Saturday, July 3, 2010

Sports Night

Raise your hand if that short-lived yet brilliant show was one of your favorites...me too.

Now go check out some of the latest musings on the sports that are currently important (hint: that means baseball and the kind of football that the rest of the world plays, no Lebron will not be making an appearance).

Let's start with some World Cup coverage shall we.  This is probably my favorite sporting event, the stage is enormous, the entire world gets way into it, and the stakes, tension, pressure, and excitement grow with every game.  It was a bit of a rough weekend with Ghana and Paraguay (the sides I was pulling for) going out in heartbreaking style.  Still good showings from both countries but still.  At this point I'm an underdog fan so go Uruguay! I hate rooting for teams that knocked off my previous interest, but that's just how it's gone this time around.  Plus Frolan has been a lot of fun to watch and way involved in every game. Maybe what I really want to say is go Netherlands though...

On the internets, Twitter has been a buzz during the Cup with lots of cool little features like the soccer ball for the #WorldCup and flags if you hash-tag the countries as well.  Also, perhaps not surprisingly, Twitter will often tell you that it's over capacity if you check it right after a goal or a game ends.

Roddy Doyle wrote a terrific little piece for the New Yorker's website on watching England lose.  And Joe Posnanski, who I hadn't pegged as a soccer fan, has been turning in excellent dispatches from his trip to South Africa.  Back at the New Yorker, Reeves Wiedeman has a nice look at the importance of soccer to the ANC prisoners on Robbins island in South Africa's ever-present past.

On the diamond, Joe P had a nice piece on Bob Gibson last week.  He's been on a streak of sorts writing eloquently about older players stars and less recognized guys alike.  Rob Neyer's look at the "rules" surrounding tender young arms is more than worth your time as well.  Now if I could just figure out what the Bull's rotation schedule looked like so I could go see Hellickson throw.

On a final note if you'd like to give your inner sports fan a good scare, or just stay on top of a developing situation the new blog Balls, Strikes, and Lockouts wants you to know that all of the major leagues have labor agreements coming up for negotiation in the next calendar year.  As a hockey fan who's seen two games since the lockout and still misses Coach on NHL Tonight let's hope they get this stuff sorted.  Balls, Strikes, and Lockouts looks to be a spot that will help you keep it sorted along the way.

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