Monday, December 01, 2008
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The lighter side of sports

It’s been tough to pinpoint exactly what has led the Tampa Bay Rays’ resurgence this season. Here’s a theory: Hulkamania! Wrestler Hulk Hogan and his girlfriend, Jennifer McDaniel, watch the New York Yankees take batting practice before their Wednesday game against the host Rays. Tampa Bay lost 8-4 Wednesday but holds a three-game lead in the AL East.

last updated: September 04, 2008 03:28:06 AM

THIS DATE IN SPORTS


  • 1966 The Houston Oilers' defense holds the Denver Broncos to no first downs in a 45-7 rout.
  • 1983 Lynn Dickey of Green Bay completes 27 of 31 passes, including 18 in a row, for 333 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Packers in a 41-38 overtime victory over Houston.
  • 1994 Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins becomes the second quarterback with 300 touchdown passes by throwing for five scores in a 39-35 victory over New England.
  • 1998 The New York Yankees reach 100 wins on the earliest date in major-league history -- five days before the 1906 Chicago Cubs and 1954 Cleveland Indians -- with an 11-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox. The 2006 Cubs set the major-league record for fewest games to reach 100 wins (132).

NAMES IN THE GAME


  • Ricky Hatton, the junior welterweight champion, will be trained for his next bout by Floyd Mayweather Sr., the father of the man he fought for a welterweight title last year.
    • Mayweather, who also trains Oscar De La Hoya, will prepare Hatton for his Nov. 22 fight against IBF 140-pound champ Paulie Malignaggi in Las Vegas. "At this stage of my career I am not going to change my style too much, but you are never too old to learn," Hatton said Wednesday. "I have spoken with my team and we are all sure that I'll benefit from Floyd's incredible knowledge. "The fight against Malignaggi is make or break, and I'm convinced this will be the best training camp I have ever had." Mayweather Sr., 55, is the estranged father of Floyd Mayweather Jr., who stopped Hatton (44-1, 31 KOs) in the 10th round of a bout for the WBC title in December 2007. The elder Mayweather will fly to England later this month to oversee training at Hatton's gym in Ashton-under-Lyne.

Too many bells: There doesn't seem to be a limit on cliches in college football, especially about the effects of getting tackled, but getting your "bell rung" ranks way up there, along with "that's got to hurt," "he coughed up the football," "looks like we've got a player shaken up," and "he's going to feel that one on Monday."

Brigham Young flattened Northern Iowa 41-17, but Cougars quarterback Max Hall took a hard hit in the fourth quarter Saturday. By all accounts, yes, he got his bell rung, although we're not sure to what degree, or is it pitch?

Said coach Bronco Mendenhall: "It is not even a significant bell-ringer."

Said Hall: "I took a couple of hits. Got my bell rung on one of them, but I was fine. ... I just got my bell rung, and I was fine the next day."

You know what that means to Brigham Young? It can ill afford to lose him. It needs to win the game in the trenches. The officials could call holding on every play.

Payback: Chad Pennington, who was dumped unceremoniously by the New York Jets when they signed Brett Favre to replace him as quarterback, hooked up one day later with the Miami Dolphins and will be their starting quarterback in the opener Sunday -- against the Jets.

Hey, coach: Coors Light is going to run new TV ads spoofing news conferences with former NFL coaches Brian Billick, Dennis Green and Jim Mora.

Blandball: Talk about great first impressions. Ex-Raider Warren Sapp signed a deal to join "Inside the NFL" on Showtime this year and said the program last season on HBO "just got bland." Interesting, since the show won three Emmys in the last six years for best sports studio show.

Better refinance: Want to catch a game at Yankee Stadium before its last home game Sept. 21? Get ready to pony up. Ticket prices for the last 11 games are going for up to 100 times face value, and some brokers are looking for $10,000 apiece, according to the New York Post.

And finally: His team's lease of the Metrodome ends in 2011, he has new stadium issues, and Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wolf says he won't sell or move the franchise, but Mark Craig of startribune.com believes that may change: "He's being loyal to Minnesota right now, but he's not an idiot."

--LOS ANGELES TIMES

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