http://www.ridingthepine.com Mon, 06 Jul 2009 03:22:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I recently re-established my golf handicap this season.  The process has always been a flaky one for me.  Nevertheless, a handful of scores later, I acquired a number that is supposed to be the average amount I shoot over par in a given 18-hole round.  As I logged into my ... http://www.ridingthepine.com/2009/07/02/the-golf-handicap-organized-cheating-at-its-finest When Luke Walton wins an NBA championship, you know it hasn't been a good year in sports. Ages ago, a fashion star named Rick Fox played for the LA Lakers. Like Walton, he was extremely self-important, and kind of good, yet an absolute hack at the same time. When Rick Fox ... http://www.ridingthepine.com/2009/06/30/kobe-wins-one-with-the-ghost-of-rick-fox-luke-walton Excerpted from the Denver Zephyr: One casual acquaintance of Andersen, who wished to remain anonymous, said the Birdman’s been focusing his off-season efforts into taking the Denver Nuggets to the NBA title on his X-Box 360 version of NBA Live 2009. “He was really devastated by the loss to the Lakers in ... http://www.ridingthepine.com/2009/06/09/birdman-still-flying-on-his-x-box I'll preface this by saying I love Larry "freaking" King.  And I enjoyed his excerpted yarn about winning $8,000 bucks at the track back in 1971. And I was going to give him the benefit of the doubt that he did actually win at the track, even though the filly he ... http://www.ridingthepine.com/2009/05/21/lady-forli-makes-larry-king-a-lot-of-money-except-she-didnt I'm no rocket scientist, but it seems like it would be common sense for the gallery to stand *behind* any non-golf, sports star who's about to tee off in a celebrity or pro-am tournament. Especially one who has a well documented history of being as poor a golfer as Charles Barkley. Especially ... http://www.ridingthepine.com/2009/05/15/obviously-youre-not-a-golfer Wally Backman's masterful rant got me in the mood to dig up Tommy Lasorda's eloquent response to the accusation that, as manager of the Dodgers, he was telling his pitchers to throw at various Padres. NSFW due to profanity-laced wittiness.  Enjoy. http://www.ridingthepine.com/2009/05/14/lasordas-bevacqua-rant (NSFW due to sublime use of profanity.) Currently the manager for the South Georgia Peanuts, Backman is widely know for his days with the NY Mets.  Here's his bio for those who can't quite place him. We missed f*cking megasigns. (Via With Leather) http://www.ridingthepine.com/2009/05/13/fantastic-wally-backman-rant Excerpted from the Chicago Daily Gazette Leader: One unnamed safety for the Green Bay Packers could hardly contain his glee at the prospect of Favre signing for the Minnesota Vikings. "It would be fantastic.  There's no other way of putting it.  I'm in a contract year and this could mean a lot ... http://www.ridingthepine.com/2009/05/12/nfc-north-defensive-backs-really-really-really-hope-favre-unretires Excerpted from the Los Angeles Informer: Dodger fan Ricky Wormwicker expressed his surprise at the cause of the 50 game suspension. “Performance enhancing drugs?  Really?  That sort of implies that he gives a {expletive}, which, from all accounts, doesn’t seem to be or ever have been his M.O.” “That means modus operandi, in ... http://www.ridingthepine.com/2009/05/08/fans-impressed-that-manny-ramirez-cared-enough-to-take-performance-enhancing-drugs Excerpted from the Manhattan Spectrum: A source close to ESPN, who wished to remain anonymous, said that Kiper has had some problems differentiating previous years’ drafts from the 2009 NFL draft beginning this Saturday. “It’s not a big deal,” said the source, “but on a recent ESPN podcast he recommended the Eagles ... http://www.ridingthepine.com/2009/04/24/nfl-drafts-beginning-to-run-together-for-espn%e2%80%99s-mel-kiper-jr