The no-hitter that wasn’t

Last night, the Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem, California, United States of America for a little Interleague Play. Two of the game’s better young arms, the Dodgers’ Chad Billingsley and the Angels’ Jered Weaver, provided a pitcher’s dual that will indeed go to the history books. I mean, we’re writing about west coast baseball on the Acropolis… something happened.

Weaver had a no-hitter going through four innings, when Matt Kemp hit a ball with “a little funky English on it” [Kemp's words] to the right of the pitcher’s mound. Weaver was unable to glove the ball, and Kemp reached first on what was ruled an error. No-hitter still intact. Then, Kemp stole second and Angels catcher Jeff Mathis sent his throw high and into centerfield, allowing Kemp to advance to third. A sacrifice fly brought him in to score. 1-0 Dodgers on top; Weaver still with a no-no, but no longer a shutout.

Tim Russert, 1950-2008

I was preparing a story about the latest ridiculous “Barack Obama’s a terrorist” rumor or perhaps another reason I don’t understand soccer. Those two will go on the backburner.

One of the greatest journalists of our time has passed away. Tim Russert, the Washington bureau chief for NBC News and moderator of Meet the Press, died of a heart attack while recording clips for the upcoming weekend’s program. He was just 58 years old.

Russert was never held back by the speed and brevity of television. He was methodical and complete in his analyses and his interviews. He did not believe in “quote digging” or taking something out of context. Guests on Meet the Press who had something to hide were in big trouble – because Russert’s examination would uncover the truth, and not in a slanted, roundabout, yelling over each other kind of way.

I remember watching The O’Reilly Factor last week, while Bill was on a tirade about NBC News’s liberal biases. He had a panel of conservative cronies on to echo his loud points. O’Reilly, for a brief moment, included Russert in his criticisms. Immediately, even the bellowing O’Reilly was silenced by the people who were supposed to be agreeing with him. Even the most conservative in the media recognized Russert as one of the few journalists who could not be labeled as a liberal or conservative, but rather an investigator, a seeker of truth. As O’Reilly sputtered a semi-defense, you could see a rare instance when he knew he was indeed wrong.

Tim Russert is one of my role models in the journalistic world. I would love to one day be relied on for unbiased news, agenda-free thoughts, and a more complete look at a story – not out-of-context soundclips and yelling. Such a journalist is rare. Today, we have one fewer.

Mississippians in the MLB Draft

The 2008 MLB Draft produced a much smaller list of Mississippians than what the state is used to. Not surprisingly, Ole Miss, a preseason pick to go to the College World Series, led the state in players selected. Mississippi State got six picks despite Ron Polk’s first (and last) losing season there. Southern Miss reached the NCAA Tournament, but had only four selections.

Many of the players drafted are underclassmen or high schoolers, meaning they could return to college if the contract they are offered isn’t the number they were hoping for. Among these is Rashun Dixon of Terry H.S., drafted by Oakland in the 10th round as an outfielder, but also signed on at Mississippi State to play football in the fall.

A trio of Rebel pitchers were selected in the first two rounds. I think Lance Lynn (1A-STL) is the most promising, but all could reach the majors. Looking for gems lower in the draft, I love Tyler Conn (14-DET). The lefty closer led the nation in saves this season while at Southern Miss. Carlos Moncrief (14-CLE) is also a tremendous athlete we used to enjoy watching in South Jackson. Finally, I know hot streaks in college don’t matter a bit when forecasting big league success, but holy cow Michael Guerrero (21-WSH) ended the postseason absolutely killing the ball. He hit two home runs in the same inning in the NCAA Regionals.

Here’s the complete list, hopefully not too hard to read after formatting bugs kick in:

Round (Pick)   Team   Player                                     School
1A (39)           STL      RHP- Lance Lynn                  Ole Miss
2 (67)             DET      RHP- Cody Satterwhite         Ole Miss
2 (75)             NYY     RHP- Scott Bittle                   Ole Miss
3 (103)           COL     RHP- Aaron Weatherford      Miss State
9 (286)           PHI      3B- Cody Overbeck               Ole Miss
10 (304)         OAK     OF- Rashun Dixon                Terry H.S.
12 (358)         FLA      2B- Michael Turner               Miss State
14 (433)         DET      LHP- Tyler Conn                  Southern Miss
14 (421)         WSH     RHP- Louis Coleman            LSU (Pillow Academy)
14 (441)         CLE      RHP- Carlos Moncrief          Chipola (Fla.) J.C. (Forest Hill H.S./Hillcrest Christian H.S.)
15 (453)         TEX      OF- Joseph Butler      Univ. New Orleans (Pascagoula H.S.)
16 (480)         CWS     C- Brett Basham                   Ole Miss
16 (481)         WSH     1B- Tyler Moore                   Miss State
16 (501)         CLE      LHP- T.J. House                   Picayune Memorial H.S.
18 (540)         CWS     RHP- Josh Billeaud               Southern Miss
20 (597)         SF        2B- Trey Sitton                     Southern Miss
21 (631)         WSH     OF- Michael Guerrero          Ole Miss
24 (724)         OAK     RHP- Ken Smalley                Delta State
25 (744)         PIT       RHP- Brian Leach                 Southern Miss
25 (765)         SD       OF- Logan Power                 Ole Miss
27 (824)         NYM    1B- Jeffrey Flagg                  Miss State
29 (879)         TOR     RHP- Justin Cryer                 Ole Miss
32 (962)         HOU    SS- Bryan Vollmuth              Biloxi H.S.
38 (1139)       CIN      RHP- Ricky Bowen               Miss State
38 (1154)       NYM    LHP- Chris Hilliard               Itawamba C.C.
40 (1195)       KC       RHP- Pernell Halliman          Jackson State
46 (1372)       KC       1B- William Beckwith           West Loundes H.S.
46 (1376)       CIN      OF- Jackson Hogue             Miss State
49 (1476)       CLE      RHP- Devin Jones                Eupora H.S.

By School:
Ole Miss: 8
Mississippi State: 6
High School: 5
Southern Miss: 4
Delta State: 1
Jackson State: 1
Itawamba C.C.: 1
Other: 3

[Heroes of Internet Video] N-u-m-n-a-h

For the second installment of “Heroes of Internet Video,” we go to the 2008 National Spelling Bee…

That is my new favorite from the plethora of spelling bee moments. Here is the former champ:

What a beast! He passes out and then immediately spells the word. None of that language of origin junk. I think he faked it so someone could feed him the spelling while the crowd was in awe.

Next time, a real post; my annual Mississippians in the MLB Draft.

Hockey Makes A Comeback (For At Least A Few Days)

Last night’s Stanley Cup Finals Game 5 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings may have been the best hockey game I have ever seen. Facing elimination, the Penguins led most of the game before the Wings came roaring back late in the third period to take a 3-2 lead. Lord Stanley’s Cup was being polished by the guy with the Mickey Mouse gloves. Fans were ready to celebrate. With 34 seconds to go and an empty net at the other end, Maxime Talbot, the extra attacker for Pittsburgh, stuffed a rebound past Chris Osgood, tying the game and sending it to overtime.

Hopefully nobody saw me jumping up and down in the break room.

I have been pulling for the Penguins all series long. Last night, I had additional reasons. Despite this year’s Stanley Cup Finals pairing the league’s two best teams, it has been pretty boring. Detroit dominated the three games they won. Pittsburgh’s Game 3 victory carried a hint of drama. Finally, both teams were playing at their peak at the same time. With promise of more games like this one, I just wanted the series to continue.

After work, I flew home to catch the beginning of double overtime. The game carried an intensity of Game 7 throughout. It got even better in the overtime frames. With every forwarding of the puck toward the net a potential game-winner, and in the case of Detroit, championship-winner. I could not lay in bed and watch the game like an NFL playoff game or a World Series. I had to stand up. College basketball is the only sport that comes close, but nothing at all can match playoff overtime hockey. This comes from someone born and raised in the South who can’t ice skate.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 55 saves in a goaltending effort for the ages. Ryan Malone was hit in his recently-broken nose with a slapshot. Blood poured onto the ice. Malone was back within five minutes. In Ruthian fashion, Petr Sykora, who did not have a point in the entire series, told NBC’s Pierre McGuire that he was going to score the game-winner. In the third overtime, Sykora delivered his called shot, a blast that ended the fifth-longest game in Stanley Cup Finals history.

Today, hockey was talked about on talk radio in Jackson, Miss., probably for the first time since the Bandits left town. I have been bombarded with e-mails and facebook messages from my hockey friends. People I have not heard from in years called me just to say, “Oh my goodness did you see that game?”

The NHL has been on a disastrous journey into obscurity over the past decade. This series is its chance to break back into the mainstream. The Red Wings are American hockey’s premiere franchise. The Penguins represent the new generation, led by Fleury and Sidney Crosby, an electric scorer often compared to Lemieux and Gretzky. After 4 rather disappointing games, Game 5 gave them their big moment. Thankfully, Pittsburgh won and we get to see this series continue for at least one more night.

Even if you have never watched hockey before in your life, you have got to see some of this series. Game 6 is Wednesday night at 7pm (CT) on NBC. It is the dog days of summer; there is nothing else on television. When it is 90 degrees outside, what could be better than watching, as the NHL used to market it, “The coolest game on earth?”