2008 Woodie Awards
Unneccessary Roughness
The duhs, d ohs and dummies of the world of sports
Corey Kempf
Issue date: 9/30/03 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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In the case of professional sports journalism, a writer is supposed to share no bias to a team, but once in a while you have to "take one for the team" so to speak. In this installment, I will have to do that and I will have to rip on the teams I cheer for, mostly because these are the teams that made the blunders of the week.
Who's Curse is Worse?
It has to be said, regardless of how painful it may be for those faithful followers. The Chicago Cubs, who haven't won a World Series since 1908, and the Boston Red Sox, whom have been trying since 1918, both blew golden opportunities to break the curses fallen upon them. With a 3-1 lead in the seven-game conference series, the Cubs looked to be in cruise control to the Series. But with an outstanding performance by Florida Marlin pitcher Josh Beckett, a now infamous fan interference no-call, and perhaps just plain white flag surrendering, the curse continues for the Cubs. They dropped the series in seven games.
The Red Sox, on the other hand, didn't have a pretty little cushiony 3-1 series lead; they had to fight to force game seven, but in the end it was all the same. With Boston leading 5-2 heading into the bottom of the eight inning and ace Pedro Martinez pitching, lightning struck again. The New York Yankees scored three runs off Martinez to tie the game and force extra innings, where Aaron Boone sealed Boston's fate, crushing a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the 11th inning, giving the Yanks a win and a trip to another World Series.
Both of these could be just cases of bad luck, but both of the series losses can be blamed on two occurrences. Obviously in the Cubs case it's the fan interference for the frustration, but on the next play Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez makes an error that cost the Cubs the game. In the Red Sox case it was a huge managerial mistake. Martinez should've been pulled out of the game after he gave up a double a Derek Jeter in the eighth inning then a run-scoring single to Bernie Williams. The Boston ace was left in and gave up back-to-back doubles to Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada to tie the game at five and eventually cost the Sox the win.
The Pack Gets Smacked
Following an impressive win over the Seattle Seahawks, the Green Bay Packers looked to be back on track. That is, until they played the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers, at two different points in the game were boasting leads of 14 and 17 points but blew both of them en route to a 40-34 overtime debacle. Even with the amount of talent on the team, mediocrity has hit the Packers once again.
Who's Curse is Worse?
It has to be said, regardless of how painful it may be for those faithful followers. The Chicago Cubs, who haven't won a World Series since 1908, and the Boston Red Sox, whom have been trying since 1918, both blew golden opportunities to break the curses fallen upon them. With a 3-1 lead in the seven-game conference series, the Cubs looked to be in cruise control to the Series. But with an outstanding performance by Florida Marlin pitcher Josh Beckett, a now infamous fan interference no-call, and perhaps just plain white flag surrendering, the curse continues for the Cubs. They dropped the series in seven games.
The Red Sox, on the other hand, didn't have a pretty little cushiony 3-1 series lead; they had to fight to force game seven, but in the end it was all the same. With Boston leading 5-2 heading into the bottom of the eight inning and ace Pedro Martinez pitching, lightning struck again. The New York Yankees scored three runs off Martinez to tie the game and force extra innings, where Aaron Boone sealed Boston's fate, crushing a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the 11th inning, giving the Yanks a win and a trip to another World Series.
Both of these could be just cases of bad luck, but both of the series losses can be blamed on two occurrences. Obviously in the Cubs case it's the fan interference for the frustration, but on the next play Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez makes an error that cost the Cubs the game. In the Red Sox case it was a huge managerial mistake. Martinez should've been pulled out of the game after he gave up a double a Derek Jeter in the eighth inning then a run-scoring single to Bernie Williams. The Boston ace was left in and gave up back-to-back doubles to Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada to tie the game at five and eventually cost the Sox the win.
The Pack Gets Smacked
Following an impressive win over the Seattle Seahawks, the Green Bay Packers looked to be back on track. That is, until they played the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers, at two different points in the game were boasting leads of 14 and 17 points but blew both of them en route to a 40-34 overtime debacle. Even with the amount of talent on the team, mediocrity has hit the Packers once again.