Apologies for my protracted absence. After hitting something of a brick wall, I’m now overwhelmed in terms of subjects I could blog about. There is all manner of subjects cluttering my brain/stimulating my brain, depending on the time of day/my general disposition/etc/etc. Read the rest of this entry »
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?
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?
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!
And so, the end is near…
Last night the Yankees went 3-1 up in the series, meaning they only need to win one more game to clinch the World Series.
And how they did it. Going into the ninth inning, the Phillies had all the momentum, scoring runs in successive innings to pull the score back from 4-2 to four apiece. And then the Phillies’ closing pitcher, Brad Lidge, stepped up. Lidge was perfect last year – he didn’t lose one game for the Phillies. This year, he hasn’t been so consistent. He retired the first two, but just couldn’t get the last out. Johnny Damon audaciously stole two bases and the Yankees went on to score three runs. The Phillies couldn’t reply, and the Yankees won 7-4.
Throughout the post-season the Yankees have looked like they are going to win, no matter what the situation. You just can’t count them out. They keep playing, and pushing, until the very end. They are clearly the best team in baseball now, and it’s going to take a gargantuan effort from the Phillies to stop the Yankees winning the World Series.
The Phillies might just keep the Yankee Champagne on ice for a little while, though. Tonight, Cliff Lee pitches for them, and he has been awesome so far. The Yankees have AJ Burnett on the mound, who hasn’t been shabby, either. We’re in for a treat, in what may well be the final game of the 2009 season.
Wait until next year 