at Page 2311 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Have You Read Enough About This Guy Today?
Today's MLB Draft officially kicks off Stephen Strasburgapalooza, and despite the torrent of media coverage, most stories tackled one of two questions: How much will the Nationals pony up, and are No. 1 picks worth the money?...

Matt Leinart Is Taking His Offseason Work Quite Seriously (For Real This Time)
With his career free-falling since Kurt Warner nabbed his starting quarterback job and the run of bad publicity thanks to his infamous bong-and-bimbo photos, Matt Leinart has decided to add MMA to his offseason redemption training. Oh, and Jay Glazer....

Book Excerpts That Don't Suck: <em>Strokes of Genius</em>
Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim uses the 2008 Wimbledon final to reflect on Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and their rivalry, begetting "the greatest tennis match every played," the 2008 Wimbledon Final. Buy it here, if you're feeling frisky....

Even College Basketball's Awards Are A Fraud
Scandal! Darren Collison, winner of the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award for players 6 feet and shorter, is actually a quarter-inch too tall to qualify. Jonny Flynn, 5'11¼", climbs down from his booster seat to lodge a protest. [ESPN]...

New Miracle Bat Probably Illegal In This Solar System
Reebok's new Vector-O baseball bat uses special alloys (adamantium?) and speed holes to help you make the cover of Sports Illustrated for your Hulk-like home run blasts. Also doubles as a harmonica. [Uncrate]...

How Reggie Miller Is Spending His Summer Vacation
Reggie Miller's belly-button-circling tattoo is hideously ugly and misplaced, but maybe that's the point....

Soccer Player Survives On-Field Heart Attack
Today's most popular viral video? Belgian footballer Anthony Van Loo (funny) suffers a heart attack mid-game (not funny), but survives thanks to his implanted defibrillator (applause!)....

How Andrei Kirilenko Is Spending His Summer Vacation
There's so much absurdity in this little tableau that the fact Andrei Kirilenko is on a jet ski is probably the most normal thing about it....

Ninjas Responsible For The Death Of David Carradine?
So says Carradine's attorney, Mark Geragos, who told the NY Post there might be some foul play involved. Geragos was contacted by other media outlets about his ninja theory, but he was immediately banned from commenting any further...[DListed]...

Why Scott Boras Isn't As Evil As You Think He Is
Tomorrow, Scott Boras begins the process of jimmying a record bonus out of the Nationals on behalf of Stephen Strasburg. Let's dispense with the usual frog-raining about baseball's superagent and see him for what he is: Scott Boras, labor revolutionary....

How Did Green Day Become The SportsCenter House Band?
SportsCenter doesn't often use popular music as background for their various clip packages, but if you watch as much of the show as I do, you may have noticed that only one band ever seems to make the cut....

ESPN Now Enabling Lane Kiffin's Recruiting Violations
Stop me if you heard this one before: Lane Kiffin may have committed yet another recruiting violation. I know the man can't roll out of bed without doing something wrong, but does ESPN really need to be his facilitator?...

Jimmy Johnson: A Lovable Scamp Just Dancing Through Life
KSK spotlights this Le Batard column detailing the silver-haired coach's quest to live life like a Jimmy Buffet song. Pirate party next week at JJ's! [KSK]...

The Nationals Even Lose To Fireworks
Nationals Park sucks — we know that — so the franchise rewards those 200 people who shell out to watch another loss with fireworks. Nice gesture, until the Nationals, as always, managed to screw it up....

Does Mike Winters Look Like He's Kidding?
No, umpire Mike Winters was not fucking kidding you when he punched Matt Kemp out on strikes on Saturday and if you think he's fucking kidding you, then you're the one who is fucking kidding yourself....

Whither The Scientologist Athlete?
San Francisco 49er quarterback John Brodie, who was featured in an SI cover story in 1971, was a practicing Scientologist for 12 years, yet there haven't been anymore popular athletes that have come forward since then. It's kind of odd....

French Open Idiot Has Done This Many, Many Times Before
The man's name is "Jimmy Jump" and he fancies himself some sort of professional shit-stirrer at sporting events. He has his own website, actually and solicits donations from people to help support his "funny antics." [Jimmy Jump (HT:Bill R)]...

Jeremy Shockey's Not Here To Talk About The Passed Out
It's been a little more than two weeks since Saints' tight end Jeremy Shockey's alcohol-assisted dehydration issues resulted in him getting carted away by paramedics from Rehab, the notorious Vegas day-after-hangover hangout. He's finally talking about it....

The Pirates Erect Makeshift Nate McLouth Memorial
"On Thursday, at the clubhouse table where McLouth used to play cards with relievers Sean Burnett and Jesse Chavez, a candle bearing McLouth's uniform No. 13 was lit, along with a photo of him in uniform." [TheEmeritusExperience via ESPN]...

Barca Loon Attempts To Rattle Federer With Annoying Flag-To-The-Face Taunt
During the second set of the French Open, Roger Federer was hassled by a person waving a Barcelona flag, who somehow managed to make his way onto the Roland Garros court and get all up in Federer's face....