Sad Monday Everyone! Is there any worse day of the week than a Monday? I do feel bad for it, but it's saving grace is that most Holidays (at least when we observe them) fall on Monday's. It is a good day for people in the sports world to recap what happened over the weekend, and that's where I come in. I know you all have busy lives and can't watch everything, so hopefully you come here for a quick recap on the good, the bad and the ugly.
10: 2012 NHL Draft
If you watched any of this it means you are a true hockey fan. I was at my baseball game on Friday night, but kept up via twitter and it appeared that everything came up rosy for the Washington Capitals. Not only did they trade for a new Center in Mike Ribeiro without giving up much of anything, but one of the top offensive players dropped all the way to pick #11 for them. Swedish born Filip Forsberg, only 17 years of age, has one more year left in his Swedish contract, but will be over to D.C. for the 2013 season. George McPhee continues to impress with perceived quality off season moves, but the post season is where he and the Capitals have come up short. Nail Yakupov was the 1st overall selection for the Edmonton Oilers which was their 3rd consecutive #1 overall pick in the NHL Draft.
9: College World Series
The magical run for The University of South Carolina in Omaha was hanging in the balance on Friday night against Arkansas. Down 2-0 going to the bottom of the 5th, the two time defending champions roared back to even the score. That is when the Gamecocks turned to Matt Price who had already won 4 College World Series games in his exquisite career. One more would set the new standard for the sports. He threw 3 nearly perfect innings and South Carolina scraped together a run to advance to their 3rd straight Championship Series.
Last night Arizona took Game 1 of the best of 3 Series behind their ace Konner Wade who tossed his 3rd straight complete game. South Carolina will once again be facing elimination, but they have shown a propensity to come up with their best efforts so far this tournament with their backs against the wall. Game 2 is tonight at 8 pm.
8: Washington Nationals at Baltimore Orioles
The Battle of the Beltway had never garnered so much attention until this season and it is easy to see why after three well played games again this weekend. Only 10 total runs were scored in this series which was two runs fewer than the Giants and the Athletics combined for in the 9th inning alone this weekend. Baltimore appears to be in a much tougher division and they really needed to squeak out their two wins. The Nationals pitched really well and neither Strasburg or Gonzalez touched the ball and news out of Washington said that ex-closer Drew Storen is getting closer to returning to help bolster an already outstanding bullpen for the Nationals.
7: Germany vs. Greece Euro Cup Quarters
This game was lucky to be as close as it was. Germany outplayed the Greeks in every aspect of the game and could have easily had four goals each half. They are the clear cut favorites to win Euro 2012 as they just come in waves of attack. Greece did will with what possession they were afforded, but it was too little to counter the offensive firepower of the Germans.
6: Spain vs. France Euro Cup Quarters
Just like Germany, Spain dictated the action against the French. This was done slightly differently thought as it seemed more like a boa constrictor tightening its grip on a helpless prey. France just couldn't muster any consistent offensive zone time because they couldn't get their foot on the ball. The strategy of Spain is ball control with precise offensive attack and with a late penalty kick the score finally resembled the sheer and utter dominance that Spain presented. The semifinal match up on Wednesday vs. Portugal will be a fantastic show.
5: England vs. Italy Euro Cup Quarters
The final quarterfinal game unfortunately paired two ultra conservative teams. For the first time all tournament nary a goal was scored during regulation play. England seemed content to send this game to penalty kicks after the first 20 minutes of play. Italy spent the majority of time on the offensive side, but they couldn't break the defensive shell the England created. Neither country has ever had much success in penalty kicks (combining on a 3-10 major tournament record before yesterday), but it was settled that way this time. England took a quick lead but missed its final two shots giving Italy the golden ticket to face off against Germany on Thursday.
4: Tampa Bay Rays at Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday
I highlighted a trio of great pitching match ups and this one ended up being the best of the bunch. David Price and Cole Hamels threw 14 total innings giving up only one earned run while striking out 15. As soon as they departed each team was able to score in the eighth inning as Tampa Bay scored three to Philadelphia's one and the Rays walked away victorious.
3: San Francisco Giants at Oakland Athletics on Sunday
All season long Brandon McCarthy has been doing two things: pitching great and battling shoulder soreness. For the second time this season he has been placed on the Disabled List and the Athletics were forced to send A.J. Griffin to the mound to make his Major League debut against Matt Cain. After surrendering two early runs, Griffin settled in not being scored upon in his final five innings pitched. Cain dominated again giving up a lone run over 7 innings. The ninth inning brought the fireworks for the third consecutive game as fellow Athletics rookie, Derek Norris hit a 3 run walk off home run for his 1st Major League bomb.
2: New York Yankees at New York Mets on Sunday
This ended up being the most disappointing of the pitching match ups of the weekend. R.A. Dickey was rudely treated by the hard hitting Yankees as he was touched up for 5 earned runs over six innings. He seemed to be too careful with his location or maybe he just didn't have good control over his vicious knuckleball. The Yankees pounced thanks to Nick Swisher's 3 run homer in the 3rd inning. C.C. Sabathia pitched better, but gave up the lead in the sixth inning behind some shaky fielding. He ended up giving up 5 runs, but only one was earned thanks to Robinson Cano's error. We just might see these two meet up again in Kansas City come July at the All-Star game.
1: The Rest of the Sports World
Somebody won a gold tournament and drivers raced around in a circle for miles upon miles and somebody won that as well...yawn.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This biggest non sports sports story of the weekend was the verdict in the Jerry Sandusky child abuse case. If I had more time I could sit here and wax poetic on how justice has been served and a monster will be put away for the rest of his miserable life. I could delve into the years of possible cover up and negligence at Penn St. University. What I won't do is make jokes about the situation. It was ugly and perhaps we'll never know how ugly it was. Jerry Sandusky used and abused children in his family and others that he was supposed to be mentoring not only at Penn St. but at his children's charity center The Second Mile.
There were apparently questions about his behavior around children for years, but not enough evidence to bring it to light and nobody ever came forward until at least 15 years had passed. While Sandusky was the monster and what he did will go down in history as one of the most vile acts in the history of vile acts, there were plenty of chances for his co-workers, his family (not the abused children, don't get me wrong I am not placing any blame on any victims) or any local authority that had heard the whispers to take that extra step and put an end to this. In my eyes they are just a culpable as Sandusky.
It is not right to sit back and ignore possible child abuse. There is always someone you can turn to whether it is a valid concern is just conjecture. The innocence of children is probably the most sacred and cherished ideal we hold true and to have someone strip that away is unacceptable. Please, I beg you, go that extra step, put yourself out there and tell somebody about it. If you are certain you are right and nothing has been done by the person you told, tell somebody else. Everybody has a boss or supervisor. Keep climbing the ladder. Nobody will ever fault you for trying too hard to stop child abuse. Just remember to do it the correct way. Do not confront that person if it is not your job to do so. Do not throw wildly inaccurate information around to the incorrect parties because slander can do a lot of damage.
For more information visit:
http://www.childhelp.org/pages/hotline-home
The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) is dedicated to the prevention of child abuse. Serving the United States, its territories, and Canada, the Hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with professional crisis counselors who, through interpreters, can provide assistance in 170 languages. The Hotline offers crisis intervention, information, literature, and referrals to thousands of emergency, social service, and support resources. All calls are anonymous and confidential.
No comments:
Post a Comment