san Page 503 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Stay Angry, San Diego
We'll confess: In the genre of "having Iraqi child hold sign of American popular culture phenomenon that he likely doesn't understand but, by bringing thoughts of a frivolous pursuit into an area that is anything but frivolous, will make a fun point of humor for friends of family back home, allowing...

Franken Friar Is Alive!
Apparently, during their last homestand, the San Diego Padres introduced a new mascot called, inexplicably, "Franken Friar." He's an oversized Friar who dances and flops around and was, uh, brought back from the dead? We're a little confused about that part, actually....

Deion Sanders Says "No Snitching"
There are all kinds of reasons to be annoyed by Deion Sanders. Here's a more damning one: He asked a woman whose daughter was allegedly raped not to file a police report....

The Closer: Randy Newman Is Smiling
Notes from a day in baseball:...

Greg Maddux, Wise Man In The Clubhouse
Earlier, we talked about new Dodgers pitcher Greg Maddux's pretty debut for Los Angeles, tossing a no-hitter for six innings and generally showing why it's always a pleasure to have a Greg Maddux on your team....

The Uniforms That Made Baseball Cry
It was Retro Day at Petco Park on Thursday, which probably doesn't mean much to you if you weren't a baseball fan in the 1970s. But for those who lived through those dark, confusing times, you have our sympathy, and we're sorry you had to relive the horror. We've all seen pictures such as the ones...

The Closer: Maddux Throws Himself A Housewarming Party
Notes from a day in baseball:...

There's A Reason For Vernon Davis's Schoolgirl Smile
There's been a lot of those "first round draft pick signs a contract" stories in the past couple of days; the kinds of stories you only care about if they involve someone on your team, or if the negotiations get particularly ugly. But one such deal did stand out yesterday. Former Maryland TE Verno...

Unhappy To Be Stuck With You
We've all known that our main man Chris Berman — who was such a joy to watch broadcasting the Cardinals-Cubs game last night! — has had a lifelong pants party with Huey Lewis And The News. (We think they show the footage of him on stage with the band at least twice a year.) But we had no idea just h...

Not Shaq And Kobe AGAIN?
The Christmas Day NBA doubleheader is the unofficial kickoff of the NBA season; it's typically the first nationally televised network game, the league's highest-profile moment, its chance to shine....

Where's The Love For Jered Weaver?
The headline on SI.com this morning reads, Weaver-Mania hits LA. As well it should: Jered Weaver won his seventh straight start on Sunday for the Angels ... that's seven career starts, and seven wins. Not since Fernando Valenzuela started 8-0 as a rookie for the Dodgers in 1981 has something like ...

"Indictment? What Indictment? Let's JAM!"
As it becomes clear that Barry Bonds will indeed not be indicted today, with the possibility it could still happen hanging out there, we can look forward to a few more weeks of will-he or won't-he? The parlor game often distracts from the real story, and the real story, we can proudly say, was Bonds...

The Closer: It Hasn't Been A Barry Good Year
Notes from a day in baseball:...

Second Half Preview: National League
Since it's the day after the All-Star Game, otherwise known as one of the worst sports days of the year — we still can't quite believe there's no baseball tonight — we thought we'd solicit everyone's thoughts on the second half of the baseball season. And since it's fun to tell the Web site people h...

Cultural Oddsmaker: Yeah, Call it a Comeback
A.J. Daulerio's Cultural Oddsmaker runs every Friday. Send him all kinds of fan mail....

A Sign That New Orleans Is Finally Getting Back On Its Feet
I don't know if you'd call him a marquee free agent, but for New Orleans/Oklahoma City, it's not bad. Peja Stojakovic has signed with NOOCH for a staggering $64 million over five years, in what may be a gross misappropriation of Katrina relief funds....

The Closer: Giants No-Hitter Foiled By Hobbit
Thoughts on a day in baseball:...

Odalis Perez's Charitable Contributions
You know who's a charming guy? Recently demoted Dodgers starter Odalis Perez, that's who....

Bonds' Anti-Climactic Trip To Shea
We've been fortunate enough, during our time here in New York, to see the Shea Stadium crowd riled up a few times, including our favorite, John Rocker's return to Shea for the first time, in June 2000, since his infamous 7 train remarks. (As was typical at the time, the crowd booed him lustily, an...