Daily Sports Roundup 1/7/08

January 7, 2008June 15, 2012Danny Vinik Leave a comment

Big day in sports today as Clemens filed a lawsuit and the BCS National Championship game is tonight among others

Clemens Files Suit Against McNamee: The saga continues as Roger Clemens filed a defamation lawsuit against former trainer Brian McNamee. The suit alleges that at fifteen different points while speaking to George Mitchell, McNamee said things that were “untrue and defamatory”. McNamee has responded, through his lawyer of course, that he will file a counter-suit against Clemens, claiming that Clemens’s remarks in his “60 Minutes” interview are a “total lie”. Clemens also released a tape of the phone conversation between Clemens and McNamee. From my perspective, this is a great move by Clemens. Taping and releasing the conversation makes it seem as if the phone call was not to speak about the situation, but rather to catch McNamee in a lie. McNamee never admits to lying about Roger using steroids, but does say “Tell me what you want me to do. I’ll go to jail. I’ll do whatever you want”. Remind you of someone? Greg Anderson, Barry Bonds’ former trainer, has sat in jail cell for months for refusing to speak with federal investigators. This situation is different though, as McNamee would go to jail if he said that he lied to George Mitchell in his investigation. If McNamee takes the stand and says that he injected Clemens with steroids, he doesn’t go to jail.

After waiting a month to really take a stand, Clemens did it today and this story is not going to go away. The greatest pitcher of my generation is accused of using steroids. I have tried to stay as partial as possible while looking at the evidence. After originally believing that Clemens used steroids, my opinion is changing and I now believe that Clemens is innocent. Apparently there aren’t many people like me as in an ESPN SPORTSNATION Poll, more than 57% believe that Clemens used steroids, 25% believe Clemens is innocent, and the final 18% are undecided. The congressional hearings that will be held on January 16th will be extremely interesting in seeing if either person changes his position. After todays’ whirlwind of news, I doubt that either is going to adjust there stance. The one other question I am wondering is whether Chuck Knoblauch and Andy Pettitte, both asked to speak in front of congress, will risk going to jail. If Clemens used steroids, I believe that both of those players saw it. Steroids weren’t exactly being hidden in clubhouses. If both Knobluach and Pettitte take the stand and say Clemens is innocent, that is only going to increase my belief in Clemens. Continue reading “Daily Sports Roundup 1/7/08” →

Daily Sports Roundup 1/6/08

January 6, 2008June 15, 2012Danny Vinik Leave a comment

Sunday is always a pretty slow day in sports, but there are a couple of interesting stories that made news today. Here they are:

Wild Card Games: The final two wild card games of the NFL Playoffs are today. The New York Giants visited Tampa Bay while the Tennessee Titans travelled to San Diego. In the first game today, the Giants defeated Tampa Bay 24-14 behind a strong outing by Eli Manning. The Buccaneers stadium was rocking, but three costly turnovers helped Eli and the Giants escape with the win. Manning completed 20 of 27 passes for 185 yards and 2 touchdowns while Bucs’ quarterback Jeff Garcia completed only 20 of 39 pass attempts for 207 touchdowns while throwing one touchdown and two interceptions. The Buccaneers chose to shut down the Giants’ running game, which they did as New York averaged only 3.3 yards per rush. Unfortunately, in shutting down the run, Tampa gave Manning the opportunity to pass. He took that opportunity and made the best of it, leading the Giants to the victory. New York will face Dallas in the Divisional Playoffs next weekend. The AFC Wild Card game takes place tonight. Vince Young will need to play a great game to overcome the Chargers’ balanced attack. If the Chargers win, they will face Indianapolis in the next round, but if the Titans win, Tennessee will face New England.

Arenas Hopes To Return This Year: Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas is hoping to play basketball again this year, but doesn’t want to risk further injury. Arenas had surgery last April and then another surgery in November to repair his knee. Though he is progressing, Arenas is still months away from returning. He wants to get back this year, but realizes that it may not be in his best interest to do so. “I have to protect the rest of my career, too, so I won’t jeopardize that for just 15 games if I’m not 100 percent,” he said Saturday “If it’s aching, if I’m out here practicing and it’s swelling up then, I’ll see you next year.” Continue reading “Daily Sports Roundup 1/6/08” →

Daily Sports Roundup 1/5/08

January 5, 2008June 15, 2012Danny Vinik 3 Comments

Besides actual games today, there hasn’t been much news in the world of sports, but let’s look at some stories anyways:

Brady Named NFL MVP: Not surprisingly, Tom Brady was named NFL MVP for the first time in his career. Brady had one of the greatest seasons by a quarterback in NFL history. He had a single-season NFL record 50 touchdown passes, a league-leading 4806 yards passing, and only 8 interceptions. He also led the league in completion percentage and passer rating at 68.9% and 117.2 respectively. He received 49 of 50 votes with Brett Farve receiving the other vote (likely from a Green Bay reporter). Brady led the Patriots to a perfect regular season and hopes to continue into he playoffs

Wild Card Weekend: The Redskins visited the Seahawks and Jacksonville travelled to Pittsburgh in the two wild card games today. In the first game, the Seahawks led the Redskins 13-0 entering the fourth quarter when the game became a circus. 2:22 into the 4th quarter, the Redskins had taken a 14-13 lead and recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. After Washington kicker missed a 30 yard field goal, Seattle drove down the field, scored, and completed a 2-point conversion to take a 21-14 lead. When Redskins QB Todd Collins threw his first interception of the year, Marcus Trufant took it 78 yards back for a touchdown. Another interception by Collins with 30 seconds left in the game ended it. The Seahawks defeat the Redskins 35-14. In the other Wild Card game today, the Jaguars have used an interception return for a touchdown and a 96 yard kickoff return to give themselves a 21-7 lead at the half. Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw 3 interceptions in the first half and he is going to need to have a great second half for Pittsburgh to stay in this game. Continue reading “Daily Sports Roundup 1/5/08” →