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5394. wabbit - 2/24/2007 1:26:18 AM Back to gays in basketball for a moment:
5395. wabbit - 2/24/2007 1:50:38 AM  Busy news week here in Beantown. Sadly, Dennis Johnson has died at age 52. He was a star NBA guard who was part of three championships and teamed with Larry Bird on one of the great postseason plays, died Thursday, collapsing after his developmental team's practice. Johnson, coach of the Austin Toros, was unconscious and in cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived at Austin Convention Center, said Warren Hassinger, spokesman for Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services. DJ was a five-time All-Star, one of the top defensive guards and part of the last Boston dynasty. He spent 14 seasons in the league and retired after the 1989-90 season. He played on title teams with the Celtics in 1984 and 1986 and with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979, when he was the NBA finals MVP. RIP, DJ.
Curt Schilling will become a free agent after this season with the Red Sox. Child genius Red Sox manager Theo Epstein has declined to resign the ancient 41-year-old Schilling, who showed up for Spring training overweight and out of shape. Alright, we can't find much fault with this decision. Hey Theo, how about getting rid of Manny this year while you're at it?
In football news, running back Corey Dillon wants to leave the game on his own terms, saying yesterday he will ask the Patriots for his release and is prepared to retire. "I think more of my health, how I envision myself 5-10 years down the road," Dillon said via cellphone from California. "I don't want to be broken down, not able to play with my kids. I've been blessed and fortunate enough to play 10 years. I can get up and walk around and be comfortable. That's one of the big determining factors." Good luck, Corey.
Former Patriot's offensive coach Charlie Weiss is suing two Boston doctors for allegedly botching his gastric bypass surgery. Weis claims in the lawsuit that physicians Charles Ferguson and Richard Hodin acted negligently by failing to recognize life-threatening internal bleeding and infection after the surgery. He was in the hospital for more than a month and claims he still suffers from nerve damage in his feet. Weis is seeking unspecified damages. He's a bright guy, doesn't pretty much every senscient being know the risks of this surgery by now? Sorry, Charlie. Even having Tom Brady testify for you isn't helping.
Speaking of the Tom, we heard earlier this week that Tom Brady's ex-paramour, Bridget Moynahan, is preggers. The Brady clan has their game face on and says they are very excited about the pregnancy. Brady and Moynahan split up late last year after a three-year relationship. Brady, a two-time Super Bowl MVP, has since been seen with Leo DiCaprio's ex, lingerie model Gisele Bundchen, and media outlets have reported the two are dating. Moynahan, 35, has appeared in films such as "Coyote Ugly," "I, Robot" and the ABC television series "Six Degrees." Brady, 29, led the Patriots to three NFL titles, and twice was the Super Bowl MVP. He was named one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2002. Moynahan will no doubt get some kind of hottie award for her make-out scene with Heather Graham in Gray Matters.
5396. wonkers2 - 3/2/2007 4:51:13 AM Are you ready for ocean racing? Gimme your best shot! I'll take what you got! I'll take what you got! 5397. jexster - 3/3/2007 2:15:12 AM Dissecting Baseball's Most Feared Swing
This is neat,esp if anyone has little leaguers 5398. wabbit - 3/4/2007 7:16:26 PM  Spring training is in full swing. Red Sox pitcher Jonathan Papelbon overpowered the Philadelphia Phillies and looked much better than Scott Kazmir did in his first start since a 2006 shoulder injury. Shifting from closer to starter this season, Papelbon struck out Philadelphia's 2-3-4 hitters -- including NL MVP Ryan Howard who can be seen in Jexster's link -- in the fourth inning of Boston's 12-9 loss in 10 innings Saturday. The 26-year-old right-hander, now in the Red Sox rotation after shoulder fatigue prematurely ended his stellar rookie season as a closer, retired all six batters he faced on 26 pitches, 18 of them strikes. He ended his afternoon by freezing Aaron Rowand with a fastball at the knees for his fourth strikeout.
At Surprise, Ariz., Sammy Sosa singled for his first hit of spring training, and Kenny Lofton and Ian Kinsler each had a run-scoring double to lead Texas. Royals starter Odalis Perez was rocked for five hits and four runs in 1 1/3 innings.
At Phoenix, Ben Sheets threw 22 of his 32 pitches for strikes, giving up two runs and two hits over two innings for Milwaukee. Giants starter Matt Morris, who struggled with his control down the stretch last season, was awful in his spring training debut. He went 1 2/3 innings, giving up seven runs on five hits and four walks. He threw more balls (29) than strikes (27).
At Port St. Lucie, Fla., Mike Pelfrey got off to a strong start in his bid for a spot in New York's rotation. Pelfrey, the ninth overall pick in the 2005 draft, tossed two shutout innings. Jason Vargas, also competing for a starting spot with the Mets, was just as effective. The lefty struck out two in two scoreless innings, allowing one hit. Jose Reyes hit his second home run of the spring. Dodgers starter Brad Penny walked three in two shutout innings but allowed only one hit.
MLB scores
5399. wabbit - 3/4/2007 7:16:46 PM  March Madness is upon us.
Kay Yow left the North Carolina State team to fight cancer. She came back for moments like these. The 24th-ranked Wolfpack spoiled No. 1 Duke's perfect season on Saturday, giving the Hall of Fame coach a second signature post-comeback victory with a 70-65 win over the Blue Devils in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. Ashley Key hit the go-ahead jumper with 1:19 remaining for N.C. State, which has won 10 of 11 since Yow returned from a two-month leave to fight a recurrence of breast cancer.
Torrell Martin had 17 points to lead Winthrop to an 84-81 victory over VMI on Saturday in the Big South Conference championship, clinching an NCAA tournament spot for the Eagles. Winthrop (28-4) has its seventh NCAA trip in nine years under coach Gregg Marshall, who leaped in the air with both arms above his head as time expired. Winthrop had never won the Big South before Marshall arrived in 1998. The Keydets (14-19) had a chance to tie, but Reggie Williams' 30-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer was off to the right.
Julian Wright had 17 points and 13 rebounds and the third-ranked Jayhawks overcame a 16-point deficit and another electrifying performance from Durant to beat No. 15 Texas 90-86 Saturday, claiming its fifth Big 12 championship. Kevin Durant, a top candidate for national player of the year, made 10 of his first 14 shots and scored 25 in the first half. But the 6-foot-9 freshman crumpled to the floor with an ankle injury with about 11 minutes left in the second half and was not the same player when he returned from the locker room a few minutes later.
The Huskies bruising forward scored 20 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and Washington logged its biggest win of the season, a 61-51 upset of the second-ranked UCLA Bruins. The Huskies used their own stifling defense, combined with superior inside play from Jon Brockman and freshman center Spencer Hawes to physically match the Bruins' grind-it-out style.
NCAA Basketball - Mens | Womens
5400. wabbit - 3/4/2007 7:17:07 PM  A small college in Ohio was thrown into mourning Friday after a bus carrying the baseball team tumbled over the side of a highway overpass and slammed onto the pavement 30 feet below, killing four students, the driver and his wife. The team from the close-knit, Mennonite-affiliated Bluffton University was making its annual spring training trip to Florida before daybreak when the charter bus crashed, scattering bags of baseball equipment across the road and splattering blood on the overpass. Some of the athletes climbed out the roof escape hatch, dazed and bloody.
Investigators said the driver apparently mistook an exit ramp for a lane and went into the curve at full speed. It was dark at the time, but the weather was clear.
I heard on the news this morning that there have been over 80 accidents at this same spot in the last ten years. Maybe it's time to replace the stop sign at the top of the ramp with a more visible traffic light.
5401. wabbit - 3/4/2007 7:17:27 PM  Scat Daddy established himself as a top Kentucky Derby contender Saturday with a narrow victory in the Fountain of Youth Stakes. The 3-year-old colt closed with a rush to edge Stormello by a nose, capping a big day at Gulfstream Park for trainer Todd Pletcher. Earlier, Pletcher's King of the Roxy won the Hutcheson Stakes, another Derby prep race. It was quite a day for Pletcher, too. Of the nine 3-year-olds he ran, five won, two placed second and one finished third. Pletcher leads all trainers with 32 horses nominated for the Triple Crown this year, and Scat Daddy may give the trainer his best chance to win his first Derby. Odds-on favorite Nobiz Like Shobiz, who was considered the top Derby contender, finished third in the nine-horse field, beaten by half-length. Scat Daddy, ridden by John Velazquez, won in 1:49.11 and paid $13.80, $6.20 and $2.80. Stormello, sent cross-country to take on the best in the East, returned $6.20 and $3. Nobiz Like Shobiz, trained by Barclay Tagg, paid $2.10 to show. Adore the Gold, who took a brief lead from pacesetter Stormello at the top of the stretch, finished fourth running from the outside post. The colt is trainer Michael Gorham's first Derby contender.
Back in his home state, Lava Man won the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap for the second consecutive year Saturday, burnishing his reputation as the most prosperous claiming horse in racing history. Lava Man joined John Henry and Milwaukee Brew as the only two-time winners of Santa Anita's richest race. Sticking to his habit of stalking the pace, Lava Man took the lead going into the stretch and defeated Molengao by three-quarters of a length. Lava Man paid $3.20, $2.60 and $2.10 as the 3-5 wagering favorite in the field of eight. Brazil-bred Molengao returned $4.40 and $3.20, while Boboman was another 1 1/2 lengths back in third. Lava Man carried high weight of 124 pounds, including jockey Corey Nakatani.
5402. wabbit - 3/4/2007 7:18:27 PM  The Iditarod has begun with yesterday's ceremonial start. The Ceremonial Start is a hold over from the early days of Iditarod when mushers actually departed Anchorage for Nome. The practical considerations of new roads and trails make it impossible to start from Ancorage now, so there is an 11 mile ceremonial run through downtown Anchorage the day before today's real start in Willow, Alaska. While the Ceremonial Start is not timed, each competing musher must appear with a team of twelve dogs. This year the Ancorage leg included a memorial to four-time winner Susan Butcher, who died last August of leukemia.
2007 Mushers | clickable trail map | learn about the Iditarod
5403. wonkers2 - 3/16/2007 1:00:40 AM R.I.P. Bowie Kuhn Bowie Kuhn 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???
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