Game 6

October 14, 2003

You’ll read a lot today about fans and foul balls and interference. You’ll read about pressure and performance. You’ll read about curses and goats and black cats. But none of those things are behind the crushing loss the Chicago Cubs suffered last night at the hands of the Florida Marlins.

 

The real reason the Cubs lost is karma–simple, unadulterated, never-over-til-it’s-over karma. The Cubs downfall for 2003 began not with a goat and a curse in 1945 or with a black cat or with a fan interfering with what would have been the second out of the eighth inning. No. It all began with one Bernie Mac and the premature celebration. Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | baseball | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by sportsdiva

Once Upon a Time

August 19, 2003

Once upon a time, there was City of Brothers. The city lived under a great cloud of disappointed hopes and unfulfilled wishes. And the brothers of the city shared a longing–a longing for victory.

Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | baseball | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by sportsdiva

Who are These Guys?

August 17, 2003

Watching the PGA Championship today, a thought struck me. Tiger may be in a slump, but where the heck are all of the other names?

 

With the announcers wondering at the poise of the contenders, I was wondering how poised they’d be if anyone with a recognizable name was within five strokes? Two guys who’ve never won a PGA tournament are battling each other for the PGA Championship. They concentrated on each other. And there was surely no intimidation factor.

 

This made for great golf by the way. Back and forth they went, with nary a charge or runaway attempt in sight. But sadly, it is unlikely to make for great ratings. Tuning in, even I, registered majors junkie, thought, “Ho hum.” But once I started watching, it was riveting. Sadly, someone not quite as addicted as I would likely have ho-hummed right on to the back yard with a Bud.

 

It isn’t like these guys are hackers getting lucky. It wasn’t just errors or slumps by the bigger named guys that put them in position for this mad Sunday afternoon March.

 

When Micheel hit his second shot at 18, he proved beyond doubt he was a deserving champion. His question to the CBS camera guy, “How close is it,” went unanswered. But the answer could have been, “Any closer and you’d already be dancing a jig.”

Leave a Comment » | golf | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by sportsdiva

Bad Breeding

May 26, 2003

One of the little ironies of the hype leading up to the Preakness a couple of weeks ago was trainer D. Wayne Lukas complaining that the Triple Crown was too tough. His main point was that the schedule was too taxing for a young thoroughbred. I wondered if there might be two D. Wayne Lukases, because the D. Wayne Lukas I remember is a trainer with the reputation of overworking his two year olds, leaving them woefully overtaxed to have a full year of success at three.

But there was something else he said a few weeks earlier that took me aback, and it got me thinking about what I see as a major and unaddressed problem of the thoroughbred industry—breeding practices.
Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | thoroughbred racing | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by sportsdiva

Annika Sorenstam

May 24, 2003

Tiger was right (well, and why wouldn’t he be, he was talking about golf). He said Annika should play four or five events to get a true measure of what she could do.

As for the few, the proud, the clueless, including the PGA tour official who said they’d be discussing adding “men only” to the rules of the tour, they need to open their eyes and see how great the PR fallout was from this. I know folks who never watch SPORTS (let alone golf) who were obsessed with how Annika was doing the past two days. And I know that I have new men on the tour to root for, starting with Dean Wilson and Aaron Barber, who showed us all that sportsmanship is still alive and kicking in golf. They also showed us that the PGA tour is not a personality-free zone, something that the PR mavens at the tour need to find a way to exploit. 

I’m glad Annika had the courage to try, thereby providing us all with the opportunity to enjoy the ride.  Isn’t that what being an athlete, or a sports fan, is all about?

Leave a Comment » | golf | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by sportsdiva

Gays in Sports

April 30, 2003

Once again an athlete (in this case Todd Jones of the Colorado Rockies) has decided it’s the thing to do to gay bash. In the context of commenting on “Take Me Out,” a play that deals with a superstar baseball player who announces that he is gay, Jones is quoted in the Denver Post. “I wouldn’t want a gay guy being around me,” Jones said. “It’s got nothing to do with me being scared. That’s the problem: All these people say he’s got all these rights. Yeah, he’s got rights or whatever, but he shouldn’t walk around proud. It’s like he’s rubbing it in our face. ‘See me, hear me roar.’ We’re not trying to be close-minded, but then again, why be confrontational when you don’t really have to be?” He later apologized, saying at a Rockies press conference. “I think my only mistake was that I made my views public.” (Huh?)  Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | baseball, basketball, football, hockey | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by sportsdiva

A 24 Karat Charm

April 27, 2003

I have a charm bracelet of sports memories. Each charm is an unforgettable moment I’ve witnessed first hand. There are silver charms–trips to different ballparks and arenas, near no-hitters, milestone hits, regular season games that lasted long into the morning (one of which ended with an inside the park home run long after last call). But the gold charms, they are the supposedly once-in-a-lifetime moments–a cycle, a triple play, a nearly perfect no-hitter.

All of these are on my bracelet. Each is a gift. And today, I added a 24k charm. Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | baseball, sports | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by sportsdiva

Freedom of Speech

April 13, 2003

The other day, after hearing that the Baseball Hall of Fame had cancelled the anniversary celebration for Bull Durham, a movie about baseball and hyperhormonal humans of both genders, I wrote the following email to Hall President Dale Petroskey. Mr. Petroskey had determined that Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, two of the films stars who planned to attend the celebration, had, by their vocal opposition to war in Iraq, endangered the troops. He decided that the Hall couldn’t risk the possibility that Sarandon and Robbins might use the weekend to speak out.“I am appalled at your knee jerk cancellation of the Bull Durham celebration. Although I do not always agree with the opinions of those who live very public lives, I am always offended when those in positions of economic or political power attempt to bully them into silence. Your use of the Hall of Fame as an instrument of your own political beliefs is completely unacceptable and smells, no STINKS of the bitter odor of McCarthyism. You should be ashamed Mr. Petroskey. And the Hall of Fame should have the courage to act immediately to remove you from an office in which you apparently cannot serve without using it as a platform for your own personal political agenda. Lifelong baseball fan and proud aunt of an airman serving in the Iraq TOO “ 

2 Comments | baseball | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by sportsdiva

A Charmed Day

March 27, 2003

I have a charm bracelet of sports memories. Each charm is an unforgettable moment I’ve witnessed first hand. There are silver charms–trips to different ballparks and arenas, near no-hitters, milestone hits, regular season games that lasted long into the morning (one of which ended with an inside the park home run long after last call). But the gold charms, they are the supposedly once-in-a-lifetime moments–a cycle, a triple play, a nearly perfect no-hitter.

All of these are on my bracelet. Each is a gift. And today, I added a 24k charm.

Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | baseball | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by sportsdiva

For Me in 2003

December 31, 2002

If the world were organized for my happiness, these things will happen in 2003. Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | baseball, basketball, football, hockey, sports on television | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by sportsdiva

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »