ac Page 1231 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

In Praise Of Lacrosse
Although he has been following the story pretty closely, Todd Blumbergs doesn't have a lot of time to obsess over the Duke lacrosse team case; he's got things to do. The coach of the Woodside (Calif.) High boys lacrosse team is in the middle of his season in the Peninsula Athletic League, and with...

Your NL West "Preview"
You know what? This might sound kind of crazy, but we think it's possible that the NL West might not be any better than it was last year. The only way there's any team better than last year's Padres is if Los Steroido somehow stays healthy (and eligible) all season ... and even then we're kind of pu...

Your Daily Dose Of Billy Packer Bile
WJFK Radio in Washington, D.C., is, like most of the country, awash in George Mason Mania these days. How could they not be? And, this morning, the Junkies Radio show dug up an old interview with none other than Mid-Major Public Enemy No. 1 Billy Packer....

The Gruesome Duke Lacrosse Details
Some new developments in the Duke lacrosse team case, which appears to have "tipped" in the last 24 hours; we just saw it featured on our local afternoon news, and we're nowhere near Durham....

Duke Lacrosse Team On The Brink
We touched on this briefly last week, but it merits rementioning: The Duke University men's lacrosse team is in serious trouble. If you missed the details of the case, a student at North Carolina Central University was hired to dance for various members of the team at a "small bachelor party." The...

IRL Driver Paul Dana Killed In Practice Crash
Paul Dana, 30, died just before noon today after a crash at a pre-race practice for today's IRL IndyCar Series race. Another car had spun and hit a wall in front of him, and Dana slammed into it at full speed, over 216 miles per hour. The other driver, Ed Carpenter, is awake and alert at the hospi...

Reggie Jackson And Those Vultures
We have to say, if this site — or the Internet, for that matter — had existed during Reggie Jackson's heyday as a player, we think maybe 30 percent of the posts would have been about him. As a Hall of Fame player, he was fascinating, but now that he's retired, he's becoming one of our favorite cra...

Join Reggie's Paper Puppet Playground!
Here's something you might have heard about, but we haven't: It's Sumiko's Playground, a Japanese NBA blog with that unique sensibility that the Japanese tend to bring to our favorite sports....

Bill Simmons Will Not Be Silenced
On the heels of a big Sports Illustrated story on him, good ole Bill Simmons "broke the ESPN.com" record with a two-hour chat yesterday. The chat — which somewhat inexplicably included two Deadspin references — covered various topics and, as was remarked upon by several chatters, seemed to be allo...

In Defense (Kinda) Of Billy Packer
Few constants exist in this world, but here's one: Billy Packer should probably not try to be funny. In his interview with SI.com's Julia Morrill, Packer bizarrely jokes about the games being "fixed" by the referees, which is pretty funny only if you find angry phone calls from Myles Brand to Pack...

I Guess That Apology Isn't Coming From Billy Packer
A tipster writes in to tell us that Billy Packer has remained quite mum on the subject of the MVC during the UConn/Kentucky. Jim Nantz has mentioned it, of course, giving a little dap to the MVC. Packer just wallowed in awkward silence afterwards....

The NASCAR Revolution Begins Today
We interrupt today's basketball coverage to tell you about Bill Lester, the first black man to qualify for a NASCAR race in 20 years. He'll be in the field for today's prestigious Golden Corral 500, which is underway as we speak....

NCAA First Day Roundup: Give Us Some Upsets
News And Notes From An Excellent First Day Of NCAA B-B-B-B-B-Basketball ... • The main reason everyone was so befuddled by Billy Packer's demented rant on the NCAA Selection Show last Sunday was because he was railing against exactly what fans like the most about the tournament; small-school teams...

NCAA Pants Party: North Carolina Vs. Murray State
North Carolina Tar Heels (22-7) vs. Murray State (24-6). When: Friday, 9:40 p.m. ET Where: Dayton, Ohio....

NCAA Pants Party: California Vs. N.C. State
California Golden Bears (20-10) vs. North Carolina State Wolfpack (21-9) When: Friday, 7:20 p.m. Where: Dallas....

The Tao Of Zach Duke
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is running a spring training journal by Pirates' pitcher Zach Duke, but it's not your typical "Today they served lasagna for our post-game meal" type of offering. Oh, no. Zach is, as your kid's first grade teacher would say, "A very interesting child." Excerpts from h...

NCAA Pants Party: Arkansas Vs. Bucknell
Arkansas Razorbacks (22-9) vs. Bucknell Bison (26-4). When: Friday, 12:30 p.m. Where: Dallas....

Your Academic Champ: Bucknell
Goddammit, life would really be a lot easier if people would stop reminding us that the unpaid laborers running around in Nike-sponsored apparel (available at the campus bookstore!) making millions of dollars for Myles Brand, Billy Packer and bookies everywhere ... we wish people would stop remind...

NCAA Pants Party: Syracuse Vs. Texas A&M
Syracuse Orange (23-11) vs. Texas A&M Aggies (21-8). When: Thursday, 9:40 p.m. ET Where: Jacksonville, Fla....

NCAA Pants Party: Nevada Vs. Montana
Nevada Wolf Pack (27-5) vs. Montana Grizzlies (23-6). When: Thursday, 3:10 p.m. ET Where: Salt Lake City...