Yankees’ Matsui gets married, pulls fast one on teammates

Seems like Jeter and Abreu owe Matsui some $$

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Why I'm not worried about the Raptors

With the recent slide the Raptors have been on I've been asked on more then one occasion whether I'd like to retract my pre-season prediction about the Raptors. My response?No. The Bosh injury was obviously a big factor in the the slump. This group plays like a team more then any group in the history of the franchise. In the short history of the Raptors the team has had a lot of "me" players.....you can not say that about this team. When Calderon replaced T.J Ford in the starting lineup the team didn't miss a beat. Both of these guys have played their position well over the past year and a half. You want your Point Guard to be a leader....a general on the floor if you will The Raptors have two guys who do that. To prove my point more.....Calderon volunteered to give up his starting spot today to Ford. The result? A 89-82 win over the Pistons.

No Madden in Madden'09? EA Promises New Game Announcers

A potential bombshell has been dropped by EA audio director Aubrey Hodges. In an interview with Louis Bedigian of Gamezone, Hodges seems to suggest that John Madden may not be one of the game announcers in Madden 09.

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I miss the days of Madden/Summerall and Madden/Micheals. I hate the "radio" voice that they have now. They need a broadcasting team in the game. I will be getting '09 for 360....as long as its not the ESPN crew (as I don't know how they'd work the 3 man team into the game) I don't care who they get.

2008 MLB Over/Under

I'll have my full MLB preview up this weekend but wanted to get a head start on these. I've been doing these the past few years for all the sports with friends. I've had a decent track record with these so why not bring them to this blog. Simple drill. Copy the list and leave a comment indicating whether you think that the team's win total this year will be over or under the listed number. I'm getting these #s off of Vegas Watch.

Listed below are my picks:

Arizona UNDER 86.5
Atlanta UNDER 86
Baltimore UNDER 65
Boston UNDER 94
Chicago (N) OVER 87.5
Chicago (A) UNDER 76
Cincinnati OVER 76.5
Cleveland UNDER 91
Colorado OVER 83
Detroit OVER 93.5
Florida OVER 68.5
Houston UNDER 73.5
Kansas City OVER 73.5
LA Angels OVER 92
LA Dodgers OVER 87.5
Milwaukee OVER 84
Minnesota OVER 73.5
NY Mets OVER 92.5
NY Yankees UNDER 94
Oakland UNDER 74
Philadelphia OVER 88
Pittsburgh OVER 68.5
San Diego OVER 85
San Francisco UNDER 72
Seattle UNDER 85
St. Louis UNDER 77
Tampa Bay OVER 72
Texas OVER 75
Toronto OVER 84
Washington OVER 71.5

Use the same numbers and post your predictions in the comments .

Hillary's 3 AM Ad.....and the girl's response.

By now we've all seen the Hillary Clinton "3 AM" commercial. Faraz showed me this response that the little girl from the commercial, Casey Knowles, posted up on Youtube.


3AM Ad


Response


On a related note Keith Olbermann's scolding of Hillary the day the original commercial was released was brilliant and definitely worth a look.

TIME Magazine - 14 reasons Hillary Clinton should quit

Mark Halperin of TIME lists the 14 reasons why Hillary Clinton should quit.It is impossible for Hillary to beat Obama in the number of delegates or the popular vote, and her "kitchen sink" strategy is angering top Democrats and superdelegates like Nancy Pelosi.

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That list pretty much covers it all. As much as I would love a real floor fight at a convention.....this is Obama's year.

Mayhem At Fox News: Anchor Walks Off Set

Fox News' very own anchors are speaking out — and walking off — over what they perceive to be "Obama-bashing" on their network.

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People at Fox News are getting tired of Obama bashing? I never thought I'd see that day. Wow. Kudos to Chris Wallace and Brian Kilmeade.

A few Daily Show Clips

Some Random Daily Show clips from the past week involving everything from Spitzer to the stock market.

3/21/08
International Man of Misery

Highlights from the latest Daily Show headline coverage and guest interviews.

The First 5 Years

Jon looks back in time to see the Bush Administration's benchmarks for success after the start of the Iraq War.

3/18/08
Open Discussion

Despite their differences, Larry Wilmore and Jon can agree about at least one thing.

3/17/08
Broken Arrow

Jon responds to President Bush's rosy outlook on Wall Street and Jim Cramer's terrible Bear Stearns advice

href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=164644&title=iraq-the-first-5-years">Iraq:

NY's New Governor

Larry Wilmore claims David Paterson for African Americans and compares him to the fourth Ghostbuster.

Actual Sermon from Rev. Wright

So Biggz linked me to this video earlier today and I'm just trying to help spread the word. Hopefully the mainstream media picks up on this pretty soon but below is the video of Rev. Wright's now famous sermon. Listen to the sermon in context and its a different story from what you hear on the news (surprise!).

Anderson Cooper did mention it in his blog....I don't know if he did on his TV show.
Video

NCAA Tournament

Already a much better 2nd day then Day 1. The Duke/Belmont game game was pretty much the only thing that stuck out for me on Day 1. Eventhough it would've hurt my bracket I as always was rooting for the upset. What a game it was though. Definitely an early favorite for the game of the tournament.

UConn game today again falls into the same category. First George Mason and now San Diego? That's a rough 2 game stretch for UConn as far as the NCAA Tournament is concerned. Saw it on a CBS graphic that this is the first time UConn has lost in the first round of the tournament under Calhoun(14-1 now).

What a game for Stephen Curry. Its crazy that he wasn't recruited more heavily. I got a chance to watch his father Dell Curry, day in and day out when he was with the Raptors and he became an instant favorite of mine because of that 3 point shot. The son is pretty much the same.

Sports Illustrated opening up its Archives

Faraz sent me a NY Times article earlier which said that Sports Illustrated is opening up its archives. As a long time subscriber I love it. I'm still going to save the hard copy of all the good issues but there are plenty of old ones I've already thrown away that I'd like to dig up.

Cubs destroy coach's car, then give him brand new SUV

According to multiple media reports out of Chicago, his 1995 Nissan Sentra was almost unrecognizable after someone or something destroyed it. The windows were smashed, the doors tied closed, the trunk peeled up and the roof punctured.

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So today seems to be the day where players sticking up for clubhouse guys stories come out. First the Red Sox and now this. We hear hundreds of stories of about greedy and stupid athletes(I'll post that one tomorrow)so its nice to hear about something like this.

My Bracket

Just finalized my bracket. Hopefully everyone has the next 4 days off to watch as much of this tournament as possible. What's your Final Four?

Vesa Toskala

Man has it been a miserable year to be a Leafs fan. Despite the win last night the season hit a new low last night. Watch this play.

Obama Speech: 'A More Perfect Union'

Link

Gutsy speech from Obama. Definitely not one you're used to seeing from someone running for President. People say he's the only one who could've pulled off that speech and I have to agree on that one.

Cheney STILL publicly links Iraq with 9/11 WHAT???

"So the United States made a decision: to hunt down the evil of terrorism and kill it where it grows, to hold the supporters of terror to account and to confront regimes that harbor terrorists and threaten the peace," Cheney said. "Understanding all the dangers of this new era, we have no intention of abandoning our friends or allowing this country of 170,000 square miles to become a staging area for further attacks against Americans."

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Someone turn on the news for this man. It is insane that they still believe this crap.

The Onion: Black Guy Asks Nation for Change

Black Guy Asks Nation For Change

CHICAGO—Some residents reported seeing the black guy waving wildly and quoting from the Bible, while others said they spotted him shouting about global warming.

The Onion does it again.

Red Sox Players May Boycott Japan Trip!

The players are prepared to respond to Major League Baseball with an ultimatum -- if the coaches aren't paid, the Red Sox players will not get on the plane to go to Japan, the Herald reported.

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Good job by the Sox. This is pathetic on behalf of MLB. They are making off of this trip where they can compensate that support staff.

Shelley Duncan is a moron

This is just getting pathetic now. I should get it out the way first that as much as I hate the Yankees I am a Shelley Duncan fan. His slide today was pathetic. His comments before and after the game were stupid and made no sense.

After the game last week:

"What it does is it opens another chapter of intensity in the spring training ballgames," Duncan said, referring to the home-plate collision. "They showed what is acceptable to them and how they're going to play the game, so we're going to go out there to match their intensity -- or even exceed it."

"There's going to be no malicious evil intent in terms of carryover, but it just adds a different type of fire to your gut when you play that team because you understand how they're playing the game and what their mind-set is," Duncan said Sunday.

After today's game:

"I made a hard slide into [Iwamura's] glove," he said. "When I'm out there playing, I like to play hard. In my head, I wasn't thinking about a message. They see me playing hard every day.

"To me, there's no malicious intent at all. I just felt I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. I play the game one way. I'll never stop playing the game that way."

How are you going to complain on one hand that you can't run over a catcher in spring training (not to mention the fact that the catcher was blocking the plate) and then go and say you play one way all the time?

Second Muslim elected to Congres

Second Muslim elected to Congress

By Judith CebulaTue Mar 11, 11:16 PM ET

Indiana voters on Tuesday elected a Muslim to Congress, only the second of that faith chosen in U.S. history.

Andre Carson, grandson of the late Democrat Rep. Julia Carson, was elected to serve the balance of her term in the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election.

She died in December 2007, after serving 11 years in the heavily Democratic district.

The younger Carson, 33, a member of the Indianapolis City Council who converted to Islam about a decade ago, will serve out the remainder of his grandmother's term through calendar 2008. He beat Republican Jon Elrod and a third party candidate with 52 percent of the vote to 44 percent for Elrod.

The first and only other Muslim member of the U.S. Congress is Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, also a Democrat, who is in his first term.

Carson will face a strong challenge against other contenders in a May primary which will determine who runs in November for the next full two-year term in the district which covers most of the city of Indianapolis.

His Democratic opponents then are expected to be two state legislators -- Carolene Mays, an Indianapolis newspaper publisher, and David Orentlicher, a lawyer and doctor who is a professor of law and medical ethics at Indiana University School of Law and Indiana University Medical Center.

Carson's faith had not been an issue in the special election.

Link

Looks like he's heading for a tough primary challenge in May but there it is. The 2nd Muslim elected to congress in the past 18 months.

Clinton Campaign: We "Disagree" With Geraldine Ferraro

In a display of Bush Administration-like focus on loyalty, the Clinton Campaign fails to force the resignation of Geraldine Ferraro, former Democratic VP candidate and now a finance chair for the Clinton Campaign, for her racist comments. Instead, they say they "disagree" with her.

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The irony of Ferraro's statement is amazing. The only reason Ferraro was the VP nominee in '84 was that she was a woman.

Shaq Clip

Posted the clip of the Shaq leap yesterday of him going into the crowd after a loose ball. Faraz ended up finding a better one on Youtube. Here it is from a better angle.

Sports' two most intriguing words: What if?

Great piece by Bill Simmons today for Page 2. The Grant Hill staying healthy for the Magic one to this day I ponder about. With him and McGrady they definitely would've been the team to beat in the East.

Yankees newest FA signing

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Yankees are ready to add a touch of Hollywood to their roster, announcing their plans to sign actor and comedian Billy Crystal to a one-day contract during Spring Training.

Crystal will sign the contract on Wednesday and work out with the Yankees at Legends Field before playing in the club's game on Thursday against the Pirates in Tampa. Commissioner Bud Selig approved the Yankees' extension of a contract to Crystal.

"I've been waiting 50 years for this call," Crystal said. "I'm overwhelmed by the generosity of the Yankees and Commissioner Selig. I know this'll be tougher than the Broadway Softball League, but I'm looking forward to helping the younger players -- by the way, which is all of them."

Crystal, who will turn 60 on March 14, will wear uniform No. 60 in the game.

"The Yankees are excited to welcome the newest member of our team known for his humor and wit as well as his undying love for the Yankees," said Yankees COO Lonn Trost. "The Yankees are very grateful to the Commissioner's Office for allowing us to extend this special invitation to Mr. Crystal."

A lifelong Yankees fan, the star of movies, television and Broadway has been a regular presence in the Bronx over the years. In 2001, Crystal directed and produced the film 61*, which chronicled the historic seasons of Yankees greats Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle as they sought to break Babe Ruth's single-season home run record. The film garnered 12 Emmy nominations, including nods for "Best Director" and "Best Made for Television Movie" and also earned Crystal a prestigious Director's Guild nomination.

Crystal has often said in interviews that he has carried one of Mantle's baseball cards in his wallet for his entire life. Crystal has starred in movies such as Running Scared, Throw Momma from the Train, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers, Mr. Saturday Night, Forget Paris, Hamlet, Deconstructing Harry, Analyze This, Monster's Inc. and America's Sweethearts.

Link

Wow. I know its an exibition game and all...but do we really need this?

Off topic I find it really funny that Girardi and the Yankees are complaining about that collision at home plate. Why is it OK to block the plate in an exhibition game but not to knock over the catcher?

Why you shouldn't sit in the first row (or second for that matter) at a Suns game.

Caught most of this game earlier today. Look at the leap from the big fellow. How he missed those kids I don't know but that was some leap from "Superman". Another solid game from Shaq. Don't understand the people that say it was a bad trade for the Suns. I've always thought Marion was a little overrated.

Video

Saddam Clinton

Daily/Colbert - Saddam Clinton

Stephen attempts to link Hillary Rodham Clinton to Saddam Hussein and a secret Muslim heritage.

Kucinich Appears Headed To Victory In Primary

Kucinich Appears Headed To Victory In Primary
Mar 4, 2008(The Politico) Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) appears like he will prevail in the Democratic primary against a insurgent primary campaign from a well-funded Cleveland city councilor, Joe Cimperman and three other Democratic challengers.

With 26 percent of the vote in, Kucinich is comfortably leading Cimperman by a 53 to 32 percent margin. Three other Democrats -- North Olmstead Mayor Tom O’Grady, anti-war activist Rosemary Palmer and 2006 candidate Barbara Ferris -- are splitting the remainder of the vote.

Cimperman attacked Kucinich for neglecting the needs of his Cleveland constituents while running a quixotic campaign for president. He was the first candidate to air television ads parodying Kucinich’s absence from the district.

But Kucinich quickly abandoned his presidential bid to focus on the newly-competitive Congressional race, and his last-minute efforts paid off. He raised over $700,000 in the last two months, tapping into his large national donor base.

He will be facing former GOP state Rep. Jim Trakas in the general election.


Copyright 2008 POLITICO

Link

Finally...to the other race going on of interest to me today. A few weeks ago the Democratic leadership led by Nancy Pelosi in Congress walked into Kucinich's office and threatened him with a primary challenge for his seat if he didn't drop the call for the impeachment of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. He proceeded to throw them out of the office. As crazy as he may sound from time to time....Kudos to Dennis Kucinich.

Super Tuesday II

We had Super Tuesday. We had the Potomac Primaries. Tonight was Super Tuesday II. What a night it has been. The Clinton campaign refuses to go away and again comes out with victories in the big states of Ohio and Texas. This race is far from over. It really is funny that all the states were rushing their primaries to the start of the election cycle when they could've been influential at this time. I mean Puerto Rico and Guam are going to be relevant....need I say more? Didn't like Obama's body language at all tonight.

This race is far from over. It'll get more interesting once Florida and Michigan get rescheduled for June. The irony of it all is obvious. Those two states had their delegates stripped because they went against party wishes in order to be relevant and decided to schedule their primaries early. So the Democrats punished them and thought they made them irrelevant (which was stupid like I've mentioned before)by stripping them of delegates. Now when it is all said and done those states can essentially serve as the tiebreakers. If you love politics there is no way you're not enjoying this.

Hopefully the campaigns can stay somewhat civil over the next 3 months. One of Obama or Hillary still will be the nominee and needs to lead the Democrats not only as the presidential candidate but also help the candidates for congress. John McCain can almost be irrelevant for the next 3 months. I mean who really has paid attention to the Republicans the past month? The same can go on for the next 3 months as you see McCain out there occasionally just to make sure people haven't forgotten him. He'll get his photo op with Dubya out of the way tomorrow with lunch at the White House followed by an endorsement in the Rose Garden. How soon does McCain name a VP? He needs a conservative. He does not need Bush campaigning for him in the fall. Someone earlier today referred to him as John W. McCain. If that sticks....that could be a huge downfall for him.

Up Next is the Democratic Caucus in Wyoming on the 8th.

Vermont towns approve Bush indictment

Voters in two Vermont towns approved measures Tuesday calling for the indictment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for what they consider violations of the Constitution...

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So I read earlier today that Vermont is the only state Bush has not visited since he became President. Tonight....this happens. I guess not that these towns have done what Congress should have a long time ago he better not make plans to visit any time soon.

Harvard tries women-only gym hours

In a test of Harvard's famed open-mindedness, the university has banned men from one of its gyms for a few hours a week to accommodate Muslim women who say it offends their sense of modesty to exercise in front of the opposite sex.

The policy is already unpopular with many on campus, including some women who consider it sexist.

"I think that it's incorrect in a college setting to institute a policy in which half of the campus gets wronged or denied a resource that's supposed to be for everyone," said student Lucy Caldwell, who also wrote a column in The Harvard Crimson newspaper critical of the new hours.

Full Story
Kudos to Harvard. People need to give this a shot before complaining about it. 6 hours out of 70 isn't a big deal....nor are the 6 hours "peak workout hours" either. The Muslim community at Harvard better take advantage of this.

Daily Show clips from 2/28

Bush's Senioritis


Bushman of Africa


Brian Williams

Hank Steinbrenner denounces Red Sox Nation

"Red Sox Nation?" What a bunch of [expletive] that is," he said in an interview with The New York Times' Play magazine. "That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans.

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I am really getting sick of these Steinbrenner brothers(Hank in particular). The Yankees might as well have George speaking for them even in the state he's in now. He probably would still sound less moronic. "I don't think [they] wanted to play us in the ALCS." Oh really Hal? You guys lost in 4 to Cleveland in the first round. They won the World Series. They've won 2 out of the last 4 and are favorites to make it 3 in 5.



...on a side note. Can the moronic Yankee fans talking trash about the Mitchell Report because no current Red Sox player was on it just please stop.

Barry Bonds Grand Jury testimony

A judge ordered this testimony released to the public today.

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I haven't read this yet but this is the testimony everyone has been waiting to hear for years.