2009 April | Sports Perspectives

Sports Links And Videos Of Interest

April 30, 2009 By exposrip Leave a Comment

The excellent soccer writer Rob Hughes offers his thoughts in “Amid Passion and Grief, Reminders That Italy Remains a Sleeping Giant”.

They’re angry and they don’t care who knows it. Fire Jay Mariotti goes where no journalist too chummy with the system attempts to explore lest they get overlooked for the next piece of crap golf invitational. The idea that the NBA is fixed has floated around ever since the Tim Donahue scandal. Didn’t a couple of refs who were from Chicago work a game in the Bulls-Celtics series? It’s an uncomfortable possibility – deal with it.

Real Madrid’s Pepe puts the pew in le pew. I haven’t quite seen a guy lose it like this:

Filed Under: Basketball, Soccer, Videos Tagged With: Basketball, Italy, La Liga, NBA, Pepe, Real Madrid, Rob Hughes, Serie A, Soccer, Spain

Battle Of Texas: Dallas Eliminates San Antonio

April 29, 2009 By exposrip Leave a Comment

Popovich and Duncan: Not done yet

The Dallas Mavericks knocked off the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the NBA playoffs four games to one. If you’re going to be put down may as well be by a fellow Texan. No?

Sitting from afar, I always feel a tad sad when a dynasty seemingly comes to a close. My friend, let’s call him Kublai, always felt the Spurs were the most under appreciated and ignored dynasty in basketball; if not sports. He also found it ridiculous that Tim Duncan was oft ridiculed for being “boring”. To him, he was one of the most fundamentally sound players in the game.

Were the Spurs in fact a dynasty? Depends how you define it. I must admit I’m breaking my own criteria in that I prefer to see a team at least win a back-to-back championship to be considered. But sometimes, stable consistency over a long period of time meets the criteria.

Indeed, four NBA titles between 1999 and 2007 is a remarkable feat.

The Spurs lacked the “spark” and “glitz” of the Los Angeles Lakers who won three in a row from 2000 to 2003 0r the Chicago Bulls and their six titles (in two blocks of three in a row in the 1990s) but it shouldn’t detract from having them among the all-time great NBA teams.

Then again, all this talk of a long and winding road for San Antonio may be premature.

Filed Under: Basketball Tagged With: Dallas Mavericks, Greg Popovich, NBA, San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan

NHL Playoffs: First Round Musings And Thoughts

April 29, 2009 By exposrip Leave a Comment

Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens. Boston wins 4-0.

tired yawn NHL Playoffs: First Round Musings And Thoughts

Boons: Next!

And man was it easy for Boston. GM and Coach Bob Price, erm, Bob Gainey didn’t help his team by insanely relying on Carey Price. One has to wonder if he put his obsession with Price ahead of what was best for a mentally fragile team already ravaged by injuries.

As for Boston, what is there to say? It was a series where they could save their best for the next round. Boston’s depth (particularly at center with Marc, Savard, David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron) was clear from start to finish. Indeed, defenseman Zdeno Chara was nominated for the Norris trophy and goalie Tim Thomas is up for a Vezina himself. There was also some karma for two former Montreal cast-aways: Michael Ryder who led all scorers with four goals and three assists and coach Claude Julien, fired by Gainey.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers. Pittsburgh wins 4-2.

The surging Pens continued their surge against a familiar Pennsylvania rival.The Flyers probably will wonder “what could have been” but in the end, Marc-Andre Fleury outdid Martin Biron, while Pittsburgh’s powerful offensive duo of
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin outgunned Philly’s wicked tandem of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. Yeah, it’s a rather simplistic summary but accurate nonetheless.

Did you know that between them, the Flyers and Penguins have won the Stanley Cup four times (two each and reached the finals 10 times?

Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers. Washington wins 4-3.

hillaryeneuman 249x300 NHL Playoffs: First Round Musings And Thoughts

Rangers Freak Show: Admission Free

This was a strange series for the New York Rangers. It began with Henry Lunqvist stealing the first two games for the Rangers. In the next couple, his performance dipped a little but they still maintained a 3-1 lead. Then, the circus came into town.

It started when Sean “Narcissto” Avery, decided to play dumb-dumb taking all sorts of frivolous penalties in Game 4. It was enough to raise the ire of coach John Tortorella who subsequently benched him for Game 5. End of story, you think? Nope.

Tortarella decided to impetuously attack a fan in the stands and gets himself suspended for Game 6! End of chapter, you say? Na-ah.

Jim Schonfeld ends up taking over behind the bench for one game. The guy who once told referee Ron Koharski to go have “another dough nut” calling him a “fat pig” in the process. That was back in 1988.

Ooo-ba-boy.

While the Rangers did their off-Broadway thing, the Caps kept their composure and capped their comeback with a 2-1 win in a hard fought Game 7.

The turning point in the series? When Bruce Boudreau wasted no time in replacing former Vezina winner and MVP Jose Theodore for a little known 20 year old goalie named Simeon Varlamov. All Varlamov did was post a .952 save percentage good for second spot among all playoff goalies. Sometimes all you need is a chance – and Varlamov is seizing the opportunity.

I’ve always felt experience was slightly over rated. If you’re good, you’re good.

How about that? All this and no mention of Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin, Nik Backstrom and Mike Green!

New Jersey Devils vs. Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina wins 4-3.

What a comeback by the Hurricanes. With just over a minute to go, Carolina tied the game up at 3-3 after outstanding pressure (did anyone notice the tireless work by Sergei Samsanov that kept the play alive?) and with about 30 seconds left they took the lead – and the series.

On paper, the Hurricanes don’t look like much, but somehow they are too much. On the ice, the Devils had a hard time containing the relentless and diligent ‘Canes.

Calm and under rated, Cam Ward got the better of the legendary Martin Brodeur (98 all-time playoff wins. Second all-time to Patrick Roy’s 151) this time around. The game winning goal in game 7 game off the stick of Eric Stall. Staal’s career playoff stats? 14 goals, 21 assists for 35 points in 32 games including Round 1 of this season.

Western Conference

Vancouver Canucks vs. St.Louis Blues. Vancouver wins 4-0.

Led by the Sedin twins and goalie Roberto Luongo (playoff leading.962 save percentage), Vancouver was ready to contend for the cup NOW while the rebuilding Blues probably didn’t even think to make the playoffs. Chalk this up in the “pleasantly surprised” category. St.Louis never really threatened Vancouver. Still, it was great to see playoff hockey back in St. Louis. TJ Oshie fever has no cure!

Is it me or are Canucks d-men Kevin Bieksa and Alexander Edler under rated?

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Calgary Flames. Chicago wins 4-2.

chi NHL Playoffs: First Round Musings And Thoughts

Rebirth Of A Franchise

Conventional wisdom dictated it was going to be Calgary’s experience prevailing over Chicago’s youth. It was faulty logic because, it failed to factor in the power of “enthusiasm” and the Blackhawks were infected with it. It was also pegged to be a physical series – and it was. The bottom line is Chicago’s best players from Nikolai Khabibulin to Cam Barker to Martin Havlat simply outdid Calgary’s finest represented by Mikka Kiprusoff, Dion Phaneuf and Jerome Iginla. Furthermore, Chicago’s young and punishing defensive unit led by Duncan Keith, Cam Barker and Brent Seabrook may now be among the best in the NHL. In fairness to Calgary, Phaneuf, Sarich and Regher were all injured.

What’s up with Mikka Kiprusoff? Is he being overworked?

Detroit Red Wings vs. Columbus Blue Jackets. Detroit wins 4-0.

See St.Louis/Vancouver. The smooth wheels and skillful machine known as the Red Wings were too much for the first timers from Columbus, Ohio. Can we stop the negative talk about Chris Osgood once and for all? It’s tiresome. He’s a proven Grade A goalie. Move on.

The BJ’s…wait. That didn’t sound right. Let’s start over. Columbus was one of the hotter teams in the NHL down the stretch but when it came down to playoff hockey they lacked the depth to mount any kind of a real challenge against the defending Stanley Cup champs.

With Vancouver, Detroit and Boston all sweeping their opponents, I wondered how many times a sweep took place. It turns out 99 out of 531 series ended in sweeps.

Anaheim Ducks vs. San Jose Sharks. Anaheim wins 4-2.

aahk134 16x20scott niedermayer posters 240x300 NHL Playoffs: First Round Musings And Thoughts

Simply The Best

Oh dear, San Jose. What more did GM Doug Wilson have to do? He brought in two great defensemen in Dan Boyle and Rob Blake to shore up an already solid line up. His moves proved correct as the Sharks went on to win the President’s Trophy with 117 points.

Yet.

Yet. Since they reached the conference finals in 2003-04, the Sharks have not managed to get past the semis.

Although the Sharks outplayed the Ducks in large segments in the series, they lacked that extra bite – excuse the pun – in the playoffs. Of course, criticism will not only be directed at Joe Thornton (who was in on 6 of the 9 goals. Thornton has 12 goals in 76 playoff games) and Patrick Marleau but goalie Evgeni Nabakov as well.

The Ducks for their part, maintained their poise. It helps, of course, to get great goaltending from Jonas Hiller. Even though the Ducks were seeded 8th and the Sharks 1st, I wouldn’t be so quick to call this a “big” upset. Anaheim are only a couple of years removed from their first Stanley Cup and continue to have awesome quality on their roster.

Is Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer unreal or what? That Ryan Getzlaf is not too shabby either.

Filed Under: Hockey Tagged With: Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin, Alexander Edler, Anaheim Ducks, Bob Gainey, Boston Bruins, Bruce Boudreau, Calgary Flames, Cam Barker, Cam Ward, Carey Price, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Chris Osgood, Claude Julien, Columbus Blue Jackets, Cory Sarich, Dan Boyle, Daniel Sedin, Detroit Red Wings, Dion Phaneuf, Doug Wilson, Duncan Keith Brent Seabrook, Eric Staal, Evgeni Malkin, Evgeni Nabakov, Henrik Sedin, Henry Lundqvist, Jeff Carter, Jerome Iginla, Joe Thornton, John Tortorella, Jose Theodore, Kevin Bieksa, Marc Andre Fleury, Marc Savard, Martin Biron, Martin Brodeur, Martin Havlat, Michael Ryder, Mike Green, Mike Richards, Mikka Kiprusoff, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, NHL, Nik Backstrom, Nikolai Khabibulin, Patrice Bergeron, Patrick Marleau, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Rob Blake, Roberto Luongo, Robyn Regehr, Ryan Getzlaf, San Jose Sharks, Scott Niedermayer, Sean Avery, Sergei Samsanov, Sidney Crosby, Simeon Varlamov, St. Louis Blues, Tim Thomas, TJ Oshie, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Zdeno Chara

Talladega Recap: Dangerous And Exhilarating

April 28, 2009 By exposrip 2 Comments

By Bob Ellis

Nascar Ranting and Raving

In easily the most exciting race of the 2009 Nationwide Series season, David Ragan barely beat Ryan Newman by only .300’s of a second to take the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway. Coming out of turn four on the final lap, Ragan’s Discount Tire Ford was in a big pack of cars with Ryan Newman and Kevin Harvick’s number 33 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 5 car battling out front. Ragan explains what happens next.

David Ragan:
You know it’s like the 5 jumped out, he had a small run but 33 blocked him. Kind of slowed down the bottom lane and I just happened to have enough push from the 20 and the 33 moved back down the racetrack to block the inside and just kind of opened up a little bit of gap. Something that certainly isn’t scripted by any means, things just tend to happen and I think the biggest thing is just being in position. Certainly if we would have been 10th we couldn’t have won, if we would have been sixth we couldn’t have won. So just being in position and making a good decision coming out of turn four.

Just before they got to the line Newman moved up and body slammed Ragan in the driver’s door but the 23-year-old Georgia native was able to hold on by the thinnest of margins to grab his first career Nationwide series win, leading only the money lap.

Ragan:
You know it feels great, it will probably soak in a little more the beginning of next week but it certainly feels good to win. It feels good to make a last lap pass like that. You know it’s something that you grow up watching on TV and I’m just fortunate to be in a position to make it happen.

Even though they didn’t wind up in victory lane, neither Newman or Dale Jr. were upset about how the race ended.

Ryan Newman:
If David Ragan told you he thought he was going to win the race from where he was at on that last restart he would have probably been lying through his teeth but things happen and the way the racing is here at Talladega, you know it was his day.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.:
It was a lot of fun, a lot of great racing out there. Congratulations to David getting his first win. I told him before the race he was certainly due and I had a good time. We had a good car. The GoDaddy Chevrolet was running really good all day. It was fast and we were right where we needed to be at the end of the race to put a move on him and we just got to beating around and it knocked all the speed out of the car. The run I had was gone once, it was just fun racing their team.

In the mad scramble coming to the checkered flag Junior was bumped back to fifth with Joey Logano finishing third behind Newman, fourth, driving for an under funded team, Tony Raines.

Tony Raines:
I honestly thought last re-start I had a shot to win because I knew the 5 was going to try to get by the 33 and if he crossed him up and I slipped by but I also knew just as easy I could get collected in a wreck so, it was just a crap shoot you know and you come out of here with one piece of Talladega which is very unusual for me. I’m very thankful for that and I had a lot of fun.

Six to 10 at the end were Jason Leffler, Jason Keller, Scott Lagasse Jr., Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. Carl Edwards came home 13th and fell 62 points behind Kyle Busch in the battle for the Nationwide Series championship. Now there were no big multi-car crashes but there was one spectacular wreck when ironically David Regan flipped his team mate Matt Kenseth down the back straightaway. After that 180 mph tumble team owner Jack Roush caught up with Kenseth at the infield care center.

Jack Roush:
I looked at him in the eye, both of his eyes were pointed straight ahead and they were speaking clearly and he said, “That’s the first time I’ve been upside down so that was no great fun.” I said, “Well I know it’s not worth much but I will give you that car” and he said, “Well thank you very much.” He didn’t even ask me if I would fix it for him. I’ll let David fix it for him if it gets fixed.

A full set of the pictures taken at Talladega Superspeedway can be viewed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationwide/sets/72157617266070111/

The Nationwide Series will run at the Richmond International Raceway. Look for the audio interview following the Lipton Tea 250.

What a race! Did you see the mayhem? It was vehicular carnage at best.

In the Race Day Open Thread I asked whether ‘The Big One’ would come at the beginning, middle, or end of the race. Little did I know it would come at nearly all three points of the race (lap 8, lap 180, and the last lap).

As most of you know I’m not even close to being a Carl Edwards fan but let me tell you when his car went airborne towards the fence in the tri-oval I was hoping he’d be alright. Man was I glad to see him get out of that car and to see him run down the track to cross the finish line was pretty cool.

But what impressed me the most was his acceptance of the crash as his fault for trying to put up a block and failing rather than it being Keselowski’s fault.

Although he did lay blame on NASCAR for making the yellow line a no-no to go below forcing Keselowski to stay where he was on the track instead of moving out of the way of Edwards’ car and you know I can’t blame him for saying that either – I know I would have said it too if I were him.

What is really tragic here is that (according to latest reports) at least 7 fans were injured in the mess. None seriously but 2 were taken to hospital for further treatment.

Restrictor plate racing has its pros and cons – the cars go too fast to safely circle the track with no restrictor plate and bunch up too much with a restrictor plate creating the kind of racing we saw today.

NASCAR needs to re-evaluate the situation before more fans are hurt or even killed in the future, but I don’t know what they are going to do about it – run 4-cylynders on super-speedways?

So what about Keselowski? What a great run for him. His win proves one thing though, anyone, absolutely anyone, can win on a restrictor plate track regardless of funding. Congratulations to Brad for his 1^st career Cup win.

BTW, I don’t believe that Brad did anything wrong on the last lap either. He got his nose under Carl fair and square and stayed within the rules as defined and enforced by NASCAR.

There are a lot of other story lines that unfolded today as a result of the crashes (like the change in point standings due mostly to the first and second wrecks) but I’m tired and I’m going to bed now so I’ll touch on them tomorrow … er … I mean later today!

Take Care.

Keselowski Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

First Wreck Photo from nascar.com via yahoo.com

Edwards Running To Finish Line from nascar.com via yahoo.com

Edwards Crash Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

Filed Under: Motor Racing Tagged With: Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Ragan, Jack Roush, Joey Logano, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Ryan Newman, Sprint Cup Series, Talladega, Tony Raines

NBA Thoughts And Notes

April 28, 2009 By exposrip Leave a Comment

By Alex

NBA Tipoff

Hawks versus Heat

Last night the Atlanta Hawks were able to ward off the Heat to tie their series at 2-2. It was a game of runs, their was never really a few solid minutes of back to back baskets.

Some of that was because lots of fouls ruined the flow of the game. However, I’ve noticed neither of these teams play real well or real bad. That’s because of the combination of youth and lack of talent which leads to consistent play.

And it makes sense since the key to this series execution. The team able to execute on both ends and be hot from the field will win this series. Usually it’s the team that starts off hot first who looks the strongest for four quarters.

Sure, what I said here was kind of obvious. But I notice a large amount of inconsistency with the Hawks and Heat. Typically, this is how a non-title contender plays. Fans of these teams should expect real solid play, or the turning of an “on and off” switch. It’s the sad truth, but it’s how the Heat and Hawks play.

Hamilton’s Heart Ripped

It’s been a tough year and a tough first round so far for the Pistons. Everyone knew that based on the effort they put out in the regular season, their chances of competing with the Cavs were slim at best.

They tried with some success in game three; they had their biggest lead of the series and actually lead for a large part of the 1st quarter. But “some” effort is not enough. They needed a total effort for 48 minutes.

Editor’s Intrusion: Think they miss Chauncey Billups?

Then I heard Richard Hamilton in a postgame interview. You can hear how badly he wants to just win. It makes me feel bad for the guy; he’s a great competitor. But he needs the rest of his guys to go out there and play well also. I hope sometime in the near future that competitors like Rip can do well and advance in the playoffs.

Bulls vs. Celtics

What a great match game four of the Bulls-Celtics series was in Chicago. When all was said and done, it ended up going to two overtimes, with the Bulls winning and knotting up the series at 2-2 with Boston.

Sometimes games are so exciting, it’s hard to say tons about it except find the game tape. So, let’s see what other sites said about this great game!

By The Horns: I’m telling you, there are three things I will probably never fully understand: How the ancient Egyptians built the Great Pyramid, why people get suckered into buying the Snuggie, and how Ben Gordon hits those crazy shots. I mean, they’re terrible, low-percentage attempts, the kind that take entire decades off the lives of coaches everywhere. AND HE HITS THEM.

Blog a Bull: With the help of some lucky shots on their end (John Salmons especially) and some lucky misses from the Celtics (Davis missing a couple gimmees, and going 4-16 overall.)

Chicago Bulls Blog: If you missed this one, pretend you didn’t.

There were 28 lead changes and 12 ties. And we thought that was special when we saw 26 lead changes and 17 ties in the Game 1 overtime opener when the Bulls won 105-103 in Boston.

Boston.com: The game turned into a battle of attrition, as Celtics Kendrick Perkins and Brian Scalabrine fouled out and Chicago’s Brad Miller survived a flagrant foul call reversal early in the fourth quarter only to be disqualified in the first OT.

As in Game 1, when Pierce missed a potential tie-breaking foul shot in the final seconds of regulation, the Celtics controlled their fate in this game.

Ball Don’t Lie: And while I could prattle on all day about the health and roster limitations that led to this, the bottom line through four games is that the Bulls and Celtics have afforded us a classic series thus far. And for anyone who doesn’t think that a classic playoff pairing can’t include a blowout like Thursday’s Game 3, I’d direct you over to basketball-reference.com to look some of your favorite classics up.

Check around the net for more reactions to this game. I’m sure everyone will have lots to say about this one!

- Disclaimer: I’m no sneaker head, but every week we’re gettin’ our shoe on here! Each week I’ll pick a shoe I like; basketball or normal. Get your new leather smell ready!

My favorite kicks are usually basketball-inspired. It’s no different with the Hypermax. I really like that Nike went out and made an awesome looking shoe for four players who don’t usually get their names on shoes (Pau Gasol, Jermaine O’Neal, David West and Carlos Boozer).

While it’s hard to pick my favorite colorway, I’d say the Boozer inspired colors are the most versatile. Only people with some Laker clothes can match that Gasol colorway. They’re nice, but I don’t have tons of gold and purple to go with it.

If anyone’s gotten a chance to rock these, let me know how they feel. Also, if you think I’m a dumbass for saying the Boozer colorway’s the best, let’s hear about which one you prefer. Thanks to Freshness for some info and picutres.

Filed Under: Basketball Tagged With: Atlanta Hawks, Ben Gordon, Boston Celtics, Chauncey Billups, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat, NBA, NBA playoffs, Nike, Paul Pierce, Rip Hamilton

NHL Western Conference Semis Set

April 28, 2009 By exposrip Leave a Comment

By Chris Boersma

Hockey Numbers

Western Conference numbers for Detroit/Anaheim and Vancouver/Chicago.

NHL Western Conference Semis Set

	VAN	CHI	Winner
Even Strength
GF	2.67	2.8
EGF	2.33	2.63
GA	2.2	2.16
EGA	2.34	2.44
SV%	90.6%	91.1%
Power Play
GF	7.75	7.96
EGF	9.16	6.97
GA	0.84	0.64
EGA	0.66	0.6
SV%	89.8%	90.8%

As you can see by the above table and prediction, this should be a very close series. Both teams have great goaltending and steady offense.

Western Conference Semi – Detroit vs. Anaheim.

NHL Western Conference Semis Set

	DET	ANA	Winner
Even Strength
GF	3.01	2.49
EGF	2.69	2.59
GA	2.57	2.33
EGA	2.31	2.43
SV%	88.9%	90.4%
Power Play
GF	11.45	11.46
EGF	10.17	9.94
GA	0.36	0.99
EGA	0.51	0.54
SV%	87.8%	90.2%

Detroit gets another shot at the 2007 Conference Final match up where Anaheim defeated Detroit. However, the tables have turned slightly since then. Anaheim was in 2nd in the Conference and now they’re in 8th. But they were able to beat the President’s Trophy winners back then.

Osgood had an amazing first round, but Anaheim should be a handful for the Detroit Red Wings. They’re goaltending (Jonas Hiller) will frustrate the Wings. Sounds like a fun series.

Filed Under: Hockey Tagged With: Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, Chris Osgood, Detroit Red Wings, Jonas Hiller, NHL, NHL playoffs, Vancouver Canucks

MLB Power Rankings

April 27, 2009 By exposrip 2 Comments

By Rebecca Glass

This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes

So of course I hope you all understand why I didn’t get to these last week, but hopefully, now, they are back on track!

We didn’t learn a whole lot this week, except that the Florida Marlins early success was probably more of a reflection on the pitiful Nationals, and the Toronto Blue Jays are starting to turn heads.

30. Washington Nationals: Yesterday was their first road win since last season. I don’t know if any of you caught Saturday’s game, but watching Elijah Dukes play CF in the bright sun with the glasses on his cap, instead of on his face, kind of says it all.

29. Arizona Diamondbacks: What happens when you’re second to last in the league in the ‘runs scored’ category and dead last in run differential? You have a 7-11 record, and are really, really lucky it’s not any worse.

28. Colorado Rockies: Right now the only other team besides Washington without at least seven wins. Having just played the Dodgers probably didn’t help matters, but their run differential is only -6, so the record is perhaps worse than the team is playing.

27. San Francisco Giants: Raise your hand if you’re surprised that, at having scored 60 runs, this team is dead last in runs scored. Yeah, me neither. However, some sort of pitching thing (I’m a Yankee fan, I don’t understand what this pitching is all about) means that they’ve only allowed 67 run. If the offense can figure out even a mild hot streak, this team could shoot up the rankings. It’s a huge if.

evan longoria rays 0420081 267x300 MLB Power Rankings

One Hit Wonders?

26. Houston Astros: This team just isn’t very good. They are third to last in runs scored and have a can’t-ignore-it run differential of -19. They’re better than they were last week, but this far down the rankings such things are moral victories, only.

25. Cleveland Indians: The offense woke up against the Yankees, and I’m not sure anyone really doubted this team’s ability to hit (although, face it, even the Giants would have been teeing off of Chien Ming Wang). However, the pitching is still shallow-and as long as Carl Pavano has a job it’ll be hard to get me to say otherwise.

24. Anaheim Angels: Angels fans must be so amused at the cute little Yankee fans talking about being bitten by the injury bug. The Angels haven’t just been bitten; they’ve been mauled by a white tiger, torn to shreds and spit back out again. If I didn’t have a deep, ingrained hatred for a team that always beats the Yankees and never beats the Sox when it matters, I’d feel bad for these guys.

23. Oakland Athletics: Chicks dig the long ball. Oakland ain’t hitting any long balls. Thus, I do not dig Oakland. Jason Giambi got a very nice reception when he returned to Yankee Stadium, however.

22. Tampa Bay Rays: It’s not so much that Tampa Bay is necessarily playing poorly as it is that everything went right last year. Even when things didn’t go right-like Crawford getting hurt-they went right, and Tampa didn’t suffer at all. Thus far, the bullpen has come back to earth, and trading Edwin Jackson looks like it may have been a mistake.

21. Milwaukee Brewers: It’s tempting to say that this is a better team than their record indicates, but with no Ben Sheets and no CC Sabathia, and Jeff Suppan still pitching, I’m not quite so sure that’s the case. They’re still a ton of fun to watch, however.

20. New York Mets: There’s Johan Santana, now with bullpen-proof guarantee ™, and then there’s everyone else. If the team could have Santana pitching every three days instead of every five, this team would do it and I can’t really blame them. David Wright is a defensive stud at third. Then again, compared to Angel Berroa…

19. Texas Rangers: Nothing new here-all hitting, no pitching. The Yankees could probably take a real good lesson from the people deep in the heart of Texas. You don’t pitch, you won’t win.

18. Baltimore Orioles: When the O’s decide they want to figure out where it all went wrong, they only have to look to blowing a 7-0 lead at Fenway. Even Matt Wieters can’t pitch.

17. Atlanta Braves: Are here because while Minnesota is about to get their superstar back and the Yankees not too far away either, the Braves just lost theirs, and I just lost the starting catcher on two of my fantasy teams. I swear I’m cursed when it comes to fantasy baseball. Really.

16. Minnesota Twins: Here’s an analogy for you: Joe Mauer : Minnesota :: Martin Brodeur : New Jersey Devils. They really can’t wait to get Mauer back, but they shouldn’t have to wait much longer.

15. New York Yankees: The offense is mostly fine–they’ve scored less than four runs only twice–but the pitching…

It’s not so much as that they’re pitching as that they’re trying to toss the ball somewhere in the basic vicinity of home plate and praying the umpire is kind. Nick Swisher’s leading the team in ERA (okay, okay…), but on a more serious note, the best pitching effort this weekend came from Mark Melancon, who, stud or not, was making his MLB debut…at Fenway Park.

Pirates Get Their Power And Pride Back

14. Chicago White Sox: Are here because they are the last team left on my list. Talk about being (relatively) non-descript, huh?

13. Kansas City Royals: Zach Grienke is a stud, and now 29 other teams all wish they had traded for him in the off season, when the price was still low. He allowed a run on Friday, but it was unearned, so his 0.00 ERA remains in tact. Even Cliff Lee wasn’t this good last season.

12. Chicago Cubs: Don’t really belong this far down, but they didn’t show up in St. Louis until the last game of that series. They’re a better team than that, however, so I imagine the double-digit stay is only a temporary thing.

11. Philadelphia Phillies: They’ve finally seemed to find the stroke they had last season, although Jaime Moyer is still not being Jaime Moyer. Still, while the Mets are struggling, the Braves hobbled by injuries and the Marlins reeling, it’s not quite the end of the world if the Phils struggle for a game or two.

10. San Diego Padres: No, I don’t know how they’re 10-8 either, but they’re the only other team with double-digit wins. It still counts. I still wouldn’t expect it to last, however.

9. Cincinnati Reds: Hey, well, they are 10-8, and getting great pitching from Johnny Cueto, while Aaron Harang is back to his old self. It still remains to be seen, however, if they’ll be able to compete with the Cubs and Cardinals once August rolls around.

8. Florida Marlins: They’ve come back to earth, gotten swept by the Pirates and lost big to the Phillies yesterday. It’s too early to tell which version of the Marlins is more representative, but given how bad the Nationals are, it’s more likely the post 8-1 start Marlins that we’ll see for the rest of the season.

7. Pittsburgh Pirates: Yeah, you read that right. This team is getting beyond stellar pitching. Everyone’s waiting for them to come crashing back to earth, like Toronto, but it hasn’t happened yet. How much longer do we wait?

6. Detroit Tigers: Looks like the offense that was supposed to score 1,000 runs last year finally showed up. Armando Gallaraga seems to have been quite the find, that move that’s supposed to yield nothing and instead means everything. He must be having the time of his life.

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5. Seattle Mariners: Seattle is playing now like everyone thought they would last year, like they do have a $100 million+ payroll. It probably helps that the rest of the division is struggling, leaving room wide open for the Mariners to sneak through, and they are taking all sorts of advantage.

4. St. Louis Cardinals: Two words: Albert Pujols. Last night I suggested that watching Melky Cabrera hit was like watching a rat-infested ship head to Sicily in 1347 (extra points if you get the reference). Watching Pujols is like watching Michaelangelo on his back painting the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel.

3. LA Dodgers: The most impressive thing about the Dodgers is that they are more or less doing this without much help from Manny. Joe Torre, for once, is trusting his young players, and the payoff is an early season division lead.

2. Boston Red Sox: Boston makes quite the jump this week, but that’s what happens when you win ten straight games. They should probably not have won Saturday and definitely should not have won Friday, but when a team is on a roll, it’s on a roll. Kevin Youkilis and Jason Bay are Yankee Killers, apparently. Jacoby Ellsbury’s steal of home yesterday says it all, really.

1. Toronto Blue Jays: This team won’t stop winning. April’s still too early to ask if a team’s ‘for real’ -look at what happened to Arizona last season-but the fact is they’re doing all this while their starting pitching has been devastated by injuries. Which begs the question, of course, if these guys are this good now, what happens when their starting pitching comes back?

Filed Under: Baseball Tagged With: Aaaron Harang, Albert Pujols, Armando Gallaraga, Boston Red Sox, C.C. Sabathia, Cincinnati Reds, Dave Parker, David Wright, Evan Longoria, Florida Marlins, Jacob Ellsbury, Jaime Moyer, Jason Bay, Jeff Suppan, Joe Mauer, Joe Torre, Johan Santana, Johnny Cueto, Kansas City Royals, Kevin Youkilis, Manny Ramirez, Martin Brodeur, MLB, New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Zach Grienke

Stats Corner: Greatest Boston Bruins Teams

April 26, 2009 By exposrip Leave a Comment

Dit Clapper: Old Time Hockey

Listening to the radio earlier this week, it was suggested the 2008-2009 edition of the Boston Bruins is one of the best ever. It was a bold proclamation to make publicly so let’s see if the commentator had a point.

But how to determine this? I’ll keep it simple. First, I’ll explore the best Bruins teams in terms of wins and winning percentage. Next, how many Hall of Famers each side had.

Of course, needless to say, this year’s edition of the Broons does not have any.Whether they do in the future remains to be seen. If Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard keep up at this pace they’ll make it. Mark Recchi, who signed as a free agent at the trade deadline, will probably get in but will have spent enough time as a Bruin? Probably not. As young players, Phil Kessel, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci have the potential. So does Dennis Wideman. So, we’ll see.

Without further ado, here’s how it all shakes down.

In terms of winning percentage (Teams in red won the Stanley Cup):

1929-30 Bruins: .875*

1970-71 Bruins: .776

1938-39 Bruins: .771

1971-72 Bruins: .763

2008-2009 Bruins: .707

*Lost in finals to the Montreal Canadiens.

Two other great and dominating Bruins teams:

1938-39: .698

1940-41: .698

1969-70: .651

1928-29: .648

In terms of wins:

1970-71: 57

1971-72: 54

2008-09: 53

1973-74: 52

Hall of fame players on Stanley Cup rosters:

1971-72: 4

1969-70: 4

1940-41: 7

1938-39: 8

1928-29: 6

2008-09: ?

The Boston Bruins organization is traditionally a great regular season team (third all-time behind Montreal and Philadelphia in terms of winning percentage) and the ’08-09 Bruins are no exception. Clearly, they rank among the greatest Bruins teams in the regular season but they are by no means the best ever. Those powerful clubs of the 70s and late 20s and 30s had some of the best players ever to play the game: Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Milt Schmidt, Dit Clapper and Eddie Shore. Hall of Fame goalie Frank Brimsek was no slouch either.

However, they’re arguably the best Bruins team since 1980. Keep in mind, the Bruins of the 80s had Raymond Bourque and Cam Neely.

Winning the Stanley Cup is the toughest thing to achieve in North American pro sports so Boston has its work cut out for them. The 1928-29 Boston Bruins team was equally as powerful but they failed to win the cup.

Will they be able to avoid the same fate this year?

Filed Under: Hockey, More Sports Tagged With: Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins, Cam Neely, Dit Clapper, Eddie Shore, Frank Brimsek, Milt Schmidt, Montreal Canadiens, NHL, Phil Esposito, Raymond Bourque, Zdeno Chara

Bulls Need To Adapt And Adjust Better

April 24, 2009 By exposrip Leave a Comment

By Alex

NBA Tipoff

The Bulls suffered a blowout loss to the Celtics at home in game three. This happened mainly because they were never able to get comfortable on offense and score consistently. While it may be a sign of solid Celtic defense, it’s more a sign of poorly designed and executed Bulls offense.

Sit, stand and brick. That’s what could sum up how the Bulls offense usually works. When I watch their half court offense, I see either a one-on-one play, or a simple high pick and roll. There really isn’t lots of movement off the ball. It makes for a very ugly half court team at times.

Chicago is a young team and they have a rookie coach, but that doesn’t mean they have no basketball IQ to their names. There should be some more advanced plays in their playbook.

There are a few simple plays that could make their offense less of an ugly duckling. I would run Reggie Miller and Richard Hamilton style off the ball pick and rolls for Ben Gordon early. He can curl off of those picks for open jump shots. Also, I would run backdoor cuts for the big men early; try to get them easy buckets. If they promote any movement off the ball; they will put themselves in less of an offensive hole.

While that hole may have been there partially because of strong Celtic defense, but I don’t care. I’ve noticed their lack of good offensive sets all series. Just move the ball! Also, note to Brad Miller, it’s a pick and ROLL, not a pick and take a couple steps forward.

I look for a better offensive attack from the get go in game four. That offense will also lead to better defense, especially getting into the face of the Boston three point shooters.

Filed Under: Basketball Tagged With: Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, NBA, Playoffs

Tax Sodas: More Stupid State Interventionism

April 22, 2009 By exposrip 1 Comment

By Sal Marinello

Health and Fitness Advice

The Health Commissioner of New York City and a Yale University professor look to expand the nanny state with proposal to tax soda and sports drinks that contain sugar.

In the attempt to save us from ourselves two so-called public health officials have written a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine in which they claim a penny per ounce tax on sugary drinks could reduce consumption by 10 percent while raising over $1 billion dollars in revenue for the state. This is just another money grab dressed up as a public health measure as the State of New York is experiencing a financial meltdown and needs every dollar it can grab.

The money grab element of this proposal is obvious; the authors claim this tax could be the biggest boon to the public’s health since the tobacco tax. Whoa, doesn’t smoking cause hundreds of thousands of deaths per year? Yet these learned men suggest that the living benefit from taxes levied on people with this deadly habit, and rather than ban tobacco and save countless lives, they would rather tax those who will die from smoking to (somehow) save others.

That’s messed up.

But back to the soda tax. Millions of people who aren’t overweight (by whatever arbitrary measure these public health types use) enjoy soda and consume sports drinks responsibly and shouldn’t be financially punished at the point of sale. Harbor no illusions, this kind of tax is all about punishing behavior deemed undesirable by the state.

The logic used by those who say smoking kills doesn’t apply in the case of soda. The anti-smoking zealots position – and even some otherwise level headed folks – is that if you smoke, you’ll die from smoking. However, no rational person can claim that if you drink soda or Gatorade you will get fat or become obese.

If these public health officials had any guts and really wanted to deter consumption they would propose taxing overweight and obese purchasers of soda and sports drinks, and put scales and Body Mass Index charts at checkout counters in every supermarket and convenience store in New York. But this kind of action takes courage and wouldn’t generate enough revenue.

These academics propose taxing sugary drinks even though over the past decade consumption is down yet obesity rates have still risen. Then there is the question of whether higher taxes reduce consumption. For example, despite one of the highest cigarette taxes in the country New York still has over 1 million smokers and a booming cigarette black market.

Regardless of who you are the soda tax is onerous because it imposes someone else’s arbitrary concept of health and fitness on the public

Filed Under: Featured Articles, Health and Fitness Tagged With: Health and Fitness, soda, soda tax

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