Tag: odds and ends

Categories
NBA General

Odds and Ends: ESPN finally makes itself useful


ESPN sucks. There’s hardly any redeeming features to the slow ass bloated website or the retarded programming but we finally found something that’s worth using over at “.com.” The Trade Machine allows you to propose a trade between up to 4 teams and the website will figure out if the trade will work from a salary standpoint and point out any clauses that might negate the trade.

For example, if you want to test the trade that Peter Vecsey is claiming might happen between the Pacers and the Lakers, you could put in Jermaine O’Neal for Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom. But the resulting trade would fail because “the Lakers are over the cap, and their incoming salaries are greater than 125% plus $100,000 of their outgoing salaries. They need to cut $10,405 from the incoming trade value to make this trade successful.” With all the trade rumors flying around, it’s fun to see if it even makes sense salary wise.

In other news…

[Sportsline]: Prosecutor: Informants say they can link Vick to dogfighting

[Can’t Stop the Bleeding]: Florida A&M basketball coach arrested for stalking a woman

[The Big Lead]: So this is why UFC can’t market Rampage Jackson

[The Offside]: People really need to stop thinking up new sports

[The Golf Blog]: Michele Wie is kinda useless

And finally, a random story about a woman who is suing Wal-Mart because she slipped in a puddle of vomit. Investigators don’t know how to proceed because you can’t really dust for vomit.

Categories
LA Lakers

Odds and Ends: Isiah Thomas to offer next 10 first round picks for Kobe


Now that Kobe Bryant has officially asked to be traded from the Lakers, the multi-million dollar question is: where to? It’s fairly amusing the fan reaction to the Kobe demand. On on hand, you have Bright Side of the Sun which basically says no way. On the other, you have Kickerblogger.net which is trying to figure out how many players they’d need to ship to LA to even out Kobe’s value/salary. And then you have The 700 Level which is asking whether Philly fans want the prodigal son to return.

Nowitzki for Kobe seems to be the most logical trade. You get superstar for superstar and you could move some minor pieces to make the contracts work out. The only problem is that Mark Cuban is hopelessly in love with Dirk. Kobe just made the pre-draft period 100x more interesting.

In other news…

[Enquirer]: Odds on when Barry will hit 756*…

[Sac Bee]: But when he does, Barry Bonds might not give any memorabilia to the hall of fame. No wonder why everyone hates him.

[Sports By Brooks]: Getting knocked out and practically ruining UFC didn’t stop Chuck Liddell from partying

[AdFreak]: Is ballpark advertising still effective if an outfielder is lying unconscious in front of it?

[Our Book of Scrap]: You can party in Cozumel with the Broncos cheerleaders

Categories
Washington Wizards

Odds and Ends: Hey, is that Caron Butler at your birthday party?


From DC Sports Bog comes a story of how Caron Butler had nothing better to do so he showed up at some kid’s suprise birthday party.


[Caron] said everyone in the community has been “real courteous and very kind” to him, and that local fans have supported him since he’s been here, and that he just thought he should reciprocate.

“I thought it was a good thing to do, to make someone’s dream come true. It was just as rewarding for me as it was for him.

In other news…

[NBA.com]: Villanova star Howard Proter dies at 58

[Star Bulletin]: Listen, if your last name is Kim, please don’t name your daughter Kim. Kim Kim is a stupid name.

[Star Telegram]: Keyshawn says Tony Romo is the most overhyped player in the NFL

[Sportsline]: Utah fans show some real class by throwing stuff on the court

[Dallas News]: Dirk for Kobe?

[Sac Bee]: Can the Raiders and Niners share new stadium?

[10,000 Takes]: Contextual advertising isn’t all its cracked up to be

[Our Book of Scrap]: Who the hell would want to buy a used cigarette from Jack Lambert?

Categories
NFL General

Odds and Ends: Will Keyshawn be any good?



Am I an asshole?

By now, you’ve heard that Keyshawn has decided to retire and join ESPN. Now, my first reaction to this is that it’s another example of ESPN just going completely down the toilet. However, if you look at Michael Irvin’s work, he wasn’t all that bad. And Keyshawn is basically just another version of Michael Irvin.

I feel like Michael Irvin really did have some decent insight into the game of football (certainly more than that Chris Berman asshole) but he simply wasn’t articulate enough to express his opinions and he also had the habit of trying to be funny by saying the stupidest. So while ESPN’s NFL coverage is all but unwatchable, having Keyshawn on the show isn’t going to make it any worse. Thank God we have the NFL on FOX.

In other news…

[buzzfeed]: Six fans who gave shout outs to their team on death row

[UPI]: Blind golfer seen reading scorecard

[DC Pro Sports Report]: 2007 Mock NBA Draft

[Bloody Long Odds]: Odds for 2010 World Cup already released

[MSNBC]: Rosenhaus supports Clinton Portis

[SI]: Ex Montana St player leader of drug ring

[Houston Chronicle]: 2011 Super Bowl could set ticket sales record at $93 million

[Seattle PI]: Jones soda pulls off Seahawks upset

[IHT]: Japanese red socks have become symbol for Red Sox

And finally, stay away from the salad at the Wheaton North High School

Categories
Chicago White Sox

Odds and Ends: White Sox World Series Ring goes for $28k


It’s kind of sad when someone has to sell their World Series ring but hey, thanks to ebay, you can get $28,100 for a ring appraised at $7,950. The ring was put on sale by Tommy Thompson, the catchers coach from the 2005 team. It’s interesting that a Red Sox 2004 World Series ring went for $35,000 last week while a Florida Marlins 1997 World Series ring is unsold at $9,999 with two hours left in the auction. Talk about an indication of the loyalty and passion of the respective fan bases.

In other news…

[USA Today]: Hank Aaron sticks to his “screw Bonds” plans

[Sportsline]: Redskins have to apologize for Portis’ dog fighting is ok comments.

[Yahoo]: Golfer drives his car off a cliff and dies. Seriously.

[SI]: backup LSU QB suspended for trying to sneak into a casino with fake ID.

[Lion in Oil]: Ooops, I accidentally pulled down my shirt to expose more cleavage while pouring a beer on myself.

[Deseret News]: Football, wrestling top sports-injury list

[Parlayer]: VIDEO: Why Sports Reporters Should Carry Breathalizers At All Times

[Our Book of Scrap]: Rays rookie threatens to kill wife

[The Hater Nation]: Raiders Dedicate Season to the Executed

Categories
General Sports

Odds and Ends: Should bloggers get Press Credentials?


Eric Mcerlain over at Off Wing Opinion posted a link to Sports Media Journal’s poll asking whether sports bloggers should get media credentials. There are only 51 votes as of this writing but almost 2/3 of the respondents say no. And I have to agree with them. A few bloggers, like Eric, absolutely know their stuff. We’ve had Eric on a few podcasts and his knowledge of hockey and the NHL is extraordinary. Giving him a press pass enhances his writing.

However, the majority of bloggers are goddamn useless and add absolutely nothing to sports “reporting.” Hell, why do you need a press pass to post a blog entry on which player in the starting lineup compares to the cast of the Partridge Family? Bill Simmons doesn’t need a press pass and the majority of bloggers are cheap imitations of the Sports Guy. (Even the Sports Guy has become a cheap imitation of the Sports Guy.) You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve clicked on a link, read the blog entry, and thought, “are you f’ing kidding me? Did I just waste time reading that shit?”

No, bloggers do not need press credentials. The good ones come up with important topics and opinions with or without access. The bad ones will always suck the life out of this game, whether or not they have access to the free buffet. And for the record, we don’t have press credentials.

In other news…

[Cincinnati.com]: Bengals release LB Nicholson after arrest on a domestic violence charge

[Idaho Statesman]: Another story for the ‘Hockey players are the toughest athletes’ file

[Canada.com]: The worst logos in hockey

[TrojanWire]: Well, at least we know Steve Nash doesn’t get his chest waxed

[Ump Bump]: For Ozzie Guillen, profanity is but a station in his train of thought

[SportsBurn]: Tony Romo to judge Miss Universe pageant. Bastard.

Categories
Atlanta Braves

Odds and Ends: Clearing up this whole Craig Sager thing

Craig Sager,the NBA sideline reporter with the ridiculous wardrobe, has been getting a lot of play today because it was mentioned that he was one of the people running alongside Hank Aaron when he broke Babe Ruth’s record. You’ve probably seen the clip 1,000 times by now but it’s below if you have been living under a rock for the past 20 years.

Anyway, the problem is that some bloggers think Sager’s one of the two fans who ran alongside Aaron around 2nd base. No no no. Sager is the creepy guy in the white trench coat that runs with Aaron from third to home and waiting to to interview him.

Just thought we’d clear that up.

In other news…

[Hockey Rants]: Mike York’s Wife will kick your ass

[Can’t Stop the Bleeding]: Dough Christie and his wife have a book coming out.

[6ABC]: NJ officials want Rutgers to redesign its logo.

[KDSK]: Video of door coming off plane in Fred Taylor African safari incident

[Our book of Scrap]: This Almost Makes Me Wish I Was A Gators Fan (Almost)

Categories
NBA General

Odds and Ends: More on the NBA ref racial bias study



Should we call it on the black guy?

A couple of weeks ago, we told you about a study that concluded that there was a racial bias in foul calls in the NBA. One of the major flaws in that study was that the data was based on box scores and only the racial makeup of the three member crews could be used in the analysis instead of which ref made which call. Well, after the NBA criticized the study, they released actual person by person foul call data to Justin Wolfers, the professor who penned the study.

After reviewing the new data, Wolfers found that the NBA’s data actually confirms racial bias in officiating. Doh! An independent analysis of both Wolfer’s and the NBA’s study confirmed the findings in Wolfer’s study. The NBA is taking an ostrich approach: “It’s done. It’s over. We have nothing to add to what we have said already.”

In other news…

[NY Times]: Some people think an amputee sprinter might actually has an unfair advantae in the Olympics.

[Indystar.com]: Colts say no to car honoring team in the Indy 500.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]: Hey, Ruben Patterson, don’t forget: you’re a sex offender.

[Off Color Commentary]: Pam Oliver sucks

[One More Dying Quail]: Baseball’s All-Height Team

And finally, we have two stories on why ESPN sucks donkey. First, is Fantasy Fishing. Boy, we can’t wait to get our office ready for this thing. Second, the National Spelling Bee will be hosted by Mike and Mike. How many Golic is so dumb, he can’t spell cat jokes will there be? 200? ESPN really is ruining everything holy in sports/almost sports.

Categories
All Other Sports

Odds and Ends: Gay lacrosse coach fired for sucking


Missouri has declined to renew the contract of their openly gay men’s lacrosse coach because of his job performance. Kyle Hawkins has been the coach for nine years but only out of the closet for one year. Since it’s a club sport, the decision was made by the team itself. Hawkins said he was informed of the decision in a meeting with team leaders, an assistant coach and a university official. Team president Andy Mackley said that the sexual orientation of the coach had no bearing on the decision, rather, it was made because the team did not feel he was the best man for the job.

Hawkins said he would not pursue any legal action but did add that the reasons for his dismissal were “laughable. A week and a half before the meeting, they had sat in front of the ESPN cameras and said what a great coach I was.”

In other news…

[Inside Bay Area]: Santa Clara announcer fired because he’s not funny.

[WCBS]: Dad ran onto Fenway Park to impress his son. Because jail time is totally impressive.

[Star Telegram]: Cuban vs Trump round 2

[Tennessean]: Feeling a little inadequate about something? You can buy the JumboTron from Nashville Arena.

[SI]: Two 6-foot-7 twins. Perhaps they can date this guy.

And finally, here are the 10 most undeserving MVPs. and yes, Dirk Nowitzki is on this list.

Categories
Sacramento Kings

Odds and Ends: Ron Artest makes perfect sense


Here’s Ron Artest on the brawl in Detroit, courtesy of The Big Lead:


The Detroit owner, he’s a trip. He said if [Ron] wouldn’t have been laying on the table, the guy wouldn’t have thrown the beer. That don’t make sense cause I lay on tables a lot. I lay on benches in my neighborhood and nobody throws cups of beer or rocks at me. That just doesn’t make sense. One guy in the front row was calling me and Jermaine O’Neal mother hoes and bitches the whole game, and you didn’t see us attack him.

Yep, that’s Ron Artest, laying around master. Words cannot describe.

In other news…

[Our Book of Scrap]: Talk about a fruitless exercise: NASCAR promotes literacy

[Hockey Rants]: Disney Presents: The Haka on Ice!

[The 700 Level]: Temple Sports Put on Single Public Probation (for what? sucking?)

[The Offside]: Ice Soccer? Really?

[Steroid Nation]: For chrissakes, she’s paralyzed! Let her smoke as much pot as she wants.

[Yahoo ]: Stupid old people and their stupid holes-in-one

And finally, the soccer world is buzzing with goal by Andres Vasquez, which some are saying is the greatest goal every scored. The video is below so you can decide for yourself.