Sports Articles

2010-07-28 | Jim Murphy

Diego Maradona is out as Argentina’s national soccer coach, walking away from the job in a power struggle over the fate of his staff. The Argentina Football Association (AFA) had offered Maradona a new four year contract on the condition that he replace his entire staff. Maradona stood firm, stressing that he’d only return if his staff was retained. When that major difference in position couldn’t be resolved, the AFA declined to renew his deal under Maradona’s conditions and just like that the Argentina soccer legend was out.

2010-07-28 | Jim Murphy

LeBron James took his share of criticism for his NBA playoff performance, and that only intensified after his high profile free agent move to Miami. The most virulent attack came from the Cavs owner, Dan Gilbert, which brought about an admonishment from Rev. Jesse Jackson and a huge fine from NBA commissioner David Stern. Now the Toronto Raptors’ management is taking its shots at LeBron’s new teammate, Chris Bosh. His tone wasn’t quite as nasty as Gilbert’s but Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo has publically suggested that Bosh quit on the team during his final season as a Raptor.

2010-07-27 | Jim Murphy

2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra pulled away late to outclass a lackluster field in the $400,000 Lady’s Secret Stakes on an oppressively hot and muggy day at New Jersey’s Monmouth Park. It was Rachel’s second straight stakes win following a pair of narrow losses to start the 2010 season. The performance was solid but unspectacular in a race that had been ‘made to order’ for one of the sport’s superstar mares. To secure Rachel Alexandra’s participation Monmouth moved the race from its original date (August 1) and sweetened the original a purse of $150,000. The additional $250,000 was contingent on Rachel Alexandra competing in the race. The distance was also lengthened from 1 1/16 miles to 1 1/8 miles.

2010-07-22 | Jim Murphy

With the obvious exception of venerable Churchill Downs—the home of the Kentucky Derby—few horse racing venues can boast the tradition of Southern California’s Del Mar Racetrack. On Wednesday, the troubled Southern California horse racing industry received a much needed boost with the opening of the 71st summer meet at Del Mar. A huge crowd of 45,309 broke the opening day attendance mark for the track and created a party atmosphere and a welcome positive vibe in the Southern California racing scene.

2010-07-20 | Jim Murphy

With superstar forward Ilya Kovalchuk the target of overtures from all over the world, the New Jersey Devils decided to secure his services for the longterm by signing him to a 17 year deal worth a reported $102 million (US). This means that Kovalchuk’s contract will be on the books until the 2026-27 NHL season at which point he’ll be 44 years old. The former Atlanta Thrashers’ draft choice was also courted by the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and New York Islanders, as well as SKA St. Petersburg from Russia’s KHL league.

2010-07-19 | Jim Murphy

On paper, Sunday’s matchup between the Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Stadium looked like an insignificant battle between two National League also-rans. As it turned it, the result suggested that there may be some hope for the long struggling Pittsburgh fans while the Astros could be more of a mess than their record suggests. The Pirates continued their recent offensive productivity, clubbing 19 hits, and Paul Maholm threw a 3 hit, complete game shutout as Pittsburgh routed Houston 9-0.

2010-07-19 | Jim Murphy

The pre-tournament hype billed the 139th British Open at St. Andrews as the likely spot for Tiger Woods’ return to dominance. Instead, it was dominated by one of the more unlikely competitors in the sport. 27 year old South African Louis Oosthuizen won his first major tournament and did so in a manner almost as impressive as Tiger Woods’ performance on this course 10 years ago. Oosthuizen led for the final 48 holes and was never seriously challenged as he shot a -16 under par 272. That was 7 strokes better than second place Lee Westwood and eight better than Rory McIlroy and Paul Casey who tied for third.

2010-07-16 | Jim Murphy

Landon Donovan raised his international stock with a spirited performance for the USA national team at the recently concluded World Cup. That doesn’t mean he’ll be shipping off to the Premier League or Serie A. On Thursday, Major League Soccer (MLS) commissioner Don Garber emphasized that the United States’ top professional league wouldn’t be accepting transfer offers for Donovan. Garber said that he’d be receptive to loan offers during the MLS off-season, but that his league plans to build around Donovan’s higher profile in his native country.

2010-07-15 | Jim Murphy

He was known as ‘The Boss’ and unlike Bruce Springsteen the sobriquet wasn’t a rhetorical excess taken by a fawning critic—he was the real deal. New York Yankees owner and all around icon George Steinbrenner died Tuesday at the age of 80 following a massive heart attack. Among many other accomplishments, he was best known for taking a floundering Yankees franchise and transforming them into one of the most dominant teams in sports—both on and off the field.

2010-07-13 | Jim Murphy

The baseball world is mourning the death of a man once described by Joe DiMaggio as ‘the voice of God’—legendary New York Yankees’ field announcer Bob Sheppard has passed away at the age of 99. Sheppard started with the Yankees in 1951 and over the next 50 years became part of the Yankee Stadium experience. He continued with the team until 2007, when he retired due to a bronchial infection. He was revered by the Yankees organization and fans to the point that he has a plaque in his honor in ‘Monument Park’ along with greats like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

2010-07-13 | Jim Murphy

Belmont Stakes winner Drosselmeyer has been taken out of training and will be sidelined indefinitely due to a nagging ankle problem. The current prognosis is that the three year old will be out of action for the rest of the year, but as of now the issue isn’t considered career or life threatening. Drosselmeyer missed the Kentucky Derby since he didn’t have enough graded stakes race winnings to make it into the large field, but rebounded in the Belmont to give trainer Bill Mott his first victory in the event.

2010-07-12 | Jim Murphy

For a team that had made narrow victories a World Cup trademark, Spain’s victory over Holland came in a very fitting fashion. Andres Iniesta scored in the 116th minute of play to break a scoreless tie and give Spain a 1-0 win and their first ever World Cup championship. It was Spain’s fourth consecutive 1-0 victory—a fact that underscored the gritty manner in which the team fought throughout the tournament.

2010-07-07 | Jim Murphy

UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar survived a brutal first round beating from challenger Shane Carwin this past weekend before turning the tables in the second en route to a submission victory to successfully defend his crown in the main event of UFC 116. Lesnar was making his first return to action since a layoff due to a serious health problem, but by fight time his only issue was the powerful uppercuts of his opponent. Carwin was able to put Lesnar down but couldn’t finish him off, and by the second had ‘punched himself out’ to set up the former WWE superstar’s eventual victory.

2010-07-05 | Jim Murphy

In the first of two World Cup semifinal matches for Tuesday surprising Uruguay will try and turn back the formidable challenge of Netherlands. The Dutch team shocked tournament favorite Brazil with two second half goals to advance to the semifinals by a 2-1 score, while Uruguay outlasted Ghana on penalty kicks. For Uruguay, it’s their first trip to the semifinals in forty years while Netherlands reached the championship game in 1974 and 1978, losing both times.

2010-07-01 | Jim Murphy

The second quarterfinal game on Saturday will match pre-World Cup betting favorite Spain against surprising Paraguay. Spain got off to a poor start in group play, losing to Switzerland 1-0 in their opening match. They recovered to win their next two games, however, and outlasted Portugal 1-0 in the first game of the knockout round. Paraguay wasn’t considered much of a threat entering the tournament, but looked very tough defensively in the opening round with a win and two draws. They allowed only one goal in those three games—and that was due to a goalkeeper error. Aside from that miscue, their tenacious defense has been nearly impenetrable and could cause problems for the Spaniards here.