Ed Zieralski of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes about a fisherman who caught a 361.8 pound yellowfin tuna, but still fell short of breaking the world tuna record... "“Four hundred, 400, 400,” Ashford yelled, leading a crowd chant and holding four fingers aloft for the crowd to see. They chanted with him and cheered as Cates hoisted the yellowfin onto the digital scale. But as happens far too often with these big tuna, the catch didn't come close to expectations. Once up on the scale, it settled at 361.8 pounds, nearly 27 pounds shy of Wiesenhutter's all-tackle record." ...
You've heard of spelling bees, hot dog eating contests, but now you can add texting contests...yep, I found an article in the Gainesville newspaper about some kid who is competing at Madison Square Garden in the third annual LG U.S. National Texting Championship...what has this world come to?...
I was reading through The New York Times from about two weeks ago when I came across an interesting fact...
There have only been two 20-game winning pitchers in NCAA history...the first was Derek Tatsuno (photo, right) of the 1979 Hawaii Rainbows who went 20-1 with a 1.86 ERA...in his 3 years at Hawaii he posted a 40-6 mark with 541 strikeouts...however, many of those strikeouts came against lower echelon competition such as DeVry Institute and Whittier College...he was a 1st round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in the January 1982 regular phase draft...Tatsuno never made it to The Show...in 1982 he played for the Brewers' AA affiliate, the El Paso Diablos of the Texas League, going 7-2 with a 6.42 ERA and walking more than a batter an inning...he bounced around the minors until 1987...
Richard W. Johnston of Sports Illustrated did a feature story on Tatsuno in the April 30, 1979 edition of the magazine...
The other 20-game winner was Mike Loynd of the 1986 Florida State Seminoles who went 20-3 with a 2.45 ERA...Loynd was a college stud as he was named the winner of the 1986 Golden Spikes Award which is the Heisman Trophy of college baseball...Loynd helped Florida State get to the College World Series...he was drafted by the Texas Rangers and was called up to the big leagues in less than two months...with the Rangers in a pennant race, Bobby Valentine gave the ball to Loynd as he won his first start 6-3 over the Cleveland Indians...
Loynd started his career 2-0 which would be his only highlight...soon thereafter, he began to struggle and within two years he found himself traded to the Houston Astros...he spent the next seven seasons in the minor league organizations of the Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves before ending his career with the West Palm Beach Expos of the Florida State League in 1994...Loynd finished his brief career with a 3-7 mark and 2 saves...
Terry Pluto of The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer writes about former Plain Dealer sports reporter Bill Nichols (photo, right) who died on Saturday... "Nichols spent 30 years at The Plain Dealer. He had some heart problems, but was well enough to have lunch with former Plain Dealer writers Eddie Dwyer and Dick Zunt on Friday at the Hometown Buffet in Parma. He died early Saturday morning at his home in Rocky River." ...
As the Washington Nationals sweat it out in dealing with first pick Stephen Strasberg and his agent Scott Boras, they quietly signed their other first round pick Drew Storen to a $1.6 million signing bonus...
Storen was selected just nine picks after Strasberg...the 6'2" righthanded pitcher from Stanford went 7-1 with seven saves and a 3.80 ERA in 28 appearances for the Cardinal...in 42 2/3 innings of relief work, he tallied 66 strikeouts (13.9 strikeouts per nine innings) in his two years at Stanford, Storen had a combined 12-4 mark with 15 saves and a 3.64 ERA in 59 appearances...
Storen will start his professional career at Class A Hagerstown and wear No. 26...he is being groomed to be a closer...
Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes an in-depth story on Pittsburgh native and new Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari... "At age 50, he has ascended to the one program he long desired to oversee, a program whose fan base encompasses the entire state, border to border, and whose passion runs deeper than perhaps any other college sports program in the country. Kentucky is to college basketball what Notre Dame is to college football -- storied, tradition-rich, mystical. Or, as Calipari said, "Always one season away from where you were." ...
Mike Wise of The Washington Post writes how Jeanie Buss is the one responsible for bringing the Lakers on the brink of another NBA title... "Wait. So, if Phil wasn't in love with Jeanie Buss, the daughter of owner Jerry Buss, a Lakers executive and one half of America's most powerful sporting couple, there is no Siddhartha presence in the locker room? No closing in on a 10th NBA coaching title -- one more than Auerbach's nine with the Boston Celtics?" ...
Ted Miller of ESPN.com writes about Arizona State's potent 1-2 punch on the mound... "We should pause now and mention that these two have combined for a 25-2 record this season and are the nation's best one-two punch of starting pitchers. It's not clear yet who will start against North Carolina on Sunday in the Sun Devils' CWS opener (ESPN, 2 p.m. ET)." ...
Alan Trubow of the Austin Statesman writes about the Texas Longhorns sparkplug who bats ninth... "The Longhorns, who head to Omaha tomorrow for the College World Series, like seeing that emotion out of the sophomore. While he looks quite stoic most of the time on the field, it's his fire, passion and competitiveness that make Rowe the player he is." ...
Most people have seen the video below of the 72-year-old great grandmother who was tasered by an officer in Texas...when I first heard about the incident, I was disgusted...I thought it was another law enforcement officer who is bullying a person...then I saw the video...
This old bag deserved to get tasered...just because you are old, that does not give you the right to be an asshole and not listen to the officer...if she would have signed the ticket, as she was politely told to do, this never would have happened...
If I was that officer I would have tasered this old lying bitch another one or two times...
This is how player introductions should be in the NBA Finals...plain and simple without all the fireworks and crap...this was from the 1985 Finals between the Lakers and Celtics...
- Yesterday I had a post criticizing LeBron James for not showing sportsmanship after losing to the Orlando Magic...I was not the only one who noticed as the entire media has piled on James for this slight...James said he was not wrong for acting like a poor sport...oh well, maybe one day he will "get it"...otherwise, the national media needs to let this go and move on to another topic...
- I noticed this past season that Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony got rid of the cornrows...I am glad they have decided to go back to the old fashion tight cut hair style...I have never been a fan of cornrows even though many African-Americans wear it as part of their African heritage...this has nothing to do with race...I just like athletes with well groomed hair...just as I am not a fan of Pau Gasol and that mop he dons...
- 37 runs!!!...my gosh, Ohio State gave up 37 runs to Florida State in their NCAA Tournament game on Sunday...WTF!!!...
- Check out the 1:24 clip of the fight between Evgeni Malkin and Henrick Zetterberg at the end of Game Two of the Stanley Cup Finals...
Saturday's loss to the Orlando Magic was a very bitter pill for the Cleveland Cavaliers to swallow and especially for league MVP LeBron James...when a team is the top seed and expected to make at least the NBA Finals, James has every right to be disappointed, pissed, angry, etc...
But James must also learn how to accept defeat in a better way...when the clock finally hit zero on Saturday, I noticed that James immediately walked off the court without congratulating or acknowledging the Orlando Magic...James played on this year's gold medal winning Olympic team with Orlando's Dwight Howard...even a simple nod to Howard would have been acceptable...
If my memory serves me well, I believe James did the same thing after losing Game 7 to Boston in last year's Conference Semi-finals...he walked off the court without acknowledging the Celtics...
One of the best traditions takes place in the NHL when a series is over...both teams line-up at center ice and shake each others hands...it is one of the most stirring moments in sports...even if the series was brutal with many fights, both teams acknowledge each other when the battle is over... On Saturday, James walked to the tunnel, showered, dressed, and went on the team bus without addressing the media...he was out-of-line with this poor display of sportsmanship and disrespect to the media...
James wants to be the face of the NBA, but with that position, he has to take the good with the bad...a few weeks back, James was more than willing to talk with the media after receiving the league MVP or after he made the winning shot in Game Two...
I could understand James' reaction if the Cavs lost because of a controversial call that cost them the game...but the fact remains, Orlando was the better team than the Cavs in this series and flat-out dominated them in Game Six...
James needs to take a lesson from former Philadelphia Phillies closer Mitch Williams...after giving up a World Series winning homer to Toronto's Joe Carter, Williams stood next to his locker and answered every single question the media had...
I also remember the professionalism of former Los Angeles Laker Magic Johnson...after losing the NBA Finals to the Detroit Pistons then a few years later to the Chicago Bulls, Magic entered the victorious visitors locker room and congratulated his opponents...Magic wanted to win just as bad as anyone else, but when the battle was over, he had the wisdom to do the right thing...
James played hard and fought like a true warrior in this series...he was not to blame for the Cavs demise...he is a good person and an elite player...but he needs to handle defeat a little better...no one likes to lose, but when it does happen, a true professional knows how to handle it...
It's a rematch from last year's Stanley Cup Finals when the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games...the Red Wings are once again favored in the series...if you believe Detroit is going to win the series, you would have to put down $15.50 to win $10.00...if the Penguins are your choice, you can lay down $10.00 to win $12.50...my money is going on the Penguins...
It all starts Saturday night on NBC...so let's get it on...
John Buccigross of ESPN.com goes over 10 factors that will determine this year's winner... "The Penguins' confidence is probably sky-high because they are young and appear to be the healthier team. And the Stanley Cup schedule favors youth and health. Games 1 and 2 are on back-to-back days to appease an American television network that doesn't pay a rights fee." ...
Michael Farber of SI.com writes about the strange schedule for the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals... "The year is 1955. Canadiens fans riot outside the Forum when NHL President Clarence Campbell suspends Maurice Richard. Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white person. The Mickey Mouse Club premiers on ABC-TV. The NHL holds back-to-back games during the Detroit-Montreal Stanley Cup Final." ...
Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press writes how the Red Wings need to thank Darren Helm... "The puck just there? Inches from the goal? An open net? All Darren Helm had to do was swing?" ...
Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press writes how Detroit won without the Capital C... "They didn’t have their C, were running out of A’s and sustained an even further depleted D when Jonathan Ericsson underwent an emergency appendectomy Wednesday after suffering abdominal pains following the Wings’ morning skate." ...
John Branch of The New York Times wrote an interesting article about the Zamboni - the ice resurfacing machine that is seen at ice rinks...the Zamboni is family owned and is located just outside of Los Angeles... "And, in this day, it may be comforting to know that Frank J. Zamboni & Company, still family owned and operated, is not asking for a government bailout." ...
With the Memorial Day weekend over, here are a few thoughts that I had while off from work for a few days:
- Don't count the Cavs out against Orlando...a win tonight in Game 4 evens the series at 2 and gives the Cavs home court advantage once again...
- Even if the Cavs lose and find themselves on the short-end of a 3-1 series mark, I still believe they are capable of winning the series...whenever a team has a player the caliber of LeBron James, there is always a chance to win...
- Game 3 was over-officiated...whenever I see Joey Crawford officiating a game, I know there will be a lot of ticky tack fouls called...
- The Cavalier fans should not complain about fouls...quite often LeBron gets the benefit of the doubt when the whistle blows...that just shows that LeBron is one of the elite players in the game...all the great ones, from Bird to Magic to Michael, got this edge from the officials...
- LeBron's winning shot in Game 2 was reminiscent of something Larry Bird would do...
- The first college football preview books are on the newsstand...Athlon released its conference preview books late last week...
- If you are a fan of Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, Alabama, and other big time powers, check out Maple Street Press and their preview books that are dedicated specifically for each team...each book contains quality writing and a plethora of stories...here is the link Maple Street Press
- It's hard to believe David Ortiz has only 1 homerun through Memorial Day...Big Papi hasn't just taken a dive, he has fallen completely off the table and cannot get up...
- What about the Indians last night...down 10-0, the Tribe pulled a LeBron and scored 7 runs in the bottom of the ninth and won 11-10...
- Did you Pepsi is bringing back, for a limited time, Pepsi-Cola that is made with natural sugar...I thought all that sugar was bad for you???...
Another Memorial Day Observance is upon us...with nice weather happening in the midwest, people are barbecuing and having family gatherings...but the main purpose of Memorial Day is to honor those who have given their life in serving our country...
We will see pictures of President Obama at Arlington National Cemetery...however, very few see photos of American cemeteries abroad in which thousands of Americans are buried...their bodies never came back to American soil...below are just a few snippets of those cemeteries...
God Bless America...
Cambridge, England - 3,812 of our military dead
Meuse-Argonne - 14,246 of our military dead
The American Cemetery at Ardennes, Belgium - 5,329 of our military dead
Ed Zieralski of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes about a fisherman who caught a 361.8 pound yellowfin tuna, but still fell short of breaking the world tuna record... "“Four hundred, 400, 400,” Ashford yelled, leading a crowd chant and holding four fingers aloft for the crowd to see. They chanted with him and cheered as Cates hoisted the yellowfin onto the digital scale. But as happens far too often with these big tuna, the catch didn't come close to expectations. Once up on the scale, it settled at 361.8 pounds, nearly 27 pounds shy of Wiesenhutter's all-tackle record." ... 
