Latest Gear Live Videos
Tap The Schedule And Twist the Cap: 5.21.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: MLB, NBA, NHL,
I have to admit, I haven’t been this proud of being an NBA fan in a long time. It’s hard to argue that this season’s playoffs haven’t been anything short of magnificent. It seems every game is either going into overtime or is thisclose until the end. I’ve been losing sleep watching the West Coast games and have needed about five cups of coffee every morning to get stuff done at work! However, the caffeine rush and subsequent addiction has been well worth it.
*Today’s the day. Will the defending Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons move on to face a well-rested Miami Heat club? Or will LeBron James continue to add to his legend by leading his Cleveland Cavaliers into the next round of the playoffs? The start of the answer to these questions tips off at 3:30pm EST. If we learn anything from recent history, this will be another classic and very tight matchup.
Well, he did it. San Francisco Giants’ Barry Bonds tied the Bambino yesterday with his 714th homerun of his career. Today, he tries teeing off against the Athletics to get number 715, which would move him to second place on the all-time homerun list all by himself as Bonds pursues Hank Aaron’s 756 to become the all-time best MLB homerun hitter.
*Young Lefties Duel It Out… Florida Marlins’ Dontrelle Willis tries to get his season in gear when he faces the Tampa Bay Devils Rays, who have a lefty of their own taking the hill, Scott Kazmir. Both are quality pitchers and this should be a good one to watch. I can’t believe I just said that about a Marlins/D-Rays game.
*The Thrilla In Chi-Townilla… I wonder which fighters we have on the card today? After yesterday’s brawl, today’s game could be interesting to watch, especially with fiery Carlos Zambrano taking the mound for the Cubbies.
*The Rubber Match In New York… After splitting the first two games of their Subway Series, the Yankees and Mets play tonight to claim supremacy of New York.
The NHL Playoffs have been almost as exciting as the NBA’s, and I’ll admit I’m biased, but I don’t think they’ve been quite on the same level… but somewhat close.
*The Anaheim Mighty Ducks look to even the series against the Edmonton Oilers in tonight’s Eastern Conference matchup. The Ducks’ offense needs to get rolling, particularly Teemu Selanne and the Brothers Niedermayer, Scott and Rob.
Well, folks, enjoy the games!
Advertisement
After dressing, but not playing in Game Six against the Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard, Larry Hughes will likely get some playing time in the decisive Game Seven of the series. Hughes who did not play in Games Four to Six due to time off to grieve his younger brother’s death, could be instrumental on Sunday afternoon.
Not only will Hughes provide rotation depth, but his ability to steal the ball and score will come in handy against the Pistons. Hughes was brought in during the last offseason to complement LeBron James and be James’ Scottie Pippen of sorts. However, due to injury, Hughes only played 36 regular season games. But, he was a key cog in the Cavaliers’ playoff run to get a high seed and get homecourt advantage in the first round.
It will be an emotional time for Hughes, but after the team attended funeral services for his brother this past Tuesday in St. Louis, there is no question that on top of self-satisfaction and winning a game for his brother, Hughes would like to repay the team back in kind by helping the Cavs get to the Eastern Conference Championship.
In the second inning of the second game of the Oakland Athletics/San Francisco Giants series, Barry Bonds hit homerun number 714 to tie Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time MLB homerun list. Notice the number of times I use the word, “second”? Well, it’s only appropriate considering that Bonds climb up the list will be “second”-guessed due to allegations of steroid use.
The shot off of A’s starter, Brad Halsey, landed in the first deck of elevated stands in right center. Estimates have it going at 400 feet, clearly not one of those gigantic blasts Bonds is known for. But, what matters is that it went over the fence and history was made.
Of course, Bonds has to get his next dinger to be in second place all by his lonesome. He gets his shot to do that tomorrow against second-year pitcher Joe Blanton.
Chicago Cubs Catcher Michael Barrett and Chicago White Sox Catcher A.J. Pierzynski Brawl
Posted by Jeff Chan Categories: Athletes, MLB, Scoreboard,
After tagging up from third base, A.J. Pierzynksi came barreling down the line and flattened catcher Michael Barrett to score a run as the White Sox defeated the Chicago Cubs 7-0. Everybody gets a kick out of bench-clearing brawls and you’ll have probably seen the highlights ten times by the time you read this, but everyone is missing a key point here. The key point no one mentioned is that there is that unspoken rule for catchers, where they don’t go running each other over on the base paths. Not only Pierzynski do that, he emphatically slapped home plate, rubbing it in that he made Barrett drop the ball, which ensued the melee. Pierzynski is famously known across the Majors Leagues as a real pain in the butt for opponents and teammates alike with his mouth and antics. Maybe this skirmish pulls the Cubbies closer together this season for a nice winning streak.
Chamique Holdsclaw has left the Los Angeles Sparks due to personal reasons right before the start of the 2006 WNBA season. Holdsclaw made a name for herself as an outstanding collegiate player. She was the primary weapon during her Tennessee Lady Volunteer teams that won three NCAA championships. She was later the number overall draft pick in the 1999 WNBA draft. She was named rookie of the year in 1999 and has been a three-time all star. Holdsclaw had battled clinical depression earlier in her career in 2004. There is no timetable for her return back with the team.
Read More 
| LA Times
New York Yankees Rally Against New York Mets; Win 5-4
Posted by Jeff Chan Categories: Editorial, MLB, Scoreboard,
Things were going nice and smoothly for the New York Mets in their battle against the Yankees, until the ninth inning, where closer Billy Wagner was all over the plate and allowed four runs to tie the game. The Yankees have made quite a living off of making comebacks this season, and did it again this time with another makeshift outfield. Today’s games had Miguel Cairo in left field and Melky Cabrera in right field and were without catcher Jorge Posada. Today’s game was the first of the season for Fox Saturday baseball, with broadcasters Tim McCarver and Joe Buck. The only thing missing from the usual Fox telecast was the cartoon ball named “Scooter”, teaching us fans what a change-up is. “It looks like a fastball but it goes reaaaal, reaaaal slow”. The rubber game will be shown on ESPN Sunday night baseball at 8 PM.
Tap The Schedule And Twist The Cap: 5.20.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: MLB, NBA, NHL,
There are no NBA games today, but the NBA Playoffs certainly have not disappointed its fans. Last night, the Cleveland Cavaliers barely missed pulling off the incredible of ousting the defending Eastern Conference champs, the Pistons of Detroit. However, luck was on the Pistons side as a nearly-tipped ball by Chauncey Billups on an intentionally missed LeBron James free throw at the end of the game did not go in. As much of a heart attack the Motor City may have had collectively, Billups and company eeked out an 84-82 victory, bringing the series back to Detroit for the deciding Game Seven to be played tomorrow afternoon.
In the West, down 3-1, the San Antonio Spurs have won two in a row, including last night’s 91-86 win in Dallas, thanks in part to clutch free throws by Manu Ginobilli and Tony Parker. With the series now tied at three games apiece, the series goes back to San Antonio. Don’t be surprised by the Spurs’ comeback… to borrow from a great man… as L.L. Cool J said in “Mama Said Knock You Out,” the Spurs have been here for years! Game Seven will be played on Monday.
Today’s baseball games are the same as yesterday with Interleague play in full effect. The one game to keep an eye on is the Oakland Athletics vs. San Francisco Giants where Barry Bonds is still looking to tie Babe Ruth’s 714 dingers. He’ll be trying to tee off on A’s starting pitcher, Brad Halsey whom he’s never faced.
In the NHL, last night’s game between the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Mighty Ducks (gag) found the Oilers beating the Ducks 3-1, with the game-winning goal scored by Ales Hemsky. The Oilers take a 1-0 lead in the Western Confernce Championship.
*The Eastern Conference Championship gets under way today when they drop the puck in Carolina with the visiting Buffalo Sabres trying to be bad guests as they face off against the Carolina Hurricanes. Both finished with 52 victories during the regular season, tying for the most wins in the East, along with the Ottawa Senators. Look for a great fight.
Enjoy the games!
Tap The Schedule and Twist The Cap: 5.19.06
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: MLB, NBA, NHL,
It’s a good time to be an NBA fan. The playoffs have been nothing short of AMAZING!!! And that should continue tonight with two excellent games on tap:
*Have to start with my man, LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers trying to be as least hospitable as possible to the Detroit Pistons. The Cavs lead the series 3-2 and can close it out with a win tonight to move on to the Eastern Conference Championship. BUT I’m jumping the gun, so let me chill. (GO CAVS!).
*With their backs up against the wall, the San Antonio Spurs visit Dallas to hopefully stave off the Mavericks, as well as elimination from the playoffs and defending their title. The Spurs will have a bit of an advantage as Mavs’ PG Jason Terry is suspended for tonight’s game as he didn’t want to share the ball with former Mav and current Spur, Michael Finley. So, what did Terry do? As any four-year-old would do, he punched Finley and said, “Nooooo, it’s MY ball.”
This afternoon, MLB’s Interleague play begins with a matchup between the Chi-Town teams - the Cubbies and the ChiSox. Other notable matchups:
*The Fight for New York as the Yankees come down from the Bronx to visit the Mets from the best borough in New York, Queens! And, yes, I am being subjective as I was born and raised in Queens.
*The Baltimore Orioles travel to the country’s capital as they face the Washington Nationals. You can bet that Peter Angelos is hoping to destroy the Nats the same way George Steinbrenner wants to crush the Metropolitans. The guys just can’t share a backyard with anyone.
*Surprise! Surprise! Two of the more surprising teams matchup in Motown as the Queen City’s Reds visit the Tigers, hoping to tame the beast.
*Futily in Florida… yeah, ho hum. The Florida Marlins visit the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
*The Heat Is On In Houston! The Rangers matchup against the Astros in Orange Juice Park.
*The Battle of the Bay is on as Barry Bonds and the San Fran Giants cross the bridge to play the Athletics of Oakland. Let’s go Danny Haren! Sorry… had to show my A’s Love.
*The Real Versus The Fake. The Los Angeles Dodgers host the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (HUH?!?!?) with former Dodger, Jeff Weaver taking the hill for the Angels. I smell the scent of revenge.
In the NHL, the Western Conference Finals begin tonight when some Canadians invade America… you see what happens? You piss off Canadians enough and they will kick butt. At least that’s what the Oilers of Edmonton hope to do when they face off against the Anaheim Mighty Ducks (c’mon, guys, just change the name already or else I’m always going to associate your team with Emilio Estevez… and believe me, that’s not a good thing).
Enjoy the games, all!
Masked Gunmen Attempt To Rob Championship Game Soccer Tickets
Posted by Jeff Chan Categories: Championship, News, Soccer,
Earlier today in Paris, France, two masked gunmen stormed a suburban city hall seeking to steal soccer tickets for the Champions Leagues final. Luckily, no one was injured. The original plan for the thieves was to rob the mayor of the city, because the mayor usually receives extra guest tickets for special events. The hot ticket is for a match-up between the Ronaldinho of Barcelona and Thierry Henry of Arsenal. The Champions League is organized by the UEFA (Union of European Football Association) and is regarded as one of the most prestigious club competition in soccer - basically the yearly Finals of Soccer in Europe. This event is red-hot, black market tickets have reached as high as $2,580. Even with a stadium capacity of 80,000 seats, the supply still is not high enough. These turn of events have French-joke-material written all over it for comedians to use.
Read More | ESPN
Cleveland Cavaliers Win Third In a Row
Posted by Dennis Velasco Categories: Athletes, Editorial, NBA, Playoffs,
The Cleveland Cavaliers went into Detroit with their playoff series tied at two apiece with the Pistons. After tonight’s 86-84 victory, not only do the Cavs have the 3-2 lead in the series, but have taken away homecourt advantage from the Eastern Conference champions the past two seasons. Wake up, folks, the Cavs are making some noise in the East. And after winning their third straight playoff game for the first time in team history, the Cavs have all the momentum going back to Cleveland to close out the series.
Once again, LeBron James was an integral part in the Cavs win, finishing with 32 points, five rebounds, and five assists - including the game-winning dish to Drew Gooden for a layup down in the box. Donyell Marshall came off the bench to provide some timely rebounding and defense. It also helped that Pistons guards Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton seemed “off” with their combined 11-for-32 shooting from the floor.
Rasheed Wallace never should have said a thing as I think the Cavs used it as extra motivation. Not that they needed it. The Cavs seem focused and it all starts with James, who seems to be improving every time he steps on the floor. And his maturity is showing through the media as well. Check out the following quote:
‘‘It’s just basketball,’’ James said. ‘‘They’re not the Big, Bad Wolf. And we’re not the Three Little Pigs.’‘
James doesn’t sound and, more importantly, hasn’t played like a playoff rookie or seem intimidated in any way as he continues to penetrate to the basket, challenging the Pistons’ big men of Rasheed and Ben Wallace. He’s reminding me of Michael Jordan doing the same thing to the Pistons’ Bad Boys - Bill Laimbeer, John Salley, and Dennis Rodman. But Jordan comparisons are never fair and James reminds me more of Magic Johnson, but scoring a little more.
In Game Six, I’m looking for the Cavaliers to… oh wait. I don’t want to do a Rasheed! I’ll just keep quiet and trust that you know whom I’m rooting for. But, I will say this much - CLEVELAND ROCKS!
Advertisement
© Gear Live Media, LLC. 2007 – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.