Armchair Weekend in Review (May 18-20, 2007)
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by user JB82
The last AWIR before the Memorial Day Weekend (here in the States, announcement about that coming near the end) begins with a look at MLB Interleague play...
- It was a bleak state of affairs for the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bummers had dropped three games in a row and four of their last five. Friday saw the Yanks build a 2-1 lead against the New York Mets, only to give it all back for a 3-2 loss. Saturday saw second baseman Robinson Cano feature in a comedy of errors, which left this reporter (and Yankees fan) unamused in a 10-7 defeat.
- Who knew that it would be up to AAA import Tyler Clippard to (hopefully) get the Yanks back on track? The "Yankee Clippard" worked six solid innings, giving up only one earned run on three hits and striking out six to give the Yanks a 6-2 win and avoid a sweep at the hands of their crosstown rivals. More good news for the BX faithful: Roger Clemens was sharp in a four-inning workday in single-A Tampa on Friday night.
- Another AL team that avoided a sweep and got a win from a first-timer was the Chicago White Sox. Perhaps Ozzie Guillen's tirade with a Chicago sports talk show host was some bad karma as the ChiSox dropped the first two games of their series against the Chicago Cubs. On Sunday afternoon, the South Siders also avoided the broom, and Nick Masset got his first MLB win, 10-6. A.J. Pierzynski helped out with a grand slam in the seventh inning. And to think that a year ago at this time, these two teams were in battle mode in more ways than one...
- Back last October, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Detroit Tigers in six games to win their first World Series since 1982. But, oh what a difference a year makes! The Cards are on the outs, with further edification coming on a three-game sweep by the Tigers.
- San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry Zito came home to Oakland to be razzed by the Oakland Athletics faithful, and then get buried his former mates. The Giants jumped all over Zito in a 15-3 beatdown of the A's on Friday.
- The Cleveland Indians haven't had great home cooking since 1900. Proof of same: the Indians' 16-4 start at Jacobs Field, which was added by a 2-1 homestand against their in-state rivals, the Cincinnati Reds.
Another year, no Triple Crown...
That's the attitude after the 132nd Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Curlin, who had his undefeated streak snapped two weeks ago at the Kentucky Derby, got back for the one he lost by beating the favorite Street Sense at the wire by a head. NBC may as well put MMA on their airwaves the late afternoon/early evening of June 9, IMO...
Ditto for ABC
- A physical series came to a rather anti-climactic end on Friday. The San Antonio Spurs earned the right to face the Utah Jazz in what should be a ho-hum Western Conference Final by eliminating the Phoenix Suns 114-106. Manu Ginobili got a double-double (33 points and 11 rebounds) while Tony Parker scored 30.
- Meanwhile in the swamps of New Jersey, the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to someplace they haven't been in 15 years: the Eastern Conference Finals. They got there with an 88-72 win over the New Jersey Nets. Note to Lebron James (23 and 8 on the game) and Co.: good luck against the Detroit Pistons.
- Back to the Spurs for a moment: The Spurs also got the first game of the aforementioned Western Conference Final with a 108-100 win over the Utah Jazz. Apparently, noone in SA seemed to care, as the SBC Center had a good deal of empty seats...
NHL Playoffs from the Armchair
- Last year, the Buffalo Sabres knocked off the Ottawa Senators to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. One year (and one big brawl) later, the two teams met to determine who would play for the Stanley Cup. Except for Game 4, the series was a washout, and the Sens' Daniel Alfredsson dumped the last bucket of water on the Sabres' magic season with an overtime game-winning goal in Game 5. The Senators will play for the Cup for the first time since way back in 1927, and the first in their present incarnation – they entered (or "re-entered") the league in 1991.
- The question now is who will face the Sens? It looks to be the Anaheim Ducks, who got closer to only their second appearance in the Finals in the last five years with a 2-1 overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings. Teemu Selanne scored the game winner with just over eight minutes left in overtime.
FA Cup Follies
The newly refurbished and redesigned Wembley Stadium in London played host to the FA Cup Final for the first time in seven years. Oddly enough, that was when Chelsea last won the Cup, and the runner-up in 2007 beat the Premiership champion Manchester United on an extra time goal by Blues striker Didier Drogba. It was the fourth time in their 102-year history that they copped the Cup.
Fast Track
- Kevin Harvick was an accident-prone driver in the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge as of late, but he managed to keep his car out fo the garage before the end of the race as he scored his first win in NASCAR's equivalent of an All-Star Game. Next week, the points-paying fun continues with the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race on the schedule.
- The starting field for the 91st Indianapolis 500 will have something that it has not had in the race's history: more than one female driver. Three women will be amongst the 33 drivers who will compete in the 500: Danica Patrick, who shocked the world with her performance in 2005; Sarah Fisher, a veteran in the IRL IndyCar Series, and Venezuelan driver Milka Duno, who will be one of only two rookies in the field.
- Across the Pond, Australian Chris Vermeulen took the MotoGP event at Le Mans, France, while fellow Moto-roo (my term) Casey Stoner keeps his lead in the points standings.
Odds and Sods
- It had to end sometime, but Rafael Nadal saw his 81-match winning streak on clay come to an end in the Hamburg Masters on Sunday. The player responsible: Roger Federer, I kid you not...
- Big props to the University at Albany softball and men's lacrosse teams. Men's lax lost in overtime with nine seconds left to Cornell, 12-11, in the NCAA Men's Lacrosse regional final, while UA softball was shut out by Baylor, 10-0, the next day.
Now for that announcement
Last year in this space, I announced that I would be taking the Memorial Day Weekend off. This year, it'll be a different story, as the AWIR will recap next week what should be an exciting four days of sports action. So, expect next week's issue either late Monday or sometime on Tuesday.
Until then, let's all be good sports...
