Sunday, May 03, 2015

A SPORTS SATURDAY FOR THE AGES

Ar least according to ESPN. Yesterday morning they listed the exciting events scheduled for that day:
1) A NY-Bos baseball game
2) The Kentucky Derby
3) The Mayweather/Pacquiao 'Fight of the Century'
4) A Spurs-Clippers 7th game playoff
5) A continuation of the NFL draft
6) Plus the usual Saturday sporting events: NASCAR Talladega 2015, a Rangers-Capitals NHL Playoff game, The World Golf Match Play Championships, The Tiddlywinks Tournament...no wait, that was last week.

And an exciting day it was. Let's look at the events:
* Not a typical Yankee-Red Sox game. No fights, no controversy - the most noteworthy thing was the fact that the game was played in 2 hours and 44 minutes, which, in most NY/Bos games would only get you through 6 innings.
* The winner of the horse race was the favorite, American Pharoah, the horse with the misspelled name (correct spelling is Pharaoh)
*Another non-exciting  event. One sportswriter called it 'Dancing with the Stars.' That's a typical Mayweather fight. He doesn't really WIN his fights, he just lets you lose.
* The NBA game may have actually been the most exciting event of the day. The defending Champion Spurs were beaten in a last second shot by a one-legged Chris Paul bank shot. Chis was playing on a very painful bad hamstring (I know exactly how that feels), but he was still the guy they trusted to take the last shot.
* Ah yes, those critical 6th, 7th and 8th rounds of the NFL draft. The players picked here usually last until the last two or three cuts, so you can see how important they are. The best part was seeing what stars the teams sent out to announce their picks (The Bills used Jim Kelly). Next year they are going to try something different: they're going to teach Roger Goodell how to pronounce the players names correctly.
* I'll leave it up to you to figure out the results of the other events since ESPN changed their format and I still haven't figured out how to negotiate the site yet.

NEW YORK - BOSTON NOTES
It's been 24 games now, but the Red Sox left fielder, Hanley Ramirez, still looks lost out there. The centerfielder still has to take him by the hand and show him where to stand every inning. He appears to have forgotten how to catch pop-ups and has to wind up before he throws the ball to the infield. Ken Singleton noted that he plays way too deep a left Field in Fenway because of the Green Monster. But he can hit.
A-Rod has hit home run #660 and the Yankees have reiterated that they have no intention of paying him the $6 million dollar milestone bonus, saying they will follow the contract and that this is what the contract says. The Yanks look petty and cheap and I don't see how they will win this battle. Here's an interesting suggestion from Mike Lupica: "If Alex Rodriguez actually had any grace, he might think about thumbing his nose at the Players Association and telling the Yankees to keep their $6 million “milestone” bonus for home run No. 660. Or, better yet, tell them if they don’t want to give it to him, then give it to charity." Good idea.
Why isn't Chris Young playing more often? How scary is Dellin Betances? He can get it up to 98 mph regularly and throws a slider with a sharp break that most people can't get with a wiffle ball. Then follow him with Andrew Miller and you better be ahead of New York after 6 innings or you don't have much of a chance. 

YA' GOTTA LOVE ESPN
This morning, I read a headline on ESPN that said, WILD FINISH TO GIANTS-ANGELS GAME. Wow, I thought, I wonder what happened.. I read the whole recap article. I still didn't know. They never mentioned the finish. I went to the Baseball Tonight video of the game. One reporter and two former players saying things like, "I've never seen anything like that in 27 years of covering baseball." or "It's hard to believe, but that's the rule." And finally, "You wonder how that could happen," And all the while, they're pointing to a still of the game behind them. They never explained what happened or showed a replay of the play.         And then they signed off and I still didn't know what happened. 
(Just so you know, with two outs in the 9th with the tying and winning runs on base, a runner got hit by a batted ball that would probably have gone through for a single. The runner is declared out and the game is over. A freak play possibly costing the Angels a chance to win the game. Now was that hard, ESPN?)

***THEY SAID IT***
"In New South Wales, Australia, a jockey’s pants fell to his knees during a race. This still didn’t look as stupid as 85 percent of the hats at Saturday’s Kentucky Derby."  -- Brad Dickson
"That is why there was a lot more discussion going into Saturday night’s fight about Mayweather’s record outside a boxing ring than his one in the ring. And why all this breathless access we got with him in the days leading up to the fight just made you realize he’s even more of a bum than you thought he was in the first place."  -- Mike Lupica
" It’s now Gone Daddy. Go Daddy is dropping its NASCAR sponsorship for Danica Patrick."  -- TC Chong
"So what comes next? Mayweather’s next fight or his next domestic violence arrest?"  -- Janice Hough
"A surefire sign the Brewers are off to a bad start: “ ‘Going, going, gone’ refers to the fans after the eighth inning."  -- Alan Ray
"A Philippine electric company urged customers to turn off major appliances — even refrigerators — to compensate for a projected 2-megawatt power deficit during Saturday night’s Pacquaio-Mayweather fight. No such problem in Miami whenever the Marlins play."  -- Dwight Perry
" NFL teams tend to overlook draftees’ rap sheets. If Hannibal Lecter ran a 4.3, we’d probably diagnose it as an eating disorder."  -- Cardinal GM Steve Keim
"How about that Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight? There were so many jabs and uppercuts, I felt like I was watching a Kansas City Royals game."  -- Brad Dickson
" An Australian jockey's  pants fell down in midrace. Great news for anyone who bet on him to show."  -- Tim Hunter
"I’m just wondering: If A-Rod does get the $6 million from the Yankees, does Cousin Yuri get a cut?Come on, fair is fair"  -- Mike Lupica
"Congrats to American Pharoah for winning the best two minute event in sports. As opposed to say, Big Papi’s batter’s box ritual."  -- Janice Hough
"What is it about Alex Rodriguez? If A-rod had been abusing soap, I’d still have trouble believing he was clean."  -- RJ Currie
        This one's for Annie-O--
"YES’ Al Leiter on Friday during Mets-Yanks, demonstrated his previously unknown capacity to allow a pitch, now and then, to be thrown without comment, without his standard, protracted clinical examination."  -- Phil Mushnick

CP-
 

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