8:01 PM Interesting statistical analysis by the college hoops blog Storming The Floor on the sons of famous basketball players. The apple falls a lot farther from the tree than most people probably realize.
7:41 PMChris Mortensen reports: "As I reported earlier on SC & MNCD, Big Ben is telling teammates and friends he's fine, will play vs. Ravens on Sunday night."
7:20 PM ESPN has announced college football's award finalists. One glaring omission: USC's Taylor Mays not a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award given annually to CFB's top defensive back.
Confused about the seemingly capricious nature of suspensions in the NHL? Thinking justice is subject to the whims and vagaries of Gary Bettman’s drug-addled* conscience? The Maple Leafs-centric DOWN GOES BROWN disagrees, and has put together a foolproof flowchart that explains all the NHL’s disciplinary decisions. It’s funny but frighteningly accurate, one of those “hahaha–hey wait, this is all fitting together a little too well…” things.
We’d post the whole version here, but it’s too large for our format and really must be experienced in all its glory at the original site here. Also, as a bonus, there’s a playoff version. That’s small enough for our format, so it’s after the break.
Anaheim Ducks captain Chris Pronger appeared to have caught the NHL’s unofficial superstars’ exemption, when it was announced by the league earlier in the week that he would not be suspended for what was clearly a skate stomp on the leg of Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler during their game Wednesday.
Not so, said the league today, and Pronger was hit with an eight-game suspension without pay. Read more…
It’s a shame Anaheim Ducks defender Chris Pronger isn’t in the NFL, as he’d fit right in with the Giants’ “Stompin’ You Out” mentality, to say nothing of Albert Haynesworth. Apparently, the NHL had no problem with his stomping on Vancouver Canucks center Ryan Kesler on Wednesday, opting not to take any disciplinary against Pronger.
Those looking for consistency in their dispensation of penalties might be a little flummoxed by this development, what with the New York Islanders’ Chris Simon getting a 30-game suspension for a similar stomp on the Penguins’ Jarkko Ruutu. But he’s not an all-star! Nuts to him!
This week Anaheim Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger guested on Jim Rome’s radio show. Pronger recounted his playing days with the Edmonton Oilers, and makes his departure from the city sound like an escape from Saigon.
Excerpt: “Yeah, there’s obviously a few things that didn’t set well with me, for instance, taking the furniture that I had in my house and burning it, and having a ‘Burn Chris Pronger’s Furniture Day,’ that really did sit well with me very much. They burned my kid’s crib and things like that. When you hear stories like that it doesn’t sit well. But having said that, you know, I’ve turned the page. It would be nice to see them turn the page, but I doubt that’s gonna happen any time soon.”
Jim Rome’s response: “To go into my house and get my furniture out and to burn it and to burn my kids crib — that’s messed up. No matter how badly you think he wronged you, or the team, or whatever happened, to burn a guy’s child’s crib! I mean, that’s messed up.”
As you might expect, Pronger’s rather vague comments have Edmontonians a little roiled and many in Alberta want more specifics from the former Oiler defenseman.
