Category: Sports

Commentary and news about sports and sports teams — and media coverage of them.

Batting lead-off

… for the Albuquerque Isotopes, Manny Ramirez.

Manny will be Manny tonight as he begins a “rehab” assignment with the Albuquerque Isotopes vs. the Nashville Sounds.

Needless to say, this is the talk of our sometimes delightfully small town.

UPDATE: Ramirez struck out on a foul tip first time up.

Good-bye Tiger Stadium

“Two machines went to work today on the what remains of the old stadium. One tore through the stadium structure, and the other picked up the falling debris and moved it to the side.”

Freep.com | Detroit Free Press

It’s appropriate that they tear it down, but I can’t say I’m happy about it. I went to a lot of Tigers or Lions games at Briggs/Tiger Stadium — with Dad, with Mom, with Grandpa, with Grandma and Grandpa and my sister, with my uncle, with Dad and my uncles, with my then fiancé and with my then father-in-law. I saw Mickey Mantle’s first career grand slam, and was there one of the times the Mick put it out of the park onto Trumbull Street. I was present when Denny McLain won his 29th game (of 30) in 1968. (The only time since 1938 a pitcher has won 30 games in a season.)

Good memories.

Best line of the day

“Lord, I’ve been a Rockets/Nuggets addict since I was 9, and I keep trying to picture my lovable, dog-butt Nuggets winning it all. This state would come unglued. People would paint the Front Range powder blue. Half a million fans would clog the streets. People would stand on John Elway to get a view.”

Rick Reilly praying for a Denver win.

Bill Simmons and Malcolm Gladwell

An intelligent exchange that includes talk of Larry Holmes, Nick Faldo, Tiger, Michael, Jennifer Anniston, the press (basketball), etc. Good stuff.

Best line: “You can become great without the help of someone else, but you can’t stay great without someone pushing you. Golf excepted, of course.”

And: “And in any case, if the reverse-order draft is such a great leveler, then why are the same teams at the bottom of both the NFL and NBA year after year? The current system perpetuates the myth that access to top picks is the primary determinant of competitiveness in pro sports, and that’s simply not true. Success is a function of the quality of the organization.”

Bill Simmons: A back-and-forth with best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell.

The Quad Countdown

For the second straight year, Paul Myerberg is counting down all 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in preparation for the college football season. We know, we know. Baseball hasn’t reached the All-Star break, the N.B.A. and the N.H.L. are making their way through the playoffs, college lacrosse hasn’t even reached its Final Four. But there’s never a bad time to start getting ready for the football season. So why not begin here? Paul will be back every day with a new team, providing some gridiron knowledge to help you make it through the days until the season kicks off.

The Quad Countdown starts with No. 120, Western Kentucky.

The Quad Countdown: No. 119 Idaho.

The Quad Countdown: No. 118 New Mexico State.

Best line of the day

“Want to trim the federal budget and improve the military at the same time? Shut down West Point, Annapolis and the Air Force Academy, and use some of the savings to expand ROTC scholarships.”

Tom Ricks made the case in last Sunday’s Washington Post.

But that’s not the best line. This, from Charles Pierce is:

“I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that, if Ricks’s proposal is enacted, Notre Dame is unlikely ever to win another football game.”

Dove Mountain

Any date on the calendar, any place on the planet, I doubt you could find a nicer day than the last Friday of February was at Dove Mountain near Tucson. Tiger Woods had more than likely flown home the night before after being eliminated from the Accenture Match Play Championship, but he should have stayed and enjoyed the low humidity, slight breeze, clear skies and 80º.

Even without Tiger, the golf was interesting and fun to watch in person. Donna and I managed to see about half of the 18 holes and all but a few of the 16 competitors, some just a few yards away (which meant they weren’t where they wanted to be).

Readers of these pages will know I am not a fan of Phil Mickelson, but we saw him several times throughout the day and he seemed less the automaton than many of the others, even giving five to the kid who reached out as he and Stewart Cink walked between holes. Despite the white belt he was wearing, and his attendance at the vile Arizona State University, I became a fan. And keep your eye on Rory McElroy of Northern Ireland; the 19-year-old surely has game.

The course, just a few months old, was hard to believe. Grass, even the rough, like fine carpet. Simply amazing. (Cameras and cell phones were not allowed on the course.)

I liked being at a golf tournament in Arizona in the winter. Only sporting event I could attend and be below the median age.

And it was Mickelson and Cink that we stood directly behind on the 8th tee. If I could ever once hit a golf ball as well as they each did (probably just routine drives), I would play golf every day for the rest of my life.