Time to start a new tradition. I said "new" because my Top Ten isn't solely for comedic purposes like David Letterman. Sports left a huge impression on the year 2010 and it's time to see what stories I felt where the most influential.
10. Chicago Winning the Stanley Cup. It was their First Stanley Cup in 49 years and they overcame the Flyers 4 games to 2. This Title, however, may have handicapped the team for years to come as the franchise has had to deal many of the players away because of Salary Cap issues. But at least they won the Cup this year.
9. Tiger Woods Continual Fall from Grace. Tiger not only lost many sponsors but lost all the tournaments he played in. He failed miserably at all the Majors and just couldn't find any relief from the lower tournaments. Tiger would actually lose his #1 spot by the end of the Golf Season.
8. All College Football Controversies. This includes Reggie Bush having to give his Heisman back, Cam Newton's father asking for money for his son's services, Terrelle Pryor selling some of his personal things, and the NCAA so called reactions to those issues. These scandals (if they can be called that) all have to do with money and speak to the fact that College Football's so called "Amateur" status is perhaps false.
7. The Resurrection of Michael Vick's Career. Not many were sure what was going to happen with Vick this season but when Kolb got injured, he stepped in a and performed superbly. He has struggled lately but has managed to make a comeback and work past the shame of his past.
6. The Year of the Pitcher in Baseball and the Imperfect Game. 5 No Hitters were thrown in the regular season with 1 more being thrown in the postseason by Roy Halladay. Halladay actually threw a Perfect Game during the regular season along with Dallas Braden. We would of had 3 Perfect Games if not for Jim Joyce's infamous call of "Safe" at first when Armando Galarraga was pitching for the Tigers.
5. The US-Canada Gold Medal Game of Hockey at Vancouver. Though the US lost, it was deserving that the Canadians had won gold at their National Pastime event and in front of a Canadian audience. Who else but Sid the Kid scores the Gold Clinching Goal in OT.
4. Rafael Nadal completing his career Grand Slam. He won the US Open back in September and has won every Grand Slam tournament at one time or another. He currently has 9 Grand Slam Titles and is 7 behind Federer. A long way to go if he wants to catch Roger but now he has achieved a rarity.
3. The Saints winning Super Bowl XLIV, 31-17. It was the team's first Super Bowl title and it was a godsend for the city of New Orleans. It was especially impressive that they did it beating the Colts who had had won every game they had tried to win that year.
2. LeBron's Decision to go South Beach. It was an epic move to announce a Free Agency decision over Prime Time TV and too many it was arrogant and pompous. This kind of move especially hurt the feelings of everyone in Cleveland as they immediately started to burn his jerseys. The Triple Heat in Miami is starting to play well and is likely to spark a flame in the playoffs.
1. The 2010 FIFA World Cup. It was an amazing spectacle to watch and there were so many stories around it like the bad calls, Landon Donovan's miracle goal, Paul the Octopus, the loud Vuvuzelas, and of course Spain winning their First World Cup Title. It was long overdue for this proud Football nation and they will likely be enjoying that win for years to come.
None of those were my personal favorite story of the year, however. That story was the Giants winning the World Series for the first time in their 52 year history in San Francisco. No one gave the Giants any chance to win it at any point during the year and the fact they had even gotten there surprised everyone. It was certainly an underdog story that the San Francisco Bay Area will remember forever.
2010 has been a great year for sports indeed. The Biggest regret: no Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. I see a New Years Resolution item for boxing.
Friday, December 31, 2010
The UConn Winning Streak is Over
It was just a couple of weeks ago that the Brett Favre streak of consecutive games started came to an end. Yesterday, another significant sports streak was snapped but not in football but women's basketball. The UConn's Women's Basketball team had won 90 straight games and went into to play Stanford for 91 who they had beaten for a National Title back in April. However, this game was different than the previous 90. Stanford got out to an early lead and managed to keep that lead throughout the game. Stanford beats UConn and ends the 90 game winning streak, 71-59.
Good things must come to an end in everything, even for the UConn Women's Basketball team. They have been undefeated for the last two full seasons at 39-0 a piece with Two National Titles. Ironically, the last time they lost a game before tonight was against Stanford in the 2008 NCAA Semifinals round, 82-73. This was the longest winning streak in Division I basketball having just past UCLA's mark of 88 over a week ago. This streak marks the success of the UConn's Women's team as perhaps the greatest Women's basketball team ever assembled. To solidify their chances of that greatness, they will probably need to win a 3rd straight title.
It has been quite a run anyway you look at. UConn may have lost their first game in 2 1/2 years but they are still top dogs.
Good things must come to an end in everything, even for the UConn Women's Basketball team. They have been undefeated for the last two full seasons at 39-0 a piece with Two National Titles. Ironically, the last time they lost a game before tonight was against Stanford in the 2008 NCAA Semifinals round, 82-73. This was the longest winning streak in Division I basketball having just past UCLA's mark of 88 over a week ago. This streak marks the success of the UConn's Women's team as perhaps the greatest Women's basketball team ever assembled. To solidify their chances of that greatness, they will probably need to win a 3rd straight title.
It has been quite a run anyway you look at. UConn may have lost their first game in 2 1/2 years but they are still top dogs.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
The NCAA "Doesn't" Play Favorites? BOWL SHIT!!!
You know when you ask the parent which is their favorite child and they tell you up front and to the public they don't have favorites, that they love all their kids equally (yeah right). Well the NCAA pulled off their version of this when they said they were not being selective of their eligibility rules and their rule enforcement. They also added "Money is not a motivator or factor as to why one school would get a particular decision versus another. Any insinuation that revenue from bowl games in particular would influence NCAA decisions is absurd, because schools and conferences receive that revenue, not the NCAA."
This is the part where I say "Yeah, and I'm Miss America."
For the allegations against Cam Newton, the NCAA found evidence that his father asked for money but declared Cam was eligible. Does anyone in the country actual believe that Cam wasn't involve in this? Of those who said yes, how far is your head buried in the dirt? Of course this case is not necessarily what you think but what you can prove and they "couldn't" prove that Cam was involved. Auburn also had a SEC title game vs. South Carolina and the Gamecocks had previously beaten Alabama earlier that year. Plus you have to keep TCU out of the top 2 spots for rating sakes.
As for the Ohio State suspensions, if it's not about money, why not suspend them now? The NCAA just said they get none of the money from the Bowl Games so why not suspend Terrelle Pryor and the other players? Here's why: Because they know the bowl games are huge for "College" football as a whole and want everyone watching them. They get positive publicity when the best "College" football players are participating in these games. Plus, Ohio State has a proud football tradition and the NCAA indirectly benefits when they are the highlight of one of the Big 4 Bowl games. You think baseball doesn't benefit when the Yankees win the World Series? What about for the NFL when the Cowboys are in the Super Bowl? And the NBA benefiting from the Lakers and the Celtics recent success and rivalry?
You want the criticisms to stop? Suspend the Buckeyes now, grill Cam Newton till he pops, AND PUT IN A DAMN PLAYOFF SYSTEM!!!
This is the part where I say "Yeah, and I'm Miss America."
For the allegations against Cam Newton, the NCAA found evidence that his father asked for money but declared Cam was eligible. Does anyone in the country actual believe that Cam wasn't involve in this? Of those who said yes, how far is your head buried in the dirt? Of course this case is not necessarily what you think but what you can prove and they "couldn't" prove that Cam was involved. Auburn also had a SEC title game vs. South Carolina and the Gamecocks had previously beaten Alabama earlier that year. Plus you have to keep TCU out of the top 2 spots for rating sakes.
As for the Ohio State suspensions, if it's not about money, why not suspend them now? The NCAA just said they get none of the money from the Bowl Games so why not suspend Terrelle Pryor and the other players? Here's why: Because they know the bowl games are huge for "College" football as a whole and want everyone watching them. They get positive publicity when the best "College" football players are participating in these games. Plus, Ohio State has a proud football tradition and the NCAA indirectly benefits when they are the highlight of one of the Big 4 Bowl games. You think baseball doesn't benefit when the Yankees win the World Series? What about for the NFL when the Cowboys are in the Super Bowl? And the NBA benefiting from the Lakers and the Celtics recent success and rivalry?
You want the criticisms to stop? Suspend the Buckeyes now, grill Cam Newton till he pops, AND PUT IN A DAMN PLAYOFF SYSTEM!!!
More Bad News for Favre
The end of Brett Favre's career seems to not be ending fast enough. Favre has just been fined $50K by the NFL for failing to cooperate with the league in the course of it's investigation of Favre during the Sterger case. However, Roger Goodell says that he couldn't conclude whether or not Favre violated the personal conduct policy just yet. Joseph Conway, who is Jenn Sterger's attorney, has said in critical response "It clearly shows that an NFL star player was given preferential treatment and tells all other players that failure to cooperate may cost you some money but will not result in other punishment." Conway also said "today's decision is an affront to all females and shows once again that, despite tough talk, the NFL remains the good old boys' league,"
On top of this news from the NFL and Conway's response, Favre has failed a concussion test earlier today. The last game of the season is Sunday vs the Lions and it will likely be the last game Favre attends as part of an NFL team. It would be nice if he were able to play one more game and finish strong. Right now it seems unclear if he will start but if things don't improve Joe Webb might start for another game.
Fine by the league, concussions, bad stats; I'm amazed Favre hasn't retired in the middle of all of the season. He might as well be retired with the way things are going. It's a pity, though. Most great athletes of all sports end their career on a low note looking to rebound. Favre was just like many Hall of Famers who just wanted to go out like John Elway: Winning a Super Bowl (or two) and retiring. Many just don't go out like that, however. Many are like Favre who struggle near the end wanting to prove they still got something left when all they really have is just a aged body who can't take it anymore. It's worse for Favre, though, as he's going through all this with a scandal hanging over his head. I'm not saying what he did, if true, isn't a bad thing, it is. I'm just saying it's a larger than usual fall from the top.
On top of this news from the NFL and Conway's response, Favre has failed a concussion test earlier today. The last game of the season is Sunday vs the Lions and it will likely be the last game Favre attends as part of an NFL team. It would be nice if he were able to play one more game and finish strong. Right now it seems unclear if he will start but if things don't improve Joe Webb might start for another game.
Fine by the league, concussions, bad stats; I'm amazed Favre hasn't retired in the middle of all of the season. He might as well be retired with the way things are going. It's a pity, though. Most great athletes of all sports end their career on a low note looking to rebound. Favre was just like many Hall of Famers who just wanted to go out like John Elway: Winning a Super Bowl (or two) and retiring. Many just don't go out like that, however. Many are like Favre who struggle near the end wanting to prove they still got something left when all they really have is just a aged body who can't take it anymore. It's worse for Favre, though, as he's going through all this with a scandal hanging over his head. I'm not saying what he did, if true, isn't a bad thing, it is. I'm just saying it's a larger than usual fall from the top.
Monday and Tuesday Night Football?
Week 16 was supposed to end with the last Monday Night game of the year in Atlanta with the Saints vs. the Falcons. The Falcons were trying to get Home Field Advantage throughout the playoffs. The Saints still wanted to win the NFC South and barely held on to that dream beating the Falcons, 17-14. Drew Brees threw 2 INTs earlier but didn't lose morale as he threw the game winning TD to Rookie Jimmy Graham with 3:24 to go. The Falcons are still in the driver's seat for Home Field Advantage as they can get that by beating the Panthers this Sunday.
There was still one game to play, however, in week 16 as Sunday Night Football was moved to Tuesday night because of a blizzard. It was the first game the NFL had on a Tuesday Night since 1946. That was not the biggest surprise for the Eagles this weekend as they actually lost the postponed game to the Vikings, 24-14. Vikings had 6 sacks, 2 Fumbles and an INT in their effort to take down Michael Vick. Meanwhile, Viking's rookie QB, Joe Webb, had a good night throwing for 195 Yards and ran for 31 yards, also getting a rushing TD. He played well and didn't cost his team the game. Eagles are now stuck with the #3 seed and will likely rest players for the upcoming postseason.
Week 16 is finally over. The regular season ends this weekend with all of week 17's game being played on Sunday. Last chance for the Rams and the Seahawks.
There was still one game to play, however, in week 16 as Sunday Night Football was moved to Tuesday night because of a blizzard. It was the first game the NFL had on a Tuesday Night since 1946. That was not the biggest surprise for the Eagles this weekend as they actually lost the postponed game to the Vikings, 24-14. Vikings had 6 sacks, 2 Fumbles and an INT in their effort to take down Michael Vick. Meanwhile, Viking's rookie QB, Joe Webb, had a good night throwing for 195 Yards and ran for 31 yards, also getting a rushing TD. He played well and didn't cost his team the game. Eagles are now stuck with the #3 seed and will likely rest players for the upcoming postseason.
Week 16 is finally over. The regular season ends this weekend with all of week 17's game being played on Sunday. Last chance for the Rams and the Seahawks.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Pats Get to Stay Home, More Giants Humiliation, Chiefs Take the AFC West and More
Week 16 of NFL is not over but there are some very newsworthy games and playoff implications because of those games. The Patriots clinched the biggest prize a team can attain during the regular season: Home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Pats beat the Bills, 34-3, to get this achievement and are now 13-2. Tom Brady threw for just 140 yards but threw 3 TDs and the ground game combined for 217 yards with BenJarvus Green-Ellis leading the way with 104 yards. They can now breeze through their last game of season against the Dolphins if they so choose.
As for the rest of the NFL, the Giants can't get a break. They lose again, this time to the Packers, 45-17. Aaron Rodgers made his return throwing for 404 yards and 4 TDs. Packers now control their own destiny (Giants don't anymore) and can clinch a Wild Card spot by beating the Bears in Chicago next week. As for the Bears, they are still playing for a possible bye week and beat the Jets, 38-34. Jay Cutler threw for 215 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT to get the win. Mark Sanchez did well too but threw a decisive INT to Chris Harris with less than a minute to play. However, the Jets get a Wild Card spot, anyway, due to the Jaguars losing to the Redskins in OT, 20-17. David Garrard also threw a INT but in OT to lead to a Graham Gano field goal.
As for the AFC West, the Chiefs won there game over the Titans, 34-14. Matt Cassell threw for 314 yards and 3 TDs to give his team the win. The Chiefs would win the AFC West Title later in the day thanks to this win and the Chargers losing to the Bengals, 34-20. The Bengals eventually pulled away in the 4th quarter and Carson Palmer had a great day throwing for 269 yards and 4 TDs. The Chargers are now eliminated from playoff contention. With the Jaguars losing, the Colts gain a game advantage over Jacksonville by beating the Raiders, 31-26. The Colts are now balancing the play calling by running the ball for 39 times and 191 yards. As for the NFC West, the Rams beat the 49ers, 25-17, and the Seahawks lost to the Bucs, 38-15. The Rams will play the Seahawks for the West Division title in the final week.
The NFL and the Eagles make a move deserving of a wedgie. The Eagles-Vikings game has been postponed to Tuesday night due to a blizzard. What ever happened to toughing it out and playing in extreme conditions like the Ice Bowl. This could've been the Blizzard Bowl, but now it's the Pansy Bowl. Falcons will fight for home field advantage tonight when they take on the Saints.
P.S. Mike Singletary has been fired by the 49ers for making Jed York look like an idiot... again. Who called it?
P.P.S. Idiot part going back when York guaranteed the 49ers would still win the NFC West. Can we get new owners?
As for the rest of the NFL, the Giants can't get a break. They lose again, this time to the Packers, 45-17. Aaron Rodgers made his return throwing for 404 yards and 4 TDs. Packers now control their own destiny (Giants don't anymore) and can clinch a Wild Card spot by beating the Bears in Chicago next week. As for the Bears, they are still playing for a possible bye week and beat the Jets, 38-34. Jay Cutler threw for 215 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT to get the win. Mark Sanchez did well too but threw a decisive INT to Chris Harris with less than a minute to play. However, the Jets get a Wild Card spot, anyway, due to the Jaguars losing to the Redskins in OT, 20-17. David Garrard also threw a INT but in OT to lead to a Graham Gano field goal.
As for the AFC West, the Chiefs won there game over the Titans, 34-14. Matt Cassell threw for 314 yards and 3 TDs to give his team the win. The Chiefs would win the AFC West Title later in the day thanks to this win and the Chargers losing to the Bengals, 34-20. The Bengals eventually pulled away in the 4th quarter and Carson Palmer had a great day throwing for 269 yards and 4 TDs. The Chargers are now eliminated from playoff contention. With the Jaguars losing, the Colts gain a game advantage over Jacksonville by beating the Raiders, 31-26. The Colts are now balancing the play calling by running the ball for 39 times and 191 yards. As for the NFC West, the Rams beat the 49ers, 25-17, and the Seahawks lost to the Bucs, 38-15. The Rams will play the Seahawks for the West Division title in the final week.
The NFL and the Eagles make a move deserving of a wedgie. The Eagles-Vikings game has been postponed to Tuesday night due to a blizzard. What ever happened to toughing it out and playing in extreme conditions like the Ice Bowl. This could've been the Blizzard Bowl, but now it's the Pansy Bowl. Falcons will fight for home field advantage tonight when they take on the Saints.
P.S. Mike Singletary has been fired by the 49ers for making Jed York look like an idiot... again. Who called it?
P.P.S. Idiot part going back when York guaranteed the 49ers would still win the NFC West. Can we get new owners?
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Should Singletary be Fired?
This season has been nothing but a struggle for the 49ers. They started the season with 5 losses and just couldn't recover from that. They haven't beaten a good team all year and have fallen way short of expectations of myself and others. Natural instincts will of course be to fire Mike Singletary now or after the end of the season next week. But does he deserve to be fired? He's only coached two full seasons in the NFL and has had to deal with Alex Smith for both. Plus you have to consider the possible lockout looming over the NFL in 2011 and whether you want to hire a coach that may not get to know the players until the season supposedly begins. I would give him one more season to impress me and then fire him if he fails.
But of course whether he deserves to be fired or not is irrelevant in this league or world for that matter. The simple fact is that sports nowadays is an instant gratification arena like the real world. There is no patience anymore for player development and coaching development either. You need to win now or show signs of improvement or you're fired. Singletary has, regrettably, gone backwards with a now 5-10 record as opposed to the 8-8 record attained last year. Plus, if I'm the GM, I'd be tempted to fire Singletary and try to get Bill Cowher, if possible, even though he hasn't expressed any interest in coaching the 49ers.
You also have to think about the QB situation going forward. The 49ers are not going to resign Alex Smith. THEY ARE NOT, YOU HEAR ME, THEY'RE NOT!!! If an eventual coaching change is going happen, it's better to make it now with a new QB of his choosing and not Singletary's.
Bottom line: Mike's going to get fired. Probably at the end of the season but it will come.
P.S. 500TH POSTING!!! It's a new milestone for the Khan.
But of course whether he deserves to be fired or not is irrelevant in this league or world for that matter. The simple fact is that sports nowadays is an instant gratification arena like the real world. There is no patience anymore for player development and coaching development either. You need to win now or show signs of improvement or you're fired. Singletary has, regrettably, gone backwards with a now 5-10 record as opposed to the 8-8 record attained last year. Plus, if I'm the GM, I'd be tempted to fire Singletary and try to get Bill Cowher, if possible, even though he hasn't expressed any interest in coaching the 49ers.
You also have to think about the QB situation going forward. The 49ers are not going to resign Alex Smith. THEY ARE NOT, YOU HEAR ME, THEY'RE NOT!!! If an eventual coaching change is going happen, it's better to make it now with a new QB of his choosing and not Singletary's.
Bottom line: Mike's going to get fired. Probably at the end of the season but it will come.
P.S. 500TH POSTING!!! It's a new milestone for the Khan.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)