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Hello and welcome to another Wednesday of deep thoughts. As I sat down to write my blog this week, I struggled to find the right words to express my thoughts. The bombing in Boston weighs very heavily on my mind. It was a horrible event that stirs even the most cynical among us. The obvious question is why did this happen? Other parts of the world have grown accustomed to this type of terrorism. America is still new to this terror. But, here is something that I know. We are not afraid and we do not forget. Our country is often thought to be soft and quite frankly, this is often the image that we portray. What is forgotten is how we got here. Our leaders drive us in a direction of diplomacy and tact. But the truth is that the backbone of our country is full of folks that appreciate a direct and honest approach. We are a people of patience and compassion, until we are not. The time is fast approaching that we must stand tall. We must protect what is ours. To the people of Boston, I am proud to stand by you in your time of need. I have lived my life trying to treat people fairly and see the entire picture for rushing to judgment. I still maintain that this is the best approach. I also believe that actions must have consequences. This is how my wife and I have raised our kids and believe that it is imperative that our country enact this policy.
Boston has a great history. Words like liberty and freedom found their roots in Boston. How many of us celebrate Patriot Day? To be honest, we have forgotten the struggles and pain that our ancestors suffered to provide what we enjoy now. The bombing in Boston should serve as a wake up call for us. Let this day be a day that we never forget. It is time to make those guilty…pay.
There are many great rivalries in sports. Without question, the Red Sox and Yankees have to be the best rivalry in all of sports. Let’s be honest, this is a bitter rivalry. The fan bases of both clubs just do not like each other. But, in times of tragedy…this is forgotten. There are some things more important than sports. Sweet Caroline has become a tradition in Boston. Did you happen to see what they did at Yankee stadium Tuesday night? They played Sweet Caroline as a tribute to Boston. New York was not alone in playing Sweet Caroline, but the most obvious indicator just how troubling the Boston bombing was. Well done New York!
For many of us, Pat Summerall was the sports voice that we grew up with. He was the master of space and had just the right word to accompany the action we were watching. He died on Tuesday at the age of 82. Summerall was like that pair of comfortable shoes. He was there each Sunday to bring the NFL to our living rooms. Before John Madden, there was Pat Summerall. Although Madden received the publicity, it was Summerall that was the true professional, or in Madden’s words; a treasure.
I would have loved the chance to sit and talk with Mr. Summerall before he passed. He was a member of the New York Giants that played in the 1958 NFL championship against the Baltimore Colts…dubbed “the greatest game ever played”. He played for Coach Lombardi and Tom Landry in New York. Although he played some defensive back, he was best remembered as a kicker. We all have witnessed the changes in the NFL and I guess the change began when Summerall left the booth for good. RIP Pat Summerall, you will be missed.
I know that many think that sports should be played outside, but if I was planning to play baseball in Denver, I would have to strongly consider adding a retractable roof. Did you see the storm that hit Denver on Monday? With 8 inches of fresh snow on the field, there was no way to play baseball. Since the Mets only visit Coors field once this year, it was important to get the games in on Tuesday. With so much snow, there was no way that machines alone could remove the snow fast enough to get in a double header on Tuesday. What to do? Old fashioned man power proved to be the answer. More than 100 Rockie employees rolled up their sleeves and went to shoveling snow. Even owner Monfort and GM O’Dowd pitched in to lend a helping hand or shovel as it were. With the added man power, the field was ready for the early start on Tuesday. The Rockies were happy to get the game in as they took two from the Mets., although few fans found the starting game temperatures of 39 very enticing. Not baseball weather, for sure! Although cold, this temperature was only tied for 10th coldest starting time temperature in team history. A roof and heat would surely bring more fans to April games…
That is all I have today, but I will leave you with a bit of Jack Handey…
Probably the saddest thing you will see is a mosquito sucking on a mummy. Forget it, little friend…
Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.
Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a few deep thoughts of your own.
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As fantasy baseball players, we can all understand the difficulty involved with making trades. After all those years of swapping baseball cards with your friends, it knocks you off guard to find out that there is a lot more involved when swapping players for a fake baseball team.
First, you have to find the perfect partner, someone with whom you can not only match up in terms of needs, but also in supplying what they require. That requires examining the surplus of talent you have as well as combing through each opponent to understand how to make them want what you have.
Second, you have to then determine a worthwhile offer with which to entice them into dealing with you. Be prepared, because this first offer is often rejected and countered. If its not, then you over-packed the offer from the get-go.
Then you have the back and forth negotiating, attempting to work out a deal that is inevitably fair for everyone (and one that will be approved by other owners as well). This could be the most difficult task, as each and every owner (you included) wants to come out the winner in any trade. It's the nature of competition and the trade market is no different.
Doesn't sound so bad, does it?
Well, imagine for a minute that this is a six-year keeper league, meaning that each player on the roster is with you as long as you don't release or trade them for a minimum of six season, as long as you don't release or trade any of them. To make things difficult, we'll give you are given a salary cap with which to work with. Just for kicks, let's throw in the fact that we can swap minor-leaguers as well, a minor-leaguer with a service clock that starts when they reach the Major Leagues.
Does it still sound easy? It shouldn't, because that is what Major League general managers have to deal with.
On Thursday, we learned (from Andy Martino of the NY Daily News) that the New York Mets were keeping an eye on outfielders Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins and Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies. While both targets are extremely attractive candidates for any general manager to chase after and the Mets would be a good trade partner for both the Rockies and Marlins, Sandy Alderson, Larry Beinfest, and Dan O'Dowd have a lot to consider in any deal.
- It isn't often that a big trade involving a player under team control goes down mid-season. Stanton is under team control through 2016 and would be eligible for arbitration for the first time this coming winter, making him extremely affordable, even for the Marlins.
Gonzalez is under team control through the 2017 season, but it less affordable than Stanton, being locked into a multi-year contract that will pay him $63.5 million over the next four seasons.
- In order for the Marlins to part with Stanton, the Mets would need to send quite the package to Miami. That would likely have to be headlined with the pair of Zack Wheeler and Travis d'Arnaud. Wheeler, was acquired in the Carlos Beltran deal two years ago and is currently ranked as the 8th best prospect in the game. d'Arnaud came to New York in the R.A. Dickey trade with the Blue Jays and is rated the sixth best prospect in baseball.
- Gonzalez, with his heavier price tag, and his being four years older than Stanton, would likely require a smaller package. d'Arnaud or Wheeler would have to be the center piece, but the deal likely wouldn't require both.
- That all said, the Mets (Alderson) then needs to decide if four years of either Stanton or Gonzalez are worth more than six seasons of low-priced team control over the top catching prospect and one of the best pitching prospect.
- On the flip side, while a deal would make real sense to the Marlins, they run the risk of further alienating their fan base by moving Stanton, their last remaining star player. However, one would find it hard to fault them for chasing a four-player package with Wheeler and d'Arnaud headlining the deal.
For the Rockies, that deal is much easier to do, as they need to drastically improve their pitching staff and getting Gonzalez's salary off the books would help them improve the team long-term. Wheeler would make more sense here, as the Rockies already have a solid young catcher in Wilin Rosario.
- Both teams also need to realize the longer they wait, the less control they surrender of these players and the small the return package becomes.
- Equally so, the Mets could make a huge splash by bringing in Stanton or Gonzalez, especially given the contract they gave David Wright signaling that they are not rebuilding the team.
Needless to say, there are a lot of moving pieces in any deal of this scope, and I can't say that I would envy either GM of their ordeal. If you thought making a trade for a fake baseball team was difficult, just imagine what it means when you are deciding the next 4-6 years of your organization.
That's what these three teams are trying to weigh, and there is no guarantee regardless of which path they take.
Easy, I don't think so.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!..Albeit a bit late due to my beloved Fighting Irish playing their last game just a couple days ago…I’ll get to that game in a minute. Shut up.
Once again it's time for Irish Shu to look back at their season. In the last edition I recapped the first 7 games, so now I'll review the last 6 including the championship game.
OKLAHOMA: I, being the ever-pessimistic beaten-down Irish fan was preparing for the roof to fall in on what had thus-far been an excellent undefeated season. I thought that if any team was going to expose the weaknesses my team had, it would be then-#8 Oklahoma at Norman…how very wrong I was, and how happy I was to be so! The dominating Irish D held the Sooners to a measly 15 yards rushing, bent but did not break by allowing Landry Jones to pass for 356 yards, but no touchdowns, and ran away in the 4th quarter in a 30-13 win at Norman. The Irish D did yield their first rushing touchdown of the season, but the backs of Cierre Wood, Everett Golson and Theo Riddick ran for one apiece to more than make up for it…It was the signature win for the Irish and Coach Kelly and the remainder of the season was definitely looking bright after this one.
PITT: Almost every great team has a “let down” game at some point in the season. Even the eventual champions in Alabama had one against Texas A&M. You could say this was the “almost let down” for the Irish…but by golly, they escaped with an ugly 29-26 triple overtime win over the eager Panthers. The Irish overcame a mistake-filled day that included 3 turnovers and a 20-7 4th quarter deficit. Everett Golson found it in himself to take charge after being benched, and the Irish got DAMN lucky when Pitt missed a 33-yard field goal attempt in the 2nd overtime on their way to the ugly win. WHEW!!!
BOSTON COLLEGE: The Irish went to Chestnut Hill to face an Eagle team that has given them problems in recent years and played an adequate, but unspectacular game on their way to a 21-6 win. Hapless B.C. was torched by Theo Riddick for 104 rushing yards and 67 receiving yards in a game that was not as close as the score made it seem, but still had a milquetoast feel to it when it was all said and done…perhaps the pre-game news that Alabama had just lost to A&M before the game deterred their focus? Who knows? Boston College would go on to a final record of 2-10 that ended with the firing of Coach Frank Spaziani after 4 seasons…ND D-Coach Bob Diaco was interviewed to take his place, but declined.
WAKE FOREST: The Irish showed a bit more of their true potential against the Demon Deacons as they routed them at home on Senior Day 38-0. The game featured touchdowns on their first 3 drives, offensive yardage output that was more than 2 to 1 over the Deacs and total domination…something the Irish had trouble showing in the 2 games prior to this one. The Irish then learned that they were in-control of their destination after both Oregon and Kansas State lost later that day…all they’d have to do now was go to the L.A. Coliseum and knock-off USC and the spot in the championship game was theirs!...uh-oh.
USC: A team does not make excuses. A team must play a game with the players they have…but to this day I still cannot help but wonder; would the outcome have been the same had Trojan QB Matt Barkley not suffered a separated shoulder the week before this one? We’ll never know, obviously, but it certainly didn’t help USC’s cause in the 22-13 Irish win that punched their ticket to the national championship game and ended a very disappointing season for a USC team that started-out ranked #1. Frosh QB Max Wittek gave his best in Barkley’s absence but still threw 2 interceptions and was flustered by the tough Irish D. The ND Offense, meanwhile, gutted USC for 439 yards including 146 rushing yards from Theo Riddick, but still left some points off the board and had to settle for 5 Kyle Brindza field goals in the win…still, though, it was a win that left the Irish as the only bowl-eligible team with an undefeated record. WOO-HOO!!!
National Championship game vs. ALABAMA: SIGH…outside of the Notre Dame fans themselves, nobody gave the Irish a chance in this one. Not to take anything away from the Tide, but the Irish defense that had been so dominant all season played nothing like they had been up until this game. They played a “matador defense” waving the ‘Bama ball carriers by and yelling “Ole’!” instead of wrapping-up and tackling, and the Irish O under-executed against a tough Tide D (something this O did a few times this year) on their way to the 42-14 ass kicking that gave ‘Bama their 3rd national championship in 4 years. The game was a pisser…and a disappointing end to the BEST season these Irish eyes have seen in over 20 years. Congratulations to Alabama. You came to play. That’s all there is.
So to wrap it up the Irish football season was awesome! Sure, it sucked to not win the championship and to get our asses kicked in said game…hey, I don’t deny that we did! But along the way the Irish:
- Flew to Ireland and trounced a pesky Navy team on a soccer pitch.
- Survived a strong defensive Purdue team while still trying to find an identity for their quarterback.
- Saw their Defensive leader in Manti Te’o come of age as he suffered the losses of his girlfriend and grandmother in a day, and play the game of his life against Michigan State that weekend on his way to becoming a Heisman finalist and winning a truckload of other individual awards.
- Shook the Denard Robinson monkey off their backs and beat Michigan for the first time in 4 years.
- Developed a good quarterback in Everett Golson, who went from a redshirt frosh with no experience at season’s start, to a MUCH improved leader and signal caller by season’s end…something that gives this team a good head-of-steam going-in to next year.
- Dominated a rivaled Miami team one week, and fight a tough Stanford team to an OT win the next…the same Stanford team that would eventually beat Oregon at Autzen Stadium and win both the Pac-12 Title and the Rose Bowl.
- Survived scares against a BYU team with a tough Defense (and the Irish playing without their starting QB) and an inspired Pitt team that really put everything out there to try to beat the Irish…and almost did.
- Survived their last “trap” game against a rival USC team on the road to get to the championship game in the first place.
- Put together their first undefeated regular season in over 2 decades.
This Irish fan says THANK YOU for an awesome season…and waits with concern to see what transpires in the off-season. The Irish don’t lose a ton of starters, although losing Te’o and All-American Tight End Tyler Eiffert among others will hurt, but they have an awesome recruiting class coming-in…
…However, as of this writing it is being reported that Coach Brian Kelly has interviewed for the head coaching job for the Philadelphia Eagles. Defensive Coordinator Bob Diaco is also highly-coveted and may leave for a head coaching job of his own when it’s all said and done. We shall see what will become of all this.
Great season, nonetheless. THANK YOU! And GO IRISH!!!
As for my other teams and how they did:
MONTANA GRIZZLIES: My alma-mater was a program in-shambles this year after rape and assault allegations gutted the team and the coaching staff. It showed as the normally FCS championship-caliber Griz had a disappointing, but not surprising 5-6 season and didn’t even come close to making the playoffs…the good news? They can only go UP from here.
NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS: Finished with another 10-win season, which is good, but it ended with a THUD with ass-kickings at the hands of both Wisconsin in the Big 10 championship and to Georgia in the Capital One Bowl…not the way to go out. Obviously this team is not bad, but has pieces missing.
COLORADO STATE RAMS: Hate to say this, but my days as a Fort Collins resident and CSU Ram fan seem VERY long ago…as a result I’m not paying as much attention to them as I used to. Jim McElwain’s first year as coach was only barely improved from the previous 2 seasons the Rams had as his team finished 4-8…but in his defense, the Mountain West was more beefy this year with the addition of Boise State. We’ll see how they do next year.
CUSTER COUNTY COWBOYS: Yep, my hometown high school team. 2 years ago they won a State Championship. Last year, they made the State Semifinals. This year, they had a lot of underclassmen and rebuilt as they won some games, but just missed the playoffs…something they don’t do very often. Better luck next year.
Fellow You Gabbers: It is always a pleasure!!! Have an awesome 2013! I’ll keep reading your works. And still chip-in with a blog now and then.
PS BEEZE – thank you for encouraging me to contribute! Give lil Molls a kiss, ok?
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ScottJax moving to Colorado? Sports References. Operation Dirty Play and more is this edition of…..
Now that Colorado and Washington have legalized marijuana, my family and I are moving to Aspen. Colorado. Then when I am sitting on the porch smoking a dobbie, and singing “Rocky Mountain High” I won’t be lying.
I know most of you know this, but if you don’t, for sports fans these are some of the best sports sites:
www.baseball-reference.com, www.basketball-reference.com, www.sports-reference.com/cbb, www.sports-reference.com/cfb, www.pro-football-reference.com, www.hockey-reference.com and www.sports-reference.com/olympics.
These sites have everything you need to research most anything you need.
(PS. I do not own these sites. LOL. I just enjoy going there)
It comes as no surprise that David Ortiz resigned with the Boston Red Sox for another 2 years. The contract is worth between $26-30 million dollars. Ortiz wants to retire as a Red Sox, and for the past 10 years he has been the face of the team. As a life-long Yankee fan there is no one I like more on the Red Sox than “Big Papi.” In his 10 years with Boston, David has batted .290, with over 1,000 RBI’s (that’s 100 a year) and 343 homeruns. These are not his lifetime stats only his stats with the Red Sox.
I love it that the Lakers are 1-3. Do you really feel bad for them? You can say it!! Nah!!
Speaking of the NBA, are the San Antonio Spurs for real, or are they going to fade away during the playoffs?
This sucks.
18 months after ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” showed a feature on betting on youth football league games, Broward Sherriff’s Office arrested nine Florida youth football coaches and associates in Deerfield Beach, Fl.. The sting was called “Operation Dirty Play” and betting on youth football games took in over $45,000, and on the Youth football’s version of their Super Bowl, betting went over $100,000.
Investigators said coaches, team affiliates, and the president of the South Florida Youth Football League, which has more than 7,000 players, routinely set point spreads prior to each game.
Below are a list of charges against the nine men:
Brandon Bivens
(Coach/President, Fort Lauderdale Hurricanes) is charged with Felony Bookmaking.
Darren Brown
(Coach, Fort Lauderdale Hurricanes) is charged with Felony Bookmaking.
Vincent Gray
(Coach, Fort Lauderdale Hurricanes) is charged with Felony Bookmaking.
Brandon Lewis
(Affiliate, Fort Lauderdale Hurricanes) is charged with Felony Bookmaking.
Brad Parker
(Affiliate, Fort Lauderdale Hurricanes) is charged with Felony Bookmaking.
La Taurus
Fort (Coach, NW Broward Raiders) is charged with Felony Bookmaking.
Willie Tindal
(Coach, NW Broward Raiders) is charged with Felony Bookmaking.
Darron Bostic
(Coach, Deerfield Beach Rattlers) is charged with Felony Bookmaking.
Dave Small
(Coach, Lauderhill Lions) is charged with Felony Bookmaking.
Investigators said the coaches organized the bets and made the point spreads on the games.
Six of the nine facing charges – men who coached boys ages 5 to 15 — are ex-convicts with a history of felony drug, assault and theft charges. If found guilty of felony bookmaking — essentially organized gambling — each could face up to five years in prison.
Baseball awards will be out next week. Will there be any surprises?
Is anyone interested in the NHL negotiations? I use to be but not anymore.
Til Next Time
Scott
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Most of the following is adapted from a blog originally published on TSN on September 13, 2009. When details of a recent LSU season are not mentioned, this is because LSU played multiple Pac-10/current Pac-12 opponents in a season (1976, 1977, 1979, and 1984).
I’ll start with Washington since that’s the team LSU played last week, then I’ll go in alphabetical order for the Pac-10 teams, followed by the new Pac-12 teams. Washington was the seventh game against a Pac-10/Pac-12 team for LSU in the past 10 seasons (2003 to present). All of them were the first major-conference opponent of the respective seasons for LSU. The game last week was only the third between the Huskies and Tigers.
In the first meeting, LSU’s second home game in 1983, LSU broke a record for attendance at Tiger Stadium and beat the 9th-ranked Huskies, 40-14. LSU would only win 2 subsequent games on the season, finishing 4-7. That season, combined with a 1-3 end to the previous season, cost head coach Jerry Stovall his job. Washington finished 8-4.
Many of you probably remember the second meeting between the two, in 2009. LSU was ranked #11 going in, so many found the final score underwhelming in light of the Huskies’ 0-12 season the year before. Meanwhile, LSU had its most losses since 2002 in the prior year. The Tigers only won by 8, but it was only that close because Washington had scored as time expired. There was also a point earlier in the fourth quarter where the Huskies closed to within 8 with a field goal. Washington’s game-ending touchdown had been the first since its opening drive.
Washington would lose three subsequent games by even fewer points (one of those in OT) and would barely miss bowl-eligibility after a 5-7 campaign. LSU would finish 9-4 (only one game better than 2008) after losing to Penn St. in the CapitalOne Bowl.
Arizona
LSU is 3-0 against Arizona. The first game, in 1984 (see USC for more details on that season) was close, with LSU winning 27-26. Arizona would finish 7-4 but failed to make a bowl game. LSU blew out Arizona in both games in the last decade, with LSU winning 59-13 in Tucson in 2003 and 45-3 in Baton Rouge in 2006. The 2003 game was the first time LSU had played a Pac-10 team since 1984, when the Tigers played Arizona and USC in consecutive weeks. LSU would win the BCS national championship in 2003 and the Sugar Bowl in 2006 (finishing 11-2 after 7 straight victories to close out the year). Arizona finished 2-10 in 2003 and 6-6 in 2006.
Arizona St.
The only game against Arizona St. was in 2005. Some call it the Katrina Game. LSU’s original opening-game opponent that year was North Texas, whom the Tigers played on schedule this season after another hurricane passed through Louisiana almost 7 years to the day. In 2005, however, that game was canceled in anticipation ASU was supposed to have been the first game of a home and home in Baton Rouge, but with the LSU campus playing a large role in shelter and triage in the week after Katrina (the game was less than two weeks afterward), it was moved to Tempe, and Arizona St. donated the profits to hurricane relief, so it didn’t count toward the home and home, which was moved to 2015-16. 2015 is the next game LSU is scheduled to play against a Pac-12 opponent.
LSU (led by JaMarcus Russell and Joseph Addai) won an exciting back-and-forth game, 35-31, after Early Doucet scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 39-yard pass with 1:13 left in the game. Sam Keller of ASU threw 4 touchdowns in the loss. Arizona St. out-gained LSU 560-434, but the Tigers (in the first game with Les Miles at the helm) converted all three fourth-down-conversion attempts and blocked a field goal, returning it for a touchdown. 28 of the Tigers’ points were scored in the fourth quarter.
Full post
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