v Page 3014 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Why Your Hometown Columnist Sucks: Bob Sansevere
The St. Paul Pioneer-Press has an annual contest called "Average Joe Columnist," in which a field of 16 non-journalists submit sports articles, and are judged American Idol-style by sports editor Mike Bass and columnist Bob Sansevere. The latter, it seems, fancies himself in the Simon Cowell role — ...

Desperate Dog Search Now Getting Help from Weirdos
Yes, dogs are fun little animals and all that, but the search for the prized whippet named Vivi who escaped from JFK terminal after last week's Westminster Dog Show has gone completely off the rails. Joining the search for the missing champion dog are none other than 12 psychics....

Dunk Face: New Mexico
The gauntlet has been thrown down. It didn't take long for the rash of New Mexico Dunk Face submissions. (Three in one hour, actually.) So, here he is in all his glowering, heat-packing glory. Surprisingly, this dunk face is very similar to Terence Stansbury's....

We Have to Ask
Suggested questions for today's ESPN SportsNation chatters ......

Leftovers
More Jerome Bettis, on your TV, forever and ever. [MSNBC]...

Strap on the Old, um, Feedbag and Check Out 'Footballers Wives'
If you haven't already been watching the british import Footballers Wives, then it might be time to finally pop for premium cable. Of course the "football" here means "soccer", for you nonmetropolitan types. Thanks to our man Tim Goodman, the TV writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, we discovere...

Speedskating Beef
The issues between U.S. speedskaters Chad Hedrick and Shani Davis continue to garner attention. I mentioned it briefly yesterday, but the story's picking up a little steam, and hopefully has the potential to develop into a Harding/Kerrigan situation. If things continue on this path, one is going t...

Dick Vitale Nominated For Basketball Hall Of Fame. No, Really.
Up for induciton into the Basketball Hall of Fame are names like Charles Barkley. Dominique Wilkins. Joe Dumars. Gene Keady. Adrian Dantley. And when last night's SportsCenter made mention of the sixteen new nominees for the Basketball Hall, what name was the first out of Steve Levy's mouth? Dick...

The Special Edition That Wasn't There
We've always been curious about what happens to those pre-made shirts that say things like "Houston Astros 2005 World Series Champions" — it turns out this is what happens — but now we have a new question: What about those "special editions" newspapers put together weeks in advance that end up bei...

Leftovers: Getting Rammy
• Even though Mike Tice, of all people, called him "predictable," Scott Linehan is in line to be the next coach of Rams. [Beyond Reproach] • If it's not your shoulder, it's just plain being "ill;" Panthers' Peppers still questionable for Sunday. [Charlotte Observer] • Cincinnati Reds sale set to hap...

Man, Tommy Maddox Has Really Let Himself Go
You know, we understand that beards are the big thing in the NFL playoffs right now, but honestly, we had no idea this guy was a starting quarterback in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday. (He's from the World Beard Championships, in case you were wondering.)...

A Differing View On Davis' Trip Into The Stands
Deadspin reader Tom Malkin was in a section right by Antonio Davis' wife during the incident at the United Center last night, and he has a very different take on what actually happened prior to Davis' stomp upstairs. Here's an excerpt:...

What Really Happened In The Stands? Nothing.
As most of you have probably already seen this morning, Knicks forward Antonio Davis ran into the stands last night in Chicago to "protect his wife from an intoxicated fan." Davis said, "I saw him touch her, and I know I should not have acted the way I did, but I would have felt terrible if I didn...

This Is Not A Picture Of Chastity Bono
Far be it from us to mock a guy for going back to rediscover his roots and promote the game of baseball internationally ... but sweet God, what has happened to former Reds reliever Danny Graves? When you get back from Vietnam, before you head to Indians training camp ... might we suggest a workou...

Need Tickets ... Need Tickets ...
We were complaining, oh, two posts ago, about not enough fans being appropriately ecstatic about the conference championship games this week, but in the host cities, that's anything but the case. It's time for our weekly look at the most expensive tickets on eBay (those that actually have a bid) f...

Leftovers: Es usted pollo, Estados Unidos?
• Castro talks a little World Baseball Classic trash. [Waveflux] • Someone showing sense for once: Hill eschews NFL, will stay at Fresno State. [MSNBC] • Duke set to match best start in 14 years, which is saying something. [News and Observer] • Marbury's 280-game streak may end — prompting '72 Dolph...

The Broncos' Secret Success Ratio
As evidenced by our 3-5 record of predicting playoff games so far (straight up, no spread), we're notoriously lousy at pigskin prognostication. It's not like this has been the easiest postseason to predict anyway; we can only think of one prediction system that would have led to a correct Steelers...

Jake Plummer, Buzzsaw Soul Crusher
As we enter in to the biggest week of Denver quarterback Jake Plummer's life, leading up to the AFC Championship Game hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers, we feel obliged, as the only fans of The Buzzsaw That Is The Arizona Cardinals on the planet, to ask: How in the hell is this guy a game away from ...

Leftovers: As the Norv Turns
• He's reached the Pacific Ocean, there's nowhere else to go — Norv Turner to 49ers as an assistant. [SFist] • Seahawks' Sean Locklear arrested, and you gotta admire his timing. [Seahawks Fan In Broncos Land] • Net fault: Roscoe Tanner gets two years in prison. [MSNBC] • After shamelessly flirting w...