yo Page 732 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

One Game In, And Jerry Manuel Is Already Wondering Why He Took This Job
So why did the firing of Willie Randolph occur so late on Monday night (Tuesday morning, actually)? Turns out that Mets general manager Omar Minaya actually flew to Anaheim, checked in to the team hotel and waited to deliver the news to Randolph person....

Hank Steinbrenner Is Just Boiling Over With Ideas
Pity the poor New York media. (A group in which, it occurs to us with a start, we are about to be considered a member.) They're so wistful for the old days of George Steinbrenner that they're desperately trying to shoehorn son Hank, the slow one, into the role. It's not working....

At Last, The Mets Put Willie Randolph Out Of His Misery
We find it fitting, after at least nine months of fervid speculation, Willie Randolph was fired as manager of the Mets at 3:30 a.m. ET. That's too late for the tabloids to slap it on the front page, which is just a tragedy in New York City; tabloids are the reason we have managerial deathwatches....

The Most Disappointing Tiger Woods Victory In History
The seventh hole of Torrey Pines decided the fate of Rocco Mediate. Rocco said before the hole, "They wanted a show, they got a show." Indeed. It seemed before today's round, most of the experts were giving Rocco about as much a shot at beating Tiger as Matt Lauer. He proved everybody wrong....

Naked People Are Stridently Anti-Willie Randolph
We don't deal with a lot of public relations people around here, which is one of the many pleasures of writing on the Internets. (For now.) But for some reason, we are on the mailing list for Rick's Cabaret in New York City — we don't know why! Swear! — and we received the following email today: "RI...

After 18 Holes, It's Now Sudden Death At The U.S. Open
"You are watching one of the greatest U.S. Open championships in history..."...

You Are Missing Some Serious, Serious Golf Drama
Rocco Mediate somehow managed to overcome a seemingly impossible three-stroke deficit on Tiger. Then it was two. Then it was one. Then... it was tied....

Rocco Cuts Into Lead, Still Nobody Seems To Think He Has Any Shot
As they approached the 12th hole at Torrey Pines, Johnny Miller and Dan Hicks appeared down on Rocco's chances. He'd lost a shot on ten, gained it back on 11, but, still, seems completely out of this thing down by two shots with six to go against Tiger....

Tiger Up By Two, Rocco Swats At Imaginary Vultures Circling Him
Broadcast switch. ESPN retires its coverage for the day and turns it over to Bob Costas at NBC who sounds very, very serious, saying that "Rocco Mediate's Cinderella story is in jeopardy." He's speaking in hushed tones, like he's in a confessional or explaining death to a small child. He has not cal...

Griffey May Be Headed To The Unlikliest Of Places
Ken Griffey Jr. is considering waiving his no-trade clause to move over to the Tampa Bay Rays, according to SI.com, and you know what that means: An aging-slugger arms race in the AL East. Tampa Bay's show of force will have to be met in kind by the Yankees, who of course will sign Barry Bonds the f...

Woods Takes One Stroke Lead, Rocco Still Smiling Like A Man Playing With House Money
The focus on Rocco right now is his closeness to the common man. After every shot, Johnny Miller is quick to point out Rocco's likability: shlubby, balding, great attitude, "looks like the guy who cleans the swimming pool", etc. It seems genuine, but you get the sense that they're waiting for Tiger...

Bob Knight Interrupts Speech To Give Job Recommendation
Cell phone etiquette: we've mostly nailed it down. Don't talk while driving. Don't text during class. Don't clean your ear with the antenna. Bob Knight probably treats cell phone like the 3-point line in basketball. He'll begrudgingly accept them into his world, but the minute he's appointed Mayor O...

Kobe Bryant, Experienced Drinker
Of all the weird, vaguely insane things that Kobe Bryant has done in his weird, vaguely insane life — this is still our favorite — the most public and quietly strange might have been his claim at his press conference last night that he would go home and “whine about it tonight ... lot of wine ... lo...

Anna Kournikova Loves An Old Man In Whites Who Likes To Pound Fists
So, in commemoration of Anna Kournikova's recent birthday and the increased popularity and panic over the fist pound/bump/jab, it seems at least somewhat, almost timely to re-post this picture from last April of former President George Bush and lovely Anna fisting each other....

Thieves Boost Giants Super Bowl Rings
If you see a decidedly un-athletic-looking character parading around town with a Giants Super Bowl ring — and it's not Eli Manning — then please call your local authorities immediately. It's probably hot; part of the haul from big Attleboro jewelry heist this past weekend....

The Big Ball Orchard In The South Bronx
Slate's Robert Weintraub, like many of us, loves the old purple prose of early 1900s sportswriting, the Grantland Rices, the men who painted epic tales of warriors, grizzled combatants and lardywarks too manly to wear gloves. In an occasional series, Weintraub writes about the week's best baseball g...

Yankee Fans Even Hate Givers Of Life
Yes, bringer of life to the planet ... YOU SUCK! TRADE THE BUM!...

About Last Night
What you missed while noticing that the head of the World Health Organization's department of HIV/AIDS has an unfortunate name ... • Ruud van Nistelrooy sends Italians to brink of World Cup qualifying doom. • NFL: In non-Ruud van Nistelrooy news, the Bears cut Cedric Benson. • Agent Zero opts out of...

Your Monday Cricket Update; And It Ain't Pretty
I'm told that this is newsworthy but I'm in a little over my head here. Anybody out there speak cricket? Supposedly some team of 11-year-olds in Britain got thrashed so completely that all of Europe is talking about it, but I have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. Was it worse than this...

Goodbye To The Gap-Toothed Wonder
We don't know about you, but we'll kind of miss Michael Strahan, who retired from the NFL today, probably because he thinks coming off a title might make him John Elway. (It won't.)...