It is no secret that the Boston media are an extremely cynical bunch.
This also just in: Halle Berry is pretty good-looking.
I am compelled to voice my opinion on the way Nomar Garciaparra has been portrayed as a lame-duck shortstop – as if he is just a few scant months or a trading deadline away from waving bye-bye to The Bean. Not only that, but there is a rising number of media types and fans that are pulling for this scenario.
Well the FANTASY SPORTS Weekly column took the ALL STAR Break to sit back and reflect on the first half of the baseball season but more importantly to prepare the world for the inaugural…
In the long tradition of ripping off the Sports Guy, I present to you my 2004 All-Star Game running notebook.
8:07 PM. We’re live from Fanta Grape Field… er, Minute Maid Park, here on the Planet Houston. (I take no responsibility for anyone who doesn’t get that reference; such a person is already cursed for not appreciating the phrase, “Son of Jor-El: kneel before Zod!”) I am taking advantage of my parents’ HDTV, watching the game with my younger brother, Patrick, and my mom, who had surgery earlier in the day on a broken finger and is all drugged up. Dad is out of town, so the occasional semicoherent comments from Mom will have to suffice for humor tonight. Kevin Kennedy and Jeannie Zalasko are both wearing yellow roses on their lapels. When did the All-Star Game become the Enchantment Under the Sea dance?
For those of you stuck in the sports desert known as July, here is some heavy duty reading for you. The NBA off-season has been a hectic time for player movement by free agency and trades. I breakdown each and every NBA team and give them their due, regardless if they deserve it or not. So take that much needed break from work and spend some company time catching up on the NBA. The boss might not thank you, but I will.
Coming into the 2004 season the Anaheim Angels looked like the team to beat in the AL. I had high hopes for this very well balanced team. Injuries have detoured their success but I still believe that this can be a very dangerous and potent club as long as Vlad the man can continue his all-star year.
When we think of the major sports in America, four leagues in particular come to mind. The MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL. But now we’re in the year 2004 and historically speaking, we may need to make some adjustments.
Eric Gagne’s 84 consecutive game save streak could be considered one of the best in baseball of all time. With the dramatic conclusion of this amazing streak, can Gagne puts his name on the top of the list of the greatest closers of all time? Not yet.
Greg Robinson’s defensive schemes helped the Denver Broncos win two SB’s. Not surprisingly, Denver’s scoring defense was ranked 7th and 8th during that back to back SB run.
Then Denver’s defensive secondary started falling apart – and along with it the overall defensive performance – and Robinson was given the boot.
We are in the midst of an age where young athletes are being showcased, analyzed, and exploited in this country before they are even old enough to vote for its leaders. The national media has ranking systems and publicized opinions before these athletes even reach high school. Sebastian Telfair exemplifies the problem this presents.
“Bassy,” as he is often called, was rated the #1 basketball player in the country for his age before he reached high school. He was also the youngest player ever to attend the prestigious ABCD Camp, which is reserved for the nation’s top prospects. Telfair first turned heads there when he showed up as an incoming high school freshman and performed brilliantly against phenoms older, stronger, and supposedly better. It was then that the mystique of Sebastian Telfair began to take shape.
The bottom line is that the NHL is a dying sports league. Everybody already is aware of the troubling labor issues the NHL has to deal with and getting slammed with a boring Finals will do nothing but dig the hole deeper. Barry Melrose may be on the streets in a year if nothing is done to rectify the situation.