On Hiatus

A Lesson in Rememberance

Upon hearing the tragic story of the fatal shooting of high school football coach, Ed Thomas, I wanted to take a moment to thank my mentors.

So thank you to:
My Parents
Coach Rehr
Mrs. Harms
Mr. Chambers
Rev. Tim Cushman
Rev. Josh Rice
Coach Lav
Rev. David Golden
Rev. Derek Baker
Dr. Bartels
Dr. Hittenberger

Who has had the greatest impact on your life? Don't forget to thank them. You never know when it will be too later

The NFL CBA

Carlos Zambrano is Stupid

I know, its not exactly a news flash. But the Chicago Cubs hulking, gatorade machine crushing, right hander needs to stop with the tantrums and start pitching like he did last year against the Astros.

Now I will admit that everyone gets a little testy as times, after all the mild mannered Ted Lilly did get thrown out recently, and Carlos was not the first cub to go after the defenseless beverage dispenser (that honor went to the normally affable Ryan Dempster).

So why pick on Mr. Zambrano? Because it is a pattern of behavior. You never know when crazy Carlos will show up, but you know that he will at least once a month.

So what is the solution. The final step is trading him to someone like the Yankees, Rangers, Mets, Nationals, Angels, or anyone else who would like a very talented, very expensive, very emotional pitcher who had all world stuff.

But that is a bit drastic so how about having a designated Carlos Calmer.

Lets face it, someone should have gotten in between Carlos and the Ump, but Sweet Lou couldn't waddle fast enough, Larry Rothschild is to mild to be noticed, and Alan Trammell is so much shorter than Big Z (Trammel 6'0" Zambrano 6'5") that I am not sure Z would even see him.

So find a relatively young, tall, former player to be the Designated Calmer...problem solved...you're welcome.

Hockey

Yes this a hockey post. I don't know a ton about hockey but I know that 3 of the original six hockey teams may be in the conference finals this year.

I know that the Capitals-Penguins series was perhaps the best ever, and that I would love to watch Sydney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin play each other every game.

I know that my Blackhawks may make it to the Stanley Cup Finals if the Ducks can rally and beat the Red Wings.

I know that the SCF will most likely end up the Red Wings vs the Penguins.

And that's all I know.

Manny Being Everyone Else

Sorry for such a delay between posts. I was busy getting married. But without further ado...Manny Being Everyone Else

"That's just Manny being Manny" is perhaps the most overused phrase that has rolled around major league baseball for the last 24 months. Oh sure some phrases like "Homer-Friendly Ballpark", "Five Tool Player", and "Ouch! Doc I didn't think these steroid injections would hurt so much" may have been uttered more frequently, but nothing quite captured the essence of one segment of baseball like "Manny being Manny."

But Manny is not being Manny anymore. Manny, like 103 other players and almost everyone else (allegedly) in the game, has been using performance enhancing drugs.

I was surprised.

I have always liked Manny, I was never really a fan but I thought he put on a good show. I honestly thought he might have been different from the other sluggers of the era. I mean he was very different from them on the field after all. But sadly this week we have found that he is no different.

I pity him. That's right, one of the most ardent steroid opponents, feels pity for Manny Ramirez. Why? Because he has fallen so far so fast and he, unlike A-Rod, probably does not have enough in the tank to win fans back.

Look at what he lost. "Mannywood" has been stripped away and was renamed Dodgertown. The Dodgers have stopped selling his merchandise. And he has been suspended for 50 games and will forfeit over $7 million in salary.

So yes I feel bad for Manny, but he got what he deserved. And kudos to major league baseball.

What?! Kudos to major league baseball? Yes. MLB has done the one thing that would make be begin to respect them again. They have suspended a superstar player, from a big three market team, who was that teams biggest gate and TV draw. Yes I know there was a smoking gun in this case, but as Bones would tell you (again allegedly) a smoking gun can be covered up by major league baseball.

So MLB doubters you have been put on notice. While there is still work to be done, the first major shot in the war to clean up the game has been fired. Baseball seems to finally be serious about trying to fix its problems, and I have taken notice.

Bracketology

I love this time of year. Conference tournaments have started, the brackets are being built, automatic births are being distributed, and like every year, there are going to be some snubs. What I don't like about the current system is that some good and worthy teams are snubbed, while two teams that have "earned" a "tournament birth" by winning their conference tournament have to play a game just to get into the real tournament.

So what is the solution? I think we need more play in games.

Wait, more play in games. There already is a play in game and most people hate it...

Yes, people don't like the play in game, but that is because it is not interesting and it always pits two small schools that will lose in the first round against each other.

Here are my suggestions:
1) If a team earns an automatic bid, they should be seeded in the tournament.
2) Instead of seeding the 11 and 12 seeds of each bracket with the dregs of the major conferences, make those spots the play in games and pit two major programs against each other for the right to enter the tournament.

What will this do?
Instead of a battle of almost 16 seeds that are destined to lose, it will pit some schools that could actually make a run in the tournament against each other. In addition, it will reward the small schools who won the right to be seeded. (Which for my money the small schools are what give the tournament its texture and intrigue.)

So can this work?
I think so. Here is my bracket prediction for this year's tournament if they put in eight elimination games.