Three Drunk Guys in a Basement

Pigskin Podcast

2008-02-08T19:10:00.000-08:00

Hello out there,

I'm not sure who is still reading this on a regular basis. I want to let you all know that I've decided to stick with what I'm best at, and thats radio.

I'm part of a podcasting venue now www.pigskinpodcast.com. Me and my buddies Nick Seuberling, Joel Hammond and Erik Bell talk football once a week and during the season it will be twice a week to feed the need.

We've got three shows already and in a couple of weeks, we will have the voice of the Buckeyes, Paul Keels on the show. So head to the website and prepare some questions for Mr. Keels.

As for my postings on this site, they may not be as frequent, but I will get on here more often than I have the last few months.

Stay tuned.

--AB

The Most Epic Baseball Event that Amounts to Essentially Nothing

2007-12-13T19:46:00.000-08:00

Today is one of those days that, on the surface, seems like it would be on of those momentous days in the history of baseball. On a par with the Black Sox scandal, Jackie Robinson's first game, Pete Rose getting banished and other days woven into the fabric of America's oldest game.

But is today one of those days? What did we find out today that we either didn't already know or at least have a strong suspicion of? I know myself and people very close to this blog have heard the rumors from good sources that Clemens was on the juice. Hell, why else would he come back to the Astros so late two years ago? Quasi- Jordan Gambling NBA suspension that is why.

So what essentially did we get today? A list of 80 or so names given up, for the most part, by two not so reputable (at best) sources. Most of the guys on the list are inconsequential to the game, minor players sacrificed to fill out the report. The report seems to be pieced together and still has glaring holes. (For Christ sake Sen. Mitchell is on the Board of the Red Sox, if that's not a conflict I don't know what is)

Where's the info on McGuire and Sosa, hard evidence on Bonds, guys like Brady Anderson and David Ortiz. This feels like a drop in the bucket, a much larger bucket of steroid use.

I don't know, maybe this is the extent of steroid use in baseball. Maybe Sen. Mitchell got it right. Probably not. This doesn't make me feel any better about the last ten years. I don't feel like there is closure and I sure don't feel like this is going to change anything.

You know what, I'm not sure I care.

If I don't acknowledge it, then it didn't happen

2007-10-26T22:11:00.000-07:00

That's what I keep telling everyone, "I don't know what you're talking about." I, for one, felt the series was just about over after the Tribe went up 3-1. Just got that gut feeling where we were fucked again. I've heard that a large number of Clevelanders were nervous about the Yankees series but said, "Bring on the Sox!" Are you kidding? You'd rather face Boston than New York? That there is reason #839 I don't plan on moving back to my hometown anytime soon.

Shoot. I think I acknowledged it.

Well hey, as Erm's head nodding affirmed, we may agree on this next point - Derek Anderson's success is the best thing to happen to the Browns QB situation that the team could have hoped for.

Let's say the Browns were 1-5 with Anderson throwing up a rating in the 50's-60's, fans would be begging for the beginning of the BQ era (aw shit, just realized BQ is the opposite of "QB". Coincidence? Yes.). Well, here the Browns are 3-3 with Anderson more than earning his keep. Silencing fans? Check. Letting the future HOFer learn his trade in a timely fashion? Check. Not being the most successful pro athlete with his name? Check.

There's so many scenarios at play that this falls right into my conspirical mind. Is conspirical even a word? If it's not, just pretend I'm high (a big presumption, I know) and play along.

With the injuries to so many QBs and the Browns possessing a guy who has enjoyed limited success as a starter plus a "Top 5 talent", could one be traded for something worthwhile? Hmmm... "Top 5" guy slips further than expected in the draft. Team trades next year's 1st round pick to obtain him. Said QB furthers previous rumors pertaining to personal life and lack of focus. Could he be the one traded? For a first round pick? Is last year's possible number one pick with a year of learning under his belt worth a top 5-10 pick in a trade?

A look at the upcoming Free Agent QB class shows nothing spectacular. With Rex Grossman being the best well known name, that ain't good. The other "notable" FA QBs are Ken Dorsey, Jim Sorgi, Jared Lorenzen and Cleo Lemon.

Looking back, that was misleading. Looks like there's really one one stupid conspiracy theory. Sure, there may be more, but by this point I'm much less interested that I was moments ago. Wine - it's not just for Cheddar Soup!

Responding to Erm's Entry

2007-10-15T20:19:00.000-07:00

I want to take a few moments to respond to Erm's entry on Lebron James wearing his Yankees cap.

Erm and I agree 50% of the time on sporting issues. That number has increased over the last few years, as we disagreed on almost everything when we lived together. I agree with Erm 1000% on this Lebron James issue.

Tell me something, where along the way, did they pass this act through congress that you have to root for the teams in the city which you live? Or the city which you play for that matter? Its so incredibly stupid that people get so upset about something this small.

Some have gone as far as to say that it was a bit of foreshadowing for Cleveland fans who live by the OIC stigma, which is also laughable. I just dont get how people can be so negative. Who cares if Lebron likes the Cowboys, the Yankees or the Cleveland Force??

There are Cleveland fans in Michigan, there are Steelers fans all over Eastern Ohio, and some in Northeast Ohio. Likewise, there are Ohio State fans in Michigan and Browns fans in Western PA. There are no rules in place that say you have to root for a particular team.

Whats even funnier, is that when Lebron takes the court and takes over games in the next few months, these same fans will get back on that bandwagon, and hopefully ride it to the finals once again. Sometimes, people are too quick to judge those in the spotlight.

So Lebron is a Yankees fan, so what? It could be worse, a lot worse.

Check out my new blog entry with the six week surprises in the NFL at www.blogginwithbull.blogspot.com

No way

2007-10-13T20:27:00.001-07:00

Oh no. LSU lost? Cal lost? Crap. No. Please, no. I'm begging, please, really, don't let it be. Awwww, crap! Really? This squad? But look at their schedule! So who cares if they're undefeated, talk about exploiting the schedule and it actually worked out as best it could. This is ridiculous. The Red Sox of college football are soon to be #1. I hate this system. Does this mean with Notre Dame's next win they'll be a top ten team? Blood pressure rising.

In time for Halloween

2007-10-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

The King's New Clothes

2007-10-11T19:23:00.000-07:00

Here's what I think about LeBron and his Yankee's cap. I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. It doesn't affect me as a Cavs fan or as an Indians fan. I don't wish ill will on the other people who wore Yankees caps to the Jake so why would I wish it on LeBrick. Shit, its not like he was wearing a Steelers cap.

Now me not caring and there not being a problem with what LeBron did are two different things. With that said, I don't see anything wrong with what Bron did. Plenty of people who live in Cleveland root for other teams (like the Packers), I don't see why its different because LeBron happens to play for the Cavs.

Second the kid is not even from this city, he's from Akron. That's a solid forty minute drive south. If you drive forty minutes east I'm sure you'll find more than your fair share of Stillers fans. Akron is not Cleveland. If it were there'd be a lot more Zips fans. But alas Cleveland is filled with Buckeye fans who have never set foot in Columbus. And why do they choose the Buckeyes over the Zips? One because that's how they were raised and two because the Zips suck.

Now look at LeBron raised in Akron, with no father figure pushing him towards the Cavs, Indians and Browns. Who do kids tend to gravitate towards? Winners that's who. Who was a winner in the early to mid Nineties? Yankees, Bulls and Cowboys.

So not only do I not have a problem with what LeBron did I've got more respect for him. He's a real fan. (He's a douche for rooting for the Yankees, but a fan nonetheless). Everyone who follows the Cavs has known that LeBron is a Yankees fan and wears a Yankees lid all the time. If Bron would have showed up to Game One with a Tribe cap I would have said he's got no back bone. So I give him credit knowing full well that he's going to take heat for it. Now the worst thing that LeBron could do is show up at the ALCS in Tribe gear. That would be sackless.

Music, for a moment

2007-10-07T18:56:00.000-07:00

Can you name the artists who claim to have sold more than 1 billion albums? Most people would soon guess the Beatles and be correct, but #2, Elvis Presley? Really? I know the guy was big for a time but again, really? Elvis has sold the 2nd most albums of all time? Who is buying them? You can go to any used cd shop and find a plethora of old Beatles cds & vinyl, but Elvis? Who's listening to him?

Go ahead and so "Ooh, I am!" But no, no you aren't. I guess I can recognize his influence and place in history, but I don't know a single fan of his. Lots of people perk up when they hear his name, but few entertain the idea of actively choosing to listen to his music. This figure, which is found floating around the web in many places, is stated in such a way that it almost looks like one person/site claimed it as fact and others followed suit. Seriously, a billion? 10 million records a year for 100 years? 25 million a year for 40 years? Bullshit, I'm sorry.

The Beatles, sure, I get that. It's still an incredible number, but not unthinkable. So, The Beatles are #1 and Elvis is "#2" (better than calling him "poop", I guess), having surpassed the one billion mark, well Wikipedia, who has sold more than 500 million? Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra, you say? MJ, eh ok, but Sinatra? Obviously the Chairman has his fans. I'm not taking that, nor his talent, for granted. The thing is, if not for much of today's younger generations trying to make a statement - a stand for crooners when that's what they really were, not bubble gum and poppy metrosexuals - his numbers wouldn't be so inflated.

Alla Pugacheva, Nana Mouskouri, Cliff Richard and Tino Rosso - ever heard of them? Well they've sold 250+ million. Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen(!), Rod Stewart (?), Julio Iglesias, Elton John, ABBA and Bing Crosby have also accomplished the feat. 4 of my all time favorite artists are in this group, so I've got no qualms about liking "popular" artists, but to me, these are the classics; the guys/artists that molded music into the defining factor for generations to come.
Ok, one more grouping: more than 100 million records sold. Looks like at least 66 in this grouping. What's more surprising; the lack of acts like Simon & Garfunkel, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Metallica, Bob Marley or the presence of Celine Dion, Cher, the Scorpions and Mariah Carey?

Want to vomit? This should do it. Look at some of the names between 50-75 million albums sold. The Corrs? Enya? Shakira? She couldn't even speak English when she recorded her first album! ARGH!

Obviously (well it should be, at least), record sales don't translate to quality of music. I've seen plenty of bands who will never make it big that I personally find exponentionally more enjoyable and talented than most some broad who slides into leather pants and implores you to check our her hips, which allegedly will not mislead you.

All figures are acquired from Wikipedia and some may have even been backed up by other sources. Research, wooo!

No Hope for the Brownies

2007-09-25T23:23:00.000-07:00

Forget what you've heard about Brady Quinn providing a spark for this offense. I'm not a Browns fan, so this doesnt bother me one bit. Anyone who knows me, or has talked to me about Brady Quinn knows how I feel about him.

Even if I'm wrong about him, how can he help this team forget that they paid a future first rounder for his services? This team has a lot of problems, and they arent getting any better.

Here are the facts. Unless Brady Quinn can add A LOT of weight and play on the defensive front to help these guys stop the run, he cant help this team. After three games, only the Bills have surrendered more rushing yards than the Browns.

The Browns have given up 529 rushing yards over three games, an average of just over 176 yards per game, and nearly five yards per carry. If you cant stop the run, you cannot win games. The Indianapolis Colts were the exception during the regular season last year, not the rule. They also had and still have a much better offense, but thats neither here nor there.

Next year, when April rolls around, what will Browns fans have to get excited about? Their pick in the top five or top ten?? Woops. Now, instead of drafting a defensive stud to help that AWFUL run defense, they'll have to wait until the second round to see what pops up.

Bottom line, if they dont find a way to stop teams from running the ball down their throats, they'll have no leg to stand on, no matter how early they may pick in the second round. Even if Brady Quinn does provide ANY kind of spark on offense, he still cant help that defensive front which has been on hits heels all year long.

If you are a Browns fan, do you still have any kind of hope that this will get better? If you do, then good luck, you are more faithful than me.

Check out my random thoughts at www.blogginwithbull.blogspot.com. Also check out my picks on www.hammondbacon.blogspot.com and see my interview with Zach Baker at www.vitaminz.blogspot.com. Thanks for reading.

who calls this football?

2007-09-25T18:12:00.000-07:00

The entire world apparently. Not to make this into a soccer blog or anything, but the topic came up so here goes. Soccer is mildly intriguing to me, in the same way that car accidents are intriguing to passersby. I know abit about soccer, most of the rules, some of the players(the best player in the world is KaKa, for real that's his name) some of the teams, etc. I even watched an MLS game when Becks played for the Galaxy once. With all that said I don't like soccer. I gave it a shot and still found it mind numbingly boring. I'm not gonna say its not a sport, it is, but it is a boring sport. Maybe I just don't get the intricacies of the game. Maybe its because I wasn't brought up watching it. (Have you ever sat with an adult who is watching their first baseball game? Its probably excruciatingly boring for them.)

Here's what I find lacking with the sport. (Not that it matters, but what does). The action is sparse, most of the game is a back and forth that occurs in the middle third of the pitch (field for you Americans). Its not like hockey where there is constant pressure on the goalie (compare shots on goal in each sport). Unless the Brazilians are playing there is hardly ever constant attacks on the keeper.

Wait there's how many leagues? Excluding the MLS, which is kinda like women's football in comparison, there are maybe dozens of top flight professional soccer leagues. There's the English Premier League with recognizable clubs like Chelsea, Manchester United and Aston Villa (owned by Randy Lerner). There's the Spanish league with Barcelona and Real Madrid. There's the Italian leagues with Inter Milan and AC Milan. And I'm sure there's more leagues in Germany and some of the Baltic countries.

Here's where the problem lies, how do we know which team is best. We kinda do but we don't. Each league crowns its own champ but teams from different leagues do play each other. Now, I don't know what the difference is between the UEFA Cup and the Champions League is but the best teams from the major leagues do play each other and name a champ. I guess that kinda works.

Now if I wanted to know who was the best basketball team in the world was all I had to do was watch the Spurs dismantle the Cavs. There is, without question, no better basketball team in the world right now than the Spurs. Not in Canada, not in the U.S. and not in any of the Euro Leagues. All the best players play in one league I'm not sure you can say that about soccer.

Finally some of the rules are absurd. Well I guess some of the rules in every league are absurd.(fumble that goes out the endzone, belongs to the other team and counts as a touchback. What!?) What's the deal with the clock in a soccer match? Why doesn't it stop? We time sprinters to the hundredth of a second and we can't stop the clock in a soccer match. This in turns leads to "injury time". Imagine if a football game didn't end when the buzzer sounded but after the official added an amount of time that only he knew about. That's INSANE! Not only does this not make any sense, it sucks the drama out of the waning minutes of a game and its ripe for fixing. So Stop the clock!

I'm sure there's more. I tried to watch it, it didn't work I'm sorry. It still intrigues me just not enough to really care. Go USA women's world cup team!

Road trippin'

2007-09-25T16:43:00.000-07:00

What's this?

Well, yea it's corn, but what's it doing here? Let's try again.
Ok, what's this?

You'd better know where that pic is.
How about:

Really, if you don't know that picture, you don't belong here (or anywhere for that matter). One more chance:

BAM!

I finally made it to the Field Of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa! If you're a baseball/Field Of Dreams fan, then there's really no excuse for not making the trip out to see the movie site, which still exists in perfect condition, just as you remember it from the movie, except for the fact that in late September, the corn is a bit brown. Ok fine, there's one excuse for not going: it's Iowa. Really, has anyone here ever been to Iowa? If you think there's a lot of corn along Rt. 6 leading into BG, you ain't seen nothing yet. True story, Iowa's 2 biggest exports: corn and the smell of cow shit.

My plan for the trip was to drop my girl at the Minneapolis/St Paul airport at 5:30pm and start the drive down, camp, and finish the drive in the morn', following the Mississippi River most of the way. Well, after an amazing sunset drive along the river, I got to my expected campground around 9 or so. Well, seeing as it was a Sunday night and business is a bit, er, slow (or nonexistent, the lady laughed at me when I'd called to reserve a site) I was the only camper when I arrived. As I got out of my truck to grab a permit, one Ursus americanus walked right in front of my car... No pictures exist as I froze where I stood.

The common practice for dealing with black bears is to make yourself look large and make some noise to scare it off. Right. You draw as much attention to yourself as possible when there's a bear 50 feet away and not another human for miles, I'll be right behind you. By the time I finally exhaled and moved again, the bear probably figured I was dead and not a worthy opponent. Look, I've been fairly close to bears before, on the AT, but when there isn't another person for miles, it's pretty easy to lose your nerve around something 3-4 times your size with claws.

Moving on, the next day, I drove from La Crosse, Wisconsin to Prarie Du Chien, WI (not a chance you're pronouncing that correctly) and into Iowa. The drive down Wisconsin was a bit distracting; just to my right was the Mississippi, and man, it's HUGE! Seriously, even Rocky Colavito would've needed to string together 7-8 good throws to clear the river. I took some pics from the side of the river and also some from 500+ feet up. The magnitude of the Mississippi is ridiculous compared to the Cuyahoga, you know it's bigger, but until you're actually there, you have no idea.

After crossing into Iowa and driving past nothing but cornfields, horses and cows for hours, one passes New Vienna ("The eNVy of Iowa"), about 4 miles before the turnoff for the FOD site. After the turn, you're still 3 miles short and the goosebumps which overtook your arms hours ago are staking claim to your legs and making your chest sweat like George Costanzo eating Kung Pao.

Finally, there it is: besides the HOF, Wrigley & Fenway, quite possibly the most sacred site still accessible to baseball fans today: The Field of Dreams. There's nothing around for miles; no highway, very few people, but suddenly, the setting for the climactic scene of the movie:

There were people from Texas, Illinois and PA there, playing catch or just taking pictures. Thinking, "Well, it's the Field Of Dreams, how do you come here and not play catch?" I had my glove. As soon as I set foot on the grass I realized my error: you don't play catch with just any stranger here. This is a place fathers and sons visit, hell even close friends. But playing catch with some kid from Texas just because he also has cow skin sewed around his fingers? I don't think so. Again, sacred.

Eventually I left, but not before savoring every possible second I could from that place. Even though it's simply a baseball diamond in the middle of bumfuck Iowa and no bigger than most High School diamonds, there's a feeling that if you leave now, something big is going to happen as soon as you're gone and you'll miss it. The field calls out, begging, "Don't go. Sit a couple more moments; we built it, you came, share the beauty, share the joy. 'Live the magic, Have faith in simplicity, and Always dare to dream.'"

Perhaps the biggest shock of the entire day? At the field was a register for all the tourists to sign (registers are something with which I've become very familiar, after my time on the AT), and the pen waiting to be used by all? A Tri-C pen. That's right, a Cuyahoga Community College pen sitting at the the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa! I laughed aloud.

I really don't know how to end this post; since the movie came out in '89, I realized that a trip to the site was a requisite in my lifetime. Yet, on arrival, I realized I'd forgotten the most important factor, my father. It's like winning the lottery but then finding out that socialism has finally won out and money isn't worth anything anymore. I'm lost. Sorry.

What to do?

2007-09-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

Your whole life, you've been brought up following baseball, football and basketball (some of you hockey as well), thinking that the 3 major sports are the only ones that really matter. Then, something happens... you start dating someone who participated in a sport not included amongst the 'real' ones.

Sure, golf, car racing, poker, if you told me that someone's participation in these events makes them an athlete, I'd laugh at you and dismiss pretty much everything else you'd tell me. Not only are these things boring, but they take no athleticism whatsoever. But then, someone has to bring up soccer. Fuck!

Look, I'm aware that soccer is the most popular sport in the world, but that doesn't mean squat to me - I like what I like. Sorry, but all those signs in my grade school classrooms must have left an impression; "What's popular isn't always right, what's right isn't always popular." Goddamn right, Garfield!

So fine, from birth into my mid-20's I find soccer boring, pointless and silly. Then, all of a sudden, I find myself involved with someone who played soccer at a higher level than anyone I know personally has played a sport. All this pointless running up and down a spacious field has obviously helped sculpt her into a fascinatingly athletic individual who doesn't know when to say "No" (or rather, "No, this is pointless"). But damn, it's soccer!

So my dilemma is this: I must, for the first time, admit soccer must be a sport, yet I still don't enjoy it. Does my predisposition towards a dislike of soccer lead to some disagreements about the level of athletes in certain sports? Of course, but that's just because she doesn't "understand baseball". Is it my fault that soccer players are useless with their hands?

Color me confused

2007-09-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

*Sorry for the distraction, but going back to the post on March of '93, I forgot to include something that I hadn't realized. I doubt that at the time it even registered, following Thome catching the final out while straddling the 3rd base line (3rd base!) everything's blurry.

Well, the song that came on the Jacob's Field PA system? That song was "The Dance," by Garth Brooks. And "anybody on that team," said Maroon (John, PR Director), "knows what that means. That was Steve's song." Still, the question remains, as it does for my father, why did Steve Olin's wife never throw out a first pitch before an opening day or World Series game? I'm not claiming it'd erase the horrific loss of her love, but would there have been a dry eye in the house? I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

Onto the post...

When a coworker first told me the final score of the Browns game (I had to go to work at halftime), I figured, "Yea, well that's what you get for asking a girl to find the score online." It's amazing women can stand me. But seriously, 51 points? Impressive.

And for shame, the week before, numerous Browns fans were calling for Brady Quinn. I doubt those cheers were silenced in week 2, but hopefully they lessened. The kid isn't ready. While I fully admit that it will take me a while to buy into the legend that already is, don't try to sell me on the idea of this kid being ready for the L. As fans, we'd better hope that Anderson stays healthy and productive enough to keep his starting job at least 9-10 more weeks. The team (and it's not just Cleveland, but other franchises as well) has been guilty of rushing unprepared QBs onto the field. Let's take our time here, ok?

While you're sitting there chanting "Bra-dy, Bra-dy", are you really thinking what him playing entails? He's got to read defenses, deal with the speed of the league, handle the pressure of earning his money, handle the pressure of earning money and praise for his teammates, deal with expectations that have already crowned him a success and most of all win. Actually, those are just the short, pretty, cliche phrases. He'd better take the team places we've never seen them or he's screwed.

No one worth their weight in Ground Round free meals would expect week 2's performance to be the norm, but seriously, give the team time to grow and improve. Mistakes will happen, games will be lost, but in the long run, it may be worth it. Do you see this squad making the playoffs this year, even if Quinn were QB? You do? See? That's why I hate the kid... Let's see what we get in the ~~first~~ second round next year before we get too excited.

Update

2007-09-15T23:27:00.000-07:00

First off,

I enjoyed Ryan's recent post about the 1993 tragedy. I agree with a lot of the things that Ryan mentioned about how this team has not experienced what the team in the 1990's did. However, I sure hope that the fans of Cleveland can truly appreciate what this team is doing in what was coined as the toughest division in baseball before the year began. If they avoide some kind of colossal collapse, they'll be headed to the post-season for the first time in a while.

It appears as though they'll get a tough draw in round one, playing the Red Sox, but with Carmona and Slobathia at the top of the rotation, they'll give the Red Sox all they can handle and that should be the most intriguing first round matchup. I really hope the fans enjoy that, because there isnt much else to get excited about. If you dont believe me, then watch the Browns tape from last Sunday against the Steelers, thats all you have to look forward to until the Cavs pick up again.

Check out my recent post on my other site www.blogginwithbull.blogspot.com.

--AB

Looking back on the Tribe

2007-09-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

Remember March 23, 1993? You should, it may have been the most important date for the Indians' success in the '90s. It's the day the team came together and created a bond so strong, so significant, that the feeling was almost palpable. Unfortunately, such a bond couldn't be created through on field success or accomplishment, rather it was rooted in incredible tragedy.

The night before, March 22, newcomers Tim Crews and Bob Ojeda and fan favorite Steve Olin were out fishing on Crews' boat past dark on Lake Nellie in Florida. Responding to a signal to come in and join their friends and families, the boaters sped towards the parking area, never seeing an unlit dock lurking ahead. In an instant, lives were lost and 6 children were left without fathers.

Olin died on impact, as the boat slammed into, and raced under, the dock. Crews survived the initial crash, only to succumb to his injuries at the hospital, while Bobby Ojeda would be the only survivor. Fernando Montes, who should have been on the boat but went back to Crews' house to get something, was among the first to reach the boat.

The press conferences over the next couple days would be as painful as any sports related moment imaginable. Players and coaches openely wept and lamented the loss of their friends. Team VP Bob DiBiasio tried his best to execute his role in wake of the accident, exhausted and teary, he dutifully spoke when he could. Kevin Wickander, Olin's best friend was as devastated as anyone - his face red with anger and distraught, it was obvious he was deeply affected as he slumped in the arms of teammates, crying. Even Carlos Baerga couldn't contain himself. To me, it was a day when professional athletes seemed more human than ever before.

During the following season, the team kept lockers for Olin and Crews, even on the road, and hung their jerseys in the dugout. Wickander wore a shirt of Olin beneath his jersey and the team wore commemorative patches for the year. More than empty PR handlings, the displays were genuine and heartfelt, one needs only look at the faces of teammates and front office members in the days after the accident for proof.

So why the ties between this occasion and the team's later success? Nearly 20 players (including the major corps - Nagy, Lofton, Belle, Baerga, Thome, Ramirez and Alomar), plus much of the coaching staff & the trainer, Montes, from the '93 squad were still around when the team clinched the AL Central in 1995. These players had been through such a traumatic situation and were there for each other when life truly called for it, they knew who they could count on. Did Jason Grimsley hesitate to switch Belle's bats for him, when it looked like he'd been caught corking? The celebrations following the many comeback wins were incredibly joyous and lacked a pretentiousness now present among many teams.

When many fans complain that the current team just doesn't feel like the ones in the 90's, well, there may very well be reasons for it. Everything has changed; these players haven't had the experiences that the others did, the kinship forming through real life troubles, the support of each other, etc. But really, would they want to sacrifice what it would take to achieve this?

It's a new era in Cleveland Browns football!

2007-09-10T16:21:00.001-07:00

Holy crap. That was a joke, right? Seriously, that performance wasn't scripted, the team is really that bad? Well shit, at least we've got a chance at the top pick next year. What?!?! Aw, shit!

Seriously, what can I say after yesterday's game? Hell, I didn't even head down to the Browns Backers bar when I saw the score at 17-0 at 1:30. The only positive to come out of it was that Brady Quinn didn't play. Imagine the kid who always buckles under the weight of expectations coming in during a blowout against his team's fiercest rival only to get absolutely destroyed. Think his confidence would still be sky high? Not a chance, that kid would go crying on the shoulder of Tim Couch.

I'll never back down from my argument that the Browns should have taken Roethlisberger over Kellen Winslow. Had they done so, they'd have solved the QB problem, thus leaving them to address other issues, grabbing, gee, I don't know, Vernand Morency, Marion Barber or Brandon Jacobs, all who went in the same round, after Frye (as did Kevin Everett - I happened to be watching that game as the hit happened, was one of those moments where you immediately knew the guy was in trouble).

I really don't have enough to say about yesterday's game, except to express my dismay at how this team prepares for an Opening Day, home game, against Pittsburgh. That's how well they want to perform against that damned team? Where's Cowher?

2007 NFL PREVIEW

2007-09-06T23:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still alive. The WV Power are up 1-0 in the best of three series against the Hickory Crawdads. They have a chance to wrap up the series on Friday night at Appalachian Power Park. If they win, they'll get to the Championship round for the first time in 15 years.

Anyways, I've posted my 2007 NFL Preview on my other blog. www.blogginwithbull.blogspot.com. To avoid posting it twice, head to the other site and check it out for yourself. Its bound to piss you off and make you scratch your head SEVERAL TIMES.

Holla.

--AB

You Can't Spell Lloyd without Two A's??!??!??

2007-09-05T15:05:00.001-07:00

Biggest upset of all time, or victim of hyperbole?

2007-09-04T15:55:00.000-07:00

Look, Michigan lost, ok? Go ahead and call it the biggest upset of all time, just to save the time and effort thinking of bigger ones, but what's the big deal? Many detractors who claim that preseason polls (me) are the same ones who repeatedly point out that the #5 team in the country went down to a 1-AA school (not me). Well, yea, I guess that's true, but a bit misleading with the facts.

-Appalachian State is the two time defending D1-AA champion. Sure, it's not 1A, but looks like they've got a pretty good thing going there. By the way, former 1AA teams who've recently made the leap to 1A: Marshall and Boise St.
-This is a Michigan team that got destroyed by USC in the most recent Rose Bowl. Just absolutely pounded. Don't tell me that they were out to prove something this past weekend, baloney, they're more concerned with next week's Oregon , which brings me to my next point:
-Lloyd Carr. What am I going to add that hasn't been said already? Why does he still have a job? Way to get the team ready to play. At least there's a bye week after Oregon. Oh nevermind, it's Notre Dame. Same thing.
-Chad Henne does, has, and will suck. His passing yards and TDs have gone down every year while his INT/pass ratio has gotten worse. Ooh, another year under his belt, he'll be good, right? Wrong, the few highlights of the game continue to show the same thing - he can't throw the deep ball. Try leading your receivers a bit instead of forcing them to slow down and even stop.

Yea, the Wolverines lost, but it was a losable game. One of those where the teams weren't as uneven as they looked. Hey, at least Michigan accepted the challenge from a champion, instead of settling for their coach's former team, a pushover. I don't understand the anger so many non-Blue fans have for Michigan now, it's like all D1 fans are taking out their insecurities on 'em.
If the polls have meant anything, then how does one loss drop a team all the way from #5 out of the Top 25? Calling voters "asinine" (Dan Shanoff) for voting Michigan 16th? Doesn't make sense. This team will do what they always do, win 7-8 games and go to a bowl. They'll finish the season in the Top 25, what's wrong with figuring that they didn't play their best, but that they'll come back? College football polls often lack sense and purpose, there's really no need for them until week 6 or so.

And all this time, I thought it was Craig Yeast that made him look good

2007-08-29T19:09:00.000-07:00

Covering the Tim Couch/steroid story in four easy steps:

Tim Couch took steroids.
These steroids tend to improve one's physical aptitude.
Tim Couch sucked.
Where would he have been without steroids?

The NFL Cares More About Dogs than People!

2007-08-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

Here it is, the mandatory Mike Vick post. After all it is, according to Bob Ley, the biggest story in the News today (on a day the Attorney General resigned).

Let me take a different view on this thing and question the NFL as well as the public's priorities. First off I'm a dog owner and a dog lover. Second, lets get some things straight. Vick plead guilty to conspiracy to transport dogs over state lines for the purpose of dog fighting, not killing dogs or even dog fighting. All that needs to be shown to sustain a conspiracy charge is that two or more people commit some acts in furtherance of a crime.

As an illustration for there to be a conspiracy to rob a bank two people need only commit acts that might lead to robbing a bank. Lets say they buy guns and talk about plans to rob the bank and steal a car to use as the getaway car. Good enough for a conspiracy. They don't need to actually rob the bank.

Conspiracy charges are in general less difficult to prove than an actual crime.

So with that said lets not go calling Mike Vick a dog killer just yet. Even in the statement of facts Vick submitted with his plea agreement, at most Vick admits to being complicit in the deaths of 8-10 dogs in April of 2007. For arguments sake lets say that Vick had one or two of his boys, either Q or Peace, kill these dogs. Forget all that nonsense about electrocution and hanging, do you think a $130 million dollar Quarterback is getting his hands dirty like that, no he's having his boys do it.

Even the worst case (that Vick himself killed some dogs), should not elicit the response that it has from the NFL.

In the Goddell era, the NFL has quickly become Stalinist USSR in the way punishment is meted out. Take for example everyone's favorite wrestler, Pac-man Jones. Arrested a bunch of times, never once convicted of any charge. Suspended for the year. Its not that I think that Pac-man is a good guy (he's probably not) nor do I think he's blameless ( who makes it rain and asks for the money back?). Here's my beef, HE WAS NEVER CONVICTED. It is against the law to even ask on a job application if you have ever been arrested. And Pac-man got a year suspension.

What's Vick gonna get? A year, after his sentence is up. Its not that Vick doesn't deserve to be suspended, he does. But for a whole year. Take a look at two other examples where the NFL's punishment was less severe and the public outcry far less.

Leonard Little, former Rams' DE. Suspended eight games in 1999 after he plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter after he KILLED a woman while drunk driving. Six years later he picked up another DUI. He's still in the league.

NFL poster boy Ray Lewis plead guilty to obstruction of justice in a double homicide. That's right Ray's boys stabbed to people outside of a club in Atlanta before the Super Bowl. That's two dead people.

So lets do a quick count three dead people 8 game suspension, possible 10 dogs one year suspension maybe more.

I'm starting to question that school

2007-08-16T22:46:00.000-07:00

Admittedly, I've made a bit of a jump onto the Florida Gator bandwagon over the last few years. I wasn't much of a fan growing up, but somehow they started providing teams that I found myelf rooting for. Here in 2007, the basketball and football teams provided me great glee, winning each of their respective sport's championships over The Ohio State University.

At the time of the deals, the numbers involved struck me as ridiculous, much too high for coaches. Seeing it again, it really is newsworthy:

Donovan was awarded a six-year, $21 million contract, averaging $3.5 million. At $3.25 million a year, Meyer's deal is $19.5 million for six years — a far cry from his $55,000 salary as receivers coach at Notre Dame seven years ago.

And heck, it's not just those two, the school's AD, Jeremy Foley...

...signed an 11-year deal in June, worth up to $1.2 million a year, making him the highest paid in the nation at his position.

Holy crap, 8+ mil a year for those 3! School president, Bernie Machen, what do you have to say for yourself?

"We're sort of riding a wave right now — we're just hoping it doesn't end," the president says. "Gator Nation is really happy right now.

Good for you guys, Go Gators! High times for everyone, right?

"Now, the faculty's not too happy. They think I'm paid too much. They think everybody's paid too much — except them. The sad thing is that in a year where we have record salaries for (Billy Donovan and Urban Meyer), we're having a faculty hiring freeze and there will be no raises because of the state budget. It just kind of comes at a bad time."

No kidding. The teacher's ain't happy? Who woulda thunk it? And did you imply that the teachers really are paid appropriately? Huh.

Then he went to the parking for calisthenics

2007-08-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

ESPN.com has a story regarding Darrent Williams' mother visiting Broncos practice versus the Cowboys today. Williams, you may recall was killed by ~~Roger Goodell~~ unknown person(s) on New Years Day. This coming season would have been the guy's third in the NFL, yet he died in Javon Walker's arms after the limo they were in was shot up. Unbelievably tragic. Thankfully, Terrell Owens was there today to lend a helping hand and erase some of the pain:

'"It definitely puts life in perspective, your job in perspective, and it makes you realize what's most important for you," said Owens, who gave her a football. "Any time you lose a loved one, that's devastating."'

To which, Mrs. Williams replied, "What's this? Wow...A football... Yea, it's nice and all, but you realize my son was killed, right? ... No, no, I appreciate it, but what am I supposed to do with it? ... I know you're T.O., but seriously, my son's dead. What the fuck is this?"

It's about time for this

2007-08-16T13:24:00.001-07:00

Barry Bonds can go to hell. Not just him (as he's worthy of his own post), but McGwire, Brady Anderson, Sammy Sosa, Palmeiro, Neifi Perez, etc., you too Jay Bell, heckuva year you had in '99! All you smug pricks! You know who else? Schilling, Clemens and everyone else whose misguided concern with their "legacy" has led them to altering not just their bodies but the sports landscape and social standards in general. So you didn't want to be role models? Then you wouldn't be where you are today without such status. Do you really mean that?

(Not going to hell: Ken Griffey Jr.)

As much as I'd love to sit here and point fingers, calling everyone "cheaters", I shouldn't do that. What most of these players were doing wasn't cheating, they were/are merely looking for any way to get an edge in their competitions. Boy, capitalism is wonderful. On a side note, the right to speak will forever be revoked from anyone claiming that these supplements don't improve one's abilities. If they didn't, then why would players use 'em?

Don't give me this "Oh it's 162 games, I'm tired" shit. 162 games? For what, an average of 3 hours a night? So 500 hours a year you're playing, sure, plus hundreds of hours of practice, I know, but are you going to sit there and tell me that you're running/exerting yourself for the entire time? Please, this is baseball we're talking about, you bat 4 times a game, chase down a couple balls in the outfield (hell, if you even play defense) and you're tired?

Want to know how long it takes most people to work 500 hours? 3 months. Somehow the rest of us poor saps make it through all right, whiners. Gee, maybe you shouldn't hit the damned bars every night, banging every ovulating dumpster in sight. It's your choice to do whatever you'd like in your free time, that's the beauty of life, but guess what? I get to judge you for it. Do your thing after the games, fine. Eat like crap, go ahead. But you're going to complain that you're tired? You know who else is tired? That guy. And her, the girl over there. Those people in the stands? They're tired too. We're all tired, ok?

Some athletes make unfathomable money due to their abilities (and intangibles) yet are still so insecure about their talent that they have to resort to shady supplements to increase their statistics (see: money making abilities). Way to lead youth sports down the road towards "prescription" drugs. I don't know the numbers, but who hasn't seen reports on how many high school kids are using steroids and the like? When we were in high school, we couldn't even get beer. Looking back, probably only one kid on our team used steroids which had such adverse effects on him that throwing the ball from 3rd base over to 1st became a godamned lesson in physics, trying to figure out where the thing was headed. His 'roid rage may have also prevented him from attending Ferris State on scholarship and instead attending woeful Wooster (pronounced "Worcester").

I don't know about you, but I feel better, mainly because I've stopped thinking about professional athletes for a bit. Hey, it ain't just baseball, we know every competition is full of people looking for any chance to succeed, the only difference is the integrity of the participants. Thankfully, the NFL & NBA are chock full of stand up role models that we don't have to worry about.

Quickies

2007-08-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Gotta do this one fast, but fret not, I'll waste more time later.

- The St. Paul Saints, an independent baseball team (in St. Paul, obviously) is having its twist on the current Mike Vick saga this coming Tuesday, A Rotta Love Night! As per the website:

"Take a bite outta Michael Vick!!! The first 1500 people attending this game receive a FREE MICHAEL VICK CHEW TOY!!!"
(http://arottalove.org/events.htm)

Should be fun.

- Big thanks to erm for the heads up about The Love Muscle being back. Nothing like heading back to the "city" where he's had his most success, expect him not to get off to a great start after the Annies get their hands on him again.

(Huh, apparently, they traded him again. Shit. Once upon a time, I tried to buy a game used Buffalo jersey of Branyan's. Lot of good that would have done me for one day. Like he couldn't play for the Tribe now? Lemme ask, how's Andy Marte turning out?)

To make up for the error in not realizing the Indians are short one big muscle, check out this link:
I'm so happy for him, he entirely deserves it

- What's this?

If you guessed my next ridiculous, inappropriate purchase, you're right! It's an inflatable Titanic slide! Tell you one thing, it's more exciting than an inflatable jumping castle/tree.

The Love Muscle is Back!?!!??

2007-08-07T18:24:00.000-07:00

This stunning news from MLB.com: The Indians have signed Russell Branyan to a minor league contract and assigned him to Buffalo. Branyan was batting a robust .197 with 7 HR's. And to think the Indians did not bother to issue a press release. Start printing those playoff tickets.

He's not helping himself

2007-08-02T15:05:00.000-07:00

Brady fucking Quinn. There, right there is the guy's nickname. Stop trying to come up with anything clever, it's over. Brady "Fucking" Quinn is how he'll forever be known. At least this man is earning his nickname.

Quinn, ND & Browns apologists, flash back 3+ months to the NFL draft. Saving Quinn the embarasment of falling out of the first round, the Browns sacrificed next year's round 1 pick to grab the guy that no one else wanted. Now this smug son of a bitch not only has the balls to charge 75 bucks and up for his goddamned autograph (look, prick, Monte Irvin didn't charge a cent and you want 75 dollars? Go to hell. What? Who's Monte Irvin? Sorry, forgot that ND doesn't care about black people.) but he's still not in Browns camp.

Seriously? You think you're good enough to start for an NFL team, yet you can't be bothered to show up for training camp? So what are you doing, practicing? Fuck no. I'm not even going to bother linking to the pictures of you partying - not just because I don't know but also you make me fucking sick. I hope someone introduces you to coke and E in the same night. Eat shit you prick.

Why am I supposed to root for you? Because you're a Cleveland Brown? No you aren't, you've refused to sign a contract getting you into camp. Oh, you want top 10 money? Why? You weren't drafted in the top 10, you went 22. Shit, I want top 10 money, but you want to bet I'd be on that godamned field just because one of the most loyal fanbases in the NFL believes I could play for them, at the most important positions? You're going to be booed beyond anything Tim Couch ever went through if you don't haul your gaping hole into Berea tomorrow.

Never thought I'd actually appreciate Tim Couch's time in town, but you're making me realize that at least he wanted to be there. The man relished his chance and wanted to succeed. What do you want? Recognition. Like Ted Washington said, "Remember, you ain't done nothing yet." He forgot to add that you'll never do anything. You're a piece of shit and you & I both know it. May you trade spots with Lee Smith's wife during a week while she's on her period.

Welcome Back!

2007-08-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

All right, July is over, we can get back to blogging. Thanks for coming back after all this time. Unfortunately, this is going to take me a while to get through - two days ago I had surgery on my all important left hand. I'm unable to lift anything, put my hand below my heart, write (no shit!), grip a ball/bat or do anything else for which I'd need my left hand.

Thanks for all the well wishes and calls to make sure I was okay following the bridge collapse here in Minneapolis. I'm about 3 miles from the now infamous 35W bridge (by the way, 35W runs North/South. There's also a 35E, confusing? Yep!) yet haven't managed to make it down to the site last night or today. As far as I know, no one I know was on the bridge nor were friends & family of anyone I know. I've been over the bridge a handful of times, never thinking anything of it. Now? Well, how does one cross a bridge in this city without holding their breath, thinking "Shit, just get across, go, go, GO!"

Can you imagine having been one of the people on the bridge who survived? Maybe you're watching sections of the road in front of you start to drop suddenly, just falling from the horizon, realizing, "What the he--Wait, it's getting close---AAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" WHAM!!! What about those that never saw it coming? How did everyone not break their tailbones? Unbelievable.

What a week for the Twin Cities. Obviously, the collapse last night is the only truly significant event, but over the past couple days, the sports fans around here have had Kevin Garnett taken from them, seen Luis Castillo traded - leading to Johan Santana questioning the direction of the Twins & his future with them plus his teammates backing him up, not to mention that after the collapse, fans were subjected to 10 innings of Twins/Royals baseball. (That's one hell of a long sentence)

It's odd to be around for this, while others are glued to the tv, trying to learn if they know anyone involved with yesterday's tragic accident, my detachment from the possibility of knowing someone affected has given me plenty of time to feel for the citizens here. From Monday's breaking news that KG might be leaving, to last night's bridge collapse, the locals have been subjected to nothing but frustration. Here's hoping it turns around.

Is there anybody out there?

2007-07-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

We set out at the beginning of July with a simple goal, a sociological experiment if you will; go the entire month without posting anything new to this here blog. Leave it up to me to go and shit on the whole thing, I just couldn't take it anymore! I can almost see again!

(What? We didn't plan this? Then where the hell did everyone go? Ah, beer run! Ah, yeaaaa, you want to partake, son?)

Remember the passing mention of those adventure races that my marathon training partner does? Didn't think so. Well, I "completed" my first one this past weekend. This one was to be an 8 hour race consisting of running, mountain biking & kayaking all while orienteering your way through a 30 some mile course. These courses aren't existing or permanent, which one can go visit & practice or anything, it feels like someone just walked into the woods in some arbitrary direction, throws a flag in the ground and says "Find this, punks." Hell, sometimes the flags are on islands in a river.

The night before the race (Friday), all the teams - either 2 or 4 person teams, ours was a 2 - met at one of the area's REI stores to finally learn the location of the event. As it turns out, we were to race at St. Croix (Steven? Steven?) State Park, a place I'd actually been! Attributing it to half hunger and half our "need" to carbo load, the girl and I went to the Olive Garden (Tour of Italy, bitches!) before heading home and finishing packing everything we'd need the next day. On this race, each competitor was to carry all of their gear (except the bike, kayak & paddles, obviously) the whole time - life jacket, bike helmet, H2o, food, tp and a list of mandatory gear. For those who have never carried a backpack besides the one they took to school, the weight and bulk of gear adds up quickly. Now imagine having to run with that on your back, bouncing around, getting snagged on trees and bushes. Yea, that's fun. Granted, it's not 30 or 40 pounds, but damn you gravity, you win again!

All right so Saturday morn, she and I got up early (4:30? 5?) and drove the nearly 2 hours to the race site on the MN/Wisco border. We get there, get all our gear together, insect repellent & sunscreen on, everything organized, OK! We're ready to go! One problem though, we can't go. Either of us. Seems that dinner doesn't want to be left behind on this race. Jesus H Christ, the one time I want to take the Browns to the Super Bowl and I can't do it. You've got to be kidding me. "What if I go over there?" Location mattered not; we were stuck with the bottomless salad and breadsticks.

As the 8:00 pre-race meeting crept closer, we realized our dilemma, try to force everything out at the privy or start the race and probably stop 5 minutes in to relieve ourselves in the woods. Wasn't hard for me to decide what to do. After 10 minutes of standing in line (and missing the meeting), I finally had my turn again and was quite successful. Hell, if she says she's fine, I'm taking her word for it, what can I do, reach in and pull it out? (Mark it zero, Dude)

With an 8:30 start time, we weren't able to look at our maps and order of disciplines until 8:27. Teams also received the sensor which would register us all at the checkpoints, along with the warning that if we lost it, we'd owe 35 bucks. Yea, lose the thing we need to check in the whole race? The most important thing beside the map? No worries, bud. We came to learn that the order would be running, kayaking, running, kayaking, mountain biking, running, mountain biking, finish. Look at that again, it never gets old. A total of 18 checkpoints, 5 transition areas and 1 team challenge stood in our way of the celebratory BBQ. "We can do this", "Hell yea", "This is gonna be fucking great." "We got this". Allow me for a second to assure you, the reader, that yes, we did in fact "have" that. Minus the butterflies in the stomach, we knew this was going to kick ass, and so were we.

Bam! 8:30, everyone takes off, all the teams racing towards the first checkpoint, about 100 degrees from magnetic North (remember, I'm carrying a compass). Run, run, run. Running through tall grass, running along 4 wheeler tracks, running through a marsh (HIGH KNEES!), stomp up the hill, stepping on every living plant along the way - wait, there it is! Checkpoint 1! Hell yea! I'm officially an adventure racer! I'd already plotted where we headed next (as had every other team) - about 1.5 miles, 45* from N.

This trot was easy, over a grassy trail, about 8 feet wide. It had its fair share of gopher holes, strewn branches and the like, but considering our expectations, this was nothing. Being in good shape, she and I ran alongside the fastest teams and left all others behind. After hitting CP #2, we were off towards a point a couple thousand feet away, just south of east. There didn't appear to be any easy access by trail so everyone chose the same option- bushwhacking! I think by this point, we were in 3rd or 4th place overall, right behind the leaders, and easily #1 in our class - 2 person, coed.

Really, there is nothing like bushwhacking. Plants, fallen trees, bugs, brush, nothing gets in the way of a focused person. If we can build thousand foot buildings, bridge 4 mile wide rivers and clone sheep, then no freakin' forest floor is going to stop us. I was right on the heels of my teammate, ducking, dodging and leaping with every "Branch!" or "Log!". Finally, after 10 minutes or more of slow moving, we can see the trail running perpendicular in front of us, all right, when we hit the trail, if we go ri-WHAP!!! "FUCK! You have to call those out!" Her right shoulder inadvertantly caught a small branch that snapped right back at my unsuspecting face.

Perhaps my reaction was a bit knee-jerk, but that branch/stick/twig hit me right in the friggin eye! Seriously, right in the fucking eye! Instantly I was blind on my right side. Not only could I not see anything, but it felt like Bo Jackson's bat handle was stuck under my eyelid. This was only 2 checkpoints and 30-45 minutes into our race, and I'm unable to voluntarily open my eye, plus when I pry it open, it was a haze heavier than getting out of a pool with too much chlorine. A couple of extremely helpful and conscientious teams stopped to try and help but we all realized that there was nothing they could do. If I could just make it to the first transition point, I'd be able to check with the medics and see if there's anything they could do.

To make matters worse, while we were stopped trying to flush out my eye, my excruciating knee/hamstring issue arose. You want pissed off? Not, "Dude, you didn't even hit me" ticked, but "IT'S KRAPF, YOU IDIOT!" pissed, that was me. Not only was I concerned because I was unable to run, but again, I couldn't see. My girl and I had decided that I'd be the navigator and now that plan was pretty much shot. The worst parts for me were not only the sinking feeling that I was letting her down, a solid & experienced competitor, but also, I don't think she found my situation was as bothersome as I did.

After some lengthy issues finding CPs 3 & 4, we headed towards the first transition point, a kayak launch. It was here that I learned from the pleasant medics that not only could they not do anything for my eye, but I was to expect that it'd get a lot more painful. Well, thanks fellas, glad you could come out to help. If I may say so myself, and I will, we kicked some serious ass kayaking. We passed a number of teams that had passed us during our hold ups and gained some serious ground again.

When we took our boats out of the water, we ran into yet another significant issue; we lost the god damned 35 dollar electronic device that registered which check points we'd visited? Christ! What's going on here? Oh, now the fucking waterproof map case broke and the maps are soaking wet?!?! gggggrrrrrRRRRRR AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! FUCK! Uh, needless to say, she and I weren't much for words at this point. To her credit, she helped minimize the finger pointing, given the circumstances, as did I, but crap, could anything else possibly go wrong? You already know the answer.

While Lorenzo Neal'ing my way through a thick creek bank, somehow the compass was ripped out of my hand, only to be lost forever. So you know, while orienteering, a compass is more than "required" gear. It's "don't bother if you don't have it" gear. How deep is that creek down there? Any chance I can drown myself in it? Luckily, she had carried one as well, which we proceeded to use, but imagine if she hadn't - that'd have been it for us. This was only CP 8.

Sorry to skip most of the rest here, but I need to sleep. After finding checkpoint 16, we decided that we would skip #17 and the team challenge so that we could head back for the BBQ and to chat with the other racers. Much of the latter half of our race was spent wavering between complete silence and me trying to apologize profusely for not being able to do better than I'd been able to. Our official finish time? 8:18:00. The winner in our class? 7:23:51. Crap. If I'd been able to either see OR run, we'd have won the thing, hands down. Now that's frustrating.

We finished and took some quick pics, though neither of us seemed to really be in the mood.

Oddly enough, word had passed throughout the race of my eye troubles and many people were coming up and congratulating me for finishing, which as touching as that was, did nothing to alleviate the guilt I felt for letting down my teammate (oh yea, she's my girlfriend, too).

When we finally headed home for the day, she decided that she'd be taking me to the ER for the eye. No one here knows this, but my eyes are the one part of my body you just don't mess with; doctors, polices, hookers, none of you! Now I was going to have all these people probing it like the Houston 500. At some point that night, a doctor put some dye in my eye and checked it with a blacklight which apparently showed the scratch to all observers on the other side of my eye (i.e., you). My girl got to see it with the doc and apparently it was a round-ish scrape of decent proportions, which overlapped onto the pupil, thus the vision issues.

Another thing ya'll don't know - I don't do pills. I don't do medicines. I don't do drugs. At least not this kind. Seriously, I've never been one for painkillers, but this was so intense that I jumped at the chance for Vicodin. Never again. Bastards put me to sleep like watching Titanic. The race went down on Saturday, it's now Thursday. This is the first day that I've been able to consistently hold my eye open. The main problem now seems to be that if I'm looking at an object, I see anywhere from zero to four images of that object. Could be going better. It'll improve, but this definitely answers the question - would I rather be deaf or blind?

It's All About Taking Chances...

2007-06-28T17:18:00.000-07:00

Trust me, this past Tuesday changed me. I witnessed something which may require a running account of the goings on - it was that entertaining. You'll read about it sometime.

I'd initially started a blog post surrounding my first Twins game, but it's been rudely interrupted by the night's NBA proceedings. Sure, we're only at the point where Carolina just took Brendan Wright, but were there not food in front of me to this point, I'd be about 2 pages deep into this thing already. Even with this year's, allegedly, intriguing/interesting/exciting, draft, I just can't get excited. Not having draft picks picks is like a hand job from a fat chick; sure, something's happening, but you just want to be past it so you can get on with your night.

That being said, we just had the first WNBA player ever selected - Joakim Noah to the Bulls! That's gotta be the most flat chested shemale I've ever seen. I'm against domestic violence, can we please hunt down the person who punched him/her in the mouth and seek retribution?

I still don't understand why Oden & Durant were always the Top 2 players in this draft. I don't care that I've never seen Durant play; I just don't get what makes these guys such "sure things". I said it before, but it's like the outcome has already been determined for these guy's careers. Why even play the games?

Rachel "Hoover" Nichols. Ma'am, you're glowing. Whatever you've been doing down there in Charlotte, I'd have thought you'd get some bigger leads out of it. Must not be using the DSL you've got to maximum potential. Plus, don't think it's slipped my notice that you've spent a lot of time around Michael Jordan. Next time, clean up your lipstick before going on TV.

I'm not sure what to think about Jeff Green to the Celtics. On one hand, I hate the fanbase surrounding Boston sports teams even more than Buckeye fans and would have loved the Chinese guy going there, on the other hand, STOP COMPLAINING ALREADY! There is no satisfying Bostonians; their inferiority complex is unrivaled. The city may be the most historically relevant U.S. locale, but having been eclipsed by New York's money, they've got to bitch about everything. Back on point, whenever the Celtics blurb scrolls up the screen, it mentions something about a trade rumor of "Jeff Green to Seattle". Awesome. Though that's not exactly a trade, that's a giveaway. What's Boston getting in return? Ray Allen? Please, like you'd draft a talented player & ship him with another good young guy and the pride of Miami U. for a max contract? Oh. If you don't mind, I've got to make a call... Maybe Danny Ainge would part with Tony Allen & pieces of the parquet floor for these chicken tenders.

This is it for now, but just so you know, I'm in a bar in Minneapolis watching the draft. The laughs/applause when Milwaukee took Yi was almost bigger than the T'Wolves taking Corey Brewer.

I'm getting scared, Atlanta looks like they're trying to put together a competitive young team. I'm out.

Marketing slogans you won't soon see: Fosters beer

2007-06-13T23:21:00.000-07:00

Progressing through the World Beer Tour at the local establishment, I've tasted some pretty good and awfully shitty beers. As I was in the mood for one final night of self deprivation, I subjected myself to some Parrot's Bay shit (think Smirnoff Ice for masochists), Guinness (oh Guinness is refined, classy & full of body? Wrong, it's like giving a rimjob to a elephant with IBS) and Fosters. I did reward myself with a Hazed & Infused, but that doesn't eliminate the taste of rotten labia from my lips.

Never before has one beer inspired so many remarks as this one can of Fosters. Seriously, unless you've ever sat at a bar drinking one of these oversized cans, you haven't tested the limits to which you'll push your endurance and integrity. If the following doesn't convince you that your life is incomplete without the experience that is Fosters, well sir, you are far from a beer snob; rather, you aren't wearing your Golden Straightjacket.

-Fosters; tastes like the zoo
-Fosters; tastes like Oklahoma
-Fosters; smells like penis
-Fosters; like you're 8 years old, giving hand jobs to the bus driver again
-Fosters; for those who like their beer with hay, not hops
-Fosters; never will a beer can make you feel sexually inadequate like ours
-Fosters; ain't no one being f'ed by this can
-Fosters; you're kidding, right?
-Fosters; twice the size for only a buck more

It's late, I can't remember the rest. Anyway, Fosters sucks.

Let your mind wander

2007-06-13T01:14:00.000-07:00

If only because I'm in the mood to be a bit self indulgent after the truly shitty evening I've had, here comes a story which, if I could openly share all details, could be one for all time. Definitely not about sports.

All things end badly, or else they wouldn't end, or so I've heard. Well, not only have I sworn off most Irish women, but now it's time to add the Swedes as well. Intuition's a bitch - for the longest time I haven't been able to shake the feeling that I'm "sharing" my lady friend. That's not a pleasant experience, you can tell what's going on but it's a bit unfair to make allegations without proof.

Well after watching the monstrosity on ABC tonight, I got a call from her asking if I'd seen the game. Uh, yea, of course - on TV at the gym while I was running. Wait - this doesn't make sense, she doesn't have TV. Apparently she'd seen it with a friend of hers. Needless to say I was more than a bit disappointed. Allegedly (and I'm almost willing to give her this one) this is just a friend that she trains with, but what the hell? Seriously? So in a huff I went to her place to pickup my laptop that she'd been borrowing for a few days.

Not to bitch and bore you with all the details, but after expressing my disappointment and asking some questions it came to light that, once again, intuition is the strongest sense. When someone starts a sentence with, "I've been trying to decide if I should tell you something..." they usually don't follow with "I've hired a hitman. He's going to take out Barry Bonds." I didn't need the full history of her relationship with the guy. Nor did I really need to know that when he comes back in town she'd be exploring her feelings for him again. As I was already staggering, I asked if there was anything else I needed to know; kids I don't know about, diseases, debilitating illnesses, murders? No? Ok then. Wait, what? ANOTHER GUY??? You have got to be kidding me.

Surprisingly, following these revelations, I left. Now things get awesome. As I said, she'd been borrowing my computer for a few days as she can get a wireless signal but has no working computer of her own. You need to know that one of my biggest attractions to her is her, uh, openness and ability when we're alone. Well, here's a suggestion for you all to keep in mind for pretty much the rest of your lives - if you use someone else's computer for your own leisure, it may be a good idea to delete the sites you visit. She's shared some of her fantasies so seeing some of these web addresses wasn't a complete surprise, but jesus, how much porn can one woman look at in a day?

Hey, yea, also Tiava is categorized. Turns out she digs of the same things as I, but some of the other categories - yowza! Oh, yea and if you're into any of the anonymous real life hookup sites, you may want to delete those links as well.

So I'm single again.

Careful what you wish for

2007-06-08T22:44:00.000-07:00

Back in the days when Chris Mills, Terrell Brandon, Bob Sura, Dan Majerle, Bobby Phils, Michael Cage & Tyrone Hill were pulling in big minutes for the Cavs, down towards the end of the bench sat Donny Marshall.

I was emotionally torn concerning Donny Marshall; on one hand, he sucked, although it looked like basketball talent ran in the family. I firmly believed that had the team gotten the other Marshall brother, we'd be rooting for a contender (instead of getting swept by the Knicks before not making the playoffs 7 straight years). Well, when I'm wrong, I'm really wrong.

This is nothing new, you guys have been hearing/discussing it all day, but why the hell was Larry Hughes on the floor to start the game? After seeing Tony Parker absolutely blow past him, Hughes should have been relegated to towel waving on the bench for the remainder of the series.

Piss off, Curt

2007-06-07T01:14:00.000-07:00

Flashback to 1997: July 7th to be exact. I'm at Jacob's Field, lucky enough to be at one of the most entertaining MLB moments of the season: the festivities the day before the All Star Game, specifically the Homerun Derby. One of my father's friends hooked our family up with seats between the Tribe dugout & home plate, about 8 rows up from the field.

The day included a celebrity softball game which pitted Jonathan Silverman and LeAnn Rimes' squad against Zack Morris & co. Plus, we got to watch the All Star workouts. Ever show up 2 hours early for a baseball game and watch them teams stretch, play catch and take BP? Ever do it twice? Right, so what makes you think you'd want to pay to see it without them playing an actual game? These are the days when Jeff Blauser, Royce Clayton, Tony Womack, Bobby Jones, Brady Anderson, Joey Cora, Jeff Cirillo, Pat Hentgen (Toronto's Charles Nagy), Justin Thompson & Jose Rosado were making "All Star" appearances.

Anyway, Tribe fans, during the run in the '90's, what was it that everyone said the team needed to win it all? Pitching. Nagy would never be able to it on his own; Dennis Martinez & Orel Hershiser were successful, but long past their primes; Bartolo Colon came on too little, too late & Jaret Wright was busy plowing his way though Brush's cheerleaders. Dammit, if only there were one more guy. one more person wanting to take the ball on the biggest of stages and win a championship, if not always for the noblest of reasons. Enter the slobbish prick I'm watching most of the day's workout.

In 1996 & '97, Indians fans were teased with the constant rumors of bringing young stud Curt Schilling to town. This week's honorary punch in the face goes to John Hart for acquiring Ken Hill instead of the future Hall Of Famer. Really, the rumors of getting Curt Schilling were frequent and, at times, convincing. Imagine for a second, having a selfish, young Curt Schilling on the mid to late '90's Indians.

The 1997 All Star break may have been the climax of the trade rumors & even though I think at the time I realized it wouldn't come to fruition, I couldn't help myself from taking pictures of the arrogant bastard wearing number 38. Watching this SOB walk around the field like he owned the place (chest puffed out, looking down his nose at everyone), I realized that it might not be worth it. Do I really want to sacrifice the pride of my team for a guy who I can't stand but might help win it all?

This tub o' lard has proven himself to a self absorbed hired gun, worried more about his "legacy" than the larger reality of what he's really accomplishing. Am I jealous that he brought a WS title to another long suffering area? Yes and no: sure, I wanted to win, but not with him. After having another decade of this guy behind us, we get to look back and see what could have been. From the desperation of jumping from winner to winner, to the spokesman deals, to the bloody sock, to his manipulating blog and need to always be available for interviews & TV appearances, he has proven to care more about the name on the back of the jersey than the one on the front.

Would I want to Browns to win the Super Bowl if it meant taking Terrell Owens with him at his worst? Probably not and the same goes for the Tribe & Schilling. I can't stand the guy. Had Slider or Brady Anderson choked Schilling like an Asian with Lexington Steele I'd have been ok with that.

You know what, Curt Schilling? When I'm talking to my friends' kids about baseball before they were born, your name will probably come up. Want to know what I'm going to tell them, what your legacy is going to be? You were a prick. Yea, you won, but everyone hated you. I'm glad you never pitched for my team, even though we could have won with you. Piss off, Curt.

He's still no Cleo Lemon

2007-06-07T00:15:00.001-07:00

Terrific, Trent Green just went to the Dolphins. Why? They've already got two washed up quarterbacks on their roster. Oh, they're trading Culpepper, huh? Yea, the guy who is so shitty that they made this trade to begin with, they think they have much leverage with any team? Jesus, if they get anything above a 4th round pick, I'll be impressed. So why trade for Green? Am I the only one who thinks Joey Heisman could still be a serviceable quarterback in the league?

To make a run in any sport these days, your franchise either has to hit rock bottom or be a consistent contender; if you're crap, you get high draft picks and can justify trading current studs for future stars - if you're a contender, players come to you. The 'fins are neither - they suck, but not enough for a top 5 pick and they still aren't a playoff contender, what's the sense in trading for someone to make you marginally better? 8-8 might actually be worse than 6-10; Why give fans false hope while losing out on a (slightly) higher pick?.

Trent Green is going to be 37 when the season opens and this guy is going to have a better arm than Culpepper? Doesn't Daunte have an incredible "air it out" type of arm? Shit, if only his team had a raw talent who can't run routes but has impressive speed... You get Trent Green on your team, you want receivers who will be where they're supposed to be when they're supposed to be there. Culpepper needs guys who can run under his passes; simply, true athletes. What direction is this team going?

Let's say this trade had gone down before the draft, would Miami have taken Ginn? Why get a piece then change the puzzle? Besides for my own pleasure, WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE BRADY QUINN?

I should have bought it

2007-06-06T19:44:00.000-07:00

Yea, this post is going real well, it's only gotten f'd up twice already - the thing is cursed and you'll soon find out why.

But first, one of the best things about Minneapolis is the music scene. Not only does the area draw acts that I actually want to see (I'm on my way out the door to go to a show right now), but the numerous independent music stores give hope to all who heave at the thought of another Best Buy/Circuit City/Virgin Megastore, etc. My favorite being Cheapo - it's massive, cheap, carries both used & new cds and dvds, plus it's only two blocks from my place.

So I'm in there today looking for the Survivorman DVD when I turned the corner to see this cd staring back at me:

As tempting as it was, I couldn't throw down the $1.95 for it. Seriously, check out that guy's smile, he really loves his Savior. There's no way that's the guy's real hair.

One more day.

And the Tribe is in first place!

2007-06-04T20:26:00.000-07:00

Yea I'll make it three straight Cavs posts this week, but how often to the Cavs win the Eastern Conference Title. I'm not going to talk about the game itself or what it means for the fans or the city. Lets talk about what it means for the two people who deserve a title more than anyone else associated with this franchise. Joe Tait and Austin Carr.

These two guys have been through all the shit (tons) and all the shine (not so much) associated with this franchise. Tait has been here since the beginning and Carr has been here almost as long. Joe Tait is the best play-by-play man in the business and Austin Carr may be the worst color man, but god damn does he love his Cavs.

So here's to the two guys that are probably the most invested in this team. Finally something to enjoy. So in the words of the immortal Jake Taylor: "Well i guess there's only one thing left to do. Win the whole Fucking thing."

Go Cavs

I actually got Joe Tait on the radio here last night

2007-06-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

Unbelievable (un·be·liev·a·ble) adj.
1. Not to be believed; incredible
2. My most often word used last night

What the hell is going on here? Price, Harper, Nance, Daugherty, Hot Rod & Ehlo couldn't pull it off, but TheBron & Boobie might? No freakin' way. I'm not saying they can't, just "wow". Nothing about this makes sense. The Tribe can't win a World Series, the Browns can't win a Super Bowl, let alone get to one, but the Cavs might win an NBA title? Really, who saw that happening before the LBJ lottery?

First person to use any form of the word "cursed" and Cleveland will be asked to leave. Is a Cavs title just what the city needs to believe, "Yes, we can do this; no longer are we building our hopes up, just to expect to have them dashed right at the worst moment"? I was literally speechless last night after the game. I've got no TV in my place here in Minneapolis, so I had to go to a bar to catch the end of it. After the final buzzer, I'm looking around the place realizing that few others in the place even noticed the game was on. I exchanged some handshakes with the guy next to me and realized I had to get out of there - it just wasn't right. Here's a Cleveland team advancing to the championship and I had not a single person with whom I could share the moment.

I called a friend for directions to her place and it finally dawned on me that I was unable to speak. She kept asking if I was drunk, but after only one PBR, no, that wasn't it - my mind simply couldn't comprehend what had happened. Cleveland? The Cavs? NBA Finals? This LeBron James thing is actually progressing as expected; what the hell is going on here? When I finally got over to my friend's place, I just sat there on the couch, stunned. I literally couldn't put thoughts into words; you could have dumped a pitcher of water on me and I'd have just looked up at you with the biggest, stupid grin on my face. Every word that eventually did make it out was a whisper, for I was worried that I was on the brink of just exploding, "Don't you get it?! This isn't right! Cleveland might actually win something!! DOESN'T ANYONE UNDERSTAND???"

No, I don't live and die with the Cavs; for me, they'll never again be on the same level as the Indians or the Browns, but if my city is about to win something, you can bet your ass I'll be at home to celebrate it. If the Cavs look to be on the brink of actually winning it all, there's no way in hell I'll be watching the game alone in Minneapolis. Cleveland, hopefully I'll see you soon.

CLUTCH AND CLEVELAND, TOGETHER AT LAST

2007-05-31T21:58:00.001-07:00

Never, have the words Clutch and Cleveland ever combined to equal anything even remotely close to positive. When you think of those two words in the same sentence, you think of John Elway, you think of Michael Jordan, you think of David Justice, you think of Willie Mays, and you think of Edgar Renterria.

What I witnessed on Thursday, May 31st, was hands down the greatest clutch performance in the history of sports in Cleveland. When you break it down, I don’t know how much of an accomplishment that is, because there haven’t been many to speak of. However, sports have been mainstream in Cleveland for well over a half century in some sports, and closer to a century in others.

I’ve never seen one man take over a game for a Cleveland team the way Lebron James did on May 31st. If you look at the stat line, you’ll see he came close to 50 points, but its not necessarily the stat line that impresses you.

Its the fact that he was doing to the opposition, what several other superstars have done to Cleveland in the past. For once, Cleveland gets the clutch performance. He hit big shot, after big shot, after big shot. He went toe to toe with the best team in the conference, the big bully on the block.

Not only did David take matters into his own hands and slay Goliath, he said “fuck it”, threw the rocks down, went to Goliath’s backyard and took down the bully with his bare fists. He took every punch with a grain of salt, and delivered a punch with twice as much impact in return.

Now I understand that its too soon to get excited because the same thing happened last year, and the Cavs lost the series. Growing up in Cleveland, I also understand that you’ve been exposed to the worst before, so why expect anything different?

Having said that, enjoy the moment from game five. Who knows if we’ll ever see a clutch performance for a Cleveland team like that ever again. The stage made it greater, it was on the road, against the big dogs of the conference, a team they haven’t been able to get past, and most of all, it was in the conference finals, a place the franchise has only been twice.

When you think of the Cleveland sports legends, Bernie Kosar, Albert Belle, Jose Mesa, Orel Hershiser, Jim Brown, Calavitto, Otto Grahm, and the list goes on…..did they ever dominate a game the way Lebron did in the post season on May 31st? Answer that honestly.

As far as I’m concerned, its not even close. None of the aforementioned names ever did what Lebron did on Thursday night, May 31st. As my good buddy Paulie said, we’ll be seeing that game on ESPN Classic for the next century, enjoy it.

Who to start at PG?

2007-05-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

Larry Hughes has fallen victim to the dreaded plantar fascia tear. I thought this trend died out after Albert Pujols was out with it. Whatever. The question now becomes, who to start at the point?

The Cavs choices are Eric Snow, Daniel Gibson and Damon Jones. It doesn't make any sense to have the World's Greatest 3 Point Shooter bringing the ball up the court, so Jones is out. Eric Snow simply sucks. That leaves Daniel Gibson, an energetic rookie from Texas. Want to know the only reason you need to start Gibson? As ESPN.com put it, "LeBron James, who had 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in Game 3, trusts Gibson and is confident he can fill in adequately for Hughes."

There you have it.

For Whom I Root

2007-05-28T23:58:00.000-07:00

We're all fans - but of what? Of Whom? Sure, some (or all, depending on who reads this) of us know who each other cheers for, but this is a continuing open forum and we get to share, without interruption, who we cheer for.

Today, a blast from the not so distant past, although it feels like a lifetime ago; Albert Belle.

An RBI machine, Homerun champ, 1st 50 HR/50 2B man in MLB history, 5 time All Star, 8 straight years of 30 HR & 100 RBI, TSN Player Of The Year and Lousiana Sports Hall Of Fame inductee, the man was a beast, truly the most intimidating player of the '90s and possibly all time. The only things missing - the 1995 MVP award, a World Series Title & entrance to the MLB HOF.

The justification for Belle finishing second in the MVP voting to Mo Vaughn was that had Belle not been part of the Tribe that year, they would have still won their division by 20 games (they finished 30 games a head of the 2nd place Royals). Also, different people claimed the award is for Most Valuable, not Most Outstanding Player. I'm getting very angry... If that's the case, then how the hell can the MVP award go to a last place player (Alex Rodriguez, Andre Dawson)? The insanity of not voting for Belle was a byproduct of his lack of relationship with the media. Not only does a player have to produce on the field, but he must also play nice with the reporters? There's no reason, there is no f'ing reason he should not have won that award!

Ok, I'm done with that for a minute. Belle appealed to me for many reasons. As revealed by all his accolades, the guy was a hell of a player. During his prime, you just expected him to do something big, the game was never over if Belle was coming to the plate in a close game. Before he hit (one of) his famous Grand Slam(s) off Lee Smith, Carlos Baerga, who had just drawn a walk to load the bases for #8, celebrated as if he knew what was about to happen. It was absolutely surreal, especially watching it in person - I don't think I've ever heard a baseball crowd explode in such excitement as that moment. He so often brought excitement to a sport that needed it more and more.

On the field, it was easy for fans to root for the guy, though his antics outside the white lines drove many fans away. The stories are legendary: running kids down in his SUV after they egged his house on Halloween; turning down the thermostat, then destroying it with his bat, thus earning the nickname "Mr Freeze"; putting Hannah Storm in her place; absolutely destroying Fernando Vina in the basepath; drilling a heckler in the chest with a ball; not to mention the corked bats.

Two of my favorite personal anecdotes about Albert: (1) The game when he nailed the guy who kept chanting "Joey"? I was there (his middle name being JoJuan, he went by Joey though when he tried to give up drinking, he went with Albert). I forget during which inning the incident occurred, but in all of his subsequent at-bats, the crowd mercilessly booed him. We couldn't figure out why and didn't learn the reason until the drive home after the game. How'd we miss it? Well, we were sitting in the right field bleachers and this was during the season when the centerfield wall at Municipal Stadium had that freakin' trapezoid on top of it. The thing was right in our line of vision, so we never saw it all go down. (2) Remember during the playoffs when the Red Sox tried to screw with Belle by having the umps check his bats for cork? In all his intensity, he shouted back at the visitor's dugout while pointing to his flexed bicep, indicating that he didn't need cork to beat the piss out of them. Well, my dad and I went to all of the home playoff games that year and, of course, pops made a sign. What was on the sign? Why, Belle's flexing bicep with the words, "This ain't cork!!!" inside the muscle (no it wasn't cork, but who wants to take a guess as to what may have been flowing through those veins? Plus there was actually a second sign as well, one simply stating, "Ozzie would pay to watch Omar play!").

Whew! Regardless, while many fans turned on Belle for his off field actions, I stuck with him, he was after all, my favorite player, I couldn't just turn my back on him. It wasn't until he signed with the rival White Sox that he done pissed me off. That lasted only a short while as he headed to Baltimore next and was forced to don the number 88 because some selfish prick wouldn't give up #8 to a man who actually deserved it.

Did you know about Albert: Favorite TV shows? Cheers & Married With Children; Favorite player when he was a kid? Eddie Murray; Favorite music artist? Public Enemy; He is an Eagle Scout, National Honors Society member, former VP of the Future Business Leaders of America, and he was on an episode of the television show Hangin' with Mr. Cooper.

So yea, I rooted for Albert Belle, I adored him until he went to Chicago, but I'm willing to forgive. Hell, any man that turns down a scholarship offer to Notre Dame can't be all bad, right?

Can Neither Confirm Nor Deny

2007-05-27T23:34:00.000-07:00

When Jim Thome played for the Indians, he lived in Aurora. An alleged neighbor of his once relayed to me that the cops were called to his house pretty often for domestic violence claims. What a dick, huh? Uh, not really. Rumor is, the wife was kicking his ass! It obviously would have taken a lot of restraint to not sock her right back, so if he never did, good job (she may have just been baiting him into something).

Was this recurring problem a result of his wife's (Andrea Pacione) drinking problem or her hatred of Cleveland or is he not only dumb, but also a pushover? Considering his trip to Oprah with his wife, I'd guess a combination of all three.

By the way, were you aware that Thome has a twin sister, Jennifer? Bet she's a hottie.

That's why they play the games

2007-05-27T21:34:00.000-07:00

Will we never learn our lesson? When is anything ever a sure thing? The only absolute, in my mind, is there are no absolutes - besides nothing ever being a sure thing.

Judgement has already been passed, Kevin Durant and Greg Oden are going to be studs. They'll each bring their respective teams multiple championships, you can't go wrong drafting either of them. Well, why not? Who's to say that one doesn't end up like Len Bias or just another Joe Smith? Wasn't Darko a "sure thing"? How am I supposed to be convinced of this Chinese guy's talent?

Wasn't Brady Quinn a sure Top 3 pick? If he fell past Cleveland, Miami was taking him, right? Yea, that ended well. Hey, Lawrence Phillips, Tim Couch, Tony Mandarich, Rick Mirer, Ryan Leaf, Heath Shuler, Brian Bosworth & Steve Emtman, how'd all your Hall Of Fame careers end up?

After the recent NFL draft betrayed so many mock drafts, it was labeled a "crap shoot", being so difficult to predict, yet here we go again. Not only will people guarantee that Team X will select a certain player, but by the end of the creation of these mocks so many authors will have spent so much time convincing themselves that their picks are correct that they won't be able to envision any reasonable alternative. Then they start making claims about how many titles someone's going to win, or how many MVPs a guy will earn all the while setting personal expectations for each individual.

Sure, it's fun to imagine LeBron bringing championships to his region, but the rhetoric & hype never allowed for anything less - there was only one possibility, LeBron was going to win, he was going to be good, crap, he'll be better than Jordan! Well, yes, he's good, but it isn't appropriate yet to name him one of the best ever. Talking about potential is one thing, sure, maybe he'll end up being great, but if he retires after these playoffs to concentrate on a football career, is he a HOFer? Hell no; the guy can be fun to watch, and with his stature & charisma and our preconceptions, it's easy to envision him on top of the world, but he hasn't accomplished nearly enough.

All I'm saying is let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Is the present so boring that we just can't wait to get it over with? Just slow down, savor what we know & don't know. Go ahead and dream about such-and-such a player achieving this or that, but presenting expectations as the only possible outcome is annoying and appears simple-minded. No one is making a breakthrough by correctly predicting when something does happen as they suggested it would - throw enough shit against the wall and something's bound to stick.

The Halladays coming early

2007-05-26T17:29:00.000-07:00

Look at that there, I took Roy Halladay's last name and turned it into a pun - a shitty one at that. I know most people reading this couldn't care less about one of the greatest pitchers of our generation, but Roy Halladay is something special. More than just being a stud on the mound, he's on my fantasy team, totally validating his worth.

Now, I don't want to be completely selfish in my motivation for posting this, but following Halladay's emergency appendectomy three weeks ago, I find this quote from his manager, John Gibbons, a bit worrisome: ""He's one of the best pitchers in the game. We want to run him out there."

The Blue Jays are lucky that their star pitcher recognized the seriousness of his situation, thus saving himself from an even worse fate and here's his manager making it clear that this guy's health and future matters not when compared to keeping his job. Gibbons, you'd better hope that he's ok, because if he isn't and you rush him out there, well, I don't think I have to tell you what happens next. Don't mess with Roy Halladay.

Gushing Goddesses

2007-05-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

Maybe I'm just being picky about my hometown. Maybe I really want the radio talk hosts and the fans to take a step back for a moment and just look at the current sports scene in Cleveland. Maybe it's time for me to get swept up in how great things are these days. Or maybe the blind loyalty that Ohio State (and pretty much any major institution) inspires has overtaken the city.

"What a great time to be a Cleveland sports fan. Has it ever been any better?" With the Indians on fire, the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals and the Browns drafting 2 players in the first round, including a highly touted quarterback, some form or other of the aforementioned rhetoric has made its rounds through the airwaves and is spreading on the streets. It's a bit unfair that I'm writing this after the Cavs have fallen behind 0-2 in their series, but it's been on my mind for a little while now.

As a matter of fact, yes, there have been better times to be a Cleveland sports fan - like when teams won championships, or came close to doing so. How many fans believe the excitement of the Cavs season even competes with the energy and appreciation much of the city had for the Tribe during their late 90's run? Admittedly, I'm a baseball fan first, but much of the area was so caught up that the news ran warnings to not take it as seriously as fans were. If people are getting so excited about a team that we're worried about rioting or heart attacks, depending on the outcome, I'd say that was a pretty intense time to be a fan.

Sure, during much of the team's dominance, they didn't have to compete with Browns exposure or interest in the Cavs, but did that take away from the wonder of going through our formative years when the Indians were better than they'd been in 40 years? Parents were telling us we were lucky to have such a team to watch, national media outlets swooned over the climb of such a historic franchise, even "rivals" claimed the team was easy to root for.

Going back to before I was born, I'd say the success of the Browns during the 50's & 60's might have been an exciting time. More than that though, attending a mid major school right as their football team was ranked for the first time ever and having the excitement of listening to a friend call one of team's greatest upsets and most exciting endings was absolutely mind boggling. And don't forget, Bowling Green's basketball squad lost out on going to the NCAA Tournament because Notre Dame's fans "travel better".

So, here were are in May. The Browns' don't kick off for another 4 months, the Indians are 40 games into their season and the Cavs are an uninterested team "battling" for a trip to the finals. Who knows what could become of Joe Thomas & Brady Quinn? These are the Browns, remember? The Indians are in first place now, but what's it matter? The Cavs don't look like they've got any desire to move on in the playoffs. So yea, I'm sorry everyone, but there have been better times to be a sports fan, even in Cleveland.

Can Neither Confirm Nor Deny

2007-05-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

All right! Welcome to a new feature which may end up dying a quick, painless death. Called "Can Neither Confirm Nor Deny", I'll be throwing out rumors Ive heard through one source or another. These will usually be completely unfounded and not always current. Now to kick things off...

Rumor has it that Kevin Garnett has a barn and in this barn he keeps his dogs (yes, again tying in to Mike Vick's life). Apparently there's also a tv in this barn. Why is this special? Well, the tv isn't for Garnett or his friends. No, its for his dogs - so they can watch KG play basketball...

Again, I can neither confirm nor deny this, but it's what I've overheard. He also loves Punch pizza. As do I.

The gift that keeps on giving

2007-05-21T23:03:00.000-07:00

The most striking thing about Minneapolis is something I'd never heard of. The amount of people in this city with either noticeable facial warts or a herpes outbreak would blow your mind. It's hard to believe how many people we're talking about here. The reason I bring this up is how come this isn't more of an obvious issue with athletes? We all know the Mike Vick story - he slept with some guy named Ron Mexico and got herpes, or something like that. But you'd think for a populous which has such a reputation for excess that there'd be more cases such as Vick's.

This came to mind when I saw Jason Kidd being interviewed on TV after a game in the Nets series against the Cavs. With so many opportunities for viewing these people, you'd think the presence of STDs would be more noticeable. All the interviews, closeup on HDTV, print & online photographs, plus public appearances, how do these men and women stay clean? Hell, Magic Johnson has AIDS and it's like if you or I had a bad cramp.

Maybe all these athletes and their significant others, groupies & hookers all just use condoms and are very careful during sexual activity. Or maybe A.C. Green inspired more of them than we thought - they're all chaste. General society could learn a thing or two from these "friends first" role models.

Apparently you just run, for an extended period of time...

2007-05-21T21:06:00.000-07:00

Hey, if you find someone talking about their fantasy team to be boring, well, you're in for a treat. I'm going to be writing about running. And not just once. I'm signed up to run the Twin Cities Marathon Sunday, October 7. Don't ask why, I just figured it'd be cool to be able to say later that I'd run a marathon at some point in my life; gotta figure dunking a basketball on a ten foot hoop is getting less likely by the day.

I've never enjoyed running, except in short bursts. Breakaway layups, Turkey Bowl post patterns, legging out a triple (going first to third is for pussies), those I'm all cool with. Running 26.2 miles is something I just don't understand. If it involves anything over 70 or 80 yards, I'm really not interested. I barely know why I'm doing it, and just wonder how the hell do people enjoy it? Trail running is ok, but this is pavement. In Minneapolis. In October. It's going to be a cold start to the morning.

I've already been "training" for the past few weeks and still struggle running 40-45 minutes without slowing to a walk. It's been said that while hiking the Appalachian Trail, "When you're carrying 45 pounds on your back, you don't forget that, not even for a second." While I'm running, it never escapes my mind that I have barely done a fraction of what I'm expected to do in one day. I'm still at a stage where running is boring. At this point, I'm really just doing it to get better. I keep hearing about this "runners high". Whatever it is, count me in.

The World Record Holder in a marathon finished in 2:04:55 (fun fact: the 2nd fastest time ever is only one second longer! Too bad they happened in the same race. Sept 28, 2003 in Berlin.) So yea, the World Record is impressive, but how much worse can I be than him? The Twin Cities Marathon (from here on "TCM") allows a participant 6 hours to finish and I'm going to need every second of that. Have to average 13:44 per mile to make it in time or they pick you up off the route in buses; their permit only allows for limited time. I just want to finish the damn thing, that's my goal..

The toughest part of training so far? My diet. My fridge is filled with water, mango/berries/pineapple, half a beet (nothing like thinking you're peeing blood until you remember eating a beet a couple hours earlier), rice, beans, kale, spinach, asparagus, parsley, carrots, soy milk/soy ice cream and tortilla shells. Doesn't help that I gave up meat again when I moved to Minneapolis. My lunch today actually included a juice which contained, among other things, beet & carrot. I literally thought I was going to throw up. Ever drank wheat grass juice? Want to know what that tastes like? Grass. And not the fun kind.

Yea, but the best part of the training? My running partner. She's an accomplished runner, having participated recently in an adventure race (sort of a cooler triathlon - running, biking, kayaking - except with a team), she's cute and she's a Swedish masseuse who's actually Swedish. To answer your questions: No, yes and hell yea. We get to go running and biking along the banks of the Mississippi River. That just blows my mind. By car, eh, maybe 10-15 minutes to the longest river this side of, well, never mind...

I guess that's it for now, but if anything happens that's worth mentioning, I'll bring it up again.

See? This is why...

2007-05-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

Gorilla Sparks Panic, Injures Four People

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (May 18) - A 400-pound gorilla escaped from his enclosure and ran amok in a Rotterdam zoo Friday, biting one woman, dragging her around, and causing panic among dozens of visitors before he was finally subdued, officials and a witness said.

Hell freaking yea! Wait, there's more...

"He got over the moat, which in itself is remarkable, because gorillas can't swim," Dorrestijn said. "He got onto a path for visitors and started running and went at full speed through tables and diners at the Oranje restaurant."

Holy crap is that great! Some snooty broad sitting at the table ordering, "Yes, I'll have the Roast Duck with a side of GUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
It's not over yet!

People tried to hide inside the restaurant and were trying to bar the door, but fled as the gorilla approached, De Jonge said. Bokito then punched through the glass door and ran inside.
Picture that. The gorilla finds the door locked, so he punches the friggin' thing and (hopefully) reaches through, unlocks it and runs right into the place. That's one smart ape.

Don't forget, this is Amsterdam. How many stoners just sat there smoking J's and turned to their neighbor to ask, "Yo, did a gorilla just run through here?"

So to recap, this gorilla broke out of his pen, SWAM ACROSS A MOAT, barrelled through a restaurant, punched out a window to break into a bar then proceeded to cap off his day by biting a woman's arm and dragging her around. Oh yea, he's 400 pounds.

What happens with a 700lb gorilla? Does he rape the woman after destroying the zoo with the Fighter Plane he built out of feces? This is why they shouldn't be allowed to play in the NFL.

BLOGGING BETRAYAL

2007-05-17T23:35:00.000-07:00

I’ve fallen into that proverbial trap. I vowed long ago that I’d still try to put up posts during the season, knowing that I’d still be busy. I’ve failed miserably. It pains to see that nobody put one up on threedrunk during May, so I figured I’d be the first.

There are some things I need to comment on. First, the WV Power are playing well and that has taken up most of my time. Following these guys all over the South Atlantic League is a busy job. Its good though. This is a great team and I’ve enjoyed following them so far. If you get a chance. Go to http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/multimedia/audio.jsp and find the WV Power, click on WSWW and you’ll get to listen to my games.

It’s a little late to comment on the draft, but I’ll throw my two cent in here. My Packers did OK, but certainly not great. I like Harrell, he’ll be a solid D-Tackle who can help that defense out right away, as long as his bicep stays attached. They failed miserably to get Randy Moss, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s the story of their draft. Two things went wrong, #1 was Moss, and #2, they didn’t get Marshawn Lynch, the guy they wanted desperately.

They had the chance to get Moss, but Ted Thompson decided to lower his bid, so the Moss camp, and the Raiders said the hell with it, and traded him to the Patriots instead. Moss and Favre have a good relationship, and they would have worked out very well. As wide open as that division is right now, a guy like Moss could have made a HUGE impact. They had the chance to land him, and they blew it.

As for the Browns, I’m glad for the Browns that they picked Joe Thomas, its about friggin’ time they picked an offensive tackle with their first pick. Thomas will be a top five tackle for a long time. That offensive line is at least formidable now. McKinney, Bentley, Thomas, Steinbach, and then either Tucker or Schaeffer at right tackle, that’s not a five man front. They at least have a chance to win the war in the trenches now.

I’ve never been a fan of Brady Quinn. I don’t think he’ll be a great pro quarterback, but he’s a decent value pick in the middle of the first round. My question on that pick is this….this guy projects to be solid, not special. So why do you give up a high second round pick and your first rounder next year for a solid, not special player? I’ll stop there.

The Browns altogether displayed some urgency, and at least for the fans of Cleveland, you have reasons to be excited going into the season.

Other things I’d like to comment on……..minor league baseball. This is my fifth year doing this, and I really wish that buck nights or Thirsty Thursdays were around when I was growing up.

Its an incredible value. Baseball in its purest form where you can get close to the action and enjoy it at an unbelievable price. A dollar to get in, a dollar to drink, a dollar for hot dogs, its an incredible value.

This is a feeble attempt at trying to get back into blogging, but hey, it’s a start. Check out my other blog at www.blogginwithbull.blogspot.com I’ll have some posts on the road trips on there.

A Night At The Ballpark

2007-04-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

A couple thoughts on last night's Indians/Orioles game, my first of the young season.

For those who didn't watch it, the top half of the third inning ended with Miguela Tejada being doubled off first base following an outstanding diving catch by Grady Sizemore. Nick Markakis was on third base during the at bat, tagged up and crossed the plate before the throw was received at first base. There's no doubt that Markakis made it home in time, but, as I saw with my own eyes, the home plate umpire did not signal that the run would count, rather, he did quite the opposite.

In a case like this, the signal for the run scoring is something along the lines of a basketball ref signalling a made basket following a foul - he points at the plate the show the run counts. Last night, ump Marvin (Hirsch) Hudson crossed and uncrossed his arms in front of him a couple of times - like making the "safe" sign over and over, this is what reports indicate when saying "He waved off the run". I'm willing to concede that he may have simply confused himself, though it's possible he didn't have the rule correct. The run wasn't put up on the scoreboard until innings later and fans at the park got no explanation for the added run for at least a full inning after that. Most probably hadn't even realized it happened.

When the PA announcer finally did express what was happening, he introduced it as such, "...due to baseball's Rule 2..." Rule 2? What the hell is Rule 1? It wasn't even Rule 2.01(b), no, just "Rule 2".

Correctly so, Eric Wedge announced he was playing the rest of the game under protest, shocking me that he understood that if he hadn't made that decision during the game, then he couldn't do it. Wedge's reasoning for protesting the game is where he lost me. I know it's the only thing that he could say, but for me to believe that he'd have managed the game differently depends upon me believing that he knows how to manage a game in the first place. Without having the "Diff" on the scoreboard at the Jake, how does he even know who's winning?

He and the reporters could blame the decision to put one run one the scoreboard 3 innings late for the loss, but that's neglecting that in the 8th and 9th innings the Tribe bullpen surrendered 2 out, 2 run doubles after having 2 strikes on the batters.

As for action off the field, the bleachers on a Saturday night are a great place to pick up girls. That is, if you're into high school girls. Plus just keep in mind that there's no separation between seats in the bleachers, so those who find conventional seats to restricting (see: too small for their obesity) make their way to the cheap seats. Wonderful.

Peyton Manning got the weapon he needed

2007-04-29T12:25:00.000-07:00

It's been said all along, if Peyton Manning only had one more stud, one more receiver, that he could be one of the NFL's all time greats. He got that man on Sunday.

Slipping to the 5th round as a result of having no discernible skills (though bearing a striking resemblence to one Matthew Edward Gullatta), Roy Hall was scooped up by the Colts in a move to tighten the OSU Buckeye-Indy Colt bond. Mike Doss a couple years ago, Quinn Pitcock, Anthony Gonzalez, and now Hall all drafted by the Colts. Really, outside of Ohio, had anyone heard of him before he rolled over Ted Ginn's leg? Hell of a career move there, for both guys actually.

Ginn couldn't stagger through routes for scouts, thus fooling the Dolphins into believing he's worth a Top 10 pick and Hall made a name for himself. These are the things they teach you at big time college programs. Championships, who needs them?

Draft: Day One Review

2007-04-29T09:19:00.000-07:00

And by Day One Review I mean a review of the Browns' Draft.

Joe Thomas (3)- Solid Left Tackle, that's all I can really say. He's not Orlando Pace, but who is. And I hope he's not Robert Gallery. Here's what bothers me about Big 10 left tackles, they don't face the type of edge rusher that they will face in the Pros. I will say that he only gave up one sack his senior year. And that sack came against the Powerhouse Bowling Green State University Falcons.

All in all this is a safe choice that immediately helps the team, and addresses a need that hasn't been addressed in the first three rounds of the draft since 1979.

Brady Quinn (22)- Here is a hot button topic. Quinn's precipitous fall from top five selection to the end of the first round played out dramatically on ESPN (until the commish ranked him out of the green room). A lot of people love this move a lot hate it. What in essence they gave up was next year's First Round pick to move up from the second round.

That's a lot to give up, especially when it might be a top five pick. Here's why I don't think its that big of a deal. If they Browns are going to pick in the top five next year they had another atrocious year this year. And Charlie Frye sure isn't the answer at QB. So they would most likely be looking at drafting a QB. By making this trade they give the QB a year jump on development and they save a ton a cap space by picking at 22 and not in the top 5.

I'm not worried that 21 other teams passed on him. Most of the teams that passed had more pressing needs than taking a QB. In picks from 10-22 only one offensive player was taken (Marshawn Lynch to the Bills) In fact the only team that really passed on Quinn after the Browns at #3 was the Miami Dolphins at #9. There's a reason the Dolphins haven't won since 1973. And has anyone seen the list of QB's that have started since Dan Marino retired, its about 12 deep and includes such stalwarts as Cleo Lemon and Joey Harrington. So lets not be surprised that the Dolphins made a mistake in passing up a potential franchise QB for a glorified kick returner.

Alright lets tackle whether or not Brady is going to be a good QB. Quinn is a four year starter at Notre Dame, the last two under coach Charlie Weiss. His numbers in those last two years are better than anyone else in this draft. Near 62% completion percentage, if that's average accuracy then that's fine. I'll take it over the below accuracy of Charlie Frye and Derrick Anderson. He has an above average arm, maybe the second or third best in this draft and he can make all of the throws. He physically has what it takes to be a top notch NFL QB.

Mentally, he makes good decisions (only 14 interceptions the last two years), and played under the biggest spotlight in college football. There are few positions in the NFL that are under more scrutiny than Quarterback at Notre Dame. He does however hesitate to make throws, which is a source of most of his inaccuracy. This is a timing issue and is not the most difficult thing to work out.

The biggest knock on Quinn is his performance in big games. Sure he never beat USC or won a bowl game, but he beat Michigan (wait who doesn't beat Michigan these days) and was an uncalled Reggie Bush penalty from beating USC two years ago. Lets be honest there wasn't a ton of talent on these Notre Dame teams. I've been hearing for the last couple of years how "overrated" ND was. Well you can't have it both ways, either they were a good team and didn't perform in big games or Quinn was the only real talent on a team that got out manned in every big game they played in. Judging by the amount Domers taken on the first day I'll go with the latter. If the biggest knock on a guy is that he didn't win big games in college I'm alright with that. Peyton Manning didn't win big games in college and he turned out alright.

Finally, I'll let the good folks at Football Outsiders (who do wonderful sabrmetric type stuff with football) tackle the QB depth in this Draft. According to David Lewin at FO, the best indicators of NFL success among college stats are games started and completion percentage. Here's what he had to say about Quinn:

In my opinion, Quinn’s college stats match up pretty well with his scouting profile. He completed 58.0 percent of his passes in college and started 46 games. This projects Quinn as a good pro quarterback, but not a great one. Here is the complete list of players drafted in first two rounds over the past ten years who started at least 35 games and completed at least 57 percent of their passes: Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb, Daunte Culpepper, Chad Pennington, Drew Brees, Carson Palmer, Byron Leftwich, Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Jason Campbell, Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler.
Are there any bad players on that list? The worst according to my numbers is Eli Manning, and he’s been decent (maybe not up to expectations, but decent). I would be happy to spend a top ten pick on most of those players.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/2007/04/17/ramblings/nfl-draft/5082/

Eric Wright (53)- First Round talent with a bunch of baggage that caused him to transfer from USC to UNLV. Kept his nose clean for two years while in Vegas. To me that deserves a second chance.

Indians' fans have "character issues"

2007-04-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

"When you're a kid, they're baseball cards. When you're an adult, they're just pictures of other men."

-Warren Krapf

Is anyone else impressed by Grady's Ladies? Sizemore's fan club is setting the bar pretty high for would-be groupies. How many pro athletes have so many followers openly willing to go to bed with the player? Scariest part - the number of young, sometimes really young, girls proclaiming their love and adoration of the guy. Next time someone's up in arms about men sleeping with a number of women, just point to how many women are willing to do the deed. It's a two way street.

If I weren't using the last existing dial-up internet connection, I'd have all kinds of pictures up here of Grady's Ladies. The best I can do is point you to The Grady's Ladies Sisterhood. Look, the guy's a hell of a player, one of the best in the game today, but the legions of women openly begging to whore it up for this guy freak me out. Again, it's not so much the legal aged drunks, but the underage girls looking for the next heartthrob. Is Tiger Beat still in circulation?

Ushering in an era of bad puns

2007-04-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

The future is not bright, Clevelanders. Besides TheBron, the city's most marketable pro athletes are Grady & Brady. The Indians should prohibit cross promotions with other teams just to make sure their star isn't subjected to the mocking that Quinn's going to get. I've never understood Marketing as a major in college, I feel like just acknowledging that the Grady/Brady connection exists earns me course credit.

Laura Quinn embarassed, changes name

2007-04-28T20:57:00.000-07:00

I fell asleep one pick before it happened, thankfully. If I'd been awake for this, we'd be looking at buying a new TV. After making a brilliant selection with their first choice, Joe Thomas, the Browns saw Brady Quinn and figured, "Aww, look how sad he is. Hey Romeo, we need help at a lot of positions, but is it cool if we screw the team and give up a 1st and a 2nd round pick for a guy 21 teams already passed on? Seriously, he wasn't good enough for us take when it was our turn, but look, he's really sad."

Treeeemendous. Many fans wanted him, making the argument that "He'd be the face of the franchise that we've been waiting for." I'm sorry, we've had a team for the last 8 years, you've had the opportunity make any of the players passing through town the "face of the franchise". So much for no one player being bigger than the team. And how is this guy the face of the franchise? He's not even the face of his family.

"He fits the mold of the person you want representing your team." Whoa boy, let's take a look at this mold. Average accuracy, average arm, easily rattled, falters in big games, proven winner on NO level. Not exactly an impressive skill set. What has this guy done to justify the hype he's gotten? May as well check out his "intangibles". Uh, he's white. And religious. And possibly gay. Looks like JP Losman. Oh wait, he played for Charlie Weis. So we're using the argument that because he played for a good coach, then he must be a good player? That's all well and good until the numbers and game film prove differently. If Weis couldn't win a big game with this guy in college, how are the Browns going to win with him? He's "groomed for the NFL". So he's a brainless dolt who has been trained for this? Great, wouldn't want a dynamic individual who could think on his own. Shoot, I'm being a spoilsport, he's the "face of the franchise" (I'm going to use that term in everyday situations, and it's not necessarily a compliment). This is one hell of a long, incoherent paragraph but I'll sum it up by guessing this guy isn't going to be very popular with non-Caucasians.

Wait til this tall drink of water holds out. I know a lot of Browns fans have already jumped on the Brady Quinn bandwagon, but he's still far behind Bobby and Buckner on my favorite "Quinn" list. If he ever dares argue, "I'm a Top 5 talent, everyone said so. I deserve Top 5 money," the Browns had better laugh in his friggin face. "Top 5, huh? Then why did we have to save your ass from falling like a bridesmaid's dressing on wedding night? 21 teams didn't want you. Hell, even the Dolphins took Ted Ginn and not you. Piss off."

I'd bet anything that someone on the team jacks this guy in the mouth before the first game of the season. Best odds are it being Joe Thomas. Wait til Quinn sees how much less he'll get paid and lets it slip one day at practice that he thinks he's better than Thomas. The Bass Master will put him in his place.

If I understand this correctly, the Browns used three 1st rounds picks, one 2nd rounder, a 3rd and a 6th and got 3 players out of it. 6 picks to take 3 players. Unbelievable.

We're back

2007-04-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

Finally, day one of the draft is over. For the past 3 months, we've had to put up with all the speculation on which team would take who, blah, blah, blah. I'm about take an unpopular stance on the whole pre-draft hype; I don't like it. If someone wants to do one or two columns or shows about possible draftees and team needs, etc., then fine. But for reporters, columnists and broadcasters to repeatedly guess as to who's going where, a player's "ceiling" and all that bull - it's a lack of creativity. Radio show after radio show, day after day, it's all speculation by hosts, then we get the callers, "We need to take Brady Quinn/Adrian Peterson/Calvin Johnson." Just stop with all this!

Tony Grossi of the The Plain Dealer has column where readers write in with "questions". Now instead of asking about relevant information like (and I'm about to paraphrase Chris Mortenson), "How do you feel the departure of 49'ers assistant Norv Turner will impede the progress of QB Alex Smith?", the letters the past 2 weeks have been about readers finding someone to agree with them. "...I think the Browns should draft Adrian Peterson...What do you think?" or "How can they not take Brady Quinn... Am I right?" Tony Grossi gets paid for turning in these columns, what a joke.

This will be the first in a series of posts tonight, probably. I've been extremely busy and am finally free to jump back online after a long hiatus. If anyone actually reads this, sorry, we'll get better.

"We"? Damn right!

2007-04-09T22:25:00.000-07:00

I gave Mr. Bull a heads up that I was going to be commenting on this, so don't think I'm attacking him, we simply disagree on this and being drunk in a basement is the best way to debate sports, isn't it?
In his Opening Day post, the man said:

"Florida has no shot, it wont even be close, nobody can beat "us"." In basketball, I really dont give a shit. That last comment makes me laugh. "Us", wait a sec, how many fucking tackles did you make?? How many yards did YOU rush for?? "Us" We"??? I dont fucking think so. You arent a part of the team, so dont refer to your favorite team as "we" its retarded.

I understand this argument completely; fans don't take the field, nor does the outcome directly depend upon the performance of supporters. Now were it that simple, yea, I'd agree - but it's not, and I don't.

For the ease of my argument, since I'm lazy, just play along and pretend I'm responding to a professional athlete who has made these points, since some have done so in the past.

How many tackles did I make? How many yards did I rush for? That's the only way for me to be a part of this team? Really? All right then, I've got some questions for you, big shot...

- How loyal are you to your team? You're going to be back when your contract runs up, right? You say that you love playing in front of these fans, well prove it. Oh, that's right, you're going after the money, the biggest offer you can get. What happened to you being a part of your team? You sir have no team, you are a mercenary.

- Who am I going to root for when you leave? Oh yea, the next guy! Get it through your head, doesn't matter who is wearing that jersey, the fans want the team to succeed. Christ, it could be a 700lb gorilla and he'd be playing in front of a raucous sell out crowd.

- When was the last time you sat outside for three hours in the dead of winter to support a team? You think that's easy? Oh, it's cold down on the field? TRY PAYING 50 DOLLARS AND SITTING 500 FEET UP IN THE WIND!!! There's no place to go to get warm. Want to use the pisser? Get ready to stand in line for twenty minutes!

- How do you support the team? You just get on the field and perform and think that's it I bet. Sir, WE are the people who defend you guys to the death even though you probably don't deserve it. We get in fights, kicked out of bars, get tattoos, decorate our homes/cars/bodies, and hell, even name children after you just because we love the teams we cheer for.

- Who is paying you? Me! Think I don't factor into this equation? Would all professional athletes be playing these games if not for people like me paying them? Not a chance. This is a symbiotic relationship. By the way, you need me more than I need you.

- How long are you going to care about this team? Sure, you may have fond memories of playing for certain teams, but you'll move on. Not fans. Except for the bandwagon fans, we're in it for the long haul. We'll move around, put up with horrible owners & terrible decisions, heartbreaking losses, personnel changes and a lot more but we'll keep coming back. Why? Because WE care. This is more the fans' team than yours.

So to recap, my career stats are pretty empty, but so is your heart.

This is pretty incoherent, but give me a break, I've driven nearly 1800 miles in the past couple days and am kind of out of it. I'll edit this when I've got time.

Opening Day

2007-04-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

In the past, I've been known as an extreme critic of the game of baseball. For years in college I followed college hoops and had the opportunity to talk to coaches, call games, and take in the atmosphere. For years, I thought college basketball was great.

If you would have told me that Opening Day in the MLB would mean more to me than the National Championship game five years ago, I would have told you that you were nuts. However, the former was the case this week.

I've completely lost interest in college basketball. I watched absolutley none of the games on final four weekend, and I watched maybe thirty seconds of the National Championship game. Worse yet, I really didnt care.

To be honest, if I had not been at work during the game, I may have watched VERY little more, but not much. I have simply lost interest in the game.

Opening Day this year, meant a lot more. There is something about opening day that cannot be explained. It goes beyond the ladies and their spring wardrobes being brought out for the first time.

It goes beyond the smell of the ballpark dogs, the incoherent conversation you have with one of the local legends at the park who has built their legacy on their inebriated reputation. The sense of spring is always pleasant when a great game comes with it.

Opening day is a gateway to the summer time. Longer nights, great weather, great times. Dont get me wrong, I havent had a life outside of baseball to enjoy anything outside the sport in five years, but I still understand what opening day means.

And to me, it means a lot more than the college basketball season, which I no longer have any interest in. I wanted to see Ohio State lose to Florida in football. Mainly because so many stupid ass Ohio State fans kept saying "Florida has no shot, it wont even be close, nobody can beat "us"." In basketball, I really dont give a shit.

That last comment makes me laugh. "Us", wait a sec, how many fucking tackles did you make?? How many yards did YOU rush for?? "Us" We"??? I dont fucking think so. You arent a part of the team, so dont refer to your favorite team as "we" its retarded.

Opening Day for the WV Power is only a day away, I cannot wait.

You are the Yankees

2007-04-02T22:27:00.000-07:00

So, remember when I said I'd be wearing my Michigan or BG attire during tonight's game? I lied. My dad went out and bought us both Florida shirts, hell yea! Sure, we took a little ribbing at the bar, but not what we would have put up with were the Buckeyes actually better than the Gators. The most annoying guy was the 60-70 year old guy bitching, "What is that? What is that?" That sir, is the shirt of the team that you've been unable to beat in the only games that matter. That's what that is.

Love how fans of teams (as much as I'd love to single out OSU supporters, I'm not that naive) will find any excuse for their team sucking up the joint. Caught parts of the game in multiple places with different crowds and the excuses ranged from "We're a football school" to "Their guys caught fire from outside and ours didn't". Well, good to see that the Buckeyes still can't admit that the better team won. It's that simple.

I firmly believe that Thad Matta's mindset was, "Ok, we've got Greg Oden, and while none of their guys can take him one-on-one, they're going to exploit our small lineup and pound the ball inside, trying to draw fouls on Oden." Well, Billy Donovan pretty much said, "Yea? Keep thinking that, as a whole, we've got the best interior players in the nation, buuuuut, we'll stick with the outside game tonight." The Bucks weren't prepared for anything but what they'd planned for and couldn't/refused to adapt.

How many times did I hear that the Buckeyes "dominated" the game? Too many. Was I watching the same game? Looked to me like Florida was passively letting Oden get his numbers and trading OSU's 2 point buckets for their own 3's. Thankfully the shots were falling, but do you doubt that there were backup plans in place in case this wasn't working?

My buddy said, "OSU killed the Gators in the first five minutes of the game." Too bad they play 40 minutes. The only score that matters is after the final gun; why not draw OSU into a comfort zone, see what they're going to give and exploit it? Also, while you were "killing them", your lead maxed out at 5. Massacre, huh?

Gee, you're the biggest school in the country and you've got the largest sports budget... Think you could win one championship in 5 years in a major sport? (Yea, I already know you'll come back with, "It's more recent than Michigan." To which I say, "Not only is Mich not my favorite school, but unlike most of your fans, I don't need championships to support my teams. I'll stick with them even when they don't win.")

This takes us back to the headline. You are the Yankees. Spend money, win regular season games - but nothing that matters. Everyone hates you, but you believe you're the trendsetters, the greatest creation since the doorbell (according to Sonic). Think about that and tell me why you're proud of your team.

Quick Thoughts on the National Title Game

2007-04-02T21:09:00.000-07:00

1. Joakim Noah is a stiff. That's it, he's not even the poor man's Anderson Varejao. He's more like a homeless Scott Pollard. Way to show up for a national title game and score 8 points on 1-3 shooting and have 4 fouls. Yet he's still on the front page of ESPN.com. Go figure.

2. I think Greg Oden is ready for the NBA, or at the very least as ready as anyone else in the country. Here's his line; 25 points on 10 of 15, 12 reb. and four blocks. All of this while being guarded by three different players who are all likely top 15 picks in the draft. Not only did he outplay each of Florida's big men he dominated them on both sides of the court. If he didn't have to play one on five for 40 minutes it probably would have been even better.

3. This game illustrates everything that is wrong with college basketball. College basketball has turned into a glorified 3 point contest. That's what this game was, that's the difference in the game. Why not just roll out the racks and have each team pick five guys and we'll see who can make the most threes.

College basketball has to do one of two things; get rid of the line or move it back to NBA range. People wonder why there are no great big men in the game anymore. This is why. Its a three point contest. Hell the best player in the country was 6'11'' and spent most of his time shooting threes. Move the line back bring some skill back, open up the middle, spread the floor and then you might have a test of who the best teams are. And maybe a product people care about for more than a month out of every year.

Killing time on a Saturday night

2007-03-31T20:36:00.000-07:00

My cute female friend is in bed already and I've got a ton to do, so I'm staying in tonight. At least it'll give you guys (are there girls that read this?) something to read when you come home drunk later. It's not all sports, but last I checked, there's no rules on this blog, it's like an anarchy with integrity. (Just so you know, I've tried to go back a couple times to fix the spacing problems in this but can't figure it out, sorry)

- I was in St. Louis earlier this week for work, and had to take a shuttle from the airport to my hotel. I was in a pretty pissy mood as I'd had a gun pulled on me the previous day at work here in Pittsburgh. Whatever, on the shuttle with me was just one family - mom, dad, 3 sons none of which older than 15. Well, son #2 asks the parents, "What does San Diego mean?" I laughed out loud, it took everything I had not to turn and inform them that the correct answer is "A whale's vagina".
Dad, in all his wisdom, tells his boys that it translates to "Saint James". San Diego=Saint James? Ok... Bet he'd translate his wife's contempt for him into undying love, though I'd guess she's plowing her way through their neighborhood and will take him for everything he's worth in 2 years.

- Getting a gun pulled on me at work? Not fun. I'm moving to Minnesota. At least I'll be able to give an untapped region's viewpoint on all things sport and tundra - Hey Berman, tundra is frozen, stop calling it "The Frozen Tundra", that's like saying "The drunk wino" or "Shitty mainstream rap" - being frozen is part of what makes it tundra. Expect some Aurora Borealis posts this summer.

- I'm convinced tweezers were invented for one of three purposes:
1) Removing splinters
2) Cleaning toenails
3) Roach clips
The lesson being, don't ask to borrow my tweezers.

- I've sent this link to some people already, but for those who haven't seen it, this is one of the greatest skits Will Ferrell ever did:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kShJAEODWMc

- My sis is getting married at the end of April and the DJ doesn't really understand that my family isn't gonna put up with his ideas for music, so they've asked me to put together a lot of music for the reception. Good call. The only relevant question appears to be, will "I can't drive 55" be on that playlist? You know it.
Expect this trend to continue - amateurs putting together playlists for occasions like weddings, etc. As erm can probably testify to, DJs aren't cheap. Why not gather all the music you want to hear, arrange it into playlists, throw it onto an iPod and go to town? There's no reason to pay DJs anymore for this. Hell, if my sister, her man and I can throw together 4-5 hours of wedding reception music, who couldn't? Put this on the list of things I'd do if I were a smart man, along with improving tattoo removal technology (not for me, but for the dumb asses that get some arbitrary ink done), wait, I'm not giving you anymore of my ideas. Come up with your own.

- We've got a new entrant in the "Best Drunk Food" category, joining Pagliai's ((419) 352-7571) stuffed chicken & cheese breadsticks, Taco Bell's Nacho Cheese chalupas and Trader Joe's fresh salsas: D's "Big Ben dog". D's is the hotdog/beer joint I live above. The Big Ben is a dog with nacho cheese, fries & coleslaw. Sub in bacon for the slaw and goodnight!

- Bill Simmons is amazing. He's Gandhi. Gandhi, Mitch Hedberg and MLK Jr. rolled into one. This guy tirelessly takes on all critics and asks nothing in return. Oh, you feel like you've made a well thought out, constructive, unassuming argument to a point of his? Think again.

"Um, I was trying to be funny … I just forgot that we live in a world where you can't joke about anything. This nation is tighter than Meg Ryan's face right now. Loosen up. It's not a crime to joke about the fact that last year's college hoops season sucked so much that the best two players were white. See, basketball has been a predominantly black sport for about 40 years now, a blessing because the game evolved in a vertical direction and became infinitely more entertaining than the product from the late '50s. If you wrote down the best NBA players from the last three decades, you'd probably notice that all of them were black except for Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Steve Nash, Chris Mullin, Dirk Nowitzki and John Stockton.

Now, if last year's best college players were on the level of Bird, Nash and Stockton, it would be one thing. But J.J. Redick and Adam Morrison both flamed out in the tournament and look like potential busts as pros. Hence, my joke in yesterday's blog. For anyone who was offended, I'm sorry … not for the joke, but for the bug up your ass. "

So there. Not only does he somehow find a way to be the last vestige of humor in an unfunny world, he has no problem attacking celebrities' insecurities to prove his abilities. Never mind that the reader's point appeared to be that race doesn't dictate talent or worth, he informs us that only 6 white players in the last 30 years have mattered. So all the other white who have played were pretty bad, huh? But wait, later in the column while discussing the league's current talent level, he says:

"Jemele (Hill) argued that Kobe's current competition is tougher than the teams from 1991-93, which is just plain wrong. There's no comparison. The league sucks (emphasis his) right now."

Did the sport lose all its good players? No, the game has transitioned from a team game where players had defined roles into a me-first, run and gun contest. By no means should you take that as social commentary, but the game and its players' roles have changed. Thank god this world has Bill Simmons to stick up for the right to insult people who wish to dissent from the views of the all knowing sports scribes.

Oh Hell Yea

2007-03-31T20:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes, yes yes yes! It's going to happen, just as someone in the basement predicted! Florida - OSU Monday at 9. I can't wait! Unless Florida craps the bed, we're gonna see a repeat of the BCS championship game, minus Roy Hall taking out OSU's biggest threat, whoever that is. This is gonna be great. You can beat your ass I'll be watching it in Cleveland, wearing either BGSU or U of M colors.

Oh and yes, I picked Florida over OSU in my bracket, if it happens, I'll take the whole thing.

More on Greg Oden: Just watch these Florida guys play - they pass extremely well, they FIGHT for position, battle for rebounds, these guys want to win. When have you been able to say that about Oden? Sure, his team won, no thanks to him. He's gotta play the game of his life if they're going to beat Florida. Anyone know the spread on this game? I may never have to work again if OSU is favored...

He's like Yinka Dare without the court vision

2007-03-31T17:36:00.000-07:00

That's Greg Oden? No, not the headline, that referred to Desagana Diop (I forget who said it), but wow, Oden? This is the first time I've seen him in action all year; hell, the only highlight of his that I've seen was his pancake block that didn't get him tossed earlier in the tourney. Who in his right mind takes this guy first overall?

There is no way I take this guy #1, probably not even top 3! First person that says his wrist is still bothering him so he isn't 100% will never again be allowed to take part in any future debates relating to sports. Is Oden the only guy who is banged up? Have the rest of these guys not played 30+ games? Hell, he didn't even play the whole year! It's been said by everyone else that he lacks intensity, but humor me as I'm in shock that people forecast big things from this guy.

Give me one reason he should go first. Uh, he's black? Piss off, Simmons! Stop with the Ewing/Tim Duncan comparisons, he looks more like LeBron's father with narcolepsy. Unbelieveable, this guy is gonna save somebody's franchise? Baloney. He couldn't save 50 cents with a coupon.

Did the Buckeyes play better with Oden on the floor or the bench? Exactly. You can thank Dan Dakich anytime now for Ron Lewis...

I say three months until the first "Bowling Green" headline

2007-03-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

Trent Green? That's the answer to Cleveland's quarterback woes? Wonderful. What possible reason could the Browns have for trading for Trent Green, who will be 37 before the start of the season and is owed $24.1M over the next three years? Aw crap, no! He's obviously a short-term fix (at least it should be obvious) and with everyone realizing Eminem...errr Charlie Frye sucks, it looks to mean only one thing: Brady Fucking Quinn.

Really? You're going to do this to us? Brady Quinn? I'd rather have Bobby Quinn! This draft is top heavy in terms of talent, like the bar below my apartment, and we're going to take a frightened school boy #3 to run our team? Good plan, wouldn't want a backfield with Adrian Peterson and Jamal Lewis, now would we? This year, I've been telling everyone that anything could happen with the top three picks, so it's worthless trying to predict who is going where, but screw Brady Quinn! I'll take David Carr over the money Quinn would get at number 3, not to mention Trent Green's $7.2 this coming year.

Fine, I'll finally say nice about Troy Smith - given the completely theoretical options of:
A.) Signing David Carr for 2-3 years at a discount, drafting Peterson #3 and taking Troy Smith in the 3rd/4th (and just so there's no confusion on how I feel about Smith: Go Blue!), or
B.) Trading away picks for Green and his ridiculous salary, drafting Brady Quinn and giving him another 4-5 million a year...
....There's no doubt I go with A.

At least we'll get to see some doofus grab the #31 "Green" jersey out of their closet, cross out the numbers and draw a "10" on top of them, in a twist of what they'll consider to be irony. (I on the other hand will still wear mine as is, waiting 'til the day Willie Green makes headlines for his inevitable Rae Carruth impersonation)

2007-03-26T19:01:00.000-07:00

USC 87
Texas 68

That score is going to be the answer to a trivia question one day. The question: What was the final score of the last game Kevin Durant played in college?

And that's how it ends for Durant. In a loss, a blowout, for one of college basketball's most talented freshmen ever. It didn't end with a national title like Carmelo or Walton. But it did end. In the coming weeks or months Durant is going to announce that he is leaving the University of Texas to enter the NBA Draft. Sure there's a chance that he stays and there's also a chance that I may grow 10 inches while writing this.

This post isn't so much about Durant or Texas (or how they killed my bracket, *cough* Rick Barnes *cough* DJ Augustin) its about college freshmen. Durant and fellow super freshman Greg Oden are going to be one and done in the NCAA. Staying only so long as to meet the requirements of the NBA's age restrictions. There aren't a lot of people out there who feel that Durant or Oden would have ever stepped foot on a college campus if it wasn't for the NBA rules. Durant and Oden suffer from poor timing. Poor timing in that they weren't born two years earlier. Had they been they would have graduated high school before the NBA's rule took effect. Unfortunately for them and the Toronto Raptors they were born a year too late.

The nuts and bolts of the NBA rule is that it prevents American born players from entering the draft until they are 19 or one year has passed since their high school class has graduated. There is an entirely different rule for foreign born players, which is an entirely different story.

The rule (with minor exceptions) only prevents kids going from Prom to the Association. It says nothing about going to college or improving the lives of the student athlete. The NBA doesn't care what these kids do in that year. Go to college, go overseas, play AAU, it doesn't matter as long as you're not playing in the NBA. That's right folks the NBA doesn't give a damn about these kids. Don't let David Stern fool you, he doesn't care about protecting these kids. He only cares about protecting the NBA's interest.

What is the NBA's interest? Free Minor Leagues. What the NFL and NBA have with Major College athletics is a free feeder system. Let the colleges have these kids for at least a year, they can teach them and weed out the ones who aren't ready. This way pro-teams don't have to invest in training younger players and they don't have to risk passing up the next Kobe or Kevin Garnett.

I'm not going to get into the research that suggests that this may be illegal (Ermisch), or that these high school kids many times outperform college seniors once they get to the Association(McCann). Or the role race plays into this. Lets just say this issue is deep and divisive. Don't believe the lies the NBA is selling.

Hey if you got questions i got answers. Comments Bitches!

New stuff

2007-03-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

Ryan=MVP

He's basically carried this blog through the month of March.

Check out my other blog at www.blogginwithbull.blogspot.com.

I have begun my Prospect Pulse. I'm reviewing all of the finest prospects I've seen so far in my few years in the minor leagues. I'll try to put at least one prospect on there every day.

I have a few other random notes of interest.

The NFL Draft is rapidly approaching and a few things stand out.

First off, its all well and good that Calvin Johnson has great 40 times with someone else's shoes, a 40 in verticle, and good size at 6'3 or 6'4, 230+lbs. However, I"m not getting too excited about a receiver until I see him play an NFL game.

Think about all the first round flops at that position over the last few years. Johnson looks good now, but he didnt exactly set the world on fire at Georgia Tech. Granted, his quarterback was awful, but still, if he plays in a system that sucks in the NFL (ex: Oakland), it wont matter how great he is.

The Browns are thinking about both JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn with that third pick. First of all, Charlie Frye has never really had a chance. He ran for his life in that backfield last year and never had any time to throw. Personally, I dont think he's the answer, but he needs a realistic chance to prove me and everyone else wrong. He didnt have that chance last year in that sorry excuse for an offense.

Next up, if they are at that spot and both quarterbacks are available along with Joe Thomas, and they dont pick Joe Thomas, then this current Browns regime is just as stupid as the first two that came before it. You dont pass up a guy like Joe Thomas who can help IMMEDIATELY with Steinbach and the others.

Not to mention, picking Brady Quinn would be the dumbest thing that franchise could possibly do at this point. You thought he choked under pressure in big games, versus good defenses at Notre Dame?? Just wait til he plays in Cleveland with no offensive line and defenders in his face NON-STOP. He'll have more picks than completions.

I think he's garbage regardless, but if he goes to Cleveland he'll be a bigger flop than Tim Couch.

As for my favorite team, I'm VERY optimistic. They'll get Randy Moss eventually, and they'll draft either Marshawn Lynch in round one, or Kenny Irons in round two. That offense is going to be fun to watch next year. I think they will win the NFC North.

Angry, yet not drunken

2007-03-22T00:07:00.000-07:00

We're all waiting for the first drunken, angry post here, but let me assure you that while I'm assuredly ticked, I'm not nearly drunken enough. Still, get ready for disjointed thoughts in no order.

1. The response for updates on my bracket has been overwhelming, and to sum it up, let's just refer back to the original post:

-I only have 7 upsets in the whole thing. 7 in 63 games. This is why I don't do it for money.

Well, needless to say....(If it's needless to say, then why say anything?)

I still have a chance to pick all of the remaining winners. The way I see it, if two certain games in the Sweet 16 go my way, it's all mine. Maybe I should have done it for money.

2. If I could say "Fuck Major League Baseball" I would. But I can't. A couple years ago, someone told me that when you're pissed at someone, write them a letter telling them everything you'd want to say without repercussion, but don't send it. Well, I'm too lazy to do that, so I'll tell you instead.

In the interest of keeping it short and sweet, I'll limit it to one thing. This latest allegation that MLB's deal with DirecTV is slightly shady should be enough to show how little you matter in this whole thing. Regardless if On Demand has matched what MLB is looking for, the league is displaying a reprehensible attitude toward the issue in general. If, as they love to say, they're a business, then this "business" is distributing a soiled product through inadequate media.

"We cannot put the interests of what we believe are a relatively small minority of fans over what we believe are the best interests of the entire fan base as a whole," Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, said in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission.

Not only does your comment contradict itself, but your numbers (yea, thanks for not referencing them) don't fit the formula. According to ESPN.com,

"Extra Innings" had more than 500,000 television subscribers last year plus about 60 percent more on MLB.com, the sport's Web site. DirecTV has estimated only about 5,000 "Extra Innings" subscribers would lose access to it on television.

Yea, that's all well and good, but let me put it to you this way. In the last 3 years, I've lived in Cleveland, Boston and Pittsburgh and the fraction of people I've known to have On Demand is probably close to 1/3 of cable subscribers (DirecTV 1/50 at best?). That's a staggering number of people to personally be aware of and MLB is telling me that these "500,000" DirecTV subscribers represent "the entire fan base as a whole"? What, do I only hang around On Demand subscribers? Plus, if you're losing 1% of your customers off the bat, how are you replacing them? People with DirecTV automatically get "Extra Innings" now, right? No? You mean people still have to sign up and pay to get it? THEN WHY'D YOU DUMP YOUR CUSTOMERS IN THE FIRST PLACE? I'm now becoming much more angry than before, yet oddly less drunken.

3. The other night, I went to a movie with a lady from work, just as friends (uh, same reason Billy Zane and Ellen DeGeneres would go as friends) and holy crap was it awesome. Now, let me start off by saying that I haven't been to the movie theater since I saw A Beautiful Mind (Fahrenheit 9/11 doesn't count, it's not really a movie) so I wouldn't be kept abreast of revolutions in the movie theater industry, but wow, this place was seriously somewhere you'd take someone on a date.

It was a matinee on a Monday, but who cares. The two of us spent a total of 23 bucks on "V.I.P." seats which, in addition to the spacious (and empty) reclining leather seats from the best view, but also a coupon worth $3.50 off food. We'd already planned to eat there at the theater (a proposition which had me worried), but damn, was it worth it. The full bar and restaurant on the second floor above the lobby was tremendous and comfortable. Good food from a pretty full lunch/dinner menu was surprising, plus the lounge and cocktail areas blew my mind, even though the place was dead at 4:30 on a Monday. Is this kind of setup common? Seriously, the place didn't feel at all like a movie theater until I'd turn 90 degrees left and see the 30 foot tall coke bottle and popcorn tub reaching up from the concession stand below. By the way, it was a Loews Cinema - what the hell is a cinema?

Again, I have no idea how common this stuff is, but if I were the dating type, this would be way up the list of things to do.

4. Today at work, I'm told that I need to tone down the ripping on Pittsburgh so much, some people are "taking it the wrong way". Uh, there's pretty much only one way to take it, you're Pittsburgh. Name one redeeming quality about everyday life in Pittsburgh, it's harder than naming 3 songs by Kiss (and how many of you can come up with "Detroit Rock City" as #2?).

Don't think I don't know what it's like to have my hometown hated by outsiders. Now that's why I was originally angry.

A "Thorne" in Barry's Side

2007-03-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

This article http://www.callofthegame.com/bbs/index.php?showtopic=3447 written by one of the greatest play by play announcers of our generation, Mr. Gary Thorne provides some surprising insight from a public figure who openly criticizes Major League Baseball and the future Home Run King, Barry Bonds.

What is so shocking to me in this article is that Gary Thorne, a guy who is very exciting, very well liked amongst his peers and seems to be well respected by players and managers alike, goes out of his way to bury, well…Barry.

As fans we have the right to hate what Bonds has done with the cream and the clear and anything else that will never go un-noticed in the court of public opinion. Forget the fact that he’s one of the greatest players of this generation, he’s never going to be perceived as the likeable figure whom Major League Baseball wants to hold the title of Homerun King.

For that reason, Bud Selig and Hank Aaron have yet to decide if they’ll be in attendance when Bonds breaks that record this summer. That alone still speaks volumes of the accomplishment, just how sweet it will be for Bonds, and how bitter the rest of us will be when he breaks it.

It was easy to fall in love with Big Mac and Slammin’ Sammy back in the summer of 1998 when they brought baseball back, drawing it closer to the NFL at the top of Sports in American Enterprise. They were likeable guys, easy to identify with, seemed very open and at the time we thought they were clean.

Bonds likes to blame the media for everything. He doesn’t care that nobody likes him, and at 41, still limping after every fly ball hit his way, he’s hanging on just long enough so he can get that homerun record, and give the rest of us a middle finger salute, as he trots away with history.

This article by Gary Thorne, who I think is one of the best, clearly displays what we are all thinking and hoping. Yet Thorne, like the rest of us, knows that this moment is like that of the last meal for an inmate doing time on death row. You know the worst is coming, and as much as you try to ignore it, there is no denying that it’s on the way.

In this particular sport, there have been several reasons for discontent over the years, especially if you are a Royals fan, a Pirates fan, or a Colorado Rockies fan. At the beginning of each year, because of the way Spring Training is hyped, and perceived, you are fooled into believing that you have a chance.

And even though different teams are beginning to compete and win titles, there are some serious problems that are coming to the surface. This is a sport that is SAVED by tradition. A tradition that still lives a healthy life from year to year, but it no longer parties like a rockstar and gets up the next morning without feeling any effects.

The fact of the matter is this, as my basement buddy Ryan mentioned earlier, this sport is sliding. His problem finding a spot on an outdoor court on the first great day in a long time speaks volumes. Kids no longer go out of their way to head to baseball diamonds on the first day that feels like spring. When I was a kid that was the first thing we did. However, that certainly isn’t the case anymore.

What I’m trying to say is this. If we can’t enjoy Bonds breaking the homerun record this year, then I think the fans’ discontent goes beyond his alleged use of steroids, HGH, and their overall hatred for him.

This sport, the one I have earned a great deal of respect for, after working in it for the last five years, is in trouble. As I mentioned earlier, its no longer partying like a rock star, but at the same time, its not wearing a night gown, bracing itself with a walker that has an oxygen tank attached to it while it walks down the driveway every so steadily to get the mail every morning.

This sport has some life left, but it’s certainly moving in a direction it doesn’t want to go. Perhaps it’s at the stage now where the kids are grown up and in college, allowing it to purchase that Escalade or Bentley during the mid-life crisis with retirement at arms length.

Do this for me, instead of looking at this as the summer of discontent, try to enjoy the finer things about it. Realize that even though you hate Barry Bonds and think he’s a cheater, he’s going to break the Homerun Record and YOU will be able to tell the next generation what the baby boomers told all of you about Hank Aaron breaking the record 30 years ago.

If that’s not enough, understand that Alex Rodriguez has a VERY good chance at breaking the record in another 10 years. If ever there were a player who’s homerun numbers rival that of Hank Aaron’s, it’s A-Rod because of his consistency.

If that’s not enough because you perceive him to be the enemy since he makes too much money and can’t hit a lick in the post season, then why not get excited about a guy like Ryan Howard. A hard hitting left hander who is out to a tremendous start in his career. Not only a guy that hits homeruns, but a guy that hits tape-measure shots, much like McGwire back in his day.

If you don’t think its worth it to follow Howard because he’ll end up just like Cecil Fielder back in the late 80’s and early 90’s as a big guy who hit bombs for a few years then faded into oblivion, then I can’t help you, you’ve already made up your mind. Discontent can be dangerous, and contagious.

It has begun

2007-03-13T22:39:00.000-07:00

Anyone here seen Futurama? One of my top 4 tv shows of all time along with The Simpsons, Seinfeld and MST3K. Strange list when you look at it. Whatever.

[Leela just jumped into the river of Slurm to rescue Fry from drowning and surfaces with him. Bender surfaces with them whistling]
Leela: Bender, why did you jump in?
Bender: Everybody was doing it... I just wanted to be popular.

It's not a cartoon, it's animation. Mmm... sarcasm.

My random thoughts the NCAA tourney and my bracket (share yours):

-I only have 7 upsets in the whole thing. 7 in 63 games. This is why I don't do it for money.

-All 4 #1 seeds in the Final Four? Check.

-If you're naming each 16 team bracket after geographical regions, then why don't you put as many teams as possible in their appropriate region? OSU in the South and Florida in the Midwest? At least it could lead to a championship rematch and build a rivalry between major schools.

-In regards to game locations, how can Buffalo host games for the Midwest and the West? The West? UCLA has relative home games with two in Sacramento and two in San Jose. Wait, North Carolina has to play in Winston-Salem and Louisville in Lexington? Awesome.

-Texas Tech vs. Gonzaga. The General takes on the freedom hating hippies, the NCAA's way of saying, "Thanks for knocking out our big teams over the years. First we had you arrested for the shrooms and now this. Wait 'til we announce Ronny Turiaf was a polygimist."

-If Duke can take out VCU and Pitt, they'd probably play UCLA. Say what you will, but THE programs playing each other? Bet that'd get no hype.

-My biggest reach is probably Creighton over Nevada. I know they don't fit the upset mold, but both they and Gonzaga can't lose, can they?

-Notre Dame and Oregon could play each other in the second round. Worst aesthetic matchup possible. Possible jersey colors include Green, Blue, Yellow, Gold and White.

-Staying with uniform colors, Pittsburgh taking out Wright State and Duke could meet UCLA (Weber St., Indiana) in a confusing blue, yellow/gold and white blur.

-By the way, is everyone really picking Notre Dame over Winthrop? I'm not.

-North Carolina vs. Texas should be awesome. I've got UNC in the Final Four, remember.

Please let this happen

2007-03-13T22:02:00.000-07:00

So I just got done filling out my NCAA tourney bracket and can't wait to bore you with it. Now, I don't do NCAA tourney brackets for money, just for fun with the guys in my fantasy leagues. There are some intruiging possiblities in this year's tourment, but this is a real humdinger.

I've missed all the hype for this storyline, if there is any, but Florida vs. OSU in the final? Oh hell yea! Please, please, PLEASE let this happen! Urban Meyer will kick the shit out of them again! Don't ask me how, but it'll happen. I can't wait.

Marvin Miller would be pissed

2007-03-13T18:21:00.000-07:00

As much as it pains me to write this post, duty calls. What was once America's national pastime has indeed slipped to, at best, the third most popular sport in the country. Baseball is no longer the favorite of the masses, we know, but it finally hit me that it's no longer even number 2. Why do I feel this to be true?

Today in the 'burgh, the temperature reached nearly 70 degrees which brought everyone out of their houses (seriously, most of you should turn around and go right back in) to do things they couldn't do in months (such as shower...). Some guys from work and I had been planning on playing basketball today for almost a week, then when we saw the weather forecast, we knew we'd have a tough time getting on a court. For more than an hour we drove to all the courts we knew, only to come up completely unsuccessful in our quest.

We probably checked out 15+ courts and not a single one was open. Now, given the level of competition, we could have easily played our way on, but we didn't want to play like that all day. So, we saw all these courts full up of people, gave up and headed home. It was on the way back to my apartment that I realized I had seen hundreds of people playing basketball today, but how many did I see on the baseball diamonds at some of the parks? None.

This is a trend which has been dissected more and more over the past decade or two; why is baseball's popularity decreasing amongst the youth in this country? To stay sort of on point, I'm not going too far into this debate, but my favorite argument is that the space required for baseball is so large that today's urban populations simply don't have places to play, whereas a single basketball court is no larger than 94' by 50' and usually much less - plus one can play/practice basketball alone. Baseball's blight is a product of city living (and MANY other causes).

No, I'm not making such a sweeping generalization on the game's popularity based on one day in a crappy city, but basketball is most likely the favorite or second favorite sport of the majority of urban residents. This country has been making a transition to up pace music, sports, hell everything for a while now and baseball's length and short bursts of action have traditionally been turnoffs.

What follows is a rudimentary guess at the most popular sports in the country today:
1. Football
2. Basketball
3. Baseball
4. Soccer - I am not okay with this
5. Jogging - I think it's a soft "J", apparently you just run for an extended period of time - kind of like soccer, except you can substitute dogs and small children for the ball
6. Bicycling in any form
7. Weightlifting - if you want to call it a sport
8. Anything including a frisbee
9. Hockey - I'll let any other basement dwellers tackle this one if they want
10. Tennis
12. Golf

*Disqualified - NASCAR: not a sport

(Don't hate me for including jogging and weightlifting, but when working out is more exciting than one of your events, well, that's not good.

I for one don't expect the order of this list to remain constant over the next few years; football may well hold onto its number one spot, but basketball is making a push. The real challenge may possibly come from soccer. Hockey should eventually return to its former glory, if not better. Major League Baseball's future seems bleak compared to other professional sports (for some there's kind of a "been there, done that" quality, like pro wrestling), with its leaders doing nothing but hastening its decline. Golf somehow squeeked onto the list, nearly suffering the same fate as NASCAR/auto racing.

And to call back to erm's post about Marvin Miller, he's dead on that the HOF has neglected entrance to a man who entirely deserves to be in, probably more so than anyone on the outside (lone exception: Albert Belle).

Welcome, Jamal Lewis

2007-03-07T19:39:00.000-08:00

It was mentioned here earlier tonight that the Browns were looking at Jamal Lewis and now the team has signed him. I'm a little torn here, as he's blown up consistently against us in the past, even when he was struggling against everyone else. We're not going to reap the benefits of him rushing twice a year against an overwhelmed defense. I can't promise that I won't boo him out of revenge at least once, booing is still legal in Ohio, right? Also, as ESPN.com put it, "Lewis, the franchise's all-time leading rusher, broke away from the Ravens and agreed to a deal with the rival Cleveland Browns on Wednesday." It's difficult to say the beginning of that statement's wrong, but it sure ain't right.

Like erm, I also like Adrian Peterson, but have no man crush on him; I'd let him marry my sister, but that's about as far as it goes. I'd love to see the Browns take him #3. Get all the injury prone, but great when healthy running backs together and someones gotta be healthy, I love this theory. I tried it with my fantasy QBs this past year (Pennington, Brees & Roethlisberger) and it worked perfectly. Of course this'll work behind an unproven line. Now if only we had a quarterback.

Good to see that the team has finally given up on giving us the "character guys" crap to justify uninspiring signings and is becoming a bit more agressive with its acquisitions.

Perfect? How about marginally adequate?

2007-03-07T16:51:00.000-08:00

How perfect was Mr. Perfect? He cut promos with the best of them, how exhausted he always looked in long matches with his hair down was classic and swatting his chewed gum into the crowd was cool, but kind of disgusting when you think about it. His biggest accomplishments were being the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion, dubbing Shawn Michaels "The Heartbreak Kid" and beating Ric Flair in the memorable match where the loser had to leave the WWF.

Things weren't as perfect for the man behind the character, Curt Hennig, as shown by the causes behind his 2003 death; cocaine, steroids and painkillers were found in his bloodstream. 9 months earlier, Hennig had gotten in a drunken shoot match with Brock Lesnar while on a plane coming back from a Pay Per View in the UK., which resulted in Hennig being released by the WWF.

If you haven't seen the promo that showcased his athletic (& otherwise) prowess, you are missing out. Here's the link to the video with commentary by wrestlers, etc. followed by, for some reason, my thoughts on it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=g2_y_bh-p0Y

The vignette starts off with him showing his, uh, diving ability. Wow, look how high he got! And off a board! Imagine if he'd used a trampoline, he'd have hit the ceiling. Man, what an athlete. Perfect.

What the hell? Is that Wade Boggs? Yes, my friends, it is. Boggs, fresh from KFC, wants to show us "the perfect hitter." (Ha, I get it.) Holy crap, did he get ahold of that one! Wow, Mr. Perfect just hit a home run in BP with a softball! Looks like he could easily bat 2nd through 7th in most Sunday morning softball leagues. Perfect.

Wow, I never knew the NHL employed middle schoolers, but there's Mike Modano. Mr. Perfect plays goalie in his free time, I guess. Now, I could just easily say that's someone else playing goalie, with the mask and all, but I won't. I'm here to say that if that one shot had been a few inches to the left, it'd have been one hell of a cup check. Perfect!

Now let's all get drunk and play ping-pong. Some stoolie sets up Mr. Perfect with a lob only to have it launched back at his chest at a ferocious velocity. Really redefining the term "athlete" here, huh? Either the pink pants date the video or he's not just perfect, he's fabulous!

On to some basketball. Obviously it's just his shooting talents on display. The guy looks like he'd be great at a 3 point contest, but little else. The set shot isn't going to cut it in a game. Unfortunately there's only one shot here. Didn't reserve the gym long enough, did ya? Perfect.

After sinking a 40 foot putt, we're apparently off to West Virginia or Pittsburgh for some bowling. A 300 game? Now if you could walk into a bowling alley and roll a perfect game, I'd be impressed. That ridiculous sweat on your back gives away that you've been in that place for a while, doing a lot more than bowling 13 times. Thanks for dressing up, though. Looks like you were out at the clubs when someone came up with the bowling idea. Perfect.

Ah, football. Steve Jordan picks up where Mike Modano left off, brilliant commentary. There's a reason none of these guys have gotten into broadcasting after retirement. What? Modano's still playing? Now that's an athlete. Anyway, Jordan watches as Perfect pumps twice and lets one fly. He waits before taking off to catch his own pass. He must be fast, but we never see it. The camera cuts to four other angles before showing a lob pass fall into a jogging Mr. Perfect. Exaggerated head nod for emphasis andddd cut. Perfect.

Good, more basketball. And holy shit, is that Sgt. Slaughter in a sweater vest? Possibly the highlight of this promo. Perfect looks like he's been hitting the banquet circuit as of late. Way to have confidence in your shot, good thing you stayed in tip top shape, chubs. Yea, about that dunk, what the hell was that? That doesn't count!

Horseshoes, which he'd naturally be good at since Brock Lesnar informs us that, "...he's always got a horseshoe up his ass", darts, billiards, is there no end to his dominance? We haven't really tested the limits of his athleticism here, just so you know. Since, presumably, you didn't follow that link to the YouTube video, here it is again.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=g2_y_bh-p0Y

There's really not much of a point to this post besides the video link, so there.

Running into Obscurity

2007-03-07T15:41:00.000-08:00

How important is a great running back? More and more it doesn't seem to be that important. On second thought, its seems to have been historically overrated.

Lets take the maybe the five greatest running backs in history (in no order) Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, O.J. Simpson and for the sake of argument Emmitt Smith. That's a total of five titles between them. Not bad, but three belong to Smith and the Cowboys.

As and aside, I think Smith is wildly overrated. As he ran behind the greatest offensive line ever assembled and wasn't even the best running back of his generation (Sanders). But we'll throw him on here to keep from making the protracted argument of why he should not be here.

Take a look at those five names. How many carried their teams to a title, like the way a great quarterback or defense can? Maybe one. The Cowboys' titles in the 90's had more to do with the passing game and a great defense than it did Smith. Don't get me wrong there were surely games that Smith put those teams on his back but I wouldn't say he did it for long periods. Sanders and the Juice never sniffed a title and Payton won one on the backs of the greatest defense ever. Brown is the lone exception. Throughout his career he was the absolute star of great Browns' teams of the late 50's and 60's. And, in 1964 the Browns won their last title on his back.

Those are arguably the five greatest backs in the history of the game and only one carried his team to a title. Now look at it the other way. How many great, championship teams had really great running backs. There's a smattering of Hall of Famers, Franco Harris, Paul Hourning, Tony Dorsett, Marshall Faulk (when he gets in). But Harris and Hourning weren't all that good, Dorsett was but the Doomsday defense was better and Faulk was only a cog in the "Greatest Show on Turf".

There surely are good running backs who have won titles, but there are some not-so good ones. Maybe having a good running GAME is more important than a good running back. That's what won Denver two titles (I don't want to hear about Elway). Hell a running game may not be that important at all. Not to get all Moneyball on you, but there are statistics out there that suggest you have to throw the ball to set up the run and that rushing numbers for good teams are skewed because they are so often ahead and are running the ball to kill the clock.

I bring this up because the Browns may sign Jamal Lewis and pass on Adrian Peterson. Now, I think Peterson is going to be the next GREAT running in the league. I have a man crush on Peterson. But maybe this is a blessing for the Browns. Now they can focus on making the line better on both sides of the ball or drafting a QB.

A Man on the Outs

2007-03-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

The most important figure in Professional Baseball of the past 60 years is not in the Hall of Fame.

On February 28th the Veterans Committee elected no new members to the Hall of Fame. Not Ron Santo, not Jim Katt, and not Marvin Miller. But what is so important about Marvin Miller? I think, without exception, he is the most influential person in baseball of the last half century.

Most casual baseball fans probably have no idea who Marvin Miller is, honestly most hardcore fans probably only have cursory knowledge of the man. There is even fans (especially older ones) who have utter disdain for the man.

To put Miller's importance in perspective; Sports Illustrated named the 40 Most Influential People in Sports for the magazine's fortieth anniversary. This was in 1994 and it covered the 40 years of the magazine's existence.

Now there hasn't been a host of influential baseball people over the last 12 plus years to compete with Miller. So its pretty safe to assume that Miller's importance hasn't been overshadowed in the intervening years. SI ranks Miller Sixth of their list. Ahead of such luminaries like Mark McCormick, Bird and Magic, and Pete Rozzelle. Here's what SI's Tom Verducci said about Miller:

Miller, more than anyone else in the past 40 years, changed baseball's very
structure, and he did so with logic of someone not hidebound by the mythology and
blind patriotism of the game.

His first major act was to raise baseball's minimum salary from $6000 to $10,000. This was in 1968, in 1947 the minimum salary was $5,000. This is small potatoes compared to Miller's involvement with the reserve clause.

The reserve clause allowed clubs to control players even after their contracts expired. Curt Flood challenged the reserve clause when the Cardinals traded him after his contract expired. Flood lost his case in front of the Supreme Court, but it would be Miller leading Dave McNally and Andy Messersmith into arbitration that would destroy the reserve clause. This in effect ushered in the ear of player movement and free agency.

A lot of fans have a problem with Curt Flood and free agency. They remember the times when players had to work jobs in the off season and showed "loyalty" to the home town team. But many don't realize what the reserve clause meant to the players. How would you like it if your employer transferred you to another location when your contract expired, and you had to go. People would be livid. Outraged.

Marvin Miller turned the MLBPA into the strongest Union in professional sports. Unions in the NFL, NBA and especially the NHL (don't get me started on how bad this Union's leadership is) don't stand a chance in the face of their respective leagues. But it was Marvin Miller who ushered in a change for players in all of these leagues and showed them how to protect themselves and to maximize their earning potential.

So why isn't Marvin Miller in the Hall of Fame? I know that the Baseball Hall of Fame is notoriously hard to get into but it shouldn't be for Miller. The doors should have opened to him the moment he was eligible. If I had to guess, I would say there is animosity towards Miller among the writers. I mean baseball writers are, on at least some level, fans of the game. Fans resent free agency and the money the players make. And the writers are the type of people who recognize that it was Marvin Miller who stirred this revolution in sport. And they hate him for it.

Miller has garnered more support as of late probably because the committee expanded to include all living hall members. He fell 10 votes short this year. But here's the problem the veteran's committee only votes on non-players every four years. Miller is 90 plus years old and there won't be another vote until 2011.

BOOOOOoooo Hall of Fame!

A legal response to a non-legal question

2007-02-26T17:44:00.000-08:00

RPK posted a query as to whether bloggers need "express written consent" before live-blogging. Short answer is, as with all things in the law, its not so clear. But it is a legal question and I am a lawyer, so I'll take a crack at it.

The question revolves around the nexus two areas of law, copyright law and First Amendment law. All professional sports leagues own the copyrights to the broadcast of their sporting event; be it radio, TV, Internet, or other medium not yet invented. This copyright includes, among other things the visual images and the sounds from the game. (This is why Sportscenter can't show highlights of a game until it is given clearance by the network that broadcast the game.) Leagues have the right to control the means and the method in which their games are rebroadcast.

However, the copyright does not include a recounting of the game. Unfortunately for the leagues, sporting events are considered news. I mean there is an entire section in the newspaper devoted to sports. And no one, not even the NFL can copyright the news. Well almost.

Where things get fuzzy for the live-blogger is the distinction between "hot-news" and "cold-news". Hot-news is news as it exists when it is first reported after it first occurs. Hot-News is protected under copyright law, as it is the way newspapers make their money. If a newspaper, or news organization couldn't protect their reporting when it was hot, no one would buy any one paper. The news would be the same all over the place. Everyone would be stealing stories, and no one would be doing reporting. There would be no incentive to cover the news when you could steal it from someone else.

Cold-news, is hot-news after some time has passed and it no longer has any economic value. Cold-news is not protected and is part of the public domain.

So how does all of this relate to the professional sports? Well live broadcasts are the leagues' hot-news. All the economic value of a game lies in that there is only one place to watch it, or a handful of places to hear it. So bloggers are screwed? No, not really. The line between hot-news and cold news is a fuzzy one at best. Live blogging isn't all that live when you consider all the delays and even the days that go by before someone reads it. Even so, the description of a single play loses almost all economic value soon after the play is over. (Or at least that's what i would tell the court)

Even outside the realm of copyright law, bloggers can find safe haven in the First Amendment. Copyright law always takes a back seat to the First Amendment. The only question that needs to be answered where copyright material meets the first amendment, is whether the blogger has contributed enough "transformative elements" to bring the work under the protection of the
First amendment.

Put in the context of this question, did Will Leitch (Deadspin editor and CBS glogger?) bring enough of himself to the live-blog to protect the material under the First Amendment. Sure he did. No one really reads a live blog to get a play by play recap, they read it for the commentary. Which isn't copyrighted by the league.

So there, take solace bloggers. You have at least a colorable claim that what you are going is protected under the law.

But beware courts are fickle, and I'm not a copyright attorney. So be careful.

Chain Reaction

2007-02-23T15:15:00.000-08:00

My partner has picked up the slack recently, so now it my turn to turn it up a notch and go off topic for just one post.

I recently joined the myspace revolution, and my buddy sent me this chain letter that detailed his life soundtrack, and I found it somewhat interesting. Usually I’ll delete a chain letter (they call them bulletin’s on myspace, though they serve a slightly different purpose) the second I get it, but this one stood out.

The general premise was, you put your ipod on shuffle, and you hit the skip button to go that next song, which determines the soundtrack for the movie made on your life. For example, the first time you press the skip button, the next song that comes on is the song that plays during your opening credits. Hit skip again, the next song that comes on is the song for you waking up and getting ready for school, hit skip, the next song that comes on is the one that plays for your first day of school, you get the idea.

I thought this was a very interesting concept, so I decided to try it. Hey, I had nothing to lose, I’ve got very little besides gangster rap on my ipod anyways, so I thought the results would be somewhat humorous. Lets take a look at the soundtrack of the Life of Bull.

Opening Credits: Dre and Snoop, Next Episode. How great is that beat? I love that song, and it would make sense to open up the movie with the credits rolling and that song playing with the different characters being introduced with still shots.

Here is an even greater question, who plays me? Richard Mull? Vin Diesel? (I’m giving myself a lot of credit there) Or how about this, who plays Ed and Hace? Earthquake and Typhoon?

Waking Up: Dem Ghetto Boys, Lean Wit It Rock Wit It. Great song, its up-beat though, which I certainly am not when I’m waking up. Nobody is as angry as I am when I wake up. It’s a good thing I live a lone and normally don’t wake up next to anyone else, because I’m miserable when I wake up. Good song, but its kind of like Rosie O’Fat trying to jump into a size 6 dress, it just doesn’t fit.

First Day of School: Motorhead, HHH Theme (The Game). I wont get much agreement here, but that song f’n rules. I remember the WV Power ran out onto the field to that song last year. This song gets you fired up, and while I NEVER got fired up for school, if I were watching the movie on my life, this song would get me fired up to see what happens at school.

Falling in Love: Lil Jon and the Eastside Boys, Whatchyou Gon’Do Instrumental. Talk about a great song that doesn’t fit. I love this instrumental, but my lack of variety in the ipod kind of hurts the chances of finding a song for this scene. Not that I give a shit, because I’d rather skip this part of the movie anyways. Whatever the song for this moment, it must be composed by the Legendary Buster Gonads.

Fight Song: Bonecrusher, Never Scared. This is the best song I have on my ipod, and I don’t know that there is a rap song that gets me as fired up as this one. This is the PERFECT song for this scene, enough said.

Breaking Up: Lil Jon and the Eastside Boys, Put Ya Hood Up. See Falling In Love, the same rules apply here, lets move on.

Prom: Juelz Santana, Murda Murda. Out-F’n-Standing. I love this song, as hardcore as it is, everytime I’m angry, I hear this song and it makes me smile. Prom is overrated anyways so this kind of song with me and a bunch of white, suburban, wanna be gangsters wearing tuxes while getting out of limos would be clutch, good pick.

Life: Ice Cube, Friday. Another classic, the way this song plays, it almost seems like you’ve got a great handle on life, and its coming at you in slow motion. It still has a great beat and it fits perfectly.

Mental Breakdown: Yung Dro, Shoulder Lean. Great song, bad fit, I’d like to think I wont go through a big mental breakdown, but you never know. Either way, this probably wouldn’t be an appropriate fit in this situation.

Driving: Biggie, Big Poppa. You know you’ve been rolling down the street with the windows down and the rearview mirrors vibrating with this song playing. It makes you feel like a pimp because the ladies love it and the guys love playing it.

Flashback: D12, my band. I don’t totally understand this one, it doenst make much sense.

Getting Back Together: Archie Eversole, We Ready. Perhaps the most under appreciated rap song of all time. Rap songs don’t normally apply in these situations, but this one fits. We Ready……..to get back together right? Or not.

Wedding: Jay Z, Dirt Off Ya Shoulda. Something tells me there are plenty of other options that would fit this situation a little better. Remember, the play list is on shuffle for a reason.

Birth of Child: Lil Jon, Ludacris, Usher, Yeah! Perfect, just the right song and the right amount of excitement without getting too sappy.

Final Battle: Chamillionaire, Ridin Dirty. When you’re riding into your final battle, you are most certainly ridin’dirty, good fit.

Death Scene: Eminem, Without Me. Well, its fitting, maybe a little too loud, but Life Goes On……….Without Me.

Funeral Song: Eminem, I Got Five On It. For a funeral song its not bad. We all cant have the Scottish Bagpipes. Since all I have is gangster rap, this fits.

Closing Credits: Ruff Ryders Anthem. This song is straight gangster. If I ever wanted a song to play that summarized or capped my life, this would be it. You can ride off into the sunset with the Ruff Ryders, there is no other way. Classic.

BLOGGIN' is cheap muthuf****!!!!

Live blogs and "expressed written consent"

2007-02-21T17:16:00.000-08:00

I've never heard this discussed, so I'm not sure what precedent is for this (someone in this basement has to know).

Anyone who has watched a game on TV has heard the legal statement forbidding the "Reproduction of pictures, descriptions and accounts without expressed written consent of (insert league)..." At some point, will leagues clamp down on this strangely interpreted rule? They'd sure have plenty to go on here on the interwebs.

The recent Super Bowl showcased just how popular running diaries and live blogs of games are becoming. Some writers have been doing these for years and their successes have inspired more to give it a shot. Expect the increasing live accounts (and thorough recaps) to continue, but as they are more widely read, won't someone say, "Wait, this is exactly what we're trying to control here!"? It's no secret that the 4 major sports leagues don't always act in the best interests of their fans.

With Major League Baseball limiting television access to their games, and trying to own their stats, it will come to be that people will be share the "product" with others in some manner. If, all-around-good-guy-who's-totally-deserving-of-his-position-and-has-thrived-in-it, Bud Selig wants to see what lengths he can go to screw his fans, he could just wait until the World Series and crackdown on those doing the blogs. To be honest, it seems like something straight out of his playbook, but I could actually see it happening with the NFL first. With the success of the blogs a couple weeks ago, imagine how many could be produced next year.

So how is it that "bloggers" can legally share a live blog of a game? Do they all get the "expressed written consent" that they appear to need? Doubtful. I'd bet that some people cover their bases, but how many? For the Super Bowl, CBSportline invited Deadspin editor Will Leitch in on the fun at their site. Sites like CBSportline, ESPN, AOL Sports and Yahoo probably know how to handle this, but would Deadspin & Co.? Was CBS just protecting Leitch in case something does happen, giving him an approved place to do his thing?

Have I missed where someone has covered this or am I looking at it the wrong way? Is the league's statement actually supported in a court of law or are they just asking you as strongly as they can no to do it?

Didn't we go to school with him? Oh, MARK Price

2007-02-20T13:55:00.000-08:00

Continuing with the theme of recognizing birthdays long after they've passed, I bring you my favorite Cav of all time.

Born February 15th, 1964, Mark Price was a standout at Georgia Tech though whether he could make it as a pro was in doubt due to his short stature, tendency to telegraph his moves, complete lack of defense and overall mobility deficencies. Standing 6 feet tall (right...), Price was less of a leaper than even me. He had the right handed layups down pat, but seriously, he probably went his entire playing career without ever touching the rim. I've seen Carlton from the Fresh Prince dunk in person, and Mark Price couldn't do it.

Regardless of his shortcomings, Price was successful in his niche as a professional player. He was among the league leaders in assists, twice won the 3-point shootout, was a 4 time All Star and retired as the best free throw shooter in NBA history. The draft day trade that brought him to the Cavs also introduced an era of success in Cleveland basketball, with the team making the playoffs 7 of the nine 9 years he was around.

Thinking he was old and washed up, on September 27th, 1995 the Cavs traded Price to the Washington Bullets, and in the process made Cleveland basketball irrelevant for almost a decade. I can still remember the radio breaking the news... "We all knew this day would come someday..." We did? Trading the face of the franchise and fan favorite during a playoff bound season? No sir, I did not know that day was coming.

Not even 2 years after the kick in the balls that was the Bernie Kosar release, the franchise hadn't learned anything about how Cleveland fans apparently react to being fucked without even getting dinner first. (On the plus side, the Cavs got a 1996 draft pick in return and chose Vitaly Potapenko. Who's Vitaly Potapenko? He's the guy who was drafted one spot ahead of Kobe Bryant. Wise move.) Way to be blind, asshole.

Well, that day in September was probably the last day of me being a Cavs fan. I was 14 at the time. I'd been lucky enough to go to probably 100 or so games by that point. I, um, collected all kinds of Cavs crap. I mean, I even had the Mark Price Dream Team jersey (#5) hanging on my wall! Since that trade, I don't think I've been to 3 games. Go ahead and move the team now, save us the months and months of stories about LeBron not being able to bring a championship to his "home town". Sorry Cavs fans, but I can't get behind them and I've tried.

Trade Mark Price? How's that make sense on any level? What's next, Bobby Phils dying and the team signing someone who may have been responsible for his death? Well now that I've gone and sufficiently pissed myself off, I'm outta here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK PRICE!

Wait, who?

2007-02-19T19:05:00.000-08:00

Who's the new coach of the San Diego Chargers?

Norv, who? No, not that Norv. Norv Turner?

Not the same Norv Turner who was fired by the Oakland Raiders two years ago and replaced by Art Shell. In can conclude this whole article by saying that there is someone, albeit Al Davis, who thinks Art Shell is an improvement over Norv Turner. But I won't stop.

Turner, best known for piloting the offense of the best team of the 1990's and rivaling Otis Nixon for worst complexion in sports, is now the head coach of the best team in the league. He has a career record of, oh 58-82-1 and a 1-1 playoff record. That's right, nearly 30 games below .500. Given enough time, flaming midgets can coach a team to 30 games under .500.

What would posses the Chargers to hand the reins over to Norv? Is he really an improvement over Marty Schottenheimer? Marty won football games, might have yaked in big games, but at least he got there. I know Marty got fired because he wanted his brother as his Defensive coordinator (which also caused him to get fired from the Browns) and his inability to co-exist with GM A.J. Smith. But couldn't two grown ass men keep it together for one more year. At least to make a run at future Browns coach Bill Cowher.

So you replace Marty Schottenheimer with Norv Turner, for what? Winning despite Norv, making the playoffs and losing when you are out coached by Bill Belichick or Tony Dungy. Coaching matters a little bit in the NFL, and especially in the playoffs.

This isn't about how good or bad Norv Turner is as a coach. Its about pro teams pulling out retreads because they don't want to take a chance on a new guy. Why not go after a guy like Rex Ryan, who took what is really an aging defense and made it one of the best in the league.

No, lets get Norv Turner because that's a known commodity. A crappy one but a known one. The devil you know is better than the devil you don't. That's what makes good teams crappy ones.

Countless times in sports old, tired, unsuccessful coaches get jobs over younger (or Older) unproven ones. Doesn't really makes sense to me. How many times can you polish a turd?

2007-02-19T14:32:00.001-08:00

All i have to says, is that when i light my socks on fire it is Got Damn exciting!

Overwhelming Optimism

2007-02-18T21:51:00.000-08:00

Have faith, you loyal fans of sport. These next few weeks are amongst the worst of all time. This weekend, excluding the two and a half hours I watched bowling on Sunday, was the worst sports weekend I can remember.

The NBA All Star game is about as exciting as watching my colleague light his socks on fire or suffering through poker on television. Speaking of which, why the hell do they put that crap on TV??

I can understand some of these other pseudo sports, but poker?? Why is that on ESPN?? How is it interesting to watch some guy give us his “poker face” for five minutes?? Its like a glorified starring contest, I’d rather see an “o-face”. That sounds bad, oh well.

It was mildly interesting to see Vandy upset Florida, but in the grand scheme of things, what does it matter? Florida will be a top seed in the tournament, and this loss will mean nothing when selection Sunday hits in three weeks.

So what do you have to look forward to until the conference tournaments?

Well, not much really. If you are like me, you understand that there aren’t many baseball storylines that you haven’t heard about 84,000 times already, surfacing again in Spring Training.

The NFL Draft is kicking into high gear with the combine, 40-times, bench press reps, and other useless bits of information that will slightly increase draft status, but ultimately are as useless as the Betty Butterface in a group of hotties.

If you are like me, you look forward to Sunday afternoons, because Sundays are for bowling. I know I’m kind of in the minority there, because few people get as fired up for bowling as I do. Speaking of which, I rolled 14 games this weekend. On Friday I rolled a 630 series, and hit 1012 pins through five games that night. (Insert Barry Horowitz pat on the back, fully understanding that nobody cares, and move on)

What has been interesting is that Michael Irvin is no longer with ESPN, and Bill Cowher has joined the CBS pre-game show. I never liked the playmaker as a player, but as a studio host, he has been mildly entertaining. However, I can see why ESPN decided to part ways with the playmaker. If Parcells is coming in to take his place like they say he is, can you blame ESPN?

Everyone loves to hate the CBS pre-game show, for whatever reason. I like Cowher a lot, but I have no idea how he’ll do as a studio analyst. Sure he can handle personalities, X’s and O’s, but can he be opinionated and present this information to you in a way that you’ll respect and understand? We’ll find out in about six months.

Personally, I think they need to give Charley Casserly more air-time. While he’ll forever be remembered as the guy that didn’t draft Reggie Bush (which could get him looked at in Texas the way Buckner is looked at in Boston) he does a hell of a job on the pre-game show of breaking down personel decisions, which are very interesting.

Those of us in the northeast must remember, the little gopher saw his shadow (didn’t he?) and the life of Old Man Winter is nearing its end. Before you know it, the snow will melt, Cindarella will go to the dance with her pretty slippers in late March and we can all tear our brackets in half when the naughty little girl in accounting who knows nothing about sports takes her extra two weeks paid vacation after she boasts the winning bracket in the office pool.

Shortly thereafter, the first pitch will be thrown, the days will get longer, the beer will taste better, the ladies will display their summer wardrobes, and all will be right with the world. Three more weeks my friends, three more weeks.

Juvenile, Justification and.......Jet Fuel?

2007-02-15T08:26:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, you’re gone a little too long, and you lose whatever rhythm you had. That’s about where I’m at right now. So its time to get back on the right track.

There are a few things worthy of discussion today. I don’t usually discuss Nascar, but I’ll throw it a bone today. I don’t normally defend DirecTV or the MLB, but I’ll give them their due dillegence today, and the San Diego Chargers will be my whipping boys on this glorious day in sports.

Lets start with this whole DirecTV deal and Major League Baseball. Bud Selig was on Mike n Mike this morning, and he said that no official announcement has been made just yet. The rumor is, the MLB Extra Innings package, which was available on cable networks, is being taken away because DirecTV has stepped in to up the ante and fill MLB’s “dish” haha get it??

Every fan in America has a HUGE problem with this, including my buddy Zach (http://www.vitaminz.blogspot.com/). They believe baseball has undersold them and thrown them under the bus at the expense of the almighty dollar which drives our capitalistic society.

I for one have NO problem with MLB doing this. You know how this works, in our economy today, its all about supply and demand. Their was a very good response to the MLB Extra Innings package on cable, and DirecTV noticed that, therefore, they decided to step up to the plate and offer MLB some serious cash to get the rights to air their games.

If you don’t want this to work, then don’t buy the package on DirecTV, its that simple. Major League Baseball will find out that its not beneficial to the sport if their fans do not follow, sponsors will not receive enough return on their investment, and DirecTV will not make that gamble again. Besides, you have other options, like listening to the games on XM radio for a much cheaper price, and you can see all of the friggin’ highlights on one of the 18 “Baseball Tonight” shows aired on ESPN each day throughout the summer.

The National Football League has gone through a strange set of coaching changes this year. A guy gets fired after one year, a guy leaves for a college gig after constantly denying his departure, and now a guy gets fired after a 14-2 season.

What was strange about the Chargers telling Marty “14-2, pretty impressive, but not good enough, thanks for coming, see ya later” was that they waited until mid-February to do it. They waited until after both coordinators were gone, and now the coaching cupboard is a little bare.

It was puzzling at first until it was announced that the two sides not only didn’t like each other, but didn’t talk to each other. How juvenile is that? These are two grown men who work in the same place, and achieved success together, yet they don’t communicate?

The head coach becomes the scapegoat because he and the GM don’t get along? That’s pretty pathetic, you’d think these guys learned their lesson when the organization went through the exact same thing with Bobby Bethard and Bobby Ross about 10 years ago. Grow up.

These guys are acting like the drama queens in sixth grade who wont talk to each other because one dated the other’s ex-boyfriend of three years ago who knew she had a crush on even after they had broken up. You have to put your ego aside in that business, otherwise, you aren’t going to make it.

Finally, I’ll spend a few seconds on Nascar. I don’t know much about this garbage, primarily because I really don’t care. I did find it interesting how Michael Waltrip’s crew chief got suspended because a “jet fuel like substance” was found in his manifold.

I think I share the same opinion as EVERYONE else, suspend the f’n driver, and not the crew chief. Again, I don’t know much about it, but I’ve been told suspending the crew chief is like suspending the offensive coordinator, and not the quarterback for loading up on illegal substances.

Not to mention, if you are using jet fuel in a race car, doesn’t that go far beyond crossing the line? Its not like you slightly improved your fuel grade, or tweaked your engine a bit or removed restrictor plates. The guy injected jet fuel into a friggin’ race car.

Whats next? Are they going to find rocket fuel and use Nitrus Oxide Boosters like the police car that Farley used in Black Sheep? I don’t get it, doesn’t this go above and beyond the call of cheating? The penalty, as I understand it, seems a little light.

I'm done for now.

A Super Crap-up?

2007-02-06T18:04:00.000-08:00

Everyone has already talked about the game, so I'm not going to belabor any of that here. Not come really late to the party, but damn that was a lackluster super bowl. After Devin Hester's return it was pretty much a dull game. Even the weather was dull. No one, loves a football game in shitty weather conditions more than me, but should the Super Bowl really be decided by the weather. I know its under no one's control, but shouldn't a game of that magnitude be decided by who is the better team not by who is a better "mudder".

Taking a wider view of this year's game, even the last couple of years, what does it say about the state of the NFL. No one would say that this Colts team is one of the all-time greats. Its not even the best Colts team of the last three years. Last year's Steelers team turned out to be a fraud, that caught all of the lucky breaks last year. Even the Patriots, who have won three out of the last six aren't that impressive of a team. ( not to say that what they accomplished wasn't great, it was maybe more impressive than anything any other team accomplished. But that has more to do with the state of the league than the quality of the team. Lets just say, that the Patriots would have lost 55-10 against the '89 49ers.)

What i'm getting at is, what was the last great Super Bowl team? The Rams in 2000 had a great offense but no Defense. The Broncos teams that won back to back have the best claim, but outside of John Elway's horseface and chain smoking, were they really that memorable or good? Maybe the Green Bay team in '97 which had a really good offense and a really good defense was the last great team. But that was 10 years ago. There hasn't been a GREAT NFL team in the last decade. Go through the eighty seven odd years of the NFL (no the NFL didn't start in 1966) and try to find ten years of football without a really great team.

You can count them down by Decade. Cowboys, 49ers, Steelers, Packers, Browns, Bears. And most of those decades had other great teams to compete with and occasionally beat the really great ones. I don't want to sound like an old man who pines for the "good old days", but where have all the great teams gone.

I understand that this is a product of free agency, and the salary cap. And that all those teams had a huge advantage over today's teams. (It is hard to overestimate how much easier it was to build a championship prior to free agency and the cap.) Don't get me wrong, i think both the cap and free agency are good things, for both the players and the league. But its not always so good for the fans. You have to decide if you like parity or dominance. The idea that your team may have a chance to win every couple of years, or that your team can be great for a while every 30 years. Its really up to the fan.

Maybe its because my team doesn't seem like they ever have a shot, but maybe just maybe i'd rather take dominance over parity.

2007-02-04T09:33:00.000-08:00

Bull's Super Blog

Greetings and Salutations from freezing cold Cleveland, Ohio. Every year I like to do a little something called, a Super Blog.

Let me begin by saying I hate hype weeks, and I dont start watching until 6:20. The reason? If I wanted to see a fucking circus, then I'd call Barnum and Bailey, hire a fucking clown to make bears and dogs out of balloons or pay a bunch of flexible fuckers to jump through flaming triangles and walk tight ropes 50 feet above my house.

I have no desire whatsoever to hear about the pop culture crap and the political aspects of this game. It hit me hard in 2002 when they tried to market the game around the county's patriotism, and its left a bitter taste in my mouth ever since. Therefore, since I want to watch the game, and only the game, I wait until 6:20 to turn it on, and tomorrow I'll watch the Cavs, AND THE PBA TOUR WHICH IS ON ESPN AT 2 BABY!!!!!!!

Onto the game itself. The haters can shove it, I love reading Gil Brandt's articles where he discusses trends and gives interesting factoids. http://www.superbowl.com/news/story/9966134 He put together a nice table of information for the big game, and what I found interesting was that both teams have scored the same amount of points this year, yet the Colts have surrendered 105 more points. He also mentions that the Bears have held the ball for 1:02 longer on average during a game, and I believe both time of possession and field position will be the deciding factors in this game. Its real simple, if the Colts have the ball, they have the firepower on offense to beat the Bears defense and wear them down. The Bears dont stand a chance in a shootout. I've noted this before, in the first 12 weeks, the Bears defense had only allowed just over 12 points a game, but in their last 6 (4 regular season, 2 playoffs) they have allowed almost 24 points a game. Clearly you can see that the defense is not the same without Mike Brown and Tommie Harris.

On the other side, if the Bears can find a way to establish the run (which has been VERY tough in the post season) and do what the Chiefs, Patriots and Ravens could not do against the Colts this post season, then they'll force that Colts offense to panic, and press, which is what they did down the stretch in second half of the season. Not to mention, they'll control the clock, and wear down that Colts defense. The Special Teams play will be HUGE. Better field position will allow the Bears to be a little more conservative here and rely on the running game, but if Indy shuts the run down early, the Bears will have to put the game in Rex Grossman's hands, and with Dwight Freeney going against John Tait, that could get ugly. They'll have to double him with a tight end or a running back, and that will eliminate a check down option for Grossman. His secondary options will be a big factor as he wont be able to go deep vs. the Cover 2.

I've looked at this game from every angle just like everyone else, and its hard to find a reason to pick the Bears. Kharma is a bitch, and I think these teams are fairly evenly matched. The Colts are getting the nod across the board which isnt a good thing. When everyone picks you, it gives the other team that much more motivation to shock the world. However, if you are Peyton Manning, the jury is still out on you until you win the big game, so there is PLENTY of motivation there.

I dont see how the Bears will run on the Colts, I dont see how Rex will have a big game if they cant run the ball, I dont see how the Colts will struggle against the Bears defense and I dont see how Peyton Manning will not dominate the Bears.

The only way I see the Bears winning this thing, is if Devin Hester has a huge game and Chicago's special teams unit completely outplays Indy's. Call me crazy, but I'm going against the grain and picking the Bears. I think it will be a low scoring contest, and the Bears will win it 20-13. Enjoy the show.

The Round Mound of Letdown

2007-02-01T20:20:00.000-08:00

Here goes and anger filled rant after watching a shitty team blow a 12 point fourth quarter lead to a really shitty team. Take the whole thing with a grain of salt, this is going to be way out there and contrarian (because i want to be way out there and contrartian at the moment) but don't disregard the whole thing.

Something is off this season with the Cavs and with LeBron. Maybe LeBron is tired. He did play a hell of a lot of ball this summer, with the equally disappointing U.S. National team. He may just be keeping it in cruise control until the playoffs, I mean they are going to be no worse than the 4 seed. Which gives them home court in the first round. Of course he may be too busy making commercials to really give a crap about the success of this team. Or maybe, just maybe he's not the second coming.

When LeBron is in the game, the offense is run through him. ( As it should be) What tends to happen is that LeBron dribbles around for 8 seconds, make a half hearted drive at the basket, pulls it back and takes a jumper from 18 feet with a hand in his face. Just because he makes this shot more than occasionally, doesn't mean its a good idea. He's got to be going hard to the hole, and hitting the open man if its not there. And he's got to be backing down players like Jason Kapono.

Even more importantly he's got to hit his fucking free throws. 3 of 8 from the line tonight isn't cutting it for Shaq, it sure as hell isn't cutting it for LeBron. He is shooting only 69% from the line this season, down from about 73% last year. Even worse he tends to miss important foul shots late in games. Truth be told, he misses a lot of shots late in games.

What has to happen for James to be great, if that's what he wants to be, is he's got to drive get fouled and make his free throws. Maybe that's not gonna happen, ever. Maybe all he wants is to be the richest athlete of all times. Maybe the answer is the unthinkable. Maybe its time to move LeBron. I mean most people think he's out of here after his contract is up anyways so why not.

Now, I know that the likelihood of the Cavs moving LeBron are slim and none. But lets say a very good deal comes along. Like say moving LeBron, Eric Snow and either Z or Larry Hughes to the Timberwolves for Garnett, Randy Foye and Eddie Griffen.

Run out a starting lineup of Garnett, Gooden, Pavlovic, Hughes and Gibson, with Foye coming off the bench. I'd take that.

Maybe there are simpler answers than trading LeBron, playing Sasha more, and Hughes less. Letting the point guard, and not LeBron initiate the offense. Hell having an actually offense. Maybe firing the coach is the answer. I'm not really sure if Mike Brown is the answer to anything. All i'm saying is that i'd buy a wine and gold Garnett jersey.

What is with these kids?

2007-01-30T20:59:00.000-08:00

All three of these kids play(ed) for Hoover High school in Alabama. Two of the three have the same haircut. Let me refraze that, every teenage boy in the town has the same damn haricut. I don't get it. How does an entire town decide to have the same haircut?

I mean its there are fads (who didn't have lines shaved into their head growing up? I know i did), But how does a town decide to all have a haircut that hasn't been cool since, oh say 1962.

If you can't tell from the picture, cause it is a shitty one. Two-thirds of that photo has the long swooping bangs that the Beatles had when they played at Shea.

Really, this boggles my mind how a small town in Alabama can share a love for emo bangs. And where did this come from? What was (to borrow from Gladwell) the tipping point for the bangs? Did "We are the Beatles" become really popular two years ago in Alabama.

SALISBURY STEAK, ETHICS AND RATINGS

2007-01-29T21:21:00.000-08:00

Now tell me that isn’t the craziest three-way combination outside the porn industry? Ok, enough of the dirty talk, its time to get down to business. Before we begin, I need to take a shot at reality television. C’mon, I take more shots than Ted Kennedy when it comes to reality TV. Apparently the new big one on NBC involves a bunch of average Americans dancing their way to Broadway stardom in front of Olivia Newton John. Tell me that as a male, you don’t check your masculinity at the door when you audition. How can you explain yourself to your boys at the Super Bowl party when you tell them that you cant put in for pizza because you lost your job after quitting to try and become the next male superstar in the Broadway musical “Grease” and fell flat on your face?. Exactly no excuses offered, and none accepted. GARBAGE. Sounds like a slippery proposition to me

Lets move on to some Salisbury steak….gravy. Everyone in the blogging world wants to jump on Sean Salisbury because he slipped and said “jew” instead of “chew”. Look, the guy made his statement and he’s sticking to it. He said chew, and contrary to prior belief, chew did have something to do with that dissertation on Peyton Manning. He talked about killing and CHEWING the clock, so YES, he meant to say it. Since when has Sean Salisbury been mistaken for Mark Furman or Adolf Hitler? The guy isn’t an anti-Semite who hates minorities, leave him alone. Do we really need to jump on this guy for slightly mis-pronouncing a word?? Leave the guy alone. Like it or not, he’s opinionated, he’s colorful, exciting to watch and he’s one of the hardest working guys on ESPN’s NFL crack staff. Leave the guy a lone.

This article here.. http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2831037 made me laugh. Apparently the National Restaurant Association is angry because Nationwide Insurance’s commercial featuring Kevin Federline poses an unfair stereotype of restaurant workers that work the fry station. Ask most of the guys that work these stations around the world if they’d love to trade places with or be confused with K-Fed. Most of those guys/girls would be honored in some way. I mean c’mon, have you been to a fast food restaurant lately? I cant remember the last time I went to a local fast food joint and seen the guy working the good old grease pot with his pants higher than his boxers or his hat worn properly. I’ve got no problem with it, to each their own, but to say that this is an unfair stereotype is ridiculous.

Look, if you’ve seen me lately, you know I’ve got mad respect for the National Restaurant Association, God knows I’ve done my fair share to keep them in business by expanding my waistline. Why are these guys surprised by the fact that someone is ripping the fast food industry? Its not like they’re mocking the head chef who’s cooking gourmet dishes for the white-collar elite. Do you think anybody actually wants to be the head fry guy at your local fast food joint? Absolutely not. The story is ludicrous, if everyone had a complaint about the ethics in the Super Bowl commercial then the complaints would never end.

If ethics of Super Bowl commercials really mattered then the NAACP would have been all over Budweiser for stereotyping a group of African American Males calling each other while the game is on and screaming wuuuuuuuuuuuzaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!! Its funny, you’re allowed to poke fun at each other in commercials, that’s why those who aren’t even football fans watch the big game. Relax, it really isn’t that big of a deal.

Although if you are Kevin Federline, how awful has life gotten for you? You go from fulfilling every man’s dream of marrying Brittney Spears and wearing jump suits that say “pimps” at the reception to being the butt of every lead joke on late night talk shows to failing miserably in the music industry, to this??? Wow. Maybe being Brittney’s baby’s daddy doesn’t have its benefits.

Finally, as my partner eluded to before, the NHL All Star Game on a Wednesday makes about as much sense as putting Gary Coleman, the midget from Jackass and Paris Hilton on the interior of the Cleveland Browns’ offensive line. This story here… http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2007-01-28-hiestand-weekend_x.htm is laughable.

How in the world do you fail to draw fewer than half a million viewers for this game? The ratings for this game are down 82% from 2000. That’s insane, it almost sounds like a Conan O’Brien in the year 2000 skit…..In the yeeeeeeeeear twoooooo thousaaaaaaaaaaaand…the NHL All Star Game will draw fewer than half a million viewers and be outdrawn by HGTV’s Design on a Dime, The Food Network’s Ace of Cakes, and re-runs of the Andy Griffith show, officially placing NHL in GOMER’S PILE!! BOOOOOOOM!!!!

I used to love the NHL, but I don’t get the “Versus” network and I have completely lost interest in the game. How much more will it take for Canadian fans to start hating it? Something has to change, and I’m not quite sure what it is. I don’t care if the game is more exciting as the experts say it is. Hell the dialogue in porn may be improving, but it doesn’t matter if only 10% of the population has access to the playboy or spice channels. They have to get this sport back on a cable station with some kind of reputation. Too many of us don’t have access to the station its currently on, and most of us have lost interest. Its time for a change. I’ve had enough fun for one night.

Gorilla Marketing

2007-01-26T09:08:00.001-08:00

Gorilla Marketing

In response to my colleague’s dissertation on the Gorilla Lineman in the NFL, I’d say no way in hell does the Player’s Union allow this to happen. Gorillas traditionally are mean, angry, and bitter beings. I think it would be safe to say that players’ lives would be in danger if they are competing against something that legitimately could be referred to as a beast. Gorilla’s don’t just sit on rocks and eat bananas, they claw, they mash, and they crush…….much like a 12 year old fat kid at the buffet.

Regardless of the Gorilla’s intent, a 700 pound beast should not be permitted to play with others. You’re talking about a 700 pound animal lying on a pile with other humans that are at the very least 350 pounds lighter. I don’t think there is any way the player’s union would go for it.

Here is a question, if he intercepts a pass, can you grab the hair on his arms or legs to rip him down??

I think this would be one hell of a marketing tool for the NFL and as much as Rodger Goodell would love to have this guy on the field for viewing, advertising and marketing purposes, there is no way the rest of the players would suit up and play against the beast.

Speaking of the Raiders, why would they need to draft a Gorilla?? Don’t they have enough of those out in the crowd for their home games?? That’s not meant to be a derogatory or racial comment, I’m being serious. You have maniacs that suit up in L.O.D. type uniforms who are accountants, fathers and attorney’s during the day, then they transform into ear biting, face painting Neanderthals on Sundays. I haven’t seen that kind of transformation since Maximus Prime in his prime. I guess there’s more than meets the eye there………get it???

--BULLUS

Random Question

2007-01-25T18:30:00.000-08:00

Here's something from my old blog that was never satisfactorily answered. Probably because no one read the old blog. This is a question from a Chuck Klosterman book. I throw it open to anyone to answer. Drew feel free to throw in a response.

Genetic engineers have developed a super gorilla. The animal cannot speak but it has a sign language vocabulary of over 12,000 words, it has an IQ of around 85 and it has a sense of self awareness. The animal (who weighs 700 lbs.) has developed a fascination with football. The gorilla aspires to play professionally and quickly develops into a rudimentary defensive end. Mel Kiper Jr. says that the gorilla is virtually unblockable and would record almost 6 sacks a game. However, the gorilla might be susceptible to draws, counters and other trick plays. The gorilla has made it clear that he would never intentionally injure his opponent. You are the commissioner of the NFL: Would you allow the gorilla to sign with the Oakland Raiders?

Wait its Wednesday

2007-01-24T19:44:00.000-08:00

Did you know that tonight is the NHL all-star game? No? Neither did i and i love hockey. Well that was before Gary Bettman and the Union destroyed any one's interest who doesn't live North of the 49th. How bad has it gotten for hockey? So bad that the league is televising its all-star game on a Wednesday on a station best known for showing the Tour de France. That's bad. Ratings worse than women's softball is worse. But the worst thing that the league has done, especially since returning from the lockout, is the bastardization of the all-star game.

Truth be told, the game has improved since the end of the lockout. More wide-open, more scoring, hell there's even a shootout. Shit the ratings aren't even that bad, (if you combine the viewership of the NHL in the U.S. and Canada it is greater than the combined viewership of the NBA. Which means the game is insanely popular in Canada.) and attendance is at an all time high. So what the hell is the problem?

Rory Fitzpatrick. Who? Rory Fitzpatrick is a middle of the road defenseman for the Vancouver Canucks. Early this season there was an underground, Internet movement to get him elected to the all-star team. Support swelled and it looked like Rory would make the squad. That was until the NHL stepped in. In the final announcement of the lineups before the game, Fitzpatrick was some votes short of making the team. Something was amiss. Where did Rory's votes go? As it turns out the NHL stole them. There's a mountain of evidence building, and this had been touched on in more detail in other places. http://deadspin.com/sports/nhl/final-proof-mostly-the-nhl-rigged-the-allstar-vote-229922.php Needless to say, the NHL has taken the all-star game away from the people it belongs to, the fans.

BOOO NHL!

At least Two Drunk in a Basement

2007-01-24T13:29:00.000-08:00

Let me be the second one to post on this fantastic new blog.

My other blogs are available for a small price at www.blogginwithbull.blogspot.com

Let me begin by saying the creation of this site is fantastic. Three drunk in a basement derives from an old NBA commercial where Samuel L. Jackson (HOW'S IT TASTE MUTHF**KA!?!) watches and reacts excitedly towards three guys playing horse. His classic line in there is..."THREE GUYS PLAYING HORSE........ITS FAAAAAAAAAAANTASTIC!!!!" Then a guy puts up a RIDICULOUS unorthodoxed hook shot and Sammy L. Responds with "GOOOOOD MUTHUF**KIN CHOICE MUTHUF**KA!!" just kidding, he gives him an "OHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" It was the NBA marketing dept's way of keeping people excited about the game, without playing the game.

The creator of this site recited a similar line when he, me and another guy were watching TV in an inebriated state. His line was "Three Drunk Guys in a Basement.......its FAAAAAAAAAAANTASTIC!!!!!" Very humorous.

I've got nothing else informative to say, but I will soon, so keep reading.

--BULLUS

Welcome

2007-01-18T20:54:00.000-08:00

Welcome to three drunk guys in a basement, at the moment it is just one guy who is not drunk. But, hopefully in the next couple days we can round out a roster of contributors, who may or may not be drunk.