Deportes de Calder

Today was a pretty big day in terms of sporting events in which I had an emotional stake. In the midst of countless other games, my focus was on two in particular: Game Three of the National League Divisional Series featured the LA Dodgers (beloved team of my adopted home) and the St. Louis Cardinals. Perhaps due in part to their protracted struggle to finally clinch the NL West, the Dodgers were set as an underdog in the series by most prognosticators I heard from. This just goes to show that anyone who goes by that designation knows less than nothing and is lucky to be engaged in any employment more desirable and lucrative than digging ditches.

It's fair enough to note that the Dodgers did not overwhelm and dominate St. Louis through every pitch of all three games. They got some lucky breaks, the most notable of which was Matt Holliday's momentary inability to field fly balls. One disgruntled Cardinal also observed that the vigorous shaking of white towels handing out to fans at Dodger Stadium made the ball difficult to spot. There's truth in that, but that doesn't change the likely response to someone who offers up such things as very good reasons why they lost. Losers cling to their grievances and the iniquities they are subjected to. Winners swallow those things and keep their eyes on the prize.

When the game was through, the outcome (if I haven't made it obvious already) was that the Dodgers swept the Cardinals in two games at Dodger Stadium and one at Busch Stadium, and will move on to face either the Philadelphia Phillies or their divisional rival the Colorado Rockies. Those two teams are deadlocked after two games and are waiting through weather both inclement and unseasonal before they can play a third. Their series will be resolved either Monday or Tuesday, and the National League Championship will commence on Thursday.

The much-anticipated and all-important SEC East-SEC West clash between the LSU Tigers and my family's team, the University of Florida Gators also took place today, and actually began before the aforementioned baseball game had been completed. Tragedy was averted for many by the amazing technology of the digital video recorder.

The lead story for this game was Florida's famously concussed star quarterback Tim Tebow. The three questions of whether he would play, how much he would play and how well were all answered. He started, played the whole game, and successfully played his traditional game to the extent that circumstances and the opposing team allowed.

Much less discussed was the nigh-invulnerability of LSU's home field on Saturday nights. Indeed, that may have partially contributed to the manner in which play of the game unfolded for the Gators. Their initial drive seemed to be affected by noise generated by a record-setting Tiger Stadium crowd. How does one set an attendance record in a successful team's long-serving stadium without renovations? One conjectures that more interested parties than ever before were amenable to standing room only tickets.

The game was further marked by sloppy play and needless penalties. LSU especially seemed to commit offsides infractions over and over, but both teams seemed to rack up penalties as though they were worth something on the collectors' market.

Something that I think no one complained of was an over-abundance of scoring. Florida had a field goal which might have been a touchdown as well as a missed field goal which might have been a touchdown had Urban Meyer decided to try for it. LSU mostly didn't even get close enough to entertain such hypothetical scores. It was very much a defensive struggle, and was one waged by two of the finest defenses in the land. Florida proved to be a little bit finer, and won by a score of 13 to 3.

As I speak, I have on a slate of boxing matches being fought here in Los Angeles. The title card is reputed to be a significant one, but my knowledge of the fight game is so limited that I will only offer this:

It's interested to consider the waning fortunes of boxing. It's probably fair to say that numerous factors have dropped the sport in popularity from one of the nation's three most favored to some distant spot beyond several niche sports which can speak of only humble profits.

It seems to me that boxing is second to none in susceptability to corruption. One must bribe only one participant in order to ensure exactly the desired outcome in the ring, with other forms of malfeasance being rampant and also sapping the strength of the game.

Secondly, boxing is probably not the first choice of any aspiring athlete who seeks fortune, glory and a lifetime of good health. They say that many men who might have been great heavyweights instead opt to be tight ends or linebackers on the football field. This may explain the especially languid nature of that division of boxing.

Lastly, I don't believe the business model can be helping. I think that making every decent fight available exclusively on pay-per-view limits the growth of the game. I've never sprung for a pay-per-view event in my life, and consequently have had very little exposure to boxing or pro wrestling. Perhaps they're making plenty of money in spite of their poor accessibility, but I think it's a mistake. Unless they ever change their ways, I'll just watch the rare free broadcast and read the news accounts of the rest.

All that about boxing aside, it was a great day of sports. One can spend many days doing nothing but watching athletics and fail to see anything the least bit meaningful, but this was not one of those days.