The 10th Inning: Ugh

Yesterday was one of those days. You know, when one week is transitioning to another and it seems like nothing happened. There were elections – which hopefully you voted in – the Lakers needed a big game to beat the Thunder – the Thunder? – and Dirk scored 29 points in the fourth quarter. Excuse us for missing those and guessing that Dick Bavetta had the OKC-L.A. game. It says something when they biggest story in sports, which unbelievable few are talking about, is Syracuse losing its exhibition hoops game. And you thought Democrats losing Virginia was bad.

What in the name of Carmelo Anthony is going on in Upstate New York? Right now, the 10th Inning – humpday.

Have you ever heard of Le Moyne? Of course not. They are a D-II team. They also play in Syracuse. They have a guy named Christopher Johnson who scored 17 second half points, including drilling a long three at the end of the game, to knock off the Orange at the Carrier Dome. The last time Syracuse lost an exhibition game: against the Harlem Globetrotters. This is a little different. And the most scathing thing may have been the comments of their Hall of Fame coach: “Le Moyne really outplayed us from the beginning of the game to the end.” Unacceptable.

From a team that lost in unacceptable fashion, to one that almost did. The Lakers scored just 38 points in the second half against the Thunder and needed 31 points from a guy named Bryant, to survive a trip to Oklahoma City. Said a Thunder player: “going into overtime against the Lakers is something we can pride ourselves on.” Moral victories in the NBA? Wow.

In the first three quarters between Dallas and Utah, the Mavs scored 17, 18 and 17 points. In the fourth quarter, Dirk Nowitzki poured in 29 all by himself, outscoring all but the Jazz’ third quarter total in leading Dallas to a win Tuesday night. The 29 points in one quarter is a Mavericks record and it came as part of his 40 total. Unreal.

It’s Pedro trying to stop the Yankees from number 27 tonight.

Should LeGarrette Blount be reinstated by Oregon?

Florida State is losing a legendary coordinator.

While this column makes some spot on points about Michael Vick never facing animal abuse charges (and the same valid point about that being how our criminal justice system works), it misses a point people are ignoring. We weren’t talking about your everyday dog here. We’re talking about pitbulls. In the interest of fairness, here is a site defending the dogs and blaming their owners for the violent acts. There have been more than 300 attacks this year alone, more than 250 of which have included severe injuries. The most likely age group to be attacked are kids aged 5-11. People die. Blame the owner all you want. Doesn’t change the fact that having a dog like that around your kids is dangerous.

Notre Dame’s Michael Floyd is back.

And the Dash is always a good read.