ow Page 1135 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Accompanying The Heat And Tom Petty To The NBA Finals...
And your NBA Finals are set: It's old school vs. new school. It's a friendly, non-threatening German vs. The Diesel. It's a young, energetic, wide-smiling head coach vs. a crusty old man who hasn't smiled since 1983....

Taking Steps Towards Shaq...
A Dallas win tonight could set up a Finals matchup between two of the most media-friendly guys in the league: Shaquille O'Neal and Mark Cuban. I believe it would be the first appearance in the NBA Finals for any team that was owned by a man with his own blog....

To Watch Tonight...
• MLB: Arizona Diamondbacks @ Atlanta Braves. It's the back-end of a Fred Smoot Special today between the D'Backs and Bravos. 7:00, TBS. • NBA Playoffs: Dallas Mavericks @ Phoenix Suns. For the first time in about three months, there's no basketball on tomorrow night. So enjoy this one. 8:30 pm, TNT...

To Watch Tonight
What to watch if for no other reason than to avoid this. • College Softball: NCAA Division I, World Series, at Oklahoma City. Enough slap hitting, bunting and striking out to last twelve lifetimes. But we kid college softball ... [ESPN2] • Motor sports: NASCAR Nextel Cup, pole qualifying for Neighbo...

Is It Good To Be Dirk Nowitzki?
We've figured out why Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, despite scoring 50 points in a Game 5 victory of massive import and generally making that leap into alpha dog status that we require of all our superstars, always fails to appropriately inspire us the way that, say, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade...

To Watch Tonight
What to watch as you tell the other Berea boys downtown what you're in for ... • MLB: New York Yankees at Detroit. New York goes for four-game sweep as Leyland increases to eight packs a day. [ESPN] • NBA Playoffs: Western Conference finals, Game 5, Phoenix at Dallas. As long as we know that Mark Cu...

To Watch Tonight
What to watch as Roddick comes over with a six pack ... • Boxing: Junior lightweights, Manuel Medina vs. Cassius Baloyi, at Airway Heights, Wash. Let the pummeling begin. [ESPN2] • MLB: New York Yankees at Detroit. And, the pummeling continues. Sorry Tigers, we're not going to take you seriously unt...

Spell F-A-I-L-U-R-E, Kid
We'll confess: We love the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. We watch every minute we can, and apparently we're not alone, considering ABC is broadcasting the finals live tomorrow night in primetime. (To the network's eternal credit, Robin Roberts will be hosting, not Stuart Scott. Whew.)...

In Support Of More Lego Violence
Inspired by this well-done ranking of the best five baseball fights — we agree that Nolan Ryan pounding Robin Ventura is No. 1, but Izzy Alcantara catcher-face-kick/take-on-all-comers minor league battle is one of the more underrated sports events of our lifetime — we are proud to showcase The Bat...

To Watch Tonight
What to watch as you realize that some people's faces were not made for high-definition TV (we're talking about you, Pete Postlethwaite) ... • MLB: Chicago White Sox at Cleveland. How sweet is it to be Jim Thome right about now? [ESPN] • NBA Playoffs: Conference finals, Game 4, Dallas at Phoenix. If...

To Watch Tonight...
• Soccer. International Friendly, Latvia @ United States. It's time to work up some good, old-fashioned hatred for Latvia. 7:00, ESPN2. • NBA Playoffs. Dallas Mavericks @ Phoenix Suns. This is the series where they run and score a lot of points... not the boring one where they walk the ball up and t...

More Hasselhoff On Your Friday Night Than You Probably Expected
The Mavericks found their groove against the Suns last night, winning 105-98, putting the series at 1-1 heading back to Phoenix. The three stars of the evening: Dirk Nowitzki, who had 30 points, 14 boards, and 6 assists. Josh Howard, who had 29 points and 7 boards. And David Hasselhoff, who is th...

To Watch Tonight
What to watch as you sort through your fan mail ... • NBA Playoffs: Western Conference finals, Game 2, Phoenix at Dallas. "Win Or Gome Home!" But, um, the Mavericks already are home. [TNT] • NHL Playoffs: Eastern Conference finals, Game 4, Carolina at Buffalo. Welcome to the Sabres' website. Notice ...

To Watch Tonight
What to watch after your Minuteman border activities net exactly one rabbit and old boots ... • MLB: Tampa Bay at Boston. Because Your Sports Leader cannot seem to get enough of the Red Sox. [ESPN] • NBA Playoffs: Conference finals, Game 2, Miami at Detroit. If you watch one NBA playoff game all sea...

To Watch Tonight
What to watch as you admire your white knit collar polo with two button placket, just like ESPN's Jay Harris ... • MLB: New York Yankees at Boston [ESPN], Atlanta at San Diego. Has there ever been a streakier team than the Padres, in any sport? [TBS]. • NBA Playoffs: Conference finals, Game 1, Phoen...

A Brief History Of Quincy Carter
For those who remember, and for those who can't forget:...

Random YouTube Finding Of The Week
Not excited enough for the Western Conference Finals tonight? Well, if this video doesn't pump you up, nothing will....

One Awfully Strange Way Of Celebrating
We don't know how we missed this the other evening, but apparently, with seconds left and the Mavericks all set to celebrate, coach Avery Johnson ran down the bench to make a substitution. In all his excitement and hurry, he appears to have pulled a Reggie Evans on Josh Howard....

To Watch Tonight
What to watch while you're just hanging around with Madonna ... • MLB: Atlanta at San Diego. Peavy is still pissed. And we can't really blame him. [TBS] • NBA Playoffs: Conference finals, Game 1, Miami at Detroit. Didn't we all see this coming? Yes. [ESPN] • NHL Playoffs: Conference finals, Game 3, ...

Mariotti Now Universally Acclaimed As Lazy, Slobbish, Gassy
It's tough to decide whom to dislike more: White Sox catcher AJ Pierzynski or Chicago Sun-Times and "Around The Horn" gasbag Jay Mariotti. Particularly if you're a Cubs fan. After the big interleague tussle last weekend, Pierzynski was on "Pardon The Interruption" yesterday and went after Mariotti...