ric Page 680 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Ah ... When The Catchphrases Felt Only SLIGHTLY Warmed Over
Here's your little blast for the past today: As difficult as it is to believe that Hootie and the Blowfish were ever considered cool — we're not sure that actually ever happened — it's, these days, just as difficult to comprehend ESPN being, you know, down with the kids. These two unique cultural cu...

It's 3 1/2 In The Pokey For Clarett
Word just came in about an hour ago: Former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett has pled guilty to two felonies and will spend at least the next 3 1/2 years in prison. Jury selection was about to begin in the case, but lawyers accepted the plea of 7 1/2 years, with the first parole opportunity p...

Michael Irvin, Koren Robinson, And Ricky Williams Have A Song For You
Click icon to play video ...

Unfortunately, It Appears Emmitt's Going To Be On This Show For A While
Last night, Emmitt Smith continued his inevitable decline into post-athlete career depression by "shining" on "Dancing With The Stars," impressing the judges with his ... aw, jeez, we can't even type this without feeling bad about ourselves and everything about sports....

Now That's A Serious Looking Contract
We don't mean to imply that there's a possibly new New York Islanders general manager Garth Snow — shown here on a "scouting trip" — might not necessarily be ready for life in a board room, considering just last year he was the team's backup goalie....

NFL Roundup: Mangini's Workout Regimen
Muses and ruminations after Week 1 of the NFL ......

Wheels Of Justice Grind Slowly For Clarett
The Maurice Clarett story, with its deep debts and Israel mobs and Grey Goose, has almost become too sad for us to take much joy in goofing on it anymore, though we're still always going to be a little tickled by the fact that he had a hatchet....

Yeah, Your Mother. Seriously, Your Mother
We do love a good athlete-journalist feud — considering it's rare that either species acknowledges the other as an actual human being enough to hate them — but there's something special about the bizarre "fight" between Chicago Tribune writer Eric Zorn and Chicago-born speedskater Shani Davis....

Clarett Story Continues To Take Scary Turns
Say what you will about the kids at Bristol, but they continue to move the needle on all matters Maurice Clarett, at least. The network learned yesterday that Clarett, who has had a rough couple of weeks, was in deep to the Israeli mob, and that might have been the reason he was, you know, carrying ...

Somebody Please Stop Jim Terry. Soon.
You might think this (CURRENTLY ON SALE!) T-shirt would be the work of a prankster on CafePress, the type of guy who does stupid knockoff T-shirts any one's whim....

Kornheiser's Big Debut On MNF; Hey, Watch Those Hands, Tirico
This tastefully choreographed publicity shot of what can probably best be described as "Mike Tirico Microphone Bukkake" signifies one thing: The new ESPN "Monday Night Football" crew is indeed kicking off tonight. Ignoring the wisdom of CBS banning sideline reporters entirely, the crew consists of...

Judge Makes The Bold Move Of Questioning Maurice Clarett's Mental Health
The latest news in the Maurice Clarett situation isn't that he's being required to undergo a mental health evaluation. The news is that he doesn't think he needs one. When the judge ordered the evaluation, Clarett scoffed at him. He was later quoted as saying, "I clearly understand everything, and...

Fictional League Somehow More Fictional Now
Now that the whole Maurice Clarett business has veered into Greek tragedy story with Tom Friend's breathtaking ESPN story, we turn our focus to the part of his story it's easy to make fun of: His "upcoming" stint with the Mahoning Valley Hitmen of the Eastern Indoor Football League, a league that ...

The Last Clarett Update
Probably time for one final update on our man Maurice Clarett, who has gotten himself in so much trouble that we're actually worried about him. And not just because we're afraid he'd shoot us....

Four Tiny Tidbits On: The Mid-American Conference
We must confess that we can't wait each year for the crunch of shoulder pads; for cleats churning up chunks of turf, and red-faced coaches screaming from the sidelines. But enough about lacrosse. College football season is upon us, and to celebrate, we're going to get back into tiny tidbit mode an...

This Could End Up Affecting The Eastern Indoor Football League Opener
It's almost no fun to point out Maurice Clarett's foibles anymore. But when cops pull him over with a bunch of loaded guns and a hatchet in the car, it's probably worth mentioning....

Here Are Those Tirico Stories We Hinted At Last Week
Last week, while discussing Harold Reynolds' firing from ESPN for sexual harassment, we — in retrospect, somewhat flippantly — pointed out that what Reynolds was accused of paled in comparison to some of the allegations against Mike Tirico in Mike Freeman's 2000 book ESPN: An Uncensored History. We'...

Maurice Clarett, Handling Himself Just Fine, Yep
We thought we might check in and see how our old friend Maurice Clarett is doing, now that he has fired his lawyers just two weeks before his trial. Well, he has some new lawyers, and they have exactly a fortnight to, you know, find out what the hell the case is about....

So What's Next For Reynolds And ESPN?
So now that Harold Reynolds has confirmed that he was indeed fired for sexual harassment, we wonder for a moment: Is there any way he could come back?...

Someone Could Really Use Matlock Around Right Now
We don't mean to imply that matters have gotten as bad as they possibly could get for Maurice Clarett just two weeks before his robbery trial ... but they're as bad as they could possibly get....