Maddux Sports Blog

I’m deeply impressed by the Giants. They needed to come through in a big way this weekend to avoid letting the Rockies run away and hide in the wild card race, and they did that in a big way. They were three games back in the wild card race heading into this series, and now thanks to a sweep of Colorado at home they are tied. The Giants showed what kind of grit they have as well – they were down 4-1 to the Rockies on Sunday, but they fought back to win 9-5. There are still 31 games to play so anything could happen, but this race starts from scratch today, and I would certainly bet on the Giants to be the ones to go to the playoffs in the end. The Rockies have been flying higher than they should be lately, so I fully expect them to fall back to earth – they peaked too soon.

(more…)

Haven’t yet figured out why the Vikings signed Brett Favre? I haven’t really, either, but here’s a big part of it – in the 24 hours following the signing they sold 3,000 season tickets and 10,000 individual game tickets. They have 7,000 season tickets left, and you can only go to the Green Bay game with a season ticket, so they will certainly sell even more. The extra ticket sales and jersey sales alone will pay for the contract, and now the team won’t have to struggle with blackouts like they have in recent years.

(more…)

I this blog, I consider three guys who are totally committed to their sport and who have set high standards for their sport. Here’s a look at Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, the PGA’s Tiger Woods and NHL center Jeremy Roenick. 

(more…)

Of course I predicted that Miguel Angel Jimenez would be leading Tom Watson by one stroke after one round of the British Open. I mean, who didn’t? It was totally obvious. Bizarre. Only a couple of things made sense about the first round. Steve Stricker continued his hot play and is right in the mix. Camilo Villegas regained his lost form and is right there with Stricker. I’ll be annoyed if Villegas wins this thing – he’s been a choice for me in every major for the last couple of years, but I skipped over him this time because he has been so frustratingly ineffective. I think I’ll be safe, though. Oh, and what is it about Ben Curtis and this tournament? Bizarre.

(more…)

It was a pretty good day for a pair of friends today.

I had no doubt in my mind before today, but the argument has been made even more compelling – Roger Federer is unquestionably the greatest male tennis player of all time. If you didn’t see the match today then you really missed out. Andy Roddick, to his tremendous credit, played about as well as he could possibly have played. He was aggressive, accurate, and focused – three things that don’t always come in one package for the talented American. No matter what he did, though, Federer was there to match him. Roddick got close to a breakthrough a couple of times in the final marathon set, but whenever he pushed the Swiss star to the brink, Federer would fight his way out. Federer is so ridiculously creative – it’s almost as if he invents shots for particular situations, and as if he adapts his entire game to suit the needs of a particular situation. He wasn’t having an easy time handling Roddick’s blistering serve on Sunday, so he ratcheted his own serve up and, incredibly, almost doubled the number of aces Roddick had. It was a truly epic battle between two warriors, but you couldn’t shake the feeling from he very start that n matter what Roddick tried it wouldn’t quite be enough. Unbelievable.

(more…)

Tiger Woods went directly from Ohio, where he made the entire PGA his bitch yet again, to New York to play a practice round at Bethpage Black, the site of the U.S. Open in just under two weeks. This is seriously bad news for the rest of his opponents – it clearly shows that he is intensely focused ad ready to defend his title. Add in the fact that he’s obviously in top form, and you have the makings of a heavy favorite. There are few things better than watching him when he’s in the zone.

(more…)

MLB is in high gear as is NASCAR and the PGA. Plus, the NBA and NHL playoffs are entering their final rounds. And sooner than later NFL and NCAA football will be prepping for another season. Here’s a look at what’s going on in the world of sports.

(more…)

The Masters gets underway in just a few hours. I like watching the tournament, but it’s been a long time since I have been that interested in betting on a major straight up. There is no point at all in betting on Tiger at the ridiculous prices he faces, but I can’t get too excited about looking for other guys to back instead when Tiger is as good as he is. I’m going to work through the apathy today, though, and look for other guys who are interesting at their price, even though I think Tiger will make a statement. I know how dull it is to think Tiger will win, but I look at it this way – should I look for other guys to come out on top when I really don’t believe it will happen? If I really wanted to put you to sleep I could double up and add Mickelson, too.

(more…)

Here are some people in the news who have made some headlines of late. For one reason or another, I think they deserve some notice.

Mark Cuban

(more…)

1. Suck on that, Blake Griffin.

2. Roy Williams proved yet again how incredibly good he is. He and his staff had the Tar Heels as prepared as they possibly could have been for the Oklahoma game. The first half was as brilliant a defensive performance against a formidable foe as I have ever seen. I have been down on North Carolina for a while now, but that showing made it harder for me to stick with my opinion – especially now that they have a week to get ready for the Wildcats.

(more…)