So the NFL Draft kicked off Thursday night...As a Browns fan, I'm not thrilled...I'm not totally pissed, but not thrilled...Getting Trent Richardson was good, but trading 3 picks to move up one spot to get him was retarded...The Vikings boned the Browns with that...They weren't taking Richardson, and Other teams weren't throwing that much to move up a couple spots, let alone one...Then with the 22nd pick the Browns took their next starting QB...Their 17th since they returned in 1999...


Brandon Weeden...I think he'll be better then Colt McCoy, but based on what we've seen that isn't saying a lot...I mean McCoy, as you can see from that list above, was one of a long standing tradition of Browns QB's who were running for their lives, and had little talent around them...Weeden may have a better chance, but 22 was too high for a guy who is almost 30 years old...They could have got him at 37, and gotten the WR they need so badly at 22...

Oh, they got a WR...In the 4th round, they picked up a 5 foot 9 inch receiver, that everyone had a boner for...Are you shitting me...We don't need a midget slot receiver, we need a mother fucker who can go down field, and out jump DB's for balls...Oh, and actually catch balls!

At 37 they took California tackle Phillip Schwartz, who will play the right side...Good pick, they needed to fix that side of the line...Then they traded down from 67 to 87, picking up pick 120...At 87 they picked up the #2 DT from Cincinnati...WTF for! This is a guy they could have gotten in the 6th or 7th round...Fucking stupid...The later rounds was nothing sexy, or thrilling...A couple LB's and depth guys for the OL and DL...I'm not thrilled, but I guess these clowns could have done worse...

I wouldn't get into all the details, but looking at the recaps, I like what the Steelers did...Some smart picks, that will make their mini-rebuild easy...I'm not jumping ship, even though they have good looking fans...


Shit, look at this ugly bastard, having fun, just because his asshole team wins...



Oh, and for my blogging brothers, I finally found that pick of JDIN827 chomping on a bone...


Of all the idiotic picks that took place in the draft, there was none more retarded then the Saturday, when the Redskins after taking RG3 # 2overall, then took Michigan State QB Kurt Cousins...What a waste...These dopes traded away so many picks just to get up to #2, they can't afford to be burning another on a QB...But fuck'em...That's why they're the Redskins, and that's why they keep losing their division!

But enough of this draft bullshit!

-The last couple weeks, I had been getting myself ready for my transfer from The Fish House, to one of my company's Steak Houses...Well ain't this a bitch...They put me on the station that cooks all the fucking fish! 8 burners and a flat-top, cooking pastas, fish, chicken, and veal...And this fucking joint sells a bunch of fish at lunch...But I'm settling well, and the crew I'm working with is pretty cool, and has welcomed me with open arms...

-Saturday night the Mrs. and I went out for an early Italian dinner...Great little place right in our neighborhood...After some great food, a couple glasses of wine, and desert, we were feeling good...She was even a little frisky...Then we went to meet up with some old friends of mine for drinks...We had a great time...The Karaoke started, and we had to go...We wanted to stay, but the baby-sitter was starting to cost us a lot...

Sunday, the wife was feeling a bit tired, and well, she just can't hang like she use to...So I took the kids to a park for a couple hours...Molls was loving the swings, as usual!


After that we knocked out some yard work while the kids road their bikes...I had to chop the hell out of a hedge along the driveway, so I can get my new mini-van all the way in the back...Yep, I'm full blown Mr. Mom now, rocking the mini-van...

That's it for now...Have a week...

Later, The Beeze.

Well it wouldn't be an appropriate blog, without me mentioning the release of a long time favorite player of mine yesterday by the Tigers. He was the last player from that 43-119 team, that did not have much of a chance to win because they were loaded with AA and AAA players and did not stand a chance against anyone that year. The question remaining in my head, is how the hell did Ryan Raburn survive not being sent to Toledo? But as all things go, they must end sometime and it was time for Brandon to go, hope someone picks him up that needs a great defensive player, who may not hit for average but pick everything hit his way.....

It leads me to this, back in the 70's it was acceptable for a position player who could play his position but not hit for average the Tigers had Aurelio Rodriquez and Eddie Brinkman as examples. Couldn't hit there way out of a wet paper bag with a hole and a road map to get their asses out of that bag, but when you hit a ball their way you may as well headed from the batter's box back to the dugout, because you were out nearly every time. Every team has their Brandon Inge's, and they deal with it because they know what he lacks at the plate he makes up for by saving them runs out on the field with their glove. Brandon will be sorely missed by the Tigers and my daughter Taylor, she was his Tiger when she was 3 and learning about baseball.

Thank you Ben if this was truly your last game as a Piston, I really enjoyed coming down to the Palace and watch you play.  You understood your role as a Piston, and were a major reason they brought a title back to Detroit in 04' Your fans wish you would stay another year, but understand that its time to watch your children grow up. The Pistons will be fine, because from the looks of the kids coming out of college this year, they will find your replacement for many years to come.

Dear Metta World Peace:

No offense, but I remember when you were a member of the Indiana Pacers and went into the stands one evening at the Palace and assaulted some fans. Sorry my friend I do not believe the sincerity in this apology, because I have seen your ignorance before first hand.

When and who will you snap on again, and then claim it was an accident and make it all better? Did David Stern forget about the incident at the Palace a few years back, if he had remembered you may have been suspended a whole lot longer than 7 games, or the first round of the playoffs if the Laker's get lucky enough to get by without you on their bench. I guess that is the benefit of playing for the Laker's and not the Pacer's, because you were suspended a whole lot longer than this for what you did that night.......

I just did not come here today to slam and rip World Peace, I wanted to show you a soft side that came from his site about his daughter's battle with cancer. It shows there is a human side to this man, and may explain his anger but still is no excuse for his actions.........

I was going to talk about the NFL Draft today, but I am still puzzled by the Lion's first pick Riley Rieff. Can he run the ball up the middle, cover a wide receiver going deep and going over the middle? I think not, he may plug a hole on the offensive line but he will not help cover up the Lion's real weakness, their defensive secondary. I will leave it at that for the moment......

Not to rub it in, but the Stanley Cup finalists are now both sitting at home watching the playoffs on television. I give the Capitals and Kings credit, they played two great series and the Caps got a great goal in what turned out to be a great series to watch on television. The Wings sucked badly during their series against Nashville, but Rinne was the real reason they are also at home, he outplayed Jimmy Howard the whole entire series. I guess I am not much of a fan of the Flyers and Pens, but I am glad that Sid the Kid and his team of crybabies are gone, and I do not care much for the Flyers so I hope someone takes care of them in the next round. 

My buddy told me once that its not a hockey game unless there are fights, and he was pissed off when the NHL tried to eliminate them from the sport entirely. The sad part is I actually agree, I believe half the stick and elbowing to the heads causing the concussion issues are caused by the NHL not letting the players take out their frustrations on a player that pissed them off. I believe they should let them get it out of their systems, because most of the time they do not fight a second time anyway. It does not really slow the pace of the game down, it adds to the entertainment value especially if the fight is a good one. He also hates the 4 on 4 and shootout at the end of overtime, he believed in 5 on 5 and sudden death overtime 20 minutes or until a goal is scored. No points for losing in overtime or shootout, because why should a team be rewarded for losing? Bring back Center Ice and the two line pass, so that teams like the Penguins can cherry pick and score easy goals. Make the goalies fair game if they come out of the crease, and eliminate that blue patch that protects them. If you notice, they use their sticks as well as the position players on opposing players in front of the net and should not be protected like they are the superstar players most goalies aren't in the first place. Finally, stop protecting the superstar players like they are Gods, and make them fair game also. They seem to get penalties called by the refs if the opposing team touches them, if you make them accountable for their actions then maybe players like Daniel Sedin will not swing his stick or take liberties on others. He clearly got what he deserved, and a few years back he would have got the crap kicked out of him and the other player involved would not have been suspended for getting his revenge.....

As I close out my blog, I will say one more thing get rid of the Designated Hitter. The reason the pitchers are getting away with intentionally hitting opposing batters in the American League is there is no course of retribution other than the opposing pitcher hitting a member of their team which normally results in a ESPN highlight the next day. When I was growing up, if you threw at a player you had better put catcher's equipment on because Tom Seaver or Nolan Ryan was going to bust your ribs the next time you batted.....

Thank you for reading my post, hope you enjoyed my rants and raves...

Well, no intro this week, folks, just anger… pure, unadulterated anger! That’s right, it’s draft season… and apparently hate-crime season as well. And, both activities have me seeing red this week.

   We’ll start out with the NFL Draft, where, true to form, the Detroit Lions shit the bed with all three picks in the first three rounds. Apparently the ghost of Matt Millen still lurks somewhere within the bowels of Lions HQ in Allen Park… because Martin Mayhew is at the very least staying true to his formula of ignoring glaring holes on his roster and taking guys that make zero sense with picks that can be the difference between an 8-8 team and a playoff team.

   Here is one theory of mine as to what the hell might have happened to Martin Mayhew prior to the draft:

   That’s right… Martin Mayhew must have been driving along, ran down Matt Millen, and Millen’s soul entered Mayhew’s body, and he proceeded with the draft as usual. That’s right folks… THAT’S MY BLACK GM!

  Another theory: Calvin Johnson DID win the Madden cover this week… and the jinx that comes with it. Is this an insurance policy against his impending injury/arrest/turning into a douchebag?

  Of course, there is ALWAYS the theory that the Lions are just going to attempt to outscore the Packers, Bears, Vikings, and everybody else on the schedule by adding more receiving threats. At this point, I’m grabbing at fucking straws folks.

  But in all seriousness, the first round pick didn’t bother me quite as much. Riley Reiff was a guy that was supposed to be a top ten pick, certainly a top ten talent, and helps transition the offensive line into the future. Let’s face it, Backus isn’t the greatest left tackle in the league, and he isn’t getting any younger. Personally, I would’ve addressed a defensive need there, a corner, safety, DE, linebacker… something else, but I can deal with getting premium talent at the #23 spot in the first round.

   But last night, when the #54 pick rolled around, I expected to hear Barry Sanders say “with the 54^th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Detroit Lions select cornerback (fill in name here).” Instead, I hear “wide receiver”… at that point, everything kind of went dark. Yeah, I think I might have had a minor aneurysm at that point… not exactly sure. When I came to, I realized that not only had we wasted a second rounder on a receiver, but on a 5’10” slot receiver with a bad ACL… who probably would have been there in the third round.

   Evidently, being torched by Drew Brees and MATT FUCKING FLYNN over the last two weeks of your season to the tune of 1,000 yards and 10 passing TDs, in two games mind you, was not enough of a wake-up call for the Lions’ brass. Apparently we just have to watch this shit for another season… maybe next year we’ll get to addressing that little situation… you know, needing two starting cornerbacks. Oh yeah, we got a corner in the third round… with Brandon Boykin on the board, a first-round graded corner from Georgia, who faced premium SEC competition on a weekly basis… we snagged Dwight Bentley out of Louisiana-Lafyette… because we all know the Sun Belt conference is a hotbed for NFL talent.

  What scares me even more, the Packers, Bears and Vikings have all made major strides through trades, free agency, and the draft, and all three have improved a great deal. Namely the Bears, who added Brandon Marshall via trade and drafted Jeffery Alshon, one of my favorite receivers in this year’s draft. It’ll be GREAT to see those guys torching the Lions’ secondary twice a year for the next five or so years.

   At this point, it really doesn’t matter what the Lions do the rest of the draft… their chance to add two starters in the defensive backfield went by the wayside in the 2^nd and 3^rd rounds. Hopefully I’m wrong about this kid out of ULL… but somehow I think we’ll be seeing him on a practice squad roster within three years. This team has not only not improved, they’ve taken a step back. If they finish 8-8 this year, I’ll be amazed.

   This was shaping up to be a GREAT week for the Tigers, too. Early in the week, the Tigers cut ties with much maligned second baseman Brandon Inge, sending his whining, non-hitting ass packing in a move that really came about a year and a half too late. Of course, this was much to the shagrin of all the downriver skanks across the southeastern Michigan area… but there’s plenty of dirty white boys left on the roster for you gals to follow. How about Brennan Boesch, Ryan Rayburn (who is hopefully next in line to get his ass booted out of here), Justin Verlander… hell, Verlander might be a better hitter at this point than Inge is. But Inge being GONE finally got rid of the non-stop discussion, the non-stop bitching every time his name appeared on Leyland’s lineup card. Things were looking up. Sure, the team is playing like shit, but Inge was gone.

   Then, Thursday night, the Tigers hit the Big Apple… and evidently at around 3 AM, outfielder Delmon Young got into an altercation outside the team hotel, which led to his arrest on aggravated harassment and hate-crime charges. The story is, good ol’ DY got piss drunk, pushed a man to the ground, and started off on an anti-semetic rant including shouting “FUCKING JEWS, FUCKING JEWS” repeatedly. A real shock… never saw this coming… not like Delmon has had any issues in the past… (video of Delmon Young throwing bat at ump)

  Yeah, I say cut this fucking bum loose too, and throw somebody else into his lineup spot to NOT HIT.

  As for Ron Artest… he got off easy. Seven games ain’t shit for a blatant elbow to the head of James Hardin. Let that be LeBron or Wade, and his ass is out of the league. And for blaming the media for the spot he’s in, Ron Artest, you are the decided winner of this week’s shut the fuck up award.

  And Rosie O'Donnell... nobody cares what you think about ANYTHING you washed up old gash. 

  That’s all I’ve got this week gang. Thanks as always for reading and for any comments you leave on the way out. Hope your teams are doing better than mine this week!

The first round of the 2012 NFL Draft got underway on Thursday evening and there is no doubt that when this post hits the blog-o-sphere, the talk will all be about which players were selected where and which teams were winners or losers in the draft. That said this post will not discuss this year’s NFL Draft. I am, after all, a baseball guy and if the draft doesn’t interest me enough to get me to switch away from The Big Bang Theory, than it certainly is not going to deter me from writing about baseball during the baseball season.

A blogger has to have his standard…right?

So I thought about it, maybe I could discuss the draft in a round-about, baseball-related fashion. After all, the NFL Draft does have a solid tie-in to Major League Baseball. There is actually a fairly rich history of players that have either played both in the NFL and MLB or whom were selected in both drafts.

For instance, let’s look at the Kansas City Royals for a moment. For the latter part of the 1970’s and much of the 1980’s, the Royals were one of the strongest teams in Major League Baseball. But how much different would their fortunes have been had they swayed a couple of stand-out quarterbacks, both selected in the 1979 MLB Draft, to forsake their football careers and grab their gloves?

For those unfamiliar with that draft, the two quarterbacks were Dan Marino (4^th Round Pick) and John Elway (18^th Round Pick). Marino was a stellar pitcher in high school that was said to have considered signing with the Royals, but opted out of it when he learned it would cost him his football scholarship at Pitt. On the other hand, John Elway was a solid hitting outfielder but opted to go to Stanford instead of playing for the Royals. Three years later, he was drafted by the Yankees and actually played 42 games in Single-A while he forced the Colts to trade his football rights. 

It is easy to say that the Royals have been bit by the NFL the most times, but they are hardly the only ones. Both Deion Sanders and Brian Jordan followed in Jackson’s footsteps and became two-sport stars. Sanders was the more productive of the two, but found splitting the time between both was hampering his ability to play either. When he finally turned his back on baseball, he truly earned his hall of fame stripes in the NFL.

Another player that was selected in the MLB Draft was Tom Brady, who was an 18^th round pick of the Montreal Expos in 1995, where he was drafted as a catcher out of high school. He would choose to play football for Michigan instead and the rest they say is history.

There is also a bevy of baseball players selected to play in the NFL Draft.

Dave Winfield is often considered on the all-around best athletes of all-time. Aside from his Hall of Fame baseball career, Winfield was a 17^th round rick of the Minnesota Vikings in 1973 despite never playing college football. His selection by the Atlanta Hawks (NBA) and Utah Stars (ABA) made him just the third person to ever be drafted by three different professional sports.

Kirk Gibson is best known for his fist-pumping, game-winning home run in the first game of the 1988 World Series, but few know that the reigning National League Manager of the Year was a 7^th Round Pick of St. Louis Cardinals in 1978. However, he stuck with baseball and despite an injury-plagued career, put up a solid 17-years in the majors.

See, the weekend doesn’t have to revolve completely around football…right?

Where did this weather come from?? Do you know your friends?? Really?? Two legends retire?? New Jersey Nets?? What, the Nets?? Yep. Even a Military Fly-by. All this in this weeks edition of……..

I got up Monday, went outside and came back into the house wondering who the hell turned up the air-conditioning outside?? It was cold. But, as a transplant New Yorker, I went back outside in my shorts and t-shirt and went about doing my errands for the day.

It was in the 40’s in Jacksonville, Florida, well below the temperatures it has been during the months of February and March. We have had an unusually warm winter, with no threat of hurricanes this season. Wow, remarkable.

If your up North, sorry about the snow storms, especially in Ithaca, New York. They got hit bad.

Do you really know your friends???

He’s not a sports personality, nor is he an athlete. None of you know this individual. His name is Sean, and he is a mail handler where I work at. I have talked to him while on a break or at lunch, from time-to-time. He seemed liked a nice guy until last Monday. On April 16^th Sean robbed the Sun Trust bank on Beach Blvd in Jacksonville, Fl. He walked up to a teller, gave her a note that said “I am armed.” The teller gave him money and he left the bank. Sean, on a tip from an individual who seen his picture in the Florida-Times Union, was arrested on Tuesday. Everyone at work was shocked, as this individual seemed to be a nice person. One of our co-workers lived across the street from him and he seemed okay outside of work. That is a picture of him robbing the bank.

What I am leading to is that regardless of whether a person is a athlete, coach or your own neighbor or friend for a long time, you can possibly never really know the individual as well as you think.

Major League Baseball and the players’ association have informed teams and agents that there will no longer approve personal-service deals and special “milestone” bonus clauses in future contracts with players and teams. A-Rod, Albert Pujols and Ryan Zimmerman have contracts with either milestone clauses and/or personal-service clause.

Congratulations go out to the Cincinnati Reds who won their 10,000 game in franchise history. The Reds join the Cubs, Giants, Dodgers, Braves and Cardinals.

I didn’t do anything!! Yeah right.

Thug Metta World Peace better get a big suspension for his flagrant foul on Hayden. I don’t give a flying pig, what Kobe says or anyone of the so-called NBA analysts say about how Metta World Peace is such a nice guy. The guy is a thug and should be dealt with. Take a look at the clip.

His new name should be Metta Thug You!!

In case we forget, how about Ron Arrest, oops Artest going into the stands.

David Stern issued a 7 game suspension for Metta World Peace. Not a big enough statement. Suspend him for the rest of the season, that would have said something to him and the players in the league.

He is considered one of the greatest to ever play his position. Denver Bronco Safety, Brian Dawkins, announced his retirement after playing 16 years in the NFL. No one played longer at safety than Brian. The “Wolverine” played for the Eagles and Broncos and finished his career with 17 fumble recoveries, 26 sacks, 37 interceptions, 42 forced fumbles (most ever by a defensive back), and 98 pass breakups. Dawkins was named to the NFL’s All-Decade team of the 2000’s and had nine Pro Bowls.

Our hats off to Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez who retires after a 21-year career with the Texas Rangers, Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Houston Astro and Washington Nationals. He had 2,844 hits, 311 homeruns and 1,332 RBI’s. An MVP winner in 1999, Pudge also won 10 straight Gold Gloves and went to 10 consecutive all-star games.

New Jersey Nets played their last game in New Jersey this past Monday. As a Net fan from their days in the ABA, I am glad they are leaving the State. The Nets should have never left Long Island, but at least they are coming home. Okay, maybe not on Long Island where they played their first season in the NBA, but to Brooklyn New York, which will only be a LIRR away.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie wished the Nets "good riddance" on their way to Brooklyn. To that I say kiss my ass. You and your sorry ass State could have supported the team for all these years. Even though the Nets suck, when they had the two great teams that went to the Finals they didn’t draw until the Finals. So keep inhaling the foul smelling shit that comes out of Elizabeth, New Jersey.

During my time in the military, I have seen many air-shows and fly-bys. But never have I seen anything quite like this. Check out this fly-by..

Til Next Time

Scott