SportSpectator Blog

 

October 27, Week in Sports

 

::  PHILLIES LEAD RAYS 3-1 IN WORLD SERIES (Pro. Baseball)

::  COWBOYS SNAP TWO-GAME LOSING STREAK (Pro. Football)

::  NBA SEASON PREVIEW (Pro. Basketball)

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PHILLY FEVER

The Philadelphia Phillies are currently leading the Tampa Bay Rays 3 games to 1 in the World Series, which means they are one win away from taking the title. The World Series is a best-of-seven series that determines the champion at the conclusion of the baseball season.Up until Sunday night, every game in the series had been decided by just one or two runs, making for a very close, extremely competitive matchup. However, the Phillies, sparked by two home runs by slugger Ryan Howard, beat the Rays 10-2 in Game 4, which has changed the nature of the series completely. With a 3-1 advantage, the Phillies are now poised to win the championship. They only need one more win to finish off the Rays in the World Series, and their chances look very good–especially considering the fact that their best pitcher, Cole Hamels, is scheduled to take the mound in the next game.

But as Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” The Rays are not finished yet. The remaining games in the series will be played on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday night.

Quote of the Week: ”It will be absolute bedlam. It will be one of the craziest places on Earth.” — Ryan Howard, on what Philadelphia will be like if the Phillies win

Further Reading: “Wide Awake” — Associated Press, via ESPN

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STAR POWER: COWBOYS EKE OUT WIN OVER BUCS

 

The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13-9 on Sunday afternoon, snapping a two-game losing streak. The Cowboys were off to a good start this year, but they have struggled greatly the past two weeks. Since they were widely expected to be a Super Bowl caliber team, their struggles have not gone unnoticed.

 

Part of the reason that the Cowboys have played so poorly lately has been because of the mounting injuries the team has sustained–the most important of which is Tony Romo’s broken pinkie, which has sidelined the team’s superstar quarterback. Without Romo, the Cowboys have relied on backup quarterback Brad Johnson. Johnson was coming off a particularly poor performance, which made Sunday’s victory all the more important for the Cowboys. Moreover, the Buccaneers are one of the better teams in the league, so the Cowboys’ victory is a strong indication that they are still one of the most competitive squads in the NFL. Once Romo is back and healthy, the Cowboys will likely recover their status as one of the favorites to go far in the postseason this year.

Quote of the Week: “We got the dinks and dunks.” — Terrell Owens, Cowboys receiver, on the team’s narrow victory

Further Reading: “Star Turn” — Associated Press, via ESPN

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HOOP DREAMS

 

The 2008-09 NBA season begins this Tuesday with three games: Cleveland vs. Boston, Milwaukee vs. Chicago, and Portland vs. Los Angeles. The NBA season always begins in late October and the regular season runs through April of the following year.

 

Since every team begins the year feeling optimistic, only time will tell which teams will be the strongest this season. However, there are a number of story lines that figure to be prominent in the 2008-09 season.

 

1. Boston Celtics: Last year, the Celtics were the story of the year. After trading for Kevin Garnett, they had the winningest team in the league, and they ultimately won the NBA Finals. Everyone will be watching to see whether or not they can repeat last year’s success and defend their title.

 

2. Los Angeles Lakers: Last year, the Lakers made it to the NBA Finals, where they were easily defeated by the Celtics. However, with star guard Kobe Bryant at the helm, the Lakers are perennial contenders, and expectations will be high this year, as always.

 

3. Cleveland Cavaliers: Since the arrival of LeBron James, the Cavaliers have become one of the most exciting teams to watch every year. James is one of the best players in the league, and since he single-handedly led his team to the Finals in 2007, everyone knows that his presence alone raises the game to a championship level of play.

Quote of the Week: “

Further Reading: SI.COM’S NBA ENEMY LINES –  Sports Illustrated’s team-by-team preview

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK

:: BASEBALL: The World Series continues this week, with games to be played on Monday night, and then Wednesday and Thursday night if necessary.

:: BASKETBALL: The NBA season begins this week. On opening night, the Cleveland Cavaliers — Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers — Portland Trail Blazers will play featured games on TNT.

:: FOOTBALL: Next Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants are playing each other at 4:15 ET. Both teams have had good seasons, and a lot of pride will be on the line, so it should make for an outstanding game.

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ALL-SPORTS UPDATE

ACTIVE SEASON

:: BASEBALL

MLB (Pro. Baseball): The World Series begins this week. The best-of-seven series is the culmination of the baseball season, and this year it will be played by the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies. [Official MLB Website]

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:: FOOTBALL

NFL (Pro. Football): The regular season is now underway. The standings will begin to take shape in just a few weeks, once teams begin to play their division rivals. [Official NFL Website]

NCAA FOOTBALL (College): The college football season is now in full swing. The BCS Standings currently place Texas as the best team in the country. [NCAA Football, ESPN]

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:: GOLF

MEN’S GOLF: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Major Championships: The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open (The British Open), and the PGA Championship. Now that the PGA Championship is over, mainstream golf news will most likely revolve around Tiger Woods’ return from injury and preparation for next year’s Majors. [Official PGA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

 

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:: HOCKEY

NHL (Pro. Hockey): The hockey season runs through April of 2009. By the new year, the league power rankings should be pretty well set. [Official NHL Website]

 

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:: TENNIS

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. [USTA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic

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OFFSEASON

:: BASKETBALL

NBA (Pro. Basketball): The Celtics defeated the Lakers to win the NBA Finals, ending the 2008 season. The 2008-09 season runs from late October to April of 2009, when the playoffs commence.  [Official NBA Website]

NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL (College): Now that the tournament is over, college basketball news will focus on which players leave their schools for the NBA, and which college teams land the premier high-school players for next season. [CBS Sports]

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May 19, Week in Sports

:: CELTICS TOP CAVS IN DRAMATIC GAME SEVEN (Pro. Basketball)

:: BIG BROWN WINS THE PREAKNESS STAKES (Horse Racing)

:: JUSTINE HENIN AND ANNIKA SORENSTAM SET TO RETIRE (Women’s Tennis and Golf)

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THE LUCK OF THE IRISH: CELTICS ADVANCE TO CONFERENCE FINALS

The Boston Celtics narrowly beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon in an exciting game 7 match-up in Boston. With the victory, the Celtics advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they will face the Detroit Pistons.

The Celtics were one of the NBA’s biggest stories of the year, having acquired Kevin Garnett in the off-season and finishing the year with the best regular season record in the league. But the Celtics have had a tough playoff run so far, taking each best-of-seven series that they have played in to a deciding game 7. That continued on Sunday, where they squeaked out a victory against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers–runners up in the NBA Finals last year. On Sunday, James’ 45 points were not enough to beat the Celtics, who have consistently dominated when playing at home this year. Paul Pierce paced the Celtics with 41 points.

Three of the final four teams in the playoffs have been decided–Boston, Detroit, and Los Angeles. Whoever wins tomorrow night’s game between San Antonio and New Orleans will play the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

Quote of the Week: “Today it was basically get the ball to Paul Pierce and get the hell out of the way.” — Kevin Garnett, Celtics

Further Reading: “Pierce, James duke it out as Celtics close out Cavs in Game 7” — Associated Press, via ESPN

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BIG BROWN’S QUEST FOR THE CROWN

Big Brown, the horse who won the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago, cruised to an easy victory at the Preakness Stakes on Saturday. If Big Brown wins the Belmont Stakes on June 7th, he will be the first horse to win the Triple Crown in 30 years.

The undefeated 3-year old colt will go into Belmont as the favorite to win. However, there have been many horses over the years who were in the exact same position who were unable to clinch the Triple Crown at Belmont. No horse has won the Triple Crown since Affirmed accomplished the feat in 1978.

It will be interesting to see how horse-racing fans and the sports media approach Big Brown’s quest for the Triple Crown in the weeks leading up to the Belmont. Triple Crown contenders are generally overwhelming fan favorites. However, because Big Brown’s trainer, Rick Dutrow, is a cocky and bombastic figure with a shady past, there will be plenty of people out there hoping that the sport’s Triple Crown drought continues.

Quote of the Week: “It will be tears or cheers at Belmont, in the race that will either stamp Big Brown a superhorse or make him the latest heartbreak kid in a sport full of them over three decades.” — Pat Forde, ESPN

Further Reading: “Preakness laugher leaves Big Brown in line for glory” — Pat Forde, ESPN

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FIRST LADIES OF GOLF, TENNIS RETIRE

On Tuesday, Annika Sorenstam, one of the greatest female golfers of all-time, announced that she would be retiring at the end of the season. A day later, Justine Henin, the world’s top-ranked female tennis player, announced that she was retiring immediately. As a result, the face of women’s golf and tennis completely changed within the space of 24 hours.

The 37-year old Sorenstam, who has won 72 LPGA tournaments and 10 majors, announced that she would finish up this season, but then was retiring from the game. She stated that it was a very hard decision, but said that now that she is getting older, she wants to leave the game in order to build a family.

For Henin, who is just 25 years old, the story is different. When citing her reasons for retiring, it became clear that Henin was walking away from the court predominantly because she was burned out. The loss of her former passion for competition combined with some lingering injuries seemingly made for an easy decision to retire. 21-year old Maria Sharapova will replace Henin as the no. 1 female tennis player in the world.

Quote of the Week: “It has been a pleasure watching Annika play for all of these years, but even more of an honor to call her a friend.” — Tiger Woods

Further Reading: “No. 1 Justine Henin retires from tennis immediately” — Associated Press, via ESPN

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK

:: AUTORACING – The Indianapolis 500 will be held on Sunday, May 25th. The Indy 500 is one of the most historical and important races of the year. While the results of the Indy 500 are major news anyway, the race has grown in the public consciousness in recent years as some of the top drivers in the sport, such as Danica Patrick and Helio Castroneves, have become household celebrity names.

:: BASKETBALL – Monday night (May 19th), the San Antonio Spurs will play the New Orleans Hornets in a highly-anticipated game 7 showdown. The winner will play the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

:: HOCKEY – The Conference Finals continue this week, and only four teams remain: Pittsburgh/Philadelphia and Detroit/Dallas. A detailed playoff schedule is available at www.nhl.com. Barring a dramatic turn of events, it looks as though the Red Wings and the Penguins will face off in this year’s Stanley Cup Finals.
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ALL-SPORTS UPDATE

 

ACTIVE SEASON

:: BASEBALL

MLB (Pro. Baseball): Baseball season is in full swing, but it is a long season, so teams tend to measure their success month by month. The All-Star break takes place the second week of July. By then, teams’ records will be a good indicator of how well they are performing this season. [Official MLB Website]

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:: BASKETBALL

NBA (Pro. Basketball): The NBA conference finals begin this week. The winners of those two best-of-seven series will face off in the NBA playoffs. [Official NBA Website]

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:: GOLF

MEN’S GOLF: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Major Championships: The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open (The British Open), and the PGA Championship. Now that the Masters is over, the next event will be the U.S. Open, which is played in the month of June. [Official PGA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els

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:: HOCKEY

NHL (Pro. Hockey): The Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Philadelphia Flyers are the final four teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. [Official NHL Website]

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:: TENNIS

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments of the year are the four Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. The Australian Open took place in January. The French Open, which is held in May, is the next Grand Slam event. [USTA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova

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OFFSEASON

:: BASKETBALL

NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL (College): Now that the tournament is over, college basketball news will focus on which players leave their schools for the NBA, and which college teams land the premier high-school players for next season. [CBS Sports]

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:: FOOTBALL

NFL (Pro. Football): The pre-season begins in August, and the regular season begins in September. [Official NFL Website]

NCAA FOOTBALL (College): Practice sessions for college football begin in summer, and the regular season begins in August. [NCAA Football, ESPN]