Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Wednesday 07/04 (Very) Quickie:
Have a Happy (Mid-Week) July 4th!

Update: Joey Chesnut wins Nathan's Hot Dog Championship! In what was arguably the greatest moment in competitive-eating history, Chesnut out-dueled Kobayashi 66-63, with both competitors shattering Chesnut's then-world-record of 59.5 dogs. Wow. Spectacular, with the American ripping the title from his rival -- and the sport's biggest legend. Here's a live-blog report from Gothamist.

Bonds: 751! Everyone keeps using TYING Aaron as the number ("only four away...") but isn't the relevant number FIVE, the number he needs to BREAK Aaron's record?

MLB All-Star Final Vote: I wonder if Carlos Zambrano's 8K-3H win over the Nats will help his cause. I have him pegged as the NL's F.V. rep.

AL Final Vote. Three words: Vote. Pat. Neshek. There is no dispute that he must be the sports bloggers' (and blog readers') choice. That link above is a must-read as to why.

Daddy Tiger Woods hosts his own golf tournament, in my hometown no less: He even explained why their baby is named "Sam" -- it's what Tiger's dad used to call him when he was a kid. Awww...

Sonics to hire PJ Carlesimo: I'm sorry, but I expected a little bit more of an innovative choice from 30-year-old GM Sam Presti than to imply hit the NBA's Coaching Recyling Bin.

NBA Free Agency: Billups re-signs with the Pistons, in a desperate bid by Detroit to stay remotely relevant as either a Finals contender or merely a power in the East. But if LeBron can oust them from the playoffs with slop around him, what good will an older Billups do?

Darko... freed! The most intriguing NBA free agent is Darko Milicic, who was made an unrestricted free agent by the Magic (who made their own splash with Rashard Lewis). It's going to be very interesting to see who lands Darko and how much they pay for him -- or overpay. Then again, he is a 22-year-old 7-footer who averaged 8 ppg, 5 rpg and 1.8 bpg in 24 mpg. He still has a ton of promise.

Juan Carlos Navarro coming to NBA: Buried in a notes column about the Wizards hiring an assistant coach to focus on -- WTF? -- "de-fense" is a small item worth noting:

Phenomenal Euro PG Juan Carlos Navarro has been let out of his contract and can join the NBA next season. The Wizards own his rights and have been waiting on him for years. Suddenly, the Wizards' backcourt off the bench – Navarro and first-round pick Nick Young -- is pretty strong.

Wimbledon: 64 matches behind? Yikes.

Soccer: Freddy Adu scores 3 in USA's U-20 win over Poland.

Happy 4th of July, everyone. If you get the day off, hope you're enjoying it.

-- D.S.

15 comments:

thistlewarrior said...

MLB Stud: Brandon Phillips-6th inning grand slam wins it for the Reds.

MLB Dud(exept for Reds fans): Barry Zito-5 walks in one inning, walking in 2 runs

Re: Chauncy Billups-his agent is calling the deal w/the Pistons a "vicious rumour", so maybe it's not a done deal after all.

Happy B-day America! (Anyone else find a bit unsettling or at least ironic that Steibrenner's b-day is 7/4?)

Unknown said...

Happy 4th of July, Dan... for a Canadian stuck in a cubicle (our holiday was on Monday), it's good to have someone south of the border writing on the holiday for my office entertainment.

Brian in Oxford said...

I thought PJ only took Rick Adelman's old jobs...

Geoff said...

Resigning Billups is a desperate bid to stay relevant? Hmm... is there another point guard on the market they should have went after to build for the future? Please enlighten...

Johnny b said...

Geoff that doesn't even mention that they didn't sign him and it's just a "vicious rumor"

pv845 said...

MLB Stud: Royals Offense, 17 runs!

As for the PJ Carlesimo signing, you could do worse that a assistant coach with 3 championship rings Dan. Also comes from the best run organization in the NBA. Who did you want them to take? Isiah from the Knicks?
I know, you wanted them to take Billy Donovan. Then you would approve.

Geoff said...

Just funny that attempting to resign your multi-time All-Star guard who is a former finals MVP and as recent as last year was a contender for league MVP in the prime of his career is considering "desperate".

Unknown said...

I think they would be better off sticking with Rodney Stuckey.

Travis said...

MLB Stud: Daisuke Matsuzaka

8IP 0R 9K

Geoff said...

They would have to be retarded to turn the team over to Stuckey. Come on...

kstater16 said...

MLB Stud: Billy Butler 3-5 HR, Double, single 6 RBI's. 21 years old!! Most by a rookie for the royals franchise, and most since A-Rod in 1997.
Also, Being sent to the minors to make room for Mike Sweeney coming off the disabled list.

frank said...

for the record, i've been tracking bonds' homer for months, and have always gone by what he needs to break it.

Thart said...

Vote. Pat. Neshek!

Check out the recent surge of Neshek video plugs on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyFxubq2818

Vote Neshek!

Travis said...

Vote For The Oki Doki... Hideki Okajima!

Nelvis said...

I think it depends where Darko goes. I'd love to see him in Toronto. A lineup of Ford, Delfino, Kapono, Bosh, and Darko would be fun to watch. If I was Darko's agent I'd take the exception to play on a team where he can start (see Memphis) or at least get 25 minutes a game.