8:17 PM The Sports Hernia spots Prince at the Metrodome Mall of America Stadium for Sunday's Vikings-Bears clash. And the artist formerly known as The Artist looks less than thrilled to be there.
7:21 PM Although he was inactive for today's game against the Seahawks due to a concussion, Rams offensive lineman Jason Smith was taken to the hospital after becoming ill & vomiting on the sidelines.
7:02 PM The Suns' Amar'e Stoudemire and the Bobcats' Tyson Chandler were each fined $7,500 by the NBA for Twittering during games. And the Celtics' Rasheed Wallace was fined $30,000 for ranting about rampant flopping after Friday's win over the Raptors.
How many attendants would you say it takes to get Memphis Grizzlies center Hamed Haddadi in and out of his car? Yep, this is his vehicle, according to photos on his Facebook page; just what I would buy if I were 7-foot-2, 280.
You expect him to any minute extend his legs out of the bottom of the car and walk away, with the vehicle still attached to the upper half of his body.
Comical, sure; but there’s one note of caution I would offer if I were driving this thing near lakes or forests. Because you never know when something awful could happen, like … Read more…
Unless you’ve spent the last 30 years or so living under a rock, you know that the relationship between the United States and Iran isn’t the friendliest one in the world. Something about them holding Americans hostage, our friendship with Israel, and nuclear weapons has driven a divide between our two countries. Still, we do have something in common with Persians, and that’s that we both love our sports.
This can be seen by the adoration for Memphis Grizzlies rookie Hamed Haddadi. Haddadi has spent most of his rookie season shuffling back and forth between Memphis and Bismarck in the NBDL, but that hasn’t stopped all the Iranians living in the United States from following Haddadi’s every move in the NBA. In fact, if he wanted to, Haddadi could probably get some pretty nice endorsement deals (possibly for gold chains and silk shirts). Well, he could if it wasn’t for that whole trade embargo we have with Iran.
Give it up for our northern friends, the Calgary Stampeders, for capturing the Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup with a 22-14 win over the Montreal Alouettes. The pride of Temple University, Henry Burris, was named the MVP by totaling over 400 yards from the QB position, while Sandro DeAngelis was named the top Canadian after kicking five field goals. Yes, Canadians get their own award, and yes, it’s probably also in French.
(A typical Calgarian)
So while the Canadian championship may be but a footnote in American sports blurbs, briefs, whirlwinds, and newspaper agate pages, the NFL teams could certainly learn from the Stamps to help further their franchises.
• Tennessee Titans — So you lost your first game? You got whacked by the New York Jets at home 34-13? No worries. The Stamps lost 37-16 at home to the Edmonton Eskimos back on September 1.
• Arizona Cardinals — Don’t worry about the loss to the 37-29 loss to the New York Giants. Like the Stampeders’ Burris, Kurt Warner also played in the NFL Europe for a year. And if that’s not enough solace, then I don’t know what to tell you.
• Bears, Broncos, Dolphins, Bills, Broncos, and whoever wins the Packers/Saints game tonight: You all have five losses. Aw, poor babies. Calgary’s regular season record? 13-5. (Oh, yeah, and the Giants lost six last year. But that doesn’t apply here.)
• Browns, Jaguars, Chargers, Eagles, and whoever loses the Packers/Saints game tonight — you all had high hopes this year, but it’s just not looking like it’ll happen this year. No sweat. Last year the Stampeders went 7-10-1.
• Detroit Lions — You guys, much like many of the players on the Stampeders, still have your health.
Know how your co-worker got an iPhone, so everyone else got one? In a trend of reverse cutting edge technology, college teams are now embracing old solutions to new problems having seen what’s going on in Penn State. Rather than get a trendy receivers coach to lead a big-time program, Kansas State will announce this morning that Bill Snyder, 69 years young, will return as the Wildcats’ head coach. Joe Paterno will now have someone to discuss what it was like to listen to Harry Truman’s speech.
Time once again for a lesson on non-tie NFL rules: A team is allowed to attempt a field goal without an oncoming rush if the team just made a fair catch off a punt. The Arizona Cardinals knew this, and with five ticks left in the first half of their game against the Giants in such a position, Neil Rackers attempted a 68-yard field goal, which would’ve been the longest kick in NFL history by five yards. Let’s take a look-see:
Yum. Can you fit in ten more Thanksgiving metaphors this week? How about links instead?
It’s another NFL Network Thanksgiving miracle, thanks to Sen. Arlen Specter, apparently chairman on the Subcommittee to Fix Sports Things. The Philadelphia Eagles-Arizona Cardinals game will be shown on local Pennsylvania TV stations, although perhaps after Sunday’s loss, this is more of a curse than a blessing.
Old hat: Japanese veteran baseball player. New fedora: Japanese phenom baseball player. Old hat again: the Red Sox sign him, NPB TRACKER reports (or translates SPONICHI ANNEX’s report, which is the same thing). Jinichi Tazawa will get $3 million over 3 years, but will have to develop his Japanese-taught mannerisms in an American-style pitching system. Baseball purists ought to keep an eye on this project.
More from the Fins/Pats game: Matt Light and Channing Crowder could be BFFs for the rest of us know, but at the worst possible time they got in kind of a fight. BALLHYPE has video proof.
Contrary to previous optimism in which the Detroit Lions could win a game this year: the DETROIT NEWS’ John Niyo is reporting the Detroit Lions probably won’t win a game this year.
Cliff Lee isn’t just the Cy Young winner, he also won “Cleveland’s Man Of The Year” as voted on by the local chapter of the BBWAA. Also some guy named Luis Isaac, who was with the Indians for over 40 years, won an award for getting fired and not being a bitch about it. The award, unfortunately, is not a new job.
The TORONTO STAR’s Rosie DiMannoisn’t at all fooled at the Maple Leafs honoring Wendel Clark in a ceremony last night, since the Leafs haven’t won the Stanley Cup in 41 years because Clark isn’t seven people.
And finally, it’s time for your Iranian sports news update. The Grizzlies’ Hamed Haddadi will be sent down to the Dakota Wizards of the NBA D-League. Hey, it beats getting flipped off by your GM. Almost.
(Note: I left Florida out because if Alabama stays undefeated, they will have to beat the Gators in the SEC Championship, putting them at two losses.)
Chris Wallace hasn’t exactly had the best run as the GM of the Memphis Grizzlies. First, he gives away Pau Gasol for next to nothing, now he’s inadvertently heightening tensions between the U.S. and Iran. And how bad are the Grizzlies that they’re mining Iran for talent?
During Tuesday’s practice, Wallace decided to display a sign of encouragement to young Iranian center Hamed Haddadi by giving him the thumbs up. Unfortunately, the thumbs up doesn’t exactly have the same meaning in Iran that it does here.
• WTA TENNIS BLOG serves up Ana Ivanovic telling us all about her great visit to the Great Wall of China.
• BUSTED COVERAGE could be flagged for illegal contact, as a couple of college refs aren’t going to turn down a photo op with Erin Andrews.
• While Florida fans are fuming over the Gators’ 31-30 loss to the Rebels, ESPN THE MAGAZINE finds Ole Miss alum Shepard Smith happy with the result - and he better be, since the Fox News anchor has given the school “an a**-load of money“.
