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!

An odd thing happened

Well, the week of Thanksgiving 2008 is upon us and a few things have happened since I last wrote.
1. The Red Sox didn't make the Series
2. The Celtics picked right up where they left off in June
3. The Bruins are in first place
4. Boston College is on the verge of going to the ACC championship for the second year in a row
5. The Patriots are in the playoff hunt right now but really need to win out.
6. Texas Tech teased us all, but the Big 12 is the league to beat this year.
7. George Mason is off to a 3-1 start (can't believe they lost to Howard).
8. Barack Obama, president-elect, talked about having a division 1 playoff system.
9. Dustin Pedroia won the silver slugger award, golden glove award, and the MVP award.
10. The Redskins have won 7 games.

Well, that's more than a few things but I'll delve into a few of them here.

The Red Sox losing like they did to Tampa was extremely disappointing. Jason Varitek, though great with pitchers, had one hit the entire series. Lester pitched a whale of a game and still lost. At least Philadelphia won, can't stand those unintelligent Ray's fans with cowbells.

I'm impressed by the Celtics not letting down after winning the championship. The three amigos are fun to watch but their offense still confuses me. Is it just two in and outs and a jumper? No, it's a drive and kick, no wait it's a clear out, no, was that a wheel?

How the Bruins are kicking butt astonishes me - I know they have a lot of raw talent, but really? The fact that they spoiled "Patrick Roy Night" in Montreal makes me all giddy inside.

Boston College is making a late season run and their come from behind win over Wake on Saturday was nothing short of surprising. Combined with the fact that Maryland got smoked, repeat, SMOKED Saturday BC looks like a less flashy team that played in the ACC championship last year.

The Patriots are a good team, in need of a better defense. How could they have let Favre have that much time in OT to fling the ball around? The smackdown the Patriots gave Miami yesterday while giving up 28 points shows the offense can go, but the defense really needs a lot of help.

I see a good CAA season again for Mason, and hopefully the new mascot will do okay (I prefer Gunston though, poor animal). Laranaga is a hoot, met him once when I was in grad school at GMU and he couldn't have been nicer to me.

Why oh why do folks HAVE TO HAVE a college football playoff? WHY? Why does it matter so much? Who cares about the controversy? That's what makes Division 1 football that much more interesting. If it was a question of a playoff then you'd see a lot less teams playing in December and January, a lot less. And that's not good for college football. Bowl games are great and they have a grand tradition that goes beyond what some newly elected personage thinks should happen. He (Obama) went to Ivy league schools (who used to play in bowl games a long time ago btw) so his opinion on this is just like the rest of the nonsense that comes with sports opinions.

The fact that a 5-5 guy can win the MVP award should give heartening hope to those who toil in the world under six feet. Pedroia was fun to watch this year, really fun, and he and Youkilis really made the Red Sox go.

The Redskins (originally a Boston team who used to play at Fenway park) are curiously winning. Their new coach has become quite a popular guy since beating the Cowboys earlier in the season. If the Skins can somehow overtake the Giants next Sunday, things here are going to get really silly. I grudging like the Redskins, but the fans are the silliest people I've ever met, but then pro-football fans are really silly.

I hope things turn out well for the Eagles on Saturday against the Terps - that would be GREAT!

It's really October and I was wrong and right

It's October, the Red Sox are playing to get to the World Series (most likely against the Phillies it looks like) and Manny Ramirez is playing in Dodger blue. Funny, when the Red Sox won the World Series on 2004, they got rid of Nomah, this year they got rid of Manny, coincidence?

I wrote back in June that the Sox were in trouble - well I was a bit off to put it mildly, however it's clear that though they've made it this far, after what I saw from Becket last night, our Sawx going to have to lean, really lean hard on John Lester. Lester is another guy I got wrong, really wrong. It's great to be wrong when your team wins, thankfully for this life-long Sox fan I've been very wrong this year.

Why do the playoffs have to be covered by the most knucklehead commentators? I mean, Buck Martinez and Ron Darling? PULLEEEZE. Bring back Al Leiter, dump Martinez and McCarver, put in Uecher, get some entertainment instead of idiocy.

Anyways, this is becoming an interesting October.

They're winning but I'm concerned

Well, it's late June and my Red Sox are in first place but my pre-2004 worries are coming back. If it weren't for J.D. Drew and a somewhat steady pitching staff I doubt that first place would even be on the radar screen. I watched both games on ESPN this week and it was clear that not having Big Papi even in the lineup, let alone 100%, could have made a huge difference against Herren on Monday. What last night showed me is that Randy Johnson has become a smarter pitcher than he was before. However, his velocity and slider location are more in the average range and that's what hurt him last night. Tim Wakefield is fun to watch. There are, what? maybe three pitchers who currently throw the knuckler? When Wakefield retires I wonder if we'll ever see the knuckle ball again. He made their hitters look silly, almost like a bugs bunny routine trying to swat the "slow-ball".

Back to the point, the Red Sox are in trouble. They have a decent makeshift lineup and their pitching has been mostly reliable (though the bull-pen is sketchy), BUT, without Dice-K, Schilling, Ortiz, and Buckholtz this team is going to struggle. If they can't win on the road consistently they will not make the Wild Card, let alone win the AL East. The most pleasant surprise this season has been watching Jacoby Elsbury - he already owns the rookie record for steals by a Red Sox player and I see him possibly joining the 30/30 club (the last Red Sox player to do that was Tommy Harper I believe, back in the 1970's). He has great instincts on picking up where the pitcher is going from the stretch. The fact that the Red Sox aren't the team I always knew (slow, slower, and slowest but could hit home runs) is in many ways a lot of fun. I don't feel as nostalgic for the days of Fisk, Lynn, Rice, Remy, Burleson, Hobson, Scott, Evans and whatever farm hand they used on the mound. Speed opens up so many possibilities and creates the opportunity to manufacture runs if your big hitters aren't doing it for you. Having Crisp and Lugo is also a plus since both have good speed (though Lugo needs to hit better, my word, his paycheck is not deserved).

With all that in mind I can see the Sox being competitive, but I suspect that if Ortiz doesn't make it back and if Dice-K is really injured it will not be another repeat of an AL title.

Manny - summer and silly Washington area fans

Well, Manny Ramirez has reached and surpassed the 500 homer threshold. I didn't like him much when he was in Cleveland since he killed the Sox in the playoffs, however, he's become something altogether different from those days. Joe Morgan on ESPN loves Manny - it's fun to listen to Morgan do color/commentary instead of Tim McCarver (cannot stand the man, plus the fact that he's a HUGE anti-Red Sox commentator - he had to eat so much crow when the Sox came back in 2004 over the Yankees). Manny did it in the Red Sox's second home, Camden Yards, with their favorite punching bag providing the fun. I watched all of the games and it is still amusing to me to see the huge amount of Sox fans in the seats in Oriole Park (official name of the baseball field). I went to Memorial Stadium when I first moved to the DC area and I found myself and maybe three others in the whole place who had Sox paraphernalia on. Nowadays the reverse is true, where there are so few O's fans you have to really look hard to find black and orange (horrible colors) apparel on someone not hawking it to someone else.

I get a kick out of listening to Jim Palmer talk about the Red Sox, he's really a big fan of how they do baseball and not a fan of the current Orioles (or for the past six years it seems) crew they've got going. That's my impression from listening to him this past weekend, even when the O's won on Monday night (let's see, lose three straight and then win one, yeah, that'll keep you in last place). Palmer is so nostalgic for the "Oriole Way", too bad that the team hasn't had a winning season since, um, was Clinton president then?
Washington area fans spend so much time on the Redskins here that they miss out on baseball and other diversions. I've never seen such homers in my life. Oh, wait, that's right, I have, but that's for another time. DC United has won four championships in the past 12 years, the Redskins have made the playoffs three times in the same time frame. Do Washington fans even know that? I highly doubt it. When it comes to baseball Washington fans are ambivalent at best (I'd venture slightly retarded at times) which is unfortunate because the Nationals are a decent mediocre team. Kinda like Houston really, nice ballpark but the product between the lines will lose more than win but are gamers mostly. With a huge potential fan base the Nationals are poised to become a 2nd tier team (up from bleacher bench seats) - they'll not get much higher until they start trading for pitching and start building some good support minor league teams. The Washington Post does some fair coverage of the Nats but I get the impression they're waiting for the prom queen to take off her brassiere and prance around center field. The cynicism in regards to the nationals is really annoying. The Post or the Times will do everything possible to have kids over the Redskins and the Nats are acknowledged as a strange relative even though their stadium is better, is better situated, and has better food.

Summer is here again and my oldest just finished his second soccer season. I have high hopes for him and I am trying not to be the pyscho dad (which is doubly hard since I'm now an assistant coach). He's going to soccer camp this summer (I hope he has a blast). My youngest is already out of school and so I've got figure out what he can do, maybe I'll sign him up for tots practice this fall. The hot weather arrived yesterday and the obligatory thunderstorm struck as well (some poor woman got killed by a tree yesterday). DC gets so hot during the summer - the only other place I've been to where it's hotter is the Gulf Coast where the sweat streams out of your body like water fountain. I'm hoping that it will cool off a little bit this summer - another hot summer will kill my $$$ (which I have almost zero anyways). I look forward to a fun summer and maybe I can keep losing weight, but that's for another time.