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."
Tonight’s Hall of Fame Game, a matchup of guys wearing Indianapolis Colts jerseys against other guys wearing Washington Redskins jerseys, marks the debut of the 2008-09 NFL season - if you count football games played by people you’ve never heard of in high school stadiums that have no bearing on the win/loss record of either team as an actual NFL game.
NBC’s coverage of tonight’s game is sure to draw in an audience, the majority of that audience might consist of the key demographic of degenerate gamblers excited about the opportunity to throw money down on football for the first time since the Arena Bowl but an audience nonetheless.
Aside from the degenerate gamblers, Redskins fans will also have an interest in watching at least a portion of tonight’s game; partially to see their new head coach Jim Zorn work the sidelines but mostly to enjoy the celebration of two of the franchise’s greats Art Monk and Darrell Green who were inducted into the Hall yesterday.
Michael Irvin mentioned last season that he felt it might help to bring all incoming NFL rookies to Canton, OH, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame to expose them to what they can be (theoretically) if they apply themselves and avoid distractions. After all, it’s easier to achieve what we can envision.
After releasing a YouTube video and making statements through lawyers, Roger Clemens finally met with the media to discuss accusations of his steroids use.
The Rocket held a press conference Monday to talk about Brian McNamee and his allegations of shooting up the baseball star with illegal drugs. Clemens even took time to play an audiotape of the phone call he had with McNamee on Friday.And Roger had some angry words for his ex-trainer.
BROOKLYNITES STILL MAD AT O’MALLEY FOR DODGERS EXIT Along with Dick Williams, former Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley was voted for membership into the Baseball Hall of Fame. While members of the Veterans Committee and many fans may be happy with the selection, there’s still some in Brooklyn who’re bummed:
WCBS-TV via the AP learns that even 50 years later, fans in the NYC borough are still mad at O’Malley for moving the team from Ebbets Field to the sunny shores of Los Angeles. Upon hearing of O’Malley election, Borough president Marty Markowitz said he was “flabbergasted”.Markowitz, who was 12 years old when the Dodgers headed west, feels there should be no honor bestowed on the man who took away Brooklyn’s baseball birthright:
“For O’Malley, the bottom line was that it was his team to do what he wanted with, and he did it at the expense of breaking our hearts, at the expense of ripping out the hearts of the most enthusiastic fans in baseball.”However, some disagree with the scorn shoveled on the Dodgers’ owner. Historian John Thorn argues, “O’Malley’s role as the ‘Johnny Appleseed’ of baseball weighs heavily in his favor, compared to the injury done to the people of Brooklyn.”
Thorn continues that the 1957 relocation “made the ‘National Pastime’ truly national, rather than the provincial affair that it had been, with only two teams as far west as the Mississippi river and the rest of them in the east.”
O’Malley passed away in 1979, so he didn’t get to see the rise of Tommy Lasorda, or bask in the brilliant ownership of Fox or the McCourts. For shame.
STERN TO BE AT SONICS OWNER’S ENTRY INTO OKLA. H.O.F.: David Stern seems to have his mind made up about the Sonics’ possible move to Oklahoma:
The SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER reports that the NBA commissioner will be “presenting” Sonics owner Clay Bennett into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame on Thursday night.Bennett has already filed with the league his intentions of moving the Seattle basketball club to the Sooner State.
Stern’s appearance for Bennett indicates that Clay should get the moving trucks ready. The commish has more or less given up his attempts at keeping the team in the Pacific Northwest.
TV WEEK sends out news that the first class of 11 inductees are set for the December 11 ceremony.Some of the sort-of familiar names to be enshrined include former NFL commish Pete Rozelle, former ABC Sports head Roone Arledge, and Howard Cosell.
Although we probably can’t make it to the New York Hilton for the shindig, we hope to get tickets for Joe Theismann’s induction.
BONDS WILL BID BYE-BYE TO HALL IF BRANDED BALL IS IN: If Barry Bonds’ home run record ball goes into the Hall of Fame with an asterisk, he’s not going in with it:
Bonds told Jim Gray in an MSNBC interview that he’ll cancel his Cooperstown trip if his 756th home run ball gets accepted with the branded mark:”I will never be in the Hall of Fame….That’s my emotions now, that’s how I feel now. When I decide to retire five years from now, we’ll see where they are at that moment.”
Right now, the ball is in the hands of fashion designer Marc Ecko. After conducting an Internet poll to determine it’s fate, most fans chose to put an asterisk on the ball, instead of leaving it unmarked or sending it into space.
Ecko plans on donating the ball to the Hall of Fame - which will be a nice tax break for him - while the Cooperstown committee decides what to do. They can display it, seal it in their archives, or figure out some other action.Bonds won’t be eligible until 5 years after his retirement. And although his services are no longer wanted by the Giants, Barry still plans to play elsewhere.
By the time his induction does roll around, he’ll probably be so pumped up he won’t fit through the Hall doors.
