Dodgers euthanize Garciaparra after breakdown at Dodger Stadium

LOS ANGELES - In an emotional press conference today, Los Angeles Dodgers officials announced that Nomar Garciaparra had been euthanized, two days after he injured his left knee rounding the bases in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"Nomar gave us all he had for such a long time," said Dodgers general manager Ned Coletti, fighting back tears while addressing the media. "But with his history of injuries, and the likelihood of his recovery being slim to none, we thought the humane thing to do would be to put him out of his misery."

Dodgers trainers said they had attempted to keep Garciaparra off of his injured leg, but he had fought all restraints, refusing to lay down while shouting "What are you doing?" and "Hey, I'm not a horse!"

Dodger fan Joe McClendon, who brought his family to the game on Wednesday, said watching Garciaparra break down in front of a packed stadium was a disturbing sight.

"You bring kids to the game, and you don't want them to see that," McClendon said. "But at least they didn't have to put him down right there - I saw they had the portable curtain thing out just in case. If that happened, we wouldn't have come back."

Posted by The Duke of Everything at 10:56 PM 1 comments  

2008 Handicapabling Challenge: Week 4

We're a week behind in doling out the punishment in the 2008 Handicapabling Challenge. That is to say, McLane needs to eat his cesos taco. So what do we do this week? How about the loser drinking a nice, full shot of Siracha hot sauce? What better way to wash down some tasty brains, right McLane?

Now, on to the Week 4 picks...

MCLANE:

Ohio +12 vs NORTHWESTERN

Seems like a hell of a lot of points. Right? Who's with me? Anyone?

Arizona -3 vs UCLA

UCLA reached a new low last week. Tuitama won't pass for 19 touchdown or whatever it was the kid (or should I say man? He's probably 42) from BYU threw for last week, but the Wildcats will come away with a win by a couple of touchdowns.

LSU -3 vs AUBURN

Final score prediction: 8-2.

Florida -7 vs TENNESSEE

The Fatty Philip Fulmer Farewell Tour continues. Urban Meyer OWNS that fat tub of goo.

ARIZONA STATE +7 vs Georgia

The Devils gave new definition to the term crap the bed last week against UNLV but it may have been the best thing that could have happened going into this game. Erickson will have his team prepared, Tempe will be rocking, and Rudy Carpenter won't suck quite as much as he usually does.

Who am I kidding? It's a homer pick, through and through.

THE DUKE:

Central Michigan +10.5 @ PURDUE

LeFevour Power, baby! A moderately high profile Big 10 team is due to get knocked out by a MAC team this season. It's going to happen here.

ARKANSAS +9 vs. Alabama

I sense a very, very low scoring game. Not quite an Auburn game, but enough that nine points is an awful lot to ask Alabama to cover on the road.

UCLA +3 vs. Arizona

UCLA is a better home team against the spread the last few seasons than you would think. And Arizona is god awful on the road under Mike Stoops. Just the type of game the Bruins win to get their fans worked up before another crushing loss.

Georgia -7 @ ARIZONA STATE

Yeah McLane, that's a homer pick. This line is way off - it should be at least a double digit spread. If this was a day game in the usual Arizona 150 degree heat, maybe the Sun Devils would have a chance.

TOLEDO +7 vs. Fresno State

After being their BCS dreams get busted against Wisconsin, do you think the Bulldogs are excited about going on the road to take on the Rockets? The start of another long, painful slide for a Pat Hill team after almost knocking off a big ticket school.

Posted by The Duke of Everything at 10:26 PM 0 comments  

Schill Against the Dying of the Light

Curt Schilling had something to say earlier this week about Manny Ramirez. As we all know, Schilling loves to hear himself talk and even moreso, loves to be the center of attention. He's always been that way.

He's been out all year with an injury and his career is winding down, so there's hardly any surprise in him pointing out Manny Ramirez's behavior was disrespectful toward his teammates, manager, and franchise as a whole. There's no better way to gain the spotlight than saying something seemingly edgy and news-worthy.

But is this really a story? Does Schilling make sense?

Well, it isn't much of a story. He made his comments Wednesday morning and that's really the last I've heard of them. "Red light" Curt seems to have lost more than his fastball. The story here for me is Schilling holding on as long as he can, making sure the baseball world knows he isn't finished yet.

While his points in regards to Manny Ramirez's exit from the Red Sox are well-taken, they're not exactly what I would call keen observations either. It doesn't take an insider to know Ramirez acted like a complete and utter jerk many times over in his tenure with the Red Sox.

What I find interesting though, is the man who Schilling claims was most disrespected by Ramirez's antics, manager Terry Francona, hasn't said a word regarding the situation.

He's been poked and prodded, sure, but he hasn' made a peep. This could be due to his position as manager of the team or because Epstein and the front office placed a bit of a gag order on him. Maybe it's even both.

My guess is Francona has moved on because he's a professional, and unlike Curt Schilling, he never forgets it.

Posted by McLane at 9:03 AM 0 comments