Welcome to this one man show
Just take a seat, they’re always free
No surprise, no mystery
In this theatre that i call my soul
I always play the starring role, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely, so lonely
– The Police, So Lonely (Outlandos d’Amour)

9. You know its Spring Training when Pedro Gomez is around. When it’s spring time for baseball, one can usually count on ESPN reporter Pedro Gomez hanging around San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds like white on rice. This season, “The Worldwide Teaser” threw everyone a change-up and put Gomez on the Sammy Sosa-Texas Rangers beat. Sosa has told reporters on Friday that he’s not looking to ‘just hit 500 home runs’: he wants to stick around, be productive and surpass 700 dingers and didn’t come back to workout for four months and not be productive. Oh yeah — he doesn’t want to talk steroids. Pedro must be bumming, but his cunning ways should be able to get a quote out of him.

8. Roger Clemens watch. We’re not going to pretend and dignify much of a response in this space other than to say that ESPN balked at placing Pedro Gomez at Houston Astros camp where “The Rocket” continues to throw batting practice and playing grab-ass with son Koby (that might be his name…we know it begins with a ‘K’).

For that, we’re bummed.

More after the jump »

“I speak nine languages. Techno is not one of them.”
– Marcus Dixon, Alias

9. Carlos Zambrano pops off, quickly regrets. Stop if you heard this one before: emotionally unstable athlete, while upset with his contract, pops off to the media and threatens that he won’t come back to the team when is contract is up if he doesn’t get his way.

You’re thinking Mariano Rivera (if you are, slap yourself dumbass)?

It’s live-wire Chicago Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano, who essentially made an empty threat to a horde of Chicago reporters on Tuesday stating that he must have a multi-year deal in place during Spring Training or he’s going to walk. As it usually is with players her sound off, he backed off those words on Thursday. In fact, he essentially denied even saying it, telling television station WGN: “I didn’t say that if they don’t sign me before the end of spring training I will not sign with the Cubs. I didn’t say that. I just said they have ’til the beginning of the season; if not, I don’t want to talk about [a] contract during the season.”

We’re guessing that his agent got a hold of him and whispered sweet nothing into his ear over this gaffe.

8. Peter Forsberg dealt to Music City. As the old saying goes, the Nashville Predators are going for broke, dealing off 2005 1st round pick Ryan Parent, Scottie Upshall, a first round pick and a third round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for all-word forward Peter Forsberg.

The Predators are making a huge splash at the deadline to try and cement a legitimate shot at making (or even winning) the Stanley Cup Finals. It’s been widely rumored that the owners of the club are having difficulties turning a profit and are pinning their hopes on a deep playoff as being that elixir to get in the black. If not, it’s entirely possible the team may face an uncertain future in the Music City.

7. Ladies and gentleman, Dick Pound! We usually like to find a shameful way to utter the name “Dick Pound”, but at least this time, we have an excuse.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) reprimanded the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chief for his comments made to Lance Armstrong (LA).

Until Tim Hardaway came along, Pound would’ve won the “Open Mouth, Insert Foot Award” this week for this gem: “Lance Armstrong has probably killed a Brazilian rain forest with all the paper he has used to file his complaints against me.”

Bad Dick. Bad.

More after the jump »

Nine out of ten ain’t bad
– Meatloaf

(Author’s note: The Best of Nine will be moving to Fridays effective this week. It will return to Mondays when the NFL returns or Puxatawny Phil sees his shadow.)

9. Peyton Manning gets the gorilla off his back. We realize that the Indianapolis Colt quarterback won the Super Bowl a week ago Sunday, but a look back here is warranted. Bill Polian’s masterstroke draft pick in 1998 (it was either he or some guy named Leaf) has turned out to be something special. After years of not getting past the New England Patriots and into the Super Bowl, Manning slayed that dragon by downing them at home in late January, 38-31.

In that contest, the pride of New Orleans pulled his team back into the game after they fell behind 21-3 in the first half. The comeback was fueled by a 6:47 drive right out of the gate that put the score at 21-14. He then followed that up with a quick score 76-yard, six play drive that was capped off with a one-yard pass to tackle-eligible DT Dan Klecko.

After some back and forth by both teams, Manning and running back Joseph Addai put the final nail in the Patriots coffin with a 1:17 drive late in the fourth quarter to hit the final score of 38-31.

Cheers to Peyton.

8. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training. That sentence alone sends shivers up and down the spines of the folks at The Lead.

7. The Dallas Cowboys are pleased to announce the hiring the Wade Philips as head coach. Phillips, the former defensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers, was hired by the Dallas Cowboys Thursday to succeed the retiring Bill Parcells. Phillips has had four head coaching stops before (two interim gigs in New Orleans and Atlanta; two full-time positions in Denver and Buffalo) and has compiled a 48-39 record (.552) in six and a half seasons.

There are two ways to look at this hiring.

More after the jump »

Waiting for The Nine to come back on the air….

9. Michael Vick doesn’t like the TSA. Earlier in the week, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick got detained by TSA officials because the found a bottle that he was carrying had a false bottom containing what was believed to be marijuana. As it turns out (according to reports on Sunday), he will be exonerated on Monday due to the substance testing negative for any sort of illegal drugs. Brother Marcus remains the black sheep of the family.

8. Senator Mitchell would like to see you in his office. Former United States Senator George Mitchell warned Major League baseball owners and executives that they should ready themselves for Congressional intervention related to steroids. Mitchell is currently conducting an ‘investigation’ on behalf of commissioner Bud Selig to gather information on the muscle enhancer’s effect on the game. Like the test results on most players, he’s come up negative on any cooperation.

7. Mark McGwire gets some allies. Speaking of steroids, San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds went on the record this week in the Dominican Republic that Mark McGwire, Pete Rose and any other potential candidate should be enshrined into the baseball hall of fame that has a black cloud associated with their names. Bonds should be getting his house in order rather than worrying about whether or not other folks should gain acceptance into the doors of Cooperstown.

More after the jump »

“Our guys play a hard nine.”
— Cardinals manager Tony Larussa, on effort

9. Barry Bonds throwing his teammate under the bus. The San Francisco Giants outfielder was found to have flunked a drug test last season (amphetamines). What does the star slugger do? Point his finger in the direction of teammate Mark Sweeney is what he does.

In another public relations hiccup for Bonds, he decided to implicate a teammate for flunking his drug test, saying he got the supplement from his locker. Sweeney denied even knowing he was implicated and categorically denied such an incident occurred.

Bonds has since apologized for blaming his friend and teammate.

8. The Saints…are comin’…THE SAINTS. It has been an interesting 18 months for the New Orleans Saints.

Hurricane Katrina ravages the New Orleans community, causing major damage to the team’s facilities in Metairie, La. and nearly colossal destruction to their game day home, the SuperDome. The Superdome sustained damage to its roof and managed to survive chaos inside (rapes, flooding and even murders were committed).

The hurricane caused the Saints to play the remainder of their schedule on the road that season, playing their contests in either San Antonio, Texas or at the home of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge as questions swirled if the Saints would move to another city on a permanent basis.

After hiring head coach Sean Payton in the off-season and drafting USC running back Reggie Bush (more on that later), a new feeling of resurrection for the city and it’s fans was born. The NFL played their opening game on September 25, 2006 to a sold-out crowd in the Superdome, where the Saints crushed the Atlanta Falcons, 23-3.

Now, the Saints are looking like a team of destiny as they head to the NFC Championship game to face the defensive force that is the Chicago Bears. It’s unfortunate that the game will be played in the “Windy City”, but when you’re looking like a team of destiny, that shouldn’t matter. More after the jump »

This piece is better than what number nine did for Dallas against Seattle…maybe

9. Has Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis lost some of his luster? With the recent drubbing by the Fighting Irish at the hands of LSU, Notre Dame’s Weis image as an offensive mind has taken a hit. Despite the fact that running back Darius Walker (a Lead fave) ran roughshod over the LSU defense, piling up 128 yards mostly in the first half, quarterback Brady Quinn mustered very little. Quinn dismally threw for 148 yards and only completed 15 passes (out of 35). Weis will finally have players that are considered ‘his’ guys next season, so look for the seat to get a little warmer in South Bend.

8. The JaMarcus Russell coming out party. Keeping with the Sugar Bowl, LSU quarterback Russell showed pro scouts and college football fans everywhere that he’s got some skills. Russell hammered the Irish secondary with a blitzkrieg-like approach, amassing 332 passing yards with three TDs (two passing, one rushing). His performance may’ve awoken a sleeping giant among scouting types and appears to have driven him to opt out of his senior season at LSU. In fact, Russell may push his Sugar Bowl opposing QB Quinn out of the top spot in the 2007 NFL Draft unless Al Davis wake up from a nap.

7. Sean Payton: coach of the year. New Orleans Saints first-year coach Sean Payton captured the NFL Coach of the Year by the Associated Press this past week. Payton turned heads having turned a Saints team that was distracted by the events of Hurricane Katrina from a 3-13 record in 2006 to 10-6 and winner of the NFC South Division. It certainly helps when your general manager gets a solid QB (Drew Brees) and has the luck in two teams passing on star-in-the-making running back Reggie Bush in the draft to help make this happen, but Payton deserves a ton of credit.

6. Tony Romo fumbling, rumbling and stumbling. Not to steal ESPN’s Chris Berman’s thunder, but that’s what best describes the last minute ‘heroics’ of Dallas’ Tony Romo on Saturday evening. Pictures are worth a thousand words, so this should do it.

[youtube]Vt-MUic4U4I[/youtube]

More after the jump »

(Publisher’s note: The Best of Nine for this Issue (numero seis) will cover the year in sports, 2006)

There are some great stories in 2006 (the high schooler Jason McElwain, who has autism, buried six three-pointers in three-and-a-half minutes worth of work; Vince Young leading the Texas Longhorns to a national collegiate football title over the mighty USC Trojans; Kobe Bryant dropping 81 points in game; legendary Detroit Red Wing captain Steve Yzerman hanging up his skates; the publisher of this blog winning TIME Magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2006….and on and on).

But in this list, The Lead will delve into what we think are the best stories of the year from our demented minds. So without further delay…

Nine Lives - Feelin� lucky
Nine Lives - Live again
Nine Lives - It ain�t over
Nine Lives - Live for ten

9. The deaths of Lamar Hunt and Red Auerbach. Without Hunt, the NFL’s leading advocate, the league arguably wouldn’t be the behemoth that it is today. Hunt will be remembered as a guy who wanted and loved the spirit of competition, always wanting a level-playing field for all involved, going so far as to insist that all the teams from the AFL be included in the AFL-NFL merger in the 1960s. His footprint has left an indelible mark on today�s sports landscape and will be terribly missed.

In Auerbach, the city of Boston lost an icon; the league lost a trailblazer. In his tenure with the Boston Celtics that started in 1950 and lasted till his death, Auerbach tallied over 1000 wins, won eight straight NBA titles, built seven more as the team’s general manager and drafted the league’s first African-American player. Not only that, he drafted two NBA legends and franchise cornerstones — Bill Russell and Larry Bird. Somewhere, he’s lighting up a stogie.

8. The retirement of NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue. What has he done for the game since he took over 17 years ago? With some help from ESPN The Magazine…

Paul Tagliabue and His Impact on the NFL

More after the jump »

(Publisher’s note: Welcome to a special Wednesday edition of The Best of Nine. Due to the holiday season, a re-shuffling was in order TBN. I hope you enjoy!)

“On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…nine ladies dancing…” (mmmm…love the dirty mind)

9. The emergence of the Philadelphia Eagles and quarterback Jeff Garcia. When Pro-Bowl QB Donovan McNabb was lost for the season, the playoff hopes for the NFC East contender Eagles was all but left for dead. They were 5-6 and reeling, falling further behind the then-white hot Dallas Cowboys and Tony Romo.

Enter former Pro Bowl ace Jeff Garcia.

Relegated to journeyman back-up status after departing San Francisco, Garcia signed on as back-up to McNabb last off season. With the Eagles stumbling to week 12 and losing McNabb, Garcia has ripped off four straight wins (three of which were on the road against division rivals), including a 23-7 victory over the hated Dallas Cowboys and clinched a playoff spot.

The thirty-six year old Garcia has more than admirably stepped into filling McNabb’s shoes, creating an improbable renaissance that has given the Eagles a solid shot at the NFC East crown. Since stepping in, Garcia has amassed a solid 1280 yards, compiling a 62.5% completion rate (115 for 185) and notching 10 touchdowns and only two interceptions. His quarterback rating (which is compiled using a formula what would make any nuclear physicist blush) is a robust 96.2 heading into the season’s final week.

8. Speaking of the Cowboys, a certain wide receiver decided to open up his trap again, this time bitching and moaning that he’s not getting enough touches early in games. This time, fellow wideout Terry Glenn concurred, musing to the Associated Press — ‘Why can’t we do anything when we have all these weapons?’ If the alleged ’snitch’ isn’t happy (number 81 claimed earlier this season that someone was leaking information to the press and many speculated it was Glenn), then coach Bill Parcells’ tenure in Dallas may be nearing its culmination. Parcells was none too happy with owner Jerry Jones when he brought 81 on board and it may boil down to a ‘he-goes-or-I-go’ scenario. Smart money says Parcells has had enough of the soap opera and will depart within five days of seasons’ end.

7. Is there a better Christmas tune than Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song”? Every time I hear this tune, I just get shivers down my spine and goosebumps at Cole’s smooth, dulcet tones. While “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” by Springsteen and the E Street Band and U2’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” are hard to beat for modern, up-tempo holiday tunes, nothing beats a classic like Nat King Cole.

More after the jump »

Nine planets…round the sun repeat

9. “I’m not voting for Mark McGwire” vs. “I’m voting for Mark McGwire” debate.
There’s quite the controversy percolating in the sports media (if you haven’t noticed) — is the ’should he/shouldn’t he’ be debate of baseball slugger Mark McGwire. There isn’t a more worthless debate as to whether he should go in or not right now.

Why?

Some writers act like if they don’t vote him in now, it’s some protest to arguably one of baseball’s best sluggers since Babe Ruth. Others, like St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer Bernie Miklasz, will vote for him as a means of his own protest against the hypocrisy of the palpable contingent of Baseball Writers Association of America who’ve stated their case. That’s fine and dandy, but does it really matter? Some of baseball’s all-time greats (Jimmy Foxx and Harmon Killebrew to name a few) weren’t voted in the first time around and there aren’t any allusions to when they are voted in on their plaque. It’s fine to debate the merits of McGwire based upon his stats or the allegations of steroid use, but let’s not act like not voting him now versus voting for him later is serving him right. When one boils it all down to the nitty gritty, he either is or isn’t, no matter when he goes into Cooperstown.

8. Welcome to the Alex Smith coming out party.
On Thursday evening, in front of a county-wide audience on The NFL Network (yes, that’s not a typo), San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith put on a fourth quarter show. He helped lead the Niners by putting up 24 unanswered points (a TD pass from Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck to Jerramy Stevens spoiled the fun) in a 24-14 romp over the Seahawks. Smith may’ve not put up impressive passing yards (162 yards), but his poise and masterful fourth quarter play (two passing TDs and one rushing TD where no one was within 15 yards on a naked bootleg) displayed hope for a Niners team that The Lead didn’t think would win more than five games this season. His emergence, grouped with the stellar play of first-year starter Frank Gore and monster tight end Vernon Davis, give Niners’ fans hope for a solid offensive foundation in the future. More after the jump »

Hitting the nine dressed to the nines….

9. Congratulations to the Troy Smith of The Ohio State University. In an anti-climatic outcome, Smith won the Heisman Trophy by the second largest margin of points (1,662) to O.J. Simpson’s 1,750 point win in 1968. Smith’s win marks the seventh trophy win for the school, tying Notre Dame and Southern California with seven. The Heisman is awarded annually to the best college football player in the country.

8. Break up the Kansas City Royals! This Thursday, the Royals pulled off the unthinkable — they signed free agent starter Gil Meche…to a five-year, $55 million deal. Easily one of the dumbest contracts this off-season. Not to be outdone, the Royals outbid several teams, including the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox, for the services of reliever Octavio Dotel, whom they inked to an incentive laden, $5 million deal. Can you say ‘buying credibility to get fans into the stands at Kaufmann?’ The only positive development for Royals fans is that owner David Glass his spending money on players and not putting it in his pocket like he usually does. Then again, he’s probably not spending it wisely, either.

7. From one combustible (Royals) to another (space shuttle) — is there anything more visually majestic than seeing the space shuttle launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla. in the evening? For the first time in four years, NASA risked launching a shuttle during nighttime hours despite cooler temps that may compromise the integrity of the spacecraft.

6. To another combustible…the Chicago Cubs inked Jason Marquis to a three-year, $21 million pact on Saturday. The deal rounds out the Cubs’ hot stove spending to a roughly estimated $305.5 million thus far. The Cubs still hope to add OF Cliff Floyd before the calendar year is out.

More after the jump »

Time to go another round of nine…

9. USC doesn’t muster much on offense behind quarterback John David Booty’s arm and get upset by unranked UCLA, 13-9. UCLA had two weeks to prepare for this game and it looks like defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker pulled all the right schemes to shut USC down.

8. John David Booty. Three names are generally reserved for use by the media when a criminal escapes from a prison institution, but in this case, the name belongs to a QB at USC. After being led by Matt Leinart for their last two national championship appearances, Booty couldn’t muster many points on offense to get them to their third. He threw for 272 yards with little excitement and had a key interception near the end of the game to close things out. Granted the pick wasn’t his fault, but it was generally a pretty disappointing performance for the best back-up quarterback the program had during his years in that role (bruised elbow in 2004 knocked him out). Just think: a week ago his story was a feel good one with the touching profile on ESPN that depicted him as the guy with tremendously bad luck when opportunity knocked and he was going to finally answer the door.

Guess they changed the locks on the door, eh?

More after the jump »

As part of the continuing crusade to provide content for The Buried Lead, a series of recurring pieces titled “The Best of Nine” will be rolled out on a weekly basis.
What is “The Best of Nine”?

Derived from the series composition of baseball’s fall classic’s past (1903 and 1919-1923 World Series’ specifically), the Lead will attempt to tackle nine issues in a rapid, stream of consciousness format…from any category. Coming up with a best of ten list would –

1. Not make any sense because one side wouldn’t get an advantage in such a set-up…
2. Not be easier to only come up with nine…
3. Be clich� to come with a ‘top ten’ list…

So without further ado, “The Best of Nine”…

More after the jump »