Running Diary of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game from my brain:
I skipped Fox's intro for the most part. I caught Erin Andrews saying goodbye to Chipper Jones and hello to Mike Trout. I've never been a fan of the Atlanta Braves, but I wear #10 and I'm getting close to calling it a career in baseball and seeing Chipper get all teary eyed got me all...moving on, nothing to see here.
Kansas City, home of the Monarchs from the Negro League. I'm happy they paid homage...good job.
I can't believe Jonathan Papelbon is an All-Star from a last place team and A.J. Burnett who has carried the first place Pirates after a disastrous start is at home. Outside of that 12 run game, Burnett has a 2.60 ERA over his other 14 starts and is 10-1 in those games. Papelbon is a douche on a crappy team who has his second highest ERA in any season so far this year.
Hello Bryce, Stephan and Gio...I hope to see you every year for the next 10 years.
Oakland Athletics sighting!!! My guess is Ryan Cook doesn't play tonight.
I don't know who you are anthem singer...be gone with you.
Still hate Tim McCarver although he's resembling Harry Caray in his later years more and more.
Ice cream break!!!
I don't think I'll ever get over the loss of Carlos Gonzalez from having a career in the green and gold. I will forever loathe Matt Holliday because of it.
That didn't take long as Ryan Braun smokes a ball to the fence. Somebody test his urine. Maybe Verlander should stick to the curve ball, because it is beyond filthy.
Yikes! Verlander imploding before my eyes. This is...unexpected. It has to be because of that inspiring, rah-rah speech by Chipper. I was ready to run through a brick wall for him.
Something tells me if that Josh Hamilton hit had left the yard, we'd be in for a really good game. Now I'm not so sure this isn't a big time blowout.
Joey Gloves!
Matt Cain is a very good pitcher, not flashy, just very consistent who will forever have his place in history with World Series championship, perfect game and All-Star game start.
Gio time! Please take Brandon McCarthy Nationals. I want the A's and Nats to be trading partners for life. Just keep it fair guys.
I repeat...if you think having a BBQ is going to Burger King...you are not my friend.
WHERE WERE THOSE STATS WHEN YOU WERE IN OAKLAND MATT??? (Sorry for that kids)
Looks like the Cardinals are still haunting the Rangers...hahahahaha
3 triples by the NL and its only the 4th inning? Wow.
Oooooh Strasburg vs. Cano, Hamilton and Baustista...me likey!!
I think that curve fooled the umpire. Shocker!
Washington Nationals overload...Bryce Harper time!! Don't be scared Weaver...throw a strike you long haired surfer boy!
Oh Bryce! Booooooo. Bringing back the Natinals with that gaffe.
Way to go Chipper! Sail off into the sunset with that one.
Well Mike Trout just welcomed R.A. Dickey quite rudely. Dickey would be out of baseball if it weren't for the National League...just saying.
Bryce Harper vs. Ryan Cook, my worlds are colliding. It'll be fun to watch Cook pitch for the Yankees in a couple of years.
Well that's about it for my interest in the game.
Kellie Pickler? Really? She's still relevant? Oh how horrible.
The words 'Taco Bell' and 'gourmet' should not be used in the same sentence
Tony LaRussa is going to drag the rest of this game out with bullpen changes. Of course going from Kimbrel to Chapman is not fair.
Last licks for the American League...8 run rally caps on everybody.
Final Score: National League 8 American League 0...See you in DC for Game 1 of the World Series.
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This morning the wife and I went to find out whether we are having a boy or girl....it's a BOY!!! I really hadn't set my mind to wanting one or the other, just one that was healthy. Either way my kid was going to be well versed in the rules of baseball longer before his peers.
This brings us to the debate about the names...Jessica has thrown out names that I have no interest in and she has already shot down Nicklas Alexander after my two favorite Washington Capitals. I have come up with an idea that she has agreed to that we are going to do this like a jury selection.
We will both submit 10 names and each person will quickly eliminate five names from the others list without objection. We will then take our new list of 10 names and put them through a strenuous question and answer session to make sure they are not hiding any secrets that will come back to bite us in the ass. The main reason Jessica eliminated Nicklas is she didn't want her baby boy to be called 'Dickless Nicklas' at school. How petty!
Feel free to submit any ideas of names you may have...I am an open book at this point. I have always thought about naming him Jason Alan Wippich Jr. so that I could be Jason Alan Wippich Sr. or JAWS!! That would be sweet. I could hear my nephews/nieces say 'Hi Uncle Jaws!!' That makes me smile because I'm silly like that.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Pocket Pair 7/10/12
I love baseball. I'm going to put that out there right now. I've been playing since I was five years old and no matter how fervent I feel towards other sports, there's nothing that gets me going more than baseball. As an Oakland Athletics fan, the past 20 years have been filled with disappointment and heartbreak with flashes of brilliance. The peaks have been as pronounced as the valleys. Now that Washington D.C. has a team I have somewhat split my allegiance between both the A's and the Nationals. Basically I have a reason to cheer on a team from 7-10pm and 10pm-1am each night. I can watch the Nationals on TV and then fall asleep to the A's on my iPad later in the night. My addiction to the sport is as deep as ever.
That being said, I was bored as hell during last nights Home Run Derby. Each year is the same as the last. The first round is fun watching the newest phenom/power hitter/great story get his shot at glory, but with a 3+ hour running time, it gets old fast. From Mark McGwire in his prime to Barry Bonds when he was a God to the great story of Josh Hamilton and the accelerated emergence of Mark Trumbo, there always seems to be a story for viewers to get attached to. But what do you do with the last 2 hours of the broadcast?
Obviously viewers hate Chris Berman and they're sick of his shtick. ESPN produces the Derby in the same style every year. Berman yelling, player reactions and that's it. Sure they try and build drama up as if the Derby means anything and it was good to have a true villain in Robinson Cano last night, but for the most part its a complete waste of time.
I'm here to present some new events to 1) keep viewers and bring in a new batch 2) highlight the skill sets of non pure power hitters 3) allow ball players to showcase their personalities to a broader audience 4) get more players involved.
First, how to fix the Home Run Derby:
Change it to 5 hitters with only 2 rounds. Take two of the best power hitters from each league and then invite the best power hitter from the host city whether he is an All-Star or not. You now have invested fans in the crowd to go along with the normal corporate big wigs who could care less about what is going on. The two rounds shorten the event to a manageable time frame and opens up time for other events.
What other events you ask?
I want to get the pitchers involved, but in a way that they won't fear injuring their arm. What i suggest is carnival games to test the pitchers accuracy. This will allow them to get mic'd up and still showcase some skill. Let's line up some milk bottles and have the pitchers throw at them to win prizes for charity or children. I got my inspiration from a Seattle Mariners commercial starring Felix Hernandez.
Another event that I think would be great and help raise money for charity would be a dunk tank. What fun event is a better way to showcase personality and accuracy than a dunk tank? Fans can pay money (all to charity) to go up against a rival teams pitcher. As a Nationals fan I would love to sit there while hated rival Cole Hamels tries to dunk me. I could lightly heckle him and then hopefully you get an autograph from your favorite player for your troubles.
Next up for the speeders would be a fastest around the bases contest. I remember watching Darryl Green and Willie Gault face off in a sprint contest for the NFL's fastest player contest and thought it was great. Line up players like Michael Bourn, Elvis Andrus and even future speedster Billy Hamilton from the Futures game at home plate and time them going around the bases. To this day people still talk about watching Deion Sanders running the base paths because of how fast he was and I want to bring that aspect of the game back into the light.
When players are talked about being a 'five tool player' it means they can hit for power, average, run well, play good defense and throw well. I want to showcase outfield throwing ability. Lets run the Tom Emanski video skill contest. Line up a trash can on its side at the plate and have the best arms in baseball throw a ball into it from center field. Any baseball player remembers Fred McGriff endorsing these videos:
Just like in hockey when there are breakable targets in the shooting accuracy challenge, baseball can build targets to aim at as Bryce Harper launches a laser from right field to third base. It would be a joy to watch.
The last event I'd like to see is a six inning rookie versus sophomore game. The NBA has it and it is a great way for viewers to learn some new names from around the league. Make it shorter than the real game to keep the roster size smaller, but allow the future of MLB to go to an All-Star week to get some valued exposure and experience.
----------------------------------------------------
While in Texas I went and saw the movie 'Ted'. It was rather funny even if most of the best jokes were shown in the extended cut trailer. Just like in Family Guy, Seth MacFarlane hearkens back to his youth with references from the 80's and early 90's. He is five years older than I am, but the gap isn't large enough where I don't get the jokes. Sure I don't know all of the references, but the ones I know of are great.
There was a spoof of the the spoof movie Airplane which, judging by the audiences reaction, not many people got. I saw the movie in Austin which is a younger city and the crowd looked to be littered with college kids and younger (a family of five with the children no older than 11...awful parenting there). I can tell you that some of the jokes probably went way over their heads and even though they laughed at the jokes, they missed out on the connection.
*Spoiler Alert*
The bulk of the second half of the movie involves the lead character from the 1980 movie Flash Gordon, which I can say I've never seen. That was a bit of a letdown because I had no connection to the film nor the main character Sam Jones so I couldn't relate to the obsession that Mark Wahlberg and Ted had. It was still funny, but not to the extent that I'm sure Seth MacFarlane and fans of the cult hit felt.
That being said, I was bored as hell during last nights Home Run Derby. Each year is the same as the last. The first round is fun watching the newest phenom/power hitter/great story get his shot at glory, but with a 3+ hour running time, it gets old fast. From Mark McGwire in his prime to Barry Bonds when he was a God to the great story of Josh Hamilton and the accelerated emergence of Mark Trumbo, there always seems to be a story for viewers to get attached to. But what do you do with the last 2 hours of the broadcast?
Obviously viewers hate Chris Berman and they're sick of his shtick. ESPN produces the Derby in the same style every year. Berman yelling, player reactions and that's it. Sure they try and build drama up as if the Derby means anything and it was good to have a true villain in Robinson Cano last night, but for the most part its a complete waste of time.
I'm here to present some new events to 1) keep viewers and bring in a new batch 2) highlight the skill sets of non pure power hitters 3) allow ball players to showcase their personalities to a broader audience 4) get more players involved.
First, how to fix the Home Run Derby:
Change it to 5 hitters with only 2 rounds. Take two of the best power hitters from each league and then invite the best power hitter from the host city whether he is an All-Star or not. You now have invested fans in the crowd to go along with the normal corporate big wigs who could care less about what is going on. The two rounds shorten the event to a manageable time frame and opens up time for other events.
What other events you ask?
I want to get the pitchers involved, but in a way that they won't fear injuring their arm. What i suggest is carnival games to test the pitchers accuracy. This will allow them to get mic'd up and still showcase some skill. Let's line up some milk bottles and have the pitchers throw at them to win prizes for charity or children. I got my inspiration from a Seattle Mariners commercial starring Felix Hernandez.
Another event that I think would be great and help raise money for charity would be a dunk tank. What fun event is a better way to showcase personality and accuracy than a dunk tank? Fans can pay money (all to charity) to go up against a rival teams pitcher. As a Nationals fan I would love to sit there while hated rival Cole Hamels tries to dunk me. I could lightly heckle him and then hopefully you get an autograph from your favorite player for your troubles.
Next up for the speeders would be a fastest around the bases contest. I remember watching Darryl Green and Willie Gault face off in a sprint contest for the NFL's fastest player contest and thought it was great. Line up players like Michael Bourn, Elvis Andrus and even future speedster Billy Hamilton from the Futures game at home plate and time them going around the bases. To this day people still talk about watching Deion Sanders running the base paths because of how fast he was and I want to bring that aspect of the game back into the light.
When players are talked about being a 'five tool player' it means they can hit for power, average, run well, play good defense and throw well. I want to showcase outfield throwing ability. Lets run the Tom Emanski video skill contest. Line up a trash can on its side at the plate and have the best arms in baseball throw a ball into it from center field. Any baseball player remembers Fred McGriff endorsing these videos:
Just like in hockey when there are breakable targets in the shooting accuracy challenge, baseball can build targets to aim at as Bryce Harper launches a laser from right field to third base. It would be a joy to watch.
The last event I'd like to see is a six inning rookie versus sophomore game. The NBA has it and it is a great way for viewers to learn some new names from around the league. Make it shorter than the real game to keep the roster size smaller, but allow the future of MLB to go to an All-Star week to get some valued exposure and experience.
----------------------------------------------------
While in Texas I went and saw the movie 'Ted'. It was rather funny even if most of the best jokes were shown in the extended cut trailer. Just like in Family Guy, Seth MacFarlane hearkens back to his youth with references from the 80's and early 90's. He is five years older than I am, but the gap isn't large enough where I don't get the jokes. Sure I don't know all of the references, but the ones I know of are great.
There was a spoof of the the spoof movie Airplane which, judging by the audiences reaction, not many people got. I saw the movie in Austin which is a younger city and the crowd looked to be littered with college kids and younger (a family of five with the children no older than 11...awful parenting there). I can tell you that some of the jokes probably went way over their heads and even though they laughed at the jokes, they missed out on the connection.
*Spoiler Alert*
The bulk of the second half of the movie involves the lead character from the 1980 movie Flash Gordon, which I can say I've never seen. That was a bit of a letdown because I had no connection to the film nor the main character Sam Jones so I couldn't relate to the obsession that Mark Wahlberg and Ted had. It was still funny, but not to the extent that I'm sure Seth MacFarlane and fans of the cult hit felt.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Pocket Pair 7/9/12
Hello again folks! I hope you didn't miss me too much while I was basking in the non-humid heat of the Texas sun. If you follow me on Twitter then you are well aware of my stops down there. If I wasn't being a tourist, I was eating and if it wasn't Mexican food, it was burgers. The best thing I ate in Texas was at the #1 rated burger joint in Austin, Hopdoddy (@hopdoddy). Their Terlingua burger consists of Angus Beef, Chili con Carne, Corn Fritos, Tillamook Cheddar and Sassy Sauce. I can't say that I've ever had or ever heard of Tillamook cheddar cheese, nor will I be able to go into depths about the flavor profile because my palate isn't suited for that. I couldn't decipher the ingredients of the Sassy sauce, nor did I ask someone about it. I'm not a food blog, but I love eating. I can tell you that the chili was awesome and the burger was cooked well which made for a very good overall taste.
Outside of stuffing my gullet, I did what other tourists do...looked at famous and not so famous sites. My wife and I started in Dallas and went to the spot where JFK was assassinated. We went to San Antonio to check out the Alamo and the River Walk. We stayed in Austin and went to the University of Texas where my wife was enamored with the turtle pond.
We also saw some weird things along the way including a swarm of 1.5 million bats that live under a bridge in Austin and come out to feed at nighttime. We went to the underwhelming Museum of the Weird (save your money tourists), saw a 23 foot high spider and a now closed arcade that was built in the shape of a Star Trek ship.
On our way home, back in Dallas (well Arlington, Texas to be exact), I saw another space ship that I am told holds an overrated NFL team.
I was half expecting that behemoth of a monstrosity to start hovering and eventually take off back to the planet from where it came.
BREAKING NEWS: IT HAS BEEN SPOTTED IN SAN FRANCISCO!!! Adios Cowboys!!!
Thank you Flight of the Navigator for helping me out with my humor.
-------------------------------------------------------
I missed a lot of sports last week because my wife and her sister were too caught up watching HGTV and Investigation Discovery. I tried streaming baseball games on my iPad, but the AT&T U-Verse sucked down there and couldn't hold a signal at times.
I can tell you that it is the All-Star break in baseball and my two teams are doing better than expected. The Oakland Athletics sit at .500 with a 43-43 record thanks to their league leading 8th walk off win of the season. They can't hit (save for home runs), but they can pitch. It doesn't seem to matter who they run out to the mound, but they usually turn in a quality effort keeping the offense in the game. I can easily see both Bartolo Colon and Brandon McCarthy being shipped away at the deadline to more serious contenders. The Athletics have both Brett Anderson and Dallas Braden coming back from injury in or around August and if Oakland has any shot at adding another young hitter they need to jump at it. Even though the Athletics sit only 2.5 games out of a playoff spot they are still one or two (or three) good hitters away from a serious playoff push. Josh Reddick has played out of his mind, but I can't expect another 20 home runs in the second half.
Even with dropping two of three to the lowly Colorado Rockies this weekend, my local favorite team, the Washington Nationals still hold the best record in the National League. They could be in line to take either of the Athletics starters named above because of the supposed innings limit restriction on All-Star Stephen Strasburg. Outside of that storm that is forming in the Caribbean the Nationals don't have too many holes to fill. Even though SS Ian Desmond has played far better than anyone projected, I don't think anybody else on the offense will regress. Both Michael Morse and Ryan Zimmerman have been either injured or inconsistent all 1st half so a full second half of both of them will be more than enough to offset any drop off by Desmond. The pitching has been excellent and with the addition of Drew Storen to the back end and probably a veteran arm to take the spot of Strasburg it should continue to be the strength of a well balanced team. The wild card will be rookie Bryce Harper. Will he continue to get better or hit the rookie wall that most rookies run into in late August. He's never played this many meaningful games in a single season and being only 19, the toll that it will take is immeasurable. He sparked the team with his gung-ho attitude, but has quietly taken a back seat with the return of Zimmerman and Morse. As long as those two produce along with crafty veteran Adam LaRoche, even an extended cold streak by Harper can be negated.
Outside of stuffing my gullet, I did what other tourists do...looked at famous and not so famous sites. My wife and I started in Dallas and went to the spot where JFK was assassinated. We went to San Antonio to check out the Alamo and the River Walk. We stayed in Austin and went to the University of Texas where my wife was enamored with the turtle pond.
On our way home, back in Dallas (well Arlington, Texas to be exact), I saw another space ship that I am told holds an overrated NFL team.
I was half expecting that behemoth of a monstrosity to start hovering and eventually take off back to the planet from where it came.
BREAKING NEWS: IT HAS BEEN SPOTTED IN SAN FRANCISCO!!! Adios Cowboys!!!
Thank you Flight of the Navigator for helping me out with my humor.
-------------------------------------------------------
I missed a lot of sports last week because my wife and her sister were too caught up watching HGTV and Investigation Discovery. I tried streaming baseball games on my iPad, but the AT&T U-Verse sucked down there and couldn't hold a signal at times.
I can tell you that it is the All-Star break in baseball and my two teams are doing better than expected. The Oakland Athletics sit at .500 with a 43-43 record thanks to their league leading 8th walk off win of the season. They can't hit (save for home runs), but they can pitch. It doesn't seem to matter who they run out to the mound, but they usually turn in a quality effort keeping the offense in the game. I can easily see both Bartolo Colon and Brandon McCarthy being shipped away at the deadline to more serious contenders. The Athletics have both Brett Anderson and Dallas Braden coming back from injury in or around August and if Oakland has any shot at adding another young hitter they need to jump at it. Even though the Athletics sit only 2.5 games out of a playoff spot they are still one or two (or three) good hitters away from a serious playoff push. Josh Reddick has played out of his mind, but I can't expect another 20 home runs in the second half.
Even with dropping two of three to the lowly Colorado Rockies this weekend, my local favorite team, the Washington Nationals still hold the best record in the National League. They could be in line to take either of the Athletics starters named above because of the supposed innings limit restriction on All-Star Stephen Strasburg. Outside of that storm that is forming in the Caribbean the Nationals don't have too many holes to fill. Even though SS Ian Desmond has played far better than anyone projected, I don't think anybody else on the offense will regress. Both Michael Morse and Ryan Zimmerman have been either injured or inconsistent all 1st half so a full second half of both of them will be more than enough to offset any drop off by Desmond. The pitching has been excellent and with the addition of Drew Storen to the back end and probably a veteran arm to take the spot of Strasburg it should continue to be the strength of a well balanced team. The wild card will be rookie Bryce Harper. Will he continue to get better or hit the rookie wall that most rookies run into in late August. He's never played this many meaningful games in a single season and being only 19, the toll that it will take is immeasurable. He sparked the team with his gung-ho attitude, but has quietly taken a back seat with the return of Zimmerman and Morse. As long as those two produce along with crafty veteran Adam LaRoche, even an extended cold streak by Harper can be negated.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Pocket Pair 6/29/12
With temperatures in the low 100's this week in the D.C. area, it looks like the perfect weekend to stay home and watch sports. Unfortunately it is a slow weekend in sports, but fear not, sports fans, use my guide and you'll find enough to avoid outdoor chores.
10: NHL Free Agency Begins
This counts as sports right? Sure it does. By all accounts it is a shallow pool for free agents this season, but that makes the intrigue all the more. Who will overpay for the likes of Zach Parise and Justin Schultz? I understand this isn't sexy, but teams have holes to fill including my Washington Capitals. Per my insiders (Japers Rink @japersrink and Neil Greenberg @ngreenberg) the two players to hope for in Washington are Shane Doan and Mikael Samuelsson who are both right wingers which is the biggest deficiency of talent on the roster. For more visit Japers Rink and their thoughts on what the Capitals should do here.
9: NBA Free Agency Begins
For fans of a more popular sport, (unfortunate as that is to say) the NBA follows up its draft with Free Agency. Deron Williams is the prized jewel of the free agent class along with aging superstars Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. The New Orleans Hornets revamped their roster through the draft last night, but the key to improving next season is hanging on to their lone star Eric Gordon.
8. New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers
This ship is sinking fast for the Dodgers. Injuries have taken their toll as now Andre Either has been added to the list of casualties. The Mets are trending upwards and even though R.A. Dickey has seen his streak of scoreless pitching come to an end, they are playing really well of late. They also get the nod for the Sunday night national televised game and Dillon Gee will be matched up with Clayton Kershaw. If I were Kershaw I'd be worried about pulling a muscle or straining a hamstring.
7. AT&T National
If you are brave enough to sit through the scorching weather here in the area, head on over to Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD this weekend. Tiger Woods and a slew of relative unknowns are playing on a course that was recently seen hosting last years U.S. Open. According to the people at Congressional, the course will play much harder during this tournament than when Rory McIlroy carved it up last year.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals
Don't look now, but both of these teams are inching towards the Cincinnati Reds for 1st place in the N.L. Central. The defending champion Cardinals are still hitting minus the services of Albert Pujols who left them for Anaheim and Lance Berkman who is injured. The Pirates are being buoyed by A.J. Burnett who has won 8 consecutive starts for the first time in franchise history since Dock Ellis in 1974. It looks as though the move from New York was indeed the perfect thing to reinvigorate his fledgling career.
5. Wimbledon
Usually the first week of a Grand Slam Tournament is rather mundane with the top seeds rolling through qualifiers and youngsters, but this year has already been a shocker. Yesterday 5 time Wimbledon finalist Rafael Nadal was ousted in jaw dropping, dramatic fashion by 100th ranked unknown Lukas Rosol. Less stunning, but still surprising was on the Ladies side of the draw where former #1 and current 7th ranked Caroline Wozniaki was dropped in the first round. Add to the fact that Venus Williams again disappointed losing in the first round and you've got yourself an intriguing tournament for a change during week one.
4. Chicago White Sox at New York Yankees
Two first place teams that I equally don't like, but who are both playing really good baseball right now. The Yankees have lost 2/5 of its starting rotation this week, but they are the Yankees and we all know they will find a way to survive. More than likely they will just hit more home runs to make up for the lack of quality outings by their staff. The White Sox also made noise by acquiring Kevin Youkilis from the Boston Red Sox. Game one of this 4 game set went to the White Sox on a 9th inning 3 run blast by Dayan Viciedo.
3. Washington Nationals at Atlanta Braves
The first place Nationals look to stay that way as the All-Star Break approaches. They will throw out both of their aces (Strasburg and Gonzalez) this series in hopes to add a cushion to their 3.5 game lead in the division. The Braves who have lost Brandon Beachy and his 2.00 ERA for this season and probably next year as well with the dreaded, yet all too common Tommy John surgery. The Braves are good, but I have a feeling this could be a possible last stand of sort if they are to contend this season.
2. Cincinnati Reds at San Francisco Giants
Guess which pitching staff is the hottest in the Majors right now? They are located in the Bay area and their colors are green and gold...yes the Oakland Athletics. Over their last 14 game the A's have given up more than 3 runs only three times. That's nice and all, but its their cross bay rivals the Giants that have thrown 4 consecutive shutouts and vaulted the injured Dodgers into 1st place in the N.L. West. The Reds are scuffling as of late, but still hold a slim lead in the N.L. Central. Matt Cain looks to extend the scoreless streak for the Giants tonight.
1. Euro Cup 2012 Final
Spain vs. Italy. Hopefully we get a game like yesterday when Italy scored early at shook Germany to the core. All it takes is an early goal to have the coaches throw out the game plan and get their team scrambling. Mario Balotelli showed all the good that he can bring to a team while leaving all the bad out Spain hasn't given up a goal in a knockout game since 2006 so we know they will have a great defensive structure and it will be interesting to see how the Italians try and break through. If Spain falls behind it should be fun, if they score first it could be a mind numbing 1-0 final score.
--------------------------------------------
I am headed to Texas to get away from the D.C. heat this upcoming week. The wife and I are headed to visit her sister, but I am looking forward to eating some Texas brisket, some local Mexican food, eating some burgers and gaining 15 pounds. I better walk around and see the sights or else I may not make it back in one piece.
I will probably not be updating the page too much unless I need a reason to stay out of the heat. I will be posting pictures of my gluttonous conquests on my Twitter page so enjoy those.
Enjoy the week ahead including the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on the 4th of July. I do love me some food.
10: NHL Free Agency Begins
This counts as sports right? Sure it does. By all accounts it is a shallow pool for free agents this season, but that makes the intrigue all the more. Who will overpay for the likes of Zach Parise and Justin Schultz? I understand this isn't sexy, but teams have holes to fill including my Washington Capitals. Per my insiders (Japers Rink @japersrink and Neil Greenberg @ngreenberg) the two players to hope for in Washington are Shane Doan and Mikael Samuelsson who are both right wingers which is the biggest deficiency of talent on the roster. For more visit Japers Rink and their thoughts on what the Capitals should do here.
9: NBA Free Agency Begins
For fans of a more popular sport, (unfortunate as that is to say) the NBA follows up its draft with Free Agency. Deron Williams is the prized jewel of the free agent class along with aging superstars Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. The New Orleans Hornets revamped their roster through the draft last night, but the key to improving next season is hanging on to their lone star Eric Gordon.
8. New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers
This ship is sinking fast for the Dodgers. Injuries have taken their toll as now Andre Either has been added to the list of casualties. The Mets are trending upwards and even though R.A. Dickey has seen his streak of scoreless pitching come to an end, they are playing really well of late. They also get the nod for the Sunday night national televised game and Dillon Gee will be matched up with Clayton Kershaw. If I were Kershaw I'd be worried about pulling a muscle or straining a hamstring.
7. AT&T National
If you are brave enough to sit through the scorching weather here in the area, head on over to Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD this weekend. Tiger Woods and a slew of relative unknowns are playing on a course that was recently seen hosting last years U.S. Open. According to the people at Congressional, the course will play much harder during this tournament than when Rory McIlroy carved it up last year.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals
Don't look now, but both of these teams are inching towards the Cincinnati Reds for 1st place in the N.L. Central. The defending champion Cardinals are still hitting minus the services of Albert Pujols who left them for Anaheim and Lance Berkman who is injured. The Pirates are being buoyed by A.J. Burnett who has won 8 consecutive starts for the first time in franchise history since Dock Ellis in 1974. It looks as though the move from New York was indeed the perfect thing to reinvigorate his fledgling career.
5. Wimbledon
Usually the first week of a Grand Slam Tournament is rather mundane with the top seeds rolling through qualifiers and youngsters, but this year has already been a shocker. Yesterday 5 time Wimbledon finalist Rafael Nadal was ousted in jaw dropping, dramatic fashion by 100th ranked unknown Lukas Rosol. Less stunning, but still surprising was on the Ladies side of the draw where former #1 and current 7th ranked Caroline Wozniaki was dropped in the first round. Add to the fact that Venus Williams again disappointed losing in the first round and you've got yourself an intriguing tournament for a change during week one.
4. Chicago White Sox at New York Yankees
Two first place teams that I equally don't like, but who are both playing really good baseball right now. The Yankees have lost 2/5 of its starting rotation this week, but they are the Yankees and we all know they will find a way to survive. More than likely they will just hit more home runs to make up for the lack of quality outings by their staff. The White Sox also made noise by acquiring Kevin Youkilis from the Boston Red Sox. Game one of this 4 game set went to the White Sox on a 9th inning 3 run blast by Dayan Viciedo.
3. Washington Nationals at Atlanta Braves
The first place Nationals look to stay that way as the All-Star Break approaches. They will throw out both of their aces (Strasburg and Gonzalez) this series in hopes to add a cushion to their 3.5 game lead in the division. The Braves who have lost Brandon Beachy and his 2.00 ERA for this season and probably next year as well with the dreaded, yet all too common Tommy John surgery. The Braves are good, but I have a feeling this could be a possible last stand of sort if they are to contend this season.
2. Cincinnati Reds at San Francisco Giants
Guess which pitching staff is the hottest in the Majors right now? They are located in the Bay area and their colors are green and gold...yes the Oakland Athletics. Over their last 14 game the A's have given up more than 3 runs only three times. That's nice and all, but its their cross bay rivals the Giants that have thrown 4 consecutive shutouts and vaulted the injured Dodgers into 1st place in the N.L. West. The Reds are scuffling as of late, but still hold a slim lead in the N.L. Central. Matt Cain looks to extend the scoreless streak for the Giants tonight.
1. Euro Cup 2012 Final
Spain vs. Italy. Hopefully we get a game like yesterday when Italy scored early at shook Germany to the core. All it takes is an early goal to have the coaches throw out the game plan and get their team scrambling. Mario Balotelli showed all the good that he can bring to a team while leaving all the bad out Spain hasn't given up a goal in a knockout game since 2006 so we know they will have a great defensive structure and it will be interesting to see how the Italians try and break through. If Spain falls behind it should be fun, if they score first it could be a mind numbing 1-0 final score.
--------------------------------------------
I am headed to Texas to get away from the D.C. heat this upcoming week. The wife and I are headed to visit her sister, but I am looking forward to eating some Texas brisket, some local Mexican food, eating some burgers and gaining 15 pounds. I better walk around and see the sights or else I may not make it back in one piece.
I will probably not be updating the page too much unless I need a reason to stay out of the heat. I will be posting pictures of my gluttonous conquests on my Twitter page so enjoy those.
Enjoy the week ahead including the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on the 4th of July. I do love me some food.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Pocket Pair 6/28/12
It's NBA Draft day everyone!!! Woooooo! Who will be the next LeBron James or the next Stromile Swift?? Will your favorite team take the best player or one that actually fits their current roster? Hopefully they don't reach for that promising teenage European named Darko while passing on Carmelo Anthony. Stupid Pistons.
To be honest I don't watch nearly as much College Basketball as I used to. I've become much more North Carolina-centric with my lack of free time. I don't think I saw Florida guard Bradley Beal play once. I couldn't tell you whether he will be the next Ray Allen, J.J. Redick or Joseph Forte. When your primary talent is shooting and you're really good at it College, the NBA scouts salivate. I look at the stat line for Beal and I see 44.5% shooting with 33% from 3 point range. That doesn't strike me as a dead eye sharp shooter, but again, what do I know? Joseph Forte was an inch shorter than Beal, but shot 45.5% and nearly 37% from 3 point range in his two years at UNC. He was a complete and utter bust in the NBA. I certainly hope Bradley Beal brings more to the table than did Forte.
Let me stick to what I (think I) know best North Carolina. They will have four 1st round draft picks in all likelihood tonight. They also did this in 2005 and nearly repeated the feat in 2009. Of course both of those teams were NCAA Champions (damn you Creighton). I'm going to quickly break down this years four players to the best of my limited ability.
Harrison Barnes-
Brought in with lofty expectations as the next greatest player to ever play, Harrison Barnes could only muster flashes of brilliance. What he will be remembered for, though, is failure to come up big when his team desperately needed him to. Yes he hit some game winning shots and had an unbelievable ACC Tournament his Freshman year, but he seemed to shrink when Kendall Marshall went down as he couldn't create his own shot. He still averaged 17 ppg., but at times it felt like he could average 25 ppg. wtih his skill set if he just had better ball handling abilities. If he works on that part of his game I could easily see him having a stellar career in the mold of Paul Pierce.
Kendall Marshall-
Stuck behind Larry Drew II, Marshall did not start his career at UNC with a bang. Once he got on the court, everyone saw why he had been on the radar of UNC since as early as 6th grade. He fit Roy Williams' fast break system to a tee with his ability to get the ball out of his hands and into a teammates hands in the exact spot it needed to be. He struggled shooting, but even that got much better as his Sophomore season went on to the point he had to be guarded up close at all times. His final game as a Tar Heel will be remembered for his injury, but he had 18 points on 7-8 shooting to go along with his standard 11 assists. His ceiling seems to be limitless in the right system, but with his deftness as passing, I think he'll make any system look good.
Tyler Zeller-
The only player of this draft class to be a part of a National Championship and one that stayed a full four years (even though he missed most of his Freshman year with a broken wrist thanks to those UK douches), Zeller is a question mark. He runs the court very well and is a true 7 feet tall. He proved to be very weak as a post player though and never was able to stretch his mid range jumper to anything more than the free throw line. His stats were bolstered by the efficiency of Marshall's full court passes, but I'm not sold that he will be a failure. Post play technique can be taught and upper body strength can be improved. He's a smart player and he'll give full effort and whether that will ever be enough to be a star in the NBA is yet to be seen.
John Henson-
I have big time reservations for the thin framed John Henson. He got stronger through each of his three years with North Carolina, but I still don't see him being able to hold his own on the block in the NBA. He's going to get stuck on offense being a near 7' wing player and that is just awkward. On defense he can be a difference maker with better strength, but to avoid being the next Brandan Wright things will need to change. His hopes is to turn his game into that of Marcus Camby and be a defensive stalwart and that wouldn't be too shabby.
------------------------------------------------------
After a wonderful start, the Euro Cup 2012 has taken a dreadful turn into boredom. The group stage games were for the most part compelling and lively. Everyone knew the battle between two defensive minded teams in England and Italy was going to be tough to watch, but we had high hopes for Spain and Portugal. Yesterday's game was awful, there was no flow, no action and really no drama because I didn't think either team was going to score. There was way too much talent on the field for a second consecutive scoreless draw.
Whatever on the fence American fans that had been drawn in this go around were fast asleep by the time Cristiano Ronaldo sat on the sidelines watching his less talented teammates cost him a chance to play in the Finals. Today's game should be one sided with Germany pressing for a goal while Italy will be looking for a quick counter attack. I hope we see some good play and hopefully that leads to a goal or two.
It's obvious soccer will never be a main attraction in America, even if the U.S. wins a World Cup. The game just doesn't appeal to what we love about sports. We like a good pace, obvious strategy that can be debated and star athletes doing things that we can only dream of. I can kick a ball 20 yards wide of a net. I can pass a soccer ball with a couple friends in a triangle. I can most definitely drop down and hold my ankle and writhe in pain when somebody clips my leg. I can't dunk, I can't throw 95 mph or hit a ball 425 feet, I can't break through tackles of 275 lb. linebackers or throw a perfect spiral into a 2 foot window and I can't hit a slap shot at nearly 100 mph while skating around a pro defenseman.
The rules need to be tinkered with to create a better paced game:
1) I call for unlimited on the fly changes of players. Stop standing around in the late stages of games because you can only substitute 3 players and your tired. Fresh legs = more energy = more scoring.
2) Force some players from each side to stay on the opposing teams side at all times. While on attack the attacking team needs to leave its goalie and 3 defensive players on their side and the defensive team needs to leave two offensive players there as well. Open space will create better passing and better scoring chances.
3) Power plays! A foul is a 2 minute penalty and a yellow card is a 5 minute penalty.
4) Tweak the offsides rule or eliminate it in the final five minutes of each half. Holy smokes would that be exciting. Cherry picking and long passes would stretch the field and teams like Spain and Brazil couldn't just pass the ball around to protect the lead.
5) Shot clock. 90 seconds to put a shot on goal when you cross the midfield line. 30 seconds to get the ball over the midfield line and no going back over the midfield line once you cross it. Yes back court violations.
6) Two goal shots. Draw an arc outside the box and any goal scored from past that is 2 goals.
To be honest I don't watch nearly as much College Basketball as I used to. I've become much more North Carolina-centric with my lack of free time. I don't think I saw Florida guard Bradley Beal play once. I couldn't tell you whether he will be the next Ray Allen, J.J. Redick or Joseph Forte. When your primary talent is shooting and you're really good at it College, the NBA scouts salivate. I look at the stat line for Beal and I see 44.5% shooting with 33% from 3 point range. That doesn't strike me as a dead eye sharp shooter, but again, what do I know? Joseph Forte was an inch shorter than Beal, but shot 45.5% and nearly 37% from 3 point range in his two years at UNC. He was a complete and utter bust in the NBA. I certainly hope Bradley Beal brings more to the table than did Forte.
Let me stick to what I (think I) know best North Carolina. They will have four 1st round draft picks in all likelihood tonight. They also did this in 2005 and nearly repeated the feat in 2009. Of course both of those teams were NCAA Champions (damn you Creighton). I'm going to quickly break down this years four players to the best of my limited ability.
Harrison Barnes-
Brought in with lofty expectations as the next greatest player to ever play, Harrison Barnes could only muster flashes of brilliance. What he will be remembered for, though, is failure to come up big when his team desperately needed him to. Yes he hit some game winning shots and had an unbelievable ACC Tournament his Freshman year, but he seemed to shrink when Kendall Marshall went down as he couldn't create his own shot. He still averaged 17 ppg., but at times it felt like he could average 25 ppg. wtih his skill set if he just had better ball handling abilities. If he works on that part of his game I could easily see him having a stellar career in the mold of Paul Pierce.
Kendall Marshall-
Stuck behind Larry Drew II, Marshall did not start his career at UNC with a bang. Once he got on the court, everyone saw why he had been on the radar of UNC since as early as 6th grade. He fit Roy Williams' fast break system to a tee with his ability to get the ball out of his hands and into a teammates hands in the exact spot it needed to be. He struggled shooting, but even that got much better as his Sophomore season went on to the point he had to be guarded up close at all times. His final game as a Tar Heel will be remembered for his injury, but he had 18 points on 7-8 shooting to go along with his standard 11 assists. His ceiling seems to be limitless in the right system, but with his deftness as passing, I think he'll make any system look good.
Tyler Zeller-
The only player of this draft class to be a part of a National Championship and one that stayed a full four years (even though he missed most of his Freshman year with a broken wrist thanks to those UK douches), Zeller is a question mark. He runs the court very well and is a true 7 feet tall. He proved to be very weak as a post player though and never was able to stretch his mid range jumper to anything more than the free throw line. His stats were bolstered by the efficiency of Marshall's full court passes, but I'm not sold that he will be a failure. Post play technique can be taught and upper body strength can be improved. He's a smart player and he'll give full effort and whether that will ever be enough to be a star in the NBA is yet to be seen.
John Henson-
I have big time reservations for the thin framed John Henson. He got stronger through each of his three years with North Carolina, but I still don't see him being able to hold his own on the block in the NBA. He's going to get stuck on offense being a near 7' wing player and that is just awkward. On defense he can be a difference maker with better strength, but to avoid being the next Brandan Wright things will need to change. His hopes is to turn his game into that of Marcus Camby and be a defensive stalwart and that wouldn't be too shabby.
------------------------------------------------------
After a wonderful start, the Euro Cup 2012 has taken a dreadful turn into boredom. The group stage games were for the most part compelling and lively. Everyone knew the battle between two defensive minded teams in England and Italy was going to be tough to watch, but we had high hopes for Spain and Portugal. Yesterday's game was awful, there was no flow, no action and really no drama because I didn't think either team was going to score. There was way too much talent on the field for a second consecutive scoreless draw.
Whatever on the fence American fans that had been drawn in this go around were fast asleep by the time Cristiano Ronaldo sat on the sidelines watching his less talented teammates cost him a chance to play in the Finals. Today's game should be one sided with Germany pressing for a goal while Italy will be looking for a quick counter attack. I hope we see some good play and hopefully that leads to a goal or two.
It's obvious soccer will never be a main attraction in America, even if the U.S. wins a World Cup. The game just doesn't appeal to what we love about sports. We like a good pace, obvious strategy that can be debated and star athletes doing things that we can only dream of. I can kick a ball 20 yards wide of a net. I can pass a soccer ball with a couple friends in a triangle. I can most definitely drop down and hold my ankle and writhe in pain when somebody clips my leg. I can't dunk, I can't throw 95 mph or hit a ball 425 feet, I can't break through tackles of 275 lb. linebackers or throw a perfect spiral into a 2 foot window and I can't hit a slap shot at nearly 100 mph while skating around a pro defenseman.
The rules need to be tinkered with to create a better paced game:
1) I call for unlimited on the fly changes of players. Stop standing around in the late stages of games because you can only substitute 3 players and your tired. Fresh legs = more energy = more scoring.
2) Force some players from each side to stay on the opposing teams side at all times. While on attack the attacking team needs to leave its goalie and 3 defensive players on their side and the defensive team needs to leave two offensive players there as well. Open space will create better passing and better scoring chances.
3) Power plays! A foul is a 2 minute penalty and a yellow card is a 5 minute penalty.
4) Tweak the offsides rule or eliminate it in the final five minutes of each half. Holy smokes would that be exciting. Cherry picking and long passes would stretch the field and teams like Spain and Brazil couldn't just pass the ball around to protect the lead.
5) Shot clock. 90 seconds to put a shot on goal when you cross the midfield line. 30 seconds to get the ball over the midfield line and no going back over the midfield line once you cross it. Yes back court violations.
6) Two goal shots. Draw an arc outside the box and any goal scored from past that is 2 goals.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Pocket Pair 6/27/12
The best thing about following sports is that there never seems to be a dull moment. Just when the sports world appears to be entering the 'slow' part of the year (post NBA & NHL and pre-NFL) we get new, fun stories to cover. Yesterday was a moment that many sports fans have yearned for for years. College Football which is extremely popular has been slow to adapt to the wishes of its fans. After seeing the successes and growth of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, fans across the country have clamored for football to do likewise.
We have been jaded over the years about the inequalities of the BCS. Entrusting our faith into some made up computer rankings combined with the absent minded rankings of coaches who probably didn't watch any games but their own and sports writers with agendas that make a true ranking completely impossible. How many times did we need to see quality programs like Boise St. and TCU get shafted because they didn't play in a bigger, more well known Conference? Is it their fault that other schools refuse to play them either at home or on the road because it would be a lose/lose situation for the bigger school? If you beat them, you're supposed to and if you lose, you're season is ruined and a chance at a National Championship is gone.
2009 saw the biggest cluster**ck occur when five different teams (Alabama, Texas, TCU, Cincinnati and Boise St.) all finished their regular seasons undefeated. This was the worst case scenario for the BCS and it will continue to be the worst case scenario under the new format. Yesterday NCAA Football agreed to a four team playoff system that will start in the 2014 season. Now teams can still have a chance to win a National Championship without finishing #1 or #2. Of course if five teams were to go undefeated somebody would still get left out of the 'small dance'.
As soon as the four team playoff was announced the shift in focus for fans of a playoff was getting to 8 or even 16 teams. I have always thought that 8 teams was the right number. I understand that the major draw for college football is that every regular season game matters. At most, teams should only be allowed to lose one game and still qualify as a championship contender. To finish in the top 8 would still be a difficult enough feat.
In the last five years the breakdown in losses between top 8 and top 16 teams looked like this:
2011 1-8 10 losses 9-16 20 losses
2010 1-8 7 losses 9-16 14 losses
2009 1-8 5 losses 9-16 20 losses
2008 1-8 7 losses 9-16 17 losses
2007 1-8 14 losses 9-16 20 losses (Hawaii was an outlier finishing 12-0 but ranked 10th)
The top 8 in the last 5 years combined for only 43 losses while the next 8 had 91 losses in the same time period. I think it's fair to state that anyone finishing in the top 8 at the end of the regular season should be good enough to get a shot at winning the whole thing.
Allowing 4 teams to compete for a National Championship is a good start, but it's still not good enough. There will still be arguments and there will still be a very good team that doesn't get the respect it should throughout the season which will cost them the ultimate shot at glory.
---------------------------------------------
Locally the Washington Capitals went back down the rabbit hole to ex-players, turned coaches to find a new head bench boss. Adam Oates played six seasons here in Washington, including the magical season of 1998 which is the only year the Capitals played in the Finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs. That's where the comparisons between him and ex-coach Dale Hunter end. Even though Hunter was supposed to be an offensive style coach, he brought a completely defensive approach in his only season here. Adam Oates should allow offensive weapons like Alex Ovechkin, Nick Backstrom and Mike Ribeiro to utilize their skills a bit more. He also is going to be much more charismatic than was Hunter. While he may not be the life of the party with his words and reactions like John Tortorella, he can't be much more vanilla and stoic than Hunter was.
Whether the coaching gig works out for Oates or not, he will also remember yesterday for another reason. He was also elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. I'd call that a pretty good day to say the least. On the ice, Oates was one of the finest passers the NHL has ever seen. He made other people better scorers. End of story. If you were on the ice you had better have been ready to shoot because if there was a sliver of open ice, Oates could find you. Backstrom and Ribeiro have shown flashes of this skill throughout their respective careers and adding a good teacher in Oates should only help. With the loss of Alexander Semin (probably) the Capitals are still lacking consistent offensive punch. Even with shortcomings on the current roster, hopefully we don't have to watch the same defensive approach that was so painful to cheer for in the playoffs earlier this year.
We have been jaded over the years about the inequalities of the BCS. Entrusting our faith into some made up computer rankings combined with the absent minded rankings of coaches who probably didn't watch any games but their own and sports writers with agendas that make a true ranking completely impossible. How many times did we need to see quality programs like Boise St. and TCU get shafted because they didn't play in a bigger, more well known Conference? Is it their fault that other schools refuse to play them either at home or on the road because it would be a lose/lose situation for the bigger school? If you beat them, you're supposed to and if you lose, you're season is ruined and a chance at a National Championship is gone.
2009 saw the biggest cluster**ck occur when five different teams (Alabama, Texas, TCU, Cincinnati and Boise St.) all finished their regular seasons undefeated. This was the worst case scenario for the BCS and it will continue to be the worst case scenario under the new format. Yesterday NCAA Football agreed to a four team playoff system that will start in the 2014 season. Now teams can still have a chance to win a National Championship without finishing #1 or #2. Of course if five teams were to go undefeated somebody would still get left out of the 'small dance'.
As soon as the four team playoff was announced the shift in focus for fans of a playoff was getting to 8 or even 16 teams. I have always thought that 8 teams was the right number. I understand that the major draw for college football is that every regular season game matters. At most, teams should only be allowed to lose one game and still qualify as a championship contender. To finish in the top 8 would still be a difficult enough feat.
In the last five years the breakdown in losses between top 8 and top 16 teams looked like this:
2011 1-8 10 losses 9-16 20 losses
2010 1-8 7 losses 9-16 14 losses
2009 1-8 5 losses 9-16 20 losses
2008 1-8 7 losses 9-16 17 losses
2007 1-8 14 losses 9-16 20 losses (Hawaii was an outlier finishing 12-0 but ranked 10th)
The top 8 in the last 5 years combined for only 43 losses while the next 8 had 91 losses in the same time period. I think it's fair to state that anyone finishing in the top 8 at the end of the regular season should be good enough to get a shot at winning the whole thing.
Allowing 4 teams to compete for a National Championship is a good start, but it's still not good enough. There will still be arguments and there will still be a very good team that doesn't get the respect it should throughout the season which will cost them the ultimate shot at glory.
---------------------------------------------
Locally the Washington Capitals went back down the rabbit hole to ex-players, turned coaches to find a new head bench boss. Adam Oates played six seasons here in Washington, including the magical season of 1998 which is the only year the Capitals played in the Finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs. That's where the comparisons between him and ex-coach Dale Hunter end. Even though Hunter was supposed to be an offensive style coach, he brought a completely defensive approach in his only season here. Adam Oates should allow offensive weapons like Alex Ovechkin, Nick Backstrom and Mike Ribeiro to utilize their skills a bit more. He also is going to be much more charismatic than was Hunter. While he may not be the life of the party with his words and reactions like John Tortorella, he can't be much more vanilla and stoic than Hunter was.
Whether the coaching gig works out for Oates or not, he will also remember yesterday for another reason. He was also elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. I'd call that a pretty good day to say the least. On the ice, Oates was one of the finest passers the NHL has ever seen. He made other people better scorers. End of story. If you were on the ice you had better have been ready to shoot because if there was a sliver of open ice, Oates could find you. Backstrom and Ribeiro have shown flashes of this skill throughout their respective careers and adding a good teacher in Oates should only help. With the loss of Alexander Semin (probably) the Capitals are still lacking consistent offensive punch. Even with shortcomings on the current roster, hopefully we don't have to watch the same defensive approach that was so painful to cheer for in the playoffs earlier this year.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Pocket Pair 6/26/12
Last night I was not afforded the opportunity to watch my normal allotment of sports. I missed Arizona sweeping away South Carolina ending their stranglehold over the competition in Omaha. I missed, for the most part, Stephen Strasburg having a mere mortal outing in Colorado as the Rockies touched him up for all of 3 runs in 6 innings. So you're saying he might be human after all? I missed my Athletics pound out all of three hits in Seattle against the Mariners, but still walk away with a win 1-0. Tommy Milone who is another piece of the Gio Gonzalez trade from Washington has now become the first rookie to win 8 games before the All-Star break for the Oakland franchise.
I was out with some of my teammates from my baseball team. We were saying goodbye to one of our players who has taken a job in the state of Washington. It's never easy to lose a teammate especially one that has been so vital to us winning two straight championships. We keep a list of retired News Hounds (our team name derived from the Falls Church News Press) and that list grows ever longer as we keep playing. After 10 years players have left for various reasons and each time somebody moves on its tough.
Our team has always worked to be very open to new guys and keep the mood of the team light except for when it comes down to winning in the playoffs. We don't practice, we barely show up on time, but when we step between the chalk lines (if there were any for our amateur league) it's all about winning. We may not always have the best talent, but I guarantee you we have the most fun. It's always tough to watch other teams who are very talented but seem to be having no fun whatsoever while playing. This is an amateur league, one in which we pay to play...nobody's paying us!! If you're not having fun while paying money then you're doing it wrong. Our opponents from this past weekend are famous for showing up 2 hours early to the game, hitting, fielding, running and stretching under strict order from their coach all the way up until game time. We show up very casually, some players at various levels of inebriation and are usually trying to figure out a lineup as the pitcher is throwing his final warm ups. Then we go and stomp on them while joking the whole time...it's a great feeling. We have knocked that team out of the playoffs each of the last two years and I still don't think they can figure out how we do it. Win or lose we're going to have fun and that's probably why its so difficult to see a teammate, because they usually end up being a better friend in the long run.
The above photo shows the Falls Church News Hounds winning championship #2 last year in dramatic walk off fashion. That's me barely getting off the ground as my now ex-teammate, Jason Hand, scores the winning run. My other teammate pictured, Jody Fellows, is the topic of my next story.
------------------------------------
The other reason for going out last night was to sample a hamburger that had pulled pork on it. There were other toppings, but Jody runs a burger blog for the DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia for those of you not in the know) area and he'll tell you all about it at BurgerDays.com.
Make sure you have an empty stomach because after visiting the site, I guarantee you will be hitting up a burger joint afterwards. He takes fantastic photos and along with his brutally honest descriptions of the restaurant, you are certain to know whether your trip will be a good one or not.
You can follow him on twitter @Burgerdays and your stomach can thank me later.
I was out with some of my teammates from my baseball team. We were saying goodbye to one of our players who has taken a job in the state of Washington. It's never easy to lose a teammate especially one that has been so vital to us winning two straight championships. We keep a list of retired News Hounds (our team name derived from the Falls Church News Press) and that list grows ever longer as we keep playing. After 10 years players have left for various reasons and each time somebody moves on its tough.
Our team has always worked to be very open to new guys and keep the mood of the team light except for when it comes down to winning in the playoffs. We don't practice, we barely show up on time, but when we step between the chalk lines (if there were any for our amateur league) it's all about winning. We may not always have the best talent, but I guarantee you we have the most fun. It's always tough to watch other teams who are very talented but seem to be having no fun whatsoever while playing. This is an amateur league, one in which we pay to play...nobody's paying us!! If you're not having fun while paying money then you're doing it wrong. Our opponents from this past weekend are famous for showing up 2 hours early to the game, hitting, fielding, running and stretching under strict order from their coach all the way up until game time. We show up very casually, some players at various levels of inebriation and are usually trying to figure out a lineup as the pitcher is throwing his final warm ups. Then we go and stomp on them while joking the whole time...it's a great feeling. We have knocked that team out of the playoffs each of the last two years and I still don't think they can figure out how we do it. Win or lose we're going to have fun and that's probably why its so difficult to see a teammate, because they usually end up being a better friend in the long run.
The above photo shows the Falls Church News Hounds winning championship #2 last year in dramatic walk off fashion. That's me barely getting off the ground as my now ex-teammate, Jason Hand, scores the winning run. My other teammate pictured, Jody Fellows, is the topic of my next story.
------------------------------------
The other reason for going out last night was to sample a hamburger that had pulled pork on it. There were other toppings, but Jody runs a burger blog for the DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia for those of you not in the know) area and he'll tell you all about it at BurgerDays.com.
Make sure you have an empty stomach because after visiting the site, I guarantee you will be hitting up a burger joint afterwards. He takes fantastic photos and along with his brutally honest descriptions of the restaurant, you are certain to know whether your trip will be a good one or not.
You can follow him on twitter @Burgerdays and your stomach can thank me later.
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