The Year In Sports In Words

Teams:
Auburn Tigers. Green Bay Packers.  Uconn Huskies.  Texas A&M.  South Carolina Gamecocks.  Boston Bruins.  Dallas Mavericks.  Japan Women's Soccer.  St. Louis Cardinals. 

People:
Cam Newton.  Tom Brady.  Jimmer Fredette (POY).  Kemba Walker (True POY).  Maya Moore.  Derrick Rose.  Novak Djokovic.  Tony Stewart.  Tiger Woods (yes still the most important name in golf).  Cory Perry.  Tim Thomas.  Justin Verlander (X2).  Clayton Kershaw.  Ryan Braun (for now).

Stories:
Concussions.  Ohio State.  Terrell Pryor.  NFL Lockout.  Uconn Huskies.  Butler Bulldogs.  Manny Ramirez.  U.S. Women's Soccer Team.  Miami Heat (nod to the Mavericks who beat the Heat).  LeBron James In The 4th Quarter.  No Hitters.  Rashim Lee Started A Sports Blog.  NBA Lockout.  NFL Back.  10 Year Anniversary 9/11.  Peyton Manning's Neck.  No Brett Favre.  Amazing Last Day Of Season For MLB.  Better World Series.  Pat Summitt Battles Dementia.  Eric LeGrand Recovering.  Conference Expansion.  MLB Labor Peace.  LSU/Alabama (game of the century).  Penn State.  Jerry Sandusky.  Joe Paterno.  Syracuse.  Bernie Fine. Oklahoma State Accident.  Coach K Passes Knight.  Miami Marlins (you may know them as the Florida Marlins).  Justin Verlander Wins Cy Young and MVP. Albert Pujols To The Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim.  NBA Lockout Over.  Ryan Braun Positive for PED's.  BCS (or b.s. however you want to look at it).  LSU/Alabama (game of century part deux).  Ndamukong Suh.  TEBOW!!  Chris Paul To Lakers.  No Chris Paul To Lakers.  Chris Paul to Clippers.  Colts Winless.  Packers Undefeated.  Colts 1-13.  Packers 13-1.

Hopes:
That the last 10 days of the year provide as much joy and excitement as the rest of the year in sports did. 
That we continue to see stories of inspiration like that of Eric LeGrand.
That we can get through the end of the year without another scandal being reported.
That I can survive watching the 9654782 bowl games.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL MY READERS.

The Theory Of Tebow-tivity

Tim Tebow continues to win games because..........  Yeah I don't know either.  He just wins games.

ALL I DO IS WIN WIN WIN!

Houston We Have A Problem

Wait until next year!  This is what we have heard about the Houston Texans for the last couple of years after not making the playoffs.  Still a relatively young franchise, having played their first season in 2006, the team was built to be successful fairly quickly but had yet to play the 1st postseason game in franchise history coming into this season.  They've have moderate success and possess one of the most potent offenses in the league, defensively there were struggles which ultimately lead to them losing games down the stretch that could have gotten them into the playoffs.

This year it was supposed to be different.  Coming into the season they had improved the defensive side of the ball while keeping all their talent offensively.  The AFC South, after years of being dominated by the Colts, was now up for grabs.  Peyton Manning injured and probably out for the season.  The Jaguars went young and cut starting quarterback David Garrard before the 1st regular season game and turned the team over to their rookie QB Blaine Gabbert.  The Titans drafted a rookie QB, Jake Locker, but brought in Matt Hasselbeck to tutor the rookie and lead the team this year.  Unfortunately the teams best player Chris Johnson held out and is just now getting back to his Pro Bowl form here in week 13.  That left the Texans.  In tact offensively much improved defensively and in position to run away with the division currently with a record of 9-3 tied for the best record in the AFC.

But all is not well in Houston.  They lost Mario Williams, their best defensive player, for the season in October with a torn pectoral muscle.  Star WR Andre Johnson was lost for much of the season with a right hamstring injury only to return for a game and a half and then injure his left hamstring.  And finally Pro Bowl QB Matt Schaub was lost for the season after breaking his foot.  His backup, Matt Lienart, was lost to a broken collarbone in the very next game.  Leaving the offense to be run by rookie QB TJ Yates who is now backed up by Jake Delhomme, yes that Jake Delhomme.

I hope for the Texans sake they can find a way to keep that division lead and earn the first playoff experience in franchise history.  And if they don't I hope ownership doesn't fire the coaching staff.  They are certainly moving in the right direction.  Just hope that direction doesn't continue to include a pit stop on injured reserve for the teams best players. 

Don't Give Up. Don't Ever Give Up!

Almost all of us have been or will be affected in some way by cancer.  Please do all that you can to help find a cure.  

LAUGH, THINK AND CRY EVERYDAY.

So Suh Me!

The Detroit Lions for many years have been best described as a joke of a professional football team.  They are in fact the only team in NFL history to go 0-16.  Whether it was poor management or lack of talent or whatever the reason may be this team had not been relevant since Barry Sanders was breaking ankles at the old Pontiac Silverdome.  But then things changed.  They drafted WR Calvin Johnson (Megatron) with the 2nd pick in the 2007 draft. He has turned out to be a beast of a receiver and nearly unstoppable when covered man-to-man.  They then drafted their franchise QB Matthew Stafford #1 overall in the 2009 draft.  And while he has missed some time he has proven to be a good, young, and tough QB who could lead the team from mediocrity.  They followed that up by taking defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh with the 2nd pick in the 2010 draft.  As the most dominant player in college his senior year he will be the anchor for their defense for the next decade.  This three headed monster of talent has begun to turn the franchise around and they are in contention for a playoff birth for the first time since 1999.

However all the news about the Lions this season is not good news.  After getting off to a blistering start the team has come back to Earth a little bit.  And it has not been without controversy.  Most of it surrounding their star defensive tackle Suh.  In less than two full seasons he has been voted the NFL's dirtiest player.  I know it sounds funny to call anyone in this profession where men routinely try to harm/maim/kill each other dirty but there are still lines that shouldn't be crossed.  Most of his actions have been defended as he plays hard and plays with an attitude and he is setting the tone for his team and changing that losing mentality.  To this point I had agreed with those assessments.  Until the Thanksgiving day game between the Lions and the Packers.  See the video below:

Suh's actions on this play were dirty!  I understand he was probably frustrated because the Lions were losing to division rival Green Bay and at no point were really in this game.  And the officials were right in ejecting him.  None of what happened to this point was surprising.  What should have happened next is when he was interviewed/asked about it post game he should have said "I apologize for my actions, I was frustrated and let the emotions of the game get the better of me".  Instead he actually tried to explain away his actions by saying he was "held down" by the Packers lineman and that he pushed his leg down to "get myself out of the situation".  Seriously?!?

The good news for Ndamukong is that he won't be sued or Suh'd,  instead he will be fined and suspended, probably 2 games by Commissioner Roger Goodell.  The bad news is all eyes will now be on him and any questionable activity will almost certainly draw the attention of officials and of the league.   Looks like Steelers LB James Harrison is off the hook and can put his check book away.  I expect Suh will now be the new face of how the NFL wants to clean up the game by fining players for dirty play.

Gobble Gobble

No post this week as I have been working on getting the podcast up and going.  You can check it out at www.bot4q.posterous.com.  You can also go to the facebook page Bottom Of The 4th Quarter for links to the podcast as well as submit topics for discussion there.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Moment of Silence

Sports for most people are an escape from the real world.  It allows us to forget what's really going on out there and lose ourselves in the game for a few hours.  It is because of this that we tend to think of the people involved, whether it be coaches or athletes or any team personal, as almost invincible.  We forget that they are human and therefore subject to the same potential tragedies that affect people around the world daily.

A plane crash killed the head coach of Oklahoma State University's women's basketball team, along with an assistant coach and 2 other passengers early Friday morning.  This is a tragedy and my thoughts and prayers go out to the OSU family and the family and friends of the deceased.  This is especially devastating because nearly 10 years ago the OSU men's basketball team lost 10 of it's members including players, coaches, and team personal in a plane crash.  I can't imagine the pain that community is going through in having to relive such a horrible accident now that it has happened again.

Hundreds of pro, college, and amateur teams travel by plane daily.  I have often said it amazes me that we don't see more tragedy involving teams and their travel.  Never did I think that one program would ever be affected by multiple plane crashes, not only in my lifetime, but in less than a decade.  If you pray, please pray for those that were lost and for the OSU community as they try to pick up the pieces again after this devastating and truly tragic accident.

November Madness?!?

Today is the defacto beginning of the college basketball season and like many of you I couldn't be happier.  With the NBA locked out this is the only basketball you will see for the near future, a fact I don't mind at all.  I also hope that the games will take our mind off of some of the ugliness that is going on in the world or sports.

The biggest game of note tonight is the game being played between UNC and Michigan State.  The "Carrier Classic" as it is being called will be played on the USS Carl Vinson.  No better tribute could be paid here on Veteran's Day.  Let some of our men and women of the armed forces relax and enjoy what we hope will be an excellent basketball game between two marquee programs.  Happy Veteran's Day to all who have served and a heart felt thank you to all those who continue to protect our freedom.

Also the UConn Huskies will begin defense of their national title tonight.  As a former Husky I am excited to see how the freshmen mix with the returning players who were a part of perhaps the most magical run through the tournament we have seen probably since NC State's run in 1983.  Celebrate tonight as the banner is hung before the game boys then focus and let's start the run toward back to back titles.  U-C-O-N-N...UCONN, UCONN, UCONN!

NCAA ACTION......IT'S FANTASTIC!  OK so I stole that from the NBA!

I Just Can't Find The Words.

As more details come to light surrounding the child molestation scandal at Penn State I become more and more disgusted and can't even find words to express the disappointment I feel in humankind because of it.  I will not go over all that has been released as anyone of you who read this blog is already aware of what is going on since this has been the biggest sports story since Saturday.

All I will say is this. The university officials including any coaches who knew anything about this, and we still may find out more in the coming weeks, should no longer be employed by Penn State effective immediately.  Their failure to notify authorities in my eyes makes them accomplices and they should all end up in the State Pen along side the child molester they enabled.

FALL CLASSIC!

Now that is has been a few days since the World Series ended it is time to give a final take on the Fall Classic.  For the uninformed the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers 4 games to 3 in the best of 7 series.  First let me begin by saying this was one of the best series I can remember for quite some time.  Most of the games were very closely contested and were decided by 1 or 2 crucial plays here and there. The series should have been decided on one play in game 6.

Nelson Cruz, right fielder for the Rangers, had a chance to end game 6 and the series but was unable to make a catch running back and to his left with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning.  Understand this was not a routine play but it is a play that Cruz has to make or at the very least nearly kill himself crashing into the wall to make.  Instead he seemed to slow up anticipating the wall was there, jumped awkwardly, and missed the ball by a few feet.  This mishap allowed the Cardinals to tie the score and they would eventually go on to win in the 11th inning.

This is all forgotten if the Rangers go on to win game 7, unfortunately no fairy tale ending was "in the cards" for the Rangers.  St. Louis easily won game 7 to claim their 11th World Series championship.  The Rangers are runners-up for the 2nd year in a row.  And Nelson Cruz will in all likelihood be remembered much in the same way as Bill Buckner is remembered with one key difference.  While Buckner's error in game 6 of the 1986 World Series did allow the winning run to score, that game was already tied and at best he makes the play and the Red Sox are out of the inning.  Being up 3 games to 2 at that point in the series this error is huge but not series deciding.  They may or may not go on to win game 6 if he makes the play. If Cruz makes the play the game and the Series is over and the Rangers have won the 1st World Series in franchise history.

Immediately after game 6 I joked with some friends that if the Rangers lost game 7 that Cruz should be on suicide watch.  Obviously I was joking and I honestly hope his teammates and the franchise get behind him.  As we all know from a press conference by their manager Ron Washington last year regarding his testing positive for cocaine use, the Texas Rangers love Ron Washington and Ron Washington loves Ron Washington.  The only question I have is does either party love Nelson Cruz right now?
 

Truly A Fall Classic!

I can't wait to blog about this!

Tebow Or Not Tebow...That is the ?

To much fanfare and criticism Tim Tebow of the Denver Broncos started his 1st game this year, the 4th game of his career, at quarterback this past weekend.  Now anyone with a TV knows most of the story.  Tebow was a much maligned 1st round draft pick by the Broncos last year after a storied career at the University of Florida.  Many have questioned his accuracy, his footwork, his ability to read pro defenses and nearly every other part of his game.

The consensus seems to be that while his game is not prototype NFL quarterback he does seem to do the one thing that you want your QB to do and that is win games.  It wasn't pretty by any means last week.  Through about 55 minutes he had led the Broncos to no points and he had thrown for 3 yards.  In the last 5 minutes of regulation and  in overtime he led them to 18 points and the win.  He finished 13/27 for 131 yards.  The most important stat there is the W.  We will see how many more wins he will be able to lead them to on what appears to be sheer will and determination.  We will also see if his inadequacies will catch up with him and he is forced to switch positions to become a full time starter in the NFL.

Ultimately as a football fan who has no rooting interest in how the Broncos do as a team I only have to ask myself one question when it comes to how I feel about Tebow.  Would he start on my fantasy team?  NO!

Shameless Plug.

Check out Salt and Demetri the Greek's podcast.

http://www.saltandd.com/

NBA Action, it's.....who gives a crap?

So the NBA is locked out or on strike or whatever the case may be.  The question is will anyone notice?  The announcement that the 1st 2 weeks of the regular season and all the preseason has been cancelled has registered a -200 on my giveashit-o-meter.  As did the news last night that the 'superstars' of the league are planning an exhibition tour of Europe since they have nothing else to do at the moment.

I'm not an NBA hater, like most people I will watch when playoff time comes around but that's pretty much it.  Face it NBA your regular season product is boring!  It will never have the excitement generated by college basketball.  Just thinking about Midnight Madness last week got me excited for the upcoming season.

Will Uconn repeat? (YES, I'm a Husky)  What newcomers will dominate?  Are UNC and UK as good as we think they will be?  You never have questions like this when discussing the NBA.  The only question I ever have is when do the playoffs start?

T-C-U-Later!

Before the ink even dried on TCU's agreement to join the Big East it appears they are now headed to the Big 12.  Or is it the Big 11?  Oh wait its the Big 9, with A&M leaving but TCU is joining so it's the Big 10?  Wait no we already have a Big 10 so that's not going to work.  It's exhausting trying to figure out these conferences.

As conferences continue to expand and shrink it truly does beg the question; why even have conferences?  Now obvious arguments aside, step back and think about it for a moment.  In 10 years, with the billions and billions of dollars continuing to be made by the big boys of college sports, there will be no conferences.  The top schools will figure out that ultimately they really don't need the NCAA with all its rules and regulations and will break off and form their own association.

Regions will not matter, academics will not matter.  $$$$$ will.   C.R.E.A.M.

CASH RULES EVERYTHING AROUND ME!

DOLLA, DOLLA BILL Y'AAAAAAAAAAAALL!

And Down The Stretch They Come!

Tonight is as exciting a night as any baseball fan, and yes even a Mets fan, could ask for.  Today is the last day of the regular season but it is also the beginning of the playoffs as four teams are fighting for the two wild card spots.  In the American League the Red Sox and the Rays and in the National League the Braves and the Cardinals.  What more could we possibly ask for?

In the American League history will be made either way.  We will have witnessed either the Rays pull off the greatest September comeback or the Red Sox commit the greatest September collapse in history.  The Red Sox lead the Rays by 9 games in the wild card standings to begin the month.  If the Red Sox do falter they will own a dubious distinction.  They will own the worst collapse in regular season history and will have made the greatest comeback in postseason history having comeback from down 3-0 in a seven game series against the Yankees on their way to winning the 2004 World Series.

In the National League the Cardinals have come on down the stretch and showed the resilience of the veteran team that they are.  The rumors of Albert Pujol's demise have been greatly exaggerated and it was his turn around this season that seemed to kick start the late surge by the Cardinals.  Meanwhile the Braves lead by Chipper Jones, Dan Uggla (of bot4q.com fame), and an extremely talented but young bullpen have seemingly hit the wall.  Although I am a Mets fan first I am a National League fan and it will be interesting to see which one of these storied franchises comes out on top.

I personally will be rooting that all four teams win their respective games forcing one game playoffs between the Rays/Red Sox and Braves/Cardinals.  This is exactly why the 'wild card' was a great idea for baseball.  It is also exactly why adding another wild card spot in each league is a terrible idea.  It's very rare that game 162 matters for any one team.  Even rarer that it matters for four.  Another wild card spot will make it matter for no one.  Except of course the rest of the American League east.

Tony _omo

Like many of you I have watched and scrutinized the performances of Tony Romo over the last 6+ seasons.  That being said, I have also expressed the opinion that I think Romo is the best QB in the NFC East.  This is no small admission as I am a Giants fan.  That opinion is obviously based mostly on perceived talent than it is on results.  

Now Romo has given us many reasons to question him.  Whether it be dropping the snap on a potential game winning FG or turning the ball over at the most inopportune times, which has happened to him on numerous occasions.  Or going to Mexico during a bye week, with then girlfriend Jessica Simpson, only to return and have the Cowboys lose the playoff game the next week and being blamed for it.  An incident made more famous by Terrell Owens coming to his defense in the post game press conference. See below:

It is now time to stop the Tony Romo hating.  It is time to stop questioning his ability and decision making.  It is time to stop calling him Tony 'Homo'.  His performance on Sunday should have earned him the respect he deserves from all fans of football.  Romo played the second half and overtime with fractured ribs and a punctured lung and led the Cowboys to a come from behind victory.  Gutsy, gutsy performance.  

It has been  said often that Romo plays the game a lot like, and some times too much like his idol Brett Favre.  A gun slinging mentality that has often gotten him criticized.  Well he showed another Favre characteristic on Sunday and that is toughness.  Keep playing that way Tony.  That Favre guy had a pretty good career.  Just please stay away from the text messaging.

I Pledge Allegiance

As we all gather today to cheer on our favorite teams please take time to remember who our real heroes are.  Thank you to the brave men and women of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Army National Guard, and Coast Guard.  Freedom isn't free.  Many of your brothers and sisters have paid and some of you will pay the ultimate price to protect our way of life.  Also thank the men and women who serve our communities locally in law enforcement and as fire fighters.  You are all our heroes.  Your selflessness is what makes OUR country the greatest country on Earth, and while it takes center stage today on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, it should be celebrated everyday.  I thank and salute you all.

The land of the FREE and the home of the BRAVE.

Who Let The Dogs Out?

The video speaks for it self.  Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!

We don't need no "meows", we don't need no cats. WE NEED MORE DAWGS!

You Play..To Win..The Game

Here's the scenario.  It's fourth and goal from the one yard line.  It's and untimed play due to a defensive penalty at the end of the game.  You are down 42-34 against the defending Super Bowl champions who are playing at home.  A touchdown and two point conversion ties the game.  What do you call?


If you are New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton apparently you call a running play and hand the ball to your rookie RB.  You must have forgotten that your team last year was the worst short yardage team in the league.  You must have forgotten that during your time in New Orleans your teams have never been a team that was able to pound the ball in.  You must have forgotten your QB was extremely hot and had thrown for more the 400 yards and 3 TD's at that point in the game.  You must have forgotten that earlier in the game in a similar situation you could have kicked a field goal but you went for it and called a pass play, a play that didn't work but still plays to your teams strength.

Sean Payton simply out coached himself.  Everybody on the planet knew that the Saints should call a pass play, including the Packers.  Which is exactly why they stacked the line to blow up a running play.  Then knew that Payton's "creativity" as an offensive play caller would get in his own way.  He knew that everybody on the planet just knew he would call a passing play.  So he called a run.  The ball was snapped, Drew Brees handed the ball to Mark Ingram, Ingram took off and before he left the ground it seems 5 Packers had left their feet and were jumping over the line to stuff the rookie.  He never had a chance.  You sure fooled us Sean Payton!  HELLO!!  You play, to win, the game!  That's Latin for "put the ball in your best players hands and run a play that your team can actually pull off".

Rain Drops Keep Falling.....

The game between the Yankees and the Orioles on Tuesday night was delayed for more than fours.  I repeat FOUR HOURS!!  This is longer than what most games actually take to start and complete, even Yankee games.  While weather had a tremendous impact on a few sporting events this past weekend, it's affect on MLB leads me to one conclusion.  As much as it pains me to say it, it is time to shorten the MLB season from 162 games.

What the ideal number would be I'm not sure, maybe back to 154 games would suffice, but something has to be done.  No fan should be made to wait through a steady rain for the game to start.  The game was delayed and not postponed because at this point in the season there are no more make  up days.  Rescheduling it for a double header wasn't an option because each team played different teams the next day and don't meet again in NY this year.

Shortening the season will allow for more potential make up days and also allow the players a few more days off during the season.  It will also help with post season scheduling now, and if MLB adds another wild card team, it will keep the World Series from being played in November.  Avoiding another potential weather disaster if games are played in cold weather areas.

So I plead with you MLB, please shorten your season.  Or pay tribute to Ernie Banks and schedule more double headers.
"Let's play two!" -Ernie Banks (HOF shortstop for the Cubs)



Friends and followers if you would check out the podcast The Sports Goof.  The show is just two guys goofing on sports, hence the title, and is great.  I have a segment on episode 12 previewing the upcoming NFL season.

Don't Let Down Your Garrard!

David Garrard was cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars today.  Three days before the start of the 2011 NFL Season.  This may fly under the radar with most fans but I take some exception to it for a number of reasons.

One, because of how late they decided to make the move it gives Garrard almost no chance at catching on with another team as a starter.  He may get an opportunity somewhere as a back up but Garrard should be starting somewhere.  There simply are not 32 QB's in the NFL who give their team a better chance to win.

Two, the Jaguars knew they were going to turn the team over to the QB they drafted in the the first round of this years draft anyway.  Why not release Garrard at the start of camp so that he could catch on with another team and at least compete for a starting job.  With all he has done in Jacksonville he had earned the right to be treated better on his way out.

Three, it's move like this that show just how ruthless, and at times hypocritical, the NFL can be.  They talk about commitment and sacrifice for the team, yet the players can be cut at any time without warning.  These owners do not care about the contracts they have with the players so why are the players bound by them?   This is why I have no problem when players hold out for more guaranteed money, for many of them it's the only portion of the contract the team will actually honor.

So I say to the players......GET THAT MONEY WHILE YOU CAN!

Back By Popular Demand.

First of all I want to say it is good to be back after a brief hiatus.  Some of you know that due to my undying commitment to work I have not had any time to work on the blog but it is good to be back and I look forward to entertaining you all again.

In the coming weeks you can expect to hear a lot about the upcoming football season's, college and the NFL, as well as MLB's pennant race.  Mix in there random, non actual game related topics, and we should be looking at quite an entertaining autumn here at Bottom Of The 4th. 

Also, I will be recording my first podcast soon and look forward to bringing my expert views and opinions to yet another medium.  I will be joined by Demetri the Greek and will keep you posted on our progress and make it available to you all ASAP. 

Yo Momma Said You Uggla!

I have said it before and I will say it again.  Hitting a round ball thrown anywhere from 70-100 MPH with a round bat is the hardest thing to do in sports.  Even those paid handsomely to do it a very high level will fail 70% of the time and still make the Hall of Fame.  That's how difficult baseball is.  Don't believe that it's that hard?  Ask Dan Uggla.

Uggla is the Atlanta Braves second baseman for the foreseeable future having signed a 5 year $62 million contract after being acquired in a trade with the Florida Marlins this past off season.  He is also the second baseman of the future.  The 2 bagger who puts up offensive numbers that your grandfather only dreamed his favorite second baseman could.  Uggla can hit the ball.  And he can hit the ball hard having slugged 154 home runs in his first five years in the Major Leagues, which if you didn't know is a record for a second baseman.  Which makes what I'm about to type all the more baffling.

Dan Uggla was batting a whopping .173 a month ago, nearly 100 points lower than his career average coming into this season.  Now any baseball fan would tell you that at some point they expected Uggla to get hot, he certainly couldn't keep up this level of ineptitude all season, and they would be right.  Uggla has now gotten a hit in 25 straight games and is showing the offensive prowess many thought that he had.  25 straight games!  You would think his average would have shot way up after this sustained level of excellence and you would be wrong.  Dan Uggla is now batting .215.


A hit everyday for a month and still only batting .215.  You still think there's anything tougher to do in sports?

Let's Go To The Tape!

HE'S SAFE?  HE'S SAFE?  ARE YOU F*CKING KIDDING ME?  This is what many of us screamed last night after Julio Lugo was called safe at home in the bottom of the 19th inning of the Braves win over the Pirates.  While clearly out by about 5ft with the naked eye what we all saw on replay was conclusive enough.  And lets face it, all real baseball fans know the neighborhood rule, "if the ball beats you and a tag is implied, more often than not you will be called out".

Now that it has been a day or so, and many of you have had a moment to calm down, it is time to examine the need for extensive instant replay use in Major League Baseball.  Instead of them using it solely for home run calls.

You will not find a more "traditionalist" when it comes to baseball than I am.  My love for that tradition is largely what shaped my being a Mets fan instead of a Yankees fan, to me the DH is bullsh*t and robs the game of some of its strategy and purity.  And while the presence of human error has always been a part of the game, the 37,000 thousand angles and 2,000,000 replays available to the viewing public have not been.

The scrutiny that is now involved with umpiring/refereeing professional sports today almost demands that baseball catch up with the times, or at least the NFL and NBA, and allow its umpires to use all available tools to get the calls right.  There is simply too much on the line.  Games, places in the standings, post season victories, and the occasional perfect game have been affected and it's wrong.

I hope the Pirates don't end up tied or losing their division by 1 game at the end of the season.  If that does happen there will be a new "most hated man" in Pittsburgh and his name will be Jerry Meals.

One Giant Step

The New York Football Giants signed Mark Herzlich, an undrafted rookie linebacker out of Boston College, to a contract today.  This probably didn't even register on the radar of most football fans but it should have.  Not because the Giants are the best team in the world, this is a biased opinion, but because of Herzlich's story.  If you don't know it, which if you are a sports fan you should, you are about to hear it.

Two seasons ago as a junior Herzlich was the ACC defensive player of the year and was expected to be a first round pick in the NFL draft.  He decided to return to school for his senior year.  Shortly after making the decision he noticed that something just wasn't quite right with his health.  He was soon diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.  He sat out the 2009 football season to have treatment and surgery to have a rod placed in his femur.  He also served as a student assistant coach and inspiration to his teammates.

Mark returned to the field for the 2010 season and despite missing a year of football had a successful season recording 65 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, and 4 interceptions.  He was expected to be taken in the later rounds of this years NFL draft.  And though he was one of about 30 players invited to attend the event he went undrafted.  Being the 1st free agent signed by the Giants after the lockout was ended now means that he will still get to live out his NFL dream.

Herzlich will play with a chip on his shoulder because he was not drafted and an inspiration that few of us could ever imagine having had football and nearly his life taken from him.  I will be rooting for Herzlich to succeed not because I am Giants fan but because I'm a human fan.  Tough not to cheer for someone who's overcome so much to do the thing that he loves.

PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN.

I did not see the game so I don't know how well/poorly the US may have played in their Women's World Cup finals match against Japan.  I understand that they lost on PK's after apparently dominating the match but were unable to capitalize on some very good scoring chances.  I will encourage you all to stop all the player bashing and remember one thing... despite what you think you absolutely could not have played better than any of the players you are ripping apart.  The run they went on to get to the final, while at times unbelievable, was impressive nonetheless.  The best team rarely wins in sports and today it seems was just Japans day. 

That being said just be proud of our ladies and the ride they took us on over the last 2 weeks.  While we all would have preferred that they had won the match we should all take one thing away from what we saw from them in the tournament.  The American fighting spirit is alive and well!  The result from today's game does not change that.  I am proud of the U.S. women's soccer team and PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN.

Prince And A Papa.

So the Mid-Summer classic, the Major League Baseball All Star Game which was played in Arizona this year, has come and gone.  While the game was entertaining it certainly was nothing to write home about.  I actually found the events that took place on the red carpet the day before to be more intriguing.  Particularly what happened to Prince Fielder and his family.

Prince Fielder, 1st baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers and captain of the National League Home Run Derby team, along with his wife and children were booed and had water thrown on them by Arizona Diamondback fans.  Not because the Brewers and Diamondbacks are heated rivals, they play in different divisions in the National League.  But because he didn't chose Justin Upton, right fielder for the Diamondbacks, to be on the Home Run Derby Team.

Hey Diamondback fans... it's a Home Run Derby.  It means nothing in the standings and many of you  forgot who won the damn thing fifteen minutes before it started.  Show a little class and human decency and not throw water and boo the man and his wife and kids.  At 5'11" and close to 300 lbs fans close enough to throw things at them are lucky Fielder didn't decide to go Home Run Derby on their heads. 

That's what I would have done if it was my family but I was glad he showed restraint and shut those people up with his play in the game.  He hit a 3 run home run that was all the National League needed to win the game and took home the games MVP award.  Poetic justice.... A Prince for a day!

Hope Springs Eternal!

No words really need to be written about what we saw today from the U.S. Women's soccer team.  Well maybe there are three.... NEVER GIVE UP!

USA 2 - BRAZIL 2

USA wins 5-3 on PK's.

Advances to the WWC semi-finals!

U-S-A!  U-S-A!  U-S-A!

A RING AND A PRAYER

Roy Williams, wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, is suing his ex-girlfriend to retrieve the $76K engagement ring that he gave her that she will not return.  Now while litigation in a scenario like this is rare, it is not uncommon for a man to request the ring back after an engagement goes south.  Especially one that carries such a hefty price tag.  And usually I would be completely on the side of the man trying to recover the ring.  Not this time.

I may never blog about relationships ever again but this was just to juicy to leave alone.  Turns out that Roy, intelligent and fantastically romantic suitor that he is, mailed the ring to what he hoped what be his bride to be.  Yes you read correctly, HE MAILED IT TO HER.  He videotaped his proposal and mailed that as well.  The decision to do both of these things probably put him at the top of the "ways to not propose" list.  This makes the guy who proposes on the video board, of  the local sporting event of your choice, look like Richard Gere in Pretty Woman climbing the fire escape to propose to Julia Roberts.

Gentlemen, and ladies, out there who may be considering a proposal, remember the lesson taught to us by Roy Williams.  Don't half ass it.  Use your whole ass!  Keep this in mind and maybe, just maybe, she'll say yes.  You'll also save yourself from paying for postage and a lawyer.

Run Fausto, Run!

It seems to happen at least once every season during Interleague play.  Some pitcher who is not used to batting and or running the bases hurts himself.  And soon after we hear cries from American League managers and front office personnel to either get rid of Interleague play or impose the DH on the National League.  Both arguments are compelling but these people are missing the point.  If you are a Major League Baseball player and you can't navigate running the bases unscathed, which is something many children do with out incident, maybe you should look into another line of work.  Seriously!

At some point in your baseball career you had to both hit and run the bases.  You knew this would be part of the deal when you signed up.  To see the "professionals" looking incompetent in doing something that amateurs and even everyday people do with relative ease is funny but embarrassing.

Instead of asking the National League to adopt the DH how about we make the American League get rid of it and force these players that are paid to play the game actually play all parts of the game.  That way when we see an AL pitcher go down running the bases we laugh it off as bad luck instead of expecting it to happen.

Reyes Of Hope

Dear Fred Wilpon,

Let me begin by saying that I am one of the nine Mets fans on the planet, actually in the galaxy.  While your ownership has brought us the Amazins' of 1986, it has also brought us a slew of bad free agent signings, bad trades, and unprecedented end of season meltdowns.  But there is hope and you have a tremendous opportunity to hold on to the continued loyalty of all nine of us.

RESIGN JOSE REYES!!

Despite your best efforts to alienate what is your best player with asinine comments in an SI article, he has still expressed interest in spending his entire career with one franchise, yours!  You were right he should not get "Carl Crawford" money when he becomes a free agent, he should get more.  Reyes has become what we all thought he was... the most electrifying position player in Major League Baseball.

Check the stats:
.349 batting average
.394 on base percentage
.528 slugging percentage
117 hits
21 doubles
15 triples
3 homeruns
64 runs
29 stolen bases

The guy is doing everything for the team short of selling hot dogs and beer in Citi Field.  Give your GM one mission this off season, since you ruined any chance of signing him during the season, and mandate that he keep Reyes a Met.  Give him the money!  This is different than your other free agent blunders in that Reyes is only 28 years old.  Not some aging veteran whose best years were had before you paid him.

Doing this will give us a small ray of hope of the franchise recovering from the free fall it has been in since losing game seven of the NLCS to the Cardinals in 2006.  If not than please go ahead and just give the team to Bernie Madoff, like you did the rest of your money.

Sincerely,

Met Fan #7 of 9

P.S. - Or you could just sell the team to a competent owner.

Alley Ooop

I hope Coach Valvano is drawing up a play for Lorenzo Charles.  May they both R.I.P.  My heart goes out to the Wolfpack Nation and to the Charles family.

YankeESPN

Now that the NBA and Stanley Cup finals have both come to a close we can now begin to focus on America's past time.  Yes people I am talking about baseball.  While I often feel like I am one of only seven people who still love baseball, I am well aware that there is still a large portion of the population who does indeed still enjoy it.  Nothing beats being at the ballpark with friends and/or family and taking in a game.  The beer, the hot dogs, the peanuts, the cotton candy, and all the other things we love about it that have been put into song numerous times over.

Getting to the ballpark to see our favorite teams is rarely an option for many of us and we rely heavily on viewing "national broadcasts" to catch a look at them.  Black out rules can make this challenging but that is a discussion for another time.  Today's focus will be on ESPN and the MLB network.  Between the two stations there are roughly 7 games televised nationally a week.  You would think with that number there would be ample opportunity to catch your favorite team and you would be right.  If your favorite team was the Yankees.

Yes I am a Yankee hater but this has nothing to do with my personal feelings.  Many of my friends know that I will actually watch any game that is televised whether my team is playing or not.  But seriously the programmers for these two networks have to know that not everyone in the country is a Yankee fan, they also should know the Yankees have their own network that is also available in most markets in the country.  It really has come to the point where I actually just have to guess who the Yankees are playing when I pull up the guide and I see "MLB Baseball" in the time slot.  This was a fun game for the first 2.5 months of the season but even I have grown tired of it.  There are actually some pretty intriguing stories going on in the rest of the baseball world, it's just too bad that unless it involves the Yankees, most of the country will have no idea what those stories are.

All Apologies

I'm sorry.  I apologize.  I hope you can forgive me.

Over the past couple of days we have heard both Terrelle Pryor and Lebron James offer up apologies for their words and actions.  And while they both seemed to be sincere the question is do we really care?

Pryor apologized to OSU and it's fans but mostly to Jim Tressel, the coach and mentor whose job was lost due in part to Pryor's activities.  I don't know Pryor but I do believe that he is truly sorry and he probably did owe Tressel an apology.  But where is the public apology that Tressel owes Pryor?  The apology for not being a good enough father figure to Pryor.  For not stressing right and wrong not only to Pryor but to many of his players.  For enabling them to commit such acts that the University is in a PR mess.  For "protecting" the players when really he was protecting the preseason #1 ranking and chance at a national title that would have gone away had he reported the violations.  We always want to hear from the players when violations occur and we want them to be remorseful.  We rarely bat an eye at the coaches who are either ignorant or apathetic to the actions of the players off the field as long as they help them to victories on it.  Players are held accountable and called bad kids, coaches are held accountable and are paid millions to go away or in the case of Pete Carroll at USC you take a better paying NFL job before the shit hits the fan.  How is this fair?


And Lebron or is it King James or as many are now calling you Mr. I play 3/4 of a game!  While your apology was the right thing to do no one actually believes you.  What they do believe is what you said that required you to apologize in the first place.  You are right, at the end of the day all the haters who were happy you and your team lost will still have to go back to their lives.  And you will continue to live your life and do the things that you want to do.  And they do believe that you think you are better than them and frankly, you do.  It's okay to feel that way, part of your success comes from you feeling that way.  Part of your shortcomings come from it too my friend.  Instead of reminding the public you are better than them you should consider using that energy in the gym.  Work on a post game, a mid range jump shot, moving without the basketball, and late game free throw shooting.  That way they will know that you are at least a better basketball player than them, and maybe just maybe you'll prove you are a better clutch player than DeShawn Stevenson too.

You can spell heart without the HEAT!

Things we have learned from this years NBA finals.

1.  Not only is Lebron James not better than Michael Jordan, he isn't even better than Dwyane Wade.  I actually feel terrible about mentioning Jordan in the same blog as either of them.  

2.  Dirk Nowitski is indeed a great player.  Easily the best European player to ever play in the league.  But let's slow down this talk about top 10 ever.  1 title does not an all time great make.  Remember this wasn't the first NBA Finals he has played in and things didn't go so well the 1st time.

3.  Quiet as it's kept, coaching actually does matter in the NBA.  See Rick Carlisle using that zone defense which seemed to completely stifle the Heat offense and see Erik Spoelstra's inability to make any coaching change to attack it.  

4.  Three super talented and athletically gifted players will not win against 8-10 guys who not only can play but can think basketball in a 7 game series if none of the three is a killer.

5.  The NBA playoffs still can't touch March Madness.

Deep IS the heart of Texas.

It's a pretty common occurrence in the world of sports.  Two teammates brought together by chance, bound together by their love for a game.  But sometimes tragedy happens and the two are tied together for reasons that neither of them wants.  That is the story of Johnathan Taylor and Zach Cone.  Taylor was a star player for the University of Georgia who was paralyzed in an outfield collision with his teammate Zach Cone, who is also one of his best friends.  Taylor is paralyzed from the waist down and though his doctors say he is making progress is probably never going to walk again, let alone ever play baseball.  Cone, uninjured, kept himself focused and played well enough to be drafted number 37 overall in this weeks first year players draft by the Texas Rangers.

While this began as a sports story it now turns into just a feel good human story.  In an unprecedented and classy move, those same Texas Rangers drafted Johnathan Taylor in the 33th round of the draft.  Rangers director of amateur scouting Kip Fagg saying "He's a great kid and he's going through a terrible time in his life and we thought this would be something to uplift him, I've seen the kid play since high school, he was a great player at Georgia."  You can read the entire story here  http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/news/story?id=6641490.


Quite often the subject matter of this blog will be something negative or controversial or even a huge breaking news story from the world of sports because that is what is drilled into our heads in this day of the 24 hours a day sports news cycle.  But it is stories like this that remind us of the good that can come from sports.  A good I'm sad to say that we, myself included, just don't seem to embrace enough.

The Ohio State University's Pryor-ities

Terrelle Pryor's time at Ohio State University has come to an end.  This is not really news.  I believe anyone in the know, or anyone with a tv, saw this coming the moment it was announced that Jim Tressel was "resigning".  Both Tressel and the university have received a share of the blame for what has happened at the school.  Terrell Pryor it seems to me is being blamed far to much.

Let's review.  Jim Tressel was alerted to possible rules violations being committed by a number of players.  Instead of reporting to the university he emailed one of Pryor's mentors about said violations.  When finally questioned about this by the NCAA months later Tressel denied knowing anything and the players were suspended for 5 games next season.  Then it was revealed Tressel did in fact know and was suspended by the school for 2 games and eventually he asked that it be 5 games to match the players.  Now this is where it gets good.  After further investigation, particularly an article written in SI, it is found that during Tressel's tenure as coach nearly 30 players had received improper benefits.  Upon hearing this from SI the university had no comment and referred all questions to Tressel's lawyer, effectively putting him out on the ledge by himself.  The next day Tressel resigns.

Now since then many things have happened.  There have been radio and print interviews with former players who all admit that they had in fact committed violations and that it was common knowledge.  No surprise as Tressel had the same things occur at his previous job and turned what could best be described as a blind eye to it.  Many have continued to support Tressel, both fans as well as current and former players.  This is what happens when you have a successful coach.  No one has supported or even come to the defense of the players, particularly Pryor.

Terrelle Pryor was 31-4 as a starting QB and 3-0 versus Michigan, very respectable numbers.  He has also accomplished something that we only see on television or read about in comic books.  He has somehow managed to make himself into at least 28 different people.  That's the number of players speculated to have committed violations.  Even more impressive is that by doing so he was able to be eligible to play for almost 9 seasons which is unheard of.  I say all this because Pryor is the only name that you hear that had anything to do with bringing down this "respected" coach.  He and only he is being blamed for ending Tressel's collegiate coaching career and tarnishing the image of the Ohio State University.

That's a lot for a 21 year old to have already accomplished, especially since he apparently begin selling memorabilia when he was 12.  That's how old he would have been in 2002 when this all started.

The Bryce Is Wrong!

At the encouragement of many friends, family, and people so important you wouldn't actually know who they are, I have finally started a sports blog.  This is not going to be written like I spent years learning how to be a writer.  In fact I am a very poor writer but I will make up for it with good humor and impeccable spelling.  I want to personally thank Bryce Harper for providing me with inspiration for this first submission.  Let's face it bloggers are only as good as their subject matter and his blowing a kiss at an opposing player is just the sort of thing that grabs the attention of sports fans.

Harper, apparently still upset from being hit by a pitch the day before, posed like he was Barry Bonds hitting #756 after hitting a home run.  Then proceeded to dog it around the bases and after the opposing pitcher, who took offense to this and yelled something at him, Harper blew a kiss at the pitcher.  I have heard many opinions about his actions today.  Some say give him a break he's 18 years old.  Some say he's a cocky and arrogant bonus baby.

I don't know Bryce Harper but I know he was on the cover of SI at age 16.  I know he left high school early got his GED and enrolled in a junior college all in an effort to speed up his eligibility for the draft.  I know he was the #1 pick in last year's draft and received a 9.9 million dollar contract, the highest ever for a 1st year position player.  Knowing all that and seeing his actions last night I would not be shocked to see him take one in the ribs and/or above in the next few games.  He accelerated his path to becoming a professional and he needs to act like one.  Being 18 years old does not excuse not knowing how to conduct yourself on the diamond.  Yes I know this was a minor league game but anyone who has played or watched baseball knows the rules and the code of conduct.  You do not show up your opponent, period.  Perhaps the guy who should have been the most upset at Harper's actions was David Freitas.  He followed Harper in the batting order in this game and Harper's actions put him in danger.   We shall see what comes of this over the next few days.  I would be surprised if he made it through the week without a cracked helmet or an imprint of the stitches from the baseball in his rib cage after it "kisses" him.