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TOP STORIES - APRIL 10, 2008 USGA AMENDS RULE 13-4A: In response to the now infamous Stewart Cink disqualification, the USGA has amended rule 13-4. To recap the incident, Cink plays a shot from the rough near the bunker while standing in the bunker, and his shot lands in another bunker. Cink's caddie rakes the bunker. Cink asks rules official for interpretation next day and finds that he should had assessed himself a penalty, and thus was DQ'd for signing incorrect scorecard. The circumstance brought forward what was believed to be one of the quickest rules revisions in recent USGA history, the rule has been modified so a player will now not be penalized in a scenario similar to what Cink was in. Meanwhile an even more bizarre situation occurred in a LPGA tournament last weekend. Shi Hyun Ahn hits her tee shot in the fairway. One of Ahn's playing partners drives into a bunker. Ahn hits her second shot without finding a hazard. The other player then hits her bunker shot into a second bunker. Ahn's caddie offers to rake for the other player - Ahn (again, the player NOT in the hazard) is the one assessed a two-stroke penalty. As all this was going down a rules official eating lunch comes across the e-mail from the USGA explaining the new interpretation of 13-4, and Ahn's penalty was rescinded before the end of her round. And after the Cink incident the PGA wrote off the scenario as a 10 million to one shot. CLOSING CEREMONY FOR S.F. TORCH RUN SCRAPPED: Perhaps it would had been fitting if they had Barry Bonds run with the thing. In a debacle that gets worse by the day, the original route was changed, then the 'closing ceremony' for Olympic torch run was moved to San Francisco International airport as it was determined to be too dangerous to safeguard the participants at the planned waterfront location. Similar torch runs earlier in the week in London and Paris were also disrupted by numerous disruptions, including protesters who actually managed to snuff off the torch's flame. San Francisco marked the torches only U.S. appearance in it's worldwide tour. \ BRETT FAVRE UPDATE #85: Now says (and this is Favre talking) he could show back up in Green Bay if Aaron Rodgers were to get hurt. I was guessing that if A-Rodg were to break his leg #4 would be way in the outback beyond cell phone ranging hunting or something... SPORTS-TALKER FIRED AFTER ON-AIR SPAT W/PITCHING COACH: A lot of strange things happen in St. Louis radio, years ago someone was whacked after making a 'spoof' report that America was under nuclear attack. Then there was the right-winger who got a pink slip for inadvertently slurring Condoleeza Rice and the sports-talkers who got into it with Bob Feller a couple years back. Now add this one to the list, while doing a remote away from the station, the host ends up cold-calling Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan. He asks if he could talk about a pitcher the team was keeping (Anthony Reyes) that the scuttlebutt had Duncan not liking. The host says later he thought Duncan was already on the line, but when he picked up the phone was ringing. Duncan says he doesn't want to talk to him, and that he's a bad guy. The two argue for a while, then Duncan says to host that he wouldn't say this to him on-air, the host then says that indeed he's on-air, at which point Duncan tells him he is going to be in big trouble. Host is then told to take a couple days off, then he and is producer are fired. This comes after Duncan maintained for several days that he was still pissed and was indeed contemplating action with the FCC. The host says the station buckled down under pressure from the Cardinals and manager Tony LaRussa and this his First Amendment rights were violated. The producer says that the station had been firing employees left and right for budgetary reasons, and this incident was used as an excuse for the station to jettison the two. LaRussa says he doesn't have anything to do with this but isn't really sorry to see the man get axed. The station says they will not pay the sports-talker even though he is under contract through late next year. Meanwhile the station owner speaks out saying that if he had an agenda for firing the sportscaster for bashing LaRussa and Cards management, he would had have plenty of opportunities in the past, including during the team's 2006 World Championship run, when the host slammed LaRussa for not being more adamant about getting Kenny Rogers ejected over the dirty hand incident. The nice thing about all of this is we're not seeing too many 'no comments' out of anyone. Moral of story, everyone knows LaRussa's legal background, you don't screw with him or any of his staff, especially including long-time colleague Duncan. You don't do it, point blank, period. BENGALS CUT TIES WITH ANOTHER PLAYER: Like Chris Henry, Quincy Wilson played collegiately at West Virginia (notice a trend here??), he was arrested last June for failing to disperse at a wedding party - he did not play last year and only saw two carries in his two-year Cincinnati career. Meanwhile Chris Henry is now out of jail after posting $51,000 bond and being fitted with an ankle bracelet. CUBS THREATEN TO BLOCK ROOFTOP VIEWS: Two of the rooftop owners across from Wrigley Stadium have not yet paid the Cubs their cut. Four years ago a deal was reached which had the owners pay 17 percent of their revenues to the ballclub after the Cubs installed windscreens to block the view. The Cubs say that if the two owners don't pay up before the start of the Cubs next homestand on April 15, the screens will be reinstalled in front of those dwellings. BRETT FAVRE REQUESTING TRADE??? Story by what is said to be a respected LA Times writers says that agent Bus Cook has 'quietly' inquired to other NFL teams about their interest in Favre. The story contends that the reason behind Favre's retirement was indeed frustration over the team failing to trade for Randy Moss. To no surprise, Bus Cook would vehemently deny the story as hogwash adding 'you can quote me on that'. If this was two years ago I could see Favre wanting to play somewhere else, but even if he is PO'd about Moss, name one contender in need of a quarterback. The theory will continue to have legs though as long as Favre hasn't filled out the official retirement paperwork, which most say is not a big deal at this point - but to quote Romeo Void, never say never.... FIELD TRIP HORROR - SCHOOLGIRL 'A-J'D' BY A HAWK AT FENWAY PARK: A student touring Fenway Park was attacked by a resident red-tailed hawk, drawing blood from a girl's scalp and sending her to the hospital. The hawk was perched from an upper deck while the class toured the stadium. It's said hawk flew at the girl and swooped with talons extended, scratching her scalp. A single egg laid in the hawk's nest in an overhang near the stadium press box. The nest and egg were later removed at the direction of state wildlife officials. Somebody tells me this family gets tickets for the home opener.  TODAY'S YOUTUBE SENSATION: Trailing 5-4 in the deciding set, Mikhail Youzhny hits a volley into the net after a long exchange, then starts bashing his head with his racket!!! That now ranks a distant second to the European basketball player who paralyzed himself slamming his head into the basket support many years ago, that obviously was far less funny. After getting patched up, Youzhny recovers to win the final set 7-6. Now my question, you cause your own delay with your self-inflicted injury - why should he been allowed to complete the match. BENGALS CUT TIES WITH CHRIS HENRY!!! Straight from the 'you had 19 chances, you are not getting 20' department - Chris Henry has been waived from the Cincinnati Bengals, with team president Mike Brown as saying 'Chris Henry has forfeited his opportunity to pursue a career with the Bengals. His conduct can no longer be tolerated.' This comes as Henry surrenders to police on charges that he assaulted a man and threw a beer bottle threw his car window. Considering Henry had already served an eight-game suspension for his many previous transgressions in his brief career, it will be no surprise when commissioner Roger Goodell throws the book at Henry as well. And even the CFL no longer takes the NFL's problem children. Now Dallas, do you still really want to pursue Pacman Jones??? MATT LEINART, WOMEN, AND BEER BONGS: He's not in the Chris Henry area code yet, but Leinart is slowly proving to be no angel neither. Internet pictures show him in a hot tub with college-age women and serving beer to a lady from a funnel (beer bong). Currently it is only a public embarrasment for the former USC quarterback, unless one of the women Leinart served to just happened to be under 21 - then we have a bigger story. Whatever the case, Cardinals coach Ken Wisenhunt is already on record saying he is none too happy with his quarterback's lifestyle right now.OILERS FAN BEATEN UP ON CALGARY STREET: I listen to the Flames once in a while on XM, 'proudly broadcasting from Calgary, Alberta, Canada... they say, sounds like a nice enough place. Just don't wear any Edmonton gear there - as a man there says he was beaten by a group of people there over the weekend. The man was at a bar watching the Oilers 2-1 victory over the Flames, then started to walk home with a man and a girlfriend. It's said that a Mercedes with five men in Flames gear slowed, at which point the pedestrian shouted 'How bout them Oilers!!' Big mistake. Two of the Flames fans jumped out of the car to beat the rival fan, with the other three quickly joining in a pushing the Oiler fans' two accomplices aside. Next thing the fan knows he wakes up staggering in his own blood. The 22-year old wound up with a broken nose, three cheek fractures, as well as a severe concussion and loosened teeth, and has been told by his doc to take off work for a while. The beating is said to be the latest in a string of assaults in downtown Calgary, including a pair of men from Ontario looking for work being severely beaten in separate, non-hockey related incidents. LARRY BOWA DRAWS THREE GAME SUSPENSION: Besides having to wear batting helmets this year, another new MLB edict says that the first and third base coaches now have to stay in the coaching box until the ball is batted. That leads to a wild argument last night between Bowa and the third base ump, which saw physical contact between the two several times. Bowa's side of the story is that no umpire had enforced the new edict in any of the spring training games and that by staying in the box it becomes impossible to observe outfielder positioning. Now why haven't the base umpires been asked to wear helmets yet - they can get dotted just as easily.  CREAN AND CRIMSON, MARQUETTE COACH BOLTS: I hate when news like this goes down on April 1 - somebody tell me April Fool's already. In case it is true, mobilize the campus security at Marquette before Crean gets any crazy Rich Rodriguez-like ideas. Most posts on this blog however are actually saying good riddance to a coach that brought the program back to national prominence. Meanwhile Tony Bennett (Washington St.) and Bruce Pearl are being mentioned as the first candidates to succeed Crean. Bruce Pearl ain't happening folks, for one it would be a lateral move for him if that. Bennett makes more sense but the eventual coach will likely be someone far off the radar at this point. MU RECRUIT WANTS OUT: Jersey prep coach Bob Hurley says 'this is what's wrong with college basketball - this is another example of the National Letter of Intent being only binding to the minor, not the adult.'TOPPS SAYS APRIL FOOLS: It may be the most valuable rookie car ever of a player who doesn't really exist. Topps printed 'rookie cards' of Kazuo 'The Uzi' Uzuki, who was billed as having a 104 MPH fastball and was said to be on his way to becoming the first Japanese high schooler to jump straight to U.S. professional baseball. Now a little lesson on Japanese translation, the name Kazuo Uzuki stands for 'first son of April' - got ya. I'm sure the Brewers had him all scouted out though... $250 MILLION FOR THIS??? It was sure a far cry from Manchester United or Real Madrid over the weekend for David Beckham, as the LA Galaxy lose their opening game of the season 4-nil at Colorado. Incidentally one coach was quoted as saying in the past week that he feels that MLS teams could compete with English Premiere League teams - let's see, would you dump your bank account on the Galaxy beating Derby County right now??? The pre-game festivities were highlighted by the Colorado people spraying confetti all over the pitch, which remained for the entire game. My guess is that they were trying to create a South America-like atmosphere with all the paper flying around. Meanwhile the Galaxy coach was using altitude and Beckham playing for England earlier in the week as excuses. Altitude??? Give me a break - it's only 5'000 feet, a walk in the park compared to many Mexican/South American venues where the players almost have to take the field with an oxygen kit attached. TEAM MULLING NAME CHANGE??? For 110 years the Division 2 team has been known as Mansfield Town and have been known as the Stags. Now perspective new ownership wants to change the teams name to Harchester United to heighten the team's image. Who is Harchester United you ask??? A TV series which ran on British TV known as Dream Team featured a fictional squad under that name - let's just say it is the UK's version of ESPN Playmakers. Team members and managers were frequently killed off, the team got busted clear down to MLS for fixing matches, and I think the final show of the series ended with Tony Soprano's crew putting the entire team out of it's misery in the locker room after being down 3-nil at halftime in a third round FA Cup game. Oh, and the series lasted 11 years, actually used real EPL players, and used the monikers of the English Premiere League as well as other European Competitions. And I guess the real leauges have a thicker skin than what the NFL had. HUGE CAREER MISTAKE - GODZILLA FINDS BRIDE-ZILLA: Should had made sure to document this last week before all the fantasy league drafts went down. Feeling a desperate need to win a bet with teammates Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu, Yankees left fielder Hideki Matsui went ahead and decides to get 'secretly' married at a New York chapel - so if he starts the year 5-39 you will know why. Why do you think Jeter remains on pace for 3,500+ career hits??? Minimum of distractions and staying single sure the hell helps. Guess it's too late now - just keep an eye out on your third baseman...DOUG DAVIS FACES THYROID CANCER: Former Brewer and current Arizona Diamondback left-hander took the mound last Friday night even after getting the bad news. Davis is slated to undergo surgery April 10th but will make his first two starts of the season before that. Despite getting roughed up Friday, Davis received an ovation after leaving the game. CODE BLUE - ALL FOUR #1'S HEADED FOR SAN ANTONIO: Guess Dick Vitale was right, it has actually happened, as the Final Four will be all blue, whether it be Carolina sky blue, UCLA pastel blue, or the somewhat darker hues of Kansas and Memphis. And not only were the four #1 seeds heading into the tournament, they were the top four ranked teams at the very start of the season. STEWART CINK DISQUALIFICATION: Add this to my recent list of endless ways to get penalized and/or DQ'd from golf tournaments. Stewart Cink stood inside a bunker to play a shot near, but not in the hazard during third round play of the Zurich Classic. That shot wound up going into another bunker. After playing the shot, Cink (as per proper golf etiquette) rakes the hazard he was in. Per a recent USGA ruling, Cink was in essence 'testing the condition' by standing and raking a hazard in which his ball was not in. Cink apparently did not know about this until during his round today, he thus didn't penalize himself and had signed an incorrect scorecard. One valid argument is that Cink may not had known that his shot had gone into the second bunker, but per the USGA rulebook it doesn't matter - tough luck. NFL PROSPECT FOUND DEAD AT HOME: Two-time Little All-American Heath Benedict found dead on the couch of his Jacksonville home. The 6'6" 326 pound offensive lineman was the lone Division II representative at January's Senior Bowl and was also an invite at the NFL Combine. The 24-year old was nine hours short of obtaining his college degree while chasing the NFL dream. CAN DAVIDSON HARLEY ANOTHER FOE??? If nothing else, there students will be well represented - as the school is footing the bill for students who wish to see Davidson's matchup with Wisconsin in Detroit. Included in the package is bus transportation, two nights lodging, and tickets for Friday's game. Davidson's students also get free laundry service throughout the school year. Or maybe everything isn't so free - tuition at the exclusive liberal arts school is a cool $41,000 per year. LOGO CRISIS SOLVED: North Carolina coach Roy Williams was upset last weekend about his players tripping over the blue over-sized NCAA decal at center court last weekend in Raleigh. Over the years, the tournament has evolved to which the NCAA sticker now covers the logo of whatever pro/college team usually occupies the arena - you would think in the Raleigh instance they could had just left the NC State logo on and put the NCAA type somewhere else. There should be no more logo issues for the duration of the tournament as the NCAA now ponies up for the floor of the four regional sites as well as the Final Four venue - and the NCAA adds that they will review the logo issues at the first and second round sites for the future. Considering fans are charged $6 just to APPLY for Final Four tickets you'd think they'd have the income to spring for additional floors there. Incidentally the high school All-American game went off last night without anyone slipping on the Mickey D's sticker which was placed over the Milwaukee Bucks logo on center court. Actually it would be a good ideal to cover the Bucks logo even when the Bucks are playing on the court.BONDS IMAGE REMOVED FROM GIANTS PARK: With their cash cow from the last eight years now gone, the Giants have removed all signage regarding Barry Bonds and his career home run chase from AT&T Park - while the team adds they do not plan on re-signing Barry no longer how low the price. Bonds continues to contend that he is fit to play for any team, but it is unlikely that any team will take the PR hit while Barry's legal problems drag on. Despite being expected to bring up the rear in the National League West, Giants management contends they still intend to draw three million fans this year. |
