In the long run, not only did Jerry Manuel’s latest brainstorm contribute to team unity, but it’s going to save the Mets a ton of money. On Tuesday following New York’s season-worst fifth straight loss, Manuel read the riot act to his underachieving minions in a closed-door meeting, and ended things by making an unexpected transportation demand. For their game on Wednesday against the Brewers, the team would eschew their separate taxi rides and travel together in the team bus.

Not sure how much hazing occurred in the back seat where the driver couldn’t see what was going on,  and … hey Beltran! Quit mooning those girls and get back in your seat! But the result on the field was positive, as the Mets prevailed 1-0 behind 7 2/3 scoreless innings from Mike Pelfrey. Pelfrey, ironically, was the only player who missed Manuel’s mini-tirade the day before, having received permission to leave early to rest for Wednesday’s game.

Oh, don’t worry — they’re still the Mets. New York struck out 12 times against Yovani Gallardo (8-5). But Ryan Church’s one-out single in the sixth, which scored Luis Castillo, who had doubled, was the only offense needed. So New York (38-39) moved back within a game of .500, two games behind the first-place Phillies. The Mets head to Pittsburgh for a rainout makeup today before a weekend series at Philadelphia. That’ll be a long bus ride.

Meanwhile, check that Wimbledon ticket you just bought online — I’m pretty sure you’ve been duped. Andy MurrayMania has gripped this staid tennis event with a fervor, as tickets for Sunday’s men’s final are being offered for as much as £20,000 each on some sites. I’m not sure what that is in American money — a million bucks? — but it’s a freaking lot for tennis. Of course it’s all because Murray is British, and someone from those shores hasn’t won Wimbledon in 73 years (down with the Kaiser! Where’s the Titanic? It’s overdue!). Murray, a 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 quarterfinal victor over Juan Carlos Ferrero, could be on his way to his first grand-slam title.

His semifinal today against sixth seed Andy Roddick could set up a final against Roger Federer, which even I would watch.

Fans have been queueing outside Wimbledon for 48 hours to get their hands on tickets for the semi-finals and final, while agencies report that demand is up four-fold. But the prices are higher than ever, with a pair of quarter-final tickets for Murray’s Centre Court match yesterday, worth £170, selling for £6,100.

With the avalanche of demand has come the threat of fraud. Wimbledon authorities are investigating bogus websites charging thousands of pounds for tickets that do not exist. One site under investigation — onlinewimbledontickets.com — is almost a replica of the official Wimbledon website, in the familiar green-and-purple livery, offering Centre Court tickets for the final at £2,499.

A Romanian businessman, who paid more than £11,000 online, is among more than 50 victims, mainly from mainland Europe. The website, with telephone numbers in London and Ireland, takes the money online but does not deliver the tickets. Their phone lines were dead yesterday.

And now for something completely different. It always pays to read the fine print, as a Twin Cities sportswriter has learned after mistaking the blog Sir Charles In Charge as being authored by the actual Charles Barkley. ST. PAUL PIONEER-PRESS writer Don Seeholzer attributed an item on the blog to Barkley, writing that Sir Charles was promoting Del Harris as the next head coach of the Timberwolves. Actually Barkley has nothing to do with the site, as it states in the disclaimer.

(”Is that a blog, or a duck? Damn, I’m confused.”)

The main reason I mention this is because I happen to know that Barkley just recently learned what the word “blog” means, and he certainly won’t be starting one anytime soon. I followed Barkley for the duration of the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship at Lake Tahoe last year, blogging about his game for NBC SPORTS. Just before the first round on the first day, I approached him to let him know what I was doing. His response: “What’s a blog?”

On the third day, Barkley was telling everyone who would listen: “This guy says he’s blogging my game. I don’t know what a blog is, but it don’t sound good.”

That was a mere 12 months ago. I doubt that he’s become the next Will Leitch in the meantime.

And now, links to peruse as you lament the demise of your neighborhood bikini fireworks stand:

• You may think that Shaquille O’Neal’s arrival in Cleveland won’t make that much of a difference, but Vegas types tend to disagree. Bodog.com has just installed the Cavaliers as co-favorites with the Lakers to win the NBA title, both at 9/4. Bodog had Cleveland at 3/1 on June 15. Rounding out the top five are the Celtics (5/1), Magic (6/1) and Spurs (11/1). Once again I shall slap down a ten-spot on my Golden State Warriors, at 100/1.

• Oh, and Bodog’s pick to win Saturday’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest: Joey Chestnut at 2/3 (Takeru Kobayashi is second at 6/5, Tim “Eater” Janus third at 12/1). Over-under on hot dogs consumed: 61 1/2.

• Attention, Scott Boras: Eric Whitfield, 12, son of former major leaguer Terry Whitfield, had four home runs in four at-bats and also pitched two innings of perfect relief to lead his Hillsborough (Calif.) Little League All-Star team to a 17-0 win over Redwood City National on Wednesday. Hillsborough has won four of the past five District 52 All-Star titles (district play being the first rung on the ladder toward the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.).

• Unfortunately, America is apparently not yet ready to see a video of Chris Cooley burning the body of a dead horse which he found on his property. After much soul-searching, Cooley decided not to post it on his blog. Even though “the video is amazing! I spent over an hour today putting it together and it is one of my finest works, one that my kids will look back on and cherish. So for now, I’m sad.” As always, the comments are the best part.

• And speaking of celebrity golf, here’s your Jessica Simspon, Tony Romo, Tiger Woods fix for the week. It’s the opening ceremony of the AT&T National on Wednesday in Bethesda, Md., whee! Also on hand were Bruce Boudreau, Jason Campbell, Antwaan Randle El, Rock Cartwright, Shaun Suisham and Leon Harris. Thanks for the photos from Dan Steinberg at DC SPORTS BOG, who also noted that “Some wise soul managed to write “Go Redskins” in Romo’s yardage book, which was one of the better moments of the day.” Jessica also favored all in attendance with a tune.

• OK, that starting position for Blake Griffin seems to be open now. On Wednesday the Clippers agreed to trade power forward Zack Randolph to the Grizzlies for Quentin Richardson, according to the LOS ANGELES TIMES. The deal can’t be finalized until July 8, when the league establishes the salary cap.

• The Dallas Mavericks are preparing to offer Jason Kidd $25 million over three years, according to ESPN. The Knicks may also be ready to offer a three-year deal, although for what amount, it isn’t certain.

• OK, some hockey news. Fine. Marian Gaborik, the finest athlete with a Marian-sounding name since Marion Morrison, agreed to a five-year deal with the Rangers for $7.5 million per year.

• Prepare for the lovefest surrounding the return of drug cheat misunderstood genius Manny Ramirez, who returns to the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup on Friday night in San Diego. LA went 29-21 without him, and are seven games up on the second-place Giants. Why not stop by Petco and give him a standing ovulation … er, I mean, ovation?

It’s been a rough decade for the Baltimore Orioles. The once proud franchise has long been third fiddle to the Yankees and Red Sox in the AL East, but with the sudden rise of the Rays and the continuing competence of the Blue Jays, it’s hard to imagine a team that’s further away from being a contender in any division in baseball than the O’s.

So it’s fitting that when the O’s finally did achieve something great, nobody was around to see it. Trailing 9-1 to Boston in the fifth inning last night at Camden Yards, the rain came and most of the crowd took off during a 79-minute delay. After resuming, the Sox added a 10th run in the top of the seventh inning before all heck broke loose. Baltimore scored five times in the bottom of the inning off of Justin Masterson. Then they added five more in the eighth that included a three-run pinch homer by Oscar Salazar, and capped off by a Nick Markakis double off of Jonathan Papelbon.

And just like that, history was made. George Sherrill shut the door on the Sox in the 9th and an epic meltdown was complete, sending the nine Baltimore fans in attendance into hysterics (while a few thousand Sox fans sat in stunned silence). Final score: Baltimore 11, Boston 10. It was the biggest comeback in the history of the Orioles franchise (which dates to when they moved there from St. Louis in 1954), and the biggest comeback by a last-place team over a first-place team in the history of the game. For Boston, it was the second-largest blown lead in their history (they choked away a 10-0 lead to Toronto in 1989).

The rally seemingly came out of nowhere, but perhaps we should’ve seen that the Sox didn’t exactly have their heads in it after the rain delay when the entire infield left the field in the bottom of the sixth inning…after recording the second out.

(Fail)

July 1st is upon us, and that means NBA free-agent season is about to kick into gear. Today was the deadline for players with options to decide whether or not to honor their deals or look elsewhere. And with most NBA teams looking to slash payrolls, it’s no surprise that there aren’t a lot of people choosing to opt out. Kobe Bryant heads the list, but nobody really expected him to opt out.

Carlos Boozer, on the other hand, declared months ago that he would be on the open market come July. But a lot has changed since then. Detroit was the only team in position to offer Boozer a substantial deal, but they balked at offering a deal that would pay him more than the $12.7 million he’ll earn next season for sticking around Utah. Plus, Boozer’s really into going to Sundance and he wouldn’t be able to do that in Detroit.

Boozer’s choice to exercise his option, and Mehmet Okur’s decision to do the same, has put the Jazz in a tough spot. They expect to lose Boozer after next season, and probably would’ve preferred if he bolted now. They’d like to sign youngster Paul Millsap to a long-term deal, and will now have to pay the luxury tax if they do so.

Meanwhile, Hedo Turkoglu is officially a free-agent, and while he’s garnering the most buzz, a lot of good players, such as Ron Artest, Jason Kidd, Ben Gordon, Andre Miller, Chris “Birdman” Andersen, and some guy named Allen Iverson could be had for the right price. Another guy on the market is Charlie Villanueva, who the Bucks declined to even make an offer to. TRUEHOOP says that’s a major indication that the economy is really taking its toll on the league. The Rockets are somewhat creepily taking a bit run at Marcin Gortat to replace Yao Ming for the time being, going as far as knocking on his door at 12:01 a.m. and setting up a Gmail account just for Gortat-based fanmail.

(A future star, or a really well paid cheerleader?)

Speaking of Yao, people in China aren’t buying that he’s really all that hurt, suggesting that the Rockets are overstating his injury so that he’ll be cheaper to re-sign when his contract is up next year. But will Houston want him back? Regardless of whether or not he’s healed, China expects him to play in next summer’s World Championships, which could lead to further injury and basically stick the fork in him (if it hasn’t been already).

(If Yao can’t run by next summer, he’s going to reinvent himself as Earl Boykins on wheels)

And now, without further adieu, let’s kick off July’s links with some bad goalkeeping, cheerleader car washes, and disembodied hair:

• Chris Cooley is taking some time from showing everyone his wang to set fire to dead farm animals instead.

• On the plus side, this goalie showed some nice hops in saving this ball from going out of bounds. On the minus side, well, you’ll see (thanks to SPORTS RUBBISH):

• The ONLINE SPORTS GUYS has the story of Florida International’s cheerleaders — whose program was cut from the school’s athletic budget — trying to save their team the only way they know how: a giant car wash. Video goodness within.

• JOCK AND BALLS has 10 mullets we all know and love.

• Pacifiers featuring logos of NHL teams are being recalled because they cause a risk for choking. Surprisingly, neither the Bruins nor the Sharks are among the featured logos.

• Who has the NBA’s biggest payroll? Gotta be the Lakers or Celtics, right? No, actually, it’s New Orleans. And I’m sure that Wizards fans out there will be excited to learn that their team is #3 on the list.

• You’ve got just about three days left if you want to buy Magglio Ordonez’s hair in an Ebay auction.

On second thought, that miiiiight be a dead puli.

• You want to edit some home video footage of Ty Cobb? Better respond to this Craigslist ad fast. He assures you that this is not a fake, because as we all know, people are always trying to pass around fraudulent Ty Cobb videos.

• The BIRMINGHAM NEWS has posted odds on which college football program will be the next to commit a major violation, courtesy of USBET.COM. #1 on the list? USC. Last on the list? The Australian Institute of Ethics.

• Penguins star Evgeni Malkin has a Conn Smythe Trophy, and now he’s cavorting somewhere warm with Oksana Kondakova, a model with creative tastes in bikini tops:

Looks like Malkin’s enjoying the off-season:

• Tryouts were held for the Lingerie Football League’s Miami Caliente, and some of the resulting scenes were, dare I say, en fuego:

• Mark Cuban uses his blog to apologize to Kenyon Martin’s mom. But if you think the Mavs-Nuggets rivalry has cooled off, just ask LaLa Vasquez.

• The Dodgers know what women want - their own online radio broadcast!

• The Blackhawks scalp the Canucks, while the Caps force a Game 7.

• A slimmer Jessica Simpson sings at Sea World, much to PETA’s chargin.

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It’s no secret that, inside every pro athlete, there’s a wannabe musician waiting for his big break. Past musical endeavours of professional athletes include (in reverse order of quality) the “misguided musical stylings” of Bronson Arroyo, the Jesus freakery of Ben Utecht, and the actual honest-to-God punk rock of Scott Radinsky. While the music sometimes is less than, well, listenable, who among us wouldn’t take the opportunity to cut an album or jump on stage to jam with the band?

However, just because some people are presented with said opportunity doesn’t mean they should take it. Last night, oft-pummeled UFC pixie Chuck Liddell teamed up with Boston Red Sox pitcher Brad Penny and Washington Foreskin Redskins tight end Chris Cooley to belt out the worst rendition of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” since, well, Journey’s 1981 album, Escape. Thankfully, TMZ was there, and we’ve got the video after the jump.

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Of all the gigs in college sports, there’s probably few as unpleasant as “urine test supervisor.” It’s exactly what it sounds like. You watch - intently, even - grown men take leaks into cups. You can’t really make it fun for anyone involved; one misplaced remark to lighten the mood and you’re looking at some stained trousers. Or worse.

(Of course, cheating on this sort of stuff doesn’t end well.)

And yet, it’s a wholly necessary task all the same, as football players have been trying to figure out ways to beat the system for decades. Of course, this discussion necessarily begins with Onterrio Smith and the Whizzinator. In fact, I almost wrote “hey remember the whizzinator that was awesome” and made that the entire post. But as admitted (and obvious) steroid user Tony Mandarich (you know, the world-famous photographer) points out, there are ways to rig your own little urine system with common items from Wal-Mart, and they’re weird as hell: Read more…

Professional athletes make a lot of money. Like, tons of it. So I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that Jason Taylor has turned down $500,000 just to work out with the Redskins. Not only that, but rejecting the workout bonus led to the team releasing him, which will cost him another $9 million.

(Cooley: Taylor Turned Down $13,000 Per Day Just To Work Out!)

As Redskins blogger/tight end Chris Cooley figures it, Taylor would have been paid $13,000 per workout if he had agreed to the deal. And that would be literally just to show up at the gym and lift some weights and stuff. Which is pretty infuriating for those of us who, you know, pay to go to the gym. Cooley goes as far as to say that “JT hates money.”

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Dan Steinberg of DC SPORTS BOG keeps us current on night club advice by quizzing local pro athletes about how to make the scene. Or more specifically, how to avoid ending up on your friendly neighborhood slumming sports blog the next morning.

(Chris Cooley doesn’t dance for wife Christy, but he does walk their Westie)

Redskins Tight End Chris Cooley tells Steinberg that eschewing alcohol you can’t see through is a good start:

“Everyone wants to drink a shot,” Cooley explained. “Don’t drink whiskey. I used to drink Jack Daniels. Bad decision. You get too filled up.”

“Everyone wants to do a shot with me,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s my image or what it is, but I can’t drink shots any more, because it wound up being 20 shots. Everywhere I go, ‘Do a shot with us!!!’ No more. That’s my tip as a pro athlete, don’t do a shot. And don’t dance if you’re [bad] at it, because everyone watches.”

“Everyone watches” is now code for “Everyone has a cellphone camera and a Youtube account.”

Meanwhile, Washington Wiz forward Caron Butler imparts evening-out wisdom that could also be taken to heart by your local garden variety mafia hit man and/or Pacman Jones and/or Plax: Read more…

• DC SPORTS BOG takes aim on Chris Cooley’s tale of the Redskins’ team bus being egged by some overzealous Eagles fans. They also returned home to find a flaming bag of dog poop on the front steps of FedEx Field. Cooley’s tales led radio host and former Redskin Jon Jansen to fondly recall old ladies mooning the team bus.



• Meanwhile, MR. IRRELEVANT pumps us up with video of Redskins owner Daniel Snyder being very, very excited about his team’s win over the Eagles.
• THE SPORTING BLOG gives Bucky F’n Dent and Mike Torres another chance to face each other - this time in Mario Super Sluggers for Wii.
• AOL FANHOUSE puts the boots to the idea of Notre Dame needing a new kicker. Apparently going 1 for 7 on FG attempts just doesn’t cut it.
• EVERY DAY SHOULD BE SATURDAY thinks they’ve found the Second Spitter who nailed Chase Daniels before Saturday’s Missouri vs. Nebraska game.
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While there’s no statistic out there to prove it, it seems like when an athlete is asked by some dying fan to give them a visit or send them a personalized autograph or something else along those lines, more often than not they feel like they’re being forced to do it just to avoid a PR disaster. But when Chris Cooley is asked to see a sick man, you kind of get the sense he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

Last week, Cooley received an email telling him the story of Kathy and Ron Frazier. The two had been season ticket holders for the Redskins since ‘91, but this year they’d been unable to get to any games because Ron was suffering from stage-4 colon cancer. Two hours after receiving the email, Redskins brass called the couple to let them know that Cooley was on the case!

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• POPO IN MY CRIB can see that despite suffering through another rotten Reds season, Bronson Arroyo still has baseball on his mind.

• Mark Cuban tried to explain Josh Howard’s Star-Spangled Slam over on his blog, but the Mavs owner didn’t realize what a firestorm he unleashed.

• Stephanie Stradley of AOL FANHOUSE wonders if the Texans can do for Hurricane Ike victims what the Saints did for Katrina victims.

• UNI WATCH looks back on the career of sports illustrator Lon Keller, the guy who created the Yankees’ famous hat logo.

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