Leveling the field

A summer's worth of discontent was washed in a few stadiums yesterday:

Appalachian State (say it right!) knocked off Michigan, 34-32. What's the big deal? Only that Ap State, a Division I-AA school, beat a ranked Division I school with dreams of playing for the national championship. Oops, not anymore. Chalk one up for the underdogs who stand in the face of conventional wisdom, and know what they have in their hearts.

Virginia Tech beat East Carolina, 17-7, the first big Tech gathering after the April 16 massacre. Some may doubt the power of sports to heal after tragedy. But sports represents a certain normality, a place where people can scream their heads off, and achieve some catharsis, and leave behind, for awhile, the troubles of the world.

Clay Buchholz threw a no-hitter for Boston last night against Baltimore. It wasn't pretty, but it was effective. Not bad for a guy making his second start in the majors. Youthful exuberance and perseverance count for a lot. And those qualities never go out of style.

And while we're on the subject of sports...

USA Basketball clinched a spot in the Olympics. But the job is just starting.

For the last time, David Beckham is not the savior of American soccer. The largest participatory sport in the country will be fine. The pro soccer league will survive, chastened by putting so many eggs in a fragile basket. Yesterday highlights why soccer will always have a hard time gaining more than toehold here. There's so much competition for my sports attention, and that competition is so good, that the splash you make has to last for awhile. And have strong knees and ankles.