Face it, baseball had been pretty stale the past four years. The Yankees win three World Series, the Braves and Indians would find ways to choke and you could figure out the playoff teams in March by looking at the size of payrolls.
But this year things were different: We had five new playoff teams, including sleepers such as the Giants, Athletics, Mariners and White Sox. And we loved the first round of playoffs if only to see the boring Braves get swept. Has there been a more
under- performing good team in sports in the past 25 years?
The only shame was seeing the Giants and As each lose, but what we have is better than what we've had the past few seasons. Now, if only the Yankees can lose.
BOTTOM OF THE WEEK
LOST WEEKEND IN THE BAY AREA
What a bad weekend for Bay Area sports teams. On Friday, the San Jose Sharks lost their season opener to the St. Louis Blues, 4-1. On Saturday, Stanford and Cal lost football games by a combined score of 50-24. And on Sunday, the A's and Giants got knocked out of the MLB playoffs, after having home field advantage. Luckily, in the NFL, the two Bay Area teams played one another-and two teams haven't lost the same game in the NFL in a long long time. But in the Oakland-San Francisco NFL game, both Raider coach Jon Gruden and the 49ers' Steve Mariucci earned the Outsports ``Bonehead Coach'' of the week award for dubious play-calling in overtime.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
'ROIDS THE RAGE IN
BASEBALL
It seems that the baseballs aren't the only things juiced in the major leagues.
A front-page article in the Oct. 11 New York Times and HBO's ``Real Sports'' each addressed the issue of steroid use in baseball. Their conclusions: Steroids are the new breakfast of champions for many players.
On HBO, Outsports favorite Gabe Kapler, he of the buff Gym magazine physique, decried the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Kapler and Chad Curtis each took, and passed, a test to detect steroid use.
While no one can come up with a definitive number on users, the Times and HBO quoted players and trainers who estimated between 15% to 40% have used the drugs, which build muscle and speed healing. The ability to come back quicker from an injury was the chief factor players use steroids, several told the Times. The Times said random drug tests on San Diego Padre minor leaguers found 20% testing
positive for steroids.
Curtis told HBO: ``Are there players in baseball, Major League Baseball, using steroids? Absolutely. Have I heard it from their mouths? Yes, I have.'' Players told the Times that they can often tell a teammate is on 'roids when they notice acne on their backs or other skin problems associated with their use. Sportswriters would often tell Outsports' Jim Buzinski about the bad acne they saw on players who made rapid muscle gains, an often-sure sign of steroid use.
As HBO said, ``In 1999, all but three major league teams belted 150 or more home runs; by comparison, not a single team hit 150 home runs in 1989. Has the quality of pitching deteriorated? Are the balls "juiced"? Or is there another reason that Major League Baseball chooses to ignore?''
Amazingly, Major League Baseball does not test for steroids and would need the approval of its powerful players union to do so. The union seems less than enthusiastic about the need for testing, first demanding that studies prove that steroids enhance performance. The union should act to implement some sort of voluntary testing program. It's in everyone's best interest.
The problem with steroids isn't, in our minds, mainly a health issue. Anybody stupid enough to use the stuff deserves anything they get. It's not like there's a shortage of evidence that the stuff can play havoc with the body.
The problem, instead, is that players who want to remain drug-free feel enormous pressure to take 'roids to keep up with the Joneses. Steroids do work in building muscle and strength. As one All-Star told the Times: ``Twenty-five home runs and 85 RBIs used to be a great year. Nowadays that barely gets you in the lineup. There's pressure on kids coming up today that didn't used to be there.''
NFL
We generally like the fact that instant replay is
back. But we hate one part of it and it was on display in two games on Sunday.
For some reason, any play where the whistle has blown, ending action is NOT reviewable. So if the refs screw
up and miss a fumble, then it's S.O.L. for one team.
This rule provided the key moment in Washington's17-14 win at Philadelphia. The 'Skins Stephen Davis had
gained 13 yards to get inside the Eagles' 10 with seven seconds left. But he clearly fumbled the ball
while being tackled and the Eagles recovered. But the refs had blown a fast whistle and ruled Davis down.
Though replays showed a fumble, there was nothing that could be done. The 'Skins then kicked the game-winning
field goal, and expect the league to send Philly a letter of apology this week.
The second example turned out not to decide the game, but at the time it appeared huge. In a tie game and
slightly more than two minutes to go, San Francisco quarterback Jeff Garcia fumbled after being hit by
Oakland defenders after a scramble. Again, the whistle blew the play dead and the Niners kept the ball. They
failed to score, though, and the Raiders won in overtime, 34-28.
We say change the rule. A fumble is a fumble is a
fumble. Let a play blown dead be reviewed.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Everybody loves the underdog. Of course, the risk of rooting for them is that, week in and week out, they probably aren't going to win.
Three winless teams this week, Chicago, Pittsburgh and New England, went to play in cities where they almost never win - Chicago has been the NFC Central doormat for years, Pittsburgh was winless in Jacksonville and New England hadn't won in Denver since 1968. History and this season's winless list were both rewritten on Sunday, as the Bears, Steelers and Patriots got impossible victories.
Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe threw for four touchdowns in leading his team over the Denver
Broncos, 29-18. For the Steelers, it was a balanced attack from Jerome Bettis (2 TDs), Kordell Stewart, Plaxico Burress and Chris Fuamatu-maafala, shocking the defending AFC Central Champion Jacksonville Jaguars, 24-13. And in Green Bay, it was the winless Chicago Bears rallying to topple the Green Bay Packers, 27-24.
The week also saw the last two winless teams, the San Diego Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals, lose by a combined 41 points. The race for the first pick in the draft is on.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Georgia Tech coach George O'Leary thought he'd teach
offensive lineman Dustin Vaitekunas a lesson.
After a practice on Sept. 25, he handed Vaitekunas a football and had four defensive linemen charge at
him at full speed. Two of the linemen hit him and left him gasping for breath on the ground for several
minutes. Vaitekunas left Georgia Tech and vows to never return. Now, his mother is demanding an
investigation and is asking the police to charge O'Leary with assault.
"I think the whole thing is getting blown out of proportion," O'Leary said Tuesday. "My track record is
pretty good with my players. I coach hard but I coach fair."
Why does that sound like someone just trying to cover his ass?
NBA
Allen Iverson is the latest NBA-star-turned-rapper,
but he may be in a class all to himself.
Last week he released an apology for any women or gay people who may take offense at his upcoming debut
album, set for release in a couple of months.
Early lyrics have him threatening "faggots," demeaning women, and advocating violence.
While the jury is out until we hear the album, it doesn't look good for anybody involved.
NHL
The two latest entrants into the "what team has the
worst nickname" contest have to be the two NHL teams who got their franchise starts in the last two weeks.
While the Minnesota Wild is bad, it pales in comparison to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Although, for our purposes we'll just call them the BJs.