Sportsosphere

Michael Jordan Versus CEO John Rogers

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:00:00 EST

In this video clip Ariel Investments CEO and Chairman John Rogers takes on basketball legend Michael Jordan in a game of one-on-one. It's too bad we don't get to watch Jordan on the NBA court anymore.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Charles Barkley Talks Best NBA Players

Mon, 3 Nov 2008 18:00:00 EST

MarketWatch's Jon Friedman talks basketball with Charles Barkley. Some of the current players Barkley likes include Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan. Barkley also says Kevin McHale is the best player he's ever played against. You can see McHale's stats here. The teams Barkley likes for the championship this year are the Boston Celtics and the L.A. Lakers. He says San Antonio is too old.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

LFL Tryouts Begin in Seattle

Wed, 8 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST

Yes, there really is a LFL or Lingerie Football League. What started out as a Super Bowl halftime gimmick is expanding into 10 teams. The CNN clip below shows try-outs for the Lingerie Football League begin in Seattle. Seattle's team will be called "The Mist."

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Cowboys Endzone and Harlem Globetrotters in Neiman Marcus Christmas Book

Tue, 7 Oct 2008 16:40:00 EST

Neiman Marcus is offering to put an entire Dallas Cowboys endzone in your yard for $500,000 in its annual Christmas Book.

You can put 530 square yards of sporting history into your own backyard: An entire Cowboys Texas Stadium end zone. Our exclusive package also includes the VIP treatment for the last regular season Cowboys game in Texas Stadium. Your crew gets pre-game photos in your zone with Jerry Jones, a luxury suite for the game, a once-in-a-lifetime post-game tailgate party (with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders) on your soon-to-be new backyard, autographed memorabilia from Cowboys legends, and a VIP package to attend the opening of the new stadium in 2009. The Jerry Jones family and Cowboys organization will generously donate the entire purchase price to The Salvation Army. A limited edition of 380 framed 26" x 36" collages with a touchable section of end zone is also available.

They are also offering a chance to play with the Harlem Globetrotters joining stars like Scooter Christensen and Special K Daley on court. The exclusive gift package includes a personalized official uniform, guaranteed playing time in a U.S. 2008-09 season game, introduction as a special guest, and insider access to the team. That package retails for $110,000.

You can read more about the luxurious goodies in this year's Christmas Book here on ShoppingBlog.com.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Seth Petruzelli Defeats Kimbo Slice

Mon, 6 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EST

ESPN reports on how Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson wound up losing an EliteXC fight to relatively unknown Seth Petruzelli. Petruzelli filled in for Ken Shamrock who was deemed unfit to fight at the last minute because of a cut above his left eye.

Minutes before the doors opened and fans started pouring into the arena, Slice's original opponent, Ken Shamrock, was deemed unfit to fight. He sustained a nasty cut above his left eye during a practice session earlier in the day.

To his credit, Shamrock wanted the fight with Slice to go on. The two had sparred verbally for days and were eager to settle their differences. A shoving incident during the weigh-in served to intensify the situation.

But Florida State Athletic Commission officials refused to let Shamrock step in the cage. This sent ProElite representatives scrambling to save the card and, essentially, their league.

ProElite quickly turned to Petruzelli, who was scheduled to face Aaron Rosa in a non-televised light heavyweight bout. Petruzelli had fought as a heavyweight in the past and immediately seized the opportunity.

The KO happened nearly right after the match started as Kimbo was overwhelmed by his opponent. Here's a video from YouTube. There's also a video with the ESPN story. A few more stories here, here, here, here and here.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Upper Deck Vice President Sports Cards 2008

Fri, 3 Oct 2008 17:05:00 EST

Upper Deck released the above Vice Presidential Predictor trading cards that show caricatures of Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin. The cards were inside the company's latest baseball release.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Jeff Gordon Unveils New Vehicle

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 15:40:00 EST

Jeff Gordon reveals a new Chevy Impala vehicle. The car contains some black in the back with flames. DuPont is the sponsor.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Yankee Stadium Closes After Eight Decades

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EST

Yankee Stadium is closing its doors after eight decades of serving Yankee fans. USA Today offers a look back at the memories and the old stadium in this article. Another way to remember a baseball stadium is to build it with Legos.

For information on the new Yankee stadium try here, here, here and here.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Lance Armstrong is Coming Out of Retirement

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EST

Seven time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is coming out of retirement. You can see Lance's video statement about his unretirement here on livestrong.com. The Pleasant Morning Buzz says Lance is coming out of retirement to help in the fight against cancer.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Hurricane Ike Damages Reliant Stadium

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EST

Hurricane Ike damaged the roof of Houston's Reliant Stadium when it came through Houston earlier this week. The official website for Reliant Stadium can be found here. The damage resulted in the postponement of a Texans-Ravens game.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Kid Banned From Youth Baseball For Pitching Too Fast

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EST

Jericho Scott's parents are upset that the Youth Baseball League decided to ban him from the pitching. They claim his 40 mph fastball is too fast for the league but the poor 9-year-old kid wants to play. It's cool to be that much better than your peers but it is sad to not be able to play. Maggie Rodriguez reports in this video from CBS. Fox News, ESPN and the New York Times have all covered the Jericho's story. There's also a Wikipedia entry.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Tom Brady is Out and Matt Cassel is In For the Patriots

Mon, 8 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EST

New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady is out for the season with a left knee injury. He will be needing surgery to repair his knee injury. The Patriots said Monday that Brady is being placed on injured reserve. Below is a video of the Patriots press conference from the Associated Press.

The Sporting News writes that Matt Cassel (stats | bio) will be the starting quarterback when the Patriots face the Jets and Brett Favre this Sunday. Some more coverage of the shocking injury and the dramatically changed season for the patriots can be found at wcbstv, New York Times, TSN, Fox Sprots, Fanhouse, Cover Awards, CBC.ca, Patriots Gab, Projo Pats, South Coast Response, PatriotsBlog.net, Bumpshack, Best Week Ever, Our Patriots Blog and New York Daily News.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Marion Jones Released From Prison

Sat, 6 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EST

Former medal winning U.S. track and field star Marion Jones was released from prison Friday after serving a six-month sentence. She was sentenced earlier this year about lying to federal invesigators about using performance-enhancing substances at the Olympic games. Jones denied using steroids for years before finally admitting using them. Marion Jones says it was an "incredibly stupid thing to do" and says she is fully responsible for her actions.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Christiano Ronaldo Eager to Play

Tue, 2 Sep 2008 16:00:00 EST

European footballer of the year Christiano Ronaldo talks to CNN's Pedro Pinto about returning to football (soccer) from his operation. Ronaldo recently confirmed he would be staying with Manchester United for at least one more season. He said he will do his best to win games and score goals. His profile on the Manchester website can be found here.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Killer Kowalski Dies

Mon, 1 Sep 2008 08:00:00 EST

World Wrestling Entertainment has reported the passing of WWE Hall of Famer Walter "Killer" Kowalski. Kowalski, who was an in-demand performer in the 1950's and '60's, was a former WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation) Tag Team Champion in the late-1970's. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996. He was instrumental in the training of many WWE Superstars, including current WWE Champion Triple H.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

MLB Allows Instant Replay on Homers

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:00:00 EST

Major League Baseball umpires are going to be allowed to use instant replay technology on home run calls. It seems like a wise move. Home runs are important and limiting instant replays to homers should not increase game time length too much.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

The Beach Volleyball Dancers

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:00:00 EST

You probably missed this one at the Olympic games. It's cheerleaders for the beach volleyball games. The beach volleyball dancers performed before the matches and during breaks.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

How Will Phelps Capitalize on His Eight Medals?

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:00:00 EST

The Wall Street Journal's Chris Rhoads asks Michael Phelps about how he intends to capitalize on the Phelps brand to pursue business opportunities. He plans to take a lesson from another Michael - Michael Jordan. Phelps has already cut one deal - with Kellogs and Frost Flakes - which some say could be a mistake. It will be interesting to see if Phelps can become as huge of a brand as superstar athletes like Micheal Jordan, Tiger Woods and David Beckham. Phelps does sound very modest and very calm in all the interviews.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Minor Sports Star in the First Internet Olympics

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:00:00 EST

WSJ's Loretta Chao reports that the 2008 Beijing Games is considered the first "Internet" Olympics. Because of limited television coverage, many are going to the Web to watch minority events like water polo. It is great to have expanded coverage for some of these sports. NBC can only carry so much on broadcast tv but online they can offer much more. Water polo has been one of the most popular sports.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Michael Phelps Wins Third Gold Medal

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:13:00 EST

U.S. swimmer Mark Phelps is rapidly accumulating gold medals. He picked up his third today at the Water Cube reports the Chicago Tribune.

No heavy lifting, to pick up gold medal No. 3, was required this time.

Michael Phelps took away the tension almost immediately on Tuesday morning at the Water Cube, leading by the first 15 meters and then seemed to shift into cruise control, lowering his own world record in the 200-meter freestyle at the Olympics, going 1 minute 42.96 seconds.

Didn't someone by the name of Ian Thorpe used to swim this race? Phelps is three for three, all world records, including the classic of a 400 free relay on Monday morning

The medal was Phelps' ninth Olympic gold medal - tying him with Mark Spitz and Carl Lewis. You can find the bio for Mark Phelps here on NBCOlympics.com.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Donruss Quick to Add Brett Favre Jets Trading Card

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:00:00 EST

It took the Packers over 30-days to resolve the Brett Favre situation but it has only taking Donruss a few days to get him on an NFL player trading card with his new team. Donruss announced that a Brett Favre New York Jets trading card will appear in the company's Playoff Absolute Memorabilia product, scheduled to reach retail stores the first week of September. They are wise to move quickly as the new Brett Favre New York Jets jersey has been flying off shelves.

The Favre card features a photo of the Brett Favre holding up his #4 NY Jets jersey at Thursday's press conference. Donruss dispatched a photographer to the event with the express purpose of creating this special card.

"Trading cards have always helped bring fans closer to the players and commemorate historic moments in sports," said Donruss Marketing /PR Director Scott Prusha. "This is one of the biggest football stories in the past decade and we are honored to bring this historic moment to collectors."

Permalink | Our News Feeds

U.S. Crushes China 101-70 in Opener

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 22:14:00 EST

The U.S. crushed China 101-70 in the highly anticipated basketball matchup. The game was close for the first half. LeBron James led the U.S. in scoring with 18. China's Yao scored 13 points.

However, with LeBron James scoring 18 points and Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard both contributing 13, the Americans eased clear of a tiring Chinese team.

More than a billion people were estimated to have seen the game on television.

US coach Mike Krzyzewski said: "More people were supposed to be watching this game than any other in basketball history, and we treated that as a great honour. Both teams responded to the magnitude of the event."

Yao, who scored 13 points, said: "It was a great game played in a fantastic atmosphere, with all the flags and cheering. Everyone was very proud."

Here's LeBron and Kobe dressing each other before the game. They did look good in those stylish Olympic duds from Ralph Lauren.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Olympics Open in Beijing

Fri, 8 Aug 2008 21:00:00 EST

8-8-08 arrives and the Olympics began with a stunning opening display in Beijing at a building dubbed the Bird's Nest. The Associated Press calls the opening a "a stunning display of pyrotechnics and pageantry."

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Bolt Will Run 100 and 200 in Beijing

Thu, 7 Aug 2008 23:00:00 EST

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, the world record holder in the 100 meters, will also run the 200 meters in Beijing reports the AP. Bolt broke the world record in the 100 in New York this May. Usain Bolt has been one of the most widely discussed athletes appearing at the Beijing games.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Brett Favre Traded to the New York Jets

Thu, 7 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EST

Green Bay has traded superstar quaterback Brett Favre to the New York Jets. This is a move that is undoubtedly going to enrage a lot of Packers fans. Aaron Rodgers will now be the starting QB for the Packers as originally planned before Favre changed his mind about retiring.

The move ends a remarkably ugly split between Green Bay and one of its most beloved players, allows the Packers to move forward with new starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers and gives Favre a fresh start - although not exactly the one he wanted, as Favre's first choice was widely believed to be the Minnesota Vikings.

Favre was scheduled to leave Hattiesburg, Miss., Thursday morning and the Jets said he would be at a 6 p.m. EDT news conference in Cleveland, where New York plays the Browns in a preseason game later Thursday.

According to NFL.com, the Packers will receive a fourth-round draft pick in 2009. The selection would turn into a third-rounder if Favre plays in 50 percent of the plays this season, a second-rounder if he plays in 70 percent and the Jets make the playoffs, or a first-round pick if he plays in 80 percent and the Jets make it to the Super Bowl.

"I am looking forward to seeing Brett Favre in a New York Jets uniform," said Jets chairman and CEO Woody Johnson in a statement issued early Thursday. "He represents a significant addition to this franchise, and reflects our commitment to putting the best possible team on the field."

Brett Favre's destination of choice was apparently Minnesota so even he didn't get exactly what he wanted. The people happiest with this decision are likely New York Jets fans which is good for them since they usually don't have much to be happy about. The people at Snapper mowers are probably very happy as well since Snapper is a product that Favre is a spokesperson for as you can see by the photograph in this post.

Some more resources on this Favre-Jets story: SI.com, NJ.com, Newsday, Outside the Beltway, Game On, SportsbyBrooks, The Big Lead and Bleacher Report.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

100 Athletes to Watch in Beijing

Mon, 4 Aug 2008 21:00:00 EST

The opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing is getting closer and closer. Those curious about the games may want to check out Time's special piece about 100 athelets to watch in Beijing.

Listed at #1 is rising U.S. basketball star LeBron James who has promised an Olympic gold in basketball for the U.S. It's more than just a promise since any medal other than gold would be consider a massive failure for the U.S. basketball team. James will be up against Yao Ming who plays for the NBA's Houston Rockets but will be playing for his home team of China at the Olympic Games.

Another athelete to watch is China's own Liu Xiang, who suprised analysts with a victory in the 110-m hurdles in Athens. Also check out U.S. sprinter Allyson Felix, 16-year-old U.S. gymnast Shawn Johnson, Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice and China's diver Guo Jingjing. If you are interested in getting excited about the Olympics this great list from Time will help you to better know many of the possible stars of the 2008 Olympics.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Five Iraqis to Attend Beijing Olympics

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EST

Nightly News reports that a last minute decision by the IOC will allow five Iraqi Olympic team members to attend the Beijing Olympics. However, the decision came very late and as Nightly News reports some of the small Iraqi Olympic team have missed the registration date. The AFP has more details about the IOC's delayed decision.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Beijing Olympic National Stadium From Space

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:00:00 EST

This satellite image captured by DigitalGlobe shows the National Stadium and Aquatics Center in Beijing. The Beijing Olympics being on August 8th, 2008. The official site for the game is en.beijing2008.cn.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Did Japanese Cycling Event Buy Its Way Into Olympic Games?

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:00:00 EST

A BBC article suggests that a fast-paced Japenese cycling sports called the keirin may have bought its way into the Olympic Games.

The payments were allegedly made in the 1990s. The sport, called the keirin, was supported for inclusion into the Games by the UCI, and admitted in 1996.

The UCI and its president at the time, Hein Verbruggen, deny any wrongdoing.

The keirin is a rapid and exciting track cycling event an event where riders are initially paced around a track by a motorcycle before sprinting for the line.

It is big business in its country of origin, Japan, commanding tens of millions of dollars in gambling revenue every year.

But despite its financial clout, the one thing keirin has always lacked is an international profile.

Wikipedia's entry says Keirin began in Japan in 1948. You can read a couple articles describing the sport here and here. Despite the controversy it does look like an exciting support. You can see a video of a race in this YouTube video.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Zoomable Panaromic View of Yankee Stadium

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:00:00 EST

The above photograph of Yankee Stadium from July 4th is midly interesting but wait until you zoom in on it and can see every fan and all of the players. You can see the panaromic view here on the Sport's Illustrated's website. This panoramic view of Yankee Stadium was taken by a robotic camera using GigaPan technology. The photo was shot over the course of 10 minutes and consists of 124 frames stitched together. SI says Carnegie Mellon developed the GigaPan technology last year in collaboration with NASA.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Favre vs Packers: Neither Side is Backing Down

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EST

The Associated Press Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner explains the dispute between Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers. Wilner thinks the standoff won't have a pleasant ending unless one side backs down. Unfortunately, it isn't clear that either side is going to backs down.

Permalink | Our News Feeds

Olympic Swimmer Natalie Coughlin

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:00:00 EST

The Associated Press has an interview with U.S. olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin. We recently learned about the swimsuit she will be wearing. Coughlin says she feels really good so far and she is starting to get into the routine of camp. She also says it is overwhelming because of all the attention it gets.

Permalink | Our News Feeds