ow Page 836 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Perfect Comic-Book Movie. <em>The Avengers</em>, Reviewed.
1. The Avengers is a superhero movie so fun, full of so much pure fanboy-wank joy wrapped up in an accessible, relentlessly entertaining package, that I'm not sure anybody needs to make any more comic-book movies; this one might wrap it up. (One suspects they'll still find a way.) Made by and for—bu...

Rick Carlisle Was In A Very Bad Place Last Night
A blown charging call that resulted in an Oklahoma City bucket sent Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle off the edge yesterday, and understandably so: the Thunder went to 3-0 in the series against Dallas, nearly ensuring we won't have a repeat NBA champion (which, frankly, was not likely to begin with)...

Better Know An Umpire: Tim Timmons
Welcome to Better Know An Umpire, an effort to educate ourselves on the human elements who have ultimate decision-making power over some 2,500 Major League Baseball games a year. (All cumulative statistics are through the 2011 season, unless otherwise stated.)...

This Week In Guys Losing Their Lunch On The Soccer Pitch
It has been an unfortunate week for gentlemen suffering gastrointestinal distress on the soccer pitch, as at least two professional stars displayed their athletic acumen—and their lunch—before what we assume was a grossed-out television audience....

BYU Runner's Epic Steeplechase Fail Is Even Funnier In A Frame-By-Frame Photo Gallery
BYU senior Katy Andrews did us all a favor when she humbly uploaded that hilarious video of her grand crash into the water jump during a weekend steeplechase event. And now that the Salt Lake Tribune has broken the entire episode down in HD, image by image, it's obvious that, just after it happened,...

Better Know An Umpire: Angel Hernandez
Welcome to Better Know An Umpire, an effort to educate ourselves on the human elements who have ultimate decision-making power over some 2,500 Major League Baseball games a year. (All cumulative statistics are through the 2011 season, unless otherwise stated.)...

Howard Schultz Gave Out $3.50 Starbucks Gift Cards: An Insider's Notes On The Shabby Death Of The Seattle SuperSonics
For those fans who believe that the only acceptable NBA champion is any team that's not the Miami Heat, the tempting choice is Oklahoma City. The Thunder have Kevin Durant's superlative set of skills, Russell Westbrook's freakish athleticism, and James Harden's 1840s prospector's beard. They are you...

Notre Dame QB Tommy Rees Allegedly Kneed A Cop In The Stomach And Had To Be Pepper Sprayed
More offseason good news for Notre Dame football. According to the Chicago Tribune, after police responded to a "madhouse of people" drinking at an off-campus house party late last night, two Fighting Irish players wound up being arrested. And quarterback Tommy Rees—a 19-year-old who will be a junio...

Tim Welke Demonstrated Why "The Human Element" Is A Pathetic Joke
Tim Welke's the embodiment of the "human element" defense of baseball's reliance on live umpiring and reluctance to use replay except in specific situations. Indeed, it was that phrase he used in his letter to Sports Illustrated complaining about the use of his picture in their "Kill The Ump" iss...

An Italian Soccer Manager Punched His Own Player In The Face During The Match
Fiorentina manager Delio Rossi attacked player Adem Ljajic during today's match against Novara, taking offense to Ljajic's sarcastic applause after Rossi substituted for him early in the match. Ljajic—who just last week was considered a lock for a transfer to Arsenal—was apparently in poor form as...

Iowa Girl Takes Life-Sized Cardboard Cutout Of Tim Tebow To Prom
Rachel Bird of Kingsley, Iowa, didn't have a date for her prom on Saturday. She really wanted to go with Tim Tebow. She tried asking him to go via Twitter. She tried contacting his agent. She also tried the Jets. Nothing....

History Is Bunk, When The <em>New York Times</em> Writes It About The Yankees
Two of the worst things in sports are Yankees homerism and New York Times writers who want to impress people. Put them together, and you get the Times's Mark Viera, coming off the sports department bench to gloat in yesterday's paper about the Yankees' 2-1 win over the Orioles the night before. His ...

Alejandro De Aza Doubles On An Infield Pop-Up
When he came to the plate in the bottom of the third, White Sox centerfielder Alejandro De Aza wisely swung at the first pitch. That's because his at-bat followed Gordon Beckham's home run, and there was still smoke in the air as a result of the ensuing fireworks. The best part of the video below mi...

Flyers Columnist Claims Continent-Wide Conspiracy Against The Flyers, Screws Up Fact That Undermines Entire Argument
When Matt Read wasn't named a Calder Trophy finalist, it was understandable, but Philly fans were irked. ...

Haughty Dipshit Gregg Easterbrook Makes Us Ask: What <em>Is</em> A Glory Boy?
If you've hung out around this site in the past, you know that we consider ESPN fartsniffer Gregg Easterbrook to be a haughty dipshit. When Easterbrook isn't spending inches of column space attacking the plot holes in an episode of Human Target (He does just that this week, which is timely!), he's i...

Joe Cowley Put On "Final Notice" After His Sexist Twitter Tirade
Chicago Sun-Times columnist and intern hater Joe Cowley has been put on final notice, according to one Chicago media critic with sources at the paper. ...

Joe Cowley Has Been "Reprimanded Appropriately," Reports Paper That's Not The <i>Sun-Times</i>
Boy, how did the Sun-Times get scooped on this one? Their columnist Joe Cowley spends years trolling everyone, degrading women, and just acting like an all-around dick, and he finally gets in trouble, and I have to read about it in the Tribune? I guess the Sun-Times isn't your one-stop shop for all ...

Better Know An Umpire: Ron Kulpa
Welcome to Better Know An Umpire, an effort to educate ourselves on the human elements who have ultimate decision-making power over some 2,500 Major League Baseball games a year. (All cumulative statistics are through the 2011 season, unless otherwise stated.)...

Running Into A Steeplechase Barrier Looks Just As Funny As You Might Imagine
Let's give BYU senior Katy Andrews some credit here. She's the one who uploaded this video of herself failing to negotiate the water jump during the 3,000-meter steeplechase at Saturday's Robison Invitational. "I think I caught the toe of my spike a couple steps before the barrier," Andrews write...

Twitter Asshole Joe Cowley Had Me Fired From The <i>Sun-Times</i>
It's fitting that it was on Twitter where Joe Cowley finally pushed the wrong buttons and clued everyone in to just what an ass he is. Because it was Twitter that provoked tough guy Joe into throwing his weight around, and getting me fired from the first journalism job I ever had. ...