27 Selections from 2009 — Part 1

First off, if you haven’t heard the exciting news yet, 27pitches.com has made the Bob’s Blitz top sports blogs of the year. We’re excited to have found our way onto the radar of such a prestigious and well known blogger, and we hope that all of our readers have been checking over there frequently, as Bob continues to deliver some great insights.

In the same type of fashion, I felt that I should compile a list chock full of good stuff from the past year. This list is pretty much a jumble of favorite websites, stories, events, and whatever else I deemed worthy of a mention in the past 12 months, complete with interesting links and commentary. As for a number, well, what number is better than 27? These aren’t really in any particular order, but I’ll at least do my best to categorize my selections. Here’s what I’ve got for today, and be sure to check out the rest in tomorrow’s year-end finale.

First and foremost…

1) The Genesis. It’s hard to imagine that 27pitches has yet to turn one-year old. In fact, we still have a couple months to go. My first posting concentrated on my never-ending discontent for MLB Commish Bud Selig on February 10th of this year. I never expected this blog to take off the way it has, and I am pleasantly surprised that people keep coming back for more rants and raves by myself and Brandon.

Storylines

2) Champions crowned. The Pittsburgh Steelers won their record 6th Super Bowl in 2009, thanks to a Ben Rothelisberger’s accurate throw and Santonio Holmes’ insane catch. Kobe proved he could win without Shaq, and youth dominated as the face of the NHL Sidney Crosby hoisted the coveted Stanley Cup. Then, of course, the Yankees were able to prevent a repeat championship by my beloved Phillies when secret weapon Hideki Matsui delivered a MVP-worthy 6 RBIs in a crucial Game 6 showdown. Overall, it was an exciting year in sports, and the championship games and series delivered on the hype.

Godzilla leaves behind a legend in NY.

3) Tiger Woods’ fall from grace. We’ve touched on this a couple times already, but it’s impossible not to mention this as a notable storyline from this year. Take world’s best golfer, a pristine image, numerous big name endorsements, and then mix in a horrible drive (bad pun, I know), a tree, a fire hydrant, and a dozen + mistresses, and you’ve got a recipe for something I’d like to call Media Orgasm.

This may very well have been the most-emailed image of Dec. 09.

4) Steroids/PEDs/Cheaters — the story continues. Alex Rodriguez. David Ortiz. Hell, even Andre Agassi and his meth. The public may be tired of the same story with a different name, but the fact is that there were plenty of cheaters in 2009. Speaking of annoying and repetitive storylines…

5) Viking Quest. No, not Johnny Drama’s claim to fame. I’m talking about Brett Favre’s 23rd comeback from retirement. Honestly, I don’t care if this guy plays another 10 years (he just might), because he obviously has enough ability to garner interest from teams who are struggling to find a halfway decent QB. I can also deal with a guy who wants to take the time each year to weigh his options and decide whether or not to come back or finally hang them up. But goddamn it, if I have to endure another three months of daily coverage on a tired and predictable storyline from ESPN, I’m going to have to start my own network. Seeing as this is a highly probable situation, get ready for 27pitches tv in 2010. I’ll begin working on the programming.

Steroids and PEDs seems to be a storyline that will never go away.

6) Second chances; all bark and no bite. Michael Vick was uncaged earlier this year, and he found an unlikely landing spot in Philadelphia, something Brandon was quick to comment on. While Eagles management went ahead and played this up as a charity case, trying to make themselves out to be a Good Samaritans who are always looking to help out a player in need, this couldn’t be further from the truth. This was a sly and conniving way of selling the public on a situation that they thought they could easily and quickly benefit from. By taking on Vick at a highly discounted rate and  inserting him into the offense little by little in order to show other teams that he can still contribute and adjut to the speed of the game, the Eagles are simply setting the stage for their next move — trading him. With so many teams in dire need of a QB (Buffalo and Tampa Bay, for example), the Eagles can surely unload Vick’s contract and trade him for a 4th or 5th round draft pick. If they can actually take some offenses off guard in the playoffs by using him successfully as a weapon, as they did in Atlanta, it will be a huge bonus.

Favorite blogs, sites, etc.

7) As I mentioned already, Bob’s Blitz is one of our favorites places to go for updated news with a pinch of satire and attitude. Must-add bookmark.

8) Another up-and-coming destination, and one of our favorites, is Thee Sports Blog. This is a definite bookmark for those of you who need to get your college sports fix, namely in the ACC. In fact, Brandon may be collaborating with Thee Sports Blog next year to do a couple podcasts or features focusing on his alma mater, Maryland. So keep an eye out for that.

9) Another one of my favorites is Thunder Treats. These guys are hilarious (for instance, check out their tribute to Tiger’s birthday today, complete with his bday wish list) and know how to interweave sports and humor.

10) I typically call attention to the unique, hilarious, sports-centric websites that I come across that I think all sports fans would be able to appreciate. The first has got to be the Bill Simmons article generator. It’s well known that I can’t stand this guy, mainly because he’s cockier than Jim Rome and more annoying than Skip Bayless. He also goes out of his way to discredit and make fun of blogs, though he has one himself. In any event, someone finally took the time to deconstruct his writings. Basically he writes the same thing every time and fills in his crappy mad libs blanks with more updated and trendy references to make it seem fresh. Check it out and have some fun.

11) I’ve actually posted about this website before, but if you haven’t checked it out yet, now’s the time to do it. It’s called FlipFlopFlyin It’s got baseball infographics and a wide variety of other cool stuff. Once you visit you’ll be hooked.

12) This website was just emailed to me by my friend Alexis a couple weeks ago and is quite hilarious (though they could stand to make it just a bit tougher). A great idea though, and you should see if you can beat my 11 out of 12 score. Who Said It: NFL Coach or Dictator?

13) Finally, rounding out part 1 of this list, is a resource that has helped many in a time of need. For whatever reason, we all find ourselves in situations where we are not able to watch the game we need to watch. Maybe you are out of that market or even stuck at work during a playoff game. Well then, you need to bookmark ATDHE.net. They provide streaming, live coverage of many sporting events. (Disclaimer: I don’t know how they do it or any of the legal ramifications of using this service. They have a terms of service page on their site that you may want to look into beforehand, but many people have told me about this site before and that is the information I am passing on.)
That’s it for part one. Look for the second part of our 2009 recap tomorrow, and hopefully you’ll take away some good bookmarks.