Sportshttp://www.blrag.com/sports/en-US2008-11-23T15:43:51ZSquarespace Site Server v5.0.0 (http://www.squarespace.com/)SEC Charges Mark Cuban With Insider Tradinghttp://www.blrag.com/sports/2008/11/17/sec-charges-mark-cuban-with-insider-trading.htmlskinnydipinacid2008-11-17T17:23:00ZWASHINGTON — Federal regulators have charged Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban with insider trading for allegedly using confidential information on a stock sale to avoid more than $750,000 in losses.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil lawsuit against Cuban on Monday in federal court in Dallas. The agency says that in June 2004, Cuban was invited to get in on the coming stock offering by Mamma.com Inc. after he agreed to keep the information private.

The SEC says Cuban knew the shares would be sold below the current market price, and a few hours after receiving the information, told his broker to sell all shares in the search engine company.

]]>Something I Can Get Behind Obama Onhttp://www.blrag.com/sports/2008/11/16/something-i-can-get-behind-obama-on.htmlskinnydipinacid2008-11-16T04:33:40ZFootballThree Words: College Football Playoffs

I can't stand the current system. I really do hate it. It makes no sense, nobody can explain it, it leads to nothing but confusion and disagreement and continuously leaves room for failure.

President-elect Barack Obama feels that there should be an eight-team, three round college football playoff to determine the national champion. Here's what he had to say about it to "60 Minutes" on CBS, in which he addresses a subject college football fans have debated for many years, and says he will use his influence to create such a system:

"If you've got a bunch of teams who play throughout the season, and many of them have one loss or two losses, there's no clear decisive winner. We should be creating a playoff system," he tells CBS' Steve Kroft in an interview to be broadcast Sunday.

"It would add three extra weeks to the season," he said at the conclusion of a wide-ranging interview. "You could trim back on the regular season. I don't know any serious fan of college football who has disagreed with me on this. So, I'm going to throw my weight around a little bit. I think it's the right thing to do."

Now I for one am totally for this. There's is absolutely no reason we can't make this happen. Not only could we limit the regular season to a set number of games, but adding conference championships to those conferences who don't already have them in place (cough cough... Big 10... cough) to ensure those no cupcake schedules in major conferences.

How could we make this okay with the Bowl Committee? Utilize the previous rinky dink bowls that are already set. There are currently 7 bowls scheduled BEFORE Christmas (that's right... I called it Christmas!) and I'll bet there isn't too many of you that can name a single one of them. Can you all say "the R+L Carrier whuh?"

Or better yet... don't utilize them. ADD a round BEFORE that series of worthless games. Quarterfinals could be the week before Christmas, the semifinals could be added to the prime-time schedule on New Year's and New Year's Eve and that gives you all the time in the world to set up for one last final anytime in January, in which we can crown a national champion... no doubt... no fuss... no arguements... and most importantly no room for debate.

Please Obama... do this.

]]>No Chance in Hell for the Cubs?http://www.blrag.com/sports/2008/11/7/no-chance-in-hell-for-the-cubs.htmlskinnydipinacid2008-11-07T18:45:07ZNo... I'm not talking about the World Series. I'm talking about Mark Cuban.

According to ESPN - If Mark Cuban sidles up to fellow Cubs fans at future Wrigley Field games, apparently he'll have to do so as a ticket buyer.

His bid to buy the team from owner Sam Zell? According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Cuban won't even make the final cut if commissioner Bud Selig and Major League Baseball owners have their way.

"There's no way Bud and the owners are going to let that happen," a baseball source told the Chicago Sun-Times earlier this week. "Zero chance."

Zell has yet to shorten the field of five potential buyers who submitted bids of about $1 billion to the Tribune Co. for the Cubs and Wrigley Field. The process has begun to drag: The Cubs were on the market at the start of the 2007 baseball season and a source told the Sun-Times that a deal before Opening Day 2009 is unlikely.

"The Cubs have got smart, smart people here. I mean they're winning, they're doing great things, I'll just stay out of the way," Cuban said in August, just weeks after learning he had made the field of five bidders. "Believe it or not, I can stay out of the way."

Major League Baseball must approve the sale of any team. During the past summer, Comcast SportsNet reported that Cuban was the highest bidder for the Cubs at $1.3 billion.

Whether the deteriorating economy affects the final purchase price is unknown. Last summer, several bidders offering between $700 million and $900 million for all of the properties were excluded from the second round of consideration.

''We'll be standing here at next year's GM meetings,'' the source told the Sun-Times, ''and this will still be unresolved."

Among the five bidders -- in addition to Cuban, an Internet billionaire and owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks -- are the Ricketts family, which founded the brokerage that is now TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.; and a group led by Sports Acquisition Holding Corp. that includes former baseball home run king Henry Aaron and former Republican congressman Jack Kemp.

The Tribune Co. paid $20.5 million for the Cubs in 1981.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

]]>MLB Players File for Free Agencyhttp://www.blrag.com/sports/2008/11/4/mlb-players-file-for-free-agency.htmlskinnydipinacid2008-11-04T01:30:30ZArizona
Clark, Tony (1B); Dunn, Adam (OF); Cruz, Juan (RP); Eckstein, David (SS); Hudson, Orlando (2B); Lyon, Brandon (RP)

Atlanta
Julio, Jorge (RP); Norton, Greg (OF); Ohman, Will (RP); Smoltz, John (SP); Tavarez, Julian (RP)

Baltimore
Cintron, Alex (SS); Millar, Kevin (1B); Payton, Jay (OF)

Boston
Byrd, Paul (SP); Casey, Sean (1B); Colon, Bartolo (SP); Cora, Alex (SS); Kotsay, Mark (OF); Ross, Dave (C); Schilling, Curt (SP); Varitek, Jason (C)

Chicago Cubs
Blanco, Henry (C); Dempster, Ryan (SP); Edmonds, Jim (OF); Fox, Chad (RP); Howry, Bob (RP); Lieber, Jon (RP); Ward, Daryle (1B); Wood, Kerry (RP)

Chicago White Sox
Cabrera, Orlando (SS); Crede, Joe (3B); Hall, Toby (C); Ramirez, Horacio (RP); Uribe, Juan (2B)

Cincinnati
Affeldt, Jeremy (RP); Bako, Paul (C); Fogg, Josh (SP); Hairston Jr., Jerry (SS); Lincoln, Michael (RP); Mercker, Kent (RP); Patterson, Corey (OF); Valentin, Javier (C); Weathers, Dave (RP)

Cleveland
* Donnelly, Brendan (RP); Elarton, Scott (SP); Fasano, Sal (C); Rincon, Juan (RP)

Colorado
Fuentes, Brian (RP); Herges, Matt (RP); Hernandez, Livan (SP); Melhuse, Adam (C); Podsednik, Scott (OF); Rusch, Glendon (RP)

Detroit
Farnsworth, Kyle (RP); Fossum, Casey (RP); Garcia, Freddy Antonio (SP); Jones, Todd (RP); Renteria, Edgar (SS); Wilson, Vance (C)

Florida
Hendrickson, Mark (RP); LoDuca, Paul (C); Rhodes, Arthur (RP)

Houston
Ausmus, Brad (C); Brocail, Doug (RP); Hawkins, LaTroy (RP); Loretta, Mark (2B); Wolf, Randy (SP)

Kansas City
Grudzielanek, Mark (2B)

Los Angeles Angels
Anderson, Garret (OF); Garland, Jon (SP); Oliver, Darren (RP); Rivera, Juan (OF); Rodriguez, Francisco (RP); Teixeira, Mark (1B)

Los Angeles Dodgers
Beimel, Joe (RP); Blake, Casey (3B); Furcal, Rafael (SS); Garciaparra, Nomar (1B); Johnson, Jason (RP); Lowe, Derek (SP); Maddux, Greg (SP); Park, Chan Ho (RP); Ramirez, Manny (OF); Sweeney, Mark (1B);

Milwaukee
Branyan, Russell (3B); + Counsell, Craig (SS); Durham, Ray (2B); Gagne, Eric (RP); Kapler, Gabe (OF); Lamb, Michael (3B); Mota, Guillermo (RP); Sabathia, CC (SP); Sheets, Ben (SP); Shouse, Brian (RP)

Minnesota
Everett, Adam (SS); Guardado, Eddie (RP); Punto, Nick (SS); Reyes, Dennys (RP)

New York Mets
Alou, Moises (OF); Armas Jr., Tony (RP); Ayala, Luis (RP); Easley, Damion (2B); Hernandez, Orlando (SP); Martinez, Pedro (SP); Martinez, Ramon E. (2B); Perez, Oliver (SP); Rincon, Ricardo (RP); Wise, Matt (RP)

New York Yankees
Abreu, Bob (OF); Moeller, Chad (C); Ponson, Sidney (SP); Rodriguez, Ivan (C)

Oakland
Brown, Emil (OF); Embree, Alan (RP); Foulke, Keith (RP); Thomas, Frank (DH)

Philadelphia
Gordon, Tom (RP); Seanez, Rudy (RP)

Pittsburgh
Gomez, Chris (3B); Michaels, Jason (OF); Mientkiewicz, Doug (1B); Rivas, Luis (SS)

St. Louis
Isringhausen, Jason (RP); Izturis, Cesar (SS); Looper, Braden L. (SP); Lopez, Felipe (2B); Springer, Russ (RP); Villone, Ron (RP)

San Diego
Hoffman, Trevor (RP); Prior, Mark (SP)

San Francisco
Aurilia, Rich (1B); Vizquel, Omar (SS)

Seattle
Bloomquist, Willie (OF); Cairo, Miguel (1B); Ibanez, Raul (OF)

Tampa Bay
Baldelli, Rocco (DH); Hinske, Eric (OF)

Toronto
Wilkerson, Brad (OF); Parrish, John (RP); Zaun, Gregg (C)

Texas
+ Blalock, Hank (3B); Bradley, Milton (DH); Jennings, Jason (SP); Vazquez, Ramon (3B); Wright, Jamey (RP)

Washington
Boone, Aaron (1B); Perez, Odalis (SP)

* = Potentially eligible due to contract terms.

+ = Provisional election pending resolution of option provision in Player's UPC.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

]]>NFL Week 9 Recaphttp://www.blrag.com/sports/2008/11/3/nfl-week-9-recap.htmlskinnydipinacid2008-11-03T13:14:07ZFootballWeekly Leaders Passing Yards

1 D. McNabb, PHI, 349

2 K. Warner, ARI, 342

3 J. Garcia, TB, 339

4 A. Rodgers, GB, 314

5 J. Cutler, DEN, 307

Rushing Yards

1 R. Rice, BAL, 154

2 A. Peterson, MIN, 139

3 M. Turner, ATL, 139

4 M. Forte, CHI, 126

5 B. Jacobs, NYG, 117

Receiving Yards

1 D. Driver, GB, 136

2 D. Mason, BAL, 136

3 O. Daniels, HOU, 133

4 B. Celek, PHI, 131

5 P. Hillis, DEN, 116

Scoring

1 D. Akers, PHI, 14

2 D. Carpenter, MIA, 14

3 J. Feely, NYJ, 14

4 R. Bironas, TEN, 13

5 M. Stover, BAL, 13

Complete Weekly Leaders

Top Performers

Monday, November 3, 2008

Listen AT Listen

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Steelers (5-2-0)
Redskins (6-2-0)

Broadcast Information Sirius Radio - Home: 127 | Away: 126
TV: ESPN | DIRECTV: 206 (HD: 73) Sunday, November 2, 2008 FINAL Lucas Oil Stadium 15 Listen AT 18 Listen

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Patriots (5-3-0)	0	6	6	3		15
Colts (4-4-0)	7	0	8	3		18

Video Highlights NFL GameDay: Patriots vs. Colts highlights
02:55 FINAL Qwest Field 26 Listen

AT 7 Listen

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Eagles (5-3-0)	0	14	6	6		26
Seahawks (2-6-0)	7	0	0	0		7

Video Highlights NFL GameDay: Eagles vs. Seahawks highlights
01:55 FINAL McAfee Coliseum 24 Listen

AT 0 Listen

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Falcons (5-3-0)	14	10	0	0		24
Raiders (2-6-0)	0	0	0	0		0

Video Highlights NFL GameDay: Falcons vs. Raiders highlights
02:37 FINAL Giants Stadium 14 Listen

AT 35 Listen

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Cowboys (5-4-0)	0	7	0	7		14
Giants (7-1-0)	14	7	7	7		35

Video Highlights NFL GameDay: Giants vs. Cowboys
03:09 FINAL Invesco Field at Mile High 26 Listen

AT 17 Listen

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Dolphins (4-4-0)	13	3	0	10		26
Broncos (4-4-0)	7	0	3	7		17

Video Highlights NFL GameDay: Dolphins vs. Broncos highlights
02:37 FINAL LP Field 16 Listen

AT 19 Listen

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Packers (4-4-0)	0	10	3	3	0	16
Titans (8-0-0)	3	10	3	0	3	19

Video Highlights NFL GameDay: Packers vs. Titans highlights
04:06 FINAL Edward Jones Dome 34 Listen

AT 13 Listen

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Cardinals (5-3-0)	0	24	7	3		34
Rams (2-6-0)	7	0	0	6		13

Video Highlights NFL GameDay: Cardinals vs. Rams highlights
02:03 FINAL Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 21 Listen

AT 28 Listen

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Texans (3-5-0)	7	0	7	7		21
Vikings (4-4-0)	7	14	0	7		28

Video Highlights Jared Allen injury
01:05 FINAL Arrowhead Stadium 30 Listen

AT 27 Listen

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Buccaneers (6-3-0)	0	13	0	14	3	30
Chiefs (1-7-0)	14	10	0	3	0	27

Video Highlights NFL GameDay: Buccaneers vs. Chiefs highlights
04:22 FINAL Cleveland Browns Stadium 37 Listen

AT 27 Listen

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Ravens (5-3-0)	10	3	7	17		37
Browns (3-5-0)	7	6	14	0		27

Video Highlights NFL GameDay: Ravens vs. Browns highlights
02:56 FINAL Paul Brown Stadium 19 Listen

AT 21 Listen

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Jaguars (3-5-0)	0	3	0	16		19
Bengals (1-8-0)	7	7	7	0		21

Video Highlights NFL GameDay: Jaguars vs. Bengals highlights
03:13 FINAL Soldier Field 23 Listen AT 27 Listen

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Lions (0-8-0)	0	23	0	0		23
Bears (5-3-0)	10	3	7	7		27

Video Highlights NFL GameDay: Lions vs. Bears highlights
03:32 FINAL Ralph Wilson Stadium 26 Listen

AT 17 Listen

	1	2	3	4	OT	T
Jets (5-3-0)	13	0	10	3		26
Bills (5-3-0)	7	0	3	7		17

Video Highlights

NFL GameDay: Jets vs. Bills highlights

03:51

]]>Phillies Win World Serieshttp://www.blrag.com/sports/2008/10/30/phillies-win-world-series.htmlskinnydipinacid2008-10-30T03:40:50ZBaseball

So once again, another team I rooted for this playoffs took the fall.

Gee...

yippee...

woo hoo...

thank GOD baseball is finally over.

:: sigh ::

and yet still... there's always next year.

]]>NFL: Week 8 Recaphttp://www.blrag.com/sports/2008/10/28/nfl-week-8-recap.htmlskinnydipinacid2008-10-28T04:17:57ZPassing Yards

1. K. Warner, ARI, 381

2. P. Rivers, SD, 341

3. D. Brees, NO, 339

4. J. Campbell, WAS, 328

5. C. Pennington, MIA, 314

Rushing Yards

1. B. Westbrook, PHI, 167

2. C. Portis, WAS, 126

3. D. Williams, CAR, 108

4. L. Tomlinson, SD, 105

5. F. Gore, SF, 94

Receiving Yards

1. T. Ginn, MIA, 175

2. D. Avery, STL, 163

3. A. Johnson, HOU, 143

4. S. Moss, WAS, 140

5. M. Jones, JAC, 117

Scoring

1. J.Carney, NYG, 13

2. S.Suisham, WAS, 13

3. A.Boldin, ARI, 12

4. D.Clark, IND, 12

5. N.Kaeding, SD, 12

Complete Weekly Leaders

Top Performers

Monday, October 27, 2008

FINAL LP Field

Listen