The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

As we all know, athletes have a way of bringing out different emotions in other athletes, management, and fans alike. Many make us cheer, some make us groan, and there are those that make us disgusted. Often times, we the fans feel these three emotions faster than we can blink our eyes.

This post will focus on three players who in their performances form the basis of what has gone down recently in the world of sports. Here, I will present The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of athletes in recent days.

The Good: Simon Gagne – Philadelphia Flyers

Gagne has been gold for the Flyers as they march towards the Eastern Conference Championship of the NHL playoffs. Since his return from a broken right big toe in Game 4 versus the Boston Bruins, Simon has potted 6 goals in 6 games. His first was the overtime game winner in that Game 4 which the Flyers could have been eliminated. Then Gagne scored the series winning goal on the power play as the Flyers pulled off the improbable beating the Bruins in Game 7. He has since scored in the first 2 games of the conference finals against Montreal, with Philly winning both. No doubt that Simon has been the catalyst in the Flyers attack.

The Bad: Mariano Rivera – New York Yankees

Mariano Rivera ... bad? In a rare show of vulnerability, Rivera's last 2 appearances have been just that. On Sunday versus the Minnesota Twins, Rivera was charged with a rare blown save as he gave up a walk an surrendered a grand slam to Jason Kubel in a stunning 6-3 loss. Then two nights later Mariano gave up 2 runs, although unearned, and 2 hits in another stunning loss, 7-6 to arch rival Boston Red Sox in which he was tagged with the loss. Although I clearly believe that these are just blips on the radar screen, it's just so unlike the future Hall of Fame closer, perhaps the greatest of all time, to have consecutive subpar performances.

The Ugly: Hanley Ramirez – Florida Marlins

Clearly the Marlins best player, Ramirez was benched by manager Fredi Gonzalez after the 2nd inning when he committed a costly error and then failed to run hard after he kicked the ball nearly 100 feet allowing 2 runs to score. Then on Tuesday, Hanley ripped his manager by saying "It's his team. He can do whatever," … "There's nothing I can do about it." (There were expletives included.)

Ramirez also said about Gonzalez, "That's OK. He doesn't understand that. He never played in the big leagues," while talking to reporters on why he thought he was treated unfairly.

Okay, this superstar is clearly a knucklehead by flapping his yap in such a manner. And it appears that Florida players are squarely behind manager Gonzalez. I suggest that Hanley either shape up or he may be dealt with harshly and I hope his teammates ride his butt hard.

Those are my thoughts...what are yours?

Dick

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More Rants, Raves, and Opinions

I had brain lock trying to come up with a subject for this particular post. I have been paying attention to many noteworthy events in our wonderful world of sports. While not one event overly consumed me (not even Tiger Woods) but many captured that short attention span of mine.

Therefore, I am just going to serve a second helping of Rants, Raves, and Opinions. Here we go!

I'm sure we have all noticed Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James seemed disinterested in an embarrassing Game 5 loss to the Boston Celtics at home Tuesday night. He shot a dismal 3 for 14 from the field and had no life whatsoever. A bad game? More than likely so, however if the Cavs want to continue playing ball, James must come up huge in Boston or the Cavs season ends. I think LeBron will play well, but Boston will find a way to bounce Cleveland from championship contention.

Quick, name the New York Yankees best starting pitcher for the first 6 weeks this season. If you said Phil Hughes, treat yourself to a hot fudge sundae. In his 6 starts, Hughes sports a spiffy 5-0 mark with a minuscule 1.38 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched while allowing only 22 hits and much improved control. I watched a portion of his last 2 starts versus Boston and Detroit and saw that plus fastball everyone knew he had along with a much better idea of how to pitch. Maybe the question I should have proposed was name the best pitcher in the American League after the first 6 weeks this season.

How about those Montreal Canadiens?(!) The #8 seed in the Eastern Conference of the NHL playoffs have pulled off highly improbable feats by defeating Presidents' Trophy winners Washington Capitals and the defending Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins each in 7 games series. How have the Canadiens done this? First, the play of opportunistic forwards Michael Cammarelli and Brian Gionta have been nothing short of spectacular. The unheralded Cammarelli has 12 goals in the playoffs while Gionta has 7 and both have given maximum effort every shift. Second and more importantly, net minder Jaroslav Halak has been far and away the premier goalie in the playoffs.

Finally, staying in the NHL, can the Philadelphia Flyers complete the stunning comeback against the Boston Bruins? Boston thoroughly outplayed Philly winning the first 3 games. But somehow, the Flyers have willed 3 victories in succession to force Game 7 in Boston. The Flyers have simply out hustled the Bruins to even the series and appear to have the upper hand. Coincidentally, the return of Philadelphia forward Simon Gagne and the loss of Boston center David Krejci has turned the tide as well. All bets are off in this one!

I hope you enjoyed this segment. What are your thoughts?

Dick

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Mother's Day 1970 --- A Very Special Day in Sports

With Mother's Day upon us, we should give thanks to our moms for allowing us to be who we are … men, women, and children who love sports. But do we remember any sporting events that were so historic that it has been and will be passed on for generations to come?

There was such an event on Mother's Day, May 10th, 1970 when the Boston Bruins completed a 4-game sweep of the St. Louis Blues to capture the Stanley Cup for the 1st time since 1941 --- a 29 year drought.

One may ask,”Why is this event special”? The answer is that the game winning goal came from arguably the greatest player in the rich history of the National Hockey League (apologies to Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and their supporters) and made the legend that is one Robert Gordon Orr.

My memory of this particular game is actually vague as a mere 10 year old, exactly a week shy of my 11th birthday. But what I do remember was I was home in front of the television watching intently as I sensed the crowd of old Boston Garden was anxious for a winner. The Blues had played their best game of the series that Sunday afternoon, desperate for a win after being hammered by “The Big Bad Bruins” the 1st three games.

Next thing I knew, the overtime period had started, then ended quickly and suddenly. To be honest, I only remember the great Bobby Orr being pitchforked into the air by St. Louis defenseman Noel Picard. As Orr was airborne, parallel to the ice, he raised his arms above his head as if he was flying like Superman. Then again, Bobby WAS Superman. An amazing moment for an almost 11 year old to witness.



To commemorate the 40th anniversary of that event, a statue of Orr will be unveiled at the TD Garden on Monday May 10th. And yes, the statue is of Bobby flying through the air after the Cup winning goal. It's also fitting the the Bruins will be playing the Philadelphia Flyers that evening as they try to move on to the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Dick

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The Bruins Prayer

The Boston Bruins will be playing the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference semi-finals of the NHL playoffs. A good friend of mine, Mr. Tom Picard, a member of the Director Production Management team at ESPN posted this fun little prayer on Facebook recently. As a Bruins fan, I will share with all of you here.

The Bruins Prayer


"Our father who art in Boston. Hockey be thy name. Thy will be done. The cup will be won. On ice, as well as in the stands. Give us this day our hockey sticks. And forgive us our penalties, as we forgive those who cross-check against us, Lead us not into elimination. But deliver us to victory. In the name of the fans, Lord Stanley, and in the name of the Bruins. Amen."

I am going to add my own little statement:


May "The Force" be with the Boston Bruins.

Dick

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Carolina Panthers Call Clausen's Name At Pick #48

The recent NFL draft featured some surprising selections in the first and early second rounds. Inside linebacker Rolando McLain was the 8th overall selection by the Oakland Raiders (a good selection by Al Davis for once), Tim Tebow at #25 by the Denver Broncos, and teams like San Francisco, Buffalo, and Seattle not selecting a quarterback when given the opportunity. But the one surprise to nearly all draft experts and followers of football was Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen falling back to the 48th selection in the 2nd round by the Carolina Panthers.

Why did Clausen fall into the Panthers lap at pick forty-eight? Supposedly, there are some character and leadership issues that frightened many NFL general managers. Here's a quick synopsis of what was said.

Clausen was aloof, somewhat of a loaner, and was a troublemaker. As an incoming high profile rookie, those are damning allegations and unfortunately,there is some truth to this. Not always a solid citizen,Clausen got into a scuffle he got into at a bar while at South Bend. Apparently he wasn't always liked by teammates and supposedly lacked the fire that showed a lack leadership. To my knowledge, he isn't the only football quarterback to have these issues. Does the name Ben Roethlisberger ring a bell?

As far as talent, there can be no denying that Jimmy was the most NFL ready quarterback in this draft class. Under the tutelage of former Irish head man Charlie Weis, Clausen has the ability to read defenses, see the entire field, and make solid decisions to go with a strong arm.

On top of those attributes, Clausen will benefit in Carolina via the strong running attack the Panthers possess. That should limit the number of passing attempts Jimmy would make.

Also, Clausen will be pushed hard in camp by veteran starting quarterback Matt Moore and fellow rookie in 6th round pick Tony Pike, the prolific signal caller from the University of Cincinnati. This will keep Clausen motivated.

All in all, I believe Jimmy Clausen will have a very good if not outstanding career in the NFL. I foresee several playoff appearances and several Pro Bowls, maybe a Super Bowl too. He may not start immediately, but by mid season should the Panthers or Matt Moore struggle, Jimmy Clausen will have his chance to shine.

Those are my thoughts on Jimmy Clausen. What are yours?

Dick

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With The First Pick In The 2010 NFL Draft, The St. Louis Rams SHOULD Select...

With the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night, The St. Louis Rams appear poised to select Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, considered by few to be the top player in the draft. We know that the Rams are a team that needs to be rebuilt from the ground up and have needs at quarterback, wide receiver, and defensive line being the most pressing needs. With so many needs, the question becomes...

Who SHOULD the Rams select with the overall #1 pick?

I agree with most draft experts that the best player should go first in the draft. I don't agree that Bradford is the #1 player however. In my opinion, that player is Ndamukong Suh.

Suh is an absolute bear of a defensive tackle with enough quickness of a defensive end. How many collegiate players can stuff the run, hold his ground on a double team, and rush the passer? Does the name Reggie White ring a bell? To think, if he were to play for the Rams, he would remind older Rams fans of a Hall of Fame defensive tackle...the late Merlin Olsen.

Now, I'm no NFL General Manager, but I would think you want to select the sure thing, or at least the surest thing when drafting 1st overall. Most pundits believe that would be Suh. Defensive tackle is a need as I've previously mentioned. Then again, so is quarterback.

In the end, The Rams will likely pick Sam Bradford to be their franchise quarterback with pick number one. Which leads to another question which I will leave you to ponder.

Is Bradford the best quarterback in the draft?

Dick

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Rants and Raves and Opinions

This post is just some rants, raves, and opinions on a few sports happenings…so here we go!

Ben Roethlisberger will not be charged with any illegal sexual contact with the 20-year-old woman at a college bar in Georgia. I’m not surprised since the lady and her mom refused to file charges. If I could talk to Ben, it would be a simple 2-word sentence --- “Grow up!” NFL czar Roger Goodell will have a talk with Roethlisberger this week and I’m thinking there may be a suspension looming. Stay tuned.

Fifty-year-old Freddy Couples finishes in the top 10 at The Masters. Good for you Freddy! Isn’t it grand that the over 50 group plays well at recent majors? Being age 50 myself, it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread … okay, I exaggerate. Couples looked as though he was having fun at Augusta, because he was! Was he wearing golf shoes? Looked quite casual in the footwear department to me and I loved it! Fred is dominating the Champions Tour and I believe he can do fairly well on the PGA Tour if he so pleases. Old guys rule!!!

The Boston Red Sox look as though they have 2 major problems early this MLB season. One is that David is off to a terrible start this season, much like last season. His strikeout rate is worse than alarming and Sox fans are already calling for a change. Mike Lowell anyone?

Problem two is that the bullpen has been shaky early. The usually reliable Hedeki Okajima has been wild and hammered at the same time and closer Jonathan Papelbon has lost a game already. It’s early and as a Red Sox fan, I am more patient than most, unlike my panicky dad.

Thanks for reading!

Dick

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