Happy Wednesday everyone, here's my Top 5 for March 2, 2011 from Len Berman at ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
* Facing a midnight deadline tomorrow, mediation will continue today between the NFL players and owners. The players won a skirmish in federal court over TV money.
* Barry Bonds pleaded not guilty for the fourth time to federal perjury charges.
* Red Sox owner John Henry says he was fined $500,000 by Major League Baseball for comments he made about revenue sharing. Yankee owner Hank Steinbrenner can expect a knock on his door any minute.
* Boxer Sugar Ray Leonard and Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward will appear on Dancing with the Stars later this month.
2. Inside Information
Everyone's an expert, or so it seems these days on the air and in print. But if everyone knows everything, how come everybody was surprised by the big Nets trade? How come nobody knew that the Mets had taken out a loan from Major League Baseball? And what do we really know about performance enhancing drugs? Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told me he thinks some players are using human growth hormone. So what do we really know? Think about that the next time you hear some know-it-all pontificating.
3. The Emerald City
When somebody wrote that I was one of the worst boxing announcers, back in the early 90s, I was pissed. One of the worst? Couldn't I be the absolute worst? I never win anything. But when Forbes magazine listed the worst sports cities, there was a clear #1. Seattle. Since 1967, the birth of Seattle pro sports, they've had exactly one championship team, the 1979 Seattle Supersonics. And they moved out of town. So eat your heart out Buffalo. Despite all those Super Bowl heartbreaks, you only made third place beaten out by Phoenix. Feel proud, Seattle, very proud. Ya finally won something.
4. Pick a Winner
I'm thinking this will be a wide open NCAA basketball tournament. Of the first 25 entries into our contest (see below) 9 different teams were chosen. Defending champ Duke led the way with 10 votes. The Big East picked up 5 early votes, 3 for Pittsburgh, 1 for Syracuse and 1 for St. John's. Wow. St. John's? There are probably Knick fans who think their team will win it all this year too. March madness for sure.
5. Fowl Ball
A soccer player in Colombia is in a heap of trouble. During a game, instead of kicking the ball he kicked an owl.
The head of the league was livid. He said, "The player should be severely punished for this painful, horrible act of intolerance." The owl has since died. But listen to the audio. When the player does his nasty deed, the crowd cheers. Figures. You never hear booing during a hockey fight either.
Happy Birthday: Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. 29.
Bonus Birthday: Singer Jon Bon Jovi. 49.
Today in Sports: Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game against the Knicks in Hershey Pa. (Featured in my New York Times-bestselling kids book, The Greatest Moments in Sports.)
There's no video of the event, just this audio. 1962.
Bonus Event: Casablanca wins Best Picture at the 16th Academy Awards hosted by Jack Benny. 1944.
Enter the Top 5 Men's NCAA Basketball contest here.
To order a "Len Berman's That's Sports" hat, click here!
To sign up for Len's free daily Top 5 email click here.