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The Sports Examiner: News & Views
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Weekly briefing for Monday, July 21, 2008 |
≡ 7 Days ≡
 Selig: the real All-Star? |
= To Our Readers =
We’re back after being on assignment for our sister site, CigarCycloedia.com for a week. You can now find us in two different places on the Web: in addition to The Sports Examiner, we now write three times a week on Olympic sports for the World Championship Sports Network site, WCSN.com in a column called “Inside the Rings.”
Here at The Sports Examiner, we have changed our format to include a weekly intelligence briefing, with commentary, for the astute sports fan called “7 Days” on Mondays and a bonus posting called “Fun & Games” during the week.. Thanks again for your continued support; please ask your friends to sign up for the Tip Sheet and the free newsletter.
= The Top Story =
>> Beijing, China: In a story entitled “Why China’s Olympian Efforts to lean Up Beijing’s Air Won’t Work,” Wired.com’s Alexis Madrigal writes that “China’s basic air problem is that the city experiences roughly weekly meteorological cycles in which stagnant, polluted air coming from the provinces south of Beijing is flushed out by cold fronts from Mongolia. When the weather doesn’t cooperate, there is little that authorities can do, [University of Rhode Island professor emeritus Kenneth] Rahn said.
“‘I’m glad I’m not an Olympic organizer responsible for canceling these events,’ Rahn said. ‘It is a borderline situation and unpredictable until the 11th hour.’”
Rahn’s research has shown that while no one of the measures that the Chinese are trying appears likely to work reliably, perhaps the combination might. Rahn notes that “When the magic switch gets flipped on July 20th, who knows what will change? That’s what makes it so much fun.”
“Fun” may not be what the Olympic organizers in Beijing would call it.
= The National Pastime =
>> New York, N.Y.: The Washington Post’s Michael Wilbon had the best taken on baseball’s All-Star Game and those of the other major leagues:
If you’re going to have this game, create some stakes. If players can’t be seduced by a free trip to Hawaii, as is the case with the NFL’s Pro Bowl, you know the game itself is worthless. And while most NBA players want to be involved with the all-star weekend, they’ve usually partied themselves to fatigue by the time the game starts.
This All-Star Game wasn’t just played, it was seriously contested. There were successful sacrifice attempts, stolen bases, tight plays at the plate, tough managerial decisions, even umpire errors. The only thing missing was the managers didn’t come out and raise hell like they normally would. But there was no mistaking [Derek] Jeter standing on that top dugout step, peering over the railing for the entire five hours, rooting for the AL as if it were a deciding game in the World Series.
Wilbon added, “any discussion of the 79th All-Star Game and the American League’s 4-3 victory ought to begin with a tip of the cap to Commissioner Bud Selig.” After the infamous 7-7 tie in Milwaukee in 2002, the awarding of home-field advantage made “the game as competitive as ever.” ≡ ¶ ≡
>> Oakland, Ca.: Since 2004, the Oakland A’s have traded or lost to free agency pitchers Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson, Aaron Harang, Dan Haren, Rich Harden and Joe Blanton. And yet the club is 51-47 and just five games out in the American League Wild Card race.
Any doubt that BillyBall really works?
= The NBA =
>> Oklahoma City, Ok.: Word is the former Seattle SuperSonics will become the Oklahoma City Thunder next season. The formal announcement of the new nickname hasn’t been made yet, but some other suggestions included the Armadillos, Drillers, Goat Ropers, Gushers, Landrushers, Lottery Pickers, OkieDokies, Stampede, Tornadoes and Wranglers.
≡ ¶ ≡
>> Portland, Or.: Remember Darius Miles? The one-time no. 3 draft pick by the L.A. Clippers had microfracture surgery in 2006 and his right knee injury was considered “career-ending” by the NBA. Now healthy, he’s trying to get back into the league and if he did, he’d be the first to come back from a “career-ending” setback.
While Miles, 26, is trying to land a job and has worked out with the Celtics, Mavericks, Suns and Nets, he’s still due another $18 million from the TrailBlazers under his existing contract (he was released in April). But with any team that would take him, he’ll have to sit out 10 games due to a league suspension for using controlled substances. And then there’s his reputation as a difficult and moody player. He told SI.com’s Ian Thomsen, “I feel like I’m a starter in this league . . . But I would love to go to a playoff team and come off the bench.” That’s more likely.
≡ ¶ ≡
>> Denver, Co.: What actually happens in today’s NBA:
Asked why the Nuggets traded center Marcus Camby to the Clippers, Denver vice president Mark Warkentien said “The deal was made for one compelling reason, the trade exception. This provides us with greater flexibility, more options for potential deals with other teams.”
By trading Camby, Denver clears $10 million in salary cap space and the trade exception, which allows the club to acquire players with contracts totaling $10 million in salary (within the next year) without having to give anything more than a future draft selection.
For his part, Camby says he was “shocked,” “insulted” and “frustrated.” He’ll clearly play hard for the Clippers against the Nuggets next season, but what about the other 78 games?
≡ ¶ ≡
>> Orlando, Fl.: From John Denton’s report on ESPN.com of the best players in the Orlando Summer League games:
Best Player: Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City, ex-UCLA).
Biggest Disappointment: Derrick Rose (Chicago, ex-Memphis).
Big men Brook Lopez (New Jersey, ex-Stanford) and Michael Beasley (Miami, ex-Kansas State) were also considered to have done well.
= On Campus =
>> New York, N.Y.: If you believe the folks at SI.com, then the Pac-10 is the nation’s dominant conference, with the SEC close behind.
The SI.com rankings differ from the national Director’s Cup, which has awarded Stanford with the trophy for best overall program for 14 straight years. Under SI.com’s system, national championships, conference finishes and top-30-in-the-nation finishes are considered and while Stanford did well, it finished second to Arizona State.
The Sun Devils compiled 66 points to Stanford’s 60.5, with UCLA third at 57.5. USC tied for seventh at 44, giving the Pac-10 the top three spots and four of the top eight. SEC powers Georgia (tied for fourth), Florida (tie-7th), LSU (9th) and Tennessee (10th) were all in the top 10, giving the two conferences eight of the top 10. Only North Carolina (ACC; tie-4th) and Penn State (Big 10: 6th) cracked the top ten from outside the Pac-10 or SEC.
The SI.com list went to 25, with no other SEC schools listed, but California, Oregon and Arizona ranked 19th-tie, 21st and 22nd, giving the Pac-10 a total of seven schools (70% of the league!) in the top 25.
≡ ¶ ≡
>> Los Angeles, Ca.: With fall football practice still weeks away, Scott Wolf’s “Inside USC” blog at the Los Angeles Daily News continues to concern itself with the “problems” of the USC song girl squad. One disgusted reader sent in this: “Your blog has now become unreadable. Can no longer bear the abundance of cheerleader banter and the dearth of any real content, football or otherwise.”
Wolf also wrote on July 10, “[The USC athletic department has] made it clear on several occasions that they read my blog comments and want the song girl issue to disappear. . . . That’s why I said just try to keep the comments respectful in tone, because they are looking for examples to focus on that instead of any type of reforms [on how the song girls are selected].”
What’s the answer? Three words: NCAA Cheerleading Championships, and all the scholarships, injuries and cheating that goes along with it. Then it’s fair game.
≡ ¶ ≡
>> Corvallis, Or.: Oregon State has an excellent track & field history, led by Dick Fosbury, the 1968 Olympic champion high jumper who revolutionized the sport with his back-to-the-bar technique which became known as the Fosbury Flop.
But there hasn’t been a track team in Corvallis since the early 1980s, but that’s going to change.
There is a women’s team, of course, thanks to Title IX, and coach Kelly Sullivan (a man) indicated that a new facility could be opened as early as 2010 and bringing a men’s team back in 2012, or even earlier. Why? Football, of course.
According to Sullivan, Beavers coach Mike Riley is all for a men’s track team because “they run into a lot of recruiting with kids that say, ‘Hey, I want to do track.’ . . . They want it as badly as we do.”
Sullivan said that strictly thanks to football, OSU might even field a 400-meter relay team next spring, made up entirely of football players.
= Soccer =
>> Beverly Hills, Ca.: A week after agreeing with FIFA President Sepp Blatter that his multi-million dollar contract with Manchester United makes him essentially a “slave” to the club, Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo was spied at the Beverly Hills Hotel by The Sun newspaper of London.
A report stated that Ronaldo “tackled two bikini-clad women at the swanky Beverly Hills Hotel pool” and that he has, according to a hotel source, “been on the prowl around the pool and in the bar.”
Says our office wag, “What do you expect? He’s not a defenseman, he’s a scorer!”
≡ ¶ ≡
>> Columbus, Oh.: Soccer executives have always wanted the sport in the U.S. to match the passion seen for European teams. They may have gotten their wish.
In a “friendly” match between the MLS’s Columbus Crew and English Premier League club West Ham United, a brawl broke out at halftime between about 100 Crew fans and 30 Ham fans! It took city police and stadium security several minutes to break up the fight.
The game itself was a straightforward 3-1 win for West Ham, giving them a 1-1 record for the day.
= Potpourri =
>> Atlantic City, N.J.: In case you missed it, former Philadelphia Eagle returner Vai Sikahema knocked out former baseball star Jose Canseco in 1:37 of the first round of their fight on July 12.
The fight, held before 1,300 at Bernie Robbins Stadium (a minor-league baseball park) featured Sikahema and 15 family members doing a haka (war dance) prior to the bout. Said one fan to the New York Daily News, “That was worth the $50 just to see that.”
The newspaper reported that Canseco was paid $35,000 for the bout, which was supposed to last for three, two-minute rounds. Sikahema received $25,000 and said of Canseco, “He’s a very impressive-looking guy. But the guy is a walking corpse, because he’s rotted inside out. He’s a pathetic figure.”
~ Rich Perelman
>> Have an opinion? You can send it using the “Comment” button below!
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The Sports Examiner: Out Loud!
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Out Loud! for Friday, July 11, 2008 |
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TSX Tip Sheet
Today's posts: Monday, July 21, 2008
Top Story: Why the Chinese efforts to reduce pollution for the Olympics won’t work!
Baseball: Credit Commissioner Selig for the excitement and drama of the All-Star Game
Baseball: BillyBall really does work: look at all the pitching the A’s have lost and they’re still in it
NBA: Oklahoma City team reportedly to be call the Thunder; there were other suggestions!
NBA: The real reason Marcus Camby was traded to the Clippers? A $10 million trade exemption?
NBA: Best of the rookies in the Orlando Summer League: an ex-Bruin headed to Oklahoma City
On Campus: The Pac-10 is the best conference in the land and the SEC is no. 2, per SI.com
On Campus: USC song girls still the biggest topic of discussion until football practice starts
On Campus: Oregon State re-starting its men's track program; why? How about the football coach wants it?
Soccer: Portuguese star Ronaldo seen trying to score with the locals at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool!
Soccer: Execs want Americans to have more passion for the sport, so Columbus fans brawl with West Ham supporters!
Potpourri: Ex-Eagle Vai Sikahema hammers ex-slugger Jose Canseco in one round of boxing; yawn.
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TSX Quick Fax
The ancient Egyptians played a game like bowling using large stones set up as pins and small stones as a ball.
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