Bleacher Report - Articles by Mike Simmons

Annika Sorenstam, Justine Henin: What's Up with the Sudden Retirements?

Mike Simmons — Wed, 14 May 2008 09:44:28 -0400

As of today, two sports superstars will have retired in the past two days. By this I mean Annika Sorenstam and Justine Henin.

Both were at the top of their games and have retired "on their own terms." Both retirements were unexpected and happened very early. Though it isn't the decision of the fans, these two women had at least three or for more years to go.

Justine Henin, the No. 1 player in the world, has only won seven Grand Slam events. Everyone might think this is a lot, but she is only ranked 11th in that category.

Oh yeah, shes only 25! Plus, she only has 41 singles wins. She is very young and no doubt had a whole career in front of her. For all we know she could have become the next Billie Jean King.

Now to get to Annika Sorenstam. She was at the top of the golf world for most of her career. She competed in men's and women's tournaments, and she has 90 career wins.

Though she was 36, she still had a lot of time left before retirement should have rolled around. Besides, everyone that follows women's golf would have liked to see a competition between Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa.

Undoubtedly a very early decision to retire, and maybe one that could make Ochoa the next Tiger Woods.

For these two women all I can say is, "Good luck in all of your future endeavors, hope to see you in those old timer games :)."

Spygate:The Bill Belichick-Eric Mangini Feud

Mike Simmons — Sat, 03 May 2008 15:22:08 -0400

Eric Mangini: the name that makes Patriots fans shutter.

This one name brings back bittersweet memories of week one of last season. That is the day Mangini ratted out Bill Belichick and Spygate emerged.

Though he was offered a head coaching job by the Jets prior to the 2006 NFL season, Mangini was feeling very unappreciated as a Patriots assistant; so he directed all of his grief towards Bill Belichick.

Mangini lasted one season without talking, and several "dead fish" handshakes later he finally snapped. He ratted Bill Belichick out for recording the Jets defensive signals in their week one matchup, which "had no affect on the outcome of the game."

Now the worst thing of all is that Jets fans are calling the Patriots cheaters, even though there isn't any proof.

For now Mangini is a mediocre head coach who won't go anywhere without making revamping his roster, including trading for better receivers and running backs (even though they signed Danny Woodhead).

I for one hope Mangini becomes a more mature person and not such a Hank Steinbrenner sized baby.

Mets Lose to Arizona at Chase Field

Mike Simmons — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:25:43 -0400

One word to describe Brandon Webb—WOW!!!

Webb was stellar, allowing only four runs to score and allowing a home run in six strong innings of work, as the Diamondbacks defeated the Mets 10-4 in Arizona. Webb's now leading the league in wins with seven and looks unstoppable.

The Diamondbacks now have the best record in the league at 21-9. There rotation is as solid as anyone's in the major leagues, and he has no intentions of slowing down.

The Mets, on the other hand, have a very inconsistent rotation that only has a high point when Johan Santana pitches. Other than that, Oliver Perez, John Maine, and Mike Pelfrey have struggles, with Nelson Figueroa showing signs of a return to glory.

Besides pitching, the Mets lineup has very little power and is otherwise a work in progress. Same goes for their four-man bullpen.

Carlos Delgado hit yet another home run which may symbolize an escape from his slump, but he still has a long way to go.

Not to mention Aaron Heilman, who in one inning of work walked a batter and hit two straight batters to load the bases. A catastrophic eighth inning by Duaner Sanchez surrendered five runs and opened the game up with no chance of a comeback.

To Mets fans, you and I have to hope that this situation gets better, and that the pitching holds up or else we'll have a season like last year.

But to Diamondbacks fans, Godspeed.

Al Davis and Hillary Clinton: They Don't Know When To Leave

Mike Simmons — Sat, 03 May 2008 13:41:08 -0400

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOO," that's the sound everyone heard at Radio City Music Hall when the Raiders selected Darren McFadden with the fifth overall pick of the 2008 NFL Draft.

These boos were started by Jets fans who would have liked McFadden as a running mate of Thomas Jones in the still gelling Jets offense.

But Al Davis, the owner of the Oakland Raiders for 50-some years now (dating back to the AFL Raiders), wouldn't allow that to happen, because he attempted to "bolster" his backfield which was already carrying three potential starting running backs.

Every Raiders fan hates this man and wants him to leave or die a slow and painful death. The NFL during the 90's also wanted this. But this man, throughout all the peril and the grief, is still standing tall in northern California.

This determination not to leave reminds me of real-life issues. By this, I mean politics. Hillary Clinton, New York Senator and Presidential Candidate, just never knows when to leave.

She's been in this race for two years now and led for awhile, until Barack Obama came from behind, and now has led for six months.

With the remaining time left in this race, many Democrats have started to get irritated with her perseverance and resolve to win the race.

This brings me back to Al Davis, a man who had several opportunities to sell the team and have everyone forget about his horrible tenure as an NFL executive.

But no. He wasn't going to go that easily.

Sadly, with a lot of NFL functions and stadiums going up in Los Angeles, Al Davis can just sell the Raiders, move them, and turn their current stadium into his own personal retirement home.

Its slogan can be "Stay with us and your life will last as long as my arrogance."

In conclusion, anyone can see these two people should really leave, and fast.

Hawks-Celtics: Atlanta Forces Boston to Game Seven

Mike Simmons — Sat, 03 May 2008 02:45:27 -0400

Al Horford was as good as a rookie can be in the playoffs, as he and Joe Johnson carried the Hawks to a Game Seven in Boston.

This team is a huge surprise in these playoffs in which the Boston Celtics were supposed to sweep the Hawks, and move on to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in Round 2 of the 2008 playoffs.

This was a sad understatement because the Hawks have forced a Game Seven. It was pandemonium in Philips Arena as fans were chanting "Seven, Seven, Seven."

No doubt all Celtics fans were awestruck by this unknown and unprecedented turn of events, in which the team with the worst record in the playoffs has a chance to eliminate the team with the best record.

The Celtics were playing very subpar ball with Kevin Garnett leading the team in every offensive category as a center. The defensive player of the year only had 2 blocks, and was the only one of the "Big Three" who played well.

Rajon Rondo wasn't at all consistent, while "Ray Ray" and Paul Pierce were consistent but gave a poor performance.

Every fan of the National Basketball Association will be glued to their TV when Game Seven is on, so they can see if another first-round upset will happen.

Thanks for reading and leave any feedback you deem necessary.

Mets Trade Busts During the Past Two Offseasons

Mike Simmons — Fri, 02 May 2008 03:49:51 -0400

The picture above is one of the young and powerful Brian Bannister, who at one point was a New York Met. He was sent to Kansas City in exchange for Ambiorix Burgos, who was a complete bust (injured in 2007 and has stayed in AAA since).

Bannister, who's been on a tear with the Royals is another one of those terrible trades that the New York Mets have pulled off involving future phenoms (Nolan Ryan, Scott Kazmir, Sandy Koufax).

Another possible bust was the Oliver Perez and Roberto Hernandez for Xavier Nady deal, which I talked about in a past article. This move had bust written all over it; Nady had several memorable moments as a Met, and was becoming a fan favorite.

Iin exchange for Nady the Mets received a mediocre veteran and an unaccomplished pitcher who would have only little success as a Met. Xavier Nady joined the Pirates and played pretty solid ball for the rest of the season. Undoubtedly this move was a bad one, and is regretted throughout the Mets community.

The third and final trade bust over the past two offseasons was the one in which the Mets got Carlos Delgado (it was not in the past two offseasons, but please work with me here).

This looked like a solid move at first, because the Mets were getting a proven veteran hitter, who would help a then, poor lineup for the Metropolitans. Though he hit 36 HR ins 2006, he was in a season long slump throughout 2007 wen a lot of Mets fans booed him during every plate appearance. He has entered a slump during this season too, and is currently batting below .200.

Though Omar Minaya has made several good moves during his time as the Mets GM (Johan Santana, Ryan Church, Angel Pagan), he has also made some pretty bad ones to go along with them.

Oliver Perez: Pitcher Or BP Thrower

Mike Simmons — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:18:56 -0400

After today's (4/30/08) horrifying start, Mets fans should start wondering, "Was he worth Xavier Nady?"

The answer to that is, no.

I mean, he was a 15-game winner last year along with John Maine, and it's only one start, but I mean, come on. Every pitch he threw was one that an elementary school travel-team kid could hit out of Minute Maid Park.

He only went 1.2 innings in today's start, and was charged with SEVEN runs. Now, back to Xavier Nady.

As soon as the Mets dealt him in 2006, Nady caught fire (.300 avg and 20 HR). On the other hand, when Perez arrived he, took some time in order to achieve a quality start.

Another thing that really pissed me off personally, was when Roberto Hernandez (acquired along with Perez) was released at the end of the season. If Omar had any brains, he would have brought him back along with Chad Bradford, who just so happened to be a staple in the bullpen in 2006.

A part of this deal that nobody understands is when Omar traded Nady, whether or not he was planning for 2007 in any way, because as soon as Nady was traded, the Mets had prospects playing right field, and then they got Shawn Green, who also was inconsistent.

Now, there is one trade possibility open; Nady for Perez and Heilman to the Pirates, who desperately need pitching help.