A Playful Bet to Start the Season

I recently read about a story in the newspaper and then saw it on ESPN. At the beginning of spring training, Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu made a bet between each other as to who would marry first. The loser has to pay the newlywed $1000. Jeter and Abreu started this as a joke but shook on it. Left-fielder Hideki Matsui heard about the bet and asked his teammates if he could join in and they agreed.

Last Wednesday, Matsui asked manager Joe Girardi for the day off. He told Girardi why he wanted the day off and Girardi kept it a secret for him. Matsui went off to be married with an unknown 25 year old woman from Japan. Jeter couldn't believe the news when he heard it, but soon learned that it was true. It was funny when Matsui didn't have a picture of his new wife, rather he had a sketch of her. Do you think Matsui really got married? Well, he did and did a good job of tricking Jeter and Abreu.

Its good to see these guys having fun with each other, in light of all the recent steroid problems in baseball. I don't see many things like this among teams because it seems like players today aren't as personable with each other as they used to be. I mean, of course the players get close with each other in any sport because they are always together and they work as a team. But, I really don't think teammates are as close as they could be. Since Jeter said he doesn't have a girlfriend, he has 1 year to marry to win the bet. Abreu, on the other hand, has a girlfriend so he only has 6 months to marry her.

This is the type of thing that makes a team and a player likable. There are definitely many other players in sports who are likable, but its always fun to see that the players joke around every now and then. I've always believed that when you are going through difficult times or facing problems, having a good sense of humor is always the best medicine.

Opening Day in Japan

The 2008 MLB season started with a bang this morning when the Red Sox defeated the Athletics 6-5 in 10 innings. Why this morning? The opening 2 game series is being played in Japan as the MLB continues to grow and become popular all over the world. I didn't watch the game, but the highlights showed a pretty nice opening game. The defending World Series Champion Red Sox look to be the favorite in the American League, yet again.

Of course, there are 162 games in the season and this is just the 1st of many. But, it is nice to see the first game was exciting and should be a sign of things to come this season. There have been many players changing teams in the off-season and a few things have changed since last season. For example, this is the first season after the infamous Mitchell Report was released. There have also been a couple of minor changes, such as Tampa Bay becoming the Rays, instead of the Devil Rays, who they were for the past 10 years.

Yeah, this season should be a good one. Its always nice when its the first couple weeks of spring and you know baseball is starting. As I mentioned earlier, the MLB expanded to Japan for the opening of the season, but it wasn't the first time they did this. I can remember the Yankees played the Tampa Bay whatever-Rays, and I woke up at 6 a.m. for three mornings in a row to watch the games. I would love to watch this Boston-Oakland Japan game in the morning, but then again I can wait another week for Yankees opening day. And besides, I think I would much rather get a good night's rest than watch the 2nd game of 162.

Upset Friday

The 1st round of the NCAA Tournament is completed after 32 games were played in the last 2 days. There were only one or two upsets on Thursday, but yesterday held many upsets, including two games that were instant classics. Number 12 seed Western Kentucky defeated number 5 seed Drake 101-99 with a 3 point shot at the buzzer in overtime. Another great game was the overtime battle between number 13 San Diego and number 4 Connecticut. San Diego hit the game winning shot with 1 second left in overtime to win 70-69.

Out of Friday's 16 games, 6 of them were upsets. Upset, meaning that a lower seeded team defeated a team with a higher seed. This is the reason why March Madness is so great. Everyone can root for the underdog, especially in a tight game that goes right down to the wire. The 2nd round of the tournament kicks off today with number 7 West Virginia and number 2 Duke. The game has a minute left and West Virginia is up by 12, so this is a huge upset for the tournament.

Basketball is not one of my favorite spectator sports, so college basketball is not for everyone. But, it is difficult to not enjoy this tournament because of the great competitiveness between the teams. And although you may think all the number 1 seeds from each region will make the Final Four, it almost never happens. In my Final Four picks, I chose #2 Tennessee, #1 Kansas, # 4 Pittsburgh, and #1 UCLA. In the championship, I chose Tennessee to beat UCLA by a score of 71-67. Enjoy the rest of the tournament!

Crazy Ticket Prices

The New York Yankees are the most popular franchise in sports. But, does this mean that the ticket prices for games should be beyond belief? During last year's 2007 season, the average ticket price for a Yankee game was $47. The average price for a ticket in the new Yankee Stadium, opening in 2009, is believed to be around $100. Also, box seats for a Yankee game went for around $150 last year, but that price has increased to $250 for this final season in Yankee Stadium.

The new Yankee Stadium will cost 1.3 billion dollars. With the average ticket costing $100 in 2009, the Yankees would pull in $5.3 million a game. At the end of the season, this would translate to $429 million. I can understand why ticket prices are so much. For one thing, this year is the last year in historic Yankee Stadium. In the new stadium, there will be a couple thousand less seats, with around 53,000.

The business of sports is complicated in that a stadium change can cause ticket prices to go through the roof and beyond. I usually go to a couple of Yankee games each year, but it will be almost impossible to go this year, due to it being the last year in the stadium. Perhaps I will go to games in the new stadium, even with the ridiculous price of tickets. I guess that's what you get when you are a fan of the greatest team in sports history.

A Comedian Lives a Dream

It was reported that today's spring training game between the Yankees and Pirates would include an appearance from Billy Crystal. The actor/comedian would be at the game, not as a spectator, but as a player. Yeah, that's right. Long-time Yanks fan Crystal would get to live out his dream and play as a Yankee.

The idea started between Crystal and Derek Jeter a few months ago on a beach in Costa Rica when they joked about Crystal signing a one day contract to play a spring training game. Jeter made things happen for Crystal when he suggested the idea to the Yankees and they figured that it could be fun.

Yesterday, Crystal took batting and fielding practice with the team. He connected with the ball in every one of his 47 swings during batting practice. The team said they would list Crystal in the starting lineup on Thursday afternoon as the designated hitter. Crystal got up to the plate at today's 1:15 game and received a standing ovation. Crystal fouled off a 1-0 pitch from pitcher Paul Maholm and was applauded for that. He later struck out and came out of the game. Even though Crystal struck out in his only big league at-bat, he made it a fun game. He joked in the dugout with all the players and they had a good time. Crystal has been known as a Yankee fan all his life, especially when he directed one of my favorite movies, 61*. 61* is about the 1961 season when Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's home run record.

NBA Playoff Controversy

(2007 NBA Playoff Bracket)

In the NBA, the top 8 teams from both conferences make the playoffs. For some strange reason, the Western Conference is more competitive than the Eastern Conference. By more competitive, I mean that if you were to pick the top 16 teams in the league, 13 would be from the West and 3 would be from the East. The last playoff spot in the West is currently held by the Golden State Warriors who have a record of 38 wins and 23 losses. This is an excellent record, especially for the 8th seed. In the East, the last playoff spot is held by the New Jersey Nets who are 26-36.

As you can see from the last two playoff spots alone, the East is a joke compared to the West. However, the top 2 teams in the East have better records than ANY team in the West. The Celtics (48-12) and the Pistons (45-17) are better than the number one team in the West, the Lakers (44-18). The records just do not make any sense. Why should a team like the Denver Nuggets (37-24) or the Portland Trail Blazers (32-30) not make the playoffs? They have better records than the last 2 playoff teams in the East, the 76ers (29-33) and the Nets (26-36). The answer is they are in different conferences, seperating the competitive West from the dreadful East.

There has to be some solution that allows the NBA to have the best 16 teams in the playoffs. Why would they want mediocre and below mediocre teams competing in the playoffs? This is why basketball ratings have been down for years. The playoffs are for elite teams to compete for the world championship. Perhaps the league could lower the number of teams who get into the playoffs. Instead of 16 teams, why not make it 12 teams, or even 8 teams like in baseball. Or, if basketball wants to keep the playoffs at 16 teams, why not select the TOP 16 teams. You can still have the East and the West conferences, but why not discard the conferences when it comes to playoff teams? The 16 teams with the best records make the playoffs. That is a brilliant idea. If you pick the 16 teams with the best records, you will have the most competitive games possible. It is untraditional to have a team play another team from the other conference in the playoffs, but hey, doesn't the NBA want good games? I think this would work better than having the 48-12 Celtics play the 26-36 Nets in the first round of the playoffs. ESPN is doing a vote on their website that asks if the NBA should re-format the playoff system and choose the top 16 teams. Right now, the vote is 66 percent in favor of changing the system to the one i mentioned. The NBA would be a lot more entertaining if they best teams played each other, but who am I to say this? They are the professionals. As I mentioned earlier, NBA ratings are way down to what they used to be. I'm sure NBA Comissioner David Stern has it all figured out.

A Legend Retires

After 17 seasons in the NFL, Brett Favre retired. Favre announced his retirement on March 4th, 2008. Favre was known as a great person and was loved by everyone related to football, whether you were a Packer fan or not. But, most of all, Favre was a tremendous quarterback.

Favre was on the Falcons during his rookie year, before being traded to the Packers in 1992. Favre became the starting quarterback in the fourth game of that year, and never looked back. His record of most consecutive starts by a quarterback will most likely never be broken. Favre started 253 games in a row, and 275 if you include playoff games. Favre also holds most of the big records as a quarterback, passing Dan Marino in a couple of categories. Favre has 442 touchdown passes, an all-time record, and 61,655 passing yards, also an all-time record.

Many have speculated whether Favre was the best quarterback ever, since he has retired. I don't think you can label anyone as the best ever. The game has been played for about 100 years and it has changed throughout. Someone may say Johnny Unitas was the best quarterback ever. Unitas played from the 1950s to the 1970s. Or, someone may say Joe Montana was the best ever when he played in the 1980s. Favre played in 2 Super Bowls, and won 1 of them. He holds many quarterback records.

You can go on for days arguing statistics of quarterbacks, but there is one thing that Favre had when he played that could make him the best quarterback ever...heart. Favre played the game like no one else. He gave it 100 percent on every single play. Favre has played with a broken thumb and numerous other injuries. I can rememer watching a game Favre played in on a Monday night in 2003. His dad had just died the day before in a car accident and Favre said he would still play. Favre had the game of his life and threw for 399 yards and 4 touchdowns leading his team to a 41-7 victory over the Raiders. From 2004-2006, Favre experienced the death of a brother-in-law, his wife being diagnosed with breast cancer, and his own house being blown away by Hurricane Katrina. He never missed a game in his 16 years as a Green Bay Packer. No other quarterback has went this long and played as hard as Favre has. When Favre held a press conference for his retirement yesterday, he was crying throughout the whole thing and showed the same emotion that he played with. I don't know if Brett Favre is the best quarterback ever, but he has to be considered one of the best football players ever and he will be remembered as a legend.