The Talented Mr. Roto: All-in-one column

Tue, Nov 24
5:21
PM

So it's Thanksgiving week, and that means I, like many of you with your loved ones, get to take Thursday off to spend with my friends and family in College Station, Texas. And since you have three games to watch Thursday and strangers to elbow out of the way Friday to make sure you get your grubby little hands on that last Hannah Montana lampshade your kids just have to have, you're pretty much going to be setting your lineup Wednesday and letting it ride. That's cool. We got you covered with both pickups and Love/Hate all in this one here column. Think of it as the turducken of fantasy advice.

Now, obviously, I have a lot to be thankful for. But rather than you hearing about my job, or worse, some horrible, hacky "fantasy performances/players we should be thankful" column, I figured I should give back.

What are my readers thankful for? For once, I will turn it over to them and let them express their gratitude in the week when we should all remember how lucky we are.

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Your program guide to pigskin nation

Tue, Nov 24
4:29
PM


Time to cue up The College Football DVR, where -- depending on whim -- we'll look back, forward or just let things play, always in quick succession.

PLAY: Welcome to Rivalry Week! Texas A&M hosts Colt McCoy and the No. 3 Texas Longhorns on Thanksgiving. Despite his impressive résumé, McCoy is 1-2 against TAMU and was carted off the field with an injury in the 2006 game, leading Aggies fans to dub him "Cart McCry."

PLAY: According to reports, an irate Notre Dame fan sucker-punched Jimmy Clausen at a South Bend restaurant following the team's loss to Connecticut last Saturday. No one was arrested, but authorities are currently looking for this man in connection with the alleged altercation.

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ESPN The Magazine's gift guide and giveaway

Tue, Nov 24
1:29
PM

Shopping for a Bleacher Creature or a Cameron Crazy this holiday season? No sweat. Diehards won't want to live without these goodies. And if you feel like treating yourself, just send a message to The Mag with an answer to the question, "What's the best sports gift you've ever given or received?"

You could win a pair of soccer cleats, courtesy of Concave, or a New York Yankees World Series highlights DVD, and see your story in a future issue of The Mag. It's just that simple.

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Who should be thankful?

Tue, Nov 24
1:10
PM

Soon many Americans will gather together to give thanks for the splendid bounty of their lives. Mostly, we do this by overeating and yelling at our relatives. As you count your blessings this holiday, Page 2 has a list of the 10 Most Thankful People in Sports:

10. Zack Greinke is thankful that he signed with the Royals only through 2012.

9. Drew Gooden's girlfriend is thankful he finally shaved that creepy neck beard.

8. Chicago Bears fans are thankful they only rented that red carpet they rolled out for Jay Cutler.

7. French soccer star Thierry Henry, and all of France, are thankful that the referee somehow missed an obvious hand ball in their World Cup qualifier against Ireland.

6. Martin Hansson, the ref who missed the call, is thankful he does not live in Dublin.

5. The Memphis Grizzlies are thankful they ordered 3,000 Allen Iverson jerseys for a fan giveaway in December. (Thankful, that is, they didn't order 6,000.)

4. Ron Artest is thankful to be in L.A. -- where borderline personalities don't get suspended, they get reality TV shows.

3. New York Yankees fans are finally, at long last, truly thankful for A-Rod.

2. Larry Johnson is thankful that the Chiefs taught him a hard lesson … by sending him to a contender.

And the winner, Page 2's Most Thankful Person in Sports, is …

1. Charlie Weis -- who is thankful he doesn't coach at Michigan. Or Kansas. Or Washington State, or Illinois, or Virginia, or Georgia, or Memphis, or Marshall, or UNLV, or Louisville, or Tulane.

What can Brown do for you?

Tue, Nov 24
10:42
AM


The Houston Texans have had four end-of-game failures this season, all by men of one name. Well, kind of. It hasn't been a good year to be named Chris Brown or Kris Brown.

Week 3: Chris Brown fumbles at goal line versus Jaguars
With the Texans down 31-24 and 2:10 left in the fourth quarter, Chris Brown fumbles the ball into the end zone, and Jacksonville recovers. Houston challenges the play, but the call stands, and the Jags win.

Week 5: Chris Brown stopped at goal line versus Cardinals
After trailing 21-0 at halftime, the Texans charge back in the second half in Arizona. A big kickoff return by Andre Davis gives the Texans great field position, and Houston marches downfield before being stopped three straight times from the Cards' 1 -- on the last of which, Chris Brown is stopped for no gain on fourth and goal.

Week 9: Kris Brown misses 42-yard FG as time expires versus Colts
Starting at their own 15-yard line with 1:46 to go, the Texans drive to the Indianapolis 24 with a chance to kick a tying field goal against the unbeaten Colts with one second left. Kris Brown, who was 10-for-13 from beyond 40 yards in 2008, misses wide left, and the Texans lose 20-17.

Week 11: Kris Brown misses 49-yard FG with 0:06 left versus Titans
Again down 20-17, the Texans drive to the Tennessee 31 with a chance to kick the tying field goal with six seconds left. For the second week in a row, Brown lines up and misses wide left, and Houston drops to 5-5.

We won't even get started on R&B singer Chris Brown …

Will Ferrell, Nate Robinson are buds

Mon, Nov 23
Nov
23

New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson and actor/comedian Will Ferrell are an unlikely duo, but since the reigning NBA Slam Dunk champion started hanging out on the set of Ferrell's new comedy "The Other Guys" a few months ago, the two have become buds. So it was no surprise that Robinson was looking to impress his new friend by shooting 7-for-11 and scoring a season-high 19 points on Sunday when Ferrell, co-stars Mark Wahlberg, Rosie Perez and Brooke Shields showed up at Madison Square Garden with more than 20 crew members to shoot a short scene during the Celtics-Knicks game.

"I think he [Robinson] has every one of Will's movies memorized," said the movie's co-writer Chris Henchy. "Mark, Will and Adam [McKay, director and co-writer] are such NBA fans, I think as giddy as [Robinson] is to come by the set, he walks away and they go, 'Nate's on our set!'"

Robinson impressed the director so much he even gave him a cameo in the film, which stars Ferrell and Wahlberg as two detectives. During an explosion scene, Robinson runs over to an injured Ferrell and Wahlberg to steal their wallets. It's a brief scene for Robinson, but is perhaps the beginning of a comedy career for one of the NBA's most entertaining characters.

Assuming the scene makes the cut, Robinson wouldn't be the only New York athlete featured in the film, which is scheduled to be released in August. Derek Jeter also makes an appearance -- and an even more dramatic exit. "Mark has accidentally shot Derek Jeter while on duty," Henchy explained. "It's becoming a crazy cast."

Sunday's scene at the Knicks game, which will likely last less than 30 seconds in the film, was based around Ferrell and Wahlberg, who are bribed with courtside seats to not go after a case. While flirting with Perez and Shields, they realize halfway through the game that they've been bribed and abruptly run out. Ferrell was decked out in a traffic-cone orange Knicks hat and a gray suit for the scene, while Wahlberg, a Boston native, didn't seem to mind wearing Knicks garb for the film and sported Danilo Gallinari's No. 8 jersey.

Wahlberg and Ferrell left once the filming wrapped up following halftime after shooting the scene more than a dozen times, but Shields, Perez and Henchy stayed to watch from the front row while sitting next to "30 Rock" star Tracy Morgan and director Spike Lee.

Beckham to buy an MLS franchise?

Mon, Nov 23
Nov
23

Real Salt Lake took home the MLS Cup on Sunday in thrilling fashion by edging the Los Angeles Galaxy on penalty kicks. So, naturally, the biggest soccer story in America on Monday is regarding David Beckham. He has announced he will return for a fourth MLS season next year, which is great news for the perpetually developing league. But that's not all. He also said he plans to exercise an option in his contract that allows him to buy an MLS franchise. We here at Page 2 love this idea and wanted to help out by suggesting a few places for the team to be located.

Austin, Texas: Warm weather, great people and plenty of movie production companies for Beckham to become involved in. Plus, his wife is already burnt-orange, so the locals will love her.

Miami: South Beach has become the place to be for famous sports owners, and it would be fun if Posh Spice and Jennifer Lopez started a diva feud. A lip-synch-off would be the only fair way to settle it.

Washington: D.C. could support a second MLS franchise, and Beckham's BFF, Tom Cruise, already has cast some strange spell over the local sports teams that he could use to get his friend whatever he wants.

Detroit: It would be nice if at least one football team in town had a chance to succeed. Plus, the Beckhams love being part of "the scene," and when you think of glitz and glamour, you think Detroit.

New Orleans: The Beckhams have showed a real love for getting naked in ad campaigns. Mardi Gras would give them a chance to truly pursue their passion.

Hollywood: It's where the Beckhams belong, and it would prevent Beckham from having to engage in his most arduous and traumatic task: finding a new hairstylist.

London: If the United States is going to be serious about soccer, everyone knows its league needs to be based in Europe. Placing Becks' team in London could start that transition.

Hometown discount?

Mon, Nov 23
Nov
23

As Joe Mauer clears room in his trophy case for the MVP award he received Monday, Yankees and Red Sox fans are no doubt mentally clearing their rosters for the game's best catcher in 2011. Mauer will be eligible for free agency after next season, and New York and Boston fans can't imagine him signing with anyone other than the Yankees or Red Sox.

Of course, that's the thing about Yankees and Red Sox fans -- they can't imagine anything in baseball outside their teams. But frankly, it's hard to see Mauer playing the 2011 season anywhere other than the same location he's played his entire life: Minnesota.

A St. Paul native, Mauer has played on the same fields where Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor and Jack Morris played. He not only has played his entire major league career in the Metrodome but also played there while growing up, in youth football leagues and as quarterback in the state high school championship. And there are times it seems half the Twin Cities is related to him. "I definitely enjoy playing in front of my family and friends in Minnesota," he said in a teleconference call Monday. "It's all I really know."

Money should not be an issue. The Twins will be moving into a new, taxpayer-funded stadium next year and will see their revenues increase substantially. Minnesotans were told for years that the Twins needed a new ballpark to retain their best players. If the Twins fail to re-sign Mauer -- the most popular Twin since Kirby Puckett -- there will be hell to pay.

Puckett turned down more lucrative contracts to re-sign with the Twins after the 1992 season, and it is worth noting that Mauer has the same agent Puck did: Ron Shapiro, an agent more concerned with relationships and reputation than squeezing the very highest dollar from a club. (Not that this is any sort of reference to Scott Boras. Not at all. No, sir. Don't mean to imply that at all. Get that thought out of your head. These are not the droids you're looking for.)

Mauer said he would rather have won the World Series than the MVP -- "I think any player will tell you that," he said -- but also thinks he can win it in Minnesota. "Over the years we've proven that we can get to the postseason, and my experience has shown that any team that's hot can win it," he said. "It's a matter of whoever is playing hot at that moment. If we can get to the postseason, we definitely have a chance."

Or at least, the Twins have a chance as long as the umps can see whether a ball is fair or foul.

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