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The Daily Digest for Wednesday, April 4, 2007 |
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April 04, 2007 |
≡ Heading for Home ≡
 The Mighty Quinn |
L.A. Stories:
>> What’s Bruin: We missed this story during the frenzy of the Bruin basketball run to the Final Four, but check out this post by CBS Sportsline.com Senior Writer Dennis Dodd on March 26:
“The Bruins are in!
“You knew that, and you didn’t know that. Final Four? Sure, The Spring Top 25? Let’s just say I am making Marc Dellins’ day. Dellins is the UCLA Minister of Propaganda – they call him the sports info director in Westwood – who was quick to point out that his Bruins have 20 returning starters from a team that beat Southern California.
“This is an issue because the Bruins got, uh, well, somehow left out of my first 2007 top 25 in January. Bring the good MOP that he is, Mr. Dellins quickly shipped me the galleys of the spring guide. He apologized in advance for the typos (the bound version is coming). I didn’t notice any except the bold prediction on Page 3 about beating USC. Again. By 20. To win the Pac-10. Now that’s a good MOP.”
If you look at the Spring Football Guide, you’ll find no such prediction, even in a watermark. But it underlines the high expectations at UCLA for the coming season with the afore-mentioned 20 starters back, a dynamic defensive coordinator in DeWayne Walker and an equally-prized new offensive coordinator in Jay Norvell.
So where did Dodd place the Bruins in his new top 25? Ninth, giving the Pac-10 two teams in the top ten and three in the top 20 (Cal is listed at 16th). What about USC? First in the nation with Dodd’s only question for Pete Carroll, “Is it possible to have too many good players?”
>> Another Bruin Final Four: Dellins is on a roll, though, as the 2006 UCLA Football Media Guide was recognized as one of the best in the nation by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Last season’s guide, compiled and edited by Dellins, Steve Rourke and Stephanie Sampson, was honored as fourth-best in the nation and tops in District 8 (Pacific Coast). CoSIDA’s national top seven included Kansas State at no. 1, then Ohio State, Oklahoma, UCLA, Navy, Penn State and UNLV. Now that’s an award-winning MOP!
>> One More Bruin Final Four: Bruin guard Noelle Quinn was the fourth player selected in today’s WNBA Draft, going to the Minnesota Lynx.
Quinn was the standout on this year’s disappointing 14-18 team that was eliminated in the second round of the Pac-10 Tournament. The Bruins had two picks in the 2006 Draft – Lisa Willis (1st round) and Nikki Blue (2nd round) and with the three WNBA choices, the Bruins were 21-11 in 2005-06 and Pac-10 Tournament Champions, reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament. You would think the trio would have achieved more, but in Quinn’s four years (three with Willis and Blue), the Bruin women’s basketballers were 17-13, 16-12, 21-11 and 14-18 for a 68-54 (.557) cumulative record under coach Kathy Olivier. That’s not quite Ben Howland territory for four squads which obviously had talent.
>> Last add, Bruins: A new website has popped up: FireHowland.com and carries only a single message:
“Welcome all Duke, North Carolina Kentucky and Pac-10 fans!!!
“We are sorry to inform you that coach Ben Howland will be at UCLA for a while. So get used to it!”
American Panorama:
>> College football potpourri: An Associated Press story filed from Tulsa, Oklahoma notes that former University of Oklahoma offensive lineman J.D. Quinn, dismissed from the football team along with quarterback Rhett Bomar for being paid for time they didn’t work at a local car dealership, feels he received unfair treatment. “All I did was take cash. I didn’t break any laws and I get kicked off the team, but there’s people on the team that are breaking laws and failing drug tests and stuff like that, and there’s nobody getting kicked off the team for that kind of stuff.” Quinn declined to name any specific players who have broken laws or failed drug exams and has thus far paid $5,000 of the $7,406.88 he owes in restitution. The story did not mention if Quinn would be a nominee for the 2007 Joe Valachi Award. . . . In the meantime, Toledo running back Scooter McDougle Jr. was arrested Friday on charges of “participation in a bribery scheme to influence sporting contests.” The complaint alleges that McDougle received a car and other gifts from a man named “Gary” in Michigan who wanted players to sit out games or otherwise influence the outcome. If convicted, McDougle faces a prison sentence of up to five years and a $250,000 fine.
>> Rings & Things: Nice line from Toronto comedian Frenchie McFarlane, reported by Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times, congratulating Michael Phelps’ seven gold medals in the World Swimming Championships “and become the first to test positive for dolphin DNA.”
All Around the World:
>> Football: In case you missed it, Valencia earned a 1-1 draw at Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals with AS Roma beating Manchester United at home, 2-1. The second leg matches will be held next Tuesday (April 10) with AC Milan at Bayern Munich and PSV Eindhoven at Liverpool and next Wednesday, with Chelsea at Valencia and AS Roma at Manchester United.
≡ At the Half ≡
 Jones: well known at the station! |
Tonight’s menu:
>> The Lakers and Clippers both need wins tonight, playing each other at Staples Center. The 36-37 Clippers are in the eighth and last playoff spot in the Western Conference, 2 1/2 games behind the 39-35 Lakers in sixth spot and 1 1/2 games ahead of Golden State. For the Lakers, Kwame Brown is questionable while Sam Cassell is out and Corey Maggette is probable for the Clippers. With the Lakers just 1-3 in their last four and the Clippers 6-1 in their last seven, the oddsmakers have the Clips as a three-point favorite, even though the Lakers are 3-0 this season against their Staples Center co-tenant. The over-under is 201, so the Clippers are supposed to sail past the Lakers, 102-99. Aw, that’s a bunch of bull!
>> On the ice, the Anaheim Ducks are host to the San Jose Sharks at the Honda Center with 47-20-4 Anaheim having won four of five this season from 49-26-2 San Jose. The Ducks are 12-3-2 in their last 17 games and lead San Jose by four points in the Pacific Division and both teams are hot: Anaheim has won four of its last five and San Jose, five of its last six. On the money line, you have to put up $135 on the Ducks to win $100 but only $105 on San Jose to try to win the same $100.
>> On the diamond, Jason Schmidt goes for the Dodgers tonight in Milwaukee against the Brewers’ Jeff Suppan. The over-under is 7.5 runs and the Dodgers are favored on the money line: you have to bet $120 to win $100 on Los Angeles while Milwaukee is even money.
>> At Angel Stadium, Ervin Santana starts for the Angels against Brandon McCarthy of Texas in the third game of their season-opening series. The over-under is high at nine runs, with a $150 bet required to try to win $100 on the Halos while a $130 wager could return $100 on the Rangers.
L.A. Stories:
Talk of Troy: Sports Illustrated really loves USC basketball. Yesterday, Luke Winn picked USC no. 8 in his pre-pre-pre-season top 10 for 2008:
“The national spotlight will follow super-recruit O.J. Mayo to Troy, where the Trojans are already loaded. He’ll join Daniel Hackett and Gabe Pruitt in a three-headed backcourt, and as long as the chemistry clicks – and it doesn’t become the O.J.-only show – USC will be a force.”
Now SIonCampus.com’s “The Vent” picks USC in its Final Four for 2008, along with Memphis, Louisville and UCLA:
“The Trojans made an unexpected run into March this year, but top-ranked recruit O.J. Mayo’s circus act will bring attention aplenty to the fact that USC is growing into a powerful basketball program.”
Tim Floyd has done a terrific job bringing along the USC program and if not for Tony Bennett’s miracle-worker performance at Washington State, would have been the Pac-10 Coach of the Year. The key to USC’s rise under Floyd has been staunch defense; USC was best in the conference in field goal percentage defense (39%) this past season and fourth in scoring defense (65.2 ppg). Question: will O.J. play defense or will Floyd have to “hold the Mayo” because of his defensive liabilities?
Not that it means much, but UCLA-bound center Kevin Love and USC-bound Mayo have played in two all-star games with the Love-led West winning both times over Mayo’s East squads. Both are scheduled to play Saturday in the Nike Hoop Summit in Memphis, Tennessee, but on the same team as a U.S. High School All-Star Team takes on a World All-Star squad.
College basketball potpourri: Broadcasting & Cable reported that the NCAA Championship Game on Monday helped win the night for CBS and averaged a 12.2 rating and 20 share, a full 9% above last year’s final game rating. The national semifinals on Saturday were up just a percentage point above last year at 8.7 and a 17 share. The total viewership for the tournament was estimated at 132.7 million viewers, up 3% from last year’s 128.5 million.
American Panorama:
>> Baseball: You’ve heard of H&R Block. Now get ready for Gilman Ciocia, Inc., a tax prep firm in the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania area which will offer free tax preparation and filing for Mets fans attending games against the Phillies on April 11-12 or the Nationals on April 13-15. Most importantly, the filing service includes filing-deadline extensions!
>> NFL/pro football: The Associated Press reported that the District Attorney in Las Vegas has asked the city’s Police Department for more investigative work before deciding whether to charge Tennessee Titans cornerback Pacman Jones with crimes related to a shooting during a fight inside and outside of a strip club on February 19 during the NBA All-Star Weekend period.
Las Vegas police have asked for felony coercion and misdemeanor battery and threat charges to be filed against Jones, but with the actual shooter not yet identified, prosecutors want to take a complete set of cases to trial. According to the AP, Jones has been arrested five times since being drafted by Tennessee in April 2005.
>> NFL, add 1: From Bert Sugar, recalling the best sports quotes of 2006, in Smoke magazine: “New York Giant running back Tiki Barber on Cowboy wide receiver Terrell Owens’s children’s book ‘Little T Learns to Share.’ ‘He may be drawing on someone else’s experience.’”
>> Last add, NFL: The Boston Herald is all agog because an unidentified blonde woman was sitting with New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick at the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game in Atlanta. The paper’s Inside Track column was stunned that the blonde wasn’t “Sharon Shenocca, the New Jersey housewife whose marriage the coach is accused of breaking up.”
The Herald noted that Belichick is friends with Florida coach Billy Donovan. In the meantime, said the paper, “Sharon testified that she has received cash and gifts totaling more than $80,000 over the past two years including some $3,000 a month beginning in June of 2005 and continuing up to at least February. She also confessed that Belichick bought a $2.5 million condo in Brooklyn where she intends to live.
“Leading us to wonder: Was that Sharon’s severance package?” I certainly would not publicize it!
≡ Morning Post ≡
 Donovan: the 6% solution? |
Today’s menu:
>> Football fanatics will be trying to dodge work assignments to check out the second group of quarterfinals in the Champions League: Valencia of Spain (odds: 4-1) at Chelsea (3-2) and Manchester United (2-1) playing at AS Roma (3-2). The second leg will be held on April 11. Yesterday’s first day of quarterfinal play saw Bayern Munich earn a 2-2 draw at AC Milan and visiting Liverpool stomp PSV Eindhoven, 3-0.
American Panorama:
>> Baseball: There’s plenty of talk about where Alex Rodriguez will play in 2008, including speculation he’ll end up with the Angels. But one of our spies in Northern California thinks San Francisco is his likely destination. “Barry Bonds will be finished [with the Giants] after this season. [Giants owner] Peter Magowan needs stars like you and I need air to breathe and their pay will be about the same.” Bonds is playing the 2007 season under a one-year, $16 million contract that could expand to $20 million with incentives. Speculation in New York newspapers is that the 31-year-old Rodriguez will opt out of his Rangers/Yankees contract after this season and ask for an eight-year deal at about $20 million per year. A wash, except that Bonds is 42!
>> College Basketball: Will Florida’s Billy Donovan move to Kentucky? The Wildcats will try, but there are some good reasons for Donovan to stay put. Consider this: (1) Florida has the money – thanks to its football program – to match whatever pay Donovan is offered. (2) Whatever Kentucky offers will have to be at least 6% more than what Florida can offers, since Kentucky has a 6% state income tax and Florida has none (a major reason besides the weather why so many wealthy athletes happen to live there) and (3) how comfortable would Donovan be in head-to-head competition with his friend and mentor Rick Pitino at Louisville? Donovan played for Pitino at Providence and got his first coaching job at age 24 as an assistant to Pitino at Kentucky. Just something to think about.
>> NBA/pro basketball: A measure of the popularity of the NBA in China is the growing use of nicknames for some of the top players. NBA.com compiled a list of favorites – translated into English – including:
Carmelo Anthony: “Sweet Melon”
Vince Carter: “Flying Man”
Tim Duncan: “Stone Buddha”
Kevin Garnett: “King of the Wolves”
Richard Hamilton: “Man in the Mask”
LeBron James: “Little Emperor”
Dirk Nowitzki: “German Racecar”
There was no word on whether Allen Iverson is known as “The Answer” or “The Question.”
International Panorama:
>> Rings & Things: The Olympic Games has become a political football in Japan.
“Would hosting the 2016 summer Olympics revitalize Tokyo, or would it just generate massive debt?” asks the national newspaper, the Asahi Shimbun. Gubernatorial elections will be held on Sunday with the Olympic bid a hot topic in the Tokyo Prefecture. Incumbent governor Shintaro Ishihara supports the bid, which has been criticized in Japan as too vague and for not having any unique or compelling reason behind it. But most of his 13 challengers have been criticizing the bid; one called it “nothing but a major construction project under the guise of the Olympics.” Ishihara is favored to win on Sunday, but the criticism of the bid may injure its future.
Tokyo is the primary Asian candidate to surface for 2016 thus far. Given that the 2008 Games will be held in Beijing, China, many observers think a return to Asia just eight years later is unlikely. Major European candidates include Madrid, Spain and Rome, Italy with Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and a U.S. city – either Chicago or Los Angeles – set to bid from the Western Hemisphere.
>> Football: The British daily The Telegraph reported last week that while FIFA was in a precarious financial position as recently as 2002 after the expensive Japan/Korea World Cup, the organization is turned around from a balance of -$12 million in early 2003 to +$615.5 million by the end of 2006. That’s thanks in part of a $55 million share of the profits from the 2006 World Cup in Germany and huge new contracts for worldwide television programming (about $3.75 billion) and sponsorship ($700 million) for the 2007-2010 quadrennial. One worry: the continuing turmoil over FIFA’s mishandling of its financial services sponsorship with Mastercard, which accepted a $180 million, eight-year renewal deal only to see FIFA sign an agreement with Visa for $195 million over the same period. Mastercard brought a suit against FIFA in a U.S. court and won, but the case is now on appeal.
FIFA President Joseph Blatter revealed under pressure in February that he draws an annual salary and bonus of about $1 million, considered outrageous by some, but a bargain compared to the pay for the chief executives of American sports leagues.
~ Rich Perelman
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