The sports page
Four years behind me at Iowa State University came a basketball player by the name of Paul Shirley, a 6'10" center who was named to the all-academic Big 12 team four times. Shirley has since parlayed a journeyman's professional career and an on-line blogging assignment for espn.com into a television opportunity. His on-line journal entries have run the gamut from league city travelogues to descriptions of player/groupie relations. The self-described "little-used, semi-normal white guy" playing in the NBA is one of your brighter bulbs, a friend of a friend, and, I think, a character you'll find very endearing. This is his summary of how the TV show based on his personal and professional life came into development, and this is my favorite of his more recent blog entries.Oh, and this one (subscription required) is for you Cyclones fans.
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The Cardinals begin their 2006 season Monday afternoon at Philadelphia. In a key subplot, starting pitcher and Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter will be trying to halt Phillies' shortstop Jimmy Rollins' 36 game hitting streak held over from last year. It's the longest hit streak in baseball since Paul Molitor's 37 game run in 1987 and 20 short of Joe DiMaggio's record.
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The Chicago White Sox will start the season with a higher payroll than the crosstown Cubs. They are the defending World Champions but this defies all logic.
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I've been trying to think of something to say-- something good to say-- about the NCAA basketball tournament. I just couldn't care less about it. The sport is experiencing a remarkable drought of distinct teams and standout players going back probably all the way to Michigan's Fab Four in the early '90s. College hoops is in desperate need of a new Lew Alcindor, a dominant 30-points-a-game type performer on a great team. It would be most entertaining to me if they stopped playing defense again, like they did in the late '80s.
I'm probably the only person who doesn't like the 64-team elimination format. It's front-heavy in excitement and, among all major sports tournaments, is least likely to produce a championship game between two true titans, i.e. 1979's Michigan State/Indiana State final. ("Cinderella"-type upsets are only exciting until the next round when you have a hungover 15 seed battling a number seven.) Not a single player in this year's Final Four is, or will ever be, a household name, and the four teams' coaches are the towering figures of John Brady, Ben Howland, Jim Larranaga, and Billy Donovan. Thank God for gambling, huh?
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Hey, I've got some hockey for you. The team that I claim when forced-- the St. Louis Blues-- were eliminated from NHL playoff contention last week for the first time since 1979, ending the longest franchise playoff streak in professional sports at 24. There are two principle reasons you had never heard of this streak: 1) the NHL allows over half of its teams into the playoffs each year, and 2) because the Blues never won the Stanley Cup during this stretch or even managed to reach the Cup Finals. Still, it's a noteworthy achievement, and here's why I think so-- compare the changes in the league between 1979 and now with the following lists of league franchises...
2006 (30)
Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals
1979 (17)
Atlanta Flames, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals
posted by CM @ 4:32 PM
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