...here in Camden Yards, despite the fact that a huge breeze just blew through the press box, right around the time Nick Markakis homered to left to lead off the seventh. That cut the Mariners' lead over the Orioles to 5-4, not long after the Mariners had obliterated the Orioles' (and Adam Loewen's) 3-0 lead after three. This is not how the latest Tejada Era was to begin. And definitely not how the Roy Oswalt Era was supposed to start. More on that later, specifically in my column tomorrow and on my podcast.

Yup, I'm back from vacation. Everybody exhale.

But as the new Tejada Era begins, another era ends. For only the second time since the turn of the century - or, more specifically, Maryland's 2000-01 season - Juan Dixon and Steve Blake will not be teammates. Blake was traded today to Milwaukee in a package that brought Jamaal Magliore to the Trail Blazers. Juan and Steve, the 2002 national championship backcourt, actually started together much of last season. But the Blazers have been clearing the way for Jarrett Jack to start at the point all summer; they traded Sebastian Telfair on draft day, and now Blake is on his way out.

According to this story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Blake likely will start for the Bucks. Dixon is probably back to coming off the bench in Portland, now that Brandon Roy is there. Juan and Steve were together for three years at Maryland, two years with the Wizards and one year in Portland (after they signed as free agents at separate times last summer). Here are the career numbers for Juan and Steve.

C'mon, isn't it refreshing to see an NBA posting on the hottest friggin' day of the summer?

Back to the new/old O's. Richie Sexson into the bleachers in right-center, off Eddy Rodriguez, solo shot to lead off the eighth. 6-4 Mariners. In the press box, it's sticky and sweaty again.

Check that. 8-4, Mariners. Kenji Johjima deep to left. Still no out. The fans are too hot to boo very hard. Oops, they're getting their energy back - Yuniesky Betancourt double to the wall in left-center, a rope.

That 4 p.m. trade deadline, they meant Hawaii time, right? As of right now, they've got 17 more minutes.

Posted by David Steele at 9:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

OK, special occasion (so much for the mention of vacation last week). Someone wasted no time making art out of Zidane's head-butt in the World Cup final on Sunday: a video game. I feel safe in posting this because I have received a stunning amount of positive email for my confession about becoming a soccer fan this morning. Of course, that might mean I'm catering to a more upscale, wired market. Doesn't matter.

I will say this much, though: there are signs that "the beautiful game'' has crossed over, because all day I've been hearing people trying to remember another instance of an all-time great player in some sport doing something that insane in a championship setting. In the final game of his career, yet, on a stage that big, and tainting his reputation that thoroughly. I came up with the mythical Michael Jordan comparison, but, of course, that didn't actually happen.

Any suggestions?

Posted by David Steele at 7:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Warning: this blog posting contains adult themes. Sort of. It's not really clear if we're talking about an adult here.

Another warning: I go on vacation at the start of the week, so the postings here will be infrequent for a few weeks, only when something absolutely must be put up, and then only if I have time. I return when the Ravens open training camp, and the window is pretty tight between now and then. Meanwhile, my last podcast for a few weeks will go up on the site on Monday. Thanks for your patience.

Now, back to the unsavory story of Timberwolves forward Eddie Griffin, who really ought to be thankful that what he's accused of doing has only become public now, that he played the last month of the regular season with this completely under wraps. It's not under wraps any more, though: both the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press have broken it out, and more important, WCCO TV in the Twin Cities has more info on it than anyone with a strong stomach (and who is over 18) can stand.

In case you're just hearing about it - basically, Griffin is accused of plowing his SUV into a parked car in front of a Minneapolis grocery store late one night after a game. Witnesses say he was drunk. Witnesses say the police let him off on the possible DWI and actually drove him home. Witnesses also say that Griffin wasn't paying attention to the road, because he was watching a porn flick on his dash-mounted DVD screen and ... uh ... um ... well, to borrow a phrase from Seinfeld, not being master of his domain.

Yeah, that.

It's all coming to light now because the driver he allegedly hit is suing him and the police. The TV report pretty much sums it up. Check out the video from the store camera, and the copies the station obtained of the suit and of the police report. Again, it's rated R, adult content.

A few highlights that are reasonably suitable for family audiences: on the tape, he is heard and seen offering to buy the other driver another car, except "not a Bentley''; the police cited him for "inattentive driving''; he allegedly admitting what he was doing behind the wheel to witnesses nearby, and to the officers; the names of the movies in his car are noted, as well as the fact that the officers "laughed'' when they saw the names; part of the proof that he was drunk was the fact that he put his sweatshirt on inside-out, and said "whatever'' 69 times in a 24-minute span; Griffin later told reporters that he lost control because he was reaching for his cell phone; not only is the team supporting him, he's playing in the Las Vegas summer league (even without this incident, that's not a good sign for a player going into his sixth NBA season to be playing with and against inexperienced teammates and roster invitees).

It's not pretty.

Just to be clear: this is not the Eddie Griffin from "Undercover Brother'' and the Man Law commercials. Yes, the Man Law jokes have pretty much been exhausted by now.

Now that I've exhibited the restraint necessary to avoid the easy jokes (besides the title of this posting), we're left with this - how did this stay out of the public eye for more than three months? Are fans breathlessly awaiting the release of next year's schedule so they can see Griffin when he comes to town? How can Griffin continue his playing career with this on his resume? What the hell is going on in the Twin Cities with athletes and women (real or digital)? And doesn't the other Eddie Griffin deserve better, whether you think he's funny or not?

See you later.

Posted by David Steele at 8:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

You may or may not agree with, or have a strong opinion about, colleague Rick Maese's column this morning about ESPN. But whatever you think, you must take this into consideration: at this very moment, on the network, Michael Wilbon is a guest on his own show. Yes, it was announced in the very beginning of "Pardon the Interruption'' that he had the day off and was being filled-in for by the Miami Herald's Dan Lebatard. Yet in "Five Good Minutes,'' here he is, talking about the Ben Wallace signing. I really don't know if "surreal'' is the word for it. "Unprecedented'' isn't bad. Is it a good comparison if Paul Shafer filled in for Letterman one night, and his first guest, after the Top Ten list, was Letterman? I don't know. It's just bizarre.

In case there's a chance I was hallucinating, "PTI'' is replayed in an hour on one channel and a half-hour after that on yet another. See for yourself.

Posted by David Steele at 5:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

As in, a 720 dunk, as in somebody turning 720 degrees in the air, as in double a 360. It happened in Houston last week, on the And 1 Mixtape Tour - the streetball show that simultaneously is bringing a different style of basketball to the masses, and being blamed for the ruination of the NBA and, probably, for only getting a bronze medal in Athens in 2004.

Regardless, a video of the dunk - by a player nicknamed Air Up There - landed in my in-box over the holiday weekend, and I couldn't believe my eyes. I also couldn't figure out how to post the video on this blog. Thank goodness, then, for YouTube. I came to this site late, but now I'm as addicted as everybody else, and it allowed you to see this if you haven't yet. I can't decide, though, which I enjoy more, the dunk or the little kid's reaction to it.

Also, this is an eyewitness account from a writer for the newspaper in Galveston, Tex.; it also includes some good reporting on the dunker (real name: Taurian "T.J.'' Fontenette, from Hitchcock, Tex.).

FYI: the And 1 Tour comes to Verizon Center in D.C. on Saturday, Aug, 12.

Back to YouTube: if it's been a while since you've seen the Pistons-Pacers brawl, the site has the feeds from ESPN that night, and from Channel 4 in Detroit. (I first saw this on The Sports Guy's website on ESPN.com. Gotta give credit where credit is due.) What stood out once again on yet another viewing: how much the Bulls' new $60 million man, Ben Wallace, got away with. Watch everything he did to instigate and escalate the incident before the fan even hit Artest with the cup, and then wonder how he only got suspended for six games. Then think about that contract and try not to get too depressed about the inherent injustice in the universe. Unless you're a Bulls fan; then not only are you not going to be depressed, you probably won't even remember he was in that fight.

Posted by David Steele at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Saturday's HOOD Movement 3-on-3 tournament at Cloverdale courts, put on by Carmelo Anthony and his charitable foundation, was a big hit, so much that Anthony said he wants to put it on every year and expand it to different cities. The idea of having two big celebrations in the city every summer, staged by athletes with local ties - the other being Ray Lewis's Ray's Summer Days, which took place last month - should be viewed as a real boost to Baltimore's profile and sense of self. The only suggestion for Carmelo's plans: that when it expands, it expands to at least one indoor event. It was HOT out there on the courts, and there wasn't a scrap of shade to be found, except inside the kiddie rides. It would be a miracle if nobody got heat stroke.

Good to see the big players show up, like Rudy Gay and Sam Cassell, although it didn't appear that Juan Dixon made it. Cassell, among other topics he discussed, wants to coach in the NBA once he's done playing. (He agreed to a two-year extension with the Clippers later that night, actually, after telling everybody at the tournament that he planned to play that much longer, then retire.) I heard that and figured I'd hold onto it for later - it will be on my weekly podcast this afternoon - and then read this morning's story in the Sun by Milton Kent about Muggsy Bogues coaching in the WNBA. The story points out that several former Dunbar players - mainly former players under Bob Wade - are now coaching, in high schools here and elsewhere in Maryland, and in the pros. If Cassell gets his way, soon it will be in the NBA. That's a remarkable legacy for one school and one coach.

Anyway, off to a new week. That was some real drama at the U.S. Women's Open this morning. Annika Sorenstam in an 18-hole playoff with Pat Hurst, and realistically it was over by the third. Once again, the younger generation is going to have to wait. The majors winners so far: Karrie Webb, Se Ri Pak and Annika, a '90s reunion tour. That's like Michael, Scottie and the Worm rejoining some team and winning this year's NBA title. All of which means that I've got the same disease Peter Schmuck described this morning: I'm getting hooked on women's golf. Women's golf and the World Cup. Either I'm expanding my horizons and adopting new sports at a late stage in life, or I'm losing my mind waiting for NFL training camps to open. I'm not ruling out either one.

Posted by David Steele at 3:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)