ick Page 536 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

There's A Campaign To Keep Nickelback From Performing At The Winnipeg Jets' First Game, Because Nickelback Sucks
No one knows why, but far too many dim marketing morons get paid ungodly amounts of money to "entertain" us at sporting events by hiring your mom's idea of a rockin' band. And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse than the NFL's decision to have Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum, and Maroon 5 rin...

Gael Monfils Took The Tennis Trick Shot To A New Level Today
Monfils and Juan Carlos Ferrero are currently deadlocked in the second round at the U.S. Open. Ferrero took the first set, 7-6 (5), Monfils took the second at 7-5, and Ferrero is up 6-5 in the third. Monfils, though, got the psychological (and bullshit) advantage with this trick shot early on....

Wade Belak, Another NHL Enforcer, Found Dead (UPDATE: A Suicide, According To <em>Toronto Sun</em>)
Longtime NHL defenseman Wade Belak, who spent much of his career with the Maple Leafs, was found dead at 35 today in his Toronto hotel, according to a report from QMI Agency in Canada....

Michael Vick's $100 Million Contract Is A Lie
Everything you need to know about the NFL and its courtier press can be summed up in a single sentence: Michael Vick's much-heralded "$100 million deal" is not a $100 million deal, and the widely reported "$40 million guaranteed" is in fact neither $40 million nor completely guaranteed. ...

As If Things Weren't Bad Enough For The Mets, R.A. Dickey Has Now Chosen To Dress Like Obi-Wan Kenobi
Of course, the Mets are now exploring reanimating Alec Guinness' corpse and signing him as a knuckleballer, too. [Photo via @RADickey43]...

Taylor Swift Duetting With Nicki Minaj On "Super Bass" Is Perhaps The Greatest Thing To Happen To Pop Music This Summer
Deadspin once said some very nasty things about Taylor Swift. We now want to say some nice things about Taylor Swift....

The Lead Singer Of Iron Maiden Will Fly Folks Stranded By The Hurricane To Iceland
One thing I've learned, as I've slumped into adulthood, is that you may have dear friends, but none of them are as reliable as aging English rock stars. Such as Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, who will do a nice thing for a bunch of Icelanders stranded in New York by Hurricane Irene....

New Orleans TV Network Hires Notoriously Flaky Fred Hickman
Hickman, formerly of CNN, ESPN, and the YES Network, heads down to New Orleans to be sports director at WVUE-TV. SportsGrid also mentioned Hickman's checkered job past which were highlighted in this little Deadspin post: "Number ten...Fred." (PHOTO: Erskine.edu)...

The One Where We Buy A Photo Of Jay Mariotti Walking With A Woman For $3.32
Welcome back to Deleted Scenes. This space is now reserved for those scuzz-money entrepreneurs who've unsuccessfully tried to sell us prurient information. This is also where we'll run notable emails we've received from some of our readers. All emails are [sic]'d. Enjoy. ...

Eric Chavez Can't Quite Make The Save
Your morning roundup for Aug. 30, the day we still couldn't score seats at Fenway. Photo via tipster Adam. Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors....

Why Is Bill Belichick Stockpiling Mediocre Former Jets This Offseason?
The Patriots have a thing for acquiring former Jets to play small roles on their team. (The Jets sometimes do the same thing.) We wonder why....

Nick Saban Was A Dick To Will Muschamp's Poor Mother
With college football—nay, SEC football— arriving this weekend, and without great expectations for the Gators, it's time for the Palm Beach Post to stoke our football interest by apprising us of blood feuds....

Here's Another NFL Preseason Photobomb
Say hi to Nick Mangold, who made a shot of Mark Sanchez getting interviewed all about him during the Jets/Bengals preseason game last Sunday. (H/T The Chive, via JayGlas12)...

Your Collection Of "What If White Michael Vick Were..." Photoshops
Yesterday, in its infinite wisdom, ESPN gave us White Michael Vick. We're still not sure entirely why, although it "got people talking" in the way that most silly ESPN things do. It also got the crafty minds of the internet a-Photoshoppin'. Here are some of our favorites, though you should send othe...

<em>ESPN The Magazine</em> Decides That Michael Vick Is White Again (UPDATE)
OK. We give up. ESPN has murdered our mole and made Vick white again. Evidently, they are entitled to their own truths....

<em>ESPN The Magazine</em> Replaces White Michael Vick With Black Michael Vick
Yes, Michael Vick is black again. The weird white photo illustration has been replaced with the above shot. Commend yourselves, people of the blogs and Twitter. You've vanquished ESPN stupidity in record time....

Who Does <em>ESPN The Magazine</em>'s White Michael Vick Look Like, And Why Is He Here?
The weird photo illustration (AJ says he looks like Brian Austin Green; do you have other ideas?) accompanied a weird story from ESPN: The Mag's Vick issue. We are dumbfounded. ...

John Starks Was A Gifted Grocery Store Employee, And Other Stories From Slate's <em>Hang Up And Listen</em> Podcast
Our friends at Slate do a fine weekly sports podcast called Hang Up and Listen, which is a thing that callers to WFAN often tell Mike Francesa they will do. But Josh Levin is more insightful than Mike Francesa!...

Cops, 49ers Will Work To Make Fans Less Drunk After Especially Drunken Raiders-49ers Game
The annual drunk brawl between 49ers and Raiders fans took place this past weekend, and it was, historically speaking, more drunk and brawl-y than usual. In what essentially amounts to a timeout for grown-ups, both teams have requested that the NFL "indefinitely suspend" the annual preseason "Battle...

Bill Belichick Wants To Abolish The Extra Point, Because Why The Hell Not?
Hooded evil genius cum Patriots coach Bill Belichick has a weekly radio appearance on WEEI—unlike David Portnoy—and, in this week's, he just started spitballing. It's the preseason, and the Patriots have been an easy 2-0, so, why bother with talking about the team?...