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."
Andrea McNulty, the woman who has sued Ben Roethlisberger for allegedly raping her last year, has had her credibility and motivations called into question many times since her lawsuit was filed in July. But now, in an attempt to make her seem both less crazy and less of a gold digger, she has offered to withdraw the lawsuit.
Oh, if it were only that simple. As you’ll see, McNulty’s “offer” may seem like a noble pursuit, but it stipulates that Big Ben do the one thing he’ll never, ever do. So, without further ado, here are the three conditions for having the lawsuit dropped:
OK, we needed a story like this one. Tonight is Aaron Boone night at Wrigley Field, as the third baseman triumphantly returns to the Astros after undergoing open-heart surgery in March. You don’t hear “triumphant” and “Astros” in the same sentence very often, so enjoy it. Gratifying doesn’t half describe it.
Boone had just signed with the Astros and was going through his spring training paces in March when his doctor discovered that the heart irregularity he’s had since childhood — a defective aortic valve — had worsened. He required a somewhat risky open-heart surgery procedure to fix the problem. That is one hell of a way to get onto the 60-day disabled list. Read more…
Friday night I went to Dodgers-Cubs at Dodger Stadium. I had four choice seats, thanks to Barry, but only ended up using three. I’d hoped to convince a diehard Cubs fan I knew to go, but he repeatedly refused, citing several bad experiences at Chavez Ravine. (He went to Cubs-Padres at Petco instead.)
(MLB/NFL/NBA: Don’t want this to happen? Then do something now)
Obviously I quizzed the guy on what happened, and he said the last time he went to Dodger Stadium his dad had a beer dumped on him by a drunken, loudmouth lout - and ballpark security did nothing. (Yeah, I know Victorino/Phils fans, your heart bleeds …)
So with that rattling around my headhole Friday, I can’t say I was surprised to notice an inordinate number of unruly fan-generated incidents. Indeed, after the first three innings, it seemed like every 20 minutes the jackass rodeo commenced - usually somewhere in the vicinity of Mannywood. I’ve been to dozens of Dodger games over my 10 years in L.A., and I never remember seeing so many booze-fueled episodes in one night. But to be fair, perhaps it was only because I was really paying attention this time.
In defense of the Dodgers, there was a massive, uniformed security presence at the game - along with plentiful plain-clothed police officers. But there was so much security that you kind of said to yourself, is this a baseball game or Lakers postgame celebration? Three weeks ago I was at Yankees-Red Sox at Yankee Stadium and didn’t see nearly the security presence that I saw at Dodger Stadium.
The upturn in fan violence at Dodger Stadium has been well-chronicled over the past few years. Twomurders and multiple stabbings since 2003 will do that. But there’s been no talk of a wholesale ban of bad acts being prevented from buying tickets to Dodger games in the future. In these rough economic times, it might be a little unrealistic to expect pro sports teams to start profiling ticket buyers. That said, if the off-field turbulence at Dodger Stadium gets much worse, the McCourts are going to do have to do something. Read more…
It’s been for-freaking-ever in the offing, but the sale of the Chicago Cubs from the hilariously mismanaged hands of Sam Zell is complete.
(UNCLE LOU POPS THEM BOTTLES WHEN HE HEARS GOOD NEWS)
While Zell struggled with finances during the entirety of his short tenure at the head of the Tribune Company, whose assets include ownership of the team, buyer Tom Ricketts and his family should prove to be able owners whose finances aren’t tied to the newspaper industry.
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any weirder in Raiderland, the Internets are buzzing over a report published on NATIONAL FOOTBALL POST yesterday that cites anonymous sources detailing exactly what Tom Cable did to assistant Randy Hanson. If you aren’t familiar with what’s going on, we told you that Cable is alleged to have punched Hanson in the jaw during a meeting on August 5th. And if the latest report is anywhere close to being true, Cable won’t need to worry about his quarterback controversy, or anything else Raider related, anymore.
First, here’s the nitty gritty:
According to the source, Cable knocked Hanson out of his chair and up against the wall and into a cabinet. Cable and Hanson fell to the floor, where Hanson was choked, the source said, and Cable was pulled off Hanson by the other men before Cable went after Hanson again.
“Cable said, ‘I am going to kill you, I am going to kill you,’ as he was choking him,’’ according to the source, who also said furniture in the room was damaged.
Hanson’s jaw is reportedly broken, and he also reportedly had to undergo further treatment in the emergency room on Wednesday night, a full two weeks after the August 5th incident. Cable could be facing a felony assault charge if everything is as it seems. If charges are filed, one has to think that Roger Goodell would invoke the “personal conduct” policy and at least force Cable to take a leave of absence, if not ban him altogether.
(”Why couldn’t you just ‘make it rain’ instead, Tom?”)
Things are complicated, however, by the fact that Hanson doesn’t seem like the most stable guy on the face of the Earth. In fact, he only decided to cooperate with police and NFL investigations when he was told by Davis that he wouldn’t be able to return to his assistant position. He had hoped that the matter would be addressed internally, and that he’d be given his job back. The alleged assault came when Cable told Hanson that he was being demoted from his job as defensive backs coach and would instead by breaking down film and wouldn’t be allowed on the field.
Now, Hanson is experiencing déjà vu. From the NFP story:
Cable had been working to reduce Hanson’s role for months, the source said. Cable said that Hanson had been confusing the Raiders’ defensive backs, and Cable held a closed-door meeting with the cornerbacks and safeties and just himself. That led to a meeting between Cable and Hanson in Hanson’s room, and later a meeting with coaches after Cable had instructed Hanson not to come to practice.
Anything can happen once, but Hanson has been basically told to take a hike by two coaches now, which means that there’s probably something wrong with him. But is it worthy of getting his jaw broken? If Cable is charged, he’ll have to decide if his defense will be “I didn’t do it” or “he got what he deserved.” For what it’s worth, it looks like Cable was coming to the defense of his defensive coordinator, John Marshall, who NFP said was being verbally abused by Hanson.
Also complicating matters is the fact that the particulars of NFP’s story aren’t being corroborated independently by anyone at this point. Every other story I can find about the situation references the NFP story as its main source. The writer of the story, Brad Biggs, just joined NFP earlier this month, though he has written about the Bears for the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES for several years. I don’t think there’s any reason to doubt any of Biggs’ assertions, but it is a bit curious that none of the major newspapers in the Bay Area have confirmed any of these new details with their own reporting. Or maybe they just think Hanson’s crazy and not worthy of further publicity.
(It’s not a good sign when this is the only photo of you on the entire Internet.)
The last time the United States hosted the World Cup, in 1994, O.J. Simpson stole its thunder and most of America ignored the whole thing. But now, with momentum for the sport building in the states, the U.S. is bidding to host either the 2018 or 2022 event (2022 seems more likely), and as part of the bid must come up with 12-18 stadiums to be used.
Yesterday, the list was trimmed down from 45 venues to 32, and contains, as you might expect, many of the largest and most modern NFL stadiums, as well as a smattering of others. Among those still on the list are the Rose Bowl, which hosted the ‘94 final, as well as the new stadiums in Arlington, East Rutherford, and Indianapolis. A few college-only stadiums are under consideration as well, including Michigan Stadium, Stanford Stadium, and Husky Stadium in Seattle.
(Is there enough room for a full-size soccer field here between the brick walls?)
The dregs of the list include Detroit’s Ford Field (which shouldn’t really host any sort of championship football), domed stadiums like the Edward Jones Dome and the Georgia Dome, and the Oakland Mausoleum, which probably (hopefully) won’t exist in 2022.
Among those cities taken off the list were Salt Lake City, Las Vegas (sports bettors still can’t get used to a game where an over/under might actually be set at “0″), and the soccer-crazed town of Fayetteville, Arkansas (could you see Ghana and Portugal going to play a game in Fayetteville?). Unfortunately, Arkansas’ exclusion will further complicate Alan Partridge’s “soccermeter” should he give it another go in 2022:
• If you’ve ever wanted to have a guy in a mascot suit take you for a piggy back ride, you’ll think twice after watching this. There are few things more hilarious than a good, solid, mascot accident:
• Ex-Major Leaguer Scott Spiezio is trying to work his way back from issues with drugs and alcohol, and is doing so in the Golden Baseball League. The LA TIMES caught up with him as he tries to repair his reputation.
• Chad Ochocinco is about to change his middle name to “Gramatica,” after kicking a perfect extra point and booming a kickoff inside the 10:
• Vote early and often: FANTASY BASEBALL DUGOUT’s “Hottest Baseball Wife” poll is underway, and 2009’s winner will be crowned on August 31st. Mark DeRosa’s wife, Heidi, is the defending champ and seems to be running away with it this year as well. Some of the pics on the site aren’t exactly flattering (Jordan Schneider looks like she’s in the Zapruder film), so here’s a better photo of the scrappy underdog, Ashley Eckstein:
By now everyone knows about Johnny Macchione, the 21-year-old who chucked a cup of beer at the Phillies’ Shane Victorino while the latter was catching a fly ball at Wrigley Field last week. After video replays identified Macchione as the culprit, he turned himself in to authorities rather than live a life on the run, moving from town to town to hide his shame. Macchione appeared on WGN Radio with Dave Kaplan recently to try and finally put this sad chapter Cubs history (is there any other kind, really?) to rest.
But what of the poor schlub who was initially arrested by Cubs’ security in Macchione’s place? Dan DeLaPaz — who is the friend of Macchione’s cousin — also went on the record in an article by the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, saying that he was manhandled by security and never apologized to, even when they found out he wasn’t the culprit.
As Rick pointed out in this morning’s Speed Read, and as you have no doubt discussed with your buddies already today, last night’s Cubs/Phillies game featured one of the most brazen displays of fan FAIL in recent years. A stereotypical fair-weather Cubbie d-bag dumped his Old Style on Philadelphia’s Shane Victorino to express his displeasure at the Cubbies’ continued suckitude, the wrong guy was removed, and the Cubs apologized to everyone. You’d think that would be the end of the story, but nothing involving the Chicago Cubs is ever straightforward.
Both the Cubs and Victorino have filed formal complaints with the Chicago Police Department, who has in turn said that assault charges will be brought against the fan - as soon as he’s found. Now, the city (or at least its more web-savvy inhabitants) are on a mission to track down the fan. We’re doing our part. Let’s get ‘im!
It’s only the middle of August, but it may be time to count the Cubs out of the playoff race. Sure, the Northsiders are three games out of the NL Central lead, but it may as well be 30; as we noted yesterday, Chicago hasn’t taken a series against a winning team since April, and that streak is likely to continue after last night’s backbreaking 12-inning loss to the Phillies.
(Has had just about enough of your stupid questions, thank you.)
It’s to the point where manager Lou Piniella has gone from lovably gruff to just, um, gruff. To wit, an exchange with a reporter after the game that, while not inexcusably mean-spirited, was certainly an overreaction to a bland question.
