U.S. U-17s Defeat Canada 1-0, Win CONCACAF Championships

Photo Credit: ussoccer.com

Canada did something no other team in the tournament had done shutting down the explosive Summer Green who had entered the CONCACAF Championship Finals with 12 goals through the tournament's first four games. It wasn't enough though as Green still contributed a nifty assist to Amber Munerlyn in the 21st minute for the only goal of the match. Munerlyn became the 10th different U.S. player to score in the tournament and Jane Campbell and the USA defense took care of the rest posting a fifth straight shutout. The U.S. outscored their opponents 26-0 over the 5 games and won the tournament for the first time since 2008. Next up, a trip to Azerbaijan for the U-17 Women's World Cup in September. This will be third running of the U-17 Women's World Cup, with the U.S. still seeking their first championship. North Korea defeated the U.S. 2-1 in the finals in 2008 while South Korea won the tournament in 2010 when the U.S. failed to qualify.



Canada and Mexico also qualified for the World Cup with their performance in the CONCACAF Championships. Mexico defeated Panama 6-0 in the 3rd Place Game behind 4 goals from Luz Duarte.

Parent Sues School After Son Cut From H.S. Hoops Team

So there's a story coming out of Arkansas right now where Teresa Bloodman, a mother who's son was cut from the Maumelle High School basketball team, is suing the school, district and state because she alleges her son has been deprived of his "right to a full and complete education which includes competition in sports." Bloodman's suit goes on stating that her son was deprived of the opportunity to earn athletic scholarships, that her son's equal protection rights were violated because the method for picking the boy's team was different from the method selecting the girl's team, that the coaches are not certified or qualified to coach and therefore are not competent to decide who makes the team, and finally that her son wasn't given the opportunity to appeal his dismissal from the team, a violation of due process.

Are you kidding me???

Photo Credit: momsteam.com

Look, getting cut sucks. And as someone who was cut from my high school's JV baseball team as a freshman I feel as though I'm fairly qualified to speak on the matter having experienced it first hand. And yeah, I took it pretty hard when it happened, but I was able to dust myself off and move on with my life. Whether you like it or not, the truth is that sometimes not everyone can make the team. If you go to a high school where there's 2000 students, and they all want to play on the high school basketball team, that just doesn't work. You have a right to a fair try out, and that's all the school owes you. If you aren't good enough, PRACTICE MORE. And it's not like this kid's athletic future is destroyed because he didn't make the high school basketball team. There are recreational leagues, intramural leagues, and competitive leagues all over the place if he's looking for an opportunity to play and get better. Not to mention all of the basketball camps, clinics, and what not that are available. Heck, you could even go above and beyond and with a little initiative, start a club team. They have running clubs, why not a basketball club? Look, after I got cut I played recreational baseball my freshman year of high school. And then during the summers after my junior and senior years I played ball in a non-high school associated competitive league, and as a result of my efforts I was able to make my college team and eventually be the team captain as a senior. It can be done. But you've got to actually WORK FOR IT.

The fact that this woman is suing EVERYONE on the grounds that her son is being unfairly treated because he wasn't good enough to play infuriates me. What happened to people taking ownership for their shortcomings? Instead of blaming everyone else, figure out what YOU need to do to improve yourself. And why have we as a society become so hellbent on preventing our youths from experiencing failure? Failure and learning to deal with adversity builds character. By getting cut, this kid can learn that he has to try harder if he wants to succeed at certain things. I'm not saying that you handle kids prior to high school this way, but at a certain point you have to take the training wheels off. What message are we sending if this lawsuit prevails? Heck, what message is his mother sending regardless? That you shouldn't have to work hard to get the things you want? That throughout your whole life everything you want will be handed to you on a silver platter? Give me a break, the world just doesn't work that way.

Diamond Notes - 5/11/12

PETTITTE SET TO DEBUT SUNDAY

Photo Credit: thetimes-tribune.com

After just four starts in the minors, Andy Pettitte is ready to return to the show. The 39 year old lefty will make his 2012 Major League debut on Sunday when he takes the mound for New York against Blake Beavan and the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium. Pettitte was 0-2 with a 3.71 ERA in his 4 minor league appearances, but showed good command walking just 3 and striking out 13 in his 17 innings of work. The Mariners (15-18) are hitting just .234 as a team, the second lowest average in the American League.

VLAD SIGNS MINOR LEAGUE DEAL WITH TORONTO

Photo Credit: tsn.ca

Vladimir Guerrero isn't done yet. They 37 year old veteran designated hitter just inked a minor league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. Guerrero hit .290 in 145 games with the Baltimore Orioles last year, but hit just 13 home runs, his lowest total since his rookie year back in 1997 with the Expos. Guerrero needs just 1 home run to reach 450 for his career and he'll enter the season sitting on 2590 hits. While there's no guarantee he'll suit up as a Blue Jay, it's certainly not a bad gamble for a team struggling to get production from first base. While Guerrero can't help them there, current DH Edwin Encarnacion can fill in at first base while pushing the struggling Adam Lind (.190 3 HRs 10 RBIs) to the bench.

HAMILTON'S HUGE DAY

Photo Credit: pinstripedbible.com

Josh Hamilton bashed 4 home runs against the Orioles on Tuesday becoming just the 16th player in major league history to accomplish the feat. Hamilton finished the day 5 for 5 and drove in eight runs. How does he stack up compared to the other 15 guys who hit 4 homers in a game? Let's take a look:

Bobby Lowe - Boston Beaneaters vs Cincinnati Reds - May 30, 1894 - 71 Career HRs
Ed Delahanty - Philadelphia Phillies vs Chicago Colts - July 13, 1896 - 101 Career HRs
Lou Gehrig - New York Yankees vs Philadelphia A's - June 3, 1932 - 493 Career HRs
Chuck Klein - Philadelphia Phillies vs Pittsburgh Pirates - July 10, 1936 - 300 Career HRs
Pat Seerey - Chicago White Sox vs Philadelphia A's - July 18, 1948 - 86 Career HRs
Gil Hodges - Brooklyn Dodgers vs Boston Braves - August 31, 1950 - 370 Career HRs
Joe Adcock - Milwaukee Braves vs Brooklyn Dodgers - July 31, 1954 - 336 Career HRs
Rocky Colavito - Cleveland Indians vs Baltimore Orioles - June 10, 1959 - 374 Career HRs
Willie Mays - San Francisco Giants vs Milwaukee Braves - April 30, 1961 - 660 Career HRs
Mike Schmidt - Philadelphia Phillies vs Chicago Cubs - April 17, 1976 - 548 Career HRs
Bob Horner - Atlanta Braves vs Montreal Expos - July 6, 1986 - 218 Career HRs
Mark Whiten - St. Louis Cardinals vs Cincinnati Reds - September 7, 1993 - 105 Career HRs
Mike Cameron - Seattle Mariners  vs Chicago White Sox - May 2, 2002 - 278 Career HRs
Shawn Green - Los Angeles Dodgers vs Milwaukee Brewers - May 23, 2002 - 328 Career HRs
Carlos Delgado - Toronto Blue Jays vs Tampa Bay Devil Rays - September 25, 2003 - 473 Career HRs
Josh Hamilton - Texas Rangers vs Baltimore Orioles - May 8, 2012 - 133 Career HRs

*Hall of Famers in Bold

U.S. U-17 Women World Cup Bound After Green's Third Hat Trick

Photo Credit: ussoccer.com

Summer Green scored 3 more goals and the U.S. cruised to a 7-0 win over Panama clinching a berth in the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup set to be held this fall in Azerbaijan. Green now has 12 goals in the tournament, breaking the CONCACAF U-17 Women's Championship record of nine goals set by Lindsey Horan (USA) back in 2010. Green's 12 goals are also the most scored by a U.S. player in a single tournament at any level and she's also the only player in U.S. National Team history to net three hat tricks in a tournament. The U.S. also got goals from Toni Payne, Morgan Andrews, Darian Jenkins and Emily Bruder as they now prepare to take on Canada in the Championship Game on Saturday. Canada defeated the U.S. in penalties during the semifinals of the 2010 tournament knocking the U.S. out of U-17 World Cup contention. Canada went on to win the 2010 CONCACAF U-17 Women's Championship defeating Mexico by a score of 1-0 in the Final.

Tuesday Trivia

Last week's question:

How many franchises in this year's NBA Playoffs have never won an NBA title and which ones are they?

Answer:

Photo Credit: jimrome.com

As Mike F. correctly surmised there are six franchises in this year's NBA postseason that have never won an NBA title. Here are your haves (last title in parentheses) and have nots:

Haves: Mavericks (2011), Lakers (2010), Celtics (2008), Spurs (2007), Heat (2006), Bulls (1998), 76ers (1983), Thunder (1979 as the Seattle Supersonics), Knicks (1973), and Hawks (1958 as the St. Louis Hawks).

Have Nots: Clippers, Grizzlies, Pacers, Nuggets, Jazz, Magic

This week's question:

Photo Credit: washingtonpost.com

Chris Davis became the first position player to be a winning pitcher in an American League game since Rocky Colavito accomplished the feat in 1968 for the New York Yankees. Davis recorded 2 strikeouts (Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Adrian Gonzalez) in two scoreless innings of work. How many strikeouts did Colavito have in his win?

Weekly Top Tens - 5/8/12

NL BATTING LEADERS

1. Matt Kemp - Dodgers - .406 (41/101)
2. Bryan LaHair - Cubs - .388 (31/80)
3. Jon Jay - St. Louis - .381 (32/84)
4. David Wright - Mets - .374 (34/91)
5. Jose Altuve - Houston - .351 (39/111)
6. Starlin Castro - Cubs - .350 (41/117)
7. Rafael Furcal - St. Louis - .342 (40/117)
8. Michael Bourn - Atlanta - .333 (42/126)
9. Carlos Ruiz - Philadelphia - .322 (28/87)
10. Jed Lowrie - Houston - .321 (27/84)



AL BATTING LEADERS

1. Derek Jeter - Yankees - .397 (48/121)
2. David Ortiz - Boston - .380 (41/108)
3. Josh Hamilton - Texas - .376 (38/101)
4. Ryan Sweeney - Boston - .368 (32/87)
5. Asdrubal Cabrera - Cleveland - .356 (32/-90)
6. Paul Konerko - White Sox - .343 (36/105)
7. Evan Longoria - Tampa Bay - .329 (27/82)
8. Michael Young - Texas - .322 (37/115)
9. Austin Jackson - Detroit - .318 (34/107)
10. Adrian Beltre - Texas - .315 (28/89)

Lushbucket Baseball League - Week 5 Recap

Got bailed out by the official scorer this week as James Shields had 3 earned runs taken off the board giving me a last minute win in ERA and salvaging a 5-5 draw with Diaper Dooty. It's a stretch to say I really "won" in ERA though as my staff posted an ERA of 5.91 for the week. How does a group that consists of Justin Verlander, Stephen Strasburg, Zack Greinke, Josh Johnson, James Shields, Neftali Feliz, Joe Nathan, Heath Bell, Jason Motte and Joel Hanrahan post an ERA that high? Whatever, guess I can't really complain. At least we didn't lose. Here's a rundown of Week 5: