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The Daily Digest for Friday, January 4, 2008 |
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January 04, 2008 |
≡ The Daily Digest ≡
= To Our Readers =
We signed an agreement last August to place a daily audio show on a new Internet site to be called TheGoodSportsNetwork.tv. It was supposed to launch September 4, then September 24, but the site is still not live. Maybe some day it will launch, but we’re not optimistic.
We are delighted to say that our readership has never been stronger and our Web statistics program shows that TheSportsExaminer.com had more than 1,000,000 page views in December. Since you seem to like what we’re doing, we’ll continue for now, posting a weekday note and sending out the Tip Sheet to keep you informed. Thanks so much for your support.
= Tonight’s Menu =
>> The 19-11 Lakers are home tonight to 14-18 Philadelphia at Staples Center. Forward Rony Turiaf will start for the suspended Lamar Odom for Los Angeles against the Sixers, who have won four of six. The Lakers had won four straight before getting hammered by Boston last Sunday and are a 7 1/2-point choice. The over-under is 200, so the sharpies see the final score as Lakers 104, 76ers 96.
>> The Ducks, now 20-17-5, are at the Honda Center to take on the suddenly resurgent Blackhawks, who still have the best sweater design in the NHL. Anaheim has won nine of ten from Chicago, however and the ‘Hawks have lost three straight, including two to the lowly Kings. So Anaheim is a big favorite on the money line: you must wager $250 on the Ducks to try to win $100 while $130 on the road team could return the same $100.
>> In the NFL playoffs, 10-6 Seattle is a four-point favorite on Saturday against visiting, 9-7 Washington. The over-under is 40, so the final is projected at 22-18 for the Seahawks. Jacksonville (11-5) is a 2 1/2-point choice over homestanding Pittsburgh (10-6) and with an over-under of 40, that final is predicted at 21-19 for the Jaguars.
On Sunday, 9-7 Tampa Bay is a three-point choice at home over the 10-6 New York Giants (over-under, 39; final: 21-18) and 11-5 San Diego is an enormous 10-point choice over 10-6 Tennessee. With an over-under of 40 in that game, the Chargers are supposed to sweep past the Titans by a 25-15 final.
= L.A. Stories =
>> What’s Bruin: See our daily blog on UCLA sports at LATimes.com!
= Panorama =
>> National Champion: Although there are still three bowl games left, including LSU vs. Ohio State for the national championship, Akron’s Zippy the Kangaroo can honestly say he’s number one. He was named the “Capital One Mascot of the Year” on New Year’s Day and beat out Minnesota’s Goldy the Gopher in fan voting. Now you know.
>> Bowling for Dollars: SI.com’s Stewart Mandel had a long story in today that examines the possibility for a “Plus One” game beginning in January 2011 that would match the top-ranked teams coming out of the New Year’s Day bowl match-ups.
It’s all talk, because as Mandel reports, he’s been told by one bowl executive “Mr. Delany is unconvinced. Mr. Hansen is uninterested,” referring to Jim Delaney, the commissioner of the Big Ten and Tom Hansen of the Pac-10. You can add to that list the Tournament of Roses Association, which owns the Rose Bowl Game and has a television agreement with ABC that runs through its 2014 game. And in view of the recent participation of Ohio State and USC in BCS title games, neither side has any reason to change its view. That makes the immediate future of the BCS a “Plus None.”
>> NFL Ticket: “We wanted to ensure that our fans here in Florida had the best opportunity to purchase tickets to this week’s game,” said Tampa Bay Buccaneers spokesman Jeff Kamis.
In order to do that, people trying to buy tickets to this week’s playoff game with the New York Giants were greeted with this message: “Raymond James Stadium is located in Tampa, FL. Sales to this event will be restricted to residents of Florida. Residency will be based on credit card billing address. Orders by residents outside Florida will be canceled without notice and refunds given.”
That should have ensured a rockin’ house full of Bucs fans, right? Well, no, since New York-area legislators and at least one lawyer challenged the policy and the Bucs and Ticketmaster had to relent. However, with the help of at least some fans from outside of Florida, the game was “declared” a sellout for television purposes so everyone who didn’t buy a ticket will be able to see the game on Fox on Sunday.
>> NFL Ticker: When Cincinnati finished 11-5 and won the AFC North in 2005, it looked like the start of something big for a franchise that hadn’t broken the .500 mark in 14 previous seasons. But the Bengals fell back to 8-8 in 2006 and 7-9 this season, missing the playoffs both times.
You can’t blame quarterback Carson Palmer too much since he’s passed for more than 4,000 yards in three straight seasons. But with so many off-the-field incidents (the Bengals had about as many arrests as wins in 2006) and on-field miscues, Palmer thinks it may be time for a change. Asked by reporters at season’s end if the present coaching staff can get Cincinnati going again, Palmer said “I don’t think so.
“We have enough problems and enough areas we need to improve on that it’s not a short list. Hopefully, the things will happen that need to happen for us to be the team we can be. I haven’t been asked. Like I said, I would love to give input and I have great input to give.”
Palmer called the 2007 season “my most disappointing year of any sports, junior Pop Warner to T-ball to now.” Sounds like a meeting with head coach Marvin Lewis might be called for.
>> End of an era: One of the NFL’s favorite “mouths that roared” has been silenced, at least on the field. Warren Sapp completed his 13th season as a defensive tackle with Oakland and retired from the game yesterday.
Sapp called Raiders owner Al Davis and said his career was over at age 35. He finishes as a likely Hall of Famer, having made seven Pro Bowls and well as the 1999 Defensive Player of the Year award. He was a member of the 2002 Super Bowl-winning Tampa Bay team.
He will also be remembered for his mouth and in his second-to-last game was fined $75.000 by the league for three consecutive unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and an ejection for bumping an official.
>> NBA Hoopla: Another low shot at the New York Knicks. A note in the San Diego Union-Tribune read:
Roy Jones Jr., preparing to engage Felix Trinidad at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 19, practiced the other day with the New York Knicks. The way the Knicks are going, perhaps they should have signed Jones.
Sign a boxer? If the Knicks are looking for more fight in their game, how about Ron Artest?
>> More Knicks: New York coach and team president Isiah Thomas told reporters in mid-December to watch the next two weeks to see whether he was moving the Knicks in the right direction. The team was 7-17 at the time.
The Knicks are 8-22 now after a 1-5 record during the two-week period. What does Thomas see now: “Me as coach,” he told the New York Post. Now what? The Knicks haven’t won a playoff series since 2000, haven’t had a winning record since 2001 and would have to finish 33-19 to get to .500 this season!
>> Pac-10 Parade: Jake Curtis of the San Francisco Chronicle was right on the money with his assessment of the loaded Pac-10 Conference as the league opened play last night:
UCLA and Washington State seems to be a cut about everybody else, so put them in Group A. Now that Darren Collison is healthy, the Bruins are complete again, and that’s scary since they were ranked No. 2 to start the season. Washington State is ranked No. 4, its highest ranking ever, and it is still weird to see Washington State’s name up there with North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas, Duke and Michigan State. When the Cougars come out for pre-game warm-ups, they look nothing like a Top 25 team, but somehow they make their opponents play poorly.
. . .
Group B is the quartet of USC, Oregon, Arizona and Stanford, any one of which could contend for the title and each of which will be deeply disappointed if it does not make it to the NCAA Tournament. There is a temptation to move USC to group A, but the young Trojans must prove they can do it on conference play.
Group C consists of Cal, Arizona State and Washington, a trio that probably does not deserve to be rated so low, and at least one is apt to break into the top six and earn an NCAA berth.
Group D is Oregon State, which stands alone as the one team that doesn’t figure to be a factor in the Pac-10 race.
After one game, Curtis looks like the Oracle at Delphi. Cal rose up to beat USC, Arizona State clubbed Oregon in Tempe and Oregon State (without suspended C.J. Giles) gave Arizona an argument but predictably fell short. Washington will have its chance to hand WSU its first loss of the year on Saturday.
>> College Hoopla: One of the aims of the women’s rights movement is to increase participation. Wonder what they thought of last night’s double-overtime game in Corvallis, when Arizona finished its game against Oregon State with just two women on the court as every other player on the roster had fouled out!
The Wildcats (6-8) played the last 1:28 of regulation time and the first overtime with four players after two of the six players available for the game fouled out. Two more fouled out in the second overtime and with 1:01 left, Arizona was down to Beatrice Bofia and Sarah Hays. Not surprisingly, Oregon State (8-5) came back from an 87-83 deficit in the second overtime to win the game, 94-88.
The Wildcats had two players injured, one was academically ineligible and one missed the game for “personal reasons.”
~ Rich Perelman
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