Giants-Dodgers Rivalry Returns

You wouldn't know it by tuning into ESPN, but there are other rivalries in baseball besides Red Sox-Yankees.  Cubs-Cardinals have a marvelous history in two wonderful sports towns.  But even that doesn't hold the tradition and bitter history that comes with Dodgers-Giants.

As a full-fledged Giants fan, I am proud to announce that we, the Giants, are relevant again.

Finally.

In Deja Vu News, Ben Wallace Signs with the Detroit Pistons.

Who would you rather be the starting center on your favorite NBA team, Kwame Brown or Ben Wallace?

If this were 2006, you would have more than likely laughed in my face upon hearing that question. Though Brown was beginning to show signs that maybe he wasn’t a complete draft bust, Wallace was the powerful presence down low for the perennial contender Detroit Pistons, a rebounding machine and four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year. What he lacked in offensive prowess was made up for in leadership and intangibles; Ben Wallace may not have been capable of getting you 15 points per game on a nightly basis but he could be the catalyst for every other starter on your team to raise their game to where that would be negated.

Tennis: Weekend Winners

Juan Martin del Potro - Washington, DC

JMDP made it two consecutive titles in the nation's capital edging out top seed Andy Roddick 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(6) to win the Legg Mason Classic. Last season, Washington, DC became the fourth straight title win for the towering Argentine when he went on a 23-match win streak and vaulted up the rankings. He becomes the first back-to-back champion at the tourney since Andre Agassi won consecutive titles in 1998-99. It was A-Rod's first appearance on the ATP World Tour since the 5-set Wimbledon classic but also his second consecutive finals loss.

I Predicted What?!

We're past the non-waiver trade deadline in major league baseball, which means a couple of things. 1) We have two months of exciting pennant race baseball 2) There are sure to be other trades simply because teams cannot take on money with the economy the way it is, rendering the typical waiver process a non-deterrent 3) It's a great time to look back at my earlier comments on pretenders and contenders and rip myself.

PlanetOut and Gay.com's Annual 2009 Preseason Top 25 College Football Countdown

Welcome to my annual edition of the 2009 Preseason Top 25 College Football Countdown.

It's August, which means school campuses across the United States are busy preparing for the upcoming college football season. Coaches are preparing strategies and evaluating player's skills. Football players are lifting weights, memorizing playbooks, and sweating at two-a-day practices. Cheerleaders are working on routines and stunts. Marching Bands are in rehearsals putting final touches on formations. College Football Fans are counting the days for the most anticipated time of the year.

It's time for a preview of the season ahead and the teams that appear on paper to be headed for greatness. I hope you are as excited for the upcoming season as I am. So let's kick it off, here are my predictions.  Be sure to click on each team for a more in depth analysis of that particular team.  

Sharapova Tops Azarenka in LA - Grunts, Fist Pumps, Headbands and All

In the Headband Hall of Fame's most high-profile lady baller battle thus far, Maria Sharapova grabbed the biggest win in her comeback to date knocking off World No. 9 and third seed Victoria Azarenka 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2 in LA's second round.

The Samurais Offer Haas an Olive Branch and a Beer

The Samurais would like to make an amends with Tommy Haas Obama-style.

The German baller was visibly irritated by the rowdy supporters of eventual LA champ Sam Querrey during their semifinal bout and described the group as having "no class" afterwards.

Tony Parker Injured: Bad Sign for the Spurs?

In the age of free agency, you’ll be hard-pressed to find an NBA team as consistent as the San Antonio Spurs. For the past decade, it seems that not a season goes by where the Spurs are not brought up as title contenders, a type of dominance that has resulted in four championships since the shortened 1998-1999 season and the word dynasty tossed around.

The Fever Just Got a Bit Cooler: Yolanda Griffith Retires

I really hate when athletes get injured. I know, sometimes it’s quite hard to feel sorry for people who earn more money per game than most people make in a year, but to watch someone’s livelihood be jeopardized is tough. The worst injury is the injury that alters the course of a career and even ends it; there’s nothing worse than an athlete announcing they were retiring at the end of the next season and said season not live up to expectations.

Roddick Returns

Andy Roddick is back in his first tournament since losing Wimbledon in a heart-breaking five set final against Roger Federer, a leading contender for the title of best tennis player ever. Roddick is playing this week (Aug. 3-9) in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., part of the Olympus U.S. Open Series of tournaments leading up to the U.S. Open in New York City at the end of the month.

Tennis: Weekend Winners

Sam Querrey - LA

Well it wasn't Marat Safin but Sam Querry can now breathe a sigh of relief. After making the finals of his last two tourneys and losing, the 21-year old made good on his third attempt defeating qualifier Carsten Ball 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 and earning the second ATP World Tour title of his young career. He also now leads the Olympus US Open Series Bonus Challenge leapfrogging over last week's leader and Indy champ Robby Ginepri.

Hawaii Fag-O

University of Hawaii football coach, Greg McMackin, fumbled on Thursday when he described the Notre Dame football players engaging in a “little faggot dance” the night before Notre Dame demolished Hawaii last December in the Hawaii Bowl.

No Halladay For Yankees

So the MLB non-waiver trading deadline has come and gone, and the Yankees did… nothing.  Wisely deciding not to trade their entire minor league system to Toronto for Roy Halladay, the Yanks head into the stretch with the same line-up they’ve been sporting all season.  Will it be enough?  It’s difficult to say.

Offensively it would be hard to improve on what they already have.  Second in the AL in team batting average and home runs, the Bombers sit at the top of the AL East, 2.5 games ahead of Boston.  Boston did add catcher Victor Martinez from the Indians, but with the circus that is the David Ortiz steroid story just getting underway, the Red Sox will be hard pressed to challenge for the wild card, let alone the division title.  The AL East is the Yanks to lose.  It’s hard to imagine them missing the playoffs this year.

ESPN's East Coast Bias on Full Display

A lot of us turn to ESPN for our football news.  We love football, we miss it for six months.  In the world of supply and demand, because there are so few games (relative to other sports), our passionate love affair raises our demand for anything NFL.  That's what we watch something as brainless as the NFL draft.

ESPN, especially in their baseball coverage, has long been subjected to complains about having an East Coast bias.  Based in Bristol, CT, the network has spent the better part of the last decade broadcasting every Yankees-Red Sox clash in prime time.  Those two teams lead off Sportscenter an inordinate amount of times, even when their games are ordinary.

Eddie Izzard On The Run For Charity

Does this count as sports? Stunt? Spectacle? Yes, it’s all of the above, and all for a good cause, too. By the end of the day Thursday, the British stand-up comedian and actor Eddie Izzard will have run the equivalent of four marathons in four days, as he runs around the United Kingdom (UK) for the charity Sport Relief.

His 30-day run will take him from London, England to Cardiff, Wales to Belfast, Northern Ireland to Edinburgh, Scotland and back to London. If you’re not up on your UK geography, get out a map. It’s quite a substantial loop, totally more than 1,000 miles, which works out to about 30 marathons in a month.