d Page 7294 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Creator of Batting Helmet Dies From Something Other Than a Head Injury (Obviously)
Charlie Muse, the inventor of the batting helmet, has died. He worked for the Pittsburgh Pirates for 52 years, mostly as the traveling secretary (his assistant was not George Costanza). "The players laughed at the first helmets, called them miner's helmets," Muse said about his invention. "They said...

"We Went To The Super Bowl. Uh, Flip Card. Daunte Speaks Next."
We know you're watching the George Lopez Show anyway, so we shouldn't need to tell you this, but if you're in the mood for pained line readings and rapidly declining hairlines, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper are guest starring on the season (though, sadly,...

Oh, And We Shall Make You Carry The Mules On Your Back As Well
China Expects Yao To Play On National Team Again (China Daily)...

Mike Greenberg's One Joke
We have always been curious about the life that ESPN anchor/radio host/all around nerd Mike Greenberg lives his life. His radio show starts at 6 a.m., where he and professional oaf Mike Golic play out tired Odd Couple gags for four hours. We imagine he's then in meetings all day, grooming, nodding, ...

Is Barry Zito Gay?
Our friends at OutSports.com have posted a cartoon about media reaction to gay athletes, asking whether or not A's lefthander Barry Zito is gay. Of all the homophobia that's rampant in sports, we've always wondered what A's general manager Billy Beane thinks about it all. After all, he shares the sa...

Ron Mexico Lives On!
We were just directed to the "Letters" page of Ron Mexico.com, the enterprising Web site selling T-shirts (and, ugh, thongs) branded with the publicity-avoiding moniker Michael Vick used while receiving treatments for herpes. Some highlights:...

The Tao of Drew Carey
Harvey Araton of The New York Times must have woke up sometime last week and said, "What's a new angle on this Phil Jackson story? There has to be one. I know ... I'll interview a Buddhist. In Cleveland. They have to have one, right?" Apparently, they do, and Araton interviews him about Phil Jackson...

Bud Selig Is JACKED UP!
We can't quite break with the new windmill-tilting conventional wisdom that Bud Selig is secretly a great commissioner. He still seems more like Jack Lemmon's Shelly "the Machine" Levine to us; a sad old salesman who has himself in over his head. But he's starting to get some good press — finally — ...

Rex Chapman's Jungle Fever
Rex Chapman was always one of our favorite NBA players. The guy couldn't play defense, couldn't pass and was, sadly, too white to disguise rapid baldness with a shaved head. But he could shoot, and basketball is always more fun when people can shoot. And now, thanks to a set of recent of interviews,...

About Last Night ...
What You Missed While Trying To Figure Out If Ray Romano Is Actually Older Than Peter Boyle ... Yankees Win Ninth Straight. Corpose of Bernie Williams hits a grand slam and, somehow, makes his own way all around the bases. Padres Move Into Tie For First. Somehow, Julio Franco stole a base. Seriously...

THE Ohio State University
You know you're having a rough week when your kicker is busted for selling weed. Jonathan Skeete, a freshman kicker for Ohio State, was busted late last week for selling a half pound of marijuana to an undercover officer, according to the Ohio State student newspaper, The Lantern (good job, kids!). ...

To Watch Tonight
What To Do Tonight Instead of Interacting With Other Humans Texas Rangers at Chicago White Sox. ESPN's Game of the Night, with Orlando Hernandez, who escaped Cuba, facing Chan Ho Park, whom Texas would love to go back to Korea. Atlanta Braves at San Diego PadresOffensive Native American mascot battl...

USA Today Keeps Its Finger On The Pulse
Lots of hot topics in sports news these days: Steroids. Amphetamines. Racism in the NBA. That thing on Scoop Jackson's lip. But USA Today is keeping us abreast of the hot issues: Native American mascots! The nation's best-selling hotel doormat rips the lid off the Massive, Late-Breaking Controversy....

Bill Simmons Watch: Where's Bill?
The backwards-hat-wearing world screams to the heavens: Where's Bill? Everybody's favorite couch potato/Pretend O.C. Fan/treadmill philosopher/new dad has been away from ESPN's Page 2 for nearly two weeks now as his wife (the Sports "Gal," as is the local parlance) gave birth to their first child, a...

Old Golfer Hangs Up Whatever Golfers Wear On Their Feet
A little more than a week after the St. Andrews Golf Course told him they wouldn't honor him, Jack Nicklaus has announced that this year's British Open in July will be his final event. In other news, Murder She Wrote is on ARTS at 8 a.m. this Friday....

Nate Newton: Overachiever
We always loved Nate Newton. Frankly, it's impossible not to like the former Cowboys defensive lineman. This is a guy who, in November 2001, was busted for carting 213 pounds of marijuana. He met bond, and six months later, he was arrest for the same offense, this time with a mere 175 pounds. He spe...

As Long As We Get Hootie In Chaps, We're Fine With It
Burger King Signs Exclusive Licensing Deal With NFL...

Kicking and Screaming
This is always fun: At a girl's rugby game — little girls are playing rugby? — in Rohnert Park, Calif. on Saturday, a parent punched a referee in the face when he was told to move his Camcorder off the field. Not a big deal, right? Refs are getting decked at kid's games all the time; that's why we h...

Careful Of The Hairs On the Gatorade Bottle
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice aren't just the only two black Republicans: They're also the only two black Republicans who want to be NFL Commissioner. Thomas told the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel that he would "lo-o-ove to be the NFL commissioner" when P...

Terrell Owens and Stephen A. Smith: Joined At The Mouth
We just heard this: Stephen A. Smith is apparently not just the guy screaming in our faces on SportsCenter every night. It appears he also writes columns. And they're causing some fuss too: His column on Sunday detailed a secret, intense riff between Terrell Owens and Donovan McNabb, essentially acc...