closer Page 7 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The 600
It was kind of surreal to see Ken Griffey Jr.'s 600th home run land in the sparsely populated Dolphins Stadium bleachers. Announced attendance was 16,003 — about two grand above the team's average this season — and aside for a mild scramble for the souvenier, there wasn't much of a fuss. Fitting, i...

Rough Day For The French And The Italians
In the year 2008 there a few things an American sports fan takes for granted. Games on the television. Beer advertisements portraying males aged 21-35 willing to run through brick walls and or set themselves on fire in order to procure a lite beer, which could be procured at any gas station. A couc...

Do Not Rile Up The Germans
Mike Cardillo of the great That's On Point will be with you for a daily Euro 08 closer throughout the tournament....

Joba Would Like To Take Off the Training Wheels Now
Until Hank Steinbrenner can get Dayan Viciedo signed, five innings of Joba Chamberlain are going to have to do. Chamberlain, who was lambasted by critics and audiences alike in his first starting role last week, came back with a slightly stronger effort on Sunday to lead the Yankees over the Royals...

Lakers Get Bleeps In Gear, Almost Steal Game 2
The NBA Closer is written by Matt McHale, who would like to know where the bleep Boston's killer instinct is. When he's not freaking the bleep out over the Celtics playing stall ball, he can be found venting his bleeping angst over it at bleeping Basketbawful. Enjoy!...

This Should Quiet Those Stupid "True Yankee" Questions
This faithful little guttersnipe is Gerrit Cole, pictured here at the tender age of 11 attending the 2001 World Series, who this week was selected as the Yankees first-round pick. Yesterday capped a pretty good week for Cole, as the Bombers returned to .500, where they seems to be teetering lately,...

Kuroda Is The New Rikishi
This lissome fellow is Mongolian sumo wrestler Hakuho, who looks to be contemplating where to start peeling the foil off the hardball to get to the chocolately goodness within. I've tried Hakuho, it's pretty low-grade stuff. He was one of a group of sumo on hand to watch the Dodgers Hiroki Kuroda d...

Your Euro 2008 Preview
We have lost Mr. Hirshey to the four-letter crew over in Bristol, but that doesn't mean we're gonna ignore soccer around here. Heck, that Euro 2008 business starts tomorrow — go England! Oh, wait — and we've got your back. Mike Cardillo of the great That's On Point will be with you throughout the t...

Just Another Quiet Day In The AL East
His real name is Covelli Loyce Crisp, but you knew that. What you may not have known, is that Coco Crisp's father was a boxer, and his mother was a champion sprinter. So the Red Sox outfielder's actions on Thursday — charging the mound and throwing haymakers after getting plunked by the Rays' James...

An Inconvenient Truth ... For The Lakers
My name is Matt McHale and Paul Pierce is the motherf—-ing truth. Quote me on that and don't take nothing out. Oh, and please visit Basketbawful. Enjoy!...

Call The Kids, It's Another Profanity-Laced Tirade!
Ah, to return to the halcyon days of March 31, when the Mariners were 1-0 and all was right with the world. But today they're 18 games below .500, having lost four straight and 12 of their past 15. The latest, a 4-3 5-4 loss to the Angels, prompted manager John McLaren to spew some choice profanitie...

Congratulations, Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings
The NHL Closer is written by five people of European descent at Melt Your Face Off. We're not the first people to blog the Stanley Cup Finals, but Don Cherry still calls us "soft". So, for all you kids out there, Raskolnikov toughened up to recapitulate Detroit's clincher....

One More Special Message To Go
David Hirshey writes regularly for Deadspin about soccer. Well, until today, anyway....

The Joy And Despair Of Two New York Pitching Debuts
So as we check in this morning on the great city and state of New York, we see much wailing and gnashing of teeth over the daring Joba-Chamberlain-as-a-starter experiment (he flew too close to the sun on mashed potato wings), and great rejoicing over the return of Pedro Martinez. Joba lasted just 2...

Chase Utley Is The Most Interesting Man In The World
Chase Utley is lighter than air, can charm the birds out of the trees and never forgets your birthday. His blood smells like cologne. He also makes diving, backhanded catches, has hit 21 home runs, will run into the catcher full tilt and is not opposed to bunting his way on base. On Monday, his hero...

Sykora Calls His Shot
The NHL Closer is written by five insomniacs from Melt Your Face Off. We blame overtime hockey and copious amounts of caffeine for our condition. Raskolnikov downed two cases of Mountain Dew to recapitulate last night's epic thriller....

Cubs Sail Blindly Into Uncharted Waters
So Chicagoans awoke this morning, poked themselves with sharp objects and discovered that, no, they weren't dreaming. As the sun came up on the month of June, Cubs fans found themselves with the best record in baseball; the first time that has happened so late in the season since Heinie Zimmerman a...

Jim Edmonds Is Useful!
Well, at least for a day. The recent Padres castoff, coming in batting an Andruw Jones-esque .167, went 3-for-4 with a homer as the Cubs charged back from an 8-0 deficit to overcome the Rockies 10-9. The Cubbies went deep four times, including back-to-backage from Fukudome and Edmonds, to stay a gam...

Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.! (Yes. Boston Is Going To The NBA Finals.)
The NBA Closer is written by Matt McHale, who has a funny feeling the Spurs aren't going to repeat this year. When he's not stating the glaringly obvious, he can be found mocking someone or something at Basketbawful. Enjoy!...

Larry Wayne Jones Jr. And The Chase For .400
The controversy continues to rage: Should a grown man answer to the name of Chipper? My vote is no, unless you appeared in a '60s sitcom starring Fred MacMurray, or are hitting over .400 in the major leagues. Here's to Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves, who is hitting .420 as of Thursday night aft...