This has to be a record setter. Small college, two seconds left, one shot for the touchdown to take the game. What follows is pure insanity and one of the most unbelievable plays this sport will ever see.

Yes, there were some other guys too, but Brent Barry can proudly display a second championship ring as the Spurs have swept the Cavs. It's only fair that the best player in the league receive this recognition. Yes, I said that.

Matthew T. Sussman, esteemed Sports Editor at BC Magazine, and once fellow newsy at The BG News, has one of the best avatars I have ever seen. Although it is not "best" because of what it is; I mean, lets face it, who wants to see a noose around your college's mascot - but it is the truth.

At one point in time, he had a brown bag over its head too, which was also quite fitting, as we got pummeled by Kent State 38-3 back on Sept. 23.

The world mourns for the BGSU Falcon football team. There are certain things that do not happen, and one of them is that BGSU does not lose to Kent State.

If BGSU football had one game in which they had to prove something this season, it was this week's game with Kent State.

Unfortunately they proved very little. A 38-3 loss to the Golden Flashes has the Falcons reeling and searching for answers with little time to find them.

The chants of "no punt" rang throughout the bleachers at Doyt L. Perry Stadium as the BG special teams unit had another rough week of football.

The Falcons prevailed 48-40 in the end. The offense and defense both played well, but they had to pick up the slack from some faulty special teams play. No one pointed fingers though.

Also check out the slide show at the bottom of the article. That is also one of the new features on bgnews.com. That is a really nice and easy to use Flash app.

Dad sent me this, a funny Flash video of a commercial used to promote watching the Pro Tour on your cell phone.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A man got a prison term longer than prosecutors and defense attorneys had agreed to -- all because of Larry Bird.

He would have been better off to be a fan of Magic.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - (KRT) - Crew members on two chartered boats told authorities Wednesday they saw Minnesota Vikings players take part in a wild sex party on Lake Minnetonka, detailing allegations that have rocked a team reeling both on and off the field.

Man, why didn't the writers of Playmakers come up with this one? Seriously folks, here goes the No Fun league at its best. Those guys in the NFL can't have any fun now. Really.

This goes beyond the NFL and their "clean" image though. It speaks loudly about how our society in the US still sees sex as taboo and wrong. Barring any criminal charges that may come out of this, such as indecent exposure, prostitution or rape, what is wrong with sex? Lets take a look at what these men are doing all week. They are hold up in a football stadium. And we all know that professional athletes are not angels.

Sidney Crosby's debut was so-so, Wayne Gretzky started his new career with a loss and the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrated winning the Stanley Cup remember the Stanley Cup? on opening night for the new-look NHL.

Hockey is back! Who cares!

Lets hope The Great One is a better coach then Jordan. Time will tell.

Qualifying for the World Cup is done.

The United States is headed to next year's soccer championship in Germany after beating Mexico 2-0 last night thanks to goals by Steve Ralston and DaMarcus Beasley five minutes apart in the second half.

I love that Nike commercial running right now that starts out something like "OK, lets talk about soccer for two seconds because that's two seconds more then it deserves..."

It's a shame how the US has never embraced soccer as a major sport on the same level of football, basketball and baseball. Especially as USA Soccer has been competing well in the world arena, something the NFL, NBA, and MLB don't do.

It was a great game, though I am sure you missed it. It was on ESPN 2 which I was happy to see. Sure was choppy. The US and Mexico like to get physical. Great to se USA qualify for the World Cup first of the Americas for the first time since 1934.

With eight new starters on defense, the Badgers had a tough time slowing Bowling Green's prolific passer, junior Omar Jacobs, who picked up right where he left off last year (4,002 yards passing with 41 touchdowns and just four interceptions) by racking up 305 yards passing and four touchdowns in the first half.

We all knew it was going to be a high scoring game. And most figured BG would lose. It was looking pretty good with a 35-35 tie at halftime though. For the past few years BG has had these huge games for the opener. I have no idea why. Who do we play next year, USC?

In other college football, it was nice to see Urban Meyer, Charlie Weis and Steve Spurrier win, especially with all the other upsets. Ah Urban Meyer, the Larry Brown of college football. Where would BGSU be today if Meyer would have stuck around...

I'm waiting. I know it's only a matter of time. It will be the story that rocks the sports world down to its very foundation. A French newspaper will come out with a front-page story to taint the other major accomplishment in Lance Armstrong's career. They will prove that Armstrong never really had cancer. All that Livestrong talk -- nonsense, the belief that you can conquer a sport after being given a virtual death sentence -- lies.

That's just great writing, and the best I have seen on this latest Armstrong fiasco. This is truly sad, there is no way possible for Lance to clear his name. His accomplishments will always be tainted. He will always have a stigma. It doesn't matter if he did dope or not.

Do you think he doped? I don't.

BOSTON (AP) -- The Rolling Stones left the Boston Red Sox in need of some serious grass.

I just have to laugh at these type of stories. No kidding they are going to kill the grass! I remember a Jimmy Buffet show at Jacobs Field that left the outfield dead.

I don't know if it is the stage, the beer, or the people, but I am sure its the combination of the three that kills the grass.

NEW YORK (AP) The NCAA owns college basketball's postseason. Really.

The organization that made March mad with the 65-team national championship tournament, purchased the rights to the preseason and postseason National Invitation Tournaments as part of a settlement that ends a four-year legal fight between the two parties.

That's five New York City colleges that get 56.5M each.

This one is hard to watch. Link to the video is on the right side.

The NCAA announced today that mascots making Native American or Indian references will not be tolerated in postseason play. Schools will be asked to cover up any logo on uniforms or clothing that suggests such references.

One one level I agree with this. But as far as I know, the FSU Seminoles have the permissions from the Seminole Nation to use their name and the Indian mascot. So I do not think this sanctions by the NCAA should affect FSU.

Dan Nied never wanted to love hockey or the NHL. But he could never help it. That is what makes it so risky to welcome its return.

Continue reading "The pains of love for the NHL."

PARIS -- One last time, "The Star-Spangled Banner" rang out over the Champs-Elysees in honor of Lance Armstrong.

One last time, on the podium against the backdrop of the Arc de Triomphe, the cancer survivor who became the greatest cyclist in Tour de France history slipped into the leader's yellow jersey Sunday. This time, it was the winner's jersey, for an unprecedented seventh consecutive year in the world's most grueling race.

I guess this was the first time they allowed anyone a speech. OLN has a bunch of video on their site. I had no doubt in my mind that Lance would win, again.

To be "retired" at 34, it must be nice. It sounds like he will become the voice for the Discovery family of stations. I didn't expect that.

I hope he is truly retired from the sport as well. He has gone out on top. I don't want to see him "unretire" for one final ride. Please Lance, don't pull a Jordan on us.

When the NHL starts back up, it will look a little different than the game fans were used to seeing.

The NHL's board of governors approved a series of rule changes that will emphasize entertainment, skill and competition on the ice.

Um. Yea. Hockey is back. Yea. I am so exited. I can't wait.

WIll these rule changes help?

To be honest, I have not missed the hockey highlights on SportsCenter.

Former Bowling Green State University student-athlete Jordan Sigalet (Surrey, B.C.) will featured this Sunday, July 19 at the 2005 ESPY Awards Show as a nominee for "Best Comeback Athlete." The broadcast is scheduled for 9 p.m. (EST) on ESPN.

If you don't know who Jordan Sigalet is, you should google him.

While Kenny Rogers berated a cameraman for doing his job, he just illustrated the strained relationship between media and athlete, says Dan Nied.

Somewhere in the cesspool of multiple sports television stations, thousands of sports websites and hundreds of major metro daily newspapers, the relationship between media and professional athlete has been breached, dulled, grayed and severed.

Continue reading "Going, going, gone"

Yes, you're spoiled. No, we're not jealous. We're pissed because you think you're not spoiled. Really, we feel terrible for you that your $7 million paycheck is on hold. I'm sure the $70 million in your bank account is tough to live with. Idiot.

The San Antonio Spurs are the 2005 NBA Champions.

To quote Bill Walton:

"The Spurs would not have won this series if it wasn't for Brent Barry..." He may have mentioned Duncan and Horry, but Brent has his ring and that's all that matters.

With two such evenly-matched teams playing at such a high-level, anything but an all-or-nothing Game 7 would have been profoundly disappointing.

And you all thought that Detroit would crumble in Game 6. Too bad. Unfortunately this did not become a series until Game 5, as the first four games were huge blow outs, but Games 5 and 6 have been really great basketball. With the first Game 7 in NBA Finals history in 11 years, this is sure to be an electric final game between two very physical teams.

I just have two words to say:

Go Pistons!

If you know me at all (and chances are you don't), you would know that I'm not a San Antonio Spurs fan. I am and always will be a Bulls fanatic. However, they don't have Brent Barry. Now, Brent Barry, for whatever reason, is some sort of obsession to me. I saw him play one game at Oregon State, make an absolutely insane pass, and that was it. It was all too reminiscent of Pete Maravich, my all time favorite player.

NEW YORK – "Monday Night Football," a television institution that over 35 years has helped transform the NFL into a prime-time ratings draw, is leaving ABC and moving to ESPN beginning with the 2006 season.

The new broadcast deal also brings the NFL to NBC for the first time in six years. The network gets the Sunday night package – which the league now considers its marquee television showcase – and will employ a flexible scheduling model.

Um... OK. So you now need basic cable to get Monday Night Football (starting next season). That makes a lot of sense. Yea. It sounds like your local station will still show in-market games. If you live in Ohio and love the Raiders, well, you are out of luck. Unless of course you pay for basic cable and get ESPN. I don't think the move makes sense, but I don't work for Disney.

Pro wrestling fans only get one event like this a year. Well, actually they get one a month from the WWE, just none with the grandeur that Wrestlemania carries with it. This is the 21st year for wrestling's Super Bowl. It was a solid event, helped along by a few great bouts, but some disappointments and lackluster finishes put a damper on everything.

With a bizarre cast of characters and a lack of answers, Congress's hearings into steroids in baseball hurt the sport, but there's no one to blame but themselves.

Continue reading "Bad day for baseball"

The man who warmed fans' hearts and had a record-breaking season in 1998 forgot the key rule in screwing up in America when he testified Thursday.

Continue reading "McGwire reveals feet of clay"

Tilt has been a good series, it has kept me interested each week. The acting has not been too over the top. The amount of cameos has been unreal. It sure helps to sell the series to have real poker players like David Williams, Daniel Negreanu, and Phil Hellmuth. Throw in the humor of Norman Chad, and that faux telecast look, and Tilt has some lofty production values. Michael Madsen is always a solid actor, and plays yet another great antagonist. Good acting all around, really.

CLEVELAND - Mountain? Climbed. Demons? Exorcised.

Championship? Won.

Bowling Green State University claimed its first Mid-American Conference women's basketball tournament title since 1994 with a thrilling 81-75 victory over Kent State at Gund Arena yesterday.

I could not believe they won Friday. Now they get to go to the NCAA tourny. Good job Lady Falcons! Now I just hope they make it past their first game.

Chances are if you work anywhere that sells TV's, you've been busy for the past few weeks with the Super Bowl being such a huge selling point. Fox did a fine job presenting the game in Hi-Def to all those who bought new sets and to those who have one for a while. Toss in Dolby 5.1 support and it seems like Fox lives up to their claims of being the worlds best standard, but misfires were noticeable.

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) -- Some of the most interesting shots of next Sunday's big Super Bowl game could come from a small camera.

A very small camera.

Fox Sports has planted so-called Turf Cams around Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida -- including four on the field where the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles will play Super Bowl XXXIX. Eight more of the Turf Cams aren't in the turf at all -- they'll be mounted at the end zones.

No breast shots please.

Is it just me or has the real game on TV started to look more like a video game then the video games themselves? Why is it that the TV broadcasts have to mimic what the video games like the Sega/Visual Concepts 2K series. I liked my football games without all the wild 3D motion graphics and without the SkyCam (I just love it when you see that SkyCam zipping accross the fields right above the players, the camera man cannot get the damn thing out of the picture). Give me a few camera angles of the field, the blimp shot, nice looking stat overlays on the screen, a camera on the end zone so I can see Randy Moss moon the crowd, and we'll call it a football game.

No one understands 'simple' anymore.

But really folks: let video games be video games and let TV broadcasts be TV broadcasts.

Remember that "Diamond Cam" or whatever the heck they called it during the World Series. It was right in front Home Plate in the dirt. Those shots sure looked great, and added so much more to the telecast, let me tell ya'.

BG's goalie, Jordan Sigalet, is up for the Hobey Baker award. This is the highest award in NCAA hockey. Jordan is playing his senior season despite being diagnosed with MS. Vote for him here, (you can vote every day). It is a quick sign up, and then you can just login every day. The initial sign up was filling out a form and regurgitating a unique number. Be sure and check the site out. Vote early, vote often!

Talking about masked men, Lebron James just became the youngest to score a triple-double (MSNBC). And people thought he would not get used to the mask. I would say he has gotten used to that piece of plastic in short order. Now would Cleveland please stop using those hideous old school uniforms?

I sure hope the National Gambling Association doesn't get their panties in a bunch about ESPN showing the seedy underbelly of cheats in the poker world. We shall see.

I would have much rather sat down to season 2 of Playmakers last night, but Tilt will have to do.

I enjoyed the premiere. As predicted it has great production values. The cameos were great, Norman Chad adds that bit of fake realism too. I will admit that this first episode was a little hard to follow. I ended up watching it twice. The second time I watched it was the time I figured everything out that was happening. But this was no doubt the pilot, and they had something to prove.

All in all I think this will be a great series, putting ESPN that much closer to becoming the MTV of the sports world.

If you want a comprehensive review, there is a good SI article. Now the really funny thing here is that I googled a Tilt review after I wrote this, Scouts Honor (our views are similar).

BGSU accepted an invitation today to play Memphis in the GMAC Bowl Dec. 22 in Mobile, Ala. Kickoff will be at 8 p.m. at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Murray Cape, chairman of the bowl’s selection committee, formally extended the invitation at a press conference in Mileti Alumni Center this afternoon.

The bowl bid, the seventh in BGSU football history, “really says a lot, not only for Bowling Green, but for the Mid-American Conference,” said Head Coach Gregg Brandon, adding that the Falcons are the first MAC team to receive an invitation this bowl season.

The teams will take matching 8-3 records into the game, which will be televised on ESPN. Memphis finished second in Conference USA behind Louisville.

Tickets are $45 and may be purchased at the athletic ticket office, by phone at 2-2762 or online at bgsufalcons.com. BGSU students may purchase tickets for $15 (limit of two) at the ticket office in Memorial Hall.

TOLEDO, Ohio - Bruce Gradkowski threw for 338 yards and directed six second-half touchdown drives in Toledo's 49-41 victory Tuesday night over Bowling Green, putting the Rockets in the Mid-American Conference title game.

Well that was a high scoring shootout at the Glass Bowl! BG was up early but Toledo is very good at coming from behind and winning the game. The Rockets did beat NIU this year, and now they are moving on to play Miami (of Ohio) for the MAC title. I am not sure who to cheer for in that game!

:sad:

The culmination of another successful season comes to a close tonight for the Falcon football team, as long as they can beat rival Toledo

The Falcons are playing right now and are up 17-7 and I can finally again post to my blog. The game is on ESPN2 if you want to watch BGSU crush Toledo.

Go Falcons!

Never mind all the apologies and acts of contrition you will hear over the next few days in the wake of Friday's Pacers-Pistons riot. They'll all be lies, every one of them.

The fact is, every person involved in the horrendous brawl at The Palace at Auburn Hills is secretly proud of himself for not taking any stuff – from Ron Artest clocking the one fan in a Pistons jersey, to the louts who drenched Jermaine O'Neal on his way off the floor with every liquid item from the concession stands.

All I can say is "wow." This is not the NHL people, its the NBA. I still have not heard what "suspended indefinitely" means, but I imagine it will be for a while.

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) - Omar Jacobs passed for 389 yards and five touchdowns and P.J. Pope added 117 yards rushing and two scores to lead Bowling Green to a 56-35 win over Marshall on Saturday.

Go Falcons! I honestly didn't think they could beat Marshal. But heck, I have been wrong before. Next week it is Toledo, which is another strong opponent as they just beat NIU. The Falcons got beat by NIU earlier this year.

Omar Jacobs leads the nation with 32 touchdown passes. Thats pretty impressive for a MAC team. It is great to hear the ESPN commentators raving about the MAC these last two years.

Also See: Photo Gallery of the Marshall game

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- So much for a perfect week in New England sports, the Patriots' chances for a perfect season and the longest winning streaks in NFL history.

Ben Roethlisberger, a rookie quarterback who seemingly doesn't know how to lose, drove the Steelers to four scores following uncharacteristic New England turnovers and Pittsburgh ended the Patriots' two long winning streaks with a remarkably easy 34-20 victory Sunday.

Being a Falcon fan I hate to say this, but Roethlisberger has done amazing in his rookie year in Pittsburgh. He sure beat the crap out of the MAC when he was running the Miami (of Ohio) offense.

I never though that the Steelers were going to kill the Patriots streak, but these types of things never end the way you think they will. I mean, who thought the Cards would lay an egg in the World Series this year.

So congrats to Big Ben, yet another QB from the MAC taking the NFL by storm. By the way, what happened to Josh Harris? He is listed as inactive.

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) - Bowling Green scored on five of its first six possessions, with Omar Jacobs passing for three touchdowns and running for another, to beat Ball State 51-13 on Saturday night.

Source: BGSU Falcons.com

I hear people were leaving by half time. I could not make it as I was in Toledo working. But hey, working pays more then going to a football game.

You can't ask for a better homecoming game. BG is really on a roll. Maybe the GMAC and not the Motor City Bowl this year? Next is Ohio University in Athens.

Bowling Green's game plan against Central Michigan was simple -- throw the football.

Quarterback Omar Jacobs did just that for BGSU, throwing for 387 yards and four touchdowns in the Falcons 38-14 win Saturday.

Source: Central Michigan Life

Sorry Greg but BG beat the snot out of CM! I thought the least I could do is link to your site's article. Bowling Green is on a roll now. The 70-16 Temple game last week was a joke! Next week is our Homecoming and we host Ball State. Go Falcons!

$87,400 is what Sammy Sosa is being fined for leaving the season finale early, that also happens to be what he makes per game. Must be nice.

Source: MSNBC

Tonight I watched from 8-9 the World Series of Poker (WSOP) what I thought was going to be a 2 hr. special but at 9 they re-ran the 8 PM show. If you look at the schedule, tonight was supposed to be the finale. On the 11 PM SportsCenter they interviewed the winner, Greg "Fossilman" Raymer. How anticlimactic is that? I know you could go to the web site and find out if you wanted to, WSOP has been over since May, but for those of us who were watching the series on ESPN, we got short changed.

Minor details, I know. But still.

BTW, did you notice that 3rd place this year won as much as 1st won last year? Hell I would have gone for 57th place in this year's WSOP ($35,000).

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) -- A messy legal dispute has developed between a former newspaper carrier and Chicago Cubs owner, the Tribune Co., which mistakenly put $301,000 of a former pro baseball player's salary into the carrier's bank account last year.

Source: SI.com

CHARLOTTE, NC - With the first overall selection in today’s  2004 MLS SuperDraft  held at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, D.C. United obtained 14-year-old phenom  Freddy Adu . Adu will join the Black-and-Red in Bradenton, FL on February 9th as a part of the club’s preseason training schedule and will be available for selection in  United’s season opener , April 3, 2004 at  RFK Stadium . Kick-off for the match is set for 4:00 p.m. ET.

"I’m in awe of everything that has happened to me," said Adu. "Since I moved to this country, I’ve been a huge fan of D.C. United. That’s why I’m so excited to be a part of this organization and hope that I can help lead this team back to its winning ways."

Josh Harris and Cole Magner set Motor City Bowl records for completions and receptions, respectively. Northwestern took away Bowling Green's running game. So Josh Harris beat the Wildcats through the air. Harris passed for 386 yards and three touchdowns to lead Bowling Green to a 28-24 victory over Northwestern in the Motor City Bowl on Friday night.

According to the award's press release, the finalists are picked by a "select committee of football experts from across the United States." That committee couldn't pick itself out of a mirror.

"The MAC has been kicking butt the last few weeks," Lion said. "We actually wanted to go to a MAC game for awhile now and with Northern Illinois and Bowling Green doing very well this year ... This was probably going to be the only opportunity for us to actually come to a MAC game. It was always kind of high on our radar screens and when all the pieces of the puzzle kind of fit into place with other teams losing and making those matchups less appealing. So it was like, 'yeah let's pull the trigger and come to Bowling Green.'"