Fine? Why Fine?

If Weird Al Was Into Football

BradyFan83's parodies are perfect and the shots he takes are simultaneously fanboy/brutal. The Michael Vick one is especially good.

I Love You Ricky Bobby

This is like a minor league hockey fight, except with cars. Sorta.

NL East Champs

Well, that was fun.

Now there's 2 weeks of games that don't matter. Really hope no one gets hurt. 

But Now I See

Off Wing Opinion has a 4 minute video that you should really watch.

Old-Time Hockey

This would be very cool.

A Rangers-Islanders game in frosty Yankee Stadium in December or on New Year's Day? It's a possibility.

Preliminary discussions between NHL and Yankees executives, the two NHL teams, city officials and NBC -- which would televise the proposed Jan. 1 regular-season contest between the arch rivals -- began last week, according to numerous people with knowledge of the talks.

Umps

Maybe it's just the Yankee-hater in me but from where I'm sitting, I don't see much of a difference between what Delmon Young did (video on the right sidebar) and what Bernie did last night? I expect Bernie to recieve a 50 game suspension and ESPN to villify him the way they have Young. ESPN buries the incident at the bottom of this report and doesn't mention the helmet toss. This is not to let Young off the hook, he should've been sat down for the whole season but Bernie won't even get a 3-game suspension. Watch.

A Delirious 10th Inning

(Via Fark.) Some maniac with a lot of time on his hands has reproduced the bottom of the 10th of Game 6 on the old RBI Baseball game. He uses the actual call from the game and I have to admit I got a little nervous then completely jacked up during Mookie's at-bat.

And in lieu of any actual real thoughts on the first week of this season for the Mets let me just say that my buddy put it perfectly the other day when he said, "I just hope David Wright is 'taking full advantage' of being young and playing in New York." 

Sad

I know he sorta fucked it up in retirement, but Kirby was one of my favorite players of all-time.

I'd have to double-check my brother's extensive baseball video collection but he has one--from This Week in Baseball, I think--that has Kirby sitting in the dougout during the '92 Home Run Derby. Everytime McGwire would hit homerun, Kirby would crack-up. It's hard to explain but the entire A.L. dugout is laughing along with Kirby. It was one of those non-playing moments that define a guy like Kirby Puckett.

...Dave:

There are lots of entertainers in this world, but Puckett has a special place for the people of Minnesota.

...3/7/06...The StarTrib has a great retrospective.

MJ

Yes, there will be generations of kids who will ask us if Jordan was really that good.

I'm fully aware that Nike continues to hone his legacy in the same semi-manipulative way they exploited his playing persona. I still buy into it.

And be sure to read the story Simmons tells about MJ at the end of this column.

Franchise

As a NYer, I'm naturally a Knicks fan but its been years since I've been emotionally invested in the team. Reading the SG's reader mail on the Steve Francis trade makes me glad that I don't really care. Also the guy that wrote this one better watch his back, I think he's on to something.

"My friend Ryan and I were talking about the Stevie Francis trade and we're pretty sure that some day we are going to find out how Isiah Thomas and the team owners are profiting from this, and it's going to retroactively become the great sports scandal in history. Our current theory is that it all comes back to MJ somehow. It all stems from the gambling ring Gretsky and Jordan started when they were doing voices for the "Superstars" cartoon show in the '80s. Miffed at the physical beating he would take in the playoffs from the Knicks, MJ set a diabolical plan in motion which has spanned decades. Each of his retirements somehow furthered this plan, but we're not sure how. Although the conspiracy was originally formulated for revenge the ring now has one ultimate result: the return of Bo Jackson. I mean, it sounds crazy, but not as crazy as actually wanting the most expensive worst team in the league. Bo knows conspiracies. Do you have any theories?"