Game 3 of the World Series is tonight, as Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies takes on Andy Pettitte of the New York Yankees.
The World Series resumes tonight, and the Philly Phanatic wants blood (katchop)
It’s his arm, or it’s not. It’s his mechanics, or it’s not. It’s his command or his choices or the hitters or the workload or the decisions he made last offseason. Or it’s not.
Hamels goes through them all, runs them through his head, sleeps on them, ices an elbow that was sore in spring, and then goes out and gives up four runs in 5 1/3 innings. He throws harder, then softer, then smarter and he’s sure he’s gaining on it, and then he looks around to find runners on base.
He hates it, of course. He didn’t come here to be average, even below average, to be the guy they give the ball to and then have everybody take two steps back to cover the gaps. He came here to throw 260 innings and win 18 games and be the World Series MVP, which pretty much describes April through October 2008.
Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings head to Green Bay to face the Packers on Sunday, and the fans are ready.
Brett Favre should get a warm welcome on Sunday at Lambeau Field (katchop)
One block from Brett Favre’s Steakhouse — at the corner of Mike Holmgren Way and Brett Favre Pass — someone covered the P in Pass on the street sign with tape.
At the Green Bay Press-Gazette Web site, a poll ran about 60-40 in favor of booing Favre on Sunday.
On Friday afternoon, two personalities from a morning radio program in Appleton, Wis., staged a mock funeral for Favre at a bar within sight of Lambeau Field. Many of the 300 who attended filed past a coffin containing a dummy in a Favre Vikings jersey.
The New York Yankees won game 2 of the World Series. Kate Hudson and her dad, Snake Pliskin, now head to Philadelphia for game 3 on Saturday .
Kate Hudson is going to Philadelphia, where she plans on eating several small children (katchop)
With the Yankees needing him more than ever, A.J. Burnett rose to the occasion with his sharpest start of the postseason, unloading the full effect of his high-octane arsenal to help get the World Series back to even.
Outdueling Pedro Martinez in a classic performance, Burnett leaned on a pair of solo home runs from Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui as the Yankees defeated the Phillies on Thursday, 3-1, sending the Fall Classic on to Philadelphia with a fresh start.
Jake Delhomme has become so easy to defend, that defenses are dictating where he can and can't throw the ball (katchop)
If you’re keeping count, Delhomme has 30 interceptions dating back to the beginning of last season and counting postseason play. Other QBs are close (Jay Cutler has 28, Brett Favre has 25) but Delhomme also has a paltry 20 TDs compared to 36 by Cutler and 34 by Favre over that same timespan. Even more astonishing is the fact that Delhomme achieved such prolific futility in significantly fewer pass attempts than anyone else. Delhomme checks in with 625 attempts to 825 by Cutler and 751 by Favre.
But Carolina coach John Fox will trot Delhomme out back under center this week against the team that ended their season, unceremoniously dumping the Panthers 33-13 in Charlotte. Delhomme tossed five picks that day.
It begs the question: When is it time to go another direction?
The Philadelphia media loves the Phillies, but hates the New York Yankees and the city they play in.
According to the Philadelphia media, Adolf Hitler loved the New York Yankees (katchop)
New York also proudly claims responsibility for pop culture blights Mariah Carey and Vin Diesel; Stephon “Starbury” Marbury, the former basketball player turned Internet video sob story; tireless self-promoter Sean Combs/Puff Daddy/Puffy/P. Diddy/Diddy/TBA; yammering ninnies Keith Olbermann and Sean Hannity; hate peddler Ann Coulter; father of the atomic bomb Robert Oppenheimer; and, worst of all, Lindsay Lohan.
N.Y.C. should also be blamed for the insipid, endless Gangs of New York. That’s three hours of my life I’ll never get back. They should have just killed Leo an hour and a half in for all sorts of reasons, Titanic not the least among them.
Even the Statue of Liberty, the very symbol of American freedom, rankles a bit. It was finished in France in 1884 and shipped across the Atlantic as a gift to commemorate our country’s independence as well as signal Franco-American friendship. Joy. If we’ve learned anything since then, it’s that the French are swell pals who are always there when you need them. Polite, too.
The New York media loves the New York Yankees, but hates the Philadelphia Phillies and their fans.
According to the New York media, Saddam Hussein loved the Phillies (katchop)
Cops say Susan Finkelstein, 43, posted a pleading ad on craigslist saying she needed two tickets to baseball’s biggest game.
“DESPERATE BLONDE NEEDS WS TIX!” the ad was headlined.
“Diehard Phillies fan – gorgeous tall buxom blonde – in desperate need of two World Series Tickets,” she allegedly wrote.
Describing the price as “negotiable,” she ended the ad flirtatiously: “I’m the creative type! Maybe we can help each other!”
Bucks County Public Safety Director Fred Harran said an officer with the special investigations unit spotted the ad and set up a meeting with Finkelstein at a local bar.
Larry Johnson of the Kansas City Chiefs went crazy on Twitter in the latest KC disaster.
Matt Cassel of the Kansas City Chiefs has been looking like the last drunk at the party lately (katchop)
The latest chapter in Johnson’s stormy career began Sunday night when he questioned coach Todd Haley’s football credentials on his Twitter account.
He used the slur during an exchange with one of his Twitter followers. A day later, he used it again as he brushed off reporters and told them he would not comment, according to the Kansas City Star, which recorded the comment.
Haley refused to address the matter Tuesday, saying it was still being investigated.
“I’m just not going to comment any further because there is some stuff going on,” Haley said.
Eli Manning had trouble spotting open receivers against the Cardinals (katchop)
Eli Manning got the cornerback to “sit” on the right side, just like he wanted. He knew it would be a tight throw into Steve Smith underneath safety Antrel Rolle. But Smith had held onto a 34-yard catch in traffic just a few minutes earlier. And on the previous drive, Kevin Boss had clutched a 25-yard grab while taking a big (and arguably illegal) hit from Rolle.
Plus, this is Manning we’re talking about – a late-game magician who had been chucking balls into traffic during fourth-quarter comebacks long before David Tyree pinned one onto his helmet.
But this time, with 1:22 left on the clock, there was no magic. Only an interception by Rolle, who outmaneuvered Smith to make the catch and seal the Cardinals’ 24-17 victory – an outcome that made it a two-game losing streak for the Giants and pretty much erased the confidence they had built up over the first five weeks of the season.
Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees sees more in Kate Hudson than just her beauty (katchop)
The Yankees secured their 40th American League pennant with a 5-2 victory over the Angels on Sunday, taking Game 6 of the AL Championship Series and earning the right to advance and face the Phillies in the World Series starting on Wednesday.
With Game 6 delayed for one day by inclement weather, the Yankees did not mind having to wait to celebrate on their home field after Mariano Rivera recorded the final out — another marquee moment in the inaugural season of the new house, where New York logged the Majors’ best home record and continues to remain undefeated in postseason play.
Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are taking advantage of London before their game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Tom Brady is so big in London, he can get away with molesting the North Tower of Tower Bridge while telling the South Tower that she's next (katchop)
The players admitted to fighting off the fatigue after getting very little sleep. The team arrived at the hotel around 7 a.m. London time, grabbed a few winks and boarded buses to hit the practice field less than six hours later.
“We’re tired but it’s more of a tune-up day. Nothing physical, those days are out of the way,” nose tackle Vince Wilfork said. “We got those out of the way back in New England. It’s more of a tune-up to make sure we’re still on track and we’ll rest up today.”
Ronnie Brown is fully recovered from his 2007 knee injury (katchop)
Ricky Williams visited a video store recently and gave Madden ’10 the ultimate test ride: He took the control and ran the Wildcat in the Dolphins’ offense. It was like Woody Allen stepping inside the screen.
Williams was impressed enough to buy the game and now plays on the Internet in complete anonymity, except for one signature tendency: On any third-and-short play, he always runs the Wildcat.
“Works every time,” the Dolphins running back said. “Pretty much like in our games.”
A new book co-authored by Magic Johnson and Larry Bird detailing their careers detours several times to blast Isiah Thomas. Thomas is mentioned 26 times in the book, and none of the comments are complimentary.
Isiah Thomas reacts to the knife that he says Magic Johnson stuck in his back (katchop)
MIAMI (AP)—Hall of Fame players Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson famously kissed moments before tip-off of Game 1 of the 1988 NBA finals.
Today, the relationship clearly isn’t anywhere near as close.
Thomas told SI.com earlier this week that he is “really hurt” over criticisms levied by Johnson in a new book chronicling the careers of Johnson and Larry Bird. According to Thursday’s SI.com report, Johnson said Thomas questioned his sexuality after the Los Angeles Lakers star retired in 1991 after being diagnosed with HIV.
Johnson also tells the Web site that he helped play a role in keeping Thomas off the 1992 U.S. Olympic team. “Isiah killed his own chances when it came to the Olympics,” Johnson said in the book. “Nobody on that team wanted to play with him. … Michael didn’t want to play with him. Scottie (Pippen) wanted no part of him. Bird wasn’t pushing for him. Karl Malone didn’t want him. Who was saying, ‘We need this guy?’ Nobody.”
Jeremy Shockey wants people to notice him (katchop)
But he did take a swipe at Big Blue via his Twitter account, saying that this week’s game against the 2-3 Dolphins might even be tougher than facing the Giants.
Tweeted Shockey: “Miami has a great team… this will be a bigger test for OUR TEAM than last sunday!!!”
Wow. First, Richard Seymour rubs it in Antonio Pierce’s face for the linebacker’s comments that playing the Raiders the previous week felt like a scrimmage. And now it’s Shockey’s turn to tweak Big Blue.
The Cleveland Browns and Eric Mangini are trying to beat a flu outbreak. Vegas oddsmakers have the flu as a 3 point favorite. (katchop)
On Wednesday, 12 players, including Pro Bowl nose tackle Shaun Rogers and five other starters, missed practice with flulike symptoms as the team began installing the game plan for Sunday’s matchup against the Green Bay Packers.
Mangini scaled back the workout in hopes of keeping his healthy players from getting sick. He’s also emphasizing preventive measures to stop the virus from spreading deeper through the team. If players are showing any symptoms, the Browns are sending them home.
“We’re being really aggressive preventatively,” he said. “If there’s any sign of it and we think it’s heading that way, we’d much rather try to minimize the effects on the player and also possibly the exposure to the rest of the group.”
Mangini implied the sick players had not yet been tested for H1N1 virus. He said some of the cases were new, and he might not be able to reveal any test results because of medical privacy laws.
As the Browns were practicing, a large box containing white pharmacy bags containing Tamiflu, a prescribed medicine to treat and prevent flu, was delivered to the team’s headquarters.
Jason Campbell will remain the starting QB, despite the custom made hat that owner Dan Snyder gave him (katchop)
Washington Redskins Coach Jim Zorn said Tuesday he would almost certainly return to Jason Campbell as the starting quarterback for Monday night’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles, the first game in which Zorn will relinquish his play-calling duties to offensive consultant Sherman Lewis.
The club also signed veteran offensive tackle Levi Jones, who had been out of work after spending his entire seven-year career as a starter with Cincinnati, in a move that further emphasizes the dire situation of Pro Bowl tackle Chris Samuels. Some NFL sources expect Samuels to miss the rest of the season after suffering a neck injury Oct. 11 at Carolina.
The company sent an e-mail Monday offering tickets for Mets’ playoff games.
“Be there alongside your New York Mets as they chase baseball immortality,” the e-mail said. “Go to StubHub, where you’ll find a fantastic selection of tickets to every playoff game—so you experience the championship chase live and in person.”
StubHub said e-mails were sent to fans promoting several teams not in the postseason.
“This was due to an e-mail glitch,” spokeswoman Joellen Ferrer said in a statement.
David Lee of the New York Knicks in action against Maccabi Tel Aviv (katchop)
Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, who organized yesterday’s Knicks-Maccabi Tel Aviv charity game at the Garden, claimed the referees did wrong by ejecting Maccabi coach Pini Gershon, who nearly created an international incident yesterday when he refused to leave the Garden court.
Gershon picked up two technicals in a 53-second span — an automatic ejection in the NBA — with 5:05 left in the third quarter of the Knicks 106-91 exhibition victory. But Gershon stubbornly stayed put after referee Ben Taylor gave him the heave-ho, creating a 10-minute delay as Garden security, the referees, his assistant coach and even Knicks guard Nate Robinson tried to get him to depart.
With the referees threatening to forfeit the Israeli team, Gershon, seen winking and snickering on the sidelines, wouldn’t budge before he finally agreed to be escorted off to cheers from the pro-Maccabi crowd of 14,602.
The Boston Bruins, upset with sitting in the 9th spot in the Eastern Conference, traded Chuck Kobasew to the Minnesota Wild.
The Bruins might be panicking, but Zdeno Frankenchara isn't worried (katchop)
Only seven games into the 2009-2010 NHL campaign the Boston Bruins have sent forward Chuck Kobasew to the Minnesota Wild.
In return the Bruins will receive winger Craig Weller, a second round pick in 2011, and the rights to prospect Alexander Fallstrom.
Kobasew, 27, has dressed in each of the Bruins seven games thus far, tallying one assist and two penalty minutes. In 368 career games, he has 78 goals and 77 assists for 155 points, and 272 penalty minutes.
John Scott of the Minnesota Wild is gigantic, and is fighting anyone he can. That includes Anaheim Duck George Parros, who blogged about getting roughed up by Scott.
John Scott of the Minnesota Wild is almost 9 ft. tall on skates (katchop)
I had a pretty bad start to my season, fighting-wise. I’m coming off of a hand injury from last year so I have been a bit tentative, which is probably the worst thing that anyone could be in a fight. If you need evidence of this, I would invite you to watch my first fight this year against John Scott of the Minnesota Wild. He caught me with a pure right that sent me to the ice, probably one of the cleanest punches I have eaten in my career.
Places not as good as Katchop that you still might go to anyway:
