On Monday, Sun colleague Milton Kent will be filling in here at O, by the way as I, your faithful correspondent, take a brief hiatus. Actually, you'll still be hearing from me now and then as I journey into the desert wilderness of 24-hour buffets and Elvis impersonators where they're holding the World Series of Poker.

No, I'm not playing. Rather, we usually have a robust contingent of Maryland players in Las Vegas for the annual poker spectacle and for the last few years, I've followed their exploits for the paper. In 2005, Severn accountant Steve Dannenman finished second and won $4.25 million (which he split with a friend who put up half the $10,000 buy-in) and last year, Rockville insurance agent Rhett Butler finished fifth and collected $3.2 million. Considering thousands of players enter the Texas Hold'em World Championship, that's quite a record for the local card sharks, and I'll be there again, at least for the first three days of the opening round, keeping track.

So please welcome Milton on Monday, watch for my intermittent reports, and I'll see you here again regularly on July 11.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Perhaps on the verge of taking civil litigation to a new extreme, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban appears to be contemplating some sort of legal action against Golden State coach Don Nelson. And some view it as payback for Nelson's Warriors upsetting the Mavs in the NBA playoffs.

Of course, the feud between Cuban and Nelson predates the recent playoffs. Nelson once worked for Cuban and the basis for the owner's action, whatever it turns out to be, is an argument that Nelson used confidential information about Dallas to engineer the first-round upset.

I can see the eyeballs rolling skyward out there now.

Look, forget about what's rational here. Cuban is a guy who has just enough imagination to dream up this stuff and certainly more than enough money to fool around seeing if he can make some kind of point. 

Nelson said this is actually tied to him trying to recover money he contends the Mavericks still owe him.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Joining the Huddles mascots and Plan B free agency, the idea of a European football league has been consigned to the NFL scrapheap.

The NFL announced today the anticipated shutdown of NFL Europa, the spring developmental league, less than a week after quarterback Casey Bramlet (right) led the Hamburg Sea Devils over the Frankfurt Galaxy, 37-28, for the World Bowl title.

This was actually the second incarnation of a European football experiment under the aegis of the NFL. The first was in the early 1990s with a mix of 10 American and European teams, but that fizzled. The overseas experiment was revived in the mid-'90s with teams in Britain and on the continent, but eventually five of the six franchises were concentrated in Germany. At the end, the only non-German team was the Amsterdam Admirals, which famously was a stop for NFL MVP quarterback Kurt Warner.

The NFL now plans to market its real product by playing up to two regular-season games a year abroad. The first will be Oct. 28 in London between the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants.

Photo credit: Lars Baron/Bongarts-Getty Images

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The news from the grass courts of Wimbledon is that they've been playing for a while now at the All England Club and they're going to be playing for a good while more, thank you very much.

I think this thing goes on nearly as long as the NBA playoffs.

Anyway, Roger Federer, who has been winning Wimbledon ever since Bjorn Borg retired (actually, Pete Sampras did have a pretty good run), is making his way through the competition as he guns for his fifth straight Wimbledon title. He just won his 50th straight match there. But check back later because the men's finals aren't even scheduled to be played until July 8.

So with Wimbledon under way, we thought we'd bring you a little video today that brings together, in a whimsical way, tennis, music and art.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

We are all left to wonder, is it a case of a fierce competitor refusing to yield to injury (sort of like Willis Reed in the 1970 NBA Finals), or a clever bit of manipulative gamesmanship?

Those are the questions surrounding the most important challenge of the entire competitive eating calendar -- the famous Nathan's hot dog chomping contest at Coney Island on July 4th.

Takeru Kobayashi, the Babe Ruth of hot dog eating (and the Babe himself was known to be able to wolf down a few), reportedly has a severe jaw malady, actually jaw arthritis, that could impair his chewing. But now we have word that Kobayashi definitely will be in Brooklyn to defend his title.

This year's showdown between the Japanese defending champion, who's just 5-feet-6 and 160 pounds, and American mastication hero, the taller and heavier Joey Chestnut, is much anticipated because, although Kobayashi set a new world record last Independence Day with 53.75 wieners, Chestnut raised the bar with more than 59 dogs in a qualifier in Tempe, Ariz.

If you've never seen one of these things, here's what you've been missing.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Expect to see the latest twist in the Chris Benoit suspected murders-suicide to make its way into a story line soon in a TV detective show. Wikipedia, the fast-growing online encyclopedia that is actually compiled and altered by Internet users, has turned out to be a source for some odd evidence in the case involving the WWE wrestler. Authorities are saying that sometime last weekend, Benoit strangled his wife, Nancy, smothered his son and then hanged himself.

But Benoit's entry on Wikipedia was apparently altered early Monday to reflect that his wife was dead 14 hours before authorities actually found the bodies in the family home near Atlanta. The specific reference was that Benoit had missed a match two days earlier because of the death of his wife. The site is currently closed to edits until July 8.

The entry can be traced to an IP (Internet protocol) address registered in Stamford, Conn., where the WWE is located. The IP address is a numerical signature for each computer, but it doesn't necessarily have to be broadcast from where it's registered.

Authorities are also looking into what role drugs, such as steroids, may have had.

Photo credit:  Associated Press

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The NBA draft didn't yield the blockbuster deal for the names most often mentioned in the last few weeks, meaning Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett or Amare Stoudemire, but the Celtics did reel in veteran All-Star guard Ray Allen from Seattle. As part of their compensation, the Sonics got the rights to Boston's No. 5 pick, Georgetown forward Jeff Green, who joins Seattle's own first-round selection and the No. 2 overall, Texas' Kevin Durant.

The trade illustrated a stark contrast in how the teams see their respective futures. For the Celtics, it gives them some proven scoring punch to go along with Paul Pierce, but they're sacrificing youth in the hope that the experience in their lineup with yield immediate results. By the time the season gets going, Allen will be 32 and Pierce will be 30. 

For the Sonics, it gives them a strong foundation for the future. Durant will be 19 and Green 21 when the season is in full swing. Seattle also got Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West from Boston and gave up their own No. 35 overall pick.

Otherwise, the draft went as expected, with Portland grabbing Ohio State's Greg Oden with the No. 1 pick. Yi Jianlian, the intriguing prospect from China, was taken No. 6 by the Milwaukee Bucks.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

It was an odd day for the Orioles. Both on the field and in the front office, they were left with situations that won't be determined for another month.

A monsoon forced Baltimore's game against the Yankees to be suspended in the top of the eighth inning with New York ahead, 8-6. The Yankees took the lead when Derek Jeter hit a bases-loaded single in a driving rain to chase two teammates home. That the umpires allowed the game to continue in a downpour while Chris Ray was trying to get the inning's last out infuriated Baltimore third baseman Melvin Mora, who confronted the umps as they tried to get off the field and was ejected. So he won't eligible to play when the game resumes on July 27.

The game will pick up where it was halted after a rain delay of one hour, 25 minutes. There was an earlier delay of 18 minutes in the bottom of the seventh when the Orioles went on top, 6-4. The resumption is scheduled for when the Yankees are next back in town.

Meanwhile, new team president for baseball operations Andy MacPhail said he was calling off the search for a new manager at least through July. That means interim manager Dave Trembley is getting an extended audition -- without it being called that -- to see if the verve the Orioles have been playing with lately continues. Baltimore is 5-3 since Trembley (right) took over for the fired Sam Perlozzo on June 18 but more importantly, the Orioles seem to be playing with a renewed sense of purpose.

MacPhail invoked the name of Tom Kelly, who was the interim manager in Minnesota in 1986 when MacPhail was in the Twins' front office. With Minnesota apparently responding to Kelly, the interim job became permanent and the Twins went on to win two world championships, in 1987 and 1991.

* Two hitting milestones were reached yesterday.

* Toronto's Frank Thomas became the 21st player to reach 500 homers when he belted a three-run shot in the first inning, but he was ejected late in the game after arguing a called third strike. Most of Thomas' homers came in 16 seasons with the White Sox, but he played with Oakland last year before joining Toronto this season. The Blue Jays lost to the Twins, 8-5. 

* And Houston's Craig Biggio became the 27th player in major league history to reach 3,000 hits after going 5-for-6 last night, but he's only the ninth player to get them all for one team. Biggio has played for 20 years, remarkably all with Houston. The Astros beat Colorado, 8-5.

Photo credit: Associated Press

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The incredible turn that life has taken for the prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse rape case, Mike Nifong, just got a little weirder. A hearing was held in North Carolina today, the purpose of which was to establish that Nifong is really, really, really fired from his job as Durham County DA.

As a result of the discredited case that's been characterized as an instance of prosecutorial misconduct, Nifong has already been disbarred, has made known his intention to resign, and, in fact, has already been temporarily replaced. But he failed to show at today's hearing.

Nifong also faces the possibility of going to jail himself for criminal contempt of court for earlier conduct.

A law enforcement official, Capt. Bill Wrenn of the Durham County Sheriff's Office, was quoted by TV station WRAL in Raleigh as saying, "Mr. Nifong's wife informed one of my officers earlier in the day that Mike had taken his guitar and left, and she didn't have any idea when he'd return."

For the former prosecutor, life is now about facing the music, not making it.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

We have been quietly putting together a modest little streak here of soccer tidbits at O, by the Way. And we like to think of them as cross-over items, things that would appeal to both the soccer aficionado and the soccer-cures-insomnia crowd.

We believe we have another winner right here. This little video shows a soccer fan in a jaunty red cap racing across the pitch, merrily waving some type of flag while being trailed by security in yellow vests (yellow is apparently the international color for "stay off the field or be pummeled into pancake batter"). There's no music so we suggest humming the William Tell Overture. Our hero is successfully playing fox to the hounds until ...

Well, we don't want to spoil the ending, but it's special and there are replays. We have the Parlayer blog to thank for pointing it out.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Orioles pitcher Daniel Cabrera, tonight's starter against the Yankees, is scheduled to be at the Inner Harbor ESPN Zone from noon until 1 p.m., tomorrow, where he'll take fans' questions and sign autographs. Cabrera's appearance is part of a series of fan Q&A sessions with members of the Orioles' organization at the restaurant. Future dates are July 24, Aug. 22, Sept. 12 and Sept. 27.

In addition, ESPNdeportes.com -- ESPN's Spanish-language Web site -- will have a translation of Cabrera's Q&A. The 26-year-old right-hander is from the Dominican Republic.

Photo credit:  Associated Press

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Here's the quick primer on the NBA draft tonight.

* Portland takes Ohio State's Greg Oden with the No. 1 pick and Seattle grabs Texas' Kevin Durant at No. 2. Then the guessing (and jockeying) begins with Atlanta at No. 3.

* There is the possibility for a blockbuster trade that can shake up this draft and the league in a significant way. So far, the big-time names who might be moved are Kobe Bryant (L.A.), Kevin Garnett (Minnesota) and Amare Stoudemire (Phoenix). The team with the draft picks most likely to be involved in a deal is Atlanta (with No. 3 and No. 11).

* The most intriguing player is China's Yi Jianlian, a 6-foot-11 forward whose age is something of a mystery (19 to 22). If he's on the younger end of that range, which he says he is, then he has tremendous upside potential. He appears to have the tools (finisher, ball-handling, perimeter shooting, free throw shooting) to be a building-block player. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that the Hawks are ready to take him at No. 3 and point guard Mike Conley Jr. at No. 11. Here's a look at Jianlian:

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

I know that sports business news makes your eyes glaze over. For one thing, the numbers -- now in the billions -- are so huge, no one can figure out their relevancy. And for another, those business stories don't affect your point spread one bit, do they?

But we think this one is important. The NBA just signed a new media rights package with the Walt Disney empire (ABC and ESPN) and Time Warner Inc.'s TNT that begins in 2008 and goes through 2015-16 (wow, that seems like Buck Rogers time, doesn't it?). It will pay the league $7.4 billion, which is about $930 million a year. That happens to be more than a 20 percent increase over the NBA's current media rights deal -- despite the fact that the TV ratings for the championship series between Cleveland and San Antonio were in the Law & Order rerun range.

But there's a lot more to this than just TV. 

This about games that you (or your kids) will watch on the computer and increasingly, I firmly believe, on a handheld device that you'll get for Christmas in a year or two or three. You see folks, this new NBA media rights deal is less about Kobe Bryant and more about you. It's your developing habits for watching sports and getting information of all sorts that we're getting a glimpse of here. Adapting to your life and your schedule is what this is all about. And that's how Disney and Time Warner can justify coming up with all that cash.

Changing times, my friends.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

You may have heard that the Orioles and the Maryland Stadium Authority have been having a tiff over the Sony JumboTron down at Camden Yards. The display screen, which was state of the art when installed, is on its last transistor or motherboard or whatever. The O's want a replacement and they say the authority has the responsibility to do that. And, of course, money is the issue.

Well, I think I have the answer. Right here we have a gizmo called the Liveboard, a gadget that combines high-tech wizardry with nostalgia. For our purposes here in Baltimore, we're calling it the O, by the Way "RetroTron."  It gives you all your baseball essentials -- your score, your inning, your pitch count and even shows where the base runners are. Just imagine a giant version in right-center. Cool, huh?

But seriously folks this is actually a product that came out this spring that works on wireless technology and allows fans to keep track of games around the country.  Apparently, you can set it to your favorite team or have it cycle through all major league games.  Sort of an old-time version of insta-scores on your mobile device. It costs $299 (a price that should appeal to the stadium authority). We're not endorsing here, just thought it was interesting. As we see this stuff, we'll pass it along.

Photo credit:  Courtesy of myliveboard.com

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Since we were talking about senior citizens on the pitching mound a little earlier, it provides us with a segue into an update on the World Series of Poker, where they just finished the Seniors no-limit hold'em championship.

The interesting news isn't necessarily who won (Ernest Bennett, a 55-year-old former dry cleaning business owner from Encino, Calif.), but rather how many players entered. There were 1,882 starters in the tournament where the minimum age is 50, an increase of 30 percent from the all-time high and a further indication that the lower-limit tournaments (this one was a $1,000 buy-in) are extremely popular. The several $1,500 no-limit hold'em tournaments have been drawing fields in the 2,500 to 3,000 range. Bennett collected more than $348,000.

Amarillo Slim Preston, now 78, finished 96th and made $2,655. It was the first cash-in in several years at the World Series for Preston, who introduced the tournament to the public at-large years ago with his appearances on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

A couple of things occurred to me last night as the Orioles beat the Yankees for the second straight game, this time, 4-0, behind Erik Bedard.

First, about the Yankees and Roger Clemens, who was the losing pitcher. New York is finished. Dead. Kaput. And it was Clemens laboring in the sixth that convinced me.

Clemens was supposed to give the Yanks a lift, both emotionally and on the field. There's no evidence of either.

When Aubrey Huff hit his three-run homer to left in the bottom of the sixth with no outs, Clemens' line was seven hits and three walks. For the first time in 201 starts, he failed to strike out a batter. And he had managed to escape without giving up runs in the two previous innings. More telling, I thought, was that he was struggling with location, and he looked gassed. And I say this with no satisfaction, Clemens (left, mopping his brow) looked like he was 44.

The future Hall of Famer is 1-3 with a 5.32 ERA. And anyone who thought he was going to provide the help the Yanks needed to protect their vulnerable bullpen, can just rethink that one. At the moment, he's just another six-inning guy getting by on guile. Yeah, it was a steam bath at Camden Yards last night, and it isn't even July yet.

The other notion that occurred to me was what if the Orioles go on to sweep the Yankees and continue this way for a while -- does interim manager Dave Trembley become a viable candidate to keep the job? From a practical point of view, I don't see it happening. Not because I don't believe he deserves it but because I do believe that Andy MacPhail comes here with his mind made up to change things and Trembley -- fair or not -- would seem to represent the status quo. Still, a strong enough run would certainly complicate things.

*  The Phillies' Ryan Howard belted a 505-foot home run last night in Philadelphia and at the same time set a mark for reaching 100 home runs faster than any other player in the history of the game. He has hit triple digits in 325 games. The previous mark was set by Pittsburgh's Ralph Kiner about 60 years ago in 385 games. The Phils still lost, 9-6, to Cincinnati.

* It was Geezers (or as they used to say in the old days, Graybeards) night in the majors. Clemens and the Phils' Jamie Moyer, both 44, and Houston's Woody Williams, 40, all pitched in losing causes. San Diego's Greg Maddux, 41, got his 340th win over San Francisco. The Mets' Tom Glavine, 41, posted No. 297 in a 2-0 victory over St. Louis. And Atlanta's John Smoltz, 40, who passed the 200-win mark earlier this season, went five scoreless innings as the Braves blanked Washington, 13-0.

Photo credit: Elizabeth Malby/Sun   

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

I realize it's June, which mean everyone in the NFL is on vacation, but when the home baseball team is 15 games out, you just can't help yourself.

Have you been hearing what's been coming out of Detroit?

Lions quarterback Jon Kitna said on a radio show that he thought his club would win 10 games this season -- but then he saw the schedule and he thinks, well, heck, at least 10.

Then Lions wide receiver Mike Furrey rushed into the public discussion and agreed with his quarterback, saying they can win 10, 12 games.  And I'm sitting here thinking maybe they're talking about the CFL's British Columbia Lions, who really are pretty good.

Now, I don't blame anyone for being optimistic about their team but whatever flavor that Kool-Aid happens to be that  Lions coach Rod Marinelli is passing out, it seems to contain hallucinogens.

A little history. The boys in Honolulu Blue were 3-13 last year and have six straight years of not just losing seasons but double-digit losing seasons. You know, 10, 11, 14 losses.

So 10 wins, huh? Let's see what the oddsmakers have to say about that.

Well, Kitna may have forgotten what it's like to play for the Lions (see above), but the oddsmakers have longer memories. A quick perusal of the online odds have the Lions at 45-to-1 to win the NFC and the over-under on total wins is at 6 1/2 -- which means they're about even money to actually lose fewer than 10 games.

Photo credit:  Associated Press

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
                    

Are you ready for the David Beckham marketing blitz? Me neither.

But it's coming. Oh, it's coming.

If you're one of those soccer Philistines who doesn't know a sweeper from a red card, Beckham is a soccer star who was one of England's national treasures that we yanks bought. Sort of like London Bridge out at Lake Havasu. Beckham begins playing with the MSL Los Angeles Galaxy in August, and American sporting goods makers are hoping Beckham is as good a marketing vehicle here as he is overseas. Already, Adidas is about to unveil a commercial with Beckham and New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush, a football meets futbol thing. In one clip I saw of the commercial being filmed, Beckham tries to throw a football and Bush deadpans, "Are you right-handed?"

So today's musical video is actually a previous Beckham Adidas commercial. But this isn't your run-of-the-mill sneaker sales pitch. Instead, it's a rather poignant monologue by Beckham set to music where he recalls being vilified in England for his failings in the 1998 World Cup (he was red-carded, meaning ejected from the game) and then his redemption a few years later in a match against Greece that qualified England for the World Cup.

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

I'm not sure how to feel about this. Ambivalent, I suppose.

A Florida girl just became the youngest golfer to qualify for the women's U.S. Open at age 12 years, four months and one day. That beats the previous record by about six months.

The pre-teen qualifier, Alexis Thompson, of Heathrow, Fla., seems to have a pretty healthy attitude. She said: "I wasn't really worrying about the record I was making. I just played my game and if I made it, I made it and if I didn't, it was OK."

She said if she makes the cut, that would be "awesome" but if not, that's OK, too.

Because of the nature of the U.S. Open, meaning its essentially democratic standards for getting into the tournament, I'm fine with whomever qualifies playing in the thing. But if this would lead to notions that young Ms. Thompson should turn pro before she's absolutely ready, then I worry. Like the 6-foot-1 Michelle Wie, Thompson is tall for her age at 5-6. But looking at Wie as a template, I'm not sure that what the 17-year-old has been going through lately has been a particularly good thing for her in the long run.   

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

If there's one thing that sports does not lack for, it's lists. Yesterday, we brought you a list of the top 50 sports jerks. Today, we a have a list that comes from a Harris poll that yields the 10 most popular athletes in America.

It's no shock that the genial, gentlemanly and gifted Tiger Woods is at the top. But No. 2 is Derek Jeter, so I'm guessing that the Harris folks didn't ask too many folks in Boston or down at Camden Yards. OK, but I'll give you that outside the AL East, Jeter would be a fairly popular guy.

The rest of the list is somewhat predictable. Michael Jordan, even in retirement, is there. Brett Favre, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Dale Earnhardt Jr. And then there are the heroes of the moment, LeBron James and Tim Duncan, who played in the NBA Finals for Cleveland and San Antonio, respectively.

But here's a stunner. At No. 9 -- on a most popular list -- is Kobe Bryant.  What am I missing here? Doesn't popular imply likable? 

Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

The pseudo-sports world of professional wrestling may have to face some substantial changes as a result of the apparent murder-suicide of WWE wrestler Chris Benoit and his family. Authorities are now saying that Benoit killed his wife and 7-year-old son, then hanged himself in the family's Fayetteville, Ga., home over the weekend.

Investigators are also looking into the role that steroids or other drugs may have played in the tragedy.

This all comes as the WWE was going through the play-acting associated with the staged car bombing and pretend death of WWE head Vince McMahon. That charade has obviously been dropped. But the WWE wound  up embarrassing itself when it allowed the airing of a lengthy tribute to Benoit (right) before the facts of the case became apparent.

More the point is that the Benoit tragedy may intensify the scrutiny of wrestling regarding performance-enhancing drugs. Of course, there's been enormous pressure on legitimate sports to clean up their acts in that regard but wrestling -- where outcomes are part of story lines and not the result of genuine competition -- has taken a lot less heat. However, the deaths of innocents may, or should, change that.

Photo credit: Naashon Zalk/AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

It wasn't particularly dramatic, nor the stuff of baseball lore, but bottom-of-the-ninth victories against the Yankees are still welcomed in these parts, even if the winning run does trot across the plate after being forced in by a bases-loaded walk.

The Orioles' 3-2 triumph last night was a refreshing change from the way the season has been going so far. For a change, someone else's bullpen had a meltdown. New York relief pitcher Scott Proctor walked three batters in the ninth, the last being Baltimore catcher Ramon Hernandez, a free pass that forced home Corey Patterson.

It came after a bit of controversy. Hernandez said a previous pitch by Proctor had grazed his shoulder, but he couldn't convince home plate umpire Rob Drake. After getting himself worked up, Hernandez said he realized he had to calm down to continue the at-bat. He regained his concentration and took the walk.

In addition to the win, the further good news was that more than 39,000 fans showed up at Camden Yards to see the game. Now, there was a lot of cheering for Johnny Damon's two-run homer, but it's impossible to figure out whether the attendance was simply due to the Yankees being in town or perhaps a bit of a sense of renewal following the managerial change from Sam Perlozzo to interim Dave Trembley. But whatever the reason, it was good to see Camden Yards filled again.

Jeremy Guthrie started for the Orioles and got another no-decision, giving up just two runs in 6 1/3 innings. Guthrie has allowed two runs or fewer in nine of his 10 starts. Chris Ray got the win in relief.

There should be another big crowd tonight with Roger Clemens pitching against Erik Bedard.

*  In the three-way battle in the NL West, the Dodgers took a slim lead over Arizona and San Diego, getting a pair of homers from unlikely heroes. Tony Abreu hit his first career home run in a pinch-hit role in the top of the 10th for the deciding run in a 6-5 Los Angeles win over the Diamondbacks. And rookie first baseman James Loney hit a two-run homer earlier in the game in his first start. Loney has hit three homers in 12 games since being called up from the minors. Los Angeles has a half-game lead over the D-backs and Padres.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 7:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Baltimore sports fans can be a defensive group when it comes to their athletic heroes, but there wouldn't be total disagreement about the Top 50 sports jerks of all time on CBS SportsLine.com.

OK, so some don't want to hear anything negative about Ray Lewis (No. 49), Babe Ruth (No. 42) and Art Modell (No. 38). But there are some others on the list that Baltimore fans would have no problems with -- Albert Belle (No. 44), Reggie Jackson (No. 14; remember he played here in 1976) and, of course, Robert Irsay (No. 5 on this list; No. 1 in the hearts of Baltimore fans).

Who is No. 1 on this list? O.J. Simpson, who visited here during his 2,003-yard rushing campaign in 1973, when Baltimore still had the Colts and O.J. still had his good name. 

Posted by Jack Gibbons at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
                    

The United States won the Gold Cup with a 2-1 victory over Mexico over the weekend. Although it was the fourth Gold Cup title for the U.S., American victories on the international stage are still something of a big deal and probably come, to most of us, as a surprise because it's one of the few sports in which we have a national inferiority complex.

This musical video that celebrates grassroots soccer is an interesting mix of the game, national pride and hip-hop with the appropriate title of Don't Tread (on this) -- although we confess it has an unusual epilogue.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

I'm not sure how much Titleists or Top Flites cost down in Florida but whatever it is, I'm pretty sure it's not worth sticking your arm in alligator-infested waters to retrieve one. But, of course, you can never underestimate the frugality or overestimate the intelligence of some duffers. One guy down in the Sunshine State had his arm nearly taken by an 11-foot gator when the golfer reached into a pond to get a wayward ball -- even though there was a sign that said, "Beware of Alligator."

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Joe Girardi's visa to pass through the the Fort McHenry Tunnel has apparently been revoked.

Of course, we all know that Girardi declined the Orioles' offer to manage here last week. Had he accepted, the former Yankee and current YES Network TV analyst would have been in the O's dugout for the series starting tonight against New York. Now, comes word in The New York Times (see notes at the end) that the YES Network, which televises Yankee games, is pulling Girardi from the broadcast booth because it was anticipated that his presence here would cause a bit of a  media to-do -- perhaps distracting the Yankees in their futile chase of the Boston Red Sox.

Frankly, it's probably a good idea. Joe might have gotten some bad seafood or something, heh heh, (just kidding).

In terms of actual baseball, this three-game series has some intriguing pitching matchups.  Tonight, it's Andy Pettitte vs. Jeremy Guthrie (left). Both have pitched better than their respective records indicate. Tomorrow, it's Roger Clemens (whose last appearance was in relief) against Erik Bedard. And Thursday, it's Kei Igawa vs. Daniel Cabrera, who had one of his teaser (meaning solid) outings in his last start.

Photo credit:  Associated Press

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
                    

There's not a lot of mystery surrounding the very top of the NBA draft on Thursday night. Portland will take Ohio State's Greg Oden and Seattle will grab Texas' Kevin Durant. After that, Florida's Al Horford is considered the consensus pick to Atlanta, but there could be a surprise with perhaps Buckeye Mike Conley, North Carolina's Brandan Wright or China's Yi Jianlian jumping up.

The only wild card would be some sort of trade that would either involve or appease the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, who has been a gift from heaven for the NBA since he has actually kept the league in the news lately. But even such a deal won't affect the selection of Oden, who is considered the real franchise-changer this year. An interesting twist to the draft is that four of the top five consensus picks are freshmen, and that a senior is not projected to be taken until the top 10 players are chosen.

It was more a formality than anything else, but Oden worked out for the Trail Blazers and here's how it went.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

I've always wondered about the wisdom that went into the building of Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, where Arizona State plays football -- and until recently, the Arizona Cardinals.

They have these metal benches that, during day games, approximate the same effect you get on your backyard barbecue on the Fourth of July when you're grilling hot dogs.

Now, it appears that what may have been a shortcut builders originally took when the place was constructed nearly a half-century ago is coming back to haunt the university. When Sun Devil was first built, it wasn't water-proofed. Considering the place is in the desert, why go through the trouble, right? One problem, though. The maintenance crew has been hosing down the stadium after almost every game. Now, Sun Devil Stadium needs about $45 million in repairs over the next few years for rusting support beams and other damage.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The Orioles were off yesterday and as they open a series at home tonight against the Yankees, the search for a new manager is set to begin anew. In the meantime, they're finding out about the work ethic and leadership of interim manager Dave Trembley, who never played in the majors or minors but is highly respected by many of the players with whom he has worked.

Meanwhile, in places where teams are focused on what is happening on the field, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks began a key series in the NL West.

The Dodgers' Brad Penny helped give the first round to L.A. by  throwing eight innings of four-hit ball in an 8-1 victory. Yesterday's pitching performance raised Penny's record to 10-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.04. Every time Penny faces Arizona, the D-backs should get a queasy feeling. The Arizona franchise originally drafted Penny back in 1996 but, even though he was a minor league standout, they traded him (to Florida while he was still in the minors). He's 7-2 against the organization that originally signed him. With the win, the Dodgers moved to within a half-game of Arizona in that divisional race.

* Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia turned in a throwback performance as the Indians outlasted Oakland, 5-2.  Sabathia pitched a rarity these days, a complete game, and it was his second of the month, giving him an 11-2 record and tying him with Boston's Josh Beckett in the total win department.  But here's what impressed me about Sabathia. In the ninth, he was in a bit of a jam with runners on second and third and two out. Instead of going to the bullpen, Indians manager Eric Wedge let Sabathia stay in the game (even though he was on his way to 111 pitches) and the starter struck out Mark Kotsay to end the game.

* And the Chicago Bears finally decided enough was enough with Tank Johnson. The Bears cut Johnson after a traffic stop over the weekend in the Phoenix area, where the defensive lineman was going 40 mph in a 25 mph zone at 3:30 a.m., and the police suspected he may have been driving impaired. During the offseason, Johnson has served a short jail sentence for violation of his probation, all related to gun charges. And he had already been suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for the first half of the 2007 season, Certainly this could lengthen that -- if he's signed by another team.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 7:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

When it was introduced a few years ago, the NFL Rookie Symposium was as anonymous an event as any on the sports calendar. But anything that moves and says "NFL" seems to generate some sort of attention.

The rookie symposium, which is going on this week in Palm Beach, Fla., is a mandatory orientation for all drafted players. They get advice and hear presentations on what's expected of them as NFL players, how to deal with finances, and on appropriate ways to interact with the media and the public. Considering the off-the-field problems of so many NFL players over the last couple of years, highlighted by Adam "Pacman" Jones, the symposium's emphasis is sure to be on player conduct. Reportedly, the league will emphasize positive NFL role models, such as Walter Payton, Reggie White and John Elway.

The NFL, both through its broadcast partners and its own NFL Network, has done an impressive job of turning static events into viable TV programming. The NFL draft is certainly the best example, but we've also seen coverage of the scouting combine in Indianapolis and even the owners' annual meetings in March. NFL Network is not planning a live broadcast of the symposium but will have reports on its Total Access show and be filming material for a documentary on rookies Amobi Okoye (Houston) and Eric Wright (Cleveland). But I wouldn't be surprised if the symposium showed up as live coverage on NFL Network in the future. After all, it would be one more opportunity to allow fans a behind-the-scenes peek at how the league operates and, of course, see and hear from their respective teams' draft choices. And what Baltimore fan couldn't use a little look-ahead at pro football right about now?

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

As many of you have heard by now, former relief pitcher Rod Beck was found dead in his Arizona home over the weekend at age 38. While authorities have said foul play is not suspected, cause and manner of death have yet to be determined.

Beck looked like a guy you'd expect to see playing in a Sunday softball league, but there was no question that his right arm was strictly big league. He's in an exclusive club for having 50 saves in one season for the Cubs, one of four major league stops over 13 seasons. He started in the majors with San Francisco, then went to the Cubs, Boston and ended in San Diego. Along the way, the colorful pitcher was on three All-Star teams.

Beck made fun of his own portly frame ("I've never heard of anyone going on the disabled list for pulled fat," was one of his quotes). He was gregarious with his teammates, the press and fans. But toward the end of his career, he struggled with personal problems, entering drug rehab. Here's one fan's musical eulogy to Beck:

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

For baseball players Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi, the specter of performance-enhancing drugs certainly casts a cloud over their careers and how they're perceived but so far, both continue to prosper as wealthy athletes. However, for track star Marion Jones, the association with such substances has helped spell financial ruin.

Jones reportedly is heavily in debt, saw a bank foreclose on her $2.5-million North Carolina mansion and is down to a bank balance of $2,000.

Some of those financial troubles can be attributed to legal fees associated with accusations that she had taken performance-enhancing substances along with missed opportunities to perform for cash in track meets. Jones won five Olympic medals, three gold and two bronze, in Sydney in 2000.

Photo credit: Matthew Stockman /Getty Images

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

It figures that in a land where football fans PROUDLY where Cheeseheads, you'd have a foot race where the refreshment stations along the way are for beer.

We're a little sorry that we're getting this one out late (the PR release must have slipped into the wastebasket) because we figure a few of you may have wanted to participate. But yesterday, Beer Belly Two (as in two-mile run/walk/meander) was held in Suamico, Wisc. Some of the hundreds of  competitors -- if that's the right word -- carried their own mugs. The fastest finisher crossed the line in 10:19, so somebody was at least a little serious.

The run is part of a charity event that has reportedly raised $350,000 since it began. We're including the link here just in case you may want to keep track of things and register for next year.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Juan Pablo Montoya achieved a rare auto racing triple yesterday when he won the Nextel Cup race in Sonoma, Calif. With the NASCAR win, the Colombian driver has now finished first in NASCAR, Formula One and the Indy 500. Oh yeah, he also has won a CART world championship and the 24 Hours of Daytona.

But NASCAR fans will want an asterisk beside yesterday's victory. It was on a road race course, more in keeping with Montoya's Grand Prix experience. The NASCAR crowd will insist that he win at someplace like Talladega or Charlotte or Daytona before offering full accolades. Still, for a rookie in NASCAR, it was quite an accomplishment. Montoya won at Sonoma by coaxing some extra gas mileage out of his Dodge while his competitors were running short on fuel.

Photo credit: Associated Press

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The Orioles' 3-3 record on their western road swing in San Diego and Arizona since Sam Perlozzo was fired was representative of what the team's state likely will be until a new permanent manager is hired. In other words, for the time being, the O's are just treading water.

They lost one, won three in a row -- either the "new manager" adrenaline rush or what they call in the stock market, a "dead cat bounce" --- and then dropped two. If it's even possible to continue to be frustrated by the Orioles any longer, it was frustrating to see what has been a bad-hitting team get 14 hits but score just three runs in the 8-3 loss to Arizona. The first five guys in the order were 11-for-22. But the starting pitching, easily the best part of the team so far this year, came a little unglued over the weekend with Steve Trachsel getting bounced around yesterday (five runs in four innings). On Saturday, Brian Burres didn't make it out of the fifth.

I'm interested to see what the fan support will be with the Yankees pulling into town tomorrow. The attendance usually gets a pop, sadly mainly from Yankee fans, but with the Yanks fading again and the Orioles in limbo until a permanent  manager is announced, there's the potential for a pretty empty Camden Yards.

* I feel good for Edwin Jackson. The Tampa Bay pitcher not only got his first win of the season after losing eight in a row, but it was Jackson's first victory in TWO years. He has had an awful season -- a 7.39 ERA, and he has failed to make it past the sixth inning in any start, including yesterday when the Devil Rays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9-4. So, if nothing else, you have to give Jackson points for perseverance.

* And the Mountain Dew Pro Action Sports Tour completed its Baltimore stop over the weekend. Attendance was good for the event, which began Thursday and ran through yesterday. Nearly 55,000 fans showed up, which tour organizers said was the second-best turnout of the tour's two-year history (Baltimore was the first stop this year). Olympic snowboarding gold medalist Shaun White, who is pursuing skateboarding as a second sport, won the skateboard vert. In the same event, hometown star Bucky Lasek, dealing with a bad left knee that's supposed to be operated on today, finished fourth. Lasek is from Dundalk and now lives in California. The tour features skateboarding, BMX and motorcycle competitions.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 7:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

I have to leave you good folks just a little early today. I'm headed down to the Mountain Dew Pro Action Sports Tour at M&T Bank Stadium. Gotta keep up with the latest in sports, you know.

Anyway, I want to wish you a good weekend and leave you with this musical tribute to the earliest days of skateboarding -- one of those action sports I'll be taking a look at this afternoon. And while this film was obviously taken long before Tony Hawk took skateboarding from the playgrounds to arenas -- and turned it into big business in the process -- the video captures the essence of it all. Youth and freedom.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The NCAA has gotten itself involved in many things that it would have been better served to have avoided. A few years ago, it tried to get Congress to ban Las Vegas casinos from taking bets on college sports. Now, the NCAA sends people to Vegas casinos for March Madness because it just figured out that Vegas' legal sports books are the most effective early-warning system for cheating.

A couple of weeks ago, the University of Louisville, acting on behalf of the NCAA, bounced a newspaper blogger from a college baseball game because officials contended it interfered with their agreements with ESPN and CBS Sportsline. Never mind that college baseball struggles to get any media attention.

But here's something that is apparently perfectly OK with the NCAA. Southern Cal basketball coach Tim Floyd recently solicited and received an oral commitment from an eighth-grader, Ryan Boatwright, to play basketball for the Trojans in 2011 when he graduates from high school. The agreement is non-binding -- which makes me wonder what the point is -- but the whole thing feels creepy.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

A few weeks ago, while the NBA Finals were going on, we ran a lunchtime music video here that featured the work of George Vlosich III, an artist who works in the medium of -- Etch A Sketch. In that video, we saw a fast-forward version of Vlosich doing a portrait of the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James.

The simple, low-tech gadget that's merely a plaything in the hands of most people has become the means that allows Vlosich to exhibit his considerable artistic talents.

Well, it turns out that George has some Baltimore connections. Even though Vlosich is from the Cleveland area, the athlete he has drawn the most is Cal Ripken Jr. Vlosich met Ripken years ago at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium and after seeing young George's artwork, Cal rewarded him with a game-used bat.

And one of Vlosich's most viewed works hangs in the ESPN Zone at the Inner Harbor. It's an oversized replica of a dual portrait featuring Ripken and Lou Gehrig, the two Iron Men of baseball (see below).

Vlosich, 28, works for an advertising firm on the creative end of the business but art, he said, is where his heart is. He has drawn numerous sports heroes and political luminaries and has even met Bill Clinton after doing a portrait of the president.

"I got my start on a family trip; we used to drive to Baltimore and Ocean City and D.C.," he said, "and one time I did a picture of the Capitol building.  From there, I just wanted to see how good I could get."  To see more of Vlosich's work, here's a link to his Web site.

And, remember, like all Etch A Sketch drawings, Vlosich's works are one continuous line and each picture takes 60 to 70 hours.

Images couretsy of George Vlosich III.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

A few weeks ago, we told you about the World Series of Golf being played in Las Vegas. It's a novel approach, combining the game of golf with the betting strategies of poker.

A Marylander, Rockville insurance broker Rhett Butler, finished second in the tournament, which is being televised on NBC tomorrow and Sunday, starting at 3 p.m. Butler finished fifth in last year's World Series of Poker Main event and won $3.2 million. His second-place showing in the World Series of Golf earned him a lot less, but he'll probably get more air time. Anne Arundel accountant and poker player Steve Dannenmann was also in the tournament but was knocked out in the opening round.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

I know there's about as much interest in ice hockey in these parts as team kite flying, but this turn in the Nashville-Hamilton Predators story just floors me. 

There's this NHL team in Tennessee (honest, I'm not kidding), and the franchise is in the process of being sold to a guy who's a big shot with the company that makes those BlackBerry things. Anyway, it appears the new owner might move the team to Hamilton, a city in Canada where they actually give a hoot about hockey.

None of this is my point, though. My point is that the BlackBerry guy is reportedly paying $220 million to $238 million for the team. Now, what's a hockey team worth? Well, two years ago, the Anaheim Ducks -- this year's Stanley Cup champions -- sold for $70 million. Forbes magazine estimated the value of the Predators at $134 million. And even the BlackBerry guy offered only $175 million for the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this year.

The lesson of this fascinating little numbers tale apparently is this: It does not matter how popular or unpopular a team is, or whether it makes money or not. As long as there are bazillionaires who want to sit in the owner's box of a so-called major league team, there will always be a profitable exit strategy for having invested in a sports franchise.  

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

If Jason Giambi does what he says he'll do, it's unlikely that former senator George Mitchell, baseball's investigator interminus, will learn anything more than he could have just by going onto Amazon.com and buying a copy of Game of Shadows, the book by San Francisco reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams about performance-enhancing drugs and baseball. Giambi's grand jury testimony four years ago has already been laid out -- that he admitted to taking steroids from 2001 to 2003 and HGH in 2003. 

Whatever Giambi has to tell Mitchell is going to hew closely to what he already told the grand jury, and by now, he ought to be pretty good at talking about it. So, this exercise is not likely to further the investigation's formal understanding of what happened, when it occurred and-- much more importantly -- WHO KNEW IT.

And that's one of the points made in this FOX Sports column by Mark Kriegel. I don't know Kriegel, and I'm sure he's never heard of me, but it seems we agree that these types of widespread ills are indicative of systemic failings that cannot become as pervasive as many fans believe they did without the knowledge of people at the top.

Hearing baseball's overlords imply ignorance about steroid use in their game is akin to ex-Enron CEO Kenneth Lay contending that he didn't have a clue that his underlings were running a corrupt corporation.  

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

This Orioles' season is getting interesting. Not entirely good-interesting, but interesting nonetheless.

Baltimore beat San Diego, 6-3, yesterday, which was noteworthy in itself considering the O's were dragging around a nine-game losing streak like a ball-and-chain heading into Wednesday. We already know about managerial candidate Joe Girardi turning down the team's offer. Then came the indication and the confirmation that Miguel Tejada's wrist injury may be more serious than originally thought. And finally starting pitcher Eric Bedard strained a hamstring, ending his day early.

Tejada went to the plate just once, batting No. 2, bunted (not so hot) and came out of the game.  Then we learned that he has a slight fracture from that nasty shot he took Wednesday that may end his playing streak at 1,152 games. There were questions about preserving it in the manner he did yesterday. Bedard was having a crisp game (two runs, nine strikeouts, no walks) when the hammie went tight in the sixth. He's a wait-and-see.

In an otherwise grim time, there was some levity. A "Pacman" Jones wannabe showered the field with dollar bills in the sixth inning just before O's catcher Alberto Castillo hit a solo homer to left field off Padres starter David Wells. Speaking of Wells (and I should talk because I'm no greyhound), but is it me or is he getting bigger? Unless it's considered performance-enhancing, get that man some hoodia already.

* Well, that Clemens thing is working out just dandy for the Yankees. The Rocket is 1-2 since his much-anticipated return, and he wasn't able to keep New York from getting swept by the Rockies, 4-3, in Denver yesterday. He did have a 2-0 lead but then Clemens gave up seven hits, including two homers, in 4 1/3 innings. The Yanks had won 14 of 17 heading into Coors Field, but all of the sudden, they stopped hitting. They're 10 1/2 behind the Red Sox in the AL East.

* And if only Big Pussy had been more like Jason Giambi, he might have made it to the last episode of the Sopranos. The Yankees' Giambi has agreed to talk with major league baseball's investigator, former Sen. George Mitchell, about the thinly veiled comments Giambi made earlier in the season about his own steroid use. But Giambi stressed that he would not talk about any other players. In a statement, Giambi said, "I will address my own personal history regarding steroids. I will not discuss in any fashion any other individual."

Giambi had the apparent temerity to suggest the obvious a few months ago, that all quarters of the baseball establishment owed an apology for the steroids era. And he made a tacit admission of his own use. Ever since, Selig has been threatening him with discipline unless he talked to Mitchell. Giambi has been on the DL with a foot injury.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Just in case you've had enough of the Orioles, here's a bit of Ravens news. The team's training camp schedule for McDaniel College has just been released.

The team reports on July 29 and the first practices are on Monday, July 30 (8:15 a.m. and 4 p.m.)  There will be 27 practices over 20 days, including a scrimmage against the Redskins at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 4, at noon. Camp breaks on Aug. 18 after a 9:30 a.m. practice.  All practices are open EXCEPT on Monday, Aug. 6. 

Click here for the full training camp schedule, provided by the Ravens.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

The news spread quickly. Joe Girardi stiff-armed the Orioles' offer to manage here.

I'm only a little surprised. When Girardi talked about making a decision that was the best "fit" for his family from the outset, what you were hearing was a guy laying the groundwork to say "no" unless there was a monster offer. It doesn't matter what the reason was, the fact that new president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail wasn't able to land Girardi doesn't reflect well on him.

Because Dusty Baker (left) and MacPhail were in Chicago together with the Cubs, there was some initial speculation (including here) that he would be on the Orioles' list. But more recent reports indicate that that will not be the case.

It's hard to handicap Davey Johnson's chances, although I'd wager he would be the fans' choice. And then there's Rick Dempsey, waving his hand like that kid in class yelling, "Pick me, pick me, pick me!"  Other names that have surfaced are Don Baylor and Jerry Manuel.

 Photo credit: Nam Y. Huh/AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (55)
                    

NASCAR may be changing the name of its championship Cup Series from Nextel Cup to Sprint, the result of a big corporate telecommunications deal. Actually, it's one occasion when the switch would be an improvement. "Sprint" Cup at least evokes the image of speed. Nextel conjures images of ... nothing.

I confess that I'm not a NASCAR expert -- I've covered just one of those things, Bill Elliott won at Long Pond in a Mustang -- but I enjoy the personalties. And I liked the idea that they drove souped-up versions of what was in a showroom. I had three Monte Carlos in the 1970s and '80s, those front-end heavy tanks with eight cylinders and 351 horsepower, so I used to pull for the Chevy guys. Now, they'll be running the generic Car of Tomorrow and, hopefully, it'll be a safer machine for the drivers. But it takes away that rooting interest thing.

Despite not being a racing aficionado, I do count a former driver among my favorite sports figures. Richard Petty is up there with the giants, in large part because of what he has meant to fans. Petty and his Plymouths are unforgettable Americana. So as NASCAR keeps moving along at its steady corporate clip, we look back at a driver who connected with the folks in the stands.

I

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

We have the Mountain Dew Pro Action Sports Tour down at the M&T Bank Stadium area today through Sunday. And as risky as some of those stunts are that those accomplished skateboarders and BMX and motocross riders perform, it's amazing that some folks can design ways to make it even more dangerous. In this case, it's actually a parent who comes up with an incredibly bad idea.

Here's a skateboarding event even the Dew dudes won't attempt.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Obviously, major league players are used to being on TV, but in the context of their own game. Four Milwaukee Brewers were on the tube yesterday afternoon, but it was in the unfamiliar role as soap opera characters. Well, not too unfamiliar. They played themselves.

They were in the long-running soap, The Young and the Restless, which started in 1973. Those were much better times for the Orioles, who finished first in the AL East that year and included on their roster Enos Cabell, for whom my family named a hamster. But I digress.

The Brewers did OK with their acting. Here's a behind-the-scenes look.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Hopping on the anti-steroids bandwagon (and before Congress steps in), PGA commissioner Tim Finchem said he wants to put in place a performance enhancing substances testing program for golf.

OK, now here we have Angel Cabrera (right), who just won the U.S. Open. When the guy who just took the toughest tournament in the golf universe has to rip off Tony Soprano for his wardrobe, steroids ain't your sport's problem, pal.

You want to do something to protect the integrity of that sport and the legitimacy of golf courses everywhere? Consider putting a lid on those titanium-alloy-composite-graphite-tungsten golf clubs that have a striking surface the size of Barry Bonds' noggin. But, of course, that would mean reining in the golf equipment manufacturers, wouldn't it?

Photo credit: Getty Images.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Yesterday, we began asking for your recollections of the moment when you became a fan. It might have happened on a day like Dec. 3, 1972, when Johnny Unitas played his last game for the Baltimore Colts. He came off the bench at Memorial Stadium, wearing those trademark black hightops, and threw an ugly pass toward Eddie Hinton. What took place next was a thing of beauty that seemed meant to be. Hinton wouldn't go down and went 63 yards for a touchdown. With the crowd still cheering No. 19, a small plane flew over the stadium, carrying a banner that read, UNITAS WE STAND!

The moment you became a fan might not have been as dramatic as that day at Memorial Stadium, but it's probably just as memorable. Let us know what that moment was for you. Each day, we'll list those remembrances here (take a look at yesterday's) ... and at the end of the week, give a modest prize.

We want to thank everyone who has contributed so far for their generosity.

From GH.

"Not to be denied, the Indians came back with one in the fifth and tied it
at 4-4 with another run in the sixth.

"The Orioles took the lead back in the bottom of the sixth on a home run by
Curt Blefary.

"Again the Indian battled back scratching out a run off Palmer in the top of
the seventh on a walk, a sac, and a single.

"In the Oriole seventh, Norm Siebern (PH for Palmer) and Louie Aparicio
flied out.

"Then, with two outs,  the magic hits -- Snyder and the Boog both get
singles.  With men on first and second Brooks hits a grounder to first for
the final out, but as required by Oriole Magic, the Indian first baseman
boots the ball, loading the bases for the hero of the last inning -- Curt
Blefary.

"AND HE DID IT AGAIN ? GRAND SLAM!  With two homers in two plate
appearances in two innings, Curt knocked in five runs and the Orioles take
a 9-5 lead.

"I was 9.  We lived in a shack in a little fishing village on the
Chesapeake.  No running water, wood stove in the main room for heat, dead
father, Mom was very sick with MS - not a whole lot was going good for me.
I remember listening to that game (Chuck Thompson, most likely) on a little
white transistor radio. 

"The Orioles, especially Curt Blefary, showed that no matter how many times
you get knocked down, you can always be a hero in the bottom of the inning;
twice in a row, if you need to.

"It's personal with me -- I've been a die-hard fan O's from that day
forward."

From Phil.

"I've lived in Rochester, NY my whole life. Up until recently Rochester was
the Orioles AAA farm team.  Saw a lot of Oriole greats pass through town,
but 1971 was when I really got hooked.  Rochester won the Junior World
Series that year. All seven games played in Rochester due to scheduling
conflicts with the Denver stadium. Bobby Grich was called up then and never
looked back. A lot of wonderful memories."

From Earl.

"Tommy Phoebus' no hitter in 1968."

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Talks with managerial candidate Joe Girardi and his agent are still going on.

Sun Orioles beat writer Jeff Zrebiec reported from both camps -- Girardi's agent, Steve Mandel, and the Orioles' new president of baseball operations, Andy MacPhail. There was nothing too specific in the back-and-forth, but what was absolutely clear is that Girardi, who managed the Marlins last year, is the only candidate in whom Baltimore has any initial interest.

That, in itself, sets up a little drama. If, for some reason, Girardi (right) and the team don't reach an agreement -- the former Florida manager has talked about the right "fit" for his family and, of course, there are the other prospective opportunities that may come along after the season -- then the guy who does get the O's job winds up with the "second choice" label.

Photo credit: Alan Diaz/AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

I feel good for Jeremy Guthrie. And I feel good the way it probably feels when you stop banging your head against the wall.

The Orioles' 7-1 win last night in San Diego ended their nine-game losing streak and, in a way, put the Sam Perlozzo era officially behind them. But it was refreshing for Baltimore to give their new ace some support for a change.

Guthrie, the master on the no-decision quality start, actually got the win on the Left Coast after throwing eight innings of one-run, four-hit ball. He struck out nine and walked just one. As Orioles followers know, his 4-1 record is especially deceiving. He could have eight, nine wins easily with some decent hitting behind him and some reliable relief out of the bullpen. It was the first win for interim manager Dave Trembley, who saved the lineup card and the ball.

Things weren't entirely coming up roses for the Orioles, though. After all, this is the Orioles we're talking about here. Shortstop Miguel Tejada got smacked flush on the left wrist by a pitch in the eighth inning and, although he stayed in the game initially, he was replaced in the field and taken to a hospital for X-rays. They showed no break, but it remains to be seen whether Tejada's major league-leading streak of 1,151 consecutive games played will remain intact.

And, oh yeah, Baltimore hasn't come to terms yet with managerial candidate Joe Girardi.

* Since the Orioles won, we'll do a positive highlight here -- although Orioles fans may not consider it as such. The Rangers' Sammy Sosa -- a guy who had a locker for a spell down at Camden Yards and whose stay in Charm City will be remembered for a strange flesh-eating malady that panicked the clubhouse and the steroids controversy -- hit his 600th home run last night against the Cubs -- the team for whom he hit most of those homers. Sosa, who came out of retirement this season with Texas, is behind only Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. Mays finished with 660. While Sosa's legacy is tainted by the specter of steroids, his demeanor -- meaning gracious and humble -- has spared him the vitriol that Bonds gets in many quarters.

* And finally, word emerges from NASCAR Nation that the name of the Cup Series that is the identifying championship label of that sport may be changed for the second time since 2003. The Nextel Cup will apparently become the Sprint Cup because of a telecommunications merger. For three decades, we all got kind of comfortable with Winston Cup Series, but this is what happens when everything in your sport is up for sale.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 7:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Perhaps they'll take him in Canada, but Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones can almost assuredly write off the NFL for this season -- and maybe beyond.

Jones was charged today in Las Vegas with two counts of felony coercion stemming from the infamous strip-club melee that ended in a shooting later outside. A club security man was paralyzed and two other people received minor wounds. No one has been charged in that part of the incident.

Jones is charged with threatening to kill employees at the Minxx strip club and biting a bouncer on the ankle. Two other people, a man and woman who were with Jones, also have been charged -- the man with felony coercion and the woman with assault for using a bottle and a chair in the free-for-all.

The fight started when strippers were showered with thousands of dollar bills and a scramble for the money broke out. There have been reports that it was Jones who created the money shower that got out of hand. The strip club fight occurred during the NBA's All-Star festivities.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has already suspended Jones for the season but said the player might be able to return after 10 games under certain conditions, such as staying out of further trouble.  Jones was already in another mess following still another strip-club altercation a few days ago in Atlanta. If Jones were to be convicted in Vegas, it's unclear whether that could lead to even more discipline from the league.  Jones has had numerous contacts with police since being drafted into the NFL two years ago.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 3:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards will unveil a photographic exhibit of Cal Ripken Jr.'s career on Monday, June 25.

The exhibit will feature more than 30 pictures of the Hall of Famer in waiting (such as the one here), all taken by the Orioles' former team photographer, Jerry Wachter, who passed away in November 2005.

The exhibit is called, "Cal Ripken Jr.: Focus on a Hall of Fame Career" and will include pictures of many of the milestones of Cal's 21 Orioles seasons,  including his first major league game on Aug. 21, 1981, the record-breaking 2,131st consecutive game on Sept. 6, 1995, and his final game on Oct. 6, 2001. There also will be a display case of items from the careers of both Ripken and Wachter. Wachter also shot photos for Sports Illustrated and had 32 covers for that publication.

Cal enters the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on July 29, and Sports Legends Museum officials said that more Ripken events are planned for the summer.

Baltimore's Iron Man may be a tad more fragile in his post-baseball days, but he's still a gamer. Appearing at a parade in his honor in Bel Air yesterday, Ripken was hobbled by a knee injury suffered in a pickup basketball game. But in typical Ripken fashion, he said it was hardly enough to keep him away from the festivities.

Photo credit:  Jerry Wachter

Posted by Bill Ordine at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

As we mentioned yesterday, the Mountain Dew Pro Action Sports Tour will be in Baltimore beginning tomorrow with skateboarders and BMX and motocross riders doing stuff that I can't imagine anyone would want to do on purpose. It all starts around M&T Bank Stadium at 2 p.m., with prelims and practice runs, and continues through Sunday.

So, in recognition of the skill and fearlessness that it takes to fly, flip and twirl the way those Gen Next athletes do, we present this musical video that recognizes a basic truth -- persistence and determination has its rewards. And isn't that the lesson of any sport?

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Andy MacPhail's appointment as the Orioles' chief operating officer was announced today as expected.

The news in all this is that MacPhail sounded every bit like a guy in charge.

While respecting Peter Angelos' prerogatives as the owner, MacPhail said that he was the person running things. "If I didn't feel that way, I wouldn't be here," he said.

MacPhail confirmed what I had felt all along -- that the time he and Angelos spent on Major League Baseball's negotiating committee a few years ago in talks with the players had a lot to do with forging the relationship that brings the team to this juncture. In Angelos' eyes, you can't learn any more about a person than in the crucible of a negotiation. 

"He has a comfort level with me as a human being," MacPhail said.

What I learned new today was that Joe Girardi was the Cubs' player rep back then. Again, there is a frame of reference there for understanding a person in a special context. Hey, if these guys all have an authentic respect for each other, maybe they can bring some respect back to this franchise.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

We've asked for your recollections of when you fell in love with sports. Was there a particular moment, a live event, something you saw on TV or heard on the radio that awakened your passion for baseball, football, basketball, whatever, or made you a fan of a certain team?

After our first day, we've had some terrific contributions ... every one is special and we want to thank you for being so generous with your memories.  Here is one from an Orioles fan in Huntington, West Virginia I think you'll all enjoy.  But, frankly, I think you'll like them all.

From Danny Williams in Huntington.

"I'm from Huntington, West Virginia, on the fringe of Reds country, but I'm a
lifelong Oriole because my favorite uncle, Duck, was a Baltimorean and a
real baseball man. Beginning about 1961 (I was 9), my grandfather and I
would ride the C and O to Union station and spend a couple of weeks with
Duck, and he and I would go out to Memorial where I absorbed the logic of
the infield fly rule and how to make a perfect box-score form with two
sheets of graph paper and some mucilage. We would often leave his good
reserved seats to sit in center field and watch Paul Blair's footwork. (See
him leaning forward like that? He knows Uhlaender's frustrated after making
that error, and so does Milt, so Milty's going to pitch a high fat one and
poor little Teddy's going to forget that he's a weakling who can't hit the
ball out, so Paul's going to run up a few steps and be ready, in case the
little wimp's lucky enough to even get it over Davey and Woody.)

"But the one magic game: August 10, 1966, a Wednesday morning, Duck came down
to his rec room where I was sleeping and said, 'Get up, Pal, let's go see
the Orioles.' Saturday would be my fourteenth birthday, and we were going to
see the Senators at Memorial, but I rubbed my eyes and told Duck it was only
Wednesday, the Orioles were in New York.

"'So get up, then. We've got to catch a train!'

"My first time in New York! Grand Central Station, the subway, Yankee
Stadium! Even though the Yankees stunk that year, this was a holy place. Our
seats were in right field, about ten rows up and maybe fifty feet in from
the foul line. Frank Robinson and Roger Maris worked right in front of us.

"We crunched them, 9-4. Sixteen hits. Slim young Boog Powell, who'd been
switched from outfield to first base over the off-season, bounced one right
into the seats in front of us for a ground-rule double. Curt Blefary hit a
homer pretty close, and so did Tom Tresh. Brooks Robinson, my favorite, made
an error, but he got three hits, too. In the seventh, after Boog hit a
three-run homer to pretty well seal the game, the Yankees brought in Number
16 as a reliever! I almost cried, like those stupid girls at a Beatles
concert. He walked the bases loaded, but got them out of the inning, didn't
come back for the eighth. Nothing much, but I saw Whitey Ford pitch in
Yankee Stadium!

"Uncle Duck caught all this on his special graph-paper box-score format, and
I grieve that it was among the many pages which had faded out before anyone
thought to photocopy his archive. All those little base-path maps making
perfect diamonds for each run, and the plus-sign/asterisk/circled-asterisk
hierarchy of Duck's own "Special Play" awards. And the abbreviated
obscenities I officially didn't understand, but written down with a grin and
a wink.

"Duck has been gone for many years, so I can't tell him that he gave me an
special place where I can always go. Thanks so much for the opportunity to
tell you."

From JLS.

"Jack Gibbons and I must be about the same age because it was that magical '66 season that hooked me on baseball. What a great year! Lots of memories with FRobby and Brooksie, Boog, and the great young arms. I remember the O's going to Minnesota for a big 5-game series and winning all 5 games.

"Super memories!"

From Steve.

"Even though I've lived in Maryland for the better part of 16 years, (26 years old) and my favorite sport is baseball hands down, I never really grew attached to the Orioles.  When they were winning in '96 and '97 I took a slight interest in them because they are the local team, but that's all. 

"I lived in Minnesota for about 4 years when I was younger, but those 4 years were enough for me to become a pretty fanatical Twins fan.  I really can't recall one specific thing that drew me to the Twins.  I suppose the only reason I love them so much is it got passed down to me from my Dad.  Watching Puckett for his entire career certainly had something to do with my love of the team I'm sure.  But they've really been the only team I've supported, enough that my Dad and I take a trip each summer to a different ballpark to see them play. (Pittsburgh last year for interleague, Kansas City this year)  Even through the tough times from 93-99 when they were pretty awful to say the least, I still followed them every single day through the box scores.  (would have been a lot easier back then with blogs and real-time stats and the like!)  Even though I do love Roch Kubatko's blog, I gotta admit I do surf to the Minneapolis Star Tribune's online sports section every single morning before I go to the Sun online sports section."

From Paul.

"I have always been a baseball fan, though fanatic would not be the word to describe my love of baseball, and more importantly, the Baltimore Orioles. I think the better word would have to be obsessed. Back in 1995, I was just 11 years old, watching the ALDS, the first year of the wild card team. The Yankees just happened to be that team, and my father had begun to build what is now my complete hatred for the evil empire. This is when baseball went from passion to obsession. 5th game, and the Mariners had climbed out of an 0-2 hole in the series. Bottom of the ninth, and with Ken Griffey Jr. standing on first base as the winning run, Edgar Martinez rips a double. Griffey rounds third, slides as the throw is getting to homeplate, and is called safe. A (celebration) in Seattle ensues, while my dad and I jump up and down, hooting and hollering. To me, that was the first of many great baseball moments these eyes have ever seen, and the cause for my immense passion and obsession with the game of baseball."

From Bobby Ballgame.

"Started following the Os in about 1956, but I can't remember a whole lot, except for the fact that I loved Billy Gardner and Al Pilarcik...

"First memory of being at a game was --- this is the truth --- right field bleachers for my 10th birthday present with about 5 of my friends, and Hoyt Wilhelm threw the no-no.

"We were just goofing off, not really paying attention to the on-field happenings because it was HOT and the bleachers were splintering, and, heck, we were just little boys. My friend, Joey, looked up at the scoreboard in the 7th inning and said, 'Hey, he has a no-hitter!' Then Joey took what popcorn was left in that orange cardboard megaphone and tossed it into the air and we all cheered and sort of payed attention for the last two innings.

"I'll never forget it."

From Fast Eddie.

"First of all, the game vs. Cleveland that Frank hit it out of the stadium was a doubleheader.. I know, because I was there. 12 years old, and on our way to the World's Fair in NY, my dad got us tickets to the game..Everyone in the stands knew it was a blast, but I'm not sure anyone thought it exited Memorial Stadium until the PA announcer(Rex Barney?) told us in game 2..
Some of my favorite memories though,were just listening to Chuck Thompson call the game back in the 60's and 70's on the radio. Let's call them the Glory Years.
Got to see game 3 in the '66 series vs. the Dodgers when Blair hit the solo shot to win 1-0, and Brooksie put on a fielding clinic vs. the Reds in '70..Thanks Dad.. It seems fitting that Father's Day was just 3 days ago..
Unfortunately, my own sons have endured a lot of losing lately..but we remain faithful because we are true O's fans."

From Liz.

"Growing up I was never a big fan of baseball.  I had two older brothers who were more interested in football and golf than baseball.  In my 20s I moved to Northern VA and made some dear friends who took me to my first MLB ballgame.  It was at Oriole Park and our seats were right next to the bullpen.  Elrod Hendricks was in the 'pen and every now and then he'd chat with one of the fans.  My friend told me to ask him about the health of Eric Davis, who at the time was battling cancer.  I did and Elrod said Davis was doing ok and thanked me for asking.  At the end of the game, I caught a ball one of the other bullpen coaches tossed over the fence to the fans and I got Elrod to sign it for me.  I've been an Orioles fan ever since.  I still have that ball."

From Rags.

"I'm sort of an opposite Paul, above. I've lived in Minnesota all my life, but fell in love with baseball and the Orioles around 1959. Best early memories are the run they made in 1960 and Gentile's two grand slams in Minnesota in 1961. Just last Friday I saw a game in Baltimore for the first time. Great park, lousy team these days, but I keep hoping for a change."

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

For Orioles fans, the change in both the front office and the clubhouse should be considered the start of a new season. And perhaps for some folks who have felt disenfranchised, it restores some hope and gives them a reason to call themselves a fan again.

With that in mind, we'd like to solicit from you a certain remembrance. For many fans, they can recall the moment when they fell in love with a sport or their favorite team, sort of like you never forget your first kiss or where you were when Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon (if you're old enough). The fellow who edits this column, Jack Gibbons, recalls being baptized into the Orioles faithful on a Sunday in May 41 years ago. He remembered it this way:

"It was Mother's Day 1966, and the Orioles were playing at Memorial Stadium against Cleveland. We had company, but I kept sneaking away to listen to the game. Fortunately, I was listening when Frank Robinson ripped a Luis Tiant pitch that cleared the stadium. It was a stunning moment. The only time anyone had, and would, hit a ball completely out of the park."

Robinson had many great moments that season as he helped lead the Orioles to the world championship but for Jack, "It was the Mother's Day feat that turned my rooting interest into a passionate interest for sports."

Now, we want to hear about your initial moment of  infatuation with sports or a team, whoever it happens to be. We'll post your remembrances each day under one headline here at O, by the Way and at the end of the week, give a modest prize to one person for their recollection.

To swipe a Bob Hope line, Thanks for your memories.

Photo credit: Associated Press

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
                    

ESPN's Peter Gammons is reporting that the Orioles have offered the manager's job to former Marlins manager and current Yankees broadcaster Joe Girardi,

As we all know by now, the team's presumptive chief operating officer, Andy MacPhail, executive vice president for baseball operations Mike Flanagan, general counsel Russell Smouse and owner Peter Angelos' son, Lou Angelos, a lawyer, all met with Girardi yesterday in Chicago.

The club was expected to talk with other candidates, including Davey Johnson, Dusty Baker and Rick Dempsey, but if what Gammons reports is true, it's Girardi's job to take or or turn down.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Now here's an idea from the Kansas City Royals. All the cholesterol you can survive for the price of a ticket to the game.

The Royals have this special seating section down the right-field line, where one of the advantages -- along with all that exciting Royals baseball -- is that it's ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT. Sorta like being a sports writer.

Anyway, the menu includes hot dogs, nachos, peanuts and Pepsi products. Let's see, you've got your fats -- animal and dairy (or are they the same?) -- you've got your sodium, you've got your sugars.  Yep, all your major food groups are covered.

And the more people you can convince to take this nutritional suicide run with you, the cheaper the tickets get -- as low as $25. And to top off the meal, naturally, you get to watch the Royals, and they toss in the heartburn for FREE. (The photo at left is NOT from the Royals' chow-down section, but it is how we imagine it feels to be there).

Photo credit: AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

For the Orioles last night, there was a new leader in the dugout but the same old result.

In San Diego -- being led by interim manager Dave Trembley and awaiting word on who their new real boss will be -- the Orioles lost, 12-6, to San Diego. They were never really in it, falling behind, 5-0, closing to within 5-3 in the top of the sixth and immediately surrendering six runs in the bottom of the inning as the Padres battered the bullpen.

The real story was happening in the Central Time Zone, where the Orioles brass, now led by soon-to-be-announced chief operating officer Andy MacPhail was in Chicago, interviewing former Marlins manager and current Yankees announcer Joe Girardi. The team is expected to talk with a couple of other candidates, including former Orioles manager Davey Johnson, ex-Giants and Cubs manager Dusty Baker and perhaps former Oriole and current announcer Rick Dempsey.

The losing streak is now at nine and Baltimore has lost 14 of 16. Those numbers, as we all know, are mostly irrelevant now. The season, and the team's future, starts anew when a manager is named. Although it really began with the hiring of MacPhail.

* We have vowed to only highlight other teams' lowlights until the Orioles break their current losing streak and today's team most like the Orioles (well, not really because they're still in first place) are the Mets. The National League New Yorkers dropped their eighth game in the last 10, this time to Minnesota, 9-0. Johan Santana threw the shutout for the Twins, and the Mets committed a season-high four errors. New York, although still atop the NL East, has seen the Braves close to within a game-and-a-half and the Phillies to within two, even though those two clubs haven't exactly been tearing it up.

* A team with one of the funniest nicknames in all of sports, the UC Irvine Anteaters knocked off perennial college baseball powerhouse Arizona State, 8-7, in 10 innings in an elimination game of the College World Series last night and are now two wins away from reaching the championship round. It was the second extra-inning victory in a row for the Anteaters. They outlasted Cal State Fullerton, 5-4, in a 5-hour, 40-minute 13-inning marathon on Monday.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 7:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

In his post-Orioles manager life, Sam Perlozzo appears to be as rational and low-key as he was during his 286 games leading the club in the dugout.

In an exit interview of sorts with the Associated Press, he said that he knew the persistent losing of the last month was creating an environment in which something would give, but that he had hoped he would have a chance to straighten out the club on the road. He went over the obvious, how the offense simply never got going.

Perlozzo did say one thing that many -- perhaps most -- fans would argue, though.  He said, "I'm sure I wasn't perfect, but I can't remember one time going home at night and thinking, 'Man, I blew that game."'

We won't pile on here, but I'm sure the team's followers have a far different recollection.

Photo credit: Kevork Djansezian/AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
                    

With the Mountain Dew Pro Action Sports Tour headed our way, here's a little musical number that helps capture the spirit. It comes with a disclaimer: Kids, don't try this at home -- at least not without a whole lot more body armor than these guys are wearing.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The Pro Action Sports Tour, sponsored by Mountain Dew, pulls into Baltimore Thursday for a four-day run of events that can all be categorized as Things That Give Parents High Blood Pressure.

More specifically, the events are Skateboard Vert, Skateboard Park, BMX Vert, BMX Park, BMX Dirt and FMX (freestyle motocross). The tour stop is a combination of action sports competitions, rock concerts and shredder lifestyle festival (I'm writing this like I have a clue, right?) all happening around M&T Bank Stadium.

But I do know this much. One of the patriarchs of the skateboard world, 34-year-old Bucky Lasek, from Dundalk, is a featured performer and is supposed to be in the house. Part of the Lasek lore is that he picked up skateboarding at age 12 after his bike was stolen. Lasek, who now lives in Carlsbad, Calif., has been on TV with Jackass veteran Bam Magera and on sports magazine covers. I gleaned this from one bio (Wikipedia): Lasek is the only skateboarder "to do a 720 on the vert and land backwards (forward-to-fakie Indy 720, known as a 'MacKenzie')."  OK, I'm officially impressed.  Here's a preview of Lasek and his buds.

The Dew Tour's festival village is open 2 p.m.-9 p.m., Thursday and Friday; 1 p.m.-7 p.m., Saturday, and noon-3:30 p.m., Sunday.

Photo credit: AP

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

If Joe Girardi is successfully wooed by the Orioles over the next few days, it will speak volumes about the role of Andy MacPhail, Baltimore's new chief operating officer, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal writes.

I agree.

There are two distinct disadvantages for Girardi in coming to Baltimore.

One, he's out of the New York Yankees organization and Oriole fans have an abiding dislike of anything between the Hudson and East rivers. So, he has to overcome those reservations, but a competitive team will take care of that.

The second problem from Girardi's perspective is the awkward administrative organization with co-general managers and an owner who is perceived to have ultimate authority -- and wields it.  Well, the GM tandem of Mike Flanagan and Jim Duquette doesn't figure to be a long-term arrangement to me if MacPhail (left) is running the show. And MacPhail is likely to have more autonomy relative to the owner than any other Orioles front office guy in a long time. At least that's the message I'll be getting if Girardi is convinced to take the job.

Rosenthal, a former Orioles beat writer and Sun columnist, wrote one other thing that all of us have to be realistic about -- the Orioles will have to give up ground before they advance. I believe that's true. I recall this example: Once, I was having a kitchen renovated. The contractor who was doing the job brought out sledgehammers and crowbars on the first day. Seeing my expression, he said, "There can be no con-struction without de-struction."

I've seen lots of rebuilding of teams over the years and those words always applied.

Photo credit: Beth A. Keiser/AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
                    

Anne Arundel accountant Steve Dannenmann won $12,554 in the 28th event of the World Series of Poker currently going on in Las Vegas.  Dannenmann finished 35th in the no-limit, hold 'em $3,000 buy-in tournament that started with 827 players. The WSOP has 55 events in all, and the Texas Hold 'em World Championship (the Main Event) begins July 6.

Dannenmann, who won $4.25 million two years ago for finishing second in the Main Event, was knocked out in yesterday's tournament when he went all-in (86,000 chips) with ace-king against a player who had a pair of jacks, and the pair held up. The event is still going on today and with 10 players remaining, colorful pro Phil Hellmuth Jr. was still alive. Hellmuth has already won his 11th WSOP bracelet this year.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

We just saw the  U.S. Open played last weekend, which is run, of course, by the USGA. And the USGA has all kinds of rules covering all kinds of golf contingencies, which are myriad considering golf is played in the outdoors and that means a whole lot of possibilities.

But a Nevada golfer may have run into a predicament even the USGA hasn't taken into consideration. What do you think the playing procedure and/or stroke penalty should be for starting a brush fire with, say, your six-iron?

A golfer in Reno hit his ball into the rough and when he tried to knock it back toward the fairway, he struck something that sparked and ignited a brush fire that took 15 to 20 acres. Firefighters contained the blaze before it substantially damaged any buildings or the course itself. I'm not sure, but I think that's a firehose-length drop and one-stroke penalty. Thanks to the Fark blog, which keeps track of such things, for pointing it out.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

For the Orioles, the action yesterday wasn't on the field but in the warehouse, where the winds of change blew a stiff breeze not only through the clubhouse but also through the front office.

In the long run, it may not be the managerial change that has as much impact on the Orioles and their fortunes as the shift in the climate at the top of the administrative organizational chart. Or at least, the two will be equally important. 

Soon, what we all already know will be announced, that Andy MacPhail, who ran the Twins and the Chicago Cubs, will be in charge down at the warehouse. The word is that he will have a fair amount of autonomy in running the club. That has to make Mike Flanagan and Jim Duquette, the guys who were making personnel decisions, somewhat nervous. But it also means for the fans that a single person, with more authority than Flanagan and Duquette combined, will be making the key decisions not only on who will be on the roster but also formulating a strategy about the amount of money to spend and how. MacPhail is both a baseball guy and a money guy. He served with owner Peter Angelos on MLB's negotiating committee in talks with the players union.

While the team travels to the West Coast for a series in San Diego, the real business will be played out as MacPhail and some contingent of Orioles representatives reach out to former Marlins manager Joe Girardi, now an announcer for the Yankees. 

To my thinking, there is no doubt that the Orioles will be disassembled and rebuilt over the next nine months, and it's already begun.

* For some teams, the games still do matter, and Los Angeles Angels third baseman Chone Figgins had the game of his life, going 6-for-6, including the game-winning triple in the bottom of the ninth to lead a 10-9 Angels comeback over Houston. The Astros led by five runs in the seventh inning (Figgins had the game-tying RBI in the bottom of the seventh). Figgins, who's 5 feet 8, is the first player since the 2004 season to have at least six hits in a game. The last player to do it was was Seattle's Raul Ibanez.

* LaVar Arrington's saga should be a sobering one for all of us who watch sports. Arrington, a linebacker with the Redskins and Giants, sustained serious injuries in a motorcycle accident (he was wearing a helmet and his injuries are not life-threatening) that certainly will hurt his chances of trying to catch on with another NFL club.

The fast-forward version of Arrington's career: He was drafted by Washington in 2000; made three Pro Bowls; suffered a knee injury; ran afoul of Joe Gibbs' coaching administration; left the Redskins after buying out his contract and signed with the Giants; then tore his Achilles' tendon in October and was cut by New York earlier this year. I doubt that he has any NFL career left, and here's the kicker to the story. He's just turning 29 tomorrow.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 7:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

You may have missed it, but Mike Flanagan, the Orioles' executive vice president for baseball operations, held a televised news conference to officially announce that Sam Perlozzo had been fired as manager and bullpen coach Dave Trembley was going to replace him on an interim basis.

And, oh yeah, Leo Mazzone will stay on as pitching coach.

And that was it. So if you missed it, you didn't miss much. 

Flanagan refused to answer questions about reports that Andy MacPhail had already been hired as chief operating officer. And there really wasn't any talk about the process for hiring a new permanent manager, although there are reports that MacPhail wants to talk with former Florida manager Joe Girardi.

Flanagan couched the narrow parameters of the news conference in terms of showing some deference to Perlozzo. I feel bad for Sam (he may not have been the best button-pusher but then again, it didn't seem to matter what moves he made). Having said that, the Orioles didn't make this decision without some kind of plan and they should show some deference to the FANS by letting them in on those plans as soon as possible. That should have happened today.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
                    

Just about a week after promising NFL commissioner Roger Goodell that he was going to mend his ways, stay out of trouble and be a really, really good person, Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones is being sought by police who want to question him about a _________ following a __________ at an Atlanta _________.

If you filled in the blanks and your answers were "shooting," "fight" and "strip club," you win an all-expenses paid trip to Pacman-land, where no one gets to play in the NFL ever again. At this point, Jones is being described merely as a witness. We'd tell you how many brushes he has had with the law since being drafted into the NFL two years ago, but we don't think they've invented a name for a number that high.

Read all about it.

Photo credit: John Russell/AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

What with all the turmoil down at the Warehouse, baseball is obviously dominating the sports news in these parts today. So we bring you, if not classic baseball music (that would be Harry Caray singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"), a genuinely classical take on the game. After all, we are all about culture here at O, by the way.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Former Cubs president Andy MacPhail -- who was Minnesota's general manager during two world championships -- has been hired to be the Orioles' chief operating officer, ESPN is reporting.

MacPhail and Baltimore owner Peter Angelos have served together on Major League Baseball's negotiating committee in talks with the players union, so they have a history.

In addition, the Orioles are in the process of firing manager Sam Perlozzo, Baltimore Sun reporters Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly are reporting.

Bullpen coach Dave Trembley will be the interim manager, but the hiring of MacPhail signals much broader changes. Former Florida manager Joe Girardi has been the name most mentioned for several jobs, and ESPN's Buster Olney said Girardi was MacPhail's first choice for the Orioles.

This is what it all means to you.

Write off the rest of the season. The new manager, whoever he is, and MacPhail will spend the next couple of months figuring out which players to keep for 2008 and who to jettison. Who knows, maybe we'll see a spurt now that the clubhouse knows it's playing for jobs. But next year's roster will look considerably different. Count on it.

The Orioles' front office is in for a tense few months. It's hard to imagine that MacPhail will keep the dual GM arrangement of Mike Flanagan and Jim Duquette, considering the failings of the bullpen and Aubrey Huff, the most expensive offseason additions. One or both of the GM types will go.

If Girardi is the replacement, you have to wonder about pitching coach Leo Mazzone's future since Girardi, as a former catcher, may want more influence over the pitching staff. And you'd expect the new manager to want his own coaches anyway. In addition, Mazzone is Perlozzo's friend, and he may not want to stay with Sam gone.

The prospects of a major rebuilding project may not be comforting for a town in a baseball slump that's nearly a decade old but, frankly, it seems inevitable.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)
                    

Orioles front office officials are meeting this morning with Sam Perlozzo and are expected to fire the manager, according to a club source, report Sun reporters Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly.

Perlozzo, 56, a Cumberland native who called managing the Orioles his dream job, will be removed about 2 ½ months into his second full season leading the club. The team is set to leave this afternoon for a six-game West Coast trip that starts tomorrow night in San Diego.

Bullpen coach Dave Trembley, a longtime minor league skipper who has occasionally subbed for bench coach Tom Trebelhorn this season, will be named interim manager while club executives begin the search for a long-term replacement.

ESPN's Buster Olney is reporting that Andy MacPhail, the former president of the Chicago Cubs, has been named the Orioles' new chief operating officer and that Baltimore is arranging a meeting with ex-Florida manager Joe Girardi. MacPhail and Girardi were with the Cubs' organization at the same time.  MacPhail was team president and Girardi played as a catcher. MacPhail won two world championships with Minnesota in 1987 and 1991.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

It is a real bad sign for a team's manager when the media begins talking about his replacement as if he were not even in the room.

That may be the most telling sign that Sam Perlozzo may not make it on the plane to San Diego for the Orioles' series with the Padres.

The name that keeps coming up -- mainly because he's the name that has come up for every potential job so far -- is former Florida Marlins manager Joe Girardi (right).  Girardi's story is familiar by now. He managed in Florida for one year, saddled with the lowest-paid team in Major League Baseball. Still, he had his team in playoff contention, finished 78-84 and was named NL Manager of the Year. But he's in the broadcast booth instead of a dugout because he couldn't get along with Florida owner Jeffrey Loria.

Girardi, who is just 42, is the anti-Perlozzo. He's a no-nonsense guy who is the antithesis of the easy-going Orioles manager. Sort of interesting is what the status would be of Orioles pitching coach Leo Mazzone. Girardi is a former catcher who believes he knows a thing or two about pitchers himself. And while the Orioles' starters have been much better than expected, the bullpen has been a disaster.

In addition to Girardi, other names that have been mentioned as possible Perlozzo replacements are former O's manager Davey Johnson, former Giants and Cubs manager Dusty Baker and former White Sox manger Jerry Manuel.

Photo credit: J. Pat Carter/AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
                    

If the 1974 U.S. Open was the Massacre at Winged Foot, then this year's USGA test was the Escape from Oakmont. That's what Angel Cabrera did -- escape with a victory yesterday.

Vijay Singh was quoted as saying earlier that he thought 10-over, maybe 12-over would win the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh. 

He was half right.  Argentina's Cabrera won the U.S. Open with a 5-over. Phil Mickelson didn't make the cut, but it should be added that he was playing with a bad wrist. And Tiger Woods looked as frustrated as he ever has and finished just one tough putt shy of tying Cabrera after 72 holes. Woods said that too many downhill putts did him in. On the downhill, Oakmont's greens were slick slalom runs.

Over his last four majors, Woods has won twice and finished second twice -- an incredible run for anyone except, perhaps, Woods. After yesterday's outcome, he said of his recent majors record, "Not terrible but could have been a little better."

And the emphasis was more on the "could have been a little better."

Woods has come to raise expectations that much -- even more so for himself than golf fans.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

You know your baseball season has gone south when the fan -- and player -- talk goes from the standings to a death watch on the manager's job.

I'm going to take Kevin Millar's lead today. The Oriole first baseman-DH, normally a light-hearted spirit, was anything but yesterday and plans to hold a players-only meeting in San Diego when the team gets there for a series beginning tomorrow.

It would be easy to crack wise about the Orioles losing their eighth straight and being a season-worst 11-below .500. But yesterday's 6-4 loss to Arizona may not have just been another defeat. It could have been Sam Perlozzo's final one as manager. 

Why today? There's a day off, the team is headed on a road trip to the West Coast, and it just seems that front offices take advantage of natural breaks like this to make this type of change.

The players are saying the obvious, that Perlozzo doesn't pitch, field or hit. But that really won't make a difference. When things seem as hopeless as they are right now for the Orioles, someone has to be held accountable.

But here's a sobering thought. If you had to pick a single reason for why the Orioles are in this fix, the answer would be obvious. The bullpen. And that's the same bullpen that was assembled by the front office in the offseason for $42 million.

So I pose this question: If owner Peter Angelos won't trust Perlozzo to manage this year's team, why should he trust his current personnel decision-makers to assemble next year's club?

* In keeping with our new practice of highlighting someone's else's lowlights as long as the Orioles are on their current skid, the Chicago White Sox are now 4-17 in their last 21 games after losing, 8-7, to Pittsburgh yesterday. Chicago's Jim Thome hit what appeared to be a three-run homer that would have given the White Sox the lead in the top of the ninth, but Pirates outfielder Jason Bay tracked it down and leaned up against the wall to snag the deep fly.

Said White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen: "When we score runs, we don't pitch. When we pitch, we don't score runs. Everything's a mess."

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

* And at the U.S. Open, the winner was -- Oakmont Country Club. The surviving player was Angel Cabrera, of Argentina, at 5-over par. Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk were both a stroke back. Woods had a chance to tie but saw an impossible putt with an enormous left-hand break fail to find the hole on 18. Over the weekend, Cabrera hit just nine fairways but played some spectacular iron shots. More later.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
                    

At the U.S. Open today, Phil Mickelson shot a 7-over 77. Combined with yesterday's 74, Mickelson (shown here) is 11-over for the tournament and could wind up not making the cut. 

As Oakmont Country Club dried overnight and hardened, the course began to take back some of the strokes it seemed to yield yesterday. Englishman Paul Casey is in the clubhouse with a 66, but he's still 3-over for the tournament. At mid-afternoon, no one was in the red. First-round leader Nick Dougherty from Liverpool was at even with three other players. Here are the scores.

Photo credit:  Getty Images

Posted by Bill Ordine at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

A reader wrote to make this note.

The Washington Nationals have finished the last two seasons with a better record than the  Orioles. In 2006, Baltimore was 70-92; Washington was 71-91. In '05, Baltimore was 74-88; Washington, 81-81. At the moment, the two are tied at 29-37, but the Nationals would win a tiebreaker based on their three-game sweep of the O's. Just trying to add a note of levity to a sobering situation.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 2:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

We've got a real feud brewing in the college sports ranks. Well, not Ohio State-Michigan caliber, and it's actually more of a trademark, logo kinda thing. But it does appear that North Carolina State -- nicknamed the Wolfpack with a mascot it affectionately calls Toughie -- takes exception to a similar tough-guy cartoon wolf at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Nevada-Reno is also the Wolf Pack (note the two words), but I'm not sure if its wolf has a name. 

The bottom line here is that representatives of N.C. State have sent a letter to the Nevada folks about the whole thing. Nevada's response so far has been, "Huh?"

Here are the two logos, the main difference I see is that Toughie, the N.C. State wolf, is wearing a beanie-sailor hat and the unnamed Nevada wolf is wearing a top hat. Click on each logo for a better view. The Uni Watch blog noticed.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

OK, we've already set the stage. The Yankees are on a nine-game winning streak and creeping up on the Red Sox. It just goes to show, you can't trust those guys. Some of the roster in our video may be a little dated, but it's the same old Evil Empire.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

I just received an e-mail from the folks at Bankrate.com, who otherwise rarely write and never call.

But they sent this calculator thingee that compares how much something would seem to cost, say, Tiger Woods (who earns an estimated $98 million), relative to what that same item would cost a person who makes $30,000 a year. For instance, if Mr. or Ms. Average buys a house for $275,000, that would have the same impact on Tiger's wallet as an $83.38 purchase would have on the regular person. A real $40 meal for most of us would feel like it cost a penny to Tiger.

The Bankrate people have figured a chart that allows you to see similar comparisons for a whole bunch of golfers, Arnold Palmer, Phil Mickelson, and various items. We're not sure that it proves anything other than the obvious, that rich people can afford a whole bunch more stuff than the rest of us. Here it is.

If you're wondering who these Bankrate.com people are (as I did), on their Web site they say they are "the Web's leading aggregator of financial rate information ... (which) continually surveys approximately 4,800 financial institutions in all 50 states in order to provide clear, objective, and unbiased rates to consumers." Hey, we're just sports guys.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

As you may have noticed, the Yankees have won nine straight and have closed the gap between themselves and the AL East-leading Red Sox to 7 1/2 games.

Tonight, the Yanks begin a three-game series with the crosstown rival Mets at Yankee Stadium with none other than Roger Clemens on the mound, making his second start of the year. The first time out, the Rocket went six innings against the Pirates, giving up three runs but striking out seven. New York won that one in a breeze.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, begin a weekend home series against Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants and you know how it is with that Boston crowd. It's never too early too panic. And understanding the history between New York and Boston, we are are not surprised to see Red Sox fans go to any length -- even, perhaps, summoning other worldly powers -- to ward off the scourge that is the Yankees.

We're not sure what these guys are doing (that's not really Jason Varitek, is it?) but maybe they're trying to channel the spirit of Teddy Ballgame, wherever his various parts may be. Thanks to the Deadspin blog for pointing it out.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The first round of the the U.S. Open went like the first round of a heavyweight championship bout with both sides feeling each other out -- I'm talking about the field of golfers vs. Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh. I've always viewed the U.S. Open as a gentler turn on the old Jack London theme -- man vs. his environment -- rather than individuals competing against each other.

Yesterday on opening day, because of recent rain that softened the greens and some fairly kind pin placements, Oakmont didn't stagger the field but then again, only two players were in the red. The leader after 18 was Nick Dougherty, a 25-year-old Englishman from Liverpool, with a 2-under 68. The other was Angel Cabrera at 1-under.

After his round, Dougherty was quoted as saying, "I think the course is -- I hate saying it -- easy."

Then, as if the course were listening, he changed his tune, adding hastily, "Goodness, I shouldn't have said that. No, absolutely not. The course is barbaric."

Tiger Woods scrambled a little late in the round to hold onto to his 1-over for the day, and Phil Mickelson, with a sore left wrist, was at 4-over. If the greens harden, though, Oakmont could turn into a nasty adversary and scores will soar. Here's the leaderboard.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The television ratings for the NBA Finals have been, in a word, miserable. This comes on the heels of hockey's Stanley Cup finals, where the TV ratings were even worse than miserable.

NBA commissioner David Stern blamed some of the NBA's TV woes on a  combination of fairly ragged games between champion San Antonio and upstart Cleveland and the fractured nature of the television audience (because of so many channel choices).

But I think this comment from a sports business expert on the West Coast, David Carter at USC, was the most accurate. I've interviewed Carter a few times and have found him to be generally spot on and he was again in an article by USA Today's Christine Brennan, who quoted Carter thusly:

"There's so much sports on TV now, it's not special anymore," said Carter, executive director of the USC Sports Business Institute. "There's no 'appointment TV' anymore. This is the highlight-reel generation. They're saying, 'I don't need to tune in. Why watch an entire basketball game when I can tune into SportsCenter and watch highlights of the two minutes that matter or watch the highlights on my cellphone?' We want the Cliff's Notes version of everything."

And that sums it up. Other than the National Football League, which has proved to be enduring beyond belief, the occasional dramatic phenomenon (The Sopranos) or the hot brain candy of the moment (American Idol), I'm not sure the viewing public will make sure it's in front of the TV for anything and certainly not for two or three hours.

Stern hopes that new media, meaning the Internet and mobile devices, will be the new distribution platforms on which his game is viewed. We wish him luck.

Photo:  Eva Longoria and fiancé Tony Parker got to celebrate another San Antonio NBA championship last night. This photo was taken after the Spurs' 2005 title win against Detroit.

Photo credit: Eric Gay/AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

By all accounts, Orioles pitcher Jeremy Guthrie is a man of faith. Good thing, too.

Baltimore Sun Orioles beat writer Jeff Zrebiec does an excellent job going through the lack of support the Orioles have given their surprisingly effective starter this year after Baltimore dropped a 3-1 decision to the Washington Nationals last night at Camden Yards. Guthrie went seven innings before he told manager Sam Perlozzo he was finished and left behind a 1-1 tie. Of course, the bullpen sent everyone home in a timely manner by giving up a run in both the eighth and ninth.

If you've been following the O's, you know that Guthrie -- who once went on a Mormon mission to Spain -- has pitched well game after game and yet has just a 3-1 record to go along with his 2.57 ERA. Zrebiec figured out Guthrie's numbers as a starter, a Bob Gibson-like 1.72 ERA, but he has six no-decisions in his last seven starts.

Of course, the sad Guthrie saga pales in comparison to that of his team, now eight games under .500 after a three-game sweep by the Nationals, who barely qualify as a major league club (but who happen to have the same record as Baltimore right now, 29-37).

Clutch hitting is COMPLETELY absent from the Orioles' offense. They were 0-for-8 as a team with guys in scoring position last night, Zrebiec points out.

I am not a Perlozzo basher. This is a team that can't even get bunts down to advance runners (Jay Payton struck out in the bottom of the eighth with runners on first and second and no outs trying to do exactly that). But I'm not sure he can survive the homestand if the Orioles don't reverse things against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are actually a pretty good team. And I don't see where the next guy really has any chance to improve on things.

* I think I'm going to go on a different tack here. Instead of talking about the most outstanding performances elsewhere the previous night, I'm going to pass on who had a really rotten night to see if I can make the Orioles look any better by comparison.

Detroit's Craig Monroe tied a major league record by striking out five times against Milwaukee in a 6-5 Brewers victory. Monroe went through the usual antics, tossing helmets, flipping bats and knocking over water coolers. He was 2-for-12 in the series with eight strikeouts. Think there's room for him in the Orioles' clubhouse?

*  And as expected, the San Antonio Spurs won the NBA championship with an 83-82 victory over Cleveland last night, sweeping the Cavaliers in four straight. To their credit, the outmanned Cavs actually took a lead in the fourth period but then Manu Ginobili took over on offense for the Spurs.

After a quiet Game 3, Ginobili scored 27 points, 13 in the fourth quarter -- another indication of San Antonio's depth. Tony Parker was named the Finals MVP and got a big hug afterward from fiancé Eva Longoria, who got a little TV time during the Spurs' run to the title. With four league titles in nine years, the Spurs can be stamped one of sport's most dominating teams of the young century. We'll be talking more about the NBA later today.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 7:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
                    

Orioles Hall of Famer Eddie Murray was fired today as hitting coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers.  It's an odd twist because the Orioles' own longtime hitting coach, Terry Crowley, has been feeling a little heat because of Baltimore's anemic offense this year.

Murray (right) was in his second year as hitting coach with the Dodgers and last season,