Sporting Life

It’s 2 a.m. in New York right now and the All-Star game is still going (Wait, just as I typed that, Justin Morneau scored on Micahael Young’s sac fly to win it for the AL. Make that 11 straight for the DH League). Anyways, I want to know what MLB would have done if both teams ran out of pitchers again like they did a couple of years ago when Bud Selig ended the Mid Summer Classic in a stalemate. We’ve been throwing out few suggestions  here in the Sentinel newsroom:

TIE GOES TO THE RUNNER: Inspired by Sentinel writer Jim Seimas’ participation in the Milwaukee Brewers’ famed sausage race. Each team picks their fastest runner to don a wiener suit and race around the warning track. Maybe make it relay since baseball, after all, is a team game.

PICK A FAN, ANY FAN: Imagine sitting in the upper deck at Yankee Stadium tonight trying to stay awake as the game creeps into the 13th inning. Suddenly the PA announcer says, “Would the fan sitting in section 312, row 10, seat 17 please make their way down to the field.” Next thing you know, you’re buttoning up an American League jersey and pitching to Albert Pujols. Sure there would be a few minor liability issues, but it’s better than one of the real players blowing out their arm.

THE ANTI-RINGER: Each team should be required to keep the pitcher with the highest ERA in its league on its All-Star roster just in case scoring hits a stand-still in extra innings. It’s hard to break a 3-3 tie when Brandon Webb is on the mound. Not so tough when Brett Tomko is out there.

I would trade all of my worldly possessions to experience half of the joy Kevin Garnett felt last night after winning the NBA title. Did you see his post-game interview? Here it is if you didn’t). He could barely speak, though he did pull himself together enough to flirt with Michelle Tafoya. He is a man who was born to play basketball, and he finally achieved basketball’s biggest prize. His entire existence has been validated by holding up that trophy.

Good for him. KG is probably the only super-mega star I’ve had a close encounter with, and he seems like a genuinely decent person. While covering a Kings-Timberwolves game a couple of years ago in Sacramento, I was in the T-Wolves locker room getting post-game audio for a local radio station. Garnett is notorious for taking a long time to shower and dress, and by the time he came out for interviews a representative from the NBA was telling reporters we only had a couple of minutes before we had to get out of there. One of the Sacramento writers was trying to get in a question for a story he was working on, and this was going to be his only chance to ask Garnett since the T-Wolves’ bus was parked outside waiting to take them to the airport. Just as the reporter got a chance to ask his question, the NBA rep interrupted him and said our time was up. KG held up his hand to the rep, gestured to the reporter, and asked him to repeat the question. He gave the reporter a long, articulate quote, and asked if anybody else needed anything. Maybe he was just in a good mood because Minnesota won that night, but super-mega stars rarely give that kind of consideration to reporters.

I’m as jealous as anybody else of seeing Boston fans getting to celebrate in every sport, and I know the deal to send KG to the Celtics is suspect, but it was still uplifting to see an unselfish, hardworking player take his place among the all-time greats. This was a nice story on what winning the championship means to Garnett. I especially enjoyed the video at the top in which KG explains how winning the championship feels like punching a bully in the mouth.

I told myself not to let this happen. I wasn’t going to become one of those guys who frets over how to cure his slice. Stick to tennis, I said; it’s cheaper and better exercise. But despite my best intentions, I’ve been playing golf more and more.

Sure, I’ve always enjoyed going to the driving range and seeing how far I could launch the ball, but I never wanted a relaxing hour on the range to become practice time. Still, I find myself setting aside the driver for a pitching wedge and working on approach shots.

More of my days off are becoming days on the golf course. I’m even considering trying to figure out my handicap. Until today, I had no idea how to do that, but fellow Sentinel writer Jim Seimas showed me Yahoo! will keep track of it for you here. Thanks again, Internet, for helping me feed another addiction. It’s time to admit and accept that I’ve fully caught the golf bug. I have a new set of irons waiting for me at home and several golf dates planned throughout the summer.

Recently, I’ve been getting to know a few of the courses around Santa Cruz County. Here are my reviews of them so far, based on my first impressions:

Valley Gardens Golf Course (Scotts Valley): By far the course I’ve played the most around here simply because it is the cheapest ($16 for nine holes) and is great for getting out for a quick half-round. It’s a great place to play as a beginner because it’s short with four par-4s and no par-5s and the atmosphere is very relaxed. You don’t have to worry about embarrassing yourself in front of some scratch golfer in designer Titleist clothes. On the other hand, you do have to watch out for errant shots because the holes are all packed next to each other and the average Garden golfer usually hits a fairway other than the one they’re aiming at (myself included). A busy day at the Garden can make you feel like you are in the middle of a war zone, except for everyone is yelling “FORE!” instead of “FIRE IN THE HOLE!”

DeLaveaga Golf Course (Santa Cruz): Definitely the most challenging course I’ve ever played. A buddy of mine refuses to golf there ever again because the one time he did, he lost his entire stash of balls through nine holes and stormed off the course. While I’ve certainly lost my share of balls at DeLa as well, I really enjoyed the couple of times of played there. The fairways are pretty tight and it seems like there’s trouble to the right on just about every hole, but the course is a beautiful hike.

Boulder Creek Golf and Country Club (Boulder Creek): The price is definitely right, especially Monday-Thursday at $23 for 18 holes, and the Web site is always offering weekend deals. The course is rarely crowded and is especially fun if you’re not a big hitter, because it only has two par-5s. Holes 5-8 are almost identical par-3s and can be a little boring.

Seascape Golf Club (Aptos): I’ve only played this course once and really enjoyed it. The course is big and hilly so you can hit driver a lot without having to worry about going OB, and it also offers a lot of variety.

I missed two local top-10 finishers at the CCS Top 8 track meet at Los Gatos High on Friday. MVC’s Sara Pizzo finished fourth in the girls pole vault at 9 feet, six inches, and Aptos’ Julia McCarthy was third in the girls high jump at 5-2.

One more note:
After winning the 1,600 and 3,200 meter races at Top 8, Aptos’ Rylan Hunt was quick to point out that his closest CCS competition — Willow Glen’s Mohamed Abdalla and Nohe Lema — were not at the event.
Still, Hunt was running at Top 8 just 24 hours after competing against Santa Cruz in a league meet. Hunt said he and Santa Cruz’s Brennan Lynch, who finished third in the 1,600 at Top 8, helped each other save their legs on Thursday in preparation for their big race the next day.
“We talked before the 3,200 and decided we would both take it easy. We kind of jogged it and then with about 150 or 200 meters to go, I asked him if he wanted to go. We sprinted to the finish line and I just barely beat him,” Hunt said.
Aptos coach Mark Dorfman said it was a very strange race.
“It was kine of like a mile and a half warm up and then a 200-yard dash. It was pretty funny,” he said.

After reading the first part of this story I tried to see if it was posted on April 1 because it seems like it could be an April Fools joke. Supposedly Greg Maddux is so accurate, a catcher was able to close his eyes and still catch the ball because Maddux hits the mitt every time.

I didn’t have room to mention this in the story for the paper tomorrow on Aptos’ 5-0 win over Soquel today to remain undefeated in softball, but the Mariners’ freshmen duo of short stop Lindsey Sotomayor and Breana Kostreba look unbelievably good. They could be competing for league MVP awards for the next few years and they play fifteen feet away from eachother and bat 1-2 in the lineup. Kostreba went 2-for-3 with a double, and homer, three runs, and a walk.

“She’s tough to deal with,” Aptos coach Fran DeBernardo said. That’s a bit of an understatement. Not many leadoff hitters in the league can launch a homer to dead center.

The duo’s defense was equally as impressive as their work with the sticks. Both smoothly made plays on the run and threw off-balance to nail the runner. Sotomayor, already and all-league point guard for the Mariners’ basketball team, made a catch on the run behind third on a ball I was started marking down as a single when it left the bat. Not much is getting through the left side of Aptos’ infield at least until 2012.

Some find him obnoxious, but I’ve always been a fan of Dick Vitale. I’m happy he recovered from throat surgery in time to broadcast the NCAA tournament. It just wouldn’t be March Madness without him. Yes, he overdoes his “Yeah, Baby” shtick, and his Hooters commercials set a new precedent for creepiness, but he always makes me laugh and you have to appreciate someone who can display such unabashed passion for their work.

He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame today and his reaction to receiving the honor was very touching. You could tell he was absolutely honored and thankful. This clip really brightened my day.

Actor Billy Crystal tested positive for Human Growth Hormone on Saturday, a day after his Major League debut with the New York Yankees.
Crystal said he first experimented with HGH in 1998 after working with 7-foot-7 actor and former NBA player Gheorghe Muresan in the film “My Giant” and began using again after signing a one-day contract with New York earlier this week.
Crystal, 60, struck out swinging in his only at-bat against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday. The Yankees released Crystal today, but said cutting the actor had nothing to do with his failed drug test.
Crystal will have to serve a 50-game suspension should he ever return to baseball.

[Italicized posts are not real]

I know I’ve already totally over-hyped Sharks defenseman Brian Campbell, but I was at the game Monday for the Sharks’ 6-4 win over the the Canadiens and I had to write something about that amazing goal he scored in the third period.

Jonathan Cheechoo made an equally impressive one-on-one move for a goal earlier in the game, and as he was doing it the cheer from the crowd slowly grew before exploding when he found the back of the net.

Campbell’s goal was a little different. His spin move was so amazing, it kind of took our breath away. We kind of went, “OHHHH! (gasp), OHMIGAWDTHATWASAMAZING!!!” and then continued screaming for the remainder of the game.  My buddy called me during the pandemonium to make sure I saw the goal, and all I could make out was him saying, “I can’t believe a defenseman just did that.”

I was really excited about the Sharks trading for Brian Campbell. After watching this video, I’m positive Lord Stanley is coming to San Jose.