Keyboard Quarterbacks

By Karen Bailis

The U.S. women's basketball gold medal over Brazil at the Pan Am Games was a celebration of youth and the bright future ahead for USA Basketball, and it was also the end of an era as it marked the retirement of Brazilian and WNBA great Janeth Arcain.

The U.S. squad, made up of some the top women’s college players, was the youngest at the Games. Still, they captured U.S. gold for the first time since 1987 with the 79-66 win over Brazil in Rio de Janeiro. Rutgers star Matee Ajavon led all scorers with 27 and a U.S. record for most field goals in a game, with 11-of-18 shooting.

They U.S. had trailed for most of the game in an emotional night for Brazil. Regardless of the outcome, Arcain, known simply as Janeth in her native country, was playing her last game in a 21-year career.

But where one career was winding down, many others are just beginning. Ajavon had her national coming-out in the NCAA tournament and thereafter as her Rutgers squad went on an unlikely run to the national championship, won by Tennessee. The ensuing Don Imus-fueled controversy brought greater attention to her and her teammates for all the wrong reasons, but they managed to shine. Ajavon was joined on the U.S. squad by Tennessee’s Nicky Anosike, of Staten Island, and Alexis Hornbuckle. Others on the team are Connecticut’s Mel Thomas and Charde Houston, Stanford’s Candice Wiggins and Jayne Appel, Georgia’s Tasha Humprhey, Louisville’s Angel McCoughtry, North Carolina’s Erlana Larkins and George Washington’s Emily Fox.

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Dawn Staley coached the team. The Temple University coach also played with Arcain for one season with the Houston Comets.

“This feels terrific. We came down here as the youngest team in the tournament, but they also came out here with the biggest hearts,” Staley said. “I thought we had a shot of winning it because they all bought into the USA Basketball system which is a no-star system. Everybody played their roles to the fullest and that’s why we won. If it was any other way I think we could have come up short today (Tuesday).”

Arcain did come up short in her final game. She scored 14 points in the losing effort.
The crowd chanted her name throughout the game, and some held banners saying "Don't go Janeth" and "Thank You Janeth." She left the court crying when the game ended.

"It's sad to leave with the silver instead of the gold," Janeth said. "But this doesn't erase all the good memories I've had in the sport."

She was the last member of a Brazil women’s team considered the country’s best ever. She was 17 when she joined stars Paula and Hortencia to lead Brazil to titles in the 1991 Pan Am Games and the 1994 world championships, and the bronze medal in the 1996 Olympics Games in Atlanta. After the two stars retired in the late 1990s, Arcain took over the team and led it to a bronze in the 2000 Olympics and fourth place in 2004.

Arcain was one of the first Brazilians to play in the WNBA and was an often unsung but integral part of the dominating Comets when they won four straight titles from 1997-2000.

"That was a very important time in my career," she was quoted in the International Herald Tribune. "It wasn't easy to adapt myself to a new country, being there all by myself. But I was able to do it, and that opened several doors for other Brazilians to play there, I'm proud of that."

Staley said her former teammate left her mark.

"The entire game of basketball is losing a tremendous player, not only Brazil," Staley said. "When the game was on the line, you always knew you could count on her."

Staley also tipped her cap her young team.

"This is my first USA Basketball team and I think your first ones are always pretty special," said Staley. "It's been fun just getting to know them. I recruited most of them to come to Temple, and all of them turned me down. You know it is an opportunity for me to feel like a part of coaching them and guiding them to becoming Olympians through this experience. And, it's wonderful. It's all about giving back and trying to get them to understand what it takes to become an Olympian, because it's one of the best feelings you can ever have in your life."

By Mark La Monica and Joe Fernandez

Earlier this month, Keyboard Quarterbacks reader Johnny Islander called our Mustache Madness contest "the biggest waste of internet bandwidth I have ever seen."

That's cool. We don't hate on people's opinions of our silly creations. He's got a right to his opinion and we here at the Keyboard Quarterbacks fully respect it. No harm, no foul. He's probably right, at least until recently.

Where we believe Johnny Islander went wrong is in not checking out what the American Mustache Institute is doing.

On July 16, they announced their Greatest Sports Mustache of All Time contest.

On July 11, we announced Keith Hernandez as owner of the Greatest Mustache in New York Sports History after the two-week contest called Mustache Madness which began on June 27.

A bit sketchy, don't you think? This is almost as shady as when the WWF pulled out a twin referee in the Andre the Giant-Hulk Hogan-Ted DiBiase fiasco on The Main Event in 1988.

This competition is like the WCW playing "American Made" when Hogan walks out instead of hearing "Real American." What's another word for remix? Oh yeah -- robbery.

Sure, it's easy to say they've done something different because they expanded it to the entire country. They can do that since they're not a New York-based organization.

But, seriously? Where do you think the idea came from? In fact, they linked to the Watchdog's interview with Hernandez on that site that ran in Newsday on July 13.

Sports Illustrated gave the AMI a paragraph. FOX even gave them a segment.

Just remember where Mustache Madness began, people.

We're not saying we're the only ones that can pull off a mustache competition. Heck, we encourage them. But just give credit where mustache credit is due. And maybe wait a month or two.

By Mark La Monica

What occurred in the bottom of the fourth inning on the SNY telecast of the Mets-Reds game on July 13, 2007, was earth-shattering for us here at Keyboard Quarterbacks.

Our new good friends at SNY were kind enough to let us share it with you. Click the link below. It may take a few seconds to load, depending on your computer and Internet connection.

Mustache Madness invades SNY

By Mark La Monica

Last Thursday, I thought the world would grind to a halt when the Watchdog interviewed Keith Hernandez on being voted the Greatest Mustache in New York Sports History and got it published in our newspaper.

Then, I broke four ribs and two vertebrae while watching the bottom of the fourth inning of the Mets game on SNY. Yes, folks, Gary Cohen and the broadcast crew all donned fake mustaches in support of Keith. (We should have a video link to it on Thursday).

But still, the madness rages on.

On Tuesday night, I received an email from Blog reader Rishi. It went like this:

Because the idea was so awesome, I thought I'd share... unfortunately, I had to shave it off for work.

-Rish

Attached to that email was this photo:

You gotta love that kind of support. Rish, you're a good man.

See, we're not the only ones with mustache obsessions.

Mustache Madness caught on so much that the Watchdog called up Keith Hernandez to discuss his recently minted title of Greatest Mustache in New York Sports.

Read the SportsWatch column here. Keith's quotes are outrageous.

By Joe Fernandez and Mark La Monica

He finished his 18-year MLB career with a .296 batting average, 2,182 hits, 162 home runs, 11 consecutive Gold Gloves, a share of an NL MVP but maybe more impressively -- one legendary mustache.

With 1,575 votes, Top-seeded Keith Hernandez earned the right to call that lady Kryptonite above his lip Newsday.com's Greatest New York Sports mustache. With 83.2 percent of the vote, he breezes past No. 2 seed Don Mattingly in the championship round.

For a mustache that's been covered with celebratory champagne before, winning championships is "old 'stache" for Hernandez. The 53-year-old won a World Series with the Cardinals in 1982 and then again with the Mets in 1986.

Credit metsblog.com with catapulting Keith Hernandez to the inaugural title. Of course, it's not without justice. Hernandez rode his mustache to a cameo on "Seinfeld." Not too many other mustachioed folks could pull that one off.

An understated mustache, it creates a mood that doesn't have a "Where's the party?" type of vibe, but rather "I'm going to let the party come to me" feel. Some people say that the 'stache is responsible for Hernandez's last five Gold Gloves and was a centerpiece for the '86 Mets world championship.

We here at Keyboard Quarterbacks salute Keith Hernandez -- The man, the Met, the Mustache.

Click the pic for more photos

By Mark La Monica and Joe Fernandez

Here we are, the 2007 Mustache Madness Championship. Or are we back on the Little League fields of 1987 where kids in New York argued which local baseball team had the better first baseman?

Donnie Baseball's the best. No, no, Keith's the best. Back and forth. Back and forth. For hours. For days. The debate still continues. And it was always split down party lines. Yankee fans picked Don Mattingly. Mets fans picked Keith Hernandez. No one dared cross party lines back in those days. Sort of like Congress in recent years, eh?

Fortunately, we're not deciding on any serious legislation that can affect our entire country. Rather, this is much bigger than that! Mustache Madness is a global phenomenon, with the power to affect the masses, a la Live Earth.

Can Keith's mustache ride its "Seinfeld" popularity, its ability to field a bunt, its current SNY presence and those die-hard fans over there at metsblog.com, who were the only force strong enough to turn on Goose's fastball/mustache?

Or can Donnie Baseball, the heart and soul of the Yankees from 1982-1995, do what he couldn't do during his career and bring home the championship? Will he carry enough sentiment from this weekend's Old Timer's Day to overcome the cyber juggernaut that has become Keith Hernandez? Will the people at nyyfans.com or yanksblog.com get their act together and spread the word for Donnie?

Your votes will tell the story. You've got until noon Wednesday to cast your ballot. The winner will be announced Wednesday at 2 p.m.

(2) Don Mattingly

By Mark La Monica and Joe Fernandez

This is it, folks. This is what every athlete dreams of -- The Mustache Madness Final Four.

The Web world has caught on in full swing, with Mustache Madness making its way into link format on metsblog.com. Take note Goose fans, they're locked in on taking Keith Hernandez to the final.

Mustache Madness must say goodbye to crowd favorite Joe Namath, who's Fu Man Chu and Super Bowl III ring carried him only so far. It was a valiant effort, Joe.

Now commence with voting for the Final Four. You've got until Sunday night to support your favorite mustache. View the mustache-to-mustache matchup, then click VOTE to cast your ballot.

(1) Goose Gossage	VOTE	(1) Keith Hernandez
(2) Don Mattingly	VOTE	(1) Walt Frazier

Dear Islanders,

In light of the recent revelations by Garth Snow that the Coliseum is so bad that many of the league’s best players do not want to come there, I was wondering if you will be offering discounted ticket packages this year?

I was so excited when you decided to buy out Yashin’s contract that I renewed the ticket package I share with some friends. We even agreed that this is the season we’d move down a section. Now it seems as if there will not be much to see.

Plus, if players don’t want to go there, imagine how the fans feel. At least the players get star treatment. I’m still waiting for the spackle hanging off the ceiling in 307 to be fixed.

I would suggest that this year, when marketing the team, you highlight who is coming to town. “Come see Daniel Briere battle tonight at the Nassau Coliseum. Oh, and the Islanders will be there too.”

Far be it from me to knock the Coliseum. It is all I’ve ever known as a hockey fan and I have some great memories from there, but if that is the only reason players won’t come I guess it has to go.

It has to be the only reason, right? Garth said he “knows the league,” so that can’t be it. I’m just amazed at how many other teams don’t know the league. Colorado, Philadelphia, St. Louis and the Rangers must not have any idea what they are doing. Who signs free agents these days anyway?

Anyway, good luck with the rest of the off-season. Let me know if there will be a discount. I’ll still be there when the puck drops. Hopefully the roof won’t cave in on us.

Best,
Formerly of Section 307

By Mark La Monica and Joe Fernandez

Can you feel the madness consuming you yet? Mustaches, mustaches, mustaches! We're even considering posting pictures of ourselves with mustaches during the Final Four.

Even the Web world has caught on, with Mustache Madness making its way into link format on Deadspin.com, Yardbarker.com, Stickandballguy.com and elsewhere. We appreciate your support for the Madness.

There were two monster upsets in the Sweet Sixteen. Bobby Nystrom pulled an Arizona and exited early as a No. 1 seed. Sal Fasano, as powerful a 2-seed in any tournament's history, pulled a Duke and lost to upstart No. 3 Joe Namath.

Now commence with voting for the Elite Eight. You've got until Thursday night to support your favorite mustache. We made the set up a bit easier this time, again. View the mustache-to-mustache matchup, then click VOTE to cast your ballot. There are some monster matchups in this round.

	The Lou Brown Bracket
(1) Goose Gossage	VOTE	(3) Thurman Munson
	The Ray Finkle Bracket
(1) Keith Hernandez	VOTE	(2) Sparky Lyle
	The Apollo Creed Bracket
(2) Don Mattingly	VOTE	(4) Catfish Hunter
	The Jack "Mr. Baseball" Elliot Bracket
(1) Walt Frazier	VOTE	(3) Joe Namath