Bleacher Report - Articles by Phil Shore

Crown Chad Ochocinco King Of All Athletes Using Social Media

Phil Shore — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:14:41 -0500

Chad Ochocinco, wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, was being portrayed a certain way in the traditional media.

His touchdown celebrations , name change, and trade requests got him characterized as self-absorbed, an ego-maniac, and, occasionally, a clown.

So Ochocinco took went to social media to really show what he's all about, and it has worked beautifully.

He has accounts on Facebook and UStream , but is most famous for his use of Twitter .

Ochocinco has used these outlets to display his true personality and to really connect with his fans.

"It gives me a voice, the ability to reach people directly, and for people to see who I am without the filter of the media, the critics or whomever," he said in an interview with USA Today .

Ochocinco has been able to change much of the public's perception of him from a guy who was only interested in himself to a man who is just enjoying his life and is trying to share the fun he's having with others.

He invites people to the movies or dinner with him ("If you're coming to Davids just tell the hostess you're here for lunch with Chad, its on 17th n meridian, lunch on me the blessing is on GOD" from 11/30/09) and challenges them to play him in video games ("Getting on call of duty people Estaban 85, let's play" from 11/30/09).

"I try to interact with every fan," Ochocinco says. "I try to respond to everybody."
While showing what a fun loving guy he is, the public has responded favorably.

Through his social media endeavors, he has also become an extremely marketable celebrity.

Ochocinco has come out with his own book , he became the first NFL player to get his own iPhone application , has appeared on late night talk shows , and is apparently even coming out with his own brand of condoms .

What's making him even more successful is that he is also back to being a productive player on the field (773 yards receiving and five touchdowns in 11 games), and his team is in first place in the AFC North. He’s an athlete first and foremost, and his success on the field makes him a credible figure.

Chad Ochocinco is a fantastic example of how to best utilize social media and the good that it can do someone.

He connects with people across the globe, giving them a vantage point into his life that they wouldn't have had previously, and he gives back to the community. He also has used it to create a brand name or himself. Most importantly, he changed people's perceptions of him, getting everyone to see him how he wants them to, not as how the media depicts him.

Ochocinco gets it and he's letting the rest of us in on the fun he's having.

Thanksgiving Weekend NFL Picks

Phil Shore — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:10:41 -0500

Thanksgiving gives us three games this week on Thursday, and for being fans, the NFL has thanked us with a really fantastic match up on Monday night between the undefeated Saints and the New England Patriots, as well as some other good match ups between division rivals Pittsburgh and Baltimore, and the Giants against the Broncos.

For me, I’m thankful that all you guys take the time out of your day to read my stuff.

Enjoy the holiday!

Green Bay (6-4) at Detroit (2-8)

Detroit and it's rookie quarterback showed some gut and guile to come back and beat Cleveland as time expired.

Stafford was incredible, coming back after injuring his shoulder to throw for 422 yards and four touchdowns.

Still, I believe he is extremely banged up and will be hurting against the Packers, who will be coming at him hard.

Green Bay’s passing defense is ranked seventh in the NFL and they have the fourth most interceptions.

I like Green Bay to win this game.

Oakland (3-7) at Dallas (7-3)

Oakland QB Bruce Gradkowski didn’t look too bad in place of JaMarcus Russell in Sunday’s win over the Bengals. His 73.5 passer rating was better than all but one of Russell’s games (85.4 week five against the Giants), and he led a game-tying drive that he capped off with his second touchdown pass of the day (compared to his one interception).

The Cowboys scored only one touchdown for the second week in a row.

Still, they were able to win the game. Another bright spot: Marion Barber rushed for 99 yards, the first time he’s rushed for more than 53 yards since week two, when he ran for 124 yards against the Giants.

Oakland has the third worst ranked rushing defense, and they have given up the most rushing touchdowns. If Marion Barber is truly back to form, then he should have a field day, especially at home.

I predict the Cowboys to win.

NY Giants (6-4) at Denver (6-4)

The Giants are a team that got back on track last week. Denver is a team that continued its horrific slide.

In their four game losing streak, Denver has only scored more than ten points once. They are currently ranked 25th in the NFL in points per game, while the Giants are tied for sixth (conversely the Giants are tied for 23rd in points allowed, while Denver is seventh).

Denver’s inability to score points lately, or really throughout the whole season, is discouraging.

I’ll take the Giants to win.

Tampa Bay (1-9) at Atlanta (5-5)

Atlanta is on a mini-slide, losing four out of their last five games. Tampa Bay is on a season-long slide.

Tampa has one win in six tries against conference opponents (0-2 in the division), whereas the Falcons are 4-4.

Atlanta finally gets to settle in at the Georgia Dome, as they start a three game home stretch and play four out of their final six at home.

Falcons win.

Miami (5-5) at Buffalo (3-7)

Buffalo no longer has the worst rush defense. They are now second to Tampa Bay.
Miami’s strength all season has been the running game, and they proved that last Thursday against Carolina. Ricky Williams had a spectacular night, rushing for 119 yards and two touchdowns, as well as catching one.

The last time these two teams squared off in week three, Miami went off for 38 points, 250 rushing yards, and three rushing touchdowns.

Miami’s confidence is building. Buffalo’s, if they had any, is absolutely crumbling.

Dolphins win.

Cleveland (1-9) at Cincinnati (7-3)

Cleveland surprised everyone by scoring 37 points. Still, they lost.

Cincinnati handed Oakland a victory. Still, they are in first place in the AFC North.

The Bengals seem to be a team that plays to their competition. The first time these two teams met, the Bengals needed OT to win.

Still, I only consider last weeks loss a minor setback, as this team has played tough all season, whether it's pretty or not.

The same can't be said for Cleveland.

Bengals win.

Carolina (4-6) at NY Jets (4-6)

The Jets rush defense is average, ranked 16th, and will have their hands full with the NFL’s fourth best rusher DeAngelo Williams.

However, Jets RB Thomas Jones is ranked sixth in the NFL while Carolina’s rush defense is miserable, ranked 26th in the entire league.

If the Jets really utilize Jones against such a weak rush defense, they can limit the pressure on rookie QB Mark Sanchez and the amount of turnovers he causes. They will also dominate time of possession (Jones is strong at pounding the ball up the middle) and neutralize Williams.

Jets win.

Washington (3-7) at Philadelphia (6-4)

Washington almost came away with its first win streak of the season last week against the Cowboys. They were winning for the majority of the game (actually until 2:41 left in the fourth quarter) and only allowed one touchdown. However their offense could only muster up two field goals. That won’t cut it against the Eagles.

The Eagles have been held to less than 10 points only once this season; the Redskins have been held to under 10 points three times. The Eagles are tied for sixth in the NFL in points per game; the Redskins are 29th.

Eagles win.

Indianapolis (10-0) at Houston (5-5)

Houston is 1-14 all-time against the Colts. They have a losing record at home (2-3) this season and against the division (1-3). Last time they met a Kris Brown missed field goal as time expired prevented the teams from needing OT. Houston also played Monday night in week 11, so the Colts will have one extra day of rest and preparation for this match up. It’s all enough for me to not see an upset here.

Colts win.

Seattle (3-7) at St. Louis (1-9)

A winnable game for St. Louis, but this team is just so bad.

These teams met in week one and the Seahawks pounded the Rams 28-0. Not much has changed. St. Louis has failed to score more than a touchdown three more times throughout the season.

The Rams offense is ranked 26th in the league, and if it wasn’t for Steven Jackson, the NFL’s second leading rusher, it may possibly be the worst offense.

Seattle will win.

Kansas City (3-7) at San Diego (7-3)

When you’re hot you’re hot.

San Diego has won five games in a row. In three of those five wins, they have scored 31 points or more. All season they have yet to score less than 21.

Also LaDainian Tomlinson has become a relevant player again, leading the team in rushing in eight of the Chargers’ 10 games this season. He’s scored a touchdown in three of his last four games, twice scoring two touchdowns. He’s also only lost one fumble this year.

Kansas City is tied for 25th in the league in points allowed.

This does not look good for the Chiefs. Chargers win.

Jacksonville (6-4) at San Francisco (4-6)

For a 6-4 team, Jacksonville is perplexing. They have scored only 199 points this season, while giving up 235. They’ve benefited from strong play at home and are surprisingly 5-2 against the AFC.

However San Francisco is 0-3 against the AFC, and only 1-4 against teams with winning records this year (and that win was in week one against Arizona, who has gotten significantly better since the opening week).

I’m not crazy about them, but I like the Jaguars to win.

Arizona (7-3) at Tennessee (4-6)

Arizona had a rough start to the season, but the defending NFC champions are 6-1 since their week four bye.

Tennessee, however, is 4-0 since inserting Vince Young as the starting QB. In those four games they have scored at least 20 points each time and in three of those games they scored at least 30.

Still, Tennessee is also 30th in the league in points per game allowed while Arizona is tenth in the league is points scored per game.

The Cardinals are also 5-0 on the road and surprisingly have a winning record against the AFC (2-1).

Arizona wins.

Chicago (4-6) at Minnesota (9-1)

Minnesota is +6 in the turnover battle over the season, while the Bears are -3 thanks to Jay Cutler leading the NFL in interceptions thrown (18).

Minnesota is also 5-0 at home, 4-0 against the division, and 7-0 in the conference. In comparison, Chicago is 1-4 on the road, 1-1 in the division, and 2-5 against the conference.

Vikings win.

Pittsburgh (6-4) at Baltimore (5-5)

Both teams suffered rough losses last week, but are still fighting for spots in the playoffs.

Pittsburgh has the top ranked defense (Baltimore is ninth) and the sixth ranked offense (Baltimore is 13th).

The Steelers haven’t lost three games in a row since the 2006 season. They’ve had their struggles this season, but overall, the Steelers have been the stronger team out of the two.

I predict the Steelers to win.

New England (7-3) at New Orleans (10-0)

What a good match up we have for Monday Night Football this week.

This is the toughest opponent New Orleans will face on their way to possibly finishing the regular season 16-0, and one would think the team that would most want to knock them off would be the only team to finish a season 16-0—the Patriots.

One huge difference between these two teams, though, is their attitude in the fourth quarter and their ability to close games.

The Patriots have outscored their opponent in the fourth quarter 55-45 and in two of their three losses they were winning going into the fourth quarter (to be fair Denver did need overtime to finish New England off). However, the Saints have outscored their opponents 105-24 in the final period.

To continue with the teams’ fourth quarter, New England has shut out their opponent in the fourth quarter five times while New Orleans has accomplished that six times. Even more impressive though is that while the Patriots have been held scoreless in the fourth three times, New Orleans has made sure they put points on the board in the final quarter in every game this season.

Also alarming for the Patriots is that they are 1-3 on the road, while New Orleans is 5-0 at home.

I will pick the Saints to win this one.

Last week: 14-2

Season: 88-40

Who Will Win in NFL's Week 11?

Phil Shore — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:23:09 -0500

Week 11 has already started out well for me as I picked the Dolphins to beat the Panthers on Thursday night.

Colts-Ravens should be a good one, as should Giants-Falcons, and Patriots-Jets. Redskins-Cowboys is also a heated rivalry that gets another chapter added to the books this weekend.

Here are my picks. Tell me who you like in the comments section.

Miami (24)-Carolina (17). Picked Miami. See bottom of “Wild No More”.

Washington (3-6) at Dallas (6-3)

Washington actually looked like they knew how to play football last week. With an impressive win against the Denver Broncos. Don’t get too excited though Redskins fans, this team is not out of the woods yet.

Yes, the Cowboys looked pretty bad last week, especially—again—Tony Romo, but they are still 6-3 and in first place in the division. The game is also in Dallas. So let’s not overreact to both teams’ results in Week 10.

Dallas wins.

Cleveland (1-8) at Detroit (1-8)

The NFL could not have paired together two teams worse than Detroit and Cleveland.

The city of Detroit, possibly the city hit the hardest by the economic recession, not only has to suffer with a 1-8 football team, but now, because nobody in their right mind is going to the games because they cannot afford the tickets for such a sorry team, the game will be blacked out locally. For shame, that it had to come against an equally embarrassing team like the Browns, where they have a chance of winning, instead of against a better team like Green Bay, who they host next week.

The Lions do have more offensive weapons than the Browns, so I predict a Detroit victory.

San Francisco (4-5) at Green Bay (5-4)

Both teams are fighting for their playoff lives. Both teams came away with victories last week. Still, the 49’ers were only able to put up 10 points, and really were lucky to benefit from five Jay Cutler interceptions, including one in the end zone as time expired.

Green Bay’s win wasn’t that much more glamorous of a game, but they soundly beat a better opponent in the Dallas Cowboys.

At Lambeau Field, I predict the Packers to win.

Pittsburgh (6-3) at Kansas City (2-7)

The loss at home last week against Cincinnati was a tough blow for Pittsburgh to swallow. Good thing for them they get a poor team like Kansas City to rebound off of this week.

Steelers win big.

Atlanta (5-4) at NY Giants (5-4)

Eli Manning in the Giants first five wins (against Washington, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and Oakland; a combined record of 14-31): 1,212 yards passing, 10 touchdowns, and two interceptions. Eli Manning during the Giants four game losing streak (against New Orleans, Arizona, Philadelphia, and San Diego; a combined 26-10): 858 yards passing, five touchdowns, and six interceptions. See any correlation there? As Eli goes and the competition gets better, the giants struggle.

Atlanta is an average team right now after losing to Carolina last week. Their passing defense is one of the worst in the league. Michael Turner, one of the top rushers in the NFL, is listed as doubtful.

The Giants are at home and have had an extra week off to straighten themselves out. As little faith I have in them right now, too much of this adds up to this being the week they get back on track. If they lose this week though, I really don’t know if I’ll ever pick them again.

Giants win.

New Orleans (9-0) at Tampa Bay (1-8)

Possibly the saddest story of the week is the passing of Drew Brees’ mother, ruled a suicide. Even sadder is to learn that Brees had a strained relationship with her, even saying in ’06 that the relationship was “nonexistent”. It will be interesting to see how Brees reacts to the news on the field: Will he muster up an incredible performance to honor the life of his mother, much like Brett Favre did when his father died in ’03, or will he, understandably so, be distracted?

The Saints will also be without Reggie Bush and Sedrick Ellis because of knee injuries.

Still, while it hasn’t always been pretty, the Saints are undefeated and, although they’ve been playing better with the insertion of Josh Freeman at QB, the Buccaneers aren’t good enough to stop New Orleans’ roll.

Saints win.

Buffalo (3-6) at Jacksonville (5-4)

It’s the same story for the Bills. Buffalo still has the worst rush defense in the league. DT Marcus Stroud and LB Keith Ellison will both miss the game.

Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew has the fifth most rushing yards in the NFL.

The coaching and quarterback changes will mean nothing.

Jaguars win.

Indianapolis (9-0) at Baltimore (5-4)

A lot of people, myself included, have chastised Bill Belichick for his decision to go for it on fourth down last week against the Colts, and rightfully so, I believe. However, Peyton Manning threw for 327 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. There is no saying that had the Patriots punted that Peyton wouldn’t have taken the Colts on an even more spectacular drive and still led the Colts to victory. He’s just that good.

Baltimore went into halftime with the lowly Browns tied at zero. They got their act together in the second half, but ever since this team lost to the same Patriots in week four, they have gone 2-4 in their last six games and have been unable to get in a groove.

Indy has done a good job in the fourth quarter this year, either coming from behind or closing games out. I like them to beat Baltimore and stay undefeated.

Seattle (3-6) at Minnesota (8-1)

Minnesota is 4-0 at home and 2-0 against the NFC West. I see no reason as to why Seattle will blemish either of these records.

Vikings win.

Arizona (6-3) at St. Louis (1-8)

The only thing going for the Rams is Steven Jackson, the NFL’s fourth leading rusher. Arizona’s seventh ranked rushing defense will neutralize him.

Cardinals win.

NY Jets (4-5) at New England (6-3)

The Jets are 1-5 in their last six games, and that one victory was against Oakland. They did beat New England in Week Two, but that was at home, and before Tom Brady had his legs (literally) underneath him.

Bill Belichick seriously goofed last week with his botched fourth down call against the Colts, but you know he is salivating at showing the world that he still is the best coach in the NFL at the expense of the Jets, the team he hates the most.

Patriots win.

Cincinnati (7-2) at Oakland (2-7)

This matchup is a bit of a mismatch. Another huge win for the Bengals last week who continue to prove themselves as a legitimate contender. Meanwhile Oakland lost to Kansas City in a truly ugly contest. Not much to say here.

Bengals win.

San Diego (6-3) at Denver (6-3)

Things aren’t looking so hot in Denver. They have lost three games in a row, they are now tied with San Diego for the division lead (although coming into today’s game they do hold the tiebreaker), and starting quarterback Kyle Orton is a game-time decision because of an ankle injury. Backup QB Chris Simms hasn’t started a game since 2006 when he suffered a life threatening spleen injury.

Denver also has to be thinking about last season when they stormed out to take the division lead only to see it evaporate, and San Diego take over in the last week and make the playoffs while Denver watched from home.

San Diego’s last away game was also impressive, in which they came from behind and beat the Giants in a gutsy performance.

I will take San Diego to win today.

Philadelphia (5-4) at Chicago (4-5)

Neither team looked good last week. Chicago looked worse.

All they could muster up was six points and five Jay Cutler interceptions.

Jay Cutler, I’d like you to meet Asante Samuel, tied for third in the NFL in interceptions with five, and Sheldon Brown, tied for sixth in the NFL in interceptions with four.

The Eagles also have a Top-10 passing defense (ranked No. 9) and are tied for second in the league with 29 sacks. Cutler will be pressured, and when he decides to try and make a throw he really can’t, the Eagles secondary will make him pay.

Philadelphia wins.

Tennessee (3-6) at Houston (5-4)

Think Jeff Fisher waited too long to make a quarterback switch? Kerry Collins: 0-6. Vince Young: 3-0. It seemed to make sense when the Titans were 0-3 as well. Young is the younger of the two and it was apparent that Collins would not be getting the Titans back to the playoffs, so why not throw Young in and see if he still is the quarterback of the future.

Tennessee’s offense is rolling, scoring over 30 points in each of their last three wins.

Houston is tied for fifth in most rushing touchdowns allowed (12). Titans running back Chris Johnson is tied for fourth in rushing touchdowns scored (8), and six of those touchdowns (along with 495 yards rushing) have come in Tennessee’s last three victories.

Houston’s D isn’t strong enough to really handle Johnson and the Titans are streaking.

I’ll ride the Vince Young train another game and predict a Tennessee win.

This Week: 1-0

Last Week: 8-7

Season: 74-38

Ronnie Brown Goes Down: Will He and the Wildcat Remain in Miami?

Phil Shore — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:15:26 -0500

The Wildcat just got tamed.

The Miami Dolphins placed running back Ronnie Brown on injured reserve yesterday with a right ankle and foot injury, shelving him for the rest of the season.

Brown’s injury is a huge blow to the remainder of Miami’s season.

Part of a fourth ranked rushing attack, Brown had 648 yard rushing and eight touchdowns, leading the Dolphins in both categories. What makes him more irreplaceable to Miami though is how well he ran the Wildcat offense .

Miami’s offense, minus the ‘cat, is pretty bland. Ranked 30th in passing offense, Davone Bess is the team’s leading receiver with only 334 yards through nine games and only one tight end or receiver, Joey Haynos, has caught two touchdown passes.
The Dolphins rely heavily on the rush, but what gives them flexibility and makes them unpredictable in order to keep defenses honest is their ability to run the Wildcat.

Brown was the triggerman for the unorthodox formation. First things first, he is able to cleanly catch the direct snap. Although basic, running backs aren’t familiar with taking snaps from the center, and dropping the snap easily botches the entire play. Also, he was able to make clean handoffs to Ricky Williams. Again, while they get the handoff, actually passing the ball on to someone is not something they do very often and would ruin the play.

Everyone is aware of the ability Brown has as a runner but what made him so effective in the Wildcat was his ability as a passer.

During his career, Brown has completed four of 10 passes for 63 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions, and has a 101.2 passer rating. His ability to roll out and throw a left handed pass to a receiver in the end zone keeps defenses off-balance.

While Ricky Williams, the 2002 NFL rushing champion, is having a fine season himself—compiling 558 yards on the ground with six touchdowns, with an additional 193 receiving yards (fourth-best on the team) and one receiving touchdown—and is a more than capable backup running back, replacing Brown in the Wildcat will not be something easily done.

How well will Williams throw the ball? The possibility of a pass, even without a quarterback, keeps teams guessing. If Williams is a lousy passer, then the formation will not be effective.

And who will take Williams’ role in the formation? With Brown taking snaps, Williams has been the key motion man, and without him, the play becomes even less effective.

Without Brown, Miami fans could see more of the Pistol formation, where backup quarterback Pat White enters the game. White has completed zero passes on three attempts, but the threat is there. He does have 48 rushing yards on 11 carries and is a dangerous ball carrier.

Another question that begs to be answered is with Brown accumulating another injury is his career as a Dolphin in jeopardy?

In five NFL seasons, only once has Brown played in all 16 games and this will be the second time in three years that he plays in less than 10 games due to an injury on his right leg.

While he is a very talented player and plays a critical role on the team, durability is a big issue, especially with Bill Parcells and his crew running the team. If Brown is not healthy and cannot perform on the field, what sense is there in keeping him around?

Brown is in the last year of his rookie contract and will turn 28 years old next month. With questions of his durability coupled with his advanced age, will Miami be willing to bring him back or will they start to look in a new direction?

This latest injury to Brown creates a new question the Dolphins will have to answer: How much longer will both the Wildcat and Brown be around in Miami?

NFL Week 11 picks:

Another Thursday night game this week. Miami (4-5) faces off against Carolina (4-5).
The Panthers had a big win last week against Atlanta, while Miami just squeezed by Tampa Bay.

The biggest factor here, as stated above, is how Miami’s offense responds without Ronnie Brown in the lineup.

Will they still run the Wildcat?

Can Ricky Williams shoulder a larger load?

Can the Dolphins be successful in a more conventional style of offense?

On the other side of the ball it will be Miami’s pass rush against Jake Delhomme.
While Miami’s pass defense is not very good, their pass rush has generated 25 sacks, good for fourth best in the NFL. They also get the return of Joey Porter, who has not been as effective as he was last season, but still has enough talent and bravado to provide some extra punch.

Delhomme is second in the NFL in interceptions thrown with 13 (Jay Cutler, 17, is first). However, he hasn’t thrown an interception in his last three games, two of which were Carolina wins.

On Tuesday, Carolina placed left tackle Jordan Gross on injured reserve with a broken ankle. Gross has been one of the league’s best left tackles and Delhomme, in his rockiest moments, has depended on the 6’4”, 305 pound man to protect his blindside.

The Gross injury will have a greater effect in the game than the Brown injury because Miami will take its aggressive pass rush and attack Delhomme, coming after him and forcing him to make plays and causing turnovers.

Miami wins.

Elizabeth Lambert: The Making of a Monster

Phil Shore — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:23:01 -0500

Basic rule of thumb for all athletes: Be careful what you do, because someone will see it.

In this day of 24-hour sports news coverage, Flip cams, cell phones that take video, and the Internet and YouTube, nothing will go unseen.

University of New Mexico women’s soccer team player Elizabeth Lambert didn’t get the memo.

During a Nov. 5, 2009 Mountain West Conference semifinal game against Brigham Young University, Lambert, a junior, was involved in incredibly unsportsmanlike plays , including elbowing a girl in the back and pulling another player down by her ponytail.

While she was involved in a number of heinous incidents on the field, she only received a yellow card. The video footage of her actions has resulted in further disciplinary action, though, and made her one of the most infamous athletes in the country.

ESPN aired the game footage as part of a highlight segment on SportsCenter, and the video was then posted on its YouTube page.

To date, the video has been viewed 1,275,126 times and generated 1,889 user comments. No video from that same day has been watched even 8,000 times. The closest was the Play of the Day video featuring a LeBron James slam dunk , viewed 7,160 times (with five comments attached to it).

The footage forced the hand of the school, which suspended the defender indefinitely for her actions during the game. The suspension was supported by the conference, saying that Lambert violated its sportsmanship policy.

The video has made Lambert into a YouTube sensation, and she will forever be notoriously known as the “ponytail girl.”

Lambert has finally spoken out on the incident, and watching the video may have caused her to take a step back, review her actions, and feel regret and sorrow.

“I look at it and I’m like, ‘That is not me,’” Lambert told The New York Times in an article published on Nov. 17. “I have so much regret. I can’t believe I did that.”

Lambert does say some parts of the video are taken out of context, either because they were inadvertent mishaps or they were part of the physical give-and-take of the match. However, the video doesn’t lie: The ponytail haul was not incited and is despicable enough to stand on its own.

The Times piece does say that Lambert is seeing a clinical psychologist to better understand her actions and will speak to youth teams about sportsmanship and to teach them to learn from her mistake.

Still, her reputation has been tarnished, and the video going viral has had an extraordinary amount to do with it.

The majority of the coverage has been focused on making Lambert the villain in this case, but some coverage should be given to spotlighting the other “accomplices” of Lambert’s crime.

The referees should most certainly face some blame. The refs can’t see everything, but in a soccer game there are at least three of them, one in the middle and one on each sideline. How none of them noticed any of the fouls (especially the ponytail yank) except for one trip is abhorrent.

Some of the fouls were also committed while Lambert was on the ball, so at least the center referee should have been watching. When you let this type of play slide, it only manifests itself into something bigger.

What were Lambert’s teammates thinking during all of this? While Lambert says it was a physical match, she went above and beyond to inflict pain. Her teammates have a responsibility to recognize that what Lambert did was wrong and at least get her to calm herself. Someone from BYU could have retaliated, on either Lambert or another New Mexico player, and the game could have been even uglier.

Also, some responsibility and blame should fall on head coach Kit Vela’s shoulders. Lambert’s actions were reprehensible. How does Vela allow her to stay in the game and continue to make infraction after infraction?

The coach is the figurehead of the team, especially in college athletics, and should hold true to the school’s, conference’s, and entire NCAA’s sportsmanship policies. No player should be above fair play. It is Vela’s job to recognize Lambert’s actions and pull her from the game.

Alas, Lambert is still responsible for her own actions.

The moral of this story is to always be on your best behavior, even when you think someone isn’t watching, because they are, and they’re going to share it with the world.

Ken Griffey Jr. Is Back for Another Season With the Seattle Mariners

Phil Shore — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:46:37 -0500

Every 1990’s little leaguers’ favorite player will be back for another year in 2010.

On Wednesday, Ken Griffey, Jr. signed a one-year deal worth $2 million plus performance incentives to stay with the Seattle Mariners for at least one more season.

Griffey turns 40 on November 21, but many still remember him as “The Kid.”

Escaping his father Ken Griffey Sr.'s shadow seemed to come natural to him. Junior possessed one of the sweetest swings anyone had witnessed.

The smoothness of his swing also generated quite a bit of power, sending majestic fly balls into the upper decks. He was also a fantastic fielder with a flair for some of the most exciting catches one could see.

Griffey could run, dive, and jump the wall, and the ball would almost always magically drop into his mitt.

What Michael Jordan was to basketball, Griffey was to baseball. He owned the sport on the field, and was a marketing icon off it.

He has belted 630 career home runs, the most for any active player and fifth all-time. He’s been selected to 13 All-Star games.

He has 10 Gold Gloves and seven Silver Slugger Awards. He won the Home Run Derby three times. He was named the AL MVP in 1997 and was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century team .

When not watching Griffey playing in a game, you were sure to see him on television in commercials for Nike , Pepsi , or Nintendo , or on television shows like The Simpsons , The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air , and the David Letterman Show .

Through all the years and all the success, Griffey did everything the right way. He was gracious to his fans and kind to the media. You never heard him speak poorly toward his teammates.

And a biggie, although we can never be 100 percent sure with players from this era, many are confident in saying Griffey was successful without the use of performing enhancing drugs. It was just a joy to watch his pure ability on display with a smile always gracing his face.

Still, one can’t help but think that the baseball world and the sporting world in general, were just a little bit cheated.

After a decent first season with the Reds in 2000 Griffey, went through an assortment of injuries. He was injured in 2001 and missed 51 games. He suffered season-ending injuries from ’02-’04, where he played in no more than 83 games in any of those seasons.

The injury in ’04 was the worst. While chasing down a ball hit to the outfield, he tore his hamstring and required a special experimental operation dubbed “The Junior Operation.”

In September of ’05, he strained a tendon in his foot and was shut down for the season. In ’06, he broke his wrist.

He came back with a vengeance in 2007, hitting 30 home runs, driving in 93 runs, and making the All-Star team for the first time since 2004.

However, the injuries have taken their toll. Junior’s production has significantly dropped, and he is not the player he once was. In that renaissance year of ’07, Griffey hit .277. In ’08, it dropped to .249, and in his latest season, he hit a measly .219.

Still, even at his worst single season batting average, pitchers walked Junior 63 times, the most for any Mariner that season, signifying that there was still a lot of respect remaining for Griffey.

Griffey missed significant time due to injury while in Cincinnati. It leaves one to wonder: he has 650 home runs now, how many would he have hit if he actually played close to full seasons during that hellacious six-year stretch?

How many more Gold Gloves could he have won? Would we be mentioning Griffey as the greatest baseball player to ever live?

Alas, all we can do now is wonder what could have been. Instead, we see steroid-scandal poster child and media villain Barry Bonds atop the home run record, and chasing him is admitted performance-enhancing drug user Alex Rodriguez.

Injuries are part of the game, though, and you won’t hear Griffey complain about them. He is just happy to still be playing the game of baseball.

"I don't know if I'll ever have the opportunity to have a player who enjoys playing the game as much as he does," Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu told the press. "He's fun. He's infectious to his teammates. He's such a breath of fresh air."

The television show appearances and sponsorship deals are gone and what kind of playing time Griffey will receive remains uncertain, but the future Hall of Famer is ready to accept any role, whether it be an everyday player or he comes off the bench.

It speaks measures of his class and how much he enjoys just being part of the game.

"I look forward to contributing in any role that [manager] Don [Wakamatsu] sees fit on the field, and any manner I possibly can off the field," Griffey said in a statement.

Although it can be tough to watch him struggle to hit .220, seeing him come back another year can only bring child-like smiles and wonderment to baseball fans’ eyes.

Here’s to hoping there is still a little bit of “The Kid” left in Ken Griffey Jr., for old time’s sake.

NFL Week Ten Picks

Phil Shore — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:23:36 -0500

Week 10 features some very exciting matchups. There is a battle between the Steelers and Bengals for first place in the AFC North. Green Bay and Philadelphia will try to bounce back from tough losses against two teams, Dallas and San Diego respectively, who came away with big wins the previous week. The biggest matchup is the ever-classic Patriots-Colts game, Peyton vs. Brady in primetime. Week 10 also features a Thursday night game between Chicago and San Francisco, so the picks are in a little early this week. After a 7-6 week last week, my worst yet, I’ll also look to bounce back. Tell me who you like in the comments section. Byes: Houston, NY Giants Last week: 7-6 Season: 66-31

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Even Without MLS Cup, Seattle Sounders Are Huge Success

Phil Shore — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:07:27 -0500

Over the summer, I was at a friend’s house and turned on an MLS game. Usually this would be cause for ridicule, but that night was different. It was different because it was a game being played in Seattle.

My friends noticed the packed stadium and the excitement displayed on the supporters’ faces. They heard the band playing. They saw the entertaining and proficient play on the pitch. One noted that this is the type of soccer that would get him watching MLS, and it did.

Whenever the Sounders were on TV, he put on the game. He learned the names of a number of the players on the squad. Now he wants to go to the game when Seattle travels to my home state of New Jersey to play the Red Bulls in their new stadium.

Another friend of mine, this one an avid futbol and MLS follower, said “(Seattle is) what all teams in the country should be.”

The Sounders have captured the attention of not only the city of Seattle, but the whole nation, footie fans and soccer simpletons alike.

Although they fell short of becoming the first expansion team to win the MLS Cup since the Chicago Fire did so back in 1998, the club was successful in so many ways.

Seattle finished its inaugural season with a 12-7-11 record and made the playoffs. Since 2005, no MLS expansion team has made the playoffs in its first season, excluding the Houston Dynamo (while considered an expansion team, Houston was really a relocation of the San Jose Earthquake that was rebranded, history and all).

In fact, Toronto F.C. and the San Jose Earthquakes, the two previous expansion franchises, have yet to qualify for postseason play.

The Sounders may also be the single most popular club in MLS, even more so than David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy.

The city has enjoyed a rich history in soccer, dating back to the NASL and even more recently in the USL. That support has carried over in large numbers to the MLS team.

According to ESPN.com, the Sounders finished first in both total attendance and average of fans per game, 499,262 and 31,203 respectively. They were just under 11,000 fans per game ahead of the second-place Galaxy.

The team sold out every home game in the regular season, their one playoff game against Houston, and even their four U.S. Open Cup matches.

While the team was unable to play for the MLS Cup, they did win the U.S. Open Cup , a tournament played amongst all the professional soccer clubs based in the United States of America.

They were the first first-year franchise to win it since the Chicago Fire did so in 1998.

One of the toughest and unique aspects of MLS is talent evaluation. In other leagues across the globe, there is no salary cap. A team can just go buy the best talent it can put together.

However, with MLS’ small spending limit for each team, clubs must be shrewd in how they collect talent. They cannot just go and buy the best player available, and the best players will not just come over to play for what they feel are demeaning wages.

The Sounders had four players named to the MLS All-Star team —Kasey Keller, Freddie Ljungberg, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, and Fredy Montero. Keller was nominated for Goalkeeper of the Year and the Fair Play Award; Hurtado was nominated for Defender of the Year; and all three of the Newcomer of the Year Award nominees were Sounders—Keller, Montero, and Ljungberg, with Montero taking home the trophy .

Arguably the biggest accomplishment the team had this season was restoring a sense of pride in Seattle sports fans.

The city of Seattle had every reason to be fed up with professional sports.
The Mariners have finished above third place in the American League only one time since 2002 and the last time they were in the playoffs was 2001.

The Seahawks missed the postseason for the first team in the past six seasons in 2008 with a measly 4-12 record, and things don’t look more optimistic this year with a less than stellar record of 3-5.

The biggest crime was having their NBA franchise, the Seattle SuperSonics, relocated to Oklahoma City. The team had been a part of Seattle since it was founded in 1967, but due to an arena dispute, new ownership moved the team, depriving the city of their beloved basketball franchise.

The Sounders gave the city a team to be excited about. They came, they got the city of Seattle involved; for example, the Seattle FC Alliance allows members (season-ticket holders and paying non-season ticket holders) to vote on a number of club decisions, including whether or not to remove the General Manager.

The Sounders also won. It’s a great combination that has rejuvenated the city’s fan base and made them proud again.

Fans were rewarded for their passion by getting to watch the Sounders take on world powers Chelsea and F.C. Barcelona in exhibition matches and Qwest Field, the Sounders home, will host this season's MLS Cup championship match.

Things are only going to get more exciting as well.

Washington native Keller has said he plans on returning to the team next season and in 2011, the league will expand to Vancouver and Portland, creating natural geographic rivalries (or reestablishing old rivalries from the NASL and USL) in the Pacific Northwest.

Even though it was only its inaugural season, Seattle proved they are the best-run franchise in MLS (for worst see: Red Bull New York—a member since the league’s inaugural year and they still can’t get it right).

With an invested ownership group, good decision makers and talent evaluators, talented players, and the strongest fan base in American soccer, Seattle is clearly the class of MLS and what every other team in the league should strive to be like.

Who Will Win in NFL's Week 9?

Phil Shore — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:41:04 -0500

A brief rundown of the Week 9 matchups and who I like to win.

Washington (2-5) at Atlanta (4-3)

A Redskins fan asked me if Washington won it, would they have a chance at the playoffs? Yes, they would, but they won two games out of six against teams with zero wins.

And now they enter the tough portion of the schedule. So while it's mathematically possible, a miracle would have to happen for this team to win out. Atlanta wins.

Arizona (4-3) at Chicago (4-3)

Both teams have stalled this season. Arizona will be missing Anquan Boldin. I like the Bears at home in this one. Chicago wins.

Baltimore (4-3) at Cincinnati (5-2)

It's tough to beat a very good team twice in one season. I see Baltimore avenging their loss from Week 5. Baltimore wins.

Houston (5-3) at Indianapolis (7-0)

Even with a revamped, young and inexperienced supporting cast, Peyton Manning and the Colts are rolling. Houston isn't good enough, especially with Owen Daniels (who was having a career year) injured and not playing, to stop them. Indianapolis wins.

Miami (3-4) at New England (5-2)

Miami is without defensive starters Channing Crowder and Jason Ferguson. New England had an extra week to prepare for any wrinkles Miami's wildcat could throw at them. New England wins.

Green Bay (4-3) at Tampa Bay (0-7)

The second loss to the Vikings last week hurts them, but not enough to think that Tampa Bay is good enough to beat them. Green Bay wins.

Kansas City (1-6) at Jacksonville (3-4)

More turmoil in Kansas City with the Larry Johnson saga. It isn't good for a football team, especially such a bad one. Jacksonville wins.

Carolina (3-4) at New Orleans (7-0)

Carolina got a nice upset against the defending NFC champions, but Jake Delhomme will not be able to match Drew Brees.

Expect Brees to air it out and have a huge game, while, in an attempt to keep pace, Delhomme throws for at least two interceptions. New Orleans wins.

Detroit (1-6) at Seattle (2-5)

Neither team is very good. Seahwaks' Matt Hasselbeck is the best and most experienced quarterback in this game. Seattle wins.

Tennessee (1-6) at San Francisco (3-4)

San Francisco has been on a slide. This is the perfect game for them to get back to its earlier winning ways.

Frank Gore is back in the fold, Michael Crabtree has had some time to get used to the system, Alex Smith wants to prove that he still has first-rounder talent, and Vernon Davis has been huge their past few games.

Expect an offensive outburst from the 49'ers. San Francisco wins.

San Diego (4-3) at NY Giants (5-3)

A friend of mine asked me to stop picking the Giants to win after their third consecutive loss last week. Sorry, can't do it against the San Diego Chargers, especially at Giants Stadium. Giants win.

Dallas (5-2) at Philadelphia (5-2)

Okay, Dallas. Miles Austin has picked up the slack for you guys. Somehow you are tied for first place. You are tied with Philadelphia.

Philly, the more complete team, will come at you and beat you, taking sole possession of the division lead. Philadelphia wins.

Pittsburgh (5-2) at Denver (6-1)

Denver suffered its first setback of the season last week. The Steelers have found their groove. Pittsburgh will teach the Broncos a little something about being a great team this week. Pittsburgh wins.

Byes: Buffalo, Cleveland, Oakland, St. Louis, Minnesota, NY Jets

Last week: 9-4

Season: 59-25

Who Will Win in NFL's Week 8

Phil Shore — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:18:59 -0400

A good week of picks in Week 7, going 10-3.

This week’s biggest games and toughest to decide were New Orleans against Atlanta, New York Giants at Philadelphia, and Denver at Baltimore.

Three undefeated teams left. Will any of them lose this week?

Two winless teams in action this week. Will either of them get on the board, or will they continue their Detroit Lions-esque slide (coincidentally, one of those teams, St. Louis, will play at Detroit).

Read on to see who I like, then comment and tell me who you like.

Houston (4-3) at Buffalo (3-4)

Houston jumped out to a huge early lead against San Francisco last week, but almost gave it up when Alex Smith entered the game for the 49ers. Still, this team looks much better than the Bills. Everyone who thought the Texans were just Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson have been notified that there are more weapons in Houston. Tight end Owen Daniels had seven catches for 123 yard and a touchdown, increasing his totals to 497 yards and tying his career high in touchdowns with five. Steve Slaton is improving his game every week, and last week rushed for 67 yards and a touchdown. The Texans will smoke Buffalo.

Cleveland (1-6) at Chicago (3-3)

The Bears were severely outclassed by the Bengals last week. Cleveland took Cincinnati to overtime when they met for the first time. Can Cleveland pull off the upset against Chicago? No. Every position on Cleveland’s squad is unsettled, including the quarterback spot. Chicago will take advantage of this, especially at home. The Bears will win.

Seattle (2-4) at Dallas (4-2)

How is Dallas 4-2? Are they the worst 4-2 team you’ve ever seen? Still, they beat a good Falcons team last week, and receiver Miles Austin has been superb and has really injected Dallas with some energy, as well as humble play. He caught six passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns and now stands at 502 yards receiving and five touchdowns on the season. Seattle has Matt Hasselback back in the lineup, but they still have some improving to do. I’ll take the Cowboys in this one.

St. Louis (0-7) at Detroit (1-5)

Reports are that Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford have returned to practice for the Lions and will most likely play Sunday against the Rams. With Stafford’s big arm and the skill set of Johnson, expect them to throw a lot of deep balls against a team that is tied for fourth worst in the league in passes of 20 yards or more allowed. I like Detroit to win this one.

Denver (6-0) at Baltimore (3-3)

Both teams had a bye last week to prepare for this big matchup. The Broncos have surprised this season. And since looking like the most complete team in the league for the first three weeks of the season, Baltimore has taken a nose dive. Baltimore is too good a team to continue to slide. After a bye week to really straighten things out and playing this matchup at home, I will take the Ravens to win.

San Francisco (3-3) at Indianapolis (6-0)

San Francisco has looked awful shaky the past couple games. They’ve played two good offenses in Atlanta and Houston and the defense, which is supposed to be the team’s strong point, could not hold their own. The Colts have one of the best offenses in the league. Expect Peyton Manning to tear through the 49er defense. Indy wins.

Miami (2-4) at NY Jets (4-3)

The Jets won three straight, lost three straight, and then bounced back and destroyed the Oakland Raiders. The Dolphins lost three in a row, then won two, and finally took undefeated New Orleans to the limit last week before ultimately blowing a sizeable lead. Chad Henne threw two pick-sixes last week, which hurt the ‘Phins. However, Sanchez threw five interceptions against a weaker Bills team the week before. Both running games have been very good, but the Jets’ took a huge hit with the injury to Leon Washington last week. This game will come down to which young quarterback makes the least mistakes. I’ll take Chad Henne and Miami for the win.

NY Giants (5-2) at Philadelphia (4-2)

After playing meager competition the first five weeks of the season, the Giants have been hit hard by good teams. The Eagles looked solid until they lost to the Raiders two weeks ago, which put a lot of questions on them. A win against the Redskins doesn’t answer much. Running back Brian Westbrook is injured again and looks unlikely to play. Eagles fans are preoccupied with the Phillies in the World Series right now. Can you really see the Giants losing three games in a row? I can’t, and that’s why I’m picking them to beat the Eagles in Philly.

Jacksonville (3-3) at Tennessee (0-6)

Tennesse has been a major disappointment. This is a game against a beatable Jaguars team, who at 3-3 has shown that they are the NFL’s model of inconsistency. Kerry Collins has come crashing back down to Earth, just as he always does after a good season. Reports are that Vince Young will get the chance to start again, which is exactly what this team needs. He’s still only 26, the team isn’t going anywhere, and last time he replaced Kerry Collins, with the Titans at 0-3, he led them to an 8-8 record, had four come-from behind wins, and won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. The change, coupled with Young’s dynamic abilities, will give some life back to a deflated Titans team, especially after a bye week. I like them to finally get their first win of the season here.

Oakland (2-5) at San Diego (3-3)

Another NFL game, another bad week for JaMarcus Russell. He went 6 for 11 with 61 yards and two interceptions before being benched. San Diego came out strong against Kansas City last weekend. Vincent Jackson had a great week, catching five passes for 142 yards and a touchdown. LaDanian Tomlinson even rushed for 71 yards. The Chargers offense looks good, and their defense was impenetrable last week, getting three interceptions and scoring off a blocked punt. The Chargers, for a second week in a row, will win big against a cellar dweller in the AFC West.

Carolina (2-4) at Arizona (4-2)

You thought Carolina would have figured it out. With one of the most potent rushing attacks against one of the league’s worst run-defenses last week (Buffalo), the team rushed for only 116 yards, and lost by 11. It also doesn’t help that Jake Delhomme, no longer a good quarterback, threw three interceptions. Meanwhile Arizona was able to beat the New York Giants, a strong competitor in the NFC. The defending NFC champs look to be back on track after a slow start, and they will easily win this rematch of last year’s NFC Divisional playoff game.

Minnesota (6-1) at Green Bay (4-2)

Minnesota got the last one at home. However, they got beat on the road by a very good Steelers team last week. I like to think the Packers are a good team, and this time the game is at Lambeau Field. The Vikings are missing cornerback Antoine Winfield is most likely out with a broken foot, which should allow Packers QB Aaron Rodgers even more of a cushion. Expect Packer fans to be more than hostile towards the rival Vikings and their once-prodigal son Brett Favre. Green Bay needs this game to prove that they are a serious contender in the NFC. At home, I like them to beat Minnesota.

Atlanta (4-2) at New Orleans (6-0)

This should be a great game. These two teams look very good so far this season. The Saints had an incredible comeback last week against the Miami Dolphins and Drew Brees has put this team on his shoulders and lifted them to great things. The receivers have done a good job and the running game has been effective—and yes, that even includes Reggie Bush. At home, I like New Orleans to get the job done.

Byes: Cincinnati, Kansas City, New England, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Washington

Last week: 10-3

Season: 50-21

The Two-Part, Turnpike World Series Preview

Phil Shore — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:30:06 -0400

Finally, after 4,860 games from 30 teams, we have the World Series that we had all hoped for. We have the two juggernauts of baseball. The two cities, separated by 26 exits of Turnpike through the great state of New Jersey, will indeed give us the World Series that we could only wish for at the beginning of the season.

Now this World Series preview is going to be a two-part piece, courtesy of the two most entertaining, unknown sports blogs this side of the Toms River. I am going to give you the Phillies' preview and why they can win this series. My colleague over at Chit-Chat Sports, Mr. Tom DeRiggi (a die-hard Yankee fan) has humbily agreed to give you the New York side of the series.

To see how the Yankees could pull off an upset victory, go over to Chit-Chat Sports for an excellent and entertaining Yankees preview.

No, they don’t have the payroll the Yankees do. Matter of fact, their team salary is about $100 million less.

No, they don’t have the championship pedigree that the Yankees do, either. Even though the Phillies franchise has been around 29 more years than the Yankees franchise, New York has 24 more World Series championships.

Even this year, the Yankees had more wins (103 compared to Philadelphia’s 93).

Alas, don’t let these numbers fool you. If anyone can beat this New York Yankees team, it is these Philadelphia Phillies.

May 22-24, the Phillies and the Yankees squared away in New York for a three-game Interleague series. Philadelphia won the series 2-1, and would have swept had it not been for the perfect storm of another Brad Lidge meltdown and another New York Yankees magical walk-off win.

The Yankees have a potent lineup, I can’t argue that. But the Phillies have the offensive firepower and versatility to stand toe-to-toe with New York and challenge them.

At the top of the order, the Phillies have a ton of speed (not something the Yankees have much of). Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino wreck havoc on the base paths. Together, they combined for 18 triples (Victorino led the majors with 13) and 56 stolen bases (Rollins was tied for tenth in the majors with 31), while only being caught stealing 16 times. Chase Utley and Jayson Werth also run the bases extremely well, each stealing at least 20 bases.

Then there is the power in the middle of the lineup. The Phillies were the only team to have four players hit for 30 or more home runs apiece: Ryan Howard (45), Werth (36), Raul Ibanez (34), and Utley (31). For extra measure, Rollins also hit 21 dingers.

This is also a team rallying behind tragedy. Last season, manager Charlie Manuel’s mother and Victorino’s grandmother both died during the team’s postseason run. The players got behind their fallen teammates, supported them, and used it as further motivation to win it all, playing in honor of their fallen loved ones.

This season, the Phillies suffered another tragedy, one that touched the whole organization. In April, longtime broadcaster Harry Kalas collapsed in the booth and died. Since then, with a black “HK” patch sewn on their jerseys above their hearts, the Phillies have been playing in his honor. A common phrase from fans has been “Do it for Harry.”

The Yankees have home-field advantage in the series. That won’t bother Philadelphia. They were tied for the best road record in the majors, with a record of 48-33 away from home.

The Phillies have two starting pitchers that have performed extremely well in the World Series. Game Two starter Pedro Martinez is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in the October Classic, and Cole Hamels, the Game Three likely starter, was last year’s World Series MVP.

New York’s Game One starter was dominant in the playoffs last year. Too bad the Phillies owned him when they faced him in the NLDS as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. Sabathia lasted only 3.2 innings, giving up six hits, four walks, and five runs. Lowlights included walking pitcher Brett Myers and giving up a grand slam to Shane Victorino.

The Phillies have a certain swagger to them. It isn’t cockiness, it’s confidence. They proved that they are a team that lives for big moments, not one that cowers when the lights shine bright. They will not be intimidated by the enormous new Yankee Stadium, or the history that goes with being a member of the blue pinstripes. This team is able to separate themselves from all of the outside hoopla and just play good baseball.

The Phillies players have confidence in themselves and their teammates. Everybody knows what their role is. Everyone is held to the same standard of play, from NLCS MVP Howard to reserve utililty player Eric Bruntlett (who scored the game-winning run in two of Philadelphia’s victories in the ’08 World Series).

They are able to slow the game down. They don’t see the game in nine innings. They see it in one single pitch. Each play is magnified so that they can get the most out of it. This allows them to not get too ahead of themselves or too far in over their heads. Instead, they are able to relax and come up big no matter how late in the game it is or how many runs they are down by.

Each pitch is unique, and the team doesn’t feel the anxiety. It’s how you wind up with the dramatic 5-4 walk-off win that the Phillies pulled off with two outs in Game Four of the NLCS to beat the Dodgers and go up 3-1 in the series.

Most importantly, they show why having such good clubhouse chemistry is important. Nine key players were homegrown talents that played together in the minors before reaching the big leagues: Howard, Utley, Rollins, catcher Carlos Ruiz, and pitchers Hamels, Ryan Madson, Brett Myers, J.A. Happ, and Antonio Bastardo. They took that core, developed them, and then built around them with guys like Werth , Victorino, and Cliff Lee.

The guys have played together for so long that they’ve built good relationships with each other and want to win not only for themselves, but for the guy next to them. They don’t want to let everyone else down. The relationships are strong, and that makes every player work harder, so that they all can share in success.

It will be a challenging World Series against the team with the best record in the majors and the defending World Series Champions. But the Phillies have the physical talent and the mental tenacity to take home the trophy and be the first team to repeat as champions since the 1998-2000 Yankees.

Prediction: Phillies in seven.

Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees Meet in Exciting World Series Matchup

Phil Shore — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:54:02 -0400

Many baseball fans have complained that the World Series has not been entertaining or memorable during the past few seasons.

Last year Philadelphia and Tampa Bay had the now-infamously suspended Game Five, which made that series memorable for all the wrong reasons.

In 2004, the Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years, certainly memorable for Boston fans, but for the rest of the country the series was awful, with the Sox sweeping easily. That year's American League Championship Series was much more entertaining than the World Series.

The last really good World Series? I would say 2001, when the New York Yankees faced off against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It took seven games and a walk off win to bring home the trophy. Couple that with all the emotion, especially emanating from New York following the biggest tragedy in the country since Pearl Harbor, and you have a series for the ages.

However, baseball fans, there is no need to fear this year.

The saying is that "to be the best, you have to beat the best," and that holds true here. The Yankees, with the best record in Major League Baseball this year at 103-59 (the only team in the majors to win 100 games) square off against the defending World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies.

Philadelphia versus New York has all the elements needed to make this year’s World Series truly exciting and memorable.

Geography

No, it’s not the Subway World Series of 2000 between the Yankees and Mets, but it’s still close.

This year it is the American League East champion against the National League East champion. With both cities separated by the New Jersey Turnpike and a rich sports history between the two fan bases (NFL’s Giants-Eagles rivalry anyone?), the geographic tension alone gives this matchup a boost in intensity.

Ballparks

If you’re going to any of the games, either at Yankee Stadium or Citizen’s Bank Park, make sure to bring your glove because there are sure to be a ton of souvenirs. Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia saw 207 home runs clear its fence, the most in the National League, while the new Yankee Stadium surrendered 237 home runs, the most in the American League.

Both teams led their respective leagues in runs scored.

Chicks dig the long ball, and so will everyone else that watches this series.

Star Power

Combined, the two teams have nearly a $315,000,000 payroll, 75 total All-Star appearances, five Cy Young awards, five MVP awards, and three World Series MVP awards.

I could also just list names: Derek Jeter, Ryan Howard, Alex Rodriguez, Chase Utley, Mark Teixeira, Jimmy Rollins, CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Mariano Rivera, Pedro Martinez, and Andy Pettitte.

These two teams are like their very own All-Star teams, having assembled the best talent in all of baseball. Now they will all be on one field in the sport’s biggest showcase.

Late Inning Heroics

Both these teams have a taste for dramatic wins.

The Yankees led all of major league baseball with 15 walk-off wins and 51 comeback victories in 2009. It wasn’t always the big boppers that got key hits either. Melky Cabrera, Nick Swisher, and Robinson Cano all got chances to play the hero for New York.

The Phillies also have their fair share of walk-off wins, especially in big games. In last year’s World Series, Carlos Ruiz won Game Three with a walk off infield single , giving the Phillies a 2-1 series lead that they would not relinquish.

Just last week in the NLCS Game Four, Jimmy Rollins came through with a walk-off two run double with two outs, putting the Phillies ahead in the series 3-1, and demoralizing pitcher Jonathan Broxton and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

These two squads are full of players who are very confident in their, and the rest of their team's, abilities. No deficit is too insurmountable and it’s never too late. Their penchant for coming from behind and making it interesting until the final out will leave viewers on the edge of their seats.

Familiarity

Many fans who sought a Yankees and Dodgers matchup wanted to see Joe Torre back in the Bronx and while others wanted the opportunity to boo Manny Ramirez one more time.

However, these two teams are more familiar with each other than people realize.

For starters, Phillies reserve infielder Miguel Cairo played for the Yankees from 2004-2007.

In 2006, Yankees manager Joe Girardi got his start as the manager of Philadelphia’s division foes the Florida Marlins, where he was named National League Manager of the Year. That team went 6-13 against the Phillies that season.

Wednesday’s Game One starters—CC Sabathia for New York and Cliff Lee for Philadelphia—were teammates with the Cleveland Indians from 2002 to 2008.

Sabathia’s manager his first year and a half in the big leagues was Philadelphia’s current manager Charlie Manuel.

Probably the biggest tie between CC and the Phillies is last year’s NLDS, when Sabathia was a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. In his one start in Game Two, Sabathia was shelled by the Phillies offensive powerhouse. He lasted only 3.2 innings, giving up six hits, four walks, and five runs. Lowlights included walking pitcher Brett Myers and giving up a grand slam to Shane Victorino.

While Manny Ramirez was certainly a popular nemesis to the Yankees, who was really New York’s No. 1 villain? That would be Martinez of course.

When asked about his history with the Yankees recently, Martinez replied, “Really? They have a long history with me.”

Pedro has a career record of 10-11 against the Yankees, and is 1-2 in the playoffs against them. Statistics aside, the memories Martinez and the Yankees created have been juicy; perfect to elevate the entertainment of the series.

There was the time, in a bench clearing brawl, that Martinez pushed aside then-Yankee bench coach Don Zimmer to the ground. There was also the time Martinez was asked about the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry and he replied, “I don't believe in rivalries. I don't believe in curses. Wake up the damn Bambino, maybe I'll drill him in the ass.”

And of course, after a late-season loss to the Yankees, Martinez said in a post-game interview, “I just tip my hat and call the Yankees my daddies.”

Martinez against the Yankees is first class theatre. Martinez in the playoffs is domination. He is a career 6-2 in the postseason, including a 1-0 record with a 0.00 ERA in the World Series.

How much more drama can fans ask for?

History

Finally, there is the prospect of both clubs making history.

For the Yankees, a win would give them their 27th title, extending their stranglehold on the MLB record. It would also be their first championship since their victory in the 2000 series.

The Phillies have an opportunity to be the first team to repeat as champions since the Yankees did it in 1998, 1999, and 2000. They would also be the first National League team to win consecutive titles since the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds.

Both these teams are deserving of playing for the championship. They both have become teams that live to play in the huge moments like those that await them in the series. The teams are fearless and confident, and they will not back down to the other squad; rather they will answer every challenge that is brought up.

It is sure to be an exhilarating series, just you watch.

U.S. Soccer Star Charlie Davies Seriously Injured; Team Will Miss Him

Phil Shore — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:07:07 -0400

On Monday, United States National Team striker Charlie Davies was enjoying the height of his soccer career. He had just played a major part in the country qualifying for its sixth straight World Cup.

By Tuesday, he was in hospital in stable but serious condition.

Davies, 23, was involved in a one-car accident Tuesday on the George Washington Parkway in Virginia. He was airlifted to the Washington Hospital Center Medstar to undergo several hours of surgery to repair a lacerated bladder, fractures to the tibia and femur in his right leg, facial fractures, and a fracture in his left elbow.

According to the U.S Men’s National Team blog, titanium rods were placed in his leg with no complications and he will be hospitalized for at least another week with more surgeries to come to stabilize his elbow fracture and facial fractures.

“The car was pretty much split in half,” U.S. Park Police Sgt. David Schlosser said, according to The Washington Post. The driver of the car was also injured and the other passenger was killed. It is currently unknown what the cause of the accident was and if Davies’ injuries are career-threatening.

“Injuries of this nature usually require a recovery period of six to 12 months and extensive rehabilitation,” said U.S. Soccer physician Dr. Dan Kalbac, on the team’s blog. ”Due to Charlie’s fitness level, his prognosis for recovery and his ability to resume high-level competition is substantially improved.”

This is an extremely sad day for all of U.S. soccer, as Davies is arguably its budding star. After attending Boston College for two years, Davies went to Sweden and played Hammarby, scoring 21 goals in 56 league appearances. In July, he signed with French club Sochaux and has two goals in six league appearances.

While his play abroad has been impressive, his biggest impact has come on the international stage.

The first real glimpse many American fans got of Davies was in the 2008 Summer Olympics, where he came on as a sub in the last game against Nigeria. Needing a tie to advance out of group play, the U.S. were down 2-1. The complexion of the game changed though when Davies entered the pitch.

His incredible speed allowed him to get behind the defense and caused Nigeria fits. In the dying minutes of the game, he put forth a header that struck the crossbar, nearly earning him the equalizer and hero of the tournament status.

It may not have gone in, but Davies was just beginning to leave his mark.

Davies has 17 appearances for the senior national team and has scored four goals, three of them being extremely important and showing Davies’ value for the team.

His first goal came October 15, 2008, in a World Cup qualifying match against Trinidad and Tobago. The team lost 2-1, but Davies goal had tied the game at one all and kept the U.S. in it.

His biggest goal came against Egypt in this past summer’s Confederation’s Cup. The U.S. were all but eliminated, needing to beat Egypt by three or more goals as well as Brazil beating Italy by three or more to advance to the next round.

Jozy Altidore sent in a low cross that the goalie got his hands on but didn’t bring in. Davies, running onto the cross, continued to run through the ball and poked it free towards the goal line. Fighting off two defenders, Davies played with the ball, turned it, and knocked it into the net.

The goal showed an extreme amount of determination and hustle, and it started an offensive blitzkrieg from the U.S. on Egypt. The U.S. wound up winning 3-0, as did Brazil. The U.S. wound up advancing to the finals of the tournament against Brazil, losing 3-2.

His latest goal came in World Cup qualifying against Mexico. This goal is significant because not only the goal give the U.S. a 1-0 lead (they eventually lost the game 2-1), but the game was played at the infamous Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, known for its grueling altitude and hostile crowd that both paralyze opponents.

The 23-year-old became only the fourth American in the history of the game to score against Mexico at Azteca.

It is the heart, hustle, skill, determination, and courage that Davies has displayed on the field and especially on those goals that have made him a special player. Not only do those qualities benefit him, they also rub off on his teammates.

Sometimes, it seems as if leaders like Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey get a bit complacent with their positions on the national team, or the offense is lazy, but never Davies.

No matter the situation, whenever Charlie is sent onto the field, he is buzzing around, posing a serious attacking threat. It makes the game more enjoyable to watch and it makes his teammates excited and they to begin to show that same heart and desire.

The Americans are not the most skilled team in the world, by far. However, what they lack in talent, they make up for in grit and determination. Charlie Davies perfectly symbolized that style of play.

In a recent interview, Davies expressed his firm belief that the U.S. could win the upcoming 2010 World Cup in South Africa—even before they had even qualified for it.

“I think we showed we have the potential to really make an impact at the World Cup. If we are all playing well, with the players we have and if we are all on the same page there is no reason why we couldn't win a World Cup that's for sure,” he said.

While it is a long-shot, it isn’t impossible, especially after some of the performances the U.S. has put on against top-competition recently, mainly Brazil, Spain, and Argentina. Improbable or not, I want my players to truly believe that they can win, otherwise why play at all?

This statement was not naivety, nor was it cockiness. It was simply a player make a statement about the confidence in himself, his team, and their abilities.

Davies has also been very interactive and grateful with his fans, with Twitter and Facebook pages dedicated to helping him reach out to those that support him.

Leadership can come from the most unexpected places sometimes. A youngster and newcomer to the team, Davies’ play on the field and his attitude and the way he carries himself off of it truly make him a leader and an example of what American soccer players should strive to be like.

Alas, all that Davies brings to the table will now be missed, for quite some time. While nothing has been made official, it is only practical that he miss this summer’s World Cup. The most important thing for him though is to make a full recovery, to be healthy. Soccer can wait; there are more important things in life.

I will choose not to speculate who will take his spot in the lineup or how the team will learn to play without him. Rather, I choose to make this a wish of all the other players.

I hope that they play with Davies’ heart, hustle, and determination, because it is that desire that Davies brought to the team and will help them succeed.

I also hope that the players, as well as any other normal person, recognize that anything can happen, and your life can be altered in the blink of an eye, so not to take anything for granted, whether it be your status on the playing field, or more important things such as your friends, your family, or your life.

One day you can be on top of the world, only for the world to crash down on top of you the next.

Fans can send Davies their thoughts and get-well wishes to his e-mail account, charliedavies9@yahoo.com, and the messages will be printed and delivered to him.

NFL Week Four picks

Phil Shore — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:17:42 -0400

Last week on my blog, Shore Thing Sports, I began a weekly NFL picks segment. For the weekend, I went 12-4, including picking the Detroit Lions to win their first game since 2007. This weekend features some good matchups, such as Ravens-Patriots, Saints-Jets, and Packers-Vikings on Monday night. Teams with byes this week are Atlanta, Philadelphia, Arizona, and Carolina. Here's who I believe with be victorious in week 4.

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Orlando Magic: What Will Become of J.J. Redick?

Phil Shore — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 13:16:08 -0400

Think back to 2006.

J.J. Redick was a captain of a highly ranked Duke team, set an NCAA record for most three-pointers made, broke Duke's career scoring record, and became the all-time ACC points leader, as well as the leading scorer in ACC Tournament history.

He also was the recipient of 13 postseason awards, including the Naismith College Player of the Year and was named an Associated Press First Team All-American.

Come back to 2009 and Redick's basketball life has been turned upside down.

Drafted 11th overall by the Orlando Magic, many thought that Redick—who would not be an NBA All-Star—would be an asset to the team thanks to his great shooting, which would help open up the floor for Dwight Howard.

Redick himself thought he knew what to expect of his role in Orlando.

"I think I'll be a role player like 80 percent of the players in the league are. I don't expect to be a star, I'll just shoot, be a team player," he told the Charlotte Observer.

He could not have anticipated what his role became.

Since he entered the league Redick has struggled to earn minutes. In the regular season, he has appeared in only 140 games out of a possible 246, started in only five, and logged a career average of 14.4 minutes per game.

Certainly not what you would expect from such an accomplished college player.

Some of Redick's biggest critics have said that he is not a capable defender and that he is not athletic enough to create his own shot.

While they are fair criticisms, Redick is still an extremely gifted shooter with a very good basketball I.Q. He deserves more than to be buried on the bench, and when he's been given an opportunity he's produced.

The 2008-09 season was by far Redick's best.

All of his starts came this season, when he averaged 17.4 minutes and scored a career-high 382 points.

Even though his scoring average was only six points per game, he reached double figures 15 times, including a season-high 17 points Jan. 9 against Atlanta, where he played 20 minutes and shot 5-of-7 from the field—including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc—and even pulled in four rebounds.

He was even given an opportunity to showcase his abilities in the playoffs.

He played in 16 playoff games, including eight starts, averaging 20.4 minutes and six points a game.

His best overall performance was in the first round against Philadelphia, where he started in place of the injured Courtney Lee. He played 31 minutes, scored 15 points, shot 5-of-9 from the field, pulled in three rebounds, and handed out four assists.

Redick has publicly voiced his frustrations. While not trying to be a distraction, he has asked his agent to look into possible trades.

"We want to see what's out there," Redick told the Orlando Sentinel, "I want to stay here, but it's been frustrating."

This is where the J.J. Redick saga gets confusing.

While Redick spends most of his time on the pine, Orlando has said repeatedly that they have no interest in trading Redick, even though a number of teams have reportedly called inquiring about his availability.

The franchise claims they like Redick as a player and do not want to let him go, yet at the same time he still has trouble earning regular minutes, no matter how he performs.

What is to become of him?

One possibility was that his increased minutes in the playoffs were an audition, either for other teams (a trade in the off-season) or for his position in Orlando for the upcoming season.

It looks like neither will pan out.

Orlando traded for shooting guard Vince Carter and signed free agent small forward Matt Barnes and power forward Brandon Bass. These moves will push Rashard Lewis back to the small forward position.

Carter and Lewis are going to start, and they will be backed up by Barnes and Mikael Pietrus.

Orlando could also go with two point guards in the backcourt together at some points during the game with starter Jameer Nelson and backups Jason Williams and Anthony Johnson.

Redick will most likely get some extended looks while Lewis begins the season serving a 10-game suspension for testing positive for an elevated testosterone level.

But once Lewis returns, it is very difficult to determine where Redick will land.

Will Orlando continue to keep him on their bench, unleash him when they feel necessary, and hope he moves up on the depth chart?

Redick is in the last year of his contract and could be moved before the trade deadline as other teams try to stockpile cap space in preparation of the huge summer of 2010.

However, if Orlando is having another successful season, it's hard to imagine they will tinker with their roster and move him, especially if no one is significantly injured.

To expand on that, if Redick does not get the playing time he thinks he deserves, it's hard to imagine he'll stick around in Orlando after the season knowing that other teams are interested in his services.

In this case, Orlando would also get nothing in return for a player they at least claim to put a lot of stock in.

It remains to be seen what Redick's role with the Magic will be. What we do know is that Redick can produce and no matter what happens, he will behave in a professional manner.

It will be interesting to see if we ever come close to witnessing the 2006 J.J. Redick again.

The Orlando Magic's Whirlwind Offseason Could Mean An NBA Title

Phil Shore — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:56:01 -0400

Do you recognize the prospective 2009-10 Orlando Magic, following their first NBA Finals appearance since the 1994-95 season?

After losing the championship to the Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando has tinkered with their roster quite a bit.

The big three of Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, and Rashard Lewis remains intact but the supporting cast is greatly different.

Gone are Hedo Turkoglu, Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee and Tony Battie. Taking their places are Ryan Anderson, Jason Williams, Matt Barnes, Brandon Bass and Vince Carter. While some of these names aren't very big, their impacts on the Magic winning their first title in franchise history could be huge.

Ryan Anderson will replace Tony Battie as the backup power forward.

Last season was Anderson's rookie year and it's tough to tell how he will progress, but he was much more productive than Battie was. Anderson started in 30 games, although Battie was more durable, playing in 11 more games.

Anderson's numbers were significantly better in points, rebounds and free throw shooting percentage—something that was Orlando's Achilles heel in the finals—as well as having more steals and assists per game and an equal number of blocks per game.

Jason Williams will help with the depth at the point guard position, especially after the team traded away Rafer Alston.

As a younger player, Williams had great court vision but his decision making was subpar. Now, he is a year removed from playing, taking off last year because of family reasons, and could be a bit rusty.

However, he played for Magic coach Stan Van Gundy in Miami, and helped the Heat win the championship. His experience will help guide a young team, and he will push Jameer Nelson to be even better.

Matt Barnes is a versatile forward who can play either the 3 or 4 spot, depending on where Orlando needs help for the night. He is a solid contributor on the offensive side of the ball, but is even better defensively. He, along with Mickael Pietrus, will give Orlando a strong defensive presence on the perimeter.

Brandon Bass may be the biggest acquisition for Orlando this offseason, Vince Carter included.

Bass is a very physical and tough post player, and is a good rebounder. While he is a wide body, he still is an athletic player who will be able to run with Orlando's up-tempo offense.

Bass also has a good mid-range jump shot, which will perfectly compliment Dwight Howard. He will provide a strong post presence alongside Superman while also being able to step outside and free up space for him. Bass is also a career 83 percent from the foul line, including shooting 87 percent last season.

Also, starting Bass at power forward will allow Rashard Lewis to slide back to the small forward position, where he will be much more effective shooting from the outside without worrying about banging around in the post with more physical bodies.

Bass is the power forward Orlando has needed, and at 23 years old, he will fit in well with Howard, Nelson, and Lewis for many years to come.

The biggest splash Orlando made this offseason though was getting Vince Carter.

Last year, Orlando lived and died by the three-point shot. If the outside shooters got cold or out of rhythm, the Magic were in for a long night. They didn't have anybody that could take the ball from the outside and drive inside with authority and consistent success to stop the slide.

That's what Vince Carter will do.

Vinsanity is a prototypical slasher. He is a playmaker who can create his own shot off the dribble. If Orlando's shooters start to get cold, the team can get the ball in Carter's hands and let him take over the game.

However, the question about Carter is which Vince will show up?

Carter has a reputation as being a moody player. If he isn't happy, he won't be productive. He also has a tendency to just disappear from games.

He's a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type of player. When he's on his game, Carter is a force to be reckoned with, a game changer. However, when he's in a poor mood, he goes through the motions and brings down the entire team.

How well Orlando does this season will have a lot to do with which Carter shows up. Right now though, it's fair to believe that Carter will be motivated by joining such a talented and successful group and will do what it takes to push Orlando over the edge.

While these personnel changes are upgrades and fill in needs that were obvious holes in the finals, one concern is that all these moves will temper with the chemistry the team has created.

Every year at the trade deadline, general manager Otis Smith is usually slow to pull the trigger on any move because he doesn't want to temper with the team chemistry.

However this summer has seen the team undergo a big transition.

Will the players be able to mesh?

Courtney Lee and Dwight Howard were close teammates. Will Lee's departure effect Howard, similar to how trading Mike Miller soured Tracy McGrady's attitude, or how getting rid of Cuttino Mobley bothered Steve Francis?

Only time will tell. For now, the remaining players will have to be confident that the front office did what they had to in order to ensure that this year the team would be hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy instead of watching someone else do it.

Change can be a good thing, and Orlando's changes may mean an NBA title.

The MLS Hopes David Beckham's Finally Gassed for His U.S. Tour

Phil Shore — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:18:29 -0400

Tomorrow evening, David Beckham returns to the MLS when his Los Angeles Galaxy travel to New Jersey to play Red Bull New York.

The burning question: does anyone care?

The fans, the media, his teammates, Beckham himself, do any of them care?

When he first crossed the pond, some were claiming he would be the soccer savior in America.

While savior was an extreme title to give him, there was some legitimacy in the idea that Beckham’s name was popular enough that it had crossover appeal outside of soccer to draw more casual, or non-fans, to MLS and the sport as a whole.

Beckham’s arrival did generate a lot of buzz about MLS and soccer in the media and at the gates.

The Galaxy had the highest average attendance in the league, and when they were the visitors, the home team saw an incremental spike in attendance, like when over 66 thousand people showed up to see Beckham’s first trip to Giants Stadium against the Red Bulls. Beckham jersey sales also did well.

However, a few things really hampered his first season.

For starters, Beckham’s health was not 100%.

Knee problems, including a sprained right medial collateral ligament, kept him from making only seven appearances in his first season with the club, in which a handful he only came on as a substitute.

The Galaxy were also a terrible team.

Losing never helps a player’s profile, and Los Angeles lost a lot. They were eliminated from the playoffs, which meant one of the bigger stages of the MLS season would be without its biggest marketing tool.

Another disappointing aspect was the level of expectations that were placed, unfairly, on Beckham.

What non-soccer fans expected out of the player from the two biggest clubs in the world, Manchester United and Real Madrid, was for him to dominate the league and score a lot of goals.

What they didn’t understand was that that wasn’t the type of player Beckham was.

Beckham was a playmaking midfielder, a facilitator of the ball, with extremely good touch and a deadly free kick. He was not a goal scorer.

Spectators were building him up to be something he wasn’t, and when he didn’t deliver, they felt something was wrong with him and they were cheated by all the media hype.

What didn’t help Beckham’s case was that along with not scoring he was also not doing a great job of distributing the ball.

In his Galaxy career, he has only registered a total of 12 assists, certainly not what one would expect from a player of his caliber. Just last season, Columbus Crew midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto lead the league with 19 assists.

Nothing was worse, though, when Beckham was loaned out to AC Milan in the offseason.

One reason for the loan was because Beckham wanted to keep playing at a high level in order to continue to fight for a spot on the English national team.

While one can never berate a guy for wanting to play for his country, it is unfortunate that he would only be considered if he were playing abroad.

Things got uglier when he stepped on the field.

Beckham looked like a rejuvenated player. He scored two goals in his first four matches, assisted a number of others, and looked to be playing at top form again.

It was great to see a player who had been in MLS the past season and a half performing at a high level in the Serie A, but one couldn’t help but wonder why Beckham couldn’t perform this way in an L.A. uniform.

Where was this skill, talent, and production?

Why was it all of a sudden just showing up in Italy and not the States?

Then he pushed to extend his loan.

Beckham was supposed to return in time for the beginning of the MLS season. Yet he forced his hand into staying with Milan until the end of the Serie A season, not making him eligible to return to MLS until today. What Beckham really wanted was to be sold to Milan for good.

Now Beckham looked like a player who didn’t want to be a part of the league.

All his talk about being serious about doing his part to make America a soccer nation, and not just being another paycheck, seemed to be for naught. Comparing and contrasting his play in L.A. to Milan made him look uninspired on the field in L.A., and now he was backing it up with his contract dispute.

Beckham didn’t want to be here.

Recently, Beckham has made headlines again, but this time as part of the subject of a book.

The Beckham Experiment is written by Sports Illustrated writer Grant Wahl, detailing Beckham’s arrival in the states and impact on the game here.

One of the interview subjects is Galaxy teammate Landon Donovan. Donovan rips into Beckham and the perception that he didn’t want to be here.

"He's not shown (he's a good team-mate). I can't think of another guy where I'd say he wasn't a good team-mate, he didn't give everything through all this, he didn't still care. But with (Beckham), I'd say no, he wasn't committed,” said Donovan.

"Let's say he does stay here for three more years. I'm not going to spend the next three years of my life doing it this way. This is [expletive] miserable. I don't want to have soccer be this way."

While Beckham countered that he’d never been called a bad teammate anywhere he’s played, it’s tough to believe he’s been completely committed to MLS and the Galaxy.

He was much more explosive on the field at AC Milan, like playing for them mattered more to him.

Between the stark difference in play and his push to stay at Milan and be away from L.A., the team he is under contract for, has left a sour taste in many people’s mouths. Now that he’s finally coming back, it’s tough to tell if anybody cares anymore.

There will be some attention on the Galaxy-Red Bull game, especially two days after Wahl’s book came out.

How will Beckham and Donovan’s playing relationship be?

Will Beckham even be fit enough to play?

How much media coverage will the game receive?

Most importantly, will Beckham, after all this controversy, still be enough of a draw to bring fans out to Giants Stadium to watch a miserable Red Bulls team?

Beckham better put on a show in New Jersey like he did in Italy, because we know he’s capable, and if he doesn’t, this “savior” will become a fallen angel, and may take the intrigue of the league down with him if he isn’t careful.

What the Unites States Learned During the Confederations Cup

Phil Shore — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:57:02 -0400

The FIFA Confederations Cup was meant to be a warm-up for next summer’s World Cup.

The competition, the venue, and the team that was sent was all put together to allow for select nations to get an idea of where they stand and what they need to do in order to be successful in South Africa one year from now.

The United States learned quite a bit over the past few weeks. Here is a look at some of the things that the Americans can take out of the Confederations Cup.

The U.S. can compete with the world’s best

Some of the team’s games have not been pretty. However, this Confederations Cup really forced them to step up to the competition and step up they did, eventually.

They beat Spain, the No. 1 ranked team in the world, 2-0 to reach the finals and then they pushed Brazil to the limits, even though they lost 3-2.

These outings were quite impressive and proved that the U.S. can stand toe-to-toe with any soccer power in the world.

It is imperative though that the team came out with a sense of urgency and with a chip on their shoulder. Without those things, they cannot compete.

In recent outings against Costa Rica and the first match against Brazil, the Americans were undisciplined, lagging, uninspired, and complacent, and they got pounded because of it.

When they play with heart, when they fight, when they scrap for loose balls, when they show that they want to be out on the field and they want to win—come hell or high water—they pull out some great performances.

That’s a team that the whole country can get behind.

Tim Howard is one of the world’s best goalkeepers

Howard proved that he is in the elite class of keepers in the world.

Sure, some of the scores were a bit high; 3-1 loss to Italy, 3-0 and 3-2 losses against Brazil, and in the shutout against Egypt backup Brad Guzan was in net. However, watching the games you would see how valuable Howard is.

Howard has incredibly quick reflexes, great poise, and good decision making skills. These traits, combined with his athleticism, allow him to make marvelous saves.

Had Tim Howard not been in net for the Americans, especially in the match against Spain and the final against Brazil, you can bet the scores would have been very lopsided and the country would be nowhere near as proud of this team as they are today.

You can thank Tim Howard for that.

The team is still young and immature

Thirteen players from the 23-man Confederations Cup roster are 25-years-of-age or younger, and only seven have over 25 Caps.

Their immaturity and their inexperience at the international level still surfaces.

Michael Bradley, Sacha Kljestan, and Ricardo Clark were all given red cards for late and reckless challenges. While the color of the cards were questionable, they were still unnecessary and lazy tackles.

Jozy Altidore was given a yellow card for taking off his jersey after scoring against Spain. While it is true his emotions were running high, taking off one’s jersey is explicitly against the rules and it is a silly way to get a card.

Card accumulation and a potential second yellow card in the game could have had Altidore suspended and the team shorthanded. You need to control yourself better than that.

They are young, and they will learn, but the learning curve has to be faster and they cannot make foolish mistakes that will cost the team.

If players are going to transfer to clubs overseas, they need to go where they will play

In order to be a competitive team, players need to be competing at a high level on a regular basis. Practicing with top flight teams is not enough.

Take a look at the Confederations Cup roster. Jozy Altidore, Freddy Adu, DaMarcus Beasley, and Heath Pearce have trouble even making the bench at their respective clubs, let alone playing in games.

These guys will not get better if they do not play. Plain and simple.

What we didn’t learn:

Anything about Freddy Adu

My boy Tom DeRiggi wrote to me, “Freddy Adu= what we learned= he can cheer on the people actually playing with the best of them."

We have no idea what kind of player he is, how effective he can be. He really has not been tested at a high level.

He struggled to get off the bench in the beginning of his time with D.C. United. In a (shortened) season with Real Salt Lake, he made only 11 appearances.

He has played in only 11 games for Benifica, and barely gets any time with AS Monaco. He also has only been on the field for the senior national team 13 times, and didn’t see the pitch at all this tournament.

Many were excited he made the roster, but without seeing him play, he still remains a question mark.

Is he more dangerous offensively than Benny Feilhaber?

Can he complement Michael Bradley?

Does he defend adequately enough? Is central midfield the proper place for him to be playing, or should we utilize him on the wing or as a striker?

No one knows these answers.

Hopefully the Gold Cup will shed some light on Adu’s game.

Other musings:

Landon Donovan needs to learn when to pull the trigger. He had a number of chances to shoot during different games, but didn’t.

He’s the captain and needs to take the initiative. PK’s are nice, but you cannot depend on getting them all the time.

Clint Dempsey still has some magic while in a U.S. uniform. He disappeared in the beginning of the tournament but really stepped up against Egypt, Spain, and Brazil to renew the country’s faith in him.

Jay DeMerit and Jonathan Spector did a great job during the tournament and could really complete a defensive line that had some questions.

And how many times did we hear “Sacha Kljestan is a player without confidence right now”? Too many.

I’m all for getting a guy’s confidence back, but if he is not believing in his ability and it is affecting his performance on the field, why is he subbed into the tournament’s final, against superpower Brazil, in a 2-1/2-2 game (he got off the bench when it was 2-1, but didn’t come in until after Brazil scored the equalizer)?

Overall, the tournament can be viewed as a success.

The team learned a lot over the course of these five games about themselves. They also were able to get familiar with the country and the stadiums, which is only an added bonus next year (provided they do indeed qualify).

They focus shifts onto the Gold Cup now, and hopefully the team can continue to improve and perform at a high level.

United States Overcomes the Odds to Advance to Confederations Cup Semis

Phil Shore — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:16:34 -0400

It's unbelievable what just happened.

The United States had the odds stacked against them today.

Advancing to the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup was such a huge improbability that all anyone wanted today was a game they could be proud of, unlike the squad's 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Brazil.

Advancing to the semi-finals seemed so out of reach that Bob Bradley decided to give starting goalkeeper Tim Howard a breather and start backup Brad Guzan to get some key experience.

They needed to beat Egypt by three goals, which seemed impossible given that they scored only one goal in the past two games, and that one goal was from a penalty kick.

In addition to winning by three, Brazil needed to beat Italy by three, another improbability given the talent Italy has on its roster, not to mention being the defending World Cup champions.

Yet all of this was improbable, not impossible.

Brazil surprisingly took a 3-0 lead into halftime against Italy, with the help of an own goal. The Americans needed to take advantage of the opportunity given to them.

Starting Charlie Davies alongside Jozy Altidore paid immediate dividends for the U.S. team.

Davies' speed was problematic for the Egyptian defense all game, as he was able to get behind the defense and be on the receiving end of slicing through balls as well as opening up the field for the team's other playmakers.

It was Davies' hustle that started the U.S. attack, sticking with a loose ball inside the six-yard box and knocking it in for the 1-0 lead in the 21 minute.

His heart and hard play rubbed off on the rest of the squad.

The Americans were a much more aggressive team today than they have been in quite some time. They created more chances for themselves, continually pressed the defense, and finished their chances.

They were also much more disciplined in today's match.

For starters, they did not allow a goal in the first ten minutes.

Allowing a goal so early can really crush a team's spirit, while conversely giving momentum to the scoring squad.

Also, no one earned a red card.

Playing a man down really hurts a team. More space is opened up for the other team to attack through.

Going hand in hand with better discipline was that the midfielders did a much better job today getting back on defense.

Previously, midfielders were either not getting back at all, leaving the defense and goalkeeper to dry on breakaways, or they were getting back late and forcing poor challenges, which led to fouls, free kicks, and red cards.

Now the U.S. has pulled off the improbable. Sure they got a little lucky, with major help from Brazil, but they did their job. The Americans seized the moment and played a very good game.

Each player was productive on the field today.

Guzan made some beautiful saves; Jay DeMerit stepped up big again filling in for Carlos Bocanegra; Jonathan Bornstein and Jonathan Spector continued to play well as outside fullbacks; and Ricardo Clark may have learned from his mistakes as he did not commit any reckless challenges.

Clint Dempsey looked to be the lone U.S. player to struggle and not contribute much, but he became the hero when he headed home the third goal of the match in the 71 minute, the goal that put the Yanks in the semis.

The most important thing to take away from today's match was the heart the team showed and played with today.

The team played with a sense of urgency. They attacked with purpose and defended tenaciously. They came out today to play with pride and wound up completing an unbelievable turnaround to escape group play.

It is not time to forget about the horrific play in the previous games of the tournament as well as less than stellar efforts in recent World Cup qualifying.

It is not time to celebrate either, because Wednesday the U.S. will stand toe-to-toe with Spain, the number one ranked team in the world.

However, the players need to remember this feeling. Remember how it felt to win today and to overcome such great lengths to get in the next round.

They need to remember they got this result by playing smart, disciplined, and with heart.

If they remember that, who knows what can happen against Spain.

As the Americans proved today, anything is possible.

United States Gives Encouraging Effort Despite the Final Score

Phil Shore — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:57:38 -0400

It's a shame.

Non-soccer fans in the States, and American critics, will look at the 3-1 loss to Italy in the opening match of the Confederation Cup and view it as a major setback. They will think that the U.S. showed that it still cannot compete with soccer's elite.

However that was not the case.

It's unfortunate because the final score did not match the effort put together by Sam's Army. Sure, there were some poor plays, but overall the U.S. put together a good outing against a formidable opponent.

The first positive was the courage the squad displayed.

After Ricardo Clark's foolish challenge in the 33 minute earned him a red card, the team was forced to play almost an hour's worth of soccer a man down, not to mention a man down against the defending World Cup champions.

Yet the team played even more spirited after losing Clark. They were more dangerous in the attack and created more opportunities, giving themselves a 1-0 lead going into halftime.

Landon Donovan, who scored the team's lone goal on a penalty kick, really stepped up to the challenge.

Donovan did a great job creating offense for himself and for his teammates, which has been a problem lately.

The U.S. has had trouble scoring in the flow of play. Their goals have come off of dead balls: free kicks, corner kicks, and penalty kicks.

While their only goal of the day came off a penalty, the Americans were much more dangerous. Good passes lead to great scoring opportunities in the box from Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore.

Even Sacha Kljestan's shot in the 88th minute nearly curled in.

Now that they are creating chances, they need to be hungry and finish them.

Another part of their play that was much improved was the spacing.

The U.S. was disciplined enough to keep their shape and proper spacing on the field, even when they had to defend the floating play-makers Andrea Pirlo and Mauro Camoranesi, and when Clark was ejected.

Proper spacing makes it harder for defenders to cover a single area and frees up space for creative players like Donovan, Clint Dempsey, and Jozy Altidore to make plays.

The biggest negative came from the central midfield.

We still don't know who to pair Bradley with.

Clark's red card, while debatable, was still a reckless challenge, and he has a history of doing such things. He is not a dependable player.

Benny Feilhaber was another central midfielder who got an opportunity today, but he made nothing of it. Although he was supposed to create offense, he wasn't heard from at all, save for when he was stripped by Guiseppe Rossi, who then scored the equalizer.

The U.S. needs to find an effective player to pair with Bradley.

While this tournament may be just to test the team and individual players against top competition in preparation for the World Cup, the nation still needs to finish out its qualifying, and having two competent center mids will be an important part of that.

Still, there is a silver lining for that situation.

Jermaine Jones, who will change international status from German senior international to American senior international, will be able to join the team in October, and will most definitely slide in nicely with Bradley.

The U.S. will again have a tough task in its next match against Brazil, and will need at least a point to keep its chances of advancing to the next stage alive. However, what is most important is to see continued improvement from this young squad, especially against quality competition.

It's a shame the outcome couldn't match the effort.

Giuseppe Rossi: One That Got Away

Phil Shore — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 17:14:50 -0400

When the United States Men’s National Soccer Team gets ready to play Italy on Monday, their first opponent in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup tournament, they will have to prepare for someone that could’ve been one of them.

Giuseppe Rossi, a forward for the Azzuri, is the one that got away.

Rossi, 22, was born in Teaneck, New Jersey, the son of Italian immigrant parents.

At 13, Rossi joined the Parma F.C.(Italy) youth team. According to his bio on his website, Rossi was nicknamed by his teammates the “American”. Although he was an American and Italian duel citizen, Rossi always wanted to be a part of the Italian national team, his country of origin.

To prove this, Rossi suited up for the Italian youth-national teams. There was still hope for the U.S. though, as a player is not cap-tied until he plays at the U-20 level.

In July of 2003, Rossi transferred to EPL superpower Manchester United and scored in his debut with the club. He also spent time on loan with Newcastle and Parma.

Still, Rossi only made 13 appearances for the Red Devils, five in EPL play. Wanting more time with the first team, he was sold to Spanish Villarreal and signed a six-year contract.

Rossi has scored 23 goals and registered 10 assists in league play, as well as scoring three times in the UEFA Champions League.

The U.S. still tried to sway Rossi to play for his birth-country, inviting him to U-20 World Championships and a friendly against Scotland, but Rossi declined both times.

Instead, Rossi suited up for Italy in the 2008 Summer Olympics. He was the tournament’s top goal scorer, scoring four times, even though the team only reached the quarterfinals.

He scored his first goal with the senior side just five days ago, in a friendly against Northern Ireland.

Now Rossi is headed to South Africa for the Confederations Cup with Italy and will square away against his home nation.

With the matchup, fans of the United States are only left to wonder what could have been.

What would the, sometimes stagnant, U.S. offense be like if it could pair Rossi with another young American talent, and coincidentally property of Villarreal, Jozy Altidore?

If Rossi chose to play for America, would it have had any impact on other American-born players that chose to play for other countries, like Neven Subotic?

These questions are moot now. Rossi is a member of the Italian national team.

All the United States can do now is make Rossi second guess his decision with a good outing on Monday.

A Look at The United States Confederations Cup Roster

Phil Shore — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:53:19 -0400

With two more World Cup qualifying games finished over the weekend, the United States can look to its next set of matches—the Confederations Cup.

Bob Bradley has announced his 23-man squad that he will take to South Africa to compete against Italy, Brazil, and Egypt. Like the three game stretch last summer when the Americans played friendlies against England, Spain, and Argentina, the team will challenge itself and go up against some of the best competition in the world.

Here is a look at the squad by position.

Goalkeepers: Tim Howard, Brad Guzan, Luis Robles

Robles is certainly a surprise. He was recently called into training camp as the team prepared for the past weekend’s qualifiers. He is the latest name to compete for the third goalkeeper spot, along with Marcus Hahnemann, Matt Pickens, and Dominic Cervi.

Robles, most likely, won’t play though. Expect Howard to play every minute of the tournament.

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra, Jonathan Bornstein, Danny Califf, Jay DeMerit, Oguchi Onyewu, Heath Pearce, Jonathan Spector, Marvell Wynne

Onyewu and Bocangera are mainstays in the center of the defense, and they have formed a good playing relationship with Howard.

After good showings in Saturday’s game against Honduras, along with poor recent performances from others, Bornstein and Spector should reprise their starting roles at left and right back, respectively.

DeMerit played well replacing Bocanegra because of injury in the Honduras game. He needs to be ready in case Bocanegra has any lingering problems.

Wynne is the surprise of this group. He had an extremely rough outing against Costa Rica, and it’s somewhat curious as to how he got himself on this roster.

Depth at the outside fullback spots is weak, so Wynne could just be filling out the roster. He will have a bigger role on the Gold Cup team rather than the squad for the Confederations Cup.

Midfielders: Freddy Adu, DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark, Benny Feilhaber, Sacha Kljestan, José Francisco Torres

This group brings the most questions to the table. Of the seven, only Bradley is a sure thing to start.

Who starts in the middle with him?

Right now it’s looking like either Clark or Feilhaber.

Both had good showings against Costa Rica. Working in Feilhaber’s favor is that he is a creative midfielder that is good on the ball, which can create more offense, while Clark is more defensive-minded, which is similar to the way Bradley plays.

Kljestan looked to have the other starting center midfield role when he scored a hat trick against Sweden, but failed to solidify his spot in the games afterward because of poor play for both the national team and his club team, Chivas USA.

Many U.S.A. fans are clamoring for Adu to get more playing time. He has yet to get many extended chances to show what he can do for both club and country.

Beasley looks like a man out of chances.

Injuries have caused him to lose a step of his blistering speed. He hardly ever dresses for Rangers, let alone play or sit on the bench.

He was dropped from left-midfielder to left-back, which proved to be a failed and horrific experiment. Beasley’s once bright future now looks grim, and he is leaving everyone to wonder what his next move is, hoping he can find himself.

Also, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey, both listed as forwards, could see time at midfield, either in the center or on the wings.

Forwards: Jozy Altidore, Conor Casey, Charlie Davies, Dempsey, Donovan

Donovan was a no-brainer and Altidore has played well enough for the national team to merit a starting forward spot, especially with Brian Ching injured.

Much like the midfield, the question is who will start alongside Altidore?

Will it be Dempsey, one of the team’s more talented players but one who has struggled to be active in the attack on the wing lately? Or will Dempsey remain at midfield?

Davies has great speed and has put together some inspiring performances off the bench for the national team in recent qualifiers and the Olympics.

Casey is a good, physical holding forward who does a good job finding open space and playing in the air, something that is missing without Ching. He looked a bit uncomfortable in Saturday’s match, but it is understandable because he had just been put on the roster and hadn’t had much time to train with the team.

The biggest competition for starting roles will come at center midfield and forward. The key will be where Clint Dempsey plays.

Dempsey will definitely start, but it could be at either center mid, right mid, or forward. Where he plays will determine who fills in the rest of the personnel.

The Americans kick-off their Confederations Cup run June 15 against defending World Cup champions Italy.

Undisciplined Play Caused United States' Loss Against Costa Rica

Phil Shore — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:03:47 -0400

The United States men’s national soccer team is still a long way from being as good as they can be. Wednesday night’s 3-1 drubbing at the hands of Costa Rica proved that.

Last night’s game showed the U.S. squad playing undisciplined and out of position soccer.

The first problem was with the defense, specifically the outside fullbacks.

Anytime a soccer team gives up three goals, the defense was bad.

Last night though, Marvell Wynne showed his inexperience at the senior level and DaMarcus Beasley displayed his unfamiliarity with the left back position as well as being out of form from sitting at Rangers.

Wynne was outplayed by give and go’s and other combinations that negated his chase-down ability. He also was only able to get forward on an overlapping run once and he botched the play.

Beasley was worse.

On the second goal Costa Rica scored, Beasley sat in the box, leaving three players unmarked. While it’s possible he sat back a little in order to best defend a cross to any three of the players, once Celso Borges got the ball, Beasley needed to challenge him, but he didn’t.

Take a look at the third goal. Deep in the U.S.’s defensive end, Michael Bradley gets beat by Pablo Herrera, who goes in unchallenged (Carlos Bocanegra needed to step up and stop the ball) to score.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Well, Beasley, who is supposed to be the left fullback—the side where Herrera came from—is nowhere near being in the picture.

Beasley was out of position too frequently and Costa Rica did a good job of singling him out and taking advantage of Beasley being unsettled in a new position.

Compounding the defense’s ineffectiveness was the formation. The U.S. came out with four defenders, three midfielders, and three forwards.

With already a limited number of midfielders, only Michael Bradley consistently came back to help on defense, leaving them outnumbered.

Too many men went unmarked, and this caused the defenders to be indecisive on who to guard and when to go after the ball, such as what happened to Bocanegra and Beasley.

The formation caused problems on offense as well.

With only three midfielders there is only one central midfielder. This can be a problem when, of the six midfielders and forwards, at times five of them were really center mids.

Pablo Mastroeni got the nod as the starting center mid (it didn’t help that he played one of the worst games of his national team career).

However, Michael Bradley is usually a center mid, and although Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan are listed as forwards and have played out wide in an effort to maximize their creativity on the ball, they too are both naturally center mids.

When Sacha Kljestan was subbed in for José Francisco Torres—who was, ironically, the only one not out of position, as he is a left-sided mifielder—that brought out another guy who usually plays in the center of the field.

The U.S. has an abundance of center midfielders; Mastroeni, Bradley, Kljestan, Freddy Adu, Ricardo Clark, and Maurice Edu.

Conversely, the options at the left and right side of the midfield are thin. So guys are going to have to play out of position in order for them to get on the field and for the U.S. to field its most talented team.

However, last night, certainly a time of adversity, guys began to lose their discipline and shaping and went to what is normally comfortable to them.

Players began to drift and bunch in the middle. That left nobody on the outside to be an outlet and to attack down the flank.

Instead of spacing the Costa Rican team out, the U.S. bunched in the middle and tried to force themselves up the field. This left no space and players were continually in each other’s way.

It also hindered what Jozy Altidore could do. Because everyone was in the middle, Costa Rica’s defense could guard the U.S. with fewer players, and there was no room for Altidore to get free and use his speed and strength to attack.

While Costa Rica was able to defend the U.S. with fewer players because of poor spacing, when the U.S. turned over the ball, Costa Rica had players on the outside open, leading to a dangerous counterattack.

The result was ugly, but it is not the end of the road for the United States. There are more games still to play.

They are still in second place in the standings (the top three automatically qualify for a spot in the World Cup). Plus, they get will meet Costa Rica again, this time at home.

What the U.S. needs to do now is buckle down and get ready to play a tough Honduras team on Saturday. The weekend game will be in Chicago, and the Americans need to take care of business at home.

Carlos Ruiz's Performance Gives Philadelphia Phillies Flexibility

Phil Shore — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:15:48 -0400

Carlos Ruiz’s career stats aren’t that impressive—he’s hit 15 home runs and is batting only .249.

Yet, since the 2008 World Series, Ruiz has raised his level of performance, giving the Phillies flexibility at the catcher position, as well as other roster spots.

In Game Three against the Tampa Bay Rays, Ruiz hit a home run and a walk-off single. His series average was an astonishing .375, second only to Jayson Werth among Phillies starters.

While fans were jubilant about the championship, and pleased with Ruiz’s play, they still figured his time was limited. Top 10 prospect Lou Marson was waiting in the wings and his potential is much greater than Ruiz’s.

In Marson’s first game as a Phillie in September 2008, he went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Baseball America also considers him the team’s best defensive catching prospect.

Marson’s ability on both offense and defense left Ruiz’s future with the team, at least as a starter, in question. Still, Ruiz again won the job in spring training and has since been one of the Phillies’ most consistent performers.

He is hitting .305, good for second on the team behind Raul Ibanez and better than All-Star Chase Utley.

His defense has also been much-improved this year. He’s gotten better at blocking the plate, preventing runs, and has thrown out 10-of-22 base runners attempting to steal.

Also helping Ruiz’s case are the performances from the Phillies' other minor league catching prospects.

Travis D’Arnaud—with low Single-A Lakewood—is rated as the seventh best Phillies prospect by Baseball America. This season, he has hit seven home runs and has a .363 slugging percentage.

Joel Naughton has hit six home runs for the high Single-A Clearwater Threshers.

Tim Kennelly, also on the Threshers, is second on the team in both batting average (.304) and RBI (29).

Tuffy Gosewisch, playing for the Double-A Reading Phillies, has been invited to spring training the past two seasons.

What does all this mean? The Phillies have plenty of trade bait they can use to help out the starting rotation.

Most recently, Brett Myers was put on the 15-day DL and is expected to undergo season-ending hip surgery.

Cole Hamels has battled through a number of minor injuries early in the season, and his poor injury history raises concern for the team’s ace.

The 46-year-old Jamie Moyer has lost the magic he pitched with last year and looks like he is finally at the end of his career.

Joe Blanton, though he has pitched well his past few starts, still has an ERA of 5.86.

Chan Ho Park was ineffective as a starter before being banished to the bullpen.

J.A. Happ, Antonio Bastardo, Andrew Carpenter, and Carlos Carrasco are all still too young and inexperienced to rely on.

And Kyle Kendrick is still getting his form back together in Triple-A after faltering for Philadelphia down the stretch last season.

If the Phillies plan to defend their NL Championship as the season drags on, they need to get another starting pitcher. Having another effective starter will also help take some pressure off the bullpen, keeping it fresh throughout the season rather than overworked.

Grabbing an average starter from another team isn’t enough either—The Phillies have a slew of average pitchers right now. They need to go out and get a legitimate No. 1 or 2 starter.

They don’t come cheap, though.

This is where Ruiz’s abilities come in. With his standout play behind home plate and the depth of the position in the minors, top prospect Marson, once thought to be untouchable, now becomes expendable.

Marson can be packaged with a few other prospects in order to get any of the top-line pitchers who could be on the market, including Jake Peavy, Roy Halladay, and Roy Oswalt.

While it would not be ideal to let Marson go, the Phillies will have to give something to get something.

With the aforementioned pitchers, you know you will be getting something of value in return for a top prospect, unlike in past seasons when the Phillies acquired average pitchers with question marks in their games like Blanton and Kyle Lohse.

Ruiz’s breakout play this season now gives the Phillies the flexibility they did not have in the past.

Ruiz has done more than enough to earn the starting catcher job, allowing the Phillies to package any of their top catching prospects, including Marson, for a top of the line pitcher without worrying about jeopardizing the position now or in the long run.

If they do trade Marson, the Phillies can be confident that Ruiz will man the fort while the other prospects take their time to develop.

If they don’t make the trade, then the organization will face a difficult decision in the near future, because Ruiz is proving he is an everyday catcher.

The NBA: Where Sportsmanship Doesn't Happen

Phil Shore — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:03:13 -0400

Sportsmanship.

It’s something every athlete learns at an early age. Every competitor is told to be gracious in victory or defeat.

Sure it isn’t a perfect world, and sometimes you don’t display as much sportsmanship as you should. As a college lacrosse player, I understand the frustrations of losing and how things can get in the heat of the battle. It’s still important, though, when the final whistle blows, to be a class act.

LeBron James must have missed those lessons.

James told reporters, "It's hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them."

"I'm a winner. It's not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you're not going to congratulate them. That doesn't make sense to me. I'm a competitor. That's what I do. It doesn't make sense for me to go over and shake somebody's hand."

Sorry. I don’t think it’s a good excuse.

We lost our last lacrosse game in the first round of the conference playoffs. The opposing crowd was singing Steam’s “Goodbye”. I was looking at a 5 hour bus ride from the game in Vermont back to my school in Boston. I was upset we lost, and I was exhausted because I left it all on the field. But all that aside, I sucked it up and shook hands with the other team.

I hate losing as much as the next guy. It’s not fun. Yet it’s not an excuse for displaying poor sportsmanship.

It definitely isn’t an excuse when it’s the second time you’ve done it.

Last year, after the Cavaliers lost to the Boston Celtics in game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals, James also walked off the court without a single handshake or word with his opponents.

As humans we are supposed to learn from our mistakes. In school, we go to history class so we can learn what happened and how to prevent it from happening again. LeBron James should have learned from last year that you should respect your opponents and respect the game by offering congratulations on a hard-fought battle.

As the face of the NBA he is a role model to a large number of kids, like it or not. They look up to him. By storming off the court he showed that it’s OK to be a poor sport.

Also, it isn’t like Cleveland lost the series or the game because of poor officiating. The Cavaliers lost because the Magic played better team basketball.

Although the series was physical, there were no brawls that would’ve had either team seething at each other, creating so much dischord that no one could meet at half court after the game and acknowledge good competition.

No, LeBron was just upset and pouted.

How would he feel if, say, he had won but Dwight Howard neglected to give him his due props?

Some people say that a real man can admit defeat. It is what separates men from boys.

James will certainly be in the Eastern Finals again sometime in his career. And he may lose. Hopefully, by then, he will be mature enough to be gracious in defeat.

Lakers or Magic: Who Will Shaq Be Rooting For in The NBA Finals?

Phil Shore — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:55:51 -0400

After 82 regular season games and three playoff rounds, the 2009 NBA Finals matchup is set. The Los Angeles Lakers will face off against the Orlando Magic. This series brings a ton of questions to the table.

Will the Lakers avenge their loss in the Finals to the Celtics last season?

Will Orlando win its first championship in franchise history?

Can Kobe Bryant finally win a championship without Shaq?

Will Jameer Nelson, originally thought to be out with injury for the entire season, make a Willis Reed-like return to the court?

Disneyland or Disneyworld?

All of these questions could provide their own corresponding blog post. However, another question begs consideration: Who will Shaquille O’Neal be rooting for?

Shaq has played for both teams in the past and has been a fixture in the NBA Finals. In his 17 year career, he made the playoffs 15 times, reached the finals six times, and won four titles. In his four wins he was named NBA Finals MVP three times.

Being so familiar with both clubs as well as the finals, it’s only natural to wonder what his thoughts are on the current situation. He has reasons, in favor of and against, both teams.

Orlando was Shaq’s first team. They made him the No. 1 overall draft pick in 1992. It’s where people first became familiar with the big man who revolutionized the center position.

His combination of size, strength, and athleticism made him one of the best post players in the history of the game.

He went to his first NBA Finals with the Magic, even though they were swept by the Houston Rockets. Shaq’s home is in Orlando, and there has been talk about him wanting to buy the team when he retires.

However, Shaq has lashed out against the current Magic organization this year.

After a game against his former team, Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy—who coached Shaq in his first season with the Miami Heat— accused Shaq of flopping on a play against Dwight Howard.

Shaq didn’t take too kindly to Van Gundy’s criticism and called him a “master of panic.”

Now that SVG has helped the Magic get into the finals, if Orlando won, the “master of panic” would be a champion and Shaq might have to eat his words.

There is also the matter of Orlando’s new “Superman,” Dwight Howard.

Shaq has always been linked to the Man of Steel, proof being his Superman tattoo as well as Superman paraphernalia that adorned his house that was featured on MTV’s Cribs.

Now, however, Howard has also been given the Superman moniker. Howard even donned the cape not once, but twice in dunk competitions.

The Superman theme music is played at Amway Arena when Howard scores. Shaq has taken offense to this. He was quoted: “He's a good player, but everything he's done, I've invented. So I'm not impressed.”

Although Shaq does like Howard, he has always been protective of his legacy as one of, if not the best, big man ever to play.

How would he feel if Howard, the man who “copied” his Superman identity, won Orlando’s first Finals game, let alone championship, something the “Big Cactus” never could do himself?

L.A. is the place where Shaq won his first and the majority of his championships.

However, after they lost to the Pistons in 2004, Shaq demanded a trade. Friction between Shaq and star teammate Bryant existed prior to the loss, each trying to be the alpha male, the top dog, but losing to the Pistons in the championship was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

The relationship between Shaq and Bryan grew personal. The two traded barbs about their interactions with females on the road.

Shaq was shown doing a freestyle rap about Bryan, including the line, “Kobe couldn’t do it without me.” Shaq would also refuse to acknowledge Kobe during interviews.

However, this season, it looked like the feud is over. The two shared All-Star MVP honors and laughed and embraced each other on the court. Shaq has praised Bryant in the media and on his twitter page.

Still, again looking to Shaq’s perception of his legacy, Shaq has won a championship without Bryan (although one could argue that he, in fact, played second fiddle to Dwayne Wade).

If Bryant to win without Shaq, how would Shaq really take it?

Shaq has had his ups and downs with both teams. This matter look like it will be settled due to timeliness.

Hours after the Magic beat Cleveland to advance to the finals, Shaq’s twitter featured a reply to a user that said, “I'm a go wit the lake show” (sic).

Shaq has made up with Bryant this year while conversely, his feud with Van Gundy happened just recently, in March.

When one feud ends, another begins, and it looks like Van Gundy and Orlando get the short end of the deal this time around, at least in Shaq’s world.

Syracuse Comes from Behind to Win Lacrosse Championship

Phil Shore — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:10:42 -0400

With 30 seconds left in the game and Cornell—holding on to the lead—with possession of the ball, it looked like Syracuse’s bid for back to back NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse championships would be denied.

Cornell had showed superior ball control with long possessions throughout the game, and would look to run out the clock.

However, a turnover at midfield led to a Kenny Nims equalizer with four seconds remaining. Eighty seconds into the overtime period Syracuse attackman Cody Jameison scored the game winner, completing the comeback and putting the Orange past Cornell, 10-9.

Cornell controlled the game throughout, dominating the time of possession. Their patience and ball movement allowed them to find higher percentage shots. The longer they held onto the ball also meant that the dynamic Syracuse offense would get fewer opportunities.

The game-plan was working to perfection. A Syracuse goal that would have tied the game at seven was taken off the board because the shooter was in the crease. Cornell stormed ahead to a 9-6 lead with just five and a half minutes left.

The Big Red defense held the Orange at bay all game. The game was in no way out of reach though for such a talented offense.

Syracuse’s attack finally was able to break free from Cornell’s tough defense. Goals from Stephen Keogh and Jameison, less than a minute apart, brought life back into Syracuse as well as to the fans, who booed Cornell’s slow-down offense.

Cornell, the Cinderella story of the tournament, beat rival Princeton and then demolished top-seeded Virginia 15-6 to reach the title game. Senior John Glynn came up big in the championship game, scoring three goals, notching two assists, picking up nine ground balls, and winning ten face-offs. But they could not finish off the Orange.

Jameison was Syracuse’s biggest performer of the game. Along with the team’s eighth goal and the game-winner, he also assisted on another goal.

The win gave the schools its tenth official title—they were forced to give up their championship in 1990 because of a rules infraction.

Nims was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

The Importance of Fan Voting in The MLS All-Star Game

Phil Shore — Thu, 21 May 2009 16:45:39 -0400

All-Star games are meant to showcase a league’s elite players.

Often, players having career years are rewarded. However, there is always a debate on who really deserved to make it and who didn’t.

Take the previous NBA All-Star game: Many pondered how Allen Iverson was voted to start for the Eastern Conference and how Carmelo Anthony was left off the West’s squad.

Part of the reason roster spots go to candidates that aren’t as deserving is because of the fan vote.

Allowing fans to pick who they want to see is a double-edged sword.

The league is getting the fans to feel like they are involved and they get to select the players they want to see play, hopefully providing optimum ratings.

However, the voting can be a popularity contest, and guys with big names who may not be producing like they have in the past, or are injured, can slide into one of the top spots.

Still, the fan vote isn’t a bad thing and in no league is it more important than in Major League Soccer.

MLS doesn’t have the fellowship that the other leagues in America have.

While the Pro Bowl can go unnoticed by NFL fans because of how big the regular season and postseason is, MLS needs its All-Star game to showcase its top players on a national stage.

Having people vote for the players they want to see allows the league to put out the most appealing team in hopes of drawing in viewers.

While I love to see unheralded players get recognition for amazing seasons, it’s OK for MLS to have its biggest names front and center to show what the league has to offer.

Take a guy like Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan–this has definitely not been his best year in the league.

In eight games, he has only managed to register one assist. Kljestan was even benched in one game. But there’s no denying he’s one of the league’s biggest stars.

Kljestan has performed at a high level in both past MLS seasons and the U.S. men’s national team. He is going to be an integral part of the national team for years to come, and is becoming a very recognizable name to American soccer fans.

If Klejstan hasn’t transferred to a club overseas by the time this year’s All-Star game rolls around, and he is voted in regardless of his stats, is it a bad thing?

No, because fans want to see him. Maybe fans of possible transfer targets will want to watch him, to see what he has. Whatever the reason, he will draw in viewers, something MLS desperately needs.

Currently, eight of the top 11 spots in the All-Star voting are held by members of Seattle Sounders FC.

Some—Kasey Keller—are certainly deserving. Others—Sebastian LeToux—aren’t as deserving. But the Sounders’ fans are making their voices heard. This is who they want to see. They sure will be watching the game.

While the fan vote is only a quarter of the criteria for making the team, it still sends a message to the league of who the fans like.

Don’t agree? Vote for yourself. Vote for who you want to see play.

The most important thing for MLS is to get its most liked and most marketable players on the pitch in order to further promote the league. Even if that means playing guys who aren’t having the best season.

Like the popular phrase in the business world goes, the customer is always right.

Raul Ibanez Making Phillies Fans Forget About Pat Burrell

Phil Shore — Sun, 17 May 2009 15:01:20 -0400

When the Phillies signed outfielder Raul Ibanez in December, Phillies fans questioned the decision.

Ibanez never received much publicity playing for a bad Seattle Mariners team on the West Coast, so to the common fan he was an unfamiliar face and name. He was 36, turning 37 in June.

He was a left-handed hitter, even though the Phillies already had lefties Ryan Howard and Chase Utley in the middle of their lineup. An even bigger reason the Philly faithful were skeptical of the signing was because it meant the team wouldn’t be resigning fan favorite Pat Burrell.

Sure, Burrell received his share of boos during his slumps, but he was a lifelong Phillie. He was drafted by the Phillies and actually signed with them, unlike J.D. Drew. When times were rough, he didn’t run himself out of town like Scott Rolen did.

He provided some huge hits for Philadelphia, especially against the rival New York Mets. After the Phillies won the 2008 World Series, Burrell and his dog led the parade.

Even when he signed with the Tampa Bay Rays, Burrell took out a full page ad in Philadelphia newspapers thanking the fans for a great time as a Phillie and saying that he hoped to see everyone again in October for the World Series.

Throughout the offseason, Phillies fans peppered the front office with questions like “Why didn’t we bring back Pat Burrell?” and “Who is Raul Ibanez?”

To answer the latter question, Ibanez was a 13-year MLB veteran. A lifetime .286 hitter with nearly 800 RBI, Ibanez is only one of five outfielders to have 100 RBI in each of the past three seasons, along with Carlos Beltran, Carlos Lee, Magglio Ordonez, and Bobby Abreu.

Now, Ibanez is making Phillies fans ask “Pat who?”

Ibanez is off to a blistering start. He is a much more consistent hitter than Burrell, currently hitting .368—good enough for sixth-best in the major leagues. He has just as much power as Burrell, hitting 13 home runs and 35 RBI so far this season, and he leads the majors with a .735 slugging percentage.

His had his most impressive offensive display thus far this season yesterday against the Washington Nationals. In the first game of a double header, Ibanez went three for five with two home runs and drove in four runs. He followed that up in the second game with two hits in three at-bats, another home run, and three more RBI.

He’s also been clutch, hitting a two-run single Friday night to give the Phillies the lead in the 12th inning.

Ibanez is a more competent defensive player than Burrell, who was routinely subbed out late in games for a defensive replacement.

Ibanez is proving to be one of the best off-season signings. At a rate of $30 million over three years, Ibanez is also one of the biggest bargains, compared to the high price players such as C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, and Manny Ramirez, who haven’t quite lived up to their hefty contracts.

While Burrell was a homegrown product who was a part of the franchise’s first World Series in 28 years, Ibanez is proving to be a fantastic addition.

Fans are no longer questioning the transaction. And those aren’t boos you’re hearing in the stadium. They are chants of “Raul!”

New York Red Bulls Play Houston Dynamo for a Tie

Phil Shore — Sat, 16 May 2009 22:59:29 -0400

The historically inconsistent New York Red Bulls came out Saturday night against the Houston Dynamo at Giants Stadium looking to maintain some uniformity and to win two consecutive games for the first time this season. However, the roller coaster that is the New York franchise was in full swing, staving off a man-down situation to tie the game 1-1.

One week after a resounding 4-1 victory against the San Jose Earthquake, head coach Juan Carlos Osorio kept the starting lineup almost exactly the same as the previous game, with the lone exception of John Conway starting in net in place of Danny Cepero, who was out with a hand injury. It would not stay that way for long.

Right fullback Carlos Johnson was subbed off the field in the 26th minute with what was said to be a sprained ankle. Then in the 35th minute, in a moment of inexplicable behavior, veteran midfielder Jorge Rojas was given a red card and ejected, after elbowing and attempting to kick Houston midfielder Brian Mullen.

The veteran mistakes continued to come. A ball came out of the air down to the normally dependable defender Mike Petke, but instead of heading the ball forward and clearing it out of danger, Petke headed the ball up and backwards, allowing Dynamo forward Ade Akinbiyi to get behind him and put the ball in the back of the net for what seemed to be the first goal of the night. The officials saved New York, however, and ruled that Akinbiyi had pushed Petke before shooting, resulting in no goal.

Even though they were shorthanded, the Red Bulls were more aggressive in the second half than they were when they had 11 players. Yet the Dynamo counter-attack was even more impressive.

In the 79th minute, substitute Dynamo midfielder Corey Ashe broke loose on the left flank and sent in a ball to the unmarked Chris Wondolowski, who put the cross home for the lead.

It seemed as if it would be another New York loss but the Red Bulls came back from the dead to play a spirited final five minutes. In the 88th minute, Dane Richards corralled in a stray corner kick and looped it back into the box where sub John Wolyniec chested the ball in traffic, dropped it to his feet, and turned and fired at the net, scoring the equalizer.

The Red Bulls had a chance in the 90th minute to score the game winner, but shots by Macoumba Kandji and Wolyniec were both blocked.

While some thought the win against San Jose would be a turning point for New York’s season, tonight’s game left the team with more unanswered questions.

Should one plaudit the team for coming from behind and down a man to tie the match? Or should fans be discouraged that the Red Bulls were forced to play short-handed again, hurting the chances of taking home three points?

Who plays in place of Jorge Rojas next week?

How many changes will the never-happy Osorio make to the lineup?

It will be another week before anyone knows the answer to those questions, when the Red Bulls take on the Chicago Fire next Sunday. For now, New York will take the point and try to continue an unbeaten streak.