Bogus Trivia - Round 2

So back in May I found an error on my ESPN Trivia Desk Calendar. It inferred that Kevin Mitchell was the only Chicago Cub to lead the National League in home runs during the 80s. Only one problem with that: Kevin Mitchell never played for the Cubs. No big deal though, right? One day wrong out of 365 isn't THAT bad.

Then I get to Labor Day's question:

Let's see if I can walk you through the basic flaw in this question. Count with me.

1 - Oakland A's

Photo Credit: playersofelbeisbolcubano.wordpress.com

2 - Texas Rangers

Photo Credit: 90feetofperfection.com

3 - Boston Red Sox

Photo Credit: sportsposterwarehouse.com

4 - Toronto Blue Jays

Photo Credit: bleacherreport.com

5 - Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Photo Credit: thespec.com

6 - New York Yankees

Photo Credit: articles.nydailynews.com

7 - Chicago White Sox

Photo Credit: home.comcast.net

So to recap, that's SEVEN teams that Jose Canseco played for in his Major League career. Which makes the question a little odd. Especially since the answer leaves out the last three teams he played for. It's not even close. I don't know if this was a question recycled from 1998 when the answer would still have been correct or what. Either way, I'm honestly a little disappointed in ESPN here. I mean, who does the QA on these calendars? Obviously no one's checking the answers to make sure they're right. More importantly, how much would they pay me to do that job?

EuroBasket 2011 - Day 6 Results

Group Play wrapped up today in Lithuania with a full slate of games. Spain was dealt their first loss of the tournament at the hands of Turkey, but still captures the top seed coming out of Group A. France defeated Serbia 97-96 in overtime in a battle of unbeatens to win Group B. Macedonia defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina to finish ahead of Greece, also 4-1, in Group C. And Russia defeated Slovenia 65-64 in another battle of unbeatens to win Group D. The top three teams from each group will advance to the next round which will kick off on Wednesday. The remaining 12 teams will be split into two groups of six (Groups A and B form Group E and Groups C and D form Group F). Each team will play three matches facing off against the teams in their new group that they haven't played yet. However, the results against the teams they have already played will carry over and be added to the standings. The top four teams in each of these groups will move on to the quarterfinals.

Photo Credit: fibaeurope.com

Here are the results from Day 6:

United Kingdom 88 Poland 81
Turkey 65 Spain 57
Lithuania 98 Portugal 69
Israel 96 Italy 95 (OT)
France 97 Serbia 96 (OT)
Germany 81 Latvia 80
FYR Macedonia 75 Bosnia 63
Greece 74 Croatia 69
Finland 71 Montenegro 65
Bulgaria 79 Georgia 69
Russia 65 Slovenia 64
Ukraine 74 Belgium 61

Notable Performers:

Luol Deng - United Kingdom - 28 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists
Andrea Bargnani - Italy - 26 points, 11 rebounds
Earl Rowland - Bulgaria - 25 points, 4 assists
Viktor Sanikidze - Georgia - 18 points, 9 rebounds
Rihards Kuksiks - Latvia - 27 points, 6 rebounds
Heiko Schaffartzik - Germany - 11 points, 10 assists
Marko Keselj - Serbia - 25 points
Tony Parker - France - 24 points, 6 steals
Bo McCalebb - Macedonia - 22 points, 4 assists
Viacheslav Kravtsov - Ukraine - 13 points, 16 rebounds

Final Round 1 Standings

Group A

Group B

 Group C

 Group D

Upcoming Second Round Matchups:

Group E (9/7)

Germany vs Spain
Turkey vs France
Serbia vs Lithuania

Group F (9/8)

Georgia vs Macedonia
Finland vs Russia
Slovenia vs Greece



Current Second Round Standings

Group E

Group F

Top Tens 9/5/11

Men's Tennis Rankings - (Unchanged as of 8/22)

1. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) - 13920 points
2. Rafael Nadal (Spain) - 11420 points
3. Roger Federer (Switzerland) - 8380 points
4. Andy Murray (Great Britain) - 6535 points
5. David Ferrer (Spain) - 4200 points
6. Robin Soderling (Sweden) - 4145 points
7. Gael Monfils (France) - 3165 points
8. Mardy Fish (USA) - 2820 points
9. Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) - 2690 points
10. Nicolas Almagro (Spain) - 2380 points



Women's Tennis Rankings - (Unchanged as of 8/29)

1. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) - 9335 points
2. Vera Zvonareva (Russia) - 6820 points
3. Kim Clijsters (Belgium) - 6501 points
4. Maria Sharapova (Russia) - 6346 points
5. Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) - 5995 points
6. Li Na (China) - 5870 points
7. Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) - 5685 points

8. Francesca Schiavone (Italy) - 4995 points
9. Marion Bartoli (France) - 4225 points
10. Samantha Stosur (Australia) - 3880 points



FedEx Cup Points Leaders

1. Webb Simpson 4711 (4)
2. Dustin Johnson 3814 (1)
3. Matt Kuchar 3124 (2)
4. Luke Donald 2875 (5)
5. Brandt Snedeker 2869 (6)
6. Jason Day 2357 (-)
7. Nick Watney 2291 (3)
8. Steve Stricker 2205 (7)
9. Chez Reavie 2088 (-)
10. Phil Mickelson 2040 (-)

OUT: Gary Woodland (11), Vijay Singh (14), K.J. Choi (15)



AL Leading Hitters (through Monday)

1. Adrian Gonzalez BOS - .339 (189/557)
2. Michael Young TEX - .334 (185/554)
3. Miguel Cabrera DET - .328 (164/500)
4. Victor Martinez DET - .324 (149/460)
5. Casey Kotchman TB - .316 (135/427)
6. David Ortiz BOS - .313 (140/447)
7. Paul Konerko CHW - .311 (150/482)
8. Jacoby Ellsbury BOS - .311 (174/560)
9. Robinson Cano NYY - .307 (167/560)
10. Jose Bautista TOR - .306 (137/448)



NL Leading Hitters (through Monday)

1. Ryan Braun MIL - .335 (163/486)
2. Jose Reyes NYM - .332 (152/458)
3. Matt Kemp LAD - .320 (165/516)
4. Joey Votto CIN - .316 (162/513)
5. Michael Morse WAS - .315 (140/445)
6. Hunter Pence PHI - .308 (161/522)
7. Aramis Ramirez CHC - .308 (157/510)
8. Todd Helton COL - .306 (127/415)
9. Starlin Castro CHC - .305 (179/586)
10. Troy Tulowitzki COL - .304 (157/516)



AL Home Run Leaders (through Monday)

1. Jose Bautista TOR - 40
2. Curtis Granderson NYY - 38
3. Mark Teixeira NYY - 36
4. Mark Reynodls BAL - 32
5. Paul Konerko CHW - 28
5. David Ortiz BOS - 28
5. Nelson Cruz TEX - 28
8. Miguel Cabrera DET - 26
8. J.J. Hardy BAL - 26
8. Mark Trumbo LAA - 26



NL Home Run Leaders (through Monday)

1. Albert Pujols STL - 34
2. Dan Uggla ATL - 32
2. Matt Kemp LAD - 32
2. Mike Stanton FLA - 32
5. Prince Fielder MIL - 31
5. Ryan Howard PHI - 31
7. Lance Berkman STL - 30
8. Troy Tulowitzki COL - 29
8. Jay Bruce CIN - 29
10. Ryan Braun MIL - 27
10. Justin Upton ARI - 27



AL ERA Leaders (through Monday)

1. Justin Verlander DET - 2.34 (21-5)
2. Jered Weaver LAA - 2.49 (16-7)
3. Josh Beckett BOS - 2.49 (12-5)
4. James Shields TB - 2.77 (14-10)
5. Jeremy Hellickson TB - 2.90 (12-10)
6. Justin Masterson CLE - 2.92 (11-8)
7. CC Sabathia NYY - 2.97 (19-7)
8. Ricky Romero TOR - 2.97 (13-10)
9. Jon Lester BOS - 3.05 (14-6)
10. Doug Fister DET - 3.17 (7-13)



NL ERA Leaders (through Monday)

1. Johnny Cueto CIN - 2.29 (9-5)
2. Clayton Kershaw LAD - 2.45 (17-5)
3. Cliff Lee PHI - 2.47 (16-7)
4. Roy Halladay PHI - 2.49 (16-5)
5. Ryan Vogelsong SF - 2.62 (10-6)
6. Cole Hamels PHI - 2.63 (13-7)
7. Tim Lincecum SF - 2.75 (12-12)
8. Matt Cain SF - 2.85 (11-9)
9. Jair Jurrjens ATL - 2.96 (13-6)
10. Ian Kennedy ARI - 2.96 (18-4)



WNBA LEADING SCORERS

1. Diana Taurasi - Phoenix - 21.0 ppg
2. Angel McCoughtry - Atlanta - 20.5 ppg
3. Sylvia Fowles - Chicago - 20.3 ppg
4. Crystal Langhorne - Washington - 18.6 ppg
5. Cappie Pondexter - New York - 18.3 ppg
6. Candace Parker - Los Angeles - 18.1 ppg
7. Tina Charles - Connecticut - 17.7 ppg
8. Penny Taylor - Phoenix - 16.7 ppg
9. Seimone Augustus - Minnesota - 16.3 ppg
10. Becky Hammon - San Antonio - 16.1 ppg



COLLEGE FOOTBALL PRESEASON RANKINGS - AP Top 25
*USA Today Poll Ranking in Parentheses

1. Oklahoma (1) - W 47-14 vs Tulsa
2. Alabama (2) - W 48-7 vs Kent State
3. Oregon (3) - L 40-27 @ #4 LSU
4. LSU (4) - W 40-27 vs #3 Oregon
5. Boise State (7) - W 35-21 @ #19 Georgia
6. Florida State (5) - W 34-0 vs LA-Monroe
7. Stanford (6) - W 57-3 vs San Jose State
8. Texas A&M (9) - W 46-14 vs SMU
9. Oklahoma State (8) - W 61-34 vs LA-Lafayette
10. Nebraska (11) - W 40-7 vs Chattanooga



ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE LEADING SCORERS

1. Edin Dzeko - Manchester City - 6
2. Wayne Rooney - Manchester United - 5
3. Ivan Klasnic - Bolton Wanderers - 3
3. Sergio Agüero - Manchester City - 3
5. Ashley Young - Manchester United - 2
5. Leon Best - Newcastle United - 2
5. David Silva - Manchester City - 2
5. Danny Welbeck - Manchester United - 2
5. Franco Di Santo - Wigan Athletic - 2
5. Luis Suárez - Liverpool - 2
5. Shane Long - West Bromwich Albion - 2



Photos Courtesy (in order of appearance):

tennisnow.com
bbs.chinadaily.com.cn
lehighvalleylive.com
zimbio.com
mlb.com (screenshot)
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com
zimbio.com