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MLB General

July 5 in Sports History: Breaking the AL color barrier

In 1947: Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians becomes the first black player to appear in the American League. Doby would join the Indians almost four months after Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers broke baseball’s color barrier. Doby was only a part-time player in his rookie season, but would go on to have a solid career with the Indians, White Sox and Tigers, hitting .283 lifetime with seven straight all-star game invites and two World Series appearances in 1948 and 1954.

In 1946: Two gentlemen named Jacques Helm and Louis Reard helped create what they called “four triangles of nothing.” Spring Break. Senior Week, Sports Illustrated and trips to my apartment complex pool would finally become interesting as the bikini was unveiled on a Paris runway; and it caught on in America shortly afterward. While the two-piece bathing suit had been around for centuries, it took Helm’s design and Reard’s marketing genius (as in,” lets get that thing on a model and show it off”) to help make the bikini what it is today.

In 1980: Sweden’s Bjorn Borg defeated American John McEnroe in the men’s final at Wimbledon in perhaps the most memorable and dramatic finals in tennis history (although we rank the one where Pete Sampras vomited and any of the combined 564 career professional appearances of Maria Sharapova and Anna Kournikova as personal favorites). The match not only see-sawed for five sets, it also featured a dramatic, 34-point tiebreaker in the fourth set won by McEnroe, 18-16. Borg, however, got the last laugh in the fifth, winning 8-6 and capturing a record fifth consecutive Wimbledon men’s singles title.

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MLB General

The Full Count: All-Star teams announced



Top NL and AL vote getters

1. All Star teams announced: The highly anticipated All Star game selections came last night, and for the first time in a while there appears to be no (major) snubs. The Mets and White Sox lead all teams with six selections, and the Red Sox and Yankees combined for 5 players in the AL starting lineup. The Mets will start 4, and 6 of the 8 NL starters will come from the NL East division. Almost every player who deserved a spot got on the rosters, available here. Those who didn’t could still earn a spot through final fan voting of five nominees. The AL nominees are Justin Verlander, Francisco Liriano, Travis Hafner, Ramon Hernandez, and AJ Pierzynski. The NL candidates will be Bobby Abreu, Billy Wagner, Chris Young, Chris Capuano, and Nomar Garciaparra. Unfortunately only one of those players can make it from each league, and the ballots are available online. We’d take Liriano and Garciaparra.

2. A-Rod over Mets: Alex Rodriguez had his best game of the season on a huge stage, almost single-handedly upstaging the Mets on Sunday Night Baseball. A-Rod hit 2 homers and drove in 7, including a grand slam in the 3rd that put the Yankees up for good. The Yankees scored 8 runs in that inning, and they cruised by the Mets 16-7. It was another attempt by Rodriguez to prove his doubters wrong, as many were wondering if he deserved the All Star start (which he got). A-Rod finished the series win over the Mets 5-12, with 3 homers and 9 RBIs. He is now on pace for 39 and 133 over the season, which sound like A-Rod numbers to me. It’s about time that Yankees fans just shut up about how disappointing he is. Sure, he was awful in the playoffs last year, but without his monstrous contributions in the regular season New York wouldn’t have gone that far.

3. Lightning lefty: Is there any question who the AL rookie of the Year will be? At least for now, it has to go to Francisco Liriano. He has so fully dominated his opponents this season, he even has a chance to win the Cy Young. After shutting out the Mariners last night in 8 innings and striking out 12, Liriano is 9-1 on the year. He has racked up 7 consecutive quality starts, and on the year has a 1.99 ERA and .97 WHIP. Liriano just defines unhittable–opponents have only batted .203 against him this year. The Twins are almost guaranteed a win 2 of 5 days with Liriano and Johan Santana in the rotation. The team has now won 10 in a row, and should be a strong contender for the AL Wild Card.

4. A pitcher’s nightmare: That described yesterday’s White Sox-Cubs game, which turned out to be one of the most high-scoring and crazy games of the year. Going into the game many expected a pitcher’s duel between Mark Beurhle and Carlos Zambrano, but they both got shelled. Beurhle allowed 11 runs in 5 innings, while Zambrano gave up 7 in 6 but escaped with the victory. The Cubs won 15-11 in the end, in a game in which four players homered for each side.

5. Start me up: The starting pitchers for each side in the All Star game has yet to be announced, but Brandon Webb has sure made his case in the NL. Though the Diamondbacks ace struggled in June, he returned to his dominant form yesterday. Webb fired a four-hitter against the A’s, striking out seven in a complete game. He outdueled Barry Zito, who allowed 1 earned run through 8.2. Webb finally earned his 9th win on the year after going 8-0 through May. He has been the best pitcher in a league where there has been no truly dominant starter. On the AL side of things, Johan Santana deserves the start but it will likely go to undefeated Jose Contreras. Contreras is 8-0 but is inferior to Santana is every aspect but winning percentage.

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MLB General

MLB Power Rankings Roundup for Fri June 30 2006

Despite being 11 games out of first place in the division and 8.5 games out of the Wild Card, the Twins have won 8 in a row and have made a charge into the top ten in power rankings. They might not make the playoffs but at least they’re getting some recognition for their stellar play.

Here are the MLB Power Rankings by major sites this week.:

Rank Sportscolumn ESPN FoxSports Sportsline USA Today TSN.ca
1 Tigers White Sox Tigers Tigers Mets Red Sox
2 White Sox Tigers Red Sox White Sox White Sox Mets
3 Red Sox Red Sox White Sox Mets Tigers Tigers
4 Mets Yankees Mets Red Sox Cardinals Yankees
5 Yankees Mets Yankees Twins Red Sox Blue Jays
6 Cardinals Blue Jays Blue Jays A’s Yankees White Sox
7 Blue Jays Twins Twins Cardinals A’s Twins
8 A’s A’s Rangers Yankees Blue Jays Dodgers
9 Reds Mariners A’s Rangers Dodgers Cardinals
10 Padres Cardinals Cardinals Blue Jays Rangers Rangers
11-30 more more more more more more

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Edmonton Oilers

Odds and Ends (06.30.06): More on the Chris Pronger rumor

Yesterday, we reported on the rumor behind Chris Pronger’s trade request was because his wife was upset he got a local television reporter pregnant. Well, the rumor probably isn’t true and Christie Chorley, the alleged baby momma in the rumor has issued this statement on her website.


OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM CHRISTIE CHORLEY

JUNE 29, 2006

ANY RUMORS AND/OR SPECULATION ABOUT MY INVOLVEMENT WITH THE CURRENT CHRIS PRONGER SITUATION IS COMPLETELY, ONE-HUNDRED PERCENT FALSE.

I would appreciate your help in putting an end to my name being linked to this situation, as it is completely WITHOUT ANY MERIT OR FACTUAL BASIS.

Any further slander or defamation can and will result in swift legal action.

From the ALL CAPS, you can tell Christie is VERY UPSET ABOUT THIS. But still, is a speculative rumor really grounds for a slander or defamation lawsuit?



Of course he’s a soccer fan!

In other news…

[Lets Go Sox]: The mystery is solved folks! The Middle Finger Kid–Exposed!

[USS Mariner]: The A’s aren’t that good

[MSNBC]: avorites among dozens barred in drug scandal
Last year’s 2-3-4 finishers Ullrich, Basso, Mancebo out

[AP]: Duke player who sent email about killing some strippers reinstated.

[USA Today]: AL is 127-75 against NL in interleague play

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Chicago Bears

Kyle Orton’s got this all wrong

Look at Kyle Orton’s face in the first photo. He looks absolutely bored. (Yes, that’s if you can focus in on Orton’s face in that photo, we understand that might be hard to do.) Come on dude, check out the ass or something.

Now, check out the second photo below where he mimes giving a blowjob. Look at the absolute ardor with which he’s doing it.

Here’s a note to athletes: whatever you think is funny ends up not being funny when it ends up on someone’s facebook or flickr account. Mere mortals like us can do stuff like that but when you’re the backup QB for the Chicago Bears (well, that is until Grossman’s season ends with the inevitable injury), you should probably want a no cameras policy.

Photos are from “Kissing Suzy Kolber“. This is our first exposure to the site so we’re not sure if the blog name is ironic or not. Frankly, it sounds like a punishment.

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San Diego Padres

Padres minor league team has Tom Cruise night

Hey folks, it’s Tom Cruise night at The Diamond in Lake Elsinore! That means bring your ridiculously hot brainwashed girlfriend and leave your boyfriend at home! (zing!)

The Lake Elsinore Storm (class A affiliate of the Padres) are giving away bobble-couches to the first 1,500 fans. In addition there will be a couch jumping contest and a “silent inning” to commemorate ridicule the recent silent birth of TomKat’s daughter. God bless those minor league teams and their promotions. Remember the Minnesota team that gave out the Vikings Love Boat collectible?

Links:

[SignOnSanDiego]: Couch potato, get out there tonight

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MLB General

The Full Count: We’re going streaking!

1. Make it a dozen: The Red Sox just keep on winning, and even a series against the NL’s best team didn’t produce an Interleague loss. The Sox completed a sweep of the Mets on Thursday in a heavily anticipated Glavine vs. Shilling matchup. Each pitcher held the opposing team scoreless through five innings, but they ended up allowing two earned runs each. Shilling pitched seven innings to earn the victory, his only mistake a two-run shot allowed to Carlos Beltran in the 6th inning. Coco Crisp used a bunt single, a steal, and a sacrifice fly to score and break the 2-2 tie in the 7th. David Ortiz hit his 23rd homer to seal the deal, and Jon Papelbon collected his 24th save. The Red Sox are now up by a season-high 4 games in the AL East, while the Mets still hold an 11-game lead in the NL East.

2. It’s over: The Pirates losing streak finally ended last night despite facing the best pitcher one of the AL’s best teams. The Bucs defeated the White Sox 7-6, and Jose Contreras had his worst outing of the year but was spared of the loss. Contreras allowed 6 runs in five innings, but his undeafeated streak still stands at 16 games. That’s because Jim Thome tied up the game at 6-6 in the eighth with a pinch-hit homerun, his AL-leading 25th on the year. For the Pirates, Freddy Sanchez went 4-5 and hit a game-winning walk-off homer in the ninth. His batting average increased to an NL-leading .363. This game means little more than an ended streak for the Pirates however. They are still 17.5 games back of the Cardinals in their division.

3. Streaking Seattle: One of the many AL teams taking advantage of a weakened National League is the Seattle Mariners, whose 10-2 record in Interleague play has left them only two games back in the AL West. They currently have a 5-game winning streak going after completing a sweep of the struggling Arizona Diamondbacks. Yesterday they won 3-2 after a strong start by Gil Meche, who is 3-0 in his last five starts and has dropped his ERA over a point. JJ Putz picked up his 14th save for Seattle, and he has only blown one save all season. Raul Ibanez is having one of the quietest yet effective seasons of any player, and last night he hit his 17th homer and 63rd RBI. Even Adrian Beltre has raised his average from under .200 to .262 over the past month or so.

4. They like their homers in Cincy: After hitting four homers against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, the Reds were at it again on Thursday. They hit three homeruns, one each by Ken Griffey Jr., Felipe Lopez, and Adam Dunn. Griffey’s shot marked his fourth game in a row going yard, while Dunn’s blast gave him 25 on the year. Dunn also hit a double in the eighth inning that drove in the game-winning run. The win for Cincinnati left them just one game back of the Cardinals, and it appears they are for real. Bronson Arroyo, who left after seven innings and received a no-decision, allowed two runs to keep his ERA at an NL-leading 2.58. The Royals, meanwhile, once again have the majors’ worst record after their loss and the Pirates’ win.

5. Bringing juice to the Golden Baseball League: Jose Canseco is back in a professional uniform, as he agreed to a contract with the San Diego Surf Dawgs. Canseco will play DH and even pitch for the team, which plays in the independent Golden Baseball League. He will make the league maximum salary, which is just $2,500 per month. We’re waiting to see if a steroid scandal will soon rock this independent league.

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Soccer

June 30 in Sports History: Brazil wins 5th World Cup title

In 2002: Brazil won its record fifth World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Germany in Yokohama, Japan. Ronaldo beat German keeper Oliver Kahn for both Brazilian goals. They were the first team to go undefeated and untied on the way to the championship since 1970. The 25-year-old Ronaldo would net eight goals during the World Cup (and just recently became the all-time leading scorer). (Planet World Cup)

In 1962: Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches his first of four career no-hitters with a 5-0 victory over the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium. Koufax struck out 13 and walked five batters. He also accomplished the rare feat of striking out the side on only nine pitches in the first inning. Koufax would go on to pitch no-hitters in four consecutive years from 1962-1965. The Dodgers always struggled offensively in those years; so when teammate Don Drysdale was told about of Koufax’s gem, his immediate reaction was to ask, “Did he get the win?” (baseball-almanac.com)

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Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee Bucks get a newer meaner logo

In addition to drafting David Noel and getting Damir Makota last night, the Milwaukee Bucks unveiled their new logo and color scheme. It’s not much different from the logo they adopted in 1993 but gone is the purple and replaced by “striking” red. Can’t you imagine a bunch of suits sitting in a conference room going, “yeah yeah.. we’ll go red… red is fierce!… red means we’re gonna be a force to be reckoned with!” Then they proceeded to spent countless man hours and thousands of dollars with creative consultants to do a simple color replace that anyone with photoshop skills could’ve done in 2 minutes. Frankly, we kinda liked the original Bucks logo. Now that was fierce.

The new uniforms won’t be unveiled until September. And if history is any guide, it’s the uniforms that will create the most shock and disgust. Remember the Sixers uniform from the early nineties? Barkley hated them so much he said it looked like his 5 year old daughter drew them with crayon.

Links:
[Bucks.com]: Bucks Unveil Updated Logo, New Color Scheme

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Soccer

Odd and Ends (06.29.06): Ref who gave 3 yellow cards before tossing playing quits



Now was it 2 or 3
yellows = red?

Remember the ref that gave three yellow cards to a player in the same match before tossing him? He’s decided to call it quits from international competition. He had considered quitting entirely but decided that he would keep making mistakes in the English Premiere League. We wish this would happen more often in the NBA and the NFL — we’d certainly get rid of some of the worst refs in sports. Sadly, the NBA and the NFL retains refs like Michael Vick does herpes. They’re with you until someone dies.

In other news…

[Sign OnSanDiego]: Adidas has sold 15 million World Cup balls since debut at about $120 a pop.

[SI]: Another example of a kid making us look bad — a 12-year-old gets two hole-in-ones in one round.

[Wages of Wins Journal]: It was Isiah Thomas’ fault, not Larry Brown’s

[Beerleaguer]: Why, and how, Phillies GM Pat Gillick will hand in his resignation after one season.

[There’s your Karma]: When did Andy Roddick pose for a gay magazine?