Opening Day in baseball marks the first day of spring for many. This year is no different as spring is definentely in the air with 4-8 inches of snow.
The thing that kills me year after year is how the Minnesota Twins are so underated at the beginning of each year and this season is no different. Sports Illustrated (a publictation that has the Dolphins and the Panthers, both non playoff teams, playing the Super Bowl two years ago) predicted that the Twins would finish in 5th place in the AL Central, even behind the Kansas City Royals. A team that has finished last in the division in four straight years. One year in which they didn't finish last, 2002, they ended up with the worst record in franchise history, 62-100. Somehow, I see the Twins winning more games then this juggernaut from KC.
Finishing with their first losing record since 2000, the critics are down on the Twins since they lost Johan Sanatna to the Mets and Torii Hunter to the Angels. While I believe each is on the decline, especially Hunter, I don't think these losses are as great as they seem.
My favorite player, Francisco Liriano, is back after missing all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. I think that Liriano is better the Santana. His 2005 season was the best that I have seen from a pitcher. A 12-3 record, with 144 strikeouts, a 2.16 ERA in only 121 innings. His 16 starts is less then half a full season. a 25 win season would have been possible if he has started the season with the team. When Santana was 23 years old, he was still fighting for a spot in the starting rotation by pitching long relief from the bullpen and making the occasional spot start.
Santana's 2007 season was the worst of his career. Ignoring the fact that he went a career worst 15-13 (the terrible Minnesota offense take some of the blame here) since becoming a full time starter in 2004. Others career lows came in runs allowed, strikeouts, ERA, WHIP, innings pitched and homeruns given up lead the entire majors.
Liriano is starting the season in the minors where he will pitch a game for Fort Myers in A ball and start a game for AAA Rochester before replacing whoever underachieves during the first two weeks of the season. He will come in and pitch about 6 2/3 innings giving up a run or two with about eight strikeouts as he his pulled because of his pitch count. I'll revist this prediction in two weeks.
Staying in the spirit of bold predictions ala Davidson, I predict that "The Franchise" will have more wins and a lower ERA then Santana. The Twins will also not finish in last, but in 3rd with around 85 wins as Cleveland and Detroit battle it out for the AL Central crown.
Monday, March 31, 2008
NCAA Tournament
My favorite few days of the year ended last night with the field for the Final Four set to do battle next Saturday and Monday at the Alamadome in San Antonio.
Millions of people fill out a bracket each year whether they are college basketball fans or not. This year has been my best in the 10 years that I have been filling out a bracket. Right now I am in the 93.5th percentile on ESPN.com with a record of 45-15, or good enough for 206,606th place. Out of the millions and millions that entered brackets, I would say that I did ok. Until Memphis' win over Texas on Sunday I was in the 99th percentile and ranked 66,000th.
Nearly every year, I picked my favorite team, North Carolina, to cut down the nets during the first Monday in April. Even though they are still on track to do just that, my favorite moment of the tournament is Davidson's run to within a 3-pointer of the Final Four.
I had been on the Davidson wagon nearly the entire year. I had been telling my roomate for months that he has got to take notice and take the Wildcats to pull off an upset of two. When the brackets came out a couple of Sunday's ago and I saw a Davidson/Gonzaga first round match up, I could have been happier. A second round game against Georgetown would be very tough and I doubted whether or not my dark horse could pull of the big upset that I was sure that they would. When it came time to put pen to paper, I pull the trigger. I picked Davidson to defeat G'Town and knock off the Big East champions to go to the Sweet 16. As bold as the pick was, I still thought they could do more. When a potential Wisconsin matchup in the round of 16 came up, I really considered picking Davidson again. I even liked their chances against the Badgers more then I did then aganist the Hoyas. This time however, I didn't pull the trigger. Instead, I went with the safe pick and Wisconsin, even though I hate the state (Green Bay Packers). When I look back I this tournament, my fondest memory may be UNC winning another National Championship. But, my biggest regret will be not picking Davidson to win one more round.
Millions of people fill out a bracket each year whether they are college basketball fans or not. This year has been my best in the 10 years that I have been filling out a bracket. Right now I am in the 93.5th percentile on ESPN.com with a record of 45-15, or good enough for 206,606th place. Out of the millions and millions that entered brackets, I would say that I did ok. Until Memphis' win over Texas on Sunday I was in the 99th percentile and ranked 66,000th.
Nearly every year, I picked my favorite team, North Carolina, to cut down the nets during the first Monday in April. Even though they are still on track to do just that, my favorite moment of the tournament is Davidson's run to within a 3-pointer of the Final Four.
I had been on the Davidson wagon nearly the entire year. I had been telling my roomate for months that he has got to take notice and take the Wildcats to pull off an upset of two. When the brackets came out a couple of Sunday's ago and I saw a Davidson/Gonzaga first round match up, I could have been happier. A second round game against Georgetown would be very tough and I doubted whether or not my dark horse could pull of the big upset that I was sure that they would. When it came time to put pen to paper, I pull the trigger. I picked Davidson to defeat G'Town and knock off the Big East champions to go to the Sweet 16. As bold as the pick was, I still thought they could do more. When a potential Wisconsin matchup in the round of 16 came up, I really considered picking Davidson again. I even liked their chances against the Badgers more then I did then aganist the Hoyas. This time however, I didn't pull the trigger. Instead, I went with the safe pick and Wisconsin, even though I hate the state (Green Bay Packers). When I look back I this tournament, my fondest memory may be UNC winning another National Championship. But, my biggest regret will be not picking Davidson to win one more round.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
WNIT Article that didn't make the paper.
The excitement that last year’s WNIT caused is about to begin again next week on the SDSU campus.
With the announcement of the WNIT bracket being made on Monday March 17th, the Jacks will soon find out who there opponent will be, if they will receive a first round bye and if Frost Arena will host sellout crowds of rabid Jackrabbit fans for the second March in a row.
Associate athletic director Rob Peterson put in the bid for SDSU to host a tournament game. The bid goes to Triple Crown Sports, the company that owns the WNIT. Peterson said that his bid to host a game this year is “comparable” to last years bid. “This may be a team’s only opportunity to experience post season so we try and dress it up and make it more then a normal basketball game. We can’t buy games like other schools that guarantee the WNIT money. We have to compare what our expenses are versus what our profits could be,” said Peterson.
Even though at least one of this year’s games will being during spring break, Peterson doesn’t think that it will affect attendance. “I think that we are still going to have pretty good attendance on the student side regardless. There’s enough fans in the community that will show up that will make up for those that won’t show.”
The crowds for the two WNIT home games last season against Illinois State and Indiana drew crowds of 5,719 and 6,053, the most since the transition to Division I. The combined attendance of both games would have made Frost Arena the eighth largest city in South Dakota based on population.
According to an article in last years Argus Leader, SDSU made $17,000 off of the two WNIT home games
The Frost Arena crowds were some of the loudest ever heard in school history. Peterson said that the students and the public really stepped up and met what our dreams were. Watching how excited all the students and everyone else in attendance were during the game will be a lasting memory.
With the announcement of the WNIT bracket being made on Monday March 17th, the Jacks will soon find out who there opponent will be, if they will receive a first round bye and if Frost Arena will host sellout crowds of rabid Jackrabbit fans for the second March in a row.
Associate athletic director Rob Peterson put in the bid for SDSU to host a tournament game. The bid goes to Triple Crown Sports, the company that owns the WNIT. Peterson said that his bid to host a game this year is “comparable” to last years bid. “This may be a team’s only opportunity to experience post season so we try and dress it up and make it more then a normal basketball game. We can’t buy games like other schools that guarantee the WNIT money. We have to compare what our expenses are versus what our profits could be,” said Peterson.
Even though at least one of this year’s games will being during spring break, Peterson doesn’t think that it will affect attendance. “I think that we are still going to have pretty good attendance on the student side regardless. There’s enough fans in the community that will show up that will make up for those that won’t show.”
The crowds for the two WNIT home games last season against Illinois State and Indiana drew crowds of 5,719 and 6,053, the most since the transition to Division I. The combined attendance of both games would have made Frost Arena the eighth largest city in South Dakota based on population.
According to an article in last years Argus Leader, SDSU made $17,000 off of the two WNIT home games
The Frost Arena crowds were some of the loudest ever heard in school history. Peterson said that the students and the public really stepped up and met what our dreams were. Watching how excited all the students and everyone else in attendance were during the game will be a lasting memory.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
New York Governor???????
How does something like the prostitution ring that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer even happen in the first place.
A few days after the story broke and a day after I originally posted this, he has resigned. What I love about it is that only minutes after CNN.com had the story posted, someone has already updated Spitzer's page on wikipedia.org
It's dumb enough to get caught up in this type of thing if you are an average Joe on the street. With the media's overbarring coverage of politicians personal lives at an all-time high, what did Spitzer think would happen? That he would never get caught in the state that has a city that is the biggest media market in the world?
The possibility that he possibly used public money to pay for his "expenditures" is unbelievable. If he was going to do what he did, using his own money might have been a saver way to not get caught instead of taking money out of the public fund.
A few days after the story broke and a day after I originally posted this, he has resigned. What I love about it is that only minutes after CNN.com had the story posted, someone has already updated Spitzer's page on wikipedia.org
It's dumb enough to get caught up in this type of thing if you are an average Joe on the street. With the media's overbarring coverage of politicians personal lives at an all-time high, what did Spitzer think would happen? That he would never get caught in the state that has a city that is the biggest media market in the world?
The possibility that he possibly used public money to pay for his "expenditures" is unbelievable. If he was going to do what he did, using his own money might have been a saver way to not get caught instead of taking money out of the public fund.
Hacker News Site
When I first went to this Hacker News site, I thought that it would be all about the newest ways to hack into different programs and illegal stuff like that. After visiting it, I don't know what the site is about.
With that said, I would just like to sound off on illegal downloading and burning of music, videos, DVD's, etc. If companies are worried about thing like this, then why are blank tapes/burnable DVD's even made available to the masses. With these out on the market, you are just asking for trouble. I just find the entire illegal downloading argument silly. Will a company with millions in profits every quarter really feel the hit if a few hundred or thousand people listen or watch something that wasn't paid for?
With that said, I would just like to sound off on illegal downloading and burning of music, videos, DVD's, etc. If companies are worried about thing like this, then why are blank tapes/burnable DVD's even made available to the masses. With these out on the market, you are just asking for trouble. I just find the entire illegal downloading argument silly. Will a company with millions in profits every quarter really feel the hit if a few hundred or thousand people listen or watch something that wasn't paid for?
Monday, March 10, 2008
Hockey at Yankee Stadium
For a game that has fallen off of the American sports scene, the NHL has finally come up with an idea that works. The first regular season outdoor NHL game in the U.S. on Jan. 1st against the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres was attended by 71,000 fans at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills. The game, shown on NBC, produced the highest TV ratings for the NHL in nearly 11 years.
Holding a game or two outdoors each season is a sure fire money making and headline getter for the NHL. During the crowded football schedule of Jan. 1st bowl games, I watched more of a hockey game then I have in years. The fact that it was snowing out made the spectacle even more appealing and the game more fun to watch. Given the time that the game aired, during 12 straight hours of college football, makes the ratings that it got even more impressive. A game in Yankee Stadium, possibly the last sporting event ever held there, with the New York Rangers and another original six team in prime time outdoor. I would tune in for that.
The NBA is even getting in the mix as they are holding an outdoor preseason game between the Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets Oct, 11th at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Holding a game or two outdoors each season is a sure fire money making and headline getter for the NHL. During the crowded football schedule of Jan. 1st bowl games, I watched more of a hockey game then I have in years. The fact that it was snowing out made the spectacle even more appealing and the game more fun to watch. Given the time that the game aired, during 12 straight hours of college football, makes the ratings that it got even more impressive. A game in Yankee Stadium, possibly the last sporting event ever held there, with the New York Rangers and another original six team in prime time outdoor. I would tune in for that.
I just doesn't seem right that the last event held in YANKEE Stadium might not be a NEW YORK YANKEES baseball game.
College hockey teams have tried outdoor games in the past and they have been highly successful and profitable. 74,000 fans for a Michigan at Michigan State game in 2001 made this the highest attended hockey game in history. Ohio State vs. Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in 2006 was attended by 40,000.
The NBA is even getting in the mix as they are holding an outdoor preseason game between the Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets Oct, 11th at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
For a sport that gets next to zero national coverage and airs some games on stations that nobody gets, Versus, the NHL needs to keep this outdoor games trend a yearly tradition.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
It's Finally Here!!!
After many years of waiting for this day, it have finally come. Brett Favre has retired. It has been a dream of mine for quite some time to see the day come when Favre announces that he has played in his last NFL game. And what a way to go out. Knowing that his last NFL pass was an interception against the Giants in the NFC Championships game that led to the game winning field goal that crushed Green Bay's hope of having a magical run to one more Super Bowl make a bad day go by a little faster and easier.
The only thing that I could compare this to is if the Vikings someday win the Super Bowl. Flipping through the stations and seeing the Sports Illustrated commercial for the special commemorative t-shirt, hat and special edition issue of a Vikings Super Bowl win would be so great that I want that, along with the Super Bowl win, played on a continuous loop at my funeral.
If anyone was bored yesterday, they could have played an interesting drinking game. Flip through the channels on T.V. and anytime you saw or heard about Favre, take a shot. If you wanted to stay conscious or alive by the time noon rolled around, I would recommend staying away from ESPN or ESPN 2.
I heard the news as it broke at 8:37 CST on ESPN 2 on Mike and Mike in the Morning as they scrabbled to decide if they should take their regular commercial break or stay on the air to break the news. I stayed away from T.V. as much as possible as I knew the Favre loving was just about to begin. Thinking I was safe, I went to Larson's to eat supper. One side had SportsCenter on so I stayed away from that. The national nightly network news was safer. It was not. Everywhere I turned I saw Favre and no doubt will continue to hear everyone get their last praises in before it's too late.
Monday, March 3, 2008
USB Boxer
All I can say after see this story is that we have come a long way from the old rockem sockem robots. I really don't know why anyone would buy this product. You would have to be easily amused to get long lasting enjoyment out of the USB Boxer.
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