Month: December 2009

Sealing the deal: Mariners stay winning; Phils score with Roy, lose with Lee

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Not only are they excellent pitchers, but they're very sharp dressers

I don’t actually know how to successfully pronounce his name, but Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik is well on his way to cementing himself as one of the best general managers in the game because of his prescience and boldness. The Mariners ended up yesterday with one of the best pitchers in baseball, who’ll make just 9 million dollars this year, and all they gave up were prospects that aren’t among the top players in their system.

But while the Phillies finally landed Roy Halladay, losing Cliff Lee seemingly unnecessarily cast a pallor over their end of the deal.

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The Afternoon After: Falcons paying for feeding into Curse of 370

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Here are my thoughts after another Sunday spent at Houlihan’s, which was once again a good time – the tuna wontons continue to deliver, and they actually remembered from two weeks ago what beer I preferred and told me to “come back soon.” I believe I just may be ready to make the jump… to regular. Stay tuned.

The 370 curse claims another victim

With players getting bigger over the years as conditioning and science dictate, and the crushing hits getting ever more debilitating, the days of one running back carrying the mail have wound down – with a few notable exceptions. (Basically just Chris Johnson, who avoids contact by breaking untouched touchdown runs all the time, and Adrian Peterson)

The Atlanta Falcons are a perfect example of why.

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Driven to survive: SI’s choice of Jeter all about their bottom line

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dj Now don’t get this twisted, I actually very much respect Derek Jeter. He’s an excellent baseball player, keeps his name off Page 6, does a lot of charity work and has a work ethic I admire.

But Jeter as Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year? Either it was a slow year, or that “award” is a sham.

And it wasn’t a slow year.

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One felled swoosh: Perceived perfection led Tiger to flawed existence

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Tiger's new public stance

It appears that after all this time, what the world might have really wanted is for Tiger Woods to be flawed, because it brings him down to everyone else’s level.

When someone appears to be too perfect, it makes people uncomfortable. It forces them to face their own deficiencies. And for so long, Tiger was just too damned perfect.

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The Afternoon After: Staring down defeat the best way to learn to win

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Lots to talk about this week. Let’s get right into it.

Act like you've won it all before? One of these men has

As the Saints and Colts chase perfection, they’re doing it in a different fashion than the Patriots two years ago, and that’s probably a good thing, as they’re experiencing adversity.

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Do the right thing: Pacquiao-Mayweather a needed spike for fight game

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Face to face 
With boxing, as the Rolling Stones said, you can’t always get what you want. In fact, you virtually never get what you want.

But just this once, as a fight that every boxing fan desires actually may become reality, you might just find you get what you need.

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