If MMA is mainstream, why weren’t more media members at the fight?
• The Patriots’ cheerleading staff sure likes to hire ‘em young.
• If his football season fails, Jason Taylor is ready to start filming.
• Porn purveyors are not allowed to sponsor Kimbo Slice on CBS.
• Zinedine Zidane needs a better lock on his laptops.
• The Minnesota Twins try to pump up attendance by selling some seats at a gas-inspired discount.
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Jay Weiner of SPORTS BUSINESS DAILY reports that while the Twins wait for their new, outdoor(!) stadium, the club is now thankful that attendance has gone in the tank.
And no, it isn’t what you’re thinking.
(Dubya’s next gig: Winning over whiny Brewers fans)
The Twins, running on empty at the gate, are discounting tickets with an eye toward soaring gas prices. Beginning today, a program called “Tanks from the Twins” will let ticket buyers score a discount keyed to the national average for the price of a gallon of gasoline.
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A Twins player belted two home runs Sunday night, helping lead Minnesota to a 9-8 win over Boston. And after one of his fence-clearers, he turned to the ESPN cameras and wished a happy Mother’s Day to Marilyn Monroe.
Wait - What?
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For the second time in three weeks, Gavin Floyd of the Chicago White Sox knocked on the door of a no-hitter at U.S. Cellular Field, only to have the baseball gods open the door slightly and then repeatedly slam his hand in the door jamb. Not nice to covet! Not nice!
(Screenshot taken just before the ninth inning started; we still get tingles looking at it)
Floyd avoided marring the hits column for the Minnesota Twins for 8.1 innings until a Joe Mauer double near the left-center warning track took Floyd down for the count. (That count: 105 pitches.) Captain Wispy wrapped up the 7-1 White Sox win.
It’s true that it wasn’t the most impressive effort, as no-hitters go. Two White Sox errors, three walks, and one run (!) remind us that no-hitters meant more when we didn’t know about on-base percentage and the alchemy that goes into scoring an error. Still… no-hitter!
More notes from the contest:
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• BUGS & CRANKS learns that Bill James believes the Minnesota Twins’ World Series titles may have been helped by steroids.
• HOME RUN DERBY warns baseball fans not to get caught by the cameras in the all-you-can-eat section.
• Jay Posner of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE catches up with Jeanne Zelasko, as the Fox Sports baseball anchor gets ready for another season after dealing with thyroid cancer.
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The Minnesota Twins would seem to be dealing with the same adversity of any cash-strapped small market team: losing high-priced free agents Johan Santana and Torri Hunter to bigger markets and having to dip into public funds to finance the team’s new stadium. Makes some sense, except when you take into account that the team’s owner, Carl Pohlad, is the wealthiest among baseball’s ruling class, according to FORBES.
The MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE points out that among the 92-year-old Pohlad’s “peers on Forbes’ global billionaire list are John Malone (Braves, tied for 553rd, $2.2 billion), Mike Ilitch (Tigers, 743rd, $1.6 billion), and Tom Hicks (Rangers) and George Steinbrenner (Yankees, tied for 897th, $1.3 billion).”
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C.J. of the MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE plays the family feud, as ex-Twin Al Newman gets caught up in a catfight between his wife and daughter.
Authorities arrested 47-year-old Deborah Jean Newman on Sunday for allegedly assaulting 18-year-old Taylor Elizabeth Newman. According to police documents, Taylor said her stepmom “punched her in the face and threw bleach cleaning solution at her.” Taylor then called her mom, Al’s first wife Sophie, who then called the cops. Read more…
… Next up, someone sues Bill Belichick for pain and suffering over his offensive sideline ensembles.
• Amateur photos from SI swimsuit shoots uncover more evidence that the mag’s models are getting back to what readers really want.
• Kobe Bryant has decided to has decided to play through his pinkie pain.
• Can’t wait for the cross(dressing)-examinations: Oscar De La Hoya meets his pantyhose photographer in court.
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