Categories
MLB General

MLB Power Rankings Roundup for Fri Jun 2 2006

Don’t look now but the Braves are making a move and are now in the top 10 in half of the sites we survey. With the Mets playing lights out in clutch situations, it’s going to be hard for the Braves to win a 15th consecutive division title but don’t count them out yet.

Here are you Power Rankings by major sites this week.

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

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Is it too early to talk playoffs?

1. One will miss out: Out of the following four teams, one will not make the playoffs in the AL: the Tigers, White Sox, Yankees, or Red Sox. Each of these teams has at least 31 wins, and all are significantly better than the AL West-leading Rangers. It’s very early to speculate, but our money will go to the Detroit Tigers as of now. They only have four wins against playoff-caliber teams, and three of those are against those Rangers. We’ll see how it plays out, but no matter what, one of these teams will be complaining by the year’s end.

3. Eye of the Tiger: After dropping three games in a row to the Yankees, the Detroit Tigers weren’t going to let another game just slip by. Trailing 6-5 heading into the ninth inning, the Tigers scored two runs off Yankees reliever Kyle Farnsworth to win the game. Why wasn’t Mariano Rivera in there, you might ask? He injured his back before the game putting on his cleats, making usual setup man Farnsworth the closer. Earlier in the game, Tigers starter Justin Verlander pitched his worst start of the year, allowing 6 runs in 5 innings, including a homerun to Jason Giambi. The Tigers are now up 2.5 on the White Sox in the AL Central. The Yankees fell a half game behind Boston, who had an off day.

3. Who’s #1?: Before last night’s start against the Cleveland Indians, there was no question about who the best starter in the AL was this year–Jose Contreras. He was 5-0 and had never allowed more than 4 runs in a start–until yesterday, when the Indians gouged him for 6 runs in 5 innings pitched. But that was just half of the Indians’ scoring in their crazy 12-8 victory. Though Cleveland trailed 8-7 heading into the seventh inning, Ronnie Belliard and Ben Broussard homeruns helped them get the win. Belliard had 4 RBIs on the night, while Broussard went 4-5 and Grady Sizemore drove in two. The White Sox lost despite three Jim Thome RBIs and two homers and five driven in by Jermaine Dye. (By the way, the answer to the question would be Mike Mussina, who has a 2.42 ERA and 7 wins.)

4. Simply offensive: Coming into last night’s game against the Braves, the Diamondbacks hadn’t scored in 24 innings, which resulted mainly from no runs in 13 innings on Wednesday. They finally got on the scoreboard in the eighth, with a two-run single. The Braves answered next inning with Andruw Jones’ 14th homerun of the year, but it wasn’t enough and the D-Backs prevailed 2-1. Arizona starter Juan Cruz had the best start of his career, pitching 7 shutout innings. The Braves’ Horacio Ramirez was charged with the loss, though both of his runs allowed were unearned. The D-Backs are still clinging to a slight division lead over the LA Dodgers.

5. The DL’s favorite team: The Dodgers, despite being second in the NL West, have probably had some of the worst luck of any MLB team this season. Jeff Kent was placed on the disabled list Thursday, becoming one of many Dodgers who have missed time this season. Shotrtstop Cesar Izturis hasn’t played this season, and neither has stud closer Eric Gagne (though he was taken off the DL yesterday). Nomar Garciaparra and Kenny Lofton are among the other Dodgers who have missed time this season. In other DL news, Tigers starter Mike Maroth will have elbow surgery, though there hasn’t been an announcement of how much time he will miss.

Categories
All Other Sports

Bettings on the Scripps Spelling Bee

Proving that you can bet on anything, the folks over at some random gambling site have posted odds on the National Spelling Bee.  

Will the Winner be a Male or Female?
Male -140
Female +120

Will the Winner be Home Schooled?
Yes +200
No -250

Will the Winner be from California, New York, or Texas?
Yes +400
No -700

Will the Winner be from Indiana, Ohio, or Pennsylvania?
Yes +350
No -600

Will the Winner be from Canada?
Yes +2000
No -3000

Length of the winning word:
Over 9 ½ letters -145
Under 9 ½ letters +125

Will the winning word contain the letter `E’?
Yes -230
No +190

Will the winning word end with `E’, `S’, `T’, or `D’?
Yes -135
No +115

Last year, the winner was a 13 year old boy from California and the winning word was “appoggiatura”.  And if you think that will help you determine what to bet this year, you should probably call someone for help with your gambling problem.  

Categories
New York Yankees

Odds and Ends (06.1.06): Randy Johnson love child fund



I am reluctantly your father

Can we start a fund for Randy Johnson’s love child? Maybe then she can afford to finally meet her father who won’t even return her phone calls. An Arizona couple won a charity auction to have dinner with Randy Johnson, his wife Lisa, and 20 of their friends. Ironically, the auction was to benefit the notMYkid organization. (You couldn’t make this stuff up.)

It’s too bad we didn’t know about this sooner. I’m sure all the sports bloggers could’ve raised more than $7,000, won the auction, and then invite Randy’s love child to dinner. That, friends, would be high comedy. (via The Hater Nation / Photo from Boston Dirt Dogs)

In other news…

[Yahoo]: Shocking! Sean Taylor gets special treatment and cops a plea

[ESPN]: Avery Johnson’s wife could be charged with assault for mixing it up with Suns fans

[Fire Dusty Baker]: Bad groundskeeping reason for Cubs losing

[Mr. Mack]: The All-Rotten Hall of Fame

[Off Wing Opinion]: Goalie scores all the way across the pitch

Categories
Soccer

Do you know who Ronaldinho is?

It’s a shame that soccer gets absolutely no respect in the U.S. because we’d be seeing Ronaldinho’s highlights on Sportscenter more than once every 4 years. Look at this video of his highlights and it shows how amazing the game of soccer can be and firmly establishes Ronalinho as the Dwayne Wade of soccer, except of course that he’s 100x more well known around the world. There are some who would argue he’s the best soccer player in history.

Put aside any prejudices you might have about soccer and you’ll see an athlete at the top of his game. Just by sheer skill, he makes his opponents look foolish. And that might be the mark of a truly great player.

(You might want to turn off the volume as the video is accompanied by a terrible Creed song.)

Links:
[You Tube]: Ronaldinho’s top 50 goals
[You Tube]: Amazing video of Ronaldinho showing off his skills

Categories
Phoenix Suns

Two straight MVP trophies gets you… Nelly Furtado?

According to the New York Post, Nasty Nash is getting it on with Nelly Furtado. (You know, the chick who absolutely ruined the Missy Elliot song Get Ur Freak On. A remix/collaboration that will go down as the worst in music history.)


CUPID may have slam-dunked Nelly Furtado into the love net of Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash. In her new song “Promiscuous,” Furtado fawns over the 6-foot-3 court hunk, singing, “Is that the truth or are you talkin’ trash, is your game MVP like Steve Nash?” Toronto columnist Shinan Govani says the pair appear to be sizzling off-court ever since hitting it off when Furtado performed at Nash’s charity event in Canada last summer. But her rep says, “110 percent not true.”

First off, who writes this shit for the NY Post? Second, with his greasy hair and overall dirty vibe, it’s hard to believe someone actually called Steve Nash a “hunk”. It’s also hard to believe that somehow he’s hooking up with Nelly Furtado. Sure, she hasn’t had a hit single since the mid-90s but she’s pretty damn hot. Still, she’s no Eva Longoria. Tony Parker 1, Steve Nash 0.

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Roger Clemens makes up his mind

1. He’s coming back: After denying contacting the Astros on Tuesday, Roger Clemens signed a huge contract with the team yesterday. The deal would be worth an outrageous $22,000,022 over the whole season, but because Clemens won’t be coming back until June 22 at best, he’ll get a prorated portion that comes out to over $12 million. Not bad for a 43-year-old entering his 23rd major league season. But before Clemens can join the major league roster, he’ll have to make at least 3 minor league starts. The first will be with single-A Lexington, where his son Koby plays. Then he’ll start with the Double and Triple-A Astros teams, and then make his return as early as June 22.

2. Happy to be a Royal: Not many people in the world of baseball want to be a Kansas City Royal, as the team has absolutely no hope for about the next decade or so. But former Atlanta assistant Dayton Moore is, as he will be replacing fired Allard Baird as Royals GM. Moore said he is “looking forward to joining the team and becoming part of the Kansas City community.” Whatever. He has a lot of work to do, as the Royals have been the worst team in the majors for two years running now. Through their first 50 games they are 13-37.

3. Duel of the Year: Anybody who didn’t think that the Pedro Martinez-Brandon Webb matchup wouldn’t live up to the hype was proved wrong on Wednesday night. Neither pitcher allowed a run in a game that didn’t see a score until the 13th inning. Webb pitched seven innings and allowed just four hits and one walk. His scoreless inning streak is now at 25 after two complete-game shutouts last week. But Pedro was even better, going eight innings, striking out eight, and allowing five hits. No runs were put on the board in regulation, but in extras the Mets’ Endy Chavez won the game on a bloop single. The Diamondbacks took the hard loss and are virtually tied with the Dodgers for their division lead. The Mets lead the NL East by 4.5 over the Braves.

4. Carrying his team: Jason Bay, playing in Pittsburgh where he never gets any media attention, is having a flat-out spectacular season. Last night he hit another homerun in the Pirates’ 6-1 win over the Brewers. He finished May with 12 homers and 35 RBIs on the month, which makes up most of his 17 and 46 on the year. Bay has also hit .302 and has been one of the only positives on a 19-34 team that altogether lacks pitching. If Bay ever gets traded to a contender, he will become an absolute superstar.

5. Are they really the best?: The Tigers have played some bad competition for the majority of this season, which diminishes their 35-18 record. But now that they will begin to face some playoff-caliber teams, we’ll see if they’re for real. Well, so far in their murderous upcoming stretch they’ve proved the doubters right, as they are down 3-0 in their series against the Yankees. Last night they lost 6-1 to New York, who featured a complete-game shutout from Mike Mussina. Alex Rodriguez got three hits and drove in two for the Yankees, who are still tied with the Red Sox for the division lead. Meanwhile, the Tigers are still leading the White Sox in their division, though they probably won’t be after facing Boston, Toronto, and new rival Chicago in their next three series.

Categories
Washington Wizards

Gilbert Arenas’ street name is "Zero Hero"



Our Hero

Gilbert Arenas might be the coolest cat in the NBA. (Except when LeBron whispers in his ear about free throws…) On Monday, it was reported that Arenas was arrested for “resisting without violence” on Miami Beach. And upon being arrested, he said, “You can’t arrest me. I’m a basketball player. I play for the Washington Wizards.”

In today’s Washington Post column by Michael Wilbon, Gilbert defends himself.


I was told it was for resisting arrest without violence.
I still don’t understand what for. I was in a limousine, stuck in really bad traffic going to this restaurant, Ago, when I decided to step out of the car. The limo driver said, ‘The guy who just got out is being arrested.’ I looked over and saw seven police officers arresting Storey. . . .

I didn’t have the chance to say anything; an officer put cuffs on me from behind. . . . When I was taken in, I said, ‘I don’t mean to be rude, but can I talk to the officer who arrested me?’ And the officer says, ‘You were being nosy.’ And I said, ‘Are you putting that in your official police report, that I was being nosy?’ And then he keeps asking me questions:

“‘Do you have tattoos?’ I said, ‘Yes, I have three.’ And then, ‘What is your street name?’ I laughed. Of course I laughed. My street name? What? Okay, it’s Zero Hero. [Arenas wears “0” on his Wizards jersey.]

” ‘And he says, ‘Oh, everything is funny to you, huh?’

Gilbert claims he never said he couldn’t be arrested because he was a basketball player then made a reference to Anchorman and how ludicrous the whole situation was. After the whole ordeal, Arenas is selling his condo in Miami. “They can have their nice beach. They’ve convinced me I do not belong.” Somehow because this is Gilbert Arenas, we’re buying the selling your expensive real estate as social commentary move.

Links:
[Washington Post]: Arenas Bummed by the Beach

Categories
College Football

Two ex-FSU players charged with robbing teammate



Jeff Rouse

There’s so many things wrong with this story. First, look at the photo to your left. Does that look like a man who would rob someone? Not particularly. Does that look like a man who if he were to rob someone, would leave a glove with his jersey number at the scene of the crime? Well… yes. In a world of dumb athletes, Fred Rouse might take this year’s top award.

But that’s not all. The person that Rouse robbed (along with fellow ex-teammate and Cincinnati 5th round draft pick A.J. Nicholson) was another teammate, Lorenzo Booker. Rouse and Nicholson stole approximately $1,700 worth of electronic equipment from the house. Rouse confessed to the crime and is charged with burglary of a dwelling, grand theft, and possession of ecstasy. He then sold out A.J. Nicholson faster than the Pistons are selling out Flip Saunders. An arrest warrant has been issued for Nicholson.

This isn’t the first time these two student-athletes have been in trouble. Nicholson previously pleaded to a DUI offense and Rouse was kicked off the FSU team in January for “conduct detrimental to the welfare of the football team”. FSU officials declined to comment but we believe robbing your teammates is detrimental to the welfare of the football team.


Links:

[ESPN]: Bengals pick Nicholson, Rouse charged in alleged theft

Categories
Chicago White Sox

Odds and Ends 05.31.06: Make way for MVP Thome

A change of scenery has Jim Thome being talked about as a strong MVP candidate. Even Paul Konerko understands this is one of those magical seasons for a player. He is willing to step aside in interleague play so that Thome can play 1B and get his at-bats in.


There’s no way I’m going to sit this guy,” Guillen said of Thome, who leads the Sox with 20 home runs. “I already talked to Konerko about that, and he’s willing to do what I want him to do. That’s why I think it’s easy to manage this club. Nobody has an ego, and, obviously, when you’re playing interleague, you want to be in the lineup.

In other news…

[MSNBA]: Barry Bonds wants us to think he’s human after all

[Pioneer Press]: Kevin McHale is delusional

[USA Today]: Report clears Armstrong of doping in 1999 Tour de France

[Sportsline]: NCAA rule change allows coaches one replay challenge per game

[SignOnSanDiego]: Sauerbeck is sorry for getting arrested

[Mirror UK]: England’s March Madness — 15% plan “illness” during World Cup matches