Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for October 13, 2011 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
- The Texas Rangers can with their second straight American League pennant with a win today. They lead Detroit three games to one after last night's 7-3, 11 inning win.
- St. Louis beat Milwaukee 4-3. The Cardinals lead two games to one.
- Today's Schedule: Game 5, Texas at Detroit. 4:19pm Eastern. FOX.Game 4, Milwaukee at St. Louis. 8:05pm. TBS.
- The NBA and its players will start mediation today in New York.
- Big Papi, David Ortiz, tells ESPN there's "too much drama on the Red Sox." He said he doesn't know if he wants to be part of it next year. Would a nice long fat contract help?
2. Piling On Not that Yankees fans needed to know this, but the failures of A-Rod last week are only exacerbated by the successes of the other star players still alive. When St. Louis needed a win in game 2, Albert Pujols hit a homer and three doubles. When Detroit was even more desperate for a win in game 3 after losing the first two to Texas, their top hitter Miguel Cabrera homered and doubled. Milwaukee's top hitter Ryan Braun batted .332 in the regular season. He's hitting .483 in the playoffs. By the way, his nickname is the "Hebrew Hammer." Just thought you'd like to know. Anyway, to be fair, Alex Rodriguez played a fabulous third base in the playoff series and plenty of other Yankees forgot how to hit. Maybe they didn't. Maybe the pitching just gets tougher in the postseason, although it doesn't seem to affect the stars on the other teams this season.
3. Fan Fare A couple of fan notes. In Philadelphia last night they played a public service announcement on the scoreboard. Players from around the league were featured including rival Sidney Crosby of Pittsburgh. A group of fans booed the rival players. The video? "Hockey Fights Cancer." Nice.
Then there's the knucklehead who threw a hot dog at Tiger Woods on Sunday. He told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that he was inspired by the movie Drive. "I thought to myself, I have to do something courageous and epic. I have to throw a hot dog on the green in front of Tiger." And they wonder where the next Steve Jobs will come from?
4. Too Much Moneyball Maybe you've heard about the spoof of Moneyball? The Oakland As were short on cash in the real movie, not exactly the Yankees' problem. So here's the Bronx Bombers version of the film. Enjoy.
Happy Birthday: Hall of Fame 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice. 49.Bonus Birthday: Singer/songwriter Paul Simon. 70.
Today in Sports: Bill Mazeroski's home run wins the World Series for Pittsburgh against the Yankees. 1960.Bonus Event: Red white and blue balls, three-point shots and not so much defense. The American Basketball Association plays its first game. The Oakland Oaks beat the Anaheim Amigos 134-129. 1967.
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