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.

NCAA Graduation Rates

This past weekend, the NCAA announced the compilation of their newest data regarding graduation rates among Division One student-athletes. It is their 2007 report based on students that entered college between 1996 and 2000. See all the data here. Having married into a family of five D1 athletes (all who graduated, mind you), this issue is close to home. While there is significant debate over the accuracy, such as how you define whether a school ‘failed’ to graduate a player (for example: transferring, graduating in more than six years, choosing a lucrative professional career all do not count), it is fascinating none the less to garner these factoids:

• The overall percentage graduated held steady at 77%, and it must be said that this is far better than the overall graduation rate of non-athletic students.

• Of the top 25 football teams, Boston College is the best at graduating players with 93 percent; Nebraska is #2 at 83 percent (The N stands for Nowledge!)

• The Red River Shootout combatants rank right at the bottom (Oklahoma and Texas with 44% and 42% respectively)

• Notre Dame football ranks near the very top of all schools (hey, at least you can celebrate something – you are in Duke football territory now).

• For the first time in a while, UNC men's basketball is better than Duke (86% to 67%)

• Maryland, under the esteemed Gary Williams scored a 0%. They failed to graduate a single player during this timeframe. Remember, this includes their title run in 2002.

Now, step back a second. Does this matter one bit to you? Could you care less if your favorite school actually graduated its revenue sports student-athletes? Don’t they add a value to an institution far greater on the field or court than they do in the chemistry lab? In all reality, elite players at these top programs are in a lucrative (note: for everyone except the players) minor league that allows them to practice the skills they will hope to use at the next level. For these players, we should not be worried. But for those student-athletes with no shot of playing professionally, it is imperative on the academic institution to do everything possible to ensure the student is prepared for a life beyond athletics. This includes helping them at every step on the way to graduation.

The Four Reasons I'm excited for this blog.

1. Blogs are the new best way to get fired.
Take a gander at this story and the actual blog that accompanies it. That there pretty young thing is gonna be a writer some day, and getting fired from her job because of shit-talking her boss probably just helped. She's got a book she wants to publish. Adorable, right? Let me guess. Kitten mystery? It involves unicorns in some way? I hate you. And stop posting coded messages in Gaelic or Farsi or whatever to your baby-daddy stationed overseas. Not cute.

2. I've been reading a lot of books lately, and they don't have that much embedded video.
Observe.


2a* For bonus laughs, be sure to watch the video of Christian "The Nigerian Nightmare" Okoye breaking no less than 175 tackles on his way into the end zone.

3. My daily conversations now are pretty much free of references to Quatman's.
Like when I scratch my name into the window of the subway with my keys, no one comes along and adds "Remember that time you made Ian pay for your burger [and were justified in doing so]?"

4. My life is empty.
That one's more sad than funny. Also I work nights.

The Norwood House 2.0

In high school, we joked that after college we’d reconvene in Cincinnati and find a group house in Norwood. We’d work, we’d go to class but we’d connect together each night at a place to remember old times, exchange new ideas, watch sports, play cards and just hang out. We’d call that place:

The Norwood House.

Well, a few years down the road and spread out from San Diego to Brooklyn, The Norwood House is a reality. This blog will be a place of writing, reflecting, commenting, speculating, jocking and joneing. It can be a place of serious analysis; it can be ridiculous satire. In Flip’s words, it will be one great collaborative creative outlet. I often laugh out loud reading emails and message board posts from you guys. This can be the place where those posts and thoughts are saved, collected and reflected. With a modicum of effort, I am certain we can create a fun site to read and more importantly something we can be proud of together.