Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for June 23, 2011 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
- Tonight is the NBA draft.
- At Wimbledon, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick breezed into the third round. Venus Williams struggled to beat 40-year old Kimiko Date-Krumm from Japan.
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says sure he'd be interested in buying the Dodgers. But who knows when that mess will be sorted out?
- Giants fan Bryan Stow, who was severely beaten after the Dodgers home opener, was upgraded from critical to serious condition. Doctors at San Francisco General Hospital say Stow opened his eyes and showed movement in one arm.
- Anaheim's Corey Perry, who led the league with 50 goals, is the NHL's MVP. Boston's playoff MVP, Tim Thomas, wins the Vezina Trophy.
- In soccer, the U.S. will play Mexico (as usual) in Saturday's Gold Cup final at the Rose Bowl.
2. Hoop it Up
With the NBA draft tonight, I thought you'd like a couple of basketball tidbits. I spent some time with Phoenix Suns great Steve Nash yesterday at a charity event. I asked him about the rumors that the Knicks might acquire him in a trade. He basically knew nothing about it and was asking me for the details. So much for that. And Milwaukee's fine young player Brandon Jennings was at the event. When I asked him about the potential lockout next week, he said he was given one piece of advice. Save your money. Good thinking, lockout or no.
3. Generation Gap
Logan Morrison is a 23-year old outfielder for the Florida Marlins. His new manager, Jack McKeon is 80. Morrison tweeted his 41,000 followers "McKeon asked me what I had going on tonite. Told him going home 2 play w/ Twitter. He replied 'oh, what kind of dog is it?'"
4. Eating Dis-Order
Here's a Top 5 public service. Let the eater beware. The other day, the New York Times featured a story about the bleachers at Yankee Stadium. The writer, Andrew Keh, wrote, "It is hard to believe that a heaping $10 order of French fries soaked in garlic-infused oil could have just 330 calories as listed in the stadium. It is harder still to fathom that a dollop of bright yellow nacho cheese could add just 110 more."
According to my daughter the nutritionist, skepticism shouldn't be limited to the Bronx. Wherever you see calories ask yourself, how do they know? Did they really send out that concession item for testing? Heck, they're loathe to test ballplayers for what they might be ingesting, you really think they are that concerned about nacho cheese?
5. It's No Yolk, Actually It Is
Major news. An organization called Sport England has given preliminary recognition to the World Egg Throwing Federation. Oh boy, this promises to be good. They say this takes egg throwing one step closer to becoming a recognized sport in England, or as they say over there, recognised. They're hoping they can get full recognition for the "start of the 2012 season," whenever that might be. I'm told there are different disciplines in the sport, including throwing, catching, target practice, and hoisting eggs into the air with a contraption called a trebuchet. This year's championship is taking place, as always, in Swaton, England this Sunday. There's even talk of making it an Olympic sport one day. I couldn't be more eggcited.
Happy Birthday: Giants Super Bowl winning center Shaun O'Hara. 34.
Bonus Birthday: Fargo Oscar-winning actress Frances McDormand. 54.
Today in Sports: After Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth got ejected for arguing a lead-off walk and punching the umpire, reliever Ernie Shore came in and pitched a "perfect game" against Washington. But it didn't count as a perfect game because of Ruth's walk. 1917.
Bonus Event: The unkindest cut of all. Lorena Bobbitt did her thing, to husband John's thing. 1993.
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