Rays have proved point

At the all-star break, I wrote that the Red Sox and Yankees would make the playoffs and the Rays would wilt under the pressure in September.

 

Wrong!

 

In September, I still figured they didn't have enough to hold off the superpowers.

 

Wrong!

 

The Rays not only won the division, they cruised past the White Sox in four games to advance to the American League Championship Series to face my beloved Boston Red Sox.

 

OK Tampa Bay, you've proved your point. We'll all remember your magical run. Now it's time to go away and let us watch the Red Sox go for their third Series title in five years.

 

Wishful thinking.

Where are the good teams?

Aside from the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, I'm having trouble finding a good AND consistent team in the National Football League.

The Cowboys have the most talent, but in consecutive home games they lost to Washington and had to hang on to beat the winless Bengals.

Those Redskins are interesting. They are physical on both lines and if QB Jason Campbell continues to play mistake-free football, they could become last year's Giants.

The Steelers are good, but quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is taking way too many hits and that doesn't translate into a long playoff run.

The Titans are also unbeaten, but scare noone. They play tough defense and try to win games 17-14. They will make the playoffs, but it's hard seeing them dominating anyone.

Things change fast in the NFL, so I hope we start seeing some of the better teams - San Diego, Philadelphia and Indianapolis - starting to play like it.

Sardina: American Team won't miss Woods until singles

Tiger Woods is the best golfer in the world ... by far. It's not even a discussion.

 

His compatriots, however, will not miss him at this week's Ryder Cup at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.

 

The Americans have been embarassed by the Europeans the past two Ryder Cups and head into Friday's play without the world's No. 1 player.

 

I think it will be advantageous. Now, instead of looking to Woods to dominate this team competiton as he does individual tournaments, the Americans will have to look in the mirror and take it on themselves to turn the tables on the favored Europeans.

 

I'm still not sure the U.S. has what it takes to beat Europe, but I guarantee a much better performance by the red, white and blue.

Harrington clutch

Padraig Harrington has done things that not even Tiger Woods has. ... coming from behind to win majors.

 

Harrington's play down the stretch in the last two majors has been incredible.

 

And the fact that the players ahead of him weren't folding like lawn chairs - as is often the case when Tiger is near the leaders - makes his performances even more impressive.

 

The thing I want to see is Harrington battling Woods coming down the final few holes next April in Augusta.

 

It's amazing to say, but I'm not positive Woods would win that battle.

 

 

Wouldn't want to be Rodgers

Ask Jay Fiedler or Brian Griese how difficult it can be following an iconic quarterback.

 

Whether it's his fault or not, Aaron Rodgers, the new leader of the Green Bay Packers, will be blamed if the team fails to at least make the second round of the playoffs this season.

 

The defense could be awful, the running game non-existent, but the spotlight will be squarely on Rodgers as fans will compare him to their beloved Brett Favre every step of the way in his first season guiding the Packers.

 

There will be a lot of fans saying 'Brett would've made that play'. After every tough game or loss, the media will compare him to Favre ad nauseum.

 

That's something Rodgers better be prepared for.

 

Aside from Steve Young, there hasn't been a quarterback in the last 20 years to successfully follow a legend. And Young was already an established NFL star.

 

Good luck Aaron, you're going to need it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

More games, less Favre

While reporters follow Brett Favre into the bathroom and hide under his bed in hopes of getting the next meaningless story in this endless saga, I am more interested in watching rookies fight for jobs during actual NFL games.

 

Sunday night we saw two sixth-rounders - the Redskins' Colt Brennan and the Colts' Mike Hart - show why NFL scouts and draft analysts should pay more attention to game film, rather than measurables like height, weight, and 40-yard dash times.

 

Brennan and Hart, both incredibly productive college football players, were the best players on the field during the Hall of Fame Game in Canton and both will contribute in some way early in their careers, while other high-round draft picks with blazing 40 times and rocket arms will play a year or two and never be heard from again.

 

I know it's just the preseason, and the elite players either don't suit up at all or are in the game for only a few snaps, but keep an eye on the stars of tomorrow, because there's a Tom Brady or Terrell Davis on some team's roster.  

Lampley needs to go; Steward amazing as always

After getting home from work Saturday night, i tuned in to HBO to watch the replay of the classic welterweight title bout between Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto.

 

The fight, won by the challenger Margarito by TKO in the 11th round, was what makes good prize fighting one of the most thrilling events in sports.

 

Non-stop action, guys taking and giving for three minutes of every round. Can't beat it.

 

But the thing I remember most from the broadcast was the incredibly one-sided commentating by HBO boxing host Jim Lampley.

 

If you just listened to the fight, you would have thought Cotto was winning by a landslide. Margarito threw way more punches and landed as much while chasing Cotto around the ring for 32 minutes.

 

But all you heard from Lampley was how Cotto was getting the better of the action.

 

It was nauseating. This isn't the first time i've noticed this, but this time he almost ruined a classic fight.

 

When the action is this intense, sometimes less can be more, and Lampley just doesn't get it.

 

Someone who does get it is Lampley's partner, Emanuel Steward, a trainer who does analysis for HBO.

 

Steward is the best analyst in boxing and maybe the best ever. After the first round or two, he always makes a remark that 90 percent of the time ends up happening.

 

During the second round of this fight, Steward said that while Cotto was winning, he didn't think he would be able to withstand Margarito's pressure for a full 12 rounds.

 

He does this almost every fight, and he makes watching boxing a learning experience.

 

I'm also impressed with Max Kellerman, who knows the sport inside and out and is a very good post-fight interviewer.