Fair or Foul?: A Blog on Everything Sports

2010-08-10T10:07:00.000-07:00

The phenomenal year for pitchers in Major League Baseball continued on Sunday, as Brandon Morrow of the Blue Jays came within one out of a no-hitter, striking out 17 in a 1-0 win against the Rays.

The only hit Morrow allowed was was an infield single by Evan Longoria with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. Aaron Hill, the Jays' second baseman, just could not corral the seeing-eye single, which bounced off his glove as he dived in the hole between first and second. Morrow struck out the next batter, Dan Johnson, to end the game.

Morrow is the ninth pitcher this season to take a no-hitter into the ninth inning. Five of those pitchers have completed no-hitters, and of those, two have thrown perfect games.

In an age that has been dominated by offensive outbursts on the diamond, and scandal related thereto, this year is certainly special. It is wonderful to see dominant pitching making its triumphant return to Major League Baseball.

After all, our national pastime was founded on pitching and defense. As these two dimensions of the game take center stage, so does the relentless strategy that attracts me so strongly to baseball. If the guy on the mound is lights out, and the defense isn't making any blunders, all of a sudden every single base runner becomes crucial. "Small ball" becomes the name of the game, as each team tries to outsmart, rather than physically overpower, its opponent on the way to victory.

Here's hoping this upward pitching trend continues. Baseball needs great pitching to put the steroid scandal in the rearview mirror once and for all.

Tiger Not So Tough

2010-08-08T13:31:00.001-07:00

Tiger Woods just finished the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio today with a 77, bringing him to an alarming 18-over par for the tournament. He tied for 78th place out of 80 golfers.

In 11 previous appearances in the tournament, played annually at Firestone Country Club, Woods won seven times and never finished worse than a tie for fifth place.

Clearly, the man is still dealing with issues. I just wonder if we'll ever see the old Tiger again, the Tiger who once looked like he would break Jack Nicklaus' record for career major victories by the time he was 35. Tiger, who will turn 35 on December 30 of this year, is still four majors short of Nicklaus' 18 and is showing no signs of getting any better; in fact, he is regressing so horribly that I would not count on him making the cut in next week's PGA Championship.

Tiger blames his recent decline on the rough year he has had off the course and on his recent swing change. He says it took two years for him to regain his game following his first swing change after his 1997 Masters victory.

It has to be difficult for him to focus out there, and I just have a feeling his tumultuous year off the course is one obstacle Tiger may not be able to overcome.

Irish Ranked No. 34 in Coaches' Poll

2010-08-07T14:55:00.000-07:00

The preseason USA Today college football coaches' poll was released yesterday, and the 2010 Fighting Irish actually got some respect.

Notre Dame received 38 votes, which ranks God's Mom's favorite school 34th in the nation.

When asked how she felt about the team's preseason ranking, Our Lady responded positively.

"You know, I feel pretty good about it," she said. "I mean, we are coming off a few rough seasons, so you can't expect people to predict a national championship this year, even with a great new coach like B.K. But then again, no one thought a virgin peasant girl would be the Mother of God, so that just goes to show that with God, anything is possible."

Alabama received 55 of 59 first place votes to gain a firm hold of the No. 1 ranking. The other four first place votes went to Ohio State, who will start the season ranked No. 2.

For the complete poll:

http://espn.go.com/college-football/rankings

Favre to Retire...Maybe

2010-08-03T14:43:00.000-07:00

According to reports, Brett Favre has decided to retire. Nothing is official yet, but then again, is it ever official with Brett Favre?

In 2007, after his 16th season with the Packers, Favre decided to hang it up in an emotional press conference. He then decided to return to the Packers, but he had not met his former team's timeline for a decision, so the Packers had already moved on to quarterback Aaron Rodgers. That situation, of course, set off the nasty breakup between Brett and Green Bay.

Then, after playing the 2008 season with the Jets, and amid speculation that he would suit up for his long-time archrival, the Minnesota Vikings, Favre said he was done with professional football but changed his mind again and joined the Vikings after they began training camp.

So, needless to say, I am not convinced one bit that Brett Favre is going to retire, even if this goes official. The man breathes football, and the whole reason for his flip-flopping the last few years is that he doesn't know what to do with himself when he is not on the field. One would think he has to retire eventually, and I could be wrong, but I don't think he is ready to hang it up just yet. However, he is a grandpa now, so that could be influencing his decision.

Trade, Trade, Trade

2010-07-31T10:44:00.001-07:00

The Tribe has been busy the last few days. Three regulars on the roster, including two longtime Indians, have been traded prior to today's 4 p.m. deadline.

The most notable deal was just completed. As part of a three-team deal, The Indians sent ace Jake Westbrook and cash to the Cardinals. The Tribe received Double-A righty Corey Kluber from the Padres. Former Indian Ryan Ludwick was traded from St. Louis to San Diego, and San Diego sent minor-league left-hander Nick Greenwood to St. Louis.

Also today, the Tribe traded Austin Kearns to the Yankees for a player to be named or cash.

Wednesday evening, Jhonny Peralta became a Tiger, as the Indians dealt him for Class-A lefty Giovany Soto.

Overall, I can't complain about these deals. The post-All-Star winning streak was obviously a tease and we are quite clearly not going to be making a run at the playoffs, so we might as well get some prospects for some of the good players we have.

My only complaint is that I wish we could have gotten someone a little more definite for Kearns, who has been having a solid year.

I am glad Peralta is finally gone. How overpaid was he? He never lived up to the hype. He is the reason we got rid of Omar, who, at 43 years of age, is still a better ballplayer than Jhonny has ever been. Heck, Omar is hitting .285 this year and is still a wizard on defense.

I am happy for Jake Westbrook. He is a hard worker and has fought through Tommy John surgery, so he deserves to be with a contender.

EDIT: Make that four trades. Right before the deadline, the Tribe traded Kerry Wood to the Yankees for a player to be named or $500,000 cash. The team has until Oct. 15 to decide between the two options. The Indians have to pay all but $1.5 million of the more than $3.6 million remaining on Wood's $10.5 million salary this year.

So end two very disappointing and injury-plagued years for Kerry Wood in a Tribe uniform.

Oswalt to Phillies

2010-07-29T15:59:00.000-07:00

Roy Oswalt, formerly of the Houston Astros, is now a Philly after waiving his no-trade clause.

The red-hot Phillies acquired the ace today in exchange for left-handed starter J.A. Happ and two prospects, outfielder Anthony Gose and shortstop Jonathan Villar.

Oswalt has been the talk of trade rumors for some time now, but his move to the Phillies is somewhat surprising, given his prior desire to be traded to St. Louis.

With the Phillies already breathing down the necks of the Braves, this makes the National League East race very interesting.

T.O. Misses Flight

2010-07-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

New Bengals wide receiver Terrell Owens missed his overnight flight to Cincinnati last night. His press conference, originally scheduled for this morning, had to be rescheduled for this evening after practice, and it was unclear whether he would make it to training camp in time to work out today.

Given T.O.'s history with off-the-field antics, this leads me to wonder why he missed his flight. So, I am taking a poll, which will be rendered irrelevant once the real reason surfaces. What do you guys think?

1) He went clubbin'.
2) He fell asleep.
3) He went clubbin' and then fell asleep.
4) He was on the phone all night having a heart-to-heart and tearful conversation with Carson Palmer, his new quarterback.
5) He did it just to draw attention to himself.
6) Chad Ochocinco recommended he do it to draw attention to himself.
7) He was up all night thinking of touchdown celebrations.
8) He was running late for reasons beyond his control.
9) Any other ideas?

Tomlin Baffles Yanks in Debut

2010-07-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

In his Major League debut on Tuesday, Indians starter Josh Tomlin pitched seven innings and allowed just one earned run against the Yankees, beating former Indians ace C.C. Sabathia 4-1.

Tomlin became the second Tribe pitcher to win his Major League debut in the last ten days. Jeanmar Gomez beat the Tigers on July 18 before being sent back to Triple-A Columbus. Tomlin and Gomez are the first pair of Indians to earn wins in their Major League debuts in the same season since Phil Bedgood and Dewey Metivier in did it in 1922.

Considering all of the disappointment this season, the Tribe's pitching has not been too bad overall, there are definitely some brights spots in the pitching staff and on offense that have me optimistic for the future.

But, as is usually the case with the Tribe, we'll make a run in the playoffs in a few years, fall short, and then get rid of all our good players. Such is life as a Cleveland sports fan.

Anyway, good job Josh and Jeanmar. Keep up the good work.

T.O. to Cincy

2010-07-28T07:52:00.000-07:00

Terrell Owens just signed a one year, $2 million contract with the Bengals, with $2 million in possible bonuses. Owens will line up with Chad Ochocinco this season.

I'm trying to decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing for the Bengals. One one hand, they now have two of the most talented wide receivers in the league on their roster. On the other hand, these two have enough ego to fill an entire roster.

Ochocinco claims that their off-the-field friendship and respect for each other will make it easy for the pair to work together, but I'm not so sure. The thought of Owens and Ochocinco on the same roster is actually kind of scary, and if I were a Bengals fan, I would be highly nervous right now.

I foresee some drama in Cincy.

Correction to Tour de France Story

2010-07-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

This is a comment from my friend, David, who is a big cycling guy. Apparently, my cycling knowledge is woefully inadequate. I thank you, David, for setting me straight. I apologize to my readers for not getting my facts straight.

Quotation from FairorFoul: "It is customary in cycling for other riders to wait for a rider to fix a problem for which he is not at fault, such as a mechanical failure..."

Not quite true, my friend. It is customary in cycling for other riders not to attack the race leader and gain time, if it is known that he has fallen under some duress (mechanical, crashing, etc).

From the race video, AC's domestique, Alexandre Vinokourov, led an attack when he perceived what appeared to be a moment of weakness by Schleck. As team captain, it was AC's responsibility to rein in Vino, if the attack was not warranted. That he followed immediately after Vino led me to suspect that Team Saxo-Bank's management may not have relayed to the other team managers that Schleck fell into mechanical duress. If that had happened, AC would have been obligated by race etiquette to slow the attack and allow the yellow jersey time to catch up.

Neither captain disclosed in the post-stage interviews whether that necessary communication took place. Schleck may not have realized on how much time he had lost, and thought that he could have caught up. Unfortunately, he couldn't and the time split remained the same between them until the final individual time trial, where AC demonstrated his greater superiority.

LOL. What people tend to forget is that this is AC's 2nd actual victory. His first one was a hand-me down from Landis having his title stripped for doping. Oh well, details.

David also reminds me that Lance Armstrong and his Radio Shack team won the team title (best aggregate time) in this year's Tour de France. At least Lance will retire on a high note after a race in which he could have fared better individually had he not been involved in a series of crashes in the early stages.

Coach Kelly at Cubs Game

2010-07-26T11:17:00.000-07:00

UND.com has posted this video of Coach Brian Kelly's day at Wrigley field on Sunday for the Cubs vs. Cardinals game, culminating with his somewhat on-pitch rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."

I love how he was reading the lyrics as he was singing.

Way to go, Coach! 8-)

http://www.und.com/index-main.html#00

Contador Wins Tour

2010-07-26T08:23:00.000-07:00

Alberto Contador of Spain cruised to an easy Tour de France victory yesterday after he had held off a charge from Luxembourg's Andy Schleck the day before. The win is Contador's third in four years.

However, this year's victory has been mired in controversy. In Stage 15, with Schleck wearing the yellow jersey as the overall leader of the race, Contador committed a breach of cycling etiquitte and claimed the yellow for himself.

As Schleck was pedaling hard uphill after Contador, Schleck's chain came undone. It is customary in cycling for other riders to wait for a rider to fix a problem for which he is not at fault, such as a mechanical failure, but Contador sped onward, eventually gaining 39 seconds on Schleck, which ironically is the margin by which he led Schleck after holding off Schleck's comeback on Saturday.

Contador apologized for his breach of etiquette on YouTube shortly after it occurred. Schleck has accepted the apology and urged fans to do the same, but surely this Tour loss will not be easy for him to forget.

Andy: Good effort. You deserved to win. You'll get 'em next year.

Alberto: I hope you can sleep at night.

Cool Managerial Anecdote

2010-07-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

Here is something that should interest all of my Southern California readers. My wonderful mother-in-law, Alice, told me about this interesting story concerning her beloved Los Angeles Dodgers teams of the early 1980s.

The catcher on the 1980 and 1981 teams was Mike Scioscia, in his first two Major League seasons. Davey Lopes was at second base and Dusty Baker played left field. The 1981 team won the World Series.

From 2000-2002, all three of these teammates were Major League managers. Scioscia managed the Angels, Baker the Giants, and Lopes the Brewers.

It so happened that in the 2002 World Series, Scioscia and Baker met head-to-head. The Angels beat the Giants, four games to three.

Now, eight years later, Scioscia continues to manage the Angels, who are in second place in the AL West, while Baker is leading a resurgent Reds team in a heated NL Central battle with the Cardinals. Who knows? Maybe Scioscia and Baker will have a rematch in this year's World Series.

Baker also managed the Cubs with little success before taking the position with the Reds in 2008. Lopes was fired from his managerial position with the Brewers after a 3-12 start to the 2002 season and is now the first-base coach for the Phillies.

Scioscia's son, Matt, is a designated hitter, catcher, and first baseman with the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, so it's no wonder why Mike Scioscia has won a World Series as a manager and his two Dodgers teammates have not.

Cavs Fans Respond Positively

2010-07-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Now this is a good way to handle the disappointment over LeBron.

A small group of Cavs fans is gathering old LeBron paraphernalia and donating it to homeless shelters in South Florida. Apparently, many Clevelanders are contributing to the cause. If you haven't already burned your LeBron gear, do this instead.

The group is also selling $15 T-shirts from its website, breakupwithlebron.com, and donating the proceeds to the Cleveland City Mission. The fronts of the shirts read "It's Not Us, It's You."

Good, positive response, guys. Kind of funny, too.

Thank you, Phil, for sending this story along.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hSX9clI5CVwkL3Luo1atbc43V1NwD9H304000

This Is an Awesome Idea!!! 8-)

2010-07-23T07:28:00.000-07:00

If you have never read anything written by Bill Simmons ("The Sports Guy") on ESPN.com, I highly suggest you do. The guy is hilarious.

This tidbit is from his latest column, which is about some guy named LeBron, who apparently plays basketball or something. One of The Sports Guy's readers sent in this amazing idea for how Cavs fans can show their appreciation when LeBron comes back to town:

"Q: Am I the only one who wants to see 20,000 Cleveland fans with fake knives stuck on their backs when Lebron arrives in his new Miami uniform next year?
-- Avi, San Francisco

SG: At the very least, it's going to make for a fantastic Halloween costume: Take your LeBron/Cavs jersey you don't need anymore, pour some fake blood on the back, tape a knife handle on it and you're good to go. Voila! Instant 2010-11 Cavaliers fan."

I love you, Avi of San Francisco! What a great way to say thank you. I wish we could pull it off, but I don't know if we'll get 20,000 fans in the Q in a week next year, let alone one game. But maybe if LeBron is in town, we can all show our support, as well as our cutlery.

Complete column:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100722/mailbag1

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100722/mailbag2

USC to Return Bush's Heisman

2010-07-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

It looks like new USC president Max Nikias and new Athletic Director Pat Haden are serious about changing the university's image.

In an effort to distance USC from Reggie Bush, who was a major cause of the NCAA sanctions imposed upon the school, the new administration has decided to return its copy of Bush's Heisman Trophy to the Heisman Trust. According to Haden, this is in compliance with the NCAA's ruling that the school must disassociate itself from the athletes involved in the scandal (mostly Bush and former basketball standout O.J. Mayo). The school will also remove all images of Bush and Mayo from campus and take Bush's No. 5 jersey from its place of honor in Heritage Hall.

Good for you, USC. I still despise your football program, but good for you. Maybe your athletes will finally be held to the same standards as everyone else.

The full story can be found below:

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/ncf/news/story?id=5395550

Of course, now that Haden is the A.D. at USC, Notre Dame needs a new color commentator. It does not sit well with me (nor with most ND fans) that a former USC player was commentating for Notre Dame games in the first place, so this is definitely for the best. But who will the new guy be? We shall see.

Piniella to Retire

2010-07-21T06:52:00.000-07:00

Some disappointing news out of Major League Baseball today: Cubs manager Lou Piniella says he will retire after this season.

I have always been a big Lou Piniella fan. He is a passionate manager who doesn't accept sub-par effort from his players. Plus, he has been loads of fun to watch over the years.

My best Lou Piniella memory is his tirade during a game against the Indians at the Jake back in '98 when he managed the Mariners. While arguing what he thought was a missed tag on a double play, he got ejected from the game and proceeded to kick his hat all over the infield for a couple of minutes before finally hitting the showers. On his way into the dugout, he threw his hat into the crowd and the fan who caught it actually threw it back at him.

In case you're wondering, I didn't remember all of these details. I cheated and watched it on YouTube first. 8-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31mJNcS9vnY

Ah, Lou, thank you for the memories. We will miss you.

Jiménez's Bank Shot on the Road Hole on Saturday

2010-07-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

I meant to post this with my Open Championship post on Saturday (I just added it there), but it deserves its own post anyway. What an amazing shot by Miguel Ángel Jiménez. One of the best shots I have ever seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DglEQxuw9Ws

Comeback, Baby!

2010-07-20T09:18:00.001-07:00

After a dismal first half of the season, the Tribe has not lost since the All-Star break. The Indians beat the Tigers yesterday, 10-4, banging out 20 hits to win their fifth consecutive game.

Watch out, American League Central Division! Here comes the Tribe! We were 16 games back at the break, but we're only 12.5 games back now!

In all seriousness, that would be some comeback, especially given that we would have to pass four teams to do it. Nevertheless, anyone who knows me knows how optimistic I am about my sports teams, which is odd considering I root for Cleveland and Notre Dame, who are not two of the most successful sports entities in recent history.

Anyway, the Indians did this in 2008. They had a miserable first half to knock themselves out of the running, and then a meaninglessly awesome second half. They actually had the third-best record in the American League after the All-Star break (40-28), but were so far out of it they still lost the division by 7.5 games.

At any rate, it is nice to see them playing well for once, especially given the youth of their roster.

Let's go Tribe! 8-)

RKGs?

2010-07-18T17:06:00.001-07:00

It looks like Coach Brian Kelly is going to have to work to make his players into "RKGs" (Right Kinda Guys).

Eleven Notre Dame athletes were arrested at a party early Saturday morning for underage drinking.

Way to jeopardize your and the program's future, guys. As if Fighting Irish athletics needed another setback.

Among those arrested were quarterback Nate Montana, receivers Robbie Toma and Tai-ler Jones, and basketball players Tim Abromaitis and Eric Atkins.

Jones and Atkins are two highly-thought-of incoming freshmen, while Abromaitis is probably the best player on this year's basketball team. According to the story on ESPN.com, which can be accessed below, each athlete is required to appear in court on July 30 and faces a maximum of 30 days in jail if convicted.

Very disappointing, guys. Get your acts together. We're better than this.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5388648

Oosthuizen Dominates, Lifts Claret Jug

2010-07-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

With his wife and 7-month-old daughter looking on, Louis Oosthuizen raised one of the most coveted trophies in sports, the Claret Jug. Oosthuizen's 71 at today's final round of the Open Championship at St. Andrews earned him his first career major title and caused many to wonder whether he is the next star of the PGA.

Once again, Oosthuizen, who finished the tournament at 16 under par, navigated the course with ease, hitting big shot after big shot with his incredibly sound swing. After Paul Casey took a triple bogey on the 12th hole, there was no doubt that Oosthuizen would take the championship home to South Africa.

Oosthuizen's victory is yet another piece of an amazing summer of sports in South Africa, which hosted its first FIFA World Cup from June 11 to July 11. Oosthuzien's caddy, Zack Rasego, helped this friend to the championship. The two men, both from humble backgrounds, have been together for seven years, showing the world how far South Africa has come as they, a white golfer and a black caddy, have worked together to achieve a common dream. And to make matters even more special for South Africa, they did it on Nelson Mandela's birthday, too.

What a great accomplishment for Oosthuizen, who was not on the golf radar in the United States four days ago, and what a great summer for South Africa, where the political turmoil and human rights abuses of Apartheid made such success and jubilation unimaginable just 16 years ago. The Good Lord is surely at work in South Africa.

Oosthuizen Eyes First Major Championship

2010-07-17T13:20:00.000-07:00

South African Louis Oosthuizen continued his dominance at the Open Championship on Saturday. as he shot a 69 to drop to 15 under par for the tournament. The only question now is whether the 27-year-old can withstand the pressure of a four-stroke lead on day four of a major.

Right behind Oosthuizen is Englishman Paul Casey (-11), one of three golfers to score a round-low 67 on Saturday. No other golfer is better than 8 under for the tournament, so it looks like Oosthuizen and Casey, who also has never won a major, are the only two with a realistic shot at lifting the Claret Jug on Sunday.

Of course, if the weather at St. Andrews has anything to say about it, anybody could win.

Closing thought: Is Oosthuizen's swing one of the most beautiful golf swings you have ever seen, or what? Where did this guy come from?

Shot of the tournament: Miguel Ángel Jiménez's bank shot on the Road Hole. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DglEQxuw9Ws

Hilarious Parody of "The Decision"

2010-07-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

My friend Adam alerted me to this parody featuring Steve Carell and Paul Rudd. It is pretty darn good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpEdFWXrgWI&feature=popular

Dan Gilbert = Awesome

2010-07-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

For all those Dan Gilbert haters out there:

I am proud to have so loyal an owner. Here is someone who truly cares about turning Cleveland's sports fortunes around. I really believe he is committed to winning a championship and will spend whatever he has to spend to do it. Whether we will win one before Miami is a debatable question, but at least the guy is fearless and confident.

Gilbert recognized the utter betrayal that LeBron committed and had the guts to call him out for it. And he is absolutely right. All of this egotistical nonsense brought on by free agency is terrible for sports, and it is about time someone holds athletes accountable for their actions.

When I first read Gilbert's e-mail to the fans, I had a smile from ear to ear. I was shocked to hear the national outrage over his words. What I am discovering is that Cleveland fans love him for his statement, while everybody else seems to despise him for it. I guess you just need to have suffered the pain of Cleveland sports to appreciate the magnitude of LeBron's betrayal and what it means for an owner to back his team and his city. That's a far cry from an owner who sells his team and betrays his city.

Welcome!

2010-07-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new blog. This blog will focus on the wide world of sports. I hope to report major events in an attractive fashion and provide some insightful commentary. I thank you for your support! Please spread the word and let me know of any blogs you have.