Sorry I did not write last weekend, but Memorial Day is one of the best sports weekends of the year.
The “Indy 500” was the highlight of the weekend. This year’s race was the first Indy 500 since 1994 when the Indianapolis Motor Speedway led a split from “The CART Series”. It is the longest race in Indy Racing League; compare it to this week IRL Race in Milwaukee, which is 225 Miles. Also, Indy has one of the smallest pit roads on the IRL circuit. All of this makes the Indy 500 one of America’s greatest sports events each year. It is my opinion that a lot of the Indy 500 is luck. It was a great race with a lot of passing and storylines including Marco Andretti trying to win at Indy, something his dad and car owner Michael never did. One of the other major stories was Danica Patrick trying to be the first women to win at Indy. My opinion is for the media to leave Danica alone! During the race Ryan Briscoe took her out in the pit lane, she got mad and went to his car for a talk, but security stopped her and the TV announcers made a big deal about it. This kind of thing happens all the time, usually not on pit road in the biggest race of the year but it happen back in the gauge area, so what’s the big deal.
Congratulations to Scott Dixon for the win, he stayed out of trouble all day and his team did a great job in the pits. One thing I know is that in the future Marco Andretti will win this race many times, he really showed me that he is a great driver. Danica may win Indy one day when the media gets off her back and lets her be a racer, than I think she can win the big one.
The other big race this weekend was the “Coca-Cola 600” at Charlotte. This is NASCAR’s longest race of the year. It is interesting also because it starts at 5 PM in sunlight and ends around 10 PM. Without sunlight the track changes because it becomes faster with out the heat of the sun. Kasey Kahn won when he pitted before anybody else. This was his second win in the 600 after wining in 2006. He is the sixth driver to win the All-Star Race and the 600 in the same year.
The French Open began this week in Paris. It goes for two weeks with the Women’s Final June 7th and the Men’s Final June 8th. My picks to win are any of the Russian women and Rafael Nadal who will meet Roger Federer in the Men’s Final for the third year in a row.
This just into the Laznet newsroom, ESPN is adding John Kruk to its coverage of the Women’s College World Series starting May 29. Should be fun. Kruk is an ESPN baseball analyst that is known to say outlandish things. I will be watching just for him.
Talk to you later.
Good night and good luck.
Jamie Lazaroff
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
News of the week
A lot of news to get to, so let’s start with an update of an ongoing story, Oster Pistorius, the double amputee who wants to run in the Olympics this year but was banned by the IAAF to do so, appealed this decision to the Court of Arbitration of Sport. Last week he won his appeal and can now try to qualify for the China Games. In the past few days Oster has come out in the press and stated that 2012 Games in London would be more realistic for him to try to qualify for. Good for you Oster, for standing up for what you believe in and not giving up on your dreams. Hope to see you in China or London; it will be a historic day when you do run in the Olympics.
There will be a South African amputee in the Beijing Olympic, 24-year-old Natalie Du Toit. Natalie lost her left leg when a car while riding her scooter in 2001 hit her. She has qualified for the 10-kilometer open water-swimming race, which is making its Olympic debut in China. Unlike Oster, Natalie does not use a prosthetic limb when swimming. She said, “I have always had a dream to take part in the Olympic Games, and losing my leg didn’t change anything.” Good for you Natalie and go for the gold. Hopeful, Natalie and Oster’s stories will inspire young people with disabilities to reach for their dreams.
Last week two of the greatest women athletes of this generation retired. First, Annika Sorenstan, in my opinion, the greatest women golfer of this generation. Annika won 72 LPGA tournaments, 10 Major titles, and a record 8 Player of the Year awards. She will retire at the end of the year to peruse other avenues outside of competitive golf. She will be best remembered for playing with the men in the 2003 Colonial tournament, becoming the first Women to play on the Men’s PGA tour since 1945. She will be missed, she was the reason I watched the LPGA.
On the other hand Justine Henin has announced her immediate retirement from professional tennis. She is only 25 years old and the world’s number one player at the time of her announcement. Justine won 7 Grand Slam titles and 31 WTA career wins. I can understand this retirement; tennis is a hard sport that has no off season. December is the only month of the year without a regular tournament but it is filled with big money exhibitions in Asia. January starts all over again with the first Grand Slam of the year the “Australian Open”. I’m a little surprised at the timing of this announcement with the “French Open” starting next week! But if you’re burned out you’re burned out and need to step away from the sport.
Hopeful, I will have an update and weekend TV preview later this week. Talk to you later.
That’s my take: I would like yours.
Jamie Lazaroff
There will be a South African amputee in the Beijing Olympic, 24-year-old Natalie Du Toit. Natalie lost her left leg when a car while riding her scooter in 2001 hit her. She has qualified for the 10-kilometer open water-swimming race, which is making its Olympic debut in China. Unlike Oster, Natalie does not use a prosthetic limb when swimming. She said, “I have always had a dream to take part in the Olympic Games, and losing my leg didn’t change anything.” Good for you Natalie and go for the gold. Hopeful, Natalie and Oster’s stories will inspire young people with disabilities to reach for their dreams.
Last week two of the greatest women athletes of this generation retired. First, Annika Sorenstan, in my opinion, the greatest women golfer of this generation. Annika won 72 LPGA tournaments, 10 Major titles, and a record 8 Player of the Year awards. She will retire at the end of the year to peruse other avenues outside of competitive golf. She will be best remembered for playing with the men in the 2003 Colonial tournament, becoming the first Women to play on the Men’s PGA tour since 1945. She will be missed, she was the reason I watched the LPGA.
On the other hand Justine Henin has announced her immediate retirement from professional tennis. She is only 25 years old and the world’s number one player at the time of her announcement. Justine won 7 Grand Slam titles and 31 WTA career wins. I can understand this retirement; tennis is a hard sport that has no off season. December is the only month of the year without a regular tournament but it is filled with big money exhibitions in Asia. January starts all over again with the first Grand Slam of the year the “Australian Open”. I’m a little surprised at the timing of this announcement with the “French Open” starting next week! But if you’re burned out you’re burned out and need to step away from the sport.
Hopeful, I will have an update and weekend TV preview later this week. Talk to you later.
That’s my take: I would like yours.
Jamie Lazaroff
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
This week in sports
The great month of May continues this weekend with the Second Jewel in Horse Racing’s Triple Crown, “The Preakness Stakes”, Saturday May 17th, at Baltimore’s “Old Hill Top” Pimlico Race Course. The question is, can Big Brown win this 1 mile and 3/16th race and set up a Triple Crown run in three weeks at the Belmont in New York? We have not had a Triple Crown winner since 1978, so it’s about time. The Race is set for 6 P.M. Listen for “Maryland, My Maryland” at around 5:30pm. No red carpets show this time on NBC.
Also on Saturday, is the NASCAR “Sprint All-Star Race” at Lowes Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC. Start is 7 pm on the Speed Channel. This is the best All-Star event in all of sports. The race is for no championship points, so there is no pressure to do well and first place pays One Million Dollars to the winner. Also, Charlotte is a home track for most teams, so they want to do well for their families and sponsors that are there. Anything can happen and usually does in this “All-Star Race”. It will be great.
Last week was the Players Championship in golf. What a great final round it was Sunday. Underdog Paul Goydos held the lead for most of the day until the last few holes. Sergio Garcia flirted with the lead all day and caught Paul in the end. Sergio won on the first and only playoff hole when he pared the famous par 3-17th Island Green. Paul put his tee shot in the water and bogeyed the hole. This was the best story the PGA tour could ask for. Paul Goydos, the underdog story challenging for the title. Sergio a kid that has shown promise for so many years winning the big event. The question coming out of the weekend is can Sergio win a major? I think he can, the “British Open” is his best chance. He has been runner-up the last two year at the Open Championship.
What’s wrong with the Celtics? Best record on the road in the regular season, but can’t buy a road win in the playoffs. I don’t get it?
That’s my take; I would like to hear yours.
Talk to you next time.
Jamie Lazaroff
Also on Saturday, is the NASCAR “Sprint All-Star Race” at Lowes Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC. Start is 7 pm on the Speed Channel. This is the best All-Star event in all of sports. The race is for no championship points, so there is no pressure to do well and first place pays One Million Dollars to the winner. Also, Charlotte is a home track for most teams, so they want to do well for their families and sponsors that are there. Anything can happen and usually does in this “All-Star Race”. It will be great.
Last week was the Players Championship in golf. What a great final round it was Sunday. Underdog Paul Goydos held the lead for most of the day until the last few holes. Sergio Garcia flirted with the lead all day and caught Paul in the end. Sergio won on the first and only playoff hole when he pared the famous par 3-17th Island Green. Paul put his tee shot in the water and bogeyed the hole. This was the best story the PGA tour could ask for. Paul Goydos, the underdog story challenging for the title. Sergio a kid that has shown promise for so many years winning the big event. The question coming out of the weekend is can Sergio win a major? I think he can, the “British Open” is his best chance. He has been runner-up the last two year at the Open Championship.
What’s wrong with the Celtics? Best record on the road in the regular season, but can’t buy a road win in the playoffs. I don’t get it?
That’s my take; I would like to hear yours.
Talk to you next time.
Jamie Lazaroff
Friday, May 9, 2008
This week in sports
Hi folks,
The One Hundredth and Thirty-Fourth (134) Kentucky Derby is in the books for this year. Big Brown is the winner, but the big story this year is runner-up Eight Bells. She broke her two front ankles and had to be euthanized by injection on the track after the race. This is the second time in three years that a horse has gone down in a Triple Crown race. At the 2006 Preadness, Barbaro broke one of his ankles. A horse named George Washington was euthanized in last year’s Breeders’ Cup races. Horse racing is the sport of kings and when they are running down the stretch it is beautiful, but when it goes wrong it is very sad. I believe the problem lies with the tracks and not the trainers or owners. The tracks in California and the Keeland in Kentucky have installed artificial surfaces that are a lot easier on the horse joints and ankles. As we all know dirt is hard, tracks do water the surface to give the horses more traction but this is not enough. Also you don’t hear about breakdowns on the turf or grass courses. This is what happened to George Washington, he raced on turf and grass for most of his life but last fall at the Breeders’ Cup his owner’s put him in the Classic on dirt because it is a bigger money race then the races on the turf course. I think this owner was the exception to the rule; most owners’ care about their horses more then the purse.
NBC showed great restraint in not showing Eight Bellies going down or going into the horse ambulance. I have to say, I did not like their pre race red carpet show, it was very cheesy. It did not tell me anything about the upcoming race. ESPN did a much better job in telling the story of the race and the characters that make up the “RUN FOR THE ROSES”. ESPN did go overboard with its piggy bank; they named it and then broke it. It was a little over done and I’m not sure we needed to see any of that.
This week’s big event is the Players Championship in Golf. It is considered the 5th major because it’s owned and run by the PGA Tour. Most of the top 50 players in the world are playing this week. Also the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida is one of the toughest courses on the PGA Tour. The signature hole is the 17th, Island green. Keep you eye on this one.
Talk to you all next week.
That’s my take: I would like to hear yours.
Jamie Lazaroff
The One Hundredth and Thirty-Fourth (134) Kentucky Derby is in the books for this year. Big Brown is the winner, but the big story this year is runner-up Eight Bells. She broke her two front ankles and had to be euthanized by injection on the track after the race. This is the second time in three years that a horse has gone down in a Triple Crown race. At the 2006 Preadness, Barbaro broke one of his ankles. A horse named George Washington was euthanized in last year’s Breeders’ Cup races. Horse racing is the sport of kings and when they are running down the stretch it is beautiful, but when it goes wrong it is very sad. I believe the problem lies with the tracks and not the trainers or owners. The tracks in California and the Keeland in Kentucky have installed artificial surfaces that are a lot easier on the horse joints and ankles. As we all know dirt is hard, tracks do water the surface to give the horses more traction but this is not enough. Also you don’t hear about breakdowns on the turf or grass courses. This is what happened to George Washington, he raced on turf and grass for most of his life but last fall at the Breeders’ Cup his owner’s put him in the Classic on dirt because it is a bigger money race then the races on the turf course. I think this owner was the exception to the rule; most owners’ care about their horses more then the purse.
NBC showed great restraint in not showing Eight Bellies going down or going into the horse ambulance. I have to say, I did not like their pre race red carpet show, it was very cheesy. It did not tell me anything about the upcoming race. ESPN did a much better job in telling the story of the race and the characters that make up the “RUN FOR THE ROSES”. ESPN did go overboard with its piggy bank; they named it and then broke it. It was a little over done and I’m not sure we needed to see any of that.
This week’s big event is the Players Championship in Golf. It is considered the 5th major because it’s owned and run by the PGA Tour. Most of the top 50 players in the world are playing this week. Also the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida is one of the toughest courses on the PGA Tour. The signature hole is the 17th, Island green. Keep you eye on this one.
Talk to you all next week.
That’s my take: I would like to hear yours.
Jamie Lazaroff
Thursday, May 8, 2008
This week in sports
Hi all,
It’s the calm before the summer. The last two weekends have been slow with sports. Don’t get me wrong; the NBA and NHL playoffs are in full swing. I just have not gotten into them. This weekend starts the great month of May with the first leg in horse racing are Triple Crown: The Kentucky Derby. The hype starts at 4 P.M. on the first Saturday in May. Listen for the playing of “My Old Kentucky Home” around 5:30 P.M. and the “Run For The Roses” gets under way at 6 P.M. The Derby is one of the toughest things to pick in all of sports because, all the horses are three years old and this is the first time in their life their running a mile and ¼.
Congratulation to Danica Patrick and Ashley Force for being the first women to win in their respective motor racing series. Danica won two weeks ago in an Indy Car Race in Japan. It was here first win in 52 career starts in the Indy Car Series. Way to good Danica, now go out and win at Indy next. Ashley Force is the first woman to win a NHRA Funny Car National Event. In the final of the Southern National in Georgia over the weekend she beat her father John Force a 14-time series champion. John was going for his 1,000th round win. Ashley is also the first woman to lead the Funny Car points at any time in the NHRA’s 33-year history. Way to go ladies.
This past weekend was the NFL Draft. I have written before about how I don’t like the draft and the fact that it’s a crapshoot. One of the other reasons I don’t like it is all the so-called “Draft Experts” that make mock-drafts and try to predict the first round. I did find evidence on just how bad their so-called experts are. The guys over at Cold Hard Football Facts.com have tracked the records of four experts for first round picks over the past three years. Lets just say the “experts” nail, on average, about 4 percent of the 220-plus players selected in the NFL draft. I don’t see how these people like Mel Kiper Jr. keep their job. Mel is the worst of the lot.
Finally, some sad news to report on the passing of Don Gillis, a longtime Boston sportscaster. I will remember Don as the host of Boston’s Channel 5 Candlepin Bowling program on Saturday mornings. I miss Candlepin Bowling, it was part of my childhood and I remember watching Candlepin Bowling, Candlepin Doubles, The Pro Bowlers Tour, and ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Candlepin Bowling ended on January 27, 1996. I miss those good old days.
I hope to be back with another post this week with my picks for the
Kentucky Derby.
That’s my take: I would like to hear yours
Jamie Lazaroff
It’s the calm before the summer. The last two weekends have been slow with sports. Don’t get me wrong; the NBA and NHL playoffs are in full swing. I just have not gotten into them. This weekend starts the great month of May with the first leg in horse racing are Triple Crown: The Kentucky Derby. The hype starts at 4 P.M. on the first Saturday in May. Listen for the playing of “My Old Kentucky Home” around 5:30 P.M. and the “Run For The Roses” gets under way at 6 P.M. The Derby is one of the toughest things to pick in all of sports because, all the horses are three years old and this is the first time in their life their running a mile and ¼.
Congratulation to Danica Patrick and Ashley Force for being the first women to win in their respective motor racing series. Danica won two weeks ago in an Indy Car Race in Japan. It was here first win in 52 career starts in the Indy Car Series. Way to good Danica, now go out and win at Indy next. Ashley Force is the first woman to win a NHRA Funny Car National Event. In the final of the Southern National in Georgia over the weekend she beat her father John Force a 14-time series champion. John was going for his 1,000th round win. Ashley is also the first woman to lead the Funny Car points at any time in the NHRA’s 33-year history. Way to go ladies.
This past weekend was the NFL Draft. I have written before about how I don’t like the draft and the fact that it’s a crapshoot. One of the other reasons I don’t like it is all the so-called “Draft Experts” that make mock-drafts and try to predict the first round. I did find evidence on just how bad their so-called experts are. The guys over at Cold Hard Football Facts.com have tracked the records of four experts for first round picks over the past three years. Lets just say the “experts” nail, on average, about 4 percent of the 220-plus players selected in the NFL draft. I don’t see how these people like Mel Kiper Jr. keep their job. Mel is the worst of the lot.
Finally, some sad news to report on the passing of Don Gillis, a longtime Boston sportscaster. I will remember Don as the host of Boston’s Channel 5 Candlepin Bowling program on Saturday mornings. I miss Candlepin Bowling, it was part of my childhood and I remember watching Candlepin Bowling, Candlepin Doubles, The Pro Bowlers Tour, and ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Candlepin Bowling ended on January 27, 1996. I miss those good old days.
I hope to be back with another post this week with my picks for the
Kentucky Derby.
That’s my take: I would like to hear yours
Jamie Lazaroff
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