Top 5 Sports Stories

Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for November 5, 2009 from www.LenBermanSports.com.

1. Quick Hits

Cue the parade (tomorrow). The Yankees win their 27th world championship beating the Phillies in 6 games, 7-3.

Hideki Matsui, who drove in 6 runs last night, becomes the first Japanese born player to win the World Series MVP award. Not a bad season. It began with the Japanese winning the World Baseball Classic.

Disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy got released from jail after serving most of his 15 month sentence for taking bribes from gamblers in return for inside tips

2. By George

The only sadness last night for Yankee fans was that George Steinbrenner wasn't there. Love him or hate him, he's the one who made all this possible. Without George's ownership there wouldn't be 11 pennants and 7 championships since he took over, or a new Yankee Stadium. It's easy to say the Yankees bought a title, but the landscape is littered with teams, including the Yankees, who spent tens of millions and came up empty. As for all those Yankee fans who wanted to string up manager Joe Girardi for only using 3 starting pitchers, those same fans are crowing today "told ya' they'd win!" Although it didn't have the feel of a World Series game last night. The umps didn't blow any calls. And who would have thought that a season that began with Alex Rodriguez holding a steroid news conference, would end with A-Rod holding his first championship trophy. Only in New York.

3. Celebrate Good Times, Come on!

Subscriber R.B. has a simple question. Will the Yankees celebrate their championship with a parade up lower Broadway or a sail on the Hudson?

4. Award Season

And this year's Plaxie goes to Dodger pitcher Vicente Padilla. Stealing a page from Plaxico Burress, Padilla accidentally shot himself in the leg while hunting in Nicaragua. Reports are sketchy. He might be OK, it might not have happened hunting, and it might have been someone else who shot him. If somebody else did the shooting, he'll be asked to forfeit his Plaxie, and the runner-up will assume all the rights and responsibilities.

5. And Now This Word...

The Colbert Report on Comedy Central is sponsoring the U.S. Olympic speedskating team. Not to be outdone the U.S. fencing team will be sponsored by reruns of Zorro. The equestrian team by Mr. Ed. I've got millions of 'em.

Happy Birthday (Talk about a party): Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon. 36.

Bonus Birthday: She won an academy award when she was 10 years old. The former Mrs. John McEnroe. Tatum O'Neal. 46.

Today in Sports: Quite a day for former Mets Manager Davey Johnson. He quits as Manager of the Baltimore Orioles and within hours he's voted Manager of the Year. 1997.

Bonus Event: Another Johnson, Walter, was one of the greatest pitchers of all time. But when he ran for Congress from Maryland, he posted an "L." 1940.

 

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