Oscar Gamble Society

Worst. Sportscast. Ever.

I actually do feel a little bad for this kid. At least I did, after I finished laughing and caught my breath.

After it appeared as though Garnett would “never play in Boston”, causing some (including Mike Wilbon, who I actually like) to play the race card insisting it was Boston’s racial climate that played a role in Garnett’s decision, it appears as though a deal may be imminent:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2954127

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The suit has been dropped:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2954682

Since it never should’ve been brought in the first place, I trust that the Hancock family will additionally be reimbursing all named parties for any legal fees they incurred during this process, right?

In the words of our beloved, the Reverend Lovejoy, “Yeah-h-h-h, su-u-ur-r-r-r-re.”

Catching up on some past SI issues during vacation last week, and came upon an article on Bill Walsh - and the fact that he was battling (and losing to) leukemia.  Sadly, he’s now passed:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-obit-walsh&prov=ap&type=lgns

If I remember the SI article correctly, his wife is also suffering from a debilitating ailment, although the details escape me right now.

Native Hoosier Tony Stewart won the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis today, his second straight victory creating some nice momentum on the cusp of the Chase for the Cup. He passed Kevin Harvick for the lead with 10 laps to go, and once in clean air quickly pulled away from the pack. How much? With six laps to go, he took BOTH hands of the wheel and got a drink. Nice. Tough break for Junior, getting another DNF after his engine blew up with 25 laps to go. And props to Juan Pablo Montoya, finishing second in his first visit to Indy for his best performance on an oval track.

Last year, many Yankee fans were quick to point out that Theo had made a horrible mistake in letting (now 33-yr-old) Johnny Damon go to the Yankees, just to replace him with (now 27-yr-old) Coco Crisp.  I’m inclined to hereby insert some derogatory comment about the pathetic shortsightedness of Yankee fans - except that Red Sox fans (and baseball fans in general) are no different… let’s be honest.

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Cinderella story Iraq defeated three-time champion Saudi Arabia 1-0 to win the Asian Cup. Was anyone else aware that the Saudis were a regional soccer power? A country whose citizenry is bound together only by the commonality of not doing any work whatsoever? Perhaps the national soccer squad is farmed out to expats from the Subcontinent, like every other physical activity in the Kingdom. Anyway, congratulations to the Iraqis for an upset victory, as well as for creating a point of national unity, however fleeting.

UPDATE:

As Cliffy points out, one hesitates to ascribe much geopolitical significance to the Iraqi victory. Still, here is an interesting post from a prominent Iraqi blogger on the atmosphere in Baghdad.

This week’s Barron’s has an article offering prescriptions for healthier sports leagues. Some points aren’t very practical - I don’t see leagues permitting unfettered movement of franchises any time soon, however economically rational it is - but others are interesting. Most intruiging, and probably inevitable at some point, is the use of load management systems to fill stadiums at the highest price possible. It certainly makes sense conceptually - a seat at a sporting event is perishable in the same way a room in a hotel or seat on a flight are, so using a similar pricing mechanism seems rational.

on the unpredictability of success or failure for Japanese stars in America, and an interesting companion to the recent NY Sun article on Japanese relievers in MLB.