MLB Baseball
Officials bite back
In the hullabaloo of praising individual athletes, sometimes we forget about the other individuals on the field of play: the officials. Despite them trying to remain nameless, unbiased and draw as little attention to themselves as possible, we forget that they too are people. It’s possible for them to be subjective, make mistakes and show [...]
The wrong guy to vomit on
Any shred of an inkling I ever had about wondering what would happen to me if I vomited on an off-duty cop is officially gone. Gone like Matthew Clemmens’ dignity. Clemmens, the 21-year-old New Jersey man who was arrested on April 14 at a Phillies game, pleaded guilty Tuesday to simple assault, disorderly conduct and [...]
Lima for the last time
Several years ago after cutting him for the umpteenth time off countless rotisserie baseball squads over my career, I was certain that I would never miss Jose Lima. But I was wrong. The 37-year-old former big league pitcher died in his sleep after a “massive” heart attack sometime Sunday morning. The eccentric thrower, who often [...]
Hooray for non-hustling Hanley
After watching the replay several times, I can’t help but think that Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez and manager Fredi Gonzalez have turned this moving violation into an all-out 40-car pileup. To catch you up, Ramirez, (literally) booted a lazy Texas leaguer that he could not get to in left field from his position. He then [...]
The games off the field
Only 409 more days. That’s right–in fewer than 59 weeks, the 2010 NBA free agency period opens. And it will open sans LeBron James. No Dwyane Wade, either. Chris Bosh will be inked to a team already. Not even Joe Johnson will be available. All of those guys get their big deals this summer. But I [...]
A calculated confession
It’s your move Hall of Fame voters. In a statement released to the Associated Press Monday, former Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire admitted he used steroids throughout much of his playing career. While this announcement shocked many of us in the same way as if we were told water is wet, [...]
Blame the athletes (I know I do)
Over the course of the last 30 years, ESPN has become the sports media giant. It has a monopoly on the industry and has crushed all of its competition. (Remember CNN/SI? Yeah–me, neither.) So why is this? Why has the four-letter network become so huge? Why does an overwhelming majority of the population flip on their [...]
A Giant says goodbye
It’s funny what jumped out at me when I heard Randy Johnson, one of the greatest left-handed pitchers of all time, hung up his cleats. When I think of the Big Unit, it’s not the 4,875 strikeouts (second all-time) that boggle my mind. It’s not the 303 career wins that shock me. It’s not him throwing a perfect [...]
Ten things that won’t (but should) happen in 2010
When I was ringing in the new year at my buddy Troy’s house early Friday morning, I got the great idea of writing about the ten things that should happen in sports over the next 12 months. After reviewing the list, I realized that most of them are only slightly less likely to happen than Al Pacino [...]
Root for the Yankees? I Wish
If only I was a Yankee fan. Rooting for the Bronx Bombers really is baseball nirvana, isn’t it? After all, New York is seemingly in the pennant chase until at least mid-September every single year. And it would be so nice to cheer for a team that considered anything less than perennially winning the World [...]
