Breaking news: Curt Schilling flirts with no-hitter

The Boston Red Sox, Curt Schilling, flirted with history but came up short in the ninth with two outs before giving up a hard hit single to the Oakland A's leftfielder, Shannon Stewart. Schilling lost a perfect game back in the fifth inning, when Julio Lugo botched a lazy ground ball from Dan Johnson. So Schilling failed to get what would've been his first career no-hitter, but in hindsight the Red Sox did win the game, 1-0.

Another side note on Schilling's day to show how dominating he was, he pitched a complete game, one hitter and only had to throw 100 pitches, very impressive.

Live Blog: The MLB Draft (1st round)

END OF THE 1ST ROUND

#30- Current Selection, New York(AL) selects Andrew Brackman, RHP, North Carolina State

The New York Yankees are now on the clock

#29- Current Selection, San Francsico selects Wendell Fairley, CF, George County HS (MS)

The San Francisco Giants are back on the clock.

#28- Current Selection, Minnesota selects Ben Revere, CF, Lexington Catholic HS (KY)

The Minnesota Twins are now on the clock.

#27- Current Selection, Detroit selects Rick Porcello, RHP, Seton Hall Prep

The Detroit Tigers are now on the clock.

#26- Current Selection, Oakland selects James Simmons, RHP, UC-Riverside

The Oakland Athletics are now on the clock.

#25- Current Selection, Chicago(AL) selects Aaron Poreda, LHP, University of San Francisco

The Chicago White Sox are on the clcok now.

#24- Current Selection, Texas(for the second time) selects Michael Main, RHP, Deland HS (Fla.)

The Texas Rangers are back on the clock.

#23- Current Selection, San Diego selects Nick Schmidt, LHP, Arkansas

The San Diego Padres are on the clock now.

#22- Current Selection, San Francisco(for the second time) selects Tim Alderson, RHP, Horizon HS, Scottsdale (Ariz.)

The San Francisco Giants are on the clock again.

#21- Current Selection, Toronto(for the second time) selects J.P. Arencibia, C/1B, Tennessee

The Toronto Blue Jays are back on the clock.

#20- Current Selection, Los Angeles selects Chris Withrow, RHP, Midland Christian HS (Texas)

The Los Angeles Dodgers are now on the clock.

#19- Current Selection, Philadelphia selects Joe Savery, LHP, Rice

The Philadelphia Phillies are on the clock.

#18- Current Selection, St.Louis selects Peter Kozma, SS, Owasso HS (Okla.)

The St.Louis Cardinals are now on the clock.

#17- Current Selection, Texas selects Blake Beavan, RHP, Irving HS (Texas)

The Texas Rangers are on the clock.

#16- Current Selection, Toronto selects Kevin Ahrens, 3B, Memorial HS (Texas)

The Toronto Blue Jays are now on the clock.

#15- Current Selection, Cincinnati selects Devin Mesoraco, C, Punxsatawney HS (Pa.)

The Cincinnati Reds are now on the clock.

#14- Current Selection, Atlanta selects Jason Heyward, Henry County HS (Ga.) YES!

THE ATLANTA BRAVES ARE NOW ON THE CLOCK!!!

#13- Current Selection, Cleveland selects Beau Mills, 3B, Lewis-Clark State

The Cleveland Indians are now on the clock.

#12-Current Selection, Florida selects Matt Dominguez, 3B, Chatsworth HS (Calif.)

The Florida Marlins are now on the clock.

#11-Current Selection, Seattle selects Phillipe Aumont, RHP, Ecole Du Versant Gatineau, Quebec

The Seattle Mariners are now on the clock.

#10-Current Selection, San Francisco selects Madison Bumgarner, LHP, South Caldwell HS (N.C.)

The San Francisco Giants are now on the clock.

#9-Current Selections, Arizona selects Jarrod Parker, RHP, Norwell HS (Ind.)

The Arizona Diamondbacks are on the clock. Also a side note, can someone please get Bud some Red Bull or something...WAKE UP!

#8- Current Selection, Colorado selects Casey Weathers, RHP, Vanderbilt

The Colorado Rockies are now on the clock.

#7- Current Selection, Milwaukee selects Matthew LaPorta, 1B, Florida

The Milwaukee Brewers are now on the clock.

#6- Current Selection, Washington selects Ross Detwiler, LHP, Missouri State

The Washington Nationals are now on the clock(BOO).

#5- Current Selection, Baltimore selects Matt Wieters, C, Georgia Tech

The Baltimore Orioles are now on the clock.

#4- Current Selection, Pittsburgh selects Daniel Moskos, LHP, Clemson

The Pittsburgh Pirates are now on the clock.

#3- Current Selection, Chicago(NL) selects Josh Vitters, 3B, Cypress HS (Calif.)

The Chicago Cubs are now on the clock.

#2- Current Selection, Kansas City selects Michael Moustakas, 3B, Chatsworth HS (Calif.)

The Kansas City Royals are now on the clock.

#1- Current Selection, Tampa Bay selects David Price, LHP (Vanderbilt)

1st ROUND

Bud Selig is kicking this Draft off, I dislike this guy with a passion...he angers me, but that story is for another time...let's get to the first pick.

Today I'm going to be live blogging the first ever MLB draft that is being shown nationally, I'm still trying to think of a reason why i'm live blogging it other than for shits and giggles. But anyways, I'll be your stop for all the drafting shenanigans today.

Fear not Orlando, the Hedgehog is to the rescue

It was earlier reported that former Miami Heat coach, Stan Van Gundy was close to accepting the coaching vacancy with the Sacramento Kings, but now new reports are saying the Van Gundy has decided to accept the head coaching position with the Orland Magic instead.

After all the fiasco with Billy Donovan pulling a Kobe and abruptly changing his mind, the Magic must be relieved to finally have a coach, for the second time, but I'm pretty sure this one won't bail on the team in order to go back to college.

Not only is Van Gundy a good coach, he looks exactly like pornstar, Ron Jeremy, and that just has to have the ladies swooning.

Ladies..."Hot Blogger Bracket" ends in more embarrassment for me

A couple of weeks ago, Davey came across a web-site holding a "Hot Blogger Tournament" in which bloggers of the male persuasion would send in a picture and a post that best signified their writing abilities in hopes of cracking the Ladies... top 88 and receive blogger immortality, or at least a mini-pony trophy and a complimentary coffee mug. Well after hours of strenuous debate(about ten minutes) I decided, "what the hell, what's the worst thing that can happen, they tell me I'm ugly and mock me?", so I sent in a horrendous picture of myself and a post that did the exact opposite of showing off my "writing ability". And about three seconds after pressing the send button, I started thinking, the whole "tell me I'm ugly(which has been documented by numerous woman before) and use my picture as fodder for their entertainment" was the worst possible thing that could happen.

But alas the email had already been sent, so I would have to endure whatever insults that were thrown at me and my really bad facial hair, you see for some reason unbenounced to me, my "facial hair" grows in patches, it looks horrible, and it leads many people to think that I am a homeless person and it usually ends up in discriminating stares but they give me change every once and a while, so I take the good with the bad. Back to what I was saying, I actually pretty much forgot about the whole thing, before today, when I got an e-mail from Davey, saying that we had both made the cut and I was a #22 seed(the last seed, bleh) and was getting destroyed by the #1 seed, some guy also by the name of Jay and a Braves fan, coincidence, I think NOT. Anyway his blog is Sports Gone South, you should check it out.

Anyways to make a long story short, I lost, well it's not over yet, but I've pretty much put aside all hope, it's hard to make up 54% but it's not that big of deal, I mean it's not like I was expecting to make the cut let alone win the first round so I could just say the customary "I'm just honored to be mentioned along with these guys" and although it's very cliche, it's true. Oh and a side note, Davey is winning his first round matchup against a guy by the name of Ryan over at Let's Go Buff-a-lo! right now, 61% to 39%. And for your viewing pleasure, here is the place for you can vote for me and Davey.

Note to Self: When trying to impress girls, don't send in a pic of you with your cat, it won't end well. Here's a pic of me and Davey, be gentle.

Breaking News: Trent Green traded to the Dolphins

After almost three months of trade negotiations the Kansas City Chiefs finally broke down and agreed to trade disgruntled quarterback, Trent Green to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a 2008 fifth-round draft pick that could become a fourth-rounder if he hits playtime incentives.

Green, who turns 37 in July, will be allowed to participate in this weekend's Dolphins minicamp that begins on Friday, where he will battle it out with Dolphin's quarterback, Daunte Culpepper for the rights as the teams starting QB. It seems as though Culpepper isn't completely healthy from his knee injury and if that is true then Green would be the starter with Cleo Lemon as his backup and Dolphin's second round draft pick, John Beck serving as the third string option.

Culpepper is not going to be happy about this news, as just a few days ago he told reporters that if the Dolphins did indeed add Green to their roster he would ask to be traded or released. He also came out publically saying that he is the quarterback of this team until someone tells him otherwise.

"I hear things but it doesn't really matter who says what," Culpepper said in response to the umpteenth question about Green possibly becoming a Dolphin. "For anybody to come in here and think this is going to be peaches and cream, it's not. "They've told me the same thing they've always told me: Do your job. I'm the quarterback of this team until somebody tells me different."

Ahh, the plot thickens...

It's official, David Clowney is a Packer

Former Virginia Tech Hokie wide reciever, David Clowney, became the first draft pick by the Green Bay Packers to sign his rookie contract. The contract was annouced on the team's official page, but the details of the deal have yet to be released.

Clowney, who was drafted in the fifth-round, has been impressive so far this offseason and it was clear the Packers wanted to lock him up. His agent, Brian Mackler, claimed the deal was for four-years. That is the longest contract a third-round pick or later can receive and will keep him from becoming an unrestricted free agent until after his third season.

Clowney, a former track star, is a burner with huge play making ability and he should make a great duo with Brett Favre in the "Frozen Tundra". Expect him to get a lot of play also, because it's not like the Packers have a lot of receivers in front of him, Donald Driver and Greg Jennings are the only two that come to mind. I think he's going to turn out to be a steal, watch out for him, he's a good one.

Saltalamacchia and Escobar continue to impress

The first game of the Braves double-header against the Florida Marlins just went into a rain delay with Atlanta leading 3-1, thanks to a Jarrod Saltalamacchia two-run homerun in the bottom of the seventh inning. Yet another reason why I want the Braves to keep Salty instead of trading him for pitching help. Sure we need the help, but guys like Salty don't come along everyday and with the saddening and almost definite departure of Andruw Jones after this season we are going to need someone to help fill the hole left by him, power wise. And no one is better suited to do that than Salty.

But then that brings up the next question, where does he play? He is a catcher by trade, that's where all his "value" is, but he has experience playing first base and seeing as how Scott Thorman is doing everything in his power to suck, and he's doing a might fine job at it, I must admit, it wouldn't be that big of a deal to put Thor on the bench. There was talk about switching Brian McCann to first base and play Salty at catcher, but there is no way in hell that is going to happen, McCann is our catcher and nothing is going to change that, he's the best offensive catcher in the National league, maybe in all of baseball and he just signed a fat new contract a month or so ago.

Here is Salty's numbers as of right now, note these don't include his performance today in which he went 2-3 with a game-winning two run homer.

Another player that was recently brought up is Yunel Escobar and he, much like Salty, has been playing extremely well and opened a lot of eyes. Escobar has only played in four games but he's hitting .438 and just hit his first career homerun last night against the Marlins and just to cap off that night, he went 4-4. Escobar has been playing third base while Chipper is on the shelf and it isn't known what his role will be when Chipper does come back, i'd anticipate he'll return in two to three weeks. Escobar could stay on the roster as a super-utility guy much like Wilson Betemit was before he was traded another possibility is let him keep raising his trade value and then try and find a bidder, such as the Cubs or the Giants who could really use a middle infielder. But it's hard to say what we should do, Chipper is still injured, and he has a history of getting injured and no one wants to see Prado, Woodward(eww) and Orr playing on a regular basis. But that's why i'm not paid to make those decisions, that's John Schuerholz's job.

Here's Escobar's stats as of right now, once again they don't include today's stats where he got one hit.

Side Note wife, Ashley, is a total : Both Saltalamacchia and Escobar have very hot wives, i've posted before that Salty'smilf and last night I learned Escobar's is too, both men are doing quite well for themselves and uh...they play baseball really well too. I'm still trying to find pics of both women.

Phillip Wellman suspended but not fired

The Atlanta Braves have decided that Phillip Wellman's tirade was enough to earn a three-game suspension. Over the weekend, Mississippi Braves manager, Wellman, was a little eccentric after being ejected for arguing balls and strikes.

• Throw hat to the ground...check
• Insult umpire's mother...check
• Get on one knee and cover home plate in dirt and outline a new plate...check
• Rip third and second base out of the ground and throw them...check
• Crawl to the the pitcher's mound and throw the rosin bag like it's a grenade at the umpire...CLASSIC and check

Wellman has yet to hear from the Southern League President, but you can expect he will in due time and expect another suspension. I would've thought his antics would've earned him a longer suspension, but let's see what the prez has to say. Wellman and the Braves have declined to comment on the situation, I can't wait to see that interview.

Odell Thurman > Pac Man Jones and Chris Henry

The insanity just will not stop, With Leather is reporting that he got an email from a tipster that attended a house party with Bengal's troubled linebacker, Odell Thurman and he said Thurman kicked the shit out of some guy and later returned with an "entourage" equiped with guns. Matt Ufford put it so much better, here's what he said.

According to the tipster, Thurman attended a house party in his hometown of Monticello, Georgia Saturday night. At around 3 a.m. on Sunday morning, he was grinding on another partygoer's girlfriend, which upset the partygoer in question. Said partygoer asked Thurman to stop, then returned his attention to a game of pool. The rest of the story, according to the email I received:

Big mistake. Thurman ran up to the guy, pushed him down, and kicked the shit out of his face knocking the guy out. He then left, and moments later came back with his entourage carrying guns. Some of the people there were able to calm him down, and get him to leave for good.

The Monticelloo Police Department couldn't provide me with any details, and I got voicemail when I called the county courthouse. But you can expect to see charges filed against Thurman by the end of the day, and Len Pasquarelli will probably have the full story sometime later this afternoon. You know, if this is all true.

UPDATE: I just got off the phone with the host of the party. Although he was upstairs when the fight began, he corroborated the story above. And to be fair to Thurman, it appears that he returned with guns and friends with guns only after people at the party pulled guns on him.

SECOND UPDATE: A tipster sent along the picture below, which is supposedly of the victim's cut lip, courtesy Odell's foot. I've also received word that Thurman tried to buy his victim's silence. And just for fun: it was on Friday that Thurman got sentenced to six days in rehab with two years probation for his DUI conviction.

He also included a picture of the guy who was supposedly kicked in the face by Thurman and well, he looks pretty bad. I fully expect, if it's true, this guy to press charges on Thurman, who would then go to jail and subsequently be released from the Bengals. Which sucks because he had a hell of a rookie season back in 2005 when he made 106 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 5 interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. But has since then been suspended multiple times including a one-year ban from the league last season. But even with all that the Bengal's were willing to give him another chance at resuming his career in Cincinnati but with this latest news, i'd be surprised if he remains on the roster.

A couple of draft possibilities for Atlanta.

With the MLB draft just a few days away, it's got me thinking of just who the Braves are going to take with the 14th overall pick. There is a lot of players that I think they should take, most of which are pitchers, but here is a list of 1st round possibilities for the Atlanta Braves.

1. Blake Beavan, RHP

Height: 6'7"
Weight: 210
Age: 18
B/T: R/R
School: Irving High School (Irving, TX)

Blake Beavan is a right-handed flamethrower from Irving Texas and is drawing many comparisons to the Big Unit, Randy Johnson for his size, intimidation factor and his ability to strike out batters. Beavan is one of the top pitching prospects in this years upcoming draft and teams would be foolish to pass up on this kid.

With his ability to funnel his fiery attitude into a positive attribute, he impressed everyone going 8-1 with a 0.36 ERA, while striking out 99 batters in just 58 innings of work this past season. He has had a lot of success going back to his time on USA's Youth National Team he went 3-0 with a 1.10 ERA and helped the United States to a silver medal. Not only is he a great pitcher, he can also hit very well, he put up a .379 batting average and had 26 hits and 16 RBI's.

2. Jason Heyward, OF/1B

Height: 6'2"
Weight: 198
Age: 17
B/T: L/L
School: Henry County High School (McDonough, GA)

Jason Heyward is a versatile player that can play multiple positions and posses "intriguing raw power" that has many scouts comparing him to former All-Star, Fred McGriff. He has a big, muscular frame that allows him to generate a lot of power into his swing.

Heyward is not only a great power hitter, he is very good defensively as well and much like a current Brave, Jeff Francoeur, he's equipped with an absolute cannon for an arm that has some thinking he could do some pitching beyond high school. This past season he led his high school, McDonough High, to the school's first state championship in baseball, hitting .456 with five home runs, 41 runs and 23 stolen bases. The only problem with Heyward is that he in all likelihood will be off the board by time the Braves make their selection.

3. Josh Smoker, LHP

Height: 6'2"
Weight: 195
Age: 18
B/T: L/L
School: Calhoun High School (Sugar Valley, GA)

Josh Smoker is one of the top lefthanded pitchers in this year's draft and with his fluid pitching motion it reminds me of Braves' current starter, Chuck James. He has exceptional upside and with that loose and easy delivery it enables him to generate low-90s fastballs and an above-average changeup.

Even though he doesn't over power hitters, he is able to record a lot of strikeouts. This past season, Smoker went 8-2 1.52 ERA with 88 strikeouts in just 50 innings of work. And if you think that is impressive, then look at his numbers he put up as a sophomore. As a sophomore he went 12-0 with an astonishing 0.09 ERA and broke his own school strikeout record with 137 in 75 innings in leading Calhoun to the Georgia Class 2-A State Championship.

According to a mock draft done by John Sickles over at Minor League Ball, Smoker is the Braves' first round selection.

4. Matt Harvey, RHP

Height: 6'4"
Weight: 190
Age: 18
B/T: R/R
School: Fitch Senior High School (Mystic, CT)

Matt Harvey is also one of the top ten pitchers in this years draft and he has all the makings to be a great #2 pitcher for a long time. He has a loose fluid delivery and is able to pound the strike zone with in upwards of five pitches all of which he throws very well. His fastball can reach up to 95 at any given time, he also has one of the best, if not the best change up in this years draft, a two-seam fastball, a curve ball that has good spin and movement and a hard slider that breaks quickly. Matt also has experience at the closer role, which could increase his value. Something that is seeing him drop down draft boards has nothing to do with talent, it's because of his adviser, which is Scott Boras, and that leads teams to believe that he may be difficult to sign because of Boras' history.

Harvey led Fitch High to Connecticut's Class 2-A State Championship as a junior, posting a 5-0 record with two saves and a 0.82 ERA. In 43 innings he racked up 80 strikeouts against 14 walks with 13 hits allowed. He is a great pitcher and a team, say the 14-20 range could find themselves a steal, should he drop that low because of Boras of course, which it seems he may.


5. Tim Alderson, RHP

Height: 6'7"
Weight: 208
Age: 18
B/T: R/R
School: Horizon High School (Phoenix, AZ)

It's pretty easy to see why so many teams and scouts are enamored with Arizona prep star, he has great command on all of his pitches and is just as good as anyone in the high school ranks. He hardly walks anyone and he can reach 95+ on the radar guns. To compliment Alderson's 95+ fastball he has a nasty curveball that breaks hard.

Alderson led his Horizon High team this past season as the team's ace as he compiled an 8-3 record with a 0.95 ERA. He also recorded 122 strikeouts and eight walks on his way to being selected the Class 5-A Player of the Year by the Scottsdale Tribune. As a sophomore at Horizon, Tim went 8-1 with an astonishing 0.13 ERA. But with an unorthodox delivery it has some scouts concerned and it could end up meaning him dropping to the later picks in the first round.

The MLB Draft starts this coming Thursday and ends Friday(7th-8th) and for the first time it will be on national television. Expect me to be live blogging this much like I live blogged the NFL Draft and will be live blogging the NBA Draft when it happens.

This whole Donovan thing is confusing

Well last night when I went to bed, there were early reports that Donovan wanted to get out of his contract that he signed just three days ago with the Orlando Magic, and it appears that he still does. But there are conflicting reports on whether or not the Magic will allow him to break his contract.

The Orlando Sentinel reported early this morning that Orland will indeed allow Donovan to leave and may have already found his replacement.

On Monday morning, the Magic issued a statement, saying, " While Central Florida, the Orlando Magic and Billy were energized with the announcement of his contract signing on Friday, we know there was a different feeling in Gainesville and people have been tugging at him since that time.

"Billy is conflicted with those emotions and the opportunity he has ahead in Orlando and in the NBA. We've had numerous conversations and a personal visit in Gainesville with Billy over the last 48 hours, and we have a commitment from him that the dialogue between us will continue.''

They later went on to say that in all likelihood Donovan's predecessor will be Stan Van Gundy formally with the Miami Heat. Van Gundy is also involved in the head coaching job for the Sacramento Kings.

But then ESPN says something different, Andy Katz is reporting that the Magic may not let him out of his contract and they are trying to convince him to stay in Orlando.

"We've had numerous conversations and a personal visit in Gainesville with Billy over the last 48 hours and we have a commitment from him that the dialogue between us will continue."

Does this mean they will make him stay? Well, no, but it also mentions that there is a penalty if he does decide to back out. If I were the Magic I would try my damnedest to get Donovan to want to stay, obviously if he has no desire to coach then you have to let him go, because then he would lose all respect of his players and the fans. Whatever his final decision is, he's going to piss off one part of Florida, either Gainesville or Orlando.

See this story on the Fanhouse, Deadspin, Larry Brown Sports too name a few.

Breaking News: Orlando may still be looking for a head coach

Ryan Ferguson over at the Fanhouse just broke HUGE news, according to Fox Sports and ESPN, after being announced as the new head coach of the Orlando Magic just two days ago, Billy Donovan already wants out of his contract.

According to two sources close to the situation, the former Florida coach, who accepted the Orlando Magic job on Friday, is attempting to return to Gainesville.

Donovan agreed to a five-year, $27.5 million contract with the Magic late last week, but has approached both sides about getting out of the deal.

According to one source, Donovan was forced to make a rash decision by the Magic management — and he regretted it shortly after agreeing to the contract.

I'm shocked by this news, it really seemed like Donovan was prepared to move on to the next step, but I guess not. I don't really know what is left for him to do at Florida, his legacy is already etched in stone after becoming the first coach to lead his team to back-to-back National Championships since Duke did it in the early nineties. And then take into consideration that he has no returning starters from those great teams, it's going to be awfully difficult to keep the Gators in the top echelon of college basketball.

Is he backing out because of the pressure to be successful? Maybe. There is always immense pressure put on coaches that leave college for the pros, it doesn't matter what the sport is, football or basketball. But it's not like the Magic expect Donovan to turn this one and done team into a championship caliber team, at least not right now. He has a lot of great young players that are still developing, guys like Dwight Howard(who is already a bonafide star), Jameer Nelson, J.J. Reddick, Trevor Ariza, Darko Milicic and Carlos Arroyo so it's not like he's taking over the Spurs as Davey put it. I don't know, I guess we're going to have to wait see how this one plays out.

I think it's safe to say, they might want to take this down.


EDIT: Earlier I said that all five starters from last year's championship team have entered the draft, well they haven't, only four of the five are currently listed at ESPN.com(Horford, Green, Brewer and Noah). Lee Humphrey isn't mentioned although he was a senior.

They just don't understand, it's impossible to cover 85

According to ESPN's Len Pasquarelli, Cincinnati Bengal's cornerback, Johnathan Joseph will be out until the start of training camp due to a foot injury that he sustained Saturday at the Bengal's minicamp.

Joseph, who was the team's first-round choice in the 2006 draft, will undergo surgery on Monday for what is believed to be a minor fracture to his left foot. His foot will be either in a cast or a walking boot for at least a few weeks following the surgery.

Joseph injured his foot while trying to cover Bengal's wide receiver, Chad Johnson, which everyone knows is impossible, in a one-on-one drill Saturday. He was able to get up and move gingerly on the foot, but a subsequent examination indicated the need for surgery.

Joseph is fully expected to make a full recovery by time the season starts and will be the teams starting cornerback. Joseph will be taking over the duties that were once held by Tory James, but James now plays for the New England Patriots. Delta O'Neal and our 2007 1st-round selection, Leon Hall are expected to fight it out for the second starting position.

Johnnie Morton might want to consider a career change...again

Johnnie Morton's debut in mixed martial arts didn't quite go as expected, as he was knocked the hell out in just 38 seconds of the first round. He was put to sleep by a comedian of all people, named Bernard Ackah, Ackah connected with a devastating right hand to Morton's temple knocking him unconcisence. Morton stayed on the mat for a few moments before getting fitted with a neck brace and taken off on a stretcher.

Morton was awake and talking with paramedics after he was strapped onto the stretcher, he was also moving his head and arms, he was later taken to California Hospital as a precautionary measure. But he was suspended indefinitely by the California State Athletic Commission for refusing to take a post-fight banned substance test.



The former USC Trojan star displayed skill that suggested he'd have trouble defeating a Bozo the Clown bop bag. He ran at Ackah throwing wild punches, all of which missed or did little to no damage, and he showed the defensive skill of Jeff Kent. He looked to be in great shape, but he had no right in being in the ring.

Also see this story on Larry Brown Sports, With Leather and Deadspin.

Cavs win and it wasn't because of LeBron

The Cleveland Cavaliers have defeated the Detroit Pistons, 98-82 to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in the team's history. Like I said in the title, LeBron James wasn't that big of a factor, at least offensively, he had just 20 points but he had a great defensive game getting 14 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. It was none other than rookie point guard, Daniel "Boobie" Gibson who carried the Cav's offensively, he scored a very impressive 31 points and he added 6 rebounds and 2 assists, oh and he did all this coming off the bench.

The Cavaliers are going to have their hands full in the Finals because they are matched up against the defensive powerhouse that is the San Antonio Spurs this coming Thursday night for Game one.

To quote Cav's coach, Mike Brown, "you leave him open and it'll be Boobie for three....shoot it Boobie...Shoot it!"

I'll get more in dept tomorrow, but for now I bid you farewell.

Update: Wellman's shenanigans(I love that word)

Well another video of Phillip Wellman's ejection, although the video is much much better, the person who uploaded the video disabled embeding, so the best I can do is give you the URL...So here it is, Wellman's shenanigans.

Side Note: Wellman's grenade toss kind of reminds me of dinner at my Grandfathers, back when he used to have flashbacks of World War II and he started to reenact the battle scenes, I can't even begin to remember how many dinner rolls I've been pelted with in my day.

UPDATE #2: Finally a video is available that I can embed.

Greg Oden has a great sense of humor

I actually just found Greg Oden's blog via the Blog Show via We are the Postman so bare with me while I catch up.

His three posts(as of right now) are good, they could use some punctioation every now and again, but it's great to be able to read what it's really like going through the draft process with the notion that you're going to be the number one overall pick.

Oden also has a great sense of humor, he deals with all the jokes about him being 40 years old very well, and actually plays along with it, here's a few of his quotes from his comment section.

	6. jackson, 3 days ago | Reply	-15 pts | | |
	Portland sounds nice. Do they have dinosaurs? Are they even real? Did you see them in your childhood in 1962.

	6.1. gregoden, 17 hours ago | Reply	+1 pts | | |
	Well since I was born in 1922 I wouldnt know.

I do however agree with the statement that he could use a proofreader, but then again so could I, but him not having one kind of makes it seem more real(does that make sense?). Anyways I love the fact that he's blogging, he can join the likes of Gilbert Arenas, Ben Gordon etc as NBA stars that have blogs, I just hope he keeps it going through the draft process and his rookie season. Anyways, touche Mr.Oden, here's to more athletes taking up blogging, well Schilling can go ahead and stop.

Phillip Wellman: You ain't seen nothing yet

During Friday night's loss to the Chattanooga Lookouts, Mississippi Braves manager, Phillip Wellman decided to put on a show before leaving after being ejected in the third inning.

Wellman's show started after one ball in the bottom of the third. He burst out of the third-base dugout, flinging his hat behind home plate and getting in the face of plate umpire Brent Rice.

After having his say in a nose-to-nose conversation, Wellman strolled over to the plate and started kicking dirt on it. Then he dropped to a knee, scooped dirt on the plate and outlined a new one in the dirt.

Then Wellman walked down to third base and gave Rusty Barrett, the ump there, a piece of his mind before pulling the base out of the ground as a batboy scampered out of the dugout to reclaim the tossed hat. Wellman headed toward second base and tossed third into center field.

The antics continued.

Wellman crawled up the mound on his elbows and knees and flung the rosin bag toward the plate as if it were a grenade. He went back to second base, pulled it from the ground, grabbed third base and headed toward the clubhouse.

He ended the show by turning to the cheering crowd and waving goodbye.

"That was a pretty good show," Botelho said. "I'd probably rank it No. 1."

Let me be the first, or one of the first to present, one of the greatest freak outs in baseball history...

Is it really that hard to spell Dwayne Wade?

In order to show support for the yesterday's spelling bee, SI.com has a photo gallery titled "Hardest Names to Spell in Sports". Ok, sure, I mean there's a lot of names in the sport's world that can be difficult to say, let alone spell. Just for shits and giggles lets look at a quick rundown of their list.

1. Tshimanga (Tim) Biakabatuka (pronounced: Bee-ak-ah-bah-TOO-kah)- Former NFL running back for the Carolina Panthers.

2. Boubacar Aw (pronounced: boo-bah-KAHR)- Former basketball player for the Georgetown Hoyas, he played for John Thompson Sr.

3. Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje (pronounced: Boom-shay Boom-shay)- Another former Georgetown alum, he had a very disappointingly career with the Portland Trail Blazers and the Orlando Magic(apparently, I really have no idea who the hell he is.)

4. Mark Buehrle (pronounced: BUR-LEE)- Current All-Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox.

5. Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (pronounced: kah-BEER BAH-jah BEE-ah-MIL-lah) - Current NFL defensive end for the Green Bay Packers.

6. Mark Grudzielanek (pronounced: grud-zuh-LAN-nick)- Current starting second baseman for the Kansas City Royals.

7. Guillaume Latendresse (pronounced: Guy - Yo - hm La - Ten - Dress)- I guess he's still playing(?) for the Montreal Canadians, I wouldn't know, last time I watched hockey, Patrick Roy was still playing.

8. T.J. Houshmandzadeh (pronounced: hoosh-mand-zaa-deh)- Yessir, T.J. Whosyomamma himself...best number two wide receiver in the NFL and he plays for my Cincinnati Bengals.

9. Jarrod Saltalamacchia (pronounced: Sal-ta-la-macch-i-a)- Back-to-back players from my teams, Salty is a rookie catcher for my Atlanta Braves. He is also highly regarded as the top catching prospect in baseball.

10. Mike Krzyzewski (pronounced: Shuh-SHEV-ski)- Current head basketball coach for the Duke Blue Devils. I heard he's a pretty good coach....I suppose.

11. Doug Mientkiewicz (pronounced: mint-KAY-vich)- Current backup first baseman of the New York Yankees, he can't hit for shit, but he's pretty good defensively.

12. Nikolai Khabibulin (pronounced: hah-bee-BOO-lihn)- I don't know shit about hockey, but according to SI.com, this guy is pretty good and his nickname is the "Bulin Wall".

13. Okeme Oziwo (pronounced: oz-iwo)- He is a former Arizona State Sun Devil and a Harlem Globetrotter, but left the Globetrotters to pursue his doctorate in social work.

14. Jeff Samardzija (pronounced: sa-MAR-zhuh) - Nicknamed "the Shark" while setting records at Notre Dame but he has elected to stop playing football--even though he would've been a first round pick this year-- and instead signed a nice contract with the Chicago Cubs as a pitcher.

15. Wally Szczerbiak (pronounced: SIR-bee-ack)- Current basketball player for the Boston Celtics, but more known for his tenure with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

So far so good right, all those names are pretty hard to spell and pronounce, but here is where I begin to get confused...

16. Dwayne Wade (pronounced: Dwayne)- Wait, what? Dwayne Wade...are they serious? What is hard about that, Dwayne and Wade are both pretty common names. Oh he's a current superstar for the Miami Heat. But come on!

and finally...

17. Nikoloz Tskitishvili (pronounced: SKEE-tish-VEE-lee)- He was drafted by the Denver Nuggets in 2002 as the fifth overall selection but he is no longer in the NBA.

Breaking News: Carlos Zambrano and Michael Barrett throw fisticuffs

During the fifth inning of the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs game, Carlos Zambrano imploded and allowed five runs on five hits and he walked two batters. And the inning may have come to a close if it wasn't for Michael Barrett, the Cub's catcher, who first let a ball get passed him then allowed Scott Thorman to score on his throwing error. Obviously Zambrano wasn't very happy with his peformance and it seemed as though the events of Barrett set him off because after the inning Barrett and Zambrano started jawing in the dugout and then fisticuffs insued. A couple of shots by Zambrano, who is 6'5" 255, must've landed because Koyie Hill had to replace Barrett at catcher.

Expect an update when a video is available.

Side Note: I take every advantage to mention "fisticuffs".

UPDATE: Ok, so it looks like no solid punches landed, just shoves....oh well.

UPDATE #2: According MLB.com, Cubs manager Lou Piniella and hitting coach Gerald Perry had to separate the two a second time, this time in the team's clubhouse.

Piniella's interview isn't up yet, but Ububba from the Braves Journal posted this...

Piniella said the fight continued into the clubhouse after the dugout scrap. He says he sent both players home & “both will be disciplined, believe me.”

“This just shouldn’t happen,” he said, “Go fight the other team, if you have to.”

“When I was with the Yankees, this seemed like it happened a lot, but it still shouldn’t.”

He said he sent Zambrano to the showers & Barrett followed him. “Barrett’s lip is cut up pretty good.”

Then, he really got rolling. “I’ve only got so many players I can send out there and it’s about time they started playing like Major Leaguers!”

UPDATE #3: Here's the video of the Zambrano and Barrett fight...at last.