Month: June 2009 (Page 5 of 58)

      Piniella apologizes to Bradley for sending him home in middle of game

      June 29, 2009 /

      Cubs’ manager Lou Piniella officially apologized to tantrum-throwing Milton Bradley, who decided to take out his frustration on a water cooler during a game on Friday night and was absolutely reamed out by his manager.

      “I apologized for the last comment I made, told him he knows in the context I meant it,” Piniella said. “But I also told him that just can’t continue, to have shenanigans that we’ve put up with. I told him he’s going to hurt somebody, he’s going to hurt himself.”

      Piniella ordered the mercurial slugger to go home Friday afternoon after Bradley threw his helmet and went after a water cooler following a fly out in the top of the sixth inning of the Cubs game against the crosstown rival White Sox.

      “He didn’t really talk to me about it, he just kind of yelled at me in the dugout and told me to get out of there,” Bradley said Saturday before he talked with Piniella. “So I left. Then he continued to yell at me some more. I’ve got to take that.”

      Bradley confirmed a report in the Chicago Sun-Times describing the expletive Piniella used.

      “Yeah, that’s exactly what he said,” Bradley said. “But I’m not going to get into it.”

      After going 1 for 5 as the Cubs lost to the White Sox, 8-7, Bradley said he had no problems or issues with Piniella, especially after their meeting before Saturday’s game.

      “I got a ton of respect for Lou,” Bradley said. “When he says something, I really take heed and listen to it, not just the tone or the exact words but the sentiment behind it. I really think he had a heartfelt talk with me in his office, and I think we are both better for it.”

      While we’re handing out apologizes, maybe Bradley should apologize to Lou, his teammates, and Cubs fans for not knowing how many outs there are in an inning and for barely being able to keep his batting average above .235 this season. And maybe Jim Hendry should apologize to the fans for trading Mark DeRosa away in the offseason for a couple of expired White Castle coupons and a $5 gift certificate to Best Buy. (And then promptly signing Bradley to fill the void left by DeRosa.)

      The Cubs are a mess right now.

      MLB

      Michael Jackson, David Beckham, the USA Men’s Soccer Team. How are these things related?

      June 28, 2009 /

      http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/sports/photos/2008/07/18/beckham-david-xl-080710ap.jpg

      Most people in America, and especially Los Angeles (thanks to bus advertisements everywhere), know that David Beckham plays for the LA Galaxy. The only problem is that he kinda doesn’t. With all his English national team World Cup qualifiers and his loan to AC Milan, his MLS season is about as long as a cocktail weenie.

      After the tragic death of Michael Jackson last week, David Beckham’s future in American soccer has been called into question. How could these two seemingly unrelated things be related? Well, SPORTSbyBROOKS has all the answers. Due to spatial constraints, let me give you a quick summation: AEG is a corporation operating concert venues/events worldwide, including all those canceled comeback concerts in England with Michael Jackson. Davd Beckham has been a flop since arriving in America, his potential for igniting interest in soccer in America has fizzled. He is now a financial drain on his team.

      And, of course, the owners of the Los Angeles Galaxy that could really use the cash on this year’s balance sheet to offset losses in other parts of the business… AEG.

      On top of it all, the best thing that could happen to the popularity of U.S. soccer is happening today in South Africa as the U.S. men’s national team takes on Brazil for the chance to hoist their first international soccer cup in modern history. AEG didn’t need to invest in David Beckham to raise soccer’s profile in America; they needed to invest in U.S. Soccer. (Or better insurance.)

      Hell yeah. Despite our loss to Brazil in the final today. I can’t agree more with Brooks’ sentiment that we should look to America for American soccer. While we don’t have nearly the farm system of the global soccer powerhouses like Spain and Brazil, the infrastructure is certainly there, as well as the ability. Remember when American ice hockey was laughable when compared to the USSR? Neither do I, being born in ’82 and all. But I saw the movie. Well hey, where did that go?

      Having been a fan of American soccer since the ’96 (update: my bad, 94) World Cup here, I’ve never been able to talk much about it with other people. This past week, once I told them what had happened with Spain, I’ve never felt as much interest and enthusiasm for an upcoming soccer match as this morning. Keep it up America (and the LA Galaxy’s real hero, Landon Donovan) and good luck next month when we play our southern rivals, Mexico.

      And as long as we’re on the subject of Michael Jackson and USA soccer, you gotta check out this memorial jersey.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, News, Rumors & Gossip, Soccer

      South Africa’s World Cup ambiance: Bees!!! I mean the vuvuzela.

      June 28, 2009 /

      http://www.rnw.nl/data/files/images/lead/3628828464_5039fb020b.jpg

      While watching the biggest game in U.S. soccer history during a Lions Club party at Far Bar (they never let me down because they always let me in) I couldn’t help but wonder what the strange background noise was throughout the broadcast. At first I thought the nice grandma next to me had fainted into her Wasabi Fries, but thanks to Martin Rogers at Yahoo! Sports I now know (psst…you can hear for yourself in Rogers’ article), and dread its upcoming World Cup preponderance:

      If you’re still not familiar with the term, the vuvuzela is the instrument that provides that horrendous droning, foghorn-like sound that has assaulted eardrums as a constant accompaniment to coverage of the World Cup warmup event. And you haven’t heard the last of it.

      The vuvuzela is seen as an integral part of the soccer-watching experience in South Africa and FIFA has already given the green light to its use in next year’s World Cup finals. That could mean a month’s worth of mind-numbing horn blowing as the musical backdrop to the greatest tournament in soccer.

      Something clearly needs to be done — but without offending the South African people or interfering with their proud traditions.

      Agreed. Goodness gracious, is this the sound I’m going to have to listen to for the 20-some games I’ll watch next summer? I know it’s a different culture over there and we always need to be respectful of the traditions of others, but oh man, it’s like playing a match in a bee hive. I hope the droves of new viewers in America of the next World Cup aren’t turned away from the sport when they hear it for 3 hours.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Rumors & Gossip, Soccer

      2009 NBA Free Agency Preview: The top unrestricted free agents

      June 28, 2009 /

      Once the draft is over, the next step of the NBA offseason is the free agency period. Negotiations start July 1, but players have to wait until July 8 to actually sign on the dotted line. Due to the economy, this promises to be an interesting summer, as more franchises seem to be trying to cut payroll than add talent. There are eight teams with significant cap space this summer, and there’s no guarantee that they’ll be willing to use it. Teams that are over the cap can add good players in two ways: 1) they can sign a player to the Mid-Level Exception (MLE), which will be around $5.8 million per season (and can be split up between two or more players), or 2) they can work out a sign-and-trade with the player’s old team.

      Below is a list of the top unrestricted free agents this summer. These are players who can sign with whomever they like. They’re ranked in order of total value, which is based on overall talent, age, injury history and cost.

      For each player, I’ll provide his position, age, Player Efficiency Rating (PER) and an estimate of what kind of contract he’s likely to sign.

      1. Carlos Boozer, PF (27 years-old)
      PER: 17.28
      At press time, Boozer hasn’t officially opted out, but he is expected to. He can play another year for $12.3 million, but he thinks he’s due for a raise, and I don’t think he’s going to get the kind of raise he’s expecting. Boozer is one of the top 20 players in the league when healthy, but it’s that whole “when healthy” part that’s the problem. Over the past five seasons, he has missed a third of his team’s games. At 27, he’s in his prime, and assuming he has the right supporting cast, I think he can be one of a twosome or threesome on a championship-caliber team. Boozer may not get a raise this summer, but he could get long-term security. The Pistons, Raptors, Kings and Thunder all have the space to make a run at him, but Sacramento and OKC might consider themselves too far away from contending to add a big piece like Boozer. The Pistons seem like the best fit, but they are rumored to have more interest in Ben Gordon. There’s always the possibility that another team works out a sign-and-trade with Utah, but I don’t think anyone is going to give him a max deal, not in this economy.
      Value: $12.0 – $13.0 million per year

      Continue reading »

      NBA, NBA Draft, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Brazil rallies from 0-2 deficit to beat U.S., 3-2, and with the Confederations Cup

      June 28, 2009 /

      Via the Los Angeles Times…

      Producing the best soccer it has played in recent memory, the United States men’s national team came within a whisker Sunday of pulling off its second staggering international soccer upset in just five days.

      After shutting out Spain, the world’s No. 1-ranked team, 2-0, in midweek, the U.S. was leading Brazil by the same score at halftime in the final of the FIFA Confederations Cup in Johannesburg, South Africa.

      Then, the five-time world champions and defending Confederations Cup champions regrouped and came back with a vengeance.

      Three goals in the second half, the first scored after a mere 45 seconds, earned Brazil a 3-2 victory as it won the eight-nation tournament for a record third time. The Brazilians also won the event in 1997 and 2005.

      Bummer.

      Soccer

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