Blogs Bring People Together

Former archfoe Scott Isaacs put a touching post about me on his blog, The Shredded Eagle.
As with most petty disputes, I don't even know what started our mini-feud. Scott and I have both grown up (we're both married) and perhaps now we can argue about the Mets without exchanging insults. Perhaps one day you will see a cross-blog debate about the Piazza era.

T.O. Can't Stay Out of the Spotlight

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Terrell Owens, sent party invitations disguised as penalty flags to his teammates. The invites were sitting at the players' lockers before practice at the NovaCare Complex.

Owens' party is scheduled for 9 p.m. Monday at a club in Atlantic City, and at least one player said he would be attending.

"Am I?" said defensive end N.D. Kalu. "I've already got my suit."

The invitation read: "There's a flag on the play. After further review, No. 81 is at it again."


No word if D-Nabb was invited.

Hot Stove Heaters

Mets fans, would you trade Jose Reyes and Kris Benson to Baltimore for Miguel Tejada? I would, even though it leaves the Mets with no leadoff hitter. Miggy T is exactly the type of guy the Mets need, an RBI machine who can hit with men on base. If the Orioles can get Manny for Tejada they'd probably have to make that deal though.

What about Nomar Garciaparra to solve the second base problem? He is reportedly looking for a one-year deal, in the neighborhood of $8m. He is also reportedly willing to change positions. I think it's definitely worth the risk.

What do you think of Kris Benson for Jose Vidro?

Great Holiday Presents

Playskool is auctioning celebrity desgined Mr. Potato Heads.
Pat Morita is a good one.
But my favorite is Johnny Damon.

Piazza Followup

Josh and Coach correctly recalled a great Mike Piazza moment.
On September 16th, 1998 (two weeks after the storm) the Mets were 85-68 and making a run for the wild card.
They were trailing 2-0 in the top of the 9th inning against the Astros.
Piazza hit a 3-run homer against Billy Wagner to give the Mets the lead. Dennis Cook gave up the tying run in the bottom of the 9th.
I remember hiding my eyes beneath a pillow when Greg McMichael came in for the 10th. He walked 3 guys but didn't give up a run.
In the top of the 11th Todd Hundley came off the bench to hit a blast to give the Mets the lead, and eventually the win.
The win put the Mets half a game behind the Cubs for the wild card, but they fell just short. That was the year my dad and brother lined up to buy playoff tickets and were featured in the Staten Island Advance.
It was not to be in 1998, but of course the Mets made the playoffs in 1999 and advanced to the World Series in 2000.
Definitely a great Piazza moment, but not as good when he had to hold a press conference to deny rumors that he was gay and had bought a house in the suburbs with Sam Champion.

If you are impressed by my recall of the events of that day more than 7 years ago you can see for yourself in the box score.

Weekly Picks

Sorry for the lateness with the picks this week. Extenuating circumstances prevented Adam from making his selections at work. Last week, I went 4-2 but it was a disappointing 4-2 because Green Bay had the ball with 3 minutes to go down 5 points. I thought the worst they could do was not score, and the Bears would run out the clock. But the horrible Brett Favre threw a pick and Nathan Vasher took it the other way to make it 19-7 and cost us the game. The other loss was Miami, they won 24-23 (I predicted 24-20), but it wasn't enough to cover the spread.
On their own Adam and Harley went 9-1 and continued their climb up the standings, residing in second, two points out of first. We're going to keep the momentum going this week, the third in a row where they disagreed on exactly 6 games.

BILLS +3.5 patriots: This is a tough game because New England doesn't really need it and Buffalo is much better at home than on the road. Buffalo is coming off a really tough loss. J.P. Losman passed for three touchdowns in the first quarter last week and we know New England's defense is susceptible to the pass when they play a real team (read: not the Jets). Also I get scared by the 3 and a half point spreads becuase so many games are decided by field goals. Even so I have to pick New England.

BENGALS -12.5 browns: Cleveland put a scare into me last week jumping out to an early lead on Jacksonville before blowing it. Charlie Frye played ok in his first career start. He doesn't have Braylon Edwards this week and Reuben Droughns health is in doubt too. Cincinnati should destroy them but they could be stepping into a trap game. I'll take the bait because I think Cincinnati only needs to score 23 points to cover this spread.

STEELERS -5.5 bears: All week I was thinking to myself that the Steelers looked like a good pick, I thought it would be a close line, maybe Pitt by 1 or 2. But 5 and a half points, that seems high to me. But I still think my reasoning was sound. The Bears aren't desperate, Pittsburgh is. The Bears have been getting lucky, they cannot score. Pittsburgh is good at home and they might be able to cover this spread with only scoring 13 points. I'm praying Roethlisberger's thumb is as hurt as it was last week when he had one of his best passing games as a pro. I'm going with Pittsburgh but if Tommy Maddox (winced while typing that) comes in, he'll get picked off at least three times.

PANTHERS -5.5 buccaneers: Carolina has Tampa Bay's number. Tampa Bay scored 10 points in each of the last two games. This could be another blowout. I don't have much to say so I'll ask a question: What's a buccaneer? (A pretty expensive price for corn.)

CHARGERS -13.5 dolphins: I love San Diego, I'm going to keep riding their train until it crashes. For bettors the fact that they blew some games early was a blessing. They are one the top 5 teams in the league and when the rest of the teams (Indy, Seattle) shut it down for the season, making them risky bets San Diego is going to have to play every game with passion until the end of the season. This is their one soft spot before a stretch of Indy, KC and Denver to end the season. No way they let this one get away. But will they win by two touchdowns? Yes! I think Sage Rosenfels will suffer Ryan Fitzpatrick Syndrome this week. Third string QB comes in at the end of the game leads a miraculous comeback and throws for a million yards. Then announcers say "imagine how good he'll be with a week of getting all the reps in practice." Then the guy sucks in the next game and the announcers say "he must be nervous in his first NFL start, when he came in last week he was loose because he didn't have to think about playing all week." But that shit ain't the truth. The truth is anyone could throw against the soft defenses Fitzpatrick and Rosenfels saw the past two weeks. When defenses are aggressive against them and have the whole week to prepare for them, then we'll remember why both guys were third stringers.

COWBOYS -3.5 chiefs: Both teams need this game and the loser probably will not make the playoffs, though Kansas City will have a better chance. KC hasn't been a good road team and the Cowboys are coming off two tough losses in a row and the Chiefs are on a 3 game winning streak. Either these are two teams going in opposite directions or Dallas will win. I'll go with the latter.

Now I know this means I took all 6 favorites one week after the biggest week for favorites in NFL history (unconfirmed). I realize this trend but I just couldn't find a dog on this list I really believed in. Hopefully if there are a couple surprises here we can still go 4-2.

Up Yours Matt

Going through some old pictures on the computer and I found this gem which I took and sent after my Buckeyes beat the evil Hurricanes for the national title a few years ago.

Celeb Sighting

If you didn't go to Wagner High School you can skip this post.
Today I saw Ilana Cohen on the downtown A train.
I got on at 59th, she got off at the next stop (42nd).
She looks pretty much the same, so I recognized her right away.
She didn't recognize me, but I think I look much different than I did in high school especially since I didn't hit puberty til sophomore year of college and right now I'm growing my winter beard.
I couldn't see her body, she was wearing a full length puffy coat but she's probably pretty much the same size she was in 1996.

Next Question Please

Here is the next question in the ongoing BCS debate with Derek.

“Please excuse me if I time out while writing this. We only have dial-up connections where I'm from...You often say the regular season is a tournament with one loss eliminating teams from a shot at the championship like the basketball tournament in March. However last year my team went through the season undefeated and still did not warrant a chance at the national championship? What would you say to teams who do not get to schedule 9 games against schools with 40,000 students and play in the Mountain time zone with little tv coverage unless we play on a Tuesday afternoon, but go through their season without a loss. Is the national championship closed to us forever? And if so why are we a division 1-A program?”

D. Hawkins- Boise, ID

The plight of mid-major conferences is the biggest thorn in the side of the BCS. I think we can all agree that mid-major conferences generally have less talent than the bigger conferences, or else they'd be the teams in the major conferences. But there are rare circumstances (like last season) when teams like Boise State and Utah go undefeated through the regular season, and the inability to deal with that is the biggest failing of the current system. But here are a couple points to keep in mind.
1) With a playoff a mid-major conference team would qualify about as often as such a team earns a BCS spot now, which is to say very rarely.
2) The bowl system would be weakened further by a playoff, as 7 out of 28 bowls would be given greater importance, instead of just one taking center stage. That means less money and prestige for the other 42 bowl teams, of which in most seasons you would be one.
3) This is just a guess but if 8 teams make a playoff that lowers the standard. Which means major conference teams with weak non-conference schedules could still make the playoff, disincentivizing scheduling good mid-major teams during the regular season, which is also is bad news for you.
That's a long answer to a simple question. So let me break it down. I feel your pain but don't think you'd be much better off under a playoff. Next time you want to go undefeated do it in a season where aren't any undefeated big conference schools, like 2003.

Kurt Thomas Hates Marbury

At one point last year Kurt Thomas threatened to punch Stephon Marbury. Kurt thinks that may be the reason he was traded. Tonight Thomas' Suns play the Knicks.

"I'm playing with Steve Nash, an MVP and someone who demands attention on the floor and makes the game fun," Thomas said with a bit of bite in his voice. "This is the most fun I've had in a long time."
He says he doesn't hold a grudge against Marbury and feels that both players gained greater respect for one another following their infamous locker room shouting match.
Thomas said he will shake Marbury's hand tonight and wish him good luck. But they won't be exchanging Christmas cards anytime soon. When asked two weeks ago about Marbury, Thomas told reporters that the Knicks point guard he missed playing with is "Charlie Ward." When asked yesterday to name the best point guard in the league, Thomas didn't hesitate.
"Steve Nash," he said. "Everybody knows that."

Dancing with the Stars Part II

Here's the cast for season 2:
Tia Carrere: The TV and movie star will be partnered with professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Giselle Fernandez: The Emmy Award-winning journalist will dance with professional dancer Jonathan Roberts, returning from last season.

George Hamilton: The actor and bon vivant will be partnered with professional dancer Edyta Sliwinska, making her second appearance in the series.

Stacy Keibler: The WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) diva will dance with professional dancer Tony Dovolani.

Drew Lachey: The recording artist and former member of pop group 98 Degrees will work with professional dancer Cheryl Burke.

Kenny Mayne: The ESPN personality and former college quarterback will team with with professional dancer Andrea Hale.

Tatum O'Neal: The Oscar-winning actress with be be partnered with professional dancer Nick Kosovich.

Jerry Rice: The tree-time Super Bowl champ will be partnered with professional dancer Anna Trebunskaya.

Lisa Rinna: The actress, entrepreneur and host of SOAPnet's Soap Talk will be partnered with professional dancer Louis van Amstel, who returns to the series from last season.

Romeo: The teen rap star will be partnered with professional dancer Ashly Delgrosso, who also returns to the series from last season.

Fez to Play Ponch in CHiPs Movie

Wilmer Valderrama is going to play Ponch in a movie version of CHiPs.

Slutty Real Worlders Diss the Doc

MTV's "Real World: Austin" season is over, but the cast appeared in a special on Tuesday night filled with footage that didn't make the regular episodes.

In it, castmate Lacey says that while in Costa Rica, she and the other female castmates were hit on in by "this old guy."

The girls learned later the old guy, who wasn't shown, was Dr. J.The name wasn't known by the girls, but the male castmates were surprised they didn't welcome Julius Erving's advances.

Poor Donovan

A civil rights leader ripped Donovan McNabb in a newspaper called the Philadelphia Sunday Sun. He basically said Donovan was good as a young QB, but he tried to prove that black QBs could be pocket passers, therefore leaving behind his greatest skills, and turning himself into a mediocre player.

Here is part of what J. Whaytt Mondesire had to say:

This whole dismal season so far has really been a testament of fallen dreams and lost opportunities most of which belongs at your feet (or should I say hands) and that of your coach, Andy Reid who has allowed you to perpetuate a fraud on the field while hiding behind excuses dripping in make-believe racial stereotypes.
This week I felt compelled to offer some personal thoughts about your horrific on-field performances this season because at their core there is a lie you have tried to use to hide the fact that in reality you actually are not that good. In essence Donny, you are mediocre at best. And trying to disguise that fact behind some concocted reasoning that African American quarterbacks who can scramble and who can run the ball are somehow lesser field generals than one who can summon up dead-on passes at a whim is more insulting off the field than on.
Your athleticism and unpredictability to sometimes run with the ball earlier in your career not only confused defenses, it also thrilled Eagles fans. We were elated. We were in awe.
But then you played the race card and practically all of us fell for your hustle. You scammed us man and there's no way any longer to refrain from "keepin' it real."
We could have remained silent too, if you had found another way to remain effective and a winner. But when your mediocre talent becomes so apparent it's time to call it out.
Who can forget your mind numbing fourth-quarter collapse in last year's Super Bowl against New England.
Andy Reid may not have seen it. Owner Jeff Lurie may have missed it on the videotaped replay. But Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder "saw" it. You choked brother.

Bad Flashbacks for Derek

I really couldn't care less about Poison or Bret Michaels but this story caught my eye for one reason, the town where it took place.
Michaels' tour bus was allegedly shot at outside a bar in Chicopee, Massachusetts. The same town that once arrested Derek for driving with a suspended license. Michaels says the cops didn't do enough to catch the shooter. But Derek can attest they are very tough on speeders. After this incident Mike said "Chicopee" 100 times a day for the next three weeks.

Lindsay Lohan Kicks the Habit

From the looks of this picture (supposedly taken December 1st) Lindsay Lohan has given up whatever drugs she was taking that forced her to look like a skeleton or Nicole Richie. Looks like the boys are back in town.





Click here for a peek at the old great Lindsay --- Not Safe For Work.

Time to Say Good-bye

The Mike Piazza era is officially over for the New York Mets.
While I agree that Piazza was a great player, he was never as good for the Mets as he was for the Dodgers. He was never as good after Clemens beaned him in the head. He had two great seasons for the Mets, and five seasons that got progressively worse, ending in last year's disaster. He sucked on defense and although he did come through with a lot of big hits, most of them were early in the season (Hoffman, Clemens and the home run in the ten run inning vs. Atlanta) or once the Mets were out of it (his game winner on September 21, 2001 -- which probably is his greatest moment as a Met). I never got the feeling that he was going to deliver when he came up in the ninth inning of a tie game. I think the microcosm for the Piazza era is the last at bat of the World Series in 2000. He hit the ball deep to center field, but not deep enough. He was good, but not good enough.

He is now being pursued by the Blue Jays, A's and Twins. He will probably end up in Toronto where he can still torment me, albeit to a lesser degree.

Thanks for the memories, Mike.

It's Been Too Long

I loved her as jailbait in Old School. I ogled her in Girl Next Door. I saw her nipples through a wifebeater in 24. I can't believe I've blogged for this long without finding some reason to post about Elisha Cuthbert. I have finally found a reason. She does a blog for nhl.com. In her latest post, she talks about attending a Kings game writing "Sean Avery scored our second goal of the night. Somehow I feel like that might change things a little for him in the games to come. Watch out for Avery."
Now there are rumors that she is dating Avery. If you are a girl, or a guy who wants to size up the competition you click here to see what Avery looks like.
I didn't want to ruin this post by sticking in a head shot of some dude.

Viral Videos

AOL put out its list of top viral videos of 2005. That is video clips that have spread like viruses over the internet.

My favorites are #6 "Boom Goes the Dynamite" and #9 "Tyra Gone Wild."

Rough Weekend for Bookies

Interesting press release e-mailed to me:

LAST WEEKEND'S FOOTBALL GAMES TAKE TOLL ON SPORTBOOKS; GAMBLERS REJOICE
Bookies Take a Battering on NFL's "Black Sunday"

DECEMBER 7, NEW YORK - An unprecedented run of favorites winning last weekend in the NFL has left the bookmaking industry paying out millions to its football bettors, a leading online sportsbook has revealed.

Sixteen NFL games were played last Sunday and Monday, and twelve favourites won and covered the spread. The culmination was Seattle's demolition of Philadelphia on Monday Night Football. Good news for bettors, but not so good for the bookmakers who have to write the checks.

"We're calling it 'Black Sunday'," revealed Anthony Munnelly, Vice President, Sports and Events, at Sports Interaction, the first online sportsbook licensed and registered in the United States. "In my time in the industry I have never seen a Sunday like it."

"It's very unusual to see that many favourites cover at any one weekend, especially in this era of parity," added Munnelly. "I'm happy for our customers, they won their money fair and square and good luck to them. But when I'm writing my letter to Santa later this week I'm going to ask for some underdogs to starting biting, before I end up on standing on the street wearing a red hat and ringing a bell."

###
Founded in 1997 and based in North America, Sportsinteraction.com is one of the oldest sports books on the web. Sportsinteraction.com offers wagers on sports, entertainment and current events as well as casino and poker.


Now we know that it was a great weekend, as people normally lean toward favorites, there were great scores in pools all over the country I'm sure. But I doubt it hurt big bookmaking operations.
Lines are set (and changed) to draw equal action on each side of the game.
It's done to prevent an occassion such as this.

Toilet Humor

Great article in the Wall Street Journal today.

For decades, the toilet industry had a standard way of testing a toilet's flushing capabilities: tossing ¾-inch plastic balls into the bowl and pulling the handle. But there was one problem: Toilets that are fantastic at flushing down ¾-inch plastic balls sometimes falter under real-world conditions.
A few years ago, researchers began pondering a better test. After scouring grocery aisles for alternatives, they settled on using miso, which is made primarily of cooked soybeans.
But not all manufacturers are crazy about the new test. They say it's more expensive. Plastic balls are reuseable; miso isn't. A 20-kilogram tub of the stuff costs about $200. This works out to just over $5 per test on a toilet.

Question for Derek

Here's the first question for Derek in our ongoing BCS debate:

"Long time reader, First time writer, love the blog...In a playoff system, what is the reward for finishing the regular season undefeated? Isn't a playoff actually less fair because one fluke play or bad referee call could cost a team that had been undefeated a game against a team with possibly as many as 3 or 4 losses. Oh and one more thing, what if you play for a team so good that you clinch a playoff spot early, so the top players sit for the last two weeks? That could cost top players the Heisman Trophy."

-R. Bush, Los Angeles, California

Read Derek's reply.

Meet Bill Simmons

Bill Simmons book tour hits Union Square tomorrow.
Thursday 12/8 -- New York City -- 7pm
Barnes and Noble (Union Square)
33 E. 17th St.
(212) 253-0810

Yes, we're allowing Yankee fans, as well as anyone dressed like a member of the Baseball Furies.

I really want to go to this. He once suggested that readers come up with their own inscriptions for him to write instead of 100 people coming up to him and saying "you're so funny, you think of something to write." I wanted to say "Could you make it out to paul, gets by buckner, love Bill."

The Miz

Former Real World The Miz is training to be a professional wrestler in Deep South Wrestling. He posted a commentary on the WWE site talking about his first time at a strip club (he was 17 and he spilled his drink on a girl) and gives strippers rules to follow (1) Don’t give me this erotic dancer BS. You disrobe and men love you for it. So git r done.)

Lucky Fan

Avid basketball fan Jessica Alba was at a Lakers game recently and she reportedly kissed some strange guy on the cheek after fans started chanting. I can't find confirmation of this online but I did find a good Jessica Alba stalker website. This guy spent the whole game doing nothing but snapping pics of Jessica and Harley's friend Cash.

Bad News for Q

The Knicks played without guard Quentin Richardson, who left the team for a family emergency in Chicago. Madison Square Garden network reported during its telecast of the game that Richardson's brother was shot in Chicago on Monday.

A Cook County medical examiner's office spokesman said a Lee Richardson, 31, of Chicago, died of multiple gunshot wounds on Monday.

Jersey Update

One thing I did agree with from ESPN's horrible jersey article is that jerseys on women are very sexy, especially when modeled by Joumana Kidd.

Mike Doesn't Have to Call in Madness This Year

The NCAA finally does something right. The first three rounds of the NCAA college basketball tournament will now be available on the Internet, for free.
Previously, they had charged for the whole package but thankfully they are going to a free service this year.
That means no more screaming at the TV when CBS stays with a game way too long, one team is up by 6 and shooting free throws and CBS won't switch to game that's tied with 30 seconds to go.
If you root for a team that is not shown in your area, you'll be able to watch on the internet.
And if you are so stupid that you are going to work on these two national holidays and you don't have a TV at your desk, well, there goes your office producitvity.

The Best of Both Justins

Last night I was watching the World Poker Tour, featuring three numbskulls from American Chopper against three people from Trading Spaces. The carpenter from Trading Spaces, Carter Oosterhouse looks like jusTON, with Justin Green-spiggity's hair.

The funniest part of this is, during Carter's profile they flash some info about him, including the words: Loves building decks.
I shit you not, he is a jusTON clone.

Anna Benson Update

Yesterday Kris Benson requested air time with Mike and the Mad Dog.
Benson said the Mets organization never said anything about his wife, and he said she is not going to pose for playboy anyway.
Then he asked "you guys disappointed?"
Mad dog stuttered and stammered and said something like "Mike and I are both married, we both have kids, we've seen pretty women before."
Benson also said players have been married to Playboy Playmates, somehow Mike knew that Aaron Bleeping Boone's wife is one example.
Mike Piazza is another, although she was in Playboy before they were together, and she is not nearly as outspoken as Anna Benson.
Mike made a snide comment about what kind of career did Anna Benson really have.
Then he said some baseball people think Anna would be nowhere without Kris.
Kris replied "where would Hillary Clinton be without Bill?"
After Benson went off the air Mike continued to say he wouldn't attack someone's wife, even though she made herself a part of the story.
Then he started attacking her. He said she had no career ("everybody has a website") and that she should have kept her mouth shut about Delgado and God Bless America.
Which isn't really fair, because her statements about Delgado came after the Mets reportedly expressed anger with her posing in Playboy.

My Take on "Lost"

I really enjoy "Lost." I love the character development, but in the past I have expressed displeasure about some of the odder twists the plot has taken. Every time I express this point of view someone shouts me down with the old "suspension of disbelief" argument.

DO NOT READ ON IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN LAST WEEK'S EPISODE!

My contention is that while most things that happen on the island are impossible, they CAN happen in the alternate reality of the island, or they are at least cool and entertaining and further the storyline. One storyline I absolutely despised was when Boone and Shannon slept together. I thought that was stupid. This week I thought it was stupid that Kate sees horses, and stupider that Sawyer can see them too, seemingly because the horse was actually there.
Now here's how you test it out. When she saw the horse for the first time were you dying to know what was behind it? No, you were completely uninterested, maybe you said to yourself "hmm, that was weird."
But when Eko started telling the parable of the book, ending with him revealing that he found an extra film clip, you were dying to know what the clip showed. I almost fast forwarded to the scene when Eko and Locke watched the extra clip.
That's the difference between a cool twist, and a stupid one.
I am looking forward to tonight's episode because I hope we find out where Walt is. I think they took him to summer camp where he is allowed to use computers, roam the island and go boating and participate in tug of war just as long as his bunk is clean and his bed is made.

BCS Debate: First Question

The first question in our ongoing debate with Derek.

Today's questions come to us from a J. Paterno from State College, Pennsylvania:

"While USC and Texas have the two best records in the country, how are we so sure that they are the two best teams in the country? Of course a game between them is the matchup we want, it’s the matchup that has been hyped all season long. And while USC and Texas have each beaten a Top 10 opponent (Notre Dame and Ohio State respectively, both games VERY close), their conferences were the 5th and 4th most competitive this season out of six major conferences. Would USC and Texas be undefeated if they were to play in the Big Ten or the SEC? The point is not to diminish the accomplishment of USC and Texas’ undefeated seasons, but to make my primary point. In a field of 117 teams from 10 conferences, why is a “leap of faith” taken to only determine the top 2 and declare them eligible for the National Championship? Why wouldn’t an extended system test the validity of these teams’ seasons?"

Well, Joe, that certainly is a long question. We are sure they are the two best teams in the country because they have survived the season-long single-elimination tournament. Yes, USC and Texas played in weaker conferences this year, but even in the event of a playoff there's no way to guarantee every team will face an equal challenge. In a field of 117 teams from ten conferences only two are undefeated, so it would be MORE arbitrary, not less, to subject these teams to a playoff. While a playoff would be exciting for two weeks, it would be less valid in determining the best team because a team with two losses or more could get lucky and win three games a in row to become the champion. I've often heard the argument "let them decide on the field." I think the current system does that, through a 13-game tournament, instead of a 3 game playoff.

The Continuing Decline of Carmelo Anthony

From the Rocky Mountain News:

An impulsive fling cost Carmelo Anthony some bling.
The Denver Nuggets forward was fined $5,000 on Tuesday for throwing a ball into the stands Saturday against the Miami Heat.

"I wasn't surprised. I was waiting for the fine," Anthony said. "I was waiting for some consequences to face. I'll take the fine. It was my fault. . . . As soon as the ball left my hand, I was like (uh-oh)."

Anthony whipped the ball into the stands after being called for a charging foul late in the second quarter of the Nuggets' victory against the Heat.

The ball hit an 11-year-old girl sitting in the front row behind the basket. Anthony apologized to Taylor Alexander as the Nuggets went to the locker room at halftime.

"I told her I was sorry, (that) I was frustrated," Anthony said. "She responded back and said, 'We all get frustrated at times.' I was like 'Wow.' That was a good thing."

In addition to an apology, Taylor also received a Nuggets hat signed by Anthony and a jersey autographed by Earl Boykins.

"She wasn't looking for any more punishment for him," Taylor's father, Rick Alexander, said. "We didn't even discuss (the fine), but I think that might be the end of his throwing- balls-into-the-stands days."

Anthony admitted he got off easy with only a fine. Players typically are ejected when sending the ball into the stands.

Raja Bell, while playing for the Utah Jazz, got ejected for kicking the ball into the stands during a game against the Nuggets on Jan. 20, 2004. Tracy McGrady, then playing for the Orlando Magic, was ejected for the same infraction during a game against the Nuggets one month later.

Nuggets coach George Karl said he talked with Anthony about his outburst and cautioned him about losing his temper.

"The officials didn't see it," Karl said. "I think if they saw it, it might have been an ejection. We can't afford to lose him."


I know he is human and we get frustrated but he has had too many of these little instances, he is definitely losing his luster to me.
Justin blames it all on Lala.
Also I found it funny the newspaper used the words "uh oh." I have a funny feeling he said "oh shit."

Diesel Pictures

Occassionally I am going to put pictures of my dog on the blog. If you don't like dogs just skip over them.

Click on any picture to enlarge it. Then an click on the icon that will appear in the lower right to make it even bigger.

ESPN Attacks My Way of Life

The douchebags at ESPN, specifically Patrick Hruby of Page2, have chosen to attack my way of life, my wardrobe and my favored form of self-expression, the sports jersey. Hruby says if you wear a jersey while not participating in sports, you look like a clown.

Take ESPN's stupid poll.

This group think crap is exactly the reason why I wear jerseys. Because I don't want to be one of those dorky fat white guys who wears button down shirts and pleated khakis while he talks about repsect and tries not to look like Ja Rule. That point of view is expressed by my friend Todd who probably thinks only Ivan Rodriguez or Carlton Fisk jerseys are acceptable.

I wear my jerseys because I'm an individual and I don't give a shit what people think of me. So let the following pictures serve as a big fuck you to Todd, ESPN and anyone else hating on sports jerseys.

I just counted the jerseys in my closet, including both current player and retro jerseys (but not counting soon to be retros like Champ Bailey and Fred Smoot Redskins and Edgardo Alfonzo, Todd Hundley and Rey Ordonez Mets jerseys), I have 28 jerseys in my rotation.

Good News for You Idiots

All of you that think ridiculous and awkward means funny, you are going to love a new movie starring Will Ferrell and John Heder.
Here's the description:
"Blades of Glory" is a comedy that would bring a "Happy Gilmore"-esque tone to the world of competitive ice skating. The script tells the story of two men's figure skaters banned from competition after an embarrassing brawl during the Salt Lake City Winter Games. After three years of stewing, the two unite to exploit a loophole in their suspension by returning to glory as a figure skating pair.
If you read that, and said to yourself "I can't wait to see it" then you are an idiot. But if the script sucks maybe Ferrell will strip to his underwear and Heder will talk like a retard and feed a goat.

This is For You Beers

From the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly:

When Hollywood Marriages Go Wrong...

Perhaps it was the in-joke gone awry that cast the most ominous spell over the July 4, 1997, wedding of Playboy Playmate Nikki Schieler and Beverly Hills, 90210 star Ian Ziering. ''I had a temporary tattoo put on my butt painted with fireworks, but I spelled his name wrong on purpose. Like, 'AIN.' He wasn't laughing.''

Eight years, one conversion to Judaism (hers), and one conversion to punchline (his) later, Nikki, 33, is a living ad for the pitfalls of a prenup. A four-poster bed — her one remaining possession from her five-year marriage to Ziering — touches almost every corner of her small studio apartment in Brentwood. The kitchen cabinets double as hair-product storage.

Sitting on her small deck, Nikki chain-smokes while trying to set the record straight about her marriage. ''People think I took him for all this money, but I didn't get anything,'' says Nikki, who spent her married days living in ritzy Nichols Canyon and dropping $700 on Gucci shoes. ''I get no monthly checks. He didn't even help with my moving-out expenses. I had $40,000 to my name and I blew through it all.'' Counters Ian's spokeswoman: ''She was compensated above and beyond the prenup because she fought it.''

What she did keep — other than the bed — was the Ziering name, not that it's done much for her. ''Being a Ziering has crippled my career,'' she says, adding that she looked into reinstating her maiden name but her managers persuaded her not to.

Post-split misery got worse when Nikki was let go from her gig as a Barker Beauty on The Price Is Right. (Nikki's version: ''Bob Barker was jealous of the attention I was getting.'' Barker calls that statement ''completely inaccurate....Neither I nor Ms. Ziering's publicity figured in any way in the decision.'') More recently, Nikki has become a go-to K-lister for reality fare like I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (''It made me appreciate things, like bottled water''). ''Those were the best experiences of my life,'' beams Nikki, just back from filming Celebrity Love Island, a British reality show set in Fiji.

But Nikki insists she's destined for more than bikini prancing. She'd like Goldie Hawn's career — well, if it weren't for a certain someone. ''I feel like Cameron Diaz gets all my roles,'' she says, almost entirely seriously. ''People tell me we look alike.''

Now, if she could only get the hang of being back on the market. ''I wouldn't go after someone famous because it's really hard to have a normal experience when both of you are in the business,'' she says. ''I really just want a nice Jewish guy. I can cook brisket and I only burned gefilte fish once.'' She flashes her recently whitened smile and leans in: ''Hey, you're Jewish. Do you know any nice accountants?''

What Do You Give Me For Method Man?

Philadelphia 76ers forward James Thomas looks a lot like rapper, actor and Staten Island's finest, Method Man.

Opening Statement

USC versus Texas, a dream matchup, number one versus number two. But some people don't want to see that matchup at the Rose Bowl. They want to add a bunch of hoops for those teams to jump through and risking getting knocked off. Sure, every other sport has a playoff. Should college football be like every other sport? I say no. There are so many special things about college football that make it better than the NFL and college basketball and the other sports. The most important unique aspect of college football is the impoartnce of the regular season. College football has the most meaningful regular season in sports. Opponents of the BCS point to a couple of abberant circumstances in order to criticize the current system. One thing they won't tell you: the BCS works. Every year since its inception the country's best team has been awarded the National Championship. Seems to make sense, but it's actually uncommon in sports nowadays. I will prove to you that the BCS works and that college football would lose a lot more by instituting a playoff than it would gain.

Derek's opening statement.

The Great Debate

The matchup is set. The top two teams in the country, Texas and USC will face each other in the Rose Bowl for the National Championship. But some people are still not happy. One of those people is Derek Lynch. Over the course of the next week or so Derek and I will debate college football's method of determining a National Champion. We will begin with opening statements, then we will each take questions from the audience. At the end we will each have an opportunity to make closing arguments.
I will post my arguments here, and you can read Derek's at .The Pizza Parlor.

The Mets Hate Boobies

We're finding out what may be behind those Kris Benson for Jorge Julio rumors. The Mets brass is upset about Anna Benson's rumored appearance in Playboy. She says the deal fell through because the magazine wasn't offering enough money. The Mets were apparently upset in the past by her frank discussions of sex including her now famous threat to sleep with every player on the Mets if Kris ever cheated on her.
She always refers to Kris as "we" saying "we would never, ever have signed with New York if they had said they were going to trade us."
Annais a former stripper and she has posed topless in Penthouse, which is how talk about the couple's sex life, including that they like to have sex in every stadium or parking lot, first surfaced. Benson's manager at the time was Lloyd McClendon, he said, "I care what my players do between the lines, not what they do between the sheets."
I wish the Mets would take the same approach.

Mets Get LoDuca

The Mets solved their catching problem by trading two second tier (at best) pitching prospects for Marlins catcher Paul LoDuca.
LoDuca (pronounced lah-duca, not low-duca) was pretty consistent last year situationally, unlike our last catcher he doesn't seem to hit only with the bases empty.
I like the deal. I think he is the type of hitter the Mets needed, a consistent line drive hitter, not necessarily a big bopper.
Like our last catcher though, he throws out a very poor percentage of runners attempting to steal.

Amazing Shot

Duke's Sean Dockery hit an amazing half-court shot to beat Virginia Tech 77-75. If that shot had missed it would have been one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history. Incredible shot.

The Great Brett Favre

I used to love Brett Favre. The combined tandem of Favre and Emmitt Smith won my brother and I a couple of fantasy football titles. But Favre's time has come. And I am sick of the constant media deification of him. His team was leading 7-6 with the ball in the red zone at the end of the first half. He chucked one up, Peanut Tillman took it 95 yards and the Bears got a field goal to take a 9-7 lead, instead of Green Bay being up 10-6 or even 14-6 had he thrown it out of bounds, or taken the sack. But he hurt his hand or something and that's all ESPN would talk about.

Nehemiah was Right

On the Real World Austin Reunion special Nehemiah said Danny thought himself some kind of Ben Affleck. I wonder where he got that idea? Or maybe he was jealous that he doesn't have his own calendar.

Bill Simmons Rips the Knicks Again

He rates them as the 27th best team in the NBA, ahead of only Atlanta, Charlotte and Toronto.

27. New York
I am not even remotely surprised with anything that's happening to this team.

(Silver lining: Maybe Isiah makes indefensible trades, and maybe his free agent signings are routinely ludicrous, but you have to hand it to his drafting abilities. His last four lottery picks were Damon Stoudamire [Raptors, '95], Marcus Camby [Raptors, '96], T-Mac [Raptors, '97] and Channing Frye [Knicks, '05], who's legitimately good, much to my surprise. In other words, 4-for-4. And none of them were easy picks, except Camby. You throw in some patience, some savvy and a rudimentary understanding of the salary cap and he'd be right back in that thing.)

He does say this about the Celtics:
When Brian Scalabrine entered the Rockets game two weeks ago, the Sports Gal looked up from a magazine and said, "Hey, it's the guy from 'Beautiful Girls!'" She was serious.