'THE EDGE' (COMING SOON!!) |
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CUBS MANAGER LEE ELIA 4/29/83 (WARNING XL!!!) TIPS APPRECIATED!!! |
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ZAMBRANO/BARRETT FIGHT  |
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TOP STORIES - JUNE 2, 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  PINIELLA KICKS BLUE!?!? Cubs lose sixth in a row, but the Cubs ineptness on the field is overshadowed yet again after Lou Piniella throws one of his famous tantrums in the eighth inning. Now the question is whether he kicked umpire Mark Wegner while kicking up dust during the outburst. Crew Chief Bruce Froemming said he did, noting 'He made physical contact with the third-base umpire' and added he will contact Major League Baseball offices 'immediately'. Counters Lou 'Froemming is the one that put his hands on me'. The crowd chanted 'Lou' while throwing garbage from the bleachers, delaying the game seven minutes. Froemming and Piniella, that would be a battle for the ages, literally. Meanwhile Carlos Zambrano and catcher Michael Barrett were both fined after yesterdays dust-up - but it sounds like they've already kissed and made up, with Barrett explaining that the incident occurred because 'they're like brothers', comparing the situation to a sibling rivalry.BAD NEWS CUBS - SCUFFLE WITH ZAMBRANO LANDS BARRETT IN HOSPITAL: After another sub-par perfromance, Carlos Zambrano busts catcher Michael Barrett's lip in the clubhouse so badly that Barrett wound up making a trip to the ER for repairs. Zambrano was seen pointing at Barrett's head in the dugout, while Barrett pointed toward the field. Shoving ensues, with Zambrano's fist locked and loaded as they were being separated. Manager Lou Piniella and others then escort Z to the clubhouse. Moments later an attendant emerges from the clubhouse to tell Pinella something, and he and other club personnel rushed back to the locker room. At that point Lou also banished Barrett, and both players expect to be disciplined, which could cost Z a chance to pitch a three-hit shutout against the Brewers next week. Zambrano was shelled for 13 hits in five innings in the Cubs 8-5 loss.  UPDATE - BARRETT GOT TWO SHINERS??? Sounds like what was seen in the dugout was really just the warm-up. If what ESPN radio in Chicago is reporting, Zambrano REALLY went to town - as it's being reported that Barrett has not one, but TWO black eyes along with stitches for the cut lip. We can only hope Barrett is out of the ICU by now, Vince McMahon or whatever backwater wrestling oufit A.J. Pierzynski and Dale Torborg are in could not have scripted an incident any better. I really don't see Z pitching in Milwaukee on Wednesday, and one has to think he's definitely done with the Cubs at years end. So who would want to sign a hot-headed pitcher for 4 years/$45 million??? Uh, the White Sox would probably be a good fit - at least until Z shakes off Pierzynski one too many times or Ozzie Guillen has enough of his 5+ ERA.15-YEAR OLD W/HEART DEFECT PLAYS IN LPGA EVENT: Her name is MacKinzie Kline, she is a 15-year old from California who gets around with supplemental oxygen because of a congenital heart defect. She also has a pretty good golf game. Kline participated in this weeks LPGA tournament event with a sponsors exemption that was offered personally via phone by tournament host Annika Sorenstam. For the first time, the LPGA allowed a participant to use a cart to get around the golf course. Kline shot 86 and 89 in her two rounds, which of course means she will not be allowed a sponsor's exemption for the remainder of the year because she exceeded the LPGA's suddenly well-known '88' rule. Kline was born with a condition that left her heart with one ventricle instead of two. Her liver was also transverse and she does not have a spleen. Kline had two open-heart surgeries before the age of two, and a hole in Kline's heart was recently discovered and had to be fixed in yet another operation. Doctors do not expect Kline to live past age 30. Kline began playing golf at the age of five and considers herself 'a lucky girl'. Tournament officials told Kline she has nothing to be ashamed of and the golfer said she was thrilled with the experience. Kline also didn't withdraw before the final hole, more than what can be said of that other bratty teenager this week. KEY WITNESSES NOT CONTACTED IN HANCOCK CASE??? As reported earlier this week, Mike Shannon's restaurant is off the hook in regards to any wrongdoing in the Josh Hancock case. But questions remain, such as why potential key witnesses such as ESPN's Dave Campbell were reportedly not contacted. WIE: 'WE'RE NOT GOING TO PLAY ANYMORE...' Who is exactly 'we' anyways - maybe she's also blaming her caddy, dad, and coach for her dismal performance at her performance in her return to the LPGA Tour. Shooting 14-over par through 16 holes, Michelle Wie withdraws, claiming that she had reaggravated her wrist injury. But there's more to the story, she was on pace to shoot an 88 if she had bogeyed the last two holes. Per LPGA rules, non-members are banned for the rest of the year if they shoot 88 or higher. There were also some prized casualties on the PGA Tour, as both Phil Mickelson and Masters winner Zach Johnson cashed out during the first round of the Memorial. Mickelson also came down with a bum wrist while Zach cited strep throat.  WANT TO GET AWAY??? Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach Larry Zierlein is probably looking for discount airline tickets as I speak - why??? Using his WORK computer, Zierlein tried to send a raunchy e-mail to someone which had an attachment containing a sex video to another Steelers employee. But the 61-year old Zierlein says he hit a wrong button - and the e-mail found it's way to numerous NFL employees, including the general managers of other teams and commissioner Roger Goodell. Oops - never have liked those group e-mail destinations. Larry says he will only use his work computer for football business from now on.SHANNON'S RESTAURANT CLEARED IN HANCOCK CASE: A state investigation found no evidence that workers at Mike Shannon's restaurant knew Josh Hancock was drunk when they served the Cardinals pitcher in the hours prior to his fatal accident. Last week Hancock's father sued a number of people, including the restaurant, the towing company whose Hancock's vehicle plowed into, the tow-truck operator, and the motorist whose car stalled and was being attended to by the tow-truck. MAGIC MAKE BILLY DONOVAN DISAPPEAR FROM UF!!! You may remember Donovan looked to be safe from bolting anywhere after shooting down overtures from the University of Kentucky mere days after the Gators second straight national championship. Well that was at least until the Orlando Magic showed up with so much cash that Billy could not possibly refuse (developing...) LAST NIGHT - DONOVAN 'UNAWARE OF ANY CONTACT': At an SEC get-together Wednesday, Donovan said the following: 'I know nothing Anybody can say anything. If you said to me someone made a comment about that, maybe I would respond. But I'm not going to make any response or comment on sources. A lot of times there's speculation out there, and a lot of times there's nothing to the speculation.' And sometimes there is.AMAECHI TO LEAD SALT LAKE GAY RIGHTS PARADE: Amaechi still has fond memories of Salt Lake despite his struggles on the basketball court. Amaechi returns this weekend to serve as the grand marshal for the Utah Pride Parade. Forever known for it's conservatism, Salt Lake has been identified as a gay-friendly destination in just the last decade. Mayor Rocky Anderson supports gay rights, and Census numbers suggest the city now has a significant number of gay households. Amaechi adds that former Jazz legend Karl Malone and his wife have been among those to show their support since Amaechi came out earlier this year. NO AMERICANS IN PARIS... If you were looking for just one U.S. tennis player to go even relatively deep into the French Open, you can quit holding your breath already - it's already all over, as all nine American entries on the men's side have literally bit the dust (OK, red clay) in Round 1. Yes, that is a cool 0-9 if you are scoring at home. The final hope was snuffed out early today after his match was suspended by darkness on Wednesday. INFORMANTS COMING FORWARD IN VICK CASE??? Perhaps yet another potentially damaging development against Michael Vick was reported on a Norfolk TV station last night as the prosecutor in the case says he's got informants volunteering to come forward with evidence that Michael Vick has been involved in dogfights. The prosecutor also explained why he did not execute a search warrant earlier in the week. Citing a possible 'domino effect', and adding that he doesn't want to make the same mistake that occurred in the Duke lacrosse case, the prosecutor said he did not like the language in the warrant - and noted that if one searched was deemed to be unconstitutional, then all subsequent searches would then also be illegal and the case would fall apart.  A-ROD WITH A BLONDE BOMB??? New York tabloid runs photo of Alex Rodriguez with a 'msyterious blonde' who is not his wife in Toronto. It's said the pair got together when the team landed Sunday night and went to a high-class steak restaurant, before hitting a strip club and ending up at the 'posh' Four Seasons hotel, accross the street from the team hotel. You would think that would be enough controversy for one day, but Alex also stirred up trouble during the game Wednesday as the Yanks averted what would had been an embarrasing sweep. While running the bases in the ninth inning, Alex took a page out of Rutgers woman's basketball playbook (allegedly distracting a Duke player into two missed free throws to make the Final Four) and shouted towards a Blue Jays infielder trying to field a pop-up. Thinking a teammate was calling him off, the ball ends up dropping for a hit (can't call an error for a mental misplay) and the player (see picture) got very mad at Alex - you can almost swear he's saying 'Hey that was my wife!!!!'. Yankees proceed to score three runs to seal the 10-5 win. Says Toronto manager John Gibbons (venting towards players on the other team for once) 'The thing about the Yankees, one of the reasons they're so respected, is they do things right. They've got a lot of pride and a lot of class. They play the game hard. That's not Yankee pride right there. That's not the way they play. I thought it was bush league.' Throwing elbows on double plays, distracting infielders, possible extra-marital relationships on the side - perhaps A-Rod should change his moniker to A.J...THE CUBAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE??? With a little time on his hands since the Mavericks got eliminated first round, Cuban is said to be in the preliminary stages of starting a new pro football league called the UFL which would play on Friday nights and would compete with the NFL for players drafted in the third round or later. It's said that Cuban's theory is that there is a bigger demand than supply for more professional football. There have been many attempts at competition for the NFL, such as the WFL, USFL, XFL etc. - but other than the old AFL none have been hugely successful. Also competing against college football and Friday night high school ball may be a hard sell for many. It is said that Cuban is the only prospective owner lined up for the league which would begin play in August, 2008.  35 FORMER NFL PLAYERS QUALIFY FOR DEMENTIA ASSISTANCE: Players Association president Gene Upshaw admits that he didn't know the extent of the problem which first got widespread attention just before the Super Bowl. Since the formation just four months ago of the '88' plan to help retired players identified with long-term brain injury from their playing days, 35 have been approved for aid, with 19 more applications pending and 103 potential candidates identified. The heightened interest in the subject follows the suicides of former players Terry Long and Andre Waters, who autoposied showed had suffered brain damage. Reports concluded he had brain damage that resulted from multiple concussions during 12 years as an NFL safety. It was also reported earlier this year that 34-year-old Ted Johnson, a 10-year linebacker with the New England Patriots, was in early signs of Alzheimer's. FIFA BLOWS WHISTLE ON HIGH ALTITUDE GAMES: If a 15-play drive at a mere 5,200 feet was enough to do in a NFL offensive lineman hopeful in Denver a couple years back, you can just imagine soccer somewhere in the Andes mountains. In a move that has totally outraged Latin American nations, soccer's governing body drops a ban on international games played at altitudes greater than 8,200 feet (an even 2,500 meters). The ban would eliminate World Cup qualifiers along with other international games in the capital cities of Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Columbia. Mexico City is safe from the ban but would lose one quality venue that is above the 8,200 feet threshold. Teams from Brazil and Argentina have been among those who over the years have complained about playing road games in the thin air. The movement 'gained altitude' after a Brazilian club team was forced to play a road tournament game in freezing rain at over 13,000 feet earlier this year (Don't mountain climbers brag about doing '13's'??). The argument from Bolivia, Ecuador, Columbia etc. is that playing in high heat and humidity at sea level poses just as many potential health risks. Protests were held Wednesday in the affected cities, with politicians among others running through the streets and climbing local hills. Columbia's capital city lies at 8,600 feet where 8,000,000 people appearantly get around fine. Bolivia's capital La Paz (whose stadium is seen at right) lies over 11 where over 1,000,000 live, Quito, Ecuador (1.5 million) checks in at over 9,000 feet. All three countries have venues at lower altitudes, but most are away from the population centers. It should be noted that the Winter Olympics (skiing in particular) are often held at high altitude. Olympic athletes, cyclists, and boxers, among others have been known over the years for training in the thin air. Now when does the NFL outlaw playoff games where the temperature can potentially drop below zero.KOBE DOES DEMAND TRADE: He was saying yesterday that he did not make that statement over the weekend, but now he has said it as clear as day on national radio. Kobe says he was told that Phil Jackson will be let go and the team is embarking on a long-term rebuilding program, information that he was not privy to. Says Kobe 'Actions speak louder than words'. Maybe Jerry was too buzzed to get the news over to Bryant. Later on in the day, Kobe reverses course and says he wants to stay in L.A. after all. JEANNIE'S DAD GETS DUI: Jerry Buss fails sobriety test after being pulled over at 12:50 a.m. near downtown Carlsbad. Buss first got attention of the officers after failing to turn off the high beams (that alone will do it) of his Mercedes-Benz E320. Officers then observed Buss taking a wide turn and crossing over a double yellow line. NEW SEARCH WARRANT NOT YET EXECUTED ON VICK PROPERTY: Virginia investigators plan to search for a possible 30 dog carcasses that were believed to used for dogfighting. The warrant says seven of the pit bulls were destroyed and buried in shallow graves on or about April 23, two days before investigators originally searched the property. In that search, investigators found no less than 66 dogs and evidence of dogfighting.MARQUISE HILL DROWNING RULED ACCIDENTAL: In the third off-field death involving a NFL player (and fourth professional athlete) since January 1, the body of Patriots DE Marquise Hill was found in Lake Pontchartrain at 2:15 PM Monday, 17 hours after first being reported missing after he and a female companion were thrown off their jet-ski. One report said that Hill was briefly rescued, but jumped back in the water realizing that his partner was still in trouble. The woman was later found clinging onto a pylon. Although considered a strong swimmer, the former LSU star was likely done in by the salt water lake's vicious currents. Also, both occupants were not wearing life jackets, state regulations require lifejackets and that jetski riders return to shore one-half hour before sunset. It is said that the accident occurred nearly an hour after the 7:53 sunset. Although Lake Pontchartrain is considered a shallow lake with an average depth of only 12-14 feet, the accident occurred in a shipping channel where the depth is upwards to 90 feet. The Patriots are scheduled to resume off-season OTA's this weekend. A.J.'s OLD 'STOMPING GROUNDS': And we mean literally, as White Sox catcher A-Hole Pierzynski decided to make it a habit to possibly attempt to spike the foot of Twins first baseman Justin Morneau not once, but twice during Monday's game. J.A. claims it was just accidental and it is simply his bad rap coming up to bite him again. Perhaps, but I have a feeling that even Albert Belle thinks this guy is over the top.  PICTURE OF THE DAY... The Woody Paige's of the world were out in full force on TV Monday saying IRL was bush in declaring the Indy 500 over after 166 laps, saying that open-wheel racing's biggest event should be ran in it's entirety and that the 300,000 in attendence 'have no lives', and could easily fork up another night's ransom at the local hotels and returned Monday. But the rain-induced finish did have it's benefits, mainly a joyous Ashley Judd, soaked dress and all - celebrating husband Dario Franchitti's victory. You could call Dario's victory cheap, but what was everyone else thinking having their drivers pit??? They could see it getting dark - usually rains when that happens. How about investing in an on-line connection so you can look at the radar???WALKER, TRUCK SERIES DRIVER SUSPENDED FOR DRUG USE... Tyler Walker suspended indefinitely for violating NASCAR's substance abuse policy. JAZZ FANS BLAME REFS FOR LOSS: Perhaps buying into the conspircacy theory that the league simply doesn't want ratings-killing Salt Lake City involved in the NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs got to the charity stripe 25 times in the fourth quarter, methodically pulling away to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals. Derek Fisher and coach Jerry Sloan were ejected in seperate incidents, and fans took to throwing projectiles at the Spurs after the final buzzer, including a container of lip balm directed at San Antonio cheap-shot artist Bruce Bowen. Lip balm??? Just wait until Bowen gets to Detroit... |
