As everyone knows and has been addressed on this site already, pitcher Armando Galarraga recently lost a perfect game when the umpire missed a call, a fact he quickly and regretfully admitted. Hearing of this injustice, Commissioner Bud Selig exploded into action and did what he does best: add Wild Card teams to the playoffs. I kid, instead he declined to act while issuing a vague statement about possible future actions (it’s a lot like baseball’s steroid policy for most of his reign). Seeing as Bud forbids addressing the past and everyone’s still upset about the lost perfect game, it seems there’s only one thing to do: schedule a new one. [Read more →]

Tags: sports by Sean Cunningham
No Comments »

On Wednesday night, Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga threw a perfect game. Only he didn’t. At least, he won’t get credited with having thrown one. With two outs in the ninth inning, Cleveland infielder Jason Donald hit a bouncer that first baseman Miguel Cabrera had to range to his right to field. Field it he did, and he tossed to Galarraga, who was covering first. The throw beat the runner by a step and the game should have been over and the perfect game complete. It was not to be. Umpire Jim Joyce, stationed at first base for the evening, inexplicably called Donald safe. [Read more →]

Tags: sports by Alan Spoll
2 Comments »

It’s a moment that every baseball player dreams about. Tenth inning, game tied at one, bases loaded, two outs. Hero time, right? Kendry Morales, a young first baseman for the Los Angeles Angels, found himself in this exact situation on Saturday. Morales is a promising player who is in only his second full major league season. He stepped to the plate to face Brandon League, a reliever for the Seattle Mariners. What happened next boggles the mind. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

The sordid story of Floyd Landis took a revealing turn this week. After years of denying the doping allegations that caused him to be stripped of his Tour de France win from 2006, Landis has now admitted having cheated throughout his career. On top of the admission, Landis has taken this opportunity to accuse a number of other riders of the same thing, including seven-time champ Lance Armstrong. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

Back in January of this year, I mentioned a 16-year-old girl named Abby Sunderland who was attempting to make a non-stop sailing trip around the world by herself. Her attempt ended, at least temporarily, about a week ago when she needed to stop for repairs. At the same time, Jessica Watson, a 16-year-old from Australia, was making her own trip. She actually left two months before Sunderland, but had gotten less publicity here in the U.S. She managed to avoid the problems that have plagued Sunderland’s trip, and on Saturday, she pulled into Sydney Harbor after a successful 210 day trip. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
2 Comments »

How bad a guy is Lawrence Taylor? Over the years, the former NFL great has done a lot of bad things. Most of his documented problems have involved drugs, particularly cocaine. This time, though, he appears to have hurt someone other than himself. Taylor was arrested last week and charged with third-degree rape and patronizing a prostitute. The victim is a 16-year-old girl who ran away from home at fifteen. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
3 Comments »

There’s so much going on in the world of Mixed Martial Arts these days. When I watch my monthly UFC bouts on PPV, I always think about how interesting the sport is and how lucky I am to live in these times. The last generation that got to watch anything like this actually knows When Fell the Coliseum. If MMA is a symptom of the downfall of our society, than I say burn baby burn, because it’s a great watch, and MMA is destined to stand in the pantheon of popular sports.

[Read more →]

Tags: race & culture, sports, television by David Alfreds
1 Comment »

To kick things off this week,  I want to tell you all about a website that instantly brings me back to my childhood. VirtualNES.com is a site where you can legally and safely play almost any game from the Nintendo Entertainment system. It is hilarious to see how simple the games were then, and how far we have advanced in video game technology. I’m not a “gamer” by any means but love playing old Nintendo games and harking back to my youth of hanging out with my friends playing RBI Baseball and listening to the Beastie Boys “Licensed To Ill” over and over.

[Read more →]

Tags: art & entertainment, Marty digs, music, sports by Marty O'Connor
No Comments »

How much of a douchebag do you have to be before people speculate you have brain damage? That’s the diagnosis one writer made of Steeler QB Ben Roethlisberger. The theory is someone with frontal lobe damage is less likely to pick up on social cues (like a woman screaming, “No!”) and doesn’t consider future consequences of an act (such as police investigations and lawsuits). Big Ben’s had four documented concussions and apparently has little understanding of social mores in general — the articles notes his surprise to discover married men dislike it when you hit on their wives right in front of them — so it seems entirely possible, and with years of football and head trauma still to come will only get worse. If so, it adds a rather tragic twist to the case of Mr. Roethlisberger, and the only thing that would make it sadder is if he’s actually fine and this is just who he is.

Tags: sports by Sean Cunningham
2 Comments »

A couple weeks back, regular WFTC contributor Alan Spoll offered up this post about the image we may have, regarding the behavior of sports fans in the City of Brotherly Love. He’s right on most, if not all of the points he made in that post. But, just when Alan was starting to make some headway, along comes this story of the ‘Tasered Teen’ at a recent Phillies game. Reportedly, the teen’s father said his son called him from the park to ask permission to run onto the field … dad suggested he not do it … son did it anyway.

As the father of a couple of teenage boys, I’m hardly surprised.

I wish Alan nothing but luck in his effort on behalf of fans in Philly. But I’m afraid it may be an uphill struggle. In the meantime, I get to experience Philly soccer fans first-hand this summer, when my family takes in a Union game. I suspect even the “handful of idiots” Alan mentioned in his previous post would be hard-pressed to match the violence one sometimes sees from English futbol ‘firms.’

Tags: sports by Jeff McDonald
2 Comments »

NFL teams try to be very thorough when checking out players that they are contemplating drafting. A big part of that process involves interviews conducted by members of the front offices, asking the players a variety of questions intended to help the teams determine whether or not to invest a pick and a lot of money in a player’s future. The Miami Dolphins made news last week when Jeff Ireland, the team’s general manager, apologized to Dez Bryant, a Dallas Cowboys draftee, for an inappropriate question he asked Bryant during that pre-draft interview. It seems that Ireland was wondering if Bryant’s mother had ever been a prostitute. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

Injured Cincinnati Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez has been suspended by Major League Baseball for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancing drugs. He claims that the failed test was due to medication he was taking as part of fertility treatments to assist him and his wife with their efforts to start a family. Even if this is true, his actions were incredibly irresponsible. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
No Comments »

10. Lethargy

9. Yugo

8. Kirstie Alley

7. Elmer’s Extra Sticky

6. Cat Napper

5. One Horse of the Apocalypse

4. Tripod

3. My Little Pony

2. Lackadaisical

1. Snowball in Hell
 

Bob Sullivan’s Top Ten Everything appears every Monday.

Tags: animals, art & entertainment, Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, sports by Bob Sullivan
1 Comment »

It’s not every week that the major sports websites mention vomit right on the front page. We were just that lucky this week, as a baseball “fan” in Philadelphia provided us with such an opportunity. I know the national media was aching for yet another reason to badmouth Philadelphia sports fans. They now have one. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
2 Comments »

My son came home the other night and said Ms. Joanne (his pre-school teacher) taught him a new song. He started to sing. My husband almost had a coronary. You see, Ms. Joanne taught him the Mets theme song, “Meet the Mets.” I thought it was funny. My husband looked like someone had just stabbed him in the heart. [Read more →]

Tags: family & parenting, sports by Amy Boshnack
7 Comments »

Have you ever paid to watch a baseball umpire? I didn’t think so. Someone needs to get that message to Joe West, as he has never seemed to understand that during his long career calling baseball games. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
2 Comments »

Over the last ten years at least 36 USA Team swimming coaches have been banned for life from the USA swimming organization. Not, to the best of my knowledge, convicted in the court of law — and not doing hard time for their crimes — just simply banned for life from coaching the USA Swim Team. Their crime? Allegedly molesting and secretly taping teen girls in locker rooms while the girls changed and showered. [Read more →]

Tags: family & parenting, sports by Amy Boshnack
1 Comment »

Hey, College Football, it’s me, Alan. I was wondering if you were paying attention to the NCAA Basketball Tournament. If so, I imagine you have noticed that the Butler Bulldogs are in the final. They got there by playing and beating some really good teams. There was no voting to decide who should play in the final. If there had been, there is no way Butler, who ended the season ranked 11th, would be lined up to play Duke for all the marbles. Seems like maybe the basketball people are on to something here. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
2 Comments »

This has been a great NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament. It has had all the right ingredients: buzzer beaters, upsets, and break through performances. So with a near perfect formula, why would the NCAA consider expanding the Tournament, and risk cheapening its significance? I mean will anyone watch Selection Sunday anymore? College basketball is not alone in wanting too much. There are a lot of successful professional sports that ignore the adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”Then there are others that need fixing bad! Let us take a look at a few. [Read more →]

Tags: sports by Robert O'Hara
No Comments »

The big news in the NFL this week involved the Philadelphia Eagles and Donovan McNabb. The team appears ready to trade its 11-year veteran quarterback and move on with young Kevin Kolb. According to Stephen A. Smith, this is apparently a crime of some sort. [Read more →]

Tags: bad sports, good sports by Alan Spoll
4 Comments »