Author Archive
Hanley Ramirez and the Florida Marlins: A Debacle in the Making
Posted: 18th May 2010 by Kyle W. Brown in MLB
The Marlins are playing without Hanley Ramirez, the face of their franchise, this afternoon. The reason for his not playing is unclear; whether he is injured or whether the decision was made by manager Fredi Gonzalez. Ramirez was benched during Monday's game after booting a ball into left field and then nonchalantly chasing it down; allowing two runners to score and enabling batter Tony Abreu to reach third. ...
No, no, not his overall play, for a literal single play. According to the Kansas City Star , the Royals have fined Betancourt, the team's shortstop, following a dropped fly ball in Friday's loss to the Texas Rangers. The ball was hit to the grass just past the infield, where Betancourt attempted to make a flashy one-handed catch at shoulder level. Unfortunately, he dropped it, allowing a run ...
Let me preface this by saying that I am a huge Ilya Kovalchuk fan, but I will try to remain as neutral as I can in this article. Most hockey fans knew that Kovalchuk wanted to win a Stanley Cup, and few believed that he would begin the 2010-11 season in a Thrashers uniform. Regardless, Atlanta GM Don Waddell repeatedly tried to ink the Russian superstar, finally offering him ...
In the summer of 2009, I doubt anyone envied the job of Ottawa Senators' general manager Bryan Murray. The GM was essentially taken hostage by his star player, Dany Heatley, who demanded a trade for no apparent reason. Rumors speculated from basic reasons such as him being unhappy with head coach Cory Clouston, to Heatley sleeping with the fiancee (now wife) of teammate Jason Spezza. Adding into the ...
A Season of NHL Decisions in Hindsight: Dave Tippett Firing
Posted: 2nd May 2010 by Kyle W. Brown in NHL
At the end of last season, Dallas Stars fans had little to look forward to.
The team missed the post-season for the first time in seven years, and injury troubles had kept most of the players out. The Sean Avery experiment had gone poorly, with him eventually being suspended for the season, and then waived to go play in Manhattan.
It was time for a change, as many fans were concerned about ...
Chicago Reporter Calls For Toronto Blue Jays to Relocate
Posted: 18th April 2010 by Kyle W. Brown in MLB
I realize I'm a bit late on this, and I apologize for that.It seems that Joe Cowley, a sports reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, believes that baseball just cannot exist in the city of Toronto, Canada.This is not really that strange of Cowley, however, who in 2004 referred to Canada as a "third world nation" and said he refused to stand for the singing of "O Canada" following Montreal Canadiens' ...
Now I realize that books written by athletes are usually hit or miss, but let me tell you, Dirk Hayhurst's The Bullpen Gospels is absolutely amazing.
Hayhurst, a reliever with the Jays this year who is currently on the disabled list, retells countless adventures through his year in minor league ball, back in 2007, when he was fighting his way through the Padres organization.
The book, as should any written by a minor ...
The Toronto Blue Jays season opener had a lot of things go right. Adam Lind remained in the same form from the majority of last season. Vernon Wells actually played well, scoring 3 RBI and hitting a bing-bong his first at bat. Shawn Marcum threw six innings of hitless and shutout ball. Unfortunately, one out into the seventh inning he gave up a hit. Then let another batter ...
Really, Shaun Rogers? Cleveland Browns’ Tackle Defies Logic with Gun Arrest
Posted: 2nd April 2010 by Kyle W. Brown in NFL
Another NFL player was arrested yesterday. The Cleveland Browns' Shaun Rogers was arrested at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The reason for the charge? The three-time Pro Bowler attempted to carry a .45-calibre semi-automatic, which was loaded with eight rounds, onto a plane.
Just please, allow that one to sink in. All I can think about is SNL's "Weekend Update" segment years ago when Michael Vick was busted for trying ...
Brian Rafalski Doesn’t Like Tennessee’s Way of Doing Business
Posted: 28th March 2010 by Kyle W. Brown in NHL
This is a bit of a weird story coming out, hiding in the back pages of sports sections. It seems that Detroit Red Wings' and US Olympic team defenseman Brian Rafalski is tired of Tennessee taking his money for being a professional athlete. The issue stems from a new law that was introduced last summer, which essentially states that any professional athlete who plays a game in the ...