big game II: the game just got bigger

follow-up q & a

What kind of beer?

“Usually I enjoy Japanese beer, but given the situation, if I was objectively watching the game, I wouldn’t care if it was Japanese beer, American beer or beer from Papua New Guinea,” he said.

xo ichiro

ilb could probably use this gif

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/6651/raul3.gif

YESHD

The sonning of Bavasi might never end

Build a good baseball team, and you won’t have to talk about all this psycho babble crap that you guys invent to try to justify your horrible decisions. Learn more about baseball than a blogger who lives 2,500 miles from Safeco Field and covers the team as a freaking hobby. I shouldn’t know more about how to build a baseball team than you, but I do, and that’s why you and your entire staff deserve to be fired.

via pi via ussm:

Ichiro and Kenji

When Kenji Johjima stole third base without drawing a throw Tuesday night, the Red Sox weren’t the only ones he caught off guard.

McLaren and the coaching staff were equally surprised.

“I thought I saw the green light,” Johjima said of his first steal of third in two-plus seasons.

Hearing that, center fielder Ichiro Suzuki, sitting next to Johjima in the clubhouse Wednesday afternoon, chuckled.

“Yellow light,” Ichiro said, drawing a smile from Johjima.

And his recollection of Bret Boone

“I don’t know if it’s a good memory or a bad one,” Ichiro Suzuki said. “But when I first came over to play in the United States, I had had a few teammates from the U.S. who had played on my team in Japan. So I had somewhat of an idea of what American players would be like.

“But when I met him, he was kind of a human being that you would never meet in Japan. So, whenever I was around him, I almost felt like I was witnessing a creature, not a human being. It was fun for me to watch him.”

i love this guy: http://assets.espn.go.com/i/nba/profiles/players/65x90/3006.jpg

Detroit's Rasheed Wallace was fined $25,000 Thursday by the NBA for using profanity and criticizing the officiating after a playoff game the night before.

After the Pistons' 106-102 loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, Wallace went on an expletive-laced rant targeting officials Mike Callahan and Kenny Mauer.

"The cats are flopping all over the floor and they're calling that," Wallace said. "That ain't basketball out there. It's all entertainment. You all should know that."

lol love jeff sullivan at lookout landing (except for namechecking Muse. what? are they a band? does anyone care about them seriously?):

Since the minute we signed him, I'd been looking forward to the day that Jarrod Washburn's contract runs out. It was to be a day of celebration. There were going to be pony rides, and mariachis, and cotton candy, and Muse, and microbrewery representatives, and all the sorts of things you'd want at a party commemorating the end of something miserable. Like high school graduation, only better, because unlike Jarrod Washburn, high school at least came with little perks like easy girls and calculus for the functionally retarded.

lol manny as always:

When someone offered birthday wishes to Manny Ramírez yesterday afternoon, he had a ready response.

"Thirty-six here," he said. "Thirty-nine in the Dominican Republic."

tb vs. bosox, not manny but coco crisp. looks like a shop!
http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2008/0605/mlb_a_shields_crisp_sq_300.jpg

Mike Bolt is the official keeper of the Stanley Cup. Where it goes, he goes

It's been used to chill champagne... Doug Weight [of the Hurricanes] made an ice-cream sundae in it with his kids... The Devils made a margarita in it at a nightclub—they even salted the rim... Guys have taken it fishing, putting bait in the bowl... [Former Ranger] Ed Olczyk fed a Kentucky Derby winner from it.

http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/sp/v/mlb/players_l/20080402/5763.jpg?x=65&y=85&xc=1&yc=1&wc=164&hc=215&q=100&sig=GBIHo7sBAMYoFa039d_sJA--

People ask, "What if a player wants to sleep with it?" I say, "Move over."

i love this guy!

cup got a dent at bar

what the heck was mike bolt doing during this episode?

bolt, shot

haha someone got onto wikipedia to tell the truth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Mariners
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd118/embarchie/marinersfalsehope.jpg

stolen from ILBB (though i heard about it on the radio this morning). LOL hank steinbrenner:

Yankees ace Chien-Ming Wang is expected to be sidelined until at least September after injuring his foot running the bases, prompting club co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner to chastise the National League for playing without a designated hitter.

"My only message is simple. The National League needs to join the 21st century," Steinbrenner said in Tampa, Fla. "They need to grow up and join the 21st century.

"Am I mad about it? Yes," Steinbrenner added. "I've got my pitchers running the bases, and one of them gets hurt. He's going to be out. I don't like that, and it's about time they address it. That was a rule from the 1800s."

bye bye john mclaren u are fired. jim riggleman to manage interim.

part of sullivan's take:

I don't know the first thing about Jim Riggleman the man, but based on his picture and my awesome level of perception, I bet he's never cried in a press conference. When Hargrove resigned Riggleman probably would've said "whatever queer" and given that fake handshake where he extends his hand then pulls it away behind his ear and laughs like a dick. I hope this isn't libel.

uhh

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd118/embarchie/payrollcomparisons.jpg

Sonics are so pissed at jergins/lxy leaving town that they are moving to Oklahoma City!

SEATTLE (AP) -- The Seattle SuperSonics will cease to exist very shortly, but the Oklahoma City Sonics won't be taking their place.

Team owner Clay Bennett has agreed to settle a lawsuit with the city of Seattle, one day before a judge was due to issue a ruling. Bennett said the settlement calls for an immediate payment of $45 million to the city. It also includes another $30 million paid to Seattle in 2013 unless the state authorizes at least $75 million in public funding to renovate KeyArena by the end of 2009.

The $30 million payment also would be nixed if Seattle obtains an NBA franchise of its own within the next five years.

The settlement paves the way for the franchise to move to Oklahoma City, but they will do so without the team nickname and colors. The NBA already has approved the team's relocation.

shitass

oklahoma shitty, more like

NEW YORK - Yankee Stadium has been home to several famous speeches, from Knute Rockne's "Win one for the Gipper," to Lou Gehrig's "Luckiest man on the face of the Earth."

Tonight, Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki could add to the lore.

His pregame pep talks apparently have become a staple for the American League. Twins first baseman Justin Morneau described the scene from last year in San Francisco.

"Suzuki was sitting in the locker back there, and David Ortiz said, 'Ichi's got something to say.'

"And then he pops out and everybody started dying. I had no idea it was coming. It was hilarious. If you've never seen it, it's definitely something pretty funny."

Anything printable?

"No," Morneau said. "That's what gets you, too, is hearing him say what he says. I've talked to him a little bit when he gets to first, but I didn't know he knew those words."

Cynthia Rodriguez wants to know if her estranged husband, New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez, had her wiretapped and secretly followed, according to court documents filed last week in a Florida court.

the horror of coming home to 'MADONNA+A ROD' made me appreciate china so much

yao ming and ron artest, soon to be houston rockets teammates:

"Hopefully, he's not fighting anymore and going after a guy in the stands," Yao said, according to the Chronicle.

When asked about those comments, Artest said Yao had bought into "all the propaganda" about him, according to The Sacramento Bee.

"I understand what Yao said, but I'm still ghetto," Artest said, according to the report. "That's not going to change. I'm never going to change my culture. Yao has played with a lot of black players, but I don't think he's ever played with a black player that really represents his culture as much as I represent my culture."

do you guys still love ichiro? he is a treasure, i hope you never stop appreciating him.

i <3 ichiro all time

ichiro is always and forever
and a very funny man
i don't think about him as much as i should

jeff sullivan on the mariners vs. orioles today
Why, on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, would anyone in his or her right mind stay inside to watch this? Those of you who did that very thing - you guys are crazy. I mean, sure, it's baseball, and there were a handful of interesting players in the lineup, but while both baseball and Clement will still be there tomorrow, Sunday will not. Congratulations. You just wasted a chunk of your weekend watching a bad team defeat a bad team. If any friends or coworkers ask what you did today, you should probably lie to them.

vicente padilla is not an attractive man

lx watch this sometime weirdest double u will ever see
http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200808053259781

there's a soccer referee named Hilario

sexson waived
http://www.nypost.com/seven/08152008/sports/yankees/melky_to_minors__sexson_waived_124621.htm

Bengals wide receiver changes last name to Ocho Cinco

jergins, all day long: but lxy, it's your alma mater and your employer... don't you care?
lxy: oh my god they suckkkkkkkkk hahaaaha

sullivan on felix' no hitter getting broken up:
A year ago, JD Drew made me think about homicide. To this day I still think about buying enough tickets to be able to boo him once in every ballpark in the country.

Bedard has a torn labrum-he may not make it back next year-and sullivan is hilariously apoplectic:

Erik Bedard hurt his hip...(on) Opening Day, or better known now as the last day any single of us was ever happy with this loony bunch of retarded monkey bangers called a professional baseball team.

God dammit, Bavasi. God dammit. This organization has now been set back even further than I feared, and it's all thanks to you. Tomorrow morning I hope someone farts in your coffee.

trying to figure out who deserves what proportions (of blame) is ultimately more fruitless than trying to figure out why Jim Riggelman draws a salary while a collection of penguins with down's syndrome and a fetish for swimming into the mouths of killer whales would make a better manager.

omg so funny

today is the day

our city's chance to reach a new plateau

100/100 club baby

i need more information please

Your Seattle Mariners

100 losses

100 million dollar payroll

the founder of this heady club

i was afraid it was something horrific like that

i miss minda. this is always one of my favorite sporting days of the year, the day i call her and laugh cuz the yankees are out

oh hey congrats mariners way to get there. now PLZZZZZZZZZZ lose the most so we get the # 1 pick

is gossip girl a sport now?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/sep/05/world-cup-2010-cristiano-ronaldo-lionel-messi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVQhIEPbM0g&feature=player_embedded

what in the hell
http://www.thespoiler.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/juliaa3.jpg

http://www.101greatgoals.com/picture-special-the-gay-kiss-rocking-honduran-football-orlin-peralta-brayan-beckeles/36231/

charming, over-the-top commentary:

Watching someone cheat stylishly is far more entertaining than prosaic probity. Thierry Henry, upon whose elegant shoulders has been heaped the corpulent bulk of the insufferably high minded English sports press’ opprobrium, remains the most charmingly witty and scintillatingly intelligent player to have ever graced the Premier League. He has single-handedly (no pun, etc.) prevented a pedestrian Irish team from clogging up next summer’s World Cup, to the forgivable outrage of the Irish (...), and the tiresome condemnation of everyone else.

referring to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KIqwTNm8ZA

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2009/12/04/WC2010_WALLCHART_0510.pdf

that's a nice page. i love things that make sense.

good draw
for us btw

yeah, i thought so, but i wasn't sure about england. seems like the only team they might have to worry about? just guessing, though, i don't know anything about them, or the other teams for that matter.

could still lose to england and go through to 2nd round. probably will lose to england. that game
is
gonna be huge
i dont know much about the other teams
either, every1 is
dangerous in the world cup, but still, looks
good

http://twitter.com/#search?q=%22Peter%20Gammons%22

http://www.thebesteleven.com/2010/01/pictures-and-videos-stadiums-of-faroe.html

ray hudson

http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/29/the-professors-appeal-saves-him-with-one-arsenal-fan/

loooooooooooooooooool
http://www.youtube.com/v/H8gKmQ6Hrro&hl=en_US&fs=1&

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd118/embarchie/PA-677570.jpg

http://sg.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-AE396A_NYNUM_NS_20100425195901.gif

a-rod, more like a-plod

here's that great article about zakuani i mentioned the other day
http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2010/04/26/stories-of-african-and-english-and-american-soccer-steve-zakuani-and-the-congo/

this is a breakdown of US world cup squads by whether they are MLS or european-based kind of what we were talking about the other day

Inimitable

Guardiola is not your average coach, a point that has been underlined again in the build-up to tonight’s tie. With all the pre-match talk focusing on Barcelona’s hopes of staging a dramatic comeback, the 39-year-old appeared in a press conference to say he had been spending his time reading In Praise of Pessimism by the French philosopher Lucien Jerphagnon, which he had been given on Catalunya’s Book Day, celebrated every 23 April.

Aside from being a bookworm, Guardiola is also an avid cinema and theatre-goer and a dedicated follower of fashion.

i would totally follow fashion with him

http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/arsh1.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XHx--ETqRVY/S9wTnSbiIQI/AAAAAAAAEVQ/yKMBU3i8xQE/s1600/total-pts.gif

http://www.qatar2022bid.com/qatars-bid/stadiums

PNC Park Sold Out For 'Fan Euthanasia Night'

May 5, 2010

PITTSBURGH—PNC Park boasted a rare sellout crowd Tuesday when more than 38,000 eager Pirates fans showed up for "Fan Euthanasia Night," during which each attendee was guaranteed "the sweet release of a quick and painless death" courtesy of sponsor PepsiCo. "For a diehard Pirates fan who has been following this team for nearly 20 consecutive losing seasons, or really just anyone who watched them get beat 20-0 by the Brewers last week, this is certainly a well-deserved treat," said 46-year-old Jim Martin, walking through the turnstile to receive his souvenir program and his lethal dose of sodium thiopental. "I haven't seen so many people so relaxed and generally happy to be at a Pirates game in a long time." An estimated 200,000 Pirates fans who were unable to get tickets to the game reportedly listened to its radio broadcast while idling their cars inside closed garages.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/14/SPIG1DDKCT.DTL

Mat Latos hurt the Giants in many ways. The Padres starter, goofing with fans Wednesday, heaved a ball over the left-field bleachers. It hit broadcaster Dave Flemming's car, shattering the sun roof.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YVDRTCM4KE&feature=player_embedded

skandal!

got to look at these together sometime
http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_football/2195031.html

http://www.marca.com/deporte/futbol/mundial/sudafrica-2010/calendario-english.html

http://www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/5415/38/

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/06/01/magazine/20100606-nextgen-soccer.html

kyle davies: any relation?
university of akron must have a good program.
my favorite is kofi sarkodie.

that calendar is WOWIE BEAUTIFUL AND SMART!

long but worth a read at some point

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,druck-698508,00.html

http://www.thebesteleven.com/2010/06/world-cup-2010-team-group-stage-travel.html

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—The longest match in tennis history has been suspended for darkness at 59-59 in the fifth set at Wimbledon.

The first-round match between 23rd-seeded John Isner of Tampa, Fla., and qualifier Nicolas Mahut of France was halted at dusk Wednesday. It already had been suspended because of fading light Tuesday night after the fourth set.

They have been playing for a total of exactly 10 hours—7 hours, 6 minutes in the fifth set alone, enough to break the full-match record of 6:33, set at the 2004 French Open.

that's really weird.

damn. this made me think of u
http://www.soccerquantified.com/project-updates/huggingattheworldcupteamsthattouchmorewinmore

                    Points  Goal Differential Goals Scored
32. North Korea       0           -12             0
31. Cameroon          0            -3             2
30. Honduras          1            -3             0
29. France            1            -3             1
28. Algeria           1            -2             0
27. Nigeria           1            -2             3
26. Italy             2            -1             4
25. Greece            3            -3             2
24. Denmark           3            -2             3
23. Serbia            3            -1             2
22. New Zealand       3             0             2
21. Australia         4            -3             3
20. South Africa      4            -2             3
19. Switzerland       4             0             1
18. Slovenia          4             0             3
17. Ivory Coast       4            +1             4

http://www.thebesteleven.com/2010/07/pictures-iceland-soccer-stadiums.html

this is cute, let's watch it sometime
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0OsOzoOx5Q&feature=player_embedded

cute
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gil-asakawa/rapids-defender-kosuke-ki_b_792107.html

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Video-Watch-hockey-puck-split-in-half-on-shot-o?urn=nhl-303913