Hell Day is in The Rear-View Mirror

Paul Maholm pitches for the Bucs tonight

The worst night of a sports fan's life, namely the day after the All-Star gawme (hich I call "Hell Night), has come and gone for another year. Let me be the first to say "Thank God!" (all apologies to Josh Hamilton). I found myself watching NBA Summer League games on NBA TV last night, doing a podcast with a high degree of technical difficulties, and trying to figure out the easiest way to get sleep after slaving through my day job for two days because I knew I had nothing better to do. I hate the day after the AS game, at least when the Super Bowl ends you have college sports, NBA, and the NHL to pick up the slack. The day after the All-Star Game gives you choices of the WNBA, AAA all-star game (not in HD by the way), summer league basketball, and red carpet photos from the ESPY Awards, which are taped and rebroadcast the next Sunday. What a delightful selection, right?

That brings up my next point. Why can't ESPN, the "Worldwide Leader", figure out how to broadcast the ESPY's live and not screw up Sunday Night Baseball? The Oscar's and Grammies somehow manage, is it really such a spectacle that we have to wait 4 days for it? Wouldn't you want to avoid people leaking the results (like your own network, for instance)? I mean, really, ESPN could have the entire sports world all to themselves for one night, yet they don;t air it until Sunday night, after a baseball game? What happens if the game goes 15 innings? Do they have to edit that much of it? Oh, and why have it in Los Angeles when your facility and staff are mainly based in the northeast? New York couldn't suffice? Atlantic City not grand enough? So many missed opportunities for ESPN, so little time.

Manny Ramirez has p-o'd one John Henry. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this is going to be Ramirez's last season peeing in the Monster. Matt Holliday, come on down!

The British Open will not be in HD at all. Wow, no Tiger Woods and no HD? If ABC acts like it doesn't care, why should a sports fan?

I think I will do a live game blog tonight, and concentrate on a team that probably won;t make the playoffs, so I think tonight's game will be the Pittsburgh Pirates at Colorado Rockies. Both FSN Pitt and FSN Rocky Mountain will be broadcasting this game, but I think I will go with FSN Pittsburgh's coverage tonight, or possible alternate it between innings. Either way, you are bound to get one ridiculous commercial and/or awkward announcer moment. See you here tonight.