free counter
Thursday, January 7, 2010
High school scores: Thursday
Girls track
Portsmouth 47, East Providence 39
West Warwick 57, Portsmouth 41
Wrestling
Middletown 36, Mount Pleasant 12
Middletown 23, East Greenwich 18
Portsmouth 47, East Providence 39
West Warwick 57, Portsmouth 41
Wrestling
Middletown 36, Mount Pleasant 12
Middletown 23, East Greenwich 18
Watering down Cooperstown
Hall of Fame voting, especially in baseball, tends to baffle me. Jim Rice, who waited more than a decade to get the call from Cooperstown, finally got in last year, and Andre Dawson was informed Wednesday that he'll be inducted after nine seasons on the ballot.
So what gives? Were Rice and Dawson not Hall of Fame material a few years ago, when Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg were taking their respective spots in Cooperstown? How, all of a sudden, did voters come to the realization that these players need to be enshrined?
Hall of Fame voters of the Baseball Writers Association of America nowadays are viewing statistics in a different light, in the pre-steroid era, making the achievements of Rice and Dawson seem a bit better than they are. Personally, I think the Hall of Fame is just getting a bit watered down by the fact that somebody has to get year after year.
Let's face it, that ceremony is happening in July, and if Whitey Herzog was the lone inductee, it would be a very forgettable year in New York. And should this trend continue - Bert Blyleven is a few votes short after being denied 13 times - the BWAA is going to run into some big problems when the steroid-era players come up.
Mark McGwire has been denied a few times, and next year, Rafael Palmeiro, one of only three players with 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, will appear on the ballot for the first time. Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens won't be far behind.
So what are the writers going to do? Vote for players whose statistics aren't exactly Hall of Fame worthy, but played the game cleanly? Players like Andy Pettitte and Curt Schilling? If anything, the next few years should be interesting.
So what gives? Were Rice and Dawson not Hall of Fame material a few years ago, when Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg were taking their respective spots in Cooperstown? How, all of a sudden, did voters come to the realization that these players need to be enshrined?
Hall of Fame voters of the Baseball Writers Association of America nowadays are viewing statistics in a different light, in the pre-steroid era, making the achievements of Rice and Dawson seem a bit better than they are. Personally, I think the Hall of Fame is just getting a bit watered down by the fact that somebody has to get year after year.
Let's face it, that ceremony is happening in July, and if Whitey Herzog was the lone inductee, it would be a very forgettable year in New York. And should this trend continue - Bert Blyleven is a few votes short after being denied 13 times - the BWAA is going to run into some big problems when the steroid-era players come up.
Mark McGwire has been denied a few times, and next year, Rafael Palmeiro, one of only three players with 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, will appear on the ballot for the first time. Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens won't be far behind.
So what are the writers going to do? Vote for players whose statistics aren't exactly Hall of Fame worthy, but played the game cleanly? Players like Andy Pettitte and Curt Schilling? If anything, the next few years should be interesting.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Big ups to the Big Ten
There’s been a lot of Big Ten bashing going on the last few football seasons. Mostly, it’s Ohio State’s fault for getting whacked in two BCS title games when the Buckeyes had no business being in said championship game.
But this bowl season has offered some hope to those who follow the Big Ten. Maybe the conference is catching up to the likes of the SEC and Big 12.
With Iowa’s 24-14 win over Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl on Tuesday night, the Big Ten finishes the bowl season with a 4-3 record, which at first glance, isn’t terribly impressive. But when you look at the matchups, those four wins were games in which almost no one would have picked the Big Ten teams.
The lone exception, maybe, is Ohio State, which beat Oregon in the Rose Bowl. But who can honestly say they saw Penn State beating LSU? Or Wisconsin beating Miami, in Florida? And when Iowa beat G-Tech, the football version of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge proved pretty one-sided.
As far as the BCS national championship game goes, the Big Ten deserved to be banned after Ohio State’s back-to-back dreadful performances in 2007 and ’08. But the conference might be on its way back to relevancy on the national stage.
But this bowl season has offered some hope to those who follow the Big Ten. Maybe the conference is catching up to the likes of the SEC and Big 12.
With Iowa’s 24-14 win over Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl on Tuesday night, the Big Ten finishes the bowl season with a 4-3 record, which at first glance, isn’t terribly impressive. But when you look at the matchups, those four wins were games in which almost no one would have picked the Big Ten teams.
The lone exception, maybe, is Ohio State, which beat Oregon in the Rose Bowl. But who can honestly say they saw Penn State beating LSU? Or Wisconsin beating Miami, in Florida? And when Iowa beat G-Tech, the football version of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge proved pretty one-sided.
As far as the BCS national championship game goes, the Big Ten deserved to be banned after Ohio State’s back-to-back dreadful performances in 2007 and ’08. But the conference might be on its way back to relevancy on the national stage.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Tuesday's high school scores
Boys basketball
Coventry 63, Rogers 54
Portsmouth 74, East Greenwich 54
West Warwick 68, Tiverton 62
Girls basketball
Rogers 62, Middletown 29
Girls swimming
Toll Gate 53, Rogers 40
Westerly 50, Middletown 41
Boys swimming
Westerly 53, Middletown 41
Coventry 63, Rogers 54
Portsmouth 74, East Greenwich 54
West Warwick 68, Tiverton 62
Girls basketball
Rogers 62, Middletown 29
Girls swimming
Toll Gate 53, Rogers 40
Westerly 50, Middletown 41
Boys swimming
Westerly 53, Middletown 41
Just another small-time win
The idiots over at SportCenter this morning posed the question after Boise State defeated TCU in what can only be viewed as a lackluster Fiesta Bowl: "Did the Broncos deserve a shot at the national championship?"
The answer is very simply, no. And Boise, which pulled off one of the biggest college football upsets in recent years, has the BCS committee to thank. Putting the undefeated Broncos up against the undefeated Horned Frogs was just plain stupid. It was a lose-lose, because you know whoever wins that game, fans will be pining for some national championship love.
In fact, I'm surprised this went down this way. If anything, having two undefeated teams at the end of the season (Boise and the winner of Alabama-Texas) will put more pressure on those at the BCS to conduct... yes, a playoff! And if there's anything the powers that be don't want to hear, it's more playoff talk.
Look, great job Boise State, you beat Oregon in the season opener at home, and then you slipped past another non-BCS school in a major bowl. In between, you swatted such teams as San Jose State, Bowling Green and Miami of Ohio. Sorry, but not good enough to get into the national championship discussion. Not even good enough to be in the same room.
Although, why do I have a bad feeling that politicians from Idaho, perhaps those whose approving ratings may have dipped a bit, will be making a big stink about all this next week? At long last, Orrin Hatch has a partner in crime.
The answer is very simply, no. And Boise, which pulled off one of the biggest college football upsets in recent years, has the BCS committee to thank. Putting the undefeated Broncos up against the undefeated Horned Frogs was just plain stupid. It was a lose-lose, because you know whoever wins that game, fans will be pining for some national championship love.
In fact, I'm surprised this went down this way. If anything, having two undefeated teams at the end of the season (Boise and the winner of Alabama-Texas) will put more pressure on those at the BCS to conduct... yes, a playoff! And if there's anything the powers that be don't want to hear, it's more playoff talk.
Look, great job Boise State, you beat Oregon in the season opener at home, and then you slipped past another non-BCS school in a major bowl. In between, you swatted such teams as San Jose State, Bowling Green and Miami of Ohio. Sorry, but not good enough to get into the national championship discussion. Not even good enough to be in the same room.
Although, why do I have a bad feeling that politicians from Idaho, perhaps those whose approving ratings may have dipped a bit, will be making a big stink about all this next week? At long last, Orrin Hatch has a partner in crime.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Life without 'The Incredible Welk'
The general concensus (which includes one Ocean State columnist) after Sunday's debacle against the Houston Texans is that New England's season is over. The Patriots' playoff chances are a thing of the past, thanks to a torn ACL and MCL suffered by receiver Wes Welker, the team's sparkplug, chain-mover and NFL leader in receptions.
But let's not put the wagon ahead of the horse. Sure, the Patriots have had a tough go of it - especially on offense - at times this season, and the defense has been the epitome of swiss cheese on occasion. Yet for some reason, I still think the Pats have a chance to get pretty deep during these playoffs.
Why? Mostly because nobody's giving them a shot in hell to win a Super Bowl championship. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady thrive off doubt - be it from fans, from media or from opponnets - and there will be plenty of that this week, when New England prepares for Baltimore's stout defense.
Welker was a big part of this offense, perhaps the biggest piece, but the Pats have more weapons, and they'll have to utilize them. The running game, which includes Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Fred Taylor and Kevin Faulk, is potent, and Brady will need to find other receivers, notably rookie Julian Edelman, who plays like Welker's clone.
I'm not saying this team is championship caliber, but don't sleep on them.
But let's not put the wagon ahead of the horse. Sure, the Patriots have had a tough go of it - especially on offense - at times this season, and the defense has been the epitome of swiss cheese on occasion. Yet for some reason, I still think the Pats have a chance to get pretty deep during these playoffs.
Why? Mostly because nobody's giving them a shot in hell to win a Super Bowl championship. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady thrive off doubt - be it from fans, from media or from opponnets - and there will be plenty of that this week, when New England prepares for Baltimore's stout defense.
Welker was a big part of this offense, perhaps the biggest piece, but the Pats have more weapons, and they'll have to utilize them. The running game, which includes Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Fred Taylor and Kevin Faulk, is potent, and Brady will need to find other receivers, notably rookie Julian Edelman, who plays like Welker's clone.
I'm not saying this team is championship caliber, but don't sleep on them.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
High school scores
Saturday
Hockey
Middletown 3, Mount Hope 1
Rogers 3, Woonsocket 2
Portsmouth 4, Cumberland 1
Friday
Portsmouth 5, South Kingstown 3
Hockey
Middletown 3, Mount Hope 1
Rogers 3, Woonsocket 2
Portsmouth 4, Cumberland 1
Friday
Portsmouth 5, South Kingstown 3
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)