12.16.2008
shut the fuck up, chuck!
charles barkley wanted to run for governor of alabama. he also cant speak english. he also has a massive, bald, shiny head. he also went to the university of auburn. he works on tv. he has that job, not because he knows basketball on an intricate level, or bec of his in depth understaning of the triangle offense, but rather bec he is entertaining to watch and to listen to. just shut up, stop getting high and strolling for hookers and do your little show so we can laugh at your fat ass!!
down to 8
can you believe it? all within a few days, momo cheeks and reggie theus get the boot. its all happening so fast.
12.04.2008
african-canadian
in sorry sam but it was time. sam mitchell fired as coach of the raptors. blame canada.
12.01.2008
career-ending fumble
1st of all i have to update our 24/7 "black coach watch". any news on black coaches, you know i got it. eddie jordan wizzed out of washington. sylvester croom resigned at miss st. (i actually liked these 2 and had heaped praise on both of these guys in a previous post). after these 2 transactions, the black coaching landscape is looking as bleak as ever.
but what i really want to talk about is plexiglass buress. to no ones surprise, buress has done something stupid. but not plain stupid, astronomically stupid. ok, you might want to sit for this. in mid-season , an 11-1 season no less, this retard thug takes his unlicensed weapon, puts it in his pants, goes to a nightclub with a history of high-profile shootings, and while attempting to do a more aggressive version of the macarena he fumbles his handgun and then accidentally discharges it mere inches from his man-region. just terrific. at least he didnt shoot anyone else. this whole story reminds me of 8 mile when rabbits friend cheddar accidentally blasts himself in the nuts.
its ironic it happened near the 1 year anniversary of the death of sean taylor (rest in peace) and the same weekend of the game that taylors number was getting inducted into the redskins ring of fame. while taylors death was a complete tragedy, it reminded me of the reaction people had right after the news broke. people were basically saying that it was his own fault, that he was a thug, that when you hang around bad dudes thats what happens. but in the end he was an innocent family man caught in an armed robbery of his own home while his family was there. he died protecting his loved ones. what that taught me was to get all the facts before you open your mouth. so im just waiting for the breaking news that plaxico had his family at the club and his own right testicle was attacking his babys mama, so he shot it in self defense.
its vague at this point but apparently there was an attempted cover-up by buress and antonio pierce, the captain of the defense, and i assume the captain of the mini-gang that they run. but actually i like the idea of a cover up. it was the smartest thing they did all night. they were actually trying to use their brains. alas it turned out horribly but what did you expect. at least they gave an effort. if only ben brafman or michael clayton were part of their gang.
i know why they do it. i know why black atletes seem to think the only way to protect themselves is by brandishing a firearm. its because of other stupid thugs who target players like richard collier, who now has a leg amputated after getting blasted 12 times, and javon walker who was beaten unconscious and robbed of his bling in vegas. what i dont get is why they(stephen jackson, tank johnson etc.) cant seem to think of the very safe, very simple alternative like credit cards instead of 5 grand in cash or one necklace worth ten grand instead of 5 totaling $250,000. or why they cant seem to adapt to a higher society their salaries allow them to be in. to me, i cant understand how anyone would get into this situation, let alone a freaking millionaire father/husband. what goes through the mind of a man has a non guaranteed $35 million dollar contract, who already is in hot water with his employer, who has a family at home and who needs to stay out of trouble for himself, financially and legally, and for his teammates that are trying to win football games. the more i wrap my mind around it like a car crash wrapped around a pole, i think either buress is truly one of the dumbest guys in history or he is really sick, mentally, and he needs help. OR wait a sec, this thought just came over me, he is black and is extremely immature for his 31 years, grew up with no father(presumably) and in a bad neighborhood, mother worked 8 jobs and was never around, was basically raised by his grandmother who was 65 when he was 15 and didnt know half the shit he did even existed, developed relationships with some bad dudes, never cared about school bec no one who had leverage on him really ever told him and explained to him how important it is, worked out, smoked weed and dominated on the football field so everyone kissed his ass bec he was gonna get a free ride to the esteemed establishment of michigan state university and was goona be on tv and someday make millions in the nfl, so he treated everyone like shit bec he could and bec it was cool bec that was what a rapper would do. now when he actually did make it big time and times get rough at the job or at home one generally reverts to his true nature, or at least depends on the social training one develops as he grows up, or the people skills one learned in a division 1 university, so he went back to what he knows. but what happens if that basic nature, or foundation, is majorly flawed ever since the kid was in the crib?
and that, ladies and gentleman, is a question for all to discuss at the dinner table.
remember when buress was crying like a bitch about his contract situation after he made the game-winning catch in the final seconds of the greatest game ever played? he had some nice emotional leverage to play with, but seriously, the giants knew what they had. they knew this guy was a lump on a breast. they made him happy, bec thats what you do to babies. but jerry reese and the maras worked in less guaranteed money and more incentive laden bonuses to protect them in case the diva ever feels like being a little diva-ish. just another reason why jerry reese might be the best gm in football. and hes black, people. every draft pick, every negotiation, every move seems to be quite shrewd. one day, not now, well break down the difference between jerry reeses, tony dungys and the plaxicos and stephen jacksons. anyways, as i have said before on this page, forget this guy, leave him in a cell. start focusing on anquan boldin. now this is a man. a man who mentioned to his team in the offseason that he was unhappy about his contract, they told him they are doing their best to retain him and he has shut his mouth ever since, and broke his face and played 3 weeks later and has been his dominant self. so yeah this is a man. one thing i have learned over the years, both in sports and business, is that character is always more important than talent and skill. mike vick learned that the hard way.
but what i really want to talk about is plexiglass buress. to no ones surprise, buress has done something stupid. but not plain stupid, astronomically stupid. ok, you might want to sit for this. in mid-season , an 11-1 season no less, this retard thug takes his unlicensed weapon, puts it in his pants, goes to a nightclub with a history of high-profile shootings, and while attempting to do a more aggressive version of the macarena he fumbles his handgun and then accidentally discharges it mere inches from his man-region. just terrific. at least he didnt shoot anyone else. this whole story reminds me of 8 mile when rabbits friend cheddar accidentally blasts himself in the nuts.
its ironic it happened near the 1 year anniversary of the death of sean taylor (rest in peace) and the same weekend of the game that taylors number was getting inducted into the redskins ring of fame. while taylors death was a complete tragedy, it reminded me of the reaction people had right after the news broke. people were basically saying that it was his own fault, that he was a thug, that when you hang around bad dudes thats what happens. but in the end he was an innocent family man caught in an armed robbery of his own home while his family was there. he died protecting his loved ones. what that taught me was to get all the facts before you open your mouth. so im just waiting for the breaking news that plaxico had his family at the club and his own right testicle was attacking his babys mama, so he shot it in self defense.
its vague at this point but apparently there was an attempted cover-up by buress and antonio pierce, the captain of the defense, and i assume the captain of the mini-gang that they run. but actually i like the idea of a cover up. it was the smartest thing they did all night. they were actually trying to use their brains. alas it turned out horribly but what did you expect. at least they gave an effort. if only ben brafman or michael clayton were part of their gang.
i know why they do it. i know why black atletes seem to think the only way to protect themselves is by brandishing a firearm. its because of other stupid thugs who target players like richard collier, who now has a leg amputated after getting blasted 12 times, and javon walker who was beaten unconscious and robbed of his bling in vegas. what i dont get is why they(stephen jackson, tank johnson etc.) cant seem to think of the very safe, very simple alternative like credit cards instead of 5 grand in cash or one necklace worth ten grand instead of 5 totaling $250,000. or why they cant seem to adapt to a higher society their salaries allow them to be in. to me, i cant understand how anyone would get into this situation, let alone a freaking millionaire father/husband. what goes through the mind of a man has a non guaranteed $35 million dollar contract, who already is in hot water with his employer, who has a family at home and who needs to stay out of trouble for himself, financially and legally, and for his teammates that are trying to win football games. the more i wrap my mind around it like a car crash wrapped around a pole, i think either buress is truly one of the dumbest guys in history or he is really sick, mentally, and he needs help. OR wait a sec, this thought just came over me, he is black and is extremely immature for his 31 years, grew up with no father(presumably) and in a bad neighborhood, mother worked 8 jobs and was never around, was basically raised by his grandmother who was 65 when he was 15 and didnt know half the shit he did even existed, developed relationships with some bad dudes, never cared about school bec no one who had leverage on him really ever told him and explained to him how important it is, worked out, smoked weed and dominated on the football field so everyone kissed his ass bec he was gonna get a free ride to the esteemed establishment of michigan state university and was goona be on tv and someday make millions in the nfl, so he treated everyone like shit bec he could and bec it was cool bec that was what a rapper would do. now when he actually did make it big time and times get rough at the job or at home one generally reverts to his true nature, or at least depends on the social training one develops as he grows up, or the people skills one learned in a division 1 university, so he went back to what he knows. but what happens if that basic nature, or foundation, is majorly flawed ever since the kid was in the crib?
and that, ladies and gentleman, is a question for all to discuss at the dinner table.
remember when buress was crying like a bitch about his contract situation after he made the game-winning catch in the final seconds of the greatest game ever played? he had some nice emotional leverage to play with, but seriously, the giants knew what they had. they knew this guy was a lump on a breast. they made him happy, bec thats what you do to babies. but jerry reese and the maras worked in less guaranteed money and more incentive laden bonuses to protect them in case the diva ever feels like being a little diva-ish. just another reason why jerry reese might be the best gm in football. and hes black, people. every draft pick, every negotiation, every move seems to be quite shrewd. one day, not now, well break down the difference between jerry reeses, tony dungys and the plaxicos and stephen jacksons. anyways, as i have said before on this page, forget this guy, leave him in a cell. start focusing on anquan boldin. now this is a man. a man who mentioned to his team in the offseason that he was unhappy about his contract, they told him they are doing their best to retain him and he has shut his mouth ever since, and broke his face and played 3 weeks later and has been his dominant self. so yeah this is a man. one thing i have learned over the years, both in sports and business, is that character is always more important than talent and skill. mike vick learned that the hard way.
11.24.2008
new york awaits you
Lebron. Bosh. Nash. say it with me. nash dishes inside to bosh, bosh spins looking to shoot, but finds an open james streaking down the hardwood, flips it behind his back, on cue, lebron snatches it out of the air as he passes by and throws down a thunder of thunderous dunks as the Garden erupts in a sea of waving hands and screaming heads.
this is the scene i imagine in two years time at the mecca. believe it. its gonna happen. if you dont like bosh, we could do amare, or d-wade or dirk or even tyson chandler. whatever you want, baby. were rich, bitch. the lebron part is a definite. the nash part makes too much sense not to be. steve-o will be a spry 37 years-old, but no doubt he would want to recapture the magic he had with his old flame m'ike d'antoni. it would be a nice way to say goodbye .
the man who will play second fiddle to the king is a little less certain. it could be bosh. it could be boozer. he is a free agent at the end of this year, and the knicks could start setting the foundation a year early to sort of pave the way and ease the transition for lebron. i dont think he wants to come to a team that went 4-78 and do the whole savior thing. he wants a good-ass team around him so can win. it could be marion, who is no superstar but would seem a nice fit ( again a former sun - its guaranteed they will all be mentioned in the next 2 years as future knicks) to run with "the Bull".
they might even be able to afford ( with intelligent contract workings) chandler and marion (non max deals) on top of lebrons' max deal and a near max deal for wade. how about that. sounds crazy but it might be mathematicly feasible. or boozer this year, lebron and amare the next, instantly creating the greatest front court in history. oh shit, im giddy.
the idea that three monster names coming to new york is unlikely. what definitely is going to happen and i will officially declare it as a guarantee, is that quentin richardson (if he hasnt been shipped out by then) is going to have to give up his number 23 jersey bec the man-bear-pig lebron "the king of all kings" james will need it. and quentin, dont be a dick and charge him like hundred grand. just ask permission from one of his entourage to approach him and when permission is granted slowly walk over holding out the mesh garb with both hands extended. DO NOT make eye contact. as you get closer, kneel down before him without saying a word and let him take it from you. do not give it to him, this is important, you must let him do the taking. upon leaving do not turn your back. in one motion stand up, say "g-d bless the king of all kings, he who gives us hope, he who gives us salvation" and back away ever so gently.
the core of the next ten years or so will be lebron. whomever is fortunate enough to be chosen to claim that they share a locker room with him will be determined in the coming months. the names will change daily upon different factors entering the picture. does walsh want to lock up 50 - 60 mill into 2 players (lebron and wade) and leave crumbs for the rest of the cast? will amare prove he can stay healthy to justify a long guaranteed contract? will nash take a one-year deal, and for less than his market value? will bosh turn down miami or detroits' mega offers and the appeal of having his own team to play with his team usa team-mate?
whats really funny here is that donnie walsh just about fixed the entire knicks organization in one day after Isiah "it was all my daughters' fault" Thomas spent years trying to destroy it. after years of all those retarded signings (jerome james) and trades (eddy curry, steve francis) and turning the team into the basketball version of the spears family, donnie walsh in a matter of hours put the team back on track ( for the most part- curry is still under contract for 2010-11 and will be traded as well). it just shows me the difference between competent, intelligent people and incompetent, senseless buffoons who have no concept of thinking in a larger picture bigger than a box-score. but lets focus on the good. lets focus on the future.
all these q's will have a's soon enough. but for now we can start dreaming the big dream.
hey, isnt kobe a free agent at the end of the year?
this is the scene i imagine in two years time at the mecca. believe it. its gonna happen. if you dont like bosh, we could do amare, or d-wade or dirk or even tyson chandler. whatever you want, baby. were rich, bitch. the lebron part is a definite. the nash part makes too much sense not to be. steve-o will be a spry 37 years-old, but no doubt he would want to recapture the magic he had with his old flame m'ike d'antoni. it would be a nice way to say goodbye .
the man who will play second fiddle to the king is a little less certain. it could be bosh. it could be boozer. he is a free agent at the end of this year, and the knicks could start setting the foundation a year early to sort of pave the way and ease the transition for lebron. i dont think he wants to come to a team that went 4-78 and do the whole savior thing. he wants a good-ass team around him so can win. it could be marion, who is no superstar but would seem a nice fit ( again a former sun - its guaranteed they will all be mentioned in the next 2 years as future knicks) to run with "the Bull".
they might even be able to afford ( with intelligent contract workings) chandler and marion (non max deals) on top of lebrons' max deal and a near max deal for wade. how about that. sounds crazy but it might be mathematicly feasible. or boozer this year, lebron and amare the next, instantly creating the greatest front court in history. oh shit, im giddy.
the idea that three monster names coming to new york is unlikely. what definitely is going to happen and i will officially declare it as a guarantee, is that quentin richardson (if he hasnt been shipped out by then) is going to have to give up his number 23 jersey bec the man-bear-pig lebron "the king of all kings" james will need it. and quentin, dont be a dick and charge him like hundred grand. just ask permission from one of his entourage to approach him and when permission is granted slowly walk over holding out the mesh garb with both hands extended. DO NOT make eye contact. as you get closer, kneel down before him without saying a word and let him take it from you. do not give it to him, this is important, you must let him do the taking. upon leaving do not turn your back. in one motion stand up, say "g-d bless the king of all kings, he who gives us hope, he who gives us salvation" and back away ever so gently.
the core of the next ten years or so will be lebron. whomever is fortunate enough to be chosen to claim that they share a locker room with him will be determined in the coming months. the names will change daily upon different factors entering the picture. does walsh want to lock up 50 - 60 mill into 2 players (lebron and wade) and leave crumbs for the rest of the cast? will amare prove he can stay healthy to justify a long guaranteed contract? will nash take a one-year deal, and for less than his market value? will bosh turn down miami or detroits' mega offers and the appeal of having his own team to play with his team usa team-mate?
whats really funny here is that donnie walsh just about fixed the entire knicks organization in one day after Isiah "it was all my daughters' fault" Thomas spent years trying to destroy it. after years of all those retarded signings (jerome james) and trades (eddy curry, steve francis) and turning the team into the basketball version of the spears family, donnie walsh in a matter of hours put the team back on track ( for the most part- curry is still under contract for 2010-11 and will be traded as well). it just shows me the difference between competent, intelligent people and incompetent, senseless buffoons who have no concept of thinking in a larger picture bigger than a box-score. but lets focus on the good. lets focus on the future.
all these q's will have a's soon enough. but for now we can start dreaming the big dream.
hey, isnt kobe a free agent at the end of the year?
11.19.2008
rush limbaugh was right
holy shit, donovan mcnabb!!! are you serious? please tell me that you do not disagree this moron qb just set his race back 50 years. mcnabb, if you havent heard by now, admitted to not knowing the rules regarding ties in the nfl. its unclear what he thought would happen when the o.t. ran out, but one things for sure, he has been in the nfl since 1998. there was a tie in 2002. there are t's in the standings next to w's and l's in every cities' sports section. its one of those things like a missed field goal being returned for a td. it rarely happens but every player and fan knows about it and knows it can happen. but the real issue is how this ten-year veteran, franchise quaterback did not know about a simple nfl game situation. you know what im thinking but i wont say it. all ill say is this: if you were ask peyton, brady, carson, big ben, hasselback, and eli, and then ask mike vick, david garrard, tarvaris jaxson, byron leftwich, vince young, and mcnabb questions on the simple rules of the league they play in, which group do you think would receive a higher score?
this is too easy.
this is too easy.
11.18.2008
11.12.2008
A Big Black Hole
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3686028
im sorry. i truly am. i didnt want to go there but i honestly cant help myself. i truly feel compelled to discuss this topic and share my opinion, whether you like it or not.
the topic, to be clear, is the fact that there are studies and reports and thesis's on the numbers and percentages of black head coaches. the study states there are 4 head coaches (out of 119) in the entire bcs subdivision. and to some people this deserves media attention and "newsworthiness". to some (wojciechowski of espn, whitlock of foxsports) this is a mistake and an outrage and believe the number should be higher. me? i laugh when i see these reports.
there are many reasons why the percentages are so low. we can start with the simple fact, that the head football coach in any major college program is, for all intents and purposes "the face of the franchise". guys like tressel in colombus, miles in baton rouge, carroll in sc, paterno, bowden, to name a few. these guys, beside from being football coaches, have to kiss alot of ass. they need to butter the bottoms of highly sensitive boosters, wealthy white recruits, the overly-protective alumni. these are things that go on in order to keep funding in the uber-millions. so when a president and a.d. are looking for someone who can excel at all the diversity the job calls for they tend to lean towards the guy that the rich, white, cash cows will better receive. sometimes in life it just boils down to the dollar.
another reason could be, whether you believe there is a connection or not, is the amount of winning black coaches in recent college football history. ty willingham - 44 wins in 7 seasons with stanford, 21 wins in 3 seasons with nd, and 11 wins in 4 seasons with uw. and this is a guy who got more than one chance to prove himself. why it took so long for this guy to get bounced, i have no idea. Ron Prince of kansas state, after promising to put ksu football on the map, he valiantly puts 16 wins on the map - in 3 years. there simply isnt enough to go around.
i love it. all these articles talk about the numbers and what not, but dont mention names. they wont mention the fact that there is a severe dearth of competent black coaches to even choose from. just listen to this quote from yahoo sports. are these guys out of their mind ?. its like its expected to be a certain number and if its not then all but 4 college presidents are racist.
"Also, we must expect more out of our college presidents, who have an even more important responsibility. They are the leading scholars of our academic institutions, and they should see beyond bias and stereotypes and seek grander principles. When it comes to hiring and setting the tone at their universities, they are in charge."
what ever happened to hiring the best guy. i look at it like this: each individual university conducted their own interviews, made their own lists, had meetings, mulled it, then came out with the guy they deemed best to fill the position. when that process happens, the better available and more qualified possibilities would logically get snatched up and the less qualified and less competent would get left in the cold. simple as that. so instead of every fucking member of this american liberal media crying about stats and ratios and viewing from the back-end, why dont you look at it the more translucent way? from the beginning of the process, not from the end result. maybe, just maybe, Rick Neuheisel is better at what he does than dewayne walker(usc black asst coach who was in the running for the ucla job that Neuheisel got). nothing against walker but this is one example of what i just explained. the stats represent reality. and maybe the reality is that our universities are run by angry old white men with racist agendas, or maybe the reality is that there are few good black coaches to pick from.
there are probably some very talented black coordinators out there that deserve a chance, but until there are more guys like sylvester croom ( a very good black coach and current hc of miss state, who has proven himself over and over) and randy shannon ( tough-nosed hc of miami who is turning around that program) i don't want to hear it.
here's another quote from the guy who did the study: "While the percentages are slightly better, the general picture is still one of white men running college sport," said Richard Lapchick, the report's co-author. "Overall, the numbers simply do not reflect the diversity of our student-athletes. Moreover, they do not reflect the diversity of our nation where we have elected an African-American as President for the first time."
now that last line, could potentially open a can for me but that is a story for another time. i just dont see a correlation.
and another :
"I found it appalling" Charlotte Westerhaus, the NCAA's vice president for diversity and inclusion.
i find you appalling.
i cant get enough of these douchebags. hear is copy and paste directly from gene wojciechowskis' article about this terrible situation that america has come face to face with.
""Do the math. Four out of 119 equals 3.36 percent (120 schools were studied, including one transitioning into FBS). That's less than you tip the worst waitress in the world. Now compare that to the other numbers published in a recent study by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida: • 54 percent of FBS players are minorities (50 percent of those African-American). • 5.04 percent of FBS head coaches are minorities. • 92.5 percent of FBS university presidents, 87.5 percent of FBS athletic directors and 100 percent of FBS conference commissioners are white. ""
yes, the waitress line was hilarious and i would like to formally invite you back up the computer after you surely were on the floor laughing.
in the nfl there is something called the "rooney rule", which forces nfl teams to interview at least one minority coach. these guys would like to implement a similar rule in ncaa. if the point of this rule is only to increase the number of black coaches just so you can feel better about yourself bec you are too insecure about racism in this country and need to have blacks love you, otherwise you might be called a bigot and shunned by all, or is it to actually find good black coaches that otherwise might not get the opportunity for an interview?
if its truly the latter, then go for it.
the only problem with this system is that it requires you to interview guys like herm the worm, ray rhodes, denny green, romeo crennel, and then get stupid and actually hire them. these might be the 4 worst coaches in the last 15 years to put on a headset. lets not ignore dungy, tomlin, lovie smith, these guys are everything a young black coach should strive to be. marvin lewis is an enigma. i like him, think hes a good coach, but has had almost no success and no luck other than one season.
the current black coach situation is very polarizing. to me there are no average black head coaches. either youre in the top third or bottom third. that saying something. it says there are elite black coaches out there but after that your pushing it and essentially are a product of affirmative action. seriously, what has herman edwards done in his career that tells me he should be navigating a rebuilding organization. teams in need of an energetic and fresh approach like the falcons, redskins, cards, dolphins, all miraculously found the right guy to steer their respective sinking ships. what have the browns done? im not saying white coaches are better than black coaches, im saying some individuals are better at the coaching profession, and all that that entails, than others and if they happen to be white thats the way it is. believe me there are indeed under-performing white head coaches, guys in the past few years like mariucci, nolan, bill callahan, marty schott, linehan, and guess what, they were bounced on their heads and were replaced. you dont hear an outcry about them. one seriously has to ask if the browns, cheifs, and bengals are afraid of the p.r. if they bootleg their coach. thanx to reports like these, if a crennel or a dennis green get fired its bec they are black. the reality is, in the nfl there is a concept called "shitty head coach" and when a team has one it fires his ass, thats it. so why wait on these three guys. some are of the opinion that if they were white they'd be in the tv booth by now. how many more clock-managemant miscues and awful playcalling do these guys need to commit to convince people they are horrible at their job. how many more cheifs and browns players losing interest in the tream concept does it take to prove that these guys have zero locker room control.
i seriously could spend days going through every coach in every sport. ncaa b-ball guys like kelvin sampson: commits ncaa violations, gets caught, then seriously, no joke, commits the same violation at indiana; henry bibby: 131-111, fired after nine seasons; john chaney: threatened to kill john calipari at a press conference, ordered a player to commit hard fouls on opponent eventually leading to a broken arm of a st joes player; tubby smith: he went from top-five job with kentucky and winning a championship(1997) to coaching at minneota and the nit. what happened?; nolan richardson: my favorite- In February 2002, Richardson spoke out against the administration at the University of Arkansas and its fans. He claimed that he was being mistreated because he was african-american, and challenged Athletic Director Frank Boyles to buy out the remainder of his contract. Shortly thereafter, Arkansas dismissed Richardson as head coach. In December 2002, Richardson filed a lawsuit against the University, the Board of Trustees, and the Razorback Foundation, citing a racially discriminatory environment. Coach Richardson's lawsuit was dismissed in July 2004. Reminds me of willie randolph. is tommy amaker or john thompson III the best black coach in the ncaa? see what im saying. now obviously there are white coaches that cause trouble and cant seem to figure it out. Larry Eustachy, bobbo knight, bobbo huggins, Dave Bliss, are few mental-cases worth mentioning. eustachy compromised the reputation of the university. he is currently at southern miss. bliss made the mistake of his life. bliss is now out of coaching. knight and huggins were embarrssing themselves more than the company, but they are proven winners, which is why they remained major factors in the coaching landscape.
what about the nba. this is the easiest to analyze. it was actually easier one year ago than it is now, bec people actually think doc rivers out-coached phil jackson. it never happened. i dont know what phil jax was doing but anyone watching the end of the season and playoffs, realized the talent and leadership on that team overcame the deficiencies of the coaching. there were misused timeouts, unclear rotations(cassell, rondo), defensive breakdowns(hawks series) and other things that the bug three ignored and took care of business themselves. docs' career total is 346 -329. and thats after a 66 win season. phil jax needs no defense. anyways i always like to start off simply by asking who are the worst coaches in the league. maybe scott skiles, maybe lawrence frank. maybe marc iavaroni, but definitely sam mitchell, mike brown, mo cheeks. possibly mike woodson, reggie theus. guys like michael curry and terry porter need more time to prove their horribleness. doc rivers and byron scott have achieved some success so its difficult for people to see the flaws and realize the jokes they really are. nate macmillan and eddie jordan are very good coaches. but the best barometer is to look at the black coaches that were in the league recently. here are some. try not to laugh. sam vincent, bill cartwright, sidney lowe, bernie bickerstaff, don chaney, avery johnson, dwane casey, paul silas, and the one and only, the guy all young black coaches cringe when hearing his name: isiah "i'm a little too feminine for this profession" thomas. ok, mostly good guys and smart guys, but all were severely out-coached and exposed for the bumbling morons they think they're not. there are obviously white coaches who cant hack it in this leauge guys like calipari, rick pitino, who went back to college and displayed their talent where it was simply a better fit for them. guys like doug collins, jeff van gundy, are out of the league. but only bec they chose to, they are hounded about jobs every offseason.
was anyone surprised that in crunch time the maverix folded and the team led by pat riley and d-wade out-played and out-maneuvered the avery johnson-led squad. why is he not coaching now? after a finals appearance and a coach of the year award you'd think gm's would be all over his big teeth . where is he? do you remember the knicks had interest in mark jackson to be their head coach this offseason. that would have been interesting. dont get me started on lenny wilkens. when you have a league where more than a third and almost half the coaches are black( 11-30) you would think doc rivers wouldn't be the first guy since the days of kc jones (84' and 86'), lenny(79'), and al attles (75') to win a championship. thats a 22 year break. the reason i say this league is the easiest to analyze is bec if their was any league one would think african-american coaches would attain championship caliber success it would be the nba. a. bec of the high percentage of black coaches and b. bec of the high percentage of black players. 83% of nba players are black, so essentially its the one sport that that culture has embraced. which would lead one to think that in the nba there would be more black coaches, gms, and owners, which in fact is true. so where are the winners? and c. every one of the 30 nba teams has had at least one black coach (not necessarily head coach) by now.
there are still liberal hippies who think its not enough. this new york times article, listen carefully, starts off with the premise that black coaches tend to have shorter tenures than white coaches. the article goes on to bring stats and quotes from guys like silas ( who was fined $10,000 for a vulgar reference of a former member of the cavs, before getting fired) to prove unfairness and possible racism . then at the end of the article, oh so quietly, it suggests that actually "Team performance turned out to be the most important factor in a coach's job security";
i'm laughing my ass off right now, you have no idea. i think i might rupture my spleen.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9504E2DA1F3CF931A15750C0A9639C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
in all of this, is another sub-category which ill mention but wont rant on. black players playing for black coaches. you would think its an advantage as a coach. but it doesnt seem so statistically. a couple years ago larry johnson had this to say when asked a question regarding a comparison between herm and dick vermeil: "I think so. I could relate to Herman. I couldn't do that with the other coaches I had because they had not done it. You know, they haven't put those pads or they haven't been in the situation as a young black athlete and know what we had to go through." he was trying to say that he can open up more to herm bec he was like a father figure. in last weeks s.i. pol that asked "Which current NFL coach would you most like to play for?" herm the worm came in fifth place?!?! ok larry you play for herm and beat women, ill play for vermeil and go to super bowls.
its been 60 years since jackie played his first game. cito gaston is the only black manager to lead his team to a world series. i commend him for the job well done, but why would he not get another job after getting fired from the jays in 1997. imagine any other white manager with a resume of TWO world series championships. he would get hired faster than you can say martin luther king junior. its a mystery to this day. as recently as 2006 willie randolph showed why he should have stayed a third base coach. he got embarrassingly out-coached by the much sharper larussa. 2002 dusty baker had a 3 games to 2 lead in the world series. mike scioscia wasnt too nervous. theres only been a handfull in the last few years but guys like willie, dusty, frank robinson, don baylor, lloyd mcklendon all have one thing in common. they are horrible managers and have never won anything and will never win anything.
its sad really, at least in football you have some smart black coaches. in baseball, there should be reports and studies done.
im sorry. i truly am. i didnt want to go there but i honestly cant help myself. i truly feel compelled to discuss this topic and share my opinion, whether you like it or not.
the topic, to be clear, is the fact that there are studies and reports and thesis's on the numbers and percentages of black head coaches. the study states there are 4 head coaches (out of 119) in the entire bcs subdivision. and to some people this deserves media attention and "newsworthiness". to some (wojciechowski of espn, whitlock of foxsports) this is a mistake and an outrage and believe the number should be higher. me? i laugh when i see these reports.
there are many reasons why the percentages are so low. we can start with the simple fact, that the head football coach in any major college program is, for all intents and purposes "the face of the franchise". guys like tressel in colombus, miles in baton rouge, carroll in sc, paterno, bowden, to name a few. these guys, beside from being football coaches, have to kiss alot of ass. they need to butter the bottoms of highly sensitive boosters, wealthy white recruits, the overly-protective alumni. these are things that go on in order to keep funding in the uber-millions. so when a president and a.d. are looking for someone who can excel at all the diversity the job calls for they tend to lean towards the guy that the rich, white, cash cows will better receive. sometimes in life it just boils down to the dollar.
another reason could be, whether you believe there is a connection or not, is the amount of winning black coaches in recent college football history. ty willingham - 44 wins in 7 seasons with stanford, 21 wins in 3 seasons with nd, and 11 wins in 4 seasons with uw. and this is a guy who got more than one chance to prove himself. why it took so long for this guy to get bounced, i have no idea. Ron Prince of kansas state, after promising to put ksu football on the map, he valiantly puts 16 wins on the map - in 3 years. there simply isnt enough to go around.
i love it. all these articles talk about the numbers and what not, but dont mention names. they wont mention the fact that there is a severe dearth of competent black coaches to even choose from. just listen to this quote from yahoo sports. are these guys out of their mind ?. its like its expected to be a certain number and if its not then all but 4 college presidents are racist.
"Also, we must expect more out of our college presidents, who have an even more important responsibility. They are the leading scholars of our academic institutions, and they should see beyond bias and stereotypes and seek grander principles. When it comes to hiring and setting the tone at their universities, they are in charge."
what ever happened to hiring the best guy. i look at it like this: each individual university conducted their own interviews, made their own lists, had meetings, mulled it, then came out with the guy they deemed best to fill the position. when that process happens, the better available and more qualified possibilities would logically get snatched up and the less qualified and less competent would get left in the cold. simple as that. so instead of every fucking member of this american liberal media crying about stats and ratios and viewing from the back-end, why dont you look at it the more translucent way? from the beginning of the process, not from the end result. maybe, just maybe, Rick Neuheisel is better at what he does than dewayne walker(usc black asst coach who was in the running for the ucla job that Neuheisel got). nothing against walker but this is one example of what i just explained. the stats represent reality. and maybe the reality is that our universities are run by angry old white men with racist agendas, or maybe the reality is that there are few good black coaches to pick from.
there are probably some very talented black coordinators out there that deserve a chance, but until there are more guys like sylvester croom ( a very good black coach and current hc of miss state, who has proven himself over and over) and randy shannon ( tough-nosed hc of miami who is turning around that program) i don't want to hear it.
here's another quote from the guy who did the study: "While the percentages are slightly better, the general picture is still one of white men running college sport," said Richard Lapchick, the report's co-author. "Overall, the numbers simply do not reflect the diversity of our student-athletes. Moreover, they do not reflect the diversity of our nation where we have elected an African-American as President for the first time."
now that last line, could potentially open a can for me but that is a story for another time. i just dont see a correlation.
and another :
"I found it appalling" Charlotte Westerhaus, the NCAA's vice president for diversity and inclusion.
i find you appalling.
i cant get enough of these douchebags. hear is copy and paste directly from gene wojciechowskis' article about this terrible situation that america has come face to face with.
""Do the math. Four out of 119 equals 3.36 percent (120 schools were studied, including one transitioning into FBS). That's less than you tip the worst waitress in the world. Now compare that to the other numbers published in a recent study by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida: • 54 percent of FBS players are minorities (50 percent of those African-American). • 5.04 percent of FBS head coaches are minorities. • 92.5 percent of FBS university presidents, 87.5 percent of FBS athletic directors and 100 percent of FBS conference commissioners are white. ""
yes, the waitress line was hilarious and i would like to formally invite you back up the computer after you surely were on the floor laughing.
in the nfl there is something called the "rooney rule", which forces nfl teams to interview at least one minority coach. these guys would like to implement a similar rule in ncaa. if the point of this rule is only to increase the number of black coaches just so you can feel better about yourself bec you are too insecure about racism in this country and need to have blacks love you, otherwise you might be called a bigot and shunned by all, or is it to actually find good black coaches that otherwise might not get the opportunity for an interview?
if its truly the latter, then go for it.
the only problem with this system is that it requires you to interview guys like herm the worm, ray rhodes, denny green, romeo crennel, and then get stupid and actually hire them. these might be the 4 worst coaches in the last 15 years to put on a headset. lets not ignore dungy, tomlin, lovie smith, these guys are everything a young black coach should strive to be. marvin lewis is an enigma. i like him, think hes a good coach, but has had almost no success and no luck other than one season.
the current black coach situation is very polarizing. to me there are no average black head coaches. either youre in the top third or bottom third. that saying something. it says there are elite black coaches out there but after that your pushing it and essentially are a product of affirmative action. seriously, what has herman edwards done in his career that tells me he should be navigating a rebuilding organization. teams in need of an energetic and fresh approach like the falcons, redskins, cards, dolphins, all miraculously found the right guy to steer their respective sinking ships. what have the browns done? im not saying white coaches are better than black coaches, im saying some individuals are better at the coaching profession, and all that that entails, than others and if they happen to be white thats the way it is. believe me there are indeed under-performing white head coaches, guys in the past few years like mariucci, nolan, bill callahan, marty schott, linehan, and guess what, they were bounced on their heads and were replaced. you dont hear an outcry about them. one seriously has to ask if the browns, cheifs, and bengals are afraid of the p.r. if they bootleg their coach. thanx to reports like these, if a crennel or a dennis green get fired its bec they are black. the reality is, in the nfl there is a concept called "shitty head coach" and when a team has one it fires his ass, thats it. so why wait on these three guys. some are of the opinion that if they were white they'd be in the tv booth by now. how many more clock-managemant miscues and awful playcalling do these guys need to commit to convince people they are horrible at their job. how many more cheifs and browns players losing interest in the tream concept does it take to prove that these guys have zero locker room control.
i seriously could spend days going through every coach in every sport. ncaa b-ball guys like kelvin sampson: commits ncaa violations, gets caught, then seriously, no joke, commits the same violation at indiana; henry bibby: 131-111, fired after nine seasons; john chaney: threatened to kill john calipari at a press conference, ordered a player to commit hard fouls on opponent eventually leading to a broken arm of a st joes player; tubby smith: he went from top-five job with kentucky and winning a championship(1997) to coaching at minneota and the nit. what happened?; nolan richardson: my favorite- In February 2002, Richardson spoke out against the administration at the University of Arkansas and its fans. He claimed that he was being mistreated because he was african-american, and challenged Athletic Director Frank Boyles to buy out the remainder of his contract. Shortly thereafter, Arkansas dismissed Richardson as head coach. In December 2002, Richardson filed a lawsuit against the University, the Board of Trustees, and the Razorback Foundation, citing a racially discriminatory environment. Coach Richardson's lawsuit was dismissed in July 2004. Reminds me of willie randolph. is tommy amaker or john thompson III the best black coach in the ncaa? see what im saying. now obviously there are white coaches that cause trouble and cant seem to figure it out. Larry Eustachy, bobbo knight, bobbo huggins, Dave Bliss, are few mental-cases worth mentioning. eustachy compromised the reputation of the university. he is currently at southern miss. bliss made the mistake of his life. bliss is now out of coaching. knight and huggins were embarrssing themselves more than the company, but they are proven winners, which is why they remained major factors in the coaching landscape.
what about the nba. this is the easiest to analyze. it was actually easier one year ago than it is now, bec people actually think doc rivers out-coached phil jackson. it never happened. i dont know what phil jax was doing but anyone watching the end of the season and playoffs, realized the talent and leadership on that team overcame the deficiencies of the coaching. there were misused timeouts, unclear rotations(cassell, rondo), defensive breakdowns(hawks series) and other things that the bug three ignored and took care of business themselves. docs' career total is 346 -329. and thats after a 66 win season. phil jax needs no defense. anyways i always like to start off simply by asking who are the worst coaches in the league. maybe scott skiles, maybe lawrence frank. maybe marc iavaroni, but definitely sam mitchell, mike brown, mo cheeks. possibly mike woodson, reggie theus. guys like michael curry and terry porter need more time to prove their horribleness. doc rivers and byron scott have achieved some success so its difficult for people to see the flaws and realize the jokes they really are. nate macmillan and eddie jordan are very good coaches. but the best barometer is to look at the black coaches that were in the league recently. here are some. try not to laugh. sam vincent, bill cartwright, sidney lowe, bernie bickerstaff, don chaney, avery johnson, dwane casey, paul silas, and the one and only, the guy all young black coaches cringe when hearing his name: isiah "i'm a little too feminine for this profession" thomas. ok, mostly good guys and smart guys, but all were severely out-coached and exposed for the bumbling morons they think they're not. there are obviously white coaches who cant hack it in this leauge guys like calipari, rick pitino, who went back to college and displayed their talent where it was simply a better fit for them. guys like doug collins, jeff van gundy, are out of the league. but only bec they chose to, they are hounded about jobs every offseason.
was anyone surprised that in crunch time the maverix folded and the team led by pat riley and d-wade out-played and out-maneuvered the avery johnson-led squad. why is he not coaching now? after a finals appearance and a coach of the year award you'd think gm's would be all over his big teeth . where is he? do you remember the knicks had interest in mark jackson to be their head coach this offseason. that would have been interesting. dont get me started on lenny wilkens. when you have a league where more than a third and almost half the coaches are black( 11-30) you would think doc rivers wouldn't be the first guy since the days of kc jones (84' and 86'), lenny(79'), and al attles (75') to win a championship. thats a 22 year break. the reason i say this league is the easiest to analyze is bec if their was any league one would think african-american coaches would attain championship caliber success it would be the nba. a. bec of the high percentage of black coaches and b. bec of the high percentage of black players. 83% of nba players are black, so essentially its the one sport that that culture has embraced. which would lead one to think that in the nba there would be more black coaches, gms, and owners, which in fact is true. so where are the winners? and c. every one of the 30 nba teams has had at least one black coach (not necessarily head coach) by now.
there are still liberal hippies who think its not enough. this new york times article, listen carefully, starts off with the premise that black coaches tend to have shorter tenures than white coaches. the article goes on to bring stats and quotes from guys like silas ( who was fined $10,000 for a vulgar reference of a former member of the cavs, before getting fired) to prove unfairness and possible racism . then at the end of the article, oh so quietly, it suggests that actually "Team performance turned out to be the most important factor in a coach's job security";
i'm laughing my ass off right now, you have no idea. i think i might rupture my spleen.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9504E2DA1F3CF931A15750C0A9639C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
in all of this, is another sub-category which ill mention but wont rant on. black players playing for black coaches. you would think its an advantage as a coach. but it doesnt seem so statistically. a couple years ago larry johnson had this to say when asked a question regarding a comparison between herm and dick vermeil: "I think so. I could relate to Herman. I couldn't do that with the other coaches I had because they had not done it. You know, they haven't put those pads or they haven't been in the situation as a young black athlete and know what we had to go through." he was trying to say that he can open up more to herm bec he was like a father figure. in last weeks s.i. pol that asked "Which current NFL coach would you most like to play for?" herm the worm came in fifth place?!?! ok larry you play for herm and beat women, ill play for vermeil and go to super bowls.
its been 60 years since jackie played his first game. cito gaston is the only black manager to lead his team to a world series. i commend him for the job well done, but why would he not get another job after getting fired from the jays in 1997. imagine any other white manager with a resume of TWO world series championships. he would get hired faster than you can say martin luther king junior. its a mystery to this day. as recently as 2006 willie randolph showed why he should have stayed a third base coach. he got embarrassingly out-coached by the much sharper larussa. 2002 dusty baker had a 3 games to 2 lead in the world series. mike scioscia wasnt too nervous. theres only been a handfull in the last few years but guys like willie, dusty, frank robinson, don baylor, lloyd mcklendon all have one thing in common. they are horrible managers and have never won anything and will never win anything.
its sad really, at least in football you have some smart black coaches. in baseball, there should be reports and studies done.
10.27.2008
a look into the crystal basketball
West Finals:
lakers over portland
East Finals:
orlando over boston
NBA Finals:
lakers over orlando
award show:
mvp: cp3
roy: o.j. mayonaisse
coy: nate mac
dpoy: josh smith
most improved: gerald green
lakers over portland
East Finals:
orlando over boston
NBA Finals:
lakers over orlando
award show:
mvp: cp3
roy: o.j. mayonaisse
coy: nate mac
dpoy: josh smith
most improved: gerald green
10.23.2008
NBA-where flops are now monitered
| Ballin' !! here we go. nba pix surely to crash harder than oprahs family tree. Eastern Conference | ||||||||
| Atlantic | W | L | ||||||
| Boston | 61 | 21 | ||||||
| Philadelphia | 48 | 34 | ||||||
| New York | 36 | 46 | ||||||
| Toronto | 35 | 47 | ||||||
| New Jersey | 29 | 53 | ||||||
| Central | W | L | ||||||
| Detroit | 55 | 27 | ||||||
| Cleveland | 48 | 36 | ||||||
| Chicago | 44 | 38 | ||||||
| Indiana | 36 | 46 | ||||||
| Milwaukee | 24 | 58 | ||||||
| Southeast | W | L | ||||||
| Orlando | 56 | 26 | ||||||
| Atlanta | 45 | 37 | ||||||
| Miami | 41 | 41 | ||||||
| Washington | 34 | 48 | ||||||
| Charlotte | 18 | 64 | ||||||
| Western Conference | ||||||||
| Northwest | W | L | ||||||
| Portland | 52 | 30 | ||||||
| Utah | 51 | 31 | ||||||
| Denver | 46 | 36 | ||||||
| Minnesota | 31 | 51 | ||||||
| Oklahoma City | 22 | 60 | ||||||
| Pacific | W | L | ||||||
| L.A. Lakers | 61 | 21 | ||||||
| Phoenix | 49 | 33 | ||||||
| L.A. Clippers | 45 | 37 | ||||||
| Golden State | 44 | 38 | ||||||
| Sacramento | 31 | 51 | ||||||
| Southwest | W | L | ||||||
| New Orleans | 60 | 22 | ||||||
| Dallas | 53 | 29 | ||||||
| Houston | 52 | 30 | ||||||
| San Antonio | 51 | 31 | ||||||
| Memphis | 20 | 62 | ||||||
9.28.2008
Picks of Destiny 4
week 4 pix:
Denver-9.5At Kansas City.............................den
At Cincinnati-3Cleveland..............................cle
At Jacksonville-7Houston.............................jax
At NY Jets-1Arizona......................................nyj
At New Orleans-4.5San Francisco...................no
At Carolina-6.5Atlanta..................................atl
At Tennessee-3Minnesota.............................tenn
At Tampa Bay-1.5Green Bay..........................gb
Buffalo-8At St. Louis.....................................buff
San Diego-7.5At Oakland..............................sd
At Dallas-11Washington...............................dall
Philadelphia-3At Chicago.............................chi
mon night:
At Pittsburgh-5Baltimore............................pitt
6-10 last week
26-20-1 overall
jimmy sports
Denver-9.5At Kansas City.............................den
At Cincinnati-3Cleveland..............................cle
At Jacksonville-7Houston.............................jax
At NY Jets-1Arizona......................................nyj
At New Orleans-4.5San Francisco...................no
At Carolina-6.5Atlanta..................................atl
At Tennessee-3Minnesota.............................tenn
At Tampa Bay-1.5Green Bay..........................gb
Buffalo-8At St. Louis.....................................buff
San Diego-7.5At Oakland..............................sd
At Dallas-11Washington...............................dall
Philadelphia-3At Chicago.............................chi
mon night:
At Pittsburgh-5Baltimore............................pitt
6-10 last week
26-20-1 overall
jimmy sports
9.22.2008
The House Where Dreams Went to Die
sayonora! good-bye! have a good life!
Yankee stadium is burning to the ground and i will not miss it. the new york jokees are moving out and i cant wait. the new stadium is across the street. im excited for the new beginning, but more importantly im excited about forgetting the past. my memories of the venerable stadium are not pleasant. i have attended many a game in that fabled baseball shrine, but for some reason my experience was always somewhat withholding. to make matters worse, other fans always seem to remember games they went to like they were david effing halberstam. everybodys a story-teller the day after a yankee game. i never met anyone who went to a game and the score wasnt 5-3 red sox going into the bottom of the eighth. lemme guess, cano(or soriano or brosius for that matter) led off with a line-drive rope single just over the glove of the leaping mike lowell. then posada (or oneill or knoblauch)grinds out an 11 pitch at bat and takes first on the fourth ball. then oh my g-d a-rods up, but he whiffs like a school girl trying to fend off a rapist. but no worries, giambi( or bernie or tino) steps up to the plate and after fouling off countless pitches he blasts one off the wall to bring in two to notch it all up at five apiece. then after a random strikeout and giambi still on second, guess who slowly strolls to the plate rolling sand paper around his magic wooden stick. bob sheppards' voice is heard clearly through the pa system announcing "now batting ......the shortstop number 2 - derek jeetuh- number 2". while at the same time a popular hip hop song is blaring to somehow counteract the pure, classical, baritone voice of mr. sheppard. when he steps to the plate, he inserts his right index finger in his helmet ear hole to adjust the helmet. the entire stadium is on its feet. when the new pitcher is finally warmed up, the captain goes to work. on a 1-2 pitch he inside-outs one and fists it into right-field with all his might. as the jumbotron shows dereks mother and father jump out of their seat astonished like they havent seen what just occured happen in their entire lives, jason giambi chugs 'round third. with catcher -like speed he, along with the crowd, expects a close play at the plate. and if you are just lucky enough to be at the game that night, a collision. the ball is gobbled up by drew and in one fluid motion swings his arm and bb's one toward home. the throw is a bit off line but the catcher lunges for home plate to receive the slide of the barreling 260 lb first-baseman. its a bang-bang play and too close to see even from my friends box seats 3 rows up from girardis' nostrils. the ump throws his hands out to his side like an airplane and the world knows mariano is getting ready in the pen. its top nine and the greates closer to ever live ,with his cutter, shreds three bats like a buzzsaw. down go the red sox one-two-three. and everybody is having a grand old time celebrating the victory, half-drunk on beer and stuffed on hot dogs and crackerjacks. sinatra sends everyone home happy.
those type of games only happen to my friends or in my dreams. never once did i see a live game of that caliber. my games are bit more cynical and unfortunate, typically seen in the blowout version of baseball. i went to yankee-angels '02. the score was 14-3. i was at the 19-1 demolishment at the hand of the tribe back in '06. the tickets i get my hands on always seem to feature the piching matchup of a carl pavano or denny neagle or hideki irabu or some 20 yr old douchbag they just called up. i was at the game in '03 when jeter got hurt at third base. my personal won-loss record for my attendance is 6-23. seriously. ive seen mo blow three saves( no one can say that), giambi strikeout five times, giambi commit two errors in an inning, both in the same game. chad curtis misplay a ball in left to allow the winning run to come in('96), soriano let a slow-roller under his mitt in the eighth inning of a close game in september of '01. ive seen leads of 6, 8 and 10 evaporate. ive arrived at games in the second inning and starter was already in the shower. ive seen bases-loaded and no one out amount to nothing. ive seen every great yankee in the last 13 years smack in the middle of their annual slump.
ive never seen a grand-slam, never seen a walk-off hit of any kind. never seen a complete game. never seen a comeback of more than two runs. never seen a manager get tossed. never been to yanks - devil rays(pre 2008). ive never sat lower than loge.
ive been in 5 fights. ive been rained out three times. ive been rain-delayed six times. ive been kicked out twice. ive been hit with bird shit once. ive had to use the stall 4 times. and thats nasty, its not something you wanna do in yankee stadium if really dont have to. ive had three beers thrown at me, and on one occasion my cap was stolen. my pictures never come out clear, always dark and murky. ive gotten 2 speeding tickets to and from the stadium. i once arrived at my seat only to find dried-up vomit all over it from the night before. i sat on the stairs the entire game.
and the number one reason that i will not miss yankee stadium is i have never come within one section of a foul-ball. i know this sounds silly but ever since the first game i went to at seven years old, all i wanted was a foul ball. as i got older all i imagined was me lunging for a ball with ten other people and snatching it out of mid-air. maybe getting on tv, maybe getting it autographed by the guy who hit it. nah, none of that. just dried-up vomit.
jimmy sports
Yankee stadium is burning to the ground and i will not miss it. the new york jokees are moving out and i cant wait. the new stadium is across the street. im excited for the new beginning, but more importantly im excited about forgetting the past. my memories of the venerable stadium are not pleasant. i have attended many a game in that fabled baseball shrine, but for some reason my experience was always somewhat withholding. to make matters worse, other fans always seem to remember games they went to like they were david effing halberstam. everybodys a story-teller the day after a yankee game. i never met anyone who went to a game and the score wasnt 5-3 red sox going into the bottom of the eighth. lemme guess, cano(or soriano or brosius for that matter) led off with a line-drive rope single just over the glove of the leaping mike lowell. then posada (or oneill or knoblauch)grinds out an 11 pitch at bat and takes first on the fourth ball. then oh my g-d a-rods up, but he whiffs like a school girl trying to fend off a rapist. but no worries, giambi( or bernie or tino) steps up to the plate and after fouling off countless pitches he blasts one off the wall to bring in two to notch it all up at five apiece. then after a random strikeout and giambi still on second, guess who slowly strolls to the plate rolling sand paper around his magic wooden stick. bob sheppards' voice is heard clearly through the pa system announcing "now batting ......the shortstop number 2 - derek jeetuh- number 2". while at the same time a popular hip hop song is blaring to somehow counteract the pure, classical, baritone voice of mr. sheppard. when he steps to the plate, he inserts his right index finger in his helmet ear hole to adjust the helmet. the entire stadium is on its feet. when the new pitcher is finally warmed up, the captain goes to work. on a 1-2 pitch he inside-outs one and fists it into right-field with all his might. as the jumbotron shows dereks mother and father jump out of their seat astonished like they havent seen what just occured happen in their entire lives, jason giambi chugs 'round third. with catcher -like speed he, along with the crowd, expects a close play at the plate. and if you are just lucky enough to be at the game that night, a collision. the ball is gobbled up by drew and in one fluid motion swings his arm and bb's one toward home. the throw is a bit off line but the catcher lunges for home plate to receive the slide of the barreling 260 lb first-baseman. its a bang-bang play and too close to see even from my friends box seats 3 rows up from girardis' nostrils. the ump throws his hands out to his side like an airplane and the world knows mariano is getting ready in the pen. its top nine and the greates closer to ever live ,with his cutter, shreds three bats like a buzzsaw. down go the red sox one-two-three. and everybody is having a grand old time celebrating the victory, half-drunk on beer and stuffed on hot dogs and crackerjacks. sinatra sends everyone home happy.
those type of games only happen to my friends or in my dreams. never once did i see a live game of that caliber. my games are bit more cynical and unfortunate, typically seen in the blowout version of baseball. i went to yankee-angels '02. the score was 14-3. i was at the 19-1 demolishment at the hand of the tribe back in '06. the tickets i get my hands on always seem to feature the piching matchup of a carl pavano or denny neagle or hideki irabu or some 20 yr old douchbag they just called up. i was at the game in '03 when jeter got hurt at third base. my personal won-loss record for my attendance is 6-23. seriously. ive seen mo blow three saves( no one can say that), giambi strikeout five times, giambi commit two errors in an inning, both in the same game. chad curtis misplay a ball in left to allow the winning run to come in('96), soriano let a slow-roller under his mitt in the eighth inning of a close game in september of '01. ive seen leads of 6, 8 and 10 evaporate. ive arrived at games in the second inning and starter was already in the shower. ive seen bases-loaded and no one out amount to nothing. ive seen every great yankee in the last 13 years smack in the middle of their annual slump.
ive never seen a grand-slam, never seen a walk-off hit of any kind. never seen a complete game. never seen a comeback of more than two runs. never seen a manager get tossed. never been to yanks - devil rays(pre 2008). ive never sat lower than loge.
ive been in 5 fights. ive been rained out three times. ive been rain-delayed six times. ive been kicked out twice. ive been hit with bird shit once. ive had to use the stall 4 times. and thats nasty, its not something you wanna do in yankee stadium if really dont have to. ive had three beers thrown at me, and on one occasion my cap was stolen. my pictures never come out clear, always dark and murky. ive gotten 2 speeding tickets to and from the stadium. i once arrived at my seat only to find dried-up vomit all over it from the night before. i sat on the stairs the entire game.
and the number one reason that i will not miss yankee stadium is i have never come within one section of a foul-ball. i know this sounds silly but ever since the first game i went to at seven years old, all i wanted was a foul ball. as i got older all i imagined was me lunging for a ball with ten other people and snatching it out of mid-air. maybe getting on tv, maybe getting it autographed by the guy who hit it. nah, none of that. just dried-up vomit.
jimmy sports
9.17.2008
Picks of Destiny III
week 3 pix:
Favorite-Line-Underdog
At Atlanta-5Kansas City..........................atl
At Buffalo-9Oakland.................................buff
At Tennessee-5Houston..........................tenn
At NY Giants-13.5Cincinnati..................nyg
At Washington-3Arizona.........................ari
At New England-12.5Miami...................ne
At Chicago-3Tampa Bay.........................chi
At Minnesota-3.5Carolina.......................car
At Seattle-9.5St. Louis............................sea
At San Francisco-4Detroit......................det
At Denver-5.5New Orleans...................den
At Philadelphia-3Pittsburgh..................phi
At Indianapolis-5.5Jacksonville............jax
At Baltimore-2Cleveland.......................bal
Dallas-3At Green Bay.............................gb
monday night:
At San Diego-9NY Jets..........................nyj
9-5-1 last wk
20-10-1 overall
jimmy sports
Favorite-Line-Underdog
At Atlanta-5Kansas City..........................atl
At Buffalo-9Oakland.................................buff
At Tennessee-5Houston..........................tenn
At NY Giants-13.5Cincinnati..................nyg
At Washington-3Arizona.........................ari
At New England-12.5Miami...................ne
At Chicago-3Tampa Bay.........................chi
At Minnesota-3.5Carolina.......................car
At Seattle-9.5St. Louis............................sea
At San Francisco-4Detroit......................det
At Denver-5.5New Orleans...................den
At Philadelphia-3Pittsburgh..................phi
At Indianapolis-5.5Jacksonville............jax
At Baltimore-2Cleveland.......................bal
Dallas-3At Green Bay.............................gb
monday night:
At San Diego-9NY Jets..........................nyj
9-5-1 last wk
20-10-1 overall
jimmy sports
9.09.2008
picks of destiny II
week 2 pix:
favorite - line - underdog
Indianapolis -2 At Minnesota...........................indy
At Washington PK New Orleans......................no
Green Bay -3 At Detroit...................................gb
At Carolina -3 Chicago......................................car
NY Giants -8.5 At St. Louis.............................nyg
At Jacksonville -5.5 Buffalo..............................jax
At Tampa Bay -7.5 Atlanta...............................tb
At Seattle -7 San Francisco..............................sea
At Arizona -6.5 Miami......................................ari
At NY Jets -1.5 New England..........................ne
At Houston -4.5 Baltimore..............................off
San Diego -1.5 At Denver................................den
Pittsburgh -6 At Cleveland.............................pitt
mon nighter
At Dallas -7Philadelphia..................................dall
11-5 last week
11-5 overall
courtesy of footballlocks.com
jimmy sports
favorite - line - underdog
At Kansas City -3.5 Oakland............................oak
At Cincinnati -1 Tennessee...............................tennIndianapolis -2 At Minnesota...........................indy
At Washington PK New Orleans......................no
Green Bay -3 At Detroit...................................gb
At Carolina -3 Chicago......................................car
NY Giants -8.5 At St. Louis.............................nyg
At Jacksonville -5.5 Buffalo..............................jax
At Tampa Bay -7.5 Atlanta...............................tb
At Seattle -7 San Francisco..............................sea
At Arizona -6.5 Miami......................................ari
At NY Jets -1.5 New England..........................ne
At Houston -4.5 Baltimore..............................off
San Diego -1.5 At Denver................................den
Pittsburgh -6 At Cleveland.............................pitt
mon nighter
At Dallas -7Philadelphia..................................dall
11-5 last week
11-5 overall
courtesy of footballlocks.com
jimmy sports
The Pop Heard Round the World
karma is a bitch. every thing about tom bradys' injury screams (g-ds' voice)"my people, lets not get too oogly-boogly about this fella, because , KARMA IS A MOTHER-FUCKEN BITCH". the man has it all, talent, wealth, success, model-ass, popularity, good looks(thats what they tell me) and a great job, but this is not about tom brady. its about the people around him. this man did nothing to deserve this. he is, in fact, supposed to be a great guy, but this goes deeper than one man. to me its an intricate and compelling lesson to the greater american sports fan. and for anyone in general. it was meant for: in order- boston fans, fantasy owners, brady fans, bill belichek, randy moss, robert kraft, and bill simmons. bradys' acl is karmas' sacrificial lamb for all the people involved who over years invested way too much into one man. brady was chosen by the karma g-ds to pay back alot of people who have erred over the years. for the cheating. for the running up the score. for premature book writings and copyrights. for anyone who ever said he is the greatest qb of alltime, there may now be a hitch. for anyone who drafted him one or 2 overall(which was the wrong pick anyway) you just got screwed. for anyone living in the entire north-east (specifically greater boston- area) or kiss-ass analyst or retard band-wagon patriots fan from florida who arrogantly ignored the super loss and stupidly predicted another super bowl appearance just bec you are a brainwashed, spoiled, snob your season is now blown to pieces( a la dreamboats' knee) in all of eight minutes. so good for y'all that treated this man as if he were the savior of everything from fourth quarters to horrible cologne ads. his season is now kaput and his career forever altered. the pats, i believe, are still good for a 10-11 win season. brady will still come back ("triumphantly" like no one has since oh carson palmer) and be good. but this is the pop heard round the world. $150 million in expected losses from fantasy owners who had brady, vegas odds sky diving, and countless other things affected by one unfortunate hit. a national tragedy, no doubt. its too bad really, just when i was starting to warm up to him.
jimmy sports
jimmy sports
9.02.2008
the picks of destiny
week1 pix:
Favorite- Spread-Underdog-O/UAt NY Giants -4 Washington 41..............giants and the over
Cincinnati -1.5 At Baltimore 39...............cincy and the over
NY Jets -3 At Miami 36............................jets and the over
At New England -16.5 Kansas City 45....k.c. and the over
At Pittsburgh -6.5 Houston 43................pitt and the under
Jacksonville -3 At Tennessee 37.............jax and the under
Detroit -3 At Atlanta 41...........................atlanta and the under
At Buffalo -1 Seattle 39.5.........................buffalo and the over
At New Orleans -3.5 Tampa Bay 42.5...saints and the under
At Philadelphia -7.5 St. Louis 44.............st louis and the over
Dallas -5.5 At Cleveland 49......................dallas and the over
At San Diego -9 Carolina 42.....................sawn diago and the under
Arizona -2.5 At San Fran 42....................arizona and the over
At Indianapolis -9.5 Chicago 44..............indy and the under
Monday Night:
At Green Bay -3 Minnesota 38.5...........gb and the under
Denver -3 At Oakland 41.5.....................denver and the under
jimmy sports
9.01.2008
A-men to this
i'm done. I'm pissed. i mean really. are people seriously retarded? whats got me this time is that people have been for a while and continually say that a-rod is the best player in baseball. give me an effing break. im sick of it. i dont want to here it ever again. the guy is so over-rated it kills me to even see him do something good. hes more over-rated than- plug in any britney spears joke here. its not even arod himself, hes obviously a good player, but the way people perceive his astronomical contract and the way hes automatically posted at the top of every player ranking drives me nuts. its not about the numbers and its not about "clutchness". ok, maybe it is about "clutchness". but there are a couple of other guys that, to me, are truly deserving of the tag "best in the game". one quick note on albert pujols: listen carefully- Albert Pujols' worst statistical year in his entire 8 year major league career was the 2007 season when he hit .327, 32 hrs, 103 rbi, ops of .997, 38 2Bs', and finished with yet another top ten mvp voting. that was his worst year ever. let that roll around a bit. done? ok. again its more than the stats. to me i watch albert pujols and he looks like he rarely gets beat, rarely gets fooled. arod on the other hand does not strike fear in opposing pitchers that a 275 million dollar man should. he strikes out a ton. any decent scouting report and pitch execution will get him out, especially in a big spot, and i stress especially bec i honestly believe he becomes a worse hitter in clutch situations. he tightens up, he clearly tries too hard. all good relief pitchers throw it high and tight early on in the count, to set up the slider or offspeed low and away to send this flake packing. i have seen him swing and miss on this exact sequence more times than paula abdul would do in the same scenario. with this man its entirely mental and psychological. its well known that he frequents a sports psychologist which i dont mind at all bec im sure the grind of the season and the pressures of being arod is alot to handle, but with this dude you get the feeling that he is extremely weak on the inside. hes a physical specimen no doubt but i would love to get inside of him. oh shit! did that come out totally gay? but y'all know i mean i wonder what hes thinking sometimes. honestly, i know you agree with me, hes just a weird dude. the whole homo-erotic relationship he has going with jeter the last 13 years is a little fruity. his rumored relationships off the field, such as modanna and the toronto stripper are disconcerting. not that its any of my business, truly i dont care who he hangs out with but if you ask me to do a phsyco-analysis and i study his past history including reactions, friendships, decisions, etc, i think it would be all connected. he seems vulnerable, demure, easily intimidated, and insecure. to be clear i wanna say i dont think all this makes him a bad guy in the slightest, but is he the ultimate warrior athlete that you can count on in any situation? i say not. another thing, hes not even a leader on the yankees. the man has 3 mvp's almost 600 beans, countless rbi's, 14 years experience and hes not considered one of the primary leaders on his team????. i know they have jeter and its his team, and mo is there and posada and moose, but seriously it seems with his personality he wouldnt be the leader on the nationals. at the plate he can disappear for days at a time. in front of reporters he seems like hes always thinking how his tan is coming through on camera. if you are to be considered the best in the world at anything you need to be immersed, to be a pitbull, to be a heartless soldier. hhoooooo! (sigh of relief) just had to get that all off my chest, i feel better now. back to pujols for a sec. he is the unquestioned leader of his club, he plays gold glove defense at first (something arod does not do at third), plays hurt, hits monster , legendary home runs in the playoffs( ahem! brad lidge) and he has something that arod will never have. Kiss the ring bitch.
jimmy sports
jimmy sports
8.31.2008
Fantasy Land II
i should probably start by saying that if you believe in a guy, you should go for him in your draft. that means if you like marshawn lynch for whatever reason and you have the fifth or so pick, grab him , dont hesitate, hes your guy. dont feel like youre reaching or dont feel like you have to take the veteran whos done more times, the risk taking (if thats what you call it) will win you the draft.
btw that doesnt mean im taking chris johnson with the seventh overall pick. i probably should ahve explained before that he was merely a late rounder to take a chance on.
this year i beleve in (i did the rb's already)- marc bulger, eli manning, roddy white, santonio holmes, reggie brown, anthony gonzalez, sidney rice, jeremy shockey, alge crumpler, owen daniels, greg olsen, ben utecht, the packers d, cowboys d, josh brown. again, these are high value late picks that could make the difference in competing or sucking in your league. all these guys are not rated highly but for one reason or another have a great chance at producing at the level of players drafted 2-3 rounds before them. real quick, bulger was injured last year as was most of his mammoth o-line, as was his top 5 rb steven jackson. before last year he was always top 5 fantasy qb. now on most boards hes after jay cutler. eli is self-explanatory. santonio holmes quietly developed into a serious deep threat opposite hines. he is young and will only improve barring injury. shockey is rated around tenth on most lists. hes on a team now that went out and gave up a lot to get him, so coming in you get the feeling they want to use him. he gets to catch passes from a top 5 qb. he is healthy. he is determined to prove a few people wrong (ahem! jerry reese). and he is playing for a familiar face in sean payton who just so happened to be his offensive coordinator when had his best years. he will make it look like a horrible trade. packers d have everything - speed, ferocity, experience, playmaking ability. kampman, hawk, bigby are nice to watch. josh brown is going to a new team (stl) and a new offense that is going to play much better than it did last yr. and being in a dome doesnt hurt.
here is how my first draft went. i thought it went well.
with the picks in order of round and overall selection next to the name.
jimmy sports
btw that doesnt mean im taking chris johnson with the seventh overall pick. i probably should ahve explained before that he was merely a late rounder to take a chance on.
this year i beleve in (i did the rb's already)- marc bulger, eli manning, roddy white, santonio holmes, reggie brown, anthony gonzalez, sidney rice, jeremy shockey, alge crumpler, owen daniels, greg olsen, ben utecht, the packers d, cowboys d, josh brown. again, these are high value late picks that could make the difference in competing or sucking in your league. all these guys are not rated highly but for one reason or another have a great chance at producing at the level of players drafted 2-3 rounds before them. real quick, bulger was injured last year as was most of his mammoth o-line, as was his top 5 rb steven jackson. before last year he was always top 5 fantasy qb. now on most boards hes after jay cutler. eli is self-explanatory. santonio holmes quietly developed into a serious deep threat opposite hines. he is young and will only improve barring injury. shockey is rated around tenth on most lists. hes on a team now that went out and gave up a lot to get him, so coming in you get the feeling they want to use him. he gets to catch passes from a top 5 qb. he is healthy. he is determined to prove a few people wrong (ahem! jerry reese). and he is playing for a familiar face in sean payton who just so happened to be his offensive coordinator when had his best years. he will make it look like a horrible trade. packers d have everything - speed, ferocity, experience, playmaking ability. kampman, hawk, bigby are nice to watch. josh brown is going to a new team (stl) and a new offense that is going to play much better than it did last yr. and being in a dome doesnt hurt.
here is how my first draft went. i thought it went well.
with the picks in order of round and overall selection next to the name.
6 Steven Jackson
, StL15 Willie Parker
, Pit26 Laurence Maroney
, NE35 Reggie Bush
, NO46 Anquan Boldin
, Ari55 Jason Witten
, Dal66Greg Jennings
, GB75 Lee Evans
, Buf86 Marc Bulger
, StL95 Eli Manning
, NYG106 Jerious Norwood
, Atl115 Packers D/ST
, GB126 Sidney Rice
, Min135 Ladell Betts
, Was146 Ben Utecht
, Cin155 Josh Brown
, StLjimmy sports
8.28.2008
R.I.P.
its the end of the world as we know it. since i can remember my baseball team, the one i supposedly support, have been fortunate enough to make it into the mlb playoffs. i know no other way. since 1995 the new york yankees have played post-season ball. its 2008 now and the run is over. (btw - i must give credit where its due, dugoutBugout contributor pops-fixit nailed this one when he predicted this meltdown back in june)
im not as disappointed as some might think of a staunch nyy supporter. because my relationship with this team is mets-fan like. its tenuous to say the least. i have questioned many a move and have been suspect towards the many parts they have thrown together the past few years. i can hear you thinking outloud- that im just another spoiled yankee fan. but truthfully i hated it when they signed or traded for the big-name player. i hated when they spent exuberant amounts of cheese on over-hyped, over-rated, selfish, fat, lazy, broken-down veterans. some signings and trades worked out well, which allowed them to stay competitive through the years. but for every moose, matsui, abreu, and clemens theres a boatload of names that failed miserably and have been mostly forgotten. everybody knows the k-fed of baseball, carl "the buttocks" pavano, but lest we forget jaret wright, jose contraras, javy vasquez, randy johnson, raul mondesi, rondell white, drew henson, steve karsay, aaron boone, todd zeille, ruben sierra, jeff weaver, gary sheffeild, kenny lofton, john olerud, kevin brown, jon leiber, tony womack, and kei igawa. should i go on or do you get the point. the philosophy of the old george steinbrenner regime was to scoop up whoever whatever allstar/big-name player that was available bec logically speaking the more talent you have the more wins it should translate into. this isnt bad logic considering you can buy whatever goodies you want. but for all the talent you must sacrifice things like "young player determination", chemistry, and team-first mentality. so this whole mess could be the "boss"s fault for pressuring his own management and players too much which would eventually lead to the exact failure he was trying to avoid. but i dont blame him. i love owners that love winning. and youll say every owner loves winning, but what are they willing to sacrifice. george was willing to do what it takes and i loved that. granted he said crazy things and was mostly controversial in the last 30 years, but owners like steinbrenner and cuban dont come around often.
or you can blame it on talent evaluation. more specifically the general manager -brian cashman, scouts, and higher ups in the personnel decision-making department like Mark Newman, Jean Afterman. if you took every move they have made in the last decade you can argue that they heve bombed more times than not. giambi was juicing and they ignored it. red-neck randy couldnt do the big city and they didnt see it. pavano was really a girl and he somehow still passed the physical. maybe its the doctors' fault, they didnt see his vagina. they were jerking off to jeff weaver for years, finally nabbed him by giving up ted lilly (3-way deal) and he then proceeded to hand the world series to the marlins. i dont think hes in baseball anymore. i thought i saw him on the hills, but it wasnt him. kevin brown was not the worth the paperwork. so there are obvious blunders here that i feel not only hindered the team in the short term by setting up certain expectations of certain players and having them under-perform, but also in the long term. by locking up huge contracts to one or two star players instead of using the money more intelligently and getting more value for the dollar from 3 or 4 more efficient players. by trading away young players. although no prospects sent away in deals have become stars( brandon claussen, deangelo jimenez etc) some have produced nicely at the major league level and could have been used better (willy mo pena, christian guzman, marcus thames). have you noticed since the glory days until 2007 ish, when the philosophy changed, there hasnt been a solid consistent ever day player to come from within besides wang( cano should get there). not to say that the guys they let go made them regret the trades but its more to say that the yankees neglected their farm and that was a major error in which they are now paying for dearly. it felt like they just had a triple-a team so every time someone decent came thru they can turn him into javy vazquez.
this was the yankee way for years, and it was aggressively pursued by the owner. so in this vicious cycle of the yankee world, cashman and his advisors might have had an excuse. the blame can be past around all day like a burning dookie. the fact of the matter is they have evolved, they have appreciated their mistakes and failures and have come to a realization that a new philosophy is in order. ( all new york teams are like this, including the knicks mets rangers- knicks are finally catching up too) so they finally made a conscience effort to develop within and cut payroll. and with $88 million coming off the books after this season, the plan is slowly coming to fruition. the emphasis will now be on the young arms in the organization and keeping payroll under $150 mill, then $125, then eventually to under $100 all while staying competitive. this is obviously an ambitious objective, but it can be done. done are the ludicrous moves just to appease the blood-thirsty, spoiled new york fans. which brings me to the place where the blame should have been put on the entire time. the fans.
ever since the yankees started winning it sort of was expected, and it was hard to imagine the team not winning. as time wore on the fans did indeed get spoiled and all of a sudden wouldnt accept a sub .500 year for rebuilding purposes. like they forgot about the late 80s and early 90s.
so essentially the 96-00' run brainwashed the city into thinking it can easily happen every year. "yeah, why not? we have this guy and that guy". meanwhile in reality the few glory years the team experienced was an aberration and the dynasty a rare occurrence not seen since the early 70s A's and 60s yanks. winning a championship takes everything from chemistry to determination and even luck. so to think, or worse, to expect your team to win it, or even challenge, year in and year out is outrageous and only forced management into a state of appeasement which led to most of the bad moves. i always asked friends why teams like the knicks and yankees dont just go with what they have, why not bring up the kid from triple-a, or why not keep the draft pick instead of trading it for a 450 lb gorilla who has a heart problem? why not draft well or develop within? "lets see what happens" i would say, then i would get shot a look like i was a red sox fan. but it ate at me, if all these moves, if signing jerome james, were only hurting the team, why keep making the same mistake? then i realized that new york fans want everything, and want it fast. a cardinals fan for example would understand the term "rebuilding process". this term does not compute with new york fans. so now it came crashing down. it has come full circle. both teams have led the league in payroll for years and with nothing to show for it. they have both recently started re-evaluating decisions and recalibrating team-wide performance. but for years it was just expensive misery. so what was the point, new york?
jimmy sports
im not as disappointed as some might think of a staunch nyy supporter. because my relationship with this team is mets-fan like. its tenuous to say the least. i have questioned many a move and have been suspect towards the many parts they have thrown together the past few years. i can hear you thinking outloud- that im just another spoiled yankee fan. but truthfully i hated it when they signed or traded for the big-name player. i hated when they spent exuberant amounts of cheese on over-hyped, over-rated, selfish, fat, lazy, broken-down veterans. some signings and trades worked out well, which allowed them to stay competitive through the years. but for every moose, matsui, abreu, and clemens theres a boatload of names that failed miserably and have been mostly forgotten. everybody knows the k-fed of baseball, carl "the buttocks" pavano, but lest we forget jaret wright, jose contraras, javy vasquez, randy johnson, raul mondesi, rondell white, drew henson, steve karsay, aaron boone, todd zeille, ruben sierra, jeff weaver, gary sheffeild, kenny lofton, john olerud, kevin brown, jon leiber, tony womack, and kei igawa. should i go on or do you get the point. the philosophy of the old george steinbrenner regime was to scoop up whoever whatever allstar/big-name player that was available bec logically speaking the more talent you have the more wins it should translate into. this isnt bad logic considering you can buy whatever goodies you want. but for all the talent you must sacrifice things like "young player determination", chemistry, and team-first mentality. so this whole mess could be the "boss"s fault for pressuring his own management and players too much which would eventually lead to the exact failure he was trying to avoid. but i dont blame him. i love owners that love winning. and youll say every owner loves winning, but what are they willing to sacrifice. george was willing to do what it takes and i loved that. granted he said crazy things and was mostly controversial in the last 30 years, but owners like steinbrenner and cuban dont come around often.
or you can blame it on talent evaluation. more specifically the general manager -brian cashman, scouts, and higher ups in the personnel decision-making department like Mark Newman, Jean Afterman. if you took every move they have made in the last decade you can argue that they heve bombed more times than not. giambi was juicing and they ignored it. red-neck randy couldnt do the big city and they didnt see it. pavano was really a girl and he somehow still passed the physical. maybe its the doctors' fault, they didnt see his vagina. they were jerking off to jeff weaver for years, finally nabbed him by giving up ted lilly (3-way deal) and he then proceeded to hand the world series to the marlins. i dont think hes in baseball anymore. i thought i saw him on the hills, but it wasnt him. kevin brown was not the worth the paperwork. so there are obvious blunders here that i feel not only hindered the team in the short term by setting up certain expectations of certain players and having them under-perform, but also in the long term. by locking up huge contracts to one or two star players instead of using the money more intelligently and getting more value for the dollar from 3 or 4 more efficient players. by trading away young players. although no prospects sent away in deals have become stars( brandon claussen, deangelo jimenez etc) some have produced nicely at the major league level and could have been used better (willy mo pena, christian guzman, marcus thames). have you noticed since the glory days until 2007 ish, when the philosophy changed, there hasnt been a solid consistent ever day player to come from within besides wang( cano should get there). not to say that the guys they let go made them regret the trades but its more to say that the yankees neglected their farm and that was a major error in which they are now paying for dearly. it felt like they just had a triple-a team so every time someone decent came thru they can turn him into javy vazquez.
this was the yankee way for years, and it was aggressively pursued by the owner. so in this vicious cycle of the yankee world, cashman and his advisors might have had an excuse. the blame can be past around all day like a burning dookie. the fact of the matter is they have evolved, they have appreciated their mistakes and failures and have come to a realization that a new philosophy is in order. ( all new york teams are like this, including the knicks mets rangers- knicks are finally catching up too) so they finally made a conscience effort to develop within and cut payroll. and with $88 million coming off the books after this season, the plan is slowly coming to fruition. the emphasis will now be on the young arms in the organization and keeping payroll under $150 mill, then $125, then eventually to under $100 all while staying competitive. this is obviously an ambitious objective, but it can be done. done are the ludicrous moves just to appease the blood-thirsty, spoiled new york fans. which brings me to the place where the blame should have been put on the entire time. the fans.
ever since the yankees started winning it sort of was expected, and it was hard to imagine the team not winning. as time wore on the fans did indeed get spoiled and all of a sudden wouldnt accept a sub .500 year for rebuilding purposes. like they forgot about the late 80s and early 90s.
so essentially the 96-00' run brainwashed the city into thinking it can easily happen every year. "yeah, why not? we have this guy and that guy". meanwhile in reality the few glory years the team experienced was an aberration and the dynasty a rare occurrence not seen since the early 70s A's and 60s yanks. winning a championship takes everything from chemistry to determination and even luck. so to think, or worse, to expect your team to win it, or even challenge, year in and year out is outrageous and only forced management into a state of appeasement which led to most of the bad moves. i always asked friends why teams like the knicks and yankees dont just go with what they have, why not bring up the kid from triple-a, or why not keep the draft pick instead of trading it for a 450 lb gorilla who has a heart problem? why not draft well or develop within? "lets see what happens" i would say, then i would get shot a look like i was a red sox fan. but it ate at me, if all these moves, if signing jerome james, were only hurting the team, why keep making the same mistake? then i realized that new york fans want everything, and want it fast. a cardinals fan for example would understand the term "rebuilding process". this term does not compute with new york fans. so now it came crashing down. it has come full circle. both teams have led the league in payroll for years and with nothing to show for it. they have both recently started re-evaluating decisions and recalibrating team-wide performance. but for years it was just expensive misery. so what was the point, new york?
jimmy sports
| Team | # of players | At-bats | Team | # of players | Innings pitched |
| Rockies | 24 | 24,186 | White Sox | 30 | 7,637 |
| Diamondbacks | 23 | 19,272 | Giants | 29 | 5,937.1 |
| Athletics | 22 | 16,434 | Athletics | 28 | 9,686 |
| Rays | 21 | 19,987 | Braves | 28 | 3,513 |
| Angels | 20 | 11,873 | Cubs | 25 | 6,460 |
| Tigers | 20 | 10,154 | Royals | 24 | 4,173.2 |
| Cardinals | 19 | 25,096 | Cardinals | 24 | 2,124.2 |
| Rangers | 19 | 19,330 | Nationals | 23 | 3,200.2 |
| Astros | 19 | 14,600 | Blue Jays | 22 | 4,287.2 |
| Royals | 19 | 10,560 | Padres | 22 | 3,471.1 |
| Cubs | 19 | 10,214 | Pirates | 21 | 4,904 |
| Giants | 19 | 4,455 | Diamondbacks | 21 | 4,439.1 |
| Pirates | 18 | 7,533 | Rockies | 20 | 4,003 |
| Blue Jays | 17 | 27,427 | Red Sox | 20 | 3,849.2 |
| Nationals | 16 | 13,410 | Twins | 20 | 3,009 |
| Mets | 16 | 11,469 | Yankees | 20 | 1,852.2 |
| Padres | 16 | 9,419 | Phillies | 19 | 5,152.2 |
| Dodgers | 16 | 8,610 | Rays | 19 | 4,744.2 |
| Red Sox | 15 | 16,296 | Orioles | 19 | 2,968 |
| Braves | 15 | 11,183 | Mets | 18 | 2,892 |
| Reds | 15 | 10,886 | Rangers | 18 | 2,850.2 |
| Brewers | 15 | 10,219 | Angels | 17 | 3,815 |
| White Sox | 15 | 8,335 | Brewers | 17 | 2,575.1 |
| Marlins | 15 | 6,845 | Marlins | 16 | 3,810.2 |
| Orioles | 14 | 13,502 | Astros | 16 | 3,000.1 |
| Phillies | 13 | 17,970 | Tigers | 15 | 3,609.1 |
| Twins | 13 | 10,776 | Mariners | 15 | 2,375 |
| Mariners | 13 | 3,268 | Indians | 14 | 4,049.1 |
| Indians | 11 | 7,009 | Reds | 14 | 1,906.1 |
| Yankees courtesy espn | 10 | 886 | Dodgers | 14 | 1,867.1 |
8.27.2008
my redeem teams
here are my pix for the upcoming 2008-09 NFL season. as is custom here at the dugoutBugout we will first list the predictions, then explain the choices in a subsequent post. here goes:
AFC EAST: New England
AFC SOUTH: Indianapolis
AFC NORTH: Pittsburgh
AFC WEST: San Diego
WILD CARD: Jacksonville
WILD CARD: Buffalo
And now we go to the league formerly known as the nfl and is now referred as the nfc.
NFC EAST: Dallas
NFC SOUTH: New Orleans
NFC NORTH: Minnesota
NFC WEST: St. Louis
WILD CARD: N.Y. Giants
WILD CARD: Green Bay
"award show"-
mvp-drew brees
offensive player of the year-drew brees
defensive player of the year-patrick willis
offensive roy-jonathan stewart
defensive roy-jerod mayo
coach of the year- dick jauron
jimmy sports
AFC EAST: New England
AFC SOUTH: Indianapolis
AFC NORTH: Pittsburgh
AFC WEST: San Diego
WILD CARD: Jacksonville
WILD CARD: Buffalo
And now we go to the league formerly known as the nfl and is now referred as the nfc.
NFC EAST: Dallas
NFC SOUTH: New Orleans
NFC NORTH: Minnesota
NFC WEST: St. Louis
WILD CARD: N.Y. Giants
WILD CARD: Green Bay
"award show"-
mvp-drew brees
offensive player of the year-drew brees
defensive player of the year-patrick willis
offensive roy-jonathan stewart
defensive roy-jerod mayo
coach of the year- dick jauron
jimmy sports
8.25.2008
special report from beijing
yakshimash! the gratest cuntry in ze world Kazakhstan winned 13 medals. thats 7 more than ass-choles uzbekistan. this includes one gold and the world record in the sport of bash-the-jew-in-the-head. an amazing 23 noses broken in 2 minutes. another gold for synchronized jew drowning. a team silver in "lynch the jewess and her cubs". a bronze for each in "jewdo" and kyke-won-do. and yet another bronze in the fastest-growing sport in the Kazakhstan, the ever so popular "get-your-butt-whipped-in-the-match-have-the-ref-make-a-
bonehead-call-in-your-favor-so-your-opponent-does-a-
flying-kick-to-the-face-of-the-ref-and-gets-DQ'd-giving-you-
the-win"
borat sports
bonehead-call-in-your-favor-so-your-opponent-does-a-
flying-kick-to-the-face-of-the-ref-and-gets-DQ'd-giving-you-
the-win"
borat sports
8.24.2008
Tattoo mystery
This is the most interesting picture ive seen throughout the entire Olympics. its a tattoo with hebrew lettering inside of a large cross. the owner of this tat is named samuel fuchs. he is a 23 yr old Brazilian volleyball player. have not figured out the meaning of the letters yet. he is also very good at what he does, bec the brazilians took silver. the tattoo must work.
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