Armchair Weekend in Review (April 27-29, 2007)

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by user JB82

A big weekend on all fronts, so let's get to it right now!

NFL Draft

For my look at the first round, click here. Here are some notable picks from the rest of the draft:

Paul Posluszny, LB, Penn State – Buffalo Bills, #34
Just like Greg Olsen, how did his stock get this low?

John Beck, QB, BYU – Miami Dolphins, #40
Remember him from last Thanksgiving?

Dwayne Jarrett, WR, USC – Carolina Panthers, #45
Another player who got lost in the first-round shuffle.

Steve Smith, WR, USC – New York Giants, #51
Jarrett's teammate should help in case Amani Toomer's ACL surgery recovery should not go according to schedule.

Michael Bush, RB, Louisville – Oakland Raiders
First pick of Day 2 will have JaMarcus Russell as his new teammate.

Zak DeOssie, LB, Brown – NY Giants, #116
Like Amobi Okoye, of NFL progeny (his father is Steve)

Josh Beekman, OG, Boston College – Chicago Bears, #130
Amsterdam, New York native is the third Albany-area player in six years to be drafted, behind the Houston Texans' Anthony Weaver and André Davis.

Troy Smith, QB, Ohio State – Baltimore Ravens, #174
Choker of BCS Title Game gets picked over Chris Leak?! I don't get it...

Rashad Barksdale, CB, Albany – Philadelphia Eagles, #201
First Great Dane ever to be drafted.

Dallas Baker, WR, Florida – Pittsburgh Steelers, #227
Even in the draft, it was great to be a Florida Gator...

Cool names in the draft

Turk McBride, DE, Tennessee, and Tank Tyler, DT NC State – Kansas City Chiefs, #54 and #82 respectively

C.J. Ah You, LB, Oklahoma – Buffalo (from Baltimore), #239

Mr. Irrelevant

Ramzee Robinson, CB, Alabama – Detroit Lions

Left out in the cold

Jared Zabransky, QB, Boise State

Darius Walker, RB, Notre Dame

Chris Leak, QB, Florida

Out of the draft

...came this surprising bit of news. The Raiders relieved themselves of a headache by dealing wideout Randy Moss to the New England Patriots. Here's hoping that Bill Belichick can whip this problem child into shape...

MLB Weekend

After Friday's 11-4 meltdown, there were reports of rumors that New York Yankees manager Joe Torre's job was on the line as the Bummers' losing skid reached seven games. Torre got a bit of security as the Yanks took the second game of their weekend set with the Boston Red Sox, 3-1. It was also the first save for Mariano Rivera and only the second win for Kei Igawa, who filled in for starter Jeff Karstens after taking a Julio Lugo line drive off his knee.
- But, it's "Whither Torre?" again after a 7-4 loss the next day.

Ol' Giuseppe wasn't the only manager who had more than his fair share of troubles during the weekend:
- Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge got the gate on Friday night for over-wielding his words while arguing a call. But the next night was more bizarre. In the top of the third, Indians right fielder Grady Sizemore caught a fly ball, giving the Baltimore Orioles' Nick Markakis his cue to head home. Meanwhile, Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada got doubled off of first base, thus ending the inning and causing Marvin Hudson, the home plate umpire, nullified the run. The troubles really started in the sixth, when Hudson's cworker Ed Montague decided that the run should've been put on the board, causing Wedge to yell and holler and protest the game. BTW, the Tribe took the loss, 7-4.
- Another example was Detroit Tigers skipper Jim Leyland, who was shown the door after arguing with the Blues in the Tigers' 11-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins. Leyland and reliver Wil Ledezma were both sent to the showers in that game.

And, of course, there's non-manager Barry Bonds, whose quest for the Big Asterisk continued on with his 742nd career home run on Saturday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

A week after the Philadelphia Phillies did it, Colorado Rockies rookie shortstop Troy Tulowitzki turned a triple play of his own without anyone's help in a 9-7 win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. It was only the 13th of its kind in all of MLB history.

The longest game in the majors this season went to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who defeated the San Diego Padres 5-4 in 17 innings that same day. Dem Bums got the W when backup catcher Wilson Valdez sliced a double off Padres reliever Brady Clark.

However, it was all marred by a death in the St. Louis Cardinals family. Cards reliever Josh Hancock was killed in an automobile accident on Sunday at the age of 29. Hancock was a member of the Cardinals team that won the World Series last year. Hancock's death postponed the Sunday night game against the Chicago Cubs, and overshadowed even Chris Duncan's outfield crashes on Saturday. Condolences to the Cardinals family and that of Hancock as well...

NBA Playoffs from the Armchair

The Detroit Pistons threw a potential farewell party for a former one of their own. Grant Hill was the guest of honor when the Pistons became the first team to advance to the conference semifinals thanks to a 97-93 win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday.

Meanwhile, in Washington, the Cleveland Cavaliers shook off blowing a 17-point lead to get them one step closer to the semis with a 98-92 win over the Washington Wizards. Without Lebron James feeding Sasha Pavlovic for a wide-open three-ball, the Cavs would have let the Wiz hang around in this series.

There'll be a new champion this year in the NBA, as the Chicago Bulls followed suit on Sunday with a 92-79 over the Miami Heat.

A tip of the AWIR hat to the Golden State Warriors, who won their first home playoff game in 13 years with a 109-91 rout of the Dallas Mavericks, and got one more step closer to the next plateau with a 103-99 win late Sunday EDT. Dirk Nowitzki's 23 points and 15 rebounds turned out to be a wasted effort as this reporter senses the shadows of the 1994 Denver Nuggets.

The last Eastern Conference 8th-seed to advance was the New York Knicks in 1999, going all the way to the NBA Finals in a lockout-shortened season. The New Jersey Nets' feat may not be all that surprising given the Toronto Raptors' inexperience in the playoffs, so it won't be much of an upset if the Nets do move on. But, they got one step closer with a 102-81 win on Sunday.

If he hasn't done it already, Steve Nash has cemented this place amongst NBA playoff performances. Further edification came with a 23-assist showing in a 113-100 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Nash's dimes almost set a playoff record in that category, while adding 17 points in the process.

NHL Playoffs from the Armchair

The New York Rangers rebounded from their losses in their first two games to put a scare into the Buffalo Sabres, 2-1, in double overtime on Sunday. Michal Rozsival scored the goal which kept the Blueshirts alive, for now...

Meanwhile, across the Hudson the night before, the New Jersey Devils also needed two extra periods to get a win. Jamie Langenbrunner scored the game-winner almost two minutes into the fifth session to notch a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Earlier in the day, Pavel Datsyuk became the hero for the Detroit Red Wings as he got the win over one minute from the end of regulation for a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames earlier on Saturday.

Across the Pond

Manchester United look as though they will win the Premiership going away. Further edification came with a 4-2 away at Everton and Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Bolton Wanderers.
- BTW, it was a year ago at this time that the Lions were celebrating their second consecutive league championship while ManU supporters (and England fans gearing up for the World Cup that June) were bemoaning Wayne Rooney's foot injury. Oh, what a difference a year makes!

Fast Track

Jeff Gordon surpassed Dale Earnhardt for fifth on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup all-time wins list with a win at the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Speedway in Alabama. Gordon's 77th win came under caution and on what would have been The Intimidator's 56th birthday. The yellow flag at the end sorta cheapened the whole historic occasion, at least that's what the fans thought as they littered the track with all sorts of debris.

Meanwhile, on the open-wheel front, Dan Wheldon stayed on top of the IRL IndyCar series with a checkered flag at the Kansas Lottery Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway. Both the IRL and the ChampCar World Series now set their sights on the venerable Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the most important race of its kind: the Indianapolis 500. From now until Memorial Day Weekend, the only big-time horsepower other than NASCAR will be of the four-legged variety...