v Page 3350 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Gene Upshaw Is Smarter Than You Think
Say what you will about NFL players union chief Gene Upshaw — that he's an out-of-control, useless stooge who collapses under even the slightest bit of pressure from the NFL, which just waits for him to say something idiotic again — but you can't say he doesn't know how to take care of himself....

Back ... Back ... Oh, Forget It
The best description of last night's Home Run Derby — won by Vladimir Guerrero, shown here with a friend who's a tad too excited about the whole business — was in the comments this morning: "Why does an event that has 8 participants require 9 people to cover it?" This made a certain mad sense to us....

About Last Night ...
What you missed while welcoming your new flea overlords • MLB: Vlad Guerrero wins home run derby, although all the baseballs remained as dry as your grandpappy's scalp. • Cycling: After his win in second stage of Tour de France, there will be a rush of parents naming their babies Gert. • Soccer: Méx...

Richard Gasquet Is Your Not-Gay Semifinalist
Roger Federer, staving off a surprising surge from longtime rival Rafael Nadal, won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon yesterday. (His first Wimbledon win was over that idiot on that dumb NBC reality show, by the way.) But the real winner wasn't Federer, but semifinalist Richard Gasquet, who finally ba...

About Last Night ...
What you missed while taking out a restraining order on Chewbacca ... • Tennis: Federer Express ... One for the Thumb at Wimbledon. • MLB: Alex Rodriguez stages own little private home run derby in Yankees' 12-0 win over Angels. • Golf: Choi to the World ... AT&T National has a champ, and it's not T...

Do NOT ... Go In There. WOOO!
It's perfectly acceptable to vent frustration after a lousy inning of relief pitching. (Fernando Rodney does it all the time.) But here's a lesson to all those up-and-coming pitchers: if you plan to exact physical damage in the dugout bathroom after such an outing, make sure you have an escape route...

New Jersey Beaches - Syringe Accident-Free Since Friday
The one element of beach volleyball no major sport has to endure is the ability to move around, with great ease, on shifting sand. Sure, turf toe can be a concern for football and baseball, but mobility is severely curbed on beach volleyball courts, because the playing surface moves around. To boot,...

Sunday Afternoon Stuff To Watch
• Already In Progress — Wimbledon Mens Final: Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal [NBC] • 11 a.m. — Tour de France, Stage 1 (tape delay) [Versus] • 12 p.m. — Movie: Vacation [AMC] • 12:30 p.m. — Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game [ESPN2] • 1 p.m. — Racing: American LeMans Series in Lakeville, Connecticu...

No Way Is This A Ripoff Of The Shufflin' Crew
At first I was slightly disappointed when the video preview image looked like a white guy in shades standing behind a golden Plinko board. But the video redeemed itself when a European guy conducted with his feet....

Did We Check The Birdbath? No? Then We Must Go Back There
Last night on NFL Live, ESPN seemed to really drive home the point that federal authorities scoured Michael Vick's property a second time, looking for evidence pertaining to that dogfighting investigation. In fact they brought in five — FIVE — humanoids with microphones to discuss it: on-the-scene ...

One More Pittsburgh Pirates Fan Will Stake A Walkout
Earlier this year, Kevin McClatchy released the chair of Pittsburgh Pirates majority owner from his grasp. Since he was on a roll, yesterday he announced he will let go of another cherished title at the end of the year: CEO. Hey, if you love something, let it go. If it finally earns a winning season...

Greg Oden Can Only Improve On His Foul Trouble From Here
I knew there was an underlying reason notable tall dude Greg Oden went to the NBA after one year in college. It couldn't have been just the money, or the chance to be picked No. 1 overall. No, It had to be for the NBA rule that you foul out after six, not five like in college. Or maybe it was the al...

I Say, Jolly Good Performance By Venus Williams
Contrary to popular belief, Venus Williams is still playing tennis. (Kind of like when I saw Paul Shuey pitching for the Orioles last night. In fact, it's EXACTLY the same thing.) She made the Wimbledon final against Marion Bartoli, a tennis player you may remember hearing about first in this senten...

Saturday Afternoon Stuff To Watch
12 p.m. — Drag Racing: NHRA Sportsman Series in Norwalk, Ohio [ESPN2] 12:15 p.m. — Movie: Best In Show [TBS] 1 p.m. — 2003 ALCS Game 7, Red Sox at Yankees [ESPN Classic] 3 p.m. — PGA Tour: AT&T National, Third Round [CBS] 3 p.m. — Arena Football Playoffs: Colorado Crush at San Jose SaberCats [ESPN] ...

If You Were A Veggie Hot Dog, Would It Be OK To Eat Yourself?
• God, the hot dog eating championships are fun. • John Patterson, get thee to Canada. Don't tell Spencer Hawes! • 45 seconds ... starting NOW. • Cursing at Yankee Stadium? Now we've seen EVERYTHING! • Dan LeBatard would like to keep Harold Reynolds away from his women. • MJD left us, but he is not ...

You've All Been Working For The Weekend
After The Mighty MJD's heartfelt goodbye last weekend — after more than a year of serving as our weekend editor — the speculation has been immense. (Really!) Who's gonna take over for MJD? Well, considering it's Friday, we should probably tell you....

What Will Be Cut From This Year's ESPY Awards?
AJ Daulerio's Cultural Oddsmaker runs every Friday. Email him to let him know what you think....