10 Memorable Sports Moments in First Half of 2010

Generally, most people wait until the end of the calendar year to recap the memorable moments in the sporting world over the previous 365 days, but as we near the end of June, why must we wait?

The first 6 months of this new decade have already provided many moments worth talking about and remembering, one in which quite possibly will be talked about for years to come and even recapped at the end of 2019 when the decade is in review.

So, without further ado, this writer's list of the top 10 moments so far in 2010:

10. The 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games

While the Winter Olympics just have never been as popular in the U.S. as its summer counterpart, what with many less events and medals, and the fact that we as a country just thrive much more in the summer sports, the most recent edition of the winter games provided some memorable moments.

It all began even before the actual start, when a Georgian Luger was killed after flying off the track during a training run as a result of going at ridiculous speeds topping 90 MPH.

Then the U.S. recaptured some alpine skiing glory by winning multiple medals on the mountain, amidst all the weather issues. Over in snowboarding, Shaun White won yet another dominant Gold Medal.

Later into the second week, a Canadian Figure skater captured the hearts of the world with a Bronze Medal winning performance, mere days after her mother's sudden death.

And even curling gained quite a bit of attention, thanks in part to NBC's family of networks and constant airtime, along with some of the eye candy provided by some of the women competitors.

9. Major League Baseball perfect games and no hitters

A mere 3 months into the 2010 campaign, we have already seen 4 no hitters (FIVE), and 2 perfect games (THREE) thrown by pitchers, only the 19th and 20th perfectos in history, so that makes it all the more shocking there, but the question must be asked, where has all the hitting gone?

Ulbaldo Jiminez hurled the first no no against Atlanta, and looking back, that is no real surprise as he has a very legit chance of throwing one on every start, and gave his second one a run just last night. Dallas Braden then had a Mothers Day perfecto against the Tampa Bay Rays, followed a few weeks later by Roy Halladay in Florida. Edwin Jackson then added the 4th of the season in a 8 walk, 1 hit batsmen, 149 pitch no hitter at Tampa Bay. (Perhaps Tampa needs to learn this hitting thing all over again as this is the 3rd time in less than a year with no hits, twice being perfect games.)

But the most talked about one off all was the perfect game that wasn't. Armando Gallaraga of the Tigers was through 8 and 2/3 innings without allowing a baserunner, and got a weak grounder to first baseman Miguel Cabrera for the easy 27th out. Cabrera flipped to Gallaraga covering for the clear out and the 21st perfecto in history, only umpire Jim Joyce made a baffling safe call, taking away his spot in the record books. Joyce would later admit to being completely wrong and very sorry, but if now isn't the time for replay in baseball, there may never be a time.

8. The Tim Tebow saga

First the Denver Broncos traded down, then they traded back up to #22, taking wideout Demaryius Thomas, then to the shock of EVERYONE, they trade up again, and ESPN continuously showed shots of Tebow getting calls, and you can tell the shocking moment had come, as Tebow was drafted at #24, the second quarterback drafted overall, ahead of more NFL ready guys like Jimmy Clausen and far ahead of Texas standout Colt McCoy.

For months, it was all that could be talked about, if Tebow, on of the greatest collegiate players of all-time could cut it in the NFL as a QB, and where would he be drafted. The Broncos put all the question to rest with their shocking selection, and they sure did not draft him there to be a tight end project.

7. USA/Canada Olympic hockey battles

Early on in the every 4 year hockey tournament, the United States stole a victory on Canadian ice from Canada with some early goals en route to a 5-3 victory, putting the U.S. firmly in control of their path to the Gold Medal Game. The U.S. would continue to go unbeaten the rest of the tournament and earned themselves a spot in that very game, and with Canada also going unbeaten the rest of the way, a rematch of a week prior and of the 2002 final in Salt Lake, won by Canada, was to be had, and a chance at redemption for the Americans after losing on their home ice 8 years earlier.

Behind some amazing goal keeping of the Buffalo Sabres Ryan Miller, the Americans had their best chance at their first gold since the 1980 Miracle on Ice, and through 3 periods of regulation, things still were not settled. It would take a great overtime goal by "Sid the Kid" Sidney Crosby of the Penguins to salvage the Games for all of Canada, in one of the greatest hockey games every played.

6. Kobe gets #5, and another repeat.

After losing the NBA Finals in 2008 in his first trip back since the departure of Shaq, many questioned whether Kobe could ever win without Shaq by his side. Just a year later, Kobe and his Laker teammates beat the Orlando Magic to dispel all those notions. Then heading into the 2010 playoffs as the West's #1 seed, but reeling a bit going in, the Lakers stumbled a bit against #8 seed Oklahoma City, then quickly swept the Utah Jazz, and after engaging in a bit of a back and forth dog fight with Phoenix, earned a thris straight trip to the NBA Finals with a 6 game victory, and a renewed match up with their nemesis from the East, the Boston Celtics.

The Lakers got off to a quick 2-1 series lead, but then somewhat shockingly lost the next 2 in Boston, and were on the brink of elimination, but fortunately heading back west to L.A. for the final 2 games. They dominated in game 6, and forced a rare game 7 in the NBA Finals. They fell behind early by double digits, and even remained that way in the 3rd quarter when the comeback began, aided by Kobe's rebounding dominance, and would close out the Celtics for a repeat championship, giving Kobe title #5, his second without Shaq, and head coach Phil Jackson title #11.

5. The BCS Title Game

After dismantling Florida in the SEC Title Game, and a last second field goal against Nebraska in the Big 12 Title Game, unbeatens Alabama and Texas punched their tickets to Pasadena for their match up in the BCS Title Game.

Alabama was the team was the vaunted SEC, a conference who has dominated BCS Title games, and the favorite to bring yet another title back to the conference, but not if Colt McCoy and his Longhorn teammates had anything to say about it. Well, perhaps just if his teammates would have a say. McCoy left the game for good early on after a shoulder injury on a freak play, ending his collegiate career, and putting the game in the hands of an unproven freshman quarterback Garrett Gilbert, and clearly the game was over. OR WAS IT?

Trailing 24-6 at the half after a couple long run touchdowns and a picked off shovel pass returned for a TD, Texas looked as if things were basically lost. Then Gilbert led his team on back to back scoring drives to bring the score to 24-21 and with the momentum, and the ball with a chance to take the lead. Unfortunately for them, a blindside sack forcing a fumble and a last ditch effort interception ended that bid, giving Alabama a 37-21 victory in a very entertaining game.

4. The Tiger Woods saga

Although the entire Tiger Woods scandal actually began back in the latter part of 2009 after Thanksgiving, it carried over much into 2010 and became a very large story. He didn't golf for nearly 5 months, was rumored to have entered a sex rehab facility, and everyone wondered when he would return to the course and regain his dominance.

He made his return just in time for the Masters at Augusta. After some rough play in the early rounds, he found himself playing catchup, and would finish strong on Saturday and Sunday for a 4th place finish. He followed that up with a very rare missed cut performance, followed by a withdrawal during the final round at The Players Championship, and a 19th place finish the Memorial. Just over a week ago, in the first return trip for the U.S. Open to Pebble Beach, Tiger again got off to a slow start, rebounded a bit in round 2, and then had a Tiger like 5-under back 9 holes on day 3 to move into 3rd, 5 strokes off the lead, and in the U.S. Open, 5 strokes could vanish quickly. Those 5 strokes did vanish very quickly, but Tiger himself also went backwards before finishing 4th in his second straight major.

Fans all over are waiting to see when the Tiger we all remember will wake back up and dominate golf again, winning majors like no other could.

3. Who Dat nation wins their first Super Bowl

A match up between the high flying Saints and Colts, and 2 of the league premier QB's in Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, got off to a surprising slow start with a 10-6 halftime score. Who would have thought 3 of the first 4 scores would be field goals?

The Saints then caught the world off guard to begin the second half with an on sides kick and recovering, and driving down to go ahead 13-10. After the Colts followed with a TD of their own to go up 17-13, and a Saints field goal to draw within 1, the stage was set for a dramatic 4th quarter.

Brees was not going to disappoint in his first Super Bowl, driving his team to another TD and a 24-17 lead, and giving the ball back to Peyton. Yet shocking to all, Peyton just did not have his magic, getting picked off for a later score by Tracy Porter, and a 31-17 victory for the Saints.

No longer are they the AINTS

2. USA Soccer and the 2010 FIFA World Cup

When the World Cup kicked off on June 11th, so much of the talk was about the angry bee hive we all heard coming from out TV sets. At least that is how it has sounded the entire tournament, coming from the sound of thousands of vuvuzelas, a 3-foot long horn everyone constantly blows into during every match. Lord, don't you people ever get tired of hearing yourself?

After overlooking that, there were soccer matches breaking out down on the field. The U.S. opened against England, and after falling behind early, got a very fortunate goal off the goalies hands to steal an opening draw. Then in match 2 against Slovenia, the U.S. again fell behind early, this time 2-0, and looking all but dead in the water. A revived team came out in the second half, scoring an early goal to draw within 1 goal, and then tying the game in the latter minutes. The U.S. appeared to have taken the lead quickly after, but a baffling off sides call was made, negating the goal, and stealing the victory away, ending the game in a draw.

The final match of group play provided the moment that so many will remember in this country about soccer. After completing the regulation 90 minutes scoreless, and desperately in need of a goal to advance, Landon Donovan put in a rebound goal in the 92nd minute, sending this entire country into a collective scream, and advancing them onto the knockout round.

Unfortunately, the U.S. would lose in the knockout stage to Ghana, but they provided the U.S. some reason to stick with soccer for the next 4 years at least.

1. The never ending match at Wimbledon

A Match that was not even televised other than on the streaming service ESPN 3, and one very few would have ever even thought twice about other than fans of John Isner or Nicolas Mahut. The match began a week ago on Tuesday the 22nd. It was suspended later that day due to darkness, tied at 2 sets each, and still, no reason for anyone to take much extra notice.

The next day, the match resumed in the 5th and final set, a set that would never seem to end. Later in the day, everyone began to take notice as the match reached into the 20s, then the 30s, already breaking a record of the highest scoring final set ever, then it reached the 40s, and by then, people everywhere were following. At 59 games each, the match was suspended for a second consecutive day due to darkness. At that time, the 5th set alone was already a record for the longest match ever, and they had battled for 10 hours, with things still undecided.

It was so long, that even the scoreboard failed at 47 games each, as it was only programmed to go that high, and who can blame them, nobody ever imagined a tennis match coming close to that, even a Hollywood movie would send viewers out shaking their heads at how ridiculous that is.

Things finally came to an end the next day, when John Isner FINALLY broke the serve of Mahut, and winning the match with a 70-68 final set. A college basketball game broke out in the 5th set at Wimbledon. All in all, they played for more than 11 hours, and Isner had to play again the next day, but that match only lasted little more than 1 hour, and nobody will care, because Isner and Mahut made amazing history.

With 6 months left in the year, undoubtedly the sporting world will provide some additional moments to change this list, but there sure are some big shoes to fill to gain entry.

USA falls in Round of 16 to Ghana

Sometime the other team makes one more play than you do and that is what happened today. Ghana was not extremely impressive but they were fresher in the extra time and a very good goal scorer turned what seemed to be a harmless long ball into a volley winner. For the first time in the tournament the U.S. could not find the equalizer.

Regular time was a tale of two halves. Ghana was better in the first half while the U.S. had the advantage in the second half. Extra time went to Ghana and that along with another early goal ended the U.S. effort.

Lots of things went against the U.S. effort today. From the play of the starting lineup that forced two subs before the 46th minute, to unlucky bounces, to simply not having the energy in the extra time.

It was tough to watch a team who had found the extra energy to come up with a goal under pressure reach down and not have it. It was bound to happen. Heck, some experts even predicted it.

Trying to step back and look at the big picture this is what most predicted. A round of 16 appearance and then go from there but the circumstances make it tough to swallow for fans and I am sure the players.

I will be interested to see how their performance is viewed. Is it a case of meeting expectations? Is it a case of failing to take advantage of what most have called an easy knockout stage set up?

Personally, they exceeded my expectations in their play and met my expectations for progress in the tournament. Some of the new fans will scoff at someone considering their performance a positive but that will happen. Most have not been with this team for four years nor do they have a full grasp of U.S. soccer history. This is a step in the right direction.

Hopefully the new fans stay with the team and keep watching soccer as a whole. If not and they find their performance as a negative, well thanks for watching and feel free to slink away but you are welcome to jump back on the bandwagon in the future. I say that because I think the future for this team is bright.

Writing this minutes after the match I am reminding myself that before this tournament I thought this was a building tournament. With the youth on the team and what is sure to be familiar faces for the next world cup cycle I really thought that 2014 would be the tournament for the U.S. to make a run.

They put themselves in that position this year. I think that speaks to their talent, skill, and for all his critics, their coaching.

We will have a lot of time to analyze this match and what went right or wrong so I will not do that here. However, I do want to point to why I am optimistic for the future. Think about the players on this team, their age, and the stage of their careers they are in.

2014 will see Landon Donovan in his fourth world cup. Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, and Oguchi Onyewu will be in their third. Jozy Altidore, Maurice Edu, Stuart Holden, Jose Torres, Bennie Feilhaber, Jonathan Bornstein, Michael Bradley, Robbie Findley, and Brad Guzan will be 28 or younger in 2014. Add in guys like Alejandro Bedoya and Charlie Davies who are 23 and younger and Jermaine Jones, one of the top center midfielders in Germany, will be available and would have started next to Bradley in this tournament if he was not injured.

This team is not long in the tooth and the young talent will be mature and presumably in their prime. Guys like Tim Ream, Ike Opara, Sebastian Leglett, Charles Renken, Luis Gil, and Joseph Gyau are young guys who are a good bet to play a role for the U.S.

I will not hang my head and neither should any fan. Be proud of your team and how they represented our nation. They did well and in the end they came up a little short. That is sports, it happens and that's okay.

Now the USSF needs to take a few days, dust themselves off, and start working toward 2014. They need to decide if Bradley is the man for the next fours years. If he is not or he decides to step down they need to decide if they want to reel in a big fish like Jurgen Klinesmann are they willing to give him control of the development and youth system.

Preparations start now and hopefully we see an excited team and fan base in New York on August 14 against Brazil in the first international friendly of the 2014 cycle.

What is your take? Proud or disappointed? Is this what you expected? Is it too soon to know?

U.S. Wins what Could be the Most Exciting Match in U.S. Soccer History

Sometime you just have to knock the door down. After a game full of knocking on the door and getting locked out that is exactly what Landon Donovan (who pretty much secured the title of greatest American soccer player with his performance this world cup) did in the 91st minute on a goal that was a microcosm of their performance today.

The play started with Tim Howard wasting no time in sending the ball up field on a great throw to Donovan and the press was on. Running like it was minute 9, Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore joined Donovan in the attack. Donovan squared the ball to Altidore who set up Dempsey's shot that forced the keeper to make a save and Donovan, still running, pounced on the rebound and put his side through to the next round.

That was the American's today, they kept running. Whatever the outcome Donovan and company seemed intent on leaving it all on the field. In a match that resembled a track meet or fast break basketball game at times, the U.S. never seemed to slow. Their persistence paid off in the end.

The only thing more impressive than their performance was the fact that they were firing on all cylinders in the second half knowing to advance they would have to win. England's first half goal added pressure to an already tense situation. The pressure made a good moment great. What was at stake made the tension breaking goal one of, if not the biggest, goal in U.S. men's soccer history.

All over the pitch players were giving their all against an Algerian team seemingly content with pulling the draw and dragging the Americans to the airport with them. Dempsey, Altidore, and Donovan were great but they were only ones to turn in stellar performances. Jay Demerit really took control of the backline and made play after play. Michael Bradley (who should start packing his bags for England in the fall) and second half sub Bennie Feilhaber showed energy and class all day.

Even with the great overall team performance the man of the match for me was Jozy Altidore. The youngest striker in the world cup played like a full grown man today. Using his strength and speed; he showed all his skills today. His ability to bring the ball down, turn, and run at the defense was integral in the attack all day. Altidore's performance was his best in a U.S. uniform and it was on the biggest stage.

Not only does the win get the U.S. into the knockout stages, it put them on top of the group finishing ahead of England on total number of goals scored. While history may be on England's side they deserved the second place finish. Outside of the first half of the Slovenia match, the U.S. was the best team in the group.

The biggest winner today is the American soccer community. Friends who have admitted to me that they are "soccer haters" emailed me today and told me how they felt so excited during the match. Today was a great commercial for U.S. soccer. Now they have everyone's attention. While today was a great stage, the stage will just get bigger and brighter and will have a much bigger audience.

So now we get to play Ghana this weekend. While Ghana is a good side that showed better passing today this is a match the U.S. can handle. However no team at this stage is an easy out. Every match will be tough and every match should involve two teams that are looking to push the pace. That is exactly what they need. These matches will keep the attention and excitement which is good news for soccer in America.

What are your thoughts on U.S. performance? Are you happy the U.S. avoided Germany? Are you starting to feel comfortable about the idea that the U.S. will be playing deep into tournament? Do you think this performance will boost soccer's profile in this country?

Well...........That Was Interesting

Anybody still looking for an exciting match at the world cup? The USA goes down two goals in a first half where their play makes me question whether they would have gotten a result against D.C. United but rallies back to get the tie. Some variation of that will be the headline. But there was much, much more.

The USA came out of the locker room with renewed vigor and playing like they understood that their chances rested on the next 45 minutes. In the 48th minute Landon Donovan blasted a shot past the Slovenia keeper to draw to within one goal. After going back and forth for the next 30 plus minutes Michael Bradley scored the tying goal. Three minutes later things became very interesting.

Off a free kick in the 86th minute Landon Donovan lined up and put in a wonderful ball that a streaking Maurice Edu put in the back of the net. The following two minutes went like this:

Darrell: "Edu SCORES!" Co-workers look on with confusion.
Darrell: "WHAT! ARE YOU KIDDING!" More dirty looks from co-workers.
Darrell: "We just got screwed!" Co-workers look on utterly confused.

The head ref whistled the play dead. The play that would have finished a miraculous comeback was disallowed on a presumed offsides call. But the assistant referee's flag was down. The head ref saw something. What that was, no one seems to know. On replay it seems like there was more cause for a whistle and penalty kick against Slovenia instead of a USA foul.

After the match USA players and coaches asked the ref, some politely and some I can only assume with a slightly raised voice, and received no clear answer. In an interview after the match both Bob Bradley and Donovan lamented the refs call and confirmed that they were never told what the call was by any official.

So 2-2 was the final. What does this mean, well it means that everything comes down to Wednesday when the USA HAS TO WIN. There is no doubt about it. To survive, to make this a successful world cup they have to win. If they win and do not make it, well at least we will have something to talk about on this blog for a long time.

What Went Wrong:
1. The first half. The entirety of the first half went wrong. Only allowing more goals would have made it worse. Watching the difference in the play of the two teams literally made me mad. It was night and day between the two squads.

2. The refereeing. I am not a blame it on the ref guy. But I hope he has a very good explanation and has sound reasoning for his foul call. No matter how bad the USA played in the first half they did enough to win the match. They scored three goals and the referee took one off the board. I hope for his and FIFA's reputation he was right. Couple that with the bogus yellow card on Robbie Findley that rules him out of the next match means the referee had a very bad day.

3. Starting Jose Torres. I like the kid a lot but he was just not crisp and not ready. He looked nervous and timid. He needed time to gain some confidence in a match where that was not possible. It happens to everyone but that probably rules him out of the match against Algeria and maybe the rest of the tournament. You do not get many chances in the world cup and he may have missed his today.

4. Oguchi Onyewu was not good today. He just did not get it done on the whole and looked extremely slow in the first half. Failing to step up contributed to the second Slovenian goal. He has to be better and will have a day less recovery time before the Algeria match. Should he start?

What Went Right:
1. Subbing in Maurice Edu. Of the three subs, Edu made the most of his time. He was crisp and covered a lot of ground, often covering for Carlos Bocanegra when he went forward. And there was the matter of the ball he put in the back of the net. Did Edu do enough today to push Clark out of the line up?

2. Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey, the stars of the team, came to play. Both were the best players on the field for the Americans. Donovan's goal was extremely impressive. My knock on Donovan has always been that he rarely goes go for it. From that angle in that moment he needed too, and it worked out in his team's favor. Keep that attitude Landon.

3. The draw. Yes I think it should have been a win but a draw keeps them alive and a draw sets up a favorable set of matches. England will need to come through for the Americans and they should as they are a better side than Slovenia. The USA will match up with an Algerian team they should beat. Of course I thought they should beat Slovenia but was wrong on that. No matter what, the good thing today is that they are still alive.

With England's draw against Algeria it is very simple for the Americans. Win and your chances of going through are great. A draw, and you need some help from Slovenia. A loss and the tournament is a failure and this ref is an instant villian to U.S. soccer fans.

Let me know your thoughts. Was the ref right? Does the play in the first half detract from your disdain for the call/ref? What do you think happens in this group? What do you think of the refereeing in the match? Who starts in central midfield against Algeria?

MLB tidbits

Stephen Strasburg did not disapoint. It his much anticipated debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates (who have since lost 11 in a row) he pitched 7 innings, had 2 earned runs, with 14 strikeouts, and zero walks. If its a veteran, you say wow, that's impressive. But a rookie making his first start. What do you say to that? Ok kid, good job. Do it again and ill be impressed? 5 games later he pitched against Cleveland in what was the Indians first sellout of the season. While he had 4 walks, he still had 8 strike outs and got his 2nd win in as many starts. I have no idea if he will keep it up, but if this is any indication, Mr. Strasburg is going to be something special!

No one has had 13 wins in 14 starts since the 1986 season when BoSox rookie pitcher Roger Clemens started the season 13-0 with one no decision. Cue in Ubaldo Jiminez. As of this afternoon where he gave up 1 run to the Minnesota Twins, he dropped his ERA to 1.15 (the lowest since 1945). One other note. Jiminez is a staggering 10-0 when pitching on a day after a Rockies loss. Front runner for NL Cy Young? That remains to be seen, but if i had a vote, he'd get it.

In the AL East, the Tampa Bay Rays have slowed down a bit, and though they are still 17 games over .500, they have let the Yankees catch them atop the division. But, not too far behind them is the surging Red Sox. They are only 2.5 games back and could very well catch them by the all star break. It is going to be fun watching this division and the stories that unfold.

The Al Central is not near as close as the East. This division i expected to be a 3 team race, and this far, it hasn't been. I really expected the White Sox to be closer to the top of the division. But, they just havent gotten the production from the pitching staff that they have needed. Mark Buehrle improved to 5-6 today beating the Pittsburgh Pirates. For the Sox to contend, they will have to get more production from Buehrle, Else where in the division the Twins and Tigers are in what should be a dogfight to the end, as if the two teams didn't get enough of each other last year and in the playoff game for the division championship.

Note to the reader: This point of my writings could get very biased. However, i will try to keep it level headed. The AL west (in my opinion) is the Texas Rangers' to win, or lose. Oakland was close to them and it was a good race for a while, but Oakland just doesnt have the depth or experience needed for a divisional, or pennant race, as of this writing the A's have dropped to 6 games behind the Rangers in the division. Meanwhile, the team i was more worried about as a Rangers homer (the LA Angels) have come past Oakland and are now 2.5 games behind Texas. But, injuries have plagued LA and only time will tell how much it will hurt them. The Angels obvioulsy have the pitching depth, bats and experience to win the division. Seattle was most peoples choice to win the division. They loaded up on pitching in the offseason, and also bought a couple of bats. But they're problem this year, is the same as it was last season. They still have a lack of bats. Ichiro is doing his thing, he has 92 hits on the year and is well on his way to his 10th straight 200 hit season but, other than that they have very little as far as bats. The Rangers, have tonight won their 5th straight road game, doing so for the first time in 8 years, they are also coming up on the easiest 9 game stretch on their schedule (as far as records). They have 3 with a bad Astros team, 3 with a bad Pirates team, then 3 more with the Astros again. Although Pittsburgh has a stud 3rd baseman coming up in the next week or so. Although the Pirates have recently extended the contract of manager John Russell, I fully expect him to be relieved of his duties soon.

The NL East is easily the tightest division in MLB. You have the Braves, Mets and Phillies all within 4 games of each other. Florida dropped to 31-35 tonight despite having a +18 run differential. I look for the Mets to fall apart in the 2nd half of the year once again. Though, they have had a 5 run inning at least once in their last 3 games. Both the Braves (Bobby Cox) and Phillies (Charlie Manuel) have the most post season experience. I full expect those two teams to have a dogfight to the end.

In the NL Central, you have the Reds who have been red hot leading the Cardinals by half a game, and then the Cubbies are 6.5 games out of first. The Reds will cool off and the Cardinals will do what is expected of them, and make their way to the postseason one more time.

The NL West is also very close San Diego, LA Dodgers and the Giants are all within half a game of each other, with the Rockies who are notoriously a late season team, just 4 games back. the Diamondbacks have been just disapointing this year. Whatever moves are made by the top 4 teams in this division, could be very very crucial. One big pickup could mean everything. It's really hard to pick a frontrunner for this division. But if i had to pick, i'd say LA would win, for one reason and one reason only. Joe Torre.

See you next week!

USA v. Slovenia: Guarentees, Rebuttals, and Predictions

Andrej Komac has written the proverbial check, now let's see if he and his team can cash it. Komac said in an interview that Slovenia is going to win this match. He cited the fact that they are confident and playing their brand of soccer right now. Interesting words from a player who's team did not look very impressive in their over Algeria.

When told about the comment Tim Howard thought about Komac's prediction of victory for Slovenia and chuckled. "I think talk is cheap," the American goalkeeper said Wednesday. "He's got to stand toe to toe. And they've got to stand toe to toe with us for 90 minutes. And if he's still standing, then I'll take my hat off to him. But a lot of boxers talk, too, and they're looking up at the lights. And the next thing they know, they're trying to figure out how they got there." Sounds like a guy who has taken a kick to the arm/ribs and gotten up.

This match up just got more intriguing. Now with that being said I expect both teams to come out and play professional soccer but both will play to win. There is a lot on the line in the match for both teams. A win puts Slovenia through to the knockout stage. A win with a good differential for the Americans and they take control of Group C. I think this will make for an exciting match.

Three Questions for the USMNT:
1. What personnel do we see? Okay Bradley scratched out the result against the group giant England. Will he now play some more offensive minded players such as Jose Torres, Stuart Holden, or Edson Buddle to push the attack?

2. Will the USMNT push the pace early? I think to win this match they have to set a high tempo early. If they come out and skip the feeling out process and establish possession I think an early goal can come and open the match. If the match opens up players like Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, and Jozy Altidore will be able to run in open spaces and generate quality chances.

3. Does the defensive backline play like they did against England? If the back line plays the same as they did against the Brits that will take pressure off of the midfield and allow them to go forward. Slovenia is no push over but the U.S. backline should be able to take matters into their own hands. If they do and the U.S. can put 6-7 players in the attack on a consistent basis I think good things will happen.

My Projected Line Up:
------------------------------Howard----------------------------------
Cherundolo----Demerit--------Onyewu-----------Bocaengra
Donovan------Bradley------------Clark---------------Dempsey
-----------------------Findley-----Altidore---------------------------

Rationale: As much as I would like him to go with a more attack minded group, I think he sticks with what worked against the British. The game may dictate some earlier subs such as Buddle, Herculez Gomez, DeMarcus Beasley, Holden, or Torres but I think we start by seeing the same group with Bradley playing more in the attack.

Prediction: 2-0 U.S. and they take the first step toward possibly winning the group.

The truth and lies about the Big 12 dying and coming back to life.

I'm not going to lie... I literally had about 10 blogs written about the Big 12 fiasco, but every time i went to publish them, I ended up deleting them because the story changed so much, what I had written had become toilet paper. Right now, Tuesday night, the story has calmed down enough for me to recap what has happened.


I will also be upfront right now, I am a Nebraska guy up down left and right. People who know me know the Big Red goes through me like no one else. However, I feel that I have seen with neutral eyes, what Texas has done to the remaining schools of the Big 12 conference.

I'm going to go over what has happened. For this, I'm going to reference 2 articles. One, the site orangebloods.com, which happens to be partially owned by Chip Brown. Orangebloods is on the rivals.com network. The link to the article is at http://texas.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1094753 and this will be article A.

The second article I will refer to is a blog entry from the San Jose Mercury News. A person by the name of Jon Wilner, wrote an entry that I found off a link on twitter (i am at @btbowling). That article is here, http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2010/06/15/pac-10-expansion-the-texas-conspiracy-theory/ and I will call it article B.

Here's what I agree with out of article A:

- Colorado moved out of the Big 12 to the Pac 10 only because they thought the league would fold and they would not be on the hook for the buyout. The tab is going to be roughly $9 millon over 2 years, the same amount the school coudln't come up with to buy out Dan Hawkins. They were scared to have no conference to go to (which I don't agree with, the Mountain West would have taken them in an New York minute), so they just agreed to go west thinking they would not have anything to worry about, because the Big 12 is done for.

- Texas didn't lie when they told Nebraska, at the Big 12 meetings in KC the first week of June, that they couldn't commit to anything long term when Harvey Perlman asked. In a way, Texas let Nebraska off the hook because Osborne and Perlman, while having great relations with Dodds and Powers, were growing tired of them over all the disagreements. Both schools were going to get more money, whether the other one agreed to give it up or not. All Nebraska wanted from Texas, which Powers refused to do, is make it a 12 school dividend with everything. The network issue bothered Perlman more than anything, I do believe. If you had the network, the commitment would have fallen into place.

What I disagree with in article A:

- The thought that Nebraska made their decision Wednesday. The decision wasn't made till Friday during the regents meeting. There were a few that were not sure about how this was working till Osborne and Perlman got in front of them and talked about what had happened.

- The thought that, with 2 less teams and no title game, Dan Beebe will get this league more money in four years. Remember something about the "commitments" that was talked about today, THERE ARE NO SIGNATURES ON ANYTHING THAT WASN'T ON THERE BEFORE. There is no new TV deal until the current ones run out. Fox MAY renegotiate, however there is no feasable way that Fox can increase their deal 500% while still only showing 2 to 3 games a weekend. ABC/ESPN has only commited to the Big 12 that the deal that was current will be kept by ABC/ESPN till the contract runs out. It doesn't say there will be more money put in. Now, because there are 2 less teams to pay, the pie piece gets bigger. However, with what Baylor, Missouri, Kansas and Kansas State, and Iowa State having to surrender their buyout payments to Oklahoma, Texas, and A&M, how is that really better for them?

Now, to article B and what I first agree with:

- Dodds was the one that broke the Pac 10 story to orangebloods.com. Larry Scott and Kevin Weinberg had done such a good job keeping this story private. And, all of a sudden, Texas' Rivals site has the scoop without Scott or Weinberg at the meetings? There is only one group of people that gave that up.

- Texas knew they were not going to the Pac 10, that's why at the last minute, the extra concessions, which were things they knew the answer to, were asked and denied. Dodds and Powers knew that they couldn't get their own network with Scott. It was an out and gave them a guilt free way to say no thanks then.

- There were a lot of people knowing that Texas was in full bluff mode. Joe Castiglione didn't talk to anyone else because he trusted Texas that much? Do you really believe that? Do you honestly believe that the University of Oklahoma would be in Conference USA if they made Texas mad? Please... Joe knew that all they had to do was shut up and he got paid. Same for Stillwater.

Now, what I do not agree with in article B...

- That Nebraska panicked and bolted for the Big 10 as fast as possible. It was a mutual courtship, and Jim Delany knew that he has them in their back pocket. I wonder how well the talks with Delany and Missouri really went. Nebraska just got less connected and more dispondant with how Texas went along with their business. Both sides got what they wanted; a divorce.

- Larry Scott and Weinberg were commited to offering the five schools (UT, TAMU, TT, OU, OSU) the invites for the Pac 10. This is where it gets odd to me... don't you think that if all five schools had the same invite, and had the same offer on the table, would they have met with the Scott/Weinberg team TOGETHER? Why did Scott have to go to each team individually. That doesn't make sense to me either... if the group had a joint invite, why were they treated individually??

I probably have a better thought of Chip Brown now than I did Sunday afternoon. I still think he's a speaking puppet for Dodds and Powers (and will be WHEN, not if, this all happens again). However, he was on top of the story all the time and worked his ass off to get his story out there. And, especially when Joe Schad was contradicting him, he stood by his story and it paid off. That, Chip, I do commend you on.

This deal has ZERO chance to make it more than 2 years at the most. I personally can't see the smaller Northern schools tolerating being walked on. Nebraska gave them a little big of cover because they would want equality, more than Texas would ever give.

Ask yourself something else about this deal. If Oklahoma was totally commited to what Texas wanted to do, and was willing to go wherever they went... Why then did they receive just as much money as UT and A&M for staying? I get A&M, because I believe the SEC overture was true, and the money they are getting now is more than what the SEC currently can give them. But Oklahoma was always behind UT, and they get more than Tech or Oklahoma State? With the same commitment? No one else finds that odd?

Texas Tech may be the first school to bolt this offer. They stayed quiet just like OU or even more, and yet will not get as paid as much. Gerald Myers was played on this, but the problem is that they have no other options. I do believe, that if Utah doesn't become the 12th team in the Pac, that Larry Scott may court TT, and they may say yes. I don't have anything that will tell you this is true outside of my gut feeling.

Bottom line is this... how Dan Beebe came up with these numbers is beyond me. And, for all intensive purposes, how all these schools agreed with it is even farther past my comprehention. I do agree with the notion that all schools involved now want it to work. Primarily, because there is nowhere all of them could go that they could do better right now.

Love it or hate it, that's what I got...

.. for now...

How Impressive Can a Tie Really Be?

The USMNT pulled off what some considered to be the unthinkable, a result against England in the most hyped world cup match since the 2002 knockout stage match against Mexico. But how impressive was the draw really?

I will be the first to say that I am grateful and happy that Clint Dempsey and the boys proved me wrong by defending well and scoring on a half chance that went right. And no England fans, just because it was not a great work of skill that does not mean the goal was not a “real” goal. They all count and they are all real!

But now that the marquee match up is over, the question has to be asked how good was the result and what type of indicator is it for the team’s performance in this cup?

In my opinion the draw was huge and very impressive in my eyes. The reason, the way the USMNT attacked the match. They tried to play with England. They simply did not sit in a bunker and launch every ball off the backline. They tried to hold possession and they succeeded in spurts and just enough to keep England off balance for a significant portion of the match.

This was not the win over Spain in the Confederations Cup last year. This was better. Bob Bradley did not resolve to just instruct his team to absorb pressure. They attacked on their terms and instead of just launching balls forward they tried to hold the ball and create. That is the sign of a team that is confident and ready to make a run.

While passing the ball and holding possession helped their attack, it also helped kill England’s momentum. Connecting passes allowed the defense to reset and kept England from establishing a rhythm of just throwing balls at Tim Howard.

Now I am not saying England did not surge, they certainly did. But Bradley’s players stuck to the plan and tried to hold possession. That type of play in their next two matches and goal differential may be determining 1st place in the group for the US and not determining if they advance.

Positives:

1. The defense as a whole gets a big standing ovation. Not only did they show that they are fit but they showed that they are ready to handle the attack of one of the world’s best group of attacking players. Oguchi Onyewu showed that he has recovered enough to be a force in the world cup.

2. Jay Demerit had a great start to his world cup. Rudd Gullit and Alexi Lalas (I wonder if they talk off camera about how instrumental they were in creating the mess that Bruce Arena inherited in L.A.) pointed out just how good Demerit was at holding Wayne Rooney in check. When Wayne Rooney is picking the ball up 40 yards from goal that is a great job and Demerit deserves praise. For a player who is currently out of contract, that is a great individual start.

3. The wing play was very good today, both attacking and defending. Dempsey, Landon Donovan, and Steve Cherundolo worked so well together playing off each other going forward and helping to maintain (more so on the right side than left) defense against some very speedy and talented wingers.

4. Finally, Tim Howard showed that he is world class. Yeah he got beat by an unmarked Steven Gerrard but that happens to the best goalkeepers in the EPL all season. Howard was great the rest of the match and that ultimately got the result for the Americans. Donovan and Dempsey get the acclaim but this team will only go as far as Howard will take them.

Negatives:

1. While the wing play was the highlight of the attack today, Carlos Bocanegra was not great at left back. We all knew he is slower than your average left back but he allowed Aaron Lennon and Glenn Johnson to get around him quite a bit. However, he kept chasing and giving effort. If the USMNT faces speed like that on the wing again in this world cup it will be something to watch.

2. Robbie Findley did not belong on the field today. I understand the guy is fast but his touch and decision making is not at a level high enough for the world cup. Opening the game with speed is one thing but you have to be effective and Findley was not today.

3. As much as I like Rico Clark he was the last negative on the day although most of the negative involves one major play. Rico was very good today holding possession and not committing stupid fouls and turnovers but he simply let Steven Gerrard get away from him and score England’s lone goal. That can not happen. While it did not cost the Yanks a result today it could down the line.

So what does this mean going forward? In my eyes, it is a great start and building block. Now they have to come out and play the same way and look to capitalize on being the better team against Slovenia. With the showing today I am comfortable calling that match an expected three points. I hope the team shows that to be true.

MLB's biggest day of the season

It is 11:25 PM on Monday June the 7th. Why is this important you ask? in 18 hours and 40 minutes Steven Strasburg will take the mound for the first time in a Major League stadium. This is undoubtedly the most hyped player to make his debut since Mark Prior. Will Strasburg make a bigger long-term impact than Prior? One can only hope. If what he accomplished in AA and AAA is any precursor to what we will see from him as a big league pitcher, it will be nothing short of phenomenal. through 55 1/3 innings at AA and AAA combined Strasburg amassed 65 strike outs, 13 walks, a 1.30 ERA and a 7-2 record. Is he going to be the savior of the Nationals franchise? Hard to say yes when the guy is only going to play every fifth day. Is he going to build the morale of the city and fans? That is a resound yes.

Within hours of the announcement that Strasburg would make his first start on June 8th at 7:05 PM local time against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the stadium was sold out and has been announced that it is standing room only. His debut rivals the debuts the likes of Mark Prior, Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr. as most anticipated in the last 20 years. For the sake of him and the game of baseball, i hope he succeeds and lives up to the hype.

USMNT Win Against Turkey

The U.S. Men’s National Team pulled out a winner on a late goal by Nachadoches, TX native Clint Dempsey to beat Turkey (ranked 29th in the world) 2-1. Jozy Altidore scored tapped in a squared ball from Landon Donovan for the first goal.

The first half was not very productive and had this fan worried about the national team’s prospects for the world cup. Former Houston Dynamo Ricardo Clark and Michael Bradley were unable to control the midfield and found themselves defending close to their own 18 yard box often while Turkey showed pace and speed and the wings that gave the U.S. full backs trouble. Attacking players Bennie Feilhaber, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, and Jozy Altidore were pretty much starved for service and committed numerous turnovers when they received the ball.

The second half saw likely world cup starters Oguchi Onyewu, Steve Cherundolo, Longview, TX native Jose Torres and Stuart Holden along with forward sub Robbie Findley come on and change the game. Torres was able to command and control the ball in central midfield while Findley’s speed stretched out the Turkish defense. Cherundolo and Onyewu shored up a backline that was extremely leaky in the first half and limited the Turks chances.

The Good:
1. One of my favorites emerged as a candidate for to start in South Africa with a second straight strong performance. Jose Torres put on a show that few other center midfielders have been able to muster in the second half breaking up plays and disturbing the ball. In my opinion, Bob Bradley has found his sons partner in center of the pitch.

2. After showing very little, which made many wonder about his inclusion in the squad, in previous opportunities with the national team Robbie Findley showed his speed is dangerous. While he dribbled the ball through the end line a few times his pace gave the Turks defense fits and opened the game up for players like Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey.

3. Onyewu looked fit! The USMNT will need their best and most physical defender in South Africa. Another strong performance against the Socceroos (I just like the nickname Socceroos) from Australia on Saturday and I will feel much more confident than I did after the match against the Czech.

The Bad:
1. Bennie Feilhaber failed to impress and may have played himself to the end of the bench. Clumsy ball handling, questionable passes, and lazy giveaways probably cemented his place at the bottom of the midfield player pool.

2. Jonathan Spector is great as an attacking right back but he and his backline must communicate better. His run in the first half was great but the lack of cover (exemplified by the fact that he was the first guy to run the Turkish winger down) lead to numerous chances and the only Turkish goal. The defense better get it together before they face England and Wayne Rooney.

3. The issue of the forward play still exists. Clint Dempsey played up top with Jozy Altidore and the pair did not show well. Which begs the question, do you put someone like Robbie Findley or Herculez Gomez with Altidore at the expense of a player like Stuart Holden or DeMarcus Beasley? Holden and Beasley would be ranked ahead of Findley and Gomez as overall players on the roster. So do you keep Dempsey up top in an effort to get your best 11 on the field or do you move a less talented guy in to get the best combination? Tough call, but I would want to get my best 11 on the field and that would include Stuart Holden and keeping Dempsey up top but cases can be made for both strategies.

The final friendly is Saturday morning at the nice early time of 7:30am against Australia from South Africa on ESPN or ESPN2. This will be a dry run for the team and fans for the world cup.