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Johnson Laments Chicago Finish

July 22, 2008 on 11:15 am | In NASCAR | No Comments

After leading the field to a restart with two laps to go at last Saturday night’s LifeLock 400 at the Chicagoland Speedway, Jimmie Johnson gave the top of the race track to eventual winner Kyle Busch and has spent the past week kicking himself over it. “On that last restart, I should have given him the inside”, Johnson commented on ducking to the bottom trying to hold off the hard charging Busch. Then again that’s just the way this season’s been for everyone except Busch all year. Busch marked the halfway point of the Sprint Cup season by notching his seventh win in the most dramatic fashion thus far by passing Johnson coming to the white flag last Saturday night. Although failing to grab the checkers in Chicago, the reigning two-time Cup Champ is putting together another solid season. While his one victory may be lower than preseason expectations, Johnson has nine top-tens and has finished worse than tenth only twice in his last seven starts.

2008: One To Remember

July 22, 2008 on 10:47 am | In Uncategorized | No Comments

After Greg Norman’s incredible run in the Open Championship this past weekend, it crossed my mind that 2008 is the greatest year to be a sports’ addict in quite some time. Take a moment to consider the New York Giants‘ unbelievable defeat of the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Eli Manning’s almost being sacked four times before launching a 35-yard strike to David Tyree’s hand and helmet is the greatest play I’ve seen in any play in any sport. What racing fan could forget Penske Racing teammates Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch outslugging powerhouses Gibbs Motorsports and Hendrick Motorsports to sweep the top two spots in the Daytona 500? How about the NCAA Tournament and Cinderella Davidson College from tiny Davidson, North Carolina? Who among us will ever forget Kansas guard Mario Chalmers’ three-pointer to force overtime against Memphis in the NCAA Championship game? We could move on to the NBA Finals that saw NBA Most Valuable Player Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers take on Boston’s new Big Three in every true basketball fan’s dream matchup? Ofcourse the NBA Finals overshadowed the perennial powerhouse Detroit Red Wings‘ Stanley Cup battle with the superstar Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. If you were able to find the NHL Finals on television you probably did enjoy them. There’s young slugger Josh Hamilton’s amazing story of recovering from drug addiction to become one of the most dynamic players in the Major Leagues. Boston Red Sox pitcher and cancer survivor Jon Lester tossed an unforgettable and awe-inspiring no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals in front of a packed Fenway Park on May 19th. There’s Tiger Woods legendary comeback victory in the U.S. Open only to reveal the very next day that he needed reconstructive knee surgery. With Kyle Busch having a NASCAR season for the ages and teams like the Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays and Florida Marlins all in the thick of their division races, something tells me 2008 still has a lot left to offer.

Saints Acquire Shockey From Giants

July 22, 2008 on 10:05 am | In Football | No Comments

The New York Giants rid themselves of loudmouth and oft-injured tight end Jeremy Shockey yesterday in a deal that left many of us football fans scratching our heads. The Giants shipped off the four-time Pro Bowler to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a second and fifth round pick in next year’s NFL Draft. So let’s backtrack one day, shall we? Just yesterday the Washington Redskins acquired the ever-dominant superstar Jason Taylor from the Miami Dolphins for a second round pick and a fifth round pick. Were the Giants just blindsided by this deal for Taylor or did they just miss the boat? I can’t imagine that with Dallas loading up with Zach Thomas and Adam Jones, Philadelphia acquiring Asante Samuel and now Washington outslugging the Giants for Taylor, that New York thought Washington would take this deal. The Giants have a few questions floating around training camp, one being how to cope with the loss of future Hall of Famer Michael Strahan. Hello, Jason Taylor? While Taylor would have been a two-year “rental”, it would have been a perfect fit for Big Blue and their championship defense. Instead, Eli Manning will now face more of the best defenders in the NFL in his own division.

Yanks Lose Posada, A-Rod Heating Up

July 22, 2008 on 9:49 am | In Memorabilia, Baseball | No Comments

On the same day they won their eighth consecutive game in the Bronx, the New York Yankees placed superstar catcher Jorge Posada on the disabled list for the second time this season. Posada has suffered with right shoulder tendinitis since mid-April and will decide today whether or not to have season-ending surgery. The Yankee catcher has been completely ineffective in throwing out base runners and recently went on a tirade exclaim how badly he wants to be behind the plate and not DH-ing. Too bad, Jorge. Honestly, Posada is a veteran guy and should understand that the team is better with Jose Molina doing the catching, even if it means keeping Molina’s miniscule .220 batting average in the lineup. On the other end of the spectrum, third basemen and reigning American League Most Valuable Player Alex Rodriguez has come out of the All-Star break on absolute fire. Rodriguez homered and drove in three last night as the Bombers pounded the Minnesota Twins 12-4. After a first-half overshadowed by stories like Josh Hamilton’s breakout season and Jon Lester’s no-hitter, Rodriguez seems determined to remind all of the Major Leagues that he’s the best all-around player in the game today. A-Rod’s hitting at a torrid .400 clip since beginning baseball’s second half and it’s not just Yankee fans that are going crazy but us memorabilia collectors too. Since Rodriguez became the youngest player to ever hit 500 home runs, the demand for and value of Alex Rodriguez authentic autographed baseball bats, Alex Rodriguez authentic signed jerseys and Alex Rodriguez autographed baseballs has never been higher. Authentic memorabilia is really the ultimate keepsake for true blue sports’ fans and from one collector to another, I’d consider spending a little coin to get on a piece of what Rodriguez is doing on the field. Not one of us would be shocked if in twenty years we’re talking about Alex being amongst the top two or three players to ever step onto the diamond. Take a serious look at maybe investing in an Alex Rodriguez autographed baseball bat or check out an authentic Alex Rodriguez signed baseball. I think you guys out there would get a lot of pleasure adding such serious star power to your sports collections. Aside from A-Rod, second baseman Robinson Cano is swinging one hot bat. After his notoriously hot second half last season, Cano is hitting at a 10-19 (.526) clip since the All-Star Break this year and has two homers and five runs batted in in his last five games.

Golden State Heartbreak

July 12, 2008 on 11:52 am | In Basketball | No Comments

Baron Davis left the Golden State Warriors and their raucous fans for the chance to play with Elton Brand and Corey Maggette in Los Angeles. Turns out all it was was just that, a chance. A day after Elton Brand signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, Davis’s former team announced that they have signed Maggette to a 5 year, $50 million contract. Way to go, Baron. Golden State looked like one of, if not the best area to play in in the entire NBA. Anytime the Warriors had a game on national television that crowd was nuts! Now you’ve left that behind for the unavoidable misery that comes with joining permanent basement dwelling Los Angeles. Ofcourse this bonehead move can only be outfoxed by Elton Brand on last evening’s SportsCenter where after you supposedly told Elton to “get his money”, he refuted that he signed with Philadelphia to make his pockets deeper, but instead at a better chance at winning a championship. Philadelphia becomes a serious contender in a stronger-by-the-day Eastern Conference while Baron Davis can wonder what could have been by remaining in Oakland.

Resurgent Mets Win Sixth Straight

July 12, 2008 on 11:49 am | In Uncategorized | No Comments

Facing a myriad of questions about their present and future, the New York Mets clicked off their possibly season-saving sixth consecutive win with a 7-3 defeat of the San Francisco Giants. The Mets have won eight of their last ten and have creeped to within a game and a half back of NL East leading Philadelphia. Though New York claimed their victory today on the West Coast, they can thank their performances at Shea Stadium for keeping them in the pennant race. The Mets, 25-18 at Shea, are a full four games better than Philly is at home and have cut two games off the Phillies’ division lead in the past two weeks.

Seattle’s Woeful Season Comes Full Circle

July 12, 2008 on 11:47 am | In Basketball | No Comments

Despite being picked by many as the team to beat in the American League West, the Seattle Mariners have flat out tanked. Today the team placed offseason acquisition Eric Bedard on the 15-day DL while cutting perennial underachiever Richie Sexson. For Sexson, this is the finale of what has been a pitiful two seasons in Seattle. Despite his $14,000,000 salary and the fact he is a native of Washington state, Sexson has been the target of fans’ boos since the onset of the season and the Mariners’ herrendous 36-55 record. Bedard has struggled and shown little of the brilliance that made him one of the game’s top fireballers just a season ago. Brought in to solidify Seattle’s starting rotation, Bedard has went 6-4 with an inability to go deep into games, going past six innings only twice all season. The true shame is for the Seattle sports’ fan, who watched their Mariners load up in the offseason for a run at the postseason only to have to rebuild all over again. This latest lowpoint comes the same week that the city’s SuperSonics would depart for Oklahoma City.

Stewart Lays It All On The Line

July 12, 2008 on 11:43 am | In NASCAR | No Comments

Two-time Sprint Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart today announced he was leaving NASCAR superteam Joe Gibbs Racing for the opportunity to co-own a team with Haas/CNC Racing. Suprising but not shocking, Smoke’s move is the equivalent of David Ortiz leaving the Boston Red Sox to sign with the San Francisco Giants. The upstart race team was formed by members of the Haas Automation Company, an automotive machine parts company from California. Word has it that Stewart wanted to make concrete plans to be heavily involved in NASCAR well after his driving career is over and this must be the perfect fit. It better be the perfect fit, the 20 car Stewart is vacating is without a doubt the most prestigious ride to open up in the Cup garage in some time. Tony won two championships behind the wheel of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet, now Toyota, and hopes to forge a new chapter of success as the sport’s first competetive owner-driver in quite some time.

Catching Rays

July 8, 2008 on 10:28 am | In Memorabilia, Baseball | No Comments

The New York Yankees welcome in first place Tampa Bay for an important two game set starting tonight at the Stadium. After a tough weekend series the Yanks split with Boston, New York needs a strong showing from newly-acquired Sidney Ponson to inch closer to first place. Tampa Bay will send consistently inconsistent fireballer Edwin Jackson to the mound. Despite having only a 5-6 record on the season, Jackson is coming off his best start of the season where he gave up one run in eight innings in an 11-2 victory over Kansas City on July 4th. Both teams come in riding hot bats from two young infielders. Yankees’ second basemen Robinson Cano has apparently found his stroke and hit a shade under .360 last week while Tampa Bay rookie third basemen Evan Longoria comes in hitting .458 in his last six games. This is an important series for New York knowing they came within an eyelash of being swept by Boston in the Bronx over the weekend. Tampa Bay will look to extend their eight and a half game lead over third place New York after going 8-2 in their past ten games.

Destiny Is A Kyle Busch Fan

July 8, 2008 on 9:57 am | In Memorabilia, NASCAR | No Comments

So on a rare occasion that Kyle Busch doesn’t have the best car in the Sprint Cup garage this past race weekend, the Gods of racing shined down and gifted him a victory. I must admit that Kyle’s streak of winning is making this Hendrick fan a little cynical, but let’s face the fact that this race was Jeff Gordon’s to lose and in very non-Gordon fashion, he found a way to do it. With four laps remaining, Gordon let eventual race winner Kyle Busch pass him by on the inside just moments before a caution that set up this season’s eighth green-white-checker finish. As the field came around with two laps to go, Gordon got a less than desirable restart and before he knew it he was spinning through the turn one infield as the field raced by. It’s a shame for a driver who all night seem poised to win his 14th career race at NASCAR’s most exciting and historic race track. Instead, all Gordon recieved at the end of the night was a 30th place finish and a week’s worth of kicking himself for letting this one get away. Gordon and everyone except Kyle Busch will look to improve this week as the Chicagoland Speedway hosts its first ever race under the lights this Saturday night.