ew Page 2940 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

How Readable Are Bill Simmons, Jason Whitlock, Rick Reilly, And Other Sportswriters? Science Investigates
The last time we played around with sportswriter analytics, we wondered if we could algorithmically determine a column's author based on his favorite words. (We could!) For a followup, I decided to look at the readability of different writers. Reading level is a nebulous concept and hard to define p...

Yankee Fans Think The Team's Play Of Late Has Been For The Birds
The Yankees fell to .500 after being shut out by the Kansas City Royals in the Bronx last night, but that hasn't stopped some fans from insisting the Yanks are #1....

If Beast Mode Exists In Basketball, Russell Westbrook Entered It
The action in Oklahoma City has been hot tonight, with Thunder fans matching the intensity of the players (from both OKC and L.A.) on the court. Russell Westbrook's been especially full of flair this evening, but his steal-and-circus-shot is the kind of highlight that deserves several looks; Kevi...

Here Are The Sean Avery Semi-Nude Modeling Photos You Didn't Know You Wanted
Brandon Prust is serving a one-game suspension for a headhunting elbow. Brandon Dubinsky isn't ready to return from injury, nor is Mats Zuccarello. The Rangers need a better option for a fourth line forward tonight than Stu Bickel, who's usually a defenseman. If only they had someone still under con...

Tea Party Leader George Rodriguez Endorses Craig James, According To Craig James, Who Was Not Endorsed By Tea Party Leader George Rodriguez
Craig James's sad longshot campaign has entered an even more desperate phase: He's seeing mirages in the desert and mistaking his friends for oversized hot dogs and accepting endorsements that don't actually exist....

Eddie Vedder, Chris Chelios, And Kerry Wood Hung Out To Sing Karaoke On Sunday
Aerys Sports alerted us to the existence of this video, allegedly taken during live band karaoke night at Stanley's, an establishment in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. It's Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder and retired NHL defenseman Chris Chelios pairing up for a rendition of The Band's "The ...

LaDainian Tomlinson No Longer 95 Percent Retired, Is Now 96 Percent Retired
A lot can happen in a few days. On Thursday, the free agent running back told San Diego sports radio that he was 95 percent retired from football. On Saturday at a hospital fundraiser, LaDainian Tomlinson gave an updated figure....

Local Man Throws Football
Peyton Manning threw footballs today, while wearing a football jersey, to other people wearing football jerseys. This is important because it's been a while since Peyton Manning threw footballs, and people are really worried that he might not be able to throw a football as well as he used to throw f...

Stan Van Gundy Fired, Dwight Howard Tents Fingers And Cackles
Dwight Howard, the NBA's first player-coach-GM-CFO, may be limping around Beverly Hills. But that doesn't mean that he's not still doin' work: today the Magic announced that Stan Van Gundy has been fired, and President of Basketball Operations Otis Smith is peaceing out as well. That brings Dwight's...

How A Career Ends: Ron Darling Celebrated His 35th Birthday By Getting Cut And Being Left Alone At Home
Tell Me When It's Over is an interview series in which we ask former athletes about the moment they knew their playing days were over. Today: Pitcher Ron Darling, one of 37 major leaguers in history born in Hawaii and the record holder, by far, for most major league seasons by a Yale University alum...

Former WVU Head Football Coach Bill Stewart Has Died Of A Heart Attack
Bill Stewart, who amassed a 28–12 record as head football coach at West Virginia before being forced out in 2011, has died of an apparent heart attack. He was 59....

In 2010 And 2011, Craig James Made More Than $700,000 Total For Being Shitty On ESPN/ABC
Craig James's hopeless and hopelessly silly Senate campaign has finally borne some interesting fruit: his financial disclosure reports, through which we can learn how much money he made being the biggest embarrassment at ESPN (at least on days Lynn Hoppes wasn't working). And, wow, apparently it's g...

Jose Canseco Is Striking Out With The Young Women Who Work At A Restaurant In Worcester, Mass., Too
At the age of 47, and more than a decade removed from his career as a Major League player, Jose Canseco just won't quit trying to do what he loves the most: hitting on young women. According to a tipster, Canseco has taken a run at "about a half dozen" female employees aged 19-23 at a restaurant he'...

Better Know An Umpire: Gary Cederstrom
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.)...

"A Drunk Chuck Knoblauch Hit On Us On The G Train"
The G Train, after dark, on a weekend, is a place where magical things happen. You may never get to where you actually want to go, but you'll find yourself right where you need to be. Witness the tale of Erin, a young woman from Brooklyn, who just wanted to get home last night. What she never expect...

The Los Angeles Media Market Continues To Not Know The L.A. Kings Play Hockey
There are two major sports teams in California named the Kings. One of them is up north in Sacramento, and they play professional basketball (poorly, as of late). The other is in Los Angeles, and has a very good shot at winning the Stanley Cup. Despite the two franchises' differences in performan...

"Douche McGee" Got His (Or Her) Day In The Sun On SPEED
SPEED call-in show WindTunnel with Dave Despain is known for giving strongly-opinionated NASCAR fans a voice, and like many programs it's now featuring tweets from viewers. One such viewer, "Douche McGee," has an issue with the off-the-track drama that's emerged as one of stock car racing's hallm...

This Is One Gorgeous KKK Baseball Bat, But It's Still A KKK Baseball Bat
Father's Day is coming up. What do you get for the man who has everything and hates everyone? Luke Scott's fungo bat This 1936 Ku Klux Klan baseball bat....

Rick Reilly Has Golf Jokes For You Because Rick Reilly Is Everything Horrible About ESPN
Do me a favor right now: Drive out to your local exurb. Now, find the nearest Cheesecake Factory in that exurb, walk up to the bar, and try and spot the 40-year-old fellow wearing pleated chinos, loafers, and a button-down shirt with his real-estate company's logo on it. You see that guy? THAT is Ri...

Livan Hernandez Showers Abuse On Rays Ballboy For Booting Grounder
There are a lot of obvious perks to being a ballboy for a big-league team: a snazzy uniform, the chance to occasionally field a ball, the close proximity to players. But yesterday, the gig turned out to be a bit of a bum deal for the poor kid stationed near the Braves' bullpen at Tropicana Field....