Dave Matthews Band doing 2 shows at Wrigley Field Sep 17 and Sep 18
Friday, July 9th, 2010 | Concerts | 1 Comment
The Dave Matthews Band will end this years summer tour at the historic Wrigley Field on Sep 17 and 18th. Jason Mraz is scheduled to be the support act for both nights. For this show the Field is set to be open and all general admission, which is a first for a concert at Wrigley Field.
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.
DeWyze Wins the Idol Penant
Friday, May 28th, 2010 | American Idol, Concerts | No Comments
So there you have it, Lee DeWyze is in, and Simon Cowell is out. The Season Finale of American Idol this past Tuesday and Wednesday was more of a Simon Cowell Graduation Party, perhaps because everyone knows the show is toast without Simon. Simon calls it as he sees it, and for that he will be missed. Lee DeWyze is a good guy and that is why many including me are glad he won. I do not think his post-Idol career will be as absolutely tepid as Michael Cook and Kris Allen before him. We will know as soon as he releases a record whether he is the genuine article or a manufactured star like Cook and Allen, who have proven that a good voice is not enough outside the cover-band circuit.
The Producers of American Idol seemed to be purposfully trying to make the show less cool last week. The musical guests included Hall and Oats, Michael McDonald from the Doobie Brothers, and versions of Joe Cocker and Poison’s Brett Michaels that made one consciously aware of his or her own mortality. It reminded me of watching 247 year old Dick Clark bring in the New Year in Time’s Square. It is somewhat depressing to see in full relief where we are all headed, as the aging game cannot be won. Michael McDonald has not been relevant since he was parodied in the comedy film 40 Year Old Virgin.
By making DeWyze sing U2′s “Beatiful Day” his departing anthem it seemed as though Idol producers had sealed DeWyze’s fate as the loser. The song is too new to be redone, and DeWyze was powerless to make it better, as he did, for example, with Simon and Garfunkle’s “The Boxer.” Singing “Beautiful Day” he reminded me of a high school kid in a talent show. It was too bad for him because to that point in the season the Idol machine had failed to make DeWyze as cheesy as the institution itself.
The show American Idol is one-part talent show and one-part making fun of nerds with poor self awareness. From time to time the Show brings back its worst examples of the later, and on Finale night the nerds got their revenge when one of them stole the microphone during a singing number and started making fun of Simon. It was a delicious live TV moment and it prompted FOX to abruptly cut to commercial. They should know that nerds are volatile, and that this type of outburts was inevitable given the mileage this show has taken at the expense of the nerd psyche.
I will follow Lee DeWyze carefully to see for myself if he can remain cool despite all the adulation he has received in the past 6 months. Most important than whether he is the next American Idol is whether he will be the next Taylor Hicks?
New Meadowlands Stadium to Host 2014 “Cold Weather” Super Bowl
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 | New York Giants, New York Jets, NFL, Sports, Super Bowl | No Comments
NFL owners have approved the New Meadowlands Stadium (home stadium to the New York Giants & Jets) to host the 2014 Super Bowl. It will be the first ever “cold weather” stadium (without a dome) to host a Super Bowl game. Up until now, stadiums could not even make a bid to host the Super Bowl. The NFL decided to make an exception for the New York area alone seeing that it just constructed the New Meadowlands Stadium which will host NFL homes game during the upcoming 2010 NFL schedule.
Giants Co-owner Jonathan Tisch had this to say about the selection — “We believe the owners have the faith in us that 3 1/2 years from now we’ll put on a remarkable event. The greatest game in the world will be played on the greatest stage in the world.”
The slogan for New York’s Super Bowl was “Make Some History”. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he and his city are honored to host the big game — “People talk about the weather, but, you know, this is football, not beach volleyball… America came to the rescue of New York, and that’s something I think that New Yorkers have never forgotten. This is a little bit of our chance to say thank you.”
While in theory this is a memorable decision, it could be a total disaster. What if the New York tri-state area is in the middle of a 2-3 foot snow storm like it endured several times this past winter. What if flights are canceled and people can’t even make it in for the big game. Better book your trip for a few days early just in case we see some of the same volatile weather that we saw this past year.
Plus, if there is bad weather, with winds whipping through the already windy stadium, what does that mean for the level of play for the game. You could have the best teams with the best players from both conferences battling the wind and snow and ice instead of each other. That would be a major disaster as well.
Guess we’ll see how it all plays out, but I doubt we’ll have another cold weather Super Bowl site selected until this one plays itself out in February 2014.
Cup Time — Blackhawks Advance to Stanley Cup Finals with 4-2 Win Over Sharks
Monday, May 24th, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, NHL, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Blackhawks have advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the 1st time since 1992 after they swept the #1 Seed San Jose Sharks in 4 straight games in the Western Conference Finals.
After the Sharks raced out to a 2-0 lead midway through the 2nd period, it looked like the Hawks might have to close out the series back in San Jose later this week. But the Blackhawks quickly answered with goals by Brent Seabrook and Dave Bolland to tie the game at 2 before the end of the period.
Then it looked like we might be headed to another overtime contest, but Dustin Byfuglien’s 8th post-season goal with just under 6 minutes left to go in the game put the Hawsk ahead for good. Byfuglien has scored all 8 of his goals in the last 2 series against the Vancouver Canucks and Sharks and has proved to be a valuable forward on attack with the Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane after playing the 1st round of the playoffs as a defenseman. He is a big reason that Toews continues to increase his post-season franchise record of scoring at least 1 point in a game with either a goal or assist. Toews has now made it 13 straight games this post-season with his assist on Byfuglien’s game winner.
Kris Versteeg closed out the scoring in the 4-2 win with an empty netter with under a minute left to play.
Antti Niemi proved as good as gold again in net. Although he only faced 18 shots in the game – the lowest number of shots taken by the Sharks this series – he stopped 16 of them. And more importantly, instead of getting down on himself after allowing the 1st 2 goals of the game, he rallied to keep the Sharks out of the net the rest of the way.
Now the Hawks await the winner of the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens Eastern Conference Finals to find out who they will play in the Stanley Cup series. Can’t wait – this city has waited long enough to hoist a Stanley Cup Trophy on the United Center ice here in Chicago…
Celtics Up 3-0 in East Finals After 94-71 Drubbing of Magic
Sunday, May 23rd, 2010 | Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James, NBA, Orlando Magic, Sports | No Comments
The Boston Celtics are on cruise control. What an unbelievable post-season run. The Celtics are now just 1 win away from the NBA Finals after a convincing 94-71 win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night in Boston.
I for one and am amazed at the resurgent Celtics. I thought that the Miami Heat might actually give the Celtics a run for their money like the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls have done in each of the last 2 post-seasons. But the Celtics made easy work of the Heat in just 5 games, and they have been pretty much unstoppable ever since. The Celtics took out the #1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers led by King Lebron James in 6 games – winning twice on Cleveland’s home court. And now they are making the defending East Champion Orlando Magic look like a CYO team from Westchester, New York. It is pretty embarrassing for this Magic team, especially since they were riding a 14-game winning streak (8 straight playoff wins) heading into the Eatsern Conference Finals with the Celtics.
On Saturday, it was much of the same for the Celtics as they raced out to an early 1st quarter lead – 27-12. How does a playoff team score only 12 points in a quarter in a series like this?! Pathetic. By halftime, the lead was 17 points, and the Celtics used a 24-13 3rd quarter edge to increase that lead to 75-47. Game Over! When you have quarters with point totals of 12 and 13, you’re not going to win a lot of games.
The Celtics used a balanced attack and tenacious defense to put the Magic away with ease. Ray Allen had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Rajon Rondo added 11 points, 3 rebounds and 12 assists. Paul Pierce had 15 points and 9 rebounds, while Kevin Garnett chipped in 10 points and 6 boards. Bench player Glen Davis had his best showing this post-season with 17 points and 6 boards.
The Celtics can advance to the NBA Finals for the 2nd time in 3 years with a win over the Magic on Monday night in Boston.
Blackhawks Top Sharks 3-2 in Thrilling Overtime Win, 1 Game Away From Stanley Cup
Saturday, May 22nd, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, NHL, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, Sports | No Comments
The Blackhawks defeated the Sharks 3-2 in overtime on Friday night at the United Center in Chicago. The Blackhawks need just 1 more win to advance to their first Stanley Cup appearance since 1992.
After a scoreless 1st period, each team scored on a power play goal in the 2nd period. Patrick Marleau scored 4 minutes into the period and Patrick Sharp answered for the Blackhawks just 3 minutes later.
It was still tied at 1 to start the 3rd period, but the Sharks came out firing on all cylinders in the final frame. Although the Sharks would end up out-shotting the Hakws in the period by an 18-6 margin, it was the Blackhawks who answered the call with less than 7 minutes to play on Dave Bolland’s goal. It looked like the Hawks would get the in regulation, but Marleau knocked in his 2nd goal of the game with less than 5 minutes to play.
So to overtime we go. This period, the Hawks were the aggressor, sensing a chance to put the series away for good with a win. The Hawks quickly outshot the Sharks 11-5, and at the 12:24 mark of the 1st overtime period, Bolland fed a wide open Dustin Byfuglien in front of the net for the game winner. It was the 4th straight game in which Byfuglien has scored a goal and it was his 7th goal of the post-season. Byfuglien is quickly turning into one of the most productive forwards for the Hawks in the playoffs as other teams focus on the more well-known goal scoring prowess of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa.
But let’s not forget about the fabulous goal-tending of Antti Niemi. The Sahrks literally threw everything but the kitchen sink at Niemi and he still managed to hold down the fort. It was the 2nd game of the series in which Niemi saved 44 shots. Unbelievable! Outstanding! Superb! The rookie has proved everyone wrong, as it is clear that Niemi has what it takes to lead a team to 16 wins during any given post-season to capture the Stanley Cup crown. IN the 3-game series thus far, Niemi has made 113 total saves, while allowing just 5 goals. This to one of the most productive offenses in all of hockey. It is truly a special thing to be able to watch Niemi night in and night out.
Captain Jonathan Toews (just 22 years of gae) also set a Hawks’ franchise playoff record by recording at least 1 point in 12 straight post-season games (he had 2 assists in the win). Toews was honored to set the record and is even more jacked to get a chance to play in his first ever Stanley Cup — “I mean, you’re not going to get too high on yourself or too full of yourself like that. You got to do the right things and play the right way if you’re going to have success… We’ve done that. There’s nothing about us that says we’re unbeatable. As soon as we get away from playing our game, you know, we’re a mediocre average team. We got to go out there, work hard, stick to our guns, stick to how we learned to play this year. The way we’re going to be tough to beat.” Sounds like a man who knows where his team is headed – straight to hoisting that magnificent Stanley Cup after 5 more wins this post-season.
Game 4 is Sunday afternoon at the United Center.
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