Late June: Where Sports Go to Die

In what can only be described as a tournament in which almost nobody deserved to win, Graeme McDowell became the first Northern Irishman to win the U.S. Open, besting the ultimate underdog, Gregory Havret by one stroke. McDowell held the lead for most of the final round, as 54 hole leader Dustin Johnson collapsed early, going 6 over through his first 4 holes. Three of the big guns were lurking all day: Els, Woods and Mickelson, but none could match the poise and consistency shown by McDowell. Hard not to root for the guy, he has become one of the most well-liked golfers on the PGA Tour with his calm demeanor and wonderful Irish sense of humor. Congrats to the new U.S. Open champ.

In unrelated news, Guinness sales rocketed up 113% yesterday.



The Pirates started something called a “winning streak” this weekend, taking two of three from the lowly Cleveland Indians. The one sport Cleveland should be able to beat Pittsburgh at, and they still can’t. God, they suck. Pedro Alvarez’s struggles continued, going 0 for 3 with an RBI. He clearly feels as if there is a lot of pressure on him, and there is. But, everything in due time. Pedro is as talented as they come, and he’ll eventually start hitting.



The NHL draft begins on Friday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The Penguins will draft players, I will talk about them.

Welcome to late June, the sports coma of the year. Nothing much happens.

Stay tuned this week or early next week, as I will be writing a 2010 fantasy football preview.

This week will also be the week of the Pittsburgh sports-gasm, so every post will end with an awesome moment in Pittsburgh sports history.

Is there a better way to start a Monday than with this? Nope.

Alvarez Debut Ruined, but Hooray Golf!

The much heralded Pirates prospect Pedro Alvarez made his MLB debut last night, and apparently nobody cared, which shows how most Pittsburghers truly feel about the Pirates. Ticket sales to last night’s game experienced a mini-spike, but still were not out of the ordinary for a weekday night game. No matter the ticket sales, Pedro’s debut was all for naught, as the Pirates were soundly defeated by the White Sox 7-2, marking their 10th straight loss. Pedro went 0-2 with a walk and committed one of the Pirates SIX errors. Jose Tabata also hit his first major league home run last night.

I think now is the point that we can start talking about Manager John Russell’s job being in jeopardy.



The Buccos finish up their series against the White Sox tonight, with Ross Ohlendorf on the hill.



And holy sweet Touchdown Jesus! The U.S. Open starts today! The long bridge between the Masters and the Open has officially been crossed. Phil Mickelson will look to win his second major of the year while Tiger Woods looks to rekindle the magic that he experienced 10 years ago at Pebble Beach.

Even if you’re not an avid golf fan, this is a U.S. Open that should be watched, if for nothing else, the beauty that is Pebble Beach. The rocky shores and beautiful ocean view make Pebble Beach a sight to behold. What a wonderful, wonderful course.

So skip work tomorrow and flip back and forth between the U.S. Open and the US-Slovenia World Cup game. You won’t be sorry.