Good Thursday morning, Friends.  I hope you’re all having a swell week so far.  My week’s going well…thanks for asking.  Really, that was sweet of you.  Oh, and happy Waterloo Day to all the bloody English reading this morning. 

When I can’t really think of anything significant to pontificate about in the Thursday morning TMA intro, I usually fall back on my old faithful “This Day In History” bit.  So, what happened on June 18 in years past?
 - (1778) American forces entered Philadelphia as British troops withdrew during the Revolutionary War.  This day would mark the last day that anything significant was won in Philly.
 - (1812) The U.S. declares war on Great Britain and Ireland.  *USA! USA! USA!* I bet you can’t guess which war it was eventually named!
 - (1924) George Mikan was born.
 - (1937) Del Harris was born.
 - (1938) Babe Ruth dons the Dodger uniform as the coach for the first time…and takes batting practice with the team prior to the game.
 - (1972) The U.S. Supreme Court, 5-3, confirms lower court rulings in Curt Flood case, upholding baseball’s exemption from antitrust laws.
 - (1973) The NCAA makes urine testing mandatory for all participants.  Alabama immediately begins another probationary period.
 - (1977) In the bottom of sixth inning at Fenway Park, Yankees manager Billy Martin yanks Reggie Jackson out of the game after the outfielder’s curious approach to a fly ball turns a questionable hit into a cheap double for Jim Rice. In the dugout, the skipper and sensitive superstar begin screaming at one another and have to be separated by coaches Yogi Berra and Elston Howard.
 - (1980) Antonio Gates was born.  Is it depressing to anyone else on any level that this guy is just one year older than me?  No?  Ok.
 - (1989) John Wayne Bobbitt marries Lorena L Gallo.  Their marriage was destined to be sliced apart in just a few years.
 - (1996) Ted Kaczynski – a.k.a. the Unabomber – is indicted on 10 different counts.
 - (2001) Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr. announces he will retire at the end of the season citing he wants to spend more time with his family. 
 - (2002) Jack Buck died.

Enough with the history…on to the links.

Speaking of Bammer, you wanna guess who needs 9 wins this fall to break 0.500 for the decade?  I’ll give you a hint.

Ryan Leaf finally turned himself in and posted a $45k bond yesterday.  I think the Colts front office high-fives each other every time Leaf’s name pops up.

Conventional stock car racing wisdom tells us that owner-driver teams don’t normally fare too well. So, why are Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman thriving so well?

Speaking of NASCAR, GM has announced it will be cutting back its sponsorship funding in the Sprint Cup series.  This is a big blow to NASCAR.  It’s not a stereotype to say that the demographic that typically attends races (bluecollar) is being hurt most in the current economy.  It’s hard for a family to justify paying hundreds of dollars to attend races when jobs are in jeopardy, especially while considering they are typically in the lower tax brackets – again, not a stereotype, just a simple fact.  NASCAR is being hit pretty hard from all sides.

*cough PERJURY cough* Will Slammin’ Sammy be re-nicknamed Slammer Sammy?  Stay tuned…

Some proposed BCS changes are on their way to the presidents’ meeting next week.  No need to stay tuned…nothing significant will happen. 

It’s rainy at Bethpage Black. 

 Loading ...

Fact: 5 arrests is less than 25 arrests…congratulations go out to the City of Angels.

I say a big fat bullshit to Mark Cuban for his claim that he is 80% certain he could’ve gotten Kobe for Dirk a couple of years ago.  Why do I say that?  Because he didn’t do everything short of selling his soul to Bennett Salvatore to do it.

D-Wade is headed to the White House for Father’s Day (LeBron was there earlier this week and Kobe will likely be there soon).  Might he be headed to Obammer’s home-away-from-home (i.e. Chicago) in 2010?

45 years for molesting a 12 year-old?  Sounds about right to me.  Although, I’d raise the possibility of castration as an addition…

Bammer will pay San Jose State $1 million to open the 2010 season in Tuscaloser.  They could have gotten the Citadel for around $250k, right GatorTrey?

Jose Canseco is planning a lawsuit against MLB and the players union regarding steroids.  Dude, you made your point…GO AWAY!

Wanna read about a redneck organized crime ring bust?  And, yes…the county is pronounced exactly the way you think it is.

Timex will sponsor the New York Giants training and practice facility.  No word yet on whether the Eagles have secured Bulova as their late-game clock management sponsor or not…

The Feds are cracking down on the payouts (scroll down to bottom) from online poker sites…a total of $30 million has been frozen.  BigD, I hope you’re not still financing your upcoming trip with your poker “bank account”.

Coach K to the Lakers (about 3/4 down the page)???  Wait a minute…haven’t we seen this episode before?  Yeah, yeah; this is the one where Kobe talks about if he went to college, he would have gone to Duke just to play under Coach Krzasdkjfghstrblnski.

For your morning musical enjoyment, I present T Swizzle and T Pain in ”Thug Story”:

Thanks for hangin’ with me this morning, and I hope you all have a good one.  And, always remember these wise words: “Your street time is limited ‘cuz this band rocks it.  Take your whole crew put ‘em all in your pocket.  If your feelin’ sick rub it on with vicks.  ‘N take 2 to 6 of our sweet super mix.”

Werd.

Mizerle06 is a senior writer and editor, and sometimes copy-editor, for Sparty & Friends.  He can be reached at mizerle@spartyandfriends.com if you’d like to drop a line.

Popularity: 2% [?]