ESPN analyst is in fantasy land, critics say. In an attempt to keep it “real” about Blacks and Fantasy football, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith is taking a virtual beating in the fantasy sports blogopshere. According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, about 93 percent of all fantasy players are White. But “to hell with fantasy. I’m about what’s real!” Smith wrote in the latest edition of ESPN The Magazine.  ”I’m not surprised to learn that so few Blacks are among the 30 million people who participate in fantasy sports. I’ve always thought that a lot of these guys [and 96 percent of them are guys] are nerds, desperately in need of more sociable leisure-time activities. Leisure time for Black folks historically consists of direct interaction, the kind of experience you get at a family barbecue or hanging out with friends. Sitting in front of a computer screen pretending to be Bill Parcells? Sounds like work to me.” The reaction to Smith’s article from some Black sports bloggers has been anything but nice.  Uzo Ometu, an African-American fantasy player who also writes the Sportswatcher blog, says, “The average fantasy football player is around 30 years old, makes about $75,000 a year and has a connection to a fast Internet provider. I’m sorry, but that’s just not your typical brother living in the lower-income parts of Brooklyn, N.Y. Don’t get me wrong; there are plenty of well-educated and successful Black people, who are not only making gobs of money, but who are also football fans who love playing fantasy football. Unfortunately, successful Black people [economically speaking] make up just a small percentage of the Black population as a whole, which is why we are thoroughly underrepresented in the fantasy football populous.”

Bengals star legally changes his name

Back in the day, boxer Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali for religious reasons. NBA star Lloyd Bernard Free became World B. Free to make a political statement. NFL receiver Chad Johnson? He’s Chad Javon Ocho Cinco now. “Have I ever had a reason for why I do what I do?” he asks. “I’m having fun.” The Bengals star has legally changed his name to the Spanish translation of his jersey number 85. The Bengals have no comment on Cinco’s re-invention - understandably.                                                                                       

Venus, Serena may be headed for another tennis face-off. Venus and Serena Williams didn’t get that Wimbledon rematch they seemed headed toward during the Beijing Olympics. Both sisters were eliminated from singles competition before they combined to win doubles gold. The U.S. Open, however, presents another possibility for the pair to go head-to-head after Venus took the title several weeks ago. Both sisters advanced this past weekend and will face each other in the Open’s quarter-finals this week if they each get one more win. “I think that, definitely, the Wimbledon win helped me…if I don’t have a perfect practice, I don’t get really upset about the whole tournament,” Venus says. The sisters are the only two former champions still competing in the tournament.

Sisters snatch gold medal for tennis doubles.

Venus and Serena Williams have proved they’re twice as nice after being eliminated from Olympics singles competition last week. The sisters captured a gold medal in the doubles tournament on Sunday after beating Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-2, 6-0. “I’m so excited, I can’t even speak,” Venus says. “To share this kind of moment with your sister, it never grows old.”

Sisters are knocked out of Olympics singles, Blake advances.

Not only won’t Venus and Serena Williams have a one-on-one title rematch in the Olympics, neither will compete for a medal. After saying earlier this week that a tennis singles showdown to follow their Wimbledon face-off would be “fantastic,” Venus and her sister both lost quarter-finals match-ups Thursday in Beijing. Venus, who won Wimbledon, fell to China’s Li Na, while Serena lost to Russia’s Elena Dementieva. The sisters can still capture a gold in doubles competition as they did at the 2000 Games in Sydney. While the siblings were upset, James Blake did some upsetting when he beat Roger Federer in straight sets. Blake moves on, leaving Federer two titles shy of Pete Sampras’ record of 12.

Venus, Serena could have Wimbledon rematch at Olympics

Venus and Serena Williams could face-off on a world stage for the second time this year. The sisters, who not long ago battled to a Wimbledon title confrontation which Venus won, are on track to possibly meet again Saturday in a singles tennis final at the Beijing Olympics. The pair won in both singles and doubles play Tuesday, with Serena beating Australia’s Samantha Stosur and Venus defeating Iveta Benesova. The Williams duo joined to beat Benesova and Nicole Vaidisova, both of the Czech Republic. Venus says she’s excited about the potential for a title rematch against her younger sibling: “That would be fantastic. Obviously, it’s a long ways away, but the third round makes it closer. I’m really excited for both of us to be playing really well for the U.S.”

Golf champ will spend five more months recuperating

Tiger Woods fans will have to wait until 2009 to see him dominate on the golf course again “As far as swinging a club, that’s not going to happen until next year,” Woods announced in a Tuesday newsletter to readers of his tigerwoods.com Web site. He’ll spend five more months recovering from knee surgery. “I just don’t have a choice,” he wrote. “We simply don’t know what type of swelling there would be or if there would be any residual effects the next day, once you start wheeling and dealing on the knee. Everyone’s body reacts differently. I could putt right now, but I’m not going to do it.” There’s sure to be plenty of competition for Tiger’s crown as king of the game during his absence.

Vikings’ safety Williams out for early season. Minnesota’s Madieu Williams has been sidelined for at least six weeks with a neck injury. The West African-born free agent acquisition suffered from spasms last week, but wouldn’t discuss the nature of his ailment. “I’m not allowed to discuss the condition of my injuries,” Williams tells the Star Tribune newspaper. He began with the Vikings after leaving the Bengals for a $33 million, six-year deal during the off-season.

Steve & Barry’s to pay Venus Williams $250,000. Venus Williams will get $250,000 from the bankrupt Steve & Barry’s LLC apparel chain under terms of her clothing line contract. Williams’ Eleven designs were licensed with Steve & Barry’s, but the company hopes to sell itself at an auction this month. A bankruptcy court has determined that the corporation can pay Williams who’s expected to wear the apparel while competing in the Olympics, just as she wore the designs while winning her recent Wimbledon title. Judge Allan Gropper determined the settlement. NBA player Ben Wallace is also owed cash by the company.

Joint NFL practice results in scrap between players.

Titans, Rams have pre-season skirmish. Tennessee Titans and St. Louis Rams players are starting their rivalry in the pre-season. The teams had a scrap Wednesday during a joint practice after Rams receiver Reche Caldwell reportedly grabbed cornerback Cortland Finnegan and threw him to the ground. The teams have a history of tense, joint practices dating back to 2000. Two more plays during the practice found Rams and Titans lashing out at each other on the St. Louis field. But receiver Torry Holt calls it a healthy sign: “After a while, it kind of got excessive as far as the banging and guys trying us. We needed that. That’s something we’re trying to build on is…our mental toughness.” No one was hurt in the skirmishes.

Celtics will face Lakers on ABC. The NBA has announced its highly rated Christmas Day game schedule. Of five contests, the highlight ABC broadcast will be a rematch between the defending champ Boston Celtics and the team they defeated for the title in June, Los Angeles. The Lakers will try and redeem themselves for the beating they took against Boston in one of the most traditionally fierce championship rivalries. Maybe Kobe can play well enough to keep Shaq from performing another freestyle.

Patriots Andrews arrested after dispute with girlfriend
A New England Patriots player is in a Massachusetts jail until at least tomorrow after he was arrested for allegedly pointing a gun at his girlfriend. Defensive back Willie Andrews was taken into custody following a report that he waved a pistol at the woman’s head, touching her temple with it after an argument about 1 a.m. Monday. Gregg Miliote, spokesman for the Bristol County DA , says the player is being held without bail pending a Thursday hearing. “The New England Patriots take the conduct of our players very seriously,” a team statement read. “We are aware of the very disturbing and alarming reports regarding Willie Andrews. We will not offer any additional comment, as is our policy regarding pending legal matters.”

Venus, Serena move closer to British title
Venus and Serena Williams have continued in their sibling dominance at Wimbledon . Venus defeated Tamarine Tanasugarn on Tuesday as Serena removed Agnieszka Radwanska from the tournament. Serena showed some competitive spark when a reporter asked her if Venus, the defending champ, is likely to repeat. “I would never sit here and say she’s the favorite when I’m still in the draw. What are you on?” she asked. With one more win for each, the women could face each other in the finals on Saturday. “I’m going to sabotage her and eat all the breakfast,” Serena said of the possibility. “I’ll eat all the Wheaties, so she doesn’t have any chance.”

Tennis star moves closer in defense of her title
Venus Williams has beaten Naomi Cavaday in the first round of Wimbledon. Williams took out her competition in 77 minutes on Tuesday, moving closer to the defense of her 2007 title at the British tournament. “I felt that my level was good,” says Williams. “I think it’s nice to have a really challenging opponent early on, especially having not played since the French. So it was good to have that challenge early on.” Williams overcame an early distraction to grab the win: “I was about to serve. I felt something on my leg. I looked down. It was a bee, a big old bumble bee. I was trying to get it to go off. I was trying to get it off without getting stung, you know how they usually fly back at you. Then I ended up losing that service game, so I guess the bumblebee got me off to a bad start.”

Sheriff disses Shaq after dis of ex-teammate
Although Shaquille O’Neal insists his “freestyle” against Lakers star Kobe Bryant – circulated widely on TV and the Web – was all in fun, an Arizona cop isn’t laughing. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is demanding Shaq’s law enforcement shields, saying the Phoenix Suns center’s behavior didn’t become his special deputy reserve status. Arpaio promoted Shaq to reserve colonel last year, but he doesn’t approve of the NBA star’s public use of profanity and the word ni**er. Among lyrics Shaq delivered at a New York nightclub this past weekend: “Kobe, tell me how my a** tastes.” The dis followed L.A.’s six-game championship loss to Boston last week, which O’Neal attributed to his trade from L.A. to Phoenix. “I want his two badges back,” Arpaio tells The Associated Press, “because if any one of my deputies did something like this, they’re fired. I don’t condone this type of racial conduct.” O’Neal has said he wants to be a sheriff after retiring from the NBA. For more, go to Playa Hater.