Still trying to get around the buzz I'm getting in the house from the tubglaze, the headache of unpaid tickets and rainy days. Your humble scribe still has much to say...
That sound you hear is the Mets collapse almost reaching epic proportions. We're talking '95 Angels, 78 Sox (Sorry Mo and Sully for the painful reference) 69 Cubs and 64 Phils type meltdown. The Mets were 6 games up on the Phillies and were looking like a mortal lock for the playoffs. They had just gotten Pedro Martinez back to add to a solid pitching staff and talk of a World Series in Flushing was a real possibilty.
Then it happened. It wasn't a rash of injuries like the 95 Angels, It wasn't a white-hot Yankees team that kept on coming like in 78, It wasn't a manager raging at his team like the Cubs in 69 or overworking his two aces like the 64 Phils. The Mets have just...come...unglued. Now to be fair the Mets did lose Carlos Beltran for a bit and Carlos Delgado has been so-so, but the pitching especially relief has been caving in. And the Mets got swept by the Nationals...The Freakin' Nats!!! Now the robust 6 game lead has evaporated and the Mets are not only in danger of giving away the NL East to the Phillies team steamrolling at them, but a playoff berth as well. The Rockies and Padres are making a late dash. The Rockies winning a team record 10 in a row at the best possible time. With a scant 4 days left in the season, the Mets are searching for answers. The Phils are trying to make a miracle.
Meanwhile out west the D-backs are trying to stall out the regular season clock themselves, The D-backs are trying to hold not one but two teams off in the NL west. The aforementioned hard-charging Rockies and the injury ravaged Padres who are trying to limp home and ride Jake Peavy to a playoff berth if not an outright NL West pennant. The Pads might fall by the wayside as they have 3 closing games in Milwuakee who are trying to will their beloved Brew Crew into a last gasp closing run to catch the Cubs who are trying to give their division away. Hey dont' bellyache at me Cub fan, your team got the gift of the division lead from a young Brew Crew and your squad trying to give it back would register as inexcusable. If your team gives this lead away you and Met fans can cry in your beer together. Just don't do it around me. You will get no sympathy.
I'm not a real big soccer fan...you read my thoughts on soccer in my profile. But when World Cup comes around for both Men and Women. I'll at least keep abreast of the progress of the US team. The Womens team is ranked #1 in the world, and had reached the semis of the World Cup in China and were set to take on a tough Brazil squad but one that they were expected to beat. That said the 4-0 loss was shocking. The bits I saw had the Brazilians toying with the Americans and why oh why was Brianna Scurry in goal? She looked old, tired and out of step. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the US have a goalie in Hope Solo who was giving away less than Scrooge before the ghost visits? Solo hadn't been scored on in over 300 minutes. So why would you go with someone else. I always believe in that old country axiom with sports. When ya go to a dance, you dance with who brung (sic) ya. Solo got the US to the semis with little or no trouble, it made no sense to switch goalies in such a crucial game. US coach Greg Ryan has a litany of questions to answer. He might have cost himself his job with that goalie switch. It seems that the decision to put Scurry in the game cast a pall on his players. They played listless and the lightning quick Brazilians put on a clinic. The Americans will be lucky to get a consolation game win Sunday against the Norwegians and the Germany/Brazil final would be a solid matchup no matter what the sex of player.
And finally today, a quick addendum to a statement I made earlier, if you had told me before the season that not only would Notre Dame be winless, my beloved Bearcats unbeaten and ranked AND their starting quarterback dropped out to transfer to Cincinnati. I would have really asked you what you were smokin' But Demetrius Jones who had started the Irish''s season opener against Georgia tech and was benched in favor of freshman wunderkind Jimmy Clausen. Jones soon dropped out and reports have it that it looks like he wants to go to Cincy. Oh my, who'da thunk players would be walking away from a supposed powerhouse like Notre Dame to go Cincinnati???
The highly anticipated NFL Week 4 picks will be posted tomorrow, Until next post fellow Sports Fans!!!
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