Bonds:Barry Bonds' Magic Home Run Caught By ... a New York Mets Fan? Reporters screamed out questions, but all he managed to say was, "I'm Matt Murphy from Queens, N.Y." Murphy and a friend were en route to Australia and in San Francisco for a one-day layover, a Giants spokesman said. They purchased tickets just before the game. Which brings about a very important question: How in the world was this game not sold out just before the game?
Barry Bonds, Cheater, Deserves Your Praise: The Beatles took LSD. Hemingway got hammered before he sat at the typewriter. Kerouac enjoyed greenies. Lance Armstrong ... alright, we'll just leave that one alone. But come on: 756 home runs, obtained through any means, is still a work of art. Regardless of what you think Barry Bonds did on his way to the record -- and he probably did some very unethical, if not illegal, things -- 756 home runs is 756 home runs.
The Debriefing: Bonds Hits #756; Everyone Appears to be OK: Joe Montana, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Muhammad Ali, and Hank Aaron -- a list of guys who might be considered authorities on competition -- chose to celebrate by sending video messages to Bonds to be played on the stadium's scoreboard. Maybe they said to themselves, "If everyone recognizes Babe Ruth's numbers as legitimate, then they have to recognize Bonds' numbers as legitimate. Trying to guess how many homeruns Bonds would have hit without steroids is as pointless as trying to guess how many homeruns Ruth would have hit had he faced the pitchers of color the country had to offer. So to hell with it ... if Babe Ruth is a storied part of baseball history, then so is Barry Bonds."
Bud Selig Wants You to Know He Congratulated Barry Bonds: Honestly, I can't think of a more passive-aggressive way to try making some kind of point while weaseling out of doing it in person. As I've said before, this is your mess, Bud -- it's the least you can do to own up to it and watch history unfold.
Hank Aaron Leaves Video Tribute, Was Likely Asleep When Bonds Hit No. 756: You would think that if Aaron is as classy a cat as the media has been making him out to be, he'd at least extend some sort of congratulations. But that doesn't mean he was actually watching when Bonds hit No.756.
A woman who answered the phone at Aaron's home in Georgia shortly after Bonds' homer said that Aaron was asleep.Now there's a chance the woman was fibbing a bit or Aaron hit the sack right after Bonds went yard, but still, rather fitting, no?
Coming To Grips With Home Run King Barry: The debate for the world will be whether or not Bonds is the best player ever or a total fraud. For me, Bonds will always be the choker that couldn't hit .200 over 20 games in three NLCS's with the Pirates....Despite my dislike for Bonds and my initial revulsion at the thought of seeing him break this record, I can't help but think that, in a way, this record is a fitting monument to Bonds' career. He's been the ultimate "me" player in the ultimate team sport. Through his whole career, it's been clear that Bonds wants nothing more than a World Series ring, and that includes this record. Despite that, he's never been able to focus on anyone but himself.
Barry Bonds' Speech Post 756: As one can imagine, Bonds was very emotional when he mentioned his father at the end of the speech. And this just in: ESPN just showed an interview with Erin Andrews and Bonds and when asked what's next for him, Bonds said "a lot more baseball, hell yeah. I'm not quitting, plenty more baseball left."
Mike Bacsik Was Not Afraid of History: Mike Bacsik clearly wasn't daunted by the prospects of becoming a footnote in history. It would have been easy for Bacsik to walk Bonds at least a couple of times, especially after falling behind in the count, but instead he challenged Bonds each time he came up to bat. Bacsik paid for it, of course, as Bonds singled in each of his first two at-bats and scored both times before launching the ball into the stands in the fifth inning. But still, challenging Bonds was the sporting thing to do.
Does Bonds Have a Mechanical Advantage? It's a nice conspiracy theory, I suppose, but Mark Silva, the builder of the brace, rather convincingly dismissed all of the claims point by point in an interview with Baseball Prospectus' Will Carroll (much of the article is subscription only, but the mp3 of the interview is available to everyone).
NCAA Football:
College Football Coming to China? Insert following terms in lieu of commentary: Darfur, human rights, one-party state, Tibet, Taiwan. We'd offend the censors, but we're already blocked. Yup.
Tennessee RB Coker Suspended: Drugs: Coker was the Vols' leading rusher last year and one of the most explosive players on the field. He had a couple of touchdown runs of more than 80 yards and was a threat to score any time he had the ball in his hands. His suspension comes days after Fulmer expressed the need for playmakers on this team to be successful in 2007 and after Coker's public pledge to stay out of Fulmer's doghouse, a place he's found himself for much of his short career.
NFL:Jerry Rice on Roger Goodell: 'I Love It' This is the second straight day we've heard an accomplished older player speak up in favor of Goodell; yesterday we noted that 39-year-old Browns defensive tackle Ted Washington said of Goodell, "I think he's done a hell of a job." The generation of NFL players born in the 1960s seems to like what Goodell is doing.
Tom Brady: World's Best-Dressed Man: Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is a snappy dresser, I guess, but the best-dressed man in the world? Really? That's what Esquire Magazine says.
So How Did Brady Quinn Do? Bottom line, it appears that Quinn got guaranteed money in approximately the range you'd expect for the 22nd pick. The figures reported on his base salary are so fishy that it's really impossible to evaluate them. Quinn may have gotten slightly more than the 22nd overall pick usually gets, but this isn't the Top 10 money that some suggested he could receive.
MLS:
David Beckham and Robbie Williams to Play Gay Couple on Desperate Housewives? Did you really think Beckham came to L.A. to play for the Galaxy? That's what I thought. There could very well be some legitimacy to this rumor. I guess we'll soon find out.
