Friday, June 28, 2013

CS&T/AllsportsAmerica Friday Sports News Update and What's your take? 06/28/2013.

Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica
 
Sports Quote of the Day:

"You find that you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself, get more sleep, and rest when you know that it was a one hundred percent effort that you gave - win or lose." ~ Gordie Howe, NHL Hockey Great

How 'bout them Chicago Blackhawks? Hockey Hugs, Stanley Cup Final edition: Return of The Bickell; Toews loves Quenneville.
 

 
And so we come to the end of another season of Hockey Hugs. It's been real.
 

I hope you've enjoyed our occasional examinations of hockey's hug-heavy culture this year, and if you haven't, I hope the black ball of hate inside of you eventually finds a way out. Perhaps this week's edition of hockey hugs, which is just loaded with goodness, will blast to smaller, more passable bits like a kidney stone.
 
How can you not love the Blackhawks rushing to grab some Corey Crawford just after time expires in Game 6? Heck, Johnny Oduya appears to have fainted from all the excitement.
 
And at right, we have a comforting embrace between the victor, Marian Hossa (not to be confused with the Viktor, Stalberg) and the defeated Zdeno Chara. It's like that scene at the end of "Harry and the Hendersons" where the Hendersons say goodbye to Harry at the edge of the wilderness.

The major difference, of course, is that instead of meeting up with a bunch of other Sasquatches, Chara rode the Rowdy Rooster.
 
Anyway. Coming up: our five favourite hockey hugs from the Stanley Cup Final.

No. 5. Boston Bruins

Patrice Bergeron hugs Jaromir Jagr. Or leans against him for support.


"The doctors can fix the hole in my lung. But if you leave Boston, no one will be able to fix the hole in my heart."

No. 4, Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks' late, game-tying goal in Game 6 led to the best shot we have of "The Bickell", which, as we've established, is the spiteful, ancient demon that dwells within Bryan Bickell.


"THE BICKELL HAS DONE AS YOU REQUESTED. THE HARVEST IS NIGH."

"Aw hell, now? The game's not over!"

"FOR YOU IT HAS ENDED. BWAHAHAHAHAHA."

"Crap. Okay, Michal, we knew this day would come. Tell the guys we need to finish this in regulation before he eats all of our souls."

No. 3, Boston Bruins
 
Daniel Paille tells Tyler Seguin a sad story.
 
 

"And then Allie suddenly realizes the story he's reading to her is about them and how they met and fell in love, and in a brief moment of lucidity, they're together again."

"Oh my god Danny that's so sad."
 
No. 2, Chicago Blackhawks
 
Daniel Carcillo, Corey Crawford and Patrick Kane sing a prog-pop classic.


Crawford: "Turn around, bright eyes..."

Carcillo: "EVERY NOW AND THEN I FALL APART!!!"

No. 1, Chicago Blackhawks
 
And finally, the best hug from the Stanley Cup Final (apart from this one, which is disqualified because it only involves one human) is Jonathan Toews and Joel Quenneville in this intense embrace.
 


"I didn't shave for months! Why can't I grow a moustache like yours? What is wrong with me?!"
 
"Hey now, don't be so hard on yourself. You just won the Stanley Cup!"
 
"I DON'T EVEN CARE"
 
2013 NBA 1st Round Draft Picks, 06/27/2013 

 No.   Team                Player                                   Pos.   
 
Aaron Hernandez's arrest, release could lead to end of Patriots' run of excellence.
 
By Michael Silver

It began, chillingly, with a traumatic injury that could have turned tragic: Franchise quarterback Drew Bledsoe was rushed to the hospital after suffering a sheared blood vessel in a 2001 game at Foxborough Stadium, and Tom Brady came in and spurred the New England Patriots to a prolonged run of excellence.

 Did it end, symbolically, with Wednesday's disquieting arrest of discarded Pats tight end Aaron Hernandez on a murder charge?

 Surely, it is far too early to draw that conclusion. Yet as Hernandez sits in a jail cell for what prosecutors allege was the cold-blooded execution of a former associate — and the Patriots try to move forward from perhaps the darkest chapter in franchise history — it's not unfair to wonder whether an era has ended.
 
From a football perspective, the loss of Hernandez isn't insignificant. The 23-year-old tight end's role, in tandem with fellow 2010 NFL draftee Rob Gronkowski, represented the most significant innovation to an ever-evolving offense that has long been the team's strength.

Having two such versatile, prolific pass-catchers at a traditionally underutilized position allowed coach Bill Belichick to dictate to opposing defenses and maximized Brady's mastery of scheme, tempo and efficiency.
 
This is bigger than X's and O's, however. The psychic cost of Hernandez's demise, while not necessarily an indication that the much-trumpeted "Patriot Way" has been irrevocably tainted, could be steep and multi-layered. While owner Robert Kraft's noble and understandable decision to release Hernandez within 90 minutes of the player's arrest may mitigate the nightmarish fallout, this former Pro Bowler's legal saga will play out in conspicuous fashion over the coming months, particularly in the Boston area.
 
Even Belichick, who famously abhors distractions, understands that he won't be able to It is what it is this stain away from Gillette Stadium. And while the coach will relentlessly drone that he's simply "focusing on the players who are here" — and insist that said players do the same — there's going to be a lot of focus on the ex-player who's currently bunking at the Bristol County House of Corrections.
 
How much focus? This may be a slight exaggeration, but I'll throw these two words out there nonetheless: Tim Who?

 As Belichick's signing of Tim Tebow earlier this month suggested, this is a future Hall of Fame coach willing to take chances in the name of chasing history. That transaction carried more than a hint of I'm smarter than everyone else bravado, typically a sure sign of every successful sports team's eventual undoing.
 
Yet the Patriots, as 21st century franchises go, are pretty far from typical. Since that day in September of 2001 when Bledsoe charged forward in pursuit of a first down, absorbed a hellacious hit from New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis and sustained what his father would call a "life-threatening" injury, Kraft's organization has existed on an ethereal plane of its own. 
 
Beginning with that Brady-led Super Bowl XXXVI run — one which, in fairness, required help from the Tuck Rule in snowy Foxborough and Bledsoe's gritty relief effort in Pittsburgh — the Pats have enjoyed a run of sustained success exceeded in the post-merger era only by the 1980s and '90s San Francisco 49ers.

 During that 12-year stretch, the Belichick/Brady Pats have produced 12 winning seasons and 10 AFC East titles. Brady surpassed Joe Montana's NFL record with his 17th postseason victory last January and guided New England to its seventh AFC championship game during that span. That's so good, it's scary.
 
Much has been made of the fact that Belichick and Brady, who won three Super Bowls during his first four years as a starter, have failed to win a championship since the 2004 season. Yet it can also be argued that if not for a pair of near-miraculous catches by New York Giants receivers four years apart, the coach and quarterback would each be flaunting a ridiculous five rings obtained during this century. 
 
It should also be noted that Brady's unlikely ascent was not as accidental as commonly portrayed. While it's universally accepted that Bledsoe got Wally Pipped after sustaining an injury that would leave him 20 pounds lighter, he might well have ended up on the bench had he stayed healthy.According to a very well-placed source, even before that defeat to the Jets had dropped New England to 0-2 in 2001, Belichick had already informed Kraft that Brady, in his mind, was the superior quarterback and that he was contemplating a switch. And though Kraft had signed Bledsoe to a 10-year, $103-million contract that was then the richest in NFL history the previous March, the owner was not inclined to overrule his coach on a personnel decision of that magnitude.
 
So give Belichick credit for recognizing Brady's potential for greatness, and for surrounding him with fierce, intelligent, productive leaders like Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison and Troy Brown who helped the franchise ascend to the top of football universe.

 And give Brady credit for helping to preserve that lofty standard even after many of those decorated veterans departed — and, more often than not, their replacements proved to be lesser teammates, albeit functional ones.

That the Patriots have stayed so good for so long is remarkable — but their success is not ordained, and their perch may be more fragile than many of us realize.
 
Will the perpetually weak AFC East finally transform into a legitimate division, as the once-laughable NFC West did over the past two seasons? That may sound like a stretch, but the Miami Dolphins seem to believe they're on the verge of something special, and the Buffalo Bills sound kind of fired up as well.

Will the departures of Hernandez and the alarmingly productive Wes Welker, Brady's close friend and favorite target, reduce the Pats' offensive potency? Will that, in turn, expose a defense bereft of difference-makers?
 
And, most important, how will the team respond to the unthinkable scenarios being posed in the courtroom by the people prosecuting Hernandez?
 
Six years ago, Belichick's players channeled their post-Spygate frustration into a Screw The World swagger that produced the first 16-0 regular season in NFL history.
 
Will the current crop of Patriots close ranks and rally in response to the grisly charges Hernandez faces, or will many of them quietly become unnerved and detached as they process the surrounding circus?
 
I can't answer those questions yet, and if the Pats fall flat in 2013 and beyond, I won't be able to state conclusively that Hernandez's horrific circumstances will have been the chief cause of their demise.

 At this point, however, it's a possibility worth considering. Though the end of an era is inevitable — and, inevitably, is complicated — it's also true that watershed events often get associated with such sea changes.

For the 49ers, some regard Steve Young's career-ending concussion in 1999 as the death of a dynasty. For me, however, owner Eddie DeBartolo's earlier involvement in a Louisiana gaming scandal, which eventually forced him out of football, sealed the team's demise.
 
I also know this: The bigger the stain, the longer it lingers — and the more we're prone to attach symbolic significance to anything negative that happens in its wake.
 
If Belichick, Brady and the Patriots can retain their standard of excellence amid the ghastly blot of Hernandez's alleged crimes, it may turn out to be their greatest accomplishment of all.

Is the neighborhood play gone for good?

By Larry Granillo

It's been a part of baseball for decades, but increased supervision and better television cameras threaten the traditional (and technically incorrect) "neighborhood play."

The neighborhood play. It's what we call it when a middle infielder, in making the turn at second base during a double-play, gets the call from the umpire despite never actually touching the bag while in possession of the ball.

Ask any of the older men in blue, however, and they'll tell you it doesn't exist; umpires can (and will) call a runner out only if the fielder touches the bag after cleanly receiving the ball.
 
But we all know they're lying. The neighborhood play was an accepted part of baseball for decades, no different than a hit-batsman taking first despite no effort to get out of the way or a pitcher running his hand through his greased-up hair before every pitch.
 
In the 2009 American League Championship Series, when Angels' shortstop Erick Aybar never came close to touching the bag on a double-play in the tenth inning of Game 2, the complaint wasn't that second-base umpire Jerry Layne got the call wrong when he signaled "safe" -- it was that he got it right.
 
You can hear Joe Buck and Tim McCarver defending Aybar in the original television broadcast: "They will give -- as odd as that may seem to viewers or a casual baseball fan -- they will give that play at second base always." "Always." "Always."
 
Elsewhere, the Orange County Register excoriated the call. MLB.com spent 600 words explaining how the call -- the correct call, remember -- was a departure from the norm. The New York Times, meanwhile, felt it was important enough to explain to its readers that these unwritten rules don't actually exist, including this quote from a particularly unbiased source.
"There is no such thing as the neighborhood play," said Rich Garcia, a Major League Baseball umpire supervisor for seven years after spending 25 years in blue. "You either touch the base or you don’t."
Umpire says umpires make the correct calls and The Times is ON IT!
 
Players on the field saw things a bit differently. In 2010, J.J. Hardy admitted that there were "some shortstops and second basemen" who use the neighborhood play. "I might have done it a couple times. Not on purpose. I always try to be on the bag, but maybe there's a time I might be a little bit quick." Not that he was complaining. The play keeps middle-infielders safe, the argument goes, by taking them out of the line of the hard slide quicker.

With umpires calling the neighborhood play less and less frequently, as Hardy and a number of other players and managers (including Michael Cuddyer, Mark Grudzielanek, and Manny Acta) attested, the danger goes up.
 
That's not to say that the play has been completely eradicated from the game. Here is an example, from July 2011, of the White Sox getting the benefit of a neighborhood call over the Cubs. The call enraged then-manager Mike Quade enough that he got himself ejected from the game in only the second inning.
 
But how about today? Since neighborhood plays aren't exactly tagged in the MLB.com database, it's very difficult to track them over time. What if, instead, we took it into our own hands and watched every double-play for signs of the neighborhood call ourselves? If this unwritten rule is even a third as common as it was, surely it wouldn't be too hard to find one in a large sampling, right?
 
To test this theory, I watched every GiDP from last weekend (Saturday & Sunday, to be exact). That's 53 double-plays across 30 games. Of these, seven had no turn at second base. In the remaining 46, there were a few chances where it seemed like maybe, if I just squinted my eyes and believed really hard, the second baseman or shortstop might have pulled his foot off a tiny bit early. But that was it. Nothing to get too upset over, and certainly nothing obvious.
 
Well, except this one.
 
That was Saturday afternoon in the third inning of the Marlins/Giants tilt. Marco Scutaro grounded the ball directly at Miami second baseman Ed Lucas, who tossed it to shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, who made the throw to first. It was a simple enough double-play that San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy barely reacted in the dugout.
 
But watch that turn again. Hechavarria clearly catches the toss from Lucas with his feet straddling the bag. As he fires to first, you can see Hechavarria shift his feet, but enough to tag the base and secure the out? Second-base umpire Laz Diaz thought so, but it's a bit hard to believe. This could very well be the neighborhood play that we're looking for!
 
As Hechavarria lifts up his right foot to make the jump, a bit of infield dirt comes up with it, covering the side of the base for the briefest of moments. When the foot lands on the opposite side of the bag, the dirt falls to the ground. It's from these two pieces of evidence that I feel confident in saying that this was not a neighborhood play.
 
This proves nothing, of course. The only way to say for sure that the neighborhood play isn't called any more is to watch all 2,000 double-plays in a given year. Even I'm not that crazy! Still, this exercise does provide one data point. Over two days, thirty games, 550 innings, and 50+ double plays, there was not a single neighborhood play.
 
Maybe J.J. Hardy and his pals were right. If this unwritten rule is not yet dead, it's certainly on life support.
 
That's a win for those of us who hate to see a game decided by a bad call from the umpires, but what about those middle-infielders who feel endangered by wild takeout slides? Is the tradeoff worth it? Well, we don't have much of a choice.
 
Five or six years ago while working on his outstanding book about umpiring, As They See 'Em, Bruce Weber asked major-league umpire Tom Hallion about the neighborhood play. Hallion acknowledged the existence of the play, called that way if "everything stays in an ordinary progression of what's supposed to happen, what should happen, what normally happens ... even if he's not right on the bag." Why?
Because if I call the guy safe, here's what they say: "Do you want this guy fucking killed?" 
But nowadays you can't give them as much, you can't give them a foot off the bag. Your life's on the line to get it right because they have sixteen freakin' cameras on you.
Again, this was five or six years ago. Today there are more cameras, more Web watchdogs, more people watching the games on iPads in the stands.
 
Video killed the neighborhood play. And nobody's going to miss it, except maybe a few scaredy-cat infielders.
 
Did the USGA Discriminate Against Casey Martin? What's your take?
 

COMMENTARY | Former PGA Tour golfer Casey Martin has had an interesting ride in professional golf. Pardon the pun. 

Many golf fans will remember Martin as the player who sued and won a case against the PGA Tour in 2001, fighting for his right to use a golf cart while playing in a tournament. Born with a rare blood -circulation condition in his right leg -- Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome -- Martin has severe difficulty walking, let alone playing 18 holes of championship golf.
 
Currently the head men's golf coach at the University of Oregon, Martin claims that he was recently discriminated against while attending a USGA event, according to Golfweek. Martin, now 41-years-old, says he was denied the use of a cart at a US Junior Amateur qualifier at El Camino Golf Club in Oceanside, Calif. 

That's right: Martin wasn't even playing golf in this circumstance. Instead, all he wanted to do was watch from the sidelines.
 
Attending the event as part of his college recruitment responsibilities, Martin contacted tournament chairman Matt Pawlak prior to attending the qualifier to request the use of a cart. Pawlak reportedly approved this request, thus allowing Martin to use the cart during his visit. 

Martin began his day in a golf cart and began his recruiting efforts. At least, until the sixth hole. 

It was on that hole where Pawlak reportedly approached Martin while in the cart and told Martin that the USGA prohibits spectators from using golf carts. Martin cooperated with the request and gave up the cart. Pawlak later told Golfweek that the USGA asked him to not allow Martin to use the cart after all.

"I've never felt more discriminated against or unfairly taken advantage of in my entire life," Martin told Golfweek.

The USGA later released a statement to the magazine, suggesting the whole ordeal was a "misunderstanding".
 
"The United States Golf Association has been and continues to be a strong supporter of Casey Martin. The unfortunate situation at the U.S. Junior qualifier stems from a misunderstanding over the USGA Cart Policy at our championship events. We regret that this misunderstanding may have caused Casey an inconvenience, but it certainly was unintentional. We have extended to Casey accommodations that we offer all disabled spectators at our championships. Despite this unfortunate situation, we continue to admire what Casey has been able to accomplish in the game as both a player and a coach." 

So just what are the accommodations referred to by the USGA in the above statement? As Golfweek points out, the 2013 USGA "Qualifying Manual" decrees that a handicapped or disabled spectator has the option of using a scooter transport to selected areas of the course to view play as it comes through that area. However, no player will be shuttled from hole to hole, "regardless of their condition or relationship to a player in the event."
 
On one side, tournament rules are meant to be followed by spectators and competitors alike. However, why would Pawlak - chairman of the tournament in question - initially allow Martin the use of a cart only to change his mind later? Surely Pawlak knew the rules by which that day's event would be governed. More importantly, how does a spectator riding in a golf cart disrupt tournament play?
 
Perhaps the more pressing question is whether Martin's past has anything to do with how he's treated now.
 
After reading this article, we'd love to know, what's your take?

Kyle Petty: Danica 'not a race car driver'.
 
By Kenny Bruce

Despite having spent less than two full years in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Danica Patrick has one of the most recognizable names in NASCAR today.

But while she may be a "marketing machine," according to former driver Kyle Petty, she is not, he said, "a race car driver."

In an interview that aired Thursday on SPEED's "NASCAR Race Hub," Petty said that Patrick "is a hot commodity and rightfully so.

"In a market where everybody that crawls into a race car on a Sunday afternoon in Cup racing is male; she's the female," Petty said. "I don't have a problem with her being a marketing machine -- more power to her."

Asked where he felt Patrick currently stood as a driver, Petty said fans have bought into the marketing hype. "She can go fast, and I've seen her go fast," he said. "She drives the wheels off it when she goes fast."
  
But, he said, "she's not a race car driver. There's a difference.

"? Danica has been the perfect example of somebody who can qualify better than what she runs. She can go fast, but she can't race. I think she's come a long way, but she's still not a race car driver. And I don't think she's ever going to be a race car driver."

She won't ever be, he said, "because I think it's too late to learn."

Patrick was recently named to the Forbes Celebrity 100, a listing of the 100 most powerful celebrities of 2013 as determined by the magazine. She is in her first full season competing in the Cup series, driving the GoDaddy.com No. 10 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing.

She is 27th in the points standings. Earlier this year, she became the first female to capture the pole for the season-opening Daytona 500. Her eighth-place finish in that race has been her only top-10 result to date.

Petty is the son of seven-time champion Richard Petty and the grandson of Lee Petty, a three-time series champion. Both Richard and Lee Petty are members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

An eight-time winner in Cup, Kyle Petty said he didn't know what determines good and great drivers.
 
"If I knew," he said, "I'd be a great driver.

"I was not a great driver, and I'll be the first to admit it. I was a journeyman driver. Just like in the NFL or any sport, there are journeyman players."

Patrick, who wrapped up a two-day test session at New Hampshire Motor Speedway earlier this week, was unavailable for comment. She is scheduled to meet with the media here at Kentucky Speedway on Friday.

Spain beats Italy 7-6 on PKs to reach Confed final.
 
By ANDREW DAMPF

Jesus Navas scored the decisive penalty kick after Leonardo Bonucci sent his attempt over the crossbar, and Spain beat Italy 7-6 in a shootout after a 0-0 tie Thursday night to reach the Confederations Cup final against Brazil.

In a draining match on a night of heat and humidity, Italy's Emanuele Giaccherini hit a post in the 93rd minute and Azzurri goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon deflected Xavi Hernandez's kick off a post in the 115th.

''We were lucky in the penalty shootout,'' Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said. ''It was a very difficult match for us. ... It was a marvelous team effort by both teams. It was a clean and sporting match that was played under very difficult climatic conditions.''

Spain, winner of the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 European Championships, will play Brazil on Sunday at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana Stadium for the title in the World Cup preparation tournament.

''Now we have to consider what we have to do in the three days to recover,'' Del Bosque said. ''We will definitely stand up to Brazil in the Maracana. The players should feel as happy as kids playing in the Maracana. They have won a lot, but they want to win in the Maracana.''

The 35-year-old Buffon and 32-year-old Iker Casillas, among the world's elite goalkeepers for more than a decade, exchanged handshakes with English referee Howard Webb before the shootout and then hugged each other.

With Italy shooting first, Antonio Candreva, Alberto Aquilani, Daniele De Rossi, Sebastian Giovinco, Andrea Pirlo and Riccardo Montolivo all converted their kicks for the Italians.

Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Juan Mata and Sergio Busquets made their kicks for Spain.

After Bonucci failed, Buffon dove to his right and Navas sent the kick past his outstretched arm.

Spain beat Italy 4-0 in last year's Euro final and defeated the Azzurri 4-2 on penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie in the 2008 Euro quarterfinals.

''We played a great match. We created and we conceded but we were always in the match,'' Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. ''They're still ahead of us but we're improving.

''In these conditions, between absences and fatigue, it's nearly impossible to go all the way, but the guys really moved me.''

Italy, missing injured Mario Balotelli, dominated the first half. Spain, without injured Cesc Fabregas and Roberto Soldado, settled down and bolstered with the second-half insertion of Navas and Mata, wound up with 54 percent possession and a 19-13 advantage in shots.

Italy will face Uruguay in the third-place match in Salvador, also Sunday.
Before kickoff, about 5,000 anti-government protesters battled police about 1 mile from the stadium.
 
These were the latest in a series of nationwide protests that have hit Brazil since June 17. Demonstrators, expected to turn out again Sunday, are angered about corruption and poor public services despite a heavy tax burden. Protesters also are denouncing the billions of dollars spent to host the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Time to start thinking about golfing in Chicago; a true hidden gem of diverse courses.

Chicago Sports & Travel/AllsportsAmerica wants you. Golf season is upon us and for you diehard golfers that want to try something different, come golf in Chicago. Our group at CS&T/AA, Golf Options Illinois Forever, is ready to accommodate you with some of the most diverse golf courses in one location. Regardless of your golfing ability, we have a group of courses for you to play. We arrange your transportation, lodging, tee times and any miscellaneous request that you might have. There is so much to see and do when you’re not on the golf course. Chicago has wonderful architecture, excellent museums, very good ethnic food, a great night life, remarkable professional sports teams, a diverse population with unlimited potential that has earned it several nicknames such as, “The city that works”, The city of big shoulders”, “The windy city”, “The second city” and “A true world class city.” It all works for us and we want to share it with you. Come golf in Chicago. Email us at chicagosportsandtravel@yahoo.com and let us see what we can do for you. We guarantee you that all of our packages are very rare but priced super fair. Try us, we’re sure you’ll like us. We sincerely look forward to hearing from you. In the meantime, “Have a great sports day!!!!!"

 
***********************************************************

Please let us hear your opinion on the above articles and pass them on to any other diehard fans that you think might be interested. But most of all, remember, Chicago Sports & Travel, Inc./AllsportsAmerica wants you!!!!!
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)