June 2007 Archive
Watercooler Chat: Montoya wins, Griffey Jr. cheered in Seattle and the 49ers dress for success
NASCAR
When I hear Sonoma, my ears perk up because I’m naturally thinking of great wine, but this weekend, Sonoma provided the venue for an impressive victory by Juan Montoya in the Toyota Save Mart 350 (can you imagine an uglier name for a race situated in one of the most beautiful areas in the country). Montoya’s win was so impressive because it’s his first career Nextel cup win (stock car race) and he becomes the first foreign born winner of a NASCAR race since 1974. Montoya has now put himself in an impressive group of only 3 drivers that has won in Formula One, Indycar and now NASCAR. The only other two drives to have ever done that is Mario Andretti and Dan Gurney.
Baseball
Ken Griffey Jr. (Cincinnati Reds) hit his 584th homerun this weekend in his return to his former hometown of Seattle. Obviously this feat is incredible in itself (he passed Mark McGwire for 7th place in career home runs) but even more impressive was that the Seattle fans cheered every time he came to the plate( yes, they actually gave a standing ovation to a player on the opposing team). This obviously says a lot about Griffey Jr, particularly if you compare him to Barry Bonds who not only gets booed consistently from visiting teams but also frequently from his home team.
Football
The San Francisco 49ers head coach, Mike Nolan will wear a suit for his team’s home games this season instead of the team jersey/sweatshirt/jacket that other coaches normally wear during games. He wants to impress upon his team that you have to “dress to impress”. I have always wondered why NFL coaches look like such slobs on the field. In other sports like basketball, the coaches look pretty slick in their custom made suits on the sidelines, but football coaches often look like slobs in their sometimes ill fitting team jerseys. In an era when the NFL comes down hard on players for making sure their uniforms are neat and tidy and everything is tucked in properly, it makes perfect sense that the coaches should have to dress appropriately as well. Jacksonville Jaguars’ coach, Jack Del Rio will “suit up” as well. Let’s see if this catches on.
Watercooler Chat: Not so great Father’s Day for Tiger, Bonds and Kobe Watch
US Open
Angel Cabrera wins U.S. Open! Cabrera looked like the underdog athlete yesterday as he walked around the course looking stressed beyond belief while nonstop smoking. Cabrera just edged out TigerWoods and Jim Furyk who both flubbed the 17th hole. Apparently, Oakmont is considered one of the hardest courses and every golfer suffered a little (actually a lot). In fact, there were only 8 rounds under par and Cabrera won two of them.
Bonds Watch
San Francisco homerun king Barry Bonds hit number 748 this weekend. The reaction from every crowd is intense. He’s consistently booed (even in San Francisco). In case you haven’t been following, Bonds is pursuing Hank Aarons’ hollowed career home run record of 755. Normally, it would be pretty exciting knowing that a record of this stature will be broken by the end of the season, but no one (at least no one I know) actually likes Bonds. He’s alienated countless sports fans, partly because people say he’s a jerk, and mostly because of his steroid use. The big question is if (more likely when) Bonds breaks the homerun record, should we celebrate or should we try and ignore it since he did it while using performance enhancing drugs?
Kobe Watch
Kobe Bryant the LA Lakers’ superstar keeps threatening to leave the Lakers because he’s disappointed in their commitment to excellence. Who knows if the Lakers will actually try and trade him or if he’ll just opt out of his contract? Kobe has four years left on his $136.4 million contract but apparently can terminate it after next season.
Watercooler Chat: Filly finishes First, Clemens on the mound again, Cavs need some caffeine
Sopranos
Admit it, how many of you Soprano fans thought your TV had broken last night when the series unceremoniously ended with the screen going black. Yeah, yeah, I get it. It was a metaphor for what Tony’s world is like; at any moment anyone, anywhere is a potential threat. I felt gypped though. Watching the Sopranos was never about pondering the meaning of life, it was about pure, fun entertainment and with that said, I wanted an entertaining ending. Anyway, on to sports.
Horse Racing
It only took 102 years, but this weekend at the Belmont, a Filly named Rags to Riches won the last leg of the Triple Crown. The Belmont is a mile and a half race which makes it the longest track that any of these horses will ever run. There really wasn’t that much excitement heading into the race because there was no Triple Crown contender (a horse that wins the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and the Belmont). But, low and behold, this unassuming Filly trained by Todd Pletcher took everyone by surprise and made history. What makes this race even more of a fairytale was that Pletcher had previously never fared well in Triple Crown races, even though he is one of the top trainers in the sport.
NBA Finals
The San Antonio Spurs are up 2-0 over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. Even though the Cavs looked pretty horrible over the weekend, the next game (Tues night) will be on their home court, so things might start to look more interesting. Look for a more inspired performance by LeBron James.
Baseball
The legendary Roger Clemens came out of retirement and pitched for the Yankees Saturday night. 44 year old Clemens’ debut was solid but just as importantly a great motivation for the team which seems to be breathing some new life.
Watercooler Chat: NHL finals, NBA finals and NASCAR legend passes
NHL
Anaheim Ducks lead the Ottawa Senators 3-1 in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Ducks are 7-0 in clincher games and with that record it’s very possible we could have a champion holding the legendary Stanley Cup Wednesday night. Apparently the winning team gets to carry the Cup everywhere they go while continuing to drink out of it.
NBA
The Cleveland Cavaliers will face the San Antonio Spurs Thursday night in the first game of the NBA finals. Here are a couple things to keep in mind when you are watching the games:
1) The Spurs lost to the Cavs twice this year but this is the first time the Cavs have been in the NBA finals in the history of the franchise.
2) The Cavaliers players to watch are LeBron James who is widely considered one of the best players in the NBA and on the road to superstardom. The Cavs also have rookie Daniel Gibson who, with his 31 point performance in game 6 has everyone talking.
3) The San Antonio Spurs have Tony Parker who is famous for basketball as well as for being engaged to Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives). How cute is it that on their first date, Duncan invited Eva and her Dad out on a date and had no idea who Eva was (had never seen Desperate Housewives). Of course, the other superstar name on the Spurs is Tim Duncan who is one of the top players in the League and incredibly low key. You don’t hear a lot of bravado coming from his mouth, but when he has the ball, watch out.
NASCAR
Bill France Jr. passed away on Monday at the age of 74. Bill Jr, the son of the founder of NASCAR Bill Sr (better known as Big Bill), was instrumental in transforming NASCAR into the multi billion dollar phenomenon it is today. Bill Jr brought NASCAR from a regional sport to a national pastime. He applied sophisticated marketing techniques to entice corporate sponsors to pour millions of dollars into the sport. His son Brian has been Chairman and Chief Executive since 2003.
