Articles by Ryan Berenz

The Kentucky Derby is Saturday on NBC, and the field includes horses like Curlin (7-2 odds), Street Sense (4-1), Nobiz Like Shobiz (8-1), Circular Quay (8-1) and my favorite Imawildandcrazyguy (50-1). But this thing is still going to be all about Barbaro. The horse that wins on Saturday is going to have sing “My Old Kentucky Home” or cure cancer to get out of Barbaro’s shadow. ESPN’s E-Ticket has an interesting article on BarbaroMania for both good and ill. For as much freaky equine worship as the Fans of Barbaro (FOBs) are doing, they’re also raising a lot of money […]

Every year I get excited for the NFL Draft, and every year it leaves me with a bit of a “blech” feeling about two hours into it. On Saturday, I got the feeling a little earlier than usual, thanks to Keyshawn Johnson in ESPN’s booth. [Update: It seems the Carolina Panthers felt the same.] It was a beautiful day here, so after I saw Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas taken at No. 3, I decided to let the DVR handle the rest of the first round for me. (A DVR makes the draft so much more tolerable.) I went to the zoo, […]

So perhaps you’ve heard that the NFL Draft is this weekend. Twenty years ago, people who watched the draft might have been called “dorks.” Now they’re called “guys.” And thank you, Gary Thorne, for reminding everyone about Curt Schilling’s bloody sock, because we didn’t hear enough about it three years ago. Fortunately, Schilling likes to avoid confrontation and spectacle, so this matter should be quickly forgotten.* [Update: Like I was just sayin’.] *May contain sarcasm Stuff going down this weekend: Tonight NBA Playoffs: A trio of Game 3s — Toronto Raptors at New Jersey Nets (ESPN2), Chicago Bulls at Miami […]

Hopefully you’ve had a chance to see the Gatorade “inner voice” commercial with Derek Jeter and Harvey Keitel, in which Keitel goads Jeter into stealing bases. It’s not online yet, but give it a few hours. [Update: Here’s a link to the YouTube. And this isn’t the first time I’ve misquoted Harvey Keitel. I’ve been misquoting Monkey Trouble for years.] Alas, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been eliminated from the NHL playoffs. The guy who operates NBC’s “Crosby Cam” is hitting the bricks today. Here’s what’s on this weekend: Tonight NASCAR Busch Series Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, ESPN2. […]

I owe the title of the NBA playoff preview post to TNT’s NBA analyst Reggie Miller. This is the same Reggie Miller who, during a pregame show, asked guest Stevie Wonder, “What do you expect to see in tonight’s game?” Keep up the good work, Reggie. The playoff matchups are set and the first games get started on Saturday. Here’s the weekend’s schedule of Game 1s, along with our pick for the series winner: Saturday (All times Eastern) New Jersey at Toronto, 12:30pm, ESPN. Our Pick: Vince Carter will not get a nice welcome back in Toronto, and the Raptors […]

ESPN today announced several upcoming changes to its morning and daytime lineup, most of which do not affect the large portion of the sports-loving populace who actually hold down steady jobs. Beginning May 7, ESPN2’s Cold Pizza, which we already sort of suspected was not long for this world, is renamed ESPN First Take and moves its studio from New York City to Bristol, Conn. During First Take, there will be debate segments called 1st and 10 (not to be confused with the old HBO series starring O.J. Simpson). These segments will feature two commentators from a rotating group consisting […]

Inspired by the Vancouver Canucks’ playoff win over the Dallas Stars 18:06 into the fourth overtime yesterday morning, we’re calling our Friday TV sports weekend preview post “The 4th OT.” And by the end of the week, we feel like we’ve been through 4 OTs ourselves. I’ve read reports that some Versus affiliates actually cut away from that game sometime in the 4th OT to air infomercials. I remember in my prime hockey-watching years trying to stay awake for the playoff OT marathons and usually failing. I would’ve been incensed had I actually stayed awake to see the sudden-death goal […]

The NHL playoffs begin tonight on Food Network Versus, and I was afraid I was going to have to pay attention. Fortunately, the NFL had its annual schedule release orgy on NFL Network today, so I can now focus on Chicago Bears Ws instead of the impending Detroit Red Wings first-round playoff L. Looking at the schedule, here are the 10 games I’m most interested in. There are even some that do not involve the Chargers!: Nov. 29 — Green Bay at Dallas, NFL Network. It might be a stretch for top 10, but this is really the only NFL […]