Wait, what?!?!

On Thursday, I was all ready to write a post about how a Rays/Phillies World Series would actually be exciting, albeit a ratings nightmare. I held off though, partly because I'm extremely lazy, but also because I remembered what happened last year. By all accounts, the Rays should have already been preparing to face the newest addition to the Grown Ass Man Club, Cole Hamels in Game One of the World Series. Instead, the Boston Red Sox staged yet another improbable comeback in Game Five of the ALCS to stay alive. And moments ago, Jonathan Papelbon shut the door against Tampa Bay solidifying a 4-2 victory, forcing a Game Seven. Holy Crap!!

Hold on there kids...

Yes, I am an admitted Chicago White Sox fan. Yes, the Red Sox have the second highest payroll in the league. Yes, the Rays have reached the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. But can you even root for them at this point? They have some awesome young players who are great to watch, but considering the whole Manny cluster-F, it is kind of amazing that Boston is where they're at. As previously discussed on this very website, the home grown talent of the Red Sox is astounding and was once again on display tonight. Youkilis, Masterson, Papelbon were the three main factors of the game. Of course, you can't ignore what Josh Beckett did tonight either. I mean, no one knows how hurt he actually is. But he gutted it out ala Curt Schilling and we are one game away from a Red Sox/Phillies showdown.

When all is said and done, everyone will look back and wonder what the hell Joel Madden was thinking having Kazmir pitch before Shields. His reasoning seemed sound at the time, but YIKES! I'm sure FOX wasn't too keen on a Tampa Bay/Philly matchup, but I still maintain it would be a fun series to watch. Harkening back to my previous post about being a desensitized sports fan only proves my point. I am absolutely not shocked in the slightest the Boston is on the verge of stealing this series but I'm stoked to tune into TBS tomorrow (assuming they actually carry the friggin' game from start to finish this time). Can Garza close the door or will Lester rebound from his poor performance in Game Four? Oh yeah, there's football on all day tomorrow too! October rules!

When in doubt, write a random notes column!

I know there's a ton of stuff going on in the sports world right now, but a lot of things have already been covered extensively both here and on other blogs (Favre, MLB second half, NBA players leaving to play in Europe, the Dark Knight rules the world) so I'm going to hit you with a few quick points and call it a day. Did I mention I get out of work at 2:00 on Fridays? Holla.




Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito will fight for the welterweight title tomorrow night. I have fairly limited boxing knowledge (shocking!), but have a group of friends who are super into the sport. When I watched the Pacquiao fight with them last month, they were all psyched for this fight. Besides the fact that both guys are really, really good, one is from Puerto Rico (Cotto) and the other is from Mexico (Margarito). Something you might not know: Puerto Ricans and Mexicans HATE each other. Okay, that might be a strong generalization, but both countries take their boxing very seriously. Lots of pride. There is a storied history between Puerto Rican fighters and Mexican fighters in brutal matches. Trinidad/De La Hoya comes to mind as the last one to have a huge impact. Margarito (right in photo) obviously has a height advantage, but experts say that Cotto's deliberate style and brutal body shots will prevail. I know in this age of youtube and such that paying to watch live boxing/MMA isn't as appealing as it used to be, but this will most likely be the best fight of the year.


Rooting for the White Sox and following the Red Sox because there really is no escaping them if you live in the Boston area, I noticed both teams have big weeks ahead. Boston has a huge series with the Yankees starting tonight at Fenway. David Ortiz makes his return tonight to try and keep the physically ailing Yankees from gaining any more ground in the East. Beckett vs. Joba, 7:05, catch it! Then on Monday, the Angels roll into town and the Sox get a chance to avenge that ugly sweep from last weekend.

• Just wanted to make a quick mention about how Dice-K (11-1) is having a fantastic second year. I still remember sitting in my car during a lunch break when it was announced that Boston posted the highest amount of any team (51.1 mil) to negotiate with Dice-K and the Seibu Lions. Most people were pretty skeptical about how well he would play, but his numbers this year are fantastic. He had one really awful game when he came back from the DL and although his WHIP is kinda gruesome, he has 83 Ks in 95 innings, his ERA is 2.63, and his BAA is .202.

As far as my ChiSox go, they are on the road in Detroit Fri-Sun, then in Minnesota Mon-Thu. They have a 2.5 game lead right now and could really make a statement by performing well and expanding that lead a bit. Rookie Clayton Richard made his debut in place of Jose Contreras yesterday and wasn't phenomenal, but Chicago pulled out a 10-8 win thanks to my man Carlos Quentin. While it may be a bit early to give Quentin a membership to the Grown Ass Man Club, he is first in the American League in game winning RBIs and first in HRs. The pitching staff has been giving up a lot of runs lately, so hopefully that will change.

Next member of the Grown Ass Man Club?

• You HAVE to watch this: http://withleather.uproxx.com/post.phtml?pk=6456. This is definitely a Web Gem of the Year nominee. The White Sox weren't even sure if Alexei Ramirez was going to make the team during Spring Training. Second base isn't even his natural position! And in addition to making plays like this, he is batting .307 and is the only guy with the last name Ramirez to hit a grand slam this year...

The Golden State Warriors just locked up 22 year old Monta Ellis with a 6 year, $66 million contract. I think this guy is legitimately the fastest player in the entire NBA but the team is shifting him over to point guard. Not sure if he's got the handle to run a team but he's a great scorer. He finished with 21 point and 4 assist averages this past season playing in 81 games. The Warriors also traded for Marcus Williams to back him up. I don't think Williams ever got a fair shake in New Jersey as I thought he was originally the heir apparent to Jason Kidd once he retired. Then, the Nets traded for Devin Harris and the former UConn Husky got pushed to the side. Golden State is now looking at a starting lineup of: Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette, Al Harrington and Ronny Turiaf.

Lebron James will most likely miss the USA Olympic team's exhibition game tonight against Canada. Not a huge deal or anything, but the team can't really afford any more injuries. Lebron's ankle, Dwight Howard's chest, and now it looks like Tyson Chandler might not be the alternate due to an injured toe. Kevin Durant will most likely go in his place. Interesting... Anyway, this will be the only exhibition game that the USA team will play on American soil.

So there are some things to chew on heading into the weekend. I plan on writing a review of the Celtics' Championship DVD either Sunday or Monday. A special viewing might be in order and High Life may be prominently involved. Don't forget to see Step Brothers if the weather is lousy where you live. This will be the best Will Ferrell movie since Anchorman!

P.S. Have I mentioned they're making a sequel to Anchorman?!?!?!

Mad Homerz LOL...

Josh Hamilton officially entered the "Grown Ass Man Club" last night. (Leon is a card carrying member, FYI.) His story is amazing. His 95 RBIs at the break are amazing.


Last night was RIDICULOUS!


I thought the event as a whole was a step in the right direction for Major League Baseball. Uggla, Longoria, Sizemore, etc. There's nothing wrong with giving the young, fresh faces of the league a chance to grab some spotlight away from the established veterans who are already household names. Besides Lance Berkman, every participant in the Derby last night has five years or less big league experience. And although Hamilton didn't win the thing, it doesn't really matter.

"Dude, you see how far I hit that?"

He hit 35 total homers, 28 of which came in the first round. There was a stretch of 13 in a row! It honestly looked like a video game. And for a New York crowd that didn't have one of their own to cheer for, (Seriously A-Rod, ya couldn't use some good PR right about now?) Hamilton gladly stepped into the role as hero. The crowd was chanting his name and was going ballistic after the monstrous 500 feet shots he launched.

And how about that old dude pitching? He's 71 years old and tossing BP like it ain't no thang. He and Hamilton were definitely on the same wave length. And it was great to see Hamilton's Rangers teammates goofing around and cheering him on. (The Rangers have four All-Stars?!?!) I also thought it was a nice touch when Edinson Volquez left the briefcase at home plate referencing Hamilton's "Natural" nickname. I'm not sure if any of the announcers caught on. Speaking of announcers, it was a great move by ESPN to switch back and forth from the Berman/Morgan/Phillips team to the Baseball Tonight crew (now with 100% more Rick Reilly). I know the Home Run Derby is sort of Berman's "thing" but there's only so much one person can take.

But there's always plenty of time to knock bad announcers. Hamilton made them irrelevant. They seriously could have just shut all their mics off after about home run number 10 and just let the crowd take it from there. I don't know if MLB/ESPN knew what they were doing when they had him bat last but I couldn't imagine anyone following that performance in the first round. And props to Justin Morneau who actually won. He was really gracious in accepting the trophy acknowledging Hamilton. I really hope Hamilton can stick with it and have a great and productive career. Dude looooves Jebus so he's got that going for him. I wonder if he'll be back in the contest next year? (Hamilton not Jebus)

Anyway, last night was definitely something special and for a guy who didn't even play baseball for three years, he didn't do half bad. And can you imaging if he was playing for the Rays right now?

Oh yeah, and I forgot the obligatory sports blog ogling of Erin Andrews. Seriously though, she's hot.

The Whole F'n SHOW!

Game Two of the 2008 NBA Finals will be known as "The Leon Powe Game."

But as late as 22 seconds left in the contest, it was threatening to be known as the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history. The Celtics somehow managed to blow a 22 point lead in THE FOURTH QUARTER but held on to win by six.

Now all of us here at SPLP are just thrilled that Leon finally got the chance to shine on a national stage. But he played the same way last night that he played all of this year. Entering the game with 44 seconds left in the first quarter, he drew a charge and a shooting foul on Lamar Odom.

Powe ended up getting to the line more times than the entire Lakers team (13 to 10). And while LA fans will surely be squawking about the officiating when the finally get out of bed in another two hours, no one wearing a purple jersey played under the basket like Leon. In 15 minutes, he finished with 21 points. You'll be hearing all about it today and into tomorrow night when the two teams meet in Los Angeles. While I loved being at the Garden for Game One, I think I would have gone crazier than Teddy Duchamp's dad by the third ridiculously thunderous dunk Leon threw down.

Now does all of this mean Leon is gonna get paid? One would hope so considering the thought of a Rondo/Powe tandem to take over once the big three hit the ol' dusty trail is enticing. But if Danny doesn't pony up the cash, someone else surely will. In the end though, this game cemented Leon's status in the Celtics' storied history. The question is, can Boston somehow finish the job at the Staples Center? Or will Causeway St. be treated to more heroics from the men in green? One thing is for sure though, as long as Leon Powe is in the game, good things will continue to happen. And watching the piece ABC did on him during halftime (not even getting into his career threatening knee injury in college) basketball fans everywhere will now appreciate the continued success of the 24 year old man who came from humble beginnings that went on to play 15 minutes of fantastic and exciting ball.

Leon's line from Game Two:
15 minutes
21 points
2 rebounds
6-7 FG
9-13 FT
0 turnovers
Bonus: 9 fouls drawn!

Post Scriptage:
Normally, I am an extremely sarcastic and negative person so writing something sorta sappy about something as simple as a basketball game is a bit of a switch for me. And normally, I appreciate a good underhanded jab as much as the next dude. But Phil Jackson's blatant exhibit of douchebaggery at the post game press conference was a little much, even for me. I bet you really didn't know how the pronounce Leon's last name Phil. How about instead of trying to be clever and bury a guy who kicked your team's ass, you concentrate on winning a championship without Michael Jordon or Shaq? Whaddya say Phillip?