Water Cooler – April 4th, 2011
Here we go with today’s sports water cooler talk. Here, you won’t just find the straight news; you’ll find the stuff everyone is talking about – the ice breakers, the Twitter Sports Picks and topics…well, basically all the stuff you discuss at the water cooler.
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Sports News – MLB news: Indians turn triple play; Evan Longoria (oblique) hits DL; Randy Winn retires; Yankees tipping pitches?
It’s nice to have some fresh, new baseball news to report that doesn’t have to do with aches and strains suffered while lounging at spring training.
For example – the Cleveland Indians turned a triple play on Sunday against the Chicago White Sox. In the fourth inning, Chicago’s Alexei Ramirez tried a bunt with runners in motion and Carlos Santana caught it in the air. He tossed the ball to Orlando Cabrera, who was covering first base, to double off one runner; then Cabrera threw out the other runner at second base to complete the triple play.
As if getting swept by Baltimore to start the season wasn’t frustrating enough, the Tampa Bay Rays lost star third baseman Evan Longoria to injury over the weekend. He strained his oblique during Saturday’s game after he reportedly aggravated it earlier that day during batting practice. The Rays have placed Longoria on the 15-day DL. He’s expected to miss three weeks.
Following journeyman outfielder Jermaine Dye, Randy Winn retired on Friday after failing to find a major-league team. The 36-year-old spent 13 seasons with the Yankees, Cardinals, Giants, Mariners and Rays. He was an All-Star with Tampa in 2002.
Are the New York Yankees tipping pitches? Bartstoolsports.com posted a photo on Friday that showed what appeared to be a Yankees employee sitting behind home plate tipping pitches to on-deck hitters. The Yankees had five hits and two homers in that game, a 6-3 win over the Detroit Tigers.
NBA news: Shaq, D-Wade, Gasol injured; Pistons bench Rodney Stuckey for insubordination; Dennis Rodman to Hall of Fame
After sitting for 27 games with a lower right leg injury, future Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neal returned to the Boston Celtics lineup last night – but the return was very short-lived. He limped off the floor after just six minutes. Supposedly, he suffered a right calf injury unrelated to the previous injury.
Dwyane Wade got hurt yesterday as well. He bruised his thigh against the New Jersey Nets after eating a knee from Outlaw. He left the game and will probably miss at least one contest going forward.
Lakers forward Pau Gasol reportedly “tweaked” his knee against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. He’s expected to bounce back and play – but not before undergoing an MRI today. Gulp.
The feud between the Detroit Pistons and coach John Kuester rages on. Late in Friday’s 101-96 defeat to the Chicago Bulls, Kuester reportedly tried to put Rodney Stuckey into the game. Stuckey refused. He’s been benched for insubordination and may not play for the rest of the season.
No official announcement has been made yet – but Dennis Rodman is headed to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Rodman revealed the news Friday before the Pistons held a ceremony to retire his No. 10 jersey. “The Worm” won five NBA championships, was a two-time All-Star and won the NBA’s rebounding crown seven times.
NHL news: Paul Stastny out for season; Lubomir Visnovsky injured
The injuries just keep piling up in what has been a particularly brutal NHL season. Paul Stastny suffered a stress fracture in his right leg Friday against the Phoenix Coyotes. The Avalanche’s second-leading scorer is done for the season.
A more noteworthy injury given its impact on the playoff picture is Lubomir Visnovsky’s. The NHL’s leading scorer among defenseman (65 points) suffered an upper-body injury after taking a hit from San Jose’s Doug Murray. Anaheim Ducks coach Randy Carlyle was furious. “[Murray] took five steps. Just watched it,” Carlyle said. “He comes halfway across the rink to run at a guy. But that’s OK. And then pile-drived the guy into the boards.”
NFL news: Broncos will draft QB to compete with Tebow; Louis Murphy arrested for Viagra possession; Madden 12 to factor in concussions
New Denver Broncos manager John Elway is not sold on Tim Tebow. Even though Tebow flashed plenty as a rookie, it’s hard not to listen when a legend like Elway speaks, right? Reportedly, the Broncos will target a quarterback in the first two rounds of the upcoming draft – possibly Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick.
Raiders receiver Louis Murphy was arrested Sunday morning for possession of Viagra without a valid prescription and non-violent resisting arrest. He was pulled over for loud music, refused to be arrested and walked away with his passengers. Police searched his car and eventually found a bottle containing 11 Viagra pills. The label was ripped off. Murphy said he didn’t want a prescription as he didn’t want his girlfriend to know he was taking the pills.
Concussions have become so prominent in the NFL that the standard in football video games, the Madden franchise, will factor it into the latest game. Madden 12 will include concussions to players; concussed players won’t be allowed to return to games. The goal will be to send a strong message about the dangers of the injury. The game will also include helmet-to-helmet hits and the voices of Gus Johnson and Chris Collinsworth will discuss the dangers of concussions.
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