ill Page 613 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

New Illinois Football Coach Using Porridge As Punishment
This is how Tim Beckman hopes to rid the Illini program of the taste left by Ron Zook's seven seasons in charge:...

The Guy From The Dropkick Murphys Would Like You To Know He Didn't Really Say Jonathan Papelbon Couldn't Use His Entrance Music
Yesterday, ESPN Music(?!) reported that Ken Casey, vocalist for the Dropkick Murphys, did not want Jonathan Papelbon using his old entrance song. That song, "I'm Shipping Up To Boston," is reserved for the Red Sox closer, Casey supposedly said, and now that Papelbon is in Philadelphia, he's no longe...

Western Kentucky Is Going Dancing
Congratulations to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, who in beating North Texas 74-70 won the Sun Belt Conference tournament and punched their ticket to the dance. This is the same WKU that lost to a team playing six players then fired its coach for it. [ESPN2]...

Deron Williams Knows His 57-Point Game Was Less Impressive Than Rajon Rondo's Triple-Double
Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: Rondo's 18-20-17 is the ultimate point guard game....

Gregg Easterbrook Has Dubbed The Bounty Scandal "Sinnersgate," Because He's A Haughty Dipshit
Now that Terra Nova has been canceled, noted Brookings Institutionarian and surveyor of the cosmos Gregg Easterbrook was finally free today to chime in on the NFL bounty scandal. And oh, dear readers. Oh, the man never fails to disappoint. Right off the bat, this is what you get ......

The Dropkick Murphys Won't Let Jonathan Papelbon Use His Old Entrance Music (Update)
For the longest time (or at least since The Departed made it famous), Jonathan Papelbon has been entering to the bagpipes-and-guitars opening riff of the Dropkick Murphys' "I'm Shipping Up To Boston." It made sense. The song is instantly recognizable, catchy, and it's about Boston....

The Real Outrage Of The Saints Bounty Scandal
This is an offseason edition of the NFL roundtable, a partnership between Deadspin and Slate. For more roundtable goodness, go back and read every entry from the 2011 season, from the preseason to the Super Bowl....

Craig James Once Blew A Chance To Make Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars With Mark Cuban
Long before he was a gay-baiting U.S. Senate candidate, and long before he was a dipshit broadcaster for ESPN, Craig James was approached by Mark Cuban to invest in the company that eventually sold in 1999 for $5.9 billion in Yahoo stock. James's partner in the deal was Ross Perot Jr., and James's s...

The NFL Is Sending Mixed Messages On Bounty Games
Yesterday, NFL.com re-uploaded video of Phillip Daniels trying to rip off Peyton Manning's head, a play Tony Dungy has pointed to as the start of Manning's neck problems. Today the NFL Network nixed a scheduled airing of the 2009 NFC Championship Game, in which Brett Favre suffered knee and ankle in...

The NFL Will Happily Pretend A Bounty Is The Worst Scandal Ever
Today, Gregg Williams has his heart weighed by Anubis. Williams is in New York to meet with Roger Goodell in the NFL's impenetrable Park Avenue fortress, but Goodell isn't alone. He's accompanied by Jeff Miller and Joe Hummel, the heads of the NFL's investigative and security teams, and I don't know...

In The 1985 NBA Finals, A Respectful Boston Garden Applauded An Injured Laker. Not Young Bill Simmons.
Game six, the deciding game of the Lakers' 1985 championship, saw Los Angeles's Michael Cooper carried to the dressing room with an injury. Despite the rivalry, most of the Boston fans gave Cooper a nice hand. But 15-year-old Bill Simmons, sitting in the fourth row from the court, merely waved—th...

Bountygate Gives Roger Goodell Another Chance To Show You What A Big Dick He Has
I'd like to thank Gregg Williams for inspiring the single stupidest blog post headline of the year, from Frank Bruni of The New York Times. You can tell a sports scandal has reached its wear-out phase if Bruni feels compelled to chime in on it. Anyway, here's the headline:...

Oh No, Ryan Fitzpatrick, What Did You Do To Your Hair?
Ryan, Ryan, Ryan. I thought you went to a fancy school where they taught you not to do things like this? Apparently the occasion is Stevie Johnson's contract extension, which keeps the Bills' big target around for a while. Hooray?...

NFL Will Now Investigate Washington Redskins For Bounty Program
On Friday, it was reported that the Washington Redskins, under Gregg Williams, also had a bounty program similar to the Saints', where the Skins would pay out for "kill shots." The NFL is now investigating the matter and focusing on Williams' time with the team between 2004 and 2007....

Illinois Sophomore Meyers Leonard Gets Surprise Visit From Marine Brother
This happened way back on Thursday at the Illinois shootaround leading up to the Illini's game with Michigan game on ESPN. Meyers' older brother, Bailey, surprised Meyers as he returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. It was the first time the brothers had seen each other since last summer....

UNC-Asheville Is Going Dancing
Congratulations to the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs, who in beating VMI 80-64 won the Big South tournament and punched their ticket to the dance. [ESPN2]...

Your College Basketball Open Thread
There are something like four billion games on today, give or take. Use this space to talk about all of them. Should I dedicate an entire open thread to Duke-UNC later tonight? You tell me. For now, here's a rundown of some of the games you'll be able to see....

Report: The Redskins Also Had A Cash-For-Injuries Program Under Gregg Williams
The Washington Post reports that former Redskins say they had a bounty system similar to the Saints', where players would be rewarded for hits that injuring opponents. Instead of New Orleans's "cart-offs" and "knockouts," the Skins under Gregg Williams paid out sums for "kill shots."...

Jonathan Vilma Offered $10,000 To Whoever Took Out Brett Favre
More details are coming out about the Saints' bounty program that put dollar values on injuring opposing players. Peter King reports that before the 2010 NFC Championship Game against Minnesota, Jonathan Vilma put up $10,000 of his own money to anyone who took Brett Favre out of the game. Favre wa...

A Conversation With The Coach From <em>Undefeated</em>, The Oscar-Winning Football Documentary
Undefeated, Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin's documentary about the 2009 Manassas (Memphis) Tigers season, won the Oscar for best documentary feature on Sunday. It's like that Friday Night Lights series you treasured so much recently, but it's real, and grittier. Perhaps it's even better: the Tigers'...