open Page 96 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Woods Takes One Stroke Lead, Rocco Still Smiling Like A Man Playing With House Money
The focus on Rocco right now is his closeness to the common man. After every shot, Johnny Miller is quick to point out Rocco's likability: shlubby, balding, great attitude, "looks like the guy who cleans the swimming pool", etc. It seems genuine, but you get the sense that they're waiting for Tiger...

After Three Holes ... Rocco Up By One Stroke
Former fat guy and poker aficionado Rocco Mediate almost had a hole in one on the third hole par 3. He ended up with a birdie and is even through three. Tiger bogey'd the hole after shot out of the bunker went 15 feet past the pin....

Some Monday Afternoon Championship Golf For You
The US Open playoff — and how cool is it that they make the two people who tie play another 18 holes the next day? — tees off in about 20 minutes. As Jason Sobel put it, it's Tiger's knee vs. Tiger's brain. Or, as we put it, it's Tiger's knee against Rocco Mediate's male pattern baldness. Don't worr...

Today We Honor All Middle-Aged Slightly Tubby Guys ... And Tiger Of Course
You know, you have to feel for Rocco Mediate. The guy staves off Tiger Woods all day, the best player in the world on his tail, a 46-year-old man playing the tournament of his life, and his reward is to go 18 more holes tomorrow against the guy. The goal should be survival at this point....

In Case You Forgot Why Tiger Woods Got To Marry A Swedish Model
Like many humans and corporate executives before him, Tiger Woods began his round of golf on Saturday with a double bogey. But unlike everyone else, he finished the back nine with two eagles and a birdie. Only Dick Cheney sets himself up in a better position to shoot more types of bird on a weekend...

Your Deadspin U.S. Open Preview
We don't know much about golf, but we do know that The U.S. Open Is Important. Therefore, with the Tiger Watch teeing off tomorrow, we asked resident golf impresario Shane Bacon, of Dogs That Chase Cars, to preview it for us. So here goes....

A Strictly Business-Like Examination Of The Women's French Open Contenders And Their Respective Tawdry Photos
For those of you out there who are fans of yellow fuzzy balls bouncing off of clay courts, the French Open at Roland Garros begins this weekend. This is the favorite surface of Rafael Nadal and his exposed biceps, but those types of examinations can be found elsewhere online....

Hawks Exit Stage Left
The Atlanta Hawks gave their fans plenty to cheer about with three home wins against the Celtics, but they were finally finished off this afternoon. Boston continued their home dominance with 99-65 curb-stomping, although it could have been much worse. The win sends them into the second round again...

ESPN's Featured Comment Of The Day
ESPN scoured its message boards this morning to find its cleverest, boldest, most enlightening comment, and chose this one above all others ......

Come On, You Gunners
It's Sunday, the grass is green, and the shirt is red. But forget Tiger for now, it's time for the Premier League's biggest match to date. Old Trafford is rocking (probably) and Arsenal is looking to salvage their season with a win over the table topping Red Devils. As a Chelsea fan, I'm obviously ...

Not Much Worse Than An Opening Day Rainout
While at the Cardinals bar yesterday for Opening Day — the one from the book — we sat through an hour-and-a-half Cardinals rain delay just to hear that a 5-1 third-inning lead had been wiped out. The Cardinals aren't going to have many four runs leads this year. So losing one yesterday was unpleasan...

The Nationals' New Stadium Looks Rather Spiffy
I've been to two new stadium opening days in my life — Safeco Field and Pac Bell (now AT&T) Park — but I wish I could have made it a third in D.C. on Sunday. There's nothing like that new-stadium smell; even the restrooms are minty fresh. Following the jump, a few photos from the Nationals' Opening...

It's Opening Day: Time To Hump A Chair
Anyway, kids, baseball is starting, in full force, like, right now. The first two games of the day are Toronto vs. the Yankees and Kansas City visited Detroit. (Easy there, Coach: The Rays don't play at Camden until 3 p.m. ET.) Our Cardinals are at 4:15 p.m. ET ... if it doesn't freaking rain....

Behold Your Nameless Sporting Edifice
There may be no parking and no development around it, but, by cracky, the Lerners got their stadium. And D.C. got to chase all the gay clubs and small businesses away from the Navy Yard. Hooray! Gentrification isn't just for Columbia Heights! America's past pastime gets underway on its own shores an...

And So The Red Sox Love Begins
Say what you will about having the start of the baseball season happen in Japan, but, all told, it's not too shabby to come into work and watch the end of a game while drinking your coffee. And if you're a Red Sox fan, it's doubly pleasant....

At Last, The Glory Of Youkilis Is Introduced To Japan
Well, it's doesn't feel the start of the baseball season tomorrow morning — jeez, like, 11 hours from now — but it is, in fact, the beginning: The Red Sox and the A's, in the Tokyo Dome, 6 a.m., baseball is here ... kind of....

Whither Randy Moss?
So the NFL Free Agent Season officially kicked off today, and there was much rejoicing. But the really big news (for me, anyway) is still far way, apparently: Brett Favre is still in limbo, and Randy Moss isn't talking (although speculation is he's heading to the Panthers). Until there's news on eit...

About Last Night
What you missed while pondering issues much more important than football ... • Super Bowl: New England Patriots win as expected. Brady named MVP; everyone's predictions turn out to be true. I see absolutely no way that writing this on Sunday morning can turn out to be a bad idea. • Super Bowl: It's ...

Colts Fans Have Absolutely No Cajones
Here's the situation: Four amounts left on the board on the game show Deal or No Deal (NFL Edition!). One is for $1 million, and the other three are for $10,000 or less. What amount does your case hold? George Barnes here can sell his case for $189,000 — but if he does, he'll lose out on the million...