Sports

After conducting an exclusive interview last week with International Boxing Hall of Famer Larry Holmes, critics and, well, haters of “The Easton Assassin” emerged in droves.  

The bulk of Holmes’ detractors derived from Rocky Marciano’s hometown of Brockton, Massachusetts. 

Continue reading "Rocky Marciano versus Larry Holmes"

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White recently announced that his organization will venture to Boston for a card that is tentatively scheduled for August 28 at the TD Garden. 

Continue reading "Boston's Dana White says "boxing has fizzled out""

(Note: originally posted on February 25.)

Each year, prior to the start of the MLB season, I use a unique mathematical system (one that I will not get into, because it's boring) to project the performance of every player and team. This season, in lieu of their significant offseason additions, I expected the Yankees to come out on top. Surprisingly, my expectations were wrong...

Continue reading "MLB Preseason Predictions: Regular ..."

In anticipation of Super Bowl XLIII between the favored Pittsburgh Steelers (14-4) and the upstart Arizona Cardinals (12-7) this Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, I ranked the best NFL championship games I have seen over the past 20 years. 

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Thweek will go along to show what the Yankees currently have in Joba Chamberlain. This will show if he is ready to make the next step to being THE ACE. These will be the best two lineups that he will ever face. First Tuesday night will be the Texas Rangers. They feature 3 of the top 10 hitters in baseball and the Rangers are arguably one of the three best offenses in baseball. Joba will need to show he dominate quality hitters like Milton Bradley, Ian Kinsler, and Josh Hamilton. They also have perrenial All-Star Michael Young which gives them an extremely tough 1-4 in their lineup. Joba will need to work ahead and mix speeds to be succesful.

Continue reading "Test Week for Joba"

This is a big week for the Yankees, their final homestand before the stadium is converted into an All-Star facility.

Monday, Tues, Wed- Texas Rangers

The Yankees pitching will be tested this week as they face the hot-hitting Texas Rangers. This series will actually feature 6 of the top 10 hitters in the AL (Kinsler, Bradley, Hamilton, A-Rod, Damon, and Matsui.) The Yankees will likely score a bunch of runs, they need to hope that they can hold Texas to under 5 runs a game. Yankee fans will get their first look at the great story of Josh Hamilton however it wont be their only one as he will likely be back July 15 for the mid-summer classic. Look for the Yankees to take 2 out of 3 in this series.

Continue reading "Preview of the Upcoming Yankee Week"

  Last night's contest between the Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays was hyped as Joba Chamberlain's first major league start. It was supposed to reveal what is the answer for the Yankees in the years to come. Instead, it revealed the problems the Yankees have right now. Since Chamberlain was on a pitch count, he only went 2.1 innings, forcing the Yankee bullpen to pitch more than seven innings. That was a recipe for disaster, and disaster ensued.

Continue reading "Joba Can't Deliver Relief"

We're all already on a first-name basis with him... so will Joba Chamberlain be the starter to take us back to .500 tonight and get the season on the right track?

The Yankees are off to a horrifying 28-29 start, with key players injured (Posada) and others suspended (Hawkins).  Luckily, Toronto isn't particularly good at hitting first-time starters, and the Yankees seem to be faring well with a recent record of 14 for 20.  And even though Joba can't throw 99 mph for seven innings, he's a pitcher with the presence of mind to get himself through his first 60-70 pitches as a starter (which is how many Girardi said he'd allow the near-rookie to throw).

Continue reading "Is Joba the Answer? And Big Papi's Out?"

For you Yankee fans out there, I'm going to commit the ultimate fan heresy and argue against ARod, and in favor of Boston's Manny Ramirez, as the greatest hitter in the game today. He doesn't have anywhere near the defensive value that ARod does, and he's more of a clubhouse canker (I won't say "cancer" as he's more annoying than destructive) but he gets my nod for a consistently good eye, consistent power, and postseason performance. 

Continue reading "Manny Ramirez: Baseball's Best Active Hitter"

I was hoping to get this up yesterday with the Yankees-Red Sox series fresh in everyone’s mind but I didn’t have the time.  After a few weeks of the baseball season and watching almost every Red Sox and Yankee game I have a few observations on these two teams so far.  You may not agree with them all, this is just what I have noticed this season.

Continue reading "Early Season Observations of Yanks and Sox"

Before I get to the 16 things we all need to know before the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 this weekend I would like to congratulate myself on some of my correct predictions.  I said the games would be much closer than last year and I must say, these games last week were unbelievable.  The scheduling by CBS sucked though because it seemed every good game happened at the same time as another good game and then there would be slots where all four games were blowouts.  This is something CBS needs to look at next year, I don’t want a time slot with two #1’s playing 16’s, a 2 playing a 15 and a 3 playing a 14.  I also said that last weekend would be the best sports weekend of the year and outside of my Giants winning the Super Bowl it definitely was (the Super Bowl has to be put on another level though and doesn’t count).  I also said many people would be throwing their brackets away on Monday morning and assuming many of you had Duke going further then round 2 and didn’t have Davidson or Western Kentucky in your Sweet 16 I feel confident that I was correct.  My final four is also still alive.  I feel very good about my predictions and even better about this tournament being an absolute classic.  All we need is a few great Sweet 16 games and a couple good ones over the weekend, followed by a powerhouse Final Four and we have a tournament to remember, as I predicted.

Continue reading "Sweet 16 Preview"

The New York Yankees try to carry themselves with the belief that they are the classiest team in baseball. Earlier this week manager Joe Girardi took a stance that was not supported by many others in baseball when he harshly criticized a home plate collision in a game earlier this week, calling it dirty and something that you don’t do in Spring Training. If a young player trying to get noticed by his manager his coming into home and the plate is completely blocked, he has every right to barrel over the catcher. If Girardi doesn’t want such a thing to happen, he should tell his catcher not to block the plate in Spring Training. Nonetheless, I can understand Yankees pitcher Heath Phillips throwing at Evan Longoria in retaliation the next time the two teams met, that at least sends a statement to your teammates that you’ve got their backs. However, when Shelley Duncan slid into second base with his spikes high, that is just plain dirty and something that is unacceptable at anytime in the season. The home plate collision was a young kid trying to make a play, done with no malicious intent. Sliding into a base with your spikes in the air can only be seen as trying to injure another player.

Continue reading "Yankees Playing Dirty . . . And Other ..."

The New York Yankees try to carry themselves with the belief that they are the classiest team in baseball. Earlier this week manager Joe Girardi took a stance that was not supported by many others in baseball when he harshly criticized a home plate collision in a game earlier this week, calling it dirty and something that you don’t do in Spring Training. If a young player trying to get noticed by his manager his coming into home and the plate is completely blocked, he has every right to barrel over the catcher. If Girardi doesn’t want such a thing to happen, he should tell his catcher not to block the plate in Spring Training. Nonetheless, I can understand Yankees pitcher Heath Phillips throwing at Evan Longoria in retaliation the next time the two teams met, that at least sends a statement to your teammates that you’ve got their backs. However, when Shelley Duncan slid into second base with his spikes high, that is just plain dirty and something that is unacceptable at anytime in the season. The home plate collision was a young kid trying to make a play, done with no malicious intent. Sliding into a base with your spikes in the air can only be seen as trying to injure another player.

Continue reading "Yankees Playing Dirty . . . And Other ..."