There are three significant baseball milestones waiting to occur and all of them could happen tonight.  But regardless of whether any or all of them do come to pass, the most entertaining highlights may come from the stands rather than the field.

For starters, the Mets' Tom Glavine will go for career win No. 300 when he pitches against the Brewers in Milwaukee. He would be just the 23rd pitcher (and many believe perhaps the last) in major league history to reach that magic number.

The Yankee's Alex Rodriguez is on the cusp of hitting his 500th career home run and become the youngest player, 32, to join that exclusive club. The Yanks play the Chicago White Sox in the Bronx.

But the most notable impending event, of course, is Barry Bonds' attempt to tie Hank Aaron's all-time home run mark of No. 755.  With San Francisco on the road, Bonds will be contending with decidedly inhospitable crowds starting with Dodger Stadium tonight.  And such a circumstance means that fans will be exercising their imaginations as they express their indignity that Bonds -- obviously under the ever-present cloud of suspected steroids use -- is about to rewrite the record books.

For the next few days anyway, some of the most entertaining sports writing in the land may be done with crayons on cardboard.

For the record, commissioner Bud Selig will be there but Aaron will not.

Photo credit: Denis Poroy/AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Just days into training camp, the Detrot Lions' second-round draft pick, quarterback Drew Stanton, is already hurt having sustained a knee injury while dropping back to pass, that will require arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to repair damaged cartilage.

Now, there are easy cheap shots to take here, considering it's the beleaguered Lions we're talking about but that's not where I want to go with this.  I was struck by a comment by team president Matt Millen.

Millen is quoted in a story on mlive.com as saying, "The knee is structurally sound; it's not a big deal. It's just a tweak.'' OK, Millen is trying to make the point that the kid will be ready to play in a month, maybe a little more.  But it was how he characterized the injury -- "just a tweak."

That term -- "tweak" -- does that appear in medical journals, somewhere? And I'm not bashing Millen specifically because you hear that word a lot these days in sports circles.

Tweak is the latest sports injury euphemism that has linguistic ancestors such as "charlie horse" and "burner" and "stinger." Those vague catch-words that glibly glossed over what could be serious health problems for the players involved.

This may seem like an off-the-wall rant sparked by a minor injury to a backup player on a team few people care about around here.  But as we learn more and more about the physical price paid by players, particularly retired NFL players, we shouldn't fall into an Orwellian use (and acceptance) of language that subtly disguises a serious reality.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Debate, if you will, the relative merits of the NFL's greatest teams -- the Packers of the 1960s, the Steelers of the '70s, the 49ers of the '80s, the Cowboys of the 90's and the Patriots of the first decade of the new century. Arguments can be made on behalf of all of them.

As dangerous as it may be to say outloud in Baltimore, I cast my vote -- by a small margin -- with the Pittsburgh team that dominated the 1970s, in part for striking sheer terror into opponents for so long. But close behind, I'd go with the San Francisco 49ers because of the panache and style that went along with the most entertaining offense of any era.

Of course, the death of former San Francisco coach Bill Walsh, who led the 49ers to three Super Bowl titles and laid the foundation for two more, has us reflecting on such things. And in that spirit, we offer what now appears to be something of a campy rap featuring many of the stars of that 1980s 49er team. It's hard to believe Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott and Roger Craig were once that young.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

If not for Tim Donaghy, the imminent trade of Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics would have been the major story of the offseason in the NBA.

The Celtics are expected to seal the deal for Garnett (left) at any moment which would complete a radical makeover for Boston.  A draft day trade brought guard Ray Allen from Seattle (which cost Boston this year's No. 5 overall pick, Jeff Green).  Now, the addition of Garnett in what is being reported as a five-for-one trade with Minnesota -- where the Celts may also be tossing in one or even two more future draft picks -- gives Boston still another All-Star caliber player to go with Allen and their own 25 points-per-game swingman, Paul Pierce.

The ramifications are obvious.  The Celtics will go into 2007-08 with three superior starters, which makes them instant contenders.  But all three will all also happen to be at least 30 or older on Nov. 1.  And depending on the draft picks involved, the Celts may not have any fresh talent coming on board until a certain ex-referee is eligible to come off supervised probation sometime in the next decade. 

This a great story line for a league that desperately needs some juicy drama that doesn't involve federal investigations. And getting the Celtics, one of the NBA's former glamor franchises, back in the playoff mix would certainly help a little problem like miserable TV ratings.

Unfortunately, outside of Boston and the die-hard NBA fans remain, it's Tim Donaghy and whatever he has to say to the FBI that's the only news that really counts.

Photo credit: David Guttenfelder/AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

With the passing of former San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh, much has been made of his strategic contribution to the game, most obviously the development of the horizontal passing game now commonly called the West Coast offense.

But I think that Walsh's impact on the NFL in terms of the game's popularity at that cultural point in time -- meaning the 1980s -- when pro football really began to separate from the rest of American sports went far beyond diagrams on a blackboard.

It was in that era when the NFL definitively became corporate America's sport, a huge thing because of the enormous amounts of revenue that would flow into the league as a result. Certainly there were big sponsorship deals prior to that but nothing like the sophisticated "strategic partnerships" of today that merge sport and business.

And no figure in the league better advanced the comparisons between sports and business management than Walsh (pictured here with quarterback Joe Montana).  Before him, the coaching icons -- Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry, Bud Grant and Chuck Noll --- were certainly admirable leadership role models but their milieu was clearly sports.  Don Shula, to an extent, more approximated an executive figure.  But it was Walsh, with a clearly identifiable management style --  by imposing a revolutionary tactical plan (the West Coast offense) and taking a hands-on approach (by scripting the first 20 or so plays) -- who really embodied the emerging concept of the corporate manager as a change agent who could almost single-handedly control the destiny of an enterprise.

And it didn't hurt that the trim, silver-haired Walsh, seemingly perpetually dressed in smart business-casual, fed the self-image of business executives.  And Walsh had the added good fortune of doing it in a attractive part of the country, San Francisco, at the dawn of the high-tech age.

Admittedly, much of this speaks to a subtle -- even subliminal -- sociological influence that Walsh may have exerted.  And I have no doubt that the NFL would still be the 800-pound gorilla of American pop culture even without Walsh's considerable presence.  But I am also certain that because of what he did and how he did it, Walsh deserves a huge amount of credit for the game's appeal to an elite demographic that determines how American capital is spent.

Photo credit:  Associated Press

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

Much of the major leagues, including the Orioles, were off yesterday but there was still baseball news of interest here as the Rangers finally moved Severna Park's Mark Teixeira to the Braves.  For a while, several factors -- their terrible record and the need for overhaul, reported problems between Teixeira and first-year Texas manager Ron Washington and the added pressure of Teixeira's soon-expiring contract -- have had the Rangers looking to deal their star switch-hitting first baseman.

Teixeira in Orioles orange and black seemed like a good wardrobe change to Baltimore fans and wouldn't it be nice to finally have a star player who actually would like to play in this area?

Alas, the Rangers wanted either lots of youthful potential or All-Star caliber veteran talent.  They got the former from the Braves, most notably in catcher-first baseman Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who has a chance to be a star for years to come, plus three other prospects, two of them reportedly pitchers. 

From the Orioles, The Sun's beat writer Jeff Zrebiec reported today, Texas wanted Erik Bedard, the cornerstone of what has turned out to be a solid (potentially spectacular) starting pitching staff.  If that was the case, as much as I would have liked to Teixeira here, then the price was too high.

*  The Chicago Cubs, after a terrible start, actually had a chance to grab a share of first place in the tepid National League Central yesterday but stumbled against the Phillies, losing 4-1.  The Phils are in their own dogfight, mixing it up in the NL East with the first-place Mets and now improved Braves. But Philadelphia has an injury jinx going on that may put them out contention through sheer attrition. 

Last week, star second baseman Chase Utley was sidelined for perhaps a month by a broken hand when he was hit by a pitch.  Yesterday at Wrigley, two Phillies outfielders came up lame -- leadoff hitter Shane Victorino (strained calf) and his replacement Michael Bourn, who sprained an ankle tripping over a bullpen mound while chasing a foul ball.  Before the weekend, power-hitting outfielder Aaron Rowand gave the Phils a scare when he felt a twinge in his shoulder from playing tag with neighborhood kids.  But he hit a three-run homer yesterday.

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

It's been clear for quite a while that the Orioles wouldn't be trading for Mark Teixeira, the Baltimore-area favorite son whose time with the Texas Rangers was growing short.

Baltimore fans would have loved to see Teixeira in orange and black. He's a homegrown kid who could provide some consistent punch to a lineup that for much of the year drifted between feeble and mediocre and only lately has come to life.

But it appears the Atlanta Braves are landing Teixeira for their own playoff run in the NL East.  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports today that the switching-hitting first baseman, along with relief pitcher Ron Mahay, will cost Atlanta four prospects including catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia (longest name in baseball), infielder Elvis Andrus, pitcher Matt Harrison and one other unknown pitcher.  The Braves may not wind up signing Teixeira beyond the 2008 season when his current contract runs out, but for a team like Atlanta that figures to be in playoff contention now and next year, the deal makes sense.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The Tour de France concluded over the weekend -- and I don't think it's an overstatement -- in a smoldering heap of rubble.

A Spaniard riding for an American team won the race. Alberto Contador, of the Discovery Channel team, earned the yellow jersey. Cantador (right) beat an Australian, Cadel Evans, by just 23 seconds. An American, Levi Leipheimer of the U.S. and also riding for the Discovery Channel, finished third.

But this race was riddled with scandal, which is simply unimaginable considering the Tour's recent history with performance-enhancing drugs and doping.  For a while, it appeared that some kid on a Schwinn might have to be declared the winner by default.

The leader at one point, Michael Rasmussen, was kicked out by his own team under doping suspicions. Rasmussen was joined in expulsion by riders Alexander Vinokourov (suspicion of blood doping), Cristian Moreni (admitted use of drugs to lift his testosterone level) and Patrik Sinkewitz (tested positive for abnormal level of testosterone before the Tour). Some European news outlets simply gave up covering the event. 

You may recall that last year's apparent victor, American Floyd Landis, is awaiting a decision from an arbitration panel about his own case involving performance-enhancing charges.

So consider this, as cycling celebrates Contador's win in the 2007 Tour de France, it still isn't sure who legitimately won the 2006 race.

Photo credit: Associated Press

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Yesterday was Cooperstown Day for the Orioles' Cal Ripken Jr. and the Padres' Tony Gwynn, both of whom are the inspirational types who take us back to a time when baseball appeared more pristine.

And, I think, with both players, we see an emphasis on kids and the kid in all of us -- that the game should be about both competition and fun. And that there should be pride in an honest effort.

So with that in mind, we bring you a Cooperstown-flavored music video that, with both humor and some sentiment, just makes you feel good about baseball.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Michael Vick might not only never play another down in the NFL but he may have to live out the rest of his days on Elba.

Former pal and co-defendant Tony Taylor, who was named in a federal indictment as a confederate along with Vick and two other other men in Bad Newz Kennels, pleaded guilty today in federal court to conspiracy charges. That conspiracy involved interstate commerce in futherance of racketeering and of sponsoring a dog in an illegal fighting venture.

Taylor said today that as part of his plea, he was not promised a specific sentence by government prosecutors.  However, as anyone who has ever watched Law & Order knows, the quality of a cooperating witness' testimony often plays a role in a prosecutor's recommendation to a judge at sentencing.  Without pretending to know the specifics about what's happening in this case, I do know from covering federal courts that federal sentencing guidelines leave less discretion in handing out prison time than in local court systems.  Still, a prosecutor's recommendation carries considerable weight meaning that Taylor has plenty of motivation in not leaving out any details about the culpability of his co-conspirators.

In other words, Taylor's testimony has the Atlanta Falcons quarterback facing a zillion times more pressure than he ever did when he dropped back to pass.

On top of that, the Upper Deck trading card company joined the corporate flight from Vick in suspending sales of Vick-related merchandise and by pulling his card from the upcoming season's collection.  Nike finally bailed on Vick and Reebok stopped selling his No. 7 jersey.  It's still available on eBay.

Photo credit:  Rob Carr/AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

We're approaching the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and it's unfortunate legacy on a wonderful American city.

Yesterday, New Orleans did for the first time something it had done so successfully so many times in the pre-Katrina days.  It held a championship sports event.  You may have missed it but the San Jose SaberCats beat the Columbus Destroyers, 55-33, in the Arena Bowl (winning San Jose quarterback Mark Grieb and mother Shelly are pictured at right).  For San Jose, it was its third title in six years.  But the big news, I think, was that the game represented one more step for New Orleans in its comeback.

It's estimated that the economic impact on the region from the Arena Bowl was anywhere from $15 million to $25 million.  Obviously, that's hardly in Super Bowl territory and more than the half of the 15,000 who attended the game at the New Orleans Arena were locals, which meant fewer tourist dollars, but the attendance was much better than recent Arena Football League championship games held in Las Vegas.

What we have come to learn about New Orleans after Katrina is that the rebuilding there is progressing terribly slowly.  Both in terms of repiling sticks on top of bricks and in reclaiming its place in domestic tourism,  the Big Easy is finding the going not so easy at all.  So whatever occasion can be seized on to remind the world that this city can still live up to its trademark expression, "Laissez les bons temps rouler!" -- to let the good times roll -- is a good thing indeed.

Photo credit:  Alex Brandon/AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

So the Ravens open training camp today at McDaniel College, and not a day too soon.

The Orioles' recent winning run has restored, momentarily, some pride in the club. And if the O's could make life miserable for both Boston and New York over the next two months, that would certainly serve some kind of notice -- and provide a measure of satisfaction. But in all candor, the remainder of the baseball season is more about setting the tempo and positioning the team for 2008.

All of which brings us back to the Ravens who, as Sun beat report Jamison Hensley points out, show up for summer workouts in a relatively blissful state of harmony. Now, as impressive last season's 13-3 regular-season record was, Ravens fans would obviously like to see a little more offense out of this year's edition. After all, despite holding the Indianapolis Colts to zero touchdowns in last January's playoff game, it still added up to a bitter 15-6 loss. So to help head coach Brian Billick with his playbook, we pass along this gem from some offensive genius in the peewee football ranks. Thanks to the Fark blog for pointing it out.

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

Not long after we began this enterprise at O, by the Way, I was out of commission for a day with a softball injury that was the result of my own clumsiness while playing for The Sun's softball team.  Well, with little fanfare that season plodded on and yesterday, The Sun team scrapped its way to the mixed softball slow-pitch title in a Catonsville church league.  In the championship game, the Muckrakers (obviously pictured here) came back from nine-run deficits twice.  The final was 19-18 -- clearly, softball as it should be.  But it also said something about perseverance, which is one more lesson we can all take from the Orioles' No. 8.  Thanks, for your indulgence.

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

Good morning Baltimore and it's good to be with you again after a week of reporting on former NBA referee Tim Donaghy. And it's also nice, after a week of poking through the unsavory details of sports' latest embarrassment -- this one involving alleged gambling --  to be able to pass along to anyone who missed it yesterday a reminder about the most anticipated sports event of the summer in these part, Cal Ripken Jr.'s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

I heard the Cal speech on the radio in the car. It was a good way to experience it, I thought. I'm of a generation where baseball was so often an aural experence -- on a transistor radio late at night. And while you certainly miss some things when you can't see them, your heightented attentiveness allows to to pick up nuances you might othwise miss.

There was a lot to notice in Ripken's address. His tribute to his family, especially his father, Cal. Sr. The firm assertion that "Whether we like it or not, as big leaguers, we are role models" (pronouncing it big liggers, in an old-timey sort of way). And a reflection that the passing of one phase of a person's life should not be mourned as an ending but rather welcomed as an opportunity for a new beginning.

In Ripken's case, many of us know that the new beginning for him was the creation of a company whose ambition and design is to bring baseball to young people. For the rest of us, we have to find the answer to that "new beginning" question -- whenever it presents itself -- for ourselves. But it's further tribute to Ripken that he could frame the challenge in such an optimistic fashion.

If you missed it yesterday, here's a link to the Ripken stories as well as a video of his induction addess.

* The current Orioles were slowed a little yesterday losing to the Yankees, 10-6, but this was still a different type of loss than we had been seeing in the first half of the season. After starter Daniel Cabrera put the O's in a 4-0 hole, Baltimore made life uncomfotable for New York coming back to within a run twice before a bullpen collpase in the eighth inning. Still, that's two of three for the Orioles in the home stand against the Yankees -- and even in the resumed suspended game, the O's made the Yankees sweat. At this point, I'll settle for playing with pride.

* And Tony Stewart, everyone favorite NASCAR antagonist had a hometown moment winning the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.  Stewart, a Hoosier native, won the Indianapolis race by chasing down friend Kevin Harvick with 10 laps to go.  The two rubbed paint along the way.  It was Stewart's second win in Indy in three years.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 7:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

One of the many hilarious scenes in the cult classic film "Hollywood Shuffle" finds Robert Townsend as detective Sam Ace punching out a dance student, who falls to the floor. As a crowd of dancers gathers around, the detective asks if anyone else wants a piece of his fists, to which a pair of muscular guys step forward, each saying, "I want some." Ace's response is to go after the guy he's already flattened, asking if he wants more.

That scene came to mind in the contretemps between Barry Bonds and Bob Costas. Costas, who literally might be half the man Bonds has blown up to be over the years, presided over a pretty serious Bonds-bashing fest on his "Costas Now" show on HBO this week. First, Patrick Arnold, the BALCO chemist who helped create "the clear,' told Costas that he was certain that Bonds had knowingly taken that steroid, contrary to his public and grand jury statements. Then, Boston pitcher Curt Schilling essentially called Bonds out, saying that if all the statements made about him weren't true, Bonds should sue whomever was making them.

Well, Bonds took the Sam Ace approach, passing up going after either Arnold or Schilling, instead attacking Costas by calling him a "little midget man," and challenging what he knew about baseball. To his credit, Costas fired back with his trademark sly humor, citing his height (5 feet 6 1/2) and his weight (150 pounds), then quipping, "unlike some people, I came by all of it naturally." Who else wants some?

Posted by Milton Kent at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Just when things had started to quiet down in big-time college sports after the ACC's raid of the Big East for Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College comes reports that the Big Ten may be on the prowl for a 12th school.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, called by some the most powerful man in college sports and seen as the leading barrier to a football playoff, has sent word that the conference's new television channel may provide an opening for a 12th school to join the party. Let's not forget that it was the Big Ten's annexation of Penn State in the 1990s that set in motion the wave of colleges hopping from one league to the next.

Amazingly, the conference commissioners, the school presidents and athletic directors continue to inveigh against playoffs and providing stipends for student-athletes, while breaking longtime bonds between schools and invoking the concept of academic purity all the while. How do you define chutzpah?

Posted by Milton Kent at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Posted by Milton Kent at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

For the first time in six years, the Ravens will have their first-round draft choice in house when training camp opens Sunday, as the team reached agreement with Auburn guard Ben Grubbs this morning.

The Sun's Jamison Hensley reports that Grubbs, the 29th overall pick, signed a five-year contract worth nearly $8 million, with more than $5 million of that guaranteed. Hensley reports that Grubbs, who is 6 feet 3 and 315 pounds, may challenge Chris Chester, the incumbent starter at right guard.

The Ravens also have reached agreement with Le'Ron McClain, their second pick in the second round, meaning that all of their draft choices are under contract and should be available for duty at McDaniel College in Westminster next week.

Posted by Milton Kent at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

To the rest of the world, Skip Prosser's stay at Loyola was just a speed bump on the way to bigger and better things, first at Xavier and then at Wake Forest, where he was jogging yesterday morning when he collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack. But for Baltimoreans who love big-time college basketball and don't always want to travel to College Park to get it, Prosser was a significant figure, particularly seeing as how he took the Greyhounds to the NCAA tournament in the 1993-94 season.

Loyola hasn't been back since, and while current coach Jimmy Patsos shows every sign of turning the program around, the record will reflect that Skip Prosser put the Greyhounds on the map. The Atlantic Coast Conference would do well to consider naming its Coach of the Year award after Prosser, 56, the only men's coach to take three different programs to the NCAA tournament in his first season at each school.

In a day and age where once healthy rivalries have been replaced by sniping and back-biting, Prosser was not only successful, but was well-liked and respected. You could be sure that the Skip Prosser Coach of the Year trophy would occupy a special place on the mantle of whoever received it.

Posted by Milton Kent at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Contrary to what you might have heard or read from a certain four-letter Connecticut-based media conglomerate, the Ravens have not yet reached an agreement with their first-round draft choice, guard Ben Grubbs, though that deal is expected to get done before training camp begins Sunday.

The pressure is on the team's front office and general manager Ozzie Newsome in particular to make this happen as soon as possible. If left tackle Jonathan Ogden's left toe is going to be an issue all season -- and there's no reason to believe that it won't be -- then it seems imperative to make sure that as many pieces of the offensive line are up and functioning quickly. Of course, the Ravens' last six first-round choices have signed late with little consequence flowing from their tardiness, but you never know.

Posted by Milton Kent at 9:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Maybe this is what new Orioles president Andy MacPhail was waiting for. The Birds have looked impressive since Dave Trembley took over for Sam Perlozzo as manager, looking inspired and appearing to have a purpose.

Yesterday's 10-7 win over hapless Tampa Bay was the team's fourth straight and the ninth in the last 12 games. But with the Yankees coming in this weekend for a three-game set and the completion of a suspended game tonight, the Orioles will get a measure of how different a club they are from when Trembley took over.

The Yankees come into Baltimore on a bit of a roll, yesterday's 7-0 loss to Kansas City notwithstanding, and look a lot different than the team the Orioles handled easily earlier in the season. Taking two of three from the Yankees, who lead the suspended game 8-6, may provide an indication that things really have turned around in the Orioles' clubhouse.

It may also give MacPhail a sense that he doesn't need to make a major deal before Tuesday's non-waiver trade deadline, because most of the important pieces to spur the club's turnaround are already here. Shortstop Miguel Tejada will return to the Orioles' lineup from a three-game minor league rehabilitation stop to prove that his injured left wrist is healed.

While Tejada, who saw a lengthy consecutive games streak end with his injury returns, longtime umpires attendant Ernie Tyler, one of the true good guys at Camden Yards, will see his remarkable streak of 3,770 games worked, dating to 1960, end, as he heads north with the other half of Baltimore to see Cal Ripken enter the Hall of Fame Sunday.

If you're heading to Oriole Park tonight for the conclusion of the suspended game, thinking you'll see Alex Rodriguez's 500th career home run, don't worry, you won't. But if he hits one in the regular game, then you will see history. Confused? Welcome to the arcane world of baseball statistics.

ESPN's Tim Kurkjian reported yesterday that because the suspended game started last month, all stats and records flowing from that game revert back to then. While Rodriguez hit No. 499 the other night in Kansas City, any home run hit in tonight's first game will be considered under baseball rules as being hit in June, making it the 494th of Rodriguez's career and the last homer he hit the 500th.

Posted by Milton Kent at 6:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

The Maryland women's basketball team may not have successfully defended their 2006 national championship, but they've had a pretty good summer.

Three players, rising junior Marissa Coleman and rising seniors Crystal Langhorne and Laura Harper, have captured gold medals as members of championship teams involved in international competitions on behalf of USA Basketball. Coleman played a key role on the United States' Pan American Games team, while Harper and Langhorne were members of the under-21 year old squad. And Maryland announced that the 9,533 fans it drew per game last season was sixth in the NCAA in average attendance, while the 241,280 total attendance was fourth best in the NCAA.

For your midday enjoyment, we offer this clip of former Maryland star Shay Doron, who graduated this spring as the program's second all-time leading scorer. Doron is a rookie with the New York Liberty of the WNBA, and this story was shot for a television channel in her native Israel. Enjoy.

Posted by Milton Kent at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

So, Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling has fired another salvo at steroid usage in baseball, taking particular aim at Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Jose Canseco, huh?

Ho-hum.

Schilling, the self-appointed conscience of baseball, dumped all over Bonds during HBO's "Costas Now" this week, telling host Bob Costas, among other things, that if people said about him, meaning Schilling, what they've said about Bonds and McGwire regarding performance-enhancing substances and he didn't reply, the silence could be taken as a tacit admission that he did use them.

Schilling said that Canseco, who admitted to steroid use, should have to give back the Most Valuable Player award that he won, and that Palmeiro's stats from 2005, the year he went past 3,000 hits while in an Orioles uniform, should be voided.

Just wondering: Why didn't Schilling dump on Canseco in person when he had the chance in that now infamous St. Patrick's Day Congressional hearing two years ago? Schilling whiffed that day, essentially admitting that he didn't know as much about steroid usage as he had claimed. And why didn't Schilling offer his thoughts about Bonds last month when the San Francisco Giants were in Fenway Park for a series, rather than wait until Bonds was 3,000 miles away?

Let's just say that Curt Schilling just got added to that list of people that I no longer take seriously (see earlier entry).

Posted by Milton Kent at 9:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

I operate under the notion that everyone should be taken seriously until the moment when they say or do thing(s) that make them incredible.

So far, my list of people that I no longer take seriously includes former Chicago Bull forward Dennis Rodman, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens, Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell among many others. With the news that Michael Rasmussen has been kicked out of the Tour de France, I've moved cycling onto the list of things that I no longer take seriously.

Rasmussen, who was leading the Tour, became only the second overall leader to be booted out of the race in its 104-year history, reportedly drawing his expulsion for missing two random drug tests in the last two months. To be honest, save for the years that Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong dominated the Tour, I really didn't pay much attention to cycling, which hardly makes me an exception in the United States.

But the numerous instances of doping and performance-enhancing drug usage in cycling, not to mention the incessant sniping, have turned the sport into one more thing to skip over in the paper or online on the way to something else. Of course, before I settle onto my typically American high moral ground, I do have to stop to wonder whether Europeans have stopped taking baseball seriously, for much the same reason.

Posted by Milton Kent at 9:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The name of Texas Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira has been bandied about quite a bit frequently -- certainly in this space -- as someone the Orioles should consider dealing for before next Tuesday's non-waiver trading deadline. However, if former Sun baseball writer Tim Kurkjian is right, the price for Teixeira, a Severna Park native, may be too rich for the Orioles' blood.

Appearing on ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike in the Morning" today, Kurkjian, an ESPN The Magazine senior writer, said sources told him that the Rangers want three top-shelf minor league prospects. That price alone is steep enough, and is possibly one that the Orioles can't pay. But when you add that to the notion that Teixeira, who will be a free agent after next season, may command through his agent, Scott Boras, a contract in excess of $20 million annually, then you begin to understand why Orioles president Andy MacPhail has reportedly put out word that he's not interested.

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome has a stock phrase he uses -- "right player, right price" -- when he evaluates whether to add someone to the roster. Teixeira might very well be the right player for the Orioles down the line, but not at this price.

Posted by Milton Kent at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

In a move that makes eminently good sense, the Ravens announced that left tackle Jonathan Ogden will be placed on the physically unable to perform list when training camp begins Sunday because of a hyperextended big left toe he suffered last December -- an injury that severely hampered him late in the season and in the playoffs. Ogden will have to be activated from the list by the end of the preseason, or else he'll miss the first six weeks of the regular season.

Ravens coach Brian Billick said the move was to be expected to give Ogden more time to rehab, and that Ogden will be ready to go when the season starts. That's all well and good, but you can't help but get the feeling that Ogden's toe is going to be an issue to be watched during the entire season.

The Ravens' offensive line is the piece to their puzzle that is the least solid. If Ogden can't go for a number of weeks or is in and out of the lineup throughout the season, it's hard to envision a scenario by which they make a deep playoff run.

Posted by Milton Kent at 6:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Remember when a win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays was as improbable a prospect for the Orioles as getting Lindsay Lohan to attend a temperance lecture?

Amazingly, the Birds can get a sweep of said Devil Rays in just a few hours at Camden Yards, after last night's 6-1 win. Even if you discount the ineptitude of the Devil Rays -- and that's a tough chore -- the Orioles are on a decent roll since the All-Star break, with eight wins in their last 11 games. Of course, the real challenge to their momentum will come this weekend when the Yankees arrive, but that's another story for another time.

The injury news was mixed, as closer Chris Ray went on the 15-day disabled list last night with inflammation in his right elbow, a situation that bears very close watching down the road. Meanwhile, shortstop Miguel Tejada played at Double-A Bowie in a rehabilitation assignment from a fractured left wrist. The news from Prince George's County Stadium was not so much Tejada's 0-for-3 performance at the plate, but that he got through the night pain-free.

Posted by Milton Kent at 6:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Long before today's telegenic, self-important sportscasters made themselves more important than the stories they covered, there was a generation of men who made barrel jumping from Yugoslavia seem just as vital an assignment as a college football game from Michigan Stadium.

Bill Flemming, the ABC sportscaster, who died last Friday of prostate cancer at the age of 80, wasn't as well known as colleagues Jim McKay, Chris Schenkel or Keith Jackson. Nonetheless, Flemming, who was a part of 11 Olympic broadcasts, was every bit as talented and as versatile as those men. And, like them, Flemming brought an Everyman quality to every assignment, whether it was the 1972 chess challenge between Russian Boris Spassky and American Bobby Fischer or an Ohio State-Michigan football game.

Flemming, McKay and Schenkel were our tour guides through "Wide World of Sports," shining spotlights on sports that Americans couldn't even imagine existed, with genuine enthusiasm and good cheer. We won't soon see the likes of Bill Flemming on our television sets any time soon.

Posted by Milton Kent at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

While American interest in the Tour de France has dropped dramatically this year with the absence of a U.S. challenger, the issues of doping and drug-enhanced performances have not gone away.

With the dismissal yesterday of star rider Alexandre Vinokourov, the start of today's 16th stage was delayed by a protest from a number of teams, most of them French, complaining about the taint that doping has placed on cycling. An unidentified cyclist reportedly flunked a test for testosterone that was conducted last week.

Imagine what would happen here in the States if the Atlanta Braves refused to take the field tonight against the San Francisco Giants in protest to the pall that Barry Bonds' presence has put on baseball? Or picture the hullabaloo if Michael Vick's opponents, especially those who owned animals, refused to play in sympathy to the dogs who were brutalized on Vick's property? Don't hold your breath.

Posted by Milton Kent at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Today's midday presentation is a confluence of reality television, speed dating and the Boston Red Sox.

The Sox, in conjunction with the New England Sports Network, their television carrier, have come up with Sox Appeal, a new contest in which single fans who want to meet like-minded singles at Fenway for dating purposes, agree to go on three speed dates during a game, each date lasting only two innings. The contestant then selects one of the three they've met during the seventh-inning stretch in the hopes of making a love connection.

NESN is filming some of the dates for a show that premieres next week. What follows here is a long clip of NESN announcers Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo doing their best Statler and Waldorf as they watch some poor slob trying to make his move, while the Red Sox get clubbed by Colorado. Enjoy!

Posted by Milton Kent at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

With the triple maelstroms of Michael Vick, Barry Bonds and Tim Donaghy a blowin', a few notes about future Hall of Famers may have slipped through the cracks and gone unnoticed. To wit:

* Houston Astros mainstay Craig Biggio capped the day that he announced that he will retire after 20 seasons with a sixth-inning grand slam to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers. Biggio, the only player in baseball history to accumulate 3,000 hits, 650 doubles, 250 home runs and 400 steals, is a certain first ballot Hall of Famer. Biggio will remind many of Milwaukee Brewer great Robin Yount, in that he, like Yount, switched positions in the middle of his career from the infield, where he had played second base and catcher, to the outfield, where he patrolled center field. Also, Biggio and Yount spent their entire careers in smaller-market cities, helping to put those teams on the map.

* New York Jets running back Curtis Martin is expected to announce his retirement tomorrow. Martin, who ran for more than 1,000 yards in 11 consecutive seasons, spent the entire 2006 season on the physically unable to perform list, with chronically bad knees. He leaves the game in fourth on the all-time rushing list with 14,101 yards, and is a likely Hall of Famer.

* Meanwhile, the best women's basketball player on the planet, Seattle Storm forward Lauren Jackson, tied a WNBA single-game record with 47 points in a 97-96 overtime loss last night to the Washington Mystics. Jackson, a former league Most Valuable Player, scored 33 points in the second half and the overtime, including a stretch in which she scored 23 of the Storm's 27 points. Jackson, a 6-foot-5 Australian native, may very well find herself enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., when her playing days are over.

Posted by Milton Kent at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Barry Bonds' pursuit of Hank Aaron's career home run mark has officially reached the point where the rest of Baseball Nation is rooting for the recalcitrant left fielder to hit No. 756 if for no other reason than to make it all go away.

With the assistance of former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, commissioner Bud Selig issued a statement about his decision to come to San Francisco to watch Bonds chase Aaron, apparently choosing that over downing a bottle of castor oil. No word on how many containers of hand sanitizers Selig has brought with him in the eventuality that he actually has to shake Bonds' hand when it's all mercifully over.

Meanwhile, a chemist at the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO, told Bob Costas last night that Bonds and Detroit Tigers slugger Gary Sheffield both took performance-enhancing drugs, contrary to their public statements and to statements they supposedly made to a federal grand jury.

Speaking on HBO's "Costas Now," Patrick Arnold, who pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to distribute steroids, said Victor Conte, BALCO's Founder, often spoke of Bonds being on "the program," which Arnold took to mean "the clear,' a previously undetectable steroid that Arnold created. Conte denied telling Arnold that Bonds had used steroids.

Posted by Milton Kent at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

For all the problems the NBA has right now -- and they are legion -- the one thing that its owners and general managers can count on, relative to, say, football, is that all of its top rookies are in the fold and ready to go to work when the season begins.

Less than a month after the NBA draft, every first-round selection has signed a contract, played in the summer league and will be available -- injuries notwithstanding -- for training camp this fall. Meanwhile, only four NFL first-round choices are signed three months after the NFL draft, and, more significantly, less than a week before training camps open.

The reason, of course, is that while the NFL and NBA each have salary caps, the NBA has a rookie wage scale that slides according to draft position. Every basketball player knows precisely how much he will make in his first deal and how long that contract will be. The NFL, on the other hand, even with its hard cap, has no cost certainty so far as what draft choices make. That means that the Ravens, among other teams, have no idea whether their first-round pick, guard Ben Grubbs, will be in the fold when players report to McDaniel College Sunday for training camp.

Recent word has been positive that Grubbs and the Ravens will reach an agreement, but the fact that the team's last five first-round picks have held out, doesn't bode well in that regard. The good news, for Ravens fans, is that the team did sign four of its picks yesterday, including former Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith. Only Grubbs and fourth-round pick Le'Ron McClain haven't signed.

Posted by Milton Kent at 9:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

As you might recall, yesterday's opening salvo presented a list of Orioles whose bags could be packed for departure by next Tuesday's non-waiver trade deadline. (Parenthetically, we'd like to thank those members of Kevin Millar's family for writing in so vociferously on his behalf; OK, OK, he wants to stay. We get it.)

Anywho, one of the names mistakenly left off the list was last night's starter, Daniel Cabrera, who delivered a gem of a performance, limiting the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to just one hit in seven scoreless innings. And that came when second baseman Brian Roberts broke for second to cover the bag on a steal attempt, leaving the right side open.

Yes, there were five walks, but they were largely negated by a trio of double plays -- all of which came after a walk. You've seen this Daniel Cabrera, the one with the brilliant fastball approaching 100 miles per hour, before. You've also seen the Daniel Cabrera who couldn't find home plate with a Global Positioning System, and gets into trouble because of it.

So, if you're new Orioles president Andy MacPhail and you have to decide which player on your roster can bring back the biggest return as you try to improve the club, especially if that could bring Texas first baseman (and Severna Park native) Mark Teixeira, do you consider trading Cabrera? And if the Rangers say that Cabrera alone may not be enough to land Teixeira, should MacPhail add Millar, the position player with the most value, to the pot?

Posted by Milton Kent at 6:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

We leave you today with a couple of stories that should, momentarily at least, take some of the sting out of the recent spate of headlines that have plagued the sports pages and airwaves.

By now, you've heard of the triumphant return of Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester in last night's 6-2 win over Cleveland. That the 23-year-old left-hander threw 96 pitches in six innings, possibly giving the Sox a back-of-the-rotation starter for their stretch run was inconsequential. That Lester was making his first start in 11 months after being diagnosed last August with a treatable form of lymphoma was more significant.

It was a great story, one that Houston native Regina Foster and her 7-year-old son, Reginald, would have loved to have watched if they hadn't been busy moving into their new home, one made possible through the kindness of the Houston Texans and players Jason Simmons and Ahman Green. Green, a running back, who signed with the Texans in the offseason as a free agent, wanted his old number, 30, and asked Simmons, a safety, who had had it since the team's inception in 2002.

Normally, tangible things like cars and cash get traded when one player wants a number from another, but in this case, what Simmons wanted was for Green to make someone happy. Simmons told Green he would let him have the number if Green agreed to make a down payment for a house for someone who needed it. Green signed on with a $25,000 donation, which Texans owner Bob McNair matched and the Fosters have a home. Now, doesn't that feel good?

Posted by Milton Kent at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Word has arrived that two women with sports connections, one more tangential than the other, have announced plans to pose nude in the not-too-distant future.

One of them, Kimberly Bell, is more famous for her relationship to an athlete, namely San Francisco outfielder Barry Bonds, than for anything she's done herself. Bell, 37, had a 10-year relationship with the surly slugger, from 1993 to 2003. Bell has already testified before a federal grand jury looking into charges that Bonds committed perjury regarding his alleged steroid usage, and reportedly calls her decision to pose in the November Playboy, "liberating." It sure won't be illuminating.

The decision of the other woman, tennis star Serena Williams, is more baffling and troubling. It was announced Monday that Williams, who won the Australian Open this year, will pose for Jane magazine in a yet to be announced edition. In a photo that is available online, Williams has her back to the camera with a flower placed strategically.

There's a vein of thought that a physically fit woman should be able to display the product of her hard work. While that's all well and good, women like swimmer Amanda Beard, figure skater Katarina Witt, volleyball player Gabrielle Reece and now Williams who pose nude -- even with the best of intentions -- still make it easy for many men and women to marginalize female athletes and to reduce them to sexual objects rather than competitors.

Posted by Milton Kent at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

If the man at the podium at today's late-morning news conference looked like a man trying to save his sport, that's because he was.

Whether NBA commissioner David Stern was able to pull that off is yet to be determined. The usually smooth and occasionally smug Stern was sufficiently contrite and yes, humble, as he had to be.

Die-hard NBA fans will continue to come to games, no matter how dire the inferences that could be drawn from revelations that referee Tim Donaghy is being investigated by federal officials for gambling on games, including some that he worked over the past two seasons. But Stern's job today was to reassure the larger public that professional basketball is on the up and up and that he was and is doing everything he can to make sure it stays that way.

"Mr. Donaghy is the only referee alleged to have bet on NBA games and disclosed confidential information to others," Stern said. "I'll say it again, I understand this is an isolated case."

Stern said, contrary to recent media reports, the league did not know about the FBI's investigation or of allegations involving Donaghy until after the Finals were over. The commissioner said the FBI contacted the league on June 20, and the two sides met the next day. Donaghy resigned July 9, though Stern said the NBA would have fired him, but was asked not to by the FBI for fear of hurting the investigation.

The ripples from the NBA's crisis are already being felt. Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford told a media gathering in North Carolina that the league has conducted background checks on officials in three sports.

Posted by Milton Kent at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Today's noontime romp through the video vault provides a double scoop of NBA goodness and a couple of players with local ties.

Leading off is a clip of former Maryland guard D.J. Strawberry as he tries to land a spot on the Phoenix Suns. Strawberry, a second-round pick in this year's draft, will have his hands full trying to crack the Phoenix roster, but as the clip shows, he's on board with the Suns' up-tempo pace.

The second selection is of Memphis Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay. The Archbishop Spalding graduate averaged 10.8 points and 4.5 rebounds a game last season and should play a more vital role this season with Memphis.

Posted by Milton Kent at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

A parenthetical rant about how some sports media, especially a certain four-letter all-sports channel, covers baseball's July 31 trade deadline.

First, there is no hard-and-fast trading deadline in baseball. Trades go on virtually all the time through the season, and although deals become more difficult after July 31, they aren't impossible.

Great players get moved, too. For instance, former Oriole Harold Baines was traded twice in his career after July 31, from Texas to Oakland in 1990, and from Baltimore to Cleveland in 1999.

Simply put, after next Tuesday, a player has to clear waivers before he can be traded, but he still can be traded. The next significant date is August 31, when players must be on a roster to be eligible for postseason play, but, again, deals still can take place after that date.

In recent years, ESPN, among others, has attempted to attach cataclysmic importance to July 31, using a countdown clock last year. Some of that is just the nature of the 24-hour cycle of cable television these days, but it is still somehow intellectually dishonest. Remember that next week when Karl Ravech tries to convince you how momentous July 31 is. End of rant.

Posted by Milton Kent at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

You might disagree with his decisions, but you must give NFL commissioner Roger Goodell credit for taking a stand on player conduct, unlike his predecessor, "Smirking' Paul Tagliabue, who ducked from everything related to doling out punishment until he had to confront the matter head-on.

That said, it feels as though Goodell bought himself and Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank some time with his decision to tell quarterback Michael Vick not to report to training camp Thursday. Of course, Vick's arraignment Thursday on federal charges stemming from a dogfighting ring that allegedly was operating on his property in Virginia, means that he wouldn't be at training camp that day anyway, but Goodell's letter gives him and Blank a moment to ponder the next move.

What Blank and Goodell ultimately hope is that Vick will take them off the hook by voluntarily going on some kind of leave while the charges move through the court system. However, if Vick insists that he wants to play this year, the commissioner and the owner have a few more weeks before they have to make a call on whether to sit Vick down themselves.

Under the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the players' union, Blank could suspend Vick for up to four regular season games for conduct deemed detrimental to the team, but that only gets him to October. The protests and pressure from animal rights groups will only have ratcheted up by then.

By the way, someone should tell People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that selling anti-Michael Vick T-shirts and coffee mugs is a great way to swing sympathy against their cause and toward Vick.

Meanwhile, Terence Moore, one of the best sports columnists working, has written a column for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that, under the circumstances, is quite provocative. Moore reasons that the Falcons need to cut Vick now, which isn't a novel thought, but is unusual coming from a commentator in the city where the athlete plays.

Posted by Milton Kent at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

With the Orioles enjoying a night off following their final trek of the season out West, let's begin today's proceedings with a couple of hypothetical questions as next Tuesday's non-waiver trading deadline approaches. Specifically, should the Orioles deal a position player or pitcher, and if so, who?

First things, first. Should new Orioles president Andy MacPhail make a deal? Well, sure, assuming he could get a prospect or two with the potential to be a key part of either the everyday lineup or the starting rotation next year and beyond. If the deal involves swapping one veteran for another, unless the player coming back is a No.1 starter or a No.3 or No.4 hitter, then what's the point?

The Orioles' season will end Sept. 30 here against the Yankees. The club would be better off taking its chances in free agency over the winter, rather than disrupting what they have now. And as for which player to deal, the list of possibles includes pitchers Steve Trachsel and Chad Bradford, first baseman/DH Kevin Millar and outfielder Corey Patterson.

Millar has expressed a desire to stay to help build a winning attitude, like the one he left in Boston. That's a noble sentiment and, under certain circumstances, Millar could be for younger players like Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts what Rick Sutcliffe was supposed to be for Mike Mussina and Ben McDonald 15 years ago, a tough-minded veteran who teaches kids how to win. But when Sutcliffe was here, the Orioles were close to getting over the hump. They aren't anywhere near that point now, and likely won't be anytime soon.

So, the question is, can they afford to keep Millar around for inspirational value when they have similar players on the roster, namely Aubrey Huff and Jay Gibbons? One last thing: If MacPhail announces that he has pulled the trigger on a trade next Tuesday, his next announcement should be that interim manager Dave Trembley will finish this year and come back through 2008.

Trembley has earned that chance anyway, but a trade would tinker with the chemistry that he has forged since taking over for Sam Perlozzo. Trembley should get the opportunity to work a year from start to finish.

Posted by Milton Kent at 6:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
                    

When the Arizona Cardinals report to training camp Friday, it will be interesting to see whether quarterback Matt Leinart fields more media questions about Michael Vick's legal status or his own status as a new father.

Leinart, the third quarterback to lead a college football team to back-to-back Division IA championships, is the father of Cole Cameron Leinart, who will be nine months old tomorrow. The second-year quarterback gushed over the joys of fatherhood earlier this month to reporters backstage at the ESPY Awards, saying, among other things, that he changes Cole's diapers "all the time."

However, Cole's mother, Brynn Cameron, a women's basketball player at Southern California, where she dated Leinart, tells a different story about Leinart's parenting skills to date. Cameron, who sat out last season to give birth and raise Cole, says Leinart hasn't been around as much as he has portrayed. Cameron, who learned she was pregnant in the spring of 2006 after a second operation to repair a labral tear in her left hip, said she expects to return to the court this season.

No word if Leinart will babysit during her games.

Posted by Milton Kent at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

It hasn't taken long for other famous athletes to share their thoughts about the charges facing Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick.

All-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith has weighed in that Vick, who is to be arraigned Thursday on federal charges relating to a dogfighting operation operated on property that he owns, is being leaned on by law enforcement to get to others. Smith, who spoke Saturday at the College Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremonies, suggested that Vick be a bit more circumspect with whom he associates.

Meanwhile, Allen Iverson, who, like Vick, hails from the Tidewater section of Virginia, had just the opposite advice, suggesting at his celebrity flag football game in Norfolk that it's not always right for athletes to disassociate from friends they made before they became famous.

Posted by Milton Kent at 1:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Today, for your lunchtime entertainment, we present a clip of former Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier.

Frazier, the 1995 Heisman Trophy runner-up had a pretty good collegiate run, becoming only the second quarterback to lead his team to consecutive national championships, the first of which came at the expense of Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, when he was at Miami. Unfortunately, Frazier, who suffered a serious blood clot in his left leg, was unable to parlay his Cornhuskers success into an NFL career, but he has gone on to coach in college and in high school.

We'll leave it to you to determine whether he missed his calling as a rapper. Enjoy!

Posted by Milton Kent at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

There is a raging debate going on at the amateur levels of baseball, meaning Little League, Babe Ruth, high school and college levels about whether aluminum bats should be permitted for the safety of players and coaches.

The tragic death last night of Tulsa Drillers first base coach Mike Coolbaugh, who had only joined the staff July 3, may trigger a similar conversation about whether coaches and players should wear batting helmets while in the field.

Coolbaugh, who played for parts of two seasons in the major leagues, was struck in the head by a line drive in the ninth inning of a Double A game between the Drillers, a Colorado Rockies affiliate, and the Arkansas Travelers in North Little Rock. Coolbaugh was administered CPR on the field, but was pronounced dead a short time later at a local hospital.

It's not clear whether Coolbaugh, the father of two children with a third due in October, was struck on the right side of the head or on the forehead by the line drive off the bat of Tino Sanchez. It's also not clear whether major league players and coaches would want to wear helmets while they're in the field, but those in charge of amateur baseball should consider compelling young players and their coaches to be as safe as possible at all times.

Posted by Milton Kent at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

And in the role of loyal soldier...is Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who has come to the defense of the NBA in the midst of the referee scandal.

Yes, that Mark Cuban. The guy who has racked up more than $1 million in fines over the years for criticizing officials has become one of the first owners to speak up publicly in support of commissioner David Stern and his leadership in the midst of the NBA's biggest crisis -- an allegation that referee Tim Donaghy placed bets on games, including some that he worked over the last two years.

Cynics among us may wonder if the show of solidarity is perfectly timed to present his good side at a time when Cuban is trying to display his best face as he throws his hat in the ring to buy the Chicago Cubs to counter the perception that he is, well, a maverick. But things have gotten so bad for Stern that he might actually welcome Cuban's kind wishes.

On a more serious note, Stern is expected to make his first extended public comments about the Donaghy crisis some time this week, perhaps as soon as today. Meanwhile, Donaghy's troubles appear to be deepening, with word that Florida police were called to his home this weekend to protect him from alleged threatening phone calls. This is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.

Posted by Milton Kent at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

At least, Padraig Harrington's meltdown on the 18th on the final day of the British Open at Carnoustie yesterday didn't turn him into a laughingstock.

Harrington, who missed the cut at the U.S. Open and finished tied for seventh at the Masters, narrowly avoided Jean Van de Velde territory, winning a four-hole playoff over Sergio Garcia by a stroke to capture golf's third major of the year, after leading Sergio Garcia by a stroke going into the last hole of regulation. On the 72nd hole, Harrington parked two shots into the water of infamous Barry Burn for a double bogey, and was bailed out when Garcia, who had led for most of the tournament, missed a 10-foot putt for par, forcing the playoff.

"I never let myself feel like I'd lost the Open championship as I sat watching [Garcia finish on TV]," Harrington said. "The one thing, I never, ever had it in my head that I'd lost. Now if Sergio had parred the last and I did lose, I think I would have struggled to come out and be a competitive golfer. It meant that much to me. But I never let it sink into me that I had just thrown away the Open championship on the 18th."

Meanwhile, you had to feel for the usually cocky Garcia, who kicked away his best chance to win a major in 33 tries. Time will tell whether he will ever be able to bounce back emotionally from his Sunday in Scotland.

Posted by Milton Kent at 8:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Admit it: When Orioles pitcher Jeremy Guthrie finished yet another impressive Sunday afternoon start yesterday in Oakland (two hits, no runs, three walks in seven innings), you felt like Sergio Garcia walking up the 18th in Carnoustie: Technically, you had a chance to win, but it wasn't the most comfortable of feelings.

Guthrie had left two previous Sunday starts with the team in a position to win, only to have the Birds lose to Boston and the Los Angeles Angels late in those games. But unlike Garcia, who was standing out on the British Open course all alone, Guthrie had help yesterday in the 2-0 win.

Specifically, he had a ninth-inning insurance run from Nick Markakis, who scored off a single from former Athletic Jay Payton, and Jamie Walker's first save in three years, filling in for Chris Ray, who reported arm stiffness before the game. The Orioles, armed with a road trip split, have a day off before starting a seven-game homestand against Tampa Bay and the Yankees this week.

Posted by Milton Kent at 6:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Developments in the Michael Vick case seem to be picking up momentum as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell met with representatives of the ASPCA today and animal rights advocates protested outside NFL headquarters. Meanwhile, ESPN is reporting that there is some sentiment within the league that Vick should take a voluntary paid leave while he handles his legal problems regarding the federal indictment on dogfighting-related charges.

If Vick were placed on some sort of paid leave, the Falcons would be responsible for his $6 million base salary. As everyone involved clearly recognizes, the public furor is only going to intensify.  Just consider the foreseeable events -- a Vick court appearance scheduled for next week; whenever he would arrive at the Falcons' training camp, and still another likely indictment from local prosecutors in Virginia. It would all seem to make life unbearable for both the quarterback and his team.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Orioles pitcher Jeremy Guthrie will take fan questions noon-1 p.m., Tuesday, July 24, at the Inner Harbor ESPN Zone. Guthrie has been a bright spot for the Orioles this year with a 5-3 record and 3.06 ERA. As many fans are well aware, Guthrie's record would be much better had he received stronger offensive support in many of his games.

The Q&A session is one of a series of such appearances by Orioles players and members of the organization this season. Similar events are planned for Aug. 22, Sept. 12 and Sept. 27.

Photo credit:  Associated Press

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Well, it seems like we're all going to have to wait a bit longer to see soccer import/marketing superstar/gosh-darn-good-looking David Beckham make his debut for the Los Angeles Galaxy.

A nagging ankle injury he suffered in June while playing for England and aggravated when he was still with Real Madrid has limited him in practice since he arrived in L.A., and he's unlikely to play in an exhibition match tomorrow against Chelsea, an English Premiere League team.

But since this is still a big week for American soccer, we wanted to stay in the spirit with this little soccer training video. We don't mean to make fun, but they kind of go out of their way to look a little silly, don't they?

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

Just as an example of the type of passions that are inflamed by this Michael Vick dogfighting allegation, we give you West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd, who went off on the Senate floor yesterday. He described such animal cruelty as "barbaric."

"Let that word resound from hill to hill and from mountain to mountain, from valley to valley across this broad land," Byrd was quoted as saying by CBS, AP and others. "May God help those poor souls who would be so cruel. Barbaric! Hear me!"

Although not condemning the accused before the legal process is allowed to take its course, the 89-year-old Byrd was clear about how he felt about anyone who is guilty of such a thing: "I am confident that the hottest places in hell are reserved for the souls of sick and brutal people who hold God's creatures in such brutal and cruel contempt."

Bet it's getting a little warm up on Park Avenue where the NFL has its offices as well.

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

This report includes updates from when it was originally posted.

Michael Vick isn't the only guy in sports the feds have their eye on.

An NBA referee appears to be part of an FBI gambling investigation, according to the New York Post and the Associated Press.

According to ESPN, the referee is Tim Donaghy, a 13-year veteran. Donaghy has resigned from  the NBA. According to several stories, sources said that a ref was being investigated to determine whether he had bet on games over the last two seasons, including ones that he officiated and whether he had made calls that influenced the point spread. Wagers by either the official or his associates were supposedly in the thousands of dollars, according to some reports. In the New York Post, there was prominent mention of organized crime connections.

The NBA is aware of the investigation but not commenting.

For a league battling poor TV ratings and a general lack of superstars who are both compelling and likable, this is obviously a major blow.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Julio Franco, age 48, made his return to the Atlanta Braves lineup to a standing ovation yesterday.

Regardless of whether you think Franco can still play in the majors, you have to marvel at the guy. Since breaking into the majors with the Phillies in 1982, he has played on nine teams here and in four other countries (Japan, South Korea, Mexico and the Dominican). He has a lifetime batting average near .300, he's a three-time All-Star and was an American League batting champion (1991). 

At 48, Franco is technically well behind in the oldest player category. Guys like Satchel Paige and Minnie Minoso returned for short major league stints when they were assumed to be well into their 50s -- but their birth records are a little foggy. But among guys we can be pretty certain about and who were fairly active on their rosters until the end, Franco has already passed the likes of Nolan Ryan and Pete Rose and is closing in on Hoyt Wilhelm, who played until he was 49.

And when Franco is finished in the majors, I have just the spot for him on The Sun's softball team, where I guarantee he won't be the oldest.

Photo credit:  Associated Press

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The fast-moving Michael Vick situation has the NFL facing an opponent even that enormously powerful sports empire might not be able to handle -- animal lovers.

The NFL has been able to take on some pretty impressive heavyweights in the past, often successfully. It went to war with Las Vegas gambling interests over using the Super Bowl to promote casino events and decisively won that battle. It's cracking down on the news industry's use of NFL team video on Web sites and limiting such usage to 45 seconds a day. And it's been in an ongoing war with the cable TV industry over how the league's NFL Network is carried.

But now the league is facing people who care about animals, and in the emotionally charged atmosphere of the Vick-dogfighting federal indictment, the league can expect withering criticism for its wait-and-see approach to the Atlanta Falcons' quarterback.

PETA is planning a protest at the league's New York headquarters today and the Humane Society of the United States is just getting geared up with a reported 100,000 complaints sent through its Web site to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's office. So far, Goodell has declined to impose any discipline on Vick as the legal process plays out. But that cautious stance will not satisfy many among the public who were horrified by some of the more inflammatory parts of the indictment that described how some dogs were destroyed at Vick's former property in Virgina that allegedly was home base for the dogfighting operation.

Nike, one of Vick's corporate associates, buckled under the pressure, saying it was putting on hold the release of a new Vick athletic shoe but that the Vick-related stuff on the shelves apparently will not be recalled, at least not yet.

In Atlanta, Falcons owner Arthur Blank was pleading with fans for patience.

All this has been going on with Vick out of sight. When or if he emerges for training camp, the spotlight will be incredibly harsh and the roar for action by the league will be deafening.

Photo credit: Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The Orioles didn't play yesterday as they made their way from Seattle down to Oakland for three games against the A's, but Barry Bonds gave us something to bring you this morning.

Two more home runs.

Sort of like the scary guy in the horror movies, just when you think he's dead and you're safe ... HE JUMPS BACK UP AGAIN!!!

Apparently, Bonds was just giving us false hope with that 0-for-21 slump because yesterday he slammed two more homers against the Cubs to continue his assault on Hank Aaron's all-time record of 755. Notice how the word assault really seems to apply here, as if it were a crime.

Bonds' first of two homers, a blast that left Wrigley Field, came against Chicago starter Ted Lilly, a guy who turns into a batting practice pitcher against the Giants' slugger. The second, against Will Ohman, just managed to land in a basket at the wall. Despite Bonds hitting No. 752 and No. 753, the Giants still lost, 9-8.

Also interesting is how relatively pleasant Bonds is being these days. For instance, yesterday he talked poignantly about how when the umpires switch baseballs when he bats (using special commemorative ones), the import of it all settles in on him. It's as if he believes that his career will be defined and he'll be remembered by his actions now as opposed to what's happened over the last few years.

It reminds me of a line from a Bill Cosby comedy routine when he talks about his own mother and how she changed after he had children and, as a grandmother, she became sweet and mellow.

"That's not the same woman I grew up with," he said, "you're looking at an old person who's trying to get into Heaven now."

*  Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia became the first pitcher in the majors to reach 13 wins with a 7-5 victory over Texas. Sabathia got back on track by going six innings and giving up four runs (three earned) after having lost his last two starts when he gave up 13 runs in 11 innings.

*  The thing about trying to update a daytime event in Europe is that it becomes a moving target.  The latest from the British Open being held at Carnoustie in Scotland as we type this is that Spaniard Sergio Garcia still has the lead about midway through his round on the second day. He shot a 6-under 65 yesterday, putting him four strokes in front of Tiger Woods, who is hunting for his third straight British Open title. We'll keep an eye on it.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 7:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

I figure as the Michael Vick story unfolds, or his career possibly unravels, depending on how all this works out, many, many more anecdotes and angles on the subject with undoubtedly appear here. So, we might as well start serializing them. Consider this the first episode of what promises to be a lengthy soap opera.

As an opener, there's the trade that set the course for the two franchises involved, the Falcons and the Chargers. The history lesson comes courtesy of San Diego Union columnist Nick Canepa.

Canepa retold the tale of the deal that the Chargers made before the 2001 draft in which San Diego gave Atlanta the No. 1 pick that year in exchange for the fifth overall selection and some player.

With that top choice, Atlanta greedily latched onto its franchise quarterback of the future, Michael Vick. With the lower pick, San Diego took a running back named LaDainian Tomlinson.

But in the words of radio commentator Paul Harvey, here's the rest of the story, as Canepa laid it out.

The deal never would have been made if the Falcons didn't throw in that "some player" I referenced above. For some reason, the Chargers personnel guy, the late John Butler, coveted receiver-return specialist Tim Dwight (being tackled here by the Ravens' Ed Reed). As the two sides haggled, Dwight became more and more the issue of contention. The Chargers insisted and the Falcons resisted. Dwight had clearly became the deal-maker/breaker. Only at the last minute did the Falcons agree to make him part of the package.

Dwight has had a nice career, particularly the four seasons he spent bringing back punts and kickoffs in San Diego (three for touchdowns). But for the two teams, Dwight's legacy will go well beyond his own numbers and be reflected in the respective careers of Tomlinson and Vick, one probably headed to the Hall of the Fame and the other, quite possibly, to infamy.

Photo credit: Gene Sweeney Jr.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Tiger Woods is off to a strong start as he tries for a three-peat in the British Open being held at Carnoustie in Scotland this year. Woods (right) shot a 2-under 69 and trails the leader, Paul McGinley of Ireland, by just two strokes. No one has won three straight British Opens in half-a-century, when Peter Thompson did it from 1954 through '56. Woods is gunning for his 13th major title overall.

As many golfers know, the traditional courses of the British Isles rely more on natural elements, especially wind, than course design to establish challenge. Here's a video look at Carnoustie (it's almost five minutes long) and while clearly a tourism promotion, the video offers a fairly straightforward presentation of what Woods and his competitors are tackling.

Photo credit: Associated Press

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The Cubs' Carlos Zambrano became the first National League pitcher to reach 12 wins yesterday when Chicago routed the San Francisco Giants, 12-1. Zambrano, 12-7, is part of the Cubbies' recent surprising surge -- they've gone 17-5 in the last few weeks -- that has Chicago back in the NL Central race.

Now, we don't expect too much here. We are talking about the Chicago Cubs, after all. But it is a cool midsummer's run -- almost as cool as, say, Miles Davis here (with a big assist from Harry Caray).

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Since we're rummaging around in legal matters these days, we thought we'd bring you up to speed on still another legal matter before the courts. That's the one involving Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis, who is suing doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital, contending they let him bleed internally for 30 hours after he had gastric bypass surgery in 2002. At the time, Weis was offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. It's a courtroom do-over because the first trial ended in a mistrial when a juror collapsed and the defendants rushed to give assistance.

In his testimony yesterday, Weis talked about waking up in the hospital to seen a priest hovering over him. Usually, that's not a good sign.

And if you're wondering how that surgery worked for Weis -- well, I'm no medical expert, but here's a picture of Charlie a few years later. But that's not assigning blame to anyone.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was also scheduled to testify but a stand-in read his testimony about how the QB visited Weis in his sick bed. Brady is traveling and as we mentioned earlier this week, his former girlfriend, actress Bridget Moynahan, is scheduled to give birth to the couple's baby any day now and, coincidentally, current girlfriend, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, has a birthday coming up tomorrow.

Photo credit: Joe Raymond/AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Predictably, Michael Vick's ugly legal problems has put the NFL in a difficult spot and for the time being, commissioner Roger Goodell has punted.

According to reports, Goodell is allowing Vick to participate with the Falcons while the judicial process plays out. There are two problems facing the league by taking this tack -- and I'm not arguing that it's the wrong thing to do, just that there are pitfalls here.

First and most obvious is that Goodell slammed Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones with what will likely amount to a season-long suspension without Jones being convicted of anything. Of course, we all know the circumstances with Jones -- multiple police contacts and multiple arrests in the last two years. But the move does invite the criticism of special treatment for special people.

Perhaps a little less obvious is that, as the legal process drags on, more evidence may come to light about Vick's alleged involvement in the dogfighting operation at a Virginia property he used to own. The media will be scouring for more witnesses and even details that are known to investigators but were not included in the federal government's grand jury indictment. And the government itself will likely continue its investigation and details about that may leak out.

If there are any more smoking guns out there, the league will be under enormous pressure if it perseveres with the "wait until the legal process runs its course" position.

I think Goodell is doing the only thing he can at this moment. But I also believe he should be open to reviewing the current stance if the circumstances warrant it.

Photo credit:  Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The Boston Red Sox still may run away with the AL East, but the Yankees have a perfect opportunity to make them sweat a little over the next week. And the Orioles are in position to be a major player through the rest of the season.

The Yanks have won six of seven since the All-Star break and are now within seven games of Boston, which has lost seven of its last 10. After a game today against Toronto, New York has the luxury of playing eight games against two last-place teams, Tampa Bay and Kansas City. At the same time, the Red Sox will be playing the White Sox and the Indians.

But it's the Orioles who might hold the key. Baltimore has 25 of its remaining 68 games against either the Yankees or the Red Sox (not including the continuation of a suspended game against New York scheduled for July 27).

Clearly, the Orioles will have a lot to say about who wins the division -- it just won't be them.

Photo credit: Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun 

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)
                    

Daniel Cabrera tried to help out last night, pitching on three days' rest to give Erik Bedard the time he needed to rest a sore neck, but it turned out to be a little too much to ask. Cabrera's ongoing problem -- control -- hurt him again as Seattle built a 5-1 lead even though he dazzled at times. 

Still, the Orioles rallied to tie the game, but then saw it slip away, 6-5, when Chad Bradford walked in what turned out to be the winning run in the bottom of the eighth. The Orioles' bullpen had been walking a tightrope for a couple of innings.

You could look at last night's game a couple of ways. On the one hand, it shows that the pitching staff is a little thin. When Bedard's neck problem flared, Dave Trembley's best alternative was to send out Cabrera. On the other hand, it indicated that even under the circumstances, the team had enough offense and grit to extend the Mariners on the road.

* The Yankees are making a move in the AL East. New York beat Toronto last night while Boston lost to Kansas City at Fenway for the second straight game. The Yankees are now four games above .500, a high-water mark for them this year, and within seven games of the Red Sox -- the closest they've been in more than two months. Roger Clemens racked up a no-decision for the Yanks, operating more on guile than overpowering stuff, which has been fairly common since his return. He gave up nine hits in six innings but just one run to keep New York alive until they rallied, 6-1.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

You just can't make this stuff up. The Boogaard boys of the NHL, Derek and Aaron, are conducting a hockey camp during the offseason.

But this is sort of a specialized camp.

You see, it's actually a hockey fighting camp for kids that the Boogaards run up in Saskatchewan.

Unless you're an NHL fan, you may not know that Derek Boogaard, of the Minnesota Wild, is one of the league's more expert brawlers (26 fights in 113 games). His brother Aaron, now with the Pittsburgh Penguins, is also no stranger to penalty boxes.

They contend that they're not teaching the kids to be goons but rather simply how to protect themselves when playing.

One mother likened the camp to a defensive driving class.

Yeah, if defensive driving involved putting protruding spikes on your hubcaps to flatten the other guy's tires.

So here's a little of Mr. Boogaard (No. 24) at work to the strains of the team anthem, whose opening words are:

"We were raised with the stick and a pair of blades
On the ice we cut our teeth
We took our knocks in the penalty box
Our mother was the referee."

And we acknowledge the Fark blog site for initially alerting us to the item about the camp.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 2:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

A few weeks ago, I poked some fun at the notion that the PGA wanted to look into steroid testing for its players. Actually, my point was that equipment development had done more to compromise golf courses than anything else in golf. But, of course, the equipment is available to everyone so even if you agree with me that high-tech clubs and balls undermine golf courses, the equipment issue doesn't create an uneven playing field among the competitors.

Now, a respected figure like Gary Player comes out in favor of drug testing for golfers, contending that players have confessed to him their own usage or knowledge about it. Player doesn't name names, though.

I have mixed feelings about this. Certainly, we all want our games to be fair. But in the absence of some striking evidence -- say, like, six instances in four years when guys hit 60 or more home runs when, in nearly a century of big league ball, only two guys had done it -- should we go so far as to test everyone for everything.

How many golfers have you seen lately who look like they're on 'roids?  None I can think of. In fact, with some notable exceptions, like the lean, muscular Tiger Woods, many of these guys look like they've been into the beer nuts a little too much at the 19th hole.

Still, Player's warning is not to be dismissed out of hand. And I'm sure testing is coming for golf.

Photo credit: Morry Gash/AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Granted, baseball life in Baltimore sort of stinks (last night's win notwithstanding). But in Pittsburgh, it's 50 percent worse. The Orioles are in danger of their 10th straight losing season. The Pirates, with a death grip on last place in the NL Central and currently on a five-game losing streak, are going for No. 15 in a row.

And here's what ownership thinks of the fans. With a payroll of about $38 million, Pittsburgh spent less on its whole team this year than the Orioles spent on their bullpen. The target of fans' ire there are board of directors chairman Robert Nutting and CEO Kevin McClatchy, who is stepping down after the season.

So here's a musical tribute to the Bucs -- an organization that refuses to part with any. Oh yeah, the June 30 fan protest referenced in the video kind of fizzled, too.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Maybe those tight pants that cycling racers wear are so constricting that it affects the flow of blood to their brains.

A few days ago, we told you about German cyclist Patrick Sinkewitz's bizarre accident at the Tour de France, where he ran into a spectator after the day's competition ended while Sinkewitz was headed to his hotel. The spectator was hurt seriously and the rider suffered a broken nose.

Now, it seems, that Sinkewitz also failed a drug test a month before the Tour. Here's another interesting development. Two German public broadcasters have suspended their coverage of the Tour pending results from Sinkewitz's B sample. Fed up with the cycling scandals, especially involving Germans, the broadcasters are saying that without a clean race, the Tour de France isn't worth covering.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Here are some of the implications resulting from Michael Vick's indictment on federal charges related to dogfighting.

Atlanta Falcons: The whole, long-term strategy of building the franchise on the gifted quarterback is now blown to smithereens. If the Falcons haven't been bracing for this, they've been in denial. Things went from bad to worse when the federal government got involved. I've said it before and it's worth repeating. Getting rid of QB Matt Schaub to Houston was a HUGE mistake. Not only was Schaub a potential star, but he was a fresh face who could have represented a clean, new start for the franchise. Now, the Falcons are left with retreads at quarterback like Joey Harrington and just maybe Daunte Culpepper.

Marketing: By association, this is embarrassing for every commercial entity that has aligned itself with Vick. Among sponsors, AirTran has already dismissed Vick. The Humane Society of the United States is calling on the companies with which Vick has endorsement deals to do the same. * Nike reportedly declined and it will be interesting to see whether the sporting goods company suffers any backlash.

*  Two other companies that Vick had been associated with and were previously mentioned here as part of the humane society's efforts had  ended their endorsement associations with Vick when those deals expired.

The NFL: The league loved Michael Vick. He is electrifying. But it recognizes a public relations nightmare when it sees one. In a statement, the league is already characterizing the allegations in grim fashion, calling them "cruel, degrading and illegal." It said it was disappointed that Vick had even put himself in this position. Now commissioner Roger Goodell is going to be under pressure regarding Vick. Remember, Goodell suspended the Titans' Adam "Pacman" Jones without the legal process running its course. Of course, Jones was in scrape after scrape. It could be argued that Vick is something of a first-time offender, although he has had some problems of his own, such as making an obscene gesture at fans who were taunting him. As this dogfighting case evolves and if more evidence emerges, the question of disciplining Vick will come up again and again.

Photo credit: Associated Press

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
                    

Both the winner and the runner-up in the World Series of Poker's main event came to their respective North American homes from Asia, and both have vowed to help others with their new riches.

New champion Jerry Yang, 39, from California, is an ethnic Hmong who grew up in Laos. Second-place finisher Tuan Lam, 40, now a Canadian, is from Vietnam. Five countries were represented at the final table -- the U.S., Canada, Russia, South Africa and England.

Of the nine players at the final table, seven were either practicing or aspiring poker professionals.  Yang (left) was not. He had won his seat for a $225 entry fee in a satellite tournament at the Pechanga Casino in Temecula, Calif., where he lives. Still, he plowed through the final table, which lasted about 16 hours, even though he was eighth in the chip count (under 8.5 million) when the day started. He knocked out seven of his eight opponents, including the best known pro at the table, Lee Watkinson.

Yang's win earned him $8.25 million (he has pledged 10 percent to charity) and certain poker celebrity for at least the next year. Lam collected $4.84 million and has said he wants to return to his village in his native country to provide help.

Photo credit: Jae C. Hong/AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

On a strictly football note, the Redskins and Ravens will scrimmage at M&T Bank Stadium from noon until about 2 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 4. The teams also will play a preseason game at FedEx Field on Aug. 25.

The scrimmage in Baltimore will include special teams, seven-on-seven and full-squad drills. Ticket prices for the general public are $25 (adult) and $20 (12 and under) for club level seats, and $15 (adult) and $10 (12 and under) for lower level. The parking lot will open at 8 a.m., and the stadium gates at 11 a.m.

The Ravens announced that season ticket holders will receive notice in the mail for discounted tickets to the scrimmage.

Tickets or information: 410-547-7328 or www.baltimoreravens.com. Net proceeds go to the Baltimore Ravens All Community Team Foundation.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
                    

One of the advantages of the Internet as a communications medium is that it allows for faster and less filtered dissemination of information.

You'll read a lot about the Michael Vick situation for a long time. But for starters, you may want to take a look at the 19-page federal grand jury indictment against Vick and three others for yourself. Here is a copy that was posted by USA Today.

What you will find is a chronology that details the operations of "Bad Newz Kennels," the dogfighting operation in Smithfield, Va. You'll see allegations that Vick himself traveled from Georgia to South Carolina with a pit bull named Big Boy for a dogfight. Big Boy won.

But the things that you'll read about that are certain to inflame many people are the means used to dispose of animals that were not so useful to Vick and his associates. Those means included drowning, electrocution and hanging. 

We won't make further comment. You can read the indictment for yourself. As always, there is a caution that an indictment is not an establishment of guilt.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

I'm probably being way too optimistic here, but sometimes one moment can break a pattern and change what appears to be an otherwise unalterable direction. Perhaps that moment came for Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons last night when he smoked a two-out, three-run home run in the sixth inning to help Baltimore to an 8-3 win over Seattle. Later, Gibbons, who has been having an awful season, blooped a two-out, two-RBI single that helped seal the win.

The interesting thing about Gibbons' homer is that it kept the Orioles from the type of loss to which they and their fans have become much too accustomed. Jeremy Guthrie was pitching and while not overpowering, he was at least effective enough to keep the Mariners to two runs through six innings. But the Orioles were up to their old tricks, failing to push any runs across the plate and squandering one scoring opportunity after another. They even added a new wrinkle by committing sins of the glove.

And in the sixth, with runners on first and second, they appeared ready to waste still another chance. That's when Gibbons hit a bolt to right field for a 3-2 lead. Enough to change a season, both for Gibbons and the Orioles? Hard to say. But sometimes those moments do happen.

* If you haven't heard by now, Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick was indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple felony charges related to a dogfighting operation at a Virginia property that used to be owned by Vick. This is enormously bad news for Vick in that he is facing federal charges. As I've mentioned here before, I used to cover federal courts in Philadelphia and this is what I learned about a government prosecution. It is usually meticulous and the resources that the federal government can bring to bear on a case often mean that the person indicted is almost always a goner. More on this later.

* And not too long ago, Jerry Yang, one of the few true amateurs to make the final table at the World Series of Poker No-limit Texas Hold 'em Championship in Las Vegas, won $8.25 million when he hit an inside straight against Canadian poker pro Tuan Lam. Yang won his seat for a mere $225 in a qualifying tournament at a casino in Temecula, Calif. A psychologist and social worker, Yang has promised 10 percent of his winnings to charity.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 7:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

It's still possible that the Milwaukee Bucks will salvage something of the 2007 NBA draft, but they're increasingly in a bad position regarding their top pick (No. 6 overall), China's Yi Jianlian.

Yi's team in China, the Guangdong Tigers, is being reported in the Chinese press as saying it will not allow the 6-foot-11 forward to play with Milwaukee because the Bucks offer less opportunity for Yi to develop. The Chinese contend they have a vested interest in the outcome of where Yi plays in the United States and how he matures as a player because he'll still be playing with national teams there.

It was understood among NBA watchers before the draft that Yi would not be eager to go to Milwaukee because of its small Asian population. But just as much a factor is that Yi will have significant competition for playing time among the big men. So far, there have been trade rumors involving Sacramento, a franchise that could wind up in another city anyway (say, Las Vegas where the team owners also have casino interests).

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

This is a true story.

A couple of nights ago while watching the Versus channel, sometime between awake (bull riding) and asleep (Tour de France), I thought I saw a fuzzy-headed guy, a la Borat, in a weird swimsuit -- or something that would be put to much better use in a Victoria's Secret catalog -- running with the cyclists.

I get Versus a little grainy anyway and I was half-asleep, so I went looking on the Internet yesterday to confirm what I thought I saw or to write it off as simply the hallucinated result of "an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of an underdone potato" as Charles Dickens wrote in A Christmas Carol. After finding nothing in a quick search, I swore off jelly beans before bedtime.

Now "Borat crashes the Tour" surfaces on Deadspin and elsewhere. I wasn't delusional.

Here's the broadcast I vaguely recalled followed by a musical version someone has already slapped together.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The World Series of Poker's main event final table begins today with nine players, and sometime in the wee hours of the morning, there will be a new No-limit Texas hold 'em world champion who is $8.25 million richer.

The field, the last table from 6,358 starters, features seven players who can be called either professional or aspiring professional players but that designation has a lot of shadings these days. It could mean that a player actually spends the majority of his time playing in cash and tournament games in casinos, or spends most of his days on the computer in Internet poker rooms, or just took a break from a real job to chase the poker dream -- circumstances that would describe most of the players at the current final table.

But there was a time when a poker professional meant one thing -- a rounder who made the rounds from town to town scratching out a living in the back rooms of pool halls and bars, plying his trade while evading the law and dodging robbers. So as the World Series of Poker ends, we recall some of those old rounders, guys like Puggy Pearson and Amarillo Slim and Johnny Moss but especially Texas Dolly, Doyle Brunson.

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

It has been a while since we gave Tom Brady the business here. And even though the likable future Hall of Famer is well, really likable, anyone who appears in men's fashion magazines and dates actresses and supermodels can stand a little razzing.

We've learned that any time we really want to know what's going on with Brady, we have to look up the celebrity gossip columns and the latest dish is that uber-model girlfriend Giselle Bundchen is getting a little nervous because Brady's ex-romantic interest, actress Bridget Moynahan, is expecting the couple's baby any day now. We get all this from our usual sports sources, the New York Post's Page Six and Hollyscoop.com.

To top it off, Bundchen's own birthday is Friday, so Brady may have to leave the GF to be with the pregnant ex-GF at a delicate time. Yikes.

Well, as we see here, it's not really Tom's fault. He's just so cute and irresistible.

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

Perhaps weary of Kobe Bryant's moaning about escaping from the Staples Center, Los Angeles has turned to a new sports infatuation -- soccer import David Beckham. Beckham has signed on with the MLS' Los Angeles Galaxy and already his No. 23 jersey is the hot new fashion statement out there, according to reports.

However, it seems that Beckham's much anticipated debut in an exhibition game Saturday at the Home Depot Center (it must also be the fashion in Southern California to name sports venues after big box stores rather than banks) may not happen because of a lingering ankle injury.

With about a thousand people at practice, Beckham (right) did minimal work at his first workout yesterday in a Galaxy uniform.

Photo credit: Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

As if any further evidence were needed to tell us that rugby players are simply lunatics in matching outfits, we have this tale making the rounds about an Australian who had a tooth embedded just above his left eye for four months.

Ben Czislowski, 24, who now plays for a club in Brisbane, had a head-on collision with an opponent in early April in a Queensland Cup game. Czislowski's head was sliced open and the other guy suffered a broken jaw. Czislowski said he knew the other player had lost some teeth, but Czislowski figured they were on the ground.

The player said he's keeping the tooth on a stand by his bed for the moment but will send it to the other mate if he should want it back. This is hardly unprecedented in Australian rugby annals.  In 2004, another player had a tooth removed from his head and a few years before that, still another player had a tooth lodged in his arm and nearly had to have it amputated before doctors figured out what was causing an infection.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Neal Shaffer is a self-described Don Quixote in orange and black on what he admits is quite possibly a "fool's errand" to take back Camden Yards for the home team when the Boston Red Sox come to town in September -- probably under a full head of steam headed for the AL East title. You shouldn't be surprised to learn that will mean a noisy herd of Boston supporters passing through the turnstiles at Orioles Park.

As we told you yesterday, there's a grassroots Internet movement to wrest control of Camden Yards from the Borg that calls itself Red Sox Nation and Shaffer, a 29-year-old freelance writer who runs the fan blog site, thelosscolumn.com, is the ringleader. Well, right now it's a small ring. There's Shaffer and then there's ...

Well, let's just call it an army of one at the moment. 

But I think Shaffer's on to something.

He's calling for Orioles fans to purchase tickets in a couple of specific sections of Camden Yards for the Sept. 8 game against Boston with the object being, in Shaffer's words, "to cheer for the home team and give the out-of-towners a hard time."

Shaffer isn't advocating vulgarity or poor sportsmanship. Just a lot of decibels so the Orioles know it really is a home game. The phenomenon of Red Sox and Yankees fans taking over Camden Yards -- and Orioles fans allowing it -- goes down hard for the Hamden resident.

"It is odd to me and I don't think it's representative of the character of the city," said Shaffer, a transplant who became an Orioles diehard at Memorial Stadium. He longs for those days when the Orioles were the city's pride like they were in the photo here.

So far on his Web site and even on some comments left here, Shaffer's efforts aren't being entirely well received, either by Boston or Baltimore fans. Some Red Sox types accuse him of instigating hooliganism, something Shaffer adamantly disavows. And Orioles fans carp that they're not spending one more nickel on an Orioles game as long as Peter Angelos owns the team.

"Look, I'm not particularly fond of Peter Angelos," Shaffer said, "but I'm not going to turn my back on the team because of ownership. People have said to me, 'They've got to win me back as a fan!' What?"

The essence of being a fan means supporting the team through dark times, Shaffer said, although he acknowledges that the region's patience has deservedly worn thin.

The idea for Take Back the Yard occurred to Shaffer during the first home series of the season against the Red Sox. He was watching on TV and the roar of support for Boston just got to him. "I like listening to baseball on the radio and it's even worse that way because it's an auditory medium," he said.

"I don't think this happens anywhere else," Shaffer said. "Look at the Cubs, look at the Tigers ... even though they've been more successful lately. It doesn't happen in Philadelphia and they haven't won anything in how long.

"I think it says as much about our fans as it does about the ones who come down here," he added. "And I don't want that to be true."

What Shaffer is pushing for on Sept. 8 is for a few hundred Orioles loyalists to show up in orange and black. "I just want them to show some passion," he said. "If we could get that, it would be fantastic."

Photo credit:  Sun file photo

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The Orioles are like an old plumbing system. As soon as you patch one leak, another one seems to emerge.

The bullpen, whose unreliability was probably the single biggest reason former manager Sam Perlozzo was fired, seems to be coming around. Last night, however, it was starting pitching and the lack of clutch hitting that cooled a promising start to the second half.

After winning three of four from the White Sox at home, the Orioles lost the first game of a West Coast trip to Seattle, 4-2, as they failed to score with runners on first and second and no outs in the fourth inning and then went silent the rest of the way.

It was the Mariners who found a way to scratch out enough runs to win. For instance, Ichiro Suzuki doubled and after a failed bunt attempt, stole third and then scored on a ground out in the first inning. Suzuki was at DH after being hit hit by a pitch by Detroit's Justin Verlander over the weekend.

Suzuki said, though, that he considered it an obligation to play -- and not just to his own team.

"If I say my leg hurt today, that would be very rude to the opposing team," Suzuki said through an interpreter.

*  The Cubs are an interesting case. Like the Orioles, Chicago was struggling in early June, a season-worst nine games under .500 with a feuding clubhouse. But over the last three or four weeks, the Cubs have gotten themselves back in contention in the NL Central, winning 17 of 21 games, including a 3-2 victory over the Giants last night. In Chicago's case, they are getting timely hitting -- it was a two-run double by Aramis Ramirez in the bottom of the eighth yesterday.  Now five games over .500, the Cubs are indulging in a little scoreboard watching as they've moved to within 3 1/2 games of first-place Milwaukee. Slumping Barry Bonds didn't play for San Francisco.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 7:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

For all-around hilarity, I just don't think you can beat soccer.

Here's a video of a soccer player taking such an outrageously deliberate dive that he gets a yellow card. The Italian player's acting job is so bad, notice the goalie comes rushing over to mock him. The British announcer is just as comical, declaring that the offending player's "disgraceful" pratfall was certainly deserving of "censure -- if not ridicule." I could just hear John Cleese. Thanks to the With Leather blog for pointing it out.

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

The Tour de France isn't getting nearly as much attention in the United States these days without a Lance Armstrong or a Floyd Landis in contention. But true to form, there is drama away from the actual competition. Over the weekend, a weird accident occurred when a competitor struck a spectator. The cycling fan is now in a coma. Making it stranger still is that this didn't happen during the race. The bicyclist, Patrick Sinkewitz of the German T-mobile team, hit an older person as Sinkewitz was returning to his hotel. Sinkewitz has a broken nose.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Speaking of 0-for-20, NASCAR driver Tony Stewart was winless in his last 20 races until his victory at Chicagoland over the weekend.

I have to tell you, I like Tony Stewart. I know he was being his old whiny self a week ago at Daytona when he ripped teammate Denny Hamlin, contending that Hamlin slowed down in front of him and caused both cars to wreck. And there's no arguing that Stewart makes a habit of shooting his mouth off, that he occasionally thinks it's funny to draft the pace car and he does that goofy climbing-the-fence thing -- but anyone who can irritate NASCAR the way he does, is OK in my book.

So, here's a tribute to "Smoke" Stewart with Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The Barry Bonds home run watch is becoming painful on so many levels.

It's bad enough that most of the sports world believes that at least some of Bonds' assaults on various home run marks have been tainted by performance-enhancing drugs. Now, though, Bonds' chase of Hank Aaron's all-time record of 755 homers has slowed to an agonizing crawl. Yesterday, Bonds erupted with some bad words, calling himself an embarrassment. We'll let that hanging curve go unchallenged for the time being.

However, Bonds is hitless in his last 20 at-bats and you have to wonder whether the pressure to hit those last four round-trippers he needs to tie Aaron is getting to Bonds.  But although some folks seem eager to bury him -- perhaps hoping after No. 754 that in some cosmic retribution, his body parts will fall off one by one -- it's worth remembering that the guy does have 17 home runs so far this season. And he has fought his way out of at least one home run drought already this year. 

In the end, Barry Bonds will break Hank Aaron's record. 

Like it or not.

Photo credit: Lenny Ignelzi/AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

We all know what it's like when the Yankees and Red Sox come to town. Camden Yards turns into Yankee Stadium South or Fenway Park Far South.

I find it annoying and I confess, I'm not a native Baltimorean. Actually, I find it a lot more than annoying.

Which brings us to a grassroots -- or guerrilla -- effort to let the interlopers know that there's still a pulse among Orioles fans (even though we have our doubts about the team at times). The folks at a local fan blog, thelosscolumn.com, are trying to rally the troops to attend the Sept. 8 game against the Red Sox, vowing to Take Back the Yard. The point is to make Camden Yards actually feel like it's the home field of the Orioles for a change when the Red Sox are there.

The folks at thelosscolumn make it clear that they're not encouraging physical confrontations with or vulgar behavior toward Red Sox fans -- after all, this isn't Philadelphia -- but they are urging a demonstration of the type of spirit that this town has been known for (and still exhibits for the Ravens).

Last year, you may recall that local radio personality Nestor Aparicio organized a fan demonstration that was actually a walk-out from a late-season Orioles game to show the fans' strong disapproval of owner Peter Angelos' stewardship.  This current effort is not that type of protest. It's merely a way to remind friend and foe alike that Camden Yards belongs to Baltimore.

Photo credit: Gene Sweeney Jr./Baltimore Sun

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
                    

The final table is set at the World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas. After a week-and-a-half of play in the No-limit Texas Hold 'em World Championship, the remaining nine players have a day off today before tomorrow's showdown. Two big-name players still left (and they may not even be big names to most casual fans) are American Lee Watkinson and Russian Alex Kravchenko. Former world champ Scotty Nguyen was eliminated in 11th. The winner gets $8.25 million, and every one at the final table earns at least $525,000.

One of the last Maryland players in the 6,358-player field was Catonsville's Andrew Brokos. The 24-year-old Brokos, who finished 361st and won $34,664, finished in the money for the second straight year. In 2006, he was 279th (in a field of more than 8,700) and pocketed about $38,000.

Like a lot of poker players, there's an interesting back story to Brokos (left). He was a math whiz at Catonsville High and has always been involved in debate. He went to undergraduate school at the University of Chicago, where he majored in philosophy ("which is why I'm unemployed at the moment," he explained).

He works in Boston these days running the Boston Debate League for public school students, an endeavor that pays only a stipend. In fact, Brokos uses his poker winnings to help fund the debate effort. He has been playing about three years and does most of it online. He's known somewhat for his rather cerebral Internet postings on poker and has his own Web site, www.thinkingpoker.net. "I like poker in that it gives me the flexibility to do what I want to do," he said.

However, he has no ambition to make poker a full-time pursuit.

"In the long run, do you really want to say that you dedicated your life to a card game?" Brokos said.

You know, super smart and level-headed don't always necessarily go together. It's refreshing to see when it does.

Photo credit:  Courtesy of thinkingpoker.net.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

So this is the way we have to measure success at this point, winning one series at a time.

It requires some patience and heaven knows, there's been a lot of that required this year and last year and the year before that. But the weekend series following the All-Star break for the Orioles was a decent start for the second half. Different players taking turns helping to win games is usually a good sign.

Yesterday, it was fill-in starter Garrett Olson and glove-and-speed guy Corey Patterson providing some rare power with his second homer in three days in a 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox.  The victory gave the Orioles three wins in a four-game home series with a western road trip in front of them. OK, back in April, you may have been expecting the heroics to come from Erik Bedard and Miguel Tejada. But in a season in which the manager is fired a month before the midway point, even incremental improvement is water on parched lips.

* The Phillies finally did it -- reached 10,000 losses to set that dark milestone sooner than any team in American team sports history. Philadelphia fans have been bracing for that mark with a perverse sense of anticipation. They packed Citizens Bank Park yesterday with 44,000-plus, apparently all wanting to bear witness to a 125-year history of failure. Years ago, I wrote a story on the 1961 Phillies, who set the major league mark for consecutive losses -- 23 straight.  The 1988 Orioles almost removed the yoke of that dubious distinction by losing 21 in a row but managed to pull out of the nosedive just in time.

When I approached the story about the '61 Phils, I wanted to take a humorous look back at the team that somehow managed to eclipse all other losing Phillies teams. I reached Frank Sullivan, a pitcher, out in Hawaii. Sullivan was a pretty witty guy and when I got him on the phone and explained the premise of the story, reminding him that the streak reached 23 games, he deadpanned -- "Gee, is that all it was?" When I got manager Gene Mauch on the phone and explained I was doing a funny treatment of the losing streak, even years later his response was, "There's nothing funny about losing."

Well, after nine years of it here, I think we can agree with the late Mr. Mauch on that one.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 7:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

So, much of the sports universe -- meaning