Last week, The New Republic, in a post about Sen. Barack Obama calling into a Philadelphia sports talk radio station, unleashed the following groaner:

Appearances like this give Obama a useful pipeline to white working-class voters. It actually reminds me of a half-cocked theory I’ve been toying with, which is that younger, edgier sports chatter–most prominently on ESPN, but also on talk-radio stations across the country–seems to be injecting elements of African-American culture into white working-class minds, and in a pretty favorable light. (Who doesn’t love Stuart Scott?)

(Emphasis ours.)

As you would probably suspect, the writer (the otherwise awesome Noam Scheiber) watched as commenters gave a collective, “Uh … we can think of a few people.”

Whatever your thoughts about Scott’s most famous Deadspin moment, we always found the more indicative Stu Scott moment to be his adminition to fans for booing athletes. We do, to be clear, like everybody, wish Stu all the best in his current health battle. But we’re voting on approval ratings here.

So: Do you like the Stuart Scott? Do you not like the Stuart Scott? Lemme know.

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you’re viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Filed under: Wizards, NBA Gossip, NBA Injuries

Last night we showed you an interview with Gilbert Arenas, where he calmly spoke about the team doctors not clearing him to play yet. This was a different Gilbert than was seen before the game, as he was clearly less okay with the fact that he wouldn’t be allowed to play in the game against the Pistons.

About 1 hour 15 minutes before tip-off, Arenas walked out of the locker room. He did not speak with reporters but said over his shoulder: “Ya’ll don’t have to write any more. I’m not coming back this year.”

“I went in there hoping to have them look at the knee and say I could play. Then [the doctor] told me I need one more week. I understand, he’s the doctor, but it wasn’t what I wanted to hear. It took me a long time to get my mind right about coming back at all and today, I was there. I wanted to play.”

Gilbert was so certain that he’d be playing that he didn’t bother to bring the league mandated “bench attire,” which requires a sport coat. So it created a bit of drama when he left the building after he learned he wasn’t going to play, but it turns out that he didn’t want to be fined $10,000 for not wearing one on the bench, so he just went home and grabbed one.

Arenas may have been frustrated, but he’s anything but a bad teammate, so it’s not surprising that he came back (in league approved attire) to support his fellow Wizards. The doctors told him they wanted to give it one more week, so we’ll have to wait until then to see if Washington will have their quirky superstar back in time for the playoffs.

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A “bold” proclamation: If Memphis doesn’t at least make the Final Four this year, no matter what their record is next year, they’re not getting a No. 1 seed. The team has looked downright wobbly so far and just about blew it yesterday. Though at least Derrick Rose was able to keep playing past the first round … unlike some people.

At this point, it wouldn’t be any more surprising to see Michigan State, Texas or Stanford in the Final Four than Memphis; of all the regions, the South seems the most up in the air despite it (mostly) falling according to seed. Memphis went 6-1 against NCAA Tourney teams this year. Their loss was to Tennessee — the only one of those teams still left in the tournament. (And wobbling.) Sorry: We’re not gonna believe in Memphis anymore. Uncle.

Besides, anything that keeps the Stanford Tree hanging around.

Filed under: Minnesota, Twins, AL Central, MLB Transactions

Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan has wanted a contract extension with the Twins for a while now. He’s wanted it even though he saw Johan Santana traded to New York, and Torii Hunter sign a huge contract with the Angels out west. It’s apparent that Nathan loves his situation in Minnesota, and no matter what the expectations for the team are, he wants to stay.

He will be staying, too, and he’ll probably be doing so in a very large house. Last week I told you that it appeared a contract extension was imminent, and minutes ago it became reality.

The [Twins] announced on Monday that it has agreed to terms with closer Joe Nathan on a contract extension through 2011. The deal also includes a club option for ‘12.

The financial terms of the deal were not immediately released, although it is believed to be worth between $11-$12 million per year.

The contract is very much in line with the deal Francisco Cordero got from the Reds, but it’s not quite as much as the $15 million that Mariano Rivera will be making with the Yankees. Which is just another reason why I don’t understand why Nathan did this.

Continue reading Joe Nathan Has His Extension

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ESPN scoured its message boards this morning to find its cleverest, boldest, most enlightening comment, and chose this one above all others …

• “I just don’t see UNC or UCLA losing this next round. Any other game can go either way.” — jameswfergie

Previous ESPN Featured Comment of the Day, plus a Featured Deadspin Response or two …

• “UCLA could have been shut out in the second half and still have won by 11.” — Green miamicat

• I am capable of performing basic addition and subtraction. — Greenmiamicat — Carlton Whitfield

• The Patriots could have been shutout in the second half and still finished 18-1 -TomBradysCat — The Professor

Filed under: Soccer, ESPN, Soccer Posts

When Cuba’s under-23 national soccer team traveled to Florida two weeks ago, seven players defected.

In the United States, media coverage of athletes who defect is almost always favorable: We Americans view Cuban athletes who come here as heroes seeking freedom. But Andrew Hush wrote a column for ESPNsoccernet that took a decidedly different approach. Hush wrote:

The events of the past few days have raised a number of questions. The most obvious one concerns security around the Cuban team. Of course, 24-hour surveillance is neither possible nor preferred - these are free men after all - but their escape seems to have been accomplished with minimum effort. The team bus was given a police escort to and from the stadium for the match against the USA, but it is believed that little extra security was in place at the hotel.

Furthermore, the decision to place Cuba in Florida for its qualifying group matches is also, in hindsight, questionable. Although the examples of Martinez, Delgado and Galindo suggest that defection is possible wherever you may be in the USA, these are a young group of men that may have had second thoughts about the choice they made had they been in a less familiar environment. It is no surprise that their rumoured destination while they seek to establish themselves is Miami, a city whose population is one third Cuban.

Consideration must also be given to the players and coaches left behind. The fact is that Cuba’s draw with the USA was a result that greatly enhanced the nation’s chance of qualifying for the Beijing Olympics. Though the defectors have their reasons for doing what they did, the fact is that they have betrayed the players with whom they boarded the plane to America.

Continue reading After Cuban Soccer Defections, ESPN Writer Is Criticized for Criticizing the Defectors

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Since tedious analysis is the stuff of “power rankings,” each Monday NHL Closer writer Greg Wyshynski uses a form of universal expression: Success in terms of beer. Before we get to an endorsement in the Hottest Ice Girls election, welcome to The Brewmeister Ratings…

Winner No. 1: Philadelphia Flyers. Sure, they still hold onto a lead late in the game with the buttery sausage fingers of a Jose Mesa. And yeah, Coach John Stevens probably should have been fired by now, if only for keeping Closer favorite Steve Downie in the press box lately.

But while the rest of the League was waiting for them to step aside so Ovechkin could make the playoffs, the Flyers won three in a row last week to move past Boston into seventh place. What kind of a crazy mixed-up world are we living in when Philly fans can no longer justifiably jeer Danny Briere (13 points in 11 games) or Marty Biron, who owns the Islanders more than Charlie Wang? The Beer They’d Be: An ice cold can of Blue that the Easter Bunny slams, dousing his bitterness because he ranks behind Santa, the Tooth Fairy and Hannah Montana on the beloved fictional character scale.

Winner No. 2: San Jose Sharks. The accolades have been piling up for San Jose over the last month: Hottest team in hockey, potential division champion, Home of the Brian Campbell Spin-o-Rama Whopper. I’ve waited my entire life for someone to refer to me as “Red-hot, healthy and loaded,” and all I needed to do was go 13-0-1? During an undefeated week, the Sharks added another superlative: The Team Formally Known As Anaheim’s Punching Bag (or the more familiar as T.T.F.K.A.A.P.B.). They beat the Ducks, 2-1, limiting Anaheim to just 13 shots. Gotta love Sharks fans; with Pronger suspended they needed someone new to boo every time he touched the puck, so they’re like, “Fuck it: Welcome back, Teeboo Booleanne…” The Beer They’d Be: A glass of Anchor Porter, filled with the smoky goodness and complex flavors that would make a Bud Light lover like Roenick choke on his lager water.

Loser No. 1: Colorado Avalanche. Three defeats — including a 7-5 loss at Edmonton that served as the official launch party for “Operation: Cock-Tease West” — and the Denver media is polling fans on whether they want to see Colorado swept in the first round by Detroit or “get what it deserves right now, which are tee times for local golf clubs the next day after the regular season.” And can someone check with IKEA to figure out the return policy on Forsberg? The Beer They’d Be: A can of Coors Light used for skeet shooting by a trust-fund baby in Aspen.

Loser No. 2: New Jersey Devils. When planning a house party, a $200 home karaoke machine with tower speakers and a built-in digital video camera is often viewed as a superfluous luxury item, akin to a vodka ice luge. It’s never viewed as a necessity, especially when carrying such a hefty price tag. And then you have that one party where your buddy brings over a smokin’ hot blonde, and by the end of the night all she wants to do is gyrate around the room while crooning an Appletini-and SoCo-lime-fueled cover of “I Touch Myself” … but alas, no karaoke machine, no sexy time. Same principle applies when you’re thinking about adding at the trade deadline that one last veteran who can score a momentum-changing goal, but you just won’t pay the price. Lou Lamoriello didn’t ante up for the $200 home karaoke machine with tower speakers and a built-in digital video camera; and the hot blonde at the top of the conference has turned tail and shacked up with some guy from Montreal. The Beer They’d Be: A Bass Ale that I weep over while listening to Bruce’s “Nebraska,” wondering when Elias will get healthy.

If the Playoffs Started Today. The East is all shaken up, with a Flyers/Penguins Thunderdome and a Devils/Senators snoozefest potentially in the first round. The Leafs are four out of the eighth seed, and could really throw this thing into chaos with two games against Boston and Montreal, and one game against Ottawa, still on the docket; hopefully, these games give the world more incredible hockey like Saturday’s 5-4 Leafs’ win over the Sens. I’m sure Toronto would like nothing more than to do this to the rest of the conference:

Ocho To 60. Unsilent covered Ovechkin hitting the big six-oh over the weekend, and there’s really nothing more I can add that a picture of him receiving a hockey bukkake doesn’t say better. I’d point you to Mirtle’s fantastic rundown of Ovechkin’s 60-goal season and where it ranks amongst the other 38 times that mark’s been reached in the NHL. I can’t believe we’re all blowing noisemakers on Ovechkin’s 60 goals when just 15 years ago five (!) players cleared that bar. Boy, what could have happened in 1993 that’s prevented us from ever feeling that kind of thrill in the NHL ever since?

Puck Headlines

* I think Jarome Iginla has as legitimate a claim to the Hart Trophy as Ovechkin does. But I agree with Jimmy Jazz: Malkin can bugger off. [Tic Tac Toe Hockey]

* If you haven’t seen Jarkko Ruutu’s soccer-dribble pass that nearly resulted in a goal, it’s been named “Reason #2,178 to Love Hockey.” Reason #2,179? You guessed it: Wade Belak. [Shakedown Sports]

* It’s the college hockey mascots game! Finally, it appears an altar boy has been given a chance to exploit someone else’s five-hole for once. [Is Today a Zoo Day?]

* The Rangers/Islanders game at Yankee Stadium was a done deal. And then it wasn’t. [Going Five Hole]

* Finally, it’s the final day of voting for Puck That Hit’s “Who Has the Hottest Ice Girls?” contest, and Chicago’s “Ice Crew” appears to have an insurmountable lead in pledged delegates. But I implore you to give Dallas’s Ice Girls a reasonable vetting. Yes, there are some members who look like they may have fired the T-shirt cannon while looking through the barrel. But you have to respect any athletic supporters that introduce themselves with a bikini-clad video and let puckheads in the cheapies get a squeeze:

Filed under: Mavericks, Spurs, NBA Media Watch, NBA Videos

Interesting commentary from Jeff Van Gundy during this play from yesterday’s Mavericks-Spurs game. Manu Ginobili had position and boxed out Jerry Stackhouse, but Stack then grabbed Manu around the neck and took him down to the floor. Van Gundy’s response? “I love Stackhouse’s tenacity.”

When Mark Jackson is the voice of reason and has to be the one to point out that this was a dirty play, there’s a problem. I know Van Gundy was trying to be funny, as he went on to suggest a cage match in situations like this. But that’s not tenacity, that’s just a frustration play by Stackhouse, and a dirty one at that. And what about the officiating on the play, I mean how is that a double foul? It clearly should have been a flagrant on Stackhouse.

(By the way, I must be in bizarro mode today. First I’m hyping up the Warriors, and now I’m defending the Spurs? Something’s just not right here.)

[via Deuce of Davenport]

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Silly East Regional, with your whole going-according-to-seed business: This absolutely will not do. That said, of the four teams hanging around Charlotte next week — wait … is that North Carolina … in Charlotte? Boo! — a definitive pecking order has already emerged. That is to say: Don’t bet on Tennessee.

Bruce Pearl’s troops just frittered around enough to give the East Region its one shot of intrigue; Louisville, Washington State and especially North Carolina have looked dominant so far. How awesome have the Heels looked? Roy Williams actually admitted after the win yesterday that “we looked doggone good today.” For God’s sake, someone put a leash on that guy! He’s out of control! (All together now: At least he finally gives a shit about North Carolina right now.)

Meanwhile, Louisville is one of the few teams we’ve seen in person this year … and they lost, to Seton Hall. (This had the added humiliation of having taken place in Newark.) So where did that come from?

More to the point, though: Anyone who picked North Carolina to win the whole thing has to feel rather positive right now. So, Heels fans can all relax and just enjoy The Truth About Duke right now.

The NBA Closer is written by Matt McHale, who loves March Madness as much as the next guy but is really tired of hearing the phrase “You can tell they don’t want to go home!” I mean, seriously, do the announcers need to tell us that over and over? Are there teams of players that DO want to go home? Anyway, when he’s not nitpicking tournament cliches, he can be found picking a peck of pickled peppers at Basketbawful. Enjoy!

Dallas chokes game, Stack chokes Manu. The Dallas Mavericks regurgitated a 12-point third quarter lead and not only lost to the Spurs 88-81, they lost Dirk Nowitzki to a “left leg injury” when The Flying Dutchman fell down awkwardly after trying to block Ime Udoka’s shot. (See what happens when you try to play defense, kids?) Depending on whom you ask, Dirk could be out anywhere from two weeks to the rest of the season. The Mavs will probably be without Jerry Stackhouse for at least a game or two as well, thanks to the way he pulled Manu Ginobili to the ground and gave him a little “Happy Easter” chokehold.

And while Mark Cuban is busy waging a one-billionaire war against the blogging menace, his team is melting down faster than Chernobyl, only without the fun glow-in-the-dark animals and mutant babies: The Mavericks have lost three in a row at home for the first time in years, are 0-8 against winning teams since trading for Jason Kidd, and are about two games from being out of the playoffs. Speaking of J-Kidd, he pulled off a minor miracle by scoring a whopping 7 points - more than double his output from the last two games - and even hitting a semi-clutch three-pointer in the fourth quarter. Didn’t help, though. Tim Duncan shot like he had a 20-sided die stuck in his eye but still finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Meanwhile, Ginobili was unfazed by The Strangler’s strong-arm tactics, finishing with a game-high 26 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Stack led Dallas with 19 points.

Allen and Carmelo achieve mutual gratification…in winning. As of last night, this was ESPN’s front-page headline for the Denver/Toronto game: A.I., Melo combine for 69, Nuggets stop Raps. They said, “combine for 69.” Uh huh-huh-huh, huh-huh, huh. God, I’m such a 12-year-old. Anyway, Iverson scored 36, Carmelo added 33, and the Nuggets actually held an opponent to “only” 100 points and 50 percent shooting in their 109-100 win. That’s a pretty good defensive effort for them. And actually, Kenyon Martin’s crazy-man defense on Chris Bosh (6-for-16 shooting, 0-for-1 in the fourth quarter, 4 turnovers) probably won the game for Denver (although Bosh still had an “almost” triple-double of 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 assists). Jamario Moon had 15 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for the not-so-mighty dinos, losers of eight of their last 10 games.

Hey, Detroit, you can wake up any time now. The Pistons are just one victory away from reaching the 50-win plateau for the seventh consecutive season, which is almost enough to make you forget that they’re only 10-7 since the All-Star break. Almost. Last night, Detroit shot bad (43 percent), defended worse (giving up 53 percent shooting), and lost to Washington 95-83 despite strong efforts from Rip Hamilton (19 points), Tony McDyess (14 rebounds), and Chauncey Billups (11 assists). Antawn Jamison was the Wizards’ magic man with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 0 assists, and Tough Juice tossed in another 17. Agent Zero update: Gilbert Arenas took part in the the Wizards’ morning shootaround and expected to get a little PT, but Washington’s team doctors wouldn’t clear him to play. [Arnold Schwarzenegger voice] And the Hibachi was steamed. [/Arnold Schwarzenegger] About an hour before the game, Gil was heard muttering, “I’m not coming back this year.” Then, during the game, he told ESPN, “I was ready, but they went out there with a fishing pole and yanked me back.” Ooookay. What, does Gil have some kind of communicable disease or something?

So much for Phil Jackson and the Lakers “owning” the Warriors. The Golden State Warriors built a 26-point lead, let the Lakers back into the game, and then withstood a Kobe Bryant barrage to beat L.A. 115-111. Monta Ellis had 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists for the Warriors, but Stephen Jackson was Mr. Clutchtastic, out-dueling The Mamba by hitting three-pointers with 38.5 and 8.1 seconds left to cockblock the Lakers’ comeback. And while you could point to several reasons why the Lakers lost - 41 point shooting (led by Kobe’s 13-for-30), 18 turnovers (including 14 in the first half), and the fact that Ronny Turiaf kind of looks like a special needs child - the real problem was that Phil Jackson recently said that his squad was “the team to beat” in the West. And that’s what we like to call the stat curse. Bryant had 36 points, a season-high 14 rebounds, and 8 assists, and Lamar Odom added 19 points and 22 boards for L.A.