Lakers Still Green With Envy

20 games into the season so much of the talk has been about the L.A. Lakers and how the return of a healthy Andrew Bynum now makes them a very likely NBA Champion. But over the past week, the Lakers have looked like a team of youth that isn't quite sure how to take care of over matched opponents and close games out in the 4th quarter.

Meanwhile, there is a team in Bean Town (the reigning World Champions mind you) that as just notched their 13th straight win and as quietly as you can is off to a 21-2 start (Lakers are 18-3). I realize the Lakers have unbelievable depth. They are sitting a former starter in Luke Walton and have demoted a perennial starter in Lamar Odom to the 2nd unit. But nevertheless, the ugly head that is inexperience seems to be peeking out from behind the curtain and we are only a month into the season. If Los Angeles can't put away a Kings team which had lost 8 straight or a last place Pacers squad, how are they going to win a long series against a Western powerhouse and then put away a veteran Celtics team (barring an amazing run from King James and the Cavs)?

This isn't to say that you should write off the Lakers chances of making it back to the NBA finals...in fact, I still think they are the favorite out of the West. But changes need to take place and a lot of that burden falls on Kobe Bryant to step up and take some of the pressure off his young role players. In L.A.'s 3 losses, the teams they fell to have a combined 24-39 record. That is really bad!!! Compare that to the Celtics who have 2 losses to teams with a combined 22-21 record and the Cavilers who are 19-3 with their 3 losses coming to teams whose records are 44-17.

Clearly, Los Angeles isn't getting the job done when they should be. It is way too early to write off the Lakers, but it is safe to say that L.A. won't be threatening the 72-10 mark that just 2 weeks ago was thought to be in their grasp. Get ready for Dec. 25th, because that will be a huge test and we will get to see if the Lakers can past a team that clearly is still the elusive rabbit.

Pac-10 isn't that overrated....at least not yet.

Alright, all this Pac-10 sucks talk is getting to me. Lets wait just a little bit, because teams have bad games.

Sure USC choked on a national stage last night. So they aren't the best team ever...most people could have guessed that long ago. But this doesn't mean the Trojans are horrible or overrated. Let things play out the entire season. If USC suffers 1 or 2 more losses, then they are overrated. But an early season loss doesn't necessarily equal a disaster of a season.

There may be a little more substance behind calling ASU overrated. But its hard. They were upset at home by UNLV (bad bad lose) but then lost to a well rounded and very good Georgia team. I guess it just stinks that the Sun Devils decided to play the Bulldogs this season.

Oregon lost bad at home to Boise State. Sure the Broncos are from a smaller conference, but as we saw a few years back against the Sooners, the Broncos play bigger than a mid-level conference team.

Cal has one lost and as of right now, they probably have the best lose of ANY Pac-10 team. They traveled across country and played Maryland (who are 3-1) at 9 a.m. Eastern time (that is 6 a.m. Pacific). The Bears aren't out of it and could have a successful season if they don't implode like last season after a loss.

Overall the point is this. The Pac-10 isn't the dominate conference they were last year. But to write them off just because every team has a loss on their record is absurd. They have struggled against non-BCS conference teams this year. But 2 of those losses were to BYU who is nationally ranked and Boise State who is also nationally ranked. The Pac-10 also has some impressive non-conference wins that people are forgetting. They have beaten Ohio State, Virginia, Tennessee, Michigan State, and Purdue...thats not a bad grouping of victories.

What A CATCH!!! Edwin Baptiste Amazes Me

Morgan State's wide receiver Edwin Baptiste made an amazing catch a few days ago. Watch it and enjoy, nothing else needs to be said.

WHAT WEEK WILL THE TOP 25 RANKINGS BECOME LEGIT?

I am trying to figure out at what week the Top 25 becomes a measuring stick to know how good a team is and if a game is really an upset, because so far, the rankings appear to be a madman's compilation of his favorite mascots instead of a legitimate collection of the best teams in the country.

How was UCLA ever in the Top 25 and how are they still the in the top 2 "others receiving votes" category? The Bruins have played one game, on national TV (mind you no other games were even on, so the audience had to be huge), at home, and they won in overtime. Sure they played a big time SEC program in Tennessee who was ranked #18 entering the game, but I think every person who saw that game quickly realized that a Top 20 spot for the Volunteers was as ludicrous as Venus William's hair at the U.S. Open Finals last week. The Bruins had 4 first half interceptions, horrendous QB play (mainly in the 1st half), 29 total rushing yards and Tennessee still couldn't win. I don't think that Rocky Mountain choking means UCLA is for real. Lets wait a few more weeks, because despite the fact that on paper they are playing another Top 20 team this week, I don't how legitimate the Cougars are yet.


Using that transition, how is a mid-major team like BYU Top 20 2 weeks into the season with the wins they have thus far? Sure BYU has a gunner behind center in Max Hall and a beast running back who probably should be playing linebacker, but the Cougars have beaten Northern Iowa (I don't even know their mascot and it takes more than three computer clicks to figure it out). Couple that with last week, where with the help of the zebras, the Cougars eked out a win against a bottom tier Pac-10 team. In my book, that doesn't make you the #18 (or #15 depending on the poll) team in the country.

Not to toot the horn of the train I ride, but the Cal Golden Bears beat a mid to top level major conference team (Michigan State) and went on the rode a destroyed a poor Pac-10 team. That resume alone (lined up simply against the Cougar's list of wins) should mean that Cal is a lock in the Top 25 poll, however, they just crawled in last week and currently are sitting on the doorstep of not being ranked (#23 and #25).

The rankings this year are more premature than in recent years. Obviously this weekend will tell us a lot, but I am not even certain the Buckeyes are a Top 10 tam, let alone a Top 5. Their resume looks like a joke...beating Youngstown state (once again, what is their mascot and by the way, their is no State named Youngstown, so a name change might be in order) and barley sneaking out of the horseshoe with a win over the mid-major Ohio Bobcats. That's about as impressive as Tyson Gay's performance in Beijing.

So lets erase the Top 25 rankings for another week or two and then begin to build them from scratch, based on THIS SEASONS performances and resumes.

RICH RODRIGUEZ DOESN'T FALL FOR THE GAMES THAT GREG SCHIANO DOES

Greg Schiano, the head football coach at Rutgers, has had two years of Cinderella runs where his program has burst onto the national scene after being an NCAA Division 1 doormat for most of the last few decades.

Well, those jobs that Schiano has passed up over the last 2 years at his alma mater, Miami, at Michigan and at other big name programs seems to be a horrible decision. I know Rutgers had something good, but it now appears it wasn't so much the program that was doing well, but a player (Ray Rice)...and now that Rice is making the gouda (E-40 word of the week) in the NFL, Rutgers has face-planted.

The Scarlett Knights are 0-2 after losing two home games to a smaller conference team (Fresno State) and a weak team from a very weak conference (UNC). Not the start that an up and coming program needs. I know Rich Rodriguez got alot of flack for packing his U-haul and heading up to Ann Arbor, but maybe he saw what Schiano didn't. That West Virginia and Rutgers are two teams that had a short BCS runs, but in the end the program itself hasn't changed. Instead, it was just a result of a few years with some great players (Steve Slaton, the old Pat White, Ray Rice) in the weakest conference (Big East).

College Football Always Draws Me Back

Its been awhile, but the blogging has returned partly because the college football season has started, but also because the weather is turning and so there are more hours to pound away at the computer.

Here is the plan (things don't always go according to plan)!

I will make posts about the sports world when there is something that interests me and I feel it may be fun to write about, but in addition, I will make a weekly College Football Review where I discuss different things going on around the NCAA, certain teams progress, amazing individual performances, etc.

Maybe I will even take the time to sit down and go over my version of the Top 25...but there are no guarantees.

Minor Leaguers Outdue the WNBA

For the 2nd time in 3 days, a major brawl broke out in a sporting event. Tuesday it was the Sparks and Shock (which lead to 11 suspensions), but Thursday night the Peoria Cubs and Dayton Reds broke into a brawl that was brutal. First the managers went at it, then, seemingly out of nowhere, Peoria pitcher Jose Castillo comes flying in and throws a "fast ball" at a fan in the crowd. The fan was taken to the hospital with no serious injury, but Castillo was arrested and charged with felonious assault. He has a court date today.

Passing of the Torch

When you read the headline above, you probably thought this column would be about Favre-Rodgers, or Bowden-Fisher, or Palmer-Leinart-Booty-Sanchez, or even Bush-Obama/McCain. But, there has been a much more important torch passing taking place over the past few years...Mr. Woo-John Farnworth.

Mr. Who??? Legally known as Hee Young Woo, Mr. Woo has been considered the "Greatest Football Entertainer in the World." Once a South Korean soccer player, Woo specializes in ball tricks and was an ambassador for the 2002 World Cup which was held in his native country, South Korean. Woo has performed for Pele's 50th birthday and impressed Ronaldinho so much during a Nike shoot that the Brazilian superstar asked the Korean entertainer for an autograph.

But Mr. Woo is aging and so his successor appears to be the Brit, John Farnworth. Farnworth trained under Mr. Woo a few years back and in December 2006, Farnworth beat his mentor, Mr. Woo at the "Masters of the Game" tournament. Check out videos of both the guys below. Their craft is one of the most amazing specialized skills I have ever seen.


Mr. Woo


John Farnworth (in the red)

Emotions Erupt in the Palace....Again.

For the second time in less than four years, a major brawl has broken out in the Palace of Auburn Hills, this time in a WNBA game (who knew people took the WNBA this seriously?). Last night, the L.A. Sparks visited the Detroit Shock. After a hard foul down on the other side of the court, Plenette Pierson of the Shock decides to get physical with the face of women's basketball, Candace Parker. Fortunately for us, Parker is a not a pushover, thus she retaliated and the catfight began.

Two things to note in this fight.
1) a few seconds into this melee, the Shocks best player, Cheryl Ford (the daughter of Karl Malone) fell to the floor and grabbed her knee in pain while trying to hold back a teammate from fighting. Real good move...you will probably lose your best player for awhile because she was one of the few players who tried to hold back her teammates.
2) After Shock Assistant coach Rick Mahorn tried to pull Lisa Lesile away from the fight, he accidentally knocked her down causing Sparks guard Delisha Milton-Jones to push him from behind and throw a punch at his head. Luckily for Mahorn, Milton-Jones is about as accurate as Shaq when he went after Brad Miller.



Obviously this fight will make headlines because it was outside of baseball and involved a large number of players. But don't think this is "the Malice at the Palace" part two, because it didn't even compare to the insanity that ensued November 19, 2004 when the Pacers, Pistons and FANS got involved in a brutal beatdown.

A First On The Race Track

Earlier this week in a practice session for the IRL race in Ohio, Danica Patrick got a little ticked off when fellow female driver Milka Duno because she was driving too slow and wouldn't let her pass. Patrick had good reason to get steamed, but to go confront Duno immedetley afterwards is a little too much drama for most IRL drivers.

At least Patrick is consistent...this is the most camera time she ever gets onthe track after the race since she has never been in the winner's circle. On a side note, notice all the men standing around not really stepping in to settle things down...interesting!!! Could they be hoping for more?

The Biggest Choker Of Our Generation

I would love to see Phil Mickelson do well. He is a great golfer, from Southern California, with Pac-10 ties. I even sport a black KPMG hat myself when I hit the links. But despite my well wishes (along with thousands of others who have been wishing him well), Mickelson is undeniably a choke artist. For years he has been in Tiger's shadow. At first, many blamed Phil for not stepping up. However, recently, many have taken the blame away from Phil (in the same way no one blames Sergio, Rory or Ernie) because we all realize Tiger is simply untameable.

But with Tiger's injury and Phil's impressive performances early on this season at Riviera (winning the Northern Trust Open by 3 strokes), in Scottsdale (losing in a playoff to J.B. Holmes at the FBR Open) and at the Colonial in Fort Worth (winning on a final putt), many thought this was Phil's time. I mean, Tiger was injured and the U.S. Open was practically in Phil's kitchen. Well, Torrey Pines rolled around and Tiger put on the best golf performance of all-time. Many people have discussed Tiger vs. Rocco, and Phil couldn't be happier because this story was so big that everyone seemingly forgot his home field implosion finishing at +6 with a quadruple bogey under his 3rd round score (and in four days, he only had one round under par on a course he knows better than anyone).

But lets assume that was just a Phil fluke mixed with some nerves since all the pressure was on his shoulders. I mean, consider that Tiger wasn't all that impressive himself...but with the leg injury and the amazing story of Rocco vs. Tiger (i.e. David vs. Goliath), everyone hails this as the best tournament ever.

Fast forward to Royal Birkdale, the site of this weeks British Open. Tiger is gone, the hottest golfer in the game (Kenny Perry) is eating sausage and cheese in Wisconsin, so this tournament is pressure free and the perfect stage for Phil...right? Think again, In today's opening round, Phil came out and shot a 79 to finish 9 over par and 11 shots behind the leader. One round into the British Open and Phil is already eliminated (barring a Tiger-like comeback). Can Phil just step up one time and meet the expectations of the fans at a tournament that means something? How can you be the world's second best golfer and not finish in the top 3 in any of the four major tournaments for over 2 years (finished 2nd in the '06 U.S. Open)? Come on Phil...we are all rooting for you, but if you don't give us a story to follow, we Southern Californians might have to move our allegiance to Anthony Kim and that's not something I am comfortable with doing just yet.

Rampage Lives Up To His Name

10 days after losing in an unanimous decision to Forest Griffin in UFC 86, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was arrested in Costa Mesa, CA for felony evading, reckless driving and hit-and-run charges. He led police on a chase, drove on the sidewalk causing pedestrians to scatter (according to reports) and worst of all...was on his cell phone (you know that new rule that went into effect July 1st). Regardless, I have a feeling Rampage will be in some pretty big trouble...if I can HUNT down more details I'll post them up.

Until then, check out the TMZ link which has some great photos, the sherdog.com article and for the hell of it, a interview from last week following Rampage's loss in UFC 86.

Rampage Arrested

Photos of the arrest

More MJ Pictures From Last Weekend For Those Diehard Fans

Here are a few more pictures from the tournament of Michael Jordan.

This Should Be Degree's Next Advertisment

I can never resist posting a great manager tirade/ meltdown (be it in game or postgame). Earlier this year, we had the press conference meltdowns of Kevin Borseth, the Head Coach at University of Michigan Women's basketball team, and of course, Mike Gundy, the Head Coach of Oklahoma State football team (both videos which are on an article from March). But this time, we take the field for the always entertaining minor league baseball managers. Here is Kash Beauchamp, the coach of the Wichita Wingnuts and his meltdown in a game earlier last week.




Just for kicks, compare Beauchamp to minor league manager Phil Wellman becoming a soldier last year.

Josh Hamilton Digs The Long Ball

Josh Hamilton put on a show in tonight's first round of the Home Run Derby that will be remembered for a long time to come. He broke Bobby Abreu's record hitting 28 dingers in the first round. This was so many that he didn't even have to compete in the second round and he still would have been in the finals (although he did record 4 outs in round two before calling it quits). I blogged last month about how Josh Hamilton has the most interesting story in baseball and he might just be the one player to bring baseball out of the muck that it has been rolling around in. He is young (relatively speaking), has a made for movie background, and as we are finding out more and more is made to play this game. He didn't even pick up a bat for over two years and yet he has almost 100 RBI's half way through the season and obviously has power that is unbelievable. Keep an eye out, because Hamilton might be the first stellar player in awhile to continue an upward climb without tanking after being noticed.

European Referee Does His Best Fan Impression

A referee in Belarus managed to show up to a game completely obliterated. Sergei Shmolik, 43, needed help to walk off the field at the end of the game which ended in a draw with a 1-1 score. Sadly, Shmolik was voted the best referee in Belarus last year...I'm guessing he doesn't make the list this year.

Watch this great video and hope that we don't see Dick Bavetta or Ed Hochuli hitting the bottle before any games next season.

Tahoe Celeb Golf Tournament

Here are a few images from Weds. and Friday of the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe, NV. (click on individual picture to enlarge)



Michael Jordan with his cigar on the 4th hole


Ray Allen walking to the tee box


Rick Reilly and wife (notice the SI logo on the left sleeve)


Jerry Rice doing interviews after his Friday round


Michael Jordan signing autographs after Weds. practice round


Kenny Lofton eyeing his next shot


Wayne Gretzky walking to his tee shot on the 9th hole


Tony Romo and his caddy discussing his tee shot

I was lucky enough to spend all day Friday at Edgewood Golf Course in Lake Tahoe for the American Century Championship. This tournament features 80 celebrities (some better golfers than others) and a day at this tournament for a sports fan is like being in the candy aisle as a kid. To be honest, I didn't get to see as many players as I wanted because most of my attention was focused on the 9:50 a.m. group consisting of Michael Jordan, Ray Allen and Kenny Lofton. Obviously the latter two weren't the real draw for me. I took a ton of pictures and was able to observe some interesting things, so here it goes.

1)Michael Jordan is a bigger icon than most of us realize: There were times when Jordan would walk through a crowd with another huge star (Jerry Rice, Tony Romo, Ray Allen, John Elway, etc.) and 99% of the time, the other celebrities would go untouched and almost unnoticed because everyone's attention was with MJ. It was remarkable to see in person, especially since it wasn't like he was the only great athlete or actor there.

2) Jordan LOVES to bet: Ok, I know this is common knowledge, but I am here to confirm its true. Throughout his round (mostly on the back nine), Jordan was betting nice chunks of money with a few of his friends who were walking alongside him. On the par 4 15th, Jordan shanked his tee shot left and short. This allowed his friend (referred to as Big Mike) to place $100 wager that Jordan wouldn't make par. MJ took the bet, double bogeyed and went on to hand Big Mike a $100 bill right there. Next hole was the long par 5 16th. This time Jordan proposed the bet placing $500 on a birdie and another $500 on par. Jordan didn't make either and again handed Big Mike $1000 cash right there on the course. Did I mention Jordan loves to bet?

3) Rick Reilly needs a new wardrobe: Rick Reilly, FORMER writer for Sports Illustrated and current writer/ blogger/ personality for ESPN wore a SI black polo to go with his Bear Bryant-esque hat. Did anyone tell him that him leaving SI for ESPN was controversial, so he might want to avoid wearing the insignia of his former employer, especially at a nationally televised event.

4) Quarterbacks have other QB's back: After the threesome of Romo, Rodgers and Roethlisberger finished up their Friday round, Ed Werder from ESPN immediately went over to Aaron Rodgers with a mic and camera and tried to get an interview regarding the Brett Favre situation. Before Ed could even ask his questions, Romo rolled his eyes and said "you have to be kidding me" and Roethlisberger exclaimed "leave him [Rodgers] alone, he doesn't want to talk about it." As expected, Werder ignored the two QB's and went on relentlessly trying to get some sound from Rodgers who refused to comment all the way into the locker room.

5) With all the actors and outgoing celebrities, who knew the Great One was also the nicest one: There are some funny characters at this event. Sir Charles and his "hitch-tastic" swing, Ray Romano who always seems one step ahead of everyone else when it comes to one liners, Billy Joe Tolliver who makes white trash look cool and Jeremy Roenick who once again shoved his Best Damn Mike into everyone's face. But with all these participants, the quiet and often bland Wayne Gretzky was the nicest celebrity on Friday. In between holes (regardless of a birdie or bogey), the Great One signed hundreds of autographs, joked with fans, threw balls into the crowd and seemed totally comfortable with playing without having to compete.

Those are a few observations from this weekend...there is a chance more will follow.

Viva Espana...Torres Ends 44 Years Of Misery!!!

After two weeks matches, Euro 2008 finally came to an end today with Spain beating Germany 1-0 in Vienna. For the Spaniards, its the first major tournament win since 1964, a drought that is unbelievable considering the amount of individual talent the team turns out every year. And the hero today was the one player who many considered to be the biggest Spanish underachiever in the tournament thus far...Fernando Torres. In the 33rd minute, El Nino, as he has been dubbed, tucked the ball away beating a very aged Jens Lehmann (and unlike wine, goalies don't necessarily get better with age). Though early, that goal proved to be an anti-climatic finish to what was a very bizarre Euro 2008.

Sure the Championship saw two European powerhouses duke it out to a 1-0 finish, which set aside seems very basic. But what lead us to this point was anything but a humdrum tournament. You had four teams dominant the group stages...and then, almost as quickly as they won their group, 3 of the 4 teams were knocked out of the tournament in the first round of knockouts. France, the World Cup runner ups couldn't even advance out of their group (granted they were in the group of death). Then there was Turkey, perhaps the story of the tourney because of their 3 consecutive come from behind wins when no other team in the tournament could even produce one comeback victory. And of course, Turkey's highlights culminated in what some believe is a a nominee for game of the year with Turkey and Croatia playing a marvelous game including goals in the 119th and 120th minute to send things to PK's. There was also the classic game between Italy and Spain that ended in Italian heartbreak. And right beside Turkey were the Russians, who came from no where with the youngest team in the tournament to almost play for the championship. But when it was all over, it was the Spaniards, with Villa who lead Euro 2008 in goals despite missing almost all of the final two matches, Puyol and Ramos who anchored a defense that shut down powerhouses Germany and Italy and only allowed 3 goals all tournament.

Those were some of the major highlights from Euro 2008 and if you missed out, don't worry, it will be back in 4 years and hopefully better than ever. In the meantime, there is always World Cup 2010 from South Africa which will bring just as much passion, fervor and excitement to countries all around the world. And even if the U.S. game bores us to death, that doesn't mean we can't take delight in watching the pure joy and agony that the rest of the world goes through when their team plays.

Lastly, I'll leave you with the call of the tournament from non other than Adrian Healey:

"Its a dutch oven and the French are toast!"

Two Dunks In Two Nights

It is front page sports news when a WNBA player dunks, because as of last Saturday, only one person (Lisa Lesile) had ever done it. But on Sunday night, Candace Parker, the rookie phenom out of Tennessee who plays for the L.A. Sparks threw down (if you can call it that) in a game against the Indiana Fever. That dunk made papers and sports news shows but unfortunately that may be the last time we see a WNBA dunk make any headlines.

Because for the 2nd time in as many games, Parker rose up and dunked tonight in a game verse the Seattle Storm. It was much of the same...time winding down in the game, a fast break with no defenders trailing thus giving Parker all the time in the world to get a good hop and make sure she elevated enough. Despite a lack of "authority" on her two dunks, it appears that Parker is making this "O my goodness and woman dunked" business a normal occurrence. With her confidence rising and a lot of the season left, I think she throws down at least 3 more jams maybe even 5...and I hope none of the rest make the news. Unless of course, she "poster-izes" someone which has yet to be done in the WNBA. GOOD LUCK WITH THAT CANDACE!!!!

Dunk vs. Fever 6/22/08



Dunk vs. Storm 6/24/08

Shaq With The Low Blow On Kobe

TMZ.com has posted a gem for the sports fan. Last night, Shaquille O'Neal grabbed the mic at a NYC club and decided to have a little fun...at the expense of the NBA's MVP. But forget about all of Kobe's accolades, Shaq chose to focus on two of the more sensitive issues regarding Kobe: the inability of the Lakers to win the Championship last week and the Kobe-Shaq feud regarding their adulterous 'encounters.' In regards to the latter, Shaq raps, "I'm a horse, Kobe ratted me out, that's why I'm getting divorced."

Shaq also repeated a line over and over that surely will stick in the minds of Angelinos for the next few days..."Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes?" What does that even mean? I don't know, but I doubt Shaq cares about the semantics because the line is offensive and its bound to start another pissing war between Shaq and Kobe. This could be fun, too bad Shaq wasn't on the list of 12 players heading over to Beijing next month. That means we will have to wait until the next Lakers-Suns match up 9assuming Shaq is still a Sun) to see the two players reaction to this rapping tirade.

Best Group Stage Goals From Euro 2008

I was going to sit down for an hour and find all the best goals from the group stage of Euro 2008 and individually post each goal on here. But then I saw the sun out, heard the pool calling and found this video on YouTube already edited. So I decided to make it a quick day and post the work of someone else instead of doing the leg work myself. Granted this leaves out a few great goals, in particular Wesley Sneijder's volley against Italy, but other than that it has arguably the 5 best goals thus far (not counting the quarterfinals).

Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands) vs. France
Michael Ballack (Germany) vs. Austria
Arjen Robben (Netherlands) vs. France
Arda Turan (Turkey) vs. Switzerland
Nihat Kahveci (Turkey) vs. Czech Republic

I will post the best goals from Quarters, Semi's and Finals after the tournament ends next week in case you cannot watch every game like I do...haha!

Ambidextrous Pitcher vs. Switch Hitter....Who Wins?

One of the strangest things ever in baseball took place Thursday night in the Single A baseball game between Staten Island Yankees and the Brooklyn Cyclones. Yankees pitcher Pat Venditte is a rarity...he can pitch with both his left and right hand. Usually that gives him the advantage, but with one out to go in the 9th inning, Venditte met his kryptonite...a switch hitter.

As is the case in baseball, the pitcher loves to pitch against a hitter of the same type (lefty vs lefty, righty vs righty). Well, both Venditte and the switch hitter Ralph Henriquez knew this, so they had a mind game. First the batter stepped in as a righty, then the pitcher adjusted, then the batter went lefty, so the pitcher followed. This unspoken dialogue went back and forth until finally the umpires recognized the eternal argument taking place between Venditte and Henriquez and thus ruled that the batter had to choose first. So he did and needless to say the pitcher Venditte went on to strike him out.

A perfect Coyote-Roadrunner moment that will be shown for years to come.


The short video highlight from Fox News:



The longer unedited version from the game broadcast (I recommend being patient and watching this one):

Scott Kalitta Killed In Funny Car Race

Scott Kalitta, a 46 year old veteran Funny Car driver was killed during the final round of qualifying for the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. His car took off and about halfway through the run his car explodes into a fireball, breaking into pieces and sending Kalitta and his vehicle into a wall at nearly 300 mph. Below is the official description of what exactly went wrong.

"Something went wrong with the engine as the exhaust on the left side of the car appears amiss. When the engine let go, it exploded creating a gigantic fireball and breaking the car body into thirds around the hood and windshield area. The body lifted off the car in flames and flew back as the car continued down the track. Replay shows a continued fire as the car slowed greatly but not enough. The parachutes were twisted and did little to stop the car. The car continued down the track, went through the sand, over some dirt, through a fence, and hit the wall shooting the car into the air, breaking it into hundreds of pieces. An immediate fireball enveloped the car as part landed in the woods and part appears to land on the camera tower. Some of the trees in the woods were scorched by heated fragments."

The fire and ensuing crash are difficult to see on video, but sadly Kalitta's dad, Connie, a veteran NHRA driver was also his sons crew chief and was there when this tragedy occurred. Kalitta leaves behind his wife Kathy and their two sons, Colin and Corey.


*****I have posted the video of the crash below. Please understand it is very vivid and might be uncomfortable for some to see. But if the written description doesn't describe the scene enough, you can see it on video*****

Adding To The Tiger Lore

Golf viewership will decline immensely for the rest of the 2008 season because Tiger Woods is set to have season-ending knee surgery which will unfortunately take away the golf's best player for many months. Woods confirmed today on his website that he has a torn ACL and a stress fracture in his left tibia.

Golf will lose its undeniable drama that it takes on when Wood's is in the field, but for the true golf fan I guess its better that Wood's gets healthy for the long run...plus, he set out to win all 4 Majors this year and is only 1 for 2...so what is there to even play for?

What is amazing is that even by missing the rest of the season, Woods has already clinched a spot on this years Ryder Cup team (which he will also miss) and will probably remain the World's top Ranked golfer and Fed-Ex point leader based solely on what he has done in a measly 7 tournaments. In those 7 tourneys, Tiger has won 5 and finished in the Top 5 the other two times (2nd place at the Masters). Although he will only win 1 major this year, there is a chance that with the knee injury and all the other drama surrounding him, we will amazingly look back at Tiger's career and mark 2008 as his most dominant year ever...and thats special!

Greatest Closer Ever...Maybe Not So Much

Many people love to debate who the best closer of all time is...MJ or Kobe, MJ or Kobe...I think we have our answer.

Two things to note from the 2008 Lakers-Boston Finals. 1) In game 4, the Lakers gave up the largest first quarter lead in Finals history (24 points). 2) In game 6, the Lakers lost by the biggest margin ever in a closeout game (39 points). These are not two statistics that the greatest closers let their team become apart of.

But despite those two horrendous figures, the clearest stat that Kobe isn't the closer we all thought he was is this. When the Lakers faced elimination (a time when the closer should step up), Kobe showed up in the first quarter and then went to bed for the final three. In game 5, Kobe exploded for 15 points in the first quarter, then ended the last 3 quarters amassing another 10 points. In game 6, Kobe had a very similar performance scoring 11 in the first and 11 in the final three.

The argument of who the greatest closer ever is will finally be laid to rest, but don't worry Kobe fans, I'm open to debating who the greatest first quarter player ever is.

Update On The Death of Steroid Dealer, David Jacobs

I wrote last night about how the steroid problem has gone too far since many people believed that the death of convicted steroid dealer David Jacobs was tied to the NFL athletes that he outed. Today, ESPN is reporting that the Dallas Medical Examiner has decided that Jacob's killed himself and was not murdered by someone else. Jacobs suffered a self-inflicted wound to the abdomen and another to the head.

So the conspiracy theory that I found rather interesting (especially after Jacob's comments about people who might put a bullet in his head), isn't true. But for the 24 hours that we considered it an option, it really made me step back and realize this steroid saga has the potential to evolve into not just a sports problem, but a crisis that effects alot of people.

From Hypothetical to Real-Life...The Steroid Saga Has Crossed A Line

This steroids epidemic reached new heights today when a convicted steroid dealer who has begun naming NFL players who bought from him, was found shot in his house in Plano, Texas. The police have not confirmed a link between his past life as a steroids dealer and his death, but it makes too much sense to not be the case.

35 year old David Jacobs, along with a female friend named Amanda Jo Earhart-Savell, were found shot in Jacobs' home. The fact that Jacobs recently outed many NFL players as being steroid users, causes many people to see a strong connection between the death of Jacobs and the athletes that he recently named. This story takes an even crazier twist. According to ESPN the Magazine senior writer Shaun Assael, who has consistently been in contact with Jacobs over the last month, Jacobs expressed concern over the people he implicated through the information he shared with the NFL. This is a direct quote from David Jacobs: "The kinds of people I know about could put a bullet in the back of my head."

The steroid issue is a sad one because it has tarnished the record books in many professional sports. But it takes on a new importance when it transcends sports and begins to threaten human life either through ending the lives of children who misuse the drug in high school or in cases such as Jacobs', causes people whose reputation is being threatened to end the life of their accuser. This is yet another story that hints toward people taking athletics too seriously and convincing themselves that the life of another human is less important than having a tarnished reputation.

A Made For Hollywood Story From A Not So Familar Name...At Least Not Yet!

If you research the 1999 MLB draft, you will see names such as Barry Zito, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Ben Sheets, Jon Lackey, Justin Morneau, Hank Blalock, J.J. Putz, and Alex Rios. These are a few of the stars of the future, some older than others, but all ring a bell to the common baseball fan. The one name that doesn't show up is the top overall pick in that draft, Josh Hamilton. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected him number one overall and gave him a singing bonus of almost 4 million dollars. He was the future, he was the cream of the draft class, he was the next big thing. But after a series of MLB struggles and then a car crash that left him and his mother hurt, Hamilton fell into a life of drugs, drinking and an addiction to not caring for anything.

Open up the stat sheet in this Sunday's paper and take a look at the American League section. You won't see A-Rod, Jeter, Manny, Big Papi, Guerrero, Cabrera, Griffey Jr. or any of the perennial all-stars that play in the AL. The name that appears is Josh Hamilton. He is at the top of Home Runs, Batting Average and RBI's. The three biggest offensive categories are lead by some 27 year old crack addict who has 26 tattoos, has a coach hold his meal money and spent most of the last 5 years wondering the streets.

His story is amazing; not just his new found glory in a sport where he used to represent the future, but also because its incredible to hear how a human being can fall so low and yet, through faith, family and friends, recover and come back to begin a life that suddenly has purpose and direction. Last season, in the midst of his rookie campaign, Hamilton wrote this article for ESPN. Give it a read, its a phenomenal account of what his life was like and how he turned his life around to get to where he is now.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2926447

Take That Ball Away From Her!!!

In case you don't get Japanese baseball on your direct TV system, you may have missed Mariah Carey throwing out the first pitch in a Yomiuri Giants vs. Rakuten Eagles baseball game in Tokyo. Its safe to say that her pitch was horrendous, but pay attention to a few other things.

1) Her choice of shoes for the occasion
2) The creepy mascots that escort her to the mound
3) The shady smile on the 'catchers' face because it is the best view he has ever had from behind the plate!



Needless to say, I did some research and found some of the worst pitches all time to go along with Miss (Mrs.) Carey. I'm curious which one you think takes the prize?

Is He Ready To Go Yet?

Last week Trevor Ariza was cleared to practice, and Laker Nation thought that was a subtle way to say "Ariza will play in the Western Conference Finals."

Well, it appears that isn't the case since last night Ariza was on the Lakers bench...in a pressed suit.

Manu Ginobili isn't going to have very more 10 point games considering he lead his team in scoring all season. So the Lakers might consider pushing Ariza's recovery along faster than planned since his long, athletic style might really get in the way of Ginobili' game. Besides, I think Ariza looked pretty good in practice the other day.

Check out his reverse dunk!!!
http://cbs2.com/video/?cid=92

Watered Down Fanhood

I have watched almost every major sport in the U.S. and luckily, I have been able to also attend at least one live event from each sport. To me, college football stands out because the fans are so passionate and involved in their team's game. A bunch of rowdy, usually drunk, college students and alumni cheering for their team on a Saturday afternoon creates an impressive atmosphere. But yesterday, I officially decided that all American sports fans, no matter what sport or team you follow, are watered down compared to the passion and sheer emotion of a European soccer fan.

I went to a small pub called the Crown and Anchor near my home yesterday to watch the Champions League final between Chelsea and Manchester United. Both these clubs are from England, but the Champions League is a a competition where all the best clubs from around Europe compete in several months of games and it just so happened to end with two clubs (teams) from the same country. Anyway, I went to the pub wearing my blue Chelsea jersey and was quickly subdued by the large volume of Man. U fans wearing their red jerseys. The game was entertaining, but a few specific moments stood out that made me realize just how passionate the English are about their football (soccer). Towards the very end of the overtime period, the top scorer for Chelsea (Didier Drogba) received a red card and was sent off or kicked out of the game. At this point, the pure hatred of the opposing team showed through as several Man. U fans took their full pints of beer and flung them up against the ceiling of the pub showering everyone around in frosty Stella. Of course my reaction was a little different since it was my team who had just lost one of their best players, but I couldn't help but crack a smile at witnessing the level of enthusiasm and sometimes pain that these fans exerted while watching their favorite club. And when Man. U finally won the match in penalty kicks, I don't know if I have ever seen grown men be so joyful. The entire match I was sitting beside 5 English men who appeared to be die-hard Red Devil supporters (they were the ones that flung the beer up when Drogba received a red card). But when that final shot was stopped and the game finally was over, these men got together, hugged and cried harder than I have ever seen someone cry over a sporting event. They then picked up their beers and poured them out on each others heads as they started screaming and dancing around the pub.

I'll admit it, I was jealous because at that minute I realized that even though I think I am a die-hard fan of certain teams, I really have never begun to comprehend what it means to be a passionate, loyal and supportive fan. I understand that many people (its really just Americans) cannot stand soccer, but step back and look at the bigger picture and you may realize soccer isn't a sport as basketball or baseball is to us...its a lifestyle that consumes you almost everyday and when your team finally reaches that pinnacle or the Championship that has eluded them for so long, you can cheer because you were apart of it.

You Want To Bet On That?

This Charles Barkley sports betting saga has become a big mess. Barkley went to Vegas and bet a lot of money and he lost it (what a surprise). But losing the money is not the problem...the issue is that Barkley never paid the casino for the money they loaned him. Barkley needs to abide by two simple rules that I will call the "Meister guidelines":

First rule of betting: make sure you have the money.

I will give credit to Barkley (no pun intended), he has the money. I know he gets a nice little paycheck from TNT, so his bank account is probably o.k.

Second rule of betting: pay your bet, whether you win or lose.

This is where Barkley failed miserably. Can't his people remind him that he owes a casino $400,000. I mean, its not like that amount just slips through the cracks when your accountant is balancing your finances. There are only a few people who read this blog, and a good number of them bet on sports ALOT...I know personally. The thing is, when they lose, they pay up, something Sir Charles hasn't done yet.

Today we hear that Barkley paid the $400,000, but didn't pay the 10% interest he owes. The freaking articles that broke the story mentioned that Barkley owed 10% interest. So how on earth did Barkley himself not know this? Either he truly is as dumb as he acts on camera or he needs some new assistants to make sure he is doing the things that he should be doing. Because, if this 10% interest isn't paid soon, the mafia could be making a trip to Atlanta.

New Crop Gets Bullied Around

This is nothing more then an observation, but I found it pretty interesting that in the 2nd round of the NBA playoffs this year, each series seemed to have an underlying story of the old superstars verse the future generation of superstars. Despite the excitement behind the young crop of players and their inevitable rise up in the NBA, it seems the basketball Gods have a few more years of dominance in mind for the veterans.

Lakers vs Jazz: Kobe Bryant (11 years pro) defeats Deron Williams (2 years pro)

Spurs vs Hornets: Tim Duncan (10 years pro) defeats Chris Paul (2 years)

Pistons vs Magic: Chauncey Billups (10 years pro) defeats Dwight Howard (3 years pro)

Celtics vs Cavaliers: Kevin Garnett (12 years pro) defeats Lebron James (4 years pro)

Who knows how much longer the veterans will have before the very exciting and talented group of superstars begin to take the torch. But for now, it appears that the oldies aren't willing to go away without a few more years of dominance.

Early Retirees...Is It a New Trend?

In the last 24 hours, one of the top female golfers (Annika Sorenstam) and one of the worlds top ranked female tennis players (Justine Henin) both announced their retirement. Henin is only 25 years old and has a pretty strong resume. She was won seven Grand Slam titles and spent over 100 weeks ranked as the world's number one player. Sorenstam is a little older, 37 years old, but she plays a sport where an athlete's age tends to have a higher ceiling. Sorenstam is one of the most dominate and decorated female golfers ever. She has won 72 tournaments, 10 majors and even teed up against the men. Many called Sorenstam more dominant in her sport then Tiger Woods is in his. In fact, despite an early retirement, Woods said he thinks Sorenstam is the greatest female golfer of all-time. That is quite a compliment from a player who might just be the greatest golfer ever.

With these two sudden retirements from two of the best female athletes of our day, you have to wonder if this might become a trend. No longer does an athlete have to keep playing in order to financially support themselves. With today's advertising deals, endorsements, contracts and winning money, an athlete can have one or two dominant years and be set for life as far as money goes. That means athletes have the ability, if they aren't too greedy for more money, to play solely because they love the training, game and competition. Once that disappears, there really isn't any other reason to play. These two retirements are big, but they will not be headlines in the morning paper. But if in fact this becomes a trend, whose to say Kobe Bryant won't call it quits if he wins the NBA championship this year. I mean, he won the MVP and will have lead a team to the top (on his own), so whats left to prove?

What a Mighty Bore!

Not only is the NHL losing popularity based solely on the fact that it is a boring sport that has confusing rules and tends to have the interest of another country in mind above our own(Canada), but this years Stanley Cup playoffs might just be the most lopsided, lifeless playoffs ever...in any sport. In the 2nd round of the playoffs, the eight best teams faced off. Although one might think this would lend itself to some intriguing and entertaining match ups, those four series ended at 4-0, 4-1, 4-1 and 4-2.

So, one would figure that the conference finals were going to be amazing considering four teams stood out above the rest in the conference semifinals. Well, your wrong. So far, the Pittsburgh Penguins are leading their series 3-0 and the Detroit Red Wings are up 3-0. Man, the NHL sure knows how to make their playoffs interesting. I guess we have to look at the bright side. At least the games are being played on Versus so that we don't have them taking up precious time on our major networks.

This Is No Longer An Isolated Incident

When a teenager falls into a lifestyle of drugs and partying, we say this is a result of choices they made and we place the problems and consequences on the shoulder's of the individual. But if a family has four children fall into a life of drugs or crime, we must look deeper and realize we are dealing with a parenting problem, not four isolated instances of bad decisions.

I know people are going to call this a head-hunt and say that the media has their sights set on the biggest, most lucrative programs, but with the recent details coming out of O.J. Mayo and how he accepted gifts and money from agents, I have begun to believe that there is a problem with the USC athletic department. I realize that the player, not the school, decided to take bribes and money. But, USC must take part of the blame. There are two possible explanations. 1) The USC athletic department is run by a bunch of naive, clueless, incompetent individuals who didn't think it was weird how the biggest basketball recruit in 2007 just happened to choose their school without being pursued by the University. 2) If Mike Garrett and Tim Floyd and the other staff are not clueless, then this means they knew what they were getting when a kid from West Virginia (with a pretty shady background I might add), made it clear he was coming to Southern California for the sole purpose of being one and done. If this doesn't raise eyebrows, alarms, red-flags and every other type of cautionary sign then I am not sure if this is the right business for you to be in. Has USC forgotten that they are first and foremost an academic University. If Mayo was so key on getting to the NBA ASAP, why didn't he sit out a year, workout 24/7 and prepare emotionally and mentally for the NBA...I take that back; that is exactly what he did last year considering he didn't have any class or schoolwork to attend too.

The NCAA needs to keep a close eye and start regulating collegiate athletics much better than they have been. And for that matter, they need to place certain programs with bad track records underneath a magnifying glass. The University of Miami continues to have current and former athletes involved in crime related activities. If its one or two athletes then o.k., but when a trend arises it hints toward a deeper issue. And recently, a supposedly well behaved Florida Gator program has had one player use the credit card of a dead women and then yesterday, a player was shot at a park.

Another program that needs to be watched is USC. They have had top athletes demonstrate or be linked too some shady antics (Jeff Trepagnier accepted money, Reggie Bush accepted money (allegedly), Matt Leinart isn't your poster child for responsible leader, adult, quarterback or father, and Mayo might have been the most predictable athlete to make this list of any to come through Heritage Hall). These are no longer isolated instances. This is a trend at a University that has suddenly forgotten what is important and what isn't. Maybe Coach Neuheisel can teach some of the people in the Trojan Athletic department what accountability and consequences are all about.

Charles Barkley vs Ron Burgundy....CLASSIC

A Dangerous Precedent

A 15 year old, eighthgrader from Thousand Oaks, CA named Michael Avery committed to play basketball at the University of Kentucky in 2012.

Let me repeat myself: an eighthgrader committed to play basketball at the University of Kentucky.

Is it just me or is there a HUGE problem with this picture. I am a big supporter of making athletes play at least 2 years of college ball before entering the Association because I have a problem with the lack of maturity in some of the under 20 year olds in the NBA. With that said, I have an even bigger problem with a 15 year old committing to play college ball at a University before even deciding where he will play high school ball. What were Michael's parents thinking allowing their son to make this sort of statement? And on the flip side, what was Billy Gillispie thinking pursuing a child who is still four years away from entering college. I mean seriously, there is a good chance Gillispie wont even be at UK when Michael enrolls.

Michael's dad, Howard, made this bold statement when attempting to justify allowing his 15 year old to make this commitment.

I would think a kid in his senior year that doesn't have to worry about his performance on the basketball court, SAT scores and AP scores would have less pressure.

Your right, it is nice to be a senior and have already decided where to attend college. But that is three years away, so slow down Michael, slow down! and Howard, your kid wont have much to worry about for the next four years, therefore, he will have no academic work ethic and he will probably be extremely conceded since everything will be sitting beneath his feet and he won't have to work for it. I know you are trying to turn this into how Michael's life will be easier, but it simply isn't the case. There are limits on how 'easy' your life should be and committing to play college ball somewhere while still carrying a lunch box to school is an example of life being too easy for your own good.

I hope this is an isolated incident of two parents who have driven their kid so hard that all they see in the future is an NBA career with many dollar signs behind it. Because if this ever becomes a trend, it means our society has perverted the idea of childhood and bought into the "American dream" at far to early of an age.

Should we really be surprised?

There has been a lot of media attention given to the death of Eight Belles in last weekend's Kentucky Derby and If your like me, I'm not sure exactly how to respond. PETA is crying for the jockey's head (not literally) saying he pushed the horse too far while many trainers and owners inside the sport claim that it is a freak accident and very sad. But really, should we be surprised that horses or greyhounds or any other animal's that we use for sport come up with injuries that are sometimes life-threatening. Think about it...we lose human athletes every soo often and these are people who can communicate with doctors about injuries or things that do not feel right. With animals, we are dealing with something that cannot complain if it wants to or yell at the coach when they are tired. Horses are trained to run and for that matter beaten and directed to run and block out everything else (including physical discomfort). Can you imagine an NBA player being whipped into shape so that when he was on the court he exerted all his energy because a timeout or a break wasn't even an option. I am not taking on side on whether horse racing should be outlawed or not, I myself don't know where I stand. But, I am not shocked like so many other people at the death of Eight Belles...and sadly, I will not be shocked when the next horse dies in the next few years.

Total Access

I was at the Laker Jazz game 2 on Weds. night with an all-access staff pass and wide open eyes that moved back-and-forth taking in my surroundings. Here is how my night went.

I walked into the arena 2 hours before tip-off and players were just starting to arrive. First the Utah Jazz team bus pulled up, then Ira Newble in his Range Rover, D.J. Mbenga in his Range Rover and Jordan Farmar and Luke Walton in Jordan's brand new white S55 Mercedes (did you know they carpool). If you have never seen an NBA players parking lot, let me tell you it is like an auto show of the newest and finest cars around: Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar, Range Rover, Bentley, Ferrari, Porsche, Lexus and many more.

Next, I entered the court for pre-game shooting and the pre-game MVP ceremony. I saw more celebrities/ athletes at this game then I have ever seen before...here is the short list of my random sightings: LaDainian Tomlinson, Norv Turner, Denzel Washington, Ron Artest, Andre Iguodala, Jack (of course), Adam Levine, Jack Black, Penny Marshall, A.C. Green, Jerry West, Esteban Loaiza, etc. And all these people got to witness what I witnessed; a phenomenal pre-game ceremony honoring the 2008 MVP, Kobe Bryant. Staples was blaring with the chants of 'MVP' and 'Kobe' and it truly was surreal to be apart of. The game itself was fine, my seat was high in the rafters overlooking the floor, but I can't complain too much since I shared it with Michael Wilbon, Ahmad Rashad, J.A. Adande, Bill Plaschke...some fine journalist themselves.

The highlight of the entire night might have been after the game ended and the players game running off the court into the locker room. All the reporters, cameramen and journalists were waiting in the hallway to be let into the Laker locker room, and when the doors opened it was like a bunch of hungry wolves attacking a fresh kill. The media rushed in leaving the hallway nearly empty. And that worked to my advantage because I decided to observe things from the outside and I ended up not regretting this. Minutes after the locker room doors opened, Vanessa Bryant (Kobe's wife), and his two daughters came around the corner and waited with me in the hallway. There really wasn't any significant story besides that fact that his two little girls are adorable, Vanessa actually acts like a real mom making sure her kids behave and overall, the Bryant's seem like a normal 2 kid family (besides the money, status, media attention, haha).

I don't know if I will have access like this ever again, and if I do I am not sure any sporting event could match the hype, and craziness of Weds. nights Laker game.

Kobe vs CP3

Kobe Bryant will receive the 2008 NBA MVP award. Kobe is the best player in the NBA, but is he the most valuable?

Kobe's stats: 28.3 PPG, 5.4 APG and 6.3 RPG
Paul's stats: 21.1 PPG, 11.6 APG and 2.7 SPG

Kobe's PPG are 2nd highest in the NBA, but averaging 28 points isn't anything crazy. Paul's 11 assists per game are crazy...especially when you consider he also scores 21 points per game. Kobe can take over a game like no other player...but, can he make his teammates better like Paul can. I don't know the answer to that question and if people point to the fact that the Lakers' finished first in the West as evidence that Kobe makes his teammates better, be careful. I don't know if Kobe made his teammates better this year, I think that his front office made the team better by adding/drafting players (Gasol, Fisher, Ariza and a more mature Bynum and Farmar). Kobe didn't do anything different then what he has been doing since Shaq left.

The fact that Kobe has never won an MVP award is mind-blowing, but the 2008 NBA MVP isn't a career award, its a single season award. And to stamp Kobe as the runaway MVP this season might be a little narrow minded.

Learn to Count before You Come to Play

It was announced today, and later confirmed by the man himself, that Miguel Tejada is in fact 2 years older than he has lead us to believe over the last 15 years. In 1993, Tejada, a youth out of the D.R., told scouts he was 17 years old. He is currently listed in the Houston Astros Media Guide as 33 years old, but he is in fact 35 years old. This goes over really well considering Tejada is also under investigation regarding his alleged steroid use in previous seasons. I guess the fact he lied about his age is going to go over real well with the authorities when he tells them that he didn't use roids.

But we have no reason to believe he is lying, do we?