THE WEEK IN SPORTS
This has been the toughest “week in sports” I have had to write as the slow season in sports and sports wagering is upon us. Last week we had Wimbledon to alleviate this slow time of the year but this week we dont even have the Hot Dog eating contest to write about. Surprisingly though, this weekend I have enjoyed one event that has really stood out to me as one of my favorite new sports to watch, Cycling and the Tour De France.
We should start off with a look at that traditional bell mark of the slow season in sports, the MLB All Star game. One thing I have truly liked about this years voting has been the online voting on MLB.com for the final spots in the All Star game. Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants and Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers are the clubhouse leaders after the opening 24 hours of online fan voting in the 2009 All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote, held exclusively on MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, and the individual Club sites.
Sandoval currently owns a very small lead over the other four players on the ballot for the final roster spot on the 2009 National League All-Star Team, followed closely by Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies; Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers; Mark Reynolds of the Arizona Diamondbacks; and Cristian Guzman of the Washington Nationals.
On the American League side, Kinsler leads the very close race among the five candidates for the final roster spot, followed by Brandon Inge of the Detroit Tigers; Chone Figgins of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; Adam Lind of the Toronto Blue Jays; and Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The eighth annual All-Star Game Sprint Final Vote ballot commenced exclusively on MLB.com and the individual Club sites and will continue until the voting concludes at 4 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday, July 9, 2009.So get in and vote on this game.
Let’s take a look at the roster for the game so far.
Preliminary rosters announced Sunday by Major League Baseball for the 2009 all-star game to be played Tuesday, July 14 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis (s-denotes starter, elected by fans; m-managers pick; p-players’ selection):
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Pitchers
m-Andrew Bailey, Oakland; m-Mark Buerhle, Chicago White Sox; p-Josh Beckett, Boston; m-Brian Fuentes, L.A. Angels; p-Zack Greinke, Kansas City; p-Roy Halladay, Toronto; m-Felix Hernandez, Seattle; p-Edwin Jackson, Detroit; p-Joe Nathan, Minnesota; p-Jonathan Papelbon, Boston; p-Mariano Rivera, N.Y. Yankees; p-Justin Verlander, Detroit; m-Tim Wakefield, Boston.
Catchers
p-Victor Martinez, Cleveland; s-Joe Mauer, Minnesota.
Infielders
p-Jason Bartlett, Tampa Bay; p-Aaron Hill, Toronto; s-Derek Jeter, N.Y. Yankees; s-Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay; p-Justin Morneau,
Minnesota; s-Dustin Pedroia, Boston; s-Mark Teixeira, N.Y. Yankees; m-Kevin Youkilis, Boston; p-Michael Young, Texas; m-Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay.
Outfielders
s-Jason Bay, Boston; p-Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay; p-Curtis Granderson, Detroit; s-Josh Hamilton, Texas; p-Torii Hunter, LA Angels; m-Adam Jones, Baltimore; s-Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle.
Final Man (one selected by Internet voting)
Adam Lind, Toronto; Ian Kinsler, Texas; Chone Figgins, L.A. Angels; Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay; Brandon Inge, Detroit.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pitchers
p-Heath Bell, San Diego; p-Chad Billingsley, L.A. Dodgers; p-Jonathan Broxton, L.A. Dodgers; p-Matt Cain, San Francisco; m-Francisco Cordero, Cincinnati; m-Ryan Franklin, St. Louis; m-Dan Haren, Arizona; p-Josh Johnson, Florida; m-Ted Lilly, Chicago Cubs; m-Jason Marquis, Colorado; p-Tim Lincecum, San Francisco; p-Francisco Rodriguez, N.Y. Mets; p-Johan Santana, N.Y. Mets.
Catchers
p-Brian McCann, Atlanta; s-Yadier Molina, St. Louis.
Infielders
m-Prince Fielder, Milwaukee; p-Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego; m-Ryan Howard, Philadelphia; p-Orlando Hudson, L.A. Dodgers; s-Albert Pujols, St. Louis; s-Hanley Ramirez, Florida; m-Freddy Sanchez, Pittsburgh; p-Miguel Tejada, Houston; s-Chase Utley, Philadelphia; s-David Wright, N.Y. Mets; p-Ryan Zimmerman, Washington.
Outfielders
s-Carlos Beltran, N.Y. Mets; s-Ryan Braun, Milwaukee; p-Brad Hawpe, Colorado; s-Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia; p-Hunter Pence, Houston; p-Justin Upton, Arizona.
Final Man (one selected by Internet voting)
Mark Reynolds, Arizona; Matt Kemp, L.A. Dodgers; Shane Victorino, Philadelphia; Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco; Cristian Guzman, Washington.
One of the sports I have truly grown to love is Cycling. The scenery in the French Open has been unreal and the strategy involved in this sport has been fascinating. Monday brought some fascinating results as the main draw of the Tour, Lance Armstrong, hitched a ride with a breakaway group led by old sidekick George Hincapie’s Team Columbia and shocked alot of people by moving within striking distance of the yellow jersey. Mark Cavendish, a Columbia rider from Britain, won the stage for the second straight day.
Race leader Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland kept the yellow jersey for a third day in a row. The Swiss rider with Saxo Bank extended his lead and is ahead of Columbia rider Tony Martin of Germany by 33 seconds and Armstrong by 40.
Most of the favorites were trapped by the wind during the 122-mile ride from Marseille to La Grande-Motte. Sensing the gusts were playing havoc ahead of a turn with about 18 miles to go, Armstrong simply stayed in front, outfoxing riders like Alberto Contador of Spain, the 2007 Tour winner and favorite this year.
This is a fascinating sport and well worth the time to try and watch the strategy and the gorgeous scenery. This may be a slow time in sports but we certainly don’t lack for drama with an athlete like Lance Armstrong in the news.
Have a great week everyone.
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