The Sports Review

Tampa, Florida is home to the team with the best record currently in the MLB. The Tampa Bay Rays are sitting a top the AL East with a 20-7 record as of today. Right on there heels are the New York Yankees, who are coming off a World Series Championship. The Rays’ have the 21st highest payroll in the majors, while the Yankees have the first. The average salary for a player on the Yankees is $8,253,336. The average salary for the Rays is $2,663,882. How is Tampa Bay in 1st place?? It’s because they are a really good team. Evan Longoria is a certified star player for the Rays, leading the team in batting average (.349), home runs (7), and RBIs (23). Carl Crawford has also been phenomonal for Tampa Bay, hitting .343 and sporting a .408 OBP. The Rays’ starting pitching, however, has been the real success story. Matt Garza (5-1, 2.09 ERA) and James Shields (4-0, 3.15 ERA) have looked like the best 1-2 punch in the big leagues. We’ll see if the Rays can hold off the much wealthier Yankees in the coming weeks, but seeing Tampa Bay on top of the league does remind us that $$ isn’t everything in baseball. Well, not aboslutely everything anyway.  

If Thursday night’s games are any indication of the excitement we can expect from the postseason this year, than hockey fans better do whatever they can to land some NHL playoff tickets ASAP. Winter Olympic hero Ryan Miller displayed his unmatched form in net at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York, as the Sabres got by the Boston Bruins in the first game of their series 2-1. Miller had a whopping 38 saves, while center Tim Kennedy set up Craig Rivet for the winning goal in the second period. The Washington Capitals were the best team in the NHL for most of the season, but the scrappy Montreal Canadians kept Caps star Alex Ovechkin from even taking a shot last night in the nation’s capital. The Canadians prevailed 3-2 in overtime when Tomas Plekanec beat Jose Theodore stick side for the winning goal. Mikael Samuelsson showed why he was such a great free agent pick up for Vancouver in game 1 against the L.A. Kings, scoring two goals in the 3-2 home victory for the Canucks. Tonight the Chicago Blackhawks and the Nashville Predators will face off in the first game of the their series at the United Center in Chicago. Hockey fans have a full plate of action to take in this weekend, so get ready!

Sports fans react to opening day of Major League Baseball unlike any other sport. In many cities in America, the way of life in the city immediately changes once that first pitch leaves the mound. From that moment until the season ends in the fall baseball is on the lips of Americans everywhere. Whether fans are complaining about how their closer can’t hit the broadside of a barn or how their team is destined to be crowned World Series Champions this season, the topic of discussion will be baseball at neighborhood pubs, office water coolers, and dinner tables across the country. Some of us will be fortunate enough to hear the crack of a bat in person or begin the tradition of listening to games on the radio or watching them on T.V. Over 162 games, baseball fans will live and die with their baseball teams. From coast to coast baseball season will begin and another season in America’s most historic sport will unfold.

For any fan who doesn’t carry any affiliation to the Men’s basketball programs at Duke, Michigan State, or West Virgina they will likely find themselves cheering for the Butler Bulldogs. There hasn’t been a feel good story like Butler’s for some time. No one saw George Mason’s run to the Final Four coming in 2006, but unlike the Patriots, Butler seems to have the makings of a team that could actually win it all. Much has been made that the team doesn’t have a first round NBA draft pick on their team, but the ever-collected Brad Stevens has built a team that plays intelligent, patient basketball. Butler’s experience and team-oriented attitude out-dueled more physically talented teams in Syracuse and Kansas State. It will be a tall task for Butler to raise the trophy in their hometown of Indianapolis, but most the people at Lucas Oil Stadium and around the country will be pulling for them. The final chapter of the 2009-10 college basketball season begins this Saturday when Butler takes on Michigan State at 6:07 PM ET.

Tiger Woods’ return to the game of golf at this year’s Masters will put the PGA back in the mainstream media’s spotlight. The interest from the Masters should carry over to the U.S. Open, being held on June 20th at Pebble Beach. You can experience the beauty of Pebble Beach Golf Links and see the best golfers in the world compete by ordering U.S. Open tickets. The second major of the year has been won by Woods three times. The last time the event was held at Pebble Beach which also happened to be the first time Woods lifted the US Open Trophy. Last year, thirty-year-old Lucas Glover won the tournament by two strokes over a three way tie by Phil Mickelson, David Duval, and Ricky Barnes. His US Open title was only the second event Glover had ever won on the PGA Tour. Mickelson has been the runner’s up in the US Open on five occasions. With the added eyes on the tournament, the 2010 U.S. Open should be one of the biggest sporting events of the summer.

The first few days of the Big East Tournament haven’t disappointed with a host of thrilling games already in the books. Georgetown today dethroned the mighty Syracuse Orangemen at Madison Square Garden 91-84, thanks to a epic 27-point performance from junior forward Chris Wright. The #3 ranked Orangemen were also dealt a potentially crucial blow going into March Madness with Arinze Onuaku suffering an injury to his knee. Last night Cincinatti kept their NCAA Tournament dreams alive by upsetting Rick Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals 69-66. Marquette won two tight games against St. John’s and Villanova to advance to semi-finals with the Hoyas. Even the early game was exciting with Seton Hall outlasting Providence in a game where over 200 points were scored. Whoever emerges victorious out of this year’s Big East Tournament will be riding a emotional high going into the Big Dance.

The world’s oldest tennis tournament will be played June 21st - July 4th at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club just outside London. The 124th Wimbledon promises to be one of the most highly anticipated sporting events on the planet this summer. The game of tennis is fortunate to have a bevy of international stars playing in the game currently. The world’s will be at their best on the grass courts of the All England, as Wimbledon is often considered the grandest of all the grand slam titles. Participants dress in white as is tradition while spectators eat strawberries and cream or drinking Primm Spritzers.

The Williams sisters have dominated the tournament on the women’s side the past few years with Serena defeating Venus in 2009, Venus winning in 2008 and 2007, and the sisters claiming the doubles title as well in 2009. Roger Federer defeated England’s glory boy Andy Murray in last year’s Wimbledon final, but all eyes will be on the 22-year-old Scot tries to become the first British man to win a grand slam in more than seventy years. No matter who is victorious this summer, Wimbledon tickets will be some of the most wanted tickets in the world this summer.

With everyone and their Mother expecting a Kobe vs Lebron final, the Lakers’ assumed Western Conference Title might have to go through Salt Lake City. The Utah Jazz since January 9th are 17-2. They have maybe the best all-around power forward in the NBA in Carlos Boozer and one of the best point guards night-in and night-out in Deron Williams. The Jazz’s bench might be what sets them apart from a lot of the teams’ in the league with guys like Kyle Kover, Paul Milsap, and Wes Matthews flourishing in substitute roles. On Wednesday night Boozer scored 20 points in the second half to lead the Jazz over a scrappy Charlotte Bobcats team 102-93. The Jazz should be able to continue their success into the month of March where their schedule is very favorable with Boston, Phoenix, and Oklahoma City being the only tough teams they play. Look for hall of fame coach Jerry Sloan’s men to be in the thick of it once playoff time rolls around.

Male figure skating has surprised many pundits as the highlight thus far of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada thanks in part to the intriguing skaters Evan Lysacek, Evengi Plushenko, and Johnny Weir. Lysacek needed a flawless performance on Day 7 of the Olympics to take the Gold for the United States over Russia’s Plushenko in Men’s Figure Skating. Brian Botano last won gold for the United States at the 1988 Calgary Games. There was a controversy over the fact that Plushenko completed a quad jump in his routine and Lysacek didn’t even attempt one in his routine. Judges sided with giving Lysacek the Gold for his combination of execution and artistry. Plushenko said he may return to the ice at the age of 31 to recoup win back the Gold for Russia in 2014. Lysacek, a native of Naperville, IL, won the World Championships in 2009 and could also retun in 2014 considering he’s only 24-years-old.

“The Freak” has landed. After only making $650,000 in 2009 and winning the Cy Young Award for the second year in a row, the San Francisco Giants have agreed to pay Tim Lincecum $8 million this season and $13 million the following year. The 25-year-old has become one of the toughest pitchers to hit in the big leagues with a unique pitching motion batters can’t seem to figure out completely. In his three years playing professional ball, Lincecum has gone 40-17 with a 2.90 career ERA. The right hander from Bellevue, Washington was busted in October of 2009 for a marijuana possession while being pulled over for speeding. The deal is full of sweeteners should Lincecum continue his success with numerous bonus possibilities. Should the two-time All Star win the Cy Young Award again he’ll earn a hefty half million dollar bonus check. The Giants look to build on a strong 2009 season where the team went 88-74, but just missed out on the playoffs. Lincecum and the Giants will now head into spring training next week on the same page as they prepare for the 2010 season.