williamfleitch Page 22 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
This Column Is Desperate For A Bailout
Before we get started, a few words on America's financial crisis. (Because hey, who knows more about our economy than a sports blogger from Nowhere, Illinois?) I am going to apply my years of insight as reporter for Registered Rep. magazine, as well as my minutes upon minutes of CNBC viewing, to ex...
NLDS Preview: Cubs Vs. Dodgers
From the very first day of Spring Training, the general consensus has been that This Is The Cubs' Year. (This has caused me considerable frightened quivering, pretty much from the get-go.) It's not just the 100 years thing either. It's difficult to argue that the Cubs haven't been the best team in ...
NLDS Preview: Phillies Vs. Brewers
At a certain level, it has to be tempting for Brewers manager Dale Sveum to just start C.C. Sabathia every game of this series. Obviously, that's not actually feasible, but who cares about Sabathia's future? The Brewers are losing him anyway. Ride the guy until he dies. Let the Yankees pay the pric...
ALDS Preview: Angels Vs. Red Sox
The most refreshing aspect of the Red Sox-Angels series is that it's happening in the ALDS rather than the ALCS. This means, no matter what, that either the Devil Rays, the White Sox or the Twins will be playing for the World Series. In a crazy year, this is far more fitting than yet another Boston...
Wrigley Field Destroys A Man's Soul
I spent last weekend at Wrigley Field, watching the stupid Cubs clinch their stupid division and drink some stupid champagne in front of their stupid fans. It was the first time my father had ever been to Wrigley Field, and I have to think it'll be his last. Poor guy. He makes it nearly 60 years wi...
A Few Moments With Gary Smith
Sports Illustrated's Gary Smith has won the National Magazine Award four times, which is almost as impressive as the fact that almost no one knows his name. Unlike his longtime friend and associate Rick Reilly, Smith keeps a low profile, writing his four in-depth, massive character studies a year, l...
David Foster Wallace, The St. Louis Rams And You
Before we get started, I'd like to say something about David Foster Wallace. David Foster Wallace, Illinois' own, is the best writer I've ever read who I found completely unreadable. I don't mean his non-fiction stuff that had the benefit of editors who, strangely, had a desire for people who read ...
Introducing The Weekly Buzzsaw Countdown
OK, so this probably won't go over as well as the SSW, but hey, we might as well have some sort of Tuesday NFL Roundup. I would like to say I've come up with some sort of brilliant conceit, some new way of looking at the NFL that had never occurred to humanity, but I don't. I'm just gonna rank the ...
Your Emeritus' Smattering Of NFL Predictions
When I was running this here site, I tried to do as few predictions as possible, because I have no idea what I'm talking about. That is to say: I know as much as everybody else. Sure, I could say something like, "I was talking to John Fox in practice the other day, and he feels really strongly abou...
You might remember when I told you about all the problems with MLB.com's iPhone application. Well, they issued a much-needed update to it over the weekend, and almost all the initial problems have been solved. It still needs a Reload button, but other than that, it's almost like a professional sport...
NFL Season Preview: Arizona Cardinals
We're less than two weeks away from the start of the NFL season, so it's time to start the impassioned season previews from various writers, bloggers, diehard fans, cooks, TV personalities, and numerous other walks of life whom consider football the only sport worth watching. Today: The Buzzsaw Tha...
Deadspin Hall Of Fame Inductee: Marques Slocum's F—k Lion
Presenting the final 2008 inductee to The Deadspin Hall Of Fame ... Marques Slocum's Fuck Lion. Final tally: 78.1 percent. Once again — for the third consecutive year — Barbaro has fallen short. Here are his numbers for the last three years: 2006: 31.1 percent. 2007: 74.6 percent. 2008: 73.7 percen...
Deadspin Hall Of Fame Inductee: Isiah Thomas
Presenting the next 2008 inductee to The Deadspin Hall Of Fame ... Isiah Thomas. Final tally: 84.1 percent. Isiah becomes the first person to earn a spot in the Deadspin Hall of Fame and win a SHOTY. Congratulations, Isiah. You earned it. Oh, did you. (Plaque by the engaged Jim Cooke.)...
Deadspin Hall Of Fame Inductee: Buzz Bissinger
Presenting the first 2008 inductee to The Deadspin Hall Of Fame ... Buzz Bissinger. Final tally: 83.3 percent. I congratulate Buzz on this honor. I do hope he signs his name, from now on, as "Buzz DHOF '08," like the ballplayers do. (Plaque by the engaged Jim Cooke.)...
Last Call For Deadspin Hall Of Fame Voting
We have come down to the last few hours of voting for the Deadspin Hall Of Fame, so this is your last chance to make your voice heard. (Kind of. I'm not sure "having one's voice heard" is a major issue around here.) The 75 percent induction threshold is what's required, and there are a few nominees ...
Deadspin HOF Nominee: Barbaro
One SHOTY winner looks like he's gonna make it into the Hall this year. The other is up for an unprecedented third time. Is this the year? Can't a dead horse catch a break? Honestly, if he doesn't make it this year, I plan on putting him up for nomination as long as the site exists anyway. Why not?...
Deadspin HOF Nominee: Sean Salisbury
I hadn't planned on Sean Salisbury making the Final 10 cut of nominees until ...well, until AJ's wild interview with the man. It's just an amazing glimpse inside a man's mind, in a way that made me (and, I suspect, a lot of you) extremely uncomfortable. Salisbury was a nominee last year, notching 6...
Deadspin HOF Nominee: Buzz Bissinger
Frankly, I'm not sure what more more I can say about good ole Buzz. I think we covered everything here and here and here and, at last, here. I mean, what more is there? I suppose I can just leave you with videos, if you were somehow just beamed here. The original: And, of course, the brilliant rem...
Deadspin HOF Nominee: Nightmare Ant
How did I know that Nightmare Ant — the creation of the great, great, J.E. Skeets — had gone "viral," as they say? When some jokester tagged my book "Bow Down Before Nightmare Ant." It made me laugh far more than another damned emo bangs comment. The true genius of Skeets' original post was its sim...
Deadspin HOF Nominee: Erin Andrews
If you're ever bored — or if you're, you know, anything else — I encourage you to check out Deadspin's Erin Andrews archive. The reason sports blogs write so much about Erin Andrews is because there is demand. Put Erin Andrews in a post, and whammo: Instant hit. Just reacting to the market, people ...