High Summer

It is now high summer in these parts, a time when folks get away if they can and life gets a little less frenetic than usual. But there’s always Red Sox, Roughriders and Revs to discuss. It’s also the time when camps open throughout the NFL and players go through the grueling ritual of two-a-days. There are a lot of “pro football” annuals that hit bookstores and supermarkets as fantasy players get ready for a new year, but how substantive can they really be? There is so much that changes in the NFL in the month of August that any pre-season forecast available on the newsstands now will be old hat by Labor Day. Guys get carted off the field, suddenly retire, or get cut and/or fall in or out of favor with coaches such that any information about players and teams at this point is unreliable. It’s wiser to let August unfold and get a more accurate reading later.

The whole “Bataan Death March” that Shanahan is forcing Haynesworth to complete is just one of the storylines out there that might throw a spanner into the works. The Redskins (who made an incredibly hasty and foolish decision last year signing Haynesworth in the first place) should have eaten the hefty roster bonus due and cut his sorry ass out of town moments after he balked about playing in Shanahan’s different defensive scheme. “Act in haste, repent in leisure.” Haynesworth refused to participate in any OTA’s or minicamps. (And they paid him how much?) The team had no idea what sort of “football shape” Haynesworth would be in upon his arrival at camp. He’s only there to guarantee his money for this year. By failing to satisfactorily address Haynesworth’s reluctance to go along with the problem during the free agency/draft period, ownership has placed Shanahan in an awkward position with respect to the players. If he caves in and allows Haynesworth to play without having successfully completed the “conditioning test”, he will create a double standard and lose the respect of his players (tail waggin’ the dog). If he refuses to relent, then the team will incur union problems, the coach will be viewed as arbitrarily and capriciously singling out a disgruntled employee with disparate treatment and will…lose the respect of his players. Coach Lombardi and/or Coach Landry would have handled this situation a lot differently.

Jack (“They Call Me Assassin”) Tatum died today (7/27) at the age of 61. The man left behind a wife and three children, so we are sorry for their loss. For Patriots’ fans, any mention of Tatum remains tough to swallow, as he was the guy whose hit on Darryl Stingley in 1978 changed Darryl’s life in the blink of an eye. It was a meaningless exhibition game…so senseless. Darryl was an extraordinary man who forgave Tatum. Now that both men have passed on, maybe it’s time for Patriots’ fans to forgive Tatum as well.


“Turning Now To The Diamond…”

It’s Dewey v. The Hawk:

WEEI’s Kirk Minihane recently tried to make the case that Dwight Evans was more worthy of Hall of Fame induction than Andre Dawson. Sorry, but I’m not buying. The Hawk was a player (like Rice) who really struggled to get into the HOF via the BBWAA. It took him 9 years and his voter percentage hovered around 50% most of the time. The best Evans could ever attain was slightly above 10% once, and now he’s off the ballot and will need the support of the Veteran’s Committee if he’s going to be inducted. Actually, Evans should be thrilled that a borderline candidate was elected by the writers, as Dawson’s body of work furthers Evans’ cause.

The crux of Minihane’s argument is that the BBWAA voters are fixated on HR and RBI as determining offensive metrics while the baseball industry and sabermatricians are now using other sophisticated statistical tools to measure a player’s value. He also argued that consistently shifting Evans around in the batting order over his career had a detrimental effect while Dawson was generally inserted in the three-hole and had the benefit of productive hitters like Tim Raines (who should be voted in soon) near him in the batting order. Last time I checked, Dewey was regularly placed in a lineup that included four guys that were inducted in the HOF (Yaz, Fisk, Boggs & Rice), a batting average leader (Carney Lansford ’81) a HR/RBI champ (Tony Armas, ’84), and a ROY/MVP (Fred Lynn, ’75).

A lot of talented players came through Boston during Evans’ tenure. As marvelous a player as he was, Evans never openly sought the spotlight. He was simply a very good player who went about his business, did his job very well and left the back page to others. Evans was never viewed as “The Man” in Boston. First it was Yaz, then Lynn, Rice, Boggs and Clemens. There were only two of Evans’ 19 seasons in which the team’s record was below .500. He obviously had a lot to do with that success and his productivity didn’t suffer much as a result of moving up or down in the order. The quality of teams that Evans played on were also vastly superior to the Expos/Cubs teams on which Dawson played. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that Dawson stood out to the voters, especially after he moved to Chicago. Other than HOF’ers Ryne Sandberg and Gary Carter (not to mention five years with future HOF’ers Greg Maddux and Tim Raines), Dawson was not surrounded by the same talent level that Evans enjoyed.

As far as Evans is concerned, the question is not how great a ballplayer he was, it’s whether his credentials are Cooperstown-worthy. You want superaltives? I’ve been following the Sox faithfully since the early ‘60’s and, without a doubt, Dewey was the best rightfielder I’ve seen play in Fenway’s tricky and spacious rightfield. As is the case with Dawson, he is a distinguished gentleman who represented the organization with class on and off the field. He had an illustrious career with Boston as the regular in right from 1973-1990 and won eight Gold Gloves (same as Dawson). He played on two pennant winners (’75, ’86). Only Yaz played in more career games for the Red Sox than Evans. He is the franchise leader in games played in rightfield at 2,025. His catch and double-play throw out of Joe Morgan’s blast to right in Game 6 of the ’75 Series ranks among the greatest defensive plays in the Fall Classic. He hit the first pitch of the ’86 season over the wall in Tiger Stadium. He was absolutely worthy of being honored in the Red Sox Hall of Fame. But Cooperstown? Let’s look at his numbers and compare and contrast them with Dawson’s.

Dawson played in 21 more games over his 21-year career than Evans did in 20, so that’s a wash. However, Dawson’s peak seasons came much earlier in his career than did Evans’. Dawson’s last three seasons were pretty much part time while Evans was a regular with the Sox until winding up in Baltimore in ’91 where he played in 101 games. Dawson rocketed to stardom in Montréal while Evans took much longer to develop as a power hitter. Although Evans was one of the most dominant offensive players of the ‘80’s (thanks in large part to the hitting stance he adopted from Sox coach Walt Hriniak), he simply was not an impact hitter over his first seven seasons. In those days, the player who struck fear into opponents’ hearts was Jim Rice. Evans was the unheralded part of one of the best outfields in baseball history with Rice and Fred Lynn.

Evans did lead the major leagues for the 1980’s decade with with 256 homers. However, his career OPS+ is 127, a number which he exceeded only once during the ‘70’s (’77, when he played in only 73 games after having suffered a knee injury). He was also beaned late in the star-crossed ’78 season and his absence from the lineup definetely hampered the team coming down the stretch. As was the case in ’67 (Tony C) and ’75 (Rice), one can only wonder how the Sox would’ve fared if Evans were in the lineup every day that September. Maybe there wouldn’t have been a playoff (or a Bucky F. Dent, for that matter). Put simply, if the Sox had one game to win at Fenway, most seasoned observers of the team would want Dwight Evans to be in the lineup at right.

Evans career OBP (.370) is substantially better than Dawson’s .323. Dawson has a slight edge in slugging at .482 to Dewey’s .470. Dewey’s career OPS is accordingly 34 points higher. Dawson hit 438 career homers, Evans 385. Dewey also has a slight edge in career OPS+ at 127 compared to Hawk’s 119. Evans also scored 97 runs more than Dawson. Even using new-fangled metrics like Wins Above Replacement, Evans’ career number rated higher at 61.8 to Dawson’s 57.0. In the category of Runs Created, Evans’ career number 1,612 (60th All-Time) is higher than Dawson’s 1,518. Defensively, Evans rated higher as a fielder in terms of Range Factor than Dawson (keeping in mind that Fenway’s RF is perhaps the most difficult area to defend in baseball). But Dawson played in centerfield at the beginning of his career then shifted to right after his knees were shot. So, if their career numbers are similar in many ways, why is one gentleman basking in the glow of baseball immortality while the other’s outside looking in?

For starters, Dawson was a Rookie of the Year (’77) and MVP (’87). Such accolades apparantly resonated in the minds of the voters. The disparity in career home runs mattered as well. Dawson is 36th all-time while Evans ranks 55th. The only other HOF “power hitters” slightly below Evans are Rice, Orlando Cepeda*, Tony Perez*, Ralph Kiner and Johnny Mize* (*elected by the Veteran’s Committee). There are five HOF inductees between Dawson and Rice: Ripken, Billy Williams, Duke Snider, Al Kaline and Johnny Bench and at least two sure-fire first ballot players (Chipper Jones and Albert Pujols).

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” But we need to see with the eyes of that era. There were profound distinctions between the Leagues then that are less pronounced now. During the ‘70’s and ‘80’s. a lot of NL teams, like the Expos, played on the rug in those dismal concrete, concentric multipurpose monstrosities where the running game was a big part of run production (this was before the “chicks dig the long ball” era). Other than the KC Royals of that era (and Rickey), not too many AL teams adopted an aggressive style on the basepaths, most especially the Red Sox, whose plodding station-to-station style generally led the league in GIDP’s. During that time, Dawson was hell on wheels. Outside of the numbers listed above, Dawson was viewed as a more “dynamic” player than Evans. Quantifying further, Dawson had 4,787 career total bases to Evans’ 4,230. Dawson had 25 more triples than Evans and 314 steals to Evans’ 78. Dawson’s Power-Speed Number (2(HR x SB)/(HR+SB)) is simply off the charts at 365.8 (7th All-Time) while Evans ranks at 238th All-Time at 129.7

It therefore seems that the voters gave Dawson credit for having an earlier career impact, speed on the basepaths and winning individual awards. Like Jim Rice, Dawson is a borderline Hall of Famer. It appears that the voters considered Evans’ prowess with the bat from ’81-’87 as not significant enough over the long term, especially after having spent the decade in Rice’s shadow as a power hitter.

A career .272 hitter with 385 homers may be the bare minimum for consideration. The BBWAA found Evans’ career totals lacking. People may cite Ralph Kiner’s brief career as the threshhold, but he did lead the NL in homers every year from ’46-’52 (and had to wait 20 years after retiring to get in through BBWAA). Like Jim Rice, Kiner’s period of greatness was finally considered good enough. Kiner was the only reason fans went to Forbes Field after the War because those Pirates’ teams were even worse than they are now.

Who was the better player? Validation by the BBWAA is great, though not the final word. Distinguishing between Dawson and Evans is sort of like trying to determine if an orchid is prettier than a rose. They were both terrific players whose careers had different different styles and arcs. It’s just a shame that Evans’ numbers fell ever-so short.

Anaheim:

It appears that the Sox’ struggles this year have caused a major bump in the bandwagon, resulting in a lot of pink hats falling off. The Sports Business Journal reported that NESN’s ratings are off an astounding 36% for the year. Maybe the network bosses should not have cancelled that stupid “First Date at Fenway” (or whatever it was called). One reason ratings could be down is that the “Dreamboat” has been on the sidelines nearly all year. Once he gets back from his rehab, those ratings will spike, just you watch and see! Meanwhile, those of us who fondly remember the days when the rightfield grandstand was a ghost town will keep tuning in.

Maybe the current edition of the Red Sox isn’t “must-see-TV” for frontrunners/casual fans (who comprise a significant chunk of the audience) because the team hasn’t been fun to watch a lot of the time. Between the spate of injuries, an incindiary bullpen and a generally sluggish offense, this team hasn’t exactly kept viewers glued to their couches. When there are so many available entertainment choices a push of a button away, it’s understandable why so many folks would opt to avoid an aggravation. Winning cures a lot of ills. The casual fan sees that there’s virtually no chance of catching the Yankees, they’re barely within striking distance of the Wild Card, so why bother? The current ownership group (which is arguably the best in franchise history) knows how to make a buck and will plow whatever resources are necessary to put a competitive product out there for public consumption.

Two very nice things happened before tonight’s game: First, A-Fraud did NOT hit his 600th career home run* in Cleveland, and Matt Garza pitched a no-hitter at home against the Tigers. Even though the Rays are the Sox’ chief rival for the Wild Card, Garza’s a terrific pitcher and his performance was thrilling to watch. Alex Rodriguez is an admitted steroid user and is phonier than an $11 dollar bill. He can hit 1,000 homers and no one except Yankee fans and his sychophants at YES and ESPN will pay him any mind.

Hoping to end the dismal road trip on a sunny note, the Sox traveled to Anaheim (where never a cloud dares to darken a perfect sky). Victor Martinez returned to the lineup after having out for a month with a thumb fracture. Clay Buchholz (10-5, 2.81) started the opener (7/26), looking to rebound from his difficult outing in Oakland. Starting for the Angels was Dan Haren, who was acquired last night from Arizona for lefty Joe Saunders, two mid-level prospects and a highly rated pitching prospect. The media consensus was that the D-Backs were fleeced on the deal. The D-Backs melted down earlier this year, simultaneously firing their manager and GM and the team has money troubles. Haren’s a very good pitcher who’s under contract for the next two years at “reasonable” cost. The Angels are chasing Texas in the AL West and appear to be looking to add more talent to compete after the Rangers acquired Cliff Lee from Seattle a couple of weeks ago. Bobby Abreu hit a solo shot to right with two outs in the first to put the Angels on top.

Adrian Beltre tripled to lead off the second after he drove a ball deep to center, Torii Hunter leaped to make the catch but the ball bounced out of his glove and he thought it went over the wall. He was dazed for a moment and the ball came to a stop on the warning track. VMart tied the score with a base hit and Lowrie doubled, putting two runners in scoring position. Cameron whiffed, Hermida hit into a 3-2 force and Scutaro went 6-4 to kill what could’ve been a highly productive inning. They simply can’t let a guy like Haren off the hook so easily. In the bottom half of the inning, Matsui walked, Callaspo (recently acquired from KC) singled and Napoli walked. Somehow, Buchholz was able to get out of this predicament on two infield pop outs and a fly to left. Ortiz put the Sox ahead in the third with his 20th homer of the season, ripping a slider from Haren that carried over the 330-foot low wall in right. In the top of the fifth, Youkilis smacked a line drive that struck Haren on the right forearm and he had to be lifted from the game. In the eighth, Ortiz hit a two-run bomb to center to put the Sox ahead 6-1, but Matsui hit a two-run shot of his own in the bottom half to pull the Angels close. Papelbon was summoned at that point and recorded his 23rd save of the year.

Mike Lowell hit three homers for the PawSox at Toledo tonight, so look for him to make it back to the big club or get moved by Saturday’s non-waiver trade deadline. This has been a tough year for Lowell, as he’s been hurt and lost his starting job to Adrian Beltre. He’s a consummate pro and wants to play every day but his range in the field isn’t what it once was. He and his agent insisted on the guaranteed third year after winning the World Series MVP in ’07. The team was reluctant to go to the third year (with good reason) but caved to fan pressure.

John Lackey (9-5, 4.36), returning to Angels Stadium for the first time as an opponent, started Tuesday night’s game for the Sox. Safe to say, Lackey’s underwhelmed so far. Jered Weaver (9-6, 3.22) started for the Angels, and he’s always been a tough nut for the Sox to crack. After the Sox loaded the bases but failed to score, Lackey took to the hill and heard the boos from the Anaheim crowd.

The game was scoreless until the Angels’ fourth when Rivera doubled and advanced to third, but was thrown out at the plate trying to score on Izturis’ grounder to short. With two outs, Callaspo singled and scored on Bobby Abreu’s double to right. Weaver held the Sox batters in check until the seventh, when, with two outs, McDonald walked and went to third on Scutaro’s single up the middle. Lowrie then smacked a long double to left, scoring both runners and putting the Sox ahead. The Sox pushed across another run in the eighth when Ortiz walked and “raced” home on Beltre’s double. Lackey stayed on for the bottom of the eighth when he allowed a solo homer by Abreu. The Sox went up 4-2 in the ninth when Scutaro doubled and scored when Howie Kendrick made a bad throw on Ortiz’ grounder to second. Papelbon came on in the ninth to pick up his 24th save, but the story of the night was John Lackey, who gave the Sox his best outing of the year, going eight innings and 124 pitches. Both pitchers were impressive, but it was the former Angel who silenced the crowd.

In Wednesday afternoon’s getaway finale, Josh Beckett started for the Sox. Joel Piñiero was scheduled to start for the Angels but was scratched at the last second after straining an oblique muscle while warming up. In his place, Scot Shields (who hadn’t started in almost seven years) got the call and the Sox treated him rudely, scoring two runs in the second inning as Beltre and Hall each hit solo shots. Beckett had a bad second inning as the Angels tied the score on a walk and three singles. The Angels went ahead in the fifth after Hall lost Willits’ infield pop in the sun, Willits took second and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly. After Patterson tripled with two outs in the sixth and rotted on the vine, the Sox had left nine batters on base. “These are the times that try men’s souls…”

In the top of the seventh, Youkilis hit a long homer to left to tie the score. In the eighth, with Fernando Rodney pitching, the first two hitters walked, then McDonald reached on an infield single, setting up bases loaded with nobody out. Scutaro followed with a long blast to left that just curled around the pole in left for a grand salami, and the Sox were ahead 7-3! Delcarmen and Ramirez came on to pitch the eighth and ninth respectively, and for a change did not allow any runs and the Sox came away with the sweep.

After a day off, Detroit came to town for a weekend series, and it was time for the Sox to keep rolling. Johnny Damon was a late scratch as everyone was wondering what sort of reception he’d receive coming back to Boston after spending the last four years with the Yanks. Unfortuantely for the Red Sox, it didn’t matter who the Tigers put in his place. Jon Lester started and was hammered, leaving in the seventh inning with the Sox down 4-1. Wakefield entered and by the time he departed the Sox were down 6-1. Tigers’ starter Armando Galarraga was hit in the ankle by a line drive off of Youkilis’ bat and had to be lifted after rolling around in serious pain. In the bottom of the ninth, the Sox mounted a dramatic comeback off of Tigers’ closer Jose Valverde that included a grand slam by Ortiz, but they fell a run short at 6-5. Valverde caught Mike Cameron on a called third strike with two runners aboard to end it in utterly frustrating fashion. With the Yankees losing to the Rays, this was a game that the Sox absolutely needed to win. Forget about the ninth inning dramatics, this was yet another game when the offense failed to execute in the earlier innings.

July 31st is the non-waiver trade deadline and there were some interesting moves made by some teams. Big props go to the Yankees for picking up veteran hitters Lance Berkman and Austin Kearns for minor leaguers as well as one-time phenom Kerry Wood from Cleveland. The Rays are breathing down the Yankees’ neck and, to his credit, Cashman made some good moves to strengthen his team down the stretch. As expected, the Red Sox didn’t make any significant deadline moves. They’re 7 ½ games back of Tampa Bay for the Wild Card and it didn’t make a lot of sense to give up the highly prized prospects that some GM’s demanded for relief help. They DFA’d Jeremy Hermida, who really didn’t perform as well as hoped when they signed him from the Marlins over the winter. They also traded away Ramon Ramirez to the Giants for a AA pitcher. To replace Hermida and Ramirez, they recalled outfielder Ryan Kalish and lefthander Dustin Richardson from Pawtucket. After the 4:00 deadline, a number of trades were announced, and the Sox acquired one-time “can’t miss” prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia from Texas for two minor leaguers, a PTBNL and cash. Saltalamacchia was originally in the Braves’ system and was traded to Texas a few years ago as part of the Teixiera deal. Atlanta has a great reputation for developing prospects and anytime they trade one away, it’s ususally because they see something lacking in the player that other teams can’t (e.g., Andy Marte). Saltalamacchia has struggled in the Rangers’ system both at and behind the plate. He’ll report to Pawtucket and maybe the Sox can resurrect his once-promising career.

Saturday afternoon’s game featured another lousy outing by Daisuke. It was a 4:00 FOX Game, which meant that the late afternoon shadows would make things tricky for the fielders. Miguel Cabrera (who’s having an MVP-type season after having cleaned up his act) hit a two-run shot in the first, then the Tigers went up 3-0 in the third after two hits and an error by Beltre. Ryan Kalish (who was inserted in the starting lineup) singled in his first major-league at bat, but the Sox continued to be dreadful at moving runners in scoring position. Frazier and Santiago hit back-to-back doubles in the fourth to make it 4-0 Detroit. In the sixth, the Sox had runners on second and third with two outs but (surprise!) Victor Martinez lined out to center. Daisuke lasted until the seventh, when he allowed a lead off double before getting relieved by Dustin Richardson. The Sox finally plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh and ended up loading the bases with two outs the Mighty Big Papi at the plate, alas, Ortiz whiffed. Okey-Doke came on to pitch the ninth in his first appearance since his catastrophe in Seattle where he blew the game then refused to speak about it afterward with the media (he was torched by the “knights of the keyboard” then later complained that he was “homesick and lonely”). In the bottom of the ninth, McDonald reached on an infield single, then Scutaro hit a long fly to left that Don Kelly leaped to catch. Lowrie (pinch hitting) doubled off the wall and Youkilis was then intentionally walked, setting up Ortiz again with the bases loaded. From zero to hero! The Mighty Big Papi hit a long, bases-clearing double that rolled all the way to the wall in center and the Sox won 5-4!

Sunday’s finale featured a pair of studs on the mound as Clay Buchholz (11-5, 2.71) started against Justin Verlander (12-5, 3.76). It was simply a perfect day for baseball at Fenway, slightly cooler and much less humid than Saturday afternoon’s game. The Sox went out to a 3-0 lead after three innings on a combination of singles and bad plays by the Tigers’ fielders. After that, both pitchers really buckled down and the game stayed 3-0 Sox until the top of the ninth. Up to that point, Buchholz was spinning a gem, allowing only two hits. Perhaps the manager left him in there one inning too long. Will Rhymes singled and Ryan Raburn walked to start the ninth, so Buchholz was lifted at that point and Papelbon entered ostensibly to close things out. Uh-uh. Miggy Cabrera tattooed a bullet off the wall and both runners scored. Jhonny Peralta then drove in pinch runner Don Kelly and Buchholz’ great effort went for naught. In the bottom of the ninth, Lowrie beat out an infield hit with some great hustle coming down the line. McDonald came on to pinch run and Eric Patterson walked. After a pitching change, Scutaro laid down a perfect bunt down the line in third. The Tigers’ new pitcher, Robbie Weinhardt, picked up the ball but threw wildly to first and McDonald came around from second with the winning run. This “walkoff” finish wasn’t nearly as thrilling as yesterday’s as it came after the bullpen (Papelbon) blew a three-run lead. Nevertheless, it was a “W” that the Sox would gladly accept.

“Moving On To Football/Futbol/Soccer”

MLS All-Stars v. Manchester United (at Houston) 7/28/10:

Who said that soccer isn’t popular in the US? Over 70,000 fans turned out at Reliant Stadium to witness Man U in another pre-season tune-up against the best of MLS. The Revs’ Shalrie Joseph and Kevin Alston made the team, and both made the starting XI. Most All-Star games are tedious, and this was really nothing more than a big payday for Sir Alex’ crew. They’ve been in training for the upcoming EPL season for some time, while the All-Stars were thrown together a couple of days ago for this one exhibition. No one across the pond really cares about the outcome but there has to be a measure of pride involved on the part of the All-Stars. They’re showcasing the very best of the MLS product for a national audience.

Federico Macheda scored in the first minute on a clean break after picking the ball from Alston, who froze while holding the ball deep in his end. Now that was embarrasing. Macheda almost scored again in the 6th when Donovan Ricketts failed to protect the ball in the box, but Ricketts recovered and kicked the ball out of danger. Macheda made it 2-0 on a header from a corner in the 12th, as Man U simply overwhelmed the All-Stars in the early going. In the 15th, Juan Pablo Angel’s free kick was tipped over the bar by Van der Sar. With a two-goal lead, Man U hung back and the All-Stars began to move the ball more effectively. In the 25th, Angel had a dangerous chance in the box that was deflected away by a nice tackle. In the 27-28th, Pappa had a couple of pops that Van der Sar turned aside. In the 41st. Man U’s Fletcher took a beautiful give n’ go ball and hit the crossbar with his drive. In the first half, Man U toyed with the All-Stars. In the first 15 minutes, they unleashed an onslaught. Thereafter, everytime the All-Stars mounted an attack, Man U either played rope-a-dope or effectively countered.

Bruce Arena changed eight players to start the second half (including former Rev Jeff Larentowicz) and the All-Stars had a couple of free kicks in the opening moments. Chad Marshall’s point-blank header from the second free kick was picked by Van der Sar. Man U’s Ryan Giggs left in the 52nd to huge applause from the crowd. A minute later the All-Stars had another free kick that was deflected away. Man U’s Raphael had a glorious chance at the one-hour mark that went just wide. Javier Hernández Balcazar “Chicharito” (Man U’s first ever Mexican national) came on for Nani and the crowd exploded. The All-Stars finally got on the board in the 64th when Houston’s Brian Ching scored on a spectacular header from David Arturo Ferreira’s kick that beat Van der Sar high and to the right. A foul by Conde on Chicharito in the 68th by the All-Stars led to a free kick by Darron Gibson that curled perfectly over the wall and into the goal, an absolute thing of beauty. In the 71st Paul Scholes came on for Fabio (leg cramps). A minute later, Tom Cleverley made it 4-1 Man U, when he flipped a ball over the goalkeeper’s reach. Landon Donovan entered for the All-Stars in the 73rd and immediately created some heat in Man U’s end. In the 84th, Chicharito made it 5-1 Man U, when he took a perfectly placed floater just outside of the box and simply looped it into the back of the net. The crowd went crazy. In the 88th, both sides had quality shots that were pushed away. Toronto’s Dwayne DeRosario scored for the All-Stars in the 90th on a broken play when he picked a ball in Man U’s end and booted it low and to the left of Van der Sar, but it was garbage time by then. Man U won easily, 5-2.

So what did we learn from this exhibition that we didn’t already know? Not much, really. The quality of European football, especially EPL elites like Man U, is on a plane so far beyond MLS that (using an American football analogy) this match was reminiscent of the old College All-Star Game that would pit All-Americans against the NFL/Super Bowl Champs that was held from 1934-1976. It was such a one-sided annual series that it eventually faded into the dust bin of history. Perhaps in a generation from now the American brand will compete with the Man U’s of the world but not now.

Revolution Match 16 at Philadelphia Union (7/31/10):

Revs (4-9-2-14) returned to the MLS calendar for their first-ever meeting with the expansion Philadelphia Union (4-8-2-14) on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon at PPL Park in Chester. Earlier in the week, Revs added a couple of forwards to the roster, Serbian forward Ilija Stolica and Brazilian forward/midfielder Roberto Linck. Neither player dressed for this match. PPL Park is yet another beautiful “soccer specific stadium” in MLS that underscores the need to get one of these built in the Boston area soon. Built on the banks of the Delaware River, it is an intimate and loud venue.

The Union has quickly developed a rabid fan base, which is good for MLS and good for the Revs, as it provides another Boston-Philly rivalry. Union have done fairly well for an expansion side, as they feature MLS stalwarts Fred (no last name, just “Fred”) (formerly DCU), Sébastien LeToux (formerly Seattle) and 2011 #1 MLS Superdraft pick, Danny Mwanga. It was a decent pace by both sides in the first 10 minutes, but neither side had any real dangerous chances. In the 14th, Nyassi took a pass from Tierney on a give n’ go, but kicked the ball just wide left of Chris Seitz. Philly had their first corner in the 17th, but Shalrie Joseph kicked it out of danger. Union’s Alejandro Moreno took a knock after a collision with Phelan but was able to continue. LeToux scored a spectacular goal in the 25th, when he took a ball from Mwanga in the box and curled it past Reis high right. Reis was defenseless on the play. The Revs’ defense broke down and the goal resulted from a series of passes by the Philly forwards (swarming the goal) that the back line couldn’t defend. Fred fouled Alston in the 41st but Perovic’s free kick curled over the wall and over the bar. Whack! Cory Gibbs took a deflected ball smack in the face right before the half and was momentarily dazed before making his way back to the pitch. Shalrie Joseph got the first ticket of the match in the 45th for a rough tackle from behind on Stefani Miglioranzi. LeToux’s free kick was tipped over the bar by Reis. Other than that momentary defensive breakdown that led to LeToux’s goal, Revs played pretty well.

Mwanga flashed some speed on a break into the Revs’ end but the ball was knocked away before he could enter the box. In the 50th, Alston rocked a ball from 25 yards out that went high. Perovic had a free kick in the 54th and Schliawski’s rebound was deflected away, the Revs were howling for a hand ball that wasn’t called by the referee. Mwanga was replaced by one-time Chicago phenom Justin Mapp in the 56th. In the 60th, Fred kicked Shalrie from behind and was carded. Mansally then came on for Schliawski, as Coach Nicol was looking to boost the energy level. In the 66th, Mansally’s header was kicked away and a corner should’ve been called. Cory Gibbs took the ball away from Moreno from behind on a hard challenge. Moreno went down as if he were shot in the back, but the referree saw that Gibbs’ tackle got the ball and there was no booking. Perovic was fouled by Fiscal in the 70th and was awarded a free kick from about 30 yards out. He launched a knuckleball into the wall that took a strange, high bounce. Seitz was looking to pick a low rebound but the ball bounced high at the six-yard box and into the net for the equalizer. It may be the luckiest ball the Revs see all year. Revs began to press the action in Philly’s end. Mansally had a header from a corner that was smothered by Reitz. Fred was replaced by Andrew Jacobson in the 77th. Moreno took another flop after getting bumped from behind by Gibbs, but the referee wasn’t buying. LeToux broke into the box in the 82nd, but Gibbs slid and knocked the ball away. The ensuing corner was placed in a dangerous area, but the Revs were able to knock the ball away. Eduardo Courdet left in the 83rd and was replaced by 17-year old Jack McInerney. In the 84th, Perovic had a great left-footed shot that went just wide left. Perovic was booked in the 85th for tripping Jacobson from behind. Reis was able to pick the free kick and boot the ball away. Osei tackled Moreno in the 86th and Moreno predictably rolled around in agony. While there was no booking, Reis made two terrific saves in the 89th as Union pressed very hard in the Revs end. In stoppage time, Revs nearly allowed the go-ahead goal. LeToux had a header, but was dragged down in the box by Joseph. The replay showed that Shalrie pulled down LeToux by the shirt. Philly’s coach, Nowak, was furious with the referee. A bad foul by Jacobson then led to a free kick by Perovic from 40 yards out that was tipped away. As the final seconds ticked away, Revs had a corner that bounced into the box, but was knocked away. The Revs may have been happy getting a point on the road but they were lucky, as Perovic’s goal took a fortuitous bounce and having withstood a furious challenge by Philly in the last ten minutes.

Saskatchewan Roughriders Game 5 v. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7/31/10):

It was a hot Saturday afternoon in Regina (30°C/86F°) as the Riders looked to rebound from last week’s melt down in Calgary. The 13th Man was in full force at Mosaic as everyone was looking for the Riders to right the ship.

The Riders’ Eddie Johnson kicked off and former Rider Kevin Glenn brought the Ti-Cats offense out at the 35. Ti-Cats went two n’ out on the opening drive and Darian Durant and the Riders’ offense started out at their 35. On the first play, Durant hooked up with Andy Fantuz for 6. Hamilton’s Knowlton was injured on the play. Getzlaf then picked up a first down as Durant was making plays to his right. After picking up another first down, the drive fizzled at the 49. Johnson’s punt rolled into the end zone and Hamilton conceded the single (1-0). Hamilton’s DeAndra’ Cobb (who rushed for over 1,200 yards last year) was able to pick up the Ti-Cats’s initial first down on two rushes. Glenn then hooked up with Maurice Mann on the right for 8. Glenn’s pass to Cobb was snuffed out for a yard, setting up third-and-1. Ti-Cats decided to use a short-yardage package. Quinton Porter (from Boston College) came on at quarterback, called his own number and picked up a first down. Glenn re-entered and found Arland Bruce out of the backfield for 8. Bruce picked up another first down on a hook and go pattern, then, from the 25, went over the middle to grab Glenn’s pass and carried into the end zone to give Hamilton the early 7-1 lead. On the Riders’ next possession, Durant found Fantuz over the middle for a first down at the 40, then Cates made a beautiful over-the-shoulder catch that put the ball on the Ti-Cats’ 29. From there, Durant threw two bad balls and the Riders had to settle for a 36-yard field goal to make it 7-4 late in the quarter. Ti-Cats started their next drive at the 36. On the first play, Bruce made a nice shoestring catch for a first down, but Glenn’s next pass was intercepted by Luc Mullinder, who set the Riders up in good stead as the quarter came to a close.

Durant was unable to pick up a first down, so the Riders settled for a 40-yard field goal by Congi to tie the score. The Ti-Cats were able to pick up two quick first downs on two short passes by Glenn to Stala and Cobb. Glenn then made a key completion to McDaniel for another first down, then connected with Bruce over the middle to the 10. From there, Glenn found Stala to the right for the go-ahead touchdown. The Riders’ backfield looked like they were out to lunch on that series. Down 14-7 with about ten minutes left in the quarter, Dominique Dorsey returned DeAngelis’ kick to the 45. On second-and-three, Durant found Bagg inside the 25. Cates ripped up the middle for 9 and Szarka carried for a first down. Hamilton’s Barker broke up a pass intended for Dressler near the goal line. Durant then carried over the right side for 9, setting up a critical 3rd-and-1. Durant decided to pass, but threw badly and was intercepted by Johnson in the end zone. Ti-Cats went two n’ out and the Riders were methodically moving the ball deep into Hamilton’s territory late in the quarter. The drive stalled at the 2, and the Riders made the smart move by kicking a field goal to make it 14-10. Riders got the ball right back with a minute left and were able to move the offense to the 35, where Luca Congi banged in another field goal to make the score 14-13 with 20 seconds left in the half.

The Riders started out the second half at their 41, hoping to come out with a more consistent effort, but the Ti-Cats’ D continued to pressure Durant and they went two n’ out. Glenn hit Thigpen on a screen that went to midfield. Thigpen then went on a reverse that was smoked out for no gain, and Glenn’s second down pass to Bruce only went for five yards so the Cats had to punt away. The Riders started out their next drive at the 30. Durant found Fantuz for 9 on the left sideline. Barker almost intercepted Durant’s bad throw intended for Rodriguez, but the quarterback made up for it on a great run to the right, diving for the first down. From the 36, Fantuz made a great catch down the left sideline at the 2. From there, Cates banged it in and the Riders went up 20-14. Thigpen took Congi’s kickoff out to the 32. From there, Cobb carried up the middle to the 45. After the drive stalled, Palardy’s punt was blocked and the Riders took over at the 40. After a short run and an incompletion, Congi kicked a 42-yarder to put the Riders up 23-14. On Hamilton’s ensuing possession, Glenn connected with Bruce on two long gainers, but his pass intended for Stala was tipped and intercepyed by Lance Frazier, who returned the ball 77 yards to the 2. A run into the line and a fumbled snap forced the Riders to kick another field goal and the Riders were ahead 26-14. As the third quarter ended, Glenn found Bruce again and the Ti-Cats were at their 45.

Bruce then made a fingertips catch at the Riders’ 43 to open the fourth quarter. Maurice Mann then made a great catch in traffic and fell, then carried the ball to the Riders’ 4. Coach Miller challenged the spot of the ball (whether Mann was down by contact further upfield) and the ball was placed at the 25. Glenn found Stala for 9, then the Riders were flagged for off sides, putting the ball at the 11. Jonathan Alexander then tipped away Glenn’s pass intended for Stala at the goal line and the Ti-Cats had to settle for a field goal from DeAngelis to make it 26-17. Hamilton got the ball right back and Glenn found Bruce for the 12th time for a first down at the 35, but the Cats got no further. On the Riders’ next turn. Fantuz made a great leaping grab at the sideline for a first down. Hamilton challenged the ruling of a catch, but it was ruled complete. Cates then carried for 14. From the 27, Durant hit Cates over the middle at the 8. On second down, Durant’s pass intended for Bagg was knocked away, but Hamilton’s Glennis was called for pass interference. Cates carried in from the 2 to put the Riders ahead 33-17. Eddie Johnson’s kickoff boomed well into the end zone and the Cats conceded the single to increase the Riders’ lead to 34-17. Inside three minutes, Glenn took to the air, connecting twice with Bruce to bring the ball to midfield. A completion to Stala brought the ball to the 35. Glenn then hit Bruce over the middle and Bruce evaded four tackles and carried into the end zone. It was a spectacular catch and run. Bruce’s 14 receptions on the day were one shy of a CFL single-game record. DeAngelis’ on-side kick attempt bounced into Chris Szarka’s hands and the Riders were in great shape. With less than two minutes left, Durant kept the ball on the ground. A roughing the passer call against Hamilton (Durant’s helmet was ripped off) gave the Riders another first down and a chance to kill the clock. Congi kicked another field goal to make it 37-24 with less than 30 seconds left. Bruce then tied the reception record (16-270-2) with 12 seconds left but time ran out and the Riders came away with the win.

More ESPN Shame/Censorship

After the “Worldwide Leader’s” ombudsman basically called out the network for its mind-bogglingly greedy/stupid choice to air “The Decision”, now comes word that ESPN.com pulled a story posted by one of its LA beat reporters about LeBron that portrayed “the king” in less than a flattering light. The salacious details are immaterial. Whatever. What is disconcerting is the fact that the network’s website initially published the article then abruptly removed it. An editor deemed it noteworthy then someone higher up the food chain pulled the plug. Why? From a legal perspective, the only way the network could incur liability (since James is a “public person”) was if the publication was deliberately false with the intent of harming the person. By all accounts, the reporter in question has an impeccable reputation and there were witnesses reportedly present who would be able to corroborate the details. There was nothing that sounded in tort here. So why did they censor the story? Because ESPN and the NBA are partners in a billion-dollar broadcast deal. It’s simply bad form to show the emperor/meal ticket without any clothes. It’s a better bet that if the story wasn’t pulled it would’ve faded within a day or two. Now, other news outlets quickly picked up the censored story and it spread like wildfire. People who are supposedly so smart can do awfully stupid things sometimes.

Once it’s conclusive that the sole motivation of the parties is the cultivation of the buck, any pretensions of “journalistic integrity” go out the window. It’s pointless to elaborate further. When something is what it is, it just is. They are whores, and there’s nothing else left to say.