mac Page 99 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Don't Celebrate Just Yet: Brilliant Strategy Tainted Win, Says Football Genius
Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter's anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and the blogosphere to bring you everything you need to know to start your day....

Alabama Fax Machine Replaces Memphis Door As Inanimate Symbol Of Existential Dread
On this National Signing Day, Alabama is offering a live video feed of a fax machine. The machine periodically spits out a piece of paper. A name goes up on a board. Nothing to be done. [CBSSports.com, via Bourbon Boys]...

The One Where Jaimee Grubbs Banged Tiger For Haiti
We get a massive amount of tips in our inbox each week. Some are pretty interesting, but don't get published for one reason or another.(NSFW)...

Thunder Owner Reaches Piddly Settlement In Frivolous Lawsuit
Clay Bennett will pay Sonics season ticket holders $1.6 million (the equivalent of Kevin Ollie), because he raised the price of tickets after the team moved to Oklahoma City. I'm not sure how that works, either. [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]...

Your Ill-Advised Foul Of The Week
High school team hits gamewinning three at the buzzer. Team charges opposing bench to gloat. Ref awards technical foul, opposing team hits free throw to send game to overtime. Opposing team wins. That'll mean a few laps. [Romeo Observer]...

No One In The Premier League Has Any Money
One team is having broadcast revenue payments withheld to cover their debts. One manager might have been paid via offshore accounts to avoid taxes. And Manchester United could be forced to sell off Old Trafford itself....

Texas Writer Eats Crow, Spits It In Alabama's Face
Even after his Longhorns' crushing defeat in the BCS title game, Austin's John Kelso still can't resist taking a few more (half-hearted) digs at the state of Alabama. They do make it really, really easy. [Earlier]...

Knicks Fall To Yet Another Opponent: Ghosts
The Knicks were crushed by Oklahoma City last night, but an opponent far more deadly than Kevin Durant was to blame. It seems the team had trouble resting up because their hotel was haunted....

Alabama Celebrates As Only Alabama Can (Updates)
With the Coaches' Trophy on display at Tuscaloosa Walmarts, we're awash in photos of Alabama goobers posing with a crystal egg in front of Dr Pepper pyramids. Send us any more you can find, and we'll add to our gallery....

Last Night's Winner: Joyless Robot Prigs
In sports, everyone is a winner—some people just win better than others. Like Nick Saban, recipient of history's unhappiest Gatorade bath, a coach who won a national championship but would probably fail a Turing test....

We Wanted A Game; We Got A Circus
Trick plays, failed trick plays, and a freshman QB thrust into the spotlight. Let's take a look at the storylines and screengrabs of the night....

Enjoy Your Imaginary Championship Game, Texas and Alabama
You can use this post as an open thread for tonight's Alabama-Texas game, which means it's the perfect place for trash talk, yelling at people on TV, or composing angry rants against the BCS. Here...let me help you with that!...

Pot, Kettle Continue Historic Feud
Austin American-Statesman columnist (and assumed Longhorn fan) John Kelso breaks out his redneck joke book to preemptively needle Alabama fans. Tough talk from a state that lets steers vote. [Statesman/Huntsville Times]...

Man And The Machine: My Terrifying Semester With Bitter, Brilliant George Michael
George Michael, father of the kitschy yet influential George Michael Sports Machine, a man with a fondness for squirrel videos and Chris Berman alike, died on Christmas Eve. One of his former interns, Alan Siegel, remembers his old boss....

Alabama Fans Threaten Weatherman, God Over Snowstorm
Tomorrow night's forecast for Birmingham, Alabama, calls for freezing temperatures and snow, possibly mixed with rain. It's a Southern TV meteorologist's wet dream. Which is why everyone is preemptively pissed at them for interrupting the BCS Championship with storm updates....

Austin Takes The Lead In Menstrual BCS Trash Talk
We're still two days away from the fake National Championship Game, but it's not to early for fans of Texas/Alabama to start hurling gross insults at each other. Unfortunately, Alabama's nickname makes it a little too easy for some....

Todd Haley Gives Man At Bus Stop A "Stack" Of $20 Bills To Prove He's Not A Tyrannical Nutbag
PFT calls it the Todd Haley "image-bolstering tour", but apparently this story is 100% true. How soon after this will Haley get mugged at the same bus stop now that everyone knows he's carrying wads of cash on him? [KCTV5]...

Some Things Are More Important Than Football, But Not In Alabama
Yesterday, we told you about the Alabama lawyers (pictured?) who asked a judge to postpone their case so they can attend the BCS Championship Game. Well, the judge—an Auburn fan!—granted their request. It's a travesty of good sportsmanship....

Lies, Damned Lies, And Statistics
You'll never guess who John Hollinger's PER says is the best player in the NBA. Normally I'd be giving it away by running his picture, but I'll still bet you have no idea who this is. [Daily Thunder]...