ale Page 224 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Minor League Coach Banned For Full Year After Intentionally Losing 18-Inning Game
Two weeks ago, the Stockton Ports lost 7-6, in 18 innings, to the Modesto Nuts. It wasn't a typical game for the Athletics' Single-A affiliate. For one, the regular manager was on vacation, leaving former MLB player and current Oakland hitting instructor Todd Steverson in charge. For another, it wen...
Better Know An Umpire: Lance Barksdale
Welcome to Better Know An Umpire, an effort to educate ourselves on the human elements who have ultimate decision-making power over some 2,500 Major League Baseball games a year. (All cumulative statistics are through the 2011 season, unless otherwise stated.)...
Manny Gonzalez Submits His Nominee For Worst Blown Call Of The Year
Manny Gonzalez is not an MLB staff umpire, and he had only umped 53 games at the highest level through last season. (He doesn't even have an official profile.) Indeed, he's been bouncing around the minors since the early '90s, and it appears he may never get the permanent call to The Show if he kee...
A Sad English Penis Could Not Stop Italy From Advancing
Pirlo's Panenka-esque chip turned the tide. The Ashleys' gaffes set the table. But it was Alessandro Diamanti, going left and going low, that sent Italy through to the semis over the broken hearts of the overachieving Three Lions....
-8½. Woody Allen's <em>To Rome With Love</em>, Reviewed.
1. One of my favorite Roger Ebert quotes goes like this: "The Muse visits during the act of creation, not before. Don't wait for her. Start alone." That's to say: To create great work, you must first work. Not everything you create will be perfect; in fact, most of it won't be. But you can't wait fo...
Juwan Howard And The Triumph Of The Superteam
Once upon a time, a group of gifted basketball players decided to join forces to dominate their sport. They were as talented as they were hyped, and they ushered in an era of style and scoring, a blueprint for superteams to come. But a funny thing happened: Winning wasn't as easy on the court as it ...
Is This Bobby Valentine Grunting Like A Weirdo While Another Man Raps?
The upload information seems to claim this is Bobby Valentine walking the streets, grunting like a lunatic. Information on reddit claims this is Bobby Valentine on the streets of Chicago. Obviously, Bobby Valentine is currently in Chicago to play the Cubs, but that's hardly a smoking gun....
So, Who Embarrasses Himself The Most In <em>Rock of Ages</em>?
The central appeal—or anti-appeal—of any Hollywood adaptation of a musical is not about the music or the choreography or the set pieces; it's about watching actors who don't usually sing, sing. One of the most fun aspects of Chicago was learning how charming and deft Richard Gere was; it was equally...
Dick Vitale Weighs In On The Death Of Al Qaeda's No. 2
Dipsy-doo drone-a-roo, baybee! [Twitter]...
If You Have An iPad, And You Like Good Things, Buy This Crazy Dock Ellis iBook
We gave you a snippet from Donnell Alexander's new iBook, Beyond Ellis D, a few weeks back. But now the whole thing, with great writing and crazy art, is available from the iTunes store, if you have an iPad 2. Get it and lose yourself. [iTunes]...
"Lots Of Dead Or Dying Bodies. Thought I Was In A Morgue": A Woman Tweets Her Way Up Mt. Everest
Sandra Leduc is an attorney from Canada who quite literally just finished scaling the world's highest mountain. She also live-tweeted her ascent. ...
Today In Getting To Know The Kings: Reebok Offers An "Alex Kopitar" Shirt
This hockey thing's new; we get it. But despite the team's best efforts, we're still not all on the same page. Take this Reebok "Stanley Cup Finals Alex Kopitar" t-shirt, now available in the NHL.com shop. (He's also "Alex" at other outlets offering the same shirt, so this is a Reebok problem, not a...
Here Is A Photo Of A-Rod, Cindy Crawford, And Cindy Crawford's Husband Looking Strange Together
Boom. There you go. We're required by P.R. law to tell you that this photo of "Alex Rodriquez" was taken at the NYC Launch of Caliche Rum hosted by Rande Gerber and Roberto Serrallés. "Guests were among the first to taste the smooth, modern spirit, which, due to being aged up to four years, has a un...
Poor Ump Gets Hit In The Nuts, And All The Men At Chase Field Cross Their Legs
Willie Bloomquist tried to get down a bunt in the eighth inning last night, but it didn't go the way he wanted. It was much worse for home-plate umpire Dale Scott, though. And then there's the look on the face of third-base ump Vic Carapazza. At the 13-second mark, Carapazza can be seen stifling a...
Alex Gordon Is The Best Advertisement For Wearing A Cup
For a fan, extra-inning games are only fun when your team wins. I stayed up past midnight for that? Well, how do you think Alex Gordon feels? The Royals took the first-place Orioles to 15 innings, only for Gordon, the game's last batter, to foul one off his little gentlemen. He would subsequently g...
Carlos Tevez Happily Wields "R.I.P. Fergie" Sign At Man City's Parade
After a miracle at Etihad, two goals in stoppage time, gave City its first title since 1968, the team today celebrated with a parade. The trophy was carried through the streets of Manchester on an open-top bus, attended by delirious fans and at least one jubilant forward who does not forgive or forg...
The Capitals Are A Team Without A Coach Or A Plan
Dale Hunter will not return as coach of the Washington Capitals, it was announced just two days after the Caps lost a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. It's a shock to just about everyone but the Capitals. As GM George McPhee said, "It wasn't unexpected." ...
Fergie's Got A Feeling Tonight's Gonna Be A Bad Night
Here's a helpless Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson receiving the news of Man City's miracle to rip the Premiership title from his hands yesterday, something we'll cover in much more detail later as befitting the insanity that was the final day of action in England's top division....
JaVale McGee Gave Us The Going-Away Present Of Trying To Dunk His Own Missed Free Throw
This season JaVale McGee did crazy things, lazy things, stupid things, and even awesome things. Last night in the final moments of the Nuggets' Game Seven loss to the Lakers, he gave us all a nice parting gift when he tried to dunk his own missed free throw....
A Special Graduation Message To The Class Of 2012
I had a long drive home the night that I found out my son was in grave danger of being born too early. Not long in the sense of distance, but long in an existential way, the way that a minute spent waiting in a dentist's office is far longer than a minute spent hooking up with someone for the first ...