del Page 213 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Players Sue NFL Over Bounty Punishments
Grab your popcorn. Two days after upholding his own disciplinary rulings against four Saints players for their roles in the bounty scandal, the NFLPA has filed a lawsuit challenging both the decision, and Goodell's authority to make it. The union is suing on behalf of Anthony Hargrove, Will Smith, a...

Better Know An Umpire: Hunter Wendelstedt
Welcome to Better Know An Umpire, an effort to educate ourselves on the human elements who have ultimate decision-making power over some 2,500 Major League Baseball games a year. (All cumulative statistics are through the 2011 season, unless otherwise stated.)...

Roger Goodell Upholds Own Ruling In Decision That Cannot Be Appealed
The NFL announced today that Commissioner Roger Goodell upheld discipline against four Saints players for their roles in the bounty scandal, despite not letting them see all the evidence against them, and despite legitimate questions over whether Goodell had the authority to rule in the first place....

Why Do We Have Sideline Reporters? The Original Sideline Reporter Says The Job Is "Just Nonsense"
With Erin Andrews moving to Fox, now's a good time to revisit this 2009 interview with television's first sideline reporter, Jim Lampley. Originally published July 28, 2009....

Jonathan Vilma Alleges Former Assistant Coach Fabricated Evidence In Bounty Probe In Newly Filed Lawsuit Against NFL
On Saturday night, Jonathan Vilma filed his second lawsuit against the NFL in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. In his latest filing the Saints Linebacker has asked for a quick ruling on his supension appeal and, alternatively, for a temporary restraining order that would permit Vilma to continue...

"I Am A Little Worried To Be...On The Electronics": Thunder Storm Terrorizes Professional Baseball Grounds Crew
Courtesy of Aaron Morse, the voice you hear broadcasting, comes video of this wild thunder storm rain delay. The game between the Joliet Slammers and Southern Illinois Miners on Friday night was delayed for rain and what appears to be heavy winds. The grounds crew put down the tarp and even, accor...

Dead Letters: "Gggghhgagajaggggj-gggggghghggjgjg"
Subject: Anderson was the “somebody cute’...

Elton Brand: Not So Great At Soccer
Wednesday was Steve Nash's charity soccer game in Manhttan, and it provided a chance for both Salomon Kalou and Elton Brand to show off their skills. Kalou, most recently with Chelsea, took advantage of the opportunity. Brand just whiffed completely. [via The700Level]...

Even Italy's A Little Racist Toward Mario Balotelli
This cartoon ran in Sunday's Gazzetta dello Sport, Italy's top-selling sports newspaper. It's Balotelli, fresh off the Azzurri triumph over England, climbing Big Ben. (Fun fact: It's officially "Elizabeth Tower" now.) Yes, Balotelli is playing the part of a giant gorilla, and yes, 90 percent of Euro...

Omar Vizquel Busts A Move
The Blue Jays sat through a 2-hour rain delay in Boston, and Omar Vizquel is 45 years old. So...chalk these dance floor moves up to boredom, or just a little physical activity to keep those old joints from locking up?...

After Blown Save Jonathan Papelbon Promises $5K For A Walk-Off Homerun, Jim Thome Cashes In
Jim Thome hit his 13th game-winning home run yesterday, good enough for a weird Major League record only the folks at Elias think about. It was also good enough for $5,000, according to Jonathan Papelbon. Paps came in to a 6-4 Phillies lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the ninth inning and promptly g...

DeMaurice Smith Wants The NFL To Re-Open The Saints Bounty Investigation
In a wonderful bit of passive aggressive sniping, DeMaurice Smith told Pro Football Talk Live he thinks the Saints bounty "investigators let the commissioner down." Smith is not necessarily saying Goodell is a terrible person, just that he made a terrible decision based on faulty evidence. Like Dre...

Former NFL Lineman Ralph Wenzel Dies From "Complications Of Dementia"
Ralph Wenzel played guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego Chargers over the course of seven NFL seasons from 1966 to 1973. At the age of 52, some twenty years after his career ended, he began experiencing "significant memory lapses and other cognitive problems." It was the opinion of his ...

Dead Letters: "Hey Cuntbags. Research This."
Subject: Forward to Clint [Hurdle]...

Jayson Williams Is Sober, Gunless, Brutally Honest, And Determined Not To Go Back To Prison
When last we saw former NBA All-Star Jayson Williams, he was pleading guilty to aggravated assault in the 2002 accidental shooting death of his chauffeur. That was more than two years ago. Including a separate guilty plea for drunken driving, Williams spent 26 months in jail before being released in...

Deadspin I-Team: What's The Story Behind Cole Hamels's Giant Bulge?
Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino puts on an annual fashion show to raise money for his foundation, which seems like a pretty neat thing to do. There are models, glitz, glamour, and a lot of Phillies players dressed up in fancy clothes. What a time!...

Anthony Hargrove's Agent Blasts The NFL For "Semantics-Gate"
Tomorrow, Roger Goodell is set to hear the appeal on all four current and former Saints players who have been suspended for their respective roles in the alleged New Orleans bounty program. On Friday, the NFL released less than 200 pages worth of documentation it intended to rely upon to uphold the...

Dead Letters: Jeff Garlin Defends Himself Against "Struggling" Charges
Subject: Hello from Jeff Garlin...

Bobby Holik, Now A Blogger, Blasts The Flyers For Trading Mike Richards And Jeff Carter
Bobby Holik: he's one of us now! He blogs. Maybe from his parents' basement. The man knows his hockey, but his real value is in how unafraid he is to give strong opinions, even unpopular ones. Like today's entry, on Flyers West and Flyers Original Recipe....

The NFL Asks Pacman Jones To Scare This Year's Rookies Straight
I guess being a 147-time offender in the NFL actually does have its perks. Adam Pac-Man Jones told the Cincinnati media that Commissioner Roger Goodell has called on him to speak to this year's group of incoming rookies on how they can avoid screwing up whatever promising career they hold in front o...