It was definitely one of the most bizarre major league baseball games I've ever witnessed. Game two of this weekend's three game interleague freeway series between the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Los Angeles Dodgers took place at Chavez Ravine tonight. Not surprisingly, it was your classic pitcher's duel... what was surprising was the result of the game and how it all came about.
Jeff Weaver of the Angels was unhittable in his six innings of work, allowing only three walks to the Dodgers. However, Weaver made one crucial error, botching a little dribbler by the speedy Matt Kemp in the bottom of the fifth inning. Kemp attempted to steal second a couple of pitches later, and Angels catcher Jeff Mathis' attempt to catch him was way off, sailing into center field for another error to put Kemp on third. A fly ball to right field by Blake DeWitt was far enough to score Kemp and give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. Reliever Jose Arredondo pitched a perfect 7th and 8th inning to preserve Weaver's no-hitter. The Angels could do nothing though with the Dodgers pitching either. Chad Billingsley only allowed three hits and three walks while striking out seven in his seven innings of work.
Jonathan Broxton held the lead while giving up a harmless single in the eighth. Takeshi Saito got two quick outs before allowing a double to Howie Kendrick and a walk to Mike Napoli to make things interesting. Saito then closed the door, striking out pinch hitter Reggie Willits to end the game. The box score for the Dodgers: ONE RUN, NO HITS, TWO ERRORS... How bizarre! Not even legendary announcer Vin Scully could remember seeing such a feat. What a game!
-----
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Leona Bleeds Into Rare Air: 10 Weeks at # 1!!!
The legend of Leona Lewis and her first hit "Bleeding Love" continues to grow here in America and all around the world. The smash hit has reached #1 in some 30 countries to date. Yesterday, it accomplished a VERY rare feat here on the U.S. Pop airplay charts, spending it's 10th consecutive week at #1! It's the first song to have double-digit weeks at the summit since Mariah Carey's comeback hit "We Belong Together" spent 11 weeks there in 2005. A quick look at the top 4 of the official chart which will be in Tuesday's edition of USA Today:
lw TW Artist Title TW lw Move Aud
1 1 LEONA LEWIS Bleeding Love 9837 10276 -439 62.359
2 2 RIHANNA Take A Bow 9628 9251 377 59.888
6 3 JESSE MCCARTNEY Leavin' 7538 6808 730 44.306
3 4 RAY J/YUNG BERG Sexy Can I 7202 7526 -324 46.575
Sadly, it doesn't look like "Bleeding Love" will have a chance to match Mariah or tie the all-time record of 12 weeks at #1 held by the 1995 Donna Lewis hit "I Love You Always Forever." It should fall below Rihanna's "Take A Bow" tomorrow on the charts. Still, for a debut song which got off to a fairly slow start to do this well, not to mention set the all-time weekly records for pop spins (10,993 on 5/4/08) and largest estimated listening audience (74,527,000 on 5/7/08) is some pretty big news and something to be VERY proud of!
"Bleeding Love" also spends it's fifth straight week on top of the Hot AC chart, with an even 4,000 spins. It also remains at #2 behind Sara Bareilles' "Love Song" on the Adult Contemporary chart.
So what's next for Leona here in the U.S.??? Well, her second single, "Better In Time" is due to go to pop radio for adds on July 15th. The buzz is already starting to grow on this song, as three weeks prior to the adds date it's already cracked the top 75 of the pop chart! Congratulations to Leona on her continued success here in America and all around the world!
-----
lw TW Artist Title TW lw Move Aud
1 1 LEONA LEWIS Bleeding Love 9837 10276 -439 62.359
2 2 RIHANNA Take A Bow 9628 9251 377 59.888
6 3 JESSE MCCARTNEY Leavin' 7538 6808 730 44.306
3 4 RAY J/YUNG BERG Sexy Can I 7202 7526 -324 46.575
Sadly, it doesn't look like "Bleeding Love" will have a chance to match Mariah or tie the all-time record of 12 weeks at #1 held by the 1995 Donna Lewis hit "I Love You Always Forever." It should fall below Rihanna's "Take A Bow" tomorrow on the charts. Still, for a debut song which got off to a fairly slow start to do this well, not to mention set the all-time weekly records for pop spins (10,993 on 5/4/08) and largest estimated listening audience (74,527,000 on 5/7/08) is some pretty big news and something to be VERY proud of!
"Bleeding Love" also spends it's fifth straight week on top of the Hot AC chart, with an even 4,000 spins. It also remains at #2 behind Sara Bareilles' "Love Song" on the Adult Contemporary chart.
So what's next for Leona here in the U.S.??? Well, her second single, "Better In Time" is due to go to pop radio for adds on July 15th. The buzz is already starting to grow on this song, as three weeks prior to the adds date it's already cracked the top 75 of the pop chart! Congratulations to Leona on her continued success here in America and all around the world!
-----
Saturday, June 21, 2008
DC and Nashville Pics/Blogs
As I get them posted, I'll continue to link them here... sorry for the very long delay:
6/2/08: Miss DC Pageant (5/31/08)
6/2/08: Arriving in Nashville
6/3/08: Carrie Underwood Fanclub Party
6/3/08: Tuesday Night Opry with Carrie Underwood, Montgomery Gentry, the Oak Ridge Boys & Luke Bryan
6/4/08: City Of Hope Celebrity Softball Game
6/5/08: Tour of Country Music and Musicians Hall Of Fames
6/6/08: Grand Ole Opry Hall of Fame and backstage tour
6/6/08: CMA Music Fest featuring Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill and surprise guest Keith Urban!
6/7/08: Leaving Nashville
6/2/08: Miss DC Pageant (5/31/08)
6/2/08: Arriving in Nashville
6/3/08: Carrie Underwood Fanclub Party
6/3/08: Tuesday Night Opry with Carrie Underwood, Montgomery Gentry, the Oak Ridge Boys & Luke Bryan
6/4/08: City Of Hope Celebrity Softball Game
6/5/08: Tour of Country Music and Musicians Hall Of Fames
6/6/08: Grand Ole Opry Hall of Fame and backstage tour
6/6/08: CMA Music Fest featuring Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill and surprise guest Keith Urban!
6/7/08: Leaving Nashville
Monday, June 16, 2008
Tiger Goes 91 for 14th Major!
While many golf fans yesterday were thrilled with the thought of an 18 hole Monday playoff to determine the 2008 U.S. Open Champion, many of us who watched as Tiger Woods birdie effort on 18 curled in the right edge of the cup to force today's playoff with Rocco Mediate knew that we weren't going to have the opportunity to see much of it. Yes, Monday is a workday for most of us Americans, and getting a vacation day on a Monday with zero notice is pretty much next to impossible for many (me included). And "calling in sick" of course was never an option.
My morning break from 10:45-11:00 and my 12:30-1:30 lunch would be my only opportunities to see Tiger continue to chase Jack Nicklaus and his 18 majors, and Rocco try to make some history of his own. As I did some quick calculations, this meant I'd probably get to see them play the 8th or 9th hole on my break, and the 17th and 18th holes during the first half of my lunch hour. Little did I know that having that extra half hour in my lunch hour would turn out to be VERY important.
The first nine holes of the playoff were to be televised from 9-11am on ESPN, the final nine on NBC from 11am-1pm. I figured I'd bring my little portable TV into work to try to catch the NBC's coverage. Well, that turned out to be an exercise in futility as the computers in my office all but kill any VHF reception. Thankfully, I had my cellphone. With ESPN offering a constantly updated blog, I was able to keep up with the tournament almost minute to minute on my cellphone even while working.
Perhaps it was nerves, but Rocco had rough first hole, bogeying to fall one down. Both players would par the second hole. The tide turned on the par-3 third, as Tiger bogeyed and Rocco nearly holed out his tee shot, making a short birdie putt to take a one stroke lead. Both players parred the fourth hole.
Then came a remarkable stretch of 11 holes where at least one of the players made either a birdie or bogey. Rocco bogeyed the fifth to make it all square. Tiger then birdied the sixth and seventh to lead by two strokes. Tiger stumbled again on another par-3 - the 8th hole, with a bogey to lose a stroke off his lead. Rocco bogeyed the par-5 9th and the 10th holes to suddenly find himself three strokes back. It appeared to be all but over at that point.
Tiger Woods doesn't give up three stroke leads with eight holes to play very often. Rocco Mediate though was like the prize fighter who would go down, but you could never knock out. The 11th through 15th holes must have been something to see. Bogeys by Tiger on the 11th and 12th cut his lead to one. Both players birdied the par-5 13th hole. Rocco then birdied 14 to tie Tiger and then did it again on 15 to take a one stroke lead. Was this really happening? Was Tiger going to lose?
As my lunch started right at 12:30pm, I saw the players putting out on 16 for their pars. Rocco was at even par for the day, Tiger was at +1. Both players missed long birdie putts on 17 and tapped in for pars. The par-5 18th hole would again prove to be pivotal. Rocco hit first and pulled his shot into a bunker to the left of the fairway. Tiger striped his drive some 350 yards into the middle of the fairway. Rocco laid up with his approach shot, while Tiger's approach found the green about 45 feet away. Rocco's third shot is true, landing only about 15 feet away. Tiger's eagle putt was never online and ended up just under five feet from the hole. Rocco's birdie putt for the championship was left all along, rolling three feet past the hole. Tiger prowled around for seemingly forever before draining his birdie putt to tie Rocco for the lead. Rocco sank his 3-footer and with that, they were off to the 7th hole to begin a sudden death playoff. Both players had played the course in even par, 71 strokes. Yes, we were going to 91 holes and beyond!
Tiger's tee shot on the 91st hole just found the right edge of the fairway. Rocco's drive on his nemesis hole found a left fairway bunker. Rocco's second shot was hooked badly, just missing going into the bleachers. Tiger then stuck his approach a little less than 25 feet away from the pin on the right side of the green. Rocco takes a drop from his bad lie, and I mentioned to a co-worker that "it was sad that he had to lose this way"... Rocco's approach shot was about 20 feet beyond the hole. In order for the playoff to go on, either Rocco was going to have drain that putt, or Tiger would have to three-putt. It seemed that finally the 2008 Open U.S. was going to be decided. Tiger hit his putt firmly and perfectly online, but it stopped just a few inches short of the hole. He tapped in for his par, and then watched as Rocco lined up his putt to extend the match to a 92nd hole. The putt was hit firm, but read with too much break. It slid by on the high side, and with that, at 1:28 pm Pacific Time, Tiger Woods had won his 14th major. Rocco Mediate had won the hearts of millions all around the world... Seriously, how can anyone not like that guy? Three minutes later, I was back at my desk working. Blessed? You bet I was!!!... it could not have worked out more perfectly! I got to see some more history made, and boy was it amazing!!!
Congratulations to Tiger on his win, and congratulations to Rocco on such a truly inspiring performance... it wasn't too long ago that Rocco was contemplating retirement thanks to a bad back. We're all pretty thankful he didn't retire aren't we? GREAT job, Rocco! In defeat, you truly were victorious this week.
For an even more detailed breakdown of what happened today, go to the terrific www.PGATOUR.com website and this "blow by blow" account of Tiger vs Rocco...
-----
My morning break from 10:45-11:00 and my 12:30-1:30 lunch would be my only opportunities to see Tiger continue to chase Jack Nicklaus and his 18 majors, and Rocco try to make some history of his own. As I did some quick calculations, this meant I'd probably get to see them play the 8th or 9th hole on my break, and the 17th and 18th holes during the first half of my lunch hour. Little did I know that having that extra half hour in my lunch hour would turn out to be VERY important.
The first nine holes of the playoff were to be televised from 9-11am on ESPN, the final nine on NBC from 11am-1pm. I figured I'd bring my little portable TV into work to try to catch the NBC's coverage. Well, that turned out to be an exercise in futility as the computers in my office all but kill any VHF reception. Thankfully, I had my cellphone. With ESPN offering a constantly updated blog, I was able to keep up with the tournament almost minute to minute on my cellphone even while working.
Perhaps it was nerves, but Rocco had rough first hole, bogeying to fall one down. Both players would par the second hole. The tide turned on the par-3 third, as Tiger bogeyed and Rocco nearly holed out his tee shot, making a short birdie putt to take a one stroke lead. Both players parred the fourth hole.
Then came a remarkable stretch of 11 holes where at least one of the players made either a birdie or bogey. Rocco bogeyed the fifth to make it all square. Tiger then birdied the sixth and seventh to lead by two strokes. Tiger stumbled again on another par-3 - the 8th hole, with a bogey to lose a stroke off his lead. Rocco bogeyed the par-5 9th and the 10th holes to suddenly find himself three strokes back. It appeared to be all but over at that point.
Tiger Woods doesn't give up three stroke leads with eight holes to play very often. Rocco Mediate though was like the prize fighter who would go down, but you could never knock out. The 11th through 15th holes must have been something to see. Bogeys by Tiger on the 11th and 12th cut his lead to one. Both players birdied the par-5 13th hole. Rocco then birdied 14 to tie Tiger and then did it again on 15 to take a one stroke lead. Was this really happening? Was Tiger going to lose?
As my lunch started right at 12:30pm, I saw the players putting out on 16 for their pars. Rocco was at even par for the day, Tiger was at +1. Both players missed long birdie putts on 17 and tapped in for pars. The par-5 18th hole would again prove to be pivotal. Rocco hit first and pulled his shot into a bunker to the left of the fairway. Tiger striped his drive some 350 yards into the middle of the fairway. Rocco laid up with his approach shot, while Tiger's approach found the green about 45 feet away. Rocco's third shot is true, landing only about 15 feet away. Tiger's eagle putt was never online and ended up just under five feet from the hole. Rocco's birdie putt for the championship was left all along, rolling three feet past the hole. Tiger prowled around for seemingly forever before draining his birdie putt to tie Rocco for the lead. Rocco sank his 3-footer and with that, they were off to the 7th hole to begin a sudden death playoff. Both players had played the course in even par, 71 strokes. Yes, we were going to 91 holes and beyond!
Tiger's tee shot on the 91st hole just found the right edge of the fairway. Rocco's drive on his nemesis hole found a left fairway bunker. Rocco's second shot was hooked badly, just missing going into the bleachers. Tiger then stuck his approach a little less than 25 feet away from the pin on the right side of the green. Rocco takes a drop from his bad lie, and I mentioned to a co-worker that "it was sad that he had to lose this way"... Rocco's approach shot was about 20 feet beyond the hole. In order for the playoff to go on, either Rocco was going to have drain that putt, or Tiger would have to three-putt. It seemed that finally the 2008 Open U.S. was going to be decided. Tiger hit his putt firmly and perfectly online, but it stopped just a few inches short of the hole. He tapped in for his par, and then watched as Rocco lined up his putt to extend the match to a 92nd hole. The putt was hit firm, but read with too much break. It slid by on the high side, and with that, at 1:28 pm Pacific Time, Tiger Woods had won his 14th major. Rocco Mediate had won the hearts of millions all around the world... Seriously, how can anyone not like that guy? Three minutes later, I was back at my desk working. Blessed? You bet I was!!!... it could not have worked out more perfectly! I got to see some more history made, and boy was it amazing!!!
Congratulations to Tiger on his win, and congratulations to Rocco on such a truly inspiring performance... it wasn't too long ago that Rocco was contemplating retirement thanks to a bad back. We're all pretty thankful he didn't retire aren't we? GREAT job, Rocco! In defeat, you truly were victorious this week.
For an even more detailed breakdown of what happened today, go to the terrific www.PGATOUR.com website and this "blow by blow" account of Tiger vs Rocco...
-----
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Tiger = Terrific!
Yes, it can sometimes be boring to watch a tournament in which Tiger Woods is competing as he seemingly always wins. Truth of the matter is though that he doesn't always win - he came in second in the Masters this year and due to injury he didn't play in the Players Championship or Memorial tournaments. Playing with an obvious hobble and wretching in pain with every shot hit with his driver, just him being out and playing at the U.S. Open was a remarkable accomplishment. After shooting a 30 on his final nine holes yesterday, he was only a shot off the lead at 2-under par at the midway point.
Today, Tiger struggled mightily all day to get the ball in the fairway, double-bogeying the first hole for the second time in three days. Through 12 holes, he was three strokes over par for round, and 1-over par for the tournament. With six holes left to play, he was five strokes behind Rocco Mediate who had gotten to 4-under par. And then came the Tiger Show: Part 74...
On the par-5 13th hole, another wayward drive somehow found a good lie on the rough that had been trampled down by the gallery. His second shot found the back fringe of the green some 65 feet away. Tiger rolled the long, right-to-left curling putt with a deft touch... as it approached the hole, it looked to have a chance. Sure enough it found the bottom of the cup. A bogey by Mediate on the same hole minutes later trimmed the margin to two strokes. A wayward drive by Tiger on 14 led to a bogey, to put him back down three. Mediate would stumble again on 15, with a double bogey that would cost him the lead. At one under par, he now was a stroke behind the steady Lee Westwood who made two birdies, a bogey and 15 pars in his round. With these developments, Tiger was still two strokes back. Mediate would bogey 16 to drop to even par. Suddenly, Westwood was the only player left in the field who was under par.
Tiger parred both 15 and 16, and then hit his tee shot into the left rough on 17. His approach to the green was well short, leaving him a tricky pitch from an awkward lie. Tiger hit his shot, and it looked right away like he hit it too hard. The ball landed only a few feet from the hole, bounced in the air and then on it's way down glanced off the flagstick and into to the cup for an improbable birdie. Westwood was being interviewed by NBC at the time, and the interviewer told him he was the only player under par and started to ask him about what it would be like to be the leader going into the final round of a major. The interviewer had to correct himself as word reached him that Tiger had birdied 17 to get to 1-under.
On the par-5 18th, Tiger was simply trying to do one thing: hit the fairway. Since he had been slicing his shots most of the day, he figured he would just play the slice with both his tee and approach shots. He grimaced in pain after hitting both shots, but as his approach stopped some 35 feet above the cup, you almost knew what was going to happen. Tiger hit the put well left of where announcer Johnny Miller seemed to think it should be hit. Nonetheless, the ball started tracking towards the hole... and once again found the bottom for another eagle! Tiger was finally in familiar territory: in the lead going into the final round of a major! If you didn't see it happening for yourself, you probably have believed it. Then again, with Tiger we've come to expect the unexpected. Three of the most amazing shots that I've EVER seen in the space of six holes. WOW!
------
Today, Tiger struggled mightily all day to get the ball in the fairway, double-bogeying the first hole for the second time in three days. Through 12 holes, he was three strokes over par for round, and 1-over par for the tournament. With six holes left to play, he was five strokes behind Rocco Mediate who had gotten to 4-under par. And then came the Tiger Show: Part 74...
On the par-5 13th hole, another wayward drive somehow found a good lie on the rough that had been trampled down by the gallery. His second shot found the back fringe of the green some 65 feet away. Tiger rolled the long, right-to-left curling putt with a deft touch... as it approached the hole, it looked to have a chance. Sure enough it found the bottom of the cup. A bogey by Mediate on the same hole minutes later trimmed the margin to two strokes. A wayward drive by Tiger on 14 led to a bogey, to put him back down three. Mediate would stumble again on 15, with a double bogey that would cost him the lead. At one under par, he now was a stroke behind the steady Lee Westwood who made two birdies, a bogey and 15 pars in his round. With these developments, Tiger was still two strokes back. Mediate would bogey 16 to drop to even par. Suddenly, Westwood was the only player left in the field who was under par.
Tiger parred both 15 and 16, and then hit his tee shot into the left rough on 17. His approach to the green was well short, leaving him a tricky pitch from an awkward lie. Tiger hit his shot, and it looked right away like he hit it too hard. The ball landed only a few feet from the hole, bounced in the air and then on it's way down glanced off the flagstick and into to the cup for an improbable birdie. Westwood was being interviewed by NBC at the time, and the interviewer told him he was the only player under par and started to ask him about what it would be like to be the leader going into the final round of a major. The interviewer had to correct himself as word reached him that Tiger had birdied 17 to get to 1-under.
On the par-5 18th, Tiger was simply trying to do one thing: hit the fairway. Since he had been slicing his shots most of the day, he figured he would just play the slice with both his tee and approach shots. He grimaced in pain after hitting both shots, but as his approach stopped some 35 feet above the cup, you almost knew what was going to happen. Tiger hit the put well left of where announcer Johnny Miller seemed to think it should be hit. Nonetheless, the ball started tracking towards the hole... and once again found the bottom for another eagle! Tiger was finally in familiar territory: in the lead going into the final round of a major! If you didn't see it happening for yourself, you probably have believed it. Then again, with Tiger we've come to expect the unexpected. Three of the most amazing shots that I've EVER seen in the space of six holes. WOW!
------
Friday, June 13, 2008
R.I.P. Tim Russert
As I found out about Tim Russert's passing earlier today, I was both saddened and shocked. At times he almost seemed bigger than life when he covered politics, but it was just Tim being Tim. There was no one in the news business who worked harder, or had the passion for politics as he did. A man of great fairness and integrity, a family man, a true gentleman. In this age of media bias, he was someone that you could truly trust. Someone who was universally loved no matter what your political leanings are. He was a role model for everyone. No one did it better, and I doubt I will see anyone again in my lifetime who ever cover politics the way did. Rest in peace, Tim. You are already missed!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
You Be Illin'...
I guess it was appropriate that I had a cold while the Lakers blew a 24 POINT LEAD tonight in game 4 of the NBA Finals at Staples Center against the soon-to-be World Champion Boston Celtics. I be illin'... the other Lakers fans be illin'... the whole city of L.A. be illin'... and no, the officials didn't have anything to do with it... it was Christmas in June here tonight. :(
-----
-----
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
