My Favorite Baseball Plays

As I was watching the Phillies beat the Mets last night, there was one play in particular that stuck out in my mind. Kyle Kendrick slapped the ball into right field, but he was thrown out by Angel Pagan at first for a rare 9-3 put out. Luckily, this play did not affect the outcome of the game, but it did get me thinking about some of my favorite plays on the diamond. So, I thought today I would list a few of them.
• Who doesn't love a perfectly executed 6-4-3 double play or one of another variety?
• Scaling the outfield wall to rob a home run (unless of course it was going to be a Phillies home run)
• Striking out the side
• The walkoff homerun
• A great knuckleball
• A snow cone catch preferably by an outfielder right near the wall
• Ken Griffey Junior's swing
• Submarine pitchers
• The catcher taking a hit at home plate but holding onto the ball
• Vicente Padilla's insanely slow curveball
• The Phillies Liberty Bell ringing after a homerun
Do you have a favorite play that I am forgetting? Comment here or shoot me an e-mail!

Depressed Production

Is it possible that one of the most dynamic offenses in baseball can be shut out in five out of eight games? If you asked me a week or two ago, I would've said no way. However, that shows what I know. My beloved Phillies have been shut out and even when they did win with Roy Halladay's perfect game, it was only by a score of 1-0. How did this happen? Honestly, I really have no idea, but I think that they will be able to get it together. Look at that lineup, how will they not start hitting again?

Now that I brought up Roy Halladay, do you realize that the Phillies have not had a no-hitter since 2003? Back when Kevin Millwood did it, the Phillies were totally different than they are now. That was back in the day of Rheal Cormier, David Bell, and Jim Thome. Chase Utley was still on the bench behind Placido Polanco, and Ryan Howard was still nothing more than a hot prospect. There are only four players left from that roster: Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Madson, Utley, and Polanco (although he did leave in between). Whatever happened to the days where you played your career with a team unless you were traded? I guess we benefited from the system well as we have had more success since that year than in the 100 years previous, but I still kind of wish that you could see the same people year after year don the same uniform as either love them or hate them for 15 or 20 years. Now, you can have players like Johnny Damon for example be loved as a Red Sox outfielder and then sign as a free agent with the Yankees. So, do Red Sox fans love him because of the few years he spent in Boston or condemn him as a traitor?

Well, I don't have an answer to that question. However, here is something I do have an answer for. If you are from Central Vermont, you probably read the Times Argus. If you have been reading the Times Argus for the past couple of days, you will know that they are running a vote called The Best of the Best. One of the categories concerns your favorite Vermont blog. You probably see where I'm going with this. If you could go to www.TimesArgus.com/best and follow the directions, please put down Perpetual Blogging Co. for number 150 Favorite Vermont Blog. However, you don't only get my appreciation; just for filling the form out, the Times Argus is entering everybody into a drawing for a chance to win $500! It takes about 15 to 30 inutes, so tell everyone to check me out and vote for me if they like it!
Photo by ShironekoEuro on Flickr

No Break for Athletes

There is no off-season. I never used to think about it when I was younger and watching various high school teams. However, as I went to high school and now see some athletes at UVM, I realized that playing a sport at a competitive level, even just a Vermont high school, requires off-season training. I don't mean to belittle Vermont high schools; but there are fewer kids competing for roster spots, so you have a higher percentage chance of being on the team. Since right now is the off-season for basketball players, I thought that I would compile a list of links to some of my favorite basketball websites for any players who need to improve, coaches who want them to improve, or fans like myself who just like to learn about basketball.
• http://www.guidetocoachingbasketball.com/
This one is especially good for younger teams as some of the information is pretty simple. However, there is a ton of information on it.
• http://www.coachesclipboard.net/
I love all of the play diagrams on this website. Also, the animation is a major plus. You can pay for more features, but the free version is good for me.
• http://www.hoopsu.com/
Another one of my favorites, but I think that whatever they lack in amount of content they make up in quality.
• http://www.coachlikeapro.com/
Slightly older website just by looking at it, but they do have some decent stuff about strength training and plyometrics.
• http://www.akcoach.com/
Sort of a differently formatted website, but there are plenty of ideas here for everyone.

I hope you like these sites, but just reading them alone won't help. Get out there, play, and get ready to dominate next year!

Photo by laffy4k on Flickr

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

It was a good year for sports movies as The Blind Side and Invictus being nominated for many Oscars. According to a blog post I read by Len Berman, only three sports movies have ever won the Best Picture. For any of you who were wondering, these movies were Rocky, Chariots of Fire, and Million Dollar Baby. However, I decided to dedicate this post to some of my favorite sports movies. So...
• First and foremost, Remember the Titans is at the top of my list and should be on the top of everybody else's. While this movie primarily focuses on a newly integrated football team, football is less important than the seemingly inevitable racial conflicts that were unfortunately all too common in that era. Also, when a white coach was replaced by a black coach in the South at this time, the results almost destroyed a team that would go on to become one of the best in the nation. In my opinion, this seamless weaving of athletics and culture makes Remember the Titans the best sports movie if not my favorite movie.
• Another movie that could be seen as more than sports movie is Miracle. As anybody who was alive at the time understood, the 1980 Winter Olympics meant more than who walked home with the more valuable medal. At the height of the Cold War, America and the Soviet Union met in the men's hockey semi finals in a game that has been considered one of the greatest in Olympic history. Again, this movie could be just about hockey, and it would be a great story. However, by intertwining historical events with one of the most famous hockey games of all time is a recipe for a great movie.
• This is not one movie because in order to give this trilogy due credit, The Mighty Ducks must be viewed as a series. Any of the individual movies are great, but the development that becomes evident through watching all three movies makes the characters personalities become much more multifaceted. For example, the character of Charlie Conway in Mighty Ducks one appears to be nothing more than a young kid who is very dependent on his coach. In Mighty Ducks two, Charlie develops into the type of leader who is willing to sacrifice his own fame for the betterment of the team. Finally, in the third installment, despite the adversity that Charlie faces, he rises above these confrontations to become the hero we knew he could become. This and many other reasons are why The Mighty Ducks trilogy ranks among my favorite sports movies.

These are just a few of my favorite sports movies. As long as sports remain such a large part in American society, I hope that we will continue to see a flood of more great sports movies for years to come.