Carmelo Anthony scores 28 in return: But everyone knew Melo would score. The real question: How would AI do playing alongside him? The answer: Just fine, thanks. Iverson had 23 pts on 9/16 FG shooting, with 7 assists. You can already tell: They're going to be great together. Not great enough to win the West, mind you, but very entertaining.
Raiders hire Lane Kiffin, who becomes (at 31) the youngest head coach in the NFL and/or the only coach naive enough to take the Raiders job.
This hire shouldn't surprise anyone: Al Davis likes 'em young (yeesh) and, until this weekend, the front-runner for the job was Kiffin's co-worker in the USC offensive coaching staff, Steve Sarkisian (Age 32).
It remains to be seen how the Raiders will respond to a 31-year-old head coach with so little experience, although Jon Gruden did just fine in
Of course, the Raiders would likely respond badly to ANY coach, no matter what age he is.
I say: Good for Kiffin to understand that there are 32 of these jobs in the world, and even if he fails, he'll be seen as having gained "valuable experience" as an NFL head coach, which is a golden ticket to coach again in the NFL *and* college.
SB XLI Watch: Peyton Manning will have an X-ray on his right thumb, but everyone seems to think it'll be fine by game time.
NBA Tonight: It is the Game of the Year (so far) -- Suns at Wizards. The Team Everyone Is Universally Slurping This Season versus the Player That Everyone Is Universally Slurping This Season. Look: You can love both or hate both, but it's a virtual guarantee that this game will be – aesthetically – as awesome an event as you'll see this season.
If you remember, the Suns were riding a sick 15-game win streak earlier this season, and the Wizards (no great road team) came to Phoenix and out-gunned the Suns, partially helping to fulfill Gilbert Arenas' prophecy that he would take his Team USA snub out on the ones who delivered it (54 points).
The rematch is tonight in DC: The Suns are again riding a wild win streak. Perhaps they will be motivated from the loss at home, but the Wizards at home are like a different team. And if the Wiz on the road could beat the Suns, then the Wiz at home have a great shot.
(Is it really true that
Another day, another Bengals arrest: This time it was CB Johnathan Joseph, arrested for pot possession. Anyone want to guess how many Bengals arrests that makes in the last 9 months? NINE. This team is the biggest bunch of criminals in sports history. They make the "Jail Blazers" look like the Portland Children's Choir.
On the one-year anniversary of the "81" game,
Parcells quits Cowboys, retires from coaching (Day 2): I'm already sick of this story. No, I'm not surprised. No, I don't think he's coming back. No, I have no idea who the Cowboys will hire, but I'm quite sure that any coach in his right mind will insist they jettison T.O. before he does.
Michael Vick is off the hook, legally: But that doesn't mean that Bobby Petrino won't give his starting QB job away to Matt Schaub!
Those "evil" college football recruiting sites were taken to task yesterday in front of the NCAA's Knight Commission, which presumably played its usual role of worry-wart. Personally, I love them.
Are they sketchy? Sure. But for all the slop on the message boards, there is a lot of really good info you simply won't get from your local newspaper coverage or ESPN.
Are they professionalizing high school athletes? Sure. But that was going to happen without the influence of Web-based recruiting gossip.
I will say that there is a lack of quality control, and recruiting-site "reporters" have been known to try to steer recruits to certain schools or spread misinformation. (Of course, the "legitimate" recruiting sites are seeping with agendas, too.)
A fix is difficult: How are you going to regulate the skeeves? You could punish the schools if you can find a link, but that's not particularly productive. "Recruiting Web site reporter" is the new "street agent" (if you read "Raw Recruits," which everyone should).
NHL unveils new unis. Only one place to go for answers to you questions: UniWatch Blog.
So you tell me: What day would be most appropriate for my one-day-only NASCAR preview bonanza? (Here's a hint:
Barbaro loses! I presume Eclipse Awards voters know more about horse racing than the rest of us, but how did Barbaro lose out on "Horse of the Year" to Invasor? I guess because it's not a popularity contest.
"Bam Bam" Bigelow dead at 45: I remember when he made his WWF debut. He was such a force to be reckoned with.
The Bloggie Nominations come out today. I have heard rumors that your collective effort put me among the leaders (say, Top 30 or so) in nominations-submitted for Best New Blog of 2006 and, amazingly, Best Overall Blog. At the very least, that moved this blog into the second phase of the process, where individual judges rated this blog against the other high-volume nominees. No matter how it turns out today, I can't thank you enough for the amazing show of support to get this far.
-- D.S.
48 comments:
The best part about living in London: catching the quickie before anyone else even wakes up. The worst part: no edible food. Anywhere. And missing the Suns-Wiz game, of course.
I think it's clever that the bloggie nominations are on the same day as the Oscars'. It sort of lends credence to the fact that it's an event rapidly growing in importance. Maybe even more important than the Oscars now?
Part of me wants to stay up and watch the basketball tonight. Especially since it's a potential finals preview. Being a Mavs fan sort of puts a damper on it though. How sick would a Mavs-Wiz finals be? Although, it would be a shame to root against Gilbert...
The sports news from yesterday pales to the bombshell dropped on 24 last night. Not to spoil it, but the Bauer's must have real interesting family reunions!
Well, having DeNiro, Pesci, et al. totally deliver in those movies helped. I think the casting director deserves an Oscar.
I wouldn't say that Carmelo shooting 10 of 25 is particularly good...but he has been gone awhile.
The new Raiders coach's father is a DC in the league already. Shouldn't Monte be pissed that his kid got the HC job first?
Bam Bam died to me when he lost to LT. Shameful.
Fish and Chips Andrew...and you can have Guiness at any time of the day and no one says anything. Fantastic...no wait...BRILLIANT! You have a good life over there...I'd brag if I were you.
Why is the NBA season so long? I was doing the math in my head last night. Rough estimate...
A college player who stays 4 years: 30 games a season on average, we'll say 3 NCAA games on average. So that is 33 per season, 38-40 at the most. So 33 x 4 ='s 132 games.
An NBA player: They play 82 games a season If you go to the playoffs (which is not hard) and then go to the finals, you have an opportunity to play 28 more games. that is 110 games. We'll say roughly 95-100 games. But the games in college are only 40 minutes where in the NBA it's 48 minutes and the pace is faster.
Wow...sorry for the rant. Long story short...you play your college career in 2 NBA years.
Good point Rev. European beer > American beer in just about every way. London women, not so great... Texas has them beat badly.
I've found a friend in the premiership though. I used to, in my ignorance, hate soccer. But I think most sports fans would enjoy it if they actually watched. The combination of time and cultural barriers sort of makes it difficult though.
Also ... Oscar noms are just out. Best picture is very surprising. The Departed looks like the clear favorite. And the Brits got a ton of nods.
Andrew if you are looking for good food in London I can give you 2 restaurants I went to when I was there a couple of months ago that are better then almost any restaurant in the United States. The restaurant are Rhodes 24 and Hakkasan.
Mike Tomlin didn't go to Florida, so he didn't make it on Dan's radar.
lol
Steelers are winning the AFC North next season.
And if you want hot women, Cripes Andrew, hop on a train or small plane and hit Iceland or Scandinavia! WTF is wrong with you!?!
The 24 blog is up with a new post. Check it out.
24 Blog.
Ben thanks for that I will read tomorrow. Saved watching 24 until tonight to have something to watch while the Presidents speaks.
OK, I've been gone too long. Glad to be back, and back on East Coast Time (just don't tell my body that).
Only one thing to add to this comments section today (for now). Take it for what you will, but I'm sure every news outlet in Dallas jumped on it yesterday or this morning.
On a radio interview late yesterday, Bill belichick refused to answer any question related to his contract. Wouldn't say if it expired. Wouldn't say if it was a lifetime deal. Wouldn't say a thing about it.
Of course, the follow-up question was probably going to be "Any desire to go coach The Cowboys?"
Personally, I don't think Bill Belichick has any desire to follow Bill Parcells anywhere (See: New York Jets). But that doesn't mean it won't become the next "hot" rumor.
Andrew, There is some great food in the UK. Nothing beats a good fryup for breakfast and after a hard night of drinking a good curry will do you right. It's london and if you can't find good food there you aren't trying. I grew up in scotland so I can relate to not being used to eating kippers and beans on toast for breakfast.
Dan your nascar analogy is off because you need a newer team that is making money and is successful. My pick is to use the marlins for your analogy since they have won two titles in their brief existence and they have a low payroll so they make money hand over fist.
I don't think monte kiffin minds that his son is now a head coach. He has said numerous times in the st pete times that he has no desire to be a head coach and prefers to just run the defense. If the son is half as good as his dad the raiders will be back before we know it. Now if only someone would put out of his misery.
Tomlin is a lucky guy. That team should contend for the next couple of years while he is learning, and there's no way he'll be fired unless his defensive coordinator goes porky-pigging through Pittsburgh during the season.
Does anyone really think the Colts should be favored by 7? It seems more than a little high for a team that usually gets gobsmacked by physical defenses.
I've been enjoying the FSN coverage of Premier League. It's very difficult to follow it cold, though, too many players to start out with and you have very little to distinguish them. Even the best players don't score during every game. I've been considering Fifa 2007 to get some of exposure to the names and teams.
Bam Bam Bigelow was awesome, but still he was no Demolition. Just the original with Ax and Smash, not the crappy 3-man version.
NASCAR preview? What happened to this being a sports blog?
Why have the Steelers raided the Red Sox bullpen for their next coach, anyways?
Madden himself was a young Raiders hire, back in the day.
Speaking of NASCAR they have tweaked their points system.
"NASCAR Announces Adjustments to ‘Chase’ Format and Points System: Race victories will become more important than ever in 2007 as a result of adjustments to the points system and the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup format announced today by NASCAR. The adjustments are designed to establish more balance between winning and consistency, but there is a new emphasis on the former. “The adjustments taken today put a greater emphasis on winning races,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. “Winning is what this sport is all about. Nobody likes to see drivers content to finish in the top 10. We want our sport – especially during the Chase – to be more about winning.”
Chase Adjustments: The Chase – consisting of the season’s last 10 races – will further reflect the importance of racing to win, via a variety of adjustments.
> During the format’s first three years, the top 10 drivers in points after the 26th race of the season (at Richmond International Raceway) qualified for the Chase; in addition, any other driver outside the top 10 but within 400 points of the standings’ leader was also eligible.
Starting this season, the 400-point cut-off is eliminated.
Also, after Race 26, the top 12 drivers in the points will qualify for the Chase.
> All 12 drivers will have their point totals re-set to 5,000; each will then receive a 10-point bonus for each race victory they had during the first 26 races.
> The Chase drivers will be “seeded” to start the Chase based on the number of wins amassed during the regular season.
Points adjustment: In line with the Chase adjustments, wins throughout the season will be more valuable.
> Race winners throughout the 36-race season will now receive 185 points, a five-point increase. Counting the five-point bonuses available for leading at least one lap and leading the most laps, a race winner now can earn a maximum of 195 points, creating a possible maximum of 25 points between first- and second-place finishers.
The 2006 season of Kasey Kahne provides a dramatic illustration of the adjusted Chase format’s implications. Kahne qualified for last year’s Chase, but started it in 10th place – despite having won a series-high five races. Under the new format, Kahne would begin the Chase in first place, with 5,050 points. Mark Martin and Jeff Burton, seventh and eighth at the outset of last year’s Chase, would instead start in 11th and 12th, each with 5,000, since they had no race victories entering the Chase. Also, Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle, who failed to make the Chase last year – they were 11th and 12th and beyond the 400-point cut-off – would qualify under the adjusted format. Stewart would be fifth with 5,020 points, Biffle 10th with 5,010.
@ brian in oxford:
"Madden himself was a young Raiders hire, back in the day."
Oh good - at least Kiffen has a long and terrible career as a football announcer and hardware pitchman to look forward to.
And as for the Tomlin/Timlin comparison... funny thing is, that was the first think I thought too - "What the hell is Mike Timlin doing coaching football? And at such a high level?
Of course, I was in Las Vegas, and there's a slight chance I may have been drinking.
I hope Toyota takes the top 3 spots in NASCAR just to see all the bigotted rednecks (this does not include all nascar fans) keel over. Though if ppl read the news..Toyota is making jobs for Americans..the "Big 3" are taking them away...so...yeah.
Anyway, let's get back to real sports.
The only NBA I'll watch is LeBron. And probably not til the playoffs. One of these days, the "MJ" switch will go off in his brain and he'll just destroy. I want to watch that happen.
Big D - from what I have heard regarding Bill's contract is he has one year left with a club option for one year after that. That is the consensus among most of the media people in Boston. Then again knowing the way this team works he could have a 10 year deal and no one knows it.
Wow a NASCAR and a NHL mention in the quickie. It must be a slow day in sports.
quiet commenting day. ppl are actually working today?
Cmfost, get used to it. After the Superbowl, the only sports that will be going on are NBA, NHL, and Nascar. As an avid hockey and racing fan, this makes me slightly happy. I'm a casual NBA fan, as in I'll occasionally watch some regular season Celts games and then the playoffs. Dan's gonna be forced to mention some of these "lesser" sports if he wants to post on a day to day basis.
Any thoughts on the new NHL unis? According to E.J. Hradek, the husky fans will not be too keen on the changes. lol
I haven't commented on the Pats/Colts yet. I'll just say it was an entertaining game. Even when the Pats were up 21-3 I didn't feel comfortable with the game. None of us watching did, because tyhe Colts offense is that explosive. It was a good game. Good calls both ways. Bad calls both ways. Gaffney never went out of bounds before jumping. Caldwell was mugged in the end zone. The Pass interference call on Hobbs was the correct call. Good no call on Wayne tripping twice. Right call on Troy Brown's OPI. It was a pick, which is still illegal. Just because it doesn't always get called is irrelevant. Speeding is still illegal even if you don't get pulled over. All in all, the Colts played a better second half and deserved the win. Oh yea, and Reche Caldwell should be shot for those two drops. That is all.
H- I am looking forward to some good hockey talk and I do not mind some Nascar talk. It just surprises me when Shanoff mentions it. Hopefully this will not turn into a all hoops all the time blog after the Super Bowl.
The Daytona 500 was always fun to watch as my one-race-per-year, until Nascar started getting beaten over our heads.
Plus, CBS used to use it as a lead-in to Celtics/Lakers in mid-February.
I'd like to see a day of racing where they send out 8 cars at a time to race 100 miles or so. Run 4 heats like that, then take the top 2 from each heat to drive a 100 mile finale. Sorta like the sprints in the olympics.
Seriously, there is more going on then NHL, NASCAR, and NBA. There is golf, which is great, and the Arena league starts in like 2 weeks. My guess is there will be a lot of posts from Dan about how Damien Harrell is the greatest Arena player, and John Harbaugh should be an NFL coach. It's going to be great. (note the sarcasm)
You know what Nascar needs, jumps. Imagine if they had a jump on the straight-away that you had to hit every 10 laps or so. Maybe that would be too dangerous.
Don't forget March Madness as well.
I'm guessing DS posts 90% College and NBA basketball and the other 10% on the "fringe" sports.
Lenny is right, pitchers and catchers report soon. I bet that Shanoff already has the Prior/Wood arm injury story ready to post.
Lenny, Just becuase the Cubs spent money, it does not mean the will win the World Series. Ask the Red Sox and Yankees where all the money they spent the last 2 years got them.
I'm actually scared of Dan's future Nascar posts. I like the sport, and his first post makes me concerned about his research skills.
Toyota isn't the Yankees of racing. They don't do racing any better than anyone. If Shumacher was entering Nascar with the first pushrod Ferrari V-8 engine, then, yes, the Yankees have entered the league.
Toyota makes good, boring, overpriced cars. They aren't known for winning race teams in competitive leagues. To be fair, it appears they swept the top spots in the Craftsman truck series last year, so it looks like they're ready.
I think this is more like a team from the second league getting promoted to the EPL in soccer.
As a lifelong Cubs fan, I hope that they really have filled all of their holes and are ready to compete this year. I think they are very solid at the corners, both infield and outfield, but do not know about centerfield. Their rotation should be good, and having anything from Prior would be a great plus.
But, I saw Soriano play about 70 times last year at RFK. The guy has amazing power and speed, but he's still just an overpaid leadoff hitter. His career average in any position in the order other than leadoff is poor, and he does not hit well with men in scoring position. He doesn't take walks or bunt well and doesn't do the "little things" that leadoff hitters do well, other than steal bases. But being in the NL Central, with more games in launching pads like Cincinnati, Houston, Milwaukee, and especially Wrigley, he will hit 50+ homeruns.
Sorry this got so long. I hope for the Cubs and Nats to both have great seasons this year. But Dan probably gave up his ties to Chicago Sports when he left Northwestern. He's probably a Marlins fan because his wife is probably a Marlins fan. And, he's got 2 WS titles to show for it, so at least he's on the right bandwagon (along with UF). I guess he could have married a Alabama alumnus and have nothing....
I think Dan has mentioned that the NBA is the biggest of the 'Fringe' sports citing the fact that the revenue generated by the NFL, MLB and NASCAR compared to the NBA is larger than that of the NBA to the NHL.
Roddick is playing well (he destroyed his best friend today), but it's time for the Fed-Express to roll.
@ lenny:
"They've filled every hole (center field, shortstop, second base) and the only big question is the rotation."
First of all, whenever the rotation is a "big question", there's still issues to be fixed. But that's beside the point.
Looking at the Cubs' free agent signings, I'm not sure how they filled the needs at SS, 2B, and CF.
Soriano can only play one of those spots (presumably, center). Mark DeRosa is a nice pickup at second, but he's 31 and coming off a career year, while switching leagues. I wouldn't expect much more out of him. Presumably, the "fix" at shortstop is Cesar Izturis, who the Cubs got in the Maddux deal last year. Unfortunately, in his 5 years in the league, he's never lived up to expectations.
Am I missing something here? I'm sure that the Cubs have a lot to work with, and maybe there are a bunch of young kids I haven't heard of coming up through the farm system.
Not to mention the rotation, featuring Zambrano (astoundingly good, free-agent year, might have 25 wins), Mark Prior (yikes), Ted Lilly (Half his yearly wins came against the Sox & Yankees - never consistenly beat anyone else), and Jason Marquis (I think his numbers speak for themselves).
Listen, I'm not a Cubs' hater, but I'm also not buying into the theory that some insane spending will automatically propel them into the World Series.
The playoffs? Probably.
NLCS? Maybe.
World Series? Not yet.
I guess, there is a subliminal reason why the Bengals have stripes on their jerseys.
The Cubs have 3 corner outfielders and no centerfielder. If they move Soriano to CF, he will cost them as many runs as he produces. If they leave him in LF, they will need to find a CF while also benching their leading hitter last year (Murton hit .297). But:
1 -- Soriano CF
2 -- DeRosa 2B
3 -- Lee 1B
4 -- Ramirez 3B
5 -- Barrett C
6 -- Jones RF
7 -- Murton LF
8 -- Izturis SS
9 -- 40% of the time it is Zambrano or Marquis.
That is 5 Silver Slugger Award Winners in the order when one of those 2 pitches.
The key to the Cubs will be April, when the wind is blowing in at Wrigley. When they can't overpower people in the spring, can they pitch well enough to be in the race. If the Cubs are in it on May 15th, they will win the division.
http://sports.espn.go.com/
espn/page2/story?page=gallo/070122
I thought this was odd, since DJ Gallo is making fun of Simmons (not that funny, but still). After the whitlock thing, I thought ESPN didn't allow this kind of talk. After all, Whitlock was making a serious objection to content, while DJ is just openly mocking Simmons for entertainment.
Dan, have you heard anything about ESPN lately, with all the cover-ups, scandals and surging competition from blogs in 2006? Is the current corporate regime too entrenched to make any website changes ever? Changes for the better (more integrity, better talent), I mean.
Surely you can give an opinion about things now that you've left for a while. It's not as if you have no other options in the future.
In other RETARDED NEWS...
Robinson Cano changed his number from 22 to 24.
You know, in case Clemens wants his number (which was 22).
I think I'm going to throw up.
I think Simmons and Gallo are buddies!! Didn't they got to Green Bay together?
@ solomonrex.
you do realize the DJ Gallo is the "Gallo" that Simmons refers to as one of his best friends. Yes it's a jab at Simmons, but all in good fun. At least he's not bojangling.
Sorry I missed the other retarded story of the day.
I will recite some of the details from memory because I can't find a print source for it. It was all over ESPN RADIO this mourning though.
There will be a new REALITY SHOW ON NESN (the new england sports network) that will be a version of speed dating mixed with... BASEBALL.
Apparently, it's called SOX APPEAL.
A guy will pick a girl out of the crowd during the 7th inning stretch and sit with her for the rest of the game on a date kind of thing.
I'm throwing up alot today.
Removing music from its programming didn't help MTV. Why does ESPN insist on removing sports from its programming?
Lame.
Toyota rocks in off-road racing! Or it did when I played it in the arcades...damn, what was the name of that game... you could play up to 4 at a time..bah! (15 years ago or more)
So I've started reading deadspin. That site will get me fired...I haven't laughed so loudly for so long in a while. The commenters there make me realize how....serious...we all are. lol
What's worse for a Red Sox fan: Sox Appeal, Ben Affleck as your #1 fan or Fever Pitch?
Deadspin is hilarious lol!!
Jared Fogel has a new woman.
Jared
In January of 2007, Fogle was detained at an airport security checkpoint after he reluctantly surrendered a water bottle to security at Miami International Airport that smelled like McDonald's and contained a substance, thought to be special sauce residue, in a hidden compartment. He was not arrested and was allowed to board the flight.
About that whole only 4 black guys on the Duke team...
I went to Rivals and looked up their guys for next year.
Strangely enough....
Of the top 35 recruits in the country, Duke landed 2; Kyle Smith and Taylor King.
Strangely enough....
There were 8 white guys in those top 35.
Strangely enough....
Duke landed the top white guy.
Strangely enough....
Their only other top 50 recruit; also a white guy.
I'm not saying they are racist.
Or maybe I am.
Or maybe they are.
Wow, Calling Duke and Coach K Racist?!?! That's pretty bold.
Duke has had some of the best basketball players in the nation for years, black and white. But if you look at their recruits over the years, what you will notice is that their recruits make the grades academically to get into Duke and to stay at Duke.
I'll bet Grant Hill did a lot more to get into Duke and pass his classes than Allen Iverson did at Georgetown. It's not a white/black thing. It's a "can this kid get into Duke and remain eligible" thing.
I'm sure Duke is the only athletic department in the country that doesn't have 'flexibility' when it comes to its student-athletes.
What's worse for a Red Sox fan: Sox Appeal, Ben Affleck as your #1 fan or Fever Pitch?
They all make me want to throw up. It alomost make me wish the Sox absolutely tank this year. That way we can get rid of all the Pink Hat Wearing, Bandwagon Jumping Fake Fans
@ mikepcfl:
"What's worse for a Red Sox fan: Sox Appeal, Ben Affleck as your #1 fan or Fever Pitch?"
Hmmm. Sox Appeal hasn't aired yet, and I've mostly avoided "Fever Pitch" for now (was forced to have it on an airplane on a cross-country flight, but refused the headphones.
Unfortunately, we can't seem to get away from Ben Afleck. Anytime there is a shot of a left-handed hitter, you can see Afleck in the background, pretending to care, to fit in with us common folk.
Although, there aren't too many common folk who go to Fenway anymore, anyway.
Hey Ben: You want to fit in with us? Go grab a pint at Copperfields' and scream at the TV screens, just like the rest of the Sox fans in town.
Sorry, had to vent.
What's worse for a Red Sox fan: Sox Appeal, Ben Affleck as your #1 fan or Fever Pitch?
They all make me want to throw up. It alomost make me wish the Sox absolutely tank this year. That way we can get rid of all the Pink Hat Wearing, Bandwagon Jumping Fake Fans
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