It’s been a Philly sports night for me. Even though I haven’t lived in the Delaware Valley for nearly 35 years, Philadelphia sports teams are still my “home” teams.

And it’s been an exciting night. First up was the Phillies against the Florida Marlins. In that game I got to watch Roy Halladay pitch the 20th perfect game in MLB history. I watched the other Philly perfect game on TV when Jim Bunning threw his flawless effort on Fathers Day in 1964.

The second event was the first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago took the win 6-5 in a game where the lead kept going back and forth.

Not a bad way to spend a Saturday evening.

Tweet

Even without Tiger, it’s time for the PGA golf season to get under way. That means it’s time for Yahoo! Fantasy Golf to get under way. That means it’s time for you to join the BlogGolfers group and compete against other bloggers.

If you’re interested in joining the group just sign up for a team and join BlogGolfers with the password n0bama12. Do it soon, the first tournament is this weekend.

Hey Wyatt, how soon can we sign up for The League Too Tough to Tame?

UPDATE: Duh. I forgot, it’s group #5073

Tweet

Not much available, but I just read that Tiger Woods was seriously injured in a car crash as I was scanning the news during lunch.

Professional golfer Tiger Woods was seriously injured in a car accident early this morning, the Florida Highway Patrol just reported.

Woods, 33, pulled out of his driveway in the Isleworth community about 2:25 a.m. when he struck a fire hydrant, and then drove into a tree at his neighbor’s property, FHP reported.

Woods was transported to Health Central Hospital in Ocoee in serious condition, FHP said. No other information about his condition has been released.

UPDATE: Reports are now saying that he has been treated and released. It would be good news to find out that the “seriously injured” originally reported was an over statement of the facts.

Besides, he has always had trouble with his drives being off line. Too soon?

Tweet

Ace of Spades HQ, and now Fox News, are reporting that there won’t be a ChicagObamOlympics™

Olympic officials eliminated Chicago in the first round of voting from its bid to host the 2016 Summer Games, a surprise failure for President Obama who put his capital behind an enormous campaign.

A FAIL like this is gonna leave a mark.

Tweet

Here’s something you probably haven’t seen before. In fact, unless you were watching the May 31st game between Cleveland and Detroit — In 1927, you’ve never seen an unassisted triple play to end a major league game.

What struck me is that it all happened so fast.

Tweet

It looks to be an interesting week.

Of course the big story this week will be the “Wise Latina” Senate confirmation hearings starting today.

Hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee begin Monday with opening remarks from the panel’s 12 Democrats and 7 Republicans, followed by Sotomayor’s own statement that is expected to emphasize her compelling rise from poverty in New York City.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the committee chairman, planned to kick off the proceedings with laudatory remarks that also sought to firmly establish Sotomayor as a judge who follows wherever the law leads her.

“In truth, we do not have to speculate about what kind of a justice she will be because we have seen the kind of judge she has been. She is a judge in which all Americans can have confidence. She has been a judge for all Americans and will be a justice for all Americans,” Leahy said in excerpts of his statement that were provided to The Associated Press.

Questioning of Sotomayor will wait for Tuesday.

Yes, “we have seen the kind of judge she has been.” Overturned.

Also later today the Council of Economic Advisers will issue a report saying that healthcare and environmental jobs are growing at a faster rate than those of the U.S. economy as a whole.

The report, which looks at how the U.S. labor market is expected to develop in the next few years, says a rebound in employment in construction and some manufacturing sectors is expected as stimulus spending approved early this year invests in projects around the country.

The report is based on an analysis of recent labor market data, a White House official said. The report identifies likely changes in the U.S. labor market as economic drivers shift from sectors like financial services to the growing sectors that are transforming the economy, the official said.

Personally, I wonder if the healthcare and environmental job numbers, or any of the rest for that matter, are going to be real jobs, or the smoke, mirrors, and thin air numbers of “created or saved” fame. I have a guess, but will wait and see.

Tomorrow night is the MLB All-Star game. Four of my Phillies are on the team: Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez, Ryan Howard, and Shane Victorino. I’ll be watching.

I’ll be discussing these stories, and more, on bRight @ Night, tonight at 11:00 ET on Blog Talk Radio. You can call in and share your thoughts: (718) 664-9725 or go to the show page and look for the click to talk button. The chat room will open just before show time.

I hope you have a great week.

Tweet

100 Post Marathon #36

Helio Castroneves won the 2009 Indianapolis 500, his third win there. Dan Wheldon was 2nd.

Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick was 3rd.

If you can…

To learn more about the 100 Post Marathon read here and especially here.

Tweet

With Spring Training in high gear the regular baseball season is close and getting closer. Of course that also means that it’s time for the Hot Wing Conspiracy fantasy baseball season to get started as well.

There are still openings in this years league. If you want to find out how to join, send an email to lakelandjim ++at++ gmail ++dot++ com

Tweet

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired coach Jon “Chucky” Gruden and GM Bruce Allen. The Bucs are my home team, in that they are the NFL team closest to my home. The move seems to have surprised quite a few people in the area. ESPN is reporting that replacements are already in the works.

The surprising firings of Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen are expected to yield the quick hiring of Raheem Morris as head coach and Mark Dominik as general manager, according to multiple sources.

According to a source, a news conference could be held as early as Saturday.

I’ve never been a Gruden fan or detractor. In fact I follow the Bucs solely because their games are the ones I get to watch every week.

Tweet

The number of planets that needed to align for the Eagles to get into the playoffs was too great. Or at least that’s what I thought yesterday morning. Here is how things stood:

Either the Vikings or the Bears had to lose. The first game to conclude had the Vikings over the Giants by 1 point 20-19. One possibility lost. But a few minutes later the Bears would lose to the Texans who were just 7-8 going in to the day. Hurdle one crossed.

The other must happen was Tampa Bay losing. They were playing the 4-11 Oakland Raiders. At home. They lost. Hurdle two.

In addition to those unlikely events the Eagles also had to win their final game. Despite what had happened earlier in the day the Eagles still had to get past Romo, TO, and the rest of their rivals from Dallas. They didn’t just beat them, they embarrassed them. 44-6 in a game that looked like only one team showed up. It wasn’t all due to bad play from the Cowboys, the Eagle defense played an outstanding game. And the third hurdle was crossed.

I wasn’t sure any one of those three things would happen. Two of the three would have shocked me. All three? I wouldn’t have bet on that with someone else’s money. But they’re in the playoffs. Next week they face the Minnesota Vikings — 4:30 on Fox.

Let’s see if they can surprise me again.

Tweet