Random House has cancelled the publicationof ex-NBA referee and convict Tim Donaghy’s book, “Blowing the Whistle.”

The FBI investigation that rocked the NBA and sent Donaghy to prison found that he had acted alone yet Donaghy proclaims in his book that several referees were involved in side-betting before and during NBA contests.

Random House stated Donaghy can now shop for another home for his project but most expect that to be a difficult task for the convict who humiliated himself and the league since many readers may find it difficult to believe a man with Donaghy’s past.

Deadspin.com published several excerpts said to be from the book including this:

“To have a little fun at the expense of the worst troublemakers, the referees working the game would sometimes make a modest friendly wager amongst themselves: first ref to give one of the bad boys a technical foul wouldn’t have to tip the ball boy that night. In the NBA, ball boys set up the referees’ locker room and keep it stocked with food and beer for the postgame meal.

We usually ran the kid ragged with a variety of personal requests and then slipped him a $20 bill. Technically, the winner of the bet won twice – he didn’t have to pay the kid and he got to call a T on Mr. Foul-Mouthed Big-Shot Du Jour.

After the opening tip, it was hilarious as the three of us immediately focused our full attention on the intended victim, waiting for something, anything, to justify a technical foul. If the guy so much as looked at one of us and mumbled, we rang him up. Later in the referees’ locker room, we would down a couple of brews, eat some chicken wings, and laugh like hell.”

To see more from the Deadspin.com story, go here.

Related Articles:

Stern Spars With Whistle-Blowing Ref

NBA Refs Face Lockout-Will We Notice the Difference?

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

ATLANTA – Expect Atlanta Thrashers goaltender Ondrej Pavelec to make sports blooper reels around the country and also be a lock to make it on the ESPN Sportscenter worst play of the day segment after letting in one of the longest goals in NHL history.

With the score tied 2-2 during last night’s game against the Washington Capitals, Caps’ goalie Semyon Varlamov pushed the puck to defenseman Jeff Schultz.

Schultz, 180 feet away from Pavelec, innocently snapped the puck down the ice to allow a line change for his team.

Like a rock on a pond, the puck skipped past the red and both blue lines toward the lackadaisical Pavelec. Pavelec made a move . . . well sort of . . . towards the puck.

A blink later, the red light illuminated and the shocked crowd watched the Capitals celebrate what many are now calling the worst goal allowed in Thrashers history.

Nothing like gift-wrapping momentum and handing it to the opposing team. That freebie gave the Caps a 3-2 edge but it didn’t end there for Pavelec. The 22-year-old remained flustered, allowing two more quick goals; that’s three goals in 1:28; you can hold your breath that long.

At that point Pavelec had surrendered five goals on just 14 shots and Thrashers Coach John Anderson had seen enough and to the delight of the fans in Blueland, yanked the goaltender calling the move a “mercy pull”.

Thrashers goalie Johan Hedberg shut out Alex Ovechkin and the Caps the rest of the way but the Thrashers could never catch up and lost the game 5-4 on their home ice.

Related Blogs:

Atlanta’s Version of Jeff Schultz – AJC Sports

Bill Tiller Iceman’s Thrashers Blog AJC

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

OKLAHOMA – ESPN reported that last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Oklahoma Sooners’ quarterback Sam Bradford is seriously considering having season-ending surgery on his injured shoulder.

Bradford has missed a majority of the season and when he tried to make a comeback last week, lasted just two series of downs before leaving the field aggravating the injury further.

The Sooners entered the season focused on making a run for a national title but those dreams were shattered in one snap of the ball. The Sooners currently sit at the cellar of the AP Top 25 with a 3-3 record and are struggling to earn a decent bowl bid.

While we watch Bradford’s stock in the NFL 2010 Draft drop like a Wall Street crash, it makes me reminisce about the day Mark Sanchez announced he was leaving the USC Trojans and opting to join the draft.

At the time, USC Coach Pete Carroll showed some displeasure at the press conference and said Sanchez “made a bad choice”.

Since then, Sanchez has been the starting quarterback for the New York Jets, playing under a contract fat enough to support even the family members he has never met ($60 million with $28 million guaranteed).

Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford who went No. 1 overall in last year’s draft is another player who left campus early. Stafford who is currently rehabbing a knee injury suffered this NFL season is the starter for the Detroit Lions and playing with a $72 million contract ($41.7 million guaranteed).

While Bradford contemplates going under the knife with a cloudy future and Sanchez and Stafford cash their checks every week, I would like to now ask Mr. Carroll who he thinks made a “bad choice”.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

“Line drive. Base hit. Caught out there. The runner tags. Throw to the plate. On target. And in time! A double play.”

No that’s not the voice of a ten-year-old kid running around his neighborhood stuttering through a make-believe play, that’s’ actually the dialogue used by high-salaried TBS baseball announcer Chip Caray during a crucial part of an extra innings playoff game between the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins.

If there were such a thing as rolling over in your grave then Caray’s grandfather the late, great Harry and his father another classic on the mic Skip Caray were spinning out of control Tazmanian Devil style when Chip made that embarrassing call.

TBS just announced their ratings are up this year but as more sets are tuning in the MLB Playoffs, more blunders at the mic are occurring and Caray’s reviews are spiraling down the toilet.

During the New York Yankees’ series, Caray told his listeners that Minnesota Twins player Orlando Cabrera “has played in the Division Series with Anaheim, the Yankees, Boston and Tampa Bay.” Fact is, Cabrera never played for the Rays or the Yankees.

Mistakes like these are even chastised at high-top tables at the local Hooters when made by the common fan and are certainly inexcusable for any professional announcer.

Like so many media sources jumped on the dogpile opposing Rush Limbaugh becoming an NFL owner, Caray, who is also being ridiculed for his over-use of the word “fisted” is also feeling the coast-to-coast wrath from several outlets from the New York Times to popular sports blog sites like Deadspin.com.

As the MLB Playoffs resume play this week, maybe viewers should be grateful a majority of the opening series were sweeps; there was less time they had to sit through Caray’s blunders, lackluster performances and calls like “he fisted him!” at the mic. Of course Caray is referring to when a pitcher throws to the extreme inside of the plate but the term may be considered offensive to some. 

Regardless of the outcome of these playoffs or the ratings increase for TBS, if the network decides to keep Caray at the mic after the end of this season, looks like it’s the fans who may be getting “fisted”.

Related Article: ACLS Will Feature Joe Buck and Tim McCarver Again & Again – Paula Duffy Examiner.com

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

NEW YORK – The botched call left field umpire Phil Cuzzi made last night during the New York Yankees 4-3 victory over the visiting Minnesota Twins is sending shock waves through the baseball world, especially in Minnesota where the Twins return home down 2-0 in their five-game series against the New York Yankees.

Detroit Tigers fans may be referring to this call as justice. Just days earlier, home plate umpire Randy Marsh missed Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge getting hit by a pitch in the 12th inning with the bases loaded in crucial Game 163 against these same Twins.

Like the Twins, the Tigers should have been guaranteed at least one run and both went on to lose in the bottom of the same inning the botched calls occurred.

In the top of the 11th inning of last night’s game, Twins’ catcher Joe Mauer ripped a line shot down the left field line that glanced off Melky Cabrera’s glove in fair territory then clearly landed fair, several inches inside the left field line.

Mauer should have been awarded a ground rule double but instead, Mauer was given a single, the Twins followed with two singles loading the bases with no out but failed to score. Cuzzi’s call took a run from the Twins as Mauer would have crossed home plate on one of those hits.

Like Tigers Manager Jim Leyland a week earlier, Ron Gardenhire did not directly blame the outcome of the game on the call considering their teams had plenty of other opportunities to win the games.

Crew chief Tim Tschida admitted seeing the tape of the Mauer hit after the game and admitted it was a blown call then offered this comment, “There’s a guy [Cuzzi] sitting over in the umpire’s dressing room right now that feels horrible. Nobody feels it worse than the umpire.”

Don’t be so sure about that.

Sports Climax received several emails from our readers slamming this call. One reader asked if that were a case of a “Jersey Ump on the Take?” The email continued, “I would check his [Cuzzi’s] bank account today to see if the bookee’s [sic] check has cleared. He was less than 20 feet away, staring right at it and missed it twice. Yankee Magic! Yankee Cheat!!”

Not sure about bookies or payoffs but after viewing the video of the play, a visit to his optician should certainly be recommended.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

When Rush Limbaugh’s name surfaced as a potential owner of the NFL St. Louis Rams, many of us cringed at the thought of a man who has been interpreted to be a racist being involved at such a high level in the league.

For those living in a cave and not aware of Limbaugh and his radio show, here are some of the quotes the shock-jock is said to have made:

Limbaugh: “Look, let me put it to you this way: The NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it.”

Limbaugh: “I think it’s time to get rid of this whole National Basketball Association. Call it the TBA, the Thug Basketball Association and stop calling them teams. Call ‘em gangs. Let ‘em strap up out there [carry guns], and let ‘em market their CD’s.”

Many people look at Limbaugh as a hypocrite. While he implies the men who play these sports are thugs, he has a criminal history of his own. Limbaugh’s mugshot from his drug arrest sits sandwiched between NBA Alan Iverson and NFL badboy Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones in the Sports Climax Sports Mugshot Gallery.

The Today Show did a segment recently asking if Limbaugh is getting a free pass for skirting any serious aftermath after the radio jock featured a song “Barack the Magic Negro” on another of his shows. (see on YouTube here)

Limbaugh’s past resume with the NFL includes when he was a part of the ESPN show ‘NFL Countdown’. Limbaugh had barely unpacked his suitcase when he quickly resigned from the show after making inappropriate remarks.

Many people believe Limbaugh’s particular comment about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb showed Limbaugh’s true colors and ESPN graciously accepted the right-wing radio shock jock’s resignation issuing a statement, “We have communicated with Mr. Limbaugh that his comments were insensitive and inappropriate.”

The network went on to say “We accept his resignation and regret the circumstances surrounding this. We believe that he took the appropriate action to resolve this matter expeditiously.”

When ESPN first announced Limbaugh was joining the show, many of us fell out of our seats. What were those producers thinking! It was obvious what they were setting themselves up for.

That aside, one has to wonder if Limbaugh’s past arrest for drugs would effect his chances of getting a team since NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is becoming strict pertaining to drug-related incidents with his players.

With NFL players already speaking out about their lack of desire to play on any Limbaugh-owned team, it’s time for the league and Commissioner Roger Goodell to close the door on this shock-jock radio host before this controversial issue spins out of control.

Related Articles:

Limbaugh’s NFL Bid Might Fall Short But Not For His Views – Paula Duffy Examiner.com

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

Hottest news this NFL weekend includes the Detroit Lions No. 1 overall pick Matthew Stafford’s knee injury.

In a 48-24 loss in Chicago, Stafford showed several signs of why he was touted as a No. 1 when he orchestrated  several long scoring drives of over 70 yards against the banged-up Bears defense including one 98 yard drive for a touchdown.

But the show came to an abrupt end late in the game when Stafford took a sack then lay on the grass, clutching his knee in pain. Stafford limped off the field and spent the rest of the game with his knee wrapped in ice while veteran Daunte Culpepper took the remaining snaps.

ESPN reported that Stafford’s injury was a dislocated kneecap that popped back in while he was on the sideline and the injury is expected to sideline him for one or two weeks.

After starting out 3-0, Mark Sanchez, New York Jets quarterback and second slinger taken in last year’s NFL Draft finally had his rookie break-out game throwing three interceptions in a 24-10 road loss in New Orleans. Before the loss, Sanchez’ three straight wins included an upset victory against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.  

Darren Sharper returned one of Sanchez’ errant throws 99 yards to the house and that 14-point swing was too much for the young quarterback and his Jets to overcome. The Saints went on to win 24-10.

In other surprising news the Tennessee Titans fell to 0-4 while the Denver Broncos improved to 4-0 with their 17-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

ATLANTA – The Atlanta Thrashers kicked off their NHL season with a 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday night at Philips Arena in front of 18,545 fans.

Starting the scoring for the Thrashers was Lightning defenseman Paul Ranger who jumped on a rebound from an Illya Kovalchuk shot and fired it behind stunned teammate goaltender Mike Smith, turning on the red light, erupting the crowd and sparking a collection of quotes from his bench in language so colorful it cannot be put in print.

Never hurts to get spotted a goal in the low-scoring NHL and the Thrashers took advantage of it, scoring the game’s next three goals to take a 4-0 lead; a lead they never salvaged.

Thrashers forward Rich Peverley, one of last year’s bright spots, started the season where he left off netting two goals and an assist. Not to be outdone, Thrashers Captain Illya Kovalchuk matched the effort netting three points of his own (2g, 1a).

All eyes were on 18-year-old rookie Evander Kane, No. 4 overall pick by Atlanta in this year’s NHL Draft. Kane made his debut compiling 11:09 of ice time and picking up his first NHL point when he assisted on Peverley’s first goal at 12:42 of the second period.

The ice did tilt with a shift in momentum late in the second period when Lightning speedster Martin St. Louis scored two goals in the final six minutes making it 4-2 at second intermission.

Rejuvenated by St. Louis’ efforts, the Lightning came out flying in the third scoring early at 2:11 to narrow the gap to 4-3 but the Thrashers refused to send their fans home without a win and scored the final two goals for the win.

The game also featured a few fights. Thrashers enforcer Eric Boulton dropped Lightning player Todd Fedoruk with a solid right in one match and Chris Thornburn went toe-to-toe with Zenon Konopka for nearly a minute in another brawl. (see video here)

Winning goaltender, rookie 22-year-old Ondrej Pavelec had great looking stats on paper; stopping 36 of the 39 shots he faced and being named third star of the game but looked shaky during much of the contest.

Pavelec looked behind his back for a red light on several occasions and was out of position, his back completely turned to the shooters on a few others. Luckily for the Thrashers, those shots didn’t find a way behind their goalie but in the NHL, sometimes you need a little luck.

Like Captain Kovy said post-game referring to the goal he got credited for that Ranger fired in his own net, “It takes a little bit of luck sometimes. I’ll take it.”

And so will the 18,545 faithful who visited Blueland Saturday night.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

DETROIT – While considered a normal occurrence in other parts of America like New England, Cleveland, Chicago, and even as far away as Al Davis country, a rare phenomenon occurred in Motown today–the Detroit Lions won a football game.

Dump the Gatorade, ride off into the sunset, this event is worthy of a ticker-tape parade and is the first of its kind in Detroit since 2007.

The Lions snapped the second longest losing streak in NFL history on Sunday and embarrassed Jim Zorn and the Washington Redskins 19-14 in front of the smallest crowd to see the guys in Honolulu Blue in 20 years.

All eyes have been on the Lions as they were chasing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ record of 26 losses in a row. ESPN has featured the Lions struggles over the past years on many of their shows that normally included a few Matt Millen jokes and reporters struggling to keep a straight face when referring to the Lions as an NFL team.

Laugh no more, America! The Lions were victorious on Sunday.

This is life-changing for many Americans.

The few remaining auto assembly workers can proudly don their Lions jerseys once again and Matt Millen may saturate NFL talk shows with quotes like, “See, drafting wide receivers every year high in the first round does pay off!”

Across the continent in Los Angeles, Jay Leno’s monologues may have to change. The funny late-night host has been making a living on Lions’ jokes including one of my all-time favorites, “I set my TiVo to record ‘The Biggest Loser’ and I got the Lions game.”

Leno may start the week off sniffing out fresh NFL meat for another source of material. The Lions victory was blacked-out but Jay Leno’s show is not; come Monday Jim Zorn and his ‘Skins may wish it were.

Other Bizarre Moments on Sports Climax:

NFL Cheerleaders Caught Having Sex in Public Restroom

Fox Shows Naked Vikings Player During Live Telecast

Convicted Burglar ‘Steals’ Game For Patriots

NFL’s Most Famous Fumble Recovery, “He’s Running the Wrong Way!”

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax

DETROIT – Witnessing the demolition of Detroit’s historic ballpark, Tiger Stadium, was like attending the burial of a  loved one. We can’t stop death from consuming a family member’s final breath and beat of a heart but we never allow it to pilfer the memories.

While Sports Illustrated is featuring the Tigers’ current home Comercia Park on their cover this week; at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull demolition experts and heavy machinery continued to flatten Tiger Stadium one beam and support at a time.

Those bulldozers ripped the concrete and riveted steel girders out of that structure and buried them in a nearby landfill but could not purge the heart and soul out of that ballpark.

Tiger Stadium provided the hard-working, blue-collar fans of Detroit a place to escape from the stresses of their physically-demanding jobs at the steel mills and auto assembly lines.

Though ancient, rusting and long-outdated, it withstood decades of punishing winters and the wear and tear of thousands of fans stomping in its aisles in unison as their favorite hitter stepped to the plate.

While preservation groups and a few politicians led by Tiger radio icon Ernie Harwell attempted to stop the complete demolition of the stadium and convert a portion of it into a museum, the wrecking ball continued to dismantle the historic landmark and this week, the final beam fell.

As the last piece of rusted metal made its way to the landfill and the stadium was reduced to one final shovel of dust this week, it’s a great time to reminisce.

The first game I ever attended at Tiger Stadium was on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Donning my full baseball uniform with ball glove in hand and chomping on an oversized wad of baseball card bubble gum, I accompanied my Little League baseball team to a game against the Minnesota Twins.

The area near the ticket windows felt like a disaster scene to a scrawny eight-year-old, like me. People scurried around like ants, bumping into each other, trying to gain position and make their way to the ticket windows and into the stadium. I felt like a human pinball but somehow managed to stay connected to my group.

Once inside, I bee-lined straight to the hotdog vendor where I quickly learned Mom did not make the best hotdogs. There was something about those Ballpark Franks at Tiger Stadium. They seemed to plump more when they cooked ‘em.

The journey through the short tunnel to our right field seats was almost surreal. Hustling through that corridor seeing only the blue sky, I couldn’t wait to get a full view of the park.

As I made my way to the end of that tunnel I saw the most extraordinary image I had ever seen; like the scene in the Wizard of Oz I felt like I stepped out of a black & white world into one full of vibrant colors. The blue skies, vast field of vibrant green and borders of perfectly manicured dirt has left a lifelong impression etched in my mind.

Tiger Stadium provided many memories for Detroiters over the years; most notably the 1968 dramatic comeback World Series win over the St. Louis Cardinals and the record-setting Tiger team of 1984 led by World Series MVP Alan Trammell and Kirk Gibson.

It’s amazing how some of these images remain as clear as if they happened yesterday . . . Norm Cash crushing the leather off the ball, sending another one over the right-field roof and onto Trumbull Street . . . Mark “The Bird” Fidrych pacing the mound like a maniac, having full-on conversations with the ball triggering a roar of approval from 53,000 screaming fans.

Many hard-working blue-collar families in the Motor City took advantage of ‘Family Night’ games at Tiger Stadium. On Family Night, the head of the household paid $3.50 for a reserved upper deck seat down the third baseline then only .50 cents apiece for the remaining tickets.

A family of five could see an MLB game for the price of a Starbuck’s  latte and the product was outstanding with baseball icons Al Kaline, Norm Cash, Willie Horton and Denny McClain in the lineup. Family Nights were the only time I remember my father refusing overtime on the docks.

Tiger Stadium was also the home of the Detroit Lions where fans had to endure severe weather conditions and the team played outdoors on natural grass, like the game is meant to be played.

Three layers of clothing was no match for the frigid Canadian winds that blew off the Detroit River on some of those December Sundays. The only heat provided during those games was the body heat of the thousands of devoted Lions fans packed shoulder-to-shoulder in their seats. Peering through a steady cloud of cold breath, hot chocolates in hand, the fans survived those frigid afternoons and many of us learned at an early age what being a loyal, die-hard Lion fan was all about.

Demolition work now complete, the corner of Michigan and Trumbull sits empty, desolate but like loved ones, the memories will survive forever.

Updated from previously published article.

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax