Sports

Three and Out

From the minds of WMEB's newest sports talk show

By Sean Hladick, Jonathon Madore and Steven Moran

Posted on April 28, 2008, at 12:00 a.m.

From the minds of WMEB’s newest sports talk show, “Three and Out.” We will be bringing you three hot topics from the world of sports. It’s your weekly pill for instant sports relief.

First Down: We want Bibby

I was there in 2003 when the Red Sox came back from three runs down in the ninth inning against the Anaheim Angels. Johnny Damon hit a walk-off home run that hooked around Pesky’s Pole and landed three rows in front of us. I was there in 2001 when the Celtics destroyed the defending champion Lakers by 18 points. And I was there when the Bruins . won a meaningless game in 2006?

More importantly, I was there last Wednesday for what will now be known as the “Mike Bibby Game.” “A lot of these fans are bandwagon jumpers trying to get on this now. I played here last year, too, and I didn’t see three fourths of them. They’re for the team now, and they might get a little rowdy, but that’s about it,” The Hawks point guard said before Wednesday night’s game.

A little rowdy, huh? We gave him a little rowdy – and then some. I’ve never been to any sporting event with this type of explosive atmosphere. Not only were Bruce Willis and Bob Kraft in attendance, but we’re pretty sure K.C. Jones was sitting in the same row as us. Every time Bibby touched the ball, 19,000 “fair weather” fans booed him out of the building. Chants included: “Bibby Sucks,” “Biiiibbbbyyy” and “Rondo’s Better.”

Bibby ended a two-for-seven shooting night with 12 points, one assist and three rebounds. The guy behind us summed it up best when he yelled, “Hey! Nice single double Bibby!”

Mike stood by his words after the game by saying: “The people I was talking about know who they are. If they took offense to it, they must be part of it. I guess they are all bandwagon jumpers.”

I hope someone grabs an interview with Mr. Bibby next week on the golf course.

- John

Second Down: Curse breakers

Everyone loves a bold prediction. So for all you sports fans out there, here is the boldest of the bold: This year’s Chicago Cubs will break their 100-year drought and win the World Series this October. The Cubbies have jumped out to a 16-8 start this season, and while it is still far too early to crown them, this year’s team has all the makings of a champion.

They’ve stabilized their pitching issues, and ace Carlos Zambrano has jumped out to a 3-1 start posting a tidy 2.33 earned run average. Veteran Ryan Dempster is off to his own hot start this season with a 3-0 record and a sub-three ERA. Jason Marquis and Rich Hill give them solid depth, and it is only a matter of time before Ted Lilly gets his control issues straightened out. Most important for the Cubs has been the emergence of Kerry Wood as a strong closer. Wood has already racked up four saves and two wins on the year, and while he doesn’t have the same fiery fastball from his youth, his movement and placement are significantly improved.

While pitching wins championships, the Cubs have a powerful hitting lineup from top to bottom with Aramis Ramirez, Derek Lee and Kosuke Fukodome anchoring. Center fielder Felix Pie and shortstop Ryan Theriot give them impressive speed on the base paths.

All in all, this is the most well-rounded Cubs teams in recent memory. Now all they need is a little curse breaking magic, and the North Side of Chicago will get their long awaited opportunity to celebrate.

- Steve

Third Down: Closing out a great career

He’s been one of the most fearsome closers for the past 16 seasons. He’s topped 30 saves 12 times. His entrance to a ballgame is unmistakable, and yet it might be time to say goodbye to the great Trevor Hoffman.

As my favorite closer of all time, Hoffman has anchored the San Diego bullpen for most of my life. His masterful control of the strike zone and absolutely lethal change-up has put him at the top of the all-time saves list with 528 as of April 26. Most importantly, by my completely biased opinion, Hoffman has established “Hells Bells” as the coolest entrance music for a closer ever.

Despite all of these credentials, his two blown saves and 8.22 ERA to start the season may mark the beginning of the end for Hoffman. There will be no shame when he calls it quits, and by all accounts, Padres management has no plans of pushing him out anytime soon.

“This will be the last uniform he wears. If he still wants to play and he’s as successful as he’s been in the past, I don’t anticipate it being difficult,” said San Diego general manager Kevin Towers about resigning him in an interview with ESPN.

While it sounds like his career may not officially come to an end for another season or two, it does appear that the invincibility that surrounded Hoffman is gone. I still expect Hoffman to reach 35 or more saves this season and perhaps next, but it won’t be in his usual fashion – anticipate some wild rides along the way.

So for baseball’s truest fans, try and catch some of Hoffman’s saves while you can. Baseball’s greatest closer is approaching the final innings of his career.

- Sean

Out:

Thank you to all of our listeners and readers for a great year.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.