The role of agitator in today’s NHL is one of the more underrated but vital ones on a roster.
The best agitators make their opponents want to tear their head off. Not because they’re super-skilled on the ice, mind you, but because of those “other” attributes.
The smirks, the skirmishes and scrums after the whistle, and yes, the hits. Oh, those hits.
Matt Cooke is among the top handful of agitators in the league. But for as valuable as his “job” is toSource: Kukla's Korner RSS Feed
UPDATE: ND AD Jack Swarbrick told the SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE late Saturday that he hadn’t started a coaching search.
“Any version of anything you hear in the contact with a coach are absolutely false. We haven’t talked to anybody. We haven’t authorized anybody to talk to anybody. It’s simply not true.”
Tony Barnhart of CBS Sports reported earlier Saturday that Bob Stoops would travel to South Bend on Sunday to meet with Swarbrick about the job.
Meanwhile Weis, in Source: SPORTSbyBROOKS RSS Feed
Here’s what we know about Tiger Woods‘ apparent car crash - set against other important events currently taking place in his life.
The crash is reported to have happened at 2:30am ET. The Florida Highway Patrol did not release any info on the incident or Woods’ condition until 2pm ET, 11 1/2 hours later. By that time, Woods had already been released from the hospital in “good” condition.
Woods suffered the accident “pulling out of his driveway“. The airbags in his Source: SPORTSbyBROOKS RSS Feed
I believe where there's smoke there's fire and it appears that Luis Castillo will end up a Chicago Cub. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported today that the Mets and Cubs are still looking for a third team for the Castillo/Bradley deal. This is the third time a rumor has involved these two teams and players. It was Fox Sports who first heard the rumor that Toronto could be the second team, then the Chicago tribune believed Texas maybe involved and while this latest rumor doesn't specifySource: Mets Fever RSS Feed
Sorry, Jets fans. Bill Belichick is coming off the most highly publicized and overly criticized loss of his career. He would never tell us as much, but that kind of noise makes The Bill angry. And such a scenario usually translates to an inconsiderate thrashing of the next opponent.
Bad timing for the yappy Jets, as they need a win to stay afloat in the rapidly evaporating AFC playoff picture.
Prediction? Hell.
There’s only three other late games — Cards @ Rams,Source: The Big Lead RSS Feed
We’ve been talking a lot about Hideki Matsui over the last few weeks. In the waning days of his most recent Yankee contract, he wowed us all in Game 6 of the World Series and won MVP accolades because of it. Now, the Yankees are faced with a tough choice. Do they let their everyday DH and Japanese superstar walk or do they try to bring him back?
Yesterday, we explored this question when we examined whether we would bring back Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui if we, as the Yankees seemSource: River Avenue Blues RSS Feed
Tyler Amaya of the Bellingham Slam of the International Basketball League had 44 points in a game the other night, but that’s not the reason I’m posting a frame-by-frame of his performance.
A seated Amaya scored from the lane with an over-the-shoulder, one-handed shot with his back to the basket. For some reason I think of George Gervin when I see that shot.
Video after the jump. (more…)
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After Jim Harbaugh took a slap at Pete Carroll upon his hire at Stanford three years ago, no one should be surprised that the The Card didn’t exactly purport themselves with class during their 55-21 beatdown of USC today at the L.A. Coliseum.
The video of Stanford’s Drew Terrell and Ekom Udofia taunting USC fans today with a mock “Fight On” was preceded by Coach Harbaugh’s very own wound-salter.
(Chris Dufresne of LA TIMES, Jerome Solomon of Houston Chronicle)Source: SPORTSbyBROOKS RSS Feed
Gary Klein of the LOS ANGELES TIMES and Ted Miller of ESPN.com update us today on the condition of Stafon Johnson. Johnson and his doctors held at press conference today before the USC-Stanford game, and the news is encourage, to say the least.
Klein:
Dr. Jason Hamilton said Johnson is making tremendous progress. He no longer requires a breathing or feeding tube and is eating solid foods.
“Anyone looking at him today or heard the story would say it’s miraculous,”Source: SPORTSbyBROOKS RSS Feed
USF Coach Jim Leavitt, who has been known for a dodgy equilibrium in the past, shows off what he learned during his apparent visits to Frank Kush’s annual coaching clinic. (Too old school? Then Lou Holtz.)
This is the one time when the freeze frames are actually better than the video, which is after the jump. (more…)
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I was sent some audio from Nick Saban’s weekly radio call-in show with Eli Gold. Not sure if his s-bomb went out on-air but if it did, I’m sure Saban will be able to plead the FCC down to a secondary violation.
(Nick Saban: Wordsmith)
Gold is pictured high-fiving Saban, apparently inspired by the coach’s carefree excrement reference, affirmed with about two dozen ‘a’ights?’
Audio after the jump. (more…)
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I had to take a break from the series last week cause of that annoying paying job that I jeopardize every day spending way too much time here on TCR. So I'm gonna double up the efforts and today we look at some more potential center field candidates. Let's start with Randy Winn.
Year Age Tm G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ 1998 24 TBD 109 379 338 51 94 9 9 1 17 26 12 29 69 .278 .337 .367 .704 83 1999 25 TBD 79 324 303 44 81 16 4 2 24 9 9 17 63 .267 .307 .366 Source: The Cub Reporter RSS Feed
Taking an entirely different approach than Mike Silva, Maury Brown has been monitoring Roger Clemens’ folksy words of wisdom via Twitter, and unlike the gentleman from NY Baseball Digest, actually engaged the Rocket (above, right) in something approaching a philosophical debate.
Clemens was asked, “What is the best advice that you ever got?” Here’s the answer:
Well…a down right to the point one came from my mother- “Never get in a pissin’ contest with a skunk”Source: Can't Stop the Bleeding RSS Feed
Last week I recommended Garrett Atkins for a spot on our team, a possible upgrade over Fernando Tatis as the back-up corner infielder who might end up beating out Dan Murphy at 1B. Most of the people I spoke to about the idea either liked it or weren't against but were leery of his cost. That appears to be the same issue the Rockies are running into, apparently Atkins is to expensive going into arbitration at 7M and will probably end up non-tendered. Once a free agent I would still try toSource: Mets Fever RSS Feed
Ever wonder where the city of New York obtains mountains of confetti for what used to be called ticker tape parades to honor sporting champions, astronauts or Chain Gang’s election to the Rock’n'Roll Hall Of Fame? Me neither, but the New York Post’s Chuck Bennett and Salim Algar report Friday’s celebrations for the newly crowned Yankees included sensitive personal information landing on lower Manhattan sidewalks.
“We’re finding pay stubs. We’re finding personalSource: Can't Stop the Bleeding RSS Feed
Part of the reinvention process that Tim Brewster has been helping the Minnesota Golden Gophers undertake - and lord knows they need it - is a return to their glory days of several decades ago. That means no more Metrodome; instead, they’ve got a brand-new open-air joint, TCF Bank Stadium, with state of the art facilities. The problem, however, is that Tim Brewster is in charge of this reinvention, so literally anything is possible.
(Hey, that looks pretty nice.)
Well, that didn’t take long. Hours ago, UCF announced that His Heirness Marcus Jordan would be taking the floor in tonight’s exhibition in his dad’s Air Jordans. According to Darren Rovell at CNBC, adidas has responded… by summarily canceling their $1.9 million sponsorship with the Golden Knights.
(But what of the custom-made Air Jordans? All people get those before their freshman year, right?)
The immediate ramifications - financial and otherwise - are as yetSource: SPORTSbyBROOKS RSS Feed
Players, coaches or spectators roped in to umpire club cricket matches all want the same thing: To keep mistakes to the minimum and let the players enjoy the match. But it's tricky if you are not a qualified umpire.
No wonder you are a little reluctant to do it.
You can do a good job without having to memorise the Laws, a little preparation and application of common sense can go a long way to stopping you making the wrong decisions when under pressure.
Have a goodSource: PitchVision Academy RSS Feed
Quite a revealing day for Steve Phillips & Brooke Hundley, wasn’t it?
With his one-week suspension & following self-imposed leave of absence, Steve-O will have plenty of time to think about what he’s done - and plenty of time to track down a good divorce lawyer. Meanwhile, this experience should aid Brooke in dispensing out some more good professional advice & astute observations.
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….for the New York Post’s Marc Berman. Which other NBA quote machine is likely to make Berman his personal diarist? On Friday, Marbury slammed Mike D’Antoni, sneered at the Knicks’ chances of signing LeBron James in 2010, and compared his upcoming year out of basketball to a Michael Jordan-esque sabbatical. Upon seeing Marbury’s comments greeted with something less than reverence, Berman took to his Post blog to defend his good buddy.
(above : Stephon, engaged in iChat withSource: Can't Stop the Bleeding RSS Feed
Matt Barkley’s overconfidence.
The many pained, disappointed looks on the face of Song Girls near game’s end will make for outstanding blog fodder.
Isn’t it time Pete Carroll were knocked down a peg? How quickly people forget he failed with the Jets.
The national beatings Jimmy Clausen took for the last two years.
Because not only will they Notre Dame have to overcome all the Parade high school All-Americans, but the Pac-10 officials, too.
Yankees 4, Angels 1: The Yankees are a freaking buzzsaw. C.C. Sabathia wore his winter fat to the mound and pitched like he was worth every penny of his billion dollar contract. C.C. struck out 7 over 8 innings and only gave up the one run. The Angels had a couple of defensive miscues which you really can’t do when you’re facing the Yanks. A 5-game series would be a real accomplishment. Speaking of accomplishments - how about the Yankees having a bunch of open seats? It’ll beSource: The Big Lead RSS Feed
The return of "O" was mixed but welcomed.
I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. This has been an entertaining NBA season, led by a cavalcade of stars at the peak of their skills. LeBron and Dwight Howard crashed the MVP suite, where Kobe and KG (and even Old Man Shaq) held their ground.
There was the revival, like a Phoenix, of D-Wade (another viable MVP); and the continued brilliance of young guards like Tony Parker, Chris Paul, Deron Williams and BrandonSource: Ballers, Gamers and Scoundrels RSS Feed
Here’s some early video and photos of very attractive Brazilian female professional MMA fighter Claudia Gadelha.
Thanks to clips of her on Youtube and a recent “workout” video, Gadelha is now being compared to Gina Carano. But while Gadelha is still mostly under the radar in North America, in her home country of Brazil she’s exploded in popularity.
That phenomenon though isn’t based on her participation in sanctioned MMA fights.
(She has just one.) Gadelha hasSource: SPORTSbyBROOKS RSS Feed
The Mets need a veteran catcher who can handle delicate young pitchers and take control of a game. For this very reason the Mets were reported to be interested in Varitek until he re-signed with the Red Sox's last year.
This off-season, the Sox have a solid full time catcher ( Victor Martinez) and Varitek is an expensive extra piece. The two sides have a mutual option that if the club picks it up will be worth 5M and if they decline, with the cather accepting the option it's worth 3M.Source: Mets Fever RSS Feed
We surely hope you remember HOCKEYBEAR from a couple weeks ago. You know, the polar bear that flew through space with a galactic hockey stick and blew up the moon then destroyed the city of Anchorage? Also known as the greatest sports intro in history? All as part of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks’ hockey program?
(You just woke up Nuclear Death Bear, and that is such a terrible idea, people.)
Well, it turns out UAF’s not the only sports outfit in Fairbanks withSource: SPORTSbyBROOKS RSS Feed
A visit to the U.S. by our friends on the Greek basketball club Olympiakos is always pleasant and heartwarming, and came this year with the usual exchange of gifts. We threatened to take their uniforms and other property, and they gave us death threats. See you again next year!
Olympiakos lost both of its exhibition games against NBA teams this week, then headed to the airport after narrowly avoiding having their property seized to settle an outstanding debt. Former American NBA playerSource: SPORTSbyBROOKS RSS Feed
If you want to get to know one of the IPL teams better, there’s only one thing to do: you watch the video of their theme tune.
Royal Challengers Bangalore have a good one. Rahul Dravid looks moody for about 0.1 of a second somewhere in the middle and Kevin Pietersen plays a pull shot right at the end, but otherwise it’s just this:
And this:
Royal Challengers Bangalore are all about skirts which serve no discernable purpose.
Source: King Cricket RSS Feed
While taking in the fourth quarter of the Giants rout of the hapless Raiders - for fantasy football purposes, only - the announcers noted that the game had devolved into a battle of No. 1 draft picks: David Carr (2002) and JaMarcus Russell (2007). Which one of those guys was the worst QB drafted No. 1 overall this decade? Or should San Francisco bust Alex Smith (2005) be in the discussion?
The Case Against Carr: Taken No. 1 2002, Carr never had a winning season in five years inSource: The Big Lead RSS Feed
The ORLANDO SENTINEL is reporting, via an inside source, that Tim Tebow will be pass his medical tests today and start against LSU.
I was going to write about the ridiculous charade by Urban Meyer perpetrated this week regarding Tim Tebow’s prospects to play against LSU today, but I though I’d take your temperature instead.
Note: There is a poll within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.
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So, the Red Sox are down 2 games to the Angels...and heading back to Fenway for Game 3. Lester pitched well, but got no run support....which does not win the game. Beckett pitched a gem until the 7th, got a smidge of run support, but not nearly enough....which once again does not lead to a win. So with our aces on the mound...we came away with 2 losses.
On Sunday, we place all our post season hopes and dreams on one Mr. Clay Buchholz. Our ace ace baby has to put the team on hisSource: Fenway West RSS Feed
As I said yesterday and still stand by my belief that the staff moves simply weren't enough.
My biggest contention is with Dan Warthen who was unaware of Johan Santana pitching through discomfort and skipping side sessions since the All-Star break in a meaningless season. The regression of Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, K-Rod and Oliver Perez. Green was his prize success story dropping him down to a 3/4 arm slot but that took him til Sept. The staff as a whole walked the most batters in the Source: Mets Fever RSS Feed
When last we left pitcher Shawn Chacon, he had “accidentally” choked Houston Astros general manager Ed Wade, and threw him to the ground. As would happen to you or me, that got him released and banished to the Newark Bears, where he played until signing a Single-A contract with the Oakland A’s on June 18.
Well now, more fun! Chacon was arrested on Monday night at a bowling alley in Colorado in connection with $50,000 in unpaid gambling debts in Las Vegas. Let those who have neverSource: SPORTSbyBROOKS RSS Feed
Detroit 5, Chicago 3: The Tiges, for at least anther 36 hours, have avoided one of the worst late-season collapses in MLB history on the strength of Justin Verlander’s arm (19th win of the season) and Ryan Rayburn’s bat (two homers). If you click on the photo, you can see some scratches on Miguel Cabrera’s face. What happened? He’s not talking, but police records show the boys in blue were called to his house early Saturday morning. Cabrera came home at 6 am, apparently trashed, and Source: The Big Lead RSS Feed
Heading into the top of the sixth inning, the New York Yankees trailed the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0. Then Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees exploded.
With Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira on base, Rodriguez hit a homer to put the Yankees up 2-0. Later in the same inning, Rodriguez came to bat with the bases loaded and hit a grand slam. One inning. Two homers. Seven RBIs. Not a bad way to end regular season play.
For the 2009 baseball season, Rodriguez finished with 30 homers, 100 RBIs and Source: Knuckle Curve RSS Feed
Pirates (61-97) at Reds (76-83)
7:10–Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati
TV: FSN Ohio
[Here is the MLB Gameday]
———————————-
Final series of the year. I think many of us have been longing for the season to be over for quite a while now, but no matter how bad it gets, I’ll still miss Pirates baseball.
That said, tonight’s game isn’t on TV, it’s on the road, and the Pens and Pitt football both play at theSource: Raise the Jolly Roger! RSS Feed
The banner was raised, then it was time to start it all over again.
The Penguins capped off a tremendous night of Stanley Cup championship celebrations with a scrappy 3-2 win over the New York Rangers tonight at the Igloo.
Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Tyler Kennedy scored for the Pens, whiile Chris Drury and new Ranger Marian Gaborik scored for the Rangers.
Continue reading "Penguins open Cup defense with 3-2 win over Rangers"
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Toronto 8, Boston 7: Adam Lind jacked three homers and Aaron Hill added another, as the Blue Jays ruined Boston’s chance to celebrate a Wild Card berth … early in the night. The Red Sox hung around the clubhouse until the Angels defeated the Rangers, and that secured their spot in the postseason. So they celebrated for 30 minutes … but no media was allowed to revel in the madness (the ink-stained wretches were given pizza at 1 am, though!). So there won’t be any champagne-fueledSource: The Big Lead RSS Feed
When last we left Omar Vizquel during the off season, he was wrestling anacondas. This year following the Texas Rangers’ World Series appearance (laugh track), Vizquel wants to climb into the ring with a larger opponent.
In a conflict as old as mammals themselves, it will be American League infielder vs. bull in a struggle for survival. Vizquel wants to learn to be a matador when he returns to his native Venezuela later this month. Your move, PETA. (more…)
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Only notables from the Vladimir Klitschko-Chris Arreola fight here in L.A. last night:
A (very) sad sack Arreola cried in the ring after a bloody beatdown from Klitschko.
(Pondering if she double-swiped his card on purpose)
While a ringside Pete Rose was to be commended for his decision to double-bag, which brought out the best of the Twitterazzi. (more…)
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Most of us expected the Mets to be connected to Milton Bradley, hopefully that becomes nothing more then speculation as the two sides seem to be a good fit.
The only teams that are going to look at Bradley is a team desperate to find power and looking to dump a bad contract, both of which are the case for the Mets.
The Mets desperately need to find a homerun hitter and they may look to dump the contracts of Oliver Perez and/or Luis Castillo. Either one of those contracts areSource: Mets Fever RSS Feed
Sad news comes from the world of college sports today: according to the NCAA, Myles Brand has finally succumbed after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer, you might recall, is the same disease that killed Pistons and Olympic head coach Chuck Daly earlier this year, as well as Patrick Swayze just earlier this week. It is a brutal, vicious, lethal disease against which most people never stand a chance of survival.
Brand was hardly anSource: SPORTSbyBROOKS RSS Feed
Given the choice between watching a match in high-definition television or watching a game in standard definition, which one would you choose? What if the choice was, like last weekend, Liverpool against Burnley in HD on ESPN2 or Manchester City versus Arsenal in standard definition on Setanta Sports?
For me, I’m more likely to watch the HDTV broadcast first and then watch the standard def game on DVR later. And that’s exactly what I did this past weekendSource: EPL Talk RSS Feed
In the first inning of yesterdays day game, it was observed the Ken Takahashi was warming up in the bullpen. Whether is was a side session or he was attempting to gauge an injury is unknown but Taki never came into the game and it was later revealed that he was unavailable ( source Daily News). Although, he's been surprisingly effective the 40 y/o can't be our second lefty, the Mets need to be younger and less injury prone...
In the second game, Fernando Tatis left the game with aSource: Mets Fever RSS Feed
PitchVision Academy Batting Coach, Gary Palmer, continues his series analysing English batsmen's technique. This time Ian Bell comes under the spotlight. If you want coaching from Gary, visit CCM Academy.
Many people say Ian Bell has a good basic technique but I think that poor alignment causes the Englishman problems.
When you see him from the side view it looks very good. He fully completes his straight batted shots with high hands and leading elbow whilstSource: PitchVision Academy RSS Feed
Yesterday around 4 pm I was lucky enough to be given two great seats to the Giants/Dodgers game so my afternoon plans quickly changed. I went with a friend to The Bus Stop Bar in San Francisco for some pregame beverages. The bar has been around since 1900 and has 4 flatscreens within view and luckily one of them was tuned to NESN. The bartender was from Worcester, Mass. and the guy sitting next to me was wearing a Japanese Dice-K shirt. The rain started falling at the Fens so we, like most
Before playing Arsenal, former Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor said Arsenal supporters are “not real fans.”
“What is good at City is the fans. They love you. Arsenal have a lot of fans who are not fans,” Adebayor said. “Arsenal have fans from America and Jamaica. Today they are Arsenal fans, tomorrow they will be Liverpool fans, after tomorrow they will be Manchester United fans.
“If you boo your player every weekend, I am very sorry,
