A Mountain Bike Race Down America's Spine

Filed under: Sports

Photo by Geoff Roes

 

Geoff Roes, a friend of ours and Jill Homer's boyfriend, just recently bailed out of the Great Divide Race. The idea was to ride from the Canadian border to the Mexican one, on a mountain bike, passing through Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico . You're not allowed to have anyone help you along the 2,490-mile route.

It's just you and the bears and the bugs and the brain God gave you. Geoff used his to leave the course about 1,400 miles and 10 days in. For a stretch of several days, he had trailed the leader by only three hours. "I would always have people at stores and cafes telling me that he was in and out in a couple minutes and I should really get going if I was going to catch him," Geoff writes. "30 minutes later I would finally stumble out the door and get back on the road." By the end, Roes says he was too sleep-deprived to continue.

The winner, John Nobile, finished in 15 days, one hour and 26 minutes.

Laura Conaway

11:35 AM ET | 07- 7-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

New York Rain Runners

Filed under: Sports

Matt and Ian, 6:10 a.m.

The New York Road Runners celebrated their 50th anniversary with a five-mile race in the rain in Central Park this morning. That's 10 years per mile. Matt Martinez and I managed a pace slightly faster than that.

Ian Chillag

6:42 AM ET | 06- 4-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Lord Stanley's Cup

Filed under: Sports

I don't know if I've ever used the phrase "a beautiful ad created by the National Hockey League" before, but this is as good a time as any...

Dan Pashman

2:49 PM ET | 05-27-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Washington's Scholar-on-Scholar Softball Action

Filed under: Sports

Little League season is upon us, and an article by Scott Ganz of the American Enterprise Institute caught my eye recently. Its argument about the positive impact of youth sports participation was interesting, but the description of the co-author was what got me thinking. The author, as it happens, also coaches the Institute's softball team.

Wait, AEI's softball team? Does Richard Perle call his homers like Babe Ruth? Does neocon godfather Irving Kristol give a rousing pre-game speech? (I need hitters, not quitters!!!) I'm not sure, but a bit of lunchtime searching revealed that think tanks from left to right aren't just engaged in the battle of ideas. They've also got their own softball league.

Just imagine the trash talk when the liberal Center for American Progress takes on the righties at the Heritage Foundation. I'm sure it's all erudite and perhaps even peer-reviewed, though. Things really got interesting when I found their flickr photostream. . .

Continue reading "Washington's Scholar-on-Scholar Softball Action" »

Mark Garrison

1:11 PM ET | 05-21-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Cleveland Indians Notch Unassisted Triple Play

Filed under: Luncheonette, Sports

Editor's note to the editor's note: Someone helpfully pointed out the replacement video showed an assisted triple play, not an unassisted one. The clip above purports to be an unassisted triple play, and I defy anyone to sort it out well enough to argue otherwise. The original replacement is now after the jump.

Editor's note: YouTube pulled the video of the Indians' unassisted triple play, citing a copyright claim from Major League Baseball. Since you couldn't see it all that well anyway, I'm posting video of this (somewhat similar) amateur triple play. At least in this one you can see the lead runner.

For your lunchtime viewing pleasure, a moving meditation on right time/right place:

Baseball's unassisted triple play -- when a lone fielder is responsible for three outs on a single pitch -- is a rare and freakish feat.

Last night, Cleveland Indians second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera turned the 14th unassisted triple play in the history of the major leagues. Facing the Toronto Blue Jays, Cabrera dove for a liner by Lyle Overbay for out number one. Toronto had runners on first second and secondthird, and both had taken off with the pitch. Cabrera stepped on second base to get the lead runner, Kevin Mench, who'd already reached third. He then tagged the following guy, Marco Scuataro, who'd just crossed second.

Check the video -- it's three outs in a blink.

Bonus: ESPN breaks it down.

Continue reading "Cleveland Indians Notch Unassisted Triple Play" »

Laura Conaway

12:10 PM ET | 05-13-2008 | permalink | comments (11) | e-mail post

Blog/Counterblog: The NFL Draft

Filed under: Sports

Mike Pesca and I had a little debate yesterday about the merits of the NFL draft, and we decided to take it on to the blog. After you've read both sides, tell us what you think. I'll let Mr. Pesca go first...

MIKE PESCA SAYS:
As I watched the NFL draft on Sunday I remembered the words of the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, who once noted that life must be lived forward but can only be understood backward. Kierkegaard must have been referring to the tendency of quarterbacks who favor the seven-step drop to leave themselves open to a DB jumping the route on a hot read.

Actually that's not why I thought of Kierkegaard at all. The frail and melancholy Dane was in evidence in every yelp of the crowd, and bold pronouncement of the prognosticators. This is my problem with the NFL draft. It doesn't mean anything. From the time a player is drafted until the time he becomes a bona fide player, so much can change that it scarcely makes sense to use the draft as a source of confirmation or consternation. But consternate the pundits do.

Read the rest of Pesca's thoughts, and my response, after the jump...

Continue reading "Blog/Counterblog: The NFL Draft" »

Dan Pashman

5:04 PM ET | 04-29-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

College Football Star Matt Ryan Takes the BPP Test

Filed under: Sports, Video

In anticipation of this weekend's NFL draft, BPP's Mike Pesca quizzed Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan. Ryan is considered by many to be the top quarterback in the bunch this year.

Zena Barakat

5:03 PM ET | 04-21-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Chillag Finishes Boston, Eats Pizza

Filed under: Inside The BPP, News, Sports

Ian Chillag: Marathoner, BPP Staffer, Awesome.

BPP Producer Ian Chillag finished the Boston Marathon in about 3 hours and 50 minutes -- all the while Tweeting and taking pictures. Ian ran with his friend Amby Burfoot who, 40 years ago, won Boston. I caught up with him as he was boarding a train back to New York. (For the record, Robert Cheruiyot won the marathon in 2 hours, 7 minutes and 46 seconds. It's his fourth win and second in a row. Dire Tune of Ethiopia won the women's race in 2 hours, 25 minutes and 25 seconds.)

Ian will have a full report on tomorrow's show, in the meantime here's a post-race lowdown:

Matt Martinez

4:16 PM ET | 04-21-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

Chillag Checks In: Up Heartbreak Hill

Filed under: Sports

Amby Burfoot thrills the crowd.

Ian Chillag/NPR

 

"Greetings, bpp, from the top of heartbreak! That was TOUGH."

That's Ian Chillag, folks, Tweeting from the top of Heartbreak Hill in the Boston Marathon. Chillag says Amby Burfoot, 1968 champion, served as Sherpa. They've got about five miles to go.

Meanwhile, Associated Press reports: Robert Cheruiyot won his fourth Boston Marathon on Monday, and Dire Tune outkicked Alevtina Biktimirova by 2 seconds in the closest finish in the history of the women's race.

Laura Conaway

1:08 PM ET | 04-21-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Chillag Checks In: Mile Six in Boston

Filed under: Sports

Imagine wearing this for 26.2 miles.

Ian Chillag/NPR

 

Judging by the Flickr sends, Ian Chillag has reached mile six of the Boston Marathon. He's running along with 1968 champ Amby Burfoot. In a Twitter post at 11:18 a.m., Chillag writes:

"Entering Natick. First cowbell heard. Race has begun."

They're aiming for a comfortable pace of just under four hours. Chillag posted a warning sign, from just past mile five: "That slowing down thing? Not happening. We may pay for this..."

Laura Conaway

11:16 AM ET | 04-21-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Ian Checks In: At the Boston Marathon, Raring to Go

Filed under: Sports

At the start in Hopkinton, Mass.

Ian Chillag

 

Our own Ian Chillag is milling around the chilly starting point for today's Boston Marathon. In a couple of hours Chillag will light out for Boston with the great Amby Burfoot, helping to pace the 1968 winner all the way home. Ian aims to post an update on Twitter every mile or so, and he promises to send pictures. A few minutes ago, we asked him to send a photo. You're looking at it.

Ian, babe, we love you. Run on.

Laura Conaway

8:19 AM ET | 04-21-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Slideshow: A Red Sox Fan in Twitter Nation

Filed under: Slideshow, Sports

Click to watch.

Getty Images

 

About a year ago, Jordan McKible got what a certain set of people would call a bright idea. McKible decided to follow his beloved Boston Red Sox on Twitter.

He opened a Twitter account called Redsoxcast and started calling balls and strikes. By the end of the first game, he had picked up a dozen followers. Today Redsoxcast follows every game, with a crowd that tops 400 and includes one of my personal favorites, Bryan Person.

In honor of our own 800th Twitter follower, here's the story of a Red Sox fan in Twitter nation.

Bonus: Detroit Tigers Twittercast

Laura Conaway

12:24 PM ET | 04- 3-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

I Got Injured. Injured Bad.

Filed under: Sports

Brooklyn 1, Dignity 0.

 

In November, I ran the New York Marathon in 2:42. That was good enough to get me into Boston, and I signed up quick. Then, life and a new job here got in the way. I've hardly run since moving to New York in December, and sometime in January I gave up on Boston.

But then, last week, friend of the BPP Amby Burfoot reminded me that this year's Boston is the 40th anniversary of the year he won the race, and he invited me to join his pack. The chance is too good to miss, even if I won't be able to walk the next day. Amby's planning a leisurely pace, so I think I can make it, but I'm not sure.

So, with just over three weeks till the race, I started training on Saturday. I went out for my longest run of the year, a twelve-miler through Brooklyn. Lungs felt okay, but apparently I forgot how to run. I told girlfriend Nora I fell off a cliff on a trail but really I tripped over my own feet on a Brooklyn sidewalk. Evidence above.

Is this a sign I maybe shouldn't be doing this? How dumb is training for a marathon in three weeks? I'll keep you posted.

Ian Chillag

7:57 AM ET | 03-31-2008 | permalink | comments (11) | e-mail post

Local Sports Director Takes Highlights to Eleven

Filed under: Sports

When an NCAA basketball tournament game ends, a lot of people like to watch the highlights. Not breaking any news there. And in a place like North Carolina, home to perennial powerhouses Duke and UNC, the desire for highlights is even stronger.

But arcane NCAA rules prohibit stations from showing highlights of some completed games if certain other games are still in progress. Recently that rule presented an interesting dilemma for Penn Holderness, sports director at NBC 17 in Raleigh, whose viewers want their highlights. So Penn did what any clever sportscaster does: He recreated the game with his daughter's dolls. Check it out:

What stuffed animals and/or dolls would you pick to represent various public figures?

Dan Pashman

8:56 AM ET | 03-27-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

NCAA Bracket Throwdown: A Sports Nut vs. A Four-Year-Old

Filed under: Sports

You're probably in one of those NCAA tournament office pools, and you've probably already gotten a bunch of picks wrong. But don't feel bad, even the "experts" never get it right. In fact, here at the BPP, we're so confident that expertise has nothing to do with picking an NCAA bracket that we're stacking BPP sports guy and former ESPN hand Bill Wolff up against editor Tricia McKinney's four-year-old daughter Cassie.

After the first day of the tournament, Bill is leading Cassie 13-3. But Cassie is a real gambler. By which we mean a proverbial gambler. For instance, even though a #16 seed has never upset a #1 seed in the history of the tournament, she predicted it would happen FOUR TIMES this year. A kid can dream.

But Cassie does have one secret weapon: Butler University. She picked them to go all the way to the finals, and if it happens, she'll amass enough points to beat the Big Bad Wolff. So, why Butler? Well, here's some sound of Cassie making her picks. This should give you some idea...

Dan Pashman

3:26 PM ET | 03-21-2008 | permalink | comments (5) | e-mail post

Video: 'Giants' Fans Flood City for Tickertape Parade

Filed under: Sports

If you listened to the show this morning, you heard me talk how BPP video producer Win Rosenfeld and I ventured down to lower Manhattan yesterday to try to catch a glimpse of the tickertape parade honoring the New York Giants' Super Bowl victory.

Turns out there's no tickertape. The city handed out bags of shredded newspaper for people who were really into the spirit of things. But mostly, it was just a big ol' mass of Giants fans who ditched out on work and school to celebrate the sweet win against the Pats one more time. Win caught our little adventure on video. Enjoy:

Rachel Martin

12:08 PM ET | 02- 6-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Giants Fans Stock Up on Stuff

Filed under: Sports

At dawn this morning, New York Giants fans were already out hunting for merchandise to help them savor their victory over the Patriots. By the time the BPP arrived at Modell's sporting goods store around 10am, Giants hats were already sold out. Check out the scene for yourself.

Obviously in order to get championship goods on sale less than eight hours after a game ends, you have to print up items with both teams' names on them way before the game. So what happens to all the "Patriots Super Bowl Champions" t-shirts and hats that are sitting in a warehouse somewhere? This might give you some idea.

Pauline Bartolone

2:26 PM ET | 02- 4-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Most Valuable Puppy

Filed under: Sports

Abbigale, as seen on Animal Planet

 

Watching Puppy Bowl IV (we flipped to the Super Bowl during commercials) last night, I wondered just how the good people at Animal Planet found the many cute puppies they threw onto the miniature football field. Was there a draft? Is there a minor puppy league? And most importantly, how could I obtain such puppies?

Drunk on cuteness, I went to work to get these questions answered. I managed to track down Abbigale Rottenbottom Glasby, the PetSmart MVP of Puppy Bowl IV. She chose to speak through her agent, Dwight Glasby of Manassas, Virginia.

Normally, Dwight tells me, the Puppy Bowl people pick among puppies up for adoption at shelters, but for some reason this year there was a paucity of puppies. A woman at Dwight's local pet store knew this, had a connection, and let him know. Dwight sent in Abbigale's picture, and the next thing they knew she was going to the dance.

They started filming, it was a good eight hours. You know, Abbi hardly ever took a nap. She was out on the set just going crazy most of the day. It was a day of chaos. Even in the green room, they were raring to go.

That's right. There's a green room at Puppy Bowl. More after the jump.

Continue reading "Most Valuable Puppy" »

Ian Chillag

1:59 PM ET | 02- 4-2008 | permalink | comments (5) | e-mail post

Super Bowl Haiku

Filed under: Sports

With thanks to @timjeby, a sample:

Spent year's budget for/
Thirty seconds, but ev'ry-/
One loves monkeys, right?

Laura Conaway

1:36 PM ET | 02- 4-2008 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

How Do You Feel About These Super Bowl Ads?

Filed under: Sound Off, Sports

Two of last night's Super Bowl ads seem to be getting extra heat on the Interwebs -- and not the good kind of heat. The San Francisco Chronicle called this SalesGenie.com ad "most likely to result in the first Super Bowl ad apology of the season."

As for this next one...I don't have kids, so I'm not an expert on what freaks them out, but I have a feeling this ad might qualify:

What do you guys think? Is either ad offensive and/or inappropriate?

Dan Pashman

8:16 AM ET | 02- 4-2008 | permalink | comments (14) | e-mail post

Our Favorite Super Bowl Ad

Filed under: Sports, Stuff We Love

Who needs CGI?

Here are all of last night's Super Bowl ads.

Dan Pashman

8:15 AM ET | 02- 4-2008 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Must Super Sunday Lead to Sick Day Monday?

Filed under: Sports

One puts you on the floor. The other says it can get you off it.

Since I have a good TV and a large den, it's a given that I have friends over for the Super Bowl. But since Super Sunday goes late -- and often leaks into Miserable Monday -- I've got a gastronomical plan to help my pals make it into work the next day. And it even goes with a Southwestern theme, in honor of the game's host state of Arizona.

Prickly Pear Margaritas
The recipe: Lime juice, prickly pear juice, Cointreau, and Tequila with a little sugar and lots of ice. Shake the hell out of it, and pour over more ice.

'Healthy' Snacks
Help the recovery with actual things the body needs, beyond fat and salt. I'll have almonds and pecans (protein foods) out early, with some booze-absorbing cheeses. Then grilled beef or chicken tacos.

A Mighty Garnish
And if that's not enough, I'll be garnishing the drinks with goji berries. You know, the Chinese/Tibetan berries that are full of anti-oxidants. The ones that supposedly kept some Chinese dude alive 'til he was about 250 years old. I bet he never had trouble dragging it in on a Monday.

Bill Chappell

12:43 PM ET | 02- 1-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Spoiler Alert: Super Bowl Winner Below

Filed under: Sports, Stuff We Love, The Dagobah System

Back in the day, I used to simulate NFL games before they happened using a sophisticated piece of software called Madden '93 on my Sega Genesis supercomputer. It was a glorious time, a sad time. Now a crafty young emulator has taken it way back in the day to the Nintendo game Tecmo Bowl, and Tecmo-ized the entire playoffs.

Second half of this year's Super Bowl is here.

Ian Chillag

9:07 AM ET | 02- 1-2008 | permalink | e-mail post

Missive from the BPP's Monday Morning QB

Filed under: Sports

Normally Bill Wolff, BPP sports guru, and I watch sports together. That's because we are married, and because, well, I like to spend some time with him. This weekend I was romping around the Sundance Film Festival and he was doing his "research" for his Monday segment. So he sent me this e-mail, a 14-point e-mail, as soon as the games were over. Almost like being at home.

From: Wolff, Bill
Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2008 11:00 PM
To: 'astewart@npr.org'
Subject: Monday sports!
*Early game: the Patriots beat San Diego, as expected but by a margin
(21-12) more narrow than expected.
*New England is the first team to be 18-0. They will be in the Super
Bowl for the fourth time in the last seven years.

Continue reading "Missive from the BPP's Monday Morning QB" »

Alison Stewart

1:48 PM ET | 01-21-2008 | permalink | comments (4) | e-mail post

Backing the Pack: Green Bay Shows Its Pride

Filed under: City Living, Sports, Video

If you caught our segment on "Kettle of Fish," the New York City haven for displaced Green Bay Packers fans, you have an idea of how serious these folks are. But to get the full picture of Cheesehead dedication, you need to see Packer fans in their natural element.

Check out this slideshow, accompanied by the music of Green Bay fan Eddy J Lemberger.

Click the picture to view the slideshow.

See the video here and hear Dan and me talking about it with Alison and Mike Pesca here.

Win Rosenfeld

9:33 AM ET | 01- 3-2008 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Help Blog the Mitchell Steroids Report

Filed under: Sports

We'll drop one more excerpt from the Mitchell report on steroids in baseball, this one also from the chapter, on page 109, titled "Unreported Incidents." We invite you to read the report and nominate bits for excerpting in the comments.

Now, a last excerpt from us:

At the end of the 2004 season, a clubhouse employee was cleaning out the Detroit Tigers locker room when he found a black toiletry kit that was locked. He and another Tigers employee opened the bag and found unused syringes and vials that they determined were anabolic steroids. They did not report the incident. The employee said that he could not remember who the bag belonged to.

Bonus: NPR draws conclusions from the Mitchell report.

Laura Conaway

2:38 PM ET | 12-13-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Excerpts from the Mitchell Report on Steroids in Baseball

Filed under: Sports

Sen. George Mitchell's report on steroids in baseball is out (and you can read it). On page 109, there's a fascinating chapter called "Unreported Incidents." We'll drop one instance of steroids in baseball here, and a couple after the jump:

In 1999, Barry Waters, the director of team travel for the Houston Astros, received a telephone call from an employee of a hotel where the Astros had just stayed, reporting that a package had arrived at the hotel addressed to an alias that was used by Ken Caminiti, who then played for Houston. The hotel forwarded the package to Waters, who opened it and found glass vials containing a white liquid that he believed to be anabolic steroids and pills that he believed to be vitamins.

Waters did not deliver the vials to Caminiti, but believing incorrectly that there was no policy requiring him to report the incident, he did not report the matter to anyone else with the Astros or to the Commissioner's Office. Caminiti later admitted that he had used steroids during his playing career in a widely read Sports Illustrated article that was published in June 2002.

Continue reading "Excerpts from the Mitchell Report on Steroids in Baseball" »

Laura Conaway

2:26 PM ET | 12-13-2007 | permalink | e-mail post

Three Hundred Grim Pages: the Mitchell Report

Filed under: Sports

Former Sen. George Mitchell is on television now, his voice hammering out the bad news: Steroids are in baseball -- and how. Mitchell sounds very sure of his investigation, somber, confident, unshakable, really. He's proposing changes to the way Major League Baseball now deals with performance-enhancing drugs.

That will have its place, but for now, for fans of the game, it's a matter of absorbing the charges of which star players now stand accuse of using steroids to excel at the nation's pastime. Roger Clemens, Miguel Tejada and Andy Pettitte are among the big stars Mitchell names. And so, no surprise, is Barry Bonds.

Mitchell addressed the issue of naming alleged steroid users. He said he considered the question of whether to include the names of particular baseball players very carefully. "I concluded that it's appropriate and necessary to include them in this report," he said. "Otherwise, I would not have done what I was asked to do."

For now, here's the report.

Bonus:

An Olympian's view of steroids

Full coverage from NPR

Laura Conaway

2:09 PM ET | 12-13-2007 | permalink | e-mail post

The Stanford-Cal Game

Filed under: Sports

Twenty-five years later, Day to Day tracks the lives of key players.

Laura Conaway

12:07 PM ET | 11-22-2007 | permalink | e-mail post

The Big Deal: Johan Santana (Not Bach)

Filed under: Sports

Johan Santana brings the heat at the 2007 All-Star Game.

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

 

As promised, BPP sports analyst Bill Wolff continues this morning's conversation with details about the left-handed Venezuelan pitcher with the amazing name, Johan Santana:

Johan Santana is a left-handed pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, and he is EXCELLENT -- a genuine star in his prime. He's in his late 20s (27), so he appears to have plenty of effective seasons ahead of him. He is entering the last -- or "walk" -- year of his contract, and the Twins are unlikely to have enough money to re-sign him to a long-term, big-money deal. Therefore, it is believed that the Twins are open to the possibility of trading Santana. The big rumor in the last few days is that the Yankees are bidding for his services by packaging a group of players to trade to Minnesota. The big deal is simply that a player as good and as young as Santana is rarely available, either through trade or free agency. His acquisition would instantly make nearly any team a viable contender.

--Bill Wolff

Alison Stewart

10:03 AM ET | 11-12-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Sports Photography at Its Finest

Filed under: Sports

Check out this awesome pic (and awesome pick) from last night's Colts-Chargers game.

Dan Pashman

5:25 AM ET | 11-12-2007 | permalink | e-mail post

Open Thread: Itching to Run a Marathon?

Filed under: Sound Off, Sports

Martin Lel and Paula Radcliffe: Could be you. Maybe.

Mike Stobe/Getty Images

On today's show, former Boston marathon champ Amby Burfoot mourned the loss of runner Ryan Shay and celebrated the victory of Shay's friend, Ryan Hall, in Saturday's Olympic marathon trial for the men's team in New York. The next day, Martin Lel and Paula Radcliffe won hotly contested races in the city's IMG marathon.

The day after the big race, running shops typically mark down the prices on shoes and other gear -- ready to catch the wave of people who find themselves suddenly inspired to run. If you're starting from zero, Amby says, your initial training should consist of walking, walking and more walking.

Itching to try the marathon?

Laura Conaway

7:46 AM ET | 11- 5-2007 | permalink | comments (5) | e-mail post

Runner Dies at Olympic Marathon Trial

Filed under: News, Sports

A runner in today's U.S. Olympic marathon trial has died. Ryan Shay, 28, collapsed in respiratory distress about 5.5 miles into the course, in New York City. Shay fell not far from the Central Park Boathouse.

This week on the BPP, we ran a segment about deaths in marathon races. A cardiac specialist and runner talked to us about the toll a marathon takes on the body and how many people who aren't ready are attempting the 26.2 mile feat. Statistics predict that eight people will die this year in a U.S. marathon, many of them because they weren't fit enough for the race. Two people died in the extreme heat of October's Chicago marathon.

The situation here is altogether different. Ryan Shay was an elite runner, presumably in supreme physical condition, who collapsed not even six miles into the course. For a runner like Ryan Shay, six miles should be a cup of coffee.

The weather in the city today is gray and chilly but not cold, with a swirling wind from the remnants of Tropical Storm Noel. New York is proud, as are so many cities, of its running tradition. The city's marathon is scheduled for tomorrow, and Midtown Manhattan is now filling with runners carrying marathon kits and police officers setting up barricades.

Losing an elite athlete like Ryan Shay, who came here to do his very best, hurts.

Laura Conaway

1:41 PM ET | 11- 3-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Are Too Many People Trying to Run Marathons?

Filed under: Sound Off, Sports

Two people died in this year's Chicago marathon?

Getty Images

We were standing at about mile 25, I think, somewhere along the leafy, green road that circles New York's Central Park. The crowd for the New York City marathon gasped, literally gasped, when this one poor guy trudged by.

His inner thighs were so chafed, you'd have thought they were painted red. It looked like he'd been gone over with sand paper or maybe cheese grater. But he looked otherwise in fine physical shape, a healthy specimen making his way methodically to the finish line. I'll bet he couldn't wear jeans for months.

Not long after, a middle-aged guy in a Mexico jersey puttered over to the rail, where his young nieces were calling to him and cheering him on. He stopped and chatted, not winded in the least, letting dozens and dozens of people finish ahead of him. And then he jogged on. I remember thinking that if I ever ran the race, I wanted to be that guy--comfortable, comfortable with my performance, loving it.

Statistics predict that eight people will die while running marathons in the United States this year. With the NYC marathon on Sunday, a cardiac specialist and marathon runner talks to us today about the race's toll on the body and whether too many people who aren't ready to run it are attempting the feat, anyway.

Laura Conaway

11:53 AM ET | 11- 2-2007 | permalink | comments (11) | e-mail post

Least Wonderful Football Play Ever

Filed under: Sports

I finally heard my alma mater mentioned on NPR, and it was because my Millsaps Majors had been on the losing end of a 15-lateral touchdown by the Trinity Tigers. We'll get you next time.

Laura Conaway

7:05 AM ET | 10-31-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

World Series Win Helps, Hurts Red Sox Fans

Filed under: Sports

Stray bits from the aftermath of the Boston Red Sox sweep in the World series:

A furniture company that promised fans their spring purchases would be free if the Red Sox won in the fall will have to make good. (with thanks)

And Boston Mayor Thomas Menino hurt his knee while trying to show off the trophy. Must be an awfully heavy piece of hardware.

Laura Conaway

1:48 PM ET | 10-30-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Red Sox! Patriots! New England Now Boss of Us All

Filed under: Sports

Red Sox, Red Sox, Red Sox, Red Sox

Getty Images

Bill Wolff, our very own Monday morning quarterback, once crawled all over the Boston Red Sox, saying that no one feels good when the big, bad boys from Beantown win.

This morning, Wolff took note of the Red Sox winning the World Series over the Colorado Rockies in four straight, and also of the New England Patriots whupping up on the whole darned world.

We are so moving to New England. For the summer.

Laura Conaway

8:39 AM ET | 10-29-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

World Series, Game 2: Momentum Means Nothing

Filed under: Sports

The Red Sox had plenty to feel good about after whumping the Rockies in the first game.

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

Special from Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus:

The 1996 Atlanta Braves. The 1982 Milwaukee Brewers. The 1959 Chicago White Sox. What do these teams have in common? They won a blowout in the first game of the World Series, beating their opponent by at least 10 runs. Before last night, in fact, when the Boston Red Sox defeated the Colorado Rockies 13-1 -- their 12-run margin is the largest ever in Game One -- these were the only three teams in history to win the first game of the World Series by a double-digit margin.

What else do these teams have in common? In spite of having a victory in hand, they all lost the World Series. The Braves shut out the Yankees in Game Two, and took the series back to Atlanta ahead two games to nil -- then proceed to drop four straight to give the Joe Torre the first of his four titles. The Brewers, who had also won Game One on the road, lost in seven games in a see-saw battle with the St. Louis Cardinals. And the White Sox would be upended by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Continue reading "World Series, Game 2: Momentum Means Nothing" »

Laura Conaway

2:58 PM ET | 10-25-2007 | permalink | e-mail post