Friday, October 7, 2011
About Last Night: The City That Never Scores
By Shane Ryan
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Thursday.
The New York Yankees stranded 11 baserunners, gave up first inning home runs to Don Kelly and Delmon Young, and watched Jose Valverde dance on the mound after he ended their season by saving a 3-2 victory in Game 5 of the ALDS. A-Rod and Mark Teixeira, two of the Yankees' best hitters, batted under .200 for the series. CC Sabathia, the Yankee ace, gave up the game-winning run in relief. Ivan Nova, one of the best pitchers in the league over the second half of the season, lasted two innings. In the moments after the game ended, Yankee catcher Jorge Posada stood at the top of the dugout steps and stared poignantly at the field, understanding that it might be the final game of his long career. Other than all that, though, it was a pretty good night in New York.
The Oregon Ducks have now won four in a row after their season-opening loss to LSU, beating California 43-15 in the Thursday night game. Before injuring his elbow in the fourth quarter, LaMichael James rushed for 239 yards on 30 carries. After injuring his elbow, the Cal defense was dominant, holding him to zero yards on zero carries.
TCU has been invited to the Big 12, and will decide soon whether to accept. But hey, what does this mean for TCU in the Big East? Or, as I call it, the perfect fit.
Robin Ventura has been named the new manager of the Chicago White Sox. Nolan Ryan has been named the guy who will give him a big hug when he comes to Texas, which will slowly turn into a brutal headlock.
The Boston Bruins raised their 2011 Stanley Cup banner in a 30-minute ceremony at TD Garden on the eve of the NHL's opening day. Fans were appreciative of the show, heaping such praise on the team as "friggin' Sawx" and "I hope the Yankees lose tonight."
Elsewhere in New England, the UConn Huskies received their NCAA championship rings at a special dinner in Hartford. Well, as special as a dinner in Hartford can be, I guess.
At the Frys.com Open Tiger Woods shot a poor opening round 73 in his first tournament in seven weeks. Woods was upset after the event, lamenting his poor putting, but once he realized Frys.com was an electronics store and that the tournament winner wouldn't get a lifetime supply of french fries, he decided to just go home.
Peyton Manning told reporters that he still hopes to play in 2011, and will continue to hope until doctors rule him out completely. Or until the Colts lose, like, two more games. Then he'll hope to play for the Packers.
Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne is out for the season after opting to have shoulder surgery. Man, this is going to make that Indianapolis-Miami game super interesting, right?! Oh, they don't play this year? CRAP!
Finally, the "About Last Night" Fan of the Week goes to Twitter's LifeAquaticBC, who, for reasons I'm not totally clear on but approve of nonetheless, actually made a video of herself reading last week's Levels of Insanity post. You can watch that here. Well … done? Well done! She's certainly raised, and possibly lowered, the bar. Can anyone top her? The challenge has been issued, the gauntlet has been thrown.
