Page 2 Encyclopedia: Edits, Additions

Sat, Nov 21
9:43
AM

Have you checked out our Page 2 Encyclopedia? Here are some edits and additions:

Hand ball: In soccer, an illegal touch easily identifiable on television; a referee's problem, not France's.

Holliday, Matt: Three-time All-Star as a member of the Colorado Rockies. Second in 2007 National League MVP voting. Traded to Oakland A's in Nov. 2008 in deal for closer Huston Street. Had .831 OPS in 93 games for Oakland. In July 2009, traded to St. Louis Cardinals for three minor-league prospects; compiled 1.023 OPS for St. Louis in 63 games. Tried to catch ball with groin in 2009 playoffs. Free agent; will try to convince an American League team to overpay for a National League player.

Iverson, Allen: College: Georgetown. One of only two Hoyas to leave school early under John Thompson. No. 1 pick in 1996 NBA draft, Philadelphia 76ers. Rookie of the Year, 1997. Two-time All-Star Game MVP. League MVP, 2000-2001. Hates to practice. Won't come off bench. Even Knicks don't want him.

Mangino, Mark: Kansas Jayhawks football coach (2002-present). Led team to Orange Bowl with 12-1 record in 2007, school's first BCS invitation. In 2007, won National Coach of the Year honors from numerous publications, including the Associated Press and ESPN/ABC, and was also named Woody Hayes Coach of the Year. Unlike Hayes, did not end his career by decking an opposing player. Reserves animosity for own players.

Turnover: In football, to lose possession of the ball through a mistake (a fumble, intercepted pass or coaching arrogance).

Bad weekend for college football

Sat, Nov 21
9:12
AM

"But every week of the regular season is important in college football!"

It's the standard line from every BCS apologist who ever lived.

Yet here we are with one week remaining in the college football regular season (or two, depending on the conference) and I ask you to show me one game on this week's schedule that matters.

Just one.

The No. 1 team in the country is playing a bad team from the Sun Belt conference. The No. 2 team in the country is playing an FCS school. The remaining undefeated teams are all favored by three touchdowns or more. Except for Cincinnati. They have a bye week.

I suppose you can say Oregon-Arizona and Cal-Stanford mean something. But that's only if you're a Pac-10 fan who still holds the Rose Bowl in high regard. The rest of the country could care less.

So here we are with one week left in the regular season and you (or your sports-savvy wife/girlfriend) can easily make the case there's not one reason to turn on the TV today.

Imagine that happening in the NFL. You can't. A season's importance and drama should build during the season.

Yet here we are, one week left in the regular season, and the schedule is full of zero. And a couple weeks from now, the entire sport will go dark for a month while we wait for the one game that does matter (as determined by a computer).

Well done, college football. As always. Well done.

Page 2 welcomes Gordon Edes with a Q&A

Fri, Nov 20
Nov
20

Gordon Edes, who has covered baseball for more than 25 years, joined ESPNBoston.com on Friday. Gordon is a colorful character, having written for the Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, among other publications. He had spent 12 years covering the Red Sox for the Globe.

So Page 2 wanted to welcome him to our family with a question and answer.

Page 2: Is Boston the most passionate sports town in America?

Edes: I've never been to Tuscaloosa on a football Saturday. I have, however, been in the Montreal Forum for a Russia-Team Canada hockey game, Yankee Stadium during the World Series, the Big D for a Cowboys game, and the Spectrum (RIP) for a Flyers game. No team intrudes as much on the fabric of a region's daily life as the Red Sox in New England, but passion flows deep and wide in plenty of places. Whatever they call the park the Marlins play these days isn't one of 'em.

Read More »

A glance at college football's rivalry trophies

Fri, Nov 20
Nov
20

Lately, college football has adopted its older brother's affection for corporate naming rights and big-money network contracts. This makes sense, of course, since history has taught us that where capitalism goes, football follows.

The well-fed feast on the average, greedily outspend each other for the top spot, and then blame the system when the whole thing ends controversially.

It's the market! It's the BCS! And hey, President Obama wants to change both …

But look hard enough, and you can still spot some endearing vestiges on college football's softer underbelly.

Take matchup nicknames, for example. The Michigan-Ohio State game, considered one of the greatest sports rivalries, has donned the simple moniker "The Game." There are a couple of Ivy League schools that claim ownership of that nickname, too, but no Crimson-Bulldogs game has ever packed Harvard Square quite like they can in The Big House or The Horseshoe.

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Remembering an American hero

Fri, Nov 20
Nov
20


Ten years ago this week, then-Kansas defensive end Dion Rayford angrily attempted to crawl through a Taco Bell drive-thru window to claim a chalupa that was missing from his order -- an action for which he was suspended from his team, received probation, became the butt of late-night talk jokes, and narrowly avoided the epic scorn and derision of a sports blogosphere that, much to his good fortune, had yet to exist.

As the old saw goes, to be great is to be misunderstood.

John Keats died largely ignored. It took the Vatican 359 years to apologize to Galileo. During his lifetime, Bach -- perhaps the greatest composer in Western history -- was thought of as little more than a talented organ player. So too has Rayford's principled genius gone unrecognized and unsung. In an era marked by the public's chronic unwillingness to stand up and demand what is rightfully theirs -- instead rolling over for bailed-out banks, manipulative politicians, uber-powerful corporations, those sinister forces that would charge $8.50 for an 8-oz. cup of warm stadium beer -- Rayford said enough. No mas. He drew a line in the sand, then crammed his 6-foot-3, 270-pound frame through a 14-by-46-inch window, the better to seize the warmed-over chalupa that was both his due and destiny.

Hey, nobody said virtue was an easy fit.

Rayford is a role model. An inspiration. He had the courage of his convictions and the can-do, Teddy Rooseveltian spirit of vigorous action to match. He went for the chalupa. He would not be denied. No he can't? Yes he can. Surrounded by so many metaphoric missing chalupas of our own -- unaffordable health care, burgeoning public debts, crummy schools and crumbling roads, a BCS cartel that callously blocks the college football playoff everyone not wearing a yellow blazer wants -- can we, as Americans, say the same?

The scoop on Oprah

Fri, Nov 20
Nov
20

Why did Oprah Winfrey decide to end her show in 2011? Page 2's dubious network of sources uncovers the real reasons:

• Desire to retire before Brett Favre does

• Book club didn't leave enough time to read US Weekly

• Only way to hold a place in line for next "Twilight" movie

• Prevents show's 26th season, thereby protesting Phoenix Suns' refusal to retire Jud Buechler's No. 26

• PTSD following Tom Cruise couch-jumping incident remains untreatable

• Realized flying car giveaway will never happen, even though it's the year 2010 and she's Oprah

• Consulted with Darren Daulton's personal calendar

• Probable conflict with presidential bid

Joe Cada raises the stakes with Page 2

Fri, Nov 20
Nov
20

Joe Cada's life has been a whirlwind since he became the youngest player ever to win the World Series of Poker's main event on Nov. 10.

For his triumph, Cada won $8.55 million, a sum to be shared with backers who paid for his entry into the WSOP. Meantime, the 22-year-old Michigan native is acclimating to his newfound celebrity, making the rounds on national talk shows ranging from CNN's "American Morning" to "The Late Show with David Letterman."

He's living his dream, and we're sorry we missed the victory celebration.

Cada's victory tour pulled into Bristol on Thursday, and the reigning king of Texas Hold 'em squeezed Page 2 into his schedule -- even as his mind was likely wandering to Michigan Stadium, where he has plans to watch his beloved Wolverines as they try to stun rival Ohio State on Saturday.

Page 2: How has your life changed since winning the World Series?

Cada: It's been pretty crazy. I don't get to sleep in anymore. A bunch of media, running around, media, media.

What has been the biggest "wow" factor so far?

Probably Letterman was the biggest "wow," and I'll also get to be on the sideline for the Michigan-Ohio State game, which is pretty sweet.

Read More »

Actor Quinton Aaron and pro wrestling? Hmmm

Fri, Nov 20
Nov
20

This weekend is WWE's Survivor Series in the American Airlines Arena in Miami.

Do you think this guy, who is 6-foot-8 and 360 pounds and posing with a WWE championship belt, could survive against the brutes in pro wrestling?

"I'm not really an athlete," said actor Quinton Aaron, who portrayed football player Michael Oher in the movie, "The Blind Side." "I played football in the 9th grade for one semester. I wasn't good at it. When we broke from the huddle, the guy next to me on the line had to tell me what to do."

So it's surprising how well the Bronx-born Aaron, who previously played mostly bouncers and bodyguards in a handful of movies, looks like a natural on the big screen.

The movie, which costars Sandra Bullock and opens Friday, is the true story of Oher, a homeless teenager from a broken home who was taken in by a well-to-do family who helped him fulfill his potential. He then was drafted and signed by the NFL's Baltimore Ravens this spring.

Aaron, who has been a big dude his whole life, had to get in shape for the movie. The 25-year-old spent eight weeks to drop from 472 pounds to 372 pounds. "I inspired others in the cast to lose weight also," said Aaron, who stopped by ESPN this week. "They were cheering me on."

Aaron still hasn't met Oher but he hears they are a lot alike: soft-spoken and very focused. Now, Aaron wants to make movies with Will Smith and Denzel Washington.

So how about pro wrestling? Aaron just laughs.

"Back in the day, I wanted to be a wrestler but not so much anymore," he said. "I would, however, love to be a special guest on one of the episodes someday!"

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