Results tagged “NHL” from Robert Littal Presents The Infamous BlackSportsOnline

It's easy to recognize and commend the good but what about the bad and just plain ugly. From brawls to scantily clad nannies and sex scandals to tearful confessions and cons, there were some oh so forgettable 2008 sports moments that made your skin crawl and scream out random things that border idiotic, like Sarah Palin

WORST 8 SPORTS MOMENTS OF 2008

8.) WNBA Shock Sparks Brawl

Not to be outdone by their male counterparts,the Detroit Shock and Los Angeles Spark ensued the first ever cat fight in WNBA during a game at the Palace on July 23rd that left WNBA fans enraged, male viewers cheering and two players suspended. Already a heated rivalry between the two squads, the ongoing tension that night from an earlier play involving LA Sparks franchise player and media darling, Candice Parker and veteran forward, Cheryl Ford, fueled the fight between Parker and Detroit Shock forward, Pienette Pierson who got tangled up tussling for the ball after a missed shot by Pierson. Of course, with teammates coming to each others aid, things got even more ugly after an "accidental" push of Lisa Leslie by Detroit assistant coach, Rick Mahorn resulted in a retaliation from Sparks forward, Delisha Milton-Jones. Detroit's Pierson and Mahorn were suspended for four and two games respectively while Kara Braxton, Tasha Humphrey, Elaine Powell and Sheri Sam (also from Detroit), along with Los Angeles' Leslie, Candace Parker and DeLisha Milton-Jones all got a one game suspension. Although this incident is prime example unsportman-like conduct and is very unladylike, I must admit this "catfight" certainly breathed life into a genre that has very selective few fans.

7.)U.S. Relay Teams Drop The Baton

The Olympics held so many shining moments for the stars and stripes but the embarrassing mishaps of the gold contending (perhaps second to the Jamaican relay team) U.S. men's relay team certainly wasn't one of them. Failing to qualify for the FINALS for the first time since 1988 after a misconnect between Darvis Patton and Tyson Gay on a final pass, left the Americans watching from the sidelines as the Jamaican relay team smoked its competition by a world record setting time of 37.10 seconds. To make matters even worse, the U.S. Women's relay team suffered the same fate and failed to qualify for the finals as for the first time since 1948!

6.)Kimbo Slice Exposed As Farce

Like Mulder from the X-Files we want to believe in the greatest American hero, that wayward underdog, that rises against all odds to realize the American dream. This is especially true in sports, so when word spread like wildfire about back alley brawler putting men down with one punch on Youtube, MMA fans had someone to believe in and the networks had a new poster child to exploit. Kimbo Slice's journey as a street fighter to ESPN cover story was truly nothing but a testament to how the wheels of the capitalist cash machine turn. After losing washed up fighter Ken Shamrock to an eye injury and CBS color commentator, Frank Shamrock (Ken's brother) to disqualification due to a broken arm, the Elite XC finally found a "suitable" replacement in Fort Myers native, Petruzelli, an average mixed martial artist all of 205 lbs and a 2-2 win-loss record since 2004 Kimbo was "sure" to beat. Only the surefire win backfired in a 14 second KO Ryu style! Haduken!
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5.)From America's Sweetheart to Jailbird

Only a short four years ago, track star Marion Jones was America's sweetheart and three time Olympic gold medalist. She was the epitome of the female athlete: charming, strong yet humble gracing the covers of Vogue and Sports Illustrated within in the course of a year. What a difference a year can make, now the biggest athlete to fall victim to Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative scandal, Jones is flat broke and faces jail time after admitting to steroid use before her 2000 Sydney Olympic run up until after the 2004 Athens Olympics. Jones vehemently denied use of any performance drugs for years after she initially fell under suspicion but finally came clean in a well put together confession of lying and cheating that later broke down into a tearful apology worthy of an Oscar.

Give me control of the NHL and I guarantee you within six months it will be the 2nd highest rated sport behind the NFL. There is nothing better than playoff hockey and when you add in an elimination game for the Stanley Cup and three overtimes you get the best game of the year period in any sport. Yes better than the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals or Indy or Daytona 500. You didn't have to be a hockey fan to enjoy what happened last night. A lady friend who I had over (what can I say I am Bona Fide and no it wasn't Amber Fox) who I am confident has never ever seen a hockey game in her life was totally enthralled with the drama of Game 5. When I say enthralled I mean every time there was a shot on goal she jumped off the couch.

The game was magnificent I can not tell you how impressed I was with Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury who stopped 55 out of 58 shots many in spectacular fashion. How about Petr Sykora calling his shot a la Babe Ruth for the winning OT goal. Just a great night for hockey and hopefully the night that turns around the league. I know I will be tuned in for Game 6 will you?

The NHL Commisioner Gary Bettman, you know the best Commisioner in sports, wonders why his sport is suffering and doesn't seem to attract new fans. Well this latest scheduling debacle is just one of the reasons why the fans have been begging for his dismissal for years.

The NHL got what it desperately needed in Sidney Crosby's PIttsburgh Penguins facing-off against the Detroit Red Wings with everything on the line. This means, the league who's struggling with marketing, will get it's best player in Sidney Crosby playing against it's best team in the Red Wings. Perfect situation for Bettman. Right?

Inexplicably it was four days ago since the last NHL game was played. The Red Wings ousted the Dallas Stars Monday. Having a four day gap in between games kills the momentum and almost gurantees the loss of any potential new fans. Those fans that might have gained a little interest in the Pens after how well they played in dismantling the Flyers are gone now. Those few "Deeeeeee-Troit Basketballlllll" fans that you might have stolen from the Pistons, while they were played a boring semi-finals series against Orlando, have now forgotten that the NHL is still playing.

News Flash!!! News Flash!!! The NHL Playoffs have started!!!

What? You didn't know? You should be ashamed of yourself. There is nothing more exciting than NHL playoff hockey. Just because it is on channel 9202 on sports tier 7 gives you no excuse not to know it is going on. I know you haven't watched a game all year and you probably think Wayne Gretzky is still playing. But I am implore you to take time out of your busy weekend schedule to sit down and watch at least one game (and make sure it is in HD). You might like what you see.