Boston

Throwing you a bender because I just thought you should know...

Another senseless tragedy, and by no means undermining the horrible injuries and deaths, has led to stories of victory. Sports and people seem to work that way and when you combine them, you have stories of victory that are bigger than the sports.

While recent atrocities have not taken place in sports venues, athletic events have played a significant role in healing and recognizing heroes. As the Boston Marathon bombings have now literally combined our sports with horrific acts, it is still the gatherings for games afterwards that promotes a great sense of healing and togetherness. It is not necessarily important for what sport people come to witness, but the fact that common folk gather together under the umbrella of displaying resiliency, showing no defeat, thanking heroes, and returning to normalcy. It is also important and significant that sports events outside of the area of tragedy contribute in the same way.

Around the country, people stood for Boston. The Red Sox played their first games in Cleveland after the bombings and two staples of Fenway Park, "Sweet Caroline" and "Dirty Water", were both played and sung by fans in Cleveland, standing and rooting for recovery in Boston despite losing to the "hated" Red Sox. New York pitched in as well playing "Sweet Caroline" and recognizing healing for Boston outweighs an old Yankee rival. Neil Diamond himself even flew in all the way from L.A. requesting the chance to sing his song live in the return to Fenway Park. Request granted and appreciated Mr. Diamond.

It continued when the Bruins took to the ice in Boston two nights after the bombings.

We have all seen great renditions of the National Anthem and many a singing star has provided us beautiful versions before sporting events. But I challenge anyone to find a more stirring, more meaningful and more incredible rendition of the Anthem than took place before that game. Rene Rancourt started singing, but literally stopped after a few lines as Boston took over. He guided and directed, but Boston didn't need him, Boston was singing the Anthem. 17,565 common, non-professional, untrained voices delivered the greatest National Anthem version of all time. The game ended with the Bruins and their opponents, the Sabres, raising their sticks to salute, cheer and recognize the crowd and Boston instead of the other way around.

Last Sunday, select season ticket holders were to be given autographed Bruins jerseys during an annual promotion. The promotion was altered with the Bruins giving their jerseys to first responders in attendance instead. This wasn't Bruin management or some PR firm altering the plan, this was the group of select season ticket holders themselves deciding the heroes should be recognized and receive them. Upon the game ending, each Bruin found a first responder, skated over and removed the jersey right off his back to present to a hero.

So sports stadiums hosted sports events where stories of victory just happened to take place. But it even overflowed from these arenas at this point. Groups that had gathered in Watertown cheered the police as one of the alleged suspects was captured and led away. In this day of social media, a Twitter message made it to a flight over Chicago where the flight attendant announced the arrest to everyone on the plane and cheers broke out.

So again, not to minimize the story of what happened to those who lost their lives and the many injured, tragedy took place and sports responded to help with the healing. The outbreak of support and recognition that took place locally and nationwide is unmatched and able to be put on display through sports. This story is bigger than sports and includes people far beyond sports fans, but sports allows us a glimpse into this and that is a victory.

Seeing the nation react yet again provides hope and confidence that any area of America would respond as heroically, let's just hope we never have to find out.

All this because I know more about nothing...

Jack vs Eldrick - The Golden Bear vs. Tiger

Throwing you a bender because I just thought you should know...

As exciting as that finish was to the Masters this weekend, I found myself scrambling to determine where Tiger now stands in his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus and his 18 major victories. Since Tiger garnered headlines for his controversial drop on Friday, this clearly set him back as another major goes by without him winning and especially since it was an event he is capable of dominating.

So in researching some stats and trying to extrapolate out how Tiger may play in the next ten years, I kept in mind that it is ultimately all about the majors and while still holding a lead of 18-14, Jack is clearly the greatest of all time. But the digging around to find information behind how this score was calculated led me to find some additional items. The conclusion based on these was Tiger can't touch Jack.

As we conclude The Masters for another year, it seems appropriate to mention some comparisons just from Augusta.  Tiger currently holds the all time scoring average during rounds at Augusta with 70.86 which is more than a stroke better than Jack. This is a significant number on such a demanding course and under pressure circumstances so I needed to look at it a little deeper.

Tiger has played 74 rounds at Augusta while Jack has completed 163. Since this is over twice as many, it covers a much longer span which should be analyzed. This stat shows that in 43 starts at the Masters, Jack played over 40 rounds once he had turned 50 years old! This is amazing that his per round average is still at 71.98 (under par!) even after so many rounds at an advanced golf age and when he wasn't really competing for the jacket. I find it hard to believe that anyone else, even Woods, will be able to hold that kind of per round average after 163 rounds.

Again, just based on the Masters, both Woods and Nicklaus had remarkable stretches of dominance. From 1997 through this year, Tiger has played in 17 Masters while winning four of them and finishing 13 times in the top 10. From 1963 to 1979, Jack also played in 17 Masters, winning five of them and finishing in the top 10 on 14 occasions. Both dominant, but Jack's is slightly better. As most golfer's will tell you, this is significant as Augusta National is universally considered as one of the toughest challenges in all of golf.

With one more reference to the Masters, it was pointed out more times than I could count that Woods has never come from behind on Sunday to win a major. As he started behind others for the lead this past weekend again and was unable to mount a big enough charge to win, this fact remains intact. Jack, on the other hand is truly the one that opponenets feared and felt his footsteps behind them as he was able to win eight times with comebacks on the final day of a major. Absolutely incredible.

Some say the competition is currently tougher as more talented golfers are coming up through the ranks and from all points of the globe. But in the Tiger Era, no one has stepped up regarding majors to present a stiff test to Tiger. Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els are the only two rivals with more than three majors and they are often not even found near the leaderboard. This past weekend, Mickelson barely finished ahead of a 14 year old at +9 and tied for 54th place. Hardly anything Tiger had to worry about. Els at least finished tied for 13th at -1 but was never a factor pushing Tiger.

Jack had to compete and contend with foes such as Gary Player (9 majors titles), Tom Watson (8 majors), Arnold Palmer (7 majors), Lee Trevino (6 majors), and even Seve Ballesteros (5 majors). Just from this group of champions, Nicklaus finished second to them over ten times in majors!

And while we are speaking of finishing second, Jack accomplished this feat 19 times in majors! Imagine how untouchable, even unapproachable (like Cy Young's 511 pitching victories), his record would be if he could have broken through in just one third of these runner up finishes! Tiger has finished second just six times in majors.

At this point in time, even Tiger will declare that Nicklaus is the greatest of all time. But he says it based on his feeling that he who wins the most majors is the best. And down deep within Woods, he believes he will someday pass that number. His competitiveness is to be admired but I believe he also knows he doesn't have a 3 wood to lean on if he doesn't pass that 18 victories.

So with such a defined goal in place to be considered the best ever, Woods needs to win five more majors. Only 14 golfers in history have even won 5 majors in an entire career. The challenge is very clear, and very daunting. Tiger must win five more majors and all this while already at age 37 and one major already gone for 2013. Woods won't give up, and he will chase the Golden Bear as long as he can, but there is a reason only one man has 18 majors victories. It is hard, and the greatest of all time, Jack Nicklaus, is the one who knows it best.

All this because I know more about nothing...

El Oso Blanco - The White Bear - Evan Gattis

Throwing you a bender because I just thought you should know...

As amazing as the first few days of this baseball season have been, who knew a script for a movie was also being written within the games?

The second game for the Atlanta Braves featured the major league debut of El Oso Blanco (The White Bear) Evan Gattis. As a backup catcher making the team and the Major Leagues for the first time out of spring training, Gattis has laid the groundwork for Hollywood (and Kevin Costner) to jump in and run with his story.

Growing up as a high school star in Texas, Gattis accepted a baseball scholarship to Texas A & M. This is where everything started on a path that should lead anywhere but Atlanta and catching for the Braves. The very thought of playing major college baseball, and possibly failing at it, drove Evan to alcohol and drug dependency. This landed him in rehab before he ever played a game for the Aggies. After 30 days in rehab and another 90 days in an outpatient program, he enrolled in junior college, made the team, injured his knee and vowed to quit baseball forever.

Now with baseball out of the way and having dropped out of school, Evan headed off to find the meaning of life. He consulted spiritual advisors, took odd jobs and bounced around the West for a while. He operated ski lifts for a bit, cooked and cleaned in a hostel, then ended up as a janitor. By 2010, he had bounced back to Texas and enrolled in the University of Texas in the Permian Basin, not exactly the hotbed for baseball. However, he discovered he had eligibility remaining so joined the baseball team and hit over .400 for the year. This resulted in being drafted in the 23rd round by the Braves.

This still did not put him on any fast track for Atlanta, but the Braves just couldn't ignore his good hitting statistics. Gattis hit over .300 in all his minor league stops while hitting for power too. Then this past winter, he lead the Venezuelan Winter League in slugging percentage and homers while earning his nickname, El Oso Blanco. This earned Evan his first invite ever to Spring Training with the Braves as a non roster invitee. 

 As if that isn't enough, now the story really goes Hollywood. Gattis makes the Braves out of camp as a back up catcher. He calls his parents and friends and tells them to be in Atlanta for Opening Day. With his family staying over for the second game of the series, Evan was penciled into the lineup as the starting catcher. Making his Major League debut and having to face star pitcher Roy Halladay would be no easy task but Evan was just happy to be there.

With the television crew finding and interviewing his father, Gattis came to the plate in the fourth inning and drove a home run over the left field wall. His personal cheering section goes wild of course and the ball sails into the stands right into the hands.....of a guy from Texas A & M.

So it is a simple little tale. High school star gets full ride to Texas A & M, but drops out and falls into alcohol and drugs. Completes rehab and tries ball again at a junior college. Gets hurt, loses passion for game and quits. Goes wandering around the West doing odd jobs to survive and search for answers. Has one last itch for baseball, enrolls back in school and hits like crazy. Gets drafted in 23rd round, and three years later gets to spring training. Makes the team out of camp and in his big league debut, he homers while his dad is being interviewed on TV. The home run comes off of Cy Young winner Roy Halladay and is caught by a guy from Texas A & M.

Even Hollywood couldn't write this story, no one would believe it.

All this because I know more about nothing...

Opening Day 2013...That Is How It Is Done!!!

Throwing you a bender because I just thought you should know...

2.2 million baseballs are ready to go (stay tuned for Stuff You Have To Know on that topic) while 30 teams are now evenly divided into two leagues making for an uneven schedule...and away we go with a great start to the 2013 baseball season!

Opening Day results are in for everyone and there were some phenomenal happenings. Check out the following excitement:

Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers makes us think it is all still Little League. You remember when the best pitcher was also the best hitter on each team too? Well, 25 year old Clayton threw a complete game shut out and homered as well to put his team ahead. Imagine if he plays shortstop next on days he isn't pitching!

Stephen Strasburg, just 24 years old and with the Opening Day assignment for a pre season World Series favorite team, pitched like a cagey veteran. Not as stunning as Bob Feller in 1940 - http://newkssportsshorts.blogspot.com/2012/04/hrefhttpwww.html -  but just as effective while facing only two hitters over the minimum. Throwing just 80 pitches, he went seven innings, gave up no runs, only three hits, and kept his pitch count down by striking out three hitters while getting ten ground ball outs. Apparently, he wants to pitch in October this year!

Bryce Harper is good at baseball. While still sporting a horrific haircut, the 20 year old was hitting 3rd in a contender's lineup on Opening Day. This is not the Houston Astros or some other "rebuilding" team we are talking about - he is placed in the most key spot for a World Series favorite, in many opinions. So surely this pressure was felt and ruffled him, right? Just like all the other spotlights he has been put under, Harper responded by exceeding expectations. This spotlight shone on a two home run performance that provided the winning margin for his team.

The pitching movement that has been in place the last three years appears to be in full force and heavy on young pitchers. The three youngest Opening Day starters combined for 23 2/3 scoreless innings with Kershaw, Strasburg, and Chris Sale of the White Sox all throwing great. At this point, after all the teams have now played, no starting pitcher over 30 years old has won a game. Pitchers are younger, throwing harder and with more movement on their pitches than ever. Combined with increased defensive positioning resulting in depriving hits, runs are hard to come by.

Interleague play happened on Opening Day for the first time ever and was so exciting for all involved, they decided to play 13 innings. Talking about young pitching and the new dominance it has, the Angels struck out 17 times Monday....and won!

Finally, free agency may be a dinosaur. Many lineups featured young stars who have already signed contract extensions through their arbitration and free agency years. The top hitters available next off season will all be in their 30's - not a formula for the new wave of baseball executives and how they think.

So climb aboard now, it is going to be a great ride and something to see. All these amazing items took place during just one game for each team....with the Cleveland Indians being in first place after all was said and done. Does it get much more exciting than that?

All this because I know more about nothing...