America's Game

"The quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit".

This is beauty as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

A perfectly executed double play.

The sound of a Louisville Slugger making contact with the leather hide of a ball.

The sound of 60, 000 people singing "Take Me Out to the Ball game".

The vibrant and immaculately manicured grass of a ball park.

The ease of the foot-first slide.

Sandy Koufax on the mound.

The warmth of the sun on your skin in the outfield bleachers.

The feel of a warm hot dog in one hand... and a cold beer in another.

Jackie Robinson stealing home.

The diving outfield catch.

DiMaggio running the bases.

The arch of a home run.

Ken Griffey Jr.'s swing.

The above are just a handful of things in baseball that I find beauty in... that "pleasurably exalt" my "mind and spirit". There are so many other things about the game that make it beautiful.

It's a patient game. It is slow, and thoughtful with just enough pops of excitement to keep you on the edge of your seat. Baseball makes you think. Makes you question. You can't just run out onto the field and start swinging at things. You have to pay attention to your surroundings. When to bunt, when to try and steal second base, when to attempt to throw out the runner who is trying to steal second base, throw it to third or throw it home. Everything s logical, everything is calculated.

This is a game that is virtually unchanged since it's nineteenth century origins. The game that "The Babe" played is the same game the "The Man" played, and is still the same game that "The Freak" plays today. It's still 90 feet to each base. There are still three outs. There are still nine innings.

It has had it's rough patches, the Black Sox, the lock out, the Steroid era. Every few years a scandal emerges, but inevitably the game bounces back. Because that's the American way... and it is truly America's game.

What a long strange trip it's been.

As we approach the halfway point in this 2010 season, it needs to be acknowledged that this year has been... well, strange.

This time last year there were four undefeated teams going into week seven, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Minnesota, and Denver. This year however... New Orleans is sitting on two losses, one against Atlanta, and another against Arizona. This wouldn't be that shocking to me except that this is a Cardinal team WITHOUT Kurt Warner (honestly, I didn't know who their quarterback was until I looked it up... it's Derek Anderson for those of you who still may not know).

Indianapolis is also sitting at 4-2. As a Colts fan, their losses are a bit more disturbing to me because BOTH of them were against fellow AFC South teams; Houston and Jacksonville. Now with news that Austin Collie, Manning's top receiver this year, and Dallas Clark are sitting on the side line... let's just say I am more than a little frightened. When you look at their full injury report however... that is when it gets truly terrifying. Gary Brackett, Donald Brown, Joseph Addai, Austin Collie, and Pierre Garcon are all listed as questionable. Clark is out "indefinitely". If this is some sort of stupid Halloween joke... I'm. Not. Laughing.

Minnesota appears to be falling apart at the seams. Brett Favre is old. This is news to no-one, except Brett Favre. Apparently he is suffering from "Tendinitis" in his elbow. If you watched the Vikings-Jets game, like I did, then you saw him grabbing his elbow after every throw. Someone needs to tell him that this isn't the World Cup (were faking injuries is the norm) and he needs to grow a pair... although apparently he already has... and texted pictures of them to some poor woman on the staff of the New York Jets. Favre seems to have cruised up the path of perversion on his Wrangler sponsored Hoverround... officially creeping us all out by allegedly sending naughty text messages to a female staff member of the Jets. Personally, I think that he is over-exaggerating the injury to detract attention from this "sexting" scandal. Not only that, but the Vikings are sitting at a humiliating 2-3 record. I chose the word humiliating because when you have Brett Favre, Adrian Petersen, and Percy Harvin on your offense... you should NOT be losing to the Miami Dolphins. End of Story.

Going into week 5... the only undefeated team in the NFL was... wait for it... the KANSAS CITY CHEIFS! Kansas City hasn't produced a good football... or baseball team for that matter... in decades. I lived 18 years of my life in Missouri and the Chiefs have always sucked. But not this year. Matt Cassel is proving to be a good fit in KC. And with Charlie Weiss at the offensive helm this team has got some serious potential. To put it into perspective. the Chiefs are sitting on top of their division at the moment. A division that includes the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos. As mentioned earlier... the Bronco's were one of the four undefeated teams last year going into week 7. And the Chargers were an AFC powerhouse that took the Colts out in the first round of playoffs for two years straight (2007 and 2008)... this year... they lost to the Oakland Raiders (and yes you just read that right).

Here is the real kicker though. The best record in the NFL belongs to... the New York Jets. Mark Sanchez (swoon), LaDanian Tomlinson, Jerricho Cotchery, Braylon Edwards, and Dustin Keller make up one powerhouse offense. Combine that with a near rock-solid defense and you have yourself a 5-1 team.

Another team to keep your eye on this season is going to be the Pitttsburgh Steelers. They are sitting at 4-1, however, factor in that Ben Roethlisberger has only played in one of those games and things can only be looking up for the Steel City.

Unexpected records aren't the only big stories coming out of the NFL this year. Like I said earlier... Brett Favre is in a bit of hot water. Randy Moss was traded from the Patriots and called Tom Brady a girl (which is true), and the NFL is re-defining what is considered a legal hit... in order to cut back on violence and injuries during the games. All of this makes for one interesting season... and personally, I can't wait to see how it all pans out.

The 2010 NFL season officially has my attention... and it should have yours as well.

Tell me something I didn't know.

So Tom Brady hates the Jets.... thats ok, everyone except Giselle hates Tom Brady.

20 Questions every baseball fan wants answered. (Part 1)

I was looking through a back issue of ESPN the mag and I found something pretty interesting. They asked 100 MLB players 20 questions that every fan wants to know the answer too. And it's pretty amazing what they had to say...

(*this is a condensed version of the survey, for full article

1. WHO IS THE MLB'S BEST PLAYER?
Albert Pujols overwhelming wins this one with 58%
Joe Mauer comes in second at 21%
No one else broke 5%

2. WHO IS THE MOST OVERRATED PLAYER?
The biggest vote grabbers in this category were both Yankees... anyone else surprised?
Joba Chamberlain grabs 17% of the vote ... A-Rod picks up 9%

3. WHICH CITY HAS THE BEST BASEBALL GROUPIES?
While most players refused to answer this question. Those who did... named Chicago (with 21%). "It doesn't matter if you're playing the Cubs or the White Sox... it's all good in Chicago" says an NL pitcher who has been a foe of both teams.


4. WORST GROUPIES?
Oakland 14%
Cleveland 11%

5. HOW MANY GAMES SHOULD TEAMS PLAY?
57% of players are happy with the 162 game schedule.
However, the average suggestion for those who wanted a change in their work load was 152 games. 10% of the guys wanting shorter seasons wanted 120 or fewer.

6. WHO WILL WIN THE WORLD SERIES?
I like the ESPN verbatim response to this one best... so here it is.
"The usual suspects hog the conversation. Phillies? Check. Cardinals? Check. But in the end, a strong plurality (38%) saw more cheers in the Bronx. 'I hate to say it',says one 10-year vet, 'but the Yankees are unbeatable.' "

7. ON A TYPICAL 20 MAN ROSTER, HOW MANY PLAYERS DO YOU THINK ARE TAKING PEDs?"
Fourteen of the 100 declined to answer this question. However those who did respond had some pretty shocking answers. According to the poll, the average players per dugout would be 1.2, equating to 5% of Major League players. One AL starter added "I'd say not a single player is taking steroids... but there are guys who use HGH because there's no blood test.

8. WHICH PITCHER HAS THE NASTIEST STUFF?
Phillies ace Roy Halladay took 40% of the votes on this one. But Tim "The Freak" Lincecum had a solid 21% showing. Also in the conversation, Mariano Rivera. "When you can throw one pitch and have the career he's had, that's nasty stuff", says a fellow AL reliever.

9. WHAT IS THE BEST FRANCHISE?
With a majority of votes, 52% to be exact, the Yankees are the favorite MLB franchise. "You gotta go with the obvious: That's a lot of championships" says one AL all-star. Boston finished second with 16%. The Cardinals and the Phillies were also received their "smattering of respect".

10. WHAT'S THE WORST FRANCHISE?
This distinguished honor went to the Pirates (23%)... any surprise there? The Bucs have the honor of the owning the longest streak of consecutive losing seasons in American professional sports.

Marathon men

Thursday marked the end of the longest tennis match in history. A three day, ten hour marathon that left the sports world stunned, and the players dead tired. This was a record breaking match in the most obvious kind of way.

Longest match in Wimbledon history prior: 46 games
Isner v. Mahut: 163 games

Below is a list of other amazing statistics from this mind boggling match:

Longest match in tennis history at 10 hours

Most games in tennis history: 163 (previous was 112)

Most aces in a match: Isner 98 Mahut 95 (previous record-individual 78) for a combined 193 (previous record-combined 96)

Longest set in history at 118 games

Mahut had just three break points during the entire match.

The first four sets took 2 hours, 54 minutes. The fifth set is at 7 hours, 6 minutes and counting.

Mahut won 448 points to Isner's 428. Isner had more winners: 333 to 318.

The final set is longer than the previous longest match in tennis history. That was 6 hours, 33 minutes.

Isner had four match points, one at 11-10, two others at 33-32 and another at 59-58. The first and last match points came nearly six hours apart.

At 50-50, Mahut had two break points and Isner promptly served a 134 mph ace.

With Mahut serving at 52-53, the pair exchanged a 16-shot rally which ended with a Mahut forehand winner. It was the longest rally of the match. On the next point, Mahut dove for a backhand at the baseline following another long rally.

The players took their first bathroom break at 58-58. While walking in the tunnel, they exchanged pleasantries, the first time they had spoken all evening.

Mahut only qualified for Wimbledon after winning a qualifying match in a 24-22 final set.

The match is almost two hours longer than the longest Major League Baseball game in history (an 8:06 game between the White Sox and Brewers in 1984).

The scoreboard stopped working at 47-47.

*All statistics found on Yahoo Sports

Here today... Ghana tomorrow.

An unfortunate end to an improbable run. The United States soccer team lost this evening to the Black Stars of Ghana.

It was a truly heartbreaking loss. The game was tied at 1-1- at the end of regulation. Ghana scored their second goal during overtime. The US was clearly exhausted... 120 minutes had taken it's toll on the Yanks, and that was how the cookie crumbled.
Although we didn't advance. I think that the Stars and Stripes have cemented their presence in the world of Soccer.
It is widely known that the U.S has never fully embraced to sport of professional soccer, but this World Cup run had America on the edge of their seats. Now hopefully we will stay there.

Mad about you.

If I got paid $91.5 million to play baseball professionally, with other professionals...this is how I would not act.



However, I am not Carlos Zambrano. "Meltdown Man" has struck again... and yet again, his own team mate and a Gatorade dispenser are a target of his frustration. This time however, the Cubs team brass have had enough. Today's temper tantrum has earned this giant man-baby an indefinite suspension.

It appears that Carlos was upset about teammate Derrek Lee's failed attempt to make a play to stop a line drive from White Sox batter Juan Pierre. Both the Cubs and the Sox agree that the play could not have been made. Lee was pinching in preparation for a bunt that never happened.

"Due to the fact he was playing in for the bunt, it limits your range from side to side," Pierre said. "Derrek Lee is a Gold Glover. If he can't get to the ball, then it was a hit."

I would preface the following with a "No offense", except for the fact that I don't care. I find it humorous that Carlos Zambrano is the one blowing his top over missed plays by his team mates. If I am not mistaken... which I am not... wasn't it you, Big Z, who was pulled from your starting position and placed in the bull pen as a reliever because you weren't cutting it as a $20 million a year pitcher? Hey, maybe your frustration would have been lessened by NOT giving up 4 runs in the first (and only) inning that you pitched today. Although, I guess that I would be in a pretty bad mood too if I was pitching with an ERA of 5.66... one of the highest in Major League baseball.

Sure "Sweet" Lou Pinella sent you home early and you are suspended indefinitely. Sure you have to apologize to your team. But guess what.. you make $20 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR. I think that the Cubs should take the money remaining in his contract and use it to feed starving children in Africa. Or give it to an under-supported school district. Hey, there are thousands of people along the Gulf coast that could use that kind of money, since they are out of work because of something out of their control. You, Carlos "I blame everyone else but myself" Zambrano... you have control over your job performance. You are whining and crying more than a 6 year old girl because your team isn't winning. You play for the Cubs... WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?!?!? You are an embarrassment to yourself, the sport, and the Cubs. And don't you think they suffer enough already? So instead of acting like a spoiled brat, why don't you grow... or buy... yourself a new set of "equipment", man up, and act like the professional you are paid to be.