Nov 20
At one point this card was going to be an absolute super card. Then Brock Lesnar got sick. And Jon Fitch got a new opponent and moved to UFC 107. And just to keep the hits coming, Karo Parisyan pulled out of his fight yesterday because of anxiety. Even after all that, UFC 106 remains pretty damn good. And just like last couple UFC pay-per-views, there are free fights on SpikeTV before the main card. Read the rest of this entry »
Nov 20
Brittany Bell’s career arc: Cheerleader at Arizona State (and featured on Sports Illustrated.com!), Phoenix Suns dancer, and now, Miss America contestant. She’ll be representing Arizona. In addition, she graduated ASU with a degree in broadcast journalism, so ESPN will probably snap her up in the next 18 months. Maybe she could battle up-and-comer Jenn Brown (another bikini shot here) for Erin Andrews’ spot once Andrews moves on? If it’s your thing, follow Bell on twitter. And enjoy her twitpics - she’s ridiculously photogenic. [Blaze of Love]
Nov 20
The BCS had the bright idea to start a twitter account - @InsidetheBCS - perhaps in an effort to blunt the tsunami of criticism that is being rightfully heaped on the farce that is the end of the college football season. Who’s behind the account? A reader with a keen eye noticed that the first peopel to “follow” the account were … you guessed it, publicists. Read the rest of this entry »
Notre Dame and Charlie Weis: Since we were talking about recruiting and the Irish this week, here's a stat for you - the 28-player recruiting class that Charlie Weis hauled in back in 2006 plays its last home game Saturday. Ten of those players have transferred. Only nine of those players "had an impact" (whatever that means). And since the group began playing regularly, their record is an underwhelming 16-19. Now the question becomes - were those kids "overrated" in high school, or did Charlie Weis just not do a good job coaching them? A combination of the two? Something else entirely? [
Tribune]
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Nov 20
I think its great that LeBron James is going to play for the Browns. An big athletic tight end that hasn’t played organized football for the better part of a decade is just what the city of Cleveland needs to turn around its football team.
Ironically - or coincidentally, I can never remember - the answer to the Cavaliers’ problems is on the Browns’ roster. Read the rest of this entry »
Caster Semenya: The teenage sprinter will keep her gold medal. And her gender test results, which were
supposedly leaked two months ago, will remain private. Poor kid. This is the kind of story that should have hit the newswire on Friday at 4:59 pm, or the Wednesday before Thanksgiving at 4:59 pm. [
Bloomberg]
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Nov 20
ESPN is being dodgy about this, which means the WWL is either crafting an emergency press release, or hoping they can hold the press at bay for a few more hours. An ESPN source tells us that this morning in Bristol, an emergency meeting was called, and top brass was notified that David Berson, executive VP for program planning and development, was fired. Who is David Berson? Once, he made Business Week’s “100 most influential people in sports” list, and more recently, he was “connected to” Katey Lacey, the senior VP for marketing at ESPN.
More details as we get them.
[UPDATE: 2:05 pm - ESPN has confirmed that Berson, along with Katie Lacey are officially out at ESPN.]
Nov 20
The party itself isn’t worth a post, so how about we turn this into an item about the Buffalo Bills? Reality seems to be setting in regarding who the Bills can secure as head coach. Yesterday, we said this; today, the local media is saying this: Read the rest of this entry »
Couch Slouch: Things to keep in mind while watching sports on TV this weekend. "Who says Hollywood is a tough town? With no prior experience, Michael Strahan got a broadcasting job and an acting job." [
Wash Post]
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Nov 20
The BBWAA has acknowledged the internet folk of late, but their glasnost hit a snag in this year’s NL Cy Young voting. Both ESPN.com’s Keith Law and Baseball Prospectus’ Will Carroll bucked conventional wisdom slightly, leaving St. Louis starter Chris Carpenter off their ballots. This mild disparity may have cost Carpenter the award.
Read the rest of this entry »
