12 straight

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been playing the best hockey that Pittsburgh has seen in a very long time. After starting the season on a low note, the Pens have won twelve straight games and during this streak Captain Sidney Crosby has had a point in every game. The Pens went from fourth in the Atlantic division to a one-point lead over rival Philadelphia. The Pens’ streak will be tested again this week as they travel to Philadelphia on Tuesday to play a tough Flyers’ team. The Penguins have the best record in the NHL at 21-8-2 and are on the verge of their second President’s trophy and first since 1993.

Crawford Moving Outside of the Tank

Carl Crawford has been a Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Ray since he was drafted 52^nd overall in the 1999 MLB Draft. He played his first game for Tampa in 2002 and his last in 2010. Crawford has been the prominent Rays’ player in history, but on Wednesday he signed a 7 year 142 million dollar deal with divisional rival the Boston Red Sox. Crawford was always a fan favorite in Tampa and many thought he would be a Ray throughout his career, but he decided to sign elsewhere leaving a gap in left field for the Rays.

Pens Streaking

The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Columbus Bluejacket last night 7-2 which gave the Pens a nine game winning streak. The pens started off the season on a low note with goalie marc-Andre Fleury losing is first few games, but lately Fleury has been back to his ld ways which has given the pens a confidence boost. Sidney Crosby has been leading the way with two hat tricks in his last two home games. If the penguins continue to play the way they have in the past few weeks the will have a good chance of winning their fourth Stanley Cup.

TCU Big East Bound

The Big East athletic conference has announced this week that Texas Christian University will be joining the conference starting in the 2012-2013 academic year.  TCU will be making the jump from the Mountain West Conference in order to play in a BCS conference in football. Although they are primarily making the move for football, all TCU men and women sports will be moving to the Big East Conference. The move may seem unusual since TCU is not in the Mid-Atlantic area and other teams will now be adding the extra expenses to make the trip to Texas in order to play them.

Thanksgiving Day Tradition

The Detroit Lions have been playing in one of the Thanksgiving Day Classic games since the early 1900’s. Detroit has had some success in these games throughout their existence, but lately Thanksgiving Day has been a day of losing for the Lions. The Lions haven’t won a game on Thanksgiving since they defeated the Green Bay Packers in 2003. The Dallas Cowboys are another team that plays every Thanksgiving Day, but is it time for other teams to get a chance to play or should these teams continue this tradition? I know that the NFL has added a third game to the football lineup on Thanksgiving, but with the Lions being as bad as they have been over the years do they deserve to play in this national game every year?

Boise State Upset

The Boise State Broncos were on the verge of another undefeated season and extending their NCAA leading winning streak, but the streak and the shot at a BCS bid ended versus the Nevada Wolf Pack. Boise State started the game by scoring 17 straight points on their first three drives to give them a 17-0 lead, but Nevada took the game over in the second half outscoring Boise 24-7. Nevada and Boise are both tied for the lead on top of the Western Athletic Conference with 6-1 records. Boise State had hoped to be ranked in the AP top 5 all season, but they dropped to number 9 after they lost to Nevada.

Fleury Returning To Starting Form

When Marc-Andre Fleury began the 2010-2011 season, he hoped that it had started out differently. Fleury started the season 1-6, which is the worst start that he has had while playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins. His starting position was in jeopardy because of Brent Johnson who was playing his best hockey in a long time, winning 6 games for the Pens. Coach Bylsma gave Fleury another shot Friday night versus the Tampa Bay Lightning and he took advantage of this opportunity by being named the first star of the game and helping lead the Pens to a 5-1 win. The Penguins also beat the Atlanta Thrashers Saturday night with Fleury in net. Fleury is beginning to show signs of his old ways when he led the Penguins to two straight Stanley Cup Finals. The Penguins’ season not only relies on its star players Crosby and Malkin, but on defense with Marc-Andre Fleur

Kicker Gets Booted For Pink Cleats

October is known throughout America as Breast Cancer Awareness month. To show support for breast cancer awareness, the NFL wears pink items in honor of family members and friends who have died or recovered from this type of cancer. In Mississippi, a high school athlete from Mendenhall High School wanted to show his support for breast cancer by wearing pink cleats. Coy Sheppard was the kicker for Mendenhall High School until he was booted off of the team for wearing pink cleats. Sheppard was showing support for his great-grandmother and grandmother who both were breast cancer survivors. Medenhall High School’s Head Coach didn’t want Sheppard to wear these cleats so in order to get his point across he kicked him off the team. The school’s athletic program backed the coach, who was wrong and Sheppard was not allowed back on the team. I think that it is wrong to kick a player off a team for wearing pink cleats. Many teams in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, which I play in, wore pink skate laces to show support for breast cancer. If a player wants to wear pink cleats to show support he should be able to do so.

A Year to Forget

Tiger Woods just finished the 2010 PGA season without a win for the first time in his career. His best finishes were at the PGA Championship and the Masters where he finished tied for fourth and had a shot at winning both championships. Winning is what Woods does best. He had been the number one ranked golfer in the world, but he lost that status last week when Lee Westwood took over the spot as top golfer. I believe that Woods will bounce back next year and retake the number one spot in golf, as well as win a major championship. Woods had a rough season, but he will put it behind him and move on.

Put Your 84 Jerseys Away

After an anticipated return to the Minnesota Vikings just a few weeks ago, Randy Moss was released by the Vikings this week only to be picked up by the Tennessee Titans. Moss spent his first seven years in the NFL with Minnesota and was one of the top wide receivers in the league. But Moss’ return to his former team was stopped short when Brad Childress released him without any reason. Many Vikings fans want Childress fired as Head Coach, and many believe that he will not have a job if the Vikings lose this week. Moss will play for his third team this year when the Titans play the Miami Dolphins next week

It’s A Great Day For Hockey

The Pittsburgh Penguins finally unveiled their jerseys on Thursday for the 2011 Winter Classic that will be played at Heinz Field on January 1^st, 2011. The new jerseys were heavily anticipated when the NHL announced back in July that the 2011 Winter Classic would be played between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals in Pittsburgh. When the game was announced, the Penguins’ logo was unveiled which was the original logo they had used, but the jersey was not. The game’s hype has been centered on NHL superstars Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin and once the Capitals’ jerseys were released, it wasn’t long before Crosby and his team saw what they would be wearing for the game. The Penguins’ jersey is a mix between multiple generations of Penguins’ jerseys. This is different than the jersey they wore in the first Winter Classic in 2008 which was a throwback uniform from the 1970’s. I am looking forward to the Winter Classic on January 1^st, and I will be watching it live in person because I was fortunate to win an opportunity to purchase tickets to the game. 

291 and Done?

Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback Brett Favre has started in 291 straight games in the National Football League, but that streak is in jeopardy on Sunday when the Vikings play the New England Patriots. Favre started this amazing streak back in 1992 when he was named the Green Bay Packers starting quarterback prior to their games versus the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 27. Since that date, Favre has never missed a start. Favre has been the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, and the Minnesota Vikings throughout this streak of consecutive games played. During this streak, Favre has thrown for 504 touchdowns and over 70,000 passing yards. Favre has been known has super man during this streak playing through injuries, his father’s death, and all the pain that has come from getting hit game after game. In last Sunday’s game against his former team the Green Bay Packers, Favre suffered two fractures in his left ankle that could cause him to miss his first start in his career. If any player is able to play through an injury it would be Favre, but with a 2-4 record the Vikings need a quarterback that can win not just play. I don’t believe that Favre will start on Sunday, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.

Giant Finish

When Brian Wilson took the mound in the ninth inning Saturday night, he didn’t just have the weight of the San Francisco Giants on his back, he had the entire weight of the city of San Francisco as well. Going into the National League Championship Series, the Philadelphia Phillies were looking to win their third straight National League title and have a shot at their second World Series title in three years, but that chance was crushed when Ryan Howard struck out to end the game. The Phillies once held a 2-0 lead in the game, but the Giants fought back tying the game in the third inning. Juan Uribe hit the most important homerun in his career when he drove a solo homerun over the left field wall to give the Giants a 3-2 lead. The Phillies didn’t give up when they had two players on base in the ninth inning, but Brian Wilson struck out Ryan Howard for a LCS record tying 12 times to give the Giants a trip to the World Series for the first time since 2002. Although I wanted the Phillies to win this series, I am also glad to see two different organizations in the World Series for the first time in awhile. The Giants will face a tough Texas Rangers team who I believe will win their first World Series title. 

Flash Back of 1996

            

Tuesday night, the new Yankee Stadium witnessed a similar event that the old Yankee Stadium observed fifteen years ago. In the bottom of the second inning of game 5 of the ALCS, Robinson Canoe hit a low drive ball that barely cleared the left field fence. As Texas Rangers’ right fielder Nelson Cruiz attempted to catch the ball and deprive Canoe of the home run, a fan interfered with the play and caught the ball as he leaned out of his seat and over the fence. The MLB, who in the past two years has implemented an instant replay for instances like this one, chose not to replay this call and gave Canoe a homerun. Although this event didn’t affect the outcome of the game, the Rangers beat the Yankees 10-3. In Game One of the 1996 ALCS, a very similar event occurred at the old Yankees' stadium, which cost the Baltimore Orioles a win. In this game, Derek Jeter hit a homerun that cleared the left field fence because Yankees' fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the fence and caught the ball above the Orioles' left fielder.  When the MLB implemented the instant replay rule, they created it to fix instances like these so that the right call would be made and not affect the outcome of the game. Tuesday night’s call by the umpiring crew was wrong and luckily for them it didn’t affect the outcome of the final score. Fans shouldn’t be allowed to influence a game like this and get away with it. I believe that if a fan interferes with the game, they should be asked to leave or given another seat. MLB Playoffs are supposed to determine the best team in the major league and not allow the fans to determine the outcome of the game with instances like these.

Texas Size Celebration

When the Texas Rangers took the field in St. Petersburg, Florida on Tuesday night, they were looking to do something that no other Rangers team has done before, win a playoff series. The Texas Rangers came into the MLB in 1961, but prior to Tuesday night they were the only organization in the majors to never have won a playoff series before. That fate changed when Cliff Lee threw a complete game, only giving up one earned run and was backed by the five runs scored by the Rangers offense. The Tampa Bay Rays had their chances in the game, but when they needed a hit, Lee struck them out or got them to pop up or ground out.  When the game was over, the Rangers had achieved their first ever playoff series win. Following the game, the players partook in a MLB tradition series win celebration, but the Rangers knew that in order for the entire team to participate in the celebration they needed to get something special for center fielder Josh Hamilton. Hamilton is a recovering alcoholic and did not want to join his teammates in the celebration because the team would be popping open Champaign bottles and showering their teammates in alcohol. On this night, Hamilton’s teammates had something special for him. When Hamilton walked into the clubhouse, he saw his teammates waiting for him with bottles of Canada Dry ginger ale. Previously, when the Rangers clinched the American West division title, Hamilton did not join in the celebration, but on this night he was united with his teammates. I think that the Rangers made a classy move by involving their leader, Hamilton in their celebration by not pressuring him into being around alcohol, but spraying Ginger Ale on him which made him more comfortable in joining in the festivities. The Rangers will host the New York Yankees in the ALCS in pursuit of their first American League Championship.

Boise State BCS Bound

When the Bowl Championship Series first rankings of the season are released, the projected number one team in the nation is predicted to be the Boise State Broncos. Boise State has started the season with a 5-0 record getting wins against a tough Virginia Tech team on the road and an impressive win over ranked Oregon State at home. Boise State has played in two BCS bowl games since the 2006 season and hopes to appear in their third at the end of this season. In both of the BCS games, Boise State was victorious beating Oklahoma and TCU. In the minds of sports analysts and college football followers, Boise State does not deserve to be the top ranked team in the nation because they are not apart of one of the BCS conferences. Boise State plays out of the Western Athletic Conference where they usually end up winning the conference championship each year. Although they are not in a BCS conference, I believe that Boise State deserves to be the best team in the nation because when they play top teams like Texas Christian University, Virginia Tech, and Oregon State, they get the job done, and beat these teams along with the teams they are supposed to beat.  Although many sport analysts believe that if Boise State played in the SEC, Big Ten or Big Twelve conferences they would not win a game all year, they would be wrong.  The Boise State Broncos are a legitimate contender for the BCS national championship and deserve to be the top ranked team in the first BCS standings.

Red Doc-tober

When the Philadelphia Phillies take the field tonight in game one of the National League Divisional Series versus the Cincinnati Reds, they will be led by Roy Halladay who will be making his first post-season appearance. Halladay was the ace pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays for twelve seasons, but during his time with the Jays he never made a post-season appearance. As the off-season approached, the Philadelphia Phillies made room for Halladay by trading Cliff Lee to the Seattle Mariners and the rest is history. By bringing Halladay into their rotation, the Phillies made an already powerful pitching staff even better. As the 2010 season progressed, the Phillies also picked up starting pitcher Roy Oswalt from the Houston Astros. The Phillies recent success started in 2007 when they clinched their first playoff berth since losing to the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series in 1993. In 2008, the Phillies won their first World Series since 1980 and then lost to the New York Yankees in the 2009 World Series. With Halladay and Oswalt in their rotation I believe that the Phillies will be the team to beat in the National League for many years to come. The Phillies are becoming the Yankees of the NL with players wanting to be a part of their organization and also being paid well. If NL organizations aren’t able to bring in top players for their teams, the Phillies will continue to dominate the league. In order for a team to take over the NL they must defeat the Phillies, which will be tough to do with their overpowering pitching and powerful batting lineup. 

Tropicana Field Gets Welcoming Ground Rule Changes

On Monday, the Tampa Bay Rays received some news from Major League Baseball that there will be some significant changes that will be made to its ground rules. Prior to Monday, any ball that hit any of the uppermost catwalks at Tropicana Field were live balls which meant that a routine fly ball could result in a single, double, triple, or even an inside the park homerun because of the uncertainty of the catwalks. But on Monday, this ground rule that has haunted Tropicana Field finally changed. The new rule states that any ball that hits the upper most catwalks, the A or B rings, any light or suspended object in fair territory, will be a dead ball and the pitch will not count. This rule should have been in effect since 1998 when the Devil Rays took the field for the first time, but it was a rule thirteen seasons in the making. On August 5^th, with the Rays tied with the Minnesota Twins, Jason Kubel hit a towering pop fly that struck catwalk A and dropped for a base hit which scored the winning run for the Twins. The game dropped the Rays out of first place as the New York Yankees took over the tope spot in the American League East. Following the Loss, Joe Maddon, Ray’s Manager, said that this is a prime example of why the Rays need a new ballpark since their home field is supposed to help them win games not lose them. Along with this rule change, any ball that hits the C or D catwalk rings in fair territory will be an automatic homerun which is similar to the old ground rule at the Trop. This ground rule change will benefit the Rays as they pursue their second American League championship with home field advantage in the AL side of the playoffs.

The Rays Don’t Shine as Bright Indoors

When the Tampa Bay Rays took the field against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night with a chance to clinch their second playoff birth in franchise history, the stadium was filled with an embarrassing crowd of 12,466 people. With exception to the Rays, every team in contention, or who have already clinched a playoff birth have fans scalping tickets outside of their team’s stadium because extra tickets are rare to come by. In St. Petersburg, fans can walk up to ticket gates and purchase tickets on the night of any game. Throughout the season, the only games at Tropicana Field that sold out were games against the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, and Saturday night games which featured a celebrity concert following the game. The Rays have the best record in the American League at 94-63 and deserve a better fan support. When the Rays clinched their first playoff birth in 2008 against the Minnesota Twins, Tropicana Field was packed with 34,048 fans and sold out the balance of their post-season game. Buck Showalter, Baltimore Orioles manager, said that the Rays deserve more than 12,000 fans in attendance during their games because they are a great ball club. The Rays will finish their season playing four games versus the Kansas City Royals as they look to clinch their second American League East title in three years. Although Tampa has not received the support they deserved throughout the season, the organization believes that the fans will come out and support their team as they pursue their first World Series title. 

Rock Slide

When the American Collegiate Hockey Association released its pre-season rankings for the upcoming 2010-2011 division one season, Slippery Rock University was left off of this list. Last season, SRU went a Continental Hockey Mid-Atlantic division best 20-7-0-0-1 capturing its first regular season championship along with an automatic berth to the National Championship playoffs. Unfortunately, due to injuries, Slippery Rock University was forced to pull its spot in Nationals giving Kent State a shot at winning it all. Even with their impressive 2009-2010 season, the ACHA voters decided to keep SRU off of this list. Rounding out the top twenty-five includes West Chester University at number twenty-three, West Virginia University at number twenty-four, and Rutgers University at number twenty-five. SRU only lost three seniors this season and picked up an impressive twelve player recruiting class. The success from last year should have put the pride into ACHA’s top twenty-five ranking, but for some odd reason they were kept off the list. The pride started out their season by defeating Washington & Jefferson College 8-7, United States Naval Academy 3-1 and Towson University 9-0. The upcoming season will be a test of wills for the pride, as they will face four top twenty-five ranked teams in the next three weeks as they battle for a trip to the National Championship playoffs. 

The Vick Era in Philadelphia

When the Philadelphia Eagles took the field in Detroit on Sunday, they relied on quarterback Michael Vick to help lead them to their first win of the 2010 season. Sunday was Vick’s first start in the National Football League since he played for the Atlanta Falcons in 2006. After the 2006 season, Vick served eighteen-months in jail for his alleged role in a dog fighting operation. Although Vick had not started as quarterback since 2006, when he took the first snap versus the Lions it seemed as if he never skipped a beat. Vick went twenty-one of thirty-four, throwing for two-hundred and eighty-four yards along with two touchdown passes and thirty-seven rushing yards. Although Vick led the Eagles to a thirty-five to thirty-two victory over the Lions, Andy Reid announced Monday that Kevin Kolb, injured for Sunday’s game versus the Lions, would start versus the Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday. Despite Vick’s comments saying that he was okay with Kolb being the starter in Philadelphia, most Eagles fans believe that Vick should start in Jacksonville. During the Reid/McNabb era in Philadelphia, Andy Reid stuck by Donavan even when he was in a slump and the team was losing. With Andy Reid’s commitment to his starting quarterback, even if Vick won consecutive games for the Eagles, Reid would still start Kevin Kolb when he was healthy. Kevin Kolb’s debut as starter for the Eagles started out on the wrong note as he went five for ten for twenty-four passing yards before leaving the game with a concussion. In the second half, Michael Vick led the Eagles to a late comeback throwing for one-hundred and seventy-five yards, but it wasn’t enough as the Green Bay Packers held on for the win. Vick’s recent success should have earned him the starting quarterback position, but when Sunday comes around he will find himself back on the bench. It’s wrong that Andy Reid will not start Vick this Sunday or most likely any other Sunday this season if Kevin Kolb remains healthy. Most teams want to ride the winning quarterback or the player in any position that is leading their team to victory, but during the Reid era the Eagles have never done this. The Eagles still haven’t won a Super Bowl championship and will not under Andy Reid if he doesn’t change his coaching style. 

Introduction

My name is Zach Cunningham and I am a Sophomore Sport Management major at Slippery Rock University. I reside in Malvern, Pennsylvania, which is forty minutes west of Philadelphia.  When I am not studying, I enjoy playing ice hockey and working out. I play ice hockey for our school’s ACHA Division One ice hockey team, and spend most of my time outside of the classroom at the rink.  I am a devoted fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Tampa Bay Rays. During each team’s individual season I watch or listen to every game to see how my teams are performing. When I graduate from Slippery Rock University with a Sport Management degree, I hope to become an Athletic Director at an inter-scholastic school or work at a sporting facility in Florida.