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
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Take Me Out For The 9th Time
In honor of my purchase of Reds tickets this morning, I have come up with some good baseball statistics.
San Francisco has the 6th best road record, which is an even .500 at 20-20. They have the 5th worst record overall, however.
Despite being 8 games below .500, the Indians have scored 11 more runs than their opponents. On the contrary, the Angels are 17 games over .500 with only 18 more runs than their opponents.
The Tigers, thankfully, now rank 18th overall in record. They are 15-8 so far in the month of June. It took 35 games for them to achieve their 15th win this season.
Fernando Rodney’s ERA currently is 33.75, although he has only 1.1 IP.
The Atlanta Braves are an anomaly. They are a wretched 4-20 in one run games with an overall record of 39-41. Bill James, the father of baseball stats, uses the following formula to predict a team’s record:
Runs scored [squared] / (Runs scored [squared] + runs allowed [squared]).
According to this formula, their record should be 45-35.
Great American Ballpark will be my 9th ballpark - not bad for someone who only really began to be a baseball fan in 2000. Two of those stadiums, Fenway and Skydome, I visited without seeing a game. In the seven stadiums that I will have visited, I have seen 13 MLB teams, including the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, White Sox, Twins, Indians, Tigers, Athletics, Rangers, Phillies, Nationals, Pirates, and Reds. I have not seen an NL West team play in person.
San Francisco has the 6th best road record, which is an even .500 at 20-20. They have the 5th worst record overall, however.
Despite being 8 games below .500, the Indians have scored 11 more runs than their opponents. On the contrary, the Angels are 17 games over .500 with only 18 more runs than their opponents.
The Tigers, thankfully, now rank 18th overall in record. They are 15-8 so far in the month of June. It took 35 games for them to achieve their 15th win this season.
Fernando Rodney’s ERA currently is 33.75, although he has only 1.1 IP.
The Atlanta Braves are an anomaly. They are a wretched 4-20 in one run games with an overall record of 39-41. Bill James, the father of baseball stats, uses the following formula to predict a team’s record:
Runs scored [squared] / (Runs scored [squared] + runs allowed [squared]).
According to this formula, their record should be 45-35.
Great American Ballpark will be my 9th ballpark - not bad for someone who only really began to be a baseball fan in 2000. Two of those stadiums, Fenway and Skydome, I visited without seeing a game. In the seven stadiums that I will have visited, I have seen 13 MLB teams, including the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, White Sox, Twins, Indians, Tigers, Athletics, Rangers, Phillies, Nationals, Pirates, and Reds. I have not seen an NL West team play in person.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Opera Man 2
There's another guy who sang opera on America's Got Talent. I don't think he is as good as the British guy and he kinda over did it with the drama.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Sunday, June 08, 2008
I Wasted 2 Minutes Watching the Belmont Stakes
Google Earth is my new friend. I know I am about 2-3 years behind on this one, but I spent about an hour today locating various places. I found my apartment, my parents house, Knob Hill, etc. The best part is finding baseball and football stadiums. I even toured Iraq and Afghanistan a little. I think it is remarkable, and a little scary, that you can focus so closely on different parts of the world.
At some point after Big Brown lost the Belmont Stakes today, one of the announcers claimed "...and that's why the Triple Crown is the most difficult achievement in sports". Fist of all, many would argue that horse racing is not a sport. I'm going to argue that it is not the most difficult achievement.
Achieving the title has got to be ruled out, because someone will win it every year. Looking at it statistically, each of the 30 teams in MLB have a 3.3% chance of winning the title in any given year, assuming the winner is randomly chosen.
Compare those odds to horse racing. There are usually around 20 horses in the Kentucky Derby, but that field thins out by the Belmont to only around 10 - let's say the average for the 3 is 15 horses in each race. If the winner was randomly selected, you've got a .0296% chance of picking the same horse to win the three races (assuming I've remembered enough of my statistics course). There have been 11 Triple Crown winners over the 100 plus years of the racing trifecta, which shows the winners aren't random.
Here's my list of in rank of difficulty. Keep in mind, you have to ignore anything superhuman, like kicking a 70+ yard field goal.
8. Unassisted Triple Play - this is more based on circumstance and luck than skill. Just because it is extremely rare, doesn't mean it is difficult. Between 1927 and 1992, there has only been one. Since then, there have been 5, including Asdrubal Cabrera's play this year for the Indians.
7. Bowling 300
6. Hitting a hole in one - I was tempted to move this higher, but it takes one lucky shot. The other feats must be repeated over time.
5. Triple Crown of horseracing - It may be difficult, but it's not the most difficult.
4. Grand Slam of golf - with such a huge pool of participants, almost any of them can have a good weekend and steal one. Nobody's done it, not even Tiger. (yet)
3. Pitching a perfect game - I love the romanticism that is associated with a no-hitter or a perfect game. It's unlike any other experience in sports because the team game suddenly becomes focused on just one player. Part of the beauty is that it comes unexpectedly - it could happen at any moment.
2. Batting .400+ in a season - Sorry Chipper, it's not going to happen.
1. Triple crown of baseball - It requires you to be the best power hitter and the best contact hitter - for 140 or so games.
I will leave you with this: the Tigers currently have the 26th worst record in baseball.
At some point after Big Brown lost the Belmont Stakes today, one of the announcers claimed "...and that's why the Triple Crown is the most difficult achievement in sports". Fist of all, many would argue that horse racing is not a sport. I'm going to argue that it is not the most difficult achievement.
Achieving the title has got to be ruled out, because someone will win it every year. Looking at it statistically, each of the 30 teams in MLB have a 3.3% chance of winning the title in any given year, assuming the winner is randomly chosen.
Compare those odds to horse racing. There are usually around 20 horses in the Kentucky Derby, but that field thins out by the Belmont to only around 10 - let's say the average for the 3 is 15 horses in each race. If the winner was randomly selected, you've got a .0296% chance of picking the same horse to win the three races (assuming I've remembered enough of my statistics course). There have been 11 Triple Crown winners over the 100 plus years of the racing trifecta, which shows the winners aren't random.
Here's my list of in rank of difficulty. Keep in mind, you have to ignore anything superhuman, like kicking a 70+ yard field goal.
8. Unassisted Triple Play - this is more based on circumstance and luck than skill. Just because it is extremely rare, doesn't mean it is difficult. Between 1927 and 1992, there has only been one. Since then, there have been 5, including Asdrubal Cabrera's play this year for the Indians.
7. Bowling 300
6. Hitting a hole in one - I was tempted to move this higher, but it takes one lucky shot. The other feats must be repeated over time.
5. Triple Crown of horseracing - It may be difficult, but it's not the most difficult.
4. Grand Slam of golf - with such a huge pool of participants, almost any of them can have a good weekend and steal one. Nobody's done it, not even Tiger. (yet)
3. Pitching a perfect game - I love the romanticism that is associated with a no-hitter or a perfect game. It's unlike any other experience in sports because the team game suddenly becomes focused on just one player. Part of the beauty is that it comes unexpectedly - it could happen at any moment.
2. Batting .400+ in a season - Sorry Chipper, it's not going to happen.
1. Triple crown of baseball - It requires you to be the best power hitter and the best contact hitter - for 140 or so games.
I will leave you with this: the Tigers currently have the 26th worst record in baseball.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
By The Way
...is it ok if I invite my friend Roger to go golfing with us? He's about the same level as us and I'd like to see him, but I don't want to just take off.
Game 5.5
Things uttered by me last night during the Redwings game:
"They really can't afford to go down by two goals. It's over if they do."
-A few mins after the Penguins scored their first.
"The Penguins have absolutely given up on this game. They're playing like they're down 3 goals with a minute left."
-8 mins left in the game
"Crap, the Penguins all of a sudden are playing hard again. They (Redwings) have gotta keep the puck out of their zone."
-1 min left in the game
Various combinations of profanity
-30 sec left in the game
"The Wings need to stop shooting the puck from the sideboards so much. They need to get in front of the net and cause some disruption. That's what the Penguins are doing and they should've scored one of these by now."
-2nd OT
"I know the refs want to 'let them play' but they have got to start calling penalties. That's the only thing that is going to end this thing."
-3rd OT, 12 min left.
That was an extremely disappointing game. The Penguins quit on the game, so the Redwings were lulled into a false sense of security. One they started playing tough again late in the 3rd, the Wings didn't match their urgency. The silver lining is that they still have 2 chances to win.
NBC needs to learn from the way the NBA does playoffs. I would love to see the player intros rather than two people I don't know preview the game. If the NHL wants to grow its fanbase, you need to introduce them to the players. I know a lot of teams do exciting things with their intros (Oiler's oil derrick, the giant Shark head, etc.) - lets see them! Two things they have added that have improved the broadcast are more camera angles from behind the net and the mid-ice broadcaster.
ESPN's reluctance to show anything more than highlights of the playoffs is ridiculous. On the morning of what could be the championship game and the following morning after an exciting 3 OT game, what are Mike and Mike discussing? The NBA Finals, which doesn't even start for 3 days! But of course, those games are on ABC. What does the "family of networks" expect us to watch - two hours of the Bachelorette and College Softball??
"They really can't afford to go down by two goals. It's over if they do."
-A few mins after the Penguins scored their first.
"The Penguins have absolutely given up on this game. They're playing like they're down 3 goals with a minute left."
-8 mins left in the game
"Crap, the Penguins all of a sudden are playing hard again. They (Redwings) have gotta keep the puck out of their zone."
-1 min left in the game
Various combinations of profanity
-30 sec left in the game
"The Wings need to stop shooting the puck from the sideboards so much. They need to get in front of the net and cause some disruption. That's what the Penguins are doing and they should've scored one of these by now."
-2nd OT
"I know the refs want to 'let them play' but they have got to start calling penalties. That's the only thing that is going to end this thing."
-3rd OT, 12 min left.
That was an extremely disappointing game. The Penguins quit on the game, so the Redwings were lulled into a false sense of security. One they started playing tough again late in the 3rd, the Wings didn't match their urgency. The silver lining is that they still have 2 chances to win.
NBC needs to learn from the way the NBA does playoffs. I would love to see the player intros rather than two people I don't know preview the game. If the NHL wants to grow its fanbase, you need to introduce them to the players. I know a lot of teams do exciting things with their intros (Oiler's oil derrick, the giant Shark head, etc.) - lets see them! Two things they have added that have improved the broadcast are more camera angles from behind the net and the mid-ice broadcaster.
ESPN's reluctance to show anything more than highlights of the playoffs is ridiculous. On the morning of what could be the championship game and the following morning after an exciting 3 OT game, what are Mike and Mike discussing? The NBA Finals, which doesn't even start for 3 days! But of course, those games are on ABC. What does the "family of networks" expect us to watch - two hours of the Bachelorette and College Softball??
Friday, May 30, 2008
Conspiracy!!!
The 1985 "Patrick Ewing" Draft Lottery, Michael Jordan's secret suspension/MiLB year, the 2003 "LeBron James to Cleveland" Draft Lottery, the no call on Derek Fisher vs. the Spurs this year, the mysterious injuries to Rip and Chauncey, Sheed's fantom fouls.... THE LAKERS/CELTICS FINAL IS ANOTHER NBA CONSPIRACY!!
Just kidding... they sucked and I watched a total of 10 mins of the entire playoffs. GO WINGS!!!
Just kidding... they sucked and I watched a total of 10 mins of the entire playoffs. GO WINGS!!!
Monday, May 26, 2008
Bad Things Happen When I'm Left Home Alone for 3 Days
Since Stacey's weekend is Wednesdays and Thursdays, I was home alone for most of Memorial Day weekend. It was pretty boring, but getting paid to sit around my apartment is much better than getting paid to go to work. Here's what I've come up with in my 3 days to myself.
On Lost, one of the characters is on parole. As part of her sentence, she is not allowed to leave the state of California. What are people on parole in the state of Delaware supposed to do? I've been there - there's not much. I know all about Upper and Slower Delaware (my aunt and uncle live in Slower). The state is only 30 mi (at it's largest length) by 96 mi. That's like a large jail cell.
While Stacey was painting her toenails, I let her paint two of mine (pink polish if you needed to know). I was in a weird mood and thought what the heck. This wasn't a problem until I went to Papa Johns and decided to be lazy and put on my sandals. As I sat there waiting for my pizza to be made (they had their printer turned off and so my online order didn't go through - that's another story) I noticed my mistake and quietly curled up my feet.
Among the absolute crap I watched this weekend, the worst was the 15 mins of Herbie Fully Loaded that was on the Disney channel. There is a long sad list of actors in it - Michael Keaton, Justin Long, Breckin Meyer (the main guy in Road Trip), Matt Dillon, and of course pre-rehab Lindsay Lohan. I'm sure they were all "just wanted to make a movie for their kids to see" - code word for "I needed the money". This is the part where I would rip apart how dumb the ending was, but I think that would make me look even worse.
"You should get a hobby" - Stacey. Yes, yes I should.
On Lost, one of the characters is on parole. As part of her sentence, she is not allowed to leave the state of California. What are people on parole in the state of Delaware supposed to do? I've been there - there's not much. I know all about Upper and Slower Delaware (my aunt and uncle live in Slower). The state is only 30 mi (at it's largest length) by 96 mi. That's like a large jail cell.
While Stacey was painting her toenails, I let her paint two of mine (pink polish if you needed to know). I was in a weird mood and thought what the heck. This wasn't a problem until I went to Papa Johns and decided to be lazy and put on my sandals. As I sat there waiting for my pizza to be made (they had their printer turned off and so my online order didn't go through - that's another story) I noticed my mistake and quietly curled up my feet.
Among the absolute crap I watched this weekend, the worst was the 15 mins of Herbie Fully Loaded that was on the Disney channel. There is a long sad list of actors in it - Michael Keaton, Justin Long, Breckin Meyer (the main guy in Road Trip), Matt Dillon, and of course pre-rehab Lindsay Lohan. I'm sure they were all "just wanted to make a movie for their kids to see" - code word for "I needed the money". This is the part where I would rip apart how dumb the ending was, but I think that would make me look even worse.
"You should get a hobby" - Stacey. Yes, yes I should.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
I Love Math
[{(12,000/20) – (12,000/30)} x 3.6] / 285 = 2.5
Why does this matter? It's the number of car payments that are negligible because of my increased gas mileage. I love math, but I love my new car even more.
Why does this matter? It's the number of car payments that are negligible because of my increased gas mileage. I love math, but I love my new car even more.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Breaking Points
I feel like I am a pretty flexible person. Living in Knob Hill made me realize I am not the most flexible person – Kevin is. You’re indifferent on almost everything. However, I feel like I’ve reached the breaking point on a few issues lately. Here’s the numbers on exactly what are my breaking points.
5/14/08 – The End of the Democratic Primaries – After John Edwards (the senator, not the douche who pretends he speaks to dead people) endorsed Obama, I lost faith that Hillary Clinton, my candidate of choice, no longer has a chance to win. I am still furious that the elections in Michigan and Florida didn’t count. She was most likely going to win both states. I know that she still wouldn’t have won now even if she had won those states, but you can’t ignore what kind of effect that victory could’ve had if she had won them at the time they were scheduled. I remember the Democratic race in 2004 was fairly even until Kerry won the first few states. Those first victories gave him huge leads in the next few contests and it quickly turned into a landslide. It’s not fair that the votes in two states don’t count because of something the citizens had no control over. This is why I lost interest in politics after the 2000 election.
16-25 – Giving Up on the Tigers – After the Tigers lose to the Royals 13-6 over a three game series, I no longer believe the Tigers will turn it around this season. They’re 0-6 against the Royals. Jim Leyland’s locker room speeches aren’t having the same effect that they used to. Nobody on our team can pitch. Meanwhile, the Indians are starting to realize their potential and have seized the lead of the AL Central. While the Tigers were 16-25, the Indians had gone 8-2 in their last 10 and C.C. is starting to pitch again. I realize we’re still only 6 games out and a great June could turn that all around, but I’m not convinced it is going to happen.
$3.95 – Gas is Ridiculous – I feel I was much more patient about gas prices than others. I know that with years of turmoil in the Middle East, rapid industrial expansion in China, etc. we are going to see huge increases. I know that this was necessary for changes in the market – demand for more efficient vehicles would increase. But when gas hit $3.95, I got pissed. I knew gas would reach $4/gallon this summer, but I didn’t expect it would happen this quickly. I no longer think this is a natural increase – I think the oil market and oil companies are just screwing us over now.
5/14/08 – The End of the Democratic Primaries – After John Edwards (the senator, not the douche who pretends he speaks to dead people) endorsed Obama, I lost faith that Hillary Clinton, my candidate of choice, no longer has a chance to win. I am still furious that the elections in Michigan and Florida didn’t count. She was most likely going to win both states. I know that she still wouldn’t have won now even if she had won those states, but you can’t ignore what kind of effect that victory could’ve had if she had won them at the time they were scheduled. I remember the Democratic race in 2004 was fairly even until Kerry won the first few states. Those first victories gave him huge leads in the next few contests and it quickly turned into a landslide. It’s not fair that the votes in two states don’t count because of something the citizens had no control over. This is why I lost interest in politics after the 2000 election.
16-25 – Giving Up on the Tigers – After the Tigers lose to the Royals 13-6 over a three game series, I no longer believe the Tigers will turn it around this season. They’re 0-6 against the Royals. Jim Leyland’s locker room speeches aren’t having the same effect that they used to. Nobody on our team can pitch. Meanwhile, the Indians are starting to realize their potential and have seized the lead of the AL Central. While the Tigers were 16-25, the Indians had gone 8-2 in their last 10 and C.C. is starting to pitch again. I realize we’re still only 6 games out and a great June could turn that all around, but I’m not convinced it is going to happen.
$3.95 – Gas is Ridiculous – I feel I was much more patient about gas prices than others. I know that with years of turmoil in the Middle East, rapid industrial expansion in China, etc. we are going to see huge increases. I know that this was necessary for changes in the market – demand for more efficient vehicles would increase. But when gas hit $3.95, I got pissed. I knew gas would reach $4/gallon this summer, but I didn’t expect it would happen this quickly. I no longer think this is a natural increase – I think the oil market and oil companies are just screwing us over now.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Baseball
With six weeks completed in the season, the Tigers are in last place in the division, but are still only 3.5 GB. Many people are blaming the poor start on too many moves in the offseason. I wanted to see how the players they lost are performing, so here's a quick recap.
Cameron Maybin (Double A) .242 BA, 4 HR, 10 RBI
Mike Rabelo (Marlins) .239 BA, 1 HR, 6 RBI
Andrew Miller (Marlins) 3-2, 6.52 ERA
Omar Infante (Braves) .571 BA (7 AB)
Jair Jurrjens (Braves) 4-2, 2.84 ERA
Gorkys Hernandez (Single A) .309 BA, 2 HR, 11 RBI
Craig Monroe (Twins) .281 BA, 3 HR, 12 RBI
Out of those, Monroe and Jurrjens hurt the most. We could definitely use Miller in the bullpen. Oh well. MLB All Star Voting just started, so here's my first ballot:
AL
1B Kevin Youkilis
2B Dustin Pedroia
SS Derek Jeter
3B Miguel Cabrera
C Joe Mauer
OF Magglio Ordonez
OF Manny Ramirez
OF Josh Hamilton
DH Hideki Matsui
NL
1B Lance Berkman
2B Chase Utley
SS Hanley Ramirez
3B Chipper Jones
C Yadier Molina
OF Fukudome!
OF Matt Holliday
OF Xavier Nady
Cameron Maybin (Double A) .242 BA, 4 HR, 10 RBI
Mike Rabelo (Marlins) .239 BA, 1 HR, 6 RBI
Andrew Miller (Marlins) 3-2, 6.52 ERA
Omar Infante (Braves) .571 BA (7 AB)
Jair Jurrjens (Braves) 4-2, 2.84 ERA
Gorkys Hernandez (Single A) .309 BA, 2 HR, 11 RBI
Craig Monroe (Twins) .281 BA, 3 HR, 12 RBI
Out of those, Monroe and Jurrjens hurt the most. We could definitely use Miller in the bullpen. Oh well. MLB All Star Voting just started, so here's my first ballot:
AL
1B Kevin Youkilis
2B Dustin Pedroia
SS Derek Jeter
3B Miguel Cabrera
C Joe Mauer
OF Magglio Ordonez
OF Manny Ramirez
OF Josh Hamilton
DH Hideki Matsui
NL
1B Lance Berkman
2B Chase Utley
SS Hanley Ramirez
3B Chipper Jones
C Yadier Molina
OF Fukudome!
OF Matt Holliday
OF Xavier Nady
Monday, May 05, 2008
Around the Sports World
I no longer own a Pontiac Grand Prix (finally). Since my dad doesn't trust the estimate I got, we took it into a GM dealership to get an estimate (the 3rd one). Surprise! It was the same. He ended up selling it to one of the service guys at the dealership. I'm happy for him because he said he got a divorce and wasn't proud of the car he had. He said he's going to get it fixed up himself so he can get some ass. I'm glad I could help him out.
I just read the Tigers cut Jacque Jones, which I would be sad about if we had the 2002 Jacque Jones. The interesting thing is the quote from Leyland -
"Jacque Jones is not the reason we're four games under .500. Had he gotten off to a bad start? Yes, he had. It was totally unfair. He's been a class act the whole time."
I think that he is kinda out of line on that one. He needs to stand by the decision they make. This makes me worried that there is too much dissention in the Tigers.
I am extremely excited about the NHL playoffs - a Penguins/Flyers East Final is excellent and a Penguins/Redwings Final will be exactly what the NHL needs (I realize I said a Rangers/Wings final would be best, but Crosby needs to be in those Finals since he is the star of the league). But WHY are they taking a 3 day layoff between games and a 4 day layoff for the Eastern Conference?! That's one thing the NBA Playoffs definitely do right.
"As training camp gets close, something's bound to happen" - Brett Favre on Letterman. Just joking or serious? I side with serious. If NFL were WWE, he'd show up for Green Bay's first game, against the heated rival Vikings, in full Packer gear. "Oh my god, that's Brett Favre's music!!!" Then he tears off his jersey to reveal a Vikings jersey, runs over to hug Adrian Peterson, and hits Donald Driver with a chair. I'm drafting Favre with my 15th round fantasy pick.
In preparation for hockey, which I should be starting on Sunday, I have started to run every day. I hate running. I am very out of shape. At least I won't have to run during hockey.
I just read the Tigers cut Jacque Jones, which I would be sad about if we had the 2002 Jacque Jones. The interesting thing is the quote from Leyland -
"Jacque Jones is not the reason we're four games under .500. Had he gotten off to a bad start? Yes, he had. It was totally unfair. He's been a class act the whole time."
I think that he is kinda out of line on that one. He needs to stand by the decision they make. This makes me worried that there is too much dissention in the Tigers.
I am extremely excited about the NHL playoffs - a Penguins/Flyers East Final is excellent and a Penguins/Redwings Final will be exactly what the NHL needs (I realize I said a Rangers/Wings final would be best, but Crosby needs to be in those Finals since he is the star of the league). But WHY are they taking a 3 day layoff between games and a 4 day layoff for the Eastern Conference?! That's one thing the NBA Playoffs definitely do right.
"As training camp gets close, something's bound to happen" - Brett Favre on Letterman. Just joking or serious? I side with serious. If NFL were WWE, he'd show up for Green Bay's first game, against the heated rival Vikings, in full Packer gear. "Oh my god, that's Brett Favre's music!!!" Then he tears off his jersey to reveal a Vikings jersey, runs over to hug Adrian Peterson, and hits Donald Driver with a chair. I'm drafting Favre with my 15th round fantasy pick.
In preparation for hockey, which I should be starting on Sunday, I have started to run every day. I hate running. I am very out of shape. At least I won't have to run during hockey.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
MLB Update
My picks for divisional winners and their current standings:
AL East: Boston Red Sox 1st
AL Central: Cleveland Indians 3rd - 1.5 GB
AL West: LA Angels 1st
AL Wild Card: Detroit Tigers 7th in WC - 3.5 GB
AL Pennant Winner: Boston Red Sox
AL Cy Young: CC Sabathia 1-5, 7.51 ERA (103rd overall) - ouch
AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera .268 BA, 6 HR - ouch
NL East: NY Mets 2nd - .5 GB
NL Central: Milwaukee Brewers 3rd 2.5 GB
NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks 1st
NL Wild Card: Chicago Cubs 1st in WC
NL Pennant Winner: Arizona Diamondbacks
NL Cy Young: Brandon Webb 7-0, 2.49 ERA (11th overall) - yay!
NL MVP: Prince Fielder .250 BA, 4 HR - ouch
I'm pretty happy with my picks so far except for C-Bath, Cabrera, and Fielder. Four of my teams are currently in first in their respective division/wild card race. The Tigers are the furthest back, but that's only 3.5 games. I don't think that the AL Central will get the AL Wild Card, though, because they are all going to beat up on each other.
AL East: Boston Red Sox 1st
AL Central: Cleveland Indians 3rd - 1.5 GB
AL West: LA Angels 1st
AL Wild Card: Detroit Tigers 7th in WC - 3.5 GB
AL Pennant Winner: Boston Red Sox
AL Cy Young: CC Sabathia 1-5, 7.51 ERA (103rd overall) - ouch
AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera .268 BA, 6 HR - ouch
NL East: NY Mets 2nd - .5 GB
NL Central: Milwaukee Brewers 3rd 2.5 GB
NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks 1st
NL Wild Card: Chicago Cubs 1st in WC
NL Pennant Winner: Arizona Diamondbacks
NL Cy Young: Brandon Webb 7-0, 2.49 ERA (11th overall) - yay!
NL MVP: Prince Fielder .250 BA, 4 HR - ouch
I'm pretty happy with my picks so far except for C-Bath, Cabrera, and Fielder. Four of my teams are currently in first in their respective division/wild card race. The Tigers are the furthest back, but that's only 3.5 games. I don't think that the AL Central will get the AL Wild Card, though, because they are all going to beat up on each other.
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