Archive for April, 2009
• NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: Another triple-header of hockey for all of you puckheads out there…hello? Anyway, things get kicked-off with Pittsburgh Penguins/Philadelphia Flyers action (Penguins lead series 2-1) (7:00 EST); next up is game 4 of the Vancouver Canucks/St. Louis Blues tilt – the Canucks can close it out tonight and complete the four-game sweep (9:30 EST); and we close out the night with the San Jose Sharks playing the Anaheim Ducks in an absolutely must-win situation for the Sharks – either that or go down 3-0 in the series (10:30 EST). Enjoy. [Versus]
• NBA Playoff Doubleheader: Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers kicks it off (8:00 EST) and finishes up with the Utah Jazz against the Los Angeles Lakers (10:30 EST). May the best teams win or whichever teams fit into David Stern’s master plan. [TNT]
• MLB Baseball: Regional coverage of Cincinatti Reds at Chicago Cubs. [WGN, 8:00 EST]
• Movie of the Night: A Fistfull of Dollars – why isn’t there a Clint Eastwood channel yet? Let’s get working on that, people who make these sort of decisions. [AMC, 10:30 EST]
It’s 4:19, You Gotta Minute? (April 21st)
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• This weekend, a 100-year old man will be a bat boy for the Boston Red Sox. Sure, he’s old, but he’s only been a member of “Red Sox Nation” since the fall of 2004. [Big League Stew]
• Ghetto Golf video game is all the rage. Total gentrification of the inner-city is now complete. [Devil Ball Golf]
• If you haven’t see the Harry Kalas tribute tattoo, here it is in all its disturbing brilliance. [The 700 Level]
• Golf cart flips, strands two golfers underneath it. Johnny Knoxville was nowhere in sight. [SPORTSbyBROOKS]
• Gisele Bundchen gambles on soccer, wins $1 million – it’s about time something goes right for her. [NFL Fanhouse]
It will be announced on Wednesday at a Camden Yards news conference that Ripken Baseball Inc. and Under Armour are joining forces to create the ultimate corporate machine – the kind of dedicated force which will come to work for its clients day-in, day-out, despite decreasing production and well-being of the companies.
While details of Wednesday’s announcement were not disclosed, sources familiar with the new partnership said Under Armour will have a substantial presence at Ripken’s baseball properties, which include three minor league franchises, in Aberdeen, Augusta, Ga., and Port Charlotte, Fla., and perhaps more importantly, at two youth training facilities in Aberdeen and Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Under Armour brand is particularly appealing to the youth market, the source said.
Sources say that Ripken, who worked with Nike during his playing days, is excited about the opportunity to again work with such a well-respected athletic apparel company. Unfortunately for Ripken, news has not reached him that Kevin Costner has been in messing around with Under Armour for months now behind Cal’s back.
Fuckin’ Kevin Costner, man. I’ve always thought he was a tool – and that was before he formed Modern West*. Fuck that guy.
* Warning: do not listen to anything on this site if there are scissors, letter openers or any other object that can be shoved into ears repeatedly
Ripken Baseball, Under Armour to form partnership [The Baltimore Sun]
The Cost(ner) of Love [Snopes]
In a radical move that will be sure to send shock waves through the NASCAR-viewin’, Red Man chawin’ and slack-jawed yokelin’ ranks of race fans across the country, for the first time ever, a hybrid vehicle will be the official pace car at a NASCAR event, making its debut at next month’s Coca-Cola 600.
The Camry lent by Toyota had pass a NASCAR performance test. The hybrid must reach speeds close to 100 mph by the time it reaches the second turn of Lowe’s Motor Speedway from a standby position near the exit of pit road.
• Some bar has named a drink after John Daly – I can’t wait until they name a Detox Center after him. [Busted Coverage]
• The best NFL mock draft EVAR! Seriously. [Shutdown Corner]
• QUITE FRANKLY, I’M SHOCKED AND ASTOUNDED THAT ESPN IS LETTING STEPHEN A. SMITH GO! [Awful Announcing]
• Sports Illustrated: where apathy, the NHL and poor proofreading meet [D.C. Sports Bog]
• The NBA on TNT is sponsored by World of Warcraft? Worst.Sponsorship.Ever. [NBA Fanhouse]
NESN announcer Jack Edwards compares the 4-2 victory by the Boston Bruins over the Montreal Canadiens to the sacrifices made by Revolutionary War forces during the Battles of Lexington and Concord which gave rise to Patriots’ Day and why children had the day off of school yesterday in Boston, among other things.
Thankfully, no one informed Edwards of the fact that today is the day that Yom Hashoah, otherwise known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, is observed this year. Because that could have been real, real awkward.
Video: Announcer goes Revolutionary War crazy after Bruins win [Puck Daddy]
Yom Hashoah: Holocaust Remembrance Day [About.com 20th Century History]
If there is one sure-fire way to encourage debate and get anonymous internet trolls worked up into a lather (apparently, myself included), the first thing that comes to mind is an arbitrarily-selected 64 “team” March Madness-style bracket. Have you always wondered how chicken would stack up against pheasant in a mano-a-mano showdown? There’s a meat bracket for you.
Let’s put it this way, if it is possible to come up with 64 somewhat-related things, be they teams, personalities, pop culture references, etc., someone has made a bracket and held a tournament to determine who/what reigns supreme.
A couple of years ago, someone with far too much time on their hands came up with a tournament to determine who was the best Deadspin commenter – although that one didn’t turn out so well due to voting irregularities, among other reasons.
Kevin Karlson, the handsome devil on the left in photo, the morning drive host for WZLX-FM (Boston’s “”Classic Rock” station – you want Aerosmith and Journey every hour, on the hour, you got it!), caused a bomb scare at the Boston Marathon yesterday when he inadvertently left his briefcase sitting next to his car.
“I dropped it there after the show because I wanted to go to the street to high-five the runners coming by,” the morning man told the Track. “Then there was talk of a bomb scare, and I look over and see two cops and the bar’s owner standing by my case.”
• NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Recap: The Capitals get back into their first round series (now down 2 games to 1) against the Rangers with a must-win 4-0 victory in New York; Boston has their foot on the throat of Montreal on account of a 4-2 win – the Bruins now hold a commanding 3-0 lead in the series; and Calgary gets their first win in the series by beating Chicago 4-2 – the Blackhawks are still up 2-1 in the best of seven series. [NHL.com Scoreboard]
• NBA Playoffs: The Celtics even up the series at one game apiece with a hard-fought 118-115 win over the Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs obliterate the Dallas Mavericks 105-84 to even up that series. [NBA.com Scoreboard]
• MLB: Boston completes the four-game sweep of Baltimore with a 11-2 drubbing of the Orioles and the Pittsburgh Pirates impress as they notch their fourth shutout of the season by beating the Florida Marlins 8-0. [MLB.com Scoreboard]
• You Have To Possess Pretty Big Balls To Go To A Nude Dude Ranch. Or at least be comfortable showing what God gave you. A Florida lotto winner has two issues (maybe three, if you count mental instability) before he can realize his life-long dream and open a nude dude ranch: local zoning laws and a nudity ban in Hernando County. According to the ranch’s website, clothing is optional but all attendees “must wear pants and boots to ride the horses.” Makes sense – have you ever had your balls tangled up in a bridle? It’s not pleasant – not that I know personally, but…no seriously, it’s never happened to me. [Yahoo! News]
• NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Washington Capitals will try to get back in the series with the New York Rangers (7:00 EST) – for the Capitals’ sake, I hope Ovie learned a few things before he got kicked out of the Rangers’ practice this morning; and the Chicago Blackhawks will try to bury the Calgary Flames by going up three games to none (9:30 EST) [Versus]
• NBA Playoffs: A doubleheader tonight as the Chicago Bulls try to go two up on the KG-less Boston Celtics (7:00 EST) – when will a Boston team ever catch a break? Coverage wraps up with Game 2 of the Dallas Mavericks/San Antonio Spurs series (9:30 EST). Tim Duncan is reportedly the number 2 cure for insomnia, so keep that in mind. [TNT]
• MLB Baseball: Oakland Athletics at New York Yankees – it’s about time the Yankees get some nationally-televised games this season. [ESPN, 7:00 EST]
• High Ass Double Feature: Half Baked (8:00 EST) and Super High Me (10:00 EST) – is it just me or does anyone else find it strange that two pot-themed movies are on tonight? Have I missed something? [G4]
It’s 4:19, You Gotta Minute?
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• NBC claims they lost $45 million on Super Bowl XLIII. General Electric is going to have to try harder than that to get bailout money. [SPORTSbyBROOKS]
• Freestyle rapping over RBI Baseball theme? Word to your mutha. [Big League Stew]
• ESPN is threatening to leave Bristol, Connecticut if the state alters its tax laws. I suggest Afghanistan as a wonderful place to relocate. [My Record-Journal via Fan IQ]
• Golfer Stewart Cink has 66,000 Twitter followers. To be fair, there is a lot of time to create dummy accounts on Twitter when you never make the cut. [Devil Ball Golf]
The Detroit Lions unveiled a new logo, jersey and helmet today at a press conference at Dunham’s Sports store in Madison Heights in a move that shows fans that the new Lions regime will leave no stone unturned in their quest to create a better product – to sell.
Obviously, the on-the-field product is still a work in progress and will require much more tinkering. But the new logo sure does distract you from the years of organizational ineptitude, right? Right?
No? Well, excuse them for trying.
The Sporting News has a neat little feature called “My Profile”, where you can discovery things about people from the world of sports that “you won’t find on Facebook … even if you are approved as a friend).” The current profile is of Oakland Raiders Head Coach Tom Cable, or as we like to refer to it, Al Davis’ current sacrificial lamb and primary blood donor.
Remember, we are going to learn things about Cable that we couldn’t even find on Facebook! Shiver me timbers! Pray tell, what sort of information will we learn? His favorite sexual position? Where he hid the transient’s body? That he secretly eats his boogers? I can’t wait to find out!
• Rob Iracane discusses how the new Yankee Stadium reminds him of everything he hates about Republicans. [Walkoff Walk]
• Gary Bettman is willing to do whatever it takes to get Sidney Crosby and the Penguins and Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals in the Stanley Cup Finals. It’s really sad that if this wasn’t from The Onion, it would be believeable. [Onion Sports Network]
• Video of the Canucks trash-talking David Backes about his wife. I thought Canadians were more polite. [Online Sports Guys via Deadspin]
• Finally, watch Charles Barkley try to eat a slice of bread in under a 25 seconds. Sound pretty easy, right? [NESW Sports via Sports Crackle Pop!]
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A 24-year old man has been declared brain dead as a result of a bizarre accident during a softball game.
Teammates say 24-year-old Alberto Naranjo of Elkhart was sliding into home plate during a game Saturday morning when a throw struck him below his left ear. He started to get up, but collapsed.
Yikes. Talk about a horrible story. But I always thought being partially brain dead was a requirement to join a men’s softball league, so it wasn’t too big of a leap.
Thoughts and best wishes to the entire Naranja family as they deal with this horrible tragedy.
Oh, it’s Naranjo? Sorry, Naranja is Spainsh for orange. Think about that – the guy’s name sounded like a fruit and now he’s a vegetable.
And yes, I am well-aware that I will be going to hell for this post.
Man brain-dead after being struck by softball [The Sporting News]
