OK, gang, bare with us. We're working on like five hours of sleep since Friday and we're pumping on a mixture of sugar, caffiene and the left over haze of the high-octane oxygen that is pumped into the casinos. Vegas was awesome in its awesomeness, and the 5-at-10 returned to Chatta-Vegas with more money than we left with. It was a pleasant surprise that was carried by a couple of hot streaks at a craps table by the Mrs. 5-at-10 and a big payday at the Sports Book at MGM Grand on the sixth race at the Louisiana Downs on Friday afternoon (let's just say the words "exacta" and "20-to-1 underdog" were joyously connected).
It was a great, Great, GREAT trip but we're happy to be back. Vegas is a great place to visit but the 5-at-10 could not live there - no offense to the great city, hey, we're not sayin' anything; we're just sayin.' Anyhoo, from the "7-Up Stinks Studios," here we go...
Bulls impress; Thunder rolls
OK, we're down to the NBA's final four, and the 5-at-10 picked three of the four (Stupid, stupid Lakers). And let's not get carried away by the Chicago Bulls' thumping of Miami. it was one game won by the higher seed at home.
The events of the weekend left the 5-at-10 with three big thoughts. Let's try a new three-item list in 20-words-or-less. We heard about it in Vegas - the 3-in-20, and sometimes you have to pay extra for that Cotton:
- Bulls were at the top of their game: Chicago was awesome in a Game 1 pounding of Miami. It will be tougher than that from here.
- Thunder have arrived: OKC handle Memphis (great run Grizzlies - you did Oso proud) and Kevin Durrant arrived with 39 points in Game 7.
- Westrbook joins legendary company: The Thunder guard joins West, Bird, Worthy and Pippen with Game 7 triple double.
Atlanta Braves' Dan Uggla, right, celebrates his game-winning home run with Alex Gonzalez in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies in Atlanta, Sunday, May 15, 2011. Atlanta won 3-2. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)Braves visit, top Doc
It's just one of 162 games, but it was a big one.
The Braves' dramatic 3-2 win over the Phillies on Sunday was large in several respects.
First, they beat the normally untouchable Roy "Doc" Halladay. Before dropping decisions to Florida and Atlanta in the last seven days - and he pitched complete games in each of those road losses - Halladay was 17-1 against NL East foes.
Second, as TFP ace columnist Mark Wiedmer points out here http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/may/16/wiedmer-ugglas-otherwise-ugly-season-adds-another-/?opinioncolumns, it could be the launching point for struggling second baseman Dan Uggla, who delivered a game-winning, eighth-inning homer.
Third, it ws great to see the 1974 uniforms, especially those worn by the Braves. For the Love of Jeff Burroughs' glasses, all that was missing was Roland Office in center field. Nice day all the way around.
Couple of things to note about these Braves: First, they are tied with Cleveland for the best run margin (+41) in baseball, which means a few wins in some of those one-run games could ean a big-time run for Atlanta. That said, the Braves, who are 23-19, will be holding their breath this week until Chipper Jones' right knee (which has a slight meniscus tear) is fully surveyed.
Former Cincinnati Reds baseball player Pete Rose talks to members of the media during a news conference at the opening of an exhibit about him at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Museum in Cincinnati Tuesday, March 13, 2007. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)Hey, it's Charlie Hustler
Pete Rose spoke Saturday at the annual Ohio Justice & Policy Center shindig, and not surprisingly Rose made his plea that he deserves to be re-instated by baseball.
Rose, who turned 70 last month (yes, 70, the Big 7-0), was banned for life after baseball determined he gambled on the game when he was the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Rose, the game's all-time leader in hits, denied the charges for more than a decade before saying he bet on the Reds.
Now he believes he deserves to return to the game and he says he would love to manage again. Of course he does.
"I've taken responsibility for my life," Rose told the crowd, which included the judge that sent him to prison for tax evasion. "Baseball isn't good for second chances - not for gamblers. They are for people who take drugs. They are for people who beat up their wives. They are for people who drink a lot of alcohol. I screwed up. I wish I could change it."
Rose was just getting warmed up.
"It's like a singer getting caught running a red light and not being able to sing again," Rose said according to the AP. "That's not America. I'm a baseball player. I can go on every talk show and say I'm sorry and some people don't want to hear you. That's not fair."
Stop it Pete. Just stop.
There are particular sins in whatever walk of life you're on that are worse than all others. Is that fair? Maybe not, but that's how it is. And gambling is that sin in sports.
Here's the difference from the game's perspective: Players or managers committing any of the mistakes Rose mentioned is not good for the game and can be very bad - even life threatening - for the person; Gambling on the game is not good for player and is very bad - even life threatening - for the game.
If any professional sport this side of wrestling is perceived to be fixed or dictated by gamblers, then it has no chance. The people who run professional sports know this - and they make it very clear to everyone involved.
Rose knew this when he made the bets, and he still chose to make the gamble. It was a bet he lost - and continues to lose. And deservingly so.
K.J. Choi tees off on the fifth hole during the final round of The Players Championship golf tournament Sunday, May 15, 2011, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)Jumping for Choi - sort of
K.J. Choi beat David Toms on the first playoff hole Sunday evening to win The Players Championship, the tournament most consider to be golf's unofficial fifth major tournament. Choi delivered a major-championship type of performance in the end, making 5 footers for par on the 72nd hole to force the tie and again on the playoff hole to win the tournament.
Thing is, though, that this is not a major championship, no matter how much Johnny Miller wants it to be. Players melting down on the homestretch in major championships is drama; players melting down in non-major championships is less-than-great golf.
And there was a lot of melting down from a lot the guys that are supposed to assume the alpha dog role now that Eldrick Woods is using Tiger's clubs and apparently has no intention of letting Tiger use them anytime soon.
And that is what the game misses without Tiger being Tiger - the game has no lead horse, no closer, no No. 1 that everyone else is chasing. Yes, Martin Kaymer or Lee Westwood or whomever is ranked as the world's best player is No. 1, but c'mon. That may be the clearest definition between the difference of being the No. 1-ranked player in the world and the No. 1 golfer in the world.
Side note: Toms lost Sunday after a three-putt on the playoff hole. That's not the side note. No, the side note is that earlier Sunday on that same 17th hole, Steve Stricker three-putted. It was Stricker's first three-putt in 160 holes. Wow - the 5-at-10 has a tough time taking a 160 steps on a golf course without a three-putt.
This and that
- Matt Kenseth won the NASCAR race Sunday at Dover. He used a late pit row gamble to edge Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards in what could be considered a mild upset because of the recent dominance of Johnson and Edwards. In what could be considered a major upset, no one was called into the NASCAR principal's trailer after the fact and Kevin Harvick nor Kyle Busch threw a helmet. Nice job guys.
- THE Ohio State University is delaying its annual awarding of gold pants to the football team, which is under the NCAA microscope for possible NCAA rules violations, including some of the football players selling and trading the gold pants for tattoos. The gold pants are THE Ohio State University's tribute to teams that beat rival Michigan. The Gold Pants Club (seriously, that's their name) are stalling the gold pants party ("Brick, are you saying there's a party in your pants?") because they are waiting to see if the Buckeyes vacate any wins from last year. Area tattoo shop owners have to be furious about this.
- Busy week of high school sports here in the greater-Chattanooga area. Tennessee teams are running, pitching, catching, hitting, serving, kicking and scoring as much as they can in an effort to get to Spring Fling next week.
Until tomorrow.