Is he saving himself, or is he just being a whiny guy?
I have no idea. The NFL to me is like the Mandarin language.
--AZ
Thursday, February 25, 2010
MLB BATGIRLS?! SIGN ME UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[Then I read the requirements to do this batgirl thing. Not eligible since I don't have a family member who went through it. I'm not saying that I'm upset that I don't...geez, that would be mean.]
This is a really nice idea. MLB will be teaming up with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure on Mother's Day to raise money. Of course, this isn't the first time the MLB has been in union with the organization, as many of the players have used pink bats or wear pink sweatbands in the past on Mother's Day. However, reading this about guest batboys/batgirls who have a story of their own thing is really unique.
Read all about it. It's for a good cause.
--AZ
This is a really nice idea. MLB will be teaming up with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure on Mother's Day to raise money. Of course, this isn't the first time the MLB has been in union with the organization, as many of the players have used pink bats or wear pink sweatbands in the past on Mother's Day. However, reading this about guest batboys/batgirls who have a story of their own thing is really unique.
Read all about it. It's for a good cause.
--AZ
Vancouver 2010 - USA vs. Canada: Chick Fight for the Gold
Yeah.
Remember that whole crazy neighbor war from Sunday night? Tonight was basically it's younger sister having a harsh PMS session. Tonight wasn't the night for the Americans to party however; the Canadian women brought the honor of the sport back into their country by winning 2-0 in the gold medal match. Eighteen-year old Marie-Philip Poulin scored the two goals for Canada [side note: when you hear of a girl younger than you doing this stuff, you wonder what you've done all your life]. Throughout the game the announcers kept calling her the "female Sidney Crosby." I did not see facial hair on that girl. You not so funny people. [Insert rimshot]
There were also a whopping 11 penalties committed during the game. With all of the physicality during the match, it reminded me of that scene from Mean Girls when Lindsay Lohan (drug-free at the time) tackled Rachel McAdams in a daydream.
You could clearly tell that the US players were tense and nervous; the passes weren't very clean, and once the puck was stolen from one of them, they would nearly draw penalties. Head coach Mark Johnson, one of the US players from the 30-year old "Miracle on Ice," wasn't able to keep these girls cool during the game.
You know what though? If I were a member of the US team, I'd be happy with how far we had went. They blew out the oppositions just about every game, and took down Sweden in the semifinal game--as Sweden upset the US in the semifinals in Turin in 2006.
[Side note: At least I wasn't Slovakia and have my team blown out by Canada 18-0.]
For more information on this game, click here
--AZ
Remember that whole crazy neighbor war from Sunday night? Tonight was basically it's younger sister having a harsh PMS session. Tonight wasn't the night for the Americans to party however; the Canadian women brought the honor of the sport back into their country by winning 2-0 in the gold medal match. Eighteen-year old Marie-Philip Poulin scored the two goals for Canada [side note: when you hear of a girl younger than you doing this stuff, you wonder what you've done all your life]. Throughout the game the announcers kept calling her the "female Sidney Crosby." I did not see facial hair on that girl. You not so funny people. [Insert rimshot]
There were also a whopping 11 penalties committed during the game. With all of the physicality during the match, it reminded me of that scene from Mean Girls when Lindsay Lohan (drug-free at the time) tackled Rachel McAdams in a daydream.
You could clearly tell that the US players were tense and nervous; the passes weren't very clean, and once the puck was stolen from one of them, they would nearly draw penalties. Head coach Mark Johnson, one of the US players from the 30-year old "Miracle on Ice," wasn't able to keep these girls cool during the game.
You know what though? If I were a member of the US team, I'd be happy with how far we had went. They blew out the oppositions just about every game, and took down Sweden in the semifinal game--as Sweden upset the US in the semifinals in Turin in 2006.
[Side note: At least I wasn't Slovakia and have my team blown out by Canada 18-0.]
For more information on this game, click here
--AZ
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Stephen Strasburg: "The Kid" Wonder
Yesterday showed the second session of the "Natinals" #1 pick Stephen Strasburg, and so far he is living up to his hype.
Full article: Latest Strasburg session astounds
--AZ
Full article: Latest Strasburg session astounds
--AZ
2010 Vancouver Olympics - "Well, this sucks..."
I just read an article from Yahoo! Sports this morning about a speedskating mishap that cost a favorite a gold medal. No, it's not Apolo Ohno, but it's Sven Kramer of The Netherlands, who made a sort of "wrong turn" during the 10,000m race. The way it works is every lap they need to move from the inner lane to the outer lane and vice versa in order to even out the time sustained during the race. Do I find it confusing to go in and out for a whole 7 1/2 miles or so? Yeah, absolutely. But Kramer is apparently taking the blame for this as he should have remained focused. In the article, he was quoted:
“I wasn’t getting tired at all." “I skated one of my best 10,000s ever, if not my best. I thought something was wrong but you have to decide in a split second.”
He threw his glasses off after the disqualification and dealt with a screaming coach. Many skaters have dealt with this happening (even in World Championships) firsthand and know the pain that ensues. From experience, they know that the fault is by the unfortunate skater.
As a millionaire coming from a country that lives on speedskating, Kramer is definitely going to have a hard time swallowing this Olympic-sized mishap.
View the Yahoo! Sports article here: Coach sends Kramer on embarrassing wrong turn
--AZ
“I wasn’t getting tired at all." “I skated one of my best 10,000s ever, if not my best. I thought something was wrong but you have to decide in a split second.”
He threw his glasses off after the disqualification and dealt with a screaming coach. Many skaters have dealt with this happening (even in World Championships) firsthand and know the pain that ensues. From experience, they know that the fault is by the unfortunate skater.
As a millionaire coming from a country that lives on speedskating, Kramer is definitely going to have a hard time swallowing this Olympic-sized mishap.
View the Yahoo! Sports article here: Coach sends Kramer on embarrassing wrong turn
--AZ
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
NFL Offseason Scoop - The End of Eras for Running Backs
Ah yes, the NFL. Something I don't really specialize in.
This is kind of a big deal though (well, in Philly and in San Diego, that is).
Yesterday, the Chargers organization released RB LaDainian Tomlinson after nine successful seasons. Nine years of success in the NFL = lots of accomplishments. From Casey Pearce's article on the Chargers' website:
"Tomlinson owns or shares 28 team records, including career rushing yards, yards from scrimmage and touchdowns. During his nine seasons in San Diego, Tomlinson won two rushing titles (2006 and ’07), set an NFL single-season record for touchdowns in a season (31 in ’06) and racked up 12,490 rushing yards, the eighth-highest total in NFL history. He was the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2006 and earned Pro Bowl honors five times."
Holy. Cow. All of this before and at the age of 30. Over the past couple of days I've been hearing so many sports analysts saying that after the age of 30, the wear and tear of being a running back in the NFL takes it's toll due to the versatility of the job and all of the injuries--you know where I'm getting at now. Like I've said before, I don't normally follow the NFL, but I know about LT and all of the stuff he's done, and with his contributions he will definitely remain a Charger at heart and will be first in line for the Hall of Fame once eligible.
This afternoon, the Philadelphia Eagles announced the release of RB Brian Westbrook after an eight-year tenure. Rumors were swirling around recently since Westbrook had turned 30 at the beginning of the season and had only played 8 games during this past season due to two concussions sustained within a few weeks of each other. Not only that, but during his 8 seasons as an Eagle, he hadn't played a whole entire season because of injuries to either his knees or his ankles (usually his ankles in case if you were wondering). That doesn't mean he didn't do anything though. He was good enough to set franchise records for his team. According to the article on the Eagles' website:
"Westbrook's numbers speak for themselves: third in the NFL with more than 8,500 yards from scrimmage since 2004, second in team history with 5,995 yards, third in total receptions with 426 and an amazing 9,785 total yards from scrimmage, a franchise high."
Growing up in Philadelphia and having a family full of hardcore Eagles fans, this is kind of a sad day because of the kind of heart that Westbrook played with. Known as "Route 36 West" here, a lot of fans are slowly beginning to understand the reason for his release and knew that the end was coming sooner than expected.
Both running backs will always be respected in their cities, and I wish the both of them the best.
For more information...
Tomlinson's time in San Diego ends
Tough To Say Goodbye To An Eagles Legend
--AZ
This is kind of a big deal though (well, in Philly and in San Diego, that is).
Yesterday, the Chargers organization released RB LaDainian Tomlinson after nine successful seasons. Nine years of success in the NFL = lots of accomplishments. From Casey Pearce's article on the Chargers' website:
"Tomlinson owns or shares 28 team records, including career rushing yards, yards from scrimmage and touchdowns. During his nine seasons in San Diego, Tomlinson won two rushing titles (2006 and ’07), set an NFL single-season record for touchdowns in a season (31 in ’06) and racked up 12,490 rushing yards, the eighth-highest total in NFL history. He was the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2006 and earned Pro Bowl honors five times."
Holy. Cow. All of this before and at the age of 30. Over the past couple of days I've been hearing so many sports analysts saying that after the age of 30, the wear and tear of being a running back in the NFL takes it's toll due to the versatility of the job and all of the injuries--you know where I'm getting at now. Like I've said before, I don't normally follow the NFL, but I know about LT and all of the stuff he's done, and with his contributions he will definitely remain a Charger at heart and will be first in line for the Hall of Fame once eligible.
This afternoon, the Philadelphia Eagles announced the release of RB Brian Westbrook after an eight-year tenure. Rumors were swirling around recently since Westbrook had turned 30 at the beginning of the season and had only played 8 games during this past season due to two concussions sustained within a few weeks of each other. Not only that, but during his 8 seasons as an Eagle, he hadn't played a whole entire season because of injuries to either his knees or his ankles (usually his ankles in case if you were wondering). That doesn't mean he didn't do anything though. He was good enough to set franchise records for his team. According to the article on the Eagles' website:
"Westbrook's numbers speak for themselves: third in the NFL with more than 8,500 yards from scrimmage since 2004, second in team history with 5,995 yards, third in total receptions with 426 and an amazing 9,785 total yards from scrimmage, a franchise high."
Growing up in Philadelphia and having a family full of hardcore Eagles fans, this is kind of a sad day because of the kind of heart that Westbrook played with. Known as "Route 36 West" here, a lot of fans are slowly beginning to understand the reason for his release and knew that the end was coming sooner than expected.
Both running backs will always be respected in their cities, and I wish the both of them the best.
For more information...
Tomlinson's time in San Diego ends
Tough To Say Goodbye To An Eagles Legend
--AZ
Monday, February 22, 2010
Spring Training 2010 - The Gang's All Here!
Ah, the vernal equinox, the season which begins many anticipations: warmer weather, impending and feared allergies, Easter [food], much needed housecleaning, highly anticipated washed-up reality TV finales, and of course... Major League Baseball.
On this rather cold day just about anywhere in the US of A, thousands of men who like to throw balls, run, hit stuff, and play pranks on each other are reporting to their respective camps in Florida to begin their Spring Training sessions. Yes, ST officially began last week with the reporting of pitchers and catchers, but this is where the real fun starts, right? It's like when you come back to your high school in September and you see all your friends (I went to an all-girls high school, so when we saw someone we knew, we screamed, ran to the person, and hugged them as if we'd hadn't seen them in 5 years)and notice how different people look since last year. Some people don't change at all; sure, guys get married and maybe buy new condos, get contract extensions (*cough* Joe Torre *cough*) or get new commercial deals (Hey everybody, Charlie Manuel is the new poster boy for Nutrisystem by losing a whopping 60 pounds!). Some people look completely different. Like so:
Don't you just wanna give him a hug?
Phillies OF Jayson Werth shows up to Clearwater, FL for his training sessions looking like, well, Jesus. Is he thinking about saving the team and avenging the World Series loss to the 27-time champion New York Yankees? Don't know.
Anyway, many teams have been reconstructed from every which way this year. First two teams that come to mind: the Seattle Mariners and the New York Mets.
Seattle, after a harsh 2009, has acquired the much-sought-for INF Chone Figgins, the not-to-be-confused-for-a-board-game OF Milton Bradley, and the Phillies former 3-1/2-month-stand-LHP Cliff Lee. Not to mention, they also gave a big extension to ace [King] Felix Hernandez. Do they want a ring this year? Sure. Let's just hope a team like the '01 Yankees doesn't try to rain on their parade after having as many as 116 wins that season. Good gravy, how did they not win that year?!
The New York Mets...hmm. After finishing fourth in the NL East in 2009 due to having more injuries than a whole nursing home can handle, the rosters changes, contract extensions, and signings were, let's say, abundant. Already losing OF Carlos Beltran for several weeks due to hip surgery that supposedly nobody really knew about and therefore sending the Mets' front office into chaos, as well as INF Carlos Delgado due to injury, the Mets are showing their money. Gaining some well-known names such as OF Jason Bay, Mets' ace Johann Santana thinks they can do it this year. He also thinks he's better than the Phillies LHP Roy Halladay. Is it true? Looks like we'll be finding that out soon enough.
There have also been some news spreading around concerning Red Sox RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka and his physical health after an issue with back tightness. After throwing a session today, he was cleared to begin throwing on flat ground. According to MLB.com's Ian Browne, "Matsuzaka looks at the back injury as more of an annoyance than a setback." Sounds like good news for the Sox. He puts a springy step into Boston's rotation, and in all honesty, Boston fans don't look very friendly when they lose something precious.
Source for full article: Dice-K cleared to start throwing regimen
That's all I have for today. Any more information and updates that I've missed over the past few days will be covered as soon as possible. If it's not here, it's because I'm still misinformed and horrible in researching, or I personally don't find it important enough to rant about.
Oh yeah, and Jayson Werth's beard has a Twitter account too. It's that big.
http://twitter.com/JWerthsBeard
I dare you goofs to follow it.
--AZ
On this rather cold day just about anywhere in the US of A, thousands of men who like to throw balls, run, hit stuff, and play pranks on each other are reporting to their respective camps in Florida to begin their Spring Training sessions. Yes, ST officially began last week with the reporting of pitchers and catchers, but this is where the real fun starts, right? It's like when you come back to your high school in September and you see all your friends (I went to an all-girls high school, so when we saw someone we knew, we screamed, ran to the person, and hugged them as if we'd hadn't seen them in 5 years)and notice how different people look since last year. Some people don't change at all; sure, guys get married and maybe buy new condos, get contract extensions (*cough* Joe Torre *cough*) or get new commercial deals (Hey everybody, Charlie Manuel is the new poster boy for Nutrisystem by losing a whopping 60 pounds!). Some people look completely different. Like so:
Don't you just wanna give him a hug?
Phillies OF Jayson Werth shows up to Clearwater, FL for his training sessions looking like, well, Jesus. Is he thinking about saving the team and avenging the World Series loss to the 27-time champion New York Yankees? Don't know.
Anyway, many teams have been reconstructed from every which way this year. First two teams that come to mind: the Seattle Mariners and the New York Mets.
Seattle, after a harsh 2009, has acquired the much-sought-for INF Chone Figgins, the not-to-be-confused-for-a-board-game OF Milton Bradley, and the Phillies former 3-1/2-month-stand-LHP Cliff Lee. Not to mention, they also gave a big extension to ace [King] Felix Hernandez. Do they want a ring this year? Sure. Let's just hope a team like the '01 Yankees doesn't try to rain on their parade after having as many as 116 wins that season. Good gravy, how did they not win that year?!
The New York Mets...hmm. After finishing fourth in the NL East in 2009 due to having more injuries than a whole nursing home can handle, the rosters changes, contract extensions, and signings were, let's say, abundant. Already losing OF Carlos Beltran for several weeks due to hip surgery that supposedly nobody really knew about and therefore sending the Mets' front office into chaos, as well as INF Carlos Delgado due to injury, the Mets are showing their money. Gaining some well-known names such as OF Jason Bay, Mets' ace Johann Santana thinks they can do it this year. He also thinks he's better than the Phillies LHP Roy Halladay. Is it true? Looks like we'll be finding that out soon enough.
There have also been some news spreading around concerning Red Sox RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka and his physical health after an issue with back tightness. After throwing a session today, he was cleared to begin throwing on flat ground. According to MLB.com's Ian Browne, "Matsuzaka looks at the back injury as more of an annoyance than a setback." Sounds like good news for the Sox. He puts a springy step into Boston's rotation, and in all honesty, Boston fans don't look very friendly when they lose something precious.
Source for full article: Dice-K cleared to start throwing regimen
That's all I have for today. Any more information and updates that I've missed over the past few days will be covered as soon as possible. If it's not here, it's because I'm still misinformed and horrible in researching, or I personally don't find it important enough to rant about.
Oh yeah, and Jayson Werth's beard has a Twitter account too. It's that big.
http://twitter.com/JWerthsBeard
I dare you goofs to follow it.
--AZ
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