OK, this isn’t the normal classic sports logo I would post here but I figured a little publicity to the Rwandan soccer team that shares the name of my domain wouldn’t be a bad thing. (See the “About” page). They were founded in 1968 and have won the Rwandan Premier League 6 times! (Wikkipedia is a wonderful thing). Go Rayon!!
This is the 1962 rookie card of halfback Ernie Davis (courtesy CheckOutMyCards.com), who led Syracuse to the National Championship in 1959, and became the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. The Cleveland Browns traded a great player, future hall of famer Bobby Mitchell, for the rights to sign Davis, but he never played in the NFL. He was diagnosed with leukemia in 1962 and passed away in 1963. His story is documented in the recent movie “The Express”.
Whenever you hear any discussion of who is the best NHL goaltender of all time, the same names are always in the mix. It’s usually an argument between 2 more modern-day players, Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur. There are 3 old-timers who deserve consideration in my opinion – Jacques Plante, Glenn Hall and most of all Terry Sawchuk. Sawchuk is the greatest of all time as far as I’m concerned. He spent most of his career with the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, winning 4 Vezina Trophies and playing on 4 Stanley Cup winners. When he retired he held the NHL record for wins and shutouts. His statistics carry the argument on their own, but what makes him the best is the fact that he played most of his career in the days prior to the introduction of goalie masks, and this picture is what seals the deal. It shows the cumulative effects of his 21 years in the NHL. What a warrior!
They are pretty much a footnote in sports history, but some interesting things occurred during the short history of the old American Basketball Association’s San Diego Conquistadors. They were rare in that they were an ABA expansion franchise, and their early coaches included former Boston Celtic K.C. Jones, who would go on to coach the Celts, and, in 1973-74, Wilt Chamberlain. Wilt was hired as a player/coach but the courts ruled the contract he signed violated the terms of his playing contract with the NBA Lakers, so he was only allowed to coach.
It’s been quite an off-season for the New York Jets. After their surprising run through the AFC playoffs last season, they have done anything but stand pat with their roster. Most of the draft experts claim that pairing #1 pick Kyle Wilson with all-universe Darrelle Revis at the cornerback spots will make the Jets’ defense impossible to score on this season. Let me be the devil’s advocate here – for one, the games still have to be played on the field. Also, the Jets’ moves of adding Ladainian Tomlinson, Santonio Holmes and others have the distinct smell of being Dan Snyder-like fantasy team moves, adding big names and assuming that your team will now be all-world. I’m interested to see what effect the subtractions of players like Allan Faneca, Kerry Rhodes and Thomas Jones have on the club. That being said, my opinion is that the Jets will be an improved team, a major force in the AFC, for one reason – because of their coach, Rex Ryan. Ryan is a guy who defies conventional wisdom, ignores the usual excuse-laden coach-speak and has high expectations of himself and his team, and a high energy level. Look for the Jets to win the AFC East this season.
Anybody who despises the current state of major league baseball, with its’ big-market team domination, has to be cheering for the Tampa Bay Rays to reprise their season of 2 years ago, when they shocked all the experts and wound up in the World Series. They are a solid young team with a great manager, Joe Maddon, and are off to a terrific start in the AL East. In order to stay where they are now, atop the division, they will have to hold off the top 2 poster children for big-market domination, The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox are looking more and more like a team on the decline, but don’t count out the Yankees. They are a strong team that has had early-season injury troubles with a few of their older players – Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and now Andy Pettite. Power-hitting first baseman Mark Texiera has gotten off to a slow start also. The Yanks will most certainly make a run at some point and it will be interesting to see if the Rays can keep up with them.
The Buffalo Sabres’ playoff season was ended abruptly with a 4 games to 2 opening round elimination by a lower-seeded team, the Boston Bruins. A lot of disgruntled Sabres fans are calling for the firing of coach Lindy Ruff after the disappointing series. There are cases to be made on both sides of this issue. The case for firing Ruff starts with the fact that since he has been the Sabres’ head coach, a lot of other coaches in the NHL, including coaches who have won multiple Stanley Cups, have been fired. The Sabres organization has shown unbelievable patience with Ruff, including putting up with two straight non-playoff seasons before this year. The only other situation comparable to Ruff’s term with the Sabres would be Jerry Sloan’s tenure with the NBA’s Utah Jazz. Both teams are considered to be annual “bridesmaids” in their respective leagues. Here are some specific reasons why Ruff and his coaching staff deserve some blame for this season’s playoff failure – first of all, the Bruins came into the series with a specific game plan and executed it well. They were extremely physical throughout the series and seemed to keep the pressure on the Sabres in every game, even when they were behind on the scoreboard. The Sabres staff never adjusted at all, except maybe for calling up Cody McCormick from Portland, which really appeared to be a panic move. Secondly, when your team is 30-0 in the regular season when leading after 2 periods and blows 2 leads in the playoffs, and your power play is 0-for-the-series and looks worse as the series plays out (they were totally dysfunctional in game 6), then the coaching staff has to be accountable. Here is the case for keeping Ruff – he has a track record, other than this season, of taking his club deep into the playoffs, usually with less talented teams than his opponents. His team at this point is in the same position as the Bruins were last year – division champion and high playoff seed. Hopefully they use the next regular season to tweek the roster to add some physical presence and scoring, maybe finish a little lower in the standings but are better prepared for the playoffs.
So you work hard your whole life and you finally achieve one of your life-long dreams, having your very own bubble gum card! And what happens? They forget to put your name on the front of the card. This card is one of many “error” cards that are popular with collectors. The player on the card is Hank Allen of the old defunct Washington Senators, and actually they didn’t forget his name, the black ink just didn’t work when the card was printed. Allen had a brief, pretty much non-descript baseball career, but is on 2 baseball cards that are collector favorites, this one, and he also shares a “rookie stars” card with hall-of-famer Rod Carew.