USA Wins --- Giants Lose

Soccer Win

Congratulations to the USA women's soccer team team for winning the Women's World Cup by beating Japan 5-2.  I was in my office and started into the living room to watch the start of the game when my wife told me it was already 2-0 USA.  I could not believe  it. What amazed me was that they were still playing.  I thought when a team scored a goal the game was over.  That's how much I know about soccer.  My daughter Jane and granddaughter Emi were at the game.  Emi is pictured at right all dressed up to support the Red White and Blue.  The strategy of giving every little girl a soccer ball at the age of 2 has worked.


Baseball Loss

The Giants are sure a team of streaks losing six in a row this last week in Miami and Washington, DC. Sometimes I wonder if they will ever win another game the way they have been playing.  Amazingly they are only 4 games behind the Dodgers who keep losing enough games to keep it interesting.  Looks to me as if Arizona could win the West with both the Giants and Dodgers staying home this October.

Those who watched the Giants on ESPN Sunday night got an earful about lousy umpiring.  It wasn't only Sunday's game but the entire series.  Even though the Giants were behind by six runs on Saturday I was hoping the new 28 year old rookie Lollis would get his first major league hit.  He had hit the ball hard his last time at the plate but the centerfielder caught it.  It was 3 - 2 and the pitch was ankle high outside and called strike three.  I really felt for the rookie.  If that was Harper at the plate it would not have been called a strike.  How do I know?  I watched a good portion of the series. There were at least two times that third strikes were not called on Bryce Harper. They were very close pitches too close for a batter to take.  The umpires didn't have the guts to call out the home town star before a packed house.  Friday night it most likely cost Peavy who pitched really well the game.  If they gave Posey four strikes once or twice a game he would hitting .350 also.  The irony is that umpires Little, Cuzzi, Davis and Hirschbeck will most likely be chosen to work the World Series which is not based on competency.  I have said many time on this blog that more games are decided on ball and strikes calls then on replays at first base. 

All Star Game

Congratulations to Buster Posey for winning the fans vote to start the All Star game.  The honor is  richly deserved.  I hope Bochy doesn't take too many Giants to be reserves because they need the rest. Panic is so tired he even made an error Sunday. I see the St Louis shortstop Peralta was voted in.  He is the same player that was so bad at short a few years ago that the Detroit Tigers played him left field.  I read that only four Kansas City Royals were voted in by the fans. As I mentioned weeks ago I said that baseball would fix  the voting so eight Royals who were leading early in the vote would not start.  We know that at least 600,000 votes were eliminated.  The KC catcher Perez was a chinch to be chosen.  All the Giants fans wanted to honor him for popping up to Sandoval to end the 2014 World Series.

Broadcasters

Russ J our Texas blog reader reports that in last Saturday's Dallas paper sports section there was an interview with the three top broadcasters here who do the Cowboys, Mavericks and Rangers.  The Rangers voice, Eric Nadel, has been with the team for 37 years and was introduced into the Hall of Fame last year.  The reporter asked them,  "A network calls asking you to call the ultimate game in your sport, whom are you hoping it asks to analyze alongside you?"  Nadel answered, "Mike Krokow of the Giants.  I think he is the best kept secret in baseball broadcasting.  He is an outstanding analyst, extremely witty, and an inspiration to all of us as the works despite extreme physical hardships. (muscle disease)."  Giant fans know that they are very fortunate to have a great set of announcers.
On the Sunday ESPN telecast as we mentioned above the  broadcasters were talking about the umpires saying a player has to know the umpires.  We know that all Giant players have to do is ask Krukow for his has run down of every umpire in the major leagues.  The Giant television broadcasts showing fans having fun in the  stands and the comments from K & K are priceless and a major reason that fans come to AT&T many with their baseball glove.  They will have their day in Hall of Fame sometime in the future.

The Mavericks broadcaster, when asked which is his  favorite city to visit on the job and why said,
"New York because I have childhood friends there,  but otherwise it is San Francisco.  "I just love that town." Nothing specific, just pretty much everything about it.  And then the atmosphere at Oracle Arena is the best in the NBA and has been ever since  I started doing Mavericks games eleven years ago."   Are the Warriors making a big mistake moving to the 'The City' that has never proven it would support NBA basketball?

I read that the California budget includes an exemption for the Warriors new proposed San Francisco arena from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  I wonder who the Warriors paid off  in Sacramento to get that benefit.  The CEQA is well known to be very crooked by applying the law to some and not others.  Sounds very similar to the soccer scandal doesn't it?