Sports Quotes of the Year: 2015

Quote of the Year: "Just give me two hours, and you're going to have 50, 60, 70 years of memories. Two hours, can you sacrifice, and reach down and give me two hours, so that you can have a lifetime of memories for you, your family, your kids and your kids' kids? That's the memories I'm talking about!"
-Tom Izzo

Quote of the Year (runner up): "A Cespedis for the rest of us"?
-Jerry Seinfeld

And the rest...
“Because Michael, face it -- the guy was basically average in terms of size, strength, speed, jumping ability, all the things that you seem to think make a great player.”
-Bill Walton on Michael Jordan

 “Don’t cry.”
-Rhonda Rousey to Bethe Correia after knocking her out

"Our goal was to come in here and make the 'Red Rifle' look like a Red Ryder BB gun, and I think we did that.”
-JJ Watt on Andy Dalton

"My heart can take the pounding, my mind can handle the grind, but my body knows it's time to say goodbye."
-Kobe Bryant

"In short, Mr. Rose has not presented credible evidence of a reconfigured life either by an honest acceptance by him of his wrongdoing, so clearly established by the Dowd Report, or by a rigorous, self-aware and sustained program of avoidance by him of all the circumstances that led to his permanent ineligibility in 1989. Absent such credible evidence, allowing him to work in the game presents an unacceptable risk of a future violation by him of Rule 21, and thus to the integrity of our sport. I, therefore, must reject Mr. Rose's application for reinstatement."
 -Rob Manfred

Top 10 Sports movies

1. Hoosiers (1986)
2. Rocky (1976)
3. Field of Dreams (1989)
4. Cinderella Man (2005)
5. The Natural (1984)
6. Slap Shot (1977)
7. Bull Durham (1988)
8. Caddyshack (1980)
9. Eight Men Out (1988)
10. Brian's Song (1971)

2009 Sports Awards

Best Team: New York Yankees

Game of the Year: CMU: 29 MSU: 27 (Like I was going to pick anything else!)

Athlete of the Year: Peyton Manning

Play of the Year: Curtis Granderson's catch against Cleveland saving the game.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sportsprose/2009/05/detroit_tigers_center_fielder.html

My Favorites: MLB 1970s

C- Thurman Munson- Yankees
1b- Steve Garvey- Dodgers
2b- Phil Garner- Pirates
3b- George Brett- Royals
SS- U.L. Washington- Royals
OF- Reggie Jackson- Yankees
OF- Willie Stargell- Pirates
OF- Pete Rose- Reds
OF- Carl Yastrzemski- Red Sox
DH- Willie Horton- Tigers/Mariners
RHP- Jim Palmer- Orioles
LHP- Steve Carlton- Phillies
RHP- Nolan Ryan- Angels
RHP- Tom Seaver- Mets
RHP- Luis Tiant- Red Sox
RHP- Mark Fidrych- Tigers
RP- Kent Tekulve- Pirates

MLB All 1930s Team

C- Mickey Cochrane- A’s/Tigers
C- Bill Dickey- Yankees
1b- Jimmie Foxx- A’s/Red Sox
1b- Lou Gehrig- Yankees
1b- Hank Greenberg- Tigers
2b- Charlie Gehringer- Tigers
3b- Pepper Martin- Cardinals
SS- Arky Vaughn- Pirates
OF- Mel Ott- Giants
OF- Al Simmons- A’s
OF- Joe Medwick- Cardinals
OF- Joe Dimaggio- Yankees
RHP- Dizzy Dean- Cardinals
LHP- Lefty Grove- Red Sox
SP- Red Ruffing- Yankees
SP- Carl Hubbell- Giants
SP- Lefty Gomez- Yankees

Top 10 Baseball Moments

Good topic for a holiday weekend.

Here are my top 10 baseball moments (regular season only). These are games I saw on TV or Radio as opposed to at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull or the Copa.

Arranged Chronologically:

1. Tigers go 35-5 (1984). We will not see this again.

2. Morris throws a No-Hitter (4-7-84): The signature moment of the 35-5 start.

3. The Sandberg Game (June 23, 1984): A third moment from 1984?? Bruce Sutter was unhittable. Sandberg hit 2 game tying homers off Sutter in a comeback. This was a signature moment for the 1984 Cubs. Then came Garvey...

4. Mets: 16 Braves: 13 (7-4-85 and 7-5-85): A marathon in the rain. 19 innings! Atlanta scored 4 in the 8th to take the lead. Mets tied in the 9th. Keith Hernandez went 4 for 10 and hit for the cycle. Each team scored twice in the 13th. Mets took the lead in the top of the 18th. Pitcher Rick Camp hit an 18th inning homer to tie the game. New York scored 5 in the 19th. Atlanta scored twice and had the tying runs on when Ron Darling struck out Rick Camp to end it. A postgame fireworks show followed...at 4am. A fan summed it up best with a sign "What the Hell is going on?"

5. Pete Rose gets hit 4192 (9-11-85): 1985 was the year of the milestone and Rose finally passed Cobb. Amazing for a guy people said had no talent. If you google, Pete Rose and 4192, a billion sites pop up hocking memorabilia and autographs. Who wants that honey, Pete needs money. (Smashing Pumpkins reference there!)

6. Bob Horner hits 4 home runs in a game (7-6-86): and we saw it on tape delay...Ted Turner's idiotic Goodwill Games (designed to end the Cold War and bring peace and harmony to the universe) preempted the game's normal start time.

7. The Comeback: Detroit: 1 Blue Jays: 0 (October 4, 1987):The Tigers trailed the Toronto Blue Jays by 3 1/2 with a week to go. Kirk Gibson hit a dramatic homer off Tom Henke in Toronto to propel the Tigers to a comeback. Detroit did not lose another game until the LCS. Toronto did not win another game that season. The comeback was capped by Frank Tanana's 1-0 victory on the season's final day. Larry Herndon's 2nd inning homer off Jimmy Key was the game's only score.

8. Nolan Ryan. I don't know where to start...No hitter #5 (1981), #7 (1991), Strikeout #4000 (Danny Heap of the Mets), the now legendary pummeling of Robin Ventura...

9. Ripken passes Gehrig (9-6-95) : This was a night. Ripken passed Lou Gehrig, the number was unveiled on the warehouse, Cal hit a homer, he did a victory lap around the field. Bill Clinton showed up, but who cares? Joe Dimaggio was there!

10. Craig Biggio's 3000th Hit (6-28-07): Biggio is known for his messy helmet, being an all-star at two positions, and for being a hard nosed player. He played the game the way it should be played. He singled for hit 3000 and was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. He finished the game with 5 hits and helped the Astros to a win. After the hit, Biggio called longtime team mate Jeff Bagwell out to share his moment.

Goodbye Bird

I do not remember seeing the Bird pitch. I do remember a picture of him with Big Bird. That is my earliest memory. Whenever you talk to someone that saw him, they get excited. Everyone loved the Bird.

He was the last guy to make the team out of spring training. In 1976, he was the bright light in a city already in decline. He'd talk to the ball, play with the dirt on the mound, and started the All-Star Game. In 1977, he was injured. By 1980, he was done.

Bird was never bitter. He was thankful for his season in the sun. That is why people love him.

I have two other memories of Fidrych. I did see him in an old timer's game. He talked to the ball. On the closer at Tiger Stadium, he was the first Tiger to run onto the field. The crowd loved it.

What Does Obama Do??

He's been in office for 60 days or so and all he has accomplished is tripling the debt and play celebrity. Is he President or is he Lindsey Lohan?

So far, Obama is not like any Crisis President in history. However, he is a bit like the Roman Emperor Nero. Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Historians will say Obama twittered while Rome burned.

Here's the recap:

-He attacked Rush Limbaugh

-He appeared on Jay Leno

-He approved the AIG bonuses and then decided it was a bad idea

-He spent a day with Sportscenter explaining his NCAA Brackets

-He piped in on Jessica Simpson's weight

-He finalized a book deal

-He laughed at us all on 60 Minutes


What's left for Obama to do?

-Appear on Dancing With The Stars

-Serve as a lifeline on Millionaire

-Become a contestant on American Idol

-Learn how to speak without a teleprompter (Obama without a teleprompter makes Bush look like Einstein).

2008 MLB Awards

NL MVP: Albert Pujols (Cards)
AL MVP: Justin Morneau (Twins)
NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum (Giants)
AL Cy Young: Cliff Lee (Indians)
NL Rookie: Giovanni Soto (Cubs)
AL Rookie: Armadno Galarraga (Tigers)
NL Manager: Lou Pinella (Cubs)
AL Manager: Joe Madden (Rays)