Archive for July, 2008

“Ice to the Eskimos”

Published on July 26, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Count Arizona’s Willie Tuitama, Oregon’s Patrick Chung, and UCLA new head coach Rick Neuheisel among those. By the way Neuheisel talks, UCLA will be in the Rose Bowl in no time. The expression “ice to the Eskimos” ring a bell. KTAR did ring a bell to Neuheisel, who grew up in the Valley. Burnsy also spoke with Chung, who wouldn’t speak up about which horrendous Oregon uniform was his favorite. Or maybe most tolerable would be a better way of phrasing it.

Anyway you phrase it; the Arizona Cardinals have some problems when it comes to Anquan Boldin. Burnsy isn’t surprised. After all, he was quick to point out that Larry Fitzgerald’s contract would inevitably cause problems when it comes to Boldin. Too late now, although not too many people seem to be siding with Boldin, especially considering the Cardinals history. Burnsy thinks it might have something to do with the current economic climate, under which very few have little to zero sympathy for the rich wanting to get richer.

“Know your audience”

Published on July 25, 2008 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment

There is an old phrase in radio.

“Know your audience.”

But after listening to Anquan Boldin call the Cardinals liars and then instruct his agent Drew Rosenhaus to cease all negotiations with the team, I don’t think the Cardinals wide receiver knows his.

Before I begin, know this: Boldin is beyond doubt my favorite professional athlete in the valley. Nobody gives you more. Nobody tries harder. Second, if the Cardinals said to him in no uncertain terms, “Anquan we promise that before training camp starts you will have a new contract” then he has every right to be upset.

But today, my home isn’t worth what it was a year ago. It costs me 30 bucks more to fill up my gas tank. Groceries cost more. We may not be in a recession, but you sure can see it from here.

And I’m supposed to have sympathy for a football player who has already made 15 million dollars on this deal and is scheduled to make another 7 million? Boldin, once the best, now sounds like the brat.

I think he was counting on the “same old Cardinals” crowd to come out in full force and rip the team for not paying the man. But these are simply not the times for overpaid athletes to claim to be underpaid. It just doesn’t stick.

Plus there are other things at work here. When Boldin says “my agent has direct orders not to negotiate,” that is a lie. You’re telling me that if Rod Graves calls Rosenhaus today, he’s going to just let the call go to voice mail? Not answer? Not negotiate? Please.

And Boldin said yesterday that his point of view has nothing to do with Larry Fitzgerald’s new contract. Again – all together now – please.

Plus, there are semantics at work here. If the Cardinals promised him a new deal before the start of the season, couldn’t you argue that the start of the season isn’t the day before training camp opens but rather the day before, you know, the season begins? That’s six weeks away.

The ultimate team player just went out and made a stand for selfishness. Locker room chaos could ensue. And your fan base is too busy maxing out a credit card to pay for gas to care.

Love ya Anquan, but you gotta know your audience.

A glimmer of hope

Published on July 23, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

What was it that Red from “Shawshank Redemption” said?

“Hope is a dangerous thing” he tells his friend Andy.

It is dangerous to hope that yesterday’s trade for Jon Rauch means the Arizona Diamondbacks are bringing back Orlando Hudson at second base. When it doesn’t happen, I’ll curse myself for ever having a glimmer of hope for his return.

I like the deal. Rauch is good, affordable, and in control (the D-Backs have him under financial control through the 2010 season). He’s good insurance if/when Juan Cruz and Brandon Lyon depart in the offseason.

Plus, he helps the D-Backs right now. And that ‘pen needs some help.

But now, when they get Cruz back, they feature a bullpen of Lyon, Rauch, Tony Pena, Chad Qualls, Cruz and maybe even Micah Owings. Yusmeiro Petit gave the organization something to think about with his outing yesterday. There is a lot of depth and a lot of versatility.

But to make the deal they had to trade the “second baseman of the future” in Emilio Bonafacio. So with him gone, who takes over for Hudson if/when he leaves. Mark Ellis? He ain’t cheap either. Augie Ojeda? Nice player but not every day. Chris Burke? Please. A root canal sounds more appealing. I want to hope it means they’ll bring Hudson back.

Hudson does something to help you win every night. For a moment last night, when he was hit in the ankle, it appeared the D-Backs were going to find out what life was like sans the O-Dog a little earlier than they would’ve like.

But here’s the rub: The difference between $8 million a year and $10 million a year doesn’t sound that drastic. But the difference between a 3 year, $24 million deal vs a 4 year, $40 million deal? See the dilemma? Forget annual salary. The total value of the deal will escalate to numbers I fear the D-Backs can’t match. And maybe they shouldn’t. That’s an awful lot to pay a second baseman.

I hope Orlando is coming back. I hope to see him at second base for the next several years. I hope his energy and enthusiasm and overall heady play continues in a Diamondback uniform.

But I’m not betting on it.

Worst ESPN concept all-time part II

Published on July 23, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Tony Clark is a D-Back again and everyone is happy…for now. While Burnsy agrees that bringing back Clark was a no-brainer and should help, it is not the cure-all for the D-Backs offensive woes. The move may signal some other things, though:

1. Conor Jackson may be playing everyday in left, with the rejuvenated Chad Tracy getting the majority of reps at 1B, and Clark spelling him occasionally.

2. The team will not make any drastic moves, such as dealing Emilo Bonifacio, Max Scherzer, or Jarrod Parker. This is nothing new. Last year the team’s biggest “deadline” moves consisted of firing their hitting coach and calling up their top prospect.

The Arizona Cardinals top two prospects are still unsigned and GM Rod Graves joined Burnsy to talk about the status of the contract talks involving Calais Campbell and Dominique Rogers-Cromartie. Graves also talked about the lack of long-term contracts with Karlos Dansby, Anquan Boldin, and Darnell Dockett. According to Graves, Dockett’s situation seems to be “non-negotiable” (my words), while he is open to signing “franchise player” Boldin to a long-term deal as well as the man whom the Cardinals used the franchise tag on, Dansby. (That is, provided Dansby proves his worth for a 2nd straight season.) Graves added that he felt Dansby was “comfortable” playing this season with the one-year $8 million tender. We’ll see.

We’ll also see who comes out on top of the final two ESPN worst concept brackets:

Skip Bayless Region:

1. Titletown - “SportsCenter” will travel to 20 communities this summer before letting SportsNation make the call on the city deserving the name TitleTown USA:
July 4 Green Bay, Wis.
July 5 Lawrence, Kan.
July 6 Pittsburgh
July 7 Knoxville, Tenn.
July 8 Chapel Hill, N.C.
July 9 Los Angeles
July 10 Palo Alto, Calif.
July 11 Louisville, Ky.
July 12 Chicago
July 13 Boston
July 14 Gainesville, Fla.
July 15 New York
July 16 Valdosta, Ga.
July 17 Detroit
July 18 San Francisco
July 19 Williamsport, Pa.
July 20 Ann Arbor, Mich.
July 21 Columbus, Ohio
July 22 Parkersburg, W.V.
July 23 Massillon, Ohio

Scouting Report: Where to begin. How about with city #13- Valdosta, Georgia. I’ve never heard of it. Apparently Doc Holliday’s from there. That’s great. He also lived in Tombstone, and no one seems to really care about that place anymore. And I live in Arizona.

VS.

The winner of the play-in game between:

4. ESPN 2 Launch- with Leather Jacketed Keith Olbermann- The first program on ESPN2 was SportsNight, a sports news hybrid featuring Keith Olbermann and Suzy Kolber. The debut was noted by Olbermann’s statement at the beginning of transmission: “Good evening, and welcome to the end of my career.”
Scouting Report: I’m torn on this one. On the one hand, ESPN 2 has been a very successful network and is a very useful channel as far as airing baseball and especially college football. On the other, is the aforementioned image of Olbermann in a leather jacket. You make the call.

AND:

4. Cold Pizza was a television morning sports talk show that was shown on weekday mornings on ESPN2. The show’s format included daily sports news, interviews with sports journalists, athletes, and personalities, and an assortment of other sports and non-sports topics. This show began airing on October 20, 2003.

Scouting Report: Again, like ESPN 2, there are some nice things about this show. The title, however, is not one of those things. Thankfully, that has changed. Just not soon enough for my taste…

2. Playmakers was a TV series on ESPN that depicted the lives of the players on a fictional professional football team. The show starred Omar Gooding, Marcello Thedford, Christopher Wiehl, Jason Matthew Smith, Russell Hornsby and Tony Denison. The show, which ran eleven episodes from August 26, 2003 to November 11, 2003, was the first original drama series created by ESPN. Though it had a critically acclaimed cast, it was criticized for predictable and often sensationalist storylines, while simultaneously praised by publications such as TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly. The show dealt with topics including drug abuse, steroids, domestic abuse, and homosexuality. The NFL was unhappy with the way the show portrayed professional football players (despite several players, most notably Deion Sanders, speaking out about the accuracy of the lifestyles portrayed), which prompted ESPN to cancel the show.

Scouting Report: This might have worked on FX. I’m not sure because I didn’t watch the show. Apparently the NFL did, and didn’t appreciate the stereotypes and unflattering portrayal of their athletes. Picture the Oliver Stone movie “Any Given Sunday,” except 11 times.

VS.

3. Steve Phillips Fake GM Press Conferences on Sportscenter:
Per Deadspin in 2005: “For anyone who wondered just what sacrifices that legitimate journalists like Jeremy Schaap and Buster Olney have to suckle from ESPN’s cash teat, look no further than this morning’s “SportsCenter.” In it, baseball analyst Steve Phillips answers mock questions in a mock press conference, pretending to be Boston’s general manager. This is bad enough, dumb, pointless, harmless. But then, the people “asking” the “questions” to Phillips … they’re real ESPN journalists! Including Olney and Schaap, who both, after asking scripted questions to a co-worker, have considerable “I hate myself and want to die” looks on their faces.”

Scouting Report: This pretty much speaks for itself. I mean, seriously, what genius thought it would be compelling television to put this on. Fortunately for us, it didn’t last too long. Unfortunately for Mets fans, the real tenure of Steve Phillips as GM lasted much longer.

Stephen A. Smith Region:

1. Tilt is a U.S. TV series set against the backdrop of the (fictional) World Championship of Poker tournament in Las Vegas, and with the tagline “You’re playing poker. They’re playing you.” The series first aired on January 13 2005, and is the second original drama series from ESPN, following Playmakers. It was created by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, who co-wrote the poker-themed feature film Rounders. The series starred Michael Madsen.

Scouting report: At least ESPN learned their lesson. Their first original series, Playmakers, pissed off a major partner, the NFL. I’m pretty sure there’s no card lobby that would object the portrayal of their game. Then again maybe they just didn’t watch this show. They wouldn’t be alone…

VS.

4. Stump the Schwab is an American game show that airs on ESPN Classic (originally ESPN 2). The show premiered in 2004, and features three contestants (all male; females never competed for reasons unexplained) trying to stump Howie Schwab, who is the first statistician ESPN has ever had. Stuart Scott is the show’s host. The show also appears on Canada’s The Score Television Network.

Scouting Report: First off, why would you want to??? Have you ever seen “Schwab?” He looks like a forty-something loser that lives in his parents basement and has probably never used a piece of exercise equipment in his life. So this fat New Yorker knows more about than sports than me. Good. He can have that. At least I’m not a loser..

2. Pete Rose Mock Trial. ESPN write-up on the event:
“CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — It didn’t have the glib punch of his O.J. Simpson speeches — there was no “The man can hit, you must acquit” — but defense attorney Johnnie Cochran’s message of “Enough is enough” resonated with a 12-person jury at Harvard Law School on Thursday night
“You have the power,” Cochran had told the jury in his closing remarks. “Now it’s time to bring Pete Rose home — home to the Hall of Fame.”
And so they did.
If those jurors in ESPN’s “Pete Rose On Trial” ran Major League Baseball, the sport’s all-time leader in hits would be eligible for enshrinement in Baseball’s Hall of Fame. In an 8-4 vote, the jurors rejected prosecutor Alan Dershowitz’s contention that Rose’s gambling should keep him barred from Cooperstown.”
Scouting Report: Wouldn’t Alan Dershowitz’s services be better used by arguing against putting this stupid show on the air in the first place? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice concept…for a student project. That may have been the original intent. Too bad they didn’t go with that.

VS:

3. Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith was a nightly one-hour television show on ESPN2 hosted by Philadelphia Inquirer columnist and ESPN reporter, Stephen A. Smith. The show premiered on August 1, 2005 and was cancelled on January 11, 2007 because of low ratings. Smith called the cancellation a “failure” on his part. “Remember, it was ‘Quite Frankly With Stephen A. Smith.’ The buck stopped with me,” Smith states. “This was not ESPN’s fault - it was mine.” The final episode aired on January 12, 2007.

Scouting Report: Tough draw for “Quite Frankly” here. An impending loss to the Pete Rose mock trial is not a fair indication of truly bad “Quite Frankly” really was. In actuality it was a very, very, bad concept- just not, quite frankly, bad enough.

What’s the worst ESPN concept of all-time?

Published on July 16, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

The slowest week of the sports year has spawned another horrendous ESPN concept. You may have seen “Titletown,” the follow-up to the award winning “Who’s Now” from one year ago. Again, we don’t blame ESPN. It’s tough for good topic material right now. So rather than come up with our own creative solutions, we’d rather mock theirs. Given that, Burnsy has launched the tournament to settle, once and for all, what is the worst ESPN concept of all-time? Last night two of the brackets were unveiled: The Stuart Scott Region, and the Dick Vitale Region:

Dick Vitale Region:

1. Who’s Now was a daily series aired during SportsCenter throughout July 2007, in which viewers helped ESPN determine the ultimate sports star by considering both on-field success and off-field buzz. Based on fan nominations, ESPN Research selected 32 finalists to square off in a single-elimination bracket. The show received more than 5 million votes on ESPN.com,[1] and on August 5, 2007 ESPN announced that Tiger Woods was the winner. The show received heavy criticism from fans and sportswriters, citing it as nonsensical and irrelevant.[2]

Scouting Report: Heavy favorite in this tournament. I have yet to hear one person who liked this concept, and I forget who won the damn thing. I will give ESPN some credit for including Erin Andrews on most of the panels discussing “Who’s Now.” What she was saying or advocating I’m still not really sure…

VS.

4. The ESPY Awards is an annual sports awards event created and broadcast by American cable television network ESPN. Begun in 1993, the event confers eponymous awards, fully styled as Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, for individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given ceremony.[1] As the similarly-styled Grammy (for music), Emmy (for television), and Academy Awards (for film), the ESPYs are hosted by a contemporary celebrity.

From their inception until 2004, the awards were chosen variously through voting by fans; sportswriters, broadcasters, sports executives, and sportspersons, collectively experts; or ESPN personalities. Award winners have been selected thereafter exclusively through online fan balloting conducted from amongst candidates selected the ESPY Select Nominating Committee.

Scouting Report: Some people actually like the ESPYs. I’m not one of them, but they are out there. Typically people like sports because it’s not subjective- the best team or person wins. This cuts against that, but it does give a lot of ESPN execs and celebs an excuse to dress up and look nice. So again, if Erin Andrews is among that group- it’s not quite as annoying…

2. Bonds on Bonds was a 10 part reality TV series starring former San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds that aired on ESPN. The show revolved on the life of Bonds and his chase of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron’s home run records. It was produced by Tollin/Robbins Productions, producers of the Nickelodeon series All That and many other shows and movies.

Scouting Report: Virtually no one likes Barry Bonds. Not then, not now. So why would anyone care to watch a bad person carry on his day. It was hard enough watching him on the field- when we had to.

VS.

3. Hustle is a TV movie about baseball player Pete Rose created by ESPN that first broadcast on September 25, 2004. The movie follows Rose as he gambled on Major League Baseball while managing the Cincinnati Reds, then was caught and banned from baseball for life. The title, Hustle, is a reference to both Rose’s gambling problem and his nickname, “Charlie Hustle.” The movie stars Tom Sizemore as Pete Rose and was directed by Peter Bogdanovich.

Scouting Report: OK, nobody really likes Pete Rose either. But unlike the Bonds show, they can dress him up a little by letting a likeable, straight-laced gentleman portray him in the movie. Wait, scratch that…

Stuart Scott Region:

1. Rush Limbaugh on NFL Countdown: On July 14, 2003, ESPN announced that Limbaugh would be joining ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown show as a weekly analyst when it premiered on September 7. Limbaugh would provide the “voice of the fan” and was supposed to spark debate on the show.[47] On the September 28 episode of Countdown, Limbaugh commented about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb’s role in his team’s 0-2[48] start to the season, as well as the media’s coverage of McNabb:

“Sorry to say this, I don’t think he’s been that good from the get-go. I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn’t deserve. The defense carried this team.[49]”

On October 1, 2003, Limbaugh resigned from ESPN with the statement:

“My comments this past Sunday were directed at the media and were not racially motivated. I offered an opinion. This opinion has caused discomfort to the crew, which I regret. I love Sunday NFL Countdown and do not want to be a distraction to the great work done by all who work on it. Therefore, I have decided to resign. I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the show and wish all the best to those who make it happen.[50]

Scouting Report: How was this going to work anyway? It made absolutely no sense. What it amounted to, I’m presuming, was ESPN trying to garner some attention for an increasingly competitive Sunday morning football market. They got some headlines alright…

VS.

4. Dream Job was an American reality television show from ESPN, which began on February 22, 2004. It was the network’s second reality show, with two editions of Beg, Borrow & Deal having previously aired. However, this was the first reality show from a network to offer its winner an on-air place on one of its shows. The show was hosted by Stuart Scott.

Scouting Report: I remember this. That is, I remember not watching this. It’s all well and good to give someone a job on ESPN. Problem is: I don’t think I’ve ever seen the guys who won this thing. And the bigger problem is: I still see Stuart Scott.

2. Around the Horn premiered on November 4, 2002, hosted by Max Kellerman. It replaced the interview show Unscripted with Chris Connelly. On February 2, 2004, Tony Reali, known as “Stat Boy” on Pardon the Interruption, became the show’s new host when Kellerman left ESPN due to a contract dispute. The show is unique as it “scores the argument” - points are awarded or taken from panelists at the discretion of the host depending on the strength or weakness of their arguments. The rewarding - and deduction - of points has changed throughout the series.

Scouting Report: This show is just annoying. No other way to describe it. Grown men acting like idiots, a confusing point system, Woody Paige. In my book, you get points for not watching crap like this. This show is nothing more than filler until PTI and Sportscenter. Horrible.

VS.

3. ESPN’s Rockin’ New Years Eve 2005- Steven Van Zandt (Silvio from the Sopranos) & ESPN’s Stuart Scott hosted ESPN’s Rockin’ New Years Eve from The Hard Rock in Times Square, NYC… with The New York Dolls, The Troggs (performed “Wild Thing” on the Mayor’s stage), The Mooney Suzuki, The Chesterfield Kings, The Woggles, The Charms, and of course, the Garage Girls A Go-Go dancers.

Scouting Report: I’ll be honest: I didn’t know this even existed until I ran a google search on “bad ESPN shows.” Moreover, I’m glad ESPN’s Rockin’ New Years Eve 2006, 2007 or 2008 didn’t pop up. ESPN shouldn’t be doing New Years’ shows. Or original movies, award shows, or anything not involving Erin Andrews.

Feel free to chime in, and tomorrow the Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith brackets will be unveiled…

July 16, 2008: ESPN.com senior writer Ivan Maisel

Young team. Sophomore slump?

Published on July 15, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Monday on the 620 Sportsline

Steve Gilbert from DBacks.com joined us from New York

Paolo Boivin with the Arizona Republic came on as well

* D-Backs -Fill-in producer Steve thinks the D-Backs are like Jack from “Titanic”, freezing to death before our eyes, yet we refuse to believe (somebody cue the Celine Dion crap song). I see it more like Rocky Balboa from “Rocky III”. After beating Apollo Creed, Rocky embraces a lavish lifestyle and gets away from his Philly roots. He loses his identity and forgets who he is.

To wit, the Arizona Diamondbacks were 66-7 last year when leading after 6 innings. This year they’re already 37-14. Already twice as many losses as last year. That was their bread/butter last year. Is this just a young team going through a sophomore slump? Were they lucky to do what they did last year and the start of this year? Is more patience required or has patience run thin with a bunch of young players whose pedigree says they should be better than this? In that regard they’re like Schwarzenegger in “Total Recall.” What is reality, what is fantasy?

What position is most in need of being filled before the deadline?
And everyone is jumping on the Blame-Bob-Melvin bandwagon. Interesting considering it doesn’t seem as if he’s doing anything different this year with a team that on paper should be better than last years. People want to blame the manager. Isn’t that just a convenient excuse for the possibility that this team isn’t ready? Or just isn’t that good?

* FAVRE -They held a rally in Green Bay over the weekend to implore the Packers to keep Brett Favre. I’m having a harder and harder time mustering any kind of sympathy for Favre. He cried, he bawled, he’s had a hundred opportunities to change his mind and make it possible to come back with the Packers. And yet he claims it’s the Packers who make him feel unwanted. There are certain things in this world I can’t get behind, and one of them is high maintenance people. And Brett Favre is High-Maintenance! You made a decision. Is it asking too much for you to stand behind it? He has put the Packers in an absolute no-win situation and you’d think your garden variety cheese head would recognize that.

* BILLY PACKER- The now former CBS analyst is one of my all-time favorites. He is the Yang to Vitale’s Yin. Packer is a hot cup of coffee. Strong, acidic, got a real kick. Might be a pain in the ass, but I don’t have to be neighbors with the guy.

* HOME RUN DERBY- To help get you through a lame field of competitors, there’s a Home Run Derby Drinking game making the rounds. What is better the home run derby or the dunk contest in the NBA?

Best moments of the past 10 years

Published on July 8, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

The New Sports Classics: Best moments of the past 10 years.

Burnsy was back from his voyage to the East Coast can’t get the trip out of his head. This time it was the plane ride that got the brain flowing. On the flight back Dave secretly read his wife’s Entertainment Weekly. The issue went over the New Classics of the last 25 years in movies, TV shows, albums, and books.

With sports always on his mind, Burns transformed the topic into the new sports classics. The Top 10 moments of the last ten years. When he got off the plane this is what he came up with in no particular order:

1. 2003 ALCS, Red Sox, down 3-0 rally to beat the Yanks. The BoSox were the first team in MLB history to win a seven game series after being down 3-0. They accomplished the feat against the hated evil empire, the New York Yankees. This could go down as the moment that swung the best rivalry in baseball to the other side.

2. Boise State stuns Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Boise State vs. the Sooners in the Fiesta Bowl, who wants to watch that? Glendale, AZ ended up having one of the most dramatic CFB games in the history of the NCAA. A great upset with trick plays galore, plus the staring RB Ian Johnson proposed to his girlfriend when the game ended. What a moment!

3. D-Backs win 1st championship vs. Yankees in 2001 World Series. The Yankees were trying to win one for their city after the tragic events of 9-11. Byung Hyun Kim blows 2 games at The Stadium. Mariano can’t shut down the Snakes in the bottom of the 9th of Game 7. Plain and simple - great baseball on the biggest stage.

4. OSU upsets Miami in national championship game in 2003. Ohio State led by freshman Maurice Clarrett defeated the heavily favored Hurricanes. Most memorable moment from this game was Willis McGahee’s knee getting completely destroyed.

5. The New York football Giants take down the undefeated New England Pats in Super Bowl 42, 17-14. An unbelievable game with an unbelievable play. Eli Manning’s impromptu escape and David Tyree’s incredible catch will go down as one of the greatest plays in SB history.

6. Steve Bartman – October 14, 2003. The man will never be able to step foot in Chicago again until the Cubs win the World Series. Cubbie fans get over it, your SS Alex Gonzalez booted a routine ground ball, it wasn’t Bartman’s fault.

7. Music City Miracle – Titans defeat Bills on Wild Card Weekend Jan 8th 2000. One of the most creative special team’s plays we have seen. Frank Wycheck chucks the ball back to Kevin Dyson, Dyson 75 yards down the sideline. Another heart breaking loss for the folks in Orchard Park.

8. Mark McGwire/Sammy Sosa – Summer of ‘98. The home run chase that put baseball back on the map. Sosa and Big Mac went back and forth crushing mammoth HR’s as they drew closer and closer to the magic number 61. McGwire broke it against the Cubs and the celebration was on. Sosa and McGwire hugged; Roger Maris’ family was sitting the front row, heartbreaking stuff. The only thing better was them both looking like morons in front of Congress.

9. Tiger Woods win US open on the 91st hole in 2008 over Rocco Mediate. Woods was playing on one leg, enough said.

10. App St. upsets Michigan 34-32 on opening day at the Big House. The Mountaineers defeated the Michigan Wolverines!!!!!!!! The then #5 ranked Michigan Wolverines were the first 1-A team to lose to a 1-AA team since the NCAA started classifying teams in divisions in 1978.

After much debate with callers, producer and board opt four changes were made to the list. Axed off the Top 10 were App St’s win over Big Blue, OSU’s national championship over the U, the Music City Miracle, and the steroid chase….. I mean home run chase of 1998.

Here is what got added on –

-2005 Rose Bowl/National Championship game, Texas upsets USC. The Trojans came into the game hyped as one of the greatest teams ever. The game billed as the game of the century lived up to its stature as Vince Young carried the Longhorns passed Southern Cal in their own backyard.

-USC defeats ND 34-31. The Fighting Irish broke out the green jerseys, but they couldn’t pull out the W. Reggie Bush nudged Matt Leinart across the goal line and the Trojans continued their march towards perfection.

-Dale Earnhardt Sr. dies at Daytona 500. A sad moment, but a memorable one. One the greatest NASCAR drivers of our time die in a crash at its most famed race.

-Ron Artest goes berserk. Not only did the Indiana Pacers fight Ben Wallace and the Detroit Pistons, but they decided to brawl with the entire crowd too. Chairs, beers, and fists flew everywhere. The fight was clinched when Jermaine O’Neal sprinted across the court and laid out a fan standing on the court.