.
Four active left-handed batters have more hits than Todd Helton. Name 'em.
Ken Griffey Jr. (2749 hits, as of Monday morning)
Garret Anderson (2,469)
Johnny Damon (2395)
Jim Thome (2129)
(Helton has 2094. Bobby Abreu's on his tail at 2080. The active leader among righties is Derek Jeter with 2701, and Omar Vizquel's 2699 leads switch-hitters)
Albert Pujols now has nine consecutive 100-RBI seasons to begin his career. There are only six active major league players, besides Pujols, with nine 100-RBI seasons in their entire careers. Name 'em.
Thome, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Vladimir Guerrero, Chipper Jones, Carlos Delgado (Junior has 8)
Pitcher A: 141 IP, 10-5, 3.69 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 125 K, 16 homers allowed in a hitter's park
Pitcher B: 150 IP, 9-9, 3.65 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 134 K, 8 homers allowed in a hitter's park
Pitcher A makes $16.5 million this season
Pitcher B makes $750,000 this season
Name 'em.
Pitcher A is A.J. Burnett, who needs to be put in timeout along with Jorge Posada
Pitcher B is Ubaldo Jimenez, who has earned the quote from another major leaguer: "If you don't know about him yet, it's your own fault."
And now, for one more trivia question, of the tennis variety:
Name the 11 American citizens who have won a Grand Slam singles title in my lifetime, which dates back to the 1987 French Open. Hint: note the American CITIZEN part.
-AJ
Showing posts with label Alex Rodriguez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alex Rodriguez. Show all posts
Monday, August 24, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Manny being...A-Rod?
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This is a funny e-mail from my uncle Dennis, a diehard Yankees fan who had an interesting take on Manny Ramirez's 50-game suspension.
"Ya gotta love Manny. In one action, he has:
Very entertaining, my uncle's words. And fair points, too. Very fair. Purely in the interest of playing devil's advocate - I'm not really a Yankees or Red Sox supporter, though Uncle Den would be the first to tell you about my historical disdain for the pinstripes - I would add a couple things...
Oh, and by the way, Bud Selig will be speaking at the University of Wisconsin's commencement ceremonies next weekend. I'll definitely report the reception he gets...I'm sure a mix of cheers and boos will result, particularly in light of Manny's suspension.
-AJ
This is a funny e-mail from my uncle Dennis, a diehard Yankees fan who had an interesting take on Manny Ramirez's 50-game suspension.
"Ya gotta love Manny. In one action, he has:
- Taken A-Rod off the hook...
- Ruined Joe Torre's season...
- Invalidated the Red Sox World Series wins...
- Made Bud Selig look like a bigger dummy...
Very entertaining, my uncle's words. And fair points, too. Very fair. Purely in the interest of playing devil's advocate - I'm not really a Yankees or Red Sox supporter, though Uncle Den would be the first to tell you about my historical disdain for the pinstripes - I would add a couple things...
- A-Rod signed a 10-year, $252 million deal. Manny did not.
- A-Rod has an interesting off-field lifestyle, like dating Madonna for instance. Manny does not.
- A-Rod plays in New York City, home to the most vile media in the world. Manny does not.
- A-Rod can realistically break the all-time home runs record, the most hallowed mark in sports. Manny cannot.
- A-Rod had the story broken by journalists, not by a pee cup or MLB testing. Manny was the opposite.
- A-Rod proceeded to hold a press conference, make bold-faced lies to the public and then had more crap come out about him in future endeavors, thus turning the media further against him. Manny hasn't done any of those things.
Oh, and by the way, Bud Selig will be speaking at the University of Wisconsin's commencement ceremonies next weekend. I'll definitely report the reception he gets...I'm sure a mix of cheers and boos will result, particularly in light of Manny's suspension.
-AJ
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Sportsman of the Month - April
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Actually, I don't have a sportsman of the month. I don't have a sportswoman of the month, either.
I've got 18,541 of them.
Sportsmen and sportswomen of the Month:
I mean, if you looked outside and saw recurring downpours, in about 45-degree weather, just one day after enjoying a 75-degree day in late April, would you voluntarily lace up your running shoes, grab a towel and water bottle, and go run 8 kilometers or walk 2 miles?
A record-setting amount of Madisonians and out-of-town racers did just that on Apr. 25. Not once before in the 28-year history of the Crazylegs Classic - a run-and-walk event that starts at the Capitol building, winds around the University of Wisconsin campus and ends at the 50-yard-line at Camp Randall Stadium - had so many as 18,541 people participate. Considering the awful elements, that just made Crazylegs officials that much prouder.
“I think this is an exclamation point for Badger fans,” Terry Murawski told me during the closing ceremony under a tent's shelter on the soaked Camp Randall turf. Murawski is the Executive Director of the W Club and helps coordinate Crazylegs each year.
“You could not have scripted a worse day unless you had snow; it’s chilly, it’s raining, it’s rained hard through the race, and people are still coming over the finish line an hour after we started.”
Crazylegs features people from just about any background. You've got world-class racers including UW cross country and track superstars Katrina Rundhaug and Ann Detmer (whose recent graduation finally made them eligible to participate in the event); you've got local college students who go with friends as a fun end-of-the-semester outing; you've got casual runners who want to test their speed in a mini-marathon-type race, as well as people just looking to walk a little bit in late April as part of a large group.
But perhaps most impressively, you had large groups who coordinated to run or walk together, wearing matching shirts and racing for a common goal.
221 "Fun and Fitness" teams entered Crazylegs, including an eye-popping 4,000 individuals. The second-largest group, the Kevin Peyton Crazylegs Memorial Team, had 150 people in black shirts screaming "Running for Kevin". Kevin Peyton died last fall of autism at just 14 years old.
“This was one of his favorite things to do," Kevin's father, Steve, told me after the race. "We enjoyed it together as a father-and-son duo, and now to have 150 people here, it’s unbelievable. We’re just a bunch of friends and families; we’re not a corporation or business. It’s pretty neat, I’m very proud.”
It was an emotional day, too, for Elli Tarnutzer, whose 14-year-old son Lance was diagnosed with diabetes in September. Before long, his football and basketball teammates started spreading the word to create "Lance's Team", girls at Lance's high school were making and posting flyers, and 55 participants came out on a rainy day to help raise money for juvenile diabetes research.
When asked what it meant to have so many supporters for her son, who along with other Type 1 Diabetes combatants wore a red headband during Crazylegs, Elli teared up.
“He’s a real outgoing, personable kid,” said Elli Tarnutzer, Lance’s mother. “Everybody likes him. He’s just a good kid overall.”
On a lighter note, I, the Crazylegs newbie, had to ask Elli, a Crazylegs vet, just what does her group do if somebody has to stop and use the facilities during the race. Do they all stop? Do they go ahead and hope the individual catches up?
She shrugged and grinned. "Pretty much, you just grin and bear it."
More than 18-grand brave souls did just that on Apr. 25. And that made for a very proud day in the Madison community.
Past SOTM winners:
Team Japan – March
Rafael Nadal – February
Larry Fitzgerald – January
April honorable mentions:
North Carolina Tar Heels: No. 1 when they started, No. 1 when they finished. Just a couple bumps in the road, but overall a terrific season for clearly the best team in the land.
Albert Pujols: For singlehandedly carrying my fantasy team in Weeks 1 and 2. Not that I'm biased or anything.
Zach Greinke: For being the freaking man. He's now 6-0 with a 0.40 ERA? WHAT?!?! Too bad he'll be an overpaid Yankee by 2012.
April dishonorable mentions:
Al Davis: For being you. Darrius Heyward-Bey? I mean, seriously? Does Al enjoy making Mel Kiper Jr. tear his bizarro hair out?
Detroit Pistons: For deciding not to show up to these playoffs. Way to keep one foot on the basketball court and one foot on the yacht in Bermuda, boys.
Chien-Ming Wang: For singlehandedly destroying my fantasy team in Weeks 1 and 2. Not that I’m bitter or anything.
Alex Rodriguez: for forcing Hooters waitresses everywhere to put up dartboards with his mug on it. And doing non-sexual things with it.
Brett Favre: ... oh wait. All this has taken place in May. OK, Brett, we'll get to you next month. Don't think you're not immune to this infamous list.
I've got 18,541 of them.
Sportsmen and sportswomen of the Month:
The 18,541 Crazylegs Classic Record-Setters
I mean, if you looked outside and saw recurring downpours, in about 45-degree weather, just one day after enjoying a 75-degree day in late April, would you voluntarily lace up your running shoes, grab a towel and water bottle, and go run 8 kilometers or walk 2 miles?
A record-setting amount of Madisonians and out-of-town racers did just that on Apr. 25. Not once before in the 28-year history of the Crazylegs Classic - a run-and-walk event that starts at the Capitol building, winds around the University of Wisconsin campus and ends at the 50-yard-line at Camp Randall Stadium - had so many as 18,541 people participate. Considering the awful elements, that just made Crazylegs officials that much prouder.
“I think this is an exclamation point for Badger fans,” Terry Murawski told me during the closing ceremony under a tent's shelter on the soaked Camp Randall turf. Murawski is the Executive Director of the W Club and helps coordinate Crazylegs each year.
“You could not have scripted a worse day unless you had snow; it’s chilly, it’s raining, it’s rained hard through the race, and people are still coming over the finish line an hour after we started.”
Crazylegs features people from just about any background. You've got world-class racers including UW cross country and track superstars Katrina Rundhaug and Ann Detmer (whose recent graduation finally made them eligible to participate in the event); you've got local college students who go with friends as a fun end-of-the-semester outing; you've got casual runners who want to test their speed in a mini-marathon-type race, as well as people just looking to walk a little bit in late April as part of a large group.But perhaps most impressively, you had large groups who coordinated to run or walk together, wearing matching shirts and racing for a common goal.
221 "Fun and Fitness" teams entered Crazylegs, including an eye-popping 4,000 individuals. The second-largest group, the Kevin Peyton Crazylegs Memorial Team, had 150 people in black shirts screaming "Running for Kevin". Kevin Peyton died last fall of autism at just 14 years old.
“This was one of his favorite things to do," Kevin's father, Steve, told me after the race. "We enjoyed it together as a father-and-son duo, and now to have 150 people here, it’s unbelievable. We’re just a bunch of friends and families; we’re not a corporation or business. It’s pretty neat, I’m very proud.”
It was an emotional day, too, for Elli Tarnutzer, whose 14-year-old son Lance was diagnosed with diabetes in September. Before long, his football and basketball teammates started spreading the word to create "Lance's Team", girls at Lance's high school were making and posting flyers, and 55 participants came out on a rainy day to help raise money for juvenile diabetes research.
When asked what it meant to have so many supporters for her son, who along with other Type 1 Diabetes combatants wore a red headband during Crazylegs, Elli teared up.
“He’s a real outgoing, personable kid,” said Elli Tarnutzer, Lance’s mother. “Everybody likes him. He’s just a good kid overall.”
On a lighter note, I, the Crazylegs newbie, had to ask Elli, a Crazylegs vet, just what does her group do if somebody has to stop and use the facilities during the race. Do they all stop? Do they go ahead and hope the individual catches up?
She shrugged and grinned. "Pretty much, you just grin and bear it."
More than 18-grand brave souls did just that on Apr. 25. And that made for a very proud day in the Madison community.
Past SOTM winners:
Team Japan – March
Rafael Nadal – February
Larry Fitzgerald – January
April honorable mentions:
North Carolina Tar Heels: No. 1 when they started, No. 1 when they finished. Just a couple bumps in the road, but overall a terrific season for clearly the best team in the land.
Albert Pujols: For singlehandedly carrying my fantasy team in Weeks 1 and 2. Not that I'm biased or anything.
Zach Greinke: For being the freaking man. He's now 6-0 with a 0.40 ERA? WHAT?!?! Too bad he'll be an overpaid Yankee by 2012.
April dishonorable mentions:
Al Davis: For being you. Darrius Heyward-Bey? I mean, seriously? Does Al enjoy making Mel Kiper Jr. tear his bizarro hair out?
Detroit Pistons: For deciding not to show up to these playoffs. Way to keep one foot on the basketball court and one foot on the yacht in Bermuda, boys.
Chien-Ming Wang: For singlehandedly destroying my fantasy team in Weeks 1 and 2. Not that I’m bitter or anything.
Alex Rodriguez: for forcing Hooters waitresses everywhere to put up dartboards with his mug on it. And doing non-sexual things with it.
Brett Favre: ... oh wait. All this has taken place in May. OK, Brett, we'll get to you next month. Don't think you're not immune to this infamous list.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Twenty-Two Birthday Wishes for the Sporting World ... masquerading as yet another Case of the Mondays
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A belated Double Deuce - er, double dose - of swine-flu-free Mile High Musings, comprised of 22 wishes I made on my birthday last Sunday or sometime since…
I wish people would stop throwing newspapers on their deathbeds. The business model is broken, sure. But the world will always need watchdogs, always need political writers, always need football beat writers, always need movie critics, and always need their crossword, comics and Sudoku. So blogs are gonna take over, huh? Most blogs couldn’t exist without the information ascertained from real journalists.
Maybe newspapers won’t be in the form of rolled-up broadsheets which double as flyswatters or birdcage liners, but online newspapers are still newspapers nonetheless. So cry for your paperboy, but nothing else. Saying that aspiring journalists should give up because of expiring newspapers is like saying that the music industry was dead when records gave way to compact discs, and then to mp3 files. Same product, different format.
I wish someone would explain the allure of Twitter to me. Isn’t it basically Facebook’s status updates…and that’s it? Oh, so you can garner “subscribers” in some sort of self-competitive nature. Uh, same motivation as gobbling up Facebook “friends”, right? So Twitter basically stole 2 percent of the things you can do on Facebook, and is operating a multi-million dollar business off of it? No thanks. I gave in to Facebook (not that it took that much persuasion) and I gave in to blogging (obviously); I don’t see myself ever giving in to Twitter. Tweet that, why don’t you.
I wish the NBA creates a flopping foul in the next two years. And it counts as two personals on your way to six and fouling out. Like a technical: the opposing team gets two throws and the ball. I’m sick of watching players get barely touched, only to instinctively throw their hands up in the air like those Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Waving Tube Men.
A belated Double Deuce - er, double dose - of swine-flu-free Mile High Musings, comprised of 22 wishes I made on my birthday last Sunday or sometime since…
I wish people would stop throwing newspapers on their deathbeds. The business model is broken, sure. But the world will always need watchdogs, always need political writers, always need football beat writers, always need movie critics, and always need their crossword, comics and Sudoku. So blogs are gonna take over, huh? Most blogs couldn’t exist without the information ascertained from real journalists.
Maybe newspapers won’t be in the form of rolled-up broadsheets which double as flyswatters or birdcage liners, but online newspapers are still newspapers nonetheless. So cry for your paperboy, but nothing else. Saying that aspiring journalists should give up because of expiring newspapers is like saying that the music industry was dead when records gave way to compact discs, and then to mp3 files. Same product, different format.
I wish someone would explain the allure of Twitter to me. Isn’t it basically Facebook’s status updates…and that’s it? Oh, so you can garner “subscribers” in some sort of self-competitive nature. Uh, same motivation as gobbling up Facebook “friends”, right? So Twitter basically stole 2 percent of the things you can do on Facebook, and is operating a multi-million dollar business off of it? No thanks. I gave in to Facebook (not that it took that much persuasion) and I gave in to blogging (obviously); I don’t see myself ever giving in to Twitter. Tweet that, why don’t you.
I wish the NBA creates a flopping foul in the next two years. And it counts as two personals on your way to six and fouling out. Like a technical: the opposing team gets two throws and the ball. I’m sick of watching players get barely touched, only to instinctively throw their hands up in the air like those Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Waving Tube Men.
I wish Curt Phillips wins the starting gig this fall over Dustin Sherer. Nothing wrong with Dustin, he’s a nice kid and an improving player, but for the long-term sake of the program, Wisconsin football needs to get at least a half-season’s worth of starts out of the Tennessee dual-threat product.
I wish baseball were a wee bit more predictable. As I wake up on Monday morning, I look at the standings and see four division leaders (Toronto, Kansas City, Seattle and St. Louis) that finished in fourth place last season; besides, of the seven teams that sit three games or more above .500, only the Dodgers and Red Sox played in October last season.
But hey, at least I nailed Matt Holliday as the most overrated player in MLB. And my fantasy team is back to .500. So things aren’t all bad. Of course, Matty H is on said fantasy team. Oh well.
I wish to change my preseason playoff picks: Toronto, Kansas City, Seattle, Detroit, Florida, St. Louis, San Francisco, Cincinnati. Oh, that’s not who I think will win division or wild card crowns. It’s who I want to win. Because that’d be wicked funny to watch money-hungry MLB stick that in its big-market pipe and smoke it.
I wish only the best for Chase Daniel and Graham Harrell as undrafted free agents. Go prove a bunch of teams wrong, guys.
I wish Alex Rodriguez would go away. You too, Brett Favre. But it looks like the latter might not go so easily (note: read the last three paragraphs, in particular).
I wish to put the following video on my blog. Because it is humorous and may slightly resemble my own life. (The “we like sports” part, not the “I’m gonna sit three inches away from my best bud in the hottub” part)
I wish, retroactively, that my first three Mifflins had had such gorgeous weather as my last one. Then again, I feel lucky that the fourth and final Mifflin Block Party – the only one during which I lived on the freaking street – welcomed perfect sunny skies and warm temperatures throughout the afternoon.
I wish I had more time to enjoy Madison, Wisconsin. I spent my first three years here itching to get out and start that first job, figuring college was just a four-year footprint on my way to “the pros.” But senior year, I realized how much fun this place (and any college experience) is. Would’ve been nice to learn that two years ago. Current froshies and sophs, take note.
I wish T-Mobile would clear up why I’ve watched that same damn Dwight Howard-Dwayne Wade commercial 263 times, and still don’t understand why a video game injury would affect Howard’s life in any way, shape or form. And while we’re at it, just who the heck is that old white guy using the walker and talking trash to Barkley in the “Old School” commercial? These things eat at me.
On the other hand, I wish I was as cool as that Dos Equis guy. I may not be the most interesting man in the world, but my reputation is too expanding faster than the universe. And I too once had an awkward moment just to see how it feels. I, too, live vicariously through myself. Stay thirsty, my friends.
I wish Barry Alvarez would enlighten us as to what he’s thinking up there in that big fancy office of his. I thought the idea was to let Lisa Stone’s contract run out, rather than buying her out since it doesn’t make sense to pay two coaches for a non-revenue program. Fine. But extending her a season? And defending Stone by saying her “team was very close to having an outstanding year”, during a 6-12 conference season? This is a coach that not only had the most prolific scorer in UW men’s or women’s basketball history and failed to reach a single NCAA tournament (in fact, Stone still hasn’t brought her team Dancing in her six years here), but also has had numerous players leave the program (four of which I’ve actually met personally … I’m sure there are others).
I don’t understand the move. Neither do any of my Wisconsin sportswriting brethren. Neither do the fans, who commented on the Cap Times’ story. Neither do two of those ex-players still on campus. But hey, if Barry signed off on it, he must be right, right?
I wish I loved the NHL playoffs more. Numerous people have complained about a lack of playoff hockey coverage on this blog. I wish I could get into it, but I can’t! It doesn’t help that I live in a NHL-less state. Well, if anyone would like to produce coverage on the playoffs, let me know and we’ll be happy to post any work on it.
I wish this Denver Nuggets run would never end. No, seriously. Can they just play all the way through the summer? During their Game 1 thrashing of the Mavericks (give Dallas credit, though, they hung in there for three quarters and change), I figured out why I love the Nuggets more than any other team in sports: win or lose, George Karl’s guys make at least three or four plays every game that make you leap out of your chair and cheer or fist pump or unleash a tribal scream (you know, for playoff time). They’re just so darn fun to watch.
And I wish some NBA expert would explain to me why the Nuggets can’t beat the Lakers. Some guys are coming around, but apparently not our own Denver alumnus, Jon Barry (he said at halftime today the Nuggets can “absolutely not” touch the Lakers).
While I’m at it, I wish the Lakers do beat the Rockets in their series. In fact, I hope they thump them real good. In four games, seven games, whatever. Just make sure LA matches up with Denver. I’d hate for Houston to steal our prize.
Bring. On. L.A.
This isn’t a wish, but can you Nuggets fans believe that just 10½ months ago, this was happening??? We almost had neither Carmelo nor Chauncey. Now we have both. As Kanye says, “it’s amazing, so amazing.”
I wish, if I were to land a TV job somewhere in a hypothetical situation, it is with TNT’s ‘Inside the NBA’ with EJ, Kenny and Chuck. Those who have watched this ridiculously entertaining show need no further explanation. If you haven’t, well, YouTube it. My petty words cannot do it justice. Here’s some help…
I wish to amend this statement I wrote in a Badger Herald column three years ago, in my first-ever birthday column: “I wish Bret Bielema a successful first season. Hard to say about his ability as a head coach just yet, but he’s one of the nicest guys I’ve met in sports.” Ummmm…wow. Just wow. I have no comment beyond that. You guys who have covered UW football with me know what I’m talking about.
Speaking of that old column, I wish for a Lakers cheerleader. Four years running, still nothing. I’ll keep wishin’.
And more than anything else, I wish my unemployed title is lifted in the next week or so. Crossing my fingers…hey, can’t a guy wish for something realistic that he actually has control over?
And that’s all I have to say about that. Due to a certain Thursday event involving the above statement, I’ll only have one more blog post – my Sportsmen of April – for the rest of the week. Wish me luck!
Have a good one.
-AJ
I wish baseball were a wee bit more predictable. As I wake up on Monday morning, I look at the standings and see four division leaders (Toronto, Kansas City, Seattle and St. Louis) that finished in fourth place last season; besides, of the seven teams that sit three games or more above .500, only the Dodgers and Red Sox played in October last season.
But hey, at least I nailed Matt Holliday as the most overrated player in MLB. And my fantasy team is back to .500. So things aren’t all bad. Of course, Matty H is on said fantasy team. Oh well.
I wish to change my preseason playoff picks: Toronto, Kansas City, Seattle, Detroit, Florida, St. Louis, San Francisco, Cincinnati. Oh, that’s not who I think will win division or wild card crowns. It’s who I want to win. Because that’d be wicked funny to watch money-hungry MLB stick that in its big-market pipe and smoke it.
I wish only the best for Chase Daniel and Graham Harrell as undrafted free agents. Go prove a bunch of teams wrong, guys.
I wish Alex Rodriguez would go away. You too, Brett Favre. But it looks like the latter might not go so easily (note: read the last three paragraphs, in particular).
I wish to put the following video on my blog. Because it is humorous and may slightly resemble my own life. (The “we like sports” part, not the “I’m gonna sit three inches away from my best bud in the hottub” part)
I wish, retroactively, that my first three Mifflins had had such gorgeous weather as my last one. Then again, I feel lucky that the fourth and final Mifflin Block Party – the only one during which I lived on the freaking street – welcomed perfect sunny skies and warm temperatures throughout the afternoon.
I wish I had more time to enjoy Madison, Wisconsin. I spent my first three years here itching to get out and start that first job, figuring college was just a four-year footprint on my way to “the pros.” But senior year, I realized how much fun this place (and any college experience) is. Would’ve been nice to learn that two years ago. Current froshies and sophs, take note.
I wish T-Mobile would clear up why I’ve watched that same damn Dwight Howard-Dwayne Wade commercial 263 times, and still don’t understand why a video game injury would affect Howard’s life in any way, shape or form. And while we’re at it, just who the heck is that old white guy using the walker and talking trash to Barkley in the “Old School” commercial? These things eat at me.
On the other hand, I wish I was as cool as that Dos Equis guy. I may not be the most interesting man in the world, but my reputation is too expanding faster than the universe. And I too once had an awkward moment just to see how it feels. I, too, live vicariously through myself. Stay thirsty, my friends.
I wish Barry Alvarez would enlighten us as to what he’s thinking up there in that big fancy office of his. I thought the idea was to let Lisa Stone’s contract run out, rather than buying her out since it doesn’t make sense to pay two coaches for a non-revenue program. Fine. But extending her a season? And defending Stone by saying her “team was very close to having an outstanding year”, during a 6-12 conference season? This is a coach that not only had the most prolific scorer in UW men’s or women’s basketball history and failed to reach a single NCAA tournament (in fact, Stone still hasn’t brought her team Dancing in her six years here), but also has had numerous players leave the program (four of which I’ve actually met personally … I’m sure there are others).
I don’t understand the move. Neither do any of my Wisconsin sportswriting brethren. Neither do the fans, who commented on the Cap Times’ story. Neither do two of those ex-players still on campus. But hey, if Barry signed off on it, he must be right, right?
I wish I loved the NHL playoffs more. Numerous people have complained about a lack of playoff hockey coverage on this blog. I wish I could get into it, but I can’t! It doesn’t help that I live in a NHL-less state. Well, if anyone would like to produce coverage on the playoffs, let me know and we’ll be happy to post any work on it.
I wish this Denver Nuggets run would never end. No, seriously. Can they just play all the way through the summer? During their Game 1 thrashing of the Mavericks (give Dallas credit, though, they hung in there for three quarters and change), I figured out why I love the Nuggets more than any other team in sports: win or lose, George Karl’s guys make at least three or four plays every game that make you leap out of your chair and cheer or fist pump or unleash a tribal scream (you know, for playoff time). They’re just so darn fun to watch.
And I wish some NBA expert would explain to me why the Nuggets can’t beat the Lakers. Some guys are coming around, but apparently not our own Denver alumnus, Jon Barry (he said at halftime today the Nuggets can “absolutely not” touch the Lakers).
While I’m at it, I wish the Lakers do beat the Rockets in their series. In fact, I hope they thump them real good. In four games, seven games, whatever. Just make sure LA matches up with Denver. I’d hate for Houston to steal our prize.
Bring. On. L.A.
This isn’t a wish, but can you Nuggets fans believe that just 10½ months ago, this was happening??? We almost had neither Carmelo nor Chauncey. Now we have both. As Kanye says, “it’s amazing, so amazing.”
I wish, if I were to land a TV job somewhere in a hypothetical situation, it is with TNT’s ‘Inside the NBA’ with EJ, Kenny and Chuck. Those who have watched this ridiculously entertaining show need no further explanation. If you haven’t, well, YouTube it. My petty words cannot do it justice. Here’s some help…
I wish to amend this statement I wrote in a Badger Herald column three years ago, in my first-ever birthday column: “I wish Bret Bielema a successful first season. Hard to say about his ability as a head coach just yet, but he’s one of the nicest guys I’ve met in sports.” Ummmm…wow. Just wow. I have no comment beyond that. You guys who have covered UW football with me know what I’m talking about.
Speaking of that old column, I wish for a Lakers cheerleader. Four years running, still nothing. I’ll keep wishin’.
And more than anything else, I wish my unemployed title is lifted in the next week or so. Crossing my fingers…hey, can’t a guy wish for something realistic that he actually has control over?
And that’s all I have to say about that. Due to a certain Thursday event involving the above statement, I’ll only have one more blog post – my Sportsmen of April – for the rest of the week. Wish me luck!
Have a good one.
-AJ
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Sportsman of the Month - retro to Jan/Feb
You know how Sports Illustrated does its "Sportsman of the Year" thing every December? They leave out so many good candidates, and, well, they can only choose one man or woman each year. So I came up with this idea to spread it out, and do a Sportsman of the Month that helps give more great athletes and sports personalities their props. I'll have my March choice at the end of the month; but in the interest of spreading it out, here's my January and February picks.
-AJ
January: Larry Fitzgerald
Celebrities behaving badly seem to dominate the headlines so much more than celebrities doing positive, enlightening things. That’s why when we are blessed with a feel-good story, ESPN is so good at ramming it down our throats so much that we can eventually get sick of many “good guys.” Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Tim Tebow, Stephen Curry, even lovable Jason McElwain… hate to say it, but I grew tired of hearing about each of them. (No offense to J-Mac and his cool story...I just think it got overblown, particularly due to those annoying "G" commercials.)
Well, I hope I never, ever, ever get sick of Larry Fitzgerald, Jr.
(Now his dad, that’s another story. Larry Senior showed up at the Big Ten Tournament wearing his kid’s jersey to cover … who, exactly, I don’t know. Seems that fame got to the old man’s head. But I digress from a wonderful story.)
In lifting the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl (think how ridiculous that sounds), Fitz put up one of the greatest back-to-back-to-back-to-back efforts in the history of postseasons. Many people labeled this the greatest postseason ever, but I use the words I do because it properly illustrates that he did it consistently in four straight games, instead of having one monster game and a couple of okay efforts.
One great game against the Falcons (six catches, 101 yards, and a touchdown) and one massive game at the Carolina (eight, 166 and a score) wasn’t enough to convince the two Keystone State teams. Even when everybody in the ballpark knew that Fitz was getting the ball, the Eagles (nine, 152 and three touchdowns) and Steelers (seven, 127 and two scores, including the go-ahead 64-yarder with 2:37 to go that nearly won it for ‘Zona) couldn’t stop him. Then just for good measure, Fitzgerald went down to Hawaii and was the MVP of the 2009 Pro Bowl with five, 81 and two scores (only the AFC All-Stars could keep Fitz under the century mark for yards).
How colossally insane is that? 33 catches, 627 yards, and nine touchdowns. In five games. And unless you were living under a rock in January, you already know that Fitzgerald ranks in the top five humblest, most soft-spoken athletes in America today.
Let’s just make sure Fitzgerald, 25, doesn’t go the obnoxious ways of Terrell Owens or Chad Johnson.
January honorable mentions: Tebow, Tony Dungy, Barack Obama, Michael Phelps’ bong
February: Rafael Nadal
On the night the calendar flipped to February and America slept soundly in preparation for another Super Bowl, a remarkable accomplishment was happening on the other side of the planet, and I’m proud to say I pulled the all-nighter to witness it live.
Rafael Nadal officially grabbed the reins of the men’s tennis circuit from the potential GOAT, Roger Federer, with a gutsy, gripping, high-octane, not-as-great-as-their-Wimbledon-final-but-pretty-darn-close five-set victory down at the Australian Open. Nadal now has six Grand Slams, to his name, at age 22. The Fed Express, who sits at 13 majors (one shy of Pete Sampras’ all-time mark), had the grand total of one Grand Slam on his 22nd birthday.
Most telling that Nadal is officially inside Federer’s head was seeing Federer weep at the post-match ceremony – any sort of outward emotion from Roger has been extremely uncharacteristic throughout the past five years. Perhaps he’s starting to realize that not only will every Grand Slam title he shoots for from here on out will be a daunting task, but he’s also gotta be thinking: even if I do surpass Sampras, how long will I actually hold the record?
The world took a long time to embrace Roger as an all-time great. Let’s not make the same mistake with Rafa.
February honorable mentions: Santonio Holmes, Big East men’s basketball coaches, Nate Robinson, A-Rod’s cousin
-AJ
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