owns Page 218 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

"Those Guys Have All The Fun," Will Make Many "Fun" ESPN Employees Crap Their Pants
There's a creeping paranoia in Bristol thanks to the upcoming 2011 release of Jim Miller's and Tom Shales's massive oral history of ESPN. What filthy skeletons will reveal themselves? Even ESPN execs will have to wait....

The Mysterious Trouble With Jason Whitlock
Despite the fact that he hasn't published a column since May 26, the KC Star said today via phone that their oversized noisemaker, Jason Whitlock, is still currently on staff. He's just on extended vacation. But, still, something's amiss....

Rony Seikaly Thinks John Salley Is A Brilliant Storyteller
The former Heat center vehemently denies the conversation John Salley relayed in last week's introductory "John Salley Story Corner." Great start!...

The Scapegoating Of Arash Markazi
I suppose ESPN's explanation here is reasonable, but is it any less damning than all those black-helicopter theories floating around for the WWL to say, in essence, "Our glimpses into the lives of famous people must be authorized"?...

Jack Tatum Wasn't A Good Person, Says Steve Grogan
Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: former Patriots Super Bowl losing quarterback Steve Grogan....

ESPN Killed That LeBron Story Because Reporter "Did Not Properly Identify Himself" (UPDATES)
ESPN now says in a statement that Arash Markazi's LeBacchanalia story was pulled because "Arash did not ... clearly state his intentions to write a story." Full statements are below, as is Rob King's explanation for how the story was mistakenly published....

ESPN Anchor Commits Gaffe. Oh, And He Calls Citi Field "Shitty Field," Too.
Following a look-in to whatever it is that A-Rod was doing, Anish Shroff flubbed sending it back to the announcers at the Mets game, saying, "Let's get you back out to Shitty Field as the Mets threaten [sic] the 8th." How embarrassing!...

Why ESPN's Statement On The LeBron Story Is Probably Bullshit
If you don't buy ESPN's line that Arash Markazi's spiked LeBron-in-Vegas story "was inadvertently put on the server" and didn't go through "the usual editorial process," here's yet another reason not to: The story pretty much went through the usual editorial process....

A Dramatic Reenactment Of LeBron's Crazy Night In Vegas
The crew over at The Basketball Jones has meticulously reenacted part of the spiked Arash Markazi story. Unfortunately, it's not the part where LeBron wishes aloud that panty-less ladies were flying around him on wires. [The Basketball Jones]...

Read ESPN's Spiked Story About LeBron Among The Naked Ladies In Vegas
ESPN's Arash Markazi managed to attach himself to LeBron James and his crew for a night in Las Vegas and wrote of a 25-year-old living life like some sort of Caligula of the Cuyahoga. Then the story disappeared. A screenshot is below....

Where Does Sergio Kindle Rank On A List Of Great Falling-Down-Stairs Moments?
The Ravens rookie tumbled down not one, but two flights of stairs. He's in stable condition with a head injury, and will be fine. Kindle, LB, Texas. MUST IMPROVE: basic motor functions....

More Jeremy Green Arrest Details!
Let the Chris Hansen wine-cooler-and-Brillo-pad Silkwood shower begin:...

Armed Robbery Will Turn Stephen Jackson Into The NBA's Charles Bronson, Bobcats Beat Writer Thinks
The wife of Bobcats forward Stephen Jackson was held at gunpoint by home invaders, locked in a bathroom, and robbed in the couple's Charlotte home Wednesday. Trauma aside, she's fine. But don't tell that to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer....

Sportswriter Publicly Quits, Salts The Earth In His Wake
The Miami Herald's FIU beat writer figured out that his paper and his city (to say nothing of the world) care a hell of a lot more about The U than they do FIU. His scathing letter of resignation pulled no punches....

Dumb TV People Interview Thierry Henry, Remind America Why It Can't Have Nice Soccer Things
Click to viewThe newly minted New York Red Bull visited the set of Fox 5's morning show, Chirpy Morons Sit on Sofa and Talk About Vitamins, and submitted to a whole host of indignities. Watch, if you can. [MLS Talk, via @GrantWahl]...

Last Night's Winner: Whatever's Left Of Sportswriting's Conscience
In sports, everyone is a winner—some people just win better than others. Like Dave Kindred, who the other day threw some heat at Mitch Albom's bean and gave us moderate hope that the sportswriting establishment isn't completely out to lunch....

Best News Lede Ever? Best News Lede Ever.
"Police responded early Friday to a call of shots fired at a home in Roberts and found a man apparently hallucinating an attack by clowns." [Pioneer Press](via DCarr)...

Angry Footballer Attempts To Strangle The Ref
It's not easy being a ref, especially when a player attempts a WWE "sleeper hold" to stop you from producing a red card. It makes you wonder, had the ref passed out as intended, would Pedrozo have casually stayed on the pitch?...

With No Further Ado, Buzz Bissinger Challenges Andy Reid as a Coach and Father (But Mostly as a Father)
When Buzz Bissinger smells blood, Buzz Bissinger attacks. You know this already. I just dig how it makes for quality after-school-rumble 140-character entertainment like it did today, when his old/new paper (the Philadelphia Inquirer) ran an above-the-A1-fold piece on how difficult having a couple ...

Tim McCarver: Yankees Front Office Takes After Nazi, Communist Propagandists
Tim McCarver apparently thinks there's a Yankees campaign to remove Joe Torre's Bronx contributions from the annals of history. So, in the fourth inning of Saturday's game against the Rays on Fox, he went all Tim Kampf on viewers....