Around The Horn

~ Sad news from the tennis world. One of my favorite players when I was younger was the Swiss Miss, Former No. 1 Martina Hingis won’t be making a comeback to competitive tennis. Hingis, Now 29 who retired 2 years ago after a small run in with a positive cocaine test (which she denied direct use, for whatever that is worth). Hingis said: "I’ve got a nice house, my four horses. ... On the tour, I had no life." She will be fondly remembered on the court and maybe she will get a change of heart, but at age 29 that is close to the end for a woman tennis player.

~Hendrick Motorsports must feel pretty good right now. They have the first 3 spots in the NASCAR Chase for the Championship. Jimmie Johnson currently leads 2nd place belongs to Mark Martin and 3rd goes to Jeff Gordon. Now I will be the first to say don’t count any eggs before they hatch. There are a lot of races and time left for things to happen but at present time it must be nice. As for the 4th driver on that team, the once thought of decent driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. wallows in 22nd place. It is like he is one of those holdings that you expect to lose money on so you don’t have to pay as much tax. His name seems to be a blessing and a curse, he is famous and rich just for his name but had little or no chance to live up to daddy’s legacy and may not be as good a driver as people think he is or thought he could be.

~ Chase Utley has made two costly throwing errors, and bounced a ball to first from 2nd base and his name is now being mentioned with Steve Sax and Chuck Knoblauch. Even Rick Ankiel and Todd Hundley feel bad for this guys arm. He is lucky that right now his team is good enough to insulate his mistakes. I hope for his sake that it doesn’t continue to the World Series when they get there.

~ The Phillies mounted quite the comeback in the ninth inning of Game 4. Those who stayed to watched were rewarded in getting the chance to see it live. Many Ramirez was not one of these people. Taken out for defensive purposes he was back in the clubhouse taking a shower. Sure he could have stayed in the dugout with his team and been cheering for them but instead he chose that he needed a shower right away. Manager Joe Torre didn't seem too concerned saying:
"Manny has so much confidence," Torre said. "When we get a lead late in the game, and I've taken him out, whether it be for defense or we have a big lead, when we go up to shake hands after the game, he's in his street clothes. "So, it's really nothing different than he's done before. I don't think it's disrespect or anything. He wasn't going anywhere until the game was over, and we can't put him back in the game."
That may be true but the is something to be said about sticking with your team...Just Manny being Manny I guess.