Maddux Sports Blog

It struck me today that I hadn’t heard much about Jacoby Ellsbury recently. It wouldn’t be surprising that a typical rookie wasn’t making much news, but Ellsbury emerged in such a high profile way last year, and he started off so well, that the absence of news was remarkable. I took a quick look to see what I had missed. It hasn’t been pretty. His average isn’t terrible, with an average of .262. He’s just fallen off a cliff recently. His strikeouts have jumped, his walks have plummeted. He has no home runs in 28 days, one in 48 days, and he has just five home runs in 35 games. He’s leading the league in stolen bases, but the rest of his game is pretty terrible right now. I don’t really have a point other than to say that breaking into this league isn’t always as easy as it might seem.

Fedor Emelianenko is a bad, bad man. Anderson Silva was impressive in his own right, but nothing compared to Emelianenko. In just 36 seconds he knocked down the giant Tim Sylvia with a ferocious right uppercut, pummeled him with a flurry of punches, and got him to submit with a choke hold. That’s a lot to accomplish in just over half a minute, but Fedor was able to do it because he moved like the lightest of lightweights and hit like a truck. As I said on Saturday I was questioning whether he was fading a bit, but there is now no doubt in my mind that he is the finest heavyweight on the planet. The biggest problem now will be to find a worthy opponent, and I don’t believe Randy Couture fits that bill.

Mea culpa on the whole Padraig Harrington thing. I thought he was a lousy bet - the pressure of being defending champ, some problems with inconsistency, and the wrist injury totally robbed him of any value at 15/1 in my mind. That still may be true, but the fact remains that he won easily, and he did it by putting together the most impressive last six holes I have seen in any tournament in a long time, never mind one with such lousy conditions. If I could just once in my life hit an approach shot like he did on the 17th then I would quit playing golf on the spot, and I would be totally content.

A couple of good trades in the NFL the last two days. I define a good trade as one that helps both teams (unless I am a fan of one team and the steal a player). Jason Taylor is a good fit in Washington, he needed to get out of Miami, and the Dolphins got good value for him. Jeremy Shockey is a dream fit for the Saints, he was destined to be toxic in New York, and the Giants will get two potential contributors back in the form of draft picks. No losers in either case, and it just makes the league more interesting. It’ll also knock a point or two off of Saints’ futures, I think.

Fresh off a disqualification in an LPGA event this weekend, Michelle Wie has chosen to play in the PGA again in the Reno-Tahoe Open next week. Ridiculous. I promise never to mention it again.

Manchester United rules the European soccer world after taking the Champions League final today over Chelsea. If you are North American then chances are pretty good that you don’t care. This was a pretty spectacular game, though, or at least the finish was. They were tied at one after the 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of overtime. That meant that the game and the most prestigious club championship in the world would be decided in the middle of the night in Moscow in the puring rain by penalty kicks. Cristiano Ronaldo, Man U’s top scoring threat and one of the top players in the world, missed his kick and all looked lost. All Chelsea captain John Terry had to do was score and they won. As he approached the ball he slipped and fell, and the ball sailed harmlessly wide of the net. Man U went on to win in extra kicks, and Terry, one of the elder statesmen of English soccer, looked like he was going to hang himself with his consolation medal. You don’t have to like soccer to enjoy this - you just have to like human suffering and pure agony.

A guy finishes second in a cheesy reality show and all of a sudden he is too good to practice. We have known for a while that Jason Taylor’s days with the Dolphins were probably numbered. We learned today, though, that it is his doing. While every player on his team except for him are at a voluntary mini-camp he is in New York for media appearances surrounding his dancing career before jetting back to Los Angeles to meet with entertainment execs about his future in the movie business. It seems that he has no intention of going to a mandatory camp next week, either. He says he still loves football, and that he intends to play again next year, but clearly not with Miami. That makes it very interesting to see where he ends up. He had 11 sacks last year and was a Pro Bowler, so he still has lots of game left, and he can help whatever team he joins. I bet he wishes that L.A. still had a team.

Another high priced starter is headed to the bullpen, but compared to Barry Zito this one is a bargain. Dontrelle Willis and his three year, $29 million contract has been a disaster so far in Detroit. He’s been on the DL since April 13, and he struggled to locate the plate before that. He’s apparently been told by Tigers officials that he will return as a reliever when he does make his return. Though putting him in the pen isn’t a terrible idea, it isn’t one that will likely have a long life - the top three starters other than him have a combined record of 6-16 with an ERA over six, so the rotation needs all the help it can get. If Willis shows anything more than a pulse in the bullpen then he and his goofy hat will be starting again soon.

I’ve pretty much written Pedro Martinez off. He’s been hurt, but he is getting closer to a return. That will be delayed now that he has returned home to be with his sick father. That is acceptable, obviously. What is less palatable, though, is all his talk this week that he might retire at the end of the season. Even that would be fine if he weren’t also talking about an eventual comeback as well. I respect Martinez’ game immensely, and I know that he is as talented as anyone when he is right. The guy is just such a mental case, though, and he’s increasingly bizarre. I find it harder and harder to believe that he will ever return to a point where he will be worth trusting with a bet.