Boston has earned the right to party like madmen. The 2013 Red Sox have won the World Series. If you are a Boston fan stop here now to go celebrate! You guys deserve it. It took work and it wasn't easy facing the reigning champs, the St. Louis Cardinals. I had called it from the beginning of the season, then again I always say my teams are going to win it all. That shows how much I actually pay attention to stats in baseball. Boston, enjoy this victory and try not to be too rowdy, people might talk.
With what seems like every possible sport under the sun being played right now, it's hard to know what to pay attention to. I would watch football, just not the Redskins. Somehow the Redskins are not as good as they were last season (gasp). RGIII isn't as good as everyone thought he was going to be. My reasoning: RGIII found a time machine went to his second year player self, brought him back to last season to make a great rookie year but now since he caused a rip in his own timeline he now is actually playing his rookie year this year instead of last year. Ok, I might have gone off the deep end with that one but hey, it sounds way better than what the reality is. The fact is that Griffin isn't as good as he's been cracked up to been. Sure he's a decent player but come on, look at how he's playing, and look at the talent just sitting there on the bench waiting for his turn. Kirk Cousins is just as talented if not more so than Griffin. If the Redskins want to waste time trying to get RGIII back to how he was last year fine, that's their business. But I hope they bear in mind that with every loss the fan base is shrinking. As of writing this post the Skins are 2-5.
Now the Steelers aren't doing much better, they have the same record as the Skins (2-5) but I don't have any ideas on what's happening in Pittsburgh. It's just not happening. Plain and simple, nothing is happening. They need to pull it together if they want to have any hope of making the playoffs. But considering how the rest of the league is looking at the moment, it could be any one's game. It's just a big ball of confusion. They'll figure it out, they always do.
New England is honestly in a league of their own. Not because they have some amazing record, but because of the record they have with the players they have. With several of their key receivers missing, they are still pulling out wins. They are 6-2, again not entirely sure how they have kept such a decent looking record.
Oh and hockey's happening. But let us ponder the whole RGIII time travel theory.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Nerve Wreckers
If you happen to be a New England sports fan, of any sport, be it baseball, hockey, or football, you might be needing some anxiety medicine. Now the Bruins haven't crossed the line into heart-stopping action quite yet but the hockey season is still young, it could very well happen. The Red Sox won their game with a grad slam Sunday night. I didn't see said grand slam because I wasn't watching the game for two reasons: 1). I was watching the Redskins loose pitifully to the Cowboys (more on that game further in the post) and 2). I can't stand watching baseball on TV. Final Score of the Red Sox game: Boston 6 - Detroit 5.
If you didn't see or hear any thing about the Patriots game you are either very lucky or don't care about them. It came down to the last 11 seconds. Literally. This isn't some drama crazed person writing here. It came down to the last play with 11 seconds left. The Saint had been down, but with Drew Brees leading the charge they came back. They were still down, so they tried an onside kick. It went their way for once. But the Pats defense dug in and refused to let the Saints into the end-zone. So they settled for a field goal. They weren't done yet, once again they tried an onside kick. This one bounced and was recovered by the Pats. The player looked like he wasn't going to let the ball go ever. He knew that time was running out and that they needed this chance to make up the difference. Brady and company ran out onto the field only to get right back off due to Brady being intercepted on the first play of the drive on a pass meant for Julian Edelman. Back onto the field came the Saints; they didn't make any progress. So with 1:30 left in the game Brady marched his team up field running no huddle plays and converting on a fourth-down (with 23 seconds remaining). And down it comes. Brady spikes the ball to stop the clock with 11 seconds remaining. Brady takes the snap, they have to score here other wise the game is lost. He fires a perfect pass to Kenbrell Thompkins for 17 yards and the touchdown. Stephen Gostkowski kicks the extra point. The Pats are up 30-27, leaving 5 second for the Saints to pull off an upset. If there had been more time we might have gotten another touchdown. The ball was fumbled by the Saints; recovered and returned by the Pats for a touchdown after time had run out. Final Score: New England 30- New Orleans 27.
Something happened over the week five bye in favor of the Steelers. Whatever was said or changed is working. They beat the Jets in New York (technically New Jersey). Even with a home field advantage the Jets couldn't keep the Steelers from pulling out their first win of the season. Final Score: Pittsburgh 19 - New York 6.
The Redskins were not as productive as the Steelers had been during their bye week. They came out waving the 'we got this' flag going into the Cowboys game and left waving ' we need to work on a few things'. At this point they need to work on a few more things than 'a few'. They came into the game 1-3 (Dallas was 2-3). They might have had a chance after the Cowboys the previous week had suffered a devastating lost to the Denver Broncos. But no, the Skins let the Cowboys use the drive and determination gained from the last loss to push past the faltering Skins. Honestly, when will the Skins learn. Be aggressive. Make bold plays. Follow through, and for crying out loud do something about your defense! Granted the offence isn't that much better but it's getting there, ever so slowly. Final Score: Dallas 31 - Washington 16.
If you didn't see or hear any thing about the Patriots game you are either very lucky or don't care about them. It came down to the last 11 seconds. Literally. This isn't some drama crazed person writing here. It came down to the last play with 11 seconds left. The Saint had been down, but with Drew Brees leading the charge they came back. They were still down, so they tried an onside kick. It went their way for once. But the Pats defense dug in and refused to let the Saints into the end-zone. So they settled for a field goal. They weren't done yet, once again they tried an onside kick. This one bounced and was recovered by the Pats. The player looked like he wasn't going to let the ball go ever. He knew that time was running out and that they needed this chance to make up the difference. Brady and company ran out onto the field only to get right back off due to Brady being intercepted on the first play of the drive on a pass meant for Julian Edelman. Back onto the field came the Saints; they didn't make any progress. So with 1:30 left in the game Brady marched his team up field running no huddle plays and converting on a fourth-down (with 23 seconds remaining). And down it comes. Brady spikes the ball to stop the clock with 11 seconds remaining. Brady takes the snap, they have to score here other wise the game is lost. He fires a perfect pass to Kenbrell Thompkins for 17 yards and the touchdown. Stephen Gostkowski kicks the extra point. The Pats are up 30-27, leaving 5 second for the Saints to pull off an upset. If there had been more time we might have gotten another touchdown. The ball was fumbled by the Saints; recovered and returned by the Pats for a touchdown after time had run out. Final Score: New England 30- New Orleans 27.
Something happened over the week five bye in favor of the Steelers. Whatever was said or changed is working. They beat the Jets in New York (technically New Jersey). Even with a home field advantage the Jets couldn't keep the Steelers from pulling out their first win of the season. Final Score: Pittsburgh 19 - New York 6.
The Redskins were not as productive as the Steelers had been during their bye week. They came out waving the 'we got this' flag going into the Cowboys game and left waving ' we need to work on a few things'. At this point they need to work on a few more things than 'a few'. They came into the game 1-3 (Dallas was 2-3). They might have had a chance after the Cowboys the previous week had suffered a devastating lost to the Denver Broncos. But no, the Skins let the Cowboys use the drive and determination gained from the last loss to push past the faltering Skins. Honestly, when will the Skins learn. Be aggressive. Make bold plays. Follow through, and for crying out loud do something about your defense! Granted the offence isn't that much better but it's getting there, ever so slowly. Final Score: Dallas 31 - Washington 16.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Update
A quick update on the post I put up a few days ago. As of posting 'With one last loss', the Boston Red Sox hadn't played. Later that night they won their seat into the next round of the MLB postseason. They made nice use of ski goggles. You can see a few photos of their celebrations on their Facebook page.
On a sadder note, Steeler fans now have to hope for the best with the rest of football season. Their distraction in the Pittsburgh Pirates has ended as they were eliminated last night. Meaning that the St. Louis Cardinals are moving on. Is it just me (and it very well could be considering I might be the only one who cares) that the Cardinals are one of the most annoying teams once they get in the postseason? I mean it's not just the team, the fans can be bad too. Worse than a Boston fan.
Any hockey fans reading this (and are unfamiliar with the MLB postseason) and are like, "But they only played five games they can't be done yet." They can (and are) because the MLB has it right, it's best of five not seven like the NHL (well until the Championship Series for the AL and NL, and the World Series roll around. Then it switches over to best of seven). Things move along so much faster this way (again, up until the Championships and World roll around. Then they go on forever).
On a sadder note, Steeler fans now have to hope for the best with the rest of football season. Their distraction in the Pittsburgh Pirates has ended as they were eliminated last night. Meaning that the St. Louis Cardinals are moving on. Is it just me (and it very well could be considering I might be the only one who cares) that the Cardinals are one of the most annoying teams once they get in the postseason? I mean it's not just the team, the fans can be bad too. Worse than a Boston fan.
Any hockey fans reading this (and are unfamiliar with the MLB postseason) and are like, "But they only played five games they can't be done yet." They can (and are) because the MLB has it right, it's best of five not seven like the NHL (well until the Championship Series for the AL and NL, and the World Series roll around. Then it switches over to best of seven). Things move along so much faster this way (again, up until the Championships and World roll around. Then they go on forever).
Is this still the preseason?
It's week 6 of the 2013 NFL season, and the teams are separating out into good and bad. The first 3 weeks almost looked like the preseason still, no clean wins and losses that shouldn't have happened. A good number of teams looked like they were playing second string players. Some teams still (cough, cough Redskins and Steelers, cough cough) look like they're finding the roster.
The Redskins had bye this past week, meaning they didn't lose. They're 3rd in their division with a win-loss record of 1-3. So much for the great return of RGIII. He doesn't look so great. The way number 10 has been playing, he looks like a rookie. Maybe he used a time machine to travel to from the future last season to make a great debut, but now time has caught up to him and we're now getting his rookie season. It's not all bad news for the Skins. If they win on Sunday, and the Cowboys, Eagles, and Giants lose, then the Skins will be at the top of their division because everybody else in their division sucks just as much as they do.
The Steelers also had bye this past week of football. They aren't doing so well, somehow the Skins are actually better than the Steelers. The boys from Pittsburgh are at the very bottom of their division, with a 0-4 win-loss record. Or maybe a loss-loss record because that seems to be the only thing they can do at the moment. I really want to see them start winning, but really? 0-4? That's just sad. They even had a chance to make a tally in the win column when the played the winless (at the time) Vikings in London. But no, even then they couldn't pull out a win. The bright side? The Pittsburgh fans still have the Pirates to cheer for (see previous post you're not sure who these Pirates are).
Thank goodness for New England, at least in my world. They have gone without some of their top receivers and the ones they have are still adjusting. The reliable targets for Brady have left the team (darn Welker. Why do you have to help Payton win?? I'm glad you're having more fun, but really? Denver?) or are injured, like Gronkowski (who might play Sunday's game). They've pulled out four wins in the first five games, finally falling last week to the Cincinnati Bengals, 6-13. Brady just couldn't find a reliable guy to throw the ball to, but if you look at the previous four games you'll see that those wins were hard earned. In particular the 30-23 win against the Atlanta Falcons. It came down to the last play of the Falcons' last drive in the last minutes of the game. The Pats had the lead; after two on-side kicks (one recovered by the Falcons, the other by the Pats. The player who recovered the ball for the Pats held onto the ball like his life was solely dependent on keeping that ball. Which in a Belichick run team, his spot on the roster could have depended on that play). The security of a ten point lead went away when the Falcons scored a field goal after the first on-side. The Pats recovered it the second time but the Falcons dug in and the Pats were forced to punt. Taking the poor ball hostage, the birds from Atlanta marched up the field making a last ditch attempt to score, but it was just not to be. It was too amazing and reliving to put into words. Just go look at this picture to understand. Next up for the Pats are the unbeaten New Orleans Saints.
The Redskins had bye this past week, meaning they didn't lose. They're 3rd in their division with a win-loss record of 1-3. So much for the great return of RGIII. He doesn't look so great. The way number 10 has been playing, he looks like a rookie. Maybe he used a time machine to travel to from the future last season to make a great debut, but now time has caught up to him and we're now getting his rookie season. It's not all bad news for the Skins. If they win on Sunday, and the Cowboys, Eagles, and Giants lose, then the Skins will be at the top of their division because everybody else in their division sucks just as much as they do.
The Steelers also had bye this past week of football. They aren't doing so well, somehow the Skins are actually better than the Steelers. The boys from Pittsburgh are at the very bottom of their division, with a 0-4 win-loss record. Or maybe a loss-loss record because that seems to be the only thing they can do at the moment. I really want to see them start winning, but really? 0-4? That's just sad. They even had a chance to make a tally in the win column when the played the winless (at the time) Vikings in London. But no, even then they couldn't pull out a win. The bright side? The Pittsburgh fans still have the Pirates to cheer for (see previous post you're not sure who these Pirates are).
Thank goodness for New England, at least in my world. They have gone without some of their top receivers and the ones they have are still adjusting. The reliable targets for Brady have left the team (darn Welker. Why do you have to help Payton win?? I'm glad you're having more fun, but really? Denver?) or are injured, like Gronkowski (who might play Sunday's game). They've pulled out four wins in the first five games, finally falling last week to the Cincinnati Bengals, 6-13. Brady just couldn't find a reliable guy to throw the ball to, but if you look at the previous four games you'll see that those wins were hard earned. In particular the 30-23 win against the Atlanta Falcons. It came down to the last play of the Falcons' last drive in the last minutes of the game. The Pats had the lead; after two on-side kicks (one recovered by the Falcons, the other by the Pats. The player who recovered the ball for the Pats held onto the ball like his life was solely dependent on keeping that ball. Which in a Belichick run team, his spot on the roster could have depended on that play). The security of a ten point lead went away when the Falcons scored a field goal after the first on-side. The Pats recovered it the second time but the Falcons dug in and the Pats were forced to punt. Taking the poor ball hostage, the birds from Atlanta marched up the field making a last ditch attempt to score, but it was just not to be. It was too amazing and reliving to put into words. Just go look at this picture to understand. Next up for the Pats are the unbeaten New Orleans Saints.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
With one last loss
The baseball season for most people in D.C. is now over. The Nationals had been looking like they might make up for the horrid start to the season by barely making it in to the MLB postseason. But those hopes are now dead. The lost one too many games and now get to sit and watch others play. Or sulk; either one works.
One team that I'm willing to bet no one, and I mean even their biggest fans, never saw coming. Even thought it came like a freight train. The Pittsburgh Pirates have made it in the postseason. You are reading that right. How, I haven't the faintest idea. A good team, manager, and coaching staff might have helped get them there. Even so, who predicted this one? Other teams to qualify: Boston Red Sox (Not that much of a surprise), Tampa Bay Rays, St. Louis Cardinals (not a surprise at all. What is surprising is that the Pirates are showing them up in some games), Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves, and the L.A. Dodgers.
The NHL has begun again (pause to celebrate). The lull of summer baseball that goes on forever ends into a frozen battle field of hockey teams. Baseball may still be happening but for some fans, like me, is taking a backseat to hockey (not to mention that my favorite team didn't make it to the postseason). The Capitals started the season off by facing the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks, in Chicago. Really? We couldn't start with an easier team? I would have been nice to ease into thinks, new players and all. But no. We started with Chicago, then home for the Calgary Flames, and back out to Dallas to play the Stars. Why does Dallas have a hockey team, it's kind of weird. They don't play again till tomorrow night. So you have time to wash your favorite jersey, hop on one foot, find a rabbits foot, rub some lucky puck, or whatever it is you do because they're playing the Carolina Hurricanes. Whoop.
In random sports news, the Oracle Team USA won the American Cup back in September. Beating the predicted winner, New Zealand.
Oh, golf is still happening.
One team that I'm willing to bet no one, and I mean even their biggest fans, never saw coming. Even thought it came like a freight train. The Pittsburgh Pirates have made it in the postseason. You are reading that right. How, I haven't the faintest idea. A good team, manager, and coaching staff might have helped get them there. Even so, who predicted this one? Other teams to qualify: Boston Red Sox (Not that much of a surprise), Tampa Bay Rays, St. Louis Cardinals (not a surprise at all. What is surprising is that the Pirates are showing them up in some games), Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves, and the L.A. Dodgers.
The NHL has begun again (pause to celebrate). The lull of summer baseball that goes on forever ends into a frozen battle field of hockey teams. Baseball may still be happening but for some fans, like me, is taking a backseat to hockey (not to mention that my favorite team didn't make it to the postseason). The Capitals started the season off by facing the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks, in Chicago. Really? We couldn't start with an easier team? I would have been nice to ease into thinks, new players and all. But no. We started with Chicago, then home for the Calgary Flames, and back out to Dallas to play the Stars. Why does Dallas have a hockey team, it's kind of weird. They don't play again till tomorrow night. So you have time to wash your favorite jersey, hop on one foot, find a rabbits foot, rub some lucky puck, or whatever it is you do because they're playing the Carolina Hurricanes. Whoop.
In random sports news, the Oracle Team USA won the American Cup back in September. Beating the predicted winner, New Zealand.
Oh, golf is still happening.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
IAAF World Championships
The IAAF World Championships are in progress right now for track and
field. They're being held in Moscow, Russia. The same country as the
2014 winter Olympics are going to be held next year. I happened to turn on the TV
and saw briefly some of the men's decathlon. The decathlon for those who
have never heard of it before (I hadn't until the London games last
year) is an contest containing ten events : 100 meters, long jump, shot
put, high jump, 400 meters, 110 meter hurtles, discus throw, pole vault,
javelin throw, and 1500 meters. It's held over two days, five the first
day and five the second, depending on how the competitors place scores
are given to them. So after all events the guy with the most points
wins. Ashton Eaton, who won gold at the 2012 games in London, won gold
Sunday in Moscow with a score of 8809. There were three other Americans
entered in the decathlon, Trey Hardee, Jeremy Taiwo, and Gunnar Nixon.
Hardee and Taiwo did not finish; while Nixon who lead for part of day
one fell too 13th with 8312 points. Pretty good for Nixon who was at junior worlds last year.
Usain Bolt is still the fastest man in the 100 meters. In the finals there were four Jamaicans, two Americans, a British guy, and a Frenchmen. That sounds like the beginning of a bad joke.. Bolt had hard competition with American Justin Gatlin. Leaving the blocks Gatlin seemed to have the lead but Bolt surged a head. Only a .8 second difference between them finishing, compared to the .10 second gap between second and third place.The Jamaicans finish 1, 3, 4, and 5. The other American came up in the back in 6 narrowly beating the Frenchmen by .02 of a second. The 200 meters finals took place last night and Bolt took home another gold.
Sadly American sprinter, Allyson Felix is out; possibly for the season. During the 200 meter dash, rounding the turn Felix began to hop before falling to the track in agony. She had torn her right hamstring. Ending her hope of meddling at Worlds. Felix had planned to race in three events, the 200, 4x100, and 4x400. The injury is sever, but is it season ending? Possibly but she'll just have to wait and see. I feel bad for her, at worlds feeling good about the race about to hit her stride when this happens. I hate to see any athlete out because of an injury but when it happens at such a major event, on a world stage, it sucks even more.
For a link to the IAAF site for more information click on the link under the 'League Pages' in the side bar.
Usain Bolt is still the fastest man in the 100 meters. In the finals there were four Jamaicans, two Americans, a British guy, and a Frenchmen. That sounds like the beginning of a bad joke.. Bolt had hard competition with American Justin Gatlin. Leaving the blocks Gatlin seemed to have the lead but Bolt surged a head. Only a .8 second difference between them finishing, compared to the .10 second gap between second and third place.The Jamaicans finish 1, 3, 4, and 5. The other American came up in the back in 6 narrowly beating the Frenchmen by .02 of a second. The 200 meters finals took place last night and Bolt took home another gold.
Sadly American sprinter, Allyson Felix is out; possibly for the season. During the 200 meter dash, rounding the turn Felix began to hop before falling to the track in agony. She had torn her right hamstring. Ending her hope of meddling at Worlds. Felix had planned to race in three events, the 200, 4x100, and 4x400. The injury is sever, but is it season ending? Possibly but she'll just have to wait and see. I feel bad for her, at worlds feeling good about the race about to hit her stride when this happens. I hate to see any athlete out because of an injury but when it happens at such a major event, on a world stage, it sucks even more.
For a link to the IAAF site for more information click on the link under the 'League Pages' in the side bar.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Football is Back
It would have been really nice to have added a seventh Cup to the list but it just wasn't the right time. Myself and all other Boston hockey fans will just have to wait. We couldn't have lost to a better team. Literally, the Blackhawks were the 'best' this year. They took the Cup home in six games: 4-3 (CH), 2-1 (B), 2-0 (B), 6-5 (CH), 3-1 (CH), 3-2 (CH). Three of those games ending in overtime, if you account for all the overtimes it makes five since the first game took three overtimes to decide a winner. Congrats Chicago.
One a side note the Washington Capitals open their season against the Blackhawks. Isn't that lovely.
Well football's already back. The NFL kicked off this past weekend. The Patriots and Redskins won their games. The Steelers lost theirs to the Giants. All three teams look pretty good considering this is a time to try guys out and see how they are in real games not just practices. Now time to talk about the elephant in the room; Tim Tebow. I saw a few online articles stating that Tebow proved yet again that he is not a NFL quarterback. I will wait to pass judgment on Tebow for a bit because: 1) How much did he actually play as a quarterback in New York with the Jets? So he hasn't really had the chance to be a NFL quarterback in almost a year. 2) You can only accomplish so much in practice and training camp. He needs more time to adjust to the playing style of New England. 3) He is somewhere deep down still the quarterback that brought the Denver Broncos into the playoffs two seasons ago. I'll wait and see how he turns out but I still think there's some hope for him in New England.
Baseball is still happening. Sometimes you forget it's happening since the summer days are long and filled with fun. And baseball runs from May to October. The Nationals aren't so hot these days; only winning 5 of the last 10 games they've had. One bright note, Stephen Strasburg played his first full game of his MLB career. It was a sweep 6-0 of the Philadelphia Phillies. He stayed in and played all 9 innings. Impressive for a guy who normally comes out earlier in the game.
The last story for today takes us to the golf world. Tiger lost whatever stride he was on; coming in the very back of the scoring with 4 over par in the PGA Championships. Rory McIlroy improved and end with 3 under par. Jason Dufner came in at the end of the day -10 under par. Not too shabby for a guy who blew it two years ago.
One a side note the Washington Capitals open their season against the Blackhawks. Isn't that lovely.
Well football's already back. The NFL kicked off this past weekend. The Patriots and Redskins won their games. The Steelers lost theirs to the Giants. All three teams look pretty good considering this is a time to try guys out and see how they are in real games not just practices. Now time to talk about the elephant in the room; Tim Tebow. I saw a few online articles stating that Tebow proved yet again that he is not a NFL quarterback. I will wait to pass judgment on Tebow for a bit because: 1) How much did he actually play as a quarterback in New York with the Jets? So he hasn't really had the chance to be a NFL quarterback in almost a year. 2) You can only accomplish so much in practice and training camp. He needs more time to adjust to the playing style of New England. 3) He is somewhere deep down still the quarterback that brought the Denver Broncos into the playoffs two seasons ago. I'll wait and see how he turns out but I still think there's some hope for him in New England.
Baseball is still happening. Sometimes you forget it's happening since the summer days are long and filled with fun. And baseball runs from May to October. The Nationals aren't so hot these days; only winning 5 of the last 10 games they've had. One bright note, Stephen Strasburg played his first full game of his MLB career. It was a sweep 6-0 of the Philadelphia Phillies. He stayed in and played all 9 innings. Impressive for a guy who normally comes out earlier in the game.
The last story for today takes us to the golf world. Tiger lost whatever stride he was on; coming in the very back of the scoring with 4 over par in the PGA Championships. Rory McIlroy improved and end with 3 under par. Jason Dufner came in at the end of the day -10 under par. Not too shabby for a guy who blew it two years ago.
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