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5404. wabbit - 3/16/2007 4:40:04 PM  More on Bowie Kuhn.
5405. wabbit - 3/16/2007 4:41:05 PM 
Lance Mackey won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Tuesday night, becoming the first musher to win major long-distance North American sled dog races back-to-back. Mackey crossed under the famed burled arch in downtown Nome, Alaska, early evening March 13, completing the 1,100-mile Iditarod in just over nine days. On Feb. 20, Mackey won his third consecutive Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, a 1,000 mile race between Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon. Mackey, 36, joins his father, Dick, and brother, Rick, as Iditarod champions.
5406. wabbit - 3/16/2007 4:42:41 PM  I'm guessing that 80% of people with brackets filled in had Duke picked to win their first round game. Oops. For the first time since 1996, the second round of the N.C.A.A. tournament will not include Duke. With the score tied at 77-77, and a little more than 10 seconds to play, Eric Maynor calmly dribbled down the floor. He made a pull-up jumper from the free-throw line with 1.8 seconds to play that gave Virginia Commonwealth a 79-77 victory over Duke in the opening round of the West Region.
Shan Foster blocked Maureece Rice's jump shot with a leaping flourish, yet still had time to outrun George Washington's top player downcourt and hit a 3-pointer for Vanderbilt. Derrick Byars hit another 3-pointer in the Commodores' first-half barrage a moment later, and Foster couldn't hide his glee as he ran upcourt with a 20-point lead...Vanderbilt unveiled a top talent to the nation in its 77-44 win over George Washington on Thursday - and it wasn't Byars, the SEC's player of the year. Foster was the shouting, shooting star of the show, scoring 18 points and keying a dominant defensive effort as the Commodores rolled in the East Regional. Vanderbilt (21-11) will face Washington State in the second round Saturday after the sixth-seeded Commodores' surprisingly easy victory in their first NCAA tournament game since 2004, when they reached the round of 16.
Pittsburgh was just too big, too strong, and too accurate for Wright State. The Panthers, ousted in the first round seven times in 18 previous appearances in the NCAA tournament, hit 10 of 21 3-pointers, repeatedly muscled the Raiders away from the basket, and beat them 79-58 on Thursday night. Pittsburgh defeated both Marquette and Louisville in last week's Big East tournament before suffering a humbling 65-42 loss to Georgetown in the title game. It was Pitt's lowest point total of the season and its most lopsided loss in seven years.
NCAA Basketball - Mens | Womens
5407. alistairConnor - 3/17/2007 4:12:58 PM Last afternoon of the annual Six Nations rugby tournament. Three teams can win it.
It's been a year of three giants -- France, Ireland, England -- and three minnows -- Wales, Scotland, Italy.
It was not always thus - Scotland and Wales have each had their days of glory; but both were beaten this year by relative newcomer Italy.
France were fancied for the Grand Slam, but came unstuck against a rejuvenated England. Ireland are a nearly perfect team -- they took England to pieces in Dublin, in a historic whitewash which was the best game of the tournament -- but lack depth of talent, and stall when key players are missing.
So, the Big Three have four wins each, and are playing the little guys this afternoon. Italy were holding up well against Ireland until I started watching ... they just ran in a seventh try, they are leading 46-12.
This is bad news for France, who will have to beat Scotland by an equivalent margin to win the tournament.
It certainly puts England out of the running, they would need to beat Wales by about 60 points to have a chance of being Six Nations champion. 5408. alistairConnor - 3/17/2007 4:52:32 PM Macnas pretends he never knew Ireland had a national cricket team...
They are currently playing in the World Cup, for the first time, in the West Indies.
After their draw with Zimbabwe yesterday, their best-ever international result, they are currently playing Pakistan, one of the favourites for the World Cup... St Patrick's Day seems to be bringing them luck : the Irish bowlers are making trouble for the Pakistanis. 60 for 4 after 15 overs... 5409. alistairConnor - 3/17/2007 5:54:49 PM The doughty Scots are putting up a hell of a fight, but now in the middle of the second half, France has made the break... 39-14 at the moment, which is enough to give us the championship.
But it's not over yet... 5410. alistairConnor - 3/17/2007 6:01:22 PM Meanwhile, the Irish are giving Pakistan a real hammering! They have taken lost eight wickets, no, NINE! as I write... after only 30 overs, and have a measly 105 runs on the board... The Irish might have a sniff of a huge upset here, if their batting can rise to the occasion.
Being too cheap for satellite TV, I'm reduced to "watching" the match in Flash animation... 5411. alistairConnor - 3/17/2007 6:09:35 PM Tense final minutes in the France-Scotland match... the Scots have kicked a penalty, which brings them back to only 20 points behind, which would give the championship back to the Irish... We're down to the last minnute of the match, scrum 5 metres from the Scottish line... 5412. alistairConnor - 3/17/2007 6:10:58 PM We crossed the line, the referee has asked for video to see if there's a try... 5413. alistairConnor - 3/17/2007 6:12:16 PM Twenty guys in a heap... did a French player press the ball down? really hard to say!
And the decision is??? 5414. alistairConnor - 3/17/2007 6:13:52 PM Yes!
And converted it too! 5415. alistairConnor - 3/17/2007 6:25:22 PM Oh of course England could whitewash Wales by 50 points or so, in which case they win the 6 Nations...
But I think not. We shall see. Ought to be the best of the three matches, the Welsh can be great or awful. 5416. alistairConnor - 3/17/2007 11:57:44 PM We're down to the last overs of the Pakistan/Ireland cricket match....
And Ireland are going to win it!!!!
Unfrigginbelievable. 5417. alistairConnor - 3/18/2007 12:03:40 AM Yes Ireland have won...
In the process, knocking Pakistan, who had been one of the favourites, out of the World Cup!
This is some sort of compensation for not winning the Six Nations. Happy St Patrick's day indeed! 5418. jexster - 3/18/2007 3:26:01 AM 
5419. alistairConnor - 3/18/2007 7:43:21 PM Coda to the Six Nations rugby championship :
The last match was England-Wales. The Welsh have lost all their other matches, and desperately wanted to avoid the humiliation of the "wooden spoon", prize for sixth place. The English wanting to confirm their renaissance, and to position themselves to convincingly defend their title in this autumn's World Cup in France.
Wales 27 - England 18. I'm in love. 5420. alistairConnor - 3/18/2007 10:04:12 PM None of the above has any bearing on who will win the World Cup.
It's New Zealand. Barring nuclear war or something.
Just looking at the match schedule. I really must take the girls to see one of the games.
Possibilities :
In Lyon :
Australia Japan
Argentina Georgia
New Zealand Repechage 1 (Tonga I think)
In Saint Etienne :
Scotland Repechage 1 (Uruguay or Portugal!)
Samoa USA
Scotland Italy
These last two are perhaps the most interesting, in terms of being fairly even matches.
Yes, I think Samoa-USA could be a fun match to see. 5421. alistairconnor - 3/22/2007 11:03:37 AM Ooh boy the Subcons take their cricket seriously!
As you will remember, the other day, Ireland (Ireland!) beat Pakistan (Pakistan!), knocking them out of the World Cup.
The captain promptly retired from one-day cricket. People were burning effigies in the streets of Karachi.
That night, the Pakistan coach, well-loved Englishman Bob Woolmer, died. He has a history of diabetes and heart problems, but still the rumours flew.
And it seems likely that he was murdered... 5422. alistairConnor - 3/24/2007 1:06:44 AM  Sri Lanka send India packing
There are four teams from the Subcontinent at the World Cup in the Caribbean : The big boys, Pakistan and India. Middle-sized Sri Lanka. And little Bangladesh.
Pakistan have already been humbled, and sent home, by Ireland (Ireland!). India were beaten, unexpectedly, by Bangladesh. Meaning that they had to beat Sri Lanka to continue to the next round...
... and they didn't. So they'll be off home too then.
But please, no more deaths...
India's coach, Australian Greg Chapple, must be feeling uneasy.
Jamaican police have taken DNA samples from the entire Pakistan team, and
they are investigating the possibility that match-fixing was a motive for the murder of Pakistan's coach.
Sounds like a good subject for Agatha Christie... Eleven suspects...
5423. jexster - 3/28/2007 7:54:55 PM I have a 19 year old nephew with a form of autism. His younger brother, 12, is a Little League superstar pitcher. No 1 nephew played his first Game in the Fort Bend County Dream League Saturday. His younger brother was an "Angel in the Outfield" (little league "coaches" of Dream Leaguers)
They met Roger Clemens last weekend on Opening Day
From the H'Town Chronicle
Dreams come true for special athletes
By LEEN LARICCI
Steve Schoppa believes every child should have the chance to play baseball. He believes every child, no matter what his physical capabilities, has a dream to run to first base. He decided to make some dreams come true.
First Colony Little League opened up Field 1 last Saturday, and for Saturdays for the rest of the season, so the Challenger League boys and girls can fulfill their dreams.
Fifty-four Dream League athletes sported their uniforms at the opening ceremonies Saturday night. Jack Krueger, a sixth-grade Down syndrome
pupil from First Colony Middle School, was the catcher for the opening pitch of the 2007 season. The pitcher was Roger Clemens of the Houston
Astros.
Schoppa, as well as Donna and Al Danto, began organizing what they call the "Dream League" in November. They had no idea the community would
support the league with such open arms.
Schoppa said he and Al Danto discussed the idea at a Little League baseball game, wondering if they would get any support.
"We needed to raise at least $5,000 to pay the entry fee for the kids, hopefully uniforms and possibly a trophy at the end of the season,"
Schoppa said. "Word spread like wildfire."
Schoppa intended this first year to be small, just organizational. He was hoping to at least get 48 players for four teams. After he enrolled
54 immediately, he had to start turning them away.
To help the athletes play the game, to give them direction on which way to run, or how to throw the ball, each athlete has an "Angel in the
Outfield"
Schoppa said it was a hope to have at least one Angel, a high school student volunteering time, to help each player. But, each athlete ended
up having two Angels.
Parent Karen Brown, watching her 7-year-old autistic son, Ross, play in the opening game, said it was the most thrilling event for the both of them.
"I can't even express what this feeling is," Brown said. "The kids in this area have so many opportunities. The athletes involved in this
league are finally getting the same opportunity. They actually feel like they fit in."
Ross told his mom he likes the Angels. "They are very helpful," the Colony Bend pupil said after meeting his angels.
The Dream League is open to ages 5 through 17, involving all special-needs children.
"We do have a lot of autistic kids this year," Schoppa, 52, said. "We don't have any children in wheelchairs this year."
The Dream League teams — Astros, Cardinals, Yankees and Rangers — will play baseball every Saturday morning on Field 1. Every child will be
able to bat. Every player will be able to score. Players can hit the ball off a tee or have a coach pitch to them. An umpire is present to
make the game true and an announcer is calling all the plays.
Players, coaches, Angels and fans were able to see what Schoppa wanted the players to have.
"I just want to see the smiles on these players' faces when they are able to hit that ball and run to first base" he said. "These children are not disabled. We don't want them to be classified as disabled."
Brown said she believes it's a beautiful commitment to the children.
"They come here and they feel like they belong," she said. "It's all positive. It's all good."
Ross was nervous when he first took the field. He told his mom he thinks maybe he should watch his brother, Trey, 11, play one more game before he's ready to play.
Krueger could not stop smiling as Clemens was speaking to the Dream League in center field.
His baseball glove now says "Nice Catch" and is autographed by Clemens.
"Every child should be able to play baseball," Schoppa said."This league is making that dream come true for a lot of children."
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