SBNation.com User Blog: Erika Leigh

Basketball Hall Of Fame To Enshrine Twelve Players In Class Of 2012

Erika Leigh — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 20:15:37 -0000

SPRINGFIELD - Thursday afternoon began the ceremonies for twelve basketball legends who will be enshrined in the 2012 class in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The twelve inductees are: Don Barksdale, Lidia Alexeeva, Mel Daniels, Chet Walker, Phil Knight, the All-American Red Heads, Katrina McClain, Reggie Miller, Don Nelson, Hank Nichols, Ralph Sampson, and Jamaal Wilkes.

Photo: Erika Leigh, SB Nation Boston

Don Barksdale was the first African-American to break the NCAA color barrier, as NCAA All-American.
Lidia Alexeeva was the head coach that lead the Soviet Union Nation Team to gold in the 1976 and 1980 Olympic Games.
Mel Daniels, the American Basketball Association (ABA)'s all-time leading rebounder, fourth all-time leading scorer, a two-time league MVP, a seven-time ABA All-Star, and a member of three Indiana Pacers ABA Championship teams, also coached Celtics legend Larry Bird at Indiana State.
Chet Walker, a seven-time NBA All-Star and member who the 1967 Championship Philadelphia 76ers who ended the Boston Celtics run of eight straight titles, only missed 21 games in his 13-year NBA career.
Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, the first sports brand to work with elite athletes to gain insight into the types of products athletes needed.
The All-American Red Heads team are better known as the female version of the Harlem Globetrotters and the first women's basketball team who broke social barriers for women spanning over six decades from 1936 to 1986.
Katrina McClain, two-time Olympic gold medalist (1986 and 1996), Olympic bronze medalist (1992), and three-time FIBA World Championship medalist (gold in 1986 and 1990, bronze in 1994).
Reggie Miller, known as one of the most "clutch" scorers in NBA history, spent his entire 17-year career with the Indiana Pacers, holds the franchise titles in points scored and steals. Miller is a five-time NBA All-Star, three-time All-NBA Third Team selection, and an Olympic Gold Medal winner (1996).
Don Nelson, the winningest coach in the history of the NBA with over 1,300 victories, a three-time NBA Coach of the Year (1983, 1985, 1992), won five titles with the Boston Celtics as a player in 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974 and 1976.
Hank Nichols, who has been instrumental in the progression of rule changes at the collegiate level as a referee in over twenty years with the NCAA, has officiated six national championship games, 10 Final Fours, three NIT finals, and 13 ACC Championships, as well as two Olympic games.
Ralph Sampson was only the third three-time National College Player of the Year at Virginia and only the sixth player in NCAA history to collect 2,000 points and 1,500 rebounds. He was the No.1 draft pick by the Houston Rockets in 1983 and thereafter was named to three NBA All-Star teams, was Rookie of the Year in 1984 and was the MVP of the 1985 All-Star Game.
Jamaal Wilkes a former member of the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, was a three-time NBA All-Star, two-time NBA Defensive second team, and was named Rookie of the Year in 1975.

The twelve inductees or their representatives received their Basketball Hall of Fame jackets at Center Court of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame before the media and close members of their families on Thursday afternoon. Barksdale, who passed away, was represented by his son, the All-American Red Heads were represented by a former owner's daughter, Lidia Alexeeva was unable to attend, and Mel Daniels, who is battling an illness, was unable to make it to the ceremony.

"I never aspired to this - I never knew there was such a position [for a non-player, non-coach or non-referee]. I'm still very, very surprised, and I can't tell you how emotional I am about it. It's a tremendous thrill, and an all-time honor [to be inducted]," Nike co-creator Phil Knight said.

To the sound of applause after being introduced, Hank Nichols said, "as unaccustomed to applause as I am - I have so many different emotions, it's hard for me to articulate them. But, for a referee to be in this great place of honor along with people like this is just too stunning for me to explain."

And what are the Hall of Fame inductees most looking forward to? "Getting through my speech tomorrow night," Reggie Miller said.

Photo: Erika Leigh, SB Nation Boston

Erika Leigh will be attending both the red carpet, as well as the Enshrinement Ceremony on Friday night. Be sure to follow her @_ErikaLeigh and the @SBNationBoston Twitter accounts for the latest updates from the ceremony.

Red Sox, Dodgers Trade Finalized, According To MLB Source

Erika Leigh — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 13:41:47 -0000

Dan Roche is reporting that the blockbuster deal between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox is complete.

Trade complete...MLB source tells me. #RedSox send Gonzalez, Beckett, Crawford, Punto to #Dodgers for James Loney and 4 prospects. #wbz
— Dan Roche (@RochieWBZ) August 25, 2012

To corroborate it, Mike Silverman of The Boston Herald is also reporting that the preliminary details of the final deal include sending Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, Nick Punto and $12 million to the Dodgers for four prospects, as well as first-baseman James Loney, freeing up $275 million dollars of the Red Sox salary.

For more on the Red Sox, including updates and analysis on this trade, head to Over The Monster. For all things Major League Baseball, be sure to hit up Baseball Nation.

Only Four Red Sox Players Attended Johnny Pesky's Funeral

Erika Leigh — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 15:57:06 -0000

Okay, players of the Boston Red Sox, we hear you loud and clear: you not only have zero respect for your management, but also for one of your legendary predecessors. Johnny Pesky taught many of you a lot of what you know about baseball, and despite being one of the classiest guys around, somehow taught you nothing about it.

According to a report in The Boston Herald, only David Ortiz, Clay Buchholz, Vicente Padilla and Jarrod Saltalamacchia attended Johnny Pesky's funeral in Swampscott on Monday, which in case you forgot, was an off-day for the Red Sox.

Sox spokesman Charles Steinberg told The Herald, "We ordered the buses for the front office to go, knowing that any players could join us or drive separately from their homes. Between the ownership, front office, current players and staff, and former players, we were well represented by the people who knew Johnny best."

Ha! That was obviously the front office's way of attempting to do damage control, since Ortiz and Buchholz are really the only two of those four current players that spent a considerable amount of time with Pesky.

Amazingly, nearly the entire team found the time to attend Josh Beckett's annual Beckett Bowl for the Beckett Foundation at Lucky Strike Lanes and the House of Blues later Monday night, which is really the issue here.

Apparently, Larry Lucchino, John Henry and his wife, Linda, Sox CEO Sam Kennedy, GM Ben Cherington and several other Red Sox executives and staff were on hand to lay Pesky to rest, along with Nomar Garciaparra (who came from the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA with ESPN's permission for an off-day to travel) Jim Rice, Bill Lee, Jerry Moses and Mike Andrews. But that hardly makes up for the fact that FOUR out of FORTY players on the roster took one hour out of their days to show up.

And it's not like these guys even attended Johnny Pesky's wake to pay their respects, because on Saturday when the wake was held, they somehow managed to win a game against the Yankees in New York.

Trot Nixon, however, another former player, did attend and offered this eulogy to The Herald:

"I look back and it’s not just him being on the field and hitting ground balls, but how he carried himself and how much he cared for all the ballplayers, whether you were at the major league level or in the minor league level. Everybody that worked in the organization, from the highest level down to guys working in the clubhouse, he generally cared for everyone and loved the game of baseball. He was a fantastic ambassador. I loved Johnny."

And on top of this latest embarrassment, the Red Sox players had the audacity to stand on the field Tuesday night, all wearing jerseys with No. 6 on them, like they were proud to honor a man who gave sixty years of his life to the team. I was in the stands weeping like a baby as they played a photo montage of Johnny Pesky on the jumbotron, and a trumpet player blew "Taps" out as the giant flag was draped over the Green Monster in honor of the three years during his prime that Pesky went off to fight the war with the Navy, and probably was more deserving of wearing his jersey than they were.

Yes, Johnny Pesky would've encouraged those guys who chose not to show up to spend time with their families, and not to waste time mourning his loss, that's just the kind of guy he was--but that's beside the point. Pesky was so proud to wear No. 6 and so proud to be a part of this team and it seems to these current players that this is one of those fly balls that gets lost in the sun that multiple guys like Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury run for, but in the end, it just drops on the field in between the two of them.

Perhaps we've been wrong about these guys this whole season ... it's not that they don't care ... they just don't get it!

I also heard that following throwing the ceremonial first pitch, David Pesky, Johnny's only son, went straight into the locker room to visit his dad's corner locker on Tuesday night. If I were him, I probably would've punched every guy except Ortiz, Buchholz, Saltalamacchia, and Padilla on my way in there.

Poll

After hearing that only Buchholz, Padilla, Ortiz and Salty attended Johnny Pesky's funeral on Monday, do you care if the Red Sox keep anyone besides those four players around next season?

Yes, keep the team together

14 votes

No, keep those 4 and move on

139 votes

Trade the whole team

58 votes

211 votes | Poll has closed

Crawford Will Have Tommy John, Bob McClure Fired

Erika Leigh — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 22:46:55 -0000

Big moves from Fenway Park, folks:

The Red Sox released a statement late Monday afternoon that Carl Crawford will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a chronic torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow this Thursday. Crawford's recovery is expected to last seven to nine months.

Minutes later, the Red Sox also announced that pitching coach Bob McClure has been relieved of his coaching duties. Assistant pitching coach Randy Niemann, will assume the role for the rest of the 2012 season.

You can read the full stories on Crawford and McClure on Over the Monster.

The season is saved! AL East Championship, here we come! ..........Just kidding.

Why The Red Sox Should Have No Trouble Beating The Yankees In Series Finale

Erika Leigh — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 20:29:16 -0000

Notice that this is titled "Why The Red Sox Should Have No Trouble Beating The Yankees In Series Finale" and not why they "will" have no trouble.

Upside: Starter Josh Beckett (6-10), who is slated to pitch again Hiroki Kuroda (11-8) Sunday night, is 14-7 in twenty-eight career starts against the Yankees.

Downside: Beckett's ERA in those twenty eight starts is 5.52. He has already faced the Yankees once this season, back on July 6th at Fenway, during which he pitched five innings, and allowed six runs. In his last five starts, Beckett is 1-4, with a 7.96 ERA.

Upside: Pedro Ciriaco is a bonafide "Yankee Killer". He is 15-for-29 against the Yankees this season with seven RBIs in seven games and is the first Red Sox player with multiple four-hit games (two in his career) against the Yankees since Wade Boggs had three, four-hit games against the Yankees back in 1989.

Downside: Ryan Lavarnway and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, both batting in Sunday night's lineup, are 0-for-4 multiple games in this Yankees series.

Upside: The Red Sox are 17-15 at the new Yankee Stadium, making them the only American League team with a winning record in the park.

Downside: The Red Sox are 3-6 against the New York Yankees this season.

But don't you think the pros outweigh the cons?

Sunday night's first pitch: 8:00 p.m. EDT; TV: ESPN; Radio: WEEI 93.7 FM/850 AM, WWZN 1510

Statistics via Elias Sports Bureau, MLB

Kelly Shoppach Reportedly Behind Text Message Calling Red Sox Ownership Meeting

Erika Leigh — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 05:02:56 -0000

It seems that Adrian Gonzalez is off the hook...sort of.

The New York Daily News is reporting that while the text message that led Red Sox players to a meeting with ownership back in July during their series against the New York Yankees was sent from Adrian Gonzalez's phone, he wasn't the one responsible for the content of it.

Originally the Yahoo! story Jeff Passan broke said that more than fifteen of the team's players were behind the message, but now sources have revealed to the Daily News that "a small group" of players who were unhappy with Valentine — including Kelly Shoppach — were all complaining about Bobby Valentine and involved Adrian Gonzalez in their conversation. The players believed that a message coming from the team's highest paid player, and current AL Player of the Week Gonzalez, would send a strong message to ownership.

When asked about his involvement again during the current Red Sox/Yankees series, Gonzalez said, "I know why you’re asking, but we’re not going to talk about that anymore."

Earlier in the weekend, Shoppach, who's now with his fourth team in four years, denied being the ringleader, saying:

"I have no influence on what they’re doing with upper management, I am a backup catcher doing my job. It is my responsibility to do my job. That’s it: a guy on a one-year contract who is just happy to have a job around a bunch of talented guys like they have there."

Shoppach did, however, let on to what he believed was the main issue in the Red Sox organization, shortly after being traded to the New York Mets adding, "Let me be very careful. I think, and maybe this is as far as I’ll go with it, too, there is a disconnect in communication between the players through the upper management."

When further confronted with the report, Shoppach said he's moved on from the issue, and that he no longer is concerned with the Red Sox:

"I don’t know that anybody is saying anything, and to be honest, I don’t care. I don’t play for them. I play for the Mets. My responsibility is here. Nothing I did yesterday does anything for today, and that’s going to be my stance for the rest of my life. ‘What am I going to do today?' Yesterday’s gone."

Poll

With the news that catcher Kelly Shoppach was the ringleader of the group that asked Adrian Gonzalez to send the text to the Red Sox brass, are you glad he's no longer with the team?

Yes

26 votes

No

11 votes

37 votes | Poll has closed

Derek Jeter Joins The 250 HR Club

Erika Leigh — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 23:52:22 -0000

Most people come here to read about Boston sports, but you've got to respect even your most bitter rivals when they break significant records.

Friday night during the Red Sox vs. Yankees game in the Bronx, Derek Jeter joined Willie Mays as the only other player in MLB history with 3,000 hits, 250 homers, 300 steals and 1,200 RBI.

"I always hear all the time that I don't hit home runs, but in my mind, that's a lot of them," Jeter said. "So it's something I'm happy with. I try to be consistent every year, to do my job, like I've always said."

Jeter's #250 came off Red Sox starter Franklin Morales, who had another rough start against the Yankees in the Bronx Friday night. Jeter's shot was one of five solo home runs the Yankees hit. Jeter's 250th home run was his 10th of the season tying him in ninth place with Graig Nettles on the franchise's all-time list.

Manager Joe Girardi said after the game, "he's an amazing player. There aren't too many 38-year-old guys who can play 15 days in a row, and [continue] to be productive."

With Jeter's 10th homer of the season, the Yankees have tied a franchise record set in 1998, a Major League-leading 10 players with at least 10 home runs.

Jeter also added that the Yankees retrieved the 250th home run ball for him. "If you do it long enough, good things happen," he said. "I consider it a good number. Other people might not. But for me it's a lot of homers."

Poll

Do you think Derek Jeter will someday be inducted into the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame?

Yes

28 votes

No

1 votes

I'm Not Sure

0 votes

29 votes | Poll has closed

Dating is Dangerous for Bruins' Tyler Seguin

Erika Leigh — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:02:31 -0000

Tyler Seguin is still a "kid" (he's only twenty!) when it comes to this whole complicated dating thing, plus there's the fact that he's the star of a professional hockey team in a town with dedicated fans and teen girls fawning over him...add in a few foul balls and things can get very dangerous.

Seguin participated in a speed-dating event Wednesday night at the minor league Lowell Spinners game and since things were going so well, he was completely oblivious to the fact that a fast-moving foul ball was headed straight for his head.

Lucky for Seguin, Spinners vice president Dan Beaulieu saved him from a serious injury. Just as the ball approached, Beaulieu improvised by sticking his smartphone out in front of the ball, deflecting it. "This lefty hit a shot right at the back of Tyler’s head, and I valiantly jumped out and smashed my cell phone and saved his life. Saved the season of the Bruins," Beaulieu told the camera in a video posted on Bruins.com. Seguin realized just after what had happened, and immediately stood up to give Beaulieu a hug and thank him.

"Saved my life, yes you did," Seguin replied. "I heard everyone yell ‘heads up,’ and then there was a big bam." Beaulieu's phone is of course, totally ruined, and he also had a shiner on his hand from the incident. Seguin joked, "He’s going to get a 21st century iPhone, because he needed an upgrade anyways."

This wasn't Seguin's first almost-collision with something other than a hockey puck this off-season. During the NBA Playoffs, Seguin was nearly injured sitting courtside at a Celtics game when Utah Jazz guard Alec Burks almost fell on him trying to save a ball from going out of bounds.

Either Seguin better be buying him that iPhone, or some box seats for the B's are in order for Mr. Beaulieu this upcoming season.

Check out the video of the great save, courtesy of Bruins.com:

Giants Melky Cabrera Banned 50 Games For PED Use

Erika Leigh — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:29:05 -0000

Just when it seemed like San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera might have a shot at MVP this season, it appears that opportunity has come to an end. Cabrera tested positive for the use of testosterone and has been banned from the MLB for 50 games, effective immediately, putting the chance for a Giants trip to the postseason in serious doubt. With 45 games left in the regular season, should the Giants make it to the postseason, Cabrera's suspension will also extend into it for five games, but if not, will be effective at the beginning of the 2013 season.

In a statement released by the Players Association, Cabrera said the following:

"My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used. I accept my suspension under the Joint Drug Program and I will try to move on with my life. I am deeply sorry for my mistake and I apologize to my teammates, to the San Francisco Giants organization and to the fans for letting them down."

But the story gets more interesting...

According to the New York Daily News, Cabrera set up a bogus website for a fictitious product in an attempt to prove that he inadvertently took testosterone. According to Cabrera's agents, Sam and Seth Levinson, Juan Nunez "a paid consultant" spent $10,000 to have the website set up. The idea was that Cabrera's story would rely on him "ordering" a supplement that caused the positive test, through no fault of his own, from the website. His plot, however, instead of clearing his name, put the proverbial nail in his coffin, drawing attention from the Feds and the MLB Department of Investigation.

This season, his first with the Giants, Cabrera is batting .346, notching 11 home runs and 60 RBIs. Cabrera is leading the NL with 159 hits and is second in batting average to Pittsburgh Pirates' Andrew McCutchen. Cabrera was the star of the All-Star Game during July, earning MVP honors by hitting a two-run homer and a single that helped to entrench the National League's win 8-0 over the American League, which also secured the NL home field advantage in the World Series.

What Today's Red Sox Players Can Learn From Johnny Pesky

Erika Leigh — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 18:33:40 -0000

With all the controversy currently surrounding the Boston Red Sox, I can't help but wonder what Johnny Pesky thought just before he passed away about all the dissension in the clubhouse and the media uproar this team has caused this season.

Granted, the Boston media has been adding fuel to the fire, no one will argue that, and Pesky knew how tough they could be in this town. Thinking back to the era when Pesky, Bobby Doerr and Ted Williams played the game, the words "likeable", "classy", "team players" and "respectful" come to mind, and when I think about today's players, I think of "money-hungry", "disrespectful", "entitled" and "self-servicing".

Am I wrong? Please, tell me if you don't associate those terms with the members of the Red Sox team since last September.

It seems to be that not a single member of this Red Sox team wants to play baseball anymore. Instead, they'd rather act like fourth-graders by pointing fingers at each other for why they have a sub-.500 record, whining about their manager to their ownership, and leaking private conversations to the media. I mean, why don't we take this one over by the bike racks at recess and duke it out?

They've all but given up:

They couldn't even score more than one run against the Baltimore Orioles the day after Mr. Red Sox, Johnny Pesky passed away. They left eleven men on base and ten runners in scoring position.
Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, the Red Sox "ace" starters have notched more losses than wins this season (a total of 20 between the two of them), and while Lester is showing progress in recovering, Beckett is going nowhere, and he doesn't seem to even care.
John Lackey hasn't played a single game all season, and won't. Despite being at the center of the "chicken and beer" controversy last September, he carelessly double-fisted two beers in front of the media last week in Cleveland. And then his teammates defended him.
There are reports that Carl Crawford might cut his already short season even shorter by getting his Tommy John surgery now so that he'll ready to play next April, since there's no point in bothering to even try to win any games the rest of this season.
Will Middlebrooks, one of the few bright spots on the Red Sox roster, fractured his wrist in a freak-accident when he was hit by a 96-mph fastball in just the wrong spot, and is potentially done until spring training.
David Ortiz has an Achilles injury that was supposed to keep him out for "a few days"...which turned into the 15-day DL...which has now been an entire month (as of this Thursday).
Supposedly, Adrian Gonzalez, on behalf of seventeen of the players, texted John Henry requesting a meeting when the team was in New York a few weeks ago.

I could go on...but you'd probably prefer that I stop here, since there seems to be a new story every five minutes and I could continuously update this article.

I heard this quote on Monday when Johnny Pesky passed away:

"I have two things to say to the youth of America: grow up."

Could this quote better sum up what the Red Sox really need to do the rest of this season? They need to grow up.

Stop whining. Stop acting like little kids throwing temper tantrums because you don't get your way. Stop "texting" the media and leaking information, or texting your front office to call a meeting, or tweet to your followers on Twitter who are bashing you. Whenever you think it's a good idea to send a text, tweet or email, you should probably stop, act like an adult, (this entire team is over the age of twenty-one, so that makes them adults) and speak your mind to an actual human standing in front of you, or to a camera when they're in your locker room before and after a game. If you have something to say, don't hide behind the convenience of your smartphone. How's that for an idea?

I've got an even better idea for the Red Sox: Play baseball. That's your job.

I'll say it again: Baseball is your job. At one point or another in your life, you decided something along the lines of, "I love playing baseball, I'm pretty good at this and I want to do this as my career." Then, someone else (presumably a scout) also decided that you were good enough to make it in the world of professional baseball. It's your passion and you're lucky to do it professionally, because some people don't get that opportunity. Some people never even get a chance to do the job they would love in their entire lives.

Whether you play poorly, so-so, or fantastically, do us a favor: Play with some heart. Play so that I like you, and I respect the job that you do, and do it without acting like you're so entitled to everything. You're not entitled to choose your manager or your coaches; in fact, and this may come as a surprise: you're not even entitled to keeping the job you have.

Sure, someone scouted you, signed you to a contract, and you have an agent, and that makes yousomeone, perhaps, a legend in your own mind. But those guys I mentioned--Pesky, Doerr, Williams--they're legends that will live on longer than the length of your contracts if you don't shape up, start playing for your fans who have made you as successful as you are, and acting and playing like the professionals those scouts once imagined you as.

So take these words that Johnny Pesky, Mr. Red Sox, once said, all of you on the 40-man Red Sox roster: "Grow up".