Dave in the City Transcript: Segment 4

Welcome back, "In the City." I'm Dave Medina.

This is it! The last of 2008. What a great year we had, here in sports. Now for the year in review... Most guys do countdowns, but who are we to judge? Instead, we'd like to offer you the moment of each month.

January

First, in January, how about the Giants playoff run? It was capped off by a thrilling game in Super Bowl XLII. Who could forget the big pass from Eli Manning to David Tyree?

The "other" Catch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-aKfTK2LiM


February

February was the month the NBA declared "WE ARE BACK!" It was punctuated by a spectacular Slam Dunk contest. First we had Gerald Green jump up to the hoop and blow out the candle!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYIgGyDkTQQ

Then, in an unforgettable show, Dwight Howard donned his cape and threw down like SUPERMAN... literally!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO3c8EaxsxQ&feature=channel


March

The NCAA Mens Basketball tournament was one to remember, but how about the way Kansas DOMINATED #1 UNC in the Final Four? Technically, this happened in April, but it was an amazing performance by the Jayhawks. Believe it or not, UNC actually made a huge comeback, cutting the lead to less than ten points before Kansas launched one final flurry to put the Tarheels away, 84-66.

But obviously, the highlight of the game was this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZdL9PxKQ8E


April

The Mens Basketball national championship was particularly good. Mario Chalmers of Kansas tied the game on a 3 pointer with 2 seconds to go in regulation. Kansas and Memphis played a back and forth game that went to overtime. In the OT, Kansas pulled away and won the national championship.

Here's a look at that clutch 3 pointer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_H4RO4VXmY


May

May was a big month for Horse Racing. Big Brown furiously came from behind to win the 2008 Kentucky Derby in a bid to win the Triple Crown.

Here's the big race from May: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBeoZUsnXdc

Sadly two things transpired. One, Big Brown suffered a chip in his hoof which kept him from winning the Preakness Stakes later that summer. Thus, Big Brown's bid was bombed. Secondly, another entrant of the Kentucky Derby, Eight Belles, broke both ankles during the race and had to be euthanized.

June

Welp, who could forget it? It was the Lakers facing the Celtics for the NBA Title, renewing rivalries of years past. The Celtics imposed their will and wouldn't let up, even in Game 4 when the Lakers blew a 20+ point lead. A fantastic finish for the Celtics and Kevin Garnett, but also a bitter end to an otherwise very impressive Lakers campaign.

Games 4 and 6 are very tough to take, so I REFUSE to post any footage. Instead, I present the KG interview after the Celtics clinched the title: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyjOy7fRzs0

I'll be honest: It was great to see Garnett display so much pure emotion that night.


July

All Star Game graced Yankee Stadium for the last time, in "old" Yankee Stadium's final season. First, Josh Hamilton set the new single round record for Home Runs in the Home Run Derby. Then, the AL and NL went to extra innings, featuring great plays all around. The AL won the event in the 15th inning when Michael Young hit a sacrificy fly to score Justin Morneau from 3rd base.

It was a great week for baseball!

Hamilton monster shot at HR Derby: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdy7ZoNR-jM&feature=related


August

In the Beijing Olympics, Michael Phelps took the swimming world by storm and swam to a record 8 Gold Medals. It was a show of brilliance that will be remembered for years to come. However, Phelps would have been finished if not for a furious comeback by one Jason Lezak in the Freestyle Relay against France.

In addition, Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin claimed several events in Womens Gymnastics. Liukin earned the honor of All Around Individual Champion, taking the Gold in the event. Johnson earned a gold herself in the Balance Beam competition.

Unfortunately, NBC forced out all the known evidence that Bela Karolyi bear hugged Bob Costas after Liukin's performance. What a bummer.

September

The Rays, forever known as the laughing stocks of MLB, rose up to the summit and beat the mighty Yankees and Red Sox to take the AL East crown. Do you believe in Miracles?? YES!!

The Rays were a great team in 2008, as Evan Longoria, Scott Kazmir, B.J. Upton, and the rest powerd the Rays to a 97-65 record. Needless to say, it was the Rays all time franchise record for wins.

Rays clinch a playoff berth: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080920&content_id=3514963&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Tampa Bay would go on to storm past the White Sox in the LDS, then beat out the Red Sox in Game 7 of the ALCS to make the World Series.


October

Phillies Fever! The losingest franchise in baseball, The Phillies, made 2008 *their* year by winning the World Series. In a minor upset, the Phils beat out the Tampa Bay Rays to win it all. The Phils took it in 5, which was halted by weather partially through the game and resumed the next night.

Who knew the Phillies had it in them?

Here's the clinching out recorded by closer Brad Lidge to clinch the title: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_10_27_tbamlb_phimlb_1&mode=wrap


November

Texas Tech pulled an astounding win over in Lubbock, TX. On the Tech's last play from scrimmage the Red Raiders pulled ahead with a long touchdown pass from Graham Harrell to Michael Crabtree. The Red Raiders would go on to upset the then #1 Texas Longhorns, the biggest win in Texas Tech's franchise history.

Here's the Game Winning TD by Crabtree: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaN_ce47MOY


December

Alabama... Florida... the SEC Championship... The #1 ranked Crimson Tide's perfect season was ended in Atlanta when the Gators kept pace with Alabama and then pulled away. However, the Tide played a great game and earned numerous brownie points in the loss. The Gators would move on to a berth in the BCS Championship game.

Here are some highlights from the SEC Champsionship game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oRla-8LMOk&feature=related

2008 was full of surprises, excitiment and joy. It had its moments of truth, sadness, and hardship, but it was another good year that proved that there is no greater thrill than that of victory, and no harder agony than one of defeat in the world of sports.

So we end the year here in sports and "In the City" wondering what will 2009 bring? Will there be other great moments, and similar joy. Could there be more bitter defeats in the running. What awaits us in this new year?

It's been fun everyone, and again, thanks for stopping by. "Dave in the City" is a production of LOCKS of the Week Radio in association with Blogger.com. The Associate Producers are Andrew Jacobsen and Jacob Rosales, with special thanks to Arvin Darilag and Tony Jimenez.

Our information and subjects come courtesy of multiple sources, including ESPN.com, MLB.com, NFL.com, NBA.com, NHL.com, Yahoo! Sports, and sports Sports Illustrated. Technical assistance provided by TEAC, Audacity, Winamp, and Yousendit.com.

The Executive Producer of LOCKS of the Week Radio is Dave Medina.

This is Dave, speaking for "Dave in the City." Merry Christmas everyone! We'll be back January 5, 2009. Have a great and happy holiday season, have a wonderful New Year... and I'll see YOU next yearrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Dave in the City Transcript: Segment 2

Welcome back, "In the City." I'm Dave Medina.

You know, I never thought cold weather would return to Calfornia, and its quite an adjustment. I think I have 10 layers on right now. I also have no heating... none! Grr...

Quickly, a note on the BCS Championship in 3D. I brought up the test screening earlier, and of course we know that 3ality is commissioned to produce the event... but wait until you get a load of the theatres showing the game. They're all in the sticks! Tulare?! Riverbank?! Livermore?!?!?! Wow! It's as if they're purposely forcing us to go to redneck territory to watch this thing. ...No thanks.

Anyway, the Bowl Season is almost underway. Sure, we all know about the most important games, bah, it's been played. Let's touch on the biggest "little" games of the Bowl season.

This is in no particular order, by the way:

Poinsetta Bowl, TCU vs Boise State. This game looks really evenly matched. Admittedly I haven't had a chance to pay enough attention to TCU, but remember they gave Utah a good game a few weeks ago. Boise State, can't say enough about them. They're dominating teams every week, albeit very lousy ones. The matchup, on paper, seems fascinating. Will the WAC Team beat the Mountain West team or vice versa?

next theres the

Hawaii Bowl, Hawaii vs Notre Dame: Anyone else puzzled with how Hawaii is allowed to basically host an extra home game? Anyway, a meeting between the Warriors and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is gold waiting to happen. Hey they always say, there's a pot of gold waiting at the end of the rainbow, right? So if you match the rainbow against the gold, who wins? That, alone, is reason to watch this game!

Ok, moving on,

Lets take a look at the Emerald Bowl, Miami (FL) vs Cal: I just like the idea of a bowl game at AT&T Park. Are they selling the popcorn for this one?

oooh here's my favorite... the

Holiday Bowl, Oklahoma State vs Oregon: This game never disappoints! Imagine the score? Pick the over!! I can't wait to see them get it on! aw, who knows... for all I know OSU will clobber Oregon. They're men and they're (scoring) 40!!

and finally there's the

Capital One Bowl, Georgia vs Michigan State: This game ALSO never disappoints. Remember last year when the Wolverines upset Florida in this game? Michigan state could be due for a similar upset this time around. Michigan State isn't as bad as we think... and Georgia flat out ain't as good as we think either. The result: a very competitive game down to the wire!

and with my limited knowledge, THAT is our preview of Bowl Week, In the City...

When we return, we'll take a look at the NFL's teams to beat in the playoffs. That's coming up...

hoo boy, I have to do it, you guys... I can't help myself. In fact, go ahead and throw a shoe at me after listening to this break. oof... This is DAVE IN THE CITY


Break: Happy New Year (ABBA) <-- I know, I know...

Dave in the City Transcript: Segment 1

This... is DAVE IN THE CITY, brought to you by LOCKS of the Week Radio!

[cue the music]

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD Morning Sports Fans!

A pleasure to have you for the big FRIDAY show here on LOCKS of the Week Radio. Wow... We have a big show for you, a year ender, to finish off 2008. Today on the show we'll have for you the Year in Review, we'll touch on Bowl Week, and then we'll see about teams to beat in the NFL playoffs.

That's all coming up right here "In the City..."

Welp, Christmas is coming round the corner, and we're all getting excited. I can't wait to get my present! Nope, not the new widget... no I'm talkin' about the Lakers beating the Celtics for once.

UGGGH!! How many times do Laker fans have to get its ass whipped by the Celtics? 4 generations of Laker fans taken to the woodshed by Boston. Its so frustrating. But anyway what an incredible matchup of two teams that are lighting up their respective conference. The kind of juggernauts we haven't seen meet up since the Giants met the 49ers way back in 1991. THIS IS BASKETBALL MY FRIEND. Yes, I'm dying to see this.

You can bet LA fans are psyched up for the matchup. They've been chanting "Boston Sucks!" since opening night. They want this. Can you imagine the hype if the Lakers pull off the upset? Holy hat, that would be insane. If you were sick of Lakers coverage before, the madness after a Lakers win would drive everyone nuts. That would be so hilarious.

Ok ok, let me actually break down the game. I'll put it into three categories.

Defense: Celtics easily. The C's are a great defensive team. They have tremendous vision, they're physical, they're a bunch of punk-ass bullies, and its the perfect M.O. I love how the C's have really responded to Coach Doc Rivers' solid leadership. Jake will always tell me how bad he is, but he's the NBA's Dusty Baker. Motivationally speaking, he's got it goin' on.

Offense: Lakers. Nobody has more depth than the Lakers. When Luke Walton is the 11th guy off the bench, you know you have a very deep offensive team. The Lakers, as they've done the last two years, are top 5 in scoring. So far this year, they lead the league, scoring 108 points per game. The PACE that the Lakers play at can be staggering sometimes. Any opponent could have a 2 point lead turn into a 12 point defecit at the blink of an eye.

Intangibles: Even. The thing is, the Lakers are nearly unbeatable at home, despite their extremely OVERRATED defense. The 2nd unit really feeds off the crowd and feasts off of turnovers. Without those turnovers, suddenly the Lakers become very pedestrian. For the Celtics, you are looking at a team built on toughness. There's no doubt the Celtics are mentally and physically intimidating, having a great size advantage over most teams in the NBA... but more than that, they'll grind it out and go in deep and take the contact. That's an important facet to have to advance deep in the playoffs.

Both teams have loads of playoff experience. Granted, the Celtics as a team have only 2007 on their portfolio, but as individual players, both teams have been through the wars. Interestingly enough, both teams' bench players are fairly young.

This is going to be a great, fantastic game. For all we know, one team will beat up the other, but the intensity of this GAME is going to be playoff-esque. The crowd will be excited, the teams will be wanting it, it's been circled on the Calendar since the schedule came out. THIS IS IT!!!

After this break, we'll take a good look at Bowl Week. What are the more underrated matchups of the College Bowl Season. That's coming up after this.

This is DAVE IN THE CITY...

break: Oingo Boingo, Open Eyes (Auld Lange Syne)

Dave in the City Podcast: Thursday

Today on the show: MLB Transactions, NFL "Roll Call" segment makes its return, a quick recap of the Boston/Atlanta game last night, some thoughts on Chris Paul's new consecutive games steals streak, plus a minor bone to pick with Mark Texiera.

Enjoy everyone!

Link: Dave in the City Podcast (12-18-08)

Text link: http://www.yousendit.com/download/TTZtSkhRT01Fc0lLSkE9PQ

Dave in the City Podcast: Wednesday

Today on the show: Joe Paterno contract extension, a breakdown of the NFL Playoff race, and a visit from our good friend Jacob Rosales, aka "El Hebrew Hammer". Hope you enjoy the show everyone!

Link: Dave in the City Podcast (12-17-08)