Sports June 27, 2010

The knockout round of the FIFA world cup is underway, and not without contraversy. The referees have made some vital calls that have cost some teams the entire tournament. This is not a first either, as several calls were blown in group play as well. I remember last world cup where the referees were given extra money for giving cards. So they gave out more cards, many times without reason. You might say they're only people, but why not use technology and have instant replay. It doesn't really slow down the game either. The NFL challenge system has been around for a long time, and has become pretty efficient. Why can't FIFA use something like that? Its not that far fetched, we get the replay on our TVs at home.

The year of the pitcher continues with another no-hitter, this time from Edwin Jackson against his former team the Rays. Thats 3 out of the last 5 no-hitters against the Rays, and the other two were perfect games. This is ridiculous. The Rays aren't that bad a team either as they have the fifth best record in the league. They just seem to come up empty way too often. Edwin Jackson also threw 149 pitches to get it. I remember earlier in the year when the Yankees were going to pull C.C. Sabathia in a game he had a no-hitter in. Fortunately for Joe Girardi, C.C. gave up a hit, letting him escape a painful decision. Ironically, that was against the Rays...

The NBA draft also went down this week, all two rounds of it. True the NBA draft can't be too long, as the maximum roster size is 12 players. However, some of the rebuilding teams can use more rounds so they have a chance to win. Take the Nets for example. They are way more than one player away from the playoffs. By the time they can get a good roster full of players through the draft, the players they had first drafted will be gone to free agency, dooming them for long periods of time. True they can always acquire a player through free agency, as they are banking on right now, but it makes the Cinderella effect harder, something fans like to see.

Despite being down 13 points in the second half, the Lakers came back to win Game 7 and take the NBA Finals away from the Celtics. This series had been between the NBA's two most storied franchises. They are 1 and 2 in total NBA titles. In the last 3 seasons, the only other team to make the NBA finals is the Orlando Magic. It cements Kobe's fate as one of the greatest players of all time. You can talk all you want about how good Lebron James is, but he has never won, and might never win an NBA title. Sure we call Dan Marino one of the greatest QB's of all time and he never won a Super Bowl, but he put up statistics that were unrivaled in the league. He also shattered the touchdown record. Dan Marino was a far better player than Lebron.

The Washington Redskins acquired former first round pick Jammal Brown from the Saints for a conditional pick, in either the third or fourth round. This might seem trivial, but Brown was a solid O-lineman before getting hurt last season. It also shows how the Redskins consistantly acquire good veterans in the offseason at the expense of the draft. They also seem can't seem to keep the ones they have in line. Albert Haynesworth is demanding a trade, yet that wont't happen because of all the money they gave him. All that for finishing last in the division. They did acquire Donovan McNabb, but he is yet another player known to fall short of a championship. I think the Redskins will fall short again, only to get setback a year or two because they won't have as many draft picks.

Sports June 13, 2010

This has been a classic NBA finals. Two age- old enemies duking it out with the best players in the game. The best part is that I haven't even heard Lebron's name since it started. Finally, some news to keep the press off of this offseason. I started to get the feel that the prize this offseason was Lebron James, not the NBA finals. I think the drama of this finals has been just what we needed to take the attention away from the Cavs. Remember, just because you have Lebron, it does not mean you're going to win the finals. Basketball is a team game, not just one person. We remember Michael Jordon as the greatest player of all time, but he still had Scottie Pippen.

What about Stephen Starsbourg? He completely blew past the Pirates. I know its the Pirates and they're a struggling team, but that was quite a show he put on. You might think he would have jitters pitching in the big leagues for the first time. But he struck out 14 and walked none. Thats something veterans have trouble doing. I also thought the Nationals would pull him earlier than they did, but he did get good innings in. The Nationals are only 6 games out in the East, so Strasbourg can become a valuable stopper for them.

So much for the Red Sox. This has become a tight race in the AL East between the Rays and Yankees. With a big win over the Astros, the Yankees have tied the Rays for the best record in the league. The Yankees over the last few seasons have been a much better second half team, so they could cruise to 100 victories. The Rays have the potential to do so as well. It also hogs up the wildcard spot, it makes other AL teams need to win the division, or go home.

Sports May 30, 2010

The NBA finals are set. After both teams started to stumble and blow their leads, the Lakers and Celtics will play each other in the finals again. I thought the Magic would claim the series and come all the way back after they were able to force a game 6. It would have been the second time in a month a Boston team had blown a 3-0 lead. A big reason the Magic didn't make the finals was their consistency of play. They were sloppy against the Bobcats but managed to win. They dominated the Hawks, but then they went down 3-0 on the Celtics. They did play well to get back 2 games, but not so well in the last one. If they want to win a Finals, they have to play well a lot longer.

What about Halladay throwing a perfect game? Its the second time this month, by far the shortest time between two perfect games. There have also been 3 no- hitters so far this season, and its not even the end of May. This all happens with luck. Remember a stretch between Randy Johnson's perfect game and Anibal Sanchez's no hitter more than two years later. That spanned a good part of three seasons in which no one threw a no- hitter, much less a perfect game. Now, we have had three (including Mark Buehrle's last year), within five baseball months. That's ridiculous.

The National League also looks very tight this year. There are 9 teams within 5 games of a wildcard berth. I know its May and several teams will drop out as the year progresses, but this has to be exciting. Thats more than half of the league in contention. It might not matter, as the wildcard teams are often times much worse than the division winners. However, every year since the turn of the century, either a wild card team or a team that missed the postseason the year before won a penant.

Sports May 23, 2010

There have been way too many routes in the NBA playoffs this year. The Magic looked like the team to beat in the east after the Cavs lost and they won eight straight. Yet, they are down 3-0 Celtics, and got trashed last night. The Lakers also have a 2-0 advantage on the Suns. We could have another Lakers/Celtics finals. Rajon Rondo has also stepped up this postseason, and has been the Celtics best player. I think Rondo can carry the Celtics past the Lakers.

Interleague baseball is also underway. It is interesting to see these matchups. Teams like the Red Sox and Phillies are fun to watch because they both have many good players that you don't often see face each other. You rarely see Lester vs. Howard, Lackey vs. Utley, or King Felix vs. Adrian Gonzalez. You also get wacky results in local series, like the Yankees vs. the Mets. I always like to watch these unfold, but they do take a lot away from the all- star game.

Why are people so hung up on whats going to happen in the NBA offseason. Come on, we have the NBA finals a week or so away. We have a team that seems to be able to take down the Lakers, and its set up to be an interesting finals. Why can't we worry about that now, and worry where Lebron will go later. I had found it a relief when the playoffs started, so people will shut up about this offseason, but that has not been the case. The entire media is worrying about who will have a chance to win it all next season. We all know that the entire league will be shaken up and many superstars relocated, but can't we worry about that after the finals? There still are many superstars playing right now. Why can't they steal the highlights instead?

Sports May 16, 2010

What was with the NBA Playoffs this year? Three sweeps in the second round is ridiculous. One would think the Jazz and Spurs could win at least one game. The Jazz have one of the best point guards in the league, couldn’t he carry them to win one game? What about the Spurs and all of their veterans? Couldn’t Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli win one game? In the East, the Hawks got absolutely manhandled. You would think they were the 8^th seed, and the Magic the 1^st seed. But no, they were 2 and 3. The Hawks also struggled to beat the Bucs in the first round, who they should have beat in less than 7 games. Don’t the Hawks have enough fire power to at least not lose by double digits for one game?

The other series, the Cavs and Celtics, was slightly closer, but with the wrong victor. The Cavs were the one seed and favorites going in, yet the Celtics were still able to dethrone King James. Could the King be done in Cleveland? For the vast majority of his time there, Lebron hardly ever got support from his supporting cast. He made the finals that one year, only to get swept by the Spurs. He has had some solid players around him the last couple years, but has fell short of the finals both of those years. If Lebron is going to win the finals, he will need another superstar, and that isn’t going to happen in Cleveland. If he wants to win the finals, his best bet is going to the Bulls, and playing alongside Derrick Rose. I think he’s done in Cleveland.

Wasn’t the NL West race suppose to be between the Dodgers, Rockies, and Giants this year? The Padres don’t think so. No one even gave them a shot at anything this year, yet they have a 1.5 game lead over the Giants going into today. When they traded Jake Peavy to the White Sox last season, they were done. Yet, they are leading that division at the moment. A lot of teams, like the Red Sox, were hoping to acquire Adrian Gonzalez this season to aid their offense. Yet, the way this season is going, the Padres could be the ones adding a bat midseason. What a season that would be, if the Padres ended up making the postseason.

I think the Tigers have also been a surprise this season. When they traded Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson this offseason, I thought they were done this year. But Austin Jackson has been a big bat for them, as had fellow rookie Brennan Boesch. The Tigers are also in the middle of a pennant race, and they might take the division back from the Twins.

Sports May 9, 2010

The second round of the NBA playoffs are around half way done, and it has surprised me that 3 of the 4 series are 3-0. The second round is suppose to be a lot closer than this, since the lower seeded teams have been eliminated. The 2-3 series is also suppose to be very close. We have 1 2-3 series this year, the Magic against the Hawks, and that series is 3-0, and it’s not even close. The closest game has been by 14 points. The other two games were more than twice that. The Magic have dominated the Hawks. The only close series, the Cavs and the Celtics, has been fun to watch. Rondo has been amazing for the Celtics, often outplaying King James himself. From the looks of it, it looks like the Magic are going to have another long rest before they play again, and could be well on their way to another NBA finals.

Great game by Dallas Braden, as he tossed a perfect game against the Rays. Coming into today, the Rays had the best record in the league, yet Braden was still able to retire 27 of them in a row. Remember when A-Rod ran over the mound against him? Well, no one is going to disrespect Dallas Braden in any way for a long time after today. The last perfect game ever thrown was last year by Mark Buerhle against the Rays last year. One might get the impression that the Rays aren’t a very good team, but that is untrue. The Rays do have a formidable lineup, with the likes of Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford. Yet, they have come up empty in two games against two solid south paws.

Another big series going down is the Yankees- Red Sox series. Any time they play each other there is always a big commotion. Remember the start of last year when the Red Sox won eight straight games against the Yankees? Well, that’s all ancient history, as the Yankees beat them 9 out the next 10, won the World Series, and now have won 4 out of 5 games in Fenway Park to start the season. What about that turn around? With a win today the Yankees will sweep the Red Sox in Fenway Park, and will move in to first place in the AL East due to the Rays loss. Note: The Yankees still haven’t played the Red Sox in Yankee Stadium.

What about the Mets? Weren’t they suppose to roll over and let the Phillies win another division this year. They don’t seem to think so. They’re one of the hottest teams in the league right now, and hit two walk off homers to beat the Giants in two straight games. Despite losing today, they still managed to get runs off Tim Lincecum in 6 innings. That’s actually quite an accomplishment. Rod Barajas has also been huge for them, as he has 9 homeruns thus far for them. That’s amazing when you realize that he’s on pace to get around 40 this year. The scary part is that they don’t have Carlos Beltran, one of their best players, back from injuries yet. They have also found a solid second starter in Mike Pelfrey. They definitely have the potential to make a run at the division, and maybe more.