Sports Blog

This past weekend in sports was one of the most eventful of the year. It was the first weekend of the NBA season, the midway point of the NFL season, the start of the MLS postseason, and the final stretch of the MLB season. Sprinkle in some big games in college football, international soccer, and the NHL and there was really too much to watch on this Halloween weekend.

However, for those that did find the time to take in all the wonderful sports action it will be a weekend they will not soon forget. And for those who were not able to catch all the excitement, here is a quick recap of the weekend’s three biggest stories.

World Series: The New York Yankees inched their way closer to their 27th championship and first since 2000. Joba Chamberlain gave the Yankees a scare Sunday night when he allowed the Philadelphia Phillies to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth, but a three run top of the ninth started by an amazing at bat by Johnny Damon propelled the Yankees to a 7-4 victory and 3-1 series lead. A.J. Burnett will take the mound in game five for the Yankees tonight against Cliff Lee and attempt to close out the series in Philadelphia.

NFL: The Denver Broncos entered week eight of the NFL season as one of three undefeated teams in the league. Unfortunately for Broncos fans, the team will not enter week nine with the same status following a 30-7 blowout at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. The Indianapolis Colts remained undefeated after narrowly beating the fading San Francisco 49ers and the league’s other unbeaten team, the New Orleans Saints, is host to Atlanta tonight on Monday Night Football.

Arguably the biggest NFL story of the weekend, though, was Brett Favre’s return to Lambeau Field to face his former team. Although he already beat the Green Bay Packers earlier this year, it was the first time he has played at Lambeau Field as a visitor since leaving the team to play for the New York Jets last season. He was booed heavily in the beginning of the game, despite there being a fair number of purple jerseys in the crowd, but received the last laugh as he led the Minnesota Vikings to a 38-26 victory.

NBA: Finally, the NBA season is here and opening weekend did not disappoint. We saw some of last years playoff teams take care of business (the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic are all undefeated) and others come out of the gate struggling (the Cleveland Cavaliers are 2-2 and the Chicago Bulls and New Orleans Hornets are 1-2). What is more interesting (although we shouldn’t be surprised) is how some of last years bad teams are seemingly worse than they were before.

The New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, and Golden State Warriors are a combined 0-17. It is not as though any NBA analyst was predicting these teams to make it to the NBA finals this season, but their play so far has been less than encouraging for fans hoping they would make a strong push to get into the playoffs and possibly cause some damage.

What do you think was the biggest story of the weekend? Any predictions for next weekend?

Image Source: Guardian.co.uk

After grinding out 162 regular season games and nine playoff games, the New York Yankees finally punched their ticket to the World Series Sunday night with a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. It will be the Yankees first trip to the big dance since 2003 when they lost to the Florida Marlins in six games. Although they have struggled sealing the deal this decade, the Yankees history is quite illustrious. This marks the 40th time they have won the American League pennant and a win over the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series would be their 27th time winning it all.

Of course, the Phillies will more than put up a fight to defend their World Series crown. The match up features some of the best pitchers in the game (Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, CC Sabathia, Mariano Rivera, etc.) as well as some of the leagues’ premier hitters in Ryan Howard and Alex Rodriguez. Game one is scheduled Wednesday in New York at a time to be determined.

Other baseball news: The Yankees victory over the Angels and subsequent berth in to the World Series was not the only piece of interesting baseball news over the weekend. After much debate in St. Louis over whether or not manager Tony La Russa would return to the club next year, it was announced that he and management agreed to a one year deal for 2010 that includes a mutual option for 2011. However, the real buzz surrounding the agreement was word that the Cardinals will be replacing hitting coach Hal McRae with a former slugger most recently known for his refusal to speak about the past during a Congressional hearing on steroids. That slugger is none other than Mark McGwire, who was coached by La Russa during his time with the Cardinals and Oakland Athletics.

College football: For those of you (like me) who do not like the BCS and desperately want to see a playoff system implemented, the storm clouds have started to brew with the most recent set of BCS rankings. The top four teams in the current standings — Florida, Alabama, Texas and Iowa — are all undefeated and barring an upset, three of those teams will likely end the season that way. A one-loss USC team comes in at number five and is followed by another set of undefeated teams in TCU, Boise State and Cincinnati. Even if only half of these top-eight teams win out we are looking at plenty of BCS drama and will hopefully move one step closer to a playoff system.

NFL: After seven weeks of play there are still three undefeated teams (Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, and New Orleans Saints) attempting to join the 1972 Miami Dolphins in the NFL history books. The Dolphins ran the table that year and remain the only team to have ever completed a perfect season. The field was nearly trimmed down to two teams this week as the Saints struggled against, ironically, the Dolphins. The Saints found themselves down 34-24 at the end of the third quarter but scored 22 unanswered points in the fourth to secure the victory.

What do you think was the biggest story of the weekend? What are you looking forward to the most this week? Let us know in the comments section below.

Slow starters absolutely drive fantasy owners crazy.  It puts them in a tough dilemma of whether to be patient and have confidence that the player will rebound, or react to the lower stat line by trading or dropping the player before his value is nonexistent.  The first option runs the risk of you waiting the whole season and the player never coming through.  Now you have to fill a big hole in your lineup.  The second option runs the risk of you getting rid of the player, and then the player having a monster second half of the season.  Your left kicking yourself cause you didn’t benefit from it at all.  I always go with the patient strategy.  Give talented players more time to produce cause it’s a long season.  You drafted these players high for a reason and sometimes their current stat lines can be miss leading to how they are really doing at the moment.  Here are four players where that is the case:

Chris Iannetta, C, Rockies:  Yes his only hitting for a .218 AVG, but his power numbers are still there.  He’s currently on pace for 33 homers and 74 RBIs!  Where can you find those kind of numbers from a catcher?  The only reason for the low AVG was because he started the season going 5-for-39 ( .128 AVG).  In May, before he got hurt, he hit .276 with 5 HR and 13 RBI.  So, don’t give up on him if you own him.  If you don’t try and trade for him now before owners realize the potential they are holding.

Stephen Drew, SS, Diamondbacks:  Drew, like Iannetta, started the season off really slow before he got hurt, and now he is starting to pick it up.  In June he is batting .359, and based on previous seasons, he always picks up his production in the second half.  He hit .321 with 10 homers and 38 RBIs in the last three months of 2008.  So, pick him up now before he gets too hot.

Derrek Lee, 1B, Cubs:  Normally a fast starter, Lee struggled to find his swing to start the season.  He was batting .194 into the middle of May and owners were getting fed up and dropping him.  Bad move!  Since May 16 he is hitting .377 and hit 4 HR.  I expect him to bat around .300 with more power for the rest of the season.  So, he is much better than what his numbers say right now.

Russell Martin, C, Dodgers:  Martin is still homer-less and people and owners are starting to panic.  But, he’s still on pace for 20 steals and about 60 RBI, so I wouldn’t be worried about him.  He never really was a great power hitter only averaging 15 HR a season.  But,  people still get worried about zeros.  I think he will have at least 10 by the end of the season.  So, keep him locked in your lineup.

Image Source:  AP Photo, Espn.com

The flurry of steroids related drama surrounding Major League Baseball has been pretty high this season.

First it was leaked that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for performance enhancing drugs while he played for the New York Rangers.  He was able to avoid a lengthy suspension because the test was given in anonymity before the current drug rules were instituted, but the hit to his character and the game of baseball were still large.

Adding to the already dark cloud of A-Rod’s failed test is the fact that over 100 other MLB players tested positive during the same time period.  The tests are sealed so people are naturally starting to question a lot of players from the last 10-20 years.  Anyone who starts to slump, like Boston’s David Ortiz, makes baseball fans wonder if their former greatness can be attributed largely to the juice.

Then there are cases like Manny Ramirez, where it has yet to be proven he took steroids but the circumstantial evidence is overwhelming.  All of these unpleasant stories make this weeks fantasy impact player even more impressive.  He has never been linked to any type of performance enhancing drug and is one of the brightest young stars in the game today.

This weeks fantasy impact player is New York Mets‘ third baseman David Wright, who started off the season a bit on the slow side but has turned it on in the past couple weeks.  Currently riding a respectable 11-game hit streak, Wright leads all third basemen in batting average with a monstrous .362, good for eighth overall among all players with at least 100 at bats.

For the past seven days he is the second highest rated player on ESPN’s fantasy player rater and is first for third basemen.  During that same time span he is 14 for 22 at the plate for a whopping .636 batting average.  He also has 10 walks to only three strike outs, which explains his high on-base percentage (.750) and OPS (1.568).  It is true his power numbers are down, but considering he has hit at least 25 home runs in each of the last four years it is only a matter of time before his power catches up to the rest of his impressive numbers.

Toss in the fact that he trails only Chone Figgins in steals among third basemen and you can see just how dominate Wright is in the world of fantasy.  It isn’t reasonable to expect him to continue hitting .362, but his final regular season stats could easily be a .315 batting average, 28 home runs, 115 RBI and 30 stolen bases.

And what fantasy owner wouldn’t be ecstatic for those numbers?

Image Source:Hawk Fantasy Sports

When word got out that Manny Ramirez was going to be suspended for 50 games there were a lot of different reactions from different people. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt was pissed, teammates were disappointed, and fans were largely a mix of both.

Then there were fantasy owners who were not so much angry at his alleged misconduct but by the fact that one of their top draft picks (his average draft position was 23.7) was going to be useless until early July.  Just as it is going to be impossible for the Dodgers to straight up replace his production in their line up, you aren’t going to find a player on the waiver wire that will match or exceed his production.

However, there are a few quality steals out there that will help you ride the ship until Ramirez’s return.  So whether you lost Manny, are ready to drop a disappointing outfielder (B.J. Upton!), or are simply looking to add some depth, here are five fantasy impact outfielders that could help your team.  All five are currently in ESPN’s top 50 outfielders and are owned in less than 50 percent of leagues.

Michael Bourn, Houston Astros:  The 20th ranked outfielder and owned in only a third of leagues, the most tantalizing aspect of Bourn is his ability to swipe bags (tied for third among outfielders).  He isn’t going to give you any power, but his solid batting average (.317) and stolen bases (13) makes up for it.

Denard Span, Minnesota Twins:  Span’s production is similar to Bourn.  He isn’t going to hit many home runs, which is typically what you look for in your outfielders, but his average (.299) and steals (8) are only slightly lower than Bourn and he has almost twice as many RBI (18).

Jack Cust, Oakland Athletics:  Owned in just over a quarter of leagues, Cust is capable of giving you decent power numbers.  With five home runs and 21 RBI already, it isn’t out of the question for him to put up 25 and 80 by seasons end.

Jason Kubel, Minnesota Twins:  The second Twin on this list is the exact opposite of the first.  Kubel isn’t going to be swift on the bases, but runs and RBI are similar to Span and he hits for a higher average (.333).  Before you pick him up make sure he qualifies in your league as an outfielder because he spends a lot of time as the DH.

Elijah Dukes, Washington Nationals:  One of the few bright spots on the Nationals, Dukes is currently the 49th ranked outfielder and is proficient in almost every category.  His average (.280), runs (12), home runs (4), RBI (23) and stolen bases (2) are all very respectable and he probably has more upside than anyone else on this list.

It is still extremely early in the MLB season, but if votes were cast today for the Cy Young award there would be no doubt in which pitcher was most deserving of the hardware.  His stuff has been so dominant he is currently the No. 1 ranked fantasy player according to ESPN, ahead of such household names as Johan Santana and Albert Pujols.

The pitcher and this weeks fantasy impact player is none other than Zach Greinke of the Kansas City Royals.  Greinke’s hot start — he didn’t give up his first two earned runs of the year until his fifth start — has helped fantasy owners stay at the top of several pitching categories.

Greinke is first in the MLB in wins (5) and earned run average (0.50) in 36 innings of work.  His ability to eat up innings has made him and Boston’s Tim Wakefield the only pitchers to have tossed two complete games.  Greinke is also in the top 10 in strikeouts per nine innings, strikeout to walk ratio, and WHIP for pitchers who have logged at least 20 innings.

To put it in non-stat geek language; Greinke has been lights out.  And when you take into consideration his average draft position was 84.5 compared to Santana’s 9.1, he was one heck of a bargain for those owners who were smart/lucky enough to take him.

Image Source: HardBallTimes.com

This week in news and sports blogs around the Net:

• Wade Boggs appears to be having fun in Tampa - Deadspin
• MLB has a new roids hotline: 1-800-Steroids - Larry Brown Sports
• Top 7: Less than Stellar No Hit Pitchers - Joe Sports Fan
• 25 Great Moments at Yankee and Shea Stadiums - The Sports Hernia
• Worker tries to bury a Red Sox jersey in new Yankee Stadium, hoped to start new curse - Sports by Brooks
• Kobe Bryant jumps over an Aston Martin? - KCAL 9 Sports

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And in the Smarter Sports Blog we talked about:

• “How Many was that Again?”
• Kansas and Memphis Square off for the NCAA Championship
• Protestors Rally Against Torch. Paris Cops Put Out Olympic Torch
• Kansas Beats Memphis for NCAA Championship
• One Fan Sings Farewell to Brett Favre
  
• O.J. Mayo Leaves USC. Makes the Jump to the NBA

This week in news and sports blogs around the Net:

• NFL playoff teams as beers - Deuce of Davenport
• This time it’s the other Barber talking trash to the Giants - Sports by Brooks
• Special MLB offseason roundup - Yankees Chick
• Top 7 athletes who turned into TV stars - Joe Sports Fan
• Chris Bosh is a heck of a salesman! - Larry Brown Sports

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And in Smarter Sports we talked about:

• Terrell Owens Trademarks “I Love Me Some Me”
• Top 10 Popular Treadmills to Help Get Fit in 2008
• “Jessica, I think pink makes you look manly”

Photo Source.

I didn’t see this one coming today.

But it looks like Barry Bonds has some explaining to do. The all-time home run king was indicted today by a federal grand jury on perjury and obstruction of justices charges.

This comes after a four-year investigation into whether or not he lied under oath to a grand jury looking into steroid use by elite athletes and only three months after he broke Hank Aaron’s record.

Hmm, I wonder now if there is going to be an asterisk on the ball?

I’ll keep you up to speed when new information arises.

Source: Fox Sports

Photo Source.

Quick recap of this week’s posts around Sports Blogs:

• Find out what names the New York Yankees use to check into hotels. Derek Jeter aka Johnny Drama. - 100% Injury Rate

• NFL Cheerleaders distract the players? Get out of here! Really? - With Leather

• Under Armour now to advertise with Major League Baseball. Check out the new commercial. - Awful Announcing

• Michael Jordan appears to have had a few too many cocktails. I wanna be, I wanna be like Mike! - Lion in the Oil

And in Smarter Sports we talked about: Hollwood stars in the MLB Playoffs; Father teaches daughter to swim by tossing her into river with feet and hands tied; LeBron James sings on SNL.