| On the schedule today
As you check out the sports page today, make sure to notice our dual (not duel) chats. First, at noon, NBA editor Brian Styers holds forth on "thee association." Even if you don't want to spend your lunch break with Brian -- but who wouldn't? -- you can send in your questions ahead of time and check in later for his pithy replies. Just as you've collected all the NBA nuggets that were possible, Nate Davis checks in at 2 p.m. with NFL fantasy tips and more. You can send in your queries ahead of time, of course. If you're reading this, make sure to ask him what to do for self-punishment if you benched Jason Hanson of Detroit in favor of Jeff Reed just before Thanksgiving. Hanson had a huge game, scoring close to 20 points in leagues that reward long-distance kicks and Reed made the game winner on Monday Night but missed a kick earlier resulting in a fantasy score of one point.
WORKING O.T.: Cavs without the Sideshow; Van Gundy tells Murray to keep his mouth shut
According to 76% of respondents to a poll at pistons.com, the Cleveland Cavaliers are De-troit Bask-et-ball's biggest rival, easily outpacing the Bulls and Heat. You wouldn't know it by the fact that several hundred tickets remain for tonight's rivalry game at the Palace (available through Ticketmaster, pistons.com or by calling 248-377-0100). But it's evident there are a fair number of Pistons fans still smarting from last season's ouster in the Eastern Conference finals. .
US fans were misled over David Beckham, Pele says
Pele believes US fans were misled about what David Beckham could bring to Major League Soccer. Amid great fanfare, the former England captain was presented by the Los Angeles Galaxy in July, but his greatest impact has been on ticket sales and merchandise. Pele believes Beckham's introduction was "very, very bad" as it raised expectations about what the former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder could produce on the pitch. "They announced him as a scorer of goals," Pele said. "He isn't a goal scorer. That was a mistake." After playing an exhibition match in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Wednesday night, Beckham said "everybody in the world knows I'm not a goal scorer." "The Galaxy wouldn't have come out and said that," Beckham said. "Like I said, everyone has got their own opinions.
Steelers, NFL should be ashamed of conditions
There is no excuse — none — for the conditions the Pittsburgh Steelers provided for their game Monday Night against the Miami Dolphins. It was a travesty of football and an insult to the NFL, the players, the fans, and anyone who turned on a television in the hopes of enjoying Monday Night Football. It was a disgrace. The announcers kept talking about old-school football and summoning the names of the Chicago Staleys and Canton Bulldogs from the earliest days of the league, but that was an insult to those teams and those times. I've seen old-school football in old Cleveland Stadium in the days before modern drainage and turf science. Those games were played in mud. This one was played in a bog. .
Youth movement spurs China's Olympic hopes
Spare a thought for Alex Hua Tian -- just 18 years old and the weight of a nation's expectations heaped high on his young shoulders. The Hong Kong-born event rider has yet to qualify for a place in the Equestrian competition of the XXIX Olympiad, but already he is being touted as one of China's gold medal hopefuls. .
Harvard bends but won’t break
BOSTON - Statistics can always be analyzed and proved, but they don't always tell an accurate story.The numbers suggest that Harvard University's hockey team, for instance, must have left this year's trademark defense back at the Bright Center when it hopped the bus for Tuesday night's game at Boston University.The Crimson, who'd allowed only six goals in their first six games, were outshot, 16-4, in the first period, 12-4 in the third, 40-20 for the game.And they won on Doug Rogers' overtime goal, 2-1.��Certainly, there were periods in the game where we were under a lot of pressure,'' Harvard coach Ted Donato said after his team improved its record to 5-2 by winning its first game outside the ECAC. ��(But) our defense did a pretty good job. I thought a lot of their shots were from the perimeter, and we didn't allow them a lot of second and third opportunities, even when they did get shots.''Terriers coach Jack Parker, his team 3-7-2 this season, all but dismissed the statistics as a mirage - meaning he agreed with Donato.��This is phony stuff here,'' Parker said, peering at the final stats.
Swiss players arrested for suspected sex with minor
Twelve current or former players of Swiss soccer club FC Thun were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of having sex with a minor. Nine other men were also taken into custody by police in the Swiss canton (state) of Bern. The men are accused of having sexual relations with a 15-year-old girl. .
Charges pondered in children's brawl on ice
TORONTO -- A shocking on-ice brawl involving eight-year-old hockey players over the weekend had officials denouncing their coaches yesterday and a passionate defender of children's sport comparing the intense spirit of competition that apparently fuelled the fight as borderline "child abuse." NHL hockey dad Emile Therien said he can hardly believe that young children would even be involved in an out-of-town tournament such as the one in Guelph on the weekend, where the unsavoury scrap took place. "It's unbelievable that you let eight-year-old kids play at such a high competitive pressure level," said Therien, former president of the Canada Safety Council, who called for an end to competitive leagues for children under the age of 12. "It smacks of everything that's wrong with hockey in this country, minor hockey." The fight erupted Friday between members of the Duffield Devils and Niagara Falls Thunder during a novice AAA tournament.
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