I thought he was supposed to be really good

The Bruins traded away Joe Thornton.

As you can tell from my numerous NHL posts, I'm quite the hockey expert. When Thornton was drafted number one he came in with great fanfare -- people were even comparing him to Gretzky and Lemieux. The Bruins have been terrible this year, but I don't know if it was Thornton's fault.

The way the Bruins have been lately with their terrible front office moves, I figure this will be another stupid move. When you trade a star for three players I never heard of (to be fair, I can probably name a total of five players in the NHL), the team trading away the star usually loses.

In the seventies the Bruins were the most popular team in Boston; now they're a joke.

Hockey experts feel free to chip in.

Terrible

Eddie F Rush ruins any game he refs. Any guess what the F stands for?

That should fix everything

George Karl was thrown out of a game for arguing with the refs and had this to say: "There's a rumor out of the league office that we're trying to take flopping out of the game, but I don't think that was orchestrated very much in those two calls."

A problem in the NBA with flopping!?!? I never thought of that. The NBA's solution: suspend Karl for two games.

A worthy cause

Go to KeepManny.com to sign the petition.

We here at KEEPMANNY.com do NOT want to see Manny play for anyone else besides the Boston Red Sox. After watching him play in Boston since he arrived via free agency in 2001, we have grown very fond of the quirky and aloof left fielder. We feel it would be an absolute travesty to see him dealt to another team. Manny is an absolute force at the plate and is simply irreplaceable offensively. Teamed with Big Papi and the rest of the Sox current roster, we feel that without Manny, Red Sox Nation would be deprived of future World Championships. Trading a player of Manny's caliber, considered by many to be one of the best pure hitters to ever play the game, would be rivaled ONLY by the trade of Babe Ruth. Haven't we learned from our mistakes?

At least he's better than Stuart Scott

Borderking, King of all Musicals, sent me this video.

"On March 22, freshman Brian Collins anchored a sportscast on NewsLink@9, a student-run broadcast service on campus. Only a few moments into his segment, Collins began to stumble. The rest is Internet lore."

Looking for a new home?

Manny's condo is on the market for the bargain price of $6.9 million. If you're interested, I know someone in Boca who can help with the financing.

TO has a friend

Again, U.S. Senators have nothing else better to do.

This one's real

My fake e-mail must have been inspiring because I just got this from Sano in Sunny California. She got my name wrong (Bart does politics and tequila; Alan does sports and Zima), but it's a good spirited letter.

Dearest Bart:

I've gotta get this off my chest, so bear with me:

Well, today was the deadline for Pete Rose to have been nominated for the Hall of Fame and it looks like it isn't going to happen. (No surprise since that handjob, Fay Vincent, is the chairman of the HOF Screening Committee).

The question still remains: SHOULD Pete Rose be in? I say yes!!! As a lifelong baseball fan I can say without hesitation that Pete Rose never cheated ME on the field. His record on the field as a player is undisputed--and if you can find anyone who wants to argue that point with me, well, you'd better be prepared for a good redass on this one.

Should he have bet on baseball while still a member of MLB in a managerial position? Absolutely not; I think we can all agree that was a pretty dumb thing to do.

But should such a record-holder and MLB legend never receive acknowledgment for his historic and mesmerizing play in the greatest game on earth? If you are one who believes Pete Rose deserves to be excluded from the HOF, these questions of equal proportion should be pursued and answered honestly: Should Mark McGwire's legendary successful pursuit of breaking Roger Maris's record be stricken because McGwire's a juicer? (Particularly since the McGwire/Sosa race to break the 61 record gave a huge shot of adrenaline into the arm of what was a sinking MLB)

What about Sammy Sosa? Should he be allowed into the HOF after getting caught with a corked bat, all the while lying about it on ESPN? How was Darryl Strawberry allowed to stay in the game after being arrested myriad times for illegal narcotics? What about Steve Garvey, arrested for beating his wife Cindy into near-Nicole Brown-Simpson proportions? What exactly do Handjob Vincent and BiggerHandjob Selig consider cheating? To what degree is cheating ok?

This is ALL made more complicated by the well-publicized convo where Selig tells Rose, "if you admit to what you did, I'll lift the lifetime ban," ONLY for Rose to find out after his literary mea culpa, that Major League Asshole Selig would demonstrate that he never had any intention of doing so during the 5 to 20 year timespan following retirement, during which Rose would've been eligible. MLBAsshole's new decision is "I'll revisit that after 2006." What a crock of horseshit.

Trust me, I've heard every argument on this issue and I happen to be married to a man who doesn't think Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame. As usual, he's wrong, and I'm right :)

Just some food for thought

Sano in Sunny CA

NFL thoughts

Haven't done this in a while.

• The Lions fired Mariucci. Does it really matter? They'll still be the Lions.
• Byron Leftwich is out for at least a month. The Jaguars were a team that could spoil Indy's undefeated season. Don't see that happening without Leftwich.
• I'm not counting on the Steelers to spoil Indy's season. Tonight's an important game. The Steelers win their important games in September and October.
• If Indy does go undefeated, at least it would shut up the Bitter Has-Beens, I mean the 1972 Dolphins.
• Dat Nugyen is out for the season and may retire. Dat's too bad. Sorry.
• Aaron Brooks can look so good on some of his touchdown passes, yet he's so bad. Wonder if a good coach could turn him around.
• My Patriots rant: Rodney Harrison's a great player, but the Patriots' lousy defense can't be completely blamed on his injury. The front seven's been inconsistent against the run, and their pass rush has been terrible. Maybe the value of Romeo Crennel was underestimated.
• Sure we can blame the Giants' kicker, but when the Giants got into field goal position they stopped being aggressive and even lost yards. I don't understand coaches who have their teams stop right when the get in range for a long field goal. You have to trust your players to not turn the ball over, and as Tom Coughlin knows very well, field goals over forty yards aren't a guarantee.
• Jeremy Shockey celebrating and pointing to the camera before seeing that Feely missed the kick was the highlight of the year. Scroll down at SportsFrog.com to see it in a constant loop.
  
• Better than Ezra performed at halftime during the Jets game. I know someone named Ezra; Better than Ezra isn't better than him.
  

An old e-mail

I enjoy sharing e-mails, but I haven't received any lately. So I guess I'll just have to make one up.

To: bartcopsportseast@yahoo.com
From: coy@yahoo.com
Date: August 31, 2005

Hey Alan:

Check out the fantasy team I just drafted: Culpepper and McNabb at QB, Dillon and McAllister at RB, T.O. and Javon Walker at WR, and the Patriots' defense. Pretty sweet, huh?

Coy

p.s. Can't wait for that new Fox show, Head Cases. Looks like a winner.

Little trivia

Since the Godfather answered Guess the Athlete! so quickly, here's a little trivia question: Who are the seven different players the Patriots have started at strong safety this year?

Guess the Athlete!

Some baseball

As I watch Brady and the Pats look foolish against the Chiefs, it may be best to think about some baseball:

• Great move by the Mets getting Delgado, especially with the Marlins still paying for some of his salary. If the Mets get Manny too, I'd go out of my way to watch them.
• Don't understand how teams like the Marlins and Phillies give other teams money to pay players they're trading away. I'd rather spend too much on a player than pay a lot of money for nothing.
• Analyzing the Jim Thome trade, the key word is "if." If Thome regains his form, this is a great trade for the White Sox. It helps the Sox that the Phillies are still paying a lot of Thome's contract, but the White Sox are still putting a lot of trust in their doctors who say Thome can stay healthy. As for the Phillies, if Ryan Howard turns out to be as good as he looked in his rookie year, the trade's acceptable. If he isn't and Thome thrives in Chicago, the trade is terrible.
• According to the NY Daily News, the Braves are entering the Billy Wagner sweepstakes. BJ Ryan's lucrative contract and three division rivals fighting over the best reliever on the free agent market will make Wagner a very wealthy man. The Red Sox are reportedly interested in Wagner, but I don't see that happening.
• Brian Giles is looking for about $30 million over 3 years, and the Yankees might give it to him. He put up some nice numbers with the Pirates during the steroid era, but do you really want to give $30 million to a player who batted .301 with 15 homeruns and 83 RBI last year? Maybe Giambi can give him some good masking agents.
• Need some Christmas shopping ideas: How about an old Busch Stadium urinal for $2,174?
  

I'm only posting this because my predictions are usually wrong

I have a really bad feeling about the Patriots against the Chiefs. The Pats have been bad against teams with great tight ends, good running backs, and competent quarterbacks. They have been stronger against the run lately, but then you had in KC's home field advantage and the fact that KC has more to play for and it looks like a Patriots loss.

Let's see if my jinx worked.

Hey big spender, dig this blender

So BJ Ryan is worth $47 million? The Blue Jays decided to spend some money this year and are giving Ryan a ridiculous 5 year contract. Of all the years the Blue Jays decide to spend money, they choose the offseason with maybe the worst crop of free agents in the history of free agency. BJ Ryan had 36 saves for a bad team last year, so now he'll make more than Mariano Rivera. Before last year's good season, Ryan had a career total of 6 saves. If I'm a general manager, I'd avoid this free agent market with high prices and mediocre talent.

Answer to Guess the Athlete!

It's Tim "Pops" Frisby, a 40-year-old Gulf War veteran who last year became a walk-on receiver for South Carolina. He decided this season would be his last, but unlike most "student" athletes who quit early, he'll still be going to classes and graduate. Here's the heartwarming story.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Jets' next starting quarterback practicing the fumbleruskie at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Just got sick to my stomach

No, I didn't eat a bad piece of turkey.

I was thinking about how the Red Sox made a big deal and how it looks like the Mets got Carlos Delgado. Also the Mets are grabbing headlines by aggressively going after Billy Wagner and every other free agent in the market (still no confirmation about Terrell Owens becoming the Mets next right fielder though).

Meanwhile the Yankees have been quiet. Dangerously quiet. I was thinking about how they've been quiet as I kept reading rumors about how Ichiro wants to be traded. That's when I tasted some vomit. Ichiro might become a Yankee!

Maybe he is Jesus

To promote his client, Scott Boras created a big binder to show teams how valuable Johnny Damon is. An excerpt from the New York Times:

Boras made a copy of his binder available to The New York Times. In it are sections titled "Best Leadoff Man in Baseball"; "Most Durable Active Player in the Major Leagues/Deserving of a 7-Plus-Year Contract"; and "Better Than Future Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson." Statistics follow each heading.

The not-so-subtle request for at least a seven-year deal and the not-so-subtle backhanding of Henderson is intriguing enough, but the information in the binder also projects that Damon will record his 3,000th hit by 2012; play more games in center field than anyone in baseball history by 2015; and have the second-highest fielding percentage ever by a center fielder a decade from now, too.

I need to get Scott Boras to promote this site. We should just put Damon in the Hall of Fame right now! Here's some impressive statistics from the same article:

He is the only leadoff hitter since 1972 to have more than 165 hits and score at least 100 runs for eight straight seasons. Over the past six years, he has been in scoring position 25 percent more than any other leadoff man.

He has scored more runs, driven in more runs, walked more and had a higher slugging percentage than any leadoff hitter for the past four seasons. Only seven players saw more pitches than Damon in 2004 and 2005.

Damon has been very valuable for the Red Sox. When he struggled with his shoulder injury at the end of the season, it was no coincidence that the Red Sox offense started to struggle too. I'd like to see Damon stay on the Red Sox, but not for the salary Boras is proposing.

Somebody might get hurt

I've complained about basketball players flopping before. My estimate is that when players are "knocked over," 95% of the time they could have kept their balance and stay up. Basketball players should be pretty athletic after all. However, are basketball officials capable of calling a charge without a player dramatically falling? Unfortunately, I don't think so; refs aren't even capable of calling traveling or three seconds.

I don't know what the solution is. The best thing would be for refs to decrease charging calls when people flop and increase their calls when the defender stays up after taking a charge. Again, I don't think refs are capable of this.

As for someone getting hurt: the Suns Leandro Barbosa will miss up to three weeks due to a knee injury caused by a flop of, you guessed it, Manu Ginobli.

Sox get Beckett

It looks like the Red Sox are getting Josh Beckett for two highly touted prospect, Hanley Ramirez and Anibel Sanchez, plus a prospect to be named later. I'm always apprehensive when the Red Sox give up prospects, but at least they're getting a young pitcher in return.

Before this trade, Boston viewed Hanley Ramirez as the next great superstar. Already talk show callers and hosts are claiming that they thought he was overrated. I have a tough time believing that because many national publications also claim Ramirez is a top prospect. Then again, maybe the Sox always planned to trade him, which would explain the Renteria signing.

To go along with Beckett, the Red Sox are also getting Mike Lowell who makes way too much money and was terrible last year, but I'll be optimistic. Last year was a fluke, Fenway and batting near Ortiz (and hopefully Manny Ramirez) will make him a better hitter, and he's a gold glove fielder.

Maybe the Sox gave up prospects who will become Hall of Famers, but I like the trade because Beckett has the right talent, he's a strikeout and groundball pitcher, he's young, and he beat the Yankees in the World Series.

Guess the Red Sox don't need a GM.

As for the Marlins, it looks like they're trying to free up money to sign Willis and Cabrera, and the Marlins have hit gold when trading for prospects before. However, Marlin fans can't be happy about the team losing Beckett, Burnett, and possibly Delgado. Nevermind, there are no Marlin fans.

Guess the Athlete!

(The guy in the red sweater, and Patriotsy2k, the guy in the tie is David Letterman, not Arsenio Hall)

Bush or Leinart?

Reggie Bush had 513 all purpose yards Saturday night, 294 rushing. I'm thinking about this as I watch the Texans who look like they're working hard to get the number one pick in the draft. With that pick, do the Texans take Reggie Bush or Matt Leinart?

Leinart looks like he'll be a good NFL quarterback. Many NFL quarterbacks don't even look like below average quarterbacks (reminder: I'm watching the Texans). Bush looks like a dynamic offensive weapon similar to Marshall Faulk in his prime.

So, if you're the Texans do you use another overall number one pick on a good quarterback, which you need, or on a potential superstar, which is something few teams have?

Steve Belichick

Patriot fans have recently learned a little bit about Bill Belichick's father. At last year's Super Bowl he was dosed with Gatorade as he stood next to his son at the end of the game. Also, in David Halberstam's new book, The Education of a Coach, readers learn about how Steve Belichick taught Bill Belichick to be a great coach. Last night, Bill Belichick learned that his father passed away. Belichick waited until after today's game to tell his team and the public. From Reiss's Pieces:

"Personally, I coached this game with a heavy heart. My dad passed away. I found out about it in the middle of last night. Obviously, he had a tremendous influence on my life personally and, particularly in the football aspect, it was great to be able to share the tremendous memories with him and some of our recent successes, as I did when I was a kid when he was successful as a coach of the Naval Academy and that program. Yesterday he did what he enjoyed doing. He went and watched Navy play, watched them win. Some of his former players were there. He had dinner and I spoke with him after the game. And like he normally does Saturday night, sitting around watching college football, and his heart just stopped beating. So I'm sure that's the way he would have wanted it to end. He went peacefully, which is unusual for him."

Gillette Stadium, Patriotsy2k, and drunk truckers

Thanks to Patriotsy2k and his famous connections, I was able to see the Pats in Gillette Stadium. Getting to my seat reminded me of climbing Mount Washington, but despite the height of the seats the view was still pretty good.

I'll probably have some analysis later after I see some highlights and read some articles. For now, I can say three things -- the Saints are undisciplined, the Pats are missing too many players, and truck drivers are absolutely crazy (but fortunately generous with their food and beer).

Is AJ Burnett worth $50 million

No.

In the name of Matt Clement, no! His career record is 49-50 and last year he was 12-12. For years we've been hearing about his raw talent and potential, and that he might turn into a great pitcher. If I'm spending $50 million though, I want someone who is a great pitcher, not one that might become one.

It looks like the Blue Jays and about ten other teams disagree with me.

Kansas City??

The NFL will have Kansas City host a Super Bowl if Arrowhead stadium is improved. This Super Bowl experience is sure to be as festive as this season's game in Detroit. In a related story, the team is trying to convince Kansas City residence to implement a sales tax, so the owner of the Chiefs doesn't have to spend his own money on his own stadium. It's nice to know the NFL works so hard to help its owners take advantage of tax payers.

Antoine's new teammate?

Wish the rumor was true.

Al Nipper & The Ladies Man

Some quick Red Sox news: Al Nipper was named the Red Sox new bullpen coach today. He was an average pitcher with an above average mustache.

Also got this tidbit from the Ladies Man:

I heard this on the radio:

Buster Olney of ESPN has reported that Theo regrets
his decision and has made overtures to the Red Sox
to come back. He has been "rebuffed" so far, which
if true, shows the continuing stupidity of
the Red Sox.

Olney's a good reporter, but I have a feeling he's being used by the Red Sox front office. This story implies that Theo made a mistake and the Sox aren't taking him back because of the way he left. If I could read Peter Gammons, I'm sure he's writing something that makes Theo look better and Lucchino worse.

Worth staying awake for

Monday Night Football started off as a pretty boring game. The only reason I was staying awake was the Eagles were blitzing a lot, and it's always fun to see what wacky things Bledsoe will do when blitzed (the no-look interception was nice). I was even about to comment how McNabb looked to be scrambling better and maybe his injury situation was improving.

Then the Eagles finally got burned by their blitz. Bledsoe quickly saw Terry Glenn had one-on-one coverage and completed a nice touchdown pass. All the Eagles had to do was run out the clock an play a little defense, but McNabb threw one of the worst interceptions I had ever seen. It was the type of throw that makes me wonder if McNabb owed a favor to a bookie. There was just no logical explanation for the pass.

On the run back for the touchdown, McNabb was pushed down. He wasn't hit hard; it seemed like a relatively gentle block. McNabb, then struggles to stand up looking like he got hit by a truck. Maybe it doesn't take much to reaggravate a sports hernia, but I always get suspicious when an athlete starts limping right after making a terrible play.

When McNabb went back in he played like an injured quarterback because he threw three terrible throws. The Eagles punt, the Cowboys almost fumble the game away but luckily recover, and the Cowboys punt giving the Eagles less than a minute to get into field goal range.

Then, Mike McMahon replaces McNabb and he almost pulled off the comeback. In fact he should have, but Reggie Brown dropped an easy catch in field goal range. I would have loved to see Ackers hit a 60 yard field goal, but it didn't happen and Eagle fans must be having a grumpy morning.

Brought to you by the Detroit tourism bureau

The NBA fined the Sacramento Kings because when the Kings played the Pistons in Sacramento, "the Arco Arena scoreboard flashed pictures of abandoned buildings, burned-out cars, piles of rubble and other negative images of Detroit."

Opression, unjust war, racism, & poverty has ended!!!

How else do you explain Jesse Jackson and Ralph Nader trying to help out a millionaire athlete? Way to concentrate on the important issues guys.

See what happens when the White Sox win...

Strange things happening in Chicago. The Bears' starting center breaks the jaw of their starting right tackle in a fight, the Bears decide to wear some ugly uniforms, the wind's so strong the football dances like a wiffle ball, and an attempted field goal is returned 108 yards for a touchdown.

Strong winds, blizzards, fog storms, and monsoons bring memorable football games. If I were commissioner, I'd eliminate every dome in football.

The Wisdom of Chris Chambers

I already wrote about his whining on the field, and now I get to read this, where he blames the sun, the quarterback, the refs, and the quaterback again. This is coming from a guy who took issue because his coach said the Dolphins' receivers were "decent." If you want to be better than decent, try making some crunch time catches.

Receiver Chris Chambers on the sun in his eyes on a fade route late in the game:
“Yeah, we both had it in our eyes a little bit. We couldn’t pick up the ball. I don’t even know if the ball was catchable anyway, but it’s important to make a good effort on it.”

Chambers on running the fade two plays in a row:
“We thought we had a good matchup going after the same corner[back]. There was contact on both plays but we didn’t get those calls all day.”

Chambers on the last Dolphins’ offensive play:
“It was real tough. There was a blitz on so I didn’t have enough opportunity to get my head around quick enough to pick up the ball and scoop it before it hit the ground.”

Guess the Athlete!

Hot Stove

Here's a good site with a list of free agents and where they may go. Among the highlights of the site is predicting Kevin Millar to sign with the Best Damn Sports Show, Period, Ramon Hernandez going to the Mets because he's overrated, and this little cringe-inducing tidbit:
"Jamie Moyer, Mariners. Retirement. And somewhere, Darren Bragg grounds weakly to second."

Some more thoughts about an unpredictable offseason:

• There's a rumor that the Yankees are thinking about signing Rafael Furcal to play center. That would give the Yankees three of the best shortstops in baseball to go along with their four managers. Maybe they should go after Nomar too.
• If the Sox could get Nomar for a good price, I wouldn't mind seeing them take a chance on him.
• By next year, the Yankees will regret giving Matsui such a big contract.
• Love to see Delgado in a Sox uniform, but, again, what do you do during interleague play when your two best hitters can only play the same position?
• Today's Red Sox prediction which changes daily: Youkalis at first with Olerud or a similar defensive specialist backing him up, Glaus at third, and Torii Hunter in center. I'm against trading Manny away, but it looks like it will happen. Hunter may be wishful thinking, but I'm allowed to do that.
• Speaking of wishful thinking, Ichiro may want to be traded. Leading off for the Red Sox: Ichiro, batting second, Torii Hunter, batting third Ortiz, batting cleanup, Manny, batting fifth, Troy Glaus, dating Alan, Jennifer Love Hewitt...
  

Pats squeak by Miami

It's always a big deal when the Patriots beat Miami in Miami. Brady seems to always struggle against the Dolphins D and the Dolphins have great homefield advantage with the weather. Now some thoughts:

• Am I imagining things or did the Pats secondary seem to get better when Troy Brown joined the defensive backfield?
• I've whined enough about defensive injuries, now it's time to whine about injuries on the offensive side. Here's what was missing: starting running back, third down running back, third string running back/fullback, starting tight end, second receiver, starting left tackle, starting right tackle, starting center. Did I forget anyone?
• Some new players for the Patriots finally contributed. Heath Evans, who they picked up off the street had some strong runs, Ellis Hobbs made some plays at cornerback, and Tim Dwight looks like the type of guy who makes big plays.
• Is Chris Chambers Reggie Miller in disguise? He whines to the ref after every incomplete pass. Reggie Miller, though, makes big plays at the end of the game.
• This year's Patriots aren't at the same level of Indy, Pitt, and Denver, but luckily their competition is the AFC East.
  

I watched some college football!

Will there actually be a national championship game without any controversy? The LSU, Alabama game was a defensive battle about field position and missed field goals. Then they hit overtime and good field position is granted to each team. I just don't like college overtime. It's exciting, but it's wrong to eliminate special teams and field position strategy at the end of the game.

Quick NFL Draft preview:

We'll be seeing a lot of highlights of NC State offensive linemen when Mathias Kiwanuka of BC gets drafted in the top 10. Kiwanuka looked like a Pro Bowler playing against Pop Warner kids.

Answer to Guess the Athlete!

George Allen Summerall got it right, it's Terrell Owens. His antics are no longer worthy of comment. Therefore, if I ever provide a link to a T.O. story, I'll simply post the link with the appropriate picture.

Some baseball

• Javier Vazquez wants to be traded to an East Coast team. Arizona GM Josh Byrnes, formally of the Red Sox front office, may want to give the Sox a call. Before his New York experience, Vazquez was considered one of the best pitchers in baseball. I'd take a chance on him.
• In Boston, many are saying the Sox should go after Paul Konerko. I'd love to see Konerko in the Red Sox lineup, but what would happen during interleague play without a DH. Francona would be forced to take either Konerko or Ortiz out of the lineup. I know there's bigger problems out there, but it would still be an issue.
• Carlos Delgado is rumored to be on the trade market. It's pathetic the Marlins sign a quality high profile free agent and then look to trade him the following year.
• The Mets are rumored to be interested in Delgado. Then again, they're rumored to sign every free agent. Maybe they'll go after Terrell Owens.
• Kim Ng, now the Assistant GM of the Dodgers, may become the first female GM. There's plenty of GM's who never played the game, so it shouldn't be a problem to have a female GM. One question though: if she's hired, will Steve Phillips need to wear a dress in those stupid fake press conferences for ESPN where he pretends to be the GM of different teams?
• Some good links for people who want to keep up with the latest rumors. ProSportsDaily.com. I'm really upset that no one told me about this site before. Has ton of rumors and links from local papers across the country with little previews for each article it links. Extra Bases: The Boston Globe set up a blog for Red Sox fans to keep up with the offseason rumor mill. One more link for those of you looking for some porn.
  

Haven't complained about NBA refs in a while

In last night's Memphis/Boston game, twice a player was fouled before he caught a pass. After catching the ball, he took a shot and both times the refs rewarded him with the basket because of the stupid "continuation" rule.

Did you hear that?

That was me jumping off the "Trade Paul Pierce" bandwagon. He' still putting up the points, but now he's passing, rebounding, getting every loose ball, and, most importantly, fitting into the offensive system -- not fighting it.

Quote of the Year

"Someone compared the AFC East with the NL West this year. At least the Padres had a defense."

-Patriotsy2k, in "Few more thoughts on Pats & Colts" comment section

Bartolo Colon wins Cy Young award, proceeds to eat it

Quick challenge: list all the teams Bartolo has pitched for.

Sheffield, sex video, R.Kelly

If I see a story with those three words, you know I'm posting the link. There might be a sex tape out there involving R. Kelly and Sheffield's wife. Maybe Fenway fans can come up with something better than "Who's your dealer?"

Happy NFL thoughts

I've been a bit negative lately, so here are some good things to report:

• I recently wrote about Tiki Barber being underrated, and then Peter King comes along to back me up with a comparison between Tiki and LT since 2004. Rushing yards: Tiki, 2278l LT, 2170. Receiving yards: Tiki, 730; LT 705. They've both played 24 games and LT has many more touchdowns, but Barber has a higher average in yards per rush and reception.
• Troy Brown passed Irving Fryar to become the receiver with the second most receiving yards in Patriots history. Not bad for a 7th round draft pick.
• Got the previous information from Reiss's Pieces -- the most informative Patriots website on the net.
• The Colts' hurry up offense was impressive. Twice it forced the Pats to call timeout and their quick snap caused an offsides penalty on the Pats.

Few more thoughts on the Pats & Colts

• I've thrown around the injury excuse for the Patriots, but it goes beyond injuries. Scott Pioli and the Pats did not have a good offseason. They've had injuries and departures before and survived because of good replacements (Eugene Wilson for Lawyer Milloy, Dan Koppen for Damien Woody, Randall Gay for Ty Law, Vince Wilfork for Ted Washington. This year none of the replacements are doing much (besides the two offensive linemen they drafted). The Pats have drafted several players for their secondary the last two years and none are contributing. What's worse is they traded for Duane Starks (I don't believe they gave up a third rounder for him) and signed Monty Biesel and Chad Brown. This type of offseason makes the injuries hurt even more.
• Peyton Manning is a class act -- he always says the right things win or lose and keeps things in proper perspective. On the other hand, there's the Colt GM, Bill Polian who has blamed every Colts loss on the officiating, and had this to say last night:

With four seconds remaining and the Patriots hurrying to the line to
squeeze off one final play in a 40-21 blowout by Indy, Colts president Bill Polian said with annoyance, "They're trying to run another play. He's going to throw another pass."

And as backup quarterback Doug Flutie rolled out with pressure on his
heels, Polian muttered, "Break his leg."

Indy's agitation with the Patriots and Belichick -- well veiled in public
comments -- was evident in the words of the hot-tempered Polian during the game.

When the Colts scored a late touchdown to go up 40-21 and lined up for a two-point conversion, the Patriots were in the midst of changing personnel. In an effort to buy time, Belichick threw his challenge flag onto the field.

"There's one set of rules for him and one for everybody else," raged
Polian.

"Just kick [the extra point]," someone in the press box suggested.

"Kick it [my behind]," answered Polian.

This demonstration of class was found in an article written by Tom Curran of the Providence Journal. You need to register (which I'm not) to read the entire article. Thanks to the Boston Sports Media Message Board for the story.

Colts greatest team ever

The Colts beat a Pats team who were missing their two best defensive players, have a pathetic secondary (I think I'm next on the depth chart at strong safety), and two rookies on their offensive line. So according to John Madden, the Colts have "made the leap."

Others will be making a big deal about this too, but the Colts still haven't really been tested. It will be nice to see them go undefeated in the regular season and then choke in the playoffs. But if that happens, at least they'll have their historic November 7th triumph to hang their hats on .

Guess the Athlete!

Now we just need one more undefeated team to lose

With Virginia Tech's loss to Miami, we now have Alabama, USC, and Texas left as undefeated teams. College fans have to hope one of these teams loses, so there can be an actual controversy-free national championship game.

From another blogger

Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith were critical of the way Dallas defends the pick and roll. It turns out I'm not the only one who complains about announcers, except I don't own an NBA team. From the mind of Mark Cuban:

Only downer of the night was listening to the idiots on TNT after the game. Its not unusual if we win a TNT game for us to turn it on in the locker room and hear what Charles, Kenny and co have to say. They havent gotten any better.

Let me just say this. There is a reason why Kenny and Charles havent gotten head coaching jobs. THere is more to running a team these days then thinking you know what you are talking about. Kenny, if you want to bust on us for switching on the pick and roll, get some stats to back it up. We track conversion rates on everything we do. High pick and roll, elbow pick and roll, whatever, we track it. If its not working Kenny, we adjust. I know that is probably a new concept to you and Charlie B, but thats the NBA of 2006. With all that money you guys make (hey if you are going to talk salaries, lets see how you like it), go out and hire some kids to track what actually happens in a game rather than having TNT bring in kids to go out and get donuts.

Here is a little test. How many deflections did we have last night versus our season average last year. Do you remember what a deflection is guys ? Its a nice indicator of defensive effort.

And rook..I mean Reggie Miller. Remember this rook. Every year TNT brings in the guy who was good, but retired last year, and puts them in that same seat you were sitting in. You may have noticed that they arent there any more. Do something more than just try to be another guy who tries to fit in and trade nonsensical barbs with the boys. Charles has earned the right to be the comedian who has some insights. Kenny wants to be the coach, but wont do the work, so never will be more than a sidekick. Rook, you need to add some value, or in a few weeks we will see someone else sitting in that seat. Maybe Derrick Coleman can come in and give us a Whoop De Damn Do…

But I digress. After listening to some of the idiocy, we just turned it off.

This week's game of the century

From what I'm hearing, on Monday the Patriots and the Colts will determine who wins this year's Super Bowl. If the Colts win, Peyton Manning would have finally "solved" the Pats and would be ready for world dominance. If the Pats win, Peyton Manning may as well just try a new sport.

Last year the Steelers beat up the Pats on Halloween and supposedly the AFC torch was passed, and then the Pats went on to win the Super Bowl. Monday's game will be fascinating, but by playoff time it won't mean much. There's still a long season to go, and if the Pats and Colts meet again in the playoffs a game in early November won't impact it much.

As for the game, the Colts defense gets to prove if it's any good against a legitimate offense, and if the Colts offense doesn't put up points against this Patriots defense, I'd be very surprised.

As for the Patriots, last week was disappointing. After a bye week, I expected to see some injured players return and see some improvement in the secondary and in stopping the run. Against the Bills the Patriots defense didn't stop the run and gave up big passing plays. That's not a good combination with Manning, James, and Harrison coming into town.

So will their be improvement on Monday? The Pats cut last week's starting strong safety, so now they just have a rookie back there. Maybe Seymour comes back this week, maybe Randall Gay comes back, and maybe Colvin, Vrabel, Bruschi, and McGinest will be a strong enough linebacker core to compensate for the rest of the defense.

In other words the Patriots offense needs a big game. Their rookie offensive linemen need to protect Brady and contain Freeney and Dillon needs to run a lot.

I'm not confident about this game, but no matter what happens the Colts will still need to prove they can beat other physical defenses like the Steelers and the Broncos, and the Patriots will still have time to get healthy and tweak their team against the weak AFC East. Again, it's just November.

Answer to Guess the Athlete!

listerplus's winning streak is over! Patriotsy2k was unable to post, but rumor has it his guess was Tiny Archibald.

The correct answer is Fabrico Oberto, a new power forward on the Spurs who got some pretty good preseason hype. It's about time the Spurs were able to find some talent for their team.

Is it too early to say...

The Celtics looked really good last night? Paul Pierce looked like a new man -- passing, rebounding, being in the middle of every play. Mark Blount was contributing. Delonte West looked like a good, smart point guard. Ricky Davis played with a lot of energy -- scoring without being a ball hog. Even the young guys chipped in with some good hustle plays.

Then again, they were playing against the Knicks.

Little more baseball

• The Yankees just hired Tony Pena to be their first base coach, making Pena a member of my All-Begrudgingly Like Team (players and coaches I like despite being on teams I hate). Torre now has three former MLB managers on their coaching staff (Pena, Bowa, and Mazzilli), and I don't think they've hired a pitching coach yet (Joe Kerrigan would make four).
• Something stupid I always hear in the Manny trade talks: "the players they'd be getting are equal to the value of Manny." In other words, Erstad has about 10 home runs and Glaus has 37 home runs so that's equal to Manny's 47 home runs! That comparison only works if the Sox are forced to leave one position vacant as Manny plays left field. Manny puts up the same production numbers of Erstad and Glaus and there will be another player putting up about 20 home runs and 80 RBI. In other words, the Sox are better by not making the trade.
  
• Let's try the equal value logic in other scenarios. In the 90's the Bulls should have traded Michel Jordan to the Celtics for Todd Day, Rick Fox, and Greg Minor because combined those three averaged about the same amount of points as Jordan.
• One more for Bryan, the college student: If you go home with a 50 in one class and a 45 in another class, just tell your parents that you traded away an A in one class for those two grades because combined the values were equal.
  

I figured it out!

John Henry is an undercover agent working for the Yankees.

He used to be a part owner of the Yankees and when the Sox went on sale a few years ago he and Steinbrenner devised a plan at Henry's house in Boca Raton (right next door to Patriotsy2k, by the way). Steinbrenner was worried a competent owner would help the Sox finally surpass the Yanks, so he told Henry to buy the team to make sure the Sox don't improve too much.

At first things were looking good for George. Henry hired an inexperienced kid to be the general manager and a hick to manage the team. George must have been giddy as he watched Epstein trade for BK Kim and sign Jeremy "the wrong" Giambi and Ramiro "the embedded Yankee" Mendoza. George and Henry must have drank Champaign as they watched the hick leave Pedro in too long.

Nonetheless, like much of Steinbrenner's recent actions, his plan didn't work out. Theo surprisingly turned out to be a good general manager and the Red Sox team doctor miraculously helped Schilling pitch through the playoffs (maybe Henry caused the injury). The plan backfired and the Sox won the World Series.

So what does John Henry do? First he fires the doctor who helped Schilling. Then he bribes Dale Svuem into sending all slow base runners home from second even if it's just a ground ball to the pitcher. Next, he bribes Mark Bellhorn, offering $100,000 per strike out. Finally, he gives Kevin Millar compromising pictures of Terry Francona, so Millar can get into the lineup everyday.

Now there's his two recent moves: letting Theo go(rumor has it they'll replace him with Ashton Kutcher) and trying to trade their best hitter Manny for two overpaid players who don't equal Manny's production combined.

Next up, the Sox will trade David Ortiz for Jason Giambi's and Gary Sheffield's used syringes.

Thanks A-Rod

I needed a distraction from all the Theo Epstein talk, and fortunately a story came out about the Yankees and Bud Selig being concerned about A-Rod gambling at underground Poker clubs. I don't think it's a big deal, but because it's A-Rod and the Yankees it becomes one.

First, if anyone on ESPN criticizes A-Rod for playing poker, they may want to look at ESPN's programming schedule. Poker's on ESPN constantly, yet it's not even a sport. Finding out that A-Rod gambles will not make children want to do the same. Seeing ESPN worshipping and obsessing over the game will get more children interested in playing poker.

The more important issue with A-Rod's poker habits are the people he may be in contact with. When you're in a New York basement playing thousand dollar hands at 3 AM, your opponents probably aren't Boy Scout Leaders. If I were as rich as A-Rod and in the public eye like he is, I would avoid that scene. He should be hitting the town with Jeter picking up models and the Paris Hiltons of the world.

Costume ideas

My last post ripped ESPN, so here's a funny article from ESPN.COM by DJ Gallo (wonder if he hangs out with DJ Stu Scott. An excerpt about Halloween costumes:

....I think my favorite, though, was this one little girl who dressed up as a ballerina, added some fake gold teeth and said she was Chad Johnson.

Another kid dressed up as Peyton Manning. He had the white cleats, white uniform pants, blue No. 18 Colts jersey, dorky $6 haircut from SuperCuts -- the whole 9 yards. The annoying thing was that he kept changing his mind about what candy he wanted -- audibling, basically. "I want Snickers … no, a Kit Kat … no, make that a Twizzlers … never mind, I'm going with Starburst." And then, when he finally made up his mind and I gave him what he wanted, he choked on it.

Then, at around 11 p.m. or so, I got one last knock on my door, and the guy standing outside was dressed up as Ryan Leaf of all people, but he was holding a pizza. Only it turned out to be the actual Ryan Leaf and he was merely delivering the pizza I had ordered. Totally surreal....

I hate ESPN

This isn't news, and I'm certainly not being original by complaining about ESPN. I just want to vent.

First the Theo story -- I want to hear what Peter Gammons has to say about all of this. He's close to baseball and he knows everyone; I'm sure he's written some good stuff on this story, but I'm not an insider so I'm not privileged to read him anymore. ESPN took away the preeminent Hall of Fame baseball writer away from the public. How much money do they make with "insider" subscriptions? They act like a news source and make plenty of money through their restaurants, television revenue, web advertising, and even their bad magazine. Is it really a good idea to piss off millions of sports fans just to make a little more web revenue? I suppose I could have watched Sportcenter to hear Peter Gammons, but I wasn't in the mood to listen to Stuart Scott "keepin' it real."

Then there's ESPN's terrible coverage of football. We already know their announcers are clowns, but a lot of announcers aren't good. The source of ESPN's terrible football coverage is their production. Other networks understand that the main theme of a football game should be the game itself. ESPN doesn't get this -- they think people watch games so they can learn more about a story they chose to stuff down our throats. Usually it's about how wonderful a coach, owner, or player is.

This time it was the return of Bruschi. I was excited about Bruschi returning, but I was also excited about seeing a football game. By the end of the first quarter even the biggest Bruschi fans were sick of the deification of Tedy.

The most blatant cases of ESPN concentrating on a story rather than the game was Suzy Kolber doing her ridiculous sideline reports as she ignored a big Brady fumble and then an even bigger Bills fumble. She talked through the two biggest plays of the game.

Two more issues before I end my rant. Does ESPN get charged for every replay they show? Why won't they show replays of penalties? The Pats were being called for holding over and over at the beginning of the game. Were their linemen being dominated by the Bills' defense or were the refs blowing the call? Then their was a personal foul call that ESPN never showed. Forget all the steroid laws. Congress should enact a law that requires networks to replay all personal fouls.
My last issue, if you're still reading, is their terrible sideline reporter Suzy Kolber. When a network is concentrating on the game itself, a sideline reporter will find out about what coaches are saying and injury information. All Kolber does is read pre-scripted information. ESPN is so proud that they got "the chance" to speak with coaches and players days before the game. Guess what? Everyone in the media gets to talk to coaches and players, and football fans read all of this information throughout the week. Fans need new information related to the game. How about an explanation of that bizarre "unnatural act" call? How about an explanation of the Patrick Pass injury?

I need to stop now. ESPN=bad.