With all due respect to NBA slogan, I love these games.
Since there really is so much going on in the world of sports, I think it's time for a roundup. Here are a few brief observations on recent days.
This President's Cup was such a battle of wits that it bore little resemblance to America's head of state.
I'm used to tracking the last couple of days in golf's major events, but otherwise I don't follow it particularly heavily. However, injecting a team element and match play format into the sport can make for some interesting moments, as some memorable Ryder Cups have shown. Unlike the Ryder, the President's Cup allows American golfers to team up against the rest of the world instead of a team composed solely of Europeans. While the Americans pulled out the victory this time around, the final day was not without its drama. Tiger Woods, who held a one hole lead on a pair of occasions early in his Sunday showdown with Retief Goosen, eventually lost 2 & 1. The U.S. however, had more than its share of clutch moments down the stretch. Fred Couples nailed a 25-foot birdie putt on 18 to trump Vijay Singh, and knew it was good as soon as he struck it. Finally, Chris DiMarco sealed the deal in defeating Stuart Appleby with his own 15-footer on the final hole: would it be fair to call it a walk-off putt?
The AL East battle is great drama for some, and close to agony for people like me.
The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are to face off in a series that could well add a page to the lore of the rivalry. While the Yankees have battled back from serious injuries and have gotten unfathomable production from farmhand Aaron Small and emergency acquisition Shawn Chacon, I would love for there to be a little less tension as to their fate. I read a column by former Reds legend Joe Morgan, who said he believed from the start of the season that the Eastern division would come down to the final series in Fenway Park which begins tomorrow and ends Sunday. I can't say the same is true of me, but baseball does seem to end the season with as many divisional match-ups as possible. In any case, the Yankees have won 16 of their last 20 contests to lead by a single game. For its part, Boston rallied from 4-1 down today behind two key hits by David Ortiz and a two-run homer by Manny Ramirez to maintain their slim deficit. Had the Red Sox been defeated, its fans would likely have remembered Toronto's Frank Catalanotto as an even bigger villain. In the series' final three games, the Long Island native was 9 of 15 with 10 RBI.
You know the National League is getting interesting when I actually stop to pay attention.
For quite some time, I had thought that analysts were jumping on the San Francisco Giants bandwagon a bit prematurely. Yes, the National League West had been horrendous, and Los Gigantes had gotten Moises Alou and Barry Bonds back from injuries, along with some solid outings by young starters Noah Lowry and Brad Hennessey. However, predicting them to overtake the first-place San Diego Padres would be most improbable. Of course, the White Sox did get dangerously close to giving up their division title before clinching the AL Central today.
The Giants have no longer have a shot at a playoff berth this year, but they made things interesting while they lasted. On Monday, Padres center fielder Brian Giles couldn't hold on to a deep drive by Randy Winn, and the Giants scored the tying and go-ahead runs off of closer Trevor Hoffman with 2 outs in the ninth. What made that play even more dramatic were the fireworks that had been set off, obviously by a Padres staff member who thought Giles had in fact made the grab. In the bottom of the ninth, Giants first baseman J.T. Snow leaped for a ball falling into the camera well; while he did not come up with the ball, he landed on the concrete below, and was actually cheered by San Diego fans when he emerged basically unscathed. This made me think of something ESPN Page Two's Bill Simmons wrote last week: "San Diego makes Switzerland look like Compton."
In any case, this triggered a plan that a friend and I had hatched some time ago. If the Giants were within striking distance of the Pads, we would make the trek to Petco Park and take in one of the games in the series. The Padres had lost a game in the standings two straight days, and it was time to put our thoughts into action. Up late the night before the game, I noticed that an EBay ticket auction was to end at 2 AM the day of the game, so I could put in a low bid and see if I won in the morning. The long and short of it: I received seats worth a total of $52 for 99 cents. Memories of this victory came in handy when we were asked to fork over seventeen bucks to park in a garage adjacent to the ballpark. We were just glad to be on time, because we witnessed the Giants hit two singles to lead off the game, followed by a Snow lineout and a Barry Bonds bomb to left field. At the time, we had not reached our seats and observed from near the park area in center field, but there was no doubt about that shot. The first few innings turned out to be offense-oriented, and San Francisco's lead was down to 6-5 in the middle of the fourth. In the bottom of that frame, the Padres had two runners on base with two out when Snow made an extremely uncharacteristic fielding error, opening the door for a Ramon Hernandez grand slam. Even normally staid Petco went relatively berserk over that turn of events, and for good reason: they would clinch the National League West the following day. Unlike the last time I ventured downtown, Hoffman entered to "Hell's Bells" and easily converted the save.
Finally, Wild Card races that live up to the quality of the Rippingtons' new release.
I am a jazz addict, and one of the hottest albums on my playlist in recent weeks has been Russ Freeman and company's Wild Card. But the Indians' push toward the playoffs and the Astros' relentless quest to get back to the World Series have proven compelling in their own right. Cleveland enters the last three games knowing it must beat out either the Yankees or Red Sox for the consolation prize, and will have to win games against a relaxed Chicago squad. Meanwhile, Houston sends Roger Clemens to the mound tomorrow hoping to preserve its two game lead over Philadelphia. The desperate Phillies have been led by Jimmy Rollins, who has turned himself into a machine, compiling hits in 33 consecutive games when they matter most.
Some quick hits about football:
-The Bengals nearly made the postseason last year, but in 2005 they seem destined for playoff action. Carson Palmer has emerged with stellar numbers in the first three weeks, with a rating of 114 (versus 77.3 last year) and completion percentage of 71.1 (compared to 60.9).
-I'm not the only Jets fan distressed about Chad Pennington's latest injury, but some experts say that replacement Brooks Bollinger won't be the reason New York loses games. Meanwhile, speculation abounds: Chris Mortensen suggests the possibility of USC standout Matt Leinart wearing Jet green in 2006.
-What to make of the AFC West? I thought the Chiefs could challenge for one of the top spots in the conference after Week 1, but their bad loss to Denver has Kansas City a little frustrated. Meanwhile, Mortensen picks Oakland to have the third worst record in the league.
-After LSU's heartbreaking home loss at the hands of the Tennessee Volunteers, it's not surprising to hear that some fans had trouble keeping their emotions inside. The AP writes that the university apologized after a few supporters "pelted a Tennessee bus with beer bottles."
-As a backer of the Cal Golden Bears, it's hard for me not to be Pac Ten-centric. In my defense, though, the conference is extremely talented this season. USC coach Pete Carroll is wary of Arizona State's accomplished offense, and had a difficult first quarter in defeating the Oregon Ducks. With UCLA and California highly ranked, this could be as fun a year as any to watch.
-It will be hard to top the incredible Week 2 battle between Ohio State and Texas, but fifth-ranked Florida and top fifteen squad Alabama meet in Tuscaloosa having not faced each other since 1999. There something to be said for elimination of multiple divisions within an NCAA conference when it prevents teams like these from playing regularly.
sports
Since there really is so much going on in the world of sports, I think it's time for a roundup. Here are a few brief observations on recent days.
This President's Cup was such a battle of wits that it bore little resemblance to America's head of state.
I'm used to tracking the last couple of days in golf's major events, but otherwise I don't follow it particularly heavily. However, injecting a team element and match play format into the sport can make for some interesting moments, as some memorable Ryder Cups have shown. Unlike the Ryder, the President's Cup allows American golfers to team up against the rest of the world instead of a team composed solely of Europeans. While the Americans pulled out the victory this time around, the final day was not without its drama. Tiger Woods, who held a one hole lead on a pair of occasions early in his Sunday showdown with Retief Goosen, eventually lost 2 & 1. The U.S. however, had more than its share of clutch moments down the stretch. Fred Couples nailed a 25-foot birdie putt on 18 to trump Vijay Singh, and knew it was good as soon as he struck it. Finally, Chris DiMarco sealed the deal in defeating Stuart Appleby with his own 15-footer on the final hole: would it be fair to call it a walk-off putt?
The AL East battle is great drama for some, and close to agony for people like me.
The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are to face off in a series that could well add a page to the lore of the rivalry. While the Yankees have battled back from serious injuries and have gotten unfathomable production from farmhand Aaron Small and emergency acquisition Shawn Chacon, I would love for there to be a little less tension as to their fate. I read a column by former Reds legend Joe Morgan, who said he believed from the start of the season that the Eastern division would come down to the final series in Fenway Park which begins tomorrow and ends Sunday. I can't say the same is true of me, but baseball does seem to end the season with as many divisional match-ups as possible. In any case, the Yankees have won 16 of their last 20 contests to lead by a single game. For its part, Boston rallied from 4-1 down today behind two key hits by David Ortiz and a two-run homer by Manny Ramirez to maintain their slim deficit. Had the Red Sox been defeated, its fans would likely have remembered Toronto's Frank Catalanotto as an even bigger villain. In the series' final three games, the Long Island native was 9 of 15 with 10 RBI.
You know the National League is getting interesting when I actually stop to pay attention.
For quite some time, I had thought that analysts were jumping on the San Francisco Giants bandwagon a bit prematurely. Yes, the National League West had been horrendous, and Los Gigantes had gotten Moises Alou and Barry Bonds back from injuries, along with some solid outings by young starters Noah Lowry and Brad Hennessey. However, predicting them to overtake the first-place San Diego Padres would be most improbable. Of course, the White Sox did get dangerously close to giving up their division title before clinching the AL Central today.
The Giants have no longer have a shot at a playoff berth this year, but they made things interesting while they lasted. On Monday, Padres center fielder Brian Giles couldn't hold on to a deep drive by Randy Winn, and the Giants scored the tying and go-ahead runs off of closer Trevor Hoffman with 2 outs in the ninth. What made that play even more dramatic were the fireworks that had been set off, obviously by a Padres staff member who thought Giles had in fact made the grab. In the bottom of the ninth, Giants first baseman J.T. Snow leaped for a ball falling into the camera well; while he did not come up with the ball, he landed on the concrete below, and was actually cheered by San Diego fans when he emerged basically unscathed. This made me think of something ESPN Page Two's Bill Simmons wrote last week: "San Diego makes Switzerland look like Compton."
In any case, this triggered a plan that a friend and I had hatched some time ago. If the Giants were within striking distance of the Pads, we would make the trek to Petco Park and take in one of the games in the series. The Padres had lost a game in the standings two straight days, and it was time to put our thoughts into action. Up late the night before the game, I noticed that an EBay ticket auction was to end at 2 AM the day of the game, so I could put in a low bid and see if I won in the morning. The long and short of it: I received seats worth a total of $52 for 99 cents. Memories of this victory came in handy when we were asked to fork over seventeen bucks to park in a garage adjacent to the ballpark. We were just glad to be on time, because we witnessed the Giants hit two singles to lead off the game, followed by a Snow lineout and a Barry Bonds bomb to left field. At the time, we had not reached our seats and observed from near the park area in center field, but there was no doubt about that shot. The first few innings turned out to be offense-oriented, and San Francisco's lead was down to 6-5 in the middle of the fourth. In the bottom of that frame, the Padres had two runners on base with two out when Snow made an extremely uncharacteristic fielding error, opening the door for a Ramon Hernandez grand slam. Even normally staid Petco went relatively berserk over that turn of events, and for good reason: they would clinch the National League West the following day. Unlike the last time I ventured downtown, Hoffman entered to "Hell's Bells" and easily converted the save.
Finally, Wild Card races that live up to the quality of the Rippingtons' new release.
I am a jazz addict, and one of the hottest albums on my playlist in recent weeks has been Russ Freeman and company's Wild Card. But the Indians' push toward the playoffs and the Astros' relentless quest to get back to the World Series have proven compelling in their own right. Cleveland enters the last three games knowing it must beat out either the Yankees or Red Sox for the consolation prize, and will have to win games against a relaxed Chicago squad. Meanwhile, Houston sends Roger Clemens to the mound tomorrow hoping to preserve its two game lead over Philadelphia. The desperate Phillies have been led by Jimmy Rollins, who has turned himself into a machine, compiling hits in 33 consecutive games when they matter most.
Some quick hits about football:
-The Bengals nearly made the postseason last year, but in 2005 they seem destined for playoff action. Carson Palmer has emerged with stellar numbers in the first three weeks, with a rating of 114 (versus 77.3 last year) and completion percentage of 71.1 (compared to 60.9).
-I'm not the only Jets fan distressed about Chad Pennington's latest injury, but some experts say that replacement Brooks Bollinger won't be the reason New York loses games. Meanwhile, speculation abounds: Chris Mortensen suggests the possibility of USC standout Matt Leinart wearing Jet green in 2006.
-What to make of the AFC West? I thought the Chiefs could challenge for one of the top spots in the conference after Week 1, but their bad loss to Denver has Kansas City a little frustrated. Meanwhile, Mortensen picks Oakland to have the third worst record in the league.
-After LSU's heartbreaking home loss at the hands of the Tennessee Volunteers, it's not surprising to hear that some fans had trouble keeping their emotions inside. The AP writes that the university apologized after a few supporters "pelted a Tennessee bus with beer bottles."
-As a backer of the Cal Golden Bears, it's hard for me not to be Pac Ten-centric. In my defense, though, the conference is extremely talented this season. USC coach Pete Carroll is wary of Arizona State's accomplished offense, and had a difficult first quarter in defeating the Oregon Ducks. With UCLA and California highly ranked, this could be as fun a year as any to watch.
-It will be hard to top the incredible Week 2 battle between Ohio State and Texas, but fifth-ranked Florida and top fifteen squad Alabama meet in Tuscaloosa having not faced each other since 1999. There something to be said for elimination of multiple divisions within an NCAA conference when it prevents teams like these from playing regularly.
sports
posted by Alex at 9:40 PM
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