N 1A late goal from Koo Ja-cheol gave South Korea | Forum
Mitglied wzh123
Feb 27 '19
This story appears in ESPN The Magazines September 5 NFL Preview Issue. Wholesale Shoes . Subscribe today!IT SOUNDS SO inconceivable, naive, delusional, but it was only a decade ago that Alex Rodriguez was the antidote to a ruinous generation of drugs and greed. He was the choice of the really smart baseball men, such as Theo Epstein and Brian Cashman, both of whom traded for him, and a paralyzed commissioner such as Bud Selig, who tolerated Barry Bonds holding the home run record because soon enough Rodriguez would shatter it and make the game whole again. He would make them clean.Alex Rodriguez only made it worse. The Golden Boy wasnt so golden after all. Following a bizarre week in which the Yankees held a retirement ceremony for him even though hed never announced he was quitting, Rodriguez was discarded without much care. Even the pregame celebration before his final game as a Yankee was curtailed by thunder, lightning and rain, fitting for those who found him less of a True Yankee than the rest. That wasnt thunder, former Yankees player and coach Lee Mazzilli said of the biblical thunderclaps that preceded the downpour. That was George. The Yankees 1996 championship team was being honored the next day, but for Rodriguezs night, only Mariano Rivera joined him on the field. Former teammates Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter were not present. Neither was his old manager, Joe Torre. Thats called a message pitch.Point the blame at Rodriguez, who admitted using PEDs, but no amount of reveling in his inglorious end can undo the enormous collaborative effort that has created baseballs current dystopia. Rodriguez, along with Bonds, Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire, is part of the Mount Rushmore of discredited legends that represents the true legacy of the steroid era: It isnt that they arent in Cooperstown. Its that nobody cares.The all-time home run list was once led by the most recognizable foursome in sports -- Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson. That leaderboard stood for nearly 30 years, until Bonds, who hit his 500th and 600th home runs just one season apart, passed Robinson in 2002. Sammy Sosa hit 60 home runs three times and won the home run title in exactly none of those years. While baseball took the money and laughed at warnings that it was undermining itself, the consequences would be felt later, with Rodriguez amassing 3,000 hits, 2,000 runs and 2,000 RBIs -- something only Aaron had done -- but leaving the game utterly uncelebrated, inside baseball and especially out.The Rodriguez epitaph will be a one-sided story about the phenom who was part of the top millionth percentile of talent and blew it all. Yet Alex Rodriguez will in the end be no different from the industry in which he performed for the past two decades, a game that has lost its way, seemingly intent on undermining all that made it special.The game, like A-Rod, took the money (it is now close to a $10?billion industry), ignored the spread of steroids and lost out on the good stuff. Its records are now as worthless as those in the league it is so envious of, the NFL. It decides which team will host the most important games of the World Series based on an exhibition game. It plays its championship in the worst weather because its leaders refuse to compromise on money and adjust the schedule. It plays at least one game every day between teams that play under two sets of rules. And because baseball cannot decide whether it wants to be truly modern, the games leadership allows it to stand weakly in the middle, playing a full season of baseball, simultaneously rewarding and penalizing teams for not coming in first place by staging a one-game playoff, as if the baseball season were the NCAA tournament.Baseball wants the world to be proud of its drug-testing program. Meanwhile, it deals with an All-Star team of steroid-tainted players who thus far need a ticket to enter the Hall of Fame -- Bonds, Clemens, McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Gary Sheffield, Jason Giambi, Manny Ramirez and most certainly Rodriguez -- by disciplining virtually none of them and hiring nearly all -- laying the weight of accountability on the Baseball Writers Association of America. If not knowing himself was the self-destructive fatal flaw of Alex Rodriguez, it makes perfect sense that he felt so much at home playing major league baseball. Cheap Shoes China . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Cheap Nike Shoes China . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. http://www.shoeschinacheap.com/ . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. BANGKOK -- Marcello Lippis first game as China coach ended in a 0-0 draw with Qatar in the third round of qualification for the 2018 World Cup on Tuesday.The draw in Kunming leaves China with just two points after five games, making it almost certain that it will not qualify for the finals in Russia.Lippi, who won the World Cup with Italy in 2006, was appointed in October following the resignation of Gao Hongbo.China, looking to return to the World Cup for the first time since 2002, was close to scoring on a number of occasions but just could not find a way through.The top two teams in the two groups will qualify automatically for the World Cup, with the two third-placed teams playing to decide which one advances to the intercontinental playoffs.---JAPAN 2, SAUDI ARABIA 1A first-half penalty from Hiroshi Kiyotake helped Japan to a much-needed 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in Saitama, Japan.A handball in the area gave Kiyotake his opportunity in the 45th minute, and Genki Haraguchi added a second for Japan with 10 minutes remaining.Omar Othman scored for Saudi Arabia with a minute left.The victory moves Japan level with Saudi Arabia with 10 points after five Group B games and marks the first loss for Saudi Arabia, which still holds the top spot on goal difference.---THAILAND 2, AUSTRALIA 2Mile Jedinak and Teerasil Dangda both scored a goal in each half as Thailand and Australia played out a 2-2 draw in Bangkoks Rajamangala Stadium.Australia is third in Group B with nine points, one behind Japan and Saudi Arabia, and is the first time that Thailand has avoided defeat.Jedinak put the Socceroos ahead witth an early penalty, only for Teerasil to fire home from close range before halftime.dddddddddddd. The Thai striker scored early in the second half, also from the penalty spot, to put Thailand in sight of a famous victory.Another spot-kick ensured that the spoils were shared as Jedinak kept his cool for the second time.---UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 2, IRAQ 0United Arab Emirates moved level on points with Australia in Group B after a comfortable win over Iraq in Abu Dhabi.Ahmed Khalil opened the scoring after 26 minutes with veteran Ismaeil Matar sealing the win with a minute remaining.UAE now has nine points, staying in fourth, below Australia on goal difference.---SOUTH KOREA 2, UZBEKISTAN 1A late goal from Koo Ja-cheol gave South Korea a crucial come-from-behind win over Uzbekistan in Seoul.The Bundesliga midfielder scored with five minutes remaining to put South Korea, aiming for a ninth consecutive World Cup appearance, ahead of Uzbekistan and into second place in Group A behind Iran.Uzbekistans Mirat Bikmaev scored from outside the area in the 25th, with Nam Tae-hee making it 1-1 midway through the second half.---SYRIA 0, IRAN 0Iran stayed top of Group A despite being held to a goalless draw by Syria. Played at a neutral venue in Malaysia, torrential rain delayed the start by 45 minutes and made conditions difficult for both teams.Iran moves onto 11 points, one above South Korea. Syria stays fourth with five points, one above Qatar and three more than last-placed China. ' ' '
