i Page 8252 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Whatever Brings The Fans In From All The Great Weather
We appreciate that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, lacking that whole "fanbase" thing, are trying unconventional ways to rile up some local support. But no mascot, not even Raymond, should ever have to wear this outfit....

Two Great Tastes ...
• We are enjoying the Neal Pollack-Paul Shirley danceoff. [Slate] • Get Alex Brown out of Chicago. [Foul Balls] • Even Aaron Boone is pissed at David Stern. [Sportech] • Scoop Jackson, finger on the pulse. [The Feed] • Ned Yost knows how to argue with an umpire. [I Dislike Your Favorite Team] • The ...

The Return Of Tecmo Bowl
We don't know how we missed this piece of news yesterday, but The Fanhouse has the scoop: They're bringing back Tecmo Bowl!...

His Next Job Will Be To Take Over For Stu Jackson
This spry gentleman's name is Bill Hargrove — he's the round immobile object between the orange ball and the red ball — and he just bowled his age. You might not find this all that impressive, though we find it difficult to bowl our age, ourselves. (We are not a skilled bowler.) But readers, smile, ...

Bill Simmons Is Ready For His Closeup
This week has been when the television networks all release their plans for next fall, called "upfronts," letting the media know what they'll be rotting viewers brains with for the next calendar year. ESPN is no different; Tuesday, they announced their plans for late 2007, and they're clearly taking...

Tony Blair Prepares To Subject Eli Manning To Relentless Heckling
When we first heard that the NFL would stage a regular season game in London, we could hardly contain our glee. Are you kidding? The world's finest on-field violence, coupled with the world's premeire hooliganism? It's the perfect storm. European fans evidently agree, as 40,000 tickets for the game ...

One Nasty Lineup
• If you could put together the worst baseball team of all time, what would it look like? [Bugs And Cranks] • Dave Stewart, on those Cleveland Indians. [Throwin' Heat] • This Europe NFL business could work out quite well. [Who Sport What?] • A grand story from college hockey. [Western College Hockey...

That's Not How Personal Training Typically Works
The Arena Football League is full of happy success stories. Kurt Warner. That weird video game that's oddly fun to play. Jon Bon Jovi. And now, to add to the list, the high school coaching adventures of Tom Porras, a former AFL quarterback. He was fired last week as track coach (and "personal traine...

Julian Tavarez Is The Doris Kearns Goodwin Of Baseball
In this day and age of instant gratification, it is reassuring to know that today's stars have the proper respect for those who came before them....

Don Nelson Will Get Back To You On Whether He Believes
As George Costanza famously noted, it's important to go out on a high note. If you tell a joke at a party and get a huge laugh, you excuse yourself and quit while you're ahead. Apparently subscribing to this philosophy, Warriors coach Don Nelson — having vanquished the invincible Mavericks with a te...

We Have To Ask ...
Suggested questions for today's ESPN SportsNation chatters ... • 1 p.m. NCAA Lax w/Quint Kessenich: Ever accidentally swallow the ball? • 2 p.m. MLS with Fire's Chris Rolfe: Does it concern you that your team is named after a large disaster? • 3 p.m. Fantasy Baseball Focus: My holy quest to obtain t...

Cavs, Nets Try To Out Not-Care Each Other
This is how ugly that Cavaliers-Nets series has become: The Nets scored six fourth-quarter points, on the road, facing elimination ... and they won by 11 points. As the Bulls-Pistons series stirs slowly back to life, this plodding, limping joke of a series still stumbles along, one team emerging vic...

Playoff Blogdome: Spurs-Suns, Game 5
Views from around the Web after last night's pivotal Game 5 between the Spurs and Suns ......

Suns Lose In Worst Way Possible, For Everybody
As many have already pointed out, last night could not have gone any worse for ... well, for just about everybody involved in the Suns-Spurs series. A blowout victory for the Spurs would have been painful, but at least it would have been quick, and we all could have convinced ourselves that the Suns...

The E-Ticket Ride That Is Rangers-Devil Rays
Notes on a day in baseball:...

About Last Night ...
What you missed after the knitting accident ... • NHL: Over? Did you say over? Nothing's over until we decide it is! Sabres 3, Senators 2. • NBA: Not many people happy with David Stern right now. Spurs 88, Suns 85. • MLB: John Lackey is the wind beneath our wings. Angels 5, Mariners 0....

The Spurs Fan Solution: Sit Duncan!
The guy from Spurs blog Pounding The Rock had it exactly right this morning: The worst part about Amare Stoudemire's (and Boris Diaw's) suspension tonight is that it immediately makes the whole game illegitimate. If the Spurs win, it won't feel like they earned it, and they've instantly become the b...

To Watch Tonight
What to watch as you figure the Mets-Cubs game you have tickets for will probably get rained out ... • MLB: Detroit at Boston. The Red Sox are in desperate need of more nicknames. [ESPN] • NBA: Playoffs, Eastern Conference semifinals, New Jersey at Cleveland, Game 5; Western Conference semifinals, S...

What To Do While Bored At RFK
Last night, at RFK Stadium in DC, the Washington Nationals hosted the Atlanta Braves in a game that counted an official total of 21,258 fans. (To which we say: Yeah, right.) With the upper deck almost entirely empty — we know how this goes — one dastardly fan decided to try to construct a word out o...

Welcome Back, You Ole' Bald Tubby
• We're pretty happy to have Rick Majerus back. [SI.com] • Santa Clara broadcasters should watch what they say. [San Jose Mercury News] • Coming soon: The definitive Mike Tyson documentary. [This Suit Is Not Black] • Don't mess with soccer coaches and their dogs. [BBC News] • Slate discovers saberme...