• VARIETY shoots up news that “Semi-Pro” was the top grossing film of last weekend, but netted only $15 million - “the lowest opening for a major Will Ferrell comedy in almost a decade.”
• The BALTIMORE SUN is shattered that the Orioles’ Kevin Millar decided to break out the pink bat, only to have it splinter after two trips to the plate.
Can this be true? We finally get to know the truth from Ray Lewis?
Ben Maller of FoxSports.com reports today that “Ravens LB Ray Lewis took a lie detector test as part of a segment called ‘Best Damn Moment of Truth,’ a play off of Fox’s new popular reality show.”
“In the segment, which will air during Best Damn on Friday night (check local listings), Lewis is asked numerous questions.”
Wow, that’s pretty amazing, that Lewis would submit to a lie detector test on national television. Read more…
STUFFED-CRUST COACHES FACE OFF IN A HEART-POUNDER: BIG TEN TAILGATE is polite to point out that this weekend college football’s most esteemed lardasses, Kansas Coach Mark Mangino and Toledo Coach Tom Amstutz, will be playing sideline seesaw during the Jayhawks-Rockets matchup in Lawrence, KS (if only we weren’t going to USC-Nebraska!).
ESPNERS WONDER IF BONDS IS BOYCOTTING THEIR GAMES: John Ryan of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS reports that Barry Bonds has not played in the three games in which the Giants have appeared on ESPN this season, leading some to wonder if he is “boycotting the Worldwide Leader.” (Bonds also sat out the ESPN-televised Home Run Derby last week)
After Bonds ducked out of the Giants-Cubs game on ESPN Monday, “Baseball Tonight” host Karl Ravech and analyst John Kruk had this convo:
Ravech: “Barry said yesterday, `I don’t need a day off.’ This is, I believe, Game 3 in a row that the ESPN cameras have been there and he hasn’t played. I can’t believe there’s any connection. That wouldn’t be right to the team.”
Kruk: “You would hope not.”
Ravech: “There’s no way.”
Kruk: “You would hope he doesn’t dislike us that much that he would sit out games.”
Why would Bonds dislike ESPN? Perhaps he was watching SportsCenter Monday when anchor Steve Levy, upon seeing Bonds behind a chain-link fence, remarked “There’s a behind-bars joke there somewhere“.
The comment was later edited out of the broadcast for morning replays.