owl Page 216 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Pedro Alvarez Scored On His Own Single
Pirates third baseman Pedro Alvarez, all 6-foot-3, 235 pounds of him, is not known for his baserunning—or for much of anything besides hitting home runs and striking out. But he managed to circle the bases last night on an ordinary single because Padres right fielder Chris Denorfia did this. ...

Twins Third Baseman Betrayed By Own Glove
Trevor Plouffe made a damn good play here, at least initially. He dived to his left to stop Juan Lagares's sharply hit grounder, then ... nothing. Plouffe's glove refused to give him the ball....

Ball Girl Forgets She's Not Supposed To Catch Foul Balls
I suppose, in the heat of the moment, it's possible to forget that a pop-up is still playable when it is in foul territory. Once baseball players start running right at you, though, I kind of feel like you should know to get out of the way. Not this lady....

No Stopping Grown Man's Pursuit Of Souvenir Little League Baseball
This is from Saturday, but we're just now catching up on our review of the weekend's slate of Little League World Series games, by which we mean we only now saw this vid over on Busted Coverage....

Phillies Finally Beat Dodgers On Walk-Off Error
On Friday, the Phillies fired Charlie Manuel and appointed Ryne Sandberg interim manager. He picked up where Charlie left off and was shut out in his first two games. But then Sunday rolled around and Hanley Ramirez decided to start handing out wins....

Little Leaguer Fooled By Nasty Curveball Almost Falls On His Ass
In all honesty, I played organized baseball till I was 14. I stopped not long after I similarly bailed on a simple curveball. I'm no expert, but I'm gonna guess this kid from Panama hasn't seen too much breaking stuff before....

The Madness of Pro Football
This one is a keeper. From Men's Journal in May, 2011—“The Ferocious Life and Tragic Death of a Super Bowl Star,” by Paul Solotaroff and Rick Telander:...

This Is Pretty Much The Saddest Game Of Tennis Ever Played By A Pro
Congratulations, Fabio Fognini! You might be ranked 16th in the world, but this was quite possibly the most amazing thing any player's ever accomplished....

America's Most Important Soccer Player Conquers The Old World
Originally published in Howler Magazine, whose latest issue is a celebration of U.S. soccer's centennial. Follow the magazine on Twitter, @whatahowler....

Here's A Soccer Player Pantsing An Opponent Right In Front Of Referee
Chesterfield F.C.'s Gary Roberts was all set to take a free kick when Russell Penn of Cheltenham quietly kicked the ball out of Roberts's desired position. That's when Roberts pantsed him....

Goalie Completely Whiffs On Clear-Out Kick, Gives Up Easy Goal
I'm not sure how extensive the complete list of things goalkeepers are not supposed to do is, but I imagine it contains something along the lines of "Don't ever dribble the ball back toward your own goal," and "Don't whiff like a goddamn fool when you try to kick the ball and there's an attacking o...

J.J. Putz Gets Interrupted By "Kickstart My Heart," Spikes Ball
Theories confirmed by this clip of J.J. Putz spiking the ball after his warm-up is interrupted by a little Mötley Crüe include a) It is never not funny to see pitchers fail to deliver the ball home and b) Baseball announcers don't really love the Crüe....

A Catcher Pitched To A Pitcher Last Night, And It Was Great
Last night's Dodgers-Cardinals game was well out of hand by the ninth inning, so fans were treated to one of baseball's rarest joys: a position player taking the mound for some mop-up duty. And this particular instance was made all the better by the fact that it involved a relief pitcher who was mak...

Raul Ibañez Made A Throw Only Raul Ibañez Could Make
This man is a professional athlete!...

Ryan Lavarnway Cannot Do Anything Right
Ryan Lavarnway bounced a throw to second just beyond the mound and allowed five bases and two runs on four passed balls in the first inning tonight. Worse, he helped the Astros take the lead on the Red Sox....

Bowler's 300 Game Ruined By Premature Pinsetter
At a charity bowling tournament in Houston this weekend, poor sonofabitch Troy Walker was one strike away from a 300 game. As his ball rolled toward perfection, the pinsetter went into action with perfect timing to deny him....

Adventure Competitor Gets Neck Caught In Live Wires
This happened July 27, but we're just seeing it now because Bob's Blitz just saw it now. It's from a Tough Mudder event in Buffalo, N.Y., and this particular obstacle—the last before the finish line—is known as electroshock therapy because those are live wires hanging above all that mud and all thos...

Cyclist Cramps Up During Interview, Hilarity Ensues
I don't know who this cyclist is. I don't know the name of the race he has just competed in. I do know that he is suffering from some hellish cramps, and that the dude with the microphone should probably just leave him alone....

Musclebound Mets Fan Can't Open Water Bottle
Here, from yesterday, is your argument against the efficacy of PED use. ...

This Martial Arts Video Is An Absolute Mess
If you are a viewer of modern situational comedies, you understand the comedic value of The Extremely Awkward Situation That Gets Improbably More Awkward scene. This is like that. At one point the piece of wood he's supposed to break goes flying and hits a little girl in the face. ...