Armchair Weekend in Review (June 1-3, 2007)
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by user JB82
MLB: One Wild Weekend
- Two old rivals met for the last time in two and a half months, and there was plenty to talk about from this series:
- Friday saw the New York Yankees go all out on the Boston Red Sox and light up Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield for eight earned runs in a 9-5 win. This game saw Yanks manager Joe Torre get the gate disputing a caught stealing call in the fifth, only to be joined by reliever Scott Proctor. Torre's boot would be the first of many over the weekend in baseball.
- The following day was as gut-wrenching a loss as a Yankee fan (of which this reporter is one) could ever endure. Doug Mientkiewicz' collision with Sox third baseman Mike Lowell in the seventh was nothing compared to whatever else happened in the seventh inning, as Lowell threw around his body in a 11-6 loss.
- As if the Yanks' karma couldn't have suffered a new low, there came news on Saturday that Roger Clemens would miss Monday's start with a groin injury.
- This set the stage for Sunday night's rubber match, which saw the Yanks build a 4-0 shutout, only to give it all back in the fifth inning. However, Alex Rodriguez, the Fenway Faithful's whipping boy, dished out what may be one of the biggest home runs this season, as A-Rod clubbed a solo shot in the ninth inning against Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon to take the series, 6-5.
- The Yankees' troubles this year look relatively small compared to what the Chicago Cubs have been going through. On Friday afternoon, it all came to a head when Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano and battery mate Michael Barrett duked it out in the dugout during an 8-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves. The two combattants did battle once more in the clubhouse, BTW, with Barrett suffering a fat lip in the second fight.
- The next day, it was manager Lou Piniella's turn to vent his frustrations, and what better person to whom he could do it than an umpire. Sweet Lou (a misnomer these days) angrily pleaded his case on a CS involving Cubs third baseman Angel Pagan. Piniella incorporated the shop-worn techniques of throwing the cap onto the ground and kicking dirt, but did 3B umpire Mark Wenger get in the way? The suits at MLB said so, and gave Piniella a three-game (now four-game, as we go to press) suspension.
More manager mayhem
- Piniella's South Side counterpart, Ozzie Guillen, also got in a rhubarb on Sunday. The hot-headed Chicago White Sox manager got the boot when he took his argument about Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Lyle Overbay's going around on a check swing a bit too far. After an appeal from third base blue Chuck Meriweather, Guillen voiced his objections to home plate ump Alfonso Marquez
- The previous night, Detroit Tigers skipper Jim Leyland was ejected for arguing balls and strikes. Leyland thought Tigers pitcher Chad Durbin had thrown a strike to Cleveland Indians slugger Travis Hafner in the fourth inning, which turned out to be a ball. After Hafner was retired, Leyland was so adamant about his point, he even took his case to all four umpires, but to no avail. Also joining Leyland was pitcher Justin Verlander, who was just sitting in the dugout.
- Grady little disputed a play at the plate and also got his walking papers on Sunday during the fourth inning. Little was thrown out for only the second time this year.
- However, none of these managerial hissy-fits compared to the grand-daddy of them all. Philip Wellman had us all thinking about Joe Mikulik on Friday when the manager of the Mississippi Braves (the Braves' AA affiliate) threw a tantrum while disputing a play of unknown origin against the Chattanooga Lookouts in Tennessee. See the video below for the whole thing:
NBA Eastern Conference Finals from the Armchair
In only his fourth NBA season, Lebron James is headed to the NBA Finals, as are the Cleveland Cavaliers, for the first time ever. King James and unheralded rookie Daniel Gibson led the way to a 98-82 rout of the Detroit Pistons, a 4-2 series win, and will contend for Cleveland's first pro sports title since 1964.
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Armchair
While the Ottawa Senators finally got one back for the one they lost, 5-3, in Game 3, but this game will be remembered by Sens fans for a rather brutal hit by the Ducks' Chris Pronger to Sens forward Dean MacAmmon's head. Pronger, who comitted a similar act last month against the Detroit Red Wings, was suspended for Monday's Game 4 for his actions against the former Albany River Rats left wing.
Fast Track
- In a race postponed from Sunday due to rain, Martin Truex, Jr. notched his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series win in the Autism Speaks 400 presented by Visa. At least Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has something to smile about...
- Speaking of NASCAR, the AWIR sends out its condolences to those associated with Bill France, Jr., former chairman of NASCAR. France passed on Monday at age 74 from cancer, and news of his death was announced during the aforementioned race.
- Helio Castroneves thought he had the A.J. Foyt 225 in his back pocket, but a late-race incident gave Tony Kanaan his second IRL IndyCar series win of the year at Milwaukee.
- Meanwhile, across the Pond, Italian Valentino Rossi notched his second series win in the MotoGP Italian Grand Prix at Mugello.
Odds and sods – soccer style!
- Staying in Europe, football came home to a newly refurbished Wembley Stadium and the Three Lions battled Brazil to a 1-1 draw in an international friendly, the first match played since its reopening.
- We shove off to the Continent for this last item. Denmark and Sweden were battling it out in a Euro 2008 qualifier, the Swedes opening up a 3-0 lead but letting the Danes to come back to draw at 3-3. One minute from stoppage time, Danish striker Christian Poulsen belted his Swedish counterpart Marcus Rosenberg in the stomach, warranting a penalty kick. However, the latter never came about as a Danish fan decided to go onto the field and have it out with referee Herbert Fandel, who gave Poulsen the boot. The match was abandoned at 3-3, though FIFA may consider giving the Swedes a 3-0 walkover win depending on how the investigation pans out.
That's all for this week
Until next week, as always, let's all be good sports...
