Saturday Introductions

Hi, I'm Fiji, and I just prevailed in one of the all-time Rugby Union Classics over Wales. Probably the greatest achievement in Fijian sports, I dare say, reaching the RWC quarterfinals. Why is this good for the Bokke?
From a South African viewpoint it was the perfect result, for while the Fijians play some quite spectacular rugby at times, the Springboks are not physically inferior to the Fijians, which was the Welsh Achilles heel in this match. For a start, their pack should be no match for the Boks in the set-scrums.

After making the quarterfinals for the first time in their history, Fiji will probably also feel now that they have played their final, and they did have to dig deep to prevail in the Nantes thriller. It is hard to see them get up like that again for a quarterfinal just a week later, and they lost flyhalf Nicky Little, an influential player on the day, to an injury which looks serious enough to rule him out of the remainder of the tournament.


Hi, I'm Yossi Benayoun, and I rescued my Liverpool teammates for the second match in a row. I can't say enough about how much I love the addition of Yossi to the squad and would like nothing more than to see him get more regular starts on the wing, opposite Jermaine Pennant. Even if it was Wigan, an away league win is always an accomplishment.


Hi, I'm the NHL, and I have unceremoniously returned! I feel a bit ashamed of myself, quite honestly, because I love the NHL and, yet, (along with the rest of the nation) completely missed that the season began today. Maybe it's because the season opened in London with your Los Angeles Kings spanking defending champion Anaheim 4-1! Skreee! Welcome to the fold, goalie prodigy Jonathan Bernier. I still don't expect much from the Kings, this season, but this is a promising start and I'm excited to catch a few games at Staples Center. Go hockey!


Hi, I'm the Pac 10, and I'm AWESOME! The Cal-Oregon game lived up to the hype and more. What an electric second half. The Ducks really had every chance to win this game, aided in part by the highly dubious "missed field goal" by Cal in the third quarter (A kick the went over the top of the post -- which meant it was good. But just ask Oklahoma about that officiating in Eugene, OR.), but that bumbingly muffed kick return, a couple of 4th quarter picks by Dixon, and one of the most gutting fumbles in recent memory opened the door for Cal. Desean Jackson picked on heck of a time to have a breakout game. Sadly for Dennis Dixon, his Heisman candicacy took a severe hit. Cal had better hope Longshore's ankle problem isn't too serious, but the Bears are every bit a top-4 team. USC is still the class of this conference, but they'll have to deal with both the Bears and Ducks. Phew... I'd love it if Arizona could pick up a win tonight against Washington State.


Hi, I'm the Big 12, and I'm officially irrelevant. It takes a pretender to blow a 17-point lead to Colorado. I present to you: Oklahoma. And Texas was finally exposed for the overrated frauds that they are. Terribly overhyped by the national press thanks solely to their name, Kansas State smacked the hell out of them, Vince Young on the sideline and all. The Horns are K-State's new bitch. Don't worry about watching next weekend's Red River Shootout. It doesn't matter. Don't set the alarm, sleep in, catch the final score in the following morning's paper.


Hi, I'm South Florida, and you may as well give me the Big East title right the hell now. Beating West Virginia and seeing Rutgers proudly display their "pretender" logo by flopping against Maryland, there's no way the Bulls can blow this? Is there?


Hi, I'm Wisconsin, and I'm inspiring nobody. Even with the tight win over an unbeaten Michigan State, Wisconsin isn't looking too impressive. Isn't it funny to think that the only team that looks to have a shot at rattling Ohio State's tree in the Big Ten, this year, is a janky Michigan team? But wait... Here come the Ilini!


Hi, I'm the National League East, and I'm ridiculous! Pretty insane that the Washington Nationals and Florida Marlins are going to decide this division and a bit of a shame that the Mets and Phillies weren't scheduled to play each other during the final weekend of the season. Even though the Mets have imploded over the last two weeks of the season, Philadelphia fans must have that awful feeling in the pits of their stomachs -- a feeling they're all too familiar with. 162 games and it comes down to the final day? Yeesh.

2-0

Few things in sports make me as happy as that scoreline. That scoreline when it is applied to this rivalry. Yeah, that's right. I absolutely delight over US victories against Mexico. More and more, Mexico is becoming my Duke basketball of the soccer world.

A lot to catch up on, here. There's the mixed bag of what I feel is ultimately good goodness in the US-led takeover of Liverpool. Everyone is always fearful of change, but if the mighty Reds were to be taken over by a foreign interest that assures it will keep the club competitive and genuine, I'd much rather it be at the hands of Tom Hicks and George Gillet than the dubious DIC and whatever dirty money they scrounged up.

Every time there's a new paragraph, there's a new thing to mention. You know they aren't playing soccer in Italy, at the moment, because of hooliganism? This is unreal! For all the right reasons, too!

Not soccer, hockey. Consider me pretty bummed about the LA Kings (getting worse by the second) dumping Sean Avery to the New York Rangers for a bag of day-old donuts. Avery's all heart and one of the fiercest competitors in the league. Even at 5'10". He'll be missed. Like winning.

B-ball. John Amaechi is gay. Not a big deal. Really, it's not. Sad, really, that a personal confession from a forgetten never-was basketball player can grab headlines. LeBron James -- young LeBron James (the guy's what? 13?) -- thinks Amaechi keeping his sexuality a secret all this time raises character and trust issues. Let's hope that everyone realizes just how young LeBron is. The guy has no perspective. Just like a freshman film student thinks he can make a war film, LeBron thinks he knows what it is to have complete trust, loyalty, and openness from all of his teammates. Meanwhile, he's raking in millions and mailing it in nightly as the Cavs continue to look unapologetically average.

The Celtics have lost 16 in a row. WTF?!? Is this a one-way ticket to Greg Oden or what?

College ball, you are my love. Only six weeks until the madness and, only now, people are finally taking notice of USC. I went to the new Galen Center (very nice facility, yet not typical of most arenas -- essentially a sleak basketball gym dropped inside a conference hall) on Saturday to catch the Trojans' sweep of Oregon. Tonight, they were one Lodrick Stewart technical away from hanging on L on UCLA. I don't think I can be any clearer here, I love the look of this Trojan basketball team and I think that they have real potential to make some serious noise come tournament time. If not for UCLA, I swear it, USC would be the best team in a loaded, loaded Pac 10.

When it rains it pours

Yeah. This one speaks to yesterday's post of gloom. Craig Conroy lights up the Kings for two goals in his first game back with Calgary as LA goes down in Flames (pun) 4-1 and the Lakers, thanks to the completely unwarranted and ridiculous suspension of Kobe, kicked off their 8-game (that's right, eight) road trip with a loss to the bloody Knicks. That's grounds for getting kicked out of the league.

Deep breath...

Do you hear that? It's a tumbleweed rolling past Superbowl Media Day. What a lame "event." Lining up players from each team so that they can spit out cliches like they were going out of style, yeah... that's worth my time. I just hope this game isn't death on toast. In other words: a complete bore.

At least Barbaro's dead

Ooooh! He's a monster, folks! Exulting in the death of flipping Barbaro! Well, the truth is that this page has been dormant for a solid week mostly because I've been busy as all hell, but also partially because I've had nothing good to write about. Let's see...

Lakers - Where do I start? Sunday's collapse against the Spurs (who looked positively terrible) or getting swept by Charlotte (story of LA's season: playing to the level of competition.

Kings - Obviously, as they spiral into oblivion, they're in the position of being "sellers" as the trade deadline approaches. It still stings, though, to trade Craig Conroy back to Calgary from whence he came for a pile of dirt.

Arizona Wildcats - Getting obliterated at home against a young, albeit talented, North Carolina team swiftly takes us out of any Sweet 16 discussion, let alone Final Four. This is a team in crisis. Losers of five of their last seven and the conference schedule doesn't get any easier. We only play ASU one more time. Every other game, I'll be sweating bullets.

And while the Cats struggle, Stanford is the latest Pac 10 team making a huge push, knocking off USC and UCLA last week.

So with all of that said, yeah, F*** Barbaro! He's an animal, people! He's not an athlete -- he's not even a person -- he's a freaking horse that won one big race. WHO CARES?! I'm holding my breath for the national day of mourning in rememberance of Barbaro. I wouldn't be shocked if it came. Because people are stupid. Fan mail for a horse? Kill yourself!

Sadly, I missed both the men's and women's final at the Australian Open. But I suppose I was fortunate because they were both demolitions. Serena slapped My Goddess, Maria, 1 and 2. I guess it's safe to say that she's back. I take a certain degree of issue at all the hubbub plaudits she's receiving for being the first unseeded woman to win a major since '78 (I believe). I mean, c'mon, this isn't any unseeded player. This is Serena Williams. She wasn't unseeded because her play was poor, but rather because she was injured for most of last year. If you don't play, your ranking drops, but she's still one of the top ten players in the world, at the very least, in terms of talent. As for the men... what else can you say about Roger Federer? Most dominant player, nay... most dominant entity (encompassing all teams and individuals) in sports. 27-set unbeaten streak? Wow.

One last positive before leaving for what could be many days: the schedule for BracketBusters 2007 has been announced. Mmm... college hoops. Every basketball fan in America should, at the very least, be tuned into Southern Illinois at Butler. That'll be a great, great game.

Desert Dogs

Don't know if anyone's noticed, but the Phoenix Coyotes are the hottest team in professional sports not named the Phoenix Suns. Gretzky's resurrection job with the 'Yotes begins with the ace-goaltending they've received from CuJo and the next super Swede, Mikael Tellqvist. They've been nails during this run.

Speaking of goaltenders, Dan Cloutier is out after hip surgery, so you'd figure the Kings would be improving defensively, right?? I mean, we've got the first Japenese player in NHL history on our side. Why wouldn't we be doing incredibly well? After all, Fukufuji only let in half of the six goals conceded to Atlanta, last night. In fact, during this current four-game-pointless streak, the Kings have conceded 20 goals! My lord, you call yourselves professionals? Thank heaven Anze Kopitar is there. He's been the one silver-lining to what may end up being the most embarrassing season in franchise history. The Flyers may beat the Kings for worst record in the NHL, but I'd wager that Philly still has a better team. After all, they did beat the Kings earlier this season. If LA doesn't get the "Ugly" award on Barry Melrose's podcast this week, I'll be stunned.

By the by, has anyone else noticed (wait, no, of course you haven't) that the NHL All-Star game will be played on a Wednesday? Just how far into obscurity has this league fallen? But then, baseball has their All-Star game midweek, too. Whatever, All-Star games are lame.

Anze Kopitar

Consider this my goodwill and community service for the day: spreading much needed knowledge!

In a season that is (and will likely continue to be) full of low-lights for the LA Kings, there is one bright spot on the team that has others around the NHL taking notice. Awesome to see Kopitar finally getting some national pub. I know it's all about Malkin this year (and with good cause), but Anze is a super scorer in the making. Not nearly at Malkin's elite level (few in the league are), but easily the next best rookie in the NHL. Go Kings.

A perfect confluence of events

Last Friday: Utah comes back in the final three minutes to hand the Lakers a bitter defeat.

Tuesday: Michael Redd shows up everyone at Staples Center and drops a whopping 45 points as the Bucks escape with a sheepish victory over the Lakers.

Thursday afternoon: ESPN.com runs a front page story about how Kobe has lost a step and won't be the same after the knee injury, ranking only 14th in the league in scoring.

Tough road loss to Utah+Michael Redd stealing the show+ESPN condemnation = last night: 52 points from the Black Mamba in a 30-point route of the once mighty Utah Jazz! Bryant had a perfect 3rd quarter to ensure the victory, going 9-9 from the floor and 10-10 from the foul line for 30 points. MVP chants echoed throughout Staples Center. It was vintage Mamba and an awesome performance by the entire team, although there was virtually zero production once again from the 5-spot. I realize that when you're hitting 60% from the floor and 47% from 3s and Mamba is being Mamba, it isn't as big a deal. But Kwame (starting) was 0-2, Bynum (in just 13:44) 1-3. Hmm...

The Jazz, conversely, looked slow, tired, beat down. The NBA's best record now has dropped three of four and last night they looked rather pedestrian. Bonus points to Marv Albert who kept calling my sworn enemy Deron Williams, "Aaron Williams." That was amusing.

On the ice, things are terrible for LA. The Kings got bombed 7-4 by the perhaps the only team in the league who could claim to be worse than them. I quickly called my dad to "brag" to him about how my team was worse than his. Curtis Joseph actually looked DRUNK out there in goal for Phoenix and yet we still got pasted. Dan Cloutier lasted all of ten seconds. Three goals allowed on five shots. I'll say it again: Dan Cloutier is a joke of a goaltender. The guy is simply garbage. I want a trade! Anybody! Does anybody have some beans? If I hang a cowbell around his neck, you give me some magic beans in exchange. No competent goalies, no draft picks, I want magic freaking pinto beans in return for Cloutier. I'd feel almost dishonest pawning him off on some other shlub team.

Rebuilding: It sucks

Regardless of whether or not Peter Forsberg is back (and, man, he is definitely back) there's just no excuse for blowing a 3-1 lead to the freaking Philadelphia Flyers. Not this year's Flyers, at any rate. Yet another embarrassing, demoralizing defeat for the Kings and they seem to be all too frequent this season. Our next game versus Phoenix is anything but a gimme, too. Not knowing that playing against Phoenix is... my lord, I can't even tell you how frustrating that is. My dad (a Coyotes fan) and I actually have a $10 bet on which team will finish last in the Pacific, each of us thinking our team is worse than the other's.

As expected, this is shaping up to be a grit your teeth and just bend over and take it type of season for the Kings. We're certainly not pressed for talent, though, and there are some bright spots. As expected, Alexander Frolov is quietly having a very nice season, netting his 10th goal of the year last night, and Anze Kopitar leads all NHL rookies (that would include Evgeni Malkin, even though the Russian Penguin has played nine fewer games) in points and assists (17 and 12 respectively), but the goaltending remains suspect and the power play is terribly weak (ranking 22nd currently).

Adding to the frustration, just one hour south on I-5, Anaheim looks like a bonafide Stanley Cup team. ARGH! THE PAIN! THE AGONY!

I motion that that phrase should be the Kings' rallying cry, this season. "ARGH! THE PAIN! THE AGONY!" I think it fits almost too perfectly.

The results are in!

Election night was kind. Winners, the lot of them....

Heath Shuler - In 1993, he finished 2nd in Heisman voting. Then he flamed out in the NFL. But the former Volunteer QB won last night, following in the footsteps of Jack Kemp and Steve Largent into the political arena. Weird, this is actually an election story. At any rate, congrats to Shuler and the Dems for ostensibly championing the checks and balances our nation has relied upon. Hopefully, he has a better record in Washington as a member of congress than he did as a Redskin. (Oh no, I did'un!)

Lakers - The most impressive thing about Andrew Bynum's line last night wasn't his 20 points, 14 boards, or 3 blocks (one of which put a nail in the T-Wolves coffin). No, it was his 0 turnovers and 0 fouls. Granted, the kid wasn't going to get much flak going against Mark Blount, of all people, but it's encouraging to see that kind of poise. What's troubling, though, is that the Lakers are developing a nasty tick: inability to close out games. Last Friday, they blew a 20-point lead against the Sonics, only to salvage a win late in the 4th quarter. Then, after getting blown out at Seattle, the exact same thing happens last night. The Lakers were up by as much as 19 in the 3rd quarter and again allowed their beaten opponent to crawl back into the game. Here's the big red flag: neither Seattle nor Minnesota are any good. Coach Phillip is going to have to instill some drills where the team has to stomp on the neck of a rabid puppy, just to make sure it stays down. Solve this problem now, or else it will haunt us down the road.

Sean Avery - The LA Kings sparkplug was voted #1 Star by NHL.com for his 2-goal effort last night as the Kings downed the hated Avs in a 6-5 shootout (not an actual shootout, I mean a high scoring ga-- whatever). Important win for a team so low on confidence (we just got lit up by lowly Phoenix 6-4 on Saturday) and a positive note to end a road trip on. Up next: San Jose on Thursday. Let's just say that I wouldn't be surprised if Joe Thornton had 7 points in that game.

Southend - People in England are quick to dismiss the League Cup when talking football -- err, soccer, labeling it an "unimportant" trophy. To me, a trophy is a trophy and in a sport where your club is measured by the size of their medal collection, I'd say the Carling Cup is worth winning. This makes Southend's (last place in the Championship -- i.e. last place in the 2nd division for all you American newbies) 1-0 stunner over Manchester United (top of the Premiership, right now) all the sweeter. People, that's like the Saskatchewan Roughriders beating the Joe Montana-era 49ers. It's a BIG upset.

Hornets - Are they in New Orleans? Are they in Oklahoma City? Seattle in a year? Nome, Alaska? Well, where they are is undefeated. 4-0 for the first time since anyone can remember. Chris Paul, when it's all said and done, will be on the honor list of legendary point guards. Right up there with Magic, Stockton, and Kidd. But it's Peja Stojokovic that's making the real difference. For all the noise made by the Bulls during the off-season, people didn't realize that it was actually the team receiving Tyson Chandler that would be the one to watch. His presence gives David West a little more flexibility and Peja represents the dead-eye assassin from the outside that the Hornets have never had. Provided they stay healthy (because they have virtually zero depth) this is a bonafide playoff team.