Top Stories
Posted: Nov 22, 2009 2:30AM By Will Brinson (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Blogs, Sports Media, Current Events
Marv Albert and
50 Cent had a reported "interaction" backstage at Jimmy Kimmel Live that generated a ton of press -- obviously whenever two people like Marv and Fitty interact in a (and this is important) reportedly violent manner, it's gonna be news.
Turns out the the whole thing was entirely overblown -- Marv and 50 never had any sort of violent interaction and, from what FanHouse has learned and which
the AP is now reporting, it was all a giant misunderstanding.
Posted: Nov 22, 2009 12:49AM By Brian Grummell (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Arizona, Oregon, Pac 10, General CFB Insanity

It was arguably the game of the year in college football. It was certainly further evidence that the Pac-10 is back as a national conference.
After two overtimes and a touchdown with six seconds left in regulation, the Oregon Ducks outlasted Arizona 44-41 to take control of the Pac-10.
For a while, the stars seemed to align for Arizona. California upset Stanford during the the third quarter of the Wildcats' game, bumping one Pac-10 peer from Rose Bowl contention. Meanwhile, Arizona shrugged off a 14-0 deficit to take a 24-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.
However, Oregon then rallied with 17 points in the final frame, including a highlight-worthy touchdown pass from Jeremiah Masoli to Ed Dickson with six seconds left that deflated the home crowd and dispersed the students, who had emerged nearby to storm the field.
Posted: Nov 22, 2009 12:27AM By Lem Satterfield (RSS feed)
Filed Under: WBA, WBC, Showtime

Most believed that
Andre Ward faced a disadvantage in overall experience against Denmark's WBA champion,
Mikkel Kessler, on Saturday night.
Not only did Kessler enter their matchup with more than twice as many victories as Ward, but he also had almost three times as many knockouts, and had held the super middleweight (168 pounds) crown for nearly five years -- longer than Ward has been a professional.
But youth trumped experience as did ring generalship in their clash at Oracle Arena, where Ward dethroned Kessler with an 11th-round technical decision before an enthusiastic, partisan crowd of 10, 277 in the 2004 American Olympic gold medalist's hometown of Oakland, Calif.
Posted: Nov 21, 2009 10:33PM By Michelle Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: California, Stanford, Pac 10

STANFORD, Calif. -- Jim Harbaugh talked a little bit about hubris early this week, the danger of thinking you are more than you are.
Did
Stanford think that putting up 106 points in consecutive upset victories over
Oregon and
USC would guarantee another flurry of points and touchdown celebrations?
Did they think that being ranked nationally and favored in the 112th Big Game – unheard of occurrences since Tyrone Willingham left The Farm for
Notre Dame after the 2001 season – gave them an advantage against
California's Bears?
Did they think that throwing the ball on 2nd down at the Cal 13-yard line with 1:36 to go was a better option that giving it to
Toby Gerhart?
Posted: Nov 21, 2009 7:14PM By Lisa Olson (RSS feed)
Filed Under: NBA

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Desperation oozed from every pore. If New York-area basketball hasn't reached its nadir, it's only because the
NBA has a silly rule that some team must win. Otherwise, who knows how low this charade might go? The players might be the ones slipping paper bags over their heads, to match the fans' embarrassment as they sit in the stands and try not to rubberneck.
Though plenty of empty seats were available, more than the usual few gluttons for punishment showed up at the Izod Center Saturday afternoon, hoping to see ... what?
New Jersey Nets coach
Lawrence Frank fired after the first quarter?
New York Knicks owner James Dolan do an about-face and sign Allen Iverson to a multi-year deal? The teams set a combined record for most horrendous shooting in four quarters? Dora the Explorer, the day's big draw, dunk over
Nate Robinson? The possibilities really were endless.
As it was, the
Nets dropped to 0-13 and continued to careen dangerously toward matching the league record of 17 straight losses to open a season. The Knicks, by virtue of their 98-91 victory, actually won consecutive games to improve to 3-9, and can now turn their focus back on the real goal: convincing
LeBron James, or any big free agent to-be, that the cesspool really isn't as nasty as it currently looks.
Posted: Nov 21, 2009 4:00PM By Mark Hasty (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Michigan, Ohio State

"For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: 'It might have been!'" -- John Greenleaf Whittier For Michigan it really might have been, if not for a dreadful game by
Tate Forcier and the Wolverine offense.
Rich Rodriguez's squad fell to Ohio State 21-10 today, keeping Michigan out of the postseason for the second year in a row.
Forcier threw four interceptions. He also fumbled in Michigan's end zone on the Wolverines' opening drive, which OSU recovered for a touchdown.
Posted: Nov 21, 2009 3:35PM By Brian Straus (RSS feed)
Filed Under: MLS

SEATTLE -- It's common knowledge that soccer fans are a bit of a different breed. They care less about comfort and more about spectacle. The sight of a whole section of supporters singing, waiving enormous flags and lighting flares would be shocking at Yankee Stadium or Heinz Field, yet it's expected at soccer venues around the world and is becoming relatively common in
MLS. That passion also affects change -- executives know it's not a good idea to upset these people.
More so than any other American sports league, MLS has embraced that relationship. While fans elsewhere struggle with nonsense like the BCS, personal seat licenses and Daniel Snyder, MLS supporters have driven the league's evolution (speaking out against gimmicks like the shootout), have worked directly with clubs on ticketing and marketing and enjoy an annual audience with the commissioner that is unimaginable in any other league.
Posted: Nov 21, 2009 2:30PM By Holly Cain (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Stewart-Haas Racing

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- If pressed to find one thing
Ryan Newman would change about his season, of course, he'd like to score a win in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale at Homestead Miami Speedway.
After being close to victory circle a half-dozen times this season, that's about the only thing he feels is missing from a stellar debut season with the essentially start-up Stewart-Haas Racing team. Newman won two pole positions in the No. 39 U.S. Army-sponsored Chevrolet and, after an ominous start at the season-opening Daytona 500, still qualified for the 12-driver Chase for the Championship.
In our last installment of Inside the Chase for the Championship with Ryan Newman, FanHouse looks at the evolution of the season and how Newman evaluates his fresh start.
Posted: Nov 21, 2009 1:55PM By Brett Pollakoff (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Celtics, Magic

When the
Celtics signed
Rasheed Wallace over the summer as their big offseason acquisition, they may have thought they were getting a big man who would stretch the floor with his three-point shooting, and one who would force the centers on the other contenders to come out of the paint to try and stop him.
But 13 games into the Sheed experiment in Boston, Wallace's three-point shooting has hurt his new team far more than it has helped them. And Friday night's 0-for-8 performance from beyond the arc?
That one was so bad, it made history.
Posted: Nov 21, 2009 11:17AM By Brian Straus (RSS feed)

SEATTLE -- Landon Donovan's MLS goal of the year was remarkable on two levels. First, the curling volley was an incredible strike, with a beyond-the-post bend reminiscent of Roberto Carlos' famous free kick against France 12 years ago. Second, it was ...
Posted: Nov 21, 2009 11:00AM By Matt Snyder (RSS feed)

From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each week. I used to always enjoy lists like our own Frankie Piliere's Top 50 Free Agents. Then Milton Bradley happened. Now, as a Cubs fan whose been scorned by the ...
Posted: Nov 21, 2009 10:09AM By Brett Pollakoff (RSS feed)

The Clippers got what was by far their best win of the season on Friday, but unfortunately, the team's longtime play-by-play man Ralph Lawler wasn't in his usual courtside spot to see it. Lawler and color commentator Michael Smith were suspended for ...
Posted: Nov 21, 2009 9:23AM By David Whitley (RSS feed)

LOGAN, Utah -- It's not easy to feel sorry for the winningest football program of the millennium, but let's try. Boise State beat Utah State, 52-21, Friday night to improve to 11-0. For the second straight year it will probably finish the regular ...
Posted: Nov 21, 2009 8:30AM By FanHouse Newswire (RSS feed)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce is out indefinitely after an MRI exam on Friday surprisingly revealed a bulging disk in his neck. The Giants said their defensive captain underwent the test in New York and was ...