"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." -- Philosopher George Santayana.

Mark Cuban must have skipped class that day.

Yesterday, Cuban wrote on his blog why he believes a rival professional football league to the NFL could succeed. He and a few others are apparently hatching a challenge to the oligarchy known as the NFL, ignoring the obvious fact that the sports landscape is absolutely littered with the  remains of similar enterprises. Not since the AFL, 40 years ago when the NFL was infinitely more vulnerable, has any rival even come close to succeeding.

OK, Cuban is a real smart guy who runs a classy if somewhat flawed basketball franchise, the Dallas Mavericks. And unlike many pro sports owners, he is open with his thoughts and even accessible to the press and the public. But this notion of a professional football league to compete with the NFL is quixotic at best.

All you need to know is this line from Cuban's blog: "The NFL wants and needs competition."

Right, like Alexander the Great and Napoleon wanted and needed competition.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
                    

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been quite the high-profile bachelor, having dated (in order): actress Tara Reid, actress Bridget Moynahan, and uber-supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

As the sports world knows by know, the middle of those three love interests -- Moynahan -- is expecting Brady's child, news that came out awkwardly after Brady jetted off with Bundchen.

In an interview in the forthcoming issue of Details magazine, Brady had this to say about the prospects of fatherhood.

"I want to prepare for it the way I do everything else in my life. I make lists. I make plans," Brady said.

He might have added, "and listen to the advice of my coach and mentor, Bill Belichick," but Coach Double-B has his own relationship situation at the moment.

There had been rumors that Brady and Bundchen were also expecting but that does not seem to be the case. The Moynahan pregnancy is very much a fact, though. Considering the, uh, complications of Brady's off-field situation(s), it reminds us of ... well, one of those amusing extended family sitcoms.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The investigation into Michael Vick's possible involvement with dogfighting is not going away and, in fact, seems to be picking up steam. Investigators in Virginia are checking the stories of informants who may link Vick to the animal cruelty that might have occurred at a property he used to own.

It is possible that prosecutors will have enough evidence to put before a specially convened grand jury in July, which, as the NFL calendar tells us, is training camp time, and that has to make the Falcons uncomfortable about their QB situation. There's a lot yet to be sorted out, not the least of which is whether Vick actually did anything wrong. And legal proceedings could also be delayed until after the season (which we all know is the most important thing -- we wouldn't want anything as petty as a criminal case to interfere with the season).

Until a few months ago, the Falcons had arguably the best quarterback security blanket in the league in backup Matt Schaub. Of course, he was traded in March to Houston.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

I thought I knew a little something about the NFL, but this one caught me by surprise.

Did you realize that if a player wants to change his uniform number, he may have to reimburse the team and the sporting goods company for the old jerseys they get stuck with at Dick's and Modell's?

Well, Raiders wide receiver Jerry Porter (he of one catch in 2006) now knows. Porter wanted to switch from No. 84 to No. 81. He said the new number is "slimming." No, I'm not making that up.  But the change would cost him $210,000. So it appears that he's going to stick with No. 84 and give up sweets.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Yankee Alex Rodriguez is just one of those guys made for the limelight.

But forget those 19 homers and 45 RBIs. What we want to know is what did Rodriguez really say to Toronto third baseman Howie Clark and WHO is that blonde he's with on the cover the New York Post.

Let's start with the game. The Blue Jays (who cushioned New York's free fall yesterday by losing to the Bombers, 10-5) are accusing A-Rod of unsportsmanlike play when he distracted Clark on an infield pop-up in the ninth inning. The Yanks led, 7-5 at the time, Rodriguez was on base, there were two out and Jorge Posada hit a pop-up that should have been the third out. But as A-Rod darts past Clark, he yells something. Clark backs off and the ball falls in. The Yanks score three more runs.

So, what did Alex say? Clark said, he yelled "Mine," which would be dirty pool, actually, because Clark thought it was shortstop John McDonald calling for the ball. A-Rod says he yelled, "Hah!" 

"Hah?"

The Yanks and Jays argued about all this and now there are hard feelings and everything. New York's Johnny Damon, whose Billy Budd-like, wide-eyed innocence never fails to amaze me, said: "I wasn't sure that was allowed. If it is, maybe we'll keep doing it."

Now for the blonde. The tabloid wrote a story implying that A-Rod has been seen hanging out with a blonde woman, who is NOT his wife, and their travels included strip clubs in Toronto and Dallas. It also said he was with a blonde in Las Vegas. While descriptions of the woman are vaguely consistent, it's not clear that it is the same woman. But if it isn't, that might be an even better story. A-Rod wasn't commenting on personal matters yesterday but this story -- as we say in the business -- has, ahem, legs.

Photo credit: Newsday / Paul J. Bereswill

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Boy, that Stanley Cup final is sure under the radar, isn't it.  That six-day layoff between the NHL conference finals and the championship sure didn't do anything for the momentum of that series.

Last night, Anaheim took a 2-0 series edge over Ottawa with a 1-0 victory.  After the opening two games in Anaheim, the series moves to Ottawa, where the Senators obviously have to sweep.  Since Ottawa may not be with us much longer, we thought we'd offer this little inspirational clip from the Senators' season as they prepare to make their last stand.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

If only the Orioles could stay in Kansas City forever, or at least play the Royals 20 or 30 more times.

The O's and Erik Bedard hung a 3-0 loss on the sad-sack Royals for a series sweep and Baltimore's fifth straight win. The Orioles are now 6-and-oh on the season against K.C. After hammering opposing pitching for the last several games, the O's played small ball in the eighth for a single run and then got a two-run homer from Nick Markakis, who was in off the bench, to put the game away in the ninth. Bedard pitched eight innings and was relieved by Chris Ray, who ended the game 1-2-3.  As The Sun's Orioles' beat writer, Jeff Zrebiec, noted in his story today, Bedard has now had a quality start in his last six games (going at least seven innings in the last five) and lowered his ERA from 6.09 to 3.67.

The Orioles head to the West Coast to play the Angels as we wistfully bid farewell to Kansas City.  Sigh.

* How about that Randy Johnson? I just love those old(er) guys. Coming back from a bout of tendinitis, Arizona's Johnson threw six innings of one-hit, six-strikeout ball to get the D-backs on their way to a 4-3 win over the Phillies. This was actually a historic day, gerontology-wise. The matchup of Johnson and the Phils' Jamie Moyer was a major league record for oldest opposing left-handers. Johnson is 43 and Moyer is 44. And now that the Orioles' Sam Perlozzo is out of the frying pan and Joe Torre is probably safe until we all see what Roger Clemens can do for the Yanks, my money is on the Phils' Charlie Manuel as the first manager canned. After climbing above .500, the Phils were swept in Phoenix.

* And in the NBA playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs did exactly what everyone expected them to do.  Playing Game 5 of the Western Conference finals at home, the Spurs rolled over the Utah Jazz, 109-84. San Antonio dashed out to a 21-point, first-quarter lead and it was switch to Law & Order time. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker each had 21 points for the victors, who await the survivor of Cleveland-Detroit, tied at 2-2. Actually, this spells a lot of trouble for the Eastern Conference winner. Whoever takes that series (and survivor is the right word) is going to be exhausted by the time they get to a well-rested and arguably more talented San Antonio.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 7:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

This has not been a good year for Jerry Buss.

Where should we start? Well, why not with the most recent developments. The latest trauma in La-La Land is over Kobe Bryant declaring that contrary to popular sports lore, he did not insist that Shaquille O'Neal be dispatched from the Lakers because the two superstars had irreconcilable creative differences.  Rather, Bryant says now, it was Buss who wanted Shaq out of town because he was just too darn expensive. All this time, Kobe contends, he has been suffering in stoic silence.  And, on top of that, if Buss can't get the team fixed, Kobe said he would just as soon be someplace else.

This is just the latest in a string of Buss headaches in 2007 that include:

* The Lakers exiting in the first round of the NBA playoffs for the second straight year.

* His daughter, Jeanie (a Lakers VP), criticizing his son, Jim (another Lakers VP), for criticizing the coach (her boyfriend), Phil Jackson.

* Bryant suggesting that Jerry West be repatriated to fix the broken kingdom.

* Buss being arrested this week on a suspected DUI.

* And, finally, failing to be included in this year's National Heads-up Poker Championship after busting out in the first round in the two previous years (in line with the performance of his basketball franchise). 

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Tiger Woods was in the house yesterday.  Well, the house being the Baltimore-Washington region as he promoted the first PGA event where he will serve as host.

The tournament, the AT&T National, will be played at Congressional Country Club the first week in July and Woods said that its place and moment was meant to honor the men and women in the military. Thousands of tickets will be given away to active duty personnel.

"I wanted to make a very ardent outreach to the men and women who serve our country," he said.  "I grew up in that household. I know what it's like, my father being in the military, and I know the commitment that it takes."

Woods has become one of those transcendental figures in sport, residing on a sports Olympus, and it's with that in mind that we offer this remembrance of his shot on the 16th hole of the final day at the 2005 Masters, where he won his fourth green jacket.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

You have to give Broncos coach Mike Shanahan credit for being an NFL innovator.

This might be the first time in league history that a roster spot was determined by a lie detector test.

David Kircus, a backup receiver and punt returner for Denver, faces assault charges for fracturing  a man's face during a fight after a party in suburban Denver on May 20. Kircus told Shanahan that he was defending himself and offered to take a lie detector test to prove it. The coach took him up on it and, sure enough, Kircus' version held up when he took the polygraph or whatever it was.

Kircus still faces the law, though.

But this whole lie detector thing in the NFL intrigues me. What do you say we hook up these head coaches during their press conferences?

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

"We were all sleeping. That's the only thing I can say." -- Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte.

And when they woke up, they were 14 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox. Don't you hate it when that happens.

Actually, Pettitte was talking about the steal of home by Toronto's Aaron Hill last night that helped the Blue Jays edge the Yanks, 3-2. But certainly he could have been speaking of the entire season. Now seven games under .500, the Yankees have more wins (21) than just two other teams in the American League, Kansas City and Texas (both 19).

Roger Clemens is scheduled to join the big club in time to start Monday against the Chicago White Sox.  But the way things have gone since he announced several weeks ago he was joining New York for a pro-rated $28 million -- and how futile it all appears right now -- you have to wonder if George Steinbrenner is having buyer's remorse.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Among all the big car races, baseball games, NBA playoffs and cheese rolling (missed that one, huh) over the Memorial Day weekend, lost in the shuffle may have been that Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title-holder Chuck Liddell lost his crown.

The popular Liddell was beaten by Quinton "Rampage" Jackson Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, yielding the championship that Liddell had held for 3 1/2 years in a first-round TKO (pictured below, AP Photo). But the bigger story was Liddell's reported penchant for partying before his loss to Jackson.

According to Las Vegas Review-Journal man-about-town columnist Norm Clarke, who is wired into the Vegas nightlife scene, Liddell was busy frequenting (second item)  some of Vegas' famous clubs during the week leading up to the fight. The association between the mixed martial arts community and Las Vegas' trendy dance clubs has actually been going on for some time. The operator of one of Vegas' most exclusive clubs told me several months ago that UFC fight nights were among the biggest at his own nightspot and that the fighters are among the most popular draws among a celebrity crowd that pulls from the entertainment and sports industries.

However, Liddell's training regimen may indicate that while the association between the burgeoning sport and the pop culture scene of the young, hip demographic it appeals to may be an overall marketing plus, it could also work against an athlete where it counts.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Ah, you have to love the friendly confines of Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium. Sure, the place is so empty you can hear the infielder's voices echo as they chatter encouragement to their pitchers, but who cares?

The Orioles beat the Royals, 6-2, last night in front of approximately 27,000 empty seats (13,556 announced or about Arena Football numbers). Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie, the bargain pick-up from Cleveland, went seven innings and upped his record to 3-1, and we all know it could be better with a little bullpen support. His ERA is just a smidge over 3.00, and he managed to hold Kansas City in check despite battling location problems. This is four victories in a row for the Orioles, who cling to second place in the AL East, albeit 11 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox.

* Speaking of the Red Sox, someone test the water in the Charles River. Bosox starter Josh Beckett, coming off the disabled list, raised his record to 8-and-oh with seven strong innings last night. The Red Sox, on a five-game winning streak and on pace to win 114,  beat a pretty good Cleveland team for the second straight game, this time, 4-2. Beckett had been on the DL since he tore some skin on his hand, you may recall, as the starting pitcher in what became known as the Orioles' Mother's Day Meltdown. 

* It's early, but the Dodgers' Brad Penny makes a strong argument as an NL Cy Young candidate.  Penny was part of a Los Angeles three-man combo that shut out Washington, 10-0, last night and raised his record to 7-1 with a 2.06 ERA. He hasn't given up a homer all season, actually 70 innings.

* You have to remind yourself that Cleveland Cavalier star LeBron James is just 22 years old. He has almost single-handedly brought the Cavs back from the brink of elimination in the NBA playoffs to knot the Eastern Conference finals 2-all with Detroit. Last night, he scored 25 points (13 in the fourth period) as Cleveland upended the Pistons, 91-87. The series now heads back to Detroit. I think the Pistons still take this thing because of their deeper lineup, but James gets high marks for taking on this load.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 7:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The Internet, whose impact and consequences were unforeseen a decade ago, keeps creating all kinds of situations many of us are wholly unprepared for.

Such is the case of a high school athlete in California, pole vaulter Allison Stokke. Stokke is a pretty good athlete. Who knows, maybe someday she'll be international caliber. I have no idea.

But she has become an Internet celebrity -- and victim.

You are reading a sports blog that is part of the Baltimore Sun's online publishing efforts. There are many other sports blogs on the Internet without such affiliation and a lot of them provide interesting and informative reading, viewing and listening to an ever-evolving audience.

But at least part of the appeal of some sports blogs is the frequent posting of photos of attractive women, often wearing very little. To be absolutely fair to the sports blogging community, it didn't invent the idea. Exhibit A -- Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue. However, some blogs ratchet up the concept quite a few notches, which brings us back to Allison Stokke, the accomplished and coincidentally attractive California track star.

Some of Stokke's photos have leaked onto the Internet (we're intentionally not linking to them, although in this day, it doesn't really matter) and subsequently, onto some popular sports blogs.  That wide distribution has, in turn, incited a voyeuristic attention that feels entirely unhealthy, considering the 18-year-old Stokke is in high school. But the Stokke phenomena has become so overwhelming that even The Washington Post had a reporter attend one of her recent meets to write about the situation. Stokke's father, a lawyer, keeps tabs on the Internet, vigilant for potential stalkers.

Ten, even five years ago, Allison Stokke is a local sports story, and that's it. But these new Internet meeting places, the blogs, have created circumstances that were unimaginable in that recent past. And as is the case with much involving the Internet, there seems to be no hard and fast rules to deal with any of it.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The Stanley Cup finals started yesterday with the Anaheim Ducks posting a 3-2 come-from-behind win over the Ottawa Senators.

That the NHL championship series is finally under way (they hadn't played for nearly a week) is good news in two camps.

Hockey fans are enjoying the exciting climax of their season. And non-hockey fans are comforted by the notion that soon they can watch SportsCenter without any stupid, irrelevant hockey scores interrupting the latest news of Barry Bonds' inevitable march toward baseball immortality (which at the current pace may last until 2012).

But back to the ice. Hockey has precious few songs that lyrically memorialize its place in the sports pantheon. Apparently, that was something that also occurred to famous Canadian troubadour Stompin' Tom Connors, the guy in the red shirt in today's video who strums this tribute to the greatest game on blades.

The chorus goes like this:

The good ol' hockey game is the best game you can name.
And the best game you can name is the good ol' hockey game.

See, that's what too much Molson too early in the day will do to you. Oh, and catch the old L.A. Kings uniforms. They all look like they fell into a giant jar of mustard. And below the video window, catch the link to the singing moose. Enjoy.

Now, if you'd like a singing moose version of this ditty (as Dave Barry would say, we're not making this up), lookee here.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The Asheville Tourists, who have one of the greatest nicknames in all of organized sports, will hold a promotion day next weekend when dogs will be allowed into the ballpark. Giveaways include frisbees, water bowls and pooper scoopers.

We expect game stories to include accounts of base runners who sprint like greyhounds and determined competitors who play with bulldog tenacity. Thanks to Fark for pointing it out.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The Times of London reports (which is almost as good as "the BBC reports") that certain types of sports bets may be problematic and, as a result, could be banned. First, you have to understand that sports wagering in the UK is much more prevalent than in the United States. Sports book shops are everywhere and gambling on a soccer match over there is as easy as buying a lottery ticket here.

But among the wide range of bets British bookmakers can offer are events that are much easier to manipulate than the actual outcome of a game. Say, who gets the first yellow card in a soccer game. Such wagers open the door for cheating, something not unheard of in the soccer world (for instance, recent Champions League winner, AC Milan, was involved in a match-rigging scandal in Italy last year).

While game-fixing is always a possibility, the opportunity to make wagers on something as innocuous as yellow cards is a Pandora's box that British authorities are trying to keep closed. 

In Las Vegas, wagers are limited to outcomes of events, whether team or individual. That's why legal bets cannot be taken in Vegas on events where there is the possibility of foreknowledge, such as the Academy Awards.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

With the nearest NBA franchise down in Washington (once Baltimore's own Bullets), it's tough to gauge what the interest may be around here when playoff time rolls around, so I thought I'd give you a little sidebar on last night's San Antonio-Utah game you're unlikely to see anywhere else.

The Spurs won the game, 91-79, finally pulling away from the overmatched Jazz in the fourth quarter. The win gives San Antonio a 3-1 edge in the Western Conference finals and pretty much punches its ticket to the championship against the winner of Detroit-Cleveland, where the Pistons lead, 2-1, and the series resumes tonight.

But back to a little sidelight of last night's Spurs-Jazz game. San Antonio went to the foul line 25 times in the fourth quarter (four on technicals against the Jazz) and scored 19 of its 28 final-period points on free throws. Utah coach Jerry Sloan and guard Derek Fisher were tossed in the fourth quarter on technicals.

Blowing the whistle and tossing some of those Ts was referee Steve Javie, hence our sidebar.  Years ago, I covered a trial in which Javie was a defendant in federal court. He was facing some pretty serious tax charges. It seems a whole bunch of NBA refs were in the federal stew on accusations that they were downgrading their first-class airline tickets and pocketing the difference in cash and ... not telling anyone, like, say, the IRS. A bunch of those fellows admitted what they did and took their medicine, but Javie decided to slug it out in court. I have to tell you, I covered federal courts in Philadelphia for a year and I can't recall very many people going to trial and winning. When the feds have you lined up in their cross-hairs, you're usually a goner.

But Javie elected to go to trial and his defense was -- frequent flyer miles. I kid you not. 

He argued that while he occasionally exchanged first-class tickets for coach, he used his miles to upgrade into first class. So even though he had the extra cash, he figured that the miles he used (which were not taxable) made the deal a wash.

Now, that didn't mean he didn't owe the taxes, but the issue in court was whether there was a  criminal intent to evade taxes. Javie needed to convince the jury that his mindset wasn't to deliberately cheat the government.

The frequent flyer miles defense worked. Javie was acquitted.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Actually, about the Memorial Day weekend, Baltimore fans have a right to be feeling pretty chipper today.

The Orioles won three in a row and discovered that there is some life in their bats, even if the revival includes the Kansas City Royals. More importantly, Johns Hopkins University took home its ninth national lacrosse title at M&T Bank Stadium in dramatic style, 12-11, over Duke.

The Hopkins victory was especially impressive and was truly a Baltimore event. Not only was the lacrosse final four held here but the tournament's Most Outstanding Player was goalie Jesse Schwartzman, who hails from Pikesville High. Schwartzman survived a furious Duke comeback in the second half to make a decisive kick save with just seconds left and Blue Jays midfielder Paul Rabil had six points, including five assists.

Even non-sports fans are aware of the  trauma surrounding the Duke lacrosse program over the last year but as much as the Blue Devils may deserve credit for enduring that crucible, Hopkins also should to be recognized for weathering that emotional tidal wave this weekend and prevailing. The crowd was distinctly pro-Duke and the Blue Devils had overcome a six-goal halftime deficit to tie the game 11-all before the Jays' Kevin Huntley scored the game-winner after taking a pass from Rabil.

* OK, it was just the Royals, but as the cliche goes, you have to beat the teams you're better than. Orioles starter Steve Trachsel pitched a complete game for his third straight win, lowering his ERA to 3.39, and catcher Ramon Hernandez reminded O's fans of last year by going  2-for-4 with a grand slam.

* And that black smoke billowing to the north is the smoldering wreckage of the Yankees' season. Forget Roger Clemens,  George Steinbrenner could hold a seance and try to channel the spirits of Cy Young and Walter Johnson through his sorry pitching staff and not be able to resurrect this season. The Yanks have dropped four in a row (they're now tied with Tampa Bay for last place in AL East), are seven games under .500 and 13 1/2 games behind first-place Boston.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 7:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

As expected, former NHL player Rick Tocchet pleaded guilty today to gambling-related charges.  However, he may escape jail time since first-time offenders for the crimes he has admitted to usually don't go to prison.

Tocchet, 43, had played for six teams over a 22-year career and was an assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes when he was charged in the gambling operation. The scandal splashed onto Phoenix head coach and hockey icon Wayne Gretzky because Gretzky's wife, Janet Jones, was named as a client of the Tocchet gambling business. However, there has been no evidence so far that The Great One ever placed an illegal bet with Tocchet. Tocchet also said that he did not bet on pro hockey.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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