The Starting Five

If you read my column in Thursday’s Herald-Mail, you’d already know that I disagree with ESPN’s inclusion of Abby Wambach’s goal in Sunday’s Women’s World Cup soccer match.

Dramatic? Yes. Top 10? No way.

So here is my list of the Top 10 Most Dramatic Moments in Sports History, complete with links to video clips. (continue reading…)

It had been a couple years since I covered the North-South football game, but with both teams coming into the game with winning records – not to mention my daughter’s final field show performance in the Rebel Band – I felt like I needed to be there Friday night.

I certainly was not disappointed in my decision.

North won the game 35-26 – their eighth straight win over South – thanks to an unbelievable performance by Hubs senior RB Anthony Winter. Winter ran 41 times for 362 yards and three touchdowns, accounting for about 80 percent of North’s offense.

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Here’s today’s question: What does six Super Bowl trophies get you?

Answer: I don’t know, but it’s definitely not a spot in this year’s NFL playoffs.

That’s right, the Pittsburgh Steelers missed the NFL playoffs this year after winning the Super Bowl last year.

So while Steelers fans are reminding you that the team they root for has won the Super Bowl six times (and they will, trust me), you can simply ask, “What did any of those Super Bowls get you this year?” (continue reading…)

A reader sent me a link to this L.A. Times story about the makeshift memorial to Williamsport High graduate Nick Adenhart outside Angel Stadium.

It sounds like the Angels already have plans for a permanent memorial to Nick inside the stadium, but I think it would be fitting for them to place some sort of permament remembrance in the same spot as the current fans’ memorial.

What do you think?

Hi there … remember me? It’s been a while since I posted anything here, but I figured this would be the perfect time to do so.

I’ve been keeping a low profile, unlike this guy, whose name obviously doesn’t match his personality.

You would think with a name like Richie Incognito, he’d be a little more low-key, right?

Nate Sowers was one of the best high school football players I have seen play in this area. I remember my former colleague Dan Spears coming back from a Martinsburg game in 2001 and saying this freshman named Sowers is going to be really good.

That was an understatement. Sowers was outstanding, both as a quarterback and a defensive back. Teaming him with wide receiver Brandon Barrett – another of the best ever from this area – for Barrett’s final two seasons led to a near total rewrite of the Martinsburg record book.

Even with out Barrett, Sowers led Martinsburg all the way to the state championship game. The Bulldogs are still seeking that first state crown, but much like Dan Marino in the NFL, the lack of a title should not minimize everything that Sowers accomplished in high school.

Sowers, now in his fifth and final year at West Virginia University, is at long last getting his chance to start on the college level.

Sowers went to WVU as a quarterback, but the door closed on that opportunity when Pat White became Pat White. He had an opportunity to switch to defense in his freshman year, but he held out hope that he would get a chance to run the offense. (continue reading…)

In 2008, Federal Little League’s All-Star team took a once-in-a-lifetime ride, advancing all the way to the Little League World Series.

Everybody got caught up in the excitement. It had been 40 years since a Washington County team made it to Williamsport, Pa.

Heck, just winning the Maryland State Tournament was a rarity. Federal became the first county team in 18 years to pull off that feat and move on to the Mid-Atlantic Regional in Bristol, Conn.

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It appears the long national nightmare is over.

Yeah, right.

Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress told the Star-Tribune that Brett Favre has decided to stay retired after holding yet another team hostage for an entire summer.

Childress didn’t use the “holding hostage” reference. That was me. But you’ve got to wonder how this makes the Childress and the rest of the organization feel. The team made no secret that it wanted Favre, and so it only stands to reason that they were at least making some plans for him to be there.

They wanted Favre because he would clear up the situation at quarterback. Now, that situation is every bit as cloudy as it was before.

I made the comment the other day that I wanted one of two things to happen:

1. Favre retires and goes away … for good … really.

2. He comes back with the Vikings … or any other team, for that matter … and goes 4-12, then slumps into oblivion, his legacy tarnished for good.

I really hope that since he’s started down path No. 1, he stays on that path.

Go away, Brett. Just go away.

Could Pete Rose finally get a chance to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame? The New York Daily News is reporting that commissioner Bud Selig is considering lifting the lifetime ban on baseball’s all-time hit king (and all-time favorite player of yours truly).

Hank Aaron thinks Pete deserves to be in the Hall. I agree!

How many of you didn’t see this coming?

The New York Times is reporting today that Sammy Sosa was one of the 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in the 2003 survey conducted by Major League Baseball to determine whether or not the league needed to enact a testing policy.

Of course, Sosa has long claimed that he never used steroids, including in sworn testimony before Congress.

Oopsie.