8:00 PM CSN Baltimore has video of Marcus Smith, a U.S. soldier who dressed as a minor league umpire to surprise his children at a Bowie Baysox game with a home visit from Afghanistan.
7:45 PM A Japanese Harley-Davidson motorcycle that was swept out to sea during last year's tsunami washed up on a shore in British Columbia last month. The bike's owner asked that the motorcycle be displayed at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee as a memorial to the tsunami victims.
7:30 PM Buffalo Bills receiver David Clowneytweeted the results of his HIV test which came back negative. And to the critics of his decision to share his results, Clowney added: "Some people are Ridiculously stupid ... And can't see the bigger picture about things that are important in this world."
After I reported yesterday that current Baylor Coach Art Briles will be hired by Texas Tech as its football coach, the Lubbock, Dallas and Waco media went into action, eventually nailing down denials from Tech Chancellor Kent Hance, Athletic Director Gerald Myers and Baylor AD Ian McCaw that Briles would move to Lubbock.
(Everyone telling us what Briles will do, except Briles.)
What’s interesting is that many of the same media outlets ruling Briles out for Tech were earlier the same day reporting Briles as a strong candidate for the job. At least that is, before I reported that Briles would get the job - with those same outlets subsequently getting a party line from Tech administrators. And right up until I reported Briles would get the job, the Tech and Baylor administrations were completely silent on the prospect of a Briles hire.
Sources close to the Baylor Administration confirmed to me today that Bears Coach Art Briles will be hired as Texas Tech’s next football coach
(Briles attended Tech and was assistant under Leach)
Contrary to previous reports, there is indeed a 10-day waiting period that Tech officials must observe before hiring Briles, but one of my sources told me the move is a “done deal.”
You may have seen the Keon Bell dunk at the Pepperdine’s Midnight Madness last week - the one where he leaps five of his teammates en route to the slam.
That’s the coolest dunk I can really remember seeing, except perhaps watching Baylor freshman Britney Griner become the first woman ever to throwdown with ease.
I’ve posted the videos of their dunks after the jump. Be sure to vote, interested in what you all think. I’m going with Griner, since she’s absolutely a pioneer in being able to do what she does. I honestly think she could completely change women’s basketball if she gets the proper amount of exposure and marketing. Read more…
There are few things as unabashedly joyous in this country as the football tailgate. People of all walks of life come together for a common goal — to share in the love of their team, and prove it by eating meat and drinking beer. There’s also quite a tradition of sharing. As long as you’re wearing the right colors, just about anyone will offer you a cold one and a cheddar brat. Heck, I’ve been wearing the road team’s gear and been welcomed by the opposing team’s fans in the spirit of good sportsmanship.
(Mom and dad must be proud.)
But, as Walter Sobchak says in The Big Lebowski: This is not ‘Nam, Smokey. There are rules. And one is that you don’t sneak around and steal things from other people’s tailgates. Because there are these things called cameras. And this other thing called the Internet. And when you take beer from Baylor fans, they’ll make sure you end up shamed for the rest of your life, like this young lady (thief) above. And it is posted as a reminder to the world that this aggression will not stand, man.
Ann Killion of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS on Saturday had a puff piece on Kim Singletary, wife of NFL legend & current 49ers head coach Mike. Predictably, Killion tells us that Kim is there to temper her husband’s insaneintensity, which also applies to everyday endeavors like folding laundry. (God, I feel for their kids.)
But in the midst of the piece, Kim, who is white and met Singletary as a freshman at Baylor, breaks off a rather bizarre line. Read more…
If you’ve been watching college basketball the past three days, you probably noticed that, among the other teams on upset runs (Temple, Syracuse, enter your own favorite here), Baylor is getting some notice. The Bears are on a tear, and they’re one win away from a Big XII title and return berth in the NCAA tournament after upsets of both Kansas and Texas. The state of Kansas didn’t exactly take the news all that well: According to THE GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPION (via DEADSPIN), Kansas state senator David Wysong sponsored and pushed through a resolution that says Kansas no longer has to play teams whose name starts with the letter “B” in March.
(What you didn’t know is that the expletive started with the letter “B”.)
If it makes Kansas feel any better, this Baylor upset thing is happening to other teams, too. Unless Missouri wins the conference title, the Bears will pull off three-straight big upsets. So, why are Wysong and his colleagues stoking up so much attention? Well, maybe they have other matchups in mind. Think about it: This resolution also gives the Jayhawks an out if they have to play Butler, Boston College, Boston University, Bowling Green … the list goes on and on. And there’s precedent for this “KU being upset in March by a team starting in ‘B’” thing. Remember Bucknell and Bradley? Clearly, Wysong never saw those teams coming.
If you guessed throwing down dunks again, you’re right. BALL DON’T LIE has video from a recent Nimitz playoff game, and not surprisingly, she’s still dominating. You can see her dunk–not like girldunk like when Lisa Leslie barely got the ball over the hoop or David Robinson’s yawners, I mean with authority and hanging on the rim with one hand. She doesn’t do it over anyone in the highlights, which is a shame. I mean, it’s bad enough when a guy dunks right in your face, but what do you call it when a girl does it? Teabagging is right out, but what is it? Clambaking? Leave suggestions in the comments.
You have to hand it to the Cameron Crazies. Not so much for dressing a student as Beaker from “The Muppet Show” to point out the resemblance with North Carolina star Tyler Hansbrough. Frankly, this is old news. But having said Duke student/Muppet wear a T-shirt that says “D League,” as the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER noted. That’s classic - even North Carolina players were laughing over that one.
But then again, it was the Tar Heels and Hansbrough who had the last laugh again, as North Carolina pulled away in the second half to take down the Blue Devils 101-87 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Which made Hansbrough and senior teammate Danny Green the only two players to play in four straight victories at Duke since Mike Krzyzewski took over as the Blue Devils’ coach.
The spark for North Carolina was Ty Lawson, who scored 21 points in the second half to help the Tar Heels rally from an eight-point halftime deficit. (Good thing there is nothing the Duke fans could have given him grief about.) But as usual, the story was Hansbrough, whether he was hitting key three-pointers, getting compared to a Muppet, or getting cracked in the jaw by a Kyle Singler elbow:
You have to love the crackerjack ESPN crew of Mike Patrick and Dick Vitale totally missing the elbow. But at least Vitale - once he noticed what was happening - actually admitted that a Duke player did a bad, bad thing. Unlike Billy Packer, who probably would have chided Hansbrough for ramming into Singler’s elbow with his face.
And what’s the best way to celebrate a big win if you’re a North Carolina student? Why, burning a Christmas tree, of course. Take that, Christmas! (Why they still had a tree in February is another question.):
Speaking of Christmas…it’s time to give you the gift that keeps on giving: Brett Favre is finally gone. After the Jets’ meltdown to end the season, it was obvious what was going to happen, but it’s official: he’s filed his retirement paperwork with the league and is apparently done. No teary press conferences, no 24/7 ESPN media watch, just an old man making sure, as the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS reports, he gets his severance pay like an auto worker reaching retirement age.
So our national nightmare is over. Unless Favre goes online and reads stories like those from Dan Pompei of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE, who immediately wrote a column that suggested Favre could still “lead certain teams to the Super Bowl.“ Certain teams meaning “Minnesota Vikings.” For God’s sake, Pompei, let’s not give him any ideas - this is like Edward R. Murrow going on the radio and suggesting that Joseph McCarthy should try exposing gay in the military instead of Communists.
Other sports stories that happened last night as you regretted eating peanut butter and peanut sandwiches for dinner (with peanut brittle for dessert):
CNBC says that jewelry maker Robindira Unsworth received a surprise when one of her creations wound up dangling from the neck of Bar Refaelion the cover of the SI Swimsuit Issue. Which makes me wonder: has anyone even noticed her necklace while looking at the cover? Perhaps boyfriend Leonard DiCaprio bought it for her, a nice gift - as the LA TIMES says some people think the SI cover was.
GOAL.COM says Mexico soccer captain Rafael Marquez is really sorry that he drove his spikes into US goalkeeper Tim Howard’s thigh, earning him a red card in his team’s 2-0 loss in a World Cup qualifying match in Columbus last night. He might want to apologize to Mexico coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who is now in danger of losing his job after El Tri have only won one of their last seven games.
Remember the testing program Lance Armstrong was going to undertake during his comeback to prove that he was free of performing-enhancing drugs? What a shock - it’s been scrapped, as KCRA-TV reports that he now claims that it’s too expensive and complex to pull off this year. I guess getting rid of Favre is all we could ask for.
Just what the already-volatile Dallas Cowboys’ locker room needs: Ray Lewis. The DALLAS MORNING NEWS reports that Terrell Owens has been making phone calls trying to recruit the Ravens’ linebacker/non-murder to play for Dallas this season.
Despite claims in a lawsuit filed by his ex-girlfriend, Roberto Alomar tells ESPN that he’s perfectly healthy and does not have AIDS. And he’s willing to spit anywhere needed to prove it.
Former Congressman Tom Davis tells NBCSPORTS.COM that it’s time to “cut your losses,” and that you can expect charges against Roger Clemens for lying under oath soon.
A woman in Fresno put up her old baseball card on eBay for $10, but decided to pull the item after receiving way too many e-mails asking if it was real. It turns out that the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings card was real, and worth a lot more than she thought: the AP says she sold it yesterday for almost $65,000.
Speaking of eBay, IDIOTS ON SPORTS found this beauty up for sale on the auction site, although I doubt it’s worth $65,000:
The WACO TRIBUNE reports that Baylor football recruit Willie Jefferson was arrested 10 days before signing his letter of intent and charged with marijuana possession after cops found a “small bag of marijuana, a marijuana cigarette and several cigars in a cavity on the floorboard of the vehicle” Jefferson was driving. This is why you don’t by a used car from Tommy Chong.
See, Sirius XM isn’t going bankrupt. If it was, why would they be flying Chris Russo out first-class to spring training- twice! - as he told Howard Stern yesterday. Just like there’s no way the banks could be going under if they can still afford to fly their executives out to expensive resorts for annual meetings.
Okay, so let’s say you’re a Republican. Not a great past couple years. Now let’s say you were also the 43rd President of the United States. Yes, that narrows it down quite a bit, but we need specificity here. You’ve just completed a ludicrously unsuccessful presidency, and you’re looking to unwind a bit and get back to your healthy love of sports. The problem is that the vast majority of America is acutely aware of your ludicrously unsuccessful presidency and now harbors a visceral hatred for you, especially the young people who comprise college campuses. If only there were a town full of militant evangelicals (y’know, “the base”) and a local university full of the same, plus an NCAA affiliation… wait a second… honey, we’re goin’ to Waco! (*blasts pistols into the air like Yosemite Sam*)
(Wait a second, why is he holding the coach’s hand and not his wife’s? Why is the mainstream media ignoring this?!)
According to the DALLAS MORNING NEWS, President Bush and his wife, Laura, took in a Baylor women’s basketball game last night, and to nobody’s real surprise, the home crowd gave the former First couple a standing ovation. Well, of course they did. The Bushes arrived with Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey (pictured above, brazenly wrecking yet another marriage*) to great cheers. Further, just to remove all doubt that the crowd was purposefully cheering for the President and not the coach by association, the Bushes received another ovation during the first media timeout when arena cameras focused on the two.
