The Big Lead

Steve McNair Found Dead

Cousins of Ron Mexico — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:21:37 +0000

Sad news out of Tennessee as Steve McNair and an unidentified woman were found shot and killed in Nashville today. Details are non-existent and no one has been arrested.

McNair was co-MVP in 2003 and was selected to 3 Pro-Bowls during his career. He also quarterbacked the Titans to their only Super Bowl appearance. He was 36.

[WaPo]

Sister Act: Venus and Serena in the Wimbledon Final; Turkoglu Burns Blazers for … Raptors?

TheBigLead — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:14:10 +0000

Head-to-head, they’ve won 10 apiece. But in Grand Slam finals, Serena’s won five of the last seven. Venus is better on grass. We’ll be watching, but wondering what the F Hedo Turkoglu was thinking. The much-coveted SF pulled out of his verbal deal with Portland so he could make $3 million more … in the NBA wasteland known as Toronto. Doesn’t he know the Raptors are going to trade Chris Bosh before the All-Star break? Poor guy. NBA Finals to a first-round ouster.

Turkoglu will make about $3 million more over the life of the contract than he would have made in Portland, but a bigger reason for his change of heart, a source told ESPN.com, was his desire to play in Toronto, a more international and cosmopolitan city — one with a large Turkish population — and his familiarity with the Eastern Conference after having spent the last five seasons with the Magic.

As for Portland … what a death blow. Just when it had the SF it needed to round out a great starting lineup … they’re back to the decidedly less exciting toss-up of Nicholas Batum or Travis Outlaw.

Palin Resigns As Governor of Alaska

tyduffy — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:45:52 +0000

A Bit of Political Friday: Sarah Palin will resign as Gov. of Alaska, ready to bring her infectuous charm and bible-thumping to the lower 48. (NYTimes)

Turkoglu to Blazers, For Five Years $50 million, Approximately

tyduffy — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:24:51 +0000

Former Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu has reportedly agreed to a five-year deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, pending Wednesday’s announcement of the 2009-10 salary cap. The contract should approximate the $50 million he wanted.

Don’t think that vaults Portland to the top. But, it should alleviate some of Roy’s ballhandling and scoring. Hollinger believes they overpaid, but it was a decent use of cap space.

Rip City Project thinks this may help Greg Oden as well.

Lakers, Rockets Swap Small Forwards Ariza, Artest

TheBigLead — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:54:57 +0000

Artest-Ariza Swap: The Lakers have a new, crazy, SF and his name is Ron Artest. The Rockets countered by signing Trevor Ariza. We’d offer links and salaries numbers but we’re in the car. Briefest of thoughts: How will the Rockets score next season?

For Those of You Not Hungover … Tennis

TheBigLead — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:00:21 +0000

ESPN and NBC will tag team the Wimbledon semifinals this morning: First up is a virtual road game for Andy Roddick, as he takes on British prodigal son Andy Murray. Roddick’s an underdog, and he’s been to the Finals twice but lost both times (Federer). Here’s an obligatory link to his wife, Brooklyn Decker.

The other match pits the GOAT, Roger Federer, against the 31-year-old German, Tommy Haas. This is the first time Haas has been this far at the All England Club; he’s never been to the finals of a Grand Slam event. No need to rehash Federer’s resume; he’s won Wimbledon five of the last six years.

Happy 4th of July Weekend

Cousins of Ron Mexico — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:15:57 +0000

Well, it’s been a banner week here at The Big Lead dot Com. We laughed. We cried. And now, we BBQ and drink. It’s a major holiday weekend. As TBL mentioned the weekend posting will be light at best. Luckily, Marcin Gortat signed his offer sheet before we clocked out for the weekend. Otherwise, it may have been lost in the shuffle.

TBL suggested I send everyone out for their festivities with Real American. I thought, “Yeah, that’s pretty American and obviously badass, but it’s been done.” Hell, my friends and I have been bumping that video since we first figured out what YouTube was way back in college. You guys deserve something bigger and better. Something epic. Something utterly Americana.

With that in mind, I present to you the greatest episode of True Life that MTV ever saw fit to film - I Have A Summer Share. Beer, pizza, the Jersey Shore, cheeseballs, dance clubs, and Tommy - this video has it all.

Happy 4th everybody. May desirable mates sniff your pheromones.

Cuban Prospect Defects

Cousins of Ron Mexico — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:00:21 +0000

Aroldis Chapman walked away from the Dutch hotel where the Cuban national team was staying yesterday and doesn’t plan on going back. Chapman is one of the top lefty pitching prospects in the world. Right now, he’s hiding out in Europe waiting to head to Miami. “I walked out easily, right through the hotel door, and I hopped into a car and left. It was easy. Now the plan is to sign with a major league team.” I wonder how much the Yankees will sign him for? The anticipation is killing me. (ESPN)

Arland Bruce Is The CFL’s Ocho Cinco

Cousins of Ron Mexico — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:30:18 +0000

If you’ve never heard of Arland Bruce III - I didn’t think I had either - he’s a wide receiver for the Tornoto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. (He’s also Isaac Bruces’ cousin) But don’t let his jock status define him. Bruce is also an artist - a performer, if you will. His art is not football as you might guess - it is the celebration. Last night he celebrated with a touching tribute to the fallen King of Pop. Watch as he takes off his helmet and pads and pretends to be dead.

Subtle.

Playing dead cost him 2 objectionable conduct penalties. He calls it a tribute and I might have believed him except this isn’t the first time Arland Bruce has made the rounds in the blogosphere. Last season he celebrated a touchdown by putting on a Spiderman mask.

Timely.

This also warranted an “objectionable conduct” penalty. Maybe those Canadians should just calm down. Let Arland Bruce be Arland Bruce. You can’t cage the sun.

[Deadspin, FanHouse, ESPN]

PM Roundup: Cook Out Rain Date

Cousins of Ron Mexico — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:45:15 +0000

Hooray! A special one-day-only holiday weekend return of the PM Roundup. Honestly, how excited are you? (Maybe you shouldn’t answer that.) Any big plans for the weekend? I’ll be drinking inside because its been raining nonstop in Upstate NY for something like 40 days.

I hope someday The Sports Guy e-mails me. I’m kind of a fan. In fact, if I ever saw him on the street, I’d ask him to call Chuck Klosterman so I could say “hi.” I think it would make Klosterman’s day.

Court side seats for UCLA games are pricey. (AZCentral)

Roddy Piper was arrested for DUI. (Camel Clutch Blog)

A bear mugged a guy for a sandwich. (Morning Call)

I hate it when TBL tries to bench press me. Inappropriate! (Wall Street Journal)

If we screw up the internet, we can save newspapers. (Gawker)

A beautiful golfer contest. Stuart Appleby was snubbed. (Golf Girl)

Which NBA coach would you most like to play for? I’d pick Mike Dunleavy. (Souvenir City)

In case you forgot, MMA is still not sanctioned in New York. Hey, I wrote this! That’s just shameless. (Blood, Booze and Bruises)

I had no idea there were 40 Real Men of Genius ads. (Epic Carnival)

I’m willing to bet this movie is better than Transformers 2. (Film Drunk)

Historic night in the Bronx because of A-Rod and Junior. (Josh Q Public)

An idiot Cubs fan wants attention. And is going to eat lightly in a month or so until the Cubs win a couple games. (Stupid Sports Blog)

More clever than funny. Either that or it just hits too close to home - Web Site Story. (College Humor)

Oh, everyone already stopped listening to Michael Jackson again? That’s a shame. (YouTube)