August 7th, 2016

A few years back ESPN began a documentary series of movies, and one of the first ones (and one of my favorites) was they story of the timeline of events that occurred on June 17th, 1994.  The continuing thread was the events leading to the police chase and eventual arrest of O.J. Simpson.  Though that wasn't the only sports event on that day.  On that day in 1994 was also an NBA Finals game that NBC had to decide if they would show (or instead show the police chase of Simpson), the New York Rangers Stanley Cup victory Parade,  the opening round of the 1994 World Cup held in the United States, Arnold Palmer's last round of the U.S. Open, and also Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 30th home run of they year which tied the record for most home runs  before June 30th (a record held by Babe Ruth).  It was possibly the biggest sports day in history in terms of all the various events and the severity of those events.  Nothing could compare to it.

OR COULD IT?

Yesterday was an interesting day in terms of sports.  Of course there were many things that happens in sports each day and even yesterday there was too much to mention.  I could do 3 posts just on the Olympics, but I'm not going to.  I did think it would be interesting for some Olympic Custom Cards, and I may debut them soon (including my first request from someone).  Anyways, yesterday wasn't all about the Olympics, but a couple events did spark interest.

What could have been an amazing Tennis tournament with the top ranked athletes was depleted in the first couple days.  The two biggest surprises was Novak Djokovic losing yesterday and also being defeated in the doubles was Serena and Venus Williams.  It seems odd to have major professionals in sports but they allow it in basketball, so why not Tennis.  However it is quite an accomplishment for their challengers not only to beat them, but also to advance for a chance of a Gold medal as well.  It was quite the surprise.

As I said I could talk for days on all that happened yesterday in the Olympics, such as the U.S. Women's Gymnastics, or Michael Phelps, but the one story that upstages both in my opinion is Katie Ledecky.  I won't say I've rooted for her since day one, and to be honest, I'm not sure I'm a fan just yet (she seems a bit cocky to me, much like Phelps).  However what I cant take away from her is her domination last night, shattering a World Record.  Sure I expect records to be broken especially in the Olympics, but its been a while since I've seen someone that far ahead of the line they show as the record mark.  I expected her time to trail off each turn she did, but it never happened.  What I do like about her is that she sets goals, and one of hers was to get the time she got last night.  Not just a record, but the time.  That was mighty impressive.

The Olympics wasn't the only sport(s) in town though.  Much like in 1994, Golf also played a major part in the days events.

I'm not a Golfer.  The closest I've even gotten was playing Tiger Woods PGA on XBox360.  I was asked to represent the United States for a Golf Tournament in Scotland once, but I'm sure it was a scam, but I did get a sticker out of it.  The only time I've ever used a set of clubs is when I was gardening.  Yes, I use old clubs to chop weeds.  It's a good stress reliever and it doesn't matter if I mess up the ground.

Anyways, I do watch some Golf on TV, and I've long heard the benchmark is shooting a 58 in a round.  If you don't follow Golf or don't think its impressive, it really is.  It's slightly over 3 strokes per hole, and that in itself is no small feat.  Not that its the same, but I think I've shot a 56 on the XBox, which is on easy mode and was pretty hard itself.  I could only imagine how tough it would be in real life.  Well, yesterday Jim Furyk shot a 57!  FIFTY-SEVEN!  I'm not upset I missed it, but I do wish I got to see some highlights.  In the events of yesterday it seemed to be overshadowed.  It also surprises me that it was an older Golfer such as Furyk and not someone younger.  That isn't to say older Golfers can't compete still, it just seems they aren't focused on as much so it makes it so much nicer.

This was a more local story but to me is still impressive.  Compared to the others it pales in comparison, but Kendrys Morales who (along with the rest of the Royals) couldn't hit the broadside of a barn lately hit a Grand Slam (at Kauffman Stadium no less) yesterday in a 7-1 win for KC as a glimmer of hope remains in postseason dreams.  While it may not have made national headlines, it gave the Royals a series win for the first time in a month, and it happened just as a national news story developed on the Kansas side of Kansas City.  A 10 year old child was killed at a water park yesterday and the news broke around the time this game ended making the grand slam and victory seem insignificant.  Sadly, it wasn't the only news story to take place in Kansas on the day as another one started on Saturday and ended tragically on Sunday evening.

Bryan Clauson was racing at an event in Northern Kansas on Saturday night when his car flipped and landed on its side.  Shortly after, a driver hit the cage of the car head on having no way to avoid it.  It took 30 minutes to extricate Clauson from the car and was air lifted to a hospital in Nebraska where a day later he would be pronounced dead.  It happened one night after he was involved in another accident at the same track where he avoided injuries and only was sore as he thanked the safety devices on twitter.  It was his 116th race of the year as he embarked on a 200 race year which he described as insanity.  Clauson competed in the Indy 500 a couple times and Tony Stewart called him a bright young star.  It was very sad to hear the news as I didn't know much about him, but its always sad to hear about incidents such as these.

In a story that could only be written in a book, the NFL Hall of Fame Game was cancelled last night.  Sure it was a preseason game and it wasn't a real big deal, but it was the details that surrounding it that makes it interesting.  The paint on the field was too sticky.

THE PAINT ON THE FIELD WAS TOO STICKY!!!!!

It's laughable to think about to be honest.  In reality though it wasn't a split-second decision to cancel the game, they tried a lot of things to make it work, but ultimately a couple hours before the game the players didn't feel comfortable playing on the field and they didn't want to risk injury.  Sure it sounds funny, odd, and a bit crazy, but it was the correct call.  In a time where player safety is big issue, I think for a game that doesn't count, this was the smart choice.  My only question is why wasn't the field prepped the day before?  I would think they could have prepped it and then did touchups if necessary, but I don't know how ground crews work.  At any rate, it will be a laughable moment for years to come, and a reminder that people shouldn't take the preseason so seriously.

Love him or hate him, when Alex Rodriguez has an announcement to make, you listen.  He announced on Sunday that he would play his final game as a Yankee on Friday at which point he would be released and signed as a member of the coaching/player development staff.  It was somewhat of a shock but it wasn't at the same time.  Personally I would have liked to see him hit 700 home runs, but his stats really fell off and so did his playing time.  He has long been lauded for his willingness to work with the younger talents, so it does make sense.  His staff contract ends at the end of next year, so there could be a chance some team signs him just so he could get to 700.  It wouldn't surprise me and to be honest if he would take a league minimum contract on the condition he gets a coaching contract of some sort when he willingly decides to retire it could work out for both parties.  While I would love to see him hit his 700th as a Royal, if they are contending still I wouldn't do it.

On a perfect day, to me that is the biggest story.  However, that isn't the big story.  The big story is someone accomplishing something A-Rod already did, yet is miles ahead of A-Rod.

Ichiro got his 3000th hit on Sunday an event that was weeks in the making.  At first glance it may not seem that big of a deal that he hit 3000.  However when you look at his stats, it is quite amazing.  Some confused this as meaning it combined his hits in Japan to reach 3000, but he long surpassed that.  In fact combining the Japan and U.S. hits, he has surpassed Pete Rose for all-time hits.  This 3000th hit is only for the MLB hits.  Again this may not seem too odd, but he did it in 15 years.  That averages 200 hits a year EVERY YEAR!  Ichiro is now in his 40's and he has lost a step, but he can still play.  He managed a triple on the hit itself.  I think this is the top story of the day, but with so much going on, it could be tough to tell.

I know I missed a few more things, but these were some amazing events that happened in one day and I really have to question if the events rival or surpass June 17th, 1994.  Sure O.J. dominated that day, but on this day so many events with so much intrigue that it's tough to pick a top one and therefore I think it was a bigger day.

That wraps it up for today, thanks for reading and sorry for the long post, but I started late and was hooked on TV for a bit, so wrapping it up late.  I hope everyone has a great week.