Where have all the East German “women” gone? That’s a question that’s been dogging me as I’ve been trying to watch these “Oplimpiadi Invernali” (Italian for winter olympics) during the first half a fortnight. I mean I’ve really, really been trying to watch. It seems however, that all the sports news media types are more caught up in talking about how they’re NOT watching.
Let’s not be so quick to ignore the fortunate opportunity Davis received in 2000, and how he wasted it away in the latter half of his six-year tenure at Indiana.
by Matt Wells
I write this article in anticipation of the retirement of Sammy Sosa, whether it’s within a week or whether he plays one or two more seasons. Sosa’s career has been well documented – from his start in Texas up to his decision not to sign with the Washington Nationals today (February 15, 2006).
There is no doubt that Sammy Sosa has had a long, successful career. Up to this point, he has 588 career homeruns, and up until a few years ago, he struck fear into the hearts of every opposing pitcher. This was someone who could hit the ball out of the park in a heartbeat.
Today is the second of four breakdowns, this time about the much discussed starting rotation. Last year the rotation was greatly improved by the addition of Pedro Martinez, along with Kris Benson’s first and final full season as a Met. By the end of the season, it was considered the deepest spot on their roster, unfortunately in the recent weeks they have traded away much of that depth in favor of bullpen help. This is a questionable process in itself, as a surplus of starting pitching must be considered a higher value then a surplus of relief pitching. To be a closer you have to have a certain mentality, one in which you can immediately wipe out the previous night’s performance, so in all due respect they will be excluded from the category of relief pitching. But the majority of relief pitchers at some point in their career were unable to continue their starting roles and were destined for the bullpen. So had Jae Seo, Kris Benson, Victor Zambrano, or Aaron Heilman saw the bullpen I would’ve been more comfortable with that then Duaner Sanchez or Jorge Julio. Trading for a set up man was questionable in the Seo for Sanchez deal, but the Benson Julio deal was over the top unless of course, the salary was cut in order to have flexibility for acquiring someone such as Barry Zito.
I got stuff. It’s rattling through this head of mine. Why not write it down? Awesome idea. And post it on Sports Column… Oh yeah, now I’m thinking like a champ! In the words of Billy Madison: LETS GO!
by Trevor Freeman
On Tuesday morning, I wearily stumbled into work and checked my www.realityfanforum.com inbox. In it was a gift from a fellow Survivor watcher and Oakland A’s fan. It read as follows:
The New NHL: in like a lion (shootouts, more scoring), out like a whimpering, kicked little puppy dog (the ready-to-explode gambling scandal). While Wayne Gretzky is busy wiping the sweat from his brow, let’s review the “first half” of the NHL season up to the Olympic break. First, the Eastern Conference (hey, we got a bias to keep up here!).
So I woke up this morning, and the first thing I did, just like every other weekday, is turn on SportsCenter. Whose face do I see?…Ron-Ron’s. It was “Sunday Conversation” time, by far some of the best sports interviews on television. Artest answered questions on what he felt like during the months he was supposed to be traded, and how the Maloofs made him feel in his debut in Sacramento, etc. But an even better question came up about Ron Artest’s image. He replied that he really didn’t care about changing his image. To quote him, “I don’t want to do no Coca-Cola commercial.”
He was doing so good, it really seemed like he moved on from what happened in Detroit and that this Ron Artest was just going to play basketball, and try to stay off the radar. My favorite comment of the interview was that he was “too hood for that” when he was explaining why he wouldn’t clean up his act. That got me to thinking what is the big deal with street cred in the NBA?
When Oakland Raider’s owner Al Davis tabbed Art Shell, the same Art Shell Davis fired eleven years ago, his new head coach, I could only muster a roll of the eyes. This hiring reeked of a desperate old man reaching back into his past to try and save the future. Then I watched the venerable Mr. Davis speak at his press conference and once again I found myself drinking the Silver & Black kool-aid.
By David J Cohen
Now that the year is officially over with the ending of the most meaningless game in professional sports, or the Pro Bowl, the focus of millions of NFL fans around the country shifts to next season. What changes need to be made? What can my team accomplish? How far can my team go? These are the questions of the fans as they follow their favorite teams into the journey that is the off-season.
Here’s a look of what the AFC East might look like in the 2006-2007 season.