HATFIELD SPORTS SOUNDS OFF!

TUESDAY. AUGUST 9, 2005

It was outrageous to me what a San Francisco radio broadcaster said last week regarding some of the San Francisco Giants baseball players. Mr. Kruger essentially referred to the players of Latin descent as ‘brain dead.’ In my opinion, the statement was totally out of line. Not only that, but it comes at an improper time as the team is enduring its hardships without their best player - Barry Bonds - and are starting to play better. They fared rather well in the recent series with Houston. Making the playoffs may be out reach. However, Manager Felipe Alou is going to make sure this team plays hard to the very end no matter what.

Wayne Gretzky was named the Head Coach of the Phoenix Coyotes on Sunday afternoon according to a report by the Arizona Republic. Question is can this former NHL star be a successful coach? Many in other sports have tried and failed, while a few select have done it well. We’ll see what takes place in this particular case…

… Like Gretzky is the titan in his sport, Tiger Woods is the man in his. He’ll try to fend off competition from the likes of Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and others to win the PGA Championships this week.

In NASCAR, the man driving the Home Depot car - Tony Stewart - won his backyard two days ago. Stewart has clearly become the #3 star behind Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., both of whom are outside the top ten in the Nextel Cup Points chase. Stewart, an absolutely beloved man in the state of Indianapolis as depicted this past weekend, has been so hot lately that he passed Jimmie Johnson for the points standings lead.

On Monday the Jets finally inked the man a number of teams in the National Football League have been after, Ty Law. Law closes the already diminishing gap between his new team and his old one, the New England Patriots.

NFL Preseason football got under way in Tokyo as Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Indianapolis Colts, 27-21. Both starting quarterbacks made plays and were also intercepted in this one, but the real breakthrough performer was ex-UVA QB Matt Schaub. Along with rookie linebackers Jordan Beck and Michael Boley, Schaub made a difference for the victors, boasting a game quarterback rating better than the two Pro Bowl guys at his position. Things like that mean very little in the preseason as teams and coaches are just trying to keep their marquee players healthy before the commencing of the regular campaign. I look at it as a platform for rookies. Depth also comes into play.

For example, lets take this Saturday’s contests between the Washington Redskins and the Carolina Panthers. I’m interested in seeing how rookies Jason Campbell and Carlos Rogers do for Joe Gibbs and co. Although they could have a solid impact, my guess is that the depth of their opponent is too much. Carolina has quality reserves all over on defense, primarily on the defensive line and in the secondary. Good backups also reside at key offensive positions such as running back and wide receiver. The inevitable may not happen in this game, but it’s bound to happen at some point in the preseason: a major contributor for some time will suffer a rough injury. Last year it was right tackle Jon Jansen for the Skins in Gibbs’ return season.

Dan Marino, Steve Young, Fritz Pollard and Benny Friedman were inducted into Pro Football’s Hall-of-Fame on Sunday in Canton, Ohio. First lets take a closer peek at the relatively unknown guys to most casual fans - Pollard and Friedman. Pollard did big things at the running back position and was the first African American Head Coach in NFL history. Meanwhile, Friedman threw for 20TD’s in the 1920’s. Back then that was an accomplishment and set the gold standard of 35-40+ aerial scores today.

Young, who was once a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, learned behind one of the game’s best ever in HOF Niners/Chiefs/Notre Dame signal caller Joe Montana. He could beat you many different ways. Whether it was rushing for a couple of touchdowns and throwing for just 100 yards or going for the big plays to Jerry Rice and John Taylor through the air, Young was special. The league’s best ever as far as quarterback rating is concerned threw an NFL record six touchdown passes in Super Bowl 29 vs. the San Diego Chargers.

Dolphins great Dan Marino holds many of football’s records. The ESPN guys must’ve used the phrase ‘the most prolific passer in league history’ about a thousand times. Of course, Marino - the 2^nd winningest QB ever - would’ve liked to have won a title. Fact is Marino was a winner. Today’s version of him would be Peyton Manning, but Peyton can’t say he’s been to a Super Bowl like Dan can. The best thing to watch with Dan on Sunday was his throw to Mark Clayton. Right on the numbers.

While running over statistics this past weekend, I stumbled upon this: Danny Haren is the most flawless young pitcher in the game right now. When most people say A’s pitching they think of the old big three of Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito. Now Zito is the only one left as Hudson fled for Atlanta and Mulder was dealt to St. Louis in a deal that brought Haren here. Some may also mention relievers Houston Street and Justin Duchscherer. But amazingly the A’s entered this week without a loss in a Haren start since May 28^th! That’s what you call a young winning pitcher.

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