all-star Page 19 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Heath Bell Is A Crazy Person
Your morning roundup for July 13, the day we met, and then ran away from, Magnet Boy....

Now Photographers Working The Home Run Derby Are Planking Too
We've tried to stay on top of this planking thing for you guys, because it's confusing and new and stressful. Last we dropped in on sports-based planking, some wealthy—but now unemployed—NBA stars got prone on ostentatious objects (Beamers, Benzes, or Bentleys, we cannot remember which)....

The MLB All-Star Game: You Might As Well Watch
MLB plays its All-Star Game tonight in Phoenix (8 p.m. Eastern, Fox), and, as Bud Selig has told us far too many times, this one counts. Jered Weaver and Roy Halladay are starting, and they're good. And Derek Jeter, who's not so good, won't be there. It's a win-win. Except for Buck/McCarver. Emigrat...

A Half-Assed Statistical Analysis Of The Half-Assed Home Run Derby's Half-Assed Announcing
Chris Berman said the word "BACK" 78 times last night, 66 of which were in reference to home runs. That's about .62 "BACK"s per homer, a figure we assume is much lower than in previous years. Here's a breakdown of each player's traditional and Berman statistics (distance data from MLB.com):...

The Derby Featured A Diving Catch Into A Pool, And Not A Single Drop Of Beer Was Wasted
Our esteemed announcers preferred an earlier catch to this gentleman's play, but they fail to notice that on his dive, he manages to save his entire pint. This great nation will go to great lengths to ensure that we never waste a drop of an overpriced lager....

Erotica Failed To Get Michael Morse Into The All-Star Game
Your morning roundup for July 8, the day Carl Monday struck fear into the hearts of the Steroid Cartels. Photo via tipster Kal....

Jose Bautista Is The Greatest Canadian Hero
Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: Bautista does it for you, Canada....

Ten Players Vie For Baseball's Annual Miss Congeniality All-Star Prize
Woe are the not-quite Major League Baseball All-Stars. They have to depend on the kindness of "The Final Vote" fans who already made it clear that they didn't deem 'em Midsummer Classic worthy, but those are the thinkers dictating who gets bonuses and future-contract negotiating clout....

Derek Jeter Leads AL Shortstops in All-Star Voting, NL Responds By Adding Extra Infielder
It's stupid to get angry at one particular casualty of the fans' All-Star Game voting, because they annually and reliably fail to select the deserving candidates at each position. But Derek Jeter's early accumulation of 40% more votes than the second-place AL shortstop is just too awful to let go....

George H.W. Bush Quiets Any Excitement Anyone Was Able To Muster For MLB All-Star Game
This may also mark the first time in H.W.'s 86 years on earth that he has uttered the phrase "dot-com." Go, Astros....

Diamondbacks Front Office Uses All-Star Game As Excuse To Lip Synch Worst Song Ever Created
Somebody in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization decided that the best way for the staff to promote the 2011 MLB All-Star Game, which will be held at Phoenix's Chase Field on July 12, was to dub Smash Mouth's "All Star." We're impressed by the unity and enthusiasm shared by the organization, but ...

The Drunken Family Argument Phase Of "Black Thanksgiving"
We learned last week, the NBA All-Star Weekend is "Black Thanksgiving." Of course, like any holiday with family present, things can turn ugly between the meal and dessert....

Here's What The Dunk Contest Looks Like Without The Dumb Props
Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan says he is done competing in any "prop dunk contest" for NBA All-Star weekend. DeRozan finished third in Saturday's contest, and he lost out to Blake Griffin, who dunked over a car with a choir singing R. Kelly in the background, and JaVale McGee, who brought out an ext...

Before Blake Griffin Dunked Over A Car, Kenny Smith Had A Three-Minute Religious Experience
If you missed the NBA slam dunk contest on Saturday night, you not only missed Blake Griffin dunking over a silver Kia and some other confusing but exciting shenanigans — you also missed Kenny Smith, Griffin's "coach" for the evening, delivering a nearly three-minute long speech about obstacles an...

Here's Kobe Bryant Getting A Little Testy With Reporters Last Night
After scoring 37 points on 14-for-26 shooting in last night's All-Star Game, Kobe sat through a lot of post-game interviews. He seemed a little tired — irritable, even. Maybe it is from being around all the young folk, after all....

Judging By That Hickey, Kevin Love Had A Good All-Star Weekend
Thanks to reader Chris, who noticed Love's love bite during a pre-game interview. Perhaps that Kevin Love fragrance really works....

Lady Puts Hidden Camera On Her Ass, "Busts" People And Jesus Scoping It
The introduction of "Ass Cam" poses the question of whether "you've ever wondered what goes on behind your back." From there, you can decide whether the two asscamtrepreneurs accurately predicted that they "look dumb :D"...

How The NBA Ruined The H-O-R-S-E Competition
This is Regressing, a numbers-minded column by our clever friends at the Harvard Sports Analysis Collective. Today: The NBA's H-O-R-S-E competition was doomed to fail....

Kanye West Will Crash Rihanna's NBA All-Star Game Halftime Show On Sunday
He had 2010's best album, best album cover, and best tweets. And now, in the midst of a relatively silent period for Ye, an in-the-know tipster tells us he'll make a surprise appearance during Rihanna's halftime show at the NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles on Sunday....

The Top 25 Buzzer-Beaters Of The NBA Season
In anticipation of All-Star weekend, SLAM Online has compiled the 25 best buzzer-beaters of the season. The rules: "zero time can remain on the clock after the shot. Any end-of-quarter shot qualifies, but, naturally, bonus points were given to those shots that won games, forced overtime, and so fo...