Daily Sports Roundup 1/4/08

January 5, 2008June 15, 2012Danny Vinik Leave a comment

It’s late and it has been a light day in sports so here are the couple short stories that made news today.

Battle in Detroit: The Detroit Pistons won their eleventh game in a row Friday night while the Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to eight. The two Eastern Conference powerhouses face off Saturday night. The Pistons beat the Celtics in the teams’ first meeting on two clutch free throws from Chauncey Billups. The Celtics are out for revenge. It should be a great game and I am looking forward to watching it.

Clemens Saga Continue: The House Oversight Committee has asked Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Brian McNamee, Kirk Radomski, and Chuck Knoblauch to testify before Congress. The biggest name in the Mitchell Report, Clemens has denied using performance-enhancing drugs, though he did admit to taking Lidocaine and B-12 vitamins. His interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” will air this week and the fans and media will get to hear Roger speak for the first time. It is going to be extremely difficult for Clemens to restore his reputation as he has already been convicted in the “court of public opinion”. Maybe going to court and testifying under oath will cause Clemens to admit steroid use and not risk perjury (see Barry Bonds). Or maybe Clemens will continue in his denial and McNamee will admit he was lying. Or maybe Clemens just won’t show up. The hearing is scheduled for January 16th and will hopefully shed some light on this hazy situation.

Okay, so I know that is only two articles and neither has much substance, but weekends are the toughest to find time to write and there were really no big stories out today. Tomorrow should be an exciting day in sports with NFL Wild Card games, college basketball games, and the Celtics-Pistons match-up at night. Enjoy!

Daily Sports Roundup 1/3/08

January 3, 2008June 15, 2012Danny Vinik Leave a comment

A big day in sports today so here we go:

Dolphins Bringing Back Williams: Based on a letter from the Dolphins, Ricky Williams’s agent said that Bill Parcells and Miami are going to renew Williams’s contract for the 2008 season. Williams has served multiple suspensions for failed drug tests and when he was finally allowed to play this year, he tore a pectoral muscle after only six carries. His rehab is supposedly going well though. It must be for the Dolphins to bring him back for another year. Ricky Williams is always a risk, because there is no way of knowing what he will do next. Yet, the Dolphins were 1-15 this season so even if Williams falls apart, they can’t get much worse

Roy Williams Replacing Taylor in Pro Bowl: The late Sean Taylor was elected to the Pro Bowl as a starter to honor his memory. Dallas Cowboys’ safety Roy Williams gets the honor of replacing Taylor in the Pro Bowl. It was a great move by the NFL to let Taylor be elected a starter and I’m sure they will remember him during the Pro Bowl. “I appreciate being the first alternate to go. We are going to do something special for Sean and his family. … It’s an honor to be going in his place” said Williams, who was the 12th Cowboy selected to the Pro Bowl, a league record. Though the Pro Bowl is never that entertaining of an event, it will be interesting to see how the NFL, Roy Williams, and the rest of each team handle Taylors’ absence.

Athletics Send Swisher to White Sox: The Oakland Athletics sent outfielder Nick Swisher to the Chicago White Sox for three minor leaguers. The A’s were hoping to compete next year in the AL West, but have completely changed routes. They sent ace pitcher Dan Haren to the Arizona Diamondbacks less than a month ago and now have dealt away their best hitter. They received 9 prospects for both of those players and have begun rebuilding again. If Oakland ever decides to put some money into their team, watch out. Billy Beane has already shown he is excellent at drafting prospects and building a farm system. Think of what he could do with some money. Continue reading “Daily Sports Roundup 1/3/08” →

Daily Sports Roundup 12/30/07

December 30, 2007June 15, 2012Danny Vinik Leave a comment

A light day in sports so far, but it is still early. Then again, it is Sunday and besides football, there isn’t much else.

Week 17 of NFL Season: Today is the final week of the NFL season and there are still a playoff spot in each league up for grabs. The Washington Redskins and Tennessee Titans both control their own destiny and only need a victory to clinch a playoff spot. The Redskins face the Cowboys at 4:15 and the Titans face the Colts at 8:15. The Cowboys and Colts will likely rest their players as they both have to look ahead to the playoffs. If the Titans or Redskins lose though, it opens up the door for the Browns and Vikings respectively. If the Redskins and Vikings both lose, then the New Orleans Saints have an opportunity to steal he last playoff spot.

Patriots Are Perfect:The Patriots wrapped up their perfect season last night, barely. The Giants played a strong game, but fell apart down the stretch. Down by 12 in the 3rd quarter, Maroney ran for a 6 yard touchdown run to make the score 28-23, Giants still leading. 8 minutes later in the 4th quarter, Brady threw a 65 yard touchdown pass to Moss to give the Pats the lead for good. That pass gave Brady his 50th touchdown pass of the year and the reception by Moss was his 23rd touchdown catch of the year. Brady broke Peyton Manning’s record of 49 touchdown passes in a season while Moss broke Jerry Rice’s record of 23 touchdown receptions in a season. They waited until 11 minutes left in the 4th quarter to break the records, but nevertheless came through. The touchdown put the Pats up 31-28 and they never looked back. Continue reading “Daily Sports Roundup 12/30/07” →