Random thoughts while staring at my lawnmower…. Did you watch the opening ceremonies before the Red Sox’s season-opening 9-7 win over the Yankees on Sunday night?
It was a terrific show and having Pedro Martinez throw out the first pitch was a terrific idea.
In his prime, nobody dominated major league hitters like Pedro Martinez.
He threw his fastball in the mid-90s, had a knee-buckling overhand curve and a nasty changeup.
Hitters simply couldn’t get comfortable.
Red Sox fans embraced Martinez as they did Luis Tiant before him.
And Martinez was fearless.
He wasn’t afraid to throw inside. It was just as much his plate as it was the hitters’.
I’m sure he ticked a lot of hitters off.
But he could care less. He had a job to do, a family to feed.
And pitching inside helped make him the great pitcher he was.
Check out these stats: a 219-100 record, 2.93 earned run average, 3,154 strikeouts and just 760 walks in 2827¤ innings. He hit 141 batters.
For the Red Sox, he was 117-37 over seven years with a 2.52 ERA and 1,683 strikeouts and 309 walks in 1,383ª innings.
Martinez, who will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, was instrumental in Boston’s rise to prominence and brought a buzz to Fenway Park every time he took the mound…
Speaking of the Red Sox, did you notice the outpouring of support when Mike Lowell was introduced? Boston fans appreciate class acts and he is certainly one…
It appears as though the NCAA is going to expand the NCAA basketball tournament field from 65 to 96 teams.
There are 347 Division I teams so having 96 involved means that 27.7 percent would qualify.
In college hockey, 16 of the 58 teams earn NCAA tourney berths which is 27.6 percent.
There are pros and cons each way but I don’t have a problem with it.
It could spell the end of the NIT but it doesn’t have to.
Remember, 72.3 percent of the teams aren’t going to get in.
This will certainly help the major conferences get more schools in but it could also help teams in the mid-majors or conferences such as America East.
The NCAA basketball tournament is enormously popular.
And to give the future Butlers of the world — top-notch programs that get overlooked because they’re in a low-profile conference — more notoriety would enhance the tournament…
So what are University of Maine sophomore right wing Gustav Nyquist’s chances of winning the Hobey Baker Award?
Pretty good.
I thought Wisconsin defenseman Brendan Smith was going to win it. Forty-seven points in 40 games from the blue line is eye-opening.
But the final three are Nyquist (19 goals, 42 assists), UNH senior right wing Bobby Butler (29 & 24) and Wisconsin senior center Blake Geoffrion (27 & 21).
Nyquist is the more dynamic of the three and the fact his team is the only one that didn’t make the NCAA tourney could help or hurt him.
Voters may have thought he didn’t have the supporting cast Butler and Geoffrion had.
For Nyquist to lead the nation in scoring by eight points while playing on a sophomore-freshmen dominated team is impressive.
Nyquist is certainly deserving but all are good choices. It will be close.