In a time when Mixed Martial Arts is gaining mainstream media attention and boxing is losing a lot of its luster, can Saturday September 29th Middleweight Championship upset help revive boxing?  By itself, probably not, but boxing has a full plate of marquee matchups remaining for the rest of 2007, and this fight was the perfect opener.  Kelly Pavlik, a 25 year old 31-0 knockout puncher from Youngstown, Ohio, beat Jermaine Taylor, who was the undisputed Middleweight champion and also undefeated with a draw against Ronald "Winkey" Wright on his resume, by KO in round 7.  Boxing analysts for HBO billed it one of the best Middleweight title fights ever.  Though that may be debatable, what isn't, is that boxing fans in Atlantic City, and many watching at home enjoyed the action packed fight.  What remains to be seen is if boxing can build off of this matchup with the long list of other premiere matchups involving fighters at the top of their respective weight classes.  Tim Sturby, writer for ESPN.com writes and excellent article about the exciting fights coming up this fall which can be found at the link below.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3042994

 

CBSsportsline is a very popular fantasy sports website amongst fantasy gamers.  CBS offers a large variety of fantasy sports.  They offer the standard fantasy football, basketball, baseball, hockey for the professional level, but also offer a handful of more unique games such as NCAA fantasy football.  CBS offers free games fantasy games.  Unfortunately for gamers in the free leagues, it appears that scoring options are not adjustable and gamers must use the default scoring options in the free leagues.  Gamers who choose to play in the free leagues do get free live scoring updates all season long.  Also, CBS offers pay-for leagues in which the league scoring options can be adjusted and other options such as keepers are also available.  CBS has a variety of fantasy commentary both in text form in video form on the fantasy sports home page.  The site is relatively easy to navigate with tabs for the different fantasy sports near the top of the page.  There are almost no ads on the home page, with the only noticable one before for Google in the upper right hand corner near the search feature on the website.  Another nice feature on the fantasy sports home page is a listing of all the leagues an owner competes in found in the upper right hand corner of the page.  Setting rosters and taking care of other managerial moves such as adding free agents or viewing other rosters to offer trades is made easy with tabs and options listed on the roster page.  The best feature for hard core fantasy sports gamers is the search option on CBS.  CBS has a large list of player pages that can be found by simply searching for that player on the website.  On the player card fantasy advice,both contributed by CBS writers and writers from other fantasy web sites such as rotoworld,appears in the upper right hand of the page as well as career statistics of that player on the bottom of the page.  Once again, very few advertisements are found cluttering both the roster page or the player cards.  Because of the ease of navigation, and the wide variety of fantasy information available, CBSsportsline is a solid fantasy sports website for competing in leagues as well as gathering fantasy advice. A link to CBS fantasy sports web site can be found at the bottom of this page.

http://www.sportsline.com/fantasy

 

 

Currency rate US and Canada now equal!

The Business of Sport   BY EVAN WEINER
September 27, 2007
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/63509

People who follow sports don't necessarily look up currency rates. But a significant benchmark was reached last week when the Canadian "loonie" was valued at slightly more than $.99 compared to the American greenback (the loonie is currently valued at $. 99691). It is the first time since November 1976 that the American and Canadian dollars have been virtually on par.

Running franchises in Canada became progressively difficult as the Canadian dollar started a free fall, and bottomed out at around $.62 by 1998. But because the two currencies are now on par, the NHL and the NFL may start looking north of the American border to expand their business opportunities.

The NHL once had eight franchises in Canada. The league "expanded" into Quebec City, Edmonton, and Winnipeg in 1979 as a result of what really was a business merger between the NHL and the World Hockey Association. A year later, investors bought the Atlanta Flames franchise and moved it to Calgary, Alberta.

 

Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback Donovan McNabb told HBO Sports' James Brown on "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" that he felt African-American quarterbacks such as himself face more pressure than white quarterbacks because of how much they are outnumbered in the league. "There's not many African-American quarterbacks, so we have to do a little bit extra," McNabb told Brown. "Because the percentage of us playing this position, which people didn't want us to play...is low, so we do a little extra." McNabb also went on to say that his white counterparts, Carson Palmer and Peyton Manning, "don't get criticized as much as we do. They don't."

McNabb is thinking foolishly. While the African-American football player may be mis-represented in the average NFL fans minds', that is not due to extra criticism, but merely ignorance. An intelligent human being can tell the difference between Michael Vick and Donovan McNabb. McNabb has handled tough criticism in the past, most recently in 2005 when Terrell Owens was an Eagle and blamed McNabb for the teams' Super Bowl loss. "I try to handle myself with class. I try to handle myself with dignity. I think sometimes people look to players to act out, speak loudly, pretty much be an idiot. But that's not me," he claims. McNabb has always been thought of as a player who makes everyone around him better. We all thought of the capabilities he had if only he had a star receiver. Then Terrell Owens came to Philly, and McNabb to Owens was a monster combination. After T.O.'s exit, McNabb continues to produce year after year with limited talent, keeping the Eagles in contention, teaching young players how to win, setting an example off the field by not calling out players (ie: Tiki Barber) and staying out of trouble. Did anyone hear a complaint out of McNabb when Jeff Garcia was charging the Eagles into the playoffs?

No, I can't say I did. But why would he feel that African-American quarterbacks are criticized more? Does John Lynch get criticized more because there are mostly black safeties? The fact is quarterbacks are judged on games won and Super Bowl rings. Nobody cares what color your skin is, just win football games. Before Peyton Manning's dream performance in the 2007 playoffs, he was the most criticized player in sports for not being able to win the big game. He could throw 40 touchdowns and win 14 games. Lost to New England in the playoffs. Can't beat Belichik. Last time I checked, Manning is white.

This is not 1999, when maybe McNabb would have a case. There are several black quarterbacks in the N.F.L., including Steve McNair, Tarvaris Jackson, Daunte Culpepper, Vince Young, Jason Campbell, and Byron Leftwich. The "black quarterback" is viewed as an advantage nowadays. While Peyton Manning is terrific, playing behind a monster line who gives him time to throw to talented receivers definitely aids his cause. I am not taking anything away from Manning, possibly the best quarterback of all-time already, merely making a point. Without that line, Manning's lack of mobility might increase his turnovers and lead to poor decisions. A stereotype of the African-American quarterback is mobility. The ability to read a blitz, shift in the pocket and scramble for any yardage or jet for big gains. Young and Vick come to mind. Most NFL coaches view this as an advantage, especially if they are accurate.

If McNabb had said that over time, as the growing trend continues, that African-American quarterbacks will face less pressures and assimilate into the position, his argument might have held water. But to state that people critique them harsher, that's basically calling the entire sports world - fans, coaches, analysts, reporters- racists. I'd like to think we are a little beyond that stage at this point, as human beings. Sorry Donovan, in 2007, we judge quarterbacks by the quantity of their rings, not their skin color.

What people in the sports world don't know is that Lacrosse is a real Native American sport.  Unlike football and soccer, lacrosse is a sport created by the Native Americans, that is dated back to the early 15th century.  It is the national sport of Canada and is currently on the uprise in modern day sports.  The face of the Native Americans today in the lacrosse world are the Thompson brothers, and just like every other athlete growing up, they too face great decisions that will decide the outcome of their lives. 

 

Read on...

In a press conference held Saturday following Oklahoma State's victory against Texas Tech, OK State head coach Mike Gundy was not as happy was one would think following a close victory. While many have seen Gundy's tirade played over and over again on ESPN, few know the exact details behind the story (A clip of the press conference can be seen at the bottom of the page). The best way to explain exactly what happened is to look at the events in chronological order. The Cowboys opened the season on the road against Georgia on September 1st. Georgia opened the season ranked 12th in the nation and while anything can happen in the game of football, very few expected Oklahoma State to win. The Cowboys fell to the Bulldogs 34-14 with junior quarterback Bobby Reid going 16-30 with a touchdown and an interception. The following Saturday the Cowboys hosted, and beat Florida Atlantic convincingly 42-6. This time it was sophomore Zac Robinson who finished the game at quarterback following an injury to Reid, seeming to create a minor quarterback controversy for the Cowboys. Robinson went on to start the next two games winning one and losing one.

But here is where the story really gets going. On Saturday September 22nd, the morning before the Cowboys beat Texas Tech in a 49-45  thriller, an article written by journalist Jenni Carlson was released in The Oklahoman titled, "Reid is still the most talented signal-caller, but attitude is reason for change." In her article she questions former starter Bobby Reid's attitude toughness and maturity numerous times. She brings up the fact that cameras caught Reid's mother feeding him, his tendency to get nervous before games, and  labeled his various injuries including the one in the Florida Atlantic game as minor ones. Here is a direct quote which sums up the theme of the entire article, "...does he want to be coddled, babied, perhaps even fed chicken?"  This  quote is probably the quote that  enticed  Mike Gundy to react the way he did.  But can you blame him? 

It is part of any head coach's job to protect and defend their players and  it is clear that Gundy's goal during the press conference was to do just that. Did he overreact? Probably. But if I was Bobby Reid or any other member of the Oklahoma State football team I would be proud of my head coach. As a former player I know what it is like to have a loyal coach and what it is like to have a coach who just doesn't care. There is no question that the success of a head coach goes hand in hand with his or her loyalty to  their players. In my opinion neither Jenni Carlson nor Mike Gundy were terribly wrong. Maybe both went a little too far but when it comes down to it both were just doing their jobs.

On September 25th Nascar released that they would move to Coors as their official beer sponsor instead of Budweiser. Nascar entered a five-year, $20 million contract with Coors which will give Coors the right to the Nascar logo in their own advertising. This news also brings about the question what is to be done with the Bud Shootout, an annual race put on by Budweiser. After the contract with Coors it is still undetermined what will be done with the race and if it will still go on.

David Newton of ESPN writes,

" CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The future of the Budweiser Shootout after the 2008 season has yet to be determined with Tuesday's announcement that Coors Light will be the new official beer of NASCAR.

The Shootout, a season-opening, non-points event between the previous year's pole winners and past champions at Daytona International Speedway, will be run in 2008 under the Budweiser name."

                                                                                                                                                  Read On...

Originally published in the New York Sun.

It's that time again: Cities around the world have begun the biannual process of promising the greatest show on earth to the voting members of the International Olympic Committee. They'll hope that the pandering and the commitment of spending boatloads of taxpayers' dollars will pay off and they will be selected as the host city for the Olympics. Last Friday, the committee announced that seven cities have submitted an application to host the 2016 Olympic Games. Baku, Azerbaijan; Chicago; Doha, Qatar; Madrid; Prague, Czech Republic; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Tokyo will all "officially" enter the Olympics race first heat on October 1. That is when the bidding cities find out just how much real support they have from their local governments -- which is a key component to an Olympic bid.

The IOC itself can figure out how much real support a bidding city has through a questionnaire, or "mini bid-book," which has to be completed and turned in on January 14, 2008.

The mini bid-book will give the bidders a chance to explain if they have what it takes to run a 17-day sports festival. What the IOC is looking for is pretty simple: How much money will local and national governments spend on facilities, how much television and Internet money will be available, and how much corporate support can be counted upon so that the Games can go on? On June 8, 2008, the IOC will cut the list of candidates based on the mini bid-books. Those running in the second heat will adjust money figures and show the IOC that their local governments are prepared to spend to the max in an effort to get the Games. The rationale behind the bids will be simple: We will show off our city to the world, make our city a tourist destination, and while we are building all sorts of new sports venues, we will work on urban renewal.

I don't even know where to start with this one.  Nike has a long and glorious tradition of making its shoes for pennies in foreign sweatshops and then brining them back to the US at prices so exorbitant that children are literally mugged on inner-city streets only to have the shoes stolen off of their feet.  A PR nightmare?  Not if you're Nike.  They seem to brush off the criticism with relative ease using the world's most famous athletes as their spokespeople.  And... every once in a while they do something to seemingly "give back".

Nike unveils shoe for Native Americans

Company says Air Native N7 will be distributed solely to American Indians in effort to promote physical fitness.

BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) -- Nike unveiled Tuesday what it said is the first shoe designed specifically for American Indians, an effort aiming at promoting physical fitness in a population with high obesity rates.

The Beaverton-based company says the Air Native N7 is designed with a larger fit for the distinct foot shape of American Indians, and has a culturally specific look. It will be distributed solely to American Indians; tribal wellness programs and tribal schools nationwide will be able to purchase the shoe at wholesale price and then pass it along to individuals, often at no cost.

Read On...

The votes are in.  The fans have spoken.  The ball gets an asterisk, and it will go into the hall of fame bearing the mark of shame.

NEW YORK (AP)-- The ball Barry Bonds hit for his record-breaking 756th home run will be branded with an asterisk and sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame, its owner said Wednesday.

Fashion designer Marc Ecko, who bought the ball in an online auction, set up a Web site for fans to vote on the ball's fate, and the decision to brand it won out over the other options, sending it to the museum unblemished or launching it into space.

"We're going to be working with the folks at the Hall of Fame,'' Ecko said on NBC's "Today'' show.

Ecko, whom Bonds called "an idiot'' last week, had the winning bid Sept. 15 in the online auction for the ball that Bonds hit Aug. 7 to break Hank Aaron's record of 755 home runs. The final selling price was $752,467, well above most predictions that assumed Bonds' status as a lightning rod for the steroids debate in baseball would depress the value.

The asterisk suggests that Bonds' record is tainted by alleged steroid use. The slugger has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs. Fans brought signs with asterisks on them to ballparks as he neared Aaron's hallowed mark.

Hall of Fame president Dale Petroskey, also interviewed on the show, said accepting the ball did not mean the Hall endorses the viewpoint that Barry Bonds used drugs.

"We're happy to get it,'' he said. "We're a nonprofit history museum, so this ball wouldn't be coming to Cooperstown without Marc Ecko buying it from the fan who caught it.''

The Giants announced Friday they will part with Bonds after this season, the seven-time NL MVP's 15th in San Francisco and 22nd in the majors.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

Many questions and doubts about the NHL's participation in the Winter Olympics have risen ever since the end of the 2006 Men's Ice Hockey Tournament in Turin. In the first season after a lockout wiped out an entire NHL season which led to no Stanley Cup Champion being crowned, the first time since 1919 when an influenza epidemic caused the finals to be cancelled. The NHL's marketers were relying on the Olympic buzz to help promote the new season coming out of the lockout. The 2002 Salt Lake Olympics were great for the NHL as the US team made it to the Gold Medal game against Canada. Even though the Americans lost the games were still a huge success for the NHL as American hockey got a great boost in publicity. In the summer of 2005 the lockout ended with the NHLPA and NHL Owners came to a collective bargaining agreement. The NHLPA wanted to go to the upcoming 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin as a part of the agreement. The NHL Owners obliged.

The NHL's participation in the 2006 games was for the most part a complete disaster. First the NHL had to take off two full weeks in the middle of February 2006 to let the players go over to Italy. To fit in a complete eighty-two game schedule the NHL schedule makers had to compact every teams schedule having them play on back to back days and sometimes three days in a row. This caused tired teams and a bad on ice product. Another bad result of the NHL's Olympic participation was the cancellation of the NHL All Star Game. The NHL All Star Game was scheduled to be played in Phoenix, hosted by the Phoenix Coyotes. The Phoenix Coyotes have struggled financially since moving from Winnipeg in 1996. In need of any publicity for hockey in the area the Coyotes needed the All Star Game to raise awareness. The fans in Phoenix were very disappointed when the news spread of the All Star Game being cancelled.

            During the Olympics many NHL stars were injured and their NHL teams were hurt in the process. Future hall of fame goaltender Dominik Hasek was injured, and his NHL team the Ottawa Senators struggled the rest of the NHL season. Peter Forsberg a star center for the Philadelphia Flyers hurt his foot. The Olympic schedule was jam packed to coincide with the NHL's two week break. Teams had to play five round robin games in seven days then play elimination round games. Players from Sweden and Finland who participated in the Gold Medal game only had one day to get back to the United States. The long flight from Italy back to the United States after the Olympics had a negative effect on the players' internal clocks and took weeks to readjust.

            The 2010 Winter Olympics will be in North America this time around. Vancouver, Canada will be the site for the 2010 games and the Olympic committee made changes to help the NHL. The schedule will be more spread out giving players more time to rest. With the Olympics being in North America the NHL Players will not have to endure a long travel plans. Still, the NHL has not committed to the Olympics past 2010. The NHL is still trying to expand its hand overseas and into other non traditional hockey countries in Asia. Will the NHL give up on international endeavors or will they continue to try and promote their game to the rest of the world?

            Since the inclusion of NHL players in the Olympics in 1998 for the Nagano games hockey coverage of the Olympics has improved everywhere except the United States. Hockey is just not a big draw in the United States. The Olympics needs the NHL players more than the NHL needs the Olympic exposure. The level of hockey at the games would be the best you can possibly see. The NHL players love representing their country at the Olympic level. They like the whole Olympic experience. The NHL owners however do not want to put their highly paid players at risk of injury while not playing for their teams. Players get paid millions of dollars and are treated as investments by owners and they want to keep them healthy. When the collective bargaining agreement expires the NHL's participation in the Olympics will be a heavy debate between the NHLPA and NHL Owners. The Olympic committee will be anxiously awaiting the NHL's decision as television slot times and sponsors will be at a premium if the NHL goes to the 2014 Olympic Games.

             

After a disastrous Monday Night Football performance against the Tennessee Titans, the New Orleans Saints received the news that one half of their premiere Running Back tandem, Deuce McAllister, is out for the season with a torn knee ligament. McAllister tore his left ACL and badly damaged his MCL in the second quarter after landing awkwardly after catching a short yard pass from Quarter Back Drew Brees.

The Saints are 0-3 and face a tough road to get to the playoffs. In fact history is against them; only five teams in NFL history made it to the playoffs after starting 0-3. The Saints are now forced to solely rely on RB Reggie Bush for their running game. Bush is fully capable of carrying the running game on his own, but the two back tandem is the latest trend in the NFL, and was the main factor in New Orleans making the playoffs last year.

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NEW ORLEANS -- New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister will miss the rest of the NFL season after tearing a knee ligament. 

McAllister said an MRI exam Tuesday confirmed his worst fears: He tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in Monday night's 31-14 loss to Tennessee.

"I didn't want to believe, but just taking that walk to the locker room you could feel it just kind of giving way a little bit," he said.

"And that was just kind of reminiscent of how the other one felt," he added, referring to a 2005 injury.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3035876 

Seriously, the Yankees spending $190mm on salary? How can anyone be a Yankees fan? After someone explains to me why a World Series was cancelled yet the salary differential is still extremely large (did I mention the Yankees have $45mm more in salary than the BoSox who is another  $28mm above the 3rd team), then you can rationalize why the NL Central has 6 teams in the division and the AL West only has 4 teams. But if push came to shove and I only had $25 million to spend, I would take the Tampa Bay "Dont call me Devil" Rays in a one game playoff against A-Rod. I know of only one time that a 1 player team beat a 9 player one. To paraphrase Lloyd Bensen, "I have met Bugs Bunny, and you, A-Rod, you are no Bugs Bunny"

Go Brew Crew

 

I am not sure how this will turn out, but it seems that the media creates a major information cascade at the beginning of issues (see Duke lacrosse case) and not so much at the end.

from http://sports-law.blogspot.com/

Athletics Directors are Demanding an Answer to New York's Fishing Investigation of Illegal Kickbacks

Two months ago, it was splashed all over the front page headlines that the New York Attorney General's office had issued subpoenas and records requests to 41 Division I college athletic programs, questioning whether athletics personnel got kickbacks or promises of cash or other perks for steering students to a particular lender. Earlier this year, Florida-based student loan provider University Financial Services (UFS) was found to have offered kickbacks to the athletics director at Division II Dowling in New York. This prompted the NY AG's office to investigate all of the larger athletics programs across the country that have an advertising/sponsorship relationship with UFS.

Apparently, biting ears isn't the only thing Mike Tyson enjoys. ESPN reports

Tyson pleaded guilty to cocaine possession and DUI charges from December 29 in Scottsdale, Arizona. He faces a maximum of four years and three months in prison.The best part is, Tyson admitted he prefers to smoke cocaine out of Marlboro cigarettes with the tobacco pulled out. Why would anyone admit that? He also admitted to being an addict.

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MESA, Ariz. -- Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson pleaded guilty Monday to charges of drug possession and driving under the influence stemming from a traffic stop last year as he was leaving a nightclub.

Milton Bradley, star outfielder for the San Diego Padres will be out for the rest of the season due to a torn acl.  He tore his acl while head coach, Bud Black of the Padres held him back from the scuffle he was having with first base umpire, Mike Winters.  Winters was commenting on Bradley's earlier at bat where he refused to leave the batters box because he disagreed with the umpire's strike call.  Bradley who was hitting over .300 this season was a weapon for the Padres and now the team will be struggling without him for the NL Wild Card.  What was said between Bradley and Winters is still unknown.  But Bradley is determined to get redemption.

 

 

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ESPN Updated-September 24, 2007

 

Not many people in this world pretend to know Milton Bradley well enough to understand him.

But the people who know him best often describe a man whose demeanor is very different from the Milton Bradley whose combustible temper might have irrevocably changed the course of baseball's most compelling pennant race saga, the National League wild-card race.

Kind. Generous. Smart. Engaging.

We have heard all those words used, by friends and teammates, to characterize the Milton Bradley the rest of us don't see. If only he could be that guy all the time.

But on Sunday, that other Milton Bradley came out. And the Padres, a team that rescued him in midseason and has been grateful it did, might never be the same.

                                                                                                                    Read On...

 

 

ESPN discusses details and implications for athletes in light of the the Drug Enforcement Agency's monumental drug raid. An estimated 124 were arrested in quiet suburban homes, in 27 states, closing 56 labs. DEA officials are compiling a database of emails of those who were involved in the consumption of these illegal substances, 99.9 percent of which are confirmed to have come from China. No names of athletes have been released yet but once the DEA is finished compiling a list and processing leads, there will be severe consequences for guilty athletes...  

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ESPN Updated: September 24, 2007

NEW YORK -- In a four-day series of daylight raids that ended Sunday, Drug Enforcement Administration agents shut down 26 underground steroid labs and made more than 50 arrests across the country, capping what agents are calling the largest performance-enhancing drug crackdown in U.S. history. The DEA also has identified 37 Chinese factories that purportedly supplied the raw materials for the labs, a DEA spokesman told ESPN.

The raids capped an 18-month probe that has netted 124 arrests in 27 states and closed 56 labs. The agency also seized $6.5 million and 532 pounds of raw steroid powder -- 308 pounds of it in the past week. Most of the raids took place in quiet suburban neighborhoods... 

Read On... 

With all the negative publicity looming around the NFL to beginning the regular season this is one story that is going to get the credit it deserves. Brett Favre is one of the few remaining players in professional football that does whatever it takes to win and he is even quoted as not caring at all about breaking records but only wanting to win.  That sums up Favre's career he could have retired a few years ago becuase they were in a rebuilding stage of their team but he didn't he just took it in strides and it has paid off with his Green Bay team starting off the season a perfect 3-0 and beating teams that all were in the playoffs last year.  All in all Brett Favre is a future hall of famer and it is great to be able to watch history unfold right in front of your eyes.

 

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GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- Brett Favre goes out of his way to say he cares about winning, not going after records.

He managed to do both at the same time on Sunday.

Passing Into History
Future Hall of Famer Brett Favre is closing in on some impressive, and not-so-impressive, NFL records. On Sunday, he tied Dan Marino's record for touchdown passes. (Stats through Week 3)
Career Records	Favre	Holder
Wins as starter	150	Favre
Passing yards	58,361	Dan Marino, 61,361
Interceptions	275	George Blanda, 277
TD passes	420	Marino, Favre tie
Pass attempts	8,349	Marino, 8,358

Favre found Greg Jennings on a slant pattern for the record-tying 420th touchdown pass of his career. The 57-yard completion, erased a four-point deficit to the San Diego Chargers with just over two minutes left and rallied the undefeated Packers to a 31-24 win. Favre is now tied with Dan Marino for the most touchdown passes in NFL history.

"I could care less about the record," Favre said, who was 28-of-35 for 369 yards and three touchdowns. "Everybody's congratulating me, but I told them it doesn't mean anything if we don't win the game."

 

 

                                                                         Read On...

 

                                                                  

Since the Yankees acquired Joba Chamberlain they have had a specific set of rules in place of when he can and cannot pitch.  The rules were set that for as many innings as Chamberlain pitches he gets the equal amount number of days off between pitching.  Just yesterday the Yankees broke this rule that they have otherwise been abiding by throughout the season.  The idea is with the race for playoff berths that the Yankees are trying to do everything and anything they can to win as many games as possible in the last week of the season.  Manager Joe Torre clarified that the "Joba Rule" is still in place but they are going to bend a few rules as the season comes to a close.  With Joba pitching last night he was able to secure another win for the Yankees who are now two wins away from securing a playoff berth, and only one and a half games back in their division.

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The Joba Rules? Forget them. Throw them out. They're done.

 And with the Yankees on the cusp of a postseason berth and just 1 1/2 games behind the Red Sox after picking up a game in the AL East standings yesterday with a 7-5 win over the Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium, Mike Mussina says the time is right.

 "If we want to do we what we want to do come October, we're going to need him," Mussina said after Joba Chamberlain continued his storybook ride by getting the final four outs for his first major-league save on his 22nd birthday with his father in the stands. "We know that two weeks from now, we're going to need him every day. I'm pretty sure he can do it."

                                                                                                                             Read on

The New England Patriots seem to be giving the NFL its full cooperation in handing over the 'spygate' materials. Once league officials received the evidence, they wasted no time in destroying it. While some still debate whether the punishments handed down by Goodell fit the crime, some people might want to start wondering if the Patriots, indeed, handed over 'all' the materials.....

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- The NFL has received and destroyed all materials it requested from the New England Patriots concerning videotaping of opponents' sidelines, and a league spokesman said the team was unlikely to face any further sanctions.
An NFL statement Thursday said the team was in compliance with a request for tapes and other documents.

"The Patriots have fully cooperated and complied with the requirements of the commissioner's decision," the statement said. "All tapes, documents and other records relating to this matter were turned over to the league office and destroyed, and the Patriots have certified in writing that no copies or other records exist.

More....

 

 

Ken Griffey Jr., an All-Star outfielder for the Cincinnati Red's is quote, "Done" for the season.  After Wednesday's game against the Chicago Cubs he was diagnosed with a high groin strain.  Even though this injury puts a damper on the end of this years season, it could have been worse.

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Ken Griffey Jr. will miss the rest of the season because of a strained groin, the latest in a string of injuries to Cincinnati's All-Star outfielder.

Griffey left Wednesday night's game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in the eighth inning after injuring himself while fielding a ball in right field. As he started to make a throw, Griffey stopped in pain and had to underhand the ball back to the infield before falling to the ground.

The Reds originally announced the injury as a strained lower abdomen, and Griffey returned to Cincinnati to be examined. On Thursday, the team said he was diagnosed with a high groin strain and will be examined again in four weeks.

"He's done," manager Pete Mackanin said before the opener of a four-game series at San Francisco. "It's a season-ending injury, but it could have been worse. It's not the worst-case scenario, so we're happy about that."

 

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Fantasy sports gamers understand the value of gathering all the information they can on the players they own before setting their lineups.  For that reason, it is important to be informed about the quality of the fantasy sports web sites and the information they present.  In the first installment of my weekly article critiquing fantasy sports websites I am going to look at Yahoo! and their fantasy sports section.  Yahoo! fantasy sports is one of the most populated fantasy sports league web sites on the internet.  Yahoo! is well known for their free fantasy sports leagues, an idea that other sites such as ESPN have started to follow in recent years.  In all of Yahoo's fantasy sports leagues, it is quite easy to set rosters, find tabs for viewing free agents, proposing trades and other common actions fantasy owners make.  Yahoo! has also added a new "drag and drop" options for setting rosters, while still offering the classic drop tab next to each player.  Yahoo! has also beefed up the amount and ease of accessing statistics of players, and other such important information as pitching matchups for hitters in fantasy baseball for example.  Yahoo! offers a variety of pay-for information and stat computing services such as their Stat Tracker service and pre-draft ranking service.  As well as the layout of Yahoo's fantasy sports leagues pages being quite practical, they also are relatively solid in appearance.  The pages in fantasy baseball feature a baseball diamond in the top banner of the site, and in fantasy football the top banner features the fifty yard line on the football field.  Yahoo! also features ads in the upper right hand corner of the league page and the lower right hand corner of the team roster page.  Yahoo! also creatively inserts advertisements for other fantasy sport leagues they offer on both the league page and roster page.  This year in fantasy football, Yahoo! has a variety of sponsors including Toyota, Coca-Cola, Heineken and Sprint.  Even with these advertisers, Yahoo! has not cluttered the pages making it difficult for users to navigate the pages or set rosters.  For those fantasy sports participants who don't care to use Yahoo's standard scoring, league commissioners can adjust scoring options in a large variety of ways to cater to that individual league's needs.  Finally, as well as offering one of the best sites for participating in fantasy sports leagues, Yahoo! also offers a great variety of "expert" fantasy advice both in article format, written by writers such as Brandon Funston, Andy Behrens and Brad Evans, as well as through video and online fantasy sports programs such as Sunday's fantasy football program, Fantasy Football Live, that airs from noon ET to 1 PM ET.  The ease of navigating Yahoo's fantasy sports pages, the variety of options in scoring available to leagues, and the amount of fantasy sports content available, makes Yahoo! one of the best fantasy sports sites on the internet.  For those interested in viewing Yahoo's fantasy sports page, a link can be found at the bottom of this article.

http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy

Floyd Landis has received a 2 year ban from cycling and has been stripped of his 2006 Tour de France Crown, according to various reports.  He is the first person in 105 years to be forced to give up the crown.  He could appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but he has spent a great deal of money defending himself already.

 

Gene therapy, believed by many to be the frontier of performance enhancement (cheating), while popular with would be champions who have shown a great deal of interest, is still a very sketchy undertaking at this point.  The New York Times reports on a recent disasterous case:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/18/health/18gene.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1190310744-ehVR6jpKp2PSEqLKq1Emnw

And now, since the Times is again completely free online- they dropped their timeselect subscription service yesterday- you can go back and read Gretchen Reynold's article "Outlaw DNA" from this past June to see what athletes think of gene therapy.

NY Times is reporting on the aftermath of a steam pipe explosion in Manhattan last month.  It seems that a law office underneath the pipe that exploded was left in ruins.  As the firm began to clean up and temporarily move offices some of their office equipment and various sports memorabilia were stolen.  They took autographed baseballs including a Mickey Mantle and a Joe DiMaggio. The punchline?  The left the Bonds ball.

America, the land of opportunity and freedom of speech. Fashion designer Mark Ecko has given the people an opportunity to choose the fate of the Barry Bonds 756th home run ball. Barry Bonds is not happy that someone would purchase the ball just to get rid of it. This home run ball already has controversy behind it and most fans have voiced their displeasure over Bonds beating Hank Aaron's record.

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds thinks Marc Ecko, the man who purchased the ball from his 756th home run, is wasting his money, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Ecko, a fashion desiginer, purchased the baseball for $750,000 and is taking votes on the Internet on what he should do with it: Give the ball to the Baseball Hall of Fame, brand it with an asterisk or blast it into space.

Bonds says he doesn't care that the options include an asterisk -- implying that the home run record should be viewed with skepticism in light of his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs.

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