Searching for the Truth
Archive for Sports
July 20, 2009 at 9:56 pm · Filed under Sports
Why does it seem that there’s a feeling of animosity towards Stewart Cink?
I personally don’t feel that way, but you can’t help feel that’s the attitude of the general public with the outcome of this past weekend’s 138th British Open Championship.
And what for?
It wasn’t Cink’s fault that Tom Watson missed an eight foot putt on the par four 18th, costing him his sixth Claret Jug. Cink won the four hole playoff in dominant fashion over the worn out Watson, winning the tournament fair and square and securing his first major championship.
I must admit I barely watched any of the tournament over the weekend, but I did see Watson play the 18th on Sunday. His approach shot bounced past the pin and rolled off the back side of the green.
All he had to do was chip on and putt in for par and the Championship was his. I don’t think there was a casual golf fan watching that wasn’t routing for him.
But it didn’t happen.
He pushed his par putt to the right, bogeying the hole and forcing the playoff with Cink. The rest is history.
The overall feeling here should be that of sympathy for Watson, not to make Cink out to be the apparent villain. If Watson made his putt, where would this story have ranked all time in the history of sports? Top 10? Top 5? I think an argument could be made for it, but we’ll never know.
The combination of Tiger not making the cut and this year’s Championship being played at Turnberry, where Watson beat rival Jack Nicklaus in the famous “Duel in the Sun” in 1977, makes it all more intriguing.
Moments like this are the reason we watch sports. In the end, the 138th British Open at Turnberry will be remembered more for what almost happened than Cink winning his first major.
Which is unfortunate.
July 14, 2009 at 6:37 pm · Filed under Sports
This website should have a different feel to it soon, should everything come to pass.
Needless to say, here’s a picture of one of the changes…
And without further ado, Sini’s thoughts on Major League Baseball at the proverbial halfway point.
The first half of the 2009 Major League Baseball season has been that of some impressive career milestones. Gary Sheffield joined the 500 home run club, Randy Johnson recorded his 300th career win, Tony LaRussa won his 2500th game as a manager, Ivan Rodriguez broke Carlton Fisk’s all time games caught record and Mariano Rivera saved his 500th game. Going into the all star break, five out of the six division races have at least three teams within 5 ½ games of the division lead. With most of these races probably coming down to the wire, we’re in stall for a very entertaining second half. With that being said, it’s time for some mid-season awards:
A.L. Manager of the Year: Don Wakamatsu, Seattle Mariners
With a team that finished 61-101 last year, the Mariners are 4 games above .500 at 46-42 at the break. Their pitching and defense are keeping them in the playoff hunt, currently 4 games out in the A.L West and 5 games out of the Wild Card.
A.L. Rookie of the Year: Ricky Romero, SP, Toronto Blue Jays
Romero has been Toronto ’s best pitcher behind Roy Halladay. He spent some time on the disabled list at the end of April and posted a 9.64 ERA in two starts in May. But since then he has been solid, going 5-1 and allowing 15 earned runs in 56.2 innings since June 1st.
A.L. CY Young: Zach Greinke, Kansas City Royals
Greinke is finally coming into his own this year, leading the American League with a 2.12 ERA along with 129 strikeouts in 127.1 innings. He has posted a 10 wins with an offense that ranks among the worst in the American League. If he doesn’t drop off in the second half and barring Roy Halladay staying in Toronto , Greinke should be the overall favorite.
A.L. M.V.P.: Justin Morneau, 1B, Minnesota Twins
The popular pick for many is Morneau’s teammate Joe Mauer, but I’m picking Morneau because of Mauer’s early season stint on the disabled list. He leads the American League in total bases, second in RBI’s, and in the top 5 in home runs and slugging. If both Morneau and Mauer keep up their solid play, both are going to be vying for votes at the end of the season.
N.L. Manager of the Year: Joe Torre, L.A. Dodgers
The Dodgers own baseball’s best record at 56-32 and have the largest lead in any division, leading by 7 games over the San Francisco Giants. They went 29-21 during Manny Ramirez’s 50 game suspension, not to mention having to deal with the media circus that came with it. Torre has this team in the right direction towards a second straight division title.
N.L. Rookie of the Year: Colby Rasmus, CF, St. Louis Cardinals
Rasmus has taken full advantage of being the Cardinals every day center fielder, batting .278 with 11 home runs and 34 RBI’s. He won’t produce a lot of RBI’s batting at the top of the order, but 25 home runs and 100 runs are not out of the question.
N.L. CY Young: Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
Arizona ’s Dan Haren has a slight edge in innings pitched and ERA, but the fact that the Giants would make the playoffs if the season ended today as the wild card and Lincecum’s 29 inning scoreless streak make him the favorite. He also leads the N.L. with 149 strikeouts.
N.L. MVP: Albert Pujols, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals
Simply the best player in the game. He leads the National League in practically every offensive category and has a chance to be the first player since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 to win the Triple Crown. This is really the only no contest mid-season award.
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Now playing: Charlaine Harris - 2N
via FoxyTunes
May 23, 2009 at 5:00 am · Filed under Sports, First thoughts
I’m not one for excuses, but when you’re down to Ramon Martinez, a 37-year old journeyman infielder to play shortstop because your organization is fresh out of anything else worth a damn…
And he comes up with an RBI single because when you’re out two of your five core players, you’re gonna need a lot of singles bunched together to get it done.
Can’t say much about Johan, this is what we come to expect and Parnell and K-Rod closing the door to end a four-game losing streak. By the way, that was three losses against the best team in the league in their park, where they happen to have the best home record in the league. But I don’t like to make excuses.
As for my team not having a better backup SS in the minors than Martinez, I think we do but they’re not major league ready. The same can’t be said for 1st base with Delgado out until August. Our best backup is probably Daniel Murphy and if he can’t pick it, Nick Evans is playing the position in either Buffalo or Binginton right now.
And I’ll say this - If we can steal another game at Fenway and finish this road trip with a 5-5 record, it would be a great thing. It’s not like we were playing Colorado, Pittsburgh and the Washington Generals, I mean Nationals.
On a lighter note, I took Friday off and took my 8-year old daughter to see Hannah Montana The Movie. It was as bad as to be expected, but as an old man leering at the screen I know a lot of guys who would be drooling over her if her name was 17-year old Jill Maine. Not me, however, cuz I’ve got a thing against bad teeth. Regardless how white Disney money makes them (and she pulled in 25 million last year), they’re crooked enough to keep her out of my fantasies at night.
My real fantasy, sadly, is getting a chance to somehow enjoy tonight’s matchup between Mike Pelfrey and Josh Beckett at 7:10 pm. Just don’t see it happening, but we’ll see. Fairy tales do come true, it could happen to you…
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Now playing: Ken Drews and Dan Filowitz - Episode #56: The Tarence Kinsey Report
via FoxyTunes
May 19, 2009 at 3:00 pm · Filed under Sports
I don’t have much time since I’m doing this at work and unlike most Americans, I don’t have a terminal in front of me…
I won’t even speak about the five errors. FIVE ERRORS, what in blue blazes is going on when a pro team makes five errors and still only loses by one in extra innings?
Good start by Tim Redding. If he can pitch this well, it would really solidify the back end of the rotation. With Maine and Pelfrey pitching well, it would give Oliver Perez as much time as needed to get healthy.
FIVE ERRORS. Really? Five.
It was good to see (on Gamecast) that Sheffield came up with a clutch hit in the eighth to tie the game at 2-2. With Delgado out indefinetely (See until we feel we need him after the 6 to 8 weeks it takes to come back. I figure 10 to 12 is more realistic), that preseason signing doesnt’ seem that bad. He can fill that role and worse case scenario, he moves to play first. He’s done that at one point in his career, hasn’t he?
I would need to check, something I’ll do when I get home from work, but this team hasn’t had an offday in a long time. Meaning Carlos Beltran and David Wright have pretty much been busting thier asses for a bit. As much as Jerry Manuel gets beaten up for rotating the outfield, catcher and second base, he’s pretty much left Wright and Beltran alone. Maybe they need a break.
To hit the west coast and play seven games straight, I would be happy with a 3-4 trip. 4-3 would be nice and all that will take is one win in the next two games. I’ll worry about the final three games of this trip, to my old stomping grounds in Boston, when we get to them.
I think we’ve got Maine tonight. I stayed up with the computer in my lap, wasting time and checking the score. I don’t know if I’ll want to do that 2 nights in a row but we’ll see.
May 9, 2009 at 6:19 pm · Filed under Sports
Let me start with this word of advice. No matter what anyone tells you, don’t get married.
I’ll paraphrase one of my favorite jokes from Louis C.K.
Now we have a kid and I realize that I could have left whenever I wanted. I could have just packed my bags and walked out before the kid.
I’m in that same boat and it’s like the Perfect Storm every 28 days.
OK, back to baseball.
I guess there’s not much to say. What’s that? I could talk about the fact that John Maine has allowed just seven hits in his last three starts. Those were against Florida, Atlanta and Pittsburgh, but lets not forget that two of those three opponents are in division games.
This will always marvel me because he’s really only got two pitches and they’re both the same thing - fastball. I haven’t talked with him, but he throws a two seam that tops out at 94-95 MPH and a four-seam that rises at about the same speed.
It’s not like he’s got great control with either pitch. I mean, he’s much better than Oli Perez, but he did just walk six men and he’s always seemed to struggle at times with his location.
Lately, like in the last 365 days, he’s tried to add a changeup (thanks, Johan) and a slider but neither pitch is anything to write home about. I’ve said this before, but if it was a video game his two fast balls would be B-B+ pitches and his offspeed stuff would be closer to a D…
And that’s being really kind with the D.
As for the offense, they pounded out 17 hits which would fill me with pride if we hadn’t led the league in batting average since the season began. I guess I should be pleased with David Wright and Jose Reyes each having two-out RBIs, but I saved the best for last…
With the Braves’ win this afternoon, I’m now writing about the first place New York Mets. Let’s hope that Livan Hernandez can pitch with that knowledge Sunday afternoon.
May 4, 2009 at 9:31 pm · Filed under Sports
I hate games at Turner Field. It’s been like our personal…
Well I can’t think of a good example cuz I’m torn between tyrping this post and watching Shane O’Mac take on three wrestlers including Randy Orton, who apparently is the reigning WWE champion. Who knew?
Either way, when John Maine loaded the bases I thought we were in trouble. Then he struck out Jordan Schaffer on straight heat under his elbows. Then Javiar Vazquez hit a double play ball but it was slow.
Needless to say, Luis Castillo was taken out at second base and couldn’t complete the double play. That allowed two runs to score and the Braves would tack on one more for an early 3-0 lead.
Normally a couple of different things would happen at this point. John Maine, who as a history of struggling and was en route to walking a career high six people. He would normally lose it completely.
The Mets, as a team, would pack it in and fail to realize they were facing Vazquez and it would be another loss to an inferior Braves team.
But not this time. I was able to sneak into my bedroom to watch Chic Caray and Joe Simpson, who are already homers and don’t have to hide it anymore on Peachtree TV here in Atlanta, throw up a stat how the Mets haven’t come back on anybody and how they’ve already blown four saves and then Daniel Murphy singled and then Carlos Betran lost one over the center field wall.
I didn’t hear the excuse about that and I must admit they did call it correct in the first when Carlos Delgado struck out on an inside fastball that the home plate umpire didn’t call for Maine in the next frame.
Either way, when David Wright lost on to left to give the Mets the lead, it was smooth sailing. And then they threw up the stat how they are 9-1 with a lead after six innings this year. And then Parnell went 1-2-3, Putz gave up a long home run to Chipper. OK, Caray called it long but it went about 10-15 feet past the fence.
And it’s Chipper, so it was due.
Putz struck out the side and Frankie K improved to 6-for-6 in save opportunities and the game was over just like that.
A good win. Another good start for Maine, who only gave up three hits to go with all those walks. And Beltran continued to be the hottest hitter in the land.
On the God front, I sent a question that basically was composed of the last post with a touch of my history to Victory. When I get a reply back, I’ll post it here and hope the conversation continues…
I hope this quality play continues as we end this two-game set with Livan on Tuesday. Then two against the Phillies at Citi, one of which I’ll be able to watch on ESPN (something my wife will hate) before three with the Pirates and another three with the Braves. Afer that, Los Mets head west for four at Pac Bell/AT&T/Ma Bell Park in San Fran and three in LA. All without an off day.
Guess I’ll be busy.
April 28, 2009 at 9:39 pm · Filed under Sports
I didn’t get to witness much of this game since I was out researching a story I’m writing on a women’s football team in Atlanta.
You can check out the Xplosion website here.
Either way, by the time I got back to my car the score was Mets 3, Fish 2. I heard David Wright get a two-out RBI single to give a two-run lead.
By the time I checked my computer when I got home, the Fish were up 7-4 on Jorge Cantu’s second home run and I pretty much closed the book on this team. Over the past couple of years, they do a good job of closing shop and quitting on games so I knew they weren’t coming back.
So I paid attention to the Celtics and Bulls. OK, we know that that Rose guy in red is fast and Ben Gordon does nothing but hit big shots. But the other thing that the world knows is Paul Pierce is gonna take the shot.
He’s gonna Iso at the top of the key, dribble step to his right and shoot an 15 to 18 foot jumper. If you watched any of the 2008 playoffs, that’s what he did. If you watched any of the series earlier in his career when he was the Truth facing the Answer, that’s what he did. If you watched him at Kansas, then he would drive past you and yam in your face but he still had that mid-range jumper.
After he hit that shot to send the game to overtime, you would think the Bulls would draw something up to defend against that. But Vinnie of the Black didn’t see things that way. He basically dared Pierce to beat him and lost that bet.
Also, if you had bet me that both NYC-Metro area hockey teams would play in overtime game 7’s on the same night, I would have said there’s a 50-50 chance that one of them would survive. If you then added that Martin Brouder had a 3-2 lead in the third period, I would have told you the Devils had already won the game.
This is why I didn’t cover much hockey when I was at Boston University. I would have covered baseball but they cut the team the year before I got there. I would love to cover the Mets’ game tomorrow afternoon but I’ll just try to sneak a listen at work.
April 27, 2009 at 8:36 pm · Filed under Sports
I don’t have much time to write this post, mostly cuz I’ve only got so many minutes of power on my Mac before I have to return it to my plug and for whatever reason, the plug is at a desk where it’s not comfortable to sit and type…
In the time it took me to write that BS, the Mets handled the game the best way possible.
John Maine allowed an unearned run in the first inning thanks to an error and the speed of Bonifacio. The Mets came right back in the bottom of the frame to score one, then the biggest thing happened.
Not the grand slam by Omir Santos. By the way, was I the only one who heard both of the Mets current catchers on salary wince? For all the talk, Brian Schinder can barely hit his weight and Ramon Castro is a career backup and proud of it.
Problem is, Castro might lose that status when Schinder comes off the DL. Every announcer has stated how the pitchers like the way Santos calls the game and that’s much more important when all of them are gonna hit in the bottom of the order.
No, the biggest thing was David Wright’s RBI single to right-center field. When he’s going right, Wright takes the outside fastball to right field with power. I saw the post on Gamecast, but it was John Kruk on Baseball Tonight to relate that he was badly fooled by an offspeed pitch prior to the single.
Later on, he would triple to right-center and that’s an even better sign. Yes, Reyes didn’t have a hit but I think Jerry Manuel will put Luis Castillo in the No. 2 slot since he’s really getting on base. Not that Daniel Murphy isn’t, but there’s clearly going to be a platoon to get Shef and Tatis on the field.
Either way, if Carlos Beltran and David Wright can hit, they can ignite the entire lineup. Let’s just hope they can do the same for Livan on Tuesday, even the record at 10-10 and tighten up the entire division.
April 18, 2009 at 6:51 am · Filed under Sports
I’m not really going to mention The Shef and his pinch-hit 500th home run cuz while it was helpful, the more important question is this:
With that blast and with stats and facts that, according to Tim Kirkjun of ESPN, pretty much makes Sheffield a lock for the Hall, who’s hat does he wear? Marlins? Yankees? Braves? Wasn’t he a Dodger for a while? I just know for sure it won’t be with the Mets. I think Mike Piazza is our next inductee by just a bit over the Dodgers.
Good to see Luis Castillo come through in the clutch with a big hit, but it’s yet another game were we left a village on the basepaths and David Wright just doesn’t seem to be right right now. He’s still hitting, but…
Anyway, I was hoping to read something by Dan and/or Kris about the NBA Playoffs. Maybe they started a new website without me, leaving me here alone with my Met thoughts. Oh well, I’ll still plug Disciples of Clyde and to listen to sports radio in Columbia, SC whenever the Mayor is on the air…
B4 I 4get - I had a dream last night. I guess you could call it recurring because it took place in the same class room. Apparently I’m taking classes, I think in music. But the point is this time the teacher let me run the class. After a couple of slip ups and dealing with a couple in the back left corner of the room necking, I came up with this in-class project to deal with Common Sense.
Common has been called a conscience rapper, so I asked to the class to take out a piece of paper and do the following. I might send this request out as an email, just for kicks.
1. Write down your definition of the word conscience when it comes to music.
2. Besides Common, list at least two other rap/hip-hop musicians you would consider conscience.
3. Now list at least two non-hip hop musicians who are also conscience.
Show me your results at the end of class. By the way, Johan Santana’s start against the Brewers is a 1:10 tipoff. See you tomorrow.
April 15, 2009 at 9:51 pm · Filed under Sports
This is the other side of Oliver Perez, the side the Mets paid 36 million over 3 years for.
When he’s on, the power lefty slings a side-armed low 90s fastball with a sharp slider that can go back door on right-handed batters.
When he’s off, his fastball tops out at 88 mph, the curve isn’t falling for strikes and he has little to no control.
That wasn’t the case for the Mets’ first win at Citi Field. It helps that the Fathers let the good guys load the bases twice and score six runs with just one hit. Carlos Beltran’s RBI single was it.
They got a sac fly from Daniel Murphy, a run scored on a Sheffield double play and the other three runs came home when Chase Headley, the Fathers’ converted catcher couldn’t corral a changeup.
Say that five times fast.
The Mets still aren’t hitting with runners in scoring position, something that was their downfall last year despite scoring 799 runs, eighth best in the league. They scored all those runs and still were 13th in the NL with runners in scoring position…
Or something like that.
Either way, the bigger thing was Jackie Robinson Day. I actually heard Skip Carey talking about how he didn’t like the fact that every one wore #42. That it could be hard for someone to keep track of the game…
Skip Carey can take a long walk and just keep going.
The bigger point behind the day was the numbers. Searching online, a 2007 ESPN article stats that the 8.4 percent of black ball players in 2006 was the lowest in two decades. The fact of the matter is blacks (and whites for that matter) are not playing baseball as much anymore.
It’s as simple as that.
John Maine tomorrow against Jake Peavy, who hopefully will get comfortable and add Queens to the list of teams he’d be willing to be traded to. When the season began, I figured Omar didn’t go after Manny because he figured Matt Holliday would be available if the A’s were out of the mix. But with the Fathers’ Fire Sale in full effect, I would rather empty the rest of the minor league stable for a Santana/Peavy top two.
April 12, 2009 at 8:29 pm · Filed under Sports
I’ll be quick since I’d like to get to bed and fail at “getting some” with the Mrs…
Josh Johnson was dealing and I would have been a little sad inside as a baseball fan if he lost the game, even though that meant the Mets losing the game.
Pelfrey starting the first game at Citi Field is as good as it gets.
I’ll try to write more tomorrow.
April 10, 2009 at 8:53 pm · Filed under Sports
I’m starting this post as the game goes into extra innings cuz I’ve got a couple to things to say regardless of the outcome.
Just quickly about the game, and this team in the early season at least, the Mets are leaving people on base in scoring position like they’re getting paid to do just that. It’s about as frustrating as possible, knowing that a timely hit would change the game. Then again, one must think with it being early in the season, they’ll pick it up later on…
I read one preview that said the Yankees have the best rotation in the American League, to which I quickly raised my hand and called bullshit. Ask any of the Yankee fans that used to write on this site…
(Hello. Is there anybody out there? Just smile if you can hear me. Is there any one at all?)
Sorry about that, ask any of the Yankee fans that used to write on this site and they’ll tell you that unlike some Mets fans, I have no ill will against the Boys from the Bronx.
I just questioned that statement for the sheer fact that it requires a lot of If’s falling in the pinstripe direction.
The same could be said for most, if not every, team in the league. But let’s run this down real quick. CC is good for similar stats to when he was an Indian. That means 17 to 19 wins. After that, the if’s get obvious to me. A.J. has a great arm, IF it’s healthy for a whole season. Wang is a top-flight pitcher IF he comes back 100 percent from the first major injury of his career. Andy Pettite is old and IF he can reinvent himself again, he could be a quality No. 4 starter and Joba. Joba? I mean seriously, you all know he should be in the pen, setting up Mo but IF he can stay healthy and complete a full season as a starter he could be great. I think he was up for eight weeks and he was great for four of them…
The Mets have similar IF’s. Santana should have won the Cy Young last year, finishing tops in ERA, innings pitched and close to the top in strikeouts. It was just the lack of wins, but that’s another post. IF Pelfrey continues to improve, he could be a great No. 2. Oli Perez is the definition of IF, depending on which version shows up that day. IF John Maine returns from injury, he’s a decent No. 4 and Livian Hernandez can be a decent No. 5 IF he doesn’t remember that he had an 8-plus ERA last year.
April is the month of IF’s and IF the Mets don’t start hitting better with runners in scoring position, comebacks against closers like Lindstrom will mean little when they can’t close the door on Jorge Cantu in the bottom of the frame.
Can’t wait to see who they send down to make room for Livian tomoro and do you think that Elton John’s version of his name will be his walk-down music?
April 6, 2009 at 8:24 pm · Filed under Sports
Opening Day should be a federal holiday and I shouldn’t have to hope for an unpaid vacation like my friend Josh to take the day off and watch the National Past time.
But that’s neither here nor there. I took lunch at 1 p.m. to listen to the first inning with Marty and Thom Brennaman and The Cowboy Jeff Brantley (who I actually saw in person while covering baseball in central Mississippi since he was an assistant coach at Clinton High, his alma mater.)
Well, the 1st inning started like I’m sure Jerry Manuel scripted it up. Jose Reyes gets on base with an infield single and steals second. Daniel Murphy, who works best in the No.2 hole, moves Jose over to third (although his grounder went to the left side).
This is the situation that David Wright was in countless times last year. Runner in scoring position with less than 2 outs and quality contact brings home a run. It’s the reason he’s a top 5 pick in anyone’s fantasy league and despite 125 RBIs last year, it’s his strike out against Aaron Harang that infuriates Mets fans.
The next time I was able to sneak out to my car was to hear the top of the sixth with Murphy at the plate, bases loaded and only one out. Marty Brennaman talked about a double play but Murphy’s hard grounder to first would score Luis Castillo from third. That made it 2-0 and it wasn’t until I got home to see that the rookie outfielders on my fantasy team homered.
I wouldn’t get back to the radio until I got off my shift around 4:30, which was just in time for the ninth inning. Wright walked and then got picked off cuz I was hoping he would steal a base…
Needless to say, Brennaman informed me that J.J. Putz pitched a scoreless eighth (another one on my fantasy team and yes, I have a ton of Mets on my team). That led the way to K-Rod and for the first time in recent history, I didn’t feel any trepidation headed into the final frame.
Let’s think back and take a look. I’m not even gonna mention last September when it was a merry-go-round of pain in the pen after Billy Wagner was lost for the year. Speaking of which, Wagner wasn’t the door-closing specialist we all believed him to be. He routinely would walk a batter and you always have to worry about someone making decent contact with his 97 MPH fastball.
Before that, it was Braden Looper (clearly better as a starter. Who woulda thunk it?) and Armando “Smoke” Benitez. Need I say more? John Franco came out of the pen prior to that and when your strike out pitch is a changeup and you’re not named Trevor or Johan, things can get dicey.
I think the last time I wasn’t worried about the ninth was Randy Myers and that was 1989.
So of course Frankie comes in, throw nothing but strikes and quickly and quietly ends the game.
They’ll take a day off and now we’ll see if Mike Pelfrey stands tall as the No. 2 we’ll need to compete in the best division in the National League.
Read you on Wednesday.
June 8, 2007 at 10:40 am · Filed under Idiot Box Musings, Sports
I’ll keep this short, mostly because I don’t really care about this sport, especially during baseball season. But I did go to a university that dropped football and now playing the first hockey game of the season for Homecoming, so I would be remiss not to comment on the Anaheim Ducks, no longer Mighty but strong enough to pry Lord Stanley’s Cup away from its rightful owners to our north. And in five games no less?
Why does no one care? Probably because everyone south of the International Boundary could give two squirts of piss about hockey.
I hate to be the rating harbinger but a major network 1.5 for anything is pathetic. In fact, it’s the worst rating, to borrow an Ali voice, Of All Time!!!
That means Joey, repeats of Touched by an Angel and my personal favorite, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, got better numbers than Hockey Night in Anaheim on the big Peacock.
Tim Cowlishaw has a great column about the 10 things to save the NHL. I don’t think it can be saved. They had their chance and blew it twice, first with a stupid strike that no one cared about, especially since the owners won, then the move that will eventually lead to their demise in this country, an item that Cowlishaw listed fourth but is the only one that matters in my book.
“Kiss up to ESPN. Make amends. There’s still enough room for programming at the world-wide leader to get your games back there. Versus gives the NHL no presence at all. The studio show has Bill Clement, a great analyst, in the misguided role of host.
Get back to ESPN – even if it’s ESPN2 – and get your highlights back on SportsCenter.”
June 7, 2007 at 6:22 am · Filed under Sports
Fans would have loved to see the three-headed monster that is San Antonio face against the veteran team from Detroit in the NBA Finals.
Everyone except people around the world not located near the Alamo or 8-Mile, television executives, my mom and David Stern.
The NBA and their partners would never root for a specific team, we all know that. So we all know that Game 5 was like Christmas morning, the lighting of the Shamash during the Festival of Light and the last day of Ramadan rolled into one.
The ascension of LeBron and The King’s Chosen Few means sports fans like myself may actually tune in, which is the only way to judge the importance of your event nowadays.
Almost to the day two years ago, June 15 to be precise, ABC drew just 7.2% of U.S. TV households to watch the Pistons win Game 3 from the Spurs. It was down 32 percent from the previous year, when there was actually a cavalcade of stars with the final year of the Lakers’ old-man bandwagon in pursuit of a title.
In 1981, the NBA Finals on an evening tape-delay still drew a 6.7. For those non-communication majors in the crowd, that means the game was already decided when it was broadcasted nationally.
From that point on, the numbers never slipped lower than a 10, until the record low in 2003, a 6.5 when your same boring Spurs faced the hometown New Jersey Nets.
I’m sure our mutual friend Scott had his eyes glued to the screen, but just like when we were all at The Castle on the Hill, I don’t watch the Nets.
In fact, I never really watched the NBA, despite claiming to know a thing or three about it. The regular season lasts forever and the playoffs seem to follow suit.
A Georgetown follower for over 20 years, I followed Alonzo Mourning to Charlotte, then followed Allen Iverson to Philadelphia. But all that meant was I would watch Sportscenter with a vested interest when their highlights came on.
In 2000, I had a vested interest in the NBA playoffs living in Portland, Oregon. As the Blazers made a deep run and had the Lakers on the ropes, me and my roommate Dru made plans to sleep outside the Rose Garden ticket gates, less than a couple of miles from our apartment, for Finals tickets.
Taken straight from Wikipedia: The Blazers were leading in Game 7 in Los Angeles, before the Lakers came back and won the series in a 4th-quarter rally. That’s the rally that’s ended with Kobe throwing the oop to Shaq, who runs back down court with his giant mouth in an O.
Trust me, if you’ve seen basketball, you’ve seen this and that essentially ended my love affair with the league. That and I moved back east.
Even in my current Central Time Zone, I’ve got little desire to stay up until midnight to watch any game, yet alone one that will allow the final 2 minutes on the clock last 20 in real time.
So with all that being said, I’m wondering why ABC would decide to start every game at 9 p.m. including Games 2 and 5, which would be on Sundays.
You want to know the reason why football is truly king in this age of video-everything. Yes, it helps to have a short season meaning every game matters even more, but it’s the fact that every game IS PLAYED DURING A REASONABLE TIME.
Same thing can be said about NASCAR, golf and to a much lesser extent, baseball. There’s something to be said for watching something, then still having your entire evening ahead of you.
I’m willing to eat my weight in cheese if Bud grew a pair and told Fox, “Hey, I would like some of my younger fans to be able to watch a World Series game before they have to go to sleep…”
But that’s another battle for another day.
So with all of this going against the NBA: the horrible timing of games and sagging ratings with viewers choosing to flip between 150 channels, their TiVo or DVR, watch online updates as they blog and so forth, why am I smiling?
Because LeBron James is that good.
Rarely does anyone with the amount of hype live up to the billing. I mean, the guy was projected as a number one pick as a high school junior. How many of us were ready for their current adult profession while still trying to reach third base with a girl?
Huh, what? I meant get into a three-way. Yeah, that’s the ticket. A three-way with…an upperclassman and her sister, yeah, that’s right. That’s the ticket.
The point is I’ll join the masses, like the guy at the gas station where I get my milk for $2.99 a gallon, and watch the Finals. To be witness to what, I don’t know, but I’m sure my wife still won’t care, and that’s the truth.
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