With the NBA season now a few days into the season, once again, Kobe Bryant is the center of attention. Kobe keeps saying that he just wants to win, as are all of the superstars today. However Bryants actions have never displayed this, and anyone who believes it now is just crazy. If Kobe was so dead set on winning, then why are him and Shaq no longer on the same team. With the two players in LA together, the Lakers won 3 straight championships. However, Kobe really likes to be THE guy, and sharing the spotlight with Shaq was just not good enough for Kobe. After kicking Shaquille O'neal out the door, Bryant basically sent Phil Jackson into an early retirement for a year, before coming back to the Lakers. Now the next part of the Kobe saga is where, he is not only looking to be traded to the Bulls, but he is now dictating who he wants to be traded for. Despite Bryant already coming out and saying that he wants to be traded to the Bulls, but now he is saying that he would veto any trade to the Bulls which would include the Lakers receiving Luol Deng. Since when do players think they can just demand what they want and just assume that management is going to let them get away with it. For any of these superstars that have already made enough money to take care of their families for generations can easily prove that their main motivation is to win by simply taking a huge pay cut. If for instance, you already have fifty million dollars in five years of work, why not ask for twenty five million for the next five years. This will give your team twenty five million dollars by which they could bring in more players.
Paul Blackborow
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Game 1 in the Books
Game 1 Recap
Good morning and if you stayed up for the entire game, I didn’t 1130 I was gone, wipe the sleeps out of your eyes and start up another pot of coffee.
So game 1 goes to the Red Sox and if there was any concern the Red Sox may stumble out of the gate those fears was calmed within in the first 10 minutes. First, Josh Beckett was once again the ace and amazing. Last night his first inning performance was one for the record books becoming the first person since Juan Guzman in 1993 to strike out the side in the first inning of a World Series game. Then the Sox went to work, led by the new young star, Dustin Pedroia who just got it over the green monster and the offense was ready to roll on a wet night at Fenway. And roll it did, putting up 13 runs, including blowing the doors off game 1 with a 7 run 5th inning. Oh by the way the 13 runs scored is also a World Series record, so do we crown the Sox?
Not quite so fast. The Rockies clearly stumbled out of the gate. Do you blame the 8 days off or was it good pitching? In this situation I think you need to give Josh Beckett the credit here. Once again Beckett continues to shine and dominate in the post-season. Beckett in 2007 has been the complete opposite of 2006. Last year he was continuously bit by the long ball and his inability to throw strikes and keep guys off base. If you look back at 2006, Beckett’s main problems came when he would give up homeruns, but with all the walks they were usually 2 or 3-run home-runs and not of the harmless solo variety. In 2007 Red Sox nation is seeing why Beckett is the ace of the staff that so many teams want. He is clearly pitching with high confidence, whether he’s throwing the fastball by the hitter, or painting the corners so precisely and snapping over the off-speed. Beckett is in complete control. Just look at his post-season numbers following last nights performance where he allowed six hits in seven innings, struck out nine and walked one. He has now improved to a record of 4-0 with a 1.20 ERA in the postseason. Also with the offensive help Beckett was once again to throw under 100 pitches which could make him available for a game 4 if needed.
However, on the other end the Rockies for the first time in a long time looked flat. They appeared to be very anxious at the plate, swinging early in the counts and not working pitch counts. Going into the series I said the key for the Rockies is to split in Boston and I am still confident they can do that. Game 1 is over and done with so the Rockies must now turn the page and get back to playing Rockie baseball. The key for game 2 is to work the pitch count. Curt Schilling has been good this post-season but to me on Saturday night it looked like the Indians got themselves out more then Schilling got the Indians out. Meanwhile Ubaldo Jimenez will make the biggest start of his career. He will have the tough task of having to navigate his way through a red hot Red Sox lineup, which frankly right now looks unstoppable. In his first 2 post-season outings he was able to Stifle the Phillies and Diamondbacks for 5+ innings, and tonight the Rockies need that and maybe a bit more. With Jeff Francis struggling Clint Hurdle had to go through his bullpen much more then he would have liked in Game 1. Hurdle needs Jimenez to give the start of his life but he also needs the Rockies offense to wake up, before its too late.
If the Rockies come back to Coors down 2, the party might be over and for that matter and may be just beginning back in Boston. Game 2 is tonight, so get the coffee going again, its going to be another late night. .
Enjoy the game.
Jason Deger
Jason Deger
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Time for the Future
With the New York Jets at 1-6 for the season, it is time for coach Eric Mangini to test the future. The normally reliable Chad Pennington has struggled mightily during the course of the season. The AFC is by far the better conference, and there is a good chance the Jets would need to go undefeated the rest of the way just to secure a playoff berth. With a schedule that still includes games at Dallas and New England as well as a home game against Pittsburgh. Over the course of Penningtons career he has
been a very smart quarterback. Even with a weak arm, he still has been able to get the job done. However, this season he has been throwing picks in key situations, and has just struggled in leading the offense. The Jets have some solid receivers in Coles and Cotchery who will never be confused for headaches like Terrell Owens, but they are definitely good enough to help lead the team. It is now time to look to the future. The Jets have Kellen Clemens waiting in the wings, and it is time to see if he is really the future of the franchise. Clemens is now in his second season and in his first start against the Ravens, definitely showed some potential. With a lost season already, Mangini would be very smart not to waste a second season in the event that Clemens is not the quarterback they thought he was. It has nothing to do with Pennington as a person but if the Jets are going to rebound from this season, unfortunately Pennington will not be the guy to lead them.
been a very smart quarterback. Even with a weak arm, he still has been able to get the job done. However, this season he has been throwing picks in key situations, and has just struggled in leading the offense. The Jets have some solid receivers in Coles and Cotchery who will never be confused for headaches like Terrell Owens, but they are definitely good enough to help lead the team. It is now time to look to the future. The Jets have Kellen Clemens waiting in the wings, and it is time to see if he is really the future of the franchise. Clemens is now in his second season and in his first start against the Ravens, definitely showed some potential. With a lost season already, Mangini would be very smart not to waste a second season in the event that Clemens is not the quarterback they thought he was. It has nothing to do with Pennington as a person but if the Jets are going to rebound from this season, unfortunately Pennington will not be the guy to lead them.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Is it time for Joe to go?
George Steinbrenner should fire Joe Torre after this latest meltdown. He should not be fired because of this one series, but rather because of his whole body of work since the 2001 season. Since leading the Yankees to three world series in his first four seasons, he has gone the last six years without winning a World Series. Despite appearing twice in the World Series, Torre has bowed out in the playoffs to less talented teams every one of those years minus the 2001 World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Yankees overacheived in that series losing in the ninth inning of game 7.
In 2002 the Yankees were beaten and out pitched by the wild card Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Despite winning 103 games in the regular season, and finishing 8-2 down the stretch, the Yankees could not figure out the Angels. In the four game series which Anaheim won 3-1 the Yankees pitching let up 31 runs. Although Anaheim was not dominant on the mound, their offense carried them to the victory, and would wind up winning the world series.
In 2003 the Yankees were beaten by the National League wild card Florida Marlins who were led by ace Josh Beckett. In game 6, with the Yankees best on the mound at home, Andy Pettitte was outdueled by the Marlins youngster 2-0. Beckett was sensational in the series, but the Marlins were not the most talented team in the series. It was a pitching dominated series with the Yankees averaging just under 3 runs against per game, while Florida let up 3.5 runs per game.
In 2004 the Yankees won the AL East and would take on the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. This was one of the biggest blown opportunities as the Yankees went up 3 games to none in the best of seven series. In the third game, the Yankees dominated Boston pitching winning the game 19-8. However the Yankees would lose the next three games, all pretty close to send the series to a seventh game. In game 7 Kevin Brown was sent to the mound, and was absolutely awful. The Yankees ended up losing the game 10-3.
In 2005 the Yankees faced their biggest nemesis of the Torre era the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and were beaten in five games. The Yankees were down 2-1 in the series after winning the first game in Anaheim. With the Yankees on the brink of elimination the team was able to come back from a 2-0 defecit winning the game 3-2. In the decisive game though, Torre's Yankees would once again fall short 5-3 in the game.
In 2006 the Yankees for the second straight year would fall short of advancing past the divisional round. This year they would face the Detroit Tigers who had not appeared in the playoffs since the 1987 season. The Yankees won the first game 8-4. However over the next three games the Yankees would struggle to score over the next three games. In the second game the Yankees took a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning, before falling 4-3 in the game. Game 3 the Yankees would be shutout by Kenny Rogers losing the game 6-0. The Yankees collapse was completed in the fourth game where they fell behind 8-0 in the sixth inning. The Yankees would snap their streak of 17 innings without a run scored in the seventh inning. The Yankees would lose the game 8-3.
This year the Yankees beat the Indians in all 6 meetings during the regular season, but are unable to win more then one game in the series. The Indians lose the first two games at Cleveland 12-3 and 2-1. In the third game, the Yankees survive off the bat of Johnny Damon and the huge relief effort of Phil Hughes after Clemens leaves the game early. With the Yankees given a second life, Wang would surrender that to Grady Sizemore as the first batter of the game. The Yankees fell 6-4 after Wang let up 4 runs over one plus innings.
With three straight lackluster performances by Torre's teams in the playoffs, maybe it is not the players as much as it is the manager. With the Yankees having quite a bit of young pitching talent, and Torre having a reputation of over using pitchers, maybe now is the time that the manager gets changed. My top choice would be to see Joe Girardi as manager. How can you pass up on a manager who led the Florida Marlins last season late in to the playoffs race. I expect though that the job will be handed to Joe Torre's bench coach Don Mattingly. As a big fan of Donnie Baseball, I would hate to see him fail if it is him who takes over the reins.
Paul Blackborow
In 2002 the Yankees were beaten and out pitched by the wild card Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Despite winning 103 games in the regular season, and finishing 8-2 down the stretch, the Yankees could not figure out the Angels. In the four game series which Anaheim won 3-1 the Yankees pitching let up 31 runs. Although Anaheim was not dominant on the mound, their offense carried them to the victory, and would wind up winning the world series.
In 2003 the Yankees were beaten by the National League wild card Florida Marlins who were led by ace Josh Beckett. In game 6, with the Yankees best on the mound at home, Andy Pettitte was outdueled by the Marlins youngster 2-0. Beckett was sensational in the series, but the Marlins were not the most talented team in the series. It was a pitching dominated series with the Yankees averaging just under 3 runs against per game, while Florida let up 3.5 runs per game.
In 2004 the Yankees won the AL East and would take on the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. This was one of the biggest blown opportunities as the Yankees went up 3 games to none in the best of seven series. In the third game, the Yankees dominated Boston pitching winning the game 19-8. However the Yankees would lose the next three games, all pretty close to send the series to a seventh game. In game 7 Kevin Brown was sent to the mound, and was absolutely awful. The Yankees ended up losing the game 10-3.
In 2005 the Yankees faced their biggest nemesis of the Torre era the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and were beaten in five games. The Yankees were down 2-1 in the series after winning the first game in Anaheim. With the Yankees on the brink of elimination the team was able to come back from a 2-0 defecit winning the game 3-2. In the decisive game though, Torre's Yankees would once again fall short 5-3 in the game.
In 2006 the Yankees for the second straight year would fall short of advancing past the divisional round. This year they would face the Detroit Tigers who had not appeared in the playoffs since the 1987 season. The Yankees won the first game 8-4. However over the next three games the Yankees would struggle to score over the next three games. In the second game the Yankees took a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning, before falling 4-3 in the game. Game 3 the Yankees would be shutout by Kenny Rogers losing the game 6-0. The Yankees collapse was completed in the fourth game where they fell behind 8-0 in the sixth inning. The Yankees would snap their streak of 17 innings without a run scored in the seventh inning. The Yankees would lose the game 8-3.
This year the Yankees beat the Indians in all 6 meetings during the regular season, but are unable to win more then one game in the series. The Indians lose the first two games at Cleveland 12-3 and 2-1. In the third game, the Yankees survive off the bat of Johnny Damon and the huge relief effort of Phil Hughes after Clemens leaves the game early. With the Yankees given a second life, Wang would surrender that to Grady Sizemore as the first batter of the game. The Yankees fell 6-4 after Wang let up 4 runs over one plus innings.
With three straight lackluster performances by Torre's teams in the playoffs, maybe it is not the players as much as it is the manager. With the Yankees having quite a bit of young pitching talent, and Torre having a reputation of over using pitchers, maybe now is the time that the manager gets changed. My top choice would be to see Joe Girardi as manager. How can you pass up on a manager who led the Florida Marlins last season late in to the playoffs race. I expect though that the job will be handed to Joe Torre's bench coach Don Mattingly. As a big fan of Donnie Baseball, I would hate to see him fail if it is him who takes over the reins.
Paul Blackborow
Thursday, October 4, 2007
NHL Needs new man running the show
For those of you who may have missed the memo, or if you just happen to live in North America, you may have missed the opening of the 2007-08 hockey season. Commissioner Gary Bettman decided that the English may be a good market to go after, despite the fact that are plenty of other countries who would've loved to see a game.
Why do all of these commissioners think we need to go and globalize their sports? When English football (soccer) teams come over here to showcase there game, they do not count these towards the standings. These games are played merely to bring attention to the game, but they are not cheating their loyal fans from seeing one less regular season game. Right now the NHL is aching for ratings, as proven by the fact that hardly anyone knew the games were going on. So why go ahead and take away some games from the fans who do support you. I do not see Australian Rules football teams coming over here for their regular season games.
With the ratings being as low as they have, why does the NHL have a deal with a provider like Versus, where people either don't have, or don't even know its on. The NHL by far has the best playoffs of any sports.
If Bettman is going to remain the commissioner of hockey, then the game may get a higher and higher cap, as it has recently, but eventually if everyone just forgets about it totally, what will happen to the game. Well hopefully they will start up an English league after the little taste of the game that they have recieved.
Paul Blackborow
Why do all of these commissioners think we need to go and globalize their sports? When English football (soccer) teams come over here to showcase there game, they do not count these towards the standings. These games are played merely to bring attention to the game, but they are not cheating their loyal fans from seeing one less regular season game. Right now the NHL is aching for ratings, as proven by the fact that hardly anyone knew the games were going on. So why go ahead and take away some games from the fans who do support you. I do not see Australian Rules football teams coming over here for their regular season games.
With the ratings being as low as they have, why does the NHL have a deal with a provider like Versus, where people either don't have, or don't even know its on. The NHL by far has the best playoffs of any sports.
If Bettman is going to remain the commissioner of hockey, then the game may get a higher and higher cap, as it has recently, but eventually if everyone just forgets about it totally, what will happen to the game. Well hopefully they will start up an English league after the little taste of the game that they have recieved.
Paul Blackborow
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
MLB First Round Predictions
NL
Philadelphia vs. Colorado-The best series of the bunch. The Colorado Rockies went on a tear to end the season, and with a wild victory on Monday night, defeating the Padres for the final playoff spot. Philadelphia meanwhile came from a long way back and just edged out the New York Mets. This is a matchup that we can see for quite some time with both teams having quite a bit of young talent. This year though, I think it will be Philadelphia behind the play of Ryan Howard. With the season on the line, Howard was playing his best ball late, and I see that continuing. Phillies win the series in 5 games.
Arizona vs. Chicago-Despite playing in 162 games I am still not sold on this Arizona team. How can a team that has been outscored by as much as they have still win in such a competitive division. I am still going to have to go with the Cubbies on this one. Look for the Cubs to take the series in five games.
AL
Boston vs. LA-Anaheim-California- Anaheim has always struggled in Fenway and against the Angels. However I do feel that this year the Angels will be able to beat the Red Sox. The Angels are one of the money ball teams, and if they can get their players on base, they will be able to give the Red Sox some problems. The series is going to be Anaheim in 5 games.
New York vs. Cleveland- The Yankees experience is going to be what gets them through in this series. Despite the Indians having the better pitching in this series, they Yankees have the experience and is great at wearing down pitchers. Yankees will win the series in 4 games.
Paul Blackborow
Philadelphia vs. Colorado-The best series of the bunch. The Colorado Rockies went on a tear to end the season, and with a wild victory on Monday night, defeating the Padres for the final playoff spot. Philadelphia meanwhile came from a long way back and just edged out the New York Mets. This is a matchup that we can see for quite some time with both teams having quite a bit of young talent. This year though, I think it will be Philadelphia behind the play of Ryan Howard. With the season on the line, Howard was playing his best ball late, and I see that continuing. Phillies win the series in 5 games.
Arizona vs. Chicago-Despite playing in 162 games I am still not sold on this Arizona team. How can a team that has been outscored by as much as they have still win in such a competitive division. I am still going to have to go with the Cubbies on this one. Look for the Cubs to take the series in five games.
AL
Boston vs. LA-Anaheim-California- Anaheim has always struggled in Fenway and against the Angels. However I do feel that this year the Angels will be able to beat the Red Sox. The Angels are one of the money ball teams, and if they can get their players on base, they will be able to give the Red Sox some problems. The series is going to be Anaheim in 5 games.
New York vs. Cleveland- The Yankees experience is going to be what gets them through in this series. Despite the Indians having the better pitching in this series, they Yankees have the experience and is great at wearing down pitchers. Yankees will win the series in 4 games.
Paul Blackborow
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Fantasy (NCAA) Football 2007
So with all of the hoopla surrounding the start of both college and professional football, I wanted to take a minute to say a few words about fantasy football. No, not in the traditional sense, but in the sense that a no-name team can fantasize about beating a perennial power-house.
Wait, what? Appalachian State beat Michigan? No way. The small school in nowhere North Carolina beat a Michigan team that was in the preseason top 10 in every poll? How’d THAT happen? Hmmm, I guess it’s true about any given Saturday.
Is Michigan just overrated or Appalachian State underrated? You know what? Who cares. App State beat Michigan on so many levels. A close game would’ve been a victory for them yet alone an outright win. If this doesn’t open up the floodgates for a playoff or for giving smaller schools more of an opportunity to play the larger ones, I don’t know what is.
This should be a wake up call for the almighty leaders of the NCAA Football. If you thought Boise State’s big win last year was enough, you were apparently wrong. Years from now we will be discussing Appalachian State’s improbable win at The Big House; however, I will probably be wrong. This will not be enough to change the mentality of the powers that be. The only thing that will be are the dollars.
Are you ready for some Football?!?!?!?!?!
By Andrew Bernstein
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)