Update (5/31): Reds placed 1B Joey Votto on the 15-day DL on Saturday for personal reasons that Votto has asked to keep private, according to MLB.com. "He's dealing with a personal issue," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "He wants us to respect his privacy about that." Votto had dealt with dizziness off and on -- the result of an inner-ear infection -- but this absence apparently isn't directly related. "It's partly that. Let's leave it at that," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. "It's basically something that Joey needs some time away to deal with. We gave him that time. It's not a big deal, but it's something that was affecting his ability to play at the level he wants to play at."  

After another dizzy spell pulled Reds' star first-basemen Joey Votto out of the game Friday night, the Reds have to decide what to do with their most productive player. Votto has had an unbelievable season so far batting .357 with eight homeruns and 33 RBIs in 38 games. However, he is also a cornerstone of the this franchises future and they can't afford to risk his well-being for the long term just to win a few games in the short term. It's going to be a tough decision, but I think I'm leaning towards the same line of thinking as Lance McAlister (This Must Stop). You have to protect the most important player in your franchise's future, and him falling into a fastball or falling in the way of a runner could be extremely dangerous.

Here's the story about Votto's latest bout with dizzyness Friday night by MLB.com's Mark Sheldon: Votto Stricken Again During Game

MLB joey votto, cincinnati reds, dizzyness, lance mcalister, mark sheldon, mlb.com

from Bloodhorse.com:

Rachel Alexandra will not be running in the June 6 Belmont Stakes (gr. I), Jess Jackson, the co-owner of the filly announced May 29.

Jackson said in a statement that Rachel Alexandra, who won both the May 1 Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) and May 16 Preakness Stakes (gr. I), deserves a vacation.

The move clears the way for jockey Calvin Borel to return to Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Mine That Bird in the Belmont.

Borel will be trying for a personal Triple Crown, as he won the Derby aboard Mine That Bird and the Preakness with Rachel Alexandra.

COMPLETE ARTICLE

Horse Racing triple crown, belmont stakes, rachel alexandra, mine that bird, calvin borel

from HolyTaco.com:

In an effort to really explore what we learned from playing high school football, we decided to look at five types of people on a high school football team, and where they are now. 

The Meathead

The Meathead is the guy on the team who is abnormally large and/or strong for his age, and therefore has been on the Varsity squad since he was a freshman.  For him, the high school population is broken down in to three simple categories: “people I can pick up and lift over my head”, “f*&kin fags”, and “people I want to stick my penis in.”   Sometimes, all three of those are the same person, but you probably won’t find that out until the reunion years later.  Normally, the Meathead is easy enough to manage; just apply the same rules to him that you would apply to a grizzly bear: try to observe him at a distance, and if you have to go near him, make sure he’s really sleepy or he just ate.

What He’s Doing Now:  Lives within an 11 block radius of the school, with a wife who was incredibly hot in high school, but three kids later looks like John Goodman after getting kicked out of a corndog eating contest. 

COMPLETE LIST

Just For Fun lists, humor, high school football

If you're like me you probably could care less about the French Open or tennis in general, but this is pretty hilarious. Listen to Michelle Larcher de Brito grunt ... err wail during her match at the Open. 

And even better than that... This NY Times article talks about how she is upsetting the rest of the tour with her antics and poor sportsmanship and her unwillingness to be an uppity snob in general.

Tennis michelle larcher de brito, french open, tennis, grunting

from Lexington Herald-Leader...

There may come a day when John Calipari's detractors will finally catch the coach red-handed at something other than guilt by association.

But this isn't that day.

Here's why: The NCAA allegations against the Memphis basketball program aren't a John Calipari issue.

They're a Derrick Rose issue.

Page 8 of the 13-page letter outlining the allegations sent by the NCAA to the University of Memphis states:

"It is alleged that (name redacted), prospective men's basketball student-athlete, failed to deport himself in accordance with the generally recognized high standards of honesty and sportsmanship normally associated with the conduct and administration of intercollegiate athletics for his knowing fraudulence or misconduct in connection with his entrance examination."

COMPLETE ARTICLE

College Hoops kentucky, kentucky wildcats, uk, john calipari, derrick rose, memphis

Check out this video of Carlos Zambrano performing a classic tantrum. The Cubs pitcher was suspended for six games after this episode Wednesday.

MLB carlos zambrano, suspended, chicago, cubs, pittsburgh, pirates

Just in time for the weekend...

Hair of the Dog (Shot)

Ingredients:
½ oz tequila
½ oz Irish whiskey
¼ oz Tabasco
¼ oz salt

To make: Combine first three ingredients in a shot glass. Layer salt on top. Shoot.

Ever wonder where the expression “Hair of the Dog” came from? From what we know, it originated in the time of Shakespeare, the product of some of the weird folk remedies that were popular then. Specifically, they claimed rabies from a dog’s bite was prevented by rubbing the wound with the hair of the dog that bit you. Thus, the tradition of drinking a little alcohol in the morning to ease your hangover was like rubbing the wound with the hair of the dog that “bit you.” This shot takes its name from that bit of folklore.

COMPLETE LIST (AskMen.com)

Just For Fun lists, hangover cures

Also posted on BleacherReport.com:

Prior to last season the Bengals were a hotbed for fantasy owners to pluck for talent on draft day.

Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and Rudi Johnson were all elite performers that could be counted on for big-time production.

Palmer went down with a season-ending injury and the tank went empty on Johnson out of the backfield, leaving the Bengals with a mediocre unit.

Palmer is healthy. New players have entered the mix.

What's Carson going to do this year? When is worth taking a look at Chad Ochocinco and Laveranues Coles? Does Chris Henry deserve a look? Is Cedric Benson ready for a breakout? I answer all these questions and more in this cool slideshow.

Let’s take a look at what players can and can not be counted for fantasy owners in 2009.

COMPLETE OVERVIEW

Fantasy Football bengals, carson palmer, cedric benson, chad ochocinco, laveranues coles, chris henry, chase coffman, shayne graham

Are you aware that today May 28th? A better question is are the Reds aware of it?

The team just wrapped up a 6-3 homestand to move a season-best six games over .500 at 26-20.

They've done it despite having their best hitter battling dizzy spells. With their best fielder and cleanup hitter dealing with a fracture thumb while sitting on the pain. And with their top winner from last year sidelined with back spasms.

Now, the true test comes with a seven-day, seven-game road trip against the two teams above them in the NL Central Standings.

It starts with a weekend stop in Milwaukee for a showdown with the Brewers, followed by a four-game series with the Cardinals in St. Louis.

The Cardinals (28-19) lead the division over the Brewers by one game (27-20) and have a 1.5 game lead over the Reds.

Following a sweep over the last place Astros, Reds' outfielder Jay Bruce made a prediction that summarized the team's enthusiasm.

We're coming home in first," Bruce told the Dayton Daily News.

With the Cubs struggling so much, it appears that the NL Central is up for grabs. Whether or not the Reds can be one of the teams to stay in the race all year remains to be seen, but if you have to like what you've seen so far!

MLB reds, cardinals, brewers, cubs, astros, nl central

It didn't take long for the vulchers to begin to swarm in Lexington and around the Commonwealth on Wednesday. Despite all of the optimism and buzz on created around the University of Kentucky basketball program with the arrival of new head coach John Calipari there has been a small group of haters.

They have warned that playing with fire will get you burned and many have accussed Calipari of being "a snake" and "a cheater".

The Memphis Commerical Appeal reports that the notice of allegations -- that's the official term for it -- charges Memphis with six different major infractions, three of which involve Jenny Bruun, the former coach of the women's golf team.

The other three are about hoops. It's honestly not as bad as it could be. Two of the charges involve the associate of a player who traveled with the team -- getting free hotels and airfare -- who should have paid his own way. By all accounts, the person did reimburse the university for other trips he made. So this may amount to no more than a simple accounting and monitoring error.

On June 6, the University of Memphis will appear before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions in connection with allegations of three major rules violations under Calipari, including the charge that one player -- Derrick Rose? -- didn't take his own SAT. Calipari is not personally implicated in any of the allegations.

The haters are going to take this and run, but I will choose to take the wait-and-see approach. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?

The reality of the matter is that the NCAA's rules are broken in some shape or form by nearly every major program in the country. 

Fans cry for squeaky clean programs, but I challenge them to list five that have had sustained success.

I don't know whether or not Calipari is guilty or not. I do know that UK just landed its best recruiting class in a decade. I do know that I am as excited as I have been in years about the upcoming Wildcats' season.

Adding fuel to the fire for Calipari on this day was news that five-star recruit John Wall plead guilty to a Class I misdemeanor for breaking and entering.

Meanwhile, former Kentucky men's basketball coach Billy Gillispie sued the school Wednesday, seeking at least $6 million he says he is owed on his deal for being fired without cause.

It wasn't the best day for the school by any means, but let's not get too carried away.

College Hoops kentucky, kentucky wildcats, uk, john calipari, john wall, billy gillispie

Also posted on BleacherReport.com:

They say football is a game of inches. In the salary-cap era of the NFL, the difference between 6-10 teams and 10-6 teams is minimal.

Coming off a 4-11-1 season in 2008, it sounds a bit far fetched to look at the Cincinnati Bengals as a playoff contender. Still, there is plenty of reason for optimism.

The Bengals share the AFC North with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, two teams that met in the AFC Championship game a year ago. Getting out of the division will be a great challenge, but will also serve as a solid measuring stick.

The Steelers, the defending Super Bowl champs, are a clear favorite to repeat in the division. Yet if they slip up, the Bengals could be in a position to take advantage.

COMPLETE ARTICLE

NFL bengals, afc north

from FoxSports.com:

Derrick Brown has no intention of returning to Xavier.

"Doubtful," said the athletic junior forward. "There’s a slim chance I come back to school."

The 6-foot-8 (with shoes), 229-pound Brown has worked out for Cleveland, Detroit and Chicago thus far and will remain in the Windy City for this week's pre-draft festivities.

Remember, Brown redshirted his first season in college and has already earned his degree.

"I'm in the draft," Brown said. "I'm not even thinking about anything other than that. I loved my time at Xavier, but I'm ready to move onto a new era."

COMPLETE ARTICLE

College Hoops xavier, xavier musketeers, xu, derrick brown

from official press release from University of Kentucky:

University of Kentucky men's basketball players, Jared Carter, A.J. Stewart and Donald Williams will not return to UK for the 2009-10 season.

Carter, a 7-2 senior, will not seek a fifth year, after sitting out the majority of the 2006-07 season due to a shoulder injury. The Georgetown, Ky., native finished his career with the Wildcats averaging 1.0 points and 1.1 rebounds in 42 games.

"I've enjoyed my experience at UK and will remember all the people and players I've met along the way, especially Mr. Keightley," said Carter. "I'm looking forward to moving on with my life and am excited to see what professional  opportunities await me."

A.J. Stewart and Donald Williams are both seeking a transfer.

Stewart, a 6-7 sophomore, averaged 2.0 points and 1.5 rebounds this season. He shot 82 percent from the free throw line, while averaging 5.7 minutes per game.

"I appreciate Coach Calipari and the staff being truthful with me," said Stewart. "I want to further my career both academically and athletically at a school where more playing time is available. I know that coach will do anything possible to find a great situation for me."

Williams, a 6-3 freshman, did not see any action in 2009, his freshman season.

"My time at Kentucky was a great experience," said Williams. "I developed great friendships with my teammates; the environment was great; the fans showed us a lot of love; my teachers were great. It was just a good experience for me and a
wonderful opportunity to improve myself, being around different guys from different areas. Even though I had to sit out this year, I would have liked to have played and helped, but with coach leaving, sometimes it just happens that way."

College Hoops kentucky, kentucky wildcats, uk, john calipari, john wall, jared carter, a.j. stewart, donald williams

One time, long ago, I attended an appearance by local writer/former 700 WLW employee Paul Daugherty as he was promoting his book of past columns.  He made mention that he graduated with the worst degree possible for becoming a sports journalist.

Surprisingly enough, his degree was in journalism.

From listening to national sports talk radio recently (as there is very little local fare remaining), it is very clear that a majority of reporters nationally squawk on daily without the slightest integrity as journalists.

Too often national sports news doesn't surround what is truly newsworthy in the sports world, but rather what they believe is the most interesting angle to the majority of sports fans.  The coverage of the NBA playoffs this year is quite the indicator of today's state of affairs.

To the casual fan, a Lakers/Cavs final would be splendid.  Correction: a Kobe/LeBron final would be splendid.  In fact, if they could find a way to pit 5 Kobes against 5 LeBrons then that would be something, wouldn't it?

Unfortunately, the teams that are playing more like teams, the Nuggets (who are tied in their series) and the Magic (who are winning theirs), are getting very little media love for playing well in the playoffs.  You know, the one time in the NBA schedule when winning actually matters?

Case in point: on today's ESPN Radio Sportscenter, the lead went something like this: "Kobe Bryant scored 14 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough.  The Nuggets beat the Lakers 120-101 to even the series."

Quick note: WHO CARES how many Kobe scored when they got spanked by 19?  It should be an afterthought, not the first item mentioned out the shoot.

"In other news, John Smith is distraught over the loss of his favorite pen.  That pen was one of many casualties in the apartment fire that killed 7 residents."

For the record, the internet counterpart ESPN.com does a better job of telling the story, emphasizing the injured Carmelo Anthony (y'know, the star of the winning team last night) and the efforts of the Nuggets to pick up the slack when Anthony couldn't contribute.

But what came over the radio airwaves is no anomaly, it's the rule.  I've heard more talk about where LeBron's going in 2010 then what the Finals is going to look like if Orlando advances.  Even in that context, it's assumed that Orlando is on their way to winning the series already, but not explicitly mentioned.  LeBron's apparently what people would like to hear about, not the current season's playoffs.

As Michael Vick might say, I don't have a dog in this fight.  (I figured I would throw the Vick reference in to get the casual fan in the door.  Oh, and Brett Favre, too.)

It doesn't matter to me either way who ends up in the Finals, and I believe that likewise, sports journalists should just report.  Orlando is dominating the Eastern Conference finals, and if you were a casual fan, all you would know is that LeBron hit a great game-winning shot in Game 2.  You might even think, if you weren't paying attention, that Cleveland was already in the Finals.

That's where coverage needs to address what's really happening, not viewer's fantasies or the glitzier matchups.  Cover what's happening, not what your marketing department would rather make promos for.

Basketball's not the only sport getting this treatment.  Golf coverage has been vilified for it, and rightly so.  Certainly Tiger's performance in any tournament is newsworthy, as it may be the only recognizable player many know.   But keep the Tiger coverage in the "notable finishes" section, not as the lead.

Beyond the emphasis on the stars of sports, there is a considerable lack of accountability in reporting.  From an overabundance of anonymous sources to straight-up uncorrected errors, it's a wonder the truth ever finds its way out.

Heard recently on those same useless airwaves, and as can be verified here, this wonderful fact:

"Albert Pujols hit his 333rd home run, passing Moises Alou and Bobby Bonds for eighth all-time."

Confusion sets in...eighth all-time?  Really?  Try 88th. In fact, the eighth-place player has 250 more homers than Mr. Pujols.  And was also a Cardinal.

It can be written off as a mistake, but it's an 80-place mistake that was repeated (I heard it again in the newscast later that morning) and hasn't even been corrected on their website five days later.  And even though Albert Pujols did indeed pass Bobby Bonds and Moises Alou for 88th place, it's not newsworthy.  Let's begin talking about it when he hits more significant milestones like 400 or 500.  Until then it's not even worth mentioning.  Unless you really, really like Albert Pujols.

What is worth mentioning is that the Cardinals got a win against a strong division foe (the Cubs) behind a strong performance from Adam Wainwright (5 hits over 8 2/3 innings).  Not what Pujols' mundane place on the career HR list might be.

You might be led to find ESPN's ombudsman to complain, but she is no longer employed by them.  In fact, her parting shot made mention of how the elite teams received a disproportionate amount of coverage.  So, yes, there is a solid basis for those Yankees/Red Sox gripes.

Unfortunately, in this day and age of instantaneous information,  the real story is still not readily available.  It still takes digging into the box score or, heaven forbid, actually watching the games, to find out what's really going on.

espn, media, nba, nba playoffs, brett favre, michael vick, tiger woods, albert pujols, steroids, sensationalism

I was at yesterday's Reds game and couldn't believe my eyes (and yes I had good seats so I saw the whole thing) when Grady Sizemore was tagged out at home on a key play in the 7th inning. Sizemore had just tripled in a run, when the throw went past third baseman Adam Rosales and Sizemore tried to advance home. Jonny Gomes (with an incredible heads up play) backed up third base from left field and threw Sizemore out at home. But then, the third base umpire Rob Drake (hate the Drake!) signaled that Sizemore was safe because Rosales obstructed Sizemore's path to the plate, which upon further review couldn't be further from the truth. This error in officiating tied the game and eventually sent it to extra innings. The Reds did end up winning, but thankfully this error didn't cost the game.

Nevertheless, were Dusty Baker or Rosales to say anything critical of Drake they would be fined or suspended because all professional sports put their officials on pedestals as untouchable.

Remember the Ed Hochuli call in the San Diego/Denver game? Hochuli admitted he blew the whistle inadvertantly. Drake was quoted as saying that he motioned for obstruction at that instant and that umpires are taught once you make a call, you can't reverse it.

This is absurd. Shouldn't they make the right call instead of sticking to the wrong one? They are human afteral, and part of being human is admitting mistakes. I would love to see all professional sports hold these officials to the highest of levels and not make them untouchable. 

MLB reds, grady sizemore, adam rosales, jonny gomes, dusty baker, ed hochuli