Friday, June 29, 2007

Friday Afternoon Boredom

So I'm at work, watching all things from the world of sports. Including Andy Roddick, Women's golf, and the Cubs finally hitting a little bit of a rough spot. Speaking of the Cubs, I think its funny how people from Chicago look at their tendency to have Friday afternoon day games as an example of their superiority over other teams. Really? Just beacuse you decide that you want to have games at an awkward time does not make you special. In fact, it just makes you dumb. And if I hear one more thing about the Cubs amazing fan base...you know why there fan base is so large and why its so hard to get tickets to a game at Wrigley? Because there are 9.5 million people in the metropolitan area, and your stadium holds under 40,000. The Reds have some of the most fairweather fans in the country. Cincinnati's metro area is just over 2 million people. They average over 20,000 fans a game. If the market was the same size, "amazingly", you have a sellout everygame even when you suck. There is nothing special about Cubs fans loyalty.

So my attempt at recording my thoughts about the NBA draft hit a snag last night when I experienced true boredom. However, there are plenty of reactions I still have to give today. The Bulls, one of the few truly great defensive teams in the NBA, drafted a "high energy guy" who rebounds and block shots. Last time I checked, what they needed was a scoring big man during their loss to Detroit, not some girly dude who can't make a jump shot. I was really starting to like the Bulls until they drafted Emzara. (That's the wife of Noah from the bible for all you people who wondered).

The Knicks had a wonderful night in front of all their fans. For as much crap as Isiah Thomas takes, he seems to come through on Draft night. Everyone on earth laughed when they took Balkman in the first round last year. He was a really good rookie this year. Their front line now consists of Eddie Curry, Zach Randolph, Balkman, and Randolph Morris. That's pretty deep. And they drafted a young talented forward from Depaul. Isiah might have the Knicks heading towards relevance.

Challenges in tennis are fun. The idea that they ask a computer system if the ball was in or not still amazes me. I'm bringing this up because a guy just challenged a call in his match against Andy Roddick. Roddick looked at the Chair Umpire and said that ball was so far out it won't even show up on the screen. He was right. It was 2 feet out. I think that guy is going blind, or its really hard to see at 8:30 at night when you have no lights.

Essential Reads:

Long live NFl Europa. I'm sure 23 people in Germany will mis it. Reds will beat the Cardinals tonight, and then again tomorrow with the Phi Tau boys on hand to bring it home. Until next time, this is the young Intern, passing the rounding third sign, and heading for home.

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Thursday, June 28, 2007

NBA Draft Version 1

This is going to be extremely painful, and even more pointless, but I'm going to watch this thing, and considering I have my computer in front of the TV, here comes my first live draft blog.

25 mins until Portland is on the clock. Oh buddy. I'm gonna go watch the Reds for a while. I'll be back.

Joakim Noah is officially the ugliest man on earth. Who wears a freaking bow tie when they are that tall and have hair that long.

7 minutes. I can't wait for David Stern!! Oh yeay!

So I really hope we find out how old this Chinese guy Yi really is. Hearing everything from 19 to 24. Gotta love foreign government records.

The Charles Barkley-Dwayne Wade commercial on the golf course is awesome.

And the draft begins. David Stern looks extraordinarily pompous tonight. Knicks fans are in rare form tonight. Portland is On the Clock.

Portland is going to select Greg Oden. And they are really strange in that draft room. I've been in a draft room, and most normal people don't clap like that. Oregon people scare me.

With the first pick of the 2007 NBA Draft, the Portland Trailblazers select: Greg Oden, C Ohio State. Nice suit, but he looks older than my dad. Awkward smile too. Man he makes Stern look like a midget.

So here comes the most obvious pick in the history of the NBA. Wait, no...that was Jordan to Portland. Well atleast we know Seattle won't screw this up. Ummm...maybe not. Well, as much as I want this pick to be someone other than Kevin Durant, its not going to happen. Damn.

We have a trade. Ray Allen to Boston for Wally Sczerbiak, Delonte West, and the Number 5 pick. This trade only occurs if Jeff Green is still available at #5. That seems like an awful lot to give up for an old shooting guard. Heard Seattle wanted Rondo and Boston wouldnt give it to them. Danny Ainge may have done something right... And oh yea, Seattle picked that loser Durant. Atlanta is now on the clock.

I really like Al Horford here. He is an NBA ready beast. True story. We'll see what Atlanta does tho.

Atlanta just took Horford. And I just made the honest mistake of seeing Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah from far away range and assuming the long haired person next to Brewer was just some ugly woman. Nope. It was Noah. Ha ha. I hope he falls and falls and falls. Add Connely to the list of Point Guards Atlanta has passed on, including Deron Williams and Chris Paul.

The Memphis Grizzley logo makes me want a dip. And they select Mike Conely, so 4 picks in 2 OSU players and a Florida guy. Gotta love college basketball.

Here comes Boston....if this if Jeff Green, that trade is official. Write that down. And Mike Conely Sr. is about to have a whole lot of money. He is Oden's and his son's agent.

Celtics select Jeff Green. The trade will work as soon as it is approved. All Celtics fans in the room have to be pissed off tho because they are assuming they just took a younger Paul Pierce.

Here comes Milwaukee. Yi doesn't wanna play there. They want to select him. We will find out if there is a compromise, or if they select Corey Brewer and actually make there team better. Think about it. They need that type of player. The Bucks select Mr. Yi. And he really really doesn't want to play there.

Here comes Minnesota and their KG rebuildingness. Corey Brewer fits here too. Actually he fits everywhere. He's that good. And I wish he would have been a Wildcat. I'm only going to do this blog thing long enough tonight to bitch and complain about when Noah is taken. He is the only player going to be taken in this lottery who I don't think will ever score 13 points a game over the course of a season. The Twolves select Brewer. That's awesome.

The Fighting Michael Jordan's select next. He really wants to trade this pick. If not, and he selects Noah, they will go backward in the standings next season. The select a 2nd team all ACC guy from North Carolina. This team would be awesome in an alumni league. But come on, quit building an all UNC team in the NBA. May, Felton, Wright...run by Jordan...ugh. I still haven't eaten dinner. Screw this. Go Reds.
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Washed Away

Last night, about 10:02, something happened. With a downpour of rain, I watched the Reds entire season turn around. Yes sir. Following a triple of the wall over Grif's head with 2 outs and a one run lead, the rain came. During this 43 minute delay, David Weathers and Eddie Guardado developed a strategy for Chase Utley and Ryan Howard...don't pitch to them. Well, Stormy didn't, but even when your pitching around someone you can throw strikes. He did. After Utley walked, Howard watched strike three go by. Then in the top of the 9th Adam Dunn went opposite field. The team that came out from the rain delay was not the same team that went in. This team has luck on its side. So count me in. I'm starting the bandwagon. Not only am I driving the train, I'm building it. Today around the office was the most upbeat day since I started working for the team. I don't care how bad this bullpen is, and how bad these starters can be. This team is going into the all star break in fourth place, and charging hard. Write it down.

The NBA draft is tonight, and with Portland apparently making the decision that they would take Oden, and then leaking it, has totally taken the drama out of the first 20 mins. From the third pick on out, it should be pretty good. Who do I think will be the Brady Quinn of the NBA draft? I'm praying its Joakim Noah. For the pain hes put this state through the fast few years, he deserves to lose some money.

This is a short entry. but only because there are a lot of good columns who said what I was thinking way better than I ever possibly could. I think I might blog my first reactions of the NBA draft first round live tonight. Check back tomorrow for some seriously delusional thoughts.

Essential reads:
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Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Oops.

So you know how when you go on a talk show, you recieve a bump in a political race? This blog appears to be the opposite for sports. I raved about Homer, and he got killed (more on that in a minute). And the Lakers KG dream, not only is that dead, but it appears quite likely that KG will end up in Pheonix, the antithesis of all things holy in basketball. The mojo was off yesterday, and I'm afraid to say anything positive today.

As for Homer, I charted every pitch he threw last night. Yes, that makes me a complete loser with absolutely too much time on my hands. Quite honestly, having a blog did that anyways, but it just added to the fact. Other than the fact I now know more about Homer Bailey than almost any other common man on the planet, this was a painful experience. My findings:

  1. He threw 44 pitches, 21 for strikes and 23 balls.
  2. He threw 39 fast balls, 4 curve balls, and 1 change up.
  3. He threw 2 curveballs out of the strike zone. Both were swinging strikes. He threw 2 curveballs in the strike zone. They were both singles.
  4. The home run by Ryan Howard was David Ross' fault. Terrible call on the pitch. Homer didn't miss the glove.
  5. Some how Homer walked a pitcher on 4 pitches who was up to bunt.
  6. 12 batters faced, only retired 3 (2 double plays). 6 first pitch strikes.

My verdict: Obviously the Kid, who is less than a calendar year older than me, has a lot to learn. But for that bad start that every one knew was coming, it could have been way way worse.

The reporting on Chris Benoit is getting out of hand. 'Roid Rage is random acts of violence caused by anxiety and insane levels of chemical imbalance. Based on the details of what Benoit did, this was not random. It was the final deliberate act of a deranged man who had gone insane.

Three burning questions for Wednesday June 27:

  1. What are the odds that Harang has another good start in succession? Its been a year of inconsistency for him and the whole team.
  2. Does anyone remember that UK-UCLA game from Maui last year? The team that showed up in the 2nd half of that game was way better than the one that bowed out to Kansas in the 2nd round of the tournament. The difference in that team is the difference in our coaching office.
  3. How many times can Carson Palmer answer the same damn question to different networks? We're all ashamed. It needs to turn around. He's getting tired of answering the question, and I'm growing tired of listening.

"Seven is fine, but eight is great..." ~Robert Horry

Essential Reads:

I'm going to go ump a little league baseball game. Hopefully I'll be home in time to watch the bullpen blow the game, and catch the end of the Cubs winning their 6th straight game. Oh happy day...

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Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Should be sleeping instead of dreaming about KG...

It should be stated that I am a huge Laker fan. Have been ever since MJ retired. I'm the guy who gets a text message from ESPN every time the lead changes, even in the preseason. However, on the issue of Kobe v. Lakers, I tend to side with Kobe because something about Mitch Kupcheck and Dr. Buss remains just not trustworthy. So when Kobe's trade demands forced the Lakers into attempting to improve, it was a win win situation for me: Either Kobe goes to a better team, or he plays for a better team. In regards to the Kevin Garnett rumors, I believe the Lakers should go to NBA.com, print out their roster, cross out Kobe and Jordan Farmar and tell the Twolves they can have anything left on that list. If they want the whole list, thats cool too, because Farmar, Garnett and Kobe playing 3-5 have a better chance of winning a playoff series than the mediocre (at best) cast Kupcheck magnificently "built" around Kobe.

5 Burning questions for June 26, 2007:
  1. Will Homer's stuff be as electric as it was in Oakland last week? His mistakes in that game (save the run scoring double) were all out of the strike zone. When you don't throw many mistakes and limit your pitch count, thats the kind of stuff no hitters are made of.
  2. Where was the WWE going with the Mr. McMahon has died story line before the untimely meltdown and ultimate deaths of Chris Benoit and his family?
  3. How close are Odell Thurman and Chris Henry to repeating Tank Johnsons fate? I would prefer to see neither of them when I make the annual trip down to Georgetown for training camp.
  4. If the Reds trade David Weathers and Jeff Connine for prospects, which I agree they should, who on this team will get the key outs and key hits? This season is 2 trades, for the better in the long run, away from becoming historically bad.
  5. As much as it pains me to say it, is there any way the Red Sox don't win the World Series if they stay healthy? Becket, Dice-K, and Schilling alone ought to scare the life out of every team in the league. Here's hoping Milwaukee can get that far and gets lucky.

I'm really bitter about the Cubs comeback last night...

The news around here has been especially creepy lately. Sometimes the real world is just too real.

Essential Reads:

Homer pitches tonight...its going to be a good night. Enjoy your working Tuesday. And just for the hell of it, Hoorah Phi Tau.

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Monday, June 25, 2007

Wild Weekend Recap

With so much happenning over a sports weekend, I'm going to stick with the things I actually watched.

Ten Things this Weekend left me thinking:
  1. Has US Soccer turned the corner? For the first time in my life, an American made a play in a big game that amazed me. Here's to Benny Feilhaber, my new favorite soccer player.
  2. This is completely unrelated, but why is ESPN2 showing a replay of a match from 1980 during a Wimbledon rain delay. You cannot be serious!!! I hate John McEnroe by the way.
  3. If the people in Cincinnati don't give Ken Griffey Jr. a standing ovation on Friday when the Reds return home, are his feelings going to be hurt?
  4. Isn't it ridiculous how NASCAR makes a race have to be determined by fuel milage? Why don't you either use a bigger tank, or make the race the correct distance so the best car and driver actually win, not the one who almost wrecked the whole field because he doesnt understand how to drive a stock car.
  5. Its really hard to hate an athlete, any athlette, who appears in the Sportscenter my Wish series.
  6. A week ago, the Cincinnati media were worried that Ryan Freel may never fully recover. I laughed at them. Yesterday, Ryan did too when he hit an infield single and then stole second in his first appearance in Louisville.
  7. Back to random Wimbledon thoughts, but Richard Williams sounds like what I imagine Mike Tyson will sound like when he turns 70. Richard is the father of Serena and Venus, who both scare me.
  8. I'm starting a collection fund for Marion Jones so she doesn't end up in the poor house.
  9. Not to make light of a sad situation, but when I read yesterday that Rod Beck had died at age 38, my first reaction was amazement that Rod Beck was only 38. The guy looked 45 while he was still playing.
  10. The shortstop for the now repeat National Champion Oregon State Beavers would be one of my favorite prospects in the country. But then I found out he was drafted by the Cubs. DAMN!

Essential Reads:

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Sunday, June 24, 2007

Starting out

So here it begins...

For years I've been telling everyone what I thought pertaining to sports. Today is the day I've decided to begin keeping track of it. It doesn't really matter whether or not anyone reads this, I just felt like it was time to officially write it all down.

I'll try my best to keep this relevant, up to date, and only slightly biased.

Three Eternal Questions for Sunday June 24, 2007:
1)Is it strange that I'm more angry on days when the Red's don't play than when they lose?
2)Do I need help because I sleep better on nights when the Cubs and or Red Sox lose?
3)Is the first thought through your head when you wake up most mornings "is it basketball season yet"?

Essential reads:
John Fay writes how the Seattle fans still love Jr: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070624/COL09/706240358/1082/SPT&GID=YAAkBWHnhw0TAwq4LK3Nw2CrlEsBS+VUi32Aotaux/c%3D

Jay Mariotti continues to pile on the White Sox: http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mariotti/441491,CST-SPT-jay24.article

Enjoy your Sunday of Nascar Road Racing and Baseball.
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