Another week of great sports action, and so many great performances with which to choose. Step right up readers and give us the one (1), uno, une performance that stands out for you this past week.
Giving credit where credit is due, I am going with the Los Angeles Angels.
With one pitch, with one swing of the bat the Angels exorcised more than two decades worth of demons. Vladimir Guerrero slapped into center field the first offering he saw from Jonathan Papelbon scoring Chone Figgins with the tying run and Bobby Abreu with the eventual game-winner as the Angels eliminated, no, swept the Boston Red Sox from the American League playoffs.
In reality, it was more than that.
With nobody on and two outs in the ninth, Erick Aybar hit a two-strike single. Figgins worked a full count before earning a walk. Abreu doubled; Aybar came home. Torii Hunter received an intentional pass, and Vladdy made up for playoff frustrations past.
All this happened at Fenway Park where the Sox looked like their powerful selves, pounding out six runs on seven hits. For eight and two-thirds the ALDS Series looked like it would go to a fourth game.
All this came after impressive outings in California.
In game one, John Lackey limited the Sox to four hits and zero runs over seven plus as the Angels won 5-0.
Josh Beckett held the Angels to one for six innings in game two, but that wasn’t good enough. Anaheim punched home three in the seventh eventually winning 4-1.
With the series returning to Boston, the Sox hoped to recapture the momentum and dominance they have held in the past. Boston eliminated the Angels from the playoffs in 1986, 2004, and 2007. All of that changed Sunday afternoon.
Who gets your POTW?
I was thinking of giving it to “all of Los Angeles area major leage baseball” for the two unexpected sweeps … both Dodgers and Angels.
Next in line, how about Kyle Orton? He completed almost 70% of his passes, well over 300 yards and 2 TDs to help the SURPRISING Denver Broncos in an upset OT win over New England and a 5-0 record.
After that, we have to go with the Fighting Irish. They actually climbed back into the Top 25 without playing a game. Quite a feat!!!
Wally – Are you sure you don’t want to mention the U.S. golf team in the President’s Cup? Steve Stricker, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and company put on an impressive showing in San Francisco, CA as they beat down the International team to defend their President’s Cup title.
Or maybe you want to give some “major” props to Matt Hasseback and Donovan McNabb who both came back from rib injuries ( and are still hurt) for their performance against the Jacksonville and Tampa Bay respectively. They shredded the opposing defenses and lead their teams to blowout victories.
Or how about Freddie Barnes from Bowling Green who has a “season” against Kent State – 22 catches for 278 yards and 3 TDs?
Cool. I think you and I mentioned everyone that could possibly be named.
All good nominees, Smitty! (However, can Barnes’ game be considered a POTW if it came against Kent State??? Just wondering.)
I suggest the Irish consider cancelling the game coming up vs SoCal so they can be assured of moving up 3-4 spots in the rankings again. jk 😉 Anyway, for what it’s worth, USC is currently favored by 11. Probably lots of folks out there wondering how ND’s defense is gonna keep USC under 35 points … count me among them.
Well didn’t you give POTW to Jimmy Clausen for his performance against Nevada? I thnk he was one of your 10 nominations that week.
But if Notre Dame’s defense is about average at best and Nevada couldn’t score against them – it certainly means that Nevad can’t be that good . Is Clausen’s performance diminished?
I don’t think so. Still have to play the game and you still have to make the plays.
Casey….Subtle hint #7.
Now Eli Manning doesn’t get nominated for his performance against the high school team formerly known as the Oakland Raiders.
Wally, I had been thinking back to the Boob Davies years this weekend. remembering how ND’s best performances in the polls ALWAYS came in the bye weeks. I wondered if we would see that trend return and.. VOILA! I say POTW to the ND schedule maker! I hear ya’ re: holding SC to under 35. I am crazy/excited enough to think Clausen and Co. can put 38 on the board. If ND beats USC, all is forgiven with Unweis, even though I would find it hard to give him even a shred of credit for the win. But…that’s how badly I want to see us beat USC. GO IRISH!
Smitty,
Are you feeling okay? Are you experiencing a relapse of that cold? Eli? Whoa now! I know Wally’s not getting your hints and all, but Eli?
Oh and Helmet sticker for the comment: high school football team formerly as the Oakland Raiders.
Ahhhh, no relapse here – I was just using Eli to make a point. I wanted to see how many players I could nominate in less then 3 posts.
Subtle Hint #8..
Hey how about Alex Rodriguez. The fact that he did anything in the playoffs should make him a nominee.
JD – it is about time someone nominated Rodriguez. I suppose the way Wally was handing out POTWs like they were Nobel Prizes, people figured he’d have it covered.
Smitty – how’s that for being subtle…or NOT!!!!! 🙂
Did Wally nominate Barack Obama or was that the other Nobel Peace Prize voters?? 🙂
Go with A-Rod this week for POWT. Once he realizes it’s the playoffs, he won’t come close again!
Was that a Freudian typo – POWT pronounced “pout” – instead of POTW! Wow! I apparently dislike A-Rod as much as Unweis. Think I am going to start calling him 0-Rod (as in Zero-Rod)!