fr Page 386 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Free Darko, Live On Scene, And Loving Jim Gray
Generally speaking, we think it's silly for online writers — who are the only ones free from the PR/press pass/everybody-play-nice circle jerk of commercialized athletics — to salivate over press passes as if they had, at last, been invited to the ball. But we will make an exception when the folks f...

The B Sample Cannot Save Floyd
Floyd Landis's fall from grace appears to be complete. They finally got around to testing his B sample this morning, and - surprise, surprise - it was as tainted as a Paris Hilton pap smear. It's a little sad, but to be honest, it's probably more fun for American sports fans to have another doper to...

Not Looking Good For Mr. Landis
For those still holding out hope that Tour de France winner Floyd Landis is truly the nice Mennonite boy who feel victim to an unfortunate, accidental circumstance involving testosterone on Jack Daniels, The New York Times has some bad news today....

There's A Reason For Vernon Davis's Schoolgirl Smile
There's been a lot of those "first round draft pick signs a contract" stories in the past couple of days; the kinds of stories you only care about if they involve someone on your team, or if the negotiations get particularly ugly. But one such deal did stand out yesterday. Former Maryland TE Verno...

Stephen A. Fesses Up
Well, there's finally some closure in the whole Stephen A. Smith/Dusty Baker/Cubs blogs/hey-how'd-WE-get-involved-in-this? situation from last week. If you'll recall, Cubs manager Dusty Baker cancelled his appearance on "Quite Frankly With Stephen A. Smith" because a staffer encouraged people to b...

Floyd Cruises
It was Floyd Landis, as expected, rolling to victory in the Tour de France. Thor Hushovd won the final stage, which earns him not much more than a hearty pat on the back. It's Floyd who will sip the victory champagne, maybe for the first time in his life. That's a guess. Floyd just looks like a g...

Floyd Makes Us Proud
Floyd Landis did what Floyd Landis does this morning, cruising past Spaniard Oscar Pereiro to put himself in position to claim the Tour de France tomorrow. Pereiro started the day 30 seconds ahead of Landis, and finished it about a minute behind him. I don't know anything about cycling, but I kno...

The Post Where Stephen A. Calls Us A Liar, And We Return The Favor
On Wednesday, we told you about how several Cubs blogs reported receiving emails from "Quite Frankly With Stephen A. Smith" staffers encouraging them to come out and boo Cubs manager Dusty Baker. Well, it turns out, Baker caught wind of the emails and cancelled his appearance on the program. In th...

"Indictment? What Indictment? Let's JAM!"
As it becomes clear that Barry Bonds will indeed not be indicted today, with the possibility it could still happen hanging out there, we can look forward to a few more weeks of will-he or won't-he? The parlor game often distracts from the real story, and the real story, we can proudly say, was Bonds...

Here Comes Landis!
OK, after we poked a little fun at him yesterday, we've gotta point out: American cyclist Floyd Landis appears to be a total badass. Today, after being counted out of the Tour de France after collapsing yesterday, he blasted by everyone to win the stage and slip just 30 seconds behind the leaders....

Come On Down And Boo Our Guests!
You know how audience coordinators at "Quite Frankly With Stephen A. Smith" are always trolling Web message boards trying to get people to come to their shows? Well, now it's getting rather extreme....

Are We Ready For A Tour de Landis?
Can Floyd Landis be the next Lance Armstrong? We as Americans have to decide, and soon. It's clear after Tuesday's 15th stage of the Tour de France that Landis just could win this thing. Are we sure if we can embrace a cycling icon who looks exactly like a slightly younger version of actor Jim Bro...

The Closer: It Hasn't Been A Barry Good Year
Notes from a day in baseball:...

Tahoe Celebrity Golf; A Look Back
Deadspin associate editor Rick Chandler has just returned from the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament at Stateline, Nev., which ended on Sunday. Above all else, he would like to report that actor Bruce McGill is a swell guy who bought us drinks, and tells amusing Animal House ...

Americans Temporarily Release Death Grip On Tour De France
Floyd Landis is no longer the leader of the Tour de France, after struggling in the longest stage of the Tour de France. Not only is he not leading anymore, but he's over a minute behind. The stage winner was a German named Jens Voigt, and the Overall leader is Spain's Oscar Pereiro....

Baby You Can Sign My Card
Deadspin associate editor Rick Chandler is at the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament at Stateline, Nev., this week. He is not considered one of the celebrities. In fact, he has been called a wuss by Scott Hamilton. Here is the second of today's two reports....

Who's Afraid Of A Large Black Man?
Deadspin associate editor Rick Chandler is at the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament at Stateline, Nev., this week. He is not considered one of the celebrities; in fact, at the clubhouse entrance Drew Brees handed Chandler a claim check and said "It's a blue Lexus." This is th...

You're With Me, Tahoe
Deadspin associate editor Rick Chandler is at the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament at Stateline, Nev., this week. He is not considered one of the celebrities. In fact, Lou Holtz made Chandler fetch him an Aquafina. Here is his report....

The Winner Of The World Cup Pool Speaks
When we launched the Deadspin Pants Party World Cup Pick 'Em Game back in June, we promised a free post for the winner. It turned out it was Alan Fortunate, with his "Enrico Pilazo" entry, scoring 99 points, just edging out E. Shepard's "Snitches Get Stitches" entry. Fortunate actually ended up sixt...

No Idea Where Zidane Might Have Gotten His Temper From
In a time of heated rhetoric, political grandstanding and continued confusion on the facts, we looked forward to an interview with Zinedine Zidane's ailing mother. Perhaps the woman would provide us with some much-need perspective, give everyone a chance to just cool down and realize that it's jus...