Even More Rants, Raves, and Opinions

Many sporting events dotted the world this past week. The golf world crowned a U.S. Open champion for the 110th time, The FIFA World Cup is in full kick, the National Basketball Association playoffs finished with the Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Boston Celtics in a 7 game series, and Major League Baseball divisional races began to heat up.

With those and many more happenings, I feel it's time to let some steam out of my system as I rant, rave, and opine about what is in my craw regarding sports.

Here we go!

Congratulations Graeme McDowell, but...

The 110th playing of the U.S. Open golf championship at Pebble Beach crowned Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell as it new champion, the first ever from his country and first European since Tony Jacklin in 1970. However, Graeme was not the best player amongst the leaders on the final day. France's Gregory Havret, the 391st ranked player, carded what was to be a nifty one-over par 72 with the steadiest play of all. While big stars Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, and Phil Mickelson along with McDowell stumbling along, Havret seemed cool as he made many pars and the few bogeys he made actually didn't deter him greatly, including the the 17th hole bogey...everybody else did the same. Had Havret birdied the stunning par 5 18th, McDowell's strategy changes from a second shot lay up to going for the green in two where anything could have happened.

Kudos to Gregory Havret!

Highway Robbery in South Africa!

The U.S. Soccer team played an extremely poor opening half against underdog Slovenia to trail 2-0. But goals from Landon Donovan and Mike Bradley knotted the game at 2-2 with the U.S. Seizing complete control. Then on a free kick, Maurice Edu scored what appeared to be the game winner and all was well, until the referee from Mali called a phantom foul on the U.S. nullifying the goal. To this moment, nobody knows what the foul was and who committed that foul. Algeria is the U.S. Soccer team's final round robin opponent and a win is crucial to say the least.

The ref's a bum!

Kobe is King

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in decisive game 7 83-79 to capture NBA title number 16, one fewer than the Celtics. Kobe Bryant, the playoff MVP, now has a championship ring for his thumb (5) and has cemented his place in NBA history. Bryant is the NBA's best player, proving that he can help the Lakers in other ways when he is having a poor shooting performance. His defense, rebounding, and ball distribution was vital to victory in the game 7 showdown.

Long live the King!


A Team Built on Run Prevention

The Boston Red Sox are currently the hottest team in Major League Baseball. Since losing 9 of 13 to begin the season, the Red Sox sport a big league best 39-19 record since. Boston General Manager Theo Epstein built the club on run prevention...giving up fewer runs with better pitching and defense while sacrificing offense. The additions of Gold Glove third sacker Adrian Beltre, shortstop Marco Scutaro, and past Gold Glover center fielder Mike Cameron were to bear this approach to fruition. Apparently, this is working wonderfully well.

Or is it?

Defensively, Boston is 4th in the AL in fielding percentage,but yet are in the middle of the pack in errors as they have committed forty-three and have given up a whopping 75 stolen bases, easily the most in the majors.

In the pitching department, the Sox have a 4.22 ERA which is only 19th in baseball and given up 325 runs, 11th in baseball, 5th in the American League. That isn't great but not too bad either.

Now for the sacrificing of offense;

Boston has scored 390 runs, slugged to a .468 percentage, have 275 extra-base hits, and an OPS of .821...all major league BESTS! The Red Sox are also 2nd behind Toronto for the most home runs,2nd in average to Kansas City in batting average in all of baseball, and are 3rd in all of baseball in on-base percentage. As a Sox fan, that's a sacrifice of offense I can handle.

Dick

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The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly II

The last few weeks have produced some wild and wacky events in our wonderful world of sports. We've seen college football changing it's structure before our very eyes, big league baseball have 2 perfect games and 1 other robbed by a blown call, a new Stanley Cup champion crowned, and FIFA World Cup soccer commencing.

I will render my thoughts on three recent events that has given us reason to give a thumbs up, a thumbs down, and something that may make you go “Hmmm”.

So here we go with The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly II

The Good: Daniel Nava – Boston Red Sox

Nava was called up to the Red Sox for Saturday's game versus the Philadelphia Phillies due to the numerous injuries in the Boston outfield. Prior to the game, the 27 year-old rookie was speaking with long-time Boston radio voice Joe Castiglione. Towards the end of that conversation, Castiglione told Nava to swing at the first pitch he sees because he'll never have another first pitch to swing at.

In the bottom of the 2nd inning with the bases loaded, the left-handed hitting Nava was facing Philadelphia starter Joe Blanton. Blanton throws a pitch that was in any lefty's wheelhouse. Nava, taking the cue from Castiglione, takes a perfect swing and deposits Blanton's delivery into the Boston bullpen for a grand slam homer! As the Fenway faithful erupted, a stunned Joe Castiglione said, “I didn't know he (Nava) was listening!” Truly a great beginning to a major league career.

The Bad: The Apparent Restructuring of Major College Football

It appears that major college football is undergoing earth shattering changes, and I'm not sure it's for the betterment of the game. What we do know is that The Big 12 is now down to 10 teams with Colorado bolting for the PAC 10 and Nebraska heads to the Big Ten for the 2011 season. Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech will stay with the Big 12 for the time being, with the Longhorns being involved in a television deal to prevent them from leaving.

It also seems that there will be four “super conferences” which may lead to the playoff system many are clamoring for. But what about non-BCS schools such as Boise State? Sounds like the courts may be involved and the U.S. Congress will stick it's nose in this thing. Stay tuned for the next year or so as this event I termed as bad may become very, very ugly.

The Ugly: University of Southern California Football

The USC football program has been dominant forever it seems, especially under Pete Carroll's reign. However, under Carroll's control, the program was found to have given improper benefits to star running back and Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush. With that finding by the NCAA, the USC football program will lose 30 scholarships over the next three years,vacate 14 wins in which Bush played from December 2004 through the entire 2005 season, Reggie's Heisman year, a ban from bowl games for two years, and a four year probation. One of those victories to be vacated is the BCS title game on January 4, 2005 when the Trojans beat Oklahoma in which the NCAA will probably strip USC of that National Championship, as I understand it.

The question here is how long after the sanctions will USC be able to rise to the top of college football. I believe we are looking at a time frame of five to seven years before the Trojans will be vying for a major bowl bid. I'll bet current head coach Lane Kiffin isn't sleeping very well.

Those are my thoughts...yours are?

Dick

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The Greatest “Play” in Baseball History

The world of Major League Baseball has produced some of sports greatest plays. Willie Mays' over the shoulder basket catch off of a Vic Wertz long drive in the 1954 World Series is considered by many to be the creme-de-la-creme of great plays. Bill Mazeroski's game winning home run versus the New York Yankees in game 7 of the 1960 World Series is another prime example of MLB's masterpiece memories and Don Larsen's perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1956 Fall Classic is one for baseball history.

But there was one play that those of us old enough to remember have probably forgotten. I was reminded of this “play” in an email I received from my brother Ron this morning. Here is a short version of this as recorded in Wikipedia.

It was April 25th, 1976 when the Chicago Cubs were on the road in Los Angeles to play the Dodgers. With the Dodgers at the plate, two protesters, William Thomas and his 11-year-old son, ran out on the field with a United States of America flag with them with the intent of burning it. Rick Monday, the Cubs center fielder, sees the two protesters place the flag on the ground dousing the Red, White, and Blue with lighter fluid and getting matches ready. Without hesitation, Monday makes a mad dash to retrieve the flag and hands it over to Los Angeles pitcher Doug Rau while ballpark police apprehend the protesters.

Monday came to bat the following half-inning to a thunderous ovation with the message board flashing “RICK MONDAY... YOU MADE A GREAT PLAY..." Years later, Monday said in an interview "If you're going to burn the flag, don't do it around me. I've been to too many veterans' hospitals and seen too many broken bodies of guys who tried to protect it."



In honor of the flag rescue, which Monday still possesses, he was presented with an American flag flown over Valley Forge National Historical Park on August 25, 2008.

If this isn't the greatest play in the history of Major League Baseball or in sports for that matter, then you are not an American citizen or flat out don't care.

Thank you Rick Monday for making the greatest “play” in MLB history.

Dick

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