Back to Real Sports...

Aloha everyone... no real content to speak of on this barren Thursday morning, so no full post today.... but a PSA at least...

• Watch the British Open... aka the Open Championship... kicked off on ESPN at 4:00 am this morning, and will go until darkness invades over there... one of the most unique events on the sporting calendar, and it's always fascinating when there's crazy conditions on the links...
• Baseball is back today... with an abbreviated schedule unfortunately (no Braves game), but Yankees/Blue Jays at 7:00 on MLB Network...

And a quick Braves note...

• I read this morning via Capitol Avenue Club that the Braves will play 50 games against the Nationals, Mets (who are selling off), Marlins, Dodgers, Pirates, Cubs, and D-Backs the rest of the way... not a big "schedule" guy in MLB, but that sets up pretty well, and the Phillies are down to 3 pitchers with an imploded bullpen (injuries).... Oh, and Jason Heyward and Dan Uggla can't possibly be as bad as they were in Half #1... just saying...

Back in full tomorrow

7/13: All-Star Game, K-Rod Dealt...

Greetings all... hilariously slow week in sports, especially when I could care less about the All-Star festivities... alas...

• NL 5, AL 1 - Didn't watch any of it... but the end result is the National League having homefield in the World Series.... and yes, that still doesn't make any sense to anyone...
  
• The Mets have traded K-Rod to the Brewers for 2 players to be named later... this is a straight salary dump for the Mets who needed to shed Rodriguez due to a huge $17+ million vesting option for next year if he completed 21 more games... on the Brewers end, he'll apparently be setting up John Axford (who isn't as good as he is), and I have to think that's so he doesn't reach that vesting option... on the Mets side, Bobby Parnell likely takes over for anyone that cares...
• The Pittsburgh Steelers LB James Harrison lashes out at Roger Goodell in an interview... this wouldn't be news if it wasn't so over the top, but he actually called him a "crook" and the "devil"... uh... strong James.... let's go to Bart Scott for comment...
• The T-Wolves have officially ended the long national nightmare and fired Kurt Rambis... this had been a formality since the Draft, and Kahn finally pulled the trigger... nothing to really see here...
• The Open Championship (aka the British Open) starts on Thursday... no Tiger, but this is still a major and should be followed as such... interested to see how Rory responds as the favorite, and this is typically an event where an outsider can easily win... intrigue...

What to watch for...

• Nothing! No pro sports games....
• Okay, Okay... Women's World Cup at Noon... USA taking on France in the Semis...
  

Enjoy...

7/8: Braves Sweep, Deron Williams, etc.

Greetings all...

• The Braves get a rare 4-game sweep in disposing of the Rockies 6-3 on Thursday.... Freddie Freeman continued his torried hitting pace with another home run (a 3-run bomb), and Tim Hudson and company did enough to hold off an impotent Rockies lineup... on to Philly for a semi-crucial (it's only July) 3-game series before the break in which Philly trots out all 3 of their elite starters... best of luck...
• Deron Williams... to play in Turkey?... That's the report that is widely circulating... if reports prove true, he'd have an out to return to the NBA upon the conclusion of the lockout with no penalty, and if that's the case, I have no issue with it... the injury risk is there, but with insurance, it's not as big of a deal as you might think...
  
• This just in... nobody cares about the Roger Clemens trial... or any other baseball steroids case that ever exists... thanks...

And sadly...

• A fan passed away at the Rangers/A's game in Arlington last night after suffering a 20-foot fall while trying to catch a ball thrown to him by Josh Hamilton... Just a woefully sad story across the board and my condolences to the family...

What to watch for on Friday...

• Braves @ Phillies - 7:05 SportSouth - Beachy vs. Halladay - The best in the business on the hill for the Phillies... never fun to witness
• Mets @ Giants - 10:05 MLB Network - Dickey vs. Vogelsong - This is especially interesting because Bob Costas and Al Michaels are calling the game together... that's just weird...

Enjoy...

7/7: Scorching-hot Braves, etc.

Greetings all...

• The Braves get another win last night... that's 3 straight over Colorado and with the win and Philly's loss (finally), the Braves are within 3 of the lead at 52-36... Jair Jurrjens has been ridiculous... 12-3 with a 1.87 ERA before the ASG is insane, and even with the regression definitely coming (look at his FIP, etc.), he's been elite this year... Jordan Schafer led the way with 4 hits, but the most encouraging thing for him was him embracing his inner Kenny Lofton and pounding the ball into the ground while using his legs to get on base... he's not a good lead-off hitter (as the .303 OBP even with the 4 hits attests), but if he hit with the approach of Wednesday, he'd be better off.... one note on the lineup... I can't fathom a world in which Schafer and Gonzalez hit 1-2 in the lineup back-to-back days, but it's happened... this just in, Alex Gonzalez is the worst hitter in the everyday lineup (.269 OBP, wow)... so let's hit him 2nd!...
  
• Derek Jeter has 2,997 hits... wake me up when he gets to 3,000... but one note on Cap'n Jetes... the vitriol of people crapping on him has gone too far... should he be leading off? Nope... but he's better than Eduardo Nunez, and they're paying him $17 million... he's going to play...
• Former UNLV great Armen Gilliam dead at 47... "the Hammer" had a very nice NBA career with averages of 14 and 7, and I remember him with the Nets... RIP...
• Tiger Woods pulls out of the British.... and ESPN throws up in their mouths a little... obviously, the ratings for the 4-day (all ESPN-televised) major will be down... as well as interest from me...
  

What to watch for...

• Rockies @ Braves - 1:00 FSS - Nicasio vs. Hudson - Looking for the rare 4-game sweep... Hudson's been lights-out lately too and the Rockies are undermanned, sets up well
• Cubs @ Nats - 7:00 WGN - Garza vs. Livan - The lesson as always... I hate Livan Hernandez... and Eric Gregg....
• Rays @ Yankees - 7:00 MLB - Niemann vs. Colon - Big fat Bartolo Colon on display!

My apologies for lack of content in this space... between the lockout(s) and a complete and total lack of interest in the MLB all-star game (save a rant for McCutcheon, Konerko, Hanson, and the "one per team")... it's been an ugly sports week...

Back Tomorrow...

Greetings all... the Braves are hot... Pujols might be back today (huh?)... the NFL and NBA are still locked out... and Bryce Harper's promotion makes the front page of ESPN.com.... that's the place we're in... back in full tomorrow... stay tuned