This is one of those sports days that just makes me laugh. You've got Red Sox-Yankees, with first place in the AL East on the line, Game 4 of the NBA Finals between Miami and Dallas, plus lots of newsmakers, including Tiger Woods, Isiah Thomas, Aaron Rome and Terrelle Pryor.
There were also high school softball regional games, but that's part of my duties as a local sports reporter, and not amusing in the slightest bit. Even if the team I was covering, Adirondack, had won the game, I wouldn't have described it as amusing. Maybe thrilling, but not amusing. Unfortunately the Wildcats lost their first and only game we've shot all year. D'oh! Luckily, Hamilton won their game down in Binghamton, though we weren't there to see it.
One exciting piece of news from the WKTV front: I received my "credential acceptance" letter from the Baseball Hall of Fame for next weekend's Hall of Fame Classic. It's like getting a college acceptance letter, except you know before you open it what the answer's going to be. (Although when I applied to Ithaca early decision they actually called to congratulate me on being accepted long before the letter showed up. So I guess the credential thing really is just like a college acceptance letter, at least for me.)
By the way, this Sunday is the big Boxing Hall of Fame induction in Canastota, with Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez and Sylvester Stallone among another big class. Should be a media frenzy there, which would be the opposite of last year, when Howard Cosell's grandson was the highlight of the day. A lot of random boxing folks show up for the weekend and last year the good folks at the hall set me up with an interview with Tommy Morrison, aka Tommy Gunn from Rocky V. I'd be interested to see him back this year, maybe nose to nose with Stallone. Is Burt Young still alive? Maybe ol' Paulie can stand in between them.
By the way, I feel horrible for the family and friends of Oneida County Sheriff Deputy Kurt Wyman, who was killed in the line of duty Monday night. Our station is covering all aspects of this tragedy, though I'd like to know some more about this nut job who shot him and what caused him to do it. There's not enough how's and why's in this world, too many who's, what's and where's.
Anyway, back to the matters at hand. The Red Sox scored three runs in the first inning against the Yankees and John Stirling and Susyn Waldman were ready to concede the game already. (I turned the game on in my final few minutes coming back from the aforementioned high school softball game.) They sounded just like my cousin Robert, the Yankee fan, during the 2003 ALCS. (3-0 in the second inning, Robert: I concede, I concede! Me: Robert, it's only the second inning!) Then they got really pissed when Lester hit Teixiera on the knee. It's only the first inning and the Boston bats got him a three run lead. You really think Lester wants baserunners? Anyway, despite the best efforts of Johnny Crapelbon, the Sox held on for the 6-4 lead. Now we have a tie again for first. (By the way, the AL East is still the closest in all of baseball. Tampa is 2.5 out, Toronto 3.5 out and Baltimore 5.5. Long way to go still.) Apparently Joe Girardi is mad at Big Papi for flipping his bat after a home run. I think he was still peeved that his first baseman went down and that meant Jorge "they don't respect me" Posada had to play first the rest of the game. Seemed to work out okay for the Bombers though, because Jorgie went 3-for-3 with a ribbie and a run scored. (By the way, Paps was only playing because he's appealing a three game suspension from his meltdown last weekend. He may be the second youngest to reach 200 saves, second only to Eck, but I have doubts on whether he can get 200 more, or even 100. Hope I'm wrong.) It seems weird, the Sox and Yanks playing mid-week, but it's cool, the Boston nine are now 6-1 vs. NY this year.
Game 4 of the NBA Finals, I didn't watch, but saw the result. Hahahahahaha, oh sorry I just saw Baby Bron Bron's stat line for the night. 8 points, EIGHT?? Wow, that's just hilarious. Bosh and Wade both had good nights, though Bosh, like Lebron, had a poor shooting night. James did have nine rebounds and seven assists, so in reality he had a decent game. But other than that (can we call them something else other than the "Big 3?" I mean seriously, I like ESPN's nickname for KG, Allen & Pierce, "The Boston Three Party." Though it's actually a Four Party now with Rondo. Can't we come up with something for these overrated, egotistical d-bags?), the Heat had nothing, while Dallas had several guys step up, especially Shawn Marion, although ironically, Miami shot much better as team than the Mavs. Jason Terry made some big contributions, though he had an awful stat line from the field, 6-15. Dirk Nowitzki had 21 points and 11 rebounds, but I guess he was battling a fever and wasn't great until the fourth quarter. Guess the Heatles blew it again in the fourth and Dirk hit a big shot with 14 seconds left. I like the idea that Dallas could actually win this series, not just because I'm a die hard Celtics fan and want the Heat to lose, but because it would be great for the overseas market, which I know David Stern loves. I just thought he and the rest of the NBA Powers That Be wanted Bron Bron to win a title more. This one really could go either way, because Miami just doesn't want to play in the fourth quarter. You give a team like the Mavs an opening, they're going to take it. It really could be 3-1 Dallas, but the Heat were lucky that Dirk missed his chance in Game 3.
Speaking of finals, Vancouver's Aaron Rome's been suspended for the rest of the Stanley Cup Finals after his head shot on the Bruins' Nathan Horton. Too little, too late, though, because Rome's not the impact player that Horton is. The NHL had a chance to send a message by suspending that punk Alex Burrows for his rendition of "Tree Bites Man," but instead the Canucks not only got away with it, but Burrows ended up being the hero of Game 2. Everyone who thinks the Bruins are back in the series because they scored eight goals at home in Game 3 need to think again. The refs will be clamping down on everything in Game 4, which means lots of penalty mintues and that doesn't favor the B's. I'm thinking 5-2 Vancouver, with the series ending in five back in Canada.
So Tiger Woods is officially out of the U.S. Open, which is bad news in two big ways. First, it means lower ratings for our coverage of the Open next weekend, but it's also likely that Tiger will be pulling out of the Notay Begay III Foundation Challenge at the Turning Stone on July 5th. Can you imagine the media coverage if it ends up being the first event back or maybe even a test for him? It would get so crazy up here, I can't even imagine.
I guess the Pistons are thinking about hiring either Isiah Thomas or Bill Laimbeer as their next coach. Wow, is that story real? Actually, Laimbeer might not be a bad choice. He's actually had some success, albeit in the WNBA, but still, maybe a smart move on Detroit's part, though I still hate his guts. But seriously, Isiah? What is it about this guy that keeps landing him jobs? He's terrible at everything having to do with basketball except playing the game, and as a Celtics fan, I would argue that he was overrated there. Hey, I don't like the Pistons, so more power to you, morons. Go and hire Isiah, see how many players you overpay and oh the games you will lose...
Finally, let's talk about Terrelle Pryor. I remember when I worked in West Virginia and Rich Rod was trying to get him to go there and then when RR left WVU for Michigan, Pryor decided to go to the Wolverines' biggest rival, Ohio State. Nothing amuses me more than major Division I College Football. It's so obvious how corrupt it is, yet no one either wants or can do anything about it. That's why I watch the games, enjoy the players, matchups and rivalries, but never really take a full rooting interest. And I certainly don't worry about how many games a team has won, or whether they'll make a bowl game, unless of course, I'm covering said team, in which case, that's part of the package. But Division I-A, sorry the FBS, is dirty, there's no getting around it. That's why it's so funny to me when I see how shocked people are when a scandal erupts at one of these big schools. If the NCAA really wants to send a message and make sure no one does it again, you give "The" Ohio State University the Death Penalty. The same one given to SMU back in the 80s. But it will never happen, because there's too much money at stake. Ohio State is in the Big 10, which has a cable network that brings in a ton of moolah. Pryor has been banished from being a Buckeye, doing exactly what he said he wouldn't do, mainly because he's being forced into it, and worse, he can't go into the NFL Draft, because that's already happened and they're still locked out anyway. But I'm not crying for him, because he knew exactly what he was doing, he made his bed, yada yada yada. He's not the first to cheat, he's just the latest, biggest name to get caught. And unfortunately he won't be the last.
Hmm, I really don't want to end this on a downer, so how about a movie quote: "El Guapo, here come the guns!" -Three Amigos
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