Check These Bad Boys Out, Betcha Wish You Owed Em’

 I hope you enjoyed watching this video, I know I sure did. Please feel free to leave your comments they are always welcome.

Cami Berardi

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A very exciting game ends with a bitter pill to swallow for Raps fans.  Nash and Hedo went at it in the fourth quarter like a Spy vs. Spy episode and the team came within one shot of beating a very good scoring team. That my friends was offence at it’s finest. And what’s not to love about that. I felt like I was watching NBA Jam.

The Zan for Three

Kid Canada

Steve Nash drives to the basket for two on his way to another dominating performance

Nevermind which country he calls his home, people should be checking Nash’s passport to make sure he’s from the planet Earth.  He was unstoppable tonight.  Angry Raptor fans might point the blame at Calderon, but in Jose’s defense, Nash has been making everyone in the league look like Wile E. Coyote chasing the Roadrunner.  He is playing at another level right now – probably on his way to MVP contention once again.

Turkish Delight

Turkoglu is becoming such a joy to watch. He’s a smart player the Raptors can depend on for leadership late in games.  Yes, he missed two jump shots to potentially win the game, but we were only in it becaue he took us there.

He shoots when it makes sense, he made a couple of unreal passes and a few of his pull up jump shots were unstoppable.  If this is “just hitting your stride” then watch out.  He was almost a scratch tonight too.

Late Game Braincramps

It’s the 4th quarter, your best player is shooting 50%,, tell me again why you are taking ill-advised 3pt shots at the beginning of the clock?  Get the ball inside!  It really isn’t rocket science.  Chris Bosh was hitting his shots and was dominating the game.  Why not give Bosh the ball and see what happens?  A few better choices during the 4th quarter and this one goes to the visitors.

(Plus one)  The New Agent Zero

He looks a little like the villain in the Pink Panther cartoons but he is playing the part of the good guy on Jay Triano’s bench right now.  Marco Bellinelli has become a reliable player off the bench.  He shoots the ball well, makes smart passes and plays good defense.  For the second game in a row Belinelli provided key minutes off the bench and provided some mismatch problems on the offensive end.

Zan of the Game

Steve Nash

The guy is probably the best player in the NBA right now.  No offense to Lebron, but Nash is making everyone on the Suns look like a Hall of Fame candidates.  And that’s with hair in his face.

Not Zan of the Game

Jarrett Jack

This guy is struggling big time. He hasn’t performed at the shooting guard and he hasn’t done his job as the back up point guard. It is early in the season but he needs to step it up.  We need him if we are going to win games.

And another thing…

Is it just me or is Steve Nash starting to look like Neil Young?  Just saying.

If you want to attend, contact me at pamelajoan@theexecutiveglobaltravel.com!

We’re looking for 10 more teams of 4, it WAS 15! To be held at the beautiful Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is a 1 day event, however, there’s a whole weekend before the event in which to enjoy discounted rounds of golf in Scottsdale and your luxurious rooms at The Westin, or The Xona, both corporate sponsors.

Eat, drink, golf and mingle with MLB Players, Hall of Famers, All-Stars, and Cy Young Winners!! Hang with your celebrity playing partner, enjoy a tremendous ONE-OF-A-KIND outing, all while supporting a great cause, the Miracle League of Arizona. “EVERY CHILD DESERVES A CHANCE TO PLAY BASEBALL!!”

Hockey fans, I know this is Boston Bruins country, but when else will you get a chance to see NHL Hall of Famers, a team who has won 31 Stanley Cups amongst them, and see two players, Guy LaFleur and Larry Robinson, both ranked in the Top 25 of The Hockey News’ Top 100 Greatest NHL Players of All-Time.

On Sunday, October 11, 2009, at 2pm the Cumberland County Civic Center will host a great charity hockey event between the Montreal Canadiens Alumni Team and the Bath Iron Works Ironclad Hockey Team.

We know the support for hockey is strong here in Maine and I trust there will be a great turnout for the event to benefit Habitat for Humanity. Again, you’ll witness some hockey greats including; Guy LaFleur, Larry Robinson, Steve Shutt, Normand Dupont, Yvon Lambert, Patrice Brisebois, Sergio Momesso, Serge Boisvert,  Gilbert Dionne, Donald Audette, Lucien Deblois, Richard Sevigny, Gilbert DeLorme, Gaston Gingras, and Karl Dykhuis.

Tickets to the Montreal Canadiens vs. BIW Ironclad can be purchased via Ticketmaster – Montreal Canadiens or at the Cumberland County Civic Center Box Office.

Enjoy the show! Hopefully a chance for fans to grab some autographs!

After he won the AL stolen base title in 1987, Harold Reynolds received a memorable phone call.

“Sixty steals? Rickey had that many by the All-Star break,” Reynolds recalled.

Make that 84, in 1982.

If anyone else said that, I’d think they were an asshole. But I love Rickey. And unlike most modern braggarts, he always backed it up (.339 BA, 1.055 OPS, 7 SB in 14 World Series games).

–CB

Yesterday, July 26, 2009, Rickey Henderson (on behalf of Rickey) accepted his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Alongside Jim Rice, the former left fielder of nine different teams with a career spanning 19 years accepted this honor in his swanky custom-made cream suit that he has supposedly had for ten years. For this week’s post, I have decided to honor this great great man with a collection of stats and records (he has many), quotes (he’s said plenty), and photos.

Born on Christmas Day back in 1958, Rickey was destined to play him some baseball.  He debuted in June of 1979 for the Oakland A’s, and by 1980 he had already become the third person in history with 100 bases stolen within one season.  Two years later, he set the major league record for bases stolen within a single season with 130.

He only played for the Mets in 1999-2000, but during his time he managed to pull some ‘Rickeys’ (taken from Fantistic):  “The Mets were staying in a hotel less than a mile from Cinergy Field in Cincinnati. While some players walked, most took the team bus. A few minutes after they arrived — again it was less than a mile – the last players off the bus noticed a stretched limo that had just pulled up. Of course, Rickey emerged from the back seat. “

Just to throw some stats out there: 1,406 career stolen bases, 2, 295 career runs, 81 career lead off home runs (he is considered by some to be the greatest lead off hitter EVER), and led the AL in number of bases stolen 12 times (6 of which were the Major League leader as well). Yeah, the man likes to steal him some bases.

This quote is very popular and is a great story while we’re on the topic of stolen bases. Moments after breaking Lou Brock’s stolen base record, Rickey stated that “Lou Brock was a great base stealer, but today, I am the greatest of all-time.” Lou Brock was right next to him.

Few more stats: Rickey was a 10 time All Star selection, 3 time Silver Slugger winner, was 1989 ALCS MVP, 1990 AL MVP, and even won a Gold Glove.

Great hitter or not, he still had his downfalls. When he was Nolan Ryan’s 5000th strikeout, he stated  that “It gave me no chance. He just blew it by me. But it’s an honor. I’ll have another paragraph in all the baseball books. I’m already in the books three or four times.”

Also on the subject of hitting, at one game in Seattle, Rickey had unfortunately struck out. The next batter passed him and as he did, he heard him say to himself “Don’t worry, Rickey, you’re still the best.”

He was the Mets’ hitting coach for a hot minute there back in 2007. Wonder what happened…

I shall leave you with my favorite three Rickey quotes and stories. One is about music, which is near and dear to my heart. When asked if he had a Garth Brooks album, Rickey replied in true Rickey fashion “Rickey doesn’t have albums. Rickey has CDs.”

From Fantistic, just to show you how ridiculous Rickey really is. “In the early 1980s, the Oakland A’s accounting department was freaking out. The books were off $1 million. After an investigation, it was determined Rickey was the reason why. The GM asked him about a $1 million bonus he had received and Rickey said instead of cashing it, he framed it and hung it on a wall at his house.”

And finally, probably what defines Rickey. This is another from Fantistic. “To this day and dating back 25 years, before every game he plays, Henderson stands completely naked in front of a full length locker room mirror and says, “Ricky’s the best,” for several minutes.”

Oh Rickey. You’re incorrigible. But you are the best. The Greatest, as a matter of fact.

Only three Indian greats, left-arm spin magician Bishen Singh Bedi, prolific opener Sunil Gavaskar and champion all rounder Kapil Dev, have been named by the International Cricket Council in its 55-strong Hall of Famers list, which has 22 Englishmen in it.

The ICC, while announcing Colin Cowdrey as the 19th cricketer to be formally inducted in its elite list of cricket greats, provided the list of persons who have been chosen for the Hall of Fame, but yet to be formally inducted.

The list contains 22 Englishmen, 11 Australians, 13 West Indians, three each from India, Pakistan and two South Africans and a lone New Zealander.Apparently the list does not contain cricketers who have retired post-1995.

“The Hall of Fame, run in association with the Federation of International Cricketers Associations (FICA), recognises some of the truly great players from crickets long and illustrious history”, ICC said while naming former England captain Cowdrey and its first chairman as its 19th formal inductee.

The world governing council for the game, celebrating its centenary year, also said that further cap presentations will be made during the course of the year and a limited number of inductees, in addition to the 55 already chosen, will be named during 2009.

Strangely, none from Sri Lanka has been found good enough to make the list though the island nation has won the World Cup, ICC’s showpiece event, in 1996.

Even from among Indian cricketers the list does not include C K Nayudu, Lala Amarnath, Vijay Merchant, Vijay Hazare, Vinoo Mankad, Polly Umrigar, Subash Gupte, Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Gundappa Viswanath and Dilip Vengsarkar, to name a few.

Among the Englishmen the name of Dr W G Grace, one of the pioneers of the game, has been included but not Ranjitsinhji, the erstwhile Jamsaheb of Nawanagar, who invented the leg glance, scored close to 1000 runs for England and averaged marginally below 45 in 15 Tests.

More than anything Ranji’s name has been permanently associated with Indian cricket with the national championship being named after him.

Also missing is his nephew Duleepsinhji, who too played for England in pre-independence days and scored close to 1000 runs in only 12 Tests at a high average of 58-plus.

In his memory, the Cricket Board is conducting the inter-zonal championship, once considered as the main selection trials for Tests, since the early 1960s.

From neighbouring Pakistan, only the redoubtable Hanif Mohammed, Imran Khan and Javed Miandad have made the grade. Among the notable absentees is Fazal Mehmood.

The master of swing and cut had brought England to its knees in the Oval Test on Pakistan’s very first tour of Old Blighty in 1954 with a haul of 12-99 (6 for 53 and 6 for 46).

The Pakistani pace ace later bowled his country to a famous victory over the mightly Australians at home in their very first encounter in the 1956-57 series at Karachi with a fabulous haul of 13 for 114 in 75 overs.

Even from among the list of Englishmen, Australians and West Indians named so far, there are some glaring omissions.

Apart from giving the short shrift to Ranji and Duleep, the ICC has also ignored the credentials of Herbert Sutcliffe, Bill Edrich, Maurice Tate, Godfrey Evans, Hedley Verity, Douglas Jardine, Ken Barrington, Ted Dexter and Bob Willis.

Victor Trumper, considered to be the greatest Australian batsman before the advent of Donald Bradman and a master of playing on “stickies”, is not in the list.

Also absent are Stan McCabe, Clarrie Grimmett, Bill Ponsford, Arthur Morris, Lindsay Hassett, Bob Simpson, Doug Walters, Graham McEnzie and Alan Davidson.

The list also does not have West Indian spin twins Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine, pace great Wesley Hall, left-handed Stylist Alvin Kallicharran and “Big Bird” Joel Garner.

From the rainbow nation of South Africa only Graeme Pollock and his erstwhile teammate Barry Richards have made it to the list. Absent are Jackie McGlew, Dudley Nourse, Hugh Tayfield, Eddie Barlow and Mike Procter.

Great all rounder Richard Hadlee is the lone New Zealander in the 55-member club.

ICC Cricket Hall of Fame initial inductees (55):

England (22): Sydney Barnes, Alec Bedser, Ian Botham, Geoffrey Boycott, Denis Compton, Colin Cowdrey, Graham Gooch, David Gower, WG Grace, Tom Graveney, Walter Hammond, Jack Hobbs, Leonard Hutton, Alan Knott, Jim Laker, Harold Larwood, Peter May, Wilfred Rhodes, Brian Statham, Fred Trueman, Derek Underwood and Frank Woolley.

Australia (11): Richie Benaud, Allan Border, Donald Bradman, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Neil Harvey, Dennis Lillee, Ray Lindwall, Rodney Marsh, Keith Miller and Bill O’Reilly.

West Indies (13): Lance Gibbs, Gordon Greenidge, George Headley, Michael Holding, Rohan Kanhai, Clive Lloyd, Malcolm Marshall, Vivian Richards, Andy Roberts, Garfield Sobers, Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell.

South Africa (2): Graeme Pollock and Barry Richards.

India (3): Bishen Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar.

Pakistan (3): Imran Khan, Hanif Mohammad and Javed Miandad.

New Zealand (1): Richard Hadlee.