The Sports Page
After trading Greg Vaughn to Cincinnati in February, San Diego Padres executives reasoned that there was no way the slugger would hit 50 homers again.
Cincinnati's Greg Vaughn bounces up from his slide as San Diego catcher Ben Davis tags him too late in the eighth inning.
Well, those same executives watched No. 41 sail over the 370-foot sign in left-center field Monday night as Vaughn and the Cincinnati Reds routed the Padres 12-1 to pull within 2½ games of NL Central leader Houston.
Vaughn felt the homer was mostly irrelevant, as it capped the eight-run eighth. Vaughn, who hit a career-high 50 homers in leading the Padres to the World Series last year, would rather have his homers tie the game or put his team ahead.
But since the homer came in San Diego, it fell all right.
"The baseball executives said there's no way I was going to have a good year, like I was over the hill or something," Vaughn said. "I play to win and I believe the numbers will take care of themselves, and they are."
Vaughn had been 1-for-4 before the homer, including a single to open the eighth.
"At least I didn't give the at-bat away," said Vaughn, who has 107 RBI and has scored 96 runs.
Bledsoe took his New England Patriots on another magical ride on Sunday, turning away the upstart Indianapolis Colts in a 31-28 victory in the Patriots' home opener at Foxboro Stadium.
"If we were in a big hole, Drew saw the ladder down there somewhere," Patriots coach Pete Carroll said. "He believed it from the start, at halftime, that we could come back."
"I've always felt that as a quarterback in those situations, I can be very effective," said Bledsoe, who has been credited with recording 15 fourth-quarter comebacks. "Sometimes I feel I play a lot better in those adverse situations. Sometimes it's a wake-up call for me. I think that our team feels the same, that if our backs are against the wall, we can always come back and win the game, whatever the situation."
Bledsoe had a misleading first half. He completed 10 of 19 passes for 121 yards with a touchdown but had to feel he was caught in a bad practice. Bledsoe had no time to throw or no open receivers to throw to. He also had moments where he simply seemed out of sync.
"It was just sloppiness on our part in the first half," Bledsoe explained.
But in the second half, Bledsoe did little wrong. Taking advantage of two turnovers, Bledsoe threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and helped set up Adam Vinatieri's 26-yard, game-winning field goal. He finished with a career-high tying 4 touchdown passes and 27-of-45 passing for 299 yards with no interceptions.
It comes as an immense surprise to all of us that Oscar De La Hoya was dissatisfied with the result of Saturday night's fight in Las Vegas. We had all expected him to say, "Yep, I fought like a moron, I failed to take into account the troglodytic nature of judging, and I richly deserve the loss of my belt and my prestige. I have failed."
Felix Trinidad, right, needed 12 rounds and a win by decision to beat Oscar De La Hoya.
But that's the beauty of boxing, perhaps more than any other sport. What you see is never what you get, nothing is forever, or even for the next Tuesday. And when you think Don King has finally taken the blow that sinks the boat, there he is, shrieking like a rooster having an elective beakectomy without anesthesia to the point that even hoteliers take away his microphone rights.
It makes you proud to be an American with a high threshold for the absurd, doesn't it?
Of King, who is now on his way to making a new fortune on the back of Felix Trinidad, we needn't concern ourselves. He is a perennial, immune to the routine forces of nature -- like, say, the frog. You can't stop him, as the blow-dried bard says, you can only hope you are wearing headphones when his next emission comes.
Ernie Johnson retired Wednesday after nearly four decades as a broadcaster for the Atlanta Braves. This time, he means it.
Johnson initially stepped down from Turner Broadcasting System in 1989, tiring of the heavy travel at age 65.
But his retirement lasted only until August 1990, when TBS lured him back into the booth to do about 25 games a year for SportsSouth, a regional cable network now known as Fox Sports Net South.
``Of course, I've had a lot of people say to me, `I thought you were retired. Are you going to give back your gifts?''' Johnson, 75, quipped before his final broadcast, the NL East showdown between the Braves and New York Mets.
``I think I'm ready to hang it up now, I really do,'' he added. ``It's a great game to go out on, trying to win the pennant and playing the New York Mets.''
More than half of Fox Sports Net South's pregame show was devoted to Johnson's career. His family - including his wife of 52 years, Lois, and their three children - watched from a private box at Turner Field. A small postgame party was planned afterwards.
During the game, Johnson's picture was shown on the scoreboard and Braves fans responded with a standing ovation.
``I'm sure I'll feel bad after it's over, knowing it's the last one,'' Johnson said. ``I'll miss the camaraderie. Lois will probably miss (the broadcasts) more than I will. She's my biggest fan.''
Their retirement plans include trips to spring training, playing golf and watching Braves telecasts.
This season, Johnson called home games only, except for two midseason telecasts in Milwaukee. Johnson pitched for eight years with the Boston and Milwaukee Braves, helping the club win the 1957 World Series.
After retiring as a player in 1960, Johnson became the team's public relations director. Two years later, he joined the Braves' radio broadcast team. When the franchise moved to Atlanta in 1966, he took over play-by-play duties.
``Be yourself,'' Garagiola said. ``Don't be anyone but yourself.''
INDIANAPOLIS -- Larry Bird said Wednesday he plans to step down as coach of the Indiana Pacers at the end of the 1999-2000 season when his three-year contract expires.
"I said that to Donnie when I came in. Three years is enough for a coach in any one place. After the three years I told him I'd probably be done," Bird said in a satellite interview from Naples, Fla., with Indianapolis television station WTHR.
"It's been a great experience for me. It's not something I dreamed of doing," said Bird, named NBA coach of the year in his rookie season on the Indiana bench
"These players have made it a great experience for me. After last year, I'm very down from the way we ended up. I thought we had a great shot at getting to the finals, and we didn't do it. This year is going to be no different. We're going to work hard and I'll expect a lot out of them”, said Bird.
Mark McGwire's 59th homer was the perfect way to end a perfect game Monday night.
Big Mac broke up Jon Lieber's bid with two outs in the seventh inning, moving McGwire within two home runs of Sammy Sosa for the major league lead and sparking the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Lieber struck out nine of the first 17 batters, including McGwire in his first two at-bats, and had retired 20 straight on a chilly 61-degree night.
The game was scoreless when McGwire cranked an 0-1 pitch over the center-field fence into a 16 mph wind. After that, Lieber -- winless in 13 starts since July 10 -- fell apart.
About 100 feet down the practice range from where Jarmo Sandelin of Sweden was blasting shots with his 50-inch driver, Davis Love III lofted one wedge after another Monday at The Country Club.
In this case, the short shot was much more impressive.
Love, who went 19 days without touching a club because of a pinched nerve in his neck, proclaimed himself fit for the Ryder Cup and said he might even be available for two matches a day if he's playing well.
"I feel fine now," Love said. "I'm actually shocked at how good I feel."
Love never doubted he could play in his fourth consecutive Ryder Cup, although some doubts were raised because of the pinched nerve, which caused pain in his shoulder and
Justin Leonard celebrates yesterday after winning the Ryder Cup
It was the greatest comeback in the history of the Ryder Cup. It was one of the most exciting sporting events in Boston's history. And it was one of the Hub's finest hours.
From the opening tee-off to the bedlam that rocked The Country Club following the U.S. team's improbable comeback victory over the Europeans yesterday, it was a moment for the ages.
``How can you not love it?'' said Chuck Searle of Newton, as he celebrated the victory with thousands of delirious fans outside the clubhouse. ``We came back. It's the American way.''
It was pandemonium all over the course after Justin Leonard's clutch putt on the 17th hole to ice the comeback victory. From the players to the fans, it was time to celebrate.
Brian Renstrom of Wethersfield, Conn., broke open a bottle of champagne and took a swig.
``It was unbelievable,'' he said. ``Who the heck thought we'd ever come back.''
As thousands of fans shouted ``USA, USA,'' the American players celebrated on a clubhouse balcony overlooking the 18th green, guzzling champagne and shaking bottles up and spraying the crowd and each other.
Several players tossed their caps into the crowd, and one, Tom Lehman, even stripped off his shirt and threw that out into the adoring mob.
``Justin Leonard! Justin Leonard!'' they shouted, over and over, until the putting hero took a bow.
``Everything here was first class,'' he said. ``If we can do as well, I'll be thrilled.''
While American fans lingered around the clubhouse to celebrate, European fans walked away dejectedly.
``We're disappointed,'' said David Bridges of Glasgow, Scotland. ``I thought we had it. I've never seen anything like it.''
Despite his team's crushing loss, Bridges, like most of the European fans, was gracious in accepting defeat.
``You won it on your own soil,'' he said. ``That's fair.''
Michael Cronin of Dublin said he wasn't disappointed because Ireland's Padraig Harrington acquitted himself well.
``It's not the end of the world,'' he said. ``Besides, we had a great time. The people couldn't have been any nicer.''
He said he and his buddy, Eammon O'Kennedy, met two American fans who took them to their home course in Rhode Island to play a round.
``There's about one percent who are loudmouths,'' he said. ``You can't play golf with all that shouting. They ought to throw them off the course.''
Earlier, as the U.S. team was mounting its improbable upset, American fans were smelling victory.
Sister Jane Livingstone and two other nuns from the nearby Daughters of St. Paul convent had walked over in the morning to see if they could get a peek through a fence.
``We could hear all the cheering,'' she said. ``And we figured the American team could use some divine intervention.''
A kindly guard let the three of them in even though they had no tickets - and they found themselves on the 15th fairway watching Tiger Woods go by.
``It's the energy of the crowd,'' said Sister Laura Brown. ``It's so exciting.''
Julie Crenshaw, wife of U.S. team captain Ben Crenshaw, strode by a few minutes later as she followed one of the matches. Although it was still far from over, she predicted victory.
``Our fellows all had a feeling it was going to turn,'' she said. ``They all had a good night's sleep last night.''
When it was all over, and the celebration was lingering outside the clubhouse, Kelly Byars of Los Angeles watched wide-eyed as the U.S. players hugged each other, thrust fists into the air and sprayed champagne all over each other.
``It was a great Sunday,'' she said.