ill Page 725 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Bill Raftery Says What He Thinks. Seriously.
While covering the SEC Tournament for The Sporting News, Orson Swindle Spencer Hall noticed a sheet of paper that analyst Bill Raftery had been doodling on. Above is that sheet of paper....

Storming The Floor's East Region Preview
After our cheap, quick-hit, easy looks at each bracket, the gang at Storming The Floor take considerably closer looks, game-by-game. The South and Midwest Regional previews are coming tomorrow....

Bill James Wants To Help You Relax
We've noticed the sabermetric Baseball Prospectus-type guys doing a lot of work in the world of college basketball lately. It seems to fit. There's plenty of statistics to play with, but unlike the NBA, college basketball can still be painted with the same brush of blissful, presumed philosophic "in...

Illinois: Now Part Of This Complete Breakfast
It baffles me as to how Illinois could have missed out on the NCAA Tournament, now that we know the existence of the Great Illinois-Shaped Corn Flake. A girl in Virginia noticed the flake it in her morning cereal and immediately recognized it as one of the 50 states, and then slapped it onto the e-B...

Villanova Wildcats
1. I Got A Name. As if it wasn't rare enough to find one young African-American with the name Corey, Coach Wright went out and found two: freshman guards Corey Stokes and Corey Fisher, both McDonald's All-Americans in high school. Each has shown tremendous promise in their limited time on the court ...

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
1. There's Only One Big Red! While a number of other schools claim to be the Big Red, there is only one mascot that fits the bill ... our Big Red. He's without a doubt the most famous alumnus of our school. He's been featured in ESPN's "This is SportsCenter" commercials, and some of those silly Capi...

The Illini's Ridiculous, Plodding "Run"
Realize that we have seen our Illini do this before. In 1999, an 11th-seeded Illini team rode the hot hand of Cory Bradford to an amazing tourney championship game run, before collapsing, exhausted, to Michigan State (who eventually made the Final Four). That run was thrilling, breathtaking; it was...

Louisville Cardinals
1. Remember, Remember, The Ninth Of February. Barring a run that ends with the third national title in program history, Louisville's 2007-2008 season is likely to be best remembered for the events of Feb. 9. Acting in accordance with a "white out" theme, Rick Pitino walked onto the floor for the Car...

It's The Utah Jazz On The Town, Skeet Skeet
Looking for that perfect Saturday night activity? Live in the Salt Lake City area? Have 29 bucks to blow on a the possibility of seeing Andrei Kirilenko party like it's New Years Eve? You're in luck....

In Defense Of Billy Crystal
If you were a rich, beloved celebrity, and had the opportunity to take one at-bat against a Major League pitcher — well, Paul Maholm, anyway — goddammit, wouldn't you have to do it? Why else would someone want to be rich and famous? Crystal looked like the happiest guy on earth yesterday, like he kn...

Live Blogs You'll Gleefully Skip: Illinois-Penn State
We know, we know: Nobody cares about a stupid liveblog of a pointless Big Ten tournament first round game. We're fully aware. As we mentioned yesterday, it's just, like, practice or something....

Baseball Season Preview: Philadelphia Phillies
For the third consecutive season, we are proud to introduce the Deadspin Baseball Season Previews. Yes, baseball is awfully close now; it's spring training, after all....

Saying Goodbye To These Awful (And Unlucky) Illini
As part of our preparations for the lunacy that lands on our sports radars this Sunday, we've been digging around the irreplaceable Basketball Prospectus, trying to find those odd little tidbits on Oral Roberts and Siena. And we discovered something kind of amazing and oddly satisfying....

Mitch Williams Supports Youth Athletics, Is Not At All Insane
Former Phillies reliever Mitch Williams has never been one to see an injustice go unchallenged, even if that does mean being unceremoniously tossed from his 10-year-old daughter's youth league basketball game for screaming the F-word several times at a female referee....

Media Approval Ratings: Bill Raftery
We think it's kind of amazing that ESPN has Bill Raftery working with Jay Bilas this week at the Big East tournament. That's not because we don't like either of them; far from it. It's just that Bilas, as a game broadcaster, seems to be doing a Bill Raftery impersonation. Which is fine, of course....

Billy Crystal Signs With Yankees; Red Sox Counter With Wilford Brimley
If I were a Yankees' fan, I'd be really worried right now. Their season is beginning to shape up like a failing TV sitcom; the kind in which they try to bolster sagging ratings by bringing in celebrities for guest appearances. With that in mind, please welcome Billy Crystal, who will play in a sprin...

To Watch Tonight
What to watch after fooling soccer players into thinking you starred in Ghost Rider ... • Arena Football League: Los Angeles at Arizona (11 p.m., ET). The only pro football team in Los Angeles would appreciate your support. [ESPN2] • College men's basketball: Colonial Athletic Association championsh...

Cheer, Cheer For Old William And Mary
Anyone who remembers George Mason's amazing run to the Final Four a couple of years ago might find it difficult to cheer against them, but if there's ever a time to, tonight's the night. Because at 7 p.m., their opponent in the CAA Championship Game is William & Mary. And that's amazing....

Sign The Man Up To Play Third Base
Of all the teams whose spring trainings John Daly might visit, we have to say, it makes a certain amount of sense that he would drop by Phillies camp. As Bugs & Cranks points out, he doesn't look that much different than John Kruk, circa 1993....

Man's Ashes Have More Fun Than He Ever Did
Dear tiny infant Jesus, or as our brothers in the south call you, "Jezus," please welcome Big George Helms (pictured here) into your Heavenly kingdom. But first, kindly bear with us as his remains take a couple of laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Then its over to the KFC drive-thru, and then straig...