Phillies, NBA, and how 'bout Sampson?

Thursday's New York Times was quite possibly the best sports page I've ever read. Alex Rodriguez was on top, with a nice little graph showing how ridiculous his "I was tested nine to ten times" comment was. Evidentally he had a 1 in 9 million chance of being tested eight times. Eight times! 1 in 9 million! But c'mon, can you blame him for exaggerating? We all do it. I'm about to do it in this here blog.

Below the Rodriguez headline was an average story about one of America's best high school basketball players, Tyreke Evans from American Christian Academy in the Philadelphia area. I say the article was average because it had the chance to be great, but it simply fell short of what I was looking for. Jere Longman talked too much about a shooting that Evans was present at, one in which he wasn't involved. I know it was to shed light on where he comes from, but the dude was just having pie at his aunt's place. And I'm not saying Longman accused Evans or anything, I just think he spent a little too much time on that particular incident.

Below the Evans feature was a Harvey Araton Sports of the Times article about this weekend's heaveyweight bout between Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov. Seriously, who cares? I read an article a while ago about how boxing just isn't what it used to be. This article re-iterated that. The match is being held in the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, but again, who cares? HBO is kicking its coverage off with a special on Joe Louis just to attract viewership. I don't blame them. In a few years, Home Box Office will likely need to throw in a reality show featuring Mike Tyson, the movie Cinderella Man, and something inspiring involving Muhammad Ali. It's a shame that boxing is on its way out, but it's not over yet. I attended a match in New York City last March at the Hammerstein Ballroom. I copped a pair of free tickets from a friend of a friend of an uncle. It was probably the coolest event I've ever been to. Some dude named The Don was probably the highlight, but anyways, I'm rambling.

Next to the boxing article was an article about how Tiger Woods rallied back from a 1 million-stroke deficit to J.B. Holmes with five holes left in the Accenture Match Play Championship. First of all, who is J.B. Holmes? Second of all, he was only down three. But seriously, Tiger Woods is incredible, especially when his back is against the wall. Best ever anyone?

Inside, the front articles continued alongside news that Miami (FL) beat Duke. Believe it or not, but this victory was indeed a basketball game. It was the first time the Hurricanes beat the Blue Devils in 45 years, which was the first time the teams met in 1962. 1962. My dad was four years old when Miami last beat Duke in basketball. Wow!

Oh, and of course the Times wouldn't be the Times without an article about the debacle known as the Knicks. They dropped a 40-point nailbiter to the 76ers. Isiah Thomas provided his signature excuse, trade rumors, and the Knicks simply stunk Wednesday night in the city of brotherly love. Speaking of which, I'm currently posting this in that very city. Remember that.

But as for across the Henry Hudson, Jason Kidd is a ghost. His debut with the Mavericks was a losing effort, as was Shaq's with Phoenix. I stayed awake just long enough to see the Lakers grab that win and become one of the powers of the West. For the record, the Lakers have beaten the Suns three of the four times they've met this season. All I'm trying to say is that statistic bodes well for Kobe and his boys, being as they bowed out to the Suns last year. For the record, I love the Warriors, Stephen Jackson, and Baron Davis, but I'll save that for later in the season.

And behind the NBA on pages D4 and D5 sat some very intriguing baseball news. Joe Girardi played with some of the guys he will be managing this year. Big deal. It happens in college all the time. As a Yankees fan, I'm excited to see how he does as the skipper in the Bronx. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Roger Clemens will NOT be attending Disney's upcoming ESPN The Weekend event in Florida. Phew! Now I can rest easy. But to be serious, it's definitely a wise move on the Rocket's part to just stay away from the lights, it'll momentarily close the floodgates and keep the questions from pouring in.

Finally, Jimmy Rollins. The best shortstop in the game right now. I know, a Yankees fan just said that. Here's my point, Derek Jeter is not the best shortstop right now. He was a few years ago, but he's just about maxed out his prime. (By the way Mr. Jeter, I'm writing this, hoping you read it and get really motivated to prove me wrong because Uncle Derek, as I've once heard someone call you and like to call you, I love you, and I love the Yankees, and no World Series since 2000 is just disgusting). But back to Rollins. He's legit, and he plays with such vigor and excitement. You can tell he's having fun. And if reigning MVP play isn't enough, he backs it up with his mouth. Err, wait, I think I put that backwards, but this will make sense. He said last year the Phillies were the team to beat, well thanks to one of the biggest choking incidents in modern day sports, they won the NL East. Now he's predicting 100 wins. They won 89 last year, so it's not too much of a stretch. I may be living in Philadelphia this summer, and let me tell you, I will see to it that I get to as many games as possible at Citizens Bank Park.

Quick story to wrap things up. Last summer I was in Philly for the weekend and the Giants were in town. Sunday was the only day we could get to the stadium, so despite dreary rain we went. $12 seats were more than worth the price of admission. I bought a hat that I haven't worn at all, and I drank a gallon jug of water all day too, you know, to recover. Anyways, after nearly losing my one buddy in the men's room and doing pull-ups on one of the overheads, we found our seats near the end of the game. As I said, it was a Sunday, so I wasn't surprised to see Bonds not in the lineup. Well sure enough he came to the plate to pinch hit. This was before he surpassed Hank, so it got pretty ugly. The boos were deafening, and sometimes I booed too. One thing I mentioned to my friends though, was just to take this all in. "Seriously, look at this guys! Listen to that. They hate him. I can't believe this, but look at everyone's face. They can't look away, and they won't look away." I couldn't look away either, and I forget what Bonds did that at bat, but I'll never forget everything else surrounding it. I'll also never forget that game, as it turned out to be the most exciting game of baseball I've ever attended. Ryan Howard came to the plate and the place went nuts, and I go, "God, could you imagine if he hits a homer." Sure enough he took one deep with runners on. Victorino later hit a walk-off homer, and Danny Devito was there as well. You really can't go wrong with a Philadelphia native dancing on top of the dugout during the 7th inning stretch.