WWNT? Happy birthday basketball!

What Would Naismith Think? Today is the birthday of basketball. Dr. James Naismith put up the peach baskets on this day 117 years ago. A soccer ball was actually used at the time which is ironic because professional soccer wishes it had the popularity of basketball in the United States. I wonder what the Canadian clergyman think of the economics, athleticism, and "Madness" the game has eveolved into? I would like to thank him for this great game and hope at least one college or pro team wins with a point total of 117 tonight!

A "fine" day for a league office

It is not often in professional sports that league offices right a wrong. Usually after a referee makes a bad call that costs a team a game there is a hollow apology made the next day, but the result still stands. Kudos to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for rescinding the $7,500 fine that league officials had given to Justin Tuck of the New York Giants. Tuck made a textbook football play that any Pop Warner or Junior Football League coach would be proud of. He came up the middle and hit Cowboys quarterback Brooks Bollinger square on but was wrongly fined in the name of overprotecting the quarteback position. The game is still football-a contact sport. I give credit to the NFL and the commissioner for due process and admitting they made a mistake and checking their ego at the door. Common sense prevailed. Maybe Bud Selig and David Stern can take lessons and apply it in their sports.

Singletary confinement

The stare. Mike Singletary had it and every football player, fan and coach knew it. He was by himself a Monster of the Midway as linebacker for the Chicago Bears. You did not want to mess with him then, and as he proved in his coaching debut Sunday, his own players do not want to mess with him now. In the day and age when over paid professional players think they can do whatever they want, Coach Singletary sent Vernon Davis and the rest of the 49ers a message. It is about team. Singletary sent Davis to the locker room for an early shower after he was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct in the 4th quarter. I have an immense amount of respect for a coach who would do this at all, especially in their first game. Principles and respect for the game are not held in as high reagrd as they should be, but Singletary is a true football player. He loves the game, and more importantly respects the game. Yes, he awkwardly participated in the Super Bowl Shuffle with the rest of the 1985 Bears, but that was off the field and more importantly was dome with the TEAM, it was not a solo effort (and thank goodness because he could have given American Idol reject William Hung a run for his money). I do not get a vote, but even though Jeff Fisher has the Tennessee Titans at 6 and 0 on the season, I would already give coach of the year honors to Singletary. Keep up the good work coach!

War Chicken?

I just read an interesting little nugget of sports info that makes one well known football program a joke. Auburn likes to use the War eagle cry and yet, I think it should be War Chicken. Now before you think that I am railing on Auburn just because I married a woman of the Roll Tide persuasion this is what I just read on espn.com. Tonight's Auburn loss at West Virginia was their first non conference road game since 2003. What? I want to know if there is any other team in the country that can "boast" something that pathetic. Even David Letterman leaves his home more than that! What a joke. I think this makes Auburn's recent success a fraud. Yes, the SEC is a brutal conference to play in, but this reeks of arrogance and fear. You may not have to win non conference road games to be legit, but you certainly have to play them. Shame on you Auburn that it took this long, and I bet after your second half no show tonight if you have any more non conference road games scheduled in the next five years the athletic director is on the phone first thing in the morning trying to beg off. War Chicken indeed.

Twenty Eight Years ago...

It was October 1980. I had been five years old for all of two months, and have no idea what the letter of the week was in Mrs. Hudson's afternoon kindergarten class. History classes later told me there was an election that year. Some guy who liked jelly beans beat a peanut farmer I believe. The only thing I recall about the election is that I voted for some guy named John Anderson in the Weekly Reader magazine poll at school.

What I do remember is my dad waking me up to see Tug McGraw on the mound for the Philadelphia Phillies in the bottom of the ninth to clinch the World Series over Kansas City. It is my first memory of watching a sporting event on TV. The Tigers have always been my team, but if I did pull for a national league team in my childhood it was certainly the Phillies. Born in Pennsylvania, and visiting my grandparents there each summer I fell in love with the unmistakable voice of announcer Harry Kalas on the television broadcasts, and we mangaed to catch one game a year at the old Veterans Stadium. The Philly Fanatic was the BEST baseball mascot by far (although the then San Diego Chicken's weekly appearances on The Baseball Bunch gave him a run for his money) and in my book there was no cooler player than "Michael Jack Schmidt" at third base. So even though I don't have strong attachments to these Phillies or the Tampa Bay Rays, I guess it was somewhere deep in my inner child that an "atta baby" came out of my mouth when Chase Utley hit his first inning home run to give the Phils the early lead in game one. It is fun to think that somewhere in the country within the next week the parent of some five year old sports fan will wake up their son or daughter somewhere to see the final out of the fall classic and create a memory that they may blog about twenty eight years later.

Tuesday night football

I love college football. The tailgates, the marching bands, the mascots, not to mention random games on weeknights. Tuesday night football is a great idea for lesser known schools looking to get a little national exposure. In fact some of the most intriguing and exciting things happen in these games. Last night was such an occasion. Flipping channels in a motel on a road trip to see family, I stopped on ESPN2 with :53 seconds left in the Florida Atlantic/Middle Tennessee State game. The outcome was in doubt so I stayed with it until the end. Questionable clock management looked like it would cost MTSU the victory, but a "Hail Ma" pass (I think it needs to be over 50 yards to be a full Hail Mary) from Blue Raider quarterback Joe Craddock was caught in heavy traffic by receiver Malcolm Beyah with no time left on the clock, and an extra point later, it was a Tuesday night party in Murfreesboro! These teams have no chance to play in a BCS bowl, but under the bright lights of Tuesday night football it was not only watchable, but enjoyable!

Goose versus Gibby

Goose Gossage or Kirk Gibson? Which of these two baseball players do you remember more? One is now a hall of famer, the other NEVER even suited up for an all-star game. One hit the most dramatic game one home run in World Series history-on practically one leg. The other gave up a World Series clinching home run four years earlier, to the guy you might have clearer memories of. The Hall of Fame is a strange benchmark indeed. Yes, Kirk Gibson who famously homered as a pinch hitter for the LA Dodgers off of Oakland's Dennis Eckersley in the opening game of the 1988 World Series, hit a championship clinching home run against Goose Gossage (Padres) for the Detroit Tigers in game five of the 1984 fall classic. It is strange to think that Gossage-whose ego would not let him walk Gibson in 1984-is now in the Hall and Gibby is not. Gibson never even played in an all star game. In all fairness he was asked in 1985 and 1988, but he let word be known he wanted the days off at the break to rest up. Gossage was a great player in his own right, and I know baseball is about numbers, but isn't it also about moments? Kirk Gibson was responsible for some truly memorable moments in baseball history, (even if announcer Jack Buck didn't believe what he had just seen in '88) and I think if Goose is in, Gibby should be too. Too bad I don't have a vote, but ask yourself which of these two players sticks out more in your mind? I have a feeling it's the one on the outside of Cooperstown looking in.

Minor...no make it beyond bush league

I enjoy minor league baseball. In fact my wife and I are season ticket holders for the local team this summer and have enjoyed the games. I have lost track of every minor league stadium I've visited, but I'll try to list the ones I recall here: Lansing (Lugnuts), West Michigan (Whitecaps), Burlington (Bees), Peoria (Chiefs) Quad City (River Bandits), Tulsa (Drillers), Lake Elsinore (Storm), Indianapolis (Indians), Richmond (Braves), Louisville (Bats), Asheville (Tourisits), Charlotte (Knights), and the Jacksonville (Suns). There is a lot to enjoy from very resonable ticket prices, silly entertainment in between innings (The Zooperstars are my all time favorite in this genre and they made it past the first round of America's Got Talent this season), creative promotions, and Lansing's hot dog cannon that shoots actual hot dogs into the stands. Last night in Dayton, Ohio, however a heinous act violated people in the stands. Julio Castillo a pitcher for Peoria (who was in the midst of a melee involving mangers, umpires, and players from both teams) fired a baseball-yes an actual weapon in this case-as hard as he could toward the Dayton dugout, intending harm. Now I do not know what this guy's ERA is, but it should be frozen in time and he should never again have the professional opportunity to improve upon it. Castillo missed the dugout all together, and instead the ball struck an innocent fan! Yes, there is danger in sitting right above the dugout without the secure protection of netting like tthey have behind home plates, but this is not in any way shape or form one of the assumed risks for fans. Thankfully the fan has been treated and released, and Castillo is lucky the fan is still alive. Castillo has been jailed and bond posted at 50 thousand dollars. He faces up to eight years maximum penalty, and while I believe in second chances, there is no excuse for this act. I hope the Cubs organization will do the right thing. He should be released for sure, but not from jail-only from the privilege of being a professional baseball player. Actions have consequences, and whileI am a big believer in grace, this behavior is inexcusable under any circumstance. End of career.

H-O-R-S-E

I have played the basketball game HORSE a few times this week with some friends and it has been very enjoyable. It made me wonder about the origin of that game and I honestly do not know the answer and have not taken the time yet to look it up, but I will. The best commercials around the game horse were certainly the classic McDonald's ads featuring Larry Bird and Michael Jordan making shots from every impossible and unrealistic spot. Horse unleashes the imagination if you let it. I've punched a basketball with my fist, shot it over the backborad, sat down in the lane criss cross applesauce style, and even headed a shot in to try and trip up my opponents. I won some and lost some, but I played the game again and that's what matters most.

Inspiring people in sports!

Sports give a unique window into the human condition. The view can be as beautiful as a west coast sunset, and at times uglier than a frothing warthog. This year three incredible stories have inspired me and made me proud to be a sports enthusiast!

1) Central Washington softball players Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace carrying Western Oregon opponent Sara Tucholsky around the bases goes beyond polite sportsmanship and teaches us all the spirit in which the game of life should be played by all of us.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/columns/story?columnist=hays_graham&id=3372631

2) Ron Hunter, head mens basketball coach at IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis- or "ooey pooey" for short!) and his efforts to send shoes to countries in need through Samaritan's Feet. A planned trip to Nigeria ended sidetracked by the state department, but they will deliver shoes to Peru after he coached a game barefoot to rais awareness.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3500924

3) Austin Gutwein, an average basketball player, but one whose simple idea of shooting free throws has impacted the lives of orphans in Africa. Check out the link to learn more!
check out www.hoopsofhope.org

Preseason polls = garbage

The end of July is upon us, and that means the magazine racks are filled with preseason football publications. I have no problem with predictions being made, we all like to do it and I will include some on this blog, but I need to declare my clear disdain for the preseason poll. There is no reason whatsoever that a pecking order for the national championship should be determined until at least the first week of October. Please don't tell me that Florida State is going to be a top 5 team just because Bobby Bowden is their coach. I am tired of tradition, mascots, uniforms, stadium capacity, and perception dictating who gets the inside lanes in the race. How can you rank teams when they have not even played a game? Shouldn't we see how Ohio State and Southern California stack up against one another on the field before assigning them numbers in front of their name? How on earth can one undefeated team beat another the first week of the season and still be ranked below the team they beat two days later? The system is absurd. Let's bring a little bit of intelligence to the polls and not let a team "earn" a higher ranking by loading up on the entire Little Debbie cake aisle of opponents. It is less bothersome in basketball, because the polls really have little bearing on the seeding of the NCAA tournament, but the idea that a blue ribbon would be awarded at the church potluck to the store bought fried chicken before anyone samples the homemade brownies is nothing short of insanity.

All by himself

There will be plenty written today and tomorrow about Padraig Harrington's second consecutive Open Championship victory and about the great week of Greg Norman. They deserve the ink, but I wondered about who teed off first today at Royal Birkdale. Lam Chih-bing must have felt like the invisible man. Chih-bing shot 11 over par today in the final round of the tournament, but in doing so became the first man from Singapore to finish all four rounds of that particular tournament. He had what I consider to be the most glorious of tee times on any golf course. First off in the morning, all by himself. Now don't get me wrong, I am a night owl and I hate the alarm clock going off any time before 7:45am, but I love having the very first tee time of the day. Anywhere. The crisp morning air, the sun just creeping up on the eastern horizon and the crystal drops of dew glistening on the grass. Nobody in front of you, you can play at the pace you want to play without fear of holding of the group behind you. You can hit the shots you need to hit, without worrying about how much of your day you have spent waiting on people who wouldn't know where in the dictionary to find the word etiquette, much less exercise it. I have played some of my best golf when teeing off first in the morning, it is complete escape and total freedom. I have played 18 holes in just over two hours with a friend, and that is rare anywhere. I have even been first off in the morning with only God and the course as my scorecard witnesses. What must that be like to play all by yourself in a major championship? I'm sure there were at least a few people outside the ropes, who might have given Lam the polite applause when nobody else seemed to be watching. I'm sure he played the fastest round of the week with nobody but his caddie and tour officials paying much attention. Perhaps it wasn't his best golf, but I would have loved to have that tee time, at Birkdale or anywhere. Congrats Lam on your accomplishment, and remember no matter how frustrated you may have been by shooting 83-81 on the weekend, Vijay would have loved to still been playing! I hope you enjoyed the walk, it's the best of (tee) times in my book!

Ranting on rules

Open Championship (that is the real name of the tournament, but our American bias insists on calling it "British") Saturday was compelling today for lots of reasons. The wind, the scores, the rough, and most of all the continued solid play of Greg Norman. Marriage has done wonders for him, and if he pulls this off tomorrow, perhaps in addition to it being his third major, they should credit his wife Chris Evert with her nineteenth grand slam. The lack of birdies and eagles however, caused something else to have me nervously on the edge of my La-Z-Boy, the rules around putting. Golf is a game I am passionate about. It was a gift given to me by my maternal grandfather, and there are so many things I love about it. I understand the honor system of the game and respect it, but I'm sorry if the wind causes a ball to move-regardless of whether or not you have grounded your club-a player should NOT be penalized. It did not hurt any player today, but it easily could have. If a player puts his putter on the ground behind the ball, but does not touch the ball, then walks away because the wind is blowing them around like a plastic grocery bag, and the ball moves when they are nowhere near it, they are still "deemed" to have caused the ball to move. Ridiculous. If the putter actually touches the ball that's one thing, but I would hate to see a major decided on such a technicality.

Then there is the disqualification of Michelle Wie that came down today at the LPGA event. Apparently Wie failed to sign her scorecard yesterday. I understand that signing your card is a rule. However, why in the world was she allowed to play the third round today, and why was this not caught yesterday??? Shame on the officials of the State Farm tournament. It would have been heartbreaking enough for her to find out about this last night, but do not let her play a great third round, and then DQ her for yesterday! In this day and age of professional golf with so many officials, cameras, etc, it seems like some official scoring system could be put into place and verified by all involved without the formality of a signature. Now if she had tried to sign for a score lower than she actually had, that is DQ city.

Other sports rules that drive me crazy:

1) The NBA "advance the ball" rule: Why on earth at the "highest level" of the game, should a team be automatically allowed to advance the ball to halfcourt, after a time out? What ever happened to dribbling, passing, and making cuts to get open? I guess the overpaid guys are too tired at the end of games to remember fundamentals. It is insanity.

2) Basketball alternate possession: Just give the ball to the defense if they stop the progress of the offense could, and if two teams pull down a simultaneous losse ball or rebound, jump center. Period. The only arrows I want to see at a basketball games are the ones pointing to concession stands and restrooms.

3) NFL overtime: Both teams should get at least one possession, period.

4) Offsides in soccer: Probably a good rule, but I loved to cherry pick when I was playing! =)

5) 10 second rule in basketball (college and pro): Now that we have shot clocks in college and pro basketball, the ten second rule should be eliminated. If they only have so many seconds to get a shot off anyway, who cares if they waste time in the back court?

Shark bites from the past

Greg Norman is in contention at the British Open, and isn't it a shame that he is often remembered more for the big tournaments that got away. Anyway, it got me to thinking about some of the bitter sports defeats I've been associated with as a player or fan.

I do not remember the year, but yes the Detroit Lions were actually in a playoff game some time in my childhood. Kicker Eddie Murray missed a field goal late in San Francisco and it was all over. I went and pouted in the fort made of blankets for what seemed like hours.

1986 NCAA basketball tournament Michigan State vs. Kansas, Sweet 16: The Spartans were on a crazy good run and had the game in hand in Kansas City. Then time stood still late in the game and as play was going on the clock did not run for what seemed like forever (it was double digit seconds) and the correction was not made by the officials. A few missed free throws later and it was tied up at the end of regulation (after time should have expired), and then we lost in OT.

1987 ALCS Tigers vs. Twins: We had tickets for the world series, and we were going to go...until the home run hankies got in the way, and the Twins crushed us in five. I had never been so sad to see money in my life, when we took the tickets back to Ticketmaster for our refund. At least I still had my memories from attending game three of the 1984 World Series in Detroit!

8th grade: city soccer semifinal. We were the regular season champion and our coach was so confident he had already filled out his lineup chart for the championship match. We played terrible and lost on penalty kicks-to the other team from our school. I wanted to have a chance with my foot, but I wasn't one of the five selected to take a shot in the PKs.

1990 High School sectional final: I was a statistician for our boys basketball team that pulled an upset for the ages and sent shockwaves through the state a couple of nights earlier, but we turned around and lost to a team we had defeated in the regular season. Sweet 16 and "state appearance" denied.

1990 NCAA basketball tournament Michigan State vs. Georgia Tech, Sweet 16: The Spartans were in a tight game with Georgia Tech, and Kenny Anderson went up for a shot for the Yellow Jackets, down two, stepped on the three point line, went in teh air, ball still in his hand, buzzer went off-ball STILL in hand, then he let it go and it went in. It was ruled a two pointer and another bitter OT loss followed. The CBS replay showing that State was jobbed did not make me happy!

My first real golf tournament, all city C flight: Despite taking a 10 on a par four in round three, I had a one shot lead going to the 72nd hole of the tournament. Put my approach shot in the bunker and took a double bogey. The other guy chasing me made par. Lost by one shot. (did come back and win it the next year!)

Michigan State football, take your pick. I've been a fan, student and alumnus of Michigan State for as long as I have memories, and there are too many bitter defeats to mention. hopefully Coach Dantonio and company plan on changing that soon!

There are others, but that's enough for now! Good luck Shark, and at least you're leading the one major you have won twice before, besides Nick Faldo is not in the field!

Umps give me the grumps

The All-Star game kept me up way too late, and of course another American League victory. Yes, the DH is a dumb rule, but the men in the Old English D play in that league and so I enjoy the AL dominance which seems to be an annual event these days.

However, I would prefer that the all-star umpires actually watch the play in front of them. Even if the ball gets to the base or plate before a runner and a force out is not in effect, they still must tag them BEFORE they touch the base (plate)!!!!! It frustrates me to see the umps get lazy and not even watch for the tag to be made. Replay is needed...NOW!

What a summer!

There is usally a major lull in the summer sports season. I love baseball, but it doesn't get really interesting until late August, and let's face it- football leads to college basketball, and the best commercials during March Madness are the teases of "a tradition unlike any other". However once the green jacket is awarded in Augusta, even die hard sports fans feel a little down. "What am I going to look forward to now?" we ask ourselves. The summer of 2008 has been special. My Red Wings were able to bring the Stanley Cup back to hockeytown in June...and then sports got even better.

Tiger Woods thrives on staying a leg up on the competition, but little did we realize he spotted the field a leg, and still stole the show. US Open Saturday's back nine of two eagles and a greenside hole out, left my jaw opened wider than Dick Vitale in the dentist chair. Sunday wasn't bad either, and work got in the way of seeing the great effort of Rocco in Monday's playoff, but what a championship!!!!!

Then there was Wimbledon. Federer-Nadal. Wow! The greatest tennis match ever played. The best of the best, on the biggest stage, the reigning champion having every chance to just give up, came up with all the right shots in all the right spots, and the youngster would not be denied what we've seen coming for a few years. Break points denied. Aces. Winners. Long rallies. Gets. Rain delays. Tie breakers. Drama and darkness. A "victory" lap for the runner up? Incredible and well deserved. Surely summer sports had given us all it had, right?

No, there was Josh Hamilton belting home run after home run, after home run, after home run, after home run in a derby for the ages...there were 15 innings of all star play, and don't look now, but a 53 year old Shark is one shot back in the British Open...

Still Talking Sports

Father knows best. I am too young to know that reference other than as an answer to some old TV trivia. It was just about fall in the year 2000. My dad hugged me on the parking lot of the local grocery store that housed the bank where I had filled my wallet for the road trip to start seminary. He then said these words that will never leave me: "Remember, you're just a sportscaster going to get a theological education." I've been a church professional for almost a decade now, and I put my first career on hold to do it. Sportscasting. It was the only thing I ever wanted to do with my life (after I got over the drummer and ice cream scooper phases of preschool). I started in radio at age 14, and was on the fast track to network TV! God works in mysterious ways and I've been called in other directions, but now this blog can fill a large void that I have felt for way too long. After all, I'm just a sportscaster with a theological education, and I'm still talking sports after all this time!!!!!