This whole internet thing is pretty new to me. I’m just discovering what they call email, instant messaging, and YouTube videos. I had this vid sent to me because apparently I was in a cave for the entire week-long span that this video got over a million views. If you are not one of those millions, make sure you add to the total. This video is great.

Later in an interview, one of the fighters explains what happened. He says he got caught with a thumb in his eye that hit a certain motor nerve or something and that’s what caused him to go down suddenly, creating the double knockdown. I wonder if he’d be willing to recreate the situation in person for our entertainment — I’d be a willing customer.

On the evening when LeBron James was reaching yet another milestone in his young but brilliant NBA career, rapper and Nets owner Jay-Z was in the house. And why wouldn’t he be? He owns the team and he’s close with LeBron James. Naturally the TV cameras made their way to Jay-Z where he was asked the infamous questions — will the Nets sign LeBron when he becomes a free agent? Jay-Z’s response on YES Network:

LeBron James is one of the NBA’s best players — everybody would love to have him on their team. I have a personal relationship with him but that’s where it stops. His professional career is that, a business decision. If we put forth the best proposal then we would love to have him as any other team would.

Seems like practically every single team in the NBA is trying to free up money for the summer of LeBron, so it really will be up to him to make the call where he wants to play. I also think Jay-Z answered the question well. Regardless of what he and LeBron may have discussed privately, people can always change minds, so saying it’s a business decision is probably the most neutral answer possible.

Look, the Yankees already do a good enough job screwing up their team via free agency without needing help from outsiders. Think Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright for starters. Last year, the front office listened to the writers who suggested they start rebuilding their farm system and stay away from signings that plagued them in the past. So what happened? They decided not to trade the likes of Ian Kennedy and Melky Cabrera to the Twins for Johan Santana and they missed the playoffs for the first time since Brian Cashman had hair. Now they’re going back to their old ways and will use that Johan money on CC (who’s a worse investment in my opinion). And they’re not going to stop there; they’re going for Burnett, Lowe, Teixeira, and Manny. Heck, their only constraint is a 25-man roster. Apparently they haven’t learned the lesson that spending isn’t the answer — spending wisely is. I don’t think A.J. Burnett is a good investment, but some media members do. Take venerable front office man George A. King III of the New York Post:

Burnett, 32 in January, went 18-10 with a 4.07 ERA for the Blue Jays this past season before opting out of the final two seasons, leaving $24 million on the table.

Coming off a career-high in victories, the 6-foot-5, 230-pounder is easily the second-best pitcher on the free-agent market behind Sabathia, so $15 million to $16 million a season for four or five years isn’t out of the question.

OK, let’s examine a few things here: 32 in January — fact. 18-10 with a 4.07 ERA for the Blue Jays — fact. Opting out of the contract — fact. 6′5″ 230-pounder vital stats — fact. Easily the second-best pitcher on the free-agent market? Are you kidding me? Says who, you? What makes Burnett the second-best pitcher on the market? If anything, replace “easily” with “arguably” or “potentially” and I’m fine with it. Even still, I’d rather invest my money in Derek Lowe or Ben Sheets, thus making Burnett the fourth-best pitcher on the market. To me, this is the difference between spending and spending wisely. Dropping $80mil on Burnett isn’t a wise investment. But according to baseball scout and stat guru George King, it is. So now that gets everyone who reads the Post and follows the Yankees thinking this is a no-brainer. Let me ask this: in four years when the Yankees are in danger of missing the playoffs and people are bitching about the $18mil a year they’re paying Burnett, is King going to be there to say he was a great signing, or is he going to criticize the team for their free-spending ways? The Yankees need to be cautious not reckless. And the media sure isn’t helping the cause here.

Convenient that two pretty certified jerks are good friends inside the football coaching circle. Think about it: Bill Belichick and Urban Meyer have a lot in common; Belichick used to run up the score last year, Meyer’s doing it this year. Naturally, after seeing Florida blow out South Carolina Saturday, Belichick had some words of advice for Meyer on handling his players:

Who knows better than Belichick what it’s like to have a team that’s dominating opponents, and making it look easy in the process? And who knows better how the hype that accompanies being ranked No. 3 and remaining in the national title hunt can adversely affect a team?

“I had a very nice call from Coach Belichick, and he said just make sure you stay on top of them because they are going to be hearing how good they are,” Meyer said Sunday morning. “When you watch film, we still can be a lot better.”

Will Belichick counsel them on advice prior to the National Championship game should the Gators reach that point? Interestingly enough, Meyer was also pressured to answer a question whether or not Utah (currently undefeated and where he coached prior to Florida) deserved a shot at the title game ahead of a one-loss Florida team. No way they do, but it sure puts Meyer in a bad spot to answer the question. And we all know what the answer is, of course.

(via Ben Maller)

If there’s one positive to teams moving into new stadiums — which so many seem to be doing lately — it’s the auctions they have of memorabilia from the old venue. For instance, my Uncle, a big Mets fan, plans to purchase a few chairs from Shea Stadium. If he’s feeling particularly saucy, he might just splurge on the foul poles to place them in his backyard and piss off his homeowners association. Personally, I can’t think of collectibles much cooler than some foul poles in your backyard. The Cowboys are a football team so they won’t have foul poles for sale, but they sure have a ton of cool swag available now that they’re moving into a new stadium (and you can purchase the goalposts!).

You can buy a welcome to Texas Stadium gate that you can place at the end of your driveway. You can get some turnstiles to place at your front door — pretty badass if you ask me. Benches from the sidelines, shower heads from the locker room. There’s the Cowboys team helmet injury cart that would look pretty sweet at your local golf range. You can get a locker room toilet and stall where who knows how many drug tests were rigged! Most auctions end on December 6th. Too bad you have to pay a premium and arrange all the shipping details, but still, some of that stuff is priceless — especially if you’re a die-hard fan. Heads up on the auction via Unfair Park.

So Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh the Steelers had just kicked a field goal taking an 11-10 lead on the Chargers. San Diego had one play left after the kickoff and decided to throw over the middle where they attempted to lateral their way up the field. That fun lasted for a few seconds before Troy Polamalu broke up one of the laterals, recovered it, and ran it in for a touchdown that made the score 17-10 Steelers at the final gun (watch the video here). Naturally I was pleased considering the Steelers were one of Doc Brown’s picks to cover the 5.5 spread. That fluke play would have given me the win and would have swung millions of betting dollars in Vegas and in the online sportsbooks. Only problem is the referees decided to review the final play where they overturned the ruling, saying there was an illegal forward lateral that killed the play prior to Polamalu’s touchdown. Final score: 11-10. Here’s the kicker from the San Diego Union-Tribune via Rotoworld:

[Referee Scott] Green ruled (correctly, by the way) that LaDainian Tomlinson’s lateral to Chris Chambers was forward, and therefore illegal. But he said the play should have been killed at the spot of that pass, thereby ending the game right there, before Polamalu ever touched the ball.

After the game, however, the league told Green — and Green admitted to a pool reporter — that “the rule was misinterpreted” and the touchdown SHOULD HAVE COUNTED because the ball never hit the ground.

Far be it from me to think that the referees can talk to someone in New York or the league office when ruling on a play from the instant replay booth on the field. Far be it from me to think they told him to rule the play dead and keep it at an 11-10 score since most of the money was on Pittsburgh. Far be it from me to think there’s any sort of a conspiracy working here! If there’s more proof that some of this stuff is fixed, then I don’t know what it is. Or maybe it’s some sort of wanna-be makeup call to the Chargers for Hochuli screwing them against the Broncos, not that this would have undid San Diego’s loss. There’s some fishy stuff going on here I tell you and it all meets the eye!

UPDATE: A statement from the league office confirms the mistake, outlining the rules for the situation

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