All Sport Report

It’s September. That means all of the top baseball teams are scrambling to win games and make their way into the playoffs. For the AL, that means the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, and Detroit Tigers are going head to head in a desperate attempt to win the Wild Card position. While there is a lot of discussion over which team will get the AL Wild Card slot, talk of the NL pennant race has been practically mum!

The Tigers and Mariners had the distinct advantage of knocking each other down some games since they played one another. While the Tigers won the first two of the three game series, the Mariners weren’t about to let the Tigers get one step closer to moving ahead of them (just behind the Yankees). Today, the Tigers lost 14-7, at Comerica Field. Felix Hernandez started for the Mariners and in actuality he really didn’t control the ball game. Hernandez gave up multiple runs and hits to the Tigers, but that didn’t seem to matter.

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New Orleans Loses in NFL Opener

Ok, so my record is 0-1, but this week isn’t over yet. For some reason, Payton Manning had all the right moves and the Saints (even with the talent of Brees and Bush) just didn’t have what it took to take Manning down. This is just the first game of the season. Let’s hope it doesn’t foreshadow how the rest of the games will play out for the Saints this year.

This wasn’t just a win. This was a mess of a game. I hardly recognized the Saints in this game. Sure, the Colts won last year’s Superbowl, but it was a new year and in football who wins one year doesn’t necessarily reflect on how well they play the next. However, this opening game, in which the Colts won 41-10, seems to be the prelude to another season the Colts will dominate.

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What is being deemed as one of the biggest games of the AL’s baseball season was played out on Tuesday, August 14, 2007. The Detroit Tigers played the Cleveland Indians. The Tribe and Tigers, fierce rivals due to their close proximity to one another, were both tied at first place for the AL’s Central Division with 65-53 game records. This game would determine who would take the lead of the division, if only for 24 hours!

The game started out with Jeremy Bonderman pitching for the Tigers. If you have read my other posts on the Tigers, you probably already know my opinion of Bonderman’s ability as a pitcher. He had come in to this game having lost the past four he pitched. Right off the bat, he also gave the Indians two hits making the first inning score 2-0 in favor of the Tribe. I grew up watching the Tribe play, so this was a very tense game for me, especially since Kenny Lofton is back in the Cleveland uniform. Still I sat with baited breath hoping that my Tigers would get themselves out of the mess Bonderman had already created.

Luckily, Bonderman got his act together, making it through the sixth with no more hits. In the meantime, the Tigers’ offense managed to even the score up, with two RBIs batted in (one of whom was Ryan Raburn, the star hitter who was recently called up from his place with the AAA team, the Toledo Mud Hens). By the time the eighth inning was in progress, the score was tied and the Indians seemed raring to go.

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Today was a big day in the Evans household. I had my remote set to flip between three different sporting events. At 1:00 PM EST, the Detroit Tigers took on the Oakland A’s. If they happened to win this game, they had the chance to move half a game ahead of Cleveland for 1st place in the AL’s Central Division. Of course, the Tribe would also have to lose their game today to the New York Yankees for this to occur. With the Yankees playing some damn good baseball lately that seemed like the inevitable outcome.

Meanwhile, Football’s pre-season began in Detroit when the Lions took on the Bengals. I’m not a fan of either team (though as a little tyke my heroes were Icky and Boomer – I perfected my “Icky Shuffle”). However, seeing football on TV was exciting enough to get me all riled up. Besides, being in Michigan, I feel minor loyalty to the Lions, even if they have had some rather “sucky” streaks in the past few years. The exhibition game just happened to be on my Detroit CW station with the Tigers on one of my other, local stations.

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The Detroit Tigers need to get out of their funk and start playing baseball! Those of us who love our Tigers are sick of the mediocre game play and crappy pitching. Can’t at least ONE pitcher get out of their funk? Not even Verlander can seem to handle the “curse of the Tigers”, which has plagued the 2006 AL champs since just after the All Star Game. Sure, there is an occasional good moment, such as Andrew Tata’s big league debut in Oakland, which is one of the three meager games the Tigers have won since their loss streak began on July 26 (against the Chicago White Sox). In that time, Chicago and Oakland kicked their asses on the road and then Chicago came to Detroit to do it again.

In between, Tampa Bay, one of the worst baseball teams in the game currently with a 44-71 record and placement at the bottom of the East Division of the AL, shared wins during a four game series at Comerica Field. Yesterday, it was time for Oakland to cream the Tigers again and they did, winning in an astounding 16-10 victory over Detroit. I can only blame the pitching for this debacle as the offense (and defense) rallied together to try and keep the A’s from upping the Tigers again. Not even Tata could control the A’s and he left in the 3rd in a sad display, his rookie colors showing. If he keeps it up, they might just send him back to Toledo.

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Sports fans are a dedicated bunch. We have our favorite teams and our favorite players. It’s hard when one of your favorites gets traded to a team you hate because you want them to do well, but not the team. The idea of cheating and steroid use tends to put some sports fans off. Who can blame them? If you’re not a strong enough athlete to play the game on your own, without the help of cheating and drugs, then you don’t deserve the millions of dollars that they give you to go out and play.

So, while looking through sports news today I came across an article on ESPN. ESPN asked people what they thought of cheating. Like I said above, some mentioned that they no longer liked sports because of the fact that so many cheaters are being found out.

Others seemed to think cheating was part of the game and that fans should get used to it because it’s not going anywhere. However, my favorite comment came from a sports fan with the name, goblue3509. He said perhaps the dumbest thing that I have heard, at least all day.

“You have to respect someone so driven that they are willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to be successful,” commented goblue3509. “Maybe some of the overweight population should take a page from Barry [Bonds] and Merriman’s book and sacrifice a little to get in shape.”

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Despite the fact that the Seattle Mariners’ mascot ran into Boston outfielder, Coco Crisp, while riding an ATV during a game on Sunday, the moose will not be punished. According to a team statement, the Mariners have apologized for the unfortunate accident and are glad that no one was hurt. Both Coco and the Red Sox were apologized to and they graciously accepted the apology. No punishment is being planned for the Mariner moose.

This crazy turn of events occurred in the fifth inning of Sunday’s game. Coco was heading from the Red Sox dugout and the Moose just happened to drive by at the same moment. The moose clipped Crisp as he drove by and the impact caused Crisp to lose his balance and fall down. Like a good sport, Crisp dusted himself off and pretended to shake a fist at the Moose.

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Brady Quinn has come to an agreement with the Cleveland Browns and will sign a $20.2 Million contract with $7.75 Million guaranteed that will put an end to his holdout. The five year contract has the ability to grow to $30 Million with incentives. The contract was signed Tuesday night and ended a holdout of 11 days. Due to the fact that Quinn has missed as many days as he has, he essentially eliminated any shot he had of beginning the season as the team’s starter.

As the terms have been negotiated, Quinn flew from Arizona to the Browns’ training facility. He will have a chance to begin practicing on Wednesday afternoon, after a press conference that will announce the deal.

The question is will Quinn be able to make up the time he has lost? He not only missed the first 10 days of camp, but he also struggled significantly in the spring workouts and mini-camps. This leads people to wonder just how far behind Quinn really is.

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Yesterday was a day for Baseball milestones to be reached. If you have not heard that Barry “the Steroid User” Bonds hit homerun number 755 to tie with Hammerin’ Hank Aaron’s record for the most career homeruns, then you have been living under a rock. To those of us who respect Aaron’s record this was hardly news. Meanwhile, A-Rod hit number 500 in his career, an amazing feat for someone of his young age. This has made A-Rod the youngest player to hit 500 in a career, making his own little record in the process. To round things out, steadfast Atlanta pitcher, Tom Glavine, pitched his 299th winning game of his career.

Still, it is Steroid Bonds who is getting the most attention, and not all of it is positive. Sure, Bonds is doing something…somewhat remarkable…by getting 755 career homeruns, but does he really deserve all the credit? Personally, I think the record books should list him as Barry Bonds & Steroids, when he finally manages to hit 756 and beat Aaron’s record. After all, without them he might be batting homerun number 155 not 755! Since we haven’t seen what Bond can do without having taken the career enhancing drugs (and his silence was an omission of such) it is hard to say where Bonds would be in his career otherwise.

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New information has become available in the Rod Beck death case. While the toxicology reports are not yet back and the cause of death is still unknown, police are releasing information about what had been found at the scene. Rod Beck, a 38 year old relief pitcher who played for the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs was found dead on June 23 in his home, which is located in the northeastern part of Phoenix, Arizona.

In the master bedroom as well as the bathroom and various other places throughout his house, police found drug paraphernalia and cocaine on the date of his death. His bedroom floor had at least four tiny canisters containing a substance believed to be cocaine due to its white, powdery nature. Along with that was a large canister filled with paste. This paste is generally used together with the powder to make cocaine in a rock form. White powder (cocaine) was also found in the master bedroom’s roll top desk.

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With Hank Aaron’s home run record about to be unfairly broken and inductions into the Baseball Hall of Fame being made, there is a lot of discussion about what makes a great baseball player. Keep in mind that this list reflects what I feel makes a great ball player. With that in mind, I have compiled my list of the top five ball players throughout baseball’s history. Feel free to comment to this message and make your own list of five.

First, a good ball player must be an exceptional hitter. If they can’t hit then they are either an exceptional pitcher or they are just good at defense. Second, a good player should be able to handle themselves in their defensive position. There are plenty of power hitters who aren’t so great when they are out on the field. Third, a good baseball player should be loved and/or admired by their fans. The fans know who are the good players and they rally behind them regardless of whether they are personable with the crowd or not. The best of the ball players are legends that are still loved by their fans to this day. That being said, let’s get on to my list.

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In what is being called a bizarre accident, a former MLB player and minor league coach died on Sunday, July 22, 2007. The incident happened less than a month after he had taken on coaching duties for the Tulsa Drillers, at the request of his young sons. Mike Coolbaugh was standing in the coaching box at first base when he was struck by a foul ball that was hit by Tino Sanchez in a game played by his Tulsa, Double-A team against the Arkansas Travelers.

After being hit, Coolbaugh was knocked unconscious. CPR was administered and an ambulance was called, which took him to Baptist Medical Center – North Little Rock in Little Rock, Arkansas. As the ambulance was pulling in at the hospital, Coolbaugh stopped breathing. He was officially pronounced dead at the hospital, at 9:47 PM.

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If there are two things I love, they are sports and food. Sports and food go together quite well. Perhaps that is why my partner, Ashtyn, and I go together, so well. I am the sports enthusiast and resident expert. She is the gourmet chef. She even writes her own blog on the Food Network called Watching Food TV.

Imagine my surprise when I became addicted to the Food Network. A whole network about food is about as exciting for a man as the ESPN network airing non-stop sports 24/7. Of course, I have my favorites like Paula Deen, who is a southern cook after my own heart and Emeril, who cooks kicked up food with a lot of New Orleans flavor.

So, when I get the chance to have my two passions, food and sports mix, I am like a kid in a candy store. After watching Rory lose the Next Food Network Star I realized that the season premiere of one of Ash’s favorite shows, Dinner Impossible, takes Chef Robert Irvine to the ballpark. He was attending a Chicago White Sox versus New York Yankees baseball game where he would find out his mission.

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After a few days break from my daily sports run down due to life really giving me a sharp kick, it’s back to the grind. So, what did we miss during my brief hiatus? Scandals abound like crazy in the sporting world. From Cycling to Basketball, Friday, July 20, 2007 was not a good day in the vast majority of the world’s top sporting organizations.

Baseball

Cleveland and Detroit Battle it Out for First Place – The Central Division of the American League has been heating up. With just a half game lead over the Cleveland Indians going into the second half of regular season, Detroit and Cleveland have been in a constant battle to see who will be number one. While Detroit remains just barely ahead of Cleveland, Detroit’s catastrophic 10-2 loss to Kansas City after a four game winning streak on Friday thrust Cleveland (who beat the Rangers 3-2) one step closer to taking over the top spot and kicking Detroit down to second place. My Tigers better hustle and win their next game if they want to remain in first place not only for the Central Division, but for the American League as a whole.

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No sooner had I mentioned that Barry Bonds was in a major slump that he had to go and show me up. So, he was 0 in 21 at bats, which is a pretty bad record for someone who is trying to attain the status of Homerun King. Then he decided to go and get two homers in one game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. These were homers 752 and 753 on his quest to beat Hank Aaron’s record for the most career home runs in the history of baseball.

I have to repeat myself when I say that I think Bonds is highly overrated. I’m not overly thrilled at the implications of what he’s done to become so great and yet I feel that making him the new man to beat over Aaron is a slap in the face to those who were genuine and true to baseball for so many years. Color me imperfect for my view of Bonds, but that’s just how I feel.

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