Look-a-likes?

Watching German national soccer team coach Joachim Löw yesterday had me wondering who in the heck he looked like. I knew he resembled someone, but I couldn't figure it out. Then, it hit me toward the end of the Germans' 1-0 loss to Spain in the UEFA Finals. Löw bears resemblence to former Deadspin.com editor Will Leitch.



















Whatdya think? The emo hair gives it away, right?

Commenters burn ESPN.com writer

ESPN.com writer Kevin Seifert made a mistake - one very obvious - in a story he wrote about the NFC North's Detroit Lions:

Still unresolved

We all know the Lions want to run the ball more this season. But after the release of veterans Kevin Jones and T.J. Duckett, can you name the remaining members of the Lions' backfield? If so, congratulations. It's no easy task.

For now, veteran Tatum Bell has been penciled in as the starting tailback, based on his success in a zone-blocking scheme while playing in Denver. But it wouldn't be a surprise to see rookie Kevin Smith -- a third-round pick from Tulane -- emerge as a candidate for the starting job during training camp.

(T.J. Duckett wasn't released. He was not resigned after his one-year deal ran out. Kevin Smith, owner of the second most prolific rushing season in NCAA history, was drafted out of UCF (Central Florida).)

Check out these selected commenters' responses and how they progressively got worse as the day wore on. Some good burns by the commenters.

*Come on the third round pick from Tulane, it was Central Florida smart guy. He must have been thinking about Forte, who was a second round pick for the Bears. I realize not many people like or even know anything about the Lions because of their rich history of losing, but can't you do a little research instead of going off everything that you already know?

*Dude do 5 minutes of research before writing an article, Kevin Smith from Tulane? The guy is the #2 all time NCAA rusher, you got to know what school he is from

*this writer is an assclown and should be fired. can someone please give me a sports web site that doesn't suck? espn screws up so much yet i have to keep coming back here because they're only slightly less crappy than other web sites. i haven't been this angry with espn since the "who's now" debacle.

*You know your team sucks when you get the d- level coverage.

*HAHAAH Kevin Smith went to Tulane. What a moron. He went to UCF. What a Dumb Sh**.

Editor note: I know the trendy thing to do in the sports blogosphere is to poke fun at ESPN's misgivings, innaccuracies, stupidities and misfortunes. I don't believe ESPN is the gold standard in sports media (there are far too many outlets and options for fans to choose from), but it certainly is at the forefront. I don't know understand how a writer and his editors can miss such an error.

Joe Buck on Letterman

FOX's NFL/MLB play-by-play man was on the David Letterman Show on Monday night. I'm not sure how long he chatted with Dave, but I picked it up right before they began talking Mark McGwire.

A few observations before you watch the video.

1) You can tell Buck is the typical TV guy who loves himself. He eye contact jumped from Dave directly into the camera and back. It is rare you watch a late night guest make as much eye contact with the camera as Buck. We've always known he loves himself, but this is just further proof.

2) His comments about Viagra were funny.

3) Clubhousecancer.com's headline makes me laugh.

Crypt Keeper strikes again

No, not John Clayton. Rather, it's Don Imus, who looks as if he crawled from a grave to make another controversial remark about race. (I'm sorry, but the man's resemblence is uncanny.)

But was he being racist or simply lack depth in his opinion about stereotypes toward African-Americans in regard to resident NFL jailbird Adam Jones?

Warner Wolf: “He’s also been arrested six times since being drafted by Tennessee in 2005.”
Don Imus: “What color is he?”
Wolf: “He’s African-American.”
Imus: “Well, there you go. Now we know.”

I see his comments as two ways. "Now we know" as in the stereotype, "Typical black guy. Always getting arrested and in trouble with the law." Or "Now we know" as in, "Black people always seem to get singled out by police and the authorities because of the color of their skin. They're targeted."

The reason such scrutiny is already being brought to Imus is because of his poorly-worded and quite frankly racist comments made about the Rutgers women's basketball team in 2007. You remember... "nappy-headed hoes."

Road trip

I'm off to the Midwest League All-Star Game today in Midland, Michigan. Three Fort Wayne Wizards and a former local high school player, Jarrod Parker, are on the Eastern Division roster and will all likely see some playing time.

It's about a three and a half hour drive to Midland from Fort Wayne. Not really looking forward to that, but oh well, it's part of the job.

Last night, as part of the All-Star festivities, the Midwest League put on a home run derby with the top nine power hitters of the season's first half. And the Wizards participant - Felix Carrasco - won.

The switch-hitter smacked 21 homers in three rounds.

He's hit 12 this season after not hitting any in 101 at-bats last season in the Arizona rookie league and Class A-short season Eugene. I've seen him crank some homers from both sides of the plate and to all sides of the field. Just last week, he hit won over the left-field fence from the left-side of the plate. That's some opposite field power. He's a stocky guy, too. Probably about 5-foot-11 and 240 pounds.

It should be an exciting time today. Midland, home of the Great Lakes Loons, boasts a relatively new ballpark that opened before last season. Apparently, part of Fort Wayne's under construction downtown ballpark (see live construction on the right side of this page) will have similarities to Dow Diamond in Midland. So I'll at least get a feel for how the new ballpark will look.

Also, Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda will be around the ballpark all day today. The Loons are the Class Low-A affiliate of the L.A. Dodgers, so Lasorda will be there taking in all of the environment. I'd like to get an interview with him. I'd ask him about the state of MLB right now - coming out of the steroid era, instant replay, rising attendance, if he's concerned about an economic downturn that would hurt attendence, etc.

Lastly, some of these All-Stars are going to be in the majors one day. The Midwest League has been a stop for plenty of great MLBers - Albert Pujols, Johan Santana, Jake Peavy, Torii Hunter, Joe Mauer. And soon-to-be-greats Justin Upton and Clayton Kershaw. Trust me, there's plenty more than just these guys.

You can follow the 7 p.m. game live on this page where it says "schedule." There should be a live box score and possibly a radio (free registration required) link as game time nears.

Time to start packing my bags.

A boss Tiger Woods commercial

If you've watched the U.S. Open over the last five days, then this Nike commercial - titled "Never" - is nothing new to you. Isn't it worth another watch?



"Tiger, I promise you that you’ll never meet another person as mentally tough as you in your entire life. And he hasn’t. And he never will." - Earl Woods

Tremendously powerful.

Tiger: Did you really have any doubts?

Were you like me on Sunday evening while watching Tiger on the final hole at the U.S. Open?

Sitting on the couch, with a belly a little too full from the Father's Day family cookout, still moving at a snail's pace from the night of heavy drinking before, and watching Tiger handle the pressure with ease?

We had to know it was coming. The guy is too good. Even when he'd hit a bad shot, he never appeared rattled. Frustrated? Yes. He did slam his iron a few times. But he corrected his mistakes and put himself in situations where he wasn't struggling to save par.

And then came the par 5, hole 18. Even after that second shot that caused him to slam his iron, did you really think he was going to blow it?

His third shot set him up perfectly for the birdie, which will go down in history (especially if he wins today) as one of the most clutch putts in Tiger's career. If not for the theatrics afterwards. Tiger's primal roar and fist pumping. The crowd's deafening cheers. Tiger and his caddy's embrace and Woods putting his right index finger in the air as if saying, "I had one more in me."

Rocco was a joy to watch yesterday. His sense of humor, his relaxed demeanor, the infectious smile. But sorry Rocco, I just don't see how you can beat Tiger today.

(Photo: Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times)

Thanksth, Michael

NY Giants sackmaster Michael Strahan announced his retirement yesterday. A press conference is upcoming within roughly an hour.

Please remember Strahan for all of the good things he did - winning a Super Bowl ring, sacking a flopping Brett Favre for the single season sack record, and pansy-fighting Tom Arnold on the Best Damn Sports Show.

Red Sox-Rays brawl

I'm not gonna' lie. I like baseball fights, especially when they're warranted. This brawl was going to happen after tensions nearly boiled in Wednesday's game between the teams. Here's a quick recap...

Wednesday: Coco Crisp doesn't like the way second base is being blocked by Rays infielder Akinori Iwamura. The next time Crisp gets on base, he slides high and nearly hits Iwamura in the nether regions. Tempers flare and words are exchanged but nothing happens...

Until Thursday: James Shields plunks Crisp in the thigh. Crisp charges the mound. A fight ensues. Shields nearly connects on a haymaker. Rays catcher Dioner Navarro tackles Crisp after he takes a swing at Shields. Jonny Gomes piles on, throws fists at a grounded Crisp and then Carl Crawford comes flying in and lands some solid clandestine punches on Crisp's head.

Can't wait for the next series. These teams are a budding rivalry. Both want respect - the Rays not as the AL East's punching bag anymore and the Red Sox as the two-time in three years World Series champ.

Yahoo! Sports Jeff Passan has a superb take on the Rays-Sox.

Finals Game 1: Pierce's pain

Like most of you, I thought Paul Pierce's knee injury was more severe than the sprained knee diagnosis.

He crumpled to the ground after sort of colliding with teammate Kendrick Perkins, and he lay there, wincing in pain, clutching his knee. The trainer told teammates to carry Pierce off the court. The anguish on his face led all to believe he'd blown out his knee. Kaput. Title hopes gone.

Not so fast.

Channeling the memories of Willis Reed in 1970, Pierce triumphantly returned to the court a few minutes later, with a brace on the knee. The crowd roars. He enters the game and moments later is running up and down the court, showing no signs of a serious knee injury, and hits back-to-back threes to turn a 71-69 deficit into a 75-71 lead.

The Celtics never looked back and, as you know, took Game 1, 98-88. This game was Pierce's defining moment.

Talk about inspiration.

But Pierce's actions have resulted in questions. He said he heard something in the knee pop; he thought it was all over. Yet miraculously (hey, that's what it seemed liked based on his rolling on the floor and near crying) he's back on the court and scores 11 points over the final quarter and a half.

Was he really that hurt? The Lakers are surrounded - mostly courtside at the Staples Center - by people who make millions pretending like their hurt, angry, sad, psychotic, stoic, whatever. So maybe Phil Jackson and Co. have an innate sense to sniff out an actor. The Zenmaster was non-plussed about Pierce's apparent injury.

You have to wonder, when Pierce woke up this morning, after that knee rested horizontal and listless for seven or eight hours, did he wince at and grab the aching knee or did a Grinch-like smile spread across his face?

(Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

Flip Saunders, would you please pick up the white courtesy phone?

The Detroit Pistons fired head coach Flip Saunders today three days after the team was bounced from the Eastern Conference Finals for the third straight season.

This move does not shock me and rather comes as I expected.

Saunders took over a team that reached the NBA Finals in consecutive seasons in 2004 and 2005, but couldn't return the Pistons to that glory. Instead, he coached them to three straight Eastern Conference Finals in which they were defeated by three different teams.

Saunders replaced Larry Brown, the nomadic coach who's niche is defense and discipline. Saunders simply needed to manage the Pistons core of players that's remained in tact since 2003. He didn't need to motivate; this group of career castoffs played motivated in those NBA Finals years. It was expected they'd do the same to return to the NBA Finals.

But Saunders' coaching style often clashed with players, namely Rasheed Wallace. I don't think he ever gained their respect. As 2007 Piston Chris Webber pointed out during his guest spot for TNT during Detroit's playoff series against Philadelphia, (verbatim), "I don't think those guys are listening to what Flip is saying right now. They can motivate themselves."

While the sole blame of the past three seasons can't fall squarely on Saunders' shoulders, this move by Veep of basketball operations Joe Dumars was the right one. I bet it won't be the last one, either. This roster will not win another championship. It's time to shakeup the core of players.