The Big Ten Network is Kaput!! (and other notes)

Big Ten Network Athletic Excitement!!!

Alright, I just checked the BTN, and got to see a few vet. students at Purdue talking about their classes...earlier today, I got to see the opening ceremony of the Armstrong Building. And while I'm happy that Purdue, and every other BT school has a lot of smart people in each institution, this isn't what we signed up for.

Perhaps I missed the announcement, but maybe France Cordova and her counterparts have taken over the airwaves...or maybe the BTN is just playing a rotten joke on me since I just got a new TV. Whatever the case, the new BTN stinks.

I want my sports, yo.

Tiger, Tiger Woods, y'all
Tiger Woods is a good golfer. How good? Well, he wins over 20% of the tourneys he enters...and when he makes it to the final group on the fourth day of a tournament, he's even better. He has now won 56 of 67 final group pairings in which he's played.

He just seems to crush players, great players, mentally. And this week, Paddy Harrington was that guy.

Trouble in NY
If you visit here regularly, you know that I have luke-warm feelings for baseball. But, I like to see the Red Sox win. The good news for me, NFL pre-season footbal began earlier tonight...The bad news, the Sox look pretty awful right now and are flirting with not evening being in the driver's seat for the Wild Card. And, at the same time, the Yankees look like a team that's actually worth the massive payroll that they've been forking out for as long as I can remember...money well-spent, I guess...finally.

Fun Weekend

It was a good weekend for a lot of reasons...But if you're a sports fan who isn't a big baseball guy, you don't expect the 4th of July to be that great of a sports weekend. This one was though.

First, Wimbledon was epic. Not to sound like Jim Rome, but even if you're not a fan of watching tennis, the match was one for the ages. These two guys had such great control on their shots, each volley was interesting. I am not a fan of capri pants and greasy hair, so I was rooting for Federer...I hope he can win the next two Grand Slam tourneys to get the bandwagoners off of Nadals nads. I don't usually say that word, but it works here.

Second, the IRL race was pretty entertaining...but the best part of the race was the fact that another young driver got his first victory. Ryan Hunter-Reay, who has shown a lot of promis this season broke through in Watkins Glen. Granted, he probably wouldn't have won if it wasn't for a gaffe on the part of Scott Dixon, but he did earn it...Regardless of whom he's racing for next season, I think he may contend for the points in Indy Car in '09.

Lastly, and like I said I'm not a big baseball fan like Tim and J...Further, if I do have any allegiance, it's to the Red Sox...But their three-game set, despite the fact that the Sox were 1-2, was a good one to watch. Lots of drama and some porn staches...Good TV.

Hope your long weekend went well...Even with weekends like this one, I still can't wait until September 6.

I demand ONE MIIIILLLLLLION dollars!

I think it's hilarious that Alex Rodriguez is once again talking to the Yankees. It turns out that it wasn't about wanting out of the pressure pot known as New York... it was only about more money. That's why people hate a lot of professional athletes. They claim it's for personal or family reasons, but it's ALWAYS about the money.

Scott Boras: We demand $350 million per week in order to negotiate.

A-Rod: Nevermind Yankees, I don't like New York so I'm opting out.

Steinbrenner: Okay, we don't want anyone that doesn't want to be a Yankee.

Rest of MLB: *crickets*

Scott Boras: Oops.

A-Rod: I changed my mind. I love New York!

Steinbrenner: A-Rod has shown he DOES want to be a Yankee. Yay!



It's so freaking stupid. All he cares about is the money. He doesn't want to be a Yankee any more than he wants to be a Marlin. He just wants $30 million per year. He doesn't care where it comes from. It's all about the money. He'll kiss the new Steinbrenner's booty in order to get it too. It's just a shame that the new management of the Yankees didn't choose to stick it to him this time and not let him back to the table. That would have been really great. To see A-Rod leave $81 million for 3 years + $150 million for 5 years on the table in order to take a 4 year offer of $80 million. Oh the happiness that would've brought me.

Suck it Scott Boras!

Oh, and PS. Suck it Yankees!

Early Monday Morning Items

Alright, I'll say what everyone's thinking...If it wasn't for the Red Sox dominant pitching, ridiculous hitting and pretty-solid managing, they'd be nothing! Sadly for the hundreds of Rockies die-hard fans out there, their favorite team ran into a buzz saw the last four games and the series was over before it started.

Congrats Chowds on your second World Championship in four years. A good friend of mine is a big Sox fan and has been his whole life. He literally gave Epstein, Francona and the rest of the organization a "get out of jail free" card for the next five years...and was still enjoying the afterglow of the last WS; I'm sure he and other life-long Sox fans are enjoying this evening/early morning. I haven't yet seen it, but is Papelbon doing a queer dance to celebrate this victory?


Hopefully, he'll keep on more clothing during the parade up the Charles. It might be a bit nippy afterall.

You Stay Classy, Patriots!
While the Red Sox celebrated winning a real championship, the New England Patriots increased their record to 8-0 by laying a horrible wallop on the Redskins 52-7. That sounds a bunch like the score when any D-I team (besides Michigan) faces a D-IAA team (besides App. St.). The only difference in this case is the players on both sidelines are supposed to be relatively equal in talent. While the Patriots are a great team and their coaches seem to be a step ahead of everybody they play, that type of score is simply ridiculous.

This game was a clear blowout, regardless of late-game play-calling, but do the Patriots really need to go for it on fourth down when they're up big? I know, I know, Patriots apologists will tell me that it's not an NFL coach's job to take it easy on another team, but it is his job to act like a professional not a teen-aged bully with a sling-shot. Belichick is and will continue to be a classless jackass. His cut-off hoodie and overall demeanor reflect that he has the class of a foul-mouthed 20-something Southie after 5-too-many Natural Ice beers. Way to keep your fans happy, ass-clown.

I can't wait to see the stupid level of build-up this week's mid-season matchup between the Patriots and Colts receives. Both teams are enjoying typical Patriots & Colts-type seasons...and after the game next Sunday, both will continue to play well. Neither will be eliminated and there will be a whole lot of football yet to be played. That said, I hope the Colts backhand the Patriots and remind them about the last time they saw eachother.

Best Finish Ever?
I just saw this play by a division I-AAA team that included 15 laterals and finally a run that scored the game-winning touchdown...Is this the most amazing play ever? I don't think so, but it's pretty damned cool.

Uh Oh.

It turns out all of that momentum that the Phillies and Yankees had coming into the playoffs isn't worth a bowl of warm damn. Sadly, the Yankees lost game one and the Rockies won game one of their series...I'm sure MLB isn't happy about either situation.



Tim enjoys the post-game afterglow of his Indians big victory over J's Yankees.

What's not to like?

While I have no idea what happens to a professional athlete to take him from dominance to unable to perform, I do understand what it takes to completely re-define an athlete after most of the sports world has written him off. Fortitude.

Rick Ankiel quickly went from being a solid prospect to a very good MLB pitcher...but even more quickly he lost control of his pitches and lost his job as a Major League baseball player. While attempting to come back to the bigs, his ERA, in AAA no less, was over 20! Ankiel was doing everything he could, physically to pitch...eventually needing Tommy John surgery. His career was over...so it seemed.

But, Ankiel came back to the minors and pitched well. He got his control to the point where his ERA hovered around 4-5...but one bad outing set him off again and his control went away. At that point he decided to try one last thing- the outfield.

That worked out pretty well...two years after changing positions and fighting through a knee injury, Ankiel was called up at his new position about 200 ft. further from the plate than he was positioned during his previous go-around. While I have a hard time watching an entire regular season baseball game, his story makes it almost worth while. Ankiel has four homers and is batting over .300...and he's looked pretty good in the field too.

Ankiel's charging Cardinals are now only 3 games back in a division that is led by a team that doesn't want to be in the lead and another that doesn't know how to handle success. I will be rooting for the Cards almost as hard as I'll be rooting against the Yankees down the stretch.