Category: Sports

Congratualtions to Tiger Woods

Corey Scheiner1 Comment

I blogged a little while ago about how I wanted to see Tiger Woods win again. It had been over two years since his last win, and the sport certainly lost popularity. I’ll bet you didn’t know England’s Luke Donald won the most money on the PGA Tour in 2011. I didn’t. I just Wikipedia-ed it. I’ll bet you didn’t know Charl Schwartzel won the Masters in April. Not Charles…Charl.

It’s good to see Woods, in his traditional Sunday red, once again give that unmistakeable fist pump with the ear to ear gleam we were once so accustomed, and possibly, bored of.

Golf needed this win. Tiger needed this win. Woods has the invaluable ability to draw in the casual fan. That’s me. I’ll never really sit down and watch golf unless it’s the Sunday of a major championship or Tiger Woods is in the running…or if my dad calls me in to watch K.J. Choi’s awesome bunker shot or Jim Furyk’s swing, “Ugh…man he’s got the best swing in golf. Hey Cor- check this out.” At least twice a year I’ll hear that. He really does have a nice swing but I digress.

Yesterday, I found myself turning on the golf to see the leaderboard. If I’m tuning in just because of Tiger Woods, that means tens of thousands of others are too.

If golf wants to acquire the status of the unofficial fifth major sport in the United States, then Tiger Woods needs to start winning again.

Where are all the NBA fans???

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This is my first post since the NBA announced its return about a week ago. When I heard the news, I was ecstatic. Basketball doesn’t get too much love down here in South Jersey, but this season has more meaty story lines than any one in recent memory.

1) Will LeBron fail again? For one reason or another, everyone wants to see this man lose. It got the casual fan back into basketball last season.

LeBron James – The epitome of money can’t buy you happiness. ESPN’s Mike Wilbon said it best on the episode of PTI Wednesday. LeBron is a kid deep down. He’s thin skinned. He doesn’t gravitate to nor embrace the “villian” role. All LeBron wants is to be loved. That’s why him and Dwyane Wade were booed while throwing shirts into the stands at the Ohio State Buckeye game a couple days ago.

LeBron…stop trying to win back your hometown. It’s over. To Ohio residents that’s like Benedict Arnold handing out goodies at a July 4th party. No matter how much you beg, plead, and cry, your hometown will not forgive you until your career is long over – if you’re lucky. You need to learn how to embrace the villain role, and until you do, you’re living in denial.

2) Where will Chris Paul and Dwight Howard be one year from today?

This is a huge storyline coming into the season, but it’s not one we’ll have to deal with until the NBA trade deadline. Both players are under contract for one more year, and both want out. Chris Paul is part of a franchise that perennially fails to surround him with legitimate talent. The only reason why they’ve made the playoffs the last few seasons was because of Paul, not because of Emeka Okafor (bust) or Trevor Ariza. He’s very good friends with Carmelo Anthony, and they’re together way too much to not talk about forming a Big Three in the Big Apple. According to reports, Paul’s agent told a source his client will not sign an extension with the Hornets, and wants to be traded to New York.

I believe he ends up in NYC, whether at the trade deadline or free agency.

I used to think Dwight Howard was inevitably LA bound. He wants to play in a warm weather climate on a contender, but the Lakers won’t be so for much longer. The Lakers are old.

It seems the best option for Howard is Dallas. It would be Duncan and Robinson all over again. Sure Duncan and Nowitzki play two polarized games, but they’re both still 7’0″. Jason Kidd and Jason Terry are in the last year of their contract, which grants the Mavericks the privilege of offering Howard close to a max deal.

3) Will the Knicks be contenders this year?

Okay so it’s not a national headline, but it’s mine! I’m more excited about the Knicks than any season since 6th grade. Finally, the Knicks have the pieces to make a serious push, but I’m still not convinced they could make it past the first or second round.

Offense wins games, but defense wins championships. Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni is the only coach in basketball that can coach a team to 130 points and still find a way to lose.  The Knicks could be up by 15 points in the fourth quarter, yet everyone in the Garden knew the game wasn’t over.

However, here’s three reasons why the Knicks defense will improve in 2011-12.

a) Atlanta Hawks former coach Mike Woodson.

The Knicks hired Woodson at the end of the 2011 season as a defensive specialist. Many credit Woodson as one of the best defensive coaches in the league

b) Chemistry

The new Knicks had no time to get to know each other when Carmelo Anthony was thrust into the starting lineup in March. The discontinuity on offense certainly bled into the defense. Now, the Knicks have had time to get to know each other’s games and personalities. While that won’t fix the problem, it will help it

*c) Chris Paul

I star it since it’s not a definite, but Chris Paul would be the most important of the Big Three. I’ll say it now – If the Knicks get Chris Paul, assuming everyone stays healthy, the Knicks will win a championship in the next four years. Paul is a defensive juggernaut, and a pass-first type of player. On a team where the two biggest players, Anthony and Stoudemire, work best with the ball in their hands, Paul is the opposite. This will lead to more continuity on offense, and more efficient play. Paul averaged 9.8 assists per game last season. The Knicks as a team averaged 21.4. This pairs up with my previous point, that consistency on offense leads to confidence and energy on defense.

Paul is also an elite defender…nothing else to add.

If you’re not a basketball fan, come join the party. With the lockout fixed, it shrinks the season giving more meaning to every game. Christmas Day the Knicks will face the Celtics. I’m smiling with excitement as I write this.

I can’t wait!

Can Tiger Woods finally turn it around? I hope so.

Corey Scheiner1 Comment

Tiger Woods’ story is on track to be the saddest in sports history.

But yesterday, Tiger Woods beat Australian Aaron Baddeley to clinch the Presidents Cup for the Americans. I think it was a win Woods needed more than any of us can comprehend.

It was two years ago this Friday Woods’ altercation with then-wife Elin Nordegren became a de facto turning point in Woods’ golf career. A man once destined to surpass Jack Nicklaus for the all time record in major victories now sits winless since the Bush Administration.

In these two years, he’s gone through a new swing, a new caddie, a new marital status, two new knees, and zero wins.

While yesterday’s win was part of a team battle, it quenched a thirst for victory to which Woods used to be so accustomed. The smile he shared at the end of the tournament was refreshing. It gave a flashback to a gleam you thought you would never be deprived of.

I want to see Tiger Woods win – and as soon as possible. Once he went through a winless 2010, I said, “OK, he got what he deserved. Now lets get back to golf.”

But this losing streak has taken on a new life. Like a parasite, that Thanksgiving night sucked the game out of the most untouchable icon in sports, let alone golf. Imagine the Beatles releasing Sgt. Pepper, then never playing or releasing another song ever again.

Humans love to see famous people fail. It makes them feel better about themselves. That’s why Angelina Jolie’s zit can make a tabloid’s front cover or why Lindsay Lohan is still relevant.

But for me, Tiger Woods never winning again would be too much. Even though he makes more money in a year than you and I will see in our lifetimes, even though he can get any girl he wants, even though every decision he made was his own, he’s still a human being. Money doesn’t buy happiness. Like family, friends, a home, or a special hobby, Tiger Woods’ has a strong emotional attachment to golf. No amount of money can mask the pain felt by remaining unable to perform at a level so distant from what he once could.

I hope yesterday’s victory gives Tiger the confidence to push his game back to the elite level. The next time you see Tiger Woods, wearing his signature Sunday red, walking up the 18th with a lead, he will have the entire golf nation on his side. Then again, maybe I’m just a nice guy.

Going for it on 4th and inches in OT was the right decision

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I may be in the minority, but Falcons head coach Mike Smith made the better decision in overtime yesterday. For those of you who didn’t see, the Falcons went for it on 4th and inches in overtime against the Saints from their own 29. They failed to convert, and eventually lost when the Saints kicked a field goal off the turnover.

It didn’t work this time, but it was the right decision.

The Falcons are in the playoff race. They’re an above average football team, but not elite. To win the Super Bowl, you need to be one of two things: the best team, or a team that tricks themselves into thinking they are – the former example being the 2009 Saints and the latter the 2007 Giants.

The 4th and inches was an opportunity for Mike Smith to convey to his team, “We are an elite team. I have confidence in you. We can do this.”

More often than not, professional football teams will convert 4th and inches. For argument’s sake, I’d say 60% are converted. That number is not official, but the actual number is not under 50%. I’ll guarantee that.

In that case, theoretically the Falcons should pick up the first down. Simply by doing so, even if they still were to lose, shows the team what they could do under immense pressure when expected to make a play. Maybe they drive down the field and win the game. Maybe they proceed to go three and out and punt it away.

But the confidence the Falcons would have gained by converting and eventually winning would have outweighed the disappointment felt by yesterday’s outcome. Even if they convert and ultimately lose, the confidence boost is a mini-victory. If you want to win the Super Bowl and you’re not the best team in the league, you need to fill the void with confidence.

After the game, the unanimous reaction from the players was their coach made the right decision, but they needed to do a better job executing. They’re not lying for the cameras. Winning teams are relentless in aggression. Winning teams think they can do anything. The Falcons players are not going to keel over and feel they aren’t good enough to convert a 4th and inches –  at any time or at anywhere on the field. Their coach gave them a chance to prove it.

Let’s say the Falcons punt it away, and the Saints march right down the field and win the game. Now, Coach Smith feels like he didn’t even give his team a chance to prove themselves. You start to play the “what-if” game, and everyone reconsiders the punt.

You may be reading this saying, “Corey, you don’t go for it in overtime that deep in your own territory. It’s idiotic.” If that’s the case, think of the message it sends to the other 31 teams if you convert. It shows Coach Smith is crazy, and he may do anything at any time. It’s now a unique advantage the Falcons have over all other teams – the label of “crazy.”

The  overall pros of going for it in yesterday’s case outweigh the cons. Coach Smith made an educated gamble that unfortunately didn’t work. But if it had, the Falcons may have gone into week 11 6-3 atop the NFC South with the Titans, Vikings, and Texans upcoming. Three very winnable games could have put the Falcons at 9-3.

More importantly, it would have made them feel unstoppable.

I commend Mike Smith for his guts. He made the right coaching decision, and if given the opportunity, he should make the same one. Yesterday, his team let him down, not the other way around.

Calling all poker fans

Corey Scheiner1 Comment

Right now I’m watching this great heads up battle between Martin Staszko and Pius Heinz. Chip leads have flip flopped back and forth multiple times. I believe both players have had a 2:1 chip count during this heads up battle (not official but it has been close).

A misconception about poker is it’s all about luck. I forgot where, but I once heard poker is 10% luck and 90% knowing how to play it.

I would consider myself an average poker player. I have a moderate knowledge of the game. If you want to compete with the professionals of the game, you need to analyze every player’s bodily movement, the timing of every bet, betting patters, mannerisms.

The best poker players share the minds of the best chess players. Both games measure your ability to foresee one step ahead of your opponent. As you get more skilled at seeing into the future you move up in the worldwide rankings.

What I’m watching right now is a match between two very good poker minds. You don’t beat over 6,000 people by accident, although with all the amateurs in the field I wouldn’t be as surprised.

I’ve seen stone cold bluff five-bet, I’ve seen great value bets paid off, I’ve seen pocket aces, pocket kings, and suited Big Slick.

All in an effort to win the $8+ million dollars grilling them no more than a yard away.

On a separate note, I give a lot of credit to Lon McHeren and Norman Chad. Live, Chad doesn’t sound like a side-show clown. It’s nice to see his personality. McHeren really knows a lot about the game. He’s been dead-on most of the time. I’d expect Antonio Esfandiari to be a little more than just another voice. His reads have been way off today. I believe it was a board of 5-5-J-A or something similar. Esfandiari said something like, “With this bet he’s representing either a five or a jack….he also may have the Ace….He could have a smaller pocket pair or he could simply be on a stone cold bluff.” He literally had listed every possibility.

I digress. Announcing poker for hours on end is not an easy job. I announce the Rowan football games, and you have to have a lot of information prepared because there’s a lot of down time in between plays. Announcing poker is as slow paced at announcing your Grandma Rose knit a sweater.

“Ooh… what color will she go with here Rich?”

“I don’t know Donnie, I’m thinking green or a teal complement. It would contrast brilliantly against the maroon.”

But the poker broadcast booth is good! It’s also nice that you see the whole cards. Personally, I would not like that if I was heads-up. In poker you never get to see most of your opponent’s hands. In this set up you can see all of them. On the highest scale in poker, I think it should remain as pure as the game always is.

But then again seeing whole cards brings ratings – and that’s what it’s all about.

PS…this battle is still going on! Turn on ESPN because this has been a great match-up.

Always stay until the end of the game….

Corey Scheiner1 Comment

I must have been eight years old. My dad and I were at Yankee Stadium where the Yanks were facing the Baltimore Orioles. At the end of the eighth inning, with the Yankees down by two, he looked at me and asked, “Wanna go?” Beating the traffic is not a priority to an eight year old, and without hesitation I looked at him like he was crazy. He said, “OK nevermind.”

In the bottom of the ninth, Scott Brosius hit a three-run walk off home run.

Last night I was at the Rutgers/USF game with a couple buddies. It was freezing. Gary Nova was terrible and replaced late. Rutgers mustered up a total of three points to USF’s ten with eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Everything was favoring the “The longer we stay, the more we suffer” notion. Once USF’s Demetrius Murray walked it in from four yards out, we all looked at each other, gave the head nod, and left.

It would’ve been nice to see a win at my first Rutgers game. Ehh… oh well.

Within one minute of passing the “No Re-entry sign” the crowd roars. Jakub’s iPhone told us Jeremy Deering returned it from 98 yards out. 17-10.  We laughed but still figured a win was a longshot. Later, Chas Dodd’s gorgeous pass to Brandon Coleman ties it.

The unanimous reaction was a combination of “F***” and “lol”

Skip ahead to :02 left in the fourth when USF is setting up for a 25 yard field goal. At this point we’re back at Jeff’s Rutgers house watching the game with about ten others. I was rooting for the home team, but was taking solace in the fact at least leaving early didn’t come back to bite us.

I can not remember the last time I have ever seen a <25 yard field goal miss – at any level.

Sure enough, the kick is blocked and the whole room collectively stands as one. Fists are up and hands are clapping, all while those who left are hurting a little inside.

Rutgers eventually comes back to win via San San Te’s right foot, and while overall I’m happy, I can’t believe I should’ve been there for it.

Sports fans – stay the entire game…no matter how much you’re down. If you leave, you had better be darn sure the game is over – and if not, then be prepared.

You may be leaving just as the game begins.

 

ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi is very underrated

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This weekend #2 Alabama will take on #1 LSU in the most highly anticipated college football game of the year. In lieu of this, ESPN revisited a story from back in April that documented the story of Alabama’s long snapper, Carson Tinker, who was with his girlfriend when she was killed by the awful tornado that ravaged Tuscaloosa in April.

Here’s the link (It’s the video under “Video Results”). When you watch, take a close listen to the narrator, Tom Rinaldi. I have not found anyone that talks with more eloquence, conciseness,  appropriateness, and color than Rinaldi. His writing is stellar, and he talks in a voice so connected to the story the viewer becomes subconsciously that more engaged. There’s no ego – he doesn’t try to twist the story with his personality, but lets the story do the talking for him.

My dad pointed this out to me a couple years ago. Like a third base coach or a long snapper, voice over artists share the unfortunate trait of rarely getting any attention unless it’s to point out flaws. But take a listen to the first line of the story: “In a place defined by the tide, it will be a day forever scarred by the wind.” He found a way to seamlessly introduce the two subjects of the story – the Alabama Crimson Tide and the tornado, and set the table for the rest of the piece. Plus it has that eloquence factor unmatched by many.

If there’s anyone reading this who, like me, wants to do this for a living, or is just interested in writing or voice over work, listen to Rinaldi. He could voice over a story about corn fields in Kazakhstan and I would still be glued to the television.

Now is when the NBA lockout hurts

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Tonight was supposed to be the opening tip-off of the 2011-12 NBA season. Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs were set to tip off against Chris Rose and the Chicago Bulls, the Rockets were supposed to take on the Jazz, and a quintessential old school vs. new school match up was set in Los Angeles when one of my new favorite teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder, were to try and convince Kobe and Derek Fisher they’re too old to ball.

The NBA was set to continue riding the sport’s highest popularity since the end of the Jordan era. ARE Kobe and the Lakers too old? Can the Heat win not 5…not 6….not 7…but one NBA championship? Are the Knicks ready to bring basketball back to the newly renovated garden?

As a huge basketball fan, I’m sincerely disappointed I’m not watching basketball right now. While both parties bicker back and forth while simultaneously halting paychecks for all, Mark Cuban knows even if there’s not an NBA season for the next ten years he can light up a cuban of his own – with one of his 10 million $100 bills. Heck even role players like Brad Miller and Antonio Daniels know regardless of what happens their kids can still attend any college they can think of.

But not the arena employees. Not the sanitation worker who works his butt off to make $9 an hour to support his family. The vendor who gives you your $10 beer and $6 hot dog? He’s looking for work. She’s living paycheck to paycheck.

No one wins from this lockout. David Stern said the players are losing 170 million dollars every two weeks of canceled games. The owners are probably losing more, and the fans are losing the right to be fans.

Every year I mark my calendar for opening tip-off. Every year I tell myself, “Hey, maybe they can pull off a miracle.” Being a Knicks fan you have to think that way because we’ve flat out sucked for 10 years. From 2002 until last year, this was the only week I could look at my team and think maybe this game has playoff implications.

But even if the Knicks lose 82 games this season, they’ll be in first place on opening night. It’s the one time of year where everyone is equal. The Timberwolves have the same pride as the Lakers, and the Royals the same as the Yankees. As a basketball fan, I feel I have a right to that sense of pride.

Will there be an opening night this year? I hope so. I hope the two sides can work out a deal soon. I mean really…

Don’t we pay you guys enough already?

The Greatest Game Ever Played

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Congratulations to the St. Louis Cardinals. Three days ago I had zero vested interest in this World Series. Last night I found myself to getting frequent updates at work.

All things considered: late drama, perfect imperfections, a walk-off home run, a slugfest, the world series, etc., this game featured a concoction of rare attributes that made game six the best game ever played in professional baseball history.

No team within 1,000 miles of me was represented – no team I love was represented, no team I hate was represented. I was a TV station’s worst case scenario – the indifferent fan.

But then game six happened. What started as ambiance on my living room TV during a small social setting quickly became the center of attention. What started as “Oh, at least it’s a good game,” became, “No, we’re not leaving until this game is over.”

Two separate times I sat watching the soon-to-be final strike, waiting for Neftali Feliz or Scott Feldman to induce a ground ball or throw strike three, waiting for “…and the Texas Rangers are your World Champions.”

…and then they weren’t.

Lance Berkman’s hit in the tenth pumped adrenaline through me reminiscent of what I felt when Matsui’s single of Pedro knocked in two during 2009’s Game Six, or when A-Rod’s ’09 ALDS shot tied it up in the ninth. I all of a sudden wanted the Cardinals to win.

Many great games follow similar formulas: a great late comeback,  a slugfest, a pitchers duel, but this game had the “it” factor. It wasn’t just one comeback; it wasn’t your mundane slugfest.

Looking at only the game itself, similar games with this “it” factor were the Mets’ victory against the Braves on Independence Day in 1985 when pitcher Rick Camp, lifetime .074 batter, hit his only career home run with two outs in the 18th to send the game further into the night. And that was after the Braves came back with four runs in the 8th, the Mets with one in the ninth, and both teams with two in the 13th.

Games like July 1st, 2004 between the Yankees and Red Sox, where a rematch of the 2003 ALCS pitted rookie Brad Halsey against superstar Pedro Martinez. By the 13th, A-Rod was back at shortstop, the Red Sox were using five infielders, and Gary Sheffield was at third base for the first time in ten years because Derek Jeter’s kamikaze play in the 12th saved the game, yet forced him to leave.

Games with that little extra. They all have something you rarely see. The games where you need everybody.

This game had “it.”

Right off the bat (haha…) both teams scored in the first. Then the rare wheel play in the second forced the only 5-6-4 bunt-groundball-double play I’ve ever seen. Both teams traded errors in the fourth. Texas’ back to back home runs in the seventh broke a 4-4 tie, and later that inning sent out 24-year old starter Derek Holland out for his second inning of relief, and he was already the third starter to pitch for Texas.

Two improbable comebacks in consecutive innings gave me only a taste of what it would’ve been like if I was a Cardinals or Rangers fan. According to baseball-reference.com, after Ryan Theriot’s strikeout to leadoff the ninth, the Cardinals had a 4% to win the game (8% chance to tie it up). They did. Once Josh Hamilton hit his two-run homer in the tenth, the Cardinals had a 7% chance to win (14% chance to tie it up). They did.

I’m about to crunch some numbers. I apologize in advance.

8% in the ninth, 14% in the tenth, then once the game went into extras, lets assume both teams have a 50% chance to win.

.08 x .14 x .5 = .0056

I’m no baseball statistician, and this number is only a guesstimate, but I calculate the Cardinals had about a .6% chance to win this game after Theriot’s strike out. If the Cardinals and Rangers were to play 1,000 games starting with said strikeout, the Cardinals would win six times. Assuming each team had a 50% chance to win game seven, you saw something that happens three times out of 1,000.

And this was in a World Series.

Everything considered – from the errors, to the starting pitchers in relief, to the slugfest, to the late comebacks, to the World Series implications, you may never see a better baseball game in your lifetime. Congratulations to the St. Louis Cardinals and their fans. I’m incredibly jealous of you.

One word made me lose all respect for Ndomukong Suh

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I’ve always been a real big Ndomukong Suh fan. A big guy with the agility of a three guard on a team in the middle of a major turnaround was enough to get me on his side.

But not anymore – and it was all because of one word in a postgame interview this week… “what?”

Last Sunday while playing the Lions, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was injured when teammate Will Svetek accidentally stepped on Ryan’s ankle. Falcons players Todd McClure and Roddy White accused Lions’ star Suh for taunting Ryan while on the ground.

For the purpose of being concise, it was wrong for McClure and White to bring this situation outside the field of play. Grow up. Address him privately next time you see him. But that doesn’t bother me as much as what Suh said in the postgame interview.

After some rhetoric, Suh was asked by a reporter in the clubhouse, “So then what did you say to Ryan…if anything” (or something very similar I forget the exact quote). After about one full second, Suh looked at the reporter and said:

“What?” asking him to repeat the question.

That one word tells a novel. By asking “what?” it tells me Suh wasn’t quick enough to think of a fitting defense to the question. It tells me “If you’re not telling me the truth now, what else are you exaggerating or lying about?” It tells me  a lot about his character, and he has a lot of growing up to do.

Side note – I think trash talking is good for the game. Football is tough. Players consistently say it’s part of the game so if you’re a trash talker, embrace it.

Suh had the Falcon snitches by the groin when they blabbed to the media about the taunting. All Suh had to do was embrace it and respond with, “Yeah…I’m a trash talker. That’s my game.” Reggie Miller made it his legacy. People may not have positively responded at first, but down the road it would’ve shown maturity and strength, rather than taking the low-road and trying to deceive your fans into making them think you’re someone you’re not.

Contrary to what Suh thought, embracing himself as a trash talker makes him more popular, feared, & marketable. It would’ve made players even more scared of him.

Regardless, he’ll still be a very dominant player for a long time, but if other players pick up on this, it will expose a weakness in a superstar.