Sports Quick Hits

We apologize for the brief hiatus, but we're back in full action this week. Make sure you check in as I'll be handing out my way to early NFL Draft Grades in addition to my Top 10 College Football Players - to be posted later today - and my Top 10 College Football Games of 2011, coming later this week.

First and foremost, let's get this out of the way quickly. Jud, yes, you're Indians are better. If you can't tell, I lost a bet to an Indians fan this weekend as they swept my Reds...who are in a pseudo freefall because Dusty Baker loves him some Jonny Gomes and Edinson Volquez.

NFL

Not much news to report here, but Ravens ILB and league terror Ray Lewis said that if games are missed due to the lockout, "crime will rise". Go to the 1:15 mark in the video when Ray starts talking about the lockout. Say what you want, but Ray Lewis is a bad man, and a sure-fire Hall of Famer. He's also the most intimidating player in the league and one of my all-time favorite non-Dolphins.

To further update the lockout scenario, ESPN's Adam Schefter said that the next step is to really just wait and see what happens on June 3rd in the 8th District Court of Appeals. The players will present their case that day and Schefter says that we can expect the court to make an official ruling sometime in mid-July. Per Schefter, he said a source who told him before the lockout went into effect that there would only be a 5% chance that regular season games would be missed. He updated his report last Friday telling him that the same source, who is close to the litigation process, said that percentage is now between 30-40%. Yikes. In my personal opinion, the blame lays primarily at two circumstances.

1) The owners intially low-balling the players in their first CBA proposal so badly and NOT revealing their financial needs. If they had shown the players side the full set of financial records and not just the Green Bay Packers, along with a set of doctered numbers in the owners favor, there could still be mediation.

2) DeMaurice Smith stabbing the owners in the eyes by not even reviewing the owners' second proposal. Smith new he would win in the courts in Minnesota with Judge Nelson, and he was banking on winning in the 8th District. Well, he lost, and while some will say it's due to partisan politics which I'll not delve into here, Smith's been reduced to playing Gary Glitter music at the University of Maryland's graduation ceremony.

I think if this is to end favorably for all parties, more mediation need to happen and the players need to bag DeMaurice Smith as their leader.

NBA

What got into Chris Bosh last night? The Heat big man dumped in 34 points on 13 of 18 shooting in Miami's 95-86 win to take the lead in the series 2-1. Bosh, who at times this season has been downright terrible, played the best game of his life last night, adding 5 boards and 2 assists.

The win puts the Heat in the driver's seat as the team who has won game 3 in the Eastern Conference Finals has gone onto win the series. Could we see a rematch of Dallas vs. Miami in the Finals?

Speaking of the Mavericks, they're up 2-1, and no one can seem to stop Dirk Nowitzki. My roommate and I were watching the game Saturday night, and just looking at the Mavs' roster...well, they better hope they win now because they're going to get really old, really soon.

The jilted ex-girlfriend of the NBA (Cleveland Cavaliers) couldn't have picked a worse year to land 2 top-five draft picks. Enis Kanter says hello. Cleveland, I hope you're all ready to "witness" the Kanter Show.

MLB

Felix Hernandez is really good. King Felix, who rarely gets the run support a Cy Young winner should get 6 runs from his Mariners in a 6-1 win over San Diego yesterday. His line for the game: 8.0 IP, 1ER on 6 hits, 0 walks, and he struckout 13.

I'm told there was some significance between the Cubs vs. Red Sox series. Whoops, I missed the whole darn thing. If there's two teams I hate hearing about almost as much as the Yankees, it's these two. They've won what, a combined 2 World Series in the last 100-some odd years?

My Reds were swept by a Cleveland Indian team that fielded a roster of players I'd never heard of besides Shin-Soo Choo. Granted, Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner or on the DL, but still, Cleveland looks like they've got a really solid, young team and I don't see them going away any time soon.

Does anyone else think Jose Bautista might be on steroids? He's batting a ridiculous .353 and has blasted 18 homeruns already this year to go with 31 RBIs. He's really come out of obscurity since last year. Just take a look at his stats:

2004 - In 64 games he batted .205 with 0 home runs and 2 RBIs.
2005 - In 31 games he batted .143 with 0 home runs and 1 RBI.
2006 - In 110 games he batted .210 with 16 home runs and 51 RBIs.
2007 - In 142 games he batted .254 with 15 home runs and 63 RBIs.
2008 - In 128 games he batted .238 with 15 home runs and 54 RBIs.
2009 - In 113 games he batted .235 with 13 home runs and 44 RBIs.
2010 - In 161 games he batted .260 with 54 home runs and 124 RBIs.

I'm sorry, but I just find in strikingly odd that a player whose batting average was hovering between .235 and .254 and averaging about 15 home runs just suddenly has started to figure it out the past two year. Call me cynical, but c'mon, look at the numbers.

Other Sports News

With apologies to Schwendy, I haven't watched any hockey since the Sharks eliminated the Red Wings in the second round. To be honest, I don't know much about any of the teams left other than the Sharks having Joe Thornton. However, they trail Vancouver 3-1 and Tampa Bay and Boston are tied at 2-2 with game 5 tonight.

Tennis stud Novak Djokovic is now 38-0 in 2011 as he advanced past Thiemo de Bakker in the French Open over the weekend. Djokovic is the second seed in the tournament.

Tiger Woods dropped to #12 in the world, the first time since 1997 he hasn't been ranked in the top 10 golfers. This was a week before then 21 year-old Tiger Woods won the Masters for the first of his 14 major titles.

Giovanni Ramirez, the top suspect in the Bryan Stow case, is being held on $1 million bail. Ramirez was apprehended Sunday morning during a Police S.W.A.T. team drug raid in the Rampar area of Los Angeles, 5 miles from Dodger Stadium. 20 detectives working the case are still looking for the second assailant and a woman who is rumored to have driven Ramirez and his accomplice away from Dodger Stadium.

University of Oklahoma linebacker Austin Box was found dead last week. He was unresponsive when police officers found him. Box was 22.

The Daily Rant: It's Just a Ballgame Folks

I don’t know how many have followed this story, but it’s something that needs more attention. On March 31, San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow, father of two, attended Opening Night with two friends at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. During the game between two heated rivals, Stow texted his family that he was scared and that he felt nervous being at the game in Giants gear. After the game, a Dodgers victory, two Dodgers fans attacked Stow, punching him in the back of the head. Stow was knocked to the ground, hitting his head on the concrete. He went unconscious.

Fast forward to today, where Stow is laying in a hospital bed with permanent brain damage. Doctors have removed part of his skull to reduce the swelling in his brain, but he will probably never recover to become his former self. His children will never have the same father. All because a couple of no good thug fans decided that a person wearing an opposing jersey deserved to have the crap beat out of him for wearing Black and Orange. Meanwhile, Stow’s two assailants are free, and will probably never be found even though a $100,000 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest.

I acknowledge that some opposing fans incite the violence. Some are obnoxious in the game, and some try to provoke fights. I’ve both seen and been with fans like that, and it makes the game impossible to enjoy for all involved. But the majority of fans wearing an opposing team's colors just want to see their team play; they live in the city the game is being played, or tickets are hard to come by. They should not be subjected to pain and violence. It’s possible to have good natured trash talk without repercussions.

I don’t mean to just call out Dodgers fans; I’ve been a part of fear-inducing situations myself. I was scared out of my mind while attending a St. Louis Cardinals game in San Francisco two years ago. I was walking around the outfield minding my own business, trying to take in the views of San Francisco Bay. I was called all sorts of names, pushed around, and was genuinely fearful for my safety. As soon as I left the ballpark, I took my jersey off as I was getting heated looks and words from Giants fans. I was afraid of a situation similar to what happened to Bryan Stow. Just this year I attended the Ohio State-Michigan game. I watched two drunken OSU students vault over five rows to blindside punch a Michigan fan in the back of the head, all because the guy was wearing a Michigan jersey.

Personally, I am absolutely disgusted by acts like these, and think it’s despicable that someone would treat fans of opposing teams like this. I understand that rivalries get heated. Good natured ribbing is part of the game. I constantly harrass friends who like rival teams of mine. I think it’s funny when I get booed walking up the aisle at the Reds ballpark while wearing my Albert Pujols jersey. I think it’s funny when people give me crap for being a Dayton fan at Xavier’s Cintas Center. But a line can, and often is, crossed. I love sports more than most, but violence has no place at the stadium; not over something as insignificant as a game. And what happened to Bryan Stow is inexplicable. Sports teams are not gangs. There is no reason to assault, or even kill, someone who happens to wear a rival’s teams colors.

No person deserves what happened to Bryan Stow. Some will say he shouldn’t have gone to that game. Others will say he deserved what he got. Those people need to get a life, and find more important things to live for. It’s just a game. I hope that Stow’s assailants get caught, because justice needs to be served.