Sports

Mostly Red Sox, Celtics and the North Carolina Tar Heels.

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Tar Heels Visit the White House

Anyone who reads this blog with any regularity has probably figured out I would write about the North Carolina Tar Heels visiting the White House yesterday.

President Obama welcomed Coach Roy Williams and the University of North Carolina Tar Heels to the White House.

Everyone who follows March Madnes(and many that don’t) knows that the President picked UNC to win it all.  Jeff Zelney writes  in the  New York Times

“Congratulations on bringing Carolina its fifth national championship,” Mr. Obama said. “And, more importantly, thanks for salvaging my bracket and vindicating me before the entire nation. That first round was rough on me.”

As he stood on the South Portico of the White House, Mr. Obama played host to yet another group of collegiate champions. But this meeting was far more personal than previous teams that have visited the White House this year, largely because of Mr. Obama’s affinity to the Tar Heels and the amount of time he invested in North Carolina, where he won the statewide primary and general elections.

“Now, I did have a chance to play ball with this crew just over a year ago when I visited Chapel Hill. And I’m not sure whose luck rubbed off on who,” Mr. Obama said. “I think there was just a good vibe going on there, because they’re now national champions and I’m now president.”

A year ago, as his presidential campaign was beset with controversy over the incendiary comments of the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright, Mr. Obama arrived on the Chapel Hill campus for an early-morning game of hoops and a tour of the Tar Heels’ locker room. (Mr. Obama followed tradition and stepped around the school logo in the center of the floor, a zone of respect where footsteps are not allowed.)

“When we played, everybody went out of their way to pass me the ball, set screens for me, let me take a shot,” the president said, recalling that 7 a.m. pickup game on April 29, 2008. “Tyler chose not to block my shot – of course, I was so intimidated by him being near me that I missed it.”

According to Politico , where you can also see video,

Obama — wearing a shade close to Tarheel blue — recounted a story about playing hoops with the team a year ago when he was a presidential candidate.

“There was a good vibe going on there because they’re now national champions and I’m president,” he said, teasing one player Jack Wooten for blocking his shot and fouling him during the game.

Obama joked that everyone at the White House was excited about the team’s visit “except my assistant Reggie Love,” who played basketball for Duke. The president congratulated the team and coach Roy Williams for “great character.”

Congratulations, Tar Heels.

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Barack and Jacoby

The Social Security Administration has released their list of baby names for last year.  Not surprisingly, Barack  is becoming a popular name.

Jumping more than 10,000 spots — from number 12,535 in 2007 to 2,409 in 2008 — it’s by no means one of the top titles for tykes. But 2009 could see an even bigger spike, perhaps putting the name in the top 1,000 for next year.

Barack Obama

Kinda like when a bunch of baby boomers were named Dwight, after the President and General Eisenhower.  But it does change the perception of the name, Barack, when there are a lot more of them running around and lots of people know a child with the name.  I used to be unique with the name Maya until Maya Angelou gained a lot of recognition.  I had a very brief encounter with her in 1977 when we both remarked how interesting it was to meet another Maya.  Now Maya’s are all over the place.

And then there is the growing popularity of Jacoby.

Though Jacob was the top name for boys, its variation, Jacoby, jumped 200 spots to number 423, drawing inspiration, no doubt, from Red Sox rookie centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury. Perhaps these kids will be stealing bases like number 46 when they start T-ball.
Jacoby Ellsbury

I should also note that for some reason Emma was the top girl’s name with Olivia holding steadyand Miley moving up.

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Manny being Stupid

Manny Ramirez has been suspended from baseball for 50 games – until early July – for testing positive for “performance enhancing drugs.”  The New York Times’  George Vescey  in his column, “Manny Joins the Lost Generation”, put together his list of users

With his suspension on Thursday, Ramirez joins Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Jose Canseco and ultimately Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Tejada on the mental list of players who were dirty, or probably dirty.

Clemens, Bonds, McGwire, Palmerio were all older players who probably started juicing as they felt their careers slipping away.  Manny has joined that list.  He’s an older player who was worried about his contract with the Red Sox or getting picked up by another team.  I think he probably started that last year with the Sox when there were those strange incidents like the pusing of  the elderly staff memeber.

The Boston Globe published this interesting chart.

I think it speaks for itself.  Yes, the Dodgers was only part of a season, but the change from his very consistent numbers is pretty amazing.

Back to Vescey

Ramirez was already on probation with most fans, given the way he goldbricked his way out Fenway last season, holding the bat on his shoulder when he didn’t feel like swinging against Mariano Rivera. Interesting, how Ramirez is represented by Scott Boras, the same agent who advised Pay-Rod’s contractual feints and dodges.

Manny went out to Los Angeles and had himself a few wonderful weeks last autumn. The Dodgers have built their offense around him and are selling a pair of left-field seats for $99 and calling the section Mannywood. Lately there were suggestions in the Los Angeles press that the Dodgers lock up Manny for the long run. At the same time, his samples were simmering in a test tube, with bells and whistles going off, conferences behind closed doors.

Maybe he comes back. Maybe the Dodgers hang on through the suspension. Maybe he can still play without whatever he was taking. But down the line comes a jury of sportswriters, who wish they had been a little more astute back in 1998, and now have the chance to vote Manny on or off the island known as the Hall of Fame. Good luck with that. Rooms facing the lake in Cooperstown, coming up soon.

I feel for David Ortiz, Manny’s best friend on the Sox, who now has to live with all the questions.  Here are Jonathan Papelbon and Mike Lowell on Manny’s excuse – the doctor gave me something.

The Sox roundly rejected the notion that Ramírez took a drug that would result in a positive test without knowing, an excuse Ramírez used in the statement he released. Papelbon was asked about the difficulty of comprehending the banned list of substances.

“It’s really easy, actually,” Papelbon said. “They make a pamphlet for you in English and Spanish. You just read it and you know what you can’t take. It’s really not that hard.”

Said Lowell: “I don’t understand why now anyone would even come close to taking anything that could remotely result in a positive test. In the past, if guys did it, they had the crutch that they weren’t testing. Maybe there’s some stupid society that maybe I wasn’t invited to. I don’t get it. I don’t. I wish I could, but I don’t.”

Yesterday the news hit around lunchtime and quickly spread through my office full of Sox fans .  There was a lot of surprise that Manny had been so stupid and a lot of speculation as to what he had done while with the Sox.  There was a lot of  sadness, too, remembering all the great years and great games that Manny had in Boston.  But this is not Manny being Manny.  This is not funny, it is just stupid – and probably career ending.

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Red Sox, Celtics, and yes, the Bruins

Mr. President.  I know you took Michelle out for date night early last night and hustled home to watch the Bulls play for the Celtics.  Unfortunately, the Celtics won.  Don’t mean to crow, but even with Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe out with injuries, the Celtics are a better team.  I’m not saying they are going to repeat or anything – not yet – but give them credit for hanging tough.  It was the end of a great series. 

Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, date

Jim Watson/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images President and Michelle Obama stroll on the White House lawn after going out to dinner in Washington on Saturday night.

This from the New York Times

With the Celtics leading by 100-95 with 1 minute 5 seconds remaining, Gordon missed a runner and Joakim Noah fouled out chasing the loose ball. That sent Pierce to the line, where he made both free throws. When Ray Allen scored on a breakaway layup, the victory and the series were finally secure.

The win came in traditional Celtics form. Five players scored in double digits, paced by 23 points from Ray Allen. House, a wild card in the series, did not gain traction until Saturday, when he scored 16 points. He earned a technical foul after one 3-pointer when he turned to the Bulls’ bench and yelled, “I’ve been there before.”

House’s previous high in the series was 8 points, and Rivers was hesitant to give him steady minutes against Chicago’s potent perimeter players.

On Saturday, he was part of a Celtics bench that redeemed itself after being blitzed by Chicago’s throughout the series. They outscored the Bulls’ bench by 30-25. Scalabrine was the Celtics’ leading scorer through the first 15 minutes of the game. Pushed by Davis and Perkins, the Celtics outscored the Bulls’ in the paint, 44-18.

Dan Shaunghnessy wrote in the Boston Globe

It ended at 11:03 p.m. with House tossing the ball high above courtside in the general direction of the 1968 championship banner.

So what did we learn from these seven games spaced over 15 days?

We learned that the Celtics are worthy champions. With Garnett sidelined and Leon Powe KO’d in Game 1, the 2009 playoffs have the feel of a Quixotic quest, but that has not deterred the C’s. We all know that the conference finals are going through LeBrontown this year and the Cavaliers look unbeatable. But the Celtics refuse to die.

First the Celtics have to get through the Magic.  And speaking of Florida teams,  the Red Sox finally managed to win a game at Tropicana Field last night.  From Amalie Benjamin’s story in the Sunday Globe

Having started out the series by being outscored, 19-2, over two games, that 11-game winning streak seemed a distant memory, until the Sox’ bats burst out with an early uprising last night, holding on to win, 10-6, in front of 34,910.

So it was a two team win night for Boston.  The Bruins ( have to admit I know little about hockey and don’t follow it) had the night off in their second round playoff series.  If the Celtics and the Bruins keep winning, that crew at the Garden will be mighty busy.

John Powers a Globe Columnist wrote on April 14

Boston hasn’t had such a promising sports year since 1986, when the Patriots played in the Super Bowl, the Red Sox won the pennant, and the Celtics captured the crown….

This time, though, the city’s four major professional teams could pull off an unprecedented sports slam. Besides the Celtics and Bruins, who both begin their playoffs at home this week, the Sox have a good chance to return to the World Series, which they missed by one win last season. And the Patriots, with quarterback Tom Brady newly wed and rehabbed, figure to make the playoffs for the seventh time in nine years.

But, Boston, I think we may be getting ahead of ourselves.

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Ellsbury Steals Home

Jacoby Ellsbury, the best base stealer I’ve rooted for since Maury Wills, got his first straight steal from home and took the wind out of the Yankee’s sails.  I know they were hoping to avoid a sweep by the Red Sox in this first series of this year, but that was not to be.  The Sox won all three super long, super exciting games.

As a commenter  named ” af”  on the New York Times blog, Bats put it,

Stealing home is a slap in the face
To allow it is just a disgrace
These poor Yanks are so old
That their bones have grown cold
And they can’t seem to keep up the pace

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Jacoby Ellsbury stole home as part of the Red Sox’ three-run fifth inning against Andy Pettitte.

Have to say that the Sox are looking good but it is a long season and they have to win on the road as well as at home.  But it is always good to beat the Yankees.

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Mark Fidrych and Nick Adenhart

Baseball has suddenly lost two pitchers.  One, Mark Fidrych, had a brief and shining career with one outstanding season.  The other, Nick Adenhart, had finally realized his dream and pitched one game in the majors.  I had followed  The Bird and hadn’t heard of Nick Adenhart until after his death, but they will always be linked in my mind.

There will be a lot written about The Bird in the days to come, but everyone will be competing against the wonderful piece Don Gonyea did tonight on NPR.  I listened while I cooked dinner and had to blink back the tears that were not from peeling onions.  I hope you click on the link and listen too, but here are some highlights.

Mark Fidrych passed away Monday. You may know him better by his full name — that includes his nickname: Mark “The Bird” Fidrych.

His playing career with the Detroit Tigers was brief: one great season, followed by a handful of years marked more by injury than by time on the mound. But baseball fans in the Motor City and elsewhere still talk about the amazing year Fidrych had back in 1976.

…

The newest Detroit Tiger, a kid with a mop of curly blond hair that stuck out from his ball cap on all sides, took the mound.

He pitched brilliantly. He kept the ball low and threw a devastating sinkerball that defied hitters.

Mark Fidrych, 21, threw a no-hitter through six innings, finally giving up a hit, a single, in the seventh. The Tigers won 2-1. It was the first of 24 complete games he would pitch that year.

His nickname, a result of his strong resemblance to Big Bird from Sesame Street, became a household word around Michigan. “Did you see Bird pitch last night?” “Are we going to see The Bird pitch Saturday?” What time does Bird pitch?” All common questions that summer in the Motor City. And it wasn’t just baseball fans. As that old rock ‘n’ roll song by The Trashmen said,

“Everybody’s talking
About the Bird
The Bird, the Bird,
The Bird is the word.”

After Nick Adenhart was killed by the drunk driver, Doug Glanville wrote a piece for the New York Times titled “Loss Beyond the Score.”  I quote from the beginning and the end.

After hearing about the tragic death of the 22-year-old pitcher Nick Adenhart, my heart skipped a beat. Although I never met him, I still feel close to the baseball family and his loss was the loss of a brother.

…

In the game of baseball, you live and fight together as a unit day after day. Gradually an unspoken truth emerges: we will look out for one another, even 15, 20 years down the road. It is an everlasting vigilance that protects our immediate and extended baseball family.

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Final Four and Opening Day

Last week Amalie Benjamin wrote in the Boston Globe

FORT MYERS, Fla. — It’s almost six weeks into spring training, and already one member of the Red Sox has had surgery, pitchers are headed toward five innings at a clip, and my bracket is shredded beyond recognition. (No, I’m not bitter at all.)

That’s where I am this morning.  My bracket is shredded but for North Carolina (Go Heels!) and it’s gonna rain on opening day at Fenway.  So let’s look at this picture of the grounds crew on a perfect April Saturday two days before opening day.

The season opener at Fenway Park might be a washout on Monday, but groundscrew members John Driscoll pounds down the dirt around homeplate while Jeremy Fuller smooths the gravel in the the area on Saturday morning.

This is also from the Globe.

And about the men’s championship game no matter what happens kids can admire Tyler Hansboough.  He’s called the “player you love to hate” because of his agressive play but he stayed in school for four years and whether you are a North Carolina fan or a Michigan State fan you have to love that. 

There will be two Hall of Famers watching tonights finals (no rainouts in basketball).  This from the New York Times

Magic Johnson will be in attendance at Ford Field on Monday, pulling for Michigan State, which he led to a national title in 1979. Michael Jordan, he hit the game winning shot in North Carolina’s 1982 title-game victory, is expected to be in the crowd, too.

And in my one minute of fame, I was there in New Orleans when Carolina beat Georgetown on the last second errant pass by Brown and the shot by Jordan.  It was a blur, but I believe that James Worthy was in there somehow. Great game and great result.

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Looking for Dice-K

Yesterday I was minding my own business when I got an email from Florida.  A co-worker on vacation was at the Red Sox spring training game and sent a picture.  Then she said that Dice-K was pitching and Lowell, Pedroia and Youkilis were also playing.  Sent a wave of envy through my end of the floor when I forwarded the picture.

So the word on Daisuke Matsuzaka in his first spring training game is good.  Effective and efficient.  This this a good sign for the spring?  Will having pitched for the winning Japan in the World Baseball Classic hurt or help him in the long run? Hard to say.  But along with the various injuries that appear to be healing and Matsuzaka’s performance yesterday, the Sox look good. 

From the  Boston Globe’s Extra Bases blog

“Seventy-five pitches through five innings is ideally what we were hoping to get through today,” said pitching coach John Farrell after the Sox’ 4-3 loss in 10 innings to the Atlanta Braves.

…

“I surprised myself,” Matsuzaka said with a mischievous grin, suggesting he is growing tired of the constant questions about his pitch efficiency. “The Red Sox keep reminding me that I was a little bit ahead of schedule, but on the other hand, getting ready for the WBC put me ahead [of everyone else]. I’d like to take that in a positive way.”

There wasn’t much else to report from the clubhouse, where the Sox were eager to depart after two long road trips in two days. Farrell made repeated note of Matsuzaka’s willingness/ability to rely on his two-seam fastball, a pitch designed to quick outs and conserve pitches.

Matsuzaka also made a point of noting that he was working on his “movement,” suggesting he is more focused on, as Farrell said, “pitching to contact.”

The countdown clock to opening day reads 6 days, 7 hours, and 12 minutes.  It’s Spring!