Curse words

by Damian | Nov 3, 2016 | Sports | 0 comments

Good news for long-suffering Cubs fans: the Billy Goat Curse is no more.

Bad news for fans of every other MLB team: The Cubs have a great nucleus of young position players, great pitching and a fantastic manger… so the Billy Goat Curse has been replaced by a new curse: The Curse of the Obnoxious Cub Fans.

Mic drop

by Damian | Oct 2, 2016 | Sports | 0 comments

Vin Scully will call his final baseball game today, after 67 years behind the microphone for the Brooklyn/L.A. Dodgers. He is, without any doubt, the best baseball broadcaster ever, and second place isn’t even in the same universe. He did games on TV, but radio is where he really was at his most brilliant… he could paint a picture of the action and draw you into the game like no one else. Because it was never about Vin – as it often is with today’s ego-driven broadcasters – it was always about the game.

When he was on TV, he knew that the video could tell more of the story, and didn’t feel compelled to fill up the air with drivel. Probably his most famous call was Kirk Gibson’s home run in the World Series, and his line “In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened!” is classic. But watch and you’ll see how Vin sets up the confrontation between the MVP pitcher and the hobbled batter so brilliantly. And note that Vin is silent for a full minute after he calls the homer, allowing the magic of the moment to shine through.

Here’s a link to a nice 3-minute video profile of Mr. Scully:  http://www.cbsnews.com/live/video/vin-scully-announces-final-game-on-sunday/

He will miss us, but baseball fans – and baseball itself – will miss him more.

In college, but a lack of knowledge

by Damian | Sep 18, 2016 | Sports | 0 comments

Yesterday during college football games, not one, but two runners let go of the ball before they crossed the goal line. Because apparently style points count more than six points.

Here’s Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon at the end of a kickoff return:

Luckily for Mixon, the play wasn’t reviewed and he got credit for a touchdown.

And here’s Cal’s Vic Enwere against Texas, late in the game with Cal up by a touchdown.

He got lucky too. He didn’t get credit for a touchdown, but the ball was blown dead so the Texas player who picked it up couldn’t run it back the other way for a tying score.

Here’s another pet peeve of mine, in college and pro football: players running alongside the guy about to score, instead of turning around and blocking someone. Here you see three ‘Bama players joining a pigskin posse on a 75-yard interception return, yet none of the non-runners turned around to get in the way of the Ole Miss player, who nearly prevented the score.

Going, going… gone

by Damian | Aug 18, 2016 | Sports | 0 comments

I was sorry to hear about the passing of longtime ESPN sportscaster John Saunders. Not just because he seemed like a really nice guy, but also because he was one of the few “worldwide leader” ESPN personalities that didn’t have copious amounts of smugness, smarm and/or shtick.

He was just an old school broadcaster who came across as relatable and reliable. They are few and far between these days.

Mike Lupica has a nice tribute to John Saunders here.

Score one for the little guys

by Damian | Apr 6, 2016 | Sports | 0 comments

Villanova won the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Monday night, in dramatic fashion.

I was excited for them because my brother-in-law is a ‘nova grad and because my alma mater, Xavier, plays in the same conference as them (and was one of only 5 teams to beat them this season, btw). But I was also happy because Villanova is a small school, and they usually don’t get to wear the crown. Here’s a stat from an ESPN.com article about the game and how it was a victory for all the little guys:

Entering Monday’s game, Kentucky, Duke, Connecticut and North Carolina had won 12 of the previous 20 national championships in Division I basketball… Even the teams that sneaked into the club in the past 20 years — Syracuse, Louisville, Florida, Kansas, Michigan State, etc. — do not qualify as true underdogs.

At a time when many of the traditional powerhouses are recruiting one-and-done players, schools that keep their players all four years probably have a better chance of winning it all. So here’s hoping the little guy era has begun.

What’s wrong with this picture?

by Damian | Mar 18, 2016 | Sports | 1 comment

Yesterday and today, during the opening round of the NCAA basketball tournament, this is how our living room is set up. Games are on 4 channels, so we need 3 TVs and a computer monitor. Maybe this is why it’s called March Madness.

A few observations from yesterday’s action:

• Enough already with the Samuel L. Jackson, Spike Lee, Charles Barkley commercials
• Ditto for the DirecTV “settlers” ads
• There were quite a few players who slipped on the court late in the game, at crucial times. Could the NCAA’s “let’s install the same generic looking court at every venue” policy be to blame?
• There’s nothing more fun than a first round upset by Yale… unless it’s a 2nd round upset by Yale (they’re playing the dreaded Duke Blue Devils).
• The double OT game between Purdue and University of Arkansas-Little Rock was the most fun to watch.
• Providence’s last-second layup was really the closest we’ve come to a buzzer-beater.

My Xavier Musketeers play late tonight. Saw this bus on the road yesterday:

Let’s hope it was on the road to the Final Four.