as Page 2170 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Japanese Baseball Is Cooler Than Ours
When they're not infuriating their fans with the unlikely martyrdom of Bobby Valentine, the Chiba Lotte Marines are busy defending the world from monsters. These posters may overstate the excitement of baseball, but only by a little. [Some Japanese Site]...

Triple-A Team Finds Tenuous Manny/Steroids Link
Manny Ramirez's time with the Albuquerque Isotopes was uneventful: four plate appearances, zero hits, one walk, and one near-riot when he left the stadium during a pregame rain delay. But some good did come of his AAA sojourn....

The Answer Is None. None More Black
Athletes want to be musicians. Maybe they're not getting enough groupies on their day job, but the urge for a player to also be a troubadour seems overwhelming. Oftentimes Every time, it's a failure (I'm looking at you, Deion)....

Someone Needs A Refund
Sir Sidney Ponson, in the midst of leading the Dutch Honkball team to the quarterfinals of the WBC, tested positive for Phentermine, a stimulant and appetite suppressant. He's also the reason we invented Deadspin widescreen. [AP]...

Kudos To The NBA Draft Seating Arrangement Planner
"Rick Pitino eventually sat in his seat while John Calipari... avoided his, which meant no awkward photos, and no opportunity for Kentucky fans to create Photoshops of him putting his feet in Pitino's hair." [SI]...

Where Awkward Happens: Reading The Body Language Of NBA Draft Picks
The David Stern handshake is a newly drafted player's baptism into the NBA. It is also, often as not, hilariously awkward. We asked body language maven Patti Wood to analyze some of these moments from yesterday's Draft....

Roddick Rickrolls Wimbledon, And Newspapers Care
"I busted my wife on some of her crappy music. She brought up Rick Astley. I can't deny it. It's in my iPod. I bet it's in your iPod too, so shut up!" You heard the man. [The Sun, Reuters]...

Mazel Tov, Omri Casspi
Casspi was selected with the 23rd pick in the Draft last night, which, in David Stern's mind, completely validates the NBA's entire push for globalization. Shalom, chaver. If Casspi — a 6-foot-9 small forward who had some success in the Euroleague — makes the NBA, he will be the first Israeli and se...

Thabeet Takes His Balls to Memphis
2. Memphis Grizzles Hasheem Thabeet, UConn It's just the second pick of the draft and David Stern's voice is already cracking. It's his Bar Mitzvah all over again! As for Thabeet, he looks tall and shiny....

Michael Jackson Dies. Chad Johnson Says It's "Just As Sad As 9/11."
The LA Times is saying King of Pop Michael Jackson died today after suffering a heart attack. He was 50. Because this is a sports blog, here's a video, via NESW Sports, of Jackson playing one-on-one with Michael Jordan. RIP....

Meet The Next Generation Of C-Team NFL Broadcasters
Have you ever watched a sixth-string announcing team stumble their way through another awful NFL game,and think, "Do they have some kind of assembly line that churns out these lousy ex-football player analysts?" Well, guess what? They do!...

There Are So Many Ways To Make Your Leg Turn Purple
A good portion of Americans join softball leagues this time of the year. Many do it for the social aspect alone, which leaves many teams stockpiled with players who are ridiculously awful....

Jim Brown: All-American, Gaylord
Your Deadcast guest this week is Hall of Famer Jim Brown (listen here). And holy shit, is that man intimidating. Except when talking about rollerskating around Venice Beach....

Please Help The Stephen A. Heckling Society Of Gentlemen
Sad news: The Stephen A. Heckling Society of Gentlemendid not get tickets to tonight's NBA Draft. If anyone can get these invaluable correspondents into WaMu this evening, please contact me at [email protected] Let the sock roar again....

Pistol-Wielding Old Man Would Like To Play Through
It is super annoying when you're out on the golf course and the group in front of you is playing very slowly, but I was not aware that I had a "moral obligation to destroy" these duffers with hollow-point bullets....

Weird Details Emerge About Ed Thomas' Accused Shooter
This is Mark Becker, the 24-year-old charged yesterday with killing Iowa coaching icon Ed Thomas in a high-school weight room. On Saturday, he attacked a former classmate's home with a bat and led police on a high-speed chase. [WCFcourier.com]...

The Sad, Hilarious Tale Of Elvis Grbac, 1998's "Sexiest Athlete Alive"
This is an epically comical story courtesy of SI's Jeff Pearlman, that includes the following absurd characters: Rich Gannon, Elvis Grbac, the Kansas City Chiefs, and a dim-witted People magazine photographer. Prepare to feel life-long sympathy for Grbac....

LSU Is Your National Oyster Diving Champions
I believe that's what this sign refers to. No one is really sure what those SEC schools are up to when football isn't in season. [Daily Reveille]...

Off-Duty Cop Shoots Two People In Angels' Parking Lot
An incident in the parking lot at Angel Stadium last night began when two men hit another man in the head in with a beer bottle and ended when the third man pulled out his gun and shot them....

Sportswear Company Outplays Nike, Loses Anyway
It's a classic underdog tale—an upstart company devises a brilliant product plan, employs pluck and good fortune to make their dream a reality, and takes on the big boys....and then is summarily crushed by a large, multinational corporation....