Wait until next year

November 8, 2009

Sports stuff I’ve enjoyed this week

We’re in the midst of a jam-packed weekend of sport. David Haye slayed the giant Nikolai Valuev, which I may well blog about in the next couple of days, Australia beat England in the rugby (boo), and there’s been fun and games in the football, particularly the Manchester City/Burnley 3-3 draw, and a fair few upsets in the first round of the FA Cup.

And there’s still the circus of Chelsea/Manchester United to come!

But here’s what I’ve enjoyed perusing the rest of this week…

The Yankees won the World Series this week, in no small part because of the strength of their closing pitcher, Mariano Rivera. The New York Times has produced a funky graphic to illustrate just how good he is in the post-season.

Meanwhile Matt at BaseballGB has written a comprehensive breakdown of performances in this year’s World Series.

And it’s not all about the winners, you know, as The Daily Something decides on the ten best performances by World Series losers.

In football, meanwhile, The Political Economy of Football looked at Rangers’ financial woes and twohundredpercent looked at the 1946 FA Cup.

So, what have you enjoyed reading this week?

November 6, 2009

What is it with managers helping damsels in distress?

Not that long ago we heard about Hull City manager Phil Brown talking down a woman contemplating throwing herself off the Humber Bridge.

Now another story. World Series winning coach, Joe Girardi, on his way home from the game, reportedly came to the assistance of a woman who had crashed her car, flagging down police officers to take care of the situation.

Amid so many whining, manipulative, selfish managers in sport (I’m naming no names!), it’s good to see there are a few knights in shining armour out there.

Or maybe we just forget that people in the public eye are human and decent at heart, like the rest of us?

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November 5, 2009

MLB play-offs braindump #13 – Yankees win the World Series

And so that was the 2009 baseball season. Last night the Yankees beat the Phillies in pretty comfortable fashion, 7-3, to win the best of seven series in six games.

It was good to see the World Series at least go close to the full seven games, although it is a real shame it didn’t come down to one ‘all or nothing game’. I’m no Yankees fan, but it is also good that the best team in baseball won – something that is never guaranteed in sports with a post-season play-off structure. That they won in an entertaining series doesn’t hurt one bit either.

So, no more baseball until spring. However, I have a few ideas up by sleeve to carry on covering the sport through the winter. You will, hopefully, join me on a voyage of discovery, as I actually try to learn something about the sport, rather than just winging it with mis-informed platitudes. Stay tuned folks!

November 4, 2009

Not a good year for Vicente Padilla

Earlier this year Vicente was the first high-profile athlete in the United States to test positive for swine ‘flu.

He was then released from the Texas Rangers, as he was “regarded as a disruptive clubhouse presence.”

Things looked up when he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers, until he gave up six runs in three innings, helping send the Phillies, rather than the Dodgers, to the World Series.

What now?

Yesterday, he was accidently shot by his bodyguard, yes, his bodyguard, whilst hunting. Luckily, he wasn’t badly hurt.

I think he needs a new bodyguard. And perhaps stop breaking mirrors.

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November 4, 2009

Late, late shows in Champions League

This blog seems to have had a certain bee in its bonnet about stoppage time, with one post, on Manchester United, injury time and the need for reform, proving a popular one.

So, it was interesting to look through last night’s Champions League results and see so many late goals.

In eight games, there were four goals in injury time. Those for Atletico Madrid and Manchester United (them again!) were game-changing.

In total, 12 goals out of the 26 scored in those games took place after the 80th minute. By my rudimentary calculations, that’s over 46 per cent of goals scored in the final stages.

So what does this mean? Without any statistics for games generally as a ‘control’, it’s hard to say for sure. But why let that stop us speculating? Tiredness must be a factor. Games will often open up as they reach their conclusion. A losing side, such as Atletico or United, will push more in the final moments. A side doing particularly well, like Marseille last night, might knock in a few more goals. Maybe this happens more in the Champions League, as qualification is in sight?

Either way, this tiny sample of games shows how important fitness and concentration is, right up to the final whistle. It also shows how important injury time can be to the result of a game, or even to a team’s goal difference. Too important to just leave to the referee, I’d suggest.

There may well be more late, late shows tonight.

Liverpool are one particular exponent of pulling something out of the fire late on. I do, however, wonder if this is one ‘must win’ game too far? I’m not sure pinning your hopes on an injured Torres is the best idea, but then again, even an injured Torres is better than 95 per cent of strikers in the world. If he plays, that is. Here’s hoping…

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