class Page 15 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Fernando Rodney's Cap Alignment Status Shows He's Already In Regular Season Form
The World Baseball Classic is underway, and while the quadrennial exhibition tournament of pre-authorized or discarded players has featured a few upsets (Italy beats Mexico! Holland beats Cuba!) there are, fortunately, a few things you can rely upon....

Spring Training Long And Boring, Baseball Players Report
Baseball! It's the perfect sport for a laid-back afternoon, but it can drag. After what seems like an eternity of game after game, inning after inning, baking under the hot sun and trying not to get injured, you finally power through the dog days and arrive at the games that really matter: opening d...

World Number One Rory McIlroy Walked Off The Course Because He Was Having A Mental Breakdown His Teeth Hurt
Yesterday, reigning PGA champ Rory McIlroy walked off the course at the Honda Classic in Florida after a day of subpar golf, eight holes into a second round for which he was already seven strokes over par. As reporters trailed him on his way out, he said he was in a "bad place mentally," which doesn...

Russell Martin Leaves Canada's WBC Team Because They Won't Let Him Play Shortstop
Pirates backstop Russell Martin doesn't want to be a catcher. It's boring. You have to crouch all game. You never get to run around. You rarely get to throw the ball beyond returning it to the pitcher. Rather than getting to enjoy a sunny afternoon on the diamond, you have to spend every moment goin...

South Korean Pro Team Cancels WBC Exhibition Against Cuba Because The Cubans Brought Weird Balls
Mildly scandalous behavior continues to plague the run-up to the World Baseball Classic. Yesterday, we had Taiwanese scouts disguising themselves as umpires and infiltrating a South Korean exhibition, and today we have a South Korean pro team refusing to play against the Cuban national team because...

Ahead Of The WBC, Taiwan Sends Scouts Posing As Umpires To Spy On South Korean Team
You might not realize it from the USA's roster, but many countries think the World Baseball Classic is important. One of those is Taiwan, which is expecting big things. After failing to get out of a group of death in the 2009 tournament, they enter this year's WBC ranked fifth in the world—just a sp...

Here's A Video Of Dogs Saying "I Love You"
Originally published Feb. 14, 2011....

How One Man's Hard-Luck Journey Through The Indie Wrestling Circuit Ended Behind A Deli Counter
During his 10-plus year career, Nigel McGuinness, the former Ring of Honor World Champion, wasn't recognized much away from wrestling. There was that one time on the New York City subway, but he was commuting to a match and there were wrestling fans on the train. Being spotted in the Tampa delicate...

What One Writer Learned At Bleacher Report University
Nick Bond, writing for our friends at The Classical, recently went through the training program at Bleacher Report, a sort of orc pit out of which all B/R writers must climb before they write for the site. Bond's entire piece is well worth your time, but the best artifact is this horrifying paragra...

You Can Now Purchase Classic NBA Games On iTunes
Well, this is pretty goddamn cool. The NBA has made ten classic games available for purchase on iTunes. You can now download and watch Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's first game, Game 7 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals, and Game 1 of the 1997 finals as many times as you want. And the best part is that ...

Harbaugh Like Me: A Harbaugh On Harbaugh Vs. Harbaugh
This post was originally published on The Classical, one day before the 49ers and Ravens advanced to the Super Bowl....

How The Song “Seven Nation Army” Conquered The Sports World
This post was originally published on January 13, 2012....

Bruce Chen Is Switching Teams For The World Baseball Classic
When you think of Bruce Chen, you think: trailblazer. The journeyman starter may have to fight to crack the Royals' rotation in spring training, but he's going to make some baseball history in March. Chen will become the first major leaguer to play for China when he pitches in the 2013 World Basebal...

He Could Always Steal: Remembering Kenny Lofton's College Basketball Career
Republished from The Classical, which is currently in the midst of Kenny Lofton Week....

The Public Humiliation Diet: A How-To
Originally published May 24, 2010....

You Need To Read This Oral History Of Fire Joe Morgan
Our pals at The Classical are running a three-part oral history of the late and beloved blog, Fire Joe Morgan. It includes gems such as this:...

ECHL Team Plans "Indoor Winter Classic"
Ah, the Winter Classic, perhaps the NHL's best innovation of the Bettman era. There's something pure about a game played out in the elements—bundled up, plenty of hot cocoa in reserve, the puck occasionally at the mercy of winds, and perhaps, if you're lucky, a light snowfall to add that magical tou...

Five Players Ejected From Marshall-WVU Game As Kick To The Balls Turns "Friends Of Coal" Game Unfriendly
The intrastate rivalry between West Virginia and Marshall has been nasty of late both on the football field and basketball court, and the annual Capital Classic game (featuring a massive, full-court logo from "Friends of Coal") turned ugly again tonight in Charleston as the Herd's Robert Goff deli...

Are You A Terrible Person For Wondering How Death Impacts Your Sports Team?
In the wake of the Jovan Belcher murder-suicide this weekend I got this email from reader Tom:...

Rick Majerus Is Retiring Due To Heart Problems, So Let's Remember His Career The Way He'd Want It Remembered
Rick Majerus will no longer be lumbering up and down the sidelines at St. Louis University: He's been forced into retirement by a heart condition. The nature of Majerus's exit has led to a bunch of staid and somber reflections on his life and career, with passsages like this, from USA Today:...