Armchair Weekend in Review (July 20-22, 2007)

Lost to get to, so let's get down to business...

NBA Gambling Scandal

The weekend started with a shocking scandal in the NBA. Okay, I exaggerated that a bit, but it was still a scandal. The New York Daily News reported that NBA referee Tim Donaghy was involved in betting on league games, some of which he officiated during the last two seasons. Donaghy has since resigned despite not facing any charges, but stay tuned, cos this could get interesting, just like the Michael Vick dog fighting saga...

On to some good news

With Major League Baseball commisioner Bud Selig in attendance, San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds (the reason he was there) produced no homers in the Giants' series win over the Milwaukee Brewers. On Sunday, Selig did not see Mr. BALCO at all, as the latter was not in the lineup. In all, Bonds went 0-6 with two walks in the series.
After getting pounded in their series opener against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the New York Yankees busted out the whooping sticks (and but hard). A Saturday doubleheader saw the Bronx Bombers bomb out 24 runs against hapless D-Ray pitching in the nightcap and a new face and sense of energy: Shelley Duncan hit his first career home run in the first game (a low-scoring 7-2 affair). Sunday saw the bats really come alive, as the Yanks combined for six home runs (including Duncan's second and Alex Rodriguez' 498th lifetime) in a 21-4 pantsing royale.
Another hot bat belonged to Willie Harris. The Atlanta Braves outfielder had a devilish game on Saturday, going 6-6 with 6 RBI in a 14-6 rout of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Two obituaries from the weekend:
- Mike Coolbaugh, first base coach for the Texas League's Tulsa Drillers, was struck by a line drive during a game against the Arkansas Travelers on Sunday. Coolbuagh was given CPR and then taken to a Little Rock, Arkansas, hospital. However, he died en route in the ambulance at the age of 35. Condolences to the Drillers and Coolbaugh's family and associates...
- Earlier in the day, a lesser known obit. Rollie Stiles, beleived to be the oldest living ex-Major Leaguer, passed in his sleep that morning. Stiles (no realtion to our very own Manny Stiles) played for the old St. Louis Browns during the 1930s and was believed to be the oldest living ex-Major Leaguer at the time of his death at age 100.

Ye Olde Playoffe

Entering the final round of the British Open, the talk was whether or not Sergio Garcia, who had dominated the tournament thus far, would hang on for his first major. However, Garcia blew up and wound up in a playoff with Padraig Harrington. The last playoff in the Open came in 1999, also played at Carnoustie and best remembered for Jean van de Valde's choke. We can be thankful that El Ninño did not suffer the same fate, and that Harrington, like Paul Lawrie eight years ago, came out the winner.

Becks in America

There was doubt amongst US soccer insiders that David Beckham would not be in the lineup (if not play at all) in his MLS debut against English club Chelsea. But, in the 77th minute, the Los Angeles Galaxy's newest acquisition took to MLS pitch for the first time and did nothing of note. Of lesser consequence, Chelsea won the match, 1-0.

From fútbol to "football, eh?"

The Edmonton Eskimos improved to .500 (2-2 record) thanks to a come-from-bheind 21-20 win over the Sasketchewan Roughriders. The Esks had to fight their way back in the second half, getting the W on a 47-yard field goal from Sean Fleming with about two minutes to go in the game.
Meanwhile, the Esks provinicial co-tenants, the Calgary Stampeders blew out the Toronto Argonauts 33-10, thanks to career game from Stamps QB Henry Burris. Burris went 16-31 with a career high 307 yards and two touchdowns.

Fast Track

With the NEXTEL Cup on a week's hiatus, the Busch Series got the spotlight under the lights in St. Louis. Reed Sorensen got his first series win in two years at Gateway International Raceway on Saturday night.
Fernando Alonso, the defending twice World Champion, returned to the top of the podium in the European Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton started tenth in the race despite a crash in qualifiying.
Along with Beckham, the MotoGP circuit made its way to California. The US Grand Prix, held at Laguna Seca, saw our old friend Casey Stoner take the checkered flag in a race where the Americans have home turf advantage. The series will be out of action until the third week of August, when it'll all start up again in the Czech Republic.
Other winners on the weekend include Scott Dixon (IRL near Cleveland) and Sébastien Bourdais (ChampCar at Edmonton).

Odds and Sods

While Alberto Contador and Alexandre Vinokourov won their respective stages, Denmark's Michael Rasmussen still clings to the maillot jaune in the Tour de France, leading the Spaniard by almost two and a half minutes. The nearest Hern in the pack is teammate Levi Leipheimer, who stand three minutes further back.
Someone told me last week that I forgot to include Arena Football in last week's discussion. This reporter will now rectify the matter with the week off between that and Arena Bowl XXI.
- The Columbus Destroyers will look to give Central Ohio its first professional sports championship next weekend thanks to a 66-56 win over the Georgia Force. The Destroyers' run this year has been akin to that of Villanova's for the 1985 NCAA men's basketball championship, Whoda thunk it?
- The Destroyers' opponents next weekend in New Orleans will be the San Jose Sabercats, who punched their ticket with a 61-49 win over the defending champion Chicago Rush.