My internets have been acting up so no Note today. Suns blew out the Mavs, Clemens might be coming back. go to ESPN.com for the real news. Be back tomorrow I promise.
Monthly Archive for May, 2006
And we’re back. Hope everybody had a good Memorial Day Weekend. Due to some internet troubles and a really early morning, today’s note is going to be more link-centered then normal. Still very enjoyable though. Anyway one of the bigger stories over the weekend was Barry Bonds finally passing the Babe on the all-time home run list when Bonds smacked his 715th home run. As we all know Bonds more then likely cheated to reach that number and really no one outside of San Fran cares at this point what Bonds does. Cheating or not, the man is a shell of his former self. He can’t run, he’s a joke in the field, Bonds on Bonds was a frightening experience; in short the man is a train wreck. So with all that you know something had to go wrong when number 715 came along. And of course something did, making the moment even more special.
The radio broadcast cut out. More specifically, the play-by-play guy’s mike cut out. Right in the middle of the moment. Not right before the at-bat or right after, but RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE. Here’s the transcript of what Giants fans heard over the radio: “Three-and-two. Finley runs. The payoff pitch, a swing and a drive to deep cen …”. And that was it. Can you imagine, if you actually cared about the Giants/Bonds, hearing that and wondering what happened? Bonds had a home run taken from him by Juan Pierre a couple of weeks ago. He’s hit warning shot bombs many times this season. A drive to deep center could have meant anything. More then anything though I feel for Giants announcer Dave Flemming. This was one of those sports moments where they’d play the broadcast over and over; a piece of history. Flemming’s call would have been a part of history but he never got a chance to make it. His call (or non-call) will still go down in history but most likely not the way he had wanted. For the Bonds-haters amongst us, the radio debacle is like a nice like cherry on top of a really nice sundae. (Link)
Heat on the verge
Looks like the Pistons/Heat series is all but done. The Heat won again last night in Miami to take a 3-1 series lead. Dwyane Wade was pretty nasty in leading Miami to the 89-78 victory. The Pistons look done, they are bickering amongst themselves and it could get ugly. It will be nice to see Shaq and Wade get to the Finals but even nicer will be tonight’s Game 4 in the Suns/Mavs series (8:30 PM ET on TNT). The Heat versus either the Mavs or the Suns should be a lot more exciting then any series involving the Pistons. (Link)
Arenas gets himself arrested
Washington Wizards point guard Gilbert Arenas managed to get himself arrested this weekend in Miami. According to press reports Arenas was trying to stick up for his friend and teammate Awvee Storey who was blocking traffic and ignoring police demands he get out of the street. Considering Storey is the Wizards 12th man, at best, one wonders if Wizards mangement will bring the hammer down and send Storey packing. On the bright side Arenas and Storey weren’t alone in lock up, 557 people got arrested in Miami from Thursday to Saturday night during something known as Urban Beach Week. I imagine Arenas is going to look back on this statement he made to police with some regret: “You can’t arrest me. I’m a basketball player. I play for the Washington Wizards, and I’m not going to leave my teammate.” (Link)
Ronaldo wants to come to the US to play
Apparently Ronaldo would like to end his playing career playing in the MLS. Now admittedly Ronaldo is past his prime, and he’s still under contract to Real Madrid, but he would be a huge get for the MLS. Perhaps the most important part of this story is the fact that Ronaldo has already turned down a reported 10 year, $120 million contract from the New York Red Bulls. Who knew an MLS team had that kind of money to throw around? Thats NBA/MLB type money. Can the MLS really support that kind of adjustment to their salary structure? I guess Red Bull really does give you wings. (Link)
Odds and Ends
Via the boys at Deadspin, we give you the sickest soccer highlight video you’ll see for quite some time. Zindine and Ronaldinho show their stuff. Even if you don’t like soccer you need to check out what these guys can do with a ball. I can’t wait for the World Cup. (Video Link)
Speaking of Deadspin, we here at the Sports Note got a shout out from the big league boys for our Matthew LeCroy coverage last week. We’re on our way boys.
Amare Stoudimire is changing his number for next year. First Kobe goes from 8 to 24, now Amare is going from 32 to 1. This makes no sense to me. Players not sticking with one team for their whole careers, ok I can understand that. But at least stick with one number. How hard is that? (Link)
Pat Robertson is a liar and a lunatic but you probably already knew that. So what does that have to do with sports? Well Robertson, while promoting his energy drink (yes, everyone has an energy drink now), is claiming he can leg press 2,000 lbs. 2000. And he’s 72 years old. Slate’s Mike DeBonis examines the holy man’s claim. (Link)
Jason Whitlock covers Danica Patrick and the Indy 500. No comment. (Link)
The NCAA baseball tournament bracket’s were released. (Link)
No Note today people. Its Memorial Day. Go outside, go to a Barbeque, stop reading the internet. See you tomorrow.
I would hazard to guess that yesterday was the worst day in the Nationals’ Matthew LeCroy’s professional baseball career. LeCroy, starting at catcher for the Nationals against the Houston Astros, looked like he learned how to catch from the Bizarro world Tom Emanski videos. The Astros ran wild on LeCroy, stealing seven bases (SEVEN bases) in less than seven innings. Nationals’ manager Frank Robinson had to pull LeCroy in favor of emergency catcher Robert Fick after LeCroy committed his second throwing error of the game. LeCroy’s performance was so bad that talking about it literally made Frank Robinson cry during his post game interview. That’s right, Frank Robinson, the oldest of old school baseball guys, tough as nails, cried when talking about LeCroy. Now admittedly he seemed to be crying about veteran players who are willing to do anything to help the team but I mean still. Frank Robinson tried to fight Angels manager Mike Scioscia last year and yet Matthew LeCroy manages to bring the man to tears. Perhaps Robinson is the Modern Man, able to be both macho and sensitve.
To be honest, the blame here falls quite squarely on the Nationals management. There is no intelligent reason why LeCroy should be catching games at the Major League level. LeCroy is a first baseman/DH-type who maybe, maybe could be stuck behind the plate in an emergency. I mean the man is listed at 6-2, 230 lbs. Now I’ve seen LeCroy in person and I can honestly say the listed weight seems about, oh say 20 pounds to light. And not 20 pounds of muscle either. I think the term “Rollie Pollie†might have been coined with LeCroy in mind. No self-respecting team should enter any game planning on having LeCroy start at catcher. Only the Nationals seem to not understand this. Before signing with the Nats in the off-season LeCroy had spent his entire career with the Twins. In 2005 LeCroy played one, count it, one inning behind the plate. Now LeCroy did come up in the Twins system as a catcher and in fact in 2004 he played in 26 games behind the plate and had 22 starts behind the dish in 2003. 2005 is when the Twins realized that LeCroy just wasn’t cut out to be a catcher at this level. Clearly the Nats never got the memo, because for some insane reason LeCroy has already started at catcher 8 times this year. Eight starts and 12 total appearances at catcher in the Nats’ first 48 games. To be fair, LeCroy was a standup guy about the whole thing, saying about his mid-inning removal, “My daddy treated me the same way. I’d like to be better. But if I was, I’d be a lot richer”. Yes you would be Matt. This needs to stop and one can only hope yesterday’s debacle will be the last time we see Mr. LeCroy playing catcher for a long time. Honestly, I just can’t bear to see Frank Robinson cry again. Thom Boswell, obviously touched by Robinson’s tears, pens a somewhat sad in its eagerness love letter to the Nats and Robinson in today’s WaPo. Oh, the Nationals won by the way, 8-5.
Pistons even the series
Sigh. It is Eastern Conference Finals, so it’s a big sports story I guess. But as I’ve said, I just can’t get into this series. The Pistons came back after their Game 1 defeat to even the series at 1-1 heading into Game 3 in Miami. The final seconds of the game were a little exciting as the Heat threatened to tie the game but the Pistons held on as Chauncey Billups hit two clutch free throws. Final score, 92-88. On the bright side, tonight comes Suns/Mavs Game 2, 8:30 PM ET on TNT. (Link)
Last night’s National League games
Ryan Howard hit his 15th home run of the season, his MLB-leading 10th in May, to power the Phillies past the Mets 5-3. (Link)
Last night’s American League games
The Rangers rallied from a 7-0 deficit to beat the A’s 8-7. The Rangers scored their last four runs on four solo shots with the last being Phil Nevin’s game-winning shot in the 9th. (Link)
Josh Beckett is sick this year as he improves to 7-1 after the Red Sox beat the Devil Rays 4-1. If he avoids his annual blister attack this could be the career year everyone’s been expecting from Beckett. As a fantasy owner who has Beckett on one of his teams I certainly hope so. (Link)
Rodrigo Lopez has the right attitude. After completely stinking up the join this year Lopez headed into yesterday’s start against the Mariners thinking “Now, it was like, what’s the worst that’s going to happen?â€. Ah the power of positive thinking. Lopez pitched his best game of the year by far, allowing only two hits in 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball as the Orioles won 2-0. (Link)
If Bud Selig offered the Royals the option of not playing their remaining games and instead declaring that they would agree to “lose†every remaining series as long as the Royals could get one win in each series I would think Kansas City would have to jump at the offer, right? Detroit comes back from an early 6-0 deficit to send the Royals to their 13th loss in a row. (Link)
Odds and Ends
The Phoenix Suns’ Raja Bell will miss at least Game 2 of the Suns/Mavs series with a calf injury. This is a pretty big blow for the Suns as Bell is not only their best defensive player but has also been one of their better offensive players during the playoffs. (Link)
Ian Thomsen writes on SI.com that changes in the Charlotte Bobcats front office might mean Michael Jordan is thinking of returning to the NBA (in a front office/owner role, not as a player thank god). (Link)
Its been quite a week
Well thats all for the Sports Note folks. We don’t write on the weekends. See you again Monday (maybe Tuesday given the holiday) with a recap of everything that happened over the break.
I couldn’t believe the result. Stunning. What a moment, what a night. I totally thought Katharine McPhee was going to be the next American Idol but nope, Taylor Hicks won. What, you thought I was talking about the Suns/Mavs game? Seriously though, did you watch that game last night? It was pretty incredible and that’s coming from someone who was already expecting big things. The Suns won 121-118, beating the Mavs on their home court. I’m not a good enough writer to accurately portray the dynamics of this game, especially the last few moments, so instead I’ll just give you the play by play of the last minute or so of the game. Steve Nash, scoring his tenth point in a row, makes a three pointer with 1:04 left that leaves the score at 116-115 in favor of the Mavs. Nash almost single-handedly has brought the Suns back from an eight point deficit with under 3:30 left. On the next play Nash gets Devin Harris to commit an offensive foul, Suns basketball. With 43 seconds left Nash finds Shawn Marion for a short two-pointer and the Suns have completed the comeback and now are up 117-116. Dallas calls timeout but Jerry Stackhouse loses control of the ball and turns it over, Suns ball again. Dallas buckles down on defense, forces a missed shot and Dirk Nowitzki gets the rebound with 20 seconds left, Dallas ball. With the clocking winding down Devin Harris, who had a huge game, makes a mid-range jump shot with 4 seconds left. Now Dallas leads 118-117. The Suns call a timeout. Phoenix inbounds the ball from half court into Boris Diaw who is posting up on Jerry Stackhouse. With 4/10s of a second left in the game Diaw scores his 33rd and 34th points in the game on a little turnaround jumper, the Suns retook the lead at 119-118. And that was it. The Suns added two meaningless free throws to arrive at the final score of 121-118. All that happened in the last 1:05 of the game. Admittedly it was more exciting to watch on TV then to read here but the general idea is conveyed I think.
I actually was intending to not write about the NBA today but a game like that has to get top billing. Steve Nash had an MVP-worthy performance, dishing out 16 assists and scoring 27 points, including the ten straight to bring the Suns back at the end of the game. Boris Diaw scored a career-high 34 points. Shawn Marion was his usual self, dropping 24 points and collecting 13 boards. The Mavs Dirk Nowitzki put up 25 points and collected an insane 19 rebounds. Dallas point guard Devin Harris continued his excellent playoff run with 30 points, including the almost-game winner with 4 seconds left. The Heat/Pistons series has nothing on these guys. One can only hope the Mavs/Suns didn’t give us their best performance in the first game. Since tomorrow is only the lame Heat/Pistons Game 2 (8 PM ET on ESPN), perhaps tomorrow we’ll cover new territory. On a tangent, make sure you scroll all the way down to the Odds and Ends section for two very special Mavs/Suns related videos. (Game recap)
Carl Crawford was insane last night
What a night Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford had last night against the Toronto Blue Jays. Certainly he had a game worthy of its own little section rather then be relegated to the “Last nights games†sectionâ€. Crawford was 5-5 at the plate, four singles and one two-run home run. He scored five runs. He had two RBIs. He stole four bases. Crawford tied a Tampa Bay team record with his five hits and he set Tampa records for runs scored and stolen bases in a game. He basically played out of his mind. And if you are wondering, yes, 95% of the reason why Crawford gets his own paragraph is because I have him on three of my four fantasy baseball teams (and yes I have four fantasy baseball teams. So sue me.). (Link)
Last night’s National League games
Miguel Batista pitched well and Orlando Hudson busted out of a slump with a 4-4 night as the Diamondbacks beat the Pirates 8-7 and swept the three game series. (Link)
The Dodgers blasted the Rockies on the way to their seventh victory in a row, 7-1. The Dodgers scored four runs in the 7th and Jeff Kent and Rafael Furcal each had three hits in the victory. (Link)
Jon Lieber started in the place of injured Phillies prospect Cole Hamels and gave up homers to Carlos Beltran and David Wright as the Mets rallied to beat the Phillies 5-4. (Link)
Carlos Lee busted out of a 3-30 slump going 2-3 with a two-run home run in the 5th as the Brewers avoided being swept by the Reds and won 6-2. (Link)
In a bizarre moment Houston starter Roy Oswalt balked home the Nationals Damian Jackson in the 6th, tying the game and ruining Oswalt’s overpowering performance. The Nationals went on to score four runs in the 8th and won, 5-1. (Link)
The Cubs nightmare season continues as they get swept in a three game series against the Triple-A team that masquerades as the Florida Marlins. Greg Maddux gets pounded; Miguel Cabrera and Joe Borchard hit three-run homers as the Marlins win 9-3. (Link)
Albert Pujols didn’t hit a home run. Neither did Barry Bonds. But Cardinals relief pitcher Adam Wainwright, in his first major league at-bat no less, hit a solo shot in the 5th. Not only that but he was credited with the win as St. Louis won 10-4. (Link)
Andruw Jones carried the Braves past the Padres as he hit two two-run home runs as the Braves won 10-6. (Link)
Last night’s American League games
Randy Johnson continues to struggle but the Big Unit and the Yankees overcame two home runs by Manny Ramirez to beat the Red Sox 8-6 and take the series. (Link)
Vladimir Guerrero absolutely owns the Texas Rangers. Guerrero has played 42 games against Texas over his career and he has at least one hit in every single one of those 42 games. Angels beat the Rangers 8-5. (Link)
The White Sox swept the A’s as Mark Buerhle won his third game in a row to improve to 6-2 on the year. Chicago wins, 3-2. (Link)
Apparently the best tonic for a struggling team is a series against the Orioles. The Mariners scored six runs in the second and withstood a brief Baltimore rally in winning 7-4. Richie Sexson continued to feast on O’s pitching, driving in three runs. (Link)
C.C. Sabathia dominated the Twins, throwing a six hit shutout, as the Indians won 11-0. It was his second complete game in a row and his third career shutout. (Link)
The Royals have now lost 12 games in a row, the latest last nights 6-3 loss to the Tigers. Looks like its back to the drawing board for Kansas City, same as the last decade or so. (Link)
Odds and Ends
Orlando Hernandez is heading back to the Big Apple, but this time to the Mets. The Mets acquired El Duque for reliever Jorge Julio from the Diamondbacks. With the season-ending injury to Victor Zambrano and the trades of Kris Benson and Jae Seo the Mets were in dire need of another starter. (Link)
NBAdraft.net, the premier online mock draft/resource, has updated their predictions to align with the real draft order. They’ve got LaMarcus Aldridge going first to the Raptors. For the rest check out their site here.
Courtesy of our favorite sports blog Deadspin we bring you two fantastic videos. In the first (found here) we find Mavs coach Avery Johnson inadvertently giving Josh Howard a pretty brutal jimmy tap. The replay only adds to the hilarity. In the second video (found here) we have the bizarre scene of best friends Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki apparently singing a birthday song to a mutual friend. You need to be able to hear this video, if only to listen to Nowitzki’s supporting vocals. Classic.
I draw one positive and one negative from last nights Heat/Pistons game. The positive is that I was right and the Heat won. Always nice to get your predictions right, though admittedly that wasn’t much of a stretch. The negative is that I can’t watch this series. I really can’t. Not after watching the Suns/Clippers and not while thinking about all the potential the Mavs/Suns series has. So if your looking for some sort of interesting take on what happened last night, let me apologize right now. I just don’t have it in me. I’m sorry. The Heat won, 91-86, and if you want a more in depth recap I’ll point you to ESPN.com. I’m sure I’ll watch the rest of the series but I’m looking forward to tonight’s Game 1 (at 8:30 on TNT) between the Mavs and the Suns about a hundred times more then I am any more Heat/Pistons games.
But despite my inability to process the Heat/Pistons series, I will talk about the NBA. Or to be more precise, the NBA draft. Last night was the NBA Draft lottery and now we know that the Toronto Raptors are on the clock after landing the first pick. The Raptors had only an 8.8% chance of winning the draft which certainly must anger the Portland Trailblazers who fell to the number four pick despite having a 25% chance of being in the number one slot. Now that the Raptors have a real GM in Bryan Colangelo, a man who actually knows basketball unlike the previous holder of that title (Rafael Araujo 8th overall anyone?), Toronto has an interesting mix of young talent to build on. Chris Bosh is an unquestioned stud, Charlie Villanueva is solid; toss in whomever the number one pick ends up being, along with a nice chunk of cap space and you’ve got something going.
For me though the real story of the lottery is who is picking second. The Chicago Bulls. What’s so interesting about that? Well that pick originally belonged to the New York Knicks but Isaiah Thomas, in his infinite wisdom, decided to include the Knicks pick in the Eddy Curry trade. Lucky for the Bulls, the Knicks imploded under the odd leadership of Larry Brown and the abysmal-as-usual player personnel choices (Jerome James? Steve Francis?) of Thomas. Now instead of having a chance to rebuild, or at the least improve, with a top two player, the Knicks get to watch the Bulls draft a difference maker who, were it not for Thomas’ anti-Midas touch, should be in a New York uniform. I hope Thomas does take over as coach of the Knicks. That would be the only proper way for him to complete the circle, right? I mean the man is one of the top-three or so point guards of all time, yet everything he has done since retiring involving basketball has been an utter failure. He abandoned the Raptors, he destroyed the CBA, he coached an underachieving Pacers team and his reign as GM of the Knicks is almost too brutal to put into words. I feel like if Thomas came up to me on the street and told me that a basketball is round, I’d almost naturally think it was square, despite what I know, just because Thomas is always, always wrong.
For the record I have no idea who will go where in the draft. As the draft approaches I’ll try to get more knowledgeable but at this point there really doesn’t seem to be any franchise-type guys available. Tyrus Thomas has upside but is a couple years away from contributing; I’ve never really like LaMarcus Aldridge and I really don’t like Rudy Gay, though I do think Marcus “I steal laptops†Williams is going to be very good. We’ll have more on the draft as it approaches.
The ballpark: a lovely place to take the whole family
Via the good folks at Deadspin we get this story: A Houston police officer has been relieved of his duties because during one of Lt. Jeffery Olesen’s off days he decided to have sex with his wife and his wife’s female friend in a unisex bathroom at Minute Maid Park during an Astros game. Officer Olesen was busted when a fan with a young child entered the bathroom, which apparently the three adults inside had been to engrossed with themselves to remember to lock. I must say, it’s certainly an interesting way to get fired.
As promised
As I said I would yesterday, I give you the blog post Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wrote in regards to his team beating the Spurs. I can’t do it justice by summarizing, so I’ll just let the man speak for himself. (Link)
Odds and Ends
The NFL refuses to let Reggie Bush wear number 5. This is NFL micromanaging at its worst. Who cares at this point what number players wear? (Link)
Site News
A couple of things here. First, today’s note might not feature the items you are so accustomed to seeing and that’s mostly because I had a really busy day yesterday and was up much latter then I anticipated so, honestly, I didn’t get around to recapping every baseball game from last night (Albert Pujols did hit his 23rd home run though) or putting up tonight’s baseball schedule (I may get rid of this altogether unless there is an outcry in favor of keeping it). I know, this is only the third day and already I’m slacking. It’s sad I know. I’ll try not to make it a habit, yesterday just got hectic. I did manage to pump out almost a thousand words though.
Wow that Spurs/Mavs game was good. Actually, to be more precise, the second half was really good, the overtime was nice and the first half disappointing but the overall experience was great. The Mavs were up 14 points at the half, playing on the road and looking for all the world like they couldn’t miss a shot even if they wanted to. A lesser team, down so much in a Game 7 might have quit (see:Lakers) but the Spurs showed the heart of champions, battling back from a 20 point deficit to take the lead at 104-101 with 32 seconds left on a three-pointer by Manu Ginobili. The Mavs responded immediately with a three-point play the old fashioned way on a drive and foul by Dirk Nowitzki. In overtime the Spurs looked done, tired after having to battle back all game. Dallas got the monkey off its back finally and Mark Cuban got to hug Marquis Daniels from behind for like two minutes (as of this writing Cuban had not made a celebratory posting on his blog but we’ll bring it to you when/if he does) as the Mavs won 119-111. The best part of this game was that the big time players played like big time players. Dirk had 37 points and 15 rebounds. Jason Terry redeemed himself with 27 points. Tim Duncan had a valiant 41 points and 15 rebounds. Tony Parker had 24 points and Ginobili put up 23. This was what a Game 7 is supposed to be, great players playing at the top of their games, playing close enough to force overtime.(Link)
The other Game 7 of the night, Suns/Clippers didn’t live up to the game that had preceded it. The Suns led by eight at the half, extended their lead to 15 after three quarters and seemed in charge the whole game. The Suns were 15-27 from behind the arc led by Steve Nash who was 4-5 from downtown and Shawn Marion who hit five threes. Nash was outstanding the whole game. He scored 29 points and handed out 11 assists. Marion chipped in 30 points and 9 rebounds. The Suns for the game shot 60% from the floor. For the Clippers only Elton Brand really showed up. Brand scored 36 points but Sam Cassell, his big testicle carrying teammate only scored 11. Without Corey Maggette and Shaun Livingston (18 and 14 points respectively) the final score of 127-107 would have been a lot worse then it already was. Given how great the previous six games of this series were, Game 7 was a bit of a letdown. (Link)
In one of the best NBA playoffs in years this Mavs/Suns series has a chance to take things up a notch, if that’s even possible. There are some great story lines here. Lightening fast Dallas point guards Jason Terry and Devin Harris against two-time MVP Steve Nash, very fleet of foot himself, and Nash’s backup Leandro Barbosa (maybe the fastest guard in the League). Dirk and Shawn Marion facing off, two of the most dynamic forwards in the league. Both these teams can run and shot but you’ve got to give Dallas a slight edge in the series because of their ability to place defense. Dallas also has some size in the post in Erik Dampier and DeSagana Diop. They might not be much individually but their combined minutes are effective and the Suns play so small anyway that rebounding will be key for both teams. This series goes seven definitely and the thinking here is the Mavs carry Mark Cuban to the Finals. If the Suns had Amare Stoudimire things might be different (and how great a series would it be if they did?) but they don’t and its remarkable they’ve made it this far. The Mavs are just too good.
The most boring “highly anticipated” match up ever
This series really isn’t very interesting to me. I know it’s the match up everyone in the preseason expected/wanted to see and these two teams are obviously the best the Eastern Conference has to offer but still. In all likelihood this is going to be ugly half-court basketball with final scores like 85-78 or basically what the Clippers/Suns would have halfway through the 3rd quarter. Defense may win championships but it’s really not that fun to watch. The Heat must have been delighted to see the Cavs push the Pistons to a Game 7 as Shaq got an extra week of rest and their various other banged up players got some down time. As is almost always the case, Shaq is the key here. If he can put up good, near Shaq-of-old numbers the Heat will win in six. If he can’t, and it’s Dwyane Wade vs. the world, then the Heat is in trouble. Prediction: the Heat steals home court tonight, beating the Pistons in Detroit, as the Pistons are coming off a quick turnaround and the Heat are well rested. Flip Saunders’ inability to rest his starters during the regular season or against the Cavs is going to come back to haunt Detroit.
Shut up Terrell. Go away Ricky. Stay off boats Daunte. Finally an NFL feel good story.
Sex boats, drugs, domestic abuse, being a jerk, the list goes on and on. Players in the NFL often seem like they are trying as hard as possible to live up to the plot lines put forth on ESPN’s since canceled “Playmakers’. Terrell Owens, Ricky Williams, Ricky Manning; none of them are what one might call a role model. So given all that, it’s nice to read about Green Bay Packers running back Samkon Gado and how he is spending his off season. Gado has been volunteering in a Green Bay hospital and he’s been doing so not because of a court-ordered community service sentence but because he wants to become a doctor. Gado was inspired after visiting a cousin of his in his native Nigeria, a cousin who died young, most likely from AIDS. Gado’s shift begins at 5 am and he does everything from checking on patients to drawing blood. He sought no press but:
His cover eventually was blown. In a drug-induced haze, a man coming out of surgery told his wife that the guy wearing scrubs played football. “She says, ‘My husband swears that you’re Samkon Gado and I’m telling him that you’re not, that you wouldn’t be working here if you were.’ And he’d just gotten out of surgery, so this guy was doped up,” Gado said. Gado fessed up. After the initial shock, the woman asked, “What are you doing here?”
Gado plans on working in the hospital next year as well and becoming a doctor when he retires. This year he will fight for playing time in a crowded Packer’s backfield as Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport both return from injury. Green has been arrested for domestic abuse and Davenport was once arrested for trespassing after crawling into a woman’s apartment and defecating in her closet (I swear to God). Here’s rooting for Gado. When so many NFL players make headlines for their various acts of stupidity and violence, its nice to see players like Gado get some publicity, the good kind for a change. (Link)
Barbaro Update
Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro is still only 50-50 to survive after undergoing successful leg surgery Sunday in which a metal plate and 23 screws were inserted into his right hind leg. Pat Forde writes on ESPN.com that the racing world needs to become more concerned with horse safety to avoid incidents like Saturday’s Preakness. Slate’s Explainer tells us why horse’s that break their legs often have to be put down.
Last night’s American League games
Curt Schilling dominated the Yankees on the way to his 199 career win as the Red Sox survived the continued Keith Foulke implosion and beat New York 9-5. Schilling struck out six, went eight innings and gave up one run while David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez each contributed three RBIs. (Link)
Miguel Tejada’s trade demand should be only days away as the sinking Orioles lost to Seattle 8-6. Richie Sexson hit a grand slam in the 5th to send O’s starter Eric Bedard to the showers after giving up eight earned runs. (Link)
Troy Glaus hit his 13th homer of the year; Eric Hinske added a solo shot and B.J. Ryan picked up his 10th save in 10 chances as the Blue Jays beat Tampa 6-4. (Link)
The Rangers scored two runs in the 7th as shortstop Michael Young went 3-3 and knocked in the go ahead run and the Rangers beat the Angels 3-2. Angel Vladimir Guererro has hit safely in all 40 of the games he has played in his career against Texas. (Link)
Detroit rookie Justin Verlander dominated the Royals in notching his first career shutout, already Detroit’s 9th shutout this season, as the Tigers beat the Royals 8-0. The Royals have now lost ten games in a row. (Link)
Frank Thomas got a measure of revenge against his old team the White Sox as he hit two home runs but the White Sox got the last laugh, winning 5-4 in 10 innings. (Link)
Last night’s National League games
Jake Peavy set a Padres record in striking out 16 Braves but he gave up a two-run homer to Ryan Langerhans in the 2nd that proved to be the difference as John Smoltz shut down the Padres and Atlanta won 3-1. (Link)
In the first ever matchup of two Korean born pitchers Jae Seo outpitched his former high school teammate Byung-Hyun Kim as the Dodgers beat the Rockies 6-1. (Link)
The Diamondbacks scored three runs in the 8th, and survived the Pirates two run rally in the 9th, to beat Pittsburgh 4-3. The Pirates had the bases loaded and no outs in the 9th but couldn’t complete the comeback. (Link)
The Reds scored five runs in the first and hit three home runs in the game, including Adam Dunn’s 16th of the year, as Cincinnati clubbed the Brewers 15-5. (Link)
Marlins Starter Ricky Nolasco did it all in beating the Cubs 9-1. Nolasco gave up one run in seven innings and also went 2-3 at the plate, including his first career home run, a solo shot in the fourth inning. (Link)
Nationals’ pitchers walked nine Astros, Craig Biggio had four hits, Wily Taveras scored four times and Lance Berkman hit an upper deck homer, all adding up to a 10-3 Houston victory. (Link)
Neither Albert Pujols nor Barry Bonds hit a home run but Omar Vizquel did. Giants beat the Cards 9-2. (Link)
Odds and Ends
Tony La Russa and Ozzie Smith still don’t like each other. If I got bumped out of the way for Royce Clayton I’d hold a grudge too. Stltoday.com sports columnist Jeff Gordon examines the feud here.
SI has its weekly MLB Power Rankings up. White Sox at the top with the suprising Tigers, Rockies, Reds, Diamondbacks and Dodgers all cracking the top ten. (Link)
Groupies and posse members get your plane tickets now. The NBA announced the 2008 All Star game will be played in New Orleans. (Link)
Tonight’s NBA Schedule
Miami Heat at Detroit Pistons at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN
Tonight’s Baseball Schedule
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American League |
National League |
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7:05 PM ET NYY: J. Wright (1-3, 4.94 ERA) |
7:05 PM ET Hou: F. Nieve (1-2, 5.94 ERA) |
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7:07 PM ET TB: M. Hendrickson (3-3, 3.57 ERA) |
7:05 PM ET ChC: K. Wood (0-1, 7.20 ERA) |
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8:05 PM ET Oak: K. Saarloos (2-1, 4.70 ERA) |
7:10 PM ET Mil: D. Eveland (0-0, 8.44 ERA) |
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8:05 PM ET LAA: J. Lackey (3-3, 3.70 ERA) |
7:10 PM ET Phi: G. Floyd (4-2, 5.71 ERA) |
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8:10 PM ET Det: K. Rogers (7-2, 2.91 ERA) |
9:40 PM ET Pit: V. Santos (1-4, 5.69 ERA) |
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8:10 PM ET Cle: C. Lee (3-4, 4.25 ERA) |
10:05 PM ET Atl: J. Sosa (1-5, 5.55 ERA) |
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10:10 PM ET Bal: H. Penn (0-0, 0.00 ERA) |
10:10 PM ET Col: J. Jennings (2-4, 4.94 ERA) |
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10:15 PM ET StL: J. Marquis (5-4, 5.08 ERA) |
This is the start of something good…I hope
Welcome to the first ever Sports Note. Thanks for stopping by. I have no idea if this will work but I thought; why not give it a shot? I’ve got the time and I’ve got the interest. Will I be able to pump out 1,500+ words every weekday night? We’ll see I guess. This is long in part because we’re coming off an event filled weekend; they won’t all be this long (I hope). Anyway I hope you like it. For more information check the About and FAQ pages to your right. I’m pumped, hope you are too.
Now that that’s done with, let’s get started. Two huge Game 7’s tonight as first the Mavericks play at the Spurs at 8 pm ET, followed by the Clippers at the Suns at 10:30 pm ET (both games are on TNT). Both these games should be about a thousand times more exciting as the Piston/Cavs Game 7 from yesterday (see below for more details). Both these games have the potential to be classics as all four teams play basketball the way it should be played.
In four of the six games in the Clippers/Suns series both teams have scored over 100 points. In a fifth game the Clippers scored 122 on the way to winning by 25. This is basketball people want to see, teams running the ball up the court, moving the ball around to get quality looks and, most importantly, making those shots. The style of play made popular in the mid-90’s by the Knicks and Heat might be successful but as a fan it is absolutely brutal to watch. That’s what makes this series so much fun. Watching Steve Nash or Shaun Livingston run the break (he’s leading the Clippers in assists in the series), Sam Cassell pretend to hold his giant testicles, Shawn Marion do everything well, Elton Brand dominating inside. This is what basketball should be. Who cares about defense? I want points, I want triple doubles, I want players launching threes with 20 seconds left on the shot clock. I want Clippers/Suns basketball. Adding to the fun, only tangentially related, is that NBA.com used the series to bring us this “Five Things You Didn’t Know About Amare Stoudemire†page. Check out the grammar in items two and five. Good times.
The Spurs/Mavs match up is almost as compelling as the Suns/Clippers. Can the defending champion Spurs comeback from a 3-1 series deficit to put away the Mavs on the Spurs’ home court? Can the new Mavs (who actually play defense), led by their small in stature, high pitch head coach Avery Johnson, knockoff the Spurs? So many questions. No matter who wins you know Mark Cuban is going to have a sick blog post about the outcome. Dirk Nowitzki is simply unstoppable and Devin Harris is showing Tony Parker what being fast really means. Throw in Jason Terry, fresh off his one game suspension for punching Michael Finley in his nice-nice area, and the Mavs have a real shot. The peerless Tim Duncan will need all the help he can get to protect the Spurs’ home court. If Manu Ginobili repeats his Game 6 performance (30 points, 10 rebounds) and Tony Parker shakes off his Game 6 dud (8 points on 3-15 shooting) we could have something going. And now on to the weekend that was…
The King is dead
So close. After taking the Detroit Pistons to the brink of elimination, the Cleveland Cavs couldn’t finish the job Sunday, losing at the Palace in Auburn Hills 79-61. Cleveland’s 61 points was the fewest ever for a team playing in a Game 7 in the shot clock era and the third fewest in any playoff game. Detroit advances to the Eastern Conference Finals where they will face the Miami Heat on Tuesday night. Down only two at the half Cavs came so pumped they…scored only 10 points in the 3rd quarter to the Piston’s 18. The Cavs only scored 23 points in the second half as the Piston’s defense absolutely dominated. LeBron was 1-9 for six points in the second half and finished with 27 points on 11-24 shooting for the game. He got no help from his teammates as they collectively shot 9-41 from the field. No one expected LeBron to get this far but its got to be disappointing to have the Pistons on the ropes only to let them slip away. (Link)
Bonds ties the Babe, no one cares.
On Saturday against the A’s Barry Bonds finally hit his 714 career homerun, tying Babe Ruth for second all-time. No celebration (it was an away game) and for a pretty big milestone, very little fanfare. Shows what being a cheater will do for your popularity. In a great twist of fate, the guy who caught number 714 turns out to not really like Bonds, the guy’s quoted as saying “I hate that guyâ€. Parents don’t let your kids grow up to be steroid users. The Giants won the series against the A’s on Matt Cain’s one-hitter. (Link)
Nobody likes A.J. Pierzynski, finally someone did something about it
Right in the face. A direct shot. Cubs catcher Michael Barrett punched A.J. Pierzynski right in his gourd. Thousands of fans (particularly Angels fans remembering last year’s playoffs), players all around the Majors and probably more then a few White Sox teammates finally got to see Pierzynski get what was coming to him. Barrett punched A.J. seconds after being absolutely destroyed in a collusion at home plate. A frame by frame picture sequence of the whole episode can be found here. The White Sox’s Brian Anderson was throwing haymakers (but missing) like there was no tomorrow. So what happens Sunday? Well of course Pierzynski hits a home run, his second of the season. Pierzynski, never one to pass up an opportunity to look like a jackass, tapped his chest and pointed to the sky after touching home, mocking Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano. Zambrano got mad, people started shouting at each other from the top steps of the dugouts but unlike Saturday, no fireworks. Despite the Cubs winning on Sunday the White Sox won the series. (Link)
Albert Pujols is sick
Can anyone stop this guy? Certainly the putrid Kansas City Royals can’t. Pujols hit three home runs, one in each game, this weekend, to up his season total to 22. He’s not going to do it (or at least probably won’t) but he’s on pace to hit 84 home runs this year which would smash Barry Bond’s record of 73. Not to mention the 54 RBI’s he’s already got (on pace to knock in 204, which would also be a record). At some point teams are going to stop pitching to the man but until then Pujols is going to keep hitting the crap out of the ball. The Cardinals swept the Royals behind their Superman. (Link)
Who comes up with these things?
The so-called Beltway Series between the Nationals and the Orioles makes no sense. The Beltway doesn’t connect the two cities, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway does. In fact both cities have “beltwaysâ€, Washington 495 and Baltimore 695. Someone needs to do something about this. Anyway the Nationals took two out of three from the Orioles. Somewhere Peter Angelos is crying. On second thought he’s really rich and owns a Major League Baseball team, so maybe not. Orioles fans are definitely crying though. (Link)
As for the other interleague games…
The Devil Rays swept the Marlins in a series watched by dozens. Scott Kazmir struck out 11 on Sunday and Mets fans everywhere shed a tear. (Link)
The Mets took two out of three from the Yankees. Tom Glavine contines to amaze. (Link)
Indians closer Bob Wickman somehow hadn’t won a game in four years but he finally got one on Sunday as the Indians beat the Pirates in 10 and won the series winning two out of three. (Link)
The Rockies swept the visiting Blue Jays. Could Colorado be for real? (Link)
Bobby Abreu drove in five runs and was double short of hitting for the cycle as the Phillies salvaged one game against Boston. (Link)
Detroit has the best record in the American League and took two out of three from the stumbling Reds. (Link)
Some guy named Taylor Buchholz shutdown the mighty Texas offense, throwing a five hit shutout as Houston won the rubber game of their series. (Link)
The Brewers scored four runs in the 7th to win the final game of their series against the Twins after losing the first two. (Link)
Seattle finished their sweep of the Padres behind an eight run 2nd and the pitching of phenom Felix Hernandez. (Link)
In the battle of the LA’s the Dodgers swept the disappointing Angels. (Link)
And in the only non-interleague game the Braves, behind ace Tim Hudson, got one win out of their series against the Diamonbacks. (Link)
The Preakness
The sport of horse racing has the worst luck. Desperate for a Triple Crown winner, after an almost 30 year drought, and a feel good story to help promote a dying sport, horse racing instead got the tragedy that was Saturday’s Preakness. Barbaro, Kentucky Derby winner and touted by many as capable of winning the Triple Crown (though it seems like every year a horse is touted as being that capable), broke his right rear leg in three places and was pulled up by his jockey shortly after the start. The injury was described at the time as “catastrophicâ€, almost certainly career-ending and potentially life-threatening. Thankfully Barbaro survived six hours of surgery on Sunday and probably will be spared the big glue factory in the sky. The Washington Post’s Andrew Beyer, horse racing’s preeminent writer, gives his take on the whole mess here.
Odds and Ends
Hockey is still dead to me after canceling last year but games are still being played. In fact they are almost at the Finals. On Sunday the Edmonton Oilers beat the Mighty Ducks 3-1 to take a 2-0 series lead. I have nothing intelligent to say about this. (Link)
David Wells can not shut up. Can’t do it. He’s a reporters dream, put a microphone in front of his mouth and he’ll give up solid gold quotes. Now he’s trashing Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa for steroid use, all of which is fine by me. Bizarelly though he threw in Craig Biggio (Craig Biggio?) and David Dellucci as being under suspsion. Wells’ manager Terry Francona apologized to Dellucci and Wells’ of course went to the old standby “I was taken out of context†defense. This coming from a man who once claimed he was misquoted in his autobiography. (Link)
Here’s a video stolen from the guys at Deadspin. The Kansas City/St.Louis series featured a very imaginative streaker. (Link)
The lovely Martina Hingis picked up her first tournament victory since unretiring. (Link)
Sports Illustrated’s Alexander Wolff gives his latest installment of the joys of owning your own ABA franchise. Someday my dream of owning/running the Washington Monuments will come true. (Link)
The WNBA 10th season started over the weekend. Who cares? (No Link, not now, not ever)
Tonight’s NBA Games
Dallas Mavericks at San Antonio Spurs at 8 PM ET on TNT
Los Angeles Clippers at Phoenix Suns at 10:30 PM ET on TNT
Tonight’s Baseball Schedule
|
American League |
National League |
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7:05 PM ET (ESPN Game) NYY: C. Wang (4-1, 3.79 ERA) |
8:05 PM ET ChC: S. Marshall (3-1, 4.26 ERA) |
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8:05 PM ET Oak: B. Zito (3-3, 3.27 ERA) |
8:10 PM ET Mil: D. Bush (3-4, 4.35 ERA) |
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8:05 PM ET LAA: K. Escobar (5-3, 3.51 ERA) |
9:40 PM ET Pit: O. Perez (2-5, 6.98 ERA) |
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10:10 PM ET Det: J. Verlander (5-3, 3.18 ERA) |
10:05 PM ET Atl: J. Smoltz (3-2, 3.47 ERA) |
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10:05 PM ET Bal: E. Bedard (5-2, 4.18 ERA) |
10:10 PM ET Col: B. Kim (2-1, 4.62 ERA) |
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10:15 PM ET StL: M. Mulder (5-1, 3.69 ERA) |