You know, I always thought the 6'10 circus freak of a man in my rec soccer league was dirty, always swinging those giant moose legs around the field willy-nilly. Turns out, science says I may just be imagining things. Science Daily reports, "Researchers at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University have
researched all recorded fouls in three major football competitions over
seven years. They discovered an ambiguous foul is more likely to be
attributed to the taller of two players." So go ahead, shin-kick that tall, stork beast trying to cover you inside the penalty area. Chances are he'll get called for it. (Thanks, Bieuw)
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies plan to appeal Patrice Cormier's season-long suspension - Patrice Cormier will not accept his suspension by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League after all. Just shut up, sit down, and take your medicine.
Hunter Green, son of injured pro-golfer Ken Green, found dead in dorm room - It's the second family tragedy in eight months for Ken Green, who
won five PGA Tour events between 1985-89 and played on the 1989 Ryder
Cup team. This has been a terrible year for Green. He was in a car accident that cost him his girlfriend, brother, dog and his leg. Gotta hope some good news is coming his way soon. With goalies Theodore, Varlamov injured, Capitals recall Holtby from AHL - The Washington
Capitals have recalled Braden Holtby from Hershey of the AHL and he
will be available for Wednesday night's game against the Anaheim Ducks. What? Ovechkin can't play goal? I thought that guy was some sort of superstar?
Team USA members Brown, Quick and Johnson shine as Kings defeat Maple Leafs - If their
performance in Toronto is any indication, several of Team USA's young
stars have no trouble performing on the big stage at Vancouver 2010. To be fair, I'm quite certain Latvia could beat the this Leafs team on any given night.
China the favourite heading into women's Olympic curling; Canada in the mix -
Of the countless items produced in China every year, Olympic-calibre
curlers generally aren't thought to be among them. So should we be checking to see if these Curlers are legal age? Made of lead? Are taking performance enhancing melamine? Or are they just really hard working?
Picture this: The Olympic torch is run through your town. It's very exciting. The mayor, chamber of commerce and other civic luminaries are in attendance. After the ceremonial jog, you're in your local, sucking down pints of beer, waiting for your order of hot wings and reflecting on the Olympic history you just witnessed. Then, a few torch bearers walk into the bar holding their torches. Apparently, if you run with it, you can buy it for $400. After extracting this little tidbit of trivia from a tippling torch bearer, they ask you if you'd like to hold it. You say yes. Yes, you would. You then proceed to : a) hold it gently and smile. b) raise it above your head and yell, "By the power of Grayskull!" c) recognize its widely-reported resemblance to a Cheech & Chong party favour, and pose accordingly. Science tells us 90% of respondents would choose b) or c). The Toronto Star reported on just such an incident on Saturday and posted the above shot, saying it got the photo from Facebook, but didn't name the photographer. Well, The Cheap Seats investigative unit went out and tracked her down.
The Team 990 is reporting there was an altercation in the Habs dressing room after the team's 4-3 OT home loss to St. Louis last night. There isn't much detail to go on but apparently, blueliner Andrei Markov gave 'tender Carey Price a piece of his mind, saying, "If you are not going to play with heart, stay at home. We don't need you here." Then several players defended Price, while others backed Markov. Now, this can be taken one of two ways: A spontaneous outburst following an emotional loss OR a case of the straw that broke the camel's back. The former is really no big deal, happens in sports all the time and is nothing a team field trip to Schwartz's and Super Sexe or a well-timed win can't fix. The latter is a bit more complicated. Montreal is one of seven teams right now mired in a very tight one-point playoff race. If this latest loss and Markov's reported confrontation is the boiling point of a growing sentiment with a group of players, then the Habs have some serious mending to do. The last thing the team needs is a split locker room. This isn't the first time this season that Price's name has come up in feudish circumstances. Back in November 2009, a Twitter argument between All Habs and Montreal back-up goalie Jaroslav Halak's agent Allan Walsh, got some play on HNIC. Walsh tweeted some rather not-so hot Price stats, at the obvious advantage of his client, and both All Habs and the HNIC crew took issue with. Ah, the drama of sports. We'll see what happens tonight when the Canadiens go to Florida to take on Tampa with -- you guessed it -- Price to start in goal.
Patrice Cormier releases statement accepting season-long suspension from QMJHL -
Patrice Cormier is going to accept his punishment from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Enough has been said about this whole thing, so I'll just leave it at that.
Team Canada boss Steve Yzerman keeping an eye on team's injured players -
These are the truly anxious moments for Steve Yzerman. Maybe Phaneuf and Fisher will make the team after all!
Salvador Cabanas, star on Paraguay's World Cup team, shot in head in Mexico City bar - Salvador Cabanas,
the top player on Paraguay's World Cup team, was shot in the head
before dawn Monday in the bathroom of a bar in a well-off neighbourhood
in Mexico City. Terrible news, as of right now he's clinging to life in hospital.
Favre's inspirational performance marred by late interception; will he be back? - Battered and beaten, Brett Favre limped off the field for perhaps the final time. I say he plays one more season. Anyone want to bet? Rare goal from Lukowich leads Canucks to fifth straight win, 3-2 over Sabres - It took 12 seasons, but Brad Lukowich is finally living his NHL dream. This Canuck team is looking more and more like the Canadian team to beat nowadays. Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto are all looking pretty bland. The Habs and Sens have at least turned it up recently.
Sports video games have been around for more than three decades, getting more technically advanced and accurate with each passing year, to the point now where there is little difference between the skills and strategies used by pro coaches and athletes and their on-screen counterparts.
With this increased level of detail, do the current crop of pro athletes, and those kids hoping to join their ranks, have an advantage over old-timers thanks to video game sports providing hours of virtual practice?
The latest issue of Wired just landed in my mailbox (cover story: The New Industrial Revolution), and in it is a great story by Chris Suellentrop about this very subject. Suellentrop focuses primarily on football, using this past season's amazing play by Denver Broncos' Brandon Stokley (see video after the jump), who caught a deflection with just seconds left in the game, then ran along the touchdown line to run down the clock. It was move straight out of Madden NFL, as Stokley proudly admits. The Wired piece isn't online yet, so do yourself a favour and pick up the mag off the newstand.
Obviously football, with its volumes of playbooks and set stop-and-start play action is ripe for this sort of analysis. But do athletes in other sports feel they gain an edge in the cerebral portion of their sport, thanks to video games?

Punishment has finally been handed down to Rouyn-Noranda Huskies's Patrice Cormier for his elbow on Quebec Remparts defenceman Mikael Tam. Cormier's season is officially over. He has been suspended for the remainder of his QMJHC season, including the playoffs. "It was dangerous and unacceptable," said Raymond Bolduc, league disciplinarian. Tam was taken to hospital, where he stayed until the following evening. He suffered brain trauma and damage to several teeth. Read the rest of the story here. Do you think that this punishment fits the crime? Will it help prevent similar events from occurring? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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