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The Best Team in Baseball and The Shaq TheoryBy: KJ October 30, 2007 In a previous article I discussed the premise of overconfidence signified by the 1986 Miami Hurricane football team and the fatigues that they wore. I then used that example to explain the Rockies situation in the 2007 World Series. It turns out that I was wrong, so I think I have to test a new and competing theory. My first problem was coming up with a compelling name because it is all about appearance. So as I went through the filing cabinets in my brain I came to the conclusion that the best way to describe the 2007 Red Sox team is my new Shaq Theory. The name derives from all the time Shaquille O'Neal is seen sitting out games because he knows that it is best for the team when he is not tiring himself out while the team is good enough to get into the playoffs and then he goes all out in the post season, when it really matters. The same can be said of the Boston Red Sox this year. Much ado was made about the supposed late season slide that the Sox went through in September, almost giving the American League East title to the Yankees, but in reality the best product was not on the field because they were prepping for October. NHL Atlantic Division: Survival of the FittestBy: Jay October 24, 2007 First Season Update. Well, we are 1/8 thru the hockey season. The Atlantic Division has lived up to the hype. Here are the Standings (As of Sunday October 28, 2007): Philadelphia 14 Pts in 10 Games Pittsburgh 11 Pts in 10 Games NY Islanders 10 Pts in 9 Games NY Rangers 7 Pts in 10 Games New Jersey 7 Pts in 10 Games NCAA Preview for Week 9By: Jay October 24, 2007 Thursday Night Game: Boston College (2) at Virginia Tech (8) Yet again another great Thursday match up. Look for QB Matt Ryan to make or break his Heisman candidacy in this game. The undefeated Eagles, did not play last week, visit the Hokies. VT is 6-1, losing only to LSU in Week 2. This ACC battle will be one of the best games of the week. The Hokies RBs Branden Ore and Kenny Lewis need to lead their offense in order to pull the upset. Can Tech avenge their loss to BC last year (22-3)? Prediction: Boston College 31 Virginia Tech 27. World Series Game One PreviewBy: KJ October 24, 2007 Ask Boston fans if they are worried about Jeff Francis. Responses will look something like this. One percent will say yes, two percent will say no, and ninety seven percent will say "who the hell is Jeff Francis." This is not surprising because fans are arrogant American League fans and have no respect for the National League even though the Senior circuit has won just as many World Series as the American League since 2001. Although Rockies fans could tell you who Josh Beckett is and how lights out he has been in the post season. During that same time Colorado ace Jeff Francis has put up similar numbers nearly without any notice from the national media or average baseball fans. The 2007 Rockies: The Fatigue Effect By: KJ October 23, 2007 In the top of the ninth inning of Sunday's game seven of the American League Championship Series, I could not help but notice the atmosphere in the Red Sox dugout. This was mostly captured in the panoramic view of Boston Designated Hitter David Ortiz with his jersey off and goggles on, presumably to keep the champagne from burning his eyes. This sight was eerily familiar to a ghost of sports past. This ghost actually is embodied in the form of Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Vinny Testaverde. Testaverde, who filled in for the Carolina Panthers the past two weeks at the age of 43, led his Miami Hurricanes to the national championship game in 1986. The site was Tempe, Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl against the Penn State Nittany Lions. The brazen style of the 'canes was evident not only in the play of guys like Testaverde and Michael Irvin but also in their appearence. Television cameras stood dormant waiting for the University of Miami football team to emerge from their plane dawned in army fatigues. It was right then and there that the inevitability of a loss for "da U'", as Irvin calls the university criminal training camp, became apparent. In the same way Miami set themselves up for a fall, I see the 2007 Boston Red Sox opening up the doors up to similar defeat. The Battle of the StaalsBy: Jay October 23, 2007 So the Penguins play the Hurricanes tonight? Nope. Pittsburgh plays host to the New York Rangers at 7pm on Versus. Jordan Staal, the 19 year old center for the Pens will be playing his brother Marc Staal, who is a rookie for the Rangers. Marc is 20 years old. He was drafted 12th overall in the 2005 Draft, but just got the call to the NHL this season. The Genius That is Manny Being MannyBy: KJ October 18, 2007 Many of the establishment sports journalists thought that Boston Red Sox Slugger Manny Ramirez celebrating after a home run in game four of the ALCS was contemptible. I can even understand these claims because of the pure absurdity of standing in the batters box arms held high watching as the ball sails into the distance beyond the wall to cut a lead to four runs. That in fact was identical to the celebration after hitting a walk off shot over the monster in game two of ALDS against the Angels. This attitude was then exemplified in a locker room interview in which Ramirez went on to say, “Why should we panic? We've got a great team. ... It doesn't happen, so who cares? There's always next year. It's not like it's the end of the world.” I do not take as much offense to Manny's gestures because I know it is just Manny being Manny and it is what makes him so special. Steinbrenner as The PrinceBy: KJ October 8, 2007 This past summer, ESPN, as it often does attempted to put on a quality television series. Most of the time they fall short of expectations. This is fascinating because ESPN is owned by the Disney cooperation which consistently puts out quality sports films. ESPN has had its stinkers from Players, a muck raking show about pro football, to Tilt, a series about crooked card players. This year's attempt was The Bronx is Burning, a mini-series about the 1977 New York Yankees. While being more of a Players rather than a Remember the Titans it still had some quality facets that I enjoyed. What I particularly think is good is the portrayal of manager Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner. That portrayal when applied to the boss's statements about Joe Torre yesterday reveal how Steinbrenner is a master manipulator of men. My New Favorite Baseball PlayerBy: KJ October 6, 2007 One of the finest works of American Cinema is Barry Levinson's Sports masterpiece The Natural. The script, adapted from Bernie Malmoud's novel, is fantastic and very fitting for the time and setting of baseball club in the early twentieth centuries. The camera work is magnificent. It catches the light and the angles nearly flawlessly. The actors were well cast, especially the humble and quiet Robert Redford. The biggest selling point is the score by Randy Newman. The piece is simply chilling. If it does not make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, you simply do not have a pulse. When I hear those tones, my mind's inner theater plays the last scene of the film right before my eyes, in it slugger Roy Hobbs comes to the plate with a ruptured liver, blood spatters on his jersey, Hobbs hits the ball a mile but it is foul and his lucky bat is shattered. He steps in the box again cool as a cucumber and drills one into the light tower. It is not often that I find ballplayers that thrive like that. That quality is what I look for in a guy, and that has led me to declare Indians' lights out starter Fausto Carmona my new favorite baseball player. Runners and Catchers: A Modest ProposalBy: KJ October 2, 2007 San Diego Padres catcher Michael Barrett was fielding a ball and blocked the plate with his foot. Matt Holliday came in for the slide and was called safe by Plate umpire Tim McClelland. The problem is that replays seem to show that Holliday never touched home. This interesting scenario has got me thinking and I have a modest proposal to make. |
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