Honestly, I wanted to write this post because of the Batman pun. However, it is the truth as Matt Harvey made his Mets debut tonight and made the Diamondbacks hitters look like a bunch of Jokers striking out 11 over 5.1 innings, giving up 3 hits and walking 2 batters and better than that, gave up no runs. He Two-Faced the Snakes by going 2 for 2 with a double as well. The bullpen didn't do their Scarecrow routine and held the lead for a change. Will Harvey become a Bane to Arizona's existence? Probably not, but perhaps the rest of the league will need to crack the riddle that he brings now.
Yes, this was one start, but after a 1-11 start in the second half, the Mets seem to be fully in next season mode, so it's time to see what some prospects have now. Matt Harvey showed to be a power arm unafraid to pitch inside. Does this mean Zack Wheeler will come up before the end of the year? Perhaps. Will there be new bullpen arms in August and September? There better be if you're a Mets fan. That's for another day; today, let's celebrate Harvey.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
Jessica Ghawi, Aurora and Twitter
Today we saw an unspeakable tragedy in Aurora, Colorado as a gunman fired on a movie theater who was watching "The Dark Knight Rises". One of the victims in this tragedy was an up-and-coming sportscaster and sportswriter named Jessica Ghawi, better known as Jessica Redfield, which she used as a pen name. The reason I separate her from the rest of the victims; because she was one of the many people I follow on Twitter.
I'm not going to make it sound like we were close, I followed her, don't think she followed me, but that was fine. The fact that she was a good writer, enjoyed hockey and seems pleasurable through her tweets were enough for me to give her a follow. Even last night, her final tweets to Jesse Spector were ones that I remembered being particularly interested in reading.
When I woke up this morning, I didn't find out about the shootings until I got to work and looked over the news. At some point, I looked on my phone to see Twitter. All of a sudden, I begin to see the tweets that Jessica was killed during the shooting. Then I was reminded that she was in Toronto last month at the Eaton Centre shooting and wrote a blog post recounting the event. Ken Fang (click this one as Ken included her brother Jordan's statements about her death), Jesse Spector and Adrian Dater all wrote pieces this morning as they mourned her loss.
All I can think about, and honestly still think about is how because I followed her on Twitter, I feel like I just lost someone close to me, even though we never met and not likely to meet. And that really is what Twitter is for me, connecting with many others who I ordinarily wouldn't meet. In my case, they tend to be fellow sports bloggers like Ken Fang and Stacey Gotsulias. Brian Foley and Amanda Rykoff. Andrew Bucholtz and Brett Taylor. Those names I mentioned are among those who I met personally (most at Blogs With Balls 4). Still, there are plenty others who I've never met and that is something that will need to change. Because I don't want to see another tragedy like this happen to someone I follow without having the pleasure of meeting them. Back in December 2010, I lost another follower Steven Smith to a car accident before getting a chance to meet him. I don't want to have that feeling of regret again, and I'm many of you who use Twitter similarly feel the same.
As for Jessica's family, all I can do is wish you all of my condolences and pray that you can overcome this terrible tragedy.
RIP Jessica Ghawi (@JessicaRedfield)
I'm not going to make it sound like we were close, I followed her, don't think she followed me, but that was fine. The fact that she was a good writer, enjoyed hockey and seems pleasurable through her tweets were enough for me to give her a follow. Even last night, her final tweets to Jesse Spector were ones that I remembered being particularly interested in reading.
When I woke up this morning, I didn't find out about the shootings until I got to work and looked over the news. At some point, I looked on my phone to see Twitter. All of a sudden, I begin to see the tweets that Jessica was killed during the shooting. Then I was reminded that she was in Toronto last month at the Eaton Centre shooting and wrote a blog post recounting the event. Ken Fang (click this one as Ken included her brother Jordan's statements about her death), Jesse Spector and Adrian Dater all wrote pieces this morning as they mourned her loss.
All I can think about, and honestly still think about is how because I followed her on Twitter, I feel like I just lost someone close to me, even though we never met and not likely to meet. And that really is what Twitter is for me, connecting with many others who I ordinarily wouldn't meet. In my case, they tend to be fellow sports bloggers like Ken Fang and Stacey Gotsulias. Brian Foley and Amanda Rykoff. Andrew Bucholtz and Brett Taylor. Those names I mentioned are among those who I met personally (most at Blogs With Balls 4). Still, there are plenty others who I've never met and that is something that will need to change. Because I don't want to see another tragedy like this happen to someone I follow without having the pleasure of meeting them. Back in December 2010, I lost another follower Steven Smith to a car accident before getting a chance to meet him. I don't want to have that feeling of regret again, and I'm many of you who use Twitter similarly feel the same.
As for Jessica's family, all I can do is wish you all of my condolences and pray that you can overcome this terrible tragedy.
RIP Jessica Ghawi (@JessicaRedfield)
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Euro 2012 Final Preview
Written by Travis Lankford
Not many people are surprised to see Spain in the final but I can say that Portugal definitely gave them a run for their money. The game between Spain and Portugal was terribly clogged in the midfield zone which isn’t surprising as Spain plays very, very narrow (except for Jordi Alba’s stellar performance bombing out of the left side of defense) but Portugal is known for its wingers but they were rather anonymous. Both sides played strikers that were terribly uninventive and played horrible games. Portugal’s wingers needed someone attacking the goal and Nani’s bad game didn’t help either. Why Del Bosque went with Negredo is beyond me and he eventually brought on Fabregas and switched back to his seemingly preferred False 9 system. When this happened, Spain slowly pressed back into the game and they were very close to winning it in extra time. Portugal disrupted Spain very well in midfield but they had nothing to offer in the final third (besides Ronaldo’s chance that he bottled). This game will be heavily analyzed by Italy due to a number of reasons I’ll mention later. Much is being made about Ronaldo not taking an earlier penalty. I don’t agree with all this vitriol towards him. Drogba took Chelsea’s decisive fifth; Fabregas took Spain’s. If Portugal had gotten down to their fifth and it was to win it, wouldn’t have everyone said it should have been Ronaldo to take it? It was just unfortunate that Bruno Alves’s shot struck off the post and out and Fabregas’s somehow bounced in. The cruel reality of penalty shootouts.
Now onto the shock entry in the Final: Italy. While I was impressed by the Netherlands in the lead up to the tournament, the majority saw Germany as the team with the best chance to knock off Spain. Germany played well in every game up until the Italy game but Italy has been a dark horse in this tournament when they arguably should have been given a lot more respect. The revitalization of the Azzurri under Prandelli is quite shocking compared to their run-up games to Euro 2012. Prandelli, out of the quarterfinalists and arguably the whole tournament, has been very bold with his systems. His 3-5-2 system played extremely well against Spain but his 4-4-2 with a midfield diamond confounded both England and Germany with their technical midfielders. Pirlo has been the linchpin in that midfield and has dictated Italy’s games. It will be very interesting to see who is the more decisive, Pirlo or Spain’s Xavi or Alonso. Italy’s biggest question was if Balotelli would show up at the tournament or not. His clinical header and thunderous strike against Germany would scream that the world class striker that we know he can be has arrived. But, will his temper get the best of him if Spain bosses the ball around and he doesn’t get a sniff of it for extended periods of time? Germany and Low knew they had to compensate for Italy’s midfield four but Kroos was completely ineffective and it seemed that Klose should have started over Gomez. Germany only had to play their game but they played to try to prevent Italy’s and they failed. Germany had many good chances to score more goals but Buffon had a barn-stormer of a match (not to mention Pirlo’s goal-line kneed pass to Buffon). As Germany was chasing the game, Italy had numerous chances to put the game out of sight but their finishing was still lackluster. In the end, Italy deservedly won a difficult match and earned a spot to try and dethrone Spain from football ascendancy.
The obvious questions, tactically, for Spain and Italy are whether or not Spain will play with an out-and-out striker or use Fabregas in a False 9 system. Also, if Italy is to go with their 4-4-2 with a midfield diamond, the center of the pitch will be extremely clogged and bogged down so then Spain has to offer more than Jordi Alba on the wings. Who will the width come from? On the Italian side, it’s a little more straightforward. Will Prandelli go with his 3-5-2 that played surprisingly well against Spain or with his 4-4-2 with a midfield diamond that has dominated the past two games? I think Italy should go with their 3-5-2 to exploit the width that Spain does not inherently have. If this does happen, I think Spain have to play Torres up top and get him running at De Rossi – he did not play that well as sweeper and looked very suspect at times. De Rossi is obviously not a sweeper nor a natural defender and using the False 9 system could work but the likelihood of De Rossi’s two shielding central defenders being pulled out of position is highly unlikely. Spain need to exploit the space behind the wing backs if the 3-5-2 system is used which means width is required. Jesus Navas should be included. Spain has an abundance of the same type of midfield player and while Iniesta can offer extra width on the right, Alonso and Xavi can’t do that on the right side. Arbeloa rarely bombs forward and it seems his teammates don’t trust him doing so either. Width may not be the end all be all for Spain when facing Italy’s 3-5-2 but it is if they face Italy’s 4-4-2 and midfield diamond. Jordi Alba should have a huge game against that formation but help is needed on the other side of the pitch to further pull Italy’s defensive shape out of whack. Against Italy’s 4-4-2, I do not think Torres or Fabregas’s False 9 have an advantage over the other since they both should work if more width is included into the Spanish side.
In short, it should be a very interesting day for us tacticians and to see what battles will follow and how Prandelli and Del Bosque deal with them during the game. I think Italy will go with their 4-4-2 with the midfield diamond and Spain will play with Fabregas as the False 9. I think it will be a very scrappy close game until someone injects some pace and width into either side. I genuinely wish Prandelli would use his 3-5-2 but his 4-4-2 system has worked very well these past two games. I think it’ll be too close of a game and ends in a draw and down to penalties. My pick: Italy to win on PK’s. Let the hate mail begin.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
The Crowning Of The Kings
The Los Angeles Kings finally finished off the New Jersey Devils last night to win the Stanley Cup. This ends one of the most remarkable playoff runs in NHL history, going 16-4, winning 10 of 11 games on the road and led each series 3-0. And this was done by an 8th seed. This once again shows that in the NHL, all that matters is that you get in the playoffs and anything can happen (though low seeds don't tend to win the Cup, this year a low seed was winning it regardless). I'll have more thoughts on this later, but for now, let's watch how the Kings were crowned.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Time To Change The Triple Crown
If you haven't heard by now, I'll Have Another won't run in the Belmont Stakes today, after a sore tendon on his foot. This is the first time since 1936 which the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes won't race at Belmont. However, horses that aren't going for the Triple Crown tend to not run in all three races that often. The reason; because the modern horse is risking major injury (including life-threatening) by running 3 races in 5 weeks.
The fact that my father isn't just a horse racing fan, but someone who I'd allow to write a horse racing post if the time was right, means that I've had chances to see how often horses run if/when I go to the track (at least twice a year I'd say). None of those horses run three times in a five week span. Because of this, I think it's time to start spacing out the Triple Crown races.
The Kentucky Derby will and should always begin on the first Saturday in May. There's too much tradition at this race, and it's too much of a party atmosphere to change it. The Preakness? No longer two weeks later. We will move it to Memorial Day weekend, while giving those 3-year olds a week or two extra rest and a chance to see many of the Derby horses return for the second leg. Finally, the Belmont will move to Fourth of July weekend. I know some will read this and think that no one's going to pay attention for two months to see if a Triple Crown happen. I say, the race last 2-2 and a half minutes, you can stop what you're doing to watch it.
It really is time for horse racing to adapt to allow a realistic chance to win the three biggest races in the sport. What we don't need is for these 3-year olds to have to retire like I'll Have Another just did, or worse see a Triple Crown attempt end because the horse pulled up and turns into another Barbaro or Eight Belles. Which I say if that happens, we can begin to see the end of the sport in it of itself.
UPDATE: I thought of those wondering if my plan makes it easier for horses to win the Triple Crown, making the achievement a lesser one. My counter; the Belmont is still a mile and a half race, longer than almost any other race any horse will run. It'll never be an easy race.
The fact that my father isn't just a horse racing fan, but someone who I'd allow to write a horse racing post if the time was right, means that I've had chances to see how often horses run if/when I go to the track (at least twice a year I'd say). None of those horses run three times in a five week span. Because of this, I think it's time to start spacing out the Triple Crown races.
The Kentucky Derby will and should always begin on the first Saturday in May. There's too much tradition at this race, and it's too much of a party atmosphere to change it. The Preakness? No longer two weeks later. We will move it to Memorial Day weekend, while giving those 3-year olds a week or two extra rest and a chance to see many of the Derby horses return for the second leg. Finally, the Belmont will move to Fourth of July weekend. I know some will read this and think that no one's going to pay attention for two months to see if a Triple Crown happen. I say, the race last 2-2 and a half minutes, you can stop what you're doing to watch it.
It really is time for horse racing to adapt to allow a realistic chance to win the three biggest races in the sport. What we don't need is for these 3-year olds to have to retire like I'll Have Another just did, or worse see a Triple Crown attempt end because the horse pulled up and turns into another Barbaro or Eight Belles. Which I say if that happens, we can begin to see the end of the sport in it of itself.
UPDATE: I thought of those wondering if my plan makes it easier for horses to win the Triple Crown, making the achievement a lesser one. My counter; the Belmont is still a mile and a half race, longer than almost any other race any horse will run. It'll never be an easy race.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Euro 2012 Preview
Here's Travis Lankford again to give us his Euro 2012 preview.
It’s that time again, folks. Euro 2012 begins as Poland opens up the European tournament against 2004 winners, Greece. The Poles are co-hosts this year alongside the Ukraine. Two European backwaters get to put their countries on full display. Poland, which I love calling the Mexico of Europe, will be delighted to show off their unique culture and their brilliant stadiums. Ukraine will look to shrug off its red past and brush its human rights violations under the rug. The tournament is separated into four groups (A, B, C, and D) but will further expand in 2016 and involve 24 teams instead of the current format of 16.
Group A is home to Poland, Greece, one of Poland’s historical bullies in Russia, and rounded out by the Czech Republic. On the outside this group does not seem very compelling. However, Greece is a very efficient side and Russia has been on the up in competitions. It will be interesting to see if Russia are able to play more open and score goals; they have trouble with the latter. However, Greece has an amazing defensive record. Poland do not have a squad that jumps out at you but playing at home is always an advantage. The Czech Republic are led out by veteran, and newly crowned Champion of Europe, Peter Cech. They have some bright youngsters but I don’t foresee them getting the better of Greece or Russia. I hope Poland use this relatively easy group to progress. My prediction, Russia finish top with Poland runners-up.
Group B contains two European, and world, heavyweights in Germany and the Netherlands. Portugal and Denmark round out this murderous group but I don’t foresee them standing a chance against the Germans and the Oranje. Portugal has a good side but the German and Dutch teams are just too good. Denmark is the minnow in the group and hopefully they aren’t beaten too handily but the other three teams in the group. I see Netherlands finishing top with Germany as runners-up.
Group C is nothing but tragedy for the Republic of Ireland. Tourney holders Spain are coupled with Italy and Croatia. While Spain does not play the most electrifying soccer (I’ll never be a fan of tiki-taka), they will easily finish as winners of this group. The real question is will the old Italy show up or the new Italy that loses and keeps losing? Croatia should not be overlooked as England learned that the hard way in the past. I don’t think Italy will be revamped and reenergized enough to challenge as runners-up and I have Ireland, shockingly, being runners-up of this group.
The final group, Group D, is home to the other co-host, Ukraine. England, under new boss Roy Hodgson, haven’t dazzled in their build-up but have won. France seems to be on the up by the leadership of Laurent Blanc. Sweden has the tallest team of the tournament and has some very good players even if they aren’t known to be a strong side. Ukraine would have threatened in this group but their defense has been ravaged by injury. France has looked impressive and I see them finishing as winners of Group D. The runner-up isn’t as clear cut as some would want to argue. England has played very conservatively and do not look to have any flair or imagination when they have the ball. I think Sweden’s more advantageous style will prove the deciding factor and England will falter (yet again).
It will definitely be an interesting tournament but I doubt we’ll see a Cinderella team a la Turkey in 2008. I’ll breakdown the knockout stages once we arrive but I will say that I think the Oranje will win the tournament and exact their revenge upon Spain for losing the World Cup Final to ‘La Furia Roja’.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Once In A Blue Moon
Delayed Premier League Review by Travis Lankford. He'll have a more timely Euro 2012 piece coming up before it starts.
The Barclays Premier League proved to be another one for the books. That book will either be burned or enshrined depending on what side of Manchester the librarian calls home. There were many surprises, failed experiments, let-downs, disasters, and heroics. The title race was just as compelling as the fight for fourth and the always gripping relegation battle. The Premier League even went into its final day fixtures with everything on the line. While many will say that the cup competitions are where true, gripping football occurs; the Premier League gave us all an extremely gripping final day and there was indeed drama throughout the year.
Manchester United came in as the reigning champions but big spending Manchester City was still looking for more silverware. Arsenal typically hadn’t done much in the way of solidifying their defense. Chelsea had sacked yet another manager and had decided to revolutionize their squad under Jose Mourinho protégé, Andre Villas-Boas. King Kenny was into a full-season as Liverpool manager and he had to produce the goods that he and Hodgson hadn’t the previous year. The newly promoted teams would be comprised of QPR, Norwich City, and the first Welsh side to play in the Premier League, Swansea City.
Manchester City won the League for the first time since 1968 by beating Manchester United on goal difference. Their come-from-behind win against QPR on the final day was a spectacle to behold. Manchester United couldn’t close out the title race and were marred by rather conservative tactics towards the end of the season. Chelsea’s early form was soon followed by a disastrous middle of the season and the sacking of another manager, AVB, in March. This would be Chelsea’s first finish outside of the top four since Abramovich bought the club in 2003. Liverpool’s big spending, £165m worth, turned out to be a waste (outside of maybe Suarez). Arsene Wenger was able to steady the ship after a disastrous opening campaign; Alan Pardew led Newcastle to a shock finish of fifth after a great defensive display all year and the combined efforts of Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse.
David Moyes – someone please give this man a transfer budget! – led Everton to finish higher in the table than Liverpool. This was easily the deciding factor in the sacking of Kenny Dalglish from his second managerial stint at LFC. Tottenham somehow hung onto a fourth place finish after stumbling and seemingly on the edge of collapse during the transfer saga involving their manager, Harry Redknapp, and the England managerial vacancy. Their jubilation upon achieving Champions League football would soon be dashed by Chelsea’s result in Munich.
The bottom of the table was just as compelling, if not more, this past season. All three newly promoted teams from the Championship were able to stay up this season (a financial windfall for each club). Swansea City deserves recognition for their sublime home form and the tactics employed while playing in Wales. Brendan Rodgers steered them to an unbelievable eleventh place finish. With each newly promoted team retaining Premier League status, that meant that three Premier League clubs had to be relegated. Wolves had an utterly dreadful season and finished bottom of the table – worst on goal difference to boot. Blackburn Rovers finished just above Wolves even if they had pulled out that shock 3-2 upset of Manchester United earlier in the season. Bolton Wanderers rounded out the relegated teams but were only one point below QPR and two below Aston Villa.
The teams to replace Wolves, Blackburn, and Bolton will be Reading, Southampton, and West Ham United. The next season looks to be an interesting one with Manchester City and Chelsea playing against each other in the Community Shield to begin the festivities! What will the new season hold for each team? The only certainty is that weird things do happen once in a blue moon…
The Barclays Premier League proved to be another one for the books. That book will either be burned or enshrined depending on what side of Manchester the librarian calls home. There were many surprises, failed experiments, let-downs, disasters, and heroics. The title race was just as compelling as the fight for fourth and the always gripping relegation battle. The Premier League even went into its final day fixtures with everything on the line. While many will say that the cup competitions are where true, gripping football occurs; the Premier League gave us all an extremely gripping final day and there was indeed drama throughout the year.
Manchester United came in as the reigning champions but big spending Manchester City was still looking for more silverware. Arsenal typically hadn’t done much in the way of solidifying their defense. Chelsea had sacked yet another manager and had decided to revolutionize their squad under Jose Mourinho protégé, Andre Villas-Boas. King Kenny was into a full-season as Liverpool manager and he had to produce the goods that he and Hodgson hadn’t the previous year. The newly promoted teams would be comprised of QPR, Norwich City, and the first Welsh side to play in the Premier League, Swansea City.
Manchester City won the League for the first time since 1968 by beating Manchester United on goal difference. Their come-from-behind win against QPR on the final day was a spectacle to behold. Manchester United couldn’t close out the title race and were marred by rather conservative tactics towards the end of the season. Chelsea’s early form was soon followed by a disastrous middle of the season and the sacking of another manager, AVB, in March. This would be Chelsea’s first finish outside of the top four since Abramovich bought the club in 2003. Liverpool’s big spending, £165m worth, turned out to be a waste (outside of maybe Suarez). Arsene Wenger was able to steady the ship after a disastrous opening campaign; Alan Pardew led Newcastle to a shock finish of fifth after a great defensive display all year and the combined efforts of Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse.
David Moyes – someone please give this man a transfer budget! – led Everton to finish higher in the table than Liverpool. This was easily the deciding factor in the sacking of Kenny Dalglish from his second managerial stint at LFC. Tottenham somehow hung onto a fourth place finish after stumbling and seemingly on the edge of collapse during the transfer saga involving their manager, Harry Redknapp, and the England managerial vacancy. Their jubilation upon achieving Champions League football would soon be dashed by Chelsea’s result in Munich.
The bottom of the table was just as compelling, if not more, this past season. All three newly promoted teams from the Championship were able to stay up this season (a financial windfall for each club). Swansea City deserves recognition for their sublime home form and the tactics employed while playing in Wales. Brendan Rodgers steered them to an unbelievable eleventh place finish. With each newly promoted team retaining Premier League status, that meant that three Premier League clubs had to be relegated. Wolves had an utterly dreadful season and finished bottom of the table – worst on goal difference to boot. Blackburn Rovers finished just above Wolves even if they had pulled out that shock 3-2 upset of Manchester United earlier in the season. Bolton Wanderers rounded out the relegated teams but were only one point below QPR and two below Aston Villa.
The teams to replace Wolves, Blackburn, and Bolton will be Reading, Southampton, and West Ham United. The next season looks to be an interesting one with Manchester City and Chelsea playing against each other in the Community Shield to begin the festivities! What will the new season hold for each team? The only certainty is that weird things do happen once in a blue moon…
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