The Sports Guru

VS.

It seems like yesterday we were watching Jerome Bettis and Bill Cowher celebrate the Steelers 5th World Title. It has, in fact, been over 7 months, and a long off-season it has been. The 2006 Regular Season gets under way tonite, in Pittsburgh, with the Champs facing the Miami Dolphins. Obviously, emotions will be running high in Heinz Field as the Team and it’s fans will once again celebrate all of last year’s accomplishments. If you would ask Cowher, I am sure he would admit that he could do without all of this fan-fare. All of the back-patting does little to help Cowher and his “us against the world” message he is so good at delivering. He used it all the way to the Super Bowl last season, and will be on the other end, with the target firmly on his back this season.

The off-season has been a rocky one to say the least for Pittsburgh, with Bettis’ retirement, the loss of Antwon Randel El, Big Ben’s accident and all the speculation about Cowher’s future. The latest was the emergency appendectomy, leaving Roethlisberger on the sidelines for the opener. Let’s face it, repeating is hard enough, and when you add all the distractions the Steelers have had to face it might just be impossible.

As I look at this game I had liked the Steelers. Super Bowl winners have won their opening game 6 straight seasons, the last to lose the Denver Broncos in 1999. The common denominator between the Steelers and Broncos is the starting QB. John Elway had retired, and Brian Griese had taken over. The outcome? A loss to the, you guessed it, Miami Dolphins. Scary, isn’t it?

As I write this, my opinion is starting to sway. Daunte Culpepper has looked great during the pre-season for what it’s worth, and the Steelers still look hung over. I know the Steelers defense is the real deal, but the Dolphins have a lot of weapons, and Nick Saban has had the entire off-season to get read for what Pittsburgh is going to throw their way. Add the loss of Ben, and I think the Steelers might struggle. Willie Parker is a question mark as the guy who will have to carry the ball 25-30 times and I don’t know if he is going to be able to carry the load. Without Ben, the Dolphins will stack the line and make Charlie Batch beat them. I don’t think that can happen.

The Dolphins defense, coupled with Culpepper, Ronnie Brown and Chris Chambers, will be just enough to knock of the Steelers. I take the Dolphins — 20-16

Technorati Tags: Steelers, Dolphins, NFL Season Opener, Ben Roethlisberger, Daunte Culpepper

I had written a great post about Anibal Snachez, and the No-Hitter he threw last night against the Diamondbacks. Some computer issues stole it form me, leaving me scrambling to re-write. I won’t try, but to only mention it was the 4th no-hitter in Marlins history, a history that started in 1993. A team that has won 2 World Championships in that time for 3 different owners.

Wayne Huiznega was the original owner of the Marlins, but quickly realized that owning a baseball team was a lot harder than collecting garbage or running a movie rental store. He realized the people of Miami had better things to do in July and August than sit in 95 degree weather watching a bad team play bad baseball. In 1997, he bought as many players as he could, players like Kevin Brown, Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla and Manager Jim Leyland. The plan worked, as the Marlins were able to beat my Cleveland Indians in the 7th Game of the ‘97 World Series.

Then came the fire sale. No sooner had the champagne dried than Huizenga ordered the team dismantled. All the big name were gone, replace by no names like Josh Beckett, Matt Clement, Jose Castillo. The Marlins stumbled in payroll and the standings. In 1999 Huizenga finally sold the team to John henry. Yes, that john Henry who now owns the Boston Red Sox. Henry’s main goal was to get a new, baseball only stadium built for the Marlins. He knew that was the only way for the Marlins to succeed long term. Meanwhile, some of these no name were starting to play a little bit.

In 2002, Henry’s dream of one dy owning the Red Sox came true when he was able to work out a 3-way “trade” involving Expos Owner Jeffrey Lorie and Major League Baseball. In the deal, Henry became the owner of the Red Sox, Lorie took over the Marlins, and MLB took over the Expos. A new stadium deal appeared to be dead and the Marlins future in Florida seemed bleak at best.

Then something funny happened. In 2003, the Marlins, under old-man manager, Jack McKeon, got back to the playoffs for the first time since ‘97 and again won the World Series, this time beating an all-star laden New York Yankees team, with Josh Beckett going the distance in a decisive Game 6 in the Bronx. 2 Championships in 6 years with 3 owners. Not the normal blueprint for success.

The Marlins attempted to keep this group together in 2004 and 2005, adding big name free-agents like Carlos Delgado, but failed to get back to the playoffs. Lorie, like Huizenga before him, ordered the team blown up and again the Marlins started over.

Coming in to 2006, the Marlins total payroll was a little over 14 Million Dollars — TOTAL! Only Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera were notable big leaguers, and the starting rotation included 3 rookies. This team was a joke, no chance to be competitive. An example of everything wrong with the economic structure in baseball.

Again, something funny happened. After starting 11-31, the Marlins got hot, and taking advantage of a weak National League find themselves just 3 games back in the Wild Card. Manager Joe Girardi, who may actually find himself fired at the end of the year, has got these kids playing hard and playing together. What a travesty that would be, byt the way, if Girardi were fired. I have a feeling he’d last about 5 seconds, before the Cubs would swoop him up. But I digress…

All this leads us back to Sanchez, and last night’s no-hitter. Witnessed by about 12 people in Pro Player Stadium, Sanchez accomplished the feat in just his 13th career start. He now has more no-hitters than Roger Clemons, Pedro Martinez, the New York Mets and San Diego Padres COMBINED. Simply amazing and borderline unbelievable.

People often ask me why I am so into sports. I need to look no further than Anibal Sanchez, and the history of the Florida Marlins for good reason. They say anything can happen in baseball, and sometimes, when we’re lucky, it does.

Technorati Tags: Anibal Sanchez, no hitter, Florida Marlins, 1997 World Series, 2003 World Series, Jeffrey Lorie, Joe Girardi, Dontrelle Willis, Miguel Cabrera