7/13/08--Sports, sports...and more sports!!

Yes indeed, its time for our semi-annual (which mean pretty much "when I feel like it") look at those sports teams that I follow and what the blue hell they've been up too.

1) Chicago Cubs.  Well, here we are...its time for the All Star game, and the Cubs have the best record in baseball.  7 Cubbies were named to the game, and rumors persist that Carlos "The Big Z" Zambrano will start the game for the National League.  They've recently made a trade with Oakland for Rich Harden, which gives them pretty much as deep a starting rotation as any team in baseball.  And yet, maybe because I'm a Cubs fan, there's this lingering sense of dread in the back of my mind--sort of a "splinter in the mind's eye" if you will.  Maybe it was the complete meltdown suffered yesterday by Carlos Marmol, who took the baseball in the 9th inning with a 7-2 lead and, uh, proceeded to allow the game to be tied.  At home.  At Wrigley.  Today, Marmol was named as Kerry Wood's All Star replacement (K.W. reportedly with a "blister"--again, a looming sense of dread everytime Kerry gets as much as a hangnail).  There's a lot to be positive about---and yet----
2) Notre Dame.  Our starting cornerback Darrin Walls, the one guy on the team who was projected to be so good that it wasn't deemed completely out of the realm of possibility that he might declare for the NFL draft next season....apparently has some grade issues.  And so, if he does declare for the NFL draft, it will be after the 2009 season, because he's dropped out of school to "deal with his situation".  That translates usually to "he's enrolling in a local college to get his freakin grades straightened out".
Sometimes you need to translate.  Also, once upon a time bigtime recruit DJ Hord has decided to transfer to a Division 1AA school, where I believe he will have 2 seasons of eligibility.  Hord has never been the same since messing up his Achilles tendon a few years back.  That's one of those injuries that 90% of athletes never recover from.  And with the recruting that the Irish have done at that position over the last couple of years, quite honestly, the guy wasn't going to see the field for Notre Dame.  Today's good news however, is that ND got a verbal commitment from offensive lineman Chris Watt, who was also considering Ohio State.  He's described as big, mean and nasty.  After last year, we need more guys like that--trust me.  Fall camp is like 3 weeks away!!!
3) Minnesota Vikings.  So here is the true definition of being torn.  During the entire offseason, your team (the purple & yellow) have done nothing but positive things in an effort to set themselves up for not only a strong playoff push, but perhaps even more than that.  Our team's only perceived "weak spot" is at QB, where 3rd year man Travarious Jackson will probably be asked, in a worst case scenario, to "manage the game" (translated:  hand off to Adrian Peterson 25 times a game, throw the ball when we absolutely need too--and don't screw up) and let our potentially dominating defense do the rest.  But now, a potential fly-in-your-Chardonnay appears on the horizon.  Brett Favre, longtime Green Bay QB and ESPN icon, has decided that maybe, just maybe, he's not ready to retire and...apparently....he doesn't want to play for the Packers anymore and...apparently...he thinks that the Minnesota Vikings would be a terrific fit for his particular talents.  Now, this is what you call a quandry for Vikings fans.  I mean, c'mon, I'm already having to deal with having Jim Stinkin Edmonds playing centerfield for my Cubs after a career spent with the St Louis Cardinals.  Now I have to adjust to have Lord Favre play for my Vikings?  Can you imagine the circus that would result from a move like that??  Neither can I.  I think I'll stick with Travarious.
4) Florida Panthers.  Ever since that fateful day a couple of years back when Mike "(Insert curse word here)" Keenan traded Roberto Luongo away for a cup of coffee and a guy named Moe, that Panthers have been running faster and faster on a treadmill--slowly getting nowhere fast.  This year, we traded Olli Jokkinen, who was a really solid but not quite spectacular player, to Phoenix.  Olli was with the Panthers for 7 years, the last 4 or 5 as team captain--a position that I never thought he was a good fit for.  While he was our best player, he was never the sort of guy who would light a fire under his teammates by throwing his helmet, or giving a "rah rah" speech.  He was the sort of captain that the other guys were supposed to watch and respect because he was a good player.  Um...maybe that works sometimes...but not this time.  This was a team of mainly younger players the last few years, who needed someone to give them a kick in the keyster.  That wasn't going to happen with Olli "Zero...repeat...ZERO...playoff appearences in my entire NHL career" Jokkinen as the captain.  So, he's off to Phoenix and in return we received Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton.  Was it enough?  Well, different reports have it that Ballard is one of those guys who will lay bleeding on the ice after blocking the puck with his face...if necessary.  And Boynton is thought of as the sort of a teammate who will willingly jump into a fray on behalf of his teammate should the occasion call for it.  In other words, these are guys who will show the younger Panthers the way the game should be played.  Much like Cory Stillman, who the Panthers signed after free agency started.  Any one of those three guys could end up as the new captain of the team.  And while they will not provide the steady offensive statistics that Jokkinen provided over the last 5 years (well, Stillman might)......they will provide that kick to the keyster that the team seemed to need.


Later,
Jeff

7/12/08---R.I.P.....Bobby Murcer

I saw with a touch of sadness that former baseball player and NY Yankees announcer Bobby Murcer died today after a long battle with cancer.  Brought back some nice memories though.


I was a kid, maybe 12 or 13 years old...and my grandfather took my Dad and I to see a game at Yankee Stadium (to this day--my only game at the historic venue). This was in the early to mid 70's, and the Yanks were playing the Minnesota Twins. Great game, the New Yorkers won 5-4 with a game winnnig RBI by....Bobby Murcer.

He became one of my favorite players (never did surpass my alltime fav as a kid--Rick Monday.)
and I was happy a few years later when Murcer joined the Cubs for a few years.

Its been almost 35 years...I can still recall taking the subway to the stadium. Its one of my favorite memories of a great day with my Dad, my grandfather...and Bobby Murcer. So today, I remember Bobby & thank him for a great memory.

R.I.P.

Later,
Jeff