Tornado Watch Blows Off Rangers Game with Mariners

Today's afternoon contest between the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners in Arlington has been postponed because of a tornado watch in the area. Below is the official news release from the Rangers announcing the postponement.

ARLINGTON -- The Texas Rangers announced today's game against the Seattle Mariners has been postponed due to a tornado watch coupled with a forecast of increasingly deteriorating weather conditions.
"The safety of our customers is always our number one concern. Today's matinee had over 8,000 school children in attendance. The tornado watch and the forecast made this decision a prudent one," said Rangers President Jeff Cogen.

The game will be made up in July when the Mariners return to Arlington July 23-25. A specific game date will be determined at a later time. Tickets to today's game may be exchanged for any regular season game on the 2007 schedule beginning tomorrow.

Rockies GM Provides Interesting Plan

After 22 game postponements in the first three weeks of the Major League Baseball season, nearly everyone has chimed in on how to fix early-season schedule. In his New York Post Down the Line column Sunday, Joel Sherman gives us a pretty good plan from Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd.

Begin the season a week earlier to provide extra off-days throughout the year for everyone and send six teams (rather than two) to play a few series in warm weather/dome atmospheres in international areas where you are trying to either grow the game and/or honor a feeding ground to the majors. He recommended, for example, Latin America, Taiwan, Korea and Australia.

That's a pretty good idea. I hadn't thought of that one. But then again, I haven't spent many nights trying to resolve the problem of April weather and its effects on baseball games. I only blog about it. I really like the idea of playing early-season international games. Just don’t send the Yankees back to Japan. We don't the Giambino coming back with more parasites.

Weather Classics: Howard, Packers Sprint to Title Game

A little more than 10 years ago, Desmond Howard ran wild through rain, mud and the San Francisco 49ers at Lambeau Field to help lead the Packers to a 35-14 win and a second consecutive berth in the NFC Championship game. Howard received the game's first punt and returned it 71 yards for a touchdown. On the 49ers second punt, the former Heisman Trophy winner sprinted 46 yards to the San Francisco 7 yard line. That return provided a short field for the Pack and quarterback Brett Favre, who moments later tossed a 4-yard scoring strike to Andre Rison. The Pack moved ahead 21-0 in the second quarter before the 49ers closed the gap to 21-14. Green Bay, however, put the game away in the second half. Mudder Edgar Bennett was the game's leading rusher with 80 yards in 17 carries and two touchdowns.

Junior's Hopes for Win Spoiled by Rain

Dale Earnhardt Jr. kept his eyes on the sky when the heavens opened up three weeks ago at Martinsville. The fella who drives the red No. 8 car was leading the Goody's Cool Orange 500 when rain hit the small Virginia city. The race was 143 laps from completion, but if the rain had kept falling, the event would have been called and Junior would have had the victory. If ifs and buts were fruits and nuts… Alas for Junior, the rained lasted only a short while and he and his fellow NASCAR drivers were forced back to the track. Joe Menzer of NASCAR.com tells us how the race ended in his telling of the Anatomy of a Rain Delay. I won't spoil the ending, but I will tell you that Junior did finish in the top 5.

Dodger Gray

Can you believe it? We've had three straight days without a rain out (or snow out) in the Majors. That streak comes after having 22 games postponed in the season's first three and a half weeks. According to forecasts, the weekend is looking nice for the East and Midwest, but not so good for the West. It's raining in Los Angeles and tonight's Dodgers game with the Pirates could be postponed, a rarity for Dodger Stadium. The Angels also play at home this weekend.

Here's what the National Weather Service in Los Angeles is forecasting:

.TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SHOWERS LIKELY AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF
THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH MIDNIGHT...THEN BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY.
LOWS IN THE UPPER 40S TO MID 50S. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 70 PERCENT.

The Dodgers have a weather page set up on their Web site to provide the latest information about weather at the ballpark and to let fans know weather the next scheduled game will be played or postponed. I haven't found such a page for the Angels, but then again, who cares about the Angels?

There also the possibility of snow in the mountains in the City of Angels.

"RAINFALL ... COULD POSE A THREAT FOR SOME MUD AND DEBRIS FLOWS IN AND BELOW BURN AREAS. IN THE MOUNTAINS ABOVE 5000 TO 5500 FEET...SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES ARE EXPECTED WITH LOCALLY HIGHER TOTALS POSSIBLE."

ESPN Rain Delay

This ESPN commercial is nothing new, but it's funny and appropriate for a rain out blog. Enjoy!

Julio Cryin' in the Rain

Arsenal's Julio Baptista appears to be talking his way out of England and away from Arsenal. The Brazilian has attacked almost everything English, including the weather. Here are some quotes from Baptista as reported by Goal.com.

"The weather over here is killing me," he said. "We'll get one day of sunshine for every 30 days of rain, and it is driving me to despair.

"My girlfriend and my mother are frightened about not seeing the sun in England. They miss being in Madrid."

Sprinkles

It's a slow weather day in the sports world. Let's face it; sports could use a break following the past few weeks in which 22 baseball games have been postponed because of snow and rain, an MLB team had to switch cities to get out of the snow, and huge nor'easter hit the U.S forcing seven major league postponements in one day. We've even see weather affect the Boston Marathon, NASCAR, golf, tennis, soccer, and spring football on many college campuses. So today we offer what we call Sprinkles, links to sports-weather stories from the past few days that you may have missed.

Nick Saban's debut in Tuscaloosa got off to a wet start.

Mike Hameluck, a former Winnipeg Blue Bomber of the Canadian Football League, would like to the team's new stadium to include a roof so everyone will have a pleasant day at the game, and no players will drown. What a wuss! I may have to address this in more detail later.

Rain and lightning delayed a college baseball game between Texas A&M and the University of Houston until late in the morning Tuesday. "I would say that we won't see the last pitch of this game until one in the morning," said Aggie baseball play-by-play radio announcer Dave South to the A&M student newspaper. "It's probably going to be a long night."

The weather is playing havoc with high school sports in (pick a town, any town). This story happens to come from Massachusetts. Name of the team that is the subject of this Berkshire Eagle story: Hurricanes. Of Course.

USA Today's The Weather Guys chimed in Tuesday about the effect the harsh spring rain and snow has had on the MLB season thus far.

It's raining men at Shea Stadium

Hot Flames Ice Girls Clear Snow

Operating a sports weather blog doesn't create many opportunities for me to write about one of my favorite sports: hockey. So, sometimes I have to stretch the news a bit in order to give mention to the world's most underrated sport. Today, we give mention to snow cleanup from Tuesday's NHL Western Conference quarterfinal Game 3 between the Detroit Red Wings and the Flames in Calgary. The flames won 2-1 and now trail 2-1 in the series. The photo above (REUTERS/Patrick Price – CANADA) shows an ice girl, as they are often called, shoveling loose snow in front of the net guarded by Wings goalie Dominik Hasek. Told ya it was a stretch.

A story involving the New York Islanders ice babes and New Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist and defenseman Sean Avery received considerable attention two weeks ago when an ice girl accused Lundqvist of not moving from the net and knocking the stick of her shovel into her belly. Another Islanders ice girl accused someone from the Rangers bench of spitting on her. The NHL basically told the ice girls to shove it.

Let's Go Rangers!!!

Wet Aussie Football Fan Wants Money Back

This from Australia's News.com.au

AFL officials at first thought a $1500 compensation claim from a football fan who got wet at a rain-soaked match was a prank.
Ben Bain was one of 6380 fans who were drenched when monsoonal rains hit a pre-season match between AFL heavyweights Brisbane Lions and St Kilda in Cairns.
But unlike the rest of the fans who put the experience down to bad luck, Mr Bain and his partner Yolanda McNarn are asking for compensation worth $1498.
The pair, who were seated outside, were not allowed to raise an umbrella during the match and could not purchase a poncho at the ground.
Mr Bain said he and Ms McNarn expected their $51 grandstand seats to be undercover and were misled "through advertising and overprised (sic) tickets".
Their night had been ruined, he said, and accused AFL Cairns of violating its duty of care.
Mr Bain, a cabling engineer who recently moved from Melbourne, said last week he hoped a mediation session scheduled for tomorrow could see the issue "sorted amicably".
"I don't want to make a big deal of it at this stage," he told The Cairns Post.
Mr Bain has asked the AFL for two tickets and return airfares to Melbourne to watch another game, as well as cab transfers and accommodation.
In addition, he has claimed for a $50 bet he was unable to place on Brisbane to win the NAB Cup match because the ground's TAB agency was closed unexpectedly.
The AFL offered Mr Bain and Ms McNarn two reserved seats to any premiership match whenever they are in Melbourne but rejected his compensation claim.

Phillies - Mets Rained Out Tonight

Tonight's Phillies game with the New York Mets has been postponed because of the nasty nor'easter that has hit the east coast over the past two days and caused heaving rains and flooding. It's the second straight day the Phillies had a game postponed. The game scheduled for tonight at Citizen's Bank Park has been rescheduled as part of a day-night doubleheader on June 29.

New York Bullish in the Rain

Fear not soccer fans; we haven't forgotten about the MLS. Clint Mathis led the New York Red Bulls Sunday to a 3-0 win over FC Dallas in a driving rain storm at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The Red Bulls also got goals from Josmer Altidore and Dave van den Bergh in the team's first victory of the season. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

Kenya Run in the Rain? You Bet!

Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya successfully defended his Bean Town race title by winning the 111th Boston Marathon in the wind and rain Monday. The Boston win was Cheruiyot's third title. Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russia won the women's title. Cheruiyot completed the 26.2-mile race in 2 hours, 14 minutes and 13 seconds, the slowest winning time since 1985. USA Today reports:
The weather, part of a nor'easter battering the Eastern seaboard, will become part of race lore. The field contended with temperatures in the high 40s, winds gusting more than 25 mph and rain for much of the race. As tough as conditions were, they were better than anticipated on race eve. The rain stopped midway through the race.

Wet Marathon Begins

And there off. The 111th Boston Marathon began shortly after 10 a.m. today. Runners are braving the elements while spectators watch under umbrellas. The AP photo above shows the competitors as they begin the long 26-mile trip from Hopkinton, Mass.

Weather Blasts Northeast, Baseball Games

Snow, rain, icy rain and strong winds hit the Northeast U.S. this weekend and those weather conditions still are a factor in many places. Forecasters are saying parts of New York state, Pennsylvania, Vermont and New Hampshire could get as much as 12 inches of snow by today. The unseasonable conditions force postponements of five Major League baseball games Sunday, including a doubleheader in Pittsburgh between the Pirates and Giants, and has already forced a time change in today's Patriot's Day game at Fenway Park in which the Red Sox are to host the Los Angeles Angels. The game was to start at 10:05 a.m., but has been tentatively rescheduled for 12:05 p.m. because of heavy rain and high winds. One sporting event that will not be affected is the Boston Marathon. It will be run today. Expect more baseball postponements later today as we get closer to game times.

Rain hit this weekend's LPGA event in Florida. This Associated Press photo shows Lorena Ochoa of Mexico slipping into a pair rain pants on the third fairway during the Ginn Open in Reunion, Fla. Where are the pictures of Natalie Gulbis getting all wet? It's about time we were able to bring some sexiness to the rainout blog. It was only a matter of time. Thanks, Lorena!

Tornado Warning, Heavy Storms Cancel NASCAR Qualifying

Thousands of fans who gathered Friday at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort-Worth to watch qualifying for Sunday’s Samsung 500 were advised to move to safety as tornado sirens blaster across the speedway. Qualifying for the NASCAR event was canceled as strong hailstorms moved through the area. The National Weather Service reported that a tornado had been spotted between Fort Worth and Dallas. The AP photo above shows Jeff Gordon driving through the rain-soaked garage area.

Rain Grounds Redbirds

The National Anthem had been sung and pitchers had begun warming up Friday night when the rains hit Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The steady downpour and cold temperatures eventually led to the postponement of the Cardinals series opener with the Milwaukee Brewers. And because rain was expected to last throughout the night, Saturday’s game was pushed back six hours to 7:10 p.m. to allow the field to dry. A make-up date for Friday’s game will be announced at a later date.

The Associated Press photo above shows the Cardinals grounds crew pulling the tarp over the Busch Stadium field as the begins to fall.

A story on the Cardinals’ Web site gives us a quote from Redbirds manager Tony LaRussa and a little weather information for the St. Louis area for Saturday.

"We were watching on the computer, and they had nailed it almost to the minute," manager Tony La Russa said. "And once it got going, it's going 'til the early morning hours. And then that's why we moved the game back [Saturday]. There's a chance it will be around a good part of tomorrow. We should be able to play by tomorrow night. It will be a little uncomfortable."

The current forecast, according to Weather.com, calls for a first-pitch temperature of 42 degrees and a 30 percent chance of rain, with winds of about 15 mph.

More Fenway Visuals

You can't run a sports weather blog without cool photos of the action. And since I can't rush all across the country to snap photos of rain or snow pouring down on ballparks, I have to borrow from the Internet and news organizations. Thanks guys! This photo is an AP shot from the Red Sox rainout Thursday. Man, there's been a lot of Boston stuff on here the past two days. You'd never know I'm a Yankees fan.

Running in the Rain?

The 111th Boston Marathon is Monday, and it may be a wet run. A huge storm is forcasted for the Boston area that day, and the storm also could threaten the Red Sox traditional morning game at Fenway. The racing shoes will get wet because the race will go on in through the rain, but the Sox will postpone and stay dry. (That's so lame!) Below is a brief from the New York Times about the race.

RAIN WILL NOT STOP BOSTON RACE A powerful storm threatens to drench runners and spectators of the Boston Marathon but a race official said yesterday that the event, the world’s oldest annually run footrace, would go ahead as planned. Near-freezing temperatures, rain and gale-force winds are forecast for Monday’s race, which could make it one of the toughest since runners first competed on the hilly course in 1897.

Russell Remembers No. 42 After Fenway Rainout

For a change, it's a slow news day as far as weather intermingling with sporting events is concerned. The past week has been pretty hectic. The Cleveland Indians tonight will play their true home opener at Jacobs Field after being relocated to Milwaukee following a snow storm in Cleveland. Yesterday, the Red Sox had their game with Seattle postponed after rain pelted Fenway Park. And from that rain out comes this gem of a story from the Hartford Courant that allows former Celtics great Bill Russell talk about his hero worship of Jackie Robinson. Below is an excerpt of the article followed by a link to the full story. Major League Baseball is honoring Robinson Sunday on the 60th anniversary of his breaking the baseball color barrier.

The cold, pelting rain made for a dark day at Fenway Park Thursday.

Inside, though, Bill Russell's heartfelt words turned that all around.

He wanted to praise his hero, Jackie Robinson.

"You may or may not know that I was a pallbearer at Jackie Robinson's funeral," he told a group of reporters on a day that the Red Sox were to honor the late Celtics patriarch, Red Auerbach.

"The day after he died [in 1972] Rachel Robinson called me to ask if I would be a pallbearer," Russell said. "When Jackie broke into baseball, I was in junior high school. To all of us, he was our hero, and here she was asking me to be one of his pallbearers."
Read More>>>

The photo above is not from Thursday's rainout. It's an AP photo from a 2005 game at Fenway between the Sox and Devil Rays.

Rain Claims BoSox Finale with Ms

It's raining at Fenway Park and the series finale between Sox and the Mariners has been postponed and rescheduled for Thursday, May 3. This AP photo shows fans at the ballpark just before the game was to start.

Snow Follows Tribe to Milwaukee

Wow, the Cleveland Indians just can't escape the snow. This AP photo shows a plow clearing a parking lot at Milwaukee's Miller Park hours before Wednesday's scheduled game between the Tribe and the Los Angeles Angels. The Indians are playing home games this week under the security of Miller Park's retractable roof after snow hit Cleveland late last week and through the weekend, leaving the team's Jacob's Field full of snow. Despite the cold and snow outside, it was comfortable for players and fans alike in the Angels 4-1 win.

Staying in Wisconsin: It's snowing at Lambeau Field. So, what's new? Check out the Lambeau cam and the tailgate cam on Packers.com. By the way, new turf is being installed at Lambeau. That's the reason for the mess on the field.

Mike Griffenberg of the Times Record in Valley City, N.D. hates Mother Nature. Things will get better, Mike. Hang in there.

Fans Must Put Up With Cold, Columnist Writes

Much debate has been struck over the past week and a half about what some say is a necessity for Major League Baseball to rethink the way it schedules games in April. This comes after games have been snowed out in Cleveland and Chicago and cold temperatures have plagued games across the Northeast and Midwest. Many in sports media are calling for teams located in these geographic areas to open their seasons on the road in warm-weather cities or against teams who play their home games in domes. However, Chicago Tribune columnist Rick Morrissey says the media and fans should just suck it up. Morrissey wrote Wednesday:

Just because the Indians have been bundled up like Ralphie's kid brother in "A Christmas Story" doesn't mean it will be like that every spring. You can't change scheduling based on one spring. No, it's not normal to see Indians players throwing snowballs instead of baseballs. But you can't legislate against snow and low temperatures. The minute you do, you're ensuring that next April will feel like the desert.

Read Morrissey's column.

MLB.com features Jacobs Grounds Crew

MLB.com featured a story Monday about Jacobs Field groundskeepers and the effort they put forth day in an attempt to get the field ready for that day's doubleheader with Seattle. The ballyard was covered with 18 inches of snow in some parts, and the crew began work at 6 a.m., hoping to have the Jake ready in time for the scheduled 4:05 p.m. first pitch, the story reports. At the same time, scores of workers were shoveling the seats and aisles. The game eventually was called at 11 a.m. The Indians and Mariners had tried all weekend to play those games, but failed in all attempts. Friday, the two squads began play, but suffered through three snow delays before the game was called. The MLB story mentioned the grounds crew used various machines and plows to move the snow, but there's no mention of a zamboni.

That reminds me, the NHL playoffs begin tonight. Game On!

Cubbies Hibernate For A Day

Snow has victimized another baseball game – this time in Chicago. Today's contest between the Cubbies and the Houston Astros at the not-so-cozy confines of Wrigley Field has been postponed. According to the Cubs official Web site, snow had covered the field by 9:30 (Central) this morning and more snow turning to rain is forecasted. The game has been rescheduled for July 12.

New Delay Rule Goes Into Effect
Last night's Brewers game at Florida was called because of heavy rain after 10 innings and three rain delays with the score tied at 2-2. The game will be resumed Wednesday night in the top of the 11th and will be followed by the third game of the three-game series. The delayed game is the first to fall under the new rule just put in place by Major League Baseball this season that allows for such delayed games to be resumed. Before the rule change, games of this sort would have been declared an official tie and would have been replayed from the start. Last night's suspended game was called at 12:03 a.m., and the three rain delays totaled an hour and 42 minutes. The second delay was prompted by heavy rain and lightning. Ah, we love lightning.

Another Day, Another Cricket Delay

This Associated Press photo show New Zealand's Jacob Oram leaving the pitch during a rain delay in their World Cup cricket Super Eights match against Ireland Monday.

This AP photo shows tennis fans getting the wet treatment during a recent Davis Cup match between Brazil and Japan at Costao do Santinho resort, in Florianopolis, southern Brazil.

Snow Forces Tribe to Milwaukee

Who ever heard of traveling to Milwaukee to avoid snow?
Well, now you have. The Cleveland Indians, after many failed attempts at staging its 109th opening day in team history, are now being forced to make their home on the road for the next few days.
The Tribe and Seattle Mariners hopelessly tried to take the field over the weekend, but snow continually forced the teams out of action. Doubleheaders had been scheduled Friday, Saturday, Sunday and again Monday, but with the same result: Postponement after postponement. The two American League clubs did get on the field Friday, but finally had to give up and retire to the clubhouse when the snow would not stop falling (As you can see in the above AP photo).
Three delays halted action on Friday before the umpires eventually called the game one strike short of a complete contest. Maybe you can blame that somewhat on the Mariners pitchers.
As I listened to the game Friday on XM, I heard one member of the Indians radio crew utter something about the fans had sat through three long snow delays and bitter cold temperatures and were not in the mood to see pick-off throws by the Ms pitching staff.
Good point.
They also had a few words for the schedule makers who put home games in Cleveland at the beginning of April.
So now the Indians are off to Milwaukee and will have their home opener at Miller Park while the Brewers are on the road. Not exactly what Cleveland fans has in mind for opening day, but there isn't much you can with 10 inches of snow covering Jacobs Field. The Tribe and Los Angeles Angels will play game one of their series Tuesday under the retractable roof of the warm, comfortable Miller Park.

It's Browns Weather, But It's the Indians Day in Cleveland

It's 30 degrees and snowing at Jacobs Field, but that's not going to stop the Indians from staging their 106th home opener today against the Seattle Mariners. In the AP photo above, Seattle pitcher Jarrod Washburn walks through the snow at the Jake during, uh, warmups, before today's game.

Thoughts From the Press Box (dry from the rain)

Sitting in the press box at Cliff Hagan Stadium Tuesday following the cancellation the University of Kentucky's game with Western Carolina University, The Kentucky Kernel's Chris DeLotell, suddenly left with no game story to pen, gave readers his thoughts on the Wildcats and a few other topics related to sports in the Lexington area. This excerpt from his column fits nicely on our sports weather blog.

Coolest sight of the night: Watching manager John Cohen jog out to the tarp along the third base line and help his players and the grounds crew cover up the infield. When's the last time you saw Joe Torre unraveling the tarp?

Read the column in its entirety.

Sea Dogs Snowed Out

Snow postponed the Portland Sea Dogs home opener Thursday and today the team announced the game again will be pushed back another day with hopes of playing the opener Saturday. A storm Thursday dumped a foot of snow in the Maine city, and players built 11 snow men on the field – nine position players, a batter and an umpire – and outfitted the snowmen in jerseys and caps. Portland, the Double A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, has rescheduled the opener for 1 p.m. Saturday.


Snow also hit the majors Thursday night. Above Melky Cabrera blows on his hands for warmth while standing on second base in the eighth inning of the Yankees 7-6 loss to Tampa Bay.


The Cleveland Indians 106th home opener is set for Friday at Jacobs Field against Seattle. Snow (photo above) hit the Jake Thursday while the Tribe was completing their season-opening series in Chicago. Friday's opener with the Mariners is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.

Speaking of the White Sox, their game tonight (Friday) with Minnesota has already been postponed because of forecasted extreme cold temperatures and high winds in Chicago. They don't call it the Windy City for nothin'. The forecast calls for temperatures to dip down to about 22 degrees with winds gusting from 25 to 30 mph. No make-up date has been announced. A Saturday doubleheader has been ruled out because the forecast is calling for similar weather conditions and includes a chance of snow showers.

Those same weather conditions in Detroit Thursday caused the postponement of the Tigers' scheduled game with Toronto. Temps were in the mid 20s and the wind chill fell to single digits. The two teams played Wednesday in wind gust that hit 40 mph. The Tigers begin a series Friday in Kansas City were temperatures are expected to reach a balmy 36 degrees.

Rain Delays Pettitte's Return

The party was all set for Andy Pettitte's return to the Yankee Stadium mound Wednesday, but rain poured on his welcome-home parade and forced the prodigal son to wait another day before officially donning the Pinstripes for his second go-around a Yanks starting pitcher. The second game of the season for both New York and Tampa Bay was to be played at 1:05 Wednesday, but the Bronx rain forced the postponement and the game was called at approximately 11 a.m. No make-up date has been announced, and the delayed game most likely won't be played until mid-July when the D-Rays go back to the Bronx for a three-game weekend series. If that is the case, it will add one more game for the Yanks who will be in the middle of a stretch where they play 18 consecutive games without a break. The two American East teams will play what was to be game three of the series Thursday night, and Pettitte will be on the mound against the Rays' Jae Seo, who for some reason is on my fantasy team. There is a slight chance of rain tonight in the Bronx – it's only 20 percent – and it's going to be cold with the low temperature expected to be in the low 30s.

The above AP photo shows Yankees pitcher Kei Igawa leaving the rain-soaked field after the announcement was made postponing the game.

No Paddles in This Water

If you’re into cricket – my pal Scott was into Cricket when we were teenagers, but that's a story for another blog – then you know the World Cup Super Eights are underway. You probably also know that the match between Australia and West Indies at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in St. Peters, Antigua was postponed Tuesday because of heavy rain. Here's a Reuters photos showing a groundskeeper rolling water in an effort to remove the wet stuff from the pitch during a delay before the match was postponed. The match concluded Wednesday with a West Indies win.

Here, rain pours down on Trevor Immelman as he lines up a putt on 18 Saturday during the third round of the CA Championship tournament in Miami. Tiger Woods, of course, won the event in what is considered a tune-up for he Master's. (AP photo) Immelman, of South Africa, is one of 97 players who will compete in the 71st Masters April 5-8 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.

Also in Miami Saturday, Venus Williams momentarily leaves the court as heavy rains drench the playing surface at the Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament in Key Biscayne. Williams went on to defeat Maria Kirilenko of Russia 6-3, 6-3. Williams was eliminated in her subsequent match by Maria Sharapova, a player we would have loved to have seen wet.

Snow Tires Not Needed in Bristol This Year

The forecast calls for sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70s when the NASCAR circuit races in Bristol, Tenn., this weekend, and that's good news to fans of the sport and officials who run and operate Bristol Motor Speedway. As the Bristol Herald Courier reminds us, spring-like weather was not the case for last year's March race in Bristol, when the event was delayed by snow and snowmen in the infield and snow angels at the start/finish line accentuated the scene. Weather is always unpredictable for the Bristol spring race. This excerpt from the article gives a perfect example:

In 2004, it was 78 degrees and sunny, and race-goers were breaking out the sunscreen; at last year’s race the high temperature was 46 degrees, and it snowed.

Read the article in its entirety.

Running a Reverse is Tough in the Rain, But Not in Blogging

When I first started writing this blog, the original intent was to make the content about baseball rain outs and anything related to the National Pastime and rain. Nothing else. Needless to say, such a narrowly-focused blog would lead to a considerable drought during the winter months. So, I dropped the blog for a while. Recently, now that baseball season is upon us, I have decided to give this blog another try and dedicate it to all sports and all types of weather conditions. As you can see below in my latest posts, I've included tidbits about such topics as snow (or lack thereof) at the Iditarod and a hail storm at a soccer match in Liverpool. And with my revamped creation, I've decided to go back in time and periodically post photos from sporting events featuring the elements of nature that I missed during the blog's hiatus. That's what I'm doing today. The above photo from Super Bowl XLI shows Colts running back Joseph Addai being stopped in his tracks by Bears cornerback Charles Tillman and linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer.

Twinkies Expect Delays in New Park

According to a St. Paul Pioneer Press poll, many Minnesota Twins players wish their new ballpark would include a roof. "The one nice thing about the Dome or a retractable roof is you don't have to worry about coming to the park and being in a rain delay," reliever Jesse Crain told the newspaper. "(People from out of state) can come in whenever right now and be sure to see some games, but that won't happen in the new stadium."

The Sky is Falling in Maine

The Mahaney Dome, the air-supported indoor practice facility at the University of Maine, is temporarily out of commission and lying flat on the ground after a large hole developed in the fabric covering Saturday. Heavy rains and substantial snowfall from the weekend is being blamed for the tear in the double-layered covering that spans the 38,000-square-foot facility. "The snow load and the rain coming down made it so heavy that it couldn’t handle the load," Will Biberstein, UMaine’s associate athletic director for internal affairs, told the Bangor (Maine) Daily News. Read the Bangor Daily News Story.

If You Like Rain in Your Sports, This is as Goodison as it Gets

If you read the reports from Goodison Park, particularly those from the Arsenal side, you'll learn that Sunday's match between the Gunners and Everton was not a display of thrilling football. I happened to catch the end of the game just when a huge hail storm struck the Liverpool park and just moments before Everton's Andy Johnson fired a short into the Arsenal net to give his side a 1-0 win over the Gunners. Much of the game, as reports indicate, may have nearly put fans at Goodison to sleep, but the late-game rain, hail and Johnson's game-winner stuck like a shot of adrenaline. See more photos and read the Arsenal match report.

More Weather Stories from the Weekend
Those of you who have been around high school and small college baseball teams know that players' field duties aren’t always confined to snagging flies and scooping grounders. Often those players are responsible for field maintenance, particularly after rain has made a mess of their home field. This story from Texas is a good example of players pitching in on the grounds keeping.

Dashing Through the Snow

I usually write here about rain, snow and the effects of numerous other weather events on sporting events. Today, however, I'd like to call attention to an event that would be nothing without a little snow – actually, a lot of snow. A fellow named Lance Mackey, I hear, was the first to reach the halfway mark of the 1,100-mile Iditarod sled dog rage, which now is well underway in Alaska. Mackey has a little extra pressure to win this race. His father and brother are previous Iditarod champions. If he and his doggies fail to pull out a win this year, it might be tough times at the summer family cookouts for the Mackey male without a trophy.

You can keep an eye on the current standing and see a detailed interactive map of the race route from the warmth – it's currently 35 below where the leaders are now – of you own home at www.iditarod.com.

One problem some of the mushers seem to be having is a lack of snow to melt to give dogs water. Hmmmm. Sounds like a global warming issue, eh Alex Wolff?

SI Chimes in on Global Warming

Sports Illustrated is officially in on the global warming campaign. Alexander Wolff writes this week's (March 7) cover story about how global warming is affecting sports – from Texas high school football two-a-days to its physical effects on baseball bats – and its effect on the future of our games. SI even went as far to have an architectural firm draw up an environmentally-friendly stadium that draws its power from the sun and wind. Here is an interesting excerpt:

Global warming is also leading to more dramatic swings in the weather in some areas. Since the early 20th century, the amount of rain dropped in the biggest 1% of storms each year has risen 20%. A warming planet doesn't create hurricanes, but it does make them stronger and last longer. Tropical storms become more powerful over a warmer Gulf, turning a category 4 storm, for example, into a category 5, like Katrina, which transformed the symbol of sports in New Orleans, the Superdome, into an image of epic disaster.

I'm sure SI will get plenty of criticism over running this story, particularly a cover story on such a hot topic, so to speak. I've already heard one radio hosts say that the magazine is simply picking up on a liberal political agenda. I'm not sure SI has an agenda other than relating the issue of global warming to the topic it covers: sports.

Aussie Rain Games

Rain has plagued the Australian Football League and its NAB Cup for the past two weeks, and apparently the wet stuff is a rarity on the AFL fields. This article on afl.com discusses players' abilities in the rain and which type of players benefit and which suffer in the not-so-perfect weather conditions. “Some players do handle the wet better, there’s no doubt. The ones who do the basics of the game really well,” said former Port Adelaide skipper Matthew Primus.