It's been several hours since the last incremental shred of news about Brett Favre and I don't know about you but I'm having withdrawal. It's actually getting addictive for me.

You know -- 10 a.m., Packers team president Mark Murphy boards unmarked private jet with undisclosed flight plan but headed due south; 1 p.m., Favre works out with local high school football team but leaves when he learns they won't let him compete for starting job, 3 p.m., unidentified league source tells ESPN's Chris Mortensen that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

So in the absence of substantial reports like the above, we have to bring you Michael Irvin's take on the Brett Favre situation in an interview with FOX Sports Radio Network's Out of Bounds. My favorite part is when the Playmaker suggest that Favre basically wants to go to Minnesota or Chicago just to spite the Packers.

So here it is, Irvin on Favre:

 "It is an ugly thing here going on, but there's no way I can imagine the Green Bay Packers being able to force Brett Favre's hand in March when we can't do it here in July. And its just the reality of it, they asked him, no matter how they asked him or how hard they asked him they have done it for years, 'Brett, we need a decision by March this or March that.' Brett had the right to say this decision is huge for me and I'm sorry, I'm not ready to make this decision…The worst thing I hate out of all of it is Brett saying he wants to go to Minnesota or Chicago because it seems like a spiteful move. 'These are two teams I know you will play against every year and I want to come back and hurt you guys'. Now, I don't say he should have any loyalty to front office because that battle will ensue always between player and front office because we are talking about money. But certainly, certainly to the fans of Green Bay they deserve something besides you going to Minnesota or Chicago and coming back saying 'I will eat you up', in your attempt to eat up Ted Thompson you will eat up the fans that who have supported you so long and loyalty should lie there, no doubt to me it's Brett's fault."

Posted by Bill Ordine at 3:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
                    

Sports journalism normally doesn't get tangled up in First Amendment issues. It is our colleagues working in City Hall or are otherwise engaged with the "real world" who have to battle their way through freedom-of-speech issues. But a pair of situation have just come up that pose an interesting parallel. The first is in China (where admittedly the concept of a First Amendment is pretty alien) but the second is in Phoenix, Arizona, where they should have heard of it.

* In China at the Beijing Olympics, reporters are being barred from some Internet access, particularly Web sites that the government believes to be critical of its policies, say discussion of the unrest in Tibet. Among Web sites that reports have been unable to reach is Amnesty International. The overarching philosophy being: "It's my country and I'll lie if I want to." And to the argument that reporters should have no beef because they should follow the rules of the host country, I’ll point out that Beijing had to "win" the right to host the Olympics. And being in a competitive situation with other world-class cities, China had to be persuasive in convincing the IOC to allow the Games to be held there. Reportedly, the IOC tried to make sure certain fundamental principles of Internet access were part of the overall atmosphere of the Olympic Games but there seems to be differing interpretations of what was agreed to.

* Concurrently, we have what is certainly a much pettier discouraging of free speech in Phoenix. Apparently, there's a swanky golf country club out there and incredibly, still in the 21st century there's a policy in place that bars women from the club's grill room. It may seem like small potatoes but it's also a known haunt for the city's power lunches so quite obviously, this is another way of keeping in place a gender glass ceiling. But even that's not what's really galling. One of the club's members, and reportedly a pretty good golfer, Rusty Brown, spoke to a newspaper making the point that he didn't like the policy and he thought some fellow club members were equally unhappy with it. Brown has been kicked out of the club.

Here's the point I want to make. If you’re proud of what you're doing, usually you don't have any problem with people talking about it. And usually, when you have reason to be ashamed, that's when you want to keep it quiet. On grand and petty scales, that's the lesson to take away from Beijing and the country club.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

With the sports world consumed by the prospects of Brett Favre playing elsewhere this season, a few other player movements involving big names are overshadowed. Among them:

* Ken Griffey Jr. maybe/probably to the Chicago White Sox. The Reds and White Sox appeared to have agreed but Junior has last say-so. And for a change it’s not just about the money. The 38-year-old Griffey is hitting .345 this season with 15 home runs. The White Sox lead the AL Central but are in a scramble with the Twins while the Reds are out of it.

* Manny Ramirez isn’t exactly under the radar but we’re mentioning him because he had good-naturedly suggested a trade for himself for Brett Favre. Reportedly, Ramirez joked to ESPNdeportes.com's Enrique Rojas: "I should go to Green Bay straight up and they should send Brett Favre to Boston. That will end two soap operas at the same time," Ramirez told Rojas. Seriously, the Florida Marlins who are battling the Mets and Phillies in the NL East are the latest hot rumor to surface regarding Ramirez.

* Denver Broncos safety John Lynch, a seven-time Pro Bowler in Denver and Tampa Bay, is saying he’s out of Denver. Lynch appears to be out of the nickel and dime packages in the Broncos defense which means he’d essentially be a run-support safety and he’s apparently not happy with that. It remains to be seen if Lynch, 37, winds up on another team or tries to break into broadcasting.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

I'm going through stages on the Brett Favre story.

First, like most other folks (I'm assuming), Favre's unretirement had me saying "Wow" and rolling my eyes. We had all seen that movie before and right from the very beginning in March, you had a sneaking suspicion this might happen.

Then the Packers' reaction about sticking with Aaron Rodgers had me thinking, "Gee, this could get interesting." And then it started getting semi-ugly with Favre implying the Packers weren't being truthful about who said what and the list of teams began to emerge of who Favre might be traded to and I thought, ""All right, enough, get it over with."

And now we have a situation where the Packers' team president is taking private jets to Mississippi for a summit with Favre and his agent, news reports that Green Bay offered him $20 million to stay retired, that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is delaying approving Favre's reinstatement to allow for more time for an amicable resolution and that the Packers may be thinking the unthinkable, trading Favre to Minnesota or Chicago. Hey, I'm interested again.

As we mentioned yesterday, we're going to keep passing along the incremental news and our semi-novel contribution to the Favre coverage is going to be a concert of Favre-related music videos. This one is a country-western original by Dustin Bogue, It Was All About the Game.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

In today's Sun, colleague Ed Lee wrote about Ravens' backup offensive lineman Mike Kracalik having to step in as the starting left offensive tackle for now after tackles Adam Terry and Jared Gaither -- the immediate successors to the retired Jonathan Ogden -- were sidelined by ankle injuries.

Kracalik seems like a good guy (Lee details some of the issues the player went through at San Diego State when he felt compelled to make public an event about which some Aztec fans would have preferred he keep quiet) and he certainly has impressive size (6-8, 340). But left tackle is among the most demanding and critical positions on the field. Inexperience at that spot can lead to big problems for your quarterback and as a result, the entire offense.

But we're still in the early stages of training camp and a lot can and probably will happen between now and the opener against Cincinnati on Sept. 7. However, when you consider just a few training camp mishaps have the Ravens down to putting the health of whoever is under center in the hands of a player who has bounced among practice squads, waiver wires and active rosters, it can make you a little uneasy.

Ravens fans have had the luxury of the reliable presence of Jonathan Ogden around for more than a decade. Admittedly, in the previous couple of years Ogden had missed time but he still helped hold the delicate puzzle along the offensive line together. Now, we're about to realize how steep the drop-off can be when a Hall of Famer like Ogden is no longer around.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The Orioles' hopes of sweeping the Yankees in the Bronx evaporated in a hurry this afternoon as New York jumped out to a 3-1 first-inning lead on first-time starter Dennis Sarfate. It got worse when Brian Burres relieved Sarfate, trailing 5-2 in the fifth, and after one good frame, Burres  surrendered four more runs in the sixth. After Burres, Fernando Cabrera was basically throwing batting practice -- three hits, two of them homers, and a couple of walks.  It ended 13-3.

What all that means is that manager Dave Trembley has, at best, a 2 1/2-man rotation -- that would be Jeremy Guthrie, Daniel Cabrera if he's pitching against the Yankees (he's 3-0 against New York) and on the od occasion, Garrett Olson.

Burres is probably a little shell-shocked right now.  He's given up nine runs in three innings during his last two outings.  For the O's, there better be some arms in the minors.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 3:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

The Brett Favre soap is turning into a minute-by-minute drama with the latest being that Packers team Mark Murphy -- what a minute Mark Murphy, coach Mike McCarthy, general manager Ted Thompson, there's a serious alliteration issue going on there in Green Bay -- is in Hattiesburg, Mississippi meeting with Favre and his agent "Bus" Cook.

This follows Favre applying for his reinstatement with the league yesterday and – imagine this – NFL commissioner Roger Goodell delaying acting on the reinstatement to give the Packers more time to figure out what to do.

They absolutely do not want to release him so that he could sign with any other team without compensation to the Packers. And they really, really don’t want in camp where his presence would create in his own words a “circus” and an atmosphere of angst for the whole team, especially the nominated starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

So it would seem the only way out is a trade. What Murphy hopes to accomplish in Mississippi remains to be seen

However, we have seemed to stumble upon something in the process of poking through the Internet. It seems that Brett Favre may be the subject of more original songs that any other sports figure on the planet. And since all we can do is wait to see what happens in the Green Bay-Hattiesburg shuttle diplomacy, we thought we would periodically run a Brett Favre song.

This one is a take off on Don McLean’s American Pie by singer-songwriter and Favre fan Annette Summersett.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The ejection of Daniel Cabrera from last night's 7-6 win over the Yankees is truly mystifying.  It was so apparently irrational that it's really hard to get upset about it.  You could see exactly how confused Cabrera himself was when home plate umpire Chad Fairchild tossed him from the game in the bottom of the eighth inning after Cabrera hit Alex Rodriguez in the shoulder with a pitch.  Two innings earlier A-Rod had hit a solo home run.

It just seems preposterous that Cabrera, with a 6-1 lead at the time, would open the door like that.  He already had a runner on second after Bobby Abreu doubled and there were no outs.  Given the circumstances after the hit-batsmen, I certainly believe Orioles manager Dave Trembley when he said that he was going to pull Cabrera.  Two runners on, no out, Cabrera just past 100 pitches, eighth inning.  If you seen many Orioles games you know what that means, cue relief pitcher Jim Johnson.  And that's exactly what happened.  George Sherrill was going to pitching the ninth so the fact that it got exciting at the end had little to do with the ejection.

Who knows, maybe the ejection will have the effect of defusing any potential Yankee retaliation when the two teams play again today starting at 1:05 p.m., although even A-Rod said he didn't think Cabrera was trying to hit him.  Otherwise, it just seems to be an overreaction by the umpire.

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

With the sentencing of ex-NBA referee Tim Donaghy today, it seems particularly approprite to introduce this music video by singer-songwriter Ryan Parker. Parker satirizes sports gambling by suggesting that betting on the Olympics is a sure sign that someone has gone over the edge. To turn up the volume, slide the volume control to the right. It's next to the loudspeaker icon in the lower right of the video screen.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Tim Donaghy, the NBA referee who schemed with gamblers to pass along insider information on games, was sentenced to 15 months in prison in federal court today. Donaghy's partners in the schemes, high school friends James Battista and Thomas Martino, were sentenced last week. Battista received a 15-month sentence for placing wagers on games about which Donaghy provided information. Martino received about a year. He paid Donaghy for the information.

That Donaghy received 15 months surprised some observers because his information helped prosecutors build their case against Battista and Martino. However, the obvious fact was that the Donaghy case's publicity made escaping prison impossible for the NBA ref. The three convicted men also have been ordered to pay a combined $217,266 to the NBA in restitution.

Yet to come are the results of the NBA's own probe into the Donaghy situation as well as concerns over possible inappropriate conduct by other referees.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

This is one of those items that teeters on the edge of sports -- but bicycling, even when not done competitively is certainly considered sports-like, right? Here's a video making the rounds on the Internet of a weird event in New York City where bicyclists are in an otherwise uneventful protest ride through the streets of Manhattan making the case that bicycling is a more sensible approach to inner-city travel. Okay, fair enough. But then this happens (see video below) involving a policeman who, reportedly, has been reassigned to desk duty while this gets sorted out. As you watch, you may be struck by the same thought I was. Why did the officer pick this particular guy? Luckily, the rider appears to be OK.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The player who has been at the top of many Orioles' fans' wish list, Atlanta first baseman Mark Teixeira, apparently is about ready to change uniforms for the second time in a year as the Major League trade deadline approaches on July 31.

Teixeira, a Baltimore-area favorite son who was acquired by the Braves from Texas a year ago to  be the player to put them over the top, is highly available after Atlanta failed to take full advantage of his services in both the 2007 stretch run and through two-thirds of a season this year.  There has been nothing wrong with Teixeira's output.  Granted, his numbers were Hall of Fame-like last year compared to merely All-Star caliber this year but the 157-game total in Atlanta has been .295 with 37 home runs and 134 RBIs.  Sounds pretty good to me.  In addition, you could make the case that Teixeira, batting behind the now injured Chipper Jones, helped Jones get off to a scorching start this year when Chipper flirted with .400.

But despite all that, the Braves gassed last year as the Phillies overtook the Mets in the NL East and this year, Atlanta appears winded again as it sits mired in fourth place.  At the end of the season, Teixeira becomes a free agent so the Braves have to take what they can get now.  The only teams for whom an immediate Teixeira deal makes any sense because they would be getting him for just a final sprint to October are contenders in tight races, Boston,  Tampa Bay and Arizona and one that may want to reload for the playoffs, the L.A. Angels, according to ESPN's Jayson Stark.

You will notice the Orioles are not in that mix.  But if you are in the Bring Mark Home crowd, take heart.  Teixeira appears to have tired of being shuttled around the Major Leagues as a short-term fix.  Hence his comment on the current trade rumors: "I realize that things are going to happen in this game that are out of your control. And over the next two months, a lot of things are going to happen that are going to be out of my control. But once I get to free agency, that's when I get to start making the calls."

Hard saying where the Orioles can fit here.  If anything, the six to eight weeks have shown that Baltimore's more pressing need for the long run is pitching but if there was one positional player who would resonate with Baltimore fans, it's the big kid from Severna Park.

Photo: Tony Dejak/AP

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
                    

In the grand scheme of things, yesterday's 13-4 win over the Yankees in New York doesn't count any more in the win column than any other game but to Orioles fans such games are both balm for the past and hope for the future.

Starter Jeremy Guthrie and center fielder Adam Jones are obviously two of the most important pieces for the Orioles in the Great Rebuilding and seeing them perform well against the team that is sure to remain a constant chief competitor in the AL East is an enormous plus. 

Guthrie took the game into the seventh inning giving up just one run and three hits when his pitch count hit triple digits (102) and he left with a 10-run lead.  A succession of pitchers from the deep bullpen mopped up.

Jones went 3-for-6 with his first career grand slam, one of four homer runs the Orioles had last night.

Interestingly, it was a player who had once provided Orioles fans with so much hope himself, Mike Mussina, who was the victim on the Yankees side.  Mussina was tagged for two of those homers and left the game behind 6-0 after five innings.  Apart from the Orioles, Mussina is having a solid year with a 13-7 record and 3.56 ERA.

As I said, balm and hope.  Orioles fans need generous portions of both.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

The Manny Ramirez business in Boston seems to be getting a little serious but I’m intrigued by Manny’s take on it.

If you read Ramirez’ quotes what he is suggesting is the notion that the Red Sox are conjuring up a rationale in the event they miss the cut for the playoffs this year. Ramirez is tossing out that Boston management is setting him up as the scapegoat should the Rays and Yankees go one-two (in either order) in the AL East.

Here are Manny’s words on that: “The Yankees are getting closer and getting stronger, while we haven't done much. I could say that right now there's a strange atmosphere in our team.”

Ramirez has been working on what he says is a sore right knee but although he missed a couple of games last week, he played yesterday and went 3-for-5 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored.

For hardly the first time in his career, Ramirez is just about daring the team to trade him in colorful terms. "I don't have any preferences,” Ramirez was quoted as saying. “I could choose a team that offers me the best conditions or one in the chase for the postseason. I don't care where I play, I can even play in Iraq if need be.”

If I were Manny, I wouldn’t give Boston GM Theo Epstein any ideas.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
                    

Goose Gossage entered the Hall of Fame this past weekend recognized as a pioneering relief pitcher, the archetypal closer. But in the accounts of Gossage’s career, an important distinction is made between him and the star closers who have followed.

Gossage’s outings were, on average, for far more outs and innings than latter-day relief pitchers. For instance, while Gossage has 310 saves compared to Mariano Rivera’s 443 so far, Gossage worked more than two innings on 52 occasions in getting those saves. Rivera has done that just once.

Obviously, it’s a reason why Gossage is third all-time in relief wins and innings pitched.
But think about what Gossage’s performances meant to his club in a practical way. It meant shorter bridges between the starters and a quality pitcher and obviously fewer innings pitched by less talented arms. It actually may have meant saving a roster spot or two for position players.

Then stretch that thinking about what Gossage was able to do relative to the current-day Orioles’ pitching situation, just as a for instance (and Baltimore is no different than any other team). Now, this is absolutely no knock on O’s closer George Sherrill because he has done his job almost flawlessly in the context of what a closer is asked to do in 2008. But manager Dave Trembley has to manage a pitching staff that, on the best of nights, needs three decent outings from three different pitchers. Yesterday, he needed four in a 5-2 win over the Angels. Again, that's the same for any other team but it means that a team today needs more links.

Gossage reduced the need for so many links. For much of Gossage’s career, a manager needed just two strong outings – seven innings from the starter and two from the star relief pitcher. Maybe one in between from a set-up man.

Now, there’s another part to all this. Because of the innings that Gossage was asked to pitch, he made fewer appearances than current closers. For instance, Gossage appeared in 1,002 games (including 37 starts) in 22 years. Rivera has been in 829 in 14 years. Rivera is on pace for far more appearances. And Gossage and his managers also benefited from the fact that starters threw for more innings and that there were a lot more complete games.

But that doesn’t mean that one can’t still admire the sturdiness with which Gossage worked for more than two decades. Even if -- from an Orioles' fan's point of view -- it was, for many of his best years, as a Yankee.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

I can’t remember the last time a player managed to control a personnel situation as effectively as Brett Favre is handling this current one with the Packers.

Here we have the Green Bay general manager basically begging Favre to not show up in camp because of the uproar it would cause. And even the NFL commissioner is trying to find a way to resolve this thing (read: make Favre happy) before it spirals any more out of control. Look, I can see both sides of this issue. The Packers feel they gave Favre every opportunity to come back for this season, both before and after the March retirement press conference. On the other hand, Favre has said he felt nudged into retirement and that he believes he has earned the opportunity to compete for the starting job in Green Bay. And, in the absence of a true competition with Aaron Rodgers, that he should be allowed to go somewhere else. Certainly, he would like an outright release to choose his own team but he contends he’s open to a trade to any number of clubs.

In the open way that Favre has frequently been, he says that his wife and agent think that he’s giving the Packers too much leeway in not showing up at camp and forcing their hand.

I may be naïve but I’m going to believe that Favre does want to get this resolved in a way that minimizes the embarrassment to Green Bay. For their part, the Packers have to understand that they are playing a weak hand here and that they are not going to get full value for Favre.

The damage-control situation for Packers GM Ted Thompson is to find a team that causes his team as little personal damage as possible, meaning not Minnesota, and take what he can get.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
                    

Well, the Orioles' Sunday streak is over. Fifteen straight Sunday losses ended with a 5-2 victory over the Angels that was preceded by a players-only gathering at Kevin Millar's locker.

The details are murky.  Afterward, Millar evasively explained that "the boys broke something."  The specifics are unimportant as well as any real cause-and-effect. More to the point is that Millar is always trying to do something to stimulate and motivate his teammates. The cold hard numbers show that he's hitting .240 with 14 homers and 50 RBIs. Yesterday, for instance, he went 0-for-2 but had a pair of walks and a run scored. 

It may not be the kind of production that you normally want out of your first baseman but Millar's impact on whatever team he has played for goes beyond the stats. Whenever this Baltimore team is competitive, say 2010 -- even next year for that matter -- if you're realistic, you have to figure that an upgrade at first base is highly likely. After all, Millar will be 37 soon. But whenever that happens, he will be missed and an appreciation of what he has done in Baltimore should go beyond the numbers.

Looking at what happened on the field -- the key was an Orioles starter finally going six innings without letting the other guys score a pile of runs. OK, how about this -- and Orioles starter just getting out of the sixth inning. Garrett Olson went six, gave up two runs and manager Dave Trembley was able to go with a nice, neat Bradford-Johnson-Sherrill bullpen and it felt like May or June again.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Let's face it, we're just going to have to live with this Brett Favre thing until it's resolved and then some.

The latest is that the New York Jets have received permission to talk to Favre. Clearly, Favre is going to have to approve of whatever team trades for him so it's almost as crucial that any suitor have the quarterback in its corner before even talking compensation with Green Bay.

Actually, this could happen a lot sooner than one might expect. There's also a report that Favre intends to report to the Packers' training camp when it opens this weekend and if Green Bay wants to avoid an awkward circus, they'll get a Favre deal done pronto. It's just hard to imagine it can come together that quickly.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Baseball has a well-earned reputation for pretty inept brawling – “swing-and-a-miss” is the way you’d describe most baseball fights. But if you haven’t heard by now, there was a not-at-all-funny melee at a minor league game last night between Peoria and Dayton.

The two teams didn’t even get out of the first inning when three batters had already been hit by pitches. Dayton’s Zack Cozart was struck in the head. The problems apparently had been brewing from a previous game. The most bizarre moment happened when Peoria pitcher Julio Castillo apparently tried to throw a baseball into the Dayton dugout but missed and hit a fan, who was taken from the stands in a stretcher. Pitcher Castillo has been jailed. Initially, 17 players and coaches were ejected but those decisions were temporarily reversed to allow the game to finish.

So, we go to the video.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

There’s a little nervousness in Indianapolis over quarterback Peyton Manning and a recently problematic knee.

The problem is less about ligaments and tendons and more about infection. Manning had surgery recently to have an infected bursa sac removed and doctors want him to stay home and away from the Colts training camp to reduce risk of further infection.
For Manning any lack of preparation in training camp is academic. Anyone who follows the game knows that Manning is a maniac about preparation. His understanding of schemes is equal to most coaches – let’s face it, better than most coaches. The muscle memory of drop, read, release is so engrained in him that he’s a machine under center.
So, it won’t matter one bit if he misses two, three weeks of training camp and has to stand on the sidelines for another few weeks.

What is curious is the way that infections keep cropping up as a problem for athletes.
This is no attempt to try to figure that out – that stuff is way over my head.
But you may recall that the Cleveland Browns have been struck by a rash of infection-related problems, the most recent being wide receiver Joe Jurevicius. There have been a bunch of others there -- LeCharles Bentley, Kellen Winslow, Braylon Edwards.

Now, those were staph infections and there’s no specific mention about Manning’s problem other than it is a rare type of infection suffered by people who are hard on their knees -- carpenters and plumbers were mentioned. Might be something to keep an eye on, though.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Nobody said this rebuilding business was going to be easy.   And no one may want to hear this but -- the last few weeks have been a good reality check.

This team needs pitching more than most observers thought -- or at least more than the first few months of this season indicated.  Manager Dave Trembley acknowledged as much when he said after Daniel Cabrera's ineffective outing in a 7-1 loss to Toronto (that followed a 5-1 defeat in a resumed game from Wednesday), "If they don't get better, that opportunity won't be there forever."

Trembley was referring to the larger Orioles starting pitching staff with the singular exception of Jeremy Guthrie.  For Trembley, normally a glass half-full kind of guy, that was strident talk. The problem is lack of innings. The starters just aren't staying in ball games long enough and it has taken a toll on a bullpen that looked pretty solid for about three months.  It doesn't help that Matt Albers has been out but those types of injuries are going to occur.

Right now, Orioles fans can breathe easy with Guthrie, Jim Johnson and George Sherrill on the mound.  Anyone else and it's a crapshoot.

So why has this been a good reality check?  It allows the team to further identify its needs going into the off-season.  It's not true that the Orioles simply needed an additional big bopper in the middle of the lineup or an upgrade at shortstop as many folks felt earlier in the year before the pitching was stretched so thin.  What the Orioles may have learned is that their need for pitching is even more urgent.  How they deal with that issue is another matter but at least it was been brought into focus.  

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
                    

In baseball lore, the legend of Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman seems destined to be one of the game’s more enduring and, it would appear, one the saddest.

It has paradox. A rabid fan of his beloved Cubs, Bartman nevertheless sets in motion a chain reaction that helps steal a World Series appearance from his team in one intemperate moment of impulse.

It has the element of the unanswered question: Would Cubs’ fielder Moises Alou even have caught the foul ball off the bat of Florida’s Luis Castillo in the sixth game of the 2003 NLCS? Even Alou fails to answer definitively saying on one occasion he would not have made the grab but then contradicting himself by contending later that he would have caught the ball.

And the tale seems to have headed down a poignant, gloomy end.

The Cubs have yet to return to the World Series since 1945. And Bartman himself – the target of fellow Cubs fans’ ire in the days after the incident -- has dodged any and all publicity.

What brings all this up again is that Bartman was just offered a fair amount of cash to appear at a sports collectors show in Rosement, Ill. He would have received $25,000 just to sign a photo of himself reaching for the ball.

He turned it down. In fact, I’m pretty sure Bartman would pay that much and more if what happened in that photo never occurred.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 4:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

It’s difficult to know what to make of today’s announcement by the Detroit Shock that they’ve signed ESPN analyst Nancy Lieberman to a seven-day contract. Lieberman, 50, last played when she was 39 for the Phoenix Mercury during the WNBA’s first season. Interestingly, she also was a general manager and coach of the team she is now joining as a player. The Shock has some short-term and longer-term roster problems. The team was just handed its share of suspensions from a brawl with the Los Angeles Sparks earlier in the week and forward Cheryl Ford is out for the season with a torn ACL.

This is really curious, though. Lieberman has absolutely nothing to prove. She is deservedly in several halls of fame. As a young player in the 1970s, she was a startling phenom in that era because her playing style was aggressively schoolyard in a way that hewed closely to the men’s game. Again, for the times, she was a revelation. If for no other reason, “Lady Magic” deserves tons of credit as a pioneer on behalf of thousands and thousands of female players who followed.

On the subject of the Shock, assistant coach Rick Mahorn was suspended for two games for his role in the melee. Mahorn came in contact with L.A.’s, Lisa Leslie and Leslie fell to the floor. Mahorn says he was just trying to be a peacemaker and the contact was inadvertent. Head coach Bill Laimbeer voiced strong objection to Mahorn’s suspension insisting that his assistant was being “thrown under the bus.”

Detroit’s Plenette Pierson received the longest suspension, four games. Four other Detroit players were suspended for one game. Los Angeles had two players suspended for two games and three for one game.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

So this is what it has come to -- deuling national stories on whether future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre does or does not have a cellular telephone issued to him by the Green Bay Packers.

Yesterday, there were news reports that he did with the further implication that the Packers could check call records to determine the extent of Favre's alleged contact with Minnesota offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and even head coach Brad Childress. This would have all been in support of Green Bay's charge of tampering against the Vikings.

Today, there are reports in opposition to the first report and that Favre does not have a team-issued cell phone.

At this point, I'm don't care if Favre used tin cans-and-string to talk to the Edmonton Eskimos. Just get this thing settled.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
                    

The Utah Jazz’ Carlos Boozer is showing a sense of the moment when refers to Team USA’s attempt to restore America to international basketball supremacy as the “road to redemption.”
From the beginning you got the idea that this current crop of American basketball all-stars had a dimension that wasn’t part of any previous NBA all-star team that suited up for the United States in the Olympics.

The original Dream Teams had a well-deserved swagger as they signed autographs for their star-struck opponents even as they crushed them. In contrast, the one that stumbled through the Athens Olympic four years ago had, well, I’m not sure, maybe a misplaced feeling of entitlement.

As a result what happened in Athens when the U.S. lost three games and had to scramble to salvage a bronze medal and avoid total embarrassment has been an albatross around the neck of American basketball ever since.

So this current national team, from the outset, has declared its sense of mission as it sets its sights on the Beijing Olympics next month.

That mission – this redemptive journey – begins tomorrow night with an exhibition game against Canada and then continues with a warm-up swing through Asia next week.

It also happens to begin with the U.S. team hobbled a little by various nicks and bruises, not the least of which is a stress fracture in center Dwight Howard’s sternum. This is a team that is already somewhat lacking in a dominant post presence and Orlando’s Howard, at 6-11, 265, is the biggest of the big men.

On top of that, the alternate that Team USA brought up in response to Howard’s injury, center Tyson Chandler, has not joined the team in Las Vegas for practices because of a toe injury.
And the list of the dings – current or lingering or in the after-care stage -- goes on. Cleveland’s LeBron James suffered a mild ankle sprain yesterday. Los Angeles’ Kobe Bryant still has the broken pinky that he has delayed surgery on until after the Olympics. Dwyane Wade is returning from the knee injury that cut short his season in Miami.

Everyone says everything will be fine, that there will be no injury issues in China.
They better think that way because Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski is absolutely right when he says that no one, meaning the media and fans, is going to give the Americans a free pass if perform anywhere as badly as the 2004 version did.

“Hopefully we stay completely healthy,” Krzyzewski was quoted as saying, “but if we don't, we can't make an excuse that we didn't do as well because of an injury.”

In the end, what may allow this Team USA to prevail is its collective determination – whether that springs from patriotism or from pride in the NBA as an institution (albeit the league is becoming increasingly international) or from a sense that basketball, like jazz, is an art form born in America and that the U.S. should always set the standard.

In a Time magazine article that appears tomorrow, James is quoted as succinctly guaranteeing a U.S. gold medal.

More to the point are his more recent remarks that underscore the sentiment that may be the key in this, as Boozer aptly calls it, redemption. “We have a lot to prove, honestly,” James was quoted as saying. “We have to rekindle the flame that we are the best basketball players in the world, and I feel this is our last chance.”

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Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The Orioles got the next-worst-thing to a bad outing from ace Jeremy Guthrie last night -- a suspended game that has to be resumed today, at noon.

The last thing O's manager Dave Trembley needed was to have to find another pitcher or two or three to finish off a game that ended with Toronto ahead 2-1 in the top of the sixth.  Guthrie had taken the game into the sixth when the Blue Jays scored the go-ahead run and the deluge forced the suspension of play.  There are two outs in the Jays' half of the sixth.  Toronto has reason to be even more disappointed.  The Blue Jays have to replace A.J. Burnett who had given up one run on six hits and had seven strike outs.

Daniel Cabrera pitches the regularly scheduled game right after the completion of the first one so he better bring his A game.  There may not be a lot of help left in the bullpen.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Jay Gibbons’ quest for redemption took another step with the former Orioles outfielder signing a minor-league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. Gibbons is expected to be with the Brewers Double-A team in Huntsville for a couple of weeks and then move to Triple-A Nashville.

Gibbons’ story is well-known in these parts. A popular player who was in Baltimore for seven seasons and had his best year in 2005 when he hit .277 with 26 home runs, Gibbons slipped badly statistically in 2007 and then was named in the Mitchell Report for receiving a shipment of human growth hormone after it was banned by baseball.

He dodged a 15-day suspension by Major League Baseball but he performed so poorly in spring training, the Orioles cut him even though he was owed nearly $12 million for the last two years of his contract. Possibly because of his PED involvement, Gibbons hadn’t been able to find another job. He wrote an emotional letter to all 30 MLB teams asking for a second chance but the only team that would give him a uniform was the independent Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. He hit .280 with five HRs and 19 RBIs in 27 games with the Ducks. This deal with the Brewers gives Gibbons a legitimate shot at making it back to the majors.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
                    

If you have not seen it yet, here's a report on a rare WNBA brawl, this one involving the Los Angeles Sparks and the Detroit Shock. L.A. is coached by former Laker Michael Cooper and Detroit is coached by former Piston Bill Laimbeer with Rich Mahorn as an assistant.

The Spark won the game but what happens here occurs in the final five seconds when Los Angeles' Candace Parker and Detroit's Plenette Pierson get into a shove-and-punch confrontation after a free throw. The messiest part is that Detroit assistant Mahorn appears to have made some contact with Los Angeles player Lisa Leslie who fell down. Honestly, I keep looking at this tape and there's so much bumping and scrambling with the coaches trying to calm things down that I find Mahorn entirely believable when he says any contact was inadvertent.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is probably a little sick and tired of trying to keep the league's 32 partners from cheating and chiseling on one other, plus the growing unpleasantness between one of the game's contemporary legends and a legendary franchise has the potential to get real ugly.

As a result, Goodell is taking the unusual step of involving himself in L'Affaire Favre by encouraging the Packers to seek out interested parties in a deal for the future Hall of Fame quarterback.  It just goes to show Favre's enormous impact that the commissioner would try to accelerate such a personnel move even though the Packers could justifiably contend that being forced to make a decision on Favre right now is against their best interests.

Meanwhile, NFL investigators have shown up on the Vikings' doorstep looking into the Packers' tampering charges against Minnesota related to contact between Favre.  At issue is contact between Favre and not only Vikes' offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell but also head coach coach Brad Childress.  Um, it seems that the cell phone that Favre has been using since his retirement was actually a Packers' cell phone and Green Bay has been able to access the calling records.  It also appears that the records indicate repeated calls to Bevell and Childress.

Clearly, Goodell wants this over in a hurry.  He just got away from Spygate and he doesn't need a protracted Favre-gate.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

It has often been said that the NFL is a game of attrition, that the healthy teams are the ones who will survive December.  And the most healthy among them are the ones who will flourish in January.

You don't necessarily think of baseball in similar terms but the Orioles are unquestionably the victims of attrition, obviously to their pitching staff.  I'm not sure how many games the injury to pitcher Matt Albers has cost the O's but last night's 10-8 defeat to Toronto at Camden Yards was most likely one of them.

Until his last outing in late June against the Cubs -- one of only two really ineffective appearances by Albers all season -- the versatile right-hander could be counted on for three, six, nine outs with an ERA well below 3.00.  He was the sturdy underpinnings that could prop up a shaky starter. And he was even an option as a starter.  Now, with most of the remaining starters getting more shaky by the week and without that bridge between the fifth or sixth inning and Jim Johnson and George Sherrill, manager Dave Trembley can only make the call to the bullpen and cross his fingers.

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

I'm thinking about some day dedicating a full slate of blog entries just to Charles Barkley. There is just no end to the richness that is the Round Mound of Rebound.

As some readers of this blog know, I spent a couple of weeks in Las Vegas earlier this month on vacation but also covering the World Series of Poker, a UFC card and playing in a baseball board game tournament. I also happened to run into Barkley twice. Now right here I want to say that this should not be construed as a unique experience. Spending two weeks in Vegas and running into Sir Charles a couple of times is like saying you spent two weeks in Las Vegas and bumped into a slot machine. The guy is all over the place and he's hard to miss.

But today comes word of a nice-guy Barkley story as reported by a Philadelphia newspaper that the NBA star-TV commentator-blackjack player is helping to finance the education of a busboy at a South Philly restaurant so that the man can pursue his teaching degree at Temple University. While the largesse may seem particularly special, it's not so unusual for Barkley. He has donated at least $3 million to schools and education in his home state of Alabama.

But we don't want to get all syrupy-sweet here so to poke a little fun, we bring you some classic Barkley on the golf course displaying what is truly the most awkward golf swing in the long history of the game -- and Tiger Woods mocking him. Here's acknowledging the SportsByBrooks blog where we first noticed the Barkley story.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

So exactly who do you think is directing Michelle Wie's career -- herself, her father, someone who is the reincarnation of the captain of the Titanic bent on wrecking what once had the promise of a  great sports journey?

Whoever it is, they decided that the next step for the 18-year-old Wie would be to take another crack at a men's tournament. Now, remember that Wie has made just a handful of cuts on any tour over the past two years. This comes immediately after Wie found herself in another in a string of messy situations when she was disqualified from a tournament in Springfield, Illinois last weekend where she would have been just one shot off the lead headed into the final round. Wie forgot to sign her scorecoard after the second round.

So here's where Wie stands -- she is playing in a men's event, the Legends Reno-Tahoe, next week and she has one more LPGA event remaining, the CN Canadian Women's Open next month. If she doesn't earn at least $80,000 at the Canadian Open -- which would require a finish in the top three -- she's looking at qualifying for women's events for next season. 

When will someone grab the controls here?

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
                    

There are lots of rude ways that NFL rookies are introduced to the league in their first training camp -- a little heat balm in the old athletic supporter or a forearm to chops in 11-on-11s.  But Indianapolis Colts rooks are getting it from the front office where president Bill Polian isn't losing any sleep over his list of unsigned draft picks.

 "We haven't made any progress. None," Polian was quoted as saying in the Indianapolis Star. "If they come in, they come in. If they don't, they don't. ... We'll play with the guys who are there. If these players don't want to sign because the union thinks our offers are too low or the agents are afraid to sign or whatever other excuses they use, it doesn't matter to me. I could care less."

The Colts often lag in getting their deals done with their draft picks, according to the local paper, and Polian has even less incentive this year because Indy's top pick is a second-rounder, linebacker Mike Pollak (No. 59 overall).

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

It may be a little difficult but perhaps the best way to watch an Orioles game is to think in terms of a year or two from now and if you can do that, you were encouraged last night by center fielder Adam Jones during Baltimore's 8-3 home win over Toronto.  The 22-year-old Jones was 4-2-2-2 with a two-run homer.

Since mid-May when he slipped to below .225, Jones has steadily raised his average to .282 with six homers, 43 RBIs and 41 runs.  He has been putting together his hitting game mostly batting deep in the lineup, seventh and eighth, but last night he was in the No. 2 hole. With that move, the Orioles have three batters over .280 hitting 1-2-3-4 -- Brian Roberts, Jones, Nick Markakis and Aubrey Huff (who just happens to project to a 30 HR, 100 RBI season).

But back to Jones.  He has a banged-up ankle and missed the series-ender against Detroit but wanted back in against Toronto.  He almost put himself out again when he crashed into the wall at Camden Yards chasing an extra-base hit but after a scary moment, he got to his feet.  As time goes on, the Orioles would like to see a little more pop in Jones' bat -- which should come as he matures -- and a few more walks, something that also will come with experience. But Jones is already one important thing that has to come from inside. He's a gamer.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
                    

The New York Giants' own Mr. Sunshine, Jeremy Shockey, has been traded to New Orleans after a prolonged period of discontent.  While Shockey has been named to the Pro Bowl four times, he has fallen short of being the the break-out tight end that the Chargers' Antonio Gates or the Chiefs' Tony Gonzalez have been, plus he has constantly crabbed about his role in the offense.

In fact, at the end of last season when Shockey was hurt, many felt the Giants were a better offense in their run to the Super Bowl with his replacement, Kevin Boss.  Obviously, the trade means that the Giants concur.  The Saints gave up second- and sixth-round draft picks next year.

In New Orleans, Shockey has two things going for him.  New Orleans head coach Sean Payton was the Giants' offensive coordinator in Shockey's rookie year in 2002 when he had a career-high 74 catches for 894 yards.  And secondly, Shockey steps into what is pretty much a tight end vacuum in New Orleans where the Saints got by with Eric Johnson last season who had a so-so year.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 3:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Does the name Buzz Bissinger mean anything to you?

Unless you follow the coming and goings of sports journalism figures (and if you do with any regularity, you need a hobby), the name might not ring a bell.

So to bring you up to speed, Bissinger wrote the highly-acclaimed Friday Night Lights as well as other books on sports and politics.  More recently, though, he attracted attention for being the antagonist in a television panel discussion on sports blogging with former Deadspin editor Will Leitch, who was the target of Buzz' profanity-laced ire.

But in an even more recent incident, Bissinger -- who also wrote a book featuring Cardinals' manager Tony La Russa -- is beginning to look more and more like journalism's equivalent of Billy Martin.  After scuffling verbally with Leitch on TV, and following that with an apology. Bissinger literally scuffled with security at the College World Series in Omaha where he ran afoul of NCAA officials over the issue of a camera.

The story appeared in the New York Times on Saturday and elsewhere on the Internet (I first spied it on The Big Lead but I'm supposing others have had it by now) but if haven't seen it, here's a sample and a link.

An argument ensued, and I openly admit it got heated. An N.C.A.A. official in an orange shirt was called over. He had one of those little faces born in contempt, and he wasn’t happy. He curtly told me to take my camera bag back to my car. I told him I didn’t have a car since I was staying at a hotel on the Iowa side of the Missouri River and had gotten to the games by shuttle. He told me to go back to the hotel. I told him I would miss most of the game if I had go back to the hotel, not to mention the fact I was there with my sons. More heated argument ensued. More security officials arrived, excitedly smelling the scent of action. Camera alert! Camera alert! More argument. One of them got into my face. I got into his face. He pushed into my body. I pushed into his body.

I do not recommend this.

Roughly half a dozen security officials tackled me and threw me face first into the concrete, causing an ugly gash on my leg and a silver dollar-sized bruise on my arm. My glasses broke. One put me in a chokehold while another handcuffed me, all of it occurring in front of my three sons.

If this keeps up, Bissinger might become both famous and altercation-prone enough to qualify as a regular on TMZ.com.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Golf got an unexpected jolt of adrenalin over the weekend when Greg Norman took a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Open Championship before his game imploded with a fistful of bogies.  At the same time, Ireland's Padraig Harrington was drilling shots through the wind at Royal Birkdale to card a 32 on the final nine and essentially breeze to his second straight British victory by four strokes over Ian Poulter.  Norman, 53, settled for a tie for third six strokes off the lead but, in the process, added a to his cache in the marketing of his resorts and sportswear.

Interestingly, it was the second straight major won by a wounded champion.  Tiger Woods prevailed in the U.S. Open on a recuperating knee that has since required more extensive surgery.  Harrington had an injured wrist that almost kept him from even starting the defense of his title.

Mostly, though, I was taken with Harrington's modest acceptance of the Claret Jug and that he spoke both privately to Norman and publicly that he wished it had been Norman's day.

"I did say to him coming down 18 that I was sorry it wasn't his story that was going to be told," Harrington was quoted as saying. "I did feel that, but I wanted to win myself. In this game, you have to take your chances when you get them."

Harrington's sportsmanship was quaint, old-timey, Bobby Jones-like.  And entirely too uncommon in the 21st century.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 1:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

No two situations are ever completely analogous but for those wondering how the Brett Favre situation will play out in the end, they need look no further than what happened over the weekend regarding defensive end Jason Taylor.
Certainly Taylor is no Favre in terms of the enormity of transcendental impact on a region or state but there are more than a few commonalties. Both have been face-of-the-franchise players, both are future Hall of Famers, both have spent more than a decade with the same team.
The biggest difference is that the Dolphins are in the midst of a blow-it-up and start-over renovation that even Taylor’s biggest fans in South Florida knew meant his time there was over. Meanwhile, the Packers are trying to stay ahead of the curve in grooming a potential quarterback for the future and trying to break free of being held hostage by Favre’s vacillations.
Clearly, Taylor’s time in Miami had come to an end but the persistent logjam over how new Dolphins’ football czar Bill Parcells could extract the most value for the defensive end was finally broken by the urgency that pro football frequently brings to the table – injury.
Phillip Daniels, a 12-year pro who was projected as a starting defensive end for Washington, suffered a season-ending knee injury during the first day of drills at Redskins training camp Sunday. That occurrence advanced the agendas of two front offices in a way that the departure of Taylor from Miami – delayed for months – came about in a matter of hours.
In historical terms, necessity is the mother of invention. In sports, it is the precursor of trades.
In the range of possibilities concerning Favre, that is the most likely scenario.
Some contending team will get hit by lightning in the shape of an injury to its starting quarterback and then hope to catch some lightning in a bottle in the person of Favre. It could happen in training camp or early in the season.
Consider last season when the Carolina Panthers desperately tried to keep their sinking playoff hopes alive by bringing Vinny Testaverde, then 43, out of retirement. The attrition rate for quarterbacks last season was even more alarming than usual so what do you think the chances are that some team will find itself frantic for the services of a quarterback such as Favre by October?
Once that happens, the rest is inevitable. The price in terms of draft picks will be palatable to the Packers’ front office and perhaps even to some Cheeseheads. The details of a restructured contract will be worked out. And Favre will finish his career wearing a uniform other than green-and-gold with results yet to be determined.
Just as the case with Jason Taylor.
That’s how difficult things are often accomplished. Not with studied deliberation but in the rushed practicality of an urgent moment.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Over the last few years, there's been quite a bit of discussion about fan interest in the Orioles -- mainly about how it has diminished through a decade of losing seasons.

I think most folks who follow the team have recognized that there has been an elevation in enthusiasm this year because of the sense of renewal with the team but we are at that juncture, I think, where that enthusiasm may wane -- at least for the remainder of the 2008 season and barring some unforeseen resurgence by the O's.

After losing an inexplicable 15th straight Sunday game yesterday, this time 5-1 to Detroit, the Orioles are three-games under .500 and project to win 75-78 games (not bad when you consider the preseason predictions were in the low 60s).  But they're also last in the AL East, 10 games off the lead and 8 1/2 behind in the wildcard.  They have something of a pride series coming up with Toronto, their rivals this year for fourth place in the division.

But the Orioles' real rivals at this time of year for the hearts and attention of sports fans is coming out of hibernation in Westminster as the Ravens begin training camp this week. Obviously, the Ravens are the dominant franchise in the area -- a distinction they have earned -- and it's never more apparent than at this time of year when fans will be more interested in how Joe Flacco throws the ball in drills than how the Orioles pitchers fare in actual games and a no-count exhibition football game will be more talked about than a real one against the Yankees.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
                    

An article on SportingNews.com should give heart to Ravens' fans about the Purple-and-Black's playoff chances this year.  Columnist Mike Florio, who also operates the Web site Pro Football Talk, opines that the AFC North winner could finish with a record as pedestrian as 8-8, largely based on the out-of-conference competition.

The AFC North is matched up this season against the AFC South and the NFC East.  Those two divisions combined for six playoff appearances last year (Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Tennessee, the Giants, Dallas and Washington).  Florio then goes on to point out the flaws among the four teams in the AFC North as well as what they have going for them.  The end result is that there may not be a lot of separation in Baltimore's division and if 8-8 (or even 9-7) gets the job done  -- undoubtedly with tiebreaker help -- that has to to be good news for the Ravens who are trying to rebound with a rookie head coach and a question mark at QB, right?

A scheduling idiosyncrasy that could have a huge impact on the final standings are the non-division, non-AFC South, non-NFC East games that teams have to play.  Consider the difference between the Ravens and the Steelers.  The last-place Ravens get Miami and Oakland (a combined five regular-season wins last year) in those two games.  The Steelers draw the Patriots and Chargers (combined 27 regular-season wins).

The odds I saw in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand about a week ago had the Ravens 30-1 to win the Super Bowl and 20-1 for the conference.  If you like the Ravens, you missed your big chance when the line opened back in mid-January for next year and the Ravens were 125-1 to win the Supe.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 2:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Can a major golf championship absent the presence of Tiger Woods be possessed of drama?

That was the question heading into the Open Championship being played at Royal Birkdale and as the field trudges into the cool and windy weekend, the answer -- quite surprisingly -- seems to be, "Yes."

And it is for the only reason that anything can be possessed of drama -- the personalties.

Atop the leaderboard at the moment is the slightly aging 53-year-old Greg Norman, who has played in just three PGA tournaments this year and missed all three cuts; Colombian Camilo Villegas, less than half Norman's age at 26 who is capable of both horrible and electric performances, and our old friend, Rocco Mediate, the just-glad-to-be-here neighbor who gallantly battled Tiger in a playoff loss at the U.S. Open.

Norman has put together back-to-back 70s but needed long putts on the finishing holes at Royal Birkdale today to preserve his par round and keep the clubhouse lead.  Villegas shot 76 on yesterday but 65 today -- with birdies on the last five holes -- putting him at plus-1 and in second place behind Norman at the moment. Mediate is 69-73 and in a large pack tied for third at 2-over. 

Of the three pre-tournament favorites who were listed on the betting boards at less than 10-1 odds, only Sergio Garcia has any chance at 5-over.  Last time I checked Phil Mickelson was 9-over and Ernie Els 10-over. Both were struggling to make the cut.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Clearly, it's unwise to let a short-term turn -- good or bad -- dictate long-term strategy but the current Orioles slide of eight losses in the last nine games is indicative that the current roster is not going to be the one that makes this franchise a contender in a year or two or three.

The O's have had their moments this year and have showed some tenacity but outfielder Jay Payton put it well when he said last night, "We've got to play perfect baseball."  This team has no margin for error and that's no way to go through a season and make it to the playoffs.

The immediate relevance of all this is the trade deadline approaching.  Obviously, the Orioles are not buyers in the trade market -- they are sellers.  They would be peddling players of value for players of promise.  The Sun's Jeff Zrebiec did a terrific job of outlining the Orioles' trade options during the All-Star break.  He pointed out both the advantages and disadvantages of trading the eight most likely candidates.

Looking at the list, the player that may seem most obvious is second baseman Brian Roberts.  His name has been part of trade rumors since the off-season. Certainly he would fetch the highest price in prospects.  To me, though, the biggest problem is creating an even larger hole in the crucial middle infield.  The O's are still trying to settle shortstop after trading Miguel Tejada and to deal their star second baseman without a replacement is courting disaster for the long haul.  If you're a believer in building a baseball team up the middle, even if you project two seasons, you have Adam Jones in CF, you're counting on No. 1 draft pick Matt Wieters to pay off for you at C but at SS and 2B, you have ... What?  That makes Roberts a tough call.

Another player of consequence that I believe they can get something substantial for and is movable is Daniel Cabrera but this is a team that has just two reliable starters right now -- Jeremy Guthrie and Cabrera.  You'd have to be convinced that Adam Loewen will get healthy or someone else can be your No. 2 next year to do that one.  Plus, some likely suitors have already made deals for immediate pitching so the list of dance partners is getting shorter.

Most likely, I think, would be a trade of less consequence -- Chad Bradford, Ramon Hernandez, Aubrey Huff, Jay Payton, Kevin Millar.  Those players will bring returns of varying value. Huff  probably the most. Millar the least. 

However, the climate is right to begin moving some of the current roster looking toward the future.  As I said at the top, the current bunch of losses shouldn't cause alarm or provoke panic trades to clear out the clubhouse but it's also a reality check that Orioles followers shouldn't get too attached to the names in the lineup now.  It just doesn't make sense.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
                    

Opposing teams have had to put up with Boston slugger Manny Ramirez admiring his disappearing home runs; his teammates have had to stomach Ramirez failing to run out ground balls and the odd just-miss home run, and the Red Sox front office has had to parry the occasional trade-me whining.

Now, it's Boston principal owner John Henry getting the Ramirez treatment.  Manny says that the Bosox aren't being straight with him on his option years of 2009 and 2010, season in which he's scheduled to make $20 million.

Manny: "I want no more [expletive] where they tell you one thing and behind your back they do another thing. I think I've earned that respect, for a team to sit down with me and tell me this is what we want, this is what we want to do."

Since Ramirez went to to say that he wanted a post-season sit-down with "ownership," it was Henry who responded in an email: "I find remarks that we have been anything other than completely straightforward to be personally offensive. Manny has been a crucial part of two world championships. I do not believe we would have won either without him. He has never played a more important role than he has thus far this year."

Hmm, The Red Sox owner is personally offended by his star player.  Didn't he get the memo (all together now), "It's just Manny being Manny."

Posted by Bill Ordine at 2:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

There's something of a medical mystery going on with the Cleveland Browns that has been brought into focus again with the news that veteran wide receiver Joe Jurevicius is likely to miss the first six weeks of the season on the physically unable to perform list. There are also whispers that Jurevicius, 33, who caught 50 passes last season while playing on a bad knee, might be looking at the prospect that his season is loss and possibly that his career is over. He had said that this would be his last year with the Browns, his hometown team.

At issue is staph infection. Jurevicius had routine arthroscopic knee surgery back in January and two weeks later developed the infection. Since then he has had at least one more surgery (perhaps more, according to some reports) to deal with the infection. Where all this gets interesting is that he's the sixth Browns player in four years to be hit with staph infection. Former Browns center LeCharles Bentley was the most adversely affected and required emergency surgery.

The Cleveland Clinic, where a number of the Browns surgeries have taken place, has visited the Browns training facility twice (2005 and 2006) for infection prevention purposes and the facility was cleaned specifically for staph last year. Among other Browns hit with staph were wide receiver Braylon Edwards and tight end Kellen Winslow.

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

They're schlepping their way through the first round of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in what is occasionally horizontal rain. The Bard sentimerntally described England as "this blessed plot, this earth, this realm" but he conventiently left out the soggy as a wet sponge part.

So the leaders in the clubhouse were two players at 1-over 71, Retief Goosen and Mike Weir. But the interesting name near the top of the leaderboard still out on the course was Greg Norman at even-par after 12. There's also a Wood -- British amateur Chris Wood, not Tiger Woods -- at 1-over after just three holes.

The 53-year-old Norman bogied No. 1 but birdied No. 3 (both par fours) to put a little glitter on the leaderboard at this early stage of the major that is soldiering on without wounded Tiger Woods, who is recuperating from knee surgery.

Much has been written and said about the impact of Woods' absence but it was brought into focus for me last week when I took a look at the wagering odds at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The diffusive effect of a Tiger-less major was told in the betting numbers. Just three players were listed at less than 10-1 to win the Open Champoionship -- Sergio Garcia (7-1), Ernie Els (15-2) and Phil Mickelson (8-1). Of the nearly 50 leading contenders, only seven were less than 20-1 and the short-odds bet? Well, it was the field (meaning anyone other than the 48 players listed) at 6-1.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

It doesn’t get much more heart-breaking in sports than the cruel timing of the injury suffered by American woman soccer player Abby Wambach yesterday. The best offensive player on the United States team, Wambach suffered a severe leg break in a friendly match against Brazil. She broke both her left tibia and fibula and it goes without saying that the 28-year-old will miss the Summer Olympics in Beijing. She’ll undergo surgery today and have a rod inserted in her leg.

The author of the deciding goal in the 2-1 overtime win over Brazil in the 2004 Olympics that brought the U.S. a gold medal, Wambach had 13 goals and 10 assists this year as the Americans have racked up 21-0-1 record. They won yesterday’s game against Brazil, 1-0, played in Commerce City, Colo., when Wambach’s replacement, Natasha Kai, scored.

The injury occurred as a result of a first-half collision with Brazilian defender Andreia Rosa. Rosa was stunned but able to continue play. Wambach was fitted with an air cast and taken from the field on a stretcher.

Obviously, Wambach, who has 99 career goals, has every right to feel miserable about what’s happened to her just weeks before the Americans begin defense of their Olympic title on Aug. 6 but if there’s any self-pity in Wambach, it wasn’t evident in anything she said.

“I'm excited to watch them and cheer them on during this challenge they've been presented with,” Wambach said of her teammates. "It's really going to take everyone coming together. I love them all so much, and appreciate so many people involved with this game and the team.”

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The Brett Favre saga is an example that these sports issues, which we all like to think are cut-dried with rules and guidelines, have lots of gray areas.

I'm specifically thinking of assistant coaches on Green Bay and Minnesota, Packers offensive line coach James Campen and Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell.  Both Campen, a former teammate of Favre's, and Bevell, who coached in Green Bay, are friends with the quarterback.  Both have talked with Favre since he announced his retirement.

Now, those conversations are being parsed to examine exactly how Campen acted as an intermediary regarding a possible Favre return to the Packers and if Bevell was involved in a conversation that could be construed as tampering.  So, how much of what was said was friends just having friendly conversation?  At what point does that dialogue breach a league rule (in Bevell's case) or team loyalty (in Campen's case)? Campen, in particular, who was actually dispatched by the Packers to talk with Favre and whose conversation has now become fodder for public consumption may wind up being damaged. Actually, it's the dissecting of these conversation that feels more unseemly than whatever occurred in the conversation themselves.

The Favre soap opera may be an entertaining diversion at a point on the sports calendar when there is very little else going on but it's clear that the longer it goes on, the more fallout there's going to be.  I don't know what the resolution is but the Favre matter will have a resolution at some point.  The sooner it happens, the better.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
                    

You say yes, I say no
You say stop and I say go, go, go
Oh, no
You say goodbye and I say hello
Hello, hello
I don't know why you say goodbye
I say hello

Paul McCartney wrote the lyrics but no one sings them better than Brett Favre.

Quite obviously, this is a no win situation for both sides. To a large number of fans -- mainly the Packers' own followers -- the team will be the villain if Favre isn't behind center in green-and-gold this fall. To a large number of fans, Favre jeopardizes his status atop the NFL's Olympus as a single-team hero  (the abbreviated start in Atlanta doesn't count) if he dons the colors of another franchise.

However it turns out, singer-songwriter Ryan Parker has chimed in with a musical take on the topic.

You'll need to slide the volume adjustment to the right (just to the right of the loudspeaker icon in the lower right corner).

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Last week, following the UFC light-heavyweight championship fight between defending title-holder Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and challenger Forrest Griffin, Griffin sent entreaties heavenward that the judges would see the fight his way.  He had tried to keep Jackson, a slugger, off-balance and did dominate the second round pounding Jackson relentlessly while the two were on the floor.

"Please, please, please," seemed to be Griffin's prayer as he awaited the decision following a five-round bout.

It was answered with a unanimous decision that some observers thought could have gone the other way.  Even Griffin said he wasn't sure.  "You really don't know in the fight what's happening," he said. "You watch on TV, it's a lot easier to tell what's going on."

Well, if Griffin got a little bit lucky that night -- or at least avoided being unlucky -- the UFC can be just as thankful that the decision went the way it did and the graduate of the University of Georgia is one its new champions. Jackson was just arrested in California for erratic driving in a police chase that included a number of collisions and with Jackson's pick-up on the sidewalk.  I can't imagine why he thought he's get away even if he evaded police at that moment -- he has his face on the doors on both sides of the truck.

The Sun's mixed martial arts blogger Mark Chalifoux, who does a splendid job of tracking and examining that sport on his blog MMA Stomping Ground, wrote that he doesn't believe the incident will hurt the UFC's image much and that Jackson himself should rebound from the arrest and fight again.  I have no idea about the inner-workings of the UFC but I think that it's safe to say that there has to be at least some thought given about whether Jackson gets a quick rematch with Griffin.

In the meantime, the UFC should be pretty happy that Griffin, who graduated with a double major from Georgia and, in a curious twist, worked as a law enforcement officer for a sheriff's office back in Georgia, wears one of its championship belts.  In talking with Griffin the day after his fight, he seemed to be a level-headed guy dedicated to this fledgling sport and intent on honoring the responsibilities that come with being a champion in any sport.

Meanwhile, Jackson -- who rocketed to popularity following a highly-publicized pummeling of MMA legend Chuck Liddell -- has to regroup and rededicate himself if he doesn't want to become merely a colorful footnote in his game.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
                    

Last night's All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium was a meant to be a nostalgic juncture of baseball's past and present being played in one of the game's most storied arenas and attended by so many past stars.  All of which makes it that much more excruciating for the game and its fans that one of the greatest pitchers of all time -- really, by many measures the greatest pitcher of all time -- faces a relentless examination of possible performance enhancing drug use.

Now comes a news report that Kirk Radomski, one of two prime sources along with Brian McNamee of information for federal prosecutors regarding Clemens, provided new evidence that may link Clemens to PEDs.  That evidence is mailing receipts, five to six years old, showing Radomski mailed what the news report says was a shipment of human growth hormone.

There are many open questions.  Who actually received the package?  It was shipped in care of McNamee although the report says he did not sign for it.  Can it be independently ascertained what was actually in this package?  Since there has been discussion of Clemens' wife Debbie using HGH for a magazine photo shoot, does that figure into the possibilities?

What this means is that the potential perjury case regarding Clemens and his testimony in front of a Congressional committee -- while far from being proven yet -- is also far, far from being over.  And it means that baseball, despite the celebrations of its past glories, has a long road to travel before it reconciles it past transgressions.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
                    

Not only was last night's All-Star victory, 4-3 in extra innings, the sixth in a row for the American League, part of a 12-game unbeaten streak that includes a tie game in 2002 and the third in a row by one run.

The AL dominance -- at least to this extent -- is inexplicable but the bottom line is clear.  The home field advantage in the World Series has been owned by the American League since that prize has become the spoils of All-Star victory.  Interestingly, since the AL won the home field as a result of the All-Star Game, it really hasn't been a huge factor in the world championships won by the American League.  All three AL titles since 2003, two by Boston and one by the Chicago White Sox have been four-game sweeps.  Not one series in that time has gone seven games.

The last seven-game series where arguably home field was a factor was 2002, the year the All- Star Game was a tie, and Anaheim had the home field under the previous model of alternating the advantage.  The Angels beat the Giants in seven games winning the last two at home.

There's been much debate about the legitimacy of the All-Star Game deciding what could be a key factor in determining a championship.  It is, after all, an exhibition.  Managers manage differently to get as many players a chance to enjoy the limelight. But so far, the World Series home field advantage aspect of the July game has been a moot point.  The season it becomes otherwise, the debate will certainly be renewed.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

On the agenda for the recent two-week pilgrimage I made to Las Vegas was a totally wholesome event in which I participated along with a buddy who also committed journalism here at the Sun and now works at USA Today.
The two of us were entered in a tournament featuring a decades-old baseball board game. Seventy devotees of something called the APBA baseball game gathered at the Palace Station in Vegas – site of O.J. Simpson’s gimme-the-memoribilia event several months ago – to vie for the board game championship playing with great teams of the past.
Sound geeky in a Star Trek convention kind of way? Yeah, probably it is. But the people were extremely pleasant and absolutely total baseball fans and, I confess, the whole thing was pure, unadulterated fun.
APBA is a pre-video games version of EA Sports, meaning a game that allows participants to oversee players and teams whose make-believe performances are supposed to replicate their real-life counterparts. But instead of madly manipulating joysticks, these low-tech game players roll dice and keep track of runs, hits and errors on paper score sheets. The emphasis is on strategy (with a healthy dose of luck) rather than quick-twitch motor skills.
Having nearly the entire universe of baseball teams from which to chose, we decided on the 1919 Chicago White Sox – the team that scandalized baseball by throwing the World Series. Defying history’s verdict on that star-crossed collection of baseball ghosts, my friend and I had hoped to redeem “Shoeless Joe” Jackson, Buck Weaver, Ed Cicotte and the rest.

Ratcheting up our own geek factor, we had custom 1919 ChiSox T-shirts made with the slogan, "The best team that money can buy."
In a weird twist, the day before the 52-team tournament started, we were strolling through the Forum Shops mall that’s attached to Caesars Palace when we happened on a sports collectables store where Pete Rose, of all people, was signing autographs for anyone buying selected items. The buddy, a Red Sox fan, couldn’t resist. He made the required purchase and had his picture taken with the most famous living baseball player exiled from the game for gambling.
I’m not sure what kind of karma that set in motion but our White Sox – playing in a field of 52 great teams, from the dead ball era to the 21st century – finished 4-6 in our eight-team division. Five of our six losses were by one run. We had just two home runs over the course of 10 games, one by “Shoeless Joe”.
If there ever was evidence of the soundness of Earl Weaver’s philosophy about three-run homers -- that was it. We would sometimes get 16 and 17 guys on base and score just three or four runs. That doesn’t work against Ruth and Gehrig.
But as I said, it was a lot of fun. Among the scores of graying, middle-aged men who would spiritedly debate the merits of the ’27 Yankees versus the ’75 Reds, was a guy from Cockeysville, Roy Langhans, who has attended these annual gatherings for years and was playing with the 1957 Braves (Aaron, Matthews, Spahn). Langhans is actually in the APBA Hall of Fame (“Mainly because I’ve bought just about everything they’ve made since 1957,” he joked)
Actually, it’s because Langhans went out of his way at one point to encourage retail stores in the Baltimore-Washington area to carry the game which is mostly sold by mail-order out of Lancaster, Pa.
Langhans’ Braves won their division going 9-1 but in the kind of twist that baseball often provides, it was the only person in the room under the age of 40 who won the APBA World Series.
Brian Wells, a tall, likeable, modest 15-year-old from Wyomissing, Pa., managing the 2001 Seattle Mariners, brushed aside the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers, for the board game championship Sunday morning.
It was nice to see in an atmosphere where baseball’s past was an obsession for a bunch of nostalgic but mostly aging fans, that the game’s sense of tradition may still have some stewards in the future.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 4:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

Finishing the thought on the World Series of Poker Main Event, we wanted to recognize local players who cashed at the tournament. If we've missed anyone here, please let us know.  Cashing at the WSOP Main Event -- the $10,000 Texas Hold 'em Championship -- is a pretty substantial poker accomplishment.  In the case of this year, there were 6,844 entrants (the second-largest field ever) and players had to finish in the top 666 (less than top 10 percent) to cash. 

We've already mentioned Andrew Brokos, the Catonsville man currently living in Boston, who placed 35th winning $193,000.  According to the WSOP hand recaps, on Sunday, Brokos went all-in for 1.14 million chips with ace-queen off-suit against an opponent's pair of jacks.  Brokos never improved. This is the account from the WSOP play-by-play.

(Brokos) made an extremely gracious exit, shaking the hand of each player at his table.

Other Marylanders:

No. 243 Melvin Lowe, Rockville, $35,383

No. 422 Dale Andrews, Frederick, $27,020

No. 536 Farzad Rouhani, $25,090

No. 646 Kenneth McKusick, $21,230

I chatted with Andrews, an IT manager from Frederick, on the phone after he was eliminated.  He got to Day 4 and needed to make a move to stay in contention.  His pocket twos improved to three-of-a-kind on the flop but his opponent, who had a much larger stack of chips, was on a flush draw.  The flush filled out on the turn and that ended Andrews' ride.  Andrews and Lowe, who finished No. 243, play in the same card group in Mount Airy.

I've met Ken McKusick, who's actually from Towson, at previous WSOPs.  McKusick wears Ravens jersey while he plays (this year, it was Ed Reed and Haloti Ngata).  This was his first cash-in at the Main Event.  McKusick said he took notes on every hand and that even though it sounds like it would have been a distraction, the note-taking helped him focus.  ESPN cameras captured some of it but it remains to be seen whether it gets on TV.

For Rouhani, the Main Event performance was simply icing on the cake.  He had previously won the $2,500 Omaha/Seven-card stud high-low tournament at this year's WSOP in June, collecting nearly $233,000.  Rouhani also finished second in a WSOP event two years ago, according to cardplayer.com.

Congratulations to all the locals who cashed in the Main Event, and if there are more, give a shout.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Well, folks, we're back from the desert. Two weeks in Las Vegas is a curious experience. I think it requires a certain constitution.

While out there, we were keeping tabs on the World Series of Poker Main Event. Earlier this morning, the final table -- meaning the final nine players -- was set. If you follow poker, you will undoubtedly notice that this group will be promoted by the SOP and, I suppose, ESPN, as the November Nine because play is being suspended until Nov. 9-11 when the players return to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Vegas for the grand finale. The delayed conclusion is designed to create suspense and make ESP N's telecast on the night of Nov. 11 have as much of a feel of a live event as possible. Up to now, WSOP telecast on ESPN have been filmed, edited and aired weeks or months after the fact.

Getting back to the November Nine, there are no household names. The common threads are that most of them are under 30 years old (five) and are identified in their WSOP thumbnails as professional players (six). However, the chip leader is one of the players who is not in that mold.  He is Dennis Phillips, a 53-year-old account manager from suburban St. Louis. He wound up in the Main Event by winning a satellite (qualifying) tournament a Harrah's casino back in St. Louis.

First place is about $9.1 million and everyone who qualified for the final table is guaranteed at least $900,670 and they're getting paid that money right away. The WSOP and ESPN will try to make these guys as  familiar to the public as possible before the final table resumes on Nov. 9.  At least one interesting personality should be a player in the middle of the pack (about 12.5 million chips), Ylon Schwartz, 38, of Brooklyn, N.Y., whose brief bio says that he "hustled" chess games for money in New York City's public parks before discovering poker could be more lucrative. He's a regular at the WSOP having cashed in 12 times in various events over the years.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Andrew Brokos, the Catonsville man who currently lives in Boston, finished 35th in the World Series of Poker Main Event, pocketing $193,000. He busted out yesterday. Below is his e-mail. Several Marylanders finished in the money. I'll report the others tomorrow.

Note from Brokos:

Well, despite starting the day with the second largest chip stack, I
ended up getting eliminated from the 2008 World Series of Poker in
35th place, winning $193,000. It's hard to complain about that result,
and if you told me a week ago that I would do so well, I would have
been elated. But once we were down to 79 players and I was in such
great shape, I started dreaming of the final table, so it's a bit of
disappointment. I'm sure that will pass soon, though.

Andrew

Posted by Bill Ordine at 2:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Still hanging out in the desert with a Horse with No Name. Actually, it’s a rented Kia Sportage. It has been almost two weeks here in Las Vegas on vacation (shattering my own personal record) observing the World Series of Poker Main Event, chatting with mixed martial arts fighters and playing in my own little tournament involving a decades-old baseball board game and some extremely nice fellows who freely and good-naturedly admit to their own geekiness – but more on that later.

Back to the poker. Maryland’s poker royalty, Steve Dannenmann (2nd in Main Event in 2005) and Rhett Butler (5th in Main Event in 2006) were both eliminated earlier last week after making it out of the first round. Neither cashed. Dannenmann saw a pair of queens cracked by a straight on the turn in the second round. Butler, one of the best short stack players I’ve ever seen, was trying to regroup after three bad beats earlier in the tournament but apparently could not. I haven’t caught up with Butler yet after seeing him battling in the second round and I saw he made it to the third round with over 50,000 chips, but he’s not on the cash list. There are several Marylanders who did cash and I’ll report on them later.

But the big Maryland story right now is Andrew Brokos, a pleasant and earnest young guy who went to Catonsville High School and the University of Chicago. He began today in second place with about 4.4 million chips. The chip leader had 5.8 million. There were just 79 players remaining out of a starting field of 6,844 when play began today (Sunday). First place prize is $9.1 million. There’s a lot of poker still left to be played. They’ll take the next few days to get down to a final table of nine and finish this thing in November in a grand finale on ESPN.

The big guns still left are Phil Hellmuth and Mike Matusow.

Brokos has his own web site. Here it is.
This is an email he sent out earlier today to folks who are following his play. Talk about drama.

I began play yesterday with 565K chips. My girlfriend was preparing to
fly out here to join me. While she was at the airport, I lost most of
chips and was down to 135K. I called to warn her that there was a very
real danger of my being eliminated before she arrived. She hates
flying, and I didn't want her to spend five hours on the plane each
way for nothing. She still had 20 minutes before boarding, so I told
her it was her call and I'd let her know if anything changed. Twenty
minutes later, she sent me a text message: "On brd. I hv confidence in
you. :-)"

This is me with another player named Jamal, (Editor's note: photo not included here) we've been friends since we played together two days ago. I got moved to his table at the end
of the day, and we both made it through.

Much love,
Andrew

Posted by Bill Ordine at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

It has been a week since the last time we conversed, meaning I reported and wrote and you took the time to read and sometimes wrote back.  It is the longest I've gone without blogging in quite a while and although I'm still on vacation, I felt derelict.  And I miss it.  And you.  So here I am with what will be an occasional missive from the desert until I'm back full-time in about a week.

The two things for which I came to Las Vegas were the opening of the World Series of Poker Main Event at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino and the UFC fight last weekend between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Forrest Griffin at Mandalay Bay casino.

The green felt oval and the caged Octagon.

First, the dispatch from the WSOP Main event.  Three local heroes are still in the running after the grueling first round -- Steve Dannenmann (Severn), Rhett Butler (Rockville) and Andrew Brokos (Catonsville).   In case you're unaware, the first round of the WSOP Main Event has to be spread over four days because there are so many entrants.  This year, the starting field was 6,844.  At an entry fee of $10,000 grand, the oft-heard question in Vegas is "What recession?"  First place gets $9.1 million. The top 666 finishers will cash with the lowest prize set at $21,230.  The second round is spread over two days beginning today (half the remaining field plays today and half tomorrow).  They keep dealing until the final table is set sometime next week and the final nine return for a dramatic showdown in November.

Dannenmann, the No. 2 finisher in 2005, made it through Day 1D with 37,500 chips.  That's not too bad, he can work with that.  Butler, the No. 5 finisher in 2006, ended Day 1C with 26,675.  Butler ran into a couple of buzzsaws otherwise he would have been among the chip leaders.  He has some work to do  to stay in this thing.  Brokos, a likable, young fellow, has 67,125.  He's a steady player who has cashed in the Main Event the last two years (for a total of about $73,000).  In 2007, he was among the last Marylanders standing.

Now, the UFC.  If you follow the sport, you know by now that Griffin upset Jackson for the light heavyweight championship on July 5.  Amazingly, on July 6, Griffin -- who was immediately taken to the hospital after the fight -- was sitting at a table at the WSOP.  His right eye was nasty swollen with stitches.  I asked him how many stitches he took.  He told me, "All of them."  Guy has a sense of humor.  Apparently, so do the folks at the World Series of Poker.  After Griffin prevailed in a unanimous decision after five brutal five-minute rounds with Jackson, they seated Griffin at the same poker table with Johnny Chan, the two-time Main Event winner.  Chan beat up Griffin a little himself and after a couple of levels of play, Griffin decided his little publicity spin at the poker table should come to an end and he withdrew from the competition.

I gained a new appreciation for mixed martial arts watching it from a distance of 50 feet.  There is a very intriguing technical aspect to it as punchers try to stay on their feet and ground fighters try to wrestle them to the ground and exert more subtle violence on their opponent.  Such a fight was between middleweight puncher Patrick Cote and all-arounder Ricardo Almeida.  Almeida began the fight by literally jumping into the arms of Cote and trying to drag him to the canvas.  He was successful and easily won the first round.  But Cote managed to stay upright through most of the next two rounds and his obvious aggression forced the judges to award him the next two rounds, and Cote ultimately won on a split decision.  It was all strategy and tactics.  Almost cerebral. 

Then, there was a welterweight fight between Chris Lytle and heavy favorite Josh Koscheck, who won a unanimous decision.  Koscheck is apparently unpopular with the fans.  He was booed.  He also has a mop of bright yellow blond hair, obviously a trademark.  Whatever you imagine about the naked brutality of MMA was on display here.  Early in the fight, Lytle was cut.  Adrenalin makes blood pump faster, the fighters tell me, so soon, Lytle's face was covered in red.  As both fighters fought on the ground, Lytle blood was smeared over Lytle.  By the end of the three rounds, Lytle's face was a grotesque red mask and Koscheck's bright yellow hair was dyed pumpkin orange from the blood of his opponent.  If it makes you wince reading about it, imagine what it looks like in person.  By the end of the fight, the more than 11,000 fans -- many in their 20s and 30s -- were in full throat.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Although the Main Event of the World Series Poker doesn’t start until Thursday, Scotty Nguyen, the exuberant poker pro known for his big smile, flashy jewelry and habit of calling everyone “baby,” recently won the tournament that some pros actually consider the real championship of poker.

Nguyen scooped up his fifth career World Series of Poker bracelet in winning the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E championship earlier this week. From the perspective of pure skill, this tournament is considered the premiere event of the WSOP because it requires players to compete in five different games – Hold ‘em, Omaha, Razz, Seven-card Stud and Eight or better -- and requires a hefty $50,000 buy-in, reputedly the largest buy-in of a regularly-scheduled tournament in the world.

As a result, the field is one of the smallest of the 55-event World Series of Poker but it’s a star-studded cast of players and the competition is grueling. Only 148 players entered this year but among poker pros, to win this event is an enormous honor and the payday was huge for Nguyen, nearly $2 million.

Nicknamed the Prince of Poker, Nguyen is the third to capture the title following the winner of the inaugural $50K H.O.R.S.E, the late Chip Reese, for whom the event’s trophy is now named, and last year’s champion, Freddy Deeb, known for his loud shirts.

While we’re on the subject of the WSOP, this is an opportune moment to say that we’ll be posting a little less frequently over the next two weeks here at O, by the Way.

In the TV business when Leno or Lettermen do it, they call it a hiatus. Hey, it’s a vacation but we’re going to take advantage of the chance to get away to cover some interesting stuff and pass along our observations.

We’ll start with the opening of the Main Event of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. The opening round alone will take four days, July 3-6, and keep you up to date on Maryland players. Then, we plan to catch our first live mixed martial arts fight, a UFC card with the marquee event being Quinton “Rampage” Jackson against Forrest Griffin.

So continue to stop by from time to time over the next two weeks and we hope to have some items to thrill and delight. Or at least that are a diversion from spreadsheets and daily memos.

Posted by Bill Ordine at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)