2:42 PMBucco Bruce is back in Tampa, along with those classic creamsicle uniforms. And the throwbacks seems to be helping - Bucs only down 21-17 to Green Bay at haltfime. Meanwhile, Raymond James Stadium has been playing all '70s music throughout the game.
2:33 PM The Monsters of The Midway are going through a horror show of their own right now - Chicago is down to Arizona 31-7 at the half. But will the Bears be who we thought they were by the end?
2:00 PM The new AP poll is out, and Ohio State is ranked ahead of USC, who is ranked ahead of Oregon. Um, who beat who again?
As this weekend’s college football action proved, the gap is diminishing - in small increments, but still diminishing - between I-A and I-AA in terms of quality. Two ACC teams were taken down by I-AA opponents, and it took the first double-kick-block in Division I history for #21 Iowa to escape Northern Iowa.
(This seems totally fair.)
But one of the casualties of a stronger I-AA is that we don’t get to see the plays where a I-A team absolutely annihilates their opponent, to the point that you actually start to feel sorry for their cupcake of choice. There wasn’t a whole lot of that punishing kind of play yesterday. Oh, what’s that, Sun Devils LB Vontaze Burfict? You’d like to hit a poor quarterback so hard his cleats end up in the stands? Well then, by all means, don’t let us stop you. Video is below.
Being suspended from the first four games of your NFL season — especially when your team has just been to the Super Bowl — would be very hard on some players. Arizona Cardinals tight end Ben Patrick seems to be taking it pretty well, however.
Not only is Patrick taking some mandatory time off from football for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, he also took time off from a raucous game of beer pong at this apparent Arizona State campus party to, well, you can see it in the photo. Tight ends have must have great hands, after all. More photos following the jump.
Overbearing sports fathers are, quite obviously, nothing new. You see them ruining Little League baseball games and Pop Warner football games, to say nothing of the yelling that seems just a touch out of place at an 8-and-under soccer game.
(Looks like there won’t be a sequel to this game.)
Congratulations, Philadelphia sports fans, you’ve done it again. Nothing on the lines of booing Santa Claus or cheering Michael Irvin’s career-ending neck injury, but booing during the team’s World Series ring celebration? That’s pretty impressive. As the PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS reports, the recipient of Phillies’ fans hatred was former starting pitcher Adam Eaton, as you can see in this video clip (you’ll hear the “You Suck” starting raining down at around 2:45):
Let’s face it: Eaton was hardly a key contributor to the Phillies’ World Series run. He went 4-8 last season with a 5,80 ERA, and was left off of the postseason roster before being cut this spring. And yes, the Phillies are still on the hook for his contract to the tune of $9 million this season, so you can understand why he’s hardly the favorite son of Phillies fans.
But booing someone at the ring ceremony? Isn’t that supposed to be just about the most positive thing that can happen at a sporting event - the recognition of an amazing team accomplishment regardless of what any individual did. Pat Burrell, now with the Rays, flew in for the ceremony and received a hero’s welcome. As BIG LEAGUE STEW notes, even So Taguchi got a World Series ring.
Plus, the guy showed a sense of humor about the whole thing, acting like he was Neil Armstrong getting a ticker tape parade down Broadway. Personally, I would have been waving to the crowd, but just with one, middle finger. I guess $9 million for doing nothing and a shiny World Series ring can bring a guy a lot of inner peace.
Meanwhile, there’s a battle starting today for a prize even more tacky than a World Series ring but just as coveted: the green jacket awarded to the winner of The Masters. There’s no guarantee of who will be having the green jacket placed on them by defending champion Trevor Immelman on Sunday (unless Immelman repeats…now, excuse me while I find a rag to clean up the Orange Crush I spit out of my mouth from laughing while typing that), there is one thing for sure: everyone hates the new course design.
GOLF.COM has a lengthy preview featuring golf writers and anonymous pros, and everyone takes a shot at the new course design, saying that it’s “not Tiger-proofed, it’s excitement-proofed” and that they’ve “sucked the life out of the tournament.” The par-5s are too long to reach in two for anyone, meaning it’s an exciting battle of wedges and midrange putting.
The three names at the top of the list as winners are: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington. One name not on the list of contenders is Gary Player, but there will some attention on him for the first two days: at 73, he’s playing in his 52nd and final Masters tournament. There will be some tears shed when he finishes his round on Friday, but there likely won’t be an emotional outpouring by the fans/patrons like we’ve seen in the past for Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer.
And that’s too bad: Player has been a remarkable ambassador for the sport, whose fame in the US was damaged by being South African at a time when that was considered shameful, and not being quite as good as Jack or Arnie (or even as charismatic as Lee Trevino). But he won nine majors in his career, including three Masters, and did more than any other player in the 1960s and 1970s to make golf an international game.
Plus, he’s been a remarkable philanthropist, rising more than $30 million for his Player Foundation building school in South Africa. So let’s all give a polite golf clap to the Black Knight as he gets ready to head off into the sunset.
Finally, CAGEWRITER says that among the hopeful contestants at the open tryouts for Season 10 of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter” were several former NFL players. Among those trying to get into the house this season were former Bucs first round draft pick Marcus Jones, former Colts lineman Rex Richards and former Packers running back/returner Herbert Goodman. This season is focusing on heavyweights, so sadly Johnnie Morton couldn’t use this as a way to spark an MMA comeback.
Usually athlete blogs are about as exciting as reading hog futures, but the one by Chantelle Anderson of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream is pretty interesting (arguably more so than WNBA games). Her latest post details her internal debate on whether to post a bathing suit photo on her Web site, and the relationship of sports and sex appeal. Personally, I’d vote “yes” on seeing more skin from her:
It might take Randy Johnson quite some time to get to 300 wins if he keeps giving up three-run bombs to pitchers, like the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS say he did to Yovani Gallardo, as the Big Unit’s Giants debut was a 4-2 loss to the Brewers.
In possibly the least-shocking off-season NFL news this year, a Cincinnati Bengal was arrested Sunday morning. The CINCINNATI ENQUIRER says that Leon Hall, who led the team in interceptions last season, has been charged with a DUI after hitting a 0.15 BA level. Bonus points: he tried to convince the officer that he needed to get home because his wife was having a baby.
The TREASURE COAST PALM say police in Port St. Lucie, FL, are looking for a man who ran naked across the outfield at a youth baseball game before hopping the fence and getting into a waiting car. Man claiming to be umpire at game says suspect got “hung up” on fence. Ouch!
An interesting item from the ASU WEB DEVIL, a student publication of Arizona State: a Sun Devil football player had his wallet stolen from his locker at Sun Devil Stadium, losing around $270. (The story is halfway down.) Not only do I want to know what a student-athlete is doing with almost $300 in walking around money, but now we know why James Harden is leaving ASU for the NBA Draft (that, and millions of dollars).
Dustin Pedroia probably shouldn’t expect to be getting the keys to his hometown any time soon, after the SACRAMENTO BEE says he dissed Woodland, CA in a magazine interview, saying it’s “a dump. You can quote me on that. I don’t give a …” I’m sure this has nothing to do with the fact that his brother was arrested on child molestation charges there in January.
Only in Australia: NINE NEWS says that the entire North Melbourne Kangaroos Aussie Rules Football team had to appear at a press conference to apologize for a video they made showing a condom-wearing rubber chicken having sex with a chicken carcass. And yes, of course we have the video (caution, NSFW due to graphic song lyrics and simulated rubber chicken on chicken sex):
In European soccer news, Chelsea ripped Liverpool 3-1 in their Champions League quarterfinal, which THE TIMES OF LONDON says makes them an overwhelming favorite to get to the semifinals again. If so, they’ll likely play Barcelona, who thumped Bayern Munich 4-0.
THE SPORTING BLOG wants you to know that you should never criticize the Hillsdale College baseball team, even if they’ve lost nine of their last ten games. Lest you wind up with a mound of dead animal carcasses on your front door, the fate that befell an unwitting writer at the college newspaper.
One thing we’ve never really understood about coaches and politicians is their allergy to the Internet. We don’t expect them to go to those idiot farms like the message boards on, like, SCOUT.COM where everyone’s post ends with a picture of Jessica Alba’s ass and one of Calvin pissing on the helmet of their most hated team and they say things like “FIRE (any head coach, ever) NOW” or anything, of course. But come on; you know they have email addresses and Blackberries (EXCEPTION: Joe Paterno, whose “text messages” are still sent via telegraph, or carrier pigeon if he’s feeling whimsical). But yet, without fail, whenever someone asks them about the Internet, they refer to it like they have no idea what’s going on and they’re just ramming random terms together: “What’s internet,” “I don’t youtube the googles,” etc. etc.
In that respect (and probably only that respect), Dennis Erickson is normal. The lovable scamp, presumably taking taking a break from wondering how to leave Arizona State in Probation Hell (they are the “Sun Devils,” after all), told the PORTLAND TRIBUNE who really counts when it comes to opinions (thanks, EDSBS): Read more…
Across the country, companies from across all industries are forcing employees to take unpaid furloughs to try and bridge gaps in their fiscal budget. Well, colleges are no exception, and at some pretty big schools like Arizona State, Clemson and Maryland, senior employees like head coaches are being hit in the wallet worse than nearly anyone else. According to this story in USA TODAY, Sun Devils football coach Dennis Erickson will lose at least $20,800 of his $450,000 annual salary for the 10-12 day period he’s going to be forced to take off.
(You wanna know what I think of the furlough program!?!)
In the big scheme of things, $21G is hardly a huge deal for Erickson, who gets additional compensation from performance bonuses and lucrative sponsorship tie-ins. Still, $21G is $21G, and it’s pretty hard to believe that he’s cool with just writing off the cash.
Arizona State doesn’t exactly have the highest moral standards — hey, they hired a thrice-violating Dennis Erickson to coach their football team — but they’ve never been accused of covering up something they handled incorrectly. Well, start those sirens now, because the Tempe school has agreed to a settlement to keep a woman who was raped by an ASU football player quiet.
(This man not only got a rapist re-instated, he defended him again and again.)
Worse yet, it’s been revealed that the player who raped the victim in a dorm had already been suspended once for inappropriate sexual comments, touching and exposing himself … and when he was allowed back into school, he immediately began playing for the football team again. It was as if nothing had happened. Even worse, after he was finally kicked out of school, his former coach helped him land at a new place to play: Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
It’s shocking that it took until 2009 for the NCAA to ban the recruiting of eighth graders. Aside from the obvious ethical quandaries inherent in objectifying middle schoolers the same way one would evaluate a head of cattle, it can’t be good for the students themselves. So a case study is perhaps in order. Remember Demetrius Walker? He managed to be washed up at 16, and make a comeback at 18.
What happens when you can dunk at 8 years old, and you receive your first recruiting letter at 11? There’s nowhere to go but down. And what happens when it turns out you just had your growth spurt early, and all of your classmates start catching up to you? Demetrius Walker’s freshman year in high school was a huge disappointment, and you’re not alone in thinking that a ninth-grader being called a disappointment is all sorts of wrong.
Were we supposed to care about Clemson? The #9 Tigers came into today’s home game at 17-0, one of three remaining unbeaten teams left in the NCAA. Their opponent was one of the other two, Wake Forest, who only had one real hurdle (UNC) on their spotless resume thus far. But the Deacs survived a late run to close out a 78-68 win, having not surrendered the lead over the last 25 minutes of play. Jeff Teague was the man of the match for Wake, racking up 24 big points on just 12 shots from the field (that 13-18 performance from the charity stripe didn’t hurt).
(Well, that’s probably not what Clemson had in mind.)
If you’re thinking that this situation has the stink of familiarity to Clemson, yes, it does. Recall 2006-07, when the Tiggers started the season 17-0… then fell apart and couldn’t even make the tournament, limping into the NIT at 21-10. The year prior, they jumped out to a 10-0 mark, only to get pushed around in the ACC and finished 17-12. Yes, last year they got off the schneid with a 23-9 mark, but a first-round “upset” by 12-seed Villanova (one that everybody and their mother picked in their pools) delivered the guillotine to Clemson’s season. No telling where the FAIL will come this year, only that it’s coming.
What do you do if you are a college football program whose team fell apart last season under the pressure of ridiculously high expectations? Send out a hand-signed letter to season ticket holders apologizing for the season and asking for their support? Put together an attractive series of giveaways for next season? Cut parking prices?
(Ticket price hike forces ASU fans to cut clothing costs)
If you’re Arizona State, and you’re coming off of a season where thoughts of contending for a Pac-10 title or possibly even a national title turned into a 5-7 train wreck, none of those are in the cards. As the ARIZONA REPUBLIC reports, they are taking quite the opposite approach: raising ticket prices by as much as 50 percent for almost all seats at Sun Devil Stadium.
