PUEBLO, Colo. (December 15, 2009) – At the PBR World Finals, there’s a corridor leading from the arena to the locker rooms.

It’s not just any hallway. It’s the Hall of Champions. A mural of past gold buckle winners lines either side.

Last October, Justin McBride was standing there when the interview turned to speculation about the greatest among greats.

He didn’t know it, but he was leaning against an oversized photo of Chris Shivers from 2003. McBride, a two-time winner himself, didn’t pause or hesitate before emphatically stating, “Chris Shivers is the best—”

“I’ve never seen anyone more exciting to watch (or) look better on a bull,” McBride continued, “and he could just beat you, hands down, on a two-point-less bull—because he’s that good.”

Today’s part two of a celebration of greatness is a look at the third greatest bull rider whose accomplishments came in the PBR.

As voted on by 10 legends – Ty Murray, Cody Lambert, Jim Sharp, Jerome Robinson, Michael Gaffney, Jerome Davis, David Fournier, J.W. Hart, Cody Snyder and Cody Custer – Shivers, who appeared on six of 10 ballots, finished third among the six riders who received votes based on ranking the Top 3 of all time.

Before going with Shivers in the third spot on his ballot, Fournier said, “Boy, that’s tough one. I’m going to have to reminisce a little bit.”

In the end, there was little doubt about what separated the two-time World Champion (2000 and 2003) from the others: it’s virtually impossible to bring up 90-point rides without Shivers dominating the conversation.

In fact, Lambert agreed with McBride’s assessment of Shivers on a lesser bull, adding, “He’s ridden the rank ones, he’s ridden the flashy ones, he’s ridden the easy ones and (did) it with a style that got the maximum amount of points out of every bull.”

Through the first 12 years of his career, 24 percent of his 341 career rides were for 90 points or more. That means one in nearly every four times he’s made the 8-second whistle – 82 times, to be exact – he’s scored 90-plus-points, including five that are for 95 points or better.

Shivers not only had a hand in the highest score in PBR history – a 96.5-point mark first accomplished by Bubba Dunn in 1999 – but he’s accomplished it twice in his career.

The first of those came in January of 2000 at an event in Tampa, Fla., when he rode Jim Jam. He did it again the following year in Las Vegas during the World Finals when he rode Dillinger to earn the Lane Frost/Brent Thurman Award for the highest marked ride of the Finals— the second time in three years he had done so.

Furthermore, in the first half of his career he won two world titles, never finished lower than ninth in the world standings and was actually in the Top 4 in five of those six seasons.

“When he was on his game and when he was winning World Championships,” Murray said, “I don’t think anybody ever looked better.”

Looking back, it’s hard to imagine Shivers as a shy and soft-spoken kid from Louisiana.

He’s always enjoyed being at home with his family during the week – he’s married to Kylie, and has two sons, Christopher Brand and Parker – and riding on the weekends.

He was the PBR’s first millionaire, and the first cowboy to earn $3 million in prize money. It should also be noted that he also claimed two Challenger titles (1997 and 2000).

He’s appeared on nationally televised sports shows (“The Best Damn Sports Show”), news programs (“The Today Show”) and entertainment broadcasts (“Last Call with Carson Daly”) with the same relative ease.

And aside from bull riding publications and daily newspapers, he’s been written about everywhere from Newsweek and Esquire to Rolling Stone.

He’s been to 269 Built Ford Tough Series events, and won  18 since 2000.

“It’s going to have to be Chris Shivers,” said Fournier, who eventually gave him the edge based on “longevity.”

If there was a knock against Shivers it would be that some of his most frustrating performances have come during the Finals, for which he’s qualified every year since his 1998 debut. However, even in the past four years, which are widely considered to be the waning years of his career, he’s never left Vegas with less than $100,000.

“We’re seeing the tail end of Chris Shivers right now,” mentioned McBride, that day in October, while standing in a hallway honoring some of the greatest riders to have ever ridden in the PBR’s history.

“In his prime he was awesome, and it was something really fun to watch.”

As Murray pointed out, “his meter is still running,”  and Shivers is a shoo-in to one day be inducted into the Ring of Honor—just don’t expect him to stop spurring for at least a couple more seasons.

—by Keith Ryan Cartwright

Mick Fanning is now a 2x World Surfing Champion and will go down in history as one of Australia’s best ever surfers and one of the best surfers of all time. To celebrate I have put together a pictorial of Mick surfing his home breaks in Coolangatta. Enjoy!!!

Ukyo said he was going to win and he won

Just in Ukyo Sasahara has won the world Junior KART championship in Egypt. More info coming soon.

Here is some English info on Ukyo who I teach English to by the way.

http://ukyosasahara.weebly.com/

I will write more tomorrow!!!

This is a digest I wrote for my mom when she asked what all of the buzz about Steve Peat was for. Much of the material for this was shamelessly stolen from Bike Magazine. It was written in the space of an hour, so it’s not as polished as it could be. I just put it here because it occurred to me that some people might be interested in reading it.

Peat showing off his Jake & George gloves, (those are the names of his two sons) which he wore during his winning run

For nearly a decade, Downhill mountain biker Steve Peat of England has been know as “Mr. Second Place.”

Steve Peat has been on of the most consistently successful riders in the history of the sport, winning more races than any other rider to date. Despite his success, there is one title that has eluded him thought his career— the world championship. Starting in 2000, Steve Peat has suffered a string of seven Second-place finishes in the last eight years. In 2000, Steve finished second to Miles Rockwell by a margin of .5 seconds. At the ‘04 word Championships, Steve was at two full seconds faster than the next finisher when he had a freak crash on an innocuous stretch of the racecourse just before the finish line. This was the only year he did not finish second. He described it as

The first and only time I’d cried after a race.

At the 2008 world championships last year, it looked as if the tables had finally turned, as Steve had the fastest time on the course. The previous years’ champion, Australia’s Sam Hill came down with a faster time but crashed just before the finish redolent of Steve’s loss to Fabien Barel in 2004. However, the last man on the course, Steve’s fellow teammate Gee Atherton of Great Britain came in with a faster time, regulating Steve to his seventh second-place finish in the world championships.

The 2009 championships in Canberra, Australia were a different story for Peat. Although the Canberra course appeared to be relatively flat, it proved to be an unusually challenging one with its abundance of rocks. It was on this technical course, in one of the most celebrated wins in downhill history that Steve Peat finally donned the rainbow jersey of the world champion. Steve won the title fain and square, with no advantage from missing or injured competitors, or from them crashing of suffering mechanical failure.

In the words of third place finisher Mick Hannah

It would have been unfortunate for Steve to have won in lesser circumstances, but everybody had a good race, and he beat them.

The newly crowned world champion, soon to be thirty-six (an age when many racers retire) says he will return next year to defend his rainbow stripes.

Ergon is International, and cycling is a universal language.  As a part of this, I will be posting profiles of Ergon sponsored riders, and associates here.  We spoke to Sarah Holmes, in Australia who is sponsored by Over The Edge Sports the Ergon distributor in the region.

Sarah doing her thing.

Who are you ?

I am an Adelaide born and bred 21 year old; I was an accomplished softballer until I stumbled across dirt and mountain bikes 2 years ago. Being extremely competitive I fell into the wide world of racing and surprised myself with some great results in my first season of racing! From there it became an addiction and my racing experience now consists of two seasons at club level, one season at National level and three international races including two world cups in Europe. I am now gearing up for my second season at National level.

Where do you like to ride?

My favourite training ground is on the 80kms of sweet single track in the small country town of Melrose in the Southern Flinders Ranges. In a beautiful setting; surrounded by lush, green rolling hills, a flowing creek and Kangaroos – There really is something about Melrose.

Tell us about your training…

My training has consisted of around 20hours per week and has been a variety of long hours in the saddle, shorter intensity rides, strength training both on and off the bike and a lot of stretching and massage!  

Where do you race?

I race locally in South Australia for our State series rounds, travel around Australia and New Zealand for the National Series and Oceania Championships and I plan to travel overseas for World Cup events. I am looking forward to competing in some cross country stage races here in Australia and possibly breaking out into the road scene too.

What are your aims?

To have a strong domestic season with the goal of becoming the Australian XC U23 Champion and ultimately qualify for 2010 World Championships. Ultimately I would not only like to be the number one rider in Australia but I would like to be a serious contender on the world cup circuit.

Sarah with World Champion Irina Kalentieva

Where would you like to ride/race in the future?

I would love to travel to the US, Canada and back to Europe. I would like to spend some time in Fruita, Colorado and Hurricane, Utah – riding and competing on the American race circuit. I loved every minute spent in Germany; both pedalling and beer tasting and look forward to exploring more in the future.

What is your experience with Ergon?

Although I have to admit I was curious, my first Ergon experience was gently but somewhat forcefully placed upon me by the boys at Over The Edge Sports in Melrose. No one gets out of town without stocking up on Ergon grips! I am now a lover and believer in my GX2 Carbons and do not want to even imagine riding with any other grip but an Ergon. My BD2 backpack is the ultimate companion on the epic rides and I am slowly converting all that come within a 10m radius!

Tell us something about you that has nothing to do with bikes!

A few interesting non-bike related facts about me: Earlier this year I travelled Europe with my partner in the back of an extremely rusty ford transit van, self-equipped with a kitchen, a mad paint job, couch/bed and bike parts area. Pumping up the air mattress and sweeping the carpet became a daily competition. I love travelling and experiencing new cultures and languages. I am definately solar powered and  have a love for anything outdoors; picking and eating large quantities of wild morel mushrooms, nettles and a good drop of mate tea are the top of my list.

Thirty-two year-old Eneko Llanos joined a select group of athletes when he became a three-time XTERRA World Champion. The native of Vitoria-Gasteviz in Spain’s Basque country is a two-time Olympian (‘oo and ‘04) and former ITU Long Course World Champion. Since his last Olympics in 2004, Llanos has moved his focus to Ironman racing where he has become one of the world’s best. In 2008, he finished 2nd at the Ironman World Championships. This past October, Llanos was favored to win in Kona. However, it was not to be as he struggled to a 14th place finish. He would arrive to Maui dejected but determined to win the Hawaii Double again. After a strong swim, he found himself among the leaders on the bike and would eventually run away from runner-up Nico Lebrun to become the first athlete in the history of XTERRA to win after racing Ironman Hawaii.

Three-time XTERRA World Champion

XS: Why do you race XTERRA? You’ve made a career racing ITU and Ironman and do very well. What is the attraction to racing XTERRA?

EL: I like racing offroad. I like riding my mountain bike and running on trails, so when I first finished an XTERRA I knew this kind of racing was one of my favorites. Apart from that I like the atmosphere at XTERRA races, it is fun.

XS: Looking at your career, which result or accomplishment means the most to you?  

EL: It is hard to pick only one, but my win in 2007 at Ironman Lanzarote is very special for me.

 

Eneko Llanos's XTERRA-winning BH Trail Hunter

XS: Can you talk a little bit about your bike set-up in Maui? I think you were the only one there riding a BH.

EL: I was riding the new BH Trail Hunter. It is a full carbon full-suspension bike. I had a great feeling with this bike, it is light and gives a lot of traction on the climbs and is very fast and stable on the downhills. I honestly think it is the best I could have for Maui.

XS: For you, what is the hardest part of the Maui course?

EL: Not to have a flat or broken bike. I have had two broken tires and a broken chain in the past, this bike course is hard for the bikes.

 

 

XS: What were your training sessions between Kona and Maui?   

EL: I just tried to recover from the Ironman, so not much training during those days and a lot of time on the beach and eating good food.

XS: During the year, do you do any XTERRA specific training or is it mostly Ironman training?   

EL: I like to ride my mountain bike once every week or every two weeks. I do it for fun when I am tired of my road bike, but apart from that nothing really specific for XTERRA.

XS: What is your race calendar for 2010? Will you race any of the XTERRA Europe races?

EL: I am working on my racing schedule right now. I will race in Kona and Maui again for sure, the rest I still have to decide.

Favorite color? Blue
Favorite food? Vegetarian food
Favorite drink? Carrot juice
Favorite movie? The Big Blue
Favorite book? Flow
Favorite race? My city triathlon, Vitoria-Gasteiz
Favorite sport other than triathlon? Surf
Favorite place to vacation? Canary islands and the Pyrenees

Website: http://www.enekollanos.com/index.html

Sponsors: Spiuk, AVIA, BH Bikes, Basque Team, Hed, S.V.C., Sailfish, Mule Bar, Polar, Ascentium, Bulletvan

These are just a couple of my favourites but my Goodness! It’s all there… all the posters and graphic art surrounding cycling you ever wanted is right there at the Horton Collection.

BBC Sport brings you a regular round-up of the gossip in newspapers and on specialist websites around the world.

Michael Schumacher is not interested in beginning a new career in F1 with Mercedes Grand Prix, Ross Brawn has said – as the Englishman revealed that he is looking for two experienced drivers.
Full story: crash.net

Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug has re-ignited rumours of Michael Schumacher’s pending signing after refusing to deny that the German could race for Mercedes Grand Prix next season.
Full story: planet-f1.com

Mercedes DTM front-runner Paul di Resta and American JR Hildebrand will drive for Force India in Formula 1’s upcoming young driver test at Jerez on December 1-3.
Full story: autosport.com

Campos Meta 1’s car for its debut Formula 1 season has been homologated by the FIA following a series of tests last week.
Full story: autosport.com

Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi and seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher were among more than 300 drivers competing at the SKUSA Supernationals karting event in Las Vegas, USA, at the weekend.

Full story: formula1.com

Have your say and share your views in the comments  – get writing now…

Reference Source: BBC Sport

Beth Tweddle

WORLD Champion gymnast Beth Tweddle will make an appearance at an annual Gymnastics show this weekend (November 21st).

Beth will be guest of honour tomorrow at Fenton Manor Sports Complex in Fenton to present the club’s Gym Mark Award and give a speech about her career to other gymnasts from across the city.
“I’m really looking forward to being involved with the gymnastics show, and if there’s any advice I can offer to help young athletes take the next step in the sport then I’m only to happy to help,” said Beth.
“Sometimes the best way to learn is through experience and I think it’s important the lessons  I’ve learned in my career I should pass on.”
Beth  has had an impressive career in Gymnastics becoming the 2009 World Champion in floor; she also was the first gymnast from Britain ever to win a medal at the World and European Championships.
Councillor Derek Capey, cabinet member for sport and leisure, added: “Beth is a tremendous athlete and an excellent ambassador for British gymnastics.
“Stoke-on-Trent is home to one of the most successful gymnastic centre in the region, and our instructors are enthusiastic, professional and of high standard.
“We’re really happy to have Beth here and I hope she enjoys the day as much as the young people taking part do.”

Kimi July 25, 2009

After failing to find a car for 2010, Ferrari’s world champion has announced that he is to leave F1 for rallying. He leaves the sport after nine seasons.  He was forced to leave Ferrari in order to make room for Fernando Alonso. There were talks of Räikkönen moving to a different team, but his rumored salary is close to $50 million and is not reflective of  his last two seasons’ performances.

There are rumors of Räikkönen continue his career in rallying.

Kimi July 31, 2009

Source: www.jalopnik.com

Photo Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images, Massimo Bettiol/Getty Images

Don’t get me wrong. It’s fantastic to see two British F1 World Champions installed in one of our greatest British – well, sort of – racing teams. This hasn’t happened since 1968 when Jim Clark was partnered by Graham Hill. Hurrar!

It’s also a dream ticket for the sponsors. They’ll be cock-a-hoop.

That said, what must have been going on in those meetings for Brawn GP – and now Mercedes-Benz – to let the World Champion slip through their fingers, and Jenson abandon the safe haven that was Brawn to join forces with the enemy.

For those of us who follow such things, the whole saga defies logic. Drivers who really want to win world titles stay with the team that supports them the most – that provides them with the stability they crave.

Button has made a number of sacrifices over the last few years and behaved honourably. He deserves a pay rise. Then again, he couldn’t have won this year’s World Championship without Brawn’s team and a damned good car.

So, has Jenson lost his scruples overnight and decided to move for the money?

He and McLaren say no. Brawn GP says it offered Button’s negotiators what they was asking for, but it was they who upped the ante. We’re also being led to believe that Brawn GP’s management pocketed a great deal of money from the deal with Mercedes-Benz and perhaps Button’s negotiators felt Button was entitled to a share.

Who knows? Perhaps all will become clear over time.

What we do know though, is that McLaren is Hamilton’s turf and Jenson’s the new boy, World Champion or not. Jenson is facing an uphill battle to get his feet under the table.

The McLaren machine’s going to be hot at the start of next season. Wonder boy Hamilton is going to hit the floor running. Will Jenson?

I’m told that Hamilton used engines tuned by Jenson Button’s dad – John – to win one of his karting championships. Apparently, there’s a bit of history between both boys’ fathers. It will be interesting to see how the relationship between the racers develops.

Olympic gold medalist and World Record Holder

On 22 July 2005 Yelena Isinbaeva became the first woman to clear the historic 5.00 meter (16.4 feet) barrier in pole vault.

At the age of 27 Isinbaeva has been a nine-time major champion (Olympic, World outdoor and indoor champion and European outdoor and indoor champion).

Isinbaeva’s current world records are 5.06 m outdoors, a record Isinbaeva set in Zurich on August 28, 2009, and 5.00 m indoors, a record set at the Donetsk indoor meeting on 15 February 2009. The former was Isinbaeva’s twenty-seventh world record.

World's Best - Yelena Isinbaeva

Jenson Button is expected to be announced as a McLaren driver later today after signing a three-year deal to partner Lewis Hamilton at the team.

The reigning world champion is believed to have accepted a move to the Woking team after failing to agree terms to remain at the former Brawn GP team, which is being rebranded Mercedes Grand Prix next season.

Button’s move will ensure that McLaren will carry the prestigious number one for a second successive season.

Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn told The Independent newspaper today that remaining with the team that took him to the 2009 world championship would be “logical”, but Button’s management is understood to regard a move to McLaren as the best long-term option.

“His best future is with our team, where he has a good group around him, and there’s a lot to be said for that,” said Brawn. “The logical thing would be for him to stay with us, but of course logic doesn’t always prevail.”

McLaren had been close to signing Kimi Raikkonen, but negotiations broke down last week over contract terms, with the salary offered some way off what the Finn’s management was seeking.

It is understood that disagreement over ancillary contractual factors such as sponsor appearances and the freedom to contest rallies also played a role.

Raikkonen is now set to take a sabbatical from Formula 1, with a World Rally Championship campaign a possibility prior to a possible return in 2011.

Have your say and share your views in the comments  – get writing now…

Reference Source: Autosport.com

I attended the fantastic Dave Rayner Fund annual dinner last night at the Majestic Hotel in Harrogate. For those of you who don’t know Dave Rayner was a very talented cyclist who died in 1994 aged 27 after an incident outside a nightclub in Bradford. The Dave Rayner Fund (http://www.daveraynerfund.com) was set up to raise funds to assist promising young British cyclists make their way and learn their trade in Europe. The fund has helped many cyclists including David Miller.

The annual dinner is always a fantastic event and raises a lot of money to help the next generation of British cyclists and last night was no exception, the guest speakers being Bradley Wiggins and Russell Downing. I am always pleasantly surprised by the generosity of the guest speakers in giving their time and last night was no exception. Bradley Wiggins gave a great speech and was a fantastic star guest however he was not the person who was rumoured to be coming. I am reliably informed that a certain former Tour de France winner, Giro d’Italia winner and World Champion was approached to be the guest of honour however the committee were astounded to allegedly be asked to pay him £2000 to ensure his attendance! Excuse me but this is a charitable event isn’t it? If he wanted £2000 to turn up that is £2000 taken away from a young rider. Needless to say the committee told him to get lost and got someone better instead (Brad) who didn’t ask for a penny. Some people!

Brawn GP may not be able to afford the salary demands of the new F1 World Champion Jenson Button. The constructor champions Brawn GP are prepared to offer Button more freedom to seek out personal sponsorship deals to boost his income and try to keep him at the team.

Team boss Ross Brawn said:

“We can offer a higher proportion of driver freedom and that will probably be the route we will go. Jenson has some freedom for his own endorsements but has a commitment to meet our obligations.”

Button who is still rumoured to join Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, took a £5mill pay cut to help keep Brawn GP going at the start of the season, but it is believed he wants to go closer to his previous £8mill salary he recieved when the team was owned by Honda.

Brawn GP may not be able to afford the salary demands of the new F1 World Champion Jenson Button. The constructor champions Brawn GP are prepared to offer Button more freedom to seek out personal sponsorship deals to boost his income and try to keep him at the team.

Team boss Ross Brawn said:

“We can offer a higher proportion of driver freedom and that will probably be the route we will go. Jenson has some freedom for his own endorsements but has a commitment to meet our obligations.”

Button who is still rumoured to join Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, took a £5mill pay cut to help keep Brawn GP going at the start of the season, but it is believed he wants to go closer to his previous £8mill salary he recieved when the team was owned by Honda.

I think I have made an important medical discovery; Verbal Diarrhea is a genetic disorder.

How have I come to this conclusion you ask. Well, I took the case study of a family named the Ecclestones and monitored their speech and it seems that the complete babble that comes out of their mouths runs in the family.

First, daddy Ecclestone named Bernie. During this case study he has said; how good the tragic death of the great driver Ayrton Senna has been for Formula 1, praised the leadership strategies of Adolf Hitler and said how women are like domestic appliances.

But the second part of my story is where my theory of it being a genetic disorder comes into play.

Bernie’s son Tamara has recently said that Jenson Button doesn’t deserve to be world champ. She said:

“I don’t think Jenson Button deserves to be the F1 World Champion. He has been in it such a long time and never really came close to winning a championship. Suddenly the car is good and he’s won the championship. He only won six races, and they were all at the beginning of the season.

“If they’d all had the same car, then Jenson Button definitely wouldn’t have won this season. Lewis Hamilton is a better driver and he’s a nicer person.”

As I have explained before in one of the first ever posts on this blog Jenson Button is a fully worthy world champion and maybe the Ecclestone family should think before they speak!

David felled Goliath

As predicted by this blog, David Haye did what David Haye does and won, becoming Britain’s first Heavyweight Champion of the World since Lennox Lewis.

It wasn’t pretty and he fought most of th fight with one hand, but he stuck to the gameplan and he showed Valuev that no matter how big and heavy you are, if you can’t move, you can’t really box.

Now he has to unify the titles but I think after that show Vitaliy and Wladimir will be running scared.

This post is a place where we can put all our favourite moments of the 2009 season. I have set the ball rolling with a few of my faves below. Leave a comment on the bottom of this page to give your suggestions and they will be added to this post.

My favourite moments

Jenson Button wins in Melbourne

This has to be one of the most memorable moments of the season. We all had no idea what was coming. Button had gone from a backmarker in previous years (which is where we expected him to be in 2009) to race winner at the first race of the season. It was a simply incredible moment.

Jenson Button: “We are the champions!”

This moment encapsulated all of the excitement of everyone in Britain, we had another World Champion, and he was as excited as every single one of us.

Post race scenes after Jenson Button wins the World Championship in Brazil

Not only had he drove a fantastic race finishing 5th after lining up 14th on the grid but he also had a World Championship waiting for him at the end of the race. He really did not know what to do with himself and ended up kissing the BBC’s presenter Jake Humphrey during the interview in amongst the drunk Brawn GP team in the garage amongst hundreds of lenses.

Jenson Button vs Mark Webber in Abu Dhabi

It may have not been the most exhilarating race ever in Abu Dhabi in the final Grand Prix of the weekend but the battle between Jenson Button and Mark Webber in the closing laps under the lights in the simply stunning Yas Marina circuit certainly spiced things up.

Fernando Alonso vs Jarno Trulli in Bahrain

Not all of my favourite moments involve the World Champion you know! This moment was in Bahrain early on in the season where Fernando Alonso executed a brilliant bit of nerves and overtaking nouse as he passed Jarno Trulli.

Lewis Hamilton wins in Hungary

After all of the excitement of Jenson Button’s success, we all forgot about our reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton who was driving an appalling car, and was finishing in very low positions until Hungary that is where he popped out of nowhere in Hungary and took a superb race win, reminding us all he was more than just there to make up the numbers.

Jenson Button vs Kamui Kobayashi in Abu Dhabi

Good god Kamui Kobayashi has nerves of steel! In his first ever F1 race his fighting spirit showed through with this aggressive fight with Jenson Button who later branded him crazy.

Kobayashi’s fighting spirit captured the imaginations of a lot of F1 fans including myself and we all thought he had cemented a drive with Toyota next season until they pulled out. I then started a petition just to see how many people agreed with me and it was certainly more than I was expecting – on the Save Kamui Kobayashi petition we had over 350 signatures!

Your suggestions?

Leave a comment on the bottom of this page to give your suggestions and they will be added to this post.

From Lynda Kelly via Twitter (@LyndaKelly)

Jenson Button parks in the wrong spot after winning in Monaco

Mark Webber takes his maiden F1 victory

One hundred and thirteen times this season that call has rung out at the end of a ball game, echoing throughout the Bronx and across the CBS-radio network carrying the Yankee games.

The evil empire struck back. They won their 40th pennant, their 27th title and in the process tied or set any number of records as individuals, as a team and in the process set another impossibly high standard for an already high bar of both love, and hate.

There will be 423.5 million reasons for people to say they bought the series and don’t deserve the title because they play on a different playing field. Sure, it is a lot of money. Money, as Yankee fans already well know, does not ensure success, it is only one contributing factor. All those pieces need to perform well as individuals and come together as a team, stay healthy and focused on the task-at-hand. They need the drive and desire as well as the paycheck to succeed and the guidance to get there. In that, they are no different than any other team.

Perhaps money provides them an advantage in other respects then, as it buys top trainers, a fantastic ballpark and the luxuries some teams can only dream about. But, it was available because the Yankees for years have been investing in the team and not just in lining Mr. Steinbrenner and company’s pockets. The Boss wants to win and he does everything in his power as a boss to ensure that happens. That, is the priority. Not to collect a paycheck, but to collect trophies. To make New York fans proud. To give back to the community that support them by always putting together a team deserving of their rabid dedication and never having a fan wearing pinstripes be called fairweather by upholding the tradition of consistency in winning.

So, those big free agents that were bought to win the prize… are they mercenaries? Are they just there for one purpose – #27? Judging by the way their extravagant contracts are structured, the answer is, no. They are long term building blocks to the continued success of the team. These guys were not brought in this year (or any year) to win for that year… they were brought in to ensure the franchise remains the dominant beast that won those 39 previous pennants and those 26 previous titles. This isn’t just about #27 in the money spent, it is about #28, #29, #30 and so on for many of these long contracts:

AJ Burnett – 5 year contact
Johnny Damon – 4 year contact (extension in negotiation)
Damaso Marte – 4 year contact (+ his trade year to the yanks)
Hideki Matsui – 6 year contact (NYY only US team)
Alex Rodriguez – 10 year contract (+1 trade year & 3 remaining on his old contract)
CC Sabathia – 7 year contract
Mark Tiexeria – 8 year contract

Yes, those outside names command a high salary, but, if the Yankees hadn’t paid them those contracts, someone else would have. It just happens the Yankees did. Before A-rod became a Yankee, Texas over-paid for him… and Damon wasn’t exactly cheap when he became a BoSox… nor was Burnett as a Jay. The Yankees just paid what the market was commanding. They were fortunate enough to put them all together into a winning team.

They also lavish their own homegrown with those big contracts encouraging talent to stay and building a team from the inside out rather than allowing them to test the waters of free agency. Sure, they might command more from another team, but they’re rarely interested because they know they’ll be taken care of from within as long as they are getting the job done… several of the core players are home grown investments that will end, or come very close to ending their career in pinstripes. There can be no denying that the best of the best stay with the Yankees, unlike other teams who’s top talent traipses off at the first sign of dollar signs, from teams who do not appreciate having franchise players as much as they claim they cannot afford them. How many teams have as many guys who spent at least a decade with them currently on the roster?

Current decade pinstripers:
Derek Jeter NYY-r 96 (92 draft)
Andy Pettite NYY-r 95 (90 draft)
Jorge Posada NYY-r 95 (90 draft)
Mariano Rivera NYY-r 95

plus there is:
Robinson Cano NYY-r 05 (signed through 11 w/ opt to 13)

And, on that note, there is as much home grown and developed talent as on any team in the majors and several of them performing at the highest level coming through an established farm system designed to help create winners. It is a stunning list of super stars and prospects that make up the actual core of the current Yankees, moreso than that of their cross town rivals the Mets or the arch nemesis BoSox or even the defeated Phils… and several of them are set up to stay with the team for years to come. Just check out some of these key components in this year’s success who are from the Yankee system:

The next generation:
Alfredo Aceves NYY-r 08
Fransisco Cervelli NYY-r 09
Mekly Cabrera NYY-r 05
Joba Chamberlain NYY-r 07 (06 draft)
Phil Coke NYY-r 08 (02 draft)
Bret Gardner NYY-r 09 (06 draft)
Philip Hughes NYY-r 07 (04 draft)
Edwar Ramariez NYY-r 07
David Robertson NYY-r 08 (06 draft)

As well as callups like Ian Kennedy, Shelly Duncan, Juan Miranda and Ramero Pena plus Chin Ming Wang who ended up being injured the majority of the season unfortunately. Who knows what will be offered to this entire group depending on how they contribute in their current contracts – considering the Yankees already refused several times to trade Hughes, Chamberlain, Cabera and Cervelli.

Yeah, there were these pieces of the puzzle too who were pieces of the puzzle this year and probably fall somewhere into the mercenary concept but at a significantly different cost ratio to what most trades and 1-year deals come at teams trying to sample the post-season: Chad Gaudin, Freddy Guzmán, Eric Hinske, Jerry Harriston Jr, Sergio Mitre, Jose Molina, Nick Swisher…. However, when you count up the team as a whole and how all but Molina & Swisher fit into it overall it is easy to see the difference between buying #27 (as compared to some other teams who bought championships) and what the Yankees are really doing.

So, with a little arithmetic, the Yankees fielded 13 regular players during the season and post-season they developed, including 5 with significant investment in the franchise. They bought an additional 9 regulars, of which 7 were under “long term” contracts. The balance of the players were call-ups or guys rotated in-and-out of the 25-man roster for any number of reasons.

The cost of the contracts might seem out-of-sorts but it is not quite the type of build one might expect for a team bought to win a series. They are a collection of big names because the Yankees are a big name, they are a who’s who because roughly as many of core starters are high paid and developed in the system as were purchased on the open market and because roughly double the number of Yankee products took the field as those imported.

The Bankees they might be, but they are still bleeding pinstripes moreso than most teams could hope to instill in a franchise mentality in one, or maybe, two guys a decade. Forget about the core-four that represent the last dynasty bleeding into the next.

Say all you want you want to spread the wealth all you want and share with every city the sanctity of a WS victory. Well, it’s not like flattening out salaries and steamrolling the free agency system really spread the wealth in football (Patriots dynasty) or hockey (Red Wings dynasty), nor has it done anything to reign in lavish contracts (there’s no way to even begin the ridiculous examples), or bring together any type of labor peace (NHL) or ownership responsibility, (Redskins, Raiders, Coyotes). Just earn it. On the terms that every team in every league is earning it on. It took 9 years for the Yankees to do it again. Granted, all but one year in that time, they made the playoffs, even though twice they reached the series again in that stretch, although they lost. Yes, the last decade belongs to the Yankees, as did the previous as well, and with the way the team continues to be built by blending youth and experience, home grown and dedicated free agents the next could be as well. We’ll find out, one game at a time, same as always.

Till then, thank you Phillies for making this a great series and for doing something no NL team has done in well over a decade (look like a mini-dynasty yourselves!)… perhaps we’ll meet again next season but for now… CONGRATS NYY – #27!