Hans Florine and Yuji Hirayama are making an attempt at recovering the speed record for climbing The Nose route up El Capitan in Yosemite this Sunday, having opted for another training run today. Their previous record of 2hrs 48min was broken by brothers Thomas and Alexander Huber last October (by a slim three minutes).

Most people who climb this type of route lug gear up and sleep on the face, taking several days to work through the 32-pitch route, which tops out at the summit of El Capitan at around 3,500ft. Speed ascents are done with minimal equipment.

There's another story on this @ http://tinyurl.com/6kxty4 but the latest updates are here: http://speedclimb.com/

Word out of Houston is that Yao is about to have season-ending surgery to address a stress fracture in his foot.

Bummer. Houston was cranking.

According to the trade machine, Ben Wallace + Joe Smith = Shaq.

Folks in Chicago have never warmed up to Big Ben, a hard-working guy battling age and injuries who can't help but feel the lack of love in his new home. Shaq is declining and battling injuries of his own.

Miami could use some defensive spark and Chicago desperately needs an inside offensive presence. A trade might give both of these guys an opportunity to take some time off and heal in transition, and get fresh starts in new locations.

This works by the numbers if you throw Joe Smith into the mix, according to the trade machine.

pretty much every surfer's worst nightmare... being on a surf trip out in some remote location and getting nailed by a shark. well almost, he lived, and wasn't torn up too bad.

Jeff Clark & co have called it for this Saturday, January 10th.

A significant NorthWest swell is forming in the Pacific. Coupled with clearing local weather after numerous recent storms, these create conditions sufficient to hold the contest.

Current forecasts on wave height are variable, ranging from 20 to 35 feet. Face heights at Mavericks will depend on the specific angle the swell comes in from (among other factors).

While the event can be observed from a crumbling cliffside at Pigeon Point, its much too small to hold a crowd, and those who want to get a good view are being encouraged to fork over $20 and watch on a huge screen at AT&T Park in nearby San Francisco.

The break is about a mile from my house. Its typically a total circus on contest day, though a lot of effort has been made in recent years to keep things from getting out of hand.

If you're determined to get a great view, there are boats that will be launching from Princeton Harbor.

See also:

http://www.maverickssurf.com/

http://www.sfgate.com/mavericks/

Commentary in the vid is by the ASP legal beagle, who will be responsible for sorting this out. Neco's the one in yellow. Dropping in on a Hawiian at the pipe masters: poor impulse control... at the least.

Mark Faniaru-wade (a name you may recognize from investigative reports into BALCO and Barry Bonds) reports in the SF Chronicle today that Cleveland's Byrd purchased close to $25,000 in HGH from 2002 through 2005 (note: he wasn't pitching for the Indians during those years).

The tribe just can't get a break right now. After going down hard yesterday in Fenway, bringing the series into a 3-3 tie after going up 3-1, this news comes.

Byrd, for his part, seems to be making a measured effort to come clean, having alluded to use in an interview with Page 2's Sam Alipour -- http://tinyurl.com/3y9qaw

He also apparently addresses it in an upcoming book.

Recall that there is an upcoming federal report coming out (end of year?) which allegedly names a lot of players, identifying them as steroid users.

Travis Pastrana lives his life on the edge. Recently, he jumped over it.

On Wednesday, September 26, Pastrana hopped a flight from his home in Davidsonville, MD, to Arecibo, Puerto Rico, to perform a stunt he's been dreaming up for more than a year. The next morning, four members of his group skydived from a single-engine Cessna from 12,500 feet. Pastrana performed his jump wearing only sunglasses, socks and surf trunks while holding a can of Red Bull.

He was not wearing a parachute.

Give it to Cooperstown -- with an asterisk or without?

Or, blast it into space?

Brilliant -- but I wish he'd put a fourth option: give it (or the remains) back to Barry after branding it or shredding it.

IMO the ball doesn't belong in Cooperstown, but the idea of putting it there after branding it with a big red asterisk has some appeal.

ah, poor kobe.

the last time, with manu, you could legitimately wonder... given his argentinean royal flopness' reputation.

but this one kinda seals it. kobe's among several who have been flailing for years, and the nba put the word out at the beginning of the season they were going to nail people for it.

check it, yo.

possibly soaring in an eclectic and abstruse path far over the crowns of the casual sports fan and espn employee, this dc blog accomplishes what its subject pines for... consistently trouncing its competition in the east.

posting this mostly for the youtube embed... great bit of commentary in there about AF1 history and kids who don't know sheeds from RA-sheed.

Well, vegas was wrong. But you can hardly blame them for the +4.5 line on Orlando in this game, given all the X-factors stacked up, they could have set a +12 line and nobody would have blinked.

Except the Pistons, who just took out the Mavs, after two "B-game" effort losses to the dregs of the league at home (Portland, Charlotte). They blinked at the start of this road trip, possibly at the sight of themselves, and apparently decided it was time for the A game again. Wallace knocked down five treys in Dallas for a knockout on their home court. Then they rolled into Orlando where Billups posted 31 points with a gimpy leg, kept their shite together in the fourth quarter, and left town having proven once again that the road to the eastern conference championship goes through Detroit.

And we can *all* keep laughing at Sir Charles' "I still like the Nets in the east, I picked them to win it this year..." refrain.

PS. Why do Knicks players do better everywhere they go, after they're traded? (See: Trevor Ariza's statline) Hmm...

The closest we'll ever get to Stern actually copping to the (valid IMO) criticism of him as a misguided and ill-considered leage commish, is in his comments as he backpedals from the new ball after the players' union filed a lawsuit.

Sadly, the damage is done and cannot be be simply and easily undone. He's (needlessly) tinkered with an entire league of players' feel for the game by changing the ball and now they have only two bad options: change it back ASAP and have everyone adjust midway through the season, or wait until the end and have players have had a whole season of using this crappy ball to re-adjust from... it's a lose-lose situation and Stern should really be tarred and feathered for this one IMO. Lousy management.

Previously I thought the worst he could possibly ever do was shove defensive perimeter guard behaviour changes down the league's throat... but this tops it.

This guy doesn't know the game, doesn't respect the game, and cares more about money than the game.

He needs to go!

about halfway through the rubber game of the tigers-yankees series, people in the outfield seats started hunting for things to make "K" signs out of.

detroit's kenny rogers -- pitching against a "fabled" yankees lineup and another pitcher who also has a no-no notched in his belt -- was showing signs of not just having the stuff, but having the stuff on fire.

against any other MLB lineup this might have been no-no #2 for the 41-year old rogers, whose curveball was doing supernatural things, but about the only thing the slug-slumping bronx boys could do consistently was leave a man on first base, as they managed several base hits, and couldn't bring 'em home.

rogers pitched 7 2/3rd scoreless innings, before becoming slightly unsettled after not getting K # 9 called on a beautiful curve to jeter that nailed the corner. leyland calmed him briefly, left him on the mound to secure the next out, then gave the arm a well deserved rest after 113 pitches.

rogers, not exactly mr. congeniality, historically speaking, left the field to a standing O and was visibly moved by the moment and the detroit crowd's appreciation in his post-game interview.

new york now faces elimination today in game 4, at detroit.