Video: Steve McNair Killed [J. Mark English]

More from Judy Battista and Chris Hine of the New York Times:

Steve McNair, the former N.F.L. quarterback who shared the league’s Most Valuable Player award in 2003, was found dead Saturday with a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Nashville police.

McNair, 36, and an unidentified woman were found dead with gunshot wounds Saturday afternoon inside a condominium in downtown Nashville, the police said. The Associated Press quoted a police spokesman saying that the woman was not McNair’s wife, Mechelle. The police also said they had tentatively identified the dead woman but were not releasing her name.

McNair played for the Tennessee Titans for 11 years, taking them within inches of overtime against the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl after the 1999 season. He retired before the 2008 season after playing for two years in Baltimore. In his 13-year career, he established himself as one of the best quarterbacks of his era and earned the nickname Air McNair.

“The N.F.L. has lost a brother, and I believe black quarterbacks have lost a pioneer,” said Jets linebacker Bart Scott, who played with McNair in Baltimore.

The Houston Oilers, who later moved to Tennessee, drafted McNair with the third overall pick in 1995 out of Alcorn State, a historically black college where McNair first displayed his dazzling ability to scramble or throw — and a toughness that pushed him to play through numerous injuries. Other players marveled at his grittiness, and in 1999, he returned from early-season back surgery to take the Titans to the Super Bowl.

The greatest stretch of his career may have occurred in the 2002 season, when McNair had so many injuries that he could not practice for two months. He led the Titans to five straight victories to finish the regular season before they lost in the American Football Conference championship game.

Just a Few More Videos: Baseball Heroes of World War II [J. Mark English]

This is to honor America, its pastime, and the heroes who entertained us on the field, as well as served our country (Part One is on the left, Part Two is on the right):

Yet Another Video: CFL Player Honors Michael Jackson [J. Mark English]

Video: Old Timin' Baseball [J. Mark English]

Video: Celebrating the Fourth of July [J. Mark English]

In the days following the attacks of September 11, 2001, Joe Buck, read this poem before the crowd in St. Louis prior to the Cardinals game. It captures the spirit of our country, especially in the face of adversity. To paraphrase a campaign phrase from this past summer, 'we never surrender, we never fail, we fight!'.

12 YEARS???? [J. Mark English]

According to the Detroit Free Press: Marian Hossa has signed a deal to join the Blackhawks for the remainder of his career, using the start of today's free agency to sign a 12-year contract with Detroit's top Central Division rival.

12 YEARS???? Are you kidding me?? That is insane! Does anyone really think he'll still be playing 12 years from now when he is 42?

Tiger Woods is Plenty Active & Charitable [J. Mark English]

The other night on the HBO sports news magazine, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, I caught a glimpse of his interview with Jim Brown and Bill Russell. Both players, fantastic in their day, were also vocally active in regards to the issue of race in the 1960's. They used their popularity as ball players to help advance civil right causes.

Today, Jim Brown acts disgruntled that current stars do not take the same opportunity to stand up against social injustice. In particular, he singles out Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan.

Just google "Michael Jordan" and "charity" and you will find countless acts of decency by way of charity contributions from Michael Jordan. He spreads his money wide and far. What more would Jim Brown have him do in an age where a person of color is the President of the United States?

Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post, defends Tiger Woods in an article he wrote today:

Tiger Woods may not want to be defended on this issue; he certainly didn't ask to be defended. But he's going to be, in this space anyway, because Jim Brown's recent comments to HBO that Tiger's social contributions are inadequate are way off base, even inaccurate. Just because Brown perhaps isn't aware of the depth and range of Tiger's contributions, or that they differ from his own social agenda doesn't mean Tiger is lacking a social conscience -- because he isn't. Don't get me wrong, I've admired Brown's activism my entire adult life. One of the unforgettable experiences of my life came during the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, when Brown, through his determination, concern and sheer force of personality, persuaded gang members from the rival Crips and Bloods to call a truce to the violence and talk out their differences at Brown's Hollywood home.....

....Totally misguided, Brown said to Bryant Gumbel recently that Tiger is "A monster competitor . . . he is a killer. He'll run you over, he'll kick your [butt], but as an individual for social change, or any of that kind of [stuff] . . . Terrible. Terrible. Because he can get away with teaching kids to play golf and that's his contribution."

....The Tiger Woods Foundation doesn't teach golf. Maybe Brown presumed it does because the Learning Center is attached to the course where Woods grew up playing as a kid....

....But it's not a golf academy. Brown should check out the list of courses kids can take there, such as engineering, robotics and marine biology.

A kid with a totally different orientation can get into animation and graphic art. There's an editing suite, a music studio, a computer lab for children who otherwise don't have access. It is technology based, also career and college based. The scope and effectiveness of this learning center ought to be praised, not wrongly dismissed as "teaching kids to play golf." And the learning center is just one part of Tiger's efforts.

When Earl Woods, Tiger's father, died a few years ago folks who wanted to do something were discouraged from, say, sending flowers and encouraged to make contributions to the Earl Woods Scholars program, so they did -- to the tune of $1 million. Tiger matched that with his own contribution of $1 million. The program has produced 25 scholars, 10 of them from the D.C. area, where Tiger is looking to expand his program. The foundation funds those students for up to four years. All 25 have mentors and internships guaranteed. They attend Georgetown, Florida A&M, Spelman, Penn State, UDC, Marymount, the University of Arizona, the University of Idaho.

Jim Brown might want to know they're not on golf scholarship.

The learning center in California, which opened in 2006, has had between 20,000 and 25,000 kids come through the doors. There are partnerships with schools that have come to depend greatly on the supplemental help the learning center provides. The one Tiger is trying to build here in D.C. can't arrive quickly enough.

Tiger Woods is too sophisticated a man to get into a public back-and-forth with the great Jim Brown. And beyond saying, "I think we've made our impact," Tiger doesn't attempt to specifically defend himself against the criticisms leveled by Brown and others. But I will....

But don't then demean the efforts and the results of a man who is answering the call already, in his mid-30s as Tiger Woods is. Brown should also remember, Tiger plays golf but he didn't grow up some kid who didn't understand the need for a conscience. As Tiger related to Charles Barkley and me for Barkley's book, "Who's Afraid of a Large Black Man?" in 2004, he became aware of his own racial identity on the very first day of school, kindergarten, when a bunch of white sixth-graders tied him to a tree, spray-painted the n-word on him and threw rocks at him when he was the only little brown child in Cypress, Calif. And his dad encountered a whole lot worse.

Just as important, Brown has to realize that the expression of social consciousness isn't a matter of people singing the same song. Jim Brown took on the Crips and Bloods, and a lot of other demons. Tiger Woods attacks the problem as he sees fit, through education, which has always been at the root of Brown's preaching anyway. And because men such as Brown and Earl Woods fought the toughest, bloodiest battles for decades, Tiger's approach to activism ought to be different.

Plowing the exact same ground would suggest Brown and Earl Woods made no progress, which we know isn't the case. We move on, probe for the newest ways to attack the old problems and new ones, too, using the most advanced methods we can find. People need to know that Tiger Woods's presence here in the D.C. area isn't only about golf. The moment Tiger announced he was hosting a tournament, the AT&T National, at Congressional Country Club , I suspected I knew why he wanted it here, specifically.

The Sports Writers Fix [J. Mark English]

Surfing the web today, and these are just some of the topics the beat-writers are talking about:

• Damien Cox of TheStar.com covers Wimbledon: To be fair, after all the excitement and terrific tennis delivered the day before, including a virtuoso and historic triumph by local hero Andy Murray under the new Wimbledon roof, it would have been nearly impossible for yesterday's competition to keep pace....More than 12 million British television viewers tuned into the Murray match, which pushed the 10 o'clock news on the BBC back 40 minutes. To some degree then, yesterday felt like a day of rest....As it was, you could still scoop up a fabulous Court One seat yesterday about an hour before the match between five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams and Poland's Agnieska Radwanska commenced, while even Centre Court had a few hundred empty seats as temperatures in excess of 30 C made for a broiler of a day....Both Venus and her sister, Serena, delivered devastating performances en route to easy quarter-final wins, suggesting at least one of the remarkable Williams women will be in the final for the ninth time in the past 10 years.

• Marc Berman of the New York Post details Stephon Marbury's warning to players tempted to sign with the New York Knicks: Stephon Marbury, who becomes a free agent again today, believes star players should be cautious about signing with the Knicks because of Mike D'Antoni's offensive scheme and the way the organization treats people...."I wouldn't want to play in that system,'' Marbury told The Post. "That system can't win championships. You can't win championships if you don't talk about defense. In Boston, the coaches even play defense.''

• Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press talks about Joe Dumars and the busy off season for the Detroit Pistons: Things change. Sometimes this is true in a slow way and sometimes true in a fast way, and right now in Pistons Land it's true in an avalanche way, and Michael Curry just got buried underneath it...."The fact is, we're going through this transition right now," Joe Dumars told me Tuesday afternoon, shortly after letting his coach go, "and I think it's imperative we have someone who has more experience to help guide us through."...Curry was not that guy....He was not that guy when hired last year....But last year pieces weren't moving on the Pistons' board faster than the props on a "Saturday Night Live" set. By the time you read this, the franchise may have lassoed a high-priced free agent like Ben Gordon or Charlie Villanueva (or maybe both). It already has unofficially parted company with Rasheed Wallace and Allen Iverson and maybe Antonio McDyess. It drafted three forwards last week, all of whom are expected to make the team....In Dumars' eyes, that much change at the player level requires more experience at the coaching level. Curry didn't have it. And that was not just Dumars' view. There was grumbling around the Pistons' locker room that Curry was not ready for Prime Time, and although the front office might have believed the 40-year-old former player eventually could get there, the luxury of time is gone....Things change.

• Patrick Stevens of the Washington Times says that Tiger Woods is ready to win his own event: Tiger Woods has won Arnold Palmer's tournament this year....And Jack Nicklaus'....Now it's a matter of winning his own....The top-ranked player in the world, who has finished in the top 10 in all seven stroke-play events he's entered this year, is eager to collect his first AT&T National title this week...."I always put as much as I can to win an event," Woods said Tuesday at Bethesda's Congressional Country Club. "Certainly, I love being a greedy host. It's fun winning your own event. It's awfully fun to do that and hopefully I can do that this week."...If it doesn't happen this week, it will not happen in the Washington area for a few more years....With the 2011 U.S. Open set for Congressional, the AT&T National will move to Aronimink Golf Club in the Philadelphia area for the next two years. The tournament will return to Congressional in 2012.

• Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times speaks of homophobia among sport fans: Although I saw a few fights break out in the stands at the Cell over the weekend, most of the back-and-forth between Sox and Cubs fans seemed to be of the trash-talking variety. Cubs suck, Sox suck -- you know, the usual elevated discourse on the relative merits of the two organizations....Numerous fans wore T-shirts proclaiming "F--- the Cubs" or "F--- the Sox." Others opted for the universal "Giving the finger" logo on their shirts....And then there was this (above). I saw this one quite often, on T-shirts, signs and bumper stickers: Homophobia lives on...Get it? Sox fans are winners, but Cubs fans are GAY. Ha ha ha ha ha ha....A company called Chi-City Tees is among the many online vendors offering variations on this theme. Their pitch for the $19.95 T-shirt says: "The hottest and truest T-shirt on the South Side. We all know the Cubs have their parade . . . gay . . . and the Sox had theirs . . . championship parade."....Look. I'm not going to pretend I'm Joe Sensitivity, or even Rich Sensitivity. I've been going to Sox games forever, and while I still cringe when I hear adults dropping f-bombs left and right in the presence of children, and while I'm not inclined to purchase a T-shirt with a giant cartoon hand giving Cubs fans the finger, whatever. This is the world we live in. (Although I have to admit I was taken aback by the female, twentysomething Cubs fan sitting behind me on Sunday. Wow could she swear. If she was in a Tarantino film, he'd be asking her to take it down a notch.)....I see this all the time in the chat boxes in the online poker tournaments. A player will lose a hand, and he'll call his opponent "gay" or a "homo." It's never intended as a compliment. Nobody says, "Wow, you're a great player. You must be gay!" It's always, "What a stupid bet, you gay douchebag."....As hundreds of thousands were declaring their gay pride or their support for gay pride at a parade last Sunday, there were myriad reminders at the Sox/Cubs game that for many, it's still considered an easy insult to call someone "gay."

Photo: Dinara Safina - The Next Tennis 'Hottie"? [J. Mark English]

33: Baseball's Not so Magical Number [J. Mark English]

For most people, your thirties are supposed to be the age when you are "thirty, flirty, and thriving". In baseball, the early part of this decade showed that the same was true on the diamond. Think of players like Barry Bonds who excelled well into their twilight ages.

However, 'normalcy' (decline) seems to have crept up on certain players whom have reached the age of 33. Bill James breaks this all down in a conversation with Joe Posnanski from Sports Illustrated:

Today's topic is actually an age -- 33 years old. Many years ago, Stan Musial set a baseball player's prime from age 28 to 32. And even though this isn't 100 percent true*, there is truth in it. For many good-to-great players, 33 is the age when they begin to grow old. Maybe the bat slows a touch. Maybe nagging injuries nag more. Maybe the legs lose a little bit of their spring. Maybe the shoulder aches when they try to throw home....

....This is true this year, just like it is true every year: Alex Rodriguez, of course, is 33 years old and he in struggling in many ways. David Ortiz is 33 years old and he is struggling in just about every way (though he has been coming on the last couple of weeks). Alfonso Soriano, Placido Polanco, Edgar Renteria and Eric Byrnes are all 33 years old and all are having difficult years for one reason or another. Lance Berkman's batting average is way down. Carlos Guillen has been hurt all year. And so on....

...Joe: Let's start with Royals outfielder Jose Guillen. I've spent much of this year watching him; Guillen has never been a GREAT player, but he has been a good player, in large part I think because of an unusually quick bat. In 2007 he hit .290/.353/.460. In 2008 he had a mostly lousy year, but he had about a five- or six-week stretch where he hit the ball about as hard as anyone I've ever seen -- he hit .390 and slugged .662 from May 7 through June 17, and many of his outs were smashes.

Well, he's 33 years old this year, and he seems in better shape, he seems more focused, he seems more determined than ever not to be a distraction for the team. But, again, he's 33. And you can see changes: His bat no longer seems as quick. This shows up in different ways ... he seems to be behind the fastball. He's seems to be taking more pitches. He seems to struggle against those third and fourth starters he once loved facing.

Bill: Historically, hitters' bats die at age 33 ... not always, of course, but there is quite significantly more loss in batting ability at age 33 than at any other age. Let me give you a few for-instances from history ... and obviously, I'm just hitting a few highlights; there are many others involving players with less recognizable names.

1) Hall of Famer Hack Wilson
1932, age 32: .297, 23 homers, 123 RBIs
1933, age 33: .267, 9 homers, 54 RBIs

2) Hall of Famer Al Simmons
1934, age 32: .344, 18 homers, 104 RBIs
1935, age 33: .267, 16 homers, 79 RBIs

3) Hall of Famer Heinie Manush
1934, age 32: .349, 11 homers, 89 RBIs
1935, age 33: .273, 4 homers, 56 RBIs

4) Hall of Famer Tony Lazzeri
1936, age 32: .287, 14 homers, 109 RBIs
1937, age 33: .244, 14 homers, 70 RBIs

5) Hall of Famer Bill Dickey
1939, age 32: .302, 24 homers, 105 RBIs
1940, age 33: .247, 9 homers, 54 RBIs

6) Walker Cooper
1947, age 32: .305, 35 homers, 122 RBIs
1948, age 33: .266, 16 homers, 54 RBIs

7) Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr
1950, age 32: .294, 27 homers, 120 RBIs
1951, age 33: .289, 13 homers, 73 RBIs

8) Gus Zernial
1955, age 32: .254, 30 homers, 84 RBIs
1956, age 33: .224, 16 homers, 44 RBIs

9) Del Ennis, perpetual 100-RBI guy
1956, age 32: .286, 24 homers, 105 RBIs
1957, age 33: .261, 3 homers, 47 RBIs

10) Hall of Famer, Duke Snider
1959, age 32: .308, 23 homers, 88 RBIs
1960, age 33: .243, 14 homers, 36 RBIs

11) Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle
1964, age 32: .303, 35 homers, 111 RBIs
1965, age 33: .255, 19 homers, 46 RBIs

12) Bill White, slugging first baseman, later National League president
1966, age 32: .276, 22 homers, 103 RBIs
1967, age 33: .250, 8 homers, 33 RBIs

13) Rocky Colavito
1966, age 32: .238, 30 homers, 72 RBIs
1967, age 33: .231, 8 homers, 50 RBIs

14) Hall of Famer Al Kaline
1967, age 32: .308, 25 homers, 78 RBIs
1968, age 33: .287, 10 homers, 53 RBIs

15) Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda
1970, age 32: .305, 34 homers, 111 RBIs
1971, age 33: .276, 14 homers, 44 RBIs

16) Hall of Famer Willie McCovey
1970, age 32: .289, 39 homers, 126 RBIs
1971, age 33: .277, 18 homers, 70 RBIs

17) Dick Allen
1974, age 32: .301, 32 homers, 88 RBIs
1975, age 33: .233, 12 homers, 62 RBIs

18) Hall of Famer George Brett
1985, age 32: .335, 30 homers, 112 RBIs
1986, age 33: .290, 16 homers, 73 RBIs

19) Hall of Famer Eddie Murray
1988, age 32: .284, 28 homers, 84 RBIs
1989, age 33: .247, 20 homers, 88 RBIs

20) Amos Otis
1979, age 32: .295, 18 homers, 90 RBIs
1980, age 33: .251, 10 homers, 53 RBIs

21) George Foster
1981, age 32: .295, 22 homers, 90 RBIs in a strike-shortened season of 108 games
1982, age 33: .247, 13 homers, 70 RBIs in a full season of 151 games

22) Andre Thornton
1982, age 32: .273, 32 homers, 116 RBIs
1983, age 33: .281, 17 homers, 77 RBIs

23) Greg Luzinski
1983, age 32: .255, 32 homers, 95 RBIs
1984, age 33: .238, 13 homers, 58 RBIs

24) Buddy Bell
1984, age 32: .315, 11 homers, 83 RBIs
1985, age 33: .229, 10 homers, 68 RBIs

25) Alan Trammell
1990, age 32: .308, 14 homers, 89 RBIs
1991, age 33: .248, 9 homers, 55 RBIs

Joe: This amazes me... you know from 1983 to 1990, Alan Trammell put up a 124 OPS+. Over those same eight years, Cal Ripken Jr. put up an OPS+ of ... yes, 124. I personally believe Trammell is a Hall of Famer, but I don't think he will get elected and the reason seems to be that he never played a full season after age 32.

Bill: Maturity in a player is the development of talents; not the development of NEW talents, but the development of those talents that the player has always possessed.

Aging is a narrowing of talents, and the narrowing of talents begins long before the player reaches the major leagues. Players, as they age, don't run as well, don't throw as well. They continue to develop those talents that they have, but the range of talents continues to narrow. What I'm trying to get to ... I don't think that "maturing" as a player is one thing and "aging" is a different thing. I think it is one continuous process, that helps the player up to some point, and hurts him beyond that point.

Joe: You will hear players say, all the time, "I wish I knew then what I know now." There's no doubt that David Ortiz is a smarter hitter now than he ever was. No question that Alex Rodriguez knows more about how pitchers are trying to get him out now. No question that Lance Berkman knows more about the game than he did at 26 when he mashed 42 homers and drove in 128 runs.

That's the cruelty of 33 for so many players ... and every player eventually hits that age. The brain is sharper than ever, but the body can't quite get them there.

Bill: It's like baking bread, or cooking an omelet. The baking of the bread helps the bread up to a point, and then, if you leave the bread in the oven beyond that point, the same things continue to happen, only they don't HELP the bread any more; they begin to ruin the bread.

Eight more players:

26) George Bell
1992, age 32: .255, 25 homers, 112 RBIs
1993, age 33 .217, 13 homers, 64 RBIs

27) Cecil Fielder
1996, age 32: .252., 39 homers, 117 RBIs
1997, age 33: .260, 13 homers, 61 RBIs

28) Albert Belle
1999, age 32: .297, 37 homers, 117 RBIs
2000, age 33: .281, 23 homers, 103 RBIs

29) Brian Jordan
1999, age 32: .283, 23 homers, 115 RBIs
2000, age 33: .264, 17 homers, 77 RBIs

30) Bill Mueller
2003, age 32: .326 (led American League), 19 homers, 83 RBIs
2004, age 33: .283, 12 homers, 57 RBIs

31) Jason Giambi
2003, age 32: .250, 41 homers, 107 RBIs
2004, age 33: .208, 12 homers, 40 RBIs

32) Cliff Floyd
2005, age 32: .273, 34 homers, 98 RBIs
2006, age 33 .244, 11 homers, 44 RBIs

33) Ivan Rodriguez
2004, age 32: .334, 19 homers, 86 RBIs
2005, age 33: .276, 14 homers, 50 RBIs

The human body is like bread that won't stop baking. Age 33 is about the age at which you KNOW the bread is getting over-done and you wish that you could turn off the oven, but you just can't.

Video: Dwight Howard vs. Jimmy Fallon [J. Mark English]

U.S. Soccer Still Waiting for its Moment [J. Mark English]

Many people in the United States pay little attention to our US Soccer team. Perhaps the attention spiked this past week for the first time in a long time when the US team upset Spain, and played Brazil in the FIFA Confederation Cup Finals. William C. Rhoden of the New York Times discusses a missed moment for the US Soccer team in its 3-2 loss against Brazil:

This is the epitaph in the wake of a heartbreaking loss in Sunday’s Confederations Cup championship game.

Too harsh? Perhaps, considering the United States was facing a great Brazilian team. On the other hand, there must come a point in the discussion of soccer in the United States when the training wheels must be removed. Either this is youth soccer, in which the goal is to let everyone play, or this is the big time, in which second or third place is no longer acceptable.

There was so much momentum heading into Sunday’s game, so much enthusiasm after the United States’ stunning victory over Spain on Wednesday.

That victory became the talk from Johannesburg to New York.

Over coffee one morning, Irv Smalls, the executive director of Harlem Youth Soccer, spoke about the implications of a strong showing by the United States on the continuing initiative to bring soccer to the underserved.

“It definitely will get kids excited,” said Smalls, a former Penn State football player.

Speaking from Johannesburg before Sunday’s match, Sunil Gulati, the president of the United States Soccer Federation, cautioned against placing too much weight on one result.

At the same time, Gulati conceded that back-to-back, high-profile victories over Spain and Brazil in the Confederations Cup would give a much-needed jolt to a sport that continues to make inroads in the minds and hearts of the American audience.

“Anytime you’re playing for the championship against a team generally considered the best team in the world for the last 75 years, it’s a great chance to get a lot of people who are part of the soccer community in the United States interested in the national team and excited to be part of an international game,” Gulati said....

...The United States carried a 2-0 lead over Brazil into halftime Sunday, and suddenly, a universe of possibilities emerged. This was the great American sports story. Finally, a breakthrough on the international championship stage. Finally, long-sought respect for United States soccer.

Don Garber, the commissioner of Major League Soccer, spoke of the United States’ victory over Spain and reaching the championship game.

“We’ve always believed we deserved more respect than we receive,” he said. “In sports, you’ve got to earn respect, you can’t just ask for it, and we’ve earned some respect this past week.”

Then the roof caved in: Brazil scored three unanswered goals in the second half. And just like that, the United States was back to being the little engine that could someday win on the world stage....

....American soccer’s struggle to attract great talent is baffling because there are so many young people looking for something to do. The United States is one of the most powerful nations, one with phenomenal human resources.

The sprawling soccer federations reflect the nation: some have a lot, some have very little. The leadership must find the will — and a way — to redistribute resources. This is crucial for the long-term goal of having a great national team, year in and year out.

The more difficult challenge is to cultivate a broader consumer appetite for soccer in the United States. Debates continue about changing the nature of the sport to fit the American mind-set.

Please, no.

Soccer does not need to be dumbed down to accommodate our Twittered attention span. The sport does not need more scoring or more commercial timeouts.

“People don’t need the sport to be different,” Garber said. “They just need a reason to believe, and every now and again, something happens where they have that reason.”

Wimbledon Cover Up: Dinara Safina Wins Indoor Match [J. Mark English]

From Christopher Clarey of the New York Times:

There had already been thousands of points played at Wimbledon this year — millions more played through the years — but the point played on Centre Court by Dinara Safina and Amélie Mauresmo at 5:19 p.m. on Monday was unlike any that had come before it...

...It was not the pattern that made it unique: Mauresmo served and rushed the net, then hit a half volley, which Safina tracked down and smacked for a winner with a backhand passing shot down the line. What made it historic was the closed roof overhead. After nearly 90 years of rain delays on Centre Court, which was built in 1922, Wimbledon has finally created a way to keep the tennis coming.

And after a dry first week that had raised questions about whether the All England Club was going to start getting its big money’s worth, a light passage of rain gave the organizers an opening to start closing their expensive new toy: a 1,000-ton retractable structure with white trusses and flexible translucent panels.

It was not an obligatory move. Play soon resumed on the outside courts and the sun soon resumed shining. But the crowd at Centre Court, now part of tennis history itself, certainly appreciated the tournament referee Andrew Jarrett’s eagerness, roaring as the two halves of the roof began to move, then roaring again as they finally came together shortly before 5 p.m.

“Considering the English weather, I’m surprised it took them 87 years,” said Jonathan Spearing, a 31-year-old lawyer from London.

Flip Flop Fly Ball - A Great Site [J. Mark English]

A friend recommended that I check out the website Flip Flop Fly Ball.

One section of the site has a series of graphs (including the one below).

But they have many others. This graph compares the height of the Green Monster to height of monuments such as the Statue of Liberty and the Iwo Jima.

The other graphs are just as interesting.

Graph: Dismantingly the 1986 World Champs - New York Mets [J. Mark English]

Michael Jackson at the Super Bowl [J. Mark English]

Star Athletes Fizzle on the Way Out the Door [J. Mark English]

Tom Oates of the Wisconsin State Journal writes:

Brad Childress has warned everyone to “stay tuned” and Brett Favre, who hates even the thought of surgery, has submitted to an operation on his sore shoulder...

...If you must worry about something, worry about whether Favre is overstaying his welcome as a football player. He will turn 40 in October and wouldn’t be the first iconic athlete to hang on long after the skills that made him great have faded away....

...Indeed, for every superstar who exits on his own terms — Jim Brown, Barry Sanders and Sandy Koufax come to mind — there are a dozen who don’t know when to quit. Usually, they end up playing in some strange city and looking very old while doing it....

....Yes, Favre’s annual waffling on retirement has grown old. But those who accuse Favre of being a hopeless diva must have forgotten that Denver’s John Elway, the poster boy for going out on top, didn’t make up his mind to return until June after winning his first Super Bowl at age 37. Even after winning a second Super Bowl, Elway kept the Broncos in suspense until May before announcing his retirement.

Even Reggie White once retired for 48 hours when he was with the Packers. White later retired “for good,” then came back after a one-year absence for an embarrassing five-sack season with the Carolina Panthers.

At least Elway went out a winner. Many others were a pitiful shell of themselves while trying to milk another season or two out of their Hall of Fame careers.

No one who saw it can forget the image of Hank Aaron batting .232 in two seasons as an overweight, 40-something designated hitter for the Milwaukee Brewers. Or Willie Mays, the greatest center fielder ever, dropping fly balls in his 40s with the New York Mets. And did you know that a 40-year-old Babe Ruth hit .181 playing for the Boston Braves?

Come to think of it, did anyone like seeing Magic Johnson as a backup power forward when he returned to the NBA at 36 after a five-year absence? And though Michael Jordan was still a decent enough player, there was no joy in watching his two-year comeback with a Washington Wizards team that had no hope of making the playoffs.

Nothing was more painful than watching the NFL’s ultimate winner, Johnny Unitas, throw three touchdown passes and seven interceptions in five games with the San Diego Chargers. Ditto for Joe Namath, who had three touchdown passes and five interceptions in four games as a creaky-kneed starter for the Los Angeles Rams.

And surely Packers fans haven’t forgotten Bart Starr’s final two limp-armed seasons, when he thew eight touchdown passes and 16 interceptions. Even Fran Tarkenton, who seems to know more about Favre’s intentions than Favre, threw 32 interceptions for the Vikings at age 38.

It’s not just quarterbacks, either. It was no fun watching O.J. Simpson average 3.8 yards per carry for the 2-14 San Francisco 49ers in 1979. And when all-time receptions leader Jerry Rice, then 42, went from Oakland to Seattle in a mid-season trade, few people even noticed.

Chart of the Day: Danger in Drafting Big White Men? [J. Mark English]

Layla Kiffin: Internet Beauty [J. Mark English]

Clay Travis of Deadspin: Remember back when www.fireronzook.com was the height of internet genius? Now we've moved on to a coach's wife. And by we I mean anonymous internet web sites. In the wake of Lane Kifffin's introductory press conference, Layla Kiffin has received an ample amount of attention. How much? On Monday afternoon, one hour after the press conference, "Lane Kiffin's wife" was the number one most searched term on Google trends. What was number three? "Layla Kiffin." Many Vol fans wanted a coach who could win the press conference. Turns out we got a wife that could win the press conference instead. At least according to the folks behind iwoulddolaylakiffin.com.

See for yourself:

Sports Writers Fix 6.23.09 [J. Mark English]

Subject: Donald Fehr (the outgoing MLB Union boss)

• Richard Justice with SportsJustice: "It was just after dawn on clear, cool Manhattan morning in 1990 when I first heard Donald Fehr speak of retirement...Baseball's average salary rose from $289,000 to $2.9 million during Fehr's 26 years atop the Major League Players Association. In terms of benefits, health care and pension, no union ever took better care of its people....Every player owes Donald Fehr half his 2009 salary. At least. Baseball players have had it so good for so long that they've forgotten what it was once like."

• Gregg Doyel with CBS Sports: "When union boss Donald Fehr leaves the players association in March, he will take with him the last link to the worst person to happen to baseball...He ruined the economics of baseball. Not just the competition on the field, although he did ruin that. Fehr took over in 1983 -- and for kicks, look at the teams who won the World Series in the previous decade. From 1971-80, seven of the 10 champions came from so-called small markets: Oakland (three), Cincinnati (two) and Pittsburgh (two). The other champions were the Yankees (twice) and Phillies...Now then, look at the past 13 years of Fehr's reign. In those 13 years, there were just two small-market champions: Florida and Arizona."

Subject: US Open (Golf) -

• Steve Politi with NJ.com: "Three years ago, the last time he almost won the U.S. Open, a pale-faced and glassy-eyed Phil Mickelson stepped behind the podium and summed up his defeat in five words...'I am such an idiot.'...Monday, after the record fifth time that he finished second in a tournament that has tortured him more than any other player, Mickelson needed three fewer words to sum up the experience...And this time, he was smiling...'Oh well.'...Mickelson came here with his wife, Amy, just days away from beginning her treatment to fight breast cancer. He was unsure if he'd be able to focus on the tournament with that on his mind."

• Jerry Sullivan with The Buffalo News: "Golf can be a maddening and frustrating game. You don’t have to be a PGA Tour veteran to understand. Sometimes, it reaches the point where you can’t take it anymore. You feel like tossing the clubs in the closet and walking away....Lucas Glover knows the feeling. About a year ago, he and golf were ready for a trial separation. Glover had been one of the rising young stars on the Tour. He had won more than $2 million in 2005 and ’06. In ’07, Jack Nicklaus had chosen him for the Presidents Cup team. It looked like his career was taking off...Once he got away, Glover realized he had been too hard on himself. It was OK to have high standards. But he was letting misfortune get the better of him. That’s no way to succeed in golf, where the best players put failure quickly behind them....Late last fall, Glover went back to work. He worked on his bunker play, putting and patience. And when he rejoined the Tour in January, he felt fresher than ever. Glover, 29, had one major goal, to do better in majors. If he was one of the promising young guys on Tour, he needed to prove it on the biggest stage."

Amateur Hoist Stanley Cup [J. Mark English]

Top 5 Plays from the NBA Finals [J. Mark English]

Joe Torre on the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien [J. Mark English]

Pedro Martinez: Will He Return? [J. Mark English]

Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald opines:

Pedro Martinez is ready again for the lights, camera and action.

Sounding restless, peppy and in good humor, Martinez spoke from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, yesterday about why he is convinced he can help a contending team win a championship this year.

“I don’t have to keep pitching, but I’m too young to stay home and be lazy,” said the 37-year-old three-time Cy Young winner who had his best years with the Red Sox [team stats] from 1998 through 2004. “The main reason is I’m totally healthy now. As far as my health goes, this is the best I’ve felt since before 2001 - going back to ’99 or ’98 probably. I am throwing a lot down here and when I wake up the next day, I’m not sore. I can throw and throw and throw and throw.

“My arm is in full shape to throw, I just need to sharpen up my breaking stuff, really just my curve.”

Laying off the heavy weight work worked well for Martinez this offseason.

“I’m 37 - I don’t know what to do with my energy,” said Martinez, who made 20 starts last year for the Mets, five the year before. “I try to burn it all off on the field down here while I’m working out. I’m in tippy-top shape.”

He paused.

“I’m thinking of becoming a swimsuit model.”

Martinez sounded more focused on suiting up with a big league team over the next few weeks. He is not too picky about where he signs, either league is fine, as long as he goes to a team that has a chance to contend. All things being equal, going to the National League is his preference, and that is not because of the absence of the designated hitter.

“No, that’s not it, all batters are the same,” said Martinez, whose lifetime ERA in the AL is 2.52, 3.31 in the senior circuit after nearly 1,400 innings in each league. “I have won a Cy Young in the National League, I have won the Cy Young in the American League, and I have won a championship in the American League. But none in the National League. This would complete the whole circle.”

American Legends: 2009 Panini Prestige Football Case Rip

LeBron Wins It For Cavs [David Stefanini]

For a quick recap: The game was amazing. The Cavs had a huge lead which the Magic cut into with their ability to make three pointers. Magic take a 2 point lead with 1 second left only to have LeBron hit a game winning three pointer at the buzzer.

What else can you say other than its what LeBron does best? He is amazing and continues his climb to the top of the league.

At the beginning of these playoffs I stated to my friends that the Magic are going to defeat the Lakers for the NBA Championship and nothing has happened to change my mind. The Magic already took the home court advantage away from the Cavs and it took a miraculous shot from LeBron James to avoid a 2-0 series lead for the Magic. Anyone else out there having deja vu? Remember a few years ago when the underdog Detroit Pistons went into the Staples Center and won Game 1 against the Lakers? In Game 2, Kobe Bryant hit a miraculous three pointer to avoid a 2-0 hole. The Pistons said, they accomplished what they wanted to and winning Game 2 wasn't that important. I get the same feeling with this Magic team. The Cavs don't match up well with the Magic and there is no reason why this series should go longer than 5 or 6 games. (Magic winning).

With that said every night I'm praying for hours that I get to see the 'Dream Match-up'. LeBron vs Kobe in the NBA Finals. The NBA has had questionable things happen in the past that has led to a belief of games and drafts being fixed. If there was ever a time to fix anything it is this. David Stern, PLEASE make it that we all get to see the Lakers vs the Cavs in the Finals. It's only fitting. These Conference Finals, as good as they have been, are merely an appetizer to the main course.

Ladies and Gentlemen with the Cavs win tonight the Magic Number to the perfect NBA Finals is down to 6. Three wins by the Lakers and three from the Cavs and we get The Great One vs The Chosen One.

Tomorrow look for the Lakers to bounce back from their disappointing loss in Game 2. Kobe was not hitting his jump shots and unless Jesus Christ himself is in the arena to prevent it you can guarantee that Kobe will find his jumper in Denver. Lakers win a close one to move 2-1 up.

Coming Soon: United Football League [J. Mark English]

As networks reveal their fall lineups of new television show, one in particular might sound like a repeat of an already existing show. NBC's "Friday Night Lights" is about to go head to head against the reality version of "Friday Night Lights".

Look out National Football League, you have a new challenger.

Greg Garber of ESPN explains:

The history books say that six different outdoor leagues have come into existence during the NFL's long and steady climb to the top of professional sports. The first two attempts appreciably changed the composition of the NFL. Three teams from the All-America Football Conference were absorbed by the NFL in 1950; and 20 years later, the American Football League merged 10 of its teams with the NFL...

....The underlying premise of the UFL's launch is to meet untapped demand.

League executives cite a 2007 ESPN/The Sports Network poll indicating that half of those who describe themselves as avid NFL fans have never attended a game. Scaling UFL tickets at an average price of $20, the reasoning goes, should make the new league's games an easy destination and turn the UFL into an attractive alternative in these difficult economic times..

...Four teams -- New York/Hartford, Orlando, Las Vegas/Los Angeles and San Francisco/Sacramento -- will play a six-week season in the UFL, concluding with a championship game on Thanksgiving weekend. Games will be played on Thursday and Friday nights to avoid conflicts with the NFL and, for the most part, college. Rosters will be stocked, with regional priority, from the pool of players released by NFL teams in training camp. San Francisco will have first rights to players cut from the AFC and NFC West rosters, while New York owns the AFC and NFC East, with Orlando getting AFC and NFC South players and Las Vegas the AFC and NFC North players.

There is a proposed salary cap of $12-20 million for each team's players and a $3 million cap for staff salaries, including the four head coaches: Dennis Green, Jim Fassel, Jim Haslett and Ted Cottrell. With the exception of Cottrell, all have been NFL head coaches but failed to land a current lead NFL job despite a recent spate of openings.

Going forward, the plan is to have a second-year draft and slowly expand the league to between 10 and 12 teams, as well as increase the length of the season. The UFL has positioned its franchises mostly in places without NFL competition. Three teams will play home games in two markets to see where the interest lies. League officials point to Los Angeles as a sprawling, underserved market; but the recent suspension of operations by the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League suggests the City of Angels might still be immune to the pleasures of pro football.

The UFL was founded by Wall Street investor Bill Hambrecht, once a minority partner in the USFL's Oakland franchise, and former Google executive Tim Armstrong. Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is also part of the roster of investors that paid a collective $30 million for the four franchises.

My thoughts -

Given the economic situation, this league might actually have staying power.

During the short lived XFL season, actually became watchable once it focused more on football at the end of its season. It started to look like a credible minor league, that help improve players that were almost NFL ready. Players like Tommy Maddox, and Rod "He Hates Me" Smart turned in some decent seasons in the NFL after playing in the XFL.

The UFL should not try to compete with the NFL, but instead act as a safety net for players on the edge of being pros. The UFL will have numerous players to recruit. The Arena Football League cancelled last season, making many of their players available, as well as players from NFL Europe, and the Canadian Football League.

Third stringers in the NFL, might be tempted to jump to the UFL to get more playing time and more exposure.

Even troubled players such as Michael Vick might consider coming to the UFL.

Clark Judge of CBS Sports mulled this option a few weeks ago:

Here's a prediction: Michael Vick plays this season, but he doesn't play in the NFL. He plays in the UFL.

That's the fledgling league that hired Jim Fassel, Jim Haslett, Ted Cottrell and Dennis Green as head coaches and is expected to open in October.

It's also a league starved for attention, and in Michael Vick, it would have it. Not only would he attract thousands of fans, either to support him or protest his return, but he would deliver a buzz startups crave. Moreover, he would bring in a media army, and if you don't believe it, you didn't see reporters camped outside federal prison in Fort Leavenworth on Wednesday.

Getting back to the economics of our country. The Negro Leagues greatest financial success came in the 1930's during the great depression. Most people wanted to see baseball, but could not afford the MLB prices. Instead they paid for the far cheaper seats of the Negro League, and were highly entertained. Perhaps, the UFL might benefit from the same sort of economic success in a down market. Do you really think Detroit Lion fans want to spend over $100 (which after parking, and concession comes out to be much more then that) to see their awful football team? And what if the NFL starts blacking out more games because sell outs are harder to come by? The UFL is ready to pounce on this probability.

Friday nights may never be the same.

Your Fix is Back 5.19.09 [J. Mark English]

• Aliene Voisin of the Sacremento Bee opines about the lack of guarantees with the top spot in the NBA draft.

• Tom Knott of the Washington Times, thinks that getting the right draft pick has more to do with luck then anything else. (I guess this is why he is a writer and does not work in the NBA.)

• Apparently the Los Angeles Lakers will not be able to beat the Denver Nuggets on talent alone. Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times argues this point.

• Jon "Baby Face" Gruden joins the Monday Night Football crew, and Joe Henderson of the Tampa Tribune knows that it will be a perfect fit for ESPN.

• Comcast has reached a deal with the NFL Network. This will mean that at 10 million cable subscribers will now be able to see the best sports network on cable. (Seriously, last night I was able to see a game between the Cowboys & Giants from 1994. It took me back to a time in my life when I could focus on sports and nothing else!)
  

• Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer breaks down the hypocrisy of sports betting in Delaware.

• Are the Detroit Red Wings unbeatable? Not according to Carol Slezak of the Chicago Sun-Times.

• The Red Wings may be locked up in battle with the Chicago Blackhawks for the rights to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, but the Blackhawks are already big winners. Forbes columnist, Nathan Vardi, discusses the economic turnaround of the 'Hawks.

• Guess who is impressing his coaches so far? Terrell Owens! Yet to be a distraction, Buffalo New's Mark Gaughan, talks about the improved 'focus' of Owens.

• Speaking of troubled NFL stars... Ann Killion of the Mercury News is convinced that an NFL team will take a chance on Michael Vick.
  

"Fast Filly is Preakness Betting Favorite" [NBC News]

(Photo) Way to Go Girl! Rachel Alexandra the Filly Wins the Preakness Stakes! [J. Mark English]