When Appalachian State took on the University of Montana, I didn’t care. When AS’ Matt Cline caught a pass by the sideline I didn’t care. When Montana’s Keith Thompson absolutely explodes into Cline, I cared.
This hit is so hard that MY ribs hurt.
Awesome!
Padraig Parkinson won the first ever UKIPT Galway poker tournament last night, winning nearly $182,000, making this the 7th World Series of Poker event that he has cashed in on. With the win, Parkinson wins the unofficial “Irish” title and a free seat at the English Poker Tournament — London next year.
Never one to live up to a stereotype, Parkinson was feeling awfully good after his win: “I was born just down the road so I can’t believe that I won it.
“If anyone wants a drink, I’m buying!”
Midway through the first period of a Swedish Allsvenskan league hockey game, Niklas Lihagen of Orebro HK took a hit and collapsed to the ice. Unlike most normal hockey checks, Lihagen didn’t just jump back up on the ice; this hit caused some real damage, Lihagen had gone into cardiac arrest.
Fortunately for him, the referee, Wolmer Edqvist, who also works as an ambulance driver quickly noticed what had happened and stopped play. Edqvist immediately went to Lihagen’s side and began CPR to restart the heart.
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Thanks to Edqvist’s quick reactions, Lihagen was rushed to the hospital where he is in stable condition; the remainder of the game was postponed.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times, people falling is always hilarious. Even funnier is when it comes from someone dressed in a cougar mascot costume. Showing their inner humanity, no one goes to the mascot’s aid after he tries a dunk off a giant exercise ball.
With yesterday’s signings of John Lackey and Mike Cameron for a combined $100 million and the previous signing of Marco Scutaro, theoretically the Red Sox could be done with major moves. The team still needs a third baseman but otherwise, the major holes on the field have been filled.
While I’m not a big Lackey fan, for the short-term I like this deal. For his career, Lackey’s most comparable pitcher according to Baseball-Reference is Josh Beckett and both men have identical career ERA+ at 117. Providing his elbow holds up, and I have to believe the Sox wouldn’t make their largest expenditure ever for a pitcher without ensuring that was case, this rotation is filthy. Throw out a Beckett-Lester-Lackey-DiceK-Buchholz rotation and 1-5 you’re talking about one of the best groups in baseball. Add in Tim Wakefield and whatever reclamation project Theo signs (please please please sign Ben Sheets) and you’re talking a solid 1-6 at least which is absolutely necessary.
I wonder though if yesterday’s moves might reopen the Sox’ attempts to pry away the big bat they’re still lacking, someone like Adrian Gonzalez? Mike Cameron can still play a solid center field, even at age 36, the Red Sox have a plethora of young center field prospects (most of whom are several years away but still) and I wonder if the two signings mean two of the Sox young players might be on the move. If the Sox were to offer to San Diego a package headlined by Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury wouldn’t the Padres have to seriously listen? They’d be receiving two major league players both under team control for at least 4 more years and at very low salaries. Ellsbury’s speed would give him plenty of chances to leg out extra base hits in the spacious Petco Park, and Buchholz is going to be if not a star, very good.
I don’t want to give up Buchholz, Ellsbury I could go either way on, but to acquire a big bat like Adrian, who is still only 26 years old and plant him in the middle of the lineup for the next decade is a pretty appealing thought. If, as the reports are right that Theo is hesitant to deal the young prospects that San Diego would want, (which I agree with him) perhaps giving up young major leaguers that the team isn’t convinced they want to build around, or that they can afford to give up is the better option.
Losing Jacoby would hurt some, the team would still have a hole in left but would be coming out of this offseason so far with the top starting pitcher on the free agent market and one of the best sluggers in the game. Not a bad haul if it could be done. I’d wager that Theo is FAR from done this offseason and there are a number of machinations still in the works. And if Adrian DOESN’T come to Boston, I’m still pretty satisfied with this offseason, I’d still like to see another 30 HR guy in the lineup but for the moment, I’m thinking this looks like a team poised to finish either 1-2 in the AL East.
Tom Smallwood beat the competition and the assumptions that his name arises in upsetting the reigning Professional Bowlers Association player of the Year, Wes Malott, 244-228 in the PBA World Championships on Sunday. The former assembly-line worker for General Motors who was laid off nearly a year ago took home his first PBA Tour title, his first “major” title, a $50,000 first prize, a two-year exemption to continue his PBA Tour career and his first chance to bowl in January’s PBA Tournament of Champions.
“It’s surreal,” Smallwood, 32, said. “It has been a wild ride.”
“I was already so nervous in the 10th frame, I told myself I couldn’t possibly get any more nervous,” he added. “The right lane was my good lane anyway, so I figured if I threw a decent shot, I’d be OK.”
Always sure of his skill, Smallwood never attempted to get on the tour until after he lost his job, so he competed in the PBA Tour Trial in suburban Detroit, finishing 3rd and starting his bowling career.
“I wouldn’t be here otherwise,” he said. “Getting an exemption is so hard to do.”
Ironically, Smallwood recently got a call from the General Motors jobs bank, offering him a chance to go back to work.
“The lady who called asked me if I wanted to come back to work, but I told her no,” he said. “She asked what I was doing. I told her I’m now a professional bowler and that I’d be on ESPN this weekend. At first she didn’t believe me, but the lady sitting next to her was a bowler, so I wound up talking to her for a while. Now I think the people at GM are fans.”
I’m no Jimmy Kimmel fan, but this clip he made advertising a special new Tiger Woods-related product is absolutely worth watching, not least of all because it includes BILLY DEE WILLIAMS! I’d go on, but that alone should be enough for you to watch it.
Budweiser’s favorite baseball team, the St. Louis Cardinals are working really hard to maintain their status as America’s Drunkest Team with their latest infraction, scrubby third baseman David Freese’s arrest for a DWI in Maryland Heights, about 20 miles out of St. Louis.
This makes the 4th incident in three years where a member of the Cardinals has been hit with drunken-driving charges. Starting with manager Tony LaRussa’s blowing a .093 BAC and falling asleep at a traffic light to Josh Hancock’s death after driving drunk to Scott Spezio’s DUI arrest, clearly the Cardinals are taking this issue VERY seriously. I bet they almost thought about sending an email to their team and staff, and then thought better of it. But still, ALMOST!
The 26-year-old Freese was not involved in an accident, thankfully, but the police wouldn’t release further details about the St. Louis native’s arrest. He is expected to be a prime contender for the starting third base job in 2010.
I’m glad to see the team that plays in Busch Stadium and is sponsored in large part by Budweiser has taken a stand against drunk driving and alcohol abuse. That’s a bang-up job there guys.
[ESPN]
Are you a big-time NBA fan who finds him or herself in front of a computer screen more often than a television? Do you want to watch each of your favorite team’s games despite being across the country? Well, the Slanch Report has DONE IT AGAIN! Thanks to the folks over at the NBA we have a FREE SUBSCRIPTION ($100 value) to the NBA League Pass Broadband package where you can watch ALL out-of-market games in realtime HD-quality graphics from your computer! Pretty awesome right!
There’s only one way to win: In the comments below submit your claim (100 words or less) as to why YOU are a bigger NBA fan than everyone else and deserve this prize the most. Creative trash talk and personal insults are ALWAYS welcome. Make sure you include a VALID EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR ENTRY and all entries must be received by NOON December 21st.
We also have some EXCELLENT prizes available for the second and third-place winners (as determined by ME) and guess what, it’s all FREE for you, all you have to do is submit your comment below.
Joining our Facebook Fan Page (if you haven’t already) is always highly recommended as well and will certainly help your chances.
And for more information on NBA’s League Pass and their Mobile version, check out these links.
Trevor Ariza was 0-9 from the floor during Sunday’s Rockets/Raptors game and was obviously feeling very frustrated. After battling for a loose ball, he lets his annoyance bubble over and tries to take a swing at DeMar DeRozan. Showing that his struggles on the court weren’t an illusion, Ariza whiffs on connecting with his punch too. Unluckily for him though the refs caught him and he was immediately tossed out of the game.
As a means of honoring Peter Gammons before his departure to the higher-paying less-travel pastures of MLB Network and NESN, the ESPN baseball writers all contributed a paragraph or several about their mentor and friend. Several days later, there are new stories and the Gammons tributes are pushed down the page.
Despite all the kind words the writers heaped on Gammons, I can’t help wondering if the editors or higher-ups at ESPN wanted to take a final shot at the legendary reporter — who received a reported substantial raise to join MLB — by putting this Jerry Crasnick headline beneath the Gammons stories.
Or it could just be a coincidence… but where’s the fun in that!
If you are a Tampa Bay Lightning fan, Sunday’s game against the Blackhawks was not one of your favorites. However, if you like hockey, or even if you just like to see some incredible things, the two teams combined on 2 amazing plays in the final minutes of the 2nd period and in the 3rd.
First, Marian Hossa shows off his hand-eye coordination when he grabs a loose puck out of the air and drops it towards his stick. Without waiting for it to hit the ice, he knocks it out of the air into the net, making it 4-0 in favor of Chicago.
Then, as the final seconds of the game are counting down Lightning goaltender Antero Niittymaki makes a truly FANTASTIC save; despite being down 4-0 and the game already lost, Niittymaki doesn’t give up and makes the phenomenal play.
Awesome! Cool!
The Slanch Report has started an online petition asking the MLB Network to air the Dock Ellis no-hitter he threw on June 12, 1970 against the San Diego Padres. The moment was a seminal piece of baseball history and is certainly worthy of being rerun.
Please join us in this cause and sign the petition below so we can all share in this special and fantastic moment of baseball history. THANKS!
SIGN THE PETITION HERE! AND PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND PASS THIS ALONG!
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