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The Daily Digest for Thursday, March 13, 2008 |
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March 13, 2008 |
≡ The Daily Digest ≡
 Spitzer: invited to make music in Macon! |
= To Our Readers =
In addition to posting our regular daily column of news, observations and commentary, we will be sending out The Sports Examiner DAILY, a .pdf-format newsletter – with bonus features – with the daily Tip Sheet that can be printed out to take with you or forwarded to your laptop to read later.
We hope you’ll enjoy it and we’re delighted to welcome Al Brooks Tickets as our initial sponsor. We hope to add more as we go; their support and that of others will help keep this site alive. Thanks once again for your continued support; please ask your friends to sign up for the Tip Sheet and the free newsletter.
= Tonight’s Menu =
>> Among the professionals, the only event tonight is the 27-38-6 Kings – still sporting the lowest point total, but the most goals allowed in the league – playing in Nashville against the 35-28-8 Predators, who need a win to crawl into a playoff spot in the Western Conference (why is Nashville in the Western Conference?). The Kings have lost seven of their last 10 to Nashville and the Predators defeated Los Angeles by a touchdown, 7-0, in their last meeting, at Staples Center in January. Naturally, the home team is a huge favorite: it takes $230 to try to win $100 on the Predators, but just $105 could return $100 on the Kings . . . if you dare.
>> At the Pac-10 Tournament at Staples Center, the first session has 19-11 Arizona State facing 20-10 USC with the Trojans favored by 4 1/2 and an over-under of 125 (USC 65, ASU 60), then 28-3 UCLA against 16-14 California, with the Bruins favored by 12 1/2 and an over-under of 141 (UCLA 77, Cal 64).
In the second session, 18-12 Oregon faces 23-7 Washington State, which is favored by 3 1/2 with an over-under of 126 (WSU 65, Oregon 61) and 24-6 Stanford will play 19-13 Arizona with the Cardinal favored by 2 1/2 points with an over-under of 130, so the sharpies project the final as Stanford 66, Arizona 64.
= L.A. Stories =
>> What’s Bruin:
See our daily blog on UCLA sports at LATimes.com!
= Panorama =
The National Pastime:
>> Tampa, Fl.: Billy Crystal’s time as a Yankee has come and gone.
Listed as the Designated Hitter, the 60-year-old comedian wore no. 60 and led off for New York in today’s exhibition game against Pittsburgh. He came to the plate at 1:24 p.m. today at Legends Field, facing Paul Maholm of the Pirates.
What happened? Maholm’s first pitch was outside for a ball, then Crystal hit a dribbler foul (but he made contact!) and then two more balls moved the count to 3-1. Crystal swung and missed the next pitch for strike two and then swung over a pitch on the inside corner. The scoring entry is “Ks” for a swinging strikeout. Not to be outdone, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez made out just as quickly to end a 1-2-3 Yankee first. Johnny Damon was slated to take off for Crystal.
>> St. Petersburg, Fl.: All the bad blood between the Yankees and Rays in two spring training games this week is just the start. Yesterday’s bench-clearing brawl in the second inning was just a continuation of hard feelings from the March 8 game when Tampa’s Elliot Johnson broke New York catching prospect Francisco Cervelli’s wrist at home plate in the ninth inning of a 4-1 Tampa win. Wednesday’s theatrics started when Yankee pitcher Heath Phillips hit Rays prospect Evan Longoria with a pitch in the first inning.
The teams will meet again during spring training on March 21 in Tampa, but also for a four-game series during the first week of the season, from April 4-7 at Yankee Stadium. Think the New York fans won’t be ready?
>> Port St. Lucie, Fl.: A great story by David Whitley in the Orlando Sentinel includes these gems about Barry Bonds’ inability to find a team willing to sign him:
“At this point the Mets are more likely to sign Eliot Spitzer to play left field than the other guys under federal investigation.”
“If nothing else, he’s generate interest and sell a few tickets. But then, so would signing the Bearded Lady or Lobster Boy. And neither one has perjury or obstruction of justice charges hanging over their heads.”
As Don Henley sang in his 1982 hit “Dirty Laundry:” “Kick ‘em when they’re up, kick ‘em when they’re down.”
>> Macon, Ga.: If it’s wacky, tasteless and timely, it’s not less than a 50-50 shot that it will end up being saluted at a minor-league baseball game. So get ready for the Macon Music of the independent South Coast League and “Eliot Spitzer Night” on June 13.
Fans named Eliot or Spitzer or Kristen or any fan from New York, will receive a $1 discount off admission to the game, as will any fan who has resigned from a job.
The ninth fan – i.e., Fan no. 9 as in “Client no. 9,” – will receive a free Music prize pack.
Frank Sinatra songs – like “Strangers in the Night” – will be played throughout the game, wire taps will be placed around the stadium and ATMs in the stadium will be programmed not to allow withdrawals of more than $5,000 per hour!
The Music will also raffle off a trip to New York. Spitzer himself has been invited to appear and throw out the first pitch, but hasn’t accepted as yet.
NBA Hoopla:
>> Houston, Tx: The Houston Rockets, now a sterling 44-20 thanks to a 20-game win streak, will try for the second-longest streak in NBA history when they meet 24-40 Charlotte on Friday at home. The 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks also won 20 in a row and the record is 33 straight by the 1971-72 Lakers.
Houston’s acid test will come on Sunday and Tuesday when they play the leaders of the Western Conference – the Lakers – and the Eastern Conference – Boston – both at home at the Toyota Center. Wednesday’s 83-75 win at Atlanta was the first game in the last 11 that the Rockets hadn’t won by at least 10 points. And, oh yes, they’re now 8-0 without Yao Ming.
>> Portland, Or.: Greg Oden finally practiced with the TrailBlazers today for about 45 minutes after missing the entire season after microfracture surgery on his right knee. “It was fun,” he told The Oregonian. Said Blazers coach Nate McMillan, “If he is at this point right now, he should be in good shape coming training camp.” Oden reportedly moved through the drills at about half-speed and has not yet been cleared for full-contact practices.
>> Chicago, Il.: The Bulls have seen a season in which they were supposed to be Eastern Conference contenders dissipate into a 25-38 disaster, but still just 1 1/2 games out of a playoff spot (!). Peter Vecsey of the New York Post noted that one of Chicago’s gambles isn’t paying off.
“Is [Tyrus] Thomas another Stromile Swift? The Bulls may have to come to grips with that scary thought – that he isn’t nearly as good (6.2 points. 4.5 rebounds in 55 games) as advertised.
“I may be dead wrong about this, but Thomas already may have drawn that conclusion. His nightly struggle and overall inability to expand his game may have caused the frustration that triggered him to blow off practice last week without altering any Bulls people or personal confidants; hence a two-game suspension.”
Vecsey had more praise for the previously-suspended Joakim Noah. “Following a harsh confrontation a while back with a Bulls assistant, the rookie forward has become a perfect pro – and I’m not just talking about the 20 rebounds he snared in a game last week.
“By all accounts, Noah’s progress has been noteworthy. He has been where he’s supposed to be on the court and performed his rookie chores off it. And he’s doing it on a daily basis with energy and enthusiasm.”
>> Dallas, Tx.: The latest furor over bloggers and sports comes from Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks, who now ban full-time bloggers from the team’s locker room. According to the Dallas Morning News, the policy is aimed at one of its writers.
In an e-mail sent to Cuban on Monday, Bob Yates, deputy managing editor/sports of The Morning News, wrote that the policy :is a veiled attempt at retribution” against Morning News reporter Tom MacMahon, who has been blogging about the Mavericks since 2006.
Cuban told MacMahon to leave the locker room on Feb. 29, the same day MacMahon wrote an item critical of Mavericks coach Avery Johnson.
The Mavericks say their new policy is to deny locker room access to writers whose “primary purpose is to blog” because the team does “not have enough room in the locker room, nor enough media passes to fairly accommodate everyone.” Rubbish. Mike Fannin, president of the Associated Press Sports Editors group and the managing editor for sports and features at the Kansas City Star, said “We hope the commissioner will see the potential chaos involved and step in to stop this overt bullying.”
College Cheer:
>> Orlando, Fl.: In case you missed it, the Universal Cheerleading Association national champions in cheerleading have been selected, based on a series of competitions at the Walt Disney Wide World of Sports in January.
It was a big year for Tennessee, as Vol squads won the I-A Dance championship, finished fifth in the I-A Hip Hop competition (Memphis won), finished second in the I-A Cheer competition (Kentucky won) and the Tennessee mascot Smokey won the mascot competition for the third time in the last nine years. According to a report, Smokey had to fend off some tough competition from Wisconsin’s Bucky the Badger to win the title.
Keeping Track:
>> Austin, Tx.: Marion Jones has at least one new fan: the Austin American-Statesman. In an unsigned editorial, the newspaper wrote:
When her sentence is served, Jones, 32, deserves another chance at a full life. She made terrible mistakes, lied through her teeth and tries to steal money. But more than many stars, she seems to understand the magnitude of her failings and appears sincerely repentant.
. . .
There are other lessons from the Jones saga for those willing to learn. Tell the truth and repent, as Jones did, and there can be a full life on the other side of scandal. The more sports stars continue to evade and lie, the harsher the eventual price they will have to pay.
Jones began her six-month prison sentence on Tuesday and once completed, she will return to Austin, where she lives with her second husband, Barbados sprinter Obadele Thompson, who is training for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, an event Jones could attend only as a spectator.
~ Rich Perelman
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