Archive for 27. June 2008
The Road to the Euro 2008 Championship Match
27. June 2008 by sid.
Well… It’s here… The match that everyone who’s been following this wonderful tournament has been waiting for… the 
match for all the marbles… the match that separates the winners, from those soon forgot in the years to come… Germany versus Spain for the 2008 European Championship.
The two teams involved in this championship final took two very different paths to reach here. Germany (a member of group B) played its first game to a 2-0 victory against the Poles. Its second game was the one that was supposed to determine what the German’s were made of. They were favorite (along with Croatia) to advance through their group. The other group’s favorite however came up victorious with a 2-1 victory over the Germans. The third game would be decisive for the Germans. They were facing the tournament co-hosts, Austria. The Germans would have to play, in Austria, in front of an away crowd, and would have to win. The game itself featured the worst officiating of the tournament…{cont}
Click here to read the rest of the story…
SUBWAY SERIES
27. June 2008 by Glendo.
The Mets and Yankees finish off the 2008 Subway Series this weekend starting with a two stadium doubleheader today. These will be the last Subway Series games in Yankee and Shea Stadium barring some kind of miracle where both teams make the World Series.
The Mets are coming off a horrible series with the Mariners were they dropped 2 of 3 games. They hope to come out and play well against the Yanks, which they usually do. The day off yesterday should help them in today’s two games. The Mets are now just 2 games back in the lost column despite going 8-7 in their last 15 games. They have actually picked up 4.5 games on the Phillies, who continue to struggle. The Mets look to get the season win with the Yankees as they lead 2-0.
The Yankees are coming off a shortened series split with the Pittsburgh Pirates after last nights rain out.
THE MATCHUP
NEW YORK YANKEES (42-36, 3rd Place AL East/5.5GB) at NEW YORK METS (38-39, 3rd Place NL East/3.5GB)
Today’s Doubleheader:
Game 1 at Yankee Stadium: Mets (Mike Pelfrey, 4-6, 4.30) at Yankees (Dan Giese, 1-2, 0.64) 2:05pm ET
Game 2 at Shea Stadium: Yankees (Sidney Ponson, 4-1, 3.88) at Mets (Pedro Martinez, 2-1, 6.57) 8:10pm ET
Saturday: Yankees (Andy Pettitte, 8-5, 4.04) at Mets (Johan Santana, 7-6, 2.93) 3:55pm ET
Sunday: Yankees (Darrell Rasner, 4-5, 4.50) at Mets (Oliver Perez, 5-5, 5.29) 1:10pm ET
Knicks Draft Gallinari
27. June 2008 by JJK.
The New York Knicks drafted Italy’s Danilo Gallinari with the 6th pick in the 2008 NBA draft.
Gallinari was greeted with boos at The WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks needed to address their point gaurd issue but they drafted another foward. Whoever the Knicks were going to draft, if their last name wasnt Rose, Beasley or Mayo, the crowd was going to boo the pick.
Danilo Gallinari impressed most people with his honesty on the boos he received. “It’s part of the game,” he said. “All players hear this. You can’t always hear good things. So it’s normal. It will be up to me to earn the applauses. I’m extremely happy nevertheless. New York reminds me of Milan, this for me is the best solution.”
Gallinari has a lot of upsides that people are not familiar with. Gallinari wowed the Knicks at his pre-draft workout. He did not play college basketball like the top four picks so people do not know what to expect. He has played pro basketball in Italy. He is regarded by scouts as the best pure shooter in Europe. At 19 years old he has been the leader of his Italian team, Armani Jeans Milano. Walsh called Gallinari a “unique package, with his size 6′-9″ frame (6-10 with shoes) and shooting ability, his ball-handling ability. We think he is going to grow. And we think he has the kind of game that can bring people together and make people better.”
As for the booing of Gallinari on draft night, D’Antoni had the last word. “I’ll be more worried about their booing him next year,” he said. “And that won’t happen because they’ll appreciate his intelligence and the way he plays the game and how hard he works. They’ll see his potential.” Even if they didn’t Thursday night.
For more on Gallinari, CBS Sports has indepth player profile on him: http://www.sportsline.com/nba/players/draft/1619315
