hi Page 1780 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Raul Ibanez Has A Few Things To Get Off His Chest
The 37-year-old Phillies left fielder, who's having a remarkable Ted Williams-like season, has discovered his success will bring out the skeptics and the awful PED rumor-mongering. He addressed those non-believers who question his body's legitimacy....

Have You Read Enough About This Guy Today?
Today's MLB Draft officially kicks off Stephen Strasburgapalooza, and despite the torrent of media coverage, most stories tackled one of two questions: How much will the Nationals pony up, and are No. 1 picks worth the money?...

The Nationals Even Lose To Fireworks
Nationals Park sucks — we know that — so the franchise rewards those 200 people who shell out to watch another loss with fireworks. Nice gesture, until the Nationals, as always, managed to screw it up....

No Wonder These Nicknames Weren't Used
The Toronto Tarantulas, Vancouver Mounties, Baltimore Marauders, New York Borros, Washington Sea Dogs, San Antonio Gunslingers, Florida Flamingoes, Orlando Juice, Charlotte Spirit, Minnesota Blue Ox — it's a shame these throwbacks don't exist. [WSJ]...

Chicago Fire Fans Take Their Name Quite Literally
Houston Dynamo announcer on the Chicago Fire's Section 8 celebrating its Friday night with flares: "That is a thing of beauty. You're not going to see that at an NBA game."...

Fencing: "The Reason Guns Were Invented"
"Did you ever watch the Olympics and wonder what it would be like to put on that dashing, all-white fencer's uniform... and actually know what to do when the referee says, 'En garde'? No, neither did I." [Slate]...

All's Well That Ends Well With @TonyLaRussa (Update)
An unspecified Twitter loss is Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation's gain, which means that Twitter parodies are not only funny, but also save the world. Or at least the cuter part of it....

Didn't Jackie Robinson Play Baseball?
"Topps announced on Wednesday that it would add sports pioneer Jackie Robinson to its forthcoming Magic football set... with stylings remniscent of its 1951 set of the same name." Who knew Magic wasn't that creepy witchcraft game? [Beckett Blog]...

Why Your Stadium Sucks: Nationals Park
This is a new weekly feature in which I (and maybe you, too, readers) detail the various reasons for hating your ballpark. This week: Nationals Park...

Stupid Child Labor Laws Ruining American Horse Racing
How did Calvin Borel—who has a chance to become the first jockey to win the three Triple Crown races on two different horses—get so good at his job? Because dangerously illegal backwater death tracks made him that way....

Make Some Space On Your CBS Sports Fantasy Teams
Stephen Strasburg wasn't one of The Chosen Ones, but he is otherworldy enough to be one of Washington's starting pitchers before the MLB Draft. In all fairness, CBS' geeksquad was probably just prepping for summer vacation. [CBS Sports]...

Great Moments In Counterfactual History: Derrick Rose’s SAT Scores
Nobody seems to care all that much that Memphis basketball players Derrick Rose and Robert Dozier allegedly cheated on their SATs. But what might have happened if the news had come out a little sooner?...

Tennessee's Ingenious Plan To End The Recession Hits A Snag
Tennessee plans a new tax on professional athletes—but not NFL players because "NFL rules would have penalized the state had it included their guys." Also, the Smokey Mountains to be renamed the Goodell Hills. [On The Forecheck]...

Jim Bowden’s (Extremely Brief) Return To Respectability
Jim Bowden, the disgraced ex-Nationals GM, stands accused of stealing ballplayers' bonus money. The team he built is on pace to lose 118 games. Naturally, ESPN wanted to hire him....

The Problem With Wang
All right that's enough, people. Chien-Ming Wang (pronounced "wong," by the way) has been in the major leagues five seasons now and it has been well established that his surname is an English euphemism for "penis." Ha ha, very funny....

Tracking Bryce Harper's Moonshot
Sports Illustrated claims that Chosen Person Bryce Harper, as a 15-year-old, hit a 570-foot home run in Las Vegas, an anecdote that is equal parts Sidd Finch, Paul Bunyan and Jesus. And I'll be damned: It just might be true....

And Now For One Of The Best Stories You'll Read All Year
Last December we ran an essay by longtime virgin, author and SI columnist Jeff Pearlman about journalist Brian Hickey, who was almost killed by a hit-and-run coward last Thanksgiving....

Relive The Majesty And Terror Of "Ten-Cent Beer Night"
Today, June 4, is the 35th anniversary of the drunkest night in sports history—Ten-Cent Beer Night at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. What better way to celebrate than getting absolutely blitzed on some cheap Stroh's?...
