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April's been an action packed month of sports news. Highlights and low-lights splashing sports pages throughout our country. Here's a few eye catchers.
GUILTY!
Barry Bonds found guilty of obstruction of justice on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the same jury was unable to reach a verdict on three other counts that the juiced up home run king lied to a grand jury when he denied knowingly using steroids and human growth hormone. Bonds was aided by non-testimony of his sullied friend & trainer Greg Anderson who was in jail for the trial after refusing to testify effectively blocking potentially damaging evidence against Bonds. The judge "... would not let prosecutors present evidence of three alleged positive drug tests by Bonds because his personal trainer and childhood friend, Greg Anderson, refused to testify and there was no one to confirm the samples came from Bonds." (ESPN.com) Barry will forever be tainted and it's about time Major League Baseball recognizes Hank Aaron as the games true home run king.
The Masters
Any viewer lucky enough to watch Sunday's Masters finale witnessed a spectacular finish. Rory McIlroy was in command at -11 heading into final round action. One missed swing after another quickly shattered visions of glory. Before it was over McIlroy limped into the clubhouse after shooting an 80. Eventual champion Charl Schwartzel proceeded to steal the show with 4 consecutive birdies on the final 4 holes to earn his first Green Jacket! Tiger Woods thrilled fans with a super five under front nine. Schwartzel was hottest and walked off the 18th hole with a much deserved victory.
MLB
It didn't take long for injury bugs to swirl around the league. 2010 MVP Josh Hamilton was involved in the dumbest play of 2011. Hamilton was standing on third with one out. Adrian Beltre batting and a red hot Nelson Cruz on deck. Beltre skied one in foul territory near the third base dugout. For some strange reason, Texas 3B coach Dave Anderson instructed Hamilton to tag up and attempt scoring. When all was said and done Hamilton was out by a mile and broke his upper right arm. The AL's reigning MVP is now out for at least 8 weeks and probably longer. What major league coach tells a runner to tag up on a 30 foot foul pop to kill an inning? And... now Texas is without their top threat. Absolutely unbelievable. Hamilton did err on the play too. He dove head first into home plate. Big mistakes all around. Anderson should be demoted on sheer stupidity!
NFL
NFL and NFLPA are no closer to reaching a new collective bargaining agreement. Good news though. Even though a 2011 season seems doomed not to exist... the NFL released a pre-season schedule. Hmm, perhaps it's time owners started thinking of replacement players.
NHL - NBA Playoffs
Will new champions be crowned in the 2010-11 playoff season? If you're a hockey or hoops fan then buckle up for great first round match-ups. NHL Eastern Conference games don't get any better than this: Boston vs Montreal, Rangers vs Washington and Buffalo vs Philadelphia bring back memories of 70's era classic games. The faces may have changed but bet your bottom dollar the intensity hasn't.
NBA regular season ends this evening. Only playoff seeds remain to be determined.
Kobe Bryant Slur
NBA fines Kobe $100,000 for a gay slur. Are you kidding me? Just how overly sensitive has the USA become? Kobe did not rant. He did not storm the court flailing away screaming obscenities. Here's an athlete who muttered one word during the heat of battle. BIG DEAL. Evidently, the NBA though it was a big enough deal to levy a six digit fine. In a world where freedoms are being taken away day by day this one smarts. I do not condone what Kobe said. Not one bit. However, does it warrant a six digit fine? (Or any fine for that matter?). Not a chance. Kobe's apologized and is currently attempting damage control. Had Kobe made an issue or refused an apology or deeper inflamed a situation then "maybe" league intervention could be tolerated. Not like this. No how. No way. "Hey Commissioner Stern... you're....!"
(www.allworldallsports.com)
-Digger's Daily-
April's been an action packed month of sports news. Highlights and low-lights splashing sports pages throughout our country. Here's a few eye catchers.
GUILTY!
Barry Bonds found guilty of obstruction of justice on Wednesday. Unfortunately, the same jury was unable to reach a verdict on three other counts that the juiced up home run king lied to a grand jury when he denied knowingly using steroids and human growth hormone. Bonds was aided by non-testimony of his sullied friend & trainer Greg Anderson who was in jail for the trial after refusing to testify effectively blocking potentially damaging evidence against Bonds. The judge "... would not let prosecutors present evidence of three alleged positive drug tests by Bonds because his personal trainer and childhood friend, Greg Anderson, refused to testify and there was no one to confirm the samples came from Bonds." (ESPN.com) Barry will forever be tainted and it's about time Major League Baseball recognizes Hank Aaron as the games true home run king.
The Masters
Any viewer lucky enough to watch Sunday's Masters finale witnessed a spectacular finish. Rory McIlroy was in command at -11 heading into final round action. One missed swing after another quickly shattered visions of glory. Before it was over McIlroy limped into the clubhouse after shooting an 80. Eventual champion Charl Schwartzel proceeded to steal the show with 4 consecutive birdies on the final 4 holes to earn his first Green Jacket! Tiger Woods thrilled fans with a super five under front nine. Schwartzel was hottest and walked off the 18th hole with a much deserved victory.
MLB
It didn't take long for injury bugs to swirl around the league. 2010 MVP Josh Hamilton was involved in the dumbest play of 2011. Hamilton was standing on third with one out. Adrian Beltre batting and a red hot Nelson Cruz on deck. Beltre skied one in foul territory near the third base dugout. For some strange reason, Texas 3B coach Dave Anderson instructed Hamilton to tag up and attempt scoring. When all was said and done Hamilton was out by a mile and broke his upper right arm. The AL's reigning MVP is now out for at least 8 weeks and probably longer. What major league coach tells a runner to tag up on a 30 foot foul pop to kill an inning? And... now Texas is without their top threat. Absolutely unbelievable. Hamilton did err on the play too. He dove head first into home plate. Big mistakes all around. Anderson should be demoted on sheer stupidity!
NFL
NFL and NFLPA are no closer to reaching a new collective bargaining agreement. Good news though. Even though a 2011 season seems doomed not to exist... the NFL released a pre-season schedule. Hmm, perhaps it's time owners started thinking of replacement players.
NHL - NBA Playoffs
Will new champions be crowned in the 2010-11 playoff season? If you're a hockey or hoops fan then buckle up for great first round match-ups. NHL Eastern Conference games don't get any better than this: Boston vs Montreal, Rangers vs Washington and Buffalo vs Philadelphia bring back memories of 70's era classic games. The faces may have changed but bet your bottom dollar the intensity hasn't.
NBA regular season ends this evening. Only playoff seeds remain to be determined.
Kobe Bryant Slur
NBA fines Kobe $100,000 for a gay slur. Are you kidding me? Just how overly sensitive has the USA become? Kobe did not rant. He did not storm the court flailing away screaming obscenities. Here's an athlete who muttered one word during the heat of battle. BIG DEAL. Evidently, the NBA though it was a big enough deal to levy a six digit fine. In a world where freedoms are being taken away day by day this one smarts. I do not condone what Kobe said. Not one bit. However, does it warrant a six digit fine? (Or any fine for that matter?). Not a chance. Kobe's apologized and is currently attempting damage control. Had Kobe made an issue or refused an apology or deeper inflamed a situation then "maybe" league intervention could be tolerated. Not like this. No how. No way. "Hey Commissioner Stern... you're....!"
(www.allworldallsports.com)
