Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for March 10, 2011 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com
1. Quick Hits
* The Big East Conference admits that Rutgers got hosed by the refs in the final seconds of their loss to St. John's at Madison Square Garden. Rutgers should have been given another possession. The botched call cannot be overturned.
* Carmelo Anthony sinks his first game winning shot as a Knick against Memphis. (So no need to apply the nickname in #5 below.)
* A frightening moment in the Braves/Cards spring training game. A line drive hit Braves minor league manager Luis Salazar in the dugout. He was airlifted to the hospital with multiple facial fractures. Doctors are optimistic about his condition.
* The beat goes on in the NFL negotiations. The deadline is tomorrow at 5pm.
* Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are paired together as Doral gets underway today. The third member of their group is ranked higher than both of them, Graeme McDowell.
2. Lost in Translation
Former Knicks guard Stephon Marbury, who now plays in China, is feeling the love over there. He told the Washington Post, "China is a positive place...the Chinese, unlike Americans - and particularly New Yorkers - 'don't fill their souls with negativity.'" Wow, a native New Yorker taking a shot at his own. Of course he's the guy who once said "I know I'm the best point guard in the NBA," after famously leading four NBA teams to nowhere. They probably translated that quote in China to "hey, I think it's swell how your government lets people say whatever they want, no matter how absurd."
3. Fore!
Here's a story that flew under the radar. Sheriff's deputies found and destroyed what are believed to be two pipe bombs near the 9th green at famed Pebble Beach. Was the story buried to protect one of the great (and expensive) tourist destinations? It's a good thing they didn't go off during the day. Golfers are famous for excuses, but that one would have been a lulu.
4. Now Hear This
Now I know that sportscasting has arrived. Thousands of recordings of play-by-play will now reside in the Library of Congress. They've acquired the incomparable collection of Top 5 subscriber John Miley of Evansville, Indiana. Nobody has collected audio as he has. Not every play-by-play call is famous. To show you the depth of his collection, he even has some of my work in his library. To hear some of his clips and an interview with John, you can check out his interview a few years back with NPR.
Congratulations John. You are indeed "the best you are at what you do." Hear hear.
5. Shorthand
Maybe every athlete's name should be shortened to save time. Was A-Rod the first? I didn't know that Deron Williams of the Nets is known as D-Will. Wow, we save two whole syllables with that one. Although it doesn't work for everyone. Next time Carmelo Anthony misses a big shot in the clutch, he probably doesn't want to be called C-ant.
Happy Birthday: Martial artist and actor Chuck Norris. 71.
Bonus Birthday: Actress Sharon Stone. 53.
Today in Sports: The birth of "Charlie Hustle." Cincinnati's Pete Rose bats in an exhibition game for the first time and goes 2 for 2. 1963.
Bonus Event: Abe Lincoln applies for a patent for a device which lifts boats over shoals. He thus became the only U.S. President to hold a patent. His invention was never manufactured. 1849.
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