May 20, 2007
Yanks Can Head Back to the Bronx on a Winning Note
The Yankees at least managed to exit the third and final game of their Subway Series with the Mets with a win and with the help of an unlikely savior. 22-year-old Tyler Clippard was just called up from his Triple-A minor league team to be the starting pitcher in front of a sold-out Shea Stadium crowd against hometown rivals the Mets, in a game that was being broadcast nationally. Worse yet, since it was an interleague game, Clippard was going to be required to bat facing a Major League pitcher, and he probably hasn't stepped into a batter's box since high school.
The young pitcher distinguished himself fantastically: allowing only three hits and one run over six innings, while walking three and striking out six. That is a pretty damn fine performance for any starting pitcher. And unbelievably, Clippard actually hit a double in the top of the 6th inning, so he was 1 for 2 with a sacrifice bunt at three times at bat. As he will probably not return to the plate for some time, Clippard can brag to his new teammates that he now possesses the team's highest battering average at .500.
Mariano Rivera gave up a 9th inning home run, but he and reliever Scott Proctor managed to hold themselves together to give Clippard a 6-2 win. Jorge Posada only managed to hit 1 for 4 with a walk during the game, but his one hit was another homerun, which moved him into 10th all-time among Yankees batters. Jeter went 2 for 4, with an intentional walk. His two hits were a double and a two-run homer.
Odd game note: first baseman Doug Mientikiewicz was hit by the Mets pitcher in the top of the 7th, but homeplate umpire Tony Randazzo wouldn't let him take his base, saying that he had purposefully not avoided a hardcutting curve ball. You don't see that very often.
Boston's in town tomorrow and Mike Mussina's the expected starter for the Yanks. It could not go more disastrously than Boston's last visit to the Bronx.
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May 10, 2007
CONGRATULATIONS WIL NIEVES
Yankees alternate catcher Wil Nieves was in for Jorge Posada this evening. Nieves is a rarity on the offensively productive Yanks, in that he is the only player without a hit this season; or was. In the 4th inning and ahead 2-0 in the count, the hitless Nieves was still game to lay down a sacrifice bunt to move Doug Mientkiewicz from second to third and collect yet another out. But every man has his role, and Mientkiewicz wound up scoring on a single from Jeter later in the inning.
Again in the 6th inning, Nieves was the second Yankee to bat following the team's first baseman. In this case, however, Mientkiewicz had just grounded out and the bases were wide open with no one to advance. On a 1-0 pitch, Wil seized his destiny and swung away, connecting and sending the ball into left field. It should be noted at this point that Nieves hasn't just not hit this season, he hasn't been scored with a hit in five years: since 2002 when he played for the San Diego Padres. OK, so here is Nieves, who hasn't had to run up the first baseline in a game for five years, probably giddy with excitement. And damn if he didn't hit that ball deep. He should just round first and go for the double while he's at it. And second base is where he was met by Texas Ranger Kinsler, who was waiting for him after a strong throw from Wilkerson, the Texas left fielder. In spite of his overexuberance in trying to get to 2nd, Nieves was still credited with a single.
Nieves teammates in the dugout were obviously thrilled that he'd finally gotten a hit for the first time in five years. But they appeared to be howling in laughter at the fact that he was tagged out for trying to stretch that hit into a double. The Yanks were up 6-2 at that point in the game, so they could afford a chuckle at Nieves triumph and expense. They wound up winning the game with that score.
NB: Mike Mussina was on his game, giving up only two runs on three hits with one walk and two strikeouts over six innings. Two asshole fans were arrested in the top of the 9th for running onto the field--in separate incidents--while Mariano Rivera tried to close for the win.
Tagged: hits, yankeesPosted by Lexiphane at 8:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 1, 2007
The Yanks May Be Cursed
The Yankees may actually be cursed this season. Phil Hughes is the young pitching phenom the team hoped to develop in the minors for a few years, but was called up recently to rescue a team whose starting pitcher staff has been decimated by injuries. The 20-year-old got off to a rocky start in the major leagues with a loss last week, but was fantastic in Arlington, Texas last night against the Rangers. After 6 1/3 inning, Hughes was nearly flawless on the mound walking three and striking out six after 20 batters faced. With two strikes on the Rangers' first basement in the bottom of the seventh, the kid was one strike away from needing to face only seven more at-batters to achieve a no-hitter. But as he came out of his delivery Hughes winced in pain and grabbed the back of his leg. He tried to play cool, but catcher Jorge Posada knew what he saw. He approached the mound and quickly summoned pitching coach Ron Guidry and manager Joe Torre. In the final third of a potential no-hitter, Hughes was yanked from the game. His relief, Mike Myers, managed to get out of the inning but quickly gave up a double and a single in the 8th, allowing a run to score in 1 2/3 innings.
The Yankees offense was phenomenal, clobbering Texas starter Kameron Loe for 10 hits and nine earned runs in just four-plus innings. By the end of the game, New York had come to bat 48 times with 14 hits and 10 runs, winning 10-1. 2nd baseman Cano went 4 for 5 at the plate, with two doubles and three RBIs. Catcher Jorge Posada continued his magic ways with a 3 for 4 performance with two RBIs and a walk. Loe certainly wasn't helped by his defense, who extended innings with two errors; his team committed another in the 9th inning.
It wasn't until after the game that spirits were dampened by worries realized. Phil Hughes' injury was more serious than he was letting on. He could be out of the Yankees pitching rotation until mid-June at the earliest with a significantly injured hamstring. This is a catastrophic development for a team that just thought it had found its young savior.
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April 1, 2007
OLD AND AUGUSTA SPORTSMAN
Tiger Woods will tee off this week at Augusta National ten years after he demolished the field and won his first Masters by 12 strokes in 1997. In other news, we are all old. I seem to distinctly remember Woods being a wunderkind as he won serial U.S. Amateur Championships. Now he's a seasoned tour veteran and has already won four Masters.
I don't know about the rest of you, but Lexiphane.com is going to spend the rest of the weekend discovering a cure for cancer or developing his until-now-latent 103 mph fastball.
Tagged: golf, masters, tigerPosted by Lexiphane at 1:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 30, 2007
ONCE AND FOR ALL, HOPEFULLY
It's no secret. I'm a Georgetown fan. By all measures and by the number of hours I spent on a bus heading to the now unused Cap-Center so I could get a front-row seat for every single game no matter how inconsequential, I could be considered a superfan. Although those days are long gone and my street cred as a true fan has waned (I'll admit I am a bandwagon-hopping fair-weather fan), I am hopeful about one thing, regardless of any Final Four outcome: the death of two college sports euphemisms.
The euphemisms are intertwined and more fully loaded than the latest Mercedes S-Class. Princeton Offense and Georgetown Defense.
The Princeton Offense was made famous by long-time coach Pete Carill, who championed an offensive style that employed brisk passing and designed plays rather than a free-wheeling attack. It's effectiveness was most displayed when #16 Princeton nearly upset #1 seed Georgetown in the NCAA tournament in 1990. When people talk about the Princeton Offense, they use words like disciplined, practiced, and cerebral.
The opposite words would be used for what is described as the Georgetown Defense: swarming, physical, intimidating. The two styles have, I hate to say, become racially loaded code words in the lexicon of college basketball, the same way "athleticism" and "discipline" are code words. Black players are tall, built, high-jumpers, who happen upon excellence by chance. White players practice endlessly and prove themselves against all odds.
The terms gained such traction because of that long-ago matchup and also because the two institutions were so emblematic at a certain time: Princeton is always going to be a lily-white institution, athletically, and a symbol of privelege. Georgetown had the audacity to shatter that mold and hire an unapolagetic "angry black man", who would only recruit african american students and require them to stay in school all four years. John Thompson Jr.'s success was one of the more unlikely successes in sports, but it was what it was. The upside/downside was that Thompson's Hoya teams were 1) almost exclusively black 2) defensively fierce 3) successful. Put the three together and you have Hoya Paranoia, which unfortunately entailed thinly veiled racist characterisations of thugishness.
Almost 20 years later, we arrive at the situation where John Thompson, Jr.'s son, JT III, has coached his way to the Final Four. All the cliches would be intact except that Thompson's son didn't got to Georgetown, he went to Princeton, joined the basketball team, became an assistant coach, and then became the head coach, all under the guidance of Princeton guru Pete Carill. Now he's coaching a Princeton Offense, that the coach likes to identify as a Georgetown offense.
JTIII calls one man 'Coach', and it isn't his dad. The Hoyas have got to the Final Four by incredible team performances that involve set plays and come-from-behind-wins that, frankly, defy regular explanations. This weekend you can watch one, hopefully two, games bya team that's defined itself by crisp passing and unselfish play––also an indefatigable win to win.
As you watch Saturday's game, a lot of wasted airtime will be devoted to blatherings about JTIII's debt to Princeton and Pete Carill. I am going out on a limb and saying that I don't give a shit if G'town beats Ohio State or not; I would really prefer that people stop referring to disciplined and skilled offenses that win conference championships as some type of proprretary gameplan that is unavailable to black players. Yeah! Georgetown's players are black. Yeah! Their coach went to Princeton. Yeah! They're in the Final Four. A puzzled Vanderbilt player described Georgetown's offense as "perfect" as he tried to explain the unstoppable half he just met. Regardless of how far the team goes, if Georgetown's unselfish team-oriented offense that gives up nothing on ferocious defense puts an end to the lamest euphemistic clichés of all time, I can't be too disappointed.
Tagged: college basketball, georgetown, racism
Posted by Lexiphane at 10:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 26, 2007
DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN!
Get 'em while they're hot off the silkscreen presses! Celebrate the the top four college teams in the nation gathering for the Final Four in Atlanta with this commemorative t-shirt.
Tagged: final four, tshirtPosted by Lexiphane at 1:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 25, 2007
GHOSTS OF '82, EXORCISED!
(Hoyas celebrate 2007 East Region Championship)
My hat's off to North Carolina coach Roy Williams and his band of Tarheels. For 35 minutes North Carolina executed their gameplan seemingly to perfection. Using their neverending bench, they'd backed Georgetown into foul trouble and maintained a quick pace throughout the game. Both were situations lethal to Georgetown's regular style of play, which relies on intense defense, grinding out scores on possession after possession, and the low scores that reflect that style. Perspective: In a season where the Hoyas's accrued a 30-7 record thus far, when the team tied the game tonight at 81 on a three-pointer with :32 remaining, it was only the fifth time they'd scored more than 80 points. With six minutes remaining in the game, facing a 9-point deficit, and in a game that was not being played at its own pace, lesser teams may have folded under the pressure. Georgetown methodically kept pushing back at UNC, however, and their shots fell more often than not. What happened in the final 5:32 of Carolina's game will be puzzled over for some time.
With the final possession guaranteed and Georgetown in double-penalty foul land, the play to call seemed obvious: Carolina would hold for the final shot and then drive to the basket for the high-percentage shot. Georgetown wouldn't dare foul; Carolina needed only one point from the charity stripe to get to the Final Four. For some reason, Carolina came out of its own TO huddle and under little time pressure had Wayne Ellington launch a three-point attempt that clanged off the rim. After that it was as if a fog descended over the Tarheels, who could not buy a shot to save their season as the Hoyas scored seemingly at will and rebounded as if by right. Even highly reliable UNC Center Tyler Hansbrough bricked two freethrow attempts! With :08 seconds left in OT, Carolina's Ty Lawson drained a three, but at that point the Georgetown players were almost already celebrating. Georgetown beats Carolina: 96-84.
I'm not going to even roll call the great plays and contributions of different Georgetown players. That was a team that dug down deep and played like a group of guys that trusted each other implicitly. I will say that it was the first time all season that every starter scored in double digits. Sure, that's in part a reflection of the overall high score of the game; but I think it also says something about the way all of them function as a team. It was beautiful. Congratulations gentlemen, you have joined the Pantheon of McDonough and you're not even through yet. The Final Four follows . . .
NB: A transcript of both teams' postgame press conferences is available here. I watched the video of it and it's amazing to see how quickly Tyler Hansbrough could be reduced to the 19-year-old kid he essentially is. The poor guy looked like he was physically in shock and that someone should be calling the school nurse or something.
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March 24, 2007
GHOSTS OF '82
(Jordan gets lucky in '82, UNC 25 years later)
For the three times in four years that Georgetown reached the finals of the NCAA Men's Basetball Tournament during the early '80s, its teams are most often remembered for their spectacular and unlikely losses, rather than their one national championship. In 1985, the Hoyas were the defending national champions. They made it to the final, but lost to the heavy underdog Villanova in what is still described as the most unlikely upset in the history of the tournament. In 1982, the Hoyas were making their first appearance in the title game in school history. The game was closely contested, but Georgetown seemed to have things in hand in the final minute, when a UNC freshman named Michael Jordan launched a ball from the left of the basket in a move that would become all-too-familiar to opponents over the coming years. To Carolina fans, it is simply referred to as The Shot. Down by one point, Georgetown still had posession of the ball and the opportunity for the final game-winning shot when the Hoyas' Fred Brown inexplicably passed the ball directly to UNC's James Worthy. Why he did this remains one of the great mysteries of sport, but UNC won the national championship a few seconds later. It would be the only national championship Michael Jordan would win with the Tarheels. He later graduated to an undistinguished career as a minor league baseball player.
The Hoyas and Tarheels meet again Sunday evening––not for the first time––in the tournament 25 years after that legendary game. The winner will go on to face one, and hopefully two, other teams in the Final Four in Atlanta. It's a one-seed versus a two-seed matchup, but UNC spent the majority of the season ranked #1 in college polls, or hovering around the top spot. Both teams are winners of their respective Conference Tournaments (ACC and Big East). The game starts at 5:05 pm EST and will be aired on CBS.
Tagged: basketball, georgetown, tournament, uncPosted by Lexiphane at 12:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
NOT THAT RAM TOUGH
UPDATE, 3/26/07:Jason Ray, the UNC student who played that school's mascot during athletic events, died this afternoon after being struck by a car Saturday while walking along a NJ roadway. Again, all condolences to the Ray family and the UNC community.
UPDATE: Very sad news regarding this item. According to this story in the Newark Star-Ledger, Jason Ray, the UNC student who performed as the school's mascot, is in a coma, brain dead, and doctors are offering little hope that he will survive. My deepest condolences to the Ray family. END OF UPDATE
When the UNC men's basketball team took the floor at the Meadowlands last night, it was without the support of their normal mascot. Jason Ray, the Carolina senior who normally dons the costume of Ramses the UNC mascot, was in a hospital bed not far from the arena after he was struck by a car earlier that day.
The Fort Lee police said Ray was walking on the shoulder of Route 4 when he was hit by a 2006 Mercury Mountaineer driven by 51-year-old Gagik Hovsepyan of Paramus. Hovsepyan called the police and aided Ray, hit while returning to the Fort Lee Hilton after purchasing food at a convenience store.
Ray remains in critical condition at Hackensack Medical Center in NJ. All basketball concerns aside, let's root for a full recovery.
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March 20, 2007
ON-FIRE FOXES' LUCKY 13
It didn't take very long after the men's regional semi-final brackets were set that people started grumbling about the lack of any lower-seeded teams making a run deep into the tournament. While it may be a reflection of what a good job the tournament selection commitee did in seeding the teams, it does rob March Madness of some of its special magic. For those in absolute need of Cinderella-level enchantment, look no further than the women's tournament, where 13-seed Marist continues its regular season winning ways through the post season. After a 24-5 season in the regular season and an OT win in the MAAC conference champsionship, Marist certainly deserved its berth in the women's NCAA field of 64. The tiny college that is home to 4,000 students on the banks of the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie, however, only merited a 13-seed when the opening brackets were announced. After an opening wins against 4-seed Ohio State and 5-seed Middle Tennessee St., the Red Foxes are now in the Sweet 16 for the first time and will likely face 1-seed and perennial national title contendor Tennessee.
Perhaps no one predicted this, but it happened: The Marist College women's basketball team defeated Middle Tennessee State, 73-59, in the second round of the NCAA tournament, advancing to play in the Sweet 16 round in Dayton, Ohio, this Sunday.
The Red Foxes had only reached the Big Dance twice before this past weekend, falling to Oklahoma in 2004 and Georgia last year.
Seeded 13th, Marist defeated No. 4 Ohio State on Saturday, setting up Monday's matchup. By beating the Blue Raiders, Marist snapped Middle Tennessee's 27-game winning streak - the longest in the country - and became only the third No. 13 seed to ever advance to the Sweet 16.
I think Marist College senior Brian Hodge put it best when characterizing his school's team:
But this is no "Cinderella." "Cinderella" smacks of a sort of undeserving cuteness, even an unworthiness that belies the skill, talent, and drive required to upend two talented teams.
I agree; and here's to continued success.
Posted by Lexiphane at 9:54 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 11, 2007
CANINE MORTO! NEXT ON THE OCHO!
I hate to do this. There are few things that would get me to bounce a once-in-a-generation Hoya championship off my marquis spot, but sometimes . . .
ESPN. What is wrong with you? Seriously, are your decision makers so removed from society up there in Bristol, CT that you have assumed the the moral sense of village idiots on vacation in Tijuana? That's not an academic question, although at this stage I understand the term "academic" may be far out of reach of whatever 7th-grade dropouts approve your ad copy.
During the March 10th broadcast of the Big East Conference Championship game, ESPN aired a commercial touting its coverage of some Arena Football league. The gist of it was--and this is paraphrasing--'Less Field Means More Intensity . . .' which would seem all well and good, except the ad had to finish its sentence––and more demure readers may want to shade their eyes––with one of the sickest similies I've read since NFL Quarterback Steve Young said "We're going to beat those Chargers like we beat San Fran faggots on our off days!" For the record, Steve Young never said anything remotely like that. But ESPN did finish its Arena Football ad thusly: "Less Field Means More Intensity--Like Two Pitbulls In A Cage!"
WHAT
THE
FUCK?
Did ESPN just pimp one of its broadcast league sports as having the competitive qualities of a barbaric bloodsport run by the most reprobate category of humans outside of slave traders and serial rapists? Yep! Yep, they did!
Pit or cage fights by animals has an unfortunately long history. It is gladiator fighting one species removed from humans, and yet it preys on participants bred to trust humans who nonetheless condition dogs to subject themselves to the most vile kinds of abuse. The lead photo is of a pitbull who apparently let the "ESPN-aired Arena Football-like" intensity get the best of him.
I like ESPN. I know people that work there and feel that it's a pretty decent organization, whatever its shortcomings might be. This particular broadcast ad, however, is so beyond the pale that I have to call them on it. Sick cruelty to animals is not a bullet point in a boardroom presentation; nor is it a pushbutton term to be inserted into an ad for an "extreme" sport (no matter how moronic that sport may or may not be.)
ESPN, please get your shit together. We love dogs. Most people do. Stop pimping their cruelty like it's something funny or extreme.
Giving ESPN the benefit of the doubt, it's possible that a local cable affiliate inserted that pro- animal cruelty ad into the Bristol feed. It didn't look like it, but I'm kind of hoping on it; otherwise it's like finding out your second cousin is a child molestor. Yuck!
UPDATE: Here is the exact transcript of the above-described ad:
[Voiceover] "If these walls could talk, they'd say less field means more fury, like two pitbulls locked in a cage. If these walls could talk, they'd say you have to see it to believe it. Russell Athletic ESPN Arena Football. Monday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2."
To read about the cruel practice of dogfights with pitbulls, see the ASPCA's page here. Pit Bulls On The Web has a page about the inhumane world of dogfights.
UPDATE II: Hear the audio portion of the offending ad by clicking here.
(Photo from Pit Bulls On The Web)
Tagged: ads, cruelty, dogs, espn, pitbullPosted by Lexiphane at 1:32 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 10, 2007
FINAL-LY!!!!
The saying goes that a picture is worth a thousand words; and that may hold true here, although excuse me if I add a few words of my own. In the Big East Championship game at Madison Square Garden, Georgetown played like a team of destiny, not just soaring over Pittsburgh, but catching them flatfooted and towering over them like giants. This is what I hastily typed at halftime to keep from chewing my fingernails off in appreciation of too-good-to-be-true fortune:
"One really can't ask for a much better half than Georgetown gave during the first 20 minutes of tonight's game. What the ESPN announcers don't realize is that it's not a question of one player going to sleep and the other player lighting up when talking about Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert. The two Junior frontcourt men are a tandem team. They're enablers of the court kind, opening up and occupying opposing teams inversely for maximum inflicted damage. If they were a comedy team they'd be Abbot and Costello, if thieves, Bonnie and Clyde, if dancers, Ginger and Rogers. Georgetown played its first half against Pitt like a consummate team. The Panthers, frankly, looked a little desperate, clunky, and stilted. Only a fool would count them out after 20 minutes though. They were down to Louisville's Cardinals by 14 points last night and wound up winning by by six. This isn't the Big East Championship for nothing."
Roy Hibbert wound up being the man. Jeff Green scored 21 points to Hibbert's 18, but this lopsided rout was not won with offense: Georgetown only scored 65 points. Pitt's problems was that they were being completely killed at their end of the court on rebounds. Any shot that Pitt missed was as good as a wasted posession. Georgetown outrebounded Pitt by a wide margin at the Panthers' end of the court [stats have not yet been posted at ESPN]. Hibbert had 12 rebounds, nine of them defensive.
With Jesse Sapp on the foul line and under two minutes to play, Hibbert left the floor to a round of applause at the Garden (I'd like to say "thunderous applause", but the Hoyas have never been well liked at MSG), with a 24-point lead. Jeff Green followed Hibbert on the sideline a free throw later when Georgetown was up by 25 points. Green was awarded the Big East Tournament MVP trophy following the game.
It's been 18 years since Georgetown hoisted a trophy at The Garden, so I think a few historic and contextual points are in order. This was Georgetown's 7th Big East Tournament Championship, breaking a six-win tie with UConn and making Georgetown the tournament-championest team in conference history. As extraordinary as the Hoyas' 23-point margin of victory was tonight (65-42), what is more extraordinary is the fact that 42 points is the lowest point total a team has been held to in a championship game in conference history, by a margin of 12. And that includes the era when college basketball was ruled by no shot clock and lacked a 3-point shot line.
The NCAA tournament selection can do whatever they want. The Hoyas may or may not merit a #1 seed come Sunday. I, for one, am thrilled at what this group of men have achieved over a long season. That Big East Championship was a long time coming. Hang the banner in McDonough Arena. Just save some space for the next one.
For the record:
SUPER-DUPER ULTRA MONEY QUOTE:
"I feel grateful that I get to be a part of that, and that I get to wear 'Georgetown' across my chest," Hibbert said.
Posted by Lexiphane at 9:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE
In a game that will probably be talked about for as long as their triple-overtime regular season marathon a few years ago, Notre Dame and Georgetown's Big East Tournament semi-final matchup was some basektball both teams could be proud of.
If one looks at the Game Flow graphic from ESPN.com to the left, one can see that ND dominated the first half, primarily by dropping 3s at will. The Hoyas closed the half with a run though, narrowing the gap to two points. The second half is when things got interesting. Over 20 minutes, the two teams were tied 9 times and the lead changed hands 13 times. The outcome was not certain until the last seconds of the game, when a three-point shot for the win taken by Russell Carter of ND missed its mark and the Hoyas escaped with a two-point victory.
Junior Jeff Green showed the crowd on hand in NYC and probably the whole nation some of the reasons he was named Big East Player of the Year. The forward played 40 minutes, never once coming off the court for a rest in an effort that yielded 30 points and 12 rebounds. To give one a sense of how great a team player Green is and what a catalyst he is in getting Georgetown wins, swallow this: Leading Georgetown to its first regular season title in 18 years and the first Hoya to win Player of the Year since Alonzo Mourning in 1992, Jeff Green never scored a double double (double-digit points and rebounds or assists in a single game) during the regular 2006-2007 season and did not do so until last night. To be named Player of the Year without ever achieving a double double over an entire season is extraordinary and Jeff Green may have been the first to do so. Also contributing significantly––and emotionally––was Patrick Ewing, Jr. Wearing his father's number on his jersey and using the same locker at The Garden that the old man used as a New York Knick, Jr. was electric, coming off the bench to score 15 points. He humbly deflected praise, however, to freshman teammate DaJuan Summers, who scored 18 with four rebounds.
Notre Dame shot out to its early lead thanks to shooting 8 for 14 from 3-point range in the first half. Georgetown muscled its way back into the game thanks to the play of Ewing Jr. and the freshman DaJuan Summers (18 points), who Ewing Jr. called “the next Jeff Green.”
High praise indeed. In a bit of news that will be troubling to all the other Big East teams, it should be noted that Georgetown only has two seniors on its team, both of them four-year bench warmers who I'm embarassed to say I'd never heard of. The Hoyas starting five is comprised of three Juniors (Green, Hibbert, Wallace) a Sophomore (Sapp) and the Freshman Summers. The New York Times has a decent article on last night's game.
In the second of last night's games, Pitt battled back to defeat the Louisville Cardinals 65-59. Georgetown and Pitt have met twice already this season, Pitt winning the first game and Georgetown the second. Both events were closely contested. This will be Pitt's sixth appearance in the Big East Tournament Final in the last seven years. In their prior five appearances, they've only managed to win once, in 2003 against UConn. This will be Georgetown's first appearance in the final since 1996. I was at that game and it may have been the worst thing I've ever seen as a championship slipped through their fingers to UConn in a comedy of errors. The last time Georgetown won the BE Championship was in 1989.
Tagged: basketball, big east, college basketball, georgetown, hoyas, irish, notre dame, pittPosted by Lexiphane at 8:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 9, 2007
DOWN TO FOUR
Georgetown almost surrendered an overwhelming first-half lead, but eventually held off Villanova for a win. The Irish finally got lucky at the Garden and continued their season-long sweep of Syracuse to advance. It took Louisville two overtime periods, but they managed to stave off an upset-minded group of Mountaineers. Pitt's game versus Marquette was past my bedtime; they won. Capsule recaps of the games can be found at the Big East homepage here
So what's happening tonight in the semifinals? All four top-seeded teams who received a first-round bye in the tournament have advanced to penultimate round on 7th Ave. At 7 p.m. Notre Dame's Irish meet the Georgetown Hoyas. According to The New York Times, ND's Big East Coach of the Year Mike Brey is already looking ahead to Saturday's finals.
It was the Irish’s first victory at the Big East tournament since 2004, and it left Brey giddy about his team’s chances to earn its first appearance in the conference title game.
“I told them in the locker room: ‘It’s our destiny, we’re playing on Saturday night,’ ” Brey said. “It’s destiny, and there’s fate involved here. There’s good karma around this group.”
Brey might want to not look too far past the Hoyas, who thrashed his team mercilessly in early January, 66-48. And that was before Georgetown got its on-court act together.
At 9:30 p.m. Louisville will meet season-long conference leaders Pitt, who only surrendered the regular season title to Georgetown at their schedule's bitter end. The two have only met once this year prior to tonight. Louisville issued the Panthers a 66-53 beatdown in mid-February on Pitt's own home court. Both games should be fun to watch.
Tagged: big east, college basketball, georgetown, louisville, notre dame, pitt, tournamentPosted by Lexiphane at 4:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 8, 2007
WATER POLO ANYONE?
I wouldn't be surprised if sports journalists have some sort of inferiority complex. More than likely they were the scorekeepers in high school and college, rather than the athletes themselves. Once they've graduated to a professional career in journalism, however, they continue to get short shrift from their peers who look down on sports reporting as a necessary sop to the masses: it's not like sports are important or serious. That's why sports writing is always so jam packed full of metaphors for life. It's not enough to celebrate exciting pastimes. Sports must be conflated to big-picture status. More often than not, this inclination results in silliness like the latest cover of Sports Illustrated at right.
The next time a ball game gets rained out during the September stretch run, you can curse the momentary worthlessness of those tickets in your pocket. Or you can wonder why it got rained out -- and ask yourself why practice had to be called off last summer on a day when there wasn't a cloud in the sky; and why that Gulf Coast wharf where you used to reel in mackerel and flounder no longer exists; and why it's been more than one winter since you pulled those titanium skis out of the garage.
Hmmm, I'm going to ditch Ockham's Razor and guess 'catastrophic global climate change?'
And therein may lie the great value of sports. What happens in an arena so familiar and beloved may sound an alarm we will hear and heed. At a time when so much in our lives is linear and digital, from the economy to technology, sports still run in graceful cycles, marking time in rhythm with the seasons.
The above paragraph pretty much sums up the inanity of the whole article. What the hell is that supposed to mean? Seriously, what the hell is that supposed to mean? I understand what "linear" and "digital" mean conceptually. I fail to see how those words contribute to any type of coherent statement about what the author is discussing. I guess in the end it doesn't matter. Throw a bunch of nonsense into a pot, mix it together, alarm readers, give them outlets to action, feel self-satisfied, and we're done. Eco-journalism at its most regular.
Tagged: global warming, journalism, sports, sports illustratedPosted by Lexiphane at 9:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS
While there are 16 schools in the Big East Conference, the bottom four finishers are not invited to its annual conference tournament held at Madison Square Garden in March [see GARDEN PARTY, 3/4/07]. This makes for some heated regular season games down the stretch, as the teams with the four best regular season records are granted byes in the first round. Yesterday was that first round and it passed with relatively little excitement. Higher seed beat lower seed in three out of four games (#9 seed Villanova defeated #8 seed Depaul) and nine and 13 were popular numbers, acting as the margins of victory in two games apiece. Capsule results for each game can be found here.
The quarterfinals start today at noon. Follow along with the brackets above as I give some quick thoughts on today's games.
Game 1, noon: #9 Villanova vs. #1 Georgetown
Villanova has succeded in bedeviling Georgetown on the court for approximately the last decade. Then again, so have most decent teams in the conference. Game time should be a factor. Does the early hour and a day off yesterday leave the Hoyas with creaky or fresh legs? Number of times 1985 upset of G'town by 'Nova in NCAA Championship will be referenced by ESPN commentators: 34
Game 2, 2 p.m.: #4 Notre Dame vs. #5 Syracuse
Irish vs. Orange. A relative newcomer to the conference, ND has a reputation as an underperformer once it enters The Garden in March. Syracuse is almost the exact opposite. It's won the tournament the last two years, last year overcoming a low seed to win four straight games including the final. In their last meeting, ND manhandled the Orange. Number of times "luck" of Irish will be mentioned in reference to upcoming St. Patrick's Day: 9
Game 3, 7 p.m.:#7 West Virginia vs. #2 Louisville
Few coaches in the conference are as experienced in tournament play as Louisville's Rick Pitino and his team came on strong in the second half of the season. I've always liked the Mountaineers though, a good team with the ability to upset anyone.
Game 4, 9 p.m.:#3 Pittsburgh vs. #6 Marquette
After standing dominant atop the Big East throughout the regular season, Pitt stumbled at the finish line, losing two out of its last three games. Will the team hit the floor lacking confidence or eager for redemption?
All games will be broadcast on ESPN.
Posted by Lexiphane at 6:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 4, 2007
MARCH GARDEN PARTY
For the last 25 years, early March has marked a time of pilgrimage for tens of thousands of people. Originally, they would come primarily from the mid-Atlantic states with an occasional band of outliers. Now they flock from the midwest, upstate NY, and as far south as Kentucky. All converge on 7th Avenue in midtown Manhattan at a place called The Garden, where over the course of four days they will cheer for teams of men who will run a single-elimination gauntlet with one goal: to be named the Mens College Basketball Big East Tournament Champions. This year's tournament begins Wednesday at noon. All games can be seen on ESPN.
Full disclosure: I have a rooting interest in the tournament, although I'll try to remain impartial in my commentary here.
Posted by Lexiphane at 7:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 14, 2007
COACH OF THE YEAR
A staple of sitcom characterizations is the Jr. High or High School gym teacher as punching bag. If the teacher is a female, she's a gruff lesbian. If it's a male , he's a blustering parody of inept over-masculinity. To the contrary, one of the teachers I respected the most growing up was a gym teacher popularly known as "Mr. Mon".
Gary Montalto was a Middle School gym teacher when I first met him, but also coached the boys' soccer team at Arlington High School. He did both quite successfully. Despite my less-than-high athletic profile growing up and the fact that I only had Montalto for a teacher one year in the 7th Grade, the man still would greet me by name whenever our paths would cross, up until the year I graduated from High School. He was that type of guy.
His success on the sidelines of the soccer field will be talked about for years:
In his 28 years as coach, Arlington is 490-78-40, with five state championship game appearances and three state titles.
The Arlington boys' soccer team went 25-0 this past season, won the NY State Championship, and were ranked the #3 team in the nation when it was all over.
After several nominations, Coach Montalto was recognized this year for his accomplishments:
INDIANAPOLIS — Arlington High School boys' soccer coach Gary Montalto was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Coach of the Year at the NSCAA banquet Friday night.
Twice before in his career — after Arlington's state titles in 1984 and 1999 — Montalto won the East Region honor, making him eligible for the national award.
But this season, the only undefeated campaign in his 28-year career, proved to be the charm.
"I think there's no other person that deserved it more," said Arlington junior Matt Turcio, who scored in both the state semifinals and finals for the Admirals. "Overall, he's just a great coach. He knows how to deal with everything."
Congratulations Mr. Mon. I hope you and your family are enjoying the honor.
(Tip of the pixel to M.C. for forwarding the linked item.)
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"GIMME AN O! GIMME A V! . . ."
What would that eventually spell? Overreach, of the judicial variety. The New York Times reports on the lack of enthusiasm over a judge's ruling that female high school cheerleaders must be present at female sporting events in equal measure to male sporting events. This means that some cheerleading squads no longer travel to boys' team away games to accomodate the girls' team schedule and oftentimes, the distaff cheerleaders aren't really welcomed by the women on the court.
Boys’ basketball boosters say something is missing in the stands at away games, cheerleaders resent not being able to meet their rivals on the road, and even female basketball players being hurrahed are unhappy.
In Johnson City, students and parents say they have accepted the change even as they question the need for it.
Several cheerleaders there recalled a game two years ago, long before the complaint, when the squad decided at the last minute to cheer for the girls’ team because a boys’ game was canceled.
The cheers drowned out directions from the girls’ coach, frustrated the players, and created so much tension that the cheerleaders left before halftime.
“They asked, ‘Why are you here?’ ” recalled Joquina Spence, 18, a senior cheerleader. “We told them, ‘We’re here to support you,’ and it was a problem because they kept yelling at us.”
Title IX, the federal statute enacted to level the playing field between men's and women's athletic programs, has become a victim of its own success as it wanders into the realm of reductio ad absurdum in order to stay relevant. Proponents of Title IX are now reduced to ferreting out non-existent problems regardless of whether anyone wants a proposed solution.
Whitney Point is one of 14 high schools in the Binghamton area that began sending cheerleaders to girls’ games in late November, after the mother of a female basketball player in Johnson City, N.Y., filed a discrimination complaint with the United States Department of Education. She said the lack of official sideline support made the girls seem like second-string, and violated Title IX’s promise of equal playing fields for both sexes.
But, as the New York State Public High School Athletic Association warned in a letter to its 768 members in November, the education department determined that cheerleaders should be provided “regardless of whether the girls’ basketball teams wanted and/or asked for” them.
While most of the Title IX lawsuits are originating here in New York State, leave it to California to take the cake in demanding nothing less than total mental adherence to a new and better political mindset:
Last February, a statewide group of physical education teachers in California called for cheerleaders to attend girls’ and boys’ games “in the same number, and with equal enthusiasm” as part of its five-year goals.
Five year plans; goals of enthusiastic participation. This sounds like something Mao would have come up with during the Cultural Revolution. Good luck with all of that.
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November 13, 2006
BALLSY
While many cities fall all over themselves to get a major sports league franchise, Seattle is currently proactively shrugging its shoulders and telling the Sonics to get the hell out if they don't like it there.
Empowered by a wave of venture capital, a hiring boom and pride in its homegrown billionaires, this city has decided it no longer needs a mediocre professional basketball team to feel good about itself.
Chris Van Dyk of Seattle campaigned against giving public money to sports teams.
On Election Day, residents rebuffed their once-beloved Seattle SuperSonics, voting overwhelmingly for a ballot measure ending public subsidies for professional sports teams.
The owners, who bought the Sonics in October for $350 million from Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks, had warned that the team would leave unless the city provided a new arena.
The vote delighted Citizens for More Important Things, a group that, with the help of a statewide health care union, spent $60,000 to sponsor the initiative. Other cities “may be so desperate to lure tourists there that they have to overpay for an N.B.A. team,” said Chris Van Dyk, a founder of the group. “Seattle doesn’t have to lure anybody.”
Wow! That is some civic pride. I think residents of Boston or NYC would rather sell their first-born children than see the Sox or Yankees leave town. Although, NY would probably sell the Knicks for a nickel at this date and time.
When I was very very young, I used to play in a BoysClub b-ball league. One of the members of an opposing team was John Johnson's son and the former would show up for games. John Johnson was part of the Sonics' 1979 championship team that I didn't even have recollection of, but I did get him to sign a poster and hung it on my wall for several years.
Above is a picture of Xavier McDaniels, who was, if not the original, the one that made him popular for it, bad boy of the NBA. Funnily, I imagine him most for a bizarre cameo in Cameron Crowe's Singles. In mid-coitus, he appears in a dream to one of the main characters; interrupting a locker room press conference to advice "Oh yeah, Steve; Don't cum yet".
One probably had to be there, but the X-Man's public persona at the time and the abrubtness of the interlude made it one of the funniest things ever.
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November 11, 2006
THE SCARLET LETTER
Stranger things may have happened, but they don't happen very often. Rutgers--the state university of New Jersey may be vying for a national collegiate football championship. I hope no offense here to Garden Staters, but Rutgers has taken a perennial back seat to Ivy League contenders Princeton for the past 80 years or so. Rutgers is a fine educational institution, but like Columbia, which endured a multi-year losing streak, its sports program was hardly esteemable.
Wednesday night, however, the undefeated Rutgers Scarlet Nights (ranked #15) met the undefeated Louisville Cardinals (ranked #3) on their home field. With every Tom, Dick, and Tony on the Jersey bandwagon, the stadium's atmosphere was a powder keg of excitement waiting for an upset. And thanks to a horrific defensive foul at the end of regulation as Rutger's kicker muffed a field goal, the man of the hour got a second chance and Ito scored a game-winning three points.
I got word that Hoboken, NJ turned into total pandemonium following the game, as thousands of Rutgers fans, students, and alumni swarmed the Mile Square. A few miles away, I saw K's place dominated by jubilant fans. Suddenly, it was cool to be a Rutgers fan.
While Rutgers fans are about as couth as Red Sox boosters, good for the team. As one of the only undefeated teams in the country (9-0) and a member of BCS conference (the Big East), Rutgers may have a very good shot at entering a national championship bowl game. That may be mind-boggling to people in Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, but that seems to be the way it's playing out.
The Empire State Building was lit up red Wednesday night as a "Go Scarlet Knights" tribute. It was lit up red again last night to celebrate the Big Apple Circus, but it's possible to believe that someone was just so hungover with victory that they forgot to change the gels.
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at 7:52 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 6, 2006
FAIR WEATHER FAN
I don't know if you can call someone a "fair-weather fan" if they root for you every year but are free to discard your prospects every springtime when the season's over. If that's the case, then I guess I'm diehard, but fairweather.
With the Yankees done and the baseball season over, and I assume that the Knikcs are a joke, my mind wanderd to the G'town Hoyas; they finished up last year pretty respectably. Great God Almighty! The Hoyas are ranked #8 pre-season. After a few early-season tune-ups they get to meet #11-ranked Duke at an away game. When was the last time the Blue Devils had to look at Georgetown as a possible upset?
I can't stand college basketball. Unlike baseball, where every single pitch, hit, run, and play can be catalogued and quantified, college basketball is a mess of chaos where teenagers give middle-aged men heart attacks. It's even worse when your team is ranked so high in the preseason.
All I can say is good luck to JT III, the coach of the Hoyas. I don't have the fortitude to stake anything on your guys anymore. You spent me in the 90s. Best wishes today however. Best wishes always; everyone loves a good effort.
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WELL ISN'T THAT ROMANTIC?
A friend recently forwarded this article to me about a Bulgarian soccer star. While he hasn't shot, raped, stabbed, or beheaded anyone--in the manner of American sports stars--the wild lifestyle of 19-year-old Bulgarian striker Liven Popov has instigated his club into insisting that he get married in order to settle himself down. Strangely, the kid agreed.
"I accept the order and I promise to do it," said Popov who is a key member of Bulgaria's under-21 squad. "My bosses are right to want such a thing from me because they know my temper."
That is one of the more bizarre contract riders I've ever heard of. The implications of his club's demand are boundless. If an organization can order one of its players to get married to settle him down, is there any limit on the behavioral restrictions it can place on its players? Few things could be more restrictive than a marriage.
[Thanks to JC for notifying me of this.]
Posted by Lexiphane at 3:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 7, 2006
SAY IT AIN'T SO JOE TORRE! SAY IT AIN'T SO!
The Yanks are done for the season. After attaining an ironclad lead in their division during the regular season, the team folded like a vinyl billfold in the ALDS: cheaply and easily.
Nothing against the Detroit Tigers; they were excellent throughout most of the season and their playoff pitching was matchless. 23-year-old Jeremy Borderman has already attained historical status, even if he plays baseball for another 25 years. He shut down what is possibly the greatest hitting team in the history of baseball for 8 2/3 innings, allowing only 4 hits and one run. The Yanks were completely hitless through the first 5 innings of the game. It's as if a baggage handler at Detroit's airport secretly replaced New York's bats with leaden wands.
The only highpoint of the game was catcher Jorge Porsada smacking a two-run homer for the Yanks in the penultimate at-bat of the game. Cold comfort, to be sure, but I've been writing half the season about how great Jorge is. It seemed like tragi-poetic justice.
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at 7:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
MAKE OR BREAK TIME
As I write this, the Yankees are probably feeling like a family of stranded Mormon motorists in the breakdown lane on the wrong side of Detroit's 8 Mile. I don't use the word stranded lightly. New York left seven baserunners parked and unable to score as Detroit starter Kenny Rogers dealt a dead man's hand to the Bombers.
Rogers was incredible. Facing 30 hitters over 7 2/3 innings he continually shut down the most powerful offensive force in Major League Baseball, allowing five hits, no runs, and striking out eight. The 9th was the only inning the Yanks didn't reach base offensively, but they could just not get anyone home.
I'm not an ARod hater, but Alex Rodriguez insists on continuing to disappoint. He was 0-3 and hit by a pitch in the top of the sixth. The people I was watching the game with seemed to actually sigh in relief; at least he got on base somehow. The only real standout performance--and this is a sad statement--was by Jorge Posada, who went 2-4 with a single and a double.
If the Yankees don't win this afternoon the whole season is over. Some people are griping that the Yanks just need to trade ARod if he doesn't shape up tonight and, hopefully, through October. The thing is, there are few teams who could afford his roughly $25mn/year contract. The organization would have to suck it up and just take a huge hit to get rid of him. I see a little merit in that option. When Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui were out with injuries, the Yanks got fantastic performances from called-up players from Columbus, meaning they can win without relying on checkbook mercenaries. Still, acquiring the older and pricey Abreu from Philly late in the season seemed to pay off in spades.
This may all be academic. All sins tend to be forgiven when The Boss is holding the World Series trophy and banners are being raised. We'll know over the next few hours and nine innings.
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at 4:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 4, 2006
CLUTCH!
Alright, we all know that I'm crushing on Yankees captain Derek Jeter. The guy's one of the best hitters in the league and his fielding is absurdly good. I kind of feel bad for Alex Rodriguez, because despite fantastic stats, people like to criticize him for not "stepping up" in crucial situations. When held up in comparison to your captain, however, with Jeter as your relief, Superman would look like a chump.
The playoffs started yesterday and after a season-ending choke performance, Detroit ceded the ALDS home advantage to the Yanks. Joe Torre wisely started Chien-Ming Wang, who allowed eight hits in 6 2/3rds innings but maintained his composure throughout. Torre then inserted Mike Myers at the bottom of the 7th. Two pitches and one homerun later the game was overseen, or Scott Proctor-ed, from the mound by a guy that tends to give me the low-sinking-stomach pitch every time he runs from the bullpen.
But let's get back to the point of this post. Derek Jeter batted a thousand last night. I'm not being allegorical or metaphorical. The shortstop and number two lineup hitter went five for five, with a single, double, single, double, and then an insurance homerun over the left-center fence in the bottom of the 8th. You gotta be kidding me! How does someone top a four-for-four plate performance with a homerun?
The Yanks wrapped everything up in the top of the 9th and won 8-4. Even the crappiest-looking boxscore stats (Giambi only getting one hit after four times at bat) are because he was walked once and hit by a pitch twice. That one hit was a 2-run homer by the way. The Boys in the Bronx go back to work tonight at 8pm.
Come to think of it, Giambi batted a thousand as well (those hit-by-pitches and the walk don't count, so he was 1-1.) When was the last playoff game where two players batted a thousand?
Here's a link to a Quicktime video captured that YankTank sent from her cellphone from the upper deck behind home plate. Online collaberation can be a beautiful beautiful blurry thing. Thanks YT!
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at 11:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 26, 2006
NEVER TOO LATE IN THE SEASON FOR SOME EXTRA INPUT
Regular readers of Lexiphane.com who don't automatically skip over the sports items, baseball in particular, probably know that my efforts to score as many games this season was spurred by my friend Kel, one of the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable Yankee fans I've ever met. Frankly, I was starting to feel a little inadequate discussing previous night's games with her last year, either because I wasn't paying close enough attention during the game or my roster and bullpen knowledge was weak enough that mostly I was just nodding my head in agreement at anything she said. After almost a full season, though, when Kel texts me with an "inside baseball" joke late after a game, I can actually laugh to myself and respond in kind.
I tend to assiduously avoid reading print accounts of games or even listen to on-air commentary during a game, not wanting my impression to be tainted or give the impression I know more than I do by parroting something I simply read in the NYC media. If I don't have it in my scorecard, it tends to be off Lexiphane.com's dance card.
There is one exception. A mutual friend tipped me off to a column written by a young woman who goes by the online name YankTank. She writes semi-regular pieces for SportsColumn.com that are well-informed and come from a very unique perspective, like comparing the heated late-season trade environment to her personal history of dating disasters or dissecting the mental breakdown of David Ortiz and Boston fans' sanity as the Red Sox' season swirled down the crapper:
My head is still reeling, with sentiments popping and banging around my mind like those numbered lottery balls in the glass globe: I'm running the whole gamut, from bemusement at Boston's last battle cry before leaving the Green Monster to walk the Green Mile, to embarrassment FOR Boston fans. I don't remember the last time I didn't relish their demoralization, and now I'm sympathetically cringing like I'm watching a sweaty comedian bombing onstage.
It's a fun column to read because of its originality and because her love for the game shines through. She can be caustic without being cruel and avoids the general carping, second-guessing, day-after bench manager (that's like a Monday morning quarterback) perspective that unfortunately characterizes most sports writing. We were recently in touch via email and apparently share a strong anticipation for the Yankees' post-season with an equal aversion to having to listen sub-par on-air bluster. I'm sure she'll have much to say about it. I suggest you check in on her columns regularly. From hereon in, a link to YankTank's column site can be found over on Lexiphane.com's right-hand column at the bottom of the NYC section.
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at 11:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 22, 2006
THE G ISN'T SILENT, BUT APPARENTLY INVISIBLE
The Yanks just beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 4-1 in the first game of their road series down on the Gulf Coast. Tampa starter James Shields was pretty good through six innings, but fell apart in the 7th, allowing four hits and three runs by the Yankees. Relievers Shawn Camp and Rudy Lugo cleaned up nicely in the 8th and 9th, respectively, with three-up three-down performances.
The news of the game was the much-anticipated return of Yankee closer Mariano Rivera, who hasn't played for 23 days with a sore forearm. He arrived to much applause in the bottom of the 9th with a three-run lead. New York clinched the division in their previous game, so there wasn't much pressure for the 11-year anchor of the franchise. His return was almost ruined, however, when Tampa left fielder Crawford singled to right field. It wasn't the single that was nearly disastrous, but the fact that he shattered his bat off Rivera's pitch and hit catcher Jorge Posada in the side of the head with the bat's jagged remnants on his backswing, hard enough to knock the mask away from Jorge's face.
Posada was hurt. As his head lashed to one side from the blow of the bat, his entire body followed, staggering all the way to the Yankees' dugout. Like the champion he is though, Posada waved off back-up catcher Sal Fasano to finish the inning and the game. Rivera struck out the side, with two looking and one swinging. He did allow that single and smashed Tampa's Ty Wigginton in the hands to put two men on base, but a save is a save is a win.
Which brings me to the title of this entry. Tampa Bay's first baseman is named Ty Wigginton. He is the first baseman, so he's involved in about 70% of all infield plays. He also came to the plate four times during the game (0-3, HBP). Also, it's nearing the end of September and the Devil Rays are in the AL East. I suppose the Yanks have probably played the DRs about 10 times, at least. With all that presented, why does Yankees announcer Michael Kay pronounce his name Ty Wiggin-G-ton? Where is that G coming from? If you think I'm mis-hearing, I can assure you I am not. I had about 100 opportunities to listen to Kay say Wigginton's name tonight and he is pronouncing it Wiggington. Why has no one in the Yanks press office or even on-air producer Kevin Wilson corrected Kay on this? Does the Wigginton family pronounce its surname with a G or is Michael Kay just retarded?
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at 9:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 20, 2006
CHECK THAT
One of the interesting things about scoring baseball games--which I've been doing all season--is that occasionally one will catch the on-air talent in a mistake. Jim Kay normally corrects himself by saying "Check that" and then giving the correction. There was a weird disparity in tonight's game against the Toronto Blue Jays though.
The three men in the booth, Jim Kay, Ken Singleton, and Al Leiter made a point of discussing Yankees starter Sean Henn's removal from the game two-thirds of the way through the 4th inning. They discussed the fact that things were going fairly well for the rookie making his Major League start until the third inning, when he threw 40 pitches. The YES Network even put up a pitch-count graphic showing Henn throwing 40 times in the 3rd. This made me double check my scorecard, because the bottom of the 3rd didn't seem that long to me. There was in fact a disparity between what the Yanks on-air guys were saying and what I'd seen and recorded. Here's how I scored the inning, and for the purpose of clarity, when I write foul balls following the pitch count I mean two-strike fouls that are pitches not reflected in the count. So here's what I got, Sean Henn against the Toronto lineup:
Phillips (DH): 3-0, Walk (4 pitches)
MacDonald (SS): 3-2, foul ball, Flied out to center (7 pitches)
Johnson (LF): Single to left field (1 pitch)
Rios (RF): 2-2, foul ball, Strike out (6 pitches)
Wells (CF): 3-1, Walk (5 pitches)
Glaus (3B): 3-2, Strike out (6 pitches)
And that's how the inning ended with one hit and three men left on base. My adding skills might be a little rusty, but I only count 29 pitches for Sean Henn as I scored it. In the post-game show, Kay, Singleton, and Leiter again mentioned Henn's high pitch count, although they didn't repeat the number 40. As I said before, such a huge disparity between the game and what the guys in the booth and the graphics are showing is very unusual. I'll be interested to see if any print journalists repeat the mistake tomorrow morning. That's one of the reasons I tend to not listen to play-by-play during the game. Whatever I write about baseball tends to strictly from what I glean from my own scoring of the game.
As I sign off, it looks like the Twins are going to beat the Sox up in Boston. That equals a clinch of the AL East for the Yankees with just one more road trip to Tampa Bay in the regular season. The playoffs await. Congratulations guys. I've enjoyed almost every inning.
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at 9:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
JETER OUT OF POSSIBLE CLINCHER
Save for the existence of the modern playoff system and the possibility of a massive end-stretch meltdown, the Yanks clinched the AL East last night. Officially, the "magic number" is one, guaranteeing a clinch with either a Yankee win or Boston loss, but due to the teams' head-to-head records, last night's NY win was the clincher. A Yankee win tonight, however, would still warrant some celebrating as it's made official.
Which makes it worrisome that shortstop and team captain Derek Jeter is out of the pre-game lineup. Miguel Cairo will fill in for him. Jeter got beaned in the top of the first inning last night by Toronto pitcher Shaun Marcum. The Blue Jay pecked him right on the hand or wrist with a full count and the ball-on-bone contact sounded like the crack of a bat. Jeter ran his bases, but could be seen throughout the rest of the game flexing his hand as if it was still smarting. It's probably smart for manager Joe Torre to make sure his captain is in no way injured heading into the playoffs. No doubt, Jeter will still be standing at the railing of the dugout, watching his teammates clinch their division under his supervision.
Also out is catcher Jorge Posada. He's not even being replaced by Sal Fasano of moustache fame, but by some guy named Nieves. We'll see what that's all about. Johnny Damon is also sitting the game out. He was one for five last night, 24 hours after getting thrown out of a game for arguing a pitch call with an umpire--and he wasn't even at bat--so perhaps Torre feels like he needs a night off. Melky Cabrera will replace him at the top of the lineup and Bernie Williams will keep center field warm for him. Keep an eye out for a special pinch hitter lower down in the order and late in the game. Gary Sheffield is off the DL and is activated as of last night. He didn't play any last night, but he's sitting in the dugout, stoic and somehow still looking eager to bash the hell out of some pitches. The game starts in about 30 minutes.
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at 6:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 19, 2006
I'LL SAY!
After last night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays, the YES Network aired a public service announcement spot for the Tourette's Syndrome Awareness Foundation. Standing with his arm draped over the shoulder of a kid who may or may not have Tourette's, but who at least made it through the spot without blurting "Sox Suck!" Yanks manager Joe Torre went into his pitch for awareness.
"When you're at the ballpark, you may notice some fans twitching and making strange noises" he began.
The first time I saw this PSA I laughed out loud--involuntarily I might add, hmmm. I thought "Indeed you can see those people all over the stands." I normally just think of them as baseball fans.
NB: Actually, I just remembered this. In the movie Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, SNL's Amy Poehler plays a woman with Tourette's Syndrome. Trying to think of a good environment where she won't mortify herself unleashing spontaneous strings of profanities, Rob Schneider's character brings her to a Major League Baseball game. The scene is actually hilarious, as is most everything Poehler does. I won't even re-print the dialogue as it is gratuitously obscene for a respectable (cough!) site such as lexiphane.com.
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at 11:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 15, 2006
CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN
Derek Jeter's bat is on fire; he's hit in 22 or 23 consecutive games. That's pretty impressive and something people like to talk about. As hot as his bat is, though, his fielding is so sick (as in GREAT) that opponents are likely to exclaim "GODDAMNIT!" while fans are likely to exclaim "GODDAMN, I SAY GODDAMN!" How is it that a man grabs a ball off-balance and then jumps into the air and spins 270 degrees while hurling a ball with pinpoint accuracy towards first base? How IS that possible? Jeter's in a race for MVP and currently a few thousandths of a batting percentage behind his competition. At the same time, he is matchless as a batter with runners in scoring position and his play on the field isn't golden, it's platinum, peerless, and jaw dropping. I've been watching a lot of games this year, and there's more games than fewer where I've exclaimed aloud to an empty apartment "Aw, come ON, you gotta be KIDDING me!" at Jeter's fielding heroics--and I'm a Yankees fan. You can hate George Steinbrenner, NYC, the NY Yankees and everything else NY related. If you can't admire Derek Jeter, though, there is something seriously seriously wrong with you.
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at 12:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 14, 2006
B TEAM
It goes to show what a team can do when they're a dozen-odd games in front of their division. Manager Joe Torre pulled 7 of his 9 starters in Tuesday's game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to audition younger players. He had the ability to do that after the Yanks sent 13 batters to the plate in the bottom of the 1st inning, who hammered in 9 runs. They sent another eight to the plate in the third to bring the score to 12-0.
The only starters that stayed on the field were Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon, but Damon last batted in the 6th, so perhaps he would have been pulled if necessary. Hideki Matsui made a huge return to the lineup. He was 3-3 with a walk during 4 times at bat. Apparently he healed his broken wrist well. The B Team did okay; they gave up four runs in the top of the 9th, but it was probably worth it to see what they had to offer.
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at 12:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack