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Return of the Rick - A Look Back at Pundits Predictions
2007-06-19 16:09:00
For all he's been through in his life, from growing up with a father who went in and out of prison, to suddenly and famously losing control of his pitches in the playoffs against the Mets, it was easy to write off Rick Ankiel. But as injuries mount for the St. Louis Cardinals, a potentially fascinating story is developing. Ankiel is becoming a realistic hitting prospect that fans are clamoring to see. He recently hit three homeruns in a game, and as of June 19, he is hitting .286 with 19 homeruns and 52 RBI's, to go along with an impressive .932 OPS in AAA. For reference, Barry Bonds is leading the NL with a 1.082 OPS.The problem lies in the fact he is out of options, so he would have to clear waivers to return to the minor leagues after some of the Cardinals injuries mend. And with the way he is hitting, somebody would claim him. Still, manager Tony LaRussa is intrigued:Tony La Russa said it would be "fun" to promote outfielder Rick Ankiel and give him a two-week whirl in the maj...
More About: Predictions , Back , Return , Look

Fantasy Break: Don't Stop Believing
2007-06-19 15:52:00
(This story was originally written for the fantasy sports site The Fantasy Sports Review)As we sit in the midst of summer, trudging through the searing heat and encompassing humidity, we can look to fantasy baseball for occasional relief. Until we see our team is in 8th place, far out of the race for a league championship. It may seem hopeless, but have faith. It is still possible to drag your team from the depths of the standings to the top of the heap.Unlike football, the other most popular fantasy sport, baseball is not going to be won or lost in a matter of weeks. Players that started off cold who have a track record of performing almost definitely will, unless they have an injury nobody is privy to. Take Carlos Zambrano, for example. In one of my leagues, there was an owner who actually dropped him a few weeks ago. Assuredly, he is regretting that decision now. Big Z started the season going 5-4 with a 5.28 ERA. He turned it around in June, as he has 2 wins with a 2.83 ERA. And...
More About: Break , Stop , Ving , Brea

Celebrity Fit Club: Athlete Edition
2007-06-18 16:22:00
If you have not been watching Celebrity Fit Club on VH-1, you are missing the best show on television. Forget 24, Lost or The Office. Celebrity Fit Club blows them all out of the water. If you are not familiar with the show, let me tell you how it works. VH-1 gets C and D-list "celebrities" who are far past their prime and have become fat, disgusting slobs to compete to see who can lose the most weight and win prizes and money.Among the "celebrities" who have taken part in this ritual of humiliation include: rapper Biz Markie, actor Daniel Baldwin, former SNL star Victoria Jackson, Willie Aames from Charles In Charge, Tempestt Bledsoe of The Cosby Show, former Baywatch babe and Playboy model Erika Eleniak (in photo on right, in her glory days), Nick Turturro from NYPD Blue and Tina Yothers from Family Ties.Last night was the season finale of the best season to date. As it turns out, Screech from Saved by the Bell (Dustin Diamond) is a total prick. Who knew? He antagonizes and makes ...
More About: Edition , Athlete

This Is Live? Cut! CUT!
2007-06-15 20:28:00
This is what happens when you have a dirty, dirty mind.
More About: World Cup , Soccer , Live

Fantasy Break: Ten Players To Move
2007-06-15 16:01:00
(This article was originally written for the website The Fantasy Sports Review)The baseball season is well underway, and with it comes an opportunity to review your club and see what is working and what is not. Changes will inevitably be made to your squad, and other owners will be itching to fix problem areas on their teams. Some guys have gotten off to great starts that may not last. The following are players you should try to move while the time is right.- Brad Penny, SP, L.A. Dodgers: Penny is scorching hot at 8-1 with a 2.18 ERA, but if you'll remember, he started off similarly hot last spring, and started the All-Star game. And while he ended up having a pretty good 2006 (16-9, 4.33), something has always been missing for Penny, and he has yet to put together a truly outstanding year. With his stuff, that raises a red flag.- J.J. Hardy, SS, Milwaukee Brewers: The reasons not to believe in Hardy are plentiful. Prior to this year, his career high batting average was .247 and hi...
More About: Players , Fantasy Baseball , Break , Move

Filipino Basketball - Have A Gay Old Time!
2007-06-14 18:06:00
Since the NBA Finals have been so excruciatingly boring, fans around the globe are searching for an outlet to get their basketball fix. May we offer a suggestion for you? Take a vacation to the Philippines to watch the Filipino professional league. Apparently, it's huge there:Basketball is really the only team sport in the Philippines. The only other contest that rivals it in popularity is cock-fighting.So basketball is popular there. It's probably a lot like basketball in the States, right? Well, not exactly. Not only are there height restrictions (6'6") on the players, the basketball fans at these games are like something out of a Richard Simmons wet dream:The fan base is fascinating. It seems that old women and flamboyantly gay men feature very prominently ... Especially at the PBA professional games. Really the most devoted fans are the Manangs, which are the old women, and the Baclas, which are the gays, the homosexual men, and they're really a whole part of basketball cult...
More About: Time , Ball

Fantasy Break: 10 Players You Do Not Want To Trade
2007-06-14 16:45:00
This article was originally written for the website The Fantasy Sports ReviewBaseball is a game that has more ups and downs than any other. The season is a long, grueling test of durability and skill. Streaks and injuries are bound to surface on your fantasy squad. The question is what to do about it. Will you try a trade to fix a weakness? Do you rely on past history? Let me offer you ten players that you will not want to trade - unless you are blown away by an offer, and even then you might not want to do it. All of these players were top picks mixed in with a couple sleepers. No doubt you are getting offers for some of these guys (I know I am) because they have been injured, they started off slow, or they are young and unproven, and other owners in your leagues want to take advantage of your situation. - Johan Santana, SP, Minnesota Twins: Forget the fact that he is 6-6 with a 3.24 ERA right now. Johan has consistently been the best pitcher in baseball the last few years and he ...
More About: Players , Break , Trade , Layer

An Interview With Darren Rovell
2007-06-13 15:06:00
When we are kids, we think of sports as nothing more than games being played by larger than life figures. We idolize these men and women, and think they are playing for our city, for our team, because they want to win for the sake of the us - the fans. The process of growing up means many hard truths are learned, and one of those hard truths is that sports are a big business played by rich men on teams owned by even richer men. Billions of dollars worth of transactions take place in sports every year. That is where Darren Rovell comes in.As the leading expert in the world of sports business, Rovell is a busy man. He runs his own blog on cnbc.com called Sports Biz, appears on CNBC television, is a guest on many national radio programs and has written two books, First in Thirst: How Gatorade Turned the Science of Sweat into a Cultural Phenomenon and On the Ball: What You Can Learn About Business From America's Sports Leaders. Darren was kind enough to take time out of his schedule to...
More About: Tiger Woods , Michelle Wie , Kevin Durant , Greg Oden , Interview

Spectacular One Year Wonders
2007-06-12 17:56:00
We decided to take a look back into sports history and come up with some of the most spectacular one year wonders. These athletes came into our consciousness for a brief moment of glory, and left just as quickly.- Brady Anderson: Anderson came out of nowhere in 1996, when at age 32, he hit 50 homeruns, besting his previous season high by 29. The next season he hit only 18 homeruns in two more games, and would never again hit more than 24. This was at the height of the "Steroid Era" and there is strong suspicion Anderson got his sudden power with more than just extra batting practice.- The XFL: The brainchild of WWE owner Vince McMahon, the XFL was set up as competition for the NFL, and was quickly put on the air at NBC. The league was supposed to be an edgier, more visceral experience for fans. Instead, they were more well-known for their cheerleaders wearing whorish outfits, and players putting fake names on the back of their jerseys like "He Hate Me". After one season that resulte...
More About: Wonders , Buster Douglas , Year , Spectacular

Friedman to Leitch: "Punk"!
2007-06-12 02:10:00
A few months ago, Deadspin editor Will Leitch announced he would be on some sort of panel about sports writing. Curiously, after that, nary a word was said about this.Well, a short video of this event was just released a few days ago, and seeing as how I was the 17th person to view it (seriously ... I blindly stumbled upon this looking for "The Blog Show" or it would have been lost in the sphere of the world wide web forever), I thought I'd share the carnage with you all. A near riot broke out as Steve Fried man vicously attacks Leitch with hurtful name-calling, like "Punk ". Okay, that's a lie. Friedman was just kidding. But it is a pretty interesting video, if only to see somebody wearing a sport coat with elbow patches on (and the occasional insight into sports journalism). Not surprisingly, the guy from the Wall Street Journal makes fun of people and plays the cool guy even though he's being a blowhard and won't stop talking. Also disappointing was that the only person on the ...
More About: Panel

Meet The Meths!
2007-06-11 16:17:00
One of the inherent joys of spending way too much time on fantasy baseball is seeing what kind of team names the other owners in our leagues come up with each year. There is always a creative name we see that makes us say to ourselves, "Damn, I wish I thought of that." Apparently, we are not as innovative as the masses. Thankfully, there is no shortage of adroit individuals roaming the internet, ready to entertain us. In search of great names, I scoured the world wide web to find the very best you had to offer. These names come from many sources. Some from leagues we are in, some from a clever thread on the Fantasy Baseball Cafe message board, and some we just happened to stumble across. If your team name is on here, please, take credit in the comments section, and let us know if you have any more. Without further dawdling, here are some great fantasy baseball team names:- Mr. Meth- Sexson the Pujols- Flatulent Amish Kids- Rolen Blunts- Wang Fan- Bud's Wiser- Huge Gyroballs- Dustin...
More About: Meet

The Sopranos
2007-06-11 15:24:00
All week, I cringed every time somebody would have a poll question or ask on the radio what they thought the ending of The Soprano s was going to be. Because I already knew. No, I did not get an advance copy of the finale. I do not have friends on the inside that told me what it was going to be. I knew because there was only one way for the show to go out. Shrouded in mystery.Those of you seeking a violent denouement were left with mouth agape at the ambiguity of the final scene. But you should not have been. At it's core, The Sopranos was not about brutality. It was about family and relationships, loyalty and betrayal.Violence was a by-product of Tony's occupation, just as using a spreadsheet is a by-product of your job. He only used violence when necessary, and never seemed to take any joy out of the deeds required of a man in his position. Tony at his most violent was a man conflicted. His job required him to kill his cousin and one of his best friends in Big Pussy. There was an...

Chicago Cubs "Player Development"
2007-06-10 18:18:00
The Chicago Cubs have passionate fans, a historic stadium and a tradition of being lovable losers. Their past failures are often blamed on billy goats and Bartman, black cats and bad luck. Those are all fun things to talk about. More fun than, say, total incompetence by the front office.With the All-Star Game coming up on July 10, a closer look at the voting ballots will prove just how effective Cubs player development is. Within this notebook, Gerry Fraley of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has done some research and came up with this gem:There are 240 position players on the All-Star ballot. Only one began his career with the Chicago Cubs . Can you name that player?Time's up. The lone product of the Cubs player-development system to appear on the All-Star ballot is outfielder Corey Patterson, now with Baltimore. By comparison, there are 15 Toronto products and 14 Atlanta products on the ballot. The Cardinals had eight.One player on the ballot came up through their system. Of course, t...
More About: Development , Player

The Worst Starting Rotations in Baseball
2007-06-08 17:46:00
There are often arguments about which team in Major League Base ball has the best starting rotation. You could make a case for a number of teams, including Oakland, San Diego and the L.A. Angels. But what about the worst starting rotation? What teams have the dubious distinction of representing the worst their league has to offer?The American League is simple. In fact, it is not even close. The Texas Rangers starting pitching has an ERA of 6.97. If that keeps up, they will easily wear the crown of worst starting staff in the history of baseball. Which is a damn long history. The 1996 Detroit Tigers have the record for worst starters ERA at 6.64, making the difference between the two teams exactly .33 runs per game.Of their current starting rotation, Robinson Tejada has the "best" starters ERA at a woeful 6.28. Mike Wood has started four games, and he has a 5.40 ERA, but he has not started in the month of June. Kevin Millwood, who makes $9.8 million this year, has been brutal. He spor...
More About: Ball , Rotation

Their Own Personal Cell
2007-06-07 15:59:00
Commissioners Roger Goodell, Bud Selig and David Stern, of the NFL, MLB and NBA respectively, have each tried to quell misbehavior by their leagues players in recent times.The measures taken by the commissioners have brought attention to the misdeeds done by athletes presently and in the past. With this, we will take a look at some of the most egregious crimes athletes were convicted or accused of. There have been transgressions ranging from the completely bizarre to the downright terrifying.Sam Crane: Crane wasn't much of a big league ballplayer, but he left his mark. Crane was convicted in 1930 of killing his ex-girlfriend and her lover in a hotel bar. Later, Connie Mack, who Crane played for, would help him get paroled.Najeh Davenport: Davenport was arrested for defecating in a laundry basket in 2002. A woman at Barry University in Miami says she awoke to find a man had broken into her hotel room and crapped in her laundry basket. Davenport took a plea bargain, but claimed innoc...
More About: Personal , Cell , Person , Persona , Sona

The Return of Mighty Quin
2007-06-06 21:28:00
Much to the chagrin of The Smittblog and fans of the Missouri Tigers, Quin Snyder is back in basketball. In the NBA Development League. According to Andy Katz, Snyder will take over for the recently deceased Dennis Johnson as coach of the Austin Toros. Snyder has been away from the game, but he told Katz, "I came to the conclusion after looking at business stuff that I wanted to coach. That's my passion." If it was such a passion, why did he break so many rules? If it was such a passion, wouldn't he have been looking for a coaching gig all along instead of "business stuff"?Then again, universities probably weren't lining up outside his door to hire him. He wasn't exactly hot property after being forced out of the University of Missouri, having been named in 17 different allegations in 5 years, including paying players.Then again, former Indiana Pacers GM and current Toros owner David Kahn seems to know something we don't:"Quin has a tremendous upside and I see him one day, if h...
More About: Return , The Return , Turn , Mighty

The Most Overvalued Statistics in Football?
2007-06-06 18:46:00
Baseball is the pre-eminent sport involving statistics. There are never ending ways to calculate a players performance. New statistics are being devised all the time, and the sport was changed forever with the introduction of sabermetrics by Bill James.No longer was batting average the number one indicator of a players success. Instead, it was logically reasoned that to score runs, players have to get on base, thus on-base percentage became a more useful tool in deciphering how well a player is performing.It also put to rest the notion that stats like wins and RBI are indicative of a single players productivity. Without their teammates scoring runs, pitchers cannot be credited with wins. Unless there are runners in scoring position, the only way to get an RBI is to hit a solo homerun.With this in mind, I read with interest The Smittblog's piece on the worthlessness of QB rating. It occurred to me that there is no legitimate way to separate how good a football player is using saberm...
More About: Tom Brady , Football , Tony Romo , Statistics , Peyton Manning

Links To Peruse
2007-06-06 18:29:00
Some stuff from around the internets:- Milwaukee fans have understandably gotten excited about the Brew Crew this year (though I think the Cardinals may have something to say about that before the season is over), but for the love of all things holy, they really should hold off on making awful raps about the team. (Bugs and Cranks)- The Extrapolater thinks Mark Cuban should invest some money into scouting Turkish football. Somehow, I don't think LaDainian Tomlinson and Steven Jackson are afraid of these guys taking their jobs. (The Extrapolater)- Lots of players are disappointing their teams in MLB this year (*cough* Adam Kennedy *cough*). Not surprisingly, the Drew family is well represented on this list. (Beyond the Boxscore)- I'm shocked (shocked!) to learn that Pac-Man Jones is acting like a moron. Again. (MediaTakeOut)- This young couple might have been doing a little more than watching the game. (Phil Elkins)- Hopefully, Shawn Andrews, Eagles Pro Bowl offensive lineman, won...
More About: Links

Oh, Snap! Babe Ruth Said What About Bonds?
2007-06-06 16:08:00
Babe Ruth has something to say about Barry Bonds and this whole steroids business. Ruth never was one to hold back, and he fires away, back from the grave.
More About: Snap , Babe Ruth , Babe , Said

Fellowship of the Leagues
2007-06-04 22:03:00
Roger Goodell has clearly been eager to mark his territory in the NFL, instituting a player conduct policy that severely punishes anybody who steps out of line. This policy was enacted because the NFL wanted to clean up its image in the wake of Cincinnati prisons becoming housing for the Bengals, and players like Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson having their own problems.Goodell's sudden presence made me think: what would the other traditional professional leagues be like if the commissioners traded places? That is, what if the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB had to switch commissioners? How would things be different today if Bud Selig ran the NFL, Roger Goodell ran the NHL, Gary Bettman ran the NBA and David Stern ran MLB?- Bud Selig, NFL Commissioner:Due to Selig ignoring the steroid and human growth hormone crisis, players have grown to enormous sizes, and violent hits on kickoff and punt returns have tragically led to their heads flying clean off their bodies upon contact. Revulsed by seein...
More About: Roger Goodell , Ship , Fellowship

Overrate This, Stark!
2007-06-04 15:27:00
Recently, ESPN baseball writer Jayson Stark caused quite a stir with his new book, which lists his opinions on the most overrated and underrated baseball players of all time.His opinions have created a debate among baseball fans, sports writers and talk show hosts alike. Mike Greenberg, of spelling bee fame, nearly had an aneurism when told the immortal Graig Nettles was on the overrated list. Our outrage was saved for the inclusion of Lou Brock as the most overrated left fielder of all time.Stark's money grab, er, book is a perfect segue to another list of overrated and underrated individuals: sports writers. There are many out there, especially now that the blogosphere has blown up to the point where people like you and I can sit in our parents basement and write whatever the hell we want (Just ask Allison Stokke's dad).This brings us to the list, which for the time being will be kept to national writers only. One day we'll touch on the good (Joe Posnanski) and bad (Jay Mariott...
More About: Writers , Rate

Caitlin Lowe Fanclub, Party of One
2007-06-01 15:50:00
The Women 's College World Series has been interesting on a number of fronts (just hear me out). For starters, the NCAA has somebody doing a blog about it, which is surprisingly in touch for the most crooked and out of date organization in sports, if not the country. The real interest is on the field, where Arizona Wildcats centerfielder Caitlin Lowe is making quite a name for herself on the internet. Many of you are familiar with her face to face meeting with the wall, but she is developing fans for other reasons as well. One particularly creepy write-up about her caught my attention:I was surfing the channels this weekend and came across some real entertainment. The Women's College World Series was on ESPN and I stopped to take a look. I could tell you it was to admire young athletes in their prime. But truthfully it was because most of them are fit beyond belief and wearing tight white pants ... It happened, when I found them, Arizona was playing. This is a team of mostly blond...
More About: Party

If I ran...the St. Louis Cardinals
2007-05-31 17:10:00
(Note: This entry was written for the fantastic blog If I Ran.... Do yourself a favor and check it out.An even 50 games into the season, the St. Louis Cardinals have an abysmal 21-29 record, and are tied for the fewest wins in the National League. Only Kansas City and Texas have fewer wins in MLB. Injuries have hit this team hard, as the disabled list is flush with important pieces of the squad. Starters Chris Carpenter (elbow) and Mark Mulder (shoulder), reliever Josh Kinney (shoulder), outfielder Preston Wilson (knee) and catcher Yadier Molina (wrist) are all on the DL with significant injuries.The only respite for this team is the comforting fact they play in the horrendous N.L. Central. This team still has hopes for a playoff spot, but those hopes are fleeting and probably not realistic, though if last year's World Series taught me one lesson, it's that anything is possible.That said, if I ran the Cardinals, I wouldn't completely give up hope for this year, but I would start ...
More About: Dina , St Louis

N.L. Central Historically Bad?
2007-05-30 16:08:00
As we approach June, the Major League Baseball season has progressed to the point where we can look at trends and decipher what the true nature of a team, or in this case a division really is. Not one, but two articles were written today about the abhorrent mess that is the National League Central .In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, columnist Bryan Burwell had this to say about a Cardinals team that is now 9 games under .500, after losing four of their last five to the Nationals and Rockies:The Cardinals have one very important advantage that can't be ignored: Everyone else in the NL Central is as bad as they are. Five of the six teams in the division have had losing streaks of at least five games during the past two weeks. First-place Milwaukee, which a few weeks ago looked as if it was about to sprint away with the division title before the All-Star break, was in the midst of a six-game losing streak before Tuesday night. The Houston Astros were on an eight-game skid, and the Chicago...
More About: Hist , Tori , Ally