jock
cup
jockstrap
underwear
gay
gay sports
gay jocks
gay pride
10.30.2004
College hoops: Now that the baseball season is over and football, pro and college, are roughly at the mid-point in their respective seasons, let's take a look at college basketball. The USA Today/ESPN preseason coaches' poll was released this week and it can be used a general guide to the relative strengths of teams going in to the season. Kansas is ranked No. 1, based on the fact that three of their top scorers are returning seniors. The ACC looks to be strong again this year, with Wake Forest ranked second and North Carolina third. Defending champion Connecticut is ranked seventh, while the loser in the title game last season, Duke, is 12th. There's still a long way to go, of course, but unlike college football and their lack of a playoff system, the college basketball rankings are a guide, not the final determining factor in deciding a champion.
10.29.2004
Parade on Saturday: The Boston Red Sox' players will never have to buy themselves another beer in New England as long as they live after their sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series for the first time since 1918. The traditional victory parade will be held on Saturday. The team says there could more than two to three million people along the parade route, which will stretch from The Fenway to City Plaza. For a comparison, about 1.5 million were on hand for the New England Patriots celebration after their Super Bowl win in January. One slightly odd feature is that, due to safety and security concerns, there will not be the usual rally at the finishing point. The players will ride along the three mile route equipped with microphones to be able to address the crowd. Unfortunately, the weather forecast is showing rain for Saturday, but we suspect that will not deter anyone. Here's to a great time and no violence.
10.28.2004
No More Curse: The Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-0, to win the World Series in four game for their first title since 1918. It was one of the longest droughts in pro sports and one many people thought would never end.
What was surprising about this World Series was how easy it was for Boston. After being tied going into the bottom of the night in Game 1, the Red Sox never trailed again at any point. The key was impressive pitching as the Sox allowed only three runs in the last three games. Derek Lowe pitched seven scoreless innings for Boston in Game 4 to get the win.
We remember being in New York on June 30 when the Yankees beat the Red Sox in an extra-innings thriller and put Boston so far behind in the division that the New York media declared them dead. But Boston made the playoffs as a wild card and became the third straight team to win the World Series despite not winning the division.
One side benefit about the Series being over is that we don?t have to listen to analyst Tim McCarver, who tries way too hard to be erudite but too often is just annoying. And no more endless promotions for Fox series, especially the one about an obnoxious fat boss, or something like that.
Congratulations fans of Red Sox nation. There will be no more ?Wait ?Til Next Year? because Next Year has finally arrived.
10.27.2004
Sox Up 3-0: The Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-1, to win Game 3 of the World Series and take a 3-0 Series lead. The Sox are primed to make history by becoming the first team to ever blow a 3-0 Series lead. It would be so Sox-like.
But don?t expect it to happen. This Boston team seems not to fear history and came back from being 3-0 down to beat the hated and dreaded Yankees in the ALCS. And St. Louis simply doesn?t have the pitching to contain the Red Sox bats.
The key in Game 3 was a serious base-running blunder by Cardinals pitcher Jeff Suppan. In the third inning, he was on third base with none out, when a ball was hit to the right side of the infield. Suppan could have walked home and tied the score at 1-1. For some reason, though, he froze and got caught between third and home and was an easy out. What should have been one run wound up being a double play. Suppan seemed rattled the rest of the game and the Sox took advantage to get three more runs and ice the game. ''Basically, I screwed it up,'' Suppan said. ''I really don't know how to describe it or explain it.''
10.26.2004
Bengals Win on Monday Night: The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Denver Broncos, 23-10, in their first home Monday night game since 1989. The 2-4 Bengals looked like a playoff team in spanking the Broncos, who came into the game 5-1. Receiver Chad Johnson was superb, with 149 yards receiving and two touchdowns. And fans of Bengals lineman Justin Smith got to see him flex his immense biceps after he recorded two consecutive sacks in the fourth quarter.
Zook Out in Florida: The University of Florida fired head coach Ron Zook, who had gone 20-13 in two-plus years in Gainesville. He will coach the remainder of the season.
Zook was responsible for much of went wrong (by Florida football standards) and it didn?t help when he got into a shouting match with fraternity members a few weeks ago. But he was never given a fair shake and this was exemplified when the website fireronzook.com sprang up two days after he was hired. As AP wrote about the site, ?In a sense, it was funny and original. ? But it was also cruel, and it took the nasty and personal nature of the ubiquitous internet-driven rants against coaches to a new level.?
Zook?s firing again shows what?s wrong with big-time college sports, where it is not enough to have a winning record. In all the stories I read about Zook?s firing, I could find nothing that dealt with academics or the graduation rates of his players (failure in these areas would have been legitimate reasons to fire him). Instead, the people in Gainesville are simply obsessed with wins and losses and are pining for the return of bully-boy Steve Spurrier, a guy who was great running up the score on collegiate patsies but a total failure in the NFL. I guess they deserve each other.
Jim Buzinski
10.25.2004
Sox Up 2: The Boston Red Sox capped a magnificent week by winning the first two games of the World Series, 11-9 in Game 1 and 6-2 in Game 2 over the St. Louis Cardinals. This followed the four-game comeback against the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
In Game 2, the Sox committed four errors for the second game in a row, but it again didn?t matter. Curt Schilling pitched six strong innings and Mark Bellhorn had another key hit.
This series is far from over, though. The next three game are in St. Louis, which is 6-0 in postseason play. If Boston keeps playing such sloppy defense, the Cards will capitalize. While the two games in Boston were played in cold temperatures in the upper 40s, the forecast for St. Louis calls for it to be in the 60s, but rain is possible.
NFL Week 7: Sunday was another wild day in the NFL. Check out our weekly look, including how some players see the presidential election.
Huh?: The weird college football score of the season had to be Iowa 6, Penn State 4. on Saturday. We can't remember ever hearing of a team scoring exactly 4 points (which means two 2-point safeties for you football novices.) A reader today did let us know that in 1929, Penn St. beat Syracuse, 6-4.
Iowa must have thought the Penn State was totally inept, since they took an intentional safety in the fourth quarter that brought the Nittany Lions within a field goal of going ahead. Said Penn State center E.Z. Smith: "It's pretty bad when a team pretty much shoves it in your face that they don't think you can score on them. We definitely took that as a personal slap."
10.23.2004
World Series preview The World Series matchup between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals should be one of the more interesting ones in recent memory. After their stunning comeback from 3-0 down against the New York Yankees, the Red Sox have to be on an emotional high going in, but that could backfire on them. Have they used up all their emotion to get past their hated rivals? St. Louis can hit the baseball like few teams can and they figure to do so against the Red Sox.
Of course, at this time of year, pitching is a major focus. Red Sox manager Terry Francona has led a charmed life so far in the playoffs, as none of his moves have gotten the attention that former manager Grady Little's did last year. However, it was odd to see ace Pedro Martinez pitch in the Game 7 blowout of the Yankees; it was assumed that he would pitch in Game 1, but it now pencilled in for a Game 3 start. The Red Sox will go with knuckleballer Tim Wakefield in Game 1, the Cards will counter with Woody Williams. Curt Schilling's ankle injury will be a major factor for the Red Sox; he's tabbed to go in Game 2.
The Red Sox have the home field advantage in the Series, but they will have some lineup juggling to do as they will not be able to use the designated hitter in the three games in St. Louis. They will probably put David Ortiz at first base, sending Kevin Millar to the bench. Weather, of course, will be a factor, as should be expected when playing baseball in New England in late October. In Boston, it looks like no rain tonight and Sunday, temps in the high 40's, but St. Louis is listed as "Thunderstorms" for Tuesday and Wednesday, when Games 3 & 4 are scheduled to take place. The Series could conceiveably still be going in November.
We won't make a prediction--we're not a fan of mocking e-mails on the rare occasions that we're wrong--but here's to a well-played, exciting World Series.
10.22.2004
World Series matchup set: After the high drama of the last two games of the New York Yankees v. Boston Red Sox American League Championship Series, the National League's St. Louis Cardinals v. Houston Astros series has paled a bit in comparison. However, the Cards and 'stros provided some drama of their own, as the Cardinals won on Thursday to clinch the best of seven series 4-3. The Astros lead 3 games to 2, but simply didn't have the pitching to stop the Cardinals. Roger Clemens pitched well in Game 7, but one pitch basically did him and the Astros in: a sixth inning pitch to the Cardinals Scott Rolen that was ripped for a home run to left field. That gave the Cardinals a 4-2 lead and they never looked back, winning 5-2. Only the Cardinals stand between the Red Sox and their hopes of ending the Curse of the Bambino in the World Series. The teams have met twice before in the World Series, the Cardinals winning both in 1946 and, on the back of an incredible Series by Bob Gibson, in 1967. One good thing about the Astros losing: we won't have to read any John Kerry v. George Bush = Red Sox v. Astros comparisons by pundits and bloggers. Thank you St. Louis Cardinals for that small favor.
Finally: Speaking of neverending Presidential campaigns, a sports story that has only seemed to last as long as the slog towards election day was finally resolved Thursday when American gymnast Paul Hamm was declared the rightful holder of the gold medal in the mens all-around competition at the Athens Games. The Court of Arbitration for Sport declared Hamm was the winner, despite pleas from the South Korean team and some of the Outsports staff that Kim Dae-eun was the real winner. While the CAS ruling puts the issue to bed--there is no appeal process--it's sad that Paul Hamm's medal will always have a tiny bit of a taint about it. If any good can come out of the controversy, it would be to tighten up the rules for judging the event.
10.21.2004
Red Sox Complete Comeback: The Boston Red Sox completed the greatest comeback in Major League Baseball history by routing the New York Yankees, 10-3, in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. Boston became the first team to win a series after trailing three games to none.
Game 7 was never close, as the Red Sox jumped out to a 6-0 lead on the strength of a grand slam home run by Johnny Damon. Yankee Stadium was unusually quiet as the fans seemed to sense the debacle that was occurring.
The New York media and fans will be brutal to the Yankees, who now will have gone four seasons without winning the World Series, the only goal that matters to baseball?s highest-paid team. The normally staid Associated Press called the Yankees loss an ?unprecedented choke job.? Owner George Steinbrenner hates losing, especially to the Red Sox, and key offseason acquisition Alex Rodriguez will be mocked for his ineffective base-running at a key moment in Game 6. It won?t be pretty.
For the Red Sox and their fans, the win does not remove the Curse; that can only happen with a World Series win. But the team showed amazing resilience in staging such a tremendous rally. Series MVP David Ortiz will never have to buy a meal again in his life.
Game 7 in the N.L. Oh yeah, there is another series going on and this one will also go seven games. The St. Louis Cardinals, behind a two-run home run by Jim Edmonds in the 11th inning, beat the Houston Astros in Game 6, 6-4, to tie their National League series at 3-3. The home team has won all six games.
10.20.2004
Who?s Choking Now?: The New York Yankees are playing like they have a Big Apple lodged in their collective throats. On Sunday morning they led the Boston Red Sox 3-0 in their best-of-7 series, and no team had ever come back from that big a hole. No baseball team had ever even forced a Game 7. Until Tuesday, that is.
The Red Sox used a gutty pitching performance from Curt Schilling and a controversial play by Alex Rodriguez to beat the Yankees, 4-2, and even the series. Schilling, playing with a dislocated ankle, was magnificent, giving up one run in seven innings, but the real fun didn?t start until the eighth inning.
With a runner on first, A-Rod hit a weak grounder that Red Sox reliever Bronson Arroyo scooped up as he prepared to make the tag. A-Rod, thinking he was in a kung-fu flick, basically karate-chopped the ball out of Arroyo?s glove. The first-base umpire, screened on the play, let play continue and Derek Jeter scored to temporarily make it 4-3.
But the umpire crew gathered and eventually made the right call?malicious interference on A-Rod?s part. He was called out, Jeter was sent back to first and the Sox survived the inning and lived to play another day.
The Yankees missed great chances to put away the series in Games 4 and 5; a loss in Game 7 would go down as the greatest collapse in baseball history.
Enough With God, Already: We almost puked when we heard Schilling, in a postgame interview, declare he was born again. Uh, oh, we know what that means. ?Tonight was God?s work,? said Schilling. If God?s a Red Sox fan, he (or she) has been asleep at the wheel since 1918.
10.19.2004
Another Marathon: Let?s face it?the Boston Red Sox still have a huge hill to climb to beat the New York Yankees in their American League Championship Series. But winning back-to-back, extra-inning, 5-hour-plus games will do a lot for a team?s confidence.
For the second night in a row, David Ortiz delivered the game-winning hit, this time in the 14th inning as the Sox beat the Yanks, 5-4, to cut the series lead to 3-2.
There is no rest for the weary, as the two teams meet again Tuesday night in New York. Curt Schilling is scheduled to pitch for Boston against Jon Lieber, but rain is forecast.
Astros Win a Thriller: The reality is that no one outside of the greater Houston or St. Louis area really care about the National League Championship Series, and it didn?t help that Monday?s Game 5 was relegated to Fx for the first seven innings as the Sox-Yankees game went on and on. The series is pretty good, though, and Houston won, 3-0, on a three-run home run by Jeff Kent in the bottom of the ninth. The home team has won every game in this series, so don?t count out the Cards just yet.
10.18.2004
Sox Win Marathon: David Ortiz hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 12th inning at 1:23 a.m. local time as the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees, 6-4, in a baseball playoff classic.
The Sox won the 5-hour, 3-minute marathon after rallying in the bottom of the ninth off of Yankee closer Mariano Rivera to tie the score at 4. They survived the Yanks having the bases loaded in the top of the 11th and won it on Ortiz?s blast, their first extra-base hit of the game. It was an amazing game that will live in the lore of this series.
In the National League, Houston?s Carlos Beltran hit his eighth postseason home run (a record) as the Astros rallied to beat St. Louis, 6-5, and tie their series at 2-2.
NFL Week 6: Sunday was another wild day in the NFL. Check out our notebook, including our homoerotic comment of the week.
10.17.2004
It's Just Sad: Every April, I get a phone call from my brother. Four weeks into the Major League Baseball season, the Red Sox are looking great.
"This is the year," he tells me. He talks about Pedro and Nomar and whoever else happened to have a good April leading Boston to first place in the AL East.
A month ago my sister called me. She thinks she is prescient. Yes, she has predicted some pretty strange things in her day. This call was to remind me that, in January, she had predicted that the Red Sox would win the World Series this year.
Several friends have been talking smack with me in recent weeks. That this, finally, is the year they beat the Yankees, the year the Bambino finally sleeps.
And, just like every other year I hear these same things, they will choke again.
What's sad is that these Red Sox fans don't learn. I was 13 in 1986. Just before the World Series that year, I decided that I hated the Red Sox - I somehow learned before that disastrous postseason that it paid more to hate that group of bums than to love them. For 18 straight years, I have shaken my head and chuckled as they managed to blow a 10-game lead with 20 games left, or lose in excruciating fashion to the hated Yankees.
This year, again, Red Sox fans are getting burned by a group of ragamuffins who continue to uphold the long tradition of chokers in Boston.
And in April 2005, without fail, I'll get yet another call from my brother. -Cyd Zeigler
10.16.2004
What? No Baseball?: Part of the Outsports staff lives in Los Angeles, so the concept of bad weather is pretty much foreign to us. However, the baseball season is so long that it runs almost in to November, not a great thing for teams on the East Coast. This was shown on Friday when the important American League Championship Series Game 3 between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees in Boston was washed out due to constant rain in Beantown. This throws a monkey wrench in to the playoff scheduling but more importantly, it affects the way the teams plan things like their pitching rotation. Baseball is a game of summer, not frozen Green Bay winters, so it'll be interesting to see if Mother Nature plays a part in who plays in the World Series.
10.15.2004
Another team in trouble: Like the Boston Red Sox in their series against the New York Yankees, the Houston Astros are now trailing 2-0 after a 6-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on a rainy Thursday night in St. Louis. As in Game 1, it's pretty easy to put a finger on what the Astros are lacking: a bullpen that will step up and perform against the heavy hitting Cardinals. The 'stros starting pitching hasn't been great, but the bullpen has contributed to blown leads in both games. Game 3 for the Sox and Yankees is tonight in Fenway Park; the Cardinals travel to Houston for a Saturday Game 3.
NHL driving off a cliff: The NHL regular season was supposed to start this week, but the strike/lockout that has delayed the start of the season shows no sign whatsoever of ending. The two sides are so polarized that there hasn't even been a negotiating session since September 9th. Hockey is in dire need of structural reform, but NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman dismissed out of hand Thursday one the best ideas we've heard: contraction. Like every pro league except perhaps the NFL, the NHL is a bloated league, full of teams that can't pull their weight, diluting the talent along the way. We read a great column recently by the Los Angeles Times' excellent hockey writer Helen Elliott that suggested cutting the league from its current 30-team setup to 20 teams in the strongest markets. It's almost a given that the woeful NHL TV contract will never get better in the US so something has to give. It's been predicted that the NHL will irreparably harmed in the sports market if the strike drags on for very long. Unlike baseball after their devastating 1994 strike, hockey has no strong history in the US (where most of the teams play) except in the Northeast and Upper Midwest, so people in other areas could simply move on to other entertainment choices and not come back. We suspect the NHL doesn't want to test the validity of that theory.
10.14.2004
Home Baseball Teams Win: The Boston Red Sox are in trouble, big trouble. In losing to the New York Yankees, 3-1, in Game 2 of the ALCS, the Sox are quickly down 0-2 in the series. But more importantly, the Sox lost both games with their aces on the mound, Curt Schilling in Game 1 and Pedro Martinez in Game 2. Save for a late rally in Game 1, the explosive bats of Boston have been silent. This series has been far less interesting than advertised.
In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros, 10-7, in a Game 1 slugfest. In history holds, the Cards are heading to the World Series?the last 11 teams to win Game 1 went on to win the National League.
10.13.2004
Yanks Take Opener: The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 10-7, to win Game 1 of their American League Championship Series. New York was coasting 8-0 when the Red Sox rallied to cut the lead to 8-7 in the eighth.
Yankee closer Mariano Rivera, still grieving over the deaths of two relatives in Panama, came back to New York for the game and wound up saving it with some great pitching in the final two innings. ''It was tough, leaving my family there,'' Rivera said. ''My fans and my teammates helped me out big time. ... That was something special.''
Road Warriors: We spent the weekend playing in the Gay Super Bowl down in Hotlanta. On the way back to the airport we rode a shuttle with two Detroit Lions fans who came to town to watch their guys beat the Falcons, 17-10. The two travel each year to one Lions away game and have been doing so for 12 years. Sunday was the first time they had seen the Lions win. Their favorite trip? Philadelphia, which would run counter to most stereotypes of how opposing fans would be treated.
10.12.2004
Baseball matchups set: The National League division playoff series between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves has provided a back-and-forth about which team is the bigger chokers. The Braves have won their division a record thirteen times in a row but only have one World Series title to show for that dominance. The Astros had never won a playoff series in the franchise's history and to top it off, they were ahead 5-2 in Game 4 of NLDS this year but threw the lead away to force a game 5 in Atlanta Monday. And once again, the Braves' season ended with them asking the question: what do we have to do to at least make the World Series again? The game was close--it was 4-2 'stros going in to the 6th inning, but the Astros scored 5 runs in the top of that inning to put the game away, finally winning 12-3. The Astros had lost their previous 7 playoff series, but, incredibly, the latest flameout in the playoffs means the Braves have been eliminted 5 straight times in the playoffs at home in Atlanta. Bobby Cox has been at the helm of the Braves since the middle of the 1990 season; how much longer can the Braves management tolerate these playoff failures before he's fired? The Astros will take on the St. Louis Cardinals next.
Stick A Fork In the Packers: Because they're done. The Green Bay Packers had high hopes about their chances of making the Super Bowl going in to this season. Those hopes are all but gone after they were a whupped 48-27 by the Tennessee Titans Monday night in Green Bay. Unless they pull off one of most miraculous comebacks in NFL history, it seems that the Packers are going to have start thinking about rebuilding as they're a fairly old squad in key positions. The Titans might have rescued their season with the resounding win in Cheese Head country, but they have a lot of work to do; they're in the same division as the red hot Indianapolis Colts, so a wild card slot might be what they end up contending for.
10.11.2004
NFL OT: The staff at Outsports is bitterly divided on the merits of the NFL overtime system. Some like the "no guarantee of possession" way it's done now, while others would prefer the college system of guaranteed possessions for both teams. Sunday's NFL games provided plenty to chew on for both sides. Three games went to overtime. Two had both teams get possession in the extra period, one had a single team getting possession. Based on this small sampling, the OT rules as they stand are perfectly acceptable. On to the games: the Indianapolis Colts look like they're running on all cylinders, thrashing the Oakland Raiders 35-14. New England won their record 19th game in a row (including playoffs), beating the Miami Dolphins 24-10; who's going to step up and beat the Patriots?
Last years Super Bowl runner-ups the Carolina Panthers are in serious trouble already after losing in the last 4 minutes by giving up a touchdown to the Denver Broncos. In the same boat as the Panthers are the Washington Redskins. Coach Joe Gibbs was supposed to be the answer to their problems, but the offense stinks and they are now 1-4 after a poor show against the Baltimore Ravens. Losing 17-10, the Skins are going to have to go back to the drawing board, again. The Pittsburgh Steelers seem to have found a new quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, as he lead the Steelers to a convincing 34-23 win over the Cleveland Browns. The Monday night game will see one of the teams, the Green Bay Packers or Tennessee Titans, pretty much eliminated from the playoff hunt; both teams are 1-3 and have hurt quarterbacks.
Chokers: Yesterday, we derided the Atlanta Braves for being chokers in their playoff series. Silly us; they rallied from a 5-2 deficit to beat the Houston Astros 6-5 to send the series to a Game 5 on Monday in Atlanta. The St. Louis Cardinals took care of business, eliminating the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 6-2 win to take their series 3-1.
10.10.2004
Baseball playoffs continue: Major league baseball, Fox and the media got their wish on Saturday: a New York Yankees v. Boston Red Sox American League Championship Series rematch. The Yankees rallied to beat the Minnesota Twins 6-5 in 11 innings to win their best-of-five series 3-1. The Yankees will have home field advantage and at this point have to be considered slight favorites to win.
The Houston Astros continued their hot play of the last month, beating the Atlanta Braves 8-5 to take a 2-1 lead in the National League series. Unless they can rally big time, the Braves will once again win their division but choke when it really matters.
T.J. Simers is a sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times who has been calling the Los Angeles Dodgers "The Choking Dogs" for the last month or so. It was an appropriate tag as the Dodgers barely won the Western Division after leading for most of the season and then proceeded to get blown out in the first two games of the playoffs by the St. Louis Cardinals. Having lost 8 consecutive playoff games dating back to 1988, the Dodgers got that monkey off their back by beating the Cardinals 4-0, with Jose Lima pitching a heck of a game. Game 4 in the Astros v. Braves and Cardinals v. Dodgers series will happen today. We're going to be busy switching between the NFL package on Direct TV and the baseball games.
Tee Hee: A friend of ours is one of those sports fans that its so much fun to mock: he loves the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team so much, that a man who is normally quiet and stable becomes a raving lunatic when it comes to Big Red. We'll be gentle when we mock him for the Cornhuskers worst loss in their history Saturday, a 70-10 mauling at the hands of Texas Tech. Nebraska has traditionally relied on huge offensive linemen to open holes for speedy backs, but new coach Bill Callahan has installed a pro-style passing offense; Huskers quarterbacks threw 5 interceptions. Ouch.
10.9.2004
Paul Hamm saga almost over: Gymnyst Paul Hamm has had an eventful year. He was embroiled in controversy at the Athen Olympics and then, after the Games, seemingly stiffed Outsports co-founder Cyd Ziegler for an interview. That was resolved when his openly gay publicist set up an interview that revealed the Hamm brothers, Paul and Moragn, to be bright, gay-friendly athletes. The Olympics portion of the story will be settled by the end of the month when the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) will rule whether Paul Hamm retains his gold medal or whether he will be stripped of said medal. The Outsports staff is split on the merits of his case but it will be nice to finally have resolution, as the final judgement of the CAS can not be appealed.
Red Sox Are In: Fox Sports and ESPN came one step closer to having their dream American League Championship Series matchup on Friday when the Boston Red Sox won in dramatic fashion via a David Ortiz 10th inning homerun to eliminate the Anaheim Angels in a 3-0 sweep and the New York Yankees took command of their series against the Minnesota Twins with a resounding 8-4 win in Minneapolis. Unless the Twins mount a great comeback, the Red Sox and Yankees will repeat their ALCS clash from last year that had so many great storylines we didn't know which ones to focus on. Of course, it's not over until its over and the Yankees still have work to do to finish off the Twins, but sportswriters will probably be able to rest easy on Sunday, because if the Yankees win Saturday, the Red Sox v. Yankees story practically writes itself.
10.8.2004
Freeway Series? Unlikely: At the start of the baseball playoffs, there was the possibility that there could be a Freeway Series between the Anaheim Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers. After Thursday night, that looks like something only die-hard fans of both teams believe will happen. The Dodgers were smacked around by the heavy-hitting St. Louis Cardinals 8-3 and thus, like their neighbors to the south the Angels, are down 2-0 in their division series. The Dodgers haven't won a playoff game since 1988 and the way the Cardinals are playing, that stat doesn't look to change. The Angels play the Red Sox at Fenway Park today, and unless their pitching steps it up about three notches, they'll be going home for the winter. The Red Sox, possibly the ugliest team in baseball looks-wise, are hitting the hide off of ball and are getting good pitching, so they look like a lock to play the winner of the Yankees v. Twins series.
Predictable: To the surprise of probably only about 2 people on the entire planet, running back Ricky Williams, who very publicy quit football during the Miami Dolphins training camp, is now making noises via his agent about coming back. Maybe smoking dope while backpacking around Asia wasn't all that, but either way, his former Dolphins teammates are mixed on the idea. In any case, he faces suspension for the aforementioned use of the herb and faces other obstacles as well. Fine, people are allowed to change their minds, but it would be nice if more athletes would emulate Barry Sanders, who walked away from the Detroit Lions and has basically dropped out of sight. This has the makings of being similar to one of Michael Jordan's 47 comebacks. Whatever, Ricky, what the heck ever.
10.7.2004
Gay Bowl IV in Atlanta this Weekend: Nine gay flag football teams from around the country will descend on Atlanta this wekeend for Gay Bowl IV, the annual national gay flag football championship.
Teams will travel from Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Washington, Alabama to join two teams from Atlanta as they duke it out for the crown. Round-robin play will be held on Saturday; the championships will be on Sunday. For more information, visit the host team's Web site.
Yanks, Sox, 'Stros Win: The New York Yankees came back from a one-run deficit in the 12th inning to beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-6, to tie their American League series at 1-1. It was an amazing postseason game that saw the Yanks three outs away from going down 2-0 heading into the Twins' Hankie Dome. But Alex Rodriguez hit a game-tying double, and the Yanks won it on a sacrifice fly.
The other two games were less dramatic--Boston did rally from a 3-1 deficit to win going away, 8-3, in Anaheim. The Sox lead the series 2-0 heading back to Fenway. In the National League, the Houston Astros and Roger Clemens won the first game of their series, 9-3, over the always underacheiving Atlanta Braves. The Braves may have the worst home advantage in baseball; we've seen more enthusiasm in a convent.
10.6.2004
BoSox Fans Get Hopes Up: The Boston Red Sox were masterful in their 9-3 victory over the Anaheim Angels Tuesday afternoon. Starting pitcher Curt Schilling led a bend-but-don't-break defense in allowing only three runs on nine hits while eight different Red Sox batters recorded hits, taking advantage of nearly every opportunity.
We watched the game with a big Red Sox fan. Up 8-0 midway through the fourth inning, he was on his phone to his sister, cautiously hoping for future success. While past performance does not determine future returns, we can only assume that somehow, in some way, these playoffs will end the same way as every other for the Red Sox in the last 85 years - in disappointment.
Still, we're left as these playoffs begin almost cheering for the Sox. With so much pain and so many dashed hopes for so long in New England, we're starting to think it might be neat if these Chowdaheads got their wish. We just doubt it's going to happen.
The Red Sox may have gotten some help later Tuesday night. The Minnesota Twins won a big game 1 in the Bronx, beating the Yankes, 2-0, to take homefield advantage in their best-of-five series. Maybe the Bambino is finally resting in his grave.
Cards Bomb L.A.: The St. Louis Cardinals, the game's best team, battered the Los Angeles Dodgers in game 1 of their series, scoring five runs in the third inning en route to an 8-3 victory. That continued dominance by the Cardinals, on the other hand, is a bad thing for those BoSox fans.
10.5.2004
The ManBucs: Malcolm Glazer, owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has his eyes on Manchester United, considered by many to be the most valuable professional sports team in the world. The team is valued at over $1.2 billion.
Glazer already has a 19.2 percent stake in the team. After Irish racehorse owners J.P. McManus and John Magnier, whose joint company Cubic Expression holds a 28.9 percent stake, Glazer is the largest shareholder. Glazer would have to buy out Cubic Expressions and file a takeover bid with the company.
However, ManU fans aren't happy about the bid. "If Glazer wants a fight, we will give him one," Jules Spencer, chairman of the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association, told the Associated Press. "We want to make it clear that he is not welcome or wanted as owner of Manchester United."
With the winless Bucs floundering at the bottom of the NFL barrel, we can certainly understand the fans' trepidation. We suggest spending just a fraction of that takeover money on Keenand McCardell.
10.4.2004
Astros Are Wild: Are the Houston Astros this year?s Florida Marlins? Like the Marlins, last year?s World Series champs, the Astros were mired below .500 and fired their manager. But like the Marlins, the Astros resurrected themselves and made a late run to clinch the National League wild card spot.
In beating the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, the Astros won their 18th straight home game and have gone 36-10 since Aug. 14 and been reborn under new manager Phil Garner. With Roger Clemens in their starting rotation and a solid lineup, Houston has a good shot to go far in baseball?s playoffs, where home field doesn?t mean nearly as much as in other sports. First up for the ?Stros are the perennial October underachievers, the Atlanta Braves.
NFL Week 4:Check out our weekly look at NFL Sunday. The hot teams and the hot players.
10.3.2004
How the Wests Were Won: It was a great day for Southern California baseball as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Anaheim Angels won their respective divisions with dramatic comebacks.
The Dodgers? win over the San Francisco Giants was one for the ages. Down 3-0 entering the ninth, the Dodgers scrapped and fought to a 3-3 tie, then won on a walk-off grand slam home run with one out by Steve Finley, a great late-season trade pickup. This gave the Dodgers their first division title in nine seasons.
The Angels also came from behind, rallying off Oakland ace Barry Zito to tie it at 2-2, then scoring twice in the eighth inning to win 5-4. The Angels now have a chance to win their second World Series in three seasons.
Baseball has to be pleased with its playoffs. Royalty such as the Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals and Braves are in, along with small-market Minnesota and the Angels, who have become wildly popular in recent years. The last team will be either the Giants or Astros. It should be a fun October.
10.2.2004
Pennant races: The final weekend of the baseball season started Friday with some intriguing races still left. The American League West is simple to figure out: the Oakland A's and Anaheim were tied going in to Friday's game and whoever wins 2 of the 3 games over the weekend will win the division and the final AL playoff slot. The Angels got off to a great start, winning the first game 10-0; they have to win one of the two remaining games to clinch the division.
Speaking of choking, we must mention the Chicago Cubs. A few weeks ago, they seemed to be the favorites to win the National League wild card slot. They've slumped horribly and now seem poised to feed in to their fans lame "Woe is us" narcissism. A devastating 5-4 loss to the playoff bound Atlanta Braves means that the Cubbies are now faced with a simple fact: they have to win their remaining two games against a strong Braves team and hope that the red-hot Houston Astros stumble against the hapless Colorado Rockies. The 'stros took care of business Friday by winning and are the odds-on favorite to clinch the NL wild card slot. The Astros have had a truly roller-coaster season, underperforming for most of the season but getting their act together in the stretch drive.
While it's still possible that the San Francisco Giants can catch hated rivals Los Angeles in the National League West, it would take some doing: the Dodgers simply have to win one of two at home and they clinch the division. The Giants, like the Cubs, are two games behind the Astros for the NL wild card slot, so, hope springs eternal.
At the time it was announced, we denounced the wild card in baseball as a cheap ploy to generate interest. It turns out, however, to be a great way to generate excitement for teams that would otherwise be playing out the season.
Congratulations to Ichiro Suzuki for setting the MLB record for most hits in a season, a record held by George Sisler since 1920.
10.1.2004
Former Steeler in bizarre death: Police pursuing criminals in long car chases are a staple of many a local newcast here in Los Angeles. Justin Strzelczyk, a former lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was killed in fiery head-on collision with a tanker truck during morning rush hour Thursday in Herkimer, NY. Strzelczyk had been involved in a minor hit-and-run accident and when he was later spotted by state troopers, he bolted. Despite having a tire blown out by police, he still managed to drive on 3 tires at 88 mph while throwing beer bottles at the police before his collision with a fuel tanker. While it's likely that booze was the immediate cause of the incident, his stunned mother hinted at untreated mental illness as a underlying cause. There's a long string of stories about professional athletes that have had troubles adjusting to life after their playing careers are over and we can now add Justin Strzelczyk to that list. RIP.
9.30.2004
More Bull From the Babies: Despite managing to get Shaquille O'Neal shipped out of Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant felt the need to send some barbs the big boy's way. Kobaby said that Shaq had paid off women upwards of $1 million to keep quiet about affairs.
On Wednesday, Shaq fired back, dismissing the claims as "ridiculous" and saying it was Kobe who had to buy love. Bryant bought his wife a multi-million-dollar ring within a week of admitting to a sexual encounter that led to a lawsuit against him that was ultimately dropped.
Kobe and Shaq had long been in a power struggle on the Lakers team. While most considered it "Shaq's team," Bryant was ever jealous, angling to push Shaq off the team and claim it as his own. He got his wish in the offseason when Shaq headed back to Florida - this time to play with the Miami Heat.
We're just wondering why Kobe won't let his relationship - or lack thereof - with Shaq die a quiet death. He got what he wanted with the Lakers and got his rape case dropped. The problem he faces, it seems, is that - no matter what happens, you can't escape the demons within.
9.29.2004
The Washington Expos: The Associated Press is reporting that the Montreal Expos will move to Washington, D.C., citing an unnamed source with the city.
A deal reached between baseball and Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos opened the door for the move. Angelos had been whining that he would sue to keep the Expos out of the area, claiming that his team had the rightful ownership of the area.
The nation's capital has been without a baseball team since the Washington Senators fled to Texas 33 years ago. We weren't aware that anyone in Washington missed baseball. While we certainly can't sound the death knell for the team before they even throw the first pitch, we liked the idea of Monterrey, Mexico.
Stop the Insanity: There so many people talking about how the Red Sox are putting heat on the Yankees by closing within 2 1/2 games for the AL East crown. Oooooh. Scary.
It doesn't matter who the Red Sox throw out on the field. They could take Major League Baseball's All-Star team and play them for a year. Somehow, they will find a way to choke it away.
We feel bad for all of these diehard Sox fans. Every year, they get excited in April and their hopes get dashed in September. This year, the cruel team is drawing it out until October. Cruel. That's the best word for it.
So, everyone, calm down. The Yankees will win their division and the Red Sox will lose in the playoffs. Can we move on, now?
9.28.2004
Torry in a Tutu: The new Monday Night Football feature ?You?ve Been Sacked? was the gayest thing we?ve ever seen during a football broadcast. A takeoff of MTV?s ?Punk?d,? the segment featured two St. Louis Rams linemen scamming wide receiver Torry Holt by making him believe he was voted the best-dressed player in the NFL by a magazine that doesn?t exist.
After Holt had makeup applied, a quite effeminate wardrobe guy, labeled a ?Queer Eye Reject? on the screen, watched as a shirtless Holt prepared to put on a tank top. ?How much do you work out?? the guy asked Holt.? Every day,? he replied. ?Well, that?s hot,? the guy cooed.
As his teammates looked on amused from a hidden camera, Holt wore a Village People outfit (?this is so erotica? he said), then a leather Lone Ranger mask. Finally, after mascara, lipstick and eye-liner were applied, Holt donned a pink tutu, and accessorized with fake boobs, a tiara and black feather boa. He posed in this outfit, carrying a football in his arm. It looked hot ? if you?re into cross-dressing muscular jocks.
It was then that the prank was exposed and Holt was a terrific sport about the whole thing, hugging the two teammates who conned him. We found it cleverly done and a funny play on stereotypes rather than being homophobic in any way. And Holt did seem to look pretty comfortable in the tutu.
9.27.2004
Baseball?s Final Week: With one week to go in the regular season, there are still some tight races in baseball. In the American League, the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins have clinched playoff spots and the Boston Red Sox are all but in. In the West, though, the Oakland A?s have a one-game lead over the Anaheim Angels and two over the surprising Texas Rangers. Oakland and Anaheim meet in a three-game series next weekend that might decide the division. Before that, the Angels play Texas in a three-game series.
In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves are in, while the Los Angeles Dodgers look solid with a 2 1/2 ?game lead over the San Francisco Giants. But in the race for the wild card, the Chicago Cubs lead the Giants by only one-half game. The final seven days should be wild.
NFL Week 3: Check out our weekly look at NFL Sunday. Find out which player has the sweatiest butt.
9.25.2004
Give the money back, Ricky: One of the more bizarre sports stories of the year is undoubtedly the sudden shock retirement of Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams. We've detailed the store here in Jock Talk and in a feature story, but the story took another turn Friday. Arbitrator Richard Bloch has ordered Williams to pay back the Dolphins $8,616,353 in bonus money. Bloch ruled that Williams forfeited the money by walking away from his contract. Ricky Williams is the Soviet Union of the NFL: an enigma wrapped in a riddle. Blessed with incredible talent, it's always been the mental part of his game that's let him down. Having to refund the Dolphins over $8 million bucks might put a crimp in to his plans to travel the world and smoke dope. Like a helmeted Michael Jordan, we expect him to be back in the NFL within a year, despite a long suspension for three failed drug tests being in his future if he does. More than one athlete in sports has hung on long after it was wise to do so solely to maintain a lifestyle they'd become accustomed to and while it's nice to think that Ricky Williams walked away from the pressure cooker of pro sports to follow his own personal choices, the judgement against him might precipitate a humiliating about face. When travelling around the world, bills can mount, after all.
9.24.2004
Pennant races heat up: Heading in to the penultimate weekend of the baseball season, let's check on the pennant races.
American League
The Minnesota Twins have already clinched their third straight AL Central title. The New York Yankees have clinched a postseason berth as they head in to a crucial three game series at Fenway Park, Boston. The Red Sox trail the hated Yankees by 4 1/2 games but are six games ahead of the Anaheim Angels for the AL Wild Card spot with 10 games left for either team. The AL West is a complete dogfight: the Oakland A's lead the Angels by two games, the same margin they lead the red hot Texas Rangers. It looks at this point that it will be the Yankees, Twins, Red Sox and whoever wins the West that make the playoffs.
National League
The St. Louis Cardinals have the best record in baseball and have already clinched the NL Central. The Atlanta Braves will clinch their 13th consecutive division title this weekend, while the NL West is a three-way between the fading Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Francisco Giants and the surprising San Diego Padres. The sad-sack Chicago Cubs lead the NL Wild Card chase, with a slim lead over the Giants and Houston Astros, with the Padres, World Champs the Florida Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies mathematically still in contention for the wild card. At this point, the first two NL slots are set, but the other two are wide open, with perhaps the Cubs and Dodgers having slight edges.
The schedule maker must have had a crystal ball as crucial home-and-away series between the Angels v. A's and Dodgers v. Giants take place this weekend and on the final weekend of the season. The Rangers and Padres could benefit in the division races if those teams split their series. The Cubs and Astros have fairly easy schedules and they could benefit from a Dodgers v. Giants split as well, so the NL Wild Card will probably go down to the wire. Play ball!
