Category: Sports

Commentary and news about sports and sports teams — and media coverage of them.

12,000 and other idle chatter

NewMexiKen has 11,999 songs (tracks) in my iTunes library. And while I have more CDs to import, I thought I should celebrate by getting something special from the iTunes store for number 12,000. Any ideas?

I spilled a lot of bird feed yesterday and this morning the film crew for the remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds is sizing up my backyard — a dozen mourning doves, sparrows, finches, a partridge or two, scrub jays.

Apple stock rose more than 8 percent in the first hour this morning on yesterday’s earnings report of $1.01 a share. I keep thinking it’s peaked and “now” would be a bad time to buy — and it’s up nearly 30% in a month. As Jimmy Jones sang:

Oh you need timin’
A tick a tick a tick of good timin’
Timin’ timin’ timin’ timin’
Timin’ is the thing it’s true
Good timin’ brought me to you

Big fuss because J.K. Rowling told an audience Dumbledore was gay. That’s a surprise? Didn’t people read the books?

The Cleveland Indians logo, Chief Wahoo, has got to go. Can you imagine them getting away with that type of a caricature with African or Asian-Americans or Hispanics (think of the fuss over Sambo or the Frito Bandito)?

Overnight Annie and SnoLepard added some interesting pairs in the comments to the Whom would you rather be? list.

World Series Ticket Update

This morning, after more than 8.5 million hits on the Colorado Rockies website, Paciolan (Pack-ee-o-lan), Major League Baseball’s ticket vendor, experienced a system wide outage that impacted all of its North American customers. As a result, the Colorado Rockies have suspended the sale of 2007 World Series tickets scheduled to be played at Coors Field.

The Official Site of The Colorado Rockies

Pretty much the same thing happened to Cleveland’s pitching staff.

Best comeback to a boss at a staff meeting line of the day, so far

Coach Lombardi to team at first meeting: “This is a football.”

Max McGee: “Not so fast, not so fast.”

McGee, the Green Bay receiver, died in a fall from the roof of his home yesterday at age 75. He was cleaning the roof of leaves — and let that be a lesson to us all: leave the leaves where they fall.

McGee scored the first touchdown in the first Super Bowl.

Tip from Jill.

Best McCarver line of the day, so far

My favorite one ever was when Tim McCarver said, in the 2003 World Series, “Beckett’s retired 19 batters through Six and a third innings, he’s having a phenomonal night…”
 
Of course, Beckett hadn’t retired 19 straight, nor was “straight” ever said. The very definition of Six and a third innings is that 19 batters have been retired… every pitcher who has ever pitched Six and a third has retired 19 batters, regardless of if they were throwing a perfect game or were losing 20-0. Phenomonal indeed!

ShutupTimMcCarver.com

Most indicative line of the day, so far

“It’s six in a row retired by Beckett — tailing fastball to Gutierrez. (Pause) I said six in a row — that’s ten in a row. One more time, the third time’s the charm — nine in a row retired by Beckett.”

—Tim McCarver last night

300 million people in this country and Tim McCarver is covering baseball’s premier games.

The World Serious

NewMexiKen is hoping — against long odds I’m sure — to get World Series tickets for a game in Denver. They’re being sold strictly online beginning Monday.

I’ve been to one World Series game — 1972 in Oakland vs. the Cincinnati Reds. It cost $10 from a guy unloading tickets — and I hesitated. Five hall-of-famers to be (Bench, Morgan, Perez, Hunter and Fingers), a hall-of-fame manager (Anderson) and Pete Rose played in that game. Reggie Jackson was there, but injured and did not play.

Prices in Denver range from $90 to $250. (Not counting what they call the Rockpile in deep centerfield. It’s only $65.)

Best I don’t think he thought through what he’s saying line of the day, so far

“We gave up 24 points there in the blink of an eye, but we’ve had losses worse than this one.”

University of Arizona linebacker Spencer Larsen quoted by Greg Hansen in his Arizona Daily Star column after the Wildcats lost to Oregon State 31-16.

Hansen himself has a pretty foolish line:

“A week ago you might have bought stock in the UA football program. Today you would probably sell at a deficit. If the Wildcats get to something like 5-7, winning three more games, [Coach] Stoops would be a miracle worker.”

So, if I understand that correctly, Stoops would be responsible for the 5, but not the 7 in his fourth season as head coach?

Eyes on the NFL

While you’re watching the “big game,” the players are watching the cheerleaders, the crowd is watching the jumbotron, and the coaches are watching… well, the other team’s coaches (with or without the aid of cameras).

What’s more, the game is also watching YOU. Below are 12 “eyes” as depicted on the helmet logos of NFL teams. Match the team to the image by typing in the corresponding number in the white blanks.

Take the Eyes on the NFL quiz.

Keeping things in proportion

EUGENE, Ore. — One of the first people in the press box today was the Pac-10 Commissioner, Tom Hansen.

Two weeks ago in Gainesville, I sat next to SEC Commissioner Mike Slive at the Florida-Tennessee game. He’d taken a private plane in from Birmingham that morning and gotten a police escort to the stadium. Hansen?

“My private jet is called Southwest,” he said with a smile.

The Quad

The Bottom 10

Thanks to an item at Sideline Chatter, NewMexiKen learned that Steve Harvey’s The Bottom 10 (Colleges) is back. This is from last Thursday (follow the link to see the rankings):

On strike for 13 years, Bottom Ten selectors were so inspired by the miserable Fighting Rash of Notre Dame (0-3) that they put aside their grievances about press box hot dogs and went back to ranking the worst football teams in the nation.

Charlie Weis’ weaklings, to no one’s surprise, were rated No. 1, just ahead of the red-faced Orangemen of Syracuse (0-3). The teams could well meet in the postseason Woes Bowl, tentatively set for Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

The Bottom Ten is a set of rankings based on second-hand information, rumors, gossip and grudges. In other words, it is compiled in much the same manner as the top 10 rankings.

The Bottom Ten, by the way, should not be confused with the Big Ten, though both are composed of horrible teams.

Where do they get these guys?

NewMexiKen has been listening to the radio broadcast of the California-Arizona football game on the Cal network. We all misspeak, but really …

“He hit the right crossbar.” (Isn’t it the right upright?)

“The motivation has changed.” (Isn’t it the momentum that changes?)

“Tuitama is over center.” (Aren’t quarterbacks under center?)

And all these in the first half.

Tiger Woods Looking For More Competitive Golf Tour

“Don’t get me wrong—I love to play golf, I love to win, and I’ve loved the time I’ve spent on the PGA Tour, but winning this easily isn’t making me any better,” said Woods, adding that he has been searching online and making numerous phone calls to locate a golf tour where the players are “at least twice as good as the opponents I’ve faced up until now.” “It’s not about the money, as I’ll play for free if I know I’m being pushed to even half of my ability.” Woods added that he would consider playing certain PGA Tour events next year if Commissioner Tim Finchem allows him to spot the field 10 strokes, play at night, and use only a single golf ball and a 2-iron.

The Onion – America’s Finest News Source