Foot-In-Mouth Disease As Contagious As The Flu

Three straight days of sleepy, and tomorrow is not looking any better. Without further ado, I bring you the rundown:

1. Apparently another female sportscaster, this time ESPN's Dana Jacobson, landed herself in some hot water over some comments she made during a roast of Mike and Mike hosts (Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic) about Notre Dame (Golic's alma mater and Jesus Christ. It is virtually impossible to find exactly what she said without having been there myself, but apparently the Catholic church knows because they said she's anti-Jesus. Well, I don't know what she said so I can't say much about this. Even though her alleged comments sound inappropriate, I will say that I think women take a lot of flak that men don't for the things that they say. More on that when my eyes aren't shutting.

2. Five overtimes in the Baylor University vs. Texas A&M basketball game on Wednesday night. In one of the OT's the teams only scored 8 points combined. I can't say I have ever heard of 5 OT's before. That's 3 1/4 halves of basketball played. One of them must be regretting that decision to eat that full rack of BBQ ribs before the game. Five players fouled out for Baylor but they still managed to pull out the win against #16 A&M. The game even lost a ref, who went down with a pulled hamstring ($1 to anyone who can locate this video). Great for Baylor. If any team in college basketball could use some good news, it's Baylor. I'm not sure if they have fully recovered from the murder of Patrick Dennehy (I'm sure mention of the murder still makes its way at the end of any big story outside of Texas about the school), but pulling out tough games certainly helps.

3. NCAA crying "foul" for USC's O.J. Mayo taking tickets for a Denver Nuggets game from Carmelo Anthony. Eh. The coach is trying to take the fall, saying he gave Mayo permission after Mayo asked him if it was OK. I know there could be some undue influence if college kids were getting handouts from NBA teams, but I haven't been an NCAA fan before, so I'm not going to start now. Give the kid a break. Smack (on the hand, of course) the coach, though, because he definitely knows better.

4. The Toronto Raptors beat the Boston Celtics, further proving that the Celts are just another team. The stat line shows some pretty good percentages in this game from the floor and behind the arc for the Raptors, who held on for a two-point win, but I am most impressed - of course - with the fact that they went 100% from the free throw line. I can accept a miss or three, but a perfect percentage is . . . something that we shouldn't marvel at that should happen more often. Darn it.

5. Ah, the life of a kicker. Just ask the NY Giants' Lawrence Tynes. If he misses that last field goal (that sent the Giants into the Super Bowl), after missing previous ones, he says he is looking at real estate in Wisconsin. But, he made it, so he's on The Late Show with David Letterman talking about the dress shoes his wife picked out for him. Brett Favre could have thrown 5 interceptions and lost the game on a bonehead play and gotten carried out of Lambeau Field, but if the kicker misses from half a field away (because his offense couldn't get him any closer), he has to move his family to another state. Life's just not fair.

6. Even though I like to do an odd number of rundowns, I couldn't leave without updating you on the Australian Open happenings (I know you read the first five just to get to this point). Maria Sharapova ripped apart Jelena Jankovic, who is shockingly up to #3 in the world. I saw Jankovic at the U.S. Open and she doesn't really have the weapons and is fairly inconsistent, as she proved so aptly in her semifinal against Sharapova. Like I said, Sharapova's pretty much got this one on lock.

7. Splitting up men's and women's tennis gives me a #7. Woohoo. Over on the men's side, Roger Federer dusted off James Blake, per usual, in straight - but well fought - sets. I feel bad for Blake because he really is a good guy and a good player, but Federer is more than a thorn in his side, he's the chloroform cloth to Blake's mouth and nose. He'll get you one day, Federer, one day.

Rundown . . .

My apologies for doing this two days in a row, but I lost several hours earlier that I can never regain and now I am paying for it. On to RFTR . . .

1. First Serena, now Venus has lost in Australia. But Maria Sharapova outlasted Justine Henin, hitting her with a bagel (that's 6-0) in the second set. This means all of the people who would normally beat Sharapova are gone, and absent some hiccup, she will probably win it all.

2. Shaquille O'Neal is out again for at least two weeks. Shaq is missing about 1/4 of the season or more every year. This time he's out with a hip ailment, proof that he really is getting old. When you're 7'1" tall, I don't think your body can take too much stress for too long. I would say his team needs him, but after losing 14 games in a row, it can't get much worse, and maybe they will start winning with him on the sidelines. Hopefully.

3. People are making a big deal about the above picture (and others like it) of Tom Brady in a foot cast - carrying flowers no less, allegedly on his way to Gisele Bundchen's home. Sounds staged to me. I don't know why he'd even walk down the street in NYC. He's just trying to psych out Eli, that's all. I believe if he had a crushed foot, I believe he would still play, so I don't expect this to mean that he won't be in the Super Bowl. Carry on.

4. Proving that the depth in the college basketball is very real, University of Kentucky beat the #3 ranked University of Tennessee Volunteers Tuesday night. Kentucky has been up and down (more down than up) this season but every now and then, they can produce a good game. I did not get home until really Wednesday morning so I missed this game, but this is obviously a great win for them. As I said before, in a single-elimination format, this year is going to make for a very interesting NCAA tournament.

5. R.I.P. Heath Ledger. I know this is not sports related, but it's my blog so I can break the rules every now and then. A very talented, underrated actor, in my opinion. Just a reminder to cherish every day you have with the people around you.

Rundown From the Run-Down: 'Jones'ing For Some Rest

Running it down before I retire:

1. I hate to say I told you so. Actually, no, I don't. So I do have a record saying that UNC was going to receive their first check in the "L" column fairly soon. I can't say that I didn't think it would be this soon, because I did. I can say that I'm surprised they held on as long as they did. Then came the University of Maryland, with a just OK record (including losses to VCU and Ohio(?)), who exposed their defense. No fluke here, though, because Maryland coach Gary Williams enjoys a great rep as a top team slayer. And UNC is starting to enjoy a rep as a team that doesn't play D. Back to the basics for the other Williams (UNC coach Roy).

2. Speaking of holding on as long as he could, did anyone catch the Roy Jones, Jr./Felix "Tito" Trinidad fight? If you saw Jones knock out Tito twice (FYI, that second time was not a slip, he lost his balance after getting HIT. It counts.) then you know that Jones is as much a showman as he is a fighter, and I can appreciate that. He is honestly a bit of a nut, but judging by their talk post-fight (where Jones won in a unanimous decision), I think Trinidad "gets" him, so he probably didn't mind the antics as much as one might have thought. If it brings more fans to the sport, they all win. So says Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather, who are, as we speak, planning a Part Deux of their last affair. Just because they get punched in the head doesn't mean they aren't shrewd businessmen.

3. Eli! In the NFC Championship game, I was sentimental for the Green Bay Packers' Brett Favre, because I wanted to see the "old-timer" defeat the odds and make a run for another Super Bowl title. But alas, the bigger underdog won and won me over, and his name is Eli Manning. Manning has finally emerged in the fastest time ever (an instant) from the shadow of big brother Peyton to make the premier national stage. I've always liked Eli because he was the "other" Manning, behind his brother and his dad, Archie, who never really got the glory even though he was a starting QB in a major sports market (the NY Giants). Reminds me of a post I once wrote. I am sure Giants fans are still reeling from the shock. The fact that exactly no one is expecting them to beat the New England Patriots has to make this that much better because Eli will still be a hero (forever, to little brothers everywhere) either way. Bravo, kiddo.

4. Serena Williams made an exit out of the Australian Open Monday night. I can't say that I watched a single point, but I've seen her play enough to get an idea of what happened. If you are not familiar with the term "unforced errors," watch a match where Serena is losing and you will hear it a lot. Why? Because when she's not making errors, this woman is virtually unstoppable, which is how she won the Australian Open crown last year as an unseeded, 81st ranked player in the world. But when she's off, she can be hard to watch. And apparently she was pretty off at times. She did lose to the 3rd seed, but like I said, on a good day she can dust anyone, so I'm not impressed. . .

5. In other Australian Open news, Justine Henin, the #1 ranked player in the world (yeah, I have to tell you, and that's sad. Not for you, but for tennis) is playing Maria Sharapova (a little more familiar, I hope) at 3:30 a.m. Eastern standard time on Tuesday. To some that's Tuesday morning, but I prefer to call it Monday night when it's before 5 a.m. What tennis should be calling it is a total waste of what could be the best match of the tournament.

G'day, mate!

Flushing Meadows, Here I Come!

I know I missed the first day of play at the U.S. Open and for that I should probably be a little ashamed. But the Mike Vick show was on, so I tuned into that instead. Luckily, the show will only be in re-runs until December 10th so I can get back to my regularly scheduled programs.

Which brings me back to tennis. This Friday, I will be heading to the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, NY. I will be leaving my tennis shirt, skirt, socks, tennis shoes, wristbands, tennis bags and tennis racquets at home because I don't need these to watch a tennis match, but apparently not everyone gets this memo (I think they include it with the tickets). I can see wearing one, or maybe even two of these, but I really wonder about the guy who, every year without fail, comes dressed in full gear, only to be told that he will be relegated to the status of "fan" and, no, Roger Federer will not be asking him to warm up before his match.

I haven't watched much tennis since the French Open, but I know I need to brush up on my Russian and Serbian. This is an annual Labor Day event for me, when I get to spend up to 18 hours at the National Tennis Center watching tennis. If this sounds boring to you, then you probably haven't partaken in the festivities. Chief among them for me, watching Marat Safin.


Man, he's a talented young fella. While he did manage to keep it together long enough to win two Grand Slam tournaments - the 2005 Australian Open and the 2000 U.S. Open - he's what I'd call a bit of a loose cannon.

Federer (aka "Cool Fed"), whom I and apparently others might call the most dominant athlete in any sport, tends to keep his emotions in check.



In contrast, my dear Safin wears his heart, valves and all, on his sleeve.


I just need him to last until I get to town.

As for the other johnny-not-gonna-make-it's competing for a chance to win the U.S. Open, I do believe Cool Fed has this one in the bag, so I'm just hoping to see him get a few good matches. While his domination of tennis is more than impressive, it kind of takes all the fun out of it when you know who's going to win. Just ask the ten people in America who have ever watched an entire Federer match.

On the women's side, I'm looking forward to seeing Maria Sharapova (get beaten) and to watching Venus and Serena Williams. I guess I'm not the only one. If you haven't seen them play in person, you have no idea how strong and powerful they really are. I lucked up on 2nd row seats to watch Serena play Amelie Mauresmo in last year's Open, and I have to say I was quite impressed - even though she eventually lost.

What I do not want to see is a Venus vs. Serena showdown. Try more like a "show is over." I can think of at least 100 things I'd rather do than watch the two of them play, and yes, watching paint dry (#98) and peel off (#99) is on that list. Their matches have to be among the most non-competitive outings I've ever seen. Their all-time head-to-head record is 7-7, probably because they take turns letting the other one win. At least we'll be spared a meeting in the final since they are on the same side of the women's draw (tennis speak for a bracket) this year. But when they aren't playing each other, I am a big fan of theirs, and they're popularity is certainly good for the game. You go, girls!

Lastly, I am embarrassed to admit that American Express does such a good job of promoting the U.S. Open that I was inspired to apply for a card just so I could get all the perks (including free pedicab rides across the "boardwalk" from the subway to the vicinity of the main entrance). And they gave me a lot of credit. And the card is pretty. But what they don't tell you is that about the only place where the American Express card is accepted is at the U.S. Open. D'oh!