So the World Cup has finally come to an end, and let me emphasize the word finally. Now I, like 99.9% of most Americans, can go back to not paying any attention whatsoever to soccer for the next 3 years and 11 months. And what a fitting end it was to the tournament. A boring, completely uneventful game that somehow maintained people’s attention for two and a half hours. By comparison, watching that game for me was the equivalent of watching the Royals and Pirates battle it out for 18 innings through a 0-0 tie.

                I respect soccer. I do. I also respect the Tele-Tubbies and infomercials about vacuum cleaners, but I wouldn’t choose to watch those either. Take the U.S. team out of the equation and I don’t know what I would choose between the three. I’d probably have to lean towards the vacuum cleaners. Had Landon Donovan and the U.S. managed to defeat the Ghananians (yes, I made that up) and advanced I would have continued to watch, even with a little excitement, but now that the whole tournament is over I am glad that we can all go back to focusing on sports that actually entertain us.

                Speaking of sports that entertain us, I am also glad that the entire Lebron James fiasco is over. Here’s what I don’t understand however: I can’t figure out why the majority of people out there have such a problem with him going to Miami. He took less money and sacrificed his ego to have two other superstars on his team, all in hopes of winning multiple championships. Isn’t this what we typically want all of our athletes to do? Not to mention that I’ve been to Cleveland, and to Miami. If you gave me a choice of which of those two cities I would want to live in, um, well I wouldn’t have to think very long.

                I consider myself a casual NBA fan. I don’t even have a favorite team, other than whoever is playing the Lakers. But I can’t wait for the season to start up again, I am beyond curious how that team is going to handle having three superstars with only one ball. David Stern and the rest of the NBA suits must be ecstatic over these developments. I can’t remember basketball ever being this covered and discussed in the middle of summer.

                So soccer is over, the big free agents are signed, and baseball is just now getting to the All Star break. I wonder if I’m the only one thinking…. How soon until football starts?

                One of my favorite actors of all time recently passed away. No, I am not referring to Gary Coleman, I am actually talking about Dennis Hopper. There are countless movies that he was in that are certainly entertaining, but when I think of Dennis Hopper, I think of Hoosiers.

               I have a tendency to try to rank things. I have a top 5 bands, top 5 TV shows, top 5 stationary stores, top 5 Golden Girl episodes, top 5 Smurfs, you name it. So, in honor of Dennis Hopper, I will now rank my top 5 sports movies. 

                #5 – Rudy – I don’t mind saying that every time I see that movie, I get teary-eyed. Not to mention it has always provided an excellent trivia question, being the first movie of Vince Vaughan’s career. Surprisingly, however, Vince Vaughan does not appear again in the rest of this countdown, as I had a hard time putting Dodgeball in the top 5 sports movies ever. Top 50 maybe, but that’s mostly thanks to Patches O’Houlihan.

                #4 – Remember The Titans – There is a definite amount of cheese in this movie, but it’s one of those movies I will watch start to finish whenever it is on, and still keeps me entertained every time. Denzel Washington has had many amazing performances in his career, but this has to be one of the best.

                #3 – The Natural – I’ve seen many of these countdowns, and I believe I’m the only one in America who ranks this movie as the best of the approximately 427 (give or take) movies there are about baseball. I have to put Roy Hobbs over any other baseball character we have seen.

                #2 – Caddyshack – To call Caddyshack a sports movie is a bit of a stretch, but considering it does take place on a golf course, I’ll go ahead and count it. Without a doubt the best performance of Bill Murray’s career, and anyone who doesn’t laugh at the gopher truly has no sense of humor.

                #1 – Hoosiers – To me this is not even close. This movie is far and away the greatest sports movie of all time. It’s pretty much cinematic perfection from start to finish.

                Honorable Mention – Rocky, Raging Bull, Jerry Maguire, White Men Can’t Jump, Tin Cup, Bull Durham and Air Bud Golden Receiver (ok, kidding on that one, just checking to see if you are still paying attention).

                This blog, if you haven’t noticed, is now interactive. So both of you that read this feel free to give us your input and tell me how wrong you think I am. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Clumsy Smurf topped my best Smurf countdown. And in the words of the great Patches O'Houlihan, dont forget... "Dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge."

               By now anybody with a television set has seen the replay of what should have been the final out of Armando Galarraga’s perfect game yesterday. I’m pretty sure every channel in the world has shown the replay an average of 3,561 times in the last 24 hours. In fact I think I saw a special on the play on C-Span this morning. To be honest, I don’t know who I feel worse for, Galarraga or Jim Joyce, who somehow managed to blow such a huge call. What impressed me most, however, are the actions of both men after the game and into today. Joyce didn’t hide from any of the criticism, he accepted it head on and admitted his mistake. Galarraga displayed nothing but class in every interview I have heard. It’s just a shame that the classic game, America’s pastime, has to have such a black eye. Mind you, a black eye that could have been avoided if the sport decided to join the rest of us in the 21st century and implemented instant replay by now. Yes, I know they have it for disputed home run calls, and it’s been used a whopping three times by now (maybe more, I have no idea, just trying to make a point here) but there’s no reason I can possibly think of why it is not used across the board by now.

                Perhaps the worst part of all yesterday was, however, not the blown call. It’s the fact that the majority of the attention in the sports world went to that call, and not the fact that the greatest baseball player of my lifetime decided to hang it up. I would put Ken Griffey Jr. ahead of any other name you give me for the last 30 years. As a Yankees fan, there is nobody in baseball that terrified me more when they came to the plate. Most importantly though is the fact that I don’t remember a single time that his name was mentioned in the decade-long steroid controversy that has pretty much ripped this sport apart. He did it the right way, and as much as I couldn’t stand him for all the times he killed the Yankees, in my mind, he was the best player I ever saw. The game will definitely miss him.

               So if you read my first blog, you are aware I’m a Yankees fan. But I’ve lived in San Diego for over 12 years, and of course run a sports bar, so naturally I have a small spot in my sports-fan heart for the Padres. The better the Padres do, the better it is for business. So of course I figured I was in for a slow summer here at Press Box. I kind of just figured that the Padres games would provide a little extra lighting in the restaurant but very few people would actually pay attention. But it’s now almost two months into the season and this team is somehow in first place. And as I just sat at the bar to watch a bit of tonight’s 1-0 victory, here’s my problem. This team is a boring team to watch. All those people that say they are baseball “purists” and enjoy watching the 1-0 games probably enjoy sitting on their porch watching the grass grow. Being a Yankees fan my whole life, I enjoy the 10-9 games with 7 home runs. That is simply more exciting. Sure, watching Heath Bell close out a game like that provides 5 minutes of excitement. 5 minutes out of a 3 hour game. See where I’m going with this one? The Padres pitching has been amazing, I can’t deny that, but it seems like a slow infield single is a moral victory for this offense. I would love to see this team continue their success throughout the season, but perhaps it can get just a little more interesting to watch. 

                Is it just me or do the NBA playoffs last longer than a presidential campaign? I feel like I don’t even remember the Lakers-Thunder series it was so long ago. And as great a player as he is, I think it’s a shame that the “where will Lebron play next year” question is taking a greater precedent over the actual people that are still playing. Frankly, can we just wait until the playoffs are over before we start speculating on where he will be next year? However, I will say that my money is on the Knicks. All he has to do is win one championship there and he will be the new King of New York. In Chicago, he will never be able to repeat the success of Jordan. I do realize I’m being awfully hypocritical right now seeing as how I just complained about all the Lebron talk and then proceeded to throw in my two cents. But it’s my blog, so I can do whatever I want! Ha!

                I couldn’t name a single soccer player on the U.S. team besides Landon Donovan but I can’t wait for the World Cup. Come to think of it, I couldn’t name another player in the world. However, I CAN wait for having to work at 7:00 in the morning every day so we can show every game at Press Box, but at least I’ll be entertained when I’m half awake. I just wonder, if by some miracle, the U.S. actually wins how angry the rest of the world will be that we dominate yet another sport.

                Until next time, hope to see you soon at Press Box!