Posted on July 5th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Once again, it’s time to check off some items on my “TIDU List” — Things I Don’t Understand:
• Why Stephen Strasburg’s innings limit is deemed controversial.
The Nationals are following sound medical advice and a blueprint that’s working well for Jordan Zimmermann. Basing a decision on the playoff race in September would epitomize short-sightedness. After Friday’s game against Colorado, Strasburg should make roughly 10 more starts and be done, period.
The risk of long-term consequences isn’t worth the reward of short-term celebrations.
• How Dwight Howard could ruin his image much worse.
Orlando’s center was among the NBA’s most popular stars. With an electric smile and fun personality, he was a loveable giant, a certified “good guy.” But indecisiveness followed by trade ultimatums have made Howard a national ‘Dwightmare.’
He’s gone from being the face of the NBA to a lower body part on the other side.
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Posted on July 4th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Determined to be players in the franchise’s first season in New York, the Brooklyn Nets have landed the NBA’s prized free agent, acquired an All-Star shooting guard and still have their sights set on Superman, aka Dwight Howard.
If the New York Knicks were sleeping on the neighbors who moved from New Jersey, everyone at Madison Square Garden is wide awake now.
“Made a very tough decision today,” All-Star point guard Deron Williams tweeted Tuesday, adding a picture of the Brooklyn Nets logo. After being heavily pursued by his hometown Dallas Mavericks, Williams decided to remain with the Nets and help them christen their new arena in downtown Brooklyn.
Two days earlier, the Nets reached agreement on a trade with the Atlanta Hawks for guard Joe Johnson, while Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard stated that Brooklyn is the only team he’d re-sign with if traded there. The Williams signing had an immediate impact: The Barclays Center reportedly sold roughly 500 new season tickets on Tuesday, good for a cool, seven-figure haul.
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Posted on July 4th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Independence Day undoubtedly stirs sadness in many folks, including loved ones of former Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair and former Northwestern University men’s basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong.
McNair, who led the Titans to within one yard of potentially tying or winning Super Bowl XXXIV, was shot and killed by his girlfriend July 4, 2009. Ten years earlier, Byrdsong — who in 1994 took Northwestern to its second postseason appearance in school history — was the initial victim of a white supremacist’s shooting spree during Fourth of July weekend.
Of course, such crimes aren’t limited to early July or sports figures. But the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence released a new report this week that features more than 100 cases of high-profile and no-profile sports figures, in an effort to educate and spark conversation.
“Guns In Sports: How Guns Have Affected the Athletic Community & What It Tells Us About America’s Gun Violence Crisis,” is an expose that highlights cases from high school athletes to icons such as Michael Jordan, Junior Seau and former Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, among others.
“Looking at how guns affect the sports world provides a window into America’s gun epidemic, in general,” said Jon Lowy, one of the report’s authors. “As a sports fan, I know how much we care about athletes. Unfortunately, when we read about ordinary people who have been injured or killed or lost loved ones to gun violence every day, as a society, we often don’t care enough about those people.”
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Posted on July 2nd, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Locked in a fierce battle to win the AT&T National, the tournament he founded in 2007, Tiger Woods stood at the eighth tee Sunday at Congressional Country Club, just outside Washington, D.C. Although he enjoyed overwhelming support from the majority of fans on the storm-ravaged course, littered with toppled trees and fallen foliage, the well-wishers weren’t unanimous.
“Shank it, Tiger, into the trees!” someone fake-shouted under his breath after Woods teed off.
Much to that fan’s chagrin, Woods didn’t oblige. In fact, Woods went on to win the tournament, which gives him three victories in his last seven starts and moves him to No. 1 in PGA Tour points for the first time in 100 weeks.
“There was a time when people were saying I could never win again,” Woods said afterward. “That was, I think, what, six months ago? Here we are … It was just a matter of time. ”
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Posted on July 2nd, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
History and tradition are like precious heirlooms to Major League Baseball, which is replete with longstanding questions in those areas.
Should the DH exist in both leagues or neither one? Should certain statistical milestones guarantee entry into the Hall of Fame? Should fan appeal and career achievement be factors into selections for the All-Star Game?
In terms of the latter, reputations often have been key to players’ participation in the Midsummer Classic. Willie Mays was selected 24 times (second to Hank Aaron’s 25), including his final, pitiful two seasons. Cal Ripken Jr. was chosen for 19 games, even as he tailed off toward the end of his career. Ozzie Smith made the team in 15 of his 19 seasons, the penultimate being 1995, when he batted .199.
So with all due respect to Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson, I disagree with his assessment of the All-Star process, especially as it pertains to rookie sensations Bryce Harper and Mike Trout.
“This is not a popularity contest or based on media hype,” Johnson told Bob Nightengale of USA Today. “They should make it only if they deserve it, not because of name recognition and youth.”
Trout’s inclusion on the American League roster was a no-doubt-about-it. Entering Monday, he led the AL in batting average (.339) and stolen bases (22) and ranked fourth in on-base percentage (.395), ninth in slugging (.542). With numbers like that, he belongs on ballots for Most Valuable Player, let alone the All-Star Game.
Harper, whose fate rests with the fans as a Final Vote entry, doesn’t have the same clear-cut case as the Los Angeles Angels’ 20-year-old outfielder. But the Nats’ teenage phenom is just as worthy and deserving of being in Kansas City next week.
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Posted on July 2nd, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The sixth AT&T National is in the books, yet we still don’t feel well-acquainted with the tournament or its host.
That’s partly because Tiger Woods didn’t come to town in three of the previous five years (though to be fair, the National was held in Pennsylvania twice in that span). Partly because Woods didn’t wow us in the tournament’s prior three years at Congressional Country Club, with a sixth-place finish in 2007, a did-not-play in 2008 and a one-stroke victory in 2009.
And it’s partly because Woods’ star power, while electrifying, is less-than-magnetic, failing to draw some of golf’s biggest names. It doesn’t help that his invitation-only tournament occupies a tough spot on the PGA Tour schedule, but it also doesn’t help that he’s Tiger Woods — the fierce competitor with little time for pleasantries and no room for personality.
So when Woods does battle for the title, it’s not against the likes of Phil Mickelson (one National appearance) and Ernie Els (zero). It’s against guys such as up-and-coming Hunter Mahan, the 2009 runner-up, and Bo Van Pelt, who had one win in 309 tournaments entering this week.
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Posted on July 1st, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Forget about whether a tree falling at Congressional Country Club makes a sound if nobody is around to hear it. There was another musing to ponder after violent thunderstorms battered the metro area Friday night, leading tournament officials to ban spectators and volunteers Saturday morning:
If a golfer plays the AT&T National and there’s nobody around to watch him, does it affect his game?
I suspect the answer to both questions is “yes.” But there’s no telling exactly how, or to what extent, the absence of galleries factors into performance. The only certainty is you can’t shake the weirdness when a course hosting Tiger Woods’ tournament is a virtual ghost town.
“In some ways it was nice and in some ways it was not nice,” said Billy Hurley III, who’s tied for fifth place after shooting the day’s best round, 5 under. “It was a different experience.”
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