NCAA Football:
Football's Dirtiest Programs: #10, Miami: We start our trip through the dirtiest programs of the modern era of infractions with a mild surprise: how did The U -- a program with a real, national reputation for recruiting thugs and miscreants -- end up so far down the list?
NFL:
NFL 2007 Off-Season Winners and Losers: LOSER: Zone blocking offensive lines: Second-year Texans coach Gary Kubiak still hasn't acquired the personnel necessary for the zone-blocking approach he wants to use. Longtime Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan, whose offense used zone-blocking lines to build the NFL's best running attack, has watched his two best offensive linemen, Matt Lepsis and Tom Nalen, get old and suffer injuries. Across the league, zone blocking offenses are running out of steam.Video: ESPNews Anchor Tells Us What She Really Thinks of Michael Vick: ESPNews gave us a Freudian slip, in which Vick was referred to not by his last name, but by a derogatory word that rhymes with his last name:
Report: Falcons Owner Arthur Blank Will Hand Down Michael Vick Discipline Tuesday: Blank could either convince Vick to take a leave of absence or he could act unilaterally to suspend Vick. The latter option is seen as less desirable because Vick could challenge it, arguing that he hasn't been convicted of anything.
Green Bay Packers Fan Pays $147,000 a Year for 331 Season Tickets: Thanks to a series of smart investments, Doug Burris of Shawano, Wisconsin, controls a bounty of 331 season tickets, a few that he uses for himself or gives to family, but the vast majority of which he sells at a huge mark-up.
MLB:
Video: You Can't Beat an Umpire With a Grudge: Umm, file that conversation under "things an umpire shouldn't be caught dead saying."
MJD:
The Debriefing: Who's Erstwhile? First, the Play-In Games: Whoever gets the win here, by the time we get to the next round of the tournament, could be very non-Erstwhile. It's a very lucky draw for Akili Smith ... and hey, Akili can use all the breaks he can get these days.
NBA:The Spurs Should Give Tim Donaghy a Championship Ring: Spurs fans shouldn't be happy about this either. I mean, this effectively drops an asterisk on another one of their championships: the first being the 1999 season, which didn't even start until February 5 due to a lockout.
Ballers For Obama: ClipperBlog narrator Kevin Arnovitz, guesting at True Hoop, dug into campaign finance reports (or at least public searchable databases) to tally NBA political donations. Shane Battier, a discple of Duke's GOP-lead program, was a surprising Barack donor. Baron Davis, Evan Eschmeyer and Philly GM Billy King can also be counted among The Obamanation.
Stephon Marbury Insinuates That LeBron James Is a Clown: "You want to make me the clown...I'm not the dude on the ESPYs, getting carried on a throne. I'm not him. I'm the good guy, not the bad guy. I don't want to be carried on the throne...I just want to walk among the people."
