Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
The Opening Pitch: How was YOUR last 100 days as a sports fan?
In the spirit of the day's top news story, let's evaluate Barack Obama's first 100 days, from a sports perspective:
— His top supporter in the key 2008 election battleground region of western Pennsylvania — Steelers owner Dan Rooney — won the Super Bowl.
— He correctly predicted UNC would win the NCAA Tournament — and out-picked 80 percent of the country on his bracket.
— His Bulls are giving the defending champs all they can handle in the NBA Playoffs.
— His White Sox are competitive at the top of the A.L. Central.
— His Bears traded for a franchise QB in Jay Cutler.
— He got to meet Tim Tebow. I hate to say it, but from a sports-fan perspective, the next 1,500 (or 3,000) days may not get much better for him. At least the economy still has nowhere to go but up.
Brett Favre Watch: No ... No! NOOOOOO!!!!
NBA Playoffs: Classic Paul Pierce. This was old school: No KG. No Ray Allen. It was like the Celtics before the Big Three.* Pierce hit a game-tying shot to force OT — the record-setting 3rd OT of this series — then hit three huge shots in OT to clinch the Game 5 W for Boston. It is impossible to overstate that this series is carrying the NBA Playoffs right now. How can it get even better? Elimination desperation.
— Stop saying that! Sure the C's were missing KG and Ray, but they still had the "Big Fourth" — Rajon Rondo, who had a game-high 28 points, to go with 11 assists and 8 rebounds. He didn't make the clutch baskets Pierce did, but without Rondo, the Celtics wouldn't even have been in the position for Pierce to play the hero.
More: End of the Spurs' run? Tim Duncan and Tony Parker remain one of the best big-small combos in the league, and they played the series without Manu Ginobili, who — if healthy — surely would have been the difference-maker in this five-game loss to the Mavs.
Are you really going to doubt the ability of the Spurs to make a couple brilliant, subtle moves to remain a contender? Still: They are only getting older; they're not close to the Lakers; and teams like the Blazers are gaining. (Related: Blazers hold off the Rockets ... for now.)
Tonight: The Heat's ability to beat the Hawks in Game 5 in Atlanta begins and ends with Dwyane Wade. (He insists he will be ready.) The Hornets' ability to stave off elimination in Game 5 in Denver begins and ends with being able to forget the epic 58-point shellacking they took at home on Monday. (No chance.)
NHL Playoffs: The Canes pulled off something staggering — down two goals with less than 2 minutes to go in a Game 7, they scored TWICE to take the game and the series. To me, that's even more impressive than the game-winner they scored with 0.2 seconds to play in Game 2.
It also eclipsed the marquee Game 7 in D.C., where the Caps rallied from an 0-2 hole in the series (both losses at home) AND a 3-1 hole to win three straight games and advance past the Rangers in a thrilling game 7 in front of a frenzied, "red-out" crowd.
MLB Talking Points
— Streaking: Marlins finally win | Red Sox finally lose
— Injury Watch: Cole Hamels | Josh Hamilton
— Felix is the new Greinke! 8 IP, 0 ER, 9 K, W
— Not so fast: Greinke pitches today (Must-track)
— Fantasy Stud: Jorge Cantu (2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R, 3-for-3)
NFL Offseason: The NFL draft wasn't great for Chris “Beanie” Wells, but it was good for Edgerrin James — who finally got his release from the Cards that he has been lobbying for, three days after the defending NFC champs drafted his replacement.
Meanwhile: Darren Sproles got p-a-i-d: $6M for next season, after he was franchised by the Chargers, allowing him to get paid the average of the Top 5 RBs in the NFL.
Economy: Either because they couldn't stand seeing those empty seats on TV or because they couldn't stand not making ANY money from the lack of paying customers, the Yankees cut ticket prices on the premium seats. (They're still over-priced, for the quality of team you're seeing. Call me when they're priced like the similarly .500 Royals or Pirates.)
CBB: Isiah Thomas gave out his first three schollys, and — no surprise — he gave them to quick-fix junior college players, including Marvin Roberts, the leading ju-co scorer in the country last season. Some compliance officer at the NCAA just made a note to follow up.
The Last Word: Patrick Schuster's streak is over. After four no-hitters, he couldn't deliver a fifth. Man, is he terrible.
Dan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/danshanoff.
This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
31 comments
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His plane is terrorizing New Yorkers, his policies are socializing the country, his nominees are tax cheats, his homeland security director is afraid to offend the terrorists, his spending is reckless beyond imagination, his apologies are embarrassing a once great country and on and on and on…a Home Run??? I’d say it was well foul
by bighed227 on Apr 29, 2009 10:43 AM EDT reply actions
Its a swing and a miss!!
by watts141 on Apr 29, 2009 10:55 AM EDT reply actions
His plane is terrorizing New Yorkers, his policies are socializing the
country, his nominees are tax cheats, his homeland security director is
afraid to offend the terrorists, his spending is reckless beyond
imagination, his apologies are embarrassing a once great country and on
and on and on…a Home Run??? I’d say it was well foul
…Amen to that!! Couldn’t have said it better myself!
by Batman2k5 on Apr 29, 2009 11:02 AM EDT reply actions
As if I wasn’t getting enough of this 24-7 in the media. Now Chicago sports is riding his coattails of success too somehow?
C’mon.
We get it.
People like him.
Sports please?
MM
by michiganmike on Apr 29, 2009 11:14 AM EDT reply actions
Not people but SHEEPLE. If we need a drivers license we need a voters license.
by GreatBlueHeron on Apr 29, 2009 12:10 PM EDT reply actions
There is no point in including politics in a sports magizine, if you don’t want to be a sports journalist then quit. Keep this drible off of sporting news.
by egad on Apr 29, 2009 12:15 PM EDT reply actions
If I knew what "drible" was, then I’d be sure to keep it out of our "magizine."
by cmottram on Apr 29, 2009 12:40 PM EDT reply actions
Dear TSN, for the umpteenth time, please KEEP POLITICS OUT OF SPORTS!!!
by davidthebandit on Apr 29, 2009 1:38 PM EDT reply actions
Shouldn’t the anti-Obama crowd be reading FoxSports.com?
by mathesond on Apr 29, 2009 1:43 PM EDT reply actions
shouldnt the Obama crowd be selling their computer and giving their money to the people who over extended on their homes or give it to AIG
by zzxxxxzz on Apr 29, 2009 1:56 PM EDT reply actions
The article was about sports. It’s just that you small-minded Obama bashers couldn’t wait to spew your baseless political rhetoric.
by MyBiznitchIsTheShiznit on Apr 29, 2009 2:05 PM EDT reply actions
Didn’t Kirk have trouble with Dribles?
by MyBiznitchIsTheShiznit on Apr 29, 2009 2:08 PM EDT reply actions
Baseless political rhetoric? Have you been watching what Obama and his administration have done, in the small time they’ve been in office? Let’s count the tax cheats, decades of debt, indifference to the war he claimed soo much opposition, as well as his bogus "stimulus package". Oh I forgot, bashing the President is only cool when a Republican is in office…
LOL @ liberals crying about Fox. Have you ever watched Fox News? Ya hate to hear BOTH sides getting a voice, don’t you?
by davidthebandit on Apr 29, 2009 2:21 PM EDT reply actions
David: You want to keep politics out of SN, yet you’ve come back to comment in this space a second time about … politics. Interesting.
by cmottram on Apr 29, 2009 2:33 PM EDT reply actions
Seriously, we have one of the greatest NBA playoff series in the past decade have one of the best finishes in a while, we have what could be the fall of the Spurs dynasty, and you lead off with Barack Obama being a fan of teams that are winning? Absolute joke. We get it, you are in the tank for Obama. And by the way, Obama’s first 100 days have been a complete disaster, as my fellow posters with an actual brain have already highlighted. Shanoff, like the rest of the media in the tank for Barry, have blind loyalty to this Pinko Commie. Atleast us in the GOP even recognized when Dubya was making mistakes and rightfully criticized him for some of his decisions regarding amnesty and excessive spending.
by barbri12 on Apr 29, 2009 2:52 PM EDT reply actions
Hey Shanoff, if you want to be a left wing political hack, go write for the New York Times. We come here to read sports, not this political dribble. People are tired of the breathless love affair between the media and Obama.
by jimh2656 on Apr 29, 2009 3:46 PM EDT reply actions
"drible", "dribble" or, dare I say it…drivel. Which is it folks?
by Dan Barker on Apr 29, 2009 3:53 PM EDT reply actions
You got me, I spelled it wrong. Put a gold star on your forehead and don’t bother addressing the complaints multiple readers have posted.
by jimh2656 on Apr 29, 2009 4:01 PM EDT reply actions
Love how the moderator to these comments cannot address the true complaints but instead relies on mocking some of the posters word choice. jimh is absolutely correct, stop trying to divert attention away from the real issue.
by barbri12 on Apr 29, 2009 4:20 PM EDT reply actions
What is the "real issue"? That Shanoff used Obama’s name in a sports post? He approached it 100% from a sports perspective and did not mention politics whatsoever. Perhaps we should try reading what he actually wrote before seeing the word "Obama" and freaking out.
by cmottram on Apr 29, 2009 4:21 PM EDT reply actions
Shanoff simply pointed out the commander-in-chief’s favored teams are killing it right now.
If it’s any consolation my teams are an embarrassment to professional sports….a 5 year deal for Delhomme….please!
by Dan Barker on Apr 29, 2009 4:33 PM EDT reply actions
"What is the "real issue"?"
Wow! Where does SN get these people – the local 3rd grade?
You might try, oh, I don’t know, maybe READ what has been written. That would be a good 1st step. Then you might analyze it as it pertains to the article. Seems pretty simple to me.
But what do I know? I’m no "journalist".
by jimh2656 on Apr 29, 2009 4:39 PM EDT reply actions
Yes, I read what Shanoff wrote, which as I said, was 100% sports-related. Then I read the comments that followed. Now, I repeat: What is the issue? That some Obama-haters got upset over nothing? Not much we can do about people being totally irrational.
by cmottram on Apr 29, 2009 4:46 PM EDT reply actions
Another non-response….
Hint: This is a SPORTS forum, Obama is a POLITICIAN. We come here to read about SPORTS. When we want to read about POLITICS, we go to our preferred news outlets.
Shanoff clearly loves Obama and that is fine, but if he wants to write about it, don’t do it in a sports column.
by jimh2656 on Apr 29, 2009 5:06 PM EDT reply actions
There is a forcefield of Obama hate around you that I am clearly not going to crack with silly logic, so instead of making the same point I’ve already made a third time, I’ll just give up.
by cmottram on Apr 29, 2009 5:11 PM EDT reply actions
Talking about "a POLITICIAN" isn’t talking about "POLITICS". The author of this article mentions absolutely nothing about POLITICS. I guess sports writers/bloggers can no longer write about the Bulls, White Sox, or Bears, because since these teams are supported by a POLITICIAN, that means it’s POLITICS.
SPORTS
by uncle worm on Apr 29, 2009 5:13 PM EDT reply actions
Your point is very clear. You want to interject your politics into a sports page.
My (and others) point is also very clear. DON’T interject your politics into a sports page. We are here to read about sports and are not at all interested in a writers political opinion. Why is that so hard to understand?
And you are right, "silly logic" won’t get anywhere with me. (I could make a mocking comment about the forcefield of Obama drool around you, but I won’t.)
by jimh2656 on Apr 29, 2009 5:20 PM EDT reply actions
I’m pro-Obama and think Shanoff mentions him a bit much. We understand, Obama likes sports, especially Chicago teams…George Bush liked sports too but we didn’t hear anything about him in the past 8 years of Shanoff. Politics related stuff should stay on his blog and sports related stuff should stay on his SN columns.
I do find it a bit odd that sportingnews and/or shanoff column seems to attract every Obama hater in existence, but oh well, they have to congregate somewhere.
by austin64 on Apr 29, 2009 5:40 PM EDT reply actions
When Obama shoots a 3 pointer for the Bulls, or catches a touchdown for the Bears, or hits a home run for the White Sox, then you can tell me there are no politics are in this article, until then we all know better.
Your claim that Shanoff did not say anything about his politics is off the mark. He may not have said "I love Obama", but all he talked about was Obama’s success. If his comments were straight up, he would realize that Obama and "his teams" had just as many failures to talk about. If he were anti-Obama, he would have talked only about the failures. "Simply mentioning a politician" doesn’t even apply here.
One last time, real slow like to make it clear to you: The main point of this article is politics and how well Obama has done (using Chicago sports as cover).
by jimh2656 on Apr 29, 2009 6:17 PM EDT reply actions
Why did the snotty SN post between #28 and #29 disappear?
by jimh2656 on Apr 29, 2009 6:22 PM EDT reply actions
I’m anti-Obama, but come on people…Shanoff wasn’t commenting on policy, he was saying that all of Obama’s teams had a good time of it in the past 100 days. What with the rest of the media fawning over how "well" Obama has done in his first hundred days, this seemed like a perfectly good gimmick for his column today.
Does Shanoff like Obama? Of course he does. Does that mean he was "fawning" over how good Obama is? I don’t think so. Of course Shanoff is going to write from his persepective, and he has a very positive opinion of the president, so that’s going to show in his writing. Does that mean he’s putting politics into his sports column? Please. I favor right wing policies, but you people sound like ignorant clowns attacking this column. For the love of Reagan, Shut Up.
by socnorb777 on Apr 30, 2009 10:35 AM EDT reply actions
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