10.28.09 12:25 pm by Bernie
Philadelphia Phillies fans will have their say again on Halloween when Alex Rodriguez steps into the batter’s box. As they did in Game 3 against the Dodgers and Manny Ramirez, they will chant “Steroids” in that long, drawn out way that fans have started using in recent years. It started with Barry Bonds, and is now carrying onto the likes of Manny, A-Rod and David Ortiz.
While I, or anyone else for that matter, cannot stop the Phillies fans from chanting it, it does point to the growing hypocrisy amongst fans these days. Lenny Dykstra admitted to his steroid use and even talked to the Commissioner’s office about it after his playing days were over. So they are not above having a player who used performance-enhancing drugs on their roster either. I am willing to bet that every team in Major League Baseball has, at one point or another, had a steroid user on their team. It wasn’t until recently that MLB finally decided to do something about it, and that was only when the federal government stepped in.
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6.26.09 8:13 pm by Alex
If your TV was tuned to last weekend’s U.S. Open for more than 2 hours, you either fell asleep and left it on accidentally, or you’re Ricky Barnes’ mom. The ever-rain-delayed tournament was stretched out over what seemed like weeks, causing television ratings to tank. Last year’s Open was as good as it gets, as an injured Tiger Woods battled relative unknown Rocco Mediate for the title in an epic 19-hole playoff on Monday. But, that’s the exception, not the rule. In 2007, even the highest rated golf ranked below every game of a Red Sox World Series sweep, several NASCAR races and regional NFL action in November. The problem with the PGA is the lack of interesting, different and diverse athletes. Any two guys are basically the same. We, all know Tiger’s the best, but golf needs a few players that can get viewers and create compelling action even if its raining or, God forbid, Tiger isn’t there. Golf at its core is a great game that can be enjoyed by anyone, but for some reason its traditionally marketed to rich white people, and there’s no reason we can’t change that. Here are the four guys golf needs to make things a bit more interesting:
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6.13.09 8:26 pm by Will
Editors Note: I’m happy to introduce a new writer to theSportsGeeks.com. This is Will’s first, but hopefully not last article here, and its very impressive if I do say so myself. -Alex
As a Boston Red Sox fan, I was very excited about this week’s series between my beloved Sawx and the hated Yankees. NESN, the network that carries Sox games in New England, knew that the clash between the titans of the AL East was something that fans like me would get really amped up about, so they started showing commercials for the games about a week in advance. The one that really struck me was one that featured Jason Bay. It showed him sitting in the locker room, talking about how exciting the prospect of a Sox-Yanks series was. He mentioned how “[Red Sox-Yankees] is the biggest rivalry in sports.” Jason was very, very incorrect.
Before I point out 10 rivalries that are bigger/more ferocious/more important than the Sox and Yankees, it would be unfair to completely discount the intensity of their feud. The Boston and New York clubs have a humongous, all-consuming rivalry that is probably the biggest in American professional sports. Sure, someone could make an argument for Cowboys-Redskins, Mets-Phillies, Celtics-Lakers, or Maple Leafs-Canadiens, (I know that last one isn’t exactly “American” sports, but they play in the NHL, so whatever.) However, oftentimes these rivalries go stale for extended periods, because, unlike baseball, other American sports have salary caps, which makes it difficult for teams to amass the same kind of talent that the Sox and Yankees attract every off-season by virtue of their greater resources, keeping each team competitive and relevant every single season, something that teams in the NFL, NBA, and NHL just can’t do. For example, the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacremento Kings had the biggest rivalry in the NBA for a short period in the early 2000′s. Shaq called them the Queens, Phil Jackson called Sacremento a “Cow Town,” and the two played in one of the most entertaining and controversial NBA playoff series of all time, the 2002 Western Conference Finals, which included a Robert Horry buzzer beater in Game 4, and a Game 6 that disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy has insisted was fixed by the referees in the Lakers’ favor. This series was followed by a 2003 preseason dust-up between Rick Fox and Doug Christie. Then, Shaq got traded and the Kings faded away, and the rivalry was dead. The Sox and Yanks will never fade away, until a salary cap comes in, or they are purchased by a more frugal ownership group, neither of which looks like happening anytime soon. Also, very few, if any rivalries in American sports have the history, mythology, and twists and turns that are intrinsic in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. However, The Sox and Yanks fans don’t share the same devotion, investment, and antipathy towards the opposition that some rivalries on this list suggest, nor does the rivalry have the same extreme outlandishness of others. Sox-Yankees is a great rivalry, but not as great as the ten that I will present to you (in no particular order).
New Zealand vs. South Africa – Rugby
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