Two days in a row, can you believe it?
Leading Off
-Fishing is the biggest participant sport in the world.
Free Throws
(It’s baseball trade deadline day today, so I’m looking at all the trades (that matter).)
MLB
-Ken Griffey, Jr. after 9 seasons of service with the Reds, has now left Cincinnati. He now joins a Chicago team that has won a World Series in the past 100 years. Griffey brings his 608 career home runs to the ChiSox, as they look to make a run for their 2nd World Championship in four years. Moving from the Sox to the Reds is pitcher Nick Masset and second baseman Danny Richar, needless to say that neither of them top the depth chart at their position. Griffey is basically a rental player, but could be with the White Sox for the 2009 season if he elects to use his contract option. Griffey brings with him his $13M/year contract, more than 16 times what Masset and Richar make combined!
-I hate these 3-team deals, so confusing, so I’ll just go over what each team got. First off we’ll start with the biggest name and that’s Manny Ramirez, who now moves his side show to the 2nd biggest market in sunny L.A. It’s no secret that “Manny being Manny” has grown tiresome to some in the BoSox organization. Manny, despite growing older with every swing of the bat, still maintains a high batting average and good power numbers. Manny always finds time to high five fans in the crowd, as well as place calls from his cubby in the green monster. Some don’t appreciate his foolishness, others are willing to look the other way as long is he delivers. Personally I would rather him take the game more seriously, but how can you argue with a .312 career average and 510 home runs. The Dodgers are one of many teams this year to put the “World Series or bust” tattoo on their forehead. The Dodgers lost a couple of prospects in the deal, so only time will tell if this pays off for the Dodgers.
-I’m sorry but the only upside I see in this deal for the Pirates is that now Andy LaRoche gets to play with his brother Adam. Bryan Morris was a first round draft pick, but after going through Tommy John surgery, he’s fallen off the table faster than a nasty curve. Andy LaRoche is a nice guy to fill a hole, but a former 21st round draft pick isn’t going to cover up the hole left by Jason Bay.
-Finally we get to the Red Sox, who won this trade in my opinion. They got Manny out of Boston and brought in a player who actually has very comparable stats to a young Manny Ramirez. Of course we don’t know how Bay will develop, but he’s Canadian, so what’s the worst that could happen. Bay is only 30 years old compared with a 36-year old, Ramirez. Manny Ramirez is also worth $19M per year, (a number which is frowned upon in the Marlins organization), while Bay is only making $6M. it’s just my opinion, but I think the Pirates got fleeced.
Daily Dose
Los Angeles Angels @ New York Yankees (As a rule I don’t encourage people to watch Yankee games, but hey, it’s “Pudge” Rodriguez’ debut)
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
07/30/08
I’ve been absent as of late, but I want you to know that there is a very good reason for this. It is a combination of my being on vacation and my relatively low work ethic. There, happy now? Let’s get to today’s edition.
Leading Off
-Answer to Thursday’s trivia question: Steffi Graf is the only tennis player to win all four Grand Slams at least 4 times.
“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
-John Wooden
Free Throws
(A lot of news to get to, but I’ve decided to keep this short or else I’ll never get this done.)
NFL
-If you think I’m going to talk about Brett Favre, then you’re wrong! I am indeed going to talk about the Green Bay Packers of which there is a very good chance that Brett Favre will not be a part of. I’m not sure who to blame in this scenario. I could blame the Packers for taking their time, not being decisive and giving Aaron Rodgers nightmares. Or I could blame Favre for coming back in the first place. It’s a rare occasion that I sit on the fence, but when there’s man-eating Alligator’s on either side, I find it very hard to jump off. One thing I can say though, Is that the Packers are doing nothing but hurting themselves by taking their time. The closer we get to pre-season, the less a team is going to want to bring in Favre and possibly mess up their chemistry. The Packers better make up there mind or they might find Favre showing up at Lambeau in purple.
MLB
-So, how ‘bout them Angels. I hear they just added a pretty good bat to the lineup. What’s his name again? Oh right, MARK TEIXEIRA! Yes that’s the .540 slugging, 40-home run hitting, Mark Teixeira that we’ve come to know and love. He was traded for up-and-coming 1st baseman Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Stephen Marek. The usually timid Angels have finally decided to drop the gloves and come out swinging for the World Series, so to speak. This deal could, however, backfire on the Angels if they don’t win the series this year. Teixeira is in the last year of his one-year contract and is expected to demand in excess of $20M per season. A figure the Angels won’t be able to pay, if they expect to keep Vlad Guerrero and John Lackey, amid others on an all-star roster.
-This is breaking news that will already be broken by the time I get this posted. The Yankees have solved their short-term catching problems by acquiring a far more likable Rodriguez. Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez was traded from his Detroit Tigers for relief pitcher Kyle Farnsworth. Instead of just calling up a minor-league catcher, Hank Steinbrenner had to prove his endless wealth by signing yet another multiple All-Star, this time a 14-time All-Star. But hold the phone just one minute, was this deal really worth it for the Yankees. When you look at the Yankees they have one glaring weakness, Pitching. Apparently Steinbrenner is more concerned with getting the better player than building a more complete team. Look at the Yankees lineup. A-Rod, Jeter, Giambi, Abreu and Damon. Do you really think that another bat will help them that much. What will the Yankees do when Posada comes back? Did you think of that hank? A $200M roster and out of a playoff spot. What does that tell you?
NBA
-Quickly moving on to the NBA and with little time to spare. Tim “the tool man” Donaghy was sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in the NBA betting scandal. All that needs to be said is that the NBA is crazy if they think this thing is limited to “one rogue official.” I feel a feeling this thing is bigger than Barry Bonds’ right bicep. My intuition isn’t normally wrong, unless you count that Wimbledon match that I completely misinterpreted, but then again I’ve been saying that Favre will return since the beginning and look who’s laughing now. I have a feeling those calls Donaghy made to Scott Foster before and after games may have something to do with it. But It’s just a hunch.
Daily Dose
Chicago Cubs @ Milwaukee Brewers (Hurry up it’s already started!)
Leading Off
-Answer to Thursday’s trivia question: Steffi Graf is the only tennis player to win all four Grand Slams at least 4 times.
“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
-John Wooden
Free Throws
(A lot of news to get to, but I’ve decided to keep this short or else I’ll never get this done.)
NFL
-If you think I’m going to talk about Brett Favre, then you’re wrong! I am indeed going to talk about the Green Bay Packers of which there is a very good chance that Brett Favre will not be a part of. I’m not sure who to blame in this scenario. I could blame the Packers for taking their time, not being decisive and giving Aaron Rodgers nightmares. Or I could blame Favre for coming back in the first place. It’s a rare occasion that I sit on the fence, but when there’s man-eating Alligator’s on either side, I find it very hard to jump off. One thing I can say though, Is that the Packers are doing nothing but hurting themselves by taking their time. The closer we get to pre-season, the less a team is going to want to bring in Favre and possibly mess up their chemistry. The Packers better make up there mind or they might find Favre showing up at Lambeau in purple.
MLB
-So, how ‘bout them Angels. I hear they just added a pretty good bat to the lineup. What’s his name again? Oh right, MARK TEIXEIRA! Yes that’s the .540 slugging, 40-home run hitting, Mark Teixeira that we’ve come to know and love. He was traded for up-and-coming 1st baseman Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Stephen Marek. The usually timid Angels have finally decided to drop the gloves and come out swinging for the World Series, so to speak. This deal could, however, backfire on the Angels if they don’t win the series this year. Teixeira is in the last year of his one-year contract and is expected to demand in excess of $20M per season. A figure the Angels won’t be able to pay, if they expect to keep Vlad Guerrero and John Lackey, amid others on an all-star roster.
-This is breaking news that will already be broken by the time I get this posted. The Yankees have solved their short-term catching problems by acquiring a far more likable Rodriguez. Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez was traded from his Detroit Tigers for relief pitcher Kyle Farnsworth. Instead of just calling up a minor-league catcher, Hank Steinbrenner had to prove his endless wealth by signing yet another multiple All-Star, this time a 14-time All-Star. But hold the phone just one minute, was this deal really worth it for the Yankees. When you look at the Yankees they have one glaring weakness, Pitching. Apparently Steinbrenner is more concerned with getting the better player than building a more complete team. Look at the Yankees lineup. A-Rod, Jeter, Giambi, Abreu and Damon. Do you really think that another bat will help them that much. What will the Yankees do when Posada comes back? Did you think of that hank? A $200M roster and out of a playoff spot. What does that tell you?
NBA
-Quickly moving on to the NBA and with little time to spare. Tim “the tool man” Donaghy was sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in the NBA betting scandal. All that needs to be said is that the NBA is crazy if they think this thing is limited to “one rogue official.” I feel a feeling this thing is bigger than Barry Bonds’ right bicep. My intuition isn’t normally wrong, unless you count that Wimbledon match that I completely misinterpreted, but then again I’ve been saying that Favre will return since the beginning and look who’s laughing now. I have a feeling those calls Donaghy made to Scott Foster before and after games may have something to do with it. But It’s just a hunch.
Daily Dose
Chicago Cubs @ Milwaukee Brewers (Hurry up it’s already started!)
Thursday, July 17, 2008
07/17/08
Leading Off
-Who is the only tennis player to win all Grand Slam events at least four times?
Free Throws
MLB
-Roger Clemens could possibly be convicted by a broken TV. Kirk Radomski, the alleged steroid distributor to Clemens, said that he found receipts for HGH when he went to move his broken television off his dresser. Every day there seems to be a new twist in the Clemens case and every day he seems to wiggle his way out of it. I’d be willing to bet that he still doesn’t get convicted after all this. But could someone explain to me why they can’t just give him a drug test and get this all over with.
-What an All-Star game! It was just as confusing as it always way, but enjoyable nonetheless. I watched 8 innings of the game, but only got to see half of it. That’s because the midsummer classic lasted 15 innings this year, until it was ended by a Michael Young sac fly that Justin Morneau scored on. Bud Selig said that the game wasn’t going to end in a tie like in 2002, so the game moved on. Mariano Rivera pitched 1 2/3 innings of shutout ball in front of the hometown crowd and A-Rod actually played. Canadians were represented well at the all-star game with Russell Martin Justin Morneau and Ryan Dempster all participating. J.D. Drew took home MVP honours.
NFL
-With spygate, steroid and drug use, what is the NFL pouring it‘s money into? To see if players are using gang signs in their touchdown celebrations. Personally, I hope they find some. The players using them would never see it coming. They think nobody understands the signs except gang members. Then, all of a sudden, BUSTED! I don’t see gang violence or signs as being a huge problem in the NFL. Sure you get the odd situation, but ignorance is bliss. If we don’t know they’re gang signs, does it really matter. Apparently, this (http://www.nflfootballbettingline.com/files/2007/12/peyton-manning.jpg) is the sign for victory.
Cycling
-I apologize, but I’ve become completely uninterested in le Tour de France. Maybe it’s because the Canadian is in 80th place, but I just can’t follow a race I can’t watch. Actually it’s because of all the doping surrounded around the race. AGAIN! This is starting to get ridiculous. Cycling is becoming like Track and Baseball, where HGH is just accepted. 2 riders have been ejected already. Last years winner was dethroned because of banned substances. I’m going to call right now that at least 50% of cyclists in this race are on steroids. I have a feeling this thing is bigger than we think.
PGA
-Here’s how much publicity golf gets without Tiger: I just realised that the British Open is on right now.
Daily Dose
-New York Mets @ Cincinnati Reds. Watch to see if the Mets can continue their nine-game winning streak that they started before the break.
-Who is the only tennis player to win all Grand Slam events at least four times?
Free Throws
MLB
-Roger Clemens could possibly be convicted by a broken TV. Kirk Radomski, the alleged steroid distributor to Clemens, said that he found receipts for HGH when he went to move his broken television off his dresser. Every day there seems to be a new twist in the Clemens case and every day he seems to wiggle his way out of it. I’d be willing to bet that he still doesn’t get convicted after all this. But could someone explain to me why they can’t just give him a drug test and get this all over with.
-What an All-Star game! It was just as confusing as it always way, but enjoyable nonetheless. I watched 8 innings of the game, but only got to see half of it. That’s because the midsummer classic lasted 15 innings this year, until it was ended by a Michael Young sac fly that Justin Morneau scored on. Bud Selig said that the game wasn’t going to end in a tie like in 2002, so the game moved on. Mariano Rivera pitched 1 2/3 innings of shutout ball in front of the hometown crowd and A-Rod actually played. Canadians were represented well at the all-star game with Russell Martin Justin Morneau and Ryan Dempster all participating. J.D. Drew took home MVP honours.
NFL
-With spygate, steroid and drug use, what is the NFL pouring it‘s money into? To see if players are using gang signs in their touchdown celebrations. Personally, I hope they find some. The players using them would never see it coming. They think nobody understands the signs except gang members. Then, all of a sudden, BUSTED! I don’t see gang violence or signs as being a huge problem in the NFL. Sure you get the odd situation, but ignorance is bliss. If we don’t know they’re gang signs, does it really matter. Apparently, this (http://www.nflfootballbettingline.com/files/2007/12/peyton-manning.jpg) is the sign for victory.
Cycling
-I apologize, but I’ve become completely uninterested in le Tour de France. Maybe it’s because the Canadian is in 80th place, but I just can’t follow a race I can’t watch. Actually it’s because of all the doping surrounded around the race. AGAIN! This is starting to get ridiculous. Cycling is becoming like Track and Baseball, where HGH is just accepted. 2 riders have been ejected already. Last years winner was dethroned because of banned substances. I’m going to call right now that at least 50% of cyclists in this race are on steroids. I have a feeling this thing is bigger than we think.
PGA
-Here’s how much publicity golf gets without Tiger: I just realised that the British Open is on right now.
Daily Dose
-New York Mets @ Cincinnati Reds. Watch to see if the Mets can continue their nine-game winning streak that they started before the break.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
07/15/08
I know I’ve been late a lot lately, so I’ve been trying to find a solution. I’ve been really busy lately and haven’t had the time to write. So me and my messed up logic decides that I’m going to write more! That’s right The Sports Epidemic is going daily! Instead of taking 3 hours to write an incredibly long posts that no one reads, I’m going to write for 1 hour to make more manageable posts. I’ll also be adding a new section! This new blog is now available with half the fat of the regular!
Leading Off
-The San Diego Chargers are named after a credit card.
Free Throws
MLB
-How could I write this post without mentioning the (legendary) fight between Jose Canseco and Vai Sikahema. I didn’t watch this fight anywhere (although I did see clips) because apparently there were some media restrictions, but apparently Jose Canseco got beat down! Anybody who picked Jose Canseco to win this fight either has a brain defect or didn’t know that Vai is a former boxer and fought in the National Golden Gloves boxing tournament. But even I didn’t think Canseco would get KO’d in the first round!
Canseco had a 7-inch height advantage, but even with all those steroids packed into his body, he couldn’t take down a man who would have to reach up to shake his hand. I laugh at Canseco because every time he tries to gain popularity, it backfires. He started out on the Oakland Athletics where he was part of the bash brothers with teammate Mark McGwire, then there was steroids, then who can forget his books Juiced and Vindicated and now getting beat up by a 5-9 mini-me in 96 seconds. Next up for Jose: Dancing With the Stars.
-Part of the reason I’m so late writing this edition, is because I was watching the State Farm home run derby. Colin Cowherd may not like it, but that’s his loss. Josh Hamilton put on a show. Demolishing Bobby Abreu’s record of 24 home runs in one round with 28 of his own. He has Yankee Stadium cheering all night. He didn’t win the derby because he couldn’t match Justin Morneau’s (Canadian!) 5 homers in the last round. Morneau may have won, but this was definitely Hamilton’s night. He captivated a crowd and millions of viewers around north America with his awesome power (3 bombs over 500ft.), while also being able to share his story of overcoming a heroin addiction to playing in the MLB. Sounds like a winner if I ever heard one.
NFL
-I laughed so hard when I heard this story. Many of you may have heard about this before, but I had not. It turns out the Washington Redskins have been in a 16-year debate with the American Indians over the teams name. When I first heard this story I thought it was crazy. That is until I searched a little deeper. As it turns out the Redskins name may have actually been designed to be racially offensive. Time for a history lesson. In 1932 George Marshall bought an NFL franchise and called them the Boston Braves. The Braves then moved to Fenway Park in 1936 and renamed the team. Marshall was thought to be a racist and the name Redskins was thought to be a racial slur. I still think it’s crazy to debate a team name (hey I cheer for the New jersey Devils), but it turns out those Indians, err, native Americans, have a point.
-If you thought that you could get through this blog without me mentioning Brett Favre, then you thought wrong. The Favre situation has heated up with Favre asking for a release from his contract. Then the Packers telling him to go sit on the bench and back up Aaron Rodgers. I don’t know why the Packers said that. If they sit Brett Favre on the bench, they’ll be fired before they leave the stadium, especially with a community owned team. This is starting to get ridiculous though, on the part of Brett Favre. Just give us an answer. Are you coming back with the Packers or not. We just want an answer. Packers fans in Wisconsin are having rallies with cheese perched on their head, begging you to give them an answer. I’m all for some good suspense, but the summer heat is starting to get to me and I just think enough is enough.
7th Inning Stretch
-My friend is lazy, so he probably won’t write everyday. I’m just going to post this section when he gives me something.
Buzzer Beater
(The Buzzer Beater award will only be posted on the regular Tuesday, Friday and Saturday edition of the blog. Hey, that’s today!)
-The Buzzer Beater award for July 15 goes to…Josh Hamilton. Sorry Justin Morneau, you did your best, but I’m sorry to say that you didn’t deserve that home run crown. Congratulations to Hamilton on almost winning the home run derby in the house that Ruth built.
Tiger Woods - 1
Kevin Youkilis - 1
Jie Zheng - 1
Matt Kemp - 1
Roy Halladay - 1
Conor Jackson - 1
Rafael Nadal - 1
Justin Morneau - 1
Josh Hamilton - 1
Daily Dose
(I promised you a new section and here it is. I’ll give you the game/event to watch for every single day of the year. That’s 36, 525 times a century!)
-Today’s daily dose: The MLB All-Star game, duh!
-Remember, the next edition is tomorrow and don’t forget it!
Leading Off
-The San Diego Chargers are named after a credit card.
Free Throws
MLB
-How could I write this post without mentioning the (legendary) fight between Jose Canseco and Vai Sikahema. I didn’t watch this fight anywhere (although I did see clips) because apparently there were some media restrictions, but apparently Jose Canseco got beat down! Anybody who picked Jose Canseco to win this fight either has a brain defect or didn’t know that Vai is a former boxer and fought in the National Golden Gloves boxing tournament. But even I didn’t think Canseco would get KO’d in the first round!
Canseco had a 7-inch height advantage, but even with all those steroids packed into his body, he couldn’t take down a man who would have to reach up to shake his hand. I laugh at Canseco because every time he tries to gain popularity, it backfires. He started out on the Oakland Athletics where he was part of the bash brothers with teammate Mark McGwire, then there was steroids, then who can forget his books Juiced and Vindicated and now getting beat up by a 5-9 mini-me in 96 seconds. Next up for Jose: Dancing With the Stars.
-Part of the reason I’m so late writing this edition, is because I was watching the State Farm home run derby. Colin Cowherd may not like it, but that’s his loss. Josh Hamilton put on a show. Demolishing Bobby Abreu’s record of 24 home runs in one round with 28 of his own. He has Yankee Stadium cheering all night. He didn’t win the derby because he couldn’t match Justin Morneau’s (Canadian!) 5 homers in the last round. Morneau may have won, but this was definitely Hamilton’s night. He captivated a crowd and millions of viewers around north America with his awesome power (3 bombs over 500ft.), while also being able to share his story of overcoming a heroin addiction to playing in the MLB. Sounds like a winner if I ever heard one.
NFL
-I laughed so hard when I heard this story. Many of you may have heard about this before, but I had not. It turns out the Washington Redskins have been in a 16-year debate with the American Indians over the teams name. When I first heard this story I thought it was crazy. That is until I searched a little deeper. As it turns out the Redskins name may have actually been designed to be racially offensive. Time for a history lesson. In 1932 George Marshall bought an NFL franchise and called them the Boston Braves. The Braves then moved to Fenway Park in 1936 and renamed the team. Marshall was thought to be a racist and the name Redskins was thought to be a racial slur. I still think it’s crazy to debate a team name (hey I cheer for the New jersey Devils), but it turns out those Indians, err, native Americans, have a point.
-If you thought that you could get through this blog without me mentioning Brett Favre, then you thought wrong. The Favre situation has heated up with Favre asking for a release from his contract. Then the Packers telling him to go sit on the bench and back up Aaron Rodgers. I don’t know why the Packers said that. If they sit Brett Favre on the bench, they’ll be fired before they leave the stadium, especially with a community owned team. This is starting to get ridiculous though, on the part of Brett Favre. Just give us an answer. Are you coming back with the Packers or not. We just want an answer. Packers fans in Wisconsin are having rallies with cheese perched on their head, begging you to give them an answer. I’m all for some good suspense, but the summer heat is starting to get to me and I just think enough is enough.
7th Inning Stretch
-My friend is lazy, so he probably won’t write everyday. I’m just going to post this section when he gives me something.
Buzzer Beater
(The Buzzer Beater award will only be posted on the regular Tuesday, Friday and Saturday edition of the blog. Hey, that’s today!)
-The Buzzer Beater award for July 15 goes to…Josh Hamilton. Sorry Justin Morneau, you did your best, but I’m sorry to say that you didn’t deserve that home run crown. Congratulations to Hamilton on almost winning the home run derby in the house that Ruth built.
Tiger Woods - 1
Kevin Youkilis - 1
Jie Zheng - 1
Matt Kemp - 1
Roy Halladay - 1
Conor Jackson - 1
Rafael Nadal - 1
Justin Morneau - 1
Josh Hamilton - 1
Daily Dose
(I promised you a new section and here it is. I’ll give you the game/event to watch for every single day of the year. That’s 36, 525 times a century!)
-Today’s daily dose: The MLB All-Star game, duh!
-Remember, the next edition is tomorrow and don’t forget it!
Friday, July 11, 2008
07/11/08
Leading Off
-Answer to Tuesday’s trivia question: Baseball is the most common cause of eye injuries in the U.S.
-“If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat.”
-Herschel Walker
Free Throws
NBA
-I’m not a Clippers fan, but I can’t help feel sorry for them after what Elton Brand did. Brand opted out of his contract, so that he could give the Clippers more room to sign another player (which turned out to be Baron Davis), then expected to sign back with the team. Or at least until a better offer came along. I don’t think we’ll ever know all the facts, as both sides seem to be holding back information. The Clippers allegedly offered Brand a contract, saying he could take it if he wanted to or he could leave. Brand said that since he didn’t want the offer, that he decided to look elsewhere. That’s not what Mike Dunleavy, the Clippers coach, had to say. Mike said, “We raised the offer to $75M and $81M.” Each side seems to be twisting the story to make them look like the good guy, so the question is, which story is closer to the truth? I tend to lean towards the Clippers, just because this story reeks of “gold-digger athlete.” The only thing that doesn’t add up is why he only took $100K more per year, to play for the 76ers. Whatever happened to hometown discount. Brand never signed a contract, so he had the right to leave, but it will be very hard for anybody to trust what he, or agent David Falk, says in the future. I feel mostly sorry for Baron Davis. Not so sorry that I pity him, because he’s still making over $10M a year, but he’s on his own now. Maggette bolted for the Warriors and Brand’s gone to Philly. I’ll finish this story with a quote by Baron Davis after he was asked why he didn’t back out of his contract once brand left, just because it’s so ironic. “I’m a man of my word. I committed to the Clippers and they committed to me.”
MLB
-The Cubbies couldn’t let the Brew Crew get away with signing Sabathia, so they had to go and get their own ace. The Chicago Cubs acquired pitcher Rich Harden from the Oakland Athletics earlier this week. Harden (5-1) has a great ERA at 2.34, the best of his career so far. He also holds a 1.14 WHIP currently good enough for 11th in the majors and 10 points below his career average. Harden joins pitchers Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster (Canadian!) to form possibly the deepest rotation in the Majors.
-An interesting fact I just found out. The 2008 all-star game is sponsored by Fruit of The Loom!
-Speaking of the all-star game, it has a new participant. His name is Evan Longoria and he’s the future rookie of the year (yes I’m calling it now). He beat out, among others, Jason Giambi’s (hooray) moustache campaign and Jermaine Dye. Dye may have been a better pick statistically, but hey, the MLB is all about biased voting. Longoria along with Geovany Soto and Kosuke Fukudome will add an interesting side story, as rookies in the all-star game.
NHL
-The Ray Emery saga is over and I hope he speaks Russian. Emery signed a one-year deal with Atlant Mytischy of the new Continental Hockey League. Emery apparently got no interest from other NHL clubs after he was released from the Senators. He will join Chris Simon as the first Canadians to join the league from the NHL. That’s a good job of killing two birds with one stone by the NHL. Well done!
NCAA
-After failing his Scholastic Aptitude Test, twice, Brandon Jennings has decided to change his route from the NCAA to Europe. Hold on a minute, failed it twice? Seriously? Remember, this is the same test that Carmelo Anthony has to pass to play for Syracuse. I don’t know much about Anthony, but I don’t think he’s the brightest crayon in the box. Besides Jennings lack of intelligence, there is the fact that he is actually playing in Europe. Will this help his stock or hurt his stock? I don’t this this will hurt him, as he’ll be playing with professionals, similar to Victor Hedman of Modo. Will this influence more players to go for Europe instead of college? Probably not, but it depends on how he does. If he comes into the NBA and starts dishing out double-double’s faster than your local Tim Horton’s, than that could be enough to persuade someone to look at Europe. But for the time being, I don’t see the NCAA as being in any kind of trouble.
-I guess this story belongs in the NCAA section. I put this in here because it involves the Rose Bowl. Don’t know what it is yet? Well, do you know this name: Jim Purol? If you Google image his name, you may find him with many straws in his mouth. Why the straws, you ask? Well he holds the record for most straws held in a mouth at once. Now he also holds the record for most seats sat in during a two-day span. He sat in 39, 250 seats in that 48-hour span. Here’s some stats for you. That’s 818 per hour and 14 per minute! But he didn’t stop there. He’s still going until he sits in all of the 92, 542 Rose Bowl seats. If any of you don’t think this is a sport, I would challenge you to try and beat it.
CFL
-The first loss always hurts the most, but it has to happen sometime. The Al’s lost last night to the Calgary Stampeders. The Stamps came back from a 1st half 17-10 deficit to win 23-19. Terrible second half by the Al’s that’s all I have to say, because I have other things to move onto.
-More important than the Al’s losing is the Argo’s losing. Once again the Argonaut’s were beat by one player, but this time he was on defense. The Edmonton Eskimos has back-to-back Jacks(on) as Tristan Jackson scored two touchdowns: One on an interception and one on a kick return. It was a wacky game with some wacky plays that I don’t have time to get into at the moment. If you have the time, check out the highlights of the game (I know that tsn.ca has a video). You’ll be amazed by the catches Arland Bruce and Johnnie Morant made. All that’s important though, is that the Argonauts lost. It makes me feel a lot better about the Al’s losing.
-I was very glad to see some CFL news on espn.com, explaining that you can/could watch a CFL game online at ESPN360. While I think it’s great to get some exposure south of the border, I think it would also be nice if we could get some exposure north of the border!!! Whatever happened to CFL on CBC. My country’s national channel and they don’t even show the CFL anymore? What’s next, no more HNIC? We’ve already lost the HNIC anthem, next they fire Cherry and Cole, then the whole thing falls apart. You can watch every game on TSN, why not at least one a week on CBC. If CBC was not the only possible way that I could watch sports, Than I would consider boycotting CBC sports altogether! HNIC included!
NFL
-First there was Joakim Noah, now Matt Jones, wide receiver of the Jacksonville Jaguars, was arrested with possession of cocaine. Police searched Jones’ car and found a plastic bag that contained cocaine and a jar that had marijuana residue. The police found 6 grams of the white powder. Apparently Jones was cutting the coke with a credit card. I wonder if it was a MasterCard. Plastic Bag…$5, six grams of cocaine…$180, Getaway car…$25K, Using your MasterCard to cut your drugs…priceless. There are some things money can’t buy, for everything else there’s MasterCard, proud sponsor of stoned athletes since 1969.
Cycling
-I’ve been doing a lot of apologizing lately and don’t thing I’m going to stop the trend now. I would like to apologize to all you hardcore cycling fans. When I said there were no Canadians in this years’ Tour de France, I was sorely mistaken. There is indeed one Canadian in the race. His name is Ryder Hesjedal and he is currently holding down the 94th spot in the race around France. I’m got going to completely ditch Robbie McEwen, although I must admit, at the 113th spot, he might as well not be racing. Kim Kirchen currently has the yellow jersey, but I haven’t been following the tour as much as I thought I would, so I really don’t much about that. I have been following it enough to know that former yellow jersey holder/wearer Romain Feillu is now in 136th spot. That makes me feel better about McEwen.
7th Inning Stretch
Actions may speak louder than words, but words speak louder than silence!
Buzzer Beater
-The Buzzer Beater award for July 11 goes to…Justin Morneau. A five-for-five night? Are you kidding me? Morneau finished the night just a triple away from the cycle, driving in two runs. He boosted his batting average to .324, good enough for 7th in the Majors. Morneau would’ve won this award on skill alone, but the fact that he’s Canadian and shares a first name with me, definitely didn’t hurt him.
Tiger Woods - 1
Kevin Youkilis - 1
Zie Jheng - 1
Matt Kemp - 1
Roy Halladay - 1
Conor Jackson - 1
Rafael Nadal - 1
Justin Morneau - 1
Next edition coming Sunday, July 13. Until then, have a good lifelock.com 400 (It’s a NASCAR race, silly).
-Answer to Tuesday’s trivia question: Baseball is the most common cause of eye injuries in the U.S.
-“If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat.”
-Herschel Walker
Free Throws
NBA
-I’m not a Clippers fan, but I can’t help feel sorry for them after what Elton Brand did. Brand opted out of his contract, so that he could give the Clippers more room to sign another player (which turned out to be Baron Davis), then expected to sign back with the team. Or at least until a better offer came along. I don’t think we’ll ever know all the facts, as both sides seem to be holding back information. The Clippers allegedly offered Brand a contract, saying he could take it if he wanted to or he could leave. Brand said that since he didn’t want the offer, that he decided to look elsewhere. That’s not what Mike Dunleavy, the Clippers coach, had to say. Mike said, “We raised the offer to $75M and $81M.” Each side seems to be twisting the story to make them look like the good guy, so the question is, which story is closer to the truth? I tend to lean towards the Clippers, just because this story reeks of “gold-digger athlete.” The only thing that doesn’t add up is why he only took $100K more per year, to play for the 76ers. Whatever happened to hometown discount. Brand never signed a contract, so he had the right to leave, but it will be very hard for anybody to trust what he, or agent David Falk, says in the future. I feel mostly sorry for Baron Davis. Not so sorry that I pity him, because he’s still making over $10M a year, but he’s on his own now. Maggette bolted for the Warriors and Brand’s gone to Philly. I’ll finish this story with a quote by Baron Davis after he was asked why he didn’t back out of his contract once brand left, just because it’s so ironic. “I’m a man of my word. I committed to the Clippers and they committed to me.”
MLB
-The Cubbies couldn’t let the Brew Crew get away with signing Sabathia, so they had to go and get their own ace. The Chicago Cubs acquired pitcher Rich Harden from the Oakland Athletics earlier this week. Harden (5-1) has a great ERA at 2.34, the best of his career so far. He also holds a 1.14 WHIP currently good enough for 11th in the majors and 10 points below his career average. Harden joins pitchers Carlos Zambrano and Ryan Dempster (Canadian!) to form possibly the deepest rotation in the Majors.
-An interesting fact I just found out. The 2008 all-star game is sponsored by Fruit of The Loom!
-Speaking of the all-star game, it has a new participant. His name is Evan Longoria and he’s the future rookie of the year (yes I’m calling it now). He beat out, among others, Jason Giambi’s (hooray) moustache campaign and Jermaine Dye. Dye may have been a better pick statistically, but hey, the MLB is all about biased voting. Longoria along with Geovany Soto and Kosuke Fukudome will add an interesting side story, as rookies in the all-star game.
NHL
-The Ray Emery saga is over and I hope he speaks Russian. Emery signed a one-year deal with Atlant Mytischy of the new Continental Hockey League. Emery apparently got no interest from other NHL clubs after he was released from the Senators. He will join Chris Simon as the first Canadians to join the league from the NHL. That’s a good job of killing two birds with one stone by the NHL. Well done!
NCAA
-After failing his Scholastic Aptitude Test, twice, Brandon Jennings has decided to change his route from the NCAA to Europe. Hold on a minute, failed it twice? Seriously? Remember, this is the same test that Carmelo Anthony has to pass to play for Syracuse. I don’t know much about Anthony, but I don’t think he’s the brightest crayon in the box. Besides Jennings lack of intelligence, there is the fact that he is actually playing in Europe. Will this help his stock or hurt his stock? I don’t this this will hurt him, as he’ll be playing with professionals, similar to Victor Hedman of Modo. Will this influence more players to go for Europe instead of college? Probably not, but it depends on how he does. If he comes into the NBA and starts dishing out double-double’s faster than your local Tim Horton’s, than that could be enough to persuade someone to look at Europe. But for the time being, I don’t see the NCAA as being in any kind of trouble.
-I guess this story belongs in the NCAA section. I put this in here because it involves the Rose Bowl. Don’t know what it is yet? Well, do you know this name: Jim Purol? If you Google image his name, you may find him with many straws in his mouth. Why the straws, you ask? Well he holds the record for most straws held in a mouth at once. Now he also holds the record for most seats sat in during a two-day span. He sat in 39, 250 seats in that 48-hour span. Here’s some stats for you. That’s 818 per hour and 14 per minute! But he didn’t stop there. He’s still going until he sits in all of the 92, 542 Rose Bowl seats. If any of you don’t think this is a sport, I would challenge you to try and beat it.
CFL
-The first loss always hurts the most, but it has to happen sometime. The Al’s lost last night to the Calgary Stampeders. The Stamps came back from a 1st half 17-10 deficit to win 23-19. Terrible second half by the Al’s that’s all I have to say, because I have other things to move onto.
-More important than the Al’s losing is the Argo’s losing. Once again the Argonaut’s were beat by one player, but this time he was on defense. The Edmonton Eskimos has back-to-back Jacks(on) as Tristan Jackson scored two touchdowns: One on an interception and one on a kick return. It was a wacky game with some wacky plays that I don’t have time to get into at the moment. If you have the time, check out the highlights of the game (I know that tsn.ca has a video). You’ll be amazed by the catches Arland Bruce and Johnnie Morant made. All that’s important though, is that the Argonauts lost. It makes me feel a lot better about the Al’s losing.
-I was very glad to see some CFL news on espn.com, explaining that you can/could watch a CFL game online at ESPN360. While I think it’s great to get some exposure south of the border, I think it would also be nice if we could get some exposure north of the border!!! Whatever happened to CFL on CBC. My country’s national channel and they don’t even show the CFL anymore? What’s next, no more HNIC? We’ve already lost the HNIC anthem, next they fire Cherry and Cole, then the whole thing falls apart. You can watch every game on TSN, why not at least one a week on CBC. If CBC was not the only possible way that I could watch sports, Than I would consider boycotting CBC sports altogether! HNIC included!
NFL
-First there was Joakim Noah, now Matt Jones, wide receiver of the Jacksonville Jaguars, was arrested with possession of cocaine. Police searched Jones’ car and found a plastic bag that contained cocaine and a jar that had marijuana residue. The police found 6 grams of the white powder. Apparently Jones was cutting the coke with a credit card. I wonder if it was a MasterCard. Plastic Bag…$5, six grams of cocaine…$180, Getaway car…$25K, Using your MasterCard to cut your drugs…priceless. There are some things money can’t buy, for everything else there’s MasterCard, proud sponsor of stoned athletes since 1969.
Cycling
-I’ve been doing a lot of apologizing lately and don’t thing I’m going to stop the trend now. I would like to apologize to all you hardcore cycling fans. When I said there were no Canadians in this years’ Tour de France, I was sorely mistaken. There is indeed one Canadian in the race. His name is Ryder Hesjedal and he is currently holding down the 94th spot in the race around France. I’m got going to completely ditch Robbie McEwen, although I must admit, at the 113th spot, he might as well not be racing. Kim Kirchen currently has the yellow jersey, but I haven’t been following the tour as much as I thought I would, so I really don’t much about that. I have been following it enough to know that former yellow jersey holder/wearer Romain Feillu is now in 136th spot. That makes me feel better about McEwen.
7th Inning Stretch
Actions may speak louder than words, but words speak louder than silence!
Buzzer Beater
-The Buzzer Beater award for July 11 goes to…Justin Morneau. A five-for-five night? Are you kidding me? Morneau finished the night just a triple away from the cycle, driving in two runs. He boosted his batting average to .324, good enough for 7th in the Majors. Morneau would’ve won this award on skill alone, but the fact that he’s Canadian and shares a first name with me, definitely didn’t hurt him.
Tiger Woods - 1
Kevin Youkilis - 1
Zie Jheng - 1
Matt Kemp - 1
Roy Halladay - 1
Conor Jackson - 1
Rafael Nadal - 1
Justin Morneau - 1
Next edition coming Sunday, July 13. Until then, have a good lifelock.com 400 (It’s a NASCAR race, silly).
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Freestylin'
(This is a new section i'll be doing from time to time with the fine people, err, person at the All-Stars Sports Blog. It's a game of sorts and sports. Each person finds threee questions, then gives the other person 5 minutes to answer it. The game goes back and forth until all 6 questions have been answeres. Questions will be in bold. "TSE" is me and "ASSB" is the All-Stars Sports Blog. Got it? Good.)
ASSB: How many weeks has Roger Federer been #1 while Rafeal Nadal been #2?
TSE: Roger Federer has been #1 for an incredible 231 weeks, which is more than four years! Nadal has been second best to Federer for 156 weeks or about three years...I have a feeling though the two are about to switch positions.
TSE: Rumours have been swirling about Barry Bonds pending return to the Major Leagues. My question is simple: Does he come back?
ASSB: No
ASSB: How many canadians have ever finished the tour de france?
TSE: There has to be at least one...or at least there will be one this year. His name is Ryder Hesjedal and he was born in British Columbia. They say he is a good climber, but living in the rockies would make anyone a good climber...basically i'm stalling because i have no idea how many Canadians finished Le Tour De France (Apparently a little over the time limit. That's -1 for me)
TSE: It's no secret that A.J. Burnett will likely find himself out of a Blue Jays uniforn by the trade deadline, so which team do you think will trade for him?
ASSB: The Okaland Athletics (Which I believe means the Oakland Athletics)
ASSB: how many team were in the NHL in 1961?
TSE: Despite my computer lagging I think I know the answer to this question. 1961 was back in the good old days when the NHL has the "original six". There was the Chicago Blackhawks, The Boston Bruins, The Toronto Maple Leafs, The New York Rangers, The Montreal Canadians and the Detroit Red Wings. The NHL chose not to expand until 1967, when they added 6 franchises.
TSE: I know it's early in the season, but who is your pick as the CFL MVP?
ASSB: Bobby Ackel
ASSB: How many weeks has Roger Federer been #1 while Rafeal Nadal been #2?
TSE: Roger Federer has been #1 for an incredible 231 weeks, which is more than four years! Nadal has been second best to Federer for 156 weeks or about three years...I have a feeling though the two are about to switch positions.
TSE: Rumours have been swirling about Barry Bonds pending return to the Major Leagues. My question is simple: Does he come back?
ASSB: No
ASSB: How many canadians have ever finished the tour de france?
TSE: There has to be at least one...or at least there will be one this year. His name is Ryder Hesjedal and he was born in British Columbia. They say he is a good climber, but living in the rockies would make anyone a good climber...basically i'm stalling because i have no idea how many Canadians finished Le Tour De France (Apparently a little over the time limit. That's -1 for me)
TSE: It's no secret that A.J. Burnett will likely find himself out of a Blue Jays uniforn by the trade deadline, so which team do you think will trade for him?
ASSB: The Okaland Athletics (Which I believe means the Oakland Athletics)
ASSB: how many team were in the NHL in 1961?
TSE: Despite my computer lagging I think I know the answer to this question. 1961 was back in the good old days when the NHL has the "original six". There was the Chicago Blackhawks, The Boston Bruins, The Toronto Maple Leafs, The New York Rangers, The Montreal Canadians and the Detroit Red Wings. The NHL chose not to expand until 1967, when they added 6 franchises.
TSE: I know it's early in the season, but who is your pick as the CFL MVP?
ASSB: Bobby Ackel
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
07/08/08
Okay, so I’m a day late again. But I refuse to take complete responsibility for this!
Leading Off
-What sport is the most common cause of eye injuries in the U.S.?
Free Throws
ATP
-Because I was at a family reunion this past weekend my sports exposure was limited. I did play a baseball game where I homered twice and made an incredible Willie Mays-esque catch. I did, however, get to watch a couple sets of the Federer vs. Nadal match and what I saw was the most amazing tennis I’ve ever seen. I picked Federer to win in five sets. Not only was I wrong, but I wasn’t even in the ballpark. Nadal completely owned Federer that game, breaking his serve four times, to Federer’s one. The only way Federer stayed in the game was by playing phenomenal when he had to. I’m brought back to the 4th set tiebreak with Federer serving down to championship point. Federer calmly serves up two aces and eventually wins the set. This is the extraordinary play that kept him in the match until Nadal finally won on his 4th championship point. But Enough on Federer, let’s get to the man of the match Rafael Nadal. I completely underestimated this guy’s grass game. He’s made great strides since his runner-up finish last year. After every fantastic shot Federer had, Nadal matched it was one of his own. His signature move of doing a 180 in the air, while backhanding the ball always leaves me speechless. This lengthy match of almost 5 hours, was filled with rain delays, but I can assure you nobody was leaving their seat in centre court. All in all a great tournament by the young Spaniard and a very deserving champion.
WTA
-This match I was unable to watch, so all I know is what they tell me on espn.com and Wimbledon.org. The elder sister took down the younger in the latest chapter of the Williams rivalry. The two sisters have fallen off the table a bit in recent years, currently ranked 5th and 7th , but none of the top 4 seeds could make it to the final on Saturday, even though neither Williams sister played a top 4 seed during the entire tournament. Venus won in straight sets 7-5, 6-4, being led by her great serve. I had Williams to win the game, so I guess this means I win?
MLB
-A short MLB section today. My lack of sports viewing over the past few day may have something to do with it. What I do know is that C.C. Sabathia has left the tribe. The workhorse has said good-bye to Cleveland and hello to the great sports city of Milwaukee. Sabathia will join the Brewers as they look to make a playoff push and knock the Cubbies out of the spotlight in the NL Central. Sabathia is one of my favourite pitchers simply because he’s a southpaw, but the man is a machine. How many pitchers do you know that pitch 220+ innings? On that note, how many pitchers do you know that are 6-7,250lbs.? Now the Brewers have a solid 1-2 punch in pitching with Sabathia and Ben Sheets. Sabathia is currently the MLB strikeout leader with 123 so far, as well as 4th in innings pitched with 122.1. The Brew Crew will need Sabathia to perform, as they have not been getting the run support they need to make the playoffs (ranked 14th in runs). Sabathia was traded for Matt LaPorta, Zack Johnson, Rob Bryson and the all-important “Player to be named later”.
NHL
-With Mats Sundin still taking his time, we’ll move onto the next big thing in hockey. It’s just been announced that the NHL will feature its next outdoor game at the famous Wrigley Field, home to the Chicago Cubs. The game will feature an original 6 matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. You knew that there had to be a sequel after last years game that saw the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout and who better to score the shootout winner than Sid the Kid himself. Last Years game at Ralph Wilson stadium was played before a sold out crowd of 71, 217 people, who sat through frigid temperatures to witness only the 2nd regular season game played outdoors. But why play at Wrigley when you could play at Yankee Stadium. It’s the Stadium’s last year and I’m sure the Islanders and Rangers would be more than willing to leave their arenas for an NHL “subway series” showdown. But with Gary Bettman leading us, I guess we should be happy that we got Wrigley, one of the most recognizable baseball fields in the world and one of the only ones named after a chewing gum. With the game being held at Wrigley I can only hope the puck doesn’t get stuck in the Ivy.
Cycling
-Le Tour de France is well under way and while Lance Armstrong is no longer a part of it I’m trying to stay as focused as possible. It’s tough to get into a sport where doping is obviously a huge factor, seen last year with Floyd Landis, but I’m trying to follow the 22-day race more closely this year. This year a Frenchman has jumped out to an early lead as Romain Feillu currently holds (or wears) the yellow jersey. Paolo Longo Borghini isn’t far behind at just 35 seconds off the pace. These two riders are all by themselves at the moment with the next closest rider still more than a minute behind them. Yesterday’s stage has a tie at the top with Samuel Dumoulin, William Frischkorn and Romain Feillu all finishing the 208 KM stage with a time of 5h 5m 25s. There’s no Canadians in the race so I’m going to pick a rider to follow throughout the race. Let it be known that my rider in this race is Robbie McEwen, who finished in 83rd place after the first leg, but had a strong stage yesterday, finishing 5th and now finds himself in 61st spot. McEwen is not my pick to win, but simply a player I’m going to follow throughout the race. I’m going to let the race develop a little bit before I let the predictions fly.
NFL
-I’ve been trying to stay out of Brett Favre’s business, I really have. But I find myself in a position where I have nothing left to talk about except him. I wanted to wait until he made a decision, but I guess now’s as good a time as any to let out my opinion on this story. I knew the moment Brett Favre retired he was coming back. You probably think I’m just saying that, but I really did. There are some player who just can’t walk away from the game until they either get injured or become so old that they’re a hinderence to their team. Name’s like Chris Chelios and Randy Johnson spring to mind. Farve is one of these players, so there is no doubt in my mind that he’ll be back, the only question is: Will it be with the Packers? The Packers in my opinion have no obligation to keep Favre, but they will nonetheless. They will keep Favre for two reasons. Reason #1 is because if they don’t than they will have a lot of cheesed off Packers fans (get it? Cheese and Wisconsin) (ok I’ll stop), the Media will on them faster than Prince Fielder on a Twinkie and if Favre wins a Super Bowl somewhere else, then we’ll never hear the end of “The Curse of Brett Favre.” Reason #2 is because he’s Brett Favre and he is superior to Aaron Rodgers. I really feel bad for Rodgers in this scenario. It’s like waiting three years to open a Christmas present, then when you go to open it your parents take it back. But the Packers really don’t have a choice. If you put Brett Favre on the bench, then you’re going to get shot at from the stands. So expect to see Favre lining up behind the center this year and expect it to be for the Packers.
CFL
-Boy did I have a good laugh this past weekend. Although this happened last Thursday, I had to mention it in my blog. The Toronto Argonauts got beat, wait scratch that, they got thumped by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 32-13. For those of you who don’t follow the CFL, getting beat by the Tiger-Cats is the eqivalent of getting swept by the Seattle Mariners this year. We’re talking about a team that went 3-18 last year, we’re talking about a team that has one good player. Speaking of that one good player, his name is Jesse Lumsden and he single-handedly beat the Argos. He ran 20 times for 189 yards, which is almost 10 yards per carry. That’s almost as many yards as the Argonauts passing yards for the entire game and in a passing-dominated game, that’s pretty incredible.
-Do you want to know what team didn’t lose? The Montreal Alouettes, my team. With the new and improved Anthony Calvillo, the Al’s beat the Defending East Conference champion Bluebombers 38-24. Calvillo rushed (that’s right, “cement legs” was running) for 57 yards, while passing for 372 yards and 4 touchdowns. Ben Cahoon was his usual awesome self, completing 3 passes for 32 yards. Now the Alouettes own the Eastern conference lead with a 2-0 record. Next game’s up against the Stampeders of Calgary. The Stamps haven’t won yet on the road, so let’s hope that trend continues.
Olympics
-One Month from today! One Month to Beijing!
7th Inning Stretch
-You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need.
Buzzer Beater
-The Buzzer Beater award for July 8 goes to…Rafael Nadal. If you beat a five-time defending champion at anything in Sports, you will win this award plain and simple. Congratulations to Rafa on winning Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year (the first to do it since Bjorn Borg).
Tiger Woods - 1
Kevin Youkilis - 1
Jie Zheng - 1
Matt Kemp - 1
Roy Halladay - 1
Conor Jackson - 1
Rafael Nadal - 1
Next edition coming Friday July 11. Until then, have a good AFL playoffs (ok so there was nothing else).
Leading Off
-What sport is the most common cause of eye injuries in the U.S.?
Free Throws
ATP
-Because I was at a family reunion this past weekend my sports exposure was limited. I did play a baseball game where I homered twice and made an incredible Willie Mays-esque catch. I did, however, get to watch a couple sets of the Federer vs. Nadal match and what I saw was the most amazing tennis I’ve ever seen. I picked Federer to win in five sets. Not only was I wrong, but I wasn’t even in the ballpark. Nadal completely owned Federer that game, breaking his serve four times, to Federer’s one. The only way Federer stayed in the game was by playing phenomenal when he had to. I’m brought back to the 4th set tiebreak with Federer serving down to championship point. Federer calmly serves up two aces and eventually wins the set. This is the extraordinary play that kept him in the match until Nadal finally won on his 4th championship point. But Enough on Federer, let’s get to the man of the match Rafael Nadal. I completely underestimated this guy’s grass game. He’s made great strides since his runner-up finish last year. After every fantastic shot Federer had, Nadal matched it was one of his own. His signature move of doing a 180 in the air, while backhanding the ball always leaves me speechless. This lengthy match of almost 5 hours, was filled with rain delays, but I can assure you nobody was leaving their seat in centre court. All in all a great tournament by the young Spaniard and a very deserving champion.
WTA
-This match I was unable to watch, so all I know is what they tell me on espn.com and Wimbledon.org. The elder sister took down the younger in the latest chapter of the Williams rivalry. The two sisters have fallen off the table a bit in recent years, currently ranked 5th and 7th , but none of the top 4 seeds could make it to the final on Saturday, even though neither Williams sister played a top 4 seed during the entire tournament. Venus won in straight sets 7-5, 6-4, being led by her great serve. I had Williams to win the game, so I guess this means I win?
MLB
-A short MLB section today. My lack of sports viewing over the past few day may have something to do with it. What I do know is that C.C. Sabathia has left the tribe. The workhorse has said good-bye to Cleveland and hello to the great sports city of Milwaukee. Sabathia will join the Brewers as they look to make a playoff push and knock the Cubbies out of the spotlight in the NL Central. Sabathia is one of my favourite pitchers simply because he’s a southpaw, but the man is a machine. How many pitchers do you know that pitch 220+ innings? On that note, how many pitchers do you know that are 6-7,250lbs.? Now the Brewers have a solid 1-2 punch in pitching with Sabathia and Ben Sheets. Sabathia is currently the MLB strikeout leader with 123 so far, as well as 4th in innings pitched with 122.1. The Brew Crew will need Sabathia to perform, as they have not been getting the run support they need to make the playoffs (ranked 14th in runs). Sabathia was traded for Matt LaPorta, Zack Johnson, Rob Bryson and the all-important “Player to be named later”.
NHL
-With Mats Sundin still taking his time, we’ll move onto the next big thing in hockey. It’s just been announced that the NHL will feature its next outdoor game at the famous Wrigley Field, home to the Chicago Cubs. The game will feature an original 6 matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. You knew that there had to be a sequel after last years game that saw the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout and who better to score the shootout winner than Sid the Kid himself. Last Years game at Ralph Wilson stadium was played before a sold out crowd of 71, 217 people, who sat through frigid temperatures to witness only the 2nd regular season game played outdoors. But why play at Wrigley when you could play at Yankee Stadium. It’s the Stadium’s last year and I’m sure the Islanders and Rangers would be more than willing to leave their arenas for an NHL “subway series” showdown. But with Gary Bettman leading us, I guess we should be happy that we got Wrigley, one of the most recognizable baseball fields in the world and one of the only ones named after a chewing gum. With the game being held at Wrigley I can only hope the puck doesn’t get stuck in the Ivy.
Cycling
-Le Tour de France is well under way and while Lance Armstrong is no longer a part of it I’m trying to stay as focused as possible. It’s tough to get into a sport where doping is obviously a huge factor, seen last year with Floyd Landis, but I’m trying to follow the 22-day race more closely this year. This year a Frenchman has jumped out to an early lead as Romain Feillu currently holds (or wears) the yellow jersey. Paolo Longo Borghini isn’t far behind at just 35 seconds off the pace. These two riders are all by themselves at the moment with the next closest rider still more than a minute behind them. Yesterday’s stage has a tie at the top with Samuel Dumoulin, William Frischkorn and Romain Feillu all finishing the 208 KM stage with a time of 5h 5m 25s. There’s no Canadians in the race so I’m going to pick a rider to follow throughout the race. Let it be known that my rider in this race is Robbie McEwen, who finished in 83rd place after the first leg, but had a strong stage yesterday, finishing 5th and now finds himself in 61st spot. McEwen is not my pick to win, but simply a player I’m going to follow throughout the race. I’m going to let the race develop a little bit before I let the predictions fly.
NFL
-I’ve been trying to stay out of Brett Favre’s business, I really have. But I find myself in a position where I have nothing left to talk about except him. I wanted to wait until he made a decision, but I guess now’s as good a time as any to let out my opinion on this story. I knew the moment Brett Favre retired he was coming back. You probably think I’m just saying that, but I really did. There are some player who just can’t walk away from the game until they either get injured or become so old that they’re a hinderence to their team. Name’s like Chris Chelios and Randy Johnson spring to mind. Farve is one of these players, so there is no doubt in my mind that he’ll be back, the only question is: Will it be with the Packers? The Packers in my opinion have no obligation to keep Favre, but they will nonetheless. They will keep Favre for two reasons. Reason #1 is because if they don’t than they will have a lot of cheesed off Packers fans (get it? Cheese and Wisconsin) (ok I’ll stop), the Media will on them faster than Prince Fielder on a Twinkie and if Favre wins a Super Bowl somewhere else, then we’ll never hear the end of “The Curse of Brett Favre.” Reason #2 is because he’s Brett Favre and he is superior to Aaron Rodgers. I really feel bad for Rodgers in this scenario. It’s like waiting three years to open a Christmas present, then when you go to open it your parents take it back. But the Packers really don’t have a choice. If you put Brett Favre on the bench, then you’re going to get shot at from the stands. So expect to see Favre lining up behind the center this year and expect it to be for the Packers.
CFL
-Boy did I have a good laugh this past weekend. Although this happened last Thursday, I had to mention it in my blog. The Toronto Argonauts got beat, wait scratch that, they got thumped by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 32-13. For those of you who don’t follow the CFL, getting beat by the Tiger-Cats is the eqivalent of getting swept by the Seattle Mariners this year. We’re talking about a team that went 3-18 last year, we’re talking about a team that has one good player. Speaking of that one good player, his name is Jesse Lumsden and he single-handedly beat the Argos. He ran 20 times for 189 yards, which is almost 10 yards per carry. That’s almost as many yards as the Argonauts passing yards for the entire game and in a passing-dominated game, that’s pretty incredible.
-Do you want to know what team didn’t lose? The Montreal Alouettes, my team. With the new and improved Anthony Calvillo, the Al’s beat the Defending East Conference champion Bluebombers 38-24. Calvillo rushed (that’s right, “cement legs” was running) for 57 yards, while passing for 372 yards and 4 touchdowns. Ben Cahoon was his usual awesome self, completing 3 passes for 32 yards. Now the Alouettes own the Eastern conference lead with a 2-0 record. Next game’s up against the Stampeders of Calgary. The Stamps haven’t won yet on the road, so let’s hope that trend continues.
Olympics
-One Month from today! One Month to Beijing!
7th Inning Stretch
-You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need.
Buzzer Beater
-The Buzzer Beater award for July 8 goes to…Rafael Nadal. If you beat a five-time defending champion at anything in Sports, you will win this award plain and simple. Congratulations to Rafa on winning Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year (the first to do it since Bjorn Borg).
Tiger Woods - 1
Kevin Youkilis - 1
Jie Zheng - 1
Matt Kemp - 1
Roy Halladay - 1
Conor Jackson - 1
Rafael Nadal - 1
Next edition coming Friday July 11. Until then, have a good AFL playoffs (ok so there was nothing else).
Friday, July 4, 2008
07/04/08
Okay so maybe it’s not July 4th where I live, but it’s still July 4th somewhere, so I’m going to stick this with the 07/04/08 title. Deal with it!
Leading Off
-The baseball home plate is 17 inches wide.
Free Throws
NBA
-The big news in sports recently is the departure of the Seattle SuperSonics and the relocation to Oklahoma City. The team name, logo and colors will remain in Seattle, so now there’s an NBA team in Oklahoma with no name. Everybody knows that they should be called the “No Names” because they aren’t good enough to be a name brand. Seattle fans argued that they are the 13th biggest market in the U.S, but they also ranked 28th in attendance last season, which basically voids their argument. The team was bought by Clay Bennett in 2006 and he has always wanted to move the club back to his home state of Oklahoma. Now for a cool $75M he can terminate the lease with KeyArena and move the team to Oklahoma City for the 2008-2009 season. I’m not sure how a city of 1.2M people can support an NBA franchise, when Vancouver (about double the size of OKC) couldn’t support the Grizzlies. To me this move has bankruptcy written all over it. After a few years in Oklahoma, David Stern and Clay Bennett will come crawling back to Seattle.
-In other crazy basketball news, Derrick Rose, the 1st player selected in the 2008 NBA draft, was caught speeding on a street in the Chicago suburbs. What’s the big deal you say, I mean everyone speeds once in a while right? The problem is, he was 40 MPH over the speed limit! Most of the self-proclaimed experts are taking the, “boys will be boys” approach on this one, but I’m not quite so lenient. Perhaps it’s because I just finished drivers ed. and am now more cautious and aware of the dangers of driving, but whatever the scenario, driving 105 in a 65 zone is unacceptable! Nobody was hurt, but what if somebody had of been. What if somebody had of walked out in front of his car. What if he hit a pothole and careened off the road. We’ve already had one young athlete die in a motor vehicle accident and we don’t need another.
MLB
-I found this quite funny when I first heard about it. Not quite as funny as the Barry Bonds debacle, but still good for a small chuckle. The Oakland Athletics have signed 6-7 pitcher Michel Inoa, out of the Dominican Republic, to a $4.25M deal. What makes this story special is that Inoa is only 16 years old! They say he’s a great pitcher and that his fastball is around 94 MPH. I’m also 16 years old and I top out at around 60 MPH. But then again, I’m not 6-7, so maybe there’s hope for me yet. I’m not sure what the rules are for signing players this young, but I do know it’s been done before. It has also failed miserably before. Clemente Nuñez was the first player ever signed by the Florida Marlins, signing at the age of 16. Nunez looked like a great prospect at the time, with a 88 MPH fastball. He, however, never made his Major League debut, ending his baseball career in 1996 with the Portland Sea Dogs of the AA Eastern League. Let’s hope that Inoa isn’t another Nuñez and has a very successful career. Let’s also hope that this successful career is with the Blue Jays.
-I dislike A-Rod almost as much as I dislike the Yankees, so with him playing for the Yankees it just makes it that much worse. After A-Rod has been seen with his “friend” ,Madonna, his wife decided she’d had enough and the couple untied the knot after 5 years of marriage. Cynthia Rodriguez also has her own “friend” in Lenny Kravitz, as she has visited his apartment in Paris. This only makes me feel sorry for the couple’s two children Natasha and Ella, who will now have to live their entire lives with only one parent. Shame on you Alex! Now all we have to do is wait for Alex to pull out of the all-star game because of, “emotional trauma caused by the break-up.”
-The great Roger Clemens debate continues! I must admit, I can’t get enough of this, “Yes you did” “No I didn’t”, steroid scandal. Brian McNamee has submitted syringes that he says that he used to inject HGH into Roger Clemens. He says that it will test positive for his DNA. Then when the test results come back we’ll hear Clemens say, “I tripped on a chair in the clubhouse, then landed in a big box of syringes.” I’m inclined to believe McNamee on this one. He’s got nothing left to lose. He’s already admitted that he’s injected many other players with performance-enhancers, saying that he thought it was just an accepted part of the game. Now he’s lost all credibility, but Clemens still has his honour to fight for. How many hall of fame votes do you think he’s going to get if he’s convicted of doping. I would, however, like to see those syringes in the hall. Put them right beside Barry Bonds’ asterisk-marked ball.
NHL
-As promised, I have more NHL signings to deliver. We start off with the (not so) surprising news that Masrian Hossa has left the Penguins. What is surprising is that he took less money to do it. For an annual salary of $7.4M he will play up in Motown for the Red Wings. Hossa wants to play for a winner and he has definitely found it. Listen to some of these names: Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Johan Franzen and now add Hossa to the list. It makes me feel sorry for the other teams in the Central Division.
-Markus Naslund has ended his 12-year stay in Vancouver as he left the Canucks to move a little closer to Sweden and play for the Rangers. A find this story mostly funny because Roberto Luongo left the Florida Panthers so he could play for a contender and now finds himself on a rebuilding Canucks team. His stats have taken a slight dip the past couple of years, from the 80-90 points he usually generates, so the Canucks couldn’t bring themselves to match the 2-year, 8M contract offered by the Blueshirts, so Naslund will be spending the next little while in the big apple. I tend to think this will work out well for both clubs. Naslund will never be the point producer that the Canucks needed him to be and the Rangers didn’t overpay for him, so Naslund, welcome back to the Eastern Conference. You have been missed.
-With Naslund coming in, Jagr is moving out. He won’t be moving to another NHL town though. Jagr has signed a contract with the Russian club Avangard Omsk, for a deal worth about $5M-per-year. This means he won’t be playing in the Rangers regular season game in the Czech Republic. This also means no one will be at that game. I would’ve rather seen Jagr retire outright or keep playing in the NHL, but hey, if he wants to play over in Russia that’s his prerogative. At least now we won’t have to endure the animal that was growing under his lip during the playoffs.
WTA
-I have a good one: What do you get when you cross the winner of the U.S. Open and the winner of the Wimbledon ladies’ singles? A forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs (see Tiger Williams). Okay so maybe I do have some interest in the ladies final, but only because it’s a Venus/Serena rematch. So, just like I picked the Bulldogs to win the College World Series, I’m picking Williams to win Wimbledon.
ATP
-Surprise! Surprise! Guess who’s in the Wimbledon final. We have good ole’ Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. I lot of people had written Federer off in Wimbledon, including Novak Djokavic, mostly because he was routed by Nadal earlier in the year. Here’s why I picked Federer to win and why I’m still sticking with my pick. Grass is a very different surface than hardcourt or clay. Grass is a slower surface. I’m not saying that Federer is slow, but compared to Rafael Nadal he would qualify as the tortoise if I were making a “tortoise and the hare” comparison (remember, the tortoise won in that story). But like I was saying, grass is a slower surface. It will reward accurate shots more than powerful shots and I can say with confidence that Federer is the more accurate player. It allows players who are very beatable on other surfaces, to still be dominant at Wimbledon, a la Pete Sampras. The only way I can see Nadal winning is if he can push the match to five sets, as I believe Nadal has the greater endurance. That’s why I’m taking Federer to win in 4. That’s right, 4. No 5th set required.
7th Inning Stretch
-Coming soon to a blog near you…
Buzzer Beater
The buzzer beater award for July 4 goes to…Conor Jackson. As you’ve probably realised, I give style points if players are involved in something incredible and Jackson definitely was. Jackson went 2-for-5 in the game, but I’m only really concerned about his last hit. It was a walk-off single, which isn’t really that incredible at first glance, but when you look more closely you’ll realise that the Diamondbacks were down 5-0 going into the bottom of the 9th. The D-backs scored 6 runs in the 9th capped off by Jackson’s single. Now that’s something you don’t see everyday. I’m still waiting for somebody to throw a no-hitter to make my decision easier.
Tiger Woods - 1
Kevin Youkilis - 1
Jie Zheng - 1
Matt Kemp - 1
Roy Halladay - 1
Conor Jackson - 1
I’ll be away for the weekend, but don’t worry. I’ll have another post up on Monday July 7. Until then, have a good Tour de France.
Leading Off
-The baseball home plate is 17 inches wide.
Free Throws
NBA
-The big news in sports recently is the departure of the Seattle SuperSonics and the relocation to Oklahoma City. The team name, logo and colors will remain in Seattle, so now there’s an NBA team in Oklahoma with no name. Everybody knows that they should be called the “No Names” because they aren’t good enough to be a name brand. Seattle fans argued that they are the 13th biggest market in the U.S, but they also ranked 28th in attendance last season, which basically voids their argument. The team was bought by Clay Bennett in 2006 and he has always wanted to move the club back to his home state of Oklahoma. Now for a cool $75M he can terminate the lease with KeyArena and move the team to Oklahoma City for the 2008-2009 season. I’m not sure how a city of 1.2M people can support an NBA franchise, when Vancouver (about double the size of OKC) couldn’t support the Grizzlies. To me this move has bankruptcy written all over it. After a few years in Oklahoma, David Stern and Clay Bennett will come crawling back to Seattle.
-In other crazy basketball news, Derrick Rose, the 1st player selected in the 2008 NBA draft, was caught speeding on a street in the Chicago suburbs. What’s the big deal you say, I mean everyone speeds once in a while right? The problem is, he was 40 MPH over the speed limit! Most of the self-proclaimed experts are taking the, “boys will be boys” approach on this one, but I’m not quite so lenient. Perhaps it’s because I just finished drivers ed. and am now more cautious and aware of the dangers of driving, but whatever the scenario, driving 105 in a 65 zone is unacceptable! Nobody was hurt, but what if somebody had of been. What if somebody had of walked out in front of his car. What if he hit a pothole and careened off the road. We’ve already had one young athlete die in a motor vehicle accident and we don’t need another.
MLB
-I found this quite funny when I first heard about it. Not quite as funny as the Barry Bonds debacle, but still good for a small chuckle. The Oakland Athletics have signed 6-7 pitcher Michel Inoa, out of the Dominican Republic, to a $4.25M deal. What makes this story special is that Inoa is only 16 years old! They say he’s a great pitcher and that his fastball is around 94 MPH. I’m also 16 years old and I top out at around 60 MPH. But then again, I’m not 6-7, so maybe there’s hope for me yet. I’m not sure what the rules are for signing players this young, but I do know it’s been done before. It has also failed miserably before. Clemente Nuñez was the first player ever signed by the Florida Marlins, signing at the age of 16. Nunez looked like a great prospect at the time, with a 88 MPH fastball. He, however, never made his Major League debut, ending his baseball career in 1996 with the Portland Sea Dogs of the AA Eastern League. Let’s hope that Inoa isn’t another Nuñez and has a very successful career. Let’s also hope that this successful career is with the Blue Jays.
-I dislike A-Rod almost as much as I dislike the Yankees, so with him playing for the Yankees it just makes it that much worse. After A-Rod has been seen with his “friend” ,Madonna, his wife decided she’d had enough and the couple untied the knot after 5 years of marriage. Cynthia Rodriguez also has her own “friend” in Lenny Kravitz, as she has visited his apartment in Paris. This only makes me feel sorry for the couple’s two children Natasha and Ella, who will now have to live their entire lives with only one parent. Shame on you Alex! Now all we have to do is wait for Alex to pull out of the all-star game because of, “emotional trauma caused by the break-up.”
-The great Roger Clemens debate continues! I must admit, I can’t get enough of this, “Yes you did” “No I didn’t”, steroid scandal. Brian McNamee has submitted syringes that he says that he used to inject HGH into Roger Clemens. He says that it will test positive for his DNA. Then when the test results come back we’ll hear Clemens say, “I tripped on a chair in the clubhouse, then landed in a big box of syringes.” I’m inclined to believe McNamee on this one. He’s got nothing left to lose. He’s already admitted that he’s injected many other players with performance-enhancers, saying that he thought it was just an accepted part of the game. Now he’s lost all credibility, but Clemens still has his honour to fight for. How many hall of fame votes do you think he’s going to get if he’s convicted of doping. I would, however, like to see those syringes in the hall. Put them right beside Barry Bonds’ asterisk-marked ball.
NHL
-As promised, I have more NHL signings to deliver. We start off with the (not so) surprising news that Masrian Hossa has left the Penguins. What is surprising is that he took less money to do it. For an annual salary of $7.4M he will play up in Motown for the Red Wings. Hossa wants to play for a winner and he has definitely found it. Listen to some of these names: Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Johan Franzen and now add Hossa to the list. It makes me feel sorry for the other teams in the Central Division.
-Markus Naslund has ended his 12-year stay in Vancouver as he left the Canucks to move a little closer to Sweden and play for the Rangers. A find this story mostly funny because Roberto Luongo left the Florida Panthers so he could play for a contender and now finds himself on a rebuilding Canucks team. His stats have taken a slight dip the past couple of years, from the 80-90 points he usually generates, so the Canucks couldn’t bring themselves to match the 2-year, 8M contract offered by the Blueshirts, so Naslund will be spending the next little while in the big apple. I tend to think this will work out well for both clubs. Naslund will never be the point producer that the Canucks needed him to be and the Rangers didn’t overpay for him, so Naslund, welcome back to the Eastern Conference. You have been missed.
-With Naslund coming in, Jagr is moving out. He won’t be moving to another NHL town though. Jagr has signed a contract with the Russian club Avangard Omsk, for a deal worth about $5M-per-year. This means he won’t be playing in the Rangers regular season game in the Czech Republic. This also means no one will be at that game. I would’ve rather seen Jagr retire outright or keep playing in the NHL, but hey, if he wants to play over in Russia that’s his prerogative. At least now we won’t have to endure the animal that was growing under his lip during the playoffs.
WTA
-I have a good one: What do you get when you cross the winner of the U.S. Open and the winner of the Wimbledon ladies’ singles? A forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs (see Tiger Williams). Okay so maybe I do have some interest in the ladies final, but only because it’s a Venus/Serena rematch. So, just like I picked the Bulldogs to win the College World Series, I’m picking Williams to win Wimbledon.
ATP
-Surprise! Surprise! Guess who’s in the Wimbledon final. We have good ole’ Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. I lot of people had written Federer off in Wimbledon, including Novak Djokavic, mostly because he was routed by Nadal earlier in the year. Here’s why I picked Federer to win and why I’m still sticking with my pick. Grass is a very different surface than hardcourt or clay. Grass is a slower surface. I’m not saying that Federer is slow, but compared to Rafael Nadal he would qualify as the tortoise if I were making a “tortoise and the hare” comparison (remember, the tortoise won in that story). But like I was saying, grass is a slower surface. It will reward accurate shots more than powerful shots and I can say with confidence that Federer is the more accurate player. It allows players who are very beatable on other surfaces, to still be dominant at Wimbledon, a la Pete Sampras. The only way I can see Nadal winning is if he can push the match to five sets, as I believe Nadal has the greater endurance. That’s why I’m taking Federer to win in 4. That’s right, 4. No 5th set required.
7th Inning Stretch
-Coming soon to a blog near you…
Buzzer Beater
The buzzer beater award for July 4 goes to…Conor Jackson. As you’ve probably realised, I give style points if players are involved in something incredible and Jackson definitely was. Jackson went 2-for-5 in the game, but I’m only really concerned about his last hit. It was a walk-off single, which isn’t really that incredible at first glance, but when you look more closely you’ll realise that the Diamondbacks were down 5-0 going into the bottom of the 9th. The D-backs scored 6 runs in the 9th capped off by Jackson’s single. Now that’s something you don’t see everyday. I’m still waiting for somebody to throw a no-hitter to make my decision easier.
Tiger Woods - 1
Kevin Youkilis - 1
Jie Zheng - 1
Matt Kemp - 1
Roy Halladay - 1
Conor Jackson - 1
I’ll be away for the weekend, but don’t worry. I’ll have another post up on Monday July 7. Until then, have a good Tour de France.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
07/02/08
I apologize for my late entry. It was a combination of my strict bedtime and severe procrastination. I can (not really) assure you this will never happen again.
Leading Off
-Answer to Sunday’s trivia question: Drew Bledsoe threw 70 passes in a game against the Minnesota Vikings on November 13, 1994.
-“The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it.”
-Lou Holtz
Free Throws
MLB
-Much has been made about the incident with Manny Ramirez and the Red Sox travelling secretary. Apparently Manny asked for 16 tickets to a sold out game coming up against the Houston Astros. When the travelling secretary said it would be tough to do, Manny pushed him to the ground, while shouting, “Just do your job.” Manny has since apologized for his actions. I’m going to try and take a different perspective on this one. I’m not saying that this was the scenario, but just assume for a moment that it was. Manny is from the Dominican Republic, so let’s assume he had a few family and friends coming up to watch the game in Houston. His family just assumed that Manny would arrange the tickets because most people think players have unlimited tickets (they don’t). So Manny procrastinates, than the day before the game Manny asks the secretary for 16 tickets. The secretary says it might be a problem, so then Manny, who doesn’t want to let his family down, gets frustrated and pushes the secretary to the ground. I’m not condoning Manny’s actions, I’m just saying that maybe we don’t know the whole story.
-In other Red Sox news, the Sox reportedly received a letter threatening black and Latin players. First of all, this guy is a disgrace to the world. I don’t know what would possess someone to write a letter like this and I hope they find this guy, so they can chuck him in prison for a while. Second of all, I think David Ortiz said it best, “Somebody wants to hurt Papi? If you hurt Papi, the world’s against you. There are some people out there who have nothing to do and like to send letters to people like Manny or myself. I guess it’s part of what we do and I don’t think there will be anything crazy coming out of it.” Ortiz is exactly right. Nothing usually comes of these threats, but needless to say there was lots of extra security at the game and rightfully so. The BoSox lost the game 5-4, but nothing came of the threat.
-These next couple of ones are good if you need a laugh. If you’re looking to find Barry Bonds’ 756th home run ball in Cooperstown look very carefully: The ball is marked with an asterisk to display Bonds alleged steroid use. The owner of the ball, Marc Ecko, held an online vote to decide what should be done with the ball. “Brand it with an asterisk and donate it to the hall was the winner.” Bonds said that he plans to Boycott if the hall displays the ball with an asterisk. Just yesterday it looked like the ball wasn’t headed for the hall, because Ecko had allegedly changed his mind from donating the ball. But Ecko said today that the ball is on it’s way to New York. It will be interesting to see what happens to the ball when it reaches it’s destination. I think they should put it up on a pedestal, with a sign explaining what the asterisk means. Then we’ll see what Barry does. All in all, a pretty funny story.
-Also funny and kind of stupid story is Alex Rodriguez’s pulling out of the home run derby. He has gotten the most votes out of all the players in the American League, which shows you the voting power of New York. He pulled out of the slugfest because as he put it, “My responsibility is to the New York Yankees. I need my swing to be at its best.” Well A-rod, how about showing some respect to the people who pay your salary: The fans! Let’s take a look at the last 3 winners of the home run derby and how their swings have been this season. Last years’ winner Vlad Guerrero is batting .283, with 13 home runs. Didn’t mess up his swing. Two years ago Ryan Howard won. His stats this year: slugging .460 with 20 home runs. Didn’t mess up his swing. Now we go way back to 3 years ago, when Bobby Abreu was crowned champ. He’s now the owner of a .283 batting average and has knocked 10 shots over the wall. Didn’t mess up his swing either. So Alex, don’t give us this song and dance about how you might tweak your swing, when your real problem is laziness.
NHL
-One of my favourite days of the year is July 1 and not just because it’s Canada day. It also coincidently happens to be the start of the NHL free agent signing period. Some big names are always bound to move. I keep crossing my fingers the Devils will pick up a high-end talent and every year I’m let down. Last year they even let Scott Gomez walk to the Rangers and haven’t been able to fill that hole all year. But enough about the Devils, let’s take a look at the big names who will be moving. Wade Redden has left Ottawa for the Big Apple to play for the Rangers. He signed a 6-year, $39M deal with the team. The Rangers desperately need the defense and Redden will consistently put up 35+ points. The fact that they’re giving him just over $6M a year tells me that Jagr’s days with the Rangers are over.
-Finally! The Devils brought in just what the doctor ordered: A puck-moving forward to replace the departed Gomez. Although I would’ve rather the Devils go for a center, Rolston will fit in perfectly with the Devils system. Like Lou Lamoriello said, “Rebuilding is not something in our vocabulary.” Rolston will be a great compliment to emerging star Zach Parise. I’m officially “pumped” for the Devils 2008 season.
-Chicago is also in the midst of building a powerhouse team. They’ve just acquired the rights to defenseman Brian Campbell and will be paying him $56.8M over the next 8 years. Normally I would say that they are overpaying him except for a couple of things. One, in 8 years $7M a year won’t be nearly as much and it’s good to lock up a franchise player for a long time. Two, Campbell has proved that he IS a franchise player and can change the complexion of a game. He burst onto the scene in 2005, collecting 44 points and has been a 50-point defenseman ever since. A great pickup for the Hawks.
-Jose Theodore has bolted for the Nation’s capital. No, not Ottawa, Washington. I would’ve liked to see Theodore stay in Colorado where he turned his career aroung, but with athletes, they will go wherever the money is. With Olaf Kolzig gone to Tampa (hooray the lightning got a goalie), Theodore will fit in nicely along with goalie Cristobal Huet, to make the latest 1-2 goalie punch in the NHL. More signings to come in the next edition of the blog, as the signing period pushes forward.
Olympics
-I have one name for you to watch out for in Beijing: Tyson Gay. There is no doubt in my mind that this guy is the fastest person to ever grace this planet. I have no idea what the doping is like in Athletics, but I’m assuming that most people do it and it is basically accepted. Steroids or not, Gay still broke the world record for the 100-meter dash at 9.76s, even though it was unofficial because he had too much wind at his back. Tyson still says that he can get his time down to below 9.7s, which is unheard of in a sport where milliseconds determine the difference between 1st and last. If this guy doesn’t break the world record “officially” in Beijing, than I don’t know who ever will.
WTA
-I apologize for my past reference of Women’s Tennis as the “ATP”. I have just come to realize that women’s tennis has their own league (yes, that’s how much I know about women’s tennis) called the WTA. Any further inclusion of women’s tennis will be marked WTA. Once again I’m sorry for any heart attacks, strokes or seizures that may have been caused due to my misinformation. Anyways on to Wimbledon, where history has occurred (in a bad way). Wimbledon 2008 is the first major to have all of the top four seeds in either gentleman’s or ladies singles knocked out before the quarter-finals. Aside from this being completely ridiculous, Sharapova’s out and I STILL don’t care.
ATP
-I watched a match that I’m sure none of you saw. That’s because nobody currently ranked in the top 20 was playing in it. The match was between Fernando Verdasco and Mario Ancic. Right now you may be asking yourselves, “Why is this so special that he would put it in his blog?” Well nothing is special really, except for the fact that the game went to five sets and in the 5th set there was a total of 24 games played. In the total match there was 62 games played. Just for comparison, in Federer’s first match he played 25 games. So basically Verdasco and Ancic played an entire match in the 5th set alone. It was amazing. Back and forth, nobody could break serve, until Ancic broke it in the 23rd game, then won in the 24th. Ancic is playing Federer in the semis today.
7th Inning Stretch
-When I get something, you’ll be the first to know…
Buzzer Beater
The buzzer beater award for July 2 goes to…Roy Halladay. No, I’m not a homer, all I know is that the Doc threw a complete game 4-hitter to blank the Mariners and win the game 2-0. It also helped his case that nobody did anything really incredible over the past couple of days.
Tiger Woods - 1
Kevin Youkilis - 1
Jie Zheng - 1
Matt Kemp - 1
Roy Halladay - 1
Next edition coming Friday July 4 (I hope). Until then, have a good NBA UFA signing period.
Leading Off
-Answer to Sunday’s trivia question: Drew Bledsoe threw 70 passes in a game against the Minnesota Vikings on November 13, 1994.
-“The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it.”
-Lou Holtz
Free Throws
MLB
-Much has been made about the incident with Manny Ramirez and the Red Sox travelling secretary. Apparently Manny asked for 16 tickets to a sold out game coming up against the Houston Astros. When the travelling secretary said it would be tough to do, Manny pushed him to the ground, while shouting, “Just do your job.” Manny has since apologized for his actions. I’m going to try and take a different perspective on this one. I’m not saying that this was the scenario, but just assume for a moment that it was. Manny is from the Dominican Republic, so let’s assume he had a few family and friends coming up to watch the game in Houston. His family just assumed that Manny would arrange the tickets because most people think players have unlimited tickets (they don’t). So Manny procrastinates, than the day before the game Manny asks the secretary for 16 tickets. The secretary says it might be a problem, so then Manny, who doesn’t want to let his family down, gets frustrated and pushes the secretary to the ground. I’m not condoning Manny’s actions, I’m just saying that maybe we don’t know the whole story.
-In other Red Sox news, the Sox reportedly received a letter threatening black and Latin players. First of all, this guy is a disgrace to the world. I don’t know what would possess someone to write a letter like this and I hope they find this guy, so they can chuck him in prison for a while. Second of all, I think David Ortiz said it best, “Somebody wants to hurt Papi? If you hurt Papi, the world’s against you. There are some people out there who have nothing to do and like to send letters to people like Manny or myself. I guess it’s part of what we do and I don’t think there will be anything crazy coming out of it.” Ortiz is exactly right. Nothing usually comes of these threats, but needless to say there was lots of extra security at the game and rightfully so. The BoSox lost the game 5-4, but nothing came of the threat.
-These next couple of ones are good if you need a laugh. If you’re looking to find Barry Bonds’ 756th home run ball in Cooperstown look very carefully: The ball is marked with an asterisk to display Bonds alleged steroid use. The owner of the ball, Marc Ecko, held an online vote to decide what should be done with the ball. “Brand it with an asterisk and donate it to the hall was the winner.” Bonds said that he plans to Boycott if the hall displays the ball with an asterisk. Just yesterday it looked like the ball wasn’t headed for the hall, because Ecko had allegedly changed his mind from donating the ball. But Ecko said today that the ball is on it’s way to New York. It will be interesting to see what happens to the ball when it reaches it’s destination. I think they should put it up on a pedestal, with a sign explaining what the asterisk means. Then we’ll see what Barry does. All in all, a pretty funny story.
-Also funny and kind of stupid story is Alex Rodriguez’s pulling out of the home run derby. He has gotten the most votes out of all the players in the American League, which shows you the voting power of New York. He pulled out of the slugfest because as he put it, “My responsibility is to the New York Yankees. I need my swing to be at its best.” Well A-rod, how about showing some respect to the people who pay your salary: The fans! Let’s take a look at the last 3 winners of the home run derby and how their swings have been this season. Last years’ winner Vlad Guerrero is batting .283, with 13 home runs. Didn’t mess up his swing. Two years ago Ryan Howard won. His stats this year: slugging .460 with 20 home runs. Didn’t mess up his swing. Now we go way back to 3 years ago, when Bobby Abreu was crowned champ. He’s now the owner of a .283 batting average and has knocked 10 shots over the wall. Didn’t mess up his swing either. So Alex, don’t give us this song and dance about how you might tweak your swing, when your real problem is laziness.
NHL
-One of my favourite days of the year is July 1 and not just because it’s Canada day. It also coincidently happens to be the start of the NHL free agent signing period. Some big names are always bound to move. I keep crossing my fingers the Devils will pick up a high-end talent and every year I’m let down. Last year they even let Scott Gomez walk to the Rangers and haven’t been able to fill that hole all year. But enough about the Devils, let’s take a look at the big names who will be moving. Wade Redden has left Ottawa for the Big Apple to play for the Rangers. He signed a 6-year, $39M deal with the team. The Rangers desperately need the defense and Redden will consistently put up 35+ points. The fact that they’re giving him just over $6M a year tells me that Jagr’s days with the Rangers are over.
-Finally! The Devils brought in just what the doctor ordered: A puck-moving forward to replace the departed Gomez. Although I would’ve rather the Devils go for a center, Rolston will fit in perfectly with the Devils system. Like Lou Lamoriello said, “Rebuilding is not something in our vocabulary.” Rolston will be a great compliment to emerging star Zach Parise. I’m officially “pumped” for the Devils 2008 season.
-Chicago is also in the midst of building a powerhouse team. They’ve just acquired the rights to defenseman Brian Campbell and will be paying him $56.8M over the next 8 years. Normally I would say that they are overpaying him except for a couple of things. One, in 8 years $7M a year won’t be nearly as much and it’s good to lock up a franchise player for a long time. Two, Campbell has proved that he IS a franchise player and can change the complexion of a game. He burst onto the scene in 2005, collecting 44 points and has been a 50-point defenseman ever since. A great pickup for the Hawks.
-Jose Theodore has bolted for the Nation’s capital. No, not Ottawa, Washington. I would’ve liked to see Theodore stay in Colorado where he turned his career aroung, but with athletes, they will go wherever the money is. With Olaf Kolzig gone to Tampa (hooray the lightning got a goalie), Theodore will fit in nicely along with goalie Cristobal Huet, to make the latest 1-2 goalie punch in the NHL. More signings to come in the next edition of the blog, as the signing period pushes forward.
Olympics
-I have one name for you to watch out for in Beijing: Tyson Gay. There is no doubt in my mind that this guy is the fastest person to ever grace this planet. I have no idea what the doping is like in Athletics, but I’m assuming that most people do it and it is basically accepted. Steroids or not, Gay still broke the world record for the 100-meter dash at 9.76s, even though it was unofficial because he had too much wind at his back. Tyson still says that he can get his time down to below 9.7s, which is unheard of in a sport where milliseconds determine the difference between 1st and last. If this guy doesn’t break the world record “officially” in Beijing, than I don’t know who ever will.
WTA
-I apologize for my past reference of Women’s Tennis as the “ATP”. I have just come to realize that women’s tennis has their own league (yes, that’s how much I know about women’s tennis) called the WTA. Any further inclusion of women’s tennis will be marked WTA. Once again I’m sorry for any heart attacks, strokes or seizures that may have been caused due to my misinformation. Anyways on to Wimbledon, where history has occurred (in a bad way). Wimbledon 2008 is the first major to have all of the top four seeds in either gentleman’s or ladies singles knocked out before the quarter-finals. Aside from this being completely ridiculous, Sharapova’s out and I STILL don’t care.
ATP
-I watched a match that I’m sure none of you saw. That’s because nobody currently ranked in the top 20 was playing in it. The match was between Fernando Verdasco and Mario Ancic. Right now you may be asking yourselves, “Why is this so special that he would put it in his blog?” Well nothing is special really, except for the fact that the game went to five sets and in the 5th set there was a total of 24 games played. In the total match there was 62 games played. Just for comparison, in Federer’s first match he played 25 games. So basically Verdasco and Ancic played an entire match in the 5th set alone. It was amazing. Back and forth, nobody could break serve, until Ancic broke it in the 23rd game, then won in the 24th. Ancic is playing Federer in the semis today.
7th Inning Stretch
-When I get something, you’ll be the first to know…
Buzzer Beater
The buzzer beater award for July 2 goes to…Roy Halladay. No, I’m not a homer, all I know is that the Doc threw a complete game 4-hitter to blank the Mariners and win the game 2-0. It also helped his case that nobody did anything really incredible over the past couple of days.
Tiger Woods - 1
Kevin Youkilis - 1
Jie Zheng - 1
Matt Kemp - 1
Roy Halladay - 1
Next edition coming Friday July 4 (I hope). Until then, have a good NBA UFA signing period.
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