4:03 PMKirk Herbstreit tells Jeff Smith of the Portland Oregonian that Ducks fans are very comparable to the SEC. High praise. I went to UGA and have been to Autzen and I agree. By the way, Herbstreit picked UConn over Notre Dame today.
3:38 PM Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin on RichRod's future to ESPN's Holly Rowe today: "He has my full support. He's a fantastic coach, I have full belief he'll get this turned around." FYI: Martin is retiring next year.
3:21 PMDan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports Tweets in the aftermath of Tate Forcier's sloppy performance against Ohio State today: "Anyone who think it's a coincidence RichRod mentioned to broadcast team Forcier was having 'academic issues'. Ha. He's done."
It’s that time of year when the teenage girl in the short shorts and platinum blonde smile holds out a handful and asks, “Would you like one?”
That’s right; it’s baseball’s annual answer to the PENTHOUSE Forum: the mostly fictional facade of MLB All-Star Game voting, where your vote counts increasingly less each year in a game that supposedly counts more than ever.
That peppy young lass from the organization with the stack of ballots would like you to fill out a couple hundred or so at the ballpark and then she’ll give you a big reward. (In Arizona, the Diamondbacks whip out a team shop gift certificate. Your local franchise’s well-intentioned bribes may vary.) You don’t want to disappoint her, do you?
It’s just the latest proof that the world of sports is nearing total apocalypse, but it’s a good one: the MLS’s newest team, the Seattle Sounders, are officially opening the team’s final roster spot to the whimsy of largely uneducated, online fans.
(This guy was a reality TV hit, but can Seattle copy Chivas’ thunder?)
According to the soccer blog THE OFFSIDE, the Sounders will post a list of contenders for the team’s final spot on the web site KING5.COM, the local TV station that will be hosting the tryout. Note that the contest is being hosted by local media, not the team’s official web site. The trialists will have bios, “comments from evaluators” and videos on the web site. And of course they’ll have their photos, which greatly increases the possibility that, for the first time, an athlete could make a professional roster just because pre-teen web savvy girls think he’s cute.
It’s worth noting that the winner of the online vote isn’t guaranteed the roster spot, but rather is given one of four spots in the competition’s final tryout show, which will air after the Super Bowl. Still, with a professional contract on the line, getting even a one-in-four shot is huge, particularly given just how unreliable a one-time exhibition can be. After all, how else can we explain Frederic Weis?
It appears the ante has been upped in the Attention-Hounding Semi-Retired Waffling Athletic Idol competition between geezers Lance Armstrong and Brett Favre.
(Joe Paterno called..he said it’s time to retire already)
Newly-unretired pedalslinger Armstrong admitted in a Tuesday interview that he is now unsure whether he will compete in next summer’s Tour de France.
Sometimes we, as learned primates of the Internet, forget that not everything we see on the web is necessarily known by everyone. For example, RickRolling? It’s kind of mainstream, but soccer moms and construction workers may not be in the know. But we’d figure American Idol would be a household name, right?
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, prior to San Antonio’s first game against the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Western finals, was asked about the Idol finale which was held across the street from the Staples Center, where Game 1 was taking place. The answer … may alarm you:
• The TUCSON CITIZEN grounds out news that Ozzie Guillen would appreciate it if some of the bigger names in Arizona spring training would be bothered to take the 90 minute trip from Phoenix to Tucson.
• PRO FOOTBALL TALK notes that when it comes to Bryant McKinnie’srecent meltdown in Miami, Vikings coach Brad Childress doesn’t want to rock the boat.
Thank goodness OUT SPORTS watches American Idol so we don’t have to. The gay sports website reports that during the show this week (what night is it on?) Ryan Seacrest showed off some of the moves he used to use on Merv Griffith that one might use on the football field.
The reason? Apparently “a very large, sweet young woman by the name of Temptress Brown was featured. One of the things that made Temptress so unique is that she plays football. Middle linebacker.“
BEARS NECESSITY croons out news of the famed “American Idol” off-key contestant showing up at Husky Stadium, to the enjoyment(?) of the football faithful.During his halftime performance, the former UC Berkeley student was decked out in Washington gear, and ended the show with a crowd-pleasing “Go Huskies!” (Pleasing the crowd that he finally finished.)
Surprisingly, it’s not the first audible appearance at an athletic event for Hung. In 2004, William brought his special talents to the Skydome, to lead Toronto Blue Jays fans in a lively rendition of “Take Me Out to The Ballgame”:
What’s more difficult for Jeff Tedford’s boys to stomach - dropping from 2nd in the nation to 7th in the Pac-10, or witnessing William extend his 15 minutes of fame?
