Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
Miami coach Al Golden says the worst is behind him, but his headaches figure to continue now that former booster Nevin Shapiro, now in jail, says his involvement with the Hurricanes program will result in stiff penalties.
Eleven shots separated Phil and Tiger Sunday at Pebble Beach as Lefty secured his 40th Tour win. Jason Sobel had hole-by-hole reports.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Tessa Worley of France fought off gusting winds to win a second consecutive World Cup giant slalom Sunday in the Andorran Pyrenees. Overall leader Lindsey Vonn was more than a second behind and finished eighth.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
SEATTLE - The subject of Barry Bonds never gets old to some people.
New Seattle internet startup company Mpire and Bay Area online marketplace eBay are co-hosting the 10-day, internet auction for Bonds’ 715th home run ball, the one that sent the San Francisco Giants slugger past Babe Ruth and behind Hank Aaron on the career homers list. Bidding began Monday afternoon.
“Any PR is good PR — as long as they spell your name right,” said Jed Clevenger, eBay’s sports memorabilia manager.
Mpire, an online shopping pricing service, has created for eBay an informative yet irreverent auction web site. Curious fans and potential investors can see bids posted at www.ebay.com/715 through the sale’s end, Aug. 3 at 3 p.m, EDT.
The auction is the first national showcase for Mpire — founded in 2004 by Dave Cotter, a 36-year-old former manager at BEA Systems, Inc., and engineer Greg Harrison, 40.
Besides current price comparisons of baseball memorabilia, site designers have created a skit telling the bizarre story of how seller Andrew Morbitzer obtained the 715 ball.
Cotter said Monday morning that nearly 50,000 people had visited the page since its creation last week.
“The intent is to get fun stuff on the page, to appeal to the ‘Average Joe’ who is not bidding for the ball,” Cotter said.
As for Morbitzer, the 38-year-old San Francisco marketing director said last week that he has been “so heads down at work, I haven’t followed any of the news on Bonds.”
That sort of figures, considering how he got the ball. It fell to him through the bleachers of the Giants’ park on May 28, while he was in line for beers and peanuts.
“If I’d been paying attention to Barry, I wouldn’t have the ball right now,” he said.
|
Morbitzer then chose eBay to host the auction, over what he said were contacts from every major auction house, because he said eBay is “egalitarian.”
The company — which says it sells 26 items of all kinds per minute — began selling sports memorabilia in 1996. A 1909 Honus Wagner T206 card fetched $1.27 million on eBay. Shoeless Joe Jackson’s “Black Betsey” bat sold there for nearly $580,000.
Only serious bidders will be allowed to make offers for the Bonds ball as eBay has hired vetting agency Auction Wire to pre-approve potential buyers.
Experts have said those bids may reach $300,000. By comparison, Mark McGwire’s record-setting 70th home run ball from the 1998 season sold for $3.3 million.
Some auction industry watchers say the current news surrounding Bonds, his alleged steroid use and possible indictments for perjury and tax evasion will suppress prices.
So Morbitzer has an out in his eBay contract — a reserve price. If bids do not reach that sum, which both Morbitzer and eBay declined to disclose, he can pull the ball from sale.
“Beyond the reserve, anything is upside,” Morbitzer said.
|
In Monday’s first 2½ hours of the auction, only one bid for $10,000 was posted.
So will a Bonds backlash hold down bidding?
“I hope people don’t lose sight that this is still a large part of baseball history,” Clevenger said. “We’ve had Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Hank Aaron, Mark McGwire — and now Barry Bonds.
“Regardless of the controversy, this is big.”
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
DeMarco: Plug in a well-heeled ownership group and negotiate one of those mega-bucks TV deals that are going around, and the Dodgers could become the west coast version of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.
HardballTalk headlines |
 | Interactive |
 |
 | Slideshow |
 | Unbreakable records in baseball A look at the most unbreakable records in baseball including Nolan Ryan's seven no-hitters. |
| Slideshow |
 | The top tools of baseball You hear a lot about the tools of baseball, but who are the best hitters, fielders and pitchers? We break it down. more photos |
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
After leading by 18 points in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers were staring at a four-point deficit with less than two minutes to play.
