by jesse.sherman 2 months ago
by Tim Weisberg 2 months ago
The Los Angeles Dodgers may have to call up the bankruptcy court and plead their case to halt their inevitable sale because they had just been robbed by the baseball writers of America. Not robbed by any monetary value, but robbed of an NL MVP award that was rightfully center fielder Matt Kemp’s for the taking.
Instead, Los Angeles native Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers was awarded the MVP award, and became the first Brewer since Robin Yount won his second AL MVP in 1989.
“The reason I won is because they put a better team around me,” Braun told the USA Today in a conference call. “It’s a result of 25 guys around you and putting you in that situation.”
In that case, the baseball writers of America need a dictionary refresher of what defines a most valuable player. Because Kemp did not have a better team around him like Braun did. To tell me that Braun won because he had a higher batting average and played for a team who made the playoffs for only the second time in almost 30 years (1982). To tell me Braun won the most valuable player award because he had the likes of Prince Fielder, a player who finished third behind Braun and Kemp in the MVP voting, backing him up in the lineup, is astounding.
Does Clayton Kershaw count? Because he won the NL Cy Young. Kemp was one home run away from becoming only the sixth player in major league history to hit for 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season. A player who would have won the triple crown if not for Braun. First in home runs, first in RBI’s and first in runs scored (115). Did I mention Kemp won a Gold Glove?
My question is that if Braun were to go down with injury during the season, would the Brewers be that much worse without him?
Home runs? You have Corey Hart, Ricky Weeks and Prince Fielder for that. RBI’s and manufacturing runs? The aforementioned. The Dodgers lose Kemp, and their offense is even more atrocious than it already was. Unless we started seeing Jamey Carroll, Aaron Miles or (ahem) Juan Uribe start hitting home runs. But the Dodgers might have had a better chance seeing a game snowed out in Chavez Ravine than another 30+ homer player on the Dodgers.
In my eyes, the Dodgers are far worse without Kemp than the Brewers are without Braun. To hit for 39 home runs in a hitter-friendly Dodger Stadium for a disgruntled franchise in front of empty seats in which half of the season the team had nothing to play for is beyond impressive. It’s remarkable. And to be dubbed solely because the Dodgers were not a contender is wrong. Alex Rodriguez played for last-place Texas and won the award in 2002.
The Dodgers finished in third place in the NL West, a respectable 82-79, and probably would have been a 90-loss team and fighting for position in the NL West cellar if not for Kemp’s contributions not only offensively, but defensively.
And like Braun, Kemp is with the Dodgers for the long-haul, recently signing an eight-year, $160 million dollar extension. Last time I checked, that also puts Kemp with the Dodgers through 2020 just like Braun.
The most valuable player is the value of a player to his team. With a teammate who finished in third place in the MVP voting, it should be pretty clear Braun’s value on the Brewers is not nearly the value Kemp boasts in a Dodgers uniform.
Kemp joked with reporters he would be going for the 50-50 club next season. He very well might have to, or be the first player since 1967 to win the triple crown.
Because the baseball writers of America have a flawed definition of “MVP” in whatever dictionary they are looking at.
In the end, a team not in playoff contention, one home run short of the 40-40 club, and only two for three in the triple crown race isn’t good enough to win the MVP.
by jesse.sherman 2 months ago
by jesse.sherman 2 months ago
It’s the end of the MLB awards season and the recipients have been more than deserving of their awards. Find out who won or should win the Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, Cy Young Award, and MVP in each league. Plus, the Phillies are making a lot of moves to ensure that they don’t disappoint in 2012, the MIAMI Marlins look to impress in their new stadium, and where will Yankees legend Jorge Posada end up?
by Alex.Post 2 months ago
Last night the Cornell Big Red Men’s Hockey Team took on and shut out the Princeton Tigers 4-0 in front of a full house. It seemed fitting seeing as this was the first Ivy League game of the season for Cornell.
Cornell started off the game strong with seven shots on goal in the first period. The game was incredibly fast paced, but ran smoothly. There were very few penalties and stops in the game. It was really enjoyable to watch and the fans were glued to the ice.
Head coach Mike Schafer commented on the great defensive playing in the 1st period. “The freshman are doing a good job of playing, but our upperclassman are doing a great job of coming out and doing better. Eric Axell, I think, was one of our best players tonight.”
At the end of the 1st period, Cornell was up 1-0 thanks to a goal by Ferlin assisted by Miller. Greg Miller has obtained a point during every game so far this season. And goalie, Any Iles, also had his own feat accomplishing his first career shutout game.
“It’s one of those things as a goalie you kind of want to get out of the way”, remarked Iles. But, he was grateful to his team commenting that it was not an individual achievement, but a team effort.
“There’s no better feeling as a team, when you come out there with a goose egg on the board” and in regards to the Big Red defense, “there’s no better feeling than someone laying their body on the line for the team”.
Missed opportunities seemed to be the theme of the 2nd period though. The score remained 1-0 entering into the final period of the game.
The third period was like a different team, offensively on the ice for Cornell. Sean Collins said that they “turned it on in the 3rd period” with 3 fast paced goals that left the Princeton Tigers in the dust.
Collins explained the final goal that put the Big Red over the top to beat Princeton 4-0. After Nick D’Agostino got a turnover he was able to “pass it up to Lowry, got between the defensemen’s stick, I got it, backhand, forehand, quick release, and beat him upstairs.” It looked as beautiful as it sounded.
Princeton’s goalie, Sean Bonar, may have let in 4 goals, but he was able to fend off 18 of the other attempts made by Cornell. Their offense took plenty of shots in the 1st two periods, but their momentum was halted in the third when the Big Red became hot.
Their next game is tonight against Quinnipiac in the 2nd game of their 3 game homestand.
by Morgan Miller 2 months ago
In Cornell’s final game of the season, the Big Red took on Columbia University in an effort to win the Ivy League Title and an at-large position in the NCAA tournament. After finishing 4-8-5 last year, Cornell had an impressive turn around this season, as they went into last week’s game 8-2-5. Going into the game, the team knew that a win would put them in a tie for the Ivy League Title, a fact that set the tone for the entire game.
However, things did not start well for Cornell. In the 17th minute of the game, Columbia’s David Najem chipped the ball over the head of Cornell goalie, Zach Zagorski, who was standing in for an injured Rick Pflasterer. The goal put Columbia up 1-0.
In the closing minutes of the first half, Cornell evened the score with a goal from Daniel Haber. After a long pass down field from Defender Patrick Slogic, Tyler Regan sprinted down the right sideline, beat a defender, and crossed to Haber for the assist. The Big Red went into the second half tied with Columbia, and they would exit the final minutes of regulation time the same way.
The teams headed into the first over time ready to score, Cornell eager to edge out the Lions for the title. However, after two overtimes, the game ended in a tie and landed in fourth overall in the Ivy League.
“Coming into this season we felt like last year we left a lot on the table, and the group we had going forward was so committed, that we felt like we had this in us, we had to go out and prove it” said Haber. Cornell fought until the very last minute, until the final whistle blew when almost everyone on the field fell to the ground showing both the physical and emotional anguish the game caused.
“Obviously it’s a pretty emotional night.” Said Lannon, a senior midfielder and captain on the team. “This season, we’ve kind of been fighting back from what we used to be. As tough a result as it was to take, we fought the entire time. And that’s kind of what this team has been all about for the last three years. I couldn’t be more proud of this group,” he continued, “even during the thought time of the game, we got down one nothing, and it took all we got to fight back and get a goal.”
After finishing 1-14 his freshman year, Lannon credited the dedication of the team and coaches for the turn around. “It’s really tough because we put in the hours, we put in all the work that I don’t think a lot of other teams did. And that’s kind of why we really believed we were doing something right. They couldn’t work nearly as hard as us without getting the results and I think this year proved it,” said Lannon, “It’s so tough because we all put our hearts and souls into this whole thing.”
After the game, coach Jaro Zawislan talked about the development of the team over the season. “The foundation with 8 wins 2 losses 6 ties, of course we would like to win more games, of course we would like to win the title tonight for this program, for the fans, for the community here, and just came short, but I am so proud of the players, they left everything on the field,” said Zawislan, who has now been with the program for three years. Along with the efforts of the team, Zawislan was able to push the team into the top 25 in the NCAA rankings this season.
Despite the disappointing finale to the season, after a discouraging 2010 season, the team was still proud of their accomplishments this season. “The whole attitude of the program is completely different now. We are much more positive we really believe that going forward we will be competing every year for the Ivy League Championship and for a spot in the [NCAA] tournament” Haber said.
“The foundation with 8 wins 2 losses 6 ties, of course we would like to win more games, of course we would like to win the title tonight for this program, for the fans, for the community here, and just came short, but I am so proud of the players, they left everything on the field.” Added Zawislan. “Sky is the limit! And we always try for perfection so this process will never end and just looking at the progress that this group of players made from the preseason, form the first game, and getting better almost every half of the game, almost every 45 minutes we’ve been getting better, and better and better.”
In addition to a season the clearly displayed great potential for future seasons, defender Patrick Slogic and junior goalkeeper Rick Pflasterer made first team All-Ivy. Slogic played every minute of every game (except one which he didn’t play in at all), and Pflasterer started 15 or 16 games and allowed only nine goals in 15 games, allowed an average of 0.78 goals against (third all time for Cornell). Pflasterer also had six shutouts, and 81 minutes of a seventh. The last Cornell player to make first team All-Ivy was Matt Bouaree in 2009, and this pair is the first duo since 1996 to make first team All-Ivy, when three Cornell players made the team. Senior midfielder Jimmy Lannon and sophomore forward Daniel Haber make second team All-Ivy, and sophomore midfielder Benjamin Williams was named to the Honorable Mention All-Ivy team. Freshman forward Conor Goepel walked away from the season with two freshman of the week awards, and Goalkeeper Zack Zagorski with one.
by Tim Weisberg 2 months ago
Kicking woes-Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore reacts to a missed field goal at end of regulation of 36-35 loss to TCU Nov. 12.
Last year it was Kyle Brotzman. In 2011, freshman kicker Dan Goodale was left to the test of keeping the BCS national championship dream alive for the Boise State Broncos.
But for the second straight year, the Broncos put the game in the kicker’s hands…er foot, and the kicker was unable to deliver. Goodale missed a 39-yard field goal attempt as time expired, ending any hope of a national title appearance in a 36-35 loss to TCU.
Against Nevada on Nov. 26, 2010, the Broncos witnessed the NCAA Division I leader in career points shank a 26-yard field goal at the end of regulation. The drama continued in Reno, and in overtime, Brotzman was unable to redeem himself with a 29-yard field goal.
Fast-forward to Boise State’s game against TCU Nov. 12, and it was “de ja lose,” as Los Angeles Times writer Sam Farmer cleverly put it in one of his columns. Except this time, the Horned Frogs were actually the better team. For the first time in senior Kellen Moore’s career, his team trailed at halftime.
The Horned Frogs were in a position to tie the game with an extra point after scoring a touchdown to make it 35-34 with 1:05 remaining.
Then came Gary Patterson’s gutsy call. This wasn’t an FCS team going for the win with nothing to lose with a loss. TCU was in the thick of the Mountain West conference race, as the Broncos and Horned Frogs were undefeated heading into Saturday’s match-up.
Patterson elected to go for the win, and the Horned Frogs converted a two-point conversion that put the Broncos in quite the predicament.
Moral of the story: don’t leave the game to the kicker, let alone a freshman kicker. In the case of Boise State, history repeated itself, albeit too soon, too fast and at the most inopportune time.
Last season’s misery ended in Reno, Nev. This year’s misery ended in Boise, snapping the Broncos’ 35-game home winning streak.
Chasing perfection for two straight seasons. Remaining imperfect for two straight seasons. The BCS system prevails once again.
Other streaks snapped:
-Longest conference home win streak (47). The Broncos last conference loss at home was the season finale against Idaho…in 1998.
-Regular season home win streak (65), a span of 11 years.
by Tim Weisberg 2 months ago
Borrowed Time–UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel on the sidelines in the Nov. 12 game against Utah. The Bruins losr 31-6 to fall to 5-5 on the season. Neuheisel has been on the proverbial “hot seat” since the beginning of the season with a career 19-26 record through the first four seasons at UCLA. (Jim Urquhart/Associated Press)
Being consistently inconsistent is turning into a rerun UCLA does not want to keep replaying.
Highlighted by a season of peaks and valleys, the Rick Neuheisel tenure hit another valley in yet another embarrassing loss, this time at Utah 31-6 Nov. 12. Forget the snow or the fact that Utah became bowl eligible with the win (6-4) and UCLA (5-5, 4-3 Pac-12)…to be determined.
Just when it seems Neuheisel has awoken from the dead, climbed the mountain via crab-walk (Have you tried to crab-walk up a mountain? It’s pretty difficult), or turned fool’s gold into 24-carat stone, the Bruins get caught in a trap, pushed down the mountain they just climbed, or taken 24-carat stone and managing to smash it into a thousand pieces.
A thrilling win only to be followed with a terrible loss. Get embarrassed on national television and lose by 36 points to a 1-6 team who recently fired their coach, then beat Cal and first-place Arizona State in as many weeks, the peaks and valleys of this season are too much to handle for the Bruin faithful.
Might as well go 0-12, because at least then we know what to expect. One week, we are beating a Pac-12 contender, the next trying to find a way to beat San Jose State.
There’s only so many mountains you can turn into molehills, and for Neuheisel’s case, the Bruins got pushed off their last mountain Saturday against Utah, which actually fits quite well since Salt Lake City is 5,000 feet above sea level.
5-5 and still not bowl eligible with two games remaining, Neuheisel faces two scenarios: beat Colorado and lose to USC, or even better, vise versa, or lose both to close out the season 5-7 and without a bowl bid.
If Neuheisel beats Colorado and loses to USC, expect athletic director Dan Guerrero to dropkick Neuheisel straight out of his office because another 6-6 season with another loss to cross-town rival USC does not cut it.
Losing to a 1-6 Arizona team on national television does not cut it. Struggling against a team the school paid $465,000 to come to the Rose Bowl (not to name any names but San Jose State) in front of an empty Rose Bowl does not cut it. Even beating Cal and Arizona State in consecutive weeks doesn’t cut it, because in a season that is constantly changing elevations, we can almost guarantee the Bruins will find a way to take another two steps back.
It might be too early to say, but if Neuheisel does not win out and finish 7-5 before another mediocre bowl bid, he will be out of Westwood one year early.
The fun and games are over. Like Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt once said: ‘How do you spell fun? W-I-N.’ Did I mention he is also resigning after this season because he can’t seem to be having much “fun” in Oxford.
A loss next week to Colorado, and Neuheisel will have the Bruins treading sand in Death Valley. “Death” might sound a little harsh, but it just happens to be the name of a Valley that happens to be in California that happens to be the lowest point on Earth.
When you climb a mountain in sports, people expect you to stay there longer than a Kim Kardashian marriage. There is no 15 seconds of fame. Only weeks and weeks of it in college football.
Consistently inconsistent. That is the best phrase to describe Neuheisel’s past four years in Westwood. Not a compliment.
by Tim Weisberg 2 months ago
Big Red Shootout–Cornell receiver Grant Gellatly dives into the endzone for a touchdown in the first quarter in a game against Columbia Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field. The Big Red’s 62-41 victory over Columbia was its highest point total since 1936. (Photo by Patrick Shanahan)
It might have been Senior Day for the Cornell football team Saturday, but it was the performance of an underclassman that paved the way for the Big Red’s fourth win on the year.
Sophomore quarterback Jeff Mathews set a Cornell single-game record with 521 passing yards and five touchdowns on 40 of 46 pass attempts, single-handedly carrying the offense on his shoulders in a 62-41 shootout over Columbia Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field.
Mathews’ 521 yards was just five yards short of the Ivy League single-game record set by Brown’s Michael Daugherty in 2008.
According to Big Red head coach Kent Austin, Mathews’ performance may have stood out, but it was a collective team effort that was indicative of the win.
“Jeff’s a really good player,” Austin said laughing. “ But he’s got good players around him. It always takes 11 for anyone to perform. But Jeff is just as accurate and had as good a decision-making day as any quarterback that I have been around in a long time.”
The 62 points the Big Red (4-5, 2-4 Ivy League) put up on the Lions (0-9, 0-6) was also a modern-day record for the program, breaking the previous mark of 57 points in a win over Georgetown in 2005. The last time the Big Red scored at least 60 points in a game was when they scored 74 in 1936.
But the way things started for the Big Red, it was appearing to be a long afternoon.
The Big Red appeared to have the Lions headed to a three-and-out on their first drive, but a roughing the punter penalty kept the Lions offense on the field. 10 players later, the Lions got on the board off a four-yard run from Griffin Lowry to give the Lions an early 7-0 lead.
However, the Big Red bounced back less than three minutes later, tying the game at seven just before the end of the first quarter on a two-yard reverse from Luke Tasker.
The teams fought neck and neck through the first half, with the Lions scoring just before the half to take a 34-28 lead at the break.
The second half was a different story, as the Big Red defense forced three consecutive three-and-outs and scored 17 unanswered to take 45-34 lead after three quarters, outscoring the Lions 34-7 in the second half to break the game open.
“You don’t know how a game is going to play out,” said Austin. “The best laid plans most of the time get thrown out in the first quarter because everybody has a different game plan and you start making adjustments and they start making their adjustments. It just starts turning out the way it turns out and there’s no way to predict it.”
The always-modest Mathews attributed his passing success to the game plan and his receivers’ ability to find holes in the defense.
“Honestly we have receivers in our offense that get a lot of freedom to get open and when those guys are getting open it’s pretty easy to put the ball in,” said Mathews. “We have some pretty good outside receivers so it’s a lot of fun.”
Recently coined the Empire State Bowl in 2010, the Big Red earned there first win in what had been the unofficial nickname of the series for many years.
For Mathews, it was more about getting seniors like receiver Shane Savage and tight end Ryan Houska a win in their final home game, and first against Columbia.
“It means a lot because you want to remember Cornell the right way and you always tend to remember how you finish,” he said. “So for those (seniors), they finish like this and get a big win (against Columbia).”
At 4-5, the Big Red have already doubled their season win total from all of last year, and look to finish out the season at .500 for the first time since 2007 when they play at Penn next Saturday, Nov. 19.
Despite the Big Red saying goodbye to 23 seniors following next Saturday, Austin believes the seniors will have a lasting impact on the program.
“I’m really privileged to coach a great group of guys and we have had really good senior leadership this year,” he said. “And some of the culture that they’ve helped to establish and the things that they have adopted from our vision as a coaching staff, (what) they’ve been able to implement in the locker room or away from football with our team, they’ve just made an outstanding effort in that regard…they’re all great young men and they all have great futures.”
by ben.rosenthal 2 months ago
Slope TV’s Arthur Mansbach and Ben Rosenthal went behind the scenes at the men’s basketball practices to get the inside scoop on the upcoming season. They spoke with senior Captain Chris Wroblewski and Head Coach Bill Courtney.
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Sports Inc.- 11/30/2011: