Weekend Roundup

-A couple of ole-timers threw pretty well last night as Pedro Martinez beat his former employers, the Mets, and John Smoltz struck out 9 Padres in 5 innings of scoreless baseball..including a stretch where he k'd 7 straight hitters. Smoltz even looked good scoring on a base-hit, hook sliding into home plate. Looks like Smoltz can put that professional golf career on hold, for now at least.

-Giants got rocked by the Chicago Bears Saturday night. Cutler really looked improved. Shhh...quietly no one seems to realize how good the Bears are. That is criminal really. A team with a consistently great defense, that suffered some injuries last year is healthy again. They bring in Orlando Pace, who might only start 8 games but has to be considered an upgrade. Jay Cutler is about 10000 times better than Kyle Orton, and since he's a loud-mouthed jerk no one seems to want to realize this. They need Alex Brown, Mark Anderson, Adawale Ogunleye and Tommy Harris to stay healthy and be productive. I think they will...and given their division I'd say they should be considered the favorite to win the NFC this year.

-In a very boring series, by taking 2/3 the Yanks have now pretty much officially buried the Red Sox in the AL East and Boston now has the Rays breathing down its neck. Disappointing for the Yanks was Burnett again getting crushed..but CC came up with a nice performance last night.

-Would the Broncos just got ahead and trade the Giants Brandon Marshall already?

-Pewch Revolution dedicated reader Curtis, failed in his attempt to repeat as New York State Frolf Champion this weekend in Syracuse. A grueling four rounds in two days had him disappointed in fourth place. For those unaware frolf is frisbee golf.
A hybrid golf and frisbee, the person throws a "disc" (don't call it a frisbee) and attempts to get it in a basket in as few shots as possible. Curtis said he was very disappointed to have missed the podium but looks to rebound in the next big tournament, Labor Day Luau.

-Jamarcus Russell will start at quarterback for the Oakland Raiders. As much as I've liked Jeff Garcia's game over the years, is it a good thing that the face of the franchise took this long to essentially beat out a 39-year old version of the Millman for the starting job?

-Headed up to the Spa yesterday after the weather forecast for Saturday looked brutal. Did nail the Alabama Stakes winner Saturday, Careless Jewel, at the OTB. Only 3:1 but she won by 11 lengths in perhaps the most impressive non-Rachel Alexandra run of the year. And there is an argument to be had that Careless Jewel could run with Rachel Alexandra in what would be a clash of the best 3-year old phillies in the world. Ended up having a successful day capping yesterday, great week of betting the ponies for me and today's card looks pretty appealing...

Weekend Round-up

-Pradraig Harrington chokes, Tiger wins. There is a shocker. I think I saw a stat that said Tiger set the record for most PGA wins on the same course with 7 there or something. Pretty impressive I must say.

-Yanks/Sox - what is there to really say? Couldn't have asked for a sweeter sweep for Yanks fans...not only do Burnett and CC throw encouraging, dominant outings..but then Pettitte tosses a gem before Phil Choke's it away...just to have Damon and Tex hit back-to-back blasts with two outs in the 8th off the Bo Sox hyped young flamethrower Daniel Bard. 32 consecutive scoreless innings I believe they held them...just about a picture perfect series for the Yanks who now hold a major edge in the AL East race.

-The Knicks signed Jason Williams. Look out Eastern Conference.

-Not sure what else really happened this weekend, though Millman will be getting to the NV Blues historic run and the first NFL preseason game, involving many of your very own's Buffalo Bills.

-Also still working on getting some pictures up from the Dave show at Bethel Woods I hit up Wednesday. Was a good set with an insane drum solo...a little heavy on the new stuff and missing a couple of my favorite tracks, but solid overall.

Big Thursday in Sports

-Breeny, Van Gundy and Mark Jackson have stepped it up as a great announcing team. They are very critical of the officiating crew, and while it's with good reason at times it detracts from the game. That said, I like their style, maybe I'm biased as Jeff Van Gundy was my favorite coach and Mark Jackson is a NYC PG legend so of course I think he's the man (could we get Erik Barkley in the booth?). The way Mark Jackson enunciates his words is hilarious. Love when he uses cheesy puns. The only way this could be better would be if Hubie Brown and Gus Johnson were in the booth, not only is Gus the most exciting announcer in sports, he is also the coolest, as the first 30 seconds of this clip prove:

-The Lake Show got it done in overtime last night, thanks in large part to Dwight Howard clanking a pair of free throws with under a minute left that would've put the game away. I'll give Kobe credit, I thought he played a pretty terrible game for his standards again last night, but fouling Dwight there and not letting him get the dunk turned out to win the Lakers the game. I also must admit that I agree with Phil Jackson, who said in his press conference that Kobe ripping that one rebound away from Dwight Howard was the turning point. How did that happen? How good / strong is Kobe? How much of a bitch is Kobe?
Jameer messed up by not getting out on D Fish, but no one would've criticized his defense if D Fish wasn't so cold blooded, taking the game into his own hands and knocking down a long three with Nelson's hand in his face. A lot of players would've looked to get Kobe the ball there, especially at 0-5 from behind the line at that point in the game, D Fish continues to be one of the all-time role playing point guards.
What I really don't understand is why Jameer was on the floor in the first place. He made two plays down the stretch, one nice pass and then a standard dump-in to Dwight in the post. He looked lethargic out there and really provided the Magic with nothing, Stan Van's tossing Skip aside this series really doesn't make sense to me. Seems when Skip gets it going the Magic roll..but Jameer is giving them nothing and cutting into Skip's time and rhythm.
Rashard Lewis where were you?
Dwight Howard had some monster numbers: 16 pts, 21 boards, 9 blocks. 5-12, 6-14 FT, and 7 turnovers killed the Magic though.
A lot of praise is being heaped on Trevor Ariza and with good reason. Sure is one player I never wanted to see the Knicks get rid of (but hey at least we got Steve Francis out of it!) and watching him develop a shooting stroke (have you seen the pretty rotation on his three-balls? I'm officially a believer) tells me he is going to be a valuable player for years to come.
To borrow a horse racing term, the Lakers are just too classy for the Magic. The Magic play so sloppy..they commit untimely turnovers, clank free throws and have serious mental lapses on defense. Even Hedo admitted this after last night, calling the team stupid.
On the Gasol-Pietrus play - I don't love Gasol dunking it there, but he is right under the hoop, it is a little different then if he came dribbling up the court and ran in. Pietrus needs to keep his head there, if you want to foul him to send a message just give him a good clean, hard foul..don't just throw your forearms into his back. Now Stern is going to be forced to suspend him. Nothing better than watching a couple softy Euros mix it up though.

-On the baseball scene, the Yankees suffered another heart-breaking loss in what was the most entertaining baseball game year-to-date in my opinion. I'm not going to turn the loss into some sort of big deal that I'm sure the rest of the media will. If anything I think it was encouraging on some accounts..they finally got to the Sox bullpen and CC pitched great, Girardi just left him in too long. The big problem is that Aceves is the go-to guy to try and get them out of the jam there. I know he pitched the night before and was unavailable but if they are going to put Hughes in the pen, they should at least give him a chance to be the guy they go to when they need an out and can't go to Mo yet. I'm sure Girardi will be getting a lot of heat from the media and it's all well deserved in my eyes. Sox win 8 straight off Yanks to start the season for the first time since 1912.

Meanwhile, the Mets were busy dropping another heart-breaker to the Phils when Ibanez cracked a 3-run homer in the tenth. This is probably a more crushing loss than the Yanks as this Mets team has proven to be such a fragile bunch over the past few years.

Both the Mets and Yanks come into this first subway series at the new Yankee Stadium reeling...I don't want to play up the importance of this series but both teams will be looking to get some momentum back. I've already profiled the pitching matchups in a previous post, should be an exciting weekend in baseball though.

Beautiful Tuesday for Sports Fans

While Yankees fans may be bummed about getting shut out by Beckett and the Red Sox, the Mets squeaked out a 6-5 win over the Phils (BCA predictions 2-0). More importantly, hockey fans got their game 7, with a 2-1 Penguins win and suddenly the Magic have a pulse after setting a record in NBA Finals history for field goal percentage and hung on to beat the Lakers by 108-104.

Another victory was the Washington Nationals going ahead and selecting Stephen Straburg, arguably the greatest pitcher in college baseball history (in case you are unaware Strasburg went 13–1 with a 1.32 ERA, 65 hits allowed, 16 earned runs, 19 walks and 195 strikeouts in 109 innings pitched with San Diego St this year), with the first overall pick in the MLB draft despite the fact that they are going to have a hell of a time signing him. I'll let Millman discuss this further...

Hockey highlights made it look like a great game, that's all I have on that..

I'm not sure what to make of the Magic shooting 62.5% and only winning by 4.
Again, with all this talk about Kobe being this great "closer" he played poorly down the stretch last night. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom could have scored every time they touched the ball, but Kobe refused to give it up. He is a great player, but his selfishness can get in the way of his greatness at times, and it has this series. The Lakers are fortunate to be up 2-1 right now.
Props to Stan Van Gully on working the Skip/Jameer platoon like it should be, 37/11 minutes played respectively...and Skip responded playing an efficient game, 8-12 from the field, scoring 20 points.
Does anyone get better looks from deep than Rashard Lewis (thanks in part to his height / shooting style)?
Luke Walton is scared to shoot the ball.
Mickael Pietrus hit one of the toughest lay-ups I've ever seen and a fade-away jumper I'm not sure MJ would've hit. Who did he sell his soul to before these playoffs? I've always liked his defense, but offensively he is playing like a man possessed (though that put-back to put the Magic up 101-99 with 2 minutes left should have been an offensive goaltend, it's OK though, makes up for all the superstar calls Kobe got - like the bailout reach-in on Pietrus when they had him doubled and that inexcusable foul on Dwight when he easily stuffed Bryant).

Baseball's First Big Week in NY

(< The house that Ruth laughs at)

As the high school year nears close and summer approaches, this week should be the biggest to date in all of baseball, especially in New York.

With the Yanks playing their best baseball of the year and now with a one game lead on Boston, they will head to Fenway Park tonight for a three game series, before heading back home to host the first inter-league subway series with the sputtering Mets. Meanwhile, as the Yanks and Sox square off, the Mets will be hosting the Phillies (leading the Mets by 3 games for the division lead) in a big-time NL East match-up, before the teams exchange opponents as the Sox head to Philly. Big week in the Northeast and the eastern divisions in each league, should be the week that officially marks a shifting of people going into full-blown baseball mode with basketball and hockey coming to a close and the football season still off in the distance.

The atmosphere should be pretty electric as this is the first chance for New York fans to mix it up in the new ballparks, and at least it will be played at Yankee stadium where there is sure to be plenty of home runs to cheer about.

Speaking of the Yankees playing their best baseball of late, it appears they may be getting another boost as Phil Hughes came out of the bullpen throwing 95 for a flawless inning that included a strikeout last night. Hughes could end up becoming the bridge to Mariano that the Yankees needed...and if Joba pitches like he has recently and Wang gets it together, this team is probably the best in baseball.

Since I have only been half paying attention to baseball while the NBA drags out the playoffs..here are the pitching match-ups and some half-assed predictions as the divisional rivals square off Tuesday-Thursday:

6/9: Burnett / Beckett - This game will feature two hard throwing right-handers with a history of pitching well against these perennially dominant offenses. Both of them struggled at times this year with command, but are coming off consecutive strong outings, has all the makings of a pitcher's duel.
Prediction: Burnett's control gets him in trouble, Sox win 5-2.

Santana / Happ
Prediction: Happ runs out of magic, Mets 7-2.

6/10: Wang / Wakefield - Wang still hasn't put it all together but he pitched three scoreless out the pen and while he gave up a bunch of runs last outing had 5 k's to 1 bb.
Prediction: Wang has his first real good start of the year, Yanks win 6-1.

Pelfrey / Hamels (OK can I say these Phils/Mets pitching match-ups are brutal?)
Prediction: Phils 5-0.

6/11: Sabathia / Penny - With a lot of trade rumors surrounding a possible Brad Penny trade (not sure I'd give up even a low-level prospect like N. Huard at this point for him), the Sox would love to see him throw a good game to increase his value.
Prediction: CC with a nice effort, Yanks win 5-3.

Redding (pride of Rochester?) / Moyer
Prediction: Phils 1-0, Jamie Moyer tosses no-hitter, Bud Selig blows up Citi Field afterward with dozens of fans still in it after being lulled to sleep by a 2009 pitching duel between Tim Redding and Jamie Moyer.


(Actual advance photo of Citi Field 15 minutes before Redding/Moyer start >)

Queens heads uptown / Uppity Boston Fucks meet Rugged Philadalphians:

6/12: Joba / Maine - Joba throwing better, Maine coming off getting thumped (finally), hard to pick against the Yanks here.
Prediction: Yanks 7-5.

Lester / Blanton
Prediction: Lester cruises, Sox 8-2.

6/13: Pettitte / Livan - Livan is walking on water right now, he's going to get absolutely crushed Saturday though.
Prediction: Yanks 13-9.

Dice-K / Bastardo
Prediction: Longest 9-inning game in MLB history. Sox win 11-8.

6/14: Burnett / Santana - Mets salvage series with a big outing from Santana.
Prediction: Mets 9-1.

Beckett / Happ
Prediction: Happ continue to regress, Beckett continues to throw well, 5-1 Sox for the sweep. Mets fans rejoice.