Yoda is back. He’s not in a very good mood.
Ah, October. Leaves falling, thoughts swing to holiday cheer, and sports pundits turning their attention to divining the best and worst of the sports-world in 2012. The Yoda is getting an early start. Call it a report from the ¾ pole…the Yoda is turning for home and finishing strong. Hopefully the Lasix will kick in about halfway through this rant.
Despite real-world problems like Syrian unrest, a failing global economy, and the beginning of flu season, the basic tenets of world order remain in place, with the Yankees once again ensconced in playoff baseball. Time to start paying attention Yankees fans…like you do about this time every year.
Latest reports are that the case against Lance Armstrong is airtight. Phew!!!! I have been worried about that for so long. I hope Lance’s side protests this latest injustice, so we can keep this story moving for another 9 years or so.
The NHL lockout continues, with no end in sight. Fortunately, all my favorite players are now available live on the ESPN KHL feed, so I can watch the same amount of regular-season hockey that I usually do. Any chance they’ll just use the KHL standings to seed the Stanley Cup Playoffs and start the season in April like every other year?
Football is in full swing, and for a change they seem to be actually serious about parity this year. Green Bay and New Orleans are struggling, and Houston is channeling the days of Dan Pastorini and Earl Campbell. Of course, it’s possible that the ref fiasco led to unintended real parity…so that’s why the League gave in. Let’s see if the Saints storm back now?
NBA pre-season games are back. That means the 250-day season is only days away. Can Dirk Novowelski carry the Mavs? Will DRose and the knee get it done? Will Kevin Garnett turn 60 this year? What about the Wiz and the big signing of Emeka Okafor? They could win 30 games!
Sports event of the year is the London Olympics. How do world records get broken every four years in nearly every sport? It can’t all be skin-suits and technology. It’s refreshing to see a competition where athletes actually care.
The Ryder Cup also rates in that discussion, but it was too much of a one-sided collapse to win the category. Blame it on course setup. Letting par be a winning score on 17 and 18 gives too much advantage to the trailing team. Stick out the easy pins, and let ‘em make birdie under all that pressure if they can. Maybe the locations were chosen before the matches. The lack of rough certainly was. If the Captain was responsible, those pins were a bigger mistake than letting Stricker play, and that’s saying something.
Greatest video of the year is of the leap of the dodge-ball ninja. (Extra appropriate for this particular sports blog. -Ed.) Strong claim in early October , but it’s an easy decision.
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