The sports world has been buzzing as of late, as baseball enters Spring Training, college hoops creeps towards March Madness, pro hoops and hockey teams vie for playoff position and NFL franchises are preparing for the draft, while placing franchise tags on players.  This sounds like a perfect time for Throwing Tomatoes!

So as the sports world turns, the stories pile up and more sports frustration emerges.  Don’t sweat it, The Wife Hates Sports has them all covered – in lycopene, that is.

Throwing Tomatoes: March 3, 2012

Target: Austin Rivers

During the pre-game coverage of the huge matchup between North Carolina and Duke, ESPN College GameDay aired an interview with star Duke guard Austin Rivers.

It appeared quite clear that Rivers was sporting quite the hickey at the time of the interview (below).  Either that, or he was attacked by a vacuum cleaner.  Not sure what else it could be.

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Duke’s Austin Rivers during College GameDay interview, where it appears clear that he has a hickey on his neck

Hey, we all celebrate an intense rivalry differently, right?

Oh, to be in college again.  Nice work, Austin.

Sub-Target: The Actual Duke-UNC Game

In regards to the actual game between Duke and North Carolina, there were certainly higher expectations for the game itself, what with the ACC regular season title on the line, and an assist at getting momentum towards a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

But in the end, North Carolina trounced Duke in front of the “Cameron Crazies” – and quite an impressive performance by the Heels, taking the ACC regular season title and dismantling Duke 88-70.

Target: Gregg Williams and the New Orleans Saints

The Saints had an illegal “bounty” system in place when Gregg Williams was a defensive coordinator from 2009-2011.  Reports also say similar issues may have occurred when Williams was coaching the Redskins’ defense.  Paying players to intentionally harm opponents is despicable, and expect harsh punishment to come from the NFL later this month.splatteredtomato

Innocent Bystanders: NFL Players and Fans

For those players and fans that are complaining that the NFL has gotten too soft with its rules and over-protection of players, it’s possible that we could see even more strict rules coming after the New Orleans bounty news dropped.

It’s a no-brainer to support overall protection of players and a stronger focus on injuries such as concussions, but in the end, this is a brutal and physical game that features hard hits and aggressive play, which will always lead to major injuries.  But players earning extra cash to purposely try and hurt someone?  As mentioned earlier, it’s despicable.

Target: Brett Favre

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Danica in a bikini makes all the Daytona car wrecks go away.

He’s been trending on Twitter countless times, but had yet to create an account of his own – until now.  That’s right, Brett Favre has joined Twitter, which means that many will let the jokes begin – from expectation of twitpics, to coming out of retirement tweets, and so on.

Oh, Brett… to some degree, you brought it on yourself.

Target: Danica Patrick

Her much anticipated performance at Daytona was marred by nothing but wrecks, and little time on the track in one piece.  In fact, Danica wrecked so much in the NASCAR season’s opening weekend, that one could have easily wondered if perhaps Lindsay Lohan borrowed her instead.

Innocent Bystander: Lindsay Lohan

Sorry, Lindsay, but that was like shooting fish in a barrel.

But for all of Lohan’s faults, there are still countering images like this one (see below, right):

Target: Luke Scott

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Lindsay Lohan, while flawed, has had moments where she looked flawless

The outspoken former member of the Baltimore Orioles is at it again, this time openly admitting just how much he enjoyed the collapse of the Boston Red Sox last season, especially when his former team helped knock Boston out of playoff contention.  He also chimed in to point out just how obnoxious Red Sox fans are.

But Scott’s comments are easy to make now, especially considering that he’s signed on with the Tampa Bay Rays, a contender and not a cellar dweller.  It’s easy to make bold statements when you can hide behind that Rays pitching staff.

And finally, the current faces of team frustration in sports:

Toronto Maple Leafs – Six straight losses, a fired head coach and a five-point deficit from the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference

Washington Capitals – The struggles continue; 11-18-3 on the road and after getting trounced by the Devils, find themselves 9th place in the Eastern Conference

Charlotte Bobcats – 4-30 and outscored by nearly 15 points per game on average

Milwaukee Bucks – Dropping 8 of 10 and now four games outside of the final playoff spot in Eastern Conference 

This has been Throwing Tomatoes, where no bounties are offered for direct hits.