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How happy are Orioles fans with their ballpark experience? Not very, it seems. According to an SI.com fan survey, Orioles fans rate their Camden Yards experience as 14th among major league stadiums.
SI.com points out that the rankings "are based solely on results taken from an online survey of baseball fans in March, when we asked readers to rate their hometown ballpark in 10 categories."
No. 1? Progressive Field in Cleveland. OK, you can start laughing at any time now.
It's never too early to think about next year's NFL Draft. Maryland wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey is already looking like a Top 15 pick. At least ESPN's Todd McShay thinks so.
Here's a video of a spectacular Heyward-Bey touchdown run.
Some big developments last night in the NBA Playoffs and the Stanley Cup Playoffs:
First, the Phoenix Suns, which made the big splash before the trade deadline by acquiring Shaquille O'Neal, were eliminated in five games by the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs. It was the second straight year and fourth time in the Suns' last five playoff appearances that they've been knocked out by the Spurs.
SI.com reported this morning that Suns coach Mike D'Antoni would take the fall for the first-round series loss. He has a 267-172 record in six seasons. Suns GM Steve Kerr later denied the report that D'Antoni had been fired.
In the NHL, the Dallas Stars, faring much better than the Dallas Mavericks, who lost their series to the New Orleans Hornets, took a 3-0 series lead over the San Jose Sharks with a 2-1 overtime win. The Detroit Red Wings also moved within one game of a sweep of the Colorado Avalanche with a 4-3 victory.
One thing you don't want to do is anger a superstar capable of taking over a game. Especially when he's destroyed you in the playoffs the previous two seasons. So what have the Wizards done since losing Game 4 and going down 3-1 to the Cavaliers?
They've surely pissed off LeBron James beyond belief. So here's what LeBron is going to do tomorrow night. He's going to put up 40 to 50 points, grab 12 to15 rebounds, dish out 10 or so assists and inflict pain on the Wizards at every opportunity.
Brendan Haywood? Get ready to be photographed for the next LeBron poster tomorrow night. You'll be the one he's dunking over.
Towson Catholic product Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets can begin their offseason. The Lakers ended their NBA playoff series against the Nuggets with a 107-101 victory early this morning.
Anthony had accused his teammates and coaching staff of quitting in Game 3, but the Nuggets showed up in Game 4 until Kobe Bryant took over. Bryant scored 14 of his 31 points in the last 5:30 of the game to hold the Nuggets at bay.
The Nuggets did earn one distinction beside their eight technical fouls in the series: They became the first 50-win team to be swept in the first round of the playoffs.
Anthony scored 21 points before fouling out. It's going to be a busy summer for Anthony. He faces DUI charges. A court appearance is scheduled for May 14. He also has a hearing this month for a February speeding ticket.
The 23-year-old Anthony is also expected to represent Team USA in the Olympics that begin Aug. 8 in Beijing.
Mindy McCready is taking the high road and is confirming the New York Daily News' story about her affair with Roger Clemens.
“I cannot refute anything in the story,” McCready told the newspaper in a story posted on its Web site Monday night. “I have known Roger Clemens for a long time,” she said, although she wouldn't elaborate on their relationship. She's saving that for her reality show and documentary movie. A book deal can't be far behind.
Clemens’ lawyer, Rusty Hardin, told the Daily News on Monday that the pitcher and singer had known each other for a long time but did not have sex.
And until McCready confirmed the story, we believed that The Rocket and McCready were just buddies. Yeah, right. He just liked her singing.
Flacco was tutored as a sports training facility in New Jersey by another former Delaware QB who also played in the NFL, Scott Brunner.
We found the NFL combine workout interview of Ray Rice as well as a highlights package.
I'm sure you're shocked, absolutely shocked, that a report in the New York Daily News says Roger Clemens carried on a 10-year affair with country singer Mindy McCready beginning when she was 15.
That might help explain all the difficulties McCready has had in her life, which sound like, well, a country song. Bad breakups (including a brief engagement to Superman, Dean Cain), a drug overdose, child out of wedlock, an alleged assault on her mother, etc.
After being initially shocked to hear of the allegations, we're sure that you'll be just as stunned to learn that McCready has a new CD coming out, a reality show and a documentary movie. HMMMMM, wonder where the Daily News got their information from?
AP photo
Here's how some other newspapers graded the Ravens' draft:
USA Today
GRADE: C
Wanted a QB. They suspected Matt Ryan would not fall to them in the eighth spot and could not trade up. So they dropped down and grabbed a recent riser in Joe Flacco. Big arm, but how his skills translate from a smaller college program (Delaware) to the NFL is anyone's guess. Filling this position has been an intractable problem for years. Did not get an OT to replace Jonathan Ogden. Grade is higher if you like trade for CB Fabian Washington, a former No. 1 of Oakland's acquired for a fourth-round pick.
The Washington Post
GRADE: C-
Trading down after not getting Matt Ryan was the right move. But trading back up to get fellow QB Joe Flacco at No. 18 wasn’t necessary. The next QB, Brian Brohm, wouldn’t come off the board for another 38 picks.
The Miami Herald
GRADE: B
Delaware's Joe Flacco fills their desperate need at quarterback. Unfortunately, quarterback and wide receiver have been Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome's undoing on draft day. With Jonathan Ogden retiring, they should have dived into the pool of offensive tackles before Round 4, but linebacker Tavares Gooden might help an aging defense.
Here's how these three papers rated the Ravens' division rivals:
Bengals: C- (Post); C+ (USA Today); B+ (Herald)
Browns: C- (Post); B- (USA Today); C- (Herald)
Steelers: A- (Post); B+ (USA Today); B (Herald)
Also, check out Sun reporter Ken Murray's grades for AFC and NFC teams.
The Ravens took Rutgers running back Ray Rice in the second round with the No. 55 pick. The Ravens need depth all over, RB included. John Harbaugh said Rice may get a chance to also return kicks. On trading down from the No. 38 spot in the second round with Seattle, GM Ozzie Newsome said that there were two players that the Ravens would have selected with that pick had they been available. But they were taken in the bottom of the first and the top of the second respectively. He didn't say who those players were. A guess would be the corners that went late first, early second, particularly Mike Jenkins, No. 25 to Dallas.
Rice is a low center of gravity runner at 5-foot-8, 200 pounds. He finished as Rutgers' all-time leading rusher with 4,926 yards and 49 touchowns.
The Ravens have nine picks tomorrow beginning with three in the third round.
Ravens GM Ozzie Newson: "We've got a football team that needs an influx of talent."
The Ravens traded their pick in the second round (No. 38) to Seattle for the Seahawks' pick in the second round (No. 55) and a pick in the third round (No. 86).
At this moment, the Ravens have 10 more picks, nine on the second day. Here's the rundown:
* One pick in th second round
* Three picks in the third
* Three picks in the fourth
* One in the sixth
* Two in the seventh.
Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome called Joe Flacco "the quarterback who we feel is the guy to lead us into the future."
So where does that leave Kyle Boller and Troy Smith?
Newsome said it is his job to draft players and the coaching staff's job to bring players along and decide who will play.
Head coach John Harbaugh, sitting next to Newsome, repeated what he has said in the past that the quarterback job is a wide open competition. "Whoever gives us the best chance to win is going to play," Harbaugh said.
You'll hear a lot about Joe Flacco's size, 6 feet 6, and arm strength but what turned on the Ravens as much as anything were his intelligence and coachability.
The Ravens sent several quarterback draft candidates their own playbook. Flacco was particularly impressive in translating the Delaware offensive scheme into the Ravens terminology. An accounting major, Flacco has an especially analytical mind, and the Ravens are hopeful that his smarts will help with the considerable learning curve from Division I-AA (or whatever they're calling the smaller schools now) and the NFL.
In terms of coachability, many quarterbacks are resistant to changing their mechanics until it can be absolutely proven to them that the way they're doing things are incorrect, Ravens director college scouting Eric DeCosta said in Flacco's case, when Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron suggested changes, Flacco adapted quickly and improved considerably.
DeCosta gave credit to Ravens area scout Joe Douglas for putting Flacco "on the Baltimore Ravens' radar" early. DeCosta said it's a difficult thing to put a high grade on a smaller-college quarterback, but Douglas was firm in his evaluation, and the Ravens scouted Flacco live against Navy -- a huge day for Flacco, 434 yards, 4 TDs, no interceptions -- and Towson. If Flacco works out, Douglas will be one of the organization's unsung heroes.
Obviously, the first trade from No. 8 down to No. 26 plus three other choices was critical.
Once Matt Ryan was gone, Ravens director of college scouting Eric DeCosta had seven pages of notes with several permutations of scenarios. When the Falcons picked Ryan, DeCosta turned the page.
The game plan was to trade down somewhere between No. 18 and No. 28. For more than a week, GM Ozzie Newsome had been talking to teams about trading down. In one case, the discussions began at the NFL owners' meetings in March. Once Jacksonville cooperated, it was a matter of the Ravens gauging the draft terrain as their pick got closer. A number of teams had them sweating -- Carolina, Kansas City and Chicago were among them, But it was the Jets that they were worrying about jumping ahead of them.
With a surplus of picks from the Jacksonville trade, including two extra third-rounders and a fourth, the Ravens were able to offer Houston (No. 18) the second of the third-rounders from the Jaguars deal (no. 89) and a sixth-rounder (No. 173).
Both the Ravens' coaching staff and the scouts were watching the draft together and according to DeCosta, there was elation with the Flacco pick. Interestinlgly, DeCosta said that had the Ravens been trumped on Flacco, there would would have been a big letdown so clearly, there was a substantial difference between Flacco and Michigan's Chad Henne.
Not too bad from Ravens point of view ... swap in first round, a third- and sixth-rounder. The early trade was obviously the key.
The Ravens had the ammunition to trade back up with Houston and got their man at No. 18 and grabbed Joe Flacco.
The Cardinals took CB Dominique Rogers-Cromartie and you know the Lions are going to catch heat back home with OT Gosder Cherilus
In a bit of gamesmanship possibly meant to thwart Philadelphia, K.C. trades up with Detroit and takes OG-OT Branden Albert.
Chicago took an offensive tackle, Chris Wiiliams, another reminder that left offensive tackles are highly prized. ESPN is reporting that Philadephia may be a trade partner with Arizona -- also to get an OT.
If the Ravens get nervous about the Chiefs taking a QB at No. 17, they have the bullets to give Arizona at No. 16, their first and a third to jump up.
Denver takes an offensive lineman Ryan Clady and Carolina, who reasonably was believed to be the market for a quarterback, took running back Jonathan Stewart. That the Panthers stayed off a QB helps Baltimore if they have Flacco in their sights.
Leodis McKelvin is taken by the Bills ... eight of first 11 picks are defense including the last seven. Expect some O-linemen soon.
Cincinnati needs defenders at any position and grabbed Keith Rivers. The Patriots, with a senior citizen group at linebacker, grabbed Jerod Mayo.
New head coach John Harbaugh has to be ecstatic. The Ravens get the late first-rounder from Jacksonville, two third-rounders and a fourth. They are getting the bodies to re-do this team two to three years from now and at the same time, have given themselves an opportunity to get a quarterback they like. How Newsome pulled this off is really stunning, especially since the guy the Jaguars wanted was Derrick Harvey.
Derrick Harvey .
New Orleans takes Ellis and the Ravens find a trading partner in Jacksonville down to No. 26. This is amazingly good for Baltimore. That could be Flacco/Henne territory.
ESPN's Ron Jaworski had predicted that DE Vernon Gholston would be the last guy out of the Green Room. He was right but it wasn't the embarrassing wait that Brady Quinn had last year or Aaron Rodgers in 2005. Patriots are on the clock. DT Sedrick Ellis is the bait for a possible trade.
I'm wondering if the quicker clock is an impediment to getting trades done. The Jets, which a long history of draft day fumbles, are on the clock.
Raiders go for the big running back after beefing up the defense with veterans in trades and in free agency. This gives last year’s over No. 1 QB JaMarcus Russell some help.
The easy ones are over. Now, the dealing begins.
The Falcons need someone to put on the cover of the media guide. By that I mean they need someone who they can use to market the team and reverse its image. The former QB is convicted of a despicable crime. The coach quits on them. They were rebuffed by Bill Parcells when they tried to re-tool the front office. So they had more than just football needs to consider.
They needed a face for the franchise and they got it. I have a connection to Matt Ryan, albeit tenuous. I still pay real estate taxes in the school district the kid lived in in the Philadelphia suburbs. Just thought I'd mention.
St. Louis took Chris Long ... if the advance word holds, Atlanta takes Matt Ryan. The Falcons are in the position of an expansion team. And one trying to recover from a PR disaster. The Falcons need a fresh start with a marquee player. It all adds up to Atlatna taking Ryan.
We're about 30 minutes away from the start of the NFL draft and if you haven't been near a TV or radio, you may not know that the rumors have St. Louis at No. 2 taking DE Chris Long, Atlanta at No. 3 taking QB Matt Ryan and Oakland at No. 4 taking RB Darren McFadden. Miami has already signed OT Jake Long as the overall top selection.
Having said that, none of that business from the Rams on down is official and some of it is just those top teams sending out signals to encourage trades with lower placed teams who may be desirous of a trade. And that brings us to the Ravens. ESPN is reporting that Ozzie Newsome has been talking with St. Louis in order to lock in Ryan and word is that the Rams want Baltimore's first-, second- and fourth-rounders. Coach John Harbaugh has singaled that may be too much. And that may actually be too much for a team with a lot of needs, like the Ravens. But it's also about the going price for the No. 2 overall.
I ended last football season believing that the Ravens would use their first pick in the 2008 draft on a cornerback.
I've had some second thoughts although I still think it could work out that way.
For starters, I did not believe that the Ravens were prepared to commit to another high first-round pick for a quarterback. I think otherwise now. If Matt Ryan is available at No. 8, I agree with everyone else -- the Ravens will take him. But I am equally firmly convinced that Ryan will be gone by then. The Falcons (No. 3) are desperate for a new image for that franchise. For them, this draft is about more than just re-stocking the shelves because they have to restore some credibility to that organization. Even if the Falcons trade down, Ryan would probably be the prize for Atlanta's trade partner. And if Ryan somehow slides to the Patriots (No. 7), New England will have plenty of suitors and they're going to ask for and probably get a ton for the privilege to draft the Boston College quarterback.
I know that defensive end Chris Long's name has come up but I believe he is also gone within the first five selections, so that rules him out.
I absolutely do not believe the Ravens will trade up because the price is going to be too high. The Baltimore roster is way too thin to give away the draft picks it would take to move up and it would put new head coach John Harbaugh behind the eight ball right out of the gate.
With Ryan and Chris Long off the board, I agree with The Sun's Ravens beat writer Jamison Hensley, who has written in a fan Q&A that the Ravens would want to trade down.
Here's the problem -- who is the trade partner? What would be available at No. 8 that would compel another team to give up its own No. 1 and another high pick or picks to move into the Ravens' spot. I just don't see the value there for this hypothetical trade partner.
And as you can see, we're talking about a lot of fast-talking on the telephone as the landscape changes moment-to-moment on a shorter clock, 10 minutes.
I think all this conspires to force the Ravens to use the No. 8, and if that's the spot they find themselves in without Ryan or Long there, I believe they'll take a cornerback. Purely a guess on a name, the kid from Troy, Leodis McKelvin -- but one of the top corners. If the Ravens do trade down and the Delaware QB Joe Flacco is there when their first chance comes up, then I think they'll take Flacco followed by a corner.
That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
The ESPN Zone at the Inner Harbor has resumed its series of lunchtime Q&A sessions with members of the Orioles organization.
The next Oriole to appear at the restaurant will be outfielder Luke Scott, who was acquired in the off-season trade that sent Miguel Tejada to Houston. The Q&A will be held at 12 p.m., next Wednesday, April 30. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. The afternoon includes ticket giveaways and autographs. Scott is hitting .314 for far this season.
Six more similar sessions are planned for May 28, June 17, July 1, July 22, Aug. 26 and Sept. 9.
Photo credit: Karl Merton Ferron/Sun
I suppose this is history in a way.
The famous EA Madden '09 video football game will feature on its cover a retired player -- Brett Favre. The Madden game, as many football fans are aware, has taken on the reputation of a Sports Illustrated magazine cover -- meaning it's been seen as a jinx.
A couple of years ago, Seattle's Shaun Alexander was on the cover of the Madden game box and almost immediately, he started getting banged up and now he's out of the game. After Donovan McNabb was on the cover, he had a tough season with injuries. After Michael Vick was on it, he had his leg broken in an exhibition game against the Ravens -- and we know what's happened since then. Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk and Ray Lewis all had problems with injuries or a drop-off in performance or both after their appearances on the box.
Of course, if Favre stays retired, the on-field curse will be avoided but there's some speculation that curses are not so easily thwarted. And it has been suggested that there may be curse surrogates, for instance Favre heir, Aaron Rodgers, or Favre admirer, John Madden himself.
Favre's appearance on the cover was announced when he appeared on the David Letterman show last night and Favre also had some fun with "will he come back" question that's been out there from the moment Favre held his teary farewell press conference.
Here's the back-and-forth between Letterman and Favre. The full transcript is here.
Brett: “I wasn’t excited about (minicamp) last year. I think when training camp gets close, I will – something’s bound to happen.”
Dave: “Yeah, now what does that mean, ‘something’s bound to happen’ As you get close to training camp – now, wait a minute, something’s bound to happen. What does that mean?”
Brett: “I don’t know. Did I just say that?”
Dave: “You just said, ‘Something’s bound to happen,’ so this makes me think you’re not retired.”
Brett: “Butterflies, or – I don’t know, something’s bound to happen.”
Photo credit: Associated Press
Hard telling if last night's Washington Wizards' 108-72 win was a harbinger of a genuine turnaround in their playoff series with Cleveland or whether it was what is sometimes referred to in the stock market as a "dead cat bounce" -- meaning that if something drops hard enough, it invariably has some kind of lift as a result.
Of course, that was some bounce. The Wizard routed the Cavs by 36 points at home after losing the first two games of the series in Cleveland, the second one by 30 points. That's a 66-point swing, folks. Washington's victory also ended an eight-game Cleveland winning streak against the Wizards in the playoffs.
The series has been full of the famous "disrespect" motivation. The Wizards have supposedly disrespected the Cavs and LeBron James; James has supposedly disrespected rapper Soulja Boy; the Cavs' Damon Jones poked fun at Washington's DeShawn Stevenson in Game 2; Stevenson was giving it back last night.
On Sunday, the Wizards get a chance to disprove that last night's win was simply a very impressive "dead cat bounce" and an indication that this cat really does have a few more lives in it.
E-mails are becoming the smoking gun of the 21st century. Pick up a phone, send smoke signals, say it with flowers. But e-mails, they'll getcha.
E-mails sent by Seattle SuperSonics owner Clay Bennett to various parties may become pivotal in whether he gets to move the basketball franchise from the Pacific Northwest to his home state of Oklahoma for next season. The city of Seattle, which is trying to at least postpone the move through legal action in federal court, is using Bennett's e-mails to prove that he violated provisions of his original sale agreement that he would make good-faith efforts to keep the team in Seattle by resolving arena issues.
That remains to be worked out in court but the e-mail that caught my attention was where Bennett apears to be telling NBA commissioner David Stern that he was using Las Vegas as a relocation possibility in public comments because, well, who would possibly take seriously the notion that Oklahoma City could be a serious rival. In the process, he disses "leadership" in Washington state as being geographically-challenged, either as elitists or rubes.
The "threat of Las Vegas has moved the needle" on attention given the Sonics' problems, Bennett wrote to the NBA. And added, "Leadership in the market has never valued the threat of moving to Oklahoma City. They don't even know where it is."
Photo credit: Associated Press
For Orioles fans who didn't stay up to watch the entirety of last night's game, this morning's news of the outcome, an 8-7 O's win over Seattle, certainly had to be surprising -- stunning even.
After three innings, Baltimore trailed 5-0, on the road. With the Orioles, even during their good start, not being the type of team offensively you expect to be able to climb out of that kind of hole -- well, that one looked like it was in the L column. And making that especially so was two wasted early opportunities when the Orioles had guys on third with less than two and failed to get them home.
But one of the biggest differences in this team so far is the bullpen. Four relievers gave up just two runs in six-plus innings and the O's chipped away and chipped away and even after getting a two-run lead and letting the Mariners tie, 7-7, got a solo home from Brian Roberts to win it.
The not-so-good news is that Adam Loewen, last night's starter, is hurt again. The specifics remain a mystery. It's his pitching arm again. He doesn't believe it's related to his elbow surgery but he admits that he has had discomfort of varying types and degrees for a while now.
Hard telling what the domino effect will be assuming the Orioles have to go to the bullpen to fill the spot in the rotation, say with Matt Albers, because whoever you use -- Albers or Jim Johnson -- likely has been key in the bullpen. But every team has to deal with these things.
Poor Terrell Owens -- he was duped. Duped, I'm tellin' ya. Duped into appearing in a photo that implicated him in pornography.
Like a lot of folks who keep track of the social lives of our sports heroes, I was aware earlier in the week of the alleged photo of Owens that links him, at least in terms of geographic proximity, with a women who then goes on to appear elsewhere in poses not suitable for workplace viewing.
One might infer from all this juxtaposition of positions and photos thereof that Terrell Owens was a willing party.
I didn't link to the initial T.O photo because I wasn't 100 percent absolutely sure it was he. But today, courtesy of a letter from T.O.'s attorney's to certain Internet parties, we learn that it was indeed a beaming T.O. we see in the photo but that he DID NOT KNOW that there was going to be porno pics appearing elsewhere that could be contrued as being associated with his own image. I called the lawyer's office to make sure the letter appearing on TMZ.com was authentic. It was.
The letter was addressed to an outfit called theDirty.com and references another site in play here, which we're not even going to name. Warning to curious 'Net sleuths, following this to its logical conclusion will bring you to what many would call a highly offensive place.
If you watch some iteration of Law & Order -- and if you have a television, it is virtually impossible not to -- you will notice that the plots occasionally hew closely to real-life crimes and characterizations.
The Boston Herald reports today that a Tom Brady-type character is a suspect in an L&O: SVU (Elliot and Olivia) murder case where the victim is gay. The quarterback suspect wears No. 12, has a cleft in his chin, plays in a red-and-blue stadium and dates a supermodel. Know anyone like that?
All of which reminds me of a TV detective show years ago where the suspect was a hard-charging, gravelly-voiced, neatly groomed football coach who loved to eat ice cream -- a characterization that would remind one of George Allen. If anyone else remembers that show and has any additional info, let me know. Now it's nagging at me.
Wow! What bad economy?
That David Ortiz jersey that was pulled from the recently set concrete of the House that Ruth Didn't Build fetched $175,000 in a charity auction for the Jimmy Fund. Great news for a worthy charity but 175 grand?
The auction was held on eBay. Gee, I wonder how much I can get for that dust bunny under the couch shaped like John Daly?
AP Photo/Frances Roberts
In a column that appeared in the Baltimore Sun today, I gave one man's list (mine) of each NFL team's all-time worst first-round draft pick. Since some folks who read the blog don't get the paper, I thought I'd pass along that roll call here.
As you go through it, you'll notice that in some cases, they were simply bad players. In others, they were bad people. And some of them just had bad, bad luck. The full list is after the jump. And feel free to suggest your own candidates.
• Arizona: Steve Little, K, 1978 (No. 15). A rare first-rounder as a punter and kicker, Little hit just 40 percent of his field-goal tries. Shortly after he was cut by the then- St. Louis Cardinals, he was in a car accident that left him paralyzed. He died in 1999.
• Atlanta: Aundray Bruce, LB, 1988 (No. 1). A tippy-top draft selection, Bruce started well enough with 12 sacks in his first two seasons. But he regressed and spent the back end of his career as a backup with the Raiders.
• Ravens: Travis Taylor, WR, 2000 (No. 10). Actually, the Ravens have a stellar record with their first-rounders. Taylor had some OK years with the Ravens, but he just didn't live up to the Pro Bowl standard set by other first-round picks by the team.
• Buffalo: Al Cowlings, DE, 1970 (No. 5). Yes, that Al Cowlings. The Bills took him the year after they drafted his car-pool buddy, O.J. Simpson. "Bronco" Al played nine years with five teams and had zero starts.
• Carolina: Rae Carruth, WR, 1997 (No. 27). Carruth's infamy is not in a disappointing NFL career but in having orchestrated the murder of his pregnant girlfriend in 1999. He was sentenced to at least 18 years in prison.
• Chicago: Curtis Enis, RB, 1998 (No. 5). Enis was one of several highly rated but star-crossed Penn State running backs whose careers were derailed by injuries. Enis never played a full season in three years and gained fewer than 1,500 yards.
• Cincinnati: Ki-Jana Carter, RB, 1995 (No. 1). What I said about Enis goes double for Carter, another Nittany Lion. The top pick overall, he gained fewer than 1,200 yards in seven seasons with three teams.
• Cleveland: Mike Junkin, LB, 1987 (No. 5). I'm sure many Browns fans would vote for Tim Couch, but Junkin started just seven games in three seasons. The Browns also traded up 19 spots to get him giving Chip Banks to the Chargers.
• Dallas: Mike Sherrard, WR, 1986 (No. 18). Sherrard was injured so much he missed all or most of three seasons after his rookie year. His Job-like string of calamities included breaking his leg while running on the beach.
• Denver: Tommy Maddox, QB, 1992 (No. 25). You know nothing good can come of being selected as the heir to John Elway. Maddox had a couple of decent seasons with Pittsburgh, but that was long after he was run out of Denver.
• Detroit: Andre Ware, QB, 1990 (No. 7). Given the Lions' track record, this was a toughie. In a close race, Ware's six starts in four seasons get the nod.
• Green Bay: (tie) Barry Smith, WR, 1973 (No. 21) and Barty Smith, RB, 1974 (No. 12). The two Smiths might not be the worst Packers picks individually, but the symmetry is fascinating. In 1975, Barry and Barty combined for 460 yards rushing and receiving. Do you think they were even sober in that Packers' draft room? Honorable mention: Tony Mandarich.
• Houston: David Carr, QB, 2002 (No. 1). The Texans have a short draft history, but when you whiff on the No. 1 overall who is also your first pick ever, well, that's just bad karma for the franchise.
• Indianapolis: Art Schlichter, QB, 1982 (No. 4). Six starts in three seasons and a pathological gambling problem.
• Jacksonville: R. Jay Soward, WR, 2000 (No. 29). Troubled by substance abuse, he played just one season, when he had 182 yards receiving and rushing.
• Kansas City: Todd Blackledge, QB, 1983 (No. 7). Chiefs passed up both Jim Kelly and Dan Marino in the famed quarterback draft.
• Miami: Yatil Green, WR, 1997 (No. 15). Green was Mike Sherrard all over again but worse. He missed his first two seasons with injuries and, in his third year, had 18 catches for 234 yards. Period, end of career.
• Minnesota: Dimitrius Underwood, DE, 1999 (No. 29). Underwood was tormented by psychological problems. A day after he signed a multimillion-dollar contract with the Vikings, he walked out of camp. He never did play for Minnesota and spent time on the rosters of Miami and Dallas.
• New England: Kenneth Sims, DT, 1982 (No. 1). An overall top pick, Sims had an eight-year career but started in only about half the games.
• New Orleans: Ricky Williams, RB, 1999 (No. 5). Yeah, I know he gained more than 3,000 yards in three seasons with the Saints, but he cost the team one entire draft class and the heart of the following one.
• New York Giants: Jarrod Bunch, RB, 1991 (No. 27). He gained just 629 yards in three seasons with the Giants but has gone on to have a decent acting career. Maybe you caught him in CSI: Miami.
• New York Jets: Johnny "Lam" Jones, WR, 1980 (No. 2). The speed of a sprinter with the hands of a stonemason.
• Oakland: Todd Marinovich, QB, 1991 (No. 24). In the 17 years since this draft pick, the Raiders have had just six winning seasons. Coincidence? I think not.
• Philadelphia: Kevin Allen, OT, 1985 (No. 7). Started four games, which were just enough to take a couple of years off Ron Jaworski's career. Went to prison for sexual assault.
• Pittsburgh: Huey Richardson, DE, 1991 (No. 15). Richardson played like an undrafted free agent and was out of football in two years. But his fortune changed. On Sept. 11, 2001, he was scheduled to be at a business meeting on an upper floor of the World Trade Center. A visit to a clothing store in the complex delayed his trip to the elevator. He was still in the store when the first plane hit and he escaped unharmed.
• St. Louis: Lawrence Phillips, RB, 1996 (No. 6). Phillips' penchant for getting into trouble followed him from Nebraska to the pros. He lasted one season with the Rams and went through three more teams before he was gone after the 1999 season.
• San Diego: Ryan Leaf, QB, 1998 (No. 2). Mr. Charm threw for 36 interceptions and 14 touchdowns during his three-year career.
• San Francisco: Jim Druckenmiller, QB, 1997 (No. 26). The 49ers were looking for Steve Young's successor. They're still looking.
• Seattle: Jerramy Stevens, TE, 2002 (No. 28). Rick Mirer and Brian Bosworth are the popular picks, but Stevens' incredibly lengthy history of police contacts involving allegations ranging from assault to sexual assault to driving under the influence, plus dropping crucial passes in the Super Bowl, rocket him to the head of the class.
• Tampa Bay: Bo Jackson, RB, 1986 (No.1). The Buccaneers made Jackson the top pick in the draft but overlooked a little thing now called "signability." Bo sat out the season to play baseball. Tampa Bay got stiffed and, in the next draft, the Raiders took him in the seventh round.
• Tennessee: Adam "Pacman" Jones, CB, 2005 (No. 6). After Jones' numerous legal problems, the Titans agreed yesterday to trade him to the Cowboys, reportedly for a 2008 fourth-round pick and another in 2009 if Jones plays this season.
• Washington: Heath Shuler, QB, 1994 (No. 3). Small hands? Aren't they supposed to check out that stuff? But at least the North Carolina congressman didn't have to leave town for his new career.
Dallas has added cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones to a roster that also includes another target of commissioner Roger Goodell's discipline, defensive lineman Tank Johnson.
Does this mean we can cast Jerry Jones as Father Flanagan and Cowboys Center as a refuge for wayward young men?
Heartwarming as that scenario may be, the Cowboys are just continuing a long-standing practice of taking a gamble on promising star players who, for one reason or another may not pan out, while risking very little.
Jones was clearly available at a fire sale price for all the obvious reasons. A fourth-rounder that the Cowboys gave up this year was a little steep but they also reportedly get something back from Tennessee, although what is unclear, if the suspended Jones isn't reinstated by Goodell. The Cowboys may also have to give the Titans what's resumed to be another draft choice for '09 but that's entirely based on Jones' performance. As far as contract terms are concerned, the Cowboys worked out a new deal with Jones that has NO guaranteed money in it.
The biggest downside for the Cowboys is dealing with the PR fallout from their fans. But it's not as if their not going to fill Texas Stadium. However, Jones is trying to sell PSLs that start at the price of car and go up to what you'd pay for some houses at that new space station of a stadium the Cowboys are opening next year. And the owner has to be concerned about anything that would inhibit that commerce.
There's an old saying about the news business -- three of anything (fill in the blank, say, people buying stuffed owls) makes a trend. Hence, the inevitable story on the surging popularity of stuffed owls.
So for the third straight start Oriole pitcher Daniel Cabrera was efficient, even dominating, in giving the O's eight -- count 'em -- eight solid innings in beating Seattle, 3-2, last night. Cabrera, who occasionally couldn't find the strike zone with a bloodhound, walked zero batters and threw 65 strikes in his 95 pitches. He gave up just five hits. Cabrera has now allowed no more than two earned runs in any of his last three outings.
More importantly is what this is doing for Cabrera's confidence. His talent has always been obvious but what was lacking was obviously control. Also, the Orioles have not gotten 15.2 innings of work from their starters in the last two games and had an were off on Monday. All of that means that manager Dave Trembley doesn't have to worry about going to the bullpen early he if has to over the next couple of games.
Photo credit: Associated Press
Spygate's x-factor, meaning former Patriot employee Matt Walsh, has an agreement with the NFL that clears the way for him to talk to the league. Walsh has implied that he has more information on Spygate-type activitities regarding New England. And many have speculated he can offer something concrete about the much-discussed alleged taping of the Rams' walk-through two days before St.. Louis and New England played in a Super Bowl won by the Patriots.
According to the recent agreement, the league will indemnify Walsh against potential civil action unless he deliberately fails to tell the truth. Walsh's meeting with the league is schedule for May 13. By May 8, he's supposed to turn over any relevant tapes or material. The agreement also requires Walsh to hand over to the league any money that he may make from the controversy in order to reimburse the NFL for the cost of indemnification. Money he makes beyond that cost he can keep. That agreement is in place for five years.
Walsh may be speaking with Sen. Arlen Specter and Specter's staff later on May 13.
I admit that in the midst of the NFL draft coming up, the NHL and NBA playoffs and this presidential primary thingee, it had escaped my attention that Yankees manger Joe Girardi had banned candy from the New York clubhouse at home and abroad proving that it's never to early to go into Capt. Queeg mode in the Bronx.
Here we have a an actual purported photograph of the candy and ice cream cooler for the visiting team at our own beloved Camden Yards during the weekend series against the Yankees. To keep A-Rod and Jeter away from the goodies, it looks like they got Houdini locked up in there.
One can only assume this executive decsion by Girardi extends to officially licensed candy (below) and who knows what impact it'll have on overall MLB revenues?
My favorite line on this comes from Deadspin where they say you know the ban is serious when Jason Giambi tests positive for nougat.
Photo credit: From www.mymms.com
The first question that any football fan is likely to ask about ANY event in the league in the days leading up to the draft is: What's this mean for my team?
The Kansas City Chiefs reportedly traded last year's sack king and franchise player DE Jared Allen to Minnesota in exchange for the Vikings' first- and third-round picks this year and a third-rounder next year, plus they swapped sixth-rounders that no one will care about unless one of them turns out to be a Tom Brady.
The Chiefs already have the No. 5 pick overall and now the No. 17. So does any of this impact the Ravens who draft No. 8?
Well, just maybe. Some draft experts had the Chiefs taking an offensive lineman, Branden Albert, who hails from Glen Burnie and played at Virginia. Albert has played a lot of O-line positions in college and projects at left tackle. Obviously, left tackle weighs on the Ravens' minds because of Jonathan Ogden but it wasn't likely that Albert would last until No. 8.
Now, with Jared Allen out of K.C., the Chiefs may feel the need to immediately fill that defensive hole and one of the top defensive ends may be available -- Chris Long and Vernon Gholston. Long may be gone by No. 5 so this might be good news for Gholston. The Chiefs can come back for an OL at No. 17.
Bottom line here for Baltimore fans is that if the Chiefs go defense, Albert is probably still on the board when the Ravens go on the clock and then it becomes an issue of what the Ravens' draft board looks like -- keeping in mind, of course, that three of their their top six picks in the last two drafts were OL and the issue of QB (if Matt Ryan is there) and the need at CB.
Wow, this gets complicated.
Photo credit: Orlin Wagner/AP
If you were told that Orioles' ace Jeremy Guthrie would be winless after his first five starts of the season, you'd probably figure that the O's would also be about a half-dozen or so games under .500 by now and headed to oblivion in the standings by Memorial Day.
Well, Guthrie is 0-2 after his first five trips to the mound even though he's pitched solid ball after an ineffective start on opening day and so far, the sky hasn't fallen on Oriole Little. The O's are still two games above the water line (11-9) and although Boston is beginning to separate already for the AL East lead, the Orioles are just a half-game behind in the wildcard chase (don't laugh, it's true!)
Still, if your an Orioles fan, you hate to see ones like last night get away, a 4-2 loss to Seattle, in the first game of a road trip. Guthrie had held the Mariners to a 2-2 tie going into the bottom of the eighth when he walked the bases loaded on a guy he owns and then gave up a two-run single. At the same time, the Orioles weren't showing they were capable of getting any more runs off the top pitchers on the Mariners staff, starter Felix Hernandez and closer J.J. Putz.
Tonight, Daniel Cabrera pitches. He's had two straight good games. As we say in the news biz, three and it's a trend.
It's too bad that hockey fans of Washington and Philadelphia were principally the ones who saw the conclusion of last night's seventh-game of that first-round playoff series. The Flyers won, 3-2, in sudden-death overtime but it was an athletic contest at its finest -- regardless of the sport.
Capitals fans may feel that the hard-fought game's outcome was marred by the fact that it ended on a power player given the Flyers on a so-so penalty, tripping by Tom Poti, at a point when the officials were mostly letting the teams play. But in fairness, the refs had already given Washington a free pass on a pretty obvious trip earlier in overtime so the Poti whistle was due. Even the final goal by the Flyers' Joffrey Lupul was a tooth-and-nail affair. Caps' goal Cristobal Huet knocked down a slap shot and fought off a first rebound attempt before failing to stop Lupul's close-in shot.
It was heartbreaking for Washington after an incredible late-season charge to get into the playoffs and then fighting back from a 3-1 playoff hole to force the Game 7. It made the post-game handshakes and hugs between the two teams and their coaches seem more genuine and poignant. And finally, Washington star Alex Ovechkin led the applause from the ice for the hometown fans at the Verizon Center.
The Caps' season expired last night but hockey in Washington has new life.
Offensive tackle Jake Long has been signed as the Miami Dolphins' top pick. Long is a 6-7, 315-pound OT from Michigan. The Dolphins had sent out signals that they were leaning toward defense but eventually went with the offensive lineman. Reportedly, Long is getting $30 million in guaranteed money.
It's the NFL off-season but you know what they say about the the NFL -- THERE IS NO OFF-SEASON. Especially when it comes to keeping track of our favorite players -- and who could be more favorite than Dallas quarterback Tony Romo. What's kind of a stitch is that these guys not only get the 24/7/365 attention that used to be reserved for the biggest movie stars but the paparazzi can be anyone with a cell phone.
Here we have Romo celebrating is 28th birthday (you missed it, it was yesterday) at a Dallas night spot with Marilyn Monroe, uh, Jessica Simpson who tried to make like Marilyn by singing Happy Birthday to Tony. Here's the pics featuring Tony in hat and Jess with the icing from Tony's star-shaped cake on her face. Thanks to D Magazine and People via The Big Lead.
Amazinly, these two incidents happened in the same game and both involved Texas Rangers outfielder Milton Bradley during the Patriot's Day game contest against the Red Sox in Fenway Park. First, Bradley was batting in yesterday's 8-3 Red Sox win when a foul ball he hit was first grabbed by a Fenway fan on a sensational catch but then dropped by the same guy out of the upper deck durng the celebration. Later, Bradley himself was trying to field a routine fly ball by David Ortiz when, well, you'll see ... Thanks to the Fark Web site for pointing them out.
Former Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada said that he and his family were bushwhacked by ESPN during the reporting that led to the revelation that Tejada is two years older than previously believed.
ESPN's anthology series called E:60, which features sports stories that are often investigative pieces, will air the Tejada segment tonight at 7 on ESPN. Tejada contends that his family in the Dominican Republic were misled about the nature of the piece and implied that ESPN ingratiated itself to the Tejada household.
Tejada is quoted on MLB.com as saying: "They went to my father's house. They got the camera everywhere in my father's house. I don't know what they tried to find. They interviewed my father, and they interviewed people from my neighborhood and everything. They [ate] in my father's house. They make my sister cook for them. That's why I feel mad."
Tejada went on the say that an ESPN reported then surprised him with his birth certificate during an interview that was supposed to be about baseball. For it's part, ESPN said it did nothing wrong and did not misrepresent its intentions. Tejada now admits that when he was 19, he lied about his age saying that he was 17. He is now 33, not 31 as previously represented in all baseball references. All his legal documents reflect his his true age.
The injury to Ravens tight end Quinn Sypniewski last week in minicamp is a lot more problematic than many folks may realize. If the knee injury is as serious as it initially appears to be, an anterior cruciate ligament, it's doubtful that Sypniewski will be back this year. Layering that on top of the fact that Daniel Wilcox is still recovering from toe surgery and Todd Heap has missed 10 games last season and in 2004, all of a sudden you wonder if tight end becomes something of a draft consideration.
With all the talk about quarterback and cornerback as Ravens' priorities and even offensive tackle, defensive end and linebacker, understandably there has been virtually no discussion about tight end. Brad Cottam of Tennessee is an interesting candidate because he has one of the better size-speed ratios among the higher-rated tight ends (6-7 1/2, 271 pounds and 4.71 speed). The minuses on Cottam are that he didn't have a lot of productivity in college as a pass catcher and he missed most of his senior year with a wrist injury. There's a tight end from Cal, Craig Stevens, who is not as big as Cottam (6-3 1/2, 254, 4.64), but he gets raves as a blocker and should be available in later draft rounds. But if the Ravens take a TE, it figures that the guy will have to contribute on special teams, especially given coach John Harbaugh's background. Louisville's Gary Barnidge exhibits good football instincts and is highly motivated, according to draft experts. He had good productivity last year (53 catches) and he has room to comfortably add to his 6-5 frame (he's currently about 240) and still run in the 4.6 range.
Actually, tight end is one of those positions where you can wait around until training camp and see what springs loose from someone else's roster. Frequently, adequate tight ends wind up getting cut as a result of the numbers game.
If any sports team needs a blueprint for reviving a franchise, look no further than the Washington Capitals.
First, the Capitals saved what figured to be another lost season by gathering themselves after the new year and playing solid hockey and then made a made dash to the finish line by winning 11 of 12 to capture the Southeast Division. However, as they say on the late-night infomercials, "But there's more ...!"
Last night's 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers that tied the first-round playoff series at 3-3 and forced a Game 7 tonight in Washington came after the Caps had clawed back from a 3-1 hole in the series and rallied last night to overcome a 2-0 Flyer lead.
Washington's Alex Ovechkin, who scored the game-winner in Game 1, accounted for the go-ahead goal again last night and followed that with an insurance score. The first one broke a 2-2 tie when Ovechkin capitalized on a Flyer mistake on a breakaway and the second was on a no-see-'em slapshot from the left point.
Omen: Twenty years ago, Washington won a Game 7 series against the Flyers.
The Adam "Pacman" Jones situation took a curious turn when it was revealed through police documents that Jones had paid about $15,000 in connection with the shooting outside a Las Vegas strip club that left one man paralyzed. An arrest warrant for the alleged shooter, Arvin Kenti Edwards, who was arrested in Washington state where he was being held on unrelated charges, described the payment as "extortion money."
According to the football player's lawyer and police documents, Jones -- through intermediaries -- was being warned that someone would come after him and family members if he didn't pay. Jones passed along the $15,000 through go-betweens in two installments.
Here are two interesting elements to all this and remember that at this time, police have not disclosed the details of how they tracked down Edwards.
First, police say that in the strip club incident where Jones is said to have started a disturbance inside the club before he and his party were ejected that Jones and Edwards met briefly outside before parting. As part of alleged demands for cash, Edwards was alleged to have delivered the message that he wanted payment for "services rendered." So does that open the door to the possibility that Edwards may be prepared to say that he was encouraged by Jones? Jones has consistently denied any role in the shooting.
Second, Jones' agreement with prosecutors in having his own charges pleaded down from felonies to misdemeanor conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct included cooperating with police to identify the shooter. Assuming Jones kept police informed about the payment demands, that would certainly help Jones. If he did not, that would be problematic. At the moment that's not crystal clear but Jones' lawyer said the Titans cornerback has cooperated with police all along.
On Friday, I had a column run in the actual Sun newspaper discussing Steve McNair's chances for Canton. The bottom line is that despite the substantial individual achievements and hallmark courage that distinguish McNair's 13-year career, his election to Canton is likely to be an uphill battle.
Among the problems facing McNair's candidacy is that he never won a Super Bowl. If you go through the list of modern-era QBs in the the Hall of Fame, you will find the role call of quarterbacks who didn't lead a team to a Super Bowl or an NFL or AFL title to be surprisingly short.
It includes: Dan Marino, Dan Fouts, Warren Moon, Jim Kelly, Y.A. Tittle, Fran Tarkenton and Sonny Jurgensen.
A few of those guys went to multiple Supers Bowls and league championships -- Kelly, Tarkenton and Tittle -- and lost. In all cases, we're talking about careers with a lot of "wow factor."
That McNair is in a small club of 30,000 passing yards and 3,500 rushing yards (Tarkenton and Steve Young) helps his case. But that one yard in the January 2000 Super Bowl where Tennessee WR Kevin Dyson came within a stride of tying the game against the Rams at the buzzer (left) could have a profound affect on McNair's Hall status. That drive started at the Titans' 12-yard line with less than two minutes to go. Had Dyson scored and the Titans gone on to beat St. Louis in OT, that drive at the end of regulation would be part of NFL lore (rather than Mike Jones' saving tackle) and McNair probably would have been the Super Bowl MVP.
Fair or not, that's just the type of coronating distinction that sways Hall of Fame electors. And if you don't believe that championships have a bearing on admission to the Hall just look at how long it took some of those 1970s era Minnesota Vikings to be elected compared to the ease with which the Steelers of the same era made it in. The difference was clearly in winning and losing the Big Game.
Steve McNair threw for 33,068 yards in 13 regular seasons and 10 playoff games. It's a shame that just one more yard could wind up being the difference in whether or not he's enshrined at Canton.
Photo credit: Associated Press
I've never done this before but the following letter from a reader identified as Drewdy was so entertaining, I wanted to get it posted rather than simply leave it as a comment. Drewdy attended Thursday's 6-5 extra-inning Orioles' win over the White Sox. He recounts his lonely but exciting evening at the ballpark making this observation about Kevin Millar's base-running: "He is the slowest player ever! If he, Ramon Hernandez, and a piano had a race, there would be no winner."
And so with that, I give you Orioles 6, White Sox 5 (10 inn.) as told by Drewdy (no editing other than a small tweak on A.J. Pierzynski's name and some minor punctuation). Sorry, Drew, there's no cash for this, just glory.
I went to the Orioles game Thursday night night (thrilling 6-5 victory in 10 innings). I was with about 6500 of my closest friends. They didn’t announce the attendance at the game (paper said 13,000+), but it looked much less than that.There were so few folks I was quite afraid that the between inning camera that scans the crowd would find me and insist that I kiss myself (as I was the only person in my section).
Between every inning the camera scans the crowd and I was dreading the fact that I would be depicted as the lonesome soul eating his chicken strips and fries with gusto.
I had purchased my ticket at the O's ticket window and the clerk there took great pains to show me where my seat was and was that all right, etc. I was in sec 358 (upper deck) row cc seat 5. There was not another fan within a section of me. Why the painstaking with my seat choice is beyond me.
I wasn’t too optimistic as the game wore on, but they Orioles had some great at-bats and wore down the Chicago bullpen. Kevin Millar had a hit (breaking up Floyd’s no-hitter in the fourth), two walks and reached on a strikeout/passed ball. He scored twice (in the eighth, from 1B, to put the Birds within two) and the winning run in the 10th. He is the slowest player ever! If he, Ramon Hernandez, and a piano had a race, there would be no winner. But he scored on a close play with a headfirst slide after reaching on a strikeout, just making it as Pierzynski’s errant throw pulled Konerko off the bag (the umpire anticipated the safe -- and correct -- call). Millar also made two stellar plays at first base, one starting a 3-6-3 double play. He doesn’t look like much and is slower than me, but I guess he is a ballplayer.
Oh, and Markakis is good.
The most entertaining soap opera of the NFL offseason has been going in Cincinnati where tempestuous wide receiver Chad Johnson, talented as he is, appears to have lost his senses. Upset that the organization hasn't done enough to improve, he treats every comment by coach Marvin Lewis and quarterback Carson Palmer as some sort of slight. He's been pressing to be traded and the sooner the better. For a while, his teammates dismissed Johnson's sqawking as Chad just being Chad but now, fellow receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh is saying that Johnson needs to move on. Here, singer-songwriter Ryan Parker, a Bengals fan himself as far as I can tell, says the same in Adios Ocho.
So what was golfing royalty up to over the weekend?
Well, Tiger Woods, on the mend from knee surgery, was presiding over Tiger Jam XI, his annual chairty bash in one of his favorite places, Las Vegas. Tiger Jam features golf at a swanky course, auctions where folks with way too much disposable income overpay for anything autographed by Woods and this year, a Van Halen concert.
Sports stars, past and present, such as Dwyane Wade, Alonzo Mourning, Julius Erving and Kristi Yamaguchi show up to hobnob with well-heeled revelers.
Meanwhile, the golf superstar who is working for a living at the moment, Lorena Ochoa, won her fourth straight tournament over the weekend. Ochoa shot 19-under to win the Ginn Open in Reunion, Florida, south of Orlando.
It was just the fifth time that a player has won four straight women's tour events and it's Ochoa's fifth victory in six starts this year.
The Orioles got what they needed this weekend in taking two of three from the Yankees -- some momentum as they pack their bags for a marathon road trip that includes 17 of the next 20 games. Only a three-game series against Tampa Bay in about a week punctuates that long haul.
In today's Sun, columnist David Steele made the point that the Orioles got a better fit in a manger when, by default, they kept Dave Trembley as a result of being turned down by Joe Girardi. And as his predecessors all discovered, life in pinstripes has been no box of Whitman Samplers for Girardi.
Steinbrenner the Lesser is second-guessing Girardi's early-season pitching strategy of having Joba Chamberlain coming out of the bullpen.
So here's Hank Steinbrenner, perhaps agitated over his team's lukewarm 10-10 start, in the New York Times: "I want him as a starter and so does everyone else, including him, and that is what we are working toward and we need him there now. There is no question about it, you don't have a guy with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and keep him as a setup guy. You just don't do that. You have to be an idiot to do that."
Do I misunderstand or is the guy who controls the franchise already calling his new manager an "idiot?"
At NFL draft time, the "Busts" articles are inevitable and everyone has an opinion about all-time. ESPN.com just put out its list of 50 All-time NFL draft busts and, naturally, put Ryan Leaf at No. 1. Leaf gets that dubious distinction for a couple of reason. First, he was selected No. 2 overall by the Chargers behind Peyton Manning and as result, the contrast between great pick and a rotten one could not be more striking. And second, he had a nasty personality and was by both his teammates and the media.
The No. 2 draft bust was Lawrence Phillips (Rams) whose bad behavior in college at Nebraska followed him to the NFL. And No. 3 was Art Schlichter (Baltimore Colts), the Ohio State quarterback who became a degenerate gambler.
Now I know in any list there's room for debate but someone at ESPN overlooked a 1985 first-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles named Kevin Allen, an offensive tackle from Indiana. Allen was the No. 9 pick overall and the Eagles picked him in front of offensive tackle Jim Lachey and wide receivers Al Toon and -- Jerry Rice.
Not only was Allen a horrible player -- in his first game at left tackle, he nearly got quarterback Ron Jaworski killed by the Giants' pass rush and he lasted just one year on the roster -- but his brief NFL career was ended by a sexual assault conviction and he spent more than 2 1/2 years in prison.
The NBA playoffs begin tomorrow and just about a year ago, the big story was how the Dallas Mavericks, with the best record in the NBA (.817 winning percentage), were eliminated by Golden State in the first round. Well, the Warriors didn't make the playoffs this year but Dallas is back for another helping of humble pie opening as the No. 7 seed in the West against New Orleans.
The Mavs -- typically strong in the regular season -- are the perennial underachievers in the NBA playoffs having let a championship slip through their fingers two years ago against Miami. Losing to Phoenix the year before that. To Sacramento the year before that. To San Antonio the year before that. Well, you get the idea.
And the focal point for these spring swoons are the Mavs' high-profile, smooth dancin' owner Mark Cuban and his favorite player, Dirk Nowitzki. Here singer-songwriter Ryan Parker lampoons another Maverick stampede into the playoffs.
The Washington Capitals' Cinderella run in the home stretch of the regular season is dangerously close to coming to a quick end in the playoffs if they can't rediscover some of the magic that allowed them to finish first in the Southeast Division. The Caps won 11 of their final 12 games.
But a 4-3 double overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers last night in Philly has the Caps down 3-1 in the opening playoff series. After rallying to win Game 1, Washington has now dropped three in a row. The Capitals try to keep their season alive tomorrow night in Washington. Games 6 and 7 -- if they're needed -- would be played Monday and Tuesday in Philadelphia and Washington respectively.
At the heart of the Capitals' problems is that Alex Ovechkin (right), who was a force of nature during the regular season with an NHL-leading 65 goals, has been held to one goal and four assists against the Flyers. Meanwhile on the Philadelphia side, 5-foot-10 Danny Briere has five goals and two assists.
For the Caps, it should be a pleasure to leave Philly's Wachovia Center where the rowdy crowd laces its support for the Flyers with x-rated expletives aimed at the opposition -- in this case, mainly at Ovechkin.
Photo credit: Gene Sweeney/Sun
Earlier this morning, the Colorado Rockies outlasted the Padres, 2-1, in 22 innings in San Diego.
What's impressive about this is just three runs were scored in 22 full innings. Not that that hasn't been bested. For instance, in 1968, the Houston Asros shut out the New York Mets, 1-0, in 24 innings. Tom Seaver went 10 innings and gave up two hits in a no-decision. But that was an era when pitching dominated. That was also the year that St. Louis' Bob Gibson had his 1.12 ERA and the cumulative National League ERA was 2.99.
Today, any starter who goes six innings is an ironman and relief pitchers all have designated innings.
So we're in admiration of those gritty mounds men for both Colorado and San Diego who hung in there for 6 hours, 16 minues last night and this morning. The game ended when the Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki drove in Willy Taveras with a double. It was unfrotunate for the Padres that it was an unearned run. Taveras should have been the third out in the top of the 22nd inning on a grounder to shortstop but was safe on a throwing error. Taveras stole second and made it to third on a bad throw by the San Diego catcher.
The Orioles picked up a nice 6-5 comeback win over the Chicago White Sox last night to build a little momentum heading into the weekend against the Yankees.
Especially encouraging was the clutch hit by Adam Jones that won it in the bottom of the 10th. What this team can use is some confidence, both individually and collectively, and winning games where you're behind by three runs late -- Baltimore trailed 5-2 in the eighth -- certainly helps.
However, last night's crowd of 13,676 was a further indication that winning back the fans is going to be an uphill battle. Prior to this season, the lowest attendance ever at Camden Yards was 13,194. Many dates this year have been below that mark and there were all kinds of rationales for why -- odd starting times, so-so opponents, bad weather.
Last night was a normal evening start, the White Sox are a good team and the weather could not have been more gorgeous. The only excuse left was that it was a school night.
Tonight, the Orioles open a weekend series against the Yankees so Camden Yards will once again look like its old self. But by now we know that the large crowds that are guaranteed for these games have little to do with the Orioles themselves.
The Houston Astros just found out that former Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada is actually 33 and not 31 as he had previously claimed. Tejada said that the deception began when he first signed with Oakland as a teenager in the Dominican Republic. A local coach said it would be better if he said he was 17 instead of his real age, then 19, Tejada said.
Tejada and the Astros say that all of Tejada's legal papers, such as his green card and driver's license have his real birthday, May 25, 1974. But all his baseball references say May 25, 1976.
Tejada said he didn't want the Astros to hear about his real age from someone else. Others have suggested that since Tejada is being investigated by the FBI for possibly failing to tell the truth to Congressional staffers/investigators about what he knew about performance enhancing drugs that the truth would have come out. For their part, the Astros say it's not an issue. The former Baltimore shortstop is off to a good start (.296, 2 HRs, 10 RBIs) after being traded from the Orioles to the Astros.
"My mind was saying 'Yes' but my body was saying, 'No, what are you doing?.'"
That's how Steve McNair summed up his attempt to rehab and get back in shape after his last surgery when he was sidelined last season. McNair appeared at a news conference today at 1 p.m.
"My mind and my body wasn't on the same page," McNair said.
McNair said that mentally he could play for two or three more years -- that's what he told Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome -- but that he couldn't compete at a level that would allow him to successfully compete. And to try to do so would "put (his) teammates in harm's way."
McNair told the Ravens today of his plans. And it appears to be a decision that is entirely his own and not the result of what plans new coach John Harbaugh may have had. Obviously, McNair looks forward to spending more time with his family.
According to cornerback Samari Rolle, when McNair told the entire team this morning, he got received a standing ovation.
The McNair press conference is also on WBAL-TV ... oops, they just cut away from the Q&A to back to the soaps.
You can catch the Steve McNair press conference live at 1 p.m. on both ESPN News and NFL Network.
The Ravens quarterback is scheduled to announce his retirement. Others in attendance, according to the Ravens, will be coach John Harbaugh, general manager Ozzie Newsome, wide receiver Derrick Mason and cornerback Samari Rolle. Mason and Rolle were teammates of McNair in Tennessee as well as in Baltimore.
Steve McNair is retiring. There's a 1 p.m. press conference to make the announcement.
In some ways, this shouldn't be a surprise. When McNair was finally forced to the sidelines last season after the 10th game of the season, there were many who felt his career was over. His passing range had gotten shorter and shorter. The long list of injuries had seemed to finally win the battle against McNair's oft-battered body.
But you know how it goes in these situations. A player is out of the public eye. The team gives upbeat but vague updates and optimistic projections that the rehab is going well and he's as strong as ever. Sometimes it's simply polite smoke. And it raises false hopes. It's beginning to feel that may be what happened here. Plus, you have the added element of a new coach, a new coaching staff, a new program, and it wouldn't be to farfetched to imagine the message was that McNair's immediate prospects in Baltimore weren't that hot.
As far as Ravens fans are concerned, they should be grateful for the 13-3 season that McNair helped give them in 2006. He helped revive a franchise that was perilously close to going into an ugly tailspin psychologically. But even then, he was doing it as much on guts, savvy and leadership than with the considerable skills he had displayed through a long career in Tennessee.
Now Ravens fans can also reasonably ask: "What's next?"
McNair as caretaker until another quarterback is ready is now no longer an option. Is Harbaugh ready to announce a No.1 quarterback -- either Kyle Boller or Troy Smith -- now that the guy who was, at least on paper, the incumbent No.1 is gone?
And does this increase the urgency for the Ravens to draft a quarterback, whether that means trying to maneuver to get Boston College's Matt Ryan or plot to grab someone from the so-called second tier, such as Delaware's Joe Flacco. Yesterday, draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. called quarterback the Ravens' "most pressing need." McNair's retirement may not materially change things a whole bunch from what they were 24 hours ago but it does put the Ravens' situation in sharper focus.
You're doing pretty darn good.
That's the bottom line on Forbes' 2008 MLB Team Valuations. According to a Forbes press release, the average franchise is worth $472 million. That represents a 9 percent incrase year-to-year.
The No. 1 valued team is, of course, the New York Yankees -- $1.3 billion. The rest of the top 10 (in millions): Mets ($824) Red Sox ($816), Dodgers ($694), Cubs ($642), Angels ($500), Braves ($497), Giants ($494), Cardinals ($484), Cardinals ($484) and Phillies ($481).
The Orioles are No. 18, worth an estimated $398 million. Here's the stat sheet on the O's. It shows that the team has the highest player expenses in its history ($103 million), increasing revenues but declining operating income.
But all in all, the conclusion is that it's good to be king. But you already knew that.
In contrast to the turmoil that's going on with the Cincinnati Bengals and star wide receiver Chad Johnson, the Ravens' off-season is a picture of arm-in-arm cooperation.
Terrell Suggs, who was franchised by the Ravens but remains unsigned, says he's showing up to attend meetings during the current mini-camp even though he's not allowed to participate in on-field drills.
Here's what Suggs told ESPN.com yesterday: "I'm just going to walk in just as the meeting starts. I know some of my teammates will have their jaws drop when they see me."
And: "I want to show my coach (John Harbaugh) that I'm on board. I wanted to show him that I have total faith in him. We've had a couple of phone conversation in which he said he was the new coach. He laid out his plans on where he wants to go. I've liked him from our first conversation."
And finally: "Despite the whole business side to this game, the main goal is to win football games."
Also makes the Ravens look a little petty for wanting to shave $814,000 off Suggs' 2008 salary by designating him as a linebacker rather than a defensive end. The DE tag would put Sizzle in the high $8-million range and the LB tag puts him in low end of that bracket. An arbitration is pending on the dispute.
Photo credit: Doug Kapustin/Sun
The Orioles are clearly a team in incubation and last night's 3-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox was pretty representative of the what the O's need to achieve contender status.
For starters, they need starters to be consistent. I'm thinking primarily of last night's loser Adam Loewen and Daniel Cabrera. Loewen is still on the comeback trail from elbow surgery. Last night he had the Orioles behind 3-0 before he got the first out and made it through six full without any further scoring somewhat through luck. A couple of outfield throwing assists at third and home kept the game from getting out of hand. Take away those throws and Loewen would be looking at three straight lousy outings. Cabrera is on his typical pace of one good start for every three although the Orioles have managed to win all three games he has pitched this season.
And secondly, the thin offense on this team is beginning to show, even this early. In going 2-6 over the last eight games, Baltimore is averaging about 2.9 runs a game. The O's have lost two by 3-1 scores. They need to win games where they hold the other guys to three or fewer. I'm not sure to be effective offensively, this team just needs to wait on some players within the organization to mature -- Adam Jones, for one -- or whether a cornerstone hitter will have to be pursued in free agency or a trade. Probably both.
Much has been made of the turnaround by the Boston Celtics this year going from worst to first in the NBA's Eastern Conference. But another team that was left for roadkill after last season was the L.A. Lakers. Once the league's glamor team, they were still wallowing in a post-Shaquille O'Neal malaise as a non-factor in the playoffs and Kobe Bryant was looking to star in his own version of Escape from L.A.
The Lakers' transformation was less dramatic than that of the Celtics but the end result was the same. Like the Celtics, the Lakers finished as the No. 1 seed in their conference with a decisive win over Sacramento last night. That gives L.A. the home-court advantage in what figures to be a much more difficult playoff battle in the wild, wild West. And Bryant? After averaging 28.3 points, 5.4 assists and 6.3 rebounds -- and showing that he understands there are four other guys wearing the same uniform -- he may finally get the MVP coronation that has so far eluded him.
Photo credit: Lori Shepler / LAT
We are headed into a world of Sabermetrics here that would be sure to send Bill James over the edge but here goes.
How come, we wondered, the Florida Marlins are 8-5 on the young baseball season and the New York Yankees are 8-7 when the Yankees have one player who is so terrific, Alex Rodriguez, that he makes more money than all the players on the Marlins combined? Reportedly, the Yanks are paying A-Rod $28 million while the entire Florida roster makes less than $22 million.
Well, we looked at the stats through the first few weeks of the season and here's the reason -- for less than what the Yankees are paying Ridriguez, the Marlins have five players whose average performance is just as good as the bazillion-dollar man.
A-Rod is having a decent start -- he's batting .300 (18-for-60) with three home runs and 8 RBIs. Meanwhile, the Marlins who have a similar number of at-bats compared to A-Rod (48 or more) are batting a combined .282 (71-for-252) with an average of exactly three home runs (15 total) and 7.6 RBIs (38 total). The five are Hanley Ramirez, Mike Jacobs, Josh Willingham, Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla. Not exactly Murder's Row but on average, about the same production as A-Rod.
And you get five of them.
It took the Las Vegas Hilton no time to get the point spread set for the opening week of the NFL season after the league announced its full-season schedule yesterday.
The Ravens open the season at home against Cincinnati and the game is a pick, meaning that neither team is getting points. Mildly interesting is the over-under at 42 points, which historically is a little on the high side for a Ravens game.
Last year, the Ravens also started the year against the Bengals but on the road. In that one, Baltimore, coming off a 13-3 season, was getting 2 1/2 points and lost, 27-20. The over-under was 39.
Mel Kiper Jr. is conducting a pre-draft press conference today and said that the Ravens' "most pressing need" is at quarterback. And the quarterback whose name he mentioned was Boston College's Matt Ryan. Kiper has Ryan going to the Ravens in his own mock draft but, of course, Ryan may be gone by the Ravens' No. 8 pick.
Baltimore has a reputation for being faithful to its draft board and not succumbing to the temptation of drafting for a specific need but Kiper believes that the Ravens' needs are so varied this year that they have a great deal of flexibility in either using their own high choice or trading down.
The positions that Kiper mentioned (in order) were offensive tackle (obviously left), cornerback and linebacker (for the future).
Players that Kiper mentioned relative to the Ravens were:
* Kansas cornerback Aqib Talib (Kiper describes him as the most talented corner in a group of four that could all go first at that position).
* Virginia offensive lineman Branden Albert (played at guard but projects as left tackle).
* USC linebacker Keith Rivers (Ray Lewis' age and always the possibility of losing other players in free agency).
* Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco. Flacco, of course, would be a candidate at the top of the second round.
Kiper said that if Flacco had played in a major college program, he would be in the same discussion with Ryan and that if the Ravens don't land Ryan and Flacco is still available at No. 38 overall, he is a strong candidate for Baltimore at that spot.
For the next month or so, the sports stage will be missing one of its leading men.
Tiger Woods had surprise arthroscopic surgery yesterday to repair cartilage in his left knee, a knee that has undergone treatment in the past. The procedure came two days after he finished second in the Masters. It's anyone's guess whether the discomfort in that knee affected Woods' performance at Augusta but the last one who would say so is Woods himself.
Woods made the announcement on his website.
Woods' recuperation from the surgery performed in Park City, Utah, is expected to be about the month. He will missed the Tournament Players Championship at Sawgrass in Florida but is expected to return for the Memorial in Ohio in late May and for the U.S. Open being held at Torrey Pines this year in mid-June.
Woods has had trouble with that same knee before. In 2002, he had fluid drained from the knee and a cyst removed. In 1994, he had a benign tumor removed from the knee. The surgery in 2002 was near the end of the year and he came back to win three of his first four events.
Carmelo Anthony, Baltimore's own, was picked up for DUI in the wee hours yesterday after weaving in traffic and failing to dim his lights. Today, the Denver Nuggets' star apologized reading from a brief statement.
But as the news unravels, it's some Denver police who could wind up in trouble for giving what some may construe as preferential treatment.
According to news reports, when a person is picked up for DUI in Denver, there is a procedure which involves either taking that person to a local medical center detoxification area or turning the arrested person over to the custody of a sober, responsible party. Well, Anthony was taken for a blood test (results pending) but when the police notified Anthony's fiancee, she refused to come for him. So a police sargeant drove Anthony back to his hotel, the Ritz-Carlton, and another policeman drove his silver Mercedes to a police parking lot for safe keeping.
Now it's the police who are answering questions about special strokes for special folks.
Getcha popcorn ready.
The Ravens' strength of schedule is tied for fourth (.551, 141-115) with Minesota and Tennessee. The teams with the toughest schedule, according to the 2007 standings, are (in order) Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Jacksonville.
As you can see for yourself, the Ravens open at home against Cincinnati on Sept. 7 at 1 p.m.
There's a Monday night game on Sept. 29 in Pittsburgh and a Saturday night game Dec. 20 in Dallas. The bye comes after Week 9, which I think is good timing.
The Ravens are going to have to get off to a fast start because they play all three of their AFC North rivals the first month. They finish with Jacksonville at home on Dec. 28.
For more on the Ravens schedule, see the Sun's story.
Here's the full NFL schedule by week and by team, AFC and NFC.
Sept. 7 Cincinnati Bengals 1 p.m.
Sept. 14 at Houston Texans 4:15 p.m.
Sept. 21 Cleveland Browns 4:15 p.m.
Sept. 29 (Mon.) at Pittsburgh Steelers 8:30 p.m.
Oct. 5 Tennessee Titans 1 p.m.
Oct. 12 at Indianapolis Colts 1 p.m.
Oct. 19 at Miami Dolphins 4:15 p.m.
Oct. 26 Oakland Raiders 1 p.m.
Nov. 2 at Cleveland Browns 1 p.m.
Nov. 9 Bye
Nov. 16 at New York Giants 1 p.m.
Nov. 23 Philadelphia Eagles 1 p.m.
Nov. 30 at Cincinnati Bengals 1 p.m.
Dec. 7 Washington Redskins 1 p.m.
Dec. 14 Pittsburgh Steelers 1 p.m.
Dec. 20 (Sat.) at Dallas Cowboys 8:15 p.m.
Dec. 28 Jacksonville Jaguars 1 p.m.
That Lunardi kid doesn't waste any time.
ESPN's bracketologist Joe Lunardi, who batted 1.000 on bracket teams this past March Madness, already has early predictions out for 2009. And Maryland is going to the NIT again.
OK, it's all for funsies at this point but not a good omen nonetheless. Lunardi has the Terps as one the last four teams out. Local teams he smiles upon are Mount St. Mary's as a No. 15 seed playing Kansas in the first round and Morgan State as a No. 14 playing Purdue.
As far as Maryland's future is concerned, let's remember Ebenezer Scrooge's query of the Ghost of Christmas Future when confronted with the prospect of a grim future:
"Answer me one question. Are these the shadows of the things that will be, or are they shadows of things that may be, only?"
For coach Gary Williams and Terps, as it was with Scrooge, the answer lies in whether they can change their ways.
Down in New Orleans over the weekend, they were flexing their gullets for the Acme World Oyster Eating championship where the winner was a young man from Chicago, Patrick Bertoletti. "Deep Dish", as the 22-year-old Bertoletti is apparently known in the competitive gastronomical game, inhaled 35 DOZEN raw oysters in eight minutes to claim the title.
But competitive eating is one of those sports where women can compete on an even footing with men and Germantown, Maryland's Juliet Lee -- all of 105 pounds -- finished second. Lee, who used to be a chemistry professor, ate 31 1/2 dozen and beat last year's winner, Crazy Legs Conti. Lee's eating exploits are reminiscent of another woman pro eater, the famous Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas of Alexandria, Va.
The post-game photo is priceless, Lee is beaming holding her plaque and Bertoletti, the winner (note title belt), looks like he needs a bucket.
Say what you will about the legitimacy of competitive eating compared to mainstream sports like football and baseball but I have to tell you, the quotes are much better. Dethroned champ Conti on the challenge of eating raw oysters: "They're supposed to be an aphrodisiac but I think that's only true for about the first three dozen."
According to an Associated Press story, a guy named Tim "Gravy" Brown (you gotta love these nicknames) was eliminated when he experience a "reversal of fortune" -- or should we make that a regurgitation of fortune.
Thanks to reader Richard Marshall who alerted us to the story.
Photo credit: Judi Bottoni/AP
The Golden State Warriors -- despite their 48, 49 wins, whatever they end up with -- will not be going to the playoffs, and last night's loss to Phoenix showed why.
The Warriors' exciting offense (nearly 111 points a game) has been offset by its NBA-worst defense and last night against the Suns, they gave up 122 points in a six-point loss, 122-116. Golden State has been in a scramble with Denver for the eighth and final playoffs spot in the Western Conference. The Nuggets have 49 wins and the Warriors 48 and both teams have a game remaining in the regular season but it doesn't matter because Denver holds the tie-breaker edge.
Last night, the Suns shot better than 52 percent and got big games out of its stars and supporting cast while Golden State's high-scorer, Baron Davis, played just 17 minutes after shooting 2-for-13 and scoring just seven points; his worst performance in a month-and-a-half.
The something old -- Kevin Millar's home run and three RBIs. Something new -- pitcher Matt Albers, obtained in an offseason trade, throwing five innings of one-run ball as a starter. Something borrowed -- relief pitcher Jim Johnson, recently up from Norfolk, going 2-plus scoreless. And something blue - that would be the 11,510 who sat through chilly-40-something temperatures at Camden Yards
OK, it's corny. But the Orioles got a seven-game home stand going with a win while also getting their starting rotation straightened out after last week's double-header in Texas.
Albers' performance was good from a number of persepectives. There's the obvious of what it did for the rotation and, of course getting the W. But as he returns to the bullpen, he goes there with more confidence that he can fulfill multiple roles on this team.
There is no surprise in Herschel Walker's revelation in his new book that he suffers from dissociative identity disorder, previously known as multiple personality disorder. Walker is scheduled to discuss his situation on ABC's "Nightline" tonight.
In his book, "Breaking Free", Walker explains that he had nearly a dozen different personalities and that after his playing days were over, he once sat in his kitchen playing Russian roulette.
Some who have been close to Walker, such as former Georgia coach Vince Dooley, say they never saw that in him. Others, such as his ex-wife, contend it explains his passing but intense interests in things such as bobsledding and joining the FBI.
I say that Walker's disclosure of suffering from multiple personality disorder is not shocking because I recall -- and I'm sure many other sports reporters do as well -- that Walker had a tendency to constantly refer to himself in the third person 20 years ago.
Now, I realize that a lot of people do that as an affectation and even back then when Walker was doing it, there was a tendency to chalk it up to a giant-sized ego that manifested itself in narcissism. But when Walker would say something like, "Herschel tends to perform better when the stakes are greater," or something similar, there was something really weird about it.
If a supremely self-confident guy, let's say Deion Sanders, would say something similar and refer to himself in the third person, you could clearly hear the tongue-in-cheek humor. And when Sanders would discuss the exploits of "Prime Time," his artfully contrived alter-ego, there was no doubt of Sanders' complete self-awareness. In Deion's case, it was all about shrewd marketing.
And when some other athletes use the third person, it's a way to distance themselves from an immediate situation.
But when Walker would say things in the third person -- "Herschel did this" or "Herschel hopes that" -- there was an eerie detachment, like he was having an out-of-body moment. There was always a kind of naiveté in his tone as if the two of you were really discussing someone who wasn't in the room.
It was probably the last home game ever for the Seattle Supersonics. Seattle's NBA team is all but delivered to Oklahoma City, the casualty of a failure to secure funding for a new arena. There's plenty of finger-pointing going on between Seattle owner Clay Bennett and government officials, plus there's litigation still to be resolved and the NBA Board of Governors also have to thrash out the shift to Oklahoma. But it would be a stunning development if the franchise is still in the Pacific Northwest next season.
The Sonics ended their home season with an upset over Dallas, just their 19th win of the campaign (worst in team history). More than 16,000 fans turned out to cheer "Save our Sonics" and vilify owner Bennett.
Here's what the death throes of a sports franchise sounds like.
You will rarely see anything about fishing among these blog entries for this reason: I know about as much about fishing as I do astrophysics.
Astrophysics is about space and stars. Fishing is about water and fish. There we are, that's what I know.
But mention $7.3 million and you have my attention. And not just for being a top pro fisherman (because actually I've spent enough time sitting near Sun colleague Candus Thomson, who really is an expert on all things outdoors, to know that there's big money on the pro bass fishing circuit) but for playing in a fishing fantasy league.
An outfit called FLW Fantasy Fishing just handed $100,000 to a Greensboro, N.C., man who picked the top fishermen in a bass tournament at a lake in Alabama. There's a grand prize of $1 million and more than $7 million in fantasy prizes are being awarded overall. If you want to get in on the action, check it out at the FLW Fantasy Fishing Web site.
And here's something else that caught my attention. The fantasy winner got $100,000 and the actual winner of the tournament, an angler from California, got $125,000. How would you like that kind of ratio in your baseball fantasy league?
Thanks to the Fark Web site for initially pointing it out.
It's laughable to think that Tiger Woods needs to be defended but after hearing so much about how Woods blew an opportunity to win the Masters considering this year's champion, Trevor Immelman, shot a 3-over 75 during the windy final round, I wanted to toss out these reminders.
* For starters, Woods did finish second in the Masters (for the second straight year) after having what was, for him, a miserable putting day and tournament.
* Secondly, despite not having his putting stroke down, Woods did not fail to make or break par in all four rounds, shooting 72-71-69-72. Only one other player, Stewart Cink, who tied for third, managed the same. So even when Woods is not playing his best, there is a uncanny consistency that allows him to stalk the lead.
Yesterday, he missed five putts that were well within his range. Had he made two or three, who knows whether Immelman's grip would have tightened a little.
As it turns out, the South African is an entirely deserving Masters champion. The weekend broadcast reminded fans over and over about how Immelman (left) had battled through health problems since the last Masters, with a parasite and then a cancer scare. For three days he played terrific golf with rounds of 68-68-69 that included a key back nine on the third day when he birded three of the final six holes just as Tiger had made his own move. Yesterday, he outlasted mere mortal challengers who were swept away by 35 mph gusts and kept the intrepid Woods at driver's length giving up two strokes on No. 16 when the match was all but over.
There's been some sentiment that this was a Masters that Tiger Woods lost rather than Trevor Immelman won and when you look at individual instances when Woods could have made a rush, you might come to that conclusion. But if you consider the body of work over four days, that Woods was constantly pressing, even if not charging, the top of the leader board, it would sell both players short to minimize what they accomplished at Augusta.
Photo credit: Chris O'Meara/AP
The Orioles' home stand that begins tonight with Toronto and continues for seven straight games against the White Sox midweek and the Yankees over the weekend is important on a couple of fronts.
For starters, after the best start in Major League Baseball, the Orioles have come back down to earth but still are tied for the ead the AL East with a 7-5 record, so there is the issue of regaining momentum against three good teams. But there is also the matter of re-establishing a rapport with skeptical fans. So far this season, the Orioles have had two home dates with attendedance under 11,000. Prior to this season, the O's never had a home game with fewer than 13,000-plus.
Over the next week weather should not be a factor the way it has been for some earlier games. These are all scheduled for 7:05 p.m. starts, except for next Sunday's day game, so obviously fans have to be braced for April night temperatures. But the forecast looks clear and warming as the week moves along.
However, even if the Orioles don't bring in fans in droves, what's important is that they show that they can be competitive against better teams. Certainly, no one should forget that the O's are at the beginning of a rebuilding effort, one that most realistic fans know with take a year or two. But the Orioles were predicted to lose something in the range of 95-plus games before the season started and staying on track to prove that prediction wrong will give fans some heart that the team is also on track with its rebuilding.
