My least-popular gimmick (at least with both of the readers offering feedback) is back to wrap-up the week that was.
The U.S. Open is being held at Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh.
Judging from the scores in Round Two, the tough course is forcing players to dig out their irons and play a conservative game. Mickelson’s second round was so poor (+7), he can pretty much put all his clubs away and crack open an Iron. (Iron City Beer, that is.)
Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs completed their championship season by sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
David Stern and the rest of the NBA are making it harder for conspiracy theorists like me to push anti-NBA agendas if they are going to permit far-superior team-oriented squads to crush inferior teams with marquee me-first superstars. One-sided affairs like this might actually add credibility to the league.
Tony Parker won the MVP for his performance in the NBA Finals.
A championship, the MVP and he’s about to marry Eva Longoria; is there anything else for me to hate about this guy?
Oh yeah, he’s French.
In other France-related news, Sopranos creator David Chase was vacationing in France in the days following the HBO series’ finale.
Vacationing or seeking asylum in a country known for embracing fugitives from justice? Considering the way the final episode ended, Chase should be considered a criminal. Not that I’m bitter, but if something unfortunate like being hit by a bus were to befall Chase and I were the only person there with a cell phone, I might be tempted to dial ‘9’, then ‘1’, then… nothing! “How’s this going to end David? Did I dial the last ‘1’? Did I hang up and walk away? Did I choke the life out of you like Tony did Christopher? See, not everyone likes open endings. Some things need finality.†Then I would sing a few bars of “Don’t Stop Believin’†and walk away.
And the bitterness would be gone.
St. Louis pitcher Adam Wainwright gave up one hit through eight innings on Wednesday night against the Kansas City Royals.
On the same day I posted on Canon Fodder about missing Justin Verlander’s no-hitter, Wainwright – a player currently on my fantasy baseball team – carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. As if to illustrate how the baseball gods are cruelly funny, Wainwright was doing this on a night he was riding the proverbial ‘pine’ on my fantasy team. So there I was, rooting for a pitcher to lose his no-hit bid just so I could be spared the embarrassment of having a player benched when he tossed a no-no. Sometimes I really hate fantasy sports and what it does to rational human beings.
The New York Yankees are on a nine-game win streak.
Though I still believe Clemens will be more sizzle than steak, the Yankees could be a move (Mark Teixeira?) or two (Mark Buehrle?) and be right back in the mix. They might not be worrying in Boston (yet), but I’m sure every member of Red Sox Nation knows seven-and-a-half isn’t a very big lead with six head-to-head games remaining.
The NFL preseason is looming.
I’m just not ready to tackle football season yet. Give me a couple more weeks. (I’m sure all the pigskin-loving members of the fantasy league I run just bit through their lips. Sorry boys and girls, but I’m dominating my fantasy baseball league and the Tigers are contenders. I’m enjoying this while I can.)
NASCAR will be racing at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.
A few of my friends trek to Brooklyn for this race every Fathers Day. When I asked about the allure of racing, one friend offered up the following: “You show up, drink beer all day and people watch. It’s fun.â€
So if I understand this correctly, beer + deafening noise + exhaust fumes = gearhead heaven.
(If that’s the case, it won’t be long until we’ll find empty kegs of Milwaukee’s Best on the side of major expressways along with a slew of passed-out, sunburned rednecks.)
A French tennis player was hit in the genitals with a serve traveling in excess of 100 mph.
Had it been Tony Parker, it would have been karmic justice (it was another wine-drinking cheese-lover), but I laughed anyway.
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