Armchair Weekend in Review (July 21-23, 2006)

by user JB82

Lots to talk about, so let's get on with it. But first, take a good look at the titles of the headlines, as they have a common thread. Can you guess what that bond is? Read on; hopefully you'll figure it out before you get to the end. Leave your guess in the comment sections below.

Four Sticks

The New York Yankees, especially Alex Rodriguez, had themselves a weekend they'd rather forget.

Trampled Under Foot

The Yanks took their second trip north of the border this season to play the Toronto Blue Jays, and got beaten out of the Great White North 3 games to one.

Good Times Bad Times

While E-Rod collected his 2,000th career hit and became the youngest player ever to hit 450 home runs in the series, his defense (or lack thereof) continued to be a source of agita.

During the series, Rodriguez went 4-22 with only 1 homer and 3 RBIs and made two errors. He now has 18 of the latter on the year, leading all MLB third basemen.

When The Levee Breaks

The biggest blow of the series came on Sunday, when newly-acquired Sidney Ponson served up five gopherballs, three of which came in the third inning. On the day, Ponson went 2 and a third innings, gave up six earned runs on five hits, walked three and struck out five.

Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp

(Replace "Bron-Yr-Aur" with "Toronto")
In that game, the Jays stomped all over the Yanks 13-5.

Dazed and Confused

After this series, that's how this reporter feels about A-Rod right now.

The Rain Song

Elsewhere in the majors, Texas Rangers manager Buck Showalter missed Sunday's game against the Chicago White Sox due to dehydration. He didn't miss anything, as the defending world champs beat the Rangers 5-0.

Communication Breakdown

Back on June 14 in Texas, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen ordered pitcher Sean Tracey to drill Rangers first baseman Hank Blalock in retaliation for an earlier duster Vicente Padilla gave to A.J. Pierzynski. Tracey, since demoted to AAA, managed to pitch behind Blalock and soon induce a ground out. After seeing this episode, an enraged Guillen gave Tracey the hook and a stern dugout lecture that left the latter in tears.

Fast forward to Sunday. Same pitcher, same two teams. Padilla drills Alex Cintron in the bottom of the third. Guillen had revenge on his mind for the fourth, instructing starting pitcher John Garland to retaliate. He did everything but such; the only time he came close to plunking a Rangers batter was when he threw behind Ian Kinsler. Like last time, Guillen gave Garland an earful. Unlike last time, Garland was a man about it and stayed in the game.

The Song Remains the Same

Meanwhile, across the Pond, Tiger Woods managed to fend off all comers (and Chris DiMarco) to wim the 2006 British Open at Royal Liverpool. This was Woods' 11th major, his first British Open repeat, and his first major win since his dad passed.

Over The Hills and Far Away

Across the Channel, it seemed that was how far Floyd Landis had to climb to win the Tour de France in the last four days. After Wednesday's stage, Landis was 8 1/2 minutes behind the overall leader, Spaniard Oscar Pereiro. But, Landis put on a stunning performance the next day and never looked back. He is only the third American to win the event (two guys named Greg Lemond and Lance Armstrong have also done it.)

Ramble On

While his teammate, Tony Stewart got into some rough driving during the race, Denny Hamlin ran the table at Pocono Raceway and won the Pennsylvania 500. Stewart finished 7th and is still trying to get into the "Race for the Chase." Kevin Harvick, a Nextel Cup regular, won the Busch Series race at Martinsville, Virginia.
Tony Kanaan won the IRL IndyCar race at Milwaukee, while Sebastien Bourdais took the ChampCar World Series checkered flag in Edmonton.
American Nicky Hayden won the MotoGP RedBull US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca, the series' first trip to this side of the Pond in a decade and his second win of the year. Valentino Rossi lasted only two laps, and he and Hayden are fourth and first in the World Standings, respectively.

Stairway to Heaven

No Quarter

WILLIAMS WATCH: Ricky Williams left Saturday's game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders with a broken arm, but not before getting 4 carries for 17 yards in the Toronto Argonauts' 26-23 win over the Roughriders. It is unknown at this time when Williams will return to active duty.

Celebration Day

Ty Law has been reunited with Herm Edwards, signing on with the Kansas City Chiefs for five years and an undisclosed amount of money.
Speaking of New York and KC, Bruce Arena made good in his MLS debut, coaching the New York Red Bulls to a 1-0 win over the Kansas City Wizards.

Ten Years Gone

This past week marked ten years since Atlanta hosted the Olympic Games. It was the Olympics marked by a Parkinson's-ridden Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic cauldron, Michael Johnson breaking records on the track, and Kerri Strug vaulting her way into the American conciousness. However, it was also an Olympics marred by a bomb incident wherein one person was killed. While it was nothing like what happened in Munich 24 years earlier, it was still a tragedy none the less. It is a woman named Melih Uzunyol, the lone fatality of the Olympic Park bombing, to whom this week's AWIR is dedicated.