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FedEx Cup Live Chat, 1 PM EST

Shane BaconPosted Aug 20th 2008 12:50PM by Shane Bacon (author feed)
Filed under: Golf, PGA


With all the majors past us and the Ryder Cup still a month away, it's nice that the PGA Tour started the FedEx Cup to give us something to keep our attention. Or is it?

The Cup seems to bring out the creative because it's such a new idea and fans tend to want to tweak the four tournament playoff system like a VCR repairman.

With Tiger Woods busy walking on water, our precious playoff picks will be wide open to a new winner. Can Phil Mickelson actually do something during the absence of his Swoosh-ness? Will Kenny Perry claim the Cup as a 48-year-old? Can Anthony Kim add a piece of tin way bigger than any of his belt buckles?

Join us at 1 p.m. EST for a chat about all things FedEx Cup. If you have any suggestions about things you'd like to see changed, let us know. We have a lot of pull with Tim Finchem.
Continue Reading FedEx Cup Live Chat, 1 PM EST

Argentina Finishes Greece in Insane Fashion

Tom ZillerPosted Aug 20th 2008 12:10PM by Tom Ziller (author feed)
Filed under: FIBA

There have been three real tight games in the Olympic men's basketball tournament, but the Argentina-Greece has been without doubt the most entertaining. There were something like 179 lead changes. Greece and Argentina traded spurts through the first three quarters. On the backs of Carlos Delfino and Manu Ginobili, Argentina took slight control in the fourth. But Greece stuck close, nailing improbable three after improbable three.

The most improbable came with 30 seconds left, the shot clock winding down and Argentina up by five. Panagiotis Vasilopoulos (!) banks in an off-balance trey. Argentina by two. A difference of six seconds between the shot clock and game clock. After a timeout, Manu handles the ball up high. He begins his move with about 12 seconds left, steps back and shoots a three. Clank. Greece captures the rebound and -- down two -- races up the court. With three ticks left, Vassilo Spanoulis takes a contested three from the top of the key. Clank. Luis Scola bats the ball around and ... game.

Manu almost saw his team get eliminated by a point after that miss. Given Greece's earlier luck from behind the arc, Spanoulis's shot looked good when it left his hands. The utter ecstacy after the buzzer shown by Argentina looked more like excitement than relief. It tells me this team won't be afraid of the Americans on Friday (in fairness, the Australians weren't afraid either). Argentina might have gotten away by the skin of their scalps, but it was because Greece played phenomenal more than Argentina being a step behind its 2004 version.

If either of Friday's games are anything like Argentina-Greece, we're in for some treats.

China Leads USA in Gold Medals, 45-26; Americans Lead Total Medals 81-79

Michael David SmithPosted Aug 20th 2008 11:58AM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: China, USA


Photo: China's Wu Jingyu celebrates her victory over Thailand's Buttree Puedpong during their women's taekwondo gold medal match on August 20 in Beijing.

China continues to blow away the rest of the world in the gold medal standings at the Summer Olympics, with 45 gold medals through the conclusion of Day 12. Team USA is second with 26 golds.

The Americans maintain a narrow lead in the overall medal standings, with 81 medals in all. China has 79 medals.

China added two more golds today, with Wu Jingyu winning in the women's 49-kilogram and under taekwondo competition, and Yin Jian winning in women's sailing. China also picked up a bronze today when Wenxiu Zhang finished third in the women's hammer throw.

The Americans added medals today in the men's 200 meters (Shawn Crawford, bronze) and women's 400-meter hurdles (Sheena Tosta, silver).

In Hockey, it Pays to Fight

Eric McErlainPosted Aug 20th 2008 11:35AM by Eric McErlain (author feed)
Filed under: NHL Economics, NHL Fights

Like most NHL fans, I'm an unabashed fan of hockey fights and the men who drop their gloves to protect their more skilled teammates. In their guts, most fans know that if it wasn't for players like Donald Brashear and Brian McGrattan, skaters like Dany Heatley and Alex Ovechkin wouldn't have nearly as much room to dazzle us the way they do.

Now, there's solid empirical evidence to back it up. In a study published by Ruhr Economic Papers, Blood Money: Incentives for Violence in NHL Hockey, John P. Haisken-DeNew and Matthias Vorell found a positive correlation between fighting and winning in the NHL.

Here's how The Atlantic saw the paper:
After analyzing league statistics-including penalty minutes, goals scored, and salary figures-the authors determined that strategic fighting can improve a team's playoff chances, and that players possessing the unique skills of an enforcer are duly rewarded for their efforts.

[...]

While a player earns a "wage premium" of $10,925 when he assists on a goal, they calculated, he earns $18,135 for winning a fight and $11,993 even for losing a fight.
According to the researchers, the most effective way to curb fighting in hockey would be to levy a $36,000 fine on each team per fight, and then apply the fine against the team's salary cap. I'm sure that idea would give Anaheim GM Brian Burke a sever case of agita.

Rich Harden Is Tired of Being Called Injury-Prone

Pat LackeyPosted Aug 20th 2008 10:38AM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Cubs, NL Central

What's a good word for a pitcher that hasn't ever topped 200 innings in his six-year career? One that's only made more than 20 starts twice in that span? I would probably trend towards calling said pitcher injury-prone. In fact, I'd call him "Rich Harden," which is more or less a synonym for "injury-prone." Unless, of course, you're Rich Harden.
''People have criticized,'' he said recently, talking about a track record that includes five trips to the disabled list the last four seasons, including a 15-day stretch with a strained shoulder this season with the Oakland Athletics. ''That's just -- whatever.''
The only way for Harden to shake that image is to get out on the mound and actually pitch every four or five days. Of course, that's exactly what he's done in Chicago. Thus far, he's thrown 42 sparking innings in seven starts and been quite nearly as good as CC Sabathia's been for the Brewers with his 1.50 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 59 strikeouts in those 42 innings against only 14 walks. Those rates are Cy Young numbers for a full-season, but all Cubs fans care about at the moment is whether or not the guy that barely threw 70 innings in 2006 and 2007 can stay healthy for the playoffs.

Usain Bolt Wins Olympic 200 Meter Gold, Sets New World Record of 19.30 Seconds

Michael David SmithPosted Aug 20th 2008 10:27AM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Americas


Jamaica's Usain Bolt completed his sprint double gold medal today in Beijing, winning the 200 meters in 19.30 seconds, a new world record.

Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles won the silver. American Wallace Spearmon finished third but was disqualified for stepping out of his lane, so fourth-place finisher Shawn Crawford of the United States received the bronze medal.

Bolt, who previously set a new world record of 9.69 seconds in the 100 meters, is the first athlete to win both the 100 and the 200 since Carl Lewis in 1984. Bolt is only 21 years old, and track experts are nearly unanimous in saying that a good coach could improve his technique. There's every reason to believe that he will be a dominant sprinter for years to come. He has the talent to become the greatest ever.

American Michael Johnson set the previous 200-meter world record of 19.32 seconds at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, a record that felt at the time like it was unbreakable. But no one knew at the time about a 9-year-old Jamaican named Usain Bolt.

Exclusive Video: Jordan Farmar On A Mission In Jerusalem

Elie SeckbachPosted Aug 20th 2008 10:25AM by Elie Seckbach (author feed)
Filed under: FanHouse TV, The Word

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded NBA Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

In this exclusive video we fly out to Jerusalem, Israel to catch up with NBA star Jordan Farmar. While touring the Holy Land the LA Lakers star used his basketball skills and leadership to build bridges between young Jews and Arabs in a region that has known bloodshed for thousands of years, the results of his efforts may surprise you.


AOL Video link. Youtube link.

Heptathlon Silver Medalist Lyudmila Blonska Tests Positive Again

Michael David SmithPosted Aug 20th 2008 10:09AM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Europe


In 2004, Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine received a two-year suspension from international track and field after she tested positive for steroids.

She was reinstated in 2006, kept competing, made the Ukrainian Olympic team, and she won the silver medal in the heptathlon. And now she's tested positive again. If her "B" sample also turns up positive, she'll be stripped of her silver and permanently banned. But some competitors are wondering why she was allowed to compete at all.
Continue Reading Heptathlon Silver Medalist Lyudmila Blonska Tests Positive Again

NBC Scores With Olympics; ABC, CBS, Fox Get Lowest Ratings in History

Michael David SmithPosted Aug 20th 2008 9:15AM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: USA

The Olympics have been huge for NBC, with giant ratings and giant profits. Meanwhile, the other networks are looking like Angola taking on the Dream Team.

From The Hollywood Reporter:
Little noticed in all the fanfare is that NBC's competitors are setting records of their own, having uniformly endured their worst week ever.

From the ratings week ending Aug. 17, ABC, CBS and Fox each had their lowest-rated and least-watched week in recorded People Meter history (which almost certainly means their all-time lowest; People Meters were rolled out in 1987 and broadcast averages have eroded significantly since then). Fox's 3.2 million average marks the lowest-ever turnout for a major network; ABC's 1.1 rating represents the lowest rated in the adult demo.

Obviously, ABC, CBS and Fox knew what they were getting into, and they're not even trying to counter-program the Olympics, instead just putting on cheap reruns and accepting that they're not going to draw an audience. For two weeks every other year, the Olympics dominate American television.

Liveblog: USA vs Australia, 8 a.m. EST

Tom ZillerPosted Aug 20th 2008 7:30AM by Tom Ziller (author feed)
Filed under: FIBA, USA Basketball



FanHouse has dusted off ye old liveblog for this morning's Olympic quarterfinal between Team America USA and Australia. We'll pop things off at 8 a.m. EST, before the day breaks in some part of the country (including my own, *whine whine grumble*.)

Check out our preview, check out Carmelo's cheese, and check below the fold for the liveblog.
Continue Reading Liveblog: USA vs Australia, 8 a.m. EST
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China Leads USA in Gold Medals, 45-26; Americans Lead Total Medals 81-79
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