88 in for $55,000

After complaints of small crowds from Evan Longoria and David Price, the Tampa Bay Rays are giving away 20,000 tickets to tonights game. Get the feeling it won't matter, and they'll still have under 20,000 in attendance?  I suppose the fact they clinched a playoff spot last night won't help the cause, although the AL East remains up for grabs.

Had some suggest the crack about "Thank you Cito" night seeing the giveaways extended into next season was a bit out of line, and you're right. There's a good shot they get 35,000 tonight. After all, the Yankees are in town, although they'll be likely playing a heavily loaded with back-ups squad after clinching a playoff spot last night and no doubt tearing it up.  In news relating to the playoff spot, Losers are mobilizing to simultaneously cheer on seven teams.

If ML$E thinks those empty seats at Toronto FC's Champions League game are about a cool, rainy day, they're begging.  John Molinaro at the CBC says they've reached the crisis stage.

Finally Delonte West asked about sex with LeBron James' mom and he said he absolutely didn't sleep with her because they were up all night.  Something like that..And for all the times LeBron has talked, how is it that not once has he referenced his former teammates in any way?  Doesn't that strike you as odd?


In retrospect, guessing Dallas Cowboys rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant is going to wish he carried Roy Williams pads when asked at camp a couple months back.  Why?  Seems RW goes his revenge, as instead of just having DB pay for a dinner for the team's offensive players, RW invited the defense as well to a swank steakhouse.   The bill?  $55,000.  Ouch.

What a turnaround for Michael Vick. After an off-season shooting at his birthday party that almost saw him off the Philadelphia Eagles and out of the game, he's not only starting for the Eagles and playing as good as ever, but he's also selling a pile of jerseys.  Vick will face Donovan McNabb and the Washington Redskins this weekend. No storylines there.

The Jacksonville Jaguars appear to have picked up Buffalo Bills castoff Trent Edwards. Yeah, that'll fix it.


Check out this shizophrenic split for AJ Burnett that happened in early May:  "through May 6 — six starts — Burnett was 4-0 with a 1.99 ERA. His strike out totals — just 28 in 40.2 innings — were down, but he was keeping both runners off base and the ball in the park. Just one of the first 164 batters to face him homered. Since then, Burnett has, with the exception of a few good starts in July, been utterly abysmal. He’s 6-15 over his last 26 starts, and he’s averaging just over 5.1 innings per start. After [Monday's] 2.1-inning, seven-run fiasco, his ERA over those 140 innings is 6.30, and he’s allowed 23 home runs and 64 walks while striking out just 111 guys. Opponents have an OPS against him of approximately .860. In other words, A.J. Burnett’s opponents are putting up better offensive numbers than Mark Teixeira."  Ouch.

Have a great Wednesday.

Monday, November 10th, 2008

The Charlotte Hornets draw fewer than flies. And the NBA went back there why, exactly? Some on hand might have noticed the visiting Toronto Raptors went on a 17-0 fourth quarter run to turn a two point deficit into a blowout win, 89-79...so much for the St. Louis Rams playing hard under Jim Haslett. Doesn't matter who you're playing, when you give up 40 in a half, you're more than just a bad team - you're also lacking desire...Chris Bosh broke the 7,000 point mark in his career in yesterday's Raptors win. 2,400 more and Vince Carter's Raptors record will - in fitting Wince fashion - fall. CB4 had a mere 30 points and 15 boards yesterday...not the same since he was concussed: Buffalo Bills QB Trent Edwards. That porous offensive line doesn't help the cause either. What seemed like a sure playoff trip is looking a lot more doubtful now after yesterday's 20-10 loss at New England...of course, after mentioning the Tennessee Titans went 8-0 without a 200-yard passing game, off went Kerry Collins for 289 yards to send the Titans to 9-0...14 teams since 1966 started the NFL season 9-0. 6 won the Super Bowl and 9 reached the big game. Bodes well for the Titans...a Sports Illustrated poll of NFL players listed Tom Coughlin (16%), Bill Belichick (11%), Eric Mangini (9%), and Tony Sparano (7%) as the four coaches they'd least like to play for. All were one time assistants of Bill Parcells, who despite now being a team President, still finished fifth in the voting...the Philadelphia Phillies had 16 days off in the post-season to play 14 games. They had 19 off to play 162 regular season games. Time to look at a flexible playoff schedule, no?...Edmonton Oiler Ales Hemsky is putting together quite the hilight real in the first month of the season, scoring one beauty goal after another...that is now 12-6 (+645) on the Prime Time Picks. If you ain't riding this wave, sucks to be you. Tonight, going to take the Arizona Cardinals (-9) to punish the San Francisco 49ers. Who knows, maybe Mike Singletary drops his pants at halftime again? Won't matter, the Cards are rolling and have way too much offense to not put up 40 tonight...wouldn't it be something if Brian Burke, Maple Leafs President and GM in waiting, instead went to the Boston Bruins?...have a great Monday.

Saturday, October 11th, 2008 - The Crocodile Hunter Dares Not Go Here

The Boston Red Sox rode a no-hitter into the seventh from Dice-K Matsuzaka and a pair of runs into a 2-0 win and a series lead. With three on the road in Boston to come after today, it is nothing short of a must-win for the Rays...pitcher Brett Myers has more hits than Ryan Howard, but that's not holding back the Philadelphia Phillies from taking a 2-0 lead over the LA Dodgers. They're now off to L.A. for three games..former Tampa Bay Lightning coach John Tortorella, who made a living out of banging on the media until he joined them, teed off on Ottawa Senator Jason Spezza for how he does interview. Weird. Almost as weird as the way Spezza is always smiling in his interview and finishes each thought with what he thinks is a punch line and then laughs...another round of World Cup qualifiers goes today, including Canada likely getting fisted at Honduras. As always, there are several interesting games going in Europe - Croatia at Ukraine, Russia at Germany, Portugal at Sweden and more...qualifiers will cost Toronto FC Carl Robinson (Wales), Amado Guevara (Honduras), Carlos Ruiz (Guatemala), Tyrone Marshal (Jamaica) and Kevin Harmse (Canada) as they travel to face FC Dallas in a must-win game, who, unfortunately, will have Kenny Cooper in the lineup...the first bout in the classic Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs rivalry goes in Toronto tonight. Habs win this one...talk about a tough week for Hugh Hefner. First, Holly Madison and Kendra Wilkinson jump ship. Then, there's talk he's near financial ruin. You know what fixes that? 19 year-old twins moving in...chicks may dig the long ball, but that don't mean success for your team in the NL. Ryan Howard is the first home run champion in the NL to advance to the League Championship Series since 1995...from the Department of Lame, the NFL fined Arizona Cardinal Adrian Wilson for the hit that left Buffalo Bill Trent Edwards concussed. Here's hoping they also fined the ground, because that looked like it rocked his head a lot harder than Wilson did...Cleveland Browns tight end Sargeant Kellen Winslow Jr. remains in hospital, allegedly for swollen nuts...have a great Saturday.