SI.com: SI Writers

Ted Keith: Francoeur looking foward to fresh start with Mets

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:11:22 EDT

It was neither the time (3:45 p.m. MT, just before he was to start getting ready for a game against the Rockies) nor the place (the visiting manager's office at Coors Field) that he might have expected it, but Jeff Francoeur's once-heralded career with the Atlanta Braves came to an end Friday afternoon when he was called into the Bobby Cox's office and told, "We've made a trade and you'll never guess where: New York."

The Limey: Liverpool learns high cost of Premiership business

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:59:55 EDT

Liverpool manager Rafael Ben�tez is not a happy man. In the past few seasons, he's had his own way in the transfer market, happily signing 3-4 big-name players each summer, spending an average of $70 million across the last four.

Austin Murphy: Armstrong in an uphill battle against teammate, field in Tour

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:29:04 EDT

Recall, if you will, Bernard Hinault's terse message to Lance Armstrong five years ago, after the Texan drained much of the suspense from the 2004 Tour de France by winning his third straight alpine stage. "No gifts," declaimed the Badger. Implicit in those words: a pro bike race is a knife fight, not a bridal shower. There is no place in it for charity or sentimentality or mercy. No gifts. Lance-o-philes loved it so much they put it on a T-shirt.

Ross Tucker: In NFL, bad behavior might be good for business after all

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:17:49 EDT

Maybe bad behavior's good for business after all.

Jim Kelley: Sakic's farewell, Blackhawks gaffe, Leafs tampering and more notes

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:41:58 EDT

It's never easy saying goodbye to a career, especially one that has been as productive and lengthy as Joe Sakic's, so it comes as some surprise that the laconic one actually consented to a media conference to say his farewell. Then again, Sakic was always full of surprises.

Luke Winn: Purdue's Robbie Hummel on Twitter, Coach Painter, more

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:35:12 EDT

The latest subject in SI.com's hoops Q&A series is Purdue forward Robbie Hummel, who's currently playing for the U.S. World University Games team in Belgrade, Serbia. As a sophomore last season, Hummel averaged 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds while battling a nagging lower- back injury, and the Boilermakers finished 27-10 and lost to UConn in the Sweet 16. I caught up with Hummel during the World University Games trials in Colorado Springs, and the following is an edited transcript of our conversation.

Ian Thomsen: NBA negotiating is an art of war

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:35:11 EDT

While his rivals were preparing for the draft last month, Denver Nuggets VP of basketball operations Mark Warkentien was spending a week at Harvard Law School. Here is a little of what he was taught.

Bruce Martin: IndyCar Series moves on with George on sidelines

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:24:52 EDT

TORONTO -- Tony George's ouster as the President and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation by his own sisters is every bit as significant as last year's unification that brought rival factions together when Champ Car was absorbed into the IndyCar Series.

Tom Verducci: Giants hackmeister Sandoval headlines my 2009 All-Snub Team

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:53:29 EDT

1. The argument for All-Star snubs is losing some of its merit now that a whopping 66 players are named, and that's before the inevitable additions because of injuries and other circumstances. But here goes, anyway. The All-Snub Team:

Luke Winn: Under-the-radar recruit Parks sparks notice from Memphis, UVA

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:49:50 EDT

PHILADELPHIA -- The boys' varsity basketball team at St. George's Independent School in Collierville, Tenn., enjoys the luxury of having many of its games webcast on the site justin.tv, a channel run by a student named John Christian Williams. During breaks in the action, Williams will monitor the chat room that accompanies the live feed of the Gryphons' games, and typically, a few students and local fans drop by during road games or weekday games that they can't attend. The rest of the chatters, however, tend to be from a place with a 13-hour time difference: the Philippines.