random facts, tidbits, articles and most importantly my thoughts about things that i find while aimlessly surfing the web...
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Architecture, College Football, Baseball, Hockey, March Madness, The Economy, Corporate Corruption, Incomptent Leadership, Tulane, Atlanta, Florida, etc.
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travacado's thoughts
or at least "others'" thoughts that I find interesting...
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Sunday, October 26, 2003
BYE, JOE: HE'S GOT IT
Bowden at the top of college football
Bobby Bowden built a football powerhouse by being king of the road. At home on a beautiful autumn day perfect for a coronation, Bowden became the king of major-college football. (By Steve Ellis / Tallahassee Democrat) View the entire article
You can't disrespect Marlins anymore
NEW YORK - This was at the center of the delirium, right near the mound, amid the laughter and screams and tears and hugging and singing and smiling. Florida Marlins pitcher Josh Beckett, surrounded by bobbing teammates, at the center of a celebration he created, looked into the stands of an emptying Yankee Stadium, in the quietest New York you've ever heard, and the defiance came out of him with more hiss than even one of those fastballs the mighty Yankees could not hit.
"Go home," he spat. "I don't give a expletive. Have a nice offseason. We're going to have a parade."
Let the record show that the Marlins are disrespected underdogs no more.
No, now they are champions.
Forever.
Marlins 2, Yankees 0.
The Florida Marlins (rub your eyes, pinch yourself, wake up, repeat) are the best baseball team in the world.
This sport hasn't had a champion this improbable since the 1969 New York Mets nicknamed after a miracle. The only disappointment in South Florida on Sunday is that we have to wait until February to see this lovable team play again.
"This is indescribable," Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo said at the center of the delirium, after lifting 72-year-old Marlins manager Jack McKeon on his shoulders. "How do you find any words for this? There are none. There is no explanation for this. Nobody thought we could do this. You just don't see this in Yankee Stadium."
Castillo was winded from celebrating, gasping for breath.
"That was the team we had to beat - the Yankees," Castillo said. "What can they say about us now? That we beat them because of a goat or a fan or a curse? That we got lucky? We won because we were the better team. We're the best."
McKeon came over to Castillo for yet another hug.
"Thank you," Castillo said to him in mid-embrace. "You deserve this."
"I love you," McKeon said.
The old man was on the cusp of tears.
"I cried, too," shortstop Alex Gonzalez said. "A lot of us did. I never thought I'd play in a World Series, and now I've won one. I had to release that joy."
The Marlins have the strangest history in this sport. They've had only losing seasons and World Series celebrations. Nothing in between. South Florida does not know what it feels like to lose a playoff series, does not know what it is like to do anything other than celebrate at the end of one of these things.
And the Marlins got to celebrate at the center of New York's field, somehow quieting some of the loudest, most obnoxious fans in all of sports. There wasn't much being said at the center of the celebration, just a lot of shouting and laughing that could be heard from both dugouts, an undulating release that was equal parts happiness and relief and pride. As the ashen-faced Yankees made their way to the losing clubhouse, quietly, heads down, single-file through a tight tunnel, the Marlins kept celebrating on the field for a full 10 minutes.
And make no mistake about this: The Marlins may have done nothing less than save this sport in South Florida. The momentum of all this feel-good ought to carry into next season as politicians rally around the cause, ownership gets pressure to keep spending on players we've gotten to know and several Marlins are on record as saying they'll take less money to stay close to this delirium.
"Can you believe this?" Marlins pitcher Brad Penny said. "I didn't even think we'd have a winning record this season. I thought I'd be killing deer in October. And now look at us?"
The Marlins can be pretty annoying on offense, pecking and poking and pricking you, bunting and blooping and boinking the baseball between the bases, and the bloated Yankees have to feel like an elephant felled by a swarm of gnats. It is always one of the most exciting things in sports, seeing a champion rise amid panic and desperation and urgency, but this elephant simply fell to the ground with a groan, wounded and wheezing, waiting for a big-game hunter named Josh Beckett to please, please put it out of its misery.
Beckett would oblige, of course, because he has more confidence than any 17-17 pitcher in the history of baseball. He grew up before our eyes in these playoffs. He had never thrown a complete game at any level of professional baseball, but he threw two of them this month alone, one of them saving Florida's season against the Cubs, the other ending New York's Saturday. He became a superstar in less time than it takes a flower to bloom.
"I'm happy," Beckett said amid the delirium with his casual arrogance and nonchalance. "I got poked in the eye, though."
The Yankees were plenty bothered by Beckett's arrogance - the way he said beforehand that he was completely unafraid of New York and all their history. But they could not do anything at all to shut him up. In Saturday's key situations, he froze New York's best hitters, Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams, with the kind of pitches you only see in the cartoons. The Yankees, trying to save their season, looked like they were swinging spatulas. They wouldn't have scored off Beckett if you had given them 90 more innings to do so.
An exceptional slide. A sacrifice fly. Bunts and foul balls. This is how the Yankees, the highest-paid team in the history of professional sports, were dismissed by the Marlins because Beckett didn't need much. He pitched one of the greatest games in the history of our most historic game - and he did it even though his body was supposed to be tired on only three days' rest. He wasn't coming out of this game, though. McKeon would have had to pry that baseball out of his cold, dead fingers. And even then, he wouldn't have let go.
On his way to the stadium Saturday, while walking the streets here, McKeon couldn't believe how many people who were Yankee fans came up to him, shook his hand and told him they hoped he would beat New York.
"It was unreal," he said.
It seems even parts of this city, having grown tired of the corporate, antiseptic Yankees, had fallen in love with the passion and hustle of the Marlins in a way that had New York fans actually embracing Florida's leader on the street.
Hey, New York.
Get in line. (By Dan LeBatard, The Miami Herald)
Cheerleader of the Week
Amber, (Seattle) Sea Gals
TIDAL 8:48 AM
Sunday, October 19, 2003
Finding solution to offense's struggles mission of J. Bowden
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Chris Rix has used his taped wrists to pay tribute to God, his girlfriend, family and friends. On Saturday night it was "Bobby" and "Win." He should have written the name of another Bowden - Jeff - on his wrist. In part because of Rix's four turnovers in a 22-14 loss to Miami, FSU's offensive coordinator was put through the wringer last week.
Jeff Bowden will likely hear it again after another lackluster effort by the offense on Saturday against Virginia. It won't be an end to the bashing of Bowden for his play calling against Miami. Not that the third-year offensive coordinator paid much attention to his critics after the loss to the Hurricanes. He realized a simple, yet valuable lesson: learn and move on.
"The one thing I learned is my attention has got to be to get this offense ready to go," Bowden said. "I'm trying to fix things. I don't have time for all that.
"After a loss like that I don't want to go out and see people, and having them patting me on the back and saying 'I hate this happened."'
With a firm grip on the ACC lead at stake Saturday night, Bowden spent no time last week second-guessing his game plan against Miami and all of it on his offense and Virginia's defense. Bowden went into Scott Stadium believing he could strike deep but determined to rev up FSU's running game if he had to. When Virginia responded to Rix's 79-yard touchdown pass to Craphonso Thorpe for the game's first score, Jeff Bowden responded by turning to an effective running game.
After the 19-14 victory over Virginia, players credited Bowden for effectively adjusting FSU's game plan.
FSU rushed for 196 yards, while Rix was 12 of 25 for 189 yards and a touchdown.
Before preparation could begin for Virginia, Bowden had to get past Miami. It took him less time than most people, and it needed to. Bowden moved forward about a half hour after the Miami game ended when FSU videographers made the first half available for review. He watched it until 9p.m. and then watched the second half Sunday morning. That afternoon he and the entire FSU staff watched the game.
"The first thing you look at is, 'What were the mistakes?"' Bowden said. "And there were some mistakes. No question."
For Bowden, that was enough about Miami.
"I just wouldn't change any of our game plan that we had," Jeff Bowden said. "I wouldn't do anything differently. To me, there were too many circumstances beyond my control Saturday. We made all the adjustments that we could make. The bottom line is we turned the ball over and didn't execute."
Against Virginia, the bottom line was that FSU won - and the Seminoles improved to 5-0 in the ACC. FSU fans' criticism can be tempered with the knowledge that the Seminoles' goals - a shot at the ACC and national title - are still within reach.
Against Virginia, the bottom line was that FSU won. In the end, that was enough for FSU. And maybe Jeff Bowden's critics. (By Steve Ellis, Tallahassee Democrat)
Preds off to best start since 2000
Hey, weren't the Predators supposed to get off to a bad start this season?
After releasing four defensemen with nearly 1,900 games of NHL experience during the offseason, Nashville was expected to struggle early.
Instead, just the opposite has happened.
The Predators (3-1) are off to their best start since 2000 after posting a 3-2 victory over Columbus before a crowd of 10,499 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center last night.
''Our defense has played extremely well, and we've gotten great goaltending,'' Nashville captain Greg Johnson said. ''We've got some confidence right now. We feel good about where we're at, but there's a lot of hockey to be played.''
Nashville's young defense has held Columbus, Anaheim and St. Louis to two goals or less in each of the Predators' three victories. It's a much better start than last season when the Predators didn't win their third game until Nov. 27.
The Predators are 5-0-1 in their last six games against Columbus in the GEC.
It was the final outing of a four-game homestand for Nashville, which visits Chicago tonight in the first road game of the season.
Columbus (3-2) fell to 0-2 on the road after suffering through the NHL's worst road record last season. The loss ended a three-game winning streak for Columbus, which is 3-0 at home.
Blue Jackets goaltender Fred Brathwaite, making his first start of the season, was bombarded early as the Predators outshot Columbus 33-28. Nashville goaltender Tomas Vokoun made 26 saves and earned his third victory.
The Predators seized control with three straight goals during a five-minute span early in the second period.
Denis Arkhipov gave the Predators a 1-0 lead when he fired a one-timer from the slot past Brathwaite at the 2:27 mark of the second period. The goal was vintage Scott Hartnell as the scrappy left wing outhustled Scott Lachance for the puck along the endboard before sending a pass to Arkhipov, who was left uncovered.
''I was standing in a wide-open spot and Hartnell gave me a great pass,'' Arkhipov said. ''I think he did everything and I scored the goal. He won his battle and got me the pass.''
Rem Murray's backhander from the low slot made it 2-0 Nashville at the 4:30 mark of the second period. A backhanded centering pass from Johnson deflected off a Columbus defender right to Murray.
''Jordin Tootoo made a good play (to start the scoring sequence) on a late 3-on-2 coming down the ice,'' Murray said. ''He made a good play cross-ice to Johnny. It was kind of a bouncing puck and I was just able to get a stick on it.''
Johnson increased the Predators' lead to 3-0 on a backhander from the top of the crease at the 7:31 mark of the second period. A centering pass from Marek Zidlicky bounced off Brathwaite to Johnson.
Columbus finally got on the scoreboard when Kent McDonell scored his first NHL goal on a shot from the low slot at the 12:33 mark of the second period. Todd Marchant, signed as a free agent from Edmonton in July, sent McDonell a nice pass from the goal line.
Columbus' David Vyborny scored a 5-on-3 power-play goal to narrow the deficit to 3-2 with 5:40 left.
Nashville dominated the first period, outshooting Columbus 13-2 during the first 14 minutes. (By Chip Cirillo, The (Nashville) Tennessean)
'Should we be awed?' Winning is no sweat
NEW YORK - You want to know how nervous and terrified the little Florida Marlins were as they headed toward those big lights on baseball's biggest stage?
Peek inside their bus on the way to Yankee Stadium. Here they were, approaching the World Series, about to play against the most famous champions in all of sports, and they were reveling in their police escort like 12-year-olds, shouting out the windows, ''Here come the Fish!'' and ''Get out of the way!'' and "Here we come to ruin New York's day!''
What? You thought this loose team of kids was suddenly going to tighten up around the grown-up big boys?
FEARLESS
The Marlins defeated the Yankees 3-2 in Game 1 of the World Series on Saturday night (yeah, we all thought we'd be reading that sentence starter at the beginning of the season, right?) and the reason, aside from strong pitching and the peck-poke-and-prod-you-to-death bat of tiny Juan Pierre, is that the Marlins are completely, totally and absolutely unafraid of this opponent or this stage.
Really.
Take the case of closer Ugueth Urbina, for example. He certainly decided to make things interesting in Saturday's ninth inning. Walked a couple of Yankees. Put the tying run on second base, just for fun. And the winning run on first, just to make your heart skip from your throat to your mouth. And, hey, why not? Let's give the Yankees only one out, too, OK?
So as the tension and volume rose all around him, it was impossible to miss this about Urbina:
He was not sweating.
At all.
PITCHES THROWN
He had thrown an awful lot of pitches, a lot of them capable of ending this game on the wrong side of the scoreboard, and most relievers exerting themselves like this, under all these hot lights, would have the sweat dripping faucet-like off their chin and nose. Not Urbina, though. It was the oddest thing. As the TV cameras panned the crowd, you saw Yankees fans worried and praying and scared (this team that has won more championships than any in major American sports? Their fans were scared?), but Urbina wasn't even sweating.
Scared? Take the third inning as an example of just how unafraid these Marlins were. The score was 1-1, and the Yankees had runners on first and third with two outs. New York's Nick Johnson, who is slow and certainly wasn't going anywhere, took a couple of benign steps off third when Marlins catcher Pudge Rodriguez jack-in-the-boxed out of his crouch and . . . .
Well, first you have to understand something here. For most teams, and certainly most catchers, the risk in throwing to third in this situation outweighs the rewards. You can hit the runner or bounce a throw or miss a third baseman who isn't used to the surprise element of this kind of play and you've gift-wrapped a run instead of making the other team earn it. . . .
But Rodriguez whistled the ball down there, anyway, and Johnson was a good symbol for this night:
A Yankee caught sleeping, and falling right on his face.
''Should we have been awed?'' Marlins manager Jack McKeon said. "We weren't awed in Chicago or San Francisco. They're as loose as they can be.''
What does this mean?
Well, we're getting three World Series game in South Florida -- unless the Marlins sweep.
The Marlins took an unusual route toward this victory. They've trailed in 10 of the 11 playoff games they've played against the Giants and Cubs, just to make things more interesting for all the Marlins fans who have torn hamstrings jumping on this bandwagon. But the Marlins never trailed in this one.
TOUCH OF SARCASM
''I'm scared,'' starting pitcher Brad Penny said sarcastically beforehand. "I'm going to fall apart I'm so nervous.''
Penny winked.
He is stubborn about hurling testosterone, throwing too hard when soft will do, and was asked if he would be trying to throw 175 miles per hour against the Yankees.
''No,'' he said with a smile. "I'm going for 200.''
The Marlins are not the 1998 San Diego Padres, so excited about reaching the World Series stage against the Yankees that they brought video cameras on the field, spoke in awe-filled tone and forgot to, you know, actually win any games. Designated hitter Jeff Conine enjoyed meeting Robin Williams and Billy Crystal before the game, sure, but his teammates were unmoved by the fame of the Yankees.
''We like this matchup better than we liked the matchup against the Giants and Cubs,'' said one Marlin before the game. "The Yankees are old and they're tired this late in the season. We're crazy hungry.''
Said Yankees manager Joe Torre: "That team on the other side of the field, they don't know that they're not supposed to win.''
A PEST
The sports jungle is littered with graceful metaphors from the animal kingdom -- gazelles, cheetahs and lions representing speed and strength -- but what do you apply to the tiny professional irritants the Marlins have at the top of their order -- Pierre and Luis Castillo? There's a flea-like creature known as a ladilla in Castillo's first language, Spanish, and what it does is drive you crazy by burrowing into the human rump and making you scratch an itch that won't go away. But Pierre and Castillo aren't ladillas. They are corococos: the animal so small that it irritates by burrowing inside the ladilla.
Corococo power! That's what the Marlins unleashed upon the mighty Yankees in Saturday's first inning. First, Pierre bunted down the first-base line, making bloated, sloppy Yankees pitcher David Wells field his position in a way he couldn't. Then Castillo blooped a ball over a squeezed-tight infield guarding against his speed, immediately putting runners on first and third to begin this World Series.
And you know what Wells' reaction was as soon as Castillo's little bloop dropped?
In front of the nation's television cameras, Wells screamed at the top of his lungs, "You've got to be [bleeping] kidding me!''
Mr. Wells, welcome to what it feels like to play the Marlins.
And, Mr. Wells' teammates, you might want to get used to it. (By Dan LeBatard, The Miami Herald)
Intolerable Cruelty
The Sports Guy recounts the most agonizing night in his tortured life as a Red Sox fan
For Page 2's Bill Simmons, Thursday night's twist of the inevitable Red Sox dagger is almost too much to bear. Now the Sports Guy will have to spend the rest of his life wondering about Grady Little's catastrophically moronic managing. View the entire article at ESPN.com
Cheerleader of the Week
Sarah, (San Diego)Charger Girls
TIDAL 2:29 PM
Friday, October 17, 2003
Preds shake off the Blues
It's hard to call any October contest a statement game in the NHL, but the Predators may have at least announced their presence with a 4-1 victory over St. Louis last night.
The Blues have been as hard on the Predators as any team in the league, piling up 16 regulation victories against them, putting together a streak of 10 contests without a regulation loss and often pounding Nashville physically as well.
So it was an encouraging sign for the Predators not only to pull off the win, but also to stand toe-to-toe with their Central Division rivals.
What was not so encouraging was the announced Gaylord Entertainment Center crowd of 9,586, the smallest home attendance in franchise history.
''I think sometimes it's important to know about the past, and to face those challenges,'' Predators Coach Barry Trotz said. ''The Blues have had good success against us in the last few years, so instead of turning a blind eye, we talked about it.
''We said, 'Hey, we're trying to get some respect around the league.' We faced down the challenge and we got it done for one game, but we've got five more (against the Blues) coming up.''
Rookie Dan Hamhuis scored his first NHL goal with 9:07 left in the second period to snap a 1-1 tie.
In winning their second game in three this season, the Predators (2-1) matched their win total after 20 contests last year. Nashville needed 14 games to get win No. 2 during the 2002-03 season.
The victory could be credited in large part to the special teams. Predators collected two power-play goals, killed off six of seven St. Louis special teams and clinched the contest with a short-handed goal.
''There are so many good teams and good players in this league that special teams really make the difference,'' said Predators forward Vladimir Orszagh, who netted the short-hander with 8:37 left in the game.
''There's not a lot of five-on-five goals scored. So when you score power-play goals and short-handed goals, it really gives you an advantage.''
But maybe just as important for the Predators was the fact they refused to give an inch of the ice away to the Blues (1-1-0-1). Nashville defenseman Wade Brookbank and forward Jordin Tootoo fought with Reed Low and Mike Danton, respectively, and the Predators returned every push and shove throughout the contest.
''Before, we might have backed down from that,'' Predators right wing Scott Walker said. ''I think the guys are realizing that that we have to stand up for each other, so when we drop the gloves, everybody grabs somebody and makes sure it's fair. We respond well.''
The Predators got contributions from three newcomers to the roster, as defenseman Marek Zidlicky collected a goal and an assist, Hahmuis recorded his first NHL goal and Tootoo — also a rookie — notched his first NHL assist.
Hamhuis' goal snapped a 1-1 tie and wound up as the game-winner. He scored it with the Predators holding a four-on-three advantage, ripping a shot from the high slot that hit goalie Chris Osgood's glove and then fell over the red line.
''It was really exciting getting that goal,'' said Hamhuis, the team's 2001 first-round draft pick. ''I grew up dreaming about playing in the NHL and scoring big goals. That was my dream come true tonight.''
Orszagh's goal sealed the contest in the third period, giving the Predators a 3-1 advantage. The Predators were killing off Kimmo Timonen's penalty, but Greg Johnson led a short-handed rush that culminated in Orszagh blasting a shot high over a diving Osgood.
Andreas Johansson added an empty-net score with 1:38 left for the final score.
''We talked about winning the close games because in the past, we've lost a lot of one-goal games to (the Blues),'' Predators goalie Tomas Vokoun said. ''This was big for a young team because we have to learn to win close games.'' (By John Glennon, The (Nashville) Tennessean)
Nothing special about Blues' loss
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - As many things as the Blues did right in their exhilarating victory Sunday at Colorado, they did more wrong in their first regulation loss to Nashville in more than two seasons.
Outworked and thusly outscored Thursday, the Blues went one for seven on their malfunctioning power play, allowed two power-play goals and then watched as Nashville cinched a 4-1 victory at home with a shorthanded goal.
"Our special teams were terrible," Blues coach Joel Quenneville said. "Was it a lack of work, lack of intelligence, a lack of desperation? I don't know. ... Whether we thought we were a good team - that after we beat Colorado we could just come in here and beat these guys. We've got to be (that) jacked every night."
The Blues certainly weren't even slightly "jacked."
The clincher was Vladimir Orszagh's shorthanded goal in the third period that put Nashville up by two goals and cemented goaltender Tomas Vokoun's 30-save win. It was Nashville's digging the puck out from the boards that set up the 2-on-Doug Weight break that resulted in Orszagh's goal.
"We were right in the thick of things until then," Blues captain Al MacInnis said. "You can't give up a 2-on-1 on the power play. That took us out of it right there."
Nashville's Dan Hamhuis and Greg Johnson scrapped away along the boards, battling with three Blues to pry loose the puck and create the odd-man rush that was emblematic of the evening. The Blues had very little interest in hunting loose pucks. The Blues had fluctuating desire to control play on the power play. And the penalty kill was, at times, pedestrian or downright idle.
The silver lining: A national television audience tuned in to see the Blues' rousing 2-1 victory Sunday against the Avalanche, only 9,856 came to Thursday's game at Gaylord Entertainment Center.
The smallest announced crowd in Predators' history saw Nashville win for the first time since Jan. 21, 2001, in regulation against the Blues. Over the past two seasons, the Blues were 7-0-2-1 against Nashville.
"I think sometimes it's important to know about the past," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "Instead of turning a blind eye, we talked about it. We said, 'Hey, we're trying to win respect around the league.' ... We got it done for one game."
With an eye on the past, Thursday came with a nod to the future.
Vokoun's sturdiness in net and two rookie defensemen keyed Nashville's victory. Marek Zidlicky, a 26-year-old rookie from the Czech Republic, had two points, and 20-year-old Hamhuis scored his first career goal, the game winner.
Zidlicky exploited the Blues' meandering penalty kill by sneaking backdoor and tapping in a pass from Andreas Johansson, who added the empty-netter to set the final score. Hamhuis broke a 1-1 tie by marching down the slot and, on the 4-on-3 advantage, whistling a shot by a screen and off Chris Osgood's arm.
"A shot we'd like to have," Quenneville said. "Right down the gut like that. ... Can't give up that shot." It wasn't even Nashville's best shot. That arguably came when Predators pest Jordin Tootoo tagged Mike Danton after the two had been separated by linesmen. Their scrap was just one of several of the usual Music City dance numbers: Reed Low fought Wade Brookbank; Barret Jackman tussled with Scott Walker to the tune of 14 penalty minutes late in the game.
The Blues (1-1-0-1) tied the score in the second period when Chris Pronger, who was the Blues' best threat and biggest factor Thursday, wristed a pass from the point. Petr Cajanek redirected it high past Vokoun for a 1-1 game and the Blues' first goal of the season by someone other than Keith Tkachuk.
Cajanek's was one of the Blues' 16 shots in the second.
But Nashville gummed up the ice once it took the lead on Hamhuis' goal about 2 minutes later. The Blues failed to score on their last three power plays and managed only six shots in the third period.
"We didn't do the little things at all," Quenneville said. "It was like we were waiting around expecting someone else to do it." (By Derrick Goold, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
TIDAL 5:42 AM
Thursday, October 16, 2003
Red Sox rally to deep-6: Big bats finally come alive in 9-6 victory
NEW YORK - Grady Little has come away looking like a seer once again.
For the second consecutive postseason series, the Red Sox [stats, schedule] manager refused to buckle to public pressure and start Pedro Martinez [stats, news] with the team on the brink of elimination, and his faith in comebacks continues to pay off.
The Sox rallied from a 6-4 deficit in the seventh inning and overtook the New York Yankees [stats, schedule], 9-6, at Yankee Stadium to even the American League Championship Series at three wins apiece, forcing a seventh and deciding game tonight.
Martinez, who had volunteered to pitch yesterday, will square off against Roger Clemens [stats, news] to decide which team advances to the World Series against the Marlins. Clemens defeated Martinez, 4-3, on Saturday in a skirmish-filled Game 3 at Fenway Park.
"Pedro vs. Clemens, this time at Yankee Stadium,'' said Sox closer Scott Williamson [stats, news], who recorded his third save of the series. "This is what the baseball gods demanded.''
Little remained unfazed when Boston was pushed to the brink on Tuesday, insisting it wasn't time to panic. Confident the team's dormant big bats would wake up and produce the way they were capable, Little held back Martinez for the final game, just as he did against Oakland in the Division Series.
Nomar Garciaparra, David Ortiz, Kevin Millar and Bill Mueller all snapped out of an untimely, collective slump and returned to the form that helped turn the Sox into the most prolific offensive team in history. The foursome, which entered the game hitting a collective .141 with four RBI and three runs scored in the series, combined to go 11-for-20 (.550) with four RBI and four runs scored yesterday.
"That's why they call them batting averages,'' Todd Walker [stats, news] said, "because eventually guys are going to hit the way they're capable.''
The Sox led 4-1 early, but surrendered six straight runs to fall behind heading into the seventh. The Sox then rallied for three runs to reclaim the lead, with Johnny Damon [stats, news]'s bases-loaded walk off Felix Heredia pushing across the go-ahead run. Trot Nixon [stats, news]'s two-run home run into the upper deck off Gabe White in the ninth sent the grumbling crowd to the exits.
"Everyone counted us out and now we're going to Game 7,'' Damon said. "This shows we're not going to quit because we're not ready to go home.''
The Sox, once known for folding under pressure, improved to 7-1 in the last eight games in which they faced elimination, dating to the 1999 postseason.
"We weren't ready to give it up,'' general manager Theo Epstein said. "It means a lot because we have a chance to beat the Yankees and go to the World Series, despite the epic subplots.''
Sox starter John Burkett allowed five runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings but left trailing, 5-4, after a Garciaparra error led to two unearned runs in the fourth. The right-hander pitched well for three innings and held the Yankees to three hits, including Jason Giambi [stats, news]'s first-inning solo home run.
The Sox erased the 1-0 deficit with four runs off Yankees starter Andy Pettitte in the third, including a leadoff homer by Jason Varitek. The Yankees, however, got to Burkett in the fourth and scored four runs to pull ahead.
New York pushed it to 6-4 in the fifth on Jorge Posada's homer off Bronson Arroyo but the Boston bullpen held it there. Eventual winner Alan Embree stranded runners at second and third in the sixth inning, while Mike Timlin marooned a man at second in the eighth.
The Sox reclaimed the lead with a three-run rally in the seventh. Garciaparra lined a leadoff triple off the center field wall against Jose Contreras and was awarded home when Hideki Matsui's wild throw to third skipped into the seats. Manny Ramirez followed with a double and scored the tying run on Ortiz' single off the first base bag. With the bases loaded and two outs, Heredia walked Damon on four pitches. (By Jeff Horrigan, Boston Herald)
GAME 7 | MARLINS 9, CUBS 6
World Series! Amazing Marlins shock, silence Chicago
Marlins make Cubs wait longer
CHICAGO - You could hear the celebration from the upper deck -- so loud it reverberated through all of baseball and echoed over the stunned silence of the 40,000 quietest baseball fans you've ever heard in your life.
As the Florida Marlins poured from the dugout in front of a shell-shocked Chicago, and as their bobbing celebratory embrace on the mound moved past second base and all the way into the World Series, you could actually hear the shouted, whooping joy of the Florida Marlins in every corner and crevice of this deflated stadium and this crestfallen city.
That silence you still hear today? It is the sound of baseball's mouth hanging open.
The Marlins pelted the hexed, haunted Cubs, 9-6, to become the most improbable team in the World Series since the 1969 New York Mets nicknamed after a miracle. And the Marlins might be the most hated underdog in the history of sports, seeing as how nobody outside of South Florida wanted to see the Marlins advance. Nobody.
And that sound you hear is all of South Florida laughing.
While dancing.
And shouting itself hoarse.
''We're the darlings of the baseball world right now,'' Marlins Manager Jack McKeon said.
The charming story line of a possible World Series involving a Cubs team that hadn't won a championship since 1908? The Marlins literally took a bat to it. They took Sammy Sosa, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood and snapped their season over their knee.
''The Marlins took it from us,'' Cubs Manager Dusty Baker said. ``If they beat my two best [Prior and Wood], then they deserve to go. And they did. We tried to put them away. And they wouldn't go away. They wouldn't be put away. They refused.''
Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo, whose no-brain-no-headaches philosophy to baseball includes always misplacing his glove between innings, never knowing the names of opposing pitchers and getting on team flights without knowing where they are headed, described his team's approach thusly: ``We always go from backward to forward.''
In Castillo-ese, then, what happened Wednesday made perfect sense in a upside-down-is-rightside-upand-crazy-is-sane-and-pigsare-flying-through-a-frozenHell kind of way. The Marlins succeeded using their starting pitchers as relievers, kept getting big catches from a right fielder who isn't a right fielder, won in spite of the starting pitching that has carried them all season betraying them again.
What? You want us to beat Prior and Wood on consecutive days on the road even though these are two of the most dominant pitchers in the sport and they haven't lost back-to-back games all season? Fine. No problem. Why don't you give us something really hard? Why not ask Marlins pitcher Josh Beckett if, between innings, he might not mind finding Osama bin Laden, too?
''We might just be stupid enough to win this thing,'' Beckett said.
First, the Marlins ended the season of Barry Bonds, who might only be the best baseball player ever. For an encore, all they did was end Sammy Sosa's season while erasing a three-games-to-one deficit on the road against the Cubs and two of baseball's most overpowering pitchers. And now? Well, this ridiculous mountainous climb actually gets harder, believe it or not.
Boston and New York play Game 7 of the American League playoffs today for the right to play the Marlins in the World Series. . . . (Stop right there. Let it marinate. That might be the strangest beginning to a sentence in the history of sports journalism.) . . .
So the Marlins will either play an overwhelming Red Sox offense that earlier this season A) scored 25 runs in one game against Florida, B) scored a major-league record 10 of those runs before the Marlins had recorded a single out and C) also sent one of Florida's pitchers to the hospital with a line drive behind the ear in that same gruesome game.
Or they'll get the New York Yankees, only the winningest franchise in the history of professional sports and owner of a wallet so fat that shortstop Derek Jeter alone has a contract worth nearly four times Florida's entire payroll. Boston and New York give their players $100 million contracts while Florida's highest-paid player is Pudge Rodríguez, whose one-year, $10 million contract so strained Florida's coupon-littered budget that the team had to defer it over the next three years, when he'll probably no longer be with the team.
Not that we should be thinking of any of that today.
Just keep jumping up and down and hyperventilating as Cubs fans sob because their losing has been passed down from great grandparents to grandparents to parents to children who have never seen this team get so close to the throne the Marlins are now within four triumphs of capturing.
''I've never had a group like this one,'' said McKeon, star of The Old Man And The Wheeeeee! ``Not a complainer, not a griper in the bunch. I'm so proud of them.''
And how about Beckett? This series began with the Cubs hitting Beckett as hard as he has ever been hit, pelting three balls off the wall and one over it in the first inning of this series alone. All they did was anger him, evidently, because what Beckett did in this series was blossom into a superstar right before our eyes. Those big lights, he evidently likes them.
On two days of rest, with an arm that all the laws of nature allege should have been tired, Beckett went through the Cubs like a buzz saw through butter -- as if he had simply placed a bookmark in Sunday and resumed the reading Wednesday. We see your Prior and Wood and raise you one Beckett. At this rate, the Cubs wouldn't touch Beckett if you gave them 400 more innings to do so.
The Marlins are headed to the World Series.
Rub your eyes.
Read it again.
It is not a mirage, a lie, a typo or a joke.
The Marlins are going to the World Series.
And they do not fear the American League.
Given what you've seen, and that overwhelming sound of silence in Chicago, shouldn't it be the other way around? (By Dan Le Batard, The Miami Herald)
TIDAL 6:31 AM
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
Off the canvas
Red Sox put aside historians and get back to business, squaring the series behind Wakefield
There was no letup in tension between the Red Sox and Yankees in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series last night, merely an absence of the histrionics that had created an embarrassing hiccup over the weekend in this storied rivalry.
And as Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield demonstrated again last night, there is more than one way to throw a purpose pitch than planting it in the back of an opposition hitter.
With the Sox in desperation mode as they attempted to keep the Yankees from moving within a game of winning their 39th American League pennant and fifth in seven seasons, Wakefield's soft tosses had the Yankees unhinged at the plate, while the Red Sox maintained an emotional equilibrium light years removed from the Game 3 hoohah.
Sox closer Scott Williamson gave a sellout crowd of 34,599 palpitations when Yankee pinch hitter Ruben Sierra homered over the visitors' bullpen with one out in the ninth, the first run allowed by the Sox pen in this series. But Williamson struck out David Dellucci and Alfonso Soriano to preserve a 3-2 Sox win that evened this best-of-seven series at two games apiece.
Soriano's failure to make what would have been an inning-ending double-play relay with sufficient urgency allowed Kevin Millar to score the deciding run in the seventh.
All three outs in the Yankee ninth came on Williamson whiffs, as he started the inning by striking out Nick Johnson.
A bit of history that suggests the series could swing in Boston's favor: The Yankees had won five straight one-run decisions in LCS play, their last loss coming in Game 2 of the 1980 ALCS against Kansas City. Since the start of the '98 postseason, they are 17-4 in one-run games. Their previous three one-run defeats came in series they would go on to lose, the last being the 2001 World Series against Arizona.
Wakefield, even more dominating than he was in the Game 1 5-2 win in the Bronx, held the Bombers to one run on five hits through seven innings, the run scoring in the fifth on Derek Jeter's ground-ball double that struck the third base bag.
Home runs by Todd Walker (leading off the fourth) and Trot Nixon (one out in the fifth) off Mike Mussina gave Wakefield the narrowest of margins to work with as he attempted to outduel Mussina for the second time in this series. Mussina has now given up five home runs in his two starts against the Sox.
A gamble by Sox manager Grady Little paid off in the bottom of the seventh, when he sent up Jason Varitek to hit for Doug Mirabelli with the bases loaded, even though Varitek had just two hits in 36 at-bats lifetime against Mussina. The Yankees nearly got the better of that gamble, as Jeter backhanded Varitek's grounder on the short hop and nearly turned a double play. But Soriano didn't get enough on his throw, and a hustling Varitek narrowly beat the relay, giving an exuberant "safe sign'' as he crossed the bag and winning the agreement of first base umpire Joe West.
That gave the Sox a 3-1 lead, the inning ending when what appeared to be another Sox gamble - a delayed double steal - resulted in Nixon being erased in a rundown at third.
Mussina, who was replaced by Felix Heredia after Varitek reached on the fielder's choice, suffered his second defeat of the ALCS, even though he struck out 10 in 6 innings.
Walker's home run was his fifth of the postseason, the most by any Sox hitter in a single postseason as he continues what may be the greatest farewell act by a Sox player since Ted Williams homered in his final at-bat. Walker, a free agent after this season, is mocking the widely held assumption that he won't be invited back because of his defensive limitations at second base.
At this rate, Sox fans will switch from "Cowboy Up'' to another country song: "How Can We Miss You If You Won't Go Away?''
Showing the same October magic he'd displayed as an unknown 26-year-old rookie for the Pittsburgh Pirates 11 years ago, the 37-year-old Wakefield struck out the side in the sixth and set down seven straight Yankees through the seventh, leaving Little no choice but to leave him in the game, even as workhorses Mike Timlin and Alan Embree warmed in the Sox pen.
Little decided to lift Wakefield, however, after he walked Jason Giambi, the first batter in the eighth, in favor of Timlin, unscored upon and unhittable in his previous five postseason appearances (6 innings, no hits, no runs, eight strikeouts).
Williams drove Timlin's first pitch to deep center but Johnny Damon, who has vowed to keep playing despite sustaining a concussion a week ago, ran the ball down on the warning track. Yankee catcher Jorge Posada, treated as Public Enemy No. 1 for exchanging heated words and gestures with Pedro Martinez on Saturday, tapped out to Millar at first for the second out.
With Hideki Matsui, a lefthanded hitter due at the plate, Little gambled again, electing to keep Timlin in the game instead of bringing in lefthander Embree, the conventional move, Matsui's bid for extra bases, a drive into the left-field corner, went inches foul, just as Giambi's first-inning bid for a three-run home run down the right-field line drifted just foul. Giambi followed his near-miss by lining into a double play after the first two Yankees had reached, on a walk by Alfonso Soriano and a bloop single by Jeter.
While the Sox batted in the eighth, the crowd chanted "We Want Nelson,'' and got their wish after Heredia hit Walker with a pitch with one out, as Yankees manager Joe Torre called in righthanded reliever Jeff Nelson, the man accused in a Boston police report of an "unprovoked attack'' on a Sox grounds crew member stationed in the bullpen Saturday.
Nelson entered to deafening boos. Little then essayed to unsettle Nelson further. After the reliever's first pitch to Nomar Garciaparra, Little came out of the dugout for a conversation with plate umpire Derryl Cousins. That prompted a conference between Cousins, crew chief Tim McClelland and West, and the three umpires approached the mound and asked Nelson to open his belt buckle.
Little had asked the umpires to determine whether Nelson was using his belt buckle to scuff the ball, an obvious response to the request made by Yankee manager Joe Torre in Game 1 to check under Timlin's cap for any foreign substances Timlin might have been applying to the ball. It was gamesmanship at its best, though Nelson won that round when he induced Garciaparra to ground into a double play.
Garciaparra went hitless in four at-bats, making him 2 for 17. But the series is now assured of returning to New York, as a best-of-three tournament. (By Gordon Edes, The Boston Globe)
No rain, no fights, no N.Y. lead
Wakefield shines as Red Sox beat Yankees, 3-2, to tie series
After 48 hours of nonstop accusations, arguments, shame, and blame, the Red Sox and Yankees went back to playing baseball last night.
As a waning orange squash of a moon rose beyond the bleachers, Tim Wakefield threw baseballs that danced and dazzled and the Sox beat the Yankees, 3-2, to even the American League Championship Series at 2-2. Some of us are already thinking about the bombastic prospect of Pedro Martinez vs. Roger Clemens in a Game 7 Thursday night in Yankee Stadium. It would be the first Game 7 in Yankee Stadium since 1957.
Trot Nixon (homer and double) broke a 1-1 tie and put the Sox ahead for good with one of his patented parabolic shots into the center-field bleachers in the fifth. Fenway folklore no doubt someday will hold that Trot promised little Paul Williams that he'd hit a homer just for him, as the Babe did back in the day. Williams, a Sox groundskeeper, suffered injuries Saturday in an altercation in the Yankees' bullpen.
For Fenway fans, the Game 4 tone was set by fomer Sox batterymates Luis Tiant and Carlton Fisk, golden boys from the golden days who collaborated on the ceremonial first pitch. Wearing his No. 23 jersey, Luis went into his corkscrew windup and fired a strike to his Hall of Fame catcher, the pride of the Granite State. In that moment, all was right in Red Sox Nation. It was 1975 again.
Taking his cue from Boston's best big-game pitcher of the modern era, Wakefield won his second game of the series. He's been a member of the team longer than any other active player and it's hard to fathom that he was left off the playoff roster when the Sox lost the ALCS to the Yankees in 1999. He is clearly inside the heads of the Yankee batters and could be a great weapon for Grady Little in Games 6 and 7.
After New England's floody, floody Sunday, the weather for Game 4 was perfect, reminiscent of some great October nights of years past. Sox fans waved white "cowboy up" towels as Wakefield and Yankee Mike Mussina threw zeroes for the first three innings.
Sox second baseman Todd Walker got things going in the fourth inning, lofting a 2-and-2 Mussina pitch into the seats in right. It was Walker's fifth homer of the postseason -- not bad for a guy who hit only 13 during the regular season. The Yankees are pitching lefthanders in the next two games (David Wells and Andy Pettitte), but it might be time for Little to stick with Walker no matter who pitches.
The Yankees came back with a weird run of their own in the top of the fifth. After back-to-back one-out singles by David Dellucci and Alfonso Soriano, Derek Jeter hit a grounder that bounced off the third base bag, allowing Dellucci to score. Jeter got a cheesy double out of it, but the Yankees stranded runners on second and third.
In the bottom of the fifth, Nixon -- who hit the dramatic walkoff homer to win Game 3 of the Division Series against Oakland -- crushed another home run. Nixon's solo shot broke the tie and seemed to recharge Wakefield, who struck out the side in the top of the sixth. Wakefield was pitching like the young man who stuffed the Atlanta Braves in 1992. He needed only four pitches to get through the seventh.
The Red Sox chased Mussina and got what they thought was an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh. Nixon was in the middle of things again with a Wall double, and Kevin Millar scored from third on pinch hitter Jason Varitek's force-play grounder to short. At that point, Felix Heredia replaced Mussina and Jeff Nelson started throwing in the Yankee bullpen, much to the titillation of the bleacherites. Nelson was one of the Yankees involed in Saturday's bullpen fracas.
Things got dicey for the Sox in the eighth (you thought this was going to be easy?). Wakefield walked Jason Giambi on a 3-and-2 pitch to start the inning and was immediately lifted. It seemed like a quick hook given that Wakefield struck out the side in the sixth and threw four pitches in the seventh, but Mike Timlin retired the next three batters. The suddenly amazing Timlin has retired 22 of 22 batters in the postseason, but he was replaced in the ninth by Scott Williamson.
Never easy, remember? Williamson blew away Nick Johnson to start the inning, then surrendered a homer on a 1-and-2 pitch to pinch hitter Ruben Sierra. He then struck out Dellucci and Soriano to end it.
Naturally, there was one last sideshow before the nervous ninth: Fenway fans got their wish in the bottom of the eighth when Nelson came into the game after Heredia hit Walker in the arm with a pitch. After Nelson's first pitch, Little came out of the dugout and asked the umpires to check and see if Nelson was doctoring the baseball. The umps did a thorough inspection, and Nelson looked like a man trying to clear security at Logan as the men in blue inspected his belt buckle.
It just never stops with these teams. Game 5 is this afternoon at Fenway at 4:18. (By Dan Shaughnessy, The Boston Globe)
TIDAL 5:38 AM
Sunday, October 12, 2003
Cheerleader of the Week
Renee Herlocker, Denver Broncos Cheerleaders
TIDAL 3:14 PM
Saturday, October 11, 2003
Predators start season off with a bang
On a Predators roster full of new names, it was a mighty familiar one most responsible for the team's season-opening 3-1 victory over Anaheim last night.
Goalie Tomas Vokoun, the team's most valuable player last year, began this season with an encore performance. He held the Predators in the game early, turned away the defending Western Conference champion Mighty Ducks late and wound up as the key performer in Nashville's win in front of a crowd of 16,684 fans at the Gaylord Entertainment Center.
The victory was just the second in six season-openers for the Predators but, more importantly, allowed them to put a little distance between themselves and the 15-game winless streak that ended last year.
''We've got a lot of new guys, and I don't think there was a lot of carryover from last year,'' Predators right wing Scott Walker said. ''I find every year is different. But it's still nice to win or people might start talking about that streak again.''
The Predators (1-0) looked predictably shaky in the early going, as the team was not only welcoming a number of new faces but witnessing the NHL debut of four players — including much-talked about right wing Jordin Tootoo.
That made the play of Vokoun all the more important.
The 27-year-old netminder was at his athletic best in the opening period, making a number of key saves as the Mighty Ducks outshot the Predators 12-6 over the first 20 minutes.
''It was the first game for us, and a lot of guys were a little rusty and a little nervous,'' Vokoun said. ''We picked it up as the game went on. But some nights that could be deadly because they could put us away.''
What finally settled the Predators down? There were a couple different theories. It might have happened near the end of the first period, when Walker edged Mighty Ducks defenseman Todd Simpson in a lengthy brawl.
''I think it let our guys know that, 'Hey, this is just another game, so let's go get them,' '' Walker said. ''It seemed to break the ice a little bit, and things started to happen.''
Trotz also took a shot at relaxing his team in between the first and second periods. Instead of yelling at the Predators, the coach simply walked into the locker room and asked easygoing forward Rem Murray if he had any jokes to tell.
''The guys were looking at me as if I had two heads or four eyes,'' Trotz said. ''But I was just trying to tell them to relax and play, and I thought they did that at the start of the second period.''
Whatever served as motivation, the Predators looked like a different unit, scoring less than six minutes into the period to take a 1-0 lead. Walker's aggressive forechecking created a turnover and allowed David Legwand to send a nice crossing pass to Andreas Johansson, who blasted a shot past Anaheim's Martin Gerber.
With 8:10 left in the second — minutes after Vokoun had somehow stopped the Mighty Ducks on a two-on-zero situation — Predators defenseman Mark Eaton gave the home team a 2-0 lead. He followed Adam Hall's shot to the net and slapped a rebound past Gerber.
The Mighty Ducks (0-2), who'd lost Wednesday night in Dallas, trimmed the Predators' lead to 2-1 just 52 seconds into the final period.
But the Predators refused to crumble, instead putting the game away with their first power-play goal of the season.
Defenseman Marek Zidlicky, one of the new faces on the roster, sent a gorgeous cross-ice pass from the point to Legwand. The fifth-year center had no problem zipping it past an out-of-position Gerber with 9:56 left in the contest.
''That was as textbook as they come with that puck movement,'' Legwand said. ''It was executed perfectly. I think it was big for our team that we were able to come down the stretch with a 2-1 lead. That's important for some of the younger guys.'' (By John Glennon, The (Nashville) Tennessean)
Fenway faces the future
Classic ballpark may fall victim to new economics
John Updike once wrote that Fenway Park represents "a compromise between Man's Euclidean determinations and Nature's beguiling irregularities." (By Stefan Fatsis, The Wall Street Journal courtesy of the Tallahassee Democrat) View the entire article
They're rivals with good reason
Florida State, Miami fans still share a little respect
Call it the Rivalry of Mutual Respect. Kind of.
Because whatever the outcome of today's game between No. 2-ranked Miami and No. 5-ranked Florida State, fans of the two undefeated teams will accept it with something approaching equanimity.
At least in contrast to that other intrastate, life-or-death rivalry with the University of Florida.
"I've always been a respecter of Miami; I have absolutely no respect for Florida," said FSU fan Ron Lawrence, a Tallahassee state worker. "I hate losing to Miami, but if they beat us I always root for them to run the table. But if Florida never wins another game, it will be too soon."
Such is the saw about the FSU-Miami rivalry: Fans of both teams hate Florida, but they respect each other. It is an aphorism born of historical factors. It is a truism that endures despite almost annual heart-stopping games that send 80,000 emotionally wrought fans streaming out the exits together.
It's an axiom that may be changing, as a younger generation of fans eyes only the historical context of the past 20 years - when the two teams have won a combined seven national championships, often at the expense of each other.
"I've always hated Miami," said FSU senior Brad Fisher. "Miami fans are conceited and cocky. We're cocky, too. But there's something (worse) about Miami fans."
The series
FSU and Miami clash today for the 47th time. The series began in 1951 and Miami owns a 26-20 lead.
When the series began, Miami already was a nationally recognized football program - while FSU was in only its fifth season and still playing the small-college likes of Stetson, Delta State and Wofford.
It was FSU's early welcome to big-time football by Miami - seven years before Florida would agree to play FSU - that tempers many an older FSU fan's attitude toward Miami.
"Florida wouldn't play us, and then they only wanted to play in Gainesville and then they would demand things like not letting our transfers play against them," said FSU fan Steve Friedlander, an algebra teacher at Chiles High. "With Miami, it's always been a level playing field. It's gotten intense because both teams have gotten good. But it's been more of a respect factor."
Miami fans point to a reciprocal attitude by FSU. In 1987, Florida stopped its series with Miami, which began in 1938, citing the strain of playing such a tough non-conference rival. Though the Gators resumed the Miami series in 2002, the hiatus created rancor among Hurricane fans - and respect for FSU.
"Over the years, FSU played Miami and Florida wouldn't - which made a difference," said Steve Mindlin. "I won't say the rivalry has become a gentlemanly thing; there's no such thing in college football. But there is a whole lot less rancor (about FSU) among Miami fans. It's certainly not a hatred thing."
Miami club
Mindlin, a Tallahassee lawyer, is president of the University of Miami Tallahassee Alumni Club. When Mindlin arrived in Tallahassee in 1986, the club had 20 members, most of them physicians who had graduated from the Miami medical school. Today, the group has 50 to 60 active members. The group gathers at sports bars for every televised Miami game, hosts guest speakers and will help stage a pre-game pep rally this morning at the Civic Center.
"(FSU fans) don't necessarily love us, but they (tolerate) us," said Pam Alonzo, a lifelong Miami fan who moved to Tallahassee with her husband, George, and two daughters in 1995. "It's a comfortable rivalry, and everyone is good about it. It is the younger crowd that has more vocal feelings."
Indeed, a recent poll in the FSU student newspaper found the majority of FSU students consider Miami, not Florida, as FSU's chief rival. And many of them reject any notions of respect.
"Miami fans are 'bandwagon' fans," FSU junior Drew Hemingway said. "When they're on top, they're bragging and carrying on. But when they're not in the top 20, they're like little cats. They don't speak much."
Robert Romero, an FSU junior from Miami, said FSU was always second in his affections - until he found FSU students rooting for Florida in last year's Miami-Florida game. He now concentrates on his Hurricanes, and he thinks three consecutive losses to Miami have left FSU students angry.
"I'm a little worried about FSU fans now; there's a lot of parties I wouldn't go to in my Miami gear," Romero said. "This year, there is a little more enmity."
FSU fans don't expect to lose this year. They point to their team's dominant defense, improved offense and think it's time to even up the breaks that have seen Miami win four games when FSU missed a last-minute kick.
"One of these years, we're going to make the kick," Friedlander said. "I just hope I'm alive to see it."
But if FSU loses, it won't hurt as bad as it could.
"Ninety-nine percent of the time when we've lost to Miami, I feel we've lost to a better team," Lawrence said. "I never feel that's the case with Florida." (By Gerald Ensley, Tallahassee Democrat)
TIDAL 11:15 AM
Thursday, October 09, 2003
Knuckle sandwich
Wakefield rises to occassion as Sox KO Yankees
NEW YORK -- Uh-oh. Boston, we may have a problem.
The Red Sox lurched into wildly unfamiliar territory last night as they broke a year-long pattern that worked as wonderfully as Gulden's on a Fenway Frank. Rather than backing themselves into a corner by losing an opener -- the sure-fire catalyst for their remarkable resiliency -- the Sox pioneered a new trail: They won, stunning the Yankees, 5-2, in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.
In Tim Wakefield's finest hour since he twice outdueled Atlanta's Tom Glavine with complete-game gems for the Pirates in the National League Championship Series in his rookie season in 1992, the knuckleballer blanked the Yankees through six innings and rode a home-run barrage by David Ortiz, Todd Walker, and Manny Ramirez to the highly unusual victory.
Now what? The Sox reached the threshold of postseason glory after losing their first game of spring training, their first game of the regular season, their first meeting against the Yankees, the first game after the All-Star break and the first two games of the AL Division Series against the A's.
All they may need is three more of these weird wins to cakewalk into the World Series. Not bad, considering the Sox are trying to become only the second AL wild-card team to reach the Big Show. The Angels became the first last year, and, well, everyone knows their championship story.
Boss Steinbrenner, surrounded by his usual glitterati (Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Henry Kissinger, Donald Trump et al), might have seen the shocker coming when his prized mascot, the bald eagle Challenger, became so cowered by the thunderous roar of two jets in a pregame flyover that the bird all but pancaked in fear on the infield turf, failing to reach its target on the mound.
Bad omen. Yankee starter Mike Mussina was not quite as bad, though he turned in his third shortest outing in 13 postseason starts as he surrendered four of the five runs, all on the homers. Ortiz even snapped a career 0-for-20 funk against Mussina.
After Wakefield faltered in the seventh, walking the first two batters, he was lifted for Alan Embree, who surrendered a run-scoring double to Jorge Posada and a sac fly to Hidei Matsui for New York's only runs. Rarely have 56,281 gathered in the Bronx in such a hush as the Sox bullpen closed out the Yankees.
Mussina cracked the door enough for the Sox to try to break through in the second inning when he endured an uncharacteristic lapse of command. In fact, he failed to throw a first-pitch strike to eight of the first nine batters he faced, and it nearly cost him in the second. With one out, Ortiz battled to a 3-and-2 count before walking. Two batters later, Trot Nixon drew a two-out walk, pushing Ortiz into scoring position. But Mussina, after falling behind, 3-0, to Doug Mirabelli, dodged any damage by getting Mirabelli to bounce back to the mound.
The second inning proved as problematic for Wakefield as it did for Mussina. The knuckleballer also retired the first batter of the inning before running into trouble. In Wakefield's case, he yielded consecutive singles, a grounder to right by Posada and a line drive to left by Matsui to put runners on first and second. But Wakefield also answered the challenge, setting down Aaron Boone on a pop to shallow center before Nick Johnson grounded to first.
Boston's break came in the fourth inning when Mussina, a multiple Gold Glove winner, just missed snagging a grounder by Ramirez to the right side of the mound. The ball deflected off his glove toward second base, allowing Ramirez to leg out a leadoff single. That cleared the way for Ortiz, who fell behind in the count, 0-and-2, before he stood his ground, forcing the count full, then blasting a thigh-high 90-mile-per-hour fastball into the top deck in right field to stake the Sox to a 2-0 lead.
Nixon, who stepped to the plate batting just .137 (7 for 51) against Mussina, tried to stoke the rally by lacing a single to right field with one out. But Mussina then mowed down Mirabelli and Gabe Kapler on strikes.
No problem. Wakefield was in the midst of retiring 14 straight batters after Matsui's single in the second, and the Sox were poised to exploit a couple more mistakes by Mussina in the fifth. Walker struck first, lofting a 2-and-0 pitch to the foul pole at the top deck in right. Just as the ball reached the pole, a fan reached out and may have compromised right-field umpire Angel Hernandez's view, prompting the ump to rule it a foul ball. At that, Walker stalled his home run trot between first and second. But Hernandez quickly was overruled by his colleagues, who concluded the ball struck the pole, and Walker continued his trot, putting the Sox up, 3-0.
The homer was Walker's fourth of the postseason, tying a Sox record set by Nomar Garciaparra in the 1999 playoffs.
Moments later, Bill Mueller took a shot at following Walker's path around the bases as he drove a 400-foot shot to left-center. But Bernie Williams dashed to the warning track and snared the ball just before he slammed into the padded wall. Given a break, Mussina was unable to capitalize, though. A batter later, he left a 1-1 pitch in Ramirez's wheelhouse, and the ball sailed just over the right-field fence to boost Boston's lead to 4-0.
The Sox threatened again in the sixth when Kevin Millar reached on an infield single and advanced to second on Mirabelli's one-out single to left. But with two out, Mussina gave way to lefthander Felix Heredia, who gummed things up by getting Walker to ground to first.
The relief was short-lived, though, for the Yankees, as the Sox struck again in the seventh. With Heredia lifted after retiring the first batter, Jeff Nelson got the second out before he surrendered a single to Ramirez, hit Ortiz on the foot, and allowed a run-scoring single to Millar, sticking Steinbrenner's crew in a 5-0 hole. (By Bob Hohler, The Boston Globe)
Rabid Sox fans 'Cowboy Up': Texas talk rides into Hub history
Deep in the heart of Beantown, it's time to "Cowboy Up.''
The western rodeo phrase has taken off as the Red Sox try to hang on in the American League playoffs, like a bull rider lasting out his 8 seconds.
It means get over it. Pick yourself up. Stop sniveling and get on with it. Thanks to a couple of Texans, slugger Kevin Millar and relief pitcher Mike Timlin, it has become the rallying cry of the 2003 Sox. After all, "Cowboy Up'' is a lot more inspiring than its closest Boston equivalent: "I'll give you something to cry about.''
It started in mid-August, when the Sox were in a slump and finally won an away game. Millar told reporters they needed to "cowboy up and stand behind this team.'' Later, Timlin had red "Cowboy Up'' T-shirts made that the players now wear under their jerseys, and "Cowboy Up'' baseball hats they wear when they travel.
Sox executives found out about it and ran with it, producing a video and playing the Ryan Reynolds song "Cowboy Up.'' Sox fans picked up on it, loved it and started wearing cowboy hats and waving "Cowboy Up'' signs. Even Oakland A's fans gave it a nod, showing up in yellow and green shirts that said "Cowboy Down.''
"It's fun. It's something specific to this year. It means 'Step up. Get ready,' '' said Jenna Drevins, 19, a Boston College student from Belmont.
"Whatever inspires people,'' said Carole Anne Scott, 50, of Canton. "It's not very Bostonian, but that doesn't bother me.''
Meanwhile, word of what these dandified Eastern city slickers are doing has filtered out west.
"They haven't started wearing cowboy boots up there have they?'' said cowgirl Linda Joiner, director of the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in Fort Worth. She said the fans of Baaaaaston are welcome to revel in a little cowboy spirit.
"We appreciate the fact that you guys know that's the kind of effort it's going to take,'' Joiner said.
At Oklahoma City's National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Lynda Haller said, "Anytime we can get anybody back East to cowboy up, we're happy.'' (By Jules Crittenden, The Boston Herald)
Rix has smarts when it comes to game day
He's the quarterback you wouldn't want parking your car.
Or taking your final exam.
And, obviously, he's not the pleasure-seeking playboy you'd want to take to a keg party as a babe magnet. I mean what other good-looking star quarterback at Florida State University -- a school where women far outnumber men -- actually would choose to move in with his pastor?
But in a big game when you need your quarterback to make a crucial play, I'll take Chris Rix any day.
Yes, that Chris Rix.
His brain sometimes may seem underdeveloped off the field, but he's underappreciated on it. In the last few days, as the Seminoles have prepared for Saturday's Sunshine State showdown with Miami, numerous college football analysts have said that Chris Rix "hasn't shown he can get it done in a big game."
Hmmm, I wonder where these so-called experts were last year when Rix did everything he humanly could do to beat Miami in the Orange Bowl. Remember? He led FSU to a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter and then watched as FSU's defense turned into the Buccaneers and yielded two touchdowns in less than three minutes. And then, with time running out, Rix improbably marched the Seminoles back down the field one more time, recklessly running for first downs and completing passes over the middle with UM defenders hanging all over him.
We all know what happened next: Bobby Bowden played for a field goal. The kicker missed. And what exactly does that have to do with Chris Rix not getting it done in a big game?
He sure got it done against Florida last year in his first game back in the lineup after a team insurrection got him wrongly benched in favor of Adrian McPherson. On the first series of the game, remember what Rix did? On third-and-11, he took off on a 25-yard run. And at the end of the play, when most quarterbacks meekly slide down to avoid being hit, Rix lowered his helmet and took on two tacklers. The inspired Seminoles went on to clobber the Gators 31-14.
Chris Rix may be a bonehead sometimes, but the kid can play football. He runs like Charlie Ward; he passes like Chris Weinke. Unfortunately, he makes headlines like Sebastian Janikowski, and that's what we all remember him by. He doesn't get nearly enough credit for being the most athletically gifted quarterback in FSU history.
Before the season, most of the QB talk in the state focused on Brock Berlin's becoming the next great one at Miami (hasn't happened) or Chris Leak's becoming the next great one at Florida (hasn't happened). The only thing that has happened is that Rix is on the verge of becoming the next great one at Florida State.
Brace yourself for this one, FSU fans: Sometime Saturday, Rix will move past the greatest Seminole ever -- Charlie Ward -- in career passing yards. Most Seminoles will tell you this is like Joe Nemechek passing Richard Petty on the NASCAR victories chart.
Ward, of course, won a national championship and a Heisman Trophy, and if Chris Rix wins Saturday, he, too, should be a candidate for both. Despite his stats, he desperately needs a signature victory against Miami to secure a spot among Florida State's all-time greats.
"These are the games where you make yourself," FSU Coach Bobby Bowden said.
Said Rix: "One game can define a player. I'm excited about the opportunity."
I believe Chris Rix will win the game Saturday, and if he does, he'll finally start getting some love from Florida State fans.
At long last, he'll have a permanent place in their hearts.
They even might give him a permanent place to park, too. (By Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel)
TIDAL 7:02 AM
Sunday, October 05, 2003
Chipper's shots extend series
Chicago -- Not only are the Braves alive and coming home to play again in Atlanta, but they're also bringing an awakened Chipper Jones with them.
Jones hit a pair of two-run homers, and the Braves held off a ninth-inning rally in a 6-4 victory against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday at Wrigley Field, evening the best-of-five division series at two games apiece.
Everything will be on the line tonight in Game 5 at Turner Field, where Mike Hampton is set to start against Cubs flamethrower Kerry Wood.
"It was desperate; we win or take a vacation," said Jones, who broke a 1-1 tie with his two-run homer in the fifth inning, then cranked another in the eighth for a 6-2 lead. "We had a lot of guys in here who didn't really want to take a vacation."
The Braves snapped a five-game losing streak in postseason elimination games. They did it without Gary Sheffield, who was sidelined by a bruised hand and estimated there's a "50-50" chance he'll play tonight.
The Cubs scored a run in the ninth against John Smoltz on consecutive doubles by Randall Simon and Damian Miller, and not until Sammy Sosa flied out to the edge of the center-field warning track could the Braves relax.
Asked how his troublesome elbow felt, Smoltz said, "I'm not going to answer that question. . . . I'd like to have my 'A' stuff, but I didn't bring my 'A' stuff. My job there is to get three outs before they get three runs." (By Dave O'Brien, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) View the entire article
Great escape
On the brink, Sox break out on Nixon's HR
On the brink of extinction last night, the Red Sox were offered everything short of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation by the bumbling-beyond-belief Oakland A's and, in one bizarre sequence, by an umpiring crew that inspired even baseball commissioner Bud Selig -- who was on the premises -- to place a call demanding an explanation.
But it took 11 innings and a two-run, pinch-hit home run by Trot Nixon to breathe life back into the Sox' postseason chances, their 3-1 win in Game 3 of the American League Division Series assuring Game 4 at 1 p.m. this afternoon in Fenway Park, which might still be shaking from the concussive roar let out by the crowd of 35,460, the biggest on Yawkey Way in 13 years.
The A's lead the best-of-five series, 2 games to 1, but after a night in which they made four errors -- three in the second inning -- and committed two grievous base-running mistakes, they may have some ghosts of their own to shed (Slide, Jeremy, Slide) after failing to close out the Sox last night. They'll send their ace, Tim Hudson, to face graybeard John Burkett, though Sox manager Grady Little is expected to go to his bullpen early and often, especially after a night his relief corps never stood taller.
"We'll still be fighting for our lives tomorrow," Nixon said after perhaps the most significant of Boston's 24 last at-bat wins this year. "Let's leave it at that. So let's hope history dictates itself."
After Derek Lowe held the A's to an unearned run in seven innings, Mike Timlin, in a three-inning stint that was his longest of the season, and Scott Williamson set down the last dozen A's batters in order. Little had Game 5 starter Pedro Martinez warming up before the ninth; had the Sox taken the lead, he would have been called upon to pitch.
"We've done a lot of talking about the bullpen since Opening Day, and we're awfully proud of what they did tonight," Little said. "I told Mike after the game to go into the whirlpool and stay there until tomorrow." (By Gordon Edes, The Boston Globe) View the entire article
Gators at new low in 2nd straight loss to Rebels
GAINESVILLE -- There was a time not so long ago when Florida football fans derisively referred to Mississippi's floundering football team as "Ole Miserable."
On Saturday, we saw a changing of the guard.
Or, worse yet, a changing of the scarred.
Move over, Ole Miserable, and make room for New Miserable:
The Florida Gators.
After the humiliating 20-17 home loss to Ole Miss on Saturday, the Gators are now officially an SEC softie. They now occupy a seat at the kiddie table with Vandy, Ole Miss and Kentucky. The last time Florida football occupied these abysmal depths, Gary Darnell was the interim coach and the Gators were getting pulverized in the now-defunct Freedom Bowl.
Actually, this might be worse. At least the Gators were a bowl team back then. Now, AD Jeremy Foley will break open the bubbly if Ron Zook can just get to 6-6. With apologies to Al Davis, Florida now has a new motto:
"Just don't finish below .500, baby."
Sadly and strangely, Florida football now must endure the embarrassing realization that was screamed out by an Ole Miss fan as the Gators trudged off the field after a second consecutive loss to the Rebels.
"We own you!" screeched the fan.
Owned by Ole Miss. Can it get any worse than that? What next -- a Mississippi State fan shouting at the Gators, "Our graduation rate is higher than yours!"? (By Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel) View the entire article
Cheerleader of the Week
Acacia, Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders
TIDAL 3:08 PM
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
Cubs' fans bring magic back to the Ted
Solved: The mystery of how to fill Turner Field in the postseason.
Turn a baseball game into college football.
Give 10,000 (or so) tickets to the visiting team.
It helps, yes, to have the cuddly Cubs as the visitors. Had the Houston Astros won the NL Central, Game 1 of the Division Series would have drawn its accustomed 40,000 and spawned the usual "Atlanta-is-a-lousy-sports-town" commentaries. Say what you will about Atlanta as a sports town, but give our city this: We have a lot of folks living here who remain loyal to the team from whence they came. And a goodly number of those apparently emigrated from Illinois.
The first chant of "Let's go, Cubs!" came at 6:38 p.m., nearly two hours before the first pitch. And the number of Cub fans and their vocal fervor seemed to shame the Braves' backers into a response. For the first time in many autumns -- the first time since Game 6 of the 1999 NLCS against the Mets, to be precise -- the ballpark rocked.
Rather than the standard ossified ambience, Game 1 took on the look and sound of Georgia-Florida. The Cubs would put men aboard and the folks in blue would get excited. Then Russ Ortiz would do his wriggling act and those with the foam tomahawks would scream their answer. While not nearly as loud and as spooky as in the 1991 NLCS, the Tomahawk Chop arose Tuesday as something more than a quaint antique. It had passion. It had volume.
The game itself was left with no alternative. It had to rise to meet the moment, and doggone if it didn't. Kerry Wood yielded one hit through six innings, the one being Marcus Giles' dinky homer with two out in the third. That came a half-inning after Giles had fumbled Kenny Lofton's double-play grounder, the error putting Ortiz in peril. But Ortiz has spent his life pitching with runners on base, and he's rather skilled at it. He struck out Mark Grudzielanek looking -- Bruce Froemming called one of those "Braves' strikes" Bobby Cox claims his team no longer gets -- and the famous Sammy Sosa swinging.
For all the fuss made over the Chicago starters, we around here tend to undersell Ortiz. Our mistake. He's as tough as any pitcher extant, Schilling included, Clemens included. Ortiz induced two double plays and should have had four. He should have been through the sixth with that 1-0 lead, but Robert Fick whiffed on Paul Bako's grounder and blew a 3-6-1 double play. (About Bako, this we know: He's a threat to make two outs any time, anywhere.) Then Wood cracked a two-run double off the fence and it was 3-1 and Ortiz was gone, having done his bit but having been undone by a lineup that has ceased to put any premium on glovework.
"He made one bad pitch to Kerry," Cox said, "and it cost him the game." But that's the thing about pitching with runners on base. One glitch afield, one bad pitch, and those runners become runs.
On Monday, Dusty Baker was asked if the guiding principle of baseball -- that good pitching beats good hitting -- is overrated. "One thing for sure," Baker said, "is that good hitting beats bad pitching. . . . If you limp out there with bad pitching against those Braves, they'll beat you to death."
There was nothing flimsy about Wood. ("The game of his professional life," Baker pronounced afterward.) Wood worked into the eighth, striking out 11 and holding the team that led the National League in hitting to two hits. But one of the ways you bat .284 as a team is to emphasize sticks over leather, and the Braves were trapped in Game 1. They weren't allowed to hit enough to topple Wood, and they didn't field well enough to support Ortiz.
And now they're down a game. In seasons past, I've been the guy who says, "It's OK, they'll be fine" whenever the Braves lose a Game 1. I feel no such urge this time. The Braves are in trouble. They're not going to win anything if Ortiz loses. They're not going to win anything getting three hits and striking out 14 times. Good hitting might well beat bad pitching, but these Cubs don't have much of that.
(By Mark Bradley, The Atlanta Journal-Consitution)
Kim earns high grades from TMQ for ... her haiku ability.
Cheerleader of the Week: Kim Lance of the Sea Gals of the red-hot (blue-hot, in this case) Seattle Blue Men Group. With training in jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical and hip-hop dance, Lance works as a human-resources manager. So Kim, you handle the human resources -- who handles the space-alien resources? (See below.) She also picks football games. Here you'll see Lance got only five right this week. But don't despair, since that's about the same success rate as the New York Times sports page. And Kim Lance becomes the first cheer-babe to submit a haiku to TMQ! The allusion is to the proposed Seattle espresso surcharge.
Holmgren's heroes are
playoff contenders! Please don't
tax our victories.
-- Kim Lance, Seattle
You can order the Sea Gals 2004 calendar here. Lance comments, "It proves you don't need to be nearly naked in a bikini or lingerie to put together a beautiful calendar." Kim, you may be missing a key point.
Here, Sea Gals cheerleader Amber Lancaster appears on the "Are You Hot?" non-reality show. She did not advance! Lancaster was not considered hot? Only possible explanation: Lighting in the room was poor. Amber's comments on the event includes this: "The judges critiqued me for a good half an hour." Remember, she's standing in front of them in a string bikini the entire time; if Amber Lancaster was standing in front of me in a string bikini, I'd drag the interview out too. Lancaster continues, "Their comments seemed a little out of sorts, and I wasn't saying too much in response. So Randolph Duke asked me if I could speak, and I said yes, I can speak!" Amber, that exchange was high eloquence by the standards of "Are You Hot?" (By Gregg Easterbrook, ESPN.com's Page 2) View the entire TMQ
TIDAL 6:09 AM
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