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Just
for Kicks The good ol' U-S of A had a tough weekend, on the international sports scene. There wasn't a single event that produced anything positive....unless you are into moral victories. And, for the record: I hate moral victories, along with trophies for all the competitors. Apparently we can't find any American cyclists that are willing to juice, since I can't find one anywhere in the Pyrenees during the Tour de France....maybe there is one somewhere on a bike following a bunch of Euros, but to be honest with you....my interest in the event ended when Lance called it quits. The views are stunning and the cyclists are incredible, but it doesn't mean I have to care....and I don't. I normally don't care or follow soccer, either....but for one of the few times in recent memory, our country had a chance to win something of note in the sport....even if it was the women doing all the heavy lifting. It doesn't matter to me...as long as we bring home the trophy. Plus, it is obvious that the women are much more of a threat in the soccer world than our US men. Unfortunately, our women played like their male counterparts when it mattered down the stretch, by blowing a late lead and eventually losing the World Cup on penalty kicks to those feisty Japanese soccer babes. I read some crazy stat that the USA Women's team had never lost in their World Cup history when scoring first....until now. It was a bummer....but just like that...I'm already over it. Maybe that's the beauty of the game? I did watch the Open Championship from Royal St. George's. Darren Clarke played smart...stayed out of trouble and then proceeded to watch Dustin Johnson shank his second shot on the par 5 14th hole at least 75 yards from his target....and Phil Mickelson gag all over himself on the greens on the homeward 9. Clarke definitely earned the popular win, his first major championship, but the Americans (Johnson and Mickelson) did nothing but roll out the red carpet down the stretch. Maybe the Americans need to bring home some Northern Ireland water...the small nation has produced three different major golf champions in the last six that have been played. It was a disheartening weekend for American sports on foreign soil. But the good news is that the NFL is about ready to cut their deal and get back to work....and that's a good thing, because professional football is seemingly the only sport that the US of A can dominate the rest of the world in, these days. Congratulations to the Braves, for collecting their 10,000th win in franchise history. Atlanta's win over Washington did the trick, and it made for an interesting trivia question. The Braves became the third team to reach the 10K win plateau...name the other two franchises? If you guessed Giants and Cubs, you'd be right and you would also be using Google. I knew one of the teams was the Giants, since I'm such a huge fan....but I would have never guessed the lovable losing Cubs. I bet you and your buddies would all claim "Yankees" as one of the teams, but they would be wrong. Consider it your bar bet tip of the week....so drink up....you can thank me later. Kyle Busch hit an impressive milestone this weekend, too. He picked up his 100th win..which includes a record-tying 49th victory in the Nationwide series, along with his 22 Cup wins and 29 W's in the truck series, too. Not bad, for a guy that is only 26 years of age. I know that some folks don't like Kyle and they won't give him credit under any circumstance....but you've got to admit that's a strong display of Victory Lane appearances. I'd never confuse them with the 200 wins that Richard Petty achieved in his Cup career or the 105 Cup wins David Pearson posted, either....but Busch became only the third driver in history to amass triple digit victories. As good as Busch has been in his short stay in the sport, the numbers produced by Petty and Pearson are amazing. There's a reason why those guys are in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Something tells me that Busch would trade them in for a Sprint Cup championship this season....and he'll be a factor in that race, too. So, the Roger Clemens case ended in a mistrial. I don't care what happens to the "Rocket"....I think he's guilty as hell. Maybe he'll luck out, compliments of the incompetent federal attorneys...but it won't change my opinion of him, based on his uncomfortable testimony three years ago on Capitol Hill. I put both Barry Bonds and Clemens in the same category.....they are both Hall of Fame players....they both will have a tough time making it to Cooperstown....and they both cheated the game. What kind of odds could you have gotten, that somebody in the ACC would be put on NCAA probation for football violations before the North Carolina Tar Heels? That's what happened last week, to Georgia Tech. The Jackets were punked by the NCAA with a 4-year probation which included a $100K fine, and the Techsters had to vacate their 2009 ACC title. I've got to be honest with you....I didn't even know the Jackets were under NCAA investigation. While the NCAA continued through the off-season to light up college football programs around the country that are breaking the rules...the UNC Tar Heels had a new embarrassing episode to deal with, and this time it involved former player Michael McAdoo. McAdoo sued the school and the NCAA in order to be reinstated on the team after being kicked to the curb last year over an academic issue. Unfortunately for all parties involved, once the term paper in question became public info...anybody with a UNC degree had to be ashamed in reading the details. According to multiple sources, 39% of the 21-page term paper was plagiarized...and the kid even used a tutor. What's more embarrassing is that the UNC officials in charge came to McAdoo's aid when they tried to defend him to the NCAA. I can only assume that Dick Baddour and Chancellor Thorpe never read the term paper or the numerous errors and problems associated with McAdoo's academic improprieties. Perhaps Baddour and Thorpe took a page out of Butch Davis' defense mechanism and claimed that they didn't know? This I do know...their position with McAdoo and his term paper is indefensible. For any institution, much less one that supposedly puts an emphasis on academics....UNC graduates and supporters should be utterly sick over this case. Needless to say, it has been an ugly 15 months for the football program in Chapel Hill. But we're less than 7 weeks from the opening of the college football season, and there are plenty of good seats available for the Heels' season opener. |
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