il Page 1650 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Matt Millen Laughs At The Pain He Causes You
You know, we're starting to think that the only things that would survive a nuclear holocaust would be cockroaches, Kevin Federline and Matt Millen. And at least the cockroaches would feel kind of guilty about it....
ESPN: We Pan The Crowd, You Decide
Look, according to union rules, technicians in the ESPN video truck get one 15-minute coffee break every two hours. So if you're the director, sometimes you need to delegate. "Go ahead and choose which section of the crowd to pan, Buzz. I'm finishing my danish." Or, you know, perhaps every fifth per...
The Last Night Of The Chief
Last night, as tons of teary-eyed Central Illinoisians will tell you this morning, was the final dance of Chief Illiniwek, the skipping, painted white-guy-dressed-up-as-Injun who has "performed" at halftime of our alma mater's sporting events for the last 80 years or so. Like most alums — or at leas...
Baseball Season Preview: Tampa Bay Devil Rays
EM>You might remember, from back at the beginning of the NFL season, when we previewed each team by having a writer we liked write about their favorite team....
Go Vandy ... And Duck!
Even though it's Vanderbilt that's being fined for their fans running on the court, this video shows that the real bad guy might have been the Florida player who punch a fan in the face....
Hey, Ronaldinho, Why The Long Face?
This is pretty much what you think it is: A "full-size" sculpture of Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho ... as a regal white horse. It's currently up for bid on eBay, and the price is right too: Only $25,000! (With $2,500 more to ship.)...
Gilbert Arenas Is Playing Russian Roulette With His ACL
As always, the greatest moments of All-Star Weekend happen when the "game" isn't actually on, and The 700 Level found perhaps the best one. During a commercial break, Gilbert Arenas — of course — decided to satisfy a lifelong curiosity and, playing along with the "entertainment," dunked off a trampo...
You Will Dance With Shaq And You Will Like It
There aren't many good reasons not to like Shaq. This was Shaq having fun at the All-Star practice yesterday, forcing LeBron and Dwight Howard to have fun along with him. I realize that Shaq is not everyone's cup of tea, but when he retires, who's going to do stuff like this? It seems like Shaq is m...
Vanderbilt Was Determined To Deny Joakim Noah The Ball
Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings isn't like most coaches. A lot of guys will tell their team to protect the ball, but won't practice what they preach. Kevin Stallings not only will protect the ball, but he'll put a body on Joakim Noah, too....
Bill Walton Drinks Alone
For random encounters with drunk athletes and/or celebrities, this could be the most promising weekend of all-time. Enrico Campitelli of The 700 Level is in one of the bloggers in Vegas this weekend, and last night, he ran into Bill Walton. Hammered, and all by his lonesome....
Rarely Are Pillow Fights Won So Decisively
We imagine that this is what the ancient Roman gladitorial games must have been like, if they fought with pillows, and one of the combatants was an incredible wuss. "Think that's the worst of it? Release the kitten!"...
Give 'Em Hell, Sun Devils!
If you've ever spent significant time watching Pacific-10 Conference basketball, you'd most likely be surprised that there has never been a team that has finished winless in that conference: Not even the Ben Lindsey-coached Arizona Wildcats of 1982-83, which went 4-24 overall (they won two conferenc...
No More "Conversation" On Page 2
As many of you noticed yesterday, our friends at ESPN.com have discontinued ESPN Conversation on its Page 2 columns. They're calling it the end of the "Beta" testing, though we're not sure how much sense that makes: Why would you test something on the most easily-commented upon stories just to push ...
Champaign's Long National Nightmare Is Over
As an old lifer at the Daily Illini, no story was less fun to talk about than Chief Illiniwek. We once had our own personal take on the embattled "symbol" of the University of Illinois, but we don't even remember what it was anymore: It was talked about every day, in the most banal and "emotional" t...
Jon Lieber Has A Big-Ass Truck
We'd like to note that Phillies pitcher Jon Lieber is a real man with a real man's truck....
Who's Sorry Now? Naked Hi-Jinx Edition
Simply put, we can think of no more embarrassing yet hilarious opening line to a letter than this:...
Trying To Understand The Illini Car Crash
Now that Illini center Brian Carlwell's condition after Monday's accident in a car driven by teammate Jamar Smith has been upgraded to "fair," we think it's probably OK to look at some of the more bizarre aspects to the crash....
Hey, The Heat Are Over At .500. Wake Riley.
Dan LeBatard, handsome as ever, brings up what everyone's thinking: Pat Riley's kind of a dick when it comes to abandoning his team when times are tough. Sure, he had some physical issues, but it seems obvious by now that it's not a coincidence that when the Heat are struggling, Riley's "recovering,...
Coach K Is Now A Sexagenarian
So here's a little factoid for you: Today, February 13, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski turns 60 years old. It's strange to think of him as that old; not only does he continue to be that irrepressible lovable impish scamp that we all adore, but he also has retained his thick, lustrous black hair. (Becaus...
Inside The Awful Illini Car Accident
As most of you have heard by now, two Illinois basketball players — center Brian Carlwell and shooting guard Jamar Smith — were injured in a car accident last night in Champaign. Smith suffered a concussion, but Carlwell is currently listed in critical condition at Carle Foundation Hospital, a hospi...