Lost Sports 101

Rajon Rondo's Not Walking Through That Door

2010-07-09T08:10:00.000-04:00

Gonna make this a quick one, as it will almost surely be lost in the mass of opinions to come out today but I want to say this:

LeBron James- you have traded what was essentially a countries worth of respect and a cities worth of love for the hatred of both. You gained "South Beach" and 4-5 seasons of potential excellence and gave up a chance to be considered a top 5 or even top 3 player of all time. No one will ever be able to look at your career and say he was the best when he played, yes you won back to back MVP awards and made 1 Finals but there was always an argument for Kobe as the better player- an argument backed up by rings. Now you sit on a team with Bosh and DWade and get to play some version of co-star in a city that sells out every night even though only half of those people show up to the games... have fun.

Miami Heat- C: Unknown minimum salary; PF: 20/10 Chris Bosh who will be punished by the Dwights, Amares, and Boozers of the East; SF: LeBron James; SG: Dwayne Wade; PG: Hopefully not Mario Chalmers... 6+: who knows.

I just dont see it. Will that team make the playoffs- yes. Will that team beat the 2011 Hawks, Knicks, Bobcats, and whoever else fills the 4-8 seeds in the east- yes. Will that team beat the 2011 Bulls, Celts, and Magic- It is not guaranteed. Will that team beat the 2011 Lakers, Suns, Thunder, Mavs or whoever else wins the West???

The NBA season is a long 82 games, and the East is now looking like the West of the early 00s where heavily stacked teams will be beating on each other for an entire year before the playoffs. The way things are stacking up you will not be able to tank the regular season (a'la the 2010 Celts) and have a shot in the playoffs- you are going to need an upper seed to make sure that you dont face a (we have to win this or we go down in history as one of the biggest mistakes ever) Heat team.

What this Heat team is not: the late 90s Bulls: You could make some argument that LeBron and Wade can equal the combined offensive and defensive production of Pippen and Jordan but the rest of the cast is not there: no Kerr, no Harper, no Kukoc, no Rodman (definitely no Rodman). I like Bosh but he is an offensive PF on a team that is going to need defensive stoppers in the middle, the Suns proved that you can win nearly 60 games playing run and gun but that if teams can force you to slow down in the playoffs you need to be able to take care of business inside and that is not something this team is built for.

A Special Thank You to the Indians

2010-06-27T20:58:00.003-04:00

Good to see some chatter back on here Will. I would like to start by giving a special shout out to the Cleveland Indians. They have proven my point exactly one week after I made it.

The last place Indians have traded Russell Branyan back to the equally worse Seattle Mariners this week. The question now.....WHY?

Did you think Branyan was really going to make an impact with the Tribe? He did just that while hitting 11 hr and batting .240. Why go out and sign him in Feb when you can just have some young guys get some at bats.

GM Mark Shapiro was quoted saying that he wants to get a bunch of young guys into the lineup throughout the rest of the season. My question for you Mark....was it worth the $2.5 million over the last 3 months to sign Branyan?

I guess I just do not understand the logic that goes into these types of moves. As you know I am a huge baseball fan. I will continue to go to Tribe games just to watch some of the best athletes in the world perform. I just wonder if the moves over the past 3 years could scare away fans for years to come.

Oh and by the way, the Tribe are officially last in MLB in attendance.

Its Summertime and The Living Is Easy

2010-06-23T11:45:00.000-04:00

Mr. Gordon,

Back in action we are- see how long it sticks this time...

Although I am not an expert on this by any means, people who know what they are talking about always reference arbitration and how when a guy gets called up affects when he will be eligible for arbitration down the road. Indicating that there is serious incentive for tenured GMs (guys who know that they are not going to lose their jobs if the team finishes last this year) to hold off on call-ups for as long as possible to prevent paying them more in the future.

For teams like the Nationals, Marlins, or, in an extreme scenario, your Bravos, bringing up talented guys now is worth the future expense but for other teams (Indians, Royals, Pirates) they are probably better off waiting until arbitration will no longer be an issue before making call ups which is what leads to so many of those August-September moves.

All of that said- I agree with you, way too often in this world teams forget that they are businesses with one objective, putting a good product on the field. If you put a good product on the field you can make money, if you don't then you cant. The MLB is not the NFL or even the NBA, you play 81 home games- you need something to keep the fans coming back and if you know that the team is going to be awful then why not blow it out with prospects so that you at least give the fans something to come watch, maybe a scrappy young team looking to knock some other teams out of the postseason in August, or at a minimum an exciting group of talented young players. Save the 10 million that you decided to pay Austin Kearns (subject of the $75 rookie card) and pay the extra arbitration cash down the road, it... is... worth... it.

'til next time.

Welcome Back

2010-06-21T21:41:00.002-04:00

It has been awhile but I thought getting this blog back up and running would be a way to talk sports this summer.

First topic of discussion to start the summer: Developing young talent at the MLB level

You watch these teams that are already out of it (Indians, Pirates, Royals) bring up some of their best talent in minors to the show. Lets start with the Indians. This team knew going into the season that they had no chance to compete. If this is the case, is it really worth $10 million to sign free agents like Austin Kearns, Russell Branyan and others?

Why not give these young guys a shot to perform and save that money for when you are able to compete in your own division. I understand why GM's want to find "the right time" to bring these guys up but what's wrong with giving a number of young guys 40-50 AB's to see how different the show really is. If they do not experience the road trips, top notch pitching and the pressure, how will they ever succeed at the MLB level.

I feel that these teams settle for the "September Call Ups" to show off their young talent. Lets be honest guys, it is always about the money. Why not generate some revenue for your team that is going nowhere by showcasing your future to the fans throughout the season.

The last thing I want to say about the Indians is this. You have traded for 40 prospects over the past three seasons. There has to be some guys ready to play in the show. Even if it was a Single-A prospect three years ago, they are in AA or AAA. Everybody knows that your best talent is in AA. Give these guys a shot and who knows....maybe a young Albert Pujols is in your system and you don't even know it.

(Keep in mind, Pujols was TOLD that he was only going to be up for a month while Tino Martinez was rehabbing an injury)

David Ortiz and the Big Black Bat

2009-06-10T20:57:00.002-04:00

Riddle me this riddle me that... Whos afraid of the big black bat

Umm... Ortiz should be, the eyedrops were not the reason that the guy hit his 3rd HR of the season last night and in the AL east if you are getting 3 Hrs from your DH you are short for this division.

I am going to start live blogging the last 4 innings of this Yanks Sox game on Twitter here soon...

It's October and The Rays are Playing the Phillies

2008-10-20T17:33:00.002-04:00

I live in "the nation." I am a Yankees fan. This is one of the greatest days in my short tenure of transplant sports watching in the land of the sawkkks. Red Sox fans are officially the same as Yankee fans at this point: We deserved to win; we know how to win; we're the Freakin Sawkkks. You have become Yankee fans- learn to live with it.

Starting in 2003 3 types of teams emerged in the MLB: The guys who suck, the guys who spend, and the guys who strike.

The guys who suck are obvious: They suck. They make bad moves, they dont spend money, or when they do they spend big dollars they do so on guys who suck like Gil Meche (Go Royals), and they dont effectively develop young talent (which they have because they constantly have good draft picks and high draft picks are becoming seriously more dependable big league stars- see 2008 Tampa Bay Rays). Teams in this category include the Royals; the Rangers; the Orioles; the Giants; the Pirates etc.

The guys who spend are also obvious: They spend, despite the markedly minimal effect that spending may have on the final outcome of their season. Teams in this category include: the Yanks, the Sawkkks, the Mariners, the Angels, the Mets, the Astros etc.

The Guys who Strike are the less obvious players in the league. They aren't quite like the moneyball teams of the early aughts but they build teams for 1 year runs. They dont have a fan base, everyone hates them, and if they fail in that 1 year they are screwed for a decade. For instance: if the rays had missed the playoffs this year noone will ever convince me that team wouldn't have been blown up for a quick buck. Teams in this category are also pretty easy to spot: The Rays, the Marlins, the A's, the Blue Jays, the Brewers, the Rockies, the 94 Montreal Expos.

til next time

Wise Report: 9/4/2008- When Eli's your fantasy QB don't worry adn get drunk.

2008-09-04T21:26:00.002-04:00

I am posting this during the 4th quarter of the NYG-WAS game that started this years NFL season so there is the possibility, albeit a small one, that somewhere in this post I may totally change direction and say something that makes no sense but I doubt it.

I am also not going to edit this so you are going to get 9:30 minutes of NFL time as a live untouched blog, I am not looking at the keyboard so this may get interesting.

ELi Manning is my fantasy QB but I am starting to think that I may want to start someone else and pick up plaxico burress. Plazx is having a hell of a night.

The Redskins suck. I have been watching this game and watching Jacobs and Plax run all over this tema and I am not convinced that either of these guys are very good but that the Redskins suck.

Eli just threws a pass (9:33) into double coverage and almost threw his second pick. Eli's fantasy stats for the entire season are going to be scewed thanks to the fact that he ran for a TD tonight. its going to screw everything up. On avg a QB like Eli runs for 2-3 TDs a year thats one of them.

ELi just got killed, by a 3rd string D-End. Good, let it just be said that I don't root for the GMen. I am a cowboys fan and therefore don't care about this game on anything more than a scouting and Fantasy perspective. I said during my draft that I would take a torn ACL for manning if it meant that the Boys would win the big one any day and thats true although I would rather win my Fantasy League and the Super Bowl.

I know that auto sales are down this year but can't we get some new commericals, jesus there are not two giant steel beam pendulums in the middle of the desert (are there).

The Red Skins have the ball on there own five... reason #1 why you don't draft a rookie punter. Take notes Skins, thats right Zorn I am talking to you, don't play ST rookies, they don't play out.

Justin Tuck is having one hell of a night, maybe there rush D wont be so bad after all

5 Minutes left, gotta love the new NFL logo. If you didnt notice up till this point thats what I mean

Heard the first Urban gunshots of my life last night, I live in a city of 60,000 people so I use the word Urban losely but still kinda weird.

3:53 left and Chris Cooley ( the top 4 Fantasy TE Chris Cooley) got his first catch. Proving my point that you dont draft TEs in a year after their first pro-bowl

If you want to have your penis back Cialis has introduced a daily tablet, for those players out there with ED

I dont think that any fall show should start in October unless its on Fox: so you avoid playoff baseball.

3rd and 17 is where I like to be down 9 with 2:30 left. I think Jason Campell has been playing too much madden, he doesnt have the ghost of Sean Taylor on D to return an INT for a TD

Time Out... More Shitty commercials.

ELis gonna end up with 9 fantasy points, I have officially lost this week.

Vote Adam Corolla President

John McCain is waiting till the game ends to give his speech... smaat

Hey Elis going to have to Pass... Wooooo here we go Fantasy Opportunity

Nevermind, Jacobs just ran through about 25 guys on his way to coming up 1 in short and Eli gets 7 fantasy points on the game

I swear to god if V. Young or Peddington do anything great I am going to be pissed

I am ending this now with 1 minute left the odds are just too much at this point for the Redskins to overcome.

Immmmm Baaaaaaaack

2008-09-03T20:08:00.004-04:00

I have to thank my good friend and fellow Lost Sports 101 contributor Gordo for convincing me to get back on here and post some new stuff after an effective summer sabatical. Since my last post the world of sports has been turned on its head. Here are a few notes on the sports since May:

As of May 14, 2008: The Tampa Bay Rays were in 1st place in the AL East, Brett Favre was retired, The New York Yankees still had a shot, I was more worried about my fantasy baseball team than my college finals, the Celtics were praying for their first championship in 2 decades, Bud Selig had a dream about moving the Washington Nationals back to Montreal and then woke up to cold sweats and this You Tube video.

As of September 3, 2008: The Tampa Bay Rays are in 1st place in the AL East, Brett Favre was named captain of the New York Jets, the Mike and the Mad Dog split-up has become the perfect foreshadowing of the Yankees over the next decade, I am more worried about my fantasy football team than I am about my job, the Celtics won their only championship for the next two decades, and Bud Selig had a dream about moving the Washington Nationals back to Montreal and then woke up to cold sweats and this You Tube video.

I am going to try and convince Gordo to come on here and put up his picks so that we can hopefully get a little competition going but here are my picks for week 1 of the NFL season:

NYG
ATL
BUF
JAC
NYJ
NE
NO
PHI
PIT
BAL
DAL
IND
MIN
DEN

Ill be keeping track over the course of the season and hope that I beat Gordon.

Till next time,
Will

The Wise Report: May 6, 2008 - Get Off Me

2008-05-06T12:47:00.002-04:00

Well, OK all is fair in love war and blogging. I havent written anything in nearly 2 months and I have to admit thats my bad but here you go:

Fantasy Baseball has taken over my love of the game.

I have been playing Fantasy Baseball since pretty early in the Yahoo days, first in GF and now in Argyle I have been in competitive leagues since the beginning of high school. But up until this year the fantasy sport had not surpassed the real sport in terms of my love for the game. Everyone who plays fantasy understands that you start watching ESPN just to check and see how your guys did or you spend the 10 bucks on Yahoo! and get yourself stattracker (I overdrew my checking account to do this so you know I am a sucker for the constant updates) so that you don't have to worry about ESPN. But now I have immersed myself in fantasy blogs, and fantasy projections to the point that I know I shouldn't deal J. Morneau for M. Teixiera until June because Morneau plays better in April and May. This is killing my love of the sport. I can't watch a game without thinking about who I should of picked up or who I can drop and whether or not a long reliever is going to get enough spot starts to make himself valuable, this is killing me. Not that I should be complaining: I am currently holding down the #2 spot in the most competitive non-pay league in all of Fantasy Baseball with an, at-best, mediocre team. I am winning weeks by the skin of my teeth and looking at batter vs. pitcher analysis on Saturday and Sunday to determine who on my team plays and where my opponent will falter. To sum it up: I can name every closer for every MLB team and his most likely replacement off the top of my head- this is the kind of thing that I do with my time.

Rant Over.

NHL playoffs are in progress and the Isles need to either be contracted or make DiPietro read a book has anyone else heard him do analysis on VS. my god man you sound like an idiot.

Gordon's last post was on College Hoops, thats how long its been since I wrote.

Roger Clemens, Miguel Tejada, and R. Kelly are all sitting at a bar. Do you need a punchline?

Only 8% of players in the MLB are black but a black All-Star team could still beat a White All-Star team and a Hispanic All-Star team could beat both: just look at these lineups

White Guys: Team Honkey
C: Mauer
1B: Berkman
2B: Utley
SS: Michael Young (Tulo's Injured)
3B: Wright
OF: Holiday, Braun, Sizemore
DH: Morneau

SP: Peavy
CL: Papelbon

Black Guys: (I am far too white to insert anything here)
C: OK, Fine so Black Guys don't catch
1B: Ryan Howard
2B:Brandon Phillips
SS: Jimmy Rollins
3B: Chone Figgins
OF: Crawford, Soriano, B.J. Upton
DH:Prince Fielder

SP: C.C.
CL: Manny Corpas

Note: You may not think that these guys would win but with the exception of Ryan Howard, and Prince, every guy on this team is a threat to steal 2nd and 3rd

Hispanic Guys: (Once Again, Im too white)
C: V-Mart
1B: Pujols
2B: Polanco
SS: HanRam
3B: A-Rod
OF: Carlos Lee, Vlad Guerrero, Carlos Beltran
DH: Miggy Cabrera

SP: Johan Santana
CL: K-Rod

Note: This team is dirty and you would have a guy batting .350 in the 9 hole (Polanco)

College Hoops Fans

2008-03-26T21:22:00.002-04:00

Yes we all know Duke has been eliminated. I really appreciate being told this three or four times. Lets face it...they have no rebounding, a sub par point guard at best who can make wide open threes and only one guy who can take it to the rim. Not really the ingredients needed when it comes to winning a national championship.

Lets talk college hoops. I want to know if this is just a St. John Fisher thing or everywhere. I have been approached by many college basketball fans over the past week. Most of them are Syracuse fans. The new thing to do is cheer for a CONFERENCE. Let me see if I can figure this out. Cuse doesn't get to the tournament and I hear, "Go Big East". What an interesting way for you to finish the college basketball season.

This is the only sport I have ever heard of that you can cheer for a conference. Come on now. You don't do this in football, baseball or basketball. Why does college basketball make this different. Just admit that your team didn't get in the tournament and it is YOUR teams fault. There is no one else to blame. Not the strength of schedule, referees or alumni who aren't kicking in the cash for your star point guards new car. It is time that teams start taking responsibility for the loss and stop making excuses.

Maybe this is just me but I will never cheer for a conference because my team is in it. Let's go Phillies when the Braves are struggling. Not a chance. To jump on the NL East bandwagon makes you a trader. Yes I am questioning people who do this.

Just tell me this Willis...if the Yankees or Rockets don't make the playoffs are you grabbing your Red Sox or New Orleans Hornets gear for the postseason? (A Peja Stojokavic jersey is acceptable as long as you don't cheer for the Hornets cause lets be honest, he can shoot it) I don't see it happening cause your one of the few people I know who is a FAN.

The Wise Report: 3/11/08- When in doubt, break Yao's foot.

2008-03-11T12:24:00.002-04:00

The Houston Rockets, on the the heels of Yao Ming's season ending injury have won a nearly incomparable 19 straight (7 without Yao). These are the Rockets I know and love. I may have stated in an earlier post that this was not the time that I wanted Yao to go down, if he had to go down at all, and I agree with my earlier statement, I don't think that Yao going down can possibly have a positive effect on the Rockets in the playoffs but right now it seems to be working.

Two or three years ago I ran into an article in ESPN the magazine concerning a young knuckleballer out of UMaine who everyone said had the stuff to be better than Tim Wakefield. Now, I can't find him anywhere. I assume that he is no longer at UMaine, but he could be there, he may have just fizzled out and never been able to hack it in the minors but I am trying to find this guy, if anyone has any idea who he is or where he is I would appreciate it.

Heres one thing that is pissing me off about the upcoming baseball (or fantasy baseball) season- there are no sleepers anymore. Fantasy baseball has turned into such a business that Yahoo and ESPN pay for national TV air time to promote there FREE games, ESPN employs more writers to cover fantasy baseball than they do to cover hockey. There are no sleepers anymore, there are no more guys who you saw get a cup of coffee 2 years ago and were just sitting on and waiting till they showed up on the available players list. Those guys are already hyped and re-hyped about 14 times before they even get considered on a draft board. This annoys me.

I think we need to add a twist to the all-star break this year. Former Expos versus an AL-NL combined team, the Expos would win- especially with the way both Pedro and Randy are going to pitch this year. LONG LIVE THE O.

Down with the sickness

2008-03-04T21:20:00.002-05:00

Yes, the famous song from Disturbed in which 98% of the section 2 basketball teams came out to in 2001. I have also picked up the flu the last few days. My sickness probably came from somebody in Fort Lauderdale rather than Upstate NY. This just in....intramurals are more important than class. I skipped all my classes yesterday in order to take a 20 point ass kicking last night. Smart move by me.

I like your comment about Juan Gonzalez. Lets break it down.

Can he run? NO
Can he play OF? NO
DH in the NL? NO
Hang out with Mark McGwire....if you can find him(ESPN has not been able to so good luck)
Still swing the stick? If he is not tested for steroids all season....sure. I am saying 10 hrs, 31 rbi

The fantasy baseball draft is only a few weeks away Willis. I hope your ready to experience the war room!

It Could Be SARS, But That Would Be Serious

2008-03-04T12:26:00.002-05:00

In one of the most uncomfortable three day stretches of my life (its not over yet, so lets not count out day four) I acquired some kind of illness worthy of wearing a mask on an airplane, good times.

Brett Favre: the god, the legend, the oldest quarterback to ever lose to the NY Football Giants in January, has officially announced his retirement and if that wasn't enough someone immediately updated his wikipedia site. Check it out here.

In the latest of a string of retired players coming back to the show, MICHAEL JORDAN has announced he thinks he still has what it takes and is hoping to pick up about 10 minutes a game for the Charlotte Bobcats. Charlotte, where Jordan is a minority owner and head of basketball operations, is hoping Jordan's presence will increase ticket sales if not wins.

- If you actually thought that previous statement was true... you're an idiot, the guy is like 50.

On another note, Sam Cassell actually does plan to pick up 10-15 minutes a game for the Boston Celtics.

Why is basketball the only sport where teams are not afraid to rock all green, with few exceptions, namely Notre Dame, other sports just don't embrace that perfect mix of blue and yellow. I would really love to see either the D-Rays (sorry the Rays), Marlins, or the Royals rock some all green unis, As for the Royals- nothing else seems to be working for them.

Looking around at some fantasy baseball info I ran into a number of different blogs that projected Juan Gonzalez in the first 10 rounds, I really think that these blog writers need to get away from the ESPN hype, so what if he homered off Johan. To get a grasp on Juan-Gone this year think Jordan on the Wizards.

The Wise Report: 2/26/08- The Good, The Bad, and The Yao

2008-02-26T15:18:00.002-05:00

It was 42 degrees yesterday in wonderful Clinton, NY and now its 28 and snowing. I am getting pretty sick of this weather. Bring on golf season.

Peter Forsberg, the man, the legend, is rejoining the former Quebec Nordiques in an attempt to resurrect past glory in Colorado. Good luck to you sir. Seeing as Forsberg hasnt played a full season in about 4 years and spent his last 3 NHL years in Philly and Nashville I wouldn't go as far as to say he's BACK but it does beat him playing in Sweeden.

Bring Barry Bonds to Tampa Bay, or the New York Yankees (PLEASE), the man could play the old Mo Vaughn game of Home Run or Out and still bat .250 with a truckload of walks. There are very few, if any, players in the MLB who contest with Bonds on an at-bat to at-bat comparison. Ill take him and his 25 bombs in New York any day.

Yao Ming is out for the season. If you havent been watching the NBA then shame on you, this has been one of the best seasons in the recent history of the sport. My boys, the Houston Rockets, were on a 12 game tear and now Yao goes down with a broken foot. Sitting on the brink of making the playoffs, this is not what you want to have happen. God damn his malnourished Chinese childhood, lets get these kids some calcium.

4 Players have submitted to the undying will of the frozen head of Ted Williams, only one still has a yonson.

The Wise Report: 2/25/08- Its not selling Ice to the Eskimos, but its close

2008-02-25T10:27:00.003-05:00

First, Gordon- Good luck with the interview, if you haven't already done it- Selling tickets to Marlins games is not exactly my idea of a good time but you're much more the salesman than I am.

I wish that someone would ruthlessly destroy Tiger Woods, and not that he would fall apart but that he would shoot -10 and then someone would come in and shoot -20. That is what I want to see. When he held up that trophy at the end of the WGC match yesterday he looked about as happy as a redneck at a rap concert. He may have been up there grinning but behind that smile he must have been thinking he could have beat Stewart Cink if he played lefty. Hes bored as shit. Luckily Golf is an individual sport so when Tiger gets bored it only effects Tiger.

Some way, some how, Bartolo Colon- The Fattest Man in Baseball- will end up winning the World Series for the BoSox. Don't get me wrong, I don't want this to happen, but it will- signing Bartolo to a minor league deal opens the door for a late season Schilling fall-out and Bartolo stepping in. Bartolo eats innings like they're donuts and when you get late in the year and start seeing some holes in the rotation its nice to be able to call down to Pawtucket and bring a guy like this up. This is the kind of guy that neither the Yanks or the Blue Jays have, they have their share of fat unproductive guys but not fat unproductive guys who can maintain a 4.5 ERA when they're pushing 400 lbs.

Never again should Will Ferrell be allowed to give the "Top Ten" plays on SportsCenter. Come on man you used to be funny: Will Ferrell speaking on a mullet: "What's they used to call that business in the front party in the back, oh those were the days." Cracka Please.

The Show

2008-02-21T00:51:00.002-05:00

Good to see your back at it Willis. I have tagged a picture of you after your enjoyable Rachacha experience. I leave for Miami/Fort Lauderdale on Friday for Spring Break. It will probably just be a shitshow with to much alcohol being consumed.

The main reason for this post is for some advice from a scholar like yourself. Next Tuesday I will be interviewing with the Florida Marlins for a sales position. What advice do you have for me?? Anything you can provide will be helpful.

Oh by the way, Duke is struggling right now. Not exactly sure when Greg Paulus or anybody is going to step up and be a leader. I just don't see them getting to the Final Four especially since they don't have anybody stepping up.

I hope you have been looking over your notes for Fantasy Baseball because the draft for the MOST COMPETITIVE LEAGUE IN HISTORY is less than one month away. Yes fellow readers, your league is weak.

The Wise Report: 2/20/08- Putin are you scared

2008-02-21T00:03:00.002-05:00

My computer is dead- Which helps to explain the lack of posts, in addition to my laziness

85% of all blogs go untouched after the first month and 84% of all statistics are made-up

Spring Training Started, Shaq is old and can't shoot, Tiger Woods is absolutely nuts, No-one caught on to the fact that a Black Man can be an old crabby white woman in a liberal democratic party and

A INTERCEPTOR MISSILE DESIGNED TO NEUTRALIZE AN ICBM OR SUB BASED NUCLEAR WEAPON HIT A SPY SATELLITE FALLING FROM SPACE AT 17,000 MPH. NOT EVEN THE FROZEN HEAD OF TED WILLIAMS COULD HIT THAT.

Thats enough big text for awhile, I'm in the middle of a paper and its 12:09 Ill catch ya on the flipside.

The Wise Report: 2/13/08- Snoop Doggie Dog and Dr. Dre are at the Door

2008-02-13T12:28:00.002-05:00

First to answer Scott- Yup the Braves suck, I was trying to be nice in that post from a few weeks back but you're right they dont even have a chance. And... DID HELL FREEZE OVER? I never thought that we would hear from you again.

Lets Continue to mercilessly beat the same dead horse, and talk about steroids- Andy Pettitte is a lying sack of shit who after coming out and initially admitting that he used HGH for 2 days in 2002 has now also admitted to using it for 1 day in 2004. BITCH. Of all the accused steroid users Pettitte by far had the most class when he stepped forward and admitted to his actions. Unfortunately, now hes just as bad as the rest of them lying and then lying to cover up the initial lie. Be glad that this Yankee staff has more holes than a well aged swiss or else you'd find yourself on the next bus out to Hoboken. Peace Hombre.

Back in the day, when I dime bag cost a dime and cops didn't role into Compton and Sports Center anchors had a pair they would joke about this period being by far and away the worst stretch in the sports calender. That was before they needed to satisfy everyones 25 hour a day need for sports information and support their multitude of channels and websites basically before Disney ruined everything. Go to hell mouse.- The time in between the Super Bowl and March Madness sucks you get a progressively more mundane series of NBA and NHL games and you provide the perfect stage for blemishes like the Congressional Steroid Hearings to come to the forefront of the sports world. I know that new sports fail 9 times out of 10 but if somebody set themselves up with a championship in the last week of February and the first week of March they might actually make it.

Dont think too hard your brain will explode.

Braves Baseball

2008-02-13T00:36:00.003-05:00

I have to say that this years baseball season is going to be difficult for a number of reasons but the main one is having no more Atlanta Braves on TBS. This is a franchise who have established themselves over the past 20 years by winning 13 division championships. I will now only be able to watch them on ESPN or when they play the New York Mets.

The second things that bothers me about this years off-season is the acquisitions Atlanta has made to supposedly make them stronger. I understand the new ownership is looking to cut payroll but they will soon relize that spending money is the name of the game. Adding Mark Kotsay and Tom Glavine is not going to make you a contender in the NL East. There were a number of CF's available and the best we could find is Mark "you don't" Kotsay. Add that one to your list Chris Berman.

I also want to respond to the comment my buddy from Hamilton made on people from Rochester. He is right on the money. Bad weather means a better opportunity to consume adult beverages and enjoy good times with friends. Nothing beats a cold brew, especially when it is Labatt Blue.

The Wise Report: 2/10/08- Because on the East Coast we prefer Rocks to Pow

2008-02-10T18:25:00.000-05:00

Yeah, 5 or 6 days poor form. Thanks to anyone and everyone that checked this in between.

Shaq goes to the suns- And an old washed up center who doesn't dominate in the east comes to the west to show us all that size does matter... unless you should be collecting social security. I think Shaq is going to keep playing until someone offers him either a sitcom or another feature. Will someone please do this and put us out of our collective misery? Hell, I could write Kazaam 2:

An older and wiser Kazaam helps out a troubled, adolescent, Asian boy from "the 'hood." Kill about 45 minutes building the relationship between Kazaam and the boy and then proceed to have the boy end up in the wrong place at the wrong time as a Triad drug deal is about to go down. The boy, with Kazaam by his side, attempts, fruitlessly, to run from the Triads when they ruthlessly bust a cap in his ass. A guilt stricken and depressed Kazaam proceeds to plug Visa, Pepsi, and Reebok before hanging himself from a nearby basket (in the ultimate symbolic irony).

Barack O'Bama announces that he will select the frozen head of Ted Williams as his running mate if given the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination. This assumes the frozen head of Ted Williams can prove he never used performance enhancing drugs.

I love to ski because there are very few ways in which man can more efficiently destroy the environment while promoting male domination over female earth. Dont smoke crack unless offered by an out of work and overweight rodeo clown- then all bets are off.

The Wise Report: 2/4/2008- The Giants Win... Theeee Giants Win

2008-02-04T09:44:00.001-05:00

Yes, and yes again. As the ultimate proof of Bill Simmons "Ewing Theory" The Giants won the Superbowl the year after their star player Tiki "I Wanna Be A Gumbel" Barber retired. As a tried and true Cowboys fan you may think that it is slightly ridiculous that I wanted the Giants to win last night... but I did and they did so Woo Hoo. My reasoning for wanting them to win this game goes beyond my own personal, and selfish, interests in fandom and lies instead in wanting to watch all of New England suffer. Rather than one city or one state, when 6 states suffer it makes me happy. Nowhere else in sports can so many Senators lose so much pride in so little time.

I am sure everyone out there watched the game but if you didn't you missed one of the Greatest "actual games" in Superbowl history. Eli Manning almost made you forget that he is the Manning brother who had been dropped on his head as a small child. As alot of the guys I watched the game with were saying last night: the only thing that could have made this victory sweeter is if somehow as Eli raised the Lombardi Trophy Kevin Garnett and Big Papi got injured and Gisele dumped Tom Brady. I dont know how or why but somehow Bridget Moynahan orchestrated this whole season.

If you get the chance go to Rochester, NY when they get 3 inches of freezing rain... everyone there is so nuts they still manage to have a good time.

The Wise Report: 1/30/2008- Gordon, Johan, and Tom Petty

2008-01-30T13:54:00.000-05:00

The Twins, who I can only now imagine are run by the same guys who took over the Expos after the 95 strike, traded Johan Santana for the entire NYMets Farm System and still got ripped off. It is almost undeniable that both the Yanks and the Sox offered a more complete group of Big League caliber players in exchange for that one big gun. If anyones wondering how Johan will do in NY just think about how Pedro did in his early years with Boston but with a major upside (Johans moving to the NL, hes on the lesser team in NY, and hes going to be getting about 1.5 times the run support he got in Minneapolis). Hes going to be good.

With all this talk of Johan moving to the NL East people seem to think that the Mets have locked things up for themselves- they couldn't be more wrong. The NL East has now surpassed the AL East as the most competitive division in the game. The Braves, Phils, and Mets all match up on a player by player basis but the Braves have about 7 big-league starters in their system and brought in a pretty effective mentor/pitching coach in the form of Tom Glavine. Even the Marlins and the Nats will be able to take a few series against the big guys. This will be the division to watch in 2008.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will be touring all summer and tickets went on presale at 10AM- No SPAC show so I don't know if ill be going, but if you get the chance go see these guys this summer. They keep saying that every tour they do will be their last and one of these times they are going to mean it.

The Wise Report: 1/28/08- Why More People Watched the X-Games then the All-Star Game

2008-01-28T10:18:00.000-05:00

Marc Savard.

The peak of my NHL knowledge came in 2003 when I took part in what will go down in history as the most competitive Fantasy Hockey league ever. At that time I believe Marc Savard played for the Atlanta Thrashers, He could still play there... I dont know. Either way he is a prime example of why more people watched the Winter X-Games then the NHL All-Star Game. His goal may have sealed victory for the Eastern Confrence (woo hoo) but Shaun White threw a 1260 last night. I really don't know about you but the difference between a guy knocking a chunk of frozen rubber into mesh versus a 20 something year old kid who already has an olympic gold medal and is still expanding his sport is exponential. A 1260 is not 1 or 2 or 3 but 3.5 rotations, thats insane.

There are probably 30-40 players in the NHL who are more well known then Marc Savard. There is no snowboarder more well known then Shaun White. Hockey needs new fans. Its hayday and most recognizable faces have all been out of the league for a half-decade. I grew up where kids played hockey. While my information comes from a singular source I have been told that in the past 10 years my local Youth Hockey Organization has seen a nearly 300% decline in participation. This is the kind of problem the sport is facing at every level. Increasing exposure at the pro level=increasing participation at the youth level and it is an ever competing cycle from that point forward.

Give a kid a goldfish and give them the gift of death.

The Wise Report: 1/27/08- Gimme dem Chips and Gimme dat Whip

2008-01-27T11:56:00.000-05:00

Im in the Library for the first time in this new semester and thought it would be endlessly fitting to write a post rather than to work. And I am right. I swear that these are going to get more structured and regular but for now deal with this.

What 48 hours of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will do to your head:

In the past 48 (maybe 72) hours I have done 5 things: Eat, Sleep, go to the Gym, Partake in a few adult sodas, and play or watch others play GTA: SA. Don't blame me blame society.

This is not a new game but I have reluctantly reached the age where I am ok with that and really dont see myself advancing my technology any time soon. So as a 21 year old WWWWhite male I can start a whole multitude of gang wars in virtual Compton. This changes a person. I went out last night and started to prove Hilary Clinton right- I wanted to steal a car and then kill somebody in a drive-by and then solicit some prostitute- But I didn't do it because that would make me an idiot.

I HATE THE STUPID PEOPLE WHO WOULD ACTUALLY DO THIS CRAP. Games like this allow me to practice for my next life when I come back as an early 90s OG and have to prove my self and gain respect but I promise not to put those skills into effect now.

Tiger Woods is a god, again... and his wife is still hot... and Phil Mickelson still has man boobs.- Golf Season is back.

Im Chevy Chase and Your Not.

This whole post blew and I am sorry Im pretty rusty but ill work it out.

Wise Report 1/21/08: My Apologies and Whatnot

2008-01-21T01:04:00.000-05:00

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I know I havent posted in about two weeks and I could give you a whole line of excuses but I really just dont want to bore you with LAN connections and Trojan Horse Viruses. Needless to say IM BACK... And hopefully better thanks to those of you that continued to check this site fruitlessly.

Why Im Glad Im not Lawrence Tynes:

If I were Lawrence Tines I would contemplate killing myself on a nightly basis and then when I decided not to I would pay some loose women to keep me company for a night or two just to see if I were still alive.

Eli Manning wouldn't be able to tell you who I am in about ten years when hes gone on to a life of heavy drinking and I have had a botched Mexican sex change surgery and now go by Laura.

I would have died of a massive heart attack after I completely and totally botched my 4th quarter field goal tonight. Then my ghost would have knocked down the game winner. I suck I mean I really suck I blacked out for the whole over time Coach Caughlin said something to me and then I dont remember much other than the fact that he looked like he had been wearing ski goggles all day but we hadnt been skiing, I love him. I would have his children if he asked me to. Of Tom please come back to me.

These Are the reasons I am glad I am not Lawrence Tynes and because hes a kicker and those guys are all absolutely nuts.

Ill do my best from here on out. Now I have a reason to procastinate.

Thanks, Pecca

The Wise Report: 1/3,4,5/08- You Drink at a Bar

2008-01-05T01:05:00.000-05:00

I apologize for not posting yesterday, but I had planned to do it last night and then went out and didn't get to it. And because its already the 5th this is going to be todays WR as well. This is a list post:

The Ten Stages of Watching a Game at a Bar (1-least intoxicated, 10-fuggetaboutit)

1- Hey Its Kansas-VT, who'd I have my money on?
2- Screw the refs I saw that from here
3- Hey shes pretty hot
4- Thats funny I thought you were buying this round
5- Hey you, yeah you Mr. Ref, I know where you live, I know who your mother is, and I know people... thats right big time people. You zebra wearing jackass.
6- Hold on I might be drunk but I know a phone number has 8 digits, what you trying to pull
7- Stand there silently for a while and realize that everyone on that field is younger then you, and then you get depressed, Shots Anyone?
8- "Hey you know what, I would of talked to you earlier but I didn't realize you were so HOT"
9- Another shot to recover from the slap after number 8
10- Hey Its Kansas-VT, who'd I have my money on?

The Wise Report: 1/2/08- The City of Brotherly Love (Take the Nats and the Points)

2008-01-02T10:39:00.000-05:00

It is no surprise to me that Philadelphia cannot win any kind of major sports championship and that of all the cities in the greater D.C. Metro area (Baltimore, Philly, and D.C.) it hosts the most continually disappointed fans. After boarding the flight referenced in yesterdays W.R. I proceeded to fly to Albany International Airport and then maintain a holding pattern outside the second beacon while our flight waited for ground visibility to increase to a half mile (If this confuses you watch Die Hard 2). Well that didn't happen and we turned around and flew back to Philly last night and now I wait, in a strikingly similar situation to the one in which I wrote yesterday, for another flight from Philly to Albany set to land in my states capital at 2PM... woo... hoo.

Because of my overriding frustration with UselesS Airways I apologize for the lack of sports information in these two posts so here you go:

SID the KID. Hockey should be played outside, thats how its Canadian inventors played it and the outdoor ice adds entirely new aspects to the game. With outdoor hockey, not only do you have to negotiate 5 opponents and a goalie with overstuffed pads but the outdoor game also brings into effect wind, snow, and cold. 3 conditions epitomized by the fine city of Buffalo, NY. Forcing NHL games outdoors would also solve the sports 2 major problems, southern teams, and the V.S. network. If you cant make ice outdoors then you don't get to play and because all of the outdoor stadiums are rigged for NFL filming that the Versus network wouldn't know what to do with it opens the door for NBC, CBS, Fox or the Worldwide Leader to take over coverage. Lets get Melrose working full time again.

The Wise Report: 1/1/08- Steve Irwin prompts Tampa Bay to rename MLB team

2008-01-01T18:55:00.000-05:00

A promise is a promise. Thanks to a turn of events straight out of a Tim Allen movie I am currently sitting in the Philly International Airport and watching a fair number of non-English speaking, unintelligent, and grossly incompetent Useless Airways employees try to direct holiday travelers to their final destinations. Its a definite possibility that the Colts secondary could do a better job then this crack squad. Today is a day of Bowls and if your lucky, and not stuck in a 1970s airport terminal, I suggest that you watch them. Michigan's triumph over the Tim Tebow's Florida Gators has prompted Television execs across the country to air live mascot battles and unfortunately for the Wolverines it does not pay to wrestle a gator. Ask anyone but the ghost of Steve Irwin.

The New York Bias

2007-12-13T14:47:00.000-05:00

In his press conference yesterday, Sen. George Mitchell acknowledged the single worst aspect of his infamous report: the fact that all of his "real" information came from former Mets trainer Kirk Radomski and that subsequent information came from the even sketchier character of Brian McNamee- both these men worked for the clubs in New York City and therefore named New York names. This leaves the public with the potentially crippling allocations that at least 5 members of the 2000 World Series Champion New York Yankees used steroids: Pettitte, Clemens, Knoblauch, David Justice, and Jason Grimsley. However strikingly easy it may appear, it is impossible to play the game of what would that team have done without them, or how did their steroid use impact their production. We have to accept this as what it is, one trainer providing evidence that in no way shape or form could hold up in any court, other than that of public opinion.

I know that Mitchell had to produce something, he needed to give both Major League Baseball and the public some response to his years of research, and he did. The 409 page report is available for public viewing (via .pdf) at every major internet news outlet. He provided the names that he was provided with, from essentially one trainer in one city. How he can even come close to claiming that this is any more than a minute sampling of the MLB's steroid problem I have no idea. Find me a trainer in Chicago, in Seattle, in Arlington, in Miami, give me a broader view than these players from New York, or who came through New York, and what they did to their bodies and those drugs. Go ahead and kill Clemens and Pettitte but take down some other guys too. Yes, I acknowledge that not every player on the Mitchell Report came from New York but so many did that I am willing to overlook the other, mostly lesser, names.

Take the example of David Justice. Justice played MVP caliber ball for both the Indians and Braves before coming to New York. Taking the Mitchell report at face value you might say that he only started using steroids when he donned that Yankee uni. I don't buy that. So maybe he didn't roid up when he was in his 20s in Cleveland, but theres a good chance he did when all those 160 game seasons began to wear his body down in Atlanta. I know I shouldn't make these accusations and that calling out Justice like this is nothing more than guesswork and slander but its not that much of a stretch. So we go to Atlanta and we find their version of Brian McNamee or Kirk Radomski. He turns in another group of players and we work from there. I just have such a hard time believing that no other cities and no other teams have steroid problems to the same extent that New York did. Mitchell repeated that "no team was spared," yeah... O.K. no team was spared but Mo Vaughn's 2 year stint on the Angels really cripples them the same way that Pettitte and co. taint Yankee history.

This may read like I am out their gunning for more blood, that I want to implicate every player at every level of the game. I don't. I would love to leave this as it is now, but that just isn't fair to Yankee and Met fans (or Oriole fans in some really odd twist). If Pettitte comes back after this incident, as he is currently under contract to do, how is it fair to have him singled out in every road ballpark all summer. Yankee fans have no one to turn on. I really look foward to seeing "Yeah But So Did Mo" signs when the Sox come to town next year. Mitchell did a disservice to a loyal and combative fan base by not going out and digging deeper. Maybe it would have required some more Federal pressure, maybe some more time and money, but don't stop where you stopped. It almost seems like the former Senator looked over his evidence said: "we got Clemens" and told his boys to start the presses. Go a little further Senator, I know you can do better than that.

Unlike many, many, many of my friends who are fellow Yankee fans I have no problem with Mitchell's lack of names like Ortiz and Manny in this report. I know that Mitchell participated in a good number of the Sox dealings in the past but I really don't believe that it tainted his findings. If Sox players used steroids, Ortiz got WAIVED by the Twins before embracing his pull hitter strength in Boston, they didn't use Radomski as their source and, therefore, have no business in Mitchell's report. I can't imagine that Mitchell would purposely leave off Red Sox names, that information would completely compromise both the integrity of his report and the integrity of his position as both a Lawyer and Statesmen. No fanship is worth the kind of public scrutiny that would be brought down on his head if his bias could ever be proved.

The Mitchell Report is this: A great non-fiction 409 page read that chewed baseball up and spit it out. If you like juicy gossip and heresy testimony you'll find it both enjoyable and mesmerizing. If you prefer cold, hard, and fully informative facts look elsewhere because your not going to find them here. If I handed this in to a statistics class my professor would give me an F and then write "Sample Size ???" enough said.

If Dr. Seuss Were Still Alive

2007-12-12T11:22:00.000-05:00

If I Were A Pit Bull by Liar Lidimew

If I were a pit bull
A pit bull I'd be
I'd kill Michael Vick
And his whole family

I'd claw them and bite them
I'd tear them to shreds
I would rip out their hearts
and I'd rip out their dreads

I'd go talk to Hank Hudson
that wily old fox
I'd yelp and I'd bark
and I'd make him eat lox

He'd listen to me
cause he so lacks compare
'Ole Cochran is dead
so lets give Mike the chair

Lets see how Mike likes
a two thousand volt charge
Two thousand volts
That does seem a bit large

We'll laugh and we'll dance
we'll really cut a rug
And he'll keep on frying
till I pull the plug

We get a bad rap
In the dog world you know
Gangsters and MCs
Keep us in their tow

But were not that bad
Though our smiles are toothy
Just Give us a chance
Were really quite goofy

And thats what I say
For now bout Mike Vick
Any man who fights dogs
Is truly a dick.

Oh and this

2007-12-09T10:43:00.001-05:00

The Ultimate (And Possible) Fantasy Roster for 2008 (This goes by the Argyle League Set-Up):

C: Ramon Hernandez (15-)
1B: Mark Teixeira (4)
2B: Dan Uggla (10-11)
3B: A-Rod (1)
SS: Tejada (10-11)
OF: Jose Guillen (15-) (Hes on the Royals, where hitters go to dies)
OF: Curtis Granderson (7)
OF: Sheffield (6)
Util: Chone Figgins (9)
Util: Andruw Jones (12-15)
B: Nick Markakis (12-15)

SP: Wang (5)
SP: Peavy (2)
P: Rich Hill (8)
P: Papelbon (3)
RP: Gagne (12-15)
RP: Dotel (15-)
B: Wood (15-)
B: Sheets (12-15)
B: Willis (15-)

The Black Guy Knocks Out The White Guy

2007-12-09T10:05:00.001-05:00

This ain't no oreo folks.

Floyd Mayweather KO'd Ricky Hatton in round 10 last night. I didn't watch the fight but loved the pre-fight comment from Mayweather's father that said this fight wouldn't be Rocky VII and that Apollo was the champ this time. Ummm... This is fun Ricky Hatton is a pasty white dude from Britain and Floyd Mayweather is a jacked out of his mind black guy from America. 95% of the time the black guy wins that fight. This is the reason I memorize Steven Segal movies in preparation for the ass-kickings that I may need to lay down in the future. Using Steven Segal as a perfect transition...

Plot: Steven Segal, Jean-Claude Van Dame, and Chuck Norris form the ultimate axis of evil (none of these guys have ever played the bad guy in anything, so this is perfect). They decide on a plan involving a nuclear weapon, a baby, a martial arts tournament, and a crap load of Steven Segal fat jokes. America, left with no other option, creates a team of the worst actors in history to destroy these washed up old-guys: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, LL Cool J, and Colin Farrell (Colin Farrell is in the movie for 2 reasons: you might be able to convince your girlfriend to go to this thing if hes in it; and he gives us a big name to kill off in the first half hour with a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick. In fact thats the opening scene: Chuck Norris roundhouse kicks Colin Farrell's head right off his shoulders and then breaks into an evil menacing laugh while wearing a "Chuck Norris's tears cure cancer" T-Shirt.) Lots of action and lots of minor deaths take place between the beginning and the end, probably as the result of some ill-fated LL Cool J decision or Paul Walker tricking people into thinking hes actually alive. In the end the 3 remaining 'good guys' face the 3 remaining 'bad guys' and Steven Segal has a heart attack and dies. JCVD and Norris get into an argument after Segal's death which somehow results in a dispute over the merits of Delta Force versus Bloodsport. The resulting simultaneous roundhouse kicks kill off both anti-heroes leaving Diesel, Walker, and Cool J with nothing to do. All three, suddenly realizing they have to carry the plot on their own, have simultaneous brain aneurysms and die in some of these worst death-scene acting since "Under Siege". Camera pans out and we see a bunch of clouds and god like figures laughing down on the fallen heroes, we see there faces right before the screen goes black: Arnold, Stallone, and Willis... bastards.

I guess my last post lied. I'm not really stressed out of my mind but I should be. See you again on the 17th.

The Last One For Awhile

2007-11-25T19:38:00.000-05:00

Unless something absolutely crazy happens in the next 3 weeks or I get absolutely, out of my mind, frustrated and decide to vent in this venue; this will be the last post for 21 days. I realize that right now 3 people read this site: Me; my good buddy serving our country out in beautiful Pearl Harbor, HI; and some person in New England who I am not sure I know. In an attempt to encourage any readership after this post I promise 3 things for the coming year (although I could start posting again as soon as December 17, I will implement these changes come January 1st): A daily update in the 75-100 word range that I think deservedly will be dubbed "The Wise Report"- this should focus on a couple of the big stories from the day before and throw at least one mildly humorous insult at someone; A longer post at least once a week but with a goal of Tuesday and Friday Posts (worked the schedule to have no class on Friday so this should be easy) ; and more contributions from, if necessary, a larger group of contributors. So while you may not hear from me again for a little bit keep up your resolve and I look forward to you reading this blog again in the not to distant future.

Thanksgiving Football: The Begin-all and End-all of Fan-Hood

Other than the Superbowl and perhaps a few high profile playoff games (think Patriots-Colts), the Thanksgiving games garner the NFL its highest ratings of the year. And the best part is how little this stat actually reflects the number of people watching. I can tell you that one TV in my house projected, upon the fertile soil of 18 different minds, the action of the 2 broadcast games from last Thursday. Granted, not every television in America showed the game to 18 people, but this kind of scenario, is an example of how influential the Thanksgiving games can be. I contribute one of the major factors of my Dallas Cowboy Fanship to the fact that they play on T-Giving. I did not grow up in a house where the TV was tuned into Fox or CBS every Sunday. However, I did grow up in a family that watched the Thanksgiving Lions and Cowboys games religiously (I honestly have no idea how I didn't end up a Lions fan, may have had something to do with the cheerleaders).

I don't blame the NFL for attempting to capitalize on the success of Thanksgiving football by adding that night game on the NFL network. I personally don't receive the NFL network but don't hold it against my cable company (to whom I feel I already pay a quasi-reasonable rate). If they are ever able to get the NFL network on basic cable without giving up other, cheaper, and more wide-ranging programming I will welcome the change. Because I don't receive the NFL network and don't really care that the Colts were able to finally get it back together, albeit with another Peyton interception, I am not going to talk about that game but rather focus on the more democratic Lions-Packers and Cowboys-Jets games.

Lions-Packers: The running joke in every media outlet this year has something to do with the Prophet Jon Kitna and his personal discourse with God. The same discourse that led him to believe the Lions would win 10 games this season. Unfortunately for Kitna, and the Lions (and maybe God), that 10 win season is a little out of reach after the whipping Brett Favre laid upon Detroit on Thursday. Favre set the Packer's single game 'straight completions' record (the number of completions that occur without any incomplete passes) on Turkey day- leading to the inevitable question of: How after 17 seasons he is just setting this record now? This is one of those games where the score alone will lead the casual fan astray- The Pack took the fourth quarter off leading to the Lions going out with a roar rather than a whimper. Either way this win officially locks up the NFC-North for Green Bay and could put a serious hurt on Detroit's wild card chances (although after today's Giants foul-up its pretty wide open). I have to admit that by the time the fourth quarter rolled around I was more concerned about pulling my turkey out of the fryer than I was about Jon Kitna's ability to channel some Mosaic like power. If you have never fried a turkey- DO IT. Just make sure that you get that oil back up to 325 degrees after you put the bird in or your going to have a half-cooked greasy mess of poultry on your hands.

I don't even know if I need to say anything about this Cowboys-Jets game. The 'Boys are on a roll: they win on T-giving over a team that had just beaten a undoubtedly superior Steelers squad, and then Romo, T.O., and Witten make the cover of ESPN the magazine. An all and all good week for America's Team. However, I still don't think that this team will be able to beat the Pats, they look exactly the same as they did during that loss. Barring some kind of freak injury sidelining either Moss, Brady, or that ancient LB core the Pats have the Lombardi Trophy is still theirs to lose. Tangent: The Lombardi trophy ranks somewhere in the 5-10 range in the overall coolness of Trophy's in the major sports: it is definitely behind the Stanley Cup, the Heisman, The Green Jacket, and the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award but somewhere above the World Series Trophy and every other Tennis and Golf award (except maybe for the Claret Jug). The World Series Trophy is by far the worst design of any major trophy ever-Tangent Over. So lets go Cowboys: lock down the NFC; beat the Packers this weekend; and make Favre think that maybe he should retire after this season.

Until Dec. 17th or so...

Indicted... Ok so what does this mean?

2007-11-15T18:52:00.000-05:00

The breaking news that Barry Bonds got indicted is a great way to draw in readers and a great way to push the negative side of sports back into the headlines which they haven't dominated in... oh wait they haven't stopped dominating since the first BALCO raids and the Bash Brothers coming under scrutiny.

I have 3 major problems with this whole situation:

1. Bonds is a great poster boy for U.S. Attorney Scott "Keeping Drugs Out Of Our" Schools (I want the whole world to know that I wrote this joke first it is currently 7:01 PM on November 15, 2007) but his indictment under charges of perjury and obstruction of justice do little to change the overall climate of steroid use in pro sports. This indictment stems from an IRS investigation into money laundering over drug sales. I am sorry but the IRS investigation squad is not the group that is going to expose the real monster here. There are hundreds of labs across the country that undoubtedly supply hundreds of athletes in all the various major and minor league systems. The problem has expanded to the point that one crack IRS investigator, turning over one lab to a federal prosecutor is not going to solve this problem. I am all for dragging Barry through the mud and even giving him the full 30 years that he could potentially serve but that is one athlete in one sport who is not even connected enough to roll over on some high profile names and bring this problem to it's knees.

2. The entire world of sports knew that Barry Bonds did steroids. Outside of San Francisco, every baseball fan in the country knew what has now been officially claimed. Honestly, Woop-de-do, Barry Bonds has perjured himself by saying he didn't use steroids... really did he now, he had perjured himself in the court of public opinion years ago. An Indictment does not prove anything, it presents the charges. OJ Simpson should call Bonds up tonight (if he hasn't already used up his 1 call, I might add) and just say 4 words or maybe 9 words: "Innocent until proven guilty," or, "Innocent until proven guilty, I love the jury system." In my eyes nothing has changed. Lets wait and see if a jury of Bonds peers finds him guilty of perjury or obstruction of justice before we go out parading around claiming that we have saved baseball from its venomous demise.

3. If Bonds is the unluckiest man in the U.S. tonight then whoever out there caught Bonds 28th home run of the season should be shipping that thing off to some Swiss vault and telling the IRS he dumped it in the Bay cause he hated Bonds so much. Hey, if they actually dragged that thing they'd have some much bigger problems on their hands: "Yo, Sal where'd all these bodies come from." You are a lucky man Mr. 28 and if I were you I would stay as anonymous as possible and then put your kids through college on that nicely wound sphere of rubber, cork, leather, and yarn.

There isn't another big sports story on the horizon so lets hope Selig can do something with this, quick.

From Rookies to Retirees, From Cowboys to Colts

2007-11-12T16:10:00.000-05:00

As can be judged from the title this post concerns the most recent major occurrences in the world of sports: the major league baseball rookies of the year and the national hockey league hall of fame elections. As well as, two of the biggest games of this weekends NFL action: Colts vs. Chargers and Giants vs. Cowboys.

Dustin Pedroia (Boston Red Sox) and Ryan Braun (Milwaukee Brewers) won the AL and NL ROY awards, respectively: Pedroia in a rout and Braun in the tightest vote in history. My favorite aspect of these awards is how little they matter for the future numbers a player will produce. In the last 20 years about half of the ROY winners were or are considered stars. Players like Angel Berroa get juxtaposed against Derek Jeter when you start to project the futures of ROY winners, and as those two names suggest, how the player will fare 2, 5, 10, or 15 years down the road is anyones guess. While not having quite as bad a track record as the Grammy for 'Best New Artist,' baseball's rookie winners have about as good a chance of turning out like Milli Vanilli as they do like Sheryl Crow.

In 30 years, when the CIA has given up on finding Jimmy Hoffa and turns its attention to finding the body of Gary Bettman somewhere in the Meadowlands, people will look back at the NHL like they look back at the WNBA and think well that was nice but I am really glad they let it die (I know the WNBA isn't dead but honestly, come on, you know you wish it was). At that instant 1994 will go down as Hockey's curtain call. 1994 was the greatest year in the history of the game: the greatest leader in the history of the sport led an Original 6 team to victory; over the team with the least creative nickname in history (the Vancouver Canucks); and after predicting victory while down 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals. The worlds greatest trophy ended up in the worlds greatest city and the Garden shook to its foundations. After years of dynasties based in Edmonton and Nassau, and a recent restructuring into Eastern and Western Conferences, the NHL had a profitable and marketable team in a profitable and marketable city. Unfortunately the Devils and Red Wings dominated for the next 10 years and what fan base hadn't been killed off by lack of parity quickly died with the strike and the OLN/VS. debacle. Thus in 2037, when Toronto provides the last bastion for remembrance of this ancient league, young children will be able to look at the names of the men inducted in 2007: Mark Messier; Scott Stevens; Al MacInnis; and Ron Francis and know that these men played during the last great era of professional hockey and wonder what ice was like.

The Cowboys won... again. Tony Romo turned up the juice and outplayed Eli Manning on his own turf. Up until this game I saw the Cowboys as little more than the best of the pretenders, now I think they will win the NFC and be the last team with a shot at stopping the Patriots on their way to global destruction. I love it when Fox sends Troy Aikman to cover Dallas Cowboy games. He may have signed papers saying that he would present an unbiased view of the games events but no signature is strong enough to loosen the shock collar Jerry Jones fastens to each player when they join the Ring of Honor. Go Cowboys.

The Colts put on one of the most miserable showings of any team all season in their game yesterday versus the Chargers. Peyton lost all hope of besting Tom Brady this season after his 6 INT effort last night. I mean come on, the Chargers lost to the Vikings the week before... THE VIKINGS... the most one dimensional team since the legalization of the forward pass during the Roosevelt administration (no, not FDR, Teddy). The Colts should have been able to get over that loss to the Pats a little bit better, they didn't deserve to win the game anyway, not after the referee/crowd noise incident of the week before. Projections have the Colts at a 13-3 team, sad, when they should have gone 15-1 and given the Pats another run in January.

Damn You Family Guy!!! Its not a simulation its a curse on your heads. Why not take the risk and go where no cartoon has gone before, its not like you couldn't bring them back.

Gold Gloves, Gold Bats, and Gold Balls (8 Balls that is)

2007-11-06T20:12:00.000-05:00

The Gold Gloves for this season came out awarding Greg Maddux ol' number 17. Everyone knows hes the default winner now, its been this way for a while, but as long as he is playing he is going to be the default winner. I didn't get to see Maddux pitch much this year but I can't imagine he is still the best fielding pitcher in the game. If for no other reason his knees can not allow him to get to bunts in front of the mound as quickly as some of his younger compadres. I really can't imagine that hes even the best fielding pitcher on his team. Another note on the Gold Glove award winners: HOW IS THERE A TIE??? Aaron Rowand and Jeff Francoeur are both great athletes and put up damn near identical numbers. But, how do you equate a guy who's sharing the outfield turf, *cough* sharing... Right *cough*, with Pat "Stonehands" Burrell and a guy who gets 90% of his potential gappers called off by 10 time Gold Glover Andruw "Cause there's no U in Team" Jones. The answer is: you don't. Give Rowand the glove this year and then give it to Francoeur next year when hes gonna have to cover at least two positions in that Braves outfield.

Reading the headlines on ESPN.com today and discovering that Eric Lindros is announcing his retirement confused the hell out of me. Not that hockey should really consider itself a major sport anymore but I thought Lindros had hung 'em up at least 2 years ago. My real question is how this is going to effect the value of my 94-95 Upper Deck Box Set.

A Baseball Bat made out of solid gold would be worth approximately $14,000 so don't be tricked if someone offers you 30 million and a golden bat (im talking to you Arod).

Congratulations to Don Shula for stealing ink by playing up a story that had all but died out. I am actually afraid of what the Patriots would do to planet earth if they had an asterisk attached to this season. They are by far and away the most F-U team in the game and the Colts had the last real chance of any team to beat them this regular season. It would not surprise me at all if Gillette Stadium was also home to the largest private collection of Nukes this side of Moscow, best team ever... or only team ever?

God Damn the Seminoles putting the kibosh on what had the makings of a dream season for the best football team in Newton, MA. Matt Ryan may rhyme with Heisman but unfortunately when your team gets their crappy looking uniforms written about as much as their style of play you're gonna get alot more media attention, as in the case of Oregon Ducks QB Dennis Dixon.

Uunga Chaka, Uunga Chaka, Uunga Chaka, Uunga Chaka, I can't stop this feeling deep inside of me, girl you just don't realize what you do to me. And neither do you Martina Hingis, keep blowing lines. We all obviously don't realize the pressures associated with going pro at 14 but now i know who to hit up for an 8 ball.

2nd and long

2007-11-02T17:59:00.000-04:00

Ok so the Yankees have started to get their act together...sort of...

Girardi was announced yesterday as the next Yankees manager. I like the way the team has handled the Torre situation, with the exception of a few comments made on YES about him yesterday...Most importantly, the Yankees have picked up their option on Bobby Abreu for 16 mil next season. I said this was going to be the key to the 2008 offense, and they made the righ move. So thats two down...but the team still has a long way to go. The Mets have expressed serious intrest in signing Jorge, and if the Yankees don't act swiftly, they could loose their potential hall of fame catcher to the team in Flushing. And I could see Posada going there. Omar Minaya has been going well out of his means to persuade Posada. Obviously, Jorge wants to stay in the Bronx. He has been there his entire career, and has become one of the games best in pinstripes, but if the Yankees do not get busy I can see him packing his bags and moving across town. Mariano and Pettite are just as important. The Yanks need to start getting these player's cotracts sealed up to ensure they put the best team on the field for '08. No question they will be weaker without Jorge, Mariano and Andy. so lets go Cashman...step up and give these guys, these TRUE YANKEES, the attention you gave Gary Sheffield and A-Rod and Giambi (who I love as a Yankee, but still have to include in the big $$ list) - you drooled over them and how many rings have they brought you. You have a job because of Jorge, Mo, and Pettite. Give these guys exactly what they want, and deserve.

I hate to say it, but the Pats are going to win this weekend. It kills me that another New England team is going to be top of their respective sport come the end of the season. I think the Colts will give them a run for their money, but as we have seen all year, Manning is not even in the same league as Brady this year. Brady has over 30 TD's, while Manning has 13. Granted, Brady might have a better supportig cast and the Colts do run the ball more then they did last year, I still don't think the reigning champs can beat this Patriots team. Randy Moss looks like he did 5 years ago, and Brady is having what could be the greatest individual season of any NFL player ever. The guy is dominating this game like its pee-wee leagues. 33-24 Pats this Sunday.

Jets will loose again, and the Giants will pull through a nail biter over the Cowboys.

A-Rod will sign a 1 billion dollar contract with the D-Rays and opt out of it two weeks later to switch sports and play for the Galaxy with Beckham. It would be the cutest combo in sports history.

The Future is Now

2007-11-01T10:39:00.000-04:00

Going into this NBA season 2 names (and shortly thereafter 1 name) dominated all discussions of the future of the NBA: Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. Due to Oden being a 90 year old man and needing microfracture surgery we wont have to worry about him for a while so lets focus on Durant. After drafting "the future" the Seattle Supersonics quickly traded away "the present" (in Ray Allen) and then seemed to be more concerned about negotiating a move to Las Vegas than they were about winning games. This is all fine and good in the new "stop and flop" style of the NBA. However, you have to wonder about fostering one of the games brightest young stars on a team who's star and supporting cast could easily go down as the league leader in 3PA at season's end.

Durant's first 3 shots last night all came up short. And I don't mean short like Tim Hardaway, I mean short like Danny DeVito. Call it nerves, call it whatever you want but he did not look like a man who will be able to single-handedly drag this team into the playoffs (exactly what a team looking to move would appreciate).

Denver is a good team, a really good team: they have 4 guys who can consistently hit from the perimeter; multiple guards who know how to distribute; and big men who can swallow up everything off the glass. They are deep and have one of those classic benches with a marksman, a back up big man and a PG that can run it when called upon. In other words watch out for these guys down the stretch.

Big NFL game this weekend and if you don't know what I am talking about too bad cause I'm not gonna tell you. After this weekend we will know whether or not we are witnessing the greatest team to ever play the game.

Its a matter of opinion, its a matter of fact. Every major Boston team currently harbors a former star from Minnesota: Randy Moss; David Ortiz; Manny Fernandez; and of course Kevin Garnett.

Until I see "American Gangster," "We Own The Night" will be the best movie I have seen this fall.

Follow up

2007-10-31T00:07:00.001-04:00

First of all, it is time to end your affection with Morgan Ensberg. His days of hitting 30 bombs and driving in 100 runs may not happen over a three year span. This ties in with your theories on Randy Wolf. haha.

The Yankees are falling apart. I am saying this as a baseball fan who has watched them crumble the last few seasons.I would also like to give you an idea what it is going to be like for Joba Chamberlain next year. Remember that guy, Kerry Wood. Yes we all do and his flithy stuff that could fool hitters. The same can be said for Joba. Great stuff and most times unhittable. The question becomes how Joba handles the pressure with being in the starting rotation.

My prediction is that he has a solid year next season, a good chance of winning 15 games but we are looking at the future.Joba has a few years of starting in his future and his arm will be dead and we will be hearing how the Yankees ruined another player.I find it interesting how the Yankees wasted a talent like his in the bullpen. They didn't need a guy to eat up 2 innings. (For those of you who didn't watch this season...starting pitching did NOTHING) Give the guy some starts.

Joba 2008- 15 wins
2009- 7 wins
2010- Cumberland Farms Manager
Oh yes and my prediction for the Yankees starting 9. You will enjoy this one.
C- Michael Barrett
1b- Shelly Duncan
2b- Robinson Cano
3b- Jeff Cirillo
SS- That Jeter Guy
Lf- Hideki Matsui
Cf- Corey Patterson
Rf- Bobby Abreu
Dh- Melky Cabrera

Sp- Chin Ming Wang
Sp- Joba Chamberlain
Sp- Phil Hughes
Sp- Kyle Lohse
Sp- Eric Milton
Cp- Francisco Cordero

think about this

2007-10-30T17:48:00.000-04:00

This upcoming offseason has a wide range of extremely talented free agents, even without the newly added opt-out-rod to the list. When it comes to the Yankees, everyone knows there is not a sports team with more purchasing power then the braintrust of the father, son, and holy hank. I saw that Will posted a list for who the possible position players for next season could be, and I was thinking last night about the very same thing. A-rod is not coming back to the Yanks, as everyone already knows. So there is a huge void to fill there. The key to the yankees offense after Alex is Bobby Abreu. They need to resign him. He is a perpetual 100 RBI man, plus he hits for average (ok first half of 06 aside). Get him back in right field.

What about this: ROBINSON CANO AT THIRD BASE? there are some seriously good second basemen on the market right now - think Kaz Matsui, we all saw what he could do during the post season. He has been in NY before, and I think he would fit perfect with this team.

The Yankees have a solid outfield, but what if Melky comes up as a trade possibility for Santana? I think it would be a great move for the Yanks, because they then could turn around and sign either Andruw Jones or Tori Hunter - both extremely good center fielders. Usher in Santa for say Melky and Kennedy, throw Jones or Hunter in center and Matsui at second, and I like that fielding team a lot. Your not losing anything in terms of starting pitching - he is Johan Santana. Robbie would have to work hard this off season to learn the position, but we all know he has a strong enough arm to reach first from the hot corner in plenty of time.

my projected line-up
1. Damon DH/CF/LF depending on Jones
2. Jeter SS
3. Abreu RF
4. Jones CF - if he comes or if worst comes to worst we do have Giambi DH
5. Posada C - 4 if no jones because of last years average - he wont hit 54 bombs - but if he hit like he did he will drive in runs
6. Hideki Matsui LF
7. Cano 3B
8. Kaz Matsui 2B/Hunter OF
9. Dougy Mientkiewicz 1B

Back to Back Joes

2007-10-30T14:49:00.000-04:00

Joe Girardi has officially taken the job as Yankee Skipper. Now I said yesterday that when a team loses its catcher and its manager in the same offseason the results are never good however the Yanks now face a new scenario where they lost their manager and may lose their catcher but gained a former Yankee catcher as their manager. While I still do not think that this poses positive effects for the greater good of the Yankee record I do not think it will destroy anything.

Not even a score of years ago the Yankees were a team that no one expected anything of and I think were heading back to that.

If Joe Torre and Don Mattingly both take jobs with Los Angeles (The real one not the one that plays in Anaheim) I would be afraid of that team in the NL West. I have said it before but that is the division to watch in baseball and while I am partial to the Padres any of the real 4 (Dodgers, D-Backs, Rockies, and Padres) could take the division or the wild card.

My prediction for the Yankee starting 9 next season:
C- Jorge Posada
1B-Any of the guys that played this year
2B-Cano
3B- Morgan Ensburg (I don't know how or why but I had a dream about this last night)
SS-Jeter
LF- Andruw Jones
CF- Torii Hunter
RF- Abreu
DH-Matsui

I don't even think Cashman knows who is gonna start for this team next year but I wouldn't be surprised if 1 or 2 Wells (David and Kip) or a Weaver find their way over

The Houston Rockets are too old to win the West this year. Its sad but their average age is up over 27 and that just does not work out for most teams who try and go all the way. I see them ending up somewhere in the 7-8 seed range and then getting demolished in the first round. The Spurs, Suns and Jazz are all going to be great this year and any one of those teams could win the West although the smart money is on the Spurs.

Never doubt the Tigers. Grabbing Renteria from the cash strapped Braves before the real off-season action kicks off will go down as one of the best moves of the Winter of '07-'08.

I love Tony Romo. I may not go so far as to call myself a Romosexual, as has become the popular phrase, but north of Texas I have to be one of his biggest (non female) fans. But I dont agree with this contract. Jerry Jones thinks hes nailed down a franchise quarterback when he spends 60+ million on a guy who can be almost completely shut down by keeping a middle LB and a SS in zone over the middle. Romo can throw on the run but the minute he starts scrambling Witten always breaks to the middle and thats Romo's first look. Lets just hope to God that Jones keeps perennial pro-bowlers at wide out and TE for the rest of Romo's tenure in Dallas... I still get nervous every time he lets loose a pass. Not to say that contract was not Romoesque.

When I said "GO EAGLES!!!" at the end of my last post I was referring to the Boston College Eagles not the Philadelphia Eagles in case their was any confusion.

The Lion, The Witch and Hank Steinbrenner

2007-10-29T12:22:00.000-04:00

First: I am officially sick of Red Sox fans. Watching last night's game with a couple of them I found out just how little your 'average' member of Red Sox nation actually cares about the team and just how little last nights series meant to them. When you are the team who went 86 years in between championships its understandable that the riotous nature of the championship in 2004 would not be repeated this year. However, I would hope that at least a little joy would be shed by the various members of Red Sox nation after their second championship in 4 years.

A-Rod is gone and according to Scott Boras it has more to do with the pieces surrounding him then his actual feelings towards the Yankee organization. So if you follow this lead you're looking at a pitching staff without Petitte and Rivera as well as a line-up missing Jorge Posada.

There is a reason that more catchers go on to be managers than any other position (I am totally guessing on this one and really don't feel like figuring out this answer right now but it doesn't hamper my argument) its because they are the lifeblood of a team: they understand the pitchers; how to manage counts and situations; and how to balance the mood of those always crucial on field meetings. When a team loses both their catcher and their manager in the same season the results are not favorable especially when those two have the names Torre and Posada.

I am not personally a huge fan of listening to Scott Boras. However, I spent enough time watching NESN (The Red Sox Network) this summer to know that if he can convince a team to pay J.D. Drew the way the Red Sox are paying J.D. Drew then he can convince anyone of anything. Oh, and for all the members of Red Sox nation who are ready to forgive J.D. Drew all of his shortcomings because of a certain post-season homer I cant wait to talk to you next July.

According to well-informed writers like ESPN.com's Buster Olney Hank Steinbrenner is the new "figurehead" of the Yankee Baseball Organization. I love this. In times of major upheaval I always like to turn to a guy named Hank (I'm actually serious my Grandfather is named Hank). This transition is going to end up one of two ways: either by scrapping the team for parts and selling the YES network to an investment group of Wall Street big wigs; or maintaining the Steinbrenner tradition of dumping as much money as possible into a team that fails if they don't make the World Series.

Congratulations to the Colorado Rockies. Your team is by far and away one of the greatest stories in the recent history of Baseball. 8 days was too much and everyone with half a brain and an eye turned to a TV in the last couple months knew it. The NL West is the best example of good baseball on a day-to day basis. I hope this team can stay together for a long time and we get to see some great showdowns in that division.

GO EAGLES!!!

The End of An Era

2007-10-10T12:17:00.000-04:00

Disclaimer: Tiger Woods is a man among boys and a god among mere mortals, however I may not be too far off concerning his peak.

My last post was two months ago and if anyone read it but me and a guy who thought that Lost Sports 101 was some kind of porn site Ill be surprised. Before I start I need to get this out there: I am an early 90's bandwagon sports fan. Im only 21 so I shouldn't lose all of your respect but my teams are: New York Yankees (I'm from upstate so that isnt as big a stretch); Houston Rockets; Dallas Cowboys; and New York Islanders.

This is a Yankee Post

Everyone has been saying the same thing over and over again: Torre's on his way out; Rivera's testing the FA waters; theres a shot that only 3 of this seasons starting 8 could be starting next year. The same things they have been saying in one form or another for the last 3 years, the problem with it this time is that its true. This is the end of an era, just not the end of the era that everyones been talking about. The 1996 Yankee Era (The one so much ink has been spilled on) ended in 2001, when the guy who shares a nickname with my favorite Muppet hit that little bloop of a single.

It took a few years for the next Yankee Era to begin and Ill peg it at 2003. I think this era should be called the Aaron Boone Era: his historic game 7 jack off Wakefield put hope back into Yankee fans that the Yankees were still this magical team with an undeniable right to the World Series. Wrong. Everything that has happened between then and now proves that Yankee fans should not assume the worlds largest payroll will buy you into the World Series. The problem with sports like baseball is that the best players do not always win. On paper the Yankees should have won this years ALDS: they swept the Indians in the regular season; they could out hit them and the pitching disparity was not as wide as it has since been made out to be. As a fan watching this team play I kept making references to "old school Rivera" or "old school Pettite" my problem now is that "old school" is a decade old.

Monday night witnessed the end of the "Aaron Boone Era." Yankee fans can no longer possibly think that they are a magical team that no matter how bad the odds will find their way to a World Series. I would not be at all surprised if next years Yankees sans A-Rod, Abreu, Clemens, Rivera, and Torre finish third in the east and miss the playoffs for the first time in 14 years. The trend in sports now is to hold on to a team as long as possible if they can accomplish anything at all: it promotes marketing and increases ticket sales because fans become attached to the players (see: Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Braves, Late 90s early 00s Cowboys, 2009 Spurs, 2009 Patriots). This trend along with guys playing until their bodies absolutely give out turn teams like the Yankees of the late 90s into teams like the Yankees of the late aughts.

All that said, I like the core the Yankees have to build around for the next few years. This should be called "The Jeter Era." Jeter has 4-5 solid years left where he will still be in the top 5 for MVP voting and hit .300 with 15+ HRs. These next 5 years are his time. Barring some freak occurrence Jeter, Posada (at first or catcher), Cano, Melky, Joba, and Wang should be an 80 win team. Its going to be up to Jeter to get them past that point; not through his bat or glove but through his ability to lead a new and different group of players from wild card hopefulls to beasts of the east.

With a Cowboy Kicker

I have a joke with a couple buddies that revolves around the phrase "Romo-esque." I am not going to get into that now because its just way to deep but Nick Folk is Romo-esque. Watch out Pats cause while we may not be able to stop you we may be able to give Randy Moss that week 6 injury that will turn this perfect season into an absolute disaster.

Till Next Time

The First of The Rest

2007-08-30T00:12:00.001-04:00

Who knows how many of these posts there will be and how long I will end up doing this but I promise to make every post read-worthy. There are 10 million sports sites out there so anyone who reads this should consider themselves part of an exclusive and minuscule club. The best of the best.

Tonight's Topic: The Post that I should have written back in June.

The best thing about the U.S. Open (Golf) is that Championship Sunday Always falls on Fathers Day. Even if you can not stand watching golf on TV or do not understand golf or do not have the ability to drink yourself into a state where watching golf is an adequate activity, Fathers Day provides a great medium for a golf watching marathon. And anytime Golf is ever spoken of one man is undoubtedly going to be mentioned: Tiger Woods. The unbeatable, un-tamable superhuman freak of a golfer who is always in consideration even when hes not.

Now the reason that I should have written this back in June. Although I am sticking to my guns on this.

Tiger Woods is no longer the same golfer who we all know from the TigerSlam and the video game. He will break Nicholaus's record and he will go down as the greatest golfer to play the game but he has peaked. On, what I am going to say is, the 12th hole of this years (2007) U.S. Open (although I openly admit that I could be wrong here) Tiger sunk a par putt from about 15 feet after a bruiser of a hole which saved what seemed to be an inevitable bogey. These were the wretchedly slick Oakmont greens which when paired with what is now characteristic U.S. Open rough led to the champion shooting a 4-day total of (+5) 285. That was a classic Tiger fist pump putt. A putt that when it hit the bottom of the cup allowed me to turn to my cousin (a man who will regret it his whole life if he does not give a golf career a shot) and say this is Tiger's tournament. But the problem was that it turned out not to be Tiger's tournament: there was no leaderboard watch on the back nine; no birdy run to put Angel (The Duck) Cabrera out of the top spot; no Tiger-esque I own you now type play. He has the competitive streak: he plays a casual foursome with Micheal Jordan and Charles Barkley, which is to say, he surrounds himself with competitive people; and plays the most mentally challenging sport on the planet. But it did not show on Father's Day. Unfortunate for the fans and unfortunate for Tiger.

Now to quell the questions about the PGA Championship

The PGA only deserves two words: John Daly. Anytime you look on ESPN.com and see John Daly's photo either someones been killed or we are in the midst of a very odd Golf Tournament. Tiger won it and did so in Tiger fashion but wasn't truly challenged. And when your working at a golf course and even the employees are not watching the final round on break you know that its a done deal. Perhaps we have become ridiculously desensitized to the way of the Tiger but keep your eyes open golf is getting a little more spacious and in 20 years when Tiger is wrapping up the greatest career in sports and has something like 25 majors and the most eligible bachlorette in the world for a daughter the world of sports writing is going to ask what was Tiger's peak, when did the allure surpass the man, and when did the armor first show a chink. And let it be known that although this post will undoubtedly be long dead The turn at the 2007 U.S. Open was Eldrick "Tiger" Woods absolute peak: the moment when it was all on the line and up to him and it just did not quite happen.