My Princess...looking so much like one for her junior prom.

Greetings from the Hoodwood, where the locals wish that Tiger and Sergio would just get into a brawl and be done with it. But we all know it would just be a catty slap fight if they did.

NBA: Are the Grizzlies the team that could take the Heat down?

I still want to know what the fuss is about. I still think that the Heat is still the team to beat in spite of the rabble rousing series that they are in with the Bulls but it seems that all of a sudden that the Memphis Grizzlies have become the sudden “it” team in the NBA, with the Warriors rollicking series with Spurs going at least 6. The Grizzlies could actually be the team that awaits the winner of that series. The Grizzlies after spotting the Thunder the first game in OKC, the Grizzlies have won 3 straight including a thrilling 103-97 OT game 4 win.  The Thunder have suddenly discovered for all his bad shooting foibles and reckless charges to the hoop. Russell Westbrook was a lot more valuable to the Thunder than a lot of people thought. He forced defenses to play straight up and Kevin Durant got a lot more clean looks than he does with Westbrook out. The Grizzlies seem to come at you in waves, Zach Randolph is one of the most underrated big men in the league who seems to roll off yeoman like performances every game. Randolph and Marc Gasol are two of the potent weapons in the Grizzlies game. The Grizzlies are in some ways the Anti-Heat. They play a grimy, gritty game and focus on defense much like the Bulls but instead of the yapping Joakim Noah or the ebullient Little Nate Robinson, they have a number of under the radar players and a bunch of a “Hey didn’t he used to be…” types. Gasol is quietly shedding his previous image of Pau’s dumpy baby brother and has been a real force in the blocks averaging better than 21 points,  8 boards, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals( take a deep breath)  in the 3 games against the Thunder so far. How underrated is Gasol? He was named defensive player of the year, but left off of the All-NBA defensive 1^st team. Huh? How does that work?

The Fed Ex Forum is becoming a house of horrors for opposing teams as the building gets and stays loud. The Thunder, who are used to having teams be intimidated by their own raucous fans in the OKC are getting the business themselves on Beale Street. The Thunder need to reclaim the home court advantage or they will be going home a lot earlier than anyone expected. But there are many that are liking the Grizzlies as the team that has the defensive power to slow the Heat down and the star power and scoring to stand tall with the defending champs

NHL: Wings keep on flying while the Caps and Leafs gaffle it…again

There was a point where many people wrote of the Detroit Red Wings. Being a long time fan, I was geninuely concerned late in the season when the Red Wings were on the outside of the playoff line. I heard some taunts from folks that hate the Wings that they were done for, but a late season burst got them into the playoffs on the final day.  But playing against the Ducks many people figured that the Wings would be easy pickings for the Pacific Division champs, but the Wings kept coming back, losing the first game but won the second to steal home ice advantage, promptly lost it in game three, tied the series again in game four, faced elimination after losing game 5, and after blowing a 2 goal lead in game 6 was on the brink of going out in OT but won that game and stunned the Ducks in Anaheim a 2^nd time to win the series and send #2 seed home. They now face the Blackhawks who swept aside the 8th seeded Wild in five. Aside from a late March blowout all the games were close. Many pundits figure the Wings will be easy picking for the rampaging Hawks, but playoff hockey is a funny bird in itself.

Meanwhile in the East, the Capitals were supposed to roll over the Rangers who were just happy to be in the postseason and avoiding the Pens, and after winning both home games looked like that they would roll over the Rangers but the Blue Shirts won the next two at MSG and evened the series but the Caps seemed to be in control with a thrilling OT win in game 5 but the dramatic goal by Mike Riberio was stunningly the Caps last…of the series. The Caps got shut out in game 6, and despite the Rangers horrid record in road game 7’s came apart like a weak bill in the Senate. The Rangers thrashed the Caps in game 7 by a stunning 5-0 tally. It was an ill coda to a tight series and yet another playoff flameout by the Caps.  My friend John Walton is the play by play voice of the Caps and I just feel for him after another heartbreaking playoff loss.  Finally up in Beantown, I was getting set to have to talk both Sully and Mo down from the ledges after Leafs roared out to a 4-1 3^rd period lead in game 7 Monday. My buddy Guido, a big Leafs fan was already celebrating. He was saying that he knew that the Leafs could beat the Rangers. There was one problem, the Bruins got off the mat and scored, and scored and scored. Patrice Beregon scored in OT to complete the stunning comeback and while the Bruins celebrated being the first team to comeback from a 3 goal deficit to win a 7^th game, the Leafs had to face yet another playoff disappointment. Oh Canada! The Senators are now Canada’s last hope to bring the Stanley Cup back north of the Border where it hasn’t been since 1993…

MLB: What is up with the umps these days?

For reasons I cant explain, I have problems with umpires when I play softball. I get annoyed real easily by them, invariably I will end up trading insults with them and get the gate.  I couldn’t be a MLB player or manager because I would get run from way too many games by the way the umps will make the most bizarre of calls sometimes and then sit back with the mentality of unquestioned authority.

Item:  Oakland loses a home run when an apparent blast in the 9^th by Adam Rosales is reviewed and ruled to be a double off the wall. When replays clearly show that it hit a railing in the stands above the left field wall in Progressive Field. The A’s Bob Melvin is just about beside himself at the ruling and gets run by ump Angel Hernandez. Rosales doesn’t score though the A’s load the bases in the 9^th and the Indians get the win.

Item: The Astros make a pitching change during the 7^th inning in their game last Thursday against the Angels. Wesley Wright was brought into the game and was in the middle of his warm up throws when rookie manager Bo Porter ran on to the field to pull Wright before he faced a batter and replaced him with Hector Ambriz. Porter made the change because Angels skipper Mike Scioscia pinch hit Scott Cousins for Luis Jiminez. Scioscia argued that Porter could not make the pitching change until Wright had faced at least one batter. The umps led by crew chief Fieldin Culbreth disagreed and allowed the change to stand. Scioscia lodged a protest (why do they do these things when they are never upheld) which was made moot when the Angels won the game. It turns out that Scioscia was correct, Wright had to face a batter.  Culbreth ended up getting a 2 game suspension. Umps blew another call that they should know the rules on.

Item:  Ump Tom Hallion gets into it with Rays pitcher David Price telling him to “throw the damn ball over the plate” during a game on the 2^nd, Price later recounted that Hallion cursed at him repeatedly. Hallion called Price “a liar” when asked about the sequence of events as recalled by Price by a reporter. Hallion and Price were both fined for their actions

For their part, the umps continue to have that mentality that they are

Now the umps scream that they are only human. We’re not talking about the Don Denkinger blown call in the ’85 World Series or Jim Joyce’s egregious missed call on the grounder that should have been the 27^th out in Armando Galarraga’s perfect game. Those calls have been acknowledged as missed and in the latter case, Joyce cuts a sympathetic figure as someone who acknowledged that the missed the call and felt truly bad” NBA refs are getting that way as well. Joey Crawford being the most notorious of egotistical refs I know that umping and refing are tough, thankless jobs but in the case of more than a few umps, they let their ego get in the way of the “Im the ump and Im right.

PHAT DAP/HEAD SLAP

Phat Dap

Ive always liked Matt Kemp, he has a cerebral game and is one of the more dangerous hitters in MLB. But I became a big fan of his after his act of kindness to a dying fan last week in San Francisco. Now keep in mind that the Dodgers are in the middle of a horrible start to the season, and were in the process of getting swept by their hated rivals. At the conclusion of a game, Kemp went over to the fan, Josh Jones and started out by giving him an autograph. Then proceeded to give him his uniform jersey, hat and spikes. Jones, who cant speak and is wheelchair bound due to his illness had a bright smile.  Watch the video and if you get something in your eye,  Im not one to clown on you for it, I had the same problem.

Classy act by Kemp who put aside his slow start to make a fan’s day. And Hoodwood hopes that Jones keeps fighting strong against cancer.

Head Slap

To former Lions wide receiver Titus Young. I was at first going to give him the head slap for getting arrested twice in a 24 hour period. Young was arrested on the 5^th for suspicion of DUI in Moreno Valley California and then again 14 hours later for trying to break into the impound lot to try to get his car back. But it gets better. Young was arrested again  just this past Friday in San Clemente for felony burglary and misdeamenor resisting arrest. Young was released by the Lions right before the Super Bowl might have a hard time finding gainful employment after these brushes with the law. What special kind of stupid does a person have to be to get arrested three times in a week?

That’s the view from the Hoodwood, until next post fellow sports fans!

Is this the end of the line for the Detroit Red Wings and their 22-year playoff run, I think so. I am a loyal Red Wing fan, but with the change to the Eastern Conference scheduled to take place during the 2013-14 season, and their lack of team size in my opinion in just may happen unless they take a different direction and add some size to their lineup. I mean come on, how many times can this team be punished by teams with a huge size difference for which they will face on a nightly basis.

Let's be serious here for a moment, seeing teams like the Bruins 5 to 6 times a year will not be good for the smaller Wings unless they make changes and add size and even more toughness than Jordin Tootoo and Justin Abdelkader provide. But we will see what direction the Wings head after the playoffs are over, these changes are necessary in order for them to compete in the East, and has to happen during this offseason. 

Is this the answer to the Detroit Lions problems as a team, I highly doubt it. Honestly I believe Martin Mayhew missed the boat again when he drafted him number 5. I personally believed they should have drafted a tackle to replace Jeff Backus who retired during the offseason. But this is typical Lions draft strategy since the Matt Millen era, draft a project (Charles Rogers, Titus Young) and pray that they work out. When they don't they release them in order to save face. I am not knocking their entire draft, but there were a lot better players out there that were ready to play this year, not two years down the road. I guess its time for the Lions to find a real general manager, who will draft to the needs of the team, and break the draft day trend. Oh wait I forgot, that is why they are the only Detroit team that I have never seen win a championship during my near 49 years on this earth. Why is this, because they do not have a clue!

Well I have to admit that this weekends series against the Indians has been rather interesting, and not the walkover I thought it would be. Nice to see that Tito, Nick and all the other additions are starting to pay off for the Indians. If this trend continues like it should, because those I mentioned will not let the others quit, then the Central Division might stay interesting this year. 

Thanks for stopping by, and I will see you the next time.

   Hello folks and welcome to this week’s edition of Sexy Action Sports Saturday with your old pal IHM.

   This week, we heard a little something out of Redskins owner Daniel Snyder when he came out and publicly stated the team would ‘never’ change its name. Over the years, we’ve been up in arms about quite a few name changes here at the Gab. The most recent and notable was the University of South Dakota Fighting Sioux changing their name despite the support of the Sioux nation. But, with the name “Redskins” you are talking about a whole new ballgame. This name isn’t a tribute to proud warriors who once faced off with what equated with invaders attempting to take their land and way of life away from them… this is a reference to skin color that would with any other race have caused a fucking riot and boycott of all things NFL to this point. Hell, if someone named a team the “Detroit Darkskins”, there would be a public outrage on an international stage. So why is it still okay for the Washington Redskins to continue to exist? Personally, I say it is time for a change, despite the objections of owner Daniel Snyder, and I believe the NFL is going to have to force the issue in order to save face. What say you, Gabitants? Is it about damn time the league steps in and does something to change what is arguably the most offensive team name in the history of professional sports in the year 2013?

   The Lions agreed to terms with Ziggy Ansah today, the final of their 9 2013 draft picks to sign. With his signing, the Lions are ready to roll into camp with a full house. Unfortunately, that means they will have Ziggy Ansah under contract for five years now! Hopefully I am wrong here, but I still say the guy is out of football in two years. Oh, and more great news as Darius Slay, the second round corner, had surgery to repair his meniscus this week, so he’ll miss rookie camp. All right, because we know Mayhew has a great history of taking guys with injury history… right Jhavid Best? Ryan Broyles? Titus Young? Mikkeal Leshoure?

   At least one Lion is upbeat this offseason, as DT Nick Fairley has predicted the Lions will go to the Super Bowl this year. If there were next day, mandated drug tests for saying stupid shit, you’d better bet I’d have his ass on a plane somewhere to get one done after saying that. Not that I’m mad at the guy for dreaming or anything… but history isn’t exactly on their side, either. The only team to go from 4 wins to a Super Bowl win in NFL history was the 1999 St.Louis Rams… and let’s face it, the Rams we ain’t, despite Bill Polian’s insistence.

   Last year at this time, Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera was having a solid year with 7 homers, 27 RBI and hitting around .285. This year after the same amount of games, he’s at 40 RBI, same seven home run total, and hitting nearly a hundred points higher at .382. As it sits now, he leads in 2/3 Triple Crown categories, and is four home runs behind AL leader Mark Reynolds of Cleveland.

  Speaking of Cleveland, aside from Friday night, they’ve been playing some damn good ball of late. The aforementioned Reynolds has provided some nice pop with 11 HR/30 RBI, and is even hitting a respectable .283. Ryan Rayburn hit .171 with 1 HR/12 RBI all of last year (205 ABs) with the Tigers. This year with Cleveland, he’s hitting .329 with 4 HRs and 11 RBI. Even spring training invite Scott Kazmir, a forgotten former All-Star pitcher with the Rays, is contributing two wins so far with three straight quality starts. Right now, the Tigers, Indians, Royals and Twins are all within three games of the AL Central lead, with the White Sox in the cellar and 5.5 back.

  Can someone please get David Ortiz to shut the fuck up? My God… you want to know why people think you cheated and continue to cheat to this day? Look at your baseball card from back when you were a Minnesota Twin, hitting .260 or so with a career high of 20 home runs to, in 2003 when you used those “vitamins”, hitting 30 home runs and having 100 RBI. The very next year was your first 40 home run season. You followed that up with two more, then the drug testing program you “support” kicked in and you haven’t topped 40 home runs since. As for the “prejudice” remark in regards to the Boston writer mentioning your Dominican roots, it’s just reality pal. Look at how many former Dominican players have been busted cheating, including a few of them that were on the same 2003 report you were. It’s not prejudice; it’s more so being a realist.

  Before I call it a week, I wanted to take a moment and give a warning to all of you out there planning on a relaxing, care free weekend. Maybe you plan on heading to a lake, pond, or natural setting. Well, I give you this warning: beware of beavers. That's right, a dolphin will rape you, but a beaver will fucking kill you! A man in Belarus was bitten by an angry beaver, severing his femoral artery and causing him to bleed to death before he could get to help. Here is the terrifying video proof that nothing will ruin your weekend quicker than an angry beaver:

  That’s all I’ve got for the week, folks. Thanks as always for reading and for any comments you leave on the way out. Have a great weekend, Gabbers.

“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

• French Proverb

When Major League Baseball first made the decision to institute limited instant replay in August 2008, the move was met with a feeling of inevitability. It was an inevitability that a game that always fought progress, would finally succumb to it.

Well, it was also inevitable that the same backward thinking that took it so long for the league to implement the measure would then also impede it from being used properly.

As a game, baseball has long been built around the judgment of the individual, a belief that one person’s naked eye should be the end-all, be-all judge of all. By instituting limited instant replay on home run balls (fair/foul, out of the park or not), the league as a whole caved to the realization that the naked eye is not always to be believed. Bud Selig even admitted as much during his initial press conference on August 26, 2008.

"I believe this is right," Selig. "I think the umpires believe it. I think the players believe it. The evidence [for using it] became overwhelming the more I looked at ballparks. You've got an umpire running out and he's 300-400 feet away, and it became impossible [for him to make the right call]. I'm delighted we're able to make this adjustment.

Yes, here we stand, nearly five seasons after the system has been introduced, and we still rely on the judgment of one person to dictate the outcome of a ballgame?

On Wednesday night, the Oakland Athletics were handed a loss by the Cleveland Indians after they failed to push a tying run over the plate during the 9^th inning. However, that should not have been the case, as Adam Rosales hit what appeared to be a game-tying home run with two-outs in the inning. However, the umpire crew called the ball in play rather than a home run and Rosales ended up at second base.

This is the type of situation replay was instituted to resolve. The Athletics protested and the umpires decided to go to the replay, which clearly showed the ball hitting a railing above the yellow line at Progressive Field and bouncing back into play, which would mean the ball was indeed a home run. However, despite both home and away feeds showing that fact and the umpire crew having access to said feeds, crew chief Angel Hernandez ruled the play would stand as ruled on the field.

Obviously, Bob Melvin was incensed and was ejected for continuing to argue the call on the field. The Athletics would load the bases, but would ultimately fail to push that tying run across.

But that fact is not the real kick in the teeth. That came from MLB’s executive vice-president for baseball operations Joe Torre.

In a ruling on Thursday, Torre admitted that “an improper call was made”. However, Torre left the call as is, saying “By rule, the decision to reverse a call by use of instant replay is at the sole discretion of the crew chief. In the opinion of Angel Hernandez, who was last night's crew chief, there was not clear and convincing evidence to overturn the decision on the field. It was a judgment call, and as such, it stands as final.”

Torre is referring to rule 9.02a which states, “Any umpire’s decision which involves judgment, such as, but not limited to, whether a batted ball is fair or foul, whether a pitch is a strike or a ball, or whether a runner is safe or out, is final. No player, manager, coach or substitute shall object to any such judgment decisions.”

However, it begs to ask that if we are making progress toward the correct judgment, should we not also be progressing toward a way to correct improper judgment?

In this case, the Athletics are allowed an appeal to Torre’s office, but based on the way the rule is written – or interpreted, I’m unsure which – that appeal is for naught, as the umpire’s judgment is deemed the final word. They in essence become the judge, jury, and executioner so to speak.

This is not the first example of this, let alone the first time this season. The Tampa Bay Rays were robbed twice by bad calls, once on April 9^th when Marty Foster handed Joe Nathan his 300^th save on poor strike call and another time on April 4^th, when Evan Longoria was ruled to have overrun Ben Zobrist on an RBI single. Unfortunately, you cannot argue balls and strikes, and the umpire refused to ask for help on the April 4^th play.

However, the issue at hand is that the appeals system is nearly non-existent. What good does it do to file said appeal if in essence all you are getting to really say is, “I’m really unhappy Joe.” 

It is an absolute disgrace to the game that there is no willingness on the part of Major League Baseball to correct a wrong. Instead, they simply say “sorry” and expect that it is fair to both parties to leave things as ruled on the field.  With the insertion of replay, we should be making progress against bad judgment calls rather than enabling them to continue unhindered.

Is the long-term legitimacy of the game really worth bolstering up the ego of an individual?

Should Angel Hernandez be fined, suspended, or fired for THIS horrible call?