Saturday, December 15, 2007

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?

Thursday, December 13, 2007

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.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

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

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

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.