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The Daily Digest for Wednesday, October 17, 2007 |
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October 17, 2007 |
≡ Interim Report ≡
 Beckham: Do you know the way to Tel Aviv? |
= Program Note =
We expected that TheGoodSportsNetwork.tv would be up and running on Monday, September 24, but the site is still not live. 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 =
>> Baseball takes a night off in Cleveland, so the only action of local interest is the 3-4 Ducks hosting 2-3 Nashville at the Honda Center in Anaheim. The Ducks have won six of their last nine against the Predators and the oddsmakers have noticed: it takes $200 to try to win $100 on the home team, but $100 on Nashville could return $115.
= L.A. Stories =
>> What’s Bruin: See our daily blog on UCLA sports at LATimes.com!
>> Talk of Troy: Oddsmakers are really having a hard time with the Trojans this season. Favored by 21 against Washington, USC won by three points. Favored by 41 over Stanford, USC lost by a point. Last week against Arizona, USC was favored by 22 and won by seven. So what to do this week? USC is favored by 17 1/2 over Notre Dame in South Bend, with an over-under of 45. So the final is supposed to be USC 31, Notre Dame 14, which is a bigger spread than last week’s 27-14 Irish loss to Boston College. Who do the oddsmakers think the Trojans are? South Florida?
>> Trojan Family Report: It seems as though O.J. Simpson’s financial tangles will never end. Not only does he have a enormous judgment against him from the wrongful death suits brought by the Brown and Goldman families, but the State of California has him as the no. 29 tax delinquent on their list of persons owing back personal taxes. Reader G.W. pointed us to a Franchise Tax Board list showing that he owes the state $1,435,484.17 and has been delinquent since 1999.
That’s just loose change compared with the no. 1 delinquent on the list, a Waheed U. Begum (no kidding!) who owes $10,558,114.14!
>> Around the Galaxy: Maybe the Galaxy won’t have to worry about losing David Beckham to the English national team after all. A Beckham-less England lost to Russia, 2-1, in the qualifying round for the 2008 European Championship earlier today and stands to be eliminated next month.
The only way England can get in as it stands now is if Russia loses or draws in a match in Tel Aviv against Israel on November 17 and then England beats group leader Croatia on November 21 at Wembley Stadium!
Maybe Beckham can convert to Judaism next week and play for Israel under the Law of the Return?
= Panorama =
>> The National Pastime: Michael Hiestand of USA Today reported that the National League Championship Series on TBS – a four-game sweep by Colorado – averaged a 2.8 rating.
Among the cable broadcasts which did better this year: the Home Run Derby on ESPN during the All-Star Break (4.3), the Chick-Fil-A Bowl (4.0) and the Emerald Bowl (3.7). Ouch.
>> Baseball Cash Count: Boston fans aren’t the only ones hoping the Red Sox can win tomorrow and bring the American League Championship Series back to Boston. So are the hotels, restaurants and bars surrounding Fenway Park. The Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau estimated that each of the first two games of the ALCS was worth about $2.9 million in visitor spending for a $5.8 million total.
>> College Gridiron: Here’s as good an explanation as we’ve read on why college football is so topsy-turvy each week, from Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman:
The playing field has been levels for reasons beyond the oft-used excuse, the 85-scholarship limit per Division I-A team.
The flood of upsets are the result of the influx of spread offenses that reduce the number of offensive skill players needed; the early recruiting period commitment by the marquee schools that overlook late bloomers in their senior seasons in high school; the massive television exposure for non-traditional teams that makes more schools appealing to recruits; the sliding scale for college entrance exams; and recruits’ desire for instant playing time.
Bohls wrote “Never has a season been a season this crazy, this nutty, where up is down, where being a heavy favorite means absolutely nothing, and schools such as Nebraska are so distraught they’re replacing athletic directors in the middle of the season.”
>> NBA Ticker: From Charley Walters in the St. Paul Pioneer-Press: Word in Boston is that the Celtics’ Ray Allen was taken aback by some uncouth language used by Kevin Garnett during a practice and he let the former Timberwolves star know about it.” Maybe Garnett was relaying Kobe Bryant’s opinion of the Lakers’ front-office performance?
>> NHL Ice Capades: OK, Nebraska fired its athletic director after seven games, or more than half of the football season. The Atlanta Thrashers are 0-6 after seven percent of their schedule, but have apparently fired coach Bob Hartley as assistant coach Brad McCrimmon was running the team’s practice on Wednesday morning.
>> Rings & Things: The U.S. Olympic Committee has told the city of Colorado Springs that it needs an additional 90,000 square feet of office space and 200 more athlete “residences” to stay in town.
In the meantime, six national governing bodies (badminton, boxing, cycling, judo, taekwondo, weightlifting) are headquartered now in a building that is scheduled to be torn down next year. All would like to stay in Colorado Springs, but may have to move to temporary quarters nearby . . . like in Utah.
>> Eatertainment: Gorging continued in the qualification events for the Krystal Square-Off IV as Crazy Legs Conti downed 44 of the square hamburgers to win on Sunday in Jackson, Mississippi. He barely made it through, however, thanks to a strong challenge from Buffalo Jim Reeves (in the right time zone, but wrong climate) with 40. Third went to rookie eater Nate Biller, who ate 26 Krystals. The finals are set for October 28, which could cause a problem for the competitors on Halloween just four days later.
~ Rich Perelman
>> Have an opinion? You can send it using the “Comment” button below!
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