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By Bryan Berg  August 11, 2009, at 10:45 pm  I was on iTunes earlier today, looking for some kids TV shows to put on my iPod so my daughter doesn’t flip out during a long car trip this weekend. I found what I was looking for -  Yo Gabba Gabba and the Wonder Pets, in case you were wondering – but I also found something else. That “something else” would be an entire section of iTunes dedicated to NHL games.
I had no idea this even existed. You mean to tell me I can go into iTunes and download classic games for $1.99 each? You also mean to tell me I’ve had an iPod for five years, accessed the iTunes store at least once per month over that period of time, and didn’t know these games were available for download? That’s insane.
And that, of course, is the Gary Bettman era in a nutshell. In this information age where technology is at our fingertips, it might be nice to inform NHL fans that they can download and watch full games, at their convenience, for a very reasonable $1.99 fee. Let’s not forget, NHL fans are probably the most tech-savvy of all sports fans. Since newspapers are dropping NHL beats like flies as the papers themselves struggle to stay afloat, hockey fans have embraced the blogosphere to a much greater degree than the fans of any other sport. We have HockeyFights.com and tons of clips on YouTube, and hockey fans love these resources. Do you really think these same fans wouldn’t love to discover the NHL’s treasure trove of downloadable games?
We all know the NHL isn’t the strongest promotional arm out there. But iTunes is a great way to reach out to fans – and to then allow fans to return the favor. Throughout the season, each team’s official website could run a poll to determine fans’ favorite games and then put those games on iTunes. I know the NHL has done a pretty good job with the DVD sets they’ve released, but there’s a way to have these DVD sets work with their iTunes offerings. Especially in these dog days of summer, where we’re all craving any sort of hockey we can get.
By Anthony De Franco August 11, 2009, at 9:21 pm Most of the time that athletes fail drug tests, there is no saying sorry. They try, they fail around in the wind for a while, and they end up insulting our intelligences with claims of stupidity and naivety. However, for the first time in recent memory, we may have a case where a failed drug test may have a decent reason behind it.
Nick Diaz recently failed to show up for his drug test for his August 15th title fight against Jay Hieron. As a result, he has been pulled from the fight and replaced with Jesse Taylor, who is best known for flipping out after qualifying for the final of season seven of The Ultimate Fighter.
The reason that Diaz didn’t show is that he was sure that he would test positive for marijuana. However, it’s just not that simple, as MMA Weekly can tell you:
On Monday, Diaz’s manager, Cesar Gracie, said his fighter had an informal agreement with former CSAC executive officer Armando Garcia that precluded random drug testing. Diaz, a resident of Stockton, Calif., currently holds a medical marijuana license under the state’s Compassionate Use Act of 1996 and Medical Marijuana Program Act. Garcia departed the agency last November.
“They changed it without any notification,” said Gracie. “No one had any time. The old guys were doing things based off of California law, and I knew California law didn’t change. He’s licensed… it’s legal. They’re own legal team came out with a ruling that said (compassionate use was allowed). Then all of a sudden they’re saying we’re doing drug tests, and cannabis is included, it’s not just performance enhancers. To flush it out of his system, it takes 10 days, and we don’t have that.”
It’s not the first time Diaz has come under fire for his marijuana use. In April 2007, the Nevada State Athletic Commission stripped him of a victory over Takanori Gomi at Pride 33 due to high levels of the drug in his system. Last March, he was stricken from a Strikeforce co-promotion with Elite XC when he reported his use of the drug on a pre-fight medical questionnaire.
Hmmm…This is interesting. Diaz has the right to use marijuana medically. How you deny the right of someone to take their medicine? Someone I was talking to about this compared this to not allowing someone to use their inhaler because technically, it’s a steroid.
More importantly, it’s not like he would have tested positive on fight day. He was in the process of flushing it from his system, and since the fight is still a few days away, he would have passed his test. Diaz chose not to take the test so he wouldn’t be suspended one year for a positive test. Instead, he will just miss this fight.
Despite the fact that I don’t personally partake, I’ve said plenty of times before that I think that pot should be legal. Moreover, Nick Diaz should be tested on the 15th, and if he passes, he should be allowed to fight.
By Jason Comack August 11, 2009, at 9:06 pm Video of the Sox/Tigers Brawl Tonight
Nice Takedown Rick! I think I’ve found your post baseball career.
By Matt Soldano August 11, 2009, at 7:42 pm According to the National Football Post, the New York Jets are reportedly looking to shop running back Thomas Jones. Jones led the AFC in rushing with 1,312 yards and notched a career-high 13 touchdowns.
“Bolstered by the addition of rookie Shonn Greene, the New York Jets are gauging trade interest in running back Thomas Jones and have placed a call to an NFC West club, a league source said.”
The first team that comes to mind is obviously the Seattle Seahawks. The leading rusher on the Hawks’ depth chart is Thomas’ younger brother Julius Jones. TJ could come in and provide a decent 1-2 punch. Apparently, it will only take a 4th round pick to convince the Jets to dump the running back. Jones, who is 31, has 2 years remaining on the four year $20 million contract he signed when he was a member of the Chicago Bears. The Jets are reluctant to give him a new deal considering they are optimistic with what they have with Leon Washington and rookie Shonn Greene.
By Jordan Lauterbach August 11, 2009, at 11:27 am From The AP:
Tiger Woods will be fined by the PGA Tour for his public criticism of a rules official after winning the Bridgestone Invitational, a tour official said Monday.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the tour does not publicize fines.
Woods was bothered after his four-shot victory Sunday because he and Padraig Harrington were put on the clock at the par-5 16th. He said that caused Harrington to rush three difficult shots, leading to triple bogey.
European Tour chief referee John Paramor told Woods and Harrington they were being timed.
Woods said he told Harrington after it was over, “I’m sorry that John got in the way of a great battle.
This is absolutely ridiculous. What is the PGA Tour trying to prove by fining Tiger Woods? That Tiger isn’t “bigger” than the tour? Too late. He is.
I’ve always had a problem with leagues fining owners, coaches and players for honesty. It strikes me as unnecessary and totalitarian. Does the perception of the general public change because of something Tiger Woods said? I don’t think it does.
I wonder if the PGA is more upset that Tiger criticized the decision to put his group on the clock or that he revealed the fact that they were put on the clock. That revelation makes the tour look worse than the criticism does. Anyone who knows anything about the sport can see the problem with putting the last group of the day on Sunday on the clock, especially if the group has the only two players in contention. It makes the tour look bad. It cheapens the golf.
Referee John Paramore did get in the way. He did ruin a great match. He is at fault. Who knows if Padraig Harrington’s collapse had anything to do with the clock. But it certainly would make a lot of sense if it did. The fact that Tiger Woods, of all players, would mention it gives you an indication that it was a big distraction.
Fine Tiger all you want, PGA, but it doesn’t change the fact that you looked like morons for trying to mess with a great Sunday.
It doesn’t change the fact that Tiger was right.
Update (3pm)- Tiger Woods says that he was not fined by the PGA Tour…
If thats true, I wonder where the original report came from…seems a bit odd to me…..
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Yo Gabba Gabba and the Wonder Pets, in case you were wondering – but I also found something else.
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