Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Answer
For all of you who may have read the blog recently and wondered, well, who is the most underrated baseball player? The answer is very simple, it's Lance Berkman. He doesn't get the media exposure that many of the top hitters in baseball do, but every year he quietly puts up spectacular numbers. The most telling stat is his OPS (On base % + Slugging %), where he ranks 16th all time, and 4th among active players. The names he's behind on that list are some of the great hitters of all time: Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, DiMaggio, and Musial. The three players who are ahead of him are Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez, and Todd Helton. Manny can be disqualified because he's trying to get pregnant, and even though I'm not usually one to admit this, you can't discount Coors Field when evaluating Todd Helton's statistics. So that leaves Pujols and Berkman as the top 2 hitters in the game. Would anyone out there have ever put those 2 together? Doubtful. For those of you who thought that Adrian Gonzalez was the pick, he was a great guess, but if he stopped playing tomorrow he hasn't put up the stats consistently enough to be remembered. Berkman is the same age as A-Rod, but has never had a hint of steroid suspicion. He plays all 3 OF positions and 1B. He's 2 HRs shy of 300 for his career, has a career .300 average, .412 OBP, and .557 slugging. The closest he has come to an MVP was in 2006, when he placed 3rd behind Pujols and winner Ryan Howard with a stat line of .315 average, 45 HRs, and 136 RBIs. Pretty phenomenal for not winning the award. Berkman deserves to be considered with the best of the best, not just a marginally good All-Star. 30 years ago Berkman is a first ballot hall of famer, but in the steroid era he doesn't even get a sniff from the casual fan. So to Lance Berkman, I salute you.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
An Unofficial Poll
So I've been debating this for a while. As part of my giving attention to the players who don't get it nationally, I've decided to take a poll of any and everyone who might read this and ask one simple question. After that, I'll give the correct answer. It's very simple, and should generate some interesting responses. Who is the most underrated baseball player out there? The only hint I'll give is that it's a position player and not a pitcher, but if you feel it's a pitcher, feel free. After enough time has passed I will evaluate the responses and hopefully someone else will get the correct answer, but I doubt it.
Again: Who is the most underrated baseball player?
P.S. He doesn't play in Boston or New York, if that wasn't obvious.
Again: Who is the most underrated baseball player?
P.S. He doesn't play in Boston or New York, if that wasn't obvious.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Last Night Was Awesome
Boston teams went 0-3, and I enjoyed watching as much as I could. Plus, the Orioles won 9-5 and the Rockets forced a game 7, setting up a great Sunday for basketball. There is a potential for my two least favorite NBA teams, the Celtics and Lakers, to lose on the same day and be eliminated from the playoffs as higher seeds. The Red Sox went to extra innings before they lost to the Angels, and the Bruins went to OT before they got beat by the Canes. The Bruins at least showed some fight in the game, basically mugging the Canes for the entire OT without getting called for a penalty. The Magic found a way to come back and expose the tired and old legs of the Celtics. Hopefully they remember how to continue this on Sunday, so that the crappy Celtics can just go home. Not much else other than the past 2 nights has been the best 2 day span for me in ages, my birthday was awesome, and last night was awesome too.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Red Sox and Steroids
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090511&content_id=4673748&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
I rest my case. One of the players in the clubhouse says the Red Sox informed players how to use steroids properly. Lou Merloni, the former player, equated it to "teaching your teenage daughter about sex education". Big difference, sex is legal in all 50 states, steroids is illegal in all 50 states. Pretending like this is no big deal is absolutely ridiculous. Now in fairness, the Red Sox GM at the time Dan Duquette says that the meeting never took place. But let's be honest, is there a situation in which he would admit to having a doctor come in and teach players how to properly use steroids after the Manny suspension and the atmosphere around baseball right now. I'll believe Merloni until he's proven wrong.
On another Boston note, as much as I hate the teams in that city, the Big Baby "controversy" is a joke. The guy was excited and accidently pushed a kid, but really was just swinging his arm backwards. The dad needs to give it a rest with the demanding of an apology, and if I were Davis, I would tell him to go fudge himself. But instead he caved and apologized, which is unfortunate, I might have actually liked a Boston player if he had some balls. That's all for tonight.
I rest my case. One of the players in the clubhouse says the Red Sox informed players how to use steroids properly. Lou Merloni, the former player, equated it to "teaching your teenage daughter about sex education". Big difference, sex is legal in all 50 states, steroids is illegal in all 50 states. Pretending like this is no big deal is absolutely ridiculous. Now in fairness, the Red Sox GM at the time Dan Duquette says that the meeting never took place. But let's be honest, is there a situation in which he would admit to having a doctor come in and teach players how to properly use steroids after the Manny suspension and the atmosphere around baseball right now. I'll believe Merloni until he's proven wrong.
On another Boston note, as much as I hate the teams in that city, the Big Baby "controversy" is a joke. The guy was excited and accidently pushed a kid, but really was just swinging his arm backwards. The dad needs to give it a rest with the demanding of an apology, and if I were Davis, I would tell him to go fudge himself. But instead he caved and apologized, which is unfortunate, I might have actually liked a Boston player if he had some balls. That's all for tonight.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
George Diaz is an idiot
This afternoon I sat down with the Evening Sun sports section and found myself reading an article taken from the Orlando Sentinel by George Diaz titled "BCS system has flaws but it does work". Really? They could have called and gotten a better opinion piece from me on the topic. So I decided to write a rebuttal, and after I'm done I'm going to send it in to the Evening Sun and see if I can get it published, because lets be honest, if they run that, they'll run anything. Here is a link so you can read it: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-sportsbcs-college-diazcol050609050609may06,0,594458.column
George Diaz's article on the BCS being flawed but working is an accurate representation of his own work. He's flawed in his argument, yet still working at a major American newspaper. He starts off by appealing to the common sense of the reader and getting them on his side by doing what every writer and TV anaylst has done when discussing Congress getting involved in the controversy. He attacks the men trying to force the BCS to implement a playoff by saying they have better uses for their time. While it is difficult to argue with the logic during these economic times, there is an intelligent reason behind this. Imagine being the congressman or congresswoman who wrote the bill forcing the BCS to implement a playoff system to determine a national champion. College football fans of all race, gender, religion, and political affiliation would likely vote for you forever, and crossing over those boundaries is appealing. Beyond that, a playoff would help stimulate revenue across the board. It only stands to reason that more games mean more money flowing in, especially playoff games that are located around the major cities of the nation. So creating a playoff is a stimulus plan that makes everyone happy. Lastly, lets not pigeon hole our lawmakers into people only worried about the economy or abortion or gay marriage. They are people who have genuine interests outside of sitting in a room voting on bills. They are doing the people the represent a service by discussing these issues because many Americans today care so much about their sports teams that they want something done about it by any means necessary.
Next Diaz goes directs the article towards the old excuse of "it's better than it used to be". Please spare me the nostalgia for the good old days of bowl games that didn't solve the national championship picture. Bud Selig is trying to use this excuse too when talking about steroids, but no one seems to buy it, because steroids are still a huge problem, and the best pure hitter in the game just got suspended for 50 games. We as college football fans need to continue to demand improvement because we deserve it. Spending money to go to games doesn't give you the right to throw beer or curse in front of children, but it does give you the right to know who the best team in the land is by the end of the season. Even more than the fans, the players deserve to not have championships shrowded in doubt or split because the BCS system failed to deliver. These students are in school being taught to strive for greatness, to be the best they can, but when they step on that field, they are told, it's not the best, but it's better than it used to be.
Diaz has a few more complaints about the problems with a playoff that are easily solved by reasoning. He says the games go too far beyond the traditional January 1st bowl games and "drone on and on and on beyond New year's Day." There are two schools of thought here. The first is that perhaps you just don't enjoy college football. I hold on to the precious last moments of the season and don't mind them stretching out a bit because football is a short 5 months every year. But perhaps I'm in the minority, and most fans would like to see the games wrap up a little sooner. The solution to that is simple, don't wait two weeks to start games, or take out the twelveth game that was added in and start the bowls a week sooner. The national championship game this year was on January 8th, but moved back one week falls exactly on January 1st. The conference championship games were played on December 6th, a full month before the national championship game. The 4 and a half weeks in between there would have been a perfect time for a playoff, ending on January 3rd, a Saturday. Diaz envisioned a world in which the major conferences collapse due to teams not wanting to play such difficult schedules to help their chances at making the playoffs. This is another easy solution. Instead of the 8 team playoff everyone is calling for, let's make it 16 teams, and every conference out there gets an automatic bid, and the 5 best conferences (determined by overall W-L % between them) get a 2nd qualifier. Therefore the BCS conferences are almost guaranteed to get 11 of the 16 spots, and any BCS busters like Utah or Boise St. get their fair shake too. The seeding can be done just like a mini men's tournament bracket, splitting the top 4 seeds into the best suited regions, and playing 2 games in the regions before coming in for a Final Four of Football. Teams like North Texas or Ball St. will play the likes of Florida, Oklahoma, or any other powerhouse in the first round in a virtual home game, so again the power conferences come out on top. The playoff can fit into the bowl system by rotating the first 8 games between the bowls not named Rose, Orange, Sugar, and Fiesta. The quarterfinals take those 4 names, and then we have the National Semifinals/Final Four and then the National Championship Game. To counter Diaz's concern about the team who is arguing about being the 16th/11th best team in the nation, remember, only two 11 seeds have ever made the NCAA Final Four (LSU 1986, George Mason 2006) and no 12 seed has ever done it. Complaining won't do much, because if you're arguing about being the 16th/11th best team, then you didn't do enough. A team like the 2004 Auburn Tigers wouldn't get left out even though they went undefeated, a team like 10-2 Texas Tech might find itself on the outside looking in. Diaz worries that teams might take the last week of the season off if they are secured a playoff bid. The likelihood of that happening is slim, considering even with a 16 team playoff only 13.3% of teams out of the current FBS are making the playoffs, so one mistake could take you out of the race. The only teams likely to do that would be undefeated conference winners, but the goal of going undefeated always trumps the desire to rest players, just ask the 18-1 Patroits.
Diaz goes on to point out another crutch of the BCS supporter, that a playoff would diminish the importance of the regular season. Again, going back the stat that only 13.3% of teams would make the playoffs means that every game would continue to count, and that mistakes could still cost a team their season. Losing a game hasn't prevented Florida from winning two national championships in the past 3 years, or kept Oklahoma out of the title game twice. One loss no longer means that a team is done because parity is beginning to sweep across the college football landscape, and going undefeated is more difficult than ever. The only undefeated team last year didn't get the chance to play for the title, so apparently the regular season isn't a playoff.
A playoff isn't a fool proof system and there are sure to be some kinks to work out, but at the end of the day it would make the vast majority of college football fans happier. Anyone arguing for the kids playing in the playoffs affecting their education needs to remember that these games are over Christmas break and have no affect on schoolwork. No other sports has a month between their national championship contenders playing, because no other sport has any outdated system like the bowls in place. 16 teams allows for enough teams to get their shot while keeping the playoff to under a month in length. It favors the bigger schools while allowing a great smaller school the oppurtunity to compete with the big boys for the national championship. Playing 15 games, 12 of which would be played close to the higher seed's campus, provides more games to generate revenue and allows the towns to gain business from the travelers coming in to watch the games. The only reason this doesn't work is because certain people at the top don't want to lose money from the bowls, but they can't see past that towards the money they would stand to make with a playoff. If the BCS was an effective way to crown a champion and generate revenue then every major sport would have it in some form. This isn't a bitter cry from a Utah or Boise St. fan, or even one from a Texas fan. I root for a Virginia Tech team that has yet to put together a team deserving of a national title. But when the day comes that they do, I pray that the BCS doesn't prevent them from competing for it by placing them back in the Orange Bowl.
George Diaz's article on the BCS being flawed but working is an accurate representation of his own work. He's flawed in his argument, yet still working at a major American newspaper. He starts off by appealing to the common sense of the reader and getting them on his side by doing what every writer and TV anaylst has done when discussing Congress getting involved in the controversy. He attacks the men trying to force the BCS to implement a playoff by saying they have better uses for their time. While it is difficult to argue with the logic during these economic times, there is an intelligent reason behind this. Imagine being the congressman or congresswoman who wrote the bill forcing the BCS to implement a playoff system to determine a national champion. College football fans of all race, gender, religion, and political affiliation would likely vote for you forever, and crossing over those boundaries is appealing. Beyond that, a playoff would help stimulate revenue across the board. It only stands to reason that more games mean more money flowing in, especially playoff games that are located around the major cities of the nation. So creating a playoff is a stimulus plan that makes everyone happy. Lastly, lets not pigeon hole our lawmakers into people only worried about the economy or abortion or gay marriage. They are people who have genuine interests outside of sitting in a room voting on bills. They are doing the people the represent a service by discussing these issues because many Americans today care so much about their sports teams that they want something done about it by any means necessary.
Next Diaz goes directs the article towards the old excuse of "it's better than it used to be". Please spare me the nostalgia for the good old days of bowl games that didn't solve the national championship picture. Bud Selig is trying to use this excuse too when talking about steroids, but no one seems to buy it, because steroids are still a huge problem, and the best pure hitter in the game just got suspended for 50 games. We as college football fans need to continue to demand improvement because we deserve it. Spending money to go to games doesn't give you the right to throw beer or curse in front of children, but it does give you the right to know who the best team in the land is by the end of the season. Even more than the fans, the players deserve to not have championships shrowded in doubt or split because the BCS system failed to deliver. These students are in school being taught to strive for greatness, to be the best they can, but when they step on that field, they are told, it's not the best, but it's better than it used to be.
Diaz has a few more complaints about the problems with a playoff that are easily solved by reasoning. He says the games go too far beyond the traditional January 1st bowl games and "drone on and on and on beyond New year's Day." There are two schools of thought here. The first is that perhaps you just don't enjoy college football. I hold on to the precious last moments of the season and don't mind them stretching out a bit because football is a short 5 months every year. But perhaps I'm in the minority, and most fans would like to see the games wrap up a little sooner. The solution to that is simple, don't wait two weeks to start games, or take out the twelveth game that was added in and start the bowls a week sooner. The national championship game this year was on January 8th, but moved back one week falls exactly on January 1st. The conference championship games were played on December 6th, a full month before the national championship game. The 4 and a half weeks in between there would have been a perfect time for a playoff, ending on January 3rd, a Saturday. Diaz envisioned a world in which the major conferences collapse due to teams not wanting to play such difficult schedules to help their chances at making the playoffs. This is another easy solution. Instead of the 8 team playoff everyone is calling for, let's make it 16 teams, and every conference out there gets an automatic bid, and the 5 best conferences (determined by overall W-L % between them) get a 2nd qualifier. Therefore the BCS conferences are almost guaranteed to get 11 of the 16 spots, and any BCS busters like Utah or Boise St. get their fair shake too. The seeding can be done just like a mini men's tournament bracket, splitting the top 4 seeds into the best suited regions, and playing 2 games in the regions before coming in for a Final Four of Football. Teams like North Texas or Ball St. will play the likes of Florida, Oklahoma, or any other powerhouse in the first round in a virtual home game, so again the power conferences come out on top. The playoff can fit into the bowl system by rotating the first 8 games between the bowls not named Rose, Orange, Sugar, and Fiesta. The quarterfinals take those 4 names, and then we have the National Semifinals/Final Four and then the National Championship Game. To counter Diaz's concern about the team who is arguing about being the 16th/11th best team in the nation, remember, only two 11 seeds have ever made the NCAA Final Four (LSU 1986, George Mason 2006) and no 12 seed has ever done it. Complaining won't do much, because if you're arguing about being the 16th/11th best team, then you didn't do enough. A team like the 2004 Auburn Tigers wouldn't get left out even though they went undefeated, a team like 10-2 Texas Tech might find itself on the outside looking in. Diaz worries that teams might take the last week of the season off if they are secured a playoff bid. The likelihood of that happening is slim, considering even with a 16 team playoff only 13.3% of teams out of the current FBS are making the playoffs, so one mistake could take you out of the race. The only teams likely to do that would be undefeated conference winners, but the goal of going undefeated always trumps the desire to rest players, just ask the 18-1 Patroits.
Diaz goes on to point out another crutch of the BCS supporter, that a playoff would diminish the importance of the regular season. Again, going back the stat that only 13.3% of teams would make the playoffs means that every game would continue to count, and that mistakes could still cost a team their season. Losing a game hasn't prevented Florida from winning two national championships in the past 3 years, or kept Oklahoma out of the title game twice. One loss no longer means that a team is done because parity is beginning to sweep across the college football landscape, and going undefeated is more difficult than ever. The only undefeated team last year didn't get the chance to play for the title, so apparently the regular season isn't a playoff.
A playoff isn't a fool proof system and there are sure to be some kinks to work out, but at the end of the day it would make the vast majority of college football fans happier. Anyone arguing for the kids playing in the playoffs affecting their education needs to remember that these games are over Christmas break and have no affect on schoolwork. No other sports has a month between their national championship contenders playing, because no other sport has any outdated system like the bowls in place. 16 teams allows for enough teams to get their shot while keeping the playoff to under a month in length. It favors the bigger schools while allowing a great smaller school the oppurtunity to compete with the big boys for the national championship. Playing 15 games, 12 of which would be played close to the higher seed's campus, provides more games to generate revenue and allows the towns to gain business from the travelers coming in to watch the games. The only reason this doesn't work is because certain people at the top don't want to lose money from the bowls, but they can't see past that towards the money they would stand to make with a playoff. If the BCS was an effective way to crown a champion and generate revenue then every major sport would have it in some form. This isn't a bitter cry from a Utah or Boise St. fan, or even one from a Texas fan. I root for a Virginia Tech team that has yet to put together a team deserving of a national title. But when the day comes that they do, I pray that the BCS doesn't prevent them from competing for it by placing them back in the Orange Bowl.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Oh Manny
So to anyone who thought this day would never come, it serves you right for being so naive. Manny Ramirez has officially been suspended for using performance enhancing drugs. The report from T.J. Quinn and Mark Fainaru-Wada is that he was using a drug called HCG, a women's fertility drug, and did not actually test positive, but evidence was found of use, which was enough to suspend him for 50 games. Ramirez is the first major player for the Red Sox to have his name brought up in the PED discussion(and no, Roger Clemens doesn't count, because most Boston fans disowned him, but you can read more about that snake here http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/note.php?note_id=2333019990 and may I remind you this was before the Mitchell Report). With the proclivity of steroid and HGH use in the MLB before the more stringent rules were put in place, it was only a matter of time before the Red Sox had their championships shrowded in doubt. The rapid decline of some many of their big pieces since that time only helps further the belief that they were all juicing.
The biggest problem with this is that most of these guys should have been outed in the Mitchell Report for their steroid use. The biggest Red Sox name in the report was Mo Vaughn, who hasn't been relevant since 1998. You may ask yourself, why is he the biggest Boston player on that report? The reason is simple, Senator George Mitchell has a stake in the Red Sox, and outing any of his own World Series winning players would have tarnished their championship. This is not something I just now realized. Ever since the report came out full of Yankees, Blue Jays, and Orioles, it was no real secret that there was another agenda besides cleaning up baseball. I'm usually not a conspiracy theorist, but in this case it just makes so much sense. Why else would there be no Big Papi, Manny Ramirez, Nomar Garciaparra, or any other magically better Red Sox player from those years leading up to their World Series titles? This day is just one of many more to come.
The biggest problem with this is that most of these guys should have been outed in the Mitchell Report for their steroid use. The biggest Red Sox name in the report was Mo Vaughn, who hasn't been relevant since 1998. You may ask yourself, why is he the biggest Boston player on that report? The reason is simple, Senator George Mitchell has a stake in the Red Sox, and outing any of his own World Series winning players would have tarnished their championship. This is not something I just now realized. Ever since the report came out full of Yankees, Blue Jays, and Orioles, it was no real secret that there was another agenda besides cleaning up baseball. I'm usually not a conspiracy theorist, but in this case it just makes so much sense. Why else would there be no Big Papi, Manny Ramirez, Nomar Garciaparra, or any other magically better Red Sox player from those years leading up to their World Series titles? This day is just one of many more to come.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Orioles, Playoffs, Scrubs, and Favre
I'm writing this in the top of the 3rd inning, and by the time I finish it may be later, but I just saw the stupidest base running decision I've seen in a while. It's the bottom of the 2nd with 2 outs, and Cesar Izturis on 2nd base. Adam Jones is at the plate, hitting .363 coming into the game, and already has a double. Keep in mind that Nick Markakis is hitting right behind him, and already has a HR in the game in the 1st inning. Jones hits a sharp line drive single to left field, where Denard Span is playing, with a relatively strong arm. So in this situation, you have the runner stay at 3rd on the hit, and take your chances on Nick Markakis as opposed to the likelihood of Izturis getting thrown out at home. But alas, I see Izturis turning for home and before the ball leaves Span's hand I know he's getting thrown out. The ball is 6 feet off the plate and the catcher still has enough time to get back and tag a sliding Izturis. The third base coach, Juan Samuel, can't let this happen, considering we're talking about team that isn't good enough to be giving back runs and getting thrown out on the basepaths. It's truly frustrating to watch a team that is the least talented team in its own division not at least play smart. I feel like if I coached the O's they would win 5 more games per season because I would just practice fundamentals all day with the fielders. But what the hell do I know.
**Update: The game has been delayed now for the 3rd time tonight, just end it and play the doubleheader tomorrow.
The NBA playoffs are starting to really piss me off. I don't watch them every night, but it seems like the nights I do watch, the games suck, or the Celtics win. I made sure I watched the Bulls-Celtics game 7 the other night, only to watch a game so horrific that I wanted to gauge my eyes out. It ws so bad I bought a basketball because I was convinced I could play in the NBA, because all I need to do is drive to the basket and I'll get fouled. I've been practicing free throws in the driveway in anticipation for declaring for the draft. I haven't hired an agent, so don't worry, I can still keep my options open. Anyway, it's annoying to watch a game in which there are more whistles than shots. There was no flow to the game, making it difficult to watch. The only thing I enjoyed was seeing Rajon Rondo get knocked on his ass twice in a row. I normally would feel bad for someone like that, but he had it coming after the cheap shots he doled out earlier in the series. Back to my initial point, I'm trying to watch the Magic-Celtics game tonight, but it's just been terrible. Why am I not around for the triple OT games, or the buzzer beaters. Just my luck.
Final thing, I know I don't want to do much talking about cultural things outside sports, but I feel the season 8 finale of Scrubs deserved some attention. It was a nice ending, and I really enjoyed the ending montage. However, I'm afraid that they are gonna try to keep the series going even though Judy Reyes (Carla) and Zach Braff (J.D.) won't be back for another season. It's time to let the series go. They tried the internet "Interns" series, and if they make that into the next season of Scrubs you can take me off the bandwagon. No thank you.
Finally, I'm going to murder Brett Favre, in the figurative sense of course. How many times does he need to retire before he stays that way. I get it, you still think you can play, and you want to win another Super Bowl ring, but the greats need to learn when it's time to hang it up. I really don't want my summer to be littered with Brett Favre speculation. I think the greatest thing that could happen would be for Roger Goodell to not reinstate him. It would be an unprecedented move, but it would send the message that you can't hold teams hostage like he did with Green Bay, and you better be sure that you're ready to retire before you file the paperwork. If only I were the NFL commisioner....
**Update: The game has been delayed now for the 3rd time tonight, just end it and play the doubleheader tomorrow.
The NBA playoffs are starting to really piss me off. I don't watch them every night, but it seems like the nights I do watch, the games suck, or the Celtics win. I made sure I watched the Bulls-Celtics game 7 the other night, only to watch a game so horrific that I wanted to gauge my eyes out. It ws so bad I bought a basketball because I was convinced I could play in the NBA, because all I need to do is drive to the basket and I'll get fouled. I've been practicing free throws in the driveway in anticipation for declaring for the draft. I haven't hired an agent, so don't worry, I can still keep my options open. Anyway, it's annoying to watch a game in which there are more whistles than shots. There was no flow to the game, making it difficult to watch. The only thing I enjoyed was seeing Rajon Rondo get knocked on his ass twice in a row. I normally would feel bad for someone like that, but he had it coming after the cheap shots he doled out earlier in the series. Back to my initial point, I'm trying to watch the Magic-Celtics game tonight, but it's just been terrible. Why am I not around for the triple OT games, or the buzzer beaters. Just my luck.
Final thing, I know I don't want to do much talking about cultural things outside sports, but I feel the season 8 finale of Scrubs deserved some attention. It was a nice ending, and I really enjoyed the ending montage. However, I'm afraid that they are gonna try to keep the series going even though Judy Reyes (Carla) and Zach Braff (J.D.) won't be back for another season. It's time to let the series go. They tried the internet "Interns" series, and if they make that into the next season of Scrubs you can take me off the bandwagon. No thank you.
Finally, I'm going to murder Brett Favre, in the figurative sense of course. How many times does he need to retire before he stays that way. I get it, you still think you can play, and you want to win another Super Bowl ring, but the greats need to learn when it's time to hang it up. I really don't want my summer to be littered with Brett Favre speculation. I think the greatest thing that could happen would be for Roger Goodell to not reinstate him. It would be an unprecedented move, but it would send the message that you can't hold teams hostage like he did with Green Bay, and you better be sure that you're ready to retire before you file the paperwork. If only I were the NFL commisioner....
Friday, May 1, 2009
Mock Draft Results and more
So I reviewed the mock drafts that Lloyd and I did and applied the agreed upon scoring formula and found out that its true, I am much better than him at mock drafts. The system was simple, only scoring the first round, if you get a player correct to that slot, then you get 10 points. Every position you are off reduces that by 1 point, all the way into negative numbers if necessary (and it was). The final tally is Tim with 116 points, or an average of 3.62 per player, and Lloyd with 73, or an average of 2.28 per player.
With all that being said, this was by far the quirkiest draft I can ever remember seeing, and of course I had second row seats to it, literally. I understand everyone's big board is different, and that Mel Kiper and Scouts Inc. aren't the only authority on these players, but when a guy ranked in the top 100 for McShay doesn't get drafted, something is wrong. Everyone focused on the Raiders, who had an absolutely awful draft, and I don't care if some other team had Michael Mitchell as a 3rd rounder, taking him in the 2nd is just idiotic. He's tall and fast, but he didn't produce against lesser competition, and wasn't even a feature player at Ohio's pro day. All that aside, the underrated terrible draft goes to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Their first two picks are solid, but they passed up on Michael Crabtree, who I absolutely love, to take Eugene Monroe, and then took another OT in the 2nd round. This after going out in the offseason and bringing in Tra Thomas and paying him too much money. Then, they took two players back to back that left a lot of people at the draft going "huh?" Terrance Knighton. He's a DT out of Temple that I couldn't find listed too many places, and then immediately after they took Derek Cox, a CB out of William and Mary. The collective of guys sitting in our area just seemed confounded, as did the guys in the booth talking about it. As Mel Kiper stresses, the draft is about value, not who you pick. These guys were both at best 6th round picks who were taken in the 3rd when much better players were still available. Then with their next 5 picks they decided to take 3 WRs, 1 RB, and 1 TE. For a team with such a need they waited way too long to address it. They have the 2nd worst draft, yet they got a C+ grade. I just don't see it.
Speaking of going to the draft, that was quite an experience. The guy in front of Lloyd and I smelled like he hadn't showered in quite a while, and had back hair that you could braid. I got the signatures of many ESPN personalities, and found out that Herm Edwards is just about the nicest guy ever. Those guys put in a lot of time, and they still were cheerful enough afterwards to sign some autographs and talk breifly with everyone. I was really impressed with the whole setup. Plus I got a nice bag of gifts for free, which always helps smooth things over with me. The Radio City Music Hall is beautiful, and hopefully someday soon I'll be taking over for Mel and running the show there.
With all that being said, this was by far the quirkiest draft I can ever remember seeing, and of course I had second row seats to it, literally. I understand everyone's big board is different, and that Mel Kiper and Scouts Inc. aren't the only authority on these players, but when a guy ranked in the top 100 for McShay doesn't get drafted, something is wrong. Everyone focused on the Raiders, who had an absolutely awful draft, and I don't care if some other team had Michael Mitchell as a 3rd rounder, taking him in the 2nd is just idiotic. He's tall and fast, but he didn't produce against lesser competition, and wasn't even a feature player at Ohio's pro day. All that aside, the underrated terrible draft goes to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Their first two picks are solid, but they passed up on Michael Crabtree, who I absolutely love, to take Eugene Monroe, and then took another OT in the 2nd round. This after going out in the offseason and bringing in Tra Thomas and paying him too much money. Then, they took two players back to back that left a lot of people at the draft going "huh?" Terrance Knighton. He's a DT out of Temple that I couldn't find listed too many places, and then immediately after they took Derek Cox, a CB out of William and Mary. The collective of guys sitting in our area just seemed confounded, as did the guys in the booth talking about it. As Mel Kiper stresses, the draft is about value, not who you pick. These guys were both at best 6th round picks who were taken in the 3rd when much better players were still available. Then with their next 5 picks they decided to take 3 WRs, 1 RB, and 1 TE. For a team with such a need they waited way too long to address it. They have the 2nd worst draft, yet they got a C+ grade. I just don't see it.
Speaking of going to the draft, that was quite an experience. The guy in front of Lloyd and I smelled like he hadn't showered in quite a while, and had back hair that you could braid. I got the signatures of many ESPN personalities, and found out that Herm Edwards is just about the nicest guy ever. Those guys put in a lot of time, and they still were cheerful enough afterwards to sign some autographs and talk breifly with everyone. I was really impressed with the whole setup. Plus I got a nice bag of gifts for free, which always helps smooth things over with me. The Radio City Music Hall is beautiful, and hopefully someday soon I'll be taking over for Mel and running the show there.
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