We’ve been advocates of Paulie Malignaggi for over five years here, even interviewing him for the previous iteration of SportsAngle.com. He’south a likable kid, very funny and cocky, but prideful and devoted to his craft, with jabs as fast as his quips.

Who knew he’d exist such a strong phonation in calling out what’s incorrect with boxing?

Malignaggi fought Houston native Juan Diaz in Diaz’s ain city last Sat night, and essentially Paulie voices his concerns about the sport following his loss on Saturdayacknowledged earlier the fight that he was going to get a raw deal. Contractually forced to make a catch weight lower than he was used to and fight in a smaller ring that express his greatest reward, his speed and elusiveness, Malignaggi made no secret about the fact that he didn’t expect the opportunity to really win the fight past conclusion. Essentially, the deck was stacked confronting him.

His ane saving grace was a promise that the fight would be officiated fairly and that the judges would be a varied panel and not only hometown stooges. But as Malignaggi found when he got to Houston, the referee was the son of Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation official Dickie Cole, and the judges included biased Texan Gale Van Hoy, Oklahoman David Sutherland, and Raul Caiz Sr., who Malignaggi called â€Å"a gofer for Gilded Male child and a guy who’s biased in favor of Mexican-American fighters.”

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Johan Santana's elbow issues in Spring Training proved to be a harbinger Other sources – like Baseball Prospectus – take started to pick up on our idea of the Mets’ season being similar a horror motion-picture show. Being that we are horror movie historians of sorts, we’ve specified the movie Terminal Destination equally a direct parallel. And following with that theme, whatever demonic force has targeted the Mets claimed Johan Santana’s valuable left elbow and Oliver Perez’southward somewhat less valuable right knee this week.

Sidebar: If there’south anyone out there who idea 150-year-erstwhile malcontent Gary Sheffield would outlive Santana, much less Wright, Beltran and Reyes, he or she should promptly brainstorm playing the horses.

Regardless, neither Santana and Perez will pitch again this flavour, bringing to an end a serial of injuries that veered into the state of the occult.

However, these two virtually recent maladies, particularly that of Santana, brings to attention a couple of shortcomings of the Mets’ organizational strategy.

  1. Pitchers are too risky to make big-money investments in.
  2. There is great monetary value in a successful scouting department and farm system.

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Floyd Mayweather apparently invented HBO 24/7... just ask him We’ve been strong advocates of Floyd Mayweather hither for quite some time – we went to his demolition of DeMarcus Corley manner back in 2004 – which isn’t really in our nature. We like fighters like Gatti, guys who are more substance than mode.

But Pretty Male child Floyd has both. The homo is a tremendous boxer who pays incredible attention to his craft. And you know what? Boxing needs, craves even, his attitude, his willingness to stir things up. Every bit the sport is lapped by Ultimate Fighting and its ilk, Mayweather’s ability to make people tune in to either root for him or root for him to get his head knocked off is invaluable.

Floyd follows the coin. And taking a yr off was a smart marketing motion. During that year,

24/7 premieres Saturday at 10:15 p.m. ET

he had several memorable feuds – of sorts – with WWE wrestler The Large Show, keeping him in the mainstream and the public heart. Afterwards a disappointing summer for boxing on many levels, featuring few memorable fights and several notable deaths, people are more than prepare for Mayweather’s return, regardless of the fact that he’s facing Juan Manuel Marquez, a very talented fighter who people know virtually nothing well-nigh.

Every bit usual, Mayweather has taken upwardly the promotion of the fight himself. HBO’south fantastic 24/vii

serial – which Floyd actually claims he invented somehow, though I think the word he’s looking for is pioneered – is ready to premiere on Saturday, and the preview HBO showed during Boxing Subsequently Dark this week featured Floyd at his finest (and funniest):

I personally don’t think fighters say anything [almost their opponents] considering if they lose, people won’t be so harsh on them.

Me? I’m like, ‘F*ck it.’ Information technology is what information technology is. Y'all coming to get me, come and get me. It ain’t gonna be easy, infant, but you know it. It ain’t gonna be like shooting fish in a barrel.

You take to admire his conviction, even if y'all bristle at his cockiness. The affair is, until someone actually beats Mayweather – and make no fault, attempting to hitting him is similar trying to catch a firefly in your manus – he has carte du jour blanche to say whatever he wants, and even his detractors accept to admit that he’s backed information technology upwards every unmarried time.

Mayweather destroyed Hatton and clearly outclassed the cracking De La Hoya. I don’t recollect Marquez has what information technology takes to beat him, and it’s a good matter. Boxing desperately needs Pretty Boy Floyd to take something to talk about.

I’ve seen some bad sports marketing campaigns in my day – this one comes to listen – but the New Bailiwick of jersey Nets may take just taken the cake. Equally you lot may accept heard, fresh off taking the â€Å"New Jersey” off their jerseys, which didn’t win them points with this proud Garden State resident, the Nets are at present telling their fans to root for players on other teams past giving out double-sided jerseys with star opponents on them.nets480

Await, I sympathise the majority of people who go to Nets games are going to encounter other teams’ star players, since the Nets don’t actually have any of their own since trading Vince Carter. I mean, I honey Devin Harris, but he’s not going to exist an enormous box-office draw.

So in theory, the campaign makes sense. And I realize that the Nets are drastic for money in a tough economy. I get all that.

Just I just experience like it’s something you simply can’t exercise to your players. Yous tin promote coming to a game against the Cavs to see LeBron James, you’d be stupid not to, but to really push button merchandise of other teams? I hate the principle of the Nets’ players looking out into the stands and seeing a sea of Kobe Bryant jerseys.

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The Savior was 13–1 with a 1.32 ERA for San Diego State this year

The Nationals were one infinitesimal and 17 seconds away from disaster on signing borderline night. But correct before the witching hour, they signed Stephen Strasburg, who we’re going to dub â€Å"The Savior” around these parts.

And you know what? Suddenly, the prospects for one of the biggest laughing-stock franchises in sports aren’t looking that bad anymore. And information technology all starts with Strasburg. I haven’t seen much of him, just from what I take seen during the Olympics and his senior year at San Diego Country, he has a nasty hook and has a 100-mph burner.

Non but that, simply Strasburg has the It Factor. He’south non the household proper noun that a LeBron or Sid the Kid is – he logically should be, which warrants future investigation of baseball’s marketing tendencies on this site, so go on your eyes peeled – but fans of the sport know exactly who he is.

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(Clockwise from top right) Delgado, Maine, Perez, Wright, Putz, Niese, Beltran and Reyes have all fallen victim to various maladies

Never accept I seen a team every bit cursed as this year’s Mets. Don’t go me wrong, they’ve brought it on themselves in certain means, and GM Omar Minaya’s press conference where he called out a reporter will go downward as one of the most notorious moments in New York sports history.

But it’s simply incredible to run into a team completely decimated this way by injuries. It’s deplorable to meet during the first flavor at a new stadium. They’re resembling the early-90’south version of this team in terms of the product they put on the field, but those teams weren’t ravaged by injuries as much equally what nosotros see here.

It’south almost like the film Terminal Destination, where some sort of bad karma is picking off the Mets 1 past one. I’m not quite sure what they did to deserve this – Minaya’s conference came subsequently the bulk of these injuries – but God aid me if I e'er do the same.

To epitomize the grim details, here are the diverse appendages that have malfunctioned:

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I’m not one of those types that thinks Michael Vick should have been barred for life from playing football game. But that said, I can’t envision his joining the Eagles actually working out.

To become this out of the way, I don’t condone forcing animals to fight, much less killing them. I honestly think Vick is despicable. But the guy was Vick: Formerly the most electrifying player in the gamesentenced for his offense, he served his fourth dimension and he’due south out. If someone is willing to take him on, I have picayune problem with him joining a squad, and that’southward despite the fact that I uncertainty Vick has any contrition. If he didn’t remember fighting dogs was wrong before he got defenseless, I’d say the just affair he’s distressing about is that he got caught.

But what is the best case scenario hither? What is Vick going to exercise in Philadelphia to make it worth taking on the scrutiny of actually having him?

I can understand why Vick would think this is the best state of affairs. You know the drill: strong management squad, solid coach in Andy Reid, established quarterback – all of which takes force per unit area off Vick. In improver, he has ane of the about stable men in the history of the NFL in Tony Dungy every bit a mentor to keep him on the straight and narrow.

I know what Vick gets out of this. But what do the Eagles get?

First off, they get an aroused quarterback. Sure, Donovan McNabb said the correct things about encouraging the Eagles to sign Vick. What is he supposed to say? Privately, he hates it. McNabb has an enormous ego and a ton of pride. He wants to be The Human being.

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It was an eventful weekend for SportsAngle’s Esoteric and Epstein, who headed south down the GSP – not Georges St. Pierre, the Garden Country Parkway – for a birthday celebration. (I won’t say how many years, only it’southward rounder than I’d like) The highlight of the trip was a visit to Citizens Bank Park on Saturday dark for the Phillies-Marlins game with Cole Hamels on the hill.

PHILADELPHIA – Though I’ve long heard its virtues extolled, I didn’t want to like Citizens Bank – mainly because I don’t like the Phillies – just at the end of my first trip to the park, I couldn’t help simply admit that it’s a peachy place to accept in a ballgame.

View Phillies-Marlins, Citizens Bank Park (Photos courtesy of Jay Rubin)

A large reason the park is such a success is that the temper is fantastic. It makes an enormous difference that the Phillies won the World Series final year and look to be a potent contender again this year – fans gravitate to winners. The guest services booth told me the game was a sellout, as most games have been since May, and it creates a special environment when the seats are completely filled.

Mets fans probably won’t like to hear this, but though Citi Field was an endeavour to mimic the vibe of Citizens Bank, the Mets’ lack of success and inability to develop stars have left them far backside their neighbors to the south. Even when Reyes, Delgado and Beltran are good for you, they just don’t generate the trust that Utley, Howard, Rollins, Victorino, Werth and Ibanez do.

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Triple F is dorsum again to dissect CBS Sportsline’s Top 50. For the nigh role, I don’t follow these fantasy football lists as gospel; I simply employ them every bit a resource. But for you lot, Mr. Joe Fantasy; you should read my words equally the truth. To add to my annoyance, Sportsline keeps changing their top 50 club, and so their rankings may be out-of-appointment. No worries tho, my analysis is spot-on.

Without any further goodbye, here is my deconstruction of picks #45 through #41.

#45 – Republic of chad Ochocinco
Let me get this out of the way… I like Chad Johnson. I don’t like Republic of chad Ochocinco. Republic of chad Johnson was an extremely promising wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals. Republic of chad Ochocinco is an undisciplined nutjob who too plays wide receiver for the Bengals. The 2008 Bengals were remarkable in their ineptitude (I can’t believe that Marvin Lewis Lights... camera... bizarre name changeis employed). Supposedly, Palmer is 100%; but what well-nigh the rest of the offense? The lead RB is Cedric Benson. The WR2 is Levaranues Coles (a step downwards from TJ). Then what does that mean for #85? A make or pause season. He posted six straight seasons of i,000+ receiving yards, simply his 2008 campaign was riddled with diva drama. He spent the offseason demanding a new contract or trade. He changed his name. He injured his ankle and shoulder. He badmouthed his teammates. He claimed that he wasn’t physically prepared for the flavour. Do you notice a design? Chad’southward all talk. While I have no doubt he’ll surpass 1,000 receiving yards if he plays at to the lowest degree xiii games; I dubiety his delivery to the game. Don’t reach for Chad. Allow him autumn to you

Conclusion: He needs to redeem himself. There’s upside, merely don’t achieve for it.

Receiving: fourscore receptions. 1,200 receiving yards. vii TDs.

*** Buy ***

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The zenith of Drew Bennett's dominance -- 42-yarder vs. the Chiefs on MNF

You lot might accept missed this last week, merely right after signing with the Baltimore Ravens, Drew Bennett decided to retire. Now, this acquired nary a ripple in the actual football earth. But in the fantasy football world, well, this was the equivalent of Jerry Rice hanging upwards the cleats.

At least for some of us. That is, those of us who somehow drafted or picked up Mr. Bennett during his miraculous 2004 season. Considering for a three-week period in December, Drew Bennett – a former college quarterback – was the greatest receiver live.

He was Jerry Rice, Steve Largent and Irving Fryar all rolled up into one. He had the combined power of Duper and Clayton. The NFL’s arms were too short to box with Drew Bennett.

To put it bluntly, Drew Bennett was stupid dope.

Three weeks. 28 receptions. 517 yards. Eight touchdowns.

The most astonishing thing is when he started upward his run, Drew was either on a bench, or on the waiver wire. And this guy decided virtually every fantasy league in 2004, he and Billy Volek. Tom Brady? LaDainian Tomlinson? Marvin Harrison? You could have all three of them – go ahead, accept ‘em – and you lot wouldn’t stand a gamble next to the Volek-Bennett express, son.

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