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By cernig, Section Site related
Posted on Fri Jul 27 2007 at 12:35 PM EST
More on: Anything (all tags)

This is all starting to get very boring, very repetitive, and most off, very, very, very annoying. Everyone has seen it in the news, and it has already been said by many analysts that this may be one of the worst times in sports history. So for once, without mentioning any names, let's please talk about something other than a man and his dog fights; please let's talk about something other than a man and gambling in the NBA; and please, for God's sake, can we talk about something other than a man and steroids? As Mike, from "Mike and the Mad Dog," put it yesterday on his show, "Unless he [Bonds] comes out and says it, it shouldn't be a headline anymore, because everyone but him has already said it so it shouldn't be a headline." I couldn't agree more with Mike; thank you for finally having the balls to come out and say it.

Believe it or not, there are actually other things going on in the world of sports.

For example, in Major League Baseball Alex Rodriguez is a mere one home run away from joining the 500 home run club. Rodriguez hit number 499 to right-center off of tiring Kansas City Royals starter Gil Meche (7-7) in the 8th inning of the Yankees' sixth straight win, their eleventh in thirteen games. He had a chance in the 9th to hit 500, but struck out swinging after Derek Jeter was hit by a pitch, and the Yankees had two on with one out.

Today, Rodriguez will face starting pitcher Jorge De La Rosa, who gave up A-Rod's 400th homer two years ago, in his attempt to become the youngest player ever to 500 homer runs.

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Weird but true: If A-Rod homers Friday in Baltimore, in the resumed game that was suspended on June 28th, Wednesday's HR would become his 500th (the HR in the suspended game would be No. 493).

--- ESPN.com News Services

Across in Queens, Tom Glavine (9-6) is just one win away from joining the 300 wins club for pitchers. Glavine allowed three runs and eight hits, bouncing back from a difficult outing at Los Angeles. He pitched six innings to earn career win 299 and Paul Lo Duca drove in four runs to lead the Mets past the Pirates.

Glavine's first chance at getting career win number 300 will come on Tuesday, July 31, at Miller Park. His counterpart will be the Brewers' Jeff Suppan (8-9).

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The trade deadline is approaching in baseball; who is looking deal and who is looking to buy?

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In the NFL, former New York Jets running back Curtis Martin is calling it quits after five pro bowl appearances, 14,101 rushing yards (3rd all-time), and 19 months after playing his final game.

For more on Martin and the Jets please visit: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2949596

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Paul Posluszny signed a four-year deal potentially worth over $5 million on Wednesday, a day before the start of training camp. The second-round draft pick out of Penn State had no intention of keeping the Buffalo Bills waiting or risking himself falling behind, and has an opportunity to make an immediate impact with the Bills. He is expected to compete for a starting job among a group of linebackers that lost London Fletcher to free agency and traded Takeo Spikes to Philadelphia this offseason.

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Just over a month left before the 2007 college football season kicks off!!! USC is everybody's pre-season number one, but with the second toughest schedule in the country, I'd be surprised if they went the distance and made it to yet another National Title game.

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A message to Lee Corso: The Big Ten is not the problem in getting a twelfth team added to the conference; they are in the 21st century (in case you missed College Football Live, Corso was quoted as saying, "I can't wait to see the Big Ten get into the 21st Century and add a team like Missouri"). It's your lovable team Notre Dame who won't come into the 21st century, and you know it. The Big Ten is waiting for the Fighting Irish to drop the Independent League act, just like Penn State and Miami, who were also Independent national powerhouses, did, and join the conference. I'd have to think Notre Dame is not making a move simply because they know their results will suffer if they actually had to play a conference schedule and not a cake-walk.

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Did you see Notre Dame is already filtering out two Big Ten teams for the 2012 season? Oh, what a school.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/ncaa/07/25/michigan.ndreplacement.ap/index.html

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The South Carolina Gamecocks will be celebrating their 100th basketball season in 2007-08.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/ncaa/07/23/scarolina.ceremony.ap/index.html

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Check out some of these up-and-coming high school girls:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/highschool/07/18/top.girls/index.html

And here are the guys too:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/highschool/07/17/next.players/index.html

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There are still several bright spots in sports today, and people can actually have a meaningful conversation without mentioning dog fights, gambling, or steroids. I know, hard to believe, but I think the mentioned topics are just a start of some of the better sides of the world of sports today.

Have comments or questions? Feel free to leave them on the comment section below. And I'm sure the SportsColumn community would love to hear other good stories in sports today, so feel free to leave those also.

Thanks for reading, I hope I was able to write an enjoyable piece about something other than, well, you know...

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Open Conversation | 9 comments (9 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

The thing with Notre Dame (#1)
by RJ Warner on Thu Jul 26 2007 at 4:52 PM EST

is all about money. They won't give up that lucrative national NBC deal where they'll be able to schedule whoever they want. Plus, do you think the Big Ten would let Notre Dame stay in the Big East for basketball, which is better than the Big Ten? I doubt they would.

: i'd have to think (#2)
by cernig on Fri Jul 27 2007 at 12:53 AM EST

the football would outweigh the basketball though right? i mean they are decent in basketball but the money comes from the fball teams.
agreed that its all about the money. and i dont think that will change anytime soon.

[ Parent ]

I hate ****Ing Notre Dame (#3)
by alexferguson60 on Sun Jul 29 2007 at 5:10 PM EST

Here is why:

The two reasons to me that Notre Dame have decided not to have Michigan on the schedule is that they can't stand losing to them. The last couple of years have hardly been wonderful against the Wolverines, have they?

It's the same reason (although ND used the excuse of "sportsmanship") that ND wiped Boston College off the schedule.

Don't be surprised if USC is next.

: if they took off usc (#4)
by cernig on Sun Jul 29 2007 at 10:36 PM EST

who else in a few years would they have on their schedule that would be a yearly top 25 team?

[ Parent ]
: hmmm, (#5)
by RJ Warner on Mon Jul 30 2007 at 7:00 AM EST

I hate to be the Notre Dame defender here, but I think you're a little off base here. First, since ND and UM resumed what I think is one of the better and more necessary series (although they've played Mich St way more than Mich) in CFB, it's been pretty even, with ND winning in '02, 04 and '05 with Michigan winning in '03 and '06. And it's not like ND is dropping Michigan to play Temple every year, they'll be playing Oklahoma instead for a couple seasons. And who knows if the Irish initiated the end of the series after 2011 anyway? I don't, do you?
And with BC, I'm not 100%, but I think since they joined the ACC, it threw a wrench in that series. BUt it was temporary anyway, because they'll be playing again this year. BC has always been kryptonite to the Irish, but I don't think they're afraid of them. Please.
As far as USC goes, I don't think there are any plans on ending the longest-running intersectional rivalry in college football. And since they're already booked thru 2016, I don't think that one's in jeopardy.
And lastly because I'm getting a headache talking about Notre Dame, they've always been fair with the teams they're scheduling. Every school wants to play Notre Dame. Whether you like them or hate them, they're an automatic sellout and national tv game. And they don't pull crap like Penn State, Michigan and Ohio St and every other major school by scheduling "two-for-ones." In most cases with rare exceptions, if you go to South Bend, they'll come to your house (and probably have almost as many fans as you do.)
Call Notre Dame what you want, but don't call them pussies (except on the field coughbradyquinn) or ever accuse them of playing a soft schedule.

[ Parent ]

Um..... (#6)
by Anonymous Fan on Thu Aug 02 2007 at 5:29 AM EST

ND scheduled Oklahoma for the two years that the Michigan series is in hiatus...and...

Michigan and ND signed a twenty year deal and will play each other through 2031.

Now....don't you feel a bit silly with your anti-ND rant over the two year Michigan game hiatus??

Um..... (#7)
by Anonymous Fan on Thu Aug 02 2007 at 5:30 AM EST

ND scheduled Oklahoma for the two years that the Michigan series is in hiatus...and...

Michigan and ND signed a twenty year deal and will play each other through 2031.

Now....don't you feel a bit silly with your anti-ND rant over the two year Michigan game hiatus??

: haha no i dont (#8)
by cernig on Thu Aug 02 2007 at 11:47 AM EST

because my rant was a total of a line and two more words. but i was waiting for a comment like that to come from an ND fan, surprised it took about four days!

[ Parent ]

well... (#9)
by RJ Warner on Fri Aug 03 2007 at 7:31 PM EST

first of all, don't you feel silly for posting your comment twice?

Second, this "rant" was made a week before the schools decided to renew this series 'til 2031, so for awhile, it seemed like they had a chance to stop playing.

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