Archive for June, 2010
GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLL! USA Men’s Soccer Team Advances with Thrilling 1-0 Win over Algeria
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010 | Soccer, Team USA, World Cup 2010 | No Comments
It didn’t look good for the US team, but somehow they wrote their Hollywood-ending in dramatic fashion when team leader Landon Donovan drove home the game-winning goal off of a rebound of a save by Algerian Goalie Rasi Bolhi. Donovan’s goal gave the US team a 1-nil (I love saying that word) win and catapulted the US Team to the top of the Group C Standings (England’s 1-0 win over Slovenia allowed England to advance to the knockout round as well with 4 points – just 1 point behind Team USA). It was a satisfying, yet frustrating win for Team USA. After squandering several chances early on and having one goal called back because of a phantom off-sides call, it looked like the squad would return home without even advancing into the knockout round.
But Donovan’s heroics paved the way for the celebration for Team USA and millions of fans back home in the U.S. Donovan raced down the field with the ball and set up Jozy Altidore who sent a low cross to Clint Dempsey for an excellent shot on net that Bolhi somehow saved. But the ball bounced out in front of the net and Donovan was there to make sure he didn’t miss (like teammate Jozy Altidore did earlier in the game). Donovan was amazed with the outcome — “Hands down the biggest moment in my career… I’m shocked. I’m proud of our guys. Unbelievable. Clint made a good run in the middle, the ball fell to me … time kind of stopped. You can’t miss from there… I had a long hard look and decided I was going to do things a different way (after the disappointing World Cup finish in Germany in 2006). That no longer was I going to just rely on my ability. I was going to try to be the best, every time. I knew that if I got another chance at a World Cup I was going to take it.”
With the win, the US Team advances to the knockout round to take on the 2nd place team from Group D – Ghana. The game is slated for Saturday June 26th. Will we have another miracle finish? Let’s hope so. GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!
Ron Artest was real happy to win last night
Friday, June 18th, 2010 | General | No Comments
As much as I hate the Lakers this is still a great video.
Sports Moment of the Day — Chicago Blackhawks 2010 Stanley Cup Champions
Thursday, June 10th, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, NHL, Philadelphia Flyers, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Blackhawks are your 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Champions. The Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday night to take the hard-fought series 4-2. The Blackhawks clinched 3 of their 4 series win en route to hoisting the cup on the road this post-season.
The Blackhawks won the game on Patrick Kane’s 10th goal of the post-season. Somehow Kane rifled the puck under the pad or the skate of Flyers goalie Michael Leighton. Kane knew it was a game winner immediately, but because the light did not go on and no horn sounded, no one knew where the puck was. The Blackhawks continued their celebration as the officials confirmed the game-winning goal on video replay. Flyers players and fans looked on in disbelief as their dreams of a Stanley Cup title came crashing to a halt.
Jonathan Toews was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner for the best player during the post-season. Although he had the 2nd highest point total of any player this post-season, he earned the honor because he led his team to the title. Toews tied a Blackhawks team record with his 29 post-season points. His 22 assists were a new franchise post-season record. Denis Savard had 29 points with 20 assists during the Blackhawks 1985 post-season run. Toews also became only the 3rd hockey player ever to win an Olympics Gold Medal (with Team Canada in Vancouver back in February) and a Stanley Cup Title in the same year.
The title ended the longest current Stanley Cup title drought in the NHL – the Blackhawks last won a championship back in 1961. The Flyers had also suffered for a long time, last winning the Stanley Cup crown in back-to-back years in 19754 and 1975. The Flyers have now lost their last 6 Stanley Cup appearances.
Dustin Byfuglien, Patrick Sharp (against his former team) and Andrew Ladd scored the Blackhawks first 3 goals of the game. Unsung hero Antti Niemi saved 21 of 24 Flyers shots on goal. Niemi proved to be a reliable goaltender throughout the entire playoffs as the Blackhawks were never forced into a Game 7 situation (1 series sweep and 3 series wins in 6 games).
Crazy stat of the series — Marian Hossa finally won that elusive Stanley Cup title. Playing on his 3rd team in 3 years, Hossa had appeared in each of the last 3 Stanley Cup Series. In 2008, Hossa’s Penguins lost to the Red Wings in 7 games. In 2009, Hossa who had then jumped from the Penguins to the Red Wings faced his former team in the Stanley Cup. But this time it was the Penguins who upset the Red Wings in Game 7 in Detroit. Hossa finally ended up on the winning team this time around as the Blackhawks defeated the Flyers in 6 games.
The celebration continues with a parade through the loop of the streets of Chicago on Friday June 11th – it should be a blast. After losing a fan base under the guise of owner Bill Wertz, kudos to Rocky Wertz and John McDonough who re-invigorated a fan base by televising home games once again and shrewd marketing techniques that helped even the “average joe” fall in love with this exciting, young squad.
Sports Moment of the Day — Stephen Strasburg K’s 14 in 5-2 Win over Pirates in Major League Debut
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010 | MLB, Sports, Washington Nationals | No Comments
WOW – Sensational Stephen Strasburg made a major league debut to remember in Tuesday night’s 5-2 win over the Pirates in front of the hometown crowd at Nationals Park in Washington DC. Strasburg needed only 94 pitches (65 for strikes) to pitch 7 amazing innings of 2-run ball. He K’d 14 batters in the process and didn’t walk a single batter. His only mistake was a 2-run home run he served up to Dmitri Young in the 4th inning. The Nats were able to win the game thanks to solo home runs by Ryan Zimmerman and Josh Willingham and a 2-run home run by Adam Dunn.
But te real story was Strasburg. After lighting it up in the minor leagues — 11 starts at the Double-A and Triple A levels, 7-2 record, 1.30 ERA, 65 K’s and only 13 walks – the Nationals decided to bring up the future of the franchise for a home start in DC. When news began to circulate that Strasburg would be making his major league debut on June 8th, the game quickly sold out. The Nationals also sold 2,000 standing room only seats in the hours leading up to the game and it was only the 2nd sellout for the Natonals this season. Strasburg delivered in the biggest way possible. His fastball consistently hit 100 MPH. His 14 K’s was the most K’s for a pitcher in a major league debut since JR Richards 15 K’s in 1971. In his final inning of work, Strasburg struck out the side on only 13 pitches. He struck out the final 7 batters that he faced and each Pirates starter struck out at least once during the game. Strasburg worked so efficiently, the game took only 2 hours and 19 minutes. Truly amazing.
Nationals catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez had this to say about the performance – “I’ve been catching a lot of guys, but this kid is unbelievable.”
This could turn a franchise around in a hurry. If the Nationals can build around a stud like Strasburg, look for the Nationals to compete in the near future with the beast of the NL East – the Phillies, Braves and Mets. With more outings like this, and more W’s in the win column, look for a lot more sellouts the rest of the way at Nationals Park during the 2010 MLB schedule.
