Hero/Zero of the Week

While on vacation last week, I truly missed posting to In The Stands. Even more so, I was bummed that I could not dub my Hero and Zero of the Week. With that being said, I have been thinking long and hard over the past fews days about who to bestow this great honor upon this week.

Drumroll please...

This week's Hero:

Washington Nationals

The Associated Press

Record after first 20 games: 14-6.

Rotation ERA: < 2.0.

Preseason Expectations: Pretty low.

For real?: Seems that way. 

It is a great time to be a fan of the Washington Nationals. 

This week's Zero:

Prank Caller

Thank goodness this story has a happy ending, that way I can tell it with a smile on my face. 

The NFL Draft may be the most exciting and nerve wrecking time for all young football players pursing a professional career. However, it is undoubtedly a different kind of nervousness and excitement for each player. Top prospects, such as Andrew Luck and RG3, can find more pleasure in the process than players who have no guarantees for where they will fall. That is why the sheer meanness (or maybe just obliviousness) of a NJ prank caller is this week's Zero. 

Can you imagine being a kid who is not quite sure what is in store from him, and then is led to believe he is not only going to play professional football, but he is in fact, a first round pick?! Can you imagine the elation a family feels for their son and his dreams that are coming true?  Then, can you imagine finding out seconds later that this was a lie, a fabrication... a joke?

Sounds awful, right? Well, that is excatly what happened to Rutgers' receiver Mohamed Sanu. Receiving a call that the Bengals were using the 27th draft pick to select him, Sanu and his family began to celebrate, until the Bengals actually chose someone else. Sanu's agent then realized the call was a prank from a NJ area code. 

Luckily, this story has a nice ending. The following day, Sanu received a call during the third round of the draft. When he picked up the phone, he heard "Hey Mo, it's James Urban. You want to be a Bengal-- this time, for real?"

More Than Mets The Eye

HOWARD SIMMONS/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

There he is. A rookie. A homegrown Mets baseball player. A guy who swung on a 2-0 pitch, connected, and hit his first MLB walk-off hit today to sweep the Miami Marlins.  

You may not know him, but his name is Kirk Nieuwenhuis. In fact, you may not be familiar with a lot of the names in the starting line up for the NY Mets, aside from David Wright and Ike Davis. But I suggest people start to learn the names of these young men, as they are on their way to becoming great ball players. 

It is highly notable that every single player who started today for the Mets was  homegrown from the Mets' farm system (with Reyes in the lead-off spot for the Marlins, when the game began, there were 10 homegrown Mets players on the field). This is a true testament to the work the organization and its scouts have been doing over the past several years. 

Down 2-1 going into the bottom on the 9th, the team not so much rallied, as they demonstrated patience and poise, as they allowed closer Heath Bell to derail himself. Bell's inability to find control led to four walks, ultimately walking in the tying run after a 13-pitch at bat against Justin Turner. 

Through the first 19 games of the season, the Mets team has shown they may be better than people gave them credit for. I still believe this long season will have ups and downs, but this team's make-up is scrappier than ever. Series such as this will leave people astonished, as they wonder is there more to the Mets than meets the eye?

COUNTDOWN WEBSITE

It's Not Crazy, It's Sports

One of the best commercials ever. I would love to meet the person who creates these commercials. They might just be the coolest person on the planet!

PR Greats

While spending four wonderful days in San Juan, PR, my boyfriend and I walked by the sealed up looking Puerto Rican Sports Hall of Fame. Passing this building inspired a conversation about some of the best Puerto Rican born athletes that have entertained, excited and infuriated us. Here are a couple amazing athletes that I would like to recognize in depth as two of the great Puerto Rican athletes we have seen in the world of sports.
<Shout outs to Roberto Alomar, Bernie Williams, Roberto Clemente, Pudge and Tito!>

Juan "Chi-Chi" Rodriguez

Maybe the most charismatic golfer of recent memory, Chi-Chi Rodriguez's professional golf career spanned over five decades, officially ending this year on March 11at the Puerto Rico open as an honorary golfer. Winning 38 professional tournaments, Chi-Chi was the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Beloved by fans everywhere for his energetic and fun antics, Chi-Chi became known for his toreador dance. After completing a putt for a birdie or an eagle, Chi-Chi would master the "bull" (ball) with his "sword" (putter). I tried desperately to find a YouTube video of the adorable Chi-Chi performing his signature putter sword dance, but I was unsuccessful.
Many times throughout his career, Chi-Chi would tell the story of how he came to love, and then learn, the game of golf. After stumbling across a golf course at a young age,  Chi-Chi would take the branch from a guava tree and turn it into a golf club. Then using a metal can as a golf ball, Chi-Chi would practice golf as he had seen local golfers play. By the time he was nine, he was a self-taught golfer.
Chi-Chi Rodriguez's unique spirit and inspiring attitude on and off the course put him in a stand alone category of greatness. "I never exaggerate. I just remember big." This is how we will always remember Chi-Chi: a big person full of bigger personality.


Carlos Beltran

How can I not talk about former Met Carlos Beltran when I discuss Puerto Rican born greats?
While growing up, Beltran excelled at sports, in particular baseball and volleyball. At the age of 17, Beltran decided to focus on baseball, and as they say... the rest is history.
After playing for the Kansas City Royals and Houston Astros, Beltran signed a blockbuster deal (7 years, $119 million) with the New York Mets. Earning his first Golden Glove in 2006, the year wasn't totally kind to him. He is remembered by some bitter NY fans as the guy who struck out looking in Game 7 of the NLCS that year (I am not one of those fans. I mean, give a guy a break NY Post).
Now playing for the Saint Louis Cardinals, Carlos Beltran should be relishing in his big moments (recording the first hit ever in the Miami Marlins' new stadium), as he nears the tail end of his injury plagued career.
It is my hope, that NY/ the NY Post will one day not define Beltran by one singular out of one singular game, but by the solid and impressive career Beltran had while playing for the NY Mets.