Sadly, Isinbayeva breaks the pole vault world record

Yelena Isinbayeva just broke the world record for pole vaulting by clearing 5.04m at the Super Grand Prix in Monaco.

So why the sad face? Because, I've seen so many world records broken in preparation for the Olympics, and then only to fall short in the Olympics themselves.

But, the future looks bright for Isinbayeva, who has been dominating the sport recently. The world record she broke was her own mark of 5.03m that she set only 3 weeks back on July 11, 2008.

And for those of you who are still wondering if Allison Stokke will be in the olympics.
Stop.
Because she's not...

In May she helped set the school (UC Berkeley Cal Bears) record for women's pole vaulting at 3.99m. Needless to say Ms. Stokke has a long ways to go.

There's always the next olympics fellas.

Read/Discuss >>

BREAKING NEWS IN BASEBALL, Manny Heads to La-La Land

• THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS HAVE ACQUIRED FUTURE HALL-OF-FAME SLUGGER MANNY RAMIREZ IN A 3-WAY DEAL WITH THE RED SOX AND PIRATES. HERE'S THE BREAKDOWN:

1. Dodgers get: Manny Ramirez
2. Red Sox get: Jason Bay
3. Pirates get: Andy LaRoche, Bryan Morris (prospect), Brandon Moss (prospect), Craig Hansen (prospect)
   

• THE CHICAGO WHITE SOX HAVE ACQUIRED FUTURE HALL-OF-FAME SLUGGER KEN GRIFFEY JR. FROM THE CINCINNATI REDS. HERE'S THE BREAKDOWN:

1. White Sox get: Ken Griffey Jr.
2. Reds get: Nick Masset, Danny Richar (prospect)

Analysis to follow soon.

Read/Discuss >>

Stars keeping it light

Amidst Olympic basketball, NBA players signing contracts overseas, free agency, Ron Artest issues, baseball trade deadline, and the annoying Brett Favre fiasco are a few NBA stars who are keeping it fun. Steve Nash, Baron Davis, Point brothers. Oh, and his air-ness, Michael Jordan. Hit discuss for the second video.

Read/Discuss >>

Artest: Still Ghetto

Newly traded forward, Ron Artest, is already disgruntled with one of his new teammates. Yao Ming recalled a moment from infamous fight in Detroit and stated, "Hopefully, he's not fighting anymore and going after a guy in the stands," irking the ghetto bad boy who initiated the violence.

However, Ron Artest already has plans to reconcile the bad start with the 7'6" Chinese man.

"I understand what Yao said, but I'm still ghetto, that's not going to change. I'm never going to change my culture. Yao has played with a lot of black players, but I don't think he's ever played with a black player that really represents his culture as much as I represent my culture. Once Yao Ming gets to know me, he'll understand what I'm about. If you go back to the brawl, that's a culture issue right there somebody was disrespecting me, so he's got to understand where I'm coming from. People that know me know that Ron Artest never changed."

For some strange reason, I don't think this is going to work. I have never heard a story where a humble Chinese man felt confident in the personality of a black man after hearing how ghetto he is and will continue to be.

And just out of curiosity, is $7.4 million a year along with your own shoeline(k1x) considered ghetto? Or is racing up the bleachers to punch a man, (who did not even throw the beer) ghetto?

Whatever Ron Artest is trying to pull, it is definitely true that he has not changed since he entered the league. He's still a hard ass, he's still not going to get along with his teammates, and he's never going to fit in. Expect to see him in a new uniform next year, what's the basketball equivalent of the 80's Raiders?

Read/Discuss >>

Back Off, Brett

My dear friend and ATA creator, Brian P., once characterized Brett Favre as the heartbreaker of the NFL. While I'm not going to disagree that Favre was indeed the greatest player in the NFL for several years (though not fond of the Packers, it's hard for anyone to deny Favre), I'm going to have to doubt Brian's claim that Brett wears any of the pants in this relationship.

It's true that Brett screwed with all our emotions, it is - we followed his success, grew with him, glorified him, grieved and shed just as many if not more tears at the news of his "retirement." After mourning a legend's departure, we were finally ready to move on.

The Packers found new beau, Aaron Rodgers, who, at this point, is probably trying hard to avoid all the drama instilled upon by jealous ex, Favre. This time, both we and the NFL are in no position to be played. Bretty boy is acting like a psycho ex who can't take a hint. He's whipped, by the NFL, by the Packers. Seems like they've got him around their little finger. Sadly, but surely, we are all ready to move on...

Word has it our quarterback's been throwing to local high school players; maybe this gave Brett all the taste of retirement that he needed. Either way, quite frankly, I'm tired of the boy who cried wolf.

My advice to Brett?
Leave while you're still, in the slightest bit, respected as the record-setting MVP quarterback we all know and love. Take the Packers up on the supposed $20 mil they are offering you to stay away. Take all of the offerings, for that matter, that they seem to be throwing at you to simply get out of the picture. Take the hint(s)! Don't show up to camp. Don't show up at all. How likely is it that, in the case that a trade ensues, Green Bay will trade you off to a winning rival team like the Vikings?

And lastly, run before the Madden Curse gets you, too.

Read/Discuss >>

Hindsight on the Blockbuster

Two weeks after the two blockbuster trades that sent CC Sabathia to the Brewers and Rich Harden to the Cubs, we seem to be in the same position: the Cubs holding on to a slim lead over the Brewers and Cardinals in the NL Central. Since the trades, the Cubs and Brewers are an identical 11-8, and the Cardinals are 10-9.

This leaves the NL Central standings roughly unchanged in two weeks time, with the Brewers edging ever so slightly passed the Cardinals. So what exactly do the acquisitions of Rich Harden and CC Sabathia mean for the top two teams in the NL Central?

CC and the Brewers

Sabathia joins a Milwaukee pitching rotation that now features quite possibly the most dominant pitching duo in the major leagues: himself and Ben Sheets. Since joining the Brewers, Sabathia has definitely lived up to expectations, if not surpassed them. In 5 starts (each of them quality), Sabathia has racked up 4 wins (3 complete games, 1 shutout), 34 K's in 39.2 innings pitched, a 1.82 ERA, and a 0.98 WHIP. He's also held the opposition to a .209 batting average. With staff ace Sheets mired in a recent slump of mediocrity (1-3, 4.75 ERA in last 6 starts), Sabathia's recent surge of dominance could not have come at a better time.

Actually, "recent surge" of dominance would be an incorrect choice of words. Instead, I'll just say dominant. One word, dominant. Don't be mistaken, Sabathia's brilliance since joining the Brewers is not a recent development; he has been this dominant all season long. In fact, Sabathia's 3.33 ERA this seasons (although solid), is quite deceptive to the type of season he's actually having. Discounting Sabathia's puzzling first four starts of the season, we'd be looking at a 2.06 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. In other words, we'd be looking at a repeat winner of the Cy Young award, and just the fourth pitcher in history (Gaylord Perry, Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemens) to win it in both the National League and American League.

With run production stemming from offensive giants Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, if CC and Benny can continue blowing batters out of the box, the Brewers have a decent shot at holding off the Cardinals (who are currently treading water, praying for the return of Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright) and even overtaking the Cubs.


Rich and the Cubs

Long considered to be one of the most talented young pitchers in the major leagues, Rich Harden has been unable to stay healthy for a full season to display his true brilliance. Brushing off the painful memories of a certain Mark Prior, the Cubs took a gamble on yet another injury-prone superstar talent in Harden. Just 24 hours after the Sabathia trade was announced, Oakland sent Harden to the Cubs, dispensing of the last piece of what was supposed to be the dynamic Athletic trio of Mark Mulder (on a deathbed somewhere in St. Louis), Tim Hudson (thriving in Atlanta), and Rich Harden (to be determined).

Harden joins a Cubs pitching staff that is much stronger than the rotation that greeted Sabathia in Milwaukee. Carlos Zambrano, learning from his mistake last year and wisely not guaranteeing a Cy Young award this year, is quietly taking care of business. In fact, he actually stands a chance at winning one this year! In 21 starts, Zambrano is 12-4 (on pace for easily another 16-18 win season), has a 2.80 ERA (godly), and a 1.22 WHIP (not usually his forte).

But most of the Cubs' surprise success is due to the resurgence (out of NOWHERE) of Ryan Dempster as a starter. Moved to the closer position from '05 to '07 due to a lack of consistency and command, Ol' Lou decided to give Dempster another shot as a starter this year. And somehow, Dempster has rediscovered the magic dust he had back in 2000 that actually made him a serviceable starter.

Harden will join Zambrano, Dempster, and an offense that features 4 guys striving to hit 30 home runs (Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Geovany Soto), in trying to hold off the Brewers and the Cardinals. Though winless since his arrival, Harden has been nothing short of dazzling for the Cubs. Believe it or not, he's been even better than Sabathia. In three starts, Harden's stats are mind-boggling. He is 0-1 (blame a slumping Cubs offense and a bullpen that couldn't hold a 7-0 lead in the 7th inning), has a 1.04 ERA (2 runs over 17.1 innings), a 0.92 WHIP, and has struck out 30 in just 17.1 innings. Take a moment to mull over that last statistic. 30 strikeouts, in 17.1 innings. That is an average of 15.6 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched. That is absurd.

CC vs Rich

In my opinion, the Cubs are the winners of these two deals, only because they started out as a better team than the Brewers. To this point, they haven't needed a talented new pitcher to come in, hoist them on his back, and carry them into the playoffs (such a maneuver would almost certainly land Harden on the DL again anyway). They already have an all-star pitcher (Zambrano), another pitcher having an all-star year (Dempster), and three others (Lilly, Marquis, and Gallagher) decent enough to keep the Cubs in ball games so that Ramirez, Soriano, Lee, and Soto can drive in more runs than the opposition (which this year they've done, more often than not). So even if the trade fails (i.e. Rich Harden sprains his knee, Rich Harden sprains his ankle, Rich Harden tears a ligament in his shoulder, Rich Harden suffers a season ending paper cut, etc.), left standing would still be the first place Cubs, confident and healthy. However, the upside to Rich Harden is enormous. And the Cubs are willing to gamble on Harden because if Dempster continues his inexplicable season and if Harden can stay healthy, the Cubs are one of the clear favorites to win the World Series this year.

Read/Discuss >>

Headlining: Baseball

• ATTENTION ANGEL FAN (Brian Pham): As already posted by my boss, the Angels have acquired perennial power hitter Mark Teixeira in exchange for the mildly disappointing Casey Kotchman and a minor league pitching prospect. Kotchman, always patient and disciplined at the plate, should receive some blame for an often subdued Angel offense. The aggressive bat of Teixeira should remedy this problem in a jiffy.

• On the day of Teixeira's acquisition, John Lackey takes a no-hitter and near perfect game (1 walk, 1 hit batter) into the 9th inning vs the Red Sox. It was broken up with 1 out by a Pedroia single to left, followed by a 2-run home run by Youkilis. Poor Lackey, potentially his career's best pitched game, degenerated into just a quality start.

• In his 15th attempt, the Mad Dog Greg Maddux finally wins his career 351st game. In a completely unspectacular performance, Maddux gave up 9 hits and 4 runs in 5 innings, barely even qualifying for the decision. But considering his TEN previous quality starts that the Padres failed to win for him, I think he deserves this one.

• After initially deciding to postpone shoulder surgery and to instead rehab his shoulder to possibly return for the playoffs, Jorge Posada changes his mind and decides to end his 2008 season by having surgery on his right shoulder. If the Yankees do end up making the playoffs, the recent acquisition of Xavier Nady should lighten the devastation of losing Posada.

• San Diego Padres pitcher Chris Young made his first appearance on the mound since having his face crushed (literally) by an Albert Pujols (seriously, of all people to get hit by, Pujols?!) line drive.
  

Read/Discuss >>

Paul Pierce is a donut

In a recent basketball camp in Madrid, Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics had a few words I'd like to share with the world.

"Q: Is Kobe really the best player in the world?

Pierce: I don't think Kobe is the best player. I'm the best player. There's a line that separates having confidence and being conceited. I don't cross that line but I have a lot of confidence in myself."

Pierce, congratulations on your championship, but I'm about 200% sure that it's gone straight to your head. The correct answer was, "Yes."

Let's break it down, Kobe Bryant is the best player in the world, hands down (not yet Lebron). The MVP has more weapons than all of Al-Qaeda. He'll score in your face, beat you off the drive, fade-away, fade-further away, lean-in, hang and make an impossible lay-up, or a reverse, he'll shoot from 40 feet out, float it, shoot it left handed, dunk in your face, dunk on your mom, dunk your donut, use the glass, and shoot a 720 pivot fade-away in the corner, behind the glass, against 3 defenders, and make it. And of course he's NBA Defensive First team.

Paul Pierce you are one chubby jelly donut. I'm glad you are confident about your sweet strawberry center, but you could not have made a more pompous, bombastic statement. What kind of donut outright states he is the best player in the world and also mentions that he is not conceited? Only a soft delicious pastry like you. Soft. Like in game one of the finals; you crumbled to the floor and had be carried (like a newb) into the locker room. You undoubtedly ate a donut in the locker room, you chubby cake.

In layman terms...
Kobe Bryant = Best
Paul Pierce = Not

Pierce, baby, whatever line you were talking about in your quote, you crossed it. Kobe never did. He's just straight blood, sweat, and tears. You are a soft sweet succulent strawberry donut. So no more talking, Winchells, just watch.

Read/Discuss >>

Headlining: Other Sports

• Brett Favre... wow. Just wow.

• Looks like ATA writer David Park isn't the only one that thinks Michelle Wie should chill out.

• College athletes really need to watch themselves. You're not quite pros yet, so stop acting like you're higher than society.

• OK. So James Irvin dopes himself, only to promptly get his ass beaten by Anderson Silva. Silva, please move up now... you are waisting your time.

• If Roger and Bjorn take on McEnroe and Nadal, this should be near the top of your MUST WATCH LIST.
  

Read/Discuss >>

Peanuts Classic: A Kwame Brown Christmas

Fellow blogger David P. called the Detroit Pistons' signing of Kwame Brown a bad move. The Wizards drafting Kwame Brown #1 in 2001 is universally mocked, and when Brown was traded (along with J. Crit & a couple of draft picks) for Pau Gasol, Stephen A. Smith said...well, I'll just let you watch for yourself.

Kwame Brown is probably the most universally mocked and derided player in the NBA, and yet, he continually finds people willing to take a chance on him, starting with tricking MJ into drafting him #1, the Lakers trading Caron Butler for him, and finally the Detroit Pistons signing him to what seems like an absurd contract.

Why does this man get so much love from the NBA brain trust while the sports pundits and common fans look down upon him so?

It starts with, in my opinion, the "bust" label. While Kwame Brown will never be putting up 15+ ppg, and will never turn any heads with his play, he CAN be counted on to play hard interior defense and is an athletic big man, in a world where athletic big men are quite rare...

Statistically speaking, Brown has a career PER of 13.0, which is just under the NBA average of 15. Over his career, he has pulled down 13.8% of all available rebounds. Statistically speaking, Kwame Brown should be regarded in the same light players of similar production (ie Mikki Moore, Chuck Hayes*) are. That is, as serviceable big men worthy of backup minutes.

Unfortunately (for Kwame), people tend not to examine the true worth of a player in statistics alone, but in their story. Mikki Moore and Chuck Hayes were overlooked by the NBA GMs and front offices, while Kwame was touted as the next big thing. And really, it is anyone's fault BUT Kwame's that he was drafted #1 - it's not like he was going to tell anyone, "Hey, you guys shouldn't draft me #1, I think you might be overrating me." Hell no!

In short, Kwame Brown is a decent player. He might get overpaid, and he surely was overhyped, but don't hate the man for what the system said he'd be.

Plus, the Lakers could have used Kwame's interior defense in the finals. Hate him or not, it's undeniable that he plays solid post d and is the antithesis of the finesse style the Lakers were crucified for in the media.

*I realize Chuck Hayes' has a better PER and is far younger than Kwame for a career analysis to be accurate, but I couldn't think of Kwame's statistical peers off the top of my head and found Hayes to be sufficiently close for the point I was making.

Read/Discuss >>

Halos are undeniable favorites. Cannot be stopped.

The Angels finally, finally, finally have acquired a slugger for the middle of the lineup. In a blockbuster deal with the Atlanta braves, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (I hate Arte Moreno for making me type all of that) acquired Mark Teixeira.

The official trade is:

• Angels give up Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Stephen Marek.
• Atlanta gives up Mark Teixeira.

For all the publicity around Manny Ramirez this was probably the single greatest deal the Angels could have pulled off. Angel's management is simply flaunting its baseball intelligence now...

The Angels have never been satisfied with acquiring one dimensional players. Starting with Vladimir Guerrero, then Torii Hunter, and now Mark Teixeira, the Angel's are littered with star defensive players who happen to have some of the best bats in baseball.

The surprising part? Mark Teixeira is only 28 years old.

The Braves barely gained anything in terms of age as Casey Kotchman is 25.

Teixeira has been injury prone the last couple of seasons. But this year, of all years he was coming into form. As a 24 year old in 2004, Teixeira had a prolific season with a .300 batting average, 43 HRs, and 144 RBIs.

In comparison, last year Kotchman knocked in 68 batters, had 11 HRs, and a .296 average.

Somehow, despite obviously lacking in offensive prowess this year, the Angels have managed to maintain the best record in baseball. All the more amazing considering Francisco Rodriguez is having one of the worst seasons of his career (let's debate that one shall we.)

I don't want to sound like your run of the mill ESPN writer, but the Angels are hands down the best team in baseball. There isn't as much of an issue with "chemistry" in baseball as there is in basketball or soccer. The only thing the Angels need to do to win the World Series is to stay true to their fundamentals.

And there is probably no better GM out there for this job than Mike Scioscia.

I wish I could become a minority investor in the Angels right now, because they are developing into what the Yankees and the Red Sox wanted to be all along. They are a perennial powerhouse fueled by a limitless cash flow from Arte Moreno. But, they also are one of the best developpers of young talent, and don't rely on blockbuster deals to make themselves better.

One thing though. Teixeira's agent is Scott Boras. And the primary reason he was traded is because he couldn't agree on an extension with the Braves. Watch out Arte, Boras is reportedly looking for 10 years and $230 million.

Read/Discuss >>

The Saga Continues

Kelly Dwyer from Yahoo Sports might have made it popular to have a man-crush on "The Machine."

But here at ATA, we all know we were the first.

Once again, another Sasha video brought to you by Lakers-fan.com

Read/Discuss >>

Artest Given Away!

Sacramento Kings have traded their 6'7" defensive gem, Ron Artest, for the rights to Bobby Jackson, first-round pick Donte Green, $1 million, and other players to make the money match. The trade will not be officially announced until August 14, the day when Donte Green is allowed to be traded.

What just happened here? The Sacramento Kings gave away Ron Artest for nothing. Artest, regardless of his troubled track record, is an NBA Defensive First-Team player and a 20 point scorer. He is significantly more valuable than an aging Bobby Jackson and other insubstantial players.

On the other hand, maybe the Kings simply wanted to clear some cap space so they can sign one of the many leftover free agents. Josh Smith?

However you look at this, the Houston Rockets are now a terrifying team. You have to stop Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. You have to score through Ron Artest and Shane Battier, top-tier on-ball defenders, and oh yeah, a 7'6" Chinese man in the paint.

Good job Sac-town, you've created a monster.

Read/Discuss >>

15 Months, Don't Drop the Soap

Tim Donaghy received a 15 month jail sentence for his significant involvment in NBA gambling scandals. From a potential 33 month maximum sentence, Donaghy was given leniency for what the judge considered "cooperation."

Bullsh*t. However, good riddance to that boy who cheated the good sport of basketball.

Don't drop the soap, big boy.

Fortunately for the NBA, the affects of this scandal appear to be very minimal.

• I still want to watch basketball.
• The NBA player movement is far more interesting and important than the judicial outcome of a crooked referee.
• I'm excited to see how OKC will fair in their new city.
• Will the rookie class make a huge splash this year? (they're going to beat the sophomores at the all-star game, know that)

Unfortunately, the referees are going to be up for one hell of a season. As if they were not hated enough, right?

Well good luck to the zebras, big brother is watching you.

Read/Discuss >>

Good Move. Bad Move.

Good Move: Golden State Warriors resigned Andris Biedrins to a six year $62 million contract (just $4 million less than Monta Ellis). Is $10 million a year for a ten-ten guy worth it? No. But in the final 11 games, Biedrins averaged 30 minutes, 14.5 points, 14 boards, 1.5 blocks and less than a turnover per game. Worth it.

Good Move: Charlotte Bobcats re-sign Emeka Okafor for six-years $72 million. Locking down the potential 20/10 defensive anchor was a big move for Charlotte. He only averaged 14 points a contest but he's a double-double lock. Hopefully Gerald(45% FG), Jason(44%), and Raymond (41%) stop jacking up 45 shots a game and throw it to Okafor(53.5%) more.

Good Move: Clippers sign swing-man Ricky Davis to a two-year deal worth $4.7 million. With Cuttino Mobley slowing down and a lack of experience with Al Thornton and Eric Gordon, Ricky Davis will undoubtedly make a big impact for the Clippers at the two and three positions.

Good Move: NY Knicks traded Renaldo Balkman to the Denver Nuggets for Bobby Jones and Taurean Green. Not a blockbuster move, but the trade for Isiah’s 20th pick will benefit both teams. The Knicks will drop Jones and Green to clear $2 million dollars while the Nuggets pick up an excellent young talent.

Bad Move: Detroit Pistons signed Kwame Brown to a two year $8 million dollar contract. Kwame Brown should be playing for the league minimum if at all. With free agents such as Juwan Howard, Francisco Elson, and Alonzo Mourning still available, Detroit could have done a lot better with $4 million a year.

Read/Discuss >>

Headlining: The Olympics

• Kerri Walsh and Misty May continue their domination of beach volleyball. They really are undeniably the best. Most people don't take notice, but they are amazingly precise in their setting. (Walsh and May win their 101st straight)

• Team USA takes a huge hit. Can the men's gymnastics team still compete for Gold? (Olympic gold medalist Paul Hamm can't make the Olympics)

• China wants to make sure the Olympics are perfect. So what have they been preparing for more than a year? A gender test facility. (China wants to ensure that the "girls" are really girls.)

• NY Times questions a Chinese Gymnast's age. Chinese officials are quick to retort back.

• The Headline says it all:Beijing Olympics: BBC banned but pornography for sale in Olympic village

Read/Discuss >>

Headlining: Basketball

• Welcome back, Sasha! The Machine has agreed to a 3-year $15 million deal. Long enough to earn him 3 rings.
  

• I don’t know what’s wrong with the NBA, but they love Maurice Evans. After a reported $6.4 million offer from Golden State, the highly-desperate Atlanta is close to signing Evans.
  

• Depression and injury is disastrous for any professional sports player, so what happens after Dwyane Wade gets depressed from all his injuries? He gets fat.
  

• The new Oklahoma City franchise will be named either the Barons, Bison, Energy, Marshalls, Thunder, or Wind. Congratulations OKC, you have great young talent and a horrific future name. I personally vote for Thunder Cats.

Read/Discuss >>

Headlining: Baseball

• "I'm like a kid going on his first ride at Disney World and not getting off for 22 years." In those 22 years, Rich "Goose" Gossage boasted a 124-107 record, 1502 strikeouts, and a 3.01 ERA. For his achievements, this 'kid' was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame today.

• Eric Chavez, at one point one of the surest bets to hit .275 and 25-30 homers from the third base position, isn't sure if his "shredded" shoulder will ever be the same.

• Dodger rookie Clayton Kershaw pitched effectively and at times dominantly for 6 innings en route to a well-deserved first major league win. If he can learn to better control his seemingly unhittable (when it's on) curveball to go with his already devastating fastball, this kid will be something to watch.

• A 26 year old man is in critical condition after falling 25 feet off the side of an escalator at Shea Stadium during the Mets' 14 inning marathon Saturday against the Cardinals. This happened less than four months after Antonio Nararainsami, 36, also fell off an escalator at Shea Stadium and plunged 2 stories to his death.

• The St. Louis Cardinals expect to have former Cy Young winner and staff ace Chris Carpenter back in rotation in their upcoming series with the Braves. Just in time, too. The Cards are 4 games behind the Cubs, and fell again today, 9-1 to the Mets.
  

Read/Discuss >>

What links all sports together? Illegitimate children.

Great article out of the Sports Illustrated Vault.
Paternity Ward

"I'd say that there might be more kids out of wedlock than there are players in the NBA ," estimates one of the league's top agents, who says he spends more time dealing with paternity claims than he does negotiating contracts.

The article is a bit dated (hence, from the "vault") but it is probably still very relevant. This whole "vault" idea is awesome. It's really interesting to look back and read how we were interpreting things.

Anyone know any present day sports stars who are hiding their children? List em please!

Read/Discuss >>

Save the Sonics! Schultz vs. Stern.

CEO of Starbucks Howard Schultz is filing a lawsuit against the new owners of the Sonics, Clay Bennett, claiming he violated the terms of sale.

In 2006 Schultz, the then owner of the Sonics, sold the team to Clay Bennett and his partners under the condition that they would practice good faith in keeping the team in Seattle.

"It's not money damage. It's to have the team returned. The theory of the suit is that when the team was sold, the Basketball Club of Seattle, our team here, relied on promises made by Clay Bennett and his ownership that they desired to keep the team in Seattle and intended to make a good-faith effort to accomplish that."

But not even a month after the sale was complete did Bennett scheme about ditching Seattle.

On Aug. 2, 2006, two weeks after the sale, team co-owners Tom Ward and Aubrey McClendon e-mailed about moving the Sonics to Oklahoma City as soon as possible. The communication was after one of the original Oklahoma partners had dropped out of the ownership group.

So Schultz is claiming that Bennett breached the terms of the contract and thus the sale should be reversed and the team should return to Schultz and Seattle.

Stern won't have any of this.

It's no surprise that David Stern is a bit disturbed by all of this. If the team has to move back to Seattle, the NBA will look disorganized and out of sorts. The NBA is many things (rigged, littered with incompetent referrees, restrictive of the first amendment) but disorganized is not one of them.

In fact, most of the faults of the NBA revolve around it (and Stern) seeking to control every single aspect of its universe. Why shouldn't you be allowed to complain about the refereeing? Because little Davie gets offended and upset, that's why.

So true to his personality on July 24, David Stern contacted Howard Schultz and essentially issued him a threat

A day later, Schultz said the commissioner "told me he wanted 'to hear it from the horse's mouth' why I was not joining in the city's settlement and dismissing my lawsuit."

Schultz said Stern told him "that if I did not join in the settlement ... I should realize that it will become very expensive for me and my partners, and he implied that I should reconsider my position."

Davie, Davie, Davie. Don't be mad! Seriously David, couldn't you have thought of a better threat for CEO of Starbucks Howard Schultz?

• Schultz is worth $1.1 billion
• David Stern makes $7 million a year
• The combined operating income of all the NBA teams? $233.9 million
• Starbucks operating income in 2007? $1.05 billion.

I'm not sure how much of a chance Schultz has of winning this case. Unless "good faith" can have a consensus definition its hard to claim that Bennett didn't practice it. Plus, Schultz already has a packed schedule in trying to revive Starbuck's stock price.

Still, Schultz is probably doing what all Sonics fans wish they could. He's really fighting! I'm rooting for him to win just to see the havoc that would ensue. That would be fantastic.

Read more:
The original story in April 2008
Stern's threat in July 2008

Read/Discuss >>

Headlining: Baseball

• Remember Jeff Samardzija? Brady Quinn's go-to receiver at Notre Dame? He's pitching for the Cubs now. And getting paid $10 million to do it.

• ATTENTION DODGER FANS: In an attempt to bolster our laughable offense, we have acquired a decent bat in third baseman Casey Blake. Nothing to get too excited over, since every bat that migrates to Los Angeles is seemingly sapped of all its former power (J.D. Drew, Nomar Garciaparra, Jeff Kent, Andruw Jones). Maybe our dugout has termites...
  

• The Yankees CLEARLY need more offense as well. They have thus acquired the respectable bat of Xavier Nady along with reliever Damaso Marte.

• Mike Hampton made his first start in almost three years for the Atlanta Braves today. He gave up 8 hits, 6 runs and struck out 1 in 4 innings. Relax, he hasn't pitched in the majors since 2005. Oh and, he's not very good anyway.

• With superstar names potentially changing teams in the coming weeks, I wonder if pursuing teams will recognize that in reality, Matt Holliday is nothing close to the monster hitter he is at Coors Field (i.e. Vinny Castilla).
  

Read/Discuss >>

Headlining: The Olympics

• Why do Celebrities get so much coverage on political issues? It makes no sense to me. Rather than letting celebrities pretend to be important, we should make important knowledgeable people into Celebrities. They have to be knowledgeable though (I'm looking at you Barack). (Mia Farrow speaks out on China again)

• Do you wanna be a high jumper? Better practice the Fosbury Flop. And no, this isn't the Manu Ginobli's secret sauce. For that, hit the read/discuss link.

• The solution to pollution in Beijing? Paint the side of buildings blue! I'm serious folks. (Beijing Manufactures its own Scenery)

• How come it's okay to run up the score in international games but not the NBA? National pride shmide. This was just sad. Now Canada has a lot to be vengeful a-boot, a-boot, a-boot. Sorry, that's enough. A-but, a-but, a-but. Seriously. (USA Basketball dominates Canada)
  

• Some athletes get rejected from the US Olympic team and join another country. Good for them. The nation-state is becoming more and more irrelevant anyways. (American basketball player joins the Russian Olympic Squad)

Read/Discuss >>

Dalhausser and Rogers finally get bored after winning 37 in a row

Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers just had their anuses handed to them at the Long Beach Open.

For those that don't know, this is about Men's beach volleyball. I know, beach volleyball really isn't the same when the players aren't wearing bikinis, or at least pink hat like Karch Kiraly.

Still, Dalhausser and Rogers had been dominating the tour with 37 straight wins, prior to this spanking. Now their record stands at a dubious 50-3.

In the men's AVP thhe scoring works as follows: The first to 21 wins a set. The first to win 2 sets wins the match.

Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal won in straight sets 21-14, 21-14. These two teams have been season long enemies like Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Does this thrashing of the number one team in the world mean Gibb and Rosenthal will win gold at Beijing? Sorry, but there's nary a chance.

50 and 3 means that they will bite back just as hard.

And if you happened to be curious. Dalhausser earned $220,000 for 11 victories and outright dominating the sport in 2007.

On the female side, Kerri Walsh earned $242,000 for 14 victories. The incomes are relatively even considering Dalhausser probably finished in the top 5 for the tournaments he didn`t win.

The conclusion? Sports is a business. Ladies, if you want to earn more money, you have to bring in more money. I`m not saying that you have to wear a bikini to earn as much as men... I`ll stop there.

Read/Discuss >>

Headlining: Basketball

• Reformed stoner, Chris “I Get High as a Bird” Andersen will rejoin the Denver Nuggets , a team that will undoubtedly miss the playoffs this year.
  

• The Golden State Nuggets have re-signed Monta Ellis and matched the Clippers offer-sheet for Kelenna Azbuike. With the affluence of athletic players no leadership, the Warriors are clearly attempting to emulate the Knickerbockers losing formula.
  

• When Josh Childress signed with Greece, I highly doubted anyone of importance would follow suit. Unfortunately, I may be wrong. Sasha Vujacic is threatening to sign in Europe if the Lakers do not offer a more valuable contract.
  

• Charles Barkley, the 6’4” 400 lb. power house will pay for a busboy’s (28 yrs.) Temple tuition so he can eventually teach. Very admirable Charles!
  

• And just off the record, Charles wanted to join us and say a few words about his T-Mobile commercials. Hit the read/discuss link for the video.
  

Read/Discuss >>

Headlining: The Olympics

• You'd think that maybe with a WAR going on, the Olympic Committee might cut Iraq some slack. NOPE. (Iraqi Athletes will miss the Olympics)

• The quarrel between China and Taiwan lives on. (China wants to change Taiwan's name to Chinese Taipei)

• The Olympics don't get any better than beach volleyball. (Kerri Walsh and Misty May are the undeniable favorites)

• Iran has it's own Hercules. Too bad he is injured. (Reigning gold medalist Rezazedah won't make the Olympics)

• You don't hear much about Tennis at the olympics. But Federer needs revenge. (Federer seeks gold)
  

Read/Discuss >>

Oh Silly Deadspin.

It may not seem that odd if a similar article runs across many sports sites. If it's news then it's news right? We all have to report on them.

But what if its a profile of the A-11 offense that our pro-blogger Robert (Chinatown) just wrote about. How likely is it that something like THAT appears on numerous sports sites within a day?

Deadpspin's Rick Chandler just posted an article on the A-11 offense at 9:45AM on July 25, 2008.

Our own Robert wrote his at 9:39PM on July 24,2008.

win!

Read/Discuss >>

Vujacic Stays in Los Angeles. He better.

I regret the fact that we didn't launch After the Anthem sooner.

Because if we had perhaps we would have had the clout to spank Mitch Kupchak in the behind!

There are murmurings that Sasha Vujacic might leave the Lakers for Europe because he feels his $2.6 million contract isn't fair value.

I reported on this topic previously here.

Mitch Kupchak said that he would be in contact with Sasha at 9:01 PM when he was well aware that free agency begins at 9:00PM.

Dealbreaker? Definitely.

Although Sasha wouldn't have realled cared if Mitch called him one minute earlier, this slothful arrogance from Mitch foreshadowed how he was going to deal with Sasha.

Losing Ronny Turiaf is one thing, because next year assuming that Bynum comes back healthy, there is going to be an overload up front. But, to lose Sasha who was as close to Bobby Jackson the Lakers had will be brutal.

The upfront qualifying offer of $2.6 million for one year was disgustingly insulting. He would have earned less money than our tubby tubster Kevin Love. Heck Kevin Love has 2-years guaranteed, while Sasha had only one year guaranteed.

Kupchak then got a bit more realistic and offered a 3 year $12 million deal. Which is at least respectable. But if he was going to offer this from the get go, why even dangle that $2.6 million in front of him?

He is the Machine. He doesn't play around.

Read/Discuss >>

Headlining: Other Sports

• Poor Peyton? Poor Colts? Poor me and my fantasy team. He better be ready for the season opener; stop fighting bears, you douchebag. And Indianapolis has to hope that their best player as well as their best defensive players pull themselves together.
  

• Carlos Sastre keeps the yellow jersey and a minute lead after the grueling Alps Stages of the Tour de France. This should be exciting, but I guess I lost my interest after Lance left.

• So here's twelve possibilities for Brett Favre. I would add one more, RETIRE.

• I don't honestly know the situation, but this just sounds like a little rich boy whining.

• Anderson Silva is the best MMA fighter in the world right now. He may be saying he's done with the light heavyweight class now, but after he completely destroys every middleweight, he's going to get bored. I would love to see him fight any of the top 4 shown here.

Read/Discuss >>

The A-11 Offense

I'm sure by now all the readers out there (as in...all the writers) have heard of the West Coast offense, the Spread Option offense, the Triple Option, and all those fancy schmancy new age offenses...but prepare yourself for the most outrageous one yet.

It's called the A-11 offense, as in, all eleven players on field are eligible receivers. The formation boils down to one center over the ball, flanked by two tight ends. To either side of the TEs, 3 WRS on the left, and 3 WRS on the right. Then, behind the center, two QBs (yes...that's right TWO) line up in shotgun.

Insane right? Not so fast - at Piedmont High, the inventors of the offense Steve Humphries and Kurt Bryan actually implemented the offense, and after two games of tinkering with the details, ran off 7 straight wins and made it to the playoffs.

While the rules of the game state that only 5 players are eligible to receive downfield passes, any player on the field can receive a lateral or reverse pass, making this offense hell to prepare for.

For video of the offense in action, see the Rival's website or:

For the official website of the offense:

The A-11 is already infiltrating the college game, and will undoubtedly influence the NFL as well. Is this the future of football? I sure as hell hope so.

Read/Discuss >>

Headlining: Futbol

• After his public pursuit of Aston Villa's Gareth Barry, is Rafa Benitez ready to leave Barry out to dry?

• Hotly pursued strikers Emmanuel Adebayor of Arsenal and Didier Drogba of Chelsea still remain with their teams - but for how long?

• The MLS, rising in popularity and visibility due partly to Beckham's heavily publicized move to the States, will be expanding to 18 teams by 2011.

• Amid not so quiet whispers that South Africa may not be ready to host the World Cup by 2010, ManYoo's manager Alex Ferguson gives his vote of confidence.

• Unwanted Barca striker Samuel Eto'o may be on his way to Barca's La Liga rivals Real Madrid ...but only if they're willing to cough up the dough.

• Chelsea continues its pursuit of Brazil/Real Madrid frontman Robinho.

• Liverpool closes in on signing Tottenham's Robbie Keane for a reported figure of £18million.

• MLS proves it has arrived by showing that it's very best can barely hang on to beat a middle of the road Premier League team in their preseason warmup. This would be like the European all-stars beating the Denver Nuggets during the Nuggets preseason, while the Nuggets play a bunch of NBDL and marginal NBA players for most of the game. Congratulations MLS, you have arrived!

Read/Discuss >>

Are Wie Serious?

Take a 6’1” man who drives a golf ball 280 yards. He tells you that he’s pretty decent and wants to tee off with the big boys in the PGA tour. You wish him luck but everyone knows he’ll need more than that.

That 6’1” specimen is Michelle Wie and she wants to play on the men’s tour. At age 12 she qualified for her first LPGA event, she placed in the top five for numerous other events, and even played in a few men’s tournaments (where she missed the cut every time).

She has a lot of motivation, which is admirable; people all over the world are rooting for her, hoping this girl will give the big boys a run for their money.

I am not one of those people.

She wants to play in the PGA Tour, be my guest, but she should at least prove her worth. The PGA is the best of the best and one must earn the right to play there.

Her credentials:
- Never won an LPGA event
- DQ-ed after forgetting to sign her scorecard

Michelle Wie needs to prove herself by first dominating the LPGA scene, and by dominating, I mean winning.

I feel terrible for the players and reputation of the PGA, which is currently being tarnished by an overzealous feminist who can’t admit that she’s just not good enough.

Read/Discuss >>

Headlining: Basketball

• Josh Childress, formerly of the Atlanta Hawks, has chosen to leave behind the glamour of dubs and NBA basketball for gyros and Euro-ball.

• The Utah Jazz and LA Clippers have exchanged backup point guards, swapping Brevin Knight for Jason Hart.

• Minnesota has signed Sebastian Telfair to a potential three year deal. Is this undersized street-baller the perfect complement to this up and coming squad?

• After a superb season with the Warriors a year ago and the recent passing of his mother, will Matt Barnes be able to thrive in Phoenix?

• In Golden State's attempt to completely overhaul their lineup, the Warriors will compliment the shoot-first Monta Ellis with Marcus Williams in exchange for a future first-round pick. Too bad for New Jersey, the pick is lottery protected.

• GS also made a $6.4 million offer to the super-athletic super-untalented Maurice Evans.

Read/Discuss >>

For Childress it's not about the money. But, who cares if it is.

Josh Childress recently decided to reject the Atlanta Hawk's offer of about $36 million over 6 years.

Instead he chose to sign with Olympiacos, a basketball team based in Greece.

The Greek deal will give Childress around $21 million for 3 years after taxes.

The casual fan will look at this deal and think how sad it is that he's just going for the money. Where is the love of the game? Where is the desire to compete with the best? How come he can't be like P.J. Brown or Sam Cassell, and understand that you have to make sacrifices to win.

First of all, don't get me started with Sam Cassell. The same Cassell that demanded the Clippers buy him out because they "owed it to him." The Sam Cassell who believed that because of who he is, he deserves to receive a salary, for not doing any work. The Sam Cassell that ditched his team to join the Celtic bandwagon, and demanded that he be rewarded this treason.

Sam Cassell you are outrageous.

But back to Childress.

The real reason why Childress left the Hawks, is because they didn't show him the same respect that Olympiacos did. Last year, they chose not to sign him to an extension when they could have locked him up. Then this summer, they chose to express their relative position of "power" because Childress was an unrestricted free agent.
Atlanta wanted to keep Childress for the least that it possibly could.

I don't want to hear anyone say anything about Childress's "morals" or "values" or even make any generalizations about players who "go after the money." In fact, I believe players should go for the money, if they want to.

The fact that sports like basketball, baseball, football or soccer get built into these shrines of ethical righteousness is hilarious to me. The "sport ideal" involves being a superstar, but being selfless and achieving the ultimate end goal of a "championship."

It's brilliant marketing, it really is. Being a professional sports player means that you're job is to play sports. If you have the opportunity to earn more money in your job, why shouldn't you grasp it.

The sports media has a way of creating its own storyline, rift with protagonists and villains. Kobe Bryant was made the mockery of the NBA when he wanted to be traded to another team that he felt was better equipped to win a championship.

Kobe Bryant actually wanted to embody that "ideal" and he felt that the Lakers at its current state wouldn't allow him to be that. Indeed he made an error in talent judgement, and his business acumen is lacking (as good deals can't be made when you know that one side is desperate) but he simply wanted to be what everyone was telling him he should be.

He wanted the shooters, the passers, and the defesive support to allow him to play a team game. Kobe Bryant's real fault is that he wants to please those who define his legacy too much.

Kobe Bryant was made the villain, while Shaquille O'Neal remained a hero. I don't mean to make this into a Kobe vs. Shaq argument, because at this point I could care less.

Yet, we see Shaq half-a** his way throughout the season. Only to be rejuvanated when he realizes that he is traded to the Phoenix Suns. Shaquille O'Neal works only when he wants to. Kobe Bryant is the most consistent worker this league has ever known, but may complain about his job when he gets home.

Which to you seems more respectable?

I'm officially done with Shaq's antics, his manipulation of an ever to susceptible media and public and his lack of resolve. He is a big kid. Now, grow up.

Other people who are painted as villains are people like Josh Childress, who may said to be "all about the money." So I ask, why shouldn't it be all about the money?

Being all about the money is generally juxtaposed with being all about winning. The ones who are about "winning" are generally much more highly respected. Yet, both ideas are selfish desires. What does "winning" really represent?

Everyone has different goals in life. It's just assumed that if you are in the NBA then you're goal is to win a championship. If Josh Childress's goal is to attain "generational wealth" so that all his descendants can be financially stable then so be it.

I've been a sports fan since I was in 4th grade, but I believe that ultimately "winning" is just as selfish as "money making." Winning a championship does nothing for anyone. It makes the members of the team feel good about themselves. It makes the organization richer. It makes merchandise sell better. It is nothing other than pride.

Let's face it, that's what sports boils down to. Pride.

The Olympic committee is right in wanting to keep the participants amateurs. If you want to see athletes who are only about the sport, and are only about winning, then you need to watch the Olympics. Those guys barely make a dime.

They work for a feeling of accomplishment -- for personal and national pride.

Money gives you the power to affect change in the world.

Pride gives you bravado and stories to tell your kids.


I know I want both. But I'm just a human, I'm not a sports star.

Read/Discuss >>

Headlining: Other Sports

• The upcoming megafight between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito looks to be pretty vicious, as both are brawlers. Though Cotto has the better pedigree, Margarito vows to be ready.
  

• Who knew Greg Oden could sing? The whole thing actually is pretty entertaining.

• Carson Palmer sure is brave, bashing the Buckeyes while living in Ohio. Then again, there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity.

• What's wrong with Roger?

• With Jeremy Shockey being traded to the Saints, it's a story of the offensively rich getting richer. Check this out around 1:44 and around 2:23. With Shockey bruising people across the field, Drew Brees won't be the only beneficiary.
  

Read/Discuss >>

Headlining: The Olympics

• Lebron James has a mild right ankle sprain. He says fuggedaboudit. He guarantees U.S. Gold.

• Yao, would like to disagree.

• Right after the UN Secretary General praised the Olympic site, a broadcasting center gets evacuated.

• The rivalry continues: Asafa Powell gets his revenge against Bolt.

• For all you Olympic Goers: the Pocket Guide to U.S. - China relations

• The Clubs don't want to let Robinho, Kaka, Messi go to the Olympics. Who would?

Read/Discuss >>

Headlining: Baseball

• Seriously A-Rod? Of all the women you can have...Madonna? (Rumors surface about a sex tape)

• I have Chone Figgins and Vlad Guerrero on my fantasy team. Angels score 14 runs, and my guys go 1-11. Hilarious. (Angels 14, Indians 11)

• Poor Greg. Poor, poor Greg. (Maddux winless in 14 straight starts since winning 350th)

• It's a beautiful thing when you learn how to hit in the big leagues. (Quentin crushes 2 HRs and leads White Sox past Rangers)

• Apparently the Madonna scandal still was not enough publicity for A-Rod. (A-Rod signs with William Morris talent agency)

Read/Discuss >>

Candace Parker Doesn't take sh*t

If you're like me, your only experience with WNBA basketball went like this. Quick jumper, brick. Turnover. Turnover. Bad pass out of bounds. Quick jumper, brick. Time out. Time elapsed: 35 seconds.

Up until today, I had no respect for women's basketball. They can't shoot, can't finish, and turn the ball over every other play.

The only thing that could save the league was Candace Parker, the 6'4" phenomenon from Tennessee. She led her team to two consecutive NCAA basketball titles, won the McDonalds All-American dunk contest in 2004, scored 34 points in her WNBA debut, and on top of that, she doesn't look half bad.

In Tuesday's contest between the Los Angeles Sparks and Detroit Shock, Candace Parker gave the world another reason to watch her play, she ain't taking sh*t (and the other girls are not laying down either).

In this author's opinion, nothing could have been better for the WNBA than having their golden girl throw down and show off some brawn. Except a tomahawk dunk in someone's face after jumping over a car. Nude.

Nevermind, the fight's still better.

And on a side note: Something about The Palace in Detroit(Auburn Hills) seems to bring out the best in people... Enjoy.

Read/Discuss >>

Buy A Pencil, OJ

He averaged nearly 21 points as a freshman in one of the strongest conferences the Pac-10 has ever produced. He scored in double figures in every game this year but one.

He led the Trojans of USC to wins over UCLA, Stanford, Oklahoma, and Arizona, resulting in a second straight NCAA tournament berth.

It’s hard to imagine how this future millionaire and NBA all-star can possibly “owe” me anything, but it’s true.

OJ Mayo owes me big time.

It was February 21^st, 12:28pm, and I had just pulled an all-nighter studying for my Sociology midterm. As I sat at my desk eagerly waiting to start the 25-question exam, I heard the classroom door swing open. Assuming it was just another student who had barely made it to class on time, I didn’t bother looking up. Suddenly, my ears perked.

“Ey what up OJ!”

There’s no way. There’s no way that could be OJ Mayo. I had never once seen him in lecture. I finally decided to look up. Sure enough, dressed from head to toe in a bright red Trojan warm-up was our 6 feet 4 inch freshman guard. Temporarily star-struck, it took me a few seconds to realize that there was a vacant seat to my right. The very seat OJ Mayo was walking toward. The very seat OJ Mayo sat down in.

“What up man, you study for this thing?”

I was determined to play it cool with my response.

“Yea kind of. It shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Yea I hope so. I just wanna finish this thing and get the hell up outta here.”

I took out my phone to check the time. 12:33pm. I looked around for the professor. She had started handing out the tests, but was still well in front of where I was sitting. I had plenty of time. Making a point to keep my facial expression casual as my fingers furiously typed away, I sent a text message to each of my closest friends: “I AM TAKING MY MIDTERM NEXT TO OJ MAYO RIGHT NOW.” Send. Power off. Then I put my phone back in my pocket.

The professor had finally made her way to our row when I realized the reason why I was sitting here in the first place: I still had a midterm to take. As I tried to refocus myself, OJ’s voice rudely chimed back into my head.

“Ey dawg, you have an extra pencil I could borrow?”

I looked through my backpack for an extra pencil, found one, and handed it to him. Of course, that is what I should have done. This is what I actually did:

“Yea dude. Here, take this one.” I handed him the perfectly sharpened pencil that was already in my hand, the only pencil that I had. I dug through my backpack and found only a pen, a useless instrument for the scantron the professor had just handed me. Frantically trying to figure out what to do, I arrived at three possible courses of action.

Option A: I raise my hand to ask the professor for a pencil, who would likely agree and hand me one. But by verbally making this request, OJ would undoubtedly consider me a moron for loaning him my only pencil. I quickly discarded this option.

Option B: I kindly ask OJ for my pencil back, apologizing for mistakenly giving him my only pencil. However, as the first person in human history to do this, I would be portraying a shameful level of idiocy to OJ. This seemed even less logical than Option A.

Finally, Option C: I can read through the exam, mark the answers on the side with my pen, and wait for OJ to finish and give my pencil back. I decided to go with Option C, gambling that OJ would finish his exam with enough time for me to transfer my answers.

True to his word, OJ finished that thing, and got the hell up outta there. In fact, he was one of the first to finish, and even remembered to give my pencil back. I transferred my answers from my exam to my scantron, and finished the test well within the hour time limit.

Whether I go on to accomplish anything significant or not, I will always be able to say that I let OJ Mayo borrow my pencil for a Sociology midterm. OJ, if you’re reading this, you owe me. You owe me big time.

A final note: there doesn’t appear to be a profitable market on eBay for “pencil used by OJ Mayo” yet. I think I’ll keep it for now.

Read/Discuss >>

Hooray Indycar

I have never met an Indy car fan.

Maybe that's because we live in America where people only love NASCAR.

But then again, I have also never met a NASCAR fan.

However, I must admit that Danica Patrick has done a lot for the sport of car racing, almost makes me want to watch.

Almost.

Read/Discuss >>

Random Sports Ramblings

There are a lot of things going on in sports right now, so I'd just like to clear the pileup caused by my train of thought:

• Where are all these old guys coming from at the British Open? Seriously Greg Norman? I thought he was in a care home drinking Arnold Palmers. Tiger leaves, and everyone just decides to awaken? Either that or now people aren't scared and hiding anymore.
  
• It was already written about here, but I really have to say, Brett Favre needs to stop with his on-again-off-again mid-life crisis. He's double the age of most other NFL quarterbacks, and even if he is useful, what exactly does he want to prove? He's already outdone Michael Jordan on the fake retirement ridiculousness and has most likely broken the record for most cortisone shots taken in one season. America loves you Brett, don't tarnish it.
• C.C. Sabathia is gigantic. He's been stellar with two straight gems, but how many more complete games can that guy healthily chug out? I'm sure the stress isn't good for him.
• Sometimes you've gotta feel sorry for Lamar Odom. Every offseason without fail, he's been in multiple trade rumors. Yearly stories are posted about how close he is to being traded (for Shawn Marion, for Richard Jefferson, for Kevin Garnett, etc.), with the latest incarnation, actually reincarnation, as a trade to the Sacramento Kings for Ron Artest. From the Lakers standpoint, if Artest can keep his head on straight and play Dennis Rodman Jr. for at least 3 years, this could be great. If the Ron-Ron of Auburn Hills comes out, then you can only hope that Jack Nicholson doesn't have a courtside heart attack. Honestly however, Odom is a great player who just either got outplayed by a better player (KG) or bullied by a buffer troll-looking man (Perkins) in the Finals. If Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol stay alive, having Odom as the willing fourth option behind the both of them and Kobe Bryant could work out much better than having Ron Artest actively forcing himself into the first mate role.
• As a casual boxing fan, I must admit that seeing a Manny Pacquiao vs. Oscar De La Hoya matchup would make my year. The newly heralded pound-for-pound king facing off against the aging Golden Boy could be the most entertainingly brutal passing of the guard ever seen. Well if Oscar has any gas left in his tank, because otherwise Pac-man will demolish him.
• After watching the Josh Hamilton Derby, it got me to reminiscing. MTV and its Rock N' Jock basketball, baseball, and football were the sh*t. Tim Hardaway draining 50 point shots, Nelly nabbing passes from Dan Marino while he was chilling in a Laz-e-boy, Ken Griffey Jr. hitting bombs into gigantic metal gloves... why did this all stop? They were so entertaining. By the way, the home run and the half-court-buzzer-beating shot are two of the most overhyped things in sports. Home runs are ludicrously common nowadays, while those last second heaves make way too many top 10 countdowns over actually legitimately better plays. Maybe add in one per month, because of another one pushes out a clip of Kobe posterizing someone, I will flip out.

See you all next week for more random ramblings.

Read/Discuss >>

Come on Brett, Baby. Really?

Shocking news coming out of the football scene recently. Shocking because it's not-so-shocking. What exactly is shocking and not so shocking at the same time?

Brett Favre's Un-retirement.

We all love Brett dearly. We all are so very thankful for what he has done for football and his amazing ability to put a place like "Green Bay, Wisconsin" on the map.

Indeed Green Bay, I don't believe that you would exist without Brett Favre. You're entire city would flicker off into an inefficiency between quantum particles and their interdependecy with strong and weak forces.

If you don't believe me, it's all detailed in String Theory. It's actually going to be researched in August 2008 with the unveilling of the Large Hardon Collider. Make sure you understand string theory before you try to argue with me.

But back to the matter at hand.

Favre was unequivocally the greatest player in my football universe for years. Right up until March 2008, in fact. Right up until he retired.

So let's not make a big mess out of this situation, shall we? You're screwing with so many people's emotions, Brett, baby.

This is like getting dumped by that indescribably amazing girl that you ran into at the 7-11 on free slurpee day. It seemed like you guys had the perfect relationship, but after one of your best years, it all came tumbling down. And then after spending the next 3 months at home willowing over what could have been, you're finally able to take a step forward with your life. And BAM! You see her with another dude, who is smarter and more tan.

Because that's what's gonna happen Green Bay fans. Your Brett, baby, is going to go to a nicer city than yours. Why? Because almost all cities are greater than yours. And almost anywhere else in the continental US will he be able to get a better tan.

Don't do this Brett! Don't complicate this relationship even further than it needs to be.

Just reading the language in Green Bay's statement shows you that they've just begun to move on.

"Brett's press conference and subsequent conversations in the following weeks illustrated his commitment to retirement," the news release added. "The finality of his decision to retire was accepted by the organization. At that point, the Green Bay Packers made the commitment to move forward with our football team."

If you just happen to have a record season under a new team, the sting of the divorce will last forever. So come on Brett, Baby. Really?

BTW, you know that ATA (After the Anthem) loves Green Bay! We love all the Bays. Even you Chesapeake!

Read/Discuss >>

Back When Michael Vick Did Drugs

Don't we miss the days when Michael Vick was "the bad boy." When Michael Vick would simply smoke marijuana all the time.

Or when Michael Vick was involved in the theft of a rolex.

Or when Michael Vick was accused of giving someone genital herpes.

Or when Michael Vick would give the finger on national television.

Boy do I miss those days.

This video is in tribute to the Michael Vick of old.

Before the dog fighting, before the prison sentence.

And before the poor soul went bankrupt.





This guy really was one of the most exciting players in football to watch.

I feel bad for him. REALLY.

Read/Discuss >>

NBA Corner

Clippers were able to steal away Baron Davis from the Golden State Warriors and bring back hope to LA’s OTHER basketball team. Unfortunately for the Clipper fans, the corner stone, Elton Brand, decided to sell his house, packed his bags, and agreed to a deal with Philadelphia. And 20-point scorer Corey Maggette is gone too (but we all knew this was going to happen). Looks like the Clippers won’t be making the playoffs again… and we all hate EB now.

Maggette is absolutely yoked and should fit in perfectly in Oakland.

As soon as allowed, the Lakers offered our personal favorite, Sasha “the machine” Vujacic, a one year $2.6 million dollar offer. He still hasn’t responded. For a guy who came off the bench, averaged 9 points a game and found himself entrusted in the final moments of close games by Phil Jackson, I would expect the Lakers to lock him down for at least 2 years (so does Sasha).

Beasley dominated his first summer-league game and scored 28 points, the next game he went 1-13 FGs, 5 turnovers, and 7 fouls. However, judging from his 28-point performance against Tyrus Thomas and Joahkim Noah, Beasley should undoubtedly become a force for the Heat this season.



Second-round pick Mario Chalmers is also displaying signs of greatness by outperforming top pick Derrick Rose in his first game and putting 19 pts 9 assists in his second game. Who knows, maybe this kid will start at the 1 for Miami later this year.

Russell Westbrook. Rookie of the year? Seattle’s.. Oklahoma City’s… first round pick is averaging 18.5 points in his first two summer-league games, shooting well (8-10 his second game) and is meshing well with Kevin Durant and Jeff Green.



Quickly falling. Phoenix Suns. Nash is getting old. Shaq is already old. Grant Hill will get injured this season (and he's old). Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw have fallen out of favor. Amare Stoudemire can’t play defense. Shaq was their plan. Looks like ruin to me.


Future of the West. Brandon Roy, Jerryd Bayless, Travis Outlaw/Martell Webster, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden. Just process that for a minute. They’re going to be really good really soon.

Read/Discuss >>