Notent Notables

It's been too long... here's a couple for ya':

• "Carmelo Anthony is the only NBA player in the Giving Back Fund's list of 30 celebrities who made the largest public donations to charities in 2006. Melo, who ranked an impressive eighth, donated $4.2 million to various charities last year." From Jemele Hill, Page 2
• From the Page 2 homepage today... "Since 1990, only 16 times has a pitcher tossed 200 innings and allowed fewer than 10 (Greg Maddux did it four times, including 4 in 202 IP in 1994)." I'd like to see the whole list, but I am presuming that means Maddux did it the most in that stretch. 4HRs in a season is insane. Chris and I have an ancient hair-splitting discussion over whether Maddux was a "dominant" pitcher. Just from being a Mets fan, I think I appreciated how good Maddux was in the 90s more than any other pitcher of his generation.
• Beckham returned for England this week in a friendly against Brazil, triumphantly assisting on the first A-Team goal at the new Wembley Stadium. For a stretch in the 2nd half that culminated in the free-kick goal, England looked as good as I have seen them play since the 2004 European Championship. Beckham was brilliant. One play stands out in my mind. Beckham switched fields with a high cross over to Joe Cole late in the first half. The ball was delivered through the air with pinpoint accuracy. And because it was accurate, it was the exact right play to make at the time. It gave Cole a chance to run at defenders down the left. Few make that pass because few CAN make that pass. For Beckham, it is so routine that I called it even before he did it, but it was still such a fantastic pass that I cheered it. In case you didn't hear, his work in training got him back into the Real Madrid lineup, where he has played a key role in Madrid's drive for the Spanish title. I CAN'T BELIEVE HE'S COMING TO THE US!!
• I never, EVER thought I'd say this, but the sport I've missed the most by living in London is the NBA. LeBron made the leap and I missed it.
• Finally, England heads to Estonia to play a Euro Championship qualifier. Estonia has yet to score in 6 games. England is in 4th place in their group. The pressure on coach and team is ridiculous right now. As much as I'd like to predict a 1-0 victory for Estonia, it's not going to happen. But vet keeper Mart Poom (Arsenal's 3rd stringer this year, now moving to Watford so he can play) will keep Estonia in the game. 2-0 England with one goal set up by Beckham off the head of Crouch, who makes a living scoring on lower class defenders. Gerrard gets the other goal. He's been the only Englishman playing fantastic.