R.I.P. George Steinbrenner
R.I.P.
George Steinbrenner, the man who will forever be immortalized for bringing championships back to New York and as a character on the TV show Seinfeld, has died at the age of 80. His death comes days after celebrating his birthday on July 4th. Steinbrenner rebuilt the New York Yankees into a sports empire with a mix of block bluster deals and big bucks that captivated fans all across America.
The Yankees won 11 pennants and won 7 World Series titles and where turned into a sporting world powerhouse valued at $1.6 billion, after his reign began in 1973 that lasted for more than 30 years, which earned him the nickname “The Boss.” A nickname Steinbrenner certainly lived up to as he was known for his feuds, clashing with Yankees great Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, firing manager Billy Martin twice. Even towards the end Steinbrenner ruled with an iron fist that demanded championships as he loft verbal jabs at Joe Torre during the 2007 AL playoffs, then let the popular manager leave after another loss in the opening round.
Steinbrenner was the central figure in a deal that bought the Yankees from CBS for $10 million in 1973. When he arrived he said he would “not be active in the day-to-day operations of the club at all.” Having made his money as head of the Cleveland-based American Shipbuilding Company, he declared, “I’ll stick to building ships.”
John McMullen, a minority owner in the deal remarked that there was nothing limited in being a limited partner of George’s. Steinbrenner emerged as one of the most powerful, influential executives in sports.
Steinbrenner ceded his authority to his sons, Hal and Hank, after his health started to deteriorate in 2008. Hal Steinbrenner was given control of the team in November in a unanimous vote by the major league club owners, who acted on his father’s request.
Kentucky Derby Could See Los Angeles Dodgers Connection
Horse Walks Into A Bar, Bartender Says Why The Long Face?
The Kentucky Derby is just right around the corner which is less than 10 days away. This years Kentucky Derby will have Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre’s own horse running in it.
Homeboykris is Torre’s horse and would be a stunning upset for this year in 2010 Kentucky Derby betting odds as he opened as a 60-1 but has moved up to 35-1. So far this year as a three year old Homeboykris has two starts with one place and total earnings of $14,000. Last year as a two year old Homeboykris had four starts with two wins and total earnings of $260,000. It is that performance as a two year old that has Homeboykris listed as a bona fide Kentucky Derby contender.
Homeboykris is actually on the bubble for the race at the moment. He’s ranked 20th in the money out of the twenty horses slated to race next Saturday, with the potential that he could be bumped from the list if Devil May Care is entered in the Derby instead of the Kentucky Oaks.
So Dodgers fans if you see any questionable managerial decisions coming from Torre in the next 10 days be kind, his mind is elsewhere.
Los Angeles Dodgers Ownership At Stake In McCourts Split Part II
Off The Richter Scale
Los Angeles Dodgers owners Frank and Jamie McCourt divorce was anticpated to become rea; nasty and the begining is starting to reveal itself.
In court papers filed Monday, Jamie fired back at her estranged husband’s accusation of infidelity by alleging:
“Frank [and his lawyers]…make some hurtful and unnecessary personal comments about me,” she wrote. “I would prefer not to address such accusations or to discuss my belief as to Frank’s extramarital activities.”
Monday’s filing, submitted in advance of next week’s court hearing on temporary spousal support, comes five months after Frank said he fired Jamie as the Dodgers chief executive largely because of her alleged affair with her driver.
Jamie has argued for nearly $1 million per month plus $9 million in fees for attorneys and accountants handling the divorce case. Frank has argued that she can support herself and pay her bills pending trial without contribution from him.
Her lawyers further argue that Frank hopes to pin her in a financial position so precarious that she would “cave into his demands and relinquish any claim to the overwhelming bulk of the marital estate, including the Dodgers.”
Jamie hopes to persuade the court to invalidate a marital property agreement that provided her with sole ownership of the couple’s residential properties and provided him with sole ownership of the team.
Her lawyers reiterated that she is entitled to maintain her pre-separation lifestyle pending the outcome of the divorce proceedings, noting that the couple customarily stayed in five-star hotels, ordered bottles of wine costing $100 or more at restaurants and regularly used limousines and private jets. The McCourts also “had their hair done by a hair stylist, who came on an almost daily basis to whichever residence they were then staying.”
The most recent filings also shed some light on the final months of a marriage that lasted almost 30 years. Frank’s last filing included a copy of e-mails between Jamie and Jeff Fuller, the driver with whom she allegedly had an affair, in which Fuller wrote, “He heard us talking” and she replied, “Don’t think so.”
In an interview recently Frank said,
“It’s tough. I’m not going to lie to you,” he says. “It’s a very, very sad thing. Nobody wants to go through this privately, never mind publicly.”
“But in L.A., so much of it is about drama. L.A. is so much about personalities. It’s just how the city functions. This is a juicy story for people until it’s not juicy anymore. Then, they move on to somebody else’s story. Tiger Woods was fantastic for me”
This is a real life version of “The War of the Roses” and the divorce surley has Dodgers fans fearing that this could could ruin their franchise, for which McCourt paid $430 million in 2004. Definitely why manager Joe Torre has been unwilling to discuss contract extensions with the Dodgers.
Dodgers fans are wary, knowing their division foes were hit hard by the divorce of San Diego Padres owners John and Becky Moores last season in which they were forced to sell the club, and the Padres went into a garage sell with their players. They are projected to open the season with a major league-low $40 million payroll.
Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim Mike Scioscia Wins American League Manager Of The Year
34 Would Be Proud
Mike Scioscia of the Los Angeles Angels of Anhiem had to endure the most emotionally season of his 10 seasons as leader of the Angels and that culminated in him selected as the 2009 American League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
It was Scioscia’s second Manager of the Year award. He was named by the BBWAA in 2002, when the Angels claimed their first World Series title under his direction after entering the postseason as a Wild Card. Scioscia, who is the first manager in Major League history to pilot six postseason teams in his first 10 seasons, received 15 of a possible 28 first-place votes for 106 points.
The Twins’ Ron Gardenhire finished second with six first-place votes and 72 points. Joe Girardi of the Yankees (four first-place votes) was third, followed by the Mariners’ Don Wakamatsu (two), the Rangers’ Ron Washington (one) and the Tigers’ Jim Leyland.
Coping with the death of young pitcher Nick Adenhart in a car wreck on April 9, Scioscia and the Angels emerged from early struggles — they were 29-29 on June 11 — to take flight en route to a third consecutive AL West title, their fifth in six seasons.
In the AL Division Series, the Angels swept their October nemesis, Boston, in three games before falling in six games in the AL Championship Series to the Yankees, who went on to subdue the Phillies in the World Series.
With 97 wins, the Angels continued a run of excellence under Scioscia, whose teams have won 900 regular-season games in 10 seasons. His 567 victories over the past six seasons represent a Major League best — one more than Joe Torre has achieved with the Yankees and Dodgers and two more than Terry Francona with the Red Sox.
Colorado Rockies Jim Tracy Wins National League Manager Of The Year
David Letterman
Jim Tracy of the Colorado Rockies was rewarded for his success on Wednesday not only did he win the National League Manager of the Year Award as voted on by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America but he also was took home a new three year contract to run through 2012.
Tracy who took over the last place Rockies on May 29th was the overwhelming choice of the voters. He received 29 of a possible 32 first-place votes for 151 points. Tony La Russa of the Cardinals received two first-place votes and 55 points. The Dodgers’ Joe Torre received one first-place vote and finished third with 33 points.
When Tracy moved from bench coach to skipper, replacing Clint Hurdle 18-28, the Rockies went 74-42 under Tracy and won the National League Wild Card.
In the end, the Rockies were 92-70, and set a club record for wins in a season while making the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. The Phillies eliminated the Rockies, three games to one, in the NL Division Series.
Tracy became the second Rockies manager to win the award. Don Baylor, who rejoined the Rockies as hitting coach last off-season,earned the honor in 1995.
Finally
Highland Park In The House
The Los Angeles Dodgers finally popped the corks, clinching the National League West and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a 5-0 win over the Rockies.
They celebrated in the clubhouse by spraying sparkling wine and beer that had been hauled all over the country the past week while the magic number was stuck on one. They took the celebration out to the field to share with a sellout crowd that wouldn’t leave Dodger Stadium. Then they retreated back into the clubhouse to keep the party going.
The Dodgers will open the best-of-five Division Series by hosting the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday and Thursday. The Dodgers haven’t opened a postseason series at home since 1996. The Dodgers can’t open the playoffs against Colorado, because a team cannot open the playoffs against a Wild Card team from its division.
The Dodgers have back-to-back first-place finishes for the first time since 1977-78 after already qualifying for postseason play three of the four years that Ned Colletti has been general manager. The last time they advanced three times in a four-year span was 1963-66. Their 94 wins are the most for a Dodgers team since 1988, the last time they won the World Series.
“This is a huge step for the franchise,” owner Frank McCourt said. “I think we have the franchise back to a place where the fans know and can expect us to compete every year. I’m so grateful to the fans for their support. You could feel the energy tonight. They willed the team to victory in that seventh inning. To be leading baseball in attendance in this economy, it says a lot about our fans. This is for them.”
The Dodgers have played in 18 World Series, 8 League Championship Series and this is their 11th division title since the current format began in 1969.
“It never gets old,” said Joe Torre, who will manage in the postseason for the 14th consecutive season, tying Bobby Cox’s all-time record. “You do it with different people all the time, just to see all these men turn into little boys — it’s like what Roy Campanella said, you have to have some little boy in you to play this game and we certainly showed that tonight.”
Torre conceded that watching clinching opportunities slip away all week had become an ordeal.
“We were tight, but there’s tight, and then there’s tight,” he said. “Don Mattingly and I were talking about how tough it is to win in September with something at stake. But all year we played so well when we needed to play well. I was uptight, but they played well tonight.”
This season for the Dodgers has been about the emergence into stardom of outfielders Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and All-Star closer Jonathan Broxton more than the name we all are familiar with Manny Ramirez.
Top Selling Sports Books Of 2009
Solid Material
Here’s a list of the top sports books with year-to-date sales, according to Nielsen Bookscan.
- 1. “The Yankee Years,” by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci – 320,000 copies sold
- 2. “Red and Me: My Coach, My Lifelong Friend” by Bill Russell and Alan Steinberg – 30,000 copies sold (read)
- 3. “Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend” by Larry Tye – 28,000 copies sold (read)
- 4. “It’s Not About The Bike: My Journey Back To Life” by Lance Armstrong and Sally Jenkins -26,000 copies sold (read)
- 5. “A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez” by Selena Roberts – 21,000 copies sold
- 6. “Lance: The Making of the World’s Greatest Champion” by John Wilcockson – 15,000 copies sold
- 7. “Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain” by Marty Appel – 14,000 copies sold
- 8. “Shooting Stars” by LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger – 13,000 copies sold (read)
- 9. “Yogi Berra: Eternal Yankee” by Allen Barra – 13,000 copies sold
- 10. “Always by My Side: The Healing Gift of a Father’s Love” by Jim Nantz – 11,000 copies sold
A caller brought the book “Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen,” by Christopher McDougall to our attention on one of our Saturday shows and I say thank you, that book is in my top 5 of 2009. It sold 78,000 copies.
Four out of 10 of the top 10 books here are about the Yankees. According to Rudy J the Yankees can thank their success to Jay-Z. Roberts thought she had the scoop of the century and she could parlay that into book sales. Someone forgot to tell her that people are steroid out, well maybe everyone except 21,000 people. Disappointment.
Hard Knocks: Episode 4 Recap
Fight Back
Once again we are headed down two already traveled paths, head coach Marvin Lewis trying to be stern with his team after another loss and that owner Mike Brown is cheap and has yet to fix the players gate into Paul Brown Stadium. There’s a family vibe to the episode early on as the stories bounce from another of the players lives rather rapidly.
Chad Ochocinco some kind advice for actress Jennifer Aniston and then proceeds to give a step by step of the new way to get a woman’s phone number.
Tank Johnson reveals the NFL player’s of today don’t have any knowledge of who paved the ground before them. I for one wouldn’t expect them to know Hall of Famer quarterback and 7 time Pro Bowler Len Dawson, but Donnie Walsh aka Bill Walsh are you kidding me? I feel better that at least you know now and latter is better than never but can you at least get the mans name correct.
Thank you to defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer for sitting down and letting Johnson the only way out of the league is the player himself. At least if doesn’t hit home with Johnson, I’m sure an NFL player on his coach watching Hard Knocks got it.
Brain Leonard tells first hand it doesn’t matter if your a 2nd round NFL Draft pick, you are playing in the Not-For-League, as he was cut from the St. Louis Rams after being drafted by them two years prior.
It’s our first introduction to the man they call JB. A cleaning lady and team mascot all rolled in one is assistant equipment manager James “JB” Brown.
Finally Hard Knocks takes us into the life of former UTEP standout quarterback Jordan Palmer and the difficulties of being younger brother of star quarterback Carson Palmer on the same team. Thank for waiting till episode 4 to tackle this subject HBO. He has to face everything from kids disappointments that they are not getting an autograpoh from Carson, even be told to his face by a parent,
“That’s the brother, not the star. That ain’t No. 9.”
Some may view his invention of the website RunPee.com silly but he has found a market and you can’t knock a man hustle.
Roy Williams and Johnson take in Cincinnati Red’s game while getting the chance to talk with visiting team Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre on the difference of the two sports and some words of wisdom.
Thanks to Hard Knocks though I become of aware of the fact that former Mississippi State University head coach Sylvester Croom is now the running backs coach for the Rams before the preseason game number three. Same old story as mistakes play a part of the Bengals being down at halftime to the Rams. Both Palmer’s shine, as the oldest Carson mentors the young players and Jordan on the field.
Head coach Lewis continues to yell and his team continues to tune him out. Then it’s time for good ol front butt to finally earn his paycheck sending players to have their jobs taken away from them.
Andre Smith is still fat and owner Mike Brown knows it. Smith finally signs and has more money now for donuts and fried twinkies. Then Fatty breaks a bone in his foot. Feet aren’t designed to absorb the impact of a half ton tub of lard running.
Next week is the season finale of Hard Knocks.
