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The Daily Digest for Wednesday, January 9, 2008 |
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January 09, 2008 |
≡ The Daily Digest ≡
 Is Rutgers' Rice the new San Francisco Treat? |
= 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 22-11 Lakers are showing signs of emerging as a strong team in the West, but face the challenge of 23-11 New Orleans tonight in the Crescent City. Los Angeles averages 107.5 points a game, but the Hornets allow only 93.5 and New Orleans hammered the Lakers, 118-104, in Los Angeles in November. So, the home team is a 2 1/2-point favorite with an over-under of 206 for a projected final score of Hornets 104, Lakers 102.
>> The 10-21 Clippers are back at Staples Center to play the 22-14 Orlando Magic and their gaudy 15-6 road record. The Magic have lost three straight, have lost six of their last eight to the Clippers, but . . . it’s the Clippers, so Orlando is a four-point choice. With an over-under of 192, the final is supposed to 98-94 for the visitors.
>> On the ice in Anaheim, the Toronto Maple Leafs (16-18-8) will face the 22-17-6 Ducks, who are on a 7-3 run. Toronto has beaten the Ducks seven of their last nine, but are skidding, having won only two of ten. So the Ducks are favored on the money line: it takes a hefty $210 to try to win $100 on the Ducks, but the Leafs are even money.
= L.A. Stories =
>> What’s Bruin: See our daily blog on UCLA sports at LATimes.com!
>> Talk of Troy: The annual Pete Carroll to the NFL story surfaced today in Atlanta, where Falcons owner Arthur Blank is trying to interest him in rescuing the franchise.
According to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the two could meet this weekend if Carroll shows any interest. He’d have a free hand with the Falcons, since the team has no coach and Rich McKay has been relieved of his duties as general manager and will remain only as the team’s president. Among many others the Falcons are looking at is Tennessee defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Former Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher is apparently not interested in coaching in 2008.
>> Get out and vote: Even before the primary election coming up in February, L.A.-area sports fans can vote for what they think were the greatest moments for L.A.’s sports teams in the L.A. Sports Council’s annual “Greatest Moments of the Year” awards.
The voting is easy: just go to LAsports.org and cast your ballot for one of three nominations from each of the area’s teams or in several sports categories such as golf, tennis, motorsports and Olympic sports, among others. The votes will be tabulated and the winners announced during a live show on Fox Sports on Sunday evening, January 20. In addition, the top ten moments of the year – from no. 10 on up to no. 1 – as selected by a media panel, will be announced.
Don’t delay, though, because voting ends tomorrow, January 10!
= Panorama =
>> College Bowling: The SEC finished strong with a 7-2 mark, but the “best” conference in bowl games was the Mountain West, with a 4-1 record. Are you kidding?
The MWC won games against independent Navy, Nevada of the WAC, Houston of Conference USA and was 1-1 against the Pac-10. The SEC, on the other hand, was 2-1 against the Big Ten, 1-0 against the WAC, 1-1 against the Big 12, 1-0 against Conference USA and 2-0 against the ACC.
The Pac-10 was 4-2 and had the second-best record of the major conferences, but even so the wins were against the Big Ten (1-0), ACC (1-0), WAC (1-0) and Big East (1-0). The SEC really was the best this season.
>> College Hoopla: Perhaps the most amazing stat about the historic 85-25 loss by Savannah State at Kansas State on Monday night was not the score or even that Savannah State set an NCAA records for fewest points (4) and lowest shooting percentage in a half (4.3%) in the shot-clock era (since 1986). It was that they broke records which had stood for all of nine days!
Penn had set what looked like futility marks that would stand for a while when they scored only six points in the first half and shot 1-17 (5.9%) in a 60-30 loss to Florida Gulf Coast on December 29. But Savannah State (8-13) did even better (?) on their way to the record books.
>> Down Goes Frazier! Down but not out, Hawaii athletic director and 1976 Olympoc gold medalist Herman Frazier was excused yesterday and will receive $312,510 or about 15 months salary as severance. He had two years remaining on his $250,000 per year contract.
Frazier will also receive bonus payments for having the football team win the Western Athletic Conference championship and for playing in a bowl game. But he’ll be proudest of the bonus he could receive for having the athletic department finish with a profit for two consecutive years and for paying off a $1 million note to the university’s general fund. An interesting legacy for someone who was dismissed for poor performance.
>> NFL Ticker: Now that Rutgers running back Ray Rice has opted for the NFL following his junior season, here’s hoping he’ll be drafted by the San Francisco 49ers.
That way, he could be, like Rice-A-Roni, “The San Francisco Treat.” Sorry.
>> Hot Pants: Seattle kicker Josh Brown told local radio station KIRO that despite high temperatures of only about 28 degrees on Sunday for the playoff game in Green Bay, his legs will remain at 75 degrees. That’s because he’ll be wearing hot pants.
Brown has added battery-powered heaters into his pants for his calves, thighs and hamstrings. He’s worried about tightening up in the cold weather since he won’t be on the field much. If he kicks a game-winning field goal, the question won’t be whether the pants worked, but what brand of battery he used!
>> It’s not Cricket: That’s what they’re saying in India in the aftermath of a loss to Australia in a one-day match in Sydney that was, according to reports, decided by the officials and in which a popular Indian player was suspended. According to the Telegraph of London:
Furious Indian cricket fans have taken to the streets as the country’s crick board announced it was “suspending” its tour to Australia following the decision to ban the Sikh off-break bowler Harbhajan Singh for racially abusing an opposition player.
Singh, a volatile and immensely popular player nick-named ‘The Turbanator’, was found guilty of calling Andrew Symonds, Australia’s only black player, “a monkey” and banned for three matches during the second Test defeat.
In addition to the fuss over Singh, Indian fans burned effigies and pictures of the umpires in Kashmir and there were demonstrations in other cities. And India’s newspapers weighed in.
“Umpires give Oz 2-0 lead” read the headline in the Times of India with a front-page editorial that said, according to the Telegraph that “the umpiring had been so bad that the game should be scratched from the records of cricket since the umpires had ‘gifted’ the match to Australia.”
And the Hindustan Times carried a front-page story titled “Death by Umpiring” that said the officials were so “awed” by the champion Aussies that they made decisions against India because they were “scared of upsetting” the home team.
This is about cricket, folks. Remember that when you read about how tough things are at the McAfee Coliseum in Oakland following Raider games!
~ Rich Perelman
>> Have an opinion? You can send it using the “Comment” button below!
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