Stock Up/Stock Down for the week 7/23/06
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by user DRE-LO
Stock Up
Floyd Landis - The torch has been officially passed. For the 8th time in a row, an American ends up in the winner's circle of the Tour de France. Floyd Landis won by a margin of 57 seconds, but consider the fact that he fell on the final climb on Wednesday and fell 8 minutes and 8 seconds behind. ESPN.com wrote him off. So did the newspapers. Almost everyone except..Floyd Landis.
Tiger Woods - As great a career as he has had, it's hard to imagine his stock going up any further. There are many great closers and finishers in sports such as Mariano Rivera and Michael Jordan. But right now, Tiger is the best finisher there is. Once he hit his stride and grabbed the lead in the second round, there was this unique sense among many that this tournament was over. He was accurate in his tee shots, hitting the fairway as well as the tee shots hitting the green on Par 3s. You couldn't help but feel thrilled for him as his emotions spilled out. I bet I wasn't the only one that stood up and clapped for him.
Ty Law/Kansas City Chiefs - This latest 5-year deal by the Kansas City Chiefs reunites Ty Law with head coach Herman Edwards. Law led the league with 10 interceptions and still can make an impact himself on D. But he will make even more of an impact in the locker room mentoring the secondary and giving this defense what it was missing the most - an identity. He will team up with Patrick Surtain for a sick 1-2 combo at the cornerback position. This signing is a message to the NFL that the Chiefs aren't playing around.
Jered Weaver - 7-0 in his first seven starts. Not too shabby of a beginning to a major league career. His ERA is 1.15. He's the first rookie in 25 years to win his first 7 starts. This is a huge shot in the arm for the Angels, who are in a tight divisional race. This guy could be the reason they're playing October Baseball.
Carlos Baldonir - Why Not? He knocks out Zab Judah to win the welterweight championship on January and then scores a ninth round TKO against Arturo Gatti. He's making a stronger case for fighter of the year and apparently wants to take on Floyd Mayweather later on this year. No problem with me. Just don't put it on PPV.
Stock Down
New York Islanders - Did anyone hear that thud? The familiar sound of a franchise hitting rockbottom? Unfortunately, it's a team in New York (and it isn't the Knicks). Sometimes, I forget that New York has two hockey teams. Neil Smith was bounced by Charles Wang after only one month due to the fact they weren't seeing eye-to-eye on what to do to improve the Islanders. Apparently, Wang didnt want a GM who could think for himself even if it had worked for him before (i.e., the 1994 New York Rangers). So Charles Wang replaced him with Garth Snow. A backup goaltender is now the general manager of the Islanders. Can you hear the thud now?
Arturo Gatti - For the second summer in a row, Gatti was knocked out in front of his loyal legion of fans. First by Mayweather and now by Baldomir. There are few fighters who manage to keep a consistent fan base on the upside and downside of their careers. Vargas may have lost his fan base forever after his embarassment. With Gatti's loss, it's another blow for boxing. Best stick to watching the Contender for now.
Alex Rodriguez - For a guy who got his 2000th hit and his 450th Home Run, it could not have been a more horrible week. 2-16 in the series against Toronto with 13 men left on base. A horrific 3 error game on Tuesday against the Mariners that brought back memories of Knoblauch. This guy is not having any fun playing the game of baseball. For all the pressure which is seemingly automatically placed on him due to his contract and being in New York, A-Rod places more on himself. He is pressing and the struggles are getting to his head. It's similar to what happened with Knoblauch in 2000 or even with Beltran last year. A-Rod trade rumors may be intensifying this week.
Reggie Bush/New Orleans public officials - This guy hasn't played a game yet and he may be already taking the game for granted. According to [htt[://msnbc.com MSNBC], Reggie Bush is considering not even playing this year due to struggles with his contract negotiations. What in the name of T.O is going on here? With his numerous endorsement deals that I'm sure will come, Reggie will have more than enough moolah for a rookie. Please don't pull a Ron Artest, T.O or Latrell Sprewell on us, Reggie.
The New Orleans Saints will be playing in the SuperDome this season. It sounds pretty amazing considering the state of this arena during Katrina last year. However, all the schools in New Orleans haven't been set up as yet. Some parts of New Orleans don't even have power and still have damage stemming from Katrina. There are reports of suicide almost every day. I'm pissed to see that the cleanup in New Orleans is going at the pace of a snail. Why can't the same effort that is devoted into rebuilding a stadium for a football team be put into getting the basic necessities and quality of life back in the city of New Orleans again?
Date
Sun 07/23/06, 7:48 pm EST
