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So Long For Now...

Actually, this will be my penultimate post (the last one will contain a single link). Details to follow in the final post in a couple of days. I've been hinting at it for a while. I'm pulling a Dan Patrick...minus the farewell radio show, the fanfare, and anyone even caring whatsoever. I'll be trying a different tact. More regimented. More diversified, accessible to the hardcore fan as well as to those just looking for a little entertainment. While this blog itself was by no means a failure, it never did reach its lofty goals. But valuable lessons were learned. Hopefully enough to make a difference on the next go round. Bestever would be a welcome regular contributor if he ever had the time and therefore has an invite to post at any time. I'll also be looking for a few guest posters as well. One final note: In the beginning, the new venture will be heavily tailored to the core audience and material will grow from there. Anyways, the groundwork has been laid, and I look forward to your viewership again after the jump. So long for now...

You Got Anything?

I know it's been a long year Judge, what with your schoolin' and exams, and with me and my work, but we gotta' keep this thing going. Amazingly, I think I've actually watched even less sports and read less about sports than I was when we started this little project. We have to keep it going though, just have to set our priorities and squeeze this in somewhere. The last sporting event I remember watching anything on was the All-Star Game. That was a month and a half ago and you were the only one to post on it. Right now, the only thing that comes to mind is Bonds and I got nothing. Guy breaks a record held by one of the greatest players of all-time playing in a time period where he was so hated because of his race. There's the possibility of enhancement drugs, the fact that Bonds is a total ass, seems like he plays out of spite and not for love, wants to play another year even though he clearly has nothing to offer the game anymore. He's said it himself that his knees are shot and he can barely run. Not very good for an outfielder. He leaves every game early. All that, and I got nothing. Only thing sports related I've done lately is read that book, :07 Seconds or Less. Which was great. Might have to try to catch more Suns games this season. Just don't have sports on the mind right now. So I leave you with this:

Judge? You got anything?

Ichiro!!

Apologies to the many readers of this blog as I have been both busy and sick lately and therefore my favorite water cooler/sounding board has been getting neglected. I’ll do my best with a rather scattered post.

Some thoughts on the All Star Game:

Ichiro wins the MVP in the Barry Bonds lovefest in San Francisco (anyone for some double entendre?) that was the MLB All-Star Game. The compliments were many after the game, which is what happens when you go 3 for 3 and drive in two runs with the first ever inside the park home run in an All-Star Game. NL manager Tony Larussa said that there really is no way to get him out; you just basically hope he hits it at someone. It was a nice spotlight rejuvenation for Ichiro who had fallen from the game’s limelight the past couple of years, despite a couple of stellar seasons, due to his team’s ineptitude on the field. However, things seem to be turning around for the enigmatic superstar. The Mariners are incredibly hot right now and sit only 2.5 games behind the first place Angels in the AL West. Ichiro leads baseball in hits and is second in batting average and has stolen 23 of 25 bases this season. He is rumored to be signing a 5 year $100 million contract extension with Seattle and just last week he inadvertently started a bench clearing brawl in Oakland. Oh, and he is also the author of a couple of infamous quotes which can be found below. So what’s next for Ichiro? Well, as a reward for winning the MVP the Japanese centerfielder was presented with a good old American Chevrolet Tahoe to drive home(pause for irony…..pause over). But even though Ichiro has an MVP, Rookie of the Year Award, 6 Gold Glove Awards, the most hits in MLB history and is on his way to a Hall of Fame Career, I still can’t help but feel his career is lacking something. Sure a World Series title would be nice, but what about a Home Run Derby title? AL All-star manager Jim Leyland said Ichiro hit more Batting Practice homeruns than anyone on the team. Come on MLB! Next year the ASG will be at Yankee stadium. Short Porch in Right Field. Huge Asian population in NY. Let’s get Ichiro in there. He can certainly do better than some of the other “big names”(ahem...Mr. Prince Fielder) in this year’s Derby. And yes, I am serious.

Other Thoughts:

--Vlad the Impaler (talk about double entendre). No batting gloves. No batting helmet. Swing = pure violence. Longest Homerun hit: 503 Feet. Derby Champ. Enough Said.

--Prince Fielder, where’d you go? The man who hit the ball out of the stadium when he was only 15 years old only manages 3 homeruns? Its alright, you’re young. The second coming of Massive Mo Vaughn in his prime. Just hang around a little longer than ol’ Moo, okay?

--Albert Pujols: Here’s the situation: Down by one, bases loaded, bottom of the 9th, two outs, you can either have Aaron Rowand or Pujols at the plate. Who do you choose? Well apparently the correct answer is Rowand because that is exactly what happened. I don’t understand how you can have the reigning NL MVP, and arguably the best hitter in baseball, sitting on your bench the whole game if you are not going to pinch hit him in that situation. It makes no sense. Now, I was rooting for the AL so Ichiro would get MVP, but I still wanted the moment that only the game of baseball can give. It can be such a long boring game at times, but it is for these situations that you stick out the first few innings. You have to savor the chance when it arises. Imagine K-Rod vs. the Poo Holes with the game on the line. Instead we were stuck with Rowand flying out to right to end the game. We were robbed of our moment. We were robbed of our Poo Holes.

--Ken Griffey Jr.: There were some vintage moments there, including gunning A-Rod down at the plate. Read the link to the Ichiro inside the parker that is posted above. It has some classic Griffey quotes in there. Please play as long as you can, Junior. The game will miss you when you retire.

--The Tribute to Willy Mays was classy and well-executed.

--The AL has now won 10 straight (ignoring the ridiculous tie of a few years ago) All-Star Games. They wern't lying when they said these wins come in streaks.

--The Ballpark in San Francisco is the most picturesque park I have ever seen. I need to catch a game there one day.

And now for the aforementioned Ichiro quotes:

--On going to Cleveland: "To tell the truth, I’m not excited to go to Cleveland, but we have to,” Ichiro said through an interpreter. “If I ever saw myself saying I’m excited going to Cleveland, I’d punch myself in the face, because I’m lying.

--On how he convinced himself to get a hit: "Yesterday when I played, inside my head I said 'I want to go home quickly,' and I swung and I was able to get a hit because I wanted to go home," Ichiro said through a translator. "Today I thought, 'I want to hurry up and get something to eat,' and I swung and got a hit today."

--On losing a ball in the sun: "The ball became the same color as the sky,'' he said, through interpreter Ken Barron. "So, I wasn't able to see it ... I was sending mental signals for the ball not to come my way, because during that time of day it's impossible for me to see the ball so I lacked mental signals. I lacked in that area.'"Usually, I don't send mental signals so, because this is the first time, I thought, please don't come my way."

--On breaking out of a hitting slump: "Yesterday, I ate two ice creams," he said through an interpreter. "Usually I only eat one." --On the prospect of meeting his countryman, Daisuke Matsuzaka, for the first time in the big leagues: "I hope he arouses the fire that's dormant in the innermost recesses of my soul. I plan to face him with the zeal of a challenger."

Well, that's all for now. I hope to be back in a couple of days and address things like the NBA draft and Dan Patrick leaving ESPN. But until then, maybe I should go eat an ice cream. Or two.

The Love of the Game Part II....

Well well, 2 columns within a couple of days of each other. That’s something that has been a long time coming. A column on playing for the love of the game could not be better timed considering what I have been witnessing in the College World Series over the last few days. I know, what you are thinking: who watches the College World Series? Well, how about an alumnus of the upstart UC Irvine Anteaters. The Anteaters run into the CWS has been truly remarkable. The school shut down the baseball program in 1992 due to lack of funding. For nearly 10 years the program lay dormant until a student referendum that would add about 100 bucks to each student’s tuition (meaning, yes I did contribute to the revival of the program) in order to revive the baseball team, passed in 2001(you’ll have to check me on the exact date). From then on, Irvine slowly gained respectability and finished with a school record number of wins this season. Still, no one gave them much of a chance at advancing out of the Round Rock Regional, where they would have to beat the Regional’s number one seed, Texas, twice in order to move on. Which they did. They then beat Wichita State on the Shockers’ home field twice in a row before making their first CWS appearance ever, and it has the nation's attention as evidenced by this brilliantly written piece on ESPN.com outlining the love of the game these Anteaters have.

The CWS is a funny creature in that its played at a neutral site (Omaha, Nebraska) and it features two brackets in a double elimination tournament until the finals. Irvine lost by one run in the first game to the vaunted Arizona State Sun Devils who feature the most potent offense in the NCAA this year, averaging nearly 9 runs per game. Faced with elimination on Monday, the Anteaters played their archrivals and 2004 CWS Champion Cal State Fullerton in the longest game in NCAA history. For 13 innings and 5 hours and 40 minutes the two Orange County teams battled tooth and nail. What made the match up even more intriguing was the fact that Fullerton’s coach basically is a second father to Irvine’s coach and taught him everything he knows about the game. Both coaches knew each other’s game plan inside and out and foiled each other’s moves time and again. Just when it looked like it would be over in the bottom of the 13th, as UCI first baseman Taylor Holliday rounded third and headed for home on a single to left, a bullet from Fullerton’s left fielder gunned Holliday down at the plate. The play seemed to take all of the momentum out of the Anteaters until Irvine’s Bryan Peterson singled up the middle to win the game. His second game winning hit in as many games. There was pandemonium on the field. Tears shed on both sides as the coaches embraced and the rivals showed unwavering support for each other.

Fast Forward to yesterday’s game, where Irvine had to play Arizona State again, thanks to the aforementioned double-elimination system of the CWS. I should mention now that the Sun Devils play power baseball. They hit three home runs in their first meeting against Irvine and feature a player who, if his stats were pro-rated over an MLB season, would have about 210 RBI’s. They are a team full of mashers. This is a stark contrast to the Anteaters’ style of play. Irvine plays small ball. Their leading Home Run hitter has all of 13 (and counting) home runs on the season. They have a player who has 31 sacrifice bunts in the 60 games he’s played in. That number is astounding. So how did Irvine make it this far with that offense? Well they have their version of Shilling and Johnson circa 2001 (Diamond backs WS winning team). Scott Gorgen and Wes Ethridge combined to go 25-7 with 227 strikeouts and an ERA of about 2.90 on the season. Gorgen even threw 4 straight complete games to close out the season. But after that 13 inning ball game (started by Ethridge), neither one was ready to go against Arizona State. So Irvine started a freshman pitcher who somehow kept them in the game long enough to allow the Anteaters to forge a 3-2 lead going into the 6th. Then all hell broke lose. After ASU took a 4-3 lead heading into the 7th, Irvine brought in NCAA saves leader Blair Ericsson to stop the bleeding. Ericsson left the game at the end of the 7th with Irvine trailing 7-3. So much for that strategy. With a small ball offense facing a nearly unhittable closer, no one, myself included, gave UCI any chance of a comeback. But that didn’t stop them from loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the 8th and then tying the game on a double to center. The game went to extra innings and in came Scott Gorgen (who got lit up by ASU in the previous meeting) on one days rest to somehow keep the team in the game. He did, and with the near record Omaha crowd of almost 30,000 adopting the Anteaters as their own, light hitting Center Fielder Ollie Linton hit a single up the middle to drive in a runner from third, and UCI became the first team ever to win extra-inning games in back to back games in the CWS.

Afterwards, the players said they just couldn’t bear to let the season end. They were willing to fight, scratch and claw to just keep playing one more day. They were literally “taking pitches for the team” as something like 7 of their hitters got beaned in the last two days. They know that long after the season ends, they’ll have left every ounce of themselves out on the field. They have to win the next two games against defending CWS champion Oregon State, and they have no clue who they will start in either game, but the coach promised that his team would show up ready to play. They always do. The team truly loves the game, and they love playing on the same team as one another. It’s evident in their hustle, heart, and enthusiasm. They do everything as a team. They wear their uniforms the same way, socks the same length, everyone has to have short hair. Well, everyone except for one player. Its been an overly reported story, but Holliday made an appointment back in November to get his hair cut in Omaha, Nebraska on the day after the last game of the CWS is expected to be played. He told the coach he’ll cut his hair after they win the championship. How could the coach argue with that?

Stories like these are the reason it’s hard not to love the purity of college athletics. It’s a purity becoming more and more corrupted by corporate sponsorship. March Madness and the BCS are played with commercialization in mind first, and athletics second. That’s why the basketball postseason lasts so long, and there are still Bowl games being played in mid January, nearly 2 months after some teams finish the regular season. And though those two vaunted postseason’s have given us Cinderella stories like Boise State, George Mason and Gonzaga, far too often they give us 3 commercials for every minute of action played. So you can have your Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, and March Madness sponsored by every corporation. Instead give me two baseball teams staring elimination in the face. Give me a team throwing every pitcher it has out there, mortgaging tomorrow just to ensure that there is a tomorrow. Give me a team that has to call on an unknown freshman to start the biggest game of the season, and then realizing they have no one left to go to should he falter. Give me a 3-2 count in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game with the bases loaded. Hell, give me an 0-2 count with two outs in the bottom of the 13th with a runner on second. Give me underdogs. Give me storylines. Give me Cinderellas. Give me back-to-back-to back games with each game being 100 times more important than the last. Give me situations to savor. Give me drama. Give me passion. Give me moments.

Who knows, Irvine could lose tomorrow and all my interest in the CWS could wane. But for now, give me The Anteaters. And give me The Love of the Game.

Love of the Game

That's why Jr. said he still plays. Even if he gets traded, he'll still love the game. Gone are the days of his backwards hat, bombing 40 every year, and darting around center field like a mad man are over. But, he's still having fun. That's what I read in an article in the USA Today Sports Weekly. I for one believe it and I also believe he is one of the few pure players left in that game. Not in the chemically enhanced sense (although I do believe he's one of the few pure players in that aspect also), but in a playing simply just to play the game sense. Playing just to have fun. Just flat out playing. Sure he could become a DH on some team, but he says he's not ready to do that for at least another couple of years. Sure he was upset that they moved him out of center but he still continued to play the game. He's suffered numerous injuries that derailed HIM being the one we're talking about breaking 755 but, instead, we're talking about a guy that seems to continue playing just to break the record. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Bonds loves the game too, but he doesn't seem like he's playing to have fun anymore. Almost like he's playing out of spite. Plus, he doesn't have that amazing swing Jr. has. And for those who don't know who Jr. is, you should. That's Mr. Griffey, Jr. to you.

As for the NBA Finals, I'm quite disappointed. After "The King's" performance in the Detroit series, I should say I'm extremely disappointed. It almost reminds me of Dirk from last year. He just didn't seem to have enough heart in it. And when he did, it was too late. Sure it's good to have good 4th quarters but, it doesn't matter if you still don't win. All I have to say is I'm actually glad I missed most of this Finals match up. I assumed Cleveland would lose. I also assumed they would at least take one game. ONE GAME! The kingdom is crumbling.

Stanley Cup, didn't watch any of it. Only caught highlights. I'll be catching more hockey next season. I'll be jumping on board with the Chicago Blackhawks. Although I think it's about 15 or so years late since the last time I can remember them being decent was about that long ago. But, congratulations to the Ducks and GOLDBERG the Goalie.

Final note, LeBron, next season is your chance to have your "No heart, I'm all heart Mother F**ker!" moment like Rod Tidwell. Dirk missed the boat on that this year in the playoffs even though it seemed he would have that moment after that kind of season. On seeing a great one rise from the ashes.....Still Waiting...

Somewhere, Emilio Estevez is Smiling...

Congratulations to the Anaheim Ducks. Hell of a playoff run. I love a lot of sports more than hockey, but when playoff hockey is at its best, there are not many things more interesting. It also helps to watch it in HD....and have a rooting interest.