The NBA season is here. It starts today and this is the day I always feel like the Suns are gonna win it all. Either that or the Spurs will win one more! I think the Suns are primed for a take-off this year. It should be fun to watch the run-and-gun again. Marion's trade request notwithstanding, the show should be as good as ever. He ain't no trouble maker. He is probably good for a controversy or 3 this season, but I don't expect anything major. Can't wait to see Grant Hill in a Suns uniform. I think he is going to be a great influence on Amare and the gang both on and off the court. Of course the MP3 still runs the show. Lets see how Nash performs this season - year 4 in this contract. All in all, I hope it's championship time for the Suns.
Aside from the Suns, opening days are always fun. There are so many story-lines. I am expecting a lot from the association this season. Garnett in Boston, a new and (hopefully) improved King James, an injury-free D-Wade, a resurgent Warriors trying to continue that magical playoff run, Kevin Durant in Seattle and Kobe Bryant wherever he ends up. The last one was one of the big stories this off-season. Kobe coming out and just going nuts on radio stations across the country. He then went and met the owner in Spain and decided to shut-up. The trade talks died down eventually but then Buss came out of the blue during the training camp and suggested they may still trade Kobe. Now the fires are burning all over again in So-Cal, no pun intended. Apparently he still wants to be traded and just decided to not say so to the media. So Buss says they are trying to move him since he doesn't want to stay.
The biggest rumor has him going to Chicago in some package. I think that might work for everybody. Kobe will be in a big market inheriting the throne of no-23. If anybody can handle that, it's Kobe. The Bulls have the pieces to pull it off and the Lakers might even get better in the process. The problem is, LA is a show-biz town and I can't believe anybody caring about the Lakers even if they win without Kobe. It might take them a while to get out off "Kobe-withdrawal". He owns that town. It might take a few years before the Lakers win that fan base again if Kobe leaves.
All in all, I am saying bring it on!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
The Good and the Bad.
Good and the Bad.
If you are in to the good, A for ASU and B for Brett Favre. If you are into the bad, A for A-Rod and B for Belichick. That pretty much sums up the Sports weekend. First, ASU stayed undefeated and recorded their first impressive win of the season as they dismantled the Cal Bears. I don't know why the Devils keep starting slowly, but they were again down 13-0 after the first quarter. It looked bleak, but they started to dominate as soon the second quarter started. From that point on, it was no-contest. The Bears had no answers to the Devils offense as Dimitri Nance and Keegan Herring gashed them for big yards almost every run. And this was without my main man Ryan Torain. Rudy Carpenter was more than adequate with the passing game, but once ASU established a running game, this game was over. The Bears were outscored 31-7 in the final 3 quarters and they scored 0 points in the second half! Thats domination folks.
The Bears only shot was in that first quarter where they could have basically gone up 21-0 if they had converted all their opportunities. But you know what, the Devil might have still won at the end. Thats how good they played the rest of the way. Their slow-stars are disturbing, but their half-time adjustments are heart-warming! That shows how good a coach Dennis Erickson is, but if they start this slow on the road at Oregon next week, it might be game over. It reminds me of great pitchers like Greg Maddux. You have to get them in the first inning. If you don't, you may be staring at a shutout. ASU is similar and I sure hope they fix this problem before they run into Oregon and USC. I think USC is over-rated but Oregon is where it's at right now in the Pac-10. Thats a huge game next weekend.
In other news, the RedSox swept the Rockies to win the World series. Nothing surprising here. The Sox were way better than the upstart rockies both on the mound and in the batter's box. But I was shocked to see Scott Boras come up right in the middle of the World Series with the news that A-Rod is opting out. Of all people, thats really dumb coming from Boras. As if A-Rod is not having enough problems as it is, now he is getting crushed for trying to take away from the World Series. I always thought the Yankees were posturing when they said we won't sign A-Rod if he opts out. Of course I knew they lose the 21 mill coming from the Texas Rangers if they sign a new contract with A-Rod. So the Yanks wouldn't just be paying the bump in A-Rod's salary but they'll be paying much more. Still, i thought they have to go after him because they need him as much as he needs them. Who else is going to pay A-Rod 32 mill a year? But apparently it's all over.
The Yanks came out and pretty much said good bye to A-Rod. The tabloids already had "get lost" in their front pages. The RedSox fans in Colorado started chanting "no A-Rod" during their celebrations. This could not be going any worse for A-Rod. Now he has walked away from 76 mill in guaranteed money and is hoping for a mega-contract without the Yankees in the bidding. I have no idea who can pay 30 mill a year, but the Yankees. The RedSox probably can and in my opinion they should, but I don't think Theo will. That guy knows how to run a franchise and I don't think he is paying 30 mill to anybody. They are saying A-Rod's suitors are the Angels, Dodgers, Mets, Giants, RedSox and believe it or not, the Rangers. Why are the Rangers even in the conversation? Anyways, I am very interested in seeing how Boras pulls this off and where A-Rod ends up.
The good B this weekend was Brett Favre. It was awesome to see this guy finish the Broncos off in OT with the very first play. Snap, long bomb to Greg Jennings, game over, drive home safe. Awesome! Typical Brett Favre. The bad B is of course Bill Belichick. This guy is now running up scores on everybody. They are throwing long bombs in the 4-Th quarter, not resting either Brady or Moss until very very late, going for it on 4-Th down in the third quarter while leading 35-3 or whatever. Its ridiculous. I can't believe he is getting away with this just because they are the Patriots and Brady and Belichick are the blue-eyed boys of the East coast media. Beli-cheat has fallen down a bit after the "video-gate", but he still gets off easy because of all the Boston lovers in ESPN and other media outlets. That team is full of "fake" class and I sure hope the real classy Tony Dungy kicks their behinds next week in the big game.
If you are in to the good, A for ASU and B for Brett Favre. If you are into the bad, A for A-Rod and B for Belichick. That pretty much sums up the Sports weekend. First, ASU stayed undefeated and recorded their first impressive win of the season as they dismantled the Cal Bears. I don't know why the Devils keep starting slowly, but they were again down 13-0 after the first quarter. It looked bleak, but they started to dominate as soon the second quarter started. From that point on, it was no-contest. The Bears had no answers to the Devils offense as Dimitri Nance and Keegan Herring gashed them for big yards almost every run. And this was without my main man Ryan Torain. Rudy Carpenter was more than adequate with the passing game, but once ASU established a running game, this game was over. The Bears were outscored 31-7 in the final 3 quarters and they scored 0 points in the second half! Thats domination folks.
The Bears only shot was in that first quarter where they could have basically gone up 21-0 if they had converted all their opportunities. But you know what, the Devil might have still won at the end. Thats how good they played the rest of the way. Their slow-stars are disturbing, but their half-time adjustments are heart-warming! That shows how good a coach Dennis Erickson is, but if they start this slow on the road at Oregon next week, it might be game over. It reminds me of great pitchers like Greg Maddux. You have to get them in the first inning. If you don't, you may be staring at a shutout. ASU is similar and I sure hope they fix this problem before they run into Oregon and USC. I think USC is over-rated but Oregon is where it's at right now in the Pac-10. Thats a huge game next weekend.
In other news, the RedSox swept the Rockies to win the World series. Nothing surprising here. The Sox were way better than the upstart rockies both on the mound and in the batter's box. But I was shocked to see Scott Boras come up right in the middle of the World Series with the news that A-Rod is opting out. Of all people, thats really dumb coming from Boras. As if A-Rod is not having enough problems as it is, now he is getting crushed for trying to take away from the World Series. I always thought the Yankees were posturing when they said we won't sign A-Rod if he opts out. Of course I knew they lose the 21 mill coming from the Texas Rangers if they sign a new contract with A-Rod. So the Yanks wouldn't just be paying the bump in A-Rod's salary but they'll be paying much more. Still, i thought they have to go after him because they need him as much as he needs them. Who else is going to pay A-Rod 32 mill a year? But apparently it's all over.
The Yanks came out and pretty much said good bye to A-Rod. The tabloids already had "get lost" in their front pages. The RedSox fans in Colorado started chanting "no A-Rod" during their celebrations. This could not be going any worse for A-Rod. Now he has walked away from 76 mill in guaranteed money and is hoping for a mega-contract without the Yankees in the bidding. I have no idea who can pay 30 mill a year, but the Yankees. The RedSox probably can and in my opinion they should, but I don't think Theo will. That guy knows how to run a franchise and I don't think he is paying 30 mill to anybody. They are saying A-Rod's suitors are the Angels, Dodgers, Mets, Giants, RedSox and believe it or not, the Rangers. Why are the Rangers even in the conversation? Anyways, I am very interested in seeing how Boras pulls this off and where A-Rod ends up.
The good B this weekend was Brett Favre. It was awesome to see this guy finish the Broncos off in OT with the very first play. Snap, long bomb to Greg Jennings, game over, drive home safe. Awesome! Typical Brett Favre. The bad B is of course Bill Belichick. This guy is now running up scores on everybody. They are throwing long bombs in the 4-Th quarter, not resting either Brady or Moss until very very late, going for it on 4-Th down in the third quarter while leading 35-3 or whatever. Its ridiculous. I can't believe he is getting away with this just because they are the Patriots and Brady and Belichick are the blue-eyed boys of the East coast media. Beli-cheat has fallen down a bit after the "video-gate", but he still gets off easy because of all the Boston lovers in ESPN and other media outlets. That team is full of "fake" class and I sure hope the real classy Tony Dungy kicks their behinds next week in the big game.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Number 4 baby!
ASU is ranked 4-Th in the nation. Awesome, considering that they didn't even play last week and still jumped up 4 spots. Thats how crazy this season has been. We have never had such parity in college football ever! For all the glitter and glamour of college football, parity was never one of it's strengths. Thats what set NFL and NCAA basketball apart from college football. But this year has been completely different. Week after week, undefeated and highly touted teams have been falling by the wayside and I love it. More on the reasons for all the parity in the game later, but just check out the standings below in week 1 and the BCS ranking in week 9. It's crazy beyond explanation.
Week 1
------
1. USC
2. LSU
3. West Virginia
4. Texas
5. Michigan
6. Florida
7. Wisconsin
8. Oklahoma
9. Virginia Tech
10. Louisville
Week 9
-------
1. Ohio State
2. Boston College
3. LSU
4. Arizona State
5. Oregon
6. Oklahoma
7. West Virginia
8. Virginia Tech
9. Kansas
10. South Florida
All the teams in the week 1's top 10 have lost one game, some of them more than one. There are only 4 teams from week 1's top 10 thats even in the top 10 now and some of them like Va-Tech actually dropped out of the top 10 and are now back in it because other teams keep losing and the rankings are getting jumbled up weekly. College football has never been so much fun. I can't wait for Saturdays this season. I hope the Ohio State Suck-eyes lose this week and continue the trend. Entirely likely since they are at Penn state. But of course I don't want ASU to lose rest of the way though. This is the highest ranking they have had since the Jake-the-Snake year in 1996. But in reality, they'll probably lose sometime soon because they have really not played anybody until now and their schedule is brutal the rest of the way. They play Cal this week and then @ Oregon and home to USC. They also play UCLA and U-OF-A. Lets see what happens, but until then, I'll enjoy this ranking along with the BCs and Kansases of the World.
Why so much parity in college suddenly? Apart from some recent scholarship restrictions, there are 2 major reasons, both of which are kind of related. 1) Money in sports and 2) Technology. Of course some of the technology is what brings in the new money. But the point is, there is so much money in Sports, especially the NFL right now, that they cover every inch to gain competitive advantage. So if you are a QB for a local junior college in Alaska and you have any kind of NFL ability, the scouts will find you. They have the money, the resources to come chase you. Multi-million dollar jobs could be won and lost based on your pick. It's that important and thats how high the stakes are. So they will assign 10 scouts just for a town in Alaska each making 100K a year if they have to. That was not the case 30 years back. This helps parity in college because the college recruits don't have to stay in the top schools to get noticed. A good athlete will rather start for Montana state than be the 3-Rd string RB for Florida State. They'll criticize the quality of competition at Montana state etc., but if you are good, they have the resources and systems in place to scout you, dissect you, draft you and train you for the NFL.
Secondly, technology. We now live in a global village. Internet, cell phones, youtube videos, satellite TVs etc. etc. etc. If you are good, you can't hide anywhere. Even 15 years back, people in California probably didn't know if Duke and Wake Forest even had a football program. Today, if you try hard enough, you can probably watch this game live in your living room in one of the 1800 channels that seem to carry college football these days. So there is no reason for any decent player to sit on the bench of big programs. Go start for Duke and make a mark for yourself. And this is exactly why parity is increasing day by day in college though some programs like USC are still loaded with depth. These situations are becoming an exception and is not the norm anymore. For the average fan, it's all fun.
Week 1
------
1. USC
2. LSU
3. West Virginia
4. Texas
5. Michigan
6. Florida
7. Wisconsin
8. Oklahoma
9. Virginia Tech
10. Louisville
Week 9
-------
1. Ohio State
2. Boston College
3. LSU
4. Arizona State
5. Oregon
6. Oklahoma
7. West Virginia
8. Virginia Tech
9. Kansas
10. South Florida
All the teams in the week 1's top 10 have lost one game, some of them more than one. There are only 4 teams from week 1's top 10 thats even in the top 10 now and some of them like Va-Tech actually dropped out of the top 10 and are now back in it because other teams keep losing and the rankings are getting jumbled up weekly. College football has never been so much fun. I can't wait for Saturdays this season. I hope the Ohio State Suck-eyes lose this week and continue the trend. Entirely likely since they are at Penn state. But of course I don't want ASU to lose rest of the way though. This is the highest ranking they have had since the Jake-the-Snake year in 1996. But in reality, they'll probably lose sometime soon because they have really not played anybody until now and their schedule is brutal the rest of the way. They play Cal this week and then @ Oregon and home to USC. They also play UCLA and U-OF-A. Lets see what happens, but until then, I'll enjoy this ranking along with the BCs and Kansases of the World.
Why so much parity in college suddenly? Apart from some recent scholarship restrictions, there are 2 major reasons, both of which are kind of related. 1) Money in sports and 2) Technology. Of course some of the technology is what brings in the new money. But the point is, there is so much money in Sports, especially the NFL right now, that they cover every inch to gain competitive advantage. So if you are a QB for a local junior college in Alaska and you have any kind of NFL ability, the scouts will find you. They have the money, the resources to come chase you. Multi-million dollar jobs could be won and lost based on your pick. It's that important and thats how high the stakes are. So they will assign 10 scouts just for a town in Alaska each making 100K a year if they have to. That was not the case 30 years back. This helps parity in college because the college recruits don't have to stay in the top schools to get noticed. A good athlete will rather start for Montana state than be the 3-Rd string RB for Florida State. They'll criticize the quality of competition at Montana state etc., but if you are good, they have the resources and systems in place to scout you, dissect you, draft you and train you for the NFL.
Secondly, technology. We now live in a global village. Internet, cell phones, youtube videos, satellite TVs etc. etc. etc. If you are good, you can't hide anywhere. Even 15 years back, people in California probably didn't know if Duke and Wake Forest even had a football program. Today, if you try hard enough, you can probably watch this game live in your living room in one of the 1800 channels that seem to carry college football these days. So there is no reason for any decent player to sit on the bench of big programs. Go start for Duke and make a mark for yourself. And this is exactly why parity is increasing day by day in college though some programs like USC are still loaded with depth. These situations are becoming an exception and is not the norm anymore. For the average fan, it's all fun.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
There are no babies in these DBacks.
It's been week since I blogged anything. It has been one of those weeks where my work came in the way of my life! I hate when that happens :-) MLB playoff are in full flow now and I couldn't be happier about the results so far. The baby-Backs are in the NLCS. Thats awesome. Nobody including the fans in Phoenix gave them a shot at the beginning of the season, but they are at the mountain-top right now with the other improbable team, the Colorado Rockies. An all NL-West NLCS. Who would have thought 2 NL-West teams would make it and neither would be the Padres, Dodgers or the Giants. Brandon Webb set the tone as expected in game 1 and the over-rated Cubs never recovered.
There were all kinds of criticism of the baby-backs lack of pitching depth beyond Brandon Webb. But Arizona's pitchers gave up just 6 runs total in 3 games. Livan Hernandez shut the Cubs down on the road today. It was a true team win with a whole of bunch of kids contributing. Chris Young hit a home-run in the very first pitch of the game and that was a blow the Wrigley faithful never really recovered from. Eric Byrnes and Stephen Drew hit home runs as well. Drew had some series with a .500 average. The kids are playing big when it counts the most. It would be awesome if the DBacks win a World Series. After the Marlins won a ring, gutted the team, re-built from scratch and won again in a span of ten years, it would be funny if the DBacks do the same. Cubs and Redsox and even the Giants have been waiting 50, 60, 80 years for championships and these guys are winning one very 5 to 10 years. Ironic!
Colorado swept the Philies to sew up the other NLCS spot. The Rockies are on an absolute roll. Their one-game playoff tie-breaker against the Padres might have been the best game of the year. Trevor Hoffman blew 2 straight saves to keep the Padres out of the playoffs and is taking a lot of heat from the Padres fans. The Rockies on the other hand have been hitting on all cylinders. The Phillies won the division after the Mets choked away the division lead in a spectacular meltdown. Tom Glavine couldn't get the second out in the first inning in the final game of the season and is now rumored to be contemplating not picking up his multi-million dollar player option to play for the Mets next season.
This series was predicted to be a high-scoring one with little pitching, but the Rockies pitching staff stepped up and shut the Phillies down. Phillies scored a total of 8 runs in 3 games against some Rockies pitchers that the rest of the country have not heard of. A Rockies-Dbacks NLCS was my dream and the TV networks nightmare! I was hoping for a similar match-up in the AL between Cleveland and Anaheim. Seems like the Angels are not going to be able to handle the Redsox. Manny came through with a walk-off homer in game 2 to put the Sox ahead 2-0. Many is awesome and so under-appreciated. He may be the only major leaguer I like in that whole over-rated Eastern sea-board. My wishes for a no-Redsox, no-Yankees ALCS is still alive. Cleveland is up 2-0 on the Yanks behind some awesome pitching by Fausto Carmona in a classic game 2 that went to 13 innings. Classic games are even more fun for me when the Yanks lose. A-Rod is 0-for-6 in the series so far and you can't blame him with Carmona pitching like that.
Lets just hope the Indians finish the Yankees off against Roger Clemens in game 3. And the Angels win the next 3 to keep the BoSox out.
There were all kinds of criticism of the baby-backs lack of pitching depth beyond Brandon Webb. But Arizona's pitchers gave up just 6 runs total in 3 games. Livan Hernandez shut the Cubs down on the road today. It was a true team win with a whole of bunch of kids contributing. Chris Young hit a home-run in the very first pitch of the game and that was a blow the Wrigley faithful never really recovered from. Eric Byrnes and Stephen Drew hit home runs as well. Drew had some series with a .500 average. The kids are playing big when it counts the most. It would be awesome if the DBacks win a World Series. After the Marlins won a ring, gutted the team, re-built from scratch and won again in a span of ten years, it would be funny if the DBacks do the same. Cubs and Redsox and even the Giants have been waiting 50, 60, 80 years for championships and these guys are winning one very 5 to 10 years. Ironic!
Colorado swept the Philies to sew up the other NLCS spot. The Rockies are on an absolute roll. Their one-game playoff tie-breaker against the Padres might have been the best game of the year. Trevor Hoffman blew 2 straight saves to keep the Padres out of the playoffs and is taking a lot of heat from the Padres fans. The Rockies on the other hand have been hitting on all cylinders. The Phillies won the division after the Mets choked away the division lead in a spectacular meltdown. Tom Glavine couldn't get the second out in the first inning in the final game of the season and is now rumored to be contemplating not picking up his multi-million dollar player option to play for the Mets next season.
This series was predicted to be a high-scoring one with little pitching, but the Rockies pitching staff stepped up and shut the Phillies down. Phillies scored a total of 8 runs in 3 games against some Rockies pitchers that the rest of the country have not heard of. A Rockies-Dbacks NLCS was my dream and the TV networks nightmare! I was hoping for a similar match-up in the AL between Cleveland and Anaheim. Seems like the Angels are not going to be able to handle the Redsox. Manny came through with a walk-off homer in game 2 to put the Sox ahead 2-0. Many is awesome and so under-appreciated. He may be the only major leaguer I like in that whole over-rated Eastern sea-board. My wishes for a no-Redsox, no-Yankees ALCS is still alive. Cleveland is up 2-0 on the Yanks behind some awesome pitching by Fausto Carmona in a classic game 2 that went to 13 innings. Classic games are even more fun for me when the Yanks lose. A-Rod is 0-for-6 in the series so far and you can't blame him with Carmona pitching like that.
Lets just hope the Indians finish the Yankees off against Roger Clemens in game 3. And the Angels win the next 3 to keep the BoSox out.
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