America Could Start A Cricket Team With A Double-A All-Star Team And Never Lose A Game

I found this episode of Sports Science a while ago but had forgot about it. Basically they take some cricketer and Mark Reynolds of the Arizona Diamondbacks and have them try their hand at the other sport.  If you watch the cricketer explains have you have to hold a cricket bat differently and it takes a completely different type of swing to be successful. Reynolds basically says "F*ck That" and proceeds to crush just about every bowl he sees with a prototypical baseball swing.

Now I know anyone who's a cricket fan (of which I really know none) would complain about the dangers of having a 90 MPH bowl straight at you but I've seen dude's take upper-90s fastballs with movement in the dome, the back and off their knees. So basically I will never listen to anyone who champions the merits of cricket over baseball.

U.S. Women's Soccer Shows Off New World Cup Uniforms... With Playboy Models

In an attempt to generate interest (I guess...) the U.S. Women's team unveiled their new uniforms for the upcoming Women's World Cup. This story is only interesting because they enlisted the aid of Hugh Hefner in finding a suitable model. I guess Mia Hamm wasn't available.

Hef also helped out with the Women's Swim team prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics

MMA Fighters And Parenting Don't Appear To Mix Well

I'm sure this guys is being exceptionally gentle with his child and everything but shouldn't someone at some one have thought "Hey, is it really a good idea to make a video of a professional fighter choking a baby?"

Apparently not....

Mom Breaks Up Pee Wee Hockey Fight

This is a rather adorable hockey fight between what looks like two brothers who are can't be older than 7 and 5 respectively. It's unfortunate mom intervenes before they start going at because this would have been one of the funniest thing I've seen in a while. The little one really wanted to take it to his older brother. Obviously encouraging violence in little kids is bad but these are hockey players.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Anyone Ever Wonder Where The Term "Soccer" Came From?

Because I like knowing random facts concerning just about everything I was quite pleased when I stumbled upon the origins of the word Soccer. As it turns out we Americans should never have to take any crap from other countries because we use the word soccer instead of football. Soccer was a term coined by the British and was used for the game for 18 years before the term football was ever seen.

In short the story is this: There have been many types of "football" games throughout history and England was no exception. In the middle of the 19th century a group got together to standardize a set of rules from the game and came up with a sport called Association Football in order to distinguish for other football sports like Rugby Football. Because the Brits love nicknames (such as Rugger for Rugby) they began to call the game "Assoccer" which quickly evolved into the word soccer and this was the term largely used bu the upper class. It wasn't until the lower classes (who didn't elite academic institutions where terms like rugger and soccer were used) began to use the term football that it took hold and shortly thereafter dominated the word soccer.

If you'd like to read the full story that I found feel free to click here. This website is full of great and practically useless information... That is unless you have a blog and want to show off all the random crap you know.

T.O. Sign 1-Year Deal With The Cincinnati Bengals; Ochocinco's Respose "Child, Please"

Terrell Owens signed a 1-year deal with Bengals today worth $2 million including a further $2 million in incentives. That's all I'm going to mention about T.O. the football player. The Bengals have brought together two of the biggest personalities in the NFL however I wouldn't worry about locker room issues as T.O. is past his prime and this is Chad Ochocinco's team.

Speaking of 85 has anybody caught his new reality show on VH1, Ochocinco: The Ultimate Catch? It's a dating reality show that started off with 85 women competing for the Black Mexican's affection (he eliminated 69 in the first show). I had the day off yesterday and watch several episodes without feeling my brain turn to mush which is quite an achievement given how most of these shows work. Ochocinco certainly has the upper hand over T.O. when it comes to their own TV show as last year's T.O. Show was decidedly unmemorable. The only downside to watching Chad on VH1 was the receiver's failure to use the term "Child, Please" it's a real shame.

Lane Kiffin Is Still An Asshole

The Tennessee Titans have filed a lawsuit against USC’s head football coach Lane Kiffin and the Universtiy for “maliciously” luring Titans running backs coach Kennedy Pola to USC. The Titans maintain that Kiffin and USC met with Pola and lured him away with a lucrative contract with full knowledge that Pola’s contract stipulated he must have written permission from the team before discussing other potential jobs. The Titans were left with a coaching vacancy less than a week before their training camp was set to begin. Pola had only been hired in February and was under contract until 2011. The lawsuit cites this recent action as evidence of a pattern of misconduct and improper methods used by Kiffin and USC since Kiffin abruptly left the University of Tennessee for Southern California after only one season.

Lane Kiffin has drawn constant criticism from his employers since Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis made him the youngest head coach in NFL history (at the time) several years ago. Kiffin was dismissed during his second season in Oakland (although I believe much fault belonged with Davis who insisted on starting QB Jamarcus Russell. How well did that work out?) Kiffin was then hired to be the head coach at Tennessee where he drew scorn for his brash attitude and his aggressive accusations against other SEC coaches, most notably Urban Meyer of Florida, for recruiting violations. Kiffin left UT after one season for his dream job at USC where he earned fame as an offensive coordinator. Kiffin will have a tough time re-establishing his reputation after USC was sanctioned for a series of recruiting violations that took place under former coach Pete Carroll and likely involved Kiffin as well.

I used to like Lane Kiffin and his attitude toward coaching but now he comes off as selfish and childish and will have to do a lot of work to redeem himself in my opinion. Of course if he is able to guide USC threw the serious sanctions that will be imposed by the NCAA next season then I’ll tip my cap.

ESPN Outside The Lines Reveals Results Of NFL Stadium Food Safety Investigation

Outside The Lines recently began an investigation after a series of complaints arose from fans about food safety violations in NFL stadiums across the league. This was part of a larger investigation concerning Health Code violations in America’s top sports venues. In terms of food safety they investigated the number of “critical food safety violations” that occurred at each stadium’s individual vendors. ESPN’s NFL Nation Blog then organized each NFL stadium and found some shocking results. Sun Life Stadium, the home of the Miami Dolphins, finished dead last with an abysmal 93% of all food vendors committing at least one critical food safety violation with reports of incidents like insects being included in frozen drinks served from a machine that was never cleaned. It appears as if the state of Florida is rather lax in enforcing their health code and as Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay and Jacksonville Municipal Stadium came in right behind Sun Life at the bottom of the list. The entire list can be found here.

On the other side of the coin you’re in luck if you’re a Patriots fan as the investigation of Gillette stadium did not yield a single violation. The Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium and The Colts’ Lucas Oil Field were next in line with only 4% and 7% of vendors committed violations. Just something to think about next time you order up a $14 hot dog.

The Wait Is (Kind Of) Over: NFL Training Camp Begins

This week begins with the opening of training camp for most of the NFL. Most NFL fans have eagerly been awaiting the start of camp which marks the end of the NFL’s interminable 6-month long offseason. After following Free Agency, the Draft and OTAs it is finally time for teams to bring their offseason plans to fruition and start turning their team into a cohesive unit. Right now every team is tied for first place and fans of any team have at some reason to get excited (although some more than others). The 2010 season has begun and we are less than 3 weeks away from watching live football as the first preseason games begin in mid-August.

Of course camp lasts for about a month and then there are still several weeks before Week 1 kicks and quickly all the excitement centered around the start of camp will dissipate as we get ready for the regular season and meaningful games to begin. The one saving grace of the preseason however will be the return of HBO’s finest television series, Hard Knocks, which will go camping with the New York Jets this preseason. For anyone who hasn’t gotten the chance to follow Hard Knocks in the past I’ll describe it simply; it is the best show for an NFL fan, ever. Getting an in-depth look about what life is like for NFL players and coaches is something most people have never seen before and Hard Knocks has rarely failed to live up to the hype. The Jets boast a roster full of talent and questionable character and at the very least we should all be entertained by the personalities of head coach Rex Ryan and characters like WR Santonio Holmes, CB Antonio Cromartie (father of 7 children by 6 women in 4 states) and QB Mark Sanchez. There is a lot of hype around the Jets this year as they surprised everyone last season by reaching the AFC Championship game and that excitement level will be evident in camp. Whether you like them or not every football fan should watch Hard Knocks if you are not already familiar with it.

Matt Garza Tosses 5th No-Hitter Of 2010

The Year or the Pitcher continued to live up to its name last night as Matt Garza of the Tampa Bay Rays notched the league’s 5th no-hitter of the season and we are not even 2/3rds of the way through. Garza allowed only one walk and faced the minimum 27 batters to complete the first no-hitter in Rays history. There are now only two franchises in the MLB who have never thrown a no-hitter, the San Diego Padres and of course the New York Mets (who will never thrown one, ever).

Nobody quite knows why pitchers have been so dominant this year but batting averages, home run totals and ERA’s are the lowest they’ve been in decades while across the board starters’ win totals are up. Over the last few seasons it was commonly assumed that the days of 20-wins were over and we would never see another 300-win pitcher (which still may be true). 2010 may be evidence of the cyclical nature of the game as the steroid era seems to have finally come to a close and we could see another era of pitching dominance like that of the 1960s and early 70s before rule changes were instituted benefit hitters. Only time will tell on that but it’s interesting to note.

Side note: It’s an intriguing happenstance that in the Year of the Pitcher we have seen the most viable Triple Crown contenders in recent memory (Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers being the most notable with a .349 avg, 24 HRs and 88 RBI’s). The last Triple Crowns occurred in the 1960s, the aforementioned period of pitching dominance, it would be an interesting correlation if we saw the first Triple Crown in 43 years in a year like 2010.

Miss Billiards 2010 Just Made Pool A Lot More Interesting

Stumbling through the internet the other day I found a reason to regret the countless times I skipped over competitive billiards on ESPN 2 at 2 PM on a weekend. That reason is Anastasia Luppova and she earned her second straight "Miss Billiards" crown this year after winning both the European and World Billiards Championships. I'm surprised nobody has thought to avidly market this girl considering she's probably the most attractive athlete (I know that term is a stretch when it comes to pool but c'mon...) out of Russia since Anna Kournikova (and by the way what the hell happened to her). I feel the need to take it upon myself to share someone this talented (at pool, right?) with the rest of the world.

MLB All Star Game Tonight 8 PM

Can the National League finally regain some of their dignity? The Midsummer Classic tees off tonight at 8 PM in Anaheim with the winning team claiming home field advantage in the World Series for their league’s Champion. The National League has failed to win an All Star game for the past 13 seasons post an 0-12-1 record in those games. They have lost out on home field for the World Series every time for the last couple of years since the rule’s inception. Can 2010 finally be their year?

For the better part of the last decade the AL has been considered the better of the two leagues because of their far superior offensive numbers and their All Star Game winning streak. However 2010 is quickly earning the epithet “The Year of the Pitcher” and a lot of that can be attributed to all the young talent in the NL. It would seem that pitching has finally come to overtake the Home Run as the centerpiece of excitement in the MLB (a lack of steroid usage may have something… or a great deal to do with it). We’ve already seen 4 No-Hitters including 2 Perfect Games and we’re only at the All Star break. The NL’s starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez is 15-1 after years of speculation that the days of the 20-win season were behind us and will face-off against Tampa Bay’s David Price who is 12-4 with a 2.42 ERA. Both of these guys are under 26 and lead a group of young pitchers that will dominate the next decade including Tim Lincecum, Josh Johnson, Clay Buchholz. Phil Hughes and Mike Pelfrey to name a few.

But enough about that. I’m tired of hearing about how much better the AL is than the NL. The National League needs to get off the schnide and win an All Star Game convincingly. It still won’t be considered the better league but it will go a long way to earning some street cred from baseball fans around the country.

George Steinbrenner Dead At 80

Legendary Yankees owner George Steinbrenner passed away this morning after suffering a heart-attack late last night, shortly after celebrating his 80th birthday on July 4th. Steinbrenner took control on a Yankees franchise that had been suffering from its longest stretch of mediocrity since before the arrival of Babe Ruth nearly 50 years prior. Steinbrenner took a strong-armed approached to managing his franchise and the result was 11 American League Pennants and 7 World Series Championships. He brought the team for barely $10 million and now leaves it with an estimate value of more than $1.5 billion.

George Steinbrenner was renowned for clashing with his players and managers and always put winning first. I came across a fitting quote from Steinbrenner that goes a long way in summing up his legacy.

“Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning second.”

While perhaps earning the ire of many opposing players and fans (as well as some of his own players and fans) throughout his career, Steinbrenner earned the respect of all. He will be missed in the baseball world by friends and foe alike.

Thoughts On LeBron And The Miami Heat

LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dewayne Wade are teaming up to play for the Miami Heat next season with aspirations of unprecedented success as they form the most talented “Big 3” the NBA has ever the seen. I really don’t believe you can pencil this team in for the NBA Finals next season but I won’t get into that here. Instead I’m going to talk about what this move means for LeBron’s legacy.

As a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James quickly earned the nicknames “The King” and “The Chosen One” because his immense talent-level gave birth to the dream that he could be the one player to reach the level of Michael Jordan, or even supplant him as the best player in NBA history. After a series of playoff failures resulting from both a lack of help from his teammates and a lack of clutch shooting from himself, fans began to doubt that James could still be the next Jordan. By signing with the Miami Heat instead of Chicago, New York or Cleveland LeBron will now never be able to reach Jordan’s level, no matter how many NBA Titles he wins (which may not be many, but again that’s for another time).

LeBron chose the Heat because of his desire to win NBA Championships (it took Jordan 6 seasons to win his first, LeBron is entering his 7th) but in doing so has sacrificed his chance at immortality. He can never overtake Jordan’s legacy now because even if he wins 4 or 5 rings with the Heat he will receive the same stigma Kobe Bryant has recently been fighting off that will go something like “Well he had both Wade and Bosh”. Instead of passing Jordan, now the best James can hope to accomplish is to replace Scottie Pippen as the best running mate in the history of the NBA. Don’t get me wrong, LeBron will still be regarded as the best player in the NBA (for the next while at least) but think about what it will take for the Heat to win in the playoffs:

The Cavaliers have failed in the postseason recently because no one (James very, very much included) has been able to make big jump shots at the end of games. If LeBron had signed elsewhere he would still be the guy with the ball in his hands at the end of the game when it mattered, that won’t be the case in Miami. If Miami wins any NBA Championships Dewayne Wade will almost certainly be the Finals MVP of those teams (Jordan won 6 Championships and was the Finals MVP 6 times). Wade is a much better shooter than LeBron and has proved it on the biggest stage (don’t forget the 2006 NBA Finals when down 2 games to the Mavericks and trailing in the 2nd half of game 3, Dewayne Wade put the team on his back and made every big shot over the next 4 games en route to 4 straight wins and an NBA Title). Does anyone really think Wade won’t have the ball in his hands for the last shot of every big game? Think about the most lasting images of Michael Jordan’s career? How many are game-winning shots in the playoffs?

When push comes to shove the Miami Heat will be Dewayne Wade’s team, not LeBron James’. I guess we have to think of some new nicknames if Wade ever gets the chance to show that to the world.

ESPN Special: LeBron James "The Decision" Tonight 9 PM

LeBron James will finally make his long awaited decision on which team his will sign with tonight during a 1-hour special on ESPN. Seriously LeBron, get over yourself. What the hell are you going to air for 60 minutes tonight? A simple 10-15 minute press conference will generate just as much publicity and attention but I guess that's just not enough for LeBron's ego. Dewayne Wade and Chris Bosh's announcement that they would be playing for Miami next year sounds humble compared to this. Kevin Durant announced his 5-year $86 million extension with the Thunder with a simple Tweet. I'm both slightly apalled and slightly intriqued by how LeBron's camp plans to fill an hour-long special.

I don't think there can be any more speculation on his decision because everyone is in the dark, everyone. Basically there are 4 destination for LeBron to choose that can each make a defensible argument: Chicago, Cleveland, Miami and New York. I picked the Knicks initially so I am staying with that. If anyone wants more in depth opinions on the subject than I direct you to ESPN's Bill Simmons, who for all his smarmy shortcoming knows his NBA, and his most recent article on the subject at the link below, it's very enlightening on the current subject.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100708

JaMarcus Russell Arrested For Sippin’ On Dat Lean

Former Number 1 overall pick QB JaMarcus Russell was arrested this past weekend for felony possession of a controlled substance, codeine syrup, and released on $2,500 bail. Russell was severely overestimated coming out of LSU because of his immense size and physical abilities. The first pick in the 2007 NFL Draft belonged to Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders who selected Russell and thereby set the franchise back by 5 years. JaMarcus immediately caused problems by holding out for nearly his entire rookie season and barely saw any playing time in ’07. Russell was pretty abysmal during his Raiders career compiling only a 7-18 record as a starter while throwing only 18 TDs compared to 23 INTs. His career passer rating is a paltry 65.2. Russell was the reason former Raiders Head Coach Lane Kiffin was ousted during his second season at the helm because owner Al Davis insisted Russell start while Kiffin believed him incapable. The Raiders finally benched Russell during this season and actually success with former wash-ups Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye who each won multiple games for the Raiders last year. Russell was released after the season after receiving nearly $40 million from the Raiders over 3 seasons. Several teams including the New York Jets showed mild interest in Russell but none considered him a potential starter. Russell is quickly making a case to be the biggest bust in NFL draft history as I can’t imagine any team in their right mind taking a chance on him after this arrest. This is Russell’s first offense so he probably won’t be sanctioned by the law too harshly. Unfortunately an added character flag may be enough to keep Russell out of the NFL for good.

I guess there’s always the UFL.

Knicks Make First Splash In Free Agency

The first move in the NBA free agent market was made yesterday when All Star F Amar’e Stoudemire signed a 5-year, $99.7 million deal with the New York Knicks yesterday. Stoudemire will be reunited with his former coach from the Phoenix Suns Mike D’Antoni and gives the Knicks a lot more credibility. I think New York made the move to sign Stoudemire to increase their chances of bringing in LeBron James. The Knicks had little to offer James in terms of a winning franchise but had enough cap room to sign two big time contracts this offseason. By adding Stoudemire the Knicks have now narrowed their target to James and to a lesser extent Dewayne Wade as the spot F Chris Bosh would fill is the same as Stoudemire’s.

This move makes a lot of sense for the Knicks. Amar’e was the guy LeBron wanted the Cavaliers to bring in at the trade deadline last year to help make a playoff run and Stoudemire has already said that he will reach out to James and try to recruit him. His presence offers both Wade and James a legitimate running mate and combo-ing either of them with Stoudemire would instantly make the team relevant in the East. Also if the Knicks fail to bring in either Wade or James they have made enough of a splash to generate some excitement with their fans instead of bitter disappointment in not signing James. I think the Knicks now have the same chance as the Chicago Bulls to sign James or Wade but as always with the situation nobody really knows. James is expected to make his announcement either Wednesday or Thursday so it’s wait and see until then.

NBA Free Agency: Are We In For Anticlimax?

12:01 AM this morning marked the being of the NBA free agency period, something almost everyone has been waiting for since the Cleveland LeBron James’ were bounced from the playoffs in the second round. With names like James, Wade, Bosh, Johnson, Pierce, Stoudemire and Nowitzki all on the board the country has been bracing itself for the most intriguing NBA offseason is history. However after months and months of speculation we may be in for one of the most anticlimactic endings to what promised to be the summer’s most hyped event. As teams can finally begin negotiating with players scenarios are beginning to become more clear however that clarity might be disappointing to many of us.

Because the NBA allows a player’s previous team to offer that player more money than anyone else it is becoming more and more likely that stars LeBron James and DeWayne Wade will re-sign with their respective teams rather than move on to somewhere else. The rampant speculation as to where the big stars will go has clouded the facts that these guys want Benjamins and wins (the Cavs and Heat can provide both with a little re-tooling as they both have cap space). Obviously I predicted James would sign with the Knicks and I stand by that possibility if only because it would great for both New York and the NBA in the long run. The other big names like Joe Johnson, Amar’e Stoudemire, Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce have become free agents because they want a maximum contract before a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in reach after next season which will likely lower the amount of money teams can pay players. Those 4 aforementioned players can all expect max contracts from their currents teams and it would be a surprise to a degree if they signed elsewhere, even after testing the market.

At this point F Chris Bosh appears to be the only major name that will move this offseason considering is former team is reluctant to pay him. However having said all of that this recent bout of speculation is just that. Now that players can actually negotiate we can expect much more substantiated rumors than the litany of “source” that have fueled sports analysts for the past month and a half. We’d all love nothing more than to see some major moves this offseason that shape the power-balance of the NBA for years to come. For now, as always, we can only wait.