3 Minnesota teams in action this Sunday, so let's get to it (probably more if you count hockey, but really, is anybody ready for hockey in September? Of course not)
CHICAGO WHITE SOX @ MINNESOTA TWINS, Friday 7:10, Saturday 11:10am!!!!!(that's not a typo), Sunday 1:05pm. (FSN and channel 29)
Final regular season weekend for your hometown 9, when we'll find out if they'll be hosting Oakland or more likely, traveling to the Bronx early next week. Twins and Tiggers are all square, but the Stripes have the tie-breaker, so the Twinks basically need to sweep this weekend in order to win the division. And even that may not be enough as Detwah has taken 13 of 14 from Kansas City so far this year. Minnesota's record against baseball's worst team? Just 10-6. Look no further than that stat as a reason they probably won't win the division.
However, my roommate Kris made a great point last night on why that might not be a bad thing: everybody's scared of the big, bad Yankees, and rightfully so. They are clearly the best team in baseball and clearly the best bet to win the World Series. However, if the Twins win the division and defeat Oakland, they'd likely play the Yankees in a 7 game series. But if the lose the division, they'd play the Yankees in a best-of-5. I figure the road through to the World Series goes through the Bronx Bombers, so as Kris would, I'd rather play them in a 5 game series instead of 7, with Santana throwing twice, including the opener. Once we find out who the Twins are playing, we'll break it all down for you as always, but for now, don't be heartbroken if the Twins don't win the pennant this weekend.
Remember this: 3 of the last 4 World Series champs (Boston, Florida and Anaheim) were all wildcards- and all of them had to go through the Yanks.
#6 Michigan Wolverines (4-0) at Minnesota Gophers (2-2), Saturday, 7:00pm (ESPN)
Big 10 footbal; Saturday night under the lights- er dome. That outdoor stadium can't get here fast enough. Then again neither can a defense, a new coach, and a new athletic director. The GOphs have played Michigan tough the last few years, but it's hard to see this one being anything but a Maize and Blue parade of touchdowns. In those past couple of years, the Gophs had a great rushing offense and a decent defense. This year, the ground game as been better, but certainly not great, and the defense has been worse than usual, which is saying something for a Glen Mason team.
Making the uphill battle even steeper is that Michigan has been absolutely possessed this year, coming off their first 5 loss season in forever. Their D has allowed, are you ready for this- 74 yards rushing. Not on average. TOTAL. They held an always-powerful Wisconsin rushing attack to under 20 yards last week. That's not a good sign. And after last year's upset, I don't think there's any chance of a trap game for the Wolverines. There's just no way they overlook Minnesota this year. This a revenge hungry team, and the Gophs will be on the menu Saturday night.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS (2-1) at BUFFALO BILLS (1-2), Sunday, noon (Fox)
I'm trying not to be Mr. Negative this weekend, but I think the Bills win this one. They've played three pretty good games, and could just as easily be 3-0 as 1-2. The D has been stout and they've got a good back in Willis McGahee (just ask him, he'll tell you). JP Losman actually completed some passes last weekend, throwing for over 300 yds for the first time in his young career. It'd be nice to see the Vikings score, what do you call those- OH YEAH an offensive touchdown, but I doubt it in a low-scoring slugfest, and you know Ralph Wilson stadium will be rocking because, honestly, what else is there to do in Buffalo? These two are evenly matched, but I see the Vikes sitting at .500 after this weekend. Hopefully I'm wrong.
Come back for more chipper and cheerful analysis next week! Have a good weekend everybody.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Jeremy: Mixed Bag
Wow, nice to see Jeff back huh? After almost two months of... well, I don't know. Anyway, nice to have you back buddy. Can we maybe get Luke, Kris and Kyle to take Jeffrick on a roadtrip maybe once a month to keep Jeff hungry? Or at least maybe so we can get more 'stache stories?
After spending the weekend watching the Gophers and Vikings both lose close games, it was nice to go to bed last night knowing our hometown 9 is going to the playoffs. After being 12 games under .500 in June, for this team to come all the way back, overtake the White Sox, and be looking at the possibility of still winning the division... well, it's pretty unreal.
Speaking of the Gophers...
I didn't get to watch the Gophs game against Purdue live, but I did DVR the game and watch it on Sunday morning, when I, unfortunately, already knew they had lost. Having already known the final score, I was really taken back by just how not-in-it the Gophers looked for most of the game. Although the score was relatively close, the Gophers certainly never played well enough to win.
Some notes:
*The Gopher pass rush is still completely non-existant, and Lockwood barely ever sends a blitz. The reason behind this is probably fear. The Gophers are already giving up plenty of yards and big plays, sending blitzes that could be picked up and exploited for more big plays is a scary proposition.
*Penalties are a major concern for the Gophers. 8 penalties resulting in 80 yards against them is far too much against a mediocre Big 10 opponent. Play like this will be exploited on an even larger scale against top talent like Michigan this weekend. Penalties to this degree, in my opinion, come from a lack of preperation.
*I've been very hot & cold on Bryan Cupito over the past 3 years. I love his arm strength, and his accuracy when he finds the open receiver. But I learned something about Cupito watching the Purdue game. Cupito is a pocket passer... and that's it. The coaching staff should never call a play requiring Cupito to run. In fact, I'm going to go so far as to say that they should never, under any circumstance call a play that requires Cupito to be outside of the pocket. With less than two minutes left in the first half the Gophers called a quarterback sneak that caused to laugh out loud. The middle of the Purdue defensive line was wide open before the snap, as the center snapped the ball he went strait ahead to keep the lane open for Cupito. Instead, Cupito turned his left shoulder and began to fall toward the right tackle, trying to follow him to the touchdown instead of the center. I'm convinced that Cupito had his eyes closed, because there's no way he could have missed the hole right in front of him if his eyes had been open.
*Lastly on the Gophers, I hope that we can all agree that the Alex Daniels experiment needs to come to an end. If not for the fact that Daniels doesn't look like he knows what he's doing when the lane isn't wide open for him, at least for the fact that Amir Pinnix has proven (28 carries, 172 yards, 6.1 yds/carry) that he can carry the load, and carry it well.
Speaking of carrying it well...
*How about Chester Taylor doing exactly what he was brought into Vikingland to do? 3.7 yds/carry and averaging 25 carries per game.
*In my opinion the Vikings played better on Sunday losing to the Bears than they did in their previous 2 games. So are the Bears really as good as everyone thinks? And if they are, does this mean that we aren't far behind them? There's still a ton of questions up in the air for this season, but we do know a couple of things:
*Chester looks like he can carry the bulk of the carries at RB.
*Mike Tomlin is for real as a defensive coordinator. He says all the right things, schemes to get his players in position to make plays, and he is an emotional leader.
*Tomlin's defense is for real too, and for the first time in almost two decades the defense of the Vikings IS the strength of the franchise.
*Antoine Winfield is the quiet leader of the defense. The man had 10 tackles on Sunday.
*The offensive line has the ability and talent to be top tier, but OH MY GOODNESS do they need to do a better job of protecting Brad Johnson. I simply am NOT ready for the Brooks Bollinger era to begin.
*Brad Johnson has a lot of targets to throw to. Jim Kleinsasser should not be one of them.
*We should all be thankful to the Packers for being dumb enough to let Ryan Longwell go.
After spending the weekend watching the Gophers and Vikings both lose close games, it was nice to go to bed last night knowing our hometown 9 is going to the playoffs. After being 12 games under .500 in June, for this team to come all the way back, overtake the White Sox, and be looking at the possibility of still winning the division... well, it's pretty unreal.
Speaking of the Gophers...
I didn't get to watch the Gophs game against Purdue live, but I did DVR the game and watch it on Sunday morning, when I, unfortunately, already knew they had lost. Having already known the final score, I was really taken back by just how not-in-it the Gophers looked for most of the game. Although the score was relatively close, the Gophers certainly never played well enough to win.
Some notes:
*The Gopher pass rush is still completely non-existant, and Lockwood barely ever sends a blitz. The reason behind this is probably fear. The Gophers are already giving up plenty of yards and big plays, sending blitzes that could be picked up and exploited for more big plays is a scary proposition.
*Penalties are a major concern for the Gophers. 8 penalties resulting in 80 yards against them is far too much against a mediocre Big 10 opponent. Play like this will be exploited on an even larger scale against top talent like Michigan this weekend. Penalties to this degree, in my opinion, come from a lack of preperation.
*I've been very hot & cold on Bryan Cupito over the past 3 years. I love his arm strength, and his accuracy when he finds the open receiver. But I learned something about Cupito watching the Purdue game. Cupito is a pocket passer... and that's it. The coaching staff should never call a play requiring Cupito to run. In fact, I'm going to go so far as to say that they should never, under any circumstance call a play that requires Cupito to be outside of the pocket. With less than two minutes left in the first half the Gophers called a quarterback sneak that caused to laugh out loud. The middle of the Purdue defensive line was wide open before the snap, as the center snapped the ball he went strait ahead to keep the lane open for Cupito. Instead, Cupito turned his left shoulder and began to fall toward the right tackle, trying to follow him to the touchdown instead of the center. I'm convinced that Cupito had his eyes closed, because there's no way he could have missed the hole right in front of him if his eyes had been open.
*Lastly on the Gophers, I hope that we can all agree that the Alex Daniels experiment needs to come to an end. If not for the fact that Daniels doesn't look like he knows what he's doing when the lane isn't wide open for him, at least for the fact that Amir Pinnix has proven (28 carries, 172 yards, 6.1 yds/carry) that he can carry the load, and carry it well.
Speaking of carrying it well...
*How about Chester Taylor doing exactly what he was brought into Vikingland to do? 3.7 yds/carry and averaging 25 carries per game.
*In my opinion the Vikings played better on Sunday losing to the Bears than they did in their previous 2 games. So are the Bears really as good as everyone thinks? And if they are, does this mean that we aren't far behind them? There's still a ton of questions up in the air for this season, but we do know a couple of things:
*Chester looks like he can carry the bulk of the carries at RB.
*Mike Tomlin is for real as a defensive coordinator. He says all the right things, schemes to get his players in position to make plays, and he is an emotional leader.
*Tomlin's defense is for real too, and for the first time in almost two decades the defense of the Vikings IS the strength of the franchise.
*Antoine Winfield is the quiet leader of the defense. The man had 10 tackles on Sunday.
*The offensive line has the ability and talent to be top tier, but OH MY GOODNESS do they need to do a better job of protecting Brad Johnson. I simply am NOT ready for the Brooks Bollinger era to begin.
*Brad Johnson has a lot of targets to throw to. Jim Kleinsasser should not be one of them.
*We should all be thankful to the Packers for being dumb enough to let Ryan Longwell go.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Jeff: The Monday Musings
* I took a great trip to Milwaukee and Chicago over the weekend with my buddies Kris, Luke, and Kyle. We went to the Brewers/Giants game Friday night, got the sweetest deal from a scalper named Rick (or was it Ron? Rob? Ralph?), and enjoyed a 13-12 Brewers win in a real ballpark. What was even sweeter, of course, was the fact all 4 of us had mustaches. Yup, each of us grew beards for the 2 weeks leading up to this trip, and then shaved Friday morning before we left, just leaving our glorious staches. Let me just say we fit right in in Milwaukee!!
I do have to say I've been too hard on Milwaukee. It's a great time, and has a really nice downtown. I had no idea. And they did a great job with Miller Park. Twins fans have to be excited to get a new park, although I've come to realize that the people who were whining about how the new place won't have a roof weren't whining at all-- they were right. How can you build a baseball stadium in the upper midwest without a retractable roof? Having been to Safeco and Miller Park, you can build a beautiful retro park and still not lose the ambience of the place when the roof is on. It didn't rain for the game Friday night (yet the roof was unfortunately closed. We blamed Barry Bonds because apparently he won't play if there's a chance of rain. More on him in a minute), but it poured at the Sox game Saturday, and anybody who's spent anytime in the Midwest knows how cold and unpredictable the weather can be in April and September, and how stormy it is the rest of the summer. Don't get me wrong, ANYTHING"s better than that gawd-awful Metrodome, but they dropped the ball not getting a roof on the new place.
* Speaking of Barry Bonds, baseball fans better get used to the fact he's going to break Hank Aaron's all-time home run record next season. Whether it's with the Yankees or Tigers or whoever, the man will play one more year as a DH and break the record before this time next season. In Friday night's game, Bonds had 2 doubles, a home run, and 6 RBI's. He's not the hitter he once was, but if he DH's a full season and doesn't have to run around in the outfield, he's still plenty good enough to hit 30 HR's next year. And frankly, baseball deserves to have him, and not the classy Hank Aaron, holding its most important record. Bonds used roids because baseball didn't test for it, and this is what they get. I'm not a Bonds fan, but he takes the brunt of everybody's steroid grief, but as we're finding out, he definitely wasn't the only one. Baseball wanted to win back fans with home runs and high scores, and to have Bonds, McGwire and Sosa holding some big accomplishments while they were "allegedly" on the juice is what you get for not testing. Also, if you're Barry and everybody already hates you, why wouldn't you try and get the record nobody wants you to have? It's not like people will hate the guy less if he doesn't hit 756. Ok, ok enough about Barry. I'm as sick of him as you are.
* Brewers SS Bill Hall is the most underrated player in baseball. What a hitter.
* The Sports Guy mentioned this a couple of weeks ago after his trip to Milwaukee, but it bears repeating: the old school ball & glove Brewers logo is as good as it gets in sports. The number of people wearing that logo and the old color scheme were at least 3-to-1 at the game. They need to go old school ASAP. And of course i bought a t-shirt.
* It's interesting that there was a time in human history when the mustache was a sign of manhood and class. Now? 4 dudes in their mid-late 20's with mustaches just looks weird. When you're wearing one, you will occassionally forget you have it. After the Brewers game, we went in search of an Irish pub. We found one and went in, but discovered almost immediately they were cranking techno music, so we walked right back out. But not before Kris and Kyle had this exchange:
Kris: "That place was terrible, but at least I made the cute waitress do a double take."
Kyle: "Um, that's because you have a mustache."
Kris: "$%^&&#*!!"
* We left the staches in Wisconsin and went to the White Sox/Mariners game. One thing you should know: we all generally hate the Sox. I wore Mariners stuff, Luke wore Twins stuff, and Kris took it to a whole nother level: a red Twins hat and a bright red Twins Johan Santana T-shirt. I can just tell you that apparently Sox fans really don't think Santana or the Twins are that good. And that's putting it kindly. I'm sure they're just bitter because their team won't be going to the playoffs this year.
* And really I'm surprised by that. They've got 2 guys with 40+ HR's, and 5 overall with at least 20. How in the hell do you not make the playoffs with that lineup? How? Their pitching, both starters and relievers, have to be terrible to allow that to happen. They'll be back with a vengeance next year.
* Finally, we watched the 2nd half of the Notre Dame/Michigan State game at the ESPN Zone with a very pro-Notre Dame crowd. Did I miss something? Was State coach John L. Smith working for Notre Dame? He certainly won't be working in East Lansing next year, I can tell you that. It's beyond me how you blow a 31-14 halftime lead when you're running the ball down ND's throat.
* Finally, I just have to say that I LOVE Chicago. I might want to hold hands with it. If you haven't been in awhile, it's well worth your time. And if you want to wear a stache while there, well, it certainly won't hurt your experience. Hell it may even help it.
I do have to say I've been too hard on Milwaukee. It's a great time, and has a really nice downtown. I had no idea. And they did a great job with Miller Park. Twins fans have to be excited to get a new park, although I've come to realize that the people who were whining about how the new place won't have a roof weren't whining at all-- they were right. How can you build a baseball stadium in the upper midwest without a retractable roof? Having been to Safeco and Miller Park, you can build a beautiful retro park and still not lose the ambience of the place when the roof is on. It didn't rain for the game Friday night (yet the roof was unfortunately closed. We blamed Barry Bonds because apparently he won't play if there's a chance of rain. More on him in a minute), but it poured at the Sox game Saturday, and anybody who's spent anytime in the Midwest knows how cold and unpredictable the weather can be in April and September, and how stormy it is the rest of the summer. Don't get me wrong, ANYTHING"s better than that gawd-awful Metrodome, but they dropped the ball not getting a roof on the new place.
* Speaking of Barry Bonds, baseball fans better get used to the fact he's going to break Hank Aaron's all-time home run record next season. Whether it's with the Yankees or Tigers or whoever, the man will play one more year as a DH and break the record before this time next season. In Friday night's game, Bonds had 2 doubles, a home run, and 6 RBI's. He's not the hitter he once was, but if he DH's a full season and doesn't have to run around in the outfield, he's still plenty good enough to hit 30 HR's next year. And frankly, baseball deserves to have him, and not the classy Hank Aaron, holding its most important record. Bonds used roids because baseball didn't test for it, and this is what they get. I'm not a Bonds fan, but he takes the brunt of everybody's steroid grief, but as we're finding out, he definitely wasn't the only one. Baseball wanted to win back fans with home runs and high scores, and to have Bonds, McGwire and Sosa holding some big accomplishments while they were "allegedly" on the juice is what you get for not testing. Also, if you're Barry and everybody already hates you, why wouldn't you try and get the record nobody wants you to have? It's not like people will hate the guy less if he doesn't hit 756. Ok, ok enough about Barry. I'm as sick of him as you are.
* Brewers SS Bill Hall is the most underrated player in baseball. What a hitter.
* The Sports Guy mentioned this a couple of weeks ago after his trip to Milwaukee, but it bears repeating: the old school ball & glove Brewers logo is as good as it gets in sports. The number of people wearing that logo and the old color scheme were at least 3-to-1 at the game. They need to go old school ASAP. And of course i bought a t-shirt.
* It's interesting that there was a time in human history when the mustache was a sign of manhood and class. Now? 4 dudes in their mid-late 20's with mustaches just looks weird. When you're wearing one, you will occassionally forget you have it. After the Brewers game, we went in search of an Irish pub. We found one and went in, but discovered almost immediately they were cranking techno music, so we walked right back out. But not before Kris and Kyle had this exchange:
Kris: "That place was terrible, but at least I made the cute waitress do a double take."
Kyle: "Um, that's because you have a mustache."
Kris: "$%^&&#*!!"
* We left the staches in Wisconsin and went to the White Sox/Mariners game. One thing you should know: we all generally hate the Sox. I wore Mariners stuff, Luke wore Twins stuff, and Kris took it to a whole nother level: a red Twins hat and a bright red Twins Johan Santana T-shirt. I can just tell you that apparently Sox fans really don't think Santana or the Twins are that good. And that's putting it kindly. I'm sure they're just bitter because their team won't be going to the playoffs this year.
* And really I'm surprised by that. They've got 2 guys with 40+ HR's, and 5 overall with at least 20. How in the hell do you not make the playoffs with that lineup? How? Their pitching, both starters and relievers, have to be terrible to allow that to happen. They'll be back with a vengeance next year.
* Finally, we watched the 2nd half of the Notre Dame/Michigan State game at the ESPN Zone with a very pro-Notre Dame crowd. Did I miss something? Was State coach John L. Smith working for Notre Dame? He certainly won't be working in East Lansing next year, I can tell you that. It's beyond me how you blow a 31-14 halftime lead when you're running the ball down ND's throat.
* Finally, I just have to say that I LOVE Chicago. I might want to hold hands with it. If you haven't been in awhile, it's well worth your time. And if you want to wear a stache while there, well, it certainly won't hurt your experience. Hell it may even help it.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Jeremy: Maturi's contract extended
As has been well documented in this space, we are not big fans of Glen Mason, Golden Gopher Head Football coach. Another point that we have touched on, but rarely elaborated on much further, is University Athletic Director Joel Maturi. The Star Tribune article today does a nice job of outlining all of the positive impacts that Maturi has had on the Gopher Athletic Department since he arrived in 2002.
While it is obvious that Maturi has done a good job of bringing Gopher athletics, as a whole, back to a respectable level academically and has, for the most part, put academic scandels in the past, it is obvious that Maturi's main goals have been to bring the athletic department out the red and into the black financially. This means that the athletic department brings in enough money to support itself.
It is true that all of the things that Joel Maturi has accomplished as Athletic Director are good things. But I would argue, as a fan, that the one thing Maturi doesn't focus on is the one thing that could, perhaps, allow the athletic program to not only support itself, but begin to support other areas of the University.
Winning.
While all of the things that Maturi focuses on as Athletic Director are positive things, Maturi does not put an emphasis on winning. Maturi is, basically, running a business, and a successful business is one that doesn't just measure its success based on positive dollars and cents. A successful business also measure's itself on growth, and perhaps most importantly, on whether or not it is providing its buying public with a product that is worth spending money on, and a product that the public will continue to spend money on year after year. By continuing to communicate that mediocrity is acceptable, most notably with his actions, or more accurately, non-action, toward Glen Mason leading the football program, and toward Dan Monson leading the basketball program, Maturi is communicating to the fans, who support athletics with their passion and their hard earned dollars, that good enough is just that, good enough.
Joel Maturi has done a great job, also, of helping to bring Gopher Football back to campus with a new stadium that will be set to open in a few years. I do not want to give the impression that we shouldn't praise Joel Maturi for his work on these projects. But I feel the same way about Athletic Director Joel Maturi that I feel about Glen Mason. Maturi has done a fine job bringing our athletic program to where it is today, I'm just not sure he's the man to bring Gopher Athletics to the level that the University of Minnesota, and its fans, deserve.
Unfortunately for the fans the University's administration is a bit too short sighted to see the impact that winning football and basketball programs could have on the University as a whole.
While it is obvious that Maturi has done a good job of bringing Gopher athletics, as a whole, back to a respectable level academically and has, for the most part, put academic scandels in the past, it is obvious that Maturi's main goals have been to bring the athletic department out the red and into the black financially. This means that the athletic department brings in enough money to support itself.
It is true that all of the things that Joel Maturi has accomplished as Athletic Director are good things. But I would argue, as a fan, that the one thing Maturi doesn't focus on is the one thing that could, perhaps, allow the athletic program to not only support itself, but begin to support other areas of the University.
Winning.
While all of the things that Maturi focuses on as Athletic Director are positive things, Maturi does not put an emphasis on winning. Maturi is, basically, running a business, and a successful business is one that doesn't just measure its success based on positive dollars and cents. A successful business also measure's itself on growth, and perhaps most importantly, on whether or not it is providing its buying public with a product that is worth spending money on, and a product that the public will continue to spend money on year after year. By continuing to communicate that mediocrity is acceptable, most notably with his actions, or more accurately, non-action, toward Glen Mason leading the football program, and toward Dan Monson leading the basketball program, Maturi is communicating to the fans, who support athletics with their passion and their hard earned dollars, that good enough is just that, good enough.
Joel Maturi has done a great job, also, of helping to bring Gopher Football back to campus with a new stadium that will be set to open in a few years. I do not want to give the impression that we shouldn't praise Joel Maturi for his work on these projects. But I feel the same way about Athletic Director Joel Maturi that I feel about Glen Mason. Maturi has done a fine job bringing our athletic program to where it is today, I'm just not sure he's the man to bring Gopher Athletics to the level that the University of Minnesota, and its fans, deserve.
Unfortunately for the fans the University's administration is a bit too short sighted to see the impact that winning football and basketball programs could have on the University as a whole.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Jeremy: Quick Thoughts
Thoughts while contemplating the Gopher Football team's 2-1 record...
-After three games we really know absolutely nothing about this football team except what we pretty much already knew: they are not good enough to beat an elite team, and they are plenty good to beat the worst teams in the country.
-Temple might want to think about dropping down to Division II in football... I'm just saying.
-My uncle is a staunch believer in sitting in your seat until the final whistle blows at the end of the game. In the past, although I agreed with this belief, I didn't always follow it, so this year I have resolved to hold myself to it. But next time the Gophs are going to win by a silly, silly margain, will someone please remind me to get up and go for a long walk during halftime? Look, it's fun to see a win like that, but I'd be lying to you if I said that I didn't nod off slightly at least once.
Conversation with a Packer fan...
Packer Fan: "Vikes are 2-0 huh?"
Me: "You know that's right." (Smiling, knowing I was talking to a Packer fan.)
PF: "They didn't look too good last week."
Me: "True, but... 2-0."
PF: "Still, an ugly 2-0."
Me: "So a delusional Packer fan is telling me that if his team was 2-0 that Super Bowl talk wouldn't already be rampant in Wisconsin?"
PF: "It's not that bad."
Me: "Yeah? Really?"
PF: "Shut up, how many Super Bowls have you guys won?"
Me: "Really? You're going to start this already? We haven't even played each other yet and you are already resorting to this?"
PF walks away.
Thinking about the Twins being 1/2 game out of first place in the division...
-If you took Justin Morneau out of the Twins lineup would they be in contention for the playoffs at all? I'm not saying that Morneau has single-handedly provided the offense for the Twins to be where they are, but look what he does for the Twins, but I will say this... Torii Hunter has 28 homeruns this season. Is there any chance that Torii hits that many homeruns if he is batting in the 4th spot in the lineup? Is there any chance that Cuddy scores 94 runs, and Mauer score 81 runs if Morneau isn't hitting behind them? I'm not saying Morneau IS the offense for the Twins, but nobody in the American League makes his teams offense more productive just by doing what he's supposed to do in his position in the lineup.
-After three games we really know absolutely nothing about this football team except what we pretty much already knew: they are not good enough to beat an elite team, and they are plenty good to beat the worst teams in the country.
-Temple might want to think about dropping down to Division II in football... I'm just saying.
-My uncle is a staunch believer in sitting in your seat until the final whistle blows at the end of the game. In the past, although I agreed with this belief, I didn't always follow it, so this year I have resolved to hold myself to it. But next time the Gophs are going to win by a silly, silly margain, will someone please remind me to get up and go for a long walk during halftime? Look, it's fun to see a win like that, but I'd be lying to you if I said that I didn't nod off slightly at least once.
Conversation with a Packer fan...
Packer Fan: "Vikes are 2-0 huh?"
Me: "You know that's right." (Smiling, knowing I was talking to a Packer fan.)
PF: "They didn't look too good last week."
Me: "True, but... 2-0."
PF: "Still, an ugly 2-0."
Me: "So a delusional Packer fan is telling me that if his team was 2-0 that Super Bowl talk wouldn't already be rampant in Wisconsin?"
PF: "It's not that bad."
Me: "Yeah? Really?"
PF: "Shut up, how many Super Bowls have you guys won?"
Me: "Really? You're going to start this already? We haven't even played each other yet and you are already resorting to this?"
PF walks away.
Thinking about the Twins being 1/2 game out of first place in the division...
-If you took Justin Morneau out of the Twins lineup would they be in contention for the playoffs at all? I'm not saying that Morneau has single-handedly provided the offense for the Twins to be where they are, but look what he does for the Twins, but I will say this... Torii Hunter has 28 homeruns this season. Is there any chance that Torii hits that many homeruns if he is batting in the 4th spot in the lineup? Is there any chance that Cuddy scores 94 runs, and Mauer score 81 runs if Morneau isn't hitting behind them? I'm not saying Morneau IS the offense for the Twins, but nobody in the American League makes his teams offense more productive just by doing what he's supposed to do in his position in the lineup.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Jeremy: On Fire
I was instant messaging with Jeffrick this morning and I realized that I am incredibly fired up right now. I don't know what it means to be "fit to be tied" but I'm pretty sure that's what I am.
Reading in the Star Tribune online sports this morning...
*Look, you already know that I'm not a huge Sid Hartman guy. In fact, if anything, I'm a huge anti-Sid Hartman guy. I understand he's a legend, I understand he was writing sports columns before they invented the wheel. I get it. But they guy writes some of the dumbest and/or most obvious things that have ever been in print.
"But if [Zygi Wilf] would have bought the Vikings a couple of years earlier, there is no doubt he would have found a way to satisfy the University of Minnesota with building one first-class stadium for both teams, just as Heinz Field was built in Pittsburgh to house the Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh." There's a couple of problems with that statement. First of all, the U of M NEVER wanted a joint stadium with the Vikings, so to make the statement that Zygi would have waved some kind of magic wand and talked the university into it is simply unfounded speculation. The Gophers always wanted their own stadium because EVERY other team in the Big 10 has a football only stadium. Secondly, I wasn't paying attention to sports quite yet when the Dome was built, but my understanding is that Sid was one of the lead folks who was trying to push the Gophers into the Dome. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that 24 years later we can all agree that the Dome is not a college football atmosphere and in retrospect the Gophs never should have left Memorial Stadium. Also, I could be wrong about this, but I believe Sid has also printed a similar sentiment to that within the last year or so. And the third problem with Sid's statement... IT DOESN'T MATTER. It's not happenin'.
*Next up, Glen Mason. Again, well documented here that I'm not a big fan of Glen, so my ire is likely no surprise.
First, Glen was talking about stopping Cal RB Marshawn Lynch: "I think you don't go and defend a person. You try to defend a system." Okay, again, maybe I'm wrong. But if this is the mentality that we've been taking toward defense all through Mason's tenure, this probably explains a lot why our defense has been suspect to say the least. Also, doesn't it stand to reason that if the Gophers are trying to defend Cal's system, they are going to have to figure out how to defend Lynch in turn? And for the record, if the Gophers don't try to defend Lynch, he is going to torch them. Jeff and I are predicting 150 yards.
*Yes indeed, another Glenism: "We're still in the developmental stages of this program. Some people will say, 'Ah, baloney, you've been here 10 years.' Wait a minute. I've always maintained that you don't put quality into a program overnight, nor do you take it out overnight. I'm trying to put it in as fast as I can, but I didn't take it out." First of all, since when is 10 years synonymous with "overnight"? And second of all, if Glen believes that his program has been in the developmental stages for the past 10 years, I, for one, would like some clarification on exactly what, during these "stages," he has been trying to build.
Reading in the Star Tribune online sports this morning...
*Look, you already know that I'm not a huge Sid Hartman guy. In fact, if anything, I'm a huge anti-Sid Hartman guy. I understand he's a legend, I understand he was writing sports columns before they invented the wheel. I get it. But they guy writes some of the dumbest and/or most obvious things that have ever been in print.
"But if [Zygi Wilf] would have bought the Vikings a couple of years earlier, there is no doubt he would have found a way to satisfy the University of Minnesota with building one first-class stadium for both teams, just as Heinz Field was built in Pittsburgh to house the Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh." There's a couple of problems with that statement. First of all, the U of M NEVER wanted a joint stadium with the Vikings, so to make the statement that Zygi would have waved some kind of magic wand and talked the university into it is simply unfounded speculation. The Gophers always wanted their own stadium because EVERY other team in the Big 10 has a football only stadium. Secondly, I wasn't paying attention to sports quite yet when the Dome was built, but my understanding is that Sid was one of the lead folks who was trying to push the Gophers into the Dome. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that 24 years later we can all agree that the Dome is not a college football atmosphere and in retrospect the Gophs never should have left Memorial Stadium. Also, I could be wrong about this, but I believe Sid has also printed a similar sentiment to that within the last year or so. And the third problem with Sid's statement... IT DOESN'T MATTER. It's not happenin'.
*Next up, Glen Mason. Again, well documented here that I'm not a big fan of Glen, so my ire is likely no surprise.
First, Glen was talking about stopping Cal RB Marshawn Lynch: "I think you don't go and defend a person. You try to defend a system." Okay, again, maybe I'm wrong. But if this is the mentality that we've been taking toward defense all through Mason's tenure, this probably explains a lot why our defense has been suspect to say the least. Also, doesn't it stand to reason that if the Gophers are trying to defend Cal's system, they are going to have to figure out how to defend Lynch in turn? And for the record, if the Gophers don't try to defend Lynch, he is going to torch them. Jeff and I are predicting 150 yards.
*Yes indeed, another Glenism: "We're still in the developmental stages of this program. Some people will say, 'Ah, baloney, you've been here 10 years.' Wait a minute. I've always maintained that you don't put quality into a program overnight, nor do you take it out overnight. I'm trying to put it in as fast as I can, but I didn't take it out." First of all, since when is 10 years synonymous with "overnight"? And second of all, if Glen believes that his program has been in the developmental stages for the past 10 years, I, for one, would like some clarification on exactly what, during these "stages," he has been trying to build.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Jeremy: Golden Gopher Football Preview
Fact: The Minnesota Twins are in the middle of a Major League Baseball playoff race.
Fact: The Minnesota Vikings have a new coach in Brad Childress.
If you are Glen Mason these two facts spell more relief than Rolaids, and I'm sure Good Ol' Glen couldn't be happier.
Last January Glen Mason got a contract extension, and if you have read this blog even once you probably know that I, for one, and Jeff for another, do not believe that he deserved it. Glendolyn should most certainly be under the strongest of microscopes this season as Gopher Football Head Coach. But instead the Twin Cities media and fans are focused on the Twins making a run at the playoffs and what Brad Childress will do in his first year as Vikings head coach. To the Twins and Vikings, on behalf of Glen Mason, THANK YOU!!!
Here's the deal folks... everything that Glen Mason and Joel Maturi have been talking about for the past, who knows how long, regarding Gopher Football, you can throw it all right out the window. 5 bowl appearances in 6 years, two 1,000 yard rushers the past 3 seasons, one of the top running games in the country, the top offensive line in the country... honestly, forget about all of it. Because if you plan on remembering any of these things during the Gophers fall 2006 football campaign you are going to be sadly disappointed.
There are only three ways in which the Gophers of this fall will resemble the Gopher teams of the past 1/2 decade: Glen Mason's inability to recruit defense will still be glaringly obvious, Glen Mason will still spend roughly 50% of his time on the sideline looking completely dumbfounded, and the defense will still look like it belongs in Division II.
For several years the Gophers have taken a gunslinger's mentality toward their competition: hit them before they hit you, and pray. Generally the offense hasn't been a question mark, especially the running game, but the big question was always if the defense would be able to hold up it's end of the bargain, or if the offense would just have to outgun the opposing team on the ground and hopefully score last. We all know how well that has turned out.
Glen Mason would probably be happy to find himself in a similar predicament this season.
But there's a problem with that equation this year. The defense is still a huge question mark, but Glen doesn't have the high powered, predictable offense to rely on anymore. I'm not gonna lie to ya: things could get ugly.
As far as the offense is concerned the Gophers have no 1,000 yard rusher returning, thanks to the NFL draft (Maroney) and Gary Russell's lack of work ethic in the classroom. This is a luxury that they certainly will miss.
And so, the entire success of the offense rests on the arm of Bryan Cupito. Cupito is ready to be a quality Big 10 quarterback who can lead his team on and off the field, but he will not have a world-class running game to fall back on when things get tough in the pocket. The Gopher offense is going to look much different than we are used to seeing. You can expect to see the ball flying through the air much more than usual, and since the Gophers will likely be playing from behind often this season, the number of passes Cupito throws could be absolutely insane.
Remember that look that Glen Mason had on his face during the Iowa game last year? The one where he looked sort of dumbfounded by the whole thing? The one where he almost looked like he wasn't sure where he was or what he was doing, or what game he was supposed to be coaching? You know the one, the one that is sort of a half smile, sort of a half questioning look? The one that almost looks like he just messed in his pants, or is constipated or maybe just broke wind?
Here's my suggestion: get used to that look.
Let's go through the schedule...
Thu, Aug 31, @ Kent State - Look, if we lose this game, just pack it in. Seriously, board up the program and let's just wait for next year. 1-0.
Sat, Sep 09 @ California - If you're the Gophers starting your non-conference schedule with two games on the road is bad enough. If one of those games is at California... 1-1.
Sat, Sep 16 Temple - Metrodome - Please see comment for Aug 31 Kent State game. 2-1.
Sat, Sep 23 @ Purdue - Now this is where things start to really get dicey. Purdue is more experienced and should be a better team this year. In addition, the Gophers have generally had trouble with the Boilermakers. 2-2.
Sat, Sep 30 Michigan - Metrodome - Since the Gophs beat Michigan in the Big House last year, the Wolverines are going to be looking for revenge and this one is going to be carried on a major network. Ouch! Before last year it had been two decades since the Gophers had beaten Michigan... so what does 2026 look like for you? 2-3.
Sat, Oct 07 Penn State - Metrodome - Are you getting depressed yet? Penn State most likely won't be the team you saw last year, but they should still be a top 20 team even after losing Michael Robinson. 2-4.
Sat, Oct 14 @ Wisconsin - If there was ever a year where you could go into Madison and beat Wisconsin, this could be it. With Alvarez gone Wisconsin could have it's first down year in awhile. Keep in mind that a down year for these guys is probably .500 or slightly above. Knowing that we generally win a game we shouldn't, I'm going to go out on a limb here... 3-4.
Sat, Oct 21 - Metrodome - North Dakota State - I don't know why, but this game concerns me. It's true, the Gophs usually win a game they shouldn't, but they also generally lose a game that they should win, and that's why this one makes me nervous. NDSU is going to come in here with something to prove as they ramp up their D-I schedule against some tougher talent. The Bison will come in ready to play the game of their lives and if the Gophers don't take this game seriously... yeah, I'm nervous. 3-5.
Sat, Oct 28 @ Ohio State - Um, yeah... 3-6.
Sat, Nov 04 - Metrodome - Indiana - For no reason whatsoever Glen Mason's teams have historically had trouble with Indiana. Along with the NDSU game, this is a game that the Gophers could sleep on and lose. But maybe they'll wake up this year. 4-6.
Sat, Nov 11 - @ Michigan State - This is a winable game if the Gophers are doing everything right, but what scares me is that, in the past, weak Gopher teams have generally been especially weak on the road. East Lansing isn't the Big House, but it isn't an easy place to play either. On top of that John L. Smith is going to be coaching to save his job this year. 4-7.
Sat, Nov 18 - Metrodome - Iowa - So remember that look I was talking about that Glendolyn had during last year's Iowa game? By this point of the season that look will be ingrained in your brain. Iowa is going to be good this year. Real good. We're talkin' Top 10 in the nation good. By the way, I hate Iowa. It's staggering how much I hate Iowa, it's unexplainable. 4-8.
So there it is, my prediction is 4-8. As always, one game in either direction is always possible, with possibility of 5 wins definitely feasible. I just don't see any way that this team can get 6 wins and make another bowl game.
Look, I love this team. It's well documented that I love this team. I attended my first Gopher game with my uncle before I even knew what a first down was, we have season tickets, my wife and I are decorating our camper in Gopher gear, and I have the Minnesota fight song as the ringer on my cell phone. I'm locked in. And despite all of the disparaging remarks I am making I still love this team. But I'm just fearful that this year's version is going to leave quite a bit to be desired.
I'd love to go ahead and call this year a rebuilding year, and that would be the generous thing to do. The fact is that as long as Glen Mason is at the helm I always feel like the Gophers are rebuilding. Our glimmer of hope this year would have been the running game, but Gary Russell took care of that. Amir Pinnix is a good back, but he's not going to carry your offense, and he's probably not even going to play every down.
I really hope the Gophers surprise me this year. I'm trying to turn my wife into a Gopher fan, but I might have picked a bad year to do it. Come on Gophs!!! We're workin' on a lifer here!
Fact: The Minnesota Vikings have a new coach in Brad Childress.
If you are Glen Mason these two facts spell more relief than Rolaids, and I'm sure Good Ol' Glen couldn't be happier.
Last January Glen Mason got a contract extension, and if you have read this blog even once you probably know that I, for one, and Jeff for another, do not believe that he deserved it. Glendolyn should most certainly be under the strongest of microscopes this season as Gopher Football Head Coach. But instead the Twin Cities media and fans are focused on the Twins making a run at the playoffs and what Brad Childress will do in his first year as Vikings head coach. To the Twins and Vikings, on behalf of Glen Mason, THANK YOU!!!
Here's the deal folks... everything that Glen Mason and Joel Maturi have been talking about for the past, who knows how long, regarding Gopher Football, you can throw it all right out the window. 5 bowl appearances in 6 years, two 1,000 yard rushers the past 3 seasons, one of the top running games in the country, the top offensive line in the country... honestly, forget about all of it. Because if you plan on remembering any of these things during the Gophers fall 2006 football campaign you are going to be sadly disappointed.
There are only three ways in which the Gophers of this fall will resemble the Gopher teams of the past 1/2 decade: Glen Mason's inability to recruit defense will still be glaringly obvious, Glen Mason will still spend roughly 50% of his time on the sideline looking completely dumbfounded, and the defense will still look like it belongs in Division II.
For several years the Gophers have taken a gunslinger's mentality toward their competition: hit them before they hit you, and pray. Generally the offense hasn't been a question mark, especially the running game, but the big question was always if the defense would be able to hold up it's end of the bargain, or if the offense would just have to outgun the opposing team on the ground and hopefully score last. We all know how well that has turned out.
Glen Mason would probably be happy to find himself in a similar predicament this season.
But there's a problem with that equation this year. The defense is still a huge question mark, but Glen doesn't have the high powered, predictable offense to rely on anymore. I'm not gonna lie to ya: things could get ugly.
As far as the offense is concerned the Gophers have no 1,000 yard rusher returning, thanks to the NFL draft (Maroney) and Gary Russell's lack of work ethic in the classroom. This is a luxury that they certainly will miss.
And so, the entire success of the offense rests on the arm of Bryan Cupito. Cupito is ready to be a quality Big 10 quarterback who can lead his team on and off the field, but he will not have a world-class running game to fall back on when things get tough in the pocket. The Gopher offense is going to look much different than we are used to seeing. You can expect to see the ball flying through the air much more than usual, and since the Gophers will likely be playing from behind often this season, the number of passes Cupito throws could be absolutely insane.
Remember that look that Glen Mason had on his face during the Iowa game last year? The one where he looked sort of dumbfounded by the whole thing? The one where he almost looked like he wasn't sure where he was or what he was doing, or what game he was supposed to be coaching? You know the one, the one that is sort of a half smile, sort of a half questioning look? The one that almost looks like he just messed in his pants, or is constipated or maybe just broke wind?
Here's my suggestion: get used to that look.
Let's go through the schedule...
Thu, Aug 31, @ Kent State - Look, if we lose this game, just pack it in. Seriously, board up the program and let's just wait for next year. 1-0.
Sat, Sep 09 @ California - If you're the Gophers starting your non-conference schedule with two games on the road is bad enough. If one of those games is at California... 1-1.
Sat, Sep 16 Temple - Metrodome - Please see comment for Aug 31 Kent State game. 2-1.
Sat, Sep 23 @ Purdue - Now this is where things start to really get dicey. Purdue is more experienced and should be a better team this year. In addition, the Gophers have generally had trouble with the Boilermakers. 2-2.
Sat, Sep 30 Michigan - Metrodome - Since the Gophs beat Michigan in the Big House last year, the Wolverines are going to be looking for revenge and this one is going to be carried on a major network. Ouch! Before last year it had been two decades since the Gophers had beaten Michigan... so what does 2026 look like for you? 2-3.
Sat, Oct 07 Penn State - Metrodome - Are you getting depressed yet? Penn State most likely won't be the team you saw last year, but they should still be a top 20 team even after losing Michael Robinson. 2-4.
Sat, Oct 14 @ Wisconsin - If there was ever a year where you could go into Madison and beat Wisconsin, this could be it. With Alvarez gone Wisconsin could have it's first down year in awhile. Keep in mind that a down year for these guys is probably .500 or slightly above. Knowing that we generally win a game we shouldn't, I'm going to go out on a limb here... 3-4.
Sat, Oct 21 - Metrodome - North Dakota State - I don't know why, but this game concerns me. It's true, the Gophs usually win a game they shouldn't, but they also generally lose a game that they should win, and that's why this one makes me nervous. NDSU is going to come in here with something to prove as they ramp up their D-I schedule against some tougher talent. The Bison will come in ready to play the game of their lives and if the Gophers don't take this game seriously... yeah, I'm nervous. 3-5.
Sat, Oct 28 @ Ohio State - Um, yeah... 3-6.
Sat, Nov 04 - Metrodome - Indiana - For no reason whatsoever Glen Mason's teams have historically had trouble with Indiana. Along with the NDSU game, this is a game that the Gophers could sleep on and lose. But maybe they'll wake up this year. 4-6.
Sat, Nov 11 - @ Michigan State - This is a winable game if the Gophers are doing everything right, but what scares me is that, in the past, weak Gopher teams have generally been especially weak on the road. East Lansing isn't the Big House, but it isn't an easy place to play either. On top of that John L. Smith is going to be coaching to save his job this year. 4-7.
Sat, Nov 18 - Metrodome - Iowa - So remember that look I was talking about that Glendolyn had during last year's Iowa game? By this point of the season that look will be ingrained in your brain. Iowa is going to be good this year. Real good. We're talkin' Top 10 in the nation good. By the way, I hate Iowa. It's staggering how much I hate Iowa, it's unexplainable. 4-8.
So there it is, my prediction is 4-8. As always, one game in either direction is always possible, with possibility of 5 wins definitely feasible. I just don't see any way that this team can get 6 wins and make another bowl game.
Look, I love this team. It's well documented that I love this team. I attended my first Gopher game with my uncle before I even knew what a first down was, we have season tickets, my wife and I are decorating our camper in Gopher gear, and I have the Minnesota fight song as the ringer on my cell phone. I'm locked in. And despite all of the disparaging remarks I am making I still love this team. But I'm just fearful that this year's version is going to leave quite a bit to be desired.
I'd love to go ahead and call this year a rebuilding year, and that would be the generous thing to do. The fact is that as long as Glen Mason is at the helm I always feel like the Gophers are rebuilding. Our glimmer of hope this year would have been the running game, but Gary Russell took care of that. Amir Pinnix is a good back, but he's not going to carry your offense, and he's probably not even going to play every down.
I really hope the Gophers surprise me this year. I'm trying to turn my wife into a Gopher fan, but I might have picked a bad year to do it. Come on Gophs!!! We're workin' on a lifer here!
Friday, August 25, 2006
Jeremy: "....been a long time since I..."
So my cousin really let me have it on the phone last night. A tongue lashing that would do The Tuna proud. Geez, where ya been, he said. I get all my friends to read your blog and you two disappear, he said. I don't even know you, he said. Your hair looks stupid, he said. You shouldn't wear yellow, he said.
Okay, maybe he didn't say all of that, but he didn't have to, he's right: Jeffrick and I have been slacking.
So let me get a few things off my chest...
*As I write this the Twins are 1/2 a game behind the White Sox for the A.L. Wild Card spot. They are also currently losing to the White Sox 3-0. This is a crucial series for our boys, one that could potential swing the proverbial wild card pendulum 2 to 3 games in either direction. It's big. But here's the thing, in the words of Cal Naughton Jr, "I like to think of Jesus as a mischievious badger." Excecpt instead of thinking of Jesus that way, I think of the Twins that way. Because what does a mischeivious badger do? He fights. And what does he not do? Go away. He just doesn't go away, and neither will the Twins... okay, enough of that.
*By the way, if you are a NASCAR fan, you should go see "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby." And if you aren't a NASCAR fan, but you are a Will Ferrell fan, then you also should go see this movie. And if you aren't a Will Ferrell fan, well, then... you should be shot.
*Are you like me? Do you imagine Brad Childress sitting in his office, late, late at night, after all the practices and meetings are over, after all of the players and coaches have left, hitting his head ever so softly on his desk over and over and over again while quietly mumbling to himself: "Chad Greenway...why?... Koren Robinson...why? ... why?... why?..."
*Speaking of the Vikings, I haven't had very ample opportunity to watch the preseason games so far, but when I have I've made sure to watch Tavaris Jackson. I DVR'd the second preseason game just so I could watch Jackson. So far I think he looks pretty impressive, and at the very least he seems comfortable. He's got a gun for an arm and he's not afraid to run when he needs to. Joe Theisman was quick to call him a right-handed Michael Vick, which is absolutely preposterous. Jackson doesn't run as well as Vick, but he probably does throw better. He seems to have a pretty good command of the offense. Having said all that, let's not forget that Childress has said all along that his play calling in the preseason would be very simplistic, especially for Jackson. Nonetheless, he's succeeded very well at what he's been asked to do.
*The first Gopher Football home game is in 22 days... not that I'm counting. I've been kicking around the idea of doing a Gopher Football preview again, but I'm always afraid that I sound like I'm full of doom and gloom. I still might write a preview, but here's a Cliff's Notes version: things could get ugly, the bowl game streak could very well, nevermind, WILL end this year, looking at the schedule I'm having trouble finding 5 wins for this team. It hurts to say it, especially considering this is the first year that I've gotten real full-price season tickets, and oh yeah, I'm also dragging my wife into the often self-abusing world of being a Gopher Football fan. Yikes!
Okay, maybe he didn't say all of that, but he didn't have to, he's right: Jeffrick and I have been slacking.
So let me get a few things off my chest...
*As I write this the Twins are 1/2 a game behind the White Sox for the A.L. Wild Card spot. They are also currently losing to the White Sox 3-0. This is a crucial series for our boys, one that could potential swing the proverbial wild card pendulum 2 to 3 games in either direction. It's big. But here's the thing, in the words of Cal Naughton Jr, "I like to think of Jesus as a mischievious badger." Excecpt instead of thinking of Jesus that way, I think of the Twins that way. Because what does a mischeivious badger do? He fights. And what does he not do? Go away. He just doesn't go away, and neither will the Twins... okay, enough of that.
*By the way, if you are a NASCAR fan, you should go see "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby." And if you aren't a NASCAR fan, but you are a Will Ferrell fan, then you also should go see this movie. And if you aren't a Will Ferrell fan, well, then... you should be shot.
*Are you like me? Do you imagine Brad Childress sitting in his office, late, late at night, after all the practices and meetings are over, after all of the players and coaches have left, hitting his head ever so softly on his desk over and over and over again while quietly mumbling to himself: "Chad Greenway...why?... Koren Robinson...why? ... why?... why?..."
*Speaking of the Vikings, I haven't had very ample opportunity to watch the preseason games so far, but when I have I've made sure to watch Tavaris Jackson. I DVR'd the second preseason game just so I could watch Jackson. So far I think he looks pretty impressive, and at the very least he seems comfortable. He's got a gun for an arm and he's not afraid to run when he needs to. Joe Theisman was quick to call him a right-handed Michael Vick, which is absolutely preposterous. Jackson doesn't run as well as Vick, but he probably does throw better. He seems to have a pretty good command of the offense. Having said all that, let's not forget that Childress has said all along that his play calling in the preseason would be very simplistic, especially for Jackson. Nonetheless, he's succeeded very well at what he's been asked to do.
*The first Gopher Football home game is in 22 days... not that I'm counting. I've been kicking around the idea of doing a Gopher Football preview again, but I'm always afraid that I sound like I'm full of doom and gloom. I still might write a preview, but here's a Cliff's Notes version: things could get ugly, the bowl game streak could very well, nevermind, WILL end this year, looking at the schedule I'm having trouble finding 5 wins for this team. It hurts to say it, especially considering this is the first year that I've gotten real full-price season tickets, and oh yeah, I'm also dragging my wife into the often self-abusing world of being a Gopher Football fan. Yikes!
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Jeremy: ... and Tigers... OH MY!!!
Nobody, and I mean not one single person, expected the Tigers to win a series in the Metrodome this weekend against the Hometown 9... I wouldn't even have been surprised if the Tigers themselves had some doubts about coming in and beating the hottest team in baseball.
But OH MY GOODNESS...
Look, I knew the Tigers were good, anyone can tell by their record that they are good, but I haven't had much chance to see them play this year. I've heard that they are scrappy, that they find all kinds of ways to win. But these guys are unreal! You cannot make a mistake against Detroit, or it will cost you dearly.
Just ask Brad Radke. No stranger to getting knocked around in the first or second innings, Radke looked like a little leaguer last night. You throw anybody on the Tigers a hitable pitch (and Radke threw PLENTY of hitable pitches) and guess what... well, just have a look at the play-by-play for the top of the first inning...
Brad Radke pitching for Minnesota
C Granderson singled to left. 0 0
P Polanco singled to center, C Granderson to second. 0 0
C Monroe singled to left, C Granderson to third, P Polanco to second. 0 0
M Ordonez grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, C Granderson scored, C Monroe out at second, P Polanco to third. 1 0
C Guillen grounded into fielder's choice to first, P Polanco scored, M Ordonez out at second. 2 0
D Young singled to right, C Guillen to second. 2 0
M Thames flied out to left. 2 0
2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors
Detroit then proceeded to add one in the second, and one in the third, and that was that for Brad Radke. (Here's a fun little stat, courtesy of ESPN.com: "Opponents are hitting .390 off Radke in the first inning this season.")
Of course we know, the Twins battled back, but ended up falling short and the Tigers won 8-6.
Let me go ahead and say that nothing anybody has said about the Twins in the past week has been wrong. They HAVE been the hottest team in baseball, they HAVE been doing everything right, the offense HAS come around and the pitching HAS been better than it was earlier in the season. None of this changed on Friday or Saturday night. Outside of Radke's poor performance, the Twins did almost everything right, but the Tigers are just a better baseball team.
If anybody is suggesting that the Twins are going to catch the Tigers... well, then I just don't think those people have actually seen the Tigers play. (My apologies to Jeffrick after reading his Twins fever post... I will guess that his opinion has changed slightly too.) Of course their W-L record is incredible for this time of year (70-33, 37 GAMES OVER .500?!?!?! HOLY SH*#!!!), but the difference with them is that offensively Detroit's execution is almost flawless. Sacrifice flies, moving runners into scoring position, baserunning, stealing, they do it all, and they do it all well. Not to mention the fact that they hit for average and they hit for power all over their lineup. The Twins are a very good ball club right now, but there just simply is nobody in baseball that comes close to the Tigers.
With the Twins sweeping the Sox earlier this week in Chicago, and now Detroit banging the first two out against the Twins at the Dome, we really have an opportunity to see who the front-runner is in the Central. If everyone in the AL Central continues to play like they have the last two weeks, then all will be right with the world. Detroit will win the division, the Twins will end up second, and the White Sox will fall away quietly. The only question left is what happens with the Yankees and the AL Wild Card.
I think I speak for us all when I say...
I cheer for the Twins, and whoever is playing the Yankees.
But OH MY GOODNESS...
Look, I knew the Tigers were good, anyone can tell by their record that they are good, but I haven't had much chance to see them play this year. I've heard that they are scrappy, that they find all kinds of ways to win. But these guys are unreal! You cannot make a mistake against Detroit, or it will cost you dearly.
Just ask Brad Radke. No stranger to getting knocked around in the first or second innings, Radke looked like a little leaguer last night. You throw anybody on the Tigers a hitable pitch (and Radke threw PLENTY of hitable pitches) and guess what... well, just have a look at the play-by-play for the top of the first inning...
Brad Radke pitching for Minnesota
C Granderson singled to left. 0 0
P Polanco singled to center, C Granderson to second. 0 0
C Monroe singled to left, C Granderson to third, P Polanco to second. 0 0
M Ordonez grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, C Granderson scored, C Monroe out at second, P Polanco to third. 1 0
C Guillen grounded into fielder's choice to first, P Polanco scored, M Ordonez out at second. 2 0
D Young singled to right, C Guillen to second. 2 0
M Thames flied out to left. 2 0
2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors
Detroit then proceeded to add one in the second, and one in the third, and that was that for Brad Radke. (Here's a fun little stat, courtesy of ESPN.com: "Opponents are hitting .390 off Radke in the first inning this season.")
Of course we know, the Twins battled back, but ended up falling short and the Tigers won 8-6.
Let me go ahead and say that nothing anybody has said about the Twins in the past week has been wrong. They HAVE been the hottest team in baseball, they HAVE been doing everything right, the offense HAS come around and the pitching HAS been better than it was earlier in the season. None of this changed on Friday or Saturday night. Outside of Radke's poor performance, the Twins did almost everything right, but the Tigers are just a better baseball team.
If anybody is suggesting that the Twins are going to catch the Tigers... well, then I just don't think those people have actually seen the Tigers play. (My apologies to Jeffrick after reading his Twins fever post... I will guess that his opinion has changed slightly too.) Of course their W-L record is incredible for this time of year (70-33, 37 GAMES OVER .500?!?!?! HOLY SH*#!!!), but the difference with them is that offensively Detroit's execution is almost flawless. Sacrifice flies, moving runners into scoring position, baserunning, stealing, they do it all, and they do it all well. Not to mention the fact that they hit for average and they hit for power all over their lineup. The Twins are a very good ball club right now, but there just simply is nobody in baseball that comes close to the Tigers.
With the Twins sweeping the Sox earlier this week in Chicago, and now Detroit banging the first two out against the Twins at the Dome, we really have an opportunity to see who the front-runner is in the Central. If everyone in the AL Central continues to play like they have the last two weeks, then all will be right with the world. Detroit will win the division, the Twins will end up second, and the White Sox will fall away quietly. The only question left is what happens with the Yankees and the AL Wild Card.
I think I speak for us all when I say...
I cheer for the Twins, and whoever is playing the Yankees.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Jeff: I've got a Twins Fever, and the only prescription is...
MORE TWINS!!!
That's right, this die-hard Seattle Mariners fan has Twins Fever and I can't help it anymore. I would never break my allegiances with the M's, but I finally broke down and bought a piece of Twins paraphenalia last night to wear to the Twins/Tiggers tilt tonight when I got with TheBigSam (it's his last night in Minnesota. SAD BIGSAM! SAD!) and my roomy Kris. I'm hoping this won't be my last Twinkies game this year, and I probably need to stop wearing Mariners stuff to the Dome- especially when Minnesota isn't even playing them. So I picked up the Justin Morneau jersey/tshirt, justifying that as supporting a hometown guy (we're both from different suburbs of Vancouver, BC) while maybe kinda sorta admitting I'm getting caught up in this incredible Twins run. You've heard the numbers by now: 34-8 and now right smack dab in the middle of the wildcard race. And if they can take 2 of 3 from Detwah this weekend (a very good possibility) they'd be welcomed back into the division race too.
I just love being in a town with a team in a pennant race. After their awful April and parts of May, the Twinkies have been baseball's best team the past two months, and don't think the fine citizens of the Land o' 10000 Lakes haven't noticed. Usually walk-up tickets are easy to come by at the Dome, especially on a summer Friday night, but with all the hype (and with The Cisco Kid on the mound) for this series, we had Sammy go pick up tickets yesterday to make sure we got them. It's like playoff baseball in July, and I'm absolutely loving it.
What makes this even better for Twins fans is that the Little Engine That Could is scaring the bejeezus out of the rest of the league right now. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, wants to face this team in the playoffs. Nobody wants to see Santana and Liriano 4 times in a 7 game series, because if that happens your chances of beating those guys 4 times (which just also happens to be the number of games you need to win a playoff series) are slim to none. Add a lights out bullpen and a rejuvenated Brad Radke to the pitching mix, and the Twins should be the favorites in baseball to win it all- IF they can just get in.
I've been a proponent of having the LETC (Little Engine That Could) spend some serious money on a cleanup hitter, which will probably not happen for the umpteenth trade deadline in a row. However, this time around I actually agree with it. There's only one guy the Twins could get that would be worth giving up P Matt Garza and some other top prospects for. It's not Alfonso Soriano, who's price tag according to most sources is 2 or 3 top-level prospects, or the Carlos Lee, who was just dealt today to the Texas Rangers (also dealing a major blow to any playoff chances my M's had in the AL West). Both of those guys are the corner-outfield thumpers the Twins needs. But considering their both free agents at year's end, and would be unlikely to get a big contract offer in the offseason, it's just not worth it give up some top prospects for a two-month rental.
The only guy who COULD be on the market that would be worth it for me is Baltimore Orioles SS Miguel Tejada. The Orioles are going nowhere again this year, and Peter Angelos might finally be ready to trade away his most prized trade chip to blow it up and start over. It would cost the Twins Garza and at least one other top guy, but I think it'd be worth it. He not only solves the cleanup-hitter conudrum, but he could slide over to comfortably play third. I know, I know, I know Twins fans...what about Nick Punto? Punto's been hitting .385 in July, but there's a reason he's a .261/.331/.349 career hitter. He won't keep this up all year, and when the playoff chase comes, would you rather have Punto or Tejada up in a big situation? I thought so.
I don't expect Terry Ryan to make this deal, but if there's one out there to make a splash, that's the one. Although the backend of the Twins rotation has struggled, it doesn't make any sense to try and add another starter because there's so few guys available and none of them (not counting Barry Zito) are any better than the guys the Twins already have. If Silva can keep the ball down and the sinker sinking, he'll be fine as the #4 guy, and they can mix and match (possibly Garza) for the 5th rotation spot.
I'm expecting Ryan to let this team play out and not make any moves, but I DO think there's one deal that makes a lotta sense for the Twins. It would give them a big bat without compromising their, um, fiscally responsible (read cheap skate) mentallity, and also wouldn't cost them any prospects. The Twins should deal righty Kyle Lohse to the Red Sox for outfieled Wily Mo Pena. Lohse and his $3.9 million salary won't be returning to the Twins next year, and although he's out of the rotation in Minnesota, he's better than the guys the Sox have been trying to put in their 4th and 5th starter slots.
Like Loshe, Pena has fallen out of favor with the Red Sox. He's not a good defender, but at 24 with ridiculous power, he'd be worth the gamble to add the power bat the Twins crave (remember, despite their torrid pace, the Twinks are still 2nd to last in HR's in the league). And he's only making $1.25 million. Even if the Twins had to throw in a marginal prospect along with Pena, it would definitely be worth the risk.
Whether Ryan makes a move or not, the Twins have to be the frontrunners for the Wild Card and will challenge the Tiggers the rest of the year, and that means Twins Fever should continue to sweep the upper Midwest the rest of the summer. Remember, the Twins put their pants on one leg at a time just like you. Except they make gold records- wait no they win lots and lots of baseball games.
That's right, this die-hard Seattle Mariners fan has Twins Fever and I can't help it anymore. I would never break my allegiances with the M's, but I finally broke down and bought a piece of Twins paraphenalia last night to wear to the Twins/Tiggers tilt tonight when I got with TheBigSam (it's his last night in Minnesota. SAD BIGSAM! SAD!) and my roomy Kris. I'm hoping this won't be my last Twinkies game this year, and I probably need to stop wearing Mariners stuff to the Dome- especially when Minnesota isn't even playing them. So I picked up the Justin Morneau jersey/tshirt, justifying that as supporting a hometown guy (we're both from different suburbs of Vancouver, BC) while maybe kinda sorta admitting I'm getting caught up in this incredible Twins run. You've heard the numbers by now: 34-8 and now right smack dab in the middle of the wildcard race. And if they can take 2 of 3 from Detwah this weekend (a very good possibility) they'd be welcomed back into the division race too.
I just love being in a town with a team in a pennant race. After their awful April and parts of May, the Twinkies have been baseball's best team the past two months, and don't think the fine citizens of the Land o' 10000 Lakes haven't noticed. Usually walk-up tickets are easy to come by at the Dome, especially on a summer Friday night, but with all the hype (and with The Cisco Kid on the mound) for this series, we had Sammy go pick up tickets yesterday to make sure we got them. It's like playoff baseball in July, and I'm absolutely loving it.
What makes this even better for Twins fans is that the Little Engine That Could is scaring the bejeezus out of the rest of the league right now. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, wants to face this team in the playoffs. Nobody wants to see Santana and Liriano 4 times in a 7 game series, because if that happens your chances of beating those guys 4 times (which just also happens to be the number of games you need to win a playoff series) are slim to none. Add a lights out bullpen and a rejuvenated Brad Radke to the pitching mix, and the Twins should be the favorites in baseball to win it all- IF they can just get in.
I've been a proponent of having the LETC (Little Engine That Could) spend some serious money on a cleanup hitter, which will probably not happen for the umpteenth trade deadline in a row. However, this time around I actually agree with it. There's only one guy the Twins could get that would be worth giving up P Matt Garza and some other top prospects for. It's not Alfonso Soriano, who's price tag according to most sources is 2 or 3 top-level prospects, or the Carlos Lee, who was just dealt today to the Texas Rangers (also dealing a major blow to any playoff chances my M's had in the AL West). Both of those guys are the corner-outfield thumpers the Twins needs. But considering their both free agents at year's end, and would be unlikely to get a big contract offer in the offseason, it's just not worth it give up some top prospects for a two-month rental.
The only guy who COULD be on the market that would be worth it for me is Baltimore Orioles SS Miguel Tejada. The Orioles are going nowhere again this year, and Peter Angelos might finally be ready to trade away his most prized trade chip to blow it up and start over. It would cost the Twins Garza and at least one other top guy, but I think it'd be worth it. He not only solves the cleanup-hitter conudrum, but he could slide over to comfortably play third. I know, I know, I know Twins fans...what about Nick Punto? Punto's been hitting .385 in July, but there's a reason he's a .261/.331/.349 career hitter. He won't keep this up all year, and when the playoff chase comes, would you rather have Punto or Tejada up in a big situation? I thought so.
I don't expect Terry Ryan to make this deal, but if there's one out there to make a splash, that's the one. Although the backend of the Twins rotation has struggled, it doesn't make any sense to try and add another starter because there's so few guys available and none of them (not counting Barry Zito) are any better than the guys the Twins already have. If Silva can keep the ball down and the sinker sinking, he'll be fine as the #4 guy, and they can mix and match (possibly Garza) for the 5th rotation spot.
I'm expecting Ryan to let this team play out and not make any moves, but I DO think there's one deal that makes a lotta sense for the Twins. It would give them a big bat without compromising their, um, fiscally responsible (read cheap skate) mentallity, and also wouldn't cost them any prospects. The Twins should deal righty Kyle Lohse to the Red Sox for outfieled Wily Mo Pena. Lohse and his $3.9 million salary won't be returning to the Twins next year, and although he's out of the rotation in Minnesota, he's better than the guys the Sox have been trying to put in their 4th and 5th starter slots.
Like Loshe, Pena has fallen out of favor with the Red Sox. He's not a good defender, but at 24 with ridiculous power, he'd be worth the gamble to add the power bat the Twins crave (remember, despite their torrid pace, the Twinks are still 2nd to last in HR's in the league). And he's only making $1.25 million. Even if the Twins had to throw in a marginal prospect along with Pena, it would definitely be worth the risk.
Whether Ryan makes a move or not, the Twins have to be the frontrunners for the Wild Card and will challenge the Tiggers the rest of the year, and that means Twins Fever should continue to sweep the upper Midwest the rest of the summer. Remember, the Twins put their pants on one leg at a time just like you. Except they make gold records- wait no they win lots and lots of baseball games.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Jeremy: Quickly
*The Twins have won their last 7 games (all at home) and yet it seems like nobody is holding out any hope that they will win this weekend's series in Cleveland. (By the way, count me as one of those people who holds out no hope that they will win the series in Cleveland this weekend.) Until they Twinks start proving that they can win on the road, instead of the current trend of only being able to prove that they can lose on the road, nobody is going to take them seriously as a contender. This shouldn't be the case for a team that is suddenly only 4 games out of the American League Wild Card position.
*I realize that I'm a homer of the most rubish kind, and I normally don't talk about any other teams in the NFL besides the Vikings, but here's something that threw me off this morning: Chris Brown wants out of Tennessee, and in the words of Jeffrick, "can't blame him." Remember just a couple of years ago when the Titans were one of the top teams and near the top of the AFC, it seemed like, every year? Steve McNair was a top 5 quarterback, Eddie George was a top 5 runnings back... what happened to these guys? Suddenly they are relying on two rookies to bolster their offense? Did you know that both Travis Henry and Chris Brown are under 30 years old? Why is it that they both seem ancient?
*NFL line of the week, from Jason Whitlock's 10 NFL Truths column: 9. Brett Favre will regret his decision to return to the Packers by Week 4, when John Madden won't be around on "Monday Night Football" to explain away Favre's terrible performance against the Eagles.
*Something deep down inside of me wants to see Tiger Woods struggle. I can't explain it, but something in me wants to see Tiger lose week after week, and I don't even care who beats him. I used to feel this way about the Bulls, there was really no reason that I could come up with that I wanted to see MJ and the Bulls NOT win championship after championship, I just didn't. And I just don't want to see Tiger win either. Maybe it's because I like parity in sports so much, the same reason I love the NFL so much, but I know it's not rational, and I am sorry. For me, I feel toward Tiger Woods a little bit like Wes Mantooth felt toward Ron Burgundy in "Anchorman," I don't like Tiger Woods, but damnit do I ever respect him!
*I did not watch one single minute of World Cup Soccor on purpose. I might be the only person in America that didn't become a bigger soccor fan after the World Cup.
*This will be the only time I write about Danica Patrick and her back-and-forth dance with NASCAR... I DON'T CARE!
*I realize that I'm a homer of the most rubish kind, and I normally don't talk about any other teams in the NFL besides the Vikings, but here's something that threw me off this morning: Chris Brown wants out of Tennessee, and in the words of Jeffrick, "can't blame him." Remember just a couple of years ago when the Titans were one of the top teams and near the top of the AFC, it seemed like, every year? Steve McNair was a top 5 quarterback, Eddie George was a top 5 runnings back... what happened to these guys? Suddenly they are relying on two rookies to bolster their offense? Did you know that both Travis Henry and Chris Brown are under 30 years old? Why is it that they both seem ancient?
*NFL line of the week, from Jason Whitlock's 10 NFL Truths column: 9. Brett Favre will regret his decision to return to the Packers by Week 4, when John Madden won't be around on "Monday Night Football" to explain away Favre's terrible performance against the Eagles.
*Something deep down inside of me wants to see Tiger Woods struggle. I can't explain it, but something in me wants to see Tiger lose week after week, and I don't even care who beats him. I used to feel this way about the Bulls, there was really no reason that I could come up with that I wanted to see MJ and the Bulls NOT win championship after championship, I just didn't. And I just don't want to see Tiger win either. Maybe it's because I like parity in sports so much, the same reason I love the NFL so much, but I know it's not rational, and I am sorry. For me, I feel toward Tiger Woods a little bit like Wes Mantooth felt toward Ron Burgundy in "Anchorman," I don't like Tiger Woods, but damnit do I ever respect him!
*I did not watch one single minute of World Cup Soccor on purpose. I might be the only person in America that didn't become a bigger soccor fan after the World Cup.
*This will be the only time I write about Danica Patrick and her back-and-forth dance with NASCAR... I DON'T CARE!
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Jeff: Goodbye Says It All
Tis a sad, sad day. I had heard all the rattling about how the Sonics could or might move but never thought it would happen, but now it looks like a virtual certainty that 2006 will be their last year in Seattle. And that sucks. I realized after hearing the news yesterday how much I loved them. Shawn Kemp was my favorite player growing up, as was Payton until owner Howard Schultz made the stupid move of trading him. I love Nate McMillan, Detlef, Sam Perkins, Ricky Pierce, Eddie Johnson and on and on and on. That was my team. Seattle had Sonics fever, and with MJ hitting his twilight, it seemed certain the Sonics were set for a run at the Title well into the new century. My move down to Minnesota cooled it a bit as their moron GM (who's still employed there, by the way) refused to talk about an for Kemp (who at the time, in '96, was the best power forward in basketball and a top 10 guy) but then signed Big White Stiff Jim McLvaine to a contract larger than Kemps. That was really the snow flake that started the avalanche that became the Sonics leaving town.
As I was moving south to Minnesota, the fortunes of the team went south too. They wouldn't give GP an extension that could have kept him in Seattle for the rest of his career, and so he was dealt too. By the turn of the century, the team I knew and grew up loving was gone. I had also found a new love in Kevin Garnett, and being in Minnesota and around passionate Wolves fans (none more so than my buddy Jer) my love for the Sonics waned. I still followed them as much as I could (as much as I wanted the NBA League Pass the budget simply wouldn't allow it), but never with the same passion. However, after this past season, I officially decided to stop following or caring about the Timberwolves until they fire GM Kevin McHale (which I'm pretty sure will never happen). It was too much anguish and anger to follow a team who had no leadership and no clue coming from the front office, and knowing that because the owner has the world's biggest Mancruch on McHale, it's never going to change.
So I was ready to give myself back to the Sonics. Back to Seattle. Back to my roots. I was hoping they'd land Adam Morrison or Brandon Roy in the draft (instead of their 3rd Stiff center in a row), but none the less I was excited to be back where I should have been all along- with the green and gold (and for a couple of years there the green, red and gold).
Then the news broke yesterday. I immediately dialed up 950 KJR on the internet and listened to Gros' reaction and the press conference and Gros with Gas. It ended up being about 3 hours of coverage and talk about the Sonics and how upset everyone out there was. And I felt the same. All my my memories came flooding back. The good, like the '96 Finals run, or any GP-to-the-Reignman alley-oop. And also the bad, like Dikemebe F%^&ing Mutumbo laying on OUR FLOOR clutching the basketball like a baby after they're comeback (I've hated him since that day. Also for the finger-wagging. I hate the finger-wagging) or game 7 of the Conference Finals against the Suns when David Stern was still determining the outcome of games. But I realized then how much I loved the Sonics, and how much I cared. And that I probably cared too much.
Now it looks as though we'll get one last year of Seattle Supersonics basketball. Blame Howard Schultz, blame the politicians in King County, blame Wally Walker for the McIllvane signing that started all of this. THey all deserve an equal share. But I also want to thanks. Thanks to Kevin Colabro, who to me was the Voice of the Sonics growing up (and STILL the best play-by-play guy around). Thanks to Kemp, Payton, Detlef, Nate, Big Smooth, Michael Cage, Ricky Pierce, Dana Barros, Xavier McDaniel, Tom Chambers, George Karl and everyone else that I loved as a Sonics fan. And most importantly thanks to all the Sonics fans who made being one with them such an enjoyable experience. The city of Seattle (despite what Rick Reilly said a few months back) has some of the best, most loyal fans in the country, and they don't deserve this. Hopefully Seattle will get a chance to be a basketball city again soon. Until then, thanks for the memories.
As I was moving south to Minnesota, the fortunes of the team went south too. They wouldn't give GP an extension that could have kept him in Seattle for the rest of his career, and so he was dealt too. By the turn of the century, the team I knew and grew up loving was gone. I had also found a new love in Kevin Garnett, and being in Minnesota and around passionate Wolves fans (none more so than my buddy Jer) my love for the Sonics waned. I still followed them as much as I could (as much as I wanted the NBA League Pass the budget simply wouldn't allow it), but never with the same passion. However, after this past season, I officially decided to stop following or caring about the Timberwolves until they fire GM Kevin McHale (which I'm pretty sure will never happen). It was too much anguish and anger to follow a team who had no leadership and no clue coming from the front office, and knowing that because the owner has the world's biggest Mancruch on McHale, it's never going to change.
So I was ready to give myself back to the Sonics. Back to Seattle. Back to my roots. I was hoping they'd land Adam Morrison or Brandon Roy in the draft (instead of their 3rd Stiff center in a row), but none the less I was excited to be back where I should have been all along- with the green and gold (and for a couple of years there the green, red and gold).
Then the news broke yesterday. I immediately dialed up 950 KJR on the internet and listened to Gros' reaction and the press conference and Gros with Gas. It ended up being about 3 hours of coverage and talk about the Sonics and how upset everyone out there was. And I felt the same. All my my memories came flooding back. The good, like the '96 Finals run, or any GP-to-the-Reignman alley-oop. And also the bad, like Dikemebe F%^&ing Mutumbo laying on OUR FLOOR clutching the basketball like a baby after they're comeback (I've hated him since that day. Also for the finger-wagging. I hate the finger-wagging) or game 7 of the Conference Finals against the Suns when David Stern was still determining the outcome of games. But I realized then how much I loved the Sonics, and how much I cared. And that I probably cared too much.
Now it looks as though we'll get one last year of Seattle Supersonics basketball. Blame Howard Schultz, blame the politicians in King County, blame Wally Walker for the McIllvane signing that started all of this. THey all deserve an equal share. But I also want to thanks. Thanks to Kevin Colabro, who to me was the Voice of the Sonics growing up (and STILL the best play-by-play guy around). Thanks to Kemp, Payton, Detlef, Nate, Big Smooth, Michael Cage, Ricky Pierce, Dana Barros, Xavier McDaniel, Tom Chambers, George Karl and everyone else that I loved as a Sonics fan. And most importantly thanks to all the Sonics fans who made being one with them such an enjoyable experience. The city of Seattle (despite what Rick Reilly said a few months back) has some of the best, most loyal fans in the country, and they don't deserve this. Hopefully Seattle will get a chance to be a basketball city again soon. Until then, thanks for the memories.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Jeremy: Weeping for a man
Here's what you need to know about this picture.
1. This picture was taken outside of the Metrodome after the Twins game on Friday night.
2. It was taken with my phone.
3. YES, the guy is carrying his girlfriend's purse.
4. He did not look uncomfortable doing this.
5. I laughed out loud when I saw this.
6. I died a little bit inside later that night when my soul wept slightly for the death of this gent's manhood.
7. My wife knows that this will never be me.
The Monday Musings
The quality of today's Musings will be worse than usual because I am entirely unmotivated today. Bloody hot weather with like 124% humidity will do that to you. So will the complete lack of decent sporting events on TV over the weekend. I actually watched parts of the celebrity golf event in Lake Tahoe yesterday. However it DID provide me with an opportunity to laugh out loud. When Ravens QB Kyle Boller strolled up to the tee, commentator Dan Hicks mentioned that Boller had a new backup in Steve McNair. Really? Um Dan? I think that's the other way around. Boller should keep working on the golf game, because he won't be seeing much football action this year.
* Speaking of unmotivated AND football (how's that for a transition) I managed to preview 2 NFL divisions before realizing I'm not going to finish the preview this year either. Hey I tried, but summer classes keep getting in the way. Who do I hate more: the person who invented the idea of classes in the summer, or me for taking them? You're right, it's me. I'm an idiot.
* So to finish off the preview, here's my predicted order of finish for the other 6 divisions...and I'll throw in the NFC West and South again just for %^&* and giggles. (* denotes wild card)
NFC
West
St Louis
Seattle*
Arizona
San Fran
South
Carolina
Atlanta
Tampa
New Orleans
North
Chicago
Minnesota
Detroit
Green Bay
East
NY Giants (Eli makes The Leap this year)
Dallas*
Washington
Philly
AFC
West
Kansas City (LJ cracks 2000 yds this year)
Denver*
San Diego
Oakland
South
Indy
Jacksonville
Houston
Tennessee
North
Pittsburgh
Baltimore*
Cincinnati
Cleveland
East
Miami
New England
J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS!
Buffalo
* I need help deciding on my 3rd keeper in a fantasy football league. My first 2 are no brainers: wideouts Steve Smith and Terrell Owens. My 3rd is either Willis McGahee or Eli Manning, who I'm convinced makes the Carson Palmeresque leap here in his 3rd season into elite status (well at least until the playoffs when he melts down just like his brother). I have to keep at least one running back, right? RIGHT?
* College football is right around the corner. Remember kids, for the sake of the student-athletes we can't have a playoff system because it would take too much time away from studies. But we CAN add a mandatory 12th game (13 if you play Hawaii), and start games in almost mid-August. No contradiction there. Glad to know they've got the players well-being, and BILLIONS of dollars, in mind here.
* Despite that I"m positively giddy at the thought of college football. Sure my UDub Huskies and the local Minnesota Golden Gophers will be lucky to combine for the 6 wins to be eligible for one of like 98 bowl games, but I'm still positively excited. With Vince Young graduating and like half of USC under investigation, things are as wide-open as ever this year. All the top teams have a ton of talent and plenty of question marks. You have to like West Virginia's chances of running the table, and I think Auburn has a good chance to do the same in an impossibly tough SEC. Still, if USC doesn't lose Dwayne Jarrett for more than a game or two, I think USC returns to the national title game. Remember what happened last time they had to replace a Heisman winning quarterback.
* Is there even a question that Texas will lose to Oklahoma this year? Stoops has beaten UT every year when the talent levels have been close, and now that VY is gone, so are the Horns chances of beating the Sooners. Sure Jamaal Charles and their usual good D will be tough, but there's no overcoming having to start a freshman QB- or having Mack Brown have to outcoach Stoops.
* We're about 2 weeks away from the baseball trade deadline, and there are a grand total of 7 teams that can be considered out of the running (Tampa, Baltimore, KC, Cleveland, Washington, Pittsburgh and the Cubbies). A few more may drop out (i.e. Seattle as long as Hargrove continues to manage and insists on using Carl Everett as his DH. You or I could hit as poorly as C-Rex right now) but there's going to be a lot of teams buying and very few selling. Why can't the trade deadline be pushed back to mid-August?
* Don't look now, but after getting destroyed by the Yankees this weekend, the White Sox have come back to the pack. Looks like we'll have a wild card race after all!
* Finally, my other laugh-out-loud moment from the weekend: watching a preview for Talledega Nights and hearing the names of Ricky Bobby's sons. Walker, and Texas Ranger. HA! Wow I'm dying right now just thinking about that! August 4th can't come soon enough!
* Speaking of unmotivated AND football (how's that for a transition) I managed to preview 2 NFL divisions before realizing I'm not going to finish the preview this year either. Hey I tried, but summer classes keep getting in the way. Who do I hate more: the person who invented the idea of classes in the summer, or me for taking them? You're right, it's me. I'm an idiot.
* So to finish off the preview, here's my predicted order of finish for the other 6 divisions...and I'll throw in the NFC West and South again just for %^&* and giggles. (* denotes wild card)
NFC
West
St Louis
Seattle*
Arizona
San Fran
South
Carolina
Atlanta
Tampa
New Orleans
North
Chicago
Minnesota
Detroit
Green Bay
East
NY Giants (Eli makes The Leap this year)
Dallas*
Washington
Philly
AFC
West
Kansas City (LJ cracks 2000 yds this year)
Denver*
San Diego
Oakland
South
Indy
Jacksonville
Houston
Tennessee
North
Pittsburgh
Baltimore*
Cincinnati
Cleveland
East
Miami
New England
J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS!
Buffalo
* I need help deciding on my 3rd keeper in a fantasy football league. My first 2 are no brainers: wideouts Steve Smith and Terrell Owens. My 3rd is either Willis McGahee or Eli Manning, who I'm convinced makes the Carson Palmeresque leap here in his 3rd season into elite status (well at least until the playoffs when he melts down just like his brother). I have to keep at least one running back, right? RIGHT?
* College football is right around the corner. Remember kids, for the sake of the student-athletes we can't have a playoff system because it would take too much time away from studies. But we CAN add a mandatory 12th game (13 if you play Hawaii), and start games in almost mid-August. No contradiction there. Glad to know they've got the players well-being, and BILLIONS of dollars, in mind here.
* Despite that I"m positively giddy at the thought of college football. Sure my UDub Huskies and the local Minnesota Golden Gophers will be lucky to combine for the 6 wins to be eligible for one of like 98 bowl games, but I'm still positively excited. With Vince Young graduating and like half of USC under investigation, things are as wide-open as ever this year. All the top teams have a ton of talent and plenty of question marks. You have to like West Virginia's chances of running the table, and I think Auburn has a good chance to do the same in an impossibly tough SEC. Still, if USC doesn't lose Dwayne Jarrett for more than a game or two, I think USC returns to the national title game. Remember what happened last time they had to replace a Heisman winning quarterback.
* Is there even a question that Texas will lose to Oklahoma this year? Stoops has beaten UT every year when the talent levels have been close, and now that VY is gone, so are the Horns chances of beating the Sooners. Sure Jamaal Charles and their usual good D will be tough, but there's no overcoming having to start a freshman QB- or having Mack Brown have to outcoach Stoops.
* We're about 2 weeks away from the baseball trade deadline, and there are a grand total of 7 teams that can be considered out of the running (Tampa, Baltimore, KC, Cleveland, Washington, Pittsburgh and the Cubbies). A few more may drop out (i.e. Seattle as long as Hargrove continues to manage and insists on using Carl Everett as his DH. You or I could hit as poorly as C-Rex right now) but there's going to be a lot of teams buying and very few selling. Why can't the trade deadline be pushed back to mid-August?
* Don't look now, but after getting destroyed by the Yankees this weekend, the White Sox have come back to the pack. Looks like we'll have a wild card race after all!
* Finally, my other laugh-out-loud moment from the weekend: watching a preview for Talledega Nights and hearing the names of Ricky Bobby's sons. Walker, and Texas Ranger. HA! Wow I'm dying right now just thinking about that! August 4th can't come soon enough!
Friday, July 07, 2006
Jeff: The Time to Deal KG Is Now
Before I take the plunge into the darkness of "we need to trade KG" territory, let me first say congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs. Jer.
Onto the business at hand. Jer is the most passionate Minnesota sports fan that I know, and is just as passionate about Kevin Garnett. The fact Jer stated in his post just below this one that although it would kill him to see KG go, that it'd be good for Kev because he's not going to win a ring here, well, he's right. KG's not winning a ring here. I thought Strib columnist Jim Souhan put it best last week, saying
"What is wrong with the Wolves, Garnett can't fix alone, and that's his only option if he stays."
I couldn't have said it any simpler. Garnett is in a no-win situation because the roster is essentiall locked for his remaining three years on his contract. Thanks to the moves made by GM Kevin McHale, the Wolves are capped out for the remainder of Garnett's tenure in Minnesota, meaning not only can they not add any viable players via free agency, but they can't trade for any either because the guys that ARE eating up salary (i.e Mark Blount, Marko Jaric and Troy Hudson) are virtually untradeable at this point. So what you're stuck with is a team that at its best is good enough for the 7th or 8th playoff spot (meaning you get whipped in the first round) or at worst the 7-14th worst lottery team (and not bad enough to get into the top 5 where you've got a decent chance at landing a high pick).
So basically the Wolves you saw last year are the Wolves you'll see through 2008-- and that's IF Garnett doesn't force a trade before then, which he almost certainly would. Garnett deserves a shot at at title, and there is not only the perfect destination out there for him right now, but it's a place that can also give the Wolves some great building pieces back. Not only that, but a trade for Garnett now is going to net you more than it would say in February before the deadline when everyone knows you HAVE to trade him.
Ladies and gentlemen, the next destination for Kevin Garnett should be: the Chicago Bulls.
Bloggers and fans and even the media often make a common error when suggesting trades: they only look at one side. People like to think you can combine a few of your fringe players together in a big bundle and bring back an all-star. Not going to happen, even with Isiah Thomas still employed in New York (at least until Christmas). Chicago has been a rumored destination for KG for awhile because he spent his senior year of high school there, AND the Bulls have some nice young players, as well as the cap room to absorb KG's mammoth contract without Minnesota having to take back a bad contract to match salaries. The rumors continue to swirl because it makes so much sense for both sides.
First there's Chicago. GM John Paxson has rebuilt the Bulls beautifully with young players and plenty of cap space, but the signing of Ben Wallace earlier this week for a fat salary actually ENHANCES the Wolves bargaining position. With Garnett, plus Wallace as the inside defender and rebounder every team would love, along with uberpoint guard Kirk Heinrich and a bevy of talented wing players, the Bulls are the new favorites to represent the East in the Finals. And although I don't think the BUlls would be better than Phoenix, Dallas or San Antonio, as the Heat showed this past year and the Pistons showed 3 years ago, if you're good enough to get there, even if you're not favored on paper, you can be good enough to win it. Garnett's 31, Wallace is 30, and together you've got a 4 year window for a championship run. Without Garnett the Bulls still have a gaping hole at the 4 spot, and no inside scorer. They're improved, but probably only the 4th best team in the East. And Paxson knows this. The Ben Wallace signing turned Garnett from a luxury to a necessity for the Bulls. No one else makes as much sense for them as he would, and nobody would work as well as he would. He's the guy they now HAVE to have to make the Wallace signing a good move.
For the Wolves? It's the only trade partner that makes sense, as long as you get one thing: Chicago's 1st round pick for the upcoming 2007 draft- and along with it, the right to swap that pick with the Knicks (which you're 99.99999999% guaranteed to do because of how awful the Knicks will be this coming season). Paxson has been very, very, VERY reluctant to include this pick in any deals for anybody. Why? If you haven't heard, the 2007 draft is being lauded by people in the basketball community as anything from the best draft in years to the best in decades. There are 5 bonafide potential superstars expected to declare, the best of the bunch being Ohio State-bound center Greg Oden. Oden has been touted since he was a high school freshman as the best big man since Tim Duncan or David Robinson. After he destroys the Big 10 next year, you'll see that those comparisons are accurate. The other elite prospects aren't too shabby either and would go a long way towards hitting the fast-forward button on rebuilding for whatever team is lucky enough to have a pick in the top 5. And here's the thing: if the Wolves demand that Chicago/Knicks pick be included for Garnett, Minnesota has a very real chance of having not one but TWO top 5 picks next year. That's a helluva way to start the post-KG era in Minnesota.
I did some research on this (thanks to realgm.com for the info) and it looks like McHale wasn't quite as dumb as I'd feared. Although his trade of Sam Cassell AND a conditional #1 pick for Marko Jaric is still one of the worst deals of the decade so far, the Clippers are by no means guaranteed Minnesota's pick for 2007. The pick is top 10 protected through 2011, so if you dealt Garnett, the WOlves would be a very bad team, all but assuring them of keeping their pick. So there's plus what should be the pick from an also very bad Knicks team means the Wolves now have 2 chances at landing Oden in the lottery, or at worst, two picks in the top 6 or 7 of a great draft.
So that pick HAS to be included. Again, Paxson will not want to part with this for the reasons mentioned above, but it just doesn't make sense for Minnesota to trade KG if this pick isn't included. Paxson knows how valuable the pick is, but he also knows the time is now to get KG to make a run for the title, and his opportunity may not be as good if he waits.
IF the pick is included, it's reasonable for the Wolves to get two more guys back. I know a draft pick and two non-allstar players for a guy like Garnett doesn't sound like much for Wolves fans, but hear me out. I've already explained what getting that pick will do, and adding two more from the Bulls young core would be a steal. One of those guys NEEDS to be Tyrus Thomas, the Bulls lottery pick from this past draft. He's long, athletic, and most importantly, the kid works his ass off. The biggest gamble teams have to take on these kids now is whether they're going to be willing to work or not. With most of them you never can tell, but Thomas has been a workout warrior in his two years at LSU, and from everything I've read, that should continue. He's about as safe a bet to be an allstar down the line as anyone selected in the 2006 draft, and if the Chicago had Wallace AND Garnett he wouldn't play much anyways, so he's expendable.
Your third guy is one of the following three: combo guard Ben Gordon, swingman Luol Deng, or swingman J.R. Smith. Gordon was a hot rumor for awhile, and although I really like him, the Wolves drafting combo guard Randy Foye eliviates the need to get BenGo. As good as these two could be, having two guards 6'4 or under in the backcourt would cause you problems defensively. Deng is a Dukie that came out a year or two too early, but is a great athlete, good defender, smart player, and a great kid to boot. He's expendable for Chicago because of how well Andres Nocionni played in the past playoffs. Still, the guy I'd target would be Smith, the 6'6 super athletic wingman who doesn't turn 21 until September. The Bulls just picked him up from the Hornets, as he got into Coach Byron Scott's doghouse and couldn't get out. Still the kid has oodles of potential, and has more of that magical "upside" than the other two. Better still, the kid is getting paid next to nothing, so if he doesn't pan out in his one-year tryout or cops more of that bad attitude, he's still very tradeable because there'll ALWAYS be somebody willing to take a chance on a then 22-year old athletic swingman with a cheap contract.
2006 would be a tough year. Ok, ok, 2006 for the Wolves would be an out and out Gong Show. But if you're not going to make the playoffs WITH Garnett, it'd be worth it to put yourself in this situation without him to be completely unwatchable for 2006-- and then have the best young team in basketball in 2007 and beyond. For the start of 2007 you'd have two high lottery picks who'd be able to make an immediate impact, plus Ty Thomas and Foye with a year under their belt, JR Smith, AND a healthy Rashad McCants. That's 6 guys for 5 spots. Give them 2007 to battle it out, and then package one or two with your remaining gawd-awful contracts for cap relief and role players to fill out your roster. Voila!! In less than 2 years you go from borderline playoff contender with no hope, to burgeoning playoff contender with the brightest future in the league!
You never want to have to deal a player the caliber of Garnett, but if you have to, this is the best you're going to find at turning things around in a hurry. As Jer said, Garnett deserves a shot to win a title, and he'd get it right now in Chicago. The Wolves deserve a new guy running the team, but since they can't get that, a white hot young nucleaus of talent to replace The Franchise is as good as they can ask for.
Onto the business at hand. Jer is the most passionate Minnesota sports fan that I know, and is just as passionate about Kevin Garnett. The fact Jer stated in his post just below this one that although it would kill him to see KG go, that it'd be good for Kev because he's not going to win a ring here, well, he's right. KG's not winning a ring here. I thought Strib columnist Jim Souhan put it best last week, saying
"What is wrong with the Wolves, Garnett can't fix alone, and that's his only option if he stays."
I couldn't have said it any simpler. Garnett is in a no-win situation because the roster is essentiall locked for his remaining three years on his contract. Thanks to the moves made by GM Kevin McHale, the Wolves are capped out for the remainder of Garnett's tenure in Minnesota, meaning not only can they not add any viable players via free agency, but they can't trade for any either because the guys that ARE eating up salary (i.e Mark Blount, Marko Jaric and Troy Hudson) are virtually untradeable at this point. So what you're stuck with is a team that at its best is good enough for the 7th or 8th playoff spot (meaning you get whipped in the first round) or at worst the 7-14th worst lottery team (and not bad enough to get into the top 5 where you've got a decent chance at landing a high pick).
So basically the Wolves you saw last year are the Wolves you'll see through 2008-- and that's IF Garnett doesn't force a trade before then, which he almost certainly would. Garnett deserves a shot at at title, and there is not only the perfect destination out there for him right now, but it's a place that can also give the Wolves some great building pieces back. Not only that, but a trade for Garnett now is going to net you more than it would say in February before the deadline when everyone knows you HAVE to trade him.
Ladies and gentlemen, the next destination for Kevin Garnett should be: the Chicago Bulls.
Bloggers and fans and even the media often make a common error when suggesting trades: they only look at one side. People like to think you can combine a few of your fringe players together in a big bundle and bring back an all-star. Not going to happen, even with Isiah Thomas still employed in New York (at least until Christmas). Chicago has been a rumored destination for KG for awhile because he spent his senior year of high school there, AND the Bulls have some nice young players, as well as the cap room to absorb KG's mammoth contract without Minnesota having to take back a bad contract to match salaries. The rumors continue to swirl because it makes so much sense for both sides.
First there's Chicago. GM John Paxson has rebuilt the Bulls beautifully with young players and plenty of cap space, but the signing of Ben Wallace earlier this week for a fat salary actually ENHANCES the Wolves bargaining position. With Garnett, plus Wallace as the inside defender and rebounder every team would love, along with uberpoint guard Kirk Heinrich and a bevy of talented wing players, the Bulls are the new favorites to represent the East in the Finals. And although I don't think the BUlls would be better than Phoenix, Dallas or San Antonio, as the Heat showed this past year and the Pistons showed 3 years ago, if you're good enough to get there, even if you're not favored on paper, you can be good enough to win it. Garnett's 31, Wallace is 30, and together you've got a 4 year window for a championship run. Without Garnett the Bulls still have a gaping hole at the 4 spot, and no inside scorer. They're improved, but probably only the 4th best team in the East. And Paxson knows this. The Ben Wallace signing turned Garnett from a luxury to a necessity for the Bulls. No one else makes as much sense for them as he would, and nobody would work as well as he would. He's the guy they now HAVE to have to make the Wallace signing a good move.
For the Wolves? It's the only trade partner that makes sense, as long as you get one thing: Chicago's 1st round pick for the upcoming 2007 draft- and along with it, the right to swap that pick with the Knicks (which you're 99.99999999% guaranteed to do because of how awful the Knicks will be this coming season). Paxson has been very, very, VERY reluctant to include this pick in any deals for anybody. Why? If you haven't heard, the 2007 draft is being lauded by people in the basketball community as anything from the best draft in years to the best in decades. There are 5 bonafide potential superstars expected to declare, the best of the bunch being Ohio State-bound center Greg Oden. Oden has been touted since he was a high school freshman as the best big man since Tim Duncan or David Robinson. After he destroys the Big 10 next year, you'll see that those comparisons are accurate. The other elite prospects aren't too shabby either and would go a long way towards hitting the fast-forward button on rebuilding for whatever team is lucky enough to have a pick in the top 5. And here's the thing: if the Wolves demand that Chicago/Knicks pick be included for Garnett, Minnesota has a very real chance of having not one but TWO top 5 picks next year. That's a helluva way to start the post-KG era in Minnesota.
I did some research on this (thanks to realgm.com for the info) and it looks like McHale wasn't quite as dumb as I'd feared. Although his trade of Sam Cassell AND a conditional #1 pick for Marko Jaric is still one of the worst deals of the decade so far, the Clippers are by no means guaranteed Minnesota's pick for 2007. The pick is top 10 protected through 2011, so if you dealt Garnett, the WOlves would be a very bad team, all but assuring them of keeping their pick. So there's plus what should be the pick from an also very bad Knicks team means the Wolves now have 2 chances at landing Oden in the lottery, or at worst, two picks in the top 6 or 7 of a great draft.
So that pick HAS to be included. Again, Paxson will not want to part with this for the reasons mentioned above, but it just doesn't make sense for Minnesota to trade KG if this pick isn't included. Paxson knows how valuable the pick is, but he also knows the time is now to get KG to make a run for the title, and his opportunity may not be as good if he waits.
IF the pick is included, it's reasonable for the Wolves to get two more guys back. I know a draft pick and two non-allstar players for a guy like Garnett doesn't sound like much for Wolves fans, but hear me out. I've already explained what getting that pick will do, and adding two more from the Bulls young core would be a steal. One of those guys NEEDS to be Tyrus Thomas, the Bulls lottery pick from this past draft. He's long, athletic, and most importantly, the kid works his ass off. The biggest gamble teams have to take on these kids now is whether they're going to be willing to work or not. With most of them you never can tell, but Thomas has been a workout warrior in his two years at LSU, and from everything I've read, that should continue. He's about as safe a bet to be an allstar down the line as anyone selected in the 2006 draft, and if the Chicago had Wallace AND Garnett he wouldn't play much anyways, so he's expendable.
Your third guy is one of the following three: combo guard Ben Gordon, swingman Luol Deng, or swingman J.R. Smith. Gordon was a hot rumor for awhile, and although I really like him, the Wolves drafting combo guard Randy Foye eliviates the need to get BenGo. As good as these two could be, having two guards 6'4 or under in the backcourt would cause you problems defensively. Deng is a Dukie that came out a year or two too early, but is a great athlete, good defender, smart player, and a great kid to boot. He's expendable for Chicago because of how well Andres Nocionni played in the past playoffs. Still, the guy I'd target would be Smith, the 6'6 super athletic wingman who doesn't turn 21 until September. The Bulls just picked him up from the Hornets, as he got into Coach Byron Scott's doghouse and couldn't get out. Still the kid has oodles of potential, and has more of that magical "upside" than the other two. Better still, the kid is getting paid next to nothing, so if he doesn't pan out in his one-year tryout or cops more of that bad attitude, he's still very tradeable because there'll ALWAYS be somebody willing to take a chance on a then 22-year old athletic swingman with a cheap contract.
2006 would be a tough year. Ok, ok, 2006 for the Wolves would be an out and out Gong Show. But if you're not going to make the playoffs WITH Garnett, it'd be worth it to put yourself in this situation without him to be completely unwatchable for 2006-- and then have the best young team in basketball in 2007 and beyond. For the start of 2007 you'd have two high lottery picks who'd be able to make an immediate impact, plus Ty Thomas and Foye with a year under their belt, JR Smith, AND a healthy Rashad McCants. That's 6 guys for 5 spots. Give them 2007 to battle it out, and then package one or two with your remaining gawd-awful contracts for cap relief and role players to fill out your roster. Voila!! In less than 2 years you go from borderline playoff contender with no hope, to burgeoning playoff contender with the brightest future in the league!
You never want to have to deal a player the caliber of Garnett, but if you have to, this is the best you're going to find at turning things around in a hurry. As Jer said, Garnett deserves a shot to win a title, and he'd get it right now in Chicago. The Wolves deserve a new guy running the team, but since they can't get that, a white hot young nucleaus of talent to replace The Franchise is as good as they can ask for.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Jeremy: Wolves Quickie
It's so hard to get a trade done on the NBA, isn't that right Kevin McHale? Weird, seems like the GM's of the Bulls and the Hornets don't seem to think it's all that difficult. The Mavs and Pacers also don't seem to find it too difficult. Of course, it might be the case that their GM's didn't hog-tie them with ridiculous contracts to past-their-prime players constantly over the past 5 years.
A couple of things bother me with who the Wolves are supposedly pursuing.
Does it bother anyone else that Mike James is 31 years old and just, FUNNY!, had his best season as a pro last year before his free-agent season for a horrible team that had minimal scoring options?
Also, anyone else concerned by the fact that the two guys that Wolves are most heavily interested in (reportedly) are 31 (James) and 30 (Lorenzen Wright) respectively?
Look, Lorenzen Wright adds size to your team, rebounds, and that's about it. He's averaging less than 9 points a game for his career and has a pretty low field goal % for a big man, 46%.
Yet another off-season of minimal moves with likely poor results.
I still would hate to see the Wolves trade Garnett, but for KG's sake, not the Wolves, I think it's time for him to go. Garnett is my favorite athlete ever and it makes me sick to see him subject to Kevin McHale's janky management and poor talent evaluation. He deserves a shot at a championship, something I fear he'll never get in a Wolves uniform.
A couple of things bother me with who the Wolves are supposedly pursuing.
Does it bother anyone else that Mike James is 31 years old and just, FUNNY!, had his best season as a pro last year before his free-agent season for a horrible team that had minimal scoring options?
Also, anyone else concerned by the fact that the two guys that Wolves are most heavily interested in (reportedly) are 31 (James) and 30 (Lorenzen Wright) respectively?
Look, Lorenzen Wright adds size to your team, rebounds, and that's about it. He's averaging less than 9 points a game for his career and has a pretty low field goal % for a big man, 46%.
Yet another off-season of minimal moves with likely poor results.
I still would hate to see the Wolves trade Garnett, but for KG's sake, not the Wolves, I think it's time for him to go. Garnett is my favorite athlete ever and it makes me sick to see him subject to Kevin McHale's janky management and poor talent evaluation. He deserves a shot at a championship, something I fear he'll never get in a Wolves uniform.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Jeff: The Monday Musings
* Now that the ballpark issue has been settled in Minnesota, the looming question for the Twins has now become what to do with Torii Hunter? The guy HAS been the face of the franchise, but with the emergence of Joe Mauer and Hunter being owed $12 million for next season, he could be roaming center field for some other team by August. Local scribes have scoffed at the idea that trading Hunter is a necessity, that with the new ballpark coming, the Twins can now afford to keep him and show Twins fans they're serious about spending for a winner. Hunter had been relatively quiet of late, saying all the right things when asked about his future in the Land O' Lakes. But today in Ken Rosenthal's column, Hunter for the first time says he'd like to play elsewhere to save his legs from 4 more years of pounding on the Metrodome concrete- I mean, turf.
Hopefully, this will encourage Twins GM Terry Ryan to look to move Hunter. THe Twinks have won 14 of 16, but are STILL 11 games behind the Tigers for first, and 9.5 behind the White Sox for the Wild Card lead. Although I'm in the minority on this one, I don't think the Tigers are coming back to earth. They've got veteran hitters up and down their lineup, and most importantly, have one of the league's best pitching staffs. Everyone is in agreement that the White Sox aren't slowing down either. The Twins are close to contending, but I don't think they'll be within striking distance (i.e. 6.5 games back of the Sox) by the end of next month. They need to deal Hunter, Stewart, and Lohse and build around a VERY solid core of Mauer, Santana, Liriano, Nathan and Morneau. Twins fans will keep coming to the park to watch those guys this year, and I believe are smart enough to understand that building for a very bright future makes more sense than a futile run at an unreachable playoff spot this year.
* Baseball's All-star game has officially become a joke. Fan voting is all the rage in all the major sports, because apparently these leagues believe fans will be more likely to watch if they get to vote in players. Well that's certainly true if you live in Boston and New York, because the Red Sox and Yankees are dominating the voting, and there's going to be more deserving players left at home because of it. Yanks or Sawks are the leading vote-getters at 6 of 8 positions for the American League, and only two- David Ortiz and Derek Jeter- are deserving. The all-star game is a mere popularity contest for the largest markets, and because of this some deserving players will be left at home. Most notably is Twins catcher Joe Mauer, who as of today is leading the majors in hitting at .369, but is probably won't be an all-star in 2006. Sox catcher Jason Varitek is leading, and has no business playing in the all-star game. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen gets to choose the reserves, and has already said he'll take his own guy, A.J. Pierzynski, as the backup instead of Mauer. Sure, Guillen can point to his team having a great year and currently having ZERO all-star starters, as well as only getting to take one of his two prized first basemen. A legitimate beef, but don't take out your frustrations on a deserving guy. At least the game's best left-handed hitter, Big Papi, will be keeping Konerko or Thome out of the all-star game. There is catcher more deserving than Mauer but because of politics and biased fan-voting, Mauer won't get to go. Nice work, MLB: here's an opportunity to promote one of your rising young stars in the league, but instead you'd rather shove the overhyped Sox/Yankees rivalry down our throats one more time. Feel free to waste your time trying to vote in Mauer here.
* I'll let the Strib's Jim Souhan say what Jer won't let me: the Wolves need to consider dealing Garnett.
And I'll add something Souhan didn't: IF the Wolves could get from the Bulls the #2 pick, next year's #1 from the Knicks, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng they couldn't pull the trigger fast enough for me. Although this would be the first time in history Kevin McHale has actually gotten 1st round picks instead of giving them away.
* I'm probably the only person in America who got excited about all the wheelings and dealings from the NHL's draft weekend, but I thought I'd share my joy anyways. Not only did my Vancouver Canucks make a HUGE deal to get Roberto Luongo, the franchise goalie we haven't had since...ok well we've never had a franchise goalie. But we got rid of Todd Bertuzzi in the process. Look, I was a big Bertuzzi guy even after the Steve Moore incident. It was tragic what happened to Moore and I wish him the best but the media's hatred of Big Bert was ridiculous. I've seen worse hits than his (Claude Lemieux hitting Kris Draper face-first into the boards is one example), but people who didn't care about and don't understand hockey took this as their chance to take shots at a game I love. Bertuzzi deserved the suspension he got, and I would have been fine with him getting another 30 games or so to start last season, but people's inability to move on baffles me.
However, it was obvious after the incident Bert needed a change of scenery. He may never be the same player he was before the lockout, but if it's going to happen, it wasn't going to be in Vancouver. If Canucks GM Dave Nonis can lock-up (Lock it up! No YOU LOCK IT UP!) Luongo long-term my boys are on the fast-track back to Cup Contention. And in an added bonus, it creates the opportunity to get rid of extremely overrated goalie Dan Cloutier, who has basically been the bane of my existence.
* Great move by the Minnesota Wild to get Pavol Demitra from the LA Kings over the weekend. Yes, the Wild had to give up promising center Patrick O'Sullivan and the #17 pick from Saturday's draft, but the ramifications of this deal could be twice as nice. Demitra is a solid 2-way player that will finally give the Wild another bonafide sniper. Not only that, he and Marion Gaborik, the youngster the Wild are trying to keep, are good friends and showed great chemistry in the World Cup. This move not only boosts their offense now, but if it can encourage Gaborik to stay, it'll be a huge boost to the team for years to come.
Hopefully, this will encourage Twins GM Terry Ryan to look to move Hunter. THe Twinks have won 14 of 16, but are STILL 11 games behind the Tigers for first, and 9.5 behind the White Sox for the Wild Card lead. Although I'm in the minority on this one, I don't think the Tigers are coming back to earth. They've got veteran hitters up and down their lineup, and most importantly, have one of the league's best pitching staffs. Everyone is in agreement that the White Sox aren't slowing down either. The Twins are close to contending, but I don't think they'll be within striking distance (i.e. 6.5 games back of the Sox) by the end of next month. They need to deal Hunter, Stewart, and Lohse and build around a VERY solid core of Mauer, Santana, Liriano, Nathan and Morneau. Twins fans will keep coming to the park to watch those guys this year, and I believe are smart enough to understand that building for a very bright future makes more sense than a futile run at an unreachable playoff spot this year.
* Baseball's All-star game has officially become a joke. Fan voting is all the rage in all the major sports, because apparently these leagues believe fans will be more likely to watch if they get to vote in players. Well that's certainly true if you live in Boston and New York, because the Red Sox and Yankees are dominating the voting, and there's going to be more deserving players left at home because of it. Yanks or Sawks are the leading vote-getters at 6 of 8 positions for the American League, and only two- David Ortiz and Derek Jeter- are deserving. The all-star game is a mere popularity contest for the largest markets, and because of this some deserving players will be left at home. Most notably is Twins catcher Joe Mauer, who as of today is leading the majors in hitting at .369, but is probably won't be an all-star in 2006. Sox catcher Jason Varitek is leading, and has no business playing in the all-star game. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen gets to choose the reserves, and has already said he'll take his own guy, A.J. Pierzynski, as the backup instead of Mauer. Sure, Guillen can point to his team having a great year and currently having ZERO all-star starters, as well as only getting to take one of his two prized first basemen. A legitimate beef, but don't take out your frustrations on a deserving guy. At least the game's best left-handed hitter, Big Papi, will be keeping Konerko or Thome out of the all-star game. There is catcher more deserving than Mauer but because of politics and biased fan-voting, Mauer won't get to go. Nice work, MLB: here's an opportunity to promote one of your rising young stars in the league, but instead you'd rather shove the overhyped Sox/Yankees rivalry down our throats one more time. Feel free to waste your time trying to vote in Mauer here.
* I'll let the Strib's Jim Souhan say what Jer won't let me: the Wolves need to consider dealing Garnett.
And I'll add something Souhan didn't: IF the Wolves could get from the Bulls the #2 pick, next year's #1 from the Knicks, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng they couldn't pull the trigger fast enough for me. Although this would be the first time in history Kevin McHale has actually gotten 1st round picks instead of giving them away.
* I'm probably the only person in America who got excited about all the wheelings and dealings from the NHL's draft weekend, but I thought I'd share my joy anyways. Not only did my Vancouver Canucks make a HUGE deal to get Roberto Luongo, the franchise goalie we haven't had since...ok well we've never had a franchise goalie. But we got rid of Todd Bertuzzi in the process. Look, I was a big Bertuzzi guy even after the Steve Moore incident. It was tragic what happened to Moore and I wish him the best but the media's hatred of Big Bert was ridiculous. I've seen worse hits than his (Claude Lemieux hitting Kris Draper face-first into the boards is one example), but people who didn't care about and don't understand hockey took this as their chance to take shots at a game I love. Bertuzzi deserved the suspension he got, and I would have been fine with him getting another 30 games or so to start last season, but people's inability to move on baffles me.
However, it was obvious after the incident Bert needed a change of scenery. He may never be the same player he was before the lockout, but if it's going to happen, it wasn't going to be in Vancouver. If Canucks GM Dave Nonis can lock-up (Lock it up! No YOU LOCK IT UP!) Luongo long-term my boys are on the fast-track back to Cup Contention. And in an added bonus, it creates the opportunity to get rid of extremely overrated goalie Dan Cloutier, who has basically been the bane of my existence.
* Great move by the Minnesota Wild to get Pavol Demitra from the LA Kings over the weekend. Yes, the Wild had to give up promising center Patrick O'Sullivan and the #17 pick from Saturday's draft, but the ramifications of this deal could be twice as nice. Demitra is a solid 2-way player that will finally give the Wild another bonafide sniper. Not only that, he and Marion Gaborik, the youngster the Wild are trying to keep, are good friends and showed great chemistry in the World Cup. This move not only boosts their offense now, but if it can encourage Gaborik to stay, it'll be a huge boost to the team for years to come.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Jeff: NFC South
Welcome back to the on-going still running division-by-division NFL Preview. Sure, I should probably be commenting on the NBA Finals, but really The Sports Guy said everything yesterday better than I could have. Dwyane Wade is an amazing talent, but watching him go 1-on-5 and knowing the refs will blow the whistle on Dallas everytime he drives, even if a) Wade is the one initiating contact by jumping into somebody or throwing a forearm out to create space or b)there's no contact whatsoever. Wade's a fantastic player, and apparently I'm alone in believing that he's good enough to not have the refs help him by sending him to the line everytime he misses a shot because MY GAWD if Wade missed he MUST have been fouled!! Anyway, congrats to the Heat for being the NBA 1-on-5 champs of 2006.
Anywho, back to football. The South boasted 3 playoff-caliber teams last season, getting two into the postseason. This year, the Saints could make it 4 playoff eligible teams, but the division will only get 1 playoff team for 2 reasons: 1) 3 of the 4 have some glaring holes that will hold them back, and 2)the schedules are just brutal. In this age of parity, scheduling definitely makes a difference, and not only will these 4 beat up on each other, their matchups with a much improved AFC North will be just as tough. Still, I believe the NFC's Super Bowl representative resides here. Now on with it!
4. New Orleans Saints:
I'm more bullish on this team than most. Drew Bress could be the most important free agent signing in team history, because his impact on the team and community will go well beyond his accomplishments on the football field. Since high school Brees has been cast as the underdog, and it's a role he's relished. After his release by San Diego (honestly, what the hell was GM AJ Smith thinking?), Brees once again has a chip on his shoulder, and joins a franchise and town with ones as well. Yes he signed here for the big bucks, but he also truly believes he can lead this team to a title, and help rebuild the great city of New Orleans. I for one, am a believer. Sure he has no Antonio Gates or Ladanian Tomlinson, but his line and receivers are better, RB Deuce McAllister is on schedule recovering from knee surgery, and didn't they draft somebody pretty good in the 1st round?
WHAT HAS TO GO RIGHT:
Too bad getting an easier schedule isn't an option. They open with 2 of their "easiest" games on the road, at Cleveland and at Green Bay. And no matter what kind of teams they have, the Dawgpound and Lambeau are two of the toughest venues in football. After that week they play a grand total of 3 more teams who had a sub .500 record in 2005: Philly, Baltimore, and San Fran. Best of luck with that one.
Otherwise, they need to get something out of their defense. The D-line looks solid (and it damn well better considering before this year it seemed like they spent a #1 pick on a D-lineman for 200 years in a row), but as usual the back 7 are questionable.
MOST INTRIGUING MADDEN PLAYER: Reggie Bush, HB/WR/KR/PR/
It's not just that Bush is the most anticipated video game athlete (VGA) in forever, it's that he's the first guy who could really truly possibly legitimately challenge video Bo Jackson as the greatest VGA of all-time. Now for those of you who had the honor and privledge of playing with Video Bo back in the day in Tecmo Bowl, well I don't have to tell you that thinking that anyone, even someone as electrifying as Reggie, could challenge Bo's VGA supremacy is a mighty bold statement. But I'm standing by it. If EA does the man justice (i.e. 97+ speed, 473 agility, 875 acceleration and of course 85 hands as well as mid 70's breaktackle), well then I like his chances. And please, when you get the new Madden, change Reggie's number back to 5. It's the least you can do.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
For years the Bucs and their flaming yellow unis were as laughable as the Clippers, Cardinals, and Washington Generals. Since their uniform change to red, black, something called "puse" and like 19 other colors, the Bucs have been known for a great defense, winning, and that big damn pirate ship in the back of the endzone. The defense, led once again by Derrick Brooks (who seems like he's been around since the days of Red Grange), will have to be as feisty as ever, because this is one average offense. The schedule is downright cruel. They've got 6 games within their division, 4 with the AFC North, and 4 with the NFC East (which could be the league's toughest division). Their other 2 games? THe Bears and Seahawks.
Two other random Bucs notes:
* they have a backup corner named Blue Adams. How many times do you think he's heard "You're my boy Blue!"? Not enough, I'd say.
* Watching the World Cup reminds me that somewhere, former kicker Martin "soccer celebration" Gramatica is crying, wailing, and hurting himself celebrating.
WHAT HAS TO GO RIGHT:
A lot. Chris Simms has to do something he's never done as a football player: live up to his vast potential. Joey Galloway at 76 years old (or 35) needs another career year because Michael Clayton's idea of an offseason workout program has been...well not working out, let's say that. Cadillac Williams needs to stay on the field because even though Mike Pittman played admirably in relief of Caddy last year, he's entering that "uh oh" age for running backs at 32, so the wheels could fall off at any moment. Oh and the O-line? Still no better than average. As I said, this team needs a LOT to go right, and I just don't see it all happening.
MIMP: Caddy Williams, RB
Honestly there's nobody here that really intrigues me- well except guard Toni Fonoti, who could be the first NFL player over 500 pounds. Or 600. During those NFL Skill competition shows they should have an eating contest where Fonoti goes against Takeru Kobayashi, the world eating champion who weighs like 12 pounds. Kobayashi (not to be confused with Kobayashi from the Usual Suspects. Boy there's a mistake you don't make twice) would eat like 50 hotdogs in 10 minutes, and then Fonoti would just eat him, and wash him down with a soda. That'd be fun.
2. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons had themselves a nice little offseason (maybe Bed, Bath & Beyond...I don't know if we'll have time!), trading for underachieving DE John Abrahams, who, if he wants to, could be a bigtime pass-rusher off the edge. Lawyer Malloy can still play as the strong safety, and the Falcons flat-out stole Tech CB Jimmy Williams in the 2nd round. Expect him to be the starter opposite fellow Hokie alum Deangelo Hall by midseason. Offensively, it's the same old story: run, run, run, and then occasionally Mike Vick will try and be a quarterback. Seriously, people, when can we stop pretending Vick will ever be a decent NFL QB (I reached that point at about season 3)? This will be his 6th NFL season, and here's a list of the things he's never done in any one of those years:
* started all 16 games
* completed more than 57% of his passes
* thrown for more than 16 TD's
* had a QB rating higher than 82
He's a helluva athlete with a rocket arm, but he'll never be an effective QB in the NFL. Never. Last season which was the 5th year in a row he was supposed to have a "breakout season" he actually regressed throwing only 15 TD's (19th in the NFL) to 13 INT's for 2412 yards (20th) and a measly 73.1 QB rating (25th). Out of 32 starting QB's in the league his numbers are average. Barely. But hey who am I to burst the bubble of all the Vick Lovers out there? Keep believing that this really IS his breakout year, even though the evidence to support it says otherwise.
Keep on...keep on truckin'. Ok good talk.
WHAT HAS TO GO RIGHT:
Get Matt Schaub on the field because he gives them a better chance to win than Vick does. Seriously. And before you go throwing his meager numbers as a starter at me, there's a reason Hotlanta wanted a 1st round pick for the guy this offseason. He can be a productive QB in this league, and he could be more productive than Vick starting this year. Too bad it won't happen.
MIMP: Deangelo Hall, CB
I know I know I know everybody just loves to use Vick in Madden. BUt for me, I love to use DeAngelo Hall. He's not the biggest guy at 5'10, but his 98 speed and crazy agility, acceleration and jumping always make him one of the first guys I trade for. Oh and he's only 23. Wow.
1. Carolina Panthers
This is the team that could dominate the NFC. The Seahawks finally found an answer to stopping WR Steve Smith, which was make ANYONE else on the offense beat you. This year that won't be so easy. Keyshawn Johnson is a solid possession guy and should make defenses pay for quadruple teaming Smith (it also makes Keary Colbert better by putting him where he should be, as a #3 guy), and when tailback DeShaun Foster gets hurt (the ex UCLA Bruin hasn't played a full season in his 3 years in the league), DeAngelo Williams can step in and actually improve the running game (he SHOULD be starting by the end of the year). The line is very good and Delhomme is dependable and playoff-tested. THe team's only real weakness on offense is at TE, and the fact they somehow didn't manage to draft one of the 17 athletic pass-catching ends in the draft. As Papa Burgandy said to Brian Fantana "That doesn't even make sense." Defensively this is as good as it gets for me. The D-line is the best in football, and the corner tandem of Chris Gamble and Kenny Lucas may be too. And the rest of the guys lining up out there aren't slouches either. This is Carolina's conference to lose.
WHAT MUST GO RIGHT:
Here's some stats from the 2005 regular season to chew on:
Smith had 103 of the teams 269 receptions (that's 38%), 1563 of 3485 yards (45%), and 12 of 25 TD's (48%). No other Carolina receiver had more than 34 catches, 441 yds, or 4 TD's. No matter how amazing Smith is (and he IS amazing!), teams are not going to let him do that to them again. Every team on Carolina's schedule has been watching that NFC Championship tape to see how Seattle finally stopped Smith (which was generally by using 3 or 4 guys on every play against him). The defense and running game are good enough to win the division, but to get to the Super Bowl, the passing game has to be a threat, and that means Keyshawn needs to accept his role as the #2 guy (something he's never had to do thus far), and be damn good at it.
MIMP: Steve Smith, WR
After the Panth beat the Bears in the playoffs last year, here's what I said about Smith:
Honestly, how good is Panthers receiver Steve Smith (12 catch, 218 yds, 2 TD-oh and he ran for another 26 too)?
To paraphrase Red from Shawshank Redemption "the last thing that went through the Chicago Bears heads is how in the hell did Steve Smith ever get the best of them?" It's become a cliche to say that Smith is the ONLY weapon in the Panthers offense, but seriously, when one of the best defenses in football have a week to prepare for him and he not only beats them but DESTROYS them? What do you do with that? What else is the guy capable of? Could he cure cancer? Find Bin Laden? Talk KG into staying in Minnesota? Nothing would surprise me anymore. For the record, Smith IS the only option Carolina has. And for the record, his numbers yesterday were good for half the teams catches, 68% of their receiving yards, and 2/3rds of their TD's. As Ron Burgandy would say "I'm not even mad- that's AMAZING!"
The question for the new Madden won't be how good will they make Steve Smith? It's can they make Steve Smith good enough? Remember, Steve Smith has counted to infinity-TWICE!
Anywho, back to football. The South boasted 3 playoff-caliber teams last season, getting two into the postseason. This year, the Saints could make it 4 playoff eligible teams, but the division will only get 1 playoff team for 2 reasons: 1) 3 of the 4 have some glaring holes that will hold them back, and 2)the schedules are just brutal. In this age of parity, scheduling definitely makes a difference, and not only will these 4 beat up on each other, their matchups with a much improved AFC North will be just as tough. Still, I believe the NFC's Super Bowl representative resides here. Now on with it!
4. New Orleans Saints:
I'm more bullish on this team than most. Drew Bress could be the most important free agent signing in team history, because his impact on the team and community will go well beyond his accomplishments on the football field. Since high school Brees has been cast as the underdog, and it's a role he's relished. After his release by San Diego (honestly, what the hell was GM AJ Smith thinking?), Brees once again has a chip on his shoulder, and joins a franchise and town with ones as well. Yes he signed here for the big bucks, but he also truly believes he can lead this team to a title, and help rebuild the great city of New Orleans. I for one, am a believer. Sure he has no Antonio Gates or Ladanian Tomlinson, but his line and receivers are better, RB Deuce McAllister is on schedule recovering from knee surgery, and didn't they draft somebody pretty good in the 1st round?
WHAT HAS TO GO RIGHT:
Too bad getting an easier schedule isn't an option. They open with 2 of their "easiest" games on the road, at Cleveland and at Green Bay. And no matter what kind of teams they have, the Dawgpound and Lambeau are two of the toughest venues in football. After that week they play a grand total of 3 more teams who had a sub .500 record in 2005: Philly, Baltimore, and San Fran. Best of luck with that one.
Otherwise, they need to get something out of their defense. The D-line looks solid (and it damn well better considering before this year it seemed like they spent a #1 pick on a D-lineman for 200 years in a row), but as usual the back 7 are questionable.
MOST INTRIGUING MADDEN PLAYER: Reggie Bush, HB/WR/KR/PR/
It's not just that Bush is the most anticipated video game athlete (VGA) in forever, it's that he's the first guy who could really truly possibly legitimately challenge video Bo Jackson as the greatest VGA of all-time. Now for those of you who had the honor and privledge of playing with Video Bo back in the day in Tecmo Bowl, well I don't have to tell you that thinking that anyone, even someone as electrifying as Reggie, could challenge Bo's VGA supremacy is a mighty bold statement. But I'm standing by it. If EA does the man justice (i.e. 97+ speed, 473 agility, 875 acceleration and of course 85 hands as well as mid 70's breaktackle), well then I like his chances. And please, when you get the new Madden, change Reggie's number back to 5. It's the least you can do.
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
For years the Bucs and their flaming yellow unis were as laughable as the Clippers, Cardinals, and Washington Generals. Since their uniform change to red, black, something called "puse" and like 19 other colors, the Bucs have been known for a great defense, winning, and that big damn pirate ship in the back of the endzone. The defense, led once again by Derrick Brooks (who seems like he's been around since the days of Red Grange), will have to be as feisty as ever, because this is one average offense. The schedule is downright cruel. They've got 6 games within their division, 4 with the AFC North, and 4 with the NFC East (which could be the league's toughest division). Their other 2 games? THe Bears and Seahawks.
Two other random Bucs notes:
* they have a backup corner named Blue Adams. How many times do you think he's heard "You're my boy Blue!"? Not enough, I'd say.
* Watching the World Cup reminds me that somewhere, former kicker Martin "soccer celebration" Gramatica is crying, wailing, and hurting himself celebrating.
WHAT HAS TO GO RIGHT:
A lot. Chris Simms has to do something he's never done as a football player: live up to his vast potential. Joey Galloway at 76 years old (or 35) needs another career year because Michael Clayton's idea of an offseason workout program has been...well not working out, let's say that. Cadillac Williams needs to stay on the field because even though Mike Pittman played admirably in relief of Caddy last year, he's entering that "uh oh" age for running backs at 32, so the wheels could fall off at any moment. Oh and the O-line? Still no better than average. As I said, this team needs a LOT to go right, and I just don't see it all happening.
MIMP: Caddy Williams, RB
Honestly there's nobody here that really intrigues me- well except guard Toni Fonoti, who could be the first NFL player over 500 pounds. Or 600. During those NFL Skill competition shows they should have an eating contest where Fonoti goes against Takeru Kobayashi, the world eating champion who weighs like 12 pounds. Kobayashi (not to be confused with Kobayashi from the Usual Suspects. Boy there's a mistake you don't make twice) would eat like 50 hotdogs in 10 minutes, and then Fonoti would just eat him, and wash him down with a soda. That'd be fun.
2. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons had themselves a nice little offseason (maybe Bed, Bath & Beyond...I don't know if we'll have time!), trading for underachieving DE John Abrahams, who, if he wants to, could be a bigtime pass-rusher off the edge. Lawyer Malloy can still play as the strong safety, and the Falcons flat-out stole Tech CB Jimmy Williams in the 2nd round. Expect him to be the starter opposite fellow Hokie alum Deangelo Hall by midseason. Offensively, it's the same old story: run, run, run, and then occasionally Mike Vick will try and be a quarterback. Seriously, people, when can we stop pretending Vick will ever be a decent NFL QB (I reached that point at about season 3)? This will be his 6th NFL season, and here's a list of the things he's never done in any one of those years:
* started all 16 games
* completed more than 57% of his passes
* thrown for more than 16 TD's
* had a QB rating higher than 82
He's a helluva athlete with a rocket arm, but he'll never be an effective QB in the NFL. Never. Last season which was the 5th year in a row he was supposed to have a "breakout season" he actually regressed throwing only 15 TD's (19th in the NFL) to 13 INT's for 2412 yards (20th) and a measly 73.1 QB rating (25th). Out of 32 starting QB's in the league his numbers are average. Barely. But hey who am I to burst the bubble of all the Vick Lovers out there? Keep believing that this really IS his breakout year, even though the evidence to support it says otherwise.
Keep on...keep on truckin'. Ok good talk.
WHAT HAS TO GO RIGHT:
Get Matt Schaub on the field because he gives them a better chance to win than Vick does. Seriously. And before you go throwing his meager numbers as a starter at me, there's a reason Hotlanta wanted a 1st round pick for the guy this offseason. He can be a productive QB in this league, and he could be more productive than Vick starting this year. Too bad it won't happen.
MIMP: Deangelo Hall, CB
I know I know I know everybody just loves to use Vick in Madden. BUt for me, I love to use DeAngelo Hall. He's not the biggest guy at 5'10, but his 98 speed and crazy agility, acceleration and jumping always make him one of the first guys I trade for. Oh and he's only 23. Wow.
1. Carolina Panthers
This is the team that could dominate the NFC. The Seahawks finally found an answer to stopping WR Steve Smith, which was make ANYONE else on the offense beat you. This year that won't be so easy. Keyshawn Johnson is a solid possession guy and should make defenses pay for quadruple teaming Smith (it also makes Keary Colbert better by putting him where he should be, as a #3 guy), and when tailback DeShaun Foster gets hurt (the ex UCLA Bruin hasn't played a full season in his 3 years in the league), DeAngelo Williams can step in and actually improve the running game (he SHOULD be starting by the end of the year). The line is very good and Delhomme is dependable and playoff-tested. THe team's only real weakness on offense is at TE, and the fact they somehow didn't manage to draft one of the 17 athletic pass-catching ends in the draft. As Papa Burgandy said to Brian Fantana "That doesn't even make sense." Defensively this is as good as it gets for me. The D-line is the best in football, and the corner tandem of Chris Gamble and Kenny Lucas may be too. And the rest of the guys lining up out there aren't slouches either. This is Carolina's conference to lose.
WHAT MUST GO RIGHT:
Here's some stats from the 2005 regular season to chew on:
Smith had 103 of the teams 269 receptions (that's 38%), 1563 of 3485 yards (45%), and 12 of 25 TD's (48%). No other Carolina receiver had more than 34 catches, 441 yds, or 4 TD's. No matter how amazing Smith is (and he IS amazing!), teams are not going to let him do that to them again. Every team on Carolina's schedule has been watching that NFC Championship tape to see how Seattle finally stopped Smith (which was generally by using 3 or 4 guys on every play against him). The defense and running game are good enough to win the division, but to get to the Super Bowl, the passing game has to be a threat, and that means Keyshawn needs to accept his role as the #2 guy (something he's never had to do thus far), and be damn good at it.
MIMP: Steve Smith, WR
After the Panth beat the Bears in the playoffs last year, here's what I said about Smith:
Honestly, how good is Panthers receiver Steve Smith (12 catch, 218 yds, 2 TD-oh and he ran for another 26 too)?
To paraphrase Red from Shawshank Redemption "the last thing that went through the Chicago Bears heads is how in the hell did Steve Smith ever get the best of them?" It's become a cliche to say that Smith is the ONLY weapon in the Panthers offense, but seriously, when one of the best defenses in football have a week to prepare for him and he not only beats them but DESTROYS them? What do you do with that? What else is the guy capable of? Could he cure cancer? Find Bin Laden? Talk KG into staying in Minnesota? Nothing would surprise me anymore. For the record, Smith IS the only option Carolina has. And for the record, his numbers yesterday were good for half the teams catches, 68% of their receiving yards, and 2/3rds of their TD's. As Ron Burgandy would say "I'm not even mad- that's AMAZING!"
The question for the new Madden won't be how good will they make Steve Smith? It's can they make Steve Smith good enough? Remember, Steve Smith has counted to infinity-TWICE!
Monday, June 19, 2006
Jeff: The Monday Musings
* I don't pretend to understand golf, but was yesterday's final round of the US Open the football equivalent to a 3-0 Super Bowl, where both teams turn it over 12 times each, miss 8 field goals, and only total 300 yards between them? NOBODY could make a shot yesterday! I understand these Major courses are supposed to be incredibly challenging, but the winner finishing at +5? Only 12 golfers scoring under par for a day the ENTIRE TOURNAMENT? And nobody did it more than once? Either Wingfoot was too tough, or nobody showed up.
* Poor Lefty Mickelson. In his post-match interview, he looked and sounded like a guy who had driven his car into the side of house while sleep-walking. It's like he had no idea what he was doing on 18! He IS the real life Tin Cup! He's like the guy who's up big and black jack and can't walk away. He has to have that rush to the very end, even if it means losing everything!
* The only guy more upset than Lefty or Monty yesterday had to be Tiger Woods. The guy misses the cut Friday at +12, which of course ended up being only 7 shots off the lowest score! Tigger's feeling like had he just made a putt here or there on Friday to make the cut, that tournament was his.
* I felt kind of like Lefty Mickelson Saturday after watching the US/Italy futbol match. Had I really just spent the past 2 hours watching a 1-1 tie where the States' only goal came from Italy scoring on itself? How had it happened? Where was my brain when I made this decision? Why didn't I get up from the couch and go do something else? Had I just watched a game where players are not rewarded for passing to a wide-open man (because it's offsides)? Did I really watch a sport where a supposedly good team (The Italians) would drop to the ground like they had been shot if an American player got anywhere near them? I mean, I've heard of diving, but they were taking this to an entirely new level. Twice a guy was taken off on a stretcher, acting as though the pain in his leg was so bad they may have to amputate. And both times, literally just a minute or two later, the guy was back on the field fresh as a daisy. I was shocked that the mob, one of the toughest group of men on the planet, could come from the same country as these floundering, cowering babies. No wonder soccer's never caught on in America-- we actually like our athletes to act like men!
* Speaking of men, there are few bigger in sports right now than Dwayne Wade. Anyone out there still want to take Lebron or Kobe over Wade as the NBA's best player? Anyone? Left for dead after losing the first two games of the series (including by yours truly), Wade has strapped the Heat to his back and has been the One-Man-Mission he's had to be. Yes he's gotten the benefit of some calls, including the one that got him to the line to hit the game-winning free throws, but a) that's nothing new in the NBA for superstars to get calls and b) David Stern couldn't help him hit those free throws. He did all of that on his own!
* By the way, Wade's 3 consecutive Finals games of 35+ points puts him in rarified air: only Shaq (twice), Iverson, Jordan, Rick Barry, and Elgin Baylor have ever done it.
* And what happened to Dirk's "clutchness"? As much as I love The Diggler, I've ripped on him in past season's for not showing up in the playoffs. After his performances against Phoenix, and especially San Antonio, I thought he had finally moved past his old choking ways. But they've certainly returned in THe Finals. So was his "Clutchness" in the first 3 rounds an abberition? Is there some rule where a German player in another sport cannot overshadow his country when they're playing in the World Cup? Is there a time-limit on how successful a guy can be after admitting to liking David Hasselhoff? Is there only so many times we can reference that his dad REALLY wanted him to play handball instead of basketball before the basketball gods finally say "You know what? Maybe you SHOULD have played handball!"?
* In case you're wondering, Dallas wins game 6 tomorrow night, and Miami wins game 7 Thursday night.
* Finally, game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals is tonight (and it's on NBC, a channel you actually get! I would encourage you to watch it, as I will be). Here's my question for the day: what are the Hurricanes telling people in Carolina to get them to show up?
That there's a tractor pull during the intermission?
There'll be a NASCAR race on ice?
Maybe free beer and Toby Keith cd's for anyone showing up wearing red?
Free gun-rack for their pickup for the first 10,000 people?
* Poor Lefty Mickelson. In his post-match interview, he looked and sounded like a guy who had driven his car into the side of house while sleep-walking. It's like he had no idea what he was doing on 18! He IS the real life Tin Cup! He's like the guy who's up big and black jack and can't walk away. He has to have that rush to the very end, even if it means losing everything!
* The only guy more upset than Lefty or Monty yesterday had to be Tiger Woods. The guy misses the cut Friday at +12, which of course ended up being only 7 shots off the lowest score! Tigger's feeling like had he just made a putt here or there on Friday to make the cut, that tournament was his.
* I felt kind of like Lefty Mickelson Saturday after watching the US/Italy futbol match. Had I really just spent the past 2 hours watching a 1-1 tie where the States' only goal came from Italy scoring on itself? How had it happened? Where was my brain when I made this decision? Why didn't I get up from the couch and go do something else? Had I just watched a game where players are not rewarded for passing to a wide-open man (because it's offsides)? Did I really watch a sport where a supposedly good team (The Italians) would drop to the ground like they had been shot if an American player got anywhere near them? I mean, I've heard of diving, but they were taking this to an entirely new level. Twice a guy was taken off on a stretcher, acting as though the pain in his leg was so bad they may have to amputate. And both times, literally just a minute or two later, the guy was back on the field fresh as a daisy. I was shocked that the mob, one of the toughest group of men on the planet, could come from the same country as these floundering, cowering babies. No wonder soccer's never caught on in America-- we actually like our athletes to act like men!
* Speaking of men, there are few bigger in sports right now than Dwayne Wade. Anyone out there still want to take Lebron or Kobe over Wade as the NBA's best player? Anyone? Left for dead after losing the first two games of the series (including by yours truly), Wade has strapped the Heat to his back and has been the One-Man-Mission he's had to be. Yes he's gotten the benefit of some calls, including the one that got him to the line to hit the game-winning free throws, but a) that's nothing new in the NBA for superstars to get calls and b) David Stern couldn't help him hit those free throws. He did all of that on his own!
* By the way, Wade's 3 consecutive Finals games of 35+ points puts him in rarified air: only Shaq (twice), Iverson, Jordan, Rick Barry, and Elgin Baylor have ever done it.
* And what happened to Dirk's "clutchness"? As much as I love The Diggler, I've ripped on him in past season's for not showing up in the playoffs. After his performances against Phoenix, and especially San Antonio, I thought he had finally moved past his old choking ways. But they've certainly returned in THe Finals. So was his "Clutchness" in the first 3 rounds an abberition? Is there some rule where a German player in another sport cannot overshadow his country when they're playing in the World Cup? Is there a time-limit on how successful a guy can be after admitting to liking David Hasselhoff? Is there only so many times we can reference that his dad REALLY wanted him to play handball instead of basketball before the basketball gods finally say "You know what? Maybe you SHOULD have played handball!"?
* In case you're wondering, Dallas wins game 6 tomorrow night, and Miami wins game 7 Thursday night.
* Finally, game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals is tonight (and it's on NBC, a channel you actually get! I would encourage you to watch it, as I will be). Here's my question for the day: what are the Hurricanes telling people in Carolina to get them to show up?
That there's a tractor pull during the intermission?
There'll be a NASCAR race on ice?
Maybe free beer and Toby Keith cd's for anyone showing up wearing red?
Free gun-rack for their pickup for the first 10,000 people?
Friday, June 16, 2006
Jeremy: This isn't good
Last week I asked Jeff for a hiatus from Midwest Sports Rubes. With the wedding coming up quickly and it being the busiest season of the year at work I figured I wouldn't be able to post anything for awhile. But I read something today and I had to comment.
Gary Russell is not coming back to play tailback for the Gophers next year.
Alright, I guess so far nobody is saying for sure, but the bottom line is this: there were minimum requirements for Russell to re-join the Gophers before fall, and he has not met those requirements. (Please see Onterrio Smith and Maurice Clarret for additional stories on athletes with no off-field motivation who in-turn ruined their on-the-field careers.)
I probably don't have to mention this, but this is not good! The Gophers might be in big trouble here. Look, I know that the Gophers run the best zone blocking scheme in the country (thank you Bob Davie for pointing that out and simultaneously re-validating Glen Mason as a coach, I'm sure we won't here anything from Mase about this) but turns out that we have not officially lost our two best, and most mobile, offensive linemen (might be an important part of the zone blocking bit) and have now also lost TWO 1,000 yard rushers. Again, I probably don't have to mention this, but... OUCH.
The Gopher football season now rests squarly on the legs of Amir Pinnix and the arm of Brian Cupito.
Anyone nervous about this?
Gary Russell is not coming back to play tailback for the Gophers next year.
Alright, I guess so far nobody is saying for sure, but the bottom line is this: there were minimum requirements for Russell to re-join the Gophers before fall, and he has not met those requirements. (Please see Onterrio Smith and Maurice Clarret for additional stories on athletes with no off-field motivation who in-turn ruined their on-the-field careers.)
I probably don't have to mention this, but this is not good! The Gophers might be in big trouble here. Look, I know that the Gophers run the best zone blocking scheme in the country (thank you Bob Davie for pointing that out and simultaneously re-validating Glen Mason as a coach, I'm sure we won't here anything from Mase about this) but turns out that we have not officially lost our two best, and most mobile, offensive linemen (might be an important part of the zone blocking bit) and have now also lost TWO 1,000 yard rushers. Again, I probably don't have to mention this, but... OUCH.
The Gopher football season now rests squarly on the legs of Amir Pinnix and the arm of Brian Cupito.
Anyone nervous about this?
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