A couple quick sports hits before we get to some movies opening today:
Mitchell Report
I don't care. Really. Nor am I surprised. I would be surprised if, say, Jose Lind (nine home runs in nine major league seasons) showed up on the list, but other than that, no, not surprised and not really that concerned. There was no effective testing for steroids at the time that most of these guys were juicing, and they had a tremendous financial incentive, so why are we shocked, (shocked!) that many if not most gave in to the temptation. Even if you didn't want to take steroids, you had to at least think about it because so many other players were, and you were losing a competitive edge by not joining them. I don't think MLB should try to take the records away from guys like Clemens and Bonds, but I have never been one to see the records as sacred either. I will still go to games and watch them on TV. I won't buy jerseys and other paraphernalia, but I don't really do that anyway. I can admit to being disappointed for my sons' sakes, but that's about it. I'm with Senator Mitchell on this one. Get a good testing program in place, and let's move on. Best line I heard about it came from my neighbor, "I was surprised to see Manny Alexander's name on the list because I thought they were performance-enhancing drugs." Hi-Yo!!!
Wizards
Wow, wow, wow! 12-10 after an 0-5 start? 9-5 without Gilbert Arenas? Washington has won five of its last six, and while only one of those wins came against a team with a winning record (Toronto) and only one was a road game (Miami), it is great to see guys like Andray Blatche and Nick Young getting an opportunity to develop. The Wiz are still in the second tier of the Eastern Conference, which, Boston excepted, can't touch the West, but they are not far behind Orlando and Detroit, and they are in much better shape than preseason darlings Cleveland and Chicago. Nothing too scary looms on the schedule until Detroit on January 2, and by then the Wizards might be ready to prove that they will be ready to challenge for an East title with a healthy Arenas.
College Basketball
Ugh. Do I have to? Either hoops or Ravens, you say? Okay, okay, college hoops. After getting crushed at Virginia Tech, GW lost at home to the 2-7 Binghamton Bearcats. The Colonials could not join Cornell, Akron, St. Bonaventure, Rider, Chicago State, Central Connecticut State, or Colgate in doing a victory dance after playing Binghamton and are now 0-2 against America East teams. Nuff said.
Maryland is not as awful as GW, but they aren't that good either, getting beaten convincingly at Comcast Center by Ohio University (the Bobcats, not the Buckeyes). Please stop calling this a shocker. The Terps barely survived Northeastern and Hampton and could not handle VCU. They will get better but Hayes and Vasquez have a lot of trouble with quicker opponents (Eric Maynor of VCU, for example), and leadership has yet to coalesce for this team. For all his flaws on offense, DJ Strawberry is exactly what this team misses most: a lock-em up defender and a player who understands that emotional leadership doesn't mean getting ejected for punching the basket support.
The news is no better else where in the Maryland State University system with UMBC losing to Central Connecticut State. George Mason has a couple weeks to stew on its loss to Kent State while VCU looks to make it four straight against Longwood this weekend. James Madison has one more tasty treat coming up against Radford before getting a real test in Seton Hall and Gerogetown should roll Radford as well but meets #2 Memphis on the 22nd.
Full wrap up on Monday.
Movies
I am Legend
Hear me roar! Hmm ... a man finds himself alone in New York CIty and has to fend off the attacks of the undead ... I thought this was a sci-fi film, not a documentary. Anyway, Will Smith recreates a Charlton Heston role as the title character in a postapocalyptic world, science fiction being one of Heston's preferred milieus (Soylent Green, Planet of the Apes, NRA commercials). This one looks pretty good, but after watching Smith destroy the bad guys in Independence Day and Men In Black, I don't think there is any suspense about the ending.
Juno
IMDB describes Juno as "Knocked Up for the younger generation." Greeeeaaat, that's just what we need. Man, if you think the Catholics hated The Golden Compass, wait 'til Pope Benedict screens Juno for the College of Cardinals. Since Juno has already been nominated for lots of Hollywood awards, I am pretty sure director Jason (son of Ivan) Reitman is not taking the ABC afterschool special approach. In fact Reitman is an equal opportunity religious offender, no doubt knowing that in Roman mythology, Juno was the queen of the gods, the wife (and sister) of Jupiter, and the goddess of marriage. When you are married to an ob-gyn, you pretty much have to see any movie about pregnancy, so I'll let you know where it falls on the Knocked Up - Vera Drake sliding scale.
The Kite Runner
'Tis the season for high-minded films, especially adaptations of serious fiction (see Atonement, Love in the Time of Cholera, et al), and although director Marc Forster has managed to draw audiences and acclaim for unlikely material in the past (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland), he will be hard-pressed to match that success with this tale about modern-day Afghanistan falling back under the control of the Taliban. U.S. moviegoers have largely ignored films about the Iraq War and Kite Runner will probably get the same treatment. Forster's next project is a James Bond movie (seriously) which makes about as much sense as the director of Y tu Mama Tambien doing a Harry Potter (this actually happened), but at least he'll have a built in audience.
The Perfect Holiday
Queen Latifah for star power, Gabrielle Union for the guys, Morris Chestnut for the gals, a cute little girl who wants Santa to bring her a new Daddy (like Ms. Union wouldn't have them lining up outside her door). Okay, fine, but the most interesting thing about his movie is that the director, Lance Rivera, cofounded a record label with the Notorious B.I.G. Let's hope things work out better for his cinematic partners than they did in the recording industry.
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Sadly, of the five movies I've discussed today, this is the one I am most likely to see in the theater, probably in the week between Christmas and New Year's Day when the kids are out of school and two-hour blocks of time are in desperate need of killing. Speaking of needing killing, director Tim Hill also brought us Garfield II, A Tale of Two Kitties. Hang on though, he gets off the hook for The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie. He's also the nephew of George Roy Hill, who truly made the world a better place with Slapshot, The Sting and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
That's it. Congrats if you made it through all those words. Have a nice third Sunday of Advent.
Showing posts with label baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baseball. Show all posts
Friday, December 14, 2007
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Stratofanatics
Well, that was a game worth staying up for, wasn't it? And as hard as I was rooting for the Ravens, I can't deny that the Patriots earned the win. For every close call that went against Baltimore (Gaffney's winning TD, Ryan's illegal timeout, turnover on downs nullified by false start), they still had plenty of opportunities to win the game. If Ed Reed didn't fumble after a great interception return, if any of the Ravens' defenders picked off the ball that Ray Lewis tipped 20 feet in the air, if Baltimore got just one first down in the fourth quarter .... still, it's hard for me to remember beign so satisfied that my team played so well and came away with a loss. The defense pressured Brady ferociously, Willis McGahee had his best day as a Raven behind an offensive line that gave up no sacks (my personal favorite was the play where McGahee took a short pass and juked the NE defender so badly he was able to use him as a blocker), Kyle Boller outplayed Tom Brady for 3 quarters and even Yamon Figurs chipped in a nice punt return late in the game. Eventually, though, the Ravens succumbed to one of the great cliches of football. For three quarters, they kept Brady, Moss, & Co. off the field; the Pats had only six possessions in the first three periods, but they had four in the fourth. And so again, a one team irrationally uplifts the hearts and spirits of its fans while the other crushes those of its own in the brutal mortar and pestle of bitter defeat.
It was a doubly entertaining evening for me because I also watched the first half of the Denver-Green Bay game. You missed this one? Denver played Oakland on Sunday and Green Bay lost to Dallas last Thursday, you say? Duh, this was the 1996 Broncos against the Packers. Favre vs. Elway, Holmgen matching wits with Reeves, Lambeau Leap against Mile High Magic. Nope, not on ESPN Classic. Not Madden retro either. This epic battle, which ended in a 10-0 halftime score in favor of Denver was a Stratomatic battle between my sons.
Not familiar with Stratomatic Football? That's because you are a normal human being, with a healthy diversity of cultural interests, but if you are an 8 or 10-year old boy who feverishly collects sports jerseys and posters, fills entire notebooks with statistics of Hall of Fame inductees, and/or has already projected the entire 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament (not just the field either, the complete results as well), Stratomatic is a gift directly from the Mount Olympus of sports gaming.
Part Madden, part Fantasy, Stratomatic is a board game that allows players to simulate games, calling offensive and defensive plays with results derived from percentages based on actual statistics from the previous season. Players can run, pass, score touchdowns, be penalized and even get injured. If it still sounds a bit dry for your tastes, you should see how feisty my sons get while playing. Then again, in our house, most board games are contact sports.
Last night was only the second time they played Stratomatic Football, but I foresee many hours spent rolling dice and gleefully checking cards and charts for results. How can I be so sure? Because I watched them play Stratomatic Baseball all summer, including a marathon week at the beach where nearly every waking minute in the house was spent at the gaming table, trying to determine whether or not the 2006 season was a statistical anomaly.
Wait a minute, I hear you saying, there's Stratomatic Baseball as well? Yep, and Hockey and Basketball and College Football, too.
So how did we acquire this blessing/curse? Well, it just so happens that about 22 years ago, I myself sat down with a college roommate and rolled the dice to see if the Redskins of John Riggins and Joe Washington could beat the Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII with me calling the plays this time (obviously, Rocket Screen was not in my playbook). Many epic battles ensued, but I have to say, I have not played (and rarely discussed in public) Stratomatic since graduating from college.
Fast forward to March, 2007, and this same college roommate bestowed a gift of the 1992 Stratomatic Baseball game on my boys. Note that the box had never been opened; he just happened to have it lying around, untouched, for 15 years. Never mind that many of the players in this game had retired before my sons were born, they took to it right away. Well, almost right away. There was that nasty incident where the Mike Mussina card was crumpled and nearly destroyed after a disastrous two innnings (my younger son has a pretty quick hook).
Naturally, I informed my friend how immensely the boys were enjoying his gift; he was so pleased to find some new converts that the 2006 baseball cards arrived in the mail the next week. Last weekend, we had another visit with my buddy, ostensibly to meet his new son, but my guys had a different agenda.
"Do you have any other Stratomatic games?"
"It just so happens I have a 1996 football game right here."
(Me) "We wouldn't want to take your game."
"Oh, don't worry. I've got at least three others in storage."
It seems appropriate to close this entry by noting that that this is a family of three living in a two-bedroom apartment in New York City. Space comes at quite a premium in the Big Apple, so it's not surprising that he might have a storage locker somewhere. Yes, he could store the games at his brother's house in New Jersey, but he doesn't trust his sister-in-law not to throw them away.
It was a doubly entertaining evening for me because I also watched the first half of the Denver-Green Bay game. You missed this one? Denver played Oakland on Sunday and Green Bay lost to Dallas last Thursday, you say? Duh, this was the 1996 Broncos against the Packers. Favre vs. Elway, Holmgen matching wits with Reeves, Lambeau Leap against Mile High Magic. Nope, not on ESPN Classic. Not Madden retro either. This epic battle, which ended in a 10-0 halftime score in favor of Denver was a Stratomatic battle between my sons.
Not familiar with Stratomatic Football? That's because you are a normal human being, with a healthy diversity of cultural interests, but if you are an 8 or 10-year old boy who feverishly collects sports jerseys and posters, fills entire notebooks with statistics of Hall of Fame inductees, and/or has already projected the entire 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament (not just the field either, the complete results as well), Stratomatic is a gift directly from the Mount Olympus of sports gaming.
Part Madden, part Fantasy, Stratomatic is a board game that allows players to simulate games, calling offensive and defensive plays with results derived from percentages based on actual statistics from the previous season. Players can run, pass, score touchdowns, be penalized and even get injured. If it still sounds a bit dry for your tastes, you should see how feisty my sons get while playing. Then again, in our house, most board games are contact sports.
Last night was only the second time they played Stratomatic Football, but I foresee many hours spent rolling dice and gleefully checking cards and charts for results. How can I be so sure? Because I watched them play Stratomatic Baseball all summer, including a marathon week at the beach where nearly every waking minute in the house was spent at the gaming table, trying to determine whether or not the 2006 season was a statistical anomaly.
Wait a minute, I hear you saying, there's Stratomatic Baseball as well? Yep, and Hockey and Basketball and College Football, too.
So how did we acquire this blessing/curse? Well, it just so happens that about 22 years ago, I myself sat down with a college roommate and rolled the dice to see if the Redskins of John Riggins and Joe Washington could beat the Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII with me calling the plays this time (obviously, Rocket Screen was not in my playbook). Many epic battles ensued, but I have to say, I have not played (and rarely discussed in public) Stratomatic since graduating from college.
Fast forward to March, 2007, and this same college roommate bestowed a gift of the 1992 Stratomatic Baseball game on my boys. Note that the box had never been opened; he just happened to have it lying around, untouched, for 15 years. Never mind that many of the players in this game had retired before my sons were born, they took to it right away. Well, almost right away. There was that nasty incident where the Mike Mussina card was crumpled and nearly destroyed after a disastrous two innnings (my younger son has a pretty quick hook).
Naturally, I informed my friend how immensely the boys were enjoying his gift; he was so pleased to find some new converts that the 2006 baseball cards arrived in the mail the next week. Last weekend, we had another visit with my buddy, ostensibly to meet his new son, but my guys had a different agenda.
"Do you have any other Stratomatic games?"
"It just so happens I have a 1996 football game right here."
(Me) "We wouldn't want to take your game."
"Oh, don't worry. I've got at least three others in storage."
It seems appropriate to close this entry by noting that that this is a family of three living in a two-bedroom apartment in New York City. Space comes at quite a premium in the Big Apple, so it's not surprising that he might have a storage locker somewhere. Yes, he could store the games at his brother's house in New Jersey, but he doesn't trust his sister-in-law not to throw them away.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Friday Blogstrosity
And away we go ...
NBA
Spurs win. Spurs win. Spurs win. Sorry for the lack of enthusiastic punctuation, but after this snoozer of a championship series, it might be time for the league to change its name. Nyquil Basketball Association? Nighty-night Bron-bron Association? Look, I love Tim Duncan's game, and Tony Parker made the Cavaliers look like fight extras in a Bruce Li flick, but the Spurs dominated this series so thoroughly, I expected them to get a quick drink and get back on the court to see who had next.
So the next question is, with four titles in nine years, are the Spurs a dynasty? First answer, who cares? Second answer, yes, they have won multiple titles over a period of time with only two constants, Duncan and Gregg Popovich. Third, and correct, answer, no. They are good, and I know I just said they crushed the Cavs like zinfandel at harvest time, but the term dynasty implies a mythic quality. Certainly the Celtics of Russell and Bird had, as did the lakers of Magic and Kareem, Shaq and Kobe, and the Bulls of Jordan and Pipper. But the Spurs of Duncan and Popovich? Not so much.
Before the season, all I read about Duncan was that injuries would likely limit him again. All I read about Manu Ginobili was that he had lost a step. . And all I read about Parker was what he was wearing on the red carpet next to Eva Longoria. Nowhere did I see an article about how a Spurs title would amke them a dynasty. Once the season started, the Spurs were an afterthought behind the emergence of Dallas and Phoenix, the Iverson trade to Denver, the Kobe soap opera, and the fascinating specimen that is Gilbert Arenas. In the playoffs, the Spurs fell behind Golden State's upset of Dallas and Steve Nash's blood.
The point is, no one was talking about San Antonio until the Finals. Even today, the front sports page of my local paper (The Baltimore Sun) carried a picture of James being defended by Michael Finley and Fabricio Oberto, not MVP Parker, not Duncan and Popovich, and not Bruce Bowen, whose defense on James was crucial to the Spurs win. A dynasty has to seize the headlines and grab the public's attention in a way the Spurs just haven't.
In a final schadenfreudean nonsequitur, it delights me to think of all the Celtics fans banging their heads against the bar every time Duncan hoists a championship trophy aloft.
Baseball
If both the Orioles' decline and my son's team's improvement continue at the same rate, I think Baltimore might lose to a bunch of 10-year olds in the spring of 2009. And for all you Clemens/Yankees haters, here's little treat from Funny or Die. Link.
Golf
Lots of excitement about the U.S. Open this week, of course. Everyone seems very up in arms about Phil's wrist. I thought Phil got whacked Sunday night on the last episode of the Sopranos. But seriously, if you are looking for a golf article that is not about Tiger, Phil or Johnny Miller, check out Rick Maese's column on Jim Furyk in today's Sun. At first I hated Maese because he looks like he's about 15, but my annoyance has gradually been mitigated by his quality coverage of stories I don't see anywhere else. Worth looking for.
NBA
Spurs win. Spurs win. Spurs win. Sorry for the lack of enthusiastic punctuation, but after this snoozer of a championship series, it might be time for the league to change its name. Nyquil Basketball Association? Nighty-night Bron-bron Association? Look, I love Tim Duncan's game, and Tony Parker made the Cavaliers look like fight extras in a Bruce Li flick, but the Spurs dominated this series so thoroughly, I expected them to get a quick drink and get back on the court to see who had next.
So the next question is, with four titles in nine years, are the Spurs a dynasty? First answer, who cares? Second answer, yes, they have won multiple titles over a period of time with only two constants, Duncan and Gregg Popovich. Third, and correct, answer, no. They are good, and I know I just said they crushed the Cavs like zinfandel at harvest time, but the term dynasty implies a mythic quality. Certainly the Celtics of Russell and Bird had, as did the lakers of Magic and Kareem, Shaq and Kobe, and the Bulls of Jordan and Pipper. But the Spurs of Duncan and Popovich? Not so much.
Before the season, all I read about Duncan was that injuries would likely limit him again. All I read about Manu Ginobili was that he had lost a step. . And all I read about Parker was what he was wearing on the red carpet next to Eva Longoria. Nowhere did I see an article about how a Spurs title would amke them a dynasty. Once the season started, the Spurs were an afterthought behind the emergence of Dallas and Phoenix, the Iverson trade to Denver, the Kobe soap opera, and the fascinating specimen that is Gilbert Arenas. In the playoffs, the Spurs fell behind Golden State's upset of Dallas and Steve Nash's blood.
The point is, no one was talking about San Antonio until the Finals. Even today, the front sports page of my local paper (The Baltimore Sun) carried a picture of James being defended by Michael Finley and Fabricio Oberto, not MVP Parker, not Duncan and Popovich, and not Bruce Bowen, whose defense on James was crucial to the Spurs win. A dynasty has to seize the headlines and grab the public's attention in a way the Spurs just haven't.
Nor am I ready to accept Popovich's ascendance into the august company of coaches with four titles: Auerbach, Jackson, Riley, Popovich? Not so fast, Poppy. I'd put him tied with Riley, but a long, long way from the other two. (Yes, I know Riley won titles with two different teams, but he loses points for appointing himself head coach at Miami once he realized just how good Dwyane Wade is). One mroe title, preferably next year, and I'll cease and desist my arguments against both Popovich and San Antonio.
In a final schadenfreudean nonsequitur, it delights me to think of all the Celtics fans banging their heads against the bar every time Duncan hoists a championship trophy aloft.
Baseball
If both the Orioles' decline and my son's team's improvement continue at the same rate, I think Baltimore might lose to a bunch of 10-year olds in the spring of 2009. And for all you Clemens/Yankees haters, here's little treat from Funny or Die. Link.
Golf
Lots of excitement about the U.S. Open this week, of course. Everyone seems very up in arms about Phil's wrist. I thought Phil got whacked Sunday night on the last episode of the Sopranos. But seriously, if you are looking for a golf article that is not about Tiger, Phil or Johnny Miller, check out Rick Maese's column on Jim Furyk in today's Sun. At first I hated Maese because he looks like he's about 15, but my annoyance has gradually been mitigated by his quality coverage of stories I don't see anywhere else. Worth looking for.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Beisbol con Mucho Gusto
You may recall that Friday I posted the question, can there ever be too much baseball? Apparently the answer is both yes and no. Yes, because by the time Saturday afternoon rolled around and we were nearly halfway through our four-day seven-game marathon, I audibled out of our plans to go see the Orioles, and instead, we recuperated and recharged at the pool. On the other hand, no, because the six games the boys played provided many, many highlights. Here are just a few:
1. An opposing second baseman, barely taller than his bat, cleanly fields a ground ball and makes a delighted throw to first. Never mind that the runner beats the throw, the fielder's smile at his proficency is unforgettable.
2. A boy finally gets his first base hit of the season with two outs in the bottom of the last inning of his second to last game and skips, nay, floats down to first base.
3. A courageous lad gets hit by pitches three times in two days, and then rocks a solid single through the infield.
4. A team gets its first league win of the season Friday night and finds the experience so pleasurable, it wins its next three in tournament play.
5. A last place team suddenly catches fire (after a noted blogger retires as third base coach) and goes undefeated over its last six games to capture the championship. Gatorade is dumped on coaches, pizza consumed in joy at a local establishment, and likely more than one first place trophy is pried from sleeping hands.
6. In the last inning of a championship game, after an eight run lead is cut to three and the pitcher knocked out by a hard grounder to the shin, a steely-eyed first baseman climbs atop the mound, calmly strikes out two, and induces a groundout for the gamewinner.
7. A batter's face is a portrait of furious determination as he outraces the opposing first baseman to the bag for an infield hit.
8. A modern day Enos "Country" Slaughter ignores the stop sign from the third base and barrels home, scoring from first on a single.
9. An umpire calls three straight games wearirng a red t-shirt from a bar on a Caribbean island that features the following quote from noted batsman Oscar Wilde, "Work is the ruination of the drinking class."
10. A baserunner on second nods enthusiastically when his coach yells, "Two outs, no hesitation." After he scores, he shakes his head just as emphatically when his mom asks him if he knows what hesitation means.
1. An opposing second baseman, barely taller than his bat, cleanly fields a ground ball and makes a delighted throw to first. Never mind that the runner beats the throw, the fielder's smile at his proficency is unforgettable.
2. A boy finally gets his first base hit of the season with two outs in the bottom of the last inning of his second to last game and skips, nay, floats down to first base.
3. A courageous lad gets hit by pitches three times in two days, and then rocks a solid single through the infield.
4. A team gets its first league win of the season Friday night and finds the experience so pleasurable, it wins its next three in tournament play.
5. A last place team suddenly catches fire (after a noted blogger retires as third base coach) and goes undefeated over its last six games to capture the championship. Gatorade is dumped on coaches, pizza consumed in joy at a local establishment, and likely more than one first place trophy is pried from sleeping hands.
6. In the last inning of a championship game, after an eight run lead is cut to three and the pitcher knocked out by a hard grounder to the shin, a steely-eyed first baseman climbs atop the mound, calmly strikes out two, and induces a groundout for the gamewinner.
7. A batter's face is a portrait of furious determination as he outraces the opposing first baseman to the bag for an infield hit.
8. A modern day Enos "Country" Slaughter ignores the stop sign from the third base and barrels home, scoring from first on a single.
9. An umpire calls three straight games wearirng a red t-shirt from a bar on a Caribbean island that features the following quote from noted batsman Oscar Wilde, "Work is the ruination of the drinking class."
10. A baserunner on second nods enthusiastically when his coach yells, "Two outs, no hesitation." After he scores, he shakes his head just as emphatically when his mom asks him if he knows what hesitation means.
Friday, June 08, 2007
If a Blog Falls in the Forest ...
During my last lengthy hiatus from FitzFacts, a good friend of mine described the "arc of the blog" in a way that I can't exactly recall, but it was a pretty fair assessment of the way my blogging endeavor had progressed: start with a flurry of posts in a variety of areas, settle into a groove of topics (college basketball, American Idol, FX tv shows), and then, as material begins to dry up, posting peters out until, suddenly, weeks and months have passed with nothing new.
This time, I stopped posting about college basketball right in the middle of the NCAA Tournament and abandoned AI when the contestants still numbered double digits. So what was my excuse? Well, I did go away on vacation for a week, broke a few bones in my hand (that put me in cast for three weeks), spring sprung here in Phoenix, Maryland, which led me to as much gardening and landscaping as my hand could tolerate. None of those are really good reasons. Then again, I don't have a good reason for getting back to it now.
So where are we?
NBA Finals
I watched parts of the second and third quarter of this game, and other than the stupefyingly low score, all I noticed was that San Antonio always seemed to have the ball and at least a five point lead. And every basket, whether it was Manu Ginobili converting an alley-oop from Tony Parker, Tim Duncan making a jumper from the free throw line, or Francisco Elston powering up from the block, every basket came with the Spurs' player squared up to the hoop as if he were making an instructional video. I noticed this morning that Parker and Robert Horry - who, by the way, is 11 years younger than Julio Franco - had more assists (13) than the entire Cleveland team (9). And it seems important that I mention the name Bruce Bowen before the man he held to 14 points (none in the first 13 minutes), LeBron James. If the Cavaliers don't show up a lot more quickly in Game 2, the NBA and ABC can kiss the ratings goodbye.
Hockey
The Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup. The 2007-08 season starts in less than four months. That seems like more than enough hockey information.
Horse Racing
After thrilling races in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, the Triple Crown closes with a whimper this Saturday at the Belmont. With Street Sense out, Curlin can only hope to pull a Secretariat and crush the competition. Two questions: When was the last time three different horses won the legs of the Triple Crown ? And, will the Belmont draw a bigger rating than the 1.1 million households that watched the Stanley Cup final game?
Baseball
I won't be watching the Belmont because I'll be at the Baltimore Orioles' game with the boys on Saturday night. The Orioles won six in a row at the end of May and then lost their first five games in June before winning at Seattle Wednesday, so I have no idea what to expect, except that I'll spend too much of money on hot dogs, programs, peanuts, cotton candy, etc. This game will be one of seven baseball contests that I'll be attending in the next four days, but the other six will all feature young men in my immediate family. By Monday night, I just might be able to answer the question: is there ever enough baseball?
Paris Hilton
And let's end this post with a slightly different spectator sport. The Baltimore Sun wrote the following subheadline in this morning's paper: "Hilton's image may be further hurt by early release from jail." I don't know who wrote that copy, but it seems to me that Paris Hilton thrives on publicity, so the only publicity that would be bad for her image would be none at all. Maybe if she murdered her ex-spouse and a friend, or turned out to be connected to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Or dogfighting. Unless it was those annoying little chihuahuas. Okay, I think I should stop typing right now.
This time, I stopped posting about college basketball right in the middle of the NCAA Tournament and abandoned AI when the contestants still numbered double digits. So what was my excuse? Well, I did go away on vacation for a week, broke a few bones in my hand (that put me in cast for three weeks), spring sprung here in Phoenix, Maryland, which led me to as much gardening and landscaping as my hand could tolerate. None of those are really good reasons. Then again, I don't have a good reason for getting back to it now.
So where are we?
NBA Finals
I watched parts of the second and third quarter of this game, and other than the stupefyingly low score, all I noticed was that San Antonio always seemed to have the ball and at least a five point lead. And every basket, whether it was Manu Ginobili converting an alley-oop from Tony Parker, Tim Duncan making a jumper from the free throw line, or Francisco Elston powering up from the block, every basket came with the Spurs' player squared up to the hoop as if he were making an instructional video. I noticed this morning that Parker and Robert Horry - who, by the way, is 11 years younger than Julio Franco - had more assists (13) than the entire Cleveland team (9). And it seems important that I mention the name Bruce Bowen before the man he held to 14 points (none in the first 13 minutes), LeBron James. If the Cavaliers don't show up a lot more quickly in Game 2, the NBA and ABC can kiss the ratings goodbye.
Hockey
The Anaheim Ducks won the Stanley Cup. The 2007-08 season starts in less than four months. That seems like more than enough hockey information.
Horse Racing
After thrilling races in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, the Triple Crown closes with a whimper this Saturday at the Belmont. With Street Sense out, Curlin can only hope to pull a Secretariat and crush the competition. Two questions: When was the last time three different horses won the legs of the Triple Crown ? And, will the Belmont draw a bigger rating than the 1.1 million households that watched the Stanley Cup final game?
Baseball
I won't be watching the Belmont because I'll be at the Baltimore Orioles' game with the boys on Saturday night. The Orioles won six in a row at the end of May and then lost their first five games in June before winning at Seattle Wednesday, so I have no idea what to expect, except that I'll spend too much of money on hot dogs, programs, peanuts, cotton candy, etc. This game will be one of seven baseball contests that I'll be attending in the next four days, but the other six will all feature young men in my immediate family. By Monday night, I just might be able to answer the question: is there ever enough baseball?
Paris Hilton
And let's end this post with a slightly different spectator sport. The Baltimore Sun wrote the following subheadline in this morning's paper: "Hilton's image may be further hurt by early release from jail." I don't know who wrote that copy, but it seems to me that Paris Hilton thrives on publicity, so the only publicity that would be bad for her image would be none at all. Maybe if she murdered her ex-spouse and a friend, or turned out to be connected to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Or dogfighting. Unless it was those annoying little chihuahuas. Okay, I think I should stop typing right now.
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