Kay's Korner : CBSSports.com Blogs

You want this job: CBSSports.com preditor

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:13:16 EDT

Position: CBSSports.com preditor (production editor) for hockey and golf

Where: Fort Lauderdale

Salary: Good

Benefits: Good ones

Meet the Blogger: Evan Brunell

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:17:20 EDT

It's been a while since I've posted a blog here.

I've been busy.

What with mourning the end of Lost and awaiting Matt Chico's much-anticipated re-arrival to the Nats, blogging had to take a back seat.

But I've also been working behind the scenes. For the past year I've been on the hunt for the best and brightest bloggers out there. Yep, I'm sorta like Bob Parsons. Minus the whole killing pachyderms.

Fails all around for Miami RedHawks

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:01:51 EDT

The Miami RedHawks needed 10 quarters to put their first points on the board this season. The local paper was apparently caught a little off guard when Miami finally found paydirt.

So while Eugene Harris hauling in a 14-yard pass from Daniel Raudabaugh in the third quarter of a 48-26 pounding by the Western Michigan Broncos was big news for first-year head coaching disaster Mike Haywood, it led to incorrect news in the hometown paper.

The Oxford Press , the town paper (not the student paper), ran this photo for an extended period after the historical loss.

That's a fantastic fail, just like Miami's program.

Former MAC stars struggling to survive in Oakland

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:22:30 EDT

They were MAC gods in the mid-200s. Now they're fighting for the No. 3 quarterback position in the NFL wasteland that is Oakland.

Charlie Frye and Bruce Gradkowski, according to the Contra-Costa Times , are in a "dead heat" to hold the clipboard behind JaMarcus Russell and Jeff Garcia.

"On one day it's one guy, on one day it's the next," Cable said. "The next two games might decide it." That was two-plus weeks ago.

The battle hasn't eased up since. Here's what our RapidReports correspondent Eric Gilmore posted Tuesday .

The Dress Kode: Shirts reveals IQ of Raiders fans

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:34:46 EDT

I'm on the prowl for funny/interesting/witty/stupid sports attire.

What's smarter than a Raiders fan? This shirt explains . (Hint: Everything)

Thanks to MMA writer and admitted Raiders fan Denny Burkholder for the link.

Have a piece of clothing worth sharing? Shoot me an email or find me on Twitter here .

The Dress Kode: This may get confusing...

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:42:42 EDT

Earlier this month Gary Parrish dropped one of the biggest summer sports stories on the Interwebs: LeBron James got dunked on. By a freshman Xavier hoopster.

That's big news. But then big news became huge news when Nike confiscated the tape.

Sites like Deadspin and Hoopsdoctor circulated the news.

Sites like the Sporting News may have found the tape .

Need more Kobe? Check out new Cowboys stadium

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:46:15 EDT

If one must have a favorite Cowboy, worse can be had than second-year player Martellus Bennett. He's a solid tight end, an often hilarious Twitterer , and now a stadium tour guide.

This week on Marty B TV is a tour of JerryWorld , the Cowboys' new still-under-construction facility set to make Yankee Stadium seem more like Ozzie Guillen's take on Wrigley Field .

While the ostrich-leather seats are impressive, it's the concession stand menu that screams nouveau-Texas bbq.

There's the dry aged beef sandwich for $14, the Texas catfish po'boy is available for $10 and the steel cut fries for $5 (I thought "hand cut" was still the in-fry making slicing, but who knows). A draft beer will set you back $9. But it's the four Kobe items that either represent a culinary revolution in stadium food, or one helluva marketing push.

Big Diesel still owns greatness debate

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:20:58 EDT

The price of a car can often be determined by one thing -- it's eventual re-sale cost. In simplified terms it's a large part of what makes a Toyota worth more than a Ford and a BMW more valuable than a Cadillac.

We heard Sunday evening the rumors of Shaquille O'Neal potentially heading to Cleveland . We're going to hear alot more of this. That's because after 16 seasons where he was beaten up in the paint, and at the junkyard NBA age of 37, Shaq is still a hot commodity. Not too long ago he was still a missing piece to a title in Phoenix, possibly, and now in Cleveland, hopefully. He's been responsible, according to the media, for the titles of men under 6-6, whether it be Kobe Bryant or Dwyane Wade. Just last season, he averaged 17.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg while shooting nearly 61 percent from the field.

Lost reveals identity of four-toed statue

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:48:46 EST

It's Egyptian, like we suspected, but not the one we thought. After the season finale, I wrote about how the statue seemed to be Sobek , the Nile River god tied to the creation myth. I was even more confident with this since part of Sobek's lore involved this Jacob-ish like explanation:

"Sobek's ambiguous nature led some Egyptians to believe that he was a repairer of evil that had been done, rather than a force for good in itself, for example, going to Duat to restore damage done to the dead as a result of their form of death. He was also said to call on suitable gods and goddesses required for protecting people in situation, effectively having a more distant role, nudging things along, rather than taking an active part." Turns out its Taweret , the goddess of motherhood. That's uber-simple because in fact Taweret's nature changed mutiple times. She was also viewed as the mate to another deity that when paired, she became the demon wife of the original god of evil. Makes my head spin too, but the point seems to be -- the more the Egyptians got to know Tawaret, the less frightening and more revered the part hippo, lion and crocodile became.

Tech Korner: Some sports tweets worth following

Wed, 20 May 2009 17:39:39 EDT

In the Twitter universe it's often not what you tweet, but who it is doing the tweeting. For example, Danny Glover is on Twitter. Since he joined around April 17th he's posted six updates. They're all about following something called "politicalrap."

Yet he has 236,159 followers.

Take Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams as another example. He has 847 followers despite recent tweets like:

"NBA draft lottery tonight. Not since 2004, when the Orlando Magic ended up with Howard, has the team with the worst record won the lottery."

Lost: Jacob's Swan song closes season five

Mon, 24 May 2010 14:38:53 EDT

Let's get this out of the way: Nobody does season finales quite like "Lost." They always go out with a bang.

Let's also get this out of the way: "The Incident, Part 1&2" is the sister episode to "Live Together, Die Alone," the season two finale.

So let's start there. Whether it was Juliet's declaration to "live together, die alone," or the blinding light from the explosion at the Swan (again), TIP12 started off with cryptic dialogue before taking us on a two-hour journey to make the dynamite go boom.

About that dialogue between two strangers on a beach. It took place between Jacob, and a man (played by another "Deadwood" alum (Titus Welliver).

Lost: Tweaking the timeline

Fri, 08 May 2009 11:12:22 EDT

Like Sawyer, Juliet and Kate, i'm leaving town shortly so I'll keep this short so I don't miss my sub. And by sub, I mean American Airlines flight.

Speaking of the sub, anybody conjure images of Sawyer's last boat trip off The Island? That one didn't end too well, and I'm guessing this one won't either. However, I loved his Back to the Future Part II quibs.

It turns out Daniel is, in fact, dead. D.E.D, dead. Eloise, his killer/mom, feels a touch of remorse (agree or disagree?) and listens to destiny-driven Jack's take on Faraday's legacy.

This leads to ...

Tech Korner: NBA Game Time app ain't primetime

Tue, 05 May 2009 17:30:46 EDT

Sometimes an iPhone app from a reputable organization comes along and you ask yourself: Why?

Why take the time to make this?

That's the question I ask myself after using NBA.com's (via Turner) Game Time app for the first round of the playoffs. The Game Time app promises: "No frills. Just scores, schedules and stats."

It does all those things (sort of). End of story, right?

Lost: Stop, or Jedi Faraday's mom will shoot

Fri, 01 May 2009 16:59:33 EDT

She that is Queen of Tunis; she that dwells

Ten leagues beyond man's life; she that from Naples

Can have no note, unless the sun were post—

The Man i' th' Moon's too slow—till new-born chins

Tech Korner: Tell ya 'bout the birds & the tweets

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:10:36 EDT

Maybe your stance of Twitter mirrors the plot of a teen sex comedy. Like a high school senior you feel like you've waited long enough and now, no NOW!, is the time you must join the legion of Twitterers. It's a right of Internet passage, gosh darn it!

So you sign up at Twitter.com and try and solicit some friends. But your first tweets are awkward, too short and clumsy. You think, "what if I initiate?" So you start following some friends. Except, they don't follow you back. Ruh-roh.

You kick it up a notch. You try tinkering with your background appearance and avatar image. You re-tweet other people's posts. You add more friends. Still nothing.

But just when you hit the bottomless pit of despair and think, "will I die not knowing what's it like to be a good Twitterer?!" a person starts following your Twitter feed. Oh, the excitement! This inspires you to start tweeting even more, which leads to a few more people following your feed. Your ratio of 70 following to 5 followers is still atrocious, but hey, your Facebook profile wasn't built in a day.

Tech Korner: Attempting to find fans w/iPhone

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:29:59 EDT

My favorite professional teams are in the Washington D.C. metro area. My favorite college teams are from Ohio. I live in South Florida .

Finding a group of live humans who share my rooting interests to watch a game isn't the easiest task.

So with the NFL Draft coming around the corner I checked a new iPhone app called FanFinder Mobile to see if there were any alternatives to the one bar I know fellow Redskins fans congregate to on Sundays.

FanFinder Mobile is a free application that uses GPS technology to locate bars in your area that cater to your favorite team, according to David Katz, the CEO of SportsFanLive.com, the website that built the application.

Lost: Going the extra Miles

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:35:35 EDT

Like Hurley, I scribbled away endlessly last night during "Some Like it Hoth." Unlike Hurley (who was penning "Empire"), I forgot my notes at home. If I'm even more scatterbrained than usual, well, consider that my dog-ate-my-homework excuse.

From the minute (actually 3:16 minutes if you're noticing the microwave at the prospective apartment mama Straum was looking at) "Some Like it Hoth" began to the final scene, the episode simply kicked butt.

Why? Well, it was draped in "Star Wars" mythology. Is Hurley R2D2? How about the part where Hurley asks how to spell "bounty hunter." Anybody else think Llana, or even U.S. Marshall Edward Mars? Probably not. You guys all thought Bobba Fett, obviously.

Lost: Judgment day for Ben

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:35:56 EDT

Of all the nefarious things Ben has done -- torturing the castaways, manipulating Locke, manipulating everybody, stealing Alex, blowing up the tanker, shooting Locke, banishing Widmore, killing Widmore's people, killing Locke -- who would have thought that when his time came "to be judged" by the Monster, it would be his A-OK'ing Alex's death that would be his defining blemish?

Like the mother-daughter relationships that defined "Whatever happened, happened" a few weeks back, "Death is death" is driven by Ben's take on children.

Case in points: It's baby Alex that causes the first rift between Ben and Widmore. It's Widmore's daughter, Penelope, who leads to his banishment by Ben. It's Penelope's son, Charlie, who causes Ben to pause on the dock. It's teenage Alex's death that is central to Ben's judgement and it's Alex again who gives Ben his next set of orders.

Doubting Thomas? Sun Belt may get big-time boost

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 5:29:31 EDT

For once in his post-playing career, Isiah Thomas might actually help a league he's joining.

After running the Continental Basketball Association and two NBA teams into the ground, Thomas accepted the coaching job at Florida International on Tuesday, making him the second big-name coach to join the conference recently.

"He's provided a lot of publicity for the Sun Belt the past couple days, which in this business is helpful. The more people talking about your conference the better," Florida Atlantic coach Mike Jarvis said in a phone interview.

Jarvis would know. After guiding three teams to the NCAA tournament and amassing at least 100 wins at Boston, George Washington and St. John's, he returned to basketball to take the job of putting Florida Atlantic on the map.

Capitals GM wants Frozen Four back in D.C.

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:49:13 EDT

George McPhee says the Cherry Blossom Festival isn't the only thing Washington is good for in April. During the Frozen Four final between Boston and Miami the Capitals general manager and former Hobey Baker Award winner said the town, the team and the venue would love to have the tournament return.

"We'd love to have it back," said the former Bowling Green hockey star. "We have a great venue here. I think the players have really enjoyed it. Washington is probably the biggest reason people come. Walk out the door and there are 100 restaurants and all the museums and memorials and Capitol and White House -- It's a great way to spend a weekend."

The earliest the tournament could return is 2013, which would be one year into a potential new administration. The only reason I bring this is up is Miami fans thought "Yes we can," was a clever chant with about three minutes to go vs. Boston.

Frozen Four: Boston bounces Miami for title

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:19:10 EDT

WASHINGTON -- A deflection.

If you ever doubted hockey as a game of inches, let Boston's 4-3 overtime win for the 2009 NCAA D-I title be entered as evidence. A deflection from the stick of Colby Cohen off the body of Kevin Roeder past the glove of Cody Reichard with 11:47 in overtime ended what could have been one of the greatest upsets in sports history.

Giants over Patriots. Red Sox over Yankees. Boise over Oklahoma.

That's what every lede in every publication was readying with 43 seconds to go in the game. And rightly so. Boston was the best team in the tournament. Heck, legendary coach Jack Parker called this "possibly my greatest team." His greatest team on the brink of demise with 43 seconds remaining? Well, fate had a different idea -- one that fell more inline with the drunken Boston fans who left at midnight Friday to come to D.C.

Frozen Four: Cohesive RedHawks eye first title

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 21:34:34 EDT

WASHINGTON -- During a game he stands behind his team like Michael Corleone. He's calm, collected, yet ready to pounce if instigated.

I should know, I once instigated. Well, rather, I asked a stupid question.

It was one of my first assignments for the now-defunct student newspaper the High Street Journal in Oxford, Ohio and following a loss to Michigan State I asked coach Enrico Blasi what his RedHawks team did wrong.

"Wrong? We lost to a better team, simple. Anything else?" And that was it. He walked away after chewing me up and spitting me out. That's what happens when you mess with the don of Miami hockey.

Frozen Four Flog

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:28:41 EDT

1:43 Third Period

That'll do it. Miami puts the icing on the cake with a empty-net goal to make it 4-1.

7:49 Third Period

Shea Walters of the Beavers tries to get in some RedHawks' faces to rile up the opponent. Sean Avery he is not.

Lost: Take my child, please

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:41:55 EDT

My apologies in advance, but I have to treat this more like the start of a thread than a full-blown, down-the-rabbit-hole blog. My quick take on "Whatever Happened, Happened," is that it's an episode about mothers and fathers mixed with some Ben mythology and one of the most enjoyable freak-flag waving, nerdy conversations to date.

Let's start with the nerd stuff. Miles and Hurley go back and forth debating ideas about how the time-travelling phenomenon actually works. It reminded me of the chess games Hurley and Sawyer used to play when they bunked up in season four. Hurley checkmates Miles with the query: why would Ben (then posing as Henry Gale) not recognize Sayid when the castaway tortured him in the Swan? After all, Sayid shot young Ben?

Lost:Shot through the heart and Ben's still dead?

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 2:12:34 EDT

Would you kill adolescent Hitler if you had the chance?

That's the general question, "He's our you," hit us all over the head with last night. It's an episode that had one defining moment and allowed us to hopscotch onto the paths of several ongoing plot points.

Let's recap, but first, "take your lunch, Phil!"

The episode hits us with a heavy dose of Sayid psychology. We're taken back to his childhood in Iraq where Papa Jarrah was ordering his elder son to kill a chicken. Like a good PETA operative, he refuses. In steps Sayid, birdfeed in hand, to lure the delicious future kabob material to its death. Young Sayid snaps the bird's neck and hands it to his older brother to boast as his own.

Sawyer the leader, Sayid the Hostile on Lost

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:56:43 EDT

While the rest of the site toils in a day of March Madness, today let's revel in a little Lost Madness. Get it? Hmm? Hmm?

My bracket will likely be busted by 12:21 PM ET, but it took Sawyer roughly 55 minutes into last night's episode "Namaste" to bust Jack's bubble.

More on that to come. Let's recap the episode.

"Namaste" starts off back on Ajira flight 316. While Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sayid are all transported back to 1977, Lapidus, Sun, Ben and the rest of the passengers are, well, that's anybody's guess. They did however find a runway to land on. However, it's not long enough for that bird to land on. Sorry for that tree through the chest, Mr. Co-pilot, guess those thrusters weren't thrusty enough.

Last night's Lost: He's just that into Lefleur

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:04:59 EST

In the second part of our three-year back-and-forth snapshots of A.D., after donkey wheel, we learn about the fates of the remaining Skipping Six in an episode light on sci-fi, but heavy on Sawyer.

And that means the ladies are a happy lot. Until the end of "Lefleur," that is.

A.D. life is good for the crew, but let's examine how it got to be.

After Locke turned the donkey wheel The Island skipped one last time and finally got back on track.

Bryan Brothers look better than ever

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 9:38:37 EST

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- Mercelo Melo and Andre Sa thought they finally had it figured out, if only for a moment, vs. the Bryan brothers Sunday at the Delray Beach International championship.

It was 4-4 in the second set. They were down one set to love. The idea? Approach the net, let nothing past the 6-8 Melo.

If backfired, just like so many other strategies tried vs. the No. 1 seed twins.

"I felt bad for them," said Mike Bryan.

Hail the Redskins: Offseason Champs again!

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:57:21 EST

I awoke to, "breaking news here on SporsCenter , the Redskins have signed Albert Haynesworth," around 6 a.m. this morning.

Dan Snyder Francis Buxton got his guy for a cool $100 million .

Hold on, "breaking news here on SportsCenter , the Redskins have signed Albert Haynesworth" (7:14 a.m.). The deal's has $41 million guaranteed in it.

The Redskins done did it again. Offseason Champs 2009. The banner sure will look perrrty in the rafters next to Offseason Champs 2000, Offseason Champs 2003, Offseason Champs 2004 and Offseason Champs 2006.

Lost recap: Is Locke special?

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:41:48 EST

"Cause I gonna make you see, there's nobody else here, no one like me. I'm special, so special. I gotta have some of your attention give it to me." -- Brass in pocket, Pretenders

Last night's episode, "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham," took us on a wheelchair ride with Jeremy Bentham, John Locke's mainland pseudonym, as he struggled to recruit the Oceanic Six back to The Island and with his own battle regarding whether or not he is, as Charles Widmore and Ben Linus come to tell him, "special."

After turning the big ol' frozen donkey wheel in "The Little Prince," Locke was sent to Tunisia, which apparently is the landing spot for those who move The Island. Funny how different the two environments are: Subterranean ice layer vs. dry desert. Locke vomited, like Ben did, and was eventually rescued and put on the mend by Widmore's camp.