November 23rd update

Baseball Awards Announced

• About a month after the baseball season ends the major awards – MVP (for best player) and Cy Young Award (for best pitcher) in each league are announced as well as the rookie of the year and manager of the year. The most talked about winner this year was Justin Verlander in the American League. Verlander became the first pitcher in any league to win both the Cy Young and MVP since Dennis Eckersley won it in 1992 and the first starter since Roger Clemens in 1986 since Eckersley was a relief pitcher.
• The National League Cy Young was awarded to Clayton Kershaw. The Ace of the LA Dodgers has overcome some serious off-field distractions from his owner to pitch a fantastic season winning 21 games. The NL MVP was awarded to Milwaukee Brewers Outfielder Ryan Braun. The Hammerin Hebrew won in an upset over Kershaw’s Dodger teammate Matt Kemp. The Brewers won their division this year, which is generally a help to a player in the MVP race. Braun’s teammate Prince Fielder finished second in the voting. The Tampa Bay Rays swept the other awards with Starting Pitcher Jeremy Hellickson and manager Joe Maddon winning the Rookie of the year and Manager of the year respectively. In the National League, Atlanta Braves closer Craig Kimbrel and Arizona Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson took the top spots.
• Baseball also announced a minor change to their post season. They will award an additional wild card spot (2 instead of the current 1) starting next season, in each league. The two wildcards will play each other in a one-game playoff game. The winner will continue on to play according to the current format.


More tragic news in the world of sports

• As touched on in our Monday update, Arkansas TE Garrett Uekman was found dead in his apartment this weekend. Uekman’s is one of four sudden deaths to figures in the sports world in the past few days.
• Oklahoma State Universities head women’s basketball coach, and one his top assistants were killed in a plane crash on Thursday night. Kurt Budke and his deputy Miranda Serna were killed when their plane crashed into a Wildlife Management Area west of Little Rock. The planes pilot and another passenger were also on board and killed in the accident.
• Seattle Mariners 24-year old outfielder Greg Halman was stabbed to death on Rotterdam in his home country of the Netherlands. His brother is being held in relation to the murder. Halman was a young prospect who had played 44 games in the major leagues. He was also part of the 2009 Netherlands team that played in the World Baseball Classic (Baseball’s version of the World Cup).


Thanksgiving Weekend Football Matchups

• Turkey Day Games: 3 Fantastic NFL Games headline the Thursday games this week in the NFL. First, the shockingly competitive Detroit Lions take on the undefeated defending champion Green Bay Packers. The Lions, coming off of a big comeback win, look to continue their fantastic season against the best team in the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys look to continue a 3-game winning streak against the Miami Dolphins in the Thursday afternoon game. The Thursday night game features a sibling rivalry between the San Fransisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh.
• College game of the week: after the major shakeup at the top of the BCS Standings this past weekend, the #1 LSU Tigers take on the #3 Arkansas Razerbacks. If LSU wins they’re all but guaranteed a shot at the National Championship game. If the Razorbacks win, then it will be a 3 way tie between those two teams and Alabama. If that happens, the lowest ranked team in BCS standings will be eliminated and then the winner of the head to head between the last two will win the SEC East. The full process is explained here, but it seems sketchy, as some of the involved coaches can make anonymous votes that actually affect the results of the poll.

September 14th update

Outstanding Individual Performances on MNF

• Monday Night Football is a staple of many schedules every fall but few games match the outstanding performances put forth this past Monday. The New England Patriots defeated the Miami Dolphins 38-24 on the back of a scintillating day by quarterback Tom Brady. Brady threw for 517 yards, which is the 4th most since the merger of the AFL and NFL (which is widely considered the beginning of modern football).
• Assisting him in this mark was wide receiver Wes Welker. Welker caught a 15 yard pass and ran all the way to the end zone. The remarkable part of this is that the play started on the opposition’s 1 yard line. This ties the record for the longest play from scrimmage at 99-yards. Obviously this record cannot be broken (as a football field is 100 yards), but this feat has only been accomplished only 11 times. Interestingly enough, one of those times was by quarterback Ron Jaworski, who is now a TV commentator and was commenting on this game.
• Not only did Brady have an astonishing game, but Chad Henne, the Dolphins QB, threw for 416 yards which combined with Brady's total set an NFL all-time record for passing yards in a game. Those weren't the only passing records, check it out here if you want to read about the rest.
• The final record tied was during the other Monday Night game (there are 2 Monday Night games during the first week of the season). The Oakland Raiders defeated the Denver Broncos 23-20 in Denver but the real news was made by Oakland kicker Sebastian Janikowski who hit a 63-yard field goal, becoming the third player in NFL history to make one from that long. Interestingly enough the second time this mark was achieved was also in Denver (the ball can go farther in the thinner air of the Mile-High City) by Jason Elam. The record was initially set by Tom Dempsey, who had his own aid while kicking the record setter in 1970.


Djokovic wins another major

• Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal on Monday's U.S. Open final, winning his third major of the year. Djokovic has already set a record for winnings in a calendar year with $10.6 million and still has a couple months left to increase that total before the tennis season ends.
• John McEnroe is calling it the greatest season ever and many agree with him. One person who stopped just short of that is his brother, Patrick McEnroe, a tennis analyst who said: “Just as a single season, I think Djokovic’s season is the best since Rod Laver in 1969.” Laver, who the Australian Open's courts are named after, was the last to win all 4 majors in the same calendar year.
• Even though Djokovic lost to Roger Federer in the French Open, what he's done this year is staggering. He's defeated Rafael Nadal 6 times in a row, all in finals, including the shellacking at the U.S. Open where Nadal had only lost a handful of sets over the past 2 years. Facing a deficit in the 5th set against Roger Federer, Djokovic returned a serve hard across the court, narrowly landing the ball inside the line despite the fact that if he'd missed, the match would be over. Federer, one of the greatest tennis players ever, was shaken and eventually lost the match.
• A couple years ago Nadal was seemingly taking the mantel from Federer with Djokovic a distant 3rd. But after this season the demonstrative Serb has put the entire tennis world in his rear view mirror (all while pulling out some funky dance moves).


Wednesday Spotlight: Justin Verlander

• Its one of the most interesting debates in baseball; Should a pitcher be allowed to win the Most Valuable Player award? Individual awards matter more in baseball than perhaps in any of the other sports, and the MVP award is the cream of the crop. There is another award specifically for pitchers called the Cy Young award (named after the man with the most wins as a pitcher). The arguments are plentiful, but generally the MVP is won by a position player and not by a pitcher.
• This year, there is a serious argument for a pitcher to be named an MVP for the first time in almost 20 years. Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers has been on an absolute tear. He has a chance to be the first pitcher to win 25 games in a single season since 1990 on a team that is likely to win their division. Verlander has been unhittable at times this year (literally), and has put the Tigers on his back. One of the things helping him is the fact that the rest of his team isnt really that good, especially the other pitchers, yet his team is probably going to win their division.
• Another factor helping Verlander is the lack of another credible candidate. Many other players have arguments, but without delving into them, all of them have major chinks in the armor. I will not go into the incredible stat line Verlander has put up this year, but if you are curious as to the argument for him winning MVP, you can read it here.

August 31st update

Wednesday Spotlight: Michael Vick

• Arguably the most hated man in professional sports a year or two ago, Michael Vick has proven that Americans believe in second chances, signing a six-year, $100 million contract on Tuesday to make him the third highest paid player in the NFL.
• Vick, who missed two seasons while being imprisoned for supporting a dog fighting ring (as well as other animal cruelty charges) came back to football in 2009 but really returned to star status in with a bang last year. The former number one overall pick of the 2001 NFL draft looked uncomfortable and out of shape in 2009 as the Eagles' 3rd string quarterback but a trade an injury and a year of experience back on the field gave him the opportunity to shine again.
• A monster game, under the bright lights of Monday Night Football last year, sealed Vick's status as the comeback player of the year. Jail apparently did not have a lasting effect on his running ability, the facet that set him apart from more traditional pass-only quarterbacks.
• Vick’s comeback from jail has been both hailed and vilified. Many don’t believe he deserves a second chance after the pain he caused animals, while others point to him as an ideal example of what people can do with a second chance. Since being released from jail Vick has worked with PETA and prison organizations to help raise awareness against animal cruelty and try to prevent others from making the same mistakes he did.


Women’s favorites out already in Flushing Meadows

• The final tennis major of the year is underway as the US Open began Monday in New York. On the women’s side, 4th ranked Petra Kvitova (this year’s Wimbledon champion) and 6th ranked Li Na (this year’s French Open champion) have already bit the dust in the first round. Caroline Wozniaki, the number one ranked woman (and recently revealed girlfriend of Sportico favorite Rory McIlroy) cruised into the second round.
• On the mens side, no big names have lost yet although Rafael Nadal had a relatively difficult time for a first round matchup, needing one tiebreaker (and nearly a second) to defeat Andrey Golubev 6-3, 7-5, 7-6.
• Like so much of the country, the U.S. open was also feeling the affects of Hurricane Irene. While the city was relatively unscathed, many players canceled press conferences and practice sessions as tournament officials actually shut down the National Tennis Center


Tigers look to hold off pack in AL Central

*Note: This is part 3 of a 6 part series that will break down the division races in each of baseball's 6 divisions.

• The American League Central has been dominated this past decade by the Minnesota Twins, who have won it in 6 of the past 9 seasons. However, this has been a down year for the Twins who have had each of their big stars (Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau) miss significant time
• Heading into September, the Detroit Tigers are 5 games in front of the Chicago White Sox and 5 1/2 in front of the Cleveland Indians who started the season on fire but have faded of late. The Tigers have been fueled by the phenomenal hitting of Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander's fantastic season during which he's already won 20 games, threw a no-hitter, and almost threw a second.
• There's still a chance for the White Sox and Indians to make up ground though, as each have 14 games remaining against each other/the Tigers.