What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on here

That headline has no real relationship to today's blog post.  Besides being a great line from 'Blazing Saddles' it's all I could come up with - but does describe lots of sports happenings this week and weekend.

Tough week for the Nats, punctuated by last night's terrible loss.  We were at that game, so had a great view to Danys Baez' swinging bunt with two outs in the top of the 12th.  The only thing worse than watching an American League pitcher start a two-out rally is acknowledging the fact that by sending Baez to the plate the Orioles had conceded the inning.  Even when the other team gives in the Nats lose.

The loss obscured the fact that the worst may be behind us in terms of the Nats bullpen.  Bergman, Beimel, Villone and eventual loser Kip Wells all pitched well last night, and Hanrahan picked up a nice save on Thursday night against the Pirates. 

I have to offer a  moment of appreciation for of all people Joel Hanrahan.  On Wednesday he lost another game with a ninth-inning wild pitch.  But 24-hours later he had the stones, and the ability to forget about that wild pitch, to come in the ninth and protect a lead and get a save.  You have to admire that ability, and it's another small reminder about how great sport is.  Past is not prologue, and shouldn't keep you from performing.  Good stuff.

The bullpen is not the only good pitching news.  The Nats finally pulled the plug on Daniel Cabrera and recalled someone named 'Stamman' from Triple A.  He looked great for 6 innings on Thursday.  Like Zimmermann did last night, he works fast. That keeps fielders sharp, hitters uncomfortable, and fans happy.  It worked for Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax, and I wonder why all pitchers don't follow that lead and work fast.

The good news for the Nats is all of a sudden a young and talented starting rotation may be taking shape.  Lannan, Zimmermann, Martis and Stamman may ended up as a serviceable starting staff. The bad news is you are walking a tight rope if you expect four starters 25-and-under to carry your team to respectability.  But if these starters progress and get the Nats to 70 wins this year - you know your team stinks if your goal is to 'only' lose 92 wins, which will require the Nats to go 58-63 the rest of way - the Nats could a decent, 500 team NEXT year.  So there may be hope on the horizon.

The bad news for this team right now is that Dunn is not hitting; his average is down 30 points since the 4-4 west coast swing, and Dukes is hurt/slumping.  

The return of Jesus Flores should help the offense and the pitching staff.  With the new, young rotation, the suddenly calm bullpen, and w/Zimmerman, Guzman and Nick Johnson leading the offense all the pieces may in place for a respectable run. The new alignment - great offense, young starters, steadier bullpen - may be the best scenario for the Nats since their move to Washington.  Bottom line: it will interesting to track the team's play with all these pieces in place.

• I was excited to see fellow Greek-American Nick Markakis play last night.  He went 0-6 so we didn't get to see much. But the O who really impressed me was Adam Jones.  That guy looks like a ball player, and hit everything hard last night in getting three hits and driving in the winning runs in the 12th.  The Orioles are set at those two positions for a decade. 
• I still root for the Orioles in the AL.  Unlike many Washingtonians I bear no ill will towards that franchise for years opposing a team in DC.  Perhaps that's because owner Peter Angelos is Greek and an active Democrat, or because Camden Yards is still a great place to watch a game, or because for years going to Balmer to watch Cal Ripken, etc. play was great fun.  But I think the main reason is we have our own team now so who cares? And like a relief pitcher you have to move on to today's game.

A Few More Random Notes

I tried to TIVO three other sporting events last night while we were at the game: game two of the Cavs-Magic series, Carolina playing in the ACC baseball tournament, and the women's lacrosse team in the final four.

• Phenomenal ending to the basketball game.  How you could let Lebron James catch an inbounds pass in that situation is beyond me, but he still had to hit a tough shot. I would have not guarded Mo Williams and doubled James.  You just can't let him get the ball. 
• Excellent game in general though, and the Magic should feel great about stealing game one and having the fortitude to come back from a 20-point deficit. Some teams, say the Lakers against the Rockets last week for instance, would have tanked it at that point, simply happy to have won one game on the road.  But behind Dwight Howard and the world's most famous Turk, Hedo Turkoglu,  the Magic fought back.
• The Heels got waxed 11-1 by Virginia, so I did not watch that game at all.  The Heels should still host a super-regional when the NCAA tournament starts next week.
• The women defeated previously undefeated Maryland last night to make the lacrosse national championship game on Sunday.  The game is in Towson, Maryland, so we may go up for that one.  Another chance to yell the greatest two words in the English language: GO HEELS!

SCOTUS

from the Boston Globe--Why Sonia Sotomayor is my choice for the Supreme Court: She issued the preliminary injunction against Major League Baseball on March 30, 1995, preventing the owners from unilaterally implementing a new collective bargaining agreement and using replacement players. It effectively ended the 1994 baseball strike.

baDCarma week

Actually, it wasn't so much of a bad week as it was a bad day.  On Thursday the Caps lost a game seven - at home - a few hours after Ryan Zimmerman's 30-game hit streak ended in San Francisco.  Both events are related in that the Caps and ZImmerman were the only glimmers on a generally bleak Washington sports landscape.

I'm not a hockey fan at all and didn't read much of the coverage, but I was struck by a few letters to the editor that pointed out how flat the Caps played.  'Coming out flat' has got to be one of the oddest phenomena in sport.  Carolina came out flat in last year's Final Four, too.  I can see coming out flat against Radford, etc.  but why teams come out flat in a big game will always be a mystery.

NATS NOTES

We have Nats tickets tonight.  Evan and I were looking forward to seeing Zimm continue his streak but now can look forward another 8-6 game featuring great offense and horrible relief pitching.  Making matters worse we have Daniel Cabrera on the mound.  I'm not that crazy about Rob Dibble as the Nats' color man - he talks about himself too much, and Rob Carpenter seems starry eyed to be sharing a booth with a former Nasty Boy - but I like how he openly calls on Manny Acta to swap Kip Wells for Cabrera.

We know the Nats' pen stinks, but I'm starting to think that Manny Acta makes things worse in the way he uses it.  He's a little too open minded, and keeps giving guys like Kensing and others too many chances to audition for a job. Then again, I guess he doesn't have much choice.

One great thing about baseball is the history. To that end, I encourage folks to check out the list of players who have hit a home run in the their first at bat in today's Post (Archives, page D6).  It also lists if they homered on the first pitch and if it was a grand slam. The only guy to do that - grand slam on his first pitch - in more than 130 years of baseball is Kevin Kouzmenoff for Cleveland in 2006.

Interesting to note how complete the list is - the first homer listed is by George Tabeau for the 1887 Cincinnati team in the American Association.  The first National League entry is in 1890; American League in 1921 so I guess the Junior Circuit did not track stats as well in the 19th century.

Two more interesting notes on first pitch homers.   One, there appear to be a decent amount of pitchers on that list: Mark Wainwright, Dustin Hermanson, John Montefusco, Hoyt Wilhelm.   Two, outside of Wilhelm there aren't many Hall of Famers on the list.   Elijah Dukes is on there, but the best hitters on the list are folks like Terry Steinbach, Reggie Sanders, Carlos Lee, Bert Campaneris, Tim Wallach, Will Clark, Carmelo Martinez and Jermaine Dye.  Three pretty good managers, Whitey Lockman, Gene Lamont and Chuck Tanner are on there too. 

NBA Playoffs

For the first time this year I may Tivo two playoff games.  Even with J.J. Reddick on the floor for Orlando I am happily rooting for the Magic.  Both of those teams look incredibly mediocre to me.  Rondo and Howard are great players, but no one else has shown me - or more importantly Labron James - anything in that series.

Speaking of mediocre, how about the Rockets?  I expect the Lakers to stop sleep walking and wax the Yaoless team from Houston tonight.  I wonder if the Lakers will be able to turn it on for seven games against George Karl's Denver Nuggets?   

Notes on Fan-dom

Or the cure for fanaticism.

To me, fandom generally falls into two categories.  

As a Tar Heel fan I am quite familiar with the first one.  If your team is really good - or really bad - being a fan can be easy. With a few bumps in the road (say, against BC)  you know how your team is going to perform.  And you know where they are going to end up at the end of the season. That's true whether you're rooting for the Heels or the Clippers.

So if your team is good, you walk around confident that even with BC-like bumps your team will be okay in the end.  And if your team stinks you are equally content.  With expectations so low every win is a gift.   Either way, you aren't disappointed and individual games or results aren't life or death.

But the second category is the more tantalizing and terrible one, when your team looks like they should be good - and can even sustains quality play for a few games - but don't do so on a consistent basis.  

That's the case with our hometown Nats.  

Their offense, led by Ryan ZImmerman but with plenty of help from Adam Dunn, Nick Johnson and Christian Guzman, looks Tar Heelesque.  But their pitching, especially their relief pitching, is firmly in the Clippers/Pirates/Lions territory.  Their offense makes you CARE, and their pitching makes you cynical.  

That tantalizing paradox, the roller coaster of wins and losses, can drive a fan crazy.  

Manny being Clemens

Not exactly sure how to react to the Manny Ramirez saga.  One thing I do know, I am tired of this story and this era.  The drip drip drip nature of the steroid revelations is horrible to endure and generally disgusting.   

The only good thing about this story is that a major star like Ramirez was caught and received such a lengthy, meaningful and expensive penalty. Manny will lose more than $7 million in salary.  Hopefully the suspension, shame and lost wages will discourage other players from taking performance enhancing drugs.  

The worst part of this story is the nature of the drug, basically a masking agent to hide the steroids Manny took.  Instead of saying "These drugs aren't worth it" the only thing Manny learned from the experiences of Bonds, Clemens, A-Rod et. al. was "Use a masking agent."  

Depressing stuff.

Also depressing is the all star team of cheaters.  Look at this lineup: Clemens, Maguire, Palmiero, A-Rod, Giambi, Bonds, Sosa. Who can you trust anymore?  Certainly not any player over 35 who continues to hit like Ramirez had.  I trust Griffey, Frank Thomas, Pujols, Chipper Jones, Vlad Guerrero.  And it makes you respect guys who age and decline, players like Griffey, Jeter, and Jeff Kent.   At least those guys are natural.

 NBA Playoffs

Nothing seems to be slowing down the Cavaliers' march to the NBA Finals.   And George Karl's Denver Nuggets, actually Chauncey Billups' Nuggets, look like legitimate contenders in the west.  But the other two second round series' have been pretty interesting.  

Even with KG on the bench I expected the Celtics to calmly dispatch the Magic.  But despite an incredibly weak backcourt, that series is now the Magic's to lose after their win in Orlando on Friday night.  Dwight Howard is dominating, as is Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu.  On the other hand Ray Allen and Paul Pierce look tired.  Outside of Rondo and Eddie House the Celtics look pretty bad on offense.  

I did not think the Rockets could hang with LA at all, but they stole game 1 nonetheless.  Tonight's game three will be huge, and expect the Lakers and Kobe Bryant in particular to have a big game.  One weird stat in this series - after dominating game one Yao Ming only took 4 SHOTS in game two.  You can't win like that.

QUICK MOVIE MINUTE

Hadn't seen many good movies lately, until this week when I got to watch The Wrestler, The Reader, and Slumdog Millionaire on DVD. I was really touched and impressed by all three. 

Mickey Rourke should have won the Oscar, and I cared about his character as if he were a Tar Heel. Yeah, he was Tar Heel good in The Wrestler.

Kate Winslet deserved her Oscar for The Reader. She did a great job portraying a complex character, one who is vain, naive, ruthless, kind, mean, and oblivious. It's a great movie about human nature and guilt, going along with the crowd, among other things. 

Finally, Slumdog Millionaire was about as satisfying a movie you will ever see. A great story, with details that unfold similar to The Usual Suspects and Training Day, and great acting and characters. There's a love story, a brother/buddy movie in there too.

.

One more final four

There is another final four this weekend, as Panathinaikos plays for the Euroleague 2009 championship today against CSKA Moscow.  The game is a rematch of the 2007 championship, won by Pana in Athens.  This year's final four is in Berlin.

Panathinaikos defeated arch-rival Olympiakos 84 to 82 - in a thrilling game - on Friday night to reach the championship. That was a good game to watch (the entire Euro final four is on NBA TV), with lots of back and forth action and good shooting. Olympiakos had a chance to tie at the end but Bourousis (which loosely translates to 'can you' or 'did you try'), their center, missed a pretty good look down low.

The Greens were led by two NCAA/NBA alums, Maryland's Sarunas Jasikevicus and Arizona State's Mike Batiste.  Jasikevicus hit a number of big shots, mainly 3s, and Batiste had 4 dunks in the second half.  In addition to those two, the game featured a number of NBA alums and other well known players.   In addition to Jasikevicus and Batiste, Pana's roster includes Greek national Vasili Spanoulis (Houston Rockets), Antonis Fotsis (Memphis Grizzlies where he played one season with Batiste) and Maryland's Drew Nicholas.

Olympiakos features Temple's Lynn Greer (Milwaukee Bucks), Jannero Pargo (Arkansas and most recently the New Orleans Hornets),  and George Printezis (drafted by San Antonio but traded to the Toronto Raptors).  But their most famous player is former Atlanta Hawk Josh Childress.   Childress had a nice game, and finished with 11 points, but never really asserted himself. Though he got his hand on Bourousis' missed shot his tip-in did not go in.

Olympiakos will not win Euroleague, but Childress has helped lead his team to the top of the Greek basketball league standings.   And he says he will honor his three-year contract to play with the Pireaus-based team and continues to say nice things about living and playing in Greece.

A few more Euroleague Final Four observations:

• The crowd was loud for the entire 40 minutes.  Pana-Olympiacos is similar to Carolina-Duke, with the main difference being Carolina-Duke fans generally respect the other team.  Not so in Greece, where sport seems to be an excuse to recreate the city-state wars of the 5th and 4th centuries BC (Spartan dog, Corinthian pig, etc. etc.!).  
• The crowd was so loud that you could barely hear the announcers, one of whom, Jeff Taylor, is a Carolina grad.
• Not only was the audio bad but I noticed how spoiled I am by American sports broadcasting.  The camera angle for this game was way to wide.  It almost felt as if you were watching the game from the upper deck rather than on television.
• The court was surrounded by a net so fans could not throw stuff on the floor or at each other.  Just another reminder that as crass and tacky as American sports can get, European sport is much worse. Our venues aren't surrounded by nets, smoking is not allowed and the uniforms do not feature advertisements instead of city names or logos.
• For the record, the Greens were playing 'for' Cosmote, a Greek communications company, while the Reds (Olympiakos) appropriately enough were playing 'for' CitiBank.

NBA Playoffs

As entertaining as the Bulls-Celtics series was, I still haven't gotten into the NBA playoffs. The other first round series' were terrible, but I expect to start watching more intently once the conference finals start.  Watching the Lakers battle the Nuggets and the Celtics play the Cavaliers will be worth staying up for.

NATS UPDATE

Some good news from southwest Washington as Sharion Martis threw the first Nationals complete game since the 2006 season in defeating the Cardinals 6-1 on Saturday.  It was Manager Manny Acta's first complete game as Washington's manager.  

The combination of Martis' effectiveness and the Nats' woeful bullpen made Acta's decision to let this starter finish what he started an easy one. 

Zimmerman extended his hitting streak to 21 games, and Adam Dunn hit his seventh homer for the Nats.  Offense does not seem to be a problem for this squad, and Lannan, Olson and rookie Jordan Zimmermann have each had good starts lately. Let's hope the complete game inspires the bull pen and the Nats string some wins together and get close to 500.