Armchair Weekend in Review (May 25-28, 2007)

by user JB82

MLB Weekend Highlights

For all his struggles, New York Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado put on a display of power on Saturday night. Delgado clubbed his first home run some 450+ feet, and his second dinger measured in at 427 feet. The Amazins needed both of the taters as they beat the Florida Marlins, 7-2.

Speaking of homers, Barry Bonds hit his first in two and a half weeks on Sunday. His 746th career home run came in the 6th inning of Colorado Rockies pitcher Taylor Buchholz, and wound up being the only one of the entire game. However, it came in a losing effort as the Rox got two runs in the tenth inning to win, 6-4.

A scary moment for Cincinnati Reds fans on Monday. Reds outfielders Ryan Freel, renown for his balls-to-the-wall defensive play, and Norris Hopper collided while in pursuit of a fly ball. While Hopper stayed in the game, Freel was taken to the hospital, leaving the field via a stretcher with contusions to his neck and head. Good thing he's OK...

MMA makes its AWIR debut!

Last week, I mentioned mixed martial arts (or MMA, for short) in passing. Well, seeing as the mainstream media decided to give this a look, the AWIR joined the herd of mules going after that carrot. The UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) held it 71st big event at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden arena, and the main attraction was the light heavyweight championship bout between "The Iceman" Chuck Lidell and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. At 1:53 of the first round, Jackson finished off the Iceman and clinched the belt via KO.

Auto racing's biggest weekend

If you were a gearhead, this was your weekend. Between Europe and the American South, you were covered, and then some...
- The day started off with one of Formula 1's answer to the Daytona 500: the Grand Prix of Monaco. Spaniard driver Fernando Alonso mastered the streets of Monte Carlo, while British rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton finished right behind him, in second place.
- In the afternoon (Eastern Time), the 91st edition of the Indianapolis 500 got underway with three women in the field of 33 drivers, a first at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (aka "The Brickyard"). After two rain delays, the first of which stopped the race for several hours, Dario Franchitti became the first Scotsman to win the 500, shortened this year to 166 laps, so it was more like the Indianapolis 415...
- Then as the evening came, drivers in NASCAR's NEXTEL Cup Series started its long day's journey into night with the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway outside Charlotte, North Carolina. In a fitting coincidence with the Memorial Day Weekend, Casey Mears (nephew of four-time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears) brought his (US) National Guard Chevy home for his first career series win. Kyle Petty got his first top 5 finish in ten years, finishing third.

NBA Playoffs from the Armchair

The Utah Jazz managed to get back into their series with the San Antonio Spurs with a 109-83 win in Game 3. Meanwhile, Lebron James, criticized for his decision making (or lack thereof) down the stretch, scored 32 points and came within a rebound and an assist of a triple-double in an 88-82 Game 3 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Odds and Sods

Props to the University at Albany baseball team, who clinched the America East championship on Saturday with a 1-0 shutout of Binghamton. The Danes will await their opponent on the road to the College World Series.

The men's lacrosse team at Duke University went through so much during the last 15 months, from allegations of rape at an off-campus party to the cancellation of the rest of the 2006 season, to the dropping of those charges. The Blue Devils overcame all that and made it into the NCAA tournament. On Saturday, it seemed as though Cornell would end their season just shy of Monday's title game, scoring five unanswered goals to tie the game at 11. But, with three seconds left, Zack Greer netted the game-winner to send the Devils to the national title game, 12-11.
- Monday came sure enough, only to see Duke beaten by Johns Hopkins, a perennial men's lax powerhouse, 9-8. It was the Blue Jays' first title since 1989, going undefeated in the process.

On Sunday, the ESPN investigative program Outside the Lines received news that there were further allegations about Michael Vick's involvement in dog fighing. This "anonymous source" said that the Atlanta Falcons quarterback had been doing it since early this decade. Just when you think his karma couldn't get any lower, it keeps digging...

More bad news for the NFL: there is word that New England Patriots defensive end Marquise Hill went missing after an accident on Lake Ponchartrain in Louisiana. While his girlfriend was rescued by the US Coast Guard, Hill got lost in the shuffle during the initial rescue attempt. Here's hoping he gets found, and soon...
- UPDATE: Hill has since been found dead. Condolences to teammates, family, friends, and the Patriots organization...

Memorial Day Picnic Leftovers

Monday night saw the Jazz lose their cool, with guard Derek Fisher and head coach Jerry Sloan getting the gate for popping their corks. Meanwhile, the Spurs played it cool, with Manu Ginobili making 11 consecutive free throws down the stretch for a 91-79 win and a 3-1 series lead.

Meanwhile, out west, the Stanley Cup Finals began and saw both the Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators play each other as though they had done so during the regular season. The Ducks' Travis Moen notched the game-winner with under three minutes to go in regulation, scoring a 3-2 win over the vaunted Eastern Conference champs.