I Think I'm In Love

From today's ESPN Ombudsman article:

I wish ESPN would consider adding to its lineup a crisp, half-hour, nightly news version of SportsCenter -- just news and highlights, without gimmicks or sponsored segments or recaps, without self- or cross-promotion, with a consistent anchor team accountable for a consistent tone, with spare to no use of instant commentary. A prime-time island of clean, clear, straightforward news on which ESPN's journalistic credibility could securely rest.

Le Anne Schreiber, will you marry me? more...

Where were you when?

As Seaward mentioned in today's TMA, Barry Bonds became the Home Run King of Major League Baseball last night/early this morning. I made it a point to watch the game two nights ago and was disappointed not to see the record set. I don't know what was going through my head last night when I decided to go up to my room and try to finish "The Bronx is Burning" (the book, not the miniseries, both of which I enjoy). Then, just after midnight, my brother Jonathan ran upstairs yelling at me.

"Chris! Chris!! Get down here! Barry did it!"

I felt like a kid on Christmas Day I ran out of my bed so quickly. I almost tripped down the flight of stairs I was moving so fast. When I got downstairs I saw a throng of Giants hugging Barry. I saw fireworks going off at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Later, I saw Hank Aaron on the Jumbotron reading a very prepared statement congratulating Barry on his achievement. I saw Willie Mays trying his damndest to help keep Barry's emotions in check on the field.

And then I saw something that made me totally forget about the shadows surrounding this record and the allegations surrounding this athlete. I have never been a Giants fan in any regard but I have had a soft spot for Bonds since his drive for the record began in earnest a few years ago. I thought about how Hank Aaron had faced racism and death threats while he tried to break the Babe's record in 1974. Bonds had steroid allegations, constant ESPN coverage and Pedro Gomez (oh my!) to worry about during his chase. Yet standing on the third base line at AT&T Park, Barry Bonds reached for the heavens and thanked his late father, Bobby, and broke down.

Just like that, Barry Bonds was human, as human as you or me. In the midst of this chase and these allegations, Barry Bonds was nothing more than his father's son, trying to celebrate this home run with the man who taught him how to do it. When he pointed skyward, Barry reminded all of us that baseball is just a game and that it is a game that we share with friends and, more importantly, family. We can discuss steroids tomorrow, but for today, Barry Bonds is the unquestioned Home Run King of Major League Baseball. more...

The Morning After on TSE -- 8.8.07

Well, it's over. Barry Bonds has the all-time career home run record in Major League Baseball.

Anyone who knows me knows that I was amongst the many who said over the past month "Barry's going to break it, I just want him to get it over with, once he's done it baseball can be normal again." It's a jaded, cynical view, I agree; by last weekend it was probably the most prevalent viewpoint in the sports world on Bonds' chase. It's an easy viewpoint to take: Barry is surly, he is surrounded by a cloud of steroids, we get sensory overload for Barry on ESPN, etc etc. Once it was all done we could just watch some goddamn baseball.



Then he hit it.

Son of a bitch, did he hit it.

I looked on, and caught myself smiling. A discussion between my left brain and right brain broke out:

Left Brain: What the hell are you doing?
Right Brain: Smiling. Did you just see that?
Left Brain: I saw it, but it's tainted.
Right Brain: What? Shut up. This is cool.
Left Brain: Come on, he's a ster--
Right Brain: Shut up, bitch!
Left Brain: But--
Right Brain: SHUT. THE. HELL. UP. THIS IS FREAKING COOL.
Left Brain: ...

I'll be damned if I didn't tear up a little bit during the celebration. I'm not a Giants fan, I'm not a Barry Bonds fan; yet there I was, getting all misty. It was absolutely unreal.

So this morning I am happy to say: nevermind the bollocks, here is your home run champion.



All photos from the San Francisco Chronicle at sfgate.com. more...

The Morning After on TSE - 8.3.2007

After today, I will be going on vacation to the simple recesses of Edisto Beach, South Carolina. It is a quiet beach island an hour away from Charleston and is just a stones throw from some great golf, including:

The Ocean Course at Kiawah, site of the 2012 PGA Championship (mark it down)

Carolina National Golf Club, a Freddy Cuplando design

Daufuskie Island Golf Resort

Wild Dunes, the classic Tom Fazio design

Why do I mention this? Because I get to play one of these courses and you don't. Good money's on Carolina National or Wild Dunes, but I'm holding out for Daufuskie near Hilton Head. One of the courses is named "Bloody Point". And I can't stop giggling.

Anyway, the crux of this entire thing is that I will likely be away from any form of communications whatsoever and it is with that that I leave TSE in the able (if sometimes invisible) hands of JTBI and Seaward, maybe a guest here and there. Between now and the end of August, we'll be doing some Best of TSE posts that not only cleared the bar, but set it at a new height this summer. Look for one later today. more...

The Morning After on TSE - 8.2.2007

From time to time there are events that happen and these events draw us away from the world of sports. Something like that happened in Minneapolis last night when a busy bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River during rush hour. Wow. And I mean 'Wow' in the worst way.

The stories coming out of Minnesota are unbelievable. People saying that they were driving one minute and dropping, head-first, into the river the next. A busload of kids barely missed a similar fate, thankfully. There are some incredible stories of heroism by emergency workers and passersby alike, as well as the sad stories of injuries, deaths and people still missing. Sadly, the efforts have shifted from rescue to recovery. CNN has the best coverage of short of being in Minneapolis. You can follow the story here.

TSE thoughts and prayers are in Minnesota today. more...

A Huge National Practical Joke?

I swear to all things good and pure: I just don't see it. I don't get it. I don't understand.

How, how, HOW are the Boston Celtics going from literally the worst team in the Eastern Conference to a consensus conference favorite amongst national media analysts? I know, I know, "Seaward, they traded for KG!"

Overrated acquisition? No. Overrated team? Yes.

So?

Everyone has taken great glee in ripping the Eastern Conference from pillar to post after the Cleveland Cavaliers won the East with LeBron +4 and were summarily dumped by a vastly superior Spurs team. "Hey, if all you have to do is be better than Cleveland, anyone can win this conference," has been the mantra of every NBA analyst, GM, player and fan this offseason. Easy enough to say, but does this trade accomplish this end? No.

For starters (no pun intended, just wait), let's look at the Celtics' projected lineup:

• PG - Rajon Rondo
• SG - Ray Allen
• SF - Paul Pierce
• PF - Kevin Garnett
• C - Brian Scalabrine
• Bench - Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis, Tony Allen, Leon Powe, Gabe Pruitt, Brandon Wallace

Yes, the middle of that starting lineup is frightening. It truly is. The rest of the lineup, though? Are you freaking kidding me? This roster doesn't even have the depth to field a full starting five, much less a reasonable 8-man rotation. And yet... this team is all of the sudden the team to beat in the East in the eyes of all these NBA pundits?

I think someone is pulling a prank on me.

Has everyone forgotten who is steering this ship? How severe is this case of national situational amnesia that everyone failed to notice that Doc Rivers is still the head coach of this team? The same Doc Rivers with a career 273-312 record (8-14 in the Eastern Conference playoffs)? Coaching is very important in this league and say what you want about Mike Brown, he installed a defensive system involving his role players on the Cavs that worked perfectly in the East. Do you think Doc Rivers can do that? Can Doc Rivers out-coach anyone in playoff contention in the East? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Even taking a giant leap and granting that Doc won't screw this up, will a big three with an average age of 31 be able to succeed in a conference that is getting rapidly younger? Can the 31 year olds run with superstars in their early and mid-20s like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard? Well, let's ask the New Jersey Nets... nope. (FWIW- I'm not convinced that Boston's big 3 is better than New Jersey's big 3.)

The way I see it, the Celtics are now a playoff team... but are they a conference contender? No. No, no, no, a thousand times NO. As I see it right now they are anywhere between a 6 and 8 seed in the east. Take a look:

• 1- Cleveland -- Give the defending conference champs their due with a 1 seed
• 2- Miami -- Fully healthy Wade + breathing Shaq = Southeast title
• 3- New Jersey -- The original Big 3 adds Jamal Magloire at the 5
  
• 4- Chicago -- Talented young core keeps getting better
  
• 5- Detroit -- Getting older but are still a major player thanks to depth
  
• 6- Orlando -- Dwight Howard welcomes Rashard Lewis
• 7- Boston -- Lots of star power with no depth still gets you in the playoffs
  
• 8- Toronto -- Talented young team took a big step in 06-07

Coaching, depth and age... can the Celtics overcome all of these shortcomings and win the weak Eastern Conference?

No. more...

The Morning After on TSE - 8.1.2007

August brings with it many things. School, for some, begins in this month. I used to be out the requisite $50+ on dinner and a gift for a money-grubbing whore very nice and respectful young lady I used to date back in High School. But in sports, it primarily means that the grind that is summer is coming to a close. Yes, August is still hotter than an Ana Ivanovic/Natalie Gulbis/GoCM Three-way, and no, football hasn't started yet.

(GoCM Note: There was a great MS Paintjob here originally but blogger eats pan-seared asshole and it got screwed up on import. I am supremely depressed by this.)

But still.

The first of August also marks the passing of the Major League Baseball's trade deadline. It wasn't a star-rich trade period this time around but 16+ hours after the deadline came and went, there are certainly some big winners and some sore losers. We'll start in the National League.

NL Winner

The Atlanta Braves

Talk about a big-time win. You get Mark Teixeira from Texas and only have to give up Jarrod Saltalamacchia for him. I'll concede that SalTal is probably the next Joe Mauer-type young catcher, but the Braves already have Brian McCann as a backstop and he is an all-star this year. Teixeira is an automatic upgrade at first, as the former Ranger is the two-year reigning Gold Glover at 1B. Offensively, there's not a lot going on for him this year...yet. Playing for a team in the thick of a playoff run can only help boost Teixeira and will likely elevate him above .300 on the year. His as yet mediocre RBI numbers (49) will also come up with a good lineup around him, most notably Andruw/Chipper Jones, Edgar Renteria and the aforementioned McCann will play big roles. Big win for Atlanta, who as of now are just three games back of the struggling Mets.

NL Loser

The Milwaukee Brewers

If there's a team that is sweating more than the BrewCrew right now, I can't name it. The big lead that seemed safe in the lackluster NL Central is down to just one game. Let's face it: Sweet Lou knows what he's doing and it was only a matter of time before the Cubbies got hot. Well, they are now and the Brewers need to make a move to make sure they weren't a problem. And they didn't. The rumor is that they were second in the running to get Gagne (more later), and he would have been an excellent get for the Brewers. But instead, they're left with question marks on the hill in the late innings, as well as with a lineup that has been up and down more than a jackhammer (and you thought I was going to make a sex joke there, didn't you?)

AL Winner

The Boston Red Sox

What a day it was in Beantown yesterday. First the Celtics get Kevin Garnett (for 7 players, the Prudential Building, the Bruins, a few cases of Sam Adams, Curt Schilling's bloody sock, a box of those naked lady tees, etc)* and then the Red Sox bullpen, currently baseball's best, gets a very good shot in the arm in the person of former NL Cy Younger Eric Gagne. He joins All-Star reliever Fukijama and lights out closer Jonathan Papelbon as the most untouchable 8th and 9th inning in baseball. Gagne fills two rolls immediately: most importantly he's insurance if either of Boston's principle set-up man or closer go down. Gagne has proven that he can handle the closer roll this year (16 saves in 17 tries this year) and he could work set-up no problem. But more importantly, he's one of the league's best against lefties and hasn't given up a run to one of them crazy southpaws all year. With Schilling on the way up (another scoreless 7 innings in rehab last night), Beckett and [Andrew] Dice-K looking good, losing Kason Gabbard won't hurt too much for now. Regardless, the rich just hit the jackpot.

*stole that joke from Mike and Mike.

AL Loser(s)

The AL Central, the LA Angels of Anaheim or Greater Los Angeles or California of the USA

The Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins and Angels all needed relief pitching or a bat. The only active team was Minnesota...who sent three-time Gold Glover Luis Castillo to the Mets for a few minor leaguers. Are you kidding? Detroit's starters will be lights out but the bullpen is shaky at best. Cleveland can score runs on par with anyone in the league but Joe Borrowski couldn't stop Minnesota a few nights ago and has been made Tribe fans sit with their bellies in their throats since save #1. And Johann Santana can't pitch every game for 9 innings (though he hasn't turned it up to 11 like he usually does post-break yet). The Angels, meanwhile, can beat you a few different ways but they needed a Gagne-type pitcher and they really need another bat to take the pressure off of Vlad Guerrero, the HR Derby champ, who hasn't hit an HR since that derby.

In the Central, nothing is going to change much and the Angels have held their lead to this point. But for the Red Sox, Yankees (who dumped Scott Proctor for Wilson Betimet, another 3B/SS type player...your best guess) and Mariners, things must be looking much better now, knowing that their principle competition in the wild card and AL West didn't do anything.

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