A championship for the ages, a conspiracy theory, and Barry’s quest for 70. The summer of 2001 in review:

Will anyone ever forget the look in Raymond Bourque’s eyes when he held the cup above his head after game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals? Bourque, nearing the age of 41, not only helped to inspire the Avalanche over the Devils in a grueling series, but also played damn well. Bourque scored the game-winning goal early in the series, and played more minutes than almost any player on the ice. If there was ever a player to root for to finally win a championship, Bourque was it. All anyone needed to see was the Cup skating by him during a postgame interview, where Bourque turned his head like a child watching the ice cream truck go by. Does it get any better than that?

Since signing a quarter-billion dollar contract last offseason, Alex Rodriguez has run into scutiny from fans all over the country. One report had him requesting his own office and plane, while sports pages everywhere calculated what they could buy with his money. But you’ve got to give A-rod props to his actions during the all-star game in Seattle. He didn’t shy away from participating in the home run derby in his old ballpark. He also made the play of the game in the first inning, when he pushed Cal Ripken, Jr. towards shortstop in Ripken’s last all-star game of his career. Ripken, who switched to third base a few years back, also homered in his first at bat, capturing MVP honors in the AL’s victory.

During the NBA playoffs in May, Milwaukee Buck’s all-star guard Ray Allen complained of the NBA’s conspiracy to have Philadelphia face L.A. in the finals because more fans would watch. Sports conspiracies swirled around Cal Ripken and Dale Earnhardt, Jr this summer. Earnhardt took home the checkered flag at the site of his father’s tragic death for his first NASCAR win, while Ripken hit a home run in his last all-star game on a pitch from Chan Ho Park, whose stuff seemed unhittable during the first half of the MLB season. Seems odd that such things would happen, as Earnhardt has never come close to winning a race, while Ripken had banged out a whoping 4 home runs before his blast in Seattle. Interesting…

The NFL preseason began with the tragic passing of Korey Stringer of the Minnesotta Vikings. Stringer died of heat stroke, as his temperature soared to over 108 degrees. His passing made national headlines because this type of death has not occurred in the NFL in a long time. However, it is all too common at the high school and college level. Those players, trying to make squads to continue the persuit of their dreams, push themselves to the limit, only to have their young lives taken from them. In the hottest time of the year, with heavy pads, it only seems inevitable for this to continue to happen.

 Ah, yes. You thought I was going to forget the most talked about and followed story of the summer. But how can a summer column finish up without mentioning Barry Bonds, who presently stands 16 dingers away from tying Mark McGuire’s record of 70 home runs in one season. The Giants have 38 games remaining, meaning he will need to hit about 1 home run every two games to give himself a shot at breaking the record. But with the Giants in the heat of a playoff race with both Arizona and Los Angeles, will the pressure get to him. Bonds, who career numbers stack up with the greatest of all time, has never been one to perform in meaningful situations. This September, he’ll have the spotlight squarely on his chase of Big Mac, while his team tries to stay focused to play in October. Only time will tell.

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