Notes: On the Obamas New Yorker Cover; Raffa, Manual Beltran, Lance and Dr. Fuentes; Matt Jones’ Daddy Gets in the Act; Brett Favre; Lute Olson on 1-and-Done’s; Mauricia Grant Mention

So what's been happening lately? Scoop Jackson mentioned Mauricia Grant in a meaningful fashion - a first for MSM - on ESPN's First and 10 segment of its First Take morning show. Claps for Scoop, boo for the WWL for bitching up in its - lack of - coverage of the lawsuit. High school basketball point guard phenom Brandon Jennings chose Europe instead [read more...]

From Bonds to Clemens to Ankiel to Taylor to Tilghman: Context Lost

Months ago, when the Rick Ankiel-HGH news broke, I wrote that his being outed represented - potentially - a watershed moment in sports and sportswriting. It was the moment when the subjects of race and racism, of PEDs in football, and constructive criticisms of all sports, especially the NFL, could be broached by a large enough portion of the U.S. [read more...]

Hart Surgery: The Most Dominant Athlete Ever

I have this friend. To say he is stubborn is to say that Bobby Brown is slightly unstable. This friend is a running enthusiast, and because of his appreciation for the endurance and stamina it takes to compete in sports that require those traits, he has developed an incredible passion for and devotion to Lance Armstrong. Now, I am on the [read more...]

Blips, Blurbs & Blasts

Linebacker extraordinaire Tedy Bruschi has decided to sit out the 2005 NFL season after suffering a freak stroke this past February, shortly after helping his team win Super Bowl XXXIX. I know the Patriots have had the Midas touch the last few years when it comes to filling the holes on their roster, but finding someone to take Bruschi's place [read more...]

Hart Surgery: Tour de Lance

Sunday afternoon, Lance Armstrong is going to accomplish something never before done in the sport of cycling. With the mountains behind him and basically only Paris on the horizon, Armstrong is set to join a select group of athletes who have staked nearly irrefutable claims as the best of all time at their discipline. So how come no one seems [read more...]

As Lance Armstrong Wins, Statistics Mount

As Lance Armstrong’s victories pile up, and individual stage accomplishments mount, statistically, the questions should begin to fade. Lance Armstrong once again strong-armed the field today, claiming the 15th stage in the Tour de France in typical breathtaking fashion, out-sprinting the young Spaniard, Ivan Basso in a finish that featured several of the Tour’s best. Jan Ullrich and Levi Leipheimer also, along [read more...]