Categories
MLB General

MLB Power Rankings Roundup for Sep 1 2006

The Power Rankings are all over the place this week but it looks like most agree the two teams from NYC are the best in the land. Meanwhile, the A’s and Twins are moving on up the charts while the Red Sox free fall in the Power Rankings as well.

Here are your MLB Power Rankings by top sites this week.

Rank Sportscolumn ESPN FoxSports Sportsline USA Today TSN.ca
1 Mets Mets Tigers Mets Tigers Yankees
2 Yankees Yankees Mets Yankees Yankees Angels
3 Tigers A’s Yankees Twins Mets Mets
4 White Sox Twins White Sox A’s Twins Twins
5 Twins White Sox Twins Tigers White Sox Dodgers
6 A’s Tigers A’s White Sox A’s Tigers
7 Cardinals Dodgers Rangers Dodgers Red Sox White Sox
8 Angels Angels Red Sox Cardinals Angels A’s
9 Dodgers Cardinals Angels Angels Dodgers Giants
10 Red Sox Padres Dodgers Phillies Cardinals Blue Jays
11-30 more more more more more more

Categories
NBA General

Team USA Basketball loses to Greece



Chokers

We’re not exactly sure what happened. Even after reading the article a few times, it’s hard to figure out how team USA Basketball lost to Greece in the semifinals. It wouldn’t even have been acceptable to lose in the finals but this team managed to choke again. Say what you want about other countries developing players that play as a team, the USA still has more basketball talent than any other country can put together. A team with Carmello Anthony, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James should not be beaten by a team from Greece. It just shouldn’t happen. And wasn’t this supposed to be a real “team” that we put out there on the court?

According to the AP article, team USA was done in by poor 3 point shooting and only shooting 59% from the free throw line. Carmello had 27 points, Wade had 19, and LeBron had 17 in the losing effort.

This sounds familiar doesn’t it? Not just that we haven’t won gold in international play since 2000 but Coach Krzyzewski having the most talent and not being able to bring home the championship.

Links:
[The search for RELLevance]: Live Blogging: Team USA vs Greece 3:30 a.m.
[Houston Roundball Review]: US loss to Greece Disappointing, not Surprising
[MSNBC]: Our Big Fat Greek embarrassment
[MSNBC]: Greece stuns Team USA in semifinals

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Special August Wrap-up Edition



Often compared to Willie Stargell

1. He’s good. Real good: The Phillies lost to the Nationals last night, but that wasn’t the most important thing going on in that game. It was Ryan Howard’s continued dominance at the plate. Howard jacked his 49th homerun of the year, breaking Mike Schmidt’s single-season franchise record with a month left in the season. Howard has now hit an RBI in 9 straight games and homered in 6 of those games. His August will go down as the best month of the season by any player, as Howard hit 14 homeruns and 41 RBIs for the month. He also hit .348 and slugged .750 on the month and put up a stratospheric 1.214 OPS. The most incredible part of all this? Howard’s just 26 years old and playing in his first full season.

2. Santana strikes again: Who do you call when you need a win? Call on Johan Santana. The pitcher had a great start against the Kansas City Royals, who were actually on the brink of sweeping the Twins. He struck out 11 and pitched seven innings for his league-leading 16th win of the season. Johan just completed a truly special month of August. He went 4-0 with a 2.32 ERA and 47 strikeouts, first of any pitcher in the month. The win improved him to 7-0 after the break this year and 37-3 after the break since 2003. The Twins won 3-1 and are a half-game out of the Wild Card.

3. Where did this come from?: Putting it lightly, Astros pitcher Andy Pettitte sucked the first half of the season. He posted a 5+ ERA each of the first three months and allowed opponents above a .300 batting average. But now, Pettitte is starting to produce like a machine. In August he put up a 2.43 ERA and 44 strikeouts, both very comparable to Santana’s numbers above. Though he just went 3-2 and still has a .500 record on the season, Pettitte is looking more like himself from last year, when he went 17-9 with a 2.39 ERA. Last night he pitched seven innings while only allowing 5 hits and 1 earned run to the Brewers. With Pettitte in addition to Roger Clemens and the recently resigned Roy Oswalt on the pitching staff, the Astros are looking good as they head into September.

4. New York, New York: Both teams from the Big Apple had particularly good months. The Mets finished the month with a loss yesterday but overall posted an outstanding 19-8 record. They gained the best record in baseball, 82-50, in the process. The Mets are 15.5 games ahead of the second-place Phillies in the division, still the only double-digit lead of any team, and they would be 11 games up on the Cardinals if they were in the same division. That’s quite an accomplishment considering the Cards have finished with the best record in the NL for two straight years and are in second this year. And how `bout them Yanks? For them it’s been a great month for them and a bad month for their rival, you-know-who. NYY was tied with the BoSox on August 1, but after their success and Boston’s struggles have opened up an 8 game lead. By the way, that is the second-largest lead in all of baseball. So if you don’t think another Subway Series is a reality this season, you better reconsider.

5. Back to the Bay: After lasting two years with the Boston Red Sox, David Wells is moving on in his career once again. Wells is going back to the San Diego Padres, his hometown team who he played with in 2004. Wells was sent to Cali in a trade for a minor league catcher. Padres GM Kevin Towers thinks Wells is the difference for this team as they look to keep a lead in the Wild Card race.

Categories
Pittsburgh Pirates

Sept 1 in Sports History: MLB’s first all-black lineup



Willie Stargell was black

In 1971: Manager Danny Murtaugh of the Pittsburgh Pirates starting lineup against the Phillies was Rennie Stennett, Gene Clines, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Manny Sanguillen, Dave Cash, Al Oliver, and Jackie Hernandez, with Doc Ellis pitching. It was believed to be the first all-black (with several Latinos, of course) lineup in Major League history. The Pirates won 10-7, and would go on to win the World Series that year.

In 1906: The Philadelphia A’s and Boston Americans played the longest game to date with the A’s winning in 24 innings. Amazingly, A’s starter Jack Coombs and the American’s Joe Harris pitched all 24 innings. Coombs faced 89 batters and struck out 18 for the win, while Harris was the hard-luck loser with 14 K’s while giving up 16 hits. His luck was so horrible that he had a 3-30 career record despite a respectable 3.35 ERA. (Courtesy of the ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia)

In 1996: 10 months after owner Art Modell announced his controversial move to Baltimore from Cleveland, the Ravens (the NFL ruled that the Browns name and colors would remain in Cleveland) played the first game in the city in 12 years and defeated the Oakland Raiders 17-14. The game was played at War Memorial Stadium, the old home of the Colts, who took off for Indianapolis in 1984. Vinny Testaverde of the Ravens ran for the winning score in the fourth quarter. Cleveland would be granted an expansion franchise for the 1999 season. (footballsearchengine.com)

Categories
Boxing

August 31 in Sports History: Rocky Marciano killed in plane crash



Oh there they go. There they go, every
time I start talkin ’bout boxing, a
white man got to pull Rocky Marciano
out their ass. That’s their one, that’s
their one. Rocky Marciano. Rocky
Marciano.

In 1969: Former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano was killed in a plane crash near Newton, Iowa. The only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated at 49-0, Marciano died just one day shy of his 46th birthday. He had 43 career knockouts, including the great Joe Louis and Jersey Joe Walcott.

In 1881: As a precursor to the modern day U.S. Open, the first national tennis championship took place in Newport, RI. Richard Sears won the men’s singles (there were no doubles or ladies matches) for the first of seven straight titles.

In 1990: Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. became the first father-son tandem to start as teammates in a Major League game. With dad in left field and son in center, the Seattle Mariners defeated the Royals 5-2. Both singled and went 1-4.

In 1959: Sandy Koufax of the L.A. Dodgers tied Bob Feller’s ML record with 18 strikeouts in a 5-2 win against the Giants in front of 82,000 fans at the Coliseum. Koufax set another mark with 31 K’s over two games. The single-game record would be topped by Steve Carlton (19) in 1969 and again by Roger Clemens in 1986 and Kerry Wood in 1998 (20).

Categories
Boxing

Odds and Ends: Mike Tyson is sad


We guess it’s not really news that Mike Tyson is a sad freak show but this latest story is just another reminder of how far he’s fallen (and how much of a crook Don King is). Tyson was reduced to “training” in a makeshift ring next to the slot machines at the Aladdin hotel just to make a buck. Would anyone really be surprised if they woke up to find out that Mike Tyson had killed himself? It seems that’s the way his life is heading.

In other news…

[Sports Collectors Daily]: Flea market find: Old Ruth piece has air of mystery

[SI]: Why college football is better than the NFL

[NFL.com]: Vinatieri might have a broken bone in his ankle

[Yahoo]: 26% of Baseball Fans Think Yankees will Win 2006 World Series

[Webpronews]: Can MySpace Save Boxing?

[Indy Star]: Indianapolis aims to host 2011 Super Bowl

Categories
Philadelphia 76ers

Allen Iverson is not a lottery ticket



Jackie Chiles can get you $600,000

Four guys are suing Allen Iverson and his manager for negligence because they got their asses kicked by security personnel. The four plaintiffs contend that Iverson and his manager negligently hired “dangerous individuals” known as “The Horsemen” for security at an event.

According to the lawsuit, two of the four plaintiffs, Priest Brown and Robin Isman, were attacked by The Horsemen as they left the club, and the other two were assaulted while dancing. They are suing for $600,000 each. Man, it pays to get your ass kicked every once in a while.

Links:

[Philly.com]: Iverson sued over security team’s actions

Categories
Denver Broncos

Javon Walker is talkin trash


We’re so sick of the cliches that athletes throw around that anytime someone starts talking trash, it’s … like someone stopped taking it one game at a time and only gave 97%. God bless Javon Walker for this quote in the Denver Post:


Obviously, we have a chance to be a Super Bowl team. Obviously, they have a chance to win four games.

It just made me happy to know I’m here and not dealing with that anymore. This is a winning organization, and I’m better off here.

Walker went on to say that he still had some friends on the Packers and wished them well. Oh, if only he’d added that Brett Favre was a washed up selfish prick, Walker would be our favorite WR of all time.

Links:
[Denver Post]: WR Walker glad he’s an ex-Packer

Categories
MLB General

The Full Count: Yanks and Tigers battle it out



Man Sal Fasano is fat

1. Two top teams, two close games: The Yankees and Tigers, the AL’s top two teams, played a doubleheader yesterday after being rained out Tuesday. The results, not surprisingly, were two interesting games. The Yanks took Game 1 by a count of 2-0 behind the fantastic play of Chien-Ming Wang. Wang pitched seven-plus innings, allowing no runs and getting his 16th win of the year. That ties him with Roy Halladay for the highest win total in the majors. In Game 2, the tides turned and the Tigers won 5-3. Craig Monroe hit a three-run homer in the 9th off of Scott Proctor to win the game. The teams will play a game tonight that will decide the series. Jeremy Bonderman of the Tigers and Randy Johnson of the Yankees will take the mound.

2. Seventh-inning express: The Cardinals were looking to break up the Marlins’ 9-game winning streak when the two teams played last night. While starter Jason Marquis and the Cards got down 5-1 early, they battled back by scoring in 4 consecutive innings. A four-run 4th that included a Marquis RBI settled the score at 5-5. St. Louis tacked on three more runs before blowing the Fish out of the water in the 7th inning. They scored 5 runs, including an RBI apiece for their 3-4-5. The final on this one was 13-6, with Marquis getting the win in as crude a fashion as possible. The game marked St. Louis’ 70th win of the season, and they lead the Reds by 4.5 games.

3. No support: Roger Clemens must just have bad luck. Once again, his Astros failed to give him anything resembling run support. Clemens pitched 7 innings, shutting out the opposing Brewers and striking out 9. However, the `Stros offense didn’t give him a run, so he was left stuck with a no-decision and a 2.29 ERA. But thankfully for Astros fans, this wasn’t another 1-0 loss–it was a 1-0 win! They won on a ninth-inning groundout by Aubrey Huff that scored Mike Lamb. The Astros have now won 5 games in a row and are 3 games out of the Wild Card.

4. Plenty of support: Jon Garland has not had any problem with run support this season. He has a 16-4 record, giving him the second-highest winning percentage in the majors, despite a pedestrian 4.47 ERA. He ranks fourth in the AL in run support, and the ChiSox’s leading offense helped him out yesterday too. Garland threw 8 innings but allowed 4 runs to the D-Rays. The Sox scored three runs in the 8th inning to make the final score 5-4. Jermaine Dye continued his streak of madness by going 3-5, while Jim Thome contributed in his return with an RBI. Tampa’s Delmon Young went 2-3 with 2 RBIs in his second major league start, numbers identical to his first start. The Sox keep on rolling with 3 straight wins and are now just 4.5 back of the Tigers.

5. Plenty of injuries, not enough time: Here’s what you’ve been waiting for: your semi-regular Full Count injury update! We’ll start off with Carl Pavano in this edition. Most people have forgotten Pavano existed, as he has been sidelined ever since the middle of last year. Apparently he had been concealing from the Yankees that he had a car crash, breaking his ribs in the process. The team told him not to pitch for two weeks. But there’s even worse news for Mark Mulder, the Cardinals pitcher who has struggled to stay unhurt the entire season. He has severe shoulder problems and will likely miss the rest of the season. The Twins have good and bad news about two of their pitchers. Francisco Liriano threw off a mound for the first time since hitting the DL on August 8. It’s still undetermined when he’ll start. The Twins’ Brad Radke, meanwhile, will miss his next start and has not pitched since the 25th. That’s all for this edition of the Full Count semi-regular injury update. Hope you enjoyed it.

Categories
Philadelphia Phillies

Odds and Ends: Ryan Howard for MVP



MVP! MVP! MVP!

Last night, Ryan Howard tied Mike Schmidt atop the Phillies all time Home Run single season list with 48. As people have been prediction for a while, it was an inevitability. There was a time (right around the Bobby Abreu trade) that the only reason to watch the Phillies was Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. Now the Phillies are within 1/2 a game of the wild card and serious consideration needs to be given to Ryan Howard for MVP. More praise for Howard in the blogosphere here and here.

In other news…

[Yahoo]: US Beats Germany to advance to face the Greeks

[Toronto Sun]: The Homeless World Cup

[ESPN]: English soccer player arrested for pulling a “Zidane” in the street

[Project Spurs]: Tony Parker on the cover of NBA Live 07