October 28, 2009
For the first time in a long time, things were really looking up for the Los Angeles Clippers. Baron Davis had lost 15 pounds over the offseason after a miserable first season, and seemed re-energized. Eric Gordon had a tremendous rookie season, and had settled into the starting two-guard role. They had strengthened their bench by acquiring Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith and Rasual Butler, and they had even managed to deal away Zach Randolph for a bag of basketballs (well, it actually was for Quentin Richardson, but given he was traded several times this offseason, it might as well have been for a bag of basketballs), and eliminated a cancer from their locker room.
But all of those moves were secondary to the Clippers winning the NBA’s Draft Lottery in May and getting the chance to select the clear top talent in June’s draft, Blake Griffin. The former Oklahoma power forward scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds a game last season for the Sooners, and seemed like as close to a guarantee as one can find in the draft. Some went so far as to compare him to Karl Malone.
But, after all, this is the Clippers … so, like last offseason when they thought they were going to get both Davis and Elton Brand, only for Brand to ditch them and sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, everyone was waiting for the other shoe to drop. And it did this week, when we learned that Griffin is going to be out for at least six weeks with a fractured kneecap.
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Uncategorized | Tagged: Baron Davis, Blake Griffin, Chris Kaman, Craig Smith, Elton Brand, Eric Gordon, LeBron James, Los Angeles Clippers, Marcus Camby, Philadelphia 76ers, Sebastian Telfair | 
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Posted by tbontemps1
October 15, 2009
We’re set up with two entertaining matchups in baseball’s league championship series, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies facing off in the National League and the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels in the American League.
But even before the two series begin, with the Dodgers and Phillies set to begin play tonight and the Yankees and Angels tomorrow, there is only one outcome anyone’s really hoping for. No offense to fans of the Phillies and Angels, but how could any neutral observer not be pulling for what would be one of the greatest storylines in the history of the World Series: Joe Torre making his first appearance in the new Yankee Stadium, the place he helped to create with his incredible 12-year tenure as manager, on the sport’s grandest stage?
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Leave a Comment » | MLB | Tagged: A.J. Burnett, Andre Ethier, Andy Pettitte, CC Sabathia, Clayton Kershaw, Derek Jeter, Joe Girardi, Joe Torre, Jorge Posada, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mariano Rivera, Mark Teixiera, Matt Kemp, MLB Playoffs, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies | Permalink
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October 7, 2009
With the Minnesota Twins finally claiming the final spot in baseball’s postseason with last night’s 6-5 win over the Detroit Tigers to claim the American League Central title, the playoffs have finally been set. Of course, that means only one thing: it’s time to make predictions!
Of course, those predictions will likely go up in smoke almost immediately after I post them, but so be it. Someone has to be willing to make them – I might as well put myself out there and endure the ridicule.
With that out of the way, its on to the predictions: Read the rest of this entry »
2 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: A.J. Burnett, Adam Wainwright, Albert Pujols, Andy Pettitte, Boston Red Sox, Brian Fuentes, CC Sabathia, Chris Carpenter, Clay Buchholz, Colorado Rockies, Denard Span, Detroit Tigers, Ervin Santana, Francisco Rodriguez, Jason Kubel, Joel Piniero, John Lackey, Jon Lester, Jorge Posada, Jose Molina, Josh Beckett, Justin Morneau, Kendry Morales, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Matt Holliday, Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Franklin, St. Louis Cardinals, Victor Martinez | Permalink
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October 7, 2009
Baseball is a sport of endurance. For 162 games over six months, the 30 teams in the major leagues struggle to survive the grueling campaign, leaving only eight teams standing when the postseason begins.
But every once in awhile, the baseball season for two of those teams will come down to the final weekend, with either a division or the wild card spot up for grabs. Sometimes, if we’re lucky, it will go down to the final day of the season.
And then there’s what happened with this year’s race for the American League Central title. The Detroit Tigers led by seven games at one point in September over the Minnesota Twins, and later led them by three games with four games to play. But the Twins managed to beat the Tigers last Thursday, and then swept their final three games with the Kansas City Royals. Meanwhile, the Tigers could only get one of their final three games, beating the Chicago White Sox Sunday afternoon, setting up the rarest of pleasures for a baseball fan: a one-game, winners-takes-all playoff game.
Does it get any better than that?
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Leave a Comment » | MLB | Tagged: Alexi Casilla, Carlos Gomez, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Don Kelly, Dontrelle Willis, Jason Kubel, Joe Mauer, Kansas City Royals, Michael Cuddyer, Miguel Cabrera, Minnesota Twins, MLB Playoffs, New York Yankees, Orlando Cabrera, Ron Gardenhire, Ryan Raburn | Permalink
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October 6, 2009
Some thoughts on a grab-bag of topics:
Reports are out that Rush Limbaugh has teamed with Dave Checketts to submit a bid for the St. Louis Rams, and would keep the team in St. Louis. I can’t even begin to imagine Limbaugh as the owner of a professional sports team. That has nothing to do with his political views; it’s just a hard thing to imagine. Could you really see him going into the locker room after a game and addressing the team? What would he say? Especially (going back to his politics) how much he has crushed Obama … you’d have to think there’d be a group of players who would be offended by that, wouldn’t you? It would be fascinating to watch, though … I hope it happens.
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1 Comment | Random Thoughts | Tagged: Braylon Edwards, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Conan O'Brien, Cory Booker, Detroit Tigers, LeBron James, Mark Sanchez, Minnesota Twins, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, Rush Limbaugh, St. Louis Rams | Permalink
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October 6, 2009
The thing about the NFL that draws people in more than the hits, more than the personalities, more than the betting, is the fact that every team has a chance when the season begins. It’s not like baseball, where generally six of the eight playoff teams are from about 12 teams year after year, and it’s not like basketball, where you must have a LeBron James or Dwayne Wade or Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett if you have any hope of winning a championship.
No, the NFL is the league of Kurt Warner, the grocery store clerk turned Super Bowl MVP. The NFL is the league where the Arizona Cardinals went from worst to within one drive of being first last year. The NFL is where the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars reached the NFC and AFC championship games, respectively, in their second year in existence. Because of the way the sport is set up, with only 16 games and one-and-dones in the playoffs, the best team doesn’t always win, or even make the playoffs. You have teams jump up out of nowhere and surprise every year.
And all of that is what makes it so impossibly sad to be a fan of the Buffalo Bills.
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2 Comments | NFL | Tagged: A.J. Smith, Arizona Cardinals, Bill Polian, Bruce Smith, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Dick Jauron, Dwayne Wade, Gregg Williams, Jacksonville Jaguars, Jim Kelly, John Butler, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Kurt Warner, LeBron James, Lee Evans, Ralph Wilson, Russ Brandon, Steve Tasker, Terrell Owens, Thurman Thomas, Trent Edwards | Permalink
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