Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for October 8, 2009 from
www.LenBermanSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
The Phillies, Yankees and Dodgers all won the opening game of their
playoff series yesterday.
Today's schedule:
Game 2 Colorado @ Phillies. 2:37p ET TBS
Game 2 St. Louis @ Dodgers 6:07p ET TBS
Game 1 Boston @ Angels 9:37p ET TBS
Pass Catchin'. The Jets get the talented yet troubled wide receiver
Braylon Edwards from Cleveland. (Or as one Top 5 subscriber noted, now
the Jets can have their very own "Plaxico Burress.") Texas Tech's
Michael Crabtree ends his holdout with the 49ers.
Don't mess with the kid. A 12-year old Florida girl sued the
Phillies and got back Ryan Howard's 200th homer run ball. Back in
July, the Phillies traded her a less valuable autographed bat in
return for the ball.
2. Home Cookin'
We have a theme. The home teams pitched better yesterday and all won.
Should the Angels beat the Red Sox tonight, it would mark the first
time in history that all 4 home teams won the first game of the
playoffs. And it's all about the stars. Cliff Lee pitched a complete
game for the defending champion Phillies. The Dodgers were able to
stifle "all-world" Albert Pujols of the Cards. And then there's A-Rod.
He had exactly one RBI in his last 3 post-seasons, and he had two
RBI's last night alone. As a Top 5 subscriber pointed out, A-Rod may
not fail this October for the simple reason that the World Series will
stretch into November.
3. Out of Hiding
It will probably go down as one of the biggest black marks in
baseball history. The 1998 home run chase between Mark McGwire and
Sammy Sosa. Both were headed to the Hall of Fame until that little
steroids thing got in the way. McGwire has pretty much gone into
hiding. But is he now trying to emerge and clean up his image? He made
his playoff predictions in the Sporting News. If you're interested he
likes the Cardinals (of course) and Rockies in the National, and the
Yankees and Angels in the American. Perhaps he'll become a seer. Maybe
that's what he meant when he told Congress "he's only looking
forward."
4. Hide the Children
Sports Illustrated has their skimpy swimsuit issue, so now ESPN
Magazine is upping the ante. They hit the stands tomorrow with their
first naked or semi-nude athlete issue. Serena Williams is prominently
featured. But are you really racing to the newsstand to see Yankee
pitcher Joba Chamberlain in the buff? Why stop there? We won't be
happy until they display future Rams owner Rush Limbaugh.
5. Tweet Tweet
The other day I mentioned actress Elisabeth Shue's birthday. On
Twitter, a movie porn site re-tweeted my tweet. Now I know I've
arrived. (So to speak.)
Happy Birthday: Caddyshack's Chevy Chase. 66.
Bonus Birthday: Actor Matt Damon. 39.
Today in Sports: Whitey Ford breaks Babe Ruth's World Series pitching
record of 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings. 1961.
Bonus Event: The Great Chicago fire started by Mrs. O'Leary's cow.
1871.