Derek Fisher Twitter Updates Keep Fans in the Game

Derek Fisher of the L.A. Lakers was suspended for Friday night's game against Houston, but just because he wasn't at the game that didn't mean he couldn't keep fans updated on what the Lakers were doing. Fisher has been keeping Lakers fans on top of the action through his tweets on his Twitter account, www.twitter.com/derekfisher. The Derek Fisher Twitter page has attracted more than 26,000 followers to date.

Fisher was suspended for one game and will return to the Lakers to play in game 4, which takes place in Houston. And he won't be using Twitter while he's on the bench, you can be sure (a player tweeting from the bench because a controversy with a player on another NBA team earlier this season).

Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) Admits to Using Steroids

No, that's not a humorous fake headline: New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) has admitted to taking steroids from 2001 to 2003. Rodriguez made the admission in an interview with ESPN, and the interview is set to be shown on SportsCenter tonight at 6 p.m.

Alex Rodriguez was one of 104 major league baseball players identified as using performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. MLB didn't have a ban on steroids and other similar drugs at the time, and the testing was done in part to determine how widespread the use of such drugs was and whether a ban and mandatory testing should be undertaken. (Read more on the A-Rod admission here).

Baseball implemented a ban on steroids in 2004.

Well, this will certainly replace Katy Perry's fruit-themed performance of her lesbionic hit song, "I Kissed a Girl," at the Grammys last night as the number-one topic of conversation around the water cooler!

University of Wisconsin Marching Band Suspended for Bad Behavior

Usually when we hear about misbehavior involving college sports, it's the players who are getting into some kind of mischief. At the University of Wisconsin, however, the entire marching band that's gotten in trouble. Apparently the entire band has been suspended and will not be playing at halftime of Saturday's big prime-time, nationally televised matchup against Ohio State.

The Badgers Marching Band is facing accusations of "hazing, alcohol abuse, and sexual misconduct," according to reports. The University of Wisconsin announced Friday night that the band was suspended and would not be playing at the Big Ten game against Ohio State at Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium.

University officials seemed to indicate that the current allegations that led to the suspension were consistent with abuses that had the Badgers Marching Band placed on probation in 2006.

When was the last time you heard of a marching band beating out the football team in bad behavior? In high school, the marching band was made up of the uncool nerdy types. This is pretty odd. Since the problems with the band go back to at least 2006, looks like there's a musical shakeup coming in Madison.

Shea Goodbye: Baseball's NY Mets Bid Farewell to their Original Home

Shea Goodbye: Citi Field, which will be the Mets' home beginning next season, looms right next to Shea Stadium, in this photo taken at the Mets/Cubs game on Sept. 23rd.

Shea Stadium can't match Yankee Stadium in longevity, number of championships won, or baseball mystique. But it has hosted many classic moments in its 45 years, and like Yankee Stadium, the home of the NY Mets was officially closed for good today at the end of this season with a ceremony featuring appearances by many of the franchise's most famed players. For the Mets, the end came today.

The closing ceremony, fittingly called "Shea Goodbye," was bittersweet not only because of the memories that were made there, but for a more immediate reason: The Mets lost their final regular-season game just before the ceremonies. That combined with a Milwaukee Brewers win over the Cubs meant that the Brewers claimed the National League wild card spot, and for the second straight season, the Mets blew a late-season lead to get knocked out of playoff contention.

But back to the closing ceremony for the Mets and Shea. Many of the team's storied players, including a number from the team's two World Series victories in 1969 and 1986, were there. Walking in from the outfield wall to the infield were such names as Lenny Dykstra, Howard Johnson, Sid Fernandez, Jerry Koosman, Gary Carter, Rusty Staub, and many others, including Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan (most baseball fans probably don't even know that he played for the Mets in the early years of his career).

Some of the biggest cheers were for Tom Seaver, the Hall of Fame pitcher from the 1960s who was called "The Franchise;" fellow Hall of Famer Willie Mays, who played his twilight years for the Mets; and fan favorites from the 1980s, including Keith Hernandez, Dwight Gooden, Dykstra, Darryl Stawberry, Carter, Mike Piazza, and relief pitcher Jesse Orosco.

There was an unusual bit of symmetry with the closing of Yankee Stadium a week or so ago, one that linked the two teams and also two eras of baseball. One of the Mets honored at the Shea closing ceremony was legendary Yankee player Yogi Berra, who was one of the first Mets managers, and who also was featured at the Yankee Stadium closing ceremony.

One by one, the players touched home plate one last time, and then there was one final pitch thrown at Shea: 1960s Mets legend Tom Seaver threw a one-hop pitch to catcher Mike Piazza, who energized the team when he played for them in the late 1990s and early 2000s. After that, Seaver and Piazza walked across the field toward the opening in the outfield walls from where all the players had emerged. The two players stopped and waved, and then each of them closed one of the outfield walls, bringing an end to the 45-year history of the stadium that has been the Mets home since 1964.

New Jersey's Rebecca Soni Takes Gold Medal, World Record in 200m Breaststroke

OK, we here at Coffee is for Closers have to throw in a little Jersey pride here: our local gal Rebecca Soni has pulled another great performance out of the hat and taken another Olympic medal... and this one's gold.

The 21 year old from Plainsboro, New Jersey beat Australia's "Lethal" Leisel Jones in the women's 200m breaststroke in world record time, pulling further away from the favorite Jones as the race neared its end.

Soni was the surprise silver medalist in the 100m breaststroke, coming in second to Jones. Rebecca Soni was not even originally scheduled to swim the 100m breaststroke, having finished fourth in the U.S. trials in the event. But she was inserted into the race after a teammate withdrew after having a positive drug test.

In true American melting-pot fashion, Rebecca Soni is the daughter of Hungarian and Romanian immigrants to the U.S.

You can read more about Rebecca Soni's bio silver medal victory and find a Rebecca Soni bio and profile at USA Swimming.

Congrats, Rebecca! I've got a number of friends from the Princeton/Plainsboro area, and I'm sure everyone down there in Central Jersey is very proud of their local girl.

What's Mandarin Chinese for "Rah Rah, Sis Boom Bah!"

The Chinese are leaving nothing to chance in their quest to have a good Olympics, and that goes beyond preparing its athletes. First we heard about its plans to seed clouds so that rain does not fall on the opening ceremonies on August 8th.

Now, to rev up its army of athletes in the Beijing Olympics, China is training people to become cheerleaders for its sports teams. So they've created classes to instruct people in cheerleading, according to a recent story that aired on the radio in the U.S. The classes run a total of 10 hours, and some workers are taking time off without pay to get the cheer training.

"The students in one cheerleading class are not leggy athletic girls with pompoms, but rather desk-bound, middle-aged government employees brandishing balloons," the article notes.

Imagine Michael from "The Office" training his employees in cheers, waving balloons...

This article says that at least 300,000 people will be on China's Olympic cheering squads.

One cheer goes, "Smile, Beijing, a smile shows Beijing's best tomorrow." It doesn't sound all that rousing to me, but I guess it might be more dramatic sung by a middle-aged office worker furiously waving his balloon-holding arms around as if he was trying to land a jumbo jet.

Or maybe not.

Dara Torres - Profile of the Five-Time Olympic Swimmer

U.S. swimmer Dara Torres has made history by becoming the first American swimmer to make the Olympics on five different occasions. And she's 41 years old! Oddly, the Internet seems to be abuzz with people searching for "Dara Torres husband" -- apparently folks are more concerned with her marital status than her swimming accomplishments? Or maybe it's a trivia question in a drinking game.

The New York Times has a good profile of her, which tells of the extensive training regimen she uses to stay in top competitive shape. (The Times also did a profile of her late last year, which you can find here.) Torres has her own Web site, www.daratorres.com, but it has been very busy and not loading the last few days.

In any case, "Dara Torres husband" is kind of a trick question: though Torres has a partner (a doctor named David Hoffman), they are not married. Dara Torres has been married (and divorced) twice, so maybe she feels having another husband is not the best idea right now.

So while there is no Dara Torres husband, the swimmer and her not-husband Hoffman do have a daughter, a two year old named Tessa Grace.

Joey Chestnut Keeps Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Crown in Thrilling OT Eat-Off!

Joey Chestnut held onto his title in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Championship in a thrilling overtime dog-off with six-time champion Takeru "Kobe" Koayashi. For the first time ever, the contest ended in a tie when the contest ended after 10 minutes (the contest was formerly 12 minutes, but was shortened by 2 minutes this year).

Chestnut and Kobayashi were deadlocked after 10 minutes, having both eaten 59 hot dogs and buns. In the Dog-Off, five additional hot dogs and buns were brought to both contestants, and Chestnut was just a bit faster in finishing them off.

Kobayashi had won the contest six straight times before losing to Chestnut last year; he had been suffering from arthritis of the jaw but seemed to be recovered for this year's contest.

The annual contest takes place next to the location of the original Nathan's Famous hot dog restaurant, on the boardwalk in Coney Island, Brooklyn.

Hoops Coach Kevin Borseth - Video of Podium-Pounding Postgame Meltdown

Kevin Borseth is the University of Michigan women's basketball coach, and he's VERY passionate about offensive rebounding, as you'll see in this video. His team lost to Wisconsin and as you can guess, did very poorly in offensive rebounding.

"I'm very, very, very, very, frustrated," he says. Yeah, coach, we can tell! He said the team had talked about how important offensive boards were: "It was all about offensive rebounds. We totally, totally, totally, totally, emphasized that." And discussing the physical play needed to get offensive boards, he adds, "Maybe we should put some football pads on them."

He's obviously very unhappy, and pounds the podium to make his point. But hey, at least he doesn't swear! I actually admire his passion for the game, and the fact that he didn't blame any particular players, or the refs.

Boston Wins! (In the Beanpot Tournament, Anyway)

I'm sure Boston-area sports fans are looking for something to help wash away the bad taste from the Patriots' Super Bowl loss last night, and the Beanpot may be just the thing.

The Beanpot is an annual college hockey tournament in Boston where you can see some of the best collegiate hockey players in the country. The Beanpot tournament begins today, and there are both men's and women's divisions.

And here's the good news for Beantown fans who are feeling blue: a Boston team will win the Beanpot! That's because all four teams in the annual Beanpot tournament are from Boston or its suburbs: Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern University, and Harvard University.

The tournament is held at the TD Banknorth Center, or whatever the arena is called these days, in downtown Boston. The men's first games are this afternoon and tonight; the next games are a week from today. The women start play tomorrow and then play continues a week from tomorrow.

Forget about the Super Bowl, and go bring that Beanpot home for your school!

Boston Newspapers Bemoan the Patriots' Super Bowl Loss

For this post-Stupor Bowl edition of Coffee is for Closers, let's take a look at the post-mortem taking place in Boston newspapers such as the Globe and the Herald The Boston newspapers are trying to come to terms with the home team's shocking upset loss to the Giants in the Super Bowl. Here's a selection of articles on the loss and local reactions.

A Boston Herald article discusses why the Super Bowl outcome wasn't as shocking as it might have seemed.

"History Derailed" is the lead story in the Boston Globe.

Also in the Boston Globe, there's a video story on what went wrong for the Patriots.

And with the Tony Romo/Jessica Simpson matter fresh in fans' minds, the Boston Herald wonders if Gisele Bundchen, Tom Brady's supermodel girlfriend, is to blame...

Yeah, right, blame it on the supermodels/singers!

Harlem Globetrotters to Retire Curly Neal's Number in New York

Fred "Curly" Neal was one of the most popular players on the legendary Harlem Globetrotters, and he played for 22 years with the famed ambassadors of basketball. Now Curly Neal will be honored next month when his number 22 will be retired in a ceremony at the Globetrotters' game in New York's Madison Square Garden.

Curly Neal played more than 6,000 games for the Globetrotters from the mid 1960s to mid 1980s. He will be only the fifth Globetrotter player whose number has been retired.

The game at MSG is one of several that is part of "Curly Neal Weekend" in the New York City area. The Globetrotters will also play games onFeb. 16 and 18 at IZOD Center (formerly Continental Airlines Arena) in New Jersey, and on Feb. 17 at Long Island's Nassau Coliseum.

It was Fred Neal's instantly recognizable shaved head that earned him the nickname of Curly, which was also said to be a reference to the Three Stooges' Curly Howard.

Keep Up with All the Hot New NHL Prospects

Now is the time when hope springs eternal throughout the NHL: the entry draft has been held, and every team is looking to improve. As the wheeling and dealing heats up, hockey fans have a great source for keeping up on all the prospect news and player movement: HockeysFuture.com.

This is a comprehensive site with a huge array of information, stats, and links on the latest news surrounding the hockey draft. Go to the site's home page and you'll find prospect pages and draft reviews for each NHL team, a list of the top 50 prospects, rankings of each team organization with strengths and weaknesses, the ISS top ten, and more. Inside the site you'll find news, opinions, and answers to readers' questions, among other things.

There are plenty of details on players, teams, and prospects, and the site lets you get involved with chat rooms and boards for exchanging rumors on trades and free agents.

Until the first puck drops this Fall, you can get your NHL fix and get all the details on the hockey draft at HockeysFuture.com.