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The Daily Digest for Wednesday, September 26, 2007 |
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September 26, 2007 |
≡ Interim Report ≡
 Oski: ready to rumble? |
= Program Note =
We expected that TheGoodSportsNetwork.tv would be up and running on Monday, September 24, but it is not. We have been told that TheGoodSportsNetwork.tv site will be up soon, but no firm date has been given.
While we wait, we’ll continue posting a weekday note and sending out the Tip Sheet to keep you informed. Stay tuned, and hope for the best.
= Tonight’s Menu =
>> The 92-66 Angels, winners of the West but fighting to try for home-field advantage in the playoffs, will try to snap a 1-4 streak at 74-84 Texas today. Joe Saunders (8-4, 4.05 ERA) will be on the hill for the Halos against rookie Luis Mendoza (1-0, 1.93), making his third start for Texas. Garrett Anderson is supposed to rest today and Vladimir Guerrero may not play due to his tricep strain. Even though the Angels are 7-2 in Saunders’ last nine road starts, they’re a slight underdog today: it takes $106 to try to win $100 on the home team, but the Angels are even money.
>> The 80-77 Dodgers still have to win two games this week to have a winning record for the season and are in the midst of a 1-9 tailspin. They’ll face 85-72 Colorado – winners of nine in a row – again tonight in the second of a three-game series with Derek Lowe (12-13, 3.93) trying to even his record against Josh Fogg (9-9, 4.99) with the Rockies just one game out in the Wild Card chase. Thanks to Lowe, the Dodgers are a slight favorite: it takes $122 to try to win $100 on the home team, but $115 could return the same $100 on the visitors.
= L.A. Stories =
>> What’s Bruin: See our daily blog on UCLA sports at LATimes.com!
>> Talk of Troy: USC is a 21-point favorite over Washington in the prime-time clash at Husky Stadium in Seattle on Saturday. The over-under line has been set at 57, so the Trojans are supposed to mush the Huskies by a 37-16 final.
= Panorama =
>> The National Pastime: San Diego’s Milton Bradley is out for the rest of the season thanks to one of the great freak injuries of all time, suffered while arguing with an umpire.
Bradley, whose talent is unquestioned and whose volatility is equal to that of a live volcano, was arguing with first-base umpire Ron Winters in the eighth inning of Sunday’s loss to Colorado at Petco Park. While being restrained by manager Bud Black, Bradley spun to the ground and suffered a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
Did Bradley – who was hitting .313 – lose his mind, or was he baited by Winters? The Commissioner’s Office has suspended the umpire for the remainder of the season while it investigates whether Bradley was being baited by Winters after Bradley asked Winters if he had told home-plate umpire Brian Runge that Bradley had flipped his bat at him after being called out on strikes in the fifth inning. “I’m taking some action,” said Bradley. “I’m not going to stand pat and accept this.”
>> NFL Ticker: To paraphrase Nixon-era White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler, Lovie Smith’s long-time comment that “Rex Grossman is our quarterback” is “no longer operative.”
Smith opened his weekly news conference with the words “To make it official, Brian Griese will be our starting quarterback. Right now we are not getting a whole lot done. It’s not one person. I think we need a breath of fresh air.”
The change was widely expected and will lead to much speculation right through January since Grossman’s contract expires after this season. He has one touchdown pass but six interceptions this season and the Bears are 1-2. For Griese, it’s another chance for stardom in his 10th season with his fourth team.
>> NFL Court Report: The newest thunderbolt in the Michael Vick saga is that the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback tested positive for marijuana in September. According to a report on ESPN.com, a federal probation officer assigned to the Vick case has asked the judge for additional restrictions on Vick including home confinement between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. daily with electronic monitoring. His federal sentencing is set for December 10.
>> College Gridiron: Going down almost as fast as the rest of his Notre Dame team is the draft stock of star safety Tom Zbikowski. Tom Pauline, writing on SI.com noted “While the college football media has been in love with Zbikowski the past three seasons, NFL scouts see it differently. He's a tough run defender, but his skills in pass defense leave a lot to be desired. So much so that Zbikowski was taken out of the game on a number of passing situations against Michigan State.”
>> Hiding out like a Wolf: Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham was one of the stars of Michigan’s 14-9 upset win over Penn State last week. Now he’s the subject of an arrest warrant issued by a judge in Detroit.
The sophomore did not show up for his trial on September 18 on a disorderly conduct ticket issued in July. He was issued the ticket for playing high-volume music in his vehicle and pled not guilty. But after his no-show in court, the judge in the case issued a warrant. The Wolverines play Northwestern, Eastern Michigan and Purdue in their next three games.
>> Clash of the Morons: While Oregon’s Duck mascot got the better of Shasta, the Houston Cougar mascot, in their “fight’ on September 1 in Eugene, the Duck won’t have it so easy with Oski, the rambunctious California Golden Bear mascot when Oregon faces California this Saturday, also in Eugene.
Oskis of previous years have been suspended for various antics, including smashing Stanford’s tree mascot, and Matt Stolt, who plays Shasta, has some advice for dealing with the Duck: “My advice to any mascot that goes against him is not to worry. There won’t be a problem. I think the duck’s in enough trouble right now. But if it comes to that, just turn the duck’s head around so he can’t see nothin’.”
>> NBA Hoopla: Shawn Marion, ain integral part of the Phoenix Suns scoring machine for the past eight seasons, has asked to be traded. “I’m tired of hearing my name in trades,” he told the Associated Press. “It’s time to move on.” He’s upset with the Suns over his potential inclusion in a trade for Kevin Garnett that never happened and that the club is not interested in discussing a contract extension with him.
Regardless of his desire to be traded, the 29-year-old forward may not be that easy to move. He’s the Suns’ highest-paid player (!) due $16.4 million for this coming season and $17.8 for the following season. In the meantime, the Suns signed defense-oriented forward Brian Skinner to a one-year contract.
>> Kicker: With the United States poised to defend its Women’s World Cup title against Brazil in tomorrow’s semifinals in China, coach Greg Ryan pulled a shocker and picked veteran Brianna Scurry to tend goal instead of incumbent Hope Solo.
It’s a sign of how worried Ryan is about the improving Brazilians. “The way the Brazilians play in terms of creating off the dribble in the penalty box and making a goalkeeper make reaction-type saves, I think Bri is the best goalkeeper in the world in those situations,” Ryan told reporters.
Scurry has faced Brazil in the last two games between the national teams: a 2-0 U.S. win in June and the 2004 Olympic final in Athens, when the U.S. won, 2-1, in overtime. And Scurry doesn’t lack for confidence:
“I have been playing incredibly well," she said. "I kept myself in shape, kept myself on my toes and sharp.”
>> Cash Kicker: Think new stadiums won’t help the bottom line? Don’t tell Arsenal of the English Premier League.
After moving from 38,500-seat Highbury Stadium to the new, 60,400-seat Emirates Stadium the club built for $871 million, the club’s revenues increased almost 50 percent to $407 million and game-day revenues from the stadium itself increased 205 percent from $89.3 million to $183.5 million in one year! Wow!
Arsenal created a housing development on the grounds of the old stadium and almost all of those units have been sold.
~ Rich Perelman
>> Have an opinion? You can send it using the “Comment” button below!
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