Video: Cubs Fan Almost Hits Miguel Tejada After Throwing Back His Home Run Ball

San Francisco Giants infielder Miguel Tejada hit a home run in the top of the ninth inning of their 13-7 win over the Chicago Cubs Tuesday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

The fan who caught the ball, without a glove, threw it back onto the field, which a lot of fans do nowadays.  In this case, however, the fan's rocket arm almost hits Tejada as he was rounding second base during his home run trot.

See the video courtesy of MLB.com:




No word yet as to whether this fan was tossed out of the stadium by Wrigley Field security, although given the Cubs record, they may want to give him a tryout.

Cubs fan's incredible throw returns Tejada homer to Giants dugout [Big League Stew]

Related:   Click Here to Shop for Cubs Baseball Gear & Apparel at the MLB Shop!

Video: Mary Carillo Did Not Call Pippa Middleton a "Homewrecker"

A funny moment during today's Wimbledon coverage when Mary Carillo pointed out that with all of the recent tennis matches that Pippa Middleton had attended lately, "she's seen Andy Murray quite an awful lot".  After John McEnroe pointed out that "Andy's already taken", Carillo became defensive with what McEnroe was insinuating.   




Video: Carillo clarifies that she didn't call Pippa a 'homewrecker' [Busted Racquet]

Martin Kaymer Films Hole-In-One Trick Shot Video

German golfer Martin Kaymer has fun with this "hole-in-one" trick shot video:

Martin Kaymer gets in on the hole-in-one video craze [Devil Ball Golf]

Video: Evan Longoria Commits Rare Baserunning Blunder

Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria is arguably the best player on the team, but even he makes mistakes once in a while.  In the fourth inning of Monday night's 5-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, Longoria got caught up in an unexplainable baserunning mistake.

Video provided by MLB.com.  Big League Stew has the details:

With no outs and two runners on in the inning, Matt Joyce(notes) flew out to deep center field. During the play, Longoria somehow rounded second — he had been on first — and passed teammate Ben Zobrist(notes), who had been on second base. Longoria was immediately called out.

Was Longoria not paying attention to the runner ahead of him, or did he forget how many outs there were?

According to the St. Petersburg Times:

"The ball Joyce hit, I was convinced it was going to get down," Longoria said. "And in my mind, I was trying to give myself the best chance to score. It didn't work out that way. Obviously we all know what happened. Just not the right decision to make there."

Said [Reds starting pitcher Mike] Leake: "It was just a brain fart. He doesn't make too many mistakes. That was a little gift to me."

And Mike Leake knows a thing or two about brain farts.  Macy's will vouch for this.

Whoops:  An atypical running mistake for Evan Longoria [Big League Stew]

Video: Jim Leyland Gets Animated, And Ejected, While Arguing Umpire's Call

Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland was ejected in the seventh inning of Monday night's 4-2 win against the Toronto Blue Jays.  In the process of arguing with the first base umpire, he put on a show that earned him a standing ovation from the home crowd.  Big League Stew helps provide the details:

 ....the Tigers' Andy Dirks tapped a sacrifice bunt past the pitcher. Second baseman Aaron Hill had to field the ball and had to make a lunging throw to Adam Lind at first base.

Dirks was out at first base, and the video replay confirms this.  However, for some reason first base umpire Ed Rapuano took a few steps towards second base during the play, leaving himself out of position to see whether the throw beat Lind at first base.  After a few seconds, Rapuano called Lind safe.

Blue Jays manager John Farrell argued the call, compelling Rapuano to consult with home plate ump Alfonso Marquez. Rapuano then changed his call, ruling Dirks out.

After the umpires got the call right, Jim Leyland had his turn to express his frustration, and he did this by acting out Rapuano's call of the play.



Have to side with Leyland on this one.  Rapuano should have stayed at first base for the play, but he blew it by letting himself get out of position.  At least it didn't cost the Tigers the game.

Jim Leyland provides umpire replay before ejection [Big League Stew]

Video: Will Optimus Prime Be New Dallas Mavericks "Big Man"?

As if Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban needed the money or the publicity, he films this commercial as a shameless tie-in for the movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon.  In it, Mark Cuban plans on signing Optimus Prime to be his new "big man". 

Mark Cuban signs Optimus Prime, likes money [Ball Don't Lie]

Video: Elbow To Opponent's Face Gets Goalkeeper a Red Card

The closing minutes in the first half of Saturday's MLS game between the San Jose Earthquakes and the LA Galaxy were very interesting.  As backup Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Saunders was trying to clear the ball, San Jose's Steven Lenhart played cheap by headbutting the ball out of Saunders' hands.  Lenhart paid for it with a yellow card...and an elbow to the face by Saunders once he got the ball back. 

Saunders was given a red card for his play, forcing midfielder Mike Magee to play goalkeeper for the rest of the game.  Fortunately for the Galaxy, the game ended in a scoreless tie. 

Annoy the goalkeeper, get an elbow to the face [Dirty Tackle]

Video: Archive Footage of Rory McIlroy as Child Prodigy

Rory McIlroy just won the U.S. Open in dominating fashion.  However, as this footage shows, he has been preparing for this moment for a long time.

In this archived footage from 1999, a 9-year-old Rory McIlroy, who had just won the Under-10 World Championship in Florida, is seen chipping balls into a washing machine in front of a live studio audience.



From 1999:  9-year-old Rory McIlroy chips into a washing machine [Devil Ball Golf]

Video: Cameron Diaz Discusses A-Rod, Shares Popcorn with David Letterman

Cameron Diaz appeared on "The Late Show with David Letterman" Monday night to talk about her new movie and her relationship with New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez.  Contrary to earlier reports, it seems that they are still very much together.

The infamous Super Bowl popcorn incident was discussed...and that's when Dave broke out his own big bucket of popcorn to recreate the scene.



Cameron Diaz talks A-Rod and popcorn on Letterman [Big League Stew]

Video: Pitch Invader Tries To Attack Referee During China Football Match

A fan runs onto the field during a football (soccer) match in China and goes after the referee.  Dirty Tackle provides the details:

What looks like a young fan of Chinese Super League side Dalian Shide decided he had enough of the referee during a 1-1 draw against Tianjin Teda last week and he wanted to do something about it. So, he hopped over the advertising board and jogged over to the ref...Once he got close, the wet pitch betrayed him and he slipped. He persisted, though, and continued to run after the ref ...with his arms still flailing, he tried to outrun the police and he ended up getting tackled by his neck.

Reminder to the fans out there...running out on the field during a sporting event never ends well.

Chinese pitch invader tries to attack referee, fails [Dirty Tackle]

Oops! British Politician Congratulates Rory McIlroy On Winning Masters

Jeremy Hunt is a British politician who sent out this congratulatory Tweet to Rory McIlroy this morning:

 "Great TV pics of golf clubs in N Ireland up all night celebrating Rory McIlroy's amazing win, youngest 2 win US Masters since 1923"

What's wrong with this picture?  As everyone else knows, Rory McIlroy won the US Open, not the Masters.  Oops.  Ironically, Hunt is the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport.  

An embarrassed Hunt sent out an apologetic Tweet later:

 "...Oops meant Open not Masters! Thanks to all who kindly pointed out my mistake!"

British politician in hot water after congratulating McIlroy [NY Daily News]

Video: Mike Pelfrey Pitches Complete Game, Gets Rewarded With Pie in the Face

On Saturday, New York Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey pitched a complete game in a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.  Afterwards, he was rewarded by teammate Willie Harris with a pie in the face during a live postgame interview on WPIX.

Nothing wrong with having a little fun - as long as no one gets hurt.

Video: Red-Haired Kid Wiggles Eyebrows Behind Rory McIlroy During Interview at US Open

By now, you may have heard that Rory McIlroy won the US Open golf tournament yesterday in dominating fashion.  However, it looks like someone was trying to piggyback off McIlroy's success to get themselves some attention. 

During McIlroy's closing interview at the end of the first round on Thursday, a red-haired teenage kid in the crowd standing behind him wiggles his eyebrows on camera.

Real smooth, kid.  Now you are immortalized in the Internet forever as the "Weird Eyebrow Kid Behind Rory McIlroy".  Not sure if that's what you were going for.

Video: Henrik Stenson Hurts Himself After Breaking Club at US Open

At the 15th hole of the final round of the U.S. Open Sunday, golfer Henrik Stenson loses his temper and breaks his club by slamming it into the ground.  Apparently he cut his finger or hand, because his caddy had to break out the first aid kit.

NBC Omits "Under God" From Pledge of Allegiance Before U.S. Open

NBC is getting caught in some controversy today for leaving the words "under God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance in their pre-taped opening segment of the U.S. Open today:

Host Dan Hicks read a statement later during the U.S. Open telecast:

"It was our intent to begin our coverage of this U.S. Open championship with a feature that captured the patriotism of our national championship being here in our nation's capital for the third time. Regrettably, a portion of the pledge of allegiance that was in that feature was edited out. It was not done to upset anyone and we'd like to apologize to those of you who were offended by it."

 NBC apologizes for omitting 'under God' from pledge before U.S. Open [Devil Ball Golf]

Video: R.I.P. Clarence Clemons

Heard the sad news yesterday that Clarence Clemons, the sax player in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, passed away yesterday at the age of 69. 

He had played the National Anthem at a few sporting events.  Here is a recent performance by Clemons at Opening Day for the Florida Marlins this season (April 1st, 2011). 

Clarence Clemons was one of the best sax players around, and he could sing a little too.  He will be missed.

Video:  Clarence Clemons performs National Anthem [Big League Stew]

Bronx High School Football Field Still 20 Yards Short After Renovations

This story is so unbelievable it just has to be passed along.

Herbert H. Lehman High School in NYC (the Bronx to be exact) has not played a home football game in decades because its field is only 80 yards long.  This is obviously 20 yards short of a full-size field and therefore not usable for a regulation game.

Several years ago, the NYC Department of Education gave Lehman a grant of $5 million to renovate their athletic complex, which began last fall and will be completed this September.  The renovations include "new bleachers for fans, lights for night games, a new artificial turf field and the school’s first new softball diamond."

This all sounds great, except for one very large oversight:  Lehman High School's new turf field will still be 80 yards long.  It will still be 20 yards short of a full-sized field, and therefore is still not usable for a regulation football game.

NYC officials have stated that money was not available to acquire additional land, and to extend the field, they would have had to negotiate the purchase of an adjacent lot that they thought was owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  However, Army Corps spokespeople have said they do not own any land in the vicinity and "had little idea what the city was talking about". 

The NY Times story has to be read to be believed, but the end result is this:  Lehman High School students, it looks like you're going to have to wait a lot longer to play an actual home game.  Sorry about that.

In the Bronx, a High School's Dream Field is 20 Yards Short of Being a Home [NY Times]

Video: England U21 Practice Shot Hits Off Goalpost Into Teammate's Head

As England's U21 football team practices for a Sunday game against the Czech Republic in the 2011 UEFA U21 European Championship, Fabrice Muamba takes a laser shot that hits the far goalpost. Unfortunately, Jason Steele was only standing a few feet away, so the ricochet off the goalpost hit Steele square in the head, knocking him to the ground.

Ouch!  Fabrice Muamba knocks down Jason Steele at England U21 Training [101 Great Goals]

Video: Alberto Fontana's Crazy Championship Celebration

Italian football club Novara beat Padova in the Serie B championship this past Sunday and won a promotion to Serie A in the process.  After the game, Novara goalkeeper Alberto "Jimmy" Fontana went a little nuts with his championship celebration. 

Video:  Goalkeeper loses his mind after winning Serie A [Dirty Tackle]

Video: High School Baseball Team Has Infield Practice Without Ball Before Playoff Game

The Granada Hills (CA) Kennedy High School Golden Cougars baseball team had an interesting pregame practice Thursday before a playoff game against San Fernando High. They conducted infield practice without using a ball. See it for yourself, courtesy of the LA Times:

 

The end result?  Kennedy committed four errors in a 5-3 loss to San Fernando, ending their season.  Questionable coaching move?  Well, since Kennedy coach Manny Alvarado has taken the team to five California City Section championships in the past, he probably gets the benefit of the doubt for this one. 

Team has infield practice without ball, then commits 4 errors [Prep Rally]

Video: Was John Wall's First Pitch at Washington Nationals Game the Worst First Pitch Ever?

Washington Wizards point guard John Wall was on hand at tonight's Washington Nationals baseball game to throw out the first pitch.  Unfortunately for John Wall, it didn't go so well.

We've seen first pitches thrown by celebrities that haven't made it to home plate before, but this pitch by John Wall may be classified as the worst first pitch at a baseball game ever. 

This pitch resembles more of a bounce pass to the catcher, which explains why John Wall is a basketball star and not a baseball star.

A helpful hint to celebrities throwing out the first pitch at baseball games in the near future:  aim high.

Video:  John Wall's Terrible First Pitch at Nationals Game [SB Nation]

Video: Arizona Diamondbacks Fan Wrestles Foul Ball Away From Woman

In the bottom of the sixth inning of last night's game in Arizona with the Diamondbacks hosting the San Francisco Giants, a foul ball was hit into the D-Backs' dugout.  Infielder Melvin Mora retrieved the ball and gently tossed it to a female fan in the front row.  As the female fan reached to get the ball, a male fan with a Chris Young D-Backs jersey lunged from the second row and wrestles the ball out of her hand.

Fortunately, the woman got her own baseball, but the D-Backs fan isn't going to win any awards for "Fan of the Year".  The title of this Youtube video is "D-Backs Fan is Huge D-Bag".  Tough to argue with that, and it will be interesting to see how this man to explain his actions to his family, friends and co-workers, as this video will soon be everywhere. 

Common sense lesson for the kids at home:  wrestling with a woman for a foul ball is a no-no.

Video: LSU Quarterback Jordan Jefferson Fails ESPN History Test

On ESPN's College Football Live yesterday, LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson was put on the spot yesterday and asked to "Name That Jefferson" when shown a picture of Thomas Jefferson.  Based on Jordan's answer, it looks like he'll have to study his history more...or watch less TV.

 

Video:  Jordan Jefferson fails Jefferson History 101 [Dr. Saturday]

Newspaper Fail: Miami Herald Congratulates Heat For Winning NBA Championship

Monday morning's Miami Herald contained a nearly full-page ad sponsored by Macy's congratulating the Miami Heat for winning the NBA Championship.

What's wrong with this picture?  For starters, the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Championship in Miami the night before.  Less obvious was that even had Miami won on Sunday night, that would have tied the series at 3-3 and the Heat still would have had to win one more game, so Monday's ad would still have been premature.

The Miami New Times followed up with the Herald to get a response:

Elissa Vanaver, the Herald's vice president for human resources, said in a phone interview that the mistake was a "production error."

The advertising staff had produced a number of ads in case the Heat pulled out the series, she says, and the wrong one was placed in the layout after the Mavs took the title.

"We weren't going to sit and wait around for Game 7 to decide how to advertise something like this," she says. "That ad was in the system for the eventuality that the Heat ended up winning the title."

"We're apologizing to readers and advertisers about the mistake," she says. "I'm not sure what else there is to say about it."

Miami ad congratulates the Heat for a title they didn't win [Ball Don't Lie]

Video: White Sox Fan Has Issues Taking Own Picture

This video was highlighted by It's Always Sunny in Detroit:  A female Chicago White Sox fan has some issues taking a picture of herself and her friend.  The female fan happens to be blond.  Hilarity ensues and a viral Internet video of "Take Your Own Picture Fail" is born.   

Video: Minor League Manager Climbs Outfield Wall After Ejection

In a minor league game between the Norfolk Tides and the Durham Bulls, a deep fly ball hit to center field by Tyler Henson appeared to be a home run.  However, the umpires overruled the home run and labeled it a ground-rule double, saying that although the ball did clear the wall, it did not clear the yellow grating on top of the wall.  (This was verified by the replay in the video below at around the 1:30 mark.)

To support the umpire ruling, one of them went out to the center field fence retreive the ball hit by Henson.  This did not satisfy Norfolk Tides manager Gary Allenson, who seemed to think that the ball that the umpire retrieved was a different ball from a different day.  Allenson decides to go look for the "real" ball by walking out to center field and climbing the outer fence to go look for it, causing an even longer delay in the game. 

Needless to say, Allenson was ejected from the game, and now has this video on the Internet that he will need to explain to his future employers. 

Minor league manager climbs outfield fence in protest of call [Big League Stew]

Video: Kid Playing Soccer Hits Pedestrian In Head With Practice Goal

No trick shot here - just bad timing with someone in the wrong place at the wrong time.  

This video starts out on a kid in a park practicing some dribbling.  He takes a perfect shot into the goal, which happens to have no net.  Unfortunately, a net could have protected the nearby pedestrian, who gets hit square in the head.

Of course, this would appear to be an accident, and we hope that the pedestrian is OK.  Something tells me that next time this kid wants to practice his soccer skills, he'll find a goal with a net.

Lack of goal net results in a headshot [Dirty Tackle]

Golfer Rickie Fowler Hits Trick Shot in Washington, D.C.

Golfer Rickie Fowler hits a trick shot in Washington, D.C yesterday.  Devil Ball Golf provides details:

Doing a promotional gig for Red Bull in the buildup to the U.S. Open, Fowler showed up at the Georgetown waterfront...to try and hole out from 100 yards...Fowler had to hit the ball through a narrow chute between two office buildings that flanked the fountain where the green was located.

Note that according to one witness account on Twitter, it took 8 tries to hit that "hole-in-one", but hey, the only one that really counts is the one that looks good on the Internet.

Related:  Shop Golf and Racquet Outlet at SportsAuthority.com

Rickie Fowler holes out from between two buildings in D.C. [Devil Ball Golf]

Video: Rachel McAdams Excited to See Herself on the Jumbotron During Game 4 of Stanley Cup Finals

It turns out actress Rachel McAdams is as excited to see herself on the JumboTron as the rest of us.  This footage was taken Thursday night at TD Bank Garden as the Boston Bruins hosted the Vancouver Canucks in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.



Nothing wrong with her behavior here, as long as she doesn't get a little carried away like that female fan in Vancouver during Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.  We'll see if Rachel is in the crowd tomorrow night when the series returns to Boston for Game 6. 

And by the way, Vancouver's Green Men just announced via their Twitter account that they will be in attendance, so maybe we can get a shot of all of them together?

Dancin' Rachel McAdams is our new Conn Smythe favorite [Puck Daddy]

First Goal In Sporting KC's New Stadium Scored By Fan Dressed As Cow

This past Thursday, Sporting KC of the MLS played in the grand opening of their new stadium, LiveStrong Sporting Park.  Officially, the game was played to a scoreless tie against the Chicago Fire.  Unofficially, however, the first goal in the stadium was scored by a fan who ran on the field dressed as a cow, and it was all caught live on ESPN2.  (Note:  video is not the best quality and we're not sure how long this footage will be available until it is taken down.)

Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow scored the goal of the night.  Sorry, couldn't resist.

Naturally, stadium security doesn't take kindly to fans running onto the field, and he was dealt with appropriately.  Here's the raw footage of what happened after he was caught. 

This guy wasn't as fleet footed as the guy at the Houston Astros game.  The cow costume probably slowed him down a bit.  This guy's parents can't be too happy, but at least he didn't run out on the field naked.

Again, another lesson for you kids:  please don't run onto the field.

Guy dressed as cow scores first goal at LiveStrong Sporting Park [Dirty Tackle]

Oklahoma City Thunder's Nate Robinson Arrested for Public Urination

You would think that an NBA star who had to use a bathroom would be able to find one.  Apparently not.

The Oklahoma City Thunder's Nate Robinson, a three-time NBA Slam Dunk champion, had trouble finding a bathroom around 2AM Friday morning in White Plains, NY, and just couldn't hold it.  As a result, he decided to use the sidewalk of a Barnes & Noble bookstore in the New York City suburb as his toilet.  This didn't make the police too happy.

Details according to the New York Daily News:

The Oklahoma City Thunder guard was taken to police headquarters, given a summons, released on $100 bail and ordered to return to court June 22.

The offense typically carries a $50 fine, which the 5-foot-9 NBA player shouldn't have trouble paying on his $4.2 million salary.

"Hey tweeps...I made a silly mistake last night," [Robinson] later wrote on his Twitter account.  "I apologize for my actions, it definitely won't happen again!"

It's unclear why Nate Robinson was in White Plains, although he used to play for the New York Knicks.  Hopefully he can learn where the public bathrooms are so he can find one next time he visits.

Nate Robinson, former Knicks guard, busted for public urination in Westchester [NY Daily News]

Colored Field Trend Invades High School Football

Enough is enough.  Things have now have gotten way out of hand.

I'm talking, of course, about the trend of colored football fields.  It's bad enough that colleges and universities are following the lead of schools such as Boise State, Eastern Washington and Central Arkansas are using colored fields as a gimmick for selling more tickets.  However, someone has to step in now that high schools have started installing colored fields. 

As a reference, here is a list of the high schools with colored football fields so far:

• Barrow High (Alaska), have installed a bright blue field, a la Boise State.
• Hidalgo High (Texas) has installed a field with a darker shade of blue.  Looking at the picture, it's actually not that bad.  If the other fields started out with this shade of blue, maybe I wouldn't be so opposed to this trend. 
• Lovington High (NM) - they went with the annoying Boise State blue field.
• Santee West Hills High (CA) - wanted to be different, so they have alternating shades of blue every 5 yards.
• New Braunfels Canyon High (TX) - the nation's first red high school field.  The bright red is arguably worse than the bright blue. 

And now, West Hills Chaminade High school in California will soon be joining this group, as they have announced that they will be rolling out a blue all-weather turf field for this fall.  When asked about the new color, their coach had this to say:

"Florida blue, baby," Chaminade coach Ed Corson told the [LA] Times. "It's going to be pretty."

I'm not sure whether I can get my head around a FOOTBALL coach talking about the field being "pretty".  I want to hear football coaches talk about the toughness of their players, about punishing their opponents, and, most importantly, about winning games.  I don't want to hear a football coach saying "Look at our pretty field."

This brings up some interesting questions, such as:

• Is there really such a high demand for these colorful fields?  What is wrong with green?  
• What colors are next?  Hot pink?  Bright yellow?  An ultraviolet field that glows in the dark? 
  
• Shouldn't the schools be spending the money on something else, like, say, giving their students an education?  

The NFL has already instituted a rule to keep their fields green.  If only the colleges, and now high schools, would follow their lead.

Another California high school joins blue turf craze [Prep Rally]

President Obama Chest Bumps Assistant Coach During Auburn's White House Visit

This morning the NCAA Division I (a.k.a. FBS) football national champion Auburn Tigers visited the White House in Washington, D.C.  After President Barack Obama gave his congratulatory press conference, he made the rounds by shaking hands with the players.

Apparently a handshake with the President wasn't good enough for Auburn assistant head coach Trooper Taylor.  He wanted a little more, so Taylor made the bold move of asking President Obama "Can I get a chest bump?"

Surprisingly, President Obama obliged with Taylor's chest bump request.  The chest bump between President Obama and Trooper Taylor certainly raises the bar for all college and professional championship team White House visits from this point forward.  Does this mean the president has to greet all foreign dignitaries in the same fashion now?

And what does this do for Taylor's ego?  If he can get the President of the United States to give him a chest bump, is there nothing that Trooper Taylor can't do?

Trooper Taylor claims world's first presidential chest bump for Auburn [Dr. Saturday]

Video: Referee Hit in Face With Ball, Gets Bloody Nose

In this footage from a Primera Division football (soccer) match from Argentina between Lanus and Independiente this past Monday night, a referee gets a bloody nose from a ball shot square in his face after a clearance attempt by a defender at close range.

Who said that being a referee was easy?

Referee takes a clearance to the face [Dirty Tackle]

Minor Leaguer Hits Home Run, Taunts Pitcher By Blowing Him a Kiss

Big League Stew provides the background on this one:

[Bryce] Harper, an [18-year-old] elite prospect who plays for Class A Hagerstown (Md.) in the Washington Nationals organization, went into a protracted home run trot in the sixth inning Monday night that featured him blowing a kiss to Greensboro pitcher Zachary Neal just before touching home plate.

Video courtesy of CSNWashington.com



If you plan on becoming a superstar, this is not the right way to do it.  Harper needs to learn to have a little humility.  Hopefully he got the message when he was brushed back in his next at-bat.   

Related: Click Here to Shop for Nationals Baseball Gear & Apparel at the MLB Shop!


Video:  Bryce Harper hits home run, blows kiss to pitcher [Big League Stew]

Pole Vaulter's Profanity Costs California High School Track Team State Title

If ever there were a story which emphasized the importance of keeping your cool in the heat of battle, this is it.  Prep Rally provides the details:

When Loyola High (Los Angeles, CA)  pole vaulter Evan Barr...failed to clear his final height at the California state track and field meet, he was understandably disappointed. The miss cost him an individual state title and ensured he would finish in third place instead.

Barr didn't handle his disappointment well.

After falling short of clearing the bar, Barr...let out a loud expletive. According to the Los Angeles Times, the curse word inspired judges to disqualify Barr from the event, with his points taken away from Loyola's team total.

That proved to be incredibly costly, as the adjusted points total cost Loyola a state track and field title. Instead, the Cubs finished second, with 32 points, behind Long Beach (Calif.) Poly High's 35 points.

"He uttered a profanity out of frustration, and the officials thought it was significant to disqualify him," Loyola track and field coach Mike Porterfield told the Times. "He apologized immediately after he said it."

Too late.  Barr's outburst was a violation of the rules, according to the LA Times.  The damage has been done.  Not sure how his teammates reacted, but he'll probably be thinking about this for a long, long time.

Pole vaulter's curse word costs team state track title [Prep Rally]


UPDATE 6/10/11:  Barr told the LA Times in a follow-up story that he understands what the officials did. 

"I totally understand what they did. I felt so bad. It was such a big thing for my teammates and myself. I felt responsible for it."

Pole vaulter weighs in on costly cursing disqualification [Prep Rally] 

Video: Royals Fan Catches Foul Ball With Popcorn Bucket

All too often this year there have been failed foul ball catch attempts by fans around the world of baseball.  Some of them drop their onion rings, and some even drop their children in the process.  Well, we finally found a fan's attempt at catching a foul ball that had a happy ending.

This happened at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City Monday night as the Royals hosted the visiting Toronto Blue Jays.  In the bottom of the fourth inning, a fan uses a popcorn bucket to catch a foul ball hit in the seats by Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer. 

It doesn't matter how he do it - what matters is that he caught it.  Good job.

Related:  Click Here to Shop for Royals Baseball Gear & Apparel at the MLB Shop!

Get your popcorn ready:  Royals fan uses bucket to snag souvenir [Big League Stew]

Video: Milan Lucic Taunts Alex Burrows During Stanley Cup Final Game 3

The Boston Bruins haven't forgiven Vancouver Canucks forward Alex Burrows for biting Patrice Bergeron's finger during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.  The Bruins used it as a rallying cry during last night's 8-1 blowout at home in Game 3, as the Bruins' Milan Lucic taunted Burrows by sticking his fingers in his face as the referees were separating them during a fight.

Related:  Boston Bruins Eastern Conference Champions Gear at Shop.NHL.com!

Milan Lucic escalates finger bite mockery with Canucks [Puck Daddy]

Vancouver's Green Men Visit Boston To Attend Stanley Cup Final Game 3

Vancouver's Green Men made the media rounds in Boston this morning.

The gentlemen known for taunting opposing players in the penalty box stopped by [WEEI's] Dennis and Callahan on Monday morning, where they added the latest verbal barb in their ongoing mini-feud with Bruins forward Brad Marchand.  (Video provided below courtesy of NESN.com)

"We'll get a couple of guys who don't really enjoy our heckling," Sully said. "Like Marchand gave us a couple of chirps, I got doused with some water. But you'll get that when you ask if he's sitting on phone books."

Related:  Vancouver Canucks Western Conference Champions Gear at Shop.NHL.com!


Vancouver Green Men Don't Expect Friendly Welcome From Bruins Fans [NESN]

Torii Hunter Tumbles Over Short Outfield Wall Chasing Home Run, Tackles Fan

In Anaheim yesterday, Angels outfielder Torii Hunter chased a home run ball hit by visiting New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano in the top of the 4th inning.   He was unsuccessful in catching the ball, but managed to tackle a Yankee fan wearing a Mickey Mantle T-shirt in the front row while tumbling over the short right field wall in Angel Stadium.

To make matters worse, Hunter was pulled away by a friend of the fan who must have thought that Hunter tackled the fan on purpose, making an already hilarious moment that much funnier. 

Watch video of the play courtesy of MLB.com.

Poor Torii Hunter.  On top of not catching the home run, he tackled a fan of the opposing team and got yelled at by fans of the opposing team in his home ball park.  That's a triple whammy that he can't feel good about.

Related:  Click Here to Shop for Angels Baseball Gear & Apparel at the MLB Shop!

'Get off my friend!'  Yankee fan gives Hunter grief on homer [Big League Stew]

Central Arkansas Installs New Purple and Grey Football Field Turf

Apparently the announcement by the University of Central Arkansas that took place this past April about painting their football field purple and grey was not an April Fool's joke.  The field has now been painted and will now be the first multi-colored field in the NCAA. 

This raises the bar for the next school to make a splash with some crazy color combination.  You have to wonder what is coming down the line - hot pink and chartruze?)  It will also increase the debate as to whether the colored fields present an unfair advantage for the home team or are just a shameless gimmick to sell tickets.  

The NFL had the right idea by putting a rule in place before the pro teams joined the bandwagon.  All fields must be green, although they do leave the door open for different shades of green.  Football should be about the play on the field, not the field itself.

UCA's purple and grey field is really happening [CBS Sports]

A-Rod and Cameron Diaz Reportedly Split

According to Perez Hilton's web site, Cameron Diaz and New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez have ended their relationship.  That means we won't be seeing any more popcorn feedings anytime soon, like this one from last year's Super Bowl:

 

Report:  A-Rod and Cam Diaz no longer buttering each other up [Big League Stew]

Video: Slide Tackle in Casablanca Street Football Game

Slide tackles in football (a.k.a. soccer in America) are pretty commonplace, but you would think that playing on a paved surface would discourage someone from doing it.  Not in Casablanca, according to this video.

Ouch.

Video:  Slide Tackle in the Street [Dirty Tackle]

Teenager Tries to Punch Lionel Messi Outside Restaurant in Argentina

This video was taken outside a restaurant in Lionel Messi's hometown of Rosario, Argentina.  A mob of fans surrounded Messi as he left the restaurant, when at some point a teenager tries to take a swing at him. 

Unfortunately, the video doesn't catch the alleged punch, as the camera angle turns away from Messi at the exact moment that the punch supposedly takes place.  The footage then skips ahead to a few seconds later where you see the kid running away.  Interestingly enough, it doesn't look like there is any urgency to catch the kid, as no one seems to be chasing after him.

According to the AP, Messi said on his Facebook page that he is OK and denies that he was punched at all. 

Messi punched outside restaurant in his hometown [Dirty Tackle]

Charles Barkley Wants To Invest $25K In Your Business

Retired NBA star Charles Barkley is having a contest on his website called "Earn Chuck's Bucks".  Here's a quick summary:

• Submit your business plan in 3,900 characters or less...all entries will be judged based on the following criteria: (i) 25% detail included in and feasibility... (ii) 25% energy and enthusiasm expressed... (iii) 25% creativity... and (iv) 25% originality.
• Chuck will select three finalists and the public will vote to help select the ultimate winner of Chuck’s Bucks!

No word as to whether Miami Heat fans are excluded from participating.

Alex Burrows Bites Patrice Bergeron's Finger During Stanley Cup Final Game 1

Did you know that biting in hockey was not allowed?  Common sense, right?

Well, apparently Vancouver Canucks forward Alex Burrows forgot in the heat of the moment during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals last night.  He took a bite of Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron's finger during a scrum at the end of the first period, and he could be looking at a suspension.
 

UPDATE:  No suspension for Alex Burrows. 

Video:  Alex Burrows bites Patrice Bergeron in Cup Final Game 1 [Puck Daddy]

Video: Female Fan Falls Onto Court, Gets Picture With Roger Federer

A lot of strange things happening at the 2011 French Open, and it's not involving the players.  First an overzealous ballboy, now this:

After Roger Federer's quarterfinal win yesterday, he was at the side of the court signing autographs.  One female fan tried to climb onto a railing to get a slightly better view of Federer when she lost her balance and fell onto the court.  Fortunately the fan only fell a couple of feet and was unhurt, but she will have to live with this video being out there on the Internet forever.   

   

Federer was nice enough to go over to her, make sure she was OK, and then snapped a picture with her.  So she did manage to get something for her troubles.

However, this incident does lead to one concern:  with the fan in this case getting "rewarded" by falling over the rail by accident, will more fans will start throwing themselves over railings and onto the court (or field in other sports) on purpose to get close to these athletes?  They could end up hurting themselves or the athletes, which would not be a good situation for anyone.  Hopefully this will not become a trend.

Federer comforts embarrassed fan who tumbles onto court [Busted Racquet]

Video: Dad Drops Daughter at Dodgers Game While Trying to Catch Foul Ball

Check out this footage from this past Saturday night's game between the visiting Florida Marlins and the Los Angeles Dodgers.  The Marlins were winning the game 6-1 in the ninth inning when a foul ball went out of play.  A Dodger fan holding his daughter sees the foul ball coming at him...and drops his daughter in the process of trying to catch it.  

So in the end, the guy drops his daughter AND dropped the foul ball.  Two drops in one play.  Way to go, buddy.  

Luckily the daughter is OK, although she's probably lost all respect for her dad.  This guy isn't going to win any "Father of the Year" awards.

This is why some people shouldn't have kids.  A message to the dads out there:  keep your priorities straight.

Video: Ballboy Interrupts Tennis Match At French Open

An awkward moment occured at Roland Garros yesterday during a French Open tennis match between Andy Murray and Viktor Troicki.  A ballboy ran out onto the court in the middle of a point, almost colliding into Troicki while he was winding up for an overhand slam.  The umpire had to call a let (a.k.a. a "do-over") and they had to replay the point.

When watching the video, you have to wonder what the ballboy thought he saw to make him think that the ball hit the net.  Troicki hits the ball into the corner of the court, and Murray's return volley went high into the air...and then the ballboy runs out - huh?  Exactly what was the ballboy looking at?

Troicki won the replayed point, so no harm done.  However, Busted Racquet reports what happened later:

Any sympathy you may have had for Troicki was lost a few points later. After Murray won a point on a similar overhead winner, Troicki mockingly asked the ballboy why he didn't run out during that point. Then he kicked the ball away from him.

Leave the ballboy alone, you big meany.  He made a mistake and I'm sure he feels bad about it.  Everyone at his school is going to be making fun of him for days and weeks to come - isn't that enough?
 
Andy Murray ended up winning the match in 5 sets to advance to the French Open quarterfinals.  Troicki had a 5-2 lead in the fifth set but lost 5 straight games to end the match.

Video:  French Open ballboy accidentally runs on court during point [Busted Racquet]