Media Watch:Free Darko: Blog to Book Deal: Shoals announced today that Bloomsbury will publish FreeDarko's Guide to the 2008-09 Season next fall. The only reveal so far is some beloved sketches from last winter will be involved. Needless to say, it's going to be a must-buy for fans of the FD voice, and really fans of humanity.
The New Yorker's Boras Profile, Abridged: For your lazy, skimming pleasure then, here are various new or notable highlights:
- McGrath characterizes Boras as a "divorce lawyer," and explains Boras' current strategy in regards to A-Rod.
- Boras' presence at games, which McGrath leads the story with, recalls the wedding scene The Godfather. Whether admirers or clients or neither, baseball people apparently clamor around Boras even if they have no real association with him. In that way, they become associates, part of power.
- He carries a small, beat-up leather satchel, which McGrath speculates is a vain attempt at authenticity.
MLB:Boston Red Sox: Evil Empire 2.0? Like the Yankees, they have a huge payroll. Like the Yankees, they print paper at their home stadium. Like the Yankees, they have a national fan base that annoyingly floods opposition stadiums. And, like the Yankees, everyone is slowly starting to hate them. The irony is not lost on the front office.
The Dugout: Padres Not Watching World Series From Home After All: Bud Black is a man of his word. When Bud Black makes a promise, he's damn well going to keep it. Think the Padres are spending another late October on the couch? Think again.
World Series Live Blog: Game 1, Innings 1-3
World Series Live Blog: Game 1, Innings 4-6
World Series Live Blog: Game 1, Innings 7-9
Photos: 2007 World Series Game 1
Life-or-Death Incompetence at a Live Event:
WWE: Candice Michelle Falls Off Top Rope, Carried Off on a Stretcher: Michelle will only be out six to eight weeks with a broken collarbone, but Pulse Wrestling argues that she could have been injured much more seriously, and that WWE puts wrestlers in the ring who just don't have the athletic talent necessary to do what's asked of them.
Candice Michelle Chokes on Water As She's Carried Out of WWE Show on Stretcher: What is going on here? Why doesn't the WWE have a medical professional on hand -- or even just someone with common sense -- who understands that when you're on a stretcher, you're probably not in a good position to have a swig of water?
Ambulance Carrying Man Who Died in Chicago Marathon Got Lost on Way to Hospital: It is not known whether getting to the emergency room more quickly would have saved Schieber's life. Almost immediately after Schieber died, the Cook County Medical Examiner claimed that the heat had nothing to do with his death. But other medical experts have disputed that claim.
NBA:Melo Has No Choice But to Be Disappointed: When Smith gets in the news for violence and public disturbance, Melo has no choice but to distance himself. The team can't afford to have Anthony or Iverson associated with anti-social behavior in the minds of consumers or the media. This kind of statement not only puts the other Nuggets in the clear--it gives us all a chance to note how much they've matured.
Longform Shoals: The Rest of the West: What did we learn from the 2006-07 Mavericks? That for the West's heavy hitters (which is to say the NBA's), life is grim. For them, the first eighty-two games do is ramp up expectations, until anything less than a title is a disappointment. Ask the Suns, or the Kings before them. Or the Spurs, whose entire philosophy follows from this joyless premise.
Report: Riley Salvages Miami's Offseason, Unloads Walker for Davis: For a guy set to make almost $19 million over this year and next (with team options totaling $20 million plus the next two years), Walker is a huge disappointment -- in addition to being expensive, he's aging and fat, the latter of which has landed him in Riley's doghouse on multiple occasions.
NFL:
Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Pit Bull to Michael Vick; Lenient Sentence Likely for Cooperation: 67-year-old man named Oscar Allen pleaded guilty to the same felony conspiracy charges to which Vick and his three buddies pleaded guilty. Allen's role was selling a pit bull to Vick in 2001. It was apparently Allen who told authorities about Jane, the female pit bull that Vick bought and entered into dog fighting competitions. Allen also apparently helped Vick with training fighting dogs and with setting up his dog-fighting compound in Surry County, Virginia, but he did not join Vick and his co-defendants in killing dogs.
Patriots Hurt Dolphins' Feelings by Running Up the Score: ''Everyone was disappointed with the lack of respect,'' Chris Liwienski said. ``It's a kick in the teeth and lacked some class. Enough is enough.'' That's wrong for a bunch of reasons. First, there's a huge difference between impressionable 16-year-olds, and grown men who get paid to play football. Second, any high school head coach willing to run up the score and humiliate a team full of teenagers ... well, that's a truly disgusting act.
Chad Pennington Will Start on Sunday: It appears that all the talk about a change in quarterback for the New York Jets is the same as all the talk about Hero's infidelity - Much ado about nothing. Eric Mangini met with the media today and announced that Chad Pennington will remain in command of the Jets offense this weekend against the Buffalo Bills.
NASCAR:
Infighting in Roush's House, Edwards A Bully? "His behavior has been real erratic lately, honestly. You don't know what to expect with him. That's the thing that's a little bit troublesome. One minute, he has so much respect for you, and he's real friendly and everything's so much fun. The next minute he wants to kick your butt and he's swearing at you. It's a little scary. You never know what you're going to get."
College Football:
Indiana's Phone Issues Are Not Improving: In the wake of Indiana Coach Kelvin Sampson's Achilles heel being cell phone calls to recruits and the torrent of criticism, it also came out that Indiana assistants managed to exceed their maximum number of calls to recruits. It was first put at 35, but now it seems that it could be closer to 100.
