Remember how people were mad when Stallworth got 30 days in jail for DUI manslaughter? He was released after serving 24 days. 3-day weekend! 17 hours ago
ESPN is creating a UK-based channel. If "First Take" ends up on the schedule, this could destroy the NATO alliance. 2 days ago
Toronto Argos receiver Arland Bruce decided he'd pay tribute to Michael Jackson after his first TD by taking off his pads and playing dead. 1 week ago
Bon Jovi & fellow owners are working to keep the AFL going but chances of survival are 50%. Also the CFL kicks off tonight Happy Canada Day! 1 week ago
Despite claims Mike Krzyzewski said he won't be Phil Jackson's "heir apparent." But Kobe can come be Duke's third scholarship guard anytime. 1 week ago
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Writers Wanted
If you would like to be a writer for this blog, guest blogger or have an opposing view point in the form of a story to balance things out, e-mail it in. And yes you can make fun of Tennessee.
It has been 3 days and I am still in shock. Though he died in, to say the least, odd circumstances, for a community, city, state, and fans scattered across the world, our QB has left us.
For years, Tennessee did not have a professional sports franchise to call our own. Yes the Vols were kings of Tennessee college football and the Tigers were the kings of Tennessee college basketball, but we watched as Jacksonville got our NFL team. We watched as Vancouver got our basketball team (ironic huh???) For years, we could only imagine the possibilities of seeing our team going to a Super Bowl. We could only dream of going to pro basketball games with our parents, and one day taking our own children to those same games.
Thanks to K.S. “Bud” Adams, our pro sports thirst was finally quenched (with all apologies to the Nashville Predators). The then-Oilers would build a home in Tennessee. For a couple of years, they were a rag tag group of football players, first by playing in Memphis and then in Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville. But they were led by our QB, Steve McNair.
I remember when the Oilers would hold pep rallies on Beale St. in Memphis. Where as a lot of the players would look like they did not wanna be there, he made sure to lead the cheers. After those pep rallies, he made sure to sign as many autographs and take as many pics as he could. I had many opportunities to meet Steve McNair on many occasions, and on each one, he was always nice and smiling.
Later on, he would lead the team to Super Bowl XXXIV against the St. Louis Rams. We hung on every play. We knew we as Titans fans had a shot of winning the game in the 4th quarter because of our QB. We came up 1 yard short, which still eats away at our sports soul. But the thrill of being oh so close to glory almost makes up for not winning (almost).
We cheered when he won the MVP trophy. We cringed when Ray Lewis tackled him. We got pissed at Bud Adams & Floyd Reese for kicking him out of the door. We were glad to see him in the neighborhood after he retired. Through it all, he was our QB. He gave away free admissions to his football camps for needy kids. He gave shoes to high school football players who couldn’t afford them. He asked people to donate supplies during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and Middle Tennessee gave truckloads (he loaded the trucks). He opened a restaurant across the street from Tennessee State University when he could have opened it elsewhere. Most importantly, he did it selflessly and with a smile.
We don’t have the storied history of the Boston Red Sox, L.A. Lakers, New York Yankees, or Pittsburgh Steelers. He was our Ted Williams, our Kareem, our Joe DiMaggio, our Terry Bradshaw. Coach Jeff Fisher said it best:
“The Steve McNair that I knew was a great person. He helped put this organization on the map here in Tennessee, put it in our first Super Bowl. I will miss him, as you all will miss him. And I ask you to honor what he did on the field and in the community and he was a tremendous legacy. And that is his legacy and I am proud to have been a part of that.’’
The New York Yankees. One of sports money franchises. Someone once told me the Steinbrenner family has one of those money bins like Scrooge McDuck, where the family swims in gold doubloons from the $20 cups of beer. They have built a billion dollar palace to play in, and my friend John has told me that the stadium is the nicest stadium he has ever been in, no matter the sport. He should know, because he has covered the past 3 Olympic games and has been to events I could ever dream of going. The stadium has been a virtual launching pad for home runs and the fans are certainly entertained by the barrage of offense. At least, the ones that can afford the expensive seats.
Don Garber, commissioner of Major League Soccer, took notice of the empty seats. He noted, in the context of a down economy, that the Yankees were having trouble filling those $2K per game seats. Of course, one would read that commissioner of MLS is willing to go down a path of futility when discussing someone’s lack of attendance. Even Donna Orender, president of the WNBA, dare not travel down this road.
Enter Randy Levine. Levine is the president of the New York Yankees. He also took notice of the coments that Garber said. Here is his response:
“Don Garber discussing Yankee attendance must be a joke,” Levine said Friday. “We draw more people in a year than his entire league does in a year. If he ever gets Major League Soccer into the same time zone as the Yankees, we might take him seriously.
“Hey Don, worry about Beckham, not the Yankees. Even he wants out of your league.”
Game. Set. Match. Levine. I am not a Yankees fan, but Levine just ripped this guy a new one. For starters, the Yankees do draw more people in a year than his entire league. They definitely have more revenue generated. I mean, I haven’t seen Kansas City Wiz caskets or Columbus Crew Tiffany style lamps. Also, Beckham is trying to take his MLS cash and play overseas. I still don’t even know how MLS is still even in existence.
Levine has been a controversial figure for the Yankees. He has been painted as the guy to blame for Joe Torre no longer being the manager of the team, he has been known as a tough negotiator within baseball, and has managed to amass great power throughout the organization. I think he was channeling his inner Steinbrenner. Of course, he should have tapped into his inner Theo Epstein and gotten the team some ground ball pitchers, or pitchers that can at least throw consistent strikes.
Last year, I wrote a piece on Kentucky basketball and their lack of NBA lottery picks the past few years. Anytime we have posted about Kentucky basketball, it is highly read by some Wildcat fans. This post was different though. This one was picked up by a Wildcat blog, and by the time I got off of work, there were 96 comments that were left on the posting. 110 total comments would be posted. Thomas and the Moderator were amazed and pissed at the same time, and frustration over sensitive Wildcat fans invading the place set in. Some of the favorite comments were:
Wow! I love me some jealous, unclassy, can’t look at your own coach’s immoral personal life, still looking for that elusive elite eight, Tennessee Volunteers! Whoa!!!! The round of 16! Everyone come to UT: Where we guarantee mediocrity!-Kyle
I don’t discount your point about the name of the arena being racist. But the rest of your “point” is off to say the least! You are talking about UK not having any players drafted in the lottery, but UT hasn’t even had any players drafted in Pearl’s time. By the way Hopson didn’t leave UK’s program.
Jealousy will not get you anywhere when it comes to recruiting. So now recruiting an 8th grader gets you compared to R.Kelley sexual assault? You should be ashamed of yourself for such a statement. Than again I shouldn’t be surprised, I’ve read your “writing” before!-Jack
1st Round NCAA Tourney exit = Back-to-back bowl bids to ritzy Shreveport.-3rd Down H Back
UK built SEC basketball the same way Alabama built SEC football.
So in response to all of the commentators, I wrote this piece in response to all of the comments. Didn’t really matter though, Wildcat fans were pissed, and even a Pulitzer prize winning journalist (I think) by the name of John Clay of the prestigious (wait, let me get this right) Lexington Herald-Ledger chimed in. Side note: I am still waiting on a response from this Peabody award winning journalist to the e-mail that I sent him.
To all of you Wildcat fans who said that Kentucky was back and happy days were here again, let me just say…
Also, good luck in trying to get the sexy name coach. Donovan and Wright have already turned you down. Calipari has a LOADED recruiting class coming in and has FedEx and International Paper money paying his high salary. Anthony Grant, a really good coach, was already snatched up by Alabama. The fact remains that Kentucky, for all of its glitzy facilities and rabid fanbase, will have to really overpay for its next head coach, which means you might have a shot at Cal, but doubtful. Seriously, who would want to coach with reporters like this???
So as I am watching the World Baseball Classic, largely because there is absolutely nothing else on, I see Pedro Martinez on the bench in full activator mode. What in the world is he thinking??? This isn’t 1988, this is 2008. So I thought back to a time in which the Jheri curl was really popular, and came up with the following list, in no particular order:
Michael Cage: His shoulders were always shiny. They were shiny with the sheen of activator. He was a monster on the low blocks, punishing people inside of the lane. Of course, he was probably nailing people in the eye with curl juice. Seeing Cage’s hair bouncing down the court behind him was like seeing poetry in greasy motion.
Doc Gooden/Gary Sheffield: This is evidence of the family of Jheri curls. Back then, more than one family member usually had a Jheri curl. This proved to be econimical, because large groups of people could share big tubs of S-Curl and buy shower caps in bulk. The savings would then be passed to the stylists in the form of tips for hooking up the sweet do. This gave way to the popular expression, “The family that sprays together, stays together”.
Jack Sikma: Now this wasn’t a Jheri curl, but we here are equal opportunity. Besides, any time I can throw in a Jack Sikma reference, I must use it. The man had a perm that made Mike Brady and Bill Walton jealous.
Walter Peyton: “Sweetness” had a sweet do to match his name. One of the best running backs ever, Peyton eluded defenders with grace and swiftness. The key thing is that his vision was never cloudy because of curl juice because he always wore a head band. That’s called thinking outside of the box.
“The Doctor of Style” Slick: Slick was a manager in the then-WWF. I think this picture exemplifies the style and pizzaz that Slick embodied. He would manage wrestlers such as Nikolai Volkoff, The Iron Shiek, Akeem, and the Big Boss Man. His theme song, for those who may not know, was Jive Soul Bro. Uh, no that was not a typo.The video is on youtube.
So there ya go folks. There were some who almost made the list, like Bernard King or A.C. Green. If you can think of some others, please let us know.
Sporting a 26-3 record, the Memphis Tigers are poised for a #1 seed. Realistically, this year’s edition of the Tigers is absent of the club hoppers, woman beaters, and scary thugs NBA type talent at every position when compared to last year’s team, but overall, this has been a better team.
Free throw shooting eventually was one of the things that caught up to them last year. Yes, the pain is still there in the hearts of Tiger fans, but this year, the Tigers are shooting almost 70% compared to 61% last year. The 9% difference overallmay not sound like much, but it is the difference between an NCAA Championship Banner hanging in the rafters of plush FedEx Forum instead of drafty and cramped Phog Allen Fieldhouse in Kansas (not that I am biased or still bitter). They are also allowing opponents 7 fewer points this year compared to last.
However, the Tigers still have one problem that reared its ugly head in the losses to Xavier and Syacuse this year, along with the final 3 minutes of last year’s title game: The lack of in-game coaching strategy of John Calipari. Don’t get me wrong, he is an excellent recruiter and can motivate his teams like no other. He is great for a college program. However, as a pure X’s and O’s coach, he has a tendency to get out coached. The talent that he amasses gets him out of a lot of situations. Either way, they should run through the rest of the Tiger High Invitational C-USA Tournament and land a #1 seed.
Then there is this pimp:
Rick Pitino and Louisville, who until ESPN gave them a blow job put a spotlight on them, were quietly sneaking up on the competition, setting up a potential showdown in the Big East Tournament against Pitt or UConn. They are loaded and are clearly the best basketball team in the state of Kentucky. They do need to win the Big East to get a #1 seed, but with this team, it is very possible. Earl Clark should be a lottery pick and, wouldn’t it be sweet if the Tigers and Cardinals played for the national title???
Here in Houston, the sport buzz has been on Tracy McGrady. McGrady has been a polarizing figure here. However, the way that this “surgery” has been handled, most Houston sports fans have been calling him “the worst Rocket ever”. I told the guys at the barber shop this when they first traded for him but I won’t say I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Apparently, word on the street is that microfracture surgery was not necessary, and he shopped around to find a doctor to agree that surgery was the best option. 4 other doctors told him to rehab and play through the pain. Doctor #5 was paid handsomely agreed with T-Mac’s assessment that surgery was required. I can see getting a second opinion, but four??? Wow.
Here are some nicknames for McGrady, some original, some not:
She-Mac
“Malibu” Stacy McGrady
T-Bag
Tin Man (for lack of heart and achy joints)
Penny Hardaway part II (no coincidence they both played for Orlando wearing #1)
The Human Injury Report
I think about Michael Jordan playing in the NBA Finals against the Jazz with the flu, lighting Utah up for 35 points while throwing up in buckets during time outs. I think about Allen Iverson playing through broken fingers, torn elbow ligaments and leading the league in scoring. I remember Jack Youngblood of the Rams playing through the NFL playoffs years ago with a broken leg, and playing quite frankly like it was not broken. But not McGrady, when she gets a hang nail there is no basketball being played. Yes, I am now referring to McGrady as she. Why not??? I don’t fear her. All I have to do is wear a Utah Jazz jersey in front of Stacy and I will always win.
The worst of all of this is She-Mac’s website. First of all, after surgery, McGrady immediately posted that the surgery was a success. So after the pain of getting a drill in the side of her fragile knee, homegirl had time to post about the surgery. Then, all of these nutjob “fans” wishing him luck and best wishes, saying to her that the doubters are just hating. Whatever, I just hope the knee scarring caan be covered up with some boots. You can’t even post a negative comment on the site. They filter it.
Oh well. Since her contract is up next year, and microfracture knee surgery takes at least a year to recover, McGrady probably won’t ever wear a Rocket uniform again. Since the WNBA’s Comets no longer play here in Houston, her playing choices remain very limited. Don’t feel sorry for her, McGrady is owed $44 million for this year and next year. Until then:
Living in Houston is a different experience from growing up in Memphis. For one thing, Houston is fortunate to have 3 sucky major league sports teams. Growing up in Memphis, there was the then Memphis State Tigers and the Double A Memphis Chicks. Big difference.
One of the things that amazes are the “big league” marketing campaigns that the teams come up with. When I first moved here in 2003, I was expecting glossy, complex slogans that would stick with me and make me wanna shell out $20 for parking, $5 for Cokes, $7 for Cokes in a souvenir cup, $8 for nachos, plus the price of tickets. I would use these marketing campaigns to justify spending $100 in one night. I mean, I could look at that souvenir cup that will fade after the first waash and say to myself, “The memory of spending $7 for a cup & drink that cost the team 30 cents to produce was worth it because I saw The Good Guys play”.
Piss on that. Apparently, the Houston Astros, a Major League Baseball franchise, has released its marketing campaign for the 2009 season. The slogan: Did You Miss Us? Seriously, a team that missed on the playoffs again and features one major league starting pitcher in its rotation tries to get its fanbase fired up, not by signing more starting pitching or bullpen help or by getting a catcher that isn’t scared to swing the bat, but by asking its fans Did You Miss Us? Thank God I am a Braves fan. To their credit, they could always get minor league coach and former Memphis Redbird fan favorite Stubby Clapp to be a coach for the big team. Imagine a bunch of Astros female fans holding signs saying “We Got Clapp” or “I Like my Manager Stubby”.
So after listening a little bit to 1560 The Game, I decided to come up with some slogans that the Astros can use for this year:
Barry Lamar Bonds, baseball’s home run king*, is screwed. According to court documents, U.S. Attorneys have everything from positive tests for steroids to phone conversations by his equally genetically jacked up trainer Greg Anderson.
So the documents are available to the public, and as a warning, they are lengthy. Judge Susan Ilston is expected to rule on a defense motion to suppress evidence, such as the urine samples, or allow the evidence to stay when the case goes to trial next month. But in the court of public opinion, he is guilty.
But the rabbit hole goes deeper than just a few positive piss tests. Barroid also took clomid, which is a common masking agent for athletes using steroids. What is clomid you might ask??? Clomid is a female fertility drug, used to induce ovulation. Side effects (I love this part) include ovarian enlargement, breast discomfort, abnormal uterine bleeding, and multiple births. Translation: If you see this guy scratching his tit and his mid-section is bloody, we know why. I don’t even wanna know where those multiple births are gonna come out of.
One of the steroids that he is accused of using is nandrolone, a common steroid. It is so common that some of the people who have failed steroid tests include C.J. Hunter (one of Marion Jones former lovers), Roger Clemens (another dumbass), UFC great Royce Gracie, Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, and Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle, formerly of the WWE and now currently in TNA Wrestling.
Of course there is the expected testimony of former players that either played with Bonds or were also caught up in the whole BALCO scandal from the beginning. Also, there could also be the possible testimony of Kimberly Bell, former girlfriend (side action, one in the chamber, jump off, chick on the side, ace in the hole) of Bonds. She has said in the past that Bonds talked about his use of steroids, including seeing him inject himself. Oh, for you 3 pervs reading this, she posed for Playboy. You can see the censored pics here. In that Playboy article, she also talked about his inability to “get it up”. I guess Clomid & Cialis doesn’t mix well. Too bad, because I would like to see Barry throw a football through a tire like the commercial.
I know that he is proud. It is that pride that got him in this mess. It is pure vanity that caused him to stick that syringe in his ass. He was a great player before all of this. Pride got the best of him. He better take a deal now, because he has been out of the hood too long. Once he gets behind bars, one drop of the soap and he will get his first prison style prostate exam…
-Kid wakes up at 6:30 am, thus killing any dreams of having a lazy Saturday morning. A feeling suddenly comes over me, telling me that today will not be a good day for the home team.
-I almost lose my little girl at the park around 10:30 am. I now feel like a “Father of the Year” candidate. I took my eye off of her for 5.8 seconds to answer my cell phone & she was gone. Luckily, she walked over to the mounted cop’s horse. Instantly, I was relieved and told her not to give the horse candy. We didn’t want to end up like Kenny from Half Baked.
-Watch the Memphis Tigers give the game away to Georgetown in OT. They need a point guard in the worst way.
-Kentucky beat Indiana, thus killing my sweet Billy Clyde/Hoosiers I had thought about. Bastards.
-Got into it with the better half. Guys, always remember that women, although beautiful creatures, are mean and vicious when they choose to be. After arguing, it was couch duty for me. Life sucks.
-I found out Candace Parker married that monkey looking Duke boy, thus killing my dream of me and Candace…wait,I am already doing couch duty. Let me shut up.
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