Results tagged “gregorybull”

Let’s face it, we all expected great things when Stephon Marbury joined the Knicks. The local boy was coming home and perhaps that is why we were blinded to his faults. We forgot how he demanded out of Minnesota even with Kevin Garnett to pass to. We ignored the fact that Jason Kidd took his place on the Nets and instantly made them title contenders. There were a lot of warning signs we simply missed.

If you only caught the last three minutes of the Giants game you would blame the defense for their 24-21 loss. After all, the Giants marched down the field and scored a touchdown and two-point conversion with 1:21 left in the game only to see the Vikings drive down and kick the winning field goal. However, if you saw the whole game you saw a miserable performance by the offense coupled with a putrid performance by the special teams, five Giants turnovers and nine penalties.

The Giants took advantage of six Saints turnovers to win 27-10 Monday night. New Orleans started the game off by trying a reverse on a kickoff return and fumbling the ball on their own ten-yard line. Three plays later, Brandon Jacobs pounded the ball into the end zone and the Giants had a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

The match highlights the unique stage that is a US Open night match. Rowdy New York fans cheer faults, boo line calls and do the wave to show their appreciation. With two Americans on court last night, the crowd held little back. Even tennis purists had to admit the atmosphere added something to the match that, until the fifth set, was carried by its drama instead of its shotmaking. Agassi advances to an all-US semifinal on Saturday against Robby Ginepry, and the thought of his playing Roger Federer (who plays in the quarterfinals today) in the final on Sunday has CBS executives salivating.

Maybe all Randy Johnson needed was to be angry when he pitched. He came to New York and angrily pushed a cameraman. After that day in February, the Randy Johnson of 2004 seemed to disappear and a mediocre forty-one year old pitcher took his place. This week, Randy Johnson got angry again and the results were impressive. Johnson flirted with a no-hitter and stuck out eleven batters Tuesday night as the Yankees beat the Twins 4-0.

Martinez is not the only Met pitcher throwing well. Prior to taking the loss on Friday, Victor Zambrano had been suprisingly effective, with an ERA in the mid-3s. Tom Glavine has pitched his best since the first half of 2004, and even Kaz Ishii threw six shutout innings on Thursday. With Steve Trachsel expected back in early August, the Mets should have few complaints about their pitching staff.

Kevin Brown continued his resurgence, pitching seven innings for his fourth straight win. Since getting bombed by the Devil Rays on May 6th, Brown has gone 4-0 with an ERA of 2.16. Gothamist isn’t ready to trust Brown after last October, but perhaps he has finally turned a corner.

What seemed like a routine victory changed in the bottom of the seventh when Tigers’ pitcher, Franklyn German, hit Alex Rodriguez. It may have been a message since A-Rod had already hit two home runs, it may not have been, but for the first time in a long time, the Yankees responded. Paul Quantrill waited until he had two outs in the eighth and then threw a pitch behind Jason Smith. After both benches were warned, Quantrill wound up and hit Smith in the back, earning himself and Joe Torre an ejection from the game. Quantrill blamed his sudden onset of wildness on the wet conditions, but Gothamist was glad to see the Yankee pitchers stand up for their hitters. The Yankee batters have been hit far too often since Roger Clemens left town and perhaps Tuesday’s retaliation is a sign that had better stop.