2008 Predictions

Well gentlemen, it's about time to put 2007 to bed, so I figured we should see what everyone has in mind for 2008. Prediction time!

2008 World Series Champion
2008-2009 Super Bowl Champion
2007-2008 NBA Champion
2007-2008 College Hoops Champion
2008 Masters Champion (and/or other majors including Ryder Cup)
2009 BCS Championship game winner

Any other sports-related predictions.

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Holiday Plans

Gentlemen,

What is everyone planning to do for Christmas?

Is there a time we can all go out to dinner, or for drinks?

I'm directing a show in Louisville that starts rehearsals on Tuesday (18th). We're not working everyday, so I'm around basically from Dec 18th-January 15th. Emily and I are doing Christmas at her parents the 24-25th, and with my families on the 26th.

I'm thinking...another pool party at Matt's? Can Mrs. A take me and Joanna out to Ruby Tuesday's again? Should we all go the Kenwood and wander around aimlessly? Anyone for sledding at Camargo? Or we could do donuts in the snow in the MHS parking lot?

Steroids Saved Baseball

Fellas,

While I agree that the Mitchell Report has opened up this "steroids era" of baseball, I have to aruge that if MLB had it to do all over again, they would again turn away. Why?

Because STEROIDS SAVED BASEBALL!

Following the 1994 strike, baseball was at an all-time low. Attendance was down, ratings plummeted and fan appreciation/support was suffering?

What brought baseball back from the 1994 depths to the pinnacle that it is at today?

Steroids. Home Runs. Record Breakers.

Where would baseball be without the 1998 race for 61 between McGuire and Sosa? Without the Chase for Aaron? Without the small ballparks, juiced balls, juiced players, corked bats etc.? Baseball knew. They didn't care. They wanted to go to any means necessary to save the game.

Ian is correct. Fans will boo and complain, but they still fill the seats no matter who "breaks the rules". We all sit here and complain about the users and give attention to the Mitchell Report, but baseball welcomed the steroids era. While the records may be tainted, Selig believe that is a small price to pay for the resurrection of the National Pastime.

Solution to the Problem: Guilty by Association

I feel the players union is the single biggest culprit in the Performance enhancing scandals. Their refusal to help implement good testing programs and refusal to police themselves, and therefore allow this to go on is the single worst offence in the entire situation.

I generally side with the players because I feel the owners have always and will always have their own best interests in mind. Whether it be with contracts, or salaries or trades etc., the owners have a track record of abuse. Just look at the non guaranteed contracts and poor retirement policies used in the NFL to see what a weak players union will produce. But owners and the league have been trying to implement a testing program for years, and the players have refused to come to a viable compromise.

The players should have been the first to come forward and show how they are clean, and their silence as a group is the biggest indictment possible. Guilty by association is often unfair, but in this case I believe it is true. The guy driving the getaway car is just as guilty as the guy stealing the money from the teller. All the clean players who did not come forward and help eliminate this are just as guilty. I understanding you do not sell out your friends, but with the possible scope of this problem, clean guys who are being outperformed by 'enhanced' players should be upset, and are being cheated from their own earning potential. Guys like Ryan Freel (hopefully actually clean) could be an all-star if all 'enhanced' players are removed from the league, and just think how much money he has lost as a result.

Solution: all clean players come forward and form an alliance against the other players. They should subject themselves to rigorous, constant testing, and allow clauses in their contract that include year-long to career ending suspensions, or salary forfeiture for violation of the Substance Abuse policy. That way the public knows who is and who is not clean. Guilty by association, or lack thereof.

The Mitchell Report

Any best guesses of who will be on the list?

Here are mine:

Definite:
Caminiti
Bonds
Canseco
McGwire
Sosa
Palmerio
Giambi

Predictions:
Biggio
Bagwell
Gagne
Bret Boone
Miguel Tejada
Roger Clemens
Gonzales
Larry Walker
Kevin Mitchell
Chipper Jones
Jeff Kent
Dennis Eckersley
Mike Piazza

Shocked:
Freel
Maddux


Post some in the comments of your predictions.

Beating a Dead Horse (BCS)

Found this on ESPN.com today, it is a bracket building tool for college football. every time I have done this Hawaii goes almost all the way, not that it is rigged or anything.

NCAA BCS Bracket

The Game

With all apologies to the upcoming Battle of Ohio, the biggest game left on the Bengals schedule has to be the season finale in South Florida versus the winless Miami Dolphins. Allow me to look ahead for one moment and predict two more losses for the Fins, a desperate loss to the hapless Ravens and a massacre in Foxboro to the juggernaut Patriots.

Assuming both those games, the Bengals will travel to South Beach for a December 30th game against the 0-15 Dolphins, trying to 'perfect' the first winless season since the 0-14 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

As a Bengals fan, you've got to be worried.

Who's to say that the Bengals, having been out of the playoff picture since Thanksgiving, wont just punt the game away? Here's hoping that the Bengals play the game as their own SuperBowl, and make it their season goal to bury the Dolphins into football immortality.

The Mid-Major's Major Dilemma

Hawaii's dream season culminated with an invitation, per BCS rules, to the Sugar Bowl this year. Much rejoice, much celebration in the islands; even some calls for Hawaii, the nation's lone unbeaten FBS team, to play in the national championship. Let's dive a little deeper into the Fighting Rainbows' year. They competed, and won, the WAC. The WAC, according to Jeff Sagarin's ratings, came in as the 8th best conference in college football. Hawaii's non-conference slate consisted of:

UNLV: 2-10, ranked 117th by Sagarin
Washington: 4-9, ranked 53rd by Sagarin (played Hawaii without their starting QB)
Northern Colorado: D-1AA
Charleston Southern: D1-AA

Now, granted, schedules are done at least a few years in the future, but it doesn't take an Ivy League degree to foresee this a being an easy schedule. Essentially, Hawaii reduced their schedule to 2 games: Boise St. and Washington --both at home.

So what does this all mean?

Hawaii has made the decision that a gaudy record, say 10-2/11-1/12-0 will not only vault them in the national rankings (which it will), but it will also earn them the publicity, payout, and spoils that come with a high ranking and possible date in a BCS game. So far, the plan has worked to perfection.

So if you are Miami University, or any mid-major for that matter, what do you do? Do you play the Michigans, Floridas, Ohio States, etc. (as Miami will over the next 5 years) or do you play a bottom tier BCS school, one or two mid to bottom level non-BCS schools and a D-1AA school and shoot for perfection?

Let's keep in mind there is a Pandora's box of financial issues associated with mid-major scheduling that while very relevant in the real world, hopefully can be set aside in this hypothetical.

Anyway, it's a tough question, and one that is hotly debated in mid-major fan groups.

What say ye? Does Hawaii deserve to be ranked where they are? Have they loopholed their way into the BCS? As a fan, would you rather see your team play and compete against a tough schedule and risk a mediocre record or play and beat an easy (and boring) schedule for a national ranking and shot at the BCS?

A conversation Dave and I had a while ago...

A couple weeks ago, Dave and I had an interesting phone call that was cut short by a trip to the airport. After the usual small talk (mostly consisting of me trying to get out of Dave what his work entails...for the record I still don't understand, but I'm sure he's doing a FANTASTIC job) we got on a rather exciting subject. I bring it to you after mulling it over a great deal (mostly while walking the dog). I think this blog is the perfect place for this idea to be debated, contributed to, and hopefully moved forward in some way. And it is this...

What if the Norwood House was a company?

What would we do? What would we sell? What services would we provide? What niche would we fill (or "Phil" if you prefer)?

It really got me thinking. Obviously each of us has our own dreams, our own talents, and our own plans. But, I think it would be fun, just as an exercise to hear what we all think would be good ideas. I'll get the ball rolling...

Idea #1: After suffering through a tough inaugural season with a record of 1-16, the fledgling Cincinnati Jungle Kats (http://www.junglekatsfootball.com/index2.php) of the Arena Football League 2 are in need of some fresh thinking.

Idea #2: We all move to some beautiful mountain town and start our own version of the Eureka Ranch, complete with go-karts, pinball, and pizza vending machines. It's like OM for adults.

Idea #3: We open a business that provides an adventure experience to extremely rich clients. Think Total Recall meets The Game with Michael Douglas. We could create global treasure hunts, across the country games of Sardines, multinational Scavenger Hunts. Like the Amazing Race, but not on TV. Families could play together or compete against other families. Singles could be paired up as a way to meet people. And we would all get an excuse to travel on the company's dime. We would use Summer Sojourn to fleece Rich-istan!

Idea #4: Two words: Sports Bar. I'm thinking a Soccer Bar in Cincy. There have to be a lot of 1) American fans that would follow it and 2) many people from other countries looking for somewhere to enjoy their national past-time. Someone is always playing soccer somewhere right?

Idea #5: After I'm done grad school, you guys help me start a theatre.

Idea #6: We all take a summer and shoot a movie to enter in film festivals all over the country.

Idea #7: Develop some kind of educational program that we could take across the country to schools. Utilize the entertainment and presentation skills I have, Matt's creative writing ability, Flip and Mikey's teaching experience, Dave's managerial know how, Phil's moxie, height, and intangible tenacity, and Martin's knowledge of marine navigation. What kid wouldn't be blown away by that?

Idea #8: Start a local sports network. First on the Internet, then on TV. In depth local coverage of high school, college, and professional sports teams. Focus on local coverage though. Catch all the stuff that the newspaper and local news don't have time or space to pay a lot of attention to.

Idea #9: Invent and market a new board game. If you recall, we have already made several attempts to modify existing games.

Idea #10: Invest all of our money (by which I mean your money) into nano-technology. From what I hear...it's...never mind.

So there you go. Comment or piggy-back on one of these ideas, or submit your own. Who knows, this could be the start of something life changing for all of us.

Memo to the BCS

To: Acting BCS President; BCS Conference Commissioners, BCS Conference AD’s, BCS Conference School Presidents

From: Dav

Re: Winter Madness

Here are my findings from our 11/19 meeting in which you put me on retainer to find a solution to the quagmire that is major college football. After a full review of past history, financial implications and the burdens on our student-athletes, I’m ready to put forth for your consideration a proposal – a ten team playoff dubbed Winter Madness.

Consider the current BCS Standings.

The top ten teams are:

1. Ohio State (Big Ten Champ)
2. LSU (SEC Champ)
3. Virginia Tech (ACC Champ)
4. Oklahoma (Big 12 Champ)
5. Georgia (SEC At Large)
6. Missouri (Big 12 At Large)
7. USC (PAC 10 Champ)
8. Kansas (Big 12 At Large)
9. West Virginia (Big East Champ)
10. Hawaii (WAC At Large)

Opening Round:

You asked me to preserve the importance of the regular season. In meeting this goal, conference champions will be afforded a first round bye in Winter Madness. The opening round of Winter Madness will be the third Saturday in December, after first semester final exams have concluded. These games will be home game sites for the higher ranked team. This year, #5 Georgia will host #10 Hawaii and #6 Missouri will host #8 Kansas, on Saturday, December 15^th.

The two losers will be placed into the Cotton and the Outback New Year’s Day Bowls, based on a pre-determined selection order.

The winners will move on to the next Round.

Round of Eight:

You asked me to preserve the importance of the four BCS bowls. In a rotating order, the four BCS bowls will have their selection in choosing the matchup they would most want to host. Assuming the favored hosts win in the play-in round, the round of eight would look like this:

1. #1 Ohio State v. #9 West Virginia (Rose)
2. #2 LSU v. #7 USC (Sugar)
3. #3 VaTech v. #6 Missouri (Fiesta)
4. #4 Oklahoma v. #5 Georgia (Orange)

I would bet that the Rose would love to snatch up OSU, as they haven’t played in the Rose Bowl in ten full years. Additionally, perhaps the Sugar wants the local Tigers to fill the Superdome.

National Semifinals:

These games would be played on a rotating basis at two of the four BCS sites, held on the second Saturday after New Years Day. Every other year, rather than one year in four, would the four marquee bowls get to host of game of national importance. You asked me to respect the schedules of the student athletes. National Semifinals will conclude before the start of second semesters. My predictions in the above games would be as follows:

1. #9 West Virginia v. #4 Oklahoma
2. #2 LSU v. #6 Missouri

National Championship:

You asked me to create an event that would combine the passion of America's favorite tournament (March Madness) with America's favorite day (the SuperBowl). Ideally held during the bye week between the NFL Conference Championships and the SuperBowl, college football has its pinnacle event. Use the SuperBowl /Final Four model, rotating the game between warm weather destinations and stadiums fit to hold 60,000+ fans. Create a week for showcasing all that is good with college athletics.

1. #4 Oklahoma v. #2. LSU

Additional points:

1. Cut the regular season down one (or even two) games. There is no reason that teams should play 12 regular season games.

2. Limit August practice substantially. With the new NCF season extending into mid January for a handful of teams, the start of the season should be moved back. Teams won’t have to be worried that an early season loss will kill their national title hopes.

3. When you do finally agree to set up this Winter Madness, agree to pay the architect, Dav, one-tenth of one percent of the television contract. With this, I will comfortably retire from professional work and bring my problem solving skills to the quagmire in the Middle East.

Black KKK?

Fellas,

I apologize for taking TNH in a different direction with this post, but I'm fascinated by this topic, especially considering the death of Sean Taylor.

Jason Whitlock of the KC newspaper published an interesting article on foxsports.com today talking about the death of Sean Taylor.

I admit, while sad when hearing about the shooting of Sean Taylor, I wondered if he had done something wrong to warrant the attack. Taylor's checkered past perhaps did get him in trouble and Whitlock comments that this the Black KKK, or young black men, are killing other young black men at a more alarming rate than the white KKK of the 50s and 60s killed blacks.

He mentions the black race, so quick to point fingers as to why their young black men are unsuccessful and often criminal prone, cannot point the finger at themselves. He blames hip-hop music, TV, movies etc that glorify the "street and gang life". He says how can a race so troubled be given a free pass through the media to glorify the very things that are killing it?

Here's the article: http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7499442

Very fascinating. Do you believe that the media/hip-hop etc is to blame for the problems of black athletes and of young black men throughout America? Please share your thoughts.

The Roof Has Caved In

It's official. The Roof era is over at Duke University.

With the 20-14 OT loss to rival North Carolina on Saturday, Duke AD Joe Alleva decided to part ways with embattled head coach Ted Roof. Roof's tenure with the Blue Devils concludes with a 6-45 record over 4+ seasons, including winning only 1 of his final 32 games.

Now, we move on to the ignominious task of searching for a new head coach for arguably the worst program in the BCS conferences.

Four years ago, I argued loudly and publicly to anyone who would listen that the Devils should make their move for a former Duke coach, one who was struggling in the NFL and looking for a return to college. I stated that Joe Alleva should have driven straight to Washington and make the ole ball coach Steve Spurrier the highest paid coach in college football history. Alas, this did not happen, as Duke went in-house and hired the retread defensive coordinator. Spurrier, on the other hand, went to South Carolina, a program with nearly as much futility as Duke, and built it into a national program in three short years.

Now, Duke stands at another crossroads. There is momentum to hire either the offensive or defensive coordinator as to not shake up the current chemistry and players. I dare them to do this. Tired ideas get you nowhere.

Here's an idea. How about the hottest coach in the country, one with NFL experience, and a unique mindset towards running an offense. Duke should make a move for Hawaii's June Jones.

While it may be tough to lure Jones from Hawaii to North Carolina, Jones is losing star QB Colt Brennan after this season and is itching for a chance to prove that his system can work at a major level. Moreover, I think Jones could take an athletic QB like sophomore Thaddeus Lewis and work wonders.

Will Duke make the bold decision? Or will they make the 'safe' choice?

Important News For TNH

My cousin Nick pointed out something to me this weekend that shocked me. Certain sections of Norwood are becoming the posh, hip places for young professionals to live. In fact, he pointed out that there is a section of Norwood that he calls 'SONO', or Southern Norwood, that is the best place in Norwood to live (East of Shaw Ave. between Rookwood pavillion and Ridge Road, close to Oakley Border where RP Mc Murphys and the E are). And the best/worst part of it is how he explains the rest of Norwood as 'NONO' or Northern Norwood where you should not live.

I am just pointing this out as a new development to me personally, and making sure we are unanimous in saying that OUR norwood house is most certainly in NONO.

saying YESYES to NONO

Flip

And we shall call him "The Corduroy Kid"

So here's our most recent news out of Red's Country.

I'm glad to see that we're making the requisite moves to back up the recent "win now" attitude that the Baker hiring represents. I'm worried, though, because this contract is so similar to the deal that Milton received right before his career went in the crap-tin. Also, this is a guy whose career ERA has been all over the map depending on the year.

Basically, we bought the guy for five years, just shy of 50 million dollars. He'll be 36 at the end of the contract, 37 if we pick up the option. Is that money well spent? Seems like a lot to me, and it feels like the fact that the Brewers and the Astros were the other two teams in that horserace drove the price higher than it would otherwise have gone.

I'm going to vote on the positive side, however, and say we get our money's worth. Sound off.

If You Have a Free Weekend in November...

Contributors Dav and Hankles recently completed the first official field trip for The Norwood House. Let’s break down the trip, by the numbers:

46: Pictures taken by TNH’s photographer

1/3: Fraction of flyers on our flight enroute to Dallas for the Skins-Boys game dressed in jerseys, performing cheers at 7:00am.

80: Number of sent and received texts by Hankles

4: Tollbooths on the Indy Turnpike

75: Minutes spent in the ND Bookstore

1987: Jimmy Clausen's Birth Year

3-0: Final Score of the Notre Dame-Loyola Women’s NCAA Soccer Game

$5: Price for a Pitcher at Corby’s Irish Pub

2-0: Dav’s record over Hankles on the Felt at Corby’s

10: Miller Lites

4: Old Styles

10: Size (in ounces) of the sirloin steak sandwich sold by the Knights of Columbus

43: Temperature at Kickoff

38: Temperature at Final Whistle

5: Hankles' Lower Body Layers

6: Hankles' Upper Body Layers

11: Times hearing the Notre Dame Victory March (approx.)

80,975: Attendance at the Stadium

1: Wabash Knit Caps

115: Robert Hughes Rushing Yards

3: Irish Passing TD’s

3: Duke Fumbles

28-7: Final Score

5: Time Changes by TNH crew (East to Central to East to Central to East)

4: Wrong Turns leading to Poor Directions and Being Lost

3: Real Celebrity Sightings (Mike Scioscia, Mike Golic, Tim Hardaway)

2: Celebrity Dead-Ringers (Curt Schilling; Dusty Baker)

2: Irish football season wins

1: Touchdown Jesus

Countless: Memories shared between great buddies

South Bend Pictures

Please visit this flickr page using your Yahoo! address. The comments are glorious.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21040299@N03/

South Bend Videos

Buried in Baseball

Buried underneath the stacks of baseball headlines including Bonds's indictment and A-Rod resigning with the Bombers...is the story that Marty's booth partner and Kroger's favorite ad-man, Nuxy, has moved on to the diamond on the other side of Ray Kinsella's Iowa cornfield.

I think we should all take a moment and I defer to the baseball geniuses (geniui for the Latin fans) of TNH staff to share any statistics/anecdotes about our slurring broadcaster. If nothing else, we should all raise a glass to "Ol' Lefty" this weekend.

Another raise of the glass and safe travels to TNH staff's first satellite coverage this weekend in South Bend. Have a good time guys!

The Lady Bing

We had just been in the car for 7 hours, all we wanted to do was stretch our legs and get good nights sleep before we continued on our journey. We pull up to a mansion of literary proportions in the heart of Buckhead (Atlanta), there was all the food, and drinks we could take, a big TV, a pool, a great host and it was all free. And what was the first thing the members of summer Sojourn 3 did? Ask about where the best sports bar was so we could watch the NHL and NBA playoffs.

What happened?

That would never happen now, I honestly need to search to remember who won Lord Stanley’s Cup and I used to be able to recite the winners of the Hart, and Lady Bing on command.

I specifically remember sitting inside on a beautiful Florida day to watch the Avalanche vs. the Red Wings or the Lakers and Pistons.

This past year I watched exactly 2 periods of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and only a few of the many games of the NBA Playoffs. And I know I am not alone.

What happened, why have basketball and Hockey become so uninteresting? Basketball is fun to talk about, but nobody watches it with any regularity, and Hockey is an afterthought. Now I know Hockey kind of screwed itself, but even before the lockout it had lost its late 90’s luster. And the NBA hasn’t been watchable since Kobe and Shaq were friends, and it hasn’t been enjoyable since Scotty Pippen dished out the greatest trash talk of all time (“the mailman doesn’t deliver on Sundays”).

So my question is, why? Why have these two formally great sports become 2nd tier after Football and Baseball and NASCAR (as much as it pains me to say it)

Boston Tea Party

I know its early in the basketball season, and we're still a long way away from the Superbowl...but might we be witnessing a year in which Boston runs the table by winning the World Series, the Superbowl and the NBA Championship in the same season? I don't even know how the Bruins are doing...but maybe that's a possibility as well.

Has that happened before?

NFL Network To Screw Everyone In Country.

This was a news flash to me, let's see if anyone else is surprised.

The Patriots last regular season game falls on Dec. 29 against the Giants. According to the NY Daily news, that game has been purchased for nationwide exclusivity by NFL Network.

So if you don't have access to the NFL network, or live in the greater New York or New England areas, you're shit out of luck.

That's a pretty big cross-section of the country that's going to miss a potential history-making game.

My question: Shouldn't the NFL Network be advertising this NOW, so that people can call in and subscribe? cause god knows the week in advance might not be enough notice, and if the pats lose no one cares, so why not try and milk that cash cow while it's still standing?

Tough Pink Slips

Should Tyrone Willingam take out Grady Little and buy him a few "bibos"? It seems now that Grady Little was in the exact same spot this year as Willingham was in December of 04.

Tyrone Willingam was 21-16 in 3 years at ND. (So far Weis is 20-14 at ND for reference) Willingham was not given his full "cycle" of 4-5 years at ND in order to properly play and recruit his own players (Quinn was his recruit).

Willingham was fired not because of his poor performance or because of his race, but because a new hot coaching name came on the market. Coach Urban Meyer with his roots seeded deep within South Bend, having served as an assistant for Lou Holtz and receivers coach for Davie, was finished with his time at Utah and was looking to move up in the coaching world. ND promptly fired Willingham for the chance at Meyer. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for the Irish, but Ty was unjustly fired.

Did the same occurence just happen with Grady Little and Joe Torre? Grady Little, whose reputation is scarred thanks to Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, did a solid job with the Dodgers in LA. Did he win immediately? No, however he field a competitive team who was in contention until the final month of the year and the Dodgers did set the NL record for attendance this year. Grady Little was in the process of creating a solid squad in LA but was bit by the injury bug (recall the signing of Jason Schmidt who then subsequently blew out his arm).

Joe Torre was the hot new name on the market and while his reputation speaks for itself, Grady Little was fired without good reason. (some may say there was a mutual resignation, but we all know thats bunk)

So my argument is that Little and Willingham were both unjustly fired because a hot new coach came on the market. Is this fair to them? Should ND and the Dodgers be reprimanded for these quick decisions? Thoughts?

We're sorry Houston... Cleveland...

Thanks to a blackout in Oakland due to a non-sellout of the game, the only markets that wont see the Pats-Colts in Super Bowl 41.5 are Houston and Cleveland. Houston, due to seeing the Texans-Raiders affair and Cleveland as their home team plays a game on FOX during the same time slot.

We're sorry. Go out to the bar Houston and Cleveland. This game will be well worth it.

Let the Speculation Begin....

According to this source from the Gray Lady, the bidding for A-Rod is going to start at $35M per season. This was the minimum bid his uber-agent Scott Boras gave to Yankees management at the start of Game Four. It appears that the number one should expect out there is $280M over 8. A new suitor has entered the ring also. The rumor mill is hot that Marlins (yes, the Marlins) will make a play for the all-world third baseman. A-Rod does call Miami his offseason home, but I just can't picture this deal coming into fruition.

One must read this post at AOL Fanhouse, a choose your own adventure story about the offseason choices of A-Rod. Click Here

The Return of NOOCH!

Billionaire owner Clay Bennett has taken the first steps in petitioning the NBA to move the Sonics from Seattle to Oklahoma City. The team has three years on their lease left at decrepit KeyArena, but have an opt-out clause they can exercise after this season with penalty. Civic support for a publicly funded new arena has failed to gain any traction in the state legislature, despite whole-hearted support from the ownership group in Oklahoma City. Meanwhile, a state-of-the-art new arena waits in the booming downtown district of OKC. The eager fans from Oklahoma proved they could support an NBA franchise during the past two seasons as they hosted the New Orleans-Oklahoma City Hornets (NOOCH! for those in the know), due to the disaster of Hurricane Katrina.

While it is difficult to see the Sonics leave Seattle after 40 years, it is the right of the owners to move teams, especially when they can no longer remain financially viable in their present situation. The time for protest has past. It should have been conducted when the sale was being discussed, especially to OKC businessmen when had previously stated that it was their intention to bring the team to Oklahoma.

Sadly and ironically, the city that is perhaps least financialy able to support an NBA franchise is the New Orleans Hornets, who have already shown as much in five years. That would be the most natural fit, but now post-Katrina, everyone has shown a moral obligation to commit to rebuilding the Crescent City.

Here's a much better read on the issue, from Henry Abbott formerly of TrueHoop, now ESPN.

Thoughts? Is this a done deal?

Bulldogs, New Tricks...

Did anyone else catch the "World Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" this weekend? Florida had won 8 of the past 9 and 15 of the last 17 against the Bulldogs of Georgia.

How about when Georgia scored the first TD against Florida, and the entire team sprinted into the end zone for a celebration? Coach Richt said that it was something he had intentionally implemented during practice, and he would gladly pay the 15 yard excessive celebration penatly to get his team fired up.

A few questions:

1) Was what UGA did an example of poor sportsmanship, good strategy, or (heavens forbid) both?
2) Should officials have discretion to penalize more than 15 yards for certain infractions?
2) Do you see a quick rule change or fines levied by the SEC in response?

Oh, I almost forgot one crucial detail - Georgia snapped the losing streak and beat Floridia soundly, 42-30.

AL Dominance

Sitting here with the Sox up on the Rocks 3-1 in the 7th, and thinking of the recent World Series, I'm amazed at the dominance of the American League over the National League in both the All Star Game and the WS over the past ten years.

The All-Star Game speaks for itself...the AL has won something like 9 in a row (not counting the Marxian/Selig tie a few years back)

However, the World Series has illustrated AL dominance as well. While they have not won every WS over the past ten years, they have been the better team arguably in every series since the Braves of 1995.

07-possible sweep
06-STL (but they only won 83 games and Detroit LOST the series with all the errors)
05-ChiSox Sweep
04-BoSox sweep
03-Marlins (thanks to Steve Bartman) beating a better Yanks team thanks to Beckett
02-Angels (rally monkey outlasting and outclutching the Dusty Baker Giants)
01-Dbacks (beating a better Yanks team thanks to the Big Unit and Schill)
00, 99, 98 Dominant Yanks
97 Miracle Marlins beating the Indians in 7
96 Yanks dominance begins...


Now, why such the dominance?

My opinion is better competition and I'm sad to say...the DH. Pitchers in the AL are forced to face stronger lineups all year and make better pitches due to the top to bottom strength of the AL lineups. NL pitchers are able to pick and choose whom to pitch to due to the weak 8/9 hole in the lineup. This competition and concentration manifested over an entire season makes the pitching better for the AL teams...and we all know good pitching beats good hitting.

You may argue that AL teams have to play the NL rules just as often and that it may hurt the AL teams who don't know how to play NL style small ball, but their teams seem to overcome this problem.

As a purist, I hate the DH and would like it removed...but do you think the DH has made the AL teams stronger thus contributing to the latest AL dominance? Thoughts?

The Human Element

So I know this is already being discussed in a different threat, but I want to keep it going and raise another question.

Instant replay and referee error is a part of sports. At every level since the beginning of sporting time, Referees have had as much to do with the outcome of games as players. And Sports have not collapsed, they have thrived. While Referees have little to do with that, the advent of new technology should be incorporated slowly and with caution because the extreme is something nobody wants.

The Extreme is having 32 nerdy guys play Madden and have the outcomes of those games determine what team wins the Superbowl, at least we know the human element is completely out of it.
The fun of sports is not just the competition but the conversation. That is why there are so many sports shows and radio programs, how else would Chris Berman have a job. How else would we have a blog.

And if you think this is a rediculous point, just watch ESPN Late tuesday nights and tell me it isn't a slippery slope, I have my money on 'House Shoe'

I never thought I'd side with the Yankees on anything, but...

This is pretty great.

As I've said, I would almost never condone the way the Yankees operate, because I think they're usually as guilty as ESPN of the "We're the only game in town" line of thinking, but in this case I think it's nice to see someone busting ESPN's chops a little bit.

Friday Night Lights

It's Senior Night in Nokesville as the undefeated Sherando Warriors arrive to play the 3-4 Brentsville Tigers.

Watch for Sherando's all world RB Markeith Brisco to plow through the holes made by Warriors' big uglies up front led by senior Joey Christine. With a similar test in the muddy slop last week, Brisco rushed for 206 yards and three TD's against the formidable James Woods team en route to a 28-13 victory. Just a week earlier, the same James Woods team shutout BDHS 26-0. With much rain in the forecast, expect another ground attack.

Premier high school handicapper Dav is setting this game as:

Sherando (-29.5) BDHS 41.5

With messy, messy conditions expect a relatively low scoring affair. Also, with the game wrapped up expect most of Sherando's starters to be out by the middle of the third quarter as they rest up for their matchup with 8-1 Millbrook next week, in a game that will most likely determine the Northwestern District champion.

Best. Uniforms. Ever.

How did I miss these last weekend?

In the words of a gay man?

"Fabulous."

Instant Replay

Gentlemen,

Sitting here tonight watching the first inning of the game, I couldn't help thinking of the path the Rockies took to the World Series. They were well under .500 in May/June, finally got management to place the balls in a humidifier equalizing the playing field (take note Mr. Castellini), went on a tear in the 2nd half and finally won something like 16 of 17 to reach the one game playoff.

Did you guys watch that game vs. the Padres? If you remember, San Diego scored 2x in the top of the 13th to go ahead, and the Rockies came back with 3 off of Hells Bells Trevor Hoffman to win it......BUT, did they actually win?

Matt Holliday slid home with the winning run, but never touched home plate. The ONE RUN that propelled the Rocks into this historical post season run should never have counted. The game goes to the 14th inning and who knows what happens...

Should the MLB institute a replay system for homeruns/basecalls? I believe putting a replay system in for balls/strikes would take too much away from the game and cause the game to be even longer...but with an effective replay system, the Padres would not have had their season end on an apatheic call by umpire badboy Tim McClelland.

I'm merely setting up the conversation and debate. What are your thoughts?

I believe replay should stay out of the game...while it has been labeled "unpure" due to HGH, steroids, Bonds etc...one true part of the game is the human element and it should stay that way.

Paging Dr. Goodell

Here comes a true test for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in dealing with the scheduled game between the Houston Texans and the San Diego Chargers in fire-ravaged Southern California.

Fortunately, he has quite a precedent in looking at past decisions dealing with the nexus of sports and national disasters. From the assassination of JFK (Rozelle deemed his decision to not postpone the games the worst of his life), to the 1981 NCAA title game during the assassination attempt of Reagan, to the attacks of 9/11, to Hurricane Katrina, sports commissioners have had to make the tough decision of how and when the games will go on.

Qualcomm Stadium is currently a disaster refugee site. See the amazing first-hand picture here. The games cannot be played here. A make up date later in the schedule is unlikely too. They could play the game in the first week of the playoffs, but that would be taking a massive risk that neither team would be playoff eligible.

Potential game sites have ranged from Los Angeles Coliseum to Monster Park in San Francisco to Arizona's Sun Devil Stadium (The Cardinals stadium is hosting a motorcycle rally), to Texas Stadium in Irving, to Reliant Stadium in Houston. I am certain Goddell will not choose Houston as that would give the Texans a 9th home game and would replicate the mistake his predecssor Tags made in having the Saints 'host' the Giants at the Meadowlands. Look for the game to be held in Arizona, where the Chargers are currently practicing.

Commisioner, the sports world is waiting on your move. Make it with deceny, decisiveness, and fairness.

There's Only One October...

After a college bowl game length break, the Senior Circuit Champion Rockies visit the AL Champ Red Sox tonight to start Game One of the Fall Classic.

Who you got?

The Rockies team, touched by God? Winners of 21 of the last 22?



Or the BoSox, win their $143M payroll? The team with the momentum? The team with a reputation for beating up senior citizens?




Early Vegas lines put the Sox at -220 and the Rox at +180. Even with all the analysts calling this a mismatch, I have to think that the Rockies stand a chance. If they can get by Beckett tonight, they will be well on their way to winning it at Coors in five.

What's your prediction?

The proper place for trash talk

Gentlemen,

I officially want to apologize to you all. No, not for T-flowing my Pick'em record...we all know my prowess in the field of mathematics (and yes, I include simple addition in that). But rather for starting an email crap-storm. Trash talk should be regulated to this blog instead of clogging up our inboxes.

In that spirit, I want to get the ball rolling. I present to you a short dramatic scene:

Mr. Bengalsfan enters. He is dressed in a 1988 AFC Championship shirt which is now obviously too small for him. There are many small stains on it from all the dried tears (some of which may actually be the long left over remains of a 4-way bean). Mr. Bengalsfan carries on his shoulders the weight of over ambitious expectations, unfulfilled delusions of grandeur, and Marvin Lewis' remaining contract.

Mr. Bengalsfan (half- heartedly): Who dey? Who dey think gon' beat dem Begnals!? Who dey?

He repeats this over and over, perhaps trying to convince himself of something.

Mr. Steelersfan enters. He is a suave, educated, man of the world with rugged good looks and fantastic taste. He moves and smiles easily, with a manner befitting a FIVE TIME world champion. He knows that everyone secretly respects the hell out of him, but perhaps can't say it for fear of betraying their hometown loyalties.

Mr. Steelersfan (seeing Mr. Bengalsfan): Oh...hello. Ummm...can I help you? You look rather lost. Can I give you some spare change to buy a cup of coffee...or perhaps a linebacker who'd rather pick up a sack than another DUI.

Mr Bengalsfan: Who dey? Who dey think gon' beat dem Begnals!?

Mr. Steelersfan: I'm...sorry...I don't quite understand. Are you?...Is that English?

Mr. Bengalsfan: Who dey think gon' beat dem Begnals!?

Mr. Steelersfan: Oh...I think I understand. Ummm...Cleveland?

Mr. Bengalsfan: .....

Mr. Steelersfan: Seattle? New England?

Mr. Begnalsfan: .....

Mr. Steelersan: Kansas City.

Mr. Bengalsfan: ...Who...dey?

Mr. Steelersfan: Ummm....We dey? Remember?...Santonio Holmes. Overtime touchdown...kept you out of the playoffs last year? But don't worry. You won't have that problem again this year...We will go ahead and clinch the division by Week 13. That will make it easier for you. You look like you could use a rest...and a hot meal.

Mr. Bengalsfan: .....

CURTAIN!

I smell a Tony! (not Ronaldi)

What the F--k?!?

With the college basketball season right around the corner, the NCAA just tweaked their rules regarding proper behavior while on the bench. Read about in the NY Times Here.

According to the NCAA, here are some of the behaviors that can be considered unsportsmanlike and spark a technical foul without warning:

• Talking to an official in a disrespectful manner; Trying to influence an official’s decision;

• Using profanity or language that is abusive, vulgar or obscene;

• Objecting to an official’s decision by rising from the bench or excessively using gestures that either demonstrate officiating signals or displeasure with officiating;

Really? Is this really a problem in major college athletics? When asked for clarification, the NCAA stated that even if an official hears profanity from a coach directed within a huddle to his own players, that was grounds for a no-warning technical.

Watch out Coach K. Myles Brand wants to give you the ole Ivory Gargle.

The Point of No Return

Pitcher of Record

Baseball is the most intricate and detail oriented sport in America (Cricket has it beat, but I am not worried about sticky wickets). It is that detail that makes it great, and frustrating. Its detail is one of the reasons the modern fan does not appreciate baseball because they are either too stupid or too impatient to understand the nuances. However there are some rules that make absolutely no sense, and were obviously made in the 1800’s. The rule that bothers me the most is the rule behind the pitcher of record.

In order to earn a win as a starter you must go 5 innings. If you go under that you do not qualify, regardless of the score. You can lose if you go under 5, but not win. By itself that rule does not seem intimidating, or complicated, or jaded or whatever you want to call it. The problem arises when it comes time to decide who does actually win.

The part of the rule that gets me is if a starting pitcher leaves a game with his team winning before he pitches 5 innings, he is still ineligible for the win, even if the score does not change. In that situation, it is up to the discretion of the official scorekeeper to declare the pitcher of record. Therefore the official scorekeeper decides which relief pitcher did the most to contribute to the win, and that pitcher gets the win. But the starting pitcher cannot get the win. So as long as the score never ties and the lead never changes, the official scorekeeper decides the winner.

So here is my problem, didn’t the starting pitcher contribute the most to the win? Didn’t he do enough for his team to win? Shouldn’t that be the measure of who gets the win? In the logic of the rule some guy who comes in with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th and gets 1 out can get the win for only facing 1 batter, but the starter who went 4 2/3rds innings and only let up 1 run can’t get the win. Also by that logic, every subsequent pitcher can give up 2 or more runs, thus giving up more runs than the starter, but as long as the lead does not change the official scorekeeper still must chose someone to get the win, and it can’t be the starter.

The starter can leave a game with the score 2-1 in the 5th with a blister, and by the end of the game the score is 25-17 he still can’t get the win. He could have the least earned runs, most innings pitched and most strikeouts of entire staff for the night, and still not win. I think that is a travesty of the rule system.

This is obviously an archaic rule hearkening back to the days before regular relief appearances and fragile starters. For Cy Young to not go 5 innings he either had to give up like 20 runs or get shot by Ty Cobb. Back then I understand the rule. But today it makes no sense. So shouldn’t we change the rule?

I have 2 possible solutions. First we can change the rule to read that a starting pitcher can only win if he leaves the game with his team ahead (pending runners and earned runs factored in), but there is no minimum. Or, we change the ‘win’ stat to reflect who earned the win, the starter win (SW) or the relief win (RW). For example if a starter goes only 3 innings, but his team never trails and wins the game he can earn a SW. But if a reliever comes in and cleans up the mess he earns a RP. This would fix the problem and add a new stat for fantasy junkies and Elias to track.

At the end of the day this situation only happens a handful of times a season, but with fantasy championships and players’ salaries tied to these stats, every win counts. Just think, if they kept those stats maybe ‘The Loogy’ would have won.

How Hot is that Seat, Exactly?

On the heels of the news from ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio that Ocho Cinco wants out at the end of the season, one must wonder exactly what Marvin Lewis has to do to get on the hot seat with Bengals management. From a sports gambling website, I looked at the odds of who will be the first coach fired. Surprisingly, Marvin was not in the top ten! I know that Cincinnati is in a glee considering that we have become the first city in American sporting history to have an African-American MLB manager and NFL head coach at the same time, but that situation cannot trump performance.

Marvin, brought in as a defensive guru, leads the third-worst defense in the entire NFL. The offense, which he is remarkably hands-off, has thrived. Yet he doesn't endure the same criticism that he may deserve because of his affable relationship with the local business, religious leaders and press.

"My job is to get the junior college guys to act like they've gone to Notre Dame and Michigan," Lewis said. "As we go, we'll continue to get more of those stable guys. But unfortunately, that's what we're dealing with -- a bunch of junior college guys."

Hmm.. you know what that sounds like? What's that expression that is often bantered around immoral and failing college programs? Oh yeah... Lack of Institutional Control.

Marvin, the bloom is off the rose. Start coaching like your job's on the line. We can all only hope that it is.

Tramp Stamp Nation

Let's see.... how can I best convey to potential suitors the combination of my BoSox allegiance and my sex appeal?

1. Get Boston logo tattooed on the lower back.
2.
3. Mission Accomplished!

At Least It Wasn't 'He Hate Me'

Check out what Wizards G DeShawn Stevenson has been up to this offseason. Apparently channeling his inner 'V.Young' he became the most recent athlete to add his surname across his shoulders.

His plans include eventually adding his number (#2) below the name and, in his words, 'completing the jersey'. With today's movement of players through trades and free agency, let's hope he doesn't add the full Wizards logo to his chest...

Channeling Jimmy Bowden...

A huge offseason looms for the Washington Nationals. They are entering their fourth year in Washington (hey, so am I!) and are prepared to open the $611M HOK-designed Nationals Park in SE DC. They recently hired Stan Kasten (formerly of the Braves) and have developed a plan of building a team and farm system to compete for the long term. In compliance of that vision and financial flexibility, they dropped their payroll precipitously this past year from $63M to $38M.

Here's a look at some of the moves they should and will make this offseason:

First, they should continue to hold the long-term vision of running the club. They have no need to worry about selling seats and luxury boxes in the short term, as they will certainly have a two-three year novelty of fans attending a new park. That being said, revenues will increase and they can make bigger plays in free agency.

Let's look at their existing contracts for 2008

Nick Johnson ($16.5M over 07-09; $5.5M in 08)
Cristian Guzman ($16.8M over 05-08; $4.2M in 08)
Austin Kearns ($17.5M over 07-09; $5M in 08)
Brian Scheider ($16M over 06-09; $4.9M in 08)
Ronnie Belliard ($3.5M over 08-09; $1.6M in 08)
Dmitri Young ($10M over 08-09; $5M in 08)

Their biggest in-house free agents are Ryan Zimmerman and Chad Cordero. They should absolutely sign Zimmerman as he is the new face of the franchise. Cordero had a down year, and I'm in the camp that 'closers' are vastly overvalued. They should be firm in negotiations with him.

Just recently, the star of the 2008 Free Agent class, Torii Hunter stated that he is interested in playing with Dmitri and would give the Nationals a long look. He also specifically stated that playing in majority African-American city would be an enormous plus. The flexibility to go after player like Hunter is exactly why the Nationals showed fiscal restraint in the past year. I could see the Nats getting Hunter with a $50M/5yr deal, with a team option for the sixth. Torii and Dmitri could help recruit LF Milton Bradley, as they could certainly get him on the cheap after his mental antics and torn ACL. He could be had for $8M over 2 with extensive performance and plate appearance incentives.

On the pitching front, I think they should try to resign (or go to arbitration) with their own talent Patterson, Bergmann, Chico and Hill. On the hot stove, I could see them making a move for either Kyle Lohse or Jason Jennings. Both look to command a $30M-$40M deal over 4 years.

Here's the imagined lineup for the 2008 Nats:

CF Torii Hunter
2B Ronnie Belliard
3B Ryan Zimmerman
RF Austin Kearns
1B Dmitri Young
LF Milton Bradley (or, Justin Maxwell, who has been very impressive in AA Ball)
C Bryan Schneider
SS Cristian Guzman

SP Kyle Lohse
SP Shawn Hill
SP John Patterson
SP Jason Bergmann
SP Matt Chico

RP Saul Rivera
RP Chris Schroder
RP Jon Rauch
RP Luis Ayala

By the way, a fantastic resource for MLB contracts:

http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/

While I'm nitpicking the ESPN frontpage...

I'm a writer professionally, and have been for nearly three years. Admittedly a brief period, especially for someone plying a creative trade, nevertheless my opinion counts. So everyday, when I go to the ESPN front page and see something like this:

Why is everyone now noticeing Indians' TEAMWORK? It's how they got this far the whole year.

it makes me a little queasy. Why? Because Joe Sixpack here writing under the nom de plume OkinawaMarine has just been published at a more prestigious media outlet than I ever have, and all that within forty minutes of getting out of bed, and the guy is most likely on his second beer.

And let's talk about spelling. Where in Hell is the Ombudsman during all this? Le Ann Schreiber, get on the damn ball. I know our society is all about constant connectedness and armchair speculation, but for the love of God, let's at least put a spell check in there before you get your 15 minutes.

Also, I'd like to use this space to nominate Ian Frank as the official Norwood House Ombudsman. Vote in the comments section.

This just feels more racist than the logo.

• AP Photo/Tony Dejak

Am I wrong? It's like if there was a baseball team called the Brooklyn Black Guys and my roommate and I showed up to the game looking like Amos and Andy.
Not that I have a leg to stand on as a Seminoles fan, but this here just seems more egregious.

Seriously guys...

I think Dave should add a small wrinkle to each week's Pick 'em Challenge. Since he obviously has the time and the enthusiasm, I would love to see where we all stand (week-by-week and overall) if there was real money on the line. Choose an amount to bet on each game or pick a constant amount for each week. Say $20 per game. I guess you could choose to bet more or less on each game, but that seems very complicated to keep track of.

I think there are several good reasons to do this, not the least of which being a demonstration of the pure risk one takes when putting down real money. Also it would show how hard it is to dig out of gambling debt.

But, more to the point it would emphasize how much I'm HOUSING you all at this.

Vote YES on Dave wasting more time at work ...I think he's earned it.

According to my "365 Sports facts a year" calendar...

Today is Kordell Stewart AND Tim McCarver's birthday.
Come to think of it Ian, I would love to see THOSE two guys announce the National Spelling Bee.
That would be amazing.

This is my baseball post.

1) Michael, we need some background on Dusty. Give us some perspective. I want to know what it's like to have this toothpick-chewer planting his butt on the home bench.

2) An interesting note about Hank and Hal Steinbrenner that I was thinking about this afternoon. Steinbrenner's daughter recently got divorced. That in itself is not that big a deal, except for the fact that her husband used to be an heir-apparent to a president of baseball operations-type position.
It's possible and even likely they'd been having marrital trouble for some time. Do we think the Boss hung in the saddle longer than he wanted to because he didn't want to risk turning over any portion of control to a man who he feared wouldn't be in his family permanently?

If that's the case, could we find quantifiable evidence that this "Carlo" Steinbrenner's marital habits were actually in some way affecting the performance of the team, by making George hold on even when his heart wasn't in it?

It's an interesting thing to think about. Did a bad marriage sink the Yanks for the better part of this decade?

I just want to be the one who posts this.

If the college football season ended today, Ohio State would play South Florida for the National Championship.

At this point, niether man nor god could convince me that the universe has not gone completely batshit insane.

Having said that, I'm totally in favor of South Florida running the table and getting a shot at the title. I love the idea that a decade-old program could have the ultimate success the same year that the most storied program in the history of the sport is having a historically abysmal season (no offense, Michael).

Anyone else want to see the Golden Calves win all the titty beads?

Who's On This Week?

Do you ever wonder why certain NFL games are shown in certain cities? Do you wonder which game you or the majority of the country will get to see this week? For those of us who don't have the Sunday Ticket (giving that up was one of the toughest decisions I've ever made), this website is invaluable to learning more about how the decisions to show certain games are configured.

http://www.the506.com/nflmaps/

Points of note:

Local affiliation trumps all.
National game of interest usually carries.
Games involving your team's rivals (usually in division).

But then, there's a funny fourth category: where a star may have played high school or college football. There's always a shred of red in the map in Southern Mississippi, that carries Bret Favre's Packers games more reliably than Milwaukee. Knoxville, TN has an affinity for Peyton and the Colts. As Ian can tell you, you used to not go anywhere on a fall Sunday in Danville without seeing local-boy Tim Couch's Browns on TV (and he was just holding a clipboard!).

Anyway, hope you enjoy this an interesting and useful resource.

Post-season baseball: TV on MUTE

Gentlemen,

As I sit here catching a little of the ALCS on my dinner break, I'm forced to face the fact that we must suffer through yet another baseball post-season with the always terrible Joe Buck and Tim McCarver (see www.shutuptimmccarver.com). Fox sports in general is amateur at best and downright bumbling at worst. Combine that with the addition of TBS - the network that for 4 and a half hours a day airs nothing by Home Improvement and Yes,Dear...followed by The Worlds Funniest Wedding Outtakes ("outtakes"? really?).

When will they realize that America HATES these two guys and deserves far better coverage of their national pastime.

Now, I'm far from an expert on baseball or baseball coverage, but I happen to be good friends with guys who are. So my questions are:

1) Who would you want calling the Championship Series and the World Series? This can be a current tandem or a dream team living or dead.

2) Any announcers from other sports that you'd like to see cross over? (N.B. Mike Tirico doesn't count because if we decided right NOW to race vacuum cleaners pulled by teams of Welsh Corgis, he would be called in to be the announcer...and be OK, I think).

3) Who is the absolute WORST announcer of all time in any sport?

Here are my picks:

1) Bob Uecker (maybe just because it's the Indians...but seriously he is a HUGE hero up here) and Vin Scully. I know they are both play-by-play guys, but who cares. I guess Mary could drop in, but it's been so long since he's called a game that matters I worry that might hurt himself.

2) I would love to hear Keith Jackson call a game from the frozen tundra of Coors Field.

3) Though there are many candidates (I'm sure you'll post them), I would like to nominate Dan Hoard, the play-by-play announcer for UC. His annoying "Touchdown Beaaaaaaarcats!" has me almost regretting that the Cats are going to win the Big East and go to a BCS bowl game. Hoard also overshadows Chuck Machock who personally invites you down for a burger in O'Brianville a least a dozen times over each basketball broadcast. Also the rise of Dan Hoard correlates perfectly with the decline of UC basketball...coincidence...I submit that it is NOT.

These are my humble picks...what are yours?

And Hanley...realize that it is possible to pick Harry Carry for questions 1 AND 3.

Bringing Your 'A' Game

Happy Valley knows how to party.

I mean... damn. Damn! I count no less than 73 thirty packs in this photo. That's not including the beers in their 'coolers'. Damn. Anyone wish they'd gone to a football-obsessed Big 10 school?

Schuerholz to Step Down ... The Best GM Ever?

In the biggest MLB story of the day, it appears that John Schuerholz will be stepping down as the General Manager of the Atlanta Braves. See the story here. From the Atlanta Journal Constitution (the preeminent source on Vick news, by the way), they report that Schuerholz will be moving to team president, allowing long time assistant Frank Wren to take over the GM reigns.

Either way, it looks like Schuerholz's tenure as GM of the team of the South is through. What then is his legacy? I would argue that he ranks at the very top of list for modern athletic GMs.

From a Moneyball perspective, the goal of the GM is to put a team in position to make the playoffs, and hope that you win the playoffs with a dissproportionate frequency. As Billy Beane stated, he built teams for the regular season so that the talent and numbers he'd acquire would win over a large 162 game sample. When thrown into a 5 game or 7 game (at most!) crapshoot of a playoff series, anything can happen. Thus, you cannot blame Schuerholz one bit for his team's playoff shortcomings (1 title in 14 postseason appearances).

That's why, I'd argue the accomplishment of Schuerholz is incredible. His teams reached the playoffs in 14 straight seasons. That's unfathomable in this era of MLB parity. His teams acheived a cumulative record of 1,594-1,092. He successfully transitioned from two distinct eras of Braves teams and players. Some may argue that what the Marlins have done is more remarkable - having two fantastic championship seasons interspersed with abject futility. Not me. I would say that to stay that good for that long is much, much more impressive.

Thoughts on the Schuerholz era? Is there a better GM in baseball?

The Best Damn Band in the Land

Sorry all you Buck Nuts, but I am referring to the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band. Via the wonderful time-waster that is Wikipedia Random Article, I came across this beauty of a page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Marching_Band

For your sheer entertainment, please scroll down to the section entitled, "Controversial Actions by the Band." I promise, it's worth the read.

Long live the REAL Best Damn Band in the Land!!!

A Rod's Future in NY

I am by far the least versed in baseball among this esteemed NH staff so I will raise the issue and defer to expertise.

Tell me all your thoughts on A Rod's postseason woes and his future in pinstripes.

Aces Wild?

Here's a fascinating yarn about Jacqueline Gagne, a retiree in Southern California who claims to have made 16 holes-in-one in the past six months. And here's the accompanying video from the local news outlet with real footage of one or her aces.

Now.... there's more holes in this story than I can count, but being one of the two members of TNH's editorial staff with an ace I consider myself quite the expert.

Points of interest:

• She's played 118 rounds this year, averaging one hole-in-one per 30 par threes.

• Seven times she's searched all over for her shot, only to find her Pro V1 nestled in the cup

• In the past five years, Tiger Woods has holed exactly ZERO shots competitively from the 100 to 165 yard range

More facts can be found at her personal website. She's now had 39 news stories reported on her, endorsement deals from Cobra, a book release, and appearances in celebrity tournaments. Certainly, this story is working out for her.

From the story:
"In July, playing off a Handicap Index of more than 6 -- in March it was 10.1, in September 4.0 -- she reported shooting a course-record 66 at Eagle Falls Golf Course. She followed two weeks later with a 61. The Eagle Falls pro, Robb Mihelic, doubts it: "We had just punched the greens, and I couldn't make a 10-foot putt that day. But she came right into the shop and said she'd shot 61." He asked her, "Did you play them down, or winter rules?" "What's that?" she said to Mihelic. Learning the difference, she said, "Oh, no, we never touch the ball." She had "chipped well" and "it was one of those days." But when another player and an Eagle Falls employee reported seeing her make higher scores than she reported, the pro decided he would not legitimize the round. "I didn't post the 61."

I'm nominating our West Coast Bureau Chief Chris to challenge Ms. Gagne to a competitive match play round. We need blow the cover off this national disgrACE.

MNF: Bills and Boys

Monday Night Football rolls to Orchard Park tonight as the 1-3 Bills host the undefeated Cowboys. It’s the first time the Bills have hosted MNF since the last time the Democrats had a majority in the House (Fall of 1994, for those outside the Beltway). After a heartbreaking, last-second opening loss to the Broncos, the Bills have lost as expected on the road to Pittsburgh and New England then upset the Jets at home. The Boys on the other hand have steamrolled through Giants, Fins, Bears and Rams winning by nearly twenty points per game.

It will be an uphill battle, but look for the Bills to try to control early with RB Marshawn Lynch, considering rookie and former Stanford Cardinal QB Trent Edwards will be making his second start. Protecting the football will be imperative as the Cowboys lead the NFL in turnover margin (+7). Ideally, the Bills don’t want to be in a position where they will have to ask Edwards to make big plays, but if the Boys have any weakness, it is their pass defense.

On the opposite side of the ball, Tony Romo will try to rip apart the worst defense in the NFL; opposing quarterbacks have averaged nearly 285 yards per game, easily the worst in the league. Watch for TE Jason Witten to have a big game catching balls across the middle. With the game in hand, the Cowboys can control the tempo with Marion Barber III (his friends call him Trip) and Julius Jones.

My prediction is that the Bills keep it interesting in the first half, but quick scores in the third quarter lead to an easy Dallas victory. Holding with my prediction from the Pickem Challenge, I’ll say the Bills add a late score to cover.

Dallas 28

Buffalo 20

What's your prediction? What are the keys to the game? Who will have a fantasy breakout? Post in the comments.