st Page 1768 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Aroldis Chapman May Have Been Done In By Delicious Pastries Yesterday
Aroldis Chapman, the Cincinnati Reds' usually invincible closer, blew a save yesterday when he surrendered two ninth-inning home runs to the Philadelphia Phillies. Although it's unusual to see Chapman get touched up like that, even the best closers have off days. No reason to get all worked up, righ...

Photoshop Miguel Diving Into Other Ill-Advised Situations
Miguel made quite the splash when he landed on two innocent spectators at last night's Billboard Awards. In fact, several more people have heard of Miguel this morning than had last night! Nobody said increasing that Q score was going to be easy....

<em>Damn</em>, Barclays Center, Why You Smell So Fine?
It's been a while since the Nets played in a building that didn't reek of inadequacy and failure. But if you've been to a game in Brooklyn, perhaps you noticed the air was a little...sexy? It's not just that new-multipurpose-arena smell. The Barclays Center has been pumping perfume through the vents...

Get Lost, Norman
From Bob Klapisch and John Harper's entertaining book about covering the Mets in the early '90s, The Worst Team Money Could Buy:...

Personal Best
From Pauline Kael's 1982 review of one of the great sports movies:...

Buck Showalter Argued That A Double Should Have Been A Foul Ball. After Review, Umps Called It A Home Run.
A truly magical moment: managers from both teams, simultaneously arguing the umpires' call. Buck Showalter? Wrong. First-base ump Dan Iassogna? Wrong. Joe Maddon, claim your prize....

OK, Who Wants To Sign Dwight Howard?
After two years of trade requests and petulance and a stock-lowering season with the Lakers, it's time for the Dwight Howard free agency sweepstakes—and four teams have emerged as potential landing spots should Howard decide to leave L.A....

NBC Learns What Happens When You Interview Torts During The Game
We don't know why TV networks insist on trying to interview coaches while games are in action—Fox baseball broadcasts, you're the worst culprit—but when NBC's Pierre McGuire tried to get a few words from Rangers chief John Tortorella during today's game against the Bruins, he got one more than he b...

Oxbox Won The Preakness Stakes, Apparently
Never heard of Oxbox. Better name than Oxbow, though. Better name, now that we think of it, than Itsmyluckyday and Mylute, too....

Singer Of National Anthem Forgets Words, Powers Ahead Anyhow
Listening to this instantly immortal rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," I'm reminded of Kevin Kline's character in "A Fish Called Wanda," who after receiving any sort of instruction always had to ask, "What was the part in the middle?"...

Sadistic Media Targeted "Carolina Way," Whinges Ex-UNC Chancellor
Pro tip for anyone trying to make sense of a scandal. If the person at the center of it starts claiming that "the media" are persecuting them, it's usually (though not always) a solid bet that they are patently full of shit. It's the equivalent of shooting the messenger and then claiming self-defens...

Oxbow Wins The 2013 Preakness Stakes
Oxbow won the 138th running of the Preakness Stakes this evening at the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Oxbow led wire to wire, and the win was a feel-good story for the jockey, Gary Stevens. Stevens, 50, retired in 2005 and worked as an analyst. He returned this January....

The Outrage Over Students "Cheating" Is Mostly Harmful Nonsense
The Wall Street Journal asked a question with an obvious answer this week under the headline "How Could a Sweet Third-Grader Just Cheat on That School Exam?" A quick answer is, because human beings are a naturally social species that has survived and flourished for thousands of years by collaboratin...

The Charlotte NBA Team Might Rather Be The Hornets Again
During its short 25 years in the NBA, the Hornets moniker has proven to be the league's Johnny Cash — it's been everywhere, man. Born in Charlotte, transplanted to New Orleans in 2001, bivouacked in Oklahoma City for two post-Katrina seasons, back to New Orleans for the past six seasons, then banish...

Here's Jake "The Snake" Roberts Singing At Last Night's Braves Game
So last night the Atlanta Braves played the Dodgers. They won, which was expected. What wasn't expected was ex-professional wrestler Jake "The Snake" Roberts making a cameo to lead everyone in singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh-inning stretch. That's what happened, though....

The Astros Lost On A Moronic Walk-Off Error
"Looks like we're going to extra innings." That's what Greg Brown, the Pirates' TV broadcaster, said as soon as Russell Martin made contact on this fly ball to shallow right-center. But Brown should have known better. Because it ain't over till the Astros have finished tying all of their shoelaces t...

Copa Del Rey Ends In Havoc: Ronaldo Sent Off, Fights, Debris Attacks
Atlético Madrid pulled off a shocker in winning Spain's Copa del Rey trophy today, upsetting favored Real Madrid in extra time and winning the national competition for the first time since 1996. They did this amidst a wild scene at Santiago Bernabéu that featured 15 bookings, a fight, and players b...

Will Anyone Ever Run A Marathon In Under Two Hours?
One of the last remaining grand achievements to be had in the world of competitive running is the sub-two-hour marathon. The current world record—held by Kenyan Patrick Makau—sits at two hours, three minutes, and thirty-eight seconds. But many wonder, is it possible to run a marathon in under two ho...

How To Give A Best Man Toast That Doesn't Suck
We got this email the other day from reader Alex. It's the kind of email we get a lot round these parts:...
