Saturday, May 31, 2014

Twins' broadcast graphic makes everyone love Derek Jeter (PHOTO)

If you've watched any baseball this season, then you know every team the New York Yankees face is throwing loving tributes and clever parting gifts Derek's Jeter's way.

He's had a Hall of Fame career, and been a great ambassador for the game. However, let's just say that someone in charge of writing the "scouting reports" for the Twins' broadcast of their game against the Yankees on Friday night (a 6-1 win for the Twins) needs to take less sips of the Jeter Kool-Aid.



But despite the scouts' glowing analysis, they still forgot to include: Gives free swag bags to one-night conquests.

Pierzynski gets walk-off triple after two Rays outfielders collide (VIDEO)

It was a Friday night of Red Sox and Rays players constantly clashing at home plate, but the game was decided after two Tampa Bay players collided with each other in centerfield.

A.J. Pierzynski won the contentious game with a triple as Boston beat Tampa Bay, 3-2, in 10 innings at Fenway Park. The fifth straight win for the Red Sox was even sweeter for the home team after manager John Farrell, two of his coaches, and starting pitcher Brandon Workman were ejected.



Juan Carlos Ovideo started the 10th for Tampa Bay and hit Jonny Gomes with a pitch with one out. Pierzynski then lined a long shot toward the triangle in center field.

With the Rays playing deep, center fielder Desmond Jennings and right fielder Wil Myers converged and collided. As the ball rolled away, Gomes raced around the bases. He scored while raising his helmet high, then flipped it into the air.




It was the second walkoff win in as many nights for the Red Sox and the first walkoff hit for Pierzynski since 2009. 

Feds investigating Phil Mickelson for insider trading: Report

This is a hazard Phil Mickelson never encountered on the golf course — and one that the squeaky-clean golfer might find more difficult to navigate than any ordinary sand trap.

The Masters champion and Carl Icahn — the wealthiest man on Wall Street — are being probed by a joint FBI and Securities and Exchange  Commission investigation over claims of insider trading involving them and legendary Las Vegas gambler William Walters, according to reports in The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

The FBI is looking into whether Mickelson and Walters may have traded illegally on private information provided by Icahn about his investments in public corporations.



The investigation centers on what were described as suspicious trades in Clorox Co. options days before Icahn announced a bid to acquire the company in 2011.

The joint FBI and SEC inquiry is the latest case to emerge from a multi-year crackdown on insider trading by U.S. authorities.

A lawyer for Mickelson denied to the Journal that the golfer was involved.


"Phil is not the target of any investigation. Period," said the lawyer, Glenn Cohen.

Walters, who plays golf with Mickelson, is a well-known sports gambler who met Icahn through a mutual acquaintance and struck up a friendship, according to sources who have been briefed on the investigation claimed that Icahn had accumulated a 9.1 percent stake in Clorox in February 2011. 

In July, the 78-year-old Icahn — whose estimated wealth is over $23 billion — made an offer for the company that valued it at above $10 billion and sent its stock soaring. He  would not have been breaking any laws if he revealed details of his takeover bid, unless it was in breach of confidentiality with his investors. 

Mickelson and Walters made their Clorox trades as Icahn was mounting his takeover bid for the company, which later failed.

It is not known if Mickelson, who has won five major golfing championships, knows Icahn. 

Investigators were also looking into trades that Mickelson and Walters made related to Dean Foods Co, the unidentified sources claimed. 

Icahn, Mickelson and Walters were not immediately available for comment. Spokesmen for the FBI and SEC declined to comment.

None of the men have been accused of wrongdoing in the investigation, which started two years ago.


Nori Aoki takes nut shot on missed foul ball (GIF)

The whole sequence of events on this missed foul ball by Nori Aoki looks very painful — especially the ending.



The Royals outfielder chases a foul down the right field line before sliding and missing the ball with his mitt — all before the ball hits him square in the family jewels.




Aoki looked shaken up but otherwise OK. He went on to get two hits in the game after the ball had two hits in one play.

Ouch!


Friday, May 30, 2014

Stepan and Prust hug it out after Rangers win series (PHOTO)

The New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens, 1-0, in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final, advancing to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years.

Meaning it was time for one of the greatest traditions in hockey – the postgame handshake line.



All eyes were on Derek Stepan of the Rangers and Brandon Prust of the Canadiens, after Prust broke the jaw of the former teammate on an illegal hit in Game 3.


Prust was suspended two games for the incident, meaning his first game back was the elimination game.

And it looked like all was forgiven.


When they met, they embraced, with Prust putting his hand on the helmet of Stepan, inches from the custom-made protective mask Stepan has worn since his return to the lineup.

“I’m not going to hold that against him,” said Stepan. “He finished his check. He feels bad about it. He knows it was late. And we move on from there.”

Prust previously expressed regret over the injury to Stepan, whom he considers a friend.

"Once I found out he had a broken jaw, I reached out to him," Prust said."I told him I feel awful. I didn't want to injury anybody, especially a friend of mine."

Here's the brutal hit just to refresh your memory:



Another reason hockey has its fans.

50 Cent’s botched first pitch was a publicity stunt: Report

The pathetic first pitch 50 Cent threw out on Tuesday before the New York Mets took on the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field is going down as one of the worst opening throws in MLB history.

Fiddy's motion was awkward, and the ball sailed far to the left of the catcher, making everyone wonder if he was aiming for the side of his boyhood Queens home.

The rapper's toss did get a lot of air play and now sources say the embarrassing toss might have intentional after footage emerged of the “In Da Club” rhymer throwing perfect tosses during his warm-up.

“He did it so he would get all the press,”  one insider told the N.Y. Post. “He’s got a new album coming out, a new TV show on Starz and he wants to launch a tour.”



But a rep for Fiddy denies it was a publicity stunt: “It’s apparent in his excitement on the mound that he released the ball too early, clearly not a stunt.”

Either way, it worked.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Dude almost breaks neck trying to bench press a lot of weight (VIDEO)

First rule of Weight Club: Use a spotter. Second rule of Weight Club: Don't videotape your own demise.

New rule of Weight Club: You do not talk about Weight Club.

This dude, who looks like elbow-locking 200 pounds would be a struggle, tried to bench press what looks to be at least 350 lbs without a spotter — to nearly disastrous results.

The guy almost breaks his neck after his left arm gives out before he almost chokes to death with the bar pinned across his throat.

Luckily, he was okay. Ego? Not so much.


Derek Jeter gets curtain call and he didn't even play (PHOTO)

In what happened to be a first, even for Derek Jeter, the Yankees captain got a curtain call from the crowd — although though he didn't play.

Jeter was stretching his idle muscles in the clubhouse at the end of the sixth inning when he noticed the in-house feed of the Busch Stadium scoreboard, which was showing a highlight reel of his career, complete with interviews from Cardinals players.

The video was almost over by the time Jeter reached the dugout, but the camera focused on him, bringing the sellout crowd to its feet for a standing ovation. Jeter waved from inside the dugout, but the crowd didn’t stop prompting Jeets to come out and tip his hat and also point at the Cardinals players standing by the rail in the first base dugout.

(VIDEO)




“The fans all three games — well, the two that I played — every time I came up, they were pretty much standing,” Jeter said. “We were winning, so I thought it was appropriate.”

Derek Jeter paused for a moment after he was asked whether he'd ever taken a curtain call during a game he didn't play.

"No," he finally said. "No, I don't think so. I've been serenaded with some things when I wasn't playing a game. But, no, not a good thing."

After the seventh inning applause rose to a crescendo, a bashful-looking Jeter climbed the dugout steps, waved to the crowd and then to the Cardinals' dugout, where several players were also standing and clapping for him.

"I had no idea what happened," Jeter said. "But, like I said, the fans have been great here in St. Louis and I'm glad I've had the opportunity to come back."

Nigeria goalkeeper appears to intentionally throw ball into own net (VIDEO)

Nigeria goalkeeper Austin Ejide sure picked a bad time to apparently throw the ball into his own net. The  bizarre own goal was disallowed in Nigeria's 2-2 draw with Scotland but it came on the heels of a Nigerian soccer fixing investigation

The 30-year-old appeared to throw the ball into his net during the friendly after coming to claim a corner and making contact with Blackburn defender Grant Hanley.



The no-look pass to the net got even more publicity after it was confirmed that police were investigating a fixing scandal ahead of kick-off following a match-fixing tip off from the National Crime Agency.

The build-up to Wednesday night's game at Craven Cottage was precluded by talk of a police investigation after possible attempts to rig the game were brought to FIFA's attention.



After the game, Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi was quick to deny that his team was, or would ever be, caught up in a match-fixing scandal.

"We did (talk about it) because it’s something ridiculous, something that we don’t know where it’s coming from," he said. "We’re not gamblers, we are football players. I don’t even know where that is coming from, we don’t know what happened, match fixing or no match fixing.


"This is the first time I’ve been a coach or been a player and the first time I’m hearing this, match-fixing. I don’t think it had anything to do with our build-up or the game."

The video evidence might tell another story.

Luis Sardinas flips his bat and walks to first ... while the count is still 3-2 (VIDEO)

During Wednesday night's game against the Twins, Rangers rookie Luis Sardinas flipped his bat and proudly took his first Major League walk:



But there was a little problem — although Minnesota pitcher Kyle Gibson had in fact thrown a ball — Sardinas forgot the count and it was only 3-2:




On the next pitch, Sardinas flew out to left field, forcing him to take an even longer walk back to the dugout where the rest of the Rangers had a good laugh before showing the 21-year-old a little love.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Angry dad charges mat to confront ref at a youth wrestling event (VIDEO)

A young wrestler got a nice pin at the NHSCA Duals last weekend in Virginia Beach but it didn't come without some extra grappling off of the mat.



One parent was so incensed that the referee may have allowed his son to get hurt — after a prolonged half nelson/short hook hold — he jumped on the mat to confront the official after his son got up in obvious visible and audible  pain. 



Dad might have good reason to complain, but jumping on the mat to challenge the ref might be a little more Hulk Hogan than Dr. Phil.

Thankfully, order was restored and the uncomfortable situation was diffused.

Derek Jeter leading American League All-Star shortstop voting: Report

If the early polls are any indication, Derek Jeter is headed for one final All-Star Game. 

The first American League voting results for the 2014 All-Star Game have been announced, and if the vote ended today, Tigers and Yankees fans would be very happy. 

Every position but third base has a Detroit or New York player among the top three, including all six starting outfielders among the top 15 at that position. That includes early leads for the Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera (first base) and Ian Kinsler (second base), Jeter (shortstop) and Jacoby Ellsbury (outfield).



Jeter (.269 BA, 1 HR, 10 RBIs) holds a 130,000-vote lead at shortstop over Alexei Ramirez (.324, 7 HR, 36 RBIs) of the White Sox. The soon-to-be-retired shortstop has received more than 600,000 votes, third in the AL behind Mike Trout and Jose Bautista.

“I always tell you guys, All-Star games are great,” Jeter said. “It’s a fun experience. You never know when you’re going to get a chance to go, but it’s something that I think every player would look forward to.”

Jeter said it was far too early to think about whether he’ll be voted in, remembering 1999, when Nomar Garciaparra overtook him on the final day of voting.

“I was leading until like a couple of hours left in the voting and then Nomar got me,” Jeter said. “Honestly, I haven’t thought about it. I was not even aware that it comes out this soon. But I’ve appreciated every single one that I’ve gone to.”

Jeter has been selected to 13 All-Star teams, earning the starting nod from the fan vote eight times. This year’s game takes place at Target Field in Minneapolis on July 15.

Too bad that with all that Jeter love, there's bound to be a lot of haters.

Derek Jeter shoos away adults to give souvenir ball to little fan (VIDEO)

Derek Jeter knows just how much rarer one of his game balls become with each passing inning and it has sort of become up to him to make sure some of the prized souvenirs don't fall into the wrong hands.

The Yankees' captain shooed away a few greedy grown-ups so he could roll a baseball to a boy behind the dugout during Tuesday's game against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The thrilled kid in a Yankees T-shirt immediately goes nuts, excitedly hoisting it into the air during a moment he'll never forget.



Even a little Cardinals fan gives his Yankees counterpart a high-five for the nice score.



And it's not the first time Jeets waved off some grubby-handed adults to gain a lifelong fan. Last month he made sure this little girl got the ball.

Cyclist eats asphalt while celebrating victory (VIDEO)

At the finish of the 2014 Tour of Somerville, 18-year-old Noah Granigan celebrated his close victory in the New Jersey junior criterium race with arms raised . . . and then immediately went down hard, sliding a good thirty feet past the finish.

But, as the fan in the video snarkily puts it: "At least he won."




"I looked like I hit something. I had a pretty big gap, so I got a little too excited, excited I won the race," Granigan told MyCentralJersey.com. "I'm guessing every cyclist has fallen before."


Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Female runners collide during baton exchange at World Relays (VIDEO)

This isn't exactly how baton exchanges are taught in training, but things got a little scrambled for two teams during the 4x1,500-meter relay at the IAAF World Relays on Saturday.



United States runner Katie Mackey was focused on receiving the handoff from teammate Heather Kampf, so she wasn't able to see that Australia's Zoe Buckman was right in front of her as she started to run. Mackey plowed into Buckman, causing both to hit the track.




The collision didn't turn out to be too devastating for the United States. Team USA recovered enough to finish in second place.

White Sox fan makes one-handed bat catch to protect baby behind her (VIDEO)


After Tyler Flowers' bat slipped out of his hands on a swing Monday, fans took cover as the free-flying piece of lumber skipped off the top of the dugout and into the U.S. Cellular Field stands. 

Seated in the first row, Eileen Depesa didn't even flinch as she caught the incoming bat with one hand, and the crowd went wild.


The sure-handed woman said she didn't make the play for personal gain (she had to give the bat back) or glory: "I was more concerned with protecting the baby seated behind me."

As the thankful mom behind her visibly attests.

Just call her Batwoman.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Motorcycle rider collides with airborne bike during race (VIDEO)

A motorcycle racer captured the terrifying moment he collided with another airborne bike in a high-speed racetrack crash over the weekend.

The video, uploaded to LiveLeak, shows a trio of riders approaching speeds over 100 mph on the "BeaveRun" track in Wampum, Pennsylvania on Saturday.



Just before the frightening collision, the leader suddenly slows and his rear tire gets bumped by the front tire a fast-approaching rider behind him.

The second rider is sent skidding across the asphalt as his bike is thrown into the path of the third racer who captured the scary moment on his helmet-mounted camera.




Thankfully, none of the riders were reportedly injured seriously in the wild crash.

Prince Amukamara posts video of himself crashing Bar Mitzvah party (VIDEO)

While Johnny Manziel and Rob Gronkowski may be tearing up the hot spots of Las Vegas this Memorial Day weekend, New York Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara hit a swinging bar of his own — that's bar as in Bar Mitzvah.

And shows he knows how to mazel tov with the best of them.



The 24-year-old Prince apparently spent Sunday night crashing some lucky guy's music-thumping celebration, and the exuberant Amukamara captured it all on Instagram:




Amukamara seems to be enjoying himself so much — he posted a couple more videos of the action:



Top that Johnny Football.



Martin St. Louis goes top shelf for OT winner in Game 4 (VIDEO)

For the second consecutive game, the Rangers and Canadiens battled to overtime and while it was a pretty ugly goal that won Game 3 for the Madison Square Garden visitors, Martin St. Louis' sweet wrister over the glove of Dustin Tokarski won Game 4 for the Rangers Sunday night.




St. Louis found himself one-on-one to the side of the net with Tokarski and, with little angle and the defense closing in, St. Louis' only option was to roof it — and roof it he did.

Rangers 3, Habs 2.




"The goal he scored tonight is exactly what you see him practice every time he's on the ice, like a hundred pucks," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "He's trying to put it right there. Made obviously a great shot on that goal."

A beauty, eh?

Sunday, May 25, 2014

T.I. takes swing at Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas brawl (VIDEO)

It sounds like fat lips were being served along with the fries at a Las Vegas Fatburger after rapper T.I. and undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. got into a scuffle early Sunday morning.

According to TMZ, T.I. took a swing at Mayweather and it started a chair-tossing brawl in the crowded fast food joint.

Several witnesses said Floyd was eating inside the restaurant when T.I. walked up and started mouthing off at the world champion.



It's unclear what caused the beef, but the witnesses told TMZ that T.I. swung at Floyd and their giant bodyguards jumped in to separate the pair before an all out melee began.

 At the end of the video clip below, a bodyguard walks Mayweather through the crowd and into a car.

Las Vegas PD arrived just as Mayweather was leaving and the gossip site reported that T.I. was already gone.

Here's the TMZ clip:





 

Police confirm one Fatburger employee was "slashed" during the fight, but he refused treatment and did not want to cooperate with investigating officers.

A rep for T.I. had no comment about the fight.

Less than a month ago, T.I. and Game were in the middle of a near riot with LAPD officers outside Supperclub.

Racehorse dies at Belmont while wearing nasal strip: Report

The first day after nasal strips were allowed to be worn by racehorses at Belmont Park, See the Music, a 3-year-old filly, collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack on the track.

The over-sized breathing aid has gotten a lot of attention in the past couple of weeks because of California Chrome’s run for the Triple Crown.

The nasal strips were approved jointly Monday by the New York Racing Association, the New York State Gaming Commission and the Jockey Club, allowing California Chrome to try for his sweep of the Triple Crown on June 7 in the Belmont Stakes.

On Wednesday, See the Music died.



California Chrome wore the nasal strips to victory in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, but his connections were thinking of possibly skipping the Belmont if the colt wasn’t allowed to wear one in New York.

Prior to Monday’s approval, New York was the only racing jurisdiction that didn’t allow the strip to be worn through rule 4033.8 in the Gaming Commission: Only equipment specifically approved by the stewards shall be worn or carried by a jockey or a horse in a race.

See the Music’s body was sent to Cornell University, where a necropsy was performed.

“We are awaiting necropsy results,” said Lee Park, a spokesman for the gaming commission. 
“There is no reason to believe that wearing a nasal strip would contribute to a sudden death of a horse.”

The Gaming Commission’s medical director, Scott E. Palmer, cleared the way for the strips to be used in New York in a statement that read, “Equine nasal strips do not enhance equine performance nor do they pose a risk to equine health or safety and as such do not need to be regulated.”


Yankees not comfortable with U.S. Cellular Field security: Report

While the White Sox get ready to honor Yankees captain Derek Jeter prior to Sunday's game at U.S. Cellular Field, behind the scenes, some Yankees have been saying they don't feel so secure visiting the Chicago stadium.

Some of the Yankees, according to a story in Newsday, claim a visit to the White Sox home field typically means that at some point there will be an uncomfortable encounter between a player (or players) and an autograph-seeking U.S. Cellular Field security member.



One such occurrence reportedly took place after Friday night's loss when, near the team bus, a uniformed Chicago Police Department officer stopped Jeter with a bunch of goods to sign.

While that was going on, a relative of a White Sox player attempted to board the Yankees' team bus to take pictures but almost immediately was booted off the bus by the driver, according to Newsday.

The Yankees have had a long-standing issue here: Some visiting team clubhouse security personnel seem to spend almost as much time inside the actual clubhouse -- often helping themselves to the players' spread of food and beverages -- as outside securing it.

Major League Baseball, as a rule, prefers clubhouse security personnel to remain outside clubhouses unless they are needed inside for a very specific reason, but that mysteriously is not the case at U.S. Cellular Field despite repeated complaints by the Yankees.

"It," said one member of the club's traveling party, "is always something here."

Petty? Maybe. But nobody likes strangers' fingers picking through their buckets of Big League Chew and free-range chicken wings.


Saturday, May 24, 2014

Mark Sanchez's Buttfumble jersey sells for $820 at auction: Report

The 2012 Thanksgiving game between the Jets and Patriots will always be remembered by New York fans as the apex of humility in Gang Green football — highlighted that day when quarterback Mark Sanchez hilariously ran head first into the backside of teammate Brandon Moore.

It doesn't seem like a year and a half since the infamous Buttfumble, but now a Jets fan named Jake Hendrickson inadvertently came across a sweaty part of the game and paid $820 to immortalize the occasion, reports NJ.com.



Hendrickson, who lives in California, happened to be browsing the NFL auctions website last week when he noticed a game-worn Mark Sanchez jersey was available. But what really caught Hendrickson's eye was the date: Nov. 22, 2012.

Buttfumble Day.



Hendrickson explained what he had to do from there to Metro New York's Kristian Dyer, who wrote it up for Yahoo's Shutdown Corner:

"There's no way I could let it get in the hands of an anti-fan or something of that manner to be shoved in our face. The auction itself had like five days left on it before it closed so basically I set an alarm on my calendar to remind me an hour before so I could be at my computer. I was prepared for an all-out bidding war. There were a couple other people I was bidding against but it being the offseason I don’t think there were many people looking for football memorabilia so it didn’t go nearly as high as I had anticipated. Plus every time someone would outbid me by $5 or $10 I was raising by a hundred bucks just to show I meant businesses.”



Hendrickson said he plans to frame the jersey and stick it on his wall. "Until we win a Super Bowl," he told Dyer," or I can get together enough money to put it on a rocket ship and shoot it to outer space because I don’t think it belongs on this planet anymore."

And at least it won't fall into the hands of some scheming New Englander.

California Chrome's newest Triple Crown challenger — an opossum (VIDEO)

California Chrome was unfazed,  but millions of bettors might be skittish, after a wayward opossum ran next to the Triple Crown contender and came in ahead of the Derby and Preakness winner. 

The homely little critter briefly joined the majestic chestnut colt during his 1 3/4-mile gallop Friday morning at Belmont Park and came in first by a little pointed nose.



Assistant trainer Alan Sherman said the opossum's run not far off the outside rail and parallel to the colt's right flank, didn't make California Chrome lose focus.

"Nothing," Sherman said. "It didn't faze him. We get coyotes in California all the time, so it was no big deal.

"The track was a little heavier than it was, but he seemed to handle it fine."

Bandwagon bettors might take this as an bad omen but po' cat lovers — and there are a few — think this is a good sign.

Horse's freak death at Churchill Downs blamed on track's new sound system: Report

A racehorse died Thursday at Churchill Downs after a freak fall that the trainer blamed on the sound of a starting gate bell blaring on the track's new sound system attached to the racetrack's vaunted new video board.

The 5-year-old mare Never Tell Lynda was walking toward the paddock on the dirt track when she reared, twisted and fell, hitting her head, said her trainer, Kenneth Wirth. She died before the first race of the day at the track that's home to the Kentucky Derby.

A heartbroken Wirth later said the horse was spooked by what he thinks was the sound of a starting gate bell coming from a commercial on the track's ear-blasting speaker system.

Churchill Downs recently debuted the world's biggest HD video screen  — the "Big Board," as it has been dubbed — and boasted about its 750-speaker sound system going into Derby week.



Towering 170 feet over the backstretch, the high-definition, $12 million video screen is bigger than three basketball courts and larger than any single panel of the giant display hanging above the field at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

"We teach horses to break from that," he said. "And you've got it on a loud speaker that everybody in a two-city block can hear. Well, what's she going to do? She thinks she's supposed to take off. And that's what she did. And when she did, she lunged and she lost her balance and went down."



The fall was not witnessed by any of the track veterinarians, but staff rushed to her aid, said Will Farmer, chief racing veterinarian for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

"It was quickly evident that this horse was in the process of expiring," he said. "To ease her suffering, one of our veterinarians euthanized her."

A necropsy will be performed on the horse, but the clinical signs matched the trainer's description, Farmer said.

Wirth said the sound system was "way too loud" at the time of the accident.

"The only thing you can blame is the music," Wirth said. "They've got to do something about it... The horses are the main thing here."

David Robertson's reaction to Adam Dunn's walk-off homer says it all (VIDEO)

Adam Dunn crushed a walk-off two-run homer to right-center field to give the White Sox a 6-5 win over the Yankees Friday night.

You don't have to look any further than closer David Robinson's body language to know how he felt about feeding a juicy fastball to the Big Donkey — and blowing his first save of the season.

Or, as Chicago announcer Hawk Harrelson put it, "Yes ... yes ... Hell yeah-as."





Carl Crawford fakes out Phillies fans after catching final out (GIF)

You've seen it a zillion times. A player makes a catch to end the inning, then flips the ball into the stands and give some lucky fan a souvenir. 

Not this time.

Dodgers outfielder Carl Crawford had another idea on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park. He caught the final out of his team's 2-0 win over the Phillies and faked out the hometown fans as a visiting player.



Those are Phillies fans, Carl. Tread lightly.

Blue Jays' ballboy flips over railing going for foul ball (VIDEO)

This Blue Jays ballboy goes all out trying to snare a hard-hit foul ball and tumbles over the right field wall into the stands Friday night.

The ballboy (ballman?) with the soul patch didn't snag the ball, but he puts his body on the line to deflect the wayward ball and probably save a couple of slow moving fans from the scorching drive.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Rangers' Carcillo faces lengthy suspension after contact with linesman (VIDEO)

Down 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals to Rangers, the Canadiens decided to physically take it to their New York counterparts in Game 3 at Madison Square Garden and came out on top after a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory.

Adding insult to injury from Thursday night's Rangers home loss could be a potential lengthy suspension for forward Daniel Carcillo — after he made contact with linesman Scott Driscoll.


The incident took place while Rangers winger Derek Dorsett was fighting with Montreal’s Brandon Prust at 5:51 of the first period — moments after Carcillo had been called for a charging penalty. Dorsett went after Prust for a making questionable hit to the head that left Rangers center Derek Stepan hurt on the ice minutes earlier.

As Dorsett and Prust fought, instead of skating to the penalty box, Carcillo stood a few yards away watching the fight, showing no intent on joining the melee.

Driscoll skated over and put his hands on Carcillo’s midsection to move him away from the fight. That’s when Carcillo inexplicably lost his composure, angrily trying to push and even elbow Driscoll. With that, Driscoll tossed him from the game — and now possibly longer.

Aside from the game-winning goal by Montreal’s Alex Galchenyuk 1:12 into overtime, the Carcillo incident was the ugliest moment of the night for the Blueshirts.




Carcillo, who was unavailable for comment after the game, faces possible suspension depending on how the NHL interprets his offense.

And here's Rule 40:

"40.1 Game Misconduct - Any player who deliberately applies physical force in any manner against an official, in any manner attempts to injure an official, physically demeans, or deliberately applies physical force to an official solely for the purpose of getting free of such an official during or immediately following an altercation shall receive a game misconduct penalty. In addition, the following (40.2, 40.3, 40.4) disciplinary penalties shall apply."

No matter how you look at it, things don't look good for Carcillo, who can probably expect the hammer to fall on Friday.


McIlroy dumped Wozniacki because relationship was a distraction: Report

Golfer Rory McIlroy may have publicly told the world he was calling off his wedding to tennis star Caroline Wozniacki at an awkward press conference, but the fickle Irishman left a lot of questions about his sudden change of heart at the dais.

Now sources say McIlroy abruptly called things off with his Danish fiancee partly because his personal life was affecting his game, reports Page Six of the N.Y. Post.

"Rory’s game hasn’t been as consistently good in the time he’s been with Caroline," said the source. "He was a young guy in love and was flying around the world to see her play in tournaments or meet up with her. He was missing practice rounds. It was a distraction.

"When you have two players focused on being No. 1, it’s a huge commitment to see each other, physically and emotionally," added the source. "As tough as the decision to end the relationship might have been, it is wise to do it now rather than after they were married."



The source added that McIlroy’s personal life was further complicated by his legal battle with his former management company, a dispute that has been hanging over him for much of the season.

Another source said of McIlroy’s performance in the Players Championship earlier this month, "He is one of the most talented golfers out there, but his game was erratic."

The glamorous sports couple had been dating since 2011. They were engaged on New Year’s Eve. McIlroy said on Wednesday that he had broken up with her days after wedding invitations had gone out.

"The problem is mine. The wedding invitations issued at the weekend made me realize that I wasn’t ready for all that marriage entails,” McIlroy said. He later said the decision was “mutual…it was the best for both of us."

A tennis source said the timing of their split was tough for Wozniacki since she is competing in the French Open, which starts in Paris on Sunday.

Reps for McIlroy and Wozniacki could not be reached for comment.

Michael Vick believes he can take Jets to Super Bowl: Report

Michael Vick may have been talking like a backup quarterback this past week, but that doesn't mean the Jets' new acquisition isn't making predictions like a starter. 

Taking a page out of the Rex Ryan book of eye-rolling prophecies, Vick said he can take the Jets to the big game — contradicting what he said earlier the same day about conceding the opening day spot to Geno Smith.

“I just feel like I can help any football team, any organization, particularly this football team, get to a Super Bowl,” Vick told the New York Daily News on Thursday. “It’s tough at this stage of my career because I still feel like I’m a fairly young player and I can still keep up. People make it seem like I’m getting older and things are not the same. I beg to differ.”


The explosive and injury-prone Vick will be 34 next month still believes he has what it takes to get the Jets to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1968.

Kind of like what Kurt Warner did with the Cardinals in 2008 after he was considered washed up and had to win back his starting job from Matt Leinart.

“Kurt was blessed with unbelievable talent and uncanny intelligence,” Vick said. “That helped him get to where he was. Most important, the Arizona Cardinals believed in him. People just got to believe in you. They gave him a shot. He got his opportunity and he took advantage of it.”

Vick didn't mention that Warner had All-Pro receivers Michael Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin catching the football during that magical run.

The Jets have bolstered their skill players in the offseason with wide receiver Eric Decker, running back Chris Johnson and rookie tight end Jace Amaro. Vick says in the past his teams didn’t have it together in all three phases to help him get to the Super Bowl.

“Sometimes, I feel like I’ve been dealt the short end of the stick because I haven’t had all those components over the years,” he said. “I never complained because this is an unbelievable league, it’s a great league and I’ve been blessed to play in it. Of course, I wish I had a Super Bowl and wish I could have accomplished more things. But, hey, I still got an opportunity and that’s what I am thinking.”

Despite Vick's apparent confidence, he still sounds like a backup.

“I think Geno is going to be the starter. I think he is going to start this season off,” Vick said. “I think Geno has every opportunity to go out and have success. He is going to get that opportunity.”

Maybe it's reverse psychology.


Bruno Xavier score is being called the greatest goal in the history of... beach soccer (VIDEO)

Bruno Xavier may not be a name familiar to most sports fans and beach soccer gets about as much respect as beach Frisbee in the U.S. but, after this goal on a sand-covered pitch, Xavier may become worthy of a single-named fame in Brazil — where the sport is wildly popular.

And now, many are calling this barefooted score the greatest goal in the history of the sport.



Xavier, considered by many the best beach football player in the world, scored the remarkable goal for Brazil against Germany in the Riviera Maya Cup 2014. Xavier juggles the ball past several players before faking out the goalkeeper and calmly nudging the ball into the back of the net.




The 29-year-old Xavier — the 2013 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Golden Ball award winner — led Brazil to a 9-4 victory over Germany.

Yasiel Puig comes out of nowhere to rob Mets on incredible diving catch (VIDEO)

Yasiel Puig comes out of nowhere and extends his body to make this outstanding catch on a fly ball to right-center robbing Wilmer Flores of a hit Thursday night. 


The Dodgers rightfielder even got a standing ovation from highlight-starved Mets fans at Citi Field for the amazing, diving, backhanded stab.



And the Mets also chimed in.


Yu Darvish freezes Torii Hunter with surprise eephus pitch (VIDEO)

During Thursday's game between the Rangers and Tigers, Yu Darvish got creative with an 0-2 count and two outs against Torii Hunter. The Rangers pitcher didn't get strike three with the whimsical eephus pitch, but it forced Hunter's head to spin.



Darvish's low-speed, 55 mph-junk throw came at the right time — a seven-run lead and no one on base — to have a little fun. And even if the seventh-inning pitch didn't pack any heat or make Hunter swing, it still got his brain to freeze.

D-backs prospect hits five home runs in five consecutive at-bats (VIDEO)

The record for hitting consecutive Major or Minor League home runs was four in a row, set most recently by Carlos Gonzalez in 2012 and Carlos Delgado in 2003



And now, thanks to Jon Griffin, that record is broken. During two games on Wednesday and Thursday, the Diamondbacks prospect hit five home runs in five consecutive plate appearances while playing for the Double-A Mobile BayBears. 

He hit four in the first game and jacked his record-breaking dinger in his first at-bat of the second game— doubling his home run total for the season with five powerful swings.

Here's the video proof below:







The streak came to an end as Griffin grounded out in the sixth inning after walking in his second plate appearance during the Mobile BayBears' 6-5 loss to the Tennessee Smokies on Thursday.

Griffin now has 10 homers and 28 RBIs through his first 41 games, and added his name to the record books.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Spurned Wozniacki takes jab at Man U fan McIlroy via Twitter

Spurned Caroline Wozniacki took a Twitter dig at Manchester United supporter and former fiance Rory McIlroy after his "totally unexpected" wedding cancellation just days after the couple sent out wedding invitations.

The 23-year-old tennis star broke her silence over the split, taking to Twitter to thank her fans for their support.



But it seemed she could not resist a subtle dig at her ex-fiance, who famously follows Manchester United, when she wrote how she was happy to be a Liverpool fan.

She wrote: "It's a hard time for me right now. Thanks for all the sweet messages! Happy I support Liverpool right now because I know I'll never walk alone."





During the courtship phase of their relationship, Wozniacki had often engaged in online soccer exchanges  with McIlroy, once posting a photograph of a Liverpool shirt on her wall as she wrote: "Loving the look, Liverpool Jersey hanging on the wall above the man utd one."

She lovingly added she "might be in trouble" for posting the photo.

Her most recent tweet was meant to be anything but cute after McIlroy — who was playing golf with former Red Devils players Peter Schmeichel, Phil Neville and Teddy Sheringham in Wednesday's pro-am ahead of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth — dumped her in front of the world.

On Wednesday, just days after Wozniacki and McIlroy sent out wedding invitations, the golfer announced at a press conference that they had split because he was not ready for "all that marriage entails." 

Now Wozniacki, who is currently ranked number 14 in the world, may not compete in the French Open tournament in Paris following the very public break up, due to a knee injury.

A source close to the tennis ace said she may now pull out of the tournament, which starts on Sunday, with the draw due to be made on Friday.

Phil Jackson prefers Brian Shaw over Derek Fisher: Report

Being spurned by Steve Kerr in the New York Knicks coaching hunt hasn't deterred Phil Jackson from kicking a few other tires on his old coaching bus. But the Zen Master may be setting himself up for another flat if he goes after Brian Shaw — the Nuggets coach who keeps insisting that he is content in Denver.

All the talk these days seems to be focused on Derek Fisher taking over the reins — although he won't comment until the Thunder season is over — and that chatter seems to be coming from the media rather than then Knicks president himself.

Now we might know why.

It seems Jackson prefers Shaw over Fisher, said a source according to the N.Y. Post.

Prying his former assistant from the Nuggets would require the Knicks to pay compensation. That appears to be a bigger roadblock to getting Shaw out of his Denver contract than Shaw’s reluctance to come to New York. It’s unclear whether Jackson has formally asked the Nuggets permission to speak to Shaw.



Jackson hasn’t given up total hope he somehow can woo Shaw from Denver, especially if the Fisher scenario falls through.

Coincidentally, the Nuggets showcased Shaw on the dais of Tuesday’s NBA Draft Lottery. And although e finished his first season in Denver without a playoff berth amid some rumblings the players weren’t thrilled with him. The Nuggets didn’t improve their lottery position and will have the 11th pick.

“I’m happy where I am,” Shaw told The Post on his way out of the lottery room Tuesday night. “I have a job here, so all the speculation that’s out there, that’s just speculation.”

F1 car races through a crowded highway traffic in Holland (VIDEO)

This is something you certainly don’t see in the U.S. — unless it's Brandon Jacobs headed down to Atlantic City on the Garden State Parkway. 

This F1 race car was filmed just as it blasts through a bunch of cars in what appears to be normal everyday highway traffic in the Netherlands.



If it seems implausible that a driver just happened to break loose from a racing circuit track and took a shortcut, explain the people gathered on the overpass.

I'm not technically sophisticated enough to know if this is fake so I'm guessing that in a country where toking and hooking are legal anything is possible.





Turns out it is part of a part of a promotional event with former F1 driver Jos Verstappen at the wheel. He was promoting Formula Acceleration 1, an opened-wheeled racing series that started this year.

Still pretty cool.

Michael Wacha has bruised elbow after being hit by foul ball in dugout (VIDEO)

The baseballs seemed to have Michael Wacha in their sights all night Wednesday against the Diamondbacks — whether the Cardinals starter was on the mound or in the presumed safety of the dugout.

In the sixth-inning, Wacha couldn't dodge a Matt Adams foul ball that was drilled into the Cardinals dugout,  ricocheted off the wall and hit the right-hander in his pitching arm.




Wacha wouldn't come back out for the seventh, despite having thrown six shutout innings and only 88 pitches. The Cardinals announced that Wacha suffered a bruised right elbow on the freak play. 






Earlier in the game, Wacha made an outstanding heads-up play on a scorching liner off the bat of Diamondbacks third baseman Martin Prado:




"It hit a nerve, and the whole hand went numb. It was a pretty scary feeling, that's for sure," the right-hander said about his elbow. "I'm sure I'll have a little bruise there tomorrow."

The severity of the bruise hasn't yet been reported by the Cardinals.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

'World Series' bullfight cancelled after all the matadors are gored: Report

For the first time in 35 years, and halfway through the the Fiesta of San Isidro, the biggest official bullfight event of the season was cancelled after three matadors were gored — one of them seriously — and no one was left to fight the usually doomed bulls.



First to lose was David Mora. Brought down by his first bull of the afternoon, he was gored in three places as he was tossed around the ring like a rag doll, according to Daily Mail.com.

After Mora was carried-off and rushed to the infirmary for emergency surgery, Antonio Nazare followed tradition and dispatched the bull using cape and sword.

But he did so as swiftly as possible, with none of the flair audiences expect.

Then it was Nazare's turn to fight his own first bull of the afternoon. Within minutes he followed Mora to the infirmary with a single goring.

The one remaining matador, Jimenez Fortes, stepped into the ring and killed the animal, again swiftly and without flamboyance.


Then his own first bull sent him flying through the air, catching him on its horns three times.


If you are scoring at home, Bulls 3 - Matadors 0.

With no one left to fight them, there was no alternative other than cancelling the rest of the corrida.

It was the first time that had happened during San Isidro since 1979, and only the third time in the Spanish fiesta's history.