Month: July 2010

Running down a dream at WFAN’s audition contest

Esoteric 2 Comments

Take my word for it -- they're actually talking at me in this picture

From when I was a kid, I’ve always loved the medium of radio – sports radio, in particular. Even now that I’m 30, there’s just something so fantastic about the idea of being represented only by one’s thoughts, shot out onto the air waves, deep into the night.

So when I found out about WFAN’s “Fantasy Phenom” competition, in which the winner would get a one-year deal to host a show on the sports radio station I grew up listening to, I knew I’d have to give it a shot – just to know that I did.

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Pacquiao-Margarito: Disappointing, but hardly a stunner

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Disgraceful

If you’ve been expecting anyone other than Antonio Margarito to be waiting in the ring for Manny Pacquiao this November, you haven’t been paying attention. This is the fight Top Rank promoter Bob Arum wanted all along.

Disappointed it’s not Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather? Sure, me too.

But that’s not the way this sport works. Nothing comes easy. There are always agendas.

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Air of hypocrisy: Jordan’s typical shots at LeBron ring hollow

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Vintage

On an April night back in 2003 at the MCI Center, I sat courtside to watch a baton passed unwillingly from the former king to the future King.

An 18-year-old LeBron James used an array of circus shots and sensational dunks en route to 34 points at the Jordan Capital Classic.

And up in a skybox, wearing a garish jersey from his clothing line and flanked by Warren Sapp and Patrick Ewing, a shadowy figure glared down at the teenager set to inherit his crown.

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Rearview Mirror: How Steinbrenner will save baseball (12/28/02)

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Ed. Note: The following was written by unabashed Yankees fan and longtime friend of the site Tim Whitman for the original iteration of SportsAngle on Dec. 28, 2002, and is reposted by request of the author as a tribute to George Steinbrenner, who passed away this morning. I don’t necessarily agree with everything here, but Tim – who used to work for longtime Braves general manager John Schuerholz – theorized that the Boss wasn’t what was wrong with baseball’s economics, and could call attention to its ills and institute change by manipulating the system.

Cary Grant?

Yes, Red Sox fans, Mets fans and fans of those small market teams out there, you read that right. George Steinbrenner will save America’s favorite pastime. And yes, for the record, I am a die-hard Yankee fan and a proponent of Mr. Steinbrenner’s business acumen.

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Who really made LeBron’s ‘Decision?’ We did

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Two international assholes 

I’ve talked about it often – that night in February 2003 when I sat under the basket in Trenton to witness a high school LeBron James streaking across the sky, two very definitive things occurred to me.

The first was that I finally had my own Jordan. Someone to follow from the start – from before the start. I was too young when MJ started, so I didn’t fully appreciate the phenomenon of his career until very late in the game. I wouldn’t make that mistake here.

And at the very same moment, I looked around me and realized that I had already lost him, partially to my own whims, which mirrored those around me.

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Fame monster: The LeBron Show befits the King of all media

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Perfect form

A while back, I tossed around the idea of suggesting here that LeBron James hold a live pay-per-view special at midnight on July 1 to announce his intentions. I didn’t write it since it was obviously flawed thinking – after all, he clearly had to sit through a half-dozen bluster-filled presentations before he could come to a decision he probably knew to begin with.

But it turns out I wasn’t so far off. I was just a week early.

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Summer of LeBron evokes memories of controlled frenzy of ‘96

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LeBron leaving meeting with the Knicks. Is that a gold medal hanging from his rearview? Most likely? Last night truly felt like New Year’s Eve. When the clock flipped over to midnight, and the calendar moved to a new day and month, LeBron James became available for any team to attempt to sign. There was plenty of other top NBA talent for which that was also true, with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade at the top of the list, but there’s nobody truly like LeBron.

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