All Sport Report

Two teams are gonna do it again, and two men are gonna meet about how it all fell apart.

The North Carolina Tar Heels defeated Rice 7-4 last night to advance to a second consecutive meeting in the College World Series against Oregon State, beginning on Saturday. The match-up will be only the second rematch in the Series’ 61-year history.

It a shame UC-Irvine was not able to advance, as the 2007 version of the cardiac kids would’ve been a great college version of the Boston Red Sox… Minus the generations of losing and loathing from their fans.

In other baseball news, Yankees first baseman and new face of steroids Jason Giambi has agreed to speak with Sen. George Mitchell and his steroids investigation, becoming the first active player to do so. Seems like Bud Selig’s threats ran deep, as Giambi also used the word “steroids” in the classification of his involvement for the first time.

Selig may want the public to know that the league has an interest in solving the mystery about steroids, but its a dangerous gamble to force players to talk about issues that were deep in the gray area just five seasons ago. If Giambi comes out and says teams were turning a blind eye to steroid usage, that’s a bigger can of worms than the sport may be able to recover from.

Reports out of Baltimore are the Orioles’ open manager job is still just that - open.

Joe Girardi, the 2006 NL Manager of the Year with the Florida Marlins and front runner for the vacant position with the AL’s worst team, has reportedly turned down an offer from the Orioles. His agent told ESPN that Girardi will not return to the league as a manager and will remain as a television analyst for the Yankees’ YES Network.

Can’t say that I blame Girardi. After such an acrimonious split with ownership in Florida, I’m sure he didn’t have to hear too many horror stories to know what he was potentially walking into in B-More.

A player will soon be on the phone non-stop with his lawyer, and a league is changing cell phone carriers.

Suspended NFL player Adam “Pacman” Jones has been charged with two felonies in a Las Vegas strip club brawl that led to a shooting in February. The Rainmaker allegedly bit a bouncer on the ankle and threatened to kill several club employees, according to police records.

This is the latest spot of trouble for the embattled Titans cornerback, who was recently wanted for questioning in connection with a shooting outside of an Atlanta strip club. It’s unknown whether the league can take any action against Jones, who in total has been involved with more than 10 incidents where police were called to the scene, but he’s proven himself to be liability to the league and his own life.

In other news, rumors are flying about NASCAR renaming its cup series from Nextel to the Sprint Cup Series. If they prove to be true, it will be the third sponsorship name change in four years for the association.

NASCAR officials deny the claim, but do say talks are in place. Sprint and Nextel merged in 2004 to the tune of $36 billion dollars, so its a little odd why the change would be so sticky between the two names linked to the cell phone conglomerate.

The only thing its stands to change is the amount of commercials we’ll see during races, and maybe an increase in NASCAR fans ignoring the release of the iPhone.

One move has yet to be made, and the other one is all but official. The Baltimore Orioles have publicly stated that embattled Florida Marlins manager Joe Girardi is the front runner for its managerial job, just one day after firing Sam Perlozzo.

In Sacramento, the Kings will name former NBA guard and New Mexico State head coach Reggie Theus its new head coach in an afternoon press conference today. Theus was a part of the 1985 inaugural Kings roster, and turned around the Lobos program in just two years, leading them to a berth in last season’s NCAA tournament.

Girardi’s candidacy comes with baggage, as he was fired from the Marlins last season after a very public rift with owner Jeff Loria. Shortly thereafter, he was named the National League Manager of the Year despite finishing the season with a 78-84 record.

Having lived in Baltimore for the better part of eight years and having close ties to the Orioles for double that amount of time, I can tell you Girardi can possibly squeeze 10-15 more wins out of a team destined to lose under the dreadful ownership of Peter Angelos. In case you hadn’t heard, local Orioles fans staged a walk-out last season to protest his running the franchise into the ground.

As for Theus, he should be a steady leader for an underachieving Kings team. He’s regarded as a player friendly coach with great charisma and above average teaching ability. He should connect right away with Kings cornerstone Mike Bibby and other young guards like Francisco Garcia and Kevin Martin.

Kings ownership is a stark contrast to that of the Orioles. They are fan friendly and cognizant of the pulse of their following. Theus should have a successful run in Sacramento, and loyalty from fans and ownership from his previous ties to the city.

Former Washington Redskins and New York Giants linebacker LaVar Arrington was injured yesterday in a motorcycle accident in suburban Maryland. The Pro Bowler was hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries after crashing on a highway ramp.

Reports from ESPN citing comments from Arrington’s agent said that Arrington suffered cuts, bruises, a broken arm and a broken leg. Arrington was released by the Giants in February, after playing only six games last season before tearing his Achilles tendon.

It has been a rough career for the second pick of the 2000 NFL Draft. Once viewed as the second coming of Lawrence Taylor, injuries and conflicts with coaches have stemmed his true potential as a player. The assumption is that he will sit out this season, but at age 29, its possible he can have a decent finish to his career in the 2008 season.

Even if he hasn’t been locked up for any of his numerous offenses, it might be a good deal for Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones to just commit himself to some type of institution.

The poster child of the NFL’s behavior woes is being sought for questioning in a shooting that allegedly took place with members of Jones’ entourage after leaving an Atlanta strip club early this morning.

Police reports say that Jones and his associates got into a fight with three men at the strip club, and upon leaving the club, a member of Jones’ group opened fire on the vehicle carrying the other group with which they had the altercation.

The other group returned fire, leaving one bystander outside of the vehicles injured from debris.

According to NFL.com, “attorney Robert Langford said no evidence tied Jones to the shooting, but an aide to Clark County district attorney David Roger said it could take several days to decide if there is enough information to file charges against Jones and two friends.”

Something really needs to be done about Jones and his countless transgressions.  It’s truly shameful, because there are many incidents of athletes behaving badly that don’t come close to the tragedy of ‘Pacman’ Jones and his unabated loyalty to the wrong crowd and wrong places. He has already lost a large portion of the 2007 season, but he’s inching closer and closer to losing his life.

It’s not unusual for PGA players to cringe going into a Sunday with Tiger Woods not far off the lead. For Angel Cabrera, the distance between cringing and crumbling was as long as the rough at Oakmont.

Cabrera managed to stay one shot ahead of Tiger Woods to win the 107th U.S. Open, becoming only the second Argentinian since Roberto De Vincenzo to do so. A 16 time winner on the international circuit, Cabrera came into the Open with six top-ten finishes in PGA majors, and having never missed the cut at Oakmont.

It was a great week for Argentina, with Cabrera capturing the U.S. Open, and Manu Ginobili playing a major role in the San Antonio Spurs collecting their fourth NBA championship. The news couldn’t be sweeter for some Argentine government officials, as rumors are circulating about planned protests to disrupt the country’s hosting of the Copa America International Soccer Tournament.

Just as advertised in the final score of Game 2, the San Antonio Spurs solidified their place in NBA history with their fourth NBA championship in nine years, with an 83-82 victory of the Cleveland Cavaliers last night in Cleveland.

The win capped a 4-0 sweep of the Cavs, who never looked offensively organized against a well prepared Spurs defense. It was a far cry from the Eastern Conference finals for the Cavs, as LeBron James averaged as many turnovers as assists in the Finals.

Spurs guard Tony Parker elevated his game to a new level, and looks to be the league’s next great play maker. His 24.7 scoring average, combined with 57 percent FG% and five rebounds per made him the runaway choice for Finals MVP, the first European born MVP in league history. His only flaw will be playing the majority of his career with Tim Duncan, but if Stockton and Malone could carve out individual hall-of-fame careers without a ring, it seems realistic that this tandem has a chance for greater legacy.

The most intriguing part of this Spurs team, which has the best winning percentage of all the major American sports in the last 10 years, is that they figure to be a steady lock for the Finals for the next several years. Duncan is 31, Ginobili will be 30 in July and Parker is 25. At the very least, three more years of great play will come out of the Alamo, and that’s not withstanding future moves Spurs GM R.C. Buford may make.

Intriguing may be one way to put it. Scary is another.

A report in USA Today says that Bud Selig will suspend New York Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi if he does not cooperate with Sen. George Mitchell’s independent investigation of steroids in baseball.

Giambi, who stated he was “wrong for doing that stuff” in a May interview with USA Today, drew the ire of the commissioner with his comments. Selig publicly recommended that Giambi cooperate with the investigation, and be spared from disciplinary action as a result. Neither Giambi or his agent, Arm Tellem, have disclosed whether or not he will cooperate with the investigation.

Giambi has all but admitted his usage and the gravity of steroids several times over the last few years. Even if he talks to Mitchell, at best it would produce Giambi’s own story, and no real leads on how far steroids reached into clubhouses around the league. You can best believe that if any action comes down for a lack of cooperation, the MLB players’ union will go Jedi on Selig’s empire.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., the biggest free agent in NASCAR after an acrimonious split with DEI Racing., officially announced his intention to drive for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. The move confirms rumors that were swirled around the sport since last week and adds another rock star caliber driver to the sports’ most successful organization.

Jr. joins perennial contenders Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson on a squad that has won 10 of 14 races this season, and six championships in the last 23 years. The odd man out on this major deal is current Hendricks driver Kyle Busch, who will be released from his contract at the end of this season. Busch currently leads Jr. in the NEXTEL Cup standings by 82 points.

Hendrick Motorsports is like the Lakers of the 80’s, Yankees of the 90’s and Patriots of 2000 and beyond in the world of car racing. They cultivate talent, market their superstars well and build upon success. Jr. is a driver that transcends his sport, and this move solidifies Hendrick’s standing not only in NASCAR history, but professional sports ownership history.

In a sport where home runs have drawn ire and speculation for the last several seasons, the early stages of the 2007 Major League Baseball season will be remembered for a pitching jewel delivered last night in Detroit’s Comerica Park.

Justin Verlander, the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year threw a 12 strikeout no-hitter to blank the Milwaukee Brewers 4-0 yesterday evening in Chicago. It was Verlander’s seventh win of the season and the first no-hitter thrown by a Tiger pitcher since 1984. The win was also Detroit’s third consecutive, and drew them even with Cleveland for the lead in the AL Central Division.

With so many conflicting emotions concerning Barry Bonds’ approach of the all-time home run record, and the league’s best team trying to climb out of a Bronx nightmare, Verlander’s spectacular outing will be a much needed breather in a season of high anxiety.

Varejao’ed - v - When a composite, group or team featuring an outstanding component, individual or player is undermined by a lesser component, individual or player.

The sexy story from last night’s 75-72 Spurs victory over the Cavs will be the non-call on Bruce Bowen fouling LeBron James on a last-second three-point attempt. But the ugly side of Cleveland’s final night of playoff hope doesn’t rest on LeBron’s heave or the ref’s silent whistle.

It rest’s on the floppy-locked head of one Anderson Varejao.

Usually, collective groans and jeers for a home team are reserved for draft selections, and even then, its only a couple hundred die-hard yahoos. But with the Cavs trailing 72-70 with 13 seconds remaining in the game, the Cavaliers version of Full Throttle energy drink took one of the most untimely shots in NBA history, and sent the crowd of 20,562 into a collective “What the heezy?”

13 seconds and three Ginobili free throws later, the Spurs went into cruise control in the search for their fourth NBA championship.

Sure, Larry Hughes didn’t play, the role players didn’t contribute, and Daniel ‘Boobie’ Gibson came up ‘A-cup’ in his first Finals start, but the Cavs kept it close enough in spite of horrendous shooting from three; 2-16 compared to the Spurs’ 10-19. The Spurs defense played bad enough to not blow them out, but well enough to match an ineffective offense. This same defense should pick up in game four to close it out.

No matter the reason, the city of Cleveland has a chance to come down from the disappointment of meeting up with the Spurs in the NBA finals, just in time to greet a man named Brady at Browns mini-camp.

Embattled Tennesee Titans cornerback and renowned rainmaker Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones has withdrawn the appeal of his suspension and will not play in the 2007 NFL season.

Jones was suspended on April 10, 2007 after repeatedly running afoul of the law since he entered the league as the sixth pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. Arrested five times and questioned by police 10 times over, Jones formally filed the appeal on May 11.

Jones is the classic example of an athlete not learning his lesson. On the outside, this is a decent move to allow the Titans organization and its players a chance to move on without being constantly questioned about the issue. But I can’t help but wonder, how contrite can a man be when rumors still swirl about his desire to constantly disturb the peace?

Fellow bloggers, meet the NCAA, today’s public enemy #1.

Brian Bennett, a reporter with the Courier-Journal in Louisville, KY was ejected from last Sunday’s NCAA baseball regional tournament game between the University of Louisville and University of Miami (FL) for blogging the results of the game. What was the big deal? The following memo from the NCAA office that was sent to the press box earlier in the day:

The College World Series Media Coordination staff along with the NCAA Broadcasting group needs to remind all media coordinators that any statistical or other live representation of the Super Regional games falls under the exclusive broadcasting and Internet rights granted to the NCAA’s official rights holders and therefore is not allowed by any other entity. Since blogs are considered a live representation of the game, any blog that has action photos or game reports, including play-by-play, scores or any in-game updates, is specifically prohibited. In essence, no blog entries are permitted between the first pitch and the final out of each game.

The link highlighted above is an actual transcript of Bennett’s blog, and an accompanying piece with his thoughts on the ejection. The newspaper is considering legal action against the NCAA, and classifies the ejection as a violation of First Amendment rights.

It’s understandable why the NCAA would feel pressure to eliminate blogging from press boxes, because they wouldn’t want to offer an alternative to watching the game outside of what ESPN paid good money for. At the same time, there’s not a lot of comp from bloggers to cut ESPN or the NCAA’s money that short. as this particular blogger feels.

A disparaging rant? We’re never short on those. A multimedia financial meltdown? Not likely from your friendly neighborhood blogger.

The announcement of Chamique Holdsclaw’s retirement yesterday afternoon was a sudden and surprising development in the world of professional sports. At 29 years of age, and a storied career at the University of Tennessee and with the WNBA’s Washington Mystics and Los Angeles Sparks, Holdsclaw has been consider one of the best women’s basketball players of all-time, for a long time.But those who have closely followed Holdsclaw’s career know that her professional life was heavily influenced by her personal life. A very private person, she publicly disclosed that she was dealing with depression in 2002 following the death of her grandmother. Her grandfather died two years later, and she was excused from the team in the early part of the 2006 season to be with her father and stepfather, who were both diagnosed with cancer.

It’s not difficult for athletes pegged for greatness to falter under the weight of expectations. She excelled under those circumstances on the court, to the point that she probably pushed aside her personal pain for too long. Championships, accolades and fame only carry you so far professionally, but it’s a good bet that Holdsclaw has the heart to be a champion in the next phases of her life.