The Sports Rumors

Today’s Rundown 7/30

*The sweep is complete. The Yankees have successfully swept the Red Sox, cutting their division lead to five games. Chien-Ming Wang pitched a gem this afternoon in a matchup that showcased him against the Sox’, Curt Schilling. The Yankees have now taken sole possession of the wild card spot as the Mariners have dropped their last five games, entering a 10 game road trip. The Yankees will play the Mariners in the Bronx ,September 4-6^th, in what is shaping up to be a pivotal matchup.

*It looks like Beckham is going to shut it down for the rest of the season after yet, another injury. This time, he has a sprained knee. I don’t mean to toot my own horn and bring credit to myself but… actually, that’s exactly what I mean to do. Check out what I wrote earlier this summer (July 17^th) before Beckham even set foot on an MLS field:

            “What if he doesn’t play well? What if he gets injured?

‘Oh well what-ifs apply in anything. You can’t think that way’. Yes, I can think that way. I know what-ifs apply in anything, but they are there for a reason. Because they HAPPEN. You can’t just assume the best. Hope for the best, plan for the worst is what wise people do to avoid complete disarray when things don’t go their way. So now let’s assume Beckham has a bad season or a bad injury. What spin does the MLS put on it then? Are you still going to attract the stars from Europe? Not a chance. So basically, the hype, the publicity, the mass advertising of Beckham is all based on assumption that he does great.

So did the Beckham experiment work? Absolutely not. Before you even BEGIN to form an argument about how this thing has worked, let me stop you. It hasn’t. One more thing. I don’t care where his “allegiance” is. If David Beckham plays for England after shutting it down in the MLS for the season, he will be one of the biggest frauds in recent memory. Move on. End of discussion.

*It’s now 7:03 PM eastern time and I am in a great mood. My Redskins will be playing their final preseason game against Jacksonville in less than an hour. Actually, this makes me feel very uneasy now that I think about it because Campbell is going to play and Portis might. Now I’ll be sweating bullets, fearing a catastrophic, worst case scenario injury that would only happen to a team that I pull for. Anyway, the college football regular season kicks off with LSU and Mississippi State. Normally, I wouldn’t be so psyched about this matchup but it’s the first game of the much awaited season, and I am stoked. Before the kickoff of both, I’m going to renew my subscription to Xbox Live and get back into the Madden world. Three day weekend coming up folks!

Today’s Rundown 7/24

Reggie Miller won’t be returning to the NBA after all. I’m so glad he’s not coming back. He was one of my favorite players growing up, especially during those great Pacers-Knicks playoff games. It’s okay to not win a title. It happens. I don’t like guys who join a team just for the sake of getting a ring. I think it’s petty and the ring they get has no significance. I won’t remember Karl Malone as a Laker. I’ll remember him as a Utah Jazz superstar, even if he HAD one a title with L.A. Miller should stick with his TNT broadcasting… something he’s getting better and better at.

Unfortunately, it looks like my New York Yankees are going to have a tougher time grabbing that wildcard spot than I thought just weeks ago. Seattle leads by two games and has a cake schedule the rest of the way, while the Yankees have just the opposite. I still can’t see the Yanks missing the playoffs but it’s definitely a possibility. In other AL playoff news, the Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers again, adding to their division lead which now stands at 2.5.

I heard a story on Around the Horn yesterday about how some research has shown that the Boston Red Sox are now the team of choice nationally. It is no longer the New York Yankees. Well that’s saying a lot. It’s nice to know that we, as a society, like to route for a team that was the biggest joke for over 80 years, and now has one title since 1918 compared to the Yankees, let me see, 26? So if the Arizona Cardinals win a title, are we going to hop on them as the team of choice? Please. There is very little I like about the city of Boston and the Red Sox certainly do not fall into that category. I don’t care what some research says. Put together a dynasty, win more than three or four titles, and then you can maybe start to think about mentioning your name with the Yankees.

David Beckham got dropped from behind yesterday and was angry about it. That’s… interesting. Kudos to the guy who dropped him, whoever he is. Beckham’s Galaxy lost 3-0 by the way. It’s also important to note that he had just returned six hours prior to the Galaxy game, from England, where he played a full match for the national team. It’s good to know that the millions of dollars and hype that LA has generated for him is going to good use. I’d be thrilled to know that the guy I have not only invested millions in, but the name and pride of the league, is flying across the United States and the Atlantic to play for his old national squad, which didn’t even want him at one point. Oh, did I forget to mention that he had a swollen ankle to begin with and flying just makes that worse? And did I also forget to mention that he missed one of the Galaxy’s games earlier this season because he “flew within the states” and his ankle’s swelling increased? Flying to England and then playing a full match makes a good deal of sense and really shows where his heart is. You’re the man dude.

Credit Given When Deserved

If you’ve been reading my posts for the past few months, or if you know me in person, it is clear that I am no David Beckham fan. You’ve read or heard me go on about how I think he’s more into his image than he is into playing the game at the MLS level. You’ve heard me ridicule him for not rehabbing fast enough, while choosing to spend time getting his pictures taken with Arod and Jeter instead. You’ve read my posts in which I all but call him a phony and a fraud. I’m not going to quickly jump on the bandwagon and change my opinion of him so fast, but I will give him his due.

This past weekend, he was phenomenal. He scored his first goal against D.C. United in thrilling fashion. It made even me, a Beckham-basher if you want to call me that, say, “Wow, that was a hell of a kick.” He followed up that performance with a three assist game which is an example of his playmaking ability. Three assists in one game is like the equivalent of Jason Kidd’s 20 assist performances. Now before you say, “You ARE jumping on the bandwagon”, let me stop you. I never questioned Beckham’s skill or ability. I questioned his motives, which I still do until proven otherwise. But at least I can bring myself to say that he had a hell of a performance this weekend.

That doesn’t change the fact that I think it’s a little too late. The dog days of summer are all but finished. We are now approaching the two most thrilling months in baseball; September and October. We are halfway through the NFL preseason which can only mean one thing; we’re two games closer to Opening Day 2007. If Beckham had these performances earlier on, say in the end of July early August area, I think he would have had a great chance of drawing in more of the casual sports fans. I think that time has passed. Despite his thrilling “Bend it like Beckham” type goal followed by Steve Nash like assists, the news was thirty five minutes into the Sportscenter broadcast. A rundown of what preceded it? Lots of baseball, lots of NFL preseason, and golf (even though it wasn’t a major weekend). What followed Beckham’s highlights, which lasted all but a minute? WNBA highlights and analysis of their playoff chase. I kid you not. So my point remains that the casual fan won’t be as exposed to the MLS as they could have been. Most people only watch the first 15 minutes of Sportscenter to begin with.

However, on this day, I will put all that aside and give Beckham his props. He did good and good deserves recognition.

(Beckham celebrates after scoring his first goal in the MLS)

If This Doesn’t Annoy You…

I was reading about Beckham’s game against D.C. United today and I came across this paragraph, which pretty much sums up why I’m so completely, indescribably annoyed with Beckham and the hoopla that surrounds him. This is, word for word, a paragraph describing the game from Si.com:

“The sellout crowd of 46,686 cheered when Beckham stripped off his warmup jacket and T-shirt, displaying his bare chest in a steady rain as he prepared to enter the game in the second half. The three-time World Cup veteran, his hair closely cropped and stubble on his face, then put on his No. 23 jersey and replaced Quavas Kirk in the 72nd minute.”

That sounds more like a description of a Beckham sextape than it does a Beckham soccer game. I’m so irritated right now that I am not going to write anymore, and I’m going to watch preseason football. Here’s the link if you want to read more about his dripping wet body instead of soccer.

David Beckham. MLS. Over-hyped.

Obviously, the guy is here now. The savior of soccer is here in the U.S. Beckham-Mania is in full effect.

I’m not buying into the hype though. I’m not buying into Beckham. I’m not going to get excited about an over the hill European star who decided to come to the paparazzi capital of the world with his snotty looking wife. I’m not going to run out and buy Beckham jerseys because quite frankly, I think this whole thing is going to be a dud. Here’s why:

The argument has been made that Beckham coming to the states will open up the floodgates for more stars to come here and play in the MLS. That’s an “if-then” statement though, and a major if-then at that. If Beckham does GREAT here, then yes, possibly some European players will venture over here to give it a shot. Even if they do come, and when I say ‘they’, I’m not talking about all the superstars from Europe. I’m talking about a few more over the hill stars, or potential stars coming here. Why would stars leave an area like South America or Europe where soccer, without question, is the number one sport viewed and relished by the public? Why would they leave that to come to where soccer wouldn’t even crack the top 4 of major sports. Let me remind you, incase you forgot, what sports soccer would compete with for attention.

1. National Football League (August-February, not even counting the Draft)

2. Major League Baseball (Pretty much all year)

3. National Basketball Association (October-June)

4. NASCAR (All year)

They would be competing with the NHL’s and the WNBA’s and even Golf. So don’t think for a second that European players are dumb enough to leave the money, the fame, and the glory to come to a country that doesn’t know the first thing about soccer, and to a country that would only pay attention to soccer by the masses if nothing else was on TV. Do you think soccer, during a Pennant race would stand a chance with ratings or fan turnout? People from Chicago, New York or other major markets would go to an MLS game over a baseball game when their team is doing well? I think not. Do you think soccer would stand a chance against the NBA playoffs? Do you think soccer would even get on the map in the south where NASCAR is king? No. It wouldn’t. And this is all ASSUMING that Beckham does phenomenal here in the states and draws more stars in the coming years. I’m not talking about today. I’m talking about 5 years from now. Let’s not forget that NASCAR is growing rapidly in their popularity. That’s why the common sports fan can name players like Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. So you can bring a couple of stars over from Europe and have them play in the states. That’s all fine and dandy but don’t expect for soccer to break the top four any time soon.

“Well I’m not talking about cracking the top four sports and becoming that popular. I’m just talking about how Beckham will make the sport, the league better than before.”

That’s a valid statement. But what I’m saying is the hype that he has gotten is the hype that you expect for someone to really make a MAJOR impact on the landscape of a sport that still has contingencies to other major sports. Meaning, Lebron James’ hype was real and valid because his impact on the sport, on Nike, the landscape of sports was enormous. If all this hype for Mr.Beckham is to make the sport “better than before” but not shoot soccer up on the chart of most watched or most profitable sports, then I’m adamantly say that its overdone, over-hyped, overrated, over-whatever. And let me again, remind you, this is all considering the best case scenario in which Beckham thrives in the states.

What if he doesn’t play well? What if he gets injured?

“Oh well what-ifs apply in anything. You can’t think that way”. Yes, I can think that way. I know what-ifs apply in anything, but they are there for a reason. Because they HAPPEN. You can’t just assume the best. Hope for the best, plan for the worst is what wise people do to avoid complete disarray when things don’t go their way. So now let’s assume Beckham has a bad season or a bad injury. What spin does the MLS put on it then? Are you still going to attract the stars from Europe? Not a chance. So basically, the hype, the publicity, the mass advertising of Beckham is all based on assumption that he does great. Well, I hate to be Debbie Downer but if he fails, you’ve set your league back years.

“So what are you saying, don’t bring in a David Beckham?”

No, I’m not saying don’t bring him in. I’m saying this hype is unjustified in my opinion and I feel that he will not live up to the expectations.

One more thing before I close this topic.

I brought up the fact that Beckham isn’t a prolific scorer. He’s not the Kobe Bryant or Allen Iverson of soccer where he’s just knocking goals in left and right. I asked a good friend of mine who is a source of a lot of accurate knowledge about his take on Beckham as a player. He said to think of Beckham as Steve Nash; a facilitator.

Will being a facilitator be enough for people who are tuning into MLS for the first time? I don’t think so. I think when people will tune in to see Beckham, they are going to want to see him do either one of two things:

a) Score goals, or

b) Facilitate and create opportunities for teammates which will lead to them scoring WELL beyond the league average. Meaning they score 4 or 5 goals as opposed to the average of say, 2 or 3.

If Beckham can successfully complete option “b”, then people will stay interested (but still not interested enough to justify the hype or put soccer over the top four sports mind you). If Beckham does lead his team to high scoring games, then yes, he is a facilitator like Nash.

However, if he does not, then he is not a Steve Nash. He’s a Stephon Marbury. Steve Nash facilitates, yes. Steve Nash also leads his team to be the highest scoring team in the league two years running and teams where Nash has played on in the past 5 years have been in the top three scoring ALL FIVE YEARS. So Beckham had better make sure that one way or another, that ball gets in the net and it gets their quite frequently because Americans don’t have the patience to watch low scoring games; not even baseball. (Baseball tweaked many rules to make it more high scoring. That’s why you don’t see 1-0 games that often anymore, for those of you who were going to try and take that angle at me).

“Of course he won’t raise scores, it doesn’t work like that in soccer. You watch to see a good player make magic.”

In the rest of the world: True

United States: False.

Tim Duncan, magical player, doesn’t interest anyone outside of San Antonio. Baltimore Ravens defense of a few years ago, magical, one of the best ever. NFL responds by changing rules to make the games higher scoring because guess what? People didn’t care. And I already mentioned the MLB. I hate to be the barer of bad news but magic in the United States IS high scores. Low scoring NFL games don’t draw ratings. Low scoring Basketball games don’t draw ratings. Low scoring Baseball games don’t draw ratings. Low scoring soccer games with Beckham playing or not, well, I’ll let you finish the sentence.

(Don’t fool yourself into thinking saving the MLS was on Beckham’s mind when he decided to come here. You’re smarter than that.)