The Fantasy Ruling:Will the Fantasy Statistics Ruling Extend to Video Games? But are there implications beyond fantasy sports? If the courts have decided that "names" are no longer intellectual property, can we expect sports video games like Madden 2009 to start including the actual names of historical players, instead of vague names like QB 16 for Joe Montana?
Court to Fantasy Owners: "Game On!" What does this mean for fantasy sports? A lot, actually. There are literally hundreds of small(er) time online fantasy websites that give out advice. There are also some smaller ones that provide software and actual gameplay. However, a critical barrier between attempting to compete with the big guys like ESPN, Yahoo!, CBSSportsline and AOL is, general resources aside, was the notion that at some point, the players' unions would be able to redact the free notion of statistical accumulation attached to a name. Which would mean huge licensing fees. Like, really huge.
Fantasy Football Players Can Breathe Easy: Statistics Are in the Public Domain: But it's a little chilling to think about the potential effects of the ruling having gone in favor of the sports leagues and the players (although it was the MLB and its union that was involved in this case, they had the support of legal briefs filed by all the major sports' player associations and licensing arms).
MMA:
UFC President Dana White on Randy Couture: 'He Definitely Belongs to Me': Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White gave an extensive interview to Mr. Sunshine, and White insists that there's no way heavyweight champion Randy Couture can fight for any other mixed martial arts organization before he fulfills the remaining two fights on his UFC contract.
Media:
Dan Patrick to Sports Illustrated: But it's a little strange that SI would ask Patrick to write a column for the magazine. Sports Illustrated has always prided itself on being a home to highbrow sports journalism -- I've known of more than a couple of SI writers who deride the more fan-friendly approach of ESPN the Magazine. Hiring a writer whose background is working at ESPN -- on the TV side -- is an example of SI, as it so often does, following ESPN's lead.
NBA:Breaking: DeShawn Stevenson Doesn't Care About Lindsay Lohan! So we learned two lessons today: 1) everything you read on the internet isn't always true; and 2) famous people need like six MySpace profiles. Oh, and: 3) NBA players don't realize everyone else has left MySpace for Facebook. (Burn!)
NFL:
Marques Douglas: Best Player No One Knows: How outstanding is he? Douglas ranks second in the league in stuffs, an unofficial but useful statistic measuring tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage on running plays. (For some reason, defensive ends who stop quarterbacks behind the line of scrimmage are celebrated, but defensive ends who stop running backs behind the line of scrimmage are ignored.)
'No Hope' for Ex-Cowboy Ron Springs, Father of Redskins' Shawn Springs: Ron's daughter, however, says the family is not ready to give up hope. "No one determines when my father leaves this earth but God himself," Ayra Springs wrote in an e-mail. "We just would like everyone to PRAY FOR HIM."
Patrick Crayton Is Not Impressed With New England's Defense: "No, why would I say something like that?" Crayton said. "Offensively, they are the real deal. I'm not going to lie about that. Definitely, I can tell you, no, [the defense is] not. The only time they stopped us is when we had penalties. If that's stopping us, it is what it is. But they're definitely not the real deal."
MLB:Off-the-Wall Replacements for Torre: The talking heads on ESPN just threw out a few interesting names: Tony Pena, the Yankees current first base coach, and former Mets manager Bobby Valentine, who's been banished to Japan since 2003. Personally, I think both suggestions are a bit ludicrous, but for different reasons.
Beckett and Lofton Not Fond of Each Other: But seriously, did umpire Gary Cederstrom really do a "tremendous job" breaking that thing up? Would a little pushing and shoving really been the worst thing in the world? I'm not wishing bodily harm on anyone, but I think fans kind of enjoy it when things get a little salty -- wasn't the infamous Don Zimmer/Pedro Martinez tussle one of the most enjoyable moments of the 2003 ALCS?
I Went to a Baseball Game and a Minstrel Show Broke Out: But take a look at the guy above from Game 4 on Tuesday and tell me he's honoring a culture. Take a look at that guy, then take a look at Al Jolson in blackface and tell me there's an honest difference. You can't. And if you do, you're lying, if not to me than to yourself. Wrong is wrong, people.
NCAA Football:
Nebraska Footballers Better Suited for Ladies' Game? Sure looks like it. If these had surfaced earlier we could have all been forewarned that Nebraska football was in trouble. Especially charming is that two of the Huskers' defensive leaders are featured prominently here in high-riding ladies' compression shorts: linebackers Bo Ruud (#3 on left) and Corey McKeon (#7 on left).
