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Angels Win Their First World Series
This is definitely movie material ó and the stars are the never-say-die Anaheim Angels.
They came out of nowhere to reach their first World Series, rallying past every team in their way.
Their rookie pitcher wins Game 7.
And the best hitter in the world watches from the losers’ dugout, knowing he was once just six outs away from winning the only title he has ever wanted.
John Lackey, Garret Anderson and the Angels made it all come true, beating Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants 4-1 Sunday night for the franchise’s first championship in 42 years.
Plus the most amazing thing ó the Angels didn’t even need to rely on their Rally Monkey. Anaheim third baseman Troy Glaus was voted MVP after hitting .385 with three home runs and eight RBIs.
“I can’t believe it, man,” Anderson said. “It’s been a long year ó a testament to the guys who never gave up.”
Still, the highest-scoring Series in history came down to pitching, as it always seems to do in October. Behind Lackey and the bullpen, Anaheim had too much to win baseball’s first all wild-card matchup.
The Angels became the eighth straight home team to win Game 7 of the World Series. History was on their side from the start and so was an omen ó a skywriting plane put a gigantic halo over Edison Field before the first pitch.
A day after it blew a 5-0 lead in the seventh inning, San Francisco never got close to winning its first title. Bonds went 1-for-3 with a walk to close out one of the most dominant Series performances ever, yet it wasn’t enough.
When it ended, Bonds walked down the dugout and picked up his glove. He walked back, tapped his son on the back and walked down the runway as the Angels celebrated on the field.
Lackey wasn’t even with the Angels, stuck in Triple-A, when they went 6-14 for the worst start in team history. But with both staffs worn down, the 24-year-old righty gave Anaheim exactly what it needed with five innings of one-run ball.
Anderson, finally due to get the recognition he’s always deserved, hit a three-run double off Livan Hernandez in the third for a 4-1 lead. The monkey mascot made a brief, early appearance on the video board to celebrate the moment, then sat back and let the sellout crowd of 44,598 bang their ThunderStix like crazy.
“Well, I just wanted to get into a situation where I’d be able to hit my pitch, not do too much,” Anderson said.
Brendan Donnelly, Francisco Rodriguez and Troy Percival closed it for manager Mike Scioscia’s bunch. Percival escaped a two-on, one-out jam for his third save of the Series.
“Unbelievable for us, for our fans,” Percival said. “This team has worked as hard as any team ever. We deserve it.”
And when it was over, Southern California, the land of celluloid stars, had just added a whole teamful of them while Hollywood luminaries Pierce Brosnan and John Travolta watched from the stands.
Before this year, the Angels were known mostly for heartbreak. Beloved owner Gene Autry never saw his team get this far before passing away, and it didn’t look like these guys would do it, either, especially after finishing 41 games out of first place last season.
Somehow, the Angels pulled it together. They led the majors in hitting, overwhelmed the New York Yankees and Minnesota in the AL playoffs and then knocked out Bonds and Co.
“Somewhere, Gene Autry is smiling right now,” commissioner Bud Selig said as he presented the trophy.
Owned by The Walt Disney Co., the Angels are still for sale. Before then, though, they can certainly travel the three miles or so to Disneyland to enjoy this most improbable championship.
Bonds wound up 8-for-17 (.471) with four homers, a .700 on-base percentage and 1.294 slugging percentage.
Anaheim and the Giants combined for a record 85 runs and 21 homers.
The game might have been the last for San Francisco manager Dusty Baker in the Bay. There are growing indications he’ll soon leave, possibly to take over the Chicago Cubs or Seattle.
Tears streamed down the face of Darren Baker, the 3-year-old bat boy son of the Giants’ manager, as he was carried from the dugout by his father.
Anderson doubled in the third to make it 4-1, and Angels fans went wild. A little too much, maybe.
David Eckstein made up for a rare baserunning mistake in the first by leading off the third with a single and Darin Erstad also singled. Tim Salmon came up and Hernandez cost himself, hitting the Angels star in the right hand.
No outs, bases loaded. The at-bat of a lifetime for Anderson, drafted by the California Angels in 1990 and out of the postseason until this year.
Unsung despite a stellar career, Anderson got the hit that will put him in highlight reels for a long time, sending a line drive into the right-field corner that easily scored all three runners.
As Reggie Sanders tried to corral the ball along the low wall, an Anaheim fan got into the act, bopping the right fielder on the back with a pair of red ThunderStix. There was no interference called, properly, although two security guards were soon standing in the area when Hernandez, who lost for the second time in the Series, was pulled.
Hernandez seemed uncomfortable from the start, constantly pawing at the mound while trying to find his control. He looked nothing like the MVP of the 1997 World Series for Florida and instead resembled the pitcher who tied for the NL lead in losses this season, which he did with 16.
A surprising lapse by Eckstein, who took off Anderson’s liner to center field and was doubled off, enabled Hernandez to overcome two walks in the first.
Hernandez was not so lucky the next inning when he walked Scott Spiezio with two outs and Bengie Molina followed with a double that tied it at 1.
Molina added another double, and the hits were his way of honoring his father who was faraway. Earlier Sunday, former amateur outfielder Benjamin Molina Santana was in Puerto Rico, where he was inducted into the island’s hall of fame.
The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the second on singles by Benito Santiago and J.T. Snow and a sacrifice fly by Sanders.
Notes: Goodwin’s strikeout left Giants pinch-hitters at 0-for-16 in the postseason. … The last rookie to start Game 7 in the Series was Jaret Wright of Cleveland in 1997. He got a no-decision in the Indians’ 3-2 loss in 11 innings at Florida. … Salmon stayed in the game after being hit, but did not look great in grounding out his next time up.

Ripken’s streak most memorable moment
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Cal Ripken Jr. breaking Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games streak was voted baseball’s most memorable moment in fan balloting.
The milestone by the Baltimore Orioles’ shortstop in 1995 received 282,821 votes, out of more than 1.1 million cast. Many credit Ripken’s feat with bringing many fans back to baseball following the 1994 players’ strike.
“Mine was a heartfelt moment for many people,” Ripken told The Associated Press. “I know that because they’ve told me. For me, it was a magical moment.”
†
Rounding out the top five memorable moments was Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record in 1974 (275,451 votes); Jackie Robinson becoming the first black to play in major league baseball in 1947 (251,564 votes); the home run chase by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa to beat Roger Maris’ single-season home run record in 1998 (242,279 votes); and Gehrig’s farewell speech in Yankee Stadium in 1939 (237,131 votes).
The rest of the top 10 moments were Pete Rose breaking Ty Cobb’s all-time career hits record in 1985 (230,852 votes); Ted Williams becoming the last player to hit above .400 in 1941 (203,982 votes); Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak in 1941 (176,810 votes); Kirk Gibson’s pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to win Game 1 of the 1988 World Series (157,716 votes); and Nolan Ryan’s seventh career no-hitter in 1991 (146,269 votes).
Major league baseball and MasterCard, which sponsored the balloting, announced the results before Game 4 of the World Series in San Francisco.
Not making the top 10 were two moments dear to Giants fans: Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” in a 1951 playoff game to propel the New York Giants past Brooklyn into the World Series, and Willie Mays’ over-the-shoulder catch in the 1954 World Series against Cleveland.
Mays was at Pacific Bell Park before Game 3 and recalled his play that robbed Vic Wertz at the Polo Grounds. Mays, however, added that he thought he’d made a few better plays in his career.
Other famous World Series moments not making the top-10: Joe Carter’s title clinching home run in Game 6 against Philadephia in 1993; Don Larsen’s perfect game in 1956 against Brooklyn; Bill Mazeroski’s home run to beat the Yankees in 1960; and Carlton Fisk’s shot to win Game 6 of the 1975 Series against the Cincinnati Reds.
Voting took place in all 30 major league ballparks, on major league baseball’s Web site, and from ballots in selected magazines and at participating advertisers.

The Rally Monkey Works!

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but the monkey survived!The Rally Monkey!

I Want To Watch The Leafs!

The Toronto Maple Leafs 2002-2003 National Hockey League season begins tonight!
GO LEAFS, GO!!!
For all of the most up to date Leafs information on the internet, visit The Penalty Box for all of the news and views.
Oh, and GO LEAFS, GO!!!!!

Serena in U.S. Open Fashion Stir

World No. 1 Serena Williams created a fashion stir during her 6-2 6-3 first-round win Monday over fellow American Corina Morariu at the U.S. Open.
Stepping out onto the Arthur Ashe court in a short-legged, all-in-one, black leather-look, skin-tight outfit with pink wristbands and a diamond tiara, the younger Williams exposed her personality and whole lot more to the large opening day crowd.
While immediate reviews seemed split, the Williams family fashion critic and design student, Venus, gave her sibling the stamp of approval.
“She (Venus) really liked it,” said Serena. “She said it was a great outfit. It is really fun and really exciting and very sexy … I mean she just basically described me.”
Two years ago, it was Venus who made a fashion statement at the Australian Open with a plunging, halter-top design that also revealed more of the American’s charms than maybe was intended.
Serena acknowledged that her outfit would not be to everyone’s taste.
“This is a cat suit, it’s made of Lycra and it’s supposed to have the illusion of looking a little bit like leather from a distance,” said Serena. “It sticks to the body, it really sticks to what type of shape you have.
“If you don’t have a decent shape this isn’t the best outfit to have.”

Love Match?
It couldn’t have helped Anna Kournikova’s slim-enough chances in her Wimbledon doubles match against the Williams sisters that she had a night of wild sex just before.
Spies tell the London tabs that Kournikova and her boyfriend, Enrique Iglesias, were up until 4 a.m. having a raucous romp in their Four Seasons hotel room before Saturday’s match.
The “moaning and screams” were so loud, managers “had to send someone up to their room to tell them to keep it down,” one snitch said. Kournikova and partner Chanda Rubin were later trounced by Serena and Venus.

What Was The Greatest Moment In Baseball History?
GO ahead, take your pick – the greatest moment in baseball was. . .
Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech? Babe Ruth’s called home run against Chicago in the 1932 World Series? Don Larson’s perfect World Series game? The Toronto Blue Jays winning the ’92 Series? Or the dribbler Mookie Wilson hit through Bill Buckner’s legs that turned the 1986 Mets into world champions.
What about Reggie Jackson’s three home runs in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series? Or Willie Mays’ backhanded catch off the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Bobby Morgan in 1951? You be the judge.
Out of the thousands of golden moments in more than a century of pro-baseball, the Fox Sports pre-game for next Tuesday’s All-Star game will attempt to include a lineup of what a group sportswriters, broadcasters and players consider to be the top 30 greatest moments in baseball history.
Twenty-nine will be revealed before the game starts, and the 30th will be saved until the seventh-inning stretch for a special tribute.
Viewers will get to vote on their favorites at Major League Baseball’s Web Site and the top 10 will be named during Game 4 of the 2002 World Series.
“Since the All-Star Game is a celebration of the national pastime there isn’t a better stage to unveil this great game’s most memorable moments than the Mid-Summer Classic,” said Ed Goren, President and Executive Producer of Fox Sports.
At Tuesday’s game, each moment will be revealed on TV and on the Jumbotron at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Some of the players responsible for those moments will be on hand to put in an appearance on the field.