el Page 1956 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Guy From The Dropkick Murphys Would Like You To Know He Didn't Really Say Jonathan Papelbon Couldn't Use His Entrance Music
Yesterday, ESPN Music(?!) reported that Ken Casey, vocalist for the Dropkick Murphys, did not want Jonathan Papelbon using his old entrance song. That song, "I'm Shipping Up To Boston," is reserved for the Red Sox closer, Casey supposedly said, and now that Papelbon is in Philadelphia, he's no longe...

Jakub Voracek Used To Have Cognitive Abilities, Until Niklas Kronwall Exploded Him
Philadelphia's Jakub Voracek skated directly into a Kronwall, which, from the point of view of physics, isn't much different from skating into a brick wall. Voracek was clearly out for a few seconds, going directly into the always-terrifying the fencing response. No penalty was called on the play,...

Don't Ask Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke About His Job Security
That's what John Moore of Newstalk 1010 did yesterday, albeit by first noting that "a lot of people" think Burke ought to be fired. With even Don Cherry calling Burke out for, of all things, not stocking his roster with any Ontario natives, it was worth asking Burke about what kind of pressure he m...

Usain Bolt Vs. Prince Harry In The 25-Meter: Who Ya Got?
If you picked the one wearing the Jamaica shirt—you'd be right, actually, despite his gingerness. It's just good form to let royalty win. Even Princess Diana's riding instructor used to let her be on top every once in a while....

The "Scam Cup": How A Very American TV Event Gives U.S. Gymnasts A Leg Up On The Olympic Competition
If you listen to USA Gymnastics and NBC, it's one of the most important Olympic tune-ups. If you listen to the rest of the world, it's a glorified showcase for American athletes. So maybe it's fitting that the American Cup's highest-scoring female gymnast wasn't even entered in the competition. ...

Western Kentucky Is Going Dancing
Congratulations to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, who in beating North Texas 74-70 won the Sun Belt Conference tournament and punched their ticket to the dance. This is the same WKU that lost to a team playing six players then fired its coach for it. [ESPN2]...

Kobe Bryant Will Wear A Black Mask Tonight
Bad guys wear the black hats. Maybe black masks too. Kobe's been rocking the standard clear facemask the past few games. But who says you can't protect a broken nose and be stylish at the same time? This is the guard Bryant will don tonight, and it has more than a whiff of MF Doom about it....

Deron Williams Knows His 57-Point Game Was Less Impressive Than Rajon Rondo's Triple-Double
Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: Rondo's 18-20-17 is the ultimate point guard game....

Davey Johnson Has Nicknamed Drew Storen "Tinkerbell"
Johnson, the Nationals' manager, picked the name because Storen, the team's closer, has a tendency to tweak his delivery. All well and good. And plenty of swell options for entry music....

Gregg Easterbrook Has Dubbed The Bounty Scandal "Sinnersgate," Because He's A Haughty Dipshit
Now that Terra Nova has been canceled, noted Brookings Institutionarian and surveyor of the cosmos Gregg Easterbrook was finally free today to chime in on the NFL bounty scandal. And oh, dear readers. Oh, the man never fails to disappoint. Right off the bat, this is what you get ......

The Dropkick Murphys Won't Let Jonathan Papelbon Use His Old Entrance Music (Update)
For the longest time (or at least since The Departed made it famous), Jonathan Papelbon has been entering to the bagpipes-and-guitars opening riff of the Dropkick Murphys' "I'm Shipping Up To Boston." It made sense. The song is instantly recognizable, catchy, and it's about Boston....

ESPN's Keith Law Is A Fan Of Bad Spring Training Twitpics, Unless It Involves One Of His Bad Spring Training Twitpics
We told you two weeks ago about the hilarity that is Bad Spring Training Twitpics, the site that's collecting all the bad art being snapped by the cameraphones of the many baseball writers now roaming around spring training. That same day, Keith Law let his many Twitter followers know he was also a ...

Cops In Fort Worth Regret Running To Media With Story That Ben Roethlisberger Dogged Them On Grant Promise
Jeff Halstead is the chief of police in Fort Worth, Texas. Last year, in the run-up to Super Bowl XLV in nearby Arlington, Halstead says Ben Roethlisberger promised his department a grant for a police dog on behalf of Roethlisberger's foundation. That grant never came. So Halstead wrote a letter say...

For The First Time, The NCAA Selection Committee Reveals How The Brackets Are Built
There is no more compelling broadcast in sports than the unveiling of a bracket. We see it with the quadrennial World Cup draw, and this Sunday is the single most anticipated and controversial day of the college basketball season: Selection Sunday, when 68 teams find out where they're going and who ...

The Real Outrage Of The Saints Bounty Scandal
This is an offseason edition of the NFL roundtable, a partnership between Deadspin and Slate. For more roundtable goodness, go back and read every entry from the 2011 season, from the preseason to the Super Bowl....

Unconscious Soccer Player Gets Red Card For Diving
Diving is a serious problem in soccer, yes? One referee is fighting the good fight, no matter how many critically injured players he has to send off....

St. Mary's Is Going Dancing
Congratulations to the St. Mary's Gaels, who in beating Gonzaga 78-74 in overtime won the WCC tournament and punched their ticket to the dance. [ESPN2]...

The NFL Is Sending Mixed Messages On Bounty Games
Yesterday, NFL.com re-uploaded video of Phillip Daniels trying to rip off Peyton Manning's head, a play Tony Dungy has pointed to as the start of Manning's neck problems. Today the NFL Network nixed a scheduled airing of the 2009 NFC Championship Game, in which Brett Favre suffered knee and ankle in...

This Is Why Basketball Shorts Used To Have Belts
VCU's off to another fast start in tonight's CAA tournament championship game against Drexel, a team that's struggled to earn a reputation worthy of being included amongst Philadelphia's Big Five. But so far tonight, they look like they've been caught with their pants down—or at least the Dragons...

Aw, Hell, Here's One More Tim Kurkjian Imitation From Rays Infielder Elliot Johnson
With Linsanity dying out, we needed something new. Call it Kurkjianomie....