December and year end

2009 is almost over and some interesting things (and some not so interesting) have happened. Let's see if I can remember . . .

1. College football - the BCS can catch its breath with a very good match-up for the championship with Alabama and Texas (pronounced Tayhas). Then with Ingram getting the Heisman it's looking like the Tide's gonna roll on. The Big Ten has Ohio State again going to the Rose Bowl (yawn). At least the Ducks are going from the PAC 10, GO DUCKS!! Cincinnati played the best game I've seen with that win over Pitt at the end of the season. And with Iowa shocking Penn State at home (many thanks). 

2. Baseball - well, the evil empire expanded its number of rings with another win over the Phillies. I have to laugh to be honest, I mean, the organization spent upwards of 3 billion dollars over 9 years and won one World Series out of it. Not a good return on investment so with their winning a 27th title I find it terribly UNIMPRESSIVE. The trade rumors are getting kinda heavy, with the Red Sox supposedly shopping Buckholtz and Ellsbury for whomever. I can't see the Sox giving up a .300 lead-off hitter who steals 70 bases  - that's offense you want to keep, not trade. John Lackey and Mike Cameron are interesting additions, but I'm wary on both since Cameron is a bit long in the tooth and Lackey has a history of injury and inconsistency. Jason Bay looks to be gone, possibly joining the Mets at last note. The Halladay sweepstakes was won by Philly. Good, at least the Sith empire didn't get their grubby hands on him. 

3. NFL - two, count 'em, two teams are undefeated at this late date in the season. The Saints are a great team at home, on the road, they're more human. The Colts win with a Phoenix Suns approach, just score a ton of points and play D- defense and we'll win. My Patriots are mediocre in a poor division which means another playoff miss, possibly. They can't win on the road - they barely win at home, and their defense is, ah, porous. Locally, here in DC, the Redskins are proving just how dumb an organization can be - suing their fans, emasculating their head coach, and losing games they could have won with ease. I thought Detroit was bad, but no, the Redskins lost to that team so yes Virginia, there is a team worse than the Lions. What in the world is going on with Tampa? They're awful. Oh, my prediction of the Browns having a winning season? Wrongzo, bonehead call. 

4. Hockey - well, the season is underway but we're seeing some inconsistent play from the Bruins, Rangers, and Capitals. Hockey is struggling to get ratings and it desperately needs better covereage than Versus (which DirecTV dropped, supposedly). College hockey  is going great, Miami of O is #1 right now - amazing. I've not seen them this year, but I have seen UNH play as well as BC. Beanpot is coming in February, mark your calendars. 

5. Lacrosse - I've already written about Syracuse's theft earlier so I'll not waste anymore space on that. The big news is Bill Tierney relocating to Denver. Stunning change - I wonder what impact that'll have on the game - perhaps we'll see more Division I teams? That would be fantastic. The NLL starts next month and though I don't like the indoor game very much, it is a nice primer for the coming of spring and field lax. 

6. Tiger Woods - dude, what is up with that? and that? and, ah, that too? Sponsors are dumping him like dirty diapers in the trash bin. I can't add anything to this item.

7. Basketball - I'm woefully uninterested in B-ball these days. I used to love watching the game but to be honest watching the NBA is so boring. The game is so undisciplined now that I can't tell what play someone is running (if any at all). If I do venture to watch a game, it's college - at least I know what play they run, I can see the defense and it's easier to break down things that are happening. The NBA is just uninteresting. 

That's it for this installment. I'll be adding more things in the future. Have a great holiday season. 

Has it really been this long again?

So, it's September and I've been tied up with this and that. Anyways, the Red Sox had a good handle on first prior to the All-Star Break and then they started to tumble. Reminds me of what they did back in 2004 so fingers crossed eyes heavenward. That team from the Bronx has resurfaced, though their pitching has not been very good. Their offense is staggering, hoping the slumps start, soon please.

College football, ah, yeah, the only good game I saw was the Minnesota v. Syracuse game where the Gophers took it to the Orange in OT! I shouldn't rub it in but I so very much dislike Syracuse, mostly because of my experience in college where I played lacrosse with kids from the Syracuse area (worse than Yankees fans if that's possible) and they were insufferable, sickeningly so. The Miami v. FSU looked good, too bad that the 'Canes have the 'Noles number in close games.

Tennis has shown itself to be interesting with the resurgence of Ms. Clijisters (have baby beat Venus) and Roddick's almost at the All-England final. The US Open in Flushing is pretty interesting, remains to be seen just what Federer can do to win that 6th in a row and pad his Slams total. I don't see Nadal being able to beat him on the hardcourts, just doesn't seem likely.

Brett Favre has returned, but he's playing for the Purple People Eaters and my Minnesotan friends are on the Favre bandwagon like nobody's business. He's kinda like the Buffalo Bills, Rasputin in nature, gets there barely and then when the pressure's on, folds like a napkin.

Tom Brady and the Patriots look, well, shaky, and that's not a good sign. Now I read that Seymour has been traded to Oakland of all places because of contract matters (what??). The AFC East is looking quite interesting, but the AFC North is the one to watch, I see Cleveland finally getting a winning season and Baltimore has a very scary defense.

Well, that's that for now - let's hope for an entertaining end of the season for MLB and I'm looking forward to hockey warming up (is that possible since they play on ice?). Happy September.

I'm back to opine

Spring has come and gone and now Summer is here in all of its vengance. May saw one of the great lacrosse games where Syracuse undeservedly won their second in a row championship against a very game Cornell team. The Red Sox are winning (how I don't really know after watching their starting pitching alternate good starts with truly awful ones). The Celtics and the Bruins got bounced in the second round of the playoffs which brought great disappointment.

My son's soccer season is now over as well. I was his coach for a third season (and I signed up for another fall as well for this year, I must be crazy) and it was a frustrating season in that I had no assistant coach which was pretty tough with 13 boys and trying to teach them fundamentals. I had great kids and they had fun (I think) and I've still got to do their evaluations too (sheesh).

I enjoyed the US Men's win yesterday against Spain. I can only compare it to Appalachian State beating Michigan - HUGE upset. The second goal was pure gritty, and I loved it. Let's see if they can do well in the Fed finals.

I noticed that Maria Sharapova got bounced from the All England Championships at Wimbledon. Too bad, she was coming back from injury and getting beat so early in the tourney doesn't bode well for her summer. In addition, Wimbledon may also be the site of another record breaking moment if Federer wins his 15th major. He's a great player - wish Roddick would play up to his potential and give a better show of it in majors.

The Red Sox are in town and I've had zero luck in getting tickets to the games with the last one being tonight and the long-awaited return of John Smoltz. I'm watching that foh showah.

In writing about the Red Sox, it brings me no small amount of joy to witness the Yankees in their new stadium (where the triple-A Nationals took 2 out of 3 last week, tee hee). Makes you wonder why a new stadium was necessary, but then what's a billion dollars spent on a stadium in a crap neighborhood?

Congrats to LSU - they can play baseball (and football it seems). I was pulling for my alma mater (George Mason) but they fell in the early rounds.

That's about it for now - I hope to get more chances to update this page in the future. Happy Summer!