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The North American Coyotes

Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Editorial, NHL

Jobing.com ArenaThe state of Arizona is not short on competition for the sports dollar, which doesn’t help a team like the Phoenix Coyotes, whose chilly brand of entertainment isn’t what most fans in the desert care for. Sharing Glendale with the Coyotes are the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals. Up the road in the city of Phoenix play the NBA’s Suns, WNBA’s Mercury, and, less straining on the Coyotes woes, MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks. However, to add baseball’s imprint on the Coyotes revenues is the fact that 14 MLB teams bring in their Spring Training clubs in March for the Arizona Cactus Leagues. Throw college football, NASCAR, and golf into the mix throughout the year and that doesn’t leave a lot of room for the failing Coyotes to continue operating.

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The Tortoise and the Hare and Major League Baseball

Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Championship, Editorial, MLB, Playoffs

Joba ChamberlainIf the start of the baseball season is the unofficial beginning of summer, then the start of the World Series has to be the unofficial beginning of winter. The 2009 edition of the so-called “Fall Classic” begins this Wednesday, and features the New York Yankees against the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies. This will mark the first time that any of the first four games will be played in November, as game four is scheduled for Nov. 1. The only other time a World Series champion was named in November was in 2001, due to the postponement of games from Sept. 11.

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Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the New York Yankees move on

Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Editorial, MLB, Playoffs

Alex RodriguezThe American League Championship Series is set. The Los Angeles Angels will take on the New York Yankees. As half of the nation turns their collective support from the Minnesota Twins to the Angels, the other half will continue to battle against the opposition’s growing fan base as the playoffs roll on. The Yankees and their 103 regular season victories will welcome the Angels into New Yankee Stadium on Friday night for a weekend of “Bronx cheers”, if you will, and serenades by Frank Sinatra.

The Yankees versus anybody is like the classic battle between good versus evil… or evil versus good. They are arguably one of the most fan-polarizing teams in professional sports. What’s to like about a team that spends almost twice as much as the rest of the league in order to buy their way into the playoffs, stall games to put them near the four-hour mark on average, and basically beat their opponents with nothing more than their sense of entitlement.

Click to continue reading Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the New York Yankees move on


The Toughest League in Baseball

Posted by Rob Boudreau Categories: Editorial, MLB

Mariano Rivera

Baseball has been widely criticized in recent years for its “unbalanced” schedule. Thanks to 18 interleague games per season, teams in each league face teams in other divisions an unequal amount of times, which seems unfair since every team not in first place competes for the same Wild Card playoff berth. This makes it extremely hard for some teams to compete, especially in a division such as the American League East, which is arguably not just the toughest division in baseball, but also the toughest division in professional sports.

If you’re a fan of the Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, or Baltimore Orioles, you need to face a grim reality. There are 27 other teams in the majors who have a better chance at making the playoffs than your team. With money-spending powerhouses like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, teams with smaller payrolls need a lot more to go “right” for them in order to compete. A lot of people argue this with the fact that the Rays made it all the way to the World Series in 2008, but face it – that was the only AL East team in the last 11 seasons who were not the Yanks or Sox to make it into the playoffs, and it was also the first time in franchise history that the Rays had a winning record.

The Toronto Blue Jays have had six winning records in the last 11 years, but have only finished better than third once. With an 86-76 record last year, they actually finished in fourth place in the AL East. It took the Los Angeles Dodgers 84 victories to win the NL West by two full games. The Orioles haven’t been as fortunate. Ever since Cal Ripken Jr. left town, the O’s haven’t finished with more than 78 wins and have only reached as high as third place once.

It’s very likely that the AL East has three or four of the best teams in the league, but only two can get into the playoffs. The only way to make it fair – to give the four best teams a chance to be in the playoffs – is to eliminate divisional play. But we all know that isn’t going to happen. At the very least, balancing the schedule and eliminating interleague play would give every team a chance to face every other team an equal amount of times, giving value and fairness to the always important Wild Card team. But while baseball stands to make money by sending the Yankees and the Red Sox to any city in the majors, don’t hold your breath.


Blogging our way through Game 4 of the NBA Finals

Posted by Brendon Lindsey Categories: Championship, NBA

Game 4 of the NBA Finals begins shortly, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the San Antonio Spurs are on the cusp of eliminating the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Spurs winning 4-0 would be fitting, given the great lengths the NBA has gone through to try and tie in the new Fantastic Four movie. (We get it, Duncan, LeBron, Manu, and Parker are like the Fantastic Four, but without superpowers, without saving the world, and competing against one another.)

So far this series, Duncan and Parker have been absolutely trashing the Cavs, while Manu has been fairly sporadic in his playing, like normal. Can the Cavs manage to win one at home in their first Finals in the Age of LeBron? Will the Spurs continue to make basketball boring for the casual fan? How many times will we be reminded about Robert Horry’s accomplishments, and will we be treated to several more on-screen appearances by Brent Barry? Most likely: no, yes, seventeen, and yes.

Stick around EndScore and refresh this page every now and then, as I’ll be constantly blogging my thoughts while watching the game unfold—unless I fall asleep, that is.

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The End Score Report 006: De La Hoya-Mayweather, Roger Clemens Returns, Golden State Warriors

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Athletes, Boxing, Editorial, Kudos, MLB, NBA, News, Videocasts

Dan Devone is back with another edition of the End Score Report. This time Dan tackles:

  • De La Hoya vs. Mayweather: The fight that was supposed to save boxing was a waste of cash.
  • What happened to good boxing? Roger Clemens Returns to Baseball - $28 million to play for the Yankees.
  • David Ortiz: Doesn’t think Barry Bonds is on steriods. What?!?
  • Golden State Warriors are the funnest team in basketball, fantastic in the post-season.

Agree or disagree? Let us know your thoughts on the End Score forums.


The End Score Report 005: Kentucky Derby, Alex Rodriguez, Keyshaun Johnson, Sydney Crosby

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Athletes, Editorial, Kudos, NBA, News, NFL, NHL, Videocasts

In this edition of the End Score Report, Dan Devone gives his take on the latest news from the world of sports:

  • Kentucky Derby: Horses built and bred to run, what we feel about it. Dan is pulling for Scat Daddy.
  • April-Rod: Alex Rodriguez can’t be Mr. April in NY and have success. He has to be in it for the long haul.
  • Keyshaun Johnson, the Mouth of the South.
  • Sydney Crosby: The second coming of Wayne Gretzky, Crosby is going to bring attention back to the NHL and hockey.
  • Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks: Dirk needs to take the Mavs to the Promiseland, and start going to the hoop to start making moves. You can’t be a 7-foot tall jumper.

Agree or disagree? Let us know your thoughts on the End Score forums.


The End Score Report 004: NFL Draft, JaMarcus Russell, Supersonics Leave Seattle, Alex Rodriguez

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Athletes, Editorial, Front Office, Kudos, NBA, News, NFL, Videocasts

In this edition of the End Score Report, Dan Devone gives his take on the latest news from the world of sports:

  • NFL Draft: Publications, networks, etc. spend the entire year crunching the numbers, and most of the time they aren’t right, even on the #1 pick.
  • We discuss the draft. JaMarcus Russell should be the #1 draft pick, not Brady Quinn.
  • SuperSonics leave Seattle, possibly heading to Las Vegas if NBA betting disappears.
  • A-Rod out of his mind and going bananas with the New York Yankees - 14 home runs in a month.

Agree or disagree? Let us know your thoughts on the End Score forums.


The End Score Report 003: Joey Crawford’s Ego, Steve Nash for MVP, Brady Quinn a Bust?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Athletes, Editorial, Front Office, NBA, News, NFL, Videocasts

In this edition of the End Score Report, Dan Devone gives his take on the latest news from the world of sports. Today we talk about:

  • Referee Joey Crawford’s insane ego, throwing Tim Duncan out of game due to personal reasons.
  • Who should take MVP in the NBA this season? We say Steve Nash.
  • Brady Quinn and the NFL draft - a mistake?

Agree or disagree? Let us know your thoughts on the End Score forums.


The End Score Report 002: Steve Nash Injured, Tyrus Thomas Fined $10,000

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Athletes, Front Office, Injuries, NBA, News, Videocasts

Dan Devone is back with the latest sports news. This time he covers such topics as Steve Nash and his shoulder injury. The best player in the NBA is injured, and that’s nothing but bad news for the Phoenix Suns. Andy Reid has some family woes, with both his brothers ending up in trouble with the law. Tyrus Thomas gets fined for making it known that he is going to the Slam Dunk Contest solely for the cash - now he’s $10,000 in the hole. Get the full scoop in this episode of the End Score Report.

By the way - let us know how long you think Stat Girl can juggle a soccer ball using just her head and feet. The closest guess wins a prize.


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