RG's Sports Recap Week 4

Hey, GAME sports fans! Here are my top sports stories from last week:

*Michael Vick, Michael Vick, & more Michael Vick!--Last week, both M.V.'s mom & his estranged dad spoke to the media regarding their disgraced eldest son & his recent troubles. Vick's father, Michael Boddie, reportedly knew of his son's involvement with dogfighting & advised him to stop doing what he was doing because it would eventually get him in big trouble if he were to ever get caught by the authorities. M.V. & his dad's relationship went south ever since he was drafted #1 overall by the Atlanta Falcons. I'm a firm believer in the saying, "Father knows best." Even though they haven't got along in the past few years, I think if Mike initially heeded to his father's advice to stop being involved with the dogfighting & gambling activities, he wouldn't be in the terrible situation that he is in now. Micheal's mom fully supports her eldest son, stating that he is now committing himself to God to get him through the adversity that he has endured thus far. Vick has plead guilty to the federal dogfighting charge. He will be sentenced to prison on 12/10/07 & the length will be determined by then. Vick faces either a year up to a year & a half in jail. After Vick does his time in prison, the NFL will suspend him for a season. He won't be eligible to play football again til 2010, when he will be 30 years of age. Vick has apologized to everyone he has affected with his ordeal; his family, the NFL, the Atlanta Falcons & all of his loyal fans who really admired & looked up to him. You know it STILL boggles my mind that Vick would get involved with this type of stupidity & THINK it wasn't gonna catch up with him inevitably! $130 million contract?! Multi-million dollar product endorsements & just throw it ALL away for being involved with dogfighting & killing dogs brutally if they didn't do their thing? I hope MV utilizes his time to get his mind right & come out being a better & wiser person in life.

*Baseball Briefs--Wed. 8/22/07--The Texas Rangers were down 3-Zip early to the Baltimore Orioles & the offensive explosion that was to follow was nothing short of incredible! The Rangers go on to score 30 unanswered runs...That's right, y'all, a 30 spot, & go on to a 30-3 mashing of the Orioles in the 1st game of a doubleheader, mind you!! 30 runs scored by one team in a 9-inning game before Texas did it was last done 110 years ago!!! It obvious that the Orioles' pitching was absolutely horrendous as they also gave up 29 hits!...Congrats to the Little League World Series Champs from Warner Robins, GA as they defeated Tokyo, Japan 3-2 to capture the title!

*Notable NFL signings--Kansas City Chiefs star RB Larry Johnson ends his holdout from training camp by agreeing to a six-year extension. Also ending a holdout was NY Jet rookie 1st round draft pick CB/KR Darrell Rivas, finally agreeing to a contract...NY Giant DE Michael Strahan still has not made a decision yet on whether he's playing this season or retiring. Stay tuned!

*The WNBA Playoffs have already jumped off! My teams to go to the Finals this season is the rematch of last year, the Detroit Shocks vs. the Sacramento Monarchs, with the Shock winning back-to-back titles, which hasn't been done since the Houston Comets' historic championship run in the late 90's...It'll be a little tough for the Shock to repeat this year if their superstar power forward Cheryl Ford is not able to go full throttle with an injured knee.

*Sunday, 8/25/07--In PGA golf, veteran golfer Steve Stricker ended a six-year victory drought by capturing the Barclays Tournament. Stricker shot a 4-round total of 268 & finished 16-under-par over runner up K.J. Choi, who finished at 14-under-par for the tournament. Stricker's last victory was in 2001 in the World Match Play.

*RIP to NBA forward Eddie Griffin, who was tragically killed in an auto accident by a passing freight train in Houston, TX in the middle of August, 2007. He was only 25 years young. What a shame & a waste of promising talent. Eddie battled alcohol addiction which led to various troubles with the law & as a result, never lived up to his potential during his 6-year NBA career with the Houston Rockets & Minnesota Timberwolves. Griffin entered the NBA Draft in 2001 after having an All-American freshman season at Seton Hall, averaging a double-double(18pts & 11rpg) & was a nasty shot-blocker.

Well, everyone. Another week, another wrap on the sports recap of last week's events. Til next week, stay GAME & enjoy the upcoming Labor Day weekend! Peace! ~RG~

RG's Weekly Sports Recap

Embattled Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick has made a very wise decision by admitting his guilt in participating in dog-fighting & gambling activities. Taking the case to trial was NOT gonna be a smart route to take, being that two of his closest friends have already plead guilty of the charges & were set to set to testify against him & the feds just had too much evidence against him as well. By Vick copping a plea, he will only face up to 18 months in prison. Why risk going to trial with everything against you & face a longer jail sentence, certainly ending your NFL career? There's no guarantee that Vick will return to play in the NFL even after he does his year up to year & a half bid in the pen. He'll still be young, 31 or 32, but based on this crime, teams will shy away from him, which will be a shame because Vick is an unbelievably gifted athlete blessed with elusive speed moves & a nice throwing arm. Just 3 years ago, Vick signed a 10-year, $130M contract & garnered huge endorsement deals with Nike & Topps trading cards & for him to even engage in something as cruel as dog-fighting & aiding in killing dogs in disturbing ways if they didn't do their thing during combat is very shameful, disgusting & sad. It goes to tell you that you can be on top of the world one minute & you can come crashing downhill the next minute, just like that!

*Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy admitted his guilt in illegally betting on NBA games he officiated during a four year period. In a pending move that has NBA Commish David Stern very nervous is that Donaghy will cooperate with the feds & rat out up to 20 other NBA officials who also bet on NBA games. Up to 20 refs?! That is a scary proposition right there!! Personally speaking, I've had my suspicions on how NBA games were being officiated in the past & present. Terrible foul calls in key situations & non-foul calls against superstar marquee players especially. Now with this matter with Donaghy, it has come to light, & that is a huge concern for the true NBA fans that love the game. We shall continue to follow this saga & I'm very eager to find out who else was involved with this mess!

*Veteran shock-jock Don Imus reached a settlement with CBS radio for $20M, & is gearing up for a return to the airwaves, possibly with WABC radio. As we all know, Imus has been out of work since April, getting fired for making an insensitive & racist remark on-air about the Rutgers women's basketball team, infamously calling them "nappy-headed hoes." One of the players, Kia Vaughn, has filed a defamation-of-character lawsuit against the I-Man, saying that his negative remarks has damaged her reputation. My message to Kia: Why let Imus' negative remark get to you? YOU know that you're not a nappy headed hoe. YOU are an intelligent & beautiful woman, inside & out & you are doing something positive with your life by currently getting a college education. Keep forging ahead, Kia & don't absorb the hate that comes your way, baby!

*Baseball briefs: Arizona Diamondbacks ace pitcher Brandon Webb has not given up a run in 42 straight innings & counting.....Minnesota Twins ace lefty Johan Santana struck 17 Texas Rangers with dominating stuff in a victory. When Santana enters free agency, he will command big money!!!......Chicago Cubs ace right-hander Carlos Zambrano signed a 5-year, $91.5M contract extension. Well deserved 'cause he truly is a great pitcher with great stuff & durabilty.

*In college football AP poll, USC comes in as the #1 ranked team, which is interesting to me. I guess it's the rep that Coach Pete Carroll has solidified with the program. The defending national champ Florida Gators is ranked #6 in poll.

*In soccer, superstar David Beckham had a pretty nice week. Becks scored his 1st goal with the L.A. Galaxy by way of a free kick in a victory over D.C. United. In a game against the Red Bulls at Giants Stadium in NJ, the attendance was an outstanding 66,237 fans to see Becks do his thing, & he didn't disappoint. He had 3 incredible assists which led to goals for the Galaxy, but all for naught as the home team Red Bulls won the game, 5-4. Young soccer phenom Freddy Adu made his European debut as a member of the Benfica of Portugal team. Keep in mind that Adu is just 18 years old with a ton of superstar potential.

*Rest in peace to the great former NY Yankee shortshop & broadcaster Phil Rizzuto. He was 90 years old.

Well, my friends, it's a wrap on another sports recap. Til next week, stay GAME everyone! Peace, RG*

RG's Weekly Recap

*On Tuesday, 8/7/07, San Francisco Giants OF Barry Bonds became the all-time home run king in Major League Baseball history by hitting #756 off of Washington Nationals starting pitcher Mike Bacsik in the 5th inning. Bonds passes Henry Hank Aaron on the all-time list. Baseball legend Willie Mays, who happens to be Bond's godfather, was at AT&T Park to witness the historic blast. Hall of Famer Frank Robinson was also present at the ballpark. A video message from Hank Aaron was played on the center-field scoreboard, congratulating Bonds on his great acheivement. MLB Commisioner Bud Selig was not present for the record breaking moment, but he did call Bonds from the locker room to congratulate him on breaking the record of his good friend Hank Aaron. Many fans & critics want to put an asterisk next to Bonds' name in the record books because of the whole BALCO situation, which alleges that he used steroids. Bottom line is, Barry Bonds, steroids or not, is the greatest player in MLB history with his all around game, 7 NL MVPs & now the home run king, all-time. Congrats to the great Barry Lamar Bonds!

*Memo to the PGA, Eldrick "Tiger" Woods is back in top form & ready to dominate the field again. Just recently, he became a father to a beautiful baby girl named Sam, & with that source of motivation, Tiger goes on win his 4th PGA Championship under blistering hot weather conditons at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Woods beat runner up Woody Austin by 2 strokes, shooting 8-under par. The victory is his 13th career major victory, 5 away from tying golfing legend Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major victories.

*There's yet another great & inspirational story emerging in Major League Baseball. 28 year old St. Louis Cardinals OF Rick Ankiel, who in 2000, came up as a top young pitching prospect, hit 3 home runs in 3 games. Ankiel now has 5 home runs, & has received standing ovations during the home games in St. Louis. As a left handed starting pitcher in his rookie year in 2000 at age 21, Ankiel had amazing stuff, but then developed control problems finding the strike zone. He was then sent back down to the minor leagues to correct his pitching deficiencies, but in 2005, he decide to quit pitching altogether so he can resurrect himself by playing the outfield & utilize his hitting & fielding skills. The transformation from pitcher to outfielder/hitting star has worked out great for Rick & the Cardinals organization!

That's a wrap on last week's sports recap. Until next week, stay GAME, sports fans!

~Ross G~

Top Sports Stories from Last Week

*Barry Bonds tied Hank Aaron's career home run record, hitting #755 in the left field stands at Petco Park in San Diego against Padres pitcher Clay Hensley.

*Alex Rodriguez became the youngest player in Major League Baseball history at 32 years of age to hit 500 career home runs. It came off Kansas city pitcher Kyle Davies at Yankee Stadium.

*Tom Glavine became the 23rd pitcher in MLB history to win 300 career games. The historic victory came against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

*Legendary NFL head coach Bill Walsh, who led the San Francisco 49ers to national prominence by winning multiple Super Bowls in the 80's, passed away from a lengthy battle with leukemia.

*Future NBA Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett, 31, was traded to the Boston Celtics & in exchange, the Minnesota Timberwolves pick up forwards Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes & Gerald Green, point guard Sebastian Telfair, center Theo Ratliff, two 1st round draft picks in 2009 & cash considerations. This acquisition, along with Ray Allen playing alongside Paul Pierce, puts the Celts amongst the top teams in the Eastern Conference for the upcoming season.

*#1 ranked Mexican golfer Lorena Ochoa wins her 1st Major Championship, winning the Women's British Open.

*Tiger Woods wins the Bridgestone Invitational by 8 strokes over South African Rory Sabbatini.

*Tony Kanaan wins the Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway over Marco Andretti.

*In tennis, Andy Roddick won his 3rd Legg Mason Tennis Classic title in Washington, defeating unseeded John Isner & women's top seed Maria Sharapova won her 1st title in 10 months defeating Patty Schnyder in the final Acura Classic tournament in Carlsbad, CA.

*Congrats to NFL legends Michael Irwin, Bruce Matthews & Thurman Thomas. They are among this years class inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

That's a wrap on last week's sports recap! 'Til next week, stay GAME, everyone!**Ross G*