This is a story that not many sports fans in the United States may be aware of, but really stunned me when I looked into it.  Rogers Sportsnet fired anchor Damian Goddard because of a Tweet regarding same-sex marriage.  The entire controversy began when the Twitter account Uptown Sports Tweeted this regarding Sean Avery's appearance in a video supporting gay marriage...  

uptownhockey Very sad to read Sean Avery's misguided support of same-gender "marriage". Legal or not, it will always be wrong.

Avery took part in the New Yorkers for Marriage Equality Campaign.  Uptown's Tweet was authored by Todd Reynolds, Vice President of Uptown Sports, a management company that represents several NHL players.  Damian Goddard comes into the picture through his support of Reynolds...

heydamo I completely and whole-heartedly support Todd Reynolds and his support for the traditional and TRUE meaning of marriage.

The backlash towards Goddard was swift.  The Rogers Sportsnet Twitter account was hit with criticism of Goddard's Tweet.  According to the timeline on May 10, on eight occasions Rogers Tweeted responses with the following message...

"Today's tweet from Damian Goddard does not reflect the views of Rogers Sportsnet."

The next step in the story was Rogers firing Goddard and releasing this statement...

"Damian Goddard is no longer with Rogers Sportsnet. Mr. Goddard was a freelance contractor and in recent weeks it had become clear that he is not the right fit for our organization," Dave Rashford, Sportsnet's director of communications, said in a statement.

Goddard followed with this Tweet...

heydamo gonna spend some time with the wife now. to be clear, damian goddard's tweets reflect the views of damian goddard. peace, folks!

Obviously, same-sex marriage is an incredibly sensitive issue both culturally and politically.  This story has so many layers that it deserves to be dissected step by step.  Let me be clear and blunt - this analysis isn't to say who's right and who's wrong about gay marriage, but to analyze how the story developed and the impact of Twitter and the sports media...

Another day, another ESPN personality in trouble with the law.  This time, it's hockey analyst Matthew Barnaby, who was arrested tonight on charges of domestic violence in a story that is just breaking within the hour.  Barnaby has been an ESPN hockey analyst since 2008 and one of the few hockey analysts actually visible across the ESPN family of networks.  Here's some details in a report by WIVB in Buffalo...

Former Buffalo Sabre Matthew Barnaby was arrested Friday night, charged with domestic violence.

Amherst Police responded to a location at 6:15 p.m. and found serious damage to property. The location is being kept private to protect two female victims, who police say were not injured.

The former right winger was arrested and charged with second degree criminal contempt, harassment, second degree criminal trespass, and second degree criminal mischief. Police say after leaving the location, he made angry phone calls, and Barnaby has also been charged with aggravated harassment via a cell phone.

For the record, Barnaby had been romantically linked with fellow ESPNer Michelle Beadle in prior months.  In fact, Beadle confirmed to the Big Lead in March that the pair had been dating since Fall 2010.  As the WIVB report makes clear, details are non-existent to protect two unnamed female victims and it's not fair to speculate on any more information until more facts are available.  ESPN has never been the most forthright entity in terms of their discipline of on-air personalities, but needless to say this report does not look good for Barnaby and you would expect the network to act swiftly.  We'll have more details as the story develops.

***Update - For what it's worth, The Big Lead is reporting that Beadle is not involved in this story.  It is the same site that also confirmed Beadle's relationship with Barnaby from her directly.

***Update II (Saturday Afternoon) - Buffalo News has more details on Barnaby's arrest and more information regarding the case on the day after the story broke...  

Former Buffalo Sabres player Matthew Barnaby pleaded not guilty today in Amherst Town Court to five charges, including one felony, following a Friday evening domestic incident involving his estranged wife and another adult...

Barnaby faces charges of felony criminal mischief, criminal contempt, criminal trespass, harassment and aggravated harassment. The most serious charge, felony criminal mischief, carries a possible prison term of up to four years in jail, if he were convicted.

ESPN's report on Barnaby pleading not guilty to the charges includes their original comment from Friday night - "We just learned of this so it would be inappropriate for us to comment."

Former Sabre arrested for domestic violence - WIVB.com

(Thanks to @Dayman_OS for the tip on Twitter) 

Well, it is Friday the 13th, a fact that I did not realize earlier tonight when I tweeted this regarding Justin Verlander throwing another no-hitter through 5.1 IP against the Royals.  It was just a harmless tweet... what could it really do???  Of course, since it is in fact Friday the 13th, Verlander allowed a hit approximately 13 seconds later.  Sorry, Detroit.  So, to raise everyone's spirits, I share with you ESPN's Mike Greenberg screaming like a Scream Queens contestant thanks to one of the Mike & Mike staffers dressing like some sort of cross between Rey Mysterio, Dracula, and Nacho Libre.  By the way, if you're looking for a scary movie to watch on Friday the 13th, I recommend Nacho Libre.  That thing was frighteningly bad.  In fact, I would rather listen to Colin Cowherd narrate Pride and Prejudice than watch that atrocity again.  I'm rambling now... let's just enjoy the clip before I jinx something else...

Congratulations, casual golfer! You could have had a chance to beat Tiger Woods yesterday at the Players Championship, where the eagerly anticipated "Tiger becoming Tiger again" didn't quite happen. Woods said he felt his problematic left knee buckle during his first tee shot and was barely able to walk through the front nine, shooting a 42(!) in the process. 

"The knee acted up, and then the Achilles followed after that, and then the calf started cramping up," Woods said. "Everything started getting tight, so it's just a whole chain reaction."

There were also some good ol' fashioned horrible shots which were unrelated to the leg.

"It grabbed me on the tee shot there. But the pitch shots weren't [due to injury]. Those were just bad pitch shots. Those were just awful."

Tiger Woods had 99 problems at the tournament, but for the first time in a long time, a female was not among them. Somebody tell that to Dan Hellie of WRC in Washington D.C.

In Mr. Hellie's defense, Tiger is probably knee deep in hookers right now. Look, I've shot more than my share of 42/9's in my day and it ain't pretty. You don't just chalk that up as a loss, hop in the Escalade, and go pick up the kids from mommy's. You drink heavily at the turn, leave with half your clubs, head straight to the Jiggly Room to throw down a couple more vodka-Gatorades and find a lady of the night to lick your wounds. 

via [Guyism]

The Final Four in the Stanley Cup Playoffs are set.  In the East, it's Bruins-Lightning and in the West, it's Sharks-Canucks.  NBC/Versus have all the games, but 12 of the possible 14 games are scheduled to be on Versus.  Only Game 4 of both series will be televised on NBC.  And, as a treat for our Canadian readers (we gotta have some, right?), we also have the TV schedule and announcers up North as well.  I've always been partial to Jim Hughson from hours and hours and hours of playing NHL 2000 as a kid.  Here's the entire schedule from our pal Ken at Fang's Bites...

#3 Boston vs. #5 Tampa Bay
Game 1: Saturday, May 14, 2011, 8 p.m., Tampa Bay at Boston – VERSUS, CBC
Game 2: Tuesday, May 17, 2011, 8 p.m., Tampa Bay at Boston – VERSUS, TSN
Game 3: Thursday, May 19, 2011, 8 p.m. , Boston at Tampa Bay – VERSUS, TSN
Game 4: Saturday, May 21, 2011, 1:30 p.m., Boston at Tampa Bay – NBC, TSN
*Game 5: Monday, May 23, 2011 8 p.m., Tampa Bay at Boston – VERSUS, CBC
*Game 6: Wed., May 25, 2011, 8 p.m., Boston at Tampa Bay – VERSUS, CBC
*Game 7: Friday, May 27, 2011, 8 p.m., Tampa Bay at Boston – VERSUS, CBC

Announcers:
Versus/NBC: Mike Emrick/Ed Olcyzk/Pierre McGuire (Games 1, 5-7)/Joe Micheletti (Games 2-4)
CBC (Games 1, 5-7): Bob Cole/Gary Galley/Mike Milbury/Scott Oake
TSN (Games 2-4): Gord Miller/Pierre McGuire

#1 Vancouver vs. # 2 San Jose
Game 1: Sunday, May 15, 2011, 8 p.m., San Jose at Vancouver – VERSUS, CBC
Game 2: Wednesday, May 18, 2011, 9 p.m., San Jose at Vancouver – VERSUS, CBC
Game 3: Friday, May 20, 2011, 9 p.m., Vancouver at San Jose – VERSUS, CBC
Game 4: Sunday, May 22, 2011, 3 p.m., Vancouver at San Jose – NBC, CBC
*Game 5: Tuesday, May 24, 2011, 9 p.m., San Jose at Vancouver – VERSUS, CBC
*Game 6: Thursday, May 26, 2011, 9 p.m., Vancouver at San Jose – VERSUS, CBC
*Game 7: Saturday, May 28, 2011, 8 p.m., San Jose at Vancouver – VERSUS, CBC

Announcers:
Versus/NBC: Dave Strader/Brian Engblom/Darren Pang
CBC: Jim Hughson/Craig Simpson/Glenn Healey/Elliotte Friedman

 

LeBron James and the Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics in five games with their 97-87 win in Miami.  The Heat closed the game on a 16-0 run, including the last ten points from the most dramatic man in sports himself, LeBron James.  But, it was after the game was over that LeBron continued to make headlines.  A mere 307 days after one of the most ridiculous moments in sports history, LeBron James apologized for The Decision...

"I knew deep down in my heart, as much as I loved my teammates back in Cleveland and as much as I loved home, I knew it couldn’t do it by myself against that team,” James said.

“The way it panned out with all the friends and family and the fans back home, I apologize for the way it happened. I knew this opportunity was once in a lifetime. To be able to come down here and pair with two guys and this organization — in order for me to move on with my career, that team that we just defeated, we had to go through them."

Is this apology too late for many fans?  Absolutely.  I'm all for forgiveness, but excuse me if James' apology seems hollow...

Last week, we told you about a cricket commentator in Wales that was nailed by a ball that crashed into the commentary box.  Edward Bevan was definitely spooked by the entire episode.  Amazingly, a similar episode occurred stateside when a baseball smashed through a window at a Southern Illinois University Edwardsville game.  In case you were wondering, the team is 21-24 and plays in the Ohio Valley Conference.  Evidently, the university also has their own CougarNet... but many of you will likely be disappointed by the results.  Anyways, baseball announcer Joe Pott handles this ball-smashing-window situation with much more confidence and bravery than his Welsh counterpart.  He even laughs off the incident.  Maybe this act of heroism is why we won that little war all those years ago.  Cue the Jack Edwards Tea Party symphony and roll the footage!



[Deadspin]

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Bad news for fans of douchebags and hypocrites, your boy, Mariotti, just got charged with three felonies. Mariotti is charged with felony stalking, domestic abuse and assault charges after he confonted his ex-ladyfriend once again. These charges are another strike against Mariotti and further proof of his habitual "off the field" problems. If convicted, Jay faces 5 years in prison.

Even though the chances were already slim of Mariotti making a comeback, these new charges will definitely serve as the final "mute" of his TV career.


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For a cheap laugh it's always enjoyable to watch a real man scream like a girl. I'm sad to say that I've fallen victim to this before and sometimes even followed it up with a loud high pitched scream and blabbering, odd jibberish intermixed with swear words. Kenny Smith doesn't have that problem, and luckily avoided any damage to his image by taking this prank last night on TNT in stride.

 

A great idea and well executed. Unfortunately though Smith didn't flinch leaving, which definitely lessened the potency of this prank. Kudos to TNT for again having some fun with their studio broadcasts which has been a staple for them that NBA fans have grown accustomed to.