(Get) A Sporting Life

Working in academia does have its benefits. From 5 o' clock yesterday, I'm on Thanksgiving break already. I celebrated last night by watching the Blues beat Nashville in a less than stellar performance, and by drinking a 750ml bottle of Mauadite. (Yes, my night was full of things Canadian.) So, I'm reading over the sports news online this morning, keeping tabs on the Blues and Cards in St. Louis (as well as the Billiken soccer team - who crashed out of the NCAA's again), DC United in our nations capital, and Notts county across the pond. While I was doing that it dawned on me just how much I miss having a local team to root for. Oh, don't get me wrong. I watch a lot of Twins baseball and Wild hockey. I love baseball and hockey and, hey, they are whats on TV. As a result, I know the players on those teams, and when they play anyone but one of MY teams in the sporting world I prefer them to win. But that is being a fan of the sport, and not a fan of the team. I've...

The wife and I took a little drive yesterday about 2 1/2 hours south of here to Decorah, Iowa (nickname "The Decorah, Iowa of Iowa") so I missed the humongous pile of crapola that constituted my rooting interests on Saturday. I had my choice of 5-1 drubbings suffered by the Blues and Cardinals. As an alternative I could have watched the pathetic display offered by DC United. (I actually taped this and watched the first 15 minutes. I could tell how it was going to end so I turned it off. They looked dreadful) I could have turned my teams off and watched the NCAA Hockey final, but there was Michigan State playing the least fan friendly style of hockey imaginable. Sure its effective, but it is horrible and boring television. So I spent the day watching my wife buy vegetable and flower seeds, and we took a little hike and visited some cows. It's too bad when that makes for a far more pleasant day than following my teams.

You learn something new every other day. No such thing as Zamboni DWI NEWARK, N.J. - It's not drunken driving in New Jersey if it involves a Zamboni. A judge ruled the four-ton ice rink-grooming machines aren't motor vehicles because they aren't useable on highways and can't carry passengers. Zamboni operator John Peragallo had been charged with drunken driving in 2005 after a fellow employee at the Mennen Sports Arena in Morristown told police the machine was speeding and nearly crashed into the boards. Police said Peragallo's blood alcohol level was 0.12 percent. A level of 0.08 is considered legally drunk in New Jersey. Peragallo appealed, and Superior Court Judge Joseph Falcone on Monday overturned his license revocation and penalties. "It's a vindication for my client," Peragallo attorney James Porfido said after the hearing. "It's the right decision." Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Joseph D'Onofrio said no decision had be...

Man's ear bitten off in Greek soccer brawl Four men have been arrested on the island of Crete after part of a man's ear was bitten off during a brawl after Greece's 4-1 loss to Turkey in a European Championship qualifier. The incident occurred Saturday near the town of Ierapetra during a fight between Bulgarian workers and local Greek men who had been watching the match on television, police said Tuesday. Local businessman Dimitris Tsimbibakis was hospitalized after a man bit his ear. He told authorities he had intervened to try and break up the fight but was beaten by four Bulgarian men. The fight apparently started after the Bulgarian men cheered Turkey's goals. Your team loses 4-1 AND you get your ear bitten off. OK, that's worse than getting screwed by NHL refs.

Former Mizzou Tiger and current Denver Broncos player Damien Nash has died at the age of 24 in St. Louis . Damien Nash had just come home from a charity basketball game he'd organized in his brother's honor when he collapsed in front of his wife and 7-month-old girl. The Denver Broncos running back died Saturday and the cause remained unclear Sunday, but his grieving mother knows what she must do. After one son's death and a heart ailment that caused another son to require a transplant last year, Kim Nash is taking her daughter to a cardiologist next week. "My son," she told The Associated Press amid sobs, "is giving me the strength right now to talk." Damien Nash collapsed in his suburban St. Louis home after returning by limousine with his wife, Judy Nash, and their daughter from a game at his high school to benefit The Darris Nash Find a Heart Foundation. The organization raises money for heart transplant research. The 24-year-old player was taken by ...

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch : On the Feb. 5 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, according to MediaMatters.org, Rush Limbaugh commented on the media coverage of Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman by saying, "They're dumping on this guy, Rex Grossman, for one reason, folks, and that's because he is a white quarterback." The Bears lost to the Indianapolis Colts 29-17 in the Super Bowl on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Colts' Peyton Manning said winning the Super Bowl as a black quarterback was an unexpected bonus. OK...show of hands. How many of you think Limbaugh should never open his mouth about sports again? OK...show of hands. How many of you think Limbaugh should never open his mouth about any subject? Me too. cross-posted at The Iconic Midwest

I'll admit I was a little surprised by the following: Players back Beckham in Real row Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has held clear-the-air talks with his players in the wake of indiscreet comments he made about Davd Beckham. Calderon called Beckham a "second-rate actor" after signing for LA Galaxy - and said the team was not civilised. But skipper Raul has revealed: "We met the president to talk about everything that had happened. Calderon said sorry. "It was a positive meeting in which certain rules were implemented so that this situation does not happen again." Calderon made the comments in a speech to university students that was aired by Spanish radio station Cadena Cope. He said the Real players "all think they are superstars" and the fans "don't support the team, like in Italy and England". And he said of Beckham: "He will be an average cinema actor living in Hollywood." But he later apologised, telling Real ...

Just think of this the next time you see a sports story bemoaning incivility in the U.S. sporting culture: (From Sp!ked ) The Harry Roberts Award for the Most Tasteless Terrace Chant Terrace chants have been described as a form of folk poetry; two years ago Barclaycard launched a competition to find a football chant laureate. Predictably a Barclaycard spokesperson stipulated that entrants were ‘not allowed to use obscenities’. But, as most football fans know, obscenities and football chants go together like the proverbial horse and carriage. Some chants aren’t just vulgar; they’re downright sick and tasteless. In February, Liverpool fans greeted the horrific leg injury sustained by Manchester United’s Alan Smith by chanting ‘John Arne Riise, I wanna kno-o-ow, how you broke his leg’ (to the tune of DJ Otzi’s ‘Hey Baby’). But this year’s winner is a Spurs chant inspired by Sol Campbell’s mysterious disappearance in February: ‘Sol, Sol, wherever you may be; you’re on the verge of lunacy;...