Not sure how many of you caught this interview on ESPN, but it has a great take on the Manning-Tebow situation:

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/dfead2eb1e/satan-and-jesus-discuss-peyton-manning <----- Yeah, I don't know how to add links that aren't on YouTube. Those lazy bastards at Funny or Die haven't uploaded this to YouTube yet. Still, click the link. It is well worth it my friends. 

So today would mark the unofficial start of the MLB season as the Oakland A's take on the Seattle Mariners in Japan. The game features two of the closest franchises to Japan as well as the return of their native son Ichiro. Like Frag's post suggested, this could very well be Ichiro's last season. In the last year of his contract with Seattle, there is no better way for him to open his season.

Now many will raise the question as to why the season starts in Japan. I can see several reasons. One is that the game is already pretty popular in Japan. Japanese fans love the games in Japan and nearly 45,000 fans were on hand for both games of last season's Red Sox-A's series. The return of Ichiro should only boost number as well as TV ratings to the chagrin of the Nippon league and Japanese prime time shows. 

The second is the history of Japanese players migrating to the United States. My best recollection of the start of this trend came in the form of Hideo Nomo. Ichiro is without question the MLB's greatest Japanese import, but notable players like Hideki Irabu, Hideki Matsui, and the most recent addition of Yu Darvish. For the MLB having such a big stage in Japan could only spur more players to make the jump. Some may say series in countries like the Dominican could be helpful too, but I've never heard talks of any. Besides, Japan simply has more cash flow.

While this series seems to make sense and the MLB has not announced any plans to expand to Japan, it seems to stand in stark contrast to the NFL's adventures in London. This season will see the Rams square off with the Patriots in the game at Wembley. It was announced that the Rams would become the "home" team in London just this winter, as owner Stan Kroenke is also majority shareholder of the soccer club Arsenal. The Rams will be playing in London for the next three years and the league has been debating adding a second game in England.

Talk has also been made of adding an expansion team to London. This talk seems to fly in the face of mediocre ticket sales and the all too familiar and recent collapse of NFL Europe. ESPN America has been broadcasting around 100 NFL games plus playoff and Super Bowl coverage to nearly 41 European territories as of 2009, and the number may continue to rise. 

Still, the idea just doesn't sit well with me. I don't see the draw in adding a team in London. It would be a scheduling nightmare. Hawaii's college football team has a hard enough time getting opponents to fly in and they don't have to cross international waters. Any team flying to London or that team having to come to the states (especially the west coast) would be at a distinct disadvantage. I also don't see a huge demand for the NFL in London. They get decent crowds, but I don't see the kind of passion they have for their soccer or rugby teams. I have realized that geography means nothing in sports, especially when UofM still declares themselves the champions of the west, but there's nothing national about London. I think an exhibition game in London would be fine, but regular season games have been a mistake and adding to that schedule only compounds the stress put on teams.

Back to good news for baseball, Frank McCourt has sold the Dodgers to a group lead by Magic Johnson and former Braves and Nationals president Stan Kasten for around $2 billion. Oddly enough, St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke was also in the hunt along with some folks who have a share in the new Mets ownership team. From what I have heard, however, Magic and his team are the best fit. Now, a few of you may cry foul due to Magic's investment in the LA area, but that should only inspire him to improve the team. Some may not be sold on Magic as a businessman, but I have some proof he'll be good for the Dodgers and the MLB.

In tiny Dayton, Ohio is a class A Midwest league team by the name of the Daytona Dragons. The team is in the Cincinnati Reds farm system and has nurtured talent like Adam Dunn (sorry Chi-Sox fans), Joey Votto, and Hay Bruce. They've also sold out 815 consecutive games. They do it with great promotions, an attachment to the city, outstanding customer service and a pretty decent product on the field. They've got plenty of loyal fans and season ticket holders. Their story has been featured around the globe and on our favorite four letter network's Outside The Lines (probably one of the best shows on that channel). If Magic and the gang kind bring that type of service to the Dodgers, they'll do just fine and restore a bit of faith to a proud franchise.

Well, that's it for me this week. I have no challenge this week, but have to agree Harvey's Like Mike videos and Frag's zumba pic may be slightly more 90's than a Chris Mullin Starter ad. Still, you all know you had a Starter jacket back then. I had a pretty amazing Tigers jacket, but we gave it away once I out grew it. My bro's kid would look pretty boss in it had we kept it and he gotten really big, really fast.

Back:

Front:

Hope you all have a great weekend and are ready for some baseball. I'm going to enjoy watching IHM and my Tigers taking on Sully's Red Sox.  What a way to start the year. Anyone else thinking about a Jon Lester-Justin Verlander pitcher's duel? Well, I leave you guys with your word of the week.

baseball card burden, noun

Well, March is still Mad around here. Not the good "What Me Worry?" kind either. Things continue to go a bit crazy with everyone's bracket certainly in shambles as mid-majors have created some big upsets. Though I will admit, much to ScottJax's pleasure, I may have been hasty in my judgment of the Big East. At this point, they've got 4 of 9 still standing. That's better than what I imagined. Syracuse has had some tough games, but they've pulled through. Cuse has a tough test in Wisconsin, but I think they still have the speed to get by the Badgers. 

Everyone's favorite match-up seems to be OSU vs. Cincy. I'll admit I'd love to see this match-up more often. It would certainly be too big a gamble for OSU to actually do, which sucks that they put their own rankings above the enjoyment of the country's (and their own state's) sports fans. Wanna make people forgive you for doing blatantly stupid things with your football program, schedule Cincy. Schedule them in both sports.

Keeping on the hardwood for a moment, I was caught by a strange piece of footage recently. The Golden State Warriors recently decided to retire the number of their beloved Chris Mullin. I grew up admiring Mullin. He had great hustle and work ethic and was a very good forward. He was the man in NBA Jam. Not to mention my bro and I donned the flat top out of reverence towards him in our middle school basketball days.

I challenge anyone to find anything more essentially 90's than this pic. If you do, however, feel free to post it below.

Unfortunately, the Bay Area fans patience ran out right in the middle of what should have been a great moment for the man. While current owner Joe Lacob was trying to speak during the ceremony, fans began to boo him relentlessly. Mullin tried to appeal to the crowd. Didn't work. Rick Berry tried to save the day and appeal for decency. Didn't work. these folks were just pissed.

I suppose I can understand. If my team was that bad I'd be pissed too. It took me a while not to just feel snarky towards the Lions. I still can't not mentally boo or laugh every time Matt Millen shows up as a college football expert on ESPN. I get where these guys are coming from.

The only thing that gets me is that they could boo Lacob anytime. You didn't have to boo while you were supposed to be celebrating a legend in your franchise. Brings signs to games. Wear bags on your heads. Hold Sell the Team, Lacob rallies. Let Mullin have his night and respect him if he asks for your cooperation. (I also found it laughable that ESPN would categorize Bay Area fans as "typically well-behaved". In light of their behavior during last year's season opener and at Raider games, that label should be stripped.)

Strange bit of news from the NFL. Houston agreed to trade LB DeMeco Ryans to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2012 fourth round draft pick. I realize Ryans has been hurt and they have a new stud in Cushing. His production was down to a mere 64 tackles in 16 games this year, but it still begs questions. Why couldn't they get more? Is there anything the Eagles and public doesn't know?

In an effort to support Frag's cause of raising awareness of our small market teams, I am disappointed to announce that the Royals may not have closer Joakim Soria for a good part of the season. Now, as a Tigers fan, it is a little easier knowing they won't have that stud if we need a late game come back this year, it's a bummer for baseball. A lot of folks have the Royals picked as a sleeper team. I'd like to see them come up and help push the Tigers, while they do make me nervous with the amount of young talent on their roster. The loss of Soria is a blow, but hopefully one they can brush off or remedy.

As for more competition in the AL Central, I've been hearing a lot about a young pitcher on the White Sox: Chris Sale. A lot of analysts have placed him a s a big time sleeper. He's been impressive in spring training. His last appearance against Cincy gave him a stat line boasting 6 shut out innings while allowing 2 hits. While Sale has been used in the bull pen and has gotten about 12 saves over his two year career, he's looking good in the rotation. The most he's pitched in games has been 3 innings against the Royals on July 20, but he could be a scary addition. I'm also interested to see if Jake Peavy can regain his form as well this year. An improving Peavy and rising Sale could well more than make up for losing Buehrle over the off season.

That's it for me this week. Thanks for stopping by and giving us a read. Feel free to leave your comments and try to out 90's my Chris Mullin Starter ad. Looks like another nice weather weekend and hopefully that means continued domination for me in a renewal of my backyard touch football games. I leave you as always with this week's vocab.

lightweight reader, noun

It’s a travesty. It’s absolutely unexplainable. It’s completely shameful.

There is absolutely no reason Reggie Miller should not be on the list of finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame!

Maybe the voters on the “Honors Committee” have something against first-time eligible players or maybe they felt that some hold-overs finally deserved their accolades. But in a class that featured no other significant first-year candidates, Miller’s omission from the list is especially startling.

The actual finalists included Dennis Rodman, Chris Mullin, Ralph Sampson, Maurice Cheeks, and Jamaal Wilkes as players.

Now, Wilkes and Sampson played before my time, so I cannot hold Miller against either of their credentials. Instead, I’ll compare him against the two peers in which he played with, were from my generation of interest, and also were both selected as finalists in front of Miller; Mullin and Rodman.

Scoring-wise, Miller gets the complete edge here, serving as the primary shooter for the Indiana Pacers for the entirety of his career, while Mullin was part of the Run TMC crew in Golden State with Tim Hardaway and Mitch Richmond. For his part, Rodman was never truly a scoring threat, serving as a shut-down defender and rebounder for World Championship teams in Detroit and Chicago, while also making pitstops in San Antonio, Los Angeles, and Dallas.

Miller: 25,279 Career Points

Mullin: 17,911 Career Points

Rodman: 6683 Career Points

On the rebounding side, Rodman was the obvious leader, being one of the preeminent rebounders in the history of the NBA. Miller actually has a slight edge on Mullin in the rebounding department, but that could be attributed to playing two more seasons than Mullin.

Miller: 4,182 Career Rebounds

Mullin: 4,034 Career Rebounds

Rodman: 11,954 Career Rebounds

Passing the ball was never really Miller’s forte, but he wasn’t without his ability to share the ball either. Again, he has a slight edge on Mullin here and absolutely buries Rodman because “The Worm” was never truly a featured part of any offense.

Miller: 4,141 Career Assists

Mullin: 3,450 Career Assists

Rodman: 1,600 Career Assists

The final metric to really compare a player’s talent and contribution is the amount of time he spent in playoff situations. Rodman would be the obvious leader here, having been on five world championship teams. However, Miller played on a number of good Pacers teams that went deep into the playoffs, including one team that reached the finals in 2000, where they lost to the Lakers in five games. Mullin would play on that same Pacer team in 2000, but while his Golden State teams would make playoff appearances, they never truly went deep into them. What separates Miller is how is was essentially the cog that drove those Pacer teams as deep as he did, including a memorable game against the Knicks where Miller single-handedly drove them further.

Miller: 144 Career Playoff Games

Mullin: 71 Career Playoff Games

Rodman: 169 Career Playoff Games

I’m not saying that any of these players shouldn’t be worthy candidates. They all did enough during their careers to be enshrined in Springfield. However, Miller was one of the biggest stars of the league during the 90’s and early 2000’s. He was always over-shadowed by players like Jordan, Bird, and Johnson, but he held his own against any and all three of those players and let’s face facts, who didn’t live under the shadow of those players during their time?

Fact is, the small contingent of voters who picked this group of finalists missed the boat here and really failed to see a truly great player and award him the honor he deserved.

It’s just a damn shame.

Sources:

-         Reggie Miller, Basketball-Reference.com

-         Chris Mullin, Basketball-Refeerence.com

-         Dennis Rodman, Basketball-Reference.com