Sportscolumn.com – Page 155 – Sports News and Commentary

Hopefully the Returning Gators Start a Trend

Post author By bobbyjim45
Post date April 8, 2006
1 Comment on Hopefully the Returning Gators Start a Trend

Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, and Al Horford announced that they would be returning for their junior season on Friday night in front of a group of students and fans in Gainsville. Billy Donovan confirmed this statement afterwards, saying he had talked to the students earlier and they told him they wanted to win a second straight national championship… and if other teams in Division 1 can’t hold on to their prime time players, the Gators might just do so.

It’s been the trend over the past few years for players to leave college early or come straight out of high school to go to the NBA. College players who dominate at that level for more than one year without entering the draft have become a dying breed. While there’s always a chance Joakim Noah is going to be the new trend setter, it’s highly unlikely that many more will follow in his footsteps.

College Basketball

Bruins Blocked

Gators Chomp UCLA 73 – 57

Cutting down the nets after winning the NCAA National Championship game is a dream come true for just about every young boy in America (except for those named Lebron and Kobe). That dream became a reality for the players of the 2006 NCAA National Champion University of Florida Gators. The Gators chomped their way into the history books by defeating the UCLA Bruins 73 – 57. Florida, a three point favorite coming into Monday’s championship game, placed their championship stamp on college basketball history for the first time, winning their first basketball title in school and state history. The Oakland region representative UCLA Bruins succumbed to the style of aggressive play that they had thrived on throughout the regular season and the tournament. The Gators played a patient yet attacking style of game and literally pummeled the Bruins for the entire 40 minutes.

NFL General

Your Can’t-Miss NFL Games- Week by Week by……

Post author By Matt Wells
Post date April 7, 2006
2 Comments on Your Can’t-Miss NFL Games- Week by Week by……

by Matt Wells

Baseball season is upon us, and it’s not even a week old. Every team has started 0-0, and the march to the playoffs is on. So, why am I talking football??!!

Well, today the NFL announced the schedules for all 32 teams for all 17 weeks of the 2006 NFL season. There are some games that you can just leave the television off for (think 49ers, Cardinals, etc.). There are also those games that you just…can’t…miss.

So, to echo the words of ESPN’s Woody Paige, “YOU GOTTA LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE, GUYS!!!!”

MLB General

The Surly Legend Of Bobby Baseball

Post author By michigansycophant
Post date April 7, 2006
33 Comments on The Surly Legend Of Bobby Baseball

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter–Martin Luther King Jr.

Bobby Baseball is not a real person. He is made up of media accounts, water cooler conversations and privy moments of underlying sheer hatred. There are many other questions that I would pose to any journalist regarding the treatment of Barry Bonds. Why is he so hated? What did he do to merit said hatred? Will the person who has seen the grand jury testimony, please stand up? The two books that were written about Barry’s steroid use have not one stitch of proof. How come there aren’t more Jose Cansecos? What I want America to understand is this is not about steroids, it’s about the witch hunt. Blacks have had heroes dragged, stabbed, assassinated, hung, ridiculed, ostracized, falsely accused and nullified. These are some of the reasons why some Blacks come to the defense of Bonds. The way he and other athletes are treated in the media conjures images Blacks are sick of seeing and feeling. Lyle Alzado, Bill Romanowski, Ken Caminiti, Jason Giambi (Comeback Player of the Year? What?). These are some of the few athletes who weren’t branded with as hot a tool as the one Barry gets stuck on his muscular chest every single time he is interviewed. Could you deal with the scrutiny? Could you deal with the judgemental scolding saliva of drunk fans and their misled children alike?

General Sports

The Almighty Phoenix

Take a second. Breathe deeply. Take your time. Yes, the 06′ season is upon us, but we must grasp the last shred of baseball reality to discuss the future of the league. A future that could lie in the hands of the past. A past that has a chance to tumble downward as time as told or a past that might be able to, while watched down on by some distant baseball god, rise from the ashes and prevail with glory. I’m simply talking about those old faces, drenched in worry with a mean chip on their shoulder, dying to form some sort of…..comeback? Or as some would often put it, A RISE FROM THE ASHES!
Post war symptoms come at times of distress and seem to prove nothing towards survival itself. But as we follow deeply, the recurrent symbols that have seemingly passed us by, more than a few can coronate a comeback season. Prone for great numbers, following sort of a wishy washy downfall, lies a few players that are more than familiar.

Oakland A's

Zito=Overrated?

By Mark Cooper

In his opening start of 2006, Barry Zito didn’t look prepared. He wasn’t following through on his pitches, his control was terrible, and at times he just looked lost on the mound. The climax of his night was his final pitch, a hanging curve over the center of the plate that reigning AL MVP Alex Rodriguez walloped over the left center fence for a grand slam. Michael Kay said it best for both the ball and for Zito; “Seee Ya!”. Zito’s final stat line provided some gaudy numbers; in 1 1/3 innings pitched, he gave up 7 runs, all earned, on 4 hits, 4 walks, and 1 home run, the grand slam by A-Rod. Although Zito was out there a long time (59 pitches), it was the shortest outing of his career in terms of innings. This start brings up the question, is Zito overrated? There are many people who take him as ace, which he isn’t. He also is mistaken for a Cy Young caliber pitcher because of his 2002 season, where he won the trophy.

Seattle Mariners

Mariners Primed To Turn Things Around

Post author By Garrett Rudolph
Post date April 6, 2006
2 Comments on Mariners Primed To Turn Things Around

I’m going to make a bold prediction. Certainly a prediction that will have its fair share of naysayers, people who will laugh, scoff, insult my baseball knowledge, and best of all, will be utterly stupefied when it comes true. Are you ready?

The Seattle Mariners will win the AL West. Yes, I said the Seattle Mariners. The same Mariners that became the first team in MLB history to win 90 games in back to back seasons and then proceed to lose 90 games in back to back seasons. In fact, one step worse, they actually had a string of four 90 win seasons snapped by their two consecutive 90 loss seasons.

Let me be clear about one thing. This is not the same Mariner team that stumbled out of the gates in 2005.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Former Leader of Steals Might "Take" MVP Honors

Post author By wtt02005
Post date April 5, 2006
No Comments on Former Leader of Steals Might "Take" MVP Honors

With an 82-game season, it is pretty difficult to not know who the MVP of the season is. If one reviews past years and looks at Shaquille O’Neal’s, Kevin Garnett’s, and Tim Duncan’s dominance during their respective MVP seasons, the word destiny seems to be attributed to their receiving the honor. However, this season is not so clear cut. The winner is not going to be known until the end of the season.

Initially, no one would discredit Steve Nash’s efforts in leading the Amare Stoudemire-less Suns to practically a no contest Pacific Division Title.

Well, you’re looking at an author who thinks Lebron might be honored instead if Nash is not careful.

MLB General

Blue Again

“Hope springs eternal” is the most commonly-used cliché applied to the start of every baseball season. But I don’t like it, mostly because I don’t think it applies. Hope doesn’t spring eternal for the Royals for more than six weeks, and then they’re 14 games back and scouting the next draft. For them it’s more like hope springs for a month and a half.

So for my lead, I’m going to dive back into the bag of tricks and grab, “everything old is new again.” It’s the perfect way to describe that return of the Grand Old Game, and it applies this year more than ever.

MLB General

Our Look At The American League

Post author By Trevor
Post date April 4, 2006
14 Comments on Our Look At The American League

by Trevor Freeman

Is it just me or was anybody else out there not prepared for Opening Day? I’m not sure if it was because I was afflicted with a huge dose of “GeorgeMasonitis” or if it was because hearing the word “steroids” come out of Linda Cohn’s mouth every thirty seconds made me want to gag.