#500

I try not to jump into the whole Yankees/Knicks/Giants thing on this because I know most all of you don't root for those teams.

But, I had to take this time to congratulate Mariano Rivera for save #500. The milestone came on the same day that Rivera also recorded his first RBI, drawing an hilarious bases loaded walk from Francisco Rodriguez.

Few things in sports are absolute truths: Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player ever, Wayne Gretzky is the greatest hockey player ever, the "Miracle on Ice" is the greatest moment in American sports history, RBI baseball for Nintendo is the greatest sports video game ever created, etc. However, you can add Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer in baseball history to that list.

Side note: is there anyone out there that still would argue that Trevor Hoffman is a better closer?

At first glance the regular season numbers are comprable:
Rivera: 2.30 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 973 K in 881 games
Hoffman: 2.76 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 1074 K in 953 games

But in the big situations, is there any question who you would take?
Rivera postseason: 8-1, 0.77 ERA, 34 SV, 0.75 WHIP
Hoffman postseason: 1-2, 3.46 ERA, 4 SV, 1.23 WHIP

Arguing that Trevor Hoffman is better with a straight-face is like arguing Dominique Wilkins was a better player than Jordan.

My tribute to Michaeel Jackson

If you listened to Friday's show, you know that we decided to put Michael Jackson songs in all of the imaging (that's fancy radio talk for opens, rejoins, and outbeds). Many rock or Top 40 stations have followed suit, paying their own tributesd to the King of Pop.

But I haven't heard a single person mention one of Jackson's greatest contributions to the world:
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Michael Jackson's Moonwalker for Sega Genesis...


I rented this game once from Video World after playing the arcade version at FYE at the Trumbull Mall when I was about 12. The plot pretty much made zero sense. In an ironic twist, the object of the game is actually for Michael Jackson to save kidnapped children instead of... well, you know. Jackson attacks his foes via "magical" powers - including killing them through his sick dance moves - instead of actual physical force. Considering it wasn't likely that Jackson could ever beat another human being up, at least the game's producers made it semi-realistic.

Michael Jackson's Moonwalker may have earned the distinction of being one of the worst ideas for a video game ever, but it's also one of the best really, really bad games ever (alongside NBA All-Star Challenge, Bill Laimbeer's Combat Basketball, and the arcade version of Double Dribble).

All signs point to Hansbrough

We're a little over an hour away from Draft night, and I just got done giving my take of Tyler Hansbrough on the show. Even though I think he will never be an NBA-caliber starter, I would be pretty surprised if the Pacers didn't use their 13th overall selection on him if he was available. Here are the reasons why:
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1) Hansbrough was an extremely productive college player that stayed all four years at North Carolina. Larry Bird said he prefered 3-4 year college players over one-and-done or unproven European prospects.

2) Hansbrough fits in with the Pacers' new philosophy of bringing in high-character players. As far as I know, the kid has never even had a parking ticket.

3) He's a 6'8 (ish) power forward that can come in and immediately add depth to the frontcourt. With only Murphy (who isn't a banger), Hibbert (foul trouble), Foster (injury concerns), and McRoberts (12th man) on the depth chart, that is an area of need.

4) Bird raved about him at his press conference.

The only stipulation I'll put in there is that if Gerald Henderson is available, I think he's the pick. Henderson played with Bird on some of the really strong Celtics' teams of the 1980s. That being said, I doubt Henderson is available because he's been projected as high as #8 to the Knicks.

USA Soccer Bites Back

Dempsey's goal in the 74th minute clinched an unlikely American victory

After getting absolutely dragged through the mud following back-to-back one-sided losses to Italy (3-1) and Brazil (3-0), Team USA came through with one of the most improbable upsets in American Soccer history. The Americans stunned top-ranked Spain with a 2-0 with in the FIFA Confederations Cup Semifinals yesterday.

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Where do I even start? The win was only Team USA's second over a World #1 - the other coming 49 years ago against England in the 1950 World Cup. The victory also snapped Spain's 35-game unbeaten streak, which was the longest unbeaten streak in international soccer history. Sunday will be the first time ever that the Americans will participate in a FIFA Championship game of any kind.

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Team USA still has a long way to go, but the magnitude of this win cannot be understated.

Como se dice "UPSET"?

Can I (Side)kick it?

With today's somber passing of Ed McMahon, the ultimate sidekick, I was thinking about great sidekicks in Indiana sports.

Here is the list that I came up with:

Colts - Robert Mathis (to Dwight Freeney), Reggie Wayne (to Marvin Harrison, earlier in his career)

Pacers - Rik Smits (to Reggie Miller), Stephen Jackson (to Jamaal Tinsley), Marijuana (to David Harrison)

Indiana - Greg Graham (to Calbert Cheaney), Landon Turner (to Isiah Thomas), Tom Van Arsdale (to Dick Van Arsdale), Dick Van Arsdale (to Tom Van Arsdale)

Purdue - Cuonzo Martin (to Glenn Robinson), Billy Keller (to Rick Mount), Mustaches (to Purdue football coaching staff)

Others that were discussed on the show: Lyndon Jones (to Jay Edwards), Scottie Pippen (to Michael Jordan), Kobe Bryant (to Shaquille O'Neal), Jim Kiick (to Larry Csonka), Metal chair (to Bob Knight), John Taylor (to Jerry Rice), Roger Maris (to Mickey Mantle), Paul Bearer (to The Undertaker), Willie McCovey (to Willie Mays), Paul Shaffer (to David Letterman), Cocaine (to Doc Gooden).

Phil Phalls Phlat

(How annoying is that headline?)

Once it became apparent that Tiger Woods wasn't going to suddenly kick it into fifth-gear and make a play at defending his U.S. Open Championships, I was pulling for Phil Mickelson to get back into it.

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In the past few weeks, Lefty has had to go through a lot, including his wife's cancer diagnosis.

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So you'll have to pardon me if I was jumping up and down following an eagle putt on 13 that gave Mickelson a share of the lead in Monday's Final Round. Unfortunately for Phil, that was the highlight of the Tournament. He bogeyed 15 and then ruined whatever slim chance he had late by pushing a five-foot par putt on 17.

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I was just like these guys, except for the flannel shorts

Instead of an epic finish between Mickelson and Lucas Glover (and almost David freakin' Duval), we were treated to an anti-climatic clinching three-foot putt from Glover. Kudos to Glover for holding on for dear life while others like Ricky Barnes, who shot a six-over 76, crumbled around him.

Since 2007, 8 of the 10 Major championships have been won by Zach Johnson (Masters '07), Trevor Immelman (Masters '08), Padraig Harrington (British '07, '08, PGA '08), Angel Cabrera (U.S. Open '07, Masters '09), and Lucas Glover (U.S. Open '09).

People complaining about Tiger and Phil not winning should have gotten used to it by now. Sure those two are always going to be in contention, but just because they don't win doesn't mean that that particular Tournament was boring (or "OMG totally sucked!!" as one anonymous Facebook friend actually put it). Outside of the weather issues, I thought both the Masters and U.S. Open this year were exciting, especially on the back-nine of each Final Round.

It was the actual finish that wasn't up to par.

The Sum of All Fears...

...a Joe Buck talk show?

Surely, you must be joking (no, and don't call me Shirley).

The unmitigated disaster known as Joe Buck Live debuted the other night and drew less than stellar reviews from just about everybody. Even though I'm not a Joe Buck fan, I have to put most of the blame on whoever at HBO thought that something like this was actually a good idea. I mean, seriously?

To refresh you on my stance on Joe Buck, I don't believe that he is actually human. I think Joe is an announcer cyborg that was produced by FOX (similar to the robots that you see bouncing around during commercial breaks). Here's how it works: there is a producer on-site that actually types in what is happening during a game, that text is relayed to the broadcast booth, then is computed and verbalized by Buck. As an example, I give you perhaps the greatest play in Super Bowl history and Buck's robotic call:



"It is (pause) caught (pause) by Tyree."

Tell me that play wasn't called by a robot. I'm not asking Buck to start screaming in the booth, but his tone on that call is completely lifeless. It is without question the worst call of a memorable play in the history of organized sports.

So how does a guy cyborg as uncharismatic as Buck get his own talk show? Aren't talk show hosts supposed to be interesting, and engaging people with great personalities? Luckily for me (and planet earth) Artie Lange came along and essentially sabotaged the whole thing.

I usually don't like Artie, but I have to extend my deepest thanks to him. I only wish that he made Buck cry (he came close), because it is common knowledge that liquid causes robots to short-circuit.

Thank you Artie. Thank you for saving us from a Joe Buck variety show.

Whoops!

Nelson's brain-freeze may have cost the Magic a title shot

I spent most of the early hours of Friday morning trying to think of a bigger choke in NBA Finals history. Unfortunately for the Orlando Magic, I failed to come up with one.

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Orlando epically choked whatever realistic chance they had at winning an NBA Championship by losing Game 4 to the Lakers. As with most chokes, there's plenty of blame to go around.

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I've just recently come around on the foul-if-you're-up-three philosophy but apparently Stan Van Gundy hasn't. Even after Dwight Howard did his best Dale Davis impression and missed two critical free throws with 11 seconds left, the Magic were still in position to win the game. That was especially the case once Phil Jackson decided to imbound the ball from the Lakers' own backcourt. The game plan at htat point was simple: wait til the Lakers burn a few more seconds crossing midcourt, then foul immediately.

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Instead, Stan Van Gundy instructed his players not to foul no matter what. Now to defend Van Gundy in all this, he told his players not to foul - he didn't tell them NOT TO GUARD. Jameer Nelson compounded the problem by giving Derek Fisher (who has hit about 682 clutch three-pointers in his career) a healthy cushion, and allowed Fish to step into a game-tying three. Even though the three-pointer only tied the score, the game was over right then.

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It's inexcusable for a professional basketball player to be that clueless about a crucial late-game situation like that. There are 13-year old AAU players that would've known to not allow their man to step into an uncontested three-pointer. Van Gundy gets some flak for choosing not to foul, Howard also deserves some blame for a terrible game (6-14, FT, 7 TO), but it's Nelson's colossal brain fart that cost Orlando the game (and series).

Jimmy Fallon = Not Funny

Zack Morris = Funny.

Fever, like Racers, could be History

Every once in awhile, the timing of things throws you for a loop.

That was exactly the case last week when I received a copy of "Gretzky, Indy & the WHA" on DVD. The film was made by director (and former Indianapolis Racers superfan) Timothy Gassen and included an hour-long historical perspective of the Racers' impact on the city which aired at the IMAX downtown over the weekend.

In 1976, a sold-out Market Square Arena celebrated the Racers' Eastern Division Championship. A year later, fans went crazy as the underdog Racers' swept the heavily-favored and hated rival Cincinnati Stingers in the quarterfinals of the WHA Playoffs. In 1978, a 17-year old Wayne Gretzky skated for the first time as a professional hockey player as an Indianapolis Racer. Fellow all-time great Mark Messier did the same just a few weeks later. The team folded a month after selling Gretzky to the Edmonton Oilers, and releasing Messier, who eventually caught on with the Oilers after the NHL Entry Draft included the disbanded WHA team's players.

Gretzky scored his first professional goal in Indianapolis

In just four-plus seasons, the Racers captivated Indianapolis, and for a very short time turned the city into somewhat of a Hockey Town (just think about that for a second: Hockey a success in Indianapolis. Sounds crazy right?)

30 years later, the team is largely an afterthought. Many of the fond memories of the never-say-die Racers have been lost in the sands of time. A select few fans (like Gassen) are able to keep the team alive through these memorandums, but a two-disc DVD, some old game programs, and some vintage Wayne Gretzky jerseys on eBay are all that remain of the Indianapolis Racers franchise.

So, why was I so thrown off by the timing of my Racers' history lesson? It just happened to come on the same weekend as the season opener from another franchise that is on the brink of extinction - the Indiana Fever.

Saturday night was the ten-year anniversary of the date when Indianapolis was awarded the Fever franchise. A few months from now, the team could be gone for good.

Team owner Herb Simon has stated publicly that the team will fold if they are not succesful in the box office and on the basketball floor. A lot of that is due to the recent struggles of the Indiana Pacers, who have been hemmoragging money due to sagging attendance, and have been forced to as the Capital Improvement Board for a Conseco Fieldhouse bailout.

Obviously, the Fever haven't had the impact on this city that the Racers once did. They've been solid over the past few seasons, but never a serious Championship contender. That being said, losing any major sports franchise (even WNBA ones) always hurts.

I don't expect the Simons to continue a franchise that is a money pit, but does anyone else find it the least bit ironic that the Pacers paid Jamaal Tinsley ($6.75 million) 8 1/2 times the entire Fever payroll ($800,000) last season to not play? Such is life in today's WNBA. The only reason that the league still exists is because of the financial support from the NBA.

Times are tough for the WNBA. The flagship franchise and four-time WNBA Champion Houston Comets have folded. So have seven other teams since 2002. If MLB, NBA, and NHL teams are not immune to the current economic situation, how can some of the less-popular and less-valuable WNBA franchises survive?

I hope Tamika Catchings can stay healthy. I hope Katie Douglas can be the star player for her hometown team. I hope Tully Bevilaqua, Yolanda Griffith, and Tammy Sutton-Brown can gel with Catchings and Douglas to win a WNBA Championship - a title could be the franchise's only saving grace.

Most of all, I hope I don't get my Indiana Fever DVD in the mail in 2039.