sports Page 878 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Ballad Of Jericho Scott
Jericho Scott was the 9-year-old who briefly became a media sensation when he was deemed "too good" to pitch in his youth league. A year later, Craig Fehrman checks in on Jericho and finds that everyone got the story wrong....

Nicholls State Mascot Will Smash Capitalism, Slash You In The Face
Greetings, Comrades! Nicholls State was named in honor of a former Confederate officer, but since the Civil War is (mostly) over, the school decided their Southern Gentlemen Warrior mascot needed an refresh. So now he's a bloodthirsty fascist oppressor....

Pregame Handshake Coming To College Football
Oh good, this'll solve all the problems with recruiting violations, BCS absurdities, jumping early to the pros, coaches' secret ballots, "gifts" from recruiters, grade inflation, ridiculous bowl sponsorships, competitive imbalance, players running afoul of the law, overpaid coaches... [USA Today]...

The Worst American Sports Writing: Greg Bishop
On top of everything else Jets fans have to live with, they get a New York Times beat writer who seems to be trying to write scripts for NFL Films....

The Worst American Sports Writing: Steve Yanda
Deadspin readers met Steve Yanda this week when he compared the Nationals' winning streak to Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor (the Nats have not won a game since). But Steve Yanda writes like that all the time....

The Worst American Sports Writing: Gene Wojciechowski
Writing. About sports. Sometimes it is so terrible it can make you cry, cry like a child who has learned his heroes have feet of clay. "Feet" meaning "buttocks" and "of clay" meaning "shot full of Dianabol." Here's Gene Wojciechowski....

Spencer Swindle, Eamonn Daggerpiece To Work For Sunglassed Lurker
Congratulations to these fine gentleman. The SB Nation is poised to become scary good. [SBN]...

Scoring At Home: Your <em>SportsCenter</em> Catchphrase-O-Meter (UPDATE)
An occasional feature in which we explain and evaluate a SportsCenter anchor's pet phrase. Today's phrase: "Hotter than a fox in a forest fire."...

You May Be Taller, But You're Still Beneath Him
Mike Lupica's ego is to sportswriting what Milton Berle's cock is to comedy. It is an occupational totem, around which colleagues spin fantastical-seeming yarns that just so happen to be true. Here are a few such tales....

Joe Posnanski Just Gave You A Reason To Renew Your <em>Sports Illustrated</em> Subscription
Posnanski, who in the time it takes you to read this will have written two features and a post about Yuniesky Betancourt, is SI's newest senior writer: "This is Broadway. This is Paris under a setting sun." [Joeposnanski.com, TBL, Shanoff]...

<i>NCAA Football 10</i> More Time Consuming Than Actually Being In College
Did you pick up EA's new college football game? Of course not. You wouldn't be reading this right now if you had. You'd be so busy designing high school uniforms for your virtual doppelganger that you'd probably forget to eat....

Sports Writer Turns To Pimping For Extra Cash
Things are tough these days for newspapers (don't say it) and their writers (don't say it), but if you must work a second job, please don't try "deriving income from prostitution," because that just causes more difficulties for you. (Don't....)...

Omar Minaya: Mix Master No More
It was just two years ago that Omar Minaya was a Sports Illustrated cover boy and subject of a fawning profile in which he was referred to simply as O. As in: Oh my, how things have changed....

The Sports Fella Has Tremendous Upside On Mediaite Power Grid
He'll have that green arrow next to his portrait in no time after this miniature mailbag of an interview. The word cloud: Twitter, fad, ESPN, think, stories, nervous, immediacy, Letterman, saying, blog, better. [Mediaite/Wordle]...

Sports Psychologist Takes Full Credit For Stewart Cink
Who is really to blame for "stepping on a Hall of Famer's neck" and ruining golf forever by not laying down for Tom Watson. Not that jerk Stewart Cink. Send a note to Dr. Morris Pickens, famous sports psychologist, instead....

Look Ma, No Hands
Chinese police stopped this man for driving a motorcycle without a license. Unlike most police stops, they didn't have to worry about whether the suspect was armed. [Ananova]...

College Athletes Without Insurance Should Try Not To Get Hurt
Being an NCAA athlete is awesome and everything, but if you twist your ankle—or something much worse—there's a good chance your school's health insurance won't cover you. Now put some tape on that and get back in there!...

And Here's The Place Where Home Run Derbies (And DUAN!) Go To Die....And Other Things Of Note
Sportsnation really wants you to watch their show. Yeah, you in the undershirt eating the bowl of Fruity Pebbles commenting here. They won't stop posting cryptic names on their message board unless you watch....

Homeless Soccer Gives The Beautiful Game A Shower And A Hot Meal
Pretty much the only people who play soccer in America are Latin American immigrants and eight-year-old girls, but now someone has found a great wellspring of untapped athletic prowess—homeless guys....

Somebody At ESPN Is Feeling Frisky And A Very Special Guest Editor Announcement
I haven't seen the Sportsnation show on ESPN yet, since I spend most of my day at the Gawker office, where television (along with sunlight, smiling, and sustained eye contact) are strictly forbidden, but this little shout-out is flattering....