Friday Night Delight for Liberty in 88-79 Victory over Sparks
July 31, 2010
New York, NY – In a game filled with sweet basketball moves, nice passing and overall thrills, the New York Liberty (13-11) had a true team performance in the 88-79 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks (8-17) in Friday night basketball at Madison Square Garden. New York had five players in double digit scoring for New York which propelled the Liberty to the fifth series win in the all-time history against the Sparks.
It was another gut wrenching back-and-forth affair between two competitive teams, as there was 19 lead changes along with the two teams being tied a whopping 14 times. Gritty defensive play and key buckets in the fourth quarter eventually gave the Liberty the much needed victory, as New York is now the fourth seeded team in the Eastern Conference.
Leading the way for New York was guard Cappie Pondexter who had 20 points; following was forward Janel McCarville who had 15 points. Taj McWilliams Franklin and Plenette Pierson both had 14 points each and Leilani Mitchell had 12 points with some crucial three-pointers down the stretch for the team.
“Honestly just going into the fourth quarter it was just one of those games where we would have to grind it out,” Liberty head coach Anne Donovan said. “Los Angeles played with a ton of confidence and we allowed them to play with confidence through three quarters.”
Helping out with the Sparks confidence was the play of legendary center Tina Thompson who had 18 points. Following was guard Marie Ferdinand-Harris who had 17 points. Forward Noelle Quinn had 13 points, while DeLisha Milton-Jones rounded out the scoring with 10 points and five rebounds.
“It was definitely a playoff feel tonight. I thought it was a good test for us,” Sparks head coach Jennifer Gillom said. “It was a good matchup for us, a good one but a tough one as well. I thought they had a really good balance scoring on the inside, outside, which was a tough matchup for us. But I thought our team played well up until the last two or three minutes of the game and that’s showing signs of growth.”
The crowd of 14,307 along with special guest alumni Teresa Weatherspoon and Sue Wicks were on hand to witness one of the more thrilling victories for New York in this young 2010 season. As the Liberty had the 45-43 lead over the Sparks going into the locker room at halftime, as Plenette Pierson drove a lay-up along with two good free throws by Mitchell to give them that lead.
Los Angeles would make the final two quarters close by controlling much of the third quarter. DeLisha Milton-Jones had a driving lay-up at the 4:30 mark in the third quarter to give the Sparks the 53-52 lead. Marie Ferdinand-Harris hit a jumper with 3:36 remaining to give Los Angeles the 55-54 lead. The end of the third quarter would not end the way New York wanted it too as two good free throws by Milton-Jones with 23 seconds left to give the Sparks the 63-62 lead.
“I think the difference in the third quarter was our ball movement,” Milton-Jones said of the Sparks turn around in that frame. “Our aggressiveness as a team really turned on our offense. When we are aggressive like that then the baskets come a lot easier and you have scoring all over the court, as opposed to one or two players dominating.”
In the fourth quarter New York would really step up the energy and their play as Taj McWilliams-Franklin, who was so strong in the inside post all night long had a rebound and a lay-up at the 9:44 mark to give New York the 64-63 lead. Leilani Mitchell hit one of her many huge three point shots at the 8:20 mark to make it 67-66 in favor of New York.
“I just wanted to go out there and create something in the post, get the team going” McWilliams-Franklin said after the game. “For me to be able to get the rebounds tonight it was about timing and boxing the other team out and a lot of those missed shots were falling to me perfectly. I was there and had some put backs, and that is something that we as a team are going to have to do every night is to get those rebounds.”
Janelle McCarville who was another strong performer for New York tonight hit a jumper with 5:12 remaining as New York tried to keep pace with Los Angeles, who kept fighting back with key buckets all evening long. One of the bigger baskets for the Sparks was a jumper by Noelle Quinn at the 3:45 mark to cut the Liberty lead to 73-72. The heart of the team started to show in the final minutes as Cappie Pondexter had a huge block and defensive rebound which led to a Plenette Pierson jumper for the 75-72 lead with 2:17 remaining.
“For the first time in a long time the ball went into the net more than it usually does,” McCarville said of her 7-of-12 shooting from the field, which included some nice jump shots. “Everyone has been in my ear and getting my confidence up, telling me to stop thinking and keep shooting. I couldn’t be prouder of the win tonight, with all of the stars that are on the Sparks we were able to take care of business and it was a great win.”
Leilani Mitchell who has been playing huge all season long for the Liberty had series including a driving lay-up; a steal and two good free throws to give New York the 79-72 lead. Forward Nicole Powell had her second huge three-point shot of the night with 1:52 remaining to make the lead 82-72. New York continued to grind out the game as McCarville continued a fine offensive showing by hitting a driving lay-up with 48.9 seconds left to pad the Liberty lead to 86-76. Mitchell had two good free throws to make the score 88-79 as Plenette Pierson had a huge block to go along with a Pondexter rebound to cap the New York victory.
“Leilani is playing with so much confidence right now,” Anne Donovan said of her point guard. “She came into this year really fighting for the point guard position and gained the trust of the players with every practice and every game. What we have now is the product of a lot of hard work on Leilani’s part.”
Of the fourth quarter the point guard had this to say, “The last few minutes we really buckled down and we knew we needed a win. We’re still trying to make the playoffs so I think when it came down to it we really got the stops when we needed them.”
The quest for a playoff spot continues for New York as they face the Connecticut Sun for a 4:30 p.m. Sunday evening game at Madison Square Garden.
ESPN: The Entertainment Sellout for Profit Network
July 28, 2010
It was bad enough that on July 8th, ESPN facilitated one of the most ridiculous, self-centered events any professional athlete ever perpetuated on the sports public by airing LeBron James’ prime time special, all in the name of ratings and money.
That was tough enough for New York Knicks fans to take (although not nearly as difficult as it was for Cleveland Cavaliers fans to watch).
But, if you happen to be a New York fan of the orange and blue in both basketball and baseball, ESPN probably annoyed you even further on Monday night.
The New York Mets had the night off after limping home with an awful 2-9 road trip and Met fans like myself were trying to forget about the western excursion which might have ended the Mets’ season by taking in ESPN’s broadcast of the Detroit Tigers at the Tampa Bay Rays.
So, with Detroit’s Max Scherzer and Tampa Bay’s Matt Garza locked in a scoreless, dual no-hitter in the bottom of the sixth inning, what did ESPN do?
Well, the network which sold out to give “LeBrat” his platform to further sell his “LeBrand” eighteen days earlier, decided to cut away from the no-hit duel in Tampa to celebrate the pursuit of admitted steroid abuser Alex Rodriguez’s chase for 600 career home runs in Cleveland.
Rather than see Scherzer attempt to hold Tampa Bay at bay and keep up with Garza’s no-hit bid, we witnessed a player stuck on 599 career homers — some legitimate, many illegally aided — uneventfully and weakly ground out.
If a Met fan wanted to see that, he or she could have joined Yankee fans (not very likely) and tuned into the YES network to see A-Roid try to finish cheating his way to 600 home runs. I don’t know about other Met fans, but I preferred to stick with pitching history attempting to be made, especially knowing Tampa Bay had been one of just three franchises (including the Mets) never to have thrown a no-hitter.
I only missed one out, and it was long before Scherzer lost both his no-hitter and his shutout on a Matt Joyce grand slam.
However, as a not only a baseball fan but a fan of what’s right, I was disgusted at the attention ESPN paid to the Yankees’ charlatan.
How many homers would A-Fraud have been going for on Monday night had he not cheated himself and the sport that made him famous? Would it have been 400? 450? Whatever the number, it certainly would have fallen far shy of 600. Yet, ESPN cut way from the shot at real history to the attempt at artificial history as if every one of the first 599 Rodriguez homers were honestly earned.
We of course know that Rodriguez is by no means the only major leaguer ever to cheat his way into the record books. But, when a network as big as ESPN sells out and rewards that type of player with that kind of coverage in the hunt of a phony milestone, it sends a severely wrong message to the future fans of the game growing up with baseball today.
It tells kids (and the rest of us), “It doesn’t matter whether it was accomplished legitimately or through dishonest means, it will be celebrated and honored just the same.”
Of course, it got even tougher for Met fans later on, as Garza completed the first no-hitter in Tampa Bay history (which goes back 36 years less than Met history), leaving only the San Diego Padres and the Mets as the only two major league franchises without a no-hitter.
But, that would have happened regardless. Making it tougher for Met fans though, was seeing ESPN sell out and paint the cross-town rival Rodriguez as if he was truly trying to accomplish something meaningful instead of the sham that it is.
For the second time this month, ESPN chose the wrong thing over the right one, all in the name of money.
And, why? Because fans make it so. Fans tuned into James’ “Decision” in droves, and made fans like myself be among the minority for wanting to see a no-hit battle over A-Roid’s fake chase to 600.
Until most fans finally stick up for what’s right, huge media outlets like ESPN will be there waiting to pounce and make money with no conscience at all.
Liberty Shine in 77-72 Victory over San Antonio
July 28, 2010
New York – Guard Kalana Greene came off the bench to spark the New York Liberty (12-11) offense in the 77-72 victory over San Antonio (8-15) in Tuesday night basketball. With today’s victory the Liberty was able to get its second series sweep of the summer and the first series sweep in the all-time history against San Antonio since 2004.
“We kept digging ourselves into a hole,” Kalana Greene said of the close game tonight. “We gave ourselves the lead and then San Antonio goes on a run, they know how to play this game to get back into it. But we reached and we executed well enough on offense down the stretch to come away with the win.”
Greene who netted 17 points and eight rebounds in 24: 30 of playing time, helped to push New York to victory in spite of another close contest. The two teams today were tied four times and the game had six lead changes. The victory was a big one for New York as they are now the fifth-seeded team in the Eastern Conference standings.
Forward Plenette Pierson who had 16 points and eight rebounds, with some of the biggest defensive rebounds of the game belonging to the forward in the game. Eastern Conference player of the week Cappie Pondexter netted 13 points, four rebounds and four assist, while point guard Leilani Mitchell had 10 points and eight rebounds. The combination of Pierson, Greene and Carson all came off the bench tonight and provided many key moments in the victory for New York tonight.
“It is awesome to play great team basketball,” Cappie Pondexter said of the game tonight. “It feels good not having to take all of the shots or force everything. I think these guys did a great job of coming in and brining so much energy. That energy brought so much pressure on San Antonio they did not know what to do.”
Head Coach Anne Donovan also liked what she had seen from the bench players saying, “I think Plenette Pierson, Kalana Greene, and Essence Carson all came in and gave us a big lift. More than half of our points came from those three and eleven boards to go with it. When your number is called you’ve got to be ready to go and the three of them were called and they, all three stepped up.”
San Antonio was led by forward Chamique Holdsclaw who is an alum of Christ the King High School. Holdsclaw had 18 points and nine rebounds in a fine game for the Silver Stars. Center Michelle Snow followed with 14 points and eight rebounds and forward Sophia Young had 12 points and five boards. Fan favorite and former Liberty star Becky Hammon had 10 points and four boards along with showing off some of her patented moves to the crowd in tonight’s game.
The Liberty got the game going on a good note building a first quarter lead of 16-9 at the 1:25 mark as forward Plenette Pierson netted a hook shot t with the assist from Leilani Mitchell. Guard Essence Carson hit a running jump shot with 31 seconds remaining to give New York the 18-11 lead. Silver Star center Michelle Snow drove to the hoop and netted a lay-up to cut the lead to 18-13 at the end of the first quarter.
San Antonio started to chip into the New York lead in the second quarter as guard Roneeka Hodges drained a three-point shot at 3:28 to make the score 29-26. Carson hit a jumper with 3:09 remaining to give the Liberty the 31-26 lead. Forward Sophia Young would cut into the lead again for San Antonio by hitting a jumper to make things 31-30 with 2:50 remaining.
The two teams would go into half time tied 36-36 as Kalana Greene hit a jumper with 26 seconds left. Sophia Young answered back with a bank jumper with seven seconds left which made the half tense for both teams.
As third quarter began with the lead thanks to back-to-back lay-ups by Young and Chamique Holdsclaw, gave the Silver Stars the 42-39 lead with 7:57 left. For the 10,712 in attendance felt like they were having a bad case of déjà-vu as the Liberty have lost games in the second half of play. Thankfully for those fans Taj McWilliams-Franklin hit a big lay-up at the 2:44 mark which made the score 54-48 in favor of the Liberty. Greene would hit a big three-pointer with 29 seconds, which was followed by a jumper with eight seconds remaining to give New York the 61-57 lead.
Hustle and heart helped the Liberty win the final quarter as San Antonio would continue to fight for the win. Cappie Pondexter hit a huge three-point shot at the 8:10 mark to make the score 64-57 in favor of New York. Holdsclaw drove hard into the lane to get a lay-up to cut the Liberty lead to 67-63 with 7:05 remaining. Pierson who grabbed four rebounds in the fourth quarter was essential in the victory as the Silver Stars seemingly had second chance shots for most of the game. Along with those rebounds a huge driving lay-up with 2:24 left gave New York the 75-69 lead.
“It is just a matter of heart,” Pierson said of her rebounding performance today. “I wanted the ball more and I wanted to help the team win so that we can continue our playoff push.” Of her overall performance Pierson said, “My teammates got me into a really good position tonight in where I could get easy baskets and attack their defense and I wanted to go out and play hard for them tonight.”
San Antonio would not quit as Roneeka Hodges continued a fine evening by hitting a huge three-pointer with 44 seconds left to make the score 75-72 in favor of New York. Hustle and heart continued to lead the way for New York as Taj McWilliams-Franklin got a key steal and two good free throws to seal the 77-72 victory.
The Liberty will next be in Madison Square Garden for another big home game against the Los Angeles Sparks who are fourth-seeded in the Western Conference. Each game and victory is vital for New York as they hope to make a trip to the playoffs this season. Tip-off time for the Liberty vs. Sparks game is slated for 7:30 p.m.
“It is a fight and we just have to keep on winning.” Cappie Pondexter said of the playoff push. “Right now we are trying to climb up that ladder. We are going to keep fighting. The team is showing a lot of resilience right now and we just have to keep working and playing hard, we just hope it pays off.” Cappie has full faith in her team saying, “As long as everyone can keep playing the way we are right now, I don’t see anyone that can beat us.”
Indiana Fever Defeats New York Liberty 84-81 in Overtime Thriller
July 21, 2010
New York, NY – In an overtime thriller at Madison Square Garden the Indiana Fever (13-7) defeated the New York Liberty (9-10) by the score of 84-81 in Sunday evening basketball. With the victory today the Indiana Fever now have first place in the Eastern Conference while the Liberty now falls to last place in the standings.
“These series with the Liberty and the Fever is becoming a good rivalry for the league and for the eastern conference,” forward Ebony Hoffman said after the game. “I really think we always have good games against each other, it always comes down to the wire. We have had several overtime games already, and it always goes down to the wire every year. Every year it is a great game and we come in ready to play and ready to fight it out.”
Forward Tamika Catchings had a double-double and was one of the key offensive threats countering every New York scoring threat, as she tallied 22 points and 10 rebounds to go along with seven assists. Nine of Catchings points came in the overtime frame for the Fever. Guard Katie Douglas followed with 21 points with four rebounds and four assists. Hoffman was a strong presence for Indiana all evening long cashing in on 15 points and grabbing four rebounds.
“It was a huge win for us today, “Catching said after the game. “When we went into overtime I really did not want us to lose this game. This is the time I have to step-up and help the team win the game. Everyone hit their shots, the defense really stepped up and it was a great overall performance.”
New York, whose three-game winning streak was snapped today, was led by guard Cappie Pondexter who established a career-high 40 points, while also dishing out seven assist and grabbing six rebounds. Guard Leilani Mitchell scored 15 points and forward Janel McCarville added 12 to lead the Liberty offensively.
“To me it’s not about the points, it’s about getting wins,” Pondexter said after the game. “It stinks because we’re definitely in the playoff race, we are trying to get a spot in the playoffs in the east and we let this one get by us today and it was disappointing. But we need to let it go and we need to move on.”
The combination of missed buckets and some key Indiana defensive plays led to the Liberty loss today. As New York was 31-77 from the field in shooting today, the team shot 14-33 from the field in the fourth quarter which could have helped to propel them to the victory.
“They made some though shots down the stretch,” Mitchell said of the game. “They played some great defense and put a lot of pressure on us. They did some different things with their defense that kind of threw us off a little that we don’t really see too often.”
Indiana meanwhile had solid shooting all evening long as Catchings was on fire in the fourth quarter. Starting with a key defensive rebound at the 7:20 mark of the fourth quarter, she would hit a two point bucket at the 6:19 mark to give the Fever the 62-60 lead. An offensive rebound which was followed by a jumper in the paint by forward Janelle McCarville made the score 62-62 at the 5:22 mark.
At the 5:02 mark the Fever struck back with a good jumper by forward Jessica Moore which gave them the 64-62 lead. New York answered right back in a game that featured nine lead changes with a driving lay-up by Cappie Pondexter at the 4:52 mark, which tied the two teams up 64-64. Catchings would break that tie with a driving lay-up at the 4:27 mark to only have that lead cut again by New York and a jumper by McCarville making it 66-66.
Leilani Mitchell would give the Liberty the three point lead with a beautiful shot on the outside arc at the 3:14 mark, the Liberty would add on to their lead as Pondexter cashed in on a fade away jump shot making it 71-68 at the 2:25 mark. A Pondexter jump shot at the 1:05 mark made the score 73-70, but Catchings would respond with a huge three-pointer with 50 seconds left to tie the two teams up. In the game tonight the Fever and the Liberty combined for 13 ties as the crowd of 9,508 tried to will the Liberty to the victory.
Both Pondexter and Catchings had last minute shots in that quarter to seal the deal and get the victory, but neither player was able to cash in as the two teams went into overtime. Catchings would however start overtime with the first five points for Indiana to give them the 78-75 lead. Katie Douglas would drain a jump shot at the 3:34 mark to give the Fever the 80-75 lead. Free-throws and a rebound for Catchings would eventually seal the deal and get the Fever the hard earned victory along with first place in the East Coast conference.
“The east is so tough and we have two teams like New York and Chicago to move up the ladder and you can see why it is so tough to move up the ladder,” Fever head coach Lin Dunn said after the game. “It was a hard fought game against a very good team today.”
The Liberty will try to claw their way back up the standings will have a very tough road game on Tuesday. They do so against the fourth-seeded Connecticut Sun, the game which will be televised on the ESPN 2 channel is slated to tip-off at 8:00 p.m.
“We definitely need to fight harder and try to close out the game against Connecticut.” Pondexter said. “There is still room for us to make the playoffs we just have to close-out games when we have the opportunity.”
New York Liberty Have a Change of Fortune in defeating Washington Mystics, 75-67
July 16, 2010
New York, NY – On Camp Day at Madison Square Garden the New York Liberty (9-9) changed their fortunes and defeated the first-place Washington Mystics (12-6) by the score of 75-67 in Thursday afternoon basketball. It was the first time this season the Liberty defeatd the Mystics, as Washington came into today’s game beating the Liberty twice in this 2010 WNBA season.
It was an electric atmosphere at the Garden as the Liberty had 18,162 campers all clapping thundersticks and singing various songs including the famous “Empire State” song by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. The campers rocked the Arena and that energy transferred to the Liberty play as the team came out the gate fast and furious, while playing hard and hitting some key shots throughout the game
Leading the way for the team offensively for the Liberty was guard Cappie Pondexter who scoring 17 points, while dishing out seven assists and grabbing three rebounds. Pondexter really took control of the Liberty offensively in the second half as she was able to net 11 points in that half alone.
“That is what Cappie does. Cappie is a winner.” Liberty head coach Anne Donovan said after the game. “She is going to take the game on her shoulders when it’s time for her to take control of the game.”
Also taking control of the game was center Janel McCarville who had a double-double scoring 16 points while grabbing 12 boards, while also going 4-for-4 in free throw shooting. McCarville netted many key buckets in the Liberty’s victory, along with key rebounds throughout, including in the 5:36 mark as she made a strong offensive move to the net and made a good lay-up to make the score 22-21 in favor of New York.
“Coach Donovan stressed that she wanted more points in the paint today and I took it upon myself to establish a low post presence today,” McCarville said after the game. “It was a good team win, they were in first place in the Eastern Conference, we needed to play our game and get the win and we did.”
Forward Nicole Powell showed off some long range shooting for the Liberty tonight scoring 10 points, while also blocking a shot early in the first quarter. It was in the 5:41 mark of that quarter that Mystics forward Monique Currie tried for an inside shot that was met by a resounding block by Powell. A three-point field goal shot at 3:14 in the third quarter to give the Liberty the 45-39 lead and to make the campers in attendance rock the Garden.
“It’s just a great win for our team” Powell said of the victory. “We are trying to climb our way into the playoffs against a very good team and everyone really stepped up and that was the difference in today’s win.” On having an electric crowd for the game, “It was great to have the campers at today’s game. When the songs came on and with the thundersticks you really felt their energy and it was a wonderful thing.”
The Mystics battled all afternoon long as there were eight lead changes, while these two teams were tied seven times tonight. One of the leaders for the Mystics was forward Crystal Langhorne who had a double-double of her own, scoring 19 points and grabbing 10 boards.
“I call her the perfect 10. I just love her. She just does whatever we need her to do,” Mystics head coach Julie Plank said. “She is the first one in the gym and the last one to leave. She is totally unselfish and gives our team a lot of confidence.”
One of the keys to the Liberty victory was a strong defensive play led by point guard Leilani Mitchell. Along with six points and three assist Mitchell had seven steals to lead the Liberty defensively in guarding her counterpart Lindsey Harding, who only had 10 points in today’s game.
“For me Lindsey Harding is a great point guard, she really likes to protect the basketball.” Mitchell said of facing her counterpart, “I was just trying to keep pressure on her and contain her, she is the one that get’s that team going so controlling her was a huge part of today‘s game.”
Mitchell along with center Taj McWilliams-Franklin combined to help seal the victory for New York. Combining for free-throws and a steal. It started with Mitchell, who had two key free-throws for the Liberty at the 21.5 second mark of the fourth quarter for the 73-67 lead. McWilliams-Franklin, who ended the game with nine points and four rebounds, had the final two free-throws at the 10.6 mark along with a steal by Mitchell to cap the 75-67 Liberty victory.
The Liberty look to continue their climb to the top of the Eastern Conference Standings and a playoff push on Sunday July 18.New York will have an important home game in the Garden against the third-seeded Indiana Fever with tip-off starting at 4:00 p.m.
Janel McCarville likes her team’s chances of the playoffs saying “I think we are in a good position, you know the east is tough this year. Everyone night in and night out comes to play and I think we are in the position we’re in we are definitely in the race for the playoffs at the halfway point of the season.”
MLB Needs an All-Star Overhaul
July 13, 2010
Major League Baseball prepares to showcase the 81st version of its mid-summer classic from Anaheim, California on Tuesday night, and while there is still much that’s good with the MLB all-star game and its accompanying festivities, the current setup also leaves a lot of room for improvement. Thus, in the dream world of a writer armed with a voice and some strong opinions, who can temporarily anoint himself MLB Pretend Commissioner for a Day, I offer the following changes to MLB’s all-star break:
Scrap World Series Home Field Advantage
A result of quite possibly the absolute dumbest rule change in the history of sports, awarding home field advantage in the World Series to the winning league in the all-star game was purely a reactionary rule change rather than something born out of necessity. We, of course, wouldn’t have to endure such a ridiculous thing if Commissioner Bud Selig wasn’t so clueless and unprepared at the end of the 2002 all-star game in Milwaukee, which ended in a 7-7 tie, after being halted by Selig in the bottom of the 11th inning.
I never quite understood all of the public outrage over that conclusion. Sure, a tie was unsatisfying, but it’s an EXHIBITION game! It’s SUPPOSED to just end when it ends, win, lose, OR DRAW. Manufacturing artificial meaning to the game was never even remotely a good idea. Whatever happened to player pride and professionalism and trying to win simply in the spirit of competition? Why do players need the incentive of home field advantage in the World Series to try to win an all-star game?
By the same twisted logic, why doesn’t MLB just award the World Series advantage to the league which had the better interleague mark in spring training, since you know, those are exhibition games, too?
Obviously, that too, would be a terrible idea. But, it would make as much sense as not simply awarding the World Series home field advantage to the World Series participant with the best regular season record. Unbalanced schedules or not, that’s the way it should be done.
Even if MLB had balanced schedules, there’s no guarantee that everything would be even anyway, due to injuries, trades, call-ups, playing at the same opponents when they’re hot or when they’re cold, and many other reasons. There are just too many factors and different variables to argue that giving the World Series home field advantage to the World Series team with the best record is not the best thing to do.
Awarding the home field advantage to the World Series participant based on that team’s own body of work over 162 games of REAL baseball makes MUCH more sense than basing that designation on a single exhibition game involving other players from that team’s league, in a game that could often be decided by players who may never even sniff the playoffs.
Plus, picture these three scenarios:
1) You thought there was outrage in 2002? Well, this season, we’ve already seen a bad call cost a pitcher a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning. Imagine the backlash if during a similar scenario at the end of a game, a bad call awarded the wrong league home field advantage.
2) Suppose a player hits a walk-off homer run in the bottom of the ninth or in extra innings to take a victory away from one league and give it to his own. And, let’s say that same player then gets traded to the opposite league and ends up making the World Series. That player would have just cost himself and his new team home field advantage in the World Series by doing something positive in the all-star game. There is absolutely no logic to that.
3) We’ve already seen the 2008 all-star game go scoreless for 6½ innings before it was decided in the bottom of the 15th. Although the rosters have since been expanded with extra pitchers and rule changes have been made for very limited re-entry with catchers and for other players only in the case of injury, it’s quite possible teams could still run out of pitchers if the all-star game goes long enough. Now, honestly, how much sense would it make if the New York Yankees, who are on pace to win 103 games, end up as the only team to post triple digit wins and DON’T have home field advantage if they make the World Series simply because current Yankee outfielder and first baseman Nick Swisher (who’s pitched in a blowout before) might be forced to pitch in a tie game, and he gives up a game-winning hit in the top of the 18th? You think there might be just a few complaints over that one, which might rival the 2002 tie? And, if it’s a 100+ win team facing an 82-win wild-card team in the World Series, there’s absolutely nothing that should happen in the MLB all-star game that should occur, which should award that wild-card team home field advantage in the World Series. If that did happen, why should there not be more outrage over that than an all-star game tie? You just have to wonder what people are thinking sometimes!
The bottom line is quite simply this. The NBA finals were so close this past season, that home court was probably the difference. If Game 7 were in Boston, chances are, the Celtics would have won the NBA title. As it was, it was the Lakers won it all hosting Game 7 in Los Angeles. And yet, the Celtics and Lakers played very different regular season schedules. But, it doesn’t matter, the NBA still does it right, giving home court to the teams with the best records, regardless of who won or lost the NBA all-star game. MLB needs to follow suit and realize that as an exhibition, the mid-summer classic should have nothing to do with the fall classic.
Player Selection Changes
I’m a little torn on the next two points I’m about to make. Here I am discussing the all-star game for the pure exhibition that it is, and yet, I’m about to argue for taking the fan vote out of the equation. On one hand, I remember how much fun it used to be going to the park and filling out the ballot, or seeing my own guys, my New York Mets, represented in the all-star game.
But, that’s wrong. The fans simply can’t be trusted any longer to get it right. They’ve made it a popularity contest and have rewarded too many players who don’t deserve to make the team (don’t feel so bad, baseball fans, the same thing happens annually with the NBA all-star game).
Ideally, the voting should be left to the experts who know the teams the most, and it should be done based on each league, in the fairest way possible. Select two radio broadcasters, two television broadcasters, a select number of beat reporters for each team in each league, and the manager of each team. Let them all vote only for the league which they cover or manage in, and allow them to collectively select the entire roster for that league, starters first, followed by all reserves. That way, there’s a greater chance that only the most deserving players would be voted in correctly as starters and reserves, and that only the undeserving players would get snubbed.
To keep the fans engaged with voting, let fans instead vote in players to compete in skills competitions (which I’ll get to in a moment), whether that group of players would consist of those who would make the all-star rosters, or if they might be additional players to compete in skills competitions.
Next, get rid of the current rule that a player from each team must be chosen. Sorry, but it’s not kindergarten, where everyone gets a gold star for something. It’s Major League Baseball. You’re either an all-star level player or you’re not. Take only the best in the players league, irrespective of their teams.
Other than Yankee fans, no one wants to see a dozen or more Yankees in the all-star game. But, if they happen to have that many players who deserve to be selected over players from awful bottom feeders like Baltimore, Cleveland, or Seattle, they should go to the all-star game and simply marginally good players on terrible teams should enjoy the three days away from baseball.
Another consideration is that player’s contracts, in the form of bonuses and incentives, are tied to all-star games, so it’s important to get the selections right and choose only the players who deserve being selected, the most. Taking the fan vote away and taking only the best players regardless of the teams they play for, would accomplish that.
Count The Home Run Derby Fairly
Sorry again, but when you hit by far the most home runs, you should be the home run champion. What a disgrace it was that Josh Hamilton was easily the star of the show two years ago, and finished second. It made as much sense as the all-star game deciding World Series home field advantage.
During the 2008 home run derby at Yankee Stadium, Hamilton hammered 28 first-round homers, TWENTY more than anyone else in that round. After two rounds, he reached the finals with a very sizable 32-17 total margin over Justin Morneau, who outhomered Hamilton 5-3 in the finals to (in my opinion) very wrongly and unfairly take home the home run derby crown despite being considerably outhomered 35-22 by Hamilton, overall.
And, here’s another change that makes sense… With 10 outs per player, per round, it drags on for hours. When players sometimes wait around too long, and can’t get into any kind of rhythm, what’s the point? A perfect example was this year’s home run derby on Monday night. Milwaukee’s Corey Hart led all contestants with 13 first-round homers, as the only player in double figures during the opening round, including each of his final five blasts all going at least 450 feet. But, he was eliminated with no homers in round two after sitting around for 91 minutes between first-round and second-round swings.
Cut it in half, to five outs per player, per round, and use the extra time to…
Add Other Skills Competitions
Just a few ideas… Fielding and throwing to first base or to second base, for third basemen, shortstops, and second basemen; testing first basemen’s ability to pick balls in the dirt or to turn a 3-6-3 double play; testing the best outfield arms, such as the longest outfield throws and the most accurate throws to second base, third base, or home plate; see who the fastest runners are going from home to first, home to second, home to third, or first to third; or perhaps, test catchers crouching behind home plate with their accuracy for throwing out potential base stealers at second or third base.
The best baseball players are recognized as five-tool players, yet we only see one on display -– home run power -– during the all-star break. Hold a five-tool competition with each of those tools tested, making up 20 percent of a total score.
I’m not sure what could be done for pitchers. We don’t want to see them throwing out their arms trying to top each other on the radar gun, but perhaps technology could be used to test who has the best command and who can most consistently paint the corners of the plate.
At any rate, if fans had a vote for these types of activities, they might even be more interested to see such competitions rather than the all-star game itself (which often falls well short of the pre-game hype by the fifth inning) .
MLB, Hear Me Out And Improve The All-Star Break And World Series!
Alright, now that I’ve said my peace, I’ll step down and let Bud return as acting commissioner. But, Mr. Selig, for the good of the game, please make the above changes –- I’ll settle for the first two –- and we’ll all enjoy a much better All-Star break and World Series each year.
New York Liberty Defeat Chicago Sky, 57-54 to Move Out of Cellar
July 12, 2010
New York – As the hoopla surrounding the decision made by LeBron James has started to recede, basketball fans can concentrate on again watching summer basketball. After three games on the West Coast and the WNBA All-Star Game that was played at the Mohegan Sun one day earlier, the New York Liberty returned to Madison Square Garden to begin the second half of the WNBA season on Sunday afternoon.
New York City aficionados of women’s basketball were as familiar with the players on the visiting Chicago Sky team as they were with the Liberty. Former Liberty stars Shameka Christon, Catherine Kraayeveld and Erin Thorn were wearing Chicago jerseys. Also in a Chicago uniform was rookie Epiphnny Prince, a star at Rutgers University and the highest scorer in a high school game with 113 points. Christon has not played since June 11, when she suffered an orbital fracture. Another familiar face to women’s basketball fans is Sylvia Fowles, a member of the USA Basketball National Team, who was named the MVP of the All-Star game on Saturday after scoring 23 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
The Liberty has undergone many personnel changes during the past year. Only five members of the current squad played with the Liberty in 2009. Two of the five, Kia Vaughn of the Bronx and Essence Carson, are graduates of Rutgers. This year, they were joined by a third Rutgers alum, Cappie Pondexter. The Liberty guard, a starter on the USA Basketball National Team, was the only Liberty player in the All-Star tilt.
None of the locals, other than Pondexter, scored a point. Christon is still recovering from the serious eye injury she suffered in June and did not travel with the team. The other five were all scoreless.
Pondexter, on the other hand, was the high scorer of the contest. She netted 30, one point below her season high, also scored against Chicago. The 5-9 guard hit 10 of 17 shots from the floor and six of seven from the free throw line. She also grabbed a season high eight rebounds to carry the Liberty to its third victory in three games against the Sky this season.
Liberty coach Anne Donovan gave credit to Pondexter’s winning effort, “Cappie will do what it takes to win a game. She’s happy to take the game over if that’s what it takes to win.”
Pondexter praised the coach of USA Basketball’s National team [Geno Aureamma] for his encouragement, “Geno’s like a father. I’m excited to be coached by him. He challenged everyone on the team with a losing record to make our teams better. He said ‘your team needs to be on your own level and you need to take them there.’ “
While acknowledging, “I’ll do what it takes to win. There’s no excuses,” she also praised her teammates, “We had other players like Leilani Mitchell contributing. Our bench was enthusiastic which was important.”