Reviewing Instant Replay

It's ironic that after Carlos Delgado was robbed of a home run, Alex Rodriguez was robbed of one a few nights later. When I say robbed of a home run, you would think that an outfielder made a leaping catch over the wall to steal the home run. But, that isn't the case because the outfielders didn't rob the home runs...the umpires robbed the home runs! Delgado's home run hit the foul pole and bounced into the stands, in foul territory. If you didn't see it clearly, it would look like a foul ball. But, with the replay, you can clearly see the ball hit the foul pole, making it a home run.

A-Rod's homer was even clearer than Delgado's. I have no clue how they botched this call two nights ago. In right field, there is a yellow stairway about 15 feet from the ground, leading to the bleachers. Alex hit a line drive home run to that stairway, and when it hit the stairway, the ball bounced back into the field. Orioles outfielder Nick Markakis played it and threw to second. Great acting job by Markakis. Everyone in the park knew it was a home run, except for the umpires. A-Rod and Girardi argued to no avail as Alex was stuck with a double.

Other than these two calls, there were two other home run controversies during this week involving the Cubs' Geovany Soto and the Cardinals Ryan Ludwick. The debate has started and heated up about whether to include instant replay in baseball. Some say it should be for home runs and others say it should be for any controversial call. It could get ridiculous with red flags, like they have in football. I wouldn't expect to see two challenges a game for each team, especially because the people opposing instant replay say it will slow down the game. Ah, c'mon. An extra couple of minutes for umpires to review a call and get it right...that sounds good to me.

If replay comes about, where do we stop with it? Should it just be for home runs? Well, there was a call in last night's Yankee game that suggests maybe the replay should be for other plays too. Jason Giambi had two strikes on him in the bottom of the 9th when he was thrown a ball...but wait, Oriole catcher Ramon Hernandez said that the ball hit Giambi's bat. And yes, the umpire then said that Giambi tipped the ball into Hernandez's glove, after Hernandez told him to make the call. Joe Girardi was as fired up as I have ever seen him, while he kicked his hat and screamed at the umpire. Yeah, he got thrown out, but it was evident that he fired up his team when Robbie Cano hit a walk-off single, scoring Hideki Matsui. The problem with the call on Giambi was that the umpire said nothing after the pitch, until about 4 seconds later after Hernandez told him what to call. First of all, the ball wasn't even close to hitting Giambi's bat. Secondly, you know there is something wrong when the umpire doesn't make a call until a player tells him what to say.

Baseball definitely needs instant replay, but I'm not sure how they should limit it. The game is 3 hours and 10 minutes long, and the umpires got all the calls right with instant replay. Or, the game is 3 hours long and the umpires blew a call to cost a team the game. Which scenario would you rather?

Big Brown Goes for Triple Crown & Celtics Cavs Game 7

Horse Racing...Is it one of my top priorities to watch? Not at all. But, this guy Big Brown is making a run for it. Big Brown is the horse who won the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago. In the race, he was behind by a good amount almost midway through the race. Then, all of a sudden, it's like he turned on a switch and he exploded to the finish line with a large margin of victory. Yesterday, Big Brown was the only horse from the Derby to run in the Preakness Stakes. Sure enough, Big Brown did it again, winning by 5 1/4 lengths. For those of you who don't know, a length is about 8 feet and it refers to the length of a horse.

You don't have to be a horse racing fanatic to see what's going on here. All you have to do is watch Big Brown run, and you can see why he won these two races so easily. He's a big horse with a lot of heart. He was the favorite to win both races, understandably. Big Brown has the chance to be the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. Big Brown will try to become the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes in a couple of weeks.

On another note, we have a big game 7 in a few hours! No other than the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not that there should even be a game 7...because in game 6, there were a few controversial calls that the referees made, in favor of Lebron James. WOW! What a surprise! Paul Pierce was called for a charge when the Celtics were down by a few, I think it was 3 points. Lebron was still in motion and never made an attempt to stop and he hit right into pierce, as they both went to the ground. Pierce was called for the charge, and I am not the only one saying this called favored Lebron. After the game, every sportswriter or reporter has said that the call was wrong. Also, there was a play when Ray Allen shot the ball, as it was blocked pretty late by Delonte West. In the replay, you could see the ball wasn't going in, because it hit the side of the backboard. But, after it hit the backboard, West swatted the ball. Now, I have heard two different takes and I don't know which one is right. There's a rule that states if the ball hits anywhere on the backboard, and then is hit by a defender, it is goal tending. But then I've heard that if the shot has no chance of going in, it doesn't count as goal tending. That's just typical NBA for you, they don't know how to interpret their own rules.

I just hope that the game is fair today. If Lebron is going to win it for the Cavs, let him win it himself. Don't give all the calls in his favor like usual. Don't make up fouls and new rules to help Lebron, like I've seen many times before. Just let them play. If Boston is on top of their game, the Cavs don't have a chance. But, if Boston makes one mistake, Lebron can capitalize on it. The winner advances to play the dangerous postseason Pistons. Lebron single-handedly beat them to go to the NBA Finals last year, so that would be an interesting series. But, I don't think we will be seeing it. I think that Kevin Garnett can take over a game just as well as Lebron can. So, we will just have to see who wants it more.

Give Me a Break

I wasn't even going to comment on this, but it seems like every sports reporter has to add their two cents on this. So I'll add mine. Joba Chamberlain is a very emotional kid. His father, who battles with epilepsy, tries to come to most Yankee games. Joba gets a lot of his energy and emotion from his dad. Joba also has the most explosive stuff I've seen from a pitcher in a long time. He is just loaded with talent and he hasn't even played a full season yet. After Joba gets a strike out to end an inning, he usually has a couple of big fist pumps. While pumping his fist, Joba also yells with triumph. Now, the question is: Is it alright to do this all the time? Is it alright for Joba to go nuts when he strikes out David Delucci in the 8th inning of a game where his Yankees are winning 6-3? In the beginning of May, I might add.

Everyone is criticizing Joba for this, and I just don't understand. Are we blind? It's like you can't be right with these people. The same people who are saying it is bush league for Joba to get excited after a strike out are the people who said Eli Manning shows no emotion when he plays. Okay, so let me get this straight. Before Eli Manning won a Super Bowl, the media criticized him for showing no emotion while he played. They made fun of him for shrugging after throwing an interception and having a dumb look on his face when the Giants won a game or scored a touchdown. Joba Chamberlain strikes someone out with a 98-mph fastball and throws his fist in the air with triumph. But that's wrong? Make up your mind! You want emotion, you don't want emotion.

Joba gave up a three-run homer to David Delucci a couple of nights ago. Then, yesterday Joba struck out Delucci in the 8th inning of the game I mentioned. That's when Joba got excited. So, Joba was showing him up, right? That's how Delucci felt. He made some comments basically stating that Joba's actions are bush league. Well, Joba does this all the time. No matter who the hitter is, Joba shows his emotion when getting an out. But now the media says it wasn't a big game. It's only May, it means nothing. Okay, now there are games that mean nothing? Just because it is a game early in the season, Joba can't be excited about getting an out to end the inning?

This just doesn't make sense and I am sick over it. I don't know if these media guys have nothing to talk about, so they have to concern themselves with this. I don't know what it is. I think it's amazing what Joba does. It gets the crowd into it, when a player shows emotion like that. Fans want to see that. Then someone will say, "Oh no, it takes away from the game. Players aren't supposed to show-up batters like that." It's one thing for a pitcher to look at the batter and make a gesture towards him. Or for the pitcher to tease the batter in some way. But Joba isn't doing that at all!

I also might mention that Jonathan Papelbon of the Red Sox does the same thing Joba does, maybe even worse. Papelbon goes absolutely crazy when he gets a strikeout in the middle of an inning. Not even to end the inning! But, you know, Papelbon is on the World Champion Red Sox, he's allowed to do that.

This kid Joba is loaded with talent and he's excited to be pitching with the New York Yankees. He can't be happy for himself? Of course not, the media doesn't want him to be happy. You have to feel bad for these guys sometimes, even though they are making the big bucks. There isn't a guy I feel worse for than Alex Rodriguez, with this new story of him being a whimp because he passed out when his wife gave birth to their first child. Give me a break. That's a whole other story, don't get me started on it.

Who Can You Trust?

The NFL's list of off the field incidents just keeps on growing. In the last few days, there have been three negative incidents involving NFL players. Let's start with the most recent incident. This morning, Steelers 1st round draft pick Rashard Mendenhall was robbed. Mendenhall was an excellent runner at Illinois last year and I am really looking foward to seeing him play in the NFL, but that's beside the point. He was walking along Pittsburgh's lakefront when two men, dressed in black hoodies and ski masks, approached Mendenhall and took his wallet and phone. The poor guy is looking at his new home city with an unspecified companion, and he gets robbed. In your new home, who can you trust?

Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson was arrested for resisting arrest, after being charged with boating while intoxicated. Haha. Boating while intoxicated, that's a new one. Isn't that one of the best parts about going out on a boat? To have a few drinks? Well, whatever. Benson had to be sprayed with mace, after he refused to go back onto land with the police. Benson told his account of the story. He said that he passed all the sobriety tests that the police gave to him, but they insisted he still go back to land with them. He resisted, and was sprayed. Benson also said he wasn't drunk, although there was alcohol on the boat. Benson has a lot to prove in the NFL, so this isn't the best way to do it. Between Benson and the cops, who can you trust?

Marvin Harrison...Wow. Marvin is one of the best receivers ever. He is known for being quiet all the time, unlike other showboating receivers in the league. Marvin just goes out and plays his game every Sunday. So why is Marvin involved in a shooting outside of his bar, called Playmakers? There was a dispute with Harrison and someone in the bar. The story is still not clear, but it seems that Harrison followed the man outside. The man was later shot and wounded in the hand. Tests show that the bullets shot were from a custom Belgian weapon, a weapon that Harrison owns.

The weird thing is that Harrison's camp claims that Marvin isn't even involved in the shooting. The cops don't have any suspects yet. If it happens to be Marvin who shot the gun...I don't know... I really do not know. Marvin Harrison is one of the most respected players in sports. Period. He is the textbook definition of a football player. He puts his body on the line every Sunday and doesn't have to be a loud mouth. So how can Marvin be involved in such a horrible situation? I would think you could trust Marvin Harrison, of all people. But, who can you trust?

It's Only the First Round!

What a first round of basketball! Tonight, we face three game 6 series. First at 7 o'clock, the dramatic series of Wizards and Cavs. I can't wait to see Lebron lose this game for one big reason. He doesn't deserve it! All this guy does is cry and complain and cry and complain. But yet, he gets free throws everytime he drives to the basket. I'm not going to continue bashing Lebron cause I already did enough of it. But, just to bring it to your attention, Darius Songaila was suspended a game for fouling Lebron. Yes, Songaila hit Lebron in the face. But, it sucks that the referees didn't see the 2-4 times a game when Lebron elbows someone as he is driving to the basket. Or when Lebron gets up to fight when he gets fouled cleanly. He's Lebron James though, he's allowed to do that.

Celtics and Hawks play a game 6 tonight also. I said the Celtics would win easily, but I have to think again. The Hawks were down 2-0, and then won 2 in a row. The series is currently at 3-2, in favor of the Celtics. The Hawks would be a great underdog story for anyone, but you have to think the Celtics will still put it out, right? It should be a great game 6 tonight.

The last game 6 tonight is Jazz and Rockets. Jazz were up 3-0 in this series, but the Rockets hung tough and won two in a row. You have to feel bad for Tracy McGrady. He is one of those guys who goes out and plays hard everyday, probably one of the reasons he is always getting hurt. Yet, T-Mac has never been out of the first round in the playoffs. He had a couple of chances with the Magic, but he was the whole team with them. Now, with the Rockets, he's got a great team. But, in the middle of the season, they lost Yao Ming, causing concern. But after Ming's injury, the Rockets won 22 games in a row, the 2nd longest streak in NBA history.

I want to see the Wizards beat Lebron. Lebron may be the greatest talent ever, as everyone seems to label him. But, I can't stand this guy. Maybe if he showed some passion for the game and actually played hard, I would respect him. But how can you respect a guy who can't deal with being hit and not called for a foul? A guy who wants a foul called everytime, and he almost gets it. A guy who people want to label as the next 'Jordan.' Lebron James isn't even close to Michael Jordan, nor will he ever be. Michael Jordan put his life on the line every single game he played. He won 6 NBA Championships and even if you hated the Bulls, you couldn't help but respect Jordan for his greatness.

I have to say the Celtics will win this series, although I'd like to see the Hawks win. The Hawks have two great young talents in Josh Smith and Joe Johnson. They both looked clutch at times in the series and I can see the Hawks as a serious threat in the East next year. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. How can you go wrong? The Celtics have to win this series, or else they can't be taken seriously next season. As for the Jazz and Rockets...I don't know... I'd like to see T-Mac win, along with his skip to my lou sidekick, Rafer Alston. For those of you who don't know, Alston was a great streetball player who was referred to as Skip to My Lou, because he is an amazing ball-handler. But that's neither here nor there. The Rockets offense can probably pull through, but the trouble lies with stopping Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer.

The Wizards may be a better team without Gilbert Arenas. The Celtics may be overrated. And the Tracy McGrady may have been cursed a long time ago. I think we will get some answers tonight, but hey, IT'S ONLY THE FIRST ROUND!

Sticking with the Young Guns

Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy were talked about all off-season, regarding a trade for Johan Santana. The Yankees decided to stick with their young guns and they have paid the price for it, so far. I say so far because we are only a month into the season. But, how much time do you give these guys before you give up?

Not only did the Yankees lose Jorge Posada to a shoulder injury, which could sideline him for quite a while, but their young guns cannot pitch a quality game. Let's start with Ian Kennedy. He is 0-4 this season, allowing 22 runs in 23.7 innings. Kennedy just hasn't looked like the top prospect the Yankees said he was. He loses the strike zone easily and when he finds the strike zone, his pitches are flat and very hittable. Phil Hughes has also allowed 22 runs like Kennedy, ironically, but he was pitched 22 innings. Hughes has a great curve and a great fastball, giving him the tools to be a top starter. But, like Kennedy, Hughes hasn't found the strike zone, with 20 walks in 22 innings. Hughes is currently on the DL with a strained right oblique. The Yankees have said he will be shut down for 4 weeks, and then he will be re-evaluated.

So what do the Yankees do? I'll tell you what they do. They do what they should have done in the off-season. Trade! The Yanks could have gotten Johan Santana for these young "phenoms." But as of now, these guys are worth just about as much as Vito Ingrassia. If you're wondering who Vito Ingrassia is, you aren't alone. He is a friend of mine who can throw a fastball, but can't throw a strike. Right now, Kennedy and Hughes are worthless! But who am I to say this? I'm only an 18 year old sports fan. It's not like I'm Hank Steinbrenner or anything...