Hello, Sports Fans
April 26, 2006
Another randomish sports posting for all you couch jockeys out there.
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Brackets and Such
March 22, 2006
Yea, I know.
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On My List
October 10, 2005
Yes, it has been forever since I wrote here, *insert normal excuses here*, but after a weekend chock full of sports, I figured now is a better time than any to let you know who is on my good and bad sides.
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Let the Madness Begin...One Year Later
March 16, 2005
Without further ado, and just before the deadline, I present to you my final four for this years Tournament. Now, before you go scoffing at me, I would have you remember back last year, on this very blog, when I predicted 3 out of the 4 final four teams.
Final Four - (Winners in Bold)
Illinois vs Wake Forest
Kansas vs Oklahoma
Final
Kansas vs Illinois (85-80)
There you have it, ought to be a good one. I am personally hoping to see a North Carolina - Kansas Regional Final. Wouldn't that make for a plot?
24 Hours in San Diego
January 26, 2005
Recently I was able to escape the sub-zero temperatures of Montreal for a meeting in San Diego for a few days. That would have been enough until I saw my lodging arrangements and noticed I would be staying at La Jolla Torrey Pines, along the 18th fairway of one of the most recognized golf courses in the world. Again, this would have been enough until I learned we would be there the week the Buick Invitational would be held at Torrey Pines. Luckily, I wasn't leaving until Thursday afternoon, and was able to catch my first ever glimpse of a professional golf event, which featured four of the top six players in the world. My experience starts the night before.
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Alive and Well
October 19, 2004
Bill Veeck, pioneer owner and baseball personality, once said, "Baseball must be a great game, because the owners haven't been able to kill it." After watching about 20 hours of baseball over the last two days, I couldn't agree more.
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The Oprahtization of Televised Sports
July 14, 2004
Where are you Uecker? Will you help us Costas? After watching the Major League Baseball All-Star Game last night, we sure need you.
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So random....
June 14, 2004
Is that light at the end of the tunnel? Or is it an oncoming train...
The wedding is approaching quickly and things are about to get real crazy. So I thought I should write before it gets too out of hand. The problem: No topic....
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Let the Madness Begin
March 15, 2004
It's my favorite time of year, let the office pools fly! I have just finished my brackets at 1:30 am on Tuesday, barely under the gun (Certain members of my family have strict requirements as to the post dating of brackets).
This year my picks took about 5 minutes, seeing as I have watched the least amount of college ball in recent memory. Canadian TV just doesn't seem to care for it until tourney time. I started out thinking this would be the first year ever I would not pencil in Kansas as the champion, and when the dust had cleared....you guessed it, KU will be the champ...mark my words. Just in case you are interested, my Final Four picks are as follows...
OK State
Kansas
UConn
Duke
Championship Game
Duke
KU (Winner)
And for you scoffing Mizzou fans, I could not pick your team because the NIT brackets aren't out yet.
Pete, Tell us something we don't know...
January 6, 2004
"The banishment for life of Pete Rose from baseball is the sad end of a sorry episode. One of the game's greatest players has engaged in a variety of acts which have stained the game, and he must now live with the consequences of those acts. It will come as no surprise that like any institution composed of human beings, this institution will not always fulfill its highest aspirations. I know of no earthly institution that does. But this one, because it is so much a part of our history as a people and because it has such a purchase on our national soul, has an obligation to the people for whom it is played-- to its fans and well-wishers -- to strive for excellence in all things and to promote the highest ideals." - A. Bart Giamatti, August 1989
Pete Rose surprised no one Monday, in finally admitting that he had bet on baseball. We knew. We have known for almost fourteen years now. So finally the question moves from, "What did Pete Rose do?" to "What do we do with Pete Rose?"
First of all, the idea that Mr. Rose suddenly had an epiphany and realized, "Oh yea, now I remember, I did happen to bet on some baseball games after all," seems a little far-fetched. As does the thought that his conscious finally caught up with him. More likely, the need to sell a new book in order to feed a gambling habit that continues fits the bill (according to Rose, he has reformed and now only bets legally, and visits to the racetrack have become less frequent). Why not make the admission 14 months ago after your initial meeting with Bud Selig?
But it now begs the question. Is Pete telling us everything? After he has vehemently denied any accusations for the past 14 years, we are now asked to believe him when he says he bet on baseball, but not the Reds. I propose this: Here you have a man that is obviously addicted to gambling, and is accruing massive debt in the process. And give any gambler the chance to improve his odds, he will take it in a minute. So, by betting on his own team, Rose would have the opportunity to have some control over the outcome of his bets. Could he have passed that up? Some would say that his love for the game would have prevented it. I say his love for the game was obviously no match for his obsessive habit.
So the spotlight shifts back to Selig. What will he do? He is now surrounded on every side by prominent persons of differing opinions. Also at stake is his already troubled legacy as commissioner of baseball (e.g. ending the All-Star game in tie). Will he challenge a ruling made by one of the most popular and well respected commissioners of the 20th century, Bart Giamatti? Rose seems most interested in returning to management of a major league team, probably the Reds who are about the only, if not the only, team who would consider him. How this could ever be an option for baseball is beyond me. As Giamatti said in his statement on Rose, "Let it also be clear that no individual is superior to the game". In an era in which baseball has led the way in the ethics of its players over the NFL and NBA, allowing Rose to return to manage, with no clear indication of reform or remorse, would be one step forward, five steps back. And as for the Hall, let him in for all I care...put a big statue out front if you please. But if you do, get ready to review the ghosts of baseball's past, particularly "Shoeless" Joe Jackson.
In the end, I am ultimately reminded of the conclusion of Giamatti's speech: "The matter of Mr. Rose is now closed. It will be debated and discussed. Let no one think that it did not hurt baseball. That hurt will pass, however, as the great glory of the game asserts itself and a resilient institution goes forward."
After all is said and done, does anyone really care anymore? Giamatti was right, we have moved on and baseball has seen great moments since '89. The game will survive with or without Rose around. The generation which spent its childhood idolizing him has grown up to forget his greatness on the field, and become weary of his ineptitude off of it. Even his new book title My Prison Without Bars tries to paint him as the ultimate victim of unfair circumstances. How about turning back in the sports pages and reading about Phillies great Tug McGraw, who died of cancer at the age of 59 Monday. Then lets talk about unfair circumstances.
So go away Pete, we have no need of thee. Live out the rest of your life and be happy, just stop bothering us and the game of baseball.
Read Giamatti's entire statement.
A Tough Day for Sports Fans
December 7, 2003
If you know me very well, you know that I bleed two colors: Jayhawk Blue (basketball) and Georgia Red (football). And at this time of year those two passions overlap for around a month as the football season winds down and the basketball season limps into stride. All these facts combined made Saturday a taxing day, as #1 ranked Kansas fell to Stanford in California and the 5th ranked Dawgs lost to #3 LSU in the SEC championship in Atlanta.
It is now Sunday morning, and I have some distance from the night before. I no longer have the urge to throw random objects at my television (or streaming radio feed of the Kansas game). And now I have a fresh perspective on what happened yesterday, as two teams suffered very different losses. That difference sums up everything that is great about college basketball, and also everything that is horribly wrong with college football.
First we look at Kansas, who played rather poorly but still almost won against a good Stanford team. But that's OK. KU will almost surely lose again this year, perhaps several more times. But come March, open up the paper to that beloved 64 team bracket (ready for the office pool) and you will probably see KU, maybe even with a high seed, with a roadmap to the championsip laid out in front of them. Free to win their way right to the Final Four and also free to lose to Ball St., Gonzaga, or any other Cinderella (kid out of nowhere..). That's the beauty of the tournament.
The mood in Atlanta however was much different. The Dawgs fate had been sealed a month ago with a loss to Florida, and the only thing a win would give them was a BCS bowl birth, but not THE BCS bowl birth. Now UGA goes to the ever prestigious Capitol One Bowl, or maybe the Peach. So make sure you are prepared when you head for the office tomorrow, because I am sure the Bowl Prediction Pools will be flying around...or maybe not. The pool got even murkier as Oklahoma got throttled by Kansas State. Thanks KSU, now go away and leave the other teams to play for the national championship.
So now we have three teams with legitimate credentials (according to the BCS anyway) to play for the title. So let's split that Superdome field into a three-legged piece of turf, ready for a three team deathmatch, maybe Vince McMahon can help. Hey, it is just as preposterous as our current system.
So why not a playoff? Div I-AA does it. The NFL does it. Just think about it. Take these teams: Oklahoma, USC, LSU, Michigan, Texas, Ohio State, Georgia. Now put them in an 8 team playoff and let the chips land where they may. You don't have to do away with the Bowls. Let teams who didn't make the playoff compete there (kinda like the NIT) and then use the big-time bowls to play the playoff games. Naaa, I am probably crazy, who would wanna watch that...