MySports Today

Oh wow Artie Lange doesn’t like Joe Buck, he took over the show and ripped him apart. If you have not seen this check out these videos.

WOW – Marisa Miller is a fabulous installment for our SI swimsuit issue models.  I definitely have not paid close enough attention to the swimsuit issue the last few years.  Miller is a 30-year old American model beauty.  Miller was born in Santa Cruz, California, and makes the state her home.  Miller has appeared in Glamour, Vogue, Victoria’s Secret, Cosmo, Marie Claire, Elle & Vanity Fair, and has appeared in every single SI Swimsuit Issue from 2002-2009.  Miller has also had a few TV commercials and cameos on TV shows – including HBO’s Entourage – one of the best shows around these days.  Miller made her Maxim “Hot 100″ debut in 2008 – taking the cake with the #1 ranking.  Unbelievable.

Look out Anne V, Bar Rafaeli, Brooklyn Decker, Tori Praver – you all have some serious competition.  Enjoy – I know I sure did…

We all kind of suspected it, but our suspicions were confirmed when the NY Times reported that Sammy Sosa was one of the players that tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs back in 2003.  The Yankees Alex Rodriguez is the only other player that has been linked to the 2003 positive PED test results.

Sosa went from a skinny outfielder to a muscular hunk of a ballplayer during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.  Sosa is the only player in major league baseball history to hit 60 or more home runs in 3 different seasons.  While the release of Rodriguez’s name and Sosa’s name has raised other issues – the test results were to remain anonymous under an agreement between MLB and the players union – it is a shame to finally have confirmation that Sosa used PED’s to enhance his play on the field.  Sosa played for the Cubs from 1992-2004 and was the main draw for Cubs fans during that time.  He is the Cubs all-time home run leader with 545 home runs.

During the Cubs-White Sox cross-town classic this week at Wrigley Field, Cubs Manager Lou Pinella and White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen both commented on the Sosa outing and the test results.

Pinella had this to say:  “It’s a shame that baseball keeps going back to the past.  Baseball is doing a good job today of cleaning up all these issues.  That’s what we should be focusing on.  I don’t know how this news gets out.  In my case, I wasn;’t here, and I wish that we would just focus on today and what the sport is doing as opposed to what happened in the past.”

Guillen had this to say:  “It’s very, very sad how names start to come out.  And every week baseball has to deal with these names.  And whoever is leaking the information, whoever got the rights to the information, they should right away say something and get it over with, because it’s put everyone in baseball, not just Chicago people, everyone in baseball, dealing with this situation they shouldn’t be dealing with any more.  We got enough time to clean this thing.”

Only 2 of the 103 players that tested positive during the 2003 testing have been identified.  At this point, if names are going to be leaked out 1 by 1, we should really just get it over with it and have all the names disclosed.  It’s ridiculous that all of the focus is on Sosa and Rodriguez because someone broke the law and violated the terms of the confidentiality of the testing.  The person leaking these names should be forced to disclose the source, so that the source can be properly punished for violating the terms of the testing.  We doubt this will ever happen, but until someone makes a fuss over this, we’ll continue to get information piecemeal over time.  Not good for baseball, for the players or for us, the fans.

Donte Stallworth pleaded guilty to DUI Manslaughter this week and began serving a 30-day jail sentence. Stallworth killed pedestrian Mario Reyes while driving drunk in his 2005 Bentley in Florida back in March 2009.  Stallworth had been drinking at a swanky Miami Beach hotel bar and was legally intoxicated (.126 blood-alcohol level) at the time of the driving incident.  Stallworth had this to say about the tragedy:  “I accept full responsibility for this horrible tragedy.  I will bear this burden for the rest of my life.”  Stallworth’s attorney had this to say: ” He acted like a man.  He remained at the scene.  He cooperated fully.”

Reyes had finished his shift at around 7:15am and was rushing to catch a bus home.  Reyes was not in a cross-walk when Stallworth hit Reyes.  Stallworth was driving approximately 50MPH in a 40MPH zone, he stopped immediately after the accident and told police that he had hit Reyes.  Prosecutor Katherine Fernandez Rundle said Stallworth’s cooperation with police, his willingness to accept responsibility and his previous lack of criminal record all contributed to the plea agreement with the state (Stallworth faced 15 years in prison).  Stallworth must honor a lifetime ban on holding a driver’s license and he will serve 2 years house arrest after the 30-day jail sentence is served.  In addition to that, Stallworth will be on 8-years of probation.

Stallworth should be able to resume his NFL career, although Commissioner Roger Goodell could take action against Stallworth under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

What is it with these damn NFL players?  Professional athletes always seem to think that they are above the law.  Now I know that Stallworth really seems contrite in his actions after the fact, but the fact is – he killed a man for driving drunk.  Getting a 30-day jail sentence when he could have served 15 years seems pretty light to me.  His actions and willingness to accept responsibility must have played a role in the sentencing, but come on.  I guess we’re willing to led drunk drivers get away with anything as a 1st-time offender.  Let’s just hope Stallworth gets help and stays out of the driver’s seat as required by his sentencing.

Plaxico Burress got some good news on Monday after a judge postponed his trial on gun possession charges until the end of September.  Burress’ attorney Benjamin Brafman made even a bolder statement stating that it would be “inconceivable” for Burress to go to trial before the beginning of 2010.  That means Burress will be available to play in the NFL during the 2009-2010 season, assuming Commissioner Roger Gooddell doesn’t take any NFL action against Burress prior to the start of the 2009-2010 NFL season.

Brafman also indicated that he didn’t think that the case would be resolved through a plea deal with prosecutors, so the case would likely go to a grand jury and then Burress would plead not guilty to the charges at trial.  If convicted of the criminal possession of a weapon charge (Burress shot himself in the leg in a Manhattan night club on November 29, 2009), he could face up to 3 1/2 years in jail.  But most first-time offenders for this charge in New York City do not serve jail time.

Burress’ agent Drew Rosenhaus does not believe Commissioner Goodell would take action under the NFL’s personal conduct policy against Burress until the legal system has adjudicated the case against Burress.  Rosenhaus has indicated that several teams are interested in Burress and sources around the league have reported that the New York Jets, Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are potential suitors for Burress’ services.  Burress has played 9 seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants.  He has 7,845 receiving yards, 505 receptions and 55 career touchdown receptions.

We’ll keep you posted as soon as we hear anything on the Burress-NFL front.

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Orland Magic 99-86 on Sunday night to capture the 2009 NBA Title.  Kobe Bryant scored 30 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 5 assists and was named the NBA Finals MVP.  Bryant also had 2 steals and 4 blocked shots in an all-around great night.  The Lakers used a 30-18 edge in the 2nd quarter to pull away for good.  The Lakers increased the 10-point halftime lead to 76-61 by the end of the 3rd quarter and the rest was history.

It was a full team effort from the Lakers in the win.  Pau Gasol chipped in 14 points and 15 rebounds.  Trevor Ariza added 15 points and 5 rebounds and had 2 big three pointers in the 2nd quarter to help extend the Lakers lead.  Lamar Odom had another great game off the bench – 17 points and 10 rebounds.  And Derrek Fisher had a consistent game – 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.  Most importantly, they never let Dwight Howard or the Magic get into a good rhythm at any point during the game.

Howard finished the night with 11 points and 10 rebounds – both low numbers for Howard during the series.  Rashard Lewis led the Magic with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Hedu Turkoglu chipped in 12 points but only 2 rebounds.

The Lakers win put Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson into new levels in NBA history.  For Kobe, it was his 4th title, but 1st on his own without another “true” superstar.  Bryant won his 1st 3 titles with Shaquille O’Neal, and by winning this one “on his won”, he sets asides critics who claimed that he couldn’t win a championship where he had to be the leader on his team.

For Phil Jackson, it was his 10th NBA Championship as a head coach, passing Celtics legend Red Auerbach on the all-time list.  Pat Riley is the next best coach with 5 championships.  Jackson won 6 championships as head coach of the Chicago Bulls teams led by Michael Jordan.  As the head coach of the Lakers, Jackson has taken Lakers teams to the NBA finals 6 times, and has now won 4 of them.   Especially in this day and age, it is harder and harder to keep teams together and manage the egos that go hand-in-hand with the multi-million dollar super stars in the league.  Jackson has found a way to manage that and earn the respect of his players throughout the long NBA grind.  Kobe Bryant may have said it best:  “He coaches unity and chemistry and togetherness.”

With a nice young nucleus – Kobe, Odom, Gasol, Ariza and Bynum – the Lakers could turn this into an annual thing again with Jackson at the helm.  Guess we’ll have to see how it all shakes out next year, but for now, congratulations Phil and Kobe – you deserve it.

Daniella Sarahyba – welcome to the wonderful world of MySportsToday…  Sarahyba is a 24-year old bombshell supermodel born and raised in Rio de Janeiro.  Daniella has lucrative modeling deals with H&M, Spiegel and Benetton and has graced the pages of SI’s Swimsuit Issue since 2005.  Enjoy – Daniella is certainly a beauty to admire…

The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in a thrilling Game 7 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Friday night.  Max Talbot scored 2 2nd period goals for the Penguins and the Penguins held on down the stretch for a dramatic 2-1 victory.  Most critics predicted a back-to-back Stanley Cup championship for the Red Wings, who had only lost 1 game at home during the 2009 post-season (way back in the 1st round against the Anaheim Ducks).  Plus, the Red Wings had beaten the Penguins easily in 3 home games thus far in the finals, outscoring the Penguins 11-2 coming into the game.

But it was the Penguins night, as they won their first Stanley Cup championship since back-to-back title in 1991 and 1992 when current owner Mario Lemieux was the Penguins’ super star.  The Penguins even overcame the loss of Captain and superstar Sydney Crosby after he suffered a knee injury on a hard hit along the boards by Johan Franzen early in the 2nd period.  Ebgeni Malkin was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the NHL’s postseason MVP.  He scored 36 points during the playoffs – the most by any player in the league – and he assisted on Talbot’s 1st goal in the 2nd period.

Penguins’ goalie Marc-Andre Fleury had a phenomenal night.  The 25-year old sensation stopped 23 of 24 shots on goals including a barrage of shots on goal late in the 3rd period.  Although Jonathan Ericsson cut the lead to 1 with 6 minutes left in the game, Fleury showed some resolve by not losing focus and staying the course during the final tense stress.

The Penguins are the 1st team to win a Game 7 on the road in a championship series in any major sports since the Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series way back in 1979.  It hadn’t been done in the NHL since the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in a Game 7 in Chicago back in 1971.  The Penguins fell behind 2-0 after to road losses in 2 different series this post-season (to the Washington Capitals & the Red Wings), but still had enough poise and confidence to win both series, and ultimately the Stanley Cup.

Kudos to Mario Lemieux and the entire Pittsburgh Penguins organization for drafting well and putting together a great solid combination of youth and veterans to attain the highest goal…

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic 99-91 in overtime on Friday night in Orlando to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in the NBA Finals.  Derek Fisher was the unsing hero for the Lakers, as he banged down a 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 87 and send it into overtime.  With the game tied in overtime Fisher nailed another 3-pointer to put the Lakers up for good.  Only 2 players in NBA history have more 3-pointers in the NBA Finals – Robert Horry and Michael Jordan – pretty nice company (Jordan has 6 rings and Horry has 7 rings).

The Lakers overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to win Game 4, outscoring the Magic 30-14 in the 3rd quarter to take a 4 point lead to start the 4th.  The Lakers are now 7-0 in games following losses in the playoffs in 2009.  The only way the Lakers will be denied a championship is if they lose 3 straight games to the Magic – they haven’t lost 3 games in a row all year long.

Kobe Bryant had another impressive night – 32 points (despite making only 11 of 31 shots), 7 rebounds and 8 assists.  Bryant was 8 out of 8 from the free throw line, as the Lakers made 15 of 20 free throw attempts (back to that later).  Pau Gasol (16 points and 10 boards) and Trevor Ariza (16 points and 9 boards) were also instrumental in the win with their big nights.

For the Magic, Dwight Howard starred in just about every way.  Howard had 16 points, 21 rebounds and 9 blocked shots.  But he turned the ball over 7 times and missed more free throws than he made – he was 6-14 from the charity stripe.  That was the Magic’s main downfall – they shot only 59.5% from the free throw line, missing 15 of their 37 attempts from the line.  Any one of those shots gets made, we’re looking at a series tied at 2 with a pivotal Game 5 Sunday night in Orlando.  Instead, the Magic now have their backs against the wall.

Random note, Tiger Woods and his wife Elin were in attendance, as was singer Rihanna.

Stay tuned for great NBA action on Sunday on ABC.  Game 5 is scheduled to start at 8PM EST in Orlando.

Anne V – please step up to the plate.  In our latest installment of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models photos, we turn to Anne V to light up our day.  Anne Vyalitsyna is a dynamic, 23-year old Russian model who has had an illustrious career since the age of 15.  Anne V has appeared in Vogue, Elle, Glamour, Gloss and countless SI Swimsuit Issues.  She has also hit the runways for famous designers, including Calvin Klein, Carolina Herrera, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs, just to name a few.  We hope Anne V keeps plugging away on the global circuit for years to come.  Not so sure about the bear one, but at least the teddy bear was muzzled.  Enjoy…