brentblaze Blog Posts

Hank Steinbrenner A Chip Off The Old Blockhead

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:42:02 PDT

http://wizbangsports.com/2008/04/hank_steinbrenner_a_chip_off_t.

Gee, I guees the old saying is right: Rotten apples don't fall far the tree do they?

New York Yankees co-chairknucklehead Hank Steinbrenner is following in his father's footsteps in telling the manager--in this case, Jor Girardi and not Billy Martin, Bob Lemon, Dick Howser, etc.--how to manage his pitching staff.

Hank is insisting--OK, demanding--that the much-hyped Joba Chamberlain should be in the Yankees starting rotation.

"I want him (Joba) as a starter and so does everyone else, including him, and that is what we are working toward and we need him there now. There is no question about it, you don't have a guy with a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and keep him as a setup guy. You just don't do that. You have to be an idiot to do that."

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Former MLB Catcher John Marzano dead at 45

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 06:25:01 PDT

http://wizbangsports.com/2008/04/former_mlb_catcher_john_marzan.

He died Saturday after a fall down the stairs at his home. John was strictly a bullpen catcher, but he managed to stay employed at the Major league level for 12 years. Afterwards he went into broadcasting. RIP.

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Danica Patrick makes IndyCar history by winning Japan 300

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 06:46:42 PDT

http://wizbangsports.com/2008/04/danica_patrick_makes_indycar_h.

I once heard life is all a matter of timing. Danica's timing(or breaks) in Japan were excellent today.

MOTEGI, Japan - Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history Sunday, taking the Indy Japan 300 after the top contenders were forced to pit for fuel in the final laps. Patrick finished 5.8594 seconds ahead of pole-sitter Helio Castroneves on the 1.5-mile Twin Ring Motegi oval after leader Scott Dixon pitted with five laps left and Dan Wheldon and Tony Kanaan came in a lap later.
"It's a long time coming. Finally," Patrick said. "It was a fuel strategy race, but my team called it perfectly for me. I knew I was on the same strategy as Helio and when I passed him for the lead, I couldn't believe it. This is fabulous."
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Beth Ann Baldry- Britain Canada whats the difference

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 06:57:05 PDT

http://wizbangsports.com/2008/04/beth_ann_baldry_britain_canada.

Our most recent example of bad golf writing comes from Golf Week's Beth Ann Baldry.

No LPGA player has ever held all four majors at the same time. Pat Bradley came the closest, starting with the British in 1985, then winning the 1986 Kraft Nabisco and McDonald's Championship.

Unfortunately the 1985 Women's British Open Champ was Betsy King. Also the tournament Pat Bradley won was the du Maurier. Any competent golf writer who covers the LPGA Tour full-time would know the du Maurier was one of that tour's major championships in the 1980's. The British Open only replacing the du maurier as a major in 2001. Golf Week has since fixed the mistake, after I told Beth of it in an email. I did make a screen capture for posterity's sake. Beth has made three mistakes in her last three Golfweek columns. That's a great percentage if we're talking batting averages, but bad if we're talking the ability to keep simple facts straight. Something golf writers have a bad time doing.

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Congress Looking into the BCS

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:11:13 PDT

http://wizbangsports.com/2008/04/congress_looking_into_the_bcs.p

This is clearly a case of sour grapes but an interesting angle to go after the BCS.

First let's look at these intrepid lawmakers and what interests they could have in what the hell the NCAA does with its championship formula.

Westmoreland is from Georgia and probably bought into the lame idea that UGA should have played in the National Championship game last year.

Simpson is from Idaho and remember it was Boise State that was the big BCS buster in 2007.

After the beat down Hawaii took in the Sugar Bowl, I'm surprised Abercrombie even showed up for the argument.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Forget government corruption or corporate fraud. Three members of Congress want the Justice Department to investigate whether college football's Bowl Championship Series is an illegal enterprise.

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Toronto Blue Jays release Frank Thomas

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 11:25:03 PDT

http://wizbangsports.com/2008/04/toronto_blue_jays_release_fran.

This comes the day after Thomas vented his anger at being removed from the lineup.

The Toronto Blue Jays released slumping designated hitter Frank Thomas Sunday, cutting the 19-year veteran loose one day after he was angry for being taken out of the lineup.
General manager J.P. Ricciardi said he and Thomas came to "a mutual agreement" after meeting in the clubhouse early Sunday.

"Our best opportunity is to put other guys in the lineup at this point," Ricciardi said. "Obviously, reduced playing time is not something that he was interested in. In order to let him go forward and get on with his career, I think it's fair to do it at this point."

The move leaves the Blue Jays on the hook for the remainder of the two-year $18-million contract the 39-year-old Thomas signed in November 2006.
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Will Tiger Woods be rusty when he returns to the PGA Tour

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 11:56:38 PDT

http://wizbangsports.com/2008/04/will_tiger_woods_be_rusty_when.

Tiger had knee surgery last week. Jason Sobel at ESPN writes-

If Woods is indeed Superman, his kryptonite may be that left knee, which has now required three separate surgeries. He previously had a benign tumor removed in 1994, and in late 2002, he underwent a similar procedure to his most recent surgery, proving he may not be invincible, but he is indestructible. After his second surgery, he returned neither gimpy nor rusty, winning in his first start at Torrey Pines and taking two of the next three titles as well.
Expect a similar result when Woods returns after this layoff, possibly at the Memorial Tournament in late May, certainly by the U.S. Open in June. That's because he's not only the most talented golfer around, but he works as hard as anyone else.

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Lorena Ochoa wins 4th consecutive LPGA tournament

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:06:23 PDT

http://wizbangsports.com/2008/04/lorena_ochoa_wins_4th_consecut.

She defeated Yani Tseng by three shots.

REUNION, Fla. - Lorena Ochoa became the first LPGA Tour player in 45 years to win four tournaments in consecutive weeks.
Ochoa shot a 3-under 69 in the final round of the Ginn Open on Sunday and beat rookie Yani Tseng by three strokes for her fifth victory in six starts this year.

Ochoa trailed early in the final round, but went ahead for good with three straight birdies beginning at No. 8. She finished 19 under and became the second player to win four times in as many weeks.

Mickey Wright did it in 1962 and 1963. Kathy Whitworth (1969) and Annika Sorenstam (2001) also won four consecutive events, but both took a week off during their runs.
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LPGA Ginn Tribute in trouble

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:23:49 PDT

http://wizbangsports.com/2008/04/lpga_ginn_tribute_in_trouble.ph

The late May tournament could be in danger. Caddy blogger Larry writes-

This is not a good sign: The down turn in the economy may be hitting our sponsor pretty hard. Rumor has it there was a meeting earlier this week concerning the Ginn Tribute to be held in Charleston. To cut costs, Ginn offered to forfeit the purse money and forego the event but was convinced otherwise. In gambler lingo, they were "pot committed" so it made sense not to cancel.
Also, another piece of the puzzle that is difficult to comprehend is Ginn's willingness to move the Orlando event to major status if things don't fall into place once McDonald's departs the scene. Somehow this doesn't make much sense. We'll see what shakes out after a little time passes.

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Spurs Up One in an Instant Classic

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 18:26:06 PDT

http://wizbangsports.com/2008/04/spurs_up_one_in_an_instant_cla.

Years from now, every basketball fan in San Antonio will claim to have been one of the almost 19,000 to have witnessed three hour and 21 minute battle royal that started the first round of the 2008 NBA playoffs.

Tim Duncan scored one point shy of his career playoff record of 41 to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a thrilling double overtime win against the Phoenix Suns at the AT&T Center in San Antonio on Saturday.

The Suns came in confident and loose. Remember it was only 10 days ago that the Suns came into the AT&T Center and promptly throttled the Spurs by 17.

Early, it was starting to look like a repeat for the Suns as they pushed to a 16 point lead in the first half. The Spurs however, did not fold and pulled to within eight by halftime.

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