Sheffield got punched

Last night on Jason Varitek's two-run triple in right field at Fenway Park, a Red Sox fan reached out and sucker punched Gary Sheffield for no apparent reason. Simultaneously another fan threw their beer at Sheffield as well. Sheffield picked up the ball, shoved the fan, and threw the ball back in towards first base. Sheffield, who thought he had a busted lip, and had noticeably been punched in the face on the replay, went back after the fan with his fist cocked. The bullpen security guard ran between the two and separated them before a fight ensued. The New York Yankees bullpen ran over and a shouting match broke out for a while. The sucker punch fan was ejected, but not arrested. The Boston Red Sox released a statement promising more signs and more security on Friday to remind fans not to interfere with play.

Here's my problem with things. What right does a fan have to assault a player? I understand the NBA having a problem with Ron Artest going into the stands after the wrong person, but Sheffield had the right person, and that person punched him in the field of play. Sheffield also has the right to defend himself. In a country that has laws that support any person that asserts the right to defend himself, the fan is lucky that Sheffield thought twice about beating his dumb ass down. MLB is doing an investigation and they have talked about suspending Sheffield for his reaction. Why not suspend the fan for obviously punching a undefended player?

I know people want to support their home team, but they shouldn't advocate assaulting visiting players physically. Let your team win the game. Fans are nothing more than spectators. They have no real involvement in the game other than making noise. After the flare laced brawl at the soccer match in Milan this week, MLB really needs to remember player safety is more important than the fan experience.

NFL Draft 2005 Update

It has been reported that Northwestern DT Luis Castillo has tested positive for Androstenedione, which is considered a steroid by the NFL, at the February NFL combine in Indianapolis. He said he took the drug to help his performance at the combine after he was slow to heal from an elbow injury. He stated it was a one time incident.

A football source told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday that Castillo tested positive for androstenedione. Castillo, considered a likely first-day draft pick also sent a letter to the 32 NFL teams alerting them of the situation. Mel Kiper Jr. has projected Castillo as the 55th pick in the draft, going to the Buffalo Bills. Castillo also released his testing records from Northwestern. Northwestern coach Randy Walker also sent a letter to the NFL teams in which he said Castillo never failed a drug test at the school. Castillo was also willing to tie his signing bonus to a clean testing clause in his contract.

The story was first reported by ESPN.com.

As a rule, the NFL does not comment on drug tests. Under the terms of the NFL steroids policy, Castillo is now subject to reasonable-cause testing while playing in the league. He could be tested up to 24 times a year in the program. The NFL steroid policy is also going through a recent change to it's acceptable Testosterone levels.

Under the previous guideline used by the International Olympic Committee and the NFL, a ratio above 6:1 of Testosterone to Epitestosterone, another natural hormone, was considered a failed test. Now it's 4:1.

The most likely natural ratio of Testosterone to Epitestosterone in humans is 1:1.

Tiger Woods is really good

The sports media has prematurely the written Tiger Woods off. In the last 10 majors he hadn't won until yesterday at the Masters. I have heard things ranging from the moron Skip Bayless on ESPN's 1st and 10 stating Tiger needs to go back to his original swing coach Butch Harmon for him to ever win again, to others on ESPN saying Tiger had lost the ability to win a major. Fortunately for all the critics they can now jump right back on the bandwagon with all being forgiven, except for Bayless. There are a few things everyone has to remember.

First, Woods is only 29 years old, and now he has won 9 majors (4 Masters, 1 British Opens, 2 PGA Championships, and 2 U.S. Opens) the halfway point to matching Jack Nicklaus career PGA major win record. Woods still has 3 more majors to compete in this year. Nicklaus had only won 7 majors (3 Masters, 1 British Open, 1 PGA Championship, and 2 U.S. Opens) at the same point in his career. Nicklaus went on to win 11 majors after his 30th birthday. Tiger has the opportunity, good health provided to match that accomplishment.

Second, yesterday's Masters proved that Tiger can win without his best game. He came back from 3 strokes back in the morning in a span of 17 minutes of play. His chip in for birdie on 16 is a shot that will be played for a long time to come. That shot gave him a 2 stroke lead over Chris DiMarco. That birdie saved the victory since the bogeys on 17 and 18 tied the score at -12. The one hole playoff just shows how much resolve Tiger has to win. Tiger's competitive streak is along the lines of Michael Jordan's legendary competitiveness. Tiger could rewrite the record book with his B game, it would be scary to see his new A game.

Finally, Tiger has record setting major wins to his credit. Woods first Masters win was by a record 12 strokes. He won his first U.S. Open by a major record 15 strokes. His British Open win was by 8 strokes and he set a major record of 19 strokes under par. If you add career U.S. Amateur Open Championships Woods has the edge 3 to 2 over Nicklaus. If you want to compare them they have similar lifetime achievements at similar points in their careers. I think the light went on for Tiger earlier in his career, and he stands a chance over the next 15 years to win 10 majors to surpass Jack Nicklaus all time record.

The Colorado Rockies Stumble out of the Gate

Of the 30 teams in major league baseball only 11 are under .500, the Colorado Rockies only have one win that came on opening day. Not that it's a surprise to anyone, but the Colorado Rockies are the last place team in all of baseball. To say that they suck would be letting them off the hook. Manager Clint Hurdle has to be beyond frustrated with his squad. He stated that "major league baseball isn't a try league, it's a performance league." He couldn't be more correct, unfortunately the Rockies pitchers haven't performed well so far. The Rockies pitching has allowed 49 runs in their first 5 games.

Their pitching staff has issued a ridiculous 34 walks in only 45 innings pitched. With that much traffic on the basepaths it's no surprise they have given up 49 runs. The bullpen is a joke again this year with reliever Scott Dohmann being the lead jester. In his 1 2/3 innings pitched he has given up 9 earned runs to sport a 32.40 earned run average. By himself he gave up four homeruns on the week. In the opener he gave up solo shots to Xavier Nady and Ramon Hernandez of the San Diego Padres. In the 10-8 loss to the San Francisco Giants he gave up a game winning 3-run homerun to Marquis Grissom in the bottom of the ninth. Not to be outdone the next day he gave up a grand slam home run to the ever dangerous Michael Tucker who was 1 for 12. The grand slam was the first of Tucker's career.

Some may think the Rockies pitchers may be suffering from the dead arm period right after spring training, but come on the strike zone is always the same dead arm or not. If the Rockies pitching woes continue they will be out of playoff contention by June. They have only 1 quality start from a starter this season. The bullpen is already being overused. Their starters haven't made it out of the 5th inning in three starts already. The Rockies never have trouble scoring runs. The Rockies have scored 32 runs in their five games. The Rockies cannot always outslug their opponents, last year proved that.

Last season the Rockies were 4th in the NL with 833 runs scored, 2nd in the NL in batting average at .275, 2nd in the NL in hits with 1531, 3rd in slugging percentage at .455, and 2nd in team OPS at .800. This is a great hitting team that suffers from atrocious pitching. Last year the pitching staff was last in the NL giving up .290 batting average to opponents, last in the NL in with a 5.54 ERA, last in OPS (On Base % + Slugging %) allowed at .845, last in the NL in walks with 697 or 4.3 a game, last in the NL in Strikeouts with 947 which was almost 400 behind the NL leading Chicago Cubs. Let's do a little math here. They scored an average of 5.14 runs a game while giving up an average of 5.54 runs and 4.3 walks. That is exactly why they finished 68-94, and that was only 1 more win than their inaugural season as an expansion team. This season is looking a lot like last season already.

NCAA Tournament final update

The University of Denver Pioneers men's hockey team delivered the second of their back to back national championships over the weekend. The Pioneers were lead by two freshman to the school's seventh hockey national championship. Freshman Goalie Peter Mannino won the Most Outstanding player of the Frozen Four. He was amazing in stopping 44 of 45 shots to lead DU to a 4-1 win. Freshman Forward Paul Stasny added two goals in the win. Congratulations to the Pioneers on their back to back national chamionships.

Well I guess I was wrong about Illinois beating North Carolina. Congratulations to the Tarheels on a great win. North Carolina coach Roy Williams has his first national championship in his 17 year career. You have to admit though he should send a nice gift to former coach Matt Doherty for his recruits that were pivotal in this championship season. The Tarheels held Illinois scoreless over the last 2:30 to secure a 75-70 win. F Sean May won the NCAA Men's Tournament Most Outstanding player. He dominated the final with scintillating shooting 10-11 from the field.

Out of a field of great teams the Baylor Lady Bears won the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. They handily beat the Michigan State Lady Spartans by 84-62. The Lady Bears were lead by Sophia Young, the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament. The Lady Bears have made Baylor proud in the wake of the Dave Bliss men's basketball program a few years ago. The Lady Bears were lead by Coach Kim Mulkey Robertson who is now the only person in the NCAA record book who has won a national championship as a player (1982 La. Tech), an assistant coach (1988 La. Tech), and as a head coach (2005 Baylor). She has made an amazing turnaround of the Lady Bears in only 5 years. Congratulations to the Lady Bears of Baylor on their first national championship.