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Pot shots- At least two Tour de France riders shot by BB gun during race

No one was seriously injured. From ESPN-

At least two Tour de France riders were hit by pellets from a BB gun or similar weapon as they labored behind the main peloton near the finish of Friday’s Stage 13. Neither was seriously hurt, but the incident again illustrated the perils of conducting one of the world’s largest sporting events on the open road.

Julian Dean of New Zealand, a sprinter who rides for the Colorado-based Garmin-Slipstream team, and Oscar Freire, a Spanish sprinter for the Dutch Rabobank team, were hit on the descent of a mountain in the Vosges late in the challenging 124.2-mile stage, which unfolded in cold, heavy rain and fog. Rabobank team doctors later removed what they believed to be a lead pellet from Freire’s thigh. A pellet glanced off Dean’s right index finger, causing some bruising and bleeding.

Tour spokesman Christophe Marchadier said the race organization had asked police to investigate the incident. Both teams said they would cooperate.

Unless a sporting event is played without spectators, you can’t prevent some idiot from trying to ruin the event for his own selfish reasons.

 

Did the NHL make a mess of the 2009-10 schedule?

The upcoming schedule was released yesterday. Right away I noticed something interesting. Florida has a home and home series with Nashville.

Nov 28 and Mar 29 are when the Panthers and Predators play next season.

What I find interesting is- Florida is playing Nashville home and home for the second straight season. In 2008-09, the Panthers and Predators played on November 1st and December 23rd.

In light of the way the NHL season is set up, namely that any Eastern or Western conference team plays only play 3 home and homes in any season, Florida and Nashville shouldn’t meet home and home more than once every five years 15 western conference teams divided by 3 home and home series equals five.

Here’s a link to the 2009-10 schedule. Anyone have theories as to what happened here or am I off base?

 

Caddy gets eaten by golf course employees

Well sort of. From the Honolulu Advertiser-

A golf course employee who killed a golfer’s dog and planned to eat it was sentenced yesterday to three months in prison for felony animal cruelty.

Nelson Domingo was also fined $500 and ordered to complete 400 hours of community service and three years of probation.

The sentence was imposed by Circuit Judge Randal Lee.

Domingo and co-defendant Saturnino Palting stole an 8-month-old puppy named Caddy, took it home and butchered it.

The dog had been left on a leash near an equipment shack at Moanalua Golf Course by its owner, who discovered the pet missing when he returned to retrieve it.

Sort of gives new meaning to the golf term ‘Dogleg left’.

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers release QB Brian Griese

Could the eleven-year veteran’s pro football career be at an end? From the Sun-Sentinel-

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers released backup quarterback Brian Griese, a former Dolphin, to make room for third-round draft pick Roy Miller, who agreed to a four-year contract.

Griese, 34, started five games last season. He has thrown for 19,440 yards, 119 touchdowns and 99 interceptions in 11 seasons with Denver, Miami, Chicago and Tampa Bay.

Griese, the son of former Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese, was 3-2 as a starter for the Dolphins in 2003 in place of injured Jay Fiedler. Griese, 28, signed with the Dolphins after spending the previous three years as a starter in Denver.

Griese has had several opportunities to establish himself as a above average quarterback, and other than some early success in Denver, he’s failed. I think NFL teams would be smarter than to give Griese another chance, but I’d say there’s a 70% chance he’ll be working out with another NFL team before the 2009 season is finished.

 

Atlanta Thrashers sign Noah Welch and Anthony Stewart

Two former Florida Panthers have moved on. From the Atlanta Journal Constitution-

Adding depth in their roster, the Thrashers signed unrestricted free agents Anthony Stewart and Noah Welch on Monday. Contract terms were not disclosed.

Stewart, a forward, had seven points (two goals, five assists) in 59 NHL games with Florida last season. He has appeared in 105 career NHL games. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound Stewart, 24, was a first-round pick by the Panthers in 2003. He has a career total of 66 points (29 goals, 37 assists) in 130 AHL games with Rochester and San Antonio.

Welch, a defenseman, had two points (one goal, one assist) in 40 NHL games with Florida and Tampa Bay last season. He has appeared in 73 NHL games with Pittsburgh, Florida and Tampa Bay. The 6-4, 220-pound Welch, 26, was a second-round pick by Pittsburgh in 2001. He has a career total of 59 points (16 goals, 43 assists) in 122 AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Rochester.

At this point in his career, you have to label Stewart a draft bust and a very big one. He was selected 25th overall and in over 100 Florida Panther games, he scored 4 goals and 8 assists. Not the type of numbers you want from a 1st rounder or a forward. I’ve seldom missed a Panther game for the last two years. Stewart never impressed me, and I doubt he will turn around his career in Atlanta.

Welch is a whole other story. His biggest problem in Florida was staying healthy. He may be of use to Atlanta.

 

QB Matt Cassel signs six year deal with Kansas City

The New England Patriots will be in need of a new backup for Tom Brady. From ESPN-

Matt Cassel, a career backup in college and in the pros, parlayed a great 2008 season into a lucrative franchise tag. Now, he’s locked himself into a deal to be the long-term quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Cassel and the Chiefs worked out a six-year deal that will pay him in excess of $10 million a season, according to a source. The contract will keep Cassel with the Chiefs until 2014.

The deal is for $63 million, with $28 million guaranteed, according to a source. He’s going to make $40.5 million in the first three years of his contract.

Cassel was designated as the New England Patriots’ franchise player in February and signed a one-year deal that paid him $14.561 million. He was then traded to the Chiefs along with linebacker Mike Vrabel for a second-round draft choice.

“We are excited to be able to reach a long-term agreement for Matt Cassel to be a Kansas City Chief for many years to come,” owner and board chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement. “His proven leadership on and off the field will be a tremendous asset to the organization.”

I’m not sold on Cassel’s ability yet. Fifteen years ago another young unproven quarterback stepped in after the best QB in the conference went down with an injury. He played well over a half season, then signed a deal with another team for the next season. Who are these players I’m talking about? Scott Mitchell and Dan Marino. Mitchell didn’t work out too well for the Detroit Lions.

Kansas City is not England in any form and the team just unloaded its top pass catcher(Tony Gonzalez). It won’t surprise me if Cassel fails in Kansas City.

 

Anchors Aweigh- Carolyn Bivens out, Marsha Evans in as new LPGA Commissioner

Actually the new Commissioner will only take the job on a interim basis. Evans, a retired Navy Rear Admiral, has already made it clear she isn’t interested in the job long term. A search committee has been formed to find a new successor.

If you want a thorough run down on Evans life, read Ryan’s post at Waggleroom.

So the Brand Lady is out. I repeat what I said last week, it’s about time. The LPGA schedule isn’t just in taters, but a long list of tournament sponsors were seriously unhappy with the way they were being treated. Miss Bivens may not have liked it, but without tournament sponsors their wouldn’t be a tour and antagonizing them in foolish ways was beyond assinine. It was destructive to ladies professional golf in the United States.

Some bloggers, Stephanie Wei and Brent Kelley for two, think we’ll see the Bivens era in a more positive light after a few years have passed. I couldn’t disagree more strongly. The LPGA has been seriously damaged and it will take a few years at least to get its house back in order. The long term television contract that Bivens landed as nice as it looks, can’t change the fact that the Golf Channel will still often show LPGA tourneys on tape delay due to its PGA contractual obligations. Nor do I expect the Network to suddenly focus more attention on the LPGA. That’s unless Michelle Wie finally gets a grip on that talent she has and starts a run at #1 player in the world. I still think that can happen.

My own opinion is barring Michelle Wie taking off, the LPGA will still be a niche sport and a very weakened one because of Carolyn Bivens actions during her time as Commissioner.

Hound Dog, The Constructivist, and Jay Busbee are also blogging on today’s news.

 

Oklahoma State Baseball accused of major rules violation

Exhibit #319 of how the NCAA has lost its mind.

Officials at Oklahoma State said Thursday that a former baseball player accepted a used car as a gift while he was in a summer league in what the NCAA contends was a major rules violation that could cost the program.

A letter sent May 28 from the NCAA to Oklahoma State president Burns Hargis asks university officials to meet Aug. 7-8 with the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions in Indianapolis.

Oklahoma State spokesman Gary Shutt said the player received a 10-year-old car from an out-of-state family he stayed with while playing in the summer league. He said the university contends it was not a major violation, in part because the family had no prior connection with Oklahoma State athletics.

He said the player did not appear in any games for the Cowboys after receiving the car.

“The facts do not support the ‘failure to monitor’ allegation made by the NCAA Enforcement Staff,” Oklahoma State said in its response to the letter from David Price, the NCAA’s vice president of enforcement. It said the violation was “isolated and inadvertent” and not an attempt to break NCAA rules “but an innocent and charitable act.”

The player didn’t play for OSU, the rules violation happened outside the school’s area of oversight, then why should it be punished? This is more idiotic than making Florida State forfeit football games because of an academic cheating. Tell me how the penalty suits the crime done? How do you undo history and why do you punish a program for something out of its control?

 

NJ Devils hire Jacques Lemaire to be head coach

This will be his second stint in New Jersey. From AP-

After six years without a Stanley Cup, the New Jersey Devils are handing over the team to the coach who led them to their first NHL title.

Jacques Lemaire, who coached the Devils for five seasons in the mid 1990s and led them to the Cup in 1995, is New Jersey’s coach again. He was hired on Monday, some five weeks after Brent Sutter resigned and eventually took over as coach of the Calgary Flames.

“I never thought I would be back,” the 63-year-old Lemaire said in a conference call. “I said at that time when I was leaving after five years, and it was five great years, I wanted to cherish this for the rest of my life and the rest of my career, but I never thought one day I would come back.”

The deal reunites Lemaire with general manager and president Lou Lamoriello and goaltender Martin Brodeur, the combination that turned that Devils from a contender to a champion in 1995.

“Jacques Lemaire is one of the most respected coaches in the game,” Lamoriello said. “He is a teacher and a communicator, and knows what it takes to have success.”

The Devils also won Stanley Cups in 2000 and 2003, but they have not come close in recent years. They were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs the past two seasons under Sutter.

Lemaire has been a very successful coach in the NHL. His Minnesota Wild teams had a very distinct style of play. Will Lemaire try to force the same system on the Devils? New Jersey has much more offensive punch than the Wild ever had. I think Lemaire will adapt to the personnel he will have in New Jersey. The Devils are good enough to make the Stanley Cup finals again IMHO.

 

Washington Nationals fire Manager Manny Acta

Former Chicago Cub, Seattle Mariner, and San Diego Padre Manager Jim Riggleman has been named interim manager. From AP-

Manny Acta is out, and Jim Riggleman is in as the Washington Nationals manager.

The Nationals made the announcement Monday morning, confirming what took place Sunday night after the team returned from a road trip. Acta was fired with a 26-61 record, the worst in the baseball, and bench coach Riggleman was chosen the interim replacement.

Riggleman has managed the Padres, Cubs and Mariners, compiling a 522-652 record over nine seasons.

Acta joins Colorado’s Clint Hurdle and Arizona’s Bob Melvin as major league managers who have been fired this season.

“We feel that the team has underacheived,” acting general manager Mike Rizzo said during a news conference. “We feel we have a better ballclub that has been shown on the field.”

LOL, underacheived? I think Mike Rizzo will be the next National employee to be looking for a new job. This team is team is horrible and other than 3B Ryan Zimmerman, has few quality ballplayers. Acta had the fourth worst winning percentage of any manager who was at the helm for at least 350 games. Considering the talent he had to deal with, Acta could have done a whole lot worse.

 
 


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