Man, time sure does fly. It seems like just yesterday I was praising Drew Brees. Actually, it was just yesterday, but I was referring to when I named Brees and the New Orleans Saints winning Super Bowl XLIV the top Sports Moment of 2010. And you know what? That was a boring, predictable pick and it left nothing to the imagination of you, our beloved readers. You deserve more than just the run-of-the-mill year end list, because With Leatherites are smarter than the average sports blog reader, and I know that because I was called an idiot by you guys plenty this year.

You also have a better sense of humor than the average sports blog reader, so when I was entering the qualifications for this year’s Best Sports Moments into my sophisticated super computer (read: old yellow notepad) I wanted to kick the sentimental crap to the curb and really focus on what makes us all tick – namely, poop jokes and hot models. But mostly fun sports moments. As always, I don’t expect everyone to agree, and I’m sure that I left out a few moments here and there (sorry hockey). So feel free to school us on your biggest moments of the year, and let’s all hope that 2012 is a little more sex scandal free…

Read the rest of this entry »

"Apparently we are still in Kansas."

The hyperbole has been intense over the past 12 hours or so since Evan Longoria barreled through his teammates to touch home plate last night. Scott Van Pelt repeatedly reiterated that “nothing is better than sports, ever.” And we agreed. The Twitterverse displayed a million different versions of “This can’t be real!” as people marveled at the heroics of Longoria and his teammates and the breakdown of Jonathan Papelbon and his. We also agreed.

To call it the best night in the history of baseball, though, is a bit of a stretch. Don’t get me wrong, I watched all of the action of each game live, flipping back and forth as each inning became crazier than the one before it. But is it still better than a great World Series Game 7? That’s a pretty tough call. So I will settle on the Greatest Night In Regular Season Baseball History.

Nevertheless, it was great for baseball. I’m sure that as Bud Selig is briefing the umpires on how his Milwaukee Brewers need to win*, he’s smiling a little wider than usual, perhaps even thinking of a bigger statue that he can build outside of Miller Park. Too bad it couldn’t be that great for everyone. As always, there are winners and losers, and as a St. Louis Cardinals fan, I am generally regarded as more intelligent, classy, handsome, and sympathetic than other baseball fans. So I thought we’d pay tribute to the faces of the people who gave us “Baseball’s Greatest Night.”

*You know, hypothetically.

Read the rest of this entry »