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Didn’t anyone ever hear of a head count? From the Fabulous Forum-
Andrew Bynum is 22 years old now and a 5-year NBA veteran, so one would think he knows better, that he would be more of a professional.
But obviously that’s still not the case.
When the Lakers left New York on Saturday morning to travel to Toronto, Bynum missed the team flight and was forced to pay for his own travel to Canada.
Lakers Coach Phil Jacksonsaid that Bynum would be fined — he wouldn’t disclose the amount — and that paying his own way was another way of punishment for the young center.
Jackson said Bynum placed his bags outside his hotel room in New York for the designated time for pickups, but perhaps fell back to sleep.
“His bags made it to Toronto, but he didn’t,” Jackson said, smiling. “So obviously he got up and put his bags outside the door and something happened between there and the bus, like going back to sleep again, or whatever. … He’s all right. A rookie mistake you would call it, even though he’s not a rookie.
Did anyone notice Bynum was missing? A basketball team isn’t that large, nothing like a football team. You would think someone would noticed a player missing. It sounds like the Lakers players don’t have much upstairs. Maybe they should consider a job in government after their playing days are over. How about the FBI?
There’s a standard fine for it. He paid his own plane fare.”
Jackson said that Bynum still was going to start against the Raptors tonight and that his playing time would not be lessened.
Bynum said he put his bags outside his room at 9:15, fell back asleep and woke up at 11:15 Saturday morning.
He said his ticket to Toronto cost him about $300 and that he arrived here Saturday night.
You mean Bynum, who measures 7′ feet tall, bought a coach class seat? I’m betting he wished he paid for first class as his knees came up to his chin the whole way to Toronto.
The Jets quest for its first Super Bowl appearance in 41 years is over.
Four-time MVP Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes and the Indianapolis Colts rallied from an 11-point, first-half deficit to beat the New York Jets 30-17 Sunday in the AFC championship game.
The Colts (15-2) are now headed back to Miami for the second time in four years and their fourth Super Bowl in franchise history.
“We talked about being patient against these guys,” Manning said. “We knew it would be a four-quarter game. They have an excellent defense.”
*****
The Colts will face either New Orleans or Minnesota in two weeks.
“It’s very special,” said Manning, MVP when the Colts beat Chicago in the Super Bowl three years ago. “It’s great to win this championship here at home in front of the best fans in the world.”
Fans counted down the final seconds, streamers and confetti hung in the air, flash bulbs popped incessantly and when the official announcement was made, fans roared.
“The guys have always been a very confident bunch and they do a great job of hanging in there,” Caldwell said.
“Peyton had just an outstanding game,” Caldwell said. “He’s one of those guys that can adjust to different situations. … A real champion.”
Manning finished 26 of 39 for 377 yards. He became the first player in league history with seven 300-yard postseason games. That broke a tie with Kurt Warner and Joe Montana.
The Jets’ magical run ended with their first road loss in six games.
New York (11-8) built a 17-6 lead and took advantage of trick plays. But rookie Mark Sanchez and the Jets were shut out in the second half.
“Today wasn’t our day. There’s no question,” Ryan said. “You have to give credit to the Colts. Obviously they’re the cream of the crop right now.”
Caldwell became only the fifth rookie coach to reach the Super Bowl. Only two others — San Francisco’s George Seifert and Don McCafferty, of the Baltimore Colts — have won it.
I watched this game all the way through. The Jets were the team I rooted for when growing up and I was cheering them on today. When the Jets went up 17-6 I became excited but that ended when Manning drove the Colts 80 yards for a touchdown in about a minute’s time just before the first half ended. How were the Jets going to stop this guy?
The Jets defense failed like it has some so often during the team’s history. Now when will the Jets get their fans hopes up again like they did this year? Since Super Bowl III, the team has made it to the AFC Championship game just three times. The Jets always get a lot of attention, because they are out of New of course, but almost always disappoint. I’m 49, and not willing to place any bets that this franchise will go to the Super Bowl again before I die. My hopes have been crushed too often to be optimistic.
How many more games half as bad as today’s can Mike D’Antoni withstand before losing his job?
Jose Barea kept finding unimpeded paths on his drives to the basket, and two things became clear.
The Dallas Mavericks couldn’t be stopped, and the New York Knicks didn’t seem interested in proving otherwise.
Dallas put on a shooting clinic that crushed the Knicks’ spirits, ignoring the absence of two starters and rolling to the biggest win in franchise history with a 128-78 victory Sunday.
“They took our heart out of us,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said.
Drew Gooden stepped into the lineup with 15 points and 18 rebounds, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry each scored 20 points, and the Mavericks beat the Knicks for the eighth straight time. Dallas shot 58 percent from the field, was 12 of 22 from beyond the arc and 16 of 17 from the foul line.
Today was the worst home loss in almost 50 years for the Knicks. Dallas hasn’t lost a game to New York since 2006.
Even after today’s embarrassing defeat, the Knicks(17-26) are no where being the worst professional basketball team in the New York City area. The New Jersey Nets who lost last night are 3-40 and are on an eleven game losing streak at present. At the moment, I don’t think the Nets will reach double figures in wins this season.
The deal is contingent on Tejada passing a physical. From ESPN-
Miguel Tejada will return to Baltimore after agreeing to a one-year, $6 million deal with the Orioles, the slugger told ESPNDeportes.com’s Enrique Rojas on Saturday.
The free agent shortstop played in Baltimore from 2004-07, before being traded to the Houston Astros in December 2007 for five players.
The deal includes around $1 million in incentives for playing time registered, Tejada said.
“I am happy to return to Baltimore, it’s like my home,” Tejada told Rojas. “We have great young talent, and I think many good things could happen with the club in 2010.”
Tejada is being slated to play third base, a position he has never played in the major leagues. I think that’s the riskiest part of this signing for Baltimore. There is no way of knowing if Tejada can make the conversion.
The NBA has required this test for its players since 2006. From ESPN-
Between the time of Bears defensive end Gaines Adams’ death last Sunday to his funeral Friday, the NFL’s Cardiovascular Committee began discussing the possibility of subjecting all players to a heart scan called an echocardiogram, starting with potential draft picks invited to the NFL scouting combine next month.
NFLPA medical director Thomas Mayer told ESPN that the medical examiner who performed an autopsy on Adams stated the enlarged heart that led to his death could have been detected by an echocardiogram.
But, as Mayer pointed out, the process is complicated.
Is the fear of legal liability going to influence a doctor? Are cardiologists going to agree on whether a player has an enlarged heart or an athlete’s heart? Does that mean he’s systematically finished as a football player?
More likely, a questionable echocardiogram could lead to more sensitive tests, such as a cardio catheter procedure.
As a person who had major cardiac surgery less than 18 months ago, I see mandatory electrocardiograms as a good idea. Putting the policy into place will be complicated, but it shouldn’t be used as a reason not to do this. My heart condition, a bicuspid heart valve and ascending aortic aneurysm was very serious, and till as little as two weeks prior to my operation, nobody knew I had those conditions. Some heart problems in addition to a enlarged hearts, show few or little warning signs.
I would also add that a large amount if not majority of NFL players, are grossly overweight. Heart testing is for their own good.
He is the team’s leading scorer. From AP-
Florida Panthers right wing Nathan Horton will miss four to six weeks with a fractured tibia.
Panthers general manager Randy Sexton on Saturday said Horton’s injury doesn’t require surgery. Some of his recovery will occur during the NHL’s Olympic break in February, which Sexton called a “silver lining.”
Horton was injured Thursday night in Florida’s 2-1 loss to the New York Islanders. He was hit in the leg with a puck and had to crawl to the bench.
Horton has 17 goals and 29 assists in 51 games this season.
This blow to the Panthers can’t possibly be understated. The team is already without its leading scorer, David Booth, who suffered a concussion in a October game and hasn’t played since. Florida did win last night against Toronto, but that doesn’t change my perception that this team won’t be playing in the 2010 NHL postseason.
I was watching the Panther game that saw Horton get injured. He could barely get off the ice afterwards. The first report on the injury was a bruise. It looked like no bruise back on Thursday night.
He was a cousin of Hall of Famer Bob Feller. RIP.
Waukee native and former Major League Baseball player Harold “Hal†Manders died Thursday at The Village at Legacy Pointe in Waukee. He was 92.
Manders, a right-handed pitcher, played parts of three seasons in the majors (1941, ’42 and ’46), mostly with the Detroit Tigers — but also two games with the Chicago Cubs.
He broke into the majors, at age 24, in the same season as future Yankees star Phil Rizzuto. The 1941 baseball season Manders is remembered for Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak — still a major-league record — and the .406 batting average of Ted Williams (no player has hit over .400 since).
In 30 major-league games, Manders produced a 3-1 record and 4.77 ERA, with an equal number of walks and strikeouts (28).
Manders, who attended the University of Iowa, was the cousin of Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller.
The victory earns her a spot in the Tournament of Champions. From AP-
Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., became the first woman to win a PBA Tour title on Sunday when she defeated Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, to win the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas.
She beat No. 3 qualifier Mika Koivuniemi of Hartland, Mich., to advance to the final, where she beat Barnes, the 2007-08 PBA player of the year, 265-195.
Kulick earned a berth in the Tournament of Champions by winning the PBA Women’s World Championship, the first PBA women’s major tournament. The Tournament of Champions is one of the PBA Tour’s four major tournaments.
I used to follow bowling when it was broadcast on ABC on Saturday afternoons. Earl Anthony, Norm Duke, Mike Durbin are a few of the names I remember. Who was bowler who wore the loud slacks?
It puzzles me that no woman bowled on the PBA tour prior to Kulick. A lack of interest in the sport by women is probably the cause though I remember my junior bowling league days having large amounts of girls taking part in the sport.
Sir, can I see your ticket? From AP-
An unidentified man was taken down from a conduit above a catwalk during a Detroit Red Wings game on Saturday night.
Almost an entire section of stands in the lower bowl was cleared out when the man was noticed during the second period of the Red Wings’ 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at Joe Louis Arena.
After he was removed from the area, fans were allowed to return to their seats.
“We didn’t know what was going on until somebody pointed it out,” Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said.
Photographers have remote cameras stationed on the catwalk, but no one is usually there during games.
“He got in through one of the storage cages and came out through one of the cable traps used for show cables,” arena audio engineer Ricky Gopigian said.
Why didn’t they evacuate the stadium? It is routine for airports to be emptied if someone breeches security. One guy with a bomb in the rafters could literally bring down the roof.
I don’t know if I’m being serious or not in the above criticism. On the surface, it does sound inconsistent.
I agree with ESPN’s Rob Neyer, who calls this the oddest baseball news.
Oakland Athletics prospect Grant Desme is retiring from baseball to enter the priesthood.
Desme was recently selected the 2009 Arizona Fall League MVP and was considered one of the top prospects in Oakland’s system.
“We respect Grant’s decision and wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors,” A’s general manager Billy Beane said in a statement.
The 23-year-old outfielder batted .288 with 31 homers, 89 RBIs and 40 stolen bases in 131 games at Class-A Kane County and Stockton last season.
1950′s and 60′s baseball player Frank Thomas supposedly studied for the priesthood before becoming a professional baseball player.
Rob Neyer’s blog post said Desme, who played college ball for Cal Poly, wasn’t a top prospect. In part because of his age and high strikeout rate
Yes, that sounds terribly pessimistic. The point is that Desme wasn’t a sure thing — not a Grade A prospect. He was a Grade B prospect, or maybe a B+ for the people who really loved him. The A’s need star hitters if they’re ever to get somewhere, and Desme didn’t look like a future star.
Coincidentally I’m leaving for a Catholic Men’s retreat in only minutes. This will be my last blog post till Sunday.
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