Last fall, popular cartoon Family Guy included a short segment poking fun at the Mets and their inability to make it to the offseason.

In the clip, baby Stewie Griffin says to dog Brian that “Halloween’s a bigger letdown than being a Mets fan.”  The scene cuts to Stewie, who is wearing a Mets hat and sitting at Citi Field.  The announcer says, “Opening Day and here’s the first pitch… and the season’s over.”  Stewie then throws his hat to the ground.

The Mets lost to the Florida Marlins 6-2 on Opening Day, and at the end of the night’s broadcast on SNY, a technician accidentally played a portion of an audio version of the clip as the Mets left the field.  The segment interrupted announcer Gary Cohen, who was recapping the miserable loss.

Fans of the show immediately recognized the clip, which has been spreading through the Internet, but Mets officials downplayed the incident.

“It’s New York,” Mets vice president of media relations Jay Horwitz told the New York Daily News. “You can’t overreact. It gets to the point where you’re almost immune to it all. I’m sure that what happened was accidental, not malicious, and I’m sure the person who did it felt terrible.”

“It was a very poor decision by an employee,” a SNY spokesman told The New York Post. “The matter is being dealt with internally.”

Officials are calling the incident a mistake and it is unclear whether or not the employee will be fired.

Sunday, the Los Angeles Times reported that the victim’s state has worsened and that Supervisor Mike Antonovich is offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the attackers.  Antonovich is also calling for increased security and stricter limits on alcohol sales within the stadium.

Two Dodgers fans reportedly approached a trio of unsuspecting Giants fans after the game, kicking and punching them while shouting expletives about the Giants, according to LAPD sergeant Sanford Rosenberg. One man was critically injured as a result of the beating.

“The man suffered a serious head injury during the assault after the game,” Rosenberg said.

The victim has since been identified as Bryan Stow, a 42-year-old paramedic and father of two.  His family members told the Santa Cruz Sentinel that Stow hit his head on the pavement sometime during the attack and is now in a medically induced coma.

“He’s not doing too well,” brother-in-law David Collins told the Sentinel Friday afternoon. “He’s still unconscious and they just decided to put him in a medically induced coma. They are hoping the brain swelling will go down, but it hasn’t and they are talking about removing one of his frontal lobes.”

According to Collins, who spoke with Stow’s friends following the incident, the men “came out of nowhere” after heckling the group of Giants fans in the parking lot.  Stow’s head hit the pavement, but the duo continued to attack him.

Stow and his friends were separated during the incident and his friends had trouble coming to his aid.  By the time they did, the assailants were gone.

“We’re all pretty shocked,” Collins said. “We are all praying for him.”

Police released composite sketches of the pair of attackers and are hoping that witnesses will come forward, especially with the offer of a reward.

“We’re very confident there were witnesses. It happened immediately following the game when everybody was coming out,” Detctive Larry Burcher said.

The Dodgers released a statement regarding the attack.

“It is extremely unfortunate that this incident took place on what was otherwise a great day at Dodger Stadium for tens of thousands of fans. We’re committed to having the most fan- and family- friendly environment in baseball and will continue to make that a top priority,” said Josh Rawitch, the Dodgers’ vice president of communications. “We are cooperating fully with authorities during their investigation and we wish this fan a speedy recovery.”

On Thursday, during the Yankees’ opener against the Detroit Tigers, reporter Keith Olbermann tweeted that, “The Yankees have a man in the seats who indicates to their on-deck batter what kind of pitch was just thrown,” along with a photo.

The Yankees have a man in the seats who indicates to their on… on Twitpic via kwout

The photo is of Yankees baseball operations coaching assistant Brett Weber, who was relaying pitch speed to the on-deck batter.  Pitch speed is displayed prominently in every ballpark, but players were relying on Weber’s readings.

Major League Baseball prohibits team staff from communicating pitch information to batters by hand signals.

“Communicating pitch types, pitch speed, through hand signals, is prohibited,” an MLB spokesman told the NY Daily News after looking at the photo. “We’re going to call them to remind them what the rule says. It could all be perfectly innocent — some clubs don’t trust what’s on the scoreboard.”

After the game, general manager Brian Cashman explained that the scoreboard wasn’t working, so Weber was signaling the velocity of the pitches to the players.

“The scoreboard went down. He was relaying after the fact with his fingers to some hitters who wanted it what the velocity was, pitches to the opposing teams’ hitter, to the guy on deck,” Cashman said. “There’s nothing to hide. We’ve got nothing to hide.

“I think he [Joe Garagiola Jr., baseball's senior vice president for standards and on-field operations] recognizes the fact that there’s no real advantage here,” he continued. “But at the same time, there is a bulletin out that says you’re not supposed to do that. We explained to him that the first inning, the scoreboard was reading 912 m.p.h., so normally that stuff’s out there.

“I think it’s really silly, personally. But we provided all information in a truthful and honest way to Joe.”

Weber has not been signaling from the stands since the incident.

“We’re not going to do it until they resolve what they want,” Cashman said.

While the dust seems to have settled and the MLB appears to be satisfied, there’s something that hasn’t been explained.  While many are reporting that Yankees staff hasn’t communicated with on-deck batters previously, Olbermann writes that he has seen staff performing the same duties during other games.

Buster Olney‘s book The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty, which was written in 2001, suggests that this kind of communication has existed for years.

“As he [Derek Jeter] stood in the on-deck circle, he would make eye contact with the Yankees’ employee who sat in the stands and operated a radar gun. Jeter would guess how hard the pitcher was throwing — holding up two fingers if he thought the pitcher was throwing 92 mph, for example. Using this sign language, the radar gun operator might respond with three fingers if the pitcher was throwing 93 mph, and Jeter would nod.”

He took his excitement too far, however, and may now face the consequences of his actions, according to BBC Sport.

After Rooney completed the hat trick on Saturday, his foul-mouthed goal celebration was broadcast to an audience of millions. (Note: Video contains offensive language.)

Current Football Association rules state that: "A participant shall at all times act in the best interests of the game and shall not act in any manner which is improper or brings the game into disrepute or use any one, or a combination of, violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour."

Afterward, FA director Sir Trevor Brooking told the media that the organization would look into the incident.

"There will be a decision [on Monday]," he told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek.

"It was a surprise, after scoring a hat-trick, to react that way. It is something we will have to look at."

Rooney issued a public apology through the club.

"I want to apologise for any offence that may have been caused by my goal celebration, especially any parents or children that were watching.

"Emotions were running high, and on reflection my heat-of-the-moment reaction was inappropriate. It was not aimed at anyone in particular."

The 25-year-old is no stranger to saying inappropriate things on television. At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, he shouted, "Nice to see your home fans boo you. That's what loyal support is" into a camera after England's 0-0 draw with Algeria.

A tragic incident in a parking lot outside Dodger Stadium took place after the Dodgers defeated the San Fransisco Giants 2-1 in their home opener on Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Los Angeles police are currently searching for two Dodgers fans who assaulted and critically injured a Giants fan around 8:30 p.m. in Parking Lot 2.

The two Dodgers fans reportedly approached a trio of unsuspecting Giants fans after the game, kicking and punching them while shouting expletives about the Giants, LAPD sergeant Sanford Rosenberg reports. One man was critically injured as a result of the beating.

"The man suffered a serious head injury during the assault after the game,'' Rosenberg said.

The victim is currently hospitalized and in critical, but stable condition. It is still unclear if alcohol consumption was a factor in this case.

Approximately 25 arrests were made at the Dodgers Opening Day, with LAPD reporting that most were related to the consumption of too much alcohol. Last year's Opening Day saw 132 arrests, prompting the police to beef up their security this year.

Giants fans were also taunting their rivals during the regular-season opener, though in a far less physical way. One Giants fan hired an airplane to fly over Dodger Stadium during the game pulling a banner that read: "Dodgers still suck. From SF champs fans."

Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Dimitis Bertsimas used quantitative models based on player analytics to determine that the Red Sox will record 101 wins, according to Reuters.

"A player is a vector of numbers and from that, we can make accurate predictions of how many runs they will score and translate those to overall team statistics," he said in an MIT press release.

Bertsimas is a professor of operations research at MIT's Sloan School of Management and wrote his Ph.D. thesis on probabilistic combinatorial optimization problems.  He released his findings in his research paper, "The Analytics Edge in Baseball," that he worked on with student Allison O'Hair.

"Now I am a big baseball fan. It’s not so much the sport that captivates me; it’s the math. More than any other sport, baseball lends itself perfectly to quantitative analysis. There are 162 regular season games in baseball, compared to 82 in basketball and 16 in football. This amounts to a larger sample size for statistical analysis. Plus, the ratio of the seven largest payrolls to the seven smallest in major league baseball is 4 to 1, compared to 1.75 to 1 in the NBA and 1.5 to 1 in the NFL. This gives more incentive for general managers of less wealthy teams to get great players at lower price," the professor wrote on the MIT Sloan Experts blog.

"All teams have the same goal: make the playoffs," he added. "The wish to make the playoffs is due to the extra revenue gained from more ticket sales, an increased fan base, and more media attention. However, for the less rich teams to even think about gaining more revenue, they have to get to the playoffs on a much smaller budget. And that’s not easy to do."

Though a Red Sox fan, Bertsimas didn't keep his research strictly in Boston. He is also predicting that the New York Yankees will win 93 games.

The Tampa Bay Rays will finish behind the Red Sox with 100 wins, the Baltimore Orioles will fall behind the Yankees with 83 wins and the Toronto Blue Jays will sit in the AL East cellar with 80 wins.

According to the Boston Globe, Bertsimas has a decent track record; last year he predicted 90 wins for the Sox and they ended the season with 89.

Don't bother asking him to predict the playoffs, however.

"In a five-game series, the worst team in baseball will still beat the best team in baseball 15 percent of the time. Analytical principles are very useful for getting a team to the playoffs, but they are much less helpful once the playoffs start because the level of randomness is much higher. Any general manager worth his salt sees his job as getting the team to the playoffs, but once they get that far, luck plays a much larger role."

Not all players.

Hockey players have recently made the headlines for acts of kindness like stopping to change a fan’s tire or adopting kids with cancer.

Florida Everblade forward Drew Larman joined that list when he heard the shout of a woman during his weekly grocery shopping trip at a Sweetbay Supermarket in Fort Myers, Fla. on March 3.

According to the Naples Daily News, the 25-year-old center, who had stints with both the Boston and Providence Bruins, didn’t hesitate to help her.  He was checking out, but left his cell phone, keys and wallet behind to chase down a strange man after Larman realized that he had stolen Beverly Whaley‘s purse.

“I screamed and I actually said a couple of foul words,” she said. “I tried to chase him and when I did I fell flat on my face, then I just saw this young guy take off after him through the door. He looked like he had legs like a gazelle.”

The still unidentified man fled from the store with the 59-year-old woman’s purse.

“I went for a full sprint after the guy and I was yelling, ‘Hey! What are you doing?’” Larman told the Naples Daily News. “After about 50 yards I was about 20 feet away from him and he started to cut across the parking lot and he was running to a car.

“When he got to the car I realized he was just trying to get away,” the 6-foot-3, 195-pound Everblade continued. “I knew if he got the door to his car closed that would be the end of it. As he was closing the door I literally lunged in front of the door, stopped it with my arm and my leg from closing and pushed the door wide open.

“I realized that he was actually more scared of me than I was of him.  He had the purse in his lap, the keys in his hand and I asked him, “What are you doing?” He said to me, “I’ve got kids.” That’s the only thing he said.”

Not wanting to risk his life further, Larman let the purse-snatcher flee and returned the bag to Whaley. 

“When he handed to me I said ‘Thank you so much, you’re my hero today,’” Whaley said.

Originally, Larman chose not to share his story because he didn’t want the media attention, and he even left the scene of the crime without disclosing his information.  He changed his mind to remind the community that they are in safe hands.

“That could have been someone else’s grandmother and people should be able to feel like they can be safe and know that there are people out there willing to help.”

Gerrard is speculated to have suffered the injury on Feb. 6. He tried to return at the end of the month but was forced to have surgery mid-March.

The 30-year-old wasn't expected to return until a month later, in mid-April. Coach Steve Clarke stated that the midfielder may be ready for the Reds' match against the Baggies.

"It's good, I'm probably three or four days away from full training, so hopefully I'll be involved against West Brom," he told Sky Sports. "It depends on how the next three or four days go.

"Being injured is the worst part of being a footballer. It's frustrating missing games being on the treatment table, so you do everything you can in your rehab and away from football to get back as quickly as possible."

Dozens of fans braved the cold and waited outside for the team to arrive at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. They showered the players with high fives and hugs as the team made its way inside around 1:30 a.m., where hundreds more were waiting.

"Back-to-back Final Fours — it's pretty amazing, actually, so I want to support these guys because they have done such an amazing job," fan Michael Scheck said to wthr.com.

Guard Ronald Nored addressed the crowd, thankful for the support.

"We love all you guys and hope we can continue this ride," he said. "I told somebody today that this year, we're going to get the real call from President Obama and not the runner-up call."

Coach Brad Stevens encouraged the fans to make their way to Houston to support the Bulldogs like they did last year in Indianapolis.

"Houston's not that far. All of you should be there," he said. "If all of you could make it there, we would love to have you. And if you can't, you can tune in and support us the way you did tonight."

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Baltimore Raven Tom Zbikowski has joined this group of adventurers.

On Saturday night, the safety stepped into the ring to continue his professional boxing career against Caleb "True Grit" Grummet, and he was able to win by unanimous decision, according to The Baltimore Sun.

In light of the lockout, Zbikowski was able to put his boxing gloves back on and return to his first love.

Previously, he fought for Notre Dame and posted a 75-15 amateur boxing record with the Fighting Irish.  Before his return this year, Zbikowski's last fight was at Madison Square Garden on June 10, 2006.  In his first professional fight, he knocked out Robert Bell in the first round, but put his boxing career on hold to enter the NFL.

"Boxing has had to take a back seat to my football career because [the NFL] is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he said. "You have to take the opportunity when it comes to you. But boxing is not a hobby. When you fight professionally, you have to take it seriously."

Zbikowski added a second professional fight to his record on March 12, when he knocked out Richard Bryant in the first round, despite being outweighed by 32 pounds.

"I wanted to get the ring rust off in this fight," he said. "Right now, this isn't a second career for me. It's a first career."

Fast-forward to March 26. 

Just two weeks after his return bout, "Tommy Z" climbed back between the ropes and fought his way to a unanimous decision over Grummet. Zbikowski faced another weight disadvantage, as his opponent weighed 215 pounds to his 195.

After the victory, the 25-year-old struggled to catch his breath and vomited on his way to the dressing room, but it looks like he'll be back for more.

Zbikowski even hired hall of fame trainer Emanuel Steward to work with him.

"He's really a boxer that happens to play football," Steward told SI.com. "He's not a football player trying to learn how to box. He makes money playing football. But this is his passion.

"He has such beautiful balance. He has a great natural rhythm and he's always in position when he is punching," he added. "He doesn't box like a football player. He boxes like a boxer."

Zbikowski even has the support of the Baltimore Ravens, where he has played for the past three seasons.

"I think it's awesome," owner Steve Bisciotti told The Baltimore Sun. "I wanted to walk him into the ring but I'm not allowed to communicate with him. I would get the Don King hair going."

Zbikowski has another fight scheduled for April 9, and a fourth for the end of April.

"He told me boxing was his first love," Steward told SI.com. "I don't know where this is going to go right now, but he seems committed to it."

Photo from Zbikowski's Facebook account.

Fans have been up in arms debating whether the star guard was showing off his acting skills or if he was actually fouled by San Diego State’s Jamaal Franklin.

It isn’t just fans and bloggers who have been debating the opposing spectrum of this controversy, however. LeBron James entered the debate and stuck up for Walker on Twitter.

“Never take a cheap shot at a great player or say something out of character,” James’ tweet read. “You’ll pay every time, ask San Diego St.”

After the win, Walker defended the play to the media.

“The contact was definitely enough to go down,” he said. “That’s why I was able to get the free throws. I was on my way to the huddle, and he ran into me.”

Walker scored a game-high 36 points and led the Huskies to a 74-67 win over San Diego State, leading the Huskies to an Elite Eight berth.

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FIFA World Cup champion Spain will face off against the U.S. Men's National Team on June 4 at Foxborough's Gillette Stadium, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced on Friday.

The U.S. will look to earn their second win against Spain in its 12th appearance at Gillette. Currently, the U.S. has a 1-3-0 record against the top-ranked team, but they have out scored their opponents 28-6 at the home of the New England Revolution.

The last time these two teams met on the pitch was in the semifinal round of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, where the U.S. triumphed 2-0 over Spain and snapped their 35-game unbeaten streak.

The match kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m., and the game will be televised by ESPN and Univision. Ticket information has yet to be announced.

Caesars Entertainment teamed up with 888 Holdings PLC, an Israeli company that provides online gambling in Europe. Wynn Resorts partnered with PokerStars.net, a popular poker website in the U.S.

Stephen Wynn, chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts, released a statement about the partnership.

"After much study, we are convinced that the lack of regulation of Internet gaming within the U.S. must change. We must recognize that this activity is occurring and that law enforcement does not have the tools to stop it. As a company that has safely conducted gaming in the US for more than 40 years, we believe that the same can be done for poker on the internet."

Mark Scheinberg, Chairman and Founder of PokerStars, commented on the advancement in a press release as well.

"We have long supported the enactment of local regulatory regimes that protect consumers and provide valuable tax revenues and jobs. PokerStars is closely regulated in many European countries and it has been endorsing the adoption of the same approach in the United States for years, with this alliance representing a critical step in that direction. We are excited about the opportunities that partnering with Wynn, a pioneering leader and innovator in gaming, will present for PokerStars in the United States. These opportunities include the rapid ramp-up in hiring of a large number of professionals in this growing global technology and services sector that will benefit from US talent to keep up with global demand."

The casinos and websites hope to create jobs and generate significant tax dollars in legalizing and regulating gambling on the Internet.

Several Nevada senators have lobbied for federal regulation of online poker, but have not made any progress.

On Thursday, Nevada legislators listened to a proposal from PokerStars for Assembly Bill 258, which would allow the state to regulate online poker.

According to economist Jeremy Aguero, the passing of Assembly Bill 258 would create 1,180 jobs in Nevada and provide the state with as much as $65.1 million in tax revenue.

Though legalization is inevitable, PokerStars is fighting an uphill battle against the Nevada Resort Association, who has members along the Las Vegas Strip.  The association is worried that tourism would decline if players could spend their money online instead of restaurants, bars, and casinos.

About an hour’s drive from Fort Myers, Everglades Private Airboat Tours took them through the swampland, home to numerous species of wildlife, including alligators, panthers, snakes, fish, and birds.

Be sure to tune into NESN Daily on Wednesday night at 10 p.m. for more from Big Papi’s trip to the Everglades.

Click here to see photos from David Ortiz’s Everglades airboat tour >>

The players responded with a letter of their own, but Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe went with something a little more creative.

Photos via Plixi

Jacksonville Jaguars rep, Rashean Mathis, recently sent an update to the team via email, which was leaked to TerezOwens, warning the players not to trust media or websites like ProFootballTalk.com, because “their guys are on the NFL payroll.”

Mathis also clarifies that the lockout negotiations have been going on for much longer than the past few weeks.

“The reality is that we have been fighting this lockout for 2 YEARS.  De Smith sent Mr. Goodell a letter to want to negotiate way back in May of 2009.”

Towards the end of the email, Mathis breaks down the NFL’s proposal regarding revenue sharing, and laments the players’ struggles.

“Mind you over the past 11 years we as players and owners have split all revenue 50/50.  This is the kicker of the NFL New Proposal, as the revenue grows, the NFL does not want the Players [revenue] to grow with it.  They want to cap our income and allow themselves to gain all new income as the NFL grows. … Remember, we did not choose to be in this situation.  They have put us here.  We want to play and we want to get a fair deal.”

The lockout seems to be stuck in a stalemate, after commissioner Roger Goodell and several players exchanged letters.  A hearing will be held on April 6 in a federal court in Minneapolis to decide on the players’ request for an injunction to end the lockout.

The Nashville Predators defenseman faced Zdeno Chara in this year's NHL SuperSkills hardest shot competition, coming in second with a 103.4 mph blast.

Weber is also known as the Olympian who has literally shot a puck through the net.

On Saturday night, Patrick Eaves learned — the hard way — just how hard that shot is.

Nashville was in the midst of a  second-period power play, attempting to tie up the game, when Weber fired the puck from the top of the circle.  Eaves slid to the ice and blocked the puck, but couldn't get up afterward.

Teammate Niklas Kronwall didn't want to give the Predators the 5-on-3 advantage, so he decided to push Eaves toward the Detroit bench with his stick.  The referee in front of the bench also helped Eaves, who was obviously in a great deal of pain.

The shot hit his left ankle, but Eaves was able to return later in the period.

"Just bruised, doesn't feel good,'' he said after the game. "He can really hum the puck. I think he got all of that one.''

For the past 22 years, he’s worked to overcome this, proving himself as a serious wrestling contender.  This season, the Arizona State University senior had a remarkable 36-0 record.

Robles capped his outstanding record with an NCAA wrestling title on Saturday, defeating Division I reigning champion Matt McDonough in the 125-pound group.  He had the only takedown in his dominating 7-1 win, and received a standing ovation from the packed house at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center.

“I had a lot of butterflies going out there,” said Robles. “This year I think that was the biggest difference in my wrestling, was my mental game. Going into every match I was real relaxed, real calm. But before that, before this match, it was nothing but butterflies. I felt like I was going throw up, I was so scared I almost started crying.

“But it’s just the atmosphere. It’s the true athletes that are able to just overcome that.”

Robles has a larger upper body than most of the others in his weight class, and since he cannot stand up while wrestling, his opponents are forced to remain lower on the mat.

“I was a terrible wrestler, only about 90 pounds, but my mom told me God made me for a reason, and I believe that reason was for wrestling,” he said.

Robles stated that he is likely finished as a competitive wrestler, but wishes to remain involved in the sport.

Obama revealed his bracket for the women's competition at the White House on Friday, ESPN.com reports.

Obama believes the defending women's champions will beat Duke and Tennessee on the way to topping Baylor in the finals.

The president acknowledged that he is a huge fan of UConn's Maya Moore.

"Maya Moore was on the court [for a pick-up game at the White House], and she lit guys up," he said while making his predictions. "She can hang with the best players in the world, and she's a winner.

"Maya is going to be hitting her jumper, she's going to be making rebounds, she's going to be making plays, and I think Connecticut wins it again."

Obama picked Kansas to win everything on the men's side.

Many writers and politicians have blasted the commander in chief for participating in his third annual public bracket announcement when the world is in turmoil, but White House spokesman Jay Carney defended Obama against his Barack-etology critics.

"There are crises all the time and for every President," Carney said. "And again, this one is happening halfway around the world, and it is severe and it is important and it is the focus of a great deal of the President’s attention — as are the events in the Middle East; as are the agenda items that he is pursuing to grow the economy and increase jobs in America, make sure we out-innovate, out-build and out-educate the competition in the 21st century. It's a hard job that requires a lot.

"It is also important — one of the things I would note that the President did in that very brief interview on ESPN and ESPN2 was ask Americans, as they were filling out their own brackets, take the time to go to usaid.gov and make donations to a variety of charitable organizations that are organizing donations to help the Japanese in this very serious situation that they find themselves in. And so, yes, I do think it was appropriate."

Though the yen has fluctuated since the disaster, his donation amounts to about $1.2 million.

The right fielder hasn't spoken to the media since the devastating earthquake and tsunami occurred in Japan on March 11.

The Mariners have also announced that they will match any front office employee and fan donation, hold a silent auction and have volunteers collecting donations for the Red Cross.