GREATEST DUGOUT DEMOLITION I EVER SAW

Byrce Harper is a baseball prodigy. His awe-inspiring talent defies someone who is just19-years old. Harper was labeled as "The Chosen One" by Sports Illustrated when he wasjust 16-years and made it to the Major Leagues three years later. In his rookie season,Harper became an All-Star for the Washington Nationals.The game has allowed the teenager to showcase his talent, but it has also exposedhis immaturity and temper. He has broken bats over his...

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'CALL ME MAYBE' DEFINITELY HOT FOR ATHLETES

I never heard of Carly Rae Jepsen until last week and if she showed up naked at mydoor, I wouldn't recognize her. Excuse my lack of pop culture knowledge but I justdon't get a chance to watch MTV much anymore. Is it even on these days?Jepsen's song, "Call Me Maybe" seems to be on the minds of a lot of people,especially athletes. From the U.S. Olympic swimming team to the Miami Dolphinscheerleaders, "Call Me Maybe" is definitely the song...

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PENN STATE DUMPS 'SWEET CAROLINE' AND MORE.

Penn State says it will no longer play "Sweet Caroline" during football games. Smartmove. A few of the lyrics from Neil Diamonds hit song include, "touching you, touchingme." After the Sandusky pedophile scandal, that was the appropriate thing to do.However, officials at Penn State are saying that the removal of the song has nothing todo with the case, just that it was time for the song to be left of the playlist. Really? Whydoes Penn...

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TIGER, T.O., AND CALL ME MAYBE

Amazing how Tiger Woods has turned into a house of cards. With the exceptionof his three wins, the guy has been playing psycho golf over the last 36 holes oftournaments and just falls apart. His drives are all over the place and he's becomeScott Hoch from 3-feet out. Tiger used to be automatic from within five feet.Now he looks like a nervous wreck and every tap in is an adventure. One of thosestrippers must still be in his head.T.O. gets cut in...

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RED SOX AND 'THE IMMACULATE TRANSACTION'

The Boston Red Sox had been swimming in their own cess pool. The playerscomplained about a snitch, only to go behind the back of their manager withtext messages to ownership trying to get Bobby Valentine fired. Team czar,Larry Lucchino, the man who hired Valentine, blamed a lot of  the negativityon the media, and John Henry e-mailed everybody to say everything was allgood. This was the mother of all reality shows and if legendary television...

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I WAS WRONG ABOUT LANCE ARMSTRONG

I was wrong about Lance Armstrong. Did I think he used performance-enhancing drugsto become the best rider in the history of his sport? I'm not naive. I've covered sportsfor nearly 20 years and have seen the list of drug cheats grow a mile long. I playedbaseball in the minor-leagues during the late '80's and saw teammates use steroids toadd 5-miles-an hour to their fastballs and hit prodigious home runs on their way to to the Major Leagues.The sport...

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JIM JOYCE MAKES THE PERFECT CALL

On June 2, 2010, Jim Joyce, a longtime and well-respected umpire, saw his lifechange forever, or so he thought. Joyce, manning his position by first base,was on the verge of being part of baseball history. Armando Galarraga of theDetroit Tigers was one out away from pitching a perfect game. In one of thebiggest moments in the history of the game, Joyce choked. He blew the callat first base that would've sealed a perfect game and baseball immortality...

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ROGER CLEMENS AND HIS ADDICTION

I was hardly surprised when I read that Roger Clemens was going to be pitchingfor some team called the Skeeters in some league that most of you have never heardof. The former 7-time Cy Young award winner and accused drug cheat is 50-years oldand hasn't pitch in a game since 2007, but he will be firing fastballs against a teamof has beens and wannabe's on Saturday night.Like Brett Favre, Clemens is addicted to attention. It's his drug, or one of them...

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'IF YOU'RE NOT CHEATING, YOU'RE NOT TRYING'

When I played in the Boston Red Sox minor-league system, we had a pitching coachwho would teach his pitchers how to scuff a baseball so it was dart, dance, and divethrough the strike zone. Defacing a baseball is illegal, but the former major leagueplayer who once was a teammate of Rich Rhoden, a notorious scuffer (cheater), wouldfinish his sessions by saying, "If you're not cheating, you're not trying."In the past few weeks, when the headlines were...

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RED SOX: DIVAS ARE US

Every two weeks, Adrian Gonzalez rips open an envelope that contains a paycheckworth nearly $2 million dollars. During a six-month season, Christmas Day comesto the Red Sox first baseman and every other major league player, 12 times. Gonzalezshould be bouncing off the walls with happiness, but he's not. He doesn't like his bossand it's making his life miserable. Gonzalez was so unhappy about it that he textedprincipal owner, John Henry, to complain...

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RED SOX MASTER THE CRYING GAME

The Boston Red Sox did it. They became the first team to crack the code.Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia, and probably a few others took a sledgehammer and shattered the saying, "There is no crying in baseball." Withdiapers secure and cell phone in hand, a text message was sent to the ownershipgroup demanding a meeting to discuss the toxic lightning rod that is managerBobby Valentine.Valentine has not pitched a ball, booted one, or dribbled one...

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JOHNNY PESKY: THE GREATEST BASEBALL MAN

A great baseball man. During my short, but wonderful journey through baseball, I'doften hear that phrase tagged on someone in the game who was a baseball lifer, a manwho'd seen it all as either a player, scout, manager, or perhaps, all three.Rocky Bridges was the first great baseball man I ever met. He played in the MajorLeagues from 1951 to 1961 and made the National League All-Star team in 1958. Aftera brief  stint as third...

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