Casual Sunday: This Week In Sports

With baseball back, soccer games all week long, and plenty of news every day, it wasn't a bad week to be a sports fan. Hell, it was even a great week to be a NASCAR far, minus all the horrible things that come with being a NASCAR fan. But I digress. Here are this week's Winners and Losers.


Winners
Soccer Exhibitions - This week was a great week to go to a soccer game in the U.S. There were 44,213 fans at PPL Park in Philadelphia to watch the Union play a friendly against Manchester United (Philadelphia kept it close, losing 1-0). Over 20,000 went to see Thierry Henry make his debut in another MLS exhibition. And 32,000+ flocked to Fenway Park to watch Sporting and Celtic battle through 90 minutes of regulation and penalty kicks.

Terrell Owens - Hard to believe any team would be willing to sign the past-his-prime, team-destroying egomaniac. But reports surfaced this week that both the Rams and the Bengals are interested in wasting a few million dollars on extreme mediocrity. Let's play pick 'em - bigger number this season: Owens' TD total or the number of idiots who tune in for the season finale of The T.O. Show?

Dawson, Herzog, and Harvey - Two former Major Leaguers and one former umpire were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Dawson gave an eloquent speech and rocked a sweet tie. When Herzog took the podium, he summed up the tremendous honor succinctly: "It feels like going to heaven before you die," he said.



Losers
Andy Schleck - After losing the lead in the Tour de France because his chain fell off, Schleck looked for his vengeance against Alberto Contador. Proper cycling etiquette calls for other riders in a group to wait if a fellow biker is suffering mechanical problems, and Schleck was disappointed (I love this question from an interviewer) when Contador failed to obey the unwritten rules. "I wouldn't want to take the jersey like that," Schleck said after the race. "My stomach is full of anger and I want to take my revenge in the next few days." I don't think losing to Contador for the 2nd year in a row was what Schleck had in mind.

Detroit Tigers - As baseball heats up after the All-Star break, contenders - like the Detroit Tigers - are looking to build towards a playoff push. That just got a lot harder for the #3 team in the AL Central. The Tigers are 3 games back of first, but had to place Brandon Inge, Magglio Ordonez, and Carlos Guillen on the DL this week. Talk about some bad "breaks" (ha ha!).

Hasheem Thabeet - NBA D-Leaguer (and former #2 overall pick) Hasheem Thabeet finally made his way back into the highlight reels. Unfortunately for "HasheemTheDream," the aforementioned highlight belongs to Tyler Wilkerson. Check out the Spurs' undrafted power forward posterize the 7' 3" Thabeet, summer league style.