si Page 756 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Is This The Beginning Of The End For FC Barcelona?
In tonight's Copa del Rey, Real Madrid traveled to Barcelona and throttled them 3-1 to oust their rivals from the Spanish Cup. It was a shocking result in what many consider to be the world's greatest derby. Since former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola's hiring in 2008, Barça has dominated El Clasi...
In An Alternate Universe, MLB Commissioner Hank Aaron Introduced A Salary Cap And Interleague Play In The '80s
Over at Hardball Talk, Craig Calcaterra dug up a gem from the archives. Back in 1983, Bowie Kuhn announced his resignation as commissioner. The very first person to publicly throw their hat in the ring for the job was Hank Aaron, then in the Braves' front office....
Hockey Sure Is Having A Lot Of Concussions Lately
The numbers are kind of insane—there are currently 25 players out with concussions, or "upper body injuries" that include "concussion-like symptoms." (That includes Rene Bourque, whose team has "no idea" when he suffered it.)...
Here's Old Footage Of Bill Russell Going Coast To Coast And Jumping Over A Guy
This clip popped up on YouTube two days ago. According to the uploader, that's a young Bill Russell—playing for the University of San Francisco—grabbing a defensive rebound, streaking down the court on a one-man fast break, and jumping over some poor sap while gracefully laying the ball in. Accord...
Will Bynum Suspended One Game For Punching Tyler Hansbrough
What do you do when you want to take a swing at a guy nine inches taller? Do what Will Bynum did and slug Tyler Hansbrough in the gut. Pow. Not so tall now, is he?...
Here's A Picture Of Sylvester Stallone And Robert De Niro, In Full Makeup For A Boxing Movie, Hanging Out With Robin Lopez
And Xavier Henry, of course. I just wanted a punchier headline. (See what I did?)...
A Half-Blind Pitcher With Almost No Depth Perception Is Trying To Make The Rays, And He's Impressing Coaches
In February of 2006, then-Mariners prospect Juan Sandoval, at that time hoping for a promotion to Class AAA, was eating at a restaurant in his hometown of Bonao in the Dominican Republic. A bouncer at the restaurant got into an argument with a drunk patron, and the patron went to retrieve his shotgu...
Ohio University Made A Bowl Game, Won Big, And Lost $78,569
How little sense does the BCS make? Well, apart from the difficult-to-calculate, in some cases negligible gains a university makes from the exposure of a bowl game—anyone applying (or donating) to Fresno State because they got crushed by SMU in the Hawaii Bowl?—the total cost of travel and accommoda...
Nike Gave Jabari Parker's High School Branded Apparel And That's OK
Grid, a weekly magazine in Chicago, noticed that the best public high schools for basketball in Chicago—a city where high school basketball gets foldout sections in newspapers and crowds pack the stands for big match-ups—wear a lot of Nike gear. Grid correctly assumed that most of those schools lack...
Rafael Da Silva Put Manchester United Up A Goal With A Screamer From 25 Yards Out
Manchester United is having a strong season, and sits atop the Premier League standings as of today, but the team can't fall asleep against "basement boys"—sounds kinky—Queens Park Rangers, the team they're playing as I write. Man U is currently up 1-nil [UPDATE: 2-0! Ryan Giggs, just as we posted] ...
The 15 Or So Most Watchable Teams In College Basketball: An Occasional Ranking
A weekly (or so) ranking of college basketball teams on the basis of watchability and with very little regard to how good they might be. ...
FIBA Is Prepared To Say D.C. High School Star Junior Etou Is 18 Years Old, Even Though FIBA Was Sure He's 20
Looks like an already-messy situation on the D.C. hoops scene is about to get messier. Junior Etou, a breakout star at Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, Va., is about to turn 18 all over again....
Sext-Happy Former Toledo Running Coach Denies Sex Harassment, Other Claims; Former Runners Say He's Lying
On Saturday, Kevin Hadsell, the former director of the University of Toledo's track and cross country programs, sat down with a local news station for his first interview since our story about his departure amid sexual harassment claims. He was by turns defiant and penitent. He cried some, too, as h...
Cliff Paul, Chris Paul’s Suspiciously Clark Kent-Like Twin Brother, Got To Go To All-Star Weekend
Turns out that if you're just a normal, unassuming insurance salesman, and you suddenly discover that you have a long-lost, pro basketball-playing twin brother, then you get to experience all sorts of celebrity perks, like going to the All-Star game last weekend. Must be nice......
South Korean Pro Team Cancels WBC Exhibition Against Cuba Because The Cubans Brought Weird Balls
Mildly scandalous behavior continues to plague the run-up to the World Baseball Classic. Yesterday, we had Taiwanese scouts disguising themselves as umpires and infiltrating a South Korean exhibition, and today we have a South Korean pro team refusing to play against the Cuban national team because...
Did Derrick Nix Smack Cody Zeller In The Nuts, Or Did Zeller Make Him Do It?
Senior Derrick Nix is Michigan State's team captain, but he's done some pretty uncaptain-like things. Like an offseason arrest for impaired driving and marijuana possession (the latter charge was dropped.) Like offering up bulletin board material when he called Victor Oladipo overrated. And then, t...
Ahead Of The WBC, Taiwan Sends Scouts Posing As Umpires To Spy On South Korean Team
You might not realize it from the USA's roster, but many countries think the World Baseball Classic is important. One of those is Taiwan, which is expecting big things. After failing to get out of a group of death in the 2009 tournament, they enter this year's WBC ranked fifth in the world—just a sp...
Have You Had Your Victor Oladipo Moment Yet?
Have you experienced your Victor Oladipo Conversion Moment yet? It's when you watch the play that makes you realize that no one in college basketball is more exciting than the junior Indiana guard from Maryland. Every year, there's one player in college hoops who inspires such a conversion—think ...
Nine Guys Putt Into A Single Hole And It's Sort Of Impressive In A Useless Way
Things we did not know: Campbell University, in North Carolina, has a PGA-accredited golf management program. It "allows students to acquire the specialized knowledge and skills necessary for success in the golf industry." One of those skills is trick shots. Each month, the program has a competiti...
Why Your Children's Television Program Sucks: <em>Max & Ruby</em>
A look at the awful children’s programming you’re forced to endure before you can finally kick the kids out of the TV room to watch sports for eight hours. Illustration by Jim Cooke. ...