Lions' Delmas, Bengals' Ochocinco share in trash talk

Louis Delmas shares the same agent with Cincinnati wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. One day, the agent put the players on the phone together. Naturally, they started talking trash.

“It was fun then, so I know it’s going to be fun now,” Delmas said.

The Lions drafted Delmas in the second round in April and visit the Bengals on Sunday. Delmas will go head-to-head with Ochocinco, a dangerous player and the league’s most outgoing personality.

“Tell him he’s going to get an earful, so wear some earplugs,” Ochocinco said Wednesday in a conference call with Detroit reporters.

Delmas might be a rookie safety on the NFL’s worst pass defense. But he has shown he won’t shy away from anyone. He delivers big hits. He talks big smack. He is often on the edge —sometimes drawing a flag, sometimes not.

Ochocinco offers a unique challenge. Delmas spoke highly of him as a receiver and a wordsmith.

“He’s very fast, and he’s smart,” Delmas said. “He talks a lot. I think one of his professions outside of football, he could be a rapper. He rhymes so good.”
Delmas has been preparing for Ochocinco on both fronts.

“Watching film on him, I’ve been thinking in my mind so much, little things I can say to try to compare to him,” Delmas said. “He’s got so many things that come out and pop out of his head. I’m just going to try to go in there and get in his head as much as possible, even though I know it’s probably going to be impossible to do that.”

“Tell him: Sit down,” Ochocinco said. “Don’t do that … because he’s going to end up having a bad day. You’re not going to beat me at my game.”

Ochocinco game-plans for trash talk, too. He researches hometowns, high schools, family history — whatever might throw someone off. He won’t give a preview for Sunday. He won’t give any great lines of the past. But he will give a rating.

“Remember, I never disrespect an opponent — ever,” Ochocinco said. “So you know it’s PG.”

Ochocinco declined to take shots at the Lions — not even their secondary, an easy target the Bengals likely will exploit Sunday. He called the secondary “beautiful.” (Perhaps beauty is in the eye of the opponent.)

Football and wrestling top list of school sports injuries

As the kids head back to school they'll also head back to team sports. So brace yourselves, moms and dads, for the injuries that can come with that.

A new study sheds some light on which sports are more likely to produce severe injuries, derailing athletic participation for weeks.

Injury data on nine sports were collected during the academic year from 2005 through 2007 in 100 high schools nationwide by researchers from the Ohio State University College of Medicine and the Center for Injury Research and Policy in the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, both in Columbus. A severe injury was defined as one that resulted in losing three weeks or more of sports participation. During that time, 1,378 severe injuries were noted, comprising 14.9% of all high school sports-related injuries. Severe injury rates were higher in competitions than during practices.

Football was No. 1, with the highest injury rate -- 0.69 per 1,000 athletic events (with an "event" defined as one practice or competition). Second was wrestling, then girls' basketball and girls' soccer.

While the injury rate was higher in all boys' sports versus all girls' sports, when injuries in certain sports (soccer, basketball, baseball/softball) were directly compared, the results were different: Girls had a higher severe injury rate overall than boys, and girls' basketball ranked higher in injuries than boys' basketball.

The study also described which parts of the body took the most hits. Knees were on top, followed by the ankle and shoulder.

The most common diagnoses were fractures, complete ligament sprains and incomplete ligament sprains. Among all the severe injuries, 28.3% needed surgery.

The study appears in the September issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Being Bad (at Sports) Can Be Good

So you can pay $149 to be told whether your child has a gene that may or may not be linked with athletic ability. That is the news on yesterday’s front page, where Juliet Macur wrote about a newly released product from Atlas Sports Genetics, which allows parents learn whether their child carries the version of a gene, called ACTN3, that makes for physical power or the version that makes for endurance.

I will leave it to others to debate what this means for the future of sports. And let’s ignore for the purposes of this conversation the fact that the test really doesn’t predict anything with real certainty.

But let’s say that you really could gauge, with a swab inside the mouth, your child’s chances of dominating at track and being just mediocre at football. And let’s focus on what the possibility of such a test means for parenting.

What I fear it would become is one more way for parents to insure that their children never learn to fail. In her latest book, “Freeing Your Child from Negative Thinking: Powerful, Practical Strategies to Build a Lifetime of Resilience, Flexibility and Happiness,” the psychologist Tamar Chansky argues that this is one of the most fundamental jobs of a parent, and one we don’t tend to do very well. (Her book even includes scripts for how to walk a child through failure for those of us who need the guidance.)

If you never fail, she writes, you never learn that you can pick yourself back up again. And that’s a lesson best learned young, while your center of gravity is low and it doesn’t hurt as much to fall down.

Yesterday’s article opens with a quote from the mother of a 2 year old, who is watching her toddler struggle through a soccer lesson and who thinks a genetic test for sports aptitude would be a grand idea.

“I could see how some people might think the test would pigeonhole your child into doing fewer sports or being exposed to fewer things, but I still think it’s good to match them with the right activity,” the mother said. “I think it would prevent a lot of parental frustration.”

But isn’t that very frustration, particularly for the child, the point of sports — the point of growing up — in the first place?

I was an ice skater as a kid. Years of 5 a.m. patch sessions taught me I wasn’t a very good ice skater. It also taught me that ice skating could be fun and that I could move on.

My boys, in turn, have cycled through soccer, karate, wrestling, baseball, swimming, football, fencing, snowboarding and a few others I have probably forgotten. Along the way they found they love tennis and golf.

If a test had clued me into that fact at birth, they might have gotten an earlier start and been more competitive for it. But they might also have been cheated of half the journey, the part where they learn what they aren’t great at, what they have to worker harder at than others — and where they also learn that that’s just fine.

Wakamatsu becomes first Asian-American manager

The Seattle Mariners named Don Wakamatsu as their manager on Wednesday, making the 45-year-old former catcher the first Asian-American to manage in Major League Baseball.

"This is something I've looked forward to for a long time," Wakamatsu told the official major league website mlb.com.

Wakamatsu, who played 18 games for the 1991 Chicago White Sox, takes the helm of a team that lost 101 games last season after serving as bench coach for the 2008 Oakland Athletics.

He replaces interim manager Jim Riggleman.

Before joining Oakland, Wakamatsu coached the Texas Rangers from 2003-07, including four seasons as bench coach for manager Buck Showalter.

Wakamatsu's professional playing career covered 12 years and seven different teams starting in 1985.

A fourth-generation Japanese-American whose father was born in a World War II internment camp, Wakamatsu knows only a few words of Japanese but is proud to have broken a barrier for Asian-Americans.

"I'm honored to have a history and to carry it on," Wakamatsu told a news conference.

"My parents and grandparents have a long history here in the Northwest, and I'm proud to represent what they went through in their lifetimes.

"If I can be a stepping stone for future Japanese-Americans and for equality in baseball, I'm glad to wear that burden."

Seattle features two Japanese players in its starting lineup in outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and catcher Kenji Johjima.

"We wanted energy, a passion and the skills to translate that passion to the players," general manager Jack Zduriencik said.

"We wanted leadership, a presence that could help us as we define the 'Mariners Way' to win. We wanted someone that both the community and the players could embrace.

"Don embodies all of those traits."

New Yorkers dream of "Subway Super Bowl" faces acid test

New Yorkers have started dreaming of a first "Subway Super Bowl" following strong starts to the season by the Giants and the Jets, although both sets of fans will see their teams tested in the next round of games.

The Giants have not missed a beat since shocking the unbeaten Patriots 17-14 in the last Super Bowl by posting an NFC-best 9-1 record, while the Jets (7-3) are flying high at the top of the AFC East after beating New England last week.

The road triumph on Thursday was a breakthrough win for the Jets, who have struggled in the shadow of the dominant Patriots in recent years.

However, the Jets face an even tougher assignment next week with a trip to Tennessee to play the NFL's only unbeaten team.

"I think they play complementary football and they're talented in all three phases," Jets head coach Eric Mangini told reporters on Monday, referring to the 10-0 Titans's offense, defense and special teams.

"They're well-coached. They score a lot of points in the second quarter and the fourth quarter, which makes you believe they're very well-conditioned.

"They don't make a lot of mistakes. They haven't turned the ball over on offense and they've generated a lot of turnovers on defense. That goes a long way to winning and losing."

RUSHING PROWESS

The Jets beat the Pats with a disciplined game plan executed to perfection by quarterback Brett Favre, imported this season to help New York climb into the AFC elite.

With the master plan taking shape, a win by the Jets over the Titans would bolster belief that the New Yorkers could make their first trip to the Super Bowl since Joe Namath made good his guarantee to beat the vaunted Baltimore Colts in 1969.

The Giants passed a test of their rushing prowess on Sunday by pounding their way to a 30-10 rout of the Baltimore Ravens, exceeding 200 yards on the ground for a third game in a row and against the NFL's top-rated run defense.

However, they face a different challenge next Sunday against NFC West-leading Phoenix Cardinals (7-3), who have one of the league's most explosive passing attacks with quarterback Kurt Warner and receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who won MVP honors on the same Arizona field in last February's Super Bowl, said he had faith in the passing game if the contest became a shootout.

"We feel very confident in our passing game with our receivers," said Manning, who has gone six games in a row throwing for less than 200 yards for New York, which leads the league with an average 172.7 yards a game rushing.

"It is just we are not called to make a bunch of plays right now at this time. It is all just kind of based on what the defense is doing and what is working for us."

Rockets soar over Thunder despite McGrady injury

The Houston Rockets eased to a 100-89 road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, in a victory that was marred by a knee injury to seven-time All-Star Tracy McGrady.

Luis Scola led Houston (7-4) with 23 points while Yao Ming added 19 points and 12 rebounds, but the Rockets seemed more concerned about McGrady's injury than they were about beating the struggling Thunder (1-10), losers of eight straight games.

McGrady left the game in the first minute of the second half after aggravating his surgically repaired left knee, which has troubled him in recent seasons.

"Tonight I went back to square one, even before surgery, is how my knee is feeling right now," McGrady told reporters. "My game is really based on athleticism and that's something that I don't have right now.

"It's sharp pain. It almost just seems like I never had surgery. I'm feeling the same pain."

McGrady, who underwent the surgery in the off-season, did not go to the locker room but remained on the bench for the rest of the game after being helped off the court by team trainers.

He will have an MRI scan on Tuesday.

Ron Artest added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets but also picked up an injury, leaving the floor in the final minute clutching his right ankle and he was still limping after the game.

"People sprain their ankles all the time," Artest said. "It's not a big deal."

Yao also left the game early after making a hook shot with 3:29 to play which put Houston 94-78 ahead. He appeared in some pain after making the shot and joined McGrady on the bench, but told reporters he did not think it was anything serious.

Kevin Durant had 29 points to lead the Thunder, who moved to Oklahoma City from Seattle this season. The Thunder franchise has now lost nine straight and 15 of 16 games to Houston.

Seven sports seek 2016 inclusion

Golf and rugby sevens are among seven sports presenting their cases on Friday for inclusion in the Olympic Games.

The sports for London 2012 have already been decided and these seven have to wait until next October to find out if they have a place in the 2016 Games.

Baseball and softball are bidding for a return as both were dropped from the 2012 programme, baseball because many of the top players did not compete.

Squash, roller sports and karate are also making presentations.

The IOC has set a limit of 28 sports in 2016, meaning the sports will fight over the last two available slots.

The program commission is chaired by Italian Franco Carraro, one of eight IOC members on the panel questioning the delegations before presenting a report to the executive board.

Each sport has a one-hour slot, with baseball making the first pitch in the closed-door presentations in Lausanne, Switzerland.

To win reinstatement for 2016, baseball must show the IOC it can deliver major league players to an Olympic tournament.

The baseball delegation was asked about its ability to deliver major league players to a 16-team Olympic tournament in August 2016 - right in the middle of the US major league season.

"We're committed to bringing the best players ever to the Olympic baseball tournament," said International Baseball Federation president Harvey Schiller.

"We talked about our advances in drug testing. We have an agreement with the professional leagues in terms of out-of-competition testing for the events we sanction."

Softball - a women's sport in the Olympics - is battling to return to the Games after missing out by just a single vote in 2005.

Golf, which was last played at the Olympics in 1904, proposes to return with men's and women's tournaments.

The golf delegation, including USPGA executive Ty Votaw and Peter Dawson of the Royal and Ancient - golf's governing body outside the US - brought the trophy presented in St Louis 104 years ago.

Votaw said golf's strong points were "speaking with one voice, bringing top players, and worldwide participation," with the sport televised in 216 countries each week.

"We would be able to promote golf in the Olympics and the Olympic movement across that platform every single week," Votaw said.

The World Karate Federation, comprising 180 national governing bodies, proposes to award 10 gold medals in five classes for each of the men's and women's competitions, with the International Federation for Roller Sports hoping to stage races on city streets for men and women, but not rink hockey or skateboarding.

Rugby fell from the Olympic program in 1924 and wants to come back with the seven-a-side, shorter version of the game for men and women, rather than the more established 15-a-side competition.

Finally, the World Squash Federation hopes that television-friendly, glass-enclosed courts can counter the sport's reputation as one that struggles to translate the speed of play to viewers.

Lincecum wins National League's Cy Young

San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum was named the National League's Cy Young Award winner for best pitcher on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old won the annual vote of the Baseball Writers' Association of America after an 18-5 record last season which included a 2.62 ERA. His 265 strikeouts were the highest in the majors.

Lincecum finished ahead of Arizona's Brandon Webb, the New York Mets's Johan Santana, Milwaukee's CC Sabathia and Philadelphia's Brad Lidge in the voting, MLB.com said.

The right-hander became only the second Giant to capture the award following 1967 winner Mike McCormick.

Lincecum made his Major League debut in May 2007 but came of age this season and was selected for the All-Star Game although he missed out due to illness.

Phillies win World Series opener

Philadelphia struck the first blow of the 104th World Series by beating Tampa Bay 3-2 in the opening game of seven.

The visiting Phillies had Chase Utley to thank for a two-run homer in the first inning which silenced the crowd.

Cole Hamels then pitched seven innings, striking out five batters. "Cole did a wonderful job," Utley said.

"Our goal was to try and score some runs early (and) try to take the crowd out of it." The second game is also in Tampa on Thursday night.

Phillies closer Brad Lidge came on in the ninth inning and posted a three-out save in front of a sold-out crowd of 41,000 at Tropicana Field.

His performance on Wednesday means Lidge kept his perfect save record intact this year.

With the win, Hamels surpasses Steve Carlton for the most wins in Phillies franchise history in a single post-season.

He is also the first pitcher to win four games in a single post-season since Josh Beckett in 2007.

"He has a tremendous feel for the pitch," said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. "Any time Cole pitches, I feel like we are going to win."

Tampa Bay victory levels Series

An early barrage of runs helped Tampa Bay Rays win 4-2 and level the World Series at 1-1 as the visiting Philadelphia Phillies' bats fell quiet.

Rays starting pitcher James Shields threw five scoreless innings as the Phillies' Brett Myers struggled, giving up three runs in the first two innings.

Meanwhile, the Phillies managed just one hit from the 15 opportunities they had with runners in scoring positions.

The seven-game series now moves to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Saturday.

Carlos Pena, Evan Longoria, BJ Upton and Jason Bartlett all batted in runs as the Rays played "small ball" to perfection - collecting seven hits off Myers' seven innings and having 11 baserunners despite not registering any extra-base hits.

By contrast, Philadelphia failed to take their chances, stranding nine men on base in the first seven innings until pinch-hitter Eric Bruntlett's solo home run finally got them on the scoreboard in the top of the eighth innings.

Jayson Werth drove in Carlos Ruiz in the top of the ninth as the Phillies tried to rally, but rookie reliever David Price induced slugger Ryan Howard to ground out to first base, and Price picked up the save.

The next three games of the Series are at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park on Saturday, Sunday and Monday - where, with no designated hitter, the Rays pitchers will face a rare opportunity to bat.

Rays' Game 7 win is a perfect finish

Carl Crawford practically flew in from left field. The Tampa Bay Rays' left fielder had waited a long, long time for this. He had been through most of seven long, painful seasons thinking that this very moment might never arrive. He had put up with more losing in more ways than anyone should ever be asked to endure.

So when the groundball scooted to second base, and the crowd at Tropicana Field roared, and his teammates were sucked inexorably into the middle of the diamond for an emotional, no-holds-barred party, Crawford topped it off with a flying leap onto a dogpile of Rays in a celebration of the team's first trip to the World Series. And what a way to top it off.

"I'm always the last one," Crawford said in the middle of the field, the crowd still roaring, the champagne just being uncorked. "So I was running as hard as I could, and I just took off. All I could think about was getting to my teammates. That was the only thing on my mind."

Crawford and the Rays beat the defending World Series champion Red Sox in a tight, well-played Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Sunday, capping an incredible worst-to-first season with a 3-1 win that was, in many ways, a perfect and fitting finish to their season. Let's count the way the Rays won on this incredible, memorable night

Rays level series after win over Red Sox

B.J. Upton's sacrifice fly in the 11th inning drove in the winning run for the Tampa Bay Rays for a 9-8 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, which leveled their American League Championship series at one game apiece.

The five-hour 27 minute game ended at 1.35am local time on Sunday and featured 24 hits and seven home runs, four by the Red Sox and three by the Rays.

Mike Timlin, the seventh Boston pitcher of the game, walked Dioner Navarro and Ben Zobrist to start the 11th inning. A ground ball by Jason Bartlett put runners on second and third and Akinori Iwamura was intentionally walked to load the bases.

Upton hit a short fly ball to right fielder J.D. Drew and pinch runner Fernando Perez slid home safely with the winning run.

Boston won the first game of the best-of-seven series 2-0 on Friday.

The series shifts to Fenway Park in Boston for games three, four and five on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

If games six and seven are needed, they will be played in St. Petersburg on October 18 and 19.

"So many guys did such a wonderful job," Rays manager Joe Maddon told reporters. "I'm proud of all of them."

Upton also had one of the three Rays homers in the third inning. Evan Longoria and Cliff Floyd also homered for Tampa Bay, with Longoria doubling twice.

Dustin Pedroia hit two home runs for Boston and Kevin Youkilis and Jason Bay also homered.

"We still had a chance to win the game and we couldn't pull it off," Boston manager Terry Francona said.

Rookie left-hander David Price, the seventh Rays pitcher, got the win in relief.

Boston tied the game at 8-8 in the top of the eighth inning on a wild pitch by Rays pitcher Dan Wheeler.