Category: Sports

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

Juicy stuff

So, how long before we hear the words: “If the tape ain’t admitted, he must be acquitted”?

Some other flotsam from O.J. Simpson’s arrest on suspicion of robbing some memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room:

• NBC’s Jay Leno, on wildly differing accounts of what transpired: “Luckily, Patriots coach Bill Belichick was there and videotaped the whole thing.”

• Among the T-shirt offerings already available on eBay: “When O.J. goes to Vegas, he stays in Vegas.”

• ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser, during Monday night’s Eagles-Redskins game, on the state of the NFL: “The Packers are 2-0, the 49ers are 2-0, the Cowboys are 2-0, and O.J. is back in jail. It’s like we’re back in the mid-’90s again.”

Sideline Chatter

Nothing much

I heard a caller yesterday on a sports radio talk program say that if the NFL had been serious about Belichick and the Patriots cheating, they would have taken the W away. Amen.

Tiger Woods is just unbelievable. If you’re not a fan, you should be. He is the greatest most dominant athlete of our times. A new championship (the FedEx Cup) and $11 million and change on the line and Woods has the best four rounds of his already unbelievable career. (He shot a personal best 257 for a 72-hole tournament, 23 under par.)

Best line of the day, so far

“How bad was it? It was Gila Bend in July.”

Greg Hansen in the Tucson Arizona Daily Star on last night’s loss by Arizona at home to the New Mexico Lobos 29-27.

“How bad was it? With 13 minutes remaining, the large video scoreboard displayed its weekly ‘Hit of the Game.’ It was a highlight from the little leaguers who scrimmaged at halftime.”

[In 3¼ seasons Arizona coach Mike Stoops is 9-24 against I-A opponents.]

Losers

“The demolition of Michigan’s national championship hopes Saturday allowed several other coaches to fly under the condemnation radar after pitiful performances by their teams to open the season. Guys who should be sending fruit baskets to Ann Arbor include:”

Charlie Weis, Notre Dame
Al Groh, Virginia
Mike Stoops, Arizona
Bobby Bowden, Florida State
and others.

Read what Pat Forde has to say.

Of course, “Nobody feels worse than Carr, and nobody should. He took a career-long penchant for playing down to the level of his opponent to a historic extreme.”

Most Amazing Comeback Outcome in Football History

On a cool evening in November of 1994, two high school football teams clashed in one of the most exciting games ever played. With 2:42 left in the game and down by 24 points to John Tyler, fans on the Plano East side of the field had given up hope. After all, how could their team score 4 touchdowns in two and a half minutes?

Hammer Uncut

Watch it until the end!

Stuff about Stuff

Speculation is that new iPods will be introduced next Wednesday so don’t go out and buy one this weekend. People are guessing they’ll have full-size screens like the iPhone.

Though we are less certain of the specifications for the new sixth generation iPod, it may closely resemble the iPhone (without calling features). Specifically, we expect the sixth gen iPod to be a widescreen device with multitouch technology. It may also have Wi-Fi capability and the capacity could be as high as 160GB.

AllThingsD

Test Your Internet Speed. The test said my download speed was 6.03 Mbps and my upload speed 2.08 Mbps.

Four Hands Guitar.

All-Time Great College Football Quotes. Example: “Football is not a contact sport-it is a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport.” — Duffy Daugherty, Michigan State.

The HubbleSite has a nice feature about Tonight’s sky. It’s a short film each month on what to look for among the constellations, deep sky objects, planets, and events. And I learned about the Teapot.

August 18th

… of Rosalynn Carter; she’s 80.

… of Robert Redford; he’s 70. Redford has been nominated for two directing Oscars, winning for Ordinary People. His only acting nomination was for The Sting.

… of Rockabilly great Johnny Preston, singer of the classic “Running Bear.” He’s 68.

… of Martin Mull; he’s 64.

… of Patrick Swayze; he’s 55.

… of Madeleine Stowe; she’s 49.

… of Edward Norton; he’s 38. Norton has both a leading and a supporting Oscar nomination but no wins yet.

… of Christian Slater; he too is 38.

Roberto Clemente should have been 73 today. The Puerto Rican born Baseball Hall of Fame inductee won four National League batting titles, was MVP in 1966 and finished his shortened career with exactly 3,000 hits. Clemente died at age 38 in a plane crash while delivering supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua on New Year Year’s Eve 1972.

Antonio Salieri was born on this date in 1750. After his characterization as a villain in Peter Shaffer’s play and film Amadeus, it seems Salieri has made a bit of a comeback. According to a December 2003 article at Guardian Unlimited and other sources, while there was competition between the upstart Mozart and the established artist Salieri in Vienna, there was cooperation, too; that is, what transpired between them was typical office politics.

Meriwether Lewis was born on this date in 1774. Lewis had this to say on his 31st birthday 202 years ago today, camped just east of Lemhi Pass near the present-day Montana-Idaho border. (From the Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Online at the University of Nebraska.)

This day I completed my thirty first year, and conceived that I had in all human probability now existed about half the period which I am to remain in this Sublunary world. I reflected that I had as yet done but little, very little indeed, to further the hapiness of the human race, or to advance the information of the succeeding generation. I viewed with regret the many hours I have spent in indolence, and now soarly feel the want of that information which those hours would have given me had they been judiciously expended. but since they are past and cannot be recalled, I dash from me the gloomy thought and resolved in future, to redouble my exertions and at least indeavour to promote those two primary objects of human existence, by giving them the aid of that portion of talents which nature and fortune have bestoed on me; or in future, to live for mankind, as I have heretofore lived for myself.—

His birthday doubts are made all the more poignant, of course, with the knowledge that just more than four years later Lewis took his own life at age 35.

‘Topes round up

A guy at the Isotopes games last night had a tattoo (among others) on his upper arm. It was a baby’s footprints — like you get with a newborn at the hospital. Kinda cool.

Oh, and the ‘Topes lost 10-4 to the Round Rock Express when the Express broke open a 4-4 tie with 5 runs in the 8th. There was a small crowd as the new school year began yesterday in Albuquerque. The paid attendance was announced at 6,964, but that included a lot of no shows. We were in the fifth row behind the visitor’s dugout (for $11 each).

Tim Raines Jr. was the Round Rock lead off hitter. His dad was a National League All Star for seven seasons and is still fifth all-time in career stolen bases. Tim Jr. went one for five, but drove in two runs with that one hit, a double.

The red chile won.

Things I would change if I ran the team:

  • Playing the same cut of music for each Isotopes player EVERY time he comes to the plate.
  • Confiscating specialty food from fans entering the park — like diet bars. I realize they need to sell concessions, but come on …
  • Having 9-year-olds sing the national anthem when they haven’t a clue what they are singing (good voice or not).
  • Sending all the ushers to the front of each aisle between innings to watch the crowd. They need brown shirts, not orange to do this.

Even more stuff

Take a Cognitive Mental Abilities IQ test from the International High IQ Society. 36 questons; takes about 12-15 minutes. Yes, it gives you your result as an IQ. (I refer to the eCMA test.)

A video of a half-time show in Korea that has to be better than the game could have been — Incredible Halftime Show.

The books may be over but J.K. Rowling goes Beyond Hogwarts in interviews.

Oh, and from Scholastic, “find out how to say Hermione, Eeylops, and Azkaban, using our handy” Harry Potter: Pronunciation Guide.

Worried About iPod Theft? Hide It In a Zune!.

Snuggly. The Security Bear.