Looking back at a weekend of televised sports ...
Worst news
Quite the buzz over the United States -- after its miracle-on-grass upset of Spain last week -- playing in the Confederations Cup men's soccer final against Brazil on Sunday. And what a heartbreaker for the Americans, kicking away an early two-goal lead in a 3-2 gut-wrenching loss. For soccer fans in this country, this was yet another potential seminal moment, when the rest of the country would finally "get it'' and appreciate soccer as much as they and the rest of the world do. We would all get swooped up in this American run and become football fanatics.
But it's not going to happen. We all paid attention Sunday. But now it's Monday, and we've put soccer back on the shelf until the next time the Americans do something special. We'll pay attention then, and then we'll forget about it until the time after that. That's how soccer works in this country. We all cheered in 1999 when Brandi Chastain ripped off her shirt after the Americans beat China to win the women's World Cup. Casual sports fans got to know Chastain, Mia Hamm, Briana Scurry, Michelle Akers, Kristine Lilly and Julie Foudy. But how many current American female players can you name?
It's not a sport Americans follow day in and day out. It's like Olympic sports. Few pay attention to what's going on in track and field or swimming except for two weeks every four years. The next time Americans will pay attention to soccer is when the World Cup is played a year from now. Until then, we reserve our passions for football, baseball, basketball, NASCAR and Tiger Woods. This isn't to put down soccer. The sport is by far the most popular in the world. It would be arrogant to say the rest of the world is wrong and only Americans are right to think it’s boring. But it would be wrong to think that the tremendous effort the American men put in during the past week has suddenly turned the United States into a country full of soccer fans.
Worst tournament
The biggest letdown in sports might be the golf tournament held the week after a major championship. A week after Lucas Glover won the U.S. Open by shooting 4 under, fans watched the Travelers Championship, in which 4 under was tied for 59th. You saw the leaders at 20 under (Kenny Perry won at 22 under) and your instinct was to roll your eyes and change the channel.
Best offseason move
So which team made the bigger deal in the NBA Eastern Conference to improve its championship hopes? Was it Cleveland getting Shaquille O'Neal to play with LeBron James? Or was it the Magic acquiring Vince Carter to play with Dwight Howard? Both were good deals, but the biggest "addition'' just might be the Celtics getting Kevin Garnett back from injury.
Most surprising trivia
If you watched the Fox baseball game of the week Saturday, you learned two things about analyst Eric Karros. And it's hard to decide which was more surprising: that he hit more homers in a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform than anyone or that he never played in an All-Star Game.
Most impressive performance
The best sporting event on TV today is a rematch of this year's French Open final between Roger Federer and Robin Soderling in a fourth-round match at Wimbledon. Federer leads the series 10-0, which led Soderling to crack, "Nobody can beat me 11 times in a row!''
Speaking of Federer, this is what's so impressive about him: He never has an off day in a major championship. Everyone gets sick, run down or injured. Everyone loses focus. Everyone occasionally loses a match he shouldn't. Except for Federer. In his past 20 Grand Slam events, Federer has won or reached the final 17 times. The other three times, he reached the semifinals. His record in Grand Slam events over that span is 106-7. And here's the kicker: All those losses were to the man who eventually won those tournaments.
Most hypocritical
We all love Sweet Lou Piniella, but doesn't the Cubs manager have to be called out for sending Milton Bradley home last week after Bradley went crazy in the dugout after a fly out? Piniella got into a heated exchange with Bradley after the outfielder threw his helmet and tried to bust up a water cooler. Look, Bradley is a wing nut and does this stuff all the time. This isn't meant to defend him, but don't we see half the Cubs act that way? Doesn't it seem as if pitcher Carlos Zambrano melts down about every third start? You don't see any of them sent home. And is this the same Piniella who tosses bases, kicks dirt and once screamed at Ben Grieve with the Devil Rays because he didn't think Grieve showed enough emotion? Having said that, Rays fans should be happy their team did not sign Bradley in the offseason, something that was considered over at the Trop.
Best pitcher
How about Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield? On Saturday's Fox game of the week against the Braves, Wakefield tied Roger Clemens for most starts in a Boston uniform with 382, and he's among the franchise leaders in just about every pitching category. Saturday he pitched six shutout innings.
"If (Rays manager) Joe Maddon is the mensch I think he is,'' Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan said on ESPN's Sports Reporters on Sunday, "he will take 42-year-old Tim Wakefield and his current 10-3 record for his American League All-Star pitching staff.'' Amen.
Most disappointing
It was the Golden Boy himself, Oscar De La Hoya, who called junior welterweight Victor Ortiz "the next Oscar.'' Wonder if he meant Ortiz would never quite live up to the hype? Ortiz is 22 and was 24-1-1 when he stepped into the ring and onto HBO Boxing on Saturday night to take on Argentine Marcos Maidana. Officially, the fight was stopped in the sixth round because of a cut over Ortiz's right eye, but Ortiz essentially quit. That led to the most interesting comment heard on a sports broadcast over the weekend. HBO Boxing analyst Max Kellerman said, "In boxing, to be great, more is required of you than in any other sport; more is required than is really reasonable.''
In other words, Ortiz needed incredible heart to keep fighting, but he didn’t have it.
Three things I learned over the weekend
1. The NHL draft is incredibly boring after your team makes its first-round pick.
2. This one thanks to sharp replays on Rays TV: Reliever Chad Bradford is a freak to be able to get that close to the ground while pitching.
3. Sports fans really don’t care about steroids, given the reaction to Manny Ramirez playing in the minors.
Tom Jones doesn't sing "It's Not Unusual'' or shake his hips (well, unless you're willing to pay cash), but he does have plenty to say about sports. If it's funny, crazy, weird, irreverent or worth arguing, Tom has his opinions. So pull up a chair and get his two cents -- and give him your two cents, as well.
E-mail Tom Jones:
What an ignorant article re: football(the real one). Look at demographics. Look at the numbers: MLS has a higher average attendance than both NHL and NBA. Football(the real one) is already a top 3 spectator sport in the country with a league(MLS) that is barely 13 years old.
This is no longer a good'ole boy America and even ESPN is recognizing this, when the network just got next season's rights for the Spanish Primera Division and it is about to bid for the rights for the English Premier League.
Football(the real one) is already a mainstream sport.
In fact, compared to the stop-and-go, TV-commercial-based NFL, and the 4 hour bore called MLB, football(the real one) is the best thing to ever happen to America. But, then,again, I really don't care if Billy Bob ever "gets" football. He doesn't deserve the beautiful game, anyways...
Posted by: Ivan | June 29, 2009 at 11:14 AM
I feel the biggest misconception in American spectator sports is that we (Americans ) dont 'get' soccer! We dont need to fill 70,000 seats every night to show our love, and rarely do any other American sports teams do it.
My friend Ivan above has stated the statistics accurately, and the fact that ALL of our soccer leagues are growing at a quick rate (thats right, not just MLS!) would prove it. Just look at ESPN, who offered the Confed Cup final on 3 seperate platforms within their network.
America always has prided itself on being a melting pot of people and cultures and there are enough of them here to elevate Soccer/Football above the stagnant atmosphere of a MLB game. Consider that Soccer Specific Stadiums are being built all the time across the country, creating an ideal experience away from the empty, cavernous likes of Giants Stadium. If Soccer were struggling or 'not gotten', then this wouldnt be happening. MLS is expanding at a rate of 2 teams every 2 years! no other league in this country can boast those numbers.
For those of us who understand and 'get it', there are more than enough of us to make Soccer work in this country. For those of you who 'dont get it'...there is probably a NASCAR race starting in a few minutes. Enjoy!
Posted by: Grant | June 29, 2009 at 11:59 AM
Part of the problem is that the media does take potshots like this at soccer instead of devoting intelligent reporting. Many metropolitan markets in America now have a reporter who writes a regular column about soccer. Maybe not every day, but on a regular basis.
Whether it is college, MLS, or overseas coverage, they have cultivated an audience. For all the hundreds of people who come out each month around the Bay area to watch matches together in various locations, soccer really doesn't matter to local media outlets.
Posted by: Jim | June 29, 2009 at 03:38 PM
I'm a little(no, alot) disapointed wtih Tom Jones trashing soccer (the real football) the way he did, it's because of people like him that think in little minds that football (The real one) wont't grow. Has he read the St. Pete times article about the Rays where it was stated that Baseball is down 3.7 per cent? also does he realize that youth soccer in this country is bigger and more popular than any of the other sports? I think Tom jones better get his act together and learn more about soccer (the real Football) if he really wants to be the sports authority he thinks he is. Oh by the way two hundred countries in the world play soccer, They can't all be wrong.
Posted by: John Melo | June 29, 2009 at 03:38 PM
you do realize that youth soccer has always been big, it's because it cheap to play (all you need is A ball) and anyone with legs can play it that young. As they get older and realize how much running there is with little pay off they choose basketball or football.
I had a customer come in my store and ask if we had USA soccer jersey's. I told him there is nothing soccer in the store. In a sracastic voice he said, "I guess the US sucks huh?", I replied "In soccer? Yes." In the same tone. He then started talking about the upset the other day and how they "almost" won yesterday. That's the problem with soccer in the US. People are excited about almost winning and expect other to be excited about an almost win too. ? ? ? ?
Posted by: Alternajock33 | June 29, 2009 at 09:41 PM
Tom,
What's the follow-up on the Sportschix being let go? You did the post about Leslie Lacey (not sure how she spells it) misleading the ratings' folks, but, now the show is not coming back at all.
What's the REAL story?
Posted by: Rich | June 30, 2009 at 10:01 AM
Colin Cowherd said it best. If our best athletes played soccer and not football, basketball, or baseball, we'd probably contend for best in the soccer world. So, the American public doesn't care much about soccer compared to "the big 3" right now. We probably will go that route eventually as the Hispanic population grows.
Posted by: Floyd | June 30, 2009 at 10:07 AM
Hey, we get it. It's the "real football". Please don't get your feelings hurt, but I'd rather watch an 11 inning pitchers' duel that ends 1-0. But I do believe soccer is growing, and baseball hooliganism. Especially at Red Sox games.
Posted by: bill | June 30, 2009 at 11:08 AM