I could be disingenuous and marvel that two of baseball's playoff spots come down to the final day of play, but today was an athletic Ode to Joy for me.
I don't mean to detract from the interest value of the situation, in which the Wild Card is still up for grabs in each league heading into Sunday. In the American League, the suddenly sliding Indians need a win and a Boston loss to force a one-game playoff in Fenway Park on Monday. Meanwhile, Houston also leads the Senior Circuit race by a single game over the Phillies. It will be interesting to see how the strength of opponent contributes to each situation: for example, the Yankees are saving Mike Mussina for the postseason and will instead throw Jaret Wright against the Red Sox tomorrow. In addition, New York manager Joe Torre stated that he will rest at least some of his regulars against their bitter rivals.
The reason for these maneuvers, of course, was the fact that the Yankees clinched the Eastern division title today, winning their contest and getting some help from the White Sox, who once again used many non-regular players in defeating Cleveland. Having followed the men in pinstripes since the first pitch in April, I can't help but feel a little proud for the team. Winning is expected from the franchise (they've won eight straight division titles), but down the stretch in this season I really began to fret about the odds they would reach the postseason. Torre once noted that, after coming within three outs of winning the 2001 World Series, he was asked if the team could do better the following season. The pressure is as extreme as anywhere in baseball (with the possible but unlikely exception of Yawkey Way), and now owner George Steinbrenner will expect his men to emerge victorious in October. For the moment, though, relief has engulfed me.
I thought I'd check in with the aftermath of my college football thoughts.
Aside from having marched in college, and thus seeing every Cal home game in person, I'm really not an enormous fan of the college game as a whole. However, I certainly follow my own team, and they've gotten off to a 5-0 start after defeating Arizona 28-0. It was great to see the Bears' kick returner and cornerback Tim Mixon appear with CB Daymeion Hughes on the TBS postgame interview, especially because I got to know Mixon a little in my days in the dorms. Both logged interceptions against Arizona quarterback Alex Kovalcheck, who was under siege for much of the game. Meanwhile, RB Marshaun Lynch returned from a finger injury to log 110 yards on the ground. Cal's strength of schedule so far has been relatively minimal, but they will face conference rival and fellow undefeated club UCLA next weekend. The Bruins squeaked out a last-minute victory against (at least ostensibly) far inferior Washington after trailing 10-0 at the half.
The other perfect team in the Pacific 10? Why, that would be USC, who sent Arizona State to its second lost of the season; one has to admit that the Sun Devils have had pretty bad luck losing two close games to the first and fourth ranked teams in the nation. The Trojans overcame a 21-3 deficit in an eventual 38-28 triumph in Tempe. Sam Keller threw for 347 for the home squad, but had 5 balls intercepted compared to zero for USC's Matt Leinart. Furthermore, the Trojans absolutely dominated the ground game, grabbing an eye-popping 355 yards rushing. What struck me most about this game, was the fact that Sun Devil Stadium was positively full: some of this has to do with the heralded opponent, but the last time I witnessed Cal beat ASU the place was not even halfway to capacity. Also, how does the Trojan Band get to travel to every away game? Perhaps, as my friend suggests, every aspect of the school is well endowed.
Shaq's alma mater LSU was able to recover against Mississippi State, but another game I highlighted before Saturday did not turn out so predictably. The Alabama Crimson Tide took advantage of their home field in scoring an upset over Florida, and by a score of 31-3. I'm not going to say I predicted this one, but a team like the Gators just has to tumble in the rankings now, especially considering their nearly nonexistent offensive totals. Gator QB Chris Leak completed just 16 out of 37 passes on the day, and Alabama's Brodie Croyle was highly efficient in tossing the pigskin just 17 times the entire contest.
sports
I don't mean to detract from the interest value of the situation, in which the Wild Card is still up for grabs in each league heading into Sunday. In the American League, the suddenly sliding Indians need a win and a Boston loss to force a one-game playoff in Fenway Park on Monday. Meanwhile, Houston also leads the Senior Circuit race by a single game over the Phillies. It will be interesting to see how the strength of opponent contributes to each situation: for example, the Yankees are saving Mike Mussina for the postseason and will instead throw Jaret Wright against the Red Sox tomorrow. In addition, New York manager Joe Torre stated that he will rest at least some of his regulars against their bitter rivals.
The reason for these maneuvers, of course, was the fact that the Yankees clinched the Eastern division title today, winning their contest and getting some help from the White Sox, who once again used many non-regular players in defeating Cleveland. Having followed the men in pinstripes since the first pitch in April, I can't help but feel a little proud for the team. Winning is expected from the franchise (they've won eight straight division titles), but down the stretch in this season I really began to fret about the odds they would reach the postseason. Torre once noted that, after coming within three outs of winning the 2001 World Series, he was asked if the team could do better the following season. The pressure is as extreme as anywhere in baseball (with the possible but unlikely exception of Yawkey Way), and now owner George Steinbrenner will expect his men to emerge victorious in October. For the moment, though, relief has engulfed me.
I thought I'd check in with the aftermath of my college football thoughts.
Aside from having marched in college, and thus seeing every Cal home game in person, I'm really not an enormous fan of the college game as a whole. However, I certainly follow my own team, and they've gotten off to a 5-0 start after defeating Arizona 28-0. It was great to see the Bears' kick returner and cornerback Tim Mixon appear with CB Daymeion Hughes on the TBS postgame interview, especially because I got to know Mixon a little in my days in the dorms. Both logged interceptions against Arizona quarterback Alex Kovalcheck, who was under siege for much of the game. Meanwhile, RB Marshaun Lynch returned from a finger injury to log 110 yards on the ground. Cal's strength of schedule so far has been relatively minimal, but they will face conference rival and fellow undefeated club UCLA next weekend. The Bruins squeaked out a last-minute victory against (at least ostensibly) far inferior Washington after trailing 10-0 at the half.
The other perfect team in the Pacific 10? Why, that would be USC, who sent Arizona State to its second lost of the season; one has to admit that the Sun Devils have had pretty bad luck losing two close games to the first and fourth ranked teams in the nation. The Trojans overcame a 21-3 deficit in an eventual 38-28 triumph in Tempe. Sam Keller threw for 347 for the home squad, but had 5 balls intercepted compared to zero for USC's Matt Leinart. Furthermore, the Trojans absolutely dominated the ground game, grabbing an eye-popping 355 yards rushing. What struck me most about this game, was the fact that Sun Devil Stadium was positively full: some of this has to do with the heralded opponent, but the last time I witnessed Cal beat ASU the place was not even halfway to capacity. Also, how does the Trojan Band get to travel to every away game? Perhaps, as my friend suggests, every aspect of the school is well endowed.
Shaq's alma mater LSU was able to recover against Mississippi State, but another game I highlighted before Saturday did not turn out so predictably. The Alabama Crimson Tide took advantage of their home field in scoring an upset over Florida, and by a score of 31-3. I'm not going to say I predicted this one, but a team like the Gators just has to tumble in the rankings now, especially considering their nearly nonexistent offensive totals. Gator QB Chris Leak completed just 16 out of 37 passes on the day, and Alabama's Brodie Croyle was highly efficient in tossing the pigskin just 17 times the entire contest.
sports
posted by Alex at 11:53 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home