Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Top Ten Of 2008
No New Years toast, or midnights kiss.
No trip to Times Square, or party of friends.
No Cristal or Scotch or Slow Gin Fizz.
Just my laptop, my Sports Blog, and the ten best Games or Sports Events of 2008.
In chronological order:
1) Super Bowl XLII
Late in quarter number four.
The drive for New York started out exactly as predicted. The Giants were desperate, and struggling to drive the ball thru the New England territory. They even had to convert a huge fourth down with less then three minutes left in the game.
Then Manning at his own 43-yard line began a sequence of plays that will never be forgotten. First down produced nothing. Second down was more of the same. Finally it was third and five, the game on the line. Manning called for the ball and while looking down field, he quickly began to feel the pocket cave in around him. Jarvis Green and Richard Seymour of the Patriot defensive line tried a total of four times to sac Manning. Yet somehow someway the Giant Quarterback remained on his feet, dashing and slithering his way in and out of pressure.
As if Manning’s resilient scramble wasn’t amazing enough, what happened next was truly unbelievable! Manning threw the ball 30 yards down the field into a four-man defensive cover. Four different New England Patriots surround just one New York Giant.
That Giant was tight end David Tyree.
In an effort of desperation, Tyree leapt into the air and pulled down the Manning pass. The ball was well over Tyree’s head as he began to fall to the ground. Patriot safety Rodney Harrison was also trying to catch the ball. As both men hit the turf, the ball had settled in-between Tyree’s hands, directly on top of his helmet. Somehow someway Tyree held on to the ball and completed the catch. The Giants were alive and the momentum of Super Bowl XLII had taken a shocking dramatic shift.
Thirty seconds later Manning found Plexico Burress in the end zone for a touchdown.
Giants 17 Patriots 14
There was 35 seconds left in the game. The Giants defense that had been so dominate for 59 minutes 25 seconds never let up. Strahan, Umenyiora, Pierce, and Tuck all contributing heavily to stopping Tom Brady and the Patriots. With just one second left the Giants took over on downs. Eli took a knee and New York Giants had shocked the world.
Super Bowl XLII the Arizona Upset!
2) Red Wings Stanley Cup Champions
With under a minute to play the Wings held a 3-2 lead. It was a final save by old hand goalie Dominick Hasek in the closing seconds that propelled the Wings to the cup. The Detroit Red Wings made short work of the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup. Four games to two, was all they needed to eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins. Detroit winger Henrik Zetterberg was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy, the Final MVP. Detroit, one of the original six, had re-emerged as the NHL’s very best in 2008.
3) Tiger and Rocco battle to exhaustion
Coming off one of the last tee-boxes, late in the day on Saturday, Tiger turned to his caddy and told him, “This is it for a while”. Tiger was positive he would have to shut his game down immediately following the US Open. Woods, having just had his third knee surgery, was still experiences a great deal of pain, and the pain was vastly affecting his game. Tiger figured he was within a few dozen holes of being done for 2008. Little did he know he would need 20 extra holes to finish out the Tournament.
Enter Rocco Mediate.
Rocco the 45-year-old veteran of the PGA was ranked 156th at the US Open, and had never won a Major. Mediate emerged on Saturday as a leader and a possible favorite, with Woods, to win the event. As the match played out on Sunday, Rocco and Tiger were tied thru the 18th, and were still tied after a 1-hole shootout. The PGA rules indicate the event goes into overtime tournament one on one match Monday.
Once again thru 18 holes Tiger and Rocco were tied.
Finally after yet another 1-hole shootout, Tiger found himself ahead one stroke. And then after Rocco failed to make a long putt, Tiger emerged victorious. By far the most exciting episode on the PGA tour in 2008. A very memorable US Open.
4) Celtic Pride
In the late summer months of 2007 Celtics head coach Doc Rivers took his Boston team on a road trip. The road trip was not to a foreign country or even to a neighboring Boston city. Rather, the road trip was around the streets of Boston. The trip was the victory parade route used for the New England Patriots and the Boston Red Sox in earlier championship seasons. Doc wanted his team to see the final goal, where the season’s journey would end. A man of vision, Doc got his team back to the victory parade path just months after their initial visit. But the second time, was for a parade of their own. The Celtics put together one of the best regular seasons in the history of the NBA, and defeated the Lakers in six games. Lead by the “Boston Three-Party” of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, the Celtics were the toast of the NBA in 2008, and could be well on their way to a continued dynasty in 2009.
5) Josh Hamilton Wins The Homerun derby.
He hit 28 homers in the first round !!! Thirteen in a row!!!
And not one of Josh’s 34 total homeruns was a cheep shot. Josh hit one two thirds of the way up the black bleachers in centerfield, (an area that has one been hit by a handful of players in major league history). He hit several into the tier reserve sections of the right field upper deck (the only seats I can afford anymore at Yankee Stadium). He hit one into the old Yankee Bullpen in right, which bounced to the back outer wall of the house that Ruth built. He hit one into the last row of the right field bleachers!
Now I realize that the whole thing is an exhibition. Josh was hitting essentially batting practice homers. No one pitch that he launched was thrown faster then 65 miles and hour. However the display Josh put on in the final All-Star game at Yankee Stadium was a very special moment in his career and in the 2008.
Having shared many of the same demons in my own life that Josh has battled, I find both his comebacks so completely improbable and so remarkable that there is no way that my own words will ever do it the justice that it deserves. To me what makes Josh’s journey great is his ability to overcome the extreme challenges of sobriety and addiction, where most people die long before they can even assume normal lives and then once accomplishing that phenomenal feat, Josh climbed the minor league ladder alas reaching the majors. He overcame the skeptics, the minor leagues, and achieved the almost impossible dream to become a professional ball player. Other players have overcome injury, and substances to make MLB comebacks (Strawberry and Gooden are just a few). But Josh’s story is unique because he was at rock bottom both personally and professionally. A baseball player can’t be any lower then being banded from Single A. Josh is not just a comeback ball player, he is a comeback human being. And so his display in the homerun derby in 2008 was certainly in the top ten moments of the year.
6) Phelps cleans house at the summer Olympics
I pretend to be a sports expert and I do try to throw my knowledge and opinions around this sports blog. That being said, I am not a fan of the Olympics, nor am I a fan of competitive swimming. However what Michael Phelps this summer in Beijing was absolutely phenomenal! The man won 14 gold metals an all time record. Who can forget that picture of Phelps on the front cover of Sports Illustrated wearing all 14 metals in early autumn? Or the image of Phelps pumping of his arms, just outside the pool, after his final victory? The athletic accomplishment is something even a non-fan of swimming can admire. It was truly a top moment in 2008.
7) Yankees Stadium closes its doors forever
The House That Ruth Built, as it has been commonly called, closed its doors forever on Sunday night September 21st. For me Yankees Stadium has been like a home, and a place I will never forget.
Yankee Stadium has been my home away from home. A place that I knew vast comfort and entertainment in the city that never sleeps. I experienced great friendships and family moments over hundreds of games and thousands of innings. I went to games with girl friends, and after college visitations. I went on school nights and stayed up way past bedtime. I went to games on my own, and even took a British friend to his first ever American baseball game. (He tried to equate it to Cricket.) I went to playoff games and two World Series games, Game 2 of the 1996 World Series, and Game 1 of the 1998 World Series. I even took my dad to his first ever playoff game, last season against the Indians in the division series.
Since 2004 plans to build a new Yankees Stadium have been looming. At first those of us with fond feelings for the current Stadium denied that the day would ever come. Then there was a groundbreaking ceremony. Then over the last two seasons strong visual evidence began growing every day. Now the New Yankee Stadium is almost complete just beyond the third base side of the current Stadium. As the 2008 season began, the theme of endings had also begun. Last opening day, last season series, and last All-Star game.
In conclusion, a very special place that has been very important to my life will soon be destroyed and gone forever. What remains are photographs, videotape and a mind bursting with memories. Like so many other things in life, we can’t stop the clock. We cant stop the change, all we can do is accept the things beyond our control remember the past with a sense of fondness, and look to the future with a sense of hope.
8) The last place Rays win the Pennant
In early May, I remember thinking, “how cute.”
“The Rays are in first place. Enjoy it while it lasts guys. Cause in the Al East, this will never hold up!”
How could it possibly last?
A team with a 44 million dollar payroll ( fifth to last in all of baseball). An organization that has a ten-year tradition of mediocrity. A team that plays in the same division as the powerhouse Yankees and Red Sox. Besides, there was almost five months of baseball left to play. I just laughed off the Tampa Bay Rays, and continued to laugh the rest of the summer.
But in October, the laughing had stopped.
The Rays held the best record in baseball. They defeated the Chicago White Sox in the division series. The defeated the Boston Red Sox in seven games in the ALCS and fell just short of winning everything.
The Rays are for real.
9) The Philadelphia Phillies win the World Series.
For the first time since game one, Brad Lidge entered the game in a save situation. Chase Utley gather up the first out on a pop up to second base. After a Dioner Navarro base hit, and a Perez pinch running stolen base, Jayson Werth caught a Ben Zobrist line drive for the second out. Eric Hinski came up representing the last hope for the Tampa Bay Rays. On a 1-2 pitch Hinski weakly swung over the top of a slider from Brad Lidge.
Lidge fell to his knees. Catcher Carlos Ruiz ran out to hug him. Ryan Howard and members for the Phillies dugout ran the battery over. 46,000 Phillies fans went insane!
The call from Joe Buck was “The Phillies are World Champions”.
I could hear other apartments in my complex going crazy. Shortly after, I heard fireworks going off in the distance. An hour later Broad Street looked like Times Square on New Years Eve. The World Series was over. Almost entirely dominated by the Phillies. The World Series MVP award was given to Cole Hamels.
Philadelphia Phillies win game five 4-3. Phillies win World Series 4-1.
10) Texas Stadium closes its doors on a somber note.
Although I don’t share the same fondness for Texas Stadium that I do for Yankee Stadium, I still recognize the building as a holy shrine of football history. Everyone over the age of 25 remembers the opening credits of the show Dallas, and the aerial shot of Texas Stadium. It was the first building of its kind, with it’s partially closed roof. The concept would lead to the retractable domes that are very so popular in MLB in recent years. Unfortunately the final game at Texas Stadium was a devastating loss for the Cowboys. They were defeated by the Baltimore Ravens, 33-24 . The loss made it difficult for Dallas to make the playoffs and marked for a very somber closing ceremony after the game.
These are my top ten sports moments of 2008. Now I am going to bed...alone!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
NHL Winter Classic
The event I am referring to is, the NHL’s winter classic.
An annual out door hockey game played on New Years Day.
Is the NHL a struggling sport organization? Sure. Did the players strike three years ago damage the league in ways never before seen? Completely. Does the NHL struggle with its image, and players whose dark conduct bring negative headlines to the sport? Absolutely. However Gary Bettman and the NHL tried an experiment last year on New Years day in Buffalo New York. The experiment has gone a long way to improve the leagues image and created some badly needed buzz.
On January first, 2008 the Buffalo Sabers battled the Pittsburgh Penguins in an overtime game in front of a record 71,217 fans. It was the largest attended NHL game in history and the most watched NHL game in twelve years. I watched the entire game in the Burger Palace last year. Visions of frigid Buffalo fans, a hockey rink set up on a football field, and Bob Costas covered in snow still run strong in my mind a year later. After the game the NHL announced the event would become a yearly occasion, rotating from city to city. There was even talk of adding additional outdoor games to the NHL schedule (as many as three or four).
Over the summer of 2008 it was announced that Chicago’s Wrigley field would host the 2009 Winter Classic, and the game would be between the Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Red Wings. The rink is to be set from first base to third base on Wrigley’s infield diamond. The two teams will switch directions halfway thru the third period two keep weather related factors even (wind, and or precipitation).
The Winter Classic is no doubt the greatest thing to come out of the NHL since Wayne Gretzky. The idea of taking an indoor game and having it in its natural settings, in a venue that holds twice the normal audience is fantastic. The NHL has stumbled upon a goldmine with the Winter Classic, and I certainly hope the league considers adding more outdoor games to the season schedule in the years to come.
I know that in the early afternoon on New Years Day, I will be grabbing some chips, a nice cold one of some type, putting on my sweatshirt, and I will make my way down the Burger Palace to watch the 2009 Winter Classic.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
C.C. Reluctantly Lands In The Bronx
C.C. Sabathia, born Carsten Charles, in Vallejo, California, in July of 1980, is arguably the finest left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball today. On July 7th of this year, C.C. was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the Milwaukee Brewers, where he preceded to pitch one of the most dominant half seasons in baseball history. He held an 11-2 record with a 2.70 ERA and was solely responsible for the Brewers winning their first ever National League Wild Card. (Their first post season appearance since 1982.)
The Cleveland Indians initially traded Sabathia because his contract was to expire after the season, and they knew they would not have the revenue to resign the big lefty. The Milwaukee Brewers were in no greater financial position themselves. So the scuttlebutt within the league from July to December was questioning what team C.C. would sign with over the winter.
Enter the New York Yankees.
For the first time in eleven years the New York Yankees missed out on the post season in 2008. The powerhouse franchise, that puts winning above everything has been determined to fix the problems this winter and come back with vengeance in 2009. When Yankee radio broadcaster Susan Walden signed off, and gave her closing thoughts after the final regular season game of 2008, she said that she fully expected New York to acquire C.C. Sabathia as well as several other lucrative free agents.
So in the very early hours of December 9th, the New York Yankees announced that they had reached a preliminary agreement with C.C. of 7-years for 161 million dollars. Sabathia took over 23 days to acknowledge the Yankees top offer and then another three before accepting it. And then still requested an additional 20 million dollars.
So what do I think?
As I have stated time and time again I am a Yankees fan first and foremost. So am I happy about my new lefty ace?
Not really!
Here is the problem- Simply stated C.C. does not want to be a Yankee.
As my uncle G.T. Steltz pointed out to me years ago, the MLB players union orchestrates the free agent market every off-season. Lead by union Chief Donald Fehr, the union works directly with player agents to squeeze as much money out of owners as humanly possible. (All at the expense of the fans- mind you.) The cleverest of the union’s operations is to always have the highest priced free agent players of any given off-season, sign the first deals of the winter. The idea is, if the top players signs the first deals for the top dollar, then the financial bar will be raised year after year. Last season's top free agents were Johan Santana and Alex Rodriguez. They both signed record-breaking deals, and the rest of last year’s free agents prospered as a result.
So long story short, the top free agent of the class of 2008 was by far C.C. Sabathia.
Now, I am exactly one month older then C.C., who has a wife (Amber of five years) and three young children. Amber is C.C.’s high school sweetheart, and the two have resided in California’s Vallejo area their entire lives. Most recently that have begun building a home in central California. Amber had been hoping that either the San Francisco Giants or Oakland Athletics would come forward with big contract offers.
They did not.
However the Anaheim Angles and the Los Angeles Dodgers were in contact with C.C.’s agent. C.C. had been highly interested in playing for a California team and was also highly interested in staying in the National League.
So with a young family at home, California ties, and the most power of any free agent this winter, why would C.C. choose a team that seems to go against everything he wants out of life?
For two astronomical reasons- money and pressure.
C.C. no doubt felt the pressure of the players union to sign his deal so that the rest of this year’s players could follow. The same pressure caused him to pursue the largest finical offer. Sure Anaheim and Los Angeles would have made offers, but at the end of the day, their deals would have been no where near the Yankees- and the rest of baseball could not afford to wait around any longer for C.C. to make up his mind.
So what do the Yankees get? They get a lefty ace whose heart and mind will be elsewhere.
Man do I hope I’m wrong. There is a good chance that C.C. will embrace New York, be embraced by New York, win 20 games, and pitch the Bronx Bombers to their first World Series in five years.
But there is also a very good chance that I will be right.
C.C. could be a mental mess, injured, and opting out of his contract after just three seasons (a contractual right).
How will it play out?
Well Yankee pitchers and catchers report to Tampa Florida in just sixty days from when I type.
And oh by the way, C.C. prefers spring training in Arizona over Florida too!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
NFL Blunder
In Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Steelers were about to defeat the San Diego Chargers by a final score of 11-10. The Chargers had the ball with five seconds left in the game, and were on their own 20-yard line. Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers began a final desperation play to end the game. If the play some how succeeded the Chargers would win the game by a final of 16-11. However is the play failed, the game would be over with zeros on the clock, and the Steelers holding the 11-10 lead. The Chargers offense began a flea flicker play. The play is designed to keep the ball moving forward while passing the ball either laterally or behind, all the while avoiding a tackle. The ball was passed three times. The third throw was a reverse lateral that was dropped and picked up by the Steelers Safety Troy Polamalu. With the play clock dead and the ball having been turned over, the game was essentially over. However Polamalu ran the ball back into the end zone for a Pittsburgh touchdown. The whistle was blown, the clock was dead, and the Steelers controlled the ball in the Chargers end zone.
Final score 17-10 right?
Not so much.
First the play went under booth review because the possibility existed that the turnover occurred on a forward lateral. It was a play of controversy inside of two minutes left in the game. Standard NFL practice to review any such plays. However even if the ball had not been turned over, the Steelers would have declined any penalty, and the game would still have been over. To make the matter worse, the ball was not a forward lateral. It was a clean play, a clean turnover, and a clean touchdown. The game should have ended with a final score of 17-10. Still even so, the NFL officials were considering lining up the two teams for a meaningless extra point attempt if the touchdown had held up. Instead the ruling on the field was overturned and the touchdown did not count. The final score was 11-10. All the controversy, all the time to review the play, and the NFL officials still got the call wrong.
But after all who the hell cares?
A win is a win is a win. Why should it matter to anyone on the field weather the score was 11-10 or 17-10 or 18-10? Points do matter slightly when determining playoff stature in the NFL. However point spread is not until seventh in the determining factors. Meaning things like divisional record, rank higher in playoff standings then things like, total points.
So in the end, my question remains, who cares?
It matters very little to the players or coaches, but to the millions of Americans who engage in fantasy football and the millions more who bet on the NFL weekly, it matters big time.
It’s the giant elephant in the room that the NFL would rather not discuss.
Even I have engaged in some significant betting this football season. (About 500 bucks in the hole as I type!) If its easy enough for me, the “Average Joe Fan” to find myself a bookie, then imagine how many other common fans put down money on games each weekend. The estimated number of fans who bet on sports on the Internet is in the neighborhood of 1.5 billion according to google.com. When I did an Internet search to find statistics on sports betting, it only lead to over 7 million hits on sports betting websites.
Then there is fantasy football. An estimated 15 million fans belong to fantasy leagues. More then one billion dollars is spent annually on fantasy football. Total points scored by players and teams; largely determine the rules of these leagues.
Let us not forget Las Vegas.
Las Vegas, America's adult playground, is the only city in the country where sports gambling is actually legal. Individual Vegas sports books net an estimated 12.9 million on Super Bowl weekend alone. I am all too familiar with the roar of the Sports book. Fans going nuts over a late fourth quarter touch down, when the winners and losers of the game itself have already been long determined. Point spreads, and over under’s allow for higher betting risks, and therefore higher financial reward to the better. It also allows the house to set rules that cover them, and insure dealer profit.
The only problem with the whole system of gambling on NFL games is when the gamblers, bookies, and fantasy leaguers, off the field influence the activities taking place on the field. Up until recently a lot of league factors have indirectly supported each side. The NFL draft and its ability to keep all teams equal, is both helpful to gamblers and to the NFL. The salary cap is equally helpful both on the field and off it. However instant replay has become a harmful vice in the NFL. It seems like it’s more important to get the call right for those off the field then for those on it.
An estimated 32 million dollars was lost in bets from the referees blown call in the Pittsburgh game on November 16th.
Seeing games like the one in Pittsburgh only enrage me as a sport purest. (I know that sounds funny. The “average Joe fan” who considerers himself a purest yet admits to having a sports bookie.) However far too often actions are taking place in NFL games for no other reason then to appease the sports better and fantasy leaguers. My betting life aside, no organization benefits from outside influence with a financial agenda.