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