I know it is ESPN's excuse to fill time during the summer, and thus cannot be taken too seriously, but I want to debate Title Town. I guess they decided to start this debate because nobody understands "Who's Now?" to this day. If you had something better to do at 6pm today, here's the results:
6. Gainesville, FL
5. Boston
4. Massilon, OH
3. Green Bay
2. Parkersburg, WV
1. Valdosta, GA
This was decided by fan voting. Since I have too much time on my hands, here's my criteria on how I would pick the true Titletown.
1. It has to be known for winning championships, not for being the hometown of sports stars or for hosting a lot of championships. This means Columbus doesn't get credit for Jack Nicklaus, Detroit doesn't get credit for hosting the Super Bowl, Final Four, etc. and Williamsport, PA is eliminated from contention.
2. It has to be the home of a major D1 school or a pro team. We all know how much I love crazy HS football fans. This eliminates Massilon, OH, Parkersburg, WV, and Valdosta, GA
3. The city has to have won a major championship in the past 5 years. It can't be Title town without TITLES - and I don't care what they did in the 1970s. For colleges, it needs to be football, basketball, baseball, or hockey because people don't pay to see world class cross-country. This eliminates Green Bay, Louisville, Ann Arbor, Columbus, San Francisco, Palo Alto, and New York. Los Angeles gets a pass since they won 2 titles in 2002.
4. The city cannot have one team that is infamous for being horrible. We all know which city this eliminates. The Blackhawks and Cubs take Chicago out of the running as does UNC football.
With those 4 rules, I have already taken out over half of the field, including 4 of the top 6. The rest of the cities need to be evaluated case-by-case.
Pittsburgh - While the Steelers have been consistently good and the Pirates and Penguins have won championships, they just don't have anywhere near enough. Pitt's complete lack of success brings them down as well.
Knoxville, TN - They have a Top 2 (or 1) women's basketball team, but not enough else.
Lawrence, KS - Solid basketball team, but the football team is just starting to come around. Overall, they have 0 championships and an all-time record barely above .500
Gainesville Their recent dominance in football and basketball makes them a tempting choice, but they had 0 titles before 1996.
Ironically, that leaves us with Boston vs. LA. The two teams have combined for over half of the NBA championships. Boston's recent championship dominance make a strong case - except the Patriots don't count since they don't play in Boston and belong to "New England". The fact that their most beloved team had one of the most storied championship droughts until 2004 ends the debate.
LA has been host to 9 Lakers championships, 1 Angels' and 5 Dodgers' World Series, 1 LA Raiders Superbowl victory, 7 USC football championships and Heisman winners, 11 UCLA basketball championships, 1 UCLA football championships, etc., etc. The only blemish would be the lack of a Stanley Cup, although owning the game's best player ever for 8 seasons makes up a little ground.
LA is Titletown... or at least they should've been.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
I am a man...
I am a man of today's workforce. I live in a world of Expense Reports, Financial Reports, Customer Satisfaction Reports, and Performance Reports. I exist to pay health insurance companies; the federal, state, and city governments; 70 year olds on Social-Security; as well as the beer and cigar manufacturers that help me forget the bad days.
I have been on e-mail chains discussing which pencil sharpener works best. I have been questioned for purchasing the nicer toilet paper rather than the one that is $5 cheaper per box of 50. I have chosen sides in the DHL vs. UPS battle (Brown's got my back).
I have marked down people in an interview for dressing casually while wearing a casual Friday ensemble of baseball cap, tee-shirt and cargo shorts. I can match my ties to my emotional state while wishing I could wear them every day.
I have role played how to handle every conversation and learned how the sweetest sound an upset customer can make is "I want to speak to your manager". I know that *67 is the saving grace that keeps your cell phone number private from your customers.
I take it and run with it, get the ball rolling, attempt to make slam dunk sales, have faceoffs with the competition, and hope to be on the fast track to a promotion. I overuse FYI and ASAP.
I live for raises and bonuses, the experiences, the relief of job stability and security, the people I have the privilege of hiring and managing, and a good old fashioned "job well done".
I am a manager. Now go do what I tell you to.
I have been on e-mail chains discussing which pencil sharpener works best. I have been questioned for purchasing the nicer toilet paper rather than the one that is $5 cheaper per box of 50. I have chosen sides in the DHL vs. UPS battle (Brown's got my back).
I have marked down people in an interview for dressing casually while wearing a casual Friday ensemble of baseball cap, tee-shirt and cargo shorts. I can match my ties to my emotional state while wishing I could wear them every day.
I have role played how to handle every conversation and learned how the sweetest sound an upset customer can make is "I want to speak to your manager". I know that *67 is the saving grace that keeps your cell phone number private from your customers.
I take it and run with it, get the ball rolling, attempt to make slam dunk sales, have faceoffs with the competition, and hope to be on the fast track to a promotion. I overuse FYI and ASAP.
I live for raises and bonuses, the experiences, the relief of job stability and security, the people I have the privilege of hiring and managing, and a good old fashioned "job well done".
I am a manager. Now go do what I tell you to.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
King of the Ring
Yesterday, I spent way too much time looking at old wrestling footage on youtube. It got me thinking, who is the best wrestler of all time? My favorite wrestler growing up was the Ultimate Warrior, although he turned into a joke (much like my other childhood idol, Jose Canseco). Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold transformed wrestling while they were in their prime, but Hogan lacked wrestling skills and Stone Cold was the same thing over and over againt. The Rock left too prematurely. By far, the best wrestler stands 6'10", weighs 295, and hails from Death Valley.
The Undertaker is responsible for inaugurating the Casket Match, the Boiler Room Brawl, the Buried Alive Match, Hell in a Cell, the Inferno Match, and the Punjabi Prison Match (think Hell in a Cell with bamboo). He has survived some of the worst storylines (the American Badass biker, having his wife stalked, Ministry of Darkness). He has fought two giants (Giant Gonzales and the Great Khali), his brother, and even his fake self. He has won 1 Royal Rumble (in which he was the first winner to enter the Rumble last), 6 world titles, and all 16 Wrestlemania matches.
He also has the best entrance ever.
He can levitate.
And he locked my childhood idol in a casket.
He has dominated since the day he debuted.
The Undertaker is responsible for inaugurating the Casket Match, the Boiler Room Brawl, the Buried Alive Match, Hell in a Cell, the Inferno Match, and the Punjabi Prison Match (think Hell in a Cell with bamboo). He has survived some of the worst storylines (the American Badass biker, having his wife stalked, Ministry of Darkness). He has fought two giants (Giant Gonzales and the Great Khali), his brother, and even his fake self. He has won 1 Royal Rumble (in which he was the first winner to enter the Rumble last), 6 world titles, and all 16 Wrestlemania matches.
He also has the best entrance ever.
He can levitate.
And he locked my childhood idol in a casket.
He has dominated since the day he debuted.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Go Green
“I can't wait to see Michigan State in about three years, once Mark has a chance to recruit his kind of players." – Kirk Herbstreit in November 2006
It's not quite two years since he made that statement, but I wanted to compare Mark Dantonio's successes so far in recruiting to John L using the rankings from rivals.com. John L took the stance that we can't compete for recruits with Michigan and OSU, so we have to go further out and find "diamonds in the rough". Sometimes this worked well (SirDarean Adams, Jonal Saint Dic) and other times it didn't. He didn't develop good relationships with key High School coaches in Detroit, Flint, etc. Mark Dantonio has took the opposite strategy - get what you can from Michigan and Ohio and develop them. He has rebuilt a lot of relationships with area coaches and almost every recruit comes from the two states. Let's look at their accomplishments by year.
Year .5
John L started at MSU in late 2002 while Mark Dantonio started in late 2006. Each had a few months to try and salvage whatever they could out of their respective recruiting classes.
John L's 2003 class - Only 1 four-star player - The class did boast Kaleb Thornhill and Jehuu Caulcrick
Dantonio's 2007 class - 3 four-star players - These players are really John L's boys, including Mark Dell and Antonio Jeremiah
Year 1
This is where things start to pick up a little. The coaches had one full year to recruit these players, but we all know the true recruiting begins way before they become seniors.
John L's 2004 class - 6 four-star players - This was by far John L's best class and comes after he was awarded the Big 10 Coach of the Year award. Key players: SirDarean Adams, Kellen Davis, Domata Peko, Brian Hoyer
Dantonio's 2008 class - Only 1 four-star player - The class fills a lot of needs defensively - he only took 4 skilled position players.
Year 2
This is where things start to turn. John L's 2005 class only included 2 four-star players - the biggest names now are Jonal Saint Dic and Javon Ringer. Mark Dantonio's 2009 class won't be official until Signing Day in February, but he has already received commitments from 6 four-star players. Now, this doesn't even compare to U-M (7 four-star, 1 five-star) or OSU (16 four-star, 1 five-star), but we won't ever win recruiting battles with them. The great news is that we have the same number of 4-star player commitments as Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern, Iowa and Minnesota - COMBINED! We also have twice as many as Penn State.
I know rankings only mean so much. After all, Izzo's recruiting classes are rarely top in the country, but he is so damn good at coaching the players to reach their potential. However, I believe these recrutiting classes show Dantonio is really taking the program in the right direction and I am excited to capitalize on U-M's blunders.
It's not quite two years since he made that statement, but I wanted to compare Mark Dantonio's successes so far in recruiting to John L using the rankings from rivals.com. John L took the stance that we can't compete for recruits with Michigan and OSU, so we have to go further out and find "diamonds in the rough". Sometimes this worked well (SirDarean Adams, Jonal Saint Dic) and other times it didn't. He didn't develop good relationships with key High School coaches in Detroit, Flint, etc. Mark Dantonio has took the opposite strategy - get what you can from Michigan and Ohio and develop them. He has rebuilt a lot of relationships with area coaches and almost every recruit comes from the two states. Let's look at their accomplishments by year.
Year .5
John L started at MSU in late 2002 while Mark Dantonio started in late 2006. Each had a few months to try and salvage whatever they could out of their respective recruiting classes.
John L's 2003 class - Only 1 four-star player - The class did boast Kaleb Thornhill and Jehuu Caulcrick
Dantonio's 2007 class - 3 four-star players - These players are really John L's boys, including Mark Dell and Antonio Jeremiah
Year 1
This is where things start to pick up a little. The coaches had one full year to recruit these players, but we all know the true recruiting begins way before they become seniors.
John L's 2004 class - 6 four-star players - This was by far John L's best class and comes after he was awarded the Big 10 Coach of the Year award. Key players: SirDarean Adams, Kellen Davis, Domata Peko, Brian Hoyer
Dantonio's 2008 class - Only 1 four-star player - The class fills a lot of needs defensively - he only took 4 skilled position players.
Year 2
This is where things start to turn. John L's 2005 class only included 2 four-star players - the biggest names now are Jonal Saint Dic and Javon Ringer. Mark Dantonio's 2009 class won't be official until Signing Day in February, but he has already received commitments from 6 four-star players. Now, this doesn't even compare to U-M (7 four-star, 1 five-star) or OSU (16 four-star, 1 five-star), but we won't ever win recruiting battles with them. The great news is that we have the same number of 4-star player commitments as Illinois, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern, Iowa and Minnesota - COMBINED! We also have twice as many as Penn State.
I know rankings only mean so much. After all, Izzo's recruiting classes are rarely top in the country, but he is so damn good at coaching the players to reach their potential. However, I believe these recrutiting classes show Dantonio is really taking the program in the right direction and I am excited to capitalize on U-M's blunders.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Ballpark Test
...or is it a puzzle? Start with, how many of the major league baseball teams can you name? It took me about 15 minutes to get all 30 - I was hung up on one. Ok, now how many of the major league ballparks can you name? I got 27. After you're done trying, check my comments for which ones gave me trouble.
The Great American Ballpark was pretty cool. (Oops.. there's a freebie stadium). It's set up like a poor man's Pittsburgh ballpark (you only get one freebie). Except instead of the bright yellow Roberto Clemente Bridge linking it to downtown Pittsburgh, you get a normal suspension bridge linking it to Kentucky. Like I said - it's a poor man's stadium. I have heard really good things about it since it was built in 2003, but much of the concourse seems very plain. The big feature of the park are two riverboat smokestacks in centerfield that shoot fireworks after a Reds home run (which we unfortunately didn't get to see). However, they built them much too short. The scoreboard is very expansive, but lacks the kind of LED screens that other stadiums have. The stadium is very round, however, unlike any other stadium I can think of visiting. When the crowd started doing the wave, you could tell there was great potential for having a crazy loud stadium as a result of the design. In the end, I would rank it above Cleveland and Philly, but below Baltimore. Here's a photo from our seats.
The Great American Ballpark was pretty cool. (Oops.. there's a freebie stadium). It's set up like a poor man's Pittsburgh ballpark (you only get one freebie). Except instead of the bright yellow Roberto Clemente Bridge linking it to downtown Pittsburgh, you get a normal suspension bridge linking it to Kentucky. Like I said - it's a poor man's stadium. I have heard really good things about it since it was built in 2003, but much of the concourse seems very plain. The big feature of the park are two riverboat smokestacks in centerfield that shoot fireworks after a Reds home run (which we unfortunately didn't get to see). However, they built them much too short. The scoreboard is very expansive, but lacks the kind of LED screens that other stadiums have. The stadium is very round, however, unlike any other stadium I can think of visiting. When the crowd started doing the wave, you could tell there was great potential for having a crazy loud stadium as a result of the design. In the end, I would rank it above Cleveland and Philly, but below Baltimore. Here's a photo from our seats.
Friday, July 04, 2008
Mid Season Changes
I would like to start by taking a little credit for my preseason predictions. I called the 2008 Tampa Bay Devil Rays (go ahead and fine me) the "2011 All Star Lineup". I knew this team had a lot of potential talent. I'm done praising myself, let's look at my other picks with their current standings:
AL East: Boston Red Sox 3 GB
AL Central: Cleveland Indians 12 GB (ouch)
AL West: LA Angels Leading by 4.5 games
AL Wild Card: Detroit Tigers 7.5 GB
AL Pennant Winner: Boston Red Sox
NL East: NY Mets 5.5 GB
NL Central: Milwaukee Brewers 4.5 GB
NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks Leading by 1 game
NL Wild Card: Chicago Cubs Leading division by 3.5 games
NL Pennant Winner: Arizona Diamondbacks
I am fairly confident about most of my picks. I really believe the Brewers will go on a 2nd half. They are 12-6 in their last 18 and 47 of their remaining games are against the Reds (41-47), Padres(33-53), Rockies (35-51), Astros (40-47), Giants (38-49), Pirates (40-45), and Nationals (34-54). Here are my updated picks:
AL East: Red Sox
AL Central: Tigers!! (yes, I gave up on them a month ago and now I'm drinking the kool-aid again)
AL West: Angels
AL Wild Card: RAYS!! I'm getting on the bandwagon!
AL Pennant: Red Sox
NL East: Phillies
NL Central: Brewers
NL West: Diamondbacks
NL Wild Card: Cubs
NL Pennant: Diamondbacks
AL East: Boston Red Sox 3 GB
AL Central: Cleveland Indians 12 GB (ouch)
AL West: LA Angels Leading by 4.5 games
AL Wild Card: Detroit Tigers 7.5 GB
AL Pennant Winner: Boston Red Sox
NL East: NY Mets 5.5 GB
NL Central: Milwaukee Brewers 4.5 GB
NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks Leading by 1 game
NL Wild Card: Chicago Cubs Leading division by 3.5 games
NL Pennant Winner: Arizona Diamondbacks
I am fairly confident about most of my picks. I really believe the Brewers will go on a 2nd half. They are 12-6 in their last 18 and 47 of their remaining games are against the Reds (41-47), Padres(33-53), Rockies (35-51), Astros (40-47), Giants (38-49), Pirates (40-45), and Nationals (34-54). Here are my updated picks:
AL East: Red Sox
AL Central: Tigers!! (yes, I gave up on them a month ago and now I'm drinking the kool-aid again)
AL West: Angels
AL Wild Card: RAYS!! I'm getting on the bandwagon!
AL Pennant: Red Sox
NL East: Phillies
NL Central: Brewers
NL West: Diamondbacks
NL Wild Card: Cubs
NL Pennant: Diamondbacks
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