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TOP STORIES - MAY 9, 2009  TODAY'S BRETT FAVRE UPDATE: Citing a source close to the situation, ESPN reported Friday that X-rays of Favre's right shoulder were sent to the Vikings for evaluation. If it is determined that Favre does not need major surgery on his biceps tendon, Favre will supposedly un-retire and sign with the Vikings. Meanwhile agent Bus Cook says he has no knowledge of any X-Rays being sent up to Minneapolis. COACH CHUCK DALY DEAD AT 78: The lapel pins that have been worn recently by coaches and broadcasters during the NBA playoffs gave a strong hint that this news was imminent. Chuck Daly, who coached the original Dream Team to the gold medal in 1992 after winning back-to-back NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons, has lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. Daly had a career regular-season record of 638-437 in 13 NBA seasons, with a playoff record 75-51 along with leading the notorious 'Bad Boy' teams lead by Rick Mahorn, Bill Laimbeer, and Dennis Rodman to two association titles. Daly's condition was announced just two months ago and that he was undergoing treatment. OUT WITH A BANG - STRASBURG WITH NO-HITTER IN FINAL HOME START: Projected #1 pick in upcoming MLB draft does not disappoint record crowd of 3,337, including the Washington Nationals GM and scouting director, by striking out 17 in a 5-0 no-hit win over Air Force. Strasburg hit 101 on the radar gun in the 116 pitch performance, which ranks alongside last year's 23 strikeout performance against Utah as perhaps Strasburg's greatest college career moment. The Aztecs are 32-17 for the season, but are not projected to go far in the NCAA tournament and I doubt that agent Scott Boras nor the Nationals will be particularly eager to see Strasburg overused much from this point going forward.FORMER NASCAR DRIVER IN APPARENT SUICIDE: Former NASCAR driver Kevin Grubb found inside a Virginia hotel with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Grubb had been suspended from NASCAR since September 2006 after allegedly refusing to submit to a drug test after a second-lap crash in a Busch Series race at Richmond International Raceway. Grubb had been previously suspended for failing a drug test in March 2004, and was reinstated two years later and drove in five Busch Series races before the Richmond incident. Grubb claimed to have suffered a concussion in that crash and says he had no memory of being ordered to take a drug test. NASCAR's policy in recent years had called for drivers being subjected to testing at any time on 'reasonable suspicion'. Kevin Grubb was 31 years old.  RON ARTEST SAYS HE'S SEEN ROUGHER THAN GAME 2: The plot certainly thickened in LA last night - first Derek Fisher gets a flagrant 2 foul that will likely earn him a one-game suspension, then after not getting a call, Ron Artest flies off the handle and earns a ejection for getting in Kobe Bryant's face. Then Rockets reserve Von Wafer is asked to leave the floor by his own coach, he was escorted to the locker room by a team official - I'm guessing the Rockets human resources office is reviewing that one. Meanwhile Artest tells an interesting story during the post-game, saying he has witnessed rougher games back in the hood back in the day. Here's what Ron said - 'One time, one of my friends, he was playing basketball and they were winning the game. It was so competitive, they broke off a piece of leg from a table and they threw it and it went right through his heart and he died right on the court. So I'm accustomed to playing basketball really rough.' Guess that would be beyond NBA playoff intensity. DIRK NOWITZKI'S GIRLFRIEND BUSTED - TEAM GLAD: Multiple Dallas team sources say they knew about Nowitzki and his relationship with girlfriend/fiancee Cristal Taylor and had suspicions long before Taylor was arrested by the FBI on probation and theft charges Wednesday morning. With dark bags appearing under his eyes, Dirk deflected most questions about the story during a Thursday practice, but did acknowledge 'It's pretty obvious that I'm going through a tough time in my personal life right now'. It is said that Dirk and the 37 year-old Taylor have had a close relationship - with two DFW area TV stations reporting that Taylor is engaged to Nowitzki and pregnant with his child. Although booked into a local jail as Cristal Taylor, then indictment lists several additional aliases including Christian Julie Wellington, Christian B. Travino, Crystal Nobles, Christy Nobles, Kristi Briana Westerhauf, Cristal Taylor Westerhaus, and Christa A. Westerhays. It's said that Dirk recently hired a private investigator who revealed the woman's many aliases. While many regard the timing of the distraction as bad in the middle of a playoff series in which Dallas trails two games to none, team sources are said to characterize the news as 'good' - portraying Taylor was a divisive influence between Dirk and his teammates.POLICE INVESTIGATE ALEX OVECHKIN DEATH THREAT ON WEB: Being a sniper on the ice as an NHL star is a good thing - getting on a message board and vowing to be one towards an NHL star is definitely not. The Washington Capitals notified Pittsburgh-area authorities after a death threat made against Ovechkin surfaced on a hockey message board - the writer claimed he was going to do in Alex and 'didn't care if he went to jail' - think that guy has attended his last NHL game for a while. The Capitals currently lead Pittsburgh two games to one in their playoff series, Ovechkin has scored five of the Capitals nine goals. FAVRE NOT COMING TO MNPLS: A soursce says Favre told Brad Childress that he wanted to remain retired in a phone call that took place 'sometime in the last day'. Favre is expected to publicly explain all of this soon.  MANNY RAMIREZ - 50 GAME SUSPENSION: Sources say it is not for a substance commonly linked to performance-enhancing, but a fertility drug commonly used by women, but can also be used to trigger testosterone production. Ramirez has already released a statement saying - 'Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy.' Ramirez then adds that he has been tested 15 times over the past five seasons then apologizes to the Dodgers organization, management, and fans. In 80 games since arriving with the Dodgers last July, Ramirez has hit .380 with a .710 slugging percentage - with 23 home runs and 73 RBI. Draw your own conclusions on whether Manny has been trying to cycle off something in the last year.FAVRE, CHILDRESS - DINNER TONIGHT?? Guess we possibly know why Deanna was in GB yesterday, perhaps fixing up some Northwoods cuisine. Favre and the Vikings coach are said to be doing dinner tonight and will talk more tomorrow. Meanwhile agent Bus Cook maintains that as far as he knows, that Favre is 'still retired' (at least for tonight)... MINNESOTA GOVERNOR WANTS FAVRE: Governor Tim Pawlenty: 'Can you imagine Brett Favre going into Lambeau Field in Viking purple and maybe even wearing No. 4? (What, you think John David Booty isn't giving up that number??) There would be audible gasps. There would be 60,000 audible gasps as he came out of the tunnel.' Somebody, quick - get Jesse Ventura's take... NICK BARNETT ON TWITTER: Thoughts on favre... Well didn't want to comment but hey anyways I think he should do what ever he feels is in his heart.. But once he puts on that purple he will become an enemy which is all part of the game.. It's hard to imagine him doing that. But if it's in his head... DEANNA FAVRE'S FOUR HOURS IN GREEN BAY: And I mean exactly four hours. Arrives on private jet with a friend at the airport at 7:43 AM and was headed back to Mississippi at 11:43 AM. Report also says that Deanna did not spend any time this morning with any members of the Packers organization. Four hours - was that even enough time to hit a Shopko??? Politicians spend more time in GB on campaign stops than that... BRETT SAYING - I WANT REVENGE??? Sad thing is the racehorse may end up being retired before Favre. Shutdown Corner reports basically what I blogged about Monday and what was reported over the weekend, that Favre wants to go to the Vikings just to get 'revenge' on the Packers. MJD also muses on what might happen if Brett plays a game against the GBP with revenge as his primary motive and muses that he might throw something like 19 interceptions in two games. BUT BRETT TEXTS 'NO': Yet another blog - Trent Dilfer texts #4, asks if he is going to play in 2009 - Brett's response, in capital letters (he only needed to) was - NO. I think he needed to bold that as well, texting Brett, kind of cool - kind of like shaking the Magic 8 Ball. JETS THINK BRETT IS DONE: Several ex-teammates on the Jets interviewed, most think that Brett will not come back this time and sign his one-day contract with the GBP - a very expensive one-day contract that the Packers just might be forced to cough up if they really don't want to see #4 return in purple.MASCOT NAME SHOT DOWN BY NRA: Shades of the old Salt Lake Buzz/Georgia Tech dustup here - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse holds a contest to name it's eagle mascot, and when the polls closed the student body settled on naming the bird Eddie. Just one problem though, the National Rifle Association also has a mascot, it's also an eagle, and it's also named Eddie - so the NRA decided to block the school from using that name, citing that both mascots are used in an 'educational setting'. Former NHL goaltender Ed Belfour was not available for comment. So now the school will now have a second ballot to determine the mascots name, with the losing names now back in the fray and also a student-led petition drive to name the mascot 'Colbert' after a Comedy Central TV character. The leftover names on the ballot are Baldy, Edgar, Ernie, Screech and Talon - they may also want to scratch screech from the list - that would be the Washington Natinals mascot... OBVIOUSLY - HER KID PITCHES FOR THE YANKEES: 44 year-old mother of Joba Chamberlain jailed in Nebraska facing possible felony charge after being arrested for allegedly selling meth to an undercover officer. According to authorities the woman allegedly sold 1 gram of a controlled substance for $110 to the officer in February. The arrest was delayed as the state lab tested the substance.  DOME OF DOOM - COWBOYS PRACTICE FACILITY COLLAPSES: You think they could have called this practice?? The Dallas Cowboys practice facility rattles, shakes, and then collapses during dramatic video captured during the team's rookie mini-camp. Over two dozen of the teams rookies along with coaches and other personnel were in the facility at the time, injuring approximately a dozen people. An assistant scouting director is said to have suffered permanent paralysis after his spine was severed, a special teams coach also suffered a fractured vertebrae while a member of the teams training staff sustained a broken leg. It is said that 65 MPH winds hit the facility as it collapsed - at left is a picture taken in the vicinity during this time-frame showing a possible funnel-like cloud. Speaking at the Kentucky Derby, team owner Jerry Jones says the team did not get sufficient warning about the approaching storm.NATS APPEAR NOT TO BE SCARED OFF - WILL SELECT STRASBURG: Not deterred by his representation by Scott Boras, all indications are that the Washington Nationals will indeed select San Diego State product Stephen Strasburg with the #1 overall pick in the June Amateur Draft. A slotting system is usually in place for the MLB Draft, but Boras is expected to use Strasburg as a test case and demand a 6 year-$50 million contract, with the possible threat of sending his client to the Japanese League for a year if he doesn't get his asking price. Strasburg is said to be talented enough now to be able to immediately contribute at the big league level, and could indeed be on the Nationals roster not long after the draft - but his innings are likely to be limited with the team not expected to be in contention this year. I WANT A REFUND!!! Derby favorite I Want Revenge a late scratch after a hot spot was found on his hoof - and with a muddy track expected the handlers wanted to take no chances. It is believed to be the first time in memory that a betting favorite had been scratched the morning of the event. Now I will give you my pick to win - 'GENERAL QUARTERS, GENERAL QUARTERS - ALL HANDS MAN YOUR NEAREST BETTING WINDOW!!!' KENTUCKY DERBY EXPECTED TO BE RUN AS SCHEDULED: For the first time, the swine flu pandemic brings the possibility of a U.S. run sports event into question - but Kentucky's health commissioner says he expects the Kentucky Derby to go on as scheduled - but stops short of a guarantee 'since the nature of this virus is so unpredictable'. It's said the CDC has been warned since the derby is expected to bring 'a surge of individuals' from throughout the world. Approximately 300,000 are expected to converge on Churchill Downs, many of them in shoulder-to-shoulder contact in the stands. Also, Mexican League soccer games (176 matches in all divisions) are to be contested this weekend in empty stadiums. TEXAS PREP SPORTS SUSPENDED: Texas officials postpone all public high school athletic and academic competitions through May 11. The move suspends the baseball and softball seasons and eliminates the regional track championships. The state's golf and tennis championship are due to begin on May 11, the state track meet is scheduled for May 14-16. School officials say 53,000 students are out of school due to concern over the virus, with dozens of schools closed.FAVRE OFFICIALLY RELEASED BY JETS: This could mean nothing or it could mean something. Obviously Favre was done as a member of the New York Jets, and today Favre was officially released from the team's reserved/retired list - meaning that Favre finally has the freedom should he choose to do so - of signing with any team including the hated Vikings - or Favre could just sign his one-day contract with the Packers, and get his jersey retired already. For the record, Favre swears on scripture that he really is done for good, but the whispers of yet another comeback will not likely go away. Also since Favre has been released by the Jets the language in last summer's trade that would had forced the Jets to compensate the Packers with three first-round picks if they had traded him to another NFC North team, no longer apply. SAD NEWS FROM MOTORSPORTS JOURNALISM WORLD: Tragic development out of the NASCAR world as we learn that longtime NASCAR writer (Charlotte Observer/THATSRACIN.COM) David Poole passed away today from a heart attack at age 50 - word is that Poole was stricken at home not long after doing his Sirius/XM Radio morning show. Arguably the most respected writer in NASCAR, Poole spent much of the past two days writing about the dangers of Talladega Speedway which manifested itself during the running of the two events held there this weekend. RELEIVER CAN'T CLOSE GAME - THEN CLOSES TWITTER ACCOUNT: Count Giants closer Brian Wilson amongst those in the sports world who have perhaps gone overboard in the use of Twitter - describing everything from what the coach is saying in the halftime locker room to what the weather's like outside. This past Sunday Wilson came into a game in Arizona with a three run ninth-inning lead, and didn't get the job done. It happens, even to the best of them. Problem was, people were noticing his Twitter posts from late Saturday night into early Sunday morning, where he was describing the Scottsdale bar scene and some patrons being a bit aggressive. While other bloggers were taking the opportunity to perhaps add two and two together, Wilson chose to end the budding controversy by deleting his posts.  YANKEES PREZ KICK MLS TO THE CURB: We've always known that Major League Soccer is recession-proof, no one cares in even the best of times. MLS president Don Garber commented over the weekend that all professional sports teams should be wary of watching the bottom line in the current economic climate - in particular noting the mostly empty premium seats at Yankee Stadium during the Yankee's first regular season homestand. The Yankees have come out firing - with club president Randy Levine noting 'Don Garber discussing Yankee attendance must be a joke'. Levine then notes that the Yankees drew more fans last year (4.3 million) than all of MLS (3.46 million for 210 regular season games) before adding that even (David) Beckham 'wants out of your league'. Those comments stung like a Beckham kick, or maybe a line drive hit off Chien-Ming Wang.TALLADEGA FREIGHTS - EIGHT FANS INJURED: Carl Edwards car goes airborne into the catchfence after being taken out by eventual winner Brad Keselowski just before the checkered flag at the Aaron's 499. The crash occurred as KesElowski stood his ground (going below the yellow line would have disqualified him), sending Edwards into the fence. Said Carl after the race 'we'll race like this until somebody gets killed' before NASCAR changes the rules. NASCAR stresses that none of the fans injuries were life-threatening, although it was said that two patrons were airlifted out of the facility, in at least one case it was said to be to avoid the ground traffic. The worst of the spectator injuries at this point is said to be a possible broken arm with one casualty and a broken jaw to another - per various early reports coming in. RANGERS COACH SUSPENDED FOR CRITICAL GAME SIX: He didn't want to talk about it after Game 5, and threatened to walk off the podium if reporters didn't ask anything other than what happened - but coach John Travolta, I mean Tortorella, will have to stay at the discotheque when the Rangers host Washington in Game 6 of their first round playoff series Sunday. The incident Travolta doesn't want to talk about is when he is seen on camera throwing a water bottle at a Washington fan, then threatening him with a hockey stick. It is said that a pop that was thrown at Travolta which precipitated the retaliation. And this matter that Travolta doesn't want to talk about becomes an NHL post-season instant classic, taking it's place right alongside Jim Schoenfeld's famous 'have another doughnut' confrontation with referee Don Koharski 20 years ago. Schoenfeld was suspended for that game following that dustup, but his team filed a temporary injunction in court, which led to the referees walking out and the league having to find local amateur referees when Schoenfeld showed up at the arena for the next game. Incidentally, the acting coach for the Rangers on Sunday??? Jim Schoenfeld. TORNADO SCARE AT KANSAS SPEEDWAY: The scheduled NASCAR Truck Series race which had just started had already been called and most fans had already left the track when tornado sirens blared as a twister touched ground just southwest of the speedway and was being shown on a television news report. In addition to the NASCAR Truck Series, the Indy Racing League was also at the track as they have a race scheduled for Sunday. Crews for teams in both series were forced to take shelter until the all-clear was given. HIT OUT ON CELTICS PLAYER??? As commissioner David Stern has mention - this is not really anything new, threats have been made on professional athletes before, but this is getting a ton a play due to an increase of security presence behind the visitors bench during Game 3 of the Celtics-Bulls series Thursday night. All that is known is this, Tony Allen was involved in a fight in his hometown of Chicago in 2005, and was acquitted in 2007 - and it sounds like now someone may now be trying to hunt him down. Neither Allen or the Celtics organization are talking about the widely circulated story with Game 4 set for Sunday at the United Center.  DEAN OF NBA BROADCASTERS SET TO RETIRE: If you have satellite radio you might want to check out Game 4 of the Lakers-Jazz series Saturday night, it may be the final home game for one of the all-time legends of NBA broadcasting, as Hot Rod Hundley confirms he will be calling it a career at the end of the season. Hundley has called all 3,048 regular season and playoff games in the history of the Jazz organization, and is the last remaining member of the original staff which started in New Orleans 35 years ago. Hundley's career started working with Chick Hearn with the Lakers in 1967, and like Hearn did radio and television simulcasts for most of his career. Hundley moved to radio broadcasts only four years ago, and mentions that having to call games from the upper portions of arenas (NBA teams are no longer required to place announcers courtside) had made his job more difficult. Next season would mark the first time Hundley has not been involved with the Association since 1957.SHE MIGHT BE A SPORTS STORY NOW: If you have watched the entertainment news at all this week you have no doubt heard of this. Carrie Prejean is Miss California and was one of the two finalists in the Miss USA pageant. A judge named Perez Hilton, who is said to be openly gay, asks Prejean about her take on same-sex marriages. Prejean (who is said to have been brought up in an evangelical culture) responded by saying that while it's great that Americans can choose, that herself she believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman (but no offense) - resulting in a national crap-storm, especially when Perez Hilton said the next day that he believed Prejean's response cost her the title. Really?? Who did win that anyways - Prejean may have lost but picking up the fame points and the right wing having her back more than makes up for it. Now this bit of news, it's now said that Michael Phelps has dumped his girlfriend and is NOW GOING OUT WITH PREJEAN. Talk about striking while the iron's hot. Hilton's next question ought to be what he thinks of eight-time gold medalists smoking out of a bong. |
