was made, and apparently the Reds didn’t know about it. Naturally, Bowden declined that he was even contacted by the Reds, and he claims that the Nationals provided all the medical information they were asked for. Krivsky might file a grievance over the deal, and this could get nasty.