Melee!

Just when you think you have another boring night of baseball brewing…gold happens…

It was on! …

Bad feelings had been brewing between the Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers for 10 days.

A volatile series finally turned violent when Adam Kennedy charged the mound after being hit by a pitch from Texas' Scott Feldman, triggering a bench-clearing brawl in the Rangers' 9-3 victory over the Angels.

The melee came a night after Rangers starter Vicente Padilla was ejected for hitting two Angels with pitches and nearly plunking a third.

The perspective from LA …

"There is a lot of respect between the position players on each team," Kennedy said, "but both teams have pitchers who decided to take things into their own hands."

The Angels believed hostilities could have ceased had the ninth inning been played without incident, but with two out, Rangers reliever Scott Feldman hit Kennedy in the back with his first pitch.

Kennedy charged the mound, and a wild but brief wrestling match ensued, with players from several teams exchanging punches. Texas third baseman Mark DeRosa tackled Kennedy and Lackey had to be restrained by about six Rangers, as well as Angels bullpen coach Orlando Mercado.

Kennedy and Feldman were ejected. Tensions ran high in the aftermath of the brawl, with Rivera pointing and yelling at the Rangers bench, but there were no further incidents.

"I wish it didn't happen, but I had no choice but to go out there," Kennedy said. "I think all the points were made, and they sort of put an exclamation point on it at the end."

Not a period, though. These teams play each other seven more times in September, and with both sliding out of the American League West race, things could get ugly.

Asked if it was over between the Angels and Rangers, Kennedy said, "Yeah … I don't know … it's tough to say."

Padilla is the man who started this all …

And while we're pointing fingers, Padilla also gets the lion's share of the blame for the bench-clearing brawl that ended Wednesday night's game, overshadowing a critical 9-3 Texas victory.

"Cowardly," is how one Rangers official characterized Padilla's incredibly callous loss of composure in Tuesday's 9-7 loss to the Angels.

Ironically, that's a tough, but accurate, way to describe the team's best starting pitcher.

Because, make no mistake, that's exactly what he has been this season.

Whether the Rangers decide, after Tuesday's incident, coupled with an as yet unresolved DUI investigation, he'll get that opportunity again next season remains to be seen.

It was the second straight game against the Angels in which the Rangers' starting pitcher had been ejected early in the game for throwing at -- or in Adam Eaton's case, behind -- outfielder Juan Rivera. At least Eaton gained a measure of redemption Wednesday night, working seven strong innings in the Rangers' victory.
"We expect [Padilla and Eaton] to pitch deep into games and for the most part, they have," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said. "But getting [starting pitchers ejected] is something championship teams can't continue to do."

The strongest word that Daniels would use regarding Padilla's irresponsible deportment was "disappointed," but a Rangers insider said the GM was "irate" at the pitcher Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.

"It's disappointing anytime a player does something that effectively takes him out of the competition," Daniels said. "There was still a game to be won last night and the team battled back...but it was certainly disappointing to see any of our players put themselves in a position where they can't be out there for us."

I just wanted to draw your attention to the bolded statement. Do you mean to tell me that these unnamed Rangers sources have not learned their lessons yet? They sold out Alex Rodriguez. They sold out Kenny Rogers. They even sold out Alfonso Soriano. And now, they are calling Padilla a “coward?”. The issue is not whether he really is a coward or not. The issue is that this organization is going to continue to look bush league as long as they continue to have team officials leak unnamed quotes that rip their employees. Incidentally, the columnist that seems to get these quotes the most often is Revo. And since he has covered the team since it arrived in town, it is not easy to identify the mole, but I just think that is really bad business to continually slip torpedoes to the media about your players.

By the way, thanks to deadspin.com, here is a real fight:



Owens is back …

Terrell Owens traded in his bicycle helmet for a football helmet and returned to the field Wednesday after missing 14 consecutive practices with a sore left hamstring.
But the Dallas Cowboys could have to wait another week for the receiver to play in his first game.

"At this point, I don't know," Owens told reporters in Oxnard, Calif., when asked if he would play against New Orleans on Monday. "I am still in the rehab phase."

Coach Bill Parcells said he wants to see how Owens looks in practice before deciding whether to let him face the Saints.

The nationally televised affair in Shreveport, La., is the second of four exhibition games for the Cowboys.

"He has missed a lot of time," Parcells said. "... I don't want to jeopardize the early part of the season by making a mistake here."

Why is anyone worried about whether he plays Monday night? Who cares? Besides ESPN.
Rafeal Vela with a very interesting sports point …

I’m bad at math, but it seems these rehab schedules are quite similar:

• Steve Smith, WR, Carolina — injured a hamstring July 30th, returned to practice August 15th;
• Terrell Owens, WR, Dallas — injured a hamstring August 2nd, returned to practice August 16th.

I guess it’s only controversial if you hurt yourself in a Cowboys uniform.

Bruce Arena with some Hot Sports Opinions ….



Drew Carey with sports points …Well….

He thinks soccer has something to offer baseball.

The English Premier League long has had a policy of dropping the last three teams in
the standings to a lower league and promoting three clubs to the Premier League.

``That's all soccer fans talk about in Europe every year, who got bumped down,'' Carey said.

His other suggestion is even more radical. Two of the world's renowned soccer clubs, Real Madrid and Barcelona, allow fans to buy ``memberships'' in the team.
One of the perks of membership is voting out the president of the team.

``You buy a membership for $200,'' Carey said. ``At the end of a president's term, the members can vote to keep him or replace him. If we had that in baseball, that team would be the most popular team in the country.

``I want the fans to have an influence on their team. The only thing they can do now is write a letter to the editor and hope that a sportswriter will agree with them.''

Liverpool signs a striker …Now we are ready to rumble…

Liverpool are poised to sign striker Dirk Kuyt from Feyenoord after agreeing a fee - believed to be around £9m - for the transfer of the Dutch international.

The 26-year-old has yet to pass a medical or agree personal terms with Liverpool but has already expressed his delight at the prospect of moving to Anfield.

"For me, Liverpool is sure to be the dream club I was looking for," he said. "There was more interest from abroad, but for me there was nothing of the calibre of Liverpool, a brilliant club with an enormous reputation, fantastic support and a fabulous history. It is an honour to play for a club like that."

Like the club of his dreams, Kuyt also has an enormous reputation thanks to his excellent strike-rate in his homeland, where he hit 71 goals in 101 games for Feyenoord. Holland coach Marco van Basten even preferred him to Ruud van Nistelrooy in the World Cup in Germany and though he flopped badly in that tournament - scuffing chances and looking oafish of touch - a host of European clubs spent the summer clamouring for his signature.

Ralph Strangis – Actor! …

Strangis is now preparing for Theater Coppell's production of "Rounding Third," a two-man show that focuses on two mismatched fathers and coaches - one a seasoned veteran (Gary Walters) and the other a rookie newcomer (Strangis) - comically struggle on the philosophies of Little League baseball, parenthood and the true meaning of success.

Strangis' character, Michael, is a widower who is raising his 12-year-old stepson Frank as a single father and he is fighting daily battles against escalating bills, his overbearing 24-year-old boss and his increasingly difficult life. In becoming his son's Little League baseball coach, he sees a bonding opportunity and a fun, relaxing release from the rigors of his daily life. But what he encounters in Walters' character and the team's head coach, Don, is a drill sergeant who puts winning above all else.

The play opens on Friday, August 18 and tickets, which are $12 for adults and $10 for kids, are available online at www.theatrecoppell.com. Reservations can also be made by calling the box office at 972-745-7719. The show contains some language that Little Leaguers sometimes use, but shouldn't, so parental discretion is advised.
Below is the show's schedule:

Friday, August 18 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, August 19 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, August 20 at 2:30 p.m.
Friday, August 25 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, August 26 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, August 27 at 2:30 p.m.

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And now, Youtube presents the end of the blog:

Bill sends this:

This video is awesome! This contestant on Big Brother UK has tourettes syndrome has a fit in the backyard... Please put in tomorrows you-tube

Thanks,
Bill in Mckinney

And Here is a re-edit of Top Gun's trailer to make it sort of...um...gay.