This week has seen a number of intriguing sports stories thus far. So let's jump right in...
Big Ben and his bike
This story is really hard for me to take. I love Big Ben as a player and have the utmost respect for his ability and his character. But this really seems like a bonehead move on his part. The whole helmet 'thing,' where he was quite defiant about wearing a helmet since PA law does not require one. I am sure he is regretting that now. The fact of the matter is this: You are a pro athlete, you get paid to throw a football, you saw what happened to Kellen Winslow and even worse, Jay Williams, why would you risk so much for a motorcycle. Terry Bradshaw was right, wait until you retire and enjoy it all you want. You're 24 years old and a recent Super Bowl Champ, with so much going for you, why risk it for a bike ride. From a public policy stand point, the risks certainly outweigh the rewards.
USA Soccer
Wow, here come the Americans making sure the world knows we'll never be a threat in World Cup soccer. I watched part of the game on Monday and the Czech simply out hussled and out played us. Simple as that, I'm not sure we have the talent, or maybe the coaching to compete with the rest of the world. I'm hoping against Italy we can pull out something to show we're not a flop. I mean even Togo scored a goal against S. Korea. What I'm most disturbed about is the fact that Bruce Areanes spent Tuesday calling out his players. Why do that to a team? Maybe you should figure out some way to get the ball in the net. The Czech team managed to get corner kicks close to the net or at least get a shot off, but the US could not, they seemed content to waste opportunities. Maybe we should stick with the World Baseball Classic...
Update on my baseball picks
Well it seems as though as soon as I blog something, the team I count out comes back and the team I pick flops. See Atlanta and Cincinnati. The Reds have played extremely well lately and are only a game or two behind the struggling Cards. I would blame it on Albert Pujols being hurt, but I'm surprised by this teams struggles without him. Scott Rolen needs to play better if they want to keep winning. And the Braves, they're now 10 games out of first and losing steam. I still think they may make a run, but it may be too little, too late.
Stanley Cup
It is too bad to see Edmonton's storybook season come to an end. They played so well for most of the playoffs but now just seem to running out of gas. This team looks solid enough to make a run again next year. And what's up with OLN broadcasting these games. This is the Stanley Cup, you wonder why nobody is watching this? Put it on a cable channel most people get or even better ABC or CBS or something. OLN? The NHL better rethink this idea soon.
NBA Playoffs
I thought I was starting to care about the NBA for a while. I was wrong. I still don't care.
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2 comments:
This is what happens when you don't do enough research. On Baseball Tonight, they showed how the team BA and runs/game have stayed the same since Pujols got hurt, but team ERA was up almost a point and a half. The rotation better turn things around if they are to keep winning. And Rolen's numbers have been good since Albert was injured, but not great.
Pardon my absence--I will soon open the floodgate on peices I've been wanting to touch on while on the road lately. However, I must respond to any form of criticism of Scott Rolen as his numbers since the fall of the Mighty Pujols have been (in only 8 games):
.481, 10 RBI, 9 Runs, 6 extra-base hits
At first I responded the same way to the slide by the Cards (going 1-5 in back-to-back series against Cubs and Reds) but also recently realized it was the pitching staff that has been giving up more ER's. Actually, Jimmy Edmonds has also answered the call nicely after coming off the DL the night Albert went on, swinging the bat without sign of pain and playing a solid 1B. I think you'll agree that Carpenter's outing last night (13K's!) was fantastic and that it is hopefully a good sign of things to come. Although I fear Cincinatti, I just can't write off my Redbirds yet. And I hate to see David Wright pass Rolen on the All-Star ballot because expecting any more from him is borderline absurd. It is that damn grounder that rolled between his legs and cost them a game against Chicago that I'm still stewing about...
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