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TOP STORIES - MAY 30, 2007 Get your NFL football tickets now at TickCo. They have all team Cardinals tickets, Cowboys tickets, Packers tickets, Colts tickets, Patriots tickets, Titans tickets and more. Get your Super Bowl tickets here! 2007 FANTASY BASEBALL RANKINGS ARE HERE: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF (AL) | OF (NL) | SP (AL) | SP (AL) | RP WALKER, TRUCK SERIES DRIVER SUSPENDED FOR DRUG USE... Tyler Walker suspended indefinitely for violating NASCAR's substance abuse policy. KOBE BRYANT WANTS OUT OF LA??? Wants either Jerry West to return as GM and/or some significant upgrades to his supporting cast, or may ask to play somewhere else. Utah suddenly doesn't sound that bad. MEARS FINDS VICTORY LANE: This has been a frequent headline for Memorial Day weekends of years gone by, but until now reserved for Rick Mears at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. However this time around, Casey Mears scores one of NASCAR's most unlikely wins in quite some time as he has just enough gas to make it to the checkers at the Charlotte 600. Expected to be a factor this year after signing on with the powerful Hendrick operation, Mears season up to this point had been a major dissapointment, being ranked only 35th in the point standings. VICK ON AN EVEN SHORTER LEASH!?!? You know it's not going to be a good day when you wake up Sunday morning, turn on the TV - and Bob Ley has an entire episode of OTL dedicated just for you. A confidential 'informant' claiming to be in the dog fighting business for 30 years, was on the program, identifying Michael Vick as a 'heavyweight' in the dog fighting industry. The informant referred to Vick as one of the 'big boys' - betting upwards to $40,000-$50,000 for various canine scraps. The rat added that seven years ago one of his dogs was pitted against a Vick-owned dog, with Vick supposedly waving $5,000 in bills around to bet. It must be added that the 2000 timeframe would have Vick still in his Virginia Tech days. I'm sure a rebuttal/denial will be coming from #7 (or maybe his agent) in the next 48 hours, and I'm sure someone else in the league will get on TV and claim again that it isn't a big deal. But if even only a portion of this proves true I can see a a one-year banishment. That Schaub trade looks worse by the minute.  DUKE LAX ONE WIN AWAY FROM TITLE: Withstands late Cornell rally with winning tally scored three seconds from time in front of record crowd of 52,000 in Baltimore, and could win first-ever title with win over Johns Hopkins on Monday. Earlier in the week, the university asked the NCAA for an additional year of eligibility for all players on the team when the season was canceled after the now infamous rape allegations in which the team members were ultimately cleared on. THE DIRTY DUCKS OF ANAHEIM??? For the third consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, the participants consist of (a) a Canadian team where the sport means more than life itself and (b) a newer warm-weather based U.S. team where hockey games are characterized as a good place to bring a date. Although not too many people know about the Anaheim Ducks (even the Ottawa Senators, who have only faced the Ducks once in four years), hockey pundits do know that the likes of Chris Kunitz and Corey Perry are not necessarily liked by fans or opposing players. The Ducks abrasiveness was highlighted during a brawl-marred first-round series v. the Minnesota Wild, as well as the recently completed Western Conference Finals v. the Red Wings which featured a one-game suspension for defenseman Chris Pronger after he and fellow teammate Rob Niedermayer laid out Tomas Holmstrom. But I'll tell you what, I think Ottawa goalie Ray Emery would skate to center-ice and take on all the Anaheim goons in about two seconds flat. IF THE CUP WAS BEING PLAYED IN ANAHEIM, WOULD IT MAKE A SOUND??? 15,000 show up for pep rally in Ottawa, with banners of players being plastered all over town - meanwhile Ducks players in L.A. get all the notoriety of Montreal Expos players in their final years. About a dozen groupies were spotted seeking autographs after practice, and Pronger might even be able to be recognized by one or two witnesses in a police lineup if the Ducks win the whole thing. ARE NASHVILLE PREDATORS HISTORY??? There were rumblings about this during the season, and now it is a full-pledged panic as Wisconsin businessman Craig Leopold has sold his nine-year old team to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie. This marked the second attempt for the Blackberry developer to invest in a NHL team, but an earlier attempt to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins was rebuffed only after the league informed him that he could not immediately move the franchise. Meanwhile Leopold's blunt assessment to the media was that he is now convinced that he cannot make hockey profitable in Music City. Early speculation is that Balsillie may take the franchise to the Hamilton, Ontario area, where they would join the Maple Leafs, Senators, and Buffalo Sabres in what is already a saturated region NHL-wise.NATALIE GULBIS QUESTION: Great article in USA Today about a 'day in the life' if LPGA babe Natalie Gulbis, with some great photos to go along with it. One has Gulbis having her leg stretched out on a training table. The trainer in the picture is identified as John Adam. Was this the same John Adam who was once a trainer for the Milwaukee Brewers??? It sure did look like him Not like being a trainer for a major league franchise is necessarily bad - but if that's him, his career has taken a MAJOR upgrade. CELTS, GRIZZ, BUCKS, ALL SCREWED IN LOTTERY: I warned about this in my most recent blog, the teams that tanked games late in the season will not necessarily be rewarded at the NBA lottery drawing. But this surpasses even my craziest dreams - the Grizzlies, Celtics and Bucks all drop from 1-3 to 4th through 6th in the NBA draft while the Trail Blazers (#6), Sonics (#5), and Hawks (#4) wind up the big winners. Guess Michael Redd really needed to be in the Bucks lineup, maybe David Stern has a career as a pit boss after his tenure as commish is over. D-RAYS OUTFIELDER DROPS IN ON CLASS!!! This was normally sound like a cool thing, a major league player visiting a classroom. This is a little bit different though - as Devil Rays rookie Elijah Dukes is sounding like the most wicked think to hit baseball since Joey Belle. You see, Dukes wife is a middle-school teacher in Tampa, and Elijah was P-O'd about something, and decided to barge into her classroom at lunchtime. Mrs. Dukes was so scared that she ran to get the principal, and he and a deputy banned Elijah from the property. But there's more, the Mrs. also filed another restraining order earlier this month, that Elijah threatened to kill her and sent a photo of a handgun to her cell phone. She has also played a voice-message supposedly from Elijah to the media - it says the following 'Hey, dog. It's on, dog. You dead, dog. I ain't even bull(manure). Your kids too, dog. It don't even matter to me who is in the car with you. (N-word), all I know is, (N-word), when I see your (MFA) riding, dog, it's on. As a matter of fact, I'm coming to your (MF) house.' And this isn't Elijah's first time at the rodeo, he has a huge rap sheet for various crimes dating at least back to 1998. This team has had bad apples in the past - Delmon Young and throwing bats at umpires and milk-toast Josh Hamilton turning into a druggie (and now supposedly milk-toast again with the Reds), but I think this guy takes the cake. CLINTON PORTIS TRIES TO BACKTRACK: But only digs himself into a bigger hole trying to explain defending Michael Vick in NFL Network interview. In the segment, Clint resorts to the old 'there are more important things going on in the world' card. That's about the easiest line in the world to use. We know that about 50 more roadside bombs have gone off in Baghdad and about a gazillion more honeybees drop dead every time a dog fight is held on the Vick property. KIRCUS CIRCUS - BRONCOS RECEIVER HIT WITH RESTRAINING ORDER: Denver receiver David Kircus ordered to stay away from the man he is suspected of busting his face up at a weekend party. Kircus, who resumed his NFL career last season after spending a year away flipping burgers (really), is free on $6,000 bail. If convicted, he could be sentenced to two to six years in prison. The restraining order also bars Kircus from drinking or possessing alcohol. The prosecution plans on filing charges later this week. ROOKIES 'BARRED' FROM MINI-CAMP BY LEAGUE: Indianapolis' Anthony Gonzalez and Green Bay running back Brandon Jackson - both in good standing with the league, barred from participating from mini-camp last weekend. Why??? They were ordered to attend a 'mandatory' photo shoot for the trading card companies at the Los Angeles Coliseum. So since when did that make any sense. Any problem with the teams getting the rookies in their gear at the team sites and have them strike a few publicity stills there??? NBC PULLS PLUG ON OVERTIME NHL GAME - DID ANYONE CARE??? To me it sounds like a no-brainer, Preakness coverage (although the race was more than 90 minutes away) where you are able to show commercials - or OT hockey, where commercials are not shown??? And the network appeased most of the potential anger by keeping the hockey on in Buffalo. And there are the cold hard facts that can't be smoothed over by a Zamboni, there were many more people with a betting interest needing an inside line on if Robby Alborado was going to be able to make his mount after falling off his horse earlier in the day. And it isn't just the NHL that has been in line to get screwed by the peacock, same thing would had happened to NASCAR had there been a rain delay and they ran into the NFL last fall, and also with the Daytona 500 if it ran late into Winter Olympics coverage. If the NHL hadn't of gone on strike (er, lockout) two years ago, they would still be on ESPN and not getting this type of treatment. Triple Crown trumps hockey in the U.S. - and the race actually wound up more exciting than Alfredsson's game winning goal.  TEAMS FROM OHIO PLAYING ON NEW TURF: You knew this was coming the second the turf fell apart during the Minnesota game and shortly thereafter had to be replaced a second time, as FieldTurf has been installed at Ohio Stadium (we know, Columbus is too far north for Bermuda grass but too far south for rye). The end zones will be painted scarlet with a block O at midfield. Ohio State had originally torn up the old hard artificial surface and installed grass in 1990 - Michigan and other Big Ten schools soon followed suit (except Wisconsin because god forbid we can't have rain cancel the fifth quarter) - but started going back towards the FieldTurf route earlier this decade (Michigan installed the turf in 2003). Bowling Green will be among other schools going back to the fake stuff this year, BGSU's decision was probably made after a nationally televised mud bath late last year which ended with the home team having no shot at a short game-winning field goal because of the conditions. The FieldTurf corporation itself has touted over 2,000 installations worldwide (not even counting competitiors such as NexTurf, RealGrass, and Momentum SportsTurf), and the fake grass has even found its way to the high school level, where now many games can be held without worry of the grass tearing apart and getting ruined in bad weather. Even Lambeau Field is converting to a hybrid that features artifical fibers sewn into a natural grass field. Heinz Field in Pittsburgh are among NFL venues with that setup. AT&T TAKES DOWN NASCAR IN COURT: Wasting no time whatsoever, the #31 car along with it's driver and pit crew will be adorned with the AT&T logo for Saturday Night's All-Star race after the telecommunications giant won two rounds over NASCAR in court on Friday and early Saturday. AT&T had taken legal action after NASCAR would not allow the company to change it's Cingular branding to AT&T earlier in the season. NASCAR would like not to allow sponsorship to rivals to series sponsor Nextel/Sprint, but grandfathered Alltel and Cingular which already had existing cars when Nextel took over sponsorship of the Cup Series. Anyone who has read this page over the last couple of months knows that I am no fan of AT&T's renewed monopoly (they are sponsoring the second of three PGA Tour events this weekend), but I have a question for backwards NASCAR - why are you fighting so hard against a sponsor begging to pour millions of dollars into your product???CLASS A TEAM SCORES 30-0 WIN: Sounds like the score I lose to in MLB07 The Show. The Lake Elsinore Storm won by four touchdowns and a safety over the Lancaster JetHawks Friday night. Lake Elsinore (Padres affiliate) came within four runs of the California League single-game record set in 1947. To add injury to insult, Lancaster's left fielder also wound up in the hospital after a nasty collision. NFL RESTRICTS WEB ACCESS TO PRESSERS: You enjoy seeing interviews and press conferences of your favorite team on your local paper's website??? You are going to have to pony up to the NFL itself now. Under new guidelines set up by the league, credentialed Web sites can only use up to 45 seconds per day of audio/video of interviews or press conferences involving NFL employees, players and coaches, as well as practice footage. The media content cannot be used live and may only be archived for 24 hours. In other words hardly anything, I'm guessing the ruling will also affect radio or TV stations airing of midweek press conferences. In recent years, the league has cracked down on local stations ability of broadcasting game footage from their own cameras, forcing stations to use TV telecast footage when doing features on players - which is kind of problematic if the story is on a lineman, who are rarely isoed by the cameras.  CUBS BLOW HUGE NINTH INNING LEAD!!! Somebody tell me why Ryan Dempster has a street named after him in suburban Chicago??? Anyways the biggest arsonist this side of Derrick Turnbow comes in at Shea Stadium to open the ninth with the Cubs holding a seemingly safe 5-1 lead and the following happens: Single, line out, single, walk, another walk (5-2), and single (5-3). Scott Eyre then comes in and promptly gives up two more hits to finish the meltdown. And notice Scott 'Air' always has to pitch for someone in Chicago, I'm surprised Sandberg doesn't let him wear 23, everything in that town seems to be some sort of tribute to Jordan. Meanwhile Pinella has to be reaching for the Prozac as I speak. RON SANTO CATCHING FLACK OVER PINK BATS!?!? As many of you know, MLB now runs an annual event on Mother's Day where many star players use pink bats, which are later auctioned off with the proceeds going for breast cancer research. Some players are just simply not comfortable with the bats, simply because it is not the usual bat they use - and many players want their wood just right. Well after the Cubs were shut down for the first few innings on Sunday, Ron Santo suggested on the radio broadcast that the Cubs shelve the bats, saying that he doesn't believe pink bats could possibly be good wood. Play-by-play partner Pat Hughes responded by telling Santo that he always uses pink golf clubs. Not long after, angry e-mails began to flood the Pat and Ron Show e-mail bin. Hughes has come to Santo's defense, saying that he was only frustrated by the Cubs losing the previous two days - and it should be added that considering Santo's own well-documented health problems he did not mean any offense. Still, I'm curious to know the stats of players who used pink bats on Sunday, I bet then tend to be lower than average - maybe they should just let them wear pink batting helmets next year, the bats only happen to be a MLB players life.SOSA GOES YARD IN 45TH PARK: Just when you thought Sammy Sosa had flat out run out of places to hit home runs. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays decided to schedule their three-game series with Texas this week for a stadium in the Disney World Complex where the Braves normally play spring training games. Too bad Sammy didn't go deep when the Cubs opened in Tokyo a few years back. Of the current 30 MLB parks in operation, Sammy has only failed to go yard in Busch Stadium III and RFK Stadium. Deceased stadiums where Sammy has homered include old Comiskey Park, the old Arlington Stadium, Milwaukee County Stadium, Fulton County Stadium, the Kingdome, Baltimore Memorial Stadium, Olympic Stadium, Jack Murphy Stadium, Riverfront Stadium, Three Rivers Stadium, Mile High Stadium, the Astrodome, Candlestick Park, Veterans Stadium, Tiger Stadium, and Busch Stadium II.  BREAKING - STREAKER AT BREWERS/PHILLIES GAME: Struck before the top of the seventh at Citizens Bank Park, I say send him to Miller Park and run him against the racing sausages.FAVRE CHANGES MIND - NOW HE SAYS HE'LL BE AT CAMP: Turns out Brittney's high school graduation is TWO WEEKS AWAY, but BF wanted to be around for the parties and banquets leading up to it. Favre's decision to attend minicamp will spare Mike McCarthy of having to deal with what 'could have become a tense situation'. I'm guessing Favre will be doubtful for most of the pre-season games, he's got to help Britt get off to college. STEVE YOUNG SAYS FAVRE A 'MADE MAN': Would that make #4 a Caporegime??? Explaining in a radio interview Favre's agenda - Young says Favre is not being selfish, but that he just wants to win this year while the Packers are looking well beyond 2007. FAVRE TANTRUM PUTS BREWERS 'IN THEIR PLACE': Like Derrick Turnblow's meltdowns haven't already done that (designate D-Blow for assignment NOW). In case you are wondering how the '82 Brewers World Series appearance managed to trump the Packers, that just happened to be the year the NFL was on strike, which actually gave the baseball team some rare undivided attention. And baseball was king in Wisconsin in 1957, when the pre-Lombardi Packers were perennial losers and back page news. Today, even in mid-May, the Favre watch is as strong as ever, Turnbow's just hoping #4 continues to make news this week.LESS TIME ON THE CLOCK??? As a possible precurser to moving the first round of the draft to a Friday night, commissioner considering reducing first round from 15 to 10 minutes. This year's first round lasted a record six hours, the first three rounds 11 hours in all.  WINTHROP HOOPS PLAYER DEAD AFTER CAR CRASH: Winthrop guard DeAndre Adams has died three days after a horrific car accident. Adams, 20, was returning to his home in Georgia when his car left the road, flipped and hit a tree. Adams suffered massive head injuries and 'took a turn for the worse' Tuesday night according to the A.D. The sophomore played in all 35 games last season, including Winthrop's first-round NCAA tournament victory over Notre Dame.GRIFFEY SENDS JOCK TO ANNOYING FAN: After hearing someone heckle him while on the on-deck circle before his first three at-bats at Dodger Stadium, Ken Griffey sends the equipment man to get the fan an XX-large jockstrap. The fan is proud of himself and it's said he has a page documenting the encounter on MySpace. Memo to the humanoid fans - if opposing players are sending you jockstraps or autographed baseballs asking which gas station you work at, that is NOT a form of flattery. #18 CAR WON'T COME IN BLUE HORSESHOE COLORS: Owner of PDM Racing wanted royal blue and white paint scheme on Jimmy Kite's #18 Indy 500 entry with a simple message saying 'Go Colts' - however the NFL would not sign off on the deal, citing sponsorship concerns. The Colts VP of sales and marketing notes that several race teams each year ask for sponsorship, and says to allow a race team to do so may cause a conflict of interest with other official sponsors of the team. The NFL has made sponsorship deals in the world of golf and auto racing before - most notably Payne Stewart and Joe Gibbs racing. And who will be the grand marshall and waive the green flag on race day??? Peyton Manning.  HAMMER COMES DOWN ON AMARE, DIAW, HORRY: Sounds like a pretty good trade for San Antonio, eh - as 'Cheap Shot Rob' has found another way to significantly help his team besides hitting a game-winning three. Stoudemire does get docked for one-game along with the other two players for heading onto the court after Horry's textbook hip check into Steve Nash in the waning seconds of Game 4. Amare's alibi was that he was going to the scorer's table to check into the game, but there are no alibi's in David Stern's world. |
