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by Bob Carson The Red Sox spent 86 years overcoming an alleged curse. Sammy Sosa somehow got the impression that he needed corked bats to amp up his already terrific game. And a few years ago, a girl in a giant Italian sausage costume was whacked to the
Major League Baseball's winter meetings just ended. As general managers return to their homes, the annual flurry of free agent signings and contract extensions is in full swing. These deals aren't just about the money, though; they're also about bonus cl
From Paul Byrd and Rick Ankiel to the upcoming Mitchell Report, accusations of HGH are flying around baseball. But Human Growth Hormone use is also on the rise outside of sports; plenty of people looking to get bigger are injecting themselves. So, let's s
The Tiebreaker Heard 'Round the
That Bela--alternately so jovial, so brutish! The image of Karolyi hoisting Kerri Strug to the champion's podium is one of the most ubiquitous images of the 1996 Olympics. Nadia Comaneci, Mary Lou Retton, et al. have defended him, but others--most notably
We've all heard about the dangers of global warming and climate change. It's going to make the oceans rise, drown our cities, kill plants, cause hurricanes and ruin the Earth for our grandkids. But that's all secondary to the real effects of global warmin
As of course you've heard by now, this summer Barry Bonds broke the all-time homerun record set by Henry Aaron and held since 1976. The 756th homerun came on August 7th, 2007. But what has happened to the infamous baseball since it sailed over the fence a
Dodgeball takes a lot of knocks in gym class for being dangerous, but it's got nowhere near the death rate of these sports. Here's a look at six sports you wouldn't want your kids playing in gym class. 1. Pakistani Kite
As Chris Connolly found out, cheating is unimaginative, brutish, and plain crass. Underhandedness, on the under hand, requires a certain moustache-twirling panache—a boldness that beguiles us, no matter what the rulebooks say! Here's to 7 of the Gre
After writing last week's post about failed baseball promotions, I was left a little disenchanted about being a baseball spectator. This wasn't helped by game I attended last week, where the free promotion ended up being a camouflage trucker hat that I wi
I assume many of you heard about Mike Coolbaugh's death a couple weeks ago—he was the first-base coach with the Tulsa Drillers who was killed by a foul ball to the head. Although extremely rare when you consider the amount of foul balls hit every d
I may be a die-hard Cleveland Indians fan, but that doesn't mean I'll go to the ballpark just for the games. I often choose what tickets I buy based on the promotions. So far this season I've bought tickets to fireworks night, half-price college ID night
Now that the daylight lasts longer and the weather is more pleasant, it's time to confront the big decision: should I mow the lawn or go fishing?Field and Stream published a list of the 50 Best Fishing Lures. Just the names made me curious: Swedish Pimple
No one's saying that drinking, smoking or drugs does an athlete any good, but it sure makes explaining their antics a whole lot
Congratulations to Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy and the Indianapolis Colts on winning Super Bowl XLI. And I'm not just saying that because I predicted a Colts win (and Manning MVP) back in September. The Colts successfully navigated a long and bumpy road
Israel is getting its own baseball league this year "“ the IBL "“ and lots of jokes are going to be made, I'm sure, about the hotdogs being kosher and whether or not games will be played on the Sabbath. But what I'm really interested in is this: will thir
Every now and then a major piece of news trivia slips through our posts and we feel shameful, remiss, careless, negligent, embarrassed. Such is the case today, as I confess before each and every one of you loyal readers, that, indeed, we are late "“ very
It's a great day for people who root for stuff. Over at YesButNoButYes, our good friend Jellio has a great post on the world's most rabid fan bases. As a companion piece, we've compiled a less controversial list of noteworthy fans. Some of these not-so
We're still feeling a bit let down by Saturday's so-called "Game of the Century". Sure, it was a relatively close game, but we didn't see any mind-blowing plays or bone-crushing hits like we were hoping for. So for solace, we've turned to another Game of
During game two of the World Series, FOX cameras noticed a suspicious substance on Detroit pitcher Kenny Rogers' left hand. Rogers cleaned up between innings. And the umpires decided not to invoke Rule 8.02, which says a pitcher shall not "have on his p
As the baseball postseason swings ever closer to the World Series (fyi: the Fall Classic begins this coming Saturday), I thought I'd get us all in the mood by looking at some curious connections between the sport and, of all things, the number 3, which, b
I can't tell you who's going to win this year's World Series. But next season, Texas Rangers fans should feel good about their chances, despite this year's pedestrian 80-82 record. You see, the Rangers just fired manager Buck Showalter. And when Buck l
In honor of the MLB playoffs, which started yesterday, I thought I'd "throw out" a few quirky factoids that make the game our true "American Pastime." Of the four major sports in this country, baseball is the only one that isn't played against a clock.
The Louisiana Superdome reopens tonight, a year after the stadium, the city and its people were ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons (2-0) will take on Reggie Bush and the New Orleans Saints (2-0). But before Monday Night F