w Page 4448 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Better Know An Umpire: Tim McClelland
Welcome to Better Know An Umpire, an effort to educate ourselves on the human elements who have ultimate decision-making power over some 2,500 Major League Baseball games a year. (All cumulative statistics are through the 2011 season, unless otherwise stated.)...

A Final Moment Of Sportsmanship At Euro 2012, As Spanish Goalkeeper Asks Ref To Mercifully End Blowout
For a tournament that began with more than its fair share of racism and fan violence, Euro 2012 ended on a note more in line with the spirit of the game. Already down 2-0, Italy lost its last sub to injury, and conceded another pair of goals with just 10 men. In stoppage time, cameras caught Spani...

Chris Berman Was Looking Toasty Last Night
Hot on the heels of news ESPN would be putting him in the booth for Monday Night Football, Chris Berman showed up to call last night's Rays-Yankees game from St. Petersburg. It might have been the lighting, but it looks like Berman decided to enjoy some of the Suncoast's pristine beaches while down...

White Sox Bribing Fans To Vote Jake Peavy To The All-Star Team
It's time again for the stumpin' and campaignin' of the All-Star Game Final Vote, which I reluctantly capitalize since it's not a particularly creative branding (No "Plus One?" Or "Let's Get The Japanese Fans On Our Mailing Lists?"), and it's not particularly final, since most of these guys will get...

How To Burp Like A World Champ In 5 Steps, Featuring Competitive Eater And Burping World Champ Tim Janus
The results from the 2011 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest tell us that Tim "Eater X" Janus is the third-best hot-dog eater in the world. He owns world records for speed-eating burritos, sushi, and ramen noodles....

The Grierson & Leitch July 4 Extravaganza: Movies That Made Us Feel Crappy About America
Today and tomorrow, Grierson & Leitch honors America by spotlighting films that exemplify the best our country has to offer—and the worst. Today: Movies that made us feel worse about America. ...

Tony La Russa: Asshole Or Dipshit? Let's Discuss!
Tony La Russa was never the cuddliest of MLB managers, and he's done a lot of things that would preclude him from ever being invited to anyone's Christmas party. But the big question remains, is La Russa a dipshit or an asshole? Let's settle this in the discussion section below....

What If Joe Paterno Was Innocent? Hypothetical Dialogues From A Dark Time At Penn State
Circumstantially, the Jerry Sandusky case keeps getting worse and worse for Joe Paterno. Circumstantially. This past weekend, CNN described an email that Penn State's now-former athletic director, Tim Curley, allegedly sent to other university officials in 2001, canceling plans to report Sandusky to...

Pat Riley Still Doesn't Quite Understand Why People Hated The Heat
Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: Riley's been on some hated teams before, but this one takes the hate cake....

LAPD Charges Bucs CB Eric Wright, Says He Injured Someone In Accident While Driving Drunk
Another day, another athlete charged after an alleged drunk driving incident. This time it's the NFL's Eric Wright, who signed a big deal—$15.5 million guaranteed—with Tampa Bay this offseason after four years in Cleveland and one in Detroit....

Why Do We Have Sideline Reporters? The Original Sideline Reporter Says The Job Is "Just Nonsense"
With Erin Andrews moving to Fox, now's a good time to revisit this 2009 interview with television's first sideline reporter, Jim Lampley. Originally published July 28, 2009....

The Second Time They Met, Jeffrey Maier Didn't Dare Mess With Tony Tarasco
When I met Jeffrey Maier, he was Coach Maier and I had no idea who he was. Of course I remembered the boy who stole an out from two feet above Tony Tarasco's glove and turned it into an eight inning, game-tying home run in the '96 ALDS. The Yankees would win the game, and the series, and the champio...

British Mayor Scandalizes Tiny Town By Showing Up To Olympic Torch Parade Dressed As "Sausage"
61-year-old Jill Makinson-Sanders is mayor of Louth, Lincolnshire, England, a cozy town of 15,000 in the English countryside. (Jim Broadbent lives nearby.) Small-town politicians, as a matter of habit, do what they can to put their towns and their towns' industries on the national map. Makinson-Sand...

Rangers Broadcaster Dave Barnett Will Miss Rest Of Season Due To Unspecified Medical Concerns
Dave Barnett, absent from Rangers television broadcasts since this bizarre moment on-air June 18, will take a leave of absence for the remainder of the 2012 MLB season for unstated medical reasons....

Jeneba Tarmoh Withdraws From Olympic 100m Runoff, USA Track & Field Has Giant Mess On Its Hands
Last week, Allyson Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh finished in a dead heat for third place in the 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. The physically improbable feat exposed a USA Track & Field woefully unprepared for the possibility—there was no plan in place, and after days of dithering, USATF offe...

This Is Not How A Rally Car Jump Is Supposed To Go
Finnish driver Toomas Heikkinen was involved in this practice crash at the X Games on Friday, in which he was trying to clear a 50-foot gap on the RallyCross course. He cleared about 45 feet of it....

ESPN Didn't Try That Hard To Keep Erin Andrews: How The Sideline Reporter Wound Up At Fox
Everyone in Bristol figured Erin Andrews would return. Andrews told SI's Richard Deitsch:...

"Abe Lincoln Bandit" Robs Houston Bank While Wearing Mets Cap
My only thought is that because this guy has ostentatious facial hair, he might be a relief pitcher, and because he might be a relief pitcher, he might be a better setup man than Miguel Batista, once he gets this whole bank robbery situation squared away. But since he made off with less than $100 in...

Mario Balotelli Impregnates Person
Ninety or so minutes of soccer ago, Mario Balotelli was playing like the best player on the best team in the world. Now he's going to be a father. That's some consolation, right?...

Mardy Fish Drilled A Wimbledon Line Judge In The Eye With A 118-Mile-Per-Hour Serve
For a tennis line judge, keeping your eye on the ball isn't as important as keeping your eye on the line. Surprising, then, that judges don't find themselves victimized by errant serves more often, as happened today at Wimbledon during a fourth-round match between American Mardy Fish and Frenchma...