There was a time when this stuff was known generically as ultimate fighting, and it looked like a cross between boxing and a bar brawl, except that if some wiry Brazilian guy were to pin a barfly and issue a series of uppercuts to the poor bastard’s groin, the barkeep…

It was kind of cute when the Braves went all-in to bring hard-swinging righty Mark Teixeira to Atlanta before the trading deadline, only to go all of 6-5 over their next 11 games with their new first baseman. At the end of that stretch, the Braves were in a virtual…

The Arizona Diamondbacks specialize in winning close games and losing blowouts. Near the bottom of the National League in most batting categories and among the best in pitching, they give up many more runs than they score, an oddity for a team contending in baseball’s strongest division. What’s more, their…

For 20 years Craig Biggio has manned second base for the Houston Astros — the longest such stint in the majors. So the club was seen as justified in letting Biggio fight through injuries (and their concomitant impediments to his skills) to try to reach a Cooperstown-ready 3000 career hits…

By their meager standards, the Colorado Rockies are having a decent year in the toughest division in baseball, but to this point in the season, they’re best known for their aversion to groundskeeping. In Denver during the last game before the All-Star break, with the Rockies down 5-4 to the…

All of this talk about the Cleveland Cavaliers’ ear-popping ascent in the NBA has roused memories of the last time that lake-burning city had a chance at winning a major sports title. The year: 1997. The team: an Indians squad loaded with spry versions of Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, and…

The Phillies might have made a decent homecoming opponent for the Marlins, were baseball to adopt such a tradition. For one, they’re stacked with marquee talent, even if Babe Ruth reincarnate Ryan Howard has been injured much of the season. Philadelphia still brings the inexorable Jimmy Rollins, whom Baseball-Reference.com describes…

The common thread among the LA Dodgers’ best players is that they all reached their professional apexes when beating Yankees. Luis Gonzales had the clutch final hit off the Bronx Bombers in the World Series back in 2001. Nomar “Nohhhmaaaa” Garciaparra was with the Red Sox for eight-plus Yankee-hating seasons…

Here’s an indication of how tough the Marlins’ division is going to be this year: Of the six teams in the bigs that won five of their first seven games, half were in the National League East. One of those teams was Florida, and another, Atlanta. Now, there’s still a…

The Mets would have won the World Series last year were it not for a major meltdown in St. Louis. And they may wind up snagging it this year, if their decrepit pitching staff holds up through October. Of course, the young Marlins (young enough, even, to call them “the…

Finally a true eccentric has joined the pantheon of NBA superstars! Ever since that Jordanian corporate-patty-cake stretch that included his Airness, Vince, Kobe, McGrady, Duncan, et al., it has seemed greatness has required a willingness to kowtow (even Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade, bless ’em, have rated disturbingly high on…

If there were ever any doubt that boxing is not an occupation for the easily discouraged, we offer the case of Samuel “The Nigerian Nightmare” Peter, a hammer-fisted 26-year-old with 22 KOs among his 27 wins and a lone loss, a controversial decision to heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. In September,…