Sports Sports and Sports!

It is official sports week here, so much going on it's awesome.

The Women's World Cup started up. Am I the only one who's jaw dropped upon seeing that the US Women's team TIED their first game? The world has been put on it's ear. But, that's why they play the game, eh? And I am very happy to see that ESPN is covering the tournament. One word: EXPOSURE. The NHL could stand to learn that word.

Speaking of the NHL, it's presale time! Picked up tickets to five Pens games on the season ticket holder waiting list presale. Made the investment of buying extra tickets, because I figure it shouldn't be hard to round up friends or sell tickets that I don't round friends up for. I just need to remember to close my eyes before opening my credit card statement. Two big highlights: Pens vs. Devils and Pens vs. Capitals! Also, a bunch of my Cincy buds and I got tickets to a Detroit/Columbus game in Columbus. Fun!

Pardon me for a moment while I do my "Yay Hockey Season Is Coming" Dance.

And last but not least (well, maybe least), the Pirates seem to have selected a new President, Frank Coonelly, currently MLB's chief labor counsel. I won't pretend to know whether it's a good choice or not. A lot of people seem irritated in that he's played a large role in the setup of the current MLB financial structure so they believe that he will not bring any outside-the-box thinking to the team. However, my challenge to that is we don't necessarily need thinking outside of the MLB box, but outside of the Pirate box. I'm willing to see how it goes. One thing that does give me pause is that they also seem to have candidates lined up for the GM job already. I thought the whole point was to allow the new Pres to hire the new GM...so are they in the process of handcuffing the new Pres before he's even officially hired? Not so good if that's the case.

FOOTY!!

It's far too late for this summer, but great news that the Riverhounds will be playing again next year! Even better news, although a location hasn't been finalized they are going to be moving to a new location closer to the city. Good for fans, who don't have to trek all the way down to Washington, and good for the players, who hopefully won't have to play on a FREAKING BASEBALL FIELD. (Even having seen games there, I still can't make that work in my head.)

If the new ownership group is smart, they will seriously consider landing a home field within the city, as the Pittsburgh Passion did. I didn't go to any Passion games when they played at outlying areas such as Ambridge or Belle Vernon, but I can't imagine that moving to the South Side has done anything but help their visibility and attendance. I'm sure I'm not the only one who didn't go to games when they played in the middle of nowhere.

Oh, and in related news, we're down to 10 days for Beckham's planned on-field debut in a match vs. Chelsea. I do hope he proves to be as much of a boon for MLS as folks claim he'll be. However, as a lifelong hockey fan I know the battles that fringe sports face in the US.