The Sports Writer

The list, oh the list...

2007-02-02T01:09:00.001+09:00

Completely random list of my 10 greatest sports moments.
(experienced either in person or through television)

If I sat down and thought hard, the list might change. But not by much.

1. Team Canada winning the Olympic gold in men’s hockey vs. U.S. in 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. I know the list is random and all, but this is the single greatest sports day of my life. Feb. 24, 2002. If I had to pick one, had to be Joe Sakic’s breakaway goal that sealed the deal in the third period, because even after Jarome Iginla’s go-ahead marker, I didn’t feel 100 percent comfortable with the two-goal lead.

2. Joe Carter of the Jays blasting the World Series clinching home run in 1993. Bottom 9th. Coincidentally, this was first live major league baseball game I watched on TV. (on an American Forces channel here) First time I got goose bumps and chills (I was literally shaking for a few minutes) watching a sports game.

3. Tiger Woods winning the 2001 Masters, the fourth leg of the Tiger Slam. Sheer excellence. What more can I say about the man? Or The Man?

4. Luis Gonzalez, of the D’Backs, blooping one over Mo Rivera and drawn infield for the World Series winning base hit in 2001. One of two, three greatest World Series ever.

5. Albert Pujols hitting a three-run jack off Brad Lidge in game 6 of 2005 NLCS. The ball may be still flying, and Lidge has not been the same. I was watching it on TV, and as soon as the ball was hit, I literally jumped out of my couch and screamed, waking up our puppy. Other than Joe Sakic scoring the fifth goal in that gold medal hockey game, this was the only time I got out of my seat during a sports game.

6. John Paxson of the Bulls draining the dagger trey in 1993 NBA Finals against the Suns. I remember this because some buddies and I in our middle school class turned our classroom TV on (yes, each classroom was equipped with 20-inch sets) to watch this during our break, when we weren’t supposed to touch the set. Jordan driving out of a double team. Dumping to Pippen. Dishing out to Grant. Who passes one to Paxson on the elbow. Dan Majerle, the Suns shooter caught in the paint on defense, throws his arms up in the air as if to say “Oh, no!” Priceless.

7. Edgar Renteria hitting the World Series winning single up the middle for the upstart Marlins in 1997, with Jose Mesa blowing the save for the Indians. First WS-clinching hit since Carter’s. First witnessed on North American TV.

8. Jordan hitting the jumper in the game six of 1998 NBA Finals. I still believe he pushed off Byron Russell of the Jazz, and that he traveled. Memorable because it was to be his last game (turned out it wasn’t. But it sure was his last NBA Finals game). He had his right wrist bent, arm stretched, as if knowing this was nothing but net. Jordan in his essence.

9. Team U.S. winning the 1999 Ryder Cup by taking eight singles matches on the final day and halving another on that infamous Justin Leonard putt on the 17th at Brookline. My first reaction: I can’t believe he made it (and this was after he’d drained two, three other bombs on the back nine). My immediate second reaction, as team officials and players’ wives stormed the green: What are they doing? Jose Maria Olazabal still had the putt to halve the hole. Won’t get into that argument here (my two cents: a severe breach of golfing etiquette. Don’t want that “heat of the moment” garbage).

10. Mark McGwire hitting No. 62. I know, I know, I am not here to talk about the past. But at the time, it was such a sensation that I actually skipped the freshman orientation party on Sept. 8. Never regretted the decision. Ironically, after hitting mammoth shots after another, the then-record setting one barely cleared the left field fence. Off Steve Trachsel. High-fiving Mark Grace at first. Mickey Morandini at second. Jose Hernandez at short. Gary Gaetti at third. Hugging catcher Scott Servais at the plate. Really, I named these players all off the top of my head.

Good ol' days...

2007-02-01T18:51:00.001+09:00

Been over a year (already!!) since I opened up this blog, although by the frequency with which I wrote in this cyberspace, one would be hard pressed to imagine so.

Enjoying a one-week vacation (I’ve been telling people ‘hibernation’), and just about wrapping up a book called, “Not Now, Honey, I’m Watching the Game.”

Ever since I came across this title as a high school student in Toronto, I’ve wanted to read it. Took me 10 years to finally grab it (thanks to invaluable whatthebook.com).

To wit: this is a serious book, folks. I only had a rough idea that it was about sports junkies, who spend hours and hours watching sports or doing otherwise sports-related activities (namely, ‘managing’ fantasy squads, reading sports sections of newspapers, etc), and how the ‘sportsholics’ (not mine, but author Kevin Quirk’s) should handle their relationships/marriage.

The book is based on a national survey, conducted by the former sportswriter Quirk, that asked men and women about the former’s sports-watching / -following habits and how they go about discussing the issues. I bought this book thinking I might need it in the future for my own relationship / marriage. I am grateful for it.

The only reason I’ve not been like a typical sportsholic described in this book (someone who spends up to 50 hours a week watching sports, including all of NFL triple headers during Sundays for the football season) is because Korean TV stations simply do not carry that many games.

Then again, I might now spend more reading and writing sports, but I’d like to think of that as part of my job.

Anyway, I am not here to review a book. It’s just that in reading through life stories of sportsholics in Mr. Quirk’s book, I was reminded of how I first got into sports.

A friend called off a dinner meeting tonight just hours earlier, and another plan tomorrow has been postponed for a week. The girlfriend is away at a company function tonight. It’s nice to sit down and reminisce about my sports (holic?) roots, if only because it helps my self-esteem.

My parents tell me the first words I uttered were off a sports section of a local newspaper. (Dang, they should have known right then and there I would grow to be like this.) Like some men mentioned in Quirk’s book, I learned basic arithmetic by poring over baseball box scores and statistical leaders boxes in sports newspapers.

Unlike many men, I didn’t get into sports with my dad. I suppose it’s sort of an American thing for a son to get his first sports experience (mostly a day at a baseball stadium) with his dad. My dad has never been a sports fan, and never will. He couldn’t tell a hockey puck from a baseball.

(To his credit, after I started playing Little League baseball, Dad would play catch with me on weekends. He would even bounce a tennis ball off the outer wall of our apartment building, so that I could practice catching a fly ball.)

In fact, it was my mom, and a neighborhood family who lived two floors down in our apartment building, that first took me to a baseball game.

(Mum is a sports fan. In the winter days of the early 90s, we would cuddle up in our living room to watch basketball games, and she and I would discuss strategies and defensive matchups and whatnots. Ah, mother-son bonding.)

Anyway, I don’t remember all the details (I must have been 6 then), but I do remember falling asleep on my mom’s laps because the evening weekday game lasted into late nights, when there was no such thing as a tie in baseball. (Now there is in Korean baseball, and don’t get me started on this.)

Mum and I went to a few more ball games together. One year, our local team made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, and rather foolishly, we went to the box office on the day of the first game to buy tickets. They were sold out, of course. We couldn’t afford scalped tickets, and I remember crying all the way home in our cab ride. (The team lost in the championship series in six games.)

Pop and I went to exactly one baseball game together, and that was to the biggest stadium in the country. I must have been 9 years old, and it was a huge deal to travel from our city to Seoul to watch a ball game (I remember I was the only guy in the class that has ever been to a ball game in Seoul). It was a Saturday afternoon, we sat at about 10th row in the left field (I was deked out in a full uniform of the road team, drawing looks from curious adults and kids alike), and a home run ball dropped just a couple of rows below.

We left after about five innings because a) Dad couldn’t stand much longer and b) we had to catch the subway home. I suppose we ended up going because Mom probably nagged him to have our father-son moments.

Oh, well, Dad’s staring at retirement in a couple of years, and I am a semi-sportswriter. Maybe we’ll try that baseball thing again soon.

Lookie here...

2006-12-02T05:52:00.001+09:00

Despite the appearance, this blog isn't dead. Not yet.

My last entry was in August, after Tiger Woods won the PGA Championship. Over the three-plus months since, the following has happened, both in my personal life and in sporting world. Since this is 6 a.m. and so much has occured on the sporing front that I can't possibly cover them all, I will stick to things that come to my head as I type welcome the dawn.

1. St. Louis Cardinals, my favorite National League team, won the World Series against all odds. How ironic, that the Cards on paper had a superior team in 2004 (WS swept by the Red Sox) and even last year, (NLCS defeat to the Astros), but this had to be the year. I suppose it's fitting that David Eckstein won the MVP. And no, I do not believe all the accusation that Albert Pujols was doing his best Barry Bonds impression in the clubhouse during the playoff. Perhaps I do not want to. He's my man.

2. Derek Jeter finished second in the AL MVP votes behind Justin (Eh?) Morneau from British Columbia, drawing ire of New York media types who believe the voters (baseball writers across major league cities) had inherent anti-New York bias. What? Did they not know that most of writers never see the leading candidates play in person the whole year and the most obvious barometer for their choice would be power numbers? Jeter never had it, and perhaps never will the rest of his career.

Look, I thought the MVP thing in AL was a crapshoot this year because no matter how much New York media trumpeted Jeter's "value" to the depleted Yankee club, he just didn't have the raw numbers. Had he won a batting title (2nd to Joe Mauer), hit at least 25 homers, (had 18, I think), or driven in 100 runs from the two-spot, or, did all of the above, Jeter would have been a shoe-in. Me, I would have voted for Morneau because his power surge coincided with the Twins' rise. But then again, I lived in Canada, so I am biased.

By the way, check out MVPs in three major sports leagues this year. Steve Nash, Joe Thornton, and now Morneau. All Canadians. How about that eh?

3. Lorena Ochoa is the winner of this year's LPGA Player of the Year. Good to see this gal finally realize her potential after so many runner-up finishes last couple of years. She has gone from the verge of becoming a woman Phil Mickelson to a potential female sidekick to Tiger. When she was in college, I read a magazine feature on her that she trained by climbing rocks and running near-full marathons. With that kind of regimen before she even turned pro, perhaps it was only a matter of time that Ochoa would eventually dethrone Annika Sorenstam. Speaking of training, maybe the tough regimen got to Annika this year? Have you seen her workout schedule? It's amazing she has maintained it this far.

4. I have a girlfriend now. I love her very much. She knows close to nothing about sports. And I don't care. I always felt I had to date someone who not only knew but appreciated sports. I was dead wrong.

5. There's a bar near my place that shows NHL action on big screen. Run by Canadians (surprise, eh?), this bar serves Canadian beers and food (namely, poutine). Ironically, my first time there, I watched Monday Night Football. But they carry three, four hockey games each week, including ones on Sat. mornings at 11. Just reading the TV schedules on their chalkboard, and watching hockey highlights on their screens on satellite feed from Toronto-based TV stations, I got chills down my spine. I miss hockey.

Well, I did catch a live game last week, the Sabres vs. the Penguins. Crosby and Malkin and Staal and the gang on the Pens looked good, but the Sabres were unbelievable. These guys can skate with the best of 'em, everyone is a threat to score, it seems, and their no-name defense was very physical. I felt for a while last year they were the team of destiny, but lost out to eventual champs Hurricanes because they basically ran out of healthy bodies. I wouldn't bet against the Sabres this season.

6. Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz is averaging something like 23 ppg and 12 bpg, giving the fans in Utah a glimpse back into Karl Malone's heydays, at least stats-wise. Those are better offensive numbers than: Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, Shawn Marion, and Elton Brand, among others. He screwed up one of my fantasy teams last year when he attempted a come back from a hamstring injury or something but instead ended up missing most of the season. This year, who's a bigger fantasy (and real) surprise? Maybe Zach "Contract Year" Randolph driving up his value for gullible GMs out there, or 'Melo beating LeBron and D-Wade in scoring race, and Kevin Martin suddenly emerging as the go-to guy in Sacramento.

7. Speaking of fantasy sports, my three NFL teams are all under .500, and now football isn't as fun this year as last. My guys have simply underperformed from the last season's standards for whatever reasons; Santana Moss (injuries, but then again, I should have known better to stay away from any smallish wideouts in draft), Antonio Gates (not entirely in sync with new QB Philip Rivers), Matt Hasselback (again, injury), and my darkhorse late pick, WR Michael Clayton, who I think has fewer than 300 yards reception through week 12. I will forget about this year, just play out the season, and enjoy some real games for a change.

8. I once wrote in this space writing can be therapeutic, quoting Alex Rodriguez's comment that he likes therapies because they are, um, therapeutic. Anyhoo, I know I have to write more. I will physically force myself to do this. I have been writing so much at work (duh, I write for a living) that I've found it difficult to write here, but I have been inspired again by other writers who keep blogs. And I could have forgotten just how much I love writing sports, or just pouring out my thoughts on issues as they happen.

Well, I suppose there's a reason no one else visits this site.

And the legend grows...

2006-08-22T13:08:00.000+09:00

I am speechless.

I have seen every one of Tiger Woods’ major victory, 12 now and counting, and each one seems more remarkable than the last.

I stayed up all night long to catch Tiger’s first tee shot at 4 a.m. local time. I dozed off on 3rd hole, but stayed awake for the rest of his final round, yet another masterful display of championship golf.

I couldn’t agree more with Gene Wojciechowski’s column on ESPN.com. Tiger is the single most dominant individual athlete of all time.

I am not sure if Tiger knows how good he is. He seems almost bemused by his major wins. The guy is so focused that even when he was up by five strokes with something like six or seven holes play and missed a birdie putt, he seemed visibly upset.

You can find all the deification on other newspapers, such as this and also this, so I will stop about here. Just a few observations and not-so-humble opinions.

1. In winning the Open Championship and the PGA this week, Tiger hardly used driver off the tee. Don’t have the numbers with me, but today in the final round, I saw him hit two drivers all day. Apparently, this is designed to help him keep the ball in the fairway off the tee.

Sure, Medinah was the longest ever major venue (is it just me, or do we hear that at every major? It’s either the course is the longest ever, or the longest ever for the particular championship), but Tiger can still match most guys’ drives with his 3-wood. Even with 180+ yards left to the pin, Tiger still hits mid to short irons, giving him enough spin to check the ball on the green.

Sheesh, this ain’t no rocket science. If he had this figured out earlier, Tiger would have won a few more majors (1998 Open, 2002 PGA, 2005 U.S. Open, and 2005 PGA come to mind).

2. I have never played with Tiger, and so I have no idea what his presence does to his playing partners in a final round at majors. But remember the meltdown at August in 2002, when everyone from reigning U.S. Open champ Retief Goosen to Vijay to Phil Mick to Sergio were within two to four shots of the lead (Retief was tied) entering the final round, and everyone backed up to get out of Tiger’s way? Before that, how about Mike Weir shooting 80 in Tiger pairing at 1999 PGA at Medinah?

Luke Donald, tied at 14 under with Woods, had two bogeys and no birds today for a 74. And no one else really threatened Tiger, who essentially ended the thing at the 8th hole with a birdie to go up by five.

Only Chris DiMarco and Bob May have outscored Woods when paired in the final round of a major. Those came at 2005 Masters and 2000 PGA, both of which Tiger won in playoff.

It’s easy for me to sit at home and accuse other golfers of being wimps. But then again, it’s increasingly become an old story. Digest this for a second: it had to take a no-namer like Bob May to push Woods to the limit for the first time, and even DiMarco, the grinder, crumbled in the playoff even though Woods closed out the regulation with consecutive bogeys.

Phil, Vijay, Ernie, Retief, Furyk, Adam Scott, Sergio, etc, haven’t done it. Some older guys, they probably never will.

3. In summer of 2000, when the 24-year-old Tiger was winning three majors and four out of five, some writers argued since golfers tend to peak in their late 20s and early 30s, we might not have seen the best of Woods.

It was a silly notion then, because everyone believed Tiger couldn’t simply be better. But we’re all witnessing it transpire now. This Tiger is a more complete golfer than the Tiger of 2000.

And somehow, I have little doubt that Tiger hasn’t shown his best. He may not win the next two majors in a row for another four-straight, “Tiger Slam,” but he will win consistently enough that Jack’s 18-major mark could fall before this decade is over.

18-12 for Jack. But he is the stationary target now. And Tiger is the fast-moving chaser.

USA Basketball reception...

2006-08-17T16:57:00.000+09:00

After the Korea-U.S. game Tuesday, I was supposed to attend the Metallica concert, which was to be held at a stadium just a couple of strides away.

I had written a story on our newspaper about the concert, and the organizers said they would have a ticket ready for me. I thought, what a perfect day: watching NBA players, and then going to see Metallica in person.

Well, the organizers screwed things up, and I never did get the ticket. But I ended up going to something even better.

I went to a post-game reception of USA Basketball at a downtown hotel, mingling with U.S. coaching staff and players.

The chief basketball writer from our parent newspaper had a ticket to that gala, but he said since he speaks almost no English and would be bored out of his mind there, I should go instead.

I could have gone to see Metallica, but when I heard that offer, I didn’t think twice.

I mean, when will you see Jerry Colangelo, Mike Krzyzewski, Nate McMillan and Mike D’Antoni in the same room again? And hang out with Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh in the same place?

As much as I like Metallica (I own every single one of their albums), I simply had to go to that reception.

Of course, I checked my journalistic objectivity at the door.

I walked in and immediately spotted Colangelo. He had a Budweiser in his right hand. I walked toward him, and HE RECOGNIZED ME!!! That was, like, the coolest thing that’d happened to me in, I don’t know, years!!!

Anyhoo, we shook hands, and we talked small stuff. About the game that day, Gilbert Arena’s injury, the upcoming World Championship. As was the case on Saturday, Mr. Colangelo (as I called him) was very generous with his time.

Then I spoke to McMillan, one of my favorite point guards in his playing days with the Seattle Supersonics. Though he declined my interview request on Saturday, he was so friendly that Tuesday night. When I approached him, he extended his hand, smiled, looked me right in the eye (that was the one common theme with all the people I met that night. They all made good, sincere eye contacts.), and said, “Hey, how you doin?”

Oh, he had no idea how I was doing. I was ecstatic.

I moved on to meet D’Antoni. He was eating off his plate, but since he was alone and I wasn’t sure when I would get another chance like that, I still went toward him. I wanted to be as polite as possible, and said, “Excuse me coach, sorry to interrupt your dinner…”

Then he turned around, smiled, and said, “Hi, I’m Mike.”

Well, duh, like I didn’t know. That was so cool of him.

I wrote in this space last weekend that D’Antoni is known as one of the friendliest coaches in all of sports. I could see why.

I mean, for him to introduce himself, “Hi, I’m Mike” is just beyond my description.

I told him I went to school in Canada, and he immediately lightened up even more (as if that was possible) and we started talking Canadian point guard and two-time MVP on his Suns team, Steve Nash.

Mike said Nash is so great he barely has to coach him, shaking his head in amazement.

Next up was Mike Krzyzewski, the one and only Coach K. Again, he was friendly, though he seemed a bit more contrived than others. But he was very good with kids.

Only two players were present. Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh. Both were a lot taller than I thought having watched them from press rows. I told Bosh, the Toronto Raptors center, than I am from Toronto, and he said, in a slow drawl, “Thaaat’s all riiiight maaan…” I wished him good luck in Japan, and Bosh responded, “Thannnks. I apreeeciate iiit.”

Howard is 20 years old, and he is a physical specimen. He played a great game that night, and I think he will average 17-20 points, and 12-15 rebounds in the next 10 years. These two guys made me feel small for the first time in my life.

Korea vs. U.S., pregame...

2006-08-15T14:29:00.000+09:00

About an hour and a half before the Korea-U.S. game begins... Some notes...

* Gilbert Arenas strained his groin during a practice session Monday and is out for the World Championship. The team, currently with 14 men on roster, had to cut two players, and I guess this makes it easier for them.

I would have expected Chris Bosh and Antawn Jamison to be the ones sent home after this week. Bosh, because the Americans don't have much in the way of centers and judging from their games this week, I don't think the coaching staff will draw a lot of plays for post-up guys. I think Elton Brand, Dwight Howard, and Brad Miller would be more than enough. Jamison, because he is more of a tweener on this team, much the way he has been throughout his career. He is a 6-9 forward who doesn't rebound much, and there are enough perimeter scorers as it is. He would have to defend better to stay on, I think.

Another wild card is Amare Stoudamire, who was dropped off this traveling squad at the last minute because of his recurring knee problems. When I asked Jerry Colangelo about Stoudamire, he didn't sound too hopeful. But then again, that's his own player from the Phoenix Suns, and maybe he wants to protect his guys (Shawn Marion was another one that was left off because of injury).

Arenas is an excellent scorer and he can bring the ball down the court against press. With Arenas gone, only Kirk Hinrich and Joe Johnson are decent shooters from the three-point line. LeBron is streaky, Wade is not there, Paul is still more of a passer, and Bowen is only good from either corner behind the arc.

So, with Arenas gone, I suppose they won’t cut another perimeter player, making Bosh the more likely candidate. Or was Arenas just one of the cuts, and the team only said he was hurt?

What do I know, though? I could be way wrong. Just for the heck of it, they might cut another player.

Third quarter...

2006-08-13T15:19:00.000+09:00

3Q shows the same line up as the first quarter...

14 players, 7-men rotation each quarter... Fair enough...

End of first half...

2006-08-13T14:30:00.000+09:00

2nd quarter... whole new lineup

Paul and Johnson at the back, Lebron and Jamison at forwards, Howard in the middle...

Not much going on down low the whole game... Lithuanian centers are tall... Bosh and Miller aren't even the center in the truest sense of the word, and Brand is more of a 4...

James missed a breakaway dunk from a between-the-legs feed by Paul... Crowd going nuts...
Players from the 1st quarter not playing, and those that didn't play in the opening frame are playing in the 2nd quarter... Subs are Arenas and Miller...

Lebron making up for the missed dunk by nailing a buzzer-beating three pointer...

End of first quarter...

2006-08-13T14:27:00.000+09:00

Americans up 29 to 11...

Interesting substitution patterns... Coach K shortened his bench for the first 10 minutes...

Other than starters, only Bosh and Bowen played...

Anthony and Wade doing the damage...

First timeout...

2006-08-13T14:16:00.000+09:00

Lithuanians don't have answer for Carmelo early on... Had an ally oop dunk off a Wade feed... Plus a couple of 3s...

Defensively, Americans are very active... Moving their feet, putting hands on shooters...

This is obviously not an exhibition for these guys...

At the start...

2006-08-13T13:41:00.000+09:00

Hinrich and Wade at the backcourt, Brand at 5, and Battier and Anthony on forwards.

I like having James coming off the bench. The second unit could be Paul and Arenas at guards, Miller at center, and Lebron and Howard.

Six minutes left.

Live from U.S. vs. Lithuania...

2006-08-13T13:16:00.000+09:00

About an hour before U.S.-Lithuania showdown, I am watching Elton Brand, Brad Miller, Kirk Hinrich, Shane Battier, Chris Bosh, and Dwight Howard warming up.

This is very, very, very cool. I can literally feel my neck hair standing.

Joe Johnson, Gilbert Arenas and Chris Paul have joined.

Now I see everyone except Lebron, Wade and Melo.

James is up now. And so is Melo. And Wade.

This is like reporting on red carpets for the Oscar.

I am surprised by a) how big Lebron James is b) how skinny Chris Bosh is and c) how Dwyane Wade can shoot around with earphones plugged.

Talking to Jerry Colangelo, and more...

2006-08-12T17:03:00.000+09:00

During the Korea vs. Lithuania game, I spotted some Team USA officials walking into take courtside seats. From then on, I was equally excited and distracted. Excited because, well, there were Coach K, Nate McMillan, Mike D’Antoni, Rudy T, and Jerry Colangelo, the director of the team.

I walked down to their seats at the first half, but the team assistant told me to come back after the game.

So I did, but Mike Krzyzewski said he didn’t want to talk to the media because he (along with Lebron, Wade and ’Melo) already had a press conference earlier in the day.

Oh well, since I didn’t prepare questions specifically for the head coach, I asked the assistant whether I could talk to any of the coaches. McMillan said no, D’Antoni (who’s known as one of the most media-friendly coaches in all sports) was pretty occupied with a couple of foreign journalists, and Rudy Tomjanovic, well, was looking out somewhere in the distance.

So I lined up behind a couple of Korean writers to speak to Colangelo. He was generous with his time and his comments. Only later did I find out that the team USA officials were pretty tired, hadn’t eaten lunch (it was just around 4 p.m., perhaps explaining cranky coaches), and in general not much in mood to speak to reporters.

Anyhoo, I thought of writing, verbatim, my three-minute or so of talk with Colangelo, but nah. But here’s the sum.

He thought Korea played a pretty competitive game, and only poor shooting in the first half prevented an upset. He said Lithuanian players looked rather tired (they’d landed only the previous night).

On the U.S. team’s showdown with the Lithuanians, he said the game is only a tune-up for the next week’s World Championship in Japan, and the team’s sole focus is on gearing for that tournament.

Hmm, the Lithuanian head coach said basically the same thing on Saturday, saying the game against the U.S. is not as important as the tournament matches in Japan.

Well, that probably didn’t please the organizers in this country. Apparently, Colangelo suggested to another reporter (one of the two in front of me) that he felt the Lithuanians were saving up their energy (tanking??) before the U.S. game.

When told of this, the Lithuanian coach said, “Colangelo is a smart man.”

I don’t know what to make of this. If indeed the Lithuanians were tanking the game against Korea, then even the victory would have seemed a little too tainted. Admittedly, the Lithuanians did look tired. But was that done on purpose?

I guess I will really never know.

At World Basketball Challenge: Sat, Aug. 12.

2006-08-12T17:02:00.000+09:00

At this writing, I am sitting at the press section of a basketball game between Korea and Lithuania. Korea is hosting this thing called the World Basketball Challenge, which is an invitational event featuring five national teams including one from, yup, the U.S. of A.

Being the part-time sportswriter that I am, I managed to pull down a pass for the weekend. Of course, being the full-time business writer that I am, I had to rearrange the schedule so that I could attend games on Sunday (including U.S. vs. Lithuania).

This has been a seven-day workweek for me, and the five days have been brutal as they were. I almost came down with a flu on Thursday night (imagine that, on a 35-degree day), and my major concern at the first sign of symptoms was that I didn’t want to get sick and be unable to come down to games.

But here I am, pretending as if I am trying to beat a deadline more than 30 minutes BEFORE the game, and feeling as at home as ever.

I have this thing with basketball: my first ever interview was an NBA Hall of Famer, Nate “Tiny” Archibald, when he led an all-star team from NBDL (secondary league) to play a couple of games against Koreans. I once did an exclusive interview with Korean pro basketball’s first and only foreign head coach, Jay Humphries, after he was (unjustly and rudely, it says here) let go in the middle of the season. Too bad I never got credit for that story in our paper. I relied on my contact with Humphries from some four years ago, when I interviewed him as then the first foreign assistant coach in the Korean basketball league.

And this weekend, I will get to see NBA players live, in person. The press pass doesn’t allow access to the court—seems a little weird, isn’t it, that members of the media can’t get on the court while kids with mops can—but still, no word can aptly describe my excitement level.

I once wrote in this space that only Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie would leave me (Michelle already has) all frozen and flustered in their presence. I was horribly wrong. Go take a look at the USA roster.

Lebron, D-Wade, Carmelo, Bosh, Chris Paul, Brand, Gilbert, etc.

I have no idea if I will be able to set up a one-on-one interview with any of the players. I have covered enough sporting events in Korea to know that organizers here are pretty, to put it mildly—unorganized. They believe blocking media access to players would be a way to protect players’ privacy. And then they send some scantily clad girls to hand out beverages from the title sponsor company. Damn.

Anyhoo, at least I can talk almost on the same eye level as most players. Hey, Chris Paul is a bit smaller, and I am about the same height as Kirk Hinrich. That’s kinda cool.

Singing blue...

2006-08-07T11:57:00.000+09:00

Until today, the Blue Jays hadn’t won since I left Toronto last weekend.

I’d like to think that there wasn’t any sort of curse or anything, but nonetheless, that losing streak (seven games, against the Yanks and the Chi Sox) took the Jays right out of the playoff race.

Sure, “mathematically,” we’re still alive. But that’s what it is. Mathematically, sure. But how can anyone believe the Jays can realistically jump three teams (the Twins, White Sox, Yanks/Red Sox depending on which day you look up the standings)

One of the problems has been the bullpen. Injuries have been a part of the equation, but then again, every team deals with injuries, and so that’s really no excuse.

Offense, yeah, it carried us for much of the first half, but as baseball adage has it, offense can only take you so far, and it’s pitching and defense that win games.

Roy Halladay is as great as usual, and B.J. Ryan has been (for the most part) lights out as the new closer. But the problem is there’s really not much in between.

The bottom line is, the Jays have battled superior teams all season long, and the team is slowly but surely running out of gas.

During my stay in Toronto, the furthest a local team advanced in the playoffs was the Eastern Conference finals by the Leafs in 1999 and in 2002. The Raptors came within a Vince “I had to go to my college graduation” Carter buzzer beater of reaching the East Final in 2001, while the Jays never made the playoffs.

Okay, the CFL’s Argos won championships under Doug Flutie, but never mind.

Anyway, I ain’t gonna try to connect dots between my time there and the performance of the local teams. But this recent losing streak, snapped against the Chi Sox, got me thinking for a bit.

Fantasy viewpoint: positional values, mid infielders.

2006-08-02T16:45:00.000+09:00

(*This will be the first of occasional items on fantasy sports. I began this blog with intents to write about fantasy sports, and since this may be the only source of ventilation for my fantasy, ahem, expertise, you the readers will have to bear with me through these ego-fuelled trips toward, um, never mind.)

Since he moved to third base from shortstop, Alex Rodriguez’s fantasy value has dipped a little bit. He was virtually the only power-hitting shortstop in all of baseball other than Tejada and Nomar, who was on the decline at the turn of the century anyway and is now a first baseman. Jeter may be the postseason stud and all, but as a fantasy player, he will only give you decent average and a few steals.

But at third base, well… Sure, Rodriguez can give you 40-plus homers, 130-plus RBI, and some steals and decent average, but I can name you at least four other third basemen capable of matching those stats.

David Wright; Miguel Cabrera; Troy Glaus; Aramis Ramirez.

This year, Bill Hall, who’s eligible at third, has more jacks than Rodriguez. Bill who? Wright has driven in more runs, stolen more bases, and hit for higher average. Glaus has five more home runs than Rodriguez in 20 fewer at-bats.

That means, if you were in one of those high stakes drafts with $260 or so salary cap, you probably didn’t have to spend as much money on A-Rod as in the past (not that anyone really predicted he would struggle this much coming off an MVP season). You could have bought underrated Ramirez at a cheaper rate and spend the remaining money on someone like Chase Utley.

It all comes down to positions, basically. The reason Utley is so valuable isn’t just because he can hit 30 homers and post up 100 RBI, but because he can put up those numbers while playing second base. Jeff Kent is a shade of a player he once was while Jorge Cantu, eligible at second and third, is doing everything he can this year to prove 28-HR, 117-RBI season in 2005 was a fluke.

But then again, it all depends on what you look for in a second baseman. If you’ve got all the power you need from other positions (and power numbers are not that hard to find from corner infielders and outfielders), then you could do well with Chone Figgins at second giving you 45 to 50 steals a year. Inexplicably, LF Alfonso Soriano is eligible at second base in some leagues (which is all good and well for me, since I got him on a team), in which case he is not only the best 2B but among the top-five fantasy players, period.

The same can be said about shortstops. To get power out of that position is a bonus, so you look for runs scored, steals, or average from your 6s. Jose Reyes gives you those three. Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Guillen can provide some power and steals, though, for Rollins, not the average. Michael Young seems to have lost some power this year but as the defending batting champ, he can be counted on for .300-plus average.

So try to look for different things in your mid infielders. Remember that power numbers can be found in other positions as well, and those other positions, namely corner infielders, may not give you the steals and runs scored that smaller 4s and 6s can.

Fantasy...

2006-08-02T15:29:00.000+09:00

I was watching a BoSox-Indians game on a cable channel here on Tuesday morning, Korean time. The Sox were down by two runs in the bottom of the ninth, and with a couple of men on base, David Ortiz came up to face closer Fausto Carmona.

I had mixed feelings as the ninth inning drama was about to unfold.

One, being the Blue Jays fan, and knowing any Red Sox loss is a boost to the Jays’ postseason dreams, I was hoping the fidgety Carmona would somehow get Ortiz AND Manny out to close out the game. Not an easy task, sure, but funnier things have happened.

On a second thought, I have Ortiz on one of my four fantasy baseball teams. Traded Chase Utley for the guy, and it has turned out to be a win-win trade for both sides. Utley is on a 33-game hitting streak, and Big Papi, with some 60 games remaining, already has numbers that most hitters would kill for in a full season.

So, when Ortiz drilled one to centerfield for the walk-off shot, my immediate reaction was, damn, the Red Sox won again.

Then I came to my senses, realizing Ortiz (who had a solo homer earlier in the day) had just helped pad the stats for my team, which is sitting nicely in the first place.

Yess!!!

Welcome to the world of fantasy baseball, where the love for your local team is lost amid pursuit of the vain (ultimate??) bragging rights for self-respecting sports fans: “Hey, I won my fantasy league!”

Full disclosure: I am a fantasy geek. Not to an extent where I would spend hours a day “researching” and “managing” my teams, but I devote a good chunk of my time going through my lineups, checking for updates on injuries and transactions, and making changes as necessary.

I’ve always had some sports fans around me, but the majority have not been fantasy sports players. It has been difficult for me to explain all the nuances and details of the stuff: you gotta play them yourself to fully appreciate the dynamics.

Think stock markets, where you want to buy shares low and sell them high, except shares are replaced with real athletes and what’s at stake are no more than virtual trophies and, yes, the darn bragging rights.

At that Jays game on my vacation, Alex Rodriguez hit a three-run homer. He was booed for obvious reasons, and after making a throwing error, he was booed even more raucously.
Me, sure, I joined the crowd in chanting “A-Rod~” in sarcastic tone and all, but in my heart, I was pulling for the guy.

Rodriguez is my third baseman on a team that’s moved between first and fourth. If he has performed up to his usual level, I would easily be the top player in that league. I’ve been fortunate to have had him on at least one team every year since I’ve played fantasy baseball (and all drafts were automatic. How lucky is that?).

Since this entry has been about my pathetic state of singlehood (how married men can manage their fantasy squads is baffling. They must have really understanding wives, or their wives may also be players, or the spouses have given up trying), I would like to end this on a lighter note with a quote from former Washington D.C. mayor Marion Berry. I didn’t make this up.

“I am a great mayor; I am an upstanding Christian man; I am an intelligent man; I am a deeply educated man; I am a humble man.”

The Blue Jays memories...

2006-07-31T18:10:00.000+09:00

So I was in Toronto for a week on my summer vacation last week. One might wonder why anyone would want to spend his/her vacation in a metropolitan city, rather than a tourist destination. Well, Toronto is basically where I spent my formative years, from a shy 16-year-old to a cynical and acerbic 22-year-old, where I began dreaming of becoming a sportswriter, where I learned to live on my own away from the parents, etc, etc.

Well, I am not here to discuss my vacation in detail—not that there’s much to talk about other than lots of beers (Canadian beers, that is) and just as much chilling. Let me just say the seven-day trip was a good walk down the memory lane.

One of many highlights was attending a Blue Jays-Yankees game at what the crass owners call the Rogers Centre (note the Canadian spelling, too), even though the place will always remain the Skydome in my heart.

Anyhoo, it was my first major league action in more than four years. I went to dozens of games in my seven-plus years there. I have kept all ticket stubs to the games (I collect tickets to every event I attend, from ball games to concerts and whatnot), though I haven’t bothered to count them all.

And in keeping with the recollection/reflection theme here, let me talk about watching baseball in Toronto.

My first ever game was on May 28, 1996, against the Chicago White Sox. I got a pair of tickets on a promotion deal from a local sporting goods store that gave away tickets for those spending at least $50. I bought a Grant Hill Detroit Pistons jersey that day.

Here’s what I remember about that game. Frank Viola was the Blue Jays starter. White Sox Tony Phillips (who would later become a Jay) hit a leadoff home run in something like first or second pitch. But the player that left the biggest impression was third baseman Robin Ventura. He came in to pinch hit in the seventh inning, and managed to hit two homers in the game.

The second shot was a monster one that went off the windows of the restaurant in the centerfield just under the Jumbotron. My buddy Sid and I were sitting at the nosebleed section in the right-center field, and we could hear the ball clunking off that window. Well, as soon as the ball was hit, it was such a humongous shot that some 30,000 fans were simply stunned.

Ventura became my favorite third baseman, and remained so until he retired two years ago.

In the last game of the 1998 season, against the Detroit Tigers, then rookie pitcher Roy Halladay was one out away from a no-hitter in just his second career start. I stood up for the whole ninth inning. With two outs, everyone on standing O, the Tigers sent out Bobby Higginson as a pinch hitter. Bobby drilled the first pitch for a homer in the left center field to break up the no-hitter and the shutout.

I almost fainted on the spot.

Also during that game, Shawn Green hit his 35th homer and reached 100 RBI on the season. He also had 35 stolen bases on the season, the first 30-30 season by a Blue Jay. He left the game in the seventh to a well-deserved standing ovation.

There are other odd games I recall. Carlos Delgado, then one of the trio of youngsters the team promoted heavily, along with Green and Alex Gonzalez, hit his first grand slam against Seattle. I was sitting at the fifth deck in the right field, and the homer landed a level below us in the upper deck.

I watched quite a bit of Pat Hentgen in his 1996 Cy Young season, and then a bunch of Roger Clemens starts in his back-to-back Cy Young seasons from 1998 to 1999. Ken Griffey Jr. was my favorite player at the time, and since the Seattle Mariners didn’t come to town all that often (being West Coast team and all), I made sure to catch as many Mariners games as I could. Of course, Alex Rodriguez, Jay Buhner, Edgar Martinez and Randy Johnson were all playing for Seattle then, at times making it hard for me to root, root, root for the home team.

I also remember that we always had the best attendance for games against the Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Indians. Fans from those cities would drive up to Toronto and make up nearly half of the crowd. The late 90s were the glory days of the Indians—Manny, Thome, Belle, Vizquel, etc—and the Cleveland fans were even more raucous than the New York or Boston fans.

The Jays and I go a long way back. Conjuring up the image of Joe Carter hitting the World Series clinching three-run homer off Phillies’ Mitch (The Wild Thing) Williams in 1993 still sends chills down my spine. It was the first full major league game I watched—on an American forces channel here when I was in middle school.

The blue birds are contending for a playoff spot against richer and, I admit, superior teams. They are the resilient underdog like the nation they represent.

Let's go Blue Jays!!!

Therapy, writing therapy...

2006-07-05T21:54:00.000+09:00

Oh, writing is therapeutic. It really is. Having just posted up three entries, I feel very, I don’t know, relieved. Like washing down some greasy chicken wings with a cold one (mmm... beer...).

It figures I was in need of some form of therapy anyway. Alex Rodriguez once said, “I like therapy. It’s therapeutic.” He probably meant it as a joke; actually, I HOPE he was joking.

A few things have happened personally over the last month or so. I broke up with a girl because I simply couldn’t get over another girl I was chasing (and casually dating) just beforehand. No, I wasn’t cheating on this recent girl: it’s just that I shouldn’t have begun dating her when I wasn’t completely over another one.

Of course, I decided to end that relationship thinking, even believing, I could work things out with that other girl. Turns out she is still only mildly interested in me. A source familiar with the situation has told me that girl basically doesn’t want to date me but she can’t stand seeing others date me, either. Well...

Whatever. So I am caught in a no man’s land. Stranded, really. And thus I am in need of something to heal my soul.

Oh, nothing that good sports games and stories and a little Miles Davis couldn’t heal.

I once told a friend that I’ve been busy dating World Cup. Of course, you know you have indeed watched too much World Cup when you can type names of the entire Italian team without looking them up. (Hello, Gianluigi Buffon. How you been, Vincenzo Ianquinta?) Or when you actually think hard about growing your World Cup beard (as in hockey playoff beard). Or when you actually have to pass up on a date with a hot chick in the evening because you have to get some nap earlier in the day to get up around 4 a.m. to watch games. (“Sorry, I can’t make it. Got soccer games to watch.” Geez, I’ve never thought I would say that in my life. Baseball, hockey, basketball, yes. Even golf. But soccer?)

Anyhoo, this glorious run is just three games away, though I could really do without the third-place match pitting losers from the semifinals. What’s the point of that? I suppose extra TV coverage, advertising fees, tickets, merchandise, concession sales, etc. But it’s gotta be a torture for players in that game. Think German players, for instance. They just played two consecutive games that went to extra periods, the last being the gut-wrenching loss to Italy, and now they have to gather themselves to play the loser of France and Portugal? Never mind mentally; are they physically ready for that stuff?

That third-place match is so anticlimactic: like the 18-hole, Monday playoff at the U.S. Open (for both men and women). Not only does no one remember who finishes second in the World Cup, no one even cares who finishes third and fourth in the tournament. You either win, or lose.

This is the first World Cup I am watching with any semblance of intensity. Korea hosted the previous one and reached the semifinals, but I was in Toronto at the time. Watched all the Korean games, but didn’t follow the whole deal as intently as I am doing now. And I watched the three World Cups before that only casually.

But I’ve learned that I can actually watch this sport, as long as it’s played on a high level. So perhaps I can sit through an English Premier League game, or some UEFA Championship matches. I just remembered I did watch a few games of the Euro 2000 and 2004.

So soccer, or football, as purists call it, may not be such a boring sport after all. Well, if anyone still thinks a lot of goals have to be scored for a soccer game to be exciting, I would present the Germany-Italy semifinal showdown as an example that refutes that notion. It was the best soccer game I’ve seen without goals in regulation. I would have been disappointed to see that game end in the shootout (a gimmicky idea anyway, but that’s for another time).

So my soccer ramblings continue. Three more games to go.

Italy, the team of destiny

2006-07-05T15:08:00.000+09:00

So the Italians beat Germany to reach the World Cup final, and so this story may seem like “make-room-for-me-on-the-Italian-bandwagon” kind of stuff.

Well, I do have some witnesses at work who have heard about my prediction of Italy winning the whole thing. From the moment they reached the second round.

So, here are some of the points I made to my coworkers about why I think Italy would win.

And I gotta talk about the signs. Oh, the signs.

To qualify as the team of destiny (maybe I should capitalize this), the team has to get not only the usual good performance from its players but get breaks here and there, from referees and whatnot.

Looking at its Group E draw with the Czechs, the U.S. and Ghana, one wouldn’t have expected Italy to cruise out (relatively speaking) of that group. The Czechs (No. 2) and the Americans (No. 5) are actually ranked higher on FIFA than Italy (No. 13). And the Czech beat the U.S. in the first game in pretty convincing fashion.

But Italy had some breaks. In that Czech game, top striker Jan Koller was injured and never played again in the World Cup, including their final game against Italy. Against the U.S., Italy ended up playing 10 men against nine because of some questionable officiating.

Then in the second round game against Australia, defender Fabio Grosso drew a last second penalty in another borderline call (I am still convinced Grosso was trying to leap above Lucas Neill and got tripped up. Plus, what’s a defensive back doing in the penalty box in the last minute of a 0-0 game?), and Francesco Totti scored.

Of course, Switzerland had to lose to Ukraine in the shootout in quite possibly the worst display of penalty kicks in recent memory, and Ukraine had to face Italy in quarterfinals. Italians promptly dispatched them 3-0. I thought the Swiss would present a tougher match for Italy and could well have won.

And now against Germany, coach Marcello Lippi’s substitutions all worked. Alberto Gilardino (the next generation striker, it says here) almost scored the heroic first goal in the extra period, getting one off the post. Vincenzo Iaquinta, over 6-foot, was a speedy force on the right side after he came in to begin the overtime. And Alessandro Del Piero, also in during the extra time, scored the dagger second marker in what was the soccer’s buzzer beater.

So there. All signs are there. Even the suspension of Daniele De Rossi (four games, after he elbowed American Brian McBride’s nose) didn’t affect the team, and now he will be available in the final against the winner of France and Portugal.

But coach Lippi told reporters that he basically doesn’t care who he plays. Well, given the way his boys have played to this point, I would have the same confidence myself.

Final: Italy 1, France 0.

My World Cup All-Stars

2006-07-05T15:02:00.000+09:00

I promise I will get right to the point, which is... um... wait, don’t leave!

For the first time in the history of this blog, I will come up with a list. Of my World Cup all-stars so far. I’ve had more than one editor say listing is a form of lazy journalism, but Rick Reilly has done it, Bill Simmons has done it, and DJ Gallo does it almost weekly. If it’s good for those three, then it’s good enough for me.

Goalkeeper: Ricardo, Portugal.

I suppose Itlay’s Gianluigi Buffon and Germany’s Jens Lehmann have garnered more attention. But Ricardo (one of those cool, one-named guys) stopped World Cup record three shots in the penalty shootout against England, then basically bristled at a reporter who suggested he was lucky because “I train well. I am not going to tell you my secrets. It wasn’t luck—watch the television.”

Love that kinda attitude from a goalkeeper. I thought only hockey goalies were the weird ones—Patrick Roy talked to goal posts (“C’mon, be good tonight, okay?”) and most of them have some wacky routines anyway—but soccer keepers seem to have just as much character.

(3) Defensive backs: Philipp Lahm, Germany; Eric Abidal, France; Miguel, Portugal

They all happen to be playing in the semifinals. Don’t ask. Lahm and Miguel are smallish ones who have taken active part in teams’ offensive schemes. Lahm is not even 6 foot, but unleash him from the backfield, and the next second, he is near the box either ready to set up a teammate or get a shot off on his own. Miguel has been a force on the right side of Portugal’s offense, though, like a pinching defenseman in hockey, he has been caught well inside in his own zone.

Abidal is more of a stay-at-home defender (there is another hockey reference), physical and bruising one at that. He first caught my attention in a game against Switzerland in the first round: he basically shut down right side of the French zone all by himself. He doesn’t get a lot of mention in the press because other French backs like Lilian Thuram and Willy Sagnol are more accomplished, but Abidal has been impressive.

(4) Midfielders: Zinedine Zidane, France; Frank Lampard, England, Juan Riquelme, Argentina, Michael Essien, Ghana

Zidane is retiring after the World Cup, but the way he has played, especially the last couple of matches, he has not looked like a player in his swan song. He is still as magical with the ball in the midfield as he ever was. (I haven’t written much soccer, and neither do I claim to be much of an expert, and so it’s rather difficult explaining virtues of players in writing.) He’s like a good point guard who can control the pace of the game. Like Steve Nash, without the hair (actually, without any hair, period).

I was impressed with Lampard, though an English fan I know of told me he was atrocious this year. Well, he and I must have different sets of standards in judging players (though given my lack of soccer expertise, I would say my friend would be more accurate). Lampard just terrorized defense whenever he played. I wouldn’t mind having a midfielder like that on my team.

Riquelme and Essien are more in the Zidane mold: the pitch general (as in floor general, get it?). They are often conspicuous by their absence.

One example of Riquelme’s importance: against Germany in the quarters, with Argentina up 1-0 with about 15 minutes to go in the second half, Argentina’s coach Jose Pekerman took out Riquelme for a defender, ostensibly trying to protect the lead.

Well, Germany scored a few minutes later, and when the game went into the extra period, Argentina couldn’t muster up any offense because it didn’t have anyone controlling the game. They wound up losing in the penalty shootout.

Ghana, one of the Cinderella teams, played a shockingly even match against Brazil before bowing out 3-0 on three borderline offside goals. Essien was missing because of two yellow cards accumulated from the first round. Think he would have helped Ghana push Brazil even harder? No question.

(3) Forwards: Arjen Robben, the Netherlands, Lukas Podolski, Germany, Fernando Torres, Spain

Robben was the dynamo in the Dutch’s run. I actually thought he was the best player coming out of the first round, but he disappeared against Portugal in the knockout stage. He is so tiny (something like 5-7) and, rather unfortunately, has already lost a fair amount of hair at 22. He and I were born on the same day Jan. 23, though I am four years older. Just thought I’d sneak that in.

Podolski is in because his name rolls off the tongue rather nicely (try saying that aloud. C’mon now). Sounds like some East European hockey player’s name. Okay, seriously, did you see the goals he scored against Sweden in the second round? The kid just turned 21.

Torres is my third choice because he is young (22), athletic, scores with flair, and is the future of Spanish soccer. In our office pool, I had something like 150 bucks (U.S.) riding on Spain’s winning the championship. No doubt I was cheering on Torres and his boys to beat France in the round of 16. Spain chokes all the time anyway, but I guarantee that in 2010, people will say this is the year for Spain. And Torres will be at the center of all the attention.

Okay, finally...

2006-07-05T14:13:00.000+09:00

This is my first entry in two months. I did go the entire June without an entry, even though there were: Stanley Cup Finals, NBA Finals, U.S. Open, the French Open (tennis), and, yes, the World Cup, which is still ongoing.

Actually, that there were so many events is precisely the reason that I wasn’t able to write at all. I am as voracious a reader that I am an eater. I read so much now that I think it’s become an obsession. (Fittingly, I am currently reading Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch, a book about the author’s obsession with soccer).

Here’s the thing. I devour everything and anything related to sports on the Web, from ESPN.com to Los Angeles Times to Washington Post, etc. So apparently, when all major sports are in play, I spend up to three hours reading columns, feature stories, interviews, profiles, etc. That leaves me very little time to read other stuff—my bookshelves are full of sports books anyway, with some novels from the likes of Hornby and Haruki Murakami.

It’s around this time of the year that I can really focus on reading other things, basically to stay sane. It’s just coincident that I had to pick up Fever Pitch (sports-themed title), and I’ve got on deck The Greatest Game Ever Played, an account of the 1913 U.S. Open, which Francis Ouimet beat none other than Harry Vardon for the title.

I digress.

Okay, the point is, now that both basketball and hockey seasons are over, the Open Championship is still a few days away, and baseball is heading into the All-Star break, this is high time for me to start writing a bit more.

Of course, without the World Cup, I would’ve begun my comeback effort a little earlier.

Not that I blame what many call the grandest sporting event in the world: it’s just that I’ve been following the event for my paper (I simply couldn’t type the word “covering”—damn, I just did—because I am not actually in Germany. The only thing I am “covering” is my big, oversized body when I am watching games at 3, 4 in the morning, when the temperatures are surprisingly low). I am writing stories on games and have done some smaller feature work (for those interested, please visit the link of JoongAng Daily on the right handed bar of this blog).

I know my editors won’t probably want to hear this (though I know one will actually read it. You know who you are), but I’ve never really been much of a soccer fan. So far this World Cup, I must have watched close to 30 games, which is about 29 more than I had watched in the last four years combined.

Oh well, it’s different this time around, really, because I have been watching games with more of an analytical perspective, which though hasn’t helped me actually enjoy them. At least I have developed a new appreciation of the sport. Also, it always helps getting paid to watch soccer on television.

So, the World Cup began on June 9, and I haven’t worked a day since. I am the lucky bastard who watches, reads, and writes about sports for a living (though I must say I am still far from realizing my lifelong dream of being a sports writer for a U.S. publication—I won’t name the outlet for the fear of jinxing the thing).

Sure, I do complain to those around me how I can’t sleep in regular hours, how I am not a big soccer fan to begin with, and how I am watching games while trying to come up with good leads in my head. But then again, it’s a cool thing to complain about how busy you are in this country: otherwise, people would think you’re just slacking off.

Anyhoo, going back to that “new appreciation” of the game. I have little doubt that footballers as a group are, if not the fittest, than one of the best conditioned athletes. Next time the players exchange their uniforms after games—a practice that I doubt will work in the North American sports: can you imagine some smallish running back trying to put on a jersey of an opposing linebacker? No, please don’t try to picture the topless upper body of that said linebacker—pay attention to how chiseled soccer players are. I can only think of one other sport—hockey—where all of its players, regardless of positions, all have no-fat, no-frills built. You have linebackers and guards in football, players like David Wells and Rich Garces, and other suspected steroid users with big heads in baseball, players like Shaq, Eddy Curry in NBA, and everyone except Tiger Woods in golf.

Okay, the last point was a bit of exaggeration, but despite the rising number of young up-and-comers who’ve learned fitness trailers in tour stops aren’t just the place to chill and get massages, still the disproportionate number of golfers are like you and me (okay, maybe more like me, but let’s not go there).

By now, you the reader will have noticed that I’ve rambled on for about 850 words without really saying anything. So I am going to save you from further trouble and continue on my, um, writing in a second entry.

You’re welcome.

*One final note: doesn’t it seem ironic that my second entry will actually appear on top of the screen, with the earlier one sitting just under it? So maybe I should have done the whole thing in reverse.

Mom, I saw Michelle Wie today...

2006-05-02T01:42:00.000+09:00

This is my first entry in more than a month, and my streak of consecutive months with an entry ended at three, as I went the entire month of April without one—an unthinkable notion when I began this blog, but then again, I didn’t have a girlfriend back then.

Anyhoo, I am back, and I am not here to deal with all the events that have come and gone since the last time I wrote in this cyber space. After all, how can any right-minded person be willing to (or be capable of) discuss (ing) in one seating the following—the Masters, the start of the new baseball season, the NHL playoffs, the NBA postseason, and Barry Bonds’ move toward Babe Ruth’s 714?

The Masters is my single favorite sporting event. Ever. There’s absolutely nothing like it to me. I may not be as ardent a golf fan now that I was five years ago, but still, the Masters means the world to me.

Staying on the golf theme, I have the distinct honor at our paper to cover Michelle Wie’s first participation in a men’s event here in Korea. She arrived here last Saturday, and a reporter who was at the airport told me she landed (in a private jet, no less) about three hours later than she said she would, keeping him and other reporters waiting, and she spoke for about five minutes at the press conference immediately following her arrival.

Saturday happened to be my girlfriend’s birthday. I spent the day with her. I think I made the right, not to mention wise, decision.

Anyhoo, I attended the first full-fledged press gathering held Monday local time, with Michelle and K.J. Choi, the only Korean man ever to win on the PGA Tour, both attending. The initial plan by the organizers was to have both of them seat at the same time, but some reporters suggested that because questions would mostly be directed toward Wie, Choi would feel kinda left out. So it was Michelle coming in first, and then K.J. dropping in at the end of Wie’s Q&A session to get their first official photo-op for the media, and taking questions himself.

First, full disclosure: I’ve met my share of celebrities and sports stars over the years, and I’ve been convinced for quite some time that there are only two such stars that could freeze me up and just leave me all flustered: Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie. Don’t ask. They just happen to be two golfers. Tiger, I would be basically intimidated. Michelle, well, I’d simply be in awe.

And I did get to see one of those. I followed Michelle practice putting on the 9th green earlier in the day, and the first impression I got of her was, gasp, how gorgeous she was.

Okay, I should be careful here because she is a minor and all that, but C’MON, THIS GIRL IS FREAKIN’ HOT!!! You would almost have to see her in person to believe me. She looks at least 100 times better in person than on television or any of the glossy photos. Really. I’ve never met either Maria Sharapova or Anna Kournikova in person, but I doubt they’d come across as attractive and charming as Michelle.

Also, she seemed so cool and calm and even detached under all the camera flashes going off on her. Sure, she has been on bigger stages, but hey, she is still 16. I am 26, and I can’t imagine dealing with the similar amount of attention. And the way she conducts herself is another remarkable thing. To sum, I think her parents must have done something right in bringing her up.

The press conference itself was a bummer, with reporters lobbing softball questions and Michelle hitting them with all the aplomb of a veteran twice her age (not to mention with that killer, aw-shucks, girl-next-door smile of hers).

While reporters asked questions in Korean, Michelle chose to handle them all in Korean. The interpreter helped her out on only one occasion. But her obvious limits in the language meant she blurted out mundane platitudes and golf-speak clichés. I could’ve asked questions in English, but I didn’t want to stand out.

Actually, I was so in awe of her (I sat in the front row, just a couple of feet away from her with no one sitting between us) that I probably forgot to ask questions.

Well, maybe I could’ve asked one: Hey Michelle, how about dinner tonight?

You see, I have always been a sucker for girls with baseball cap on. And I honestly think that Michelle looks better with the cap on than without one. Especially when the cap features a familiar swoosh logo.

Dang. I think I have already lost any journalistic objectivity I had with this golfer. I shall mention at this point that, I have five posters gracing my bedroom walls, and only two are non-musicians (other than U2, Judas Priest and Miles Davis). The two are Homer Simpson and, yup, Michelle Wie.

She is the first celebrity/athlete that I felt was unreal upon seeing in person. How can someone be that tall and gorgeous and charming and be a great golfer at the same time? Seems impossible.

(Excuse me while I wipe some saliva off my keyboards.)

I will follow her rounds, and hope to witness her making the first career cut at a men's event. Of course, her playing on the weekend will mean no date with the girlfriend. At this early stage, Michelle's first two rounds here could make or break our relationship.

Rain is forecast for Saturday: so Michelle can still make the cut, and the rain will wipe out the third round, I will be out with the girlfriend (watching a movie or two, the rain and all), and they will play two rounds on Sunday for 36 holes of Michelle. And I will follow every single shot.

That'd be the best scenario for three people at least.

March Madness, Korean style...

2006-03-17T21:12:00.000+09:00

To say Team Korea has been the surprising team in the World Baseball Classic would be a gross understatement.

I am shocked I haven't written anything about our boys in blue and white (that's an awful uniform, by the way) but then again, I have just been too emotionally spent over watching them beat, in order, Japan, Mexico, the United States and Japan.

Korea is 6-0. Will play Japan for the third time in two weeks in Sunday's semifinal.

Every single Korean game so far for me has been really consuming emotionally. I am actually thankful that I wasn't asked to write stories for the U.S. and the last Japan games for our paper--I know I would have basically fallen down from my chair upon completing those stories, so emotionally spent was I.

For a baseball fanatic like me, beating USA and Japan (twice) in baseball means absolutely the world to me. I was so jacked up after the U.S. victory that I couldn't get my adrenalin settled down until past midnight.

And then there was the second win over Japan. Believe me folks, this is like the Red Sox beating the Yankees for the World Series (assuming they play in the different league, okay??) or the other way around; like the Leafs beating the Habs for the Stanley Cup (again, assuming they play in the different conference); or France beating Germany for the World Cup.

I couldn't put together an eloquent sentence to save my life; I can only say that the two wins over Japan were the two most important baseball wins for Korea. Ever.

But now comes the hard part.

Even the Korean manager Kim In-sik said he would rather play the USA than Japan in the semis. I would, too. You know why? Because the Japanese are out for vengeance—not that they weren’t for the second game, which they still lost; because, damn, the third time may just be charm for them; and because, heaven forbid, Koreans may be a little too confident, having beaten them twice already, all thanks to 8th-inning offensive outburst.

Look, when Korean pitcher Seo Jae-weong planted that Korean flag on the mound, I was just as tingling as anyone with feelings. But I also felt they had gone overboard a bit in the ceremony, especially given the possibility (however slim) that Japan could be their opponent again for the one-and-done semifinal game. Koreans celebrated as if they’d won the whole thing.

And now the pressure is on Koreans.

They have to prove the two wins weren’t fluke, after having to prove that first win wasn’t fluke. With every upset win comes the pressure to prove the last one wasn’t just coincidence. And I think that’s only fair.

In a seven-game series, can Korea beat Japan four times? I am not sure. I really can’t say.

I think Japanese are too talented to lose three straight to, let’s face it, an inferior team. But of course, talent alone doesn’t win ball games, as attested by Canada and Mexico both having upset USA. Korea’s certainly got the momentum, but I am almost afraid Japan will come out of gate so hot, score a couple of runs in the first inning or so, and then shut the door on us.

I can only imagine what some of the loquacious Japanese players will have to say after beating Korea for the right to play in the championship game. That, more than the loss, would absolutely drive me insane.

Think about that; Japanese players will seem as though the two previous losses had never happened (well, I mean, they did nothing to stop Japan from reaching the semis, though Mexico did help), and will think they’re still the undisputed baseball champs in Asia. I would really hate to hear that, though I would understand why they would say things like that. Maybe I should give them more credit—maybe they won’t be such poor sports after all.

But then again, there have been some Japanese players who’ve said “bulletin board” stuff: Ichiro once said something to the extent that he would make sure other Asian teams don’t think they can beat Japan for 30 years (of course, it took Koreans less than 3 days after the comment to win 3-2 IN TOKYO, but let’s not go there).

But planting that flag on the mound probably riled Japanese players as much as Ichiro’s inane comment upset Koreans. I felt kinda uncomfortable seeing that after first several seconds. It was showing up the opponent, really, but the manager was in the clubhouse, talking to our president, and so I guess he couldn’t do anything to restrain his players.

If Japanese players are extra motivated for Sunday’s game (as if they needed any more), then Koreans really brought that to themselves.

All of which will only make the game more dramatic.

This is the single biggest sporting event for Koreans this year—bigger than those short-track speed skating finals in Turin, bigger than those friendly soccer matches, bigger than Korean golfers battling in the playoffs on LPGA Tour.

A couple of things working for Korea, other than momentum and confidence.

Defense: the only team without an error this tournament. The infield defense has been the most under-appreciated part of the team’s success. I always had confidence in our two middle guys, shortstop Park Jin-man and second baseman Kim Jong-kook (though both have struggled at the plate). Not only do they turn all the routine plays, they make tough plays look routine. Park is the best all-around shortstop in the nation (he does have some pop, just had an offyear last season), and he’s been spectacular so far. Alex Rodriguez expressed his surprise that none of the Korean fielders ever bobbled the ball, and that’s true. They make it easy on pitchers to throw offspeed pitches and try to induce ground balls.

Match ups: the Korean bullpen has a solid righty-lefty combination to work through left-heavy Japanese lineup. We were successful in forcing switcher hitter Chipper Jones to come out on the different side of the plate in each of his four at-bats. None overpowering, but everyone’s got at least three out pitches in his arsenal, and they have been successful at stealing hitters’ timing. But the only downside is that Japanese hitters have seen most of Korean pitchers twice already in game situations. The novelty factor is gone now.

I can’t wait till Sunday. I’ve told my family and coworkers that I might faint if Korea advances to the final. I am elated Korea’s got this far, really. I would have been happy to see final four of Dominican Republic, Venezuela, USA and Japan, at least from a fan’s point of view. I would’ve still cheered for the Korean squad, but I wouldn’t have had the expectations that the team would come this far.

But now that it has, well, we might as well go all the way.

Why not? Why the hell not?

I think I could also live with the loss Sunday. I really could. I mean, yeah, I’d be disappointed, but I’d be okay with this final-four showing.

Korea has been the little engine that could. Let’s see if it can keep going.

Timeline... USA vs. Japan

2006-03-13T18:44:00.000+09:00

Following is the actual timeline entry I wrote while watching the World Baseball Classic game pitting U.S. against Japan.

It was televised from 6 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.-ish here in Korea. So what the heck was I doing up at this hour, when I don't have to get up that early for work? (For anything, really...)

Here's the story...

Coming off a heartbreaking night with this girl... Had a few too many drinks... Went to bed at 1 a.m., something startled me about quarter to 5, spent some 30 minutes sitting on the edge of my bed, wallowing in self-pity, then suddenly remembered there was ball game on.

Ah, nothing a baseball game couldn’t heal... So love bites, love hurts, but life goes on. So does the World Baseball Classic.

6:08. The first play of the game on air (joined in progress after Cuba beat Venezuela 9-2), Ichiro hits a leadoff shot off Jake Peavy. Japan 1, USA 0

6:23. Runners on 1st and 2nd for USA, one down. A-Rod hits into a 5-4-3 double play. ESPN closes in on Derek Jeter returning to the dugout from 2nd base, and he appears to be staring down at Rodriguez with the same, “No, please, don’t do this to me” look he had when A-Rod ended the Yankees’ 2005 season with a double play (with Jeter on first) against the Angels in the ALDS.

6:28. The speed gun on Peavy hits 97 mph for something like 5 straight pitches, including some breaking balls. Local telecasters wonder if the gun is broken. I wonder if even the gun is juiced.

6:32. Top 2nd. U.S. catcher Brian Scheneider visits the mound to confer with Peavy. Inexplicably, Peavy covers his mouth with his glove, thinking somehow Japanese players would be able to read his lips. Anyway, the battery doesn’t look in sync.

6:34. Japanese shortstop Munenori Kawasaki hits 2-run single off shaky Peavy with two outs. Japan 3, USA 0.

6:39. Bottom 2nd. Chipper Jones drills a 3-1 pitch off Koji Uehara to right center, Japan 3, USA 1

6:45. Japan’s 1B Nobuhiko Ogasawara makes a nice diving stab on Brian Schneider’s grounder.

6:48. My puppy, after spending the first inning purring on my laps, goes find her blanket, and starts snoring. I am distracted.

6:55. Feeling starved, I make myself a bowl of cereal and drink some orange juice.

7:00. Bottom 3rd. Jeter hits into 6-4-3 double play with Michael Young on first. Wonder why ESPN camera doesn’t catch A-Rod in the dugout.

7:01. A-Rod comes to bat with 2 down after Ken Griffey hits a single. Good thing he can’t hit into a double play. He promptly drills the first pitch to left field for the team’s third single in the inning.

7:03. A wild pitch moves runners to 2nd and 3rd with Chipper at bat. Then Larry hits a weak grounder to first. These guys can’t hit with runners on.

7:07. Top 4th. Next to leadoff hitter Akinori Iwamura’s name are letters BB. Of course, they meant 3B.

7:08. Mom and Dad wake up, wondering what the heck I am doing at this hour. One look at the TV screen answers their questions.

7:10. Peavy throws first 1-2-3 inning. Still, the USA is down by 2 runs. Can their hitters find their grooves in time? Allowed 5 hits through 4 innings. Not Peavy-like.

7:15. A rather lethargic bottom 4th for USA. 1-2-3 inning on something like 12 pitches.

7:18. Top 5th. So the pitch limit for 2nd round is 80 pitches, but wonder why they’re leaving Peavy in there. USA’s got 6 closers with more than 20 saves from last season. Why not send them out, one inning each for the rest of the way, and make sure Japan doesn’t score any more?

7:20. See Scot Shields tying up his spikes to start warming up. Angel Stadium, Shileds of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Good combination.

7:21. Another 1-2-3 inning for Peavy. Hmm.

7:24. Bottom 5th. Shortstop Kawasaki makes a over-the-shoulder basket catch off Junior’s pop. That’s after Iwamura makes a diving catch on Jeter’s sharp grounder to force Young at 2nd. Some major league defense. Very impressive.

7:32. Shields relieving Peavy for top 6th. Throws that nasty slider clocking at nearly 80 mph, and comes back with 93-mph fastball to freeze Hitoshi Tamura for the first out.

7:36. Third straight 1-2-3 stuffing by USA pitching. Time for some offense.

7:39. Naoyuki Shimizu relieves Uehara to begin bottom 6th. Fools A-Rod with two straight, huge overhand breaking ball at 76 mph, and comes back with a 92-mph heat. Freezes him with 89 mph fastball on the outside corner. This guy steals timing with a little stop-and-go motion at the top with his left leg up.

7:43. The umpire tells Shimizu not to lick his right hand before he pitches. Of course, I see Greg Maddux do it all the time.

7:45. Derrek Lee ties the game with a two-run jack on 3-1 pitch. This after a huge swing-and-a-miss on 3-0 fastball on the outside corner. Then Shimizu comes back with the same pitch, and misses the spot to over the plate, knee high. Lee jumps on it. USA 3, Japan 3.

7:52. Todd Jones pitching in top 7th. Here comes the U.S. bullpen. Brian Fuentes warming up. Closing time for USA, if they could only score another run or two.

7:59: Jones, after allowing a hit, strikes out two batters in a row. Then Fuentes comes on. He of 31 saves and 2.91 ERA. As a Colorado Rockie. Can you say bullpen by committee?

8:04. Fuentes allows a hit, and Joe Nathan warms up. Two down, 1st and 2nd, Ichiro is up. Local play-by-play guy says Ichiro’s career batting average at Angel Stadium is .352. He grounds out to 2nd.

8:05. Bottom 7th. Young-Jeter-Griffey. This is it.

8:09. Young leads off with his third straight single. A consummate hitter. Those three hits went right field, left field, and then up the middle.

8:10. Jeter bunts Young over to second, setting the table for Junior and, gulp, A-Rod.

8:14. Lefty Soichi Fujita comes on to face Griffey.

8:17. Junior moves Young to third on a sac fly. Here comes A-Rod.

8:18. Another pitching change for Japan. Yasuhiko Yabuta.

8:22. A-Rod goes down swinging on a change up. Dang.

8:25. Nathan for the top 8th. 43 saves last year. 12.1 K/9 innings.

8:27. Lee makes a diving catch on a failed bunt attempt. Slow to get up. Every major league manager’s worst nightmare.

8:28. See Brad Lidge warming up in the pen. Uh-oh.

8:29. Tsuyoshi Nishioka steals the first base of the game.

8:30. Nobuhiko Matsunaka, 45 homers in Japan, is hit by pitch. No one wants get hit by a Nathan pitch. 1st and 3rd with one down.

8:34. Nathan walks Kosuke Fukudome. Bases loaded for Iwamura.

8:37. Shallow fly to left, but Randy Winn has a rubber arm, and Nishioka is really fast. He comes home standing up. Japan 4, USA 3.

8:38. Wow. Umpires rule that Nishioka left the base before the catch was made, ending the inning. No freakin’ way. Get those conspiracy theorists on the bandwagon, now. Back to tie game.

(*The scheduling and grouping of this tournament was designed to virtually keep the U.S. team in it as long as possible. Otherwise, what’s the deal with two winners from each of the round 2 pools PLAYING EACH OTHER AGAIN in the semifinal? Of course, if the USA (very likely one of the two winners in the Pool 1 in round 2) faces either Dominican Republic or Venezuela (other likely winners from the other pool), there’s higher chance of them being eliminated before reaching the championship match.)

8:41. Saw the replay. It’s a bang bang play of different sort. Nishioka clearly is safe. No question. He left the base a split second after Winn made the grab. Of course, with no instant replay in baseball, the call stands. A bad call. Very, very bad call.

8:44. So the umps apparently want the USA to win. It’s up to the players to come through.

8:48. Yabuta is impressively calm, retiring the side in the bottom 8th.

8:52. After a bathroom break, see Lidge is on, but so is runner on 1st with no out.

8:53. Thinking to myself if Japan wins this game after that terrible call in 8th (while Norichika Aoki sac bunts over a runner), it will be more than just a victory for them. Not good news for Korea then.

8:54. Lidge vs. Ichiro. Top 9th. Runner on 3rd with 2 outs. And they walk him. To fill the first base, I suppose.

8:56. Of course, as fate would have it, Nishioka, that runner on third in that play, comes to bat with a chance to go ahead. Ichiro steals second with no throw.

8:59. Lidge walks Nishioka to load the bases. I don’t think umps can do much at this point.

9:01. Lidge strikes out Tamura with a sick curve. Going to bottom 9th.

9:02. Feeling really sleepy at this point, hoping the USA will win with a go-ahead run.

9:04. Kyuji Fujikawa is a new pitcher for Japan. Vernon Wells-Winn-Young.

9:07. I would pinch hit for Winn. Mark Teixeira, maybe. Huston Street is warming up.

9:09. Wells on with an infield single. Maybe Winn will stay in to bunt.

9:10. Winn gets down a great bund along 3rd baseline, looks to be out at first, but Nishioka, covering first, doesn’t get his foot down in time. 1st and 2nd with no out.

9:11. Young’s bunt goes back to the pitcher. Wells forced at 3rd in another bang bang play. Bad bunt, good throw.

9:12. Surprised Young wasn’t allowed to hit, after those three straight hits. Questionable.

9:13. Jeter gets drilled on the back. Bases loaded for Junior. I think I saw George Steinbrenner wincing.

9:15. ESPN shows Junior’s son in the U.S. dugout.

9:16. Fujikawa has great stuff. Junior gets him to full count, and…

9:17. Junior swings and misses on a 93-mph rising fastball. Incredible stuff.

9:18. A-Rod. Uh-oh. This is one chance to redeem himself, and…

9:19: He comes through, for a change. Hits one up the middle, Nishioka can’t make the grab. USA 4, Japan 3.

9:20. Japan was robbed. No question. Gonna get some sleep…

The bomb...

2006-03-11T23:20:00.000+09:00

(*Disclaimer: this will be a looooong entry.)

This is the first post of March, and it's nearly half way through the month.

Anyhoo, I meant to come here to write about Team Canada's quarterfinal loss to Russia (another shutout, damn) at the Winter Olympics, but that just would've been a painful experience. Instead, I popped in the tape of the gold medal clinching game from the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, and basically soothed myself: It's gonna be okay. In 2010, we will have the home ice in Vancouver--well, assuming the NHL allows its players to participate in the Olympics--and some of the younger guys will have had another four years of NHL and international experience.

I had the inaugural World Baseball Classic to look forward to, and with Korea beating Japan 3-2 in the first round to finish atop the Pool A, and with Canada shocking the U.S. 8-6 (and still not advancing to the next round, damn), I was soon able to move past my Olympics hangover and focus on baseball and, to some extent, golf.

Then a bomb of an event from earlier this week completely overshadowed everything for me (and for the general sporting public, I figure), including WBC, Tiger winning another one and rounding into form (kinda misnomer since this may imply Woods is ever not in form) ahead of the Masters.

Game of Shadows, a book written by two San Francisco Chronicle reporters, to be published later this month, provides a detailed look at Barry Bonds's use of performance-enhancing drugs since the end of 1998 season, after Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa broke Roger Maris's all-time single season home run record of 61.

Now, there's hardly anything new about allegations that Bonds has been on steroids, or, as the book points out, other types of performance-enhancing drugs, such as the kind prescribed to women for infertility and another used to build muscle in cattle.

But this book's documentation, based on hundreds of interviews with sources connected to Bonds's drug-ingesting history, and transcripts from grand jury testimonials, is hard to refute. Seriously, these two writers, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, wouldn't have taken a sabbatical leave from the Chronicle to write a book based on mere speculation.

When McGwire and Sosa were going at it, I was like everyone else; I was so engrossed in the whole chase that when Big Mac was one homer away, I skipped a party from my freshman orientation at the University of Toronto to go home and watch the game against Sosa's Cubs on Sept. 9, 1998. I have the thing on a video tape, and I still recall who gave up that homer (Steve Trachsel, you could look it up. I can even name every player who was on the field for the Cubs, but I won't.).

Even when it was confirmed that McGwire had been relying on androstenedione (a direct precursor to testosterone, a type of steroid), I didn't think it presented any problem, performance wise or ethics wise, because at the time, the thing wasn't even banned in baseball. I recall having a heated discussion with a friend back then on whether McGwire's home run record should stand, and I felt at the time the andro was a non-issue because, simply, it was not banned in baseball and it wasn't even tested in the game.

You can't punish people for doing something that's not prohibited.

Now, the steroid testing in baseball began in 2003, though it wasn't until last year that the Congress twisted the arm of Bud Selig into introducing really stiff penalties (third violation means lifetime ban). According to the book, Bonds started ingesting steroids from the offseason following 1998 season.

So...

Putting an asterisk to Bonds's and other "steroids era" players' records would be like opening a can of worms (juiced worms, maybe???). Without concrete evidence, where do you begin and where do you stop?

Do you point a finger at guys who used to hit 20, 30 homers in late 90s and, with strict testing in place, suddenly started getting hurt (as possible side effects), and automatically assume they were on to something before? The list goes on: Juan Gonzalez, Ivan Rodriguez, Brett Boone, Magglio Ordonez, Luis Gonzalez, just off the top of my head. Go check out their stats and tell me you don't notice a certain trend. So should we attach asterisks to their numbers as well?

I even read a few stories during last year's Hall of Fame voting season that hitters from the steroids era who were never suspected of taking steroids (Fred McGriff was frequently cited as an example) would benefit in their balloting because they would carry that extra benefit of battling among juiced contemporaries.

After reading excerpt of the book here, I continue to have mixed feelings about the whole thing. Having read a bunch of columns on this hasn't really helped, either. Here's Gene Wojciechowski writing on ESPN.com Barry is finished and he shouldn't get into the Hall, and the New York Post's Mike Vaccaro saying Bonds should quit ASAP. Then there's J.A. Adande the Los Angeles Times still thinking Barry belongs in the Hall.

I am confused. I tend to sit on the fence in a lot of issues anyway, but on one particular topic that I had thought I would lean strongly toward one side about, I am just torn.

Why? On surface, it looks so simple. The guy has taken steroids, period.

My love for baseball runs deep, and maybe I am in a denial stage. Though I've never been a fan of Bonds, I've been a fan of his performance, and I stayed up past midnight on the east coast to watch him chase and break Big Mac's records in 2001. Even as allegations and speculation surfaced about his steroids-taking antics, I remained, almost surprise to myself, almost uninterested. It was like, yeah, okay, but everyone else did it. Barry had superior talent to begin with (he already had more than 400 jacks before he started taking steroids), and that's why his numbers basically stomped those of others who tested positive.

My thinking was, show me a positive test, and I will show you a disgraced, not to mention juiced, slugger. I had been a big Palmeiro fan, but after he tested positive last summer, it was like sayonara. But as long as Bonds was simply under speculation (made no better by his strained relationship with the media), it was fine by me.

Now, here's the thing. Barry Bonds should not be inducted into the Hall of Fame. There's absolutely no doubt about that at this juncture. And if it can somehow be proven that the likes of McGwire and Sosa have also taken steroids (it's again something everyone kinda knows, but no one has concrete evidence of), then they shouldn't get in, either. To me, it's as simple as that.

The best thing Selig can hope for is for Barry to retire and just disappear into obscurity until, five years later, he will be eligible for Hall of Fame. A lot of things will have occurred by then. He's just seven home runs away from passing Babe Ruth's career home run totals, and what would the baseball world say about that? Would Selig be on hand for the occasion?

I am a little peed about Bonds's arrogance even after this revelation; he has said he won't even look at the book because there's no need to.

Of course, he already knows how the book goes anyway.

To conclude, (though it may feel like I haven't said anything so far), read ESPN.com's Page 2 piece by Patrick Hruby. I won't spoil it for you readers (if there are any, damn).

Wah wah, lemme outta here...

2006-02-23T19:15:00.000+09:00

One sport I haven’t dealt with here very much is basketball. It sort of betrays my love of the game that I haven't written about it all that often here.

NBA was the first U.S. sports league I discovered, and watching games on American Forces Network here, I followed the Pistons’ late-80s championship teams (I may have written it here before, but Isiah Thomas was my idol early on), and watched Michael Jordan dismantle the Knicks (seemingly) every time their games were on.

Funny too that I haven’t written about NBA much, because over here, I get more live NBA games than other leagues’.

Anyway, the All-Star weekend just wrapped up, and the unofficial second half (unofficial because teams have already played more than half of their schedules) has gotten underway. Here are my random ramblings (as usual) on some of the pressing issues in the league.

Steve Francis is rumored to be on his way from the Magic to the Knicks. (In fact, after I wrote this draft, he WAS traded to the Knicks for Penny Hardaway and Trevor Ariza.) In recent memory, has there been a more disgruntled player, a player who absolutely can’t appreciate his good fortunes, than Francis? He’s a tremendous talent, with career averages of more than 19 points and 6 dishes and 6 boards, but I’ve always had problems with whiny, woe-is-me type of players in all sports.

He once refused to enter a blowout game, and was suspended for two games. How professional. But then again, this is a guy who refused to play for a team that drafted him (then Vancouver Grizzlies, and I can still remember his facial expression upon hearing his name announced as the 2nd pick in 1998 draft. I thought he was gonna be the first guy to cry at an NBA draft because he didn’t like the team that picked him).

I think, in general, today’s athletes have too much ego (again, this is just generalization), possibly fed by fawning media types in their hometowns, sycophantic team officials who cuddle up to what essentially are their walking cash boxes, and all those SportsCenter highlights that glorify flashy individual plays. I don’t know if they realize that a) they’re playing games for a living and b) there are millions of people (including yours truly) who would kill to have their jobs, not to mention the accompanying salary.

I am sorry, but I can’t deal with crying babies. I know it’s too simplistic to argue if you get paid millions of dollars, you’re not entitled to complain in public. But still, I think such hefty salaries do give those athletes at least some responsibility and even obligations.

I don’t expect them to be donating half their pay to charities, or show up on TV with smiling children on their laps with books in their hands. Those actions seem phony to me anyway. But what I do expect from those millionaires and billionaires is at least some sense of, I don’t know, realization/recognition that there are people a lot worse off than they are.

Not that people who get paid millions don’t have their issues. But if they can’t handle them with grace in public, they probably shouldn’t have jumped into professional ranks. You know, it comes with territory.

Hockey talk, Olympic style...

2006-02-22T01:16:00.000+09:00

Watching the Canada-Finland game again on tape-delayed broadcast. We have a lot of big forwards with scoring touch (Rick Nash, Ryan Smyth, Vinnie Lacavalier, Joe Thornton, etc), but it was frustrating to see we couldn’t get any forechecking going to keep the puck in the Finn zone and cycle it around. Guys just tried to deke all defensemen by themselves, and as I alluded to earlier, defense seemed incapable of making that transition pass to enable smooth rushing attack.

The gold medal game from the Salt Lake City remains the single most memorable sporting moment of my life. In that game, Canada put on a forechecking clinic against smallish U.S. defense (Brian Rafalski, Brian Leetch, Gary Suter and even Chris Chelios got banged up all day). The line of Eric Lindros, Brendan Shanahan, Ryan Smyth took the opening faceoff, and they set the tone right from the get-go. Simply, the Americans couldn't keep up with us.

This year? No Lindros, no Shanahan, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have the personnel to employ strong forechecking. There’s a reason Kris Draper and Shane Doan have been picked for this team.

But players seem to think there ain’t no such thing as a checking line on an all-star team like this one. They all want to try to dance around the defense and see what happens. Against the Finns, who essentially closed down neutral zone after Teemu Selanne’s first goal, it was like watching teams trying to beat mid-90s New Jersey Devils when they used the then-trendy neutral-zone trap defense.

I think the roles were more clearly defined in 2002 than now. With Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman around, perhaps leadership had something to do with it. Joe Sakic, by far the best player in 2002, is captain this time around, but he too seems to have lost a step, and somehow doesn’t exude that “get on my back, boys” confidence, as great as he is.

I guess it doesn’t help that some of the guys were having sub-par NHL seasons heading into the Olympics. Nash was a dynamo at the World Championship playing with Thornton and Gagne, but missed most of the season with an injury. Iginla had a coming out party in 2002, but has yet to recover the same scoring touch. Chris Pronger is playing hurt, and Adam Foote is having a miserable first year in Columbus.

Look, if Pat Quinn can’t have his lines set after four preliminary games, then he probably never will. I am sorry, but against the Czechs, the coach should employ four set lines and six defensemen and stick with them, come hell or high water.

For offense, gotta go with Sakic between Iginla and Gagne, and then Thornton between Heatley and Nash. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Lightning connection, with Lacavalier centering Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis. That leaves Kris Draper between Shane Doan and Ryan Smyth, though I suppose Doan can be replaced by Bertuzzi.

Blake and Pronger played as a pair against Germany in even strength and power play, and were separated against the Finns. I can see how Quinn wants each to play with younger ones (Jay Bouwmeester and Robyn Regher), but I’d rather see Blake and Pronger together to log heavy minutes. Both were burned on scoring plays against Finland, but they aren't that bad, really. Wade Redden should play more, possibly with Bouwmeester, and Foote and Regher should throw their bodies around together. McCabe has been too prone to bad penalties to warrant more ice time at this point.

The boys looked so lethargic against Finland, and I can only hope the two shutouts will have been a wake-up call.

Dominators, the rest...

2006-02-22T01:14:00.000+09:00

Nice to be catching up on the blog, for a change.

Now, I wanted to do a couple of more pieces on dominant athletes in today’s sporting world, but we all know what happened.

The two athletes I had in mind are tennis’ Roger Federer and golf’s Tiger Woods.

The two are similar in that they are probably the two most dominant/dominating athletes in their respective sport, though I would argue that Federer is more so in tennis than Woods is in golf.

(I once told a tennis-loving friend (someone who introduced me to blogspot, by the way) that I felt Roger is more dominant in his sport than any other athlete in any sport. He wasn’t so sure, but then again, he couldn’t name me one athlete to dispute my claim.)

Roger won the Aussie Open to start the tennis major circuit, and he’s already half way to Pete Sampras’ all-time single grand slam titles record. And Federer’s what, 25?

His career to this point has paralleled that of Tiger’s in the golfer’s first few years. Both started dominating at an early age, and have (had) great things promised for them. Woods went through a bit of a lull from 2003 to 2004, not winning majors and dropping out of the No. 1 spot in the world rankings, but came back last year with two majors, and has gone 2-for-2 so far this year.

I sense a similar career path for Federer. He’s been awesome so far, but he will inevitably hit a wall at some point (and with tennis being more physically demanding than golf, this is not really an astute observation) before coming back to hit into another gear.

They say athletes hit their prime in early 30s. Federer’s got a few years, and Tiger just turned 30 in December.

But consider their accomplishments, more so for Woods. Tiger could quit golf tomorrow and still be considered one of perhaps two, three best players in golf history (Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, etc). Federer, with his sheer dominance over a short period of time, could go down as one of perhaps top-10 players, even if he never plays another day.

That alone, I say, is enough proof of their dominance.

Ramble on...

2006-02-21T23:15:00.000+09:00

The first entry of the month, and well, there's barely a week left in February.

Look, I wanted to write here so much, but there are certain things in life (there's this thing called a job) that demand more attention than a blog. That's a shame, I know.

I can't possibly cover everything that's taken place in the sporting world since my last entry, from the Super Bowl victory by my beloved Steelers (I've been a fan of two Pennsylvania teams, and my dream Super Bowl match would be the Eagles-Steelers) to the opening of the Winter Olympic Games.

Well, here come the random observations, as they pop up in my head...

1. Extremely disappointed with my boys in red over in Turin; Team Canada's men's Olympic hockey team has suffered two shutouts in a row against Switzerland (Switzerland!) and Finland. I did watch the Finn game, and Canada was so clearly outplayed. As coach Pat Quinn has said, the team wasn't really a team, but was a bunch of individuals.

I can see how Quinn wants to juggle his lineup to get the right match and all, but it could create some confusion at some point. Todd Bertuzzi looked great in win over Germany, but not so much in the last game. For all the scoring prowess on paper, this team hasn't scored very often. Joe Thornton appears almost afraid to shoot, and Simon Gagne seems in need of Peter Forsberg, and Dany Heatley, well, I am sure he wants Daniel Alfreddson turned into a Canadian citizen so he could have him on his right wing.

Quinn continues to deploy seven defensemen, but it's clear that the team needs Scott Niedermayer to control the offense, especially on power plays, and Ed Jovanovski to provide grit and skills at the back end. Rob Blake and Chris Pronger (injured, by the way) are playing too much, and I can see that those two, plus another 2002 carry-over Adam Foote, have lost a step. Bryan McCabe takes dumb penalties. Don't know if Jay Bouwmeester and Robyn Regher are ready.

Okay, so Canada still reached the medal round, but because of the lower ranking, we could end up playing Slovakia or (my current pick for gold) Russia. Canadian players can say all they want about making adjustments and all, but right now, they couldn't beat Russia.

The forwards couldn't break Finn's trap after the Europeans took the lead, and the defense couldn't make that crisp pass out of the zone and forced soooooo many icing calls. With Niedermayer and perhaps another skilled defenseman back there, it could have been a different story.

Next up is Czech Republic sans injured goalie Dominik Hasek. Will be an intersting match of two teams that entered the Olympics as favorites but have struggled early on.

2. I think all self-respecting sports fans have to devote at least some time to watch Summer and Winter Olympics. Where else would you watch luge, bobsleigh, snowboard cross, ice dancing, etc, etc? I love freestyle mogul ski; a sucker for short track speed skating (which Korea dominates every Olympics); hoping to get a curling match or two broadcast over here (hey, spend a few years in Canada, and you will appreciate the sport, too).

Of course, there are a few dubious "sports" in Winter Games. Snowboard half pipe; I don't know about this, but I think this belongs in X-Games. Anything that involves subjective judging isn't probably a good Olympic sport in my mind (figure skating, etc). Even in mogul skiing, well, judging can be suspect at times, I suppose.

I just think all Olympic sports should involve either straight-up scoring (hockey, curling) or time measurement (skiing, luge, skeleton, you name 'em).

How do you judge ice dancing, for instance, when it doesn't involve all the jumps and triple lutz and quad toes and everything of pairs? How can anyone convincingly tell me this pair "ice-danced" better than the next one? Beats me.

Anyhoo, I'll wrap up about here. Gotta go watch the Olympics.

Dominators, Part 1...

2006-01-30T01:24:00.000+09:00

First off, apologies to readers (if there are any, damn) for this extended time off from the blog. Nothing intentional, but occupied with so many other things in life that I barely had time to even read my usual columns and newspapers online the last week or so...

Now on to a few things that have been on my mind over that period. I want to talk about dominant athletes. Since the blog may be long, I will deal with the topic in a couple of posts.

1. Kobe Bryant. Recently scored 81 points on my Raptors; this after once outscoring the entire Mavericks team 62-61 in a December game. I watched him pour 51 points on the Kings (a Laker loss) and remember thinking how easy he made it all look. I mean, I didn't know he was really getting close to the half-century mark until midway through the final quarter.

There have been so many stories about Kobe after the 81-point game that I have read that it would be difficult for me to link them all here. But the overall reaction to the performance ranged from silly (Vince Carter saying all that scoring would be bad for kids growing up because it would instill in them ball-hogging attitude) to amazement (writers such as my hero Bill Simmons) to simply pleading folks to cut Kobe some slack (the three columnists at Los Angeles Times, Bill Plaschke, T.J. Simers and J.A. Adande).

Me? Well, I am simply speechless. I've never dreamt that in my life time, anyone would score more than 80 points in an NBA game, let alone a perimeter player like Kobe (by the way, is it just me, but are most athletes known more by their first names/initials playing in the NBA? Say Kobe, LeBron, 'Melo, KG, Shaq, etc).

I never really liked the guy, but then again, I don't know him personally. Heck, he might as well be the most disruptive guy in the Lakers locker room, or the biggest jerk to the media, but I really couldn't care less at this point. Not after I've seen him play so far this season.

I had the same feelings about Allen Iverson, what with his criminal charges and everything. I developed more respect for the guy after I saw him play through sprained ankle, bruised knee, broken finger and sprained shoulder in a game and score some 30 points. I still may not like his antics, but I'd rather have A.I. on my backcourt than anyone else except for Kobe and D-Wade.

Kobe's always been a solid scorer, but now he is on a different stratosphere. He's a threat to score 40 almost every game out, and could easily get 60 points if a) he meets the right team b) the game is close enough late enough so that he hangs around to play at least 42, 43 minutes) and c) he goes to the charity stripes enough times and makes enough free throws to pick up points while the clock is stopped.

Can he break Wilt's 100 mark? Well, if anyone were to do it, I think it would be Kobe.

Somehow, I have a feeling that if he hadn't won all those rings (3) with the Lakers a few year back, Kobe critics would jump on the guy for ball-hogging and not giving the team and himself the chance to win titles.

Think about that; there are already Kobe bashers now, and imagine how many more there would be without those rings in his fingers.

Speaking of which, I would give an advice to Bryant as to how he should answer the next question from his critics.

Q: So, Kobe, don't you think you're playing rather selfishly and holding on to the ball too much?

Kobe: Sorry, I can't hear you. I've got my NBA championship rings plugging my ears.

(For those not familiar with the quote: this was Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche answering to Jeremy Roenick of the Chicago Blackhawks during the 1996 NHL playoffs. Roenick had scored a breakaway goal on Roy in a game and, following Roy's comments about the Avs winning the series (not too sure on this one), wondered aloud where Patrick was in that game. Asked by reporters whether he had heard the remarks, Roy then said, "I couldn't really hear what Jeremy said because I've got my Stanley Cup rings plugging my ears." He had two rings at the time, from 1986 and 1993 with the Canadiens, and got his third in 1996. Kobe already has three. Wonder how he will use that extra one.)

Anyhoo, Kobe is one of those athletes who will be appreciated even more after his retirement than during his playing days. Say, 10, 15 years from now, people will look back at the clips of the 81-point game (2nd highest single game total in the NBA, by the way) and say, wow, what a great player.

Since when did the star athletes have to be all good guys anyway? Why do people expect athletes to be role models, and be disappointed when they're not? Don't kids have better people to look up to than those who play games for a living?

Back to the point. I love Kobe's game, how easy he makes scoring look (a sign of greatness; making tough feats look easy) and everything. I love his intensity, and his ball-hogging nature can be attributed to that he cares so much about winning and since he knows his teammates won't help him do so, he goes out and do things himself.

Frankly, Kobe hoisting 30 shots a game presents the Lakers better chances of winning than Kobe trying to get 10 assists with Lamar Odom, Smush Parker, Devean George, Kwame Brown, and everyone else on the team.

I get a feeling that if anyone else scored 81 points, he would have been hailed as the greatest scorer of our generation.

But Kobe? Maybe the greatest ball hogger of our generation. And that's a shame. It really is.

Belated wrap up, and more...

2006-01-19T13:51:00.000+09:00

Been a few days since the divisional playoff rounds in the NFL finished up, but been busy with work-related stuff and had to take care of some personal matters.

Anyway, I could go like five posts on the happenings of the weekend alone, from Tom (He Disrespect Me) Brady throwing two picks in the Pats' first playoff loss in his career, to Peyton (I am a good teammate) Manning throwing his entire offensive line under the bus, to a couple of really, really questionable calls in some games, and blah blah blah...

By the way, after 3-1 last weekend (I only missed the Colts pick), I'm 7-1 through the playoffs so far. For my conference championship picks, Pittsburgh over Denver, and Carolina over Seattle.

At this point, there's hardly any doubt that AFC is just a superior conference to NFC, especially after watching the divisional matchups. AFC games were much more compelling, exciting, and just generally well played, save for some non-calls and calls that shouldn't have been made.

Ironically, I think it will be an NFC team that will get the big prize. Carolina is actually my pick to win the Super Bowl this year. Seattle had an excellent regular season, but with RB Shaun Alexander having suffered a concussion (c'mon down, Mack Strong), this team ain't the same without the MVP at his 100 percent. The Steelers, as well as they played against the favored Colts, they really got away with that game. Pittsburgh played well for some three and a half quarters, and because of that blown call on safety Troy Polamalu's interception, the game could have gone either way. As for the Broncos, they scored 24 points off the Pats' turnovers, and the way they won that game was similar to how New England beat the Jaguars a week earlier; they didn't do much and had the game handed to them by an apparently weaker opponent.

Even though RB DeShaun Foster is out with a broken ankle, I still like the Panthers' chances this year. WR Steve Smith right now is the best playmaker in the game, and as I said in an earlier post, everyone in the stadium knows the ball's going to him, and yet no one seems able to stop him. That's a sign of greatness.

And QB Jake Delhomme. Well, there's something about this guy that instills in me some faith in him. He's got impressive playoff credentials, and, lest we forget, he did play in the Super Bowl a couple of years back. I think this is the year he finally gets the ring.

In the AFC, I don't think the Broncos were tested all that much last week, and even though they will be at home against the Steelers, they probably won't be able to muster up much with the similar performance. Denver was successful at blitzing the undermanned Pats O-line, but will they be as successful against Pittsburgh?

The Steelers' defense was impressive. That Polamalu guy is really a big time playmaker, a rare defensive back with both the man-coverage ability and tackling skills. I look for him to make more big, game-turning plays on the weekend.

Can't wait...

More weekend observations...

2006-01-15T00:35:00.000+09:00

A couple of NHL and NBA games in, and here are my thoughts...

1. Watched the Senators hosting the Sharks, on tape. No question the Sens remain an elite team, but the Hurricanes and the Flyers have passed them in the standings. During the game, a 2-0 victory by the Sharks, Ottawa looked disoriented at times, and goalie Dominik Hasek (and his best friend named goal post) save them on more occasions than coach Bryan Murray would like.

The Sens have always been a team of speed and skills, two traits that haven't always served them well in the playoffs in the past, especially against the provincial rival Leafs. This year, with the new interpretation of the rules that has opened up the game, the Sens have not only scored more goals than any team, they have allowed the fewest number of goals.

If the refs call the playoff games the same way they have been overseeing the regular season games, then I'd say Ottawa has a great chance of reaching the Stanley Cup finals. With top-notch offensive talents (Alfredsson, Spezza, Heatley), bruising and mobile defense corps (Redden, Chara, Phillips) and proven goaltending, this team has the tools to go far.

As long as they don't play like they did last night.

2. After some break for a nap, watched Heat vs. Sonics live. Dwyane Wade is truly one of the great players in the league, and here's why.

Great players in any sport, when they are off in one area of their game in some situations, find other ways to contribute to the team's effort. Wade, at 23 and in his third season, already seems to have learned the trick.

His perimeter shooting was off today (4-for-14), but he more than made up for it by finding open men on the perimeter and in the paint, and grabbing key rebounds.

15 points, 14 dishes, 10 boards, and not a cheap triple double either.

You should watch this guy play to appreciate how awesome he is. Some of the passes he made, off pick-and-rolls, pick-and-pops, penetration, ally-oops, were pure point-guard stuff. I mean, half the starting point guards in the NBA couldn't execute some of the plays D-Wade turned in today.

The only downside of his game at this moment is his three-point shooting (3-for-34 on the year, yikes), and as a combo guard able to play both 1 and 2, it's critical that Wade develops the outside touch.

Nonetheless, this guy remains my favorite of the triumvirate of perimeter players from the 2003 draft class also featuing LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.

LeBron, what more can you say? He is already dominant. Like Wade, he can do a lot of things to help his team win, and is a better three-point shooter. He's more physically gifted at 6-8, presents more mismatch than 6-4 Wade, and, objectively, is a better and more willing scorer than Wade.

His downside? James, at least from what I've seen, has yet to demonstrate ability to take over a game when his team is in a tough situation. I don't think there have been many games where he would put his team on his back and score something like three, four baskets in the final minute to come from behind to win.

Then again, this is nitpicking.

As far as 'Melo, I haven't seen him enough to judge, but heard this year has been his finest so far. Playing outside the Eastern Time Zone in Denver, Anthony isn't probably garnering the attention he deserves, but if he keeps playing the way he has, it will all change.

My man, though, remains Wade. At this point, my dream starting five would be (from 1 to 5) Steve Nash (more on him later), Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, and Tim Duncan.

3. Phoenix Suns lost two starters from last year and another is injured through at least the All-Star break, and they're second in the West and fifth in the league.

At this point, their point guard Steve Nash is more of an MVP now than he was at any point last year, and no one is talking about his candidacy.

Chauncey Billups? Certainly deserving, but look at his starting five on the Pistons (the league's best, top to bottom). LeBron? Why not? But for him to win the MVP, the Cavs would have to become the league-wide sensation that the Suns were last year, and they're not.

The bottom line is, no one is doing more with less than Nash.

Compared to his MVP season last year, he is scoring more (averaging career-high 19 per), dishing out at about the same rate, and is playing more minutes. All this without his most talented sidekick, Amare Stoudemire, the game's most devastating blend of athleticism and power, who is out after a knee surgery in the offseason and won't be back until March at the earliest.

Why is there no talk of Nash being the MVP?

For one, the Pistons are off to such a strong start (28-5) that the person running their show, Billups, is in the spotlight, not that he is any less deserving than Nash.

Two, only one point guard has ever won back-to-back MVPs (Magic, in 1989 and 1990) and he was in the middle of a Hall of Fame career; meaning, Magic had won another MVP in 1987 and had already cemented his place among the game's greatest.

Nash? I'd argue he's been a good point guard since 2001, his fifth pro season, but even his MVP season last year doesn't put him anywhere near the Hall of Fame discussion.

So what's this got to do with silence on Nash this year?

If he were already bound for Hall of Fame and putting the numbers he has this year, there's no question people would start calling for another MVP for him. Without such credentials now, Nash is just another very good point guard, even great, having a good, maybe great, season.

That's why people are paying attention to other players. Like Billups (who probably should thank Nash for making voters pay attention to point guards again, finally), James, Dirk Nowitzki (another favorite player of mine), etc...

The definition of an MVP is so blurred. Does it go to the best player in the league, or the player so valuable that his team would go nowhere without him? Should the MVP be on a winning team unless he is so good (see A-Rod, 2003 MVP for the Rangers who went 71-91) you have no choice otherwise?

Look, Nash may not be the best player in the league (and when Amare returns, Steve isn't probably the best player on his team), but can anyone really argue convincingly that he is not the most valuable player to his team this season?

If anyone read this blog, I'd get some comments. Oh well...

Michelle, my belle...

2006-01-14T23:25:00.000+09:00

In a sporting world full of interesting characters, is there any doubt that Michelle Wie is the most compelling of them all?

Admit it; the little Humbert in all of us men wakes up whenever we see the 16-year-old Michelle, all 6-foot of her, strides on the fairways in a tight, pink Nike golf shirt.

Our fantasies aside, Michelle (have a hard time referring to her in her family name) is worth watching for other reasons, not the least of which is that Michelle, after Annika Sorenstam and club pro Suzy Whaley played in PGA Tour events some three years ago, remains the sole female golfer constantly knocking on the door of the men's tour.

A girl among men, indeed. If Maria Sharapova were to play head-to-head against Roger Federer, we'd be watching (if for different reasons, but let's not go there). If someone like WNBA star Tamika Catchings were to try out for an NBA team, it would make headlines. My point is, attempts to bring down gender barriers has always made for compelling viewing in sports, and always will.

Say what you will about Michelle's learning how to win among gals before challenging men; whether it be to make her sponsors happy, to give herself more exposure, or simply to gauge where she is among male golfers, I think it makes for compelling golf and television to have a female golfer playing on the PGA Tour, let alone someone as talented and attractive as Michelle.

There's no denying her natural gift in the sport, even at this early stage of her career. I have seen her play a number of times, and one image sticks out the most. On one hole at last year's SBS Open on the LPGA Tour, Michelle drove to left rough on a par-4, had a difficult angle to the front pin with some trees obstructing her view, and she hit a 5-iron out of rough to some 10 feet right of the hole, pin high.

I wish I had a link to the video clip of the shot, because my words don't aptly describe the sheer magnitude of the play coming from the then-15-year-old. I could count in one hand all the golf shots that got me out of my seat (and I have been watching golf for almost 10 years) and this is one of them.

I've always believed that shortgame, especially putting, will come with age, experience and practice. Tiger Woods wasn't the greatest of putters when he first came along, and though he statistically remains a middling putter on the Tour, is there anyone you'd rather have to make any putt of any length with a major title on the line?

Back to the point. Michelle entered her fourth PGA Tour event this week at the Sony Open in her native land Hawaii, but shot a 9-over 79 in the first round to basically play herself out of the pack. She did shoot 68, but missed the cut by four.

Disappointing? Absolutely, because if she had made the cut, her weekend rounds would have challenged NFL playoffs for TV ratings. Imagine if she were in contention on Sunday afternoon? You don't think sports fans would rather watch a female golfer trying to win a PGA Tour event than Panthers and Bears play perhaps to a 7-3 game?

Still, Michelle seemed to take her first round in stride and ready to move on to her next tournament, be it against men or women.

Frankly, I never understood other LPGA golfers' questioning Michelle's motives of playing on the PGA Tour. They seem to forget that the girl is still only 16, and though golf is a fickle sport, it's really a matter of when, not if, Michelle will eventually play on the weekend in a PGA Tour tournament.

Coming from gals like Paula Creamer (who, to her credit, did win twice on the LPGA Tour last year) and Morgan Pressel, a chief rival to Michelle, their criticism comes across as little more than bitter resentment toward (dare I say it) an Asian kid garnering all the attention with no worthy playing resume to speak of.

Pressel, for whom the LPGA Tour recently waived its age limit of 18 because she turns 18 three months after the season begins, was once quoted in the Sports Illustrated as saying, "[Michelle] is obviously more interested in making cuts. But if you keep playing against players you can't beat, how are you going to learn to win?"

Well, at this point in her development, Michelle has even less to gain competing girls her age than playing against men who have clubs older than she. What's all those junior titles gonna do for Michelle in her career?

So she hasn't won all that many major junior events, either. Who cares? She has finished in top-10s at LPGA majors, come within a stroke of making the cut at the Sony Open two years ago, and has outdriven men off the tee more times than those men would like to admit.

What has she got to prove at the junior level?

Honestly, I can't see how beating 15-, 16-year-olds by 10 strokes is going to help Michelle learn how to win any more than her grinding out for pars on the PGA Tour greens.

C'mon, it's simple logic. When you're better than your age group, then you move on to the next level. It might take a bit more time improving at THAT level, but, as they say, that's why we play the game.

And this is why Michelle plays among men; to test herself, to see where she ranks, and, to a certain extent, to blaze the trail for gals to follow.

We all just gotta sit back, relax, and watch this precocious girl doing her best in events she probably has no business playing in.

From what I've read and all, Michelle has the right mindset (heck, she's even got a shrink) to deal with failures (i.e. blowing up in the final round, etc) at this stage of her career. She's obviously determined to fight through all the missed cuts in her inexorable journey toward a Saturday tee time on the PGA Tour, and perhaps a final pairing on a Sunday.

The exaggerated prism under which the pro athletes live their lives affords them insights at an earlier age than most, and Michelle certainly seems to have the perspective part down pat.

Would she have learned that playing junior golf? I doubt it...

Trash talking in the NHL? Bring it on!!!

2006-01-11T22:22:00.000+09:00

Quick, when's the last time you saw a hockey player point at his opponent?

Hey, athletes point each other all the time, after a perfect ally pass for an oop, a nice, easy feed on the tape for a one-timer from the slot, a well-timed throw for a 50-yard touchdown, and a diving stop for a highlight-reel double play.

But pointing a player from another team? In the NHL?

I say, bring it on baby.

In a game between the Thrashers and the Penguins last week, Atlanta young gun Ilya Kovalchuk scored a power play goal with hotshot rookie Sydney Crosby serving a penalty, and as Crosby was about to leave the box dejected, Kovalchuk defiantly pointed a finger toward the rookie (I mean, with the hockey glove on, you couldn't tell whether Ilya's index finger was up or all his fingers were shooting toward Sydney).

Some said it was uncalled for. In hockey, more than almost any other sports, the so-called "purists" always promote this anachronistic idea of adhering to the code of the game. Like, you can't run up the scores, or we will have guys drop gloves to beat up your best scorers.

And apparently, now you can't point fingers.

Hello? C'mon, are you kidding? Kovalchuk's gesturing toward Crosby was like the single coolest thing that's happened in the NHL this season!!! In fact, I found it so cool I had to watch the highlight clip three times on ESPN.com.

Why do I find it so cool?

Hockey players are the worst cliches-churning machines in professional sports. They are nice guys, no doubt, and given the violent nature of the game they play, it's almost shocking the players (most of 'em anyway) could be so gentle off the ice.

But these guys are so bland, flat, and just boring. Other than usual bouts between usual goons, and the obligatory shoveling after a goalie freezes the puck, the on-ice interaction among players is almost non existent.

And now that two of the game's brightest young stars are about to start what promises to be an exciting individual rivalry, through finger-pointing and trash-talking no less, and people call this a bad thing?

I do not understand this at all. Neither does Darren Eliot of Sports Illustrated.

A Russian with a chip on his shoulder versus a good ol' Canadian golden boy. A goal scoring winger versus a more pass-inclined center. A one-time hotshot perhaps resenting all the attention the IT guy of the moment is now getting.

All the subplots are there for a rivalry to grow. They're in the same conference, too, meaning they see each other three, four games a regular season.

Gotta let this work, folks. This is a start of a not-so-beautiful relationship, and that's exactly why this thing is gonna be so beautiful to watch in years to come.

Quarterbacks...

2006-01-09T23:28:00.000+09:00

An interesting debate in football circles regarding so-called 'hybrid quarterbacks' in the NFL.

When QB Michael Vick came on board a few years back, his athleticism, ability to scramble not just to avoid blitzs but to actually gain yards, was considered almost revolutionary in the game. Sure, there have been other QBs who could run (Steve Young, Randall Cunningham), but no one ran quite the way Vick did (does)-with all the assurance and agility of a running back.

Soon, his jersey became the best seller, his image graced covers of magazines and computer games, and the Falcons' playoff win over the Packers at Lambeau in 2002-03 season put this guy on a different stratosphere. Here was a non-traditional QB beating classic pocket passer Brett Favre in his own backyard.

But in football, as in other sports, you just gotta win, baby, and do so often. And win is something Vick hasn't done much of in the last couple of seasons.

This season, at more than any other, he heard criticism on his style of play. Some said he only tried to make spectacular plays, jumping over tackling linebackers and spinning his way toward the goal line while risking injuries. Well, it got to a point where he made this Sports Illustrated cover.

Now, after Texas QB Vince Young (many call him bigger, stronger version of Vick) rushed for 200 yards and 3 TDs in a Rose Bowl win over USC and its pocket passer Matt Leinart, the debate has swirled again. Should you pick Young ahead of Leinart in the draft because he is more versatile? Or do you go with Leinart because he is the prototypical pocket passer and eight of the top 12 passers in the league this season made the playoffs? Remember, Vick wasn't one of them.

Me? I am more inclined to go with a passer than an athletic type in choosing QBs. I don't need my QBs running around and opening himself to tackles from some 300-pound guys when I have guys that can do the running part for me. Seriously, QBs are paid to pass the ball to wideouts and to hand the ball to their backs. I believe there's a reason pocket passers have been more successful in recent years.

Anyway, I am closing this one on two contrasting columns again. ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli says passing is the way to go in postseason, while New York Times' William C. Rhoden argues NFL coaches needs to be more open-minded about athletic QBs like Vick and Young and utilize their assets to find more success. Rhoden says all remaining playoff teams this year have dropback QBs, but "this is not proof of the pocket passer's superiority, but rather that the NFL has to become more creative."

Just so you know, Rhoden is the same guy who once wrote Young could work as a WR in the NFL.

More football...

2006-01-09T22:16:00.000+09:00

The wild-card games are all finished, and I went 4-0 in picking winners from the games.

If only Korea had Pro Line on NFL...

Anyhoo, caught glimpses of some games, and here are my observations.

1. The Patroits bandwagon is all packed, but I don't know what to make of them. I couldn't agree more with the great Michael Smith that the Pats really got away with that game against the overmatched Jaguars. I know a lot of people are saying they are getting closer to their Super Bowl-winning team by day, but I am not convinced, not after the way they played. The Broncos beat them 28-20 in regular season and it wasn't that close. My pick goes to Denver.

2. I knew the Panthers would come out strong, but 23-0 on the road against the Giants? Wow. The Bears will have their hands full stopping WR Steve Smith. He is that rare guy who everyone knows is coming but no one is able to stop. Much like Stockton-Malone pick-and-rolls; you knew they would do it, but that didn't mean you could stop them.

3. The Bengals QB Carson Palmer tore two liagments in his left knee on the second snap of the game against the Steelers, and Cincy, which I thought was already in for a tough game, was done right there. I love Palmer (the guy basically put me in the championship round of my fantasy football league) and I know he will be in more playoff games in his career. Here's wishing for a quick and successful recovery. Meanwhile, the Steelers looked lost against the Colts in the regular season, and it probably won't be much of a different story next weekend. Pittsburgh needs to get off to a quick start since Indy will be a bit rusty (their starters not having seen full action in nearly a month) but that may be the only way the Steelers could hope to steal a victory.

4. The Redskins defense was impressive, but the Bucs offense wasn't exactly top-flight either. If the 'Skins can pull off a similar feat against the Seahawks (hello, Matt Hasselback, Shaun Alexander), I will be really impressed. Otherwise, with the Washington offense having been stifled, this is Seattle's to lose.

My picks are: Denver over New England, Indy over Pittsburgh, Carolina over Chicago, and Seattle over Washington.

Food for thought...

2006-01-09T00:08:00.000+09:00

Earlier, I touched briefly on the NFL coaching carousel and how I felt this is about time we saw more African-American head coaches in the league.

There's this funky little thing called "Rooney Rule" in the NFL. Named after chairman of the league's diversity committee Dan Rooney, it requires every team to interview at least one minority candidate when filling a head coaching spot. In 2003, Detroit Lions president Matt Millen was fined $200,000 for not interviewing any minority candidates before hiring (since fired) Steve Mariucci.

Look, everyone knew Mariucci (an old friend of Millen's) would be the guy the moment he was let go by the 49ers, and so when Millen tried to interview some black assistant coaches, they declined. So how do you apply rules in situations like that?

Of course, we don't know for sure whether Millen would have interviewed black candidates had Marucci not been earmarked for the job. Now that the Lions job is vacant again, let's see if Millen is mired in another controversy.

Another interesting move; the Redskins locked up their defensive coordinator Gregg Williams (black) to a three-year, $8-million contract extension, before he could test the head coaching market in the offseason. Heir apparent to head coach Joe Gibbs? Williams must have done something right to this Skins defense, and there would have been a lot of pursuers had it not been for the deal.

On a closing note, compared these two stories. One, by a black columnist Jason Whitlock on why race ain't an issue in NFL coaching network (it's actually one item in his list column). The other, by a white columnist Gene Wojciechowski on how Rooney Rule must be taken seriously by NFL honchos or it's rendered meaningless.

Two writers, two races, two perspectives...

While we're at it...

2006-01-07T23:24:00.000+09:00

Here is my completely random, biased, scientifically unfounded list of top-15 NHL players this season...

1. Jaromir Jagr (RW)
2. Peter Forsberg (C)
3. Dany Heatley (RW)
4. Simon Gagne (LW)
5. Ilya Kovalchuk (LW)
6. Alexander Ovechkin (LW)
7. Daniel Alfredsson (RW)
8. Eric Staal (C)
9. Dominik Hasek (G)
10. Joe Thornton (C)
11. Nicklas Lidstrom (D)
12. Sydney Crosby (C)
13. Henrik Lundqvist (G)
14. Bryan McCabe (D)
15. Marc Savard (C)

Hockey Day in Seoul...

2006-01-07T22:36:00.000+09:00

Watched my first live hockey action in more than three years today, and I realized just how much I missed live games. I've been following the sport through sports Web sites and watching highlights, but man, nothing beats games.

Red Wings vs. Predators. It's almost sacilegious saying this, my having lived in Toronto for seven plus years, but I've always been a bigger Red Wings fan than a Leafs fan. (Something about me and Detroit sports franchises; I grew up a Pistons fan, and Isiah Thomas was my boyhood idol) I own a Brendan Shanahan (my favorite hockey player of all time) home jersey, and when I was collecting hockey cards, my favorite items were always likes of Shanahan, Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov and Nicklas Lidstrom.

Anyhoo, been reading so much about how new rules (or, to be precise, new interpretation of old rules) have opened up the game and all. I have noticed more 5-4, 8-2 games than in previous seasons.

Today's game (televised here on U.S. military network) was 3-1 Red Wings victory, relatively low scoring, but the final score belied the offensive flow of the game.

Both teams could obviously skate with best of 'em. The Predators have two of the smoothest skaters in Paul Kariya and Steve Sullivan (I could watch those two skate all day), and some mobile defensemen in Kimmo Timonen and Dan Hamhuis. The Red Wings' kids, like Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Jason Williams, looked pretty impressive, with Williams scoring the game winner on a nifty backhand.

More observations from the game...

1. As strong as the offense has been in NHL this year, there are elite goalies like Tomas Vokoun of the Preds and Manny Legace of the Wings that can still stuff the goal scorers. Both had help from goal posts and cross bars, but, especially for Vokoun, there were some spectacular, jaw-dropping saves.

2. Lidstrom is still not only one of the top defensemen, but perhaps a top-15 player in hockey. Hard to believe the guy is already 35 years old, but he is going as strong as he did five, six years ago, when he was the perennial Norris candidate (and winner). In fact, with two goals in this game, he's already surpassed the point total from 2003-04 season (9 goals and 30 helpers so far in 41 games) and is on pace for a 78-point season. The three-time Norris winner is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, no question.

3. Speaking of which, I realized this may have been my last opportunity to watch Yzerman in a game. Another shoo-in for Hall of Fame, Yzerman has had a unique career during which he transformed himself from a scoring machine (check out his career stats here) to a more complete two-way center. He committed himself to the defensive side so much in the latter half of his career that he won the 2000 Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward. Rather unfortunately, his offensive prime years coincided with those of two of the greatest centers (and players) in history, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. Yzerman is one of those players who won't be fully appreciated until he retires and people will look back on his career and say, wow, he's had an incredible career.

Not so hard at work...

2006-01-03T16:56:00.000+09:00

At work, one more story to file before deadline, and lookie here.

When I started this blog (like, um, less than 24 hours ago), I promised myself I wouldn't deal with personal issues in this space.

So I won't.

I won't say that my (now virtually non-existent) love life is so mess that I am in a mess. That a major reason for starting this blog was to give myself a diversion, an escapse from that mess. That the only way for me to get over this is to keep focusing on things that make me the happiest--writing about sports, listening to Emm Gryner, and reading thousands of newspaper columns till my eyes drop out.

No, instead, I'd rather write about how I think the Rose Bowl will turn out (USC over Texas), how I think there will be three wild card teams (Panthers, Redskins and Steelers) advancing to the next round in the NFL playoff, and how I think the Nuggets, at 15-17, have been the NBA's most disappointing team so far.

I suppose I can stay miserable and wallow in self-pity as long as I choose to. But I've got a life to live, a job to do, columns to read, games to watch, and a blog to run.

See what I wrote about this space being my ventilation???

Coaching carousel, and more...

2006-01-03T11:04:00.000+09:00

Random thoughts to begin the day...

A day (or two) after the NFL season finished up, and five coaches are gone (another retired, Dick Vermeil of the Chiefs). I feel the least sorry for the Vikings' Mike Tice (he lost control of the team the moment he was caught scalping Super Bowl tickets last year), but Jim Haslett of the Saints had so many issues off the field (i.e. Katrina) that he probably should have been given another chance. The Rams' Mike Martz never got along with the management and was a control freak who tried to coach the team from hospital (he was denied access). Dom Capers of the Texans: well, he did achieve one thing this season. Houston finished dead last and will draft sensational Reggie Bush in the spring...

With the success of minority coaches this season (from Colts' Tony Dungy to Bears' Lovie Smith to Marvin Lewis of the Bengals to Browns' Romeo Crennel), maybe this is about time we see more African-American head coaches in the league...

The PGA Tour season begins this week, though it seems as if it never ended. The Tour has announced major schedule changes for 2007 season to avoid having some tournaments overlap with the heart of the NFL season, and it's a shrewd move that should have come earlier. I love golf to death, but the season really drags out after the PGA Championship in August, except for September's Ryder Cup every other year...

By the way, Tiger is 30. I feel older now...

To those who appreciate humor and sarcasm in sports writing, DJ Gallo is the man. Other than that Web site, he writes weekly NFL columns on ESPN.com. Here is this week's edition...

NFL playoffs...

2006-01-03T00:44:00.000+09:00

Other than the fact that I can't watch most of its games unless I stay up after 3 a.m. on Monday mornings here, NFL remains a pretty fascinating league to follow through sports sites and newspapers...

The regular season wrapped up, and all playoff places are determined... Without going into details of who's in and who's out, here are a few random thoughts...

1. Carolina Panthers are the most intriguing team to me...

They made the cover of Sports Illustrated's NFL Preview issue here, and at a midpoint season, you could argue they were the best the NFC's best team. Oh, the Curse of the Cover...

Right now, I just don't think they have the firepower to go far in the playoffs. They play the Giants in New York, and the "Gints" are pretty good at home.

Haven't the foggest clue what these Panthers might do. WR Steve Smith led the league in receving yards, and he has been the most explosive wideout this season, but RB DeShaun Foster hasn't shown enough consistency, and QB Jake Delhomme, though solid, has but one target. I like their defense a little more, though, and we'll see if they can stop Tiki Barber's running. QB Eli Manning still struggles a lot in the pocket, and he probably won't be much of a factor in the game, even if the Giants end up winning.

ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli seems to like Carolina in this story.

2. Watch out for the Steelers...

They are the proverbial, nobody-wants-to-play-'em type of AFC team (more on NFC equivalent later on) entering the postseason, having won four straight to get AFC's sixth seed and a date with the tumbling Bengals.

Cincy lost its last two games, and though they did beat the Steelers at Pittsburgh in December, I smell a rout by the Steelers this time. The Bengals are a young team on the rise, and their young offensive triumvirate of QB Carson Palmer, RB Rudi Johnson, and WR Chad Johnson will keep them competitive for years.

This isn't the time.

3. How 'bout those Redskins?

Yes, how 'bout them, Darrell Armstrong? The 'Skins were so hot down the stretch that a pro athelete for a Dallas team actually cheered on them on P.A. system prior to his home game after Washington beat the Cowboys. For the uninitiated, it'd be like Al Gore hollering in a Democratic Party convention, "How 'bout that Dubya?"

Anyhoo, yes, the Redskins are on a roll, a winner of five straight games that sneaked into the NFC playoffs. For their efforts, they get the tough Bucs on the road.

It says here that's another upset in the wild-card games. Maybe not a rout, but I can see Mark Brunell coming through again.

On a final note, check out this column on Brunell by Sally Jenkins in the Washington Post, in a rare moment of a columnist admitting his/her mistakes. This is why she is one of my favorites.

First posting...

2006-01-03T00:03:00.000+09:00

Okay, so, this is it... Like the world needed another blog(ger)

For someone who writes for a living (I am a journalist/reporter/writer, whatever you might call it), setting a self-imposed deadline by running a blog may be the last thing I should do...

But I just needed something like this, I suppose... Someplace where I could write about things I truly like, sports and music, as almost my way of ventilation...

Gotta keep this one short... Will be an interesting ride...